The half-marathon challenge is complete! I've had a week to savour that phrase. It went surprisingly well and I finished in a time of 2 hours 10 mins 4 seconds. I was extremely pleased with that as it meant I'd kept up my usual pace of a 10-minutes mile (like clockwork!) Out of the 197 starters in my age category I was 109th and 909th overall out of 1,295 finishers. So not bad for my first one, and I would do it again. I don't like Milton Keynes as a place but this run went through all the nice bits (possibly the only nice bits) including running alongside the Grand Union Canal and through wood and parkland.
Two challenges are now complete and cycling has started in earnest now, in preparation for the third with the confidence of having completed the first two to keep me going and make me think that I might actually be able to do this.
Showing posts with label Running. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Running. Show all posts
Monday, 26 July 2010
Thursday, 8 July 2010
14 miles ... ouch
As the time for Challenge No. 2 (the Milton Keynes half-marathon) is fast approaching, I decided at the weekend to stop messing around with adding one mile at a time to my schedule and just go and do it. I'd done 8 miles fairly comfortably and thought it was 6 miles round Pitsford Reservoir, so set out on a sunny Saturday morning to do two laps and see how it went.
Pitsford is lovely first thing in the morning. There were some cyclists but not too many; some other runners but no other dog-walkers, which was a bonus as I had Alfie with me, and he's a pest with other dogs. (He's a pest with chasing bicycles / birds /random bits of rubbish too but that seemed to awaken his interest in the run so may not be a bad thing).
We took the first lap fairly easy as I didn't want to overdo it and it was going to get very warm again by the time we did the second. Pitsford has the added advantage of being flat, and although Northamptonshire is not the hilliest county in England, you soon find, if you cycle or run any distance, that there will be at least one steep incline somewhere on the route.
Andy was walking the route and my hope was that I'd overtake somewhere on the second lap and hand Alfie over for a rest. Alas, we were slower than we thought and he was faster. The reason was clear when we'd finished and measured the distance - closer to seven miles than six, and so the run was a shade under 14 miles total. Even with walking the last half-mile or so I did it in two and a half hours. Now the challenge is to do the distance comfortably, and work on being able to walk properly for the next few days afterwards. I tried ice, I tried a freezing gel (the opposite of Deep Heat) and I tried rest. My legs have never hurt so much! Alfie, however, was fine after the run. He had a drink and tried chasing some geese and looked as if nothing had happened.
So next Saturday we're going out again to see if it will be easier this time!
Pitsford is lovely first thing in the morning. There were some cyclists but not too many; some other runners but no other dog-walkers, which was a bonus as I had Alfie with me, and he's a pest with other dogs. (He's a pest with chasing bicycles / birds /random bits of rubbish too but that seemed to awaken his interest in the run so may not be a bad thing).
We took the first lap fairly easy as I didn't want to overdo it and it was going to get very warm again by the time we did the second. Pitsford has the added advantage of being flat, and although Northamptonshire is not the hilliest county in England, you soon find, if you cycle or run any distance, that there will be at least one steep incline somewhere on the route.
Andy was walking the route and my hope was that I'd overtake somewhere on the second lap and hand Alfie over for a rest. Alas, we were slower than we thought and he was faster. The reason was clear when we'd finished and measured the distance - closer to seven miles than six, and so the run was a shade under 14 miles total. Even with walking the last half-mile or so I did it in two and a half hours. Now the challenge is to do the distance comfortably, and work on being able to walk properly for the next few days afterwards. I tried ice, I tried a freezing gel (the opposite of Deep Heat) and I tried rest. My legs have never hurt so much! Alfie, however, was fine after the run. He had a drink and tried chasing some geese and looked as if nothing had happened.
So next Saturday we're going out again to see if it will be easier this time!
Saturday, 12 June 2010
Brick
Last week I did my first Olympic-distance brick training session - a 25 mile bike ride followed by a six mile run, which I was very pleased with, especially as it was an extremely hot day. As the triathlon is so close now - just two weeks to go - I knew I'd better go out again today but to be honest, didn't really feel like it. I'd been over at Mum and Dad's to celebrate Mum's birthday, drove back in the morning and was trying to get motivated. As it happened, I'd left my purse behind by mistake, so that was the perfect reason to get on the bike - it's about 13 miles to Rushden from Kettering. So I plodded over and back again and still didn't feel very energetic or fit enough to go for a run afterwards and was all for talking myself out of it completely.
The best way to cope with this, I've found, is not to think about it but to just do it. I came home, changed my shoes and as it happened, turned in the best run time I've done in a long time. Perhaps it was the copious amounts of Lucozade I'd been drinking on the bike; perhaps I'm getting fitter at last. I picked my feet up and it felt good and fast - and it was; just over 55 mins for six miles. So that was encouraging.
I also had some encouragement when I last went swimming. I've been going as often as possible to work on my new (hopefully correct) front crawl and to be honest, I'm getting so puffed out I can barely do two lengths. I came away from the pool on Wednesday wondering what on earth I was thinking entering a race where I had to swim 1,500 metres when I could barely swim at all, but on Thursday it seemed to come together a bit more and a fellow-swimmer was kind enough to say she thought I looked a lot less splashy than usual, and smoother. Again, it's a case of keeping the pace up. The Swim Smooth website reckons on about six sessions to learn something new, so I'll be packing in as much swimming as possible over the next fortnight!
The best way to cope with this, I've found, is not to think about it but to just do it. I came home, changed my shoes and as it happened, turned in the best run time I've done in a long time. Perhaps it was the copious amounts of Lucozade I'd been drinking on the bike; perhaps I'm getting fitter at last. I picked my feet up and it felt good and fast - and it was; just over 55 mins for six miles. So that was encouraging.
I also had some encouragement when I last went swimming. I've been going as often as possible to work on my new (hopefully correct) front crawl and to be honest, I'm getting so puffed out I can barely do two lengths. I came away from the pool on Wednesday wondering what on earth I was thinking entering a race where I had to swim 1,500 metres when I could barely swim at all, but on Thursday it seemed to come together a bit more and a fellow-swimmer was kind enough to say she thought I looked a lot less splashy than usual, and smoother. Again, it's a case of keeping the pace up. The Swim Smooth website reckons on about six sessions to learn something new, so I'll be packing in as much swimming as possible over the next fortnight!
Saturday, 22 May 2010
Furthest distance yet run
Yesterday I managed an 8 mile run, which in a few month's time will probably be laughably easy (well I can hope) but for now is a real milestone; the furthest distance I've run yet. It was a gorgeous morning but even at 6:30 am very hot. I suppose it's no bad thing practising running in the heat, given that a race event is likely to be later in the day anyway (especially thinking the MK half marathon).
The time was good given that I wasn't aiming for speed, but I wasn't far off my ten minute mile pace at one hour 20 mins 48 seconds. The main problem with long-distance running is, I think, going to be boredom - it takes such a long time. And I could scoot round so much more quickly on a bike!
I was interviewed by the Chronicle & Echo the other day and was asked the 'why do it' question which I have to say, rather stumped me. How to explain in a few words? Having had time to think I guess the best answer is to see how far I can push myself. What am I capable of, really? It's so easy to watch the London Marathon and say 'I could never do that' (which I have) - but perhaps a half? And then what? Plus the side effects of vast amounts of exercise are great, not least that I can (within reason) eat what I like, and what I like is often not the low-fat/calorie choice.
Having said that, I don't feel fit, which might sound odd. Compared to some people I am but I know that in any given race I'll be bringing up the rear and just be glad to get round. It's all comparative.
Well I'm having a rest day today. The sun is shining and I may just go into the garden with a good book. Back to the training regime next week; there's not long to go now until the Northampton Tri at Grendon!
The time was good given that I wasn't aiming for speed, but I wasn't far off my ten minute mile pace at one hour 20 mins 48 seconds. The main problem with long-distance running is, I think, going to be boredom - it takes such a long time. And I could scoot round so much more quickly on a bike!
I was interviewed by the Chronicle & Echo the other day and was asked the 'why do it' question which I have to say, rather stumped me. How to explain in a few words? Having had time to think I guess the best answer is to see how far I can push myself. What am I capable of, really? It's so easy to watch the London Marathon and say 'I could never do that' (which I have) - but perhaps a half? And then what? Plus the side effects of vast amounts of exercise are great, not least that I can (within reason) eat what I like, and what I like is often not the low-fat/calorie choice.
Having said that, I don't feel fit, which might sound odd. Compared to some people I am but I know that in any given race I'll be bringing up the rear and just be glad to get round. It's all comparative.
Well I'm having a rest day today. The sun is shining and I may just go into the garden with a good book. Back to the training regime next week; there's not long to go now until the Northampton Tri at Grendon!
Monday, 19 April 2010
Ouch
A record of possibly my first injury (though not serious and probably not the last). I pushed my last run (on Friday) rather fast and tried to extend my pace length uphill - with hindsight, not a good idea. I was hopping about for a minute or two at the time but carried on and still got the best time for 6 miles yet, but the sharp stabbing pain in my knee continued throughout the day, and so I have decided to rest it this week. In the meantime, I've googled what it might have been (the best guess is 'jumper's knee' a non-serious impact injury that will resolve itself with rest. I have also been advised to use ice, although you may be assured that an Eddie Izzard-style ice bath is not on the cards any time soon) and found a set of knee strengthening exercises. What the site says - and this seems to make sense - is that there are several muscle groups centred around the knee and if one becomes stronger there can be an imbalance in the others which can lead to injury. So I'm learning about adductors and abductors and glutes and hamstrings and how to look after them and keep them in good nick. The stabbing pain has subsided over the weekend to a mere twinge, so I'm hoping to be back out running very soon. Of course strengthening knee muscles can only be a Good Thing, not only for running but for cycling too. It's an ill wind!
Monday, 1 March 2010
Half-marathon entered
The only one of the challenges not yet sorted out - the half marathon - has now been arranged; I'm booked in for the Milton Keynes half-marathon on Sunday 18 July, which gives one challenge per month; the triathlon in June, the run in July and I start the bike ride at the end of August. Better get training... since the furthest I've ever run is 6 miles, and that was over ten years ago.
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