Sunday Slog and October One Big Fat Run

October 25, 2015October 25, 2015 Jess Guth4 Comments

We did our 45 minute run today – it wasn’t fun. It wasn’t really that hard either. It was grumpy. Yes that’s it, it was grumpy running. No idea why, it just was. We ran 1 minute/30 sec intervals again. We were going to go to Bolton Abbey but that doesn’t open until 9am and we were ready earlier (thanks mainly to the clocks going back) so we went from home, past our sheep which also gave us a chance to check on our ram (he’s been poorly with an infection) and still gave us some gentle hills.

Just past our sheep, on the slope I probably dislike most in terms of uphill running round here, there was a bullfinch puffing out his bright colours. There were also several robins along the way. I wondered if there are more robins around or whether their red chests just make them easy to see at the moment. The autumn colours are getting more vibrant and stunning every day but of course soon they will disappear (oh look grumpy again). There were amarous ducks on the canal and one or two other people, walking dogs mostly. We were passed by a runner who said something about ‘…isn’t going to be any help to you’ – I didn’t hear what he said though so I initially decided that it was positive but I couldn’t shake off the niggle that he wasn’t particularly complementary. It bothered me.

I bought ‘Run Fat Bitch Run‘ by Ruth Field yesterday. I have got through Part 1 and I wonder whether that has something to do with my grumpiness. There is quite a lot in there that I agree with but I also found it incredibly patronising and not at all motivational or inspiring. I may just be in that mood – I will review the book properly when I have finished it and when I have given it a fair shot. I think possibly I like and totally agree with the idea but not with the approach. We’ll see.

This weekend is the October iteration of the One Big Fat Run which I think is a great idea. It’s a virtual 5km run and it’s just about getting that run in at some point over the weekend and sharing the achievement of getting our butts out there. Time doesn’t matter, there is no coming last because the ‘race’ isn’t a race. It’s about us – you and me – getting out there and doing it at our own pace in our own way. You print your own race number (it’s the same for everyone 001) and you can even buy a medal in the Too Fat to Run shop. So our 45 minute run today was our Big Fat Run for this month – we did a little over 5km, 3.48 miles. Because I was all grumpy though I forgot to print race numbers and I also forgot to take a finish line selfie. Sorry. Maybe you can do better! Get yourself out there and round 5km, hop, skip, dance, walk, crawl, run your way round and then share your achievement on social media using #onebigfatrun.

Oh yeah – Sunday – weigh in – stayed the same – grumpy

Autumn Running

October 24, 2015October 24, 2015 Jess Guth3 Comments

This week has been a solid if not perfect running week. I blogged about our run last Sunday and then we also went on Monday and Tuesday – just 45 minutes each. Each of those two runs were quite hard work – that flu bug or virus or whatever hasn’t quite been banished yet I don’t think! Both runs were enjoyable too though. We went along the canal for both but in opposite directions each time. The autumn colours are stunning at the moment and it was nice to just look around. In both cases we stuck to 1 minute runs and 30 second walks and on both we took a few walk breaks out here and there. I had my moments during the runs – mostly because I didn’t find them easy and started worrying about whether I would be able to get up to any kind of distance again. The niggles started: ‘yeah ok so you can jog for a minute and then walk a bit and you can keep that going for 45 minutes… but what then?’ or ‘You’ve only done 3.6 miles and you’re tired. 26.2 isn’t going to happen, is it?’ or the worst one ‘Be realistic, you can’t do this!’ Those thoughts didn’t last too long though and overall I felt pretty postive.

We didn’t run Wednesday because we both had long days at work and Kath didn’t get home til 7pm ish. We didn’t go Thursday because we were both too tired to function. Friday we made excuses. We sold one of our sheep and then went out for tea… Today we were going to do all sorts of sheep stuff but our sheep had other ideas – we will have to try catching them again tomorrow. It did mean that we could go for a steady 5.2 mile run along the canal to Saltaire. We set off on 1 minute run intervals with 30 second walks inbetween. We did that for about the first 10 minutes or so. Then the Garmin battery died. We knew it was low so I had put my normal stopwatch on. We then ran most of the way with 2 minute runs, 30 sec walks. There was a bit in the middle – around 35 minutes where I struggled a bit and we dropped back to 1 minute or 1.5 minutes. We got to Saltaire in 1 hour and just under 4 minutes which if Google maps is accurate is 5.2 miles from where we started. That would be a pace of 12.3 minutes per mile.

The run was nice. We actually managed to chat a bit while running and we remembered to look around – mostly just at the colours but we also passed swans, lots of ducks and moorhens. The canal bank was relatively quiet. We passed a few people but really not many. Maybe the rain earlier in the day kept people away. As we were running I thought that it might be the last run before Florida where I can get away with 3/4 length pants. It’s going to be too cold for them soon. Once again my Ronhill jacket (see last blog post) was fabulous though. It actually didn’t rain while we were running but it kept the wind off a bit.

As we were sitting in ‘Don’t Tell Titus’ enjoying fizzy water and punjabi nachos it occured to me that 5 miles was no longer a scary distance. I don’t mind 5 miles. In fact 5 miles is nice. I’m not saying the run was easy. Running is never easy but I never thought I would struggle to get the distance done. I enjoyed a lot of the run and I could have kept going at the end of the 5 miles. There were bits I didn’t like – the steep downhill at Bingley Five Rise Locks. I just don’t like downhill. I didn’t like that hill and the gentler slope further along that were both covered in leaves and were damp and thus slippy and the bit of the canal two path which runs directly along the Bingely bypass which is noisy – we just ran that bit rather than taking a walk break – I just wanted to get back to quiet as quickly as possible.

Tomorrow we are planning on a Bolton Abbey run – so there will be hills. We’re joining in the October One Big Fat Run which is a virtual 5k run taking place over this weekend -wherever you are. I’m actually quite looking forward to it.

Wet weather running

October 21, 2015October 18, 2015 Jess Guth4 Comments

Well it hasn’t really got cold yet – cooler yes but nothing that swaping short sleeves for long sleeves doesn’t sort. It’s the wet I am struggling to get my head round. Wet means a number of things:

Wet means clothes get properly wet rather than just damp from sweat and wet means clingy and clingy means t-shirts don’t hide my wobbly bits which means I feel stupidly self conscious. Yes I know that when I am running there is actually no hiding anything but I can’t see myself running – I can feel clingy clothes
Wet also means getting cold far more easily. This isn’t a problem while running but it is a problem immediately after as we rarely start and finish at our front door. There is usually some walking back or some walking and then driving home involved so wet is not good.
Wet means slippery surfaces and I am already pertrified of slipping and falling. I am not at all sure-footed when running. Rain soaked paths and tracks make this worse
Wet means mud which I actually don’t mind apart from mud meaning an unpredictable kind of slippery – see above.
Wet means that the temptation to stay in and dry is so much stronger.
Wet means grey, wet means low visibility, wet means muted colours and less to see. Wet means the wildlife is hiding and trying to stay dry…

I could probably go on. Actually the last point may be a bit unfair – there isn’t less to see. What there is to see is just different! I’m sure as I get used to running in the grey and wet I will see more things that I don’t yet see and which are not there or look very different in the sunshine. The things to see argument isn’t really a valid one.

I’m trying to combat the other issues. I usually run in trail running shoes round here. I can’t remember if I have blogged about my trainers before. You may have realised that I am not particularly fashion conscious about anything and that includes running shoes. I buy what is comfortable and does the job. I’ve been lucky so far – I have always been able to find really good shoes in the sale. Currently I have a pair of Salomon trail running shoes (XT Hornet if anyone cares – can’t find them on their website now – probably because they’re not current season but there are others there which are very similar!) which I really like. They are perhaps a little heavy – and noticeably heavier than my New Balance road running shoes – but they make me feel as sure-footed as I probably ever will and nicely support my feet. They have a pretty good grip and running on the wet canal path as well as the grass and mud track in the sections where there is no track has been ok so far. I am always a nervous wreck going downhill in the wet but I don’t think I can blame these trainers for that. I bought another pair of Salomon trainers (X-Scream City Trail) in the sale. I haven’t tried them yet but I am thinking they might work really well for the marathon because they feel like they might give me the same stability as the others but they are slightly lighter. I’ll be starting to use them on a couple of shorter runs if and when it is dry and we’re staying on canal path or road. So the wet = slippery issues I’m just going to have to deal with. Any help or advice?

We had a lovely trip to Saltaire a few weeks ago and were just walking round Salts Mills looking at books and other stuff and also popped into the Trek and Trail shop they have in there. I have got so used to being too large for their largest size that I rarely even bother looking properly. However, that’s no longer the case. On their sale rack they had a Ronhill very light waterproof jacket. It was reduced from £150 – reduced significantly – more than 50%. It was a size smaller than I would have normally even looked at but Kath reckoned it might fit. I tried it on and it fits perfectly. I can zip it up and it’s not tight anywhere. I bought it. Well this week was the first time I used it. I had it on during our Sunday run and it is great. I hate getting too hot when running and jackets often make me too hot and sweaty but not this one. It really is breatheable – yes I was hot and sweaty at the end but no more so than if I hadn’t worn the jacket. You can see it on the website if you’re interested. I’m really happy with it – I think it’ll get me through a wet and even a cold winter and it is so light and packs so small that taking it with me on longer runs in case I need it isn’t going to be an issue! I love the fact that it doesn’t cling and it doesn’t ride up. It’s purple – a bit close to pink for me but other than that, perfect really.

So what are your must haves to get through wet weather running?

And we’re back

October 18, 2015 Jess Guth1 Comment

So, flu. Is that nature’s way of telling me to stay in bed for two weeks? I could have done without it. I didn’t have time to be off work ill. The thing about academia is, if you’re off sick, your work just waits for you and piles up and you get back and there’s all the work there just going ‘hello, welcome back. You were 2 weeks behind already, you’re now 4 weeks behind and the week you had planned this week was always totally unrealistic, so make that 5 weeks’. But it is what it is, it’s just that without running I am not very good at the ‘it is what it is’ mindset. I knew running was helping me keep a level head and I’ve blogged about my mental health and my little black labrador puppy (my symbol of depression) before but I didn’t quite realise how much it makes a difference to the little day to day niggles and stresses that we all have. So while I was getting more stressed about being off work and generally feeling crap the three things I do to destress and make sense of the world around me where all out of the question: reading – couldn’t see the page without inducing a major headache, writing – ditto and running – I could barely walk upstairs. That mix made for a particularly grumpy and gloomy me.

I started feeling much better on Wednesday and went back to work Thursday. By Friday I was looking forward to trying a run. We had talked about possibly Saturday. Kath’s knee is much better and she is keen to get going on it and start getting back into things and luckily the flu didn’t hit her quite as hard as me and she is recovering well. However, we had to move our sheep from one field to another – sounds simple, it’s only 200 metres or so along a track but add in 7 perfect, experienced and willing sheep and 7 inexperienced, highly strung and skittish ones and you end up with quite a lot of running around, then there was the 5.30am start to avoid dog walkers etc and then the work to get the field and shed tidied up and sorted… We were really quite wiped out after that. Run postponed until this morning.

I woke up and was quite surprised to see it was 8am. Not sure why I was surprised, I’ve been sleeping at least 10 hours a night for the last week or so. I got up and was even more surprised to find that Kath had only been up an hour or so – she’s usually up really early. We had a cup of tea and then did 15 minutes of flexibility yoga. We drove down the hill just in case Kath’s knee relapsed and we’d need the car to get back up the hill. Then we tried running along the canal..

The autumn colours along the canal are stunning at the moment. We’re clearly not the only ones who think so – it was quite busy with walkers, runners, cyclists and dogs. We had set the intervals to one minute running/ 30 seconds walking and planned to be out for 45 minutes. It felt so good to be out. As I was trying to suck the oxygen into slightly unwilling lungs I also made a conscious effort to look around, take in the colours, watch the ducks, watch the dogs – some excited to be out, some plodding along in the slight drizzle; same as their owners really.

It would be wrong to say that the 45 minutes were easy. That’s not quite it. Running for a minute at times felt about all I could manage (but that’s because I knew it was all I had to manage!) and my body didn’t really quite agree that this running things is a good idea. It felt like I had accumulated a load of crap in my lungs, it felt like my legs were a mixture of concrete and jelly – heavy and wobbly at the same time, I felt slightly uncorordinated and not very sure-footed but I also felt a sense of being able to do it. Maybe my ‘I can’t do this’ voice still has flu, or maybe it’s gone on holiday – whatever, it wasn’t there today. Eventhough the run was hard physically it was probably the easiest run I have had mentally. I was excited to be out, running, doing, getting back on track.

We didn’t worry about pace at all. We didn’t look until we had finished. We were at just over 13 minutes per mile. It may sound slightly ridiculous but I am really quite happy about that – we used to work hard to get to 13 minutes per mile and now this was just a first jog after weeks out. I really do think we are making progress and the training is working!

Kath’s knee held up. She said it is a little achey now and she’ll be careful and get some ice on it etc but there is no pain.We came home and did 15 minutes of yoga for runners. Then Kath made pancakes but not before we got on the scales for our weigh in – I have lost a pound, Kath stayed the same. Happy Sunday.

We’re back!

Scarborough running – but not as planned

October 12, 2015October 12, 2015 Jess Guth1 Comment

I had been looking forward to the Yorkshire Coast 10k run. Last time we did this 3 years ago I was so totally unfit that I didn’t enjoy it at all. I was looking forward to taking it all in this time. I was looking forward to running a race which didn’t require me to be out there for about 3 hours… then I got flu. Even as we packed our bags into the car to drive up to Scarborough in Friday afternoon I really didn’t think I’d be able to run but I still had a day and a bit to recover.

Seeing the road closure signs heightened the excitement and I began to be hopeful that I might be able to run.

We woke up early on Saturday and decided we’d go for a little jog just to test my lungs and Kath’s knee. It was a gorgeous morning. We walked down to the seafront – the North Bay and turned left to run towards Sealife. We started with a 1 minute run and a 30 seconds walk and kept that going until we got to Sealife. This was our view:

Once we turned round we decided to run back without stopping and Kath opted for the softer ground and dropped down onto the beach. I tried to take a picture of her running while running and also tried to capture the view I had running along the beach huts. It was all a bit wobbly but somehow I quite like the pictures:

I tried to run the last 100m as fast as I could just to see if my lungs would hold out. It didn’t feel top bad as I stopped and we walked back to the hotel for breakfast feeling pretty positive. But then how could you not be happy with this view

We had a lovely day Saturday but we did walk quite a bit and by the time we got back from the restaurant at maybe 8ish I felt really flakey. I basically just curled up and fell asleep feeling poorly. My foot was also sore. Not sure what I’d done but the arch of my right foot and round my ankle felt like it was burning. Still I thought I’d be fine for Sunday. When we woke up on Sunday it quickly became apparent that neither of us was really up for running. Kath had started with the symptoms that started my flu off a couple of days before but had got much worse over night and felt very poorly. While I felt a bit better my foot still hurt and I was worried about how much just walking the day before had wiped me out. We both really wanted to run but decided it wasn’t sensible. We had a little cry but both felt better having made that call.

We did walk over to the harbour area and cheered the runners on as they went past on the way out and the way back. It was such a gorgeous day and I really wanted to be out there. I watched the runners go by with a mixture of envy and admiration. Admiration for those running those amazingly fast times but somehow more admiration for those further down the pack for whom just putting one foot in front of the other is probably a huge deal, for those who didn’t think they could do it but did, for those who seemed surprised by us cheering them on telling them they were doing really well, admiration particularly for those who were scared and unconfident – I was there not so long ago and on most running days I still am.

We drove home. We made it til about 6.30pm and went to bed. I slept til just before 6am and woke up feeling poorly, with a sore throat and a temperature- cancelled my London trip and went back to sleep for a couple of hours.

I guess the Yorkshire Coast 10k will have to wait another year!

really (not) a runner

rambling about my running journey

Author: Jess Guth