Category: Sunday Weigh-In

Leeds 10km Run for All

Jess Guth4 Comments

Today was the day. Our first race. I use the term loosely – I don’t race. I plod along. Be that as it may, today we were tackling our first running event since the half marathon 2.5 years ago. I was excited and scared in equal measure. We had a cup of tea in bed and then got up, got our running gear on and had a bowl of porridge. We set off about 7.30am for the 40 minute drive into Leeds. We couldn’t find the way into the car park we had planned on using and Leeds is an absolute pain at the best of times, with road closures it was impossible. So we had a rather stressful 20 minutes getting on and off loops and eventually finding a car park that had an entrace we could get to. Once parked, we walked over to the Headrow amd I munched my banana on the way.

We joined a queue for the loo (I’ve used worse) and then we just waited around for a bit – actually our delayed arrival meant that we didn’t really have to wait that long once we had found our assembly area. It wasn’t that clear where we needed to be or how to get into it – it all seemed blocked off so we just ducked under a tape to get into the ‘green’ area. The blue and red runners went first and then the greens followed. The mass warm up was just stupid – mostly because they had told us all to move to the front and fill any gaps so there was no room to actually do the warm up. They sent the blues and reds on their way and then walked us up to the start. We set off towards the front of the greens and off we went:

First km – well it went quite quick but didn’t help me settle. Given our run/walk intervals we knew we’d get in people’s way if we weren’t careful and at the start everything is so bunched up that walking didn’t make sense so we kept going and took a walk out. That’s not something I have practiced though so it unsettled me a bit. We did eventually settle into quite a nice run/walk routine and the markers for 2 and 3 km came and went. It was hot. It was getting harder. I was coping with people though. 4km and a water station later (I didn’t get any) it was all still ok but I was beginning to really wish we could turn back and head for home. It was hot.

I missed the 5km marker completely. As we executed our 180 degree turn, one of the marshalls said 5.5 km and I presumed she meant that’s what was left. I could see the next marker ahead and kept thinking, right nearly half way, nearly half way… and then the marker said 6km. More than half way! Yay! I did take a couple of walks out, not quite sure where actually. Aorund what I now know was between 5 and 7km. I also ignored the 2nd water station but didn’t have the energy to avoid the water spray eventhough I didn’t really want to be sprayed. Poor Kath was to my left and closer to the spay so she got a proper soaking.

At 8km I was struggling, really struggling and just about hanging on until each walk break. Have I mentioned it was quite hot? But 9km came. My calf muscle felt horribly tight and it took me a little while to decide if it was pain that required me to do something or whether it could just be ignored. I added in a short walk (much to Kath’s dismay who of course knew what our pace was). She urged me on to start running again and I now know why. We passed the 400m to go flag. Just keep running Jess! All I remember is Kath telling me repeatedly that we could do this. Then I could see the finish line and I saw the clock. It said 1.24.something… I hadn’ t seen the clock when we started but the race pack had said that the green runners would start 10 minutes after the blues and reds. I didn’t really think it was possible but just in case I pushed hard. My (not so) little legs somehow still had something left and could go faster – and there it was: Kath’s watch confirmed it – 10km in under 1 hour and 15 minutes, a pace of under 12 minutes per mile. Wowsers. Our official time was 1 hour 14 minutes and 18 seconds.

As far as I can see, looking back at what we managed in our previous running life, that’s about 3 minutes faster than our previous best at the distance. Not that we are measuring against what we did before because we started from nothing this time round. I looked because it gives me confidence that the training is working, that the run/walk method is working, that Jeff Galloway’s plan with our slight adaptation is working and that means that if we stick to the training plan we will be able to do the RunDisney Walt Disney World marathon in January. The idea of me running a marathon is obviously totally ridiculous but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible.

I do need to remember to eat something after running though. I didn’t want anything when we got back to the car and then we decided we would just have a quick shower and go out for food so I didn’t have anything when we got back home either. By the time we were sat waiting for a food to come I felt decidedly dodgy and lightheaded – this will have been about 3 hours after finishing the run. As soon as I had some food (a trio of mini Yorkshire burgers at the new Keelham Farm Shop in Skipton if you must know) I felt better. Won’t leave it so long next time!

Well even running a 10km event doesn’t get me out of the Sunday Weigh In – I lost nearly 2 pounds which drops me nicely into the next stone and keeps me going in the right direction. Talking of right directions – thanks for all the donations to Panthera! Keep them coming in on our JustGiving Page

Looking forward to running in Paris

Jess Guth3 Comments

Yes, that’s right, I just used looking forward to and running in the same sentence without a negative. I am quite excited about running in Paris. I have just spent the last half hour looking at possible running routes and printing them off. We are heading to Paris on Tuesday (until Saturday). I am going to a conference and Kath is tagging along. I have been to Paris before, once but that was a long time ago and I really don’t remember all that much about it. I think it was in February and I think it was cold. Not likely to be cold next week!

It’s only a week to go until our 10km Leeds run. A week! I am a little anxious but actually I feel quite positive. We are sticking to the training. I am doing the runs, ticking them off one by one. I am getting stronger and I know I can do the distance. I am not setting out to go fast or finish in a particular time, I just want to re-learn what it’s like to run in a crowd, figure out how to make the run/walk intervals work without pissing other runners off and of course I want the medal at the end – obviously. There are only two more runs before then and at least one of them will be in Paris (travel times are awkward so we may go tomorrow and then do one run in Paris or we may not go tomorrow and then to Wed/Thurs back to back in Paris). I’m excited.

We did our weekend distance run yesterday. 5 miles. It was tough, it was hot. I had spent all day at our Open Day at work and most of that was spent at our stand in the main atrium of the university which has a glass (or whatever) roof. It’s a bit greenhouse like at the best of times but as the sun made its way up into the sky it seemed to focus all its energy on little me at the stand so by the time I got home I was hot and bothered and sweaty and tired from being on my feet all day. We debated putting the run off until this morning but I decided that as I was already sweaty I might as well get more sweaty. I coped better with the heat this time than last time we ran in the really hot weather, I didn’t have to shorten the runs and increase the walks. It felt slow but ok. I was also mentally stronger. I nearly suggested we just do 3 miles  – it was hot you know – then we passed 3 miles and I thought I might suggest that we stop at 4 miles but then I got distracted watching a moorhen and her chicks and suddenly Kath said ‘that’s 4.1 miles’. Well it seemed silly not do get to 5 then however much I was struggling.

I had no sense at all of pace etc. I just knew I’d found it really quite tough and that patches had felt really really slow. I was surprised when Kath said that our  average pace had been 12.54 minutes per mile and we’d been out 1 hour, 4 minutes and 37 seconds. It’s the first time our pace has been under 13 minutes per mile on anything over 3 miles. I walked up the hill happy, if a little puffed and very sweaty.

So, bring on Paris, bring on Leeds actually! Oh and it’s Sunday – weigh-in day. I’ve lost a pound in spite of the midweek pizza and quite a lot of bread and eating on the go more often that I would have liked.

Happy Sunday

Getting back in the zone

Jess Guth1 Comment

As I write this there are gorgeous smells coming from the kitchen where Kath is making healthy blueberry bran muffins as well as our late lunch/early tea of quorn chilli; we’ve had a lovely morning (after a very long sleep for me) at Bolton Abbey where we went for a roughly 3 mile walk and we have spent most of the time talking about training, the runs we’d like to do from home as well as from starting locations locally. I am in a much better place mentally today. A number of things have contributed to that.

1. The little messages of support and tips on here, Facebook and Twitter and the very generous sponsorship/ donations made to Panthera. Thank you

2. It is Sunday which means weigh-in day and I have lost another pound. If I can shift another 2.2 pound I will drop into the next stone and it is exciting to see that first number go down rather than be an irritating and slightly depressing constant. I will be close to being the lightest I have been in over 3 years and not far off being the lightest I have been in over 18 years.

3. Our next run will be the first run of our marathon training programme. Now yesterday this freaked me out. Today I am excited about this. I am even more excited because Kath has bought me some smileimagey star stickers so I can mark of each run (yes, I know I probably need to get out more – but smiley star shaped stickers!). Here is the first page, blank. I’ll post again when it is full of happy little stars

4. Our first ‘race’ is two weeks today. That was just stupid yesterday but today I see it differently. Today I see it as part of my learning curve. It won’t be fast, in fact it will be very slow but it has been a very long time since I’ve run in a crowd, the timings for when to eat, when to pee, when to warm up…. are all different so it will be a great, if difficult experience. I know I can do the distance. I’ve done it twice now in the last 4 weeks and once I did it when I really really wasn’t in a happy running place.

So, yesterday running  made me miserable, and it really did. Today I feel better. Today I am pleased that the 6.5 miles yesterday haven’t resulted in any niggles or even stiffness. My legs were a little tight but the walk sorted that. Today I am proud of how far I’ve come and (while still totally unfit) how much fitter I am than I was. I am back in that tiny little zone in my head that knows that I can do most things I really put my mind to. It’s a little zone, a tiny one, one that I don’t manage to get myself into very often, one that shuts the door on my depressive black Labrador and on all the doubts, questions and negativity. It’s the zone that knows that this girl can and it is the zone that is learning to shout and be heard over all that other crap. So, Leeds: here’s my number. Look out for me. I won’t be running fast but I will be running because I have decided I am doing this so whether I can or not is actually irrelevant, I am doing it.

image

Excuses excuses and more excuses!

Jess Guth1 Comment

Well it has been a while. Well a week and a bit. So after the 6.5 miles we did on the Sunday (see last post) we felt pretty good and were up for our shorter runs during the week. Then Monday came and we had our planned rest day. Then Tuesday came and we didn’t go for a run, then Wednesday, Thursday, then Friday and we hadn’t been. We went away for the weekend so knew we wouldn’t be going then either. We had all the usual excuses, too tired, too close to having eaten, feeling a bit low, can’t be bothered, we’ll go in the morning instead, didn’t get up in time, would be too much of a rush… Yep, if you can think of an excuse, we probably used it last week. And the thing is, as the week went on we felt worse and worse both physically  but also mentally because I certainly kept feeling like I was letting us down. We should have just gone for a run! So enough of that.

We had a lovely weekend away with friends who were amazing hosts and who helped us just relax and chill out completely. We had a longish walk with them on Saturday and it was good to be out. Our drive home Sunday was about five hours including a stop for lunch on the way so by the time we got home we actually both felt like going for a little run. I found it physically hard but I enjoyed stretching my legs a bit. We did 2.78 miles in 35 mins.

We couldn’t ignore the Sunday weigh-in either so when we got back from the run I hopped on the scales fully expecting a few pounds to have gone back on. I hadn’t tried to eat well and I hadn’t been running all week and then we had a lovely weekend with lots of yummy food and a couple of drinks. However the scales stubbornly stayed on the same number they were at last week. I think that’s what you call getting away with it!

Yesterday Kath persuaded me to get my butt on the road (well canal path) again. I didn’t really want to go, I had work stuff going round in my head and felt like I just wanted to hide under the duvet. But she was right, another 35 minute run did make me feel loads better. We went slightly further on this one 2.89 miles I think.

I am writing this on the train back from  Liverpool where I have been visiting a school for their UCAS week. I think I might actually quite like to go for s short run this evening. I’ve spent most of the day on the train. I feel like I want to move and be outside. I am also very very conscious that our first 10km run is in 19 days. More on that soon!

So, a crap week last week but this week has started pretty well. Let’s see if I can keep it going.

The one where Jess runs a long way and most definitely hates running but it’s ok because there’s brunch

Jess Guth1 Comment

Sunday, that means weigh-in day. I woke up when our kitten jumped on my head about 7.45. I don’t think he meant to, he was just running loops rounds the house and the loop took him across my head. Wish I had that much energy. Anyway, the scales. For once they were quite friendly and spat out reasonably agreeable numbers. I have lost 4 pounds since last Sunday. I really haven’t done anything special with food – can’t say I’ve been trying that hard but we have been out running a fair bit and it seems to me that moving more has always worked better for me than eating less. We are also eating pretty healthy meals overall with virtually no processed stuff so that will be helping too.

Sunday also meant a long run. 6.5 miles to be exact. I had a banana and some water and then we did 15 minutes of yoga just to get moving. My legs and hips felt tight doing that. I don’t really quite know how to desribe the run without swearing lots. We warmed up with a short walk and then a couple of short jogs. Then we set off. Then a very very very long time passed and we had got to a mile. One piddly little mile and I felt like my lungs were going to explode and my legs, well let’s just not talk about my legs. Then another eternity passed and we got to 2 miles. Two stupid miles. Completing the 6.5 miles seemed rather unlikely. Onwards I plodded. We got to three miles, my lungs had sorted themselves out, not sure when – somewhere between 2 and 3 miles. We turned round just by Bingley 5 rise locks at just over 3 miles. I do like turning round and heading for home. Amazingly we got to 4 miles. No idea how. Then 5 miles. I was taking every walk break as it came and my legs felt stupidly heavy. At 5 miles my back was aching a little and I know I was losing form and running completely inefficiently. Lungs were ok though and I’d come this far, it seemed silly to stop with only a mile and a half to go. We passed 6 miles. I took the walk break which finished at 6.1miles and then I just went for it. Not fast but determined because, frankly, we’d been out for long enough already and it was time to get it over and done with. So, 6.5 miles (10.4ishkm) in one hour 26 minutes and 57 seconds. Pace of 13.23 minutes per mile. Hated 6.4 miles of that. Loved 0.1miles of it and was quite excited about having done it.

We got home, had a bath and then the muchies set in. We had what is billed as a South American brunch to try and re-fuel (get me – running lingo!) and help with recovery. It’s basically a fried egg served on quinoa and back eyed beans topped with avocado and a spring onion and tomato dressing. The recipe is originally Jamie Oliver and we haven’t made too many changes to it really. We use packet quinoa which can just be done in the microwave in 45 seconds and usually a tin of black eyed beans but other beans will do. We don’t add any salt and we don’t add chilli sauce. It’s delicious and it looks like this:

South American Brunch

Enjoy.