Category: Training

Poorly tummies

Jess GuthLeave a comment

As usual after a conference I spent quite a lot of time on Wednesday asleep. On Thursday I felt ready to have a go at a decent run. We thought an extended Bolton Abbey loop would be nice. It would be about 4.5 ish miles probably which is the furthest I’ve been for a while but it didn’t seem scary. We got there just after 9am when it opens and set off to walk up the first slope. As we were nearly at the top I suddenly really needed the loo. We walked back down, used the facilities and walked up again.

Then we started running and the first couple of intervals seemed fine. We were doing 2 minute runs with 30 second walks. I haven’t done 30s walks for a while but actually it felt fine. Then the pressure in my tummy started building, and building, and building. I had to stop. I persuaded Kath to go on and finish the loop and I turned round to head back to the toilet. I realised I wasn’t going to make it if I just walked so I ran, slowly but determinedly back towards the little outbuildings that would save my dignity – if I got there in time.

I did. Just. I was a bit grumpy about having a particularly bad episode of the runners trots but it seems not actually to have been that because I was out for the rest of Thursday and yesterday with a very poorly tummy. It’s still not right now so I am sipping peppermint tea and every now and again daring to nibble a bit of a cracker.

Anyway, the positive from all of that is that I can indeed run a mile without stopping when I have to!

To cheer me up Kath has signed us up to the RunDisney Virtual running series. We did this last year too but were grumpy about most if it (well I was). The series consists of 3 virtual 5k runs throughout June, July and August with a medal for each and then an additional medal for doing all three. So now we’ll think of 4 little challenges to run over the summer months to earn those medals

Conference running

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I was at the fantastic Association of Law Teachers annual conference from Sunday to yesterday. It was held in Portsmouth this year and I packed my running gear. I enjoyed running along the seafront last year when I went on the site visit for the conference. This time though I didn’t have to run on my own.

Thinking about running with people is a tricky thing. In fact it is quite anxiety inducing. What if they’re loads faster? What if they’re one of those effortless superhuman proper runners? What if they’re really competitive? What if they take it all really seriously? So mostly I just don’t entertain the idea of actually running with anyone other than Kath. However, in a moment of total madness I mentioned to the colleagues coming with me to the conference that I was going to run and they were welcome to join me. Thankfully only one of them said she would and Kat’s running history isn’t that dissimilar to mine and from the conversations we’ve had about running I sort of thought (and hoped) that our comfortable pace would be relatively similar. So actually I wasn’t too worried.

There was also an official conference run scheduled and I briefly wondered if Kat and I should join that but just thinking about it made me feel crappy about running. I was asked several times if I was doing it – I just smiled lots and explained that I didn’t want to hold anyone back or wave as everyone ran off. It was also that bit later which wouldn’t really have left enough time for breakfast and a shower etc afterwards so going earlier with Kat seemed like a far better option.

The first morning we met at 6am. I would have stayed in bed if we hadn’t agreed to meet so that’s the first win of running with someone else. We walked from the hotel to the seafront and then we set off. We settled into a nice run/walk rhythm and jogged and chatted our way to 1.5 miles. The second morning we went slightly later and run/walked 2 miles. I felt comfortable and actually really enjoyed it. Run 2 in particular wasn’t exactly easy – slightly too much white wine at the conference dinner, very little sleep and not exactly great running fuel food the day before was definitely noticeable but it was great to be out and I felt loads better having done it. It was also lovely to have someone to run with who wasn’t faster than me. Sometimes I feel like I hold Kath back even though she always says she enjoys running with me. Running with Kath is great for pushing myself because she can push the pace and pull me along with her. But running with Kat was a different sort of run altogether. Hard to explain really. It wasn’t that it was easy because I was definitely sweaty and puffed at the end but we were probably running closer to my ‘forever pace’ and particularly given recent running form it was lovely to not feel like it was really all just impossible. It was good! Thanks Kat!

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Getting back into things

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Getting back into things is hard. I’d love to tell you that we had an amazing run at Bolton Abbey this morning, that it felt effortless and easy, that everything came together and that I loved every single second, every single light, fast step. But that’s obviously bollocks.

I hated it.

From the very first step I hated it. I was out of breath before we’d even made the first slope. I never really settled down. It went something like this. The ‘Me’ segments were of course all in my head other than where it says (out loud).

Me: Two minute running is a long time!

Me: can’t breathe

Me: walking’s good, I can walk

Me: how can I be this tired after 2 x 2 minutes?

Me: Oh FFS

Me: Don’t like it

Me: urgh

Kath: Look a woodpecker

Me (out loud): hmph

Me: Wow not even half way, nowhere near half way

Me: I’m sure something hurts

Me: downhill, yay

Me: Wanna stop

Me: Might ask Kath

Kath: Make sure you’re taking it all in, it’s such a gorgeous day

Me: Fuck off

Me (out loud): Yeah

The Aqueduct comes into sight…

Me: Yay, half way but oh fuck stairs

Me (out loud): I’m really struggling

Kath: Do you want to walk a bit longer

Me(out loud): no

Me: yes yes yes yes yes yes yes but fuck off and stop being so bloody reasonable and nice

Me: there’s that bastarding hill soon

Me: oh look there it is, the fucker

Kath: do you want to try this in sections?

Me (out loud): yes

Me: I don’t want to f-ing try it at all, I’ll just curl up and cry here thanks

Me: I’m going to puke

Me: or pass out

We manage the hill and the downhill and the end is suddenly in sight

Kath: Coffee and bacon sarnie at the end?

Me (out loud): Yes please

Me: Race Ya!

So yes, I hated it but I have enjoyed having done it ever since we finished. It was a hard won 3.34 miles at a painfully slow place but it’s a start (again) and Kath was right, it was a gorgeous morning to be out.

It’s like learning to walk – but worse

Jess Guth1 Comment

I was thinking about calling this post ‘Starting again, again, again’ but that’s just getting silly. After that fairly positive run on the 17th March I didn’t manage another one until yesterday. We got caught up in a horrible lambing season which you can read about at our sheep blog. Yesterday the last ewe lambed and the relief was just huge. Once everything looked ok, I slept for an hour and a half and then we decided to have a little run. We drove to the sheep, checked they were all ok and then set off from there. We started on our usual route but then instead of carrying on and down the golf course, we turned left down a little woodland trail. And when I say down, I mean down. The first little bit is a fairly steep downhill and it’s covered in leaves and little twigs and branches (and some bigger ones). I so did not like that.

That steep bit was only really short though and then it levels out more – still essentially downhill but not steep – undulating maybe. I walked a fair bit of the trail and slowly negotiated the tree roots and the streams. I nearly face planted once as a stone gave way but that was the extent of the drama. Even though I’d only done about half a mile of trail I could feel different muscles working and I felt a bit tired. It was great to be out though and once we’d pretty much completed the loop I declared that my 1 mile reboot run and sent Kath on her way for lap 2.

Today I wanted to have another go at the trail. We set off from home and ran/walked to the start of the trail. Kath set off down and I froze and panicked. I actually stood at the top of the trail crying and Kath had to come and get me. I wasn’t going to write that bit – feel a bit of an idiot about that but there we are. I made it down (obviously) and then tentatively tried to run a bit more that yesterday. I didn’t fall and managed to bounce through a couple of sections quite effectively. But wow, running on proper trails like this rather than on the fairly easy going and more even paths I have been running on is a whole new thing. It’s fascinating really. I wasn’t huffing and puffing at all. In fact I was fine with all the normal things I struggle with when running. Presumably the enforced slower pace on the trail helps with that but once we stopped my legs felt a whole different sort of tired. I definitely used slightly different muscles and much more core muscles. Also, once I got over myself I didn’t have time to worry about whether I could or couldn’t do it and whether I was or wasn’t a crap runner because I was too concentrated on where to put my foot and how best to bounce through the next series of tree roots.

Kath really helped. After every little section she’d stop and wait for me and give me a hug  when I got there and then we’d set off again. I felt more sure footed than yesterday for most of it and I am looking forward to having another go. I have to admit to finding this really hard though. I just don’t really trust myself or my feet to get this right. I don’t really know why. It really does feel like I’ve got to learn to walk but this time I don’t have the fearlessness of a toddler. I think I often make it harder for myself because I can’t get my mind to let go and commit. Then, because I go tentatively, I don’t have momentum on my side so can’t actually bounce through sections effectively which then ends up making it more technical and difficult than it really needed to be. I do think I could do it instinctively but my brain isn’t quite prepared to let me try yet. It still wants reassurance that nothing bad will happen. I’ll keep practicing.

After the trail section ended we walked a little bit, then jogged along the road and walked up the hill and then home. We did a total of 2.56 miles- no idea at what pace but I don’t care either. It was lovely to be out and this was about pushing myself in another way, not just using pace or distance

Starting again, again

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I haven’t been out since the aborted run the other day. Partly that’s because things got a little busy with lambing. If you want to know more about that, head over to our blog at Riddlesden Jacobs.

It is always hard to actually make myself go out and run but it’s worse when I am tired and lambing means tired. We work in sort of shifts – with Kath dealing with early mornings and me dealing with the late night stuff. Kath has been able to take time off work this year which helps massively but doing the midnight check means I am more tired than usual even with sleeping a little later than normal – I’m just not used to the late nights. Anyway, I thought I might get a gym session in yesterday at work but I felt really tired and sluggish and I was being quite productive with work stuff so just kept going with that. Today though I wanted to get the running thing back on track. I didn’t want it enough to actually do anything about it.

This afternoon Kath suggested going for a run and I just thought ‘what the hell’. Off we went. Just to the sheep where we stopped to check and feed them and then back home. Just a small total of 1.7 miles but I ran it all. I didn’t stop on the hills. I also felt back to normal. So now I think I am just unfit and need to build pace and distance back up but the virus I think might finally be out of my system. Once we got back and I’d got my breath back I also felt far less tired. It was actually nice to be out in the rain although I really want the rain to go away because it’s about the worst weather possible for lambs.

Happy running