Category: Training

6 x 800 metres

Jess GuthLeave a comment

I have agreed to a run at lunch time. I don’t really want to run. I am struggling today. I am head-achey and tired and grumpy from sleeping later than I wanted to and from not being able to do all the things I want to do because I can’t get my butt off the sofa. I don’t want to do it. Can’t. Kath wants to do the 800 metre repeats. I don’t. I can’t do them. I can’t think of an excuse though, there isn’t one. So I’ll go. I’ll try.

Right, so, 6 x 800 metres with 3 minute walks in-between. I really didn’t want to go and do them. I barely managed 4 repeats last time and when we tried on Saturday my leg hurt. These are also the sorts of sessions where Kath and I are least on the same wavelength. So I wasn’t looking forward to it at all.

Actually it was fine. The first one felt easy – the stats show a little dip in pace in the middle but otherwise it’s pretty even and a decent pace. The second and third reps are the most even in terms of pace, the 4th is bit more ragged and also a little slower whereas 5 and 6 are even again but a little slower than the early ones. Overall the objective of going a bit faster than normal was achieved and although I found the 3rd and 5th one in particular hard and wasn’t sure I’d be able to do the 6th when we started it,  I did. It felt really good to have done that. Now I just want to conquer the sheep loop backwards run again and see if I can do better on that.

Anyway, as these things sometimes happen, the universe obviously knew I needed a bit of a boost so it sent our postie with our goodies from the runDisney Shorts series we did back in May/June. I blogged about the first of the runs here. Well Disney can do bling and it was lovely to get these medals and the tumbler is fun too.

Because it seems so long since we did the runs and actually, they coincided with me being a bit grumpy about running, I decided I would award myself the Yellow Shoes medal for today’s run and save the others for other runs to come when I feel like I need to celebrate an achievement or milestone. So I think I’m keeping one for when I manage the sheep loop backwards with just walking up the  golf course, one for when I complete 9 miles, which is our next long run, and then maybe the series one for when I next manage to set a Magic Mile personal best.

One Big Fat Run

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The last weekend of the month means it’s One Big Fat Run (#OBFR) time. #OBFR is a monthly virtual 5k. You can read more about it via the link above or search for it on Facebook. Anyway, the plan was to do 6 x 800 metres with 3 minute walk breaks in-between as my #OBFR – it would amount to nearly 5k of running and would overall be more in terms of distance – but close enough. Alternatively, if we also managed to get out for a 45  run on Sunday, I’d use that. We set off on Saturday, walked down to the canal and set off for the first 800 metres. All fine. Then we walked for 3 minutes, turned round a little earlier than we really wanted so as not to get tangled up with a group of dog walkers, set off running for the second 800 metres. All fine for the first 500 metres. Then I felt a little niggle along my left shin. Then, with maybe 150 metres to go, a sharp pain across my left shin and simultaneously a twinge just below my butt on the right. It brought me to a halt.

I was so upset and pissed off. Just when the running was actually going quite well I was going to be injured. I had a little panic and strop and walked home grumpily. There was no pain when walking and no pain when I ran my hand across my shin – so maybe it was ok after all. I did a few stretches on Saturday and had a busy day in the garden. I then did almost nothing at all on Sunday other than a walk to the sheep. I felt a bit crappy for not getting my #OBFR done at the weekend but I slept lots so maybe I just needed a rest.

Today we went out at lunchtime to run a 45 minute loop. We did our sheep loop the ‘wrong’ way round. We set off and it was fine, no pain and feeling relatively comfortable. I managed to run downhill slowly without too much of a panic and settled in along the canal. Mile 1 was fine. We had agreed before that we would walk up the golf course from the car park but that still meant I had to get up to the car park! I started struggling from probably about a mile and a half in. I don’t think I was struggling physically, I think it was all in my head and I couldn’t make my legs go faster or even keep at the pace I was at. I was still breathing fine and my legs were a little heavy but ok but my brain wouldn’t work. As we crossed the canal bridge and started the shortish sharpish hill to the car park I thought I’d never make it but gave myself a bit of a talking to, gritted my teeth and pushed. I got to the top and then we walked.

At this point everything sort of hurt but not really. I didn’t really want to walk up the golf course, I most certainly didn’t want to have to start running again when I got to the top. But to the top I did eventually get and run I did. Slowly. I knew I was physically fine. I wasn’t finding it physically hard – I knew this because I was breathing fine and my legs felt ok and yet my brain was telling me that it was far too hard and I couldn’t do it and I needed to walk. I didn’t walk, not yet. We made it past the sheep and up the little slope when Kath called a walk break. I’d just surrendered here and did as I was told. I didn’t want to think or make decisions. I was quite happy to run when told and walk when told. Kath took us towards home with 1minute/1minute run/walk intervals. As we hit the bottom of Ilkley Road something clicked in my brain and I decided I wanted to run home from there – up the slope, all the way, just because I can. At times for those last few minutes it felt like I was going backwards. Any slower and I would have been rooted to the spot. I was screaming at myself (in my head, not out loud, I don’t think) to just stop and walk and then screaming back that I didn’t bloody well want to walk.

So with head down and terrible running form I pushed up the last little bit of the hill and turned the corner into our road. I looked up, straightened my back and kept putting one foot in front of the other and just as the watch beeped for 45 minutes I stepped onto our drive. 3.23miles, one of my slowest 45 minutes ever but done.

This run was not about being physically able to run a certain time or distance – I am perfectly capable of running 45 minutes or 5km. This run was all about the mental. Running is mostly about learning to take your mind with a pinch of salt and not believing everything it tells you. I am far more likely to be convinced by the negative messages about not being able to do it than I am by the positives. When I am not in a good frame of mind and when I have self-doubt I need to really focus on doing the opposite of mind over matter because it’s my mind that needs pushing on and/or ignoring. I proved to myself that I can do that today by running up Ilkley Road when before that, really, I’d given up. I’m proud of that because not so long ago I would have given up on the golf course and just walked home. Now I just need to find a way to get to that point sooner. I need to think about what changed mentally when I turned into Ilkley Road. What made me decide that I wanted to and decide that I can? What made me lose it on the golf course? Up to that point I’d struggled but managed to keep pushing. What could I have done there to make the walk a positive (it was planned in anyway) and then keep running after without having to drop into intervals? Why can’t it just be simple – you know like run a certain distance regularly = distance becomes easy…

Still #OBFR is a fabulous thing. Without it I may have come up with all sorts of excuses to not run at all today and it gives me a monthly 5k marker which gives me the opportunity to reflect on all things running and most of all it reminds me that there are lots of others at various stages of their own running journeys and we’re not in this on our own.

One stop horrible run

Jess Guth1 Comment

We went for a lunchtime run today. Well that wasn’t nice.

We were supposed to do 45 minutes and I seem to have decided that we do them non-stop. But we thought we might as well feed the sheep while we’re out and then we won’t have to go out again later. So a non stop run turned into a one stop run. It nearly turned into a just stop and don’t run. Running to the first sheep field was really hard. Everything felt sluggish and heavy. I was so ready to give up.

Eventually we got there, stopped the watch, fed the sheep and then set off again – up the stupid slope, through the stupid wood, down the totally stupid golf course and along the stupid stupid stupid canal. Just one stupid foot in front of the other. As we turned onto the canal Kath asked if I wanted to swap to intervals but that seemed like giving up, so no. No stupid intervals.

Eventually the watch beeped for half way and an eternity later for 2 miles and then a stupid while later for 3 miles and eventually it played its stupid little finishing tune to tell us we could stop. Physically this run was fine really. My legs were a bit tired from the 7 miles Monday and lots of walking yesterday (about 14km) but it wasn’t that bad. I just did’t really want to run. It wasn’t even the usual ‘I can’t really do this’ sort of feeling, just a general sort of grumpiness about it all.

I do, as I almost always do, feel better for having gone. And it is another run that can be ticked off the training plan and that always feels good (control freak much?!?) but on this one we’re right back at ‘enjoying having run’ and nowhere near ‘enjoyed running’.

7 uneventful miles

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Uneventful is good. When it comes to running, uneventful is definitely good. But the 7 mile run wasn’t good. It was a bit urgh. I decided we should up the running segments of our intervals to 3 minutes. We set off when Kath finished work at 3pm and walked to the sheep, fed them and then set off – that meant that our little killer slope up to the wood before the golf course was right at the start of the run. It was fine though.

We tootled along going fine for a bit and eventually passed what I think was about 2.5 miles. It was all fine, if a bit warm. Not long after my right foot rolled awkwardly off a stone and my right hip/lower back twinged. It was niggly from there and really painful on the last run. But I got there. We ran an average pace on 13.07 so it took us just over an hour and a half. It then took me a rather long time to walk back up the hill.

We’ve stretched and my hip/back feel much better. That was not a run to remember but it’s 7 miles done!

More Not Stopping

Jess Guth2 Comments

Right, still going with the plan, still managing to get out and run. This is, I think, the most consistent running streak since London (and maybe even since before London).  We were going to go this morning after doing our food shop but it was hot. Or rather neither of us really felt like going and it was hot enough to use it as an excuse.

We sat and had coffee and a dark chocolate and courgette bun instead – have I told you about these buns? I must check and if I haven’t already, I will share the recipe. They are one of the most delicious treats on the planet and the recipe came out of a Runners’ World so they must be good for you (hm!?!). Anyway, I was perfectly happy not running and pottering about in the garden (mostly chatting to our neighbours rather than actually doing anything useful) and about 12.30pm I suggested lunch and Kath suggested a run. It had clouded over and was cooler than it had been in the morning and there was a pleasant little breeze. It made sense. Still, I liked my suggestion better.

I agreed to go though because otherwise I’d spend the rest of the day wondering about how I might get out of running today – best to just get it done. We set off  – sheep loop again  -and today I wanted to run for 45 minutes non-stop. I figured if I could run 5k without stopping in just over 40 minutes 2 days ago, I could do 45 minutes. And I can. I settled in quickly and it felt nice to be out and though warm, the breeze was enough to make it pleasant. Mile 1 went fine and even the slope up to the wood just before the golf course wasn’t too bad. I also managed to not slow down to ‘walking a small dog with tiny legs pace’ going down hill and then we hit the towpath. Someone had stolen all the air. It wasn’t much warmer but the breeze had gone and it felt really humid. Hm. Had I known I would never have gone. I hate humidity.

Not a lot I could do though so I kept going. Half way came and then 2 miles and a little while later we turned round. I still felt ok actually and was breathing pretty evenly. the 3 mile beep came and we went through 5k in 39.15 which is 1.5 minutes quicker than 2 days ago and then just kept plodding along until the 45 minutes were up. I even managed to speed up a bit over the last 2 minutes with another push in the last 30 seconds. Average pace of 12.33 minutes per mile. Happy with that.