Tag: 5km

Getting Ready for Disney Paris

Jess Guth1 Comment

Right, 2 weeks today we will have trotted our way round the Disneyland Paris 5km run and will be chilling out somewhere getting ready for the half marathon. I haven’t written much about the trip. I’ve been pre-occupied with leaving my old job and starting my new job (it’s been good – see here) and generally getting better. So it’s about time!

We set off on Friday lunchtime. We fly from Leeds/Bradford airport and land at Paris CDG airport shortly after 4pm and then we’ll jump on the train out to Disney. We’ll check into our hotel which is the Disney’s Hotel New York.

new-york-hotel-outside
Photo from Disneylandparis.co.uk

After check-in we’ll head over to the Expo to pick up our race packs and have a little look at the merchandise. I don’t need anything so it’s just about getting a little souvenir to take home and mark the achievement. After the expo we have tickets to the Inaugural party. The website calls it a magical evening not to be missed and says it is a

‘unique, private party, on Friday, September 23rd, 2016, at the Walt Disney Studios® Park. Disney Characters will be there, and you will have exclusive access to the main attractions and different catering offers’

It should be fun and means that we don’t really have to think about where to eat or book a table or any of that. After the party it’ll be bed and then the 5km race starts at 7am on Saturday followed by breakfast. We’ve never been to Disneyland Paris so we’ll have a wonder around but also take it easy, maybe have some time at the hotel pool, just relax and rest and hydrate – lots of hydrating – for Sunday morning. In the evening we have tickets to Buffalo Bills Wild West Show – the 6.30pm show is exclusively for runners and their families and they are offering a runners’ menu. We have made our food choices but I can’t remember what we ordered – I’ll dig out the email and add it to our travel docs!

Sunday will be another early wake-up call. 7 am start for the 13.1 miles and apparently the hotels are extending breakfast time for runners so we will be able to go eat properly after the run which is great but they will also offer a light breakfast for anyone who wants to eat something before – we’ll be taking porridge pots but maybe a banana would also be good.

We have no further plans really and we have 3 day park hopper tickets so we can use them Saturday, Sunday and Monday and we fly home just before 5pm Monday so we’ll have the morning at least. I’m looking forward to it, all of it, the trip, the running, the escapism…

Anyway – 11 miles await tomorrow and then we taper – or in our case, we try really hard to get our butts out for the short runs!

 

 

Not 9 miles but…

Jess Guth1 Comment

I still haven’t done the 9 miles. I’d rather not do them on my own and Kath’s knee has been niggly  and somehow we’ve been busy. I’m not quite sure how but there’s always been something, probably an excuse, that means we haven’t run at all yet this week. So spurred on by my team mates in the Too Fat to Run Clubhouse I decided to go and get out this morning.

In my head, particularly when curled up on the sofa watching the Olympics, I am of course a running hero and I can get up in the morning, pull on my trainers and knock out a quick nine miles before breakfast. Of course I can. Even though I do quite often think along those rather over ambitious lines I am actually more realistic when it comes to what I can and can’t do. So I thought 5 miles was reasonable. I was going to just see if I could run it all without walking. I have been getting to 45 minutes without walking and covering well over 3 miles doing that and feeling fairly comfortable so I thought well why not. The plan was to  end at the dreaded golf course from sheep loop backwards fame and walk up that and feed the sheep so I don’t have to worry about doing that later.

I should perhaps also mention that this was my first solo run in absolutely ages. I don’t really do running on my own (for a start chances of me going are so slim!). My alarm went off, I had cuddly cats so inevitably it was another 40 minutes or so before I actually got up. I checked Facebook and wondered about wimping out and not going but lots of people were already back from their runs. I got into my gear and set off. I settled into a rhythm quite well I thought. The first part is all down hill so that was quite speedy but then I settled at just about 12 minutes per mile pace. I know this isn’t fast by most people’s standards but this is a pretty good pace for me and the nice thing was I didn’t feel like I was pushing or trying to go fast. I was looking around, watching the swans and their slightly grumpy ‘teenage’ cygnets, wondering why all the ducks were congregating in one area this morning and trying not to trip over ridiculously silly little yappy dogs.

I turned round once I’d done about 2 miles along the canal one way. I still felt pretty good, smiled at a very speedy runner coming the opposite way who gave me a big smile and a thumbs up which was lovely (he was really motoring – a proper runner but one who was still clearly having fun and wasn’t being all serious, lovely). At about 2.6 miles I started being aware of my hip. Nothing major, I just knew it was there and in my experience, when running you shouldn’t really be particularly aware of any one body part. If you are something is probably not quite right. I ignored it for a little bit but then there was a definite niggle. Not pain, just (as my osteopath would say) my hip saying ‘oy you, you’re not looking after me here’. For the next 100 metres or so I debated what to do. I had really wanted to push for the 5 miles. I thought I could do 4 instead maybe but that was still a little over a mile to go and if I was totally honest my hip had gone from politely asking if I may consider stopping to being rather assertive about that request. I was still debating when I got to the next canal bridge and had to stop for a car. As I pulled up to stop it was actually quite painful – just a sharp pain as I put the brakes on – so I walked across the road and then stopped the watch. Sense prevailed although I was really tempted to start running again because I felt fine otherwise.

I stretched a little and then decided to walk the rest of the route – hip was fine when walking (although it protested a little on the uphill sections later on) and the sheep needed to be fed anyway. I walked a more direct route than the one I had planned for the run but added a 2.22 mile walk to my 3.31 mile run so I achieved the mileage I set out to do and I have done some yoga and the hip feels ok now. I feel pretty good about the run and with my ability to deal with it not going quite to plan today – so often that sends me into a negative spiral making me think I can’t do it. Today it just felt like listening to my body and going with what felt right. It’s all good. Happy running!

Sheep Loop Backwards – Boom!

Jess Guth1 Comment

Got the bugger! I ran the sheep loop backwards (that’s the loop backwards not me running backwards). As you can see  if you’d like to look on strava – not pretty, not fast but DONE

https://www.strava.com/activities/665254135/embed/37956d63661b4819b2c9e81dea567cccda3eda5b

The run has been bothering me – I wanted to run it all apart from the golf course because I still don’t understand why I couldn’t do it on Monday. Well there you are – I can do it. It was really hard and by the end my legs were jelly but I feel much better about it now and I have more energy now than I did before I set off!

Happy Friday.

….but look at the bling

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I don’t quite now how this happened. I don’t quite know how to explain this. And I am sorry. Really I am but I seem to have been totally and utterly reeled in by this medal business. Running is not about the medals, of course it’s not, it’s about the exercise, the way it chases away my little head gremlins and kicks that silly black puppy into touch, it’s about being outside, moving, learning new ways that my wibbly wobbly body is awesome, learning to push through when it gets tough, breathing… Oh but it so so so so is about the medals.

For a good few weeks I have pretended not to care at all about what the medals for our next races might be like. I have told people in Facebook groups to chill out and just wait. I have suggested that it might actually be quite nice not to see the medal before we actually get it… And then runDisney released pictures of medals for races I am not doing. Oooh look at the shiny pretty things…Have I gone completely totally and utterly insane? I mean really? Since when is shiny pretty things even a thing. I have never done shiny pretty things. And then this happened: runDisney released the Inaugural Disneyland Paris Half Marathon Weekend medals.

13701187_1501346403224650_1210956798876717662_o
Photo from RunDisney

But just look, just look at this. I mean just look. It’s all pretty and shiny. And  and and , well, just look. Now I’ll run 13.1 miles for that. No, I really will because something in my brain has broken and I see the bling and think it’s pretty and shiny and I want it.

And it doesn’t stop there. Look at this

13754223_1501346443224646_4040941081380203700_n
Photo by RunDisney

Want want want want want. Yes, I have gone mad. It’s also making me want to watch the film again. Just look at the medal. Yep, I’ll run 5km for that. Who wouldn’t?! Oh wait, hang on, this isn’t normal is it. What is wrong with me.

As for this:

13872850_1501346326557991_1684471858733897002_n
Photo by RunDisney

I may have run round in circles making funny squeaky noises when I first saw this. Before telling myself to get a grip of course. I do not understand why I am even in the slightest excited about the medals. I mean, really?!? This is the sort of thing I roll my eyes at. But just look…

And I realise I’m about to hugely overdo it but just look at these:

13690744_1497242523635038_5021837586660634138_n
Photo by RunDisney

These are shiny and pretty too! And I am going for them in November. Until then I think I better go lock myself in a room and hope this obsession with pretty and shiny passes.

 

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.