Tag: Bolton Abbey

11 miles tomorrow

Jess Guth4 Comments

Another morning run. I was indifferent about running this morning. We decided to go the other way along the canal today. My leg is much the same – a bit sore but not getting worse. So off we went slowly down the hill. I found this one harder than the last two. It wasn’t comfortable at any point. I didn’t enjoy it, it was one of those that just needed doing and I don’t remember there being anything to see which must be nonesense, there’s always something to see along the canal. I just wanted to get to the end, get home and have a shower. It’s not that I was miserable or that it ever occured to me to not finish or anything, it just wasn’t fun. I think it was about 3.7 miles in 45 minutes.

Anyway, I want to write about tomorrow. Tomorrow we are having another go at the 11 mile run that caused my meltdown last weekend. I am, to say the least, a little apprehensive. I don’t really know what went wrong which means I don’t feel like I can stop it from happening again (over-thinking much?!?). I do sort of feel quietly confident though. Preparation for tomorrow is good. I have been drinking water all day and am pretty hydrated, I have eaten the right sort of stuff with fajitas at lunch and a bowl of pasta this evening and I haven’t really done anything this afternoon – just resting, watching crap on tv, chatting and enjoying being at home.

So, physically I know I can do 11 miles and I do think mentally I am learning to be a bit tougher. I have the sayings up all around the house so I see them all the time and they are lodging in my brain. I have tried my little mantra and it got me through the tough patches today. It’s ready for the next test. I also tried counting backwards from 100 and discovered that I am not very good at it. I particularly struggle in the 60s so my aim is to do a backwards countdown without making a mistake – that should keep my mind off running for quite a while!

The route should be stunning – all along the Wharfe so I could also count ducks. I will certainly be looking out for herons and wildlife generally and it would be really fab to see something unusual or something I don’t see on our usual runs round here. I also have another little trick to try and keep me going. It’s silly, totally silly but it should help for this run as well as for some future ones. The plan formed after the aborted last attempt. I went to the shop at Bolton Abbey and bought two postcards, one with a picture of the Abbey ruins and another with pictures fron Burnsall. We will turn round at Burnsall and I have written the postcard showing Burnsall. I am going to post it in the village as we go through. It says: ‘You know you can do this because you are doing it’ and is addressed to me from me. The second card I will write once we are back at the Cavendish Pavillion at the Bolton Abbey estate enjoying a bacon sarnie- again from me to me. What I write will depend on how I feel then but the idea is to have something other than the voices in my head. I will actually have postcards from me to me telling me that I can do this. So obviously I have finally lost the plot!

Running through the Wall and Running Q & A

Jess Guth5 Comments

After the two disasters I was dreading running yesterday but I was also sort of excited about it. I had decided I was going to complete a run and be positive about it. I wanted to be back on track. We drove to Bolton Abbey to do the loop I described previously. It was raining which meant there weren’t many people around. We set off and I wasn’t doing too bad except on the downhill bits which scared me. In fact I think I screamed on one of them. It was fine really but I’m a wimp. I started to really struggle coming up to the aqueduct. We walked up the steps, ran across the bridge and then walked down the other side. The next bit is a bit of a slope and looking at it it just seemed impossible but it wasn’t. I felt physically just as I had on Monday when I stopped but this time I was mentally stronger and also ready for it. The next running interval was hell and then it got easier again. I managed the rest with just one additional walk up the steeped hill and then even took the last two walk breaks out. Not only did I do it, I did it faster than last time. A pace of 13.10 which considering hills I am quite happy with. So much more positive even if my legs are a bit sore today.

The lovely people at BritsRunDisney tagged me in a running Q&A so while I am thinking about running, I have answered the questions below.

Would you rather run along a beach path or a mountain trail?

Tricky. I like the idea of a nice flat beach path but I can also see the attraction of the views from a mountain trail! Both are so much better than running along a road or on a treadmill

If you could choose the flavour of Gatorade at your next race’s aid stations, what would it be?

Do we have Gatorade in the UK? I don’t like any sports drinks particularly. I hate the artificial flavour. I’ll stick to water

If you are given a $100 git card for a running store, what would you purchase with it?

I need to start thinking about the winter and I need a waterproof running jacked and some full length pants

Do you prefer to use a training plan or wake up and then decide how far or fast you want to run?

I need a plan. If left to getting up and deciding the answer will be ‘not far very slowly’. A plan motivates me because I wnt to tick off the runs one by one

Would you rather start your run with the uphill and end with the downhill or start your run with the downhill and end with the uphill?

Can I cheat on this? I’d like the hills somewhere in the first half of the run. Not right at the beginning but definitly not at the end either.

When you can’t run, what kind of cross-training do you choose to do?

Yoga is working well for me at the moment and I do like walking. I’m not a gym bunny, I get bored

What is your preference –> out and back, point to point, or loop runs?

All have their good points and it depends on distance and mood. Out and back is good for mid distance where the turning round gives me a little boost. Loops are nice but only if you just do one loop – I’d get bored having to do two or more laps of the same loop. I will try the first point to point of our training on Saturday when we need to do 9 miles. We are going to get the train out to Skipton and then run home. I like the idea of running home

If you could recommend ANY running related item to a new runner it would be?

Hm. Don’t know. A training plan and a pack of smiley stickers to mark your achievement

Do you see any wild animals while out on your runs?

Herons, ducks, swans, rabbits, deer, kestrel, lots of little birds like finches, swallows, long tailed tits…

Ever gotten lost while out on a run?

Not yet, not gone far enough yet really and it is difficult to get lost along the canal!

If you could have one meal waiting and ready for you each time you got home from a run for the next 30 days… what would it be?

A big South American brunch (quinoa and black eyed beans, fried egg, avocado and a tomatoe/ arping onion vinegarette)

Capris or short? What do you run in most?

I don’t run in shorts – shorts don’t stop my thighs from wobbling

At what mile (or how many minutes) into your run does your body start to feel like it is warming up and ready to go?

Usually after the 2nd running interval so at about 6 minutes at the minute but sometimes it takes longer and sometimes it’s only towards the end that I feel like I’m just settling into it.

What do you do with your key when you run?

I give it to Kath, she usually has pockets

If you could re-live any race that you have done in the past, which one?

I don’t want to re-live any of the races of my previous running life. They were all pretty awful. The half marathon I did was quite spectacular but it was emotional, I wasn’t prepared and it was very slow.. Hm. I have only done one race in this running life – the Leeds 10km and it wasn’t bad. I am looking forward to the Scarborough 10km on October.

What type of run is your least favourite?

Short and fast. I don’t like fast. I also panic about not being fast enough. I’m more comfortable with the idea of just plodding away and slowly ticking off the miles. I find trying to do, say 3 miles, at a fast (for me) pace quite stressful.

When you go for a run, do you leave from your front door or drive somewhere to start?

Both. Tend to start from home for the weekly maintenance runs and mix things up at the weekend

When running in daylight, are sunglasses a must or an annoyance?

I only wear them when it is really bright. I wear a cap since I’ve had my hair cut and can’t tie it back anymore and that keeps the sun off enough. The couple of times I’ve worn sunglasses they steamed up and I couldn’t see at all

When you get tired, what keeps you from quitting?

Usually Kath keeps me going but also trying to focus on why I started this in the first place and remembering how far I’ve come.

If anyone fancies the Q&A just go for it. I’m not going to tag people, it’s all just a bit of fun.

3.2 ish miles at Bolton Abbey Estate

Jess Guth5 Comments

We were going to head out to the coast today and drive to RSPB Bempton Cliffs to see if the puffins had all already gone or if we could spot one or two before they do. However, we’ve had Kath’s mum staying with us because she hurt her back and couldn’t anything much, least of all stairs (we have a downstairs bathroom making life much easier for her). She went back home yesterday. My Dad arrives for a 2 week visit tomorrow. The house is a tip and we are exhausted. We decided therefore that we would have a potter sort of day at home, get the house organised and just spend some time together, too. The spending time together bit came in the form of a run at Bolton Abbey. If you are every around this part of the world, it really is worth a visit. We set off from the Cavendish Pavillion, through the Strid Wood, past the Bodger’s Camp towards the Strid. I didn’t really notice whether the Strid was in full flow looking spectacular as it often can or whether it was more of a trickle – I was too concerned about the upcoming hill. If I can run the Bolton Abbey Estate hills I can run at Disney World. RunDisney has no hills! Once I’d puffed my way up the hill, we kept going north following the path’s ups and downs – mostly slopes rather than hills at this point. My next concern was the Bridge – the Aquaeduct. I’m rubbish at running up steps. We walked. Once on the bridge I took a deep breath in, remembered to take a look at the stunning views and set off again.

I knew that on this side of the river (the Wharfe in you were wondering) the hills were a little more taxing than they had been – just slopes to start off with though. My legs were burning though, as were my lungs and that voice inside my head was screaming at me letting me know in no uncertain terms that I must be totally deluded to think I could get my fat butt round something like this. I had no idea how far we’d come and was absolutely sure that there was still far too much left to run.I absolutely, totally couldn’t do it. Just couldn’t. Except I did. The hills felt brutal but there was always a view, always something to focus on, always something to run to and always a sort of excitement at having made it round the next bend, up the next slope or safely down the next hill. I didn’t quite make the steepest of the hills. We added in an extra 30 second walk. Then, actually quite suddenly, there were only 4 more running intervals left. 4 more was possible, only just but possible. Then 3. Then 2. Ok I can do two, in fact I can do two without taking a walk break. I can do two at a pretty decent pace. Yes. Maybe. No? YES.

It was one of the hardest runs I’ve done and also one of the most stunning. I’ve forgotten the exact miles – It was 3.2 something at a pace of 13.47 minutes per mile. It was hot, it was hilly, it was – in some places- bloody awful but it was always stunning, I was always going to finish and it was fun having done it.

Happy.