Tag: marathon

Default setting ‘Hungry’

Jess Guth2 Comments

Well, since the Leeds 10k it seems my default setting has been ‘hungry’ and ‘not running’. It has also been a really busy week with work and other stuff. So here’s my weekly run re-cap

Monday: rest day (intended, went out for curry)

Tuesday: rest day (shearing sheep, drank lots of coke, had crisps and chocolate)

Wednesday: rest day (Yorkshire show, hot, walked a lot, had brownie and ice cream and who knows what else, went to see friends, drank lots of wine)

Thursday: rest day (graduation  – late-ish home, betteron food I think but there were crisps at graduation)

Friday: rest day (ran out of excuses, had lots of biscuits at work)

Today: 45 minute run – 3.72 miles I think. It was quite a nice positive run. No wobbles along the way, no ‘I can’t do this momements’ just a steady plod past our sheep, through the wood, down the golf course and along the canal. It was nice to be out but motivation for running has been at zero.

This evening I’ve been looking at the World Disney World site to start planning and think about booking a couple of nice restaurants etc which we know get booked up. Looking through everything and seeing the pictures I got a little bit excited and that running motivation I’ve been struggling to find this last week came back. If I am going to go to all these nice food places and if I am going to enjoy the trip I need to be able to run the marathon. Anything else would be disappointing – the only way I am going to achieve that is by getting my butt on the road now! I’m looking forward to heading out for our 5 mile run tomorrow and we’ve gone through our diaries to work out when we can get the weekly training runs in including making up for the one that we missed this week.

We have also got a plan for food next week and went shopping based on that plan so I think we are back on track and a better food plan might help me nudge my default setting to something that doesn’t result in me eating my own body weight in biscuits, crisps and other crap! I am not looking forward to the weigh-in tomorrow but I am back in the game (again).

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

Shhh….I might have enjoyed that

Jess Guth1 Comment

I’m a little confused this evening. It seems I actually enjoyed a run. And I mean actually enjoyed the running part of the run, not the having done a run bit of the run. And not enjoyed the surroundings, the moorhen running alongside us almost, the lambs in the field, it wasn’t about all that. I think I might have enjoyed running. I’m not quite sure what to make of that. 45 minute run from home, including hills and it was sort of fun. I got a silly pain in my side again going downhill. I don’t like going downhill on uneven ground so I think I tense and breathe funny resulting in a stitch quite high up my side. It disappeared almost as soon as we were back on the flat. I liked running, no that’s not quite it, I liked being able to run. I think I enjoyed the being able to do it. Rather than struggling with trying to get to then end, for the first time I was conscious of doing something I couldn’t do not that long ago and that felt really positive.

So 45 minutes – running 2 mins, walking 30 secs, 18 times – Pace 12.15 minutes per mile giving us a distance of 3.67miles

Kath might also have solved the underwear problem for me (see here). She ordered some pants from Under Armour. I have to say I was sceptical, even more so when she told me that they were one size fits all. In my experience one size fits all usually means ‘one size fits all unless we think you’re too large to wear this’ and too large to wear this is then about size 12.  The pants arrived today so I thought I might as well get it over with and try them. I stand corrected.  They were comfy and they stayed comfy even when sweaty. In fact, I don’t think I really felt sweaty. I was, and the pants still needed careful peeling off after the run but they didn’t feel sweaty during or straight after the run. No chance of chafing either and it means I don’t have to get my head round the no underwear thing which was the most popular suggestion following my original post on the issue. I am not ready for no knickers when running, just no.

Heatwave

Jess Guth7 Comments

So how many of you are braving a run in this heat? Well, for England this is hot hot hot – for northern England this is insane. How do those of you who live in hot countries ever do any running? I’m not complaining about the weather, don’t get me wrong, I like hot but I do prefer it when I don’t actually have to do anything much!

Yesterday was the 30th June and that meant the start of our marathon training programme. That means it is 28 weeks to the Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend. Oh my goodness – 28 weeks! Given the heat the sensible thing would have been to give running a miss and perhaps walk instead or to at least postpone the run until later on in the evening when it got a bit cooler (although I don’t remember it getting cooler!). But no, we went at about 5pm. The first run of the programme is a 45 minute run. In fact all the runs during the week are 45 minutes.There is then a distance run at the weekend, 3-5 mile one weekend and a long run the next – the mileage for the long runs builds up by 2 miles every other weekend.

We are continuing to follow the run/walk approach to running  – sort of adapted a bit from Jeff Galloway who has also created the training programmes for runDisney.Our run/walk intervals are still at 2 minutes running and 30 seconds walking but we did talk about increasing the running bit soon. Not in this heat though. So off we toddled in the heat. We probably started at fairly strong pace for us but that didn’t last long, even in the shade it was a struggle. In the sun I just couldn’t breathe. We kept going though and on a few runs started walking up to 15 seconds earlier. We got to the end. The pace was 13.23 minutes per mile so actually not that bad given that it was so hot and we went for 10 minutes longer than we have done on our weekly runs before.

I didn’t hate that run, I quite enjoyed it, I just found it very very very hard. I am excited to have ticked off the first run of the training programme. It feels like we’re in the game now. Next one is tomorrow, the forecast suggests a slightly cooler day. I’d like that!