Tag: run

Uneventful week 1 of 10k plan

Jess Guth1 Comment

I’m still on plan  – I am still slowly making me way through week 1 of the 10k programme. After the Monday run, Tuesday was a core strength session so I did the strength yoga on my yoga app (and fell over several times) and then we also did some other core strength exercises (press-ups, squats, lunges and the dreaded plank which I held for what felt like an eternity until I face planted).

Wednesday was  crappy day. I was more anxious and stressy than I have been in a long time and I actually just wanted to hide on the sofa but in spite of the outrageous wind, Kath made me go for a run. The plan said 6 minute run with 3 minute walk break 3 times. So we did that. It was cold and stupidly windy and at times I felt like I was running on the spot. It was such hard work but I did feel better afterwards.

Thursday was rest day and today was a 30 minute walk. We had thought about re-doing the 6minute/3 minute run but I am a wimp and didn’t want to run because of the snow and possible ice. We walked to feed the sheep instead.

We’ve also done day 2 of the Wanderlust TV 21 day yoga challenge. We’ll try and catch up a little over the weekend as we are supposed to be on day 5. The challenge is brilliant – I’ll get to a proper review at some point but the explanations are great and even though I’ve only done 2 I think my technique is already better.

Core session tomorrow and run on Sunday but we’ll check the weather and pick the better day for the run so may swap them round

Happy Friday.

 

Moomin Butt Moving again

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Right, let’s try this running lark again. I finally feel better so wanted to see if I’m better enough to start the 10k programme. It seems I am. The first run is a 40 minute slow run so we set the watch to 2minute run/1 minute walk intervals and trotted off. We stopped to feed the sheep and once that was done carried on – so it’s a bit of a cheat because I did get a little rest just before mile 1 – if sliding around in the mud covered in hay counts as a rest that is.

Anyway, it was uneventful. It was slow (just under 14 minute per mile pace I think) but I just plodded along happily until the end. 40 minutes didn’t fit with the intervals so we went for 42 minutes. We covered just about 3 miles I think. That’s it really, that’s all there is. No drama, not battle, just a slow uneventful little trot.

I wore my new trail shoes for the first time- they’re New Balance ones. I bought them in the sale together with another road pair (I am dreading having to retire my current road ones – they came through two marathons with me, how can I possibly retire them?!?). I’ll review the new trail ones properly in a bit but so far so good – much better than my others. After the last run I decided I really didn’t want to persevere with the Salomon trail ones because they really do make my feet ache. They’re great for walking in but whenever I run in them my arches start aching really quickly.

Happy to have made a start on the plan, tomorrow is rest or a core gym session. I definitely won’t have time for the gym but am hoping to do a strength yoga class from the Yoga Studio tomorrow evening. Next run Wednesday!

February Runner’s World (UK)

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I don’t know why the issue of Runner’s World that arrives in early January is actually the February issue. It makes no sense but there we are. It is what it is. Anyway, I’ve just finished reading it. Well, reading the bits that I am interested in reading. Here are my thoughts.

It’s been a while since I picked up a Runner’s World but just before Christmas we saw a really good offer so bought a subscription and this was the first issue. I always quite like the science-y bits while I am reading them. I like knowing that, if I wanted to (I never do) I could go and follow up on the articles and snippets and actually find the research they are referring to. I also noticed though that I don’t remember the studies, I forget the info almost as soon as I have turned the page really and maybe that’s because most of this stuff is irrelevant to me. The potential gains in speed or performance these studies deal with don’t really apply to me – they apply to people who, you know, can actually run. There are however always a few things that might be useful. On p21 there are some exercises to help keep your spine mobile. While I always find it quite difficult to follow instructions from the pictures and short descriptions, the general idea that spinal mobility is important to running makes sense to me and I felt a little smug that our yoga routines include a good amount of work on this.

The 106 tips and tricks starting on p43 were a nice quick read and as well as some new info (Kiwis – I will eat more Kiwis) there were also some useful reminders – like trying to run relaxed and enjoy the journey not just the end race goal… usual stuff really. I shed my usual tears at the running heroes and the feature about people who had lost and kept off significant amounts of weight running and rolled my eyes at the price of of some the gear featured, reviewed and advertised but in this issue it was the ‘Your First Mile’ feature that caught my eye.

The programme presumes you can walk a mile or walk for about 20 minutes. Ok I’m good with that – it also has a 4 week programme to help you get there if you’re not at a point where you can walk for 20 minutes. The running bit starts with 30 second jog and 90 second walk – 10 times and by the end of that first week the running is up to 60 seconds and by the end of week 3 you’re at 2 min jog, 1 min walk x 4 plus 3 min jog, 90 sec walk and then another 2 min jog. I know this programme is designed by experts and I’m sure they know what they are doing and maybe I’m just a wimp and a little fragile but… If this programme is really for someone who works up to being able to walk 20 minutes, really for a total beginner then running at whatever pace for 30 seconds, even if it’s slower than walking pace, is a lot. I’m sure many people out there can do this and it looks great to me now (in fact I’m vaguely thinking it might be a nice confidence builder for me but I already have a plan) but I don’t think it would have looked that great to the me that couldn’t run to the postbox at the end of our road. I’d welcome your thoughts, maybe it’s just me.

There’s also some good stuff about the importance of the mind in running (don’t I know it – but how do I learn to break the negative cycle?!?) and some useful stuff about winter running. All in all not a bad issue – of course there’s the usual lack of larger size runners in the pictures other than the ones specifically featured in the weight loss section and somehow I always feel a bit sneaky reading Runner’s World, you know, like it’s not really for me – after all, I’m not really a runner.

Moomin Butt Moving

Jess Guth4 Comments

There, that wasn’t so hard, was it?! 2.5 mile run done this morning. WTF? Wasn’t so hard? Wasn’t so hard?!? Wasn’t so fucking hard? My black puppy is mocking me. It was hideously hard. It was only 2.5 miles and I completed it with run/walk intervals and slowly. Here’s how it went (in my head):

  1. Setting off from home, turn left downhill, feels pretty good. Yep, we can do this, this is fine
  2. First walk break, secretly quite please we’re at the first walk break
  3. Bit more downhill, turn right, have-to-go-up-hill-now-can’t-really-breathe
  4. Walk break, love walk breaks
  5. bit more up the hill – come-on-just-a-bit-more
  6. downhill section, breathe, breathe, breathe
  7. walk, yay, walk
  8. run past the sheep, wave at the sheep but focus, keep focused, shit can’t breathe
  9. when’s the walk break?
  10. Not yet
  11. Surely now? Yes now
  12. Breathe, oh shit I’m going to have to run uphill in a minute, walk fast, can’t, no seriously walk faster or you’ll have to run all the hill, fuck, walk
  13. Hill, don’t like this hill but after this it’s steep downhill. I hate downhill. I might fall, run faster to get to the top so you can walk down.
  14. Come on you Dopey
  15. Nearly at the top, nearly at the top – nearly-at-the-top. Yay walk break
  16. It’s called walk break, not collapse in a heap break – keep moving
  17. Oh ok I have to run down, ok, steady, slowly, yay I’m down
  18. Plod plod plod plod – don’t mind this. Wish I could breathe though
  19. Walk break – come on walk faster to get down the nasty steep bit
  20. Time to start running but I’m going to walk the steep bit
  21. Ok I’m down, flat to home now. You’re Dopey, you can do this
  22. Left turn onto the canal, find a rhythm (fuck off), no really, it will help (oh shut up)
  23. Found a rhythm, picked up the pace, this is hard but ok
  24. I wonder if there are any kingfishers about? Or a heron? I’d like to see a heron
  25. Oh walk break, ok
  26. And another 2 minute run, it’s two minutes, I can do two minutes. Is it over yet? It must be! Hello lungs, please stop burning
  27. Yay walk
  28. Hm, I might be able to run to the end from here. I can see the point at which i’ll be able to see the bridge and if I can see the bridge I can run to it. Maybe
  29. Run. Ok, I feel pretty good. Count, that’ll pass the time…counting to 105… what comes after 105? I’m lost, where was I? start again! ok 91… That’s not starting again, silly, ok but I like 91.
  30. Look the bridge. Look the bridge. Look the bridge. Look the bridge!
  31. Why isn’t the bridge getting closer (because you’re not running fast enough!)
  32. I’m at the bridge. Lungs, legs, everything, please stop screaming at me.

So the puppy may sit an mock but it’s got to do so from outside because this moomin butt is moving and even though it was sort of hideous and most certainly horrible, I loved it

No rainbows, no unicorns but a run or two

Jess Guth7 Comments

I have been struggling with running lately. Maybe I’ve been struggling with running since the London Marathon, or even since Dopey. I’m not sure. I have had very few good runs – you know those where even the hard bits feel like they’re ok and you’ll get through them. Instead every step of every run recently has felt HARD. Even the Disneyland Paris 5k (I will blog about those races when we finally get our race photos!) which I really did enjoy and which was a lot of fun was HARD. I haven’t found that easy running rhythm for months. I’ve got slower, too.

I signed up to the Too Fat to Run Scream if you want to go faster programme – which is just as well because I need something to get me out the door at the moment. I know I have the next half marathon coming up really quite soon but to be honest I don’t want to think about it too much, I’ll freak out. So the Scream thingy – it requires a commitment of 3 runs a week and it required the running of a baseline 5k in the week ending today. Instructions for next week will arrive tomorrow. Hm. At the moment I’d be happy with just ‘going’; ‘going faster’ seems so very unlikely. I’ve told you about the first disastrous run post half marathon in the last post… I actually just wanted to pack it all in but of course I need some perspective – ideally not mine. I had run a half marathon just 2 days before; it was the first week of teaching, I repeat, the first week of teaching – it’s a wonder I was functioning sufficiently to put trainers on and really lots has been going on on planet Jess recently… As several people pointed out, I should really give myself a break. I did – until Friday.

So Friday was run 2 of week 1. It wasn’t straightforward. I was at work. I teach from 9-11 and from 3-5. It would be late by the time I got home and the chances of me finding excuses were through the roof – so we agreed we’d run separately. Me in the gym at work and Kath at home. Me-in-the-gym-at-work. What?! You mean like the sort of gym where other people go? Where gym bunnies live? Hm. I packed my bag and when I got to work thought about this some more. Me, in the gym? I thought I’d go a lunchtime and then realised that this would be a pretty popular time slot. Popular with people. So I took my stuff the the class I teach and then headed straight for the gym after the class. As it was the intro session I’d finished a little early and was in the gym (only 2 others there – yay), changed and ready to go at 10.58. I jumped on a bike for a couple of minutes just to warm up a little and then I found a treadmill that was as far away from anyone else using a treadmill as possible.

After a little bit of faffing with settings etc I found a rhythm. It was too hard going and I was really conscious of sweat pouring off me but I just kept plodding, I had to slow a bit and then a bit more but I never walked. I just kept watching the ‘kids’ outside the university building I could see out of the window. After what seemed like forever I got to 5k and stopped. 40.21. It felt like I’d run much faster but I hadn’t. The gym had also filled up rather alarmingly. I hadn’t noticed. I think if it had been that full when I arrived I would have run away! Anyway, run 2 was a hot and sweaty ploddy affair but I got it done and set a treadmill baseline in the process.

Run 3 week 1 – today. We needed to do a longer run today to keep the half marathon training going but we were also conscious of how tired we’ve been. So we planned to run the roughly 4 miles from our house to my friend’s house to feed her cats, have a little break there and then run back to the bottom of our hill taking us to around 7 miles. I thought I could also use the way there to set an outside running 5k baseline. Well it was another of those HARD runs. The first mile is almost all down hill and we set off quite speedy for us and clocked an 11minute mile. We should have set off slower! Anyway we got ourselves to 5k in what we think was 38.05  – that’s what the Garmin said at the time although the data on strava now shows it was 37.29. So as the aim is to go faster I will take the quicker baseline and work on beating that. We did have a couple of walk breaks. The way back was really tough and we walked a fair bit but still, done.

screenshot-2016-10-02-17-19-10

Walking up the hill to get home was horrible. My lower back kept sort of cramping but everything has settled down now I’ve had a bath and some food. More yoga as we go through the rest of the afternoon and evening and I think it’ll be fine. So here are my Scream if you want to go faster stats (I’ve rounded a bit!):

Outside baseline: 37.29         Outside target: 35 minutes

Treadmill baseline: 40.21     Treadmill target: 38 minutes