Tag: run

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.

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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

An expensive little run

Jess GuthLeave a comment

Today has been a funny day. We were both in funny moods and didn’t quite know what to do with ourselves. We lounged around in our PJs watching the replay of yesterday’s olympic action. As they were counting down to Mo Farrah’s 5km race we said we really should go and do something. We were supposed to do half mile repeats today according to the training plan- oh and we all know how I love those. Unfortunately for me (or fortunately maybe) Kath asked how far Saltaire is from here – maybe because I had suggested going for lunch a while earlier just to get out of the house. It’s not quite six miles from home and we figured we could do the half mile repeats going in that direction, have a little look around Salts Mills and then get some food.

So that’s what we did. I wore my new crop Nike running tights I reviewed yesterday and my new Salomon trainers I reviewed the other day. Hm. Ok the pants are fine – they stayed up which is always a bonus and they were comfy. However, there is a seam that runs round the inside which sits just under the draw string and that has chafed a little. I have had a bath and sat for a while but it is still red now – not sore though. I felt it most as we were walking home towards the end. The shoes are a different story. My feet were not happy, not happy at all. As I started running they felt uneven  and achey almost immediately so when we stopped I loosened the left one a little. The next interval was’t better – feet were really quite sore. After the third my feet were in agony, I think I cried a little. After the 4th I loosened both as much as I could but it didn’t really help. The shoes felt stiff rather than supportive and every step was painful.

Somehow I got to 6 and then 7 and then I thought I might as well finish. The last one actually wasn’t so bad – maybe because it was the last one or maybe because my feet were finally getting used to the trainers. There was no way I could push the pace though – it took all my focus to just keep running.

The distance was perfect for running 8 x half a mile with 3 minutes between each. We finished the last walk just a few steps away from the entrance to Salts Mill. We had a little look around and bought a few books and cards and then headed over to Don’t Tell Titus for some food and more importantly water. We sat and enjoyed their punjabi nachos, pita bread and hummus and some halloumi. Then we set off to walk back home but got drawn into a lovely little art gallery/shop and bought some more cards, earmarked some gorgeous prints for future purchases and then Kath bought me these gorgeous little earrings. I so rarely see any I like and I was drawn to these (they’re hard to photograph!).

So anyway, we spent a small fortune in Saltaire – I blame whoever designed running pants with credit card sized pockets for that one! It was too nice a day to bugger about with trains and/or buses running to a Sunday timetable so we decided to walk back home. It was a lovely walk along the canal. We saw mostly ducks and a swan or two but also a heron, a few wrens and other small birds and one very happy spaniel-type dog playing in the canal. There were other dogs too but this one stood out because it was so excited and happy to be playing in the water. We can learn a thing or two from that!

We went straight to our sheep rather than going home first because we thought we wouldn’t get going again if we stopped.We needed to move the girls to their bigger field as they have eaten the one they’re in now right down so we thought we might as well do that now. Luckily they were all in a good mood and were happy to follow me and the food bucket. Well when I say follow, once they realised where they were going they shot past me and I had to jog on behind! So in addition to our 5.2 mile run (well 4 miles of that were running), we also walked about 7 – probably a bit more- miles. My feet were fine once we’d had a little rest and on the walk home they felt very well supported and not at all achey. I’ll try the shoes running again but if my feet are painful again then they’ll be relegated to walking shoes and I’ll try and get a pair just like the previous ones which needed no real breaking in and were comfortable from the first run.

Right I’m off to do some yoga and get an early night. Happy running.

 

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!

Hmph

Jess GuthLeave a comment

I’ve had several titles for this blog post going through my head for most of today. Amongst them ‘9 Mile Meltdown’, ‘No 9 miles’, ‘Can’t do 9 miles’… As you may guess, today didn’t go well. Of course it didn’t. I have been doing far too well generally, feeling pretty good about running, looking after myself, sleeping better and eating yummy healthy stuff for most of the time. So just to avoid any sort of complacency  and to remind me that I have some way to go to regain my mental health fully, my mind decided it wasn’t going to play nice today.

I woke up fine, Kath even brought me porridge in bed and then I got sorted. I felt more nervous about the distance than I expected and my tummy was a little unsettled but we were going and that was fine. We left the car at my Mum’s because she lives at the bottom of the hill and we thought at the end of 9 miles we might not want to have to drag ourselves up the hill. Then we were going to catch the bus to the station and the train to Skipton and then run back. Well the bus didn’t come when it was due and the live departure board suggested it was still 12 minutes out. We waited a bit longer and there was no sign of the bus which meant that we would now miss the train and would soon be in danger of missing the next one too. So we gave up on the Skipton idea and decided to just run along the canal towards Bingley and then back. I felt relatively settled and ok with that idea.

With that we set the watch to 3 minute running and 1 minute walking and set off. We’d run less than a minute when I burst into tears. Not really sure why but I was just overwhelmed with the feeling of not being able to do it. Not just a few little doubts and tears, you understand, oh no, full blown sobbing, snotty, blotchy face kind of a mess. We gave up, went to the co-op for cheesy rolls and bacon, went home, made sarnies and coffee and sulked. Well I sulked.

Actually the rest of the day hasn’t been too bad. We got our shopping done and have deep cleaned a lot of the house in a, probably futile, attempt to get our cats’ fleas under control. I’ve spent a lot of time dusting, vacuuming, and combing cats with a flea comb and drowning fleas in a glass of water. Doesn’t sound like much – BUT  I have spent maybe 10% of my day on the sofa and when I have been on the sofa, like now, I’ve spent it watching the dressage phase of the Olympic 3 day eventing. This is good. This is progress. So although my mind had a bit of a hissy fit this morning, I don’t feel too bad now. The 9 miles will still be there another day. We may try tomorrow but Kath has a sore knee, so we may not. We’ll see. I’m a little grumpy about the run and I think the title of this post sums it up nicely. Hmph!

 

Reflections and 9 mile musings

Jess Guth5 Comments

Well I have now had a bit of time to reflect on my earlier run and also to think about the next one on the training plan – 9 miles. So, reflections first.

I am still very happy that I managed to do the backwards sheep loop as planned. I think I just needed to get that one out of the way. At just over 5k it really shouldn’t be a big deal but it was. I set off a little slower this time and then got slower but I didn’t walk. The first mile down the hill and along the canal was quite comfortable really. I again started struggling a little just before we crossed the canal bridge and up the hill to the golf course car park. Then I walked up the hill, quietly and determinedly. I hardly felt like I had my breath back when we set of again but then I had to concentrate on where I was putting my feet as I made my way down the path trying to follow Kath who seemed so much more sure footed than me.

The hardest bit was coming up the road after leaving the track past our sheep field and I really wasn’t sure I’d make it to the top and the downhill. Kath was encouraging all the way and I don’t think I would have made it up the slope without her constant talking. I got my breath back a little going downhill and then I took a deep breath and started up Ilkley Road. One foot in front of the other. At just over half way up Kath asked if I wanted to walk and my legs screamed’YES’ but I kept going and I got there and then I sat on the back steps for about 10 minutes before my legs could be trusted to carry my weight again. For my efforts I have awarded myself the Red Shorts medal from the Virtual Shorts series.

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Next is our 9 miler. We are planning on doing it tomorrow. We’re going to get the train out to Skipton and run back along the canal. I am looking forward to it. 9 miles is a bloody long way but it doesn’t seem too scary. I shall just plod my way along using run/walk intervals and see how we go. I’m hoping we might see a heron or two and general canal life. The last time I did a 9 mile run was last August and that seemed a positive run. I wrote about it here and reflected on the run in the posts which followed that one. Well, let’s see how we go. Anything under 2 hours would be fab.