Tag: running

Building Consistency

Jess GuthLeave a comment

I did not want to run today. I turned the alarm off at 6am, turned over and dozed for a bit. I felt creaky and didn’t really want to get up. I did still get up before 7am but it was a ‘sip coffee on the patio’ sort of morning. I had vague ideas about running at lunch time after some work calls in the morning but then I got busy and hungry. No excuses this evening. I just didn’t want to. I got as far as wandering into the bathroom to put a bath on before pausing. I want to get round the Great North Run and I want to do Dopey without being completely miserable. The time to put in the work for that is now. Not tomorrow, not next week or month, now. So I got changed. Still didn’t want to go. I didn’t want to go any of the routes from home, I definitely didn’t want to drive anywhere to run. I didn’t want to leave the house and be out for 45 minutes, I didn’t want to get sweaty. I just didn’t want to.

Kath was on the bike so I couldn’t make an excuse and cycle instead. Although the Dopey plan has two 45 minute runs during the week, I decided to sod it and just go a short loop and at least just get out (still didn’t want to). I pulled my shoes on and went outside. At least it wasn’t as hot as it has been. As I set off I suddenly wondered if I could run a mile without walking. I almost never run continuously and have mostly been running 30 seconds run and 30 second walk intervals. I upped the running interval on my 45 minute run on Wednesday but I can’t remember when I last ran continuously for several minutes, never mind a mile. Well, I thought, I could just try and run a mile and then come home. That seemed like a good thing to do. Given my mind was playing tricks and being annoying, giving it something to actually battle would be good training for one things actually get physically hard. So off I went. I ran a mile. There wasn’t really a mental battle. I just ran. A lot of it is downhill. It was all fine. Then there is a slight slope. It’s not much but really but it’s noticeable when you are running and I have struggled with it. It was hard and I was huffing and puffing and briefly thought about sneaking in a walk break but then it was over and I was back on the flat and then downhill. So now we know I can run a mile.

I walked back trying to keep a reasonable pace walking but not marching flat out. I was out a total of 30 minutes – just over 12 of them running. I am happy with that. In fact, I am happy with the week. I did nothing much on Monday. It was mum’s birthday and we went out for food in the evening. Tuesday I re-did my FTP test on the bike. Now that I found ridiculously hard. I am not a cyclist. I can’t get myself into the same mental place on a bike as I can running – I can’t do hard on the bike. I give up much more quickly mentally. Maybe it’s just what I am used to and it will come. I do think the new FTP is a better reflection of reality and the workout I did yesterday suggests the level is now more accurate. So I have done 2 runs and 2 rides this week so far. I have also now done 11 consecutive days of daily stretches with today’s still to come. I am not overly tired and nothing hurts. In fact I probably have slightly more energy and am sleeping better. Exercise, whether run or bike, is also becoming more just what I do rather than something that I have to force myself to do every single time. I know I didn’t want to go today – but I did. Just a couple of weeks ago I would have run that bath and then watched Olympics in bed.

Consistency is everything in running (and it seems in cycling too) so I am very happy with this week. I am having another go at a long run tomorrow and will see how I got with the 45 second running intervals over the longer distance (they were fine on the shorter run on Wednesday).

Happy running!

A decent 2 weeks

Jess GuthLeave a comment

Since returning from Ambleside a couple of weeks ago, I am finally making progress. I have done the first 2 weeks, that’s 4 rides, of the very basic training programme in Zwift. I have actually enjoyed it but it’s clear that doing the ramp test while still recovering from COVID was a mistake. I need to re-do it as it’s making the sessions that rely on that measure too easy.

I restarted yoga but really only managed the morning floor flow on and off. I have done 6 days of daily stretches from the Dynamic Runner app though and I do really like those. Just around 16-17 minutes a day and targeting all the areas that get tight with running.

Ah yes running – that’s why I’m doing all this, so I can run. It’s only 6 weeks to the Great North Run and we know I’d barely been out before I was poorly. I’d had a go at the first couple of short runs for Dopey week 1, then nothing for what would have been week 2. Week 3 it was Thursday before I made it out and it was a tough one. I felt like giving up after a mile but slogged it out another 1.66 miles to meet Kath at the hairdressers for a lift back up the hill. It was hot though. My pink laces seemed ridiculously bright in the unusually hot West Yorkshire sun.

This week is week 4. Monday I spent all day putting off going out and in the end I just walked. It was such a mental battle to get out though that even that felt like a huge win. Thursday I got out for a 3 mile no drama plod but I was getting worried about distance. It really felt like 3 miles was about as far as my body was prepared to go.

So today was a bit of a test. I needed to do a long run that was actually longer than 3 miles. We have a loop we call the farm loop which is roughly 7. It needs modifying a little at the moment because we have one canal bridge out so can’t loop home across it. I had absolutely no clue how this would go.

Well, it went surprisingly well. Let’s park any discussion about pace. I’m coming to terms with the idea that I just am a couple of minutes a mile slower than I used to be. So I set off using 30/30 run/walk intervals. I tried to go deliberately slow. Absolutely zero effort spent on pace. I really wanted to get past 2 miles without finding it hard. That worked. The 2 mile beep actually made me jump. All was good. Mile 3 was also fine. Just plodding along. I passed a few runners with race numbers on – I presume doing the It’s Grim Up North Sir Titus Trot. Mile 4 was a bit annoying as I dropped off the canal, through the farm that gives the loop its name and along narrow roads where I kept having to stand in to let cars pass. Still, running wise no drama.

Just into mile 5 I added an additional walk interval as I went up the slope back to the canal. I came out behind a couple of runners I’d seen in the distance earlier and they were walking with a few runs thrown in. I was walking slower than them but running faster than they were walking so over the next mile I slowly caught them up. I went past and then they immediately passed me again as they set off on a run. Their running was faster than mine and I stayed a fairly constant distance behind them for the rest of my run. they surged ahead when running, I caught up when they weren’t.

Mile 5 was fine. Mile 6 was fine but I was grateful for the distraction of two herons one of which led me to add a second additional walk interval so I could have a little chat with it. As I approached the final mile I began to try and work out where I would finish and really hoped it would not be too far beyond one of the canal bridges that we call the post office bridge. Running past that seemed like it would be tough because that was the obvious point at which to stop and walk home.

7 miles took me almost exactly to that bridge. 7 miles. No drama. Slow but within Disney pace. On reflection I probably could have done with some fuel for the last couple of miles (I only took water) but otherwise it was a good solid run.

The. I walked home very slowly up the hill. I stopped frequently to sip my water and stretch out the various bits of my body that were now cross with me. After food and a bath I’ve been doing very little- mostly watching random sport at the Olympic Games. I’ve stretched and nothing hurts. Happy.

Ambleside Not Running

Jess Guth1 Comment

What do you do in the Lake District when one of you has a broken toe and the other is recovering from Covid? We had booked the Ambleside Salutation Hotel and Spa for a Lakeland Trails running weekend. Given how running has been going we had already dropped distances to 23k and 14k respectively and then Kath broke her toe on the Fell Pony Adventures a couple of weeks ago and last week I got Covid. It feels like I was basically asleep from last Sunday to Thursday. Anyway, running was out of the question for either of us but the hotel was booked.

I associate Ambleside with walking, being outside all day, moving… so it seemed odd to be there without really doing anything. We went to the cinema and had a lovely meal on Friday. On Saturday we drove up to Hill Top, Beatrix Potter’s house because we’d never been and with out National Trust Membership got in free (wouldn’t want to have paid 16 pounds each for that experience!). The house is interesting for a fairly quick walk through but very quickly got too busy to really look at anything. The garden was nice to have a look at and then we sat and had a coffee on a bench by a fruit tree. The National Trust attracts a certain type of volunteer I think and we spent some time giggling about the fact that although they were clearly ready they did not open the ticket hut until bang on 10am, that the volunteer at the gate gave you the welcome speech whether you wanted it or not and also summoned you back to her spot by the gate to do it if somehow you did manage to get past her initially.

We also had lots of giggles about the token that you have to collect from the ticket hut at the car park (they don’t tell you this so I left Kath at the house a couple of minutes up the road to go back down to get our tickets scanned). You then carry the toke that they didn’t tell you you needed, past the insistent welcome woman up to the house where you give it to the next volunteer – there seems no reason for the tokens. It kept us amused for a little while anyway.

We slept a lot, we watched tennis while reading, we lounged around in our room which was huge due to a lovely upgrade. We also had a sauna in the room which was nice but didn’t get all that hot and a huge jacuzzi bath. I actually think all the rooms are probably really nice but somehow the upgrade felt like the universe just nudging us to look after ourselves, to take advantage of the huge bed, the bathroom the size of an average London hotel room and the really good coffee. The staff were lovely when I randomly asked for ice so Kath could ice her toe and ankle and overall we felt well looked after.

We had more lovely food, had a look in the shops and bought some cards and notebooks and some new walking shoes, then more food, more sleep… This morning we finished our weekend with a hot stone massage. So if you’re in Ambleside and can’t run, it seems you eat and sleep lots and intersperse that with a few shops. It’s what we needed but it was also frustrating to see the runners of the various distances set off on their races, smiling and full of energy at that point. It was also upsetting because of our interaction with Lakeland Trails this time. I’ll see if it is resolved before writing any more about it. It was particularly frustrating because before I got ill, and after the Fell Pony trek, I had put together a really positive week of running and stretching and it felt like things were slowly beginning to come together.

On Friday I walked just under 10000 steps, so really not much and I was sooo tired, Saturday was a little better and today I feel better again. So much so that I made myself go on our new fancy bike (more on that soon) and do the FTP ramp test in Zwift. I have no real idea of how it works but let’s think of it as a fitness sort of test and I thought I might as well set a benchmark. It was ridiculous and I know from previous cycles that I can normally do better – or at least I think so because the previous set-up was far from accurate. Anyway, I know nothing about cycling or Zwift really so I’ll come back to all that.

All I can do at this point is dust myself off and start again and keep trying. That’s all any of us can do.

Solstice Saunter 2024

Jess GuthLeave a comment

Good Morning from the muppet who didn’t really stretch after completing the 5 mile Solstice Saunter yesterday. I’m not too stiff or achey but I didn’t sleep all that well because my body seemed to be working its way along each niggle to try and work out what to do with it – so it felt like I was mostly awake with something or other hurting a bit.

I like the Solstice Saunter. It’s held at Bolton Abbey annually on the day of the Summer Solstice. It’s a 5 mile undulating course which is very familiar because most of it is on our usual Bolton Abbey loop. As an added bonus the medals are always stunning. I was looking for to it. At the back of my mind was that little bit of doubt given that I didn’t exactly find parkrun a breeze and 5 miles on a hilly course is a different thing altogether from 3 miles on mostly flat. But I always wanted to go and do this.

So we set off, probably a bit too early really and got there about an hour before race start. We picked up our numbers, went to the loos, sat by the river for a bit and eventually wandered down to the start. At the start Kath and I split and Kath went further forward (I don’t think she quite went to the ‘nearly quick’ section, the name of which made me laugh). I stayed at the back with the slow jog/fast walk crowd.

We set off in waves and as we did I smiled and noted how the first jog felt nice and easy, good slow place, nothing silly or exciting as so often can happen at the start of a race. I immediately dropped into 30 second run/ 30 second walk intervals. I was around a couple of people running with dogs and neither had particularly good control of the dogs so it was slightly annoying. I thought about dropping back and keeping them in front of me but after a couple of run intervals I had left them firmly behind me and forgot about them. Then for about half a mile I kept going past and then being overtaken by a woman who was running constantly. I would go past on my run and then she would come past on my walk. Eventually though she moved ahead and I was quite happy to let her go. I was a mile in and it wasn’t easy.

Mile 2 has a lot of up in it and I didn’t even try running that. I was already feeling it and I wanted to enjoy it and stay positive so for mile 2 I walked up the hills and ran/walked down. It was a slow mile but quite a nice one. After that mile I was in a sort of bubble. I could just about see the person in front of me and I could just about see a couple of people behind me but basically I was on my own. It was perfect. I ran/walked fairly randomly for the rest of the loop really. I topped briefly at the water station for a conversation about the universe expanding – yep more random.

As I got close to the aqueduct there was a photographer and as I approached I said ‘You’re going to make me run aren’t you’? He insisted he wouldn’t but I did anyway and kept going for a bit once I had passed him. Then there’s another uphill so I marched up that. That was a fairly consistent pattern, power march up, jog down. The route here is up and down and not in a straight line so mostly I couldn’t see anyone. Bliss!

I got to the bottom of nemesis hill and could suddenly see a few people who were closer than I had thought they would be from when I had seen them earlier. I tiny little competitive streak appeared from somewhere deep down. I marched up nemesis hill as I have done so many times and when I got to the top I had gained on the people in front quite significantly even though they were on the downhill. Game on! I jogged down and was now pretty close. I also still had just over half a mile to go though, so let’s not peak too soon. I stayed behind them as they jogged and I ran/walked. With every run I was getting closer and I wasn’t dropping back in my walks. With about a quarter of a mile to go I passed them. At about the same time my left calf starting getting a little crampy on the run segments so I slowed off a little but kept the interval. Then I popped up over the last hill, saw Kath and broke into a job that somehow I kept going to the finish. The field finish was tricky terrain on tired legs and it felt like I just sort of threw myself over the finish line. Yay done.

It was hard. I walked lots and lots. It was slow. But it was a great event and a lovely evening. And just look at the medal!

parkrun for Pride

Jess GuthLeave a comment

After I wrote out my plan I had a pretty good week and while I did not stick to the plan, I did something equivalent and event enjoyed some of it! Then I had an off week, then we went to Coniston to head out on the Lakeland Trails 10k. We didn’t start as neither of us felt right and we ended up sleeping lots and not really doing very much at all. We have both been really tired and not particularly up for doing hard things. So apart from a bit of stretching and yoga I didn’t really ever get going.

This morning though we went to parkrun. Kath ran there and I drove across to Saltaire. I can’t really say I enjoyed the running because it just felt stupidly impossible and I was really conscious of people around me. I had a bit of a wobble around 2 miles but, as it always does, putting one foot in front of the other got me to the finish.

It was the Roberts Park Pride parkrun so I popped my Pride T-shirt on over my running top – not the best idea I’ve ever had as it was too warm really but marking Pride month seemed important and given that I find Pride events generally too people-y this worked for me. Thanks to Roberts Parkrun volunteers for the photos!