Tag: training

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!

Birmingham run

Jess Guth2 Comments

I’m in Birmingham for work and currently sitting in the Clayton Hotel restaurant hoping that writing this on my phone will make me look unsociable enough to stop any of the others joining me for breakfast. There should be a very clear rule against joining others for breakfast unless explicitly agreed beforehand.

Anyway, I am feeling quite pleased with myself because I actually got out for a run. I was awake early but couldn’t really be bothered to get up. I felt dehydrated and quite creaky. I dozed for a bit, had some water and decided to at least go for a little walk in what seemed to be glorious morning sunshine. I got my running gear on and set off. I walked up the slope towards the cathedral and after about 5 minutes dropped into run/walk. I carried on to symphony hall and then looped back to say hi to the Floozie in the Jacuzzi before coming back past the still closed shops, Moor Street station and the seemingly ever expanding HS2 building site.

The run was almost exactly 2 miles and felt like a positive loop to start the day with. My right hamstring and calf are tight and might need some tlc but other than that it just felt nice to be out.

I ran….

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…it was pretty horrible. But I ran. So that’s good. It means that I have managed 2 back to back days of actually doing something. I have an extra day off today. The University gives us a number of what they call grace and favour days that follow a bank holiday. Today is one of them. That means that there were really no excuses about time or when a run might fit in or anything else my brain might come up with. I had a couple of things to do this morning, as did Kath and then she had a couple of things to post so we walked to the parcel drop off and then the post office and then did an out and back run/walk along the canal.

Walking down my feet hurt. I was wearing my new(ish) Brooks Cascadias – I am not sure about them really. They feel hard and unforgiving compared to any of my other Brooks. So maybe I am not going to move over to all Brooks. I like the road shoes but maybe they’re not right for me for trail shoes. We’ll see. So after some adjustment of the laces at the post office we set off along the canal. 30 second run/walk intervals. I started reading a run Disney book last night so I was trying to think about the advice in there. One was to slow down. Most beginner runners go too fast. Well I might not be a beginner runner and it feels like if I slow down any more I’ll be going backwards but the author is right, going at a slower pace means it’s marginally less vile. The other bit I read was about thinking like a runner…. Hm. What they mean here is focusing on the positive self talk, the mental tricks we can play, the distractions and the way we use what our body is telling us to adjust or react. So instead of ‘oh I am out of breath, this is so hard, I can’t do it’ you think ‘My breathing is a bit laboured, can I slow down a little to be more comfortable, can I relax anywhere to reduce some tension, oh look I’ve already done one mile’. So a little while into the run I remembered what I had read and tried the self-talk – here’s how that went for me:

‘Hey you, look at you, you’re out running. Well done’

‘Really? We’re doing this are we? We’re trying the self talk. Weirdo’

‘No seriously, well done. You’ve got this. It’s just 45 minutes’

‘Ok, we’re doing this. By the way, your calf hurts’

‘No it’s ok, just a bit tight it’ll ease’

‘Hahaha, you’re funny. Out of breath much?’

‘It’s ok, everything is fine, can I slow down a bit maybe’

‘Yep, we can do slow’

‘Where can I relax? Where am I tense?’

‘EVERYWHERE’

‘Oh come on, that’s not true’

At that point Kath said something and made me jump because I’d sort of forgotten she was there. I never really went back to my inner dialogue (monologue?) but I sort of imagine it as a conversation between Joy from the Pixar Film Inside Out and another emotion (character) – I am not quite sure what she is but I imagine her dressed all in black with stunning black eyeliner and a sort of perpetually bored ‘Whatever’ kind of demeanour. She’s not unkind, sometimes a little too sarcastic and calls it as she sees it. Optimism and enthusiasm aren’t really her thing. If you know Lily from DuoLingo – maybe a bit like her. Anyway, the conversation had got me to a mile or so.

With about 10 minutes to go I started finding it really hard and I was annoyed at that because running for 45 minutes, never mind run/walk for 45 minutes didn’t used to be hard. I tried to remind myself that I’ve just got to take me as I am now and also that 10 minutes in to the run I didn’t think I was going to be able to keep going much longer and yet here I was 25 minutes later still going. I counted down the run segments and it began to feel possible. Kath helped encouraging me along and I thought that actually running in the rain was quite nice. Before I knew it there were only 2 run segments left and it suddenly felt doable. Ah yes, the impossible – this is fun part of impossible. I am trying to take the win. I got out, I ticked off 45 minutes and while it wasn’t exactly fun (it was horrible), there wasn’t really any drama either. I am trying not to think about pace. It feels like I am working really really hard just to be at least 2 minutes a mile slower than my comfortable long run pace used to be and I have to adjust to that new normal. I know that with consistency, a stronger pace will probably come. So it’s about patience – and we all know I have an abundance of patience (ahem).

Anyway, the ‘exercise lifts your mood and gives you energy’ tribe will be pleased. I feel much more positive and I have sprung into action making bread and granola and sorting out some writing stuff. So it seems the way to being Little Dr Positive Pants is to put on running pants and then use them for their intended purpose rather than curl up under a blanket on the sofa.

Meh, meh and meh again

Jess Guth1 Comment

Ah well that glorious few seconds at the end of the last run I wrote about was short lived. I’ve been out once sine then and it was fairly miserable. Although I was excited I’d got out at all. Then I got a little busy with stuff and with excuses so did sweet FA for the rest of the week. Yesterday was supposed to be ‘Dopey proof of time day’ but there was absolutely no way I was dragging my arse round the Manchester Half Marathon and Kath is still coming back from injury. So no proof of time for us so we will be starting our Dopey races at the back – hopefully not dead last though. It’s a bit meh to have not started yet another race. But we went to Manchester anyway and had a lovely Saturday, wandering round the city, watching the world go by, drinking mocktails and generally just being. It was lovely. Somehow though on Sunday I was exhausted. I slept for a chunk of the afternoon when we got back and I went to bed really early and slept for about 11 hours. I feel marginally better today. I am not really up for doing hard things though. Every excuse busting trick in the book isn’t really working. I am happy on the sofa and not at all interested in moving off it. Possibly a bit of depression, maybe just end-of-term fatigue. Who knows but it’s meh.

I need to something else. I am going to see if posting my plan for the week here helps me actually do it – I am not promising. You might just get a week of excuses but here goes:

Today I was going to run. I haven’t. I have done an upper body strength session and 5km on the bike (was meant to be 10k but my legs died – meh). I will do my Daily stretches and the foot injury prevention session 1 before bed

Tuesday: I am off work so no excuses! 45 minute run and I would like to re-start the Dynamic Runner strength programme. Daily stretches and Foot session.

Wednesday: Re-try the 10k bike, Daily stretches and foot session and the 2nd strength session

Thursday: Rest (I am away for work) so just daily stretches and foot session. If I want to do something because I am bored in the hotel, there’s a beginner barre that doesn’t need equipment or much room

Friday: Still away so a morning run from hotel – 45 minutes ish. Daily stretches and the last foot session

Saturday: 5 mile run, Strength Session 3 and Daily Stretches

Sunday: Bike, Daily stretches and Session 1 of another injury prevention programme – maybe the ankle strength one (7 days)

The Daily Stretches are always around 15-18 minutes and the foot programme is no more than 10 minutes each time. The strength sessions are 20-30minutes. And yes I know it is not the ideal plan with the strength sessions back to back etc but it’s where they fit in around being away. I’ll keep you posted!