I did it!

I've not posted much lately, I was a bit worried that having signed up for another half, that if I got injured and had to pull out I would look like a wuss and I couldn't be having that. It has also been a crazy few months for me, as I've graduated from university, and got a fab new job in Devon. However, all summer I have been keeping up with the training, mostly along the coastal paths around Woolacombe and the Tarka trail in preparation for today's Cardiff Marathon.

Well, I finished it. And here's proof:

It was almost perfect conditions, perhaps a little too warm but otherwise a lovely day. We nearly missed the start having not anticipated all the road closures, and having to leave our bags with mum to hand in. They had also closed the portaloos at the start with 20 minutes to go, which meant a rather undignified squat behind a wheelie bin; made worse by another similarly positioned girl, pointing out the CCTV camera behind us - apologies to whoever has a recording of my naked arse.

For some crazy reason the race organisers had not put me in the slowest pen at the start, so I went off a little bit too fast to begin with, but other than that I stuck to my race plan, which was to keep as close to 11mm as I could, picking up a bit an the end if I had the energy.

Some mild irritations from around the course - the spitting and nose clearing still makes want to heave, the gel sachets being discarded so that there is gel all over the road making everyone's trainer squeak, and people with headphones oblivious to the other 18,999 people on the course. Grrrrr.

I can't really complain though, as it actually wasn't as much of a struggle as I had anticipated, and I could probably have gone a little bit faster. And other than the horrendous hill at 12 miles (which is actually more like a slope when doing 3 miles!) I didn't have to walk any of it. I'm glad that I did enough training, and the words of coach Chris were on my mind throughout the race; that the miles of training are like putting pennies in the bank that you get out on race day - I don't think I really appreciated what that meant until today.

The support from all of Lliswerry Runners was awesome -  always a friendly word from those that ran past me, cheering from many places around the course, the trumpet at 11 miles and the hugs of celebration at the end. It really is the most amazing club, which is why I made the 150 mile round trip for the AGM last week, and will continue to come back for training sessions and events if I can. A massive congratulations to all who ran today; there were some incredible times both from the more elite club members, and those who tend to plod along at the back like me. 

So what's next? Well, my dad also ran today, and beat me on chip time by 23 seconds, averaged out in the official results as being 1 second per mile quicker. Of course, I can joke that I took it easy today as I didn't want to embarrass him by coming in much faster, but in fact he ran really well today and deserved to come in at a better time than me. I'm determined to try harder next time though, so watch out!  

Watch this space for the next running challenge, I'm sure it won't be too long.....

Until then, I leave you with my motivational quote of the day. Thank you so much for reading. 

Sore from the Sorbrook

Inspired by friends from the running club who have been taking parts in all kinds of amazing events, I woke up this morning with the "fabulous" idea of going along to the Sorbrook 10k. Now bearing in mind that I haven't run more than 5 miles on the flat for around 3 months due to various university commitments, this may not have been the wisest idea that I have ever had.

However, I didn't really have time to think about it too much as I am not really a morning person, so popped over the Spar for some cornflakes and bananas before heading out to register. I'd looked at the results from last year, and knew that I was going to come in pretty much last, so decided to start near the back and stay there - previously I have got caught up in the middle of the pack and gone off too fast, only to pay for it later. 

I'd forgotten just how far 10k actually is when I can't stop and have a rest. And how much I hate hills. The route was lovely and scenic, up a couple of small mountains and then around a reservoir, although I was too busy concentrating on being able to breathe and not falling over my feet. I was right at the back, so the ambulance that needs to follow the back runners was twenty metres from my arse most of the way round, and the whiff of diesel fumes so close by was a distraction from the otherwise beautiful environment. I made it round in one piece though, only stopping to walk up the hills; otherwise I ran the whole way, even managing a little sprint at the end. And I wasn't last either and there was free cake at the end. So all things considered, quite a nice morning out.

Looking back, as much as it was painful at the time, I have got a huge sense of satisfaction that I got round. It was great being part of the Lliswerry gang again as well.  I'm hoping to do the Rose Inn 4 mile run on Tuesday if my legs aren't too sore. Just need to make a plan and stick to it now.

Today's motivational quote is quite apt considering the course route this morning:

Oh shit - I've turned into a Christmas pudding.

I've now been using the "I'm injured" excuse to sit on my arse for the best part of four months. To be fair I actually was injured until early December. But then it was nearly Christmas, and there didn't seem any point in starting again then as I wanted to indulge a little over the holiday period. Eating an entire Terry's chocolate orange and two Asda chocolate yule logs over a three day period was possibly not the best thing to do.

The weather during January has been my latest excuse to do nothing. It's too cold, the roads are icy, the pavements are wet etc, all reasons not to do anything that involved moving more than three metres from the sofa. I have been horribly busy with various uni and work stuff, but not so busy that I couldn't have found a spare 30 minutes three times a week.

Unfortunately all this bad behaviour has now taken its toll. My work trousers are now a little more tight than I would like. This has to stop. Tomorrow I am going to acquire some suitable wet and cold weather clothes and get back to it. Something with go faster stripes on to spur me on to glory.  Aiming for a 10k in the middle of April, and a half in early autumn. The path to athletic excellence continues....

Alternative view of the Cardiff half marathon

Today was supposed to be the day. The day when all the training, healthy(ish) eating, no alcohol drinking came together and I ran my first half marathon. Except three weeks ago I ran too far in knackered trainers and got injured again. It was such a hard decision to pull out - my heart was telling me that with a load of painkillers I would be able to make it round the course. I was up to 12 miles non stop in my training plan so knew I could run the distance. However, everything I had been taught at uni over the last two years was in my head, and I knew I shouldn't do it.

I even paid out to see a physio twice - costing me a whole long weekend's worth of supermarket checkout wages, in the hope that I would be able to be fixed by some miracle machine and a bit of massage. Sadly, it wasn't to be. Today was not my day. I am left wondering if it will ever be my day.

It was tempting to abscond from Cardiff for the weekend, so I could just forget all about it. However, my dad had signed up because I had, and it seemed a bit mean not to hang around and support him. Lliswerry Runners had teamed up with St David's Hospice Care to man the water station at 11 miles, so me and my mum decided to go along and help out with that, and hopefully cheer on some of our runners as well. This turned out to be a good decision; it was actually lots of fun, although quite wet at times, as the faster runners have a tendency to take a single sip then chuck the bottle in any direction therefore soaking anyone who happens to be in the wrong place at the time. It was really nice to be thanked by some of the runners for being there, I must remember that myself the next time I'm taking part in an event; I don't think most people appreciate the amount of work that goes on behind the scenes to make the big events the success that they are.

It was lovely to see people from the club out on the course, knowing how hard some of them had worked to be there and that they were within sniffing distance of the finishing line. I'm liking the Lliswerry love and happiness on facebook tonight as well. 

A huge congratulations to all who ran today, especially everyone at Lliswerry Runners and the boys from Cardiff Uni Physio 3rd year, you were all fabulous. Hopefully next year I will be there too.

Cardiff 10k

It was a nice sunny morning for my first big event; the Cardiff 10k which is a fairly pleasant flat route around the city centre, which goes through the park and past the castle. It also goes other places as well, but was more concerned about my breathing than taking in the scenery. I really didn't have much of an idea what to expect, but luckily I live close enough to stroll to the start line in 20 minutes, so I arrived fairly unstressed. I met up with a few other Lliswerry runners and chatting before the start was great for stopping me becoming too nervous and to pick up some last minute tips.

10am came and we were all off on the starting gun. I started far too fast, and was under 28 minutes at the halfway point, which is far faster that I normally run. I think I probably started too far forward, and got carried along with the crowd, and then paid for it later by dropping my pace slower than I would have liked. However, it was all a good learning experience for the Cardiff half which is just 5 weeks away now. 

So what else did I learn today? Here goes:

• If it is hot, run in the shade as much as possible (thanks for the tip Merv!). I would have been a lot slower if I had stayed out in the sun for the whole course. 
• I cannot drink water while running. It goes down the wrong way and makes me cough, then I have to stop for longer than I would have to if I had just stopped to drink in the first place.
• Other runners with ipods are exceedingly annoying as they can't hear anything and have no awareness of what is going on around them. They are not allowed for a reason - I was really surprised at the number of people that just ignore that rule, to the detriment of those around them.
• Other runners will stop for no reason whatsoever right in front of you, then tut loudly when you run into them.
• Other runners will throw their half drunk bottles of water right into your path, and therefore the half mile after the drinks station becomes a crazy assualt course.
• Other runners will think that it is perfectly acceptable to noisily swirl phelgm around their mouth before spitting it out while running right next to you. This is just horrible, as is the holding of a nostril and shooting out of snot from the other which seems to be a common habit in slightly overweight sweating men who have not done enough training.

Enough of the moaning now though. I loved being part of such a big event. It was also fantastic to be so well supported by other club members. When I was growing up, I was taken to various events to cheer on my dad and his friends in their running endeavours. To be honest, at that time I never really saw the point. But when you are struggling half way around a course, there is nothing better than people cheering and screaming your name encouraging you to keep going. So thanks guys for being there today, it was much appreciated.

I got round the course in an "official chip time" of 1.01.49, a pb by over a minute, and less than double my best 5k parkrun time. Very pleased with this indeed, especially considering the heat. I will go faster than an hour this year!

Here is a picture of my reward for my efforts today:

Thanks for reading, and happy running :-)

Holidays and other stuff

I've had a busy few weeks despite it being the summer holidays from university for a month; I have spent most of it being "happy to help" on the checkout at my local supermarket. However, I did manage to squeeze in a week away to Lake Garda with my mum, for my first holiday in two years. Aware that I was very unlikely to be able to resist the temptation of ice cream, cocktails and pizza, some damage limitation was in order. 

So the morning of my outbound flight, I was up at 7am to go for an early run with my Dad. Since I was little, I have watched my Dad run; pushing an old hospital bed around the Chew Valley bed race, and various fun runs, as well as several London marathons. I never thought that I would be able to join him, but I felt very lucky to do so, and also keep up with him most of the time. Here we are about to set out from home:

 We managed 8.3 miles, and had a nice chat as well on the way round. I found running a longer distance with someone else helped the time pass by much more quickly, as it can get a tiny bit tedious when out for over an hour alone.

I'm also quite proud of myself for managing two runs on holiday - one of three miles, and then four miles on the last day, which was hard work due to the increase in temperature. Unfortunately for me, the Italians are as glamourous when taking part in sporting activity as they are the rest of the time, while I remained a red, puffing lump as usual, and attracted some rather disgusted looks from the locals. But since none of those people are ever likely to see me again, it doesn't really matter. It was actually very pleasant, despite the heat, running alongside the banks of the lake in the early morning, watching the local people starting their day.

Here I am setting out from out hotel, wearing my Lliswerry vest:

Sadly, I'm back in the UK now, but the training is going well. I knocked just over a minute of my parkrun pb to take it down to 31.03 - I am absolutely determined to get under 30 minutes this year. I also joined in with the club's "long, slow run" on Sunday, which for me was actually very long and very fast - the little warm up was at a faster pace than I had run at parkrun the day before and I kept everyone else waiting for me the entire 9 miles. However, I found it useful to be running at a faster pace; being forced to push myself harder than I would have done had I been alone. 

I have the Cardiff 10k coming up in a couple of weeks, and then the Cardiff Half in just over 6 weeks, so will be trying my best to get in as much mileage as possible in over the coming days. I've noticed that although I am not losing weight everything is toning up now and my thighs wobble a little less then they did before, which is definitely motivation to keep going for now. 

Thank you for reading. Here is my little motivational quote for today:

Live the best life you can

Time for a little update as things have been quite busy recently. The past four weeks I have been on placement working on a medical rehab ward, mostly with elderly patients. Initally I thought this would be quite dull as the pace was much slower than the acute medical wards where I had been before that. I didn't think that I would learn very much from helping old people get out of bed and walk to the toilet. However, as these things tend to work out, I learnt far more than I would ever have thought possible.

Sometimes all people want is your time. A lot of the patients I met were well into their 80s or 90s and many didn't have relatives living nearby who could visit, and a few had no relatives living at all. I was in the fortunate position to have a fairly relaxed case load, and was lucky enough to be able to spend some time with some of the patients just having a chat. I think that the younger generation today could learn so much from those who have lived through wars, and have experienced hardships that we cannot imagine. On my birthday, I was talking to one man who was due to be discharged. I needed to do one final assessment to check that he was safe walking on his own. The assessment was quickly completed and passed, and then we had a while when we could talk. The man told me all about his life; where he had served in the war, about his wife and children and the places he had lived. Then he looked at me and told me to make sure that I lived the best life I can, because it will go by too quickly. 

Its strange sometimes that we end up gaining so much more from someone in ways that we never expect to. The man was discharged later that day and I didn't see him again. I doubt he will even remember me at all. But his words will stay with me for a long time. I don't know to live the best life I can. I think sometimes I am scared to do just that.I suppose just trying to be the best that I can be at every chance that I get is a start. With this in mind, I set off on a slow long distance run on Saturday night, and managed a huge 9 miles. Apart from aching knees, I was still quite comfortable at the end, and managing to maintain the same pace that I started with. I finally feel like I am really making progress, and the half marathon distance is achievable.

In other developments, I have managed to bugger up both knees by falling over while out walking. They were probably made worse by the fact that I was wearing shorts and walking on a stony track when I fell, meaning that I had to hobble back to the car with blood pouring down both legs. I was also forced to sit on the floor for several minutes as the friend I was with at the time was too busy laughing to be of any use in helping me into an upright position. I was then humiliated by having to ask the nice people at Castell Coch (near where I happened to be at the time) for some wet wipes so I could clean myself up a bit. I've now got two rather unattractive scabby knees just in time for my holiday next week. Looking on the bright side, I'm not actually properly injured just a bit sore.

And finally, tonight I managed to run 5k in under 30 minutes for the first time. There was a time trial session on the track with the club and I decided to just go for it. Got round in 29.44 and although I am still bringing up the rear of the field, I am getting faster all the time. When I started running, I never thought I would get anywhere near 30 minutes, or run 9 miles or even stick with this for long enough that I started to enjoy it.

Thanks for reading.