Building back up...hoping I've not lost fitness...

Boston Marathon Training - 11 weeks to go

Monday 23rd Jan

After a week of hardly training at all, giving my body time to recover from a chest infection, I was excited and eager to get back into training. Being worried that I might have lost fitness, I wanted to take things steady. I decided that I would start to gradually build up the miles this week and not worry about too much about speed. 

Today began with a recovery run. I was itching to get going and had to be reminded, by John, to slow down- on several occasions. As we ran along the stretch of the harbourside towards the Lloyds building, a familiar face popped up. You may remember that at a particular low point during my illness, a fox appeared to be keeping an eye on me and (I like to think) checking that I was alright. Well, on my first proper run back since that day, who should appear? None other than my foxy friend (now, clearly I don't know that it was the same fox...but don't spoil the magic for me!). Once again, bold as brass he watched me - clearly checking that I was better - and once satisfied, trotted off again. 

 A lovely 4 miles at 9:47 pace - being sensible and feeling strong. 

In the evening, I was taken climbing for the first time. Preparing to join two very experienced climbers (Dr Dave and his friend Ed) as well as John (who has been climbing for a number of weeks), was rather nerve wracking. I think it's fair to say that I struggle participating in activities that I'm not good at! Knowing my own upper body strength, or lack thereof, I was feeling rather apprehensive at the prospect of climbing alongside 3 men far stronger than myself. 

We went to 'Bloc' which is a bouldering centre. Bouldering is great because you don't need ropes - the walls are only about 12 feet high and the floor is made of thick crash-mats. I've bouldered before with my friend Steve so I knew the idea. The holds are colour coordinated according to difficulty. Green is the easiest, followed by black. I found that I was able to quickly reach the top of the green trails and was feeling rather pleased with myself when Dr Dave informed me that climbing isn't actually about speed. It is more about taking time to consider the placing of body parts and learning how to balance manage your weight distribution (see Dave, I was listening!) Going slowly is not a concept I am familiar with in any aspect of my life! It was therefore, exceptionally difficult to slow down when my hands and forearms were screaming at me to hurry up and get it over with! I did enjoy the session - despite finding it very difficult and frustrating because I was only able to complete 1 of the black trails. I would like go again but feel the need to develop some more upper body strength first! 

Tuesday 24th Jan

Tuesdays are generally speedwork days. Howevever, I had decided that I was still taking it easy. Knowing that John needed to get his speedwork in, we planned that we'd run together for a bit before he picked up the pace for a few miles. Straight out the door, I felt really good. No coughing, legs felt fresh and I ran along merrily chatting with John. Checked my watch after a while and realised (to my surprise) that I was doing 7:30 mm pace. It felt comfortable so I didn't worry about slowing down. Even when John nipped off, I kept a consistent pace delighted that it was feeling so easy. Finished with a total of 8 miles at 7:33 min mile pace. 

On another note -OUCH! My arms, hands, back, shoulders and every part of my upper body was rather painful - might not be climbing on a weekly basis...

Wednesday 25th Jan

 

Having not been to club for a couple of weeks, I was really missing my GWR crew. I very much enjoyed a steady 10 miles. Ran with my good friend Orla for a while which was lovely, until she sprinted off leaving me for dust! Back at club, she revealed that the reason for her swift departure was that she realsied that she was on a track for a 10 mile PB (which I'm delighted to say she achieved!). It has been wonderful to see her progressing so quickly over the last few months.

10 miles at 7:59 mm. Legs aching a bit today - not sure if I should blame last nights 7:30mm or climbing...

Thursday 25th Jan

 

We ran early today and my gosh it was chilly and windy. A fab new 7 mile route through Ashton Court in the dark with head-torches - super! Just recovery pace though 9:38mm average which was pretty good considering John dragged me up nightingale valley (a VERY steep and long hill). Legs feeling tired and not especially recovered. 

In the evening, it was the Ashton Court Parkrun social at the Cottage which is handily only a short walk from home. Always lovely to socialise with the Parkrun crew; a very friendly bunch. We ate dinner there as well and I'm pleased to share that they have a gluten free menu (although they did only have 1 menu so were rather protective over it!) with a good few options. I went for the special of the day - vegetable curry. It was good, solid pub grub - would recommend. 

Friday 26th Jan

When you get out of bed (at 5:15am!) and can't help but groan, as your legs reach the floor and attempt to hold your weight, you know it's going to be a challenging run! As I staggered slowly across the floor yelping slightly at each step, John helpfully reminded me that today's 13 miles needed to be at around 8 min mile pace....hmmm...not sure that's going to happen...I thought to myself. 

Straight out of the door and John is merrily hopping along while I limp behind. I suggest that he should go ahead if he wants to keep his planned pace as there was no way I could do more than 9mm today. After much deliberation, we mutually (I think) agreed to cut today's run down to 6 miles at recovery run pace. A sensible decision as I was definitely in need of more recovery time.

Friday also means running club. Today was session 2 with the Year 3 and 4 kids. After taking it steady last week, they were eager to show off and do some faster stuff. I told them that we were going to have a long distance race of just under 1/2 mile (a very long way if you are 8!). Now, young kids are generally great at sprinting but they find pacing themselves at a longer distance really difficult. This was today's lesson. As each child finished, I gave them a number which would correspond to a group for next weeks session. They were quicker than I expected so we did some work on acceleration and deceleration running fast for 10 steps and then slow for 10 steps (this idea came from my own speed work training sessions with Camilla from GWR). 

I was rather eager to get home from work today as me and John were going away for the weekend. I'd booked a holiday apartment in Woolacombe and couldn't wait to get going. 

For dinner I cooked a gluten free chicken curry using a gluten free Chicken Tikka sauce from Asda. I also added peppers, onion and mushrooms - delicious. 

Saturday 27th Jan

Waking up in a new place on a Saturday morning can only mean one thing; time of a spot of Parkrun tourism! We drove to Barnstaple and were greeted by a very friendly group of runners. It is a newer Parkrun than Ashton Court and quite a bit smaller with just 142 runners. One of mine and John's targets this year is to both finish first at a race so this was the mission today. The only problem - John was trying to finish first on a course he was unfamiliar with and one that no one was able to really clearly explain to us! When halfway round I saw him coming towards me on the same path, I knew that, despite my final words before we started being "Don't get lost," he'd clearly gone the wrong way! It transpired that actually it wasn't his fault - a volunteer actually accidentally sent him, and the first 4 or 5 finishers, in the wrong direction. In fairness, it was the most confusing course I've ever ran! So much so that I can't actually describe it fully  - suffice to say there was a lot of going around parks and fields in all sorts of different directions! Nevertheless, an enjoyable run -especially because John did in fact finish as first man and I finished as first lady. 

Checkout my Parkrun finish! Thanks John for filming.

The run felt pretty good. I averaged 6:33mm pace - unfortunately, it felt like 6:00 - probably because this is my first time running fast since being unwell. The course was a bit slippery as well so I was pretty happy with a time of 20:10 (especially since I beat Dan's time from when he was last there!). I also earned my first Parkrun top 10 finish by coming in in 9th position. 

Really enjoyed the rest of the day exploring Woolacoombe with John. The only issue was that our apartment was at the top of a 1/2 mile long VERY steep hill. After going up and down a number of times that day, my glutes were feeling rather painful - could cause problems for tomorrows planned 20 miler. 

Sunday 29th Jan

Today was John's birthday and what better way to celebrate than a 20 mile run! Woke up with rather achy legs and very painful glutes but I knew today wasn't going to be too quick so just tried not to think about it! We headed off on the Tarka trail (named from the film Tarka the Otter - rather an old reference -we had it on VHS!) which was mostly made up of good quality cycle paths. The route was stunning; beautiful views, lovely villages and rolling countryside. The only challenges were those rolls- it was a very hilly route. However I am learning to embrace hills so managed most of them without too much whinging! After running 10 miles and arriving almost back to the apartment, we decided to continue running towards Ilfracombe. I've been there before so decided to show John the rather unusual Damien Hurst statue which I knew was at the end of the harbour. We then headed back for Woolacombe. We realised that the run would be about a mile short. John suggested that we call it a day at 19 however I was keen to get to a round 20. John agreed but decided to punish my enthusiasm by extending the run to include the VERY steep hill that we'd ascended and descended a number of times the day previous. It was a very difficult way to end our 20 miles but excellent training for the infamous 'Heartbreak Hill' at mile 20 of the Boston Marathon. 

Pleased to get another 20 miler in the bank. Considerably slower than the last one but, with a total of 2000 feet of elevation gain, I'm happy with an average of 9:15 min miles for the whole run. 

In conclusion, a great week! Feeling totally 100% better and eager to move onto another week of training. Mission for next week - follow the plan exactly. 

Total for the week: 62.8 miles 

Rising from the ashes...

Boston Marathon Training - 12 Weeks to go. 

Monday

After diagnosing  myself with a chest infection last week, my mission this week was simple; get better so that I could start running again as soon as possible. 

After a night of hardly any sleep, due to multiple hour-long coughing fits (waking up at 12:30, 1:20, 2:30, 4:00 and 6:00), I took Monday off work. The day went something like this: sleep, cough, take medicine, repeat. By the end of the day, I was starting to feel better but I wasn't sure if that was me recovering or just me being extremely drugged up! 

No running today 

Tuesday 

Any Year 2 or 6 teachers will know that terms 3 and 4 are crucial for SATs preparation so I really wanted to get back into school today. However, the afternoon was planned as a Forest Schools session with the reception class. I really didn't feel that standing outside in the cold all afternoon would do me any good. Thankfully, Mr Anderson agreed to take charge of my class, as well as his own - I'm most grateful. I managed to push through the morning despite still having a few coughing fits. I was very glad to be able to go home at lunchtime and rest. 

After a few hours of rest, I was genuinely starting to feel better. I had more energy and was coughing less. It had now been 5 days without running at all and I was starting to shake and rock silently in corners! Having watched John leave the flat to run without me the last few days, I was desperate to join him. I thought I'd try a test of a little 3 mile run around the harbourside. Conclusion: Not good. I ran half a mile and couldn't breath properly as I was coughing the whole way despite only running at 10 min mile pace! Not wanting to jeopardise my recovery, I left John to continue alone and went home. 

Everyone was telling me to go to the Doctor and get antibiotics. This wasn't appealing to me because: 1) I don't really like taking any medicines at all.

2) I know that as a nation, we've got a major problem with viruses becoming resistant to antibiotics.

3) There is literally nothing worse than spending hours waiting at the doctors in a germ-ridden waiting room where you're highly likely to pick up some additional illness in the process! 

However, I was desperate to get better so I made a deal with myself. If I have another bad nights sleep, I would go to the doctors in the morning. Fingers crossed! 

Wednesday 

Waking up at 3am, I coughed a little before falling quickly back to sleep until 6am- progress! That counted as a good nights sleep in my book = no doctors = hooray! 

Wednesday morning is my PPA time (planning, preparation and assessment). I made full use of this time by resting and planning in bed. After a better nights sleep; less coughing (and much less mucus);I was feeling positive that I was on the road to recovery. Teaching in the afternoon was much better than Tuesday. I was also getting my appetite back. 

After yesterdays failed running test, I decided not to go to club and take a couple more days of rest from running :(  As well as missing running, I was also missing my GWR club buddies and starting to feel 'out of the loop.' 

Thursday 

Today was going to be my first full day teaching so I was eager to feel good. Luckily, I had had a great nights sleep - I slept all the way through the night for the first time in over a week! Waking up with loads of energy, I bounded into school and had a great day. It is amazing how much sleep influences your mood and general well-being! 

Being sensible, I again decided not to run today. This was especially difficult as it was the 5th Weston Prom 5 mile race. There is an award for people who run all races in the series so I felt a bit down about having to pull out but I knew that it was the right thing to do. Not liking to feel left out, I still went to Weston to support. When I arrived I was pleased to see Rich, who is a regular supporter, which meant I didn't have to watch on my own. It was lovely to chat to Rich and great to have company. As much as my legs were itching to run, I really enjoyed watching the race.  It's something I very rarely get to do and it really felt great to be able to offer support and encouragement to all my friends. I was also wonderful watching John gain another PB and finish in 8th position -awesome! 

Friday 

After another good nights sleep, I was really starting to feel that I had conquered this chest infection. Whilst I would have liked another day of recovery, today was Friday, which for me meant running club! 

For a while now, I've been trying to encourage as many children as possible to start running and come to Ashton Court Parkrun. I have had a few takers but 3 miles is a long way. So I decided to start a running club for children during Friday lunchtimes. This will be the 3rd running club I've organised and I'm delighted that it has become more and more popular every time!  I open the club up to Years 3,4,5 and 6 pupils and had 48 requests for 20 places! Whilst I would love to take them all, being responsible for 48 kids running at once terrifies me a little. So I've split them into two groups. I will take Years 3 and 4 for the first 5 weeks and Years 5 and 6 for the next 5 weeks. 

To try and really up the profile of running at school, I also invite teachers and parents to join us. Today we had 17 children, Ms Powell, Mr Anderson and one parent. A good turnout for session one. Because some of the children haven't run with me before, I always take the first session nice and steady. I spend a good 5 minutes talking through rules (eg: how we cross roads safely) and expectations etc. Today, we started with a dynamic warm up - a gentle jog, high knees, fast feet, long skips and high skips. Then we jogged for half a mile. A the end of the half mile, we come to a little slope (which for 8-year-olds is a hill!). Each session, I like to try and teach the kids some running techniques with the aim of getting them to start thinking about their running form from an early age. Today was the importance of using our arms -especially running up hill. I get the kids to run uphill with their hands on their heads. Whilst finding this very funny, they also find it difficult and appreciate the benefit when I allow them to use their arms the second time around. Some of the kids, who were in my running club last term, remembered some of my advice from before and shared it with the group, "Try to stand up tall and not lean forward," and "Use smaller steps," they explained to the new members. There is no better feeling as a teacher, than when children remember something you've taught them and teach it to others. 

1 mile done at 9 min mile pace - felt better than Tuesday with very little coughing- whoop! 

Saturday 

I decided that I wasn't ready to attempt Parkrun today and John kindly agreed to run with me so we set off for running test round 2! I really wanted to try and get 3 miles done but again I was prepared to give up if needed. 

Mile 1 went alright - still a bit of coughing but my breathing was much better. I realised that the 'in breath' felt fine but the 'out breath' was tickling in my throat and giving me the urge to cough. I spent the next mile focusing on breathing steadily and, as my throat got used to the cold air, I began to cough less and get into more of a rhythm. By mile 3 I was hardly coughing at all and feeling pretty good. After hardly any running in over a week, my legs felt amazing - eager to zoom off! It was quite hard holding back and taking it easy.

3 miles done at 9:40 min miles. 

Sunday 

Today I took the decision to rest again so that I would be really ready to start getting back on the

P and D plan tomorrow. 

Next week I am going to start up-ing the mileage but keep most of my runs at a recovery pace. 

It was all going so well...

Boston Marathon Training - Week 5 

Monday 

After an excellent long run on Sunday, I was grateful of a slow recovery run this morning. An early 3 miles at 9:41 mm pace. Legs were definitely feeling tired and not especially looking forward to the prospect of a double day. 

After work, John and I ran up to our running club for our monthly committee meeting. I am the vice-chair of Great Western Runners and I'm really enjoying becoming more active and involved with the club. After the meeting, we ran home again making our second run of the day 6 miles. 

I'd been struggling a little with a cough for a couple of days now and today I really was starting to feel under the weather. 

Tuesday 

Tuesday always calls for a speed work session, which I prefer to do in the evenings, so I was grateful of an extra half hour in bed. 

After work, the plan was to use the Bristol to Bath cycle path to do 10 miles with 4 at Half Marathon Pace (HMP). I really like using the cycle path because it is free of cars, well lit and relatively flat. Woody and I used it lots last summer when training for Cardiff and Bristol half marathons. The first 3 miles are uphill but I enjoy the benefits of the downhill on the way back. 

Fantastically, the cycle path is only about 1.5 miles from home. John and I headed off - he was keen to start at a good pace but, despite trying, I couldn't keep up - this was a worrying start. As our HMPs aren't the same (not yet anyway - I've still got a bit of work to do to catch him!) the plan was for him to run at his pace, then stop at half way and I would catch up. 

My HMP is in the region of 6:30 - 6:50 mm so I wanted to try and keep in that region for the first 2 miles at pace. From the word go, I knew I was in for a tough session. Only just managing to keep the pace less than 7 min miles I wasn't happy. However, I was running uphill and, due to being anemic, I do find hills especially difficult as my lungs and muscles simply aren't getting the oxygen they need. When I checked my watch (after what seemed like at least a mile) and it read 0.2, I knew I needed to sort myself out! I am sure any runner will agree, that half of the battle is mental. I decided that if I just kept these first two miles under 7 min miles that would be enough for now. I kept telling myself that I only had to do 2 miles and I pushed on. 2 miles felt like an age. My heart-rate was elevated and my breathing was even louder than usual.  Although I wasn't supposed to stop until after a recovery mile, (where John would be waiting) the second my watch clicked over the 2 mile mark I stopped - desperate to catch my breath. Considering I'm capable of running 3 miles at 6 min mile pace, 7 min miles shouldn't be this hard. I couldn't kid myself any longer - I was ill. 

I pushed on slowly to the halfway point. I was overjoyed to see John in the distance waiting for me (probably having to wait considerably longer than he'd expected!). I stopped and tried once again to catch my breath. I couldn't speak and was overcome with an intense coughing fit. Eventually, my coughing stopped and I decided we might as well finish the workout off and get it over with. I took the next mile steady before preparing myself for 2 more miles at HMP. Grateful for the downhill, I tried to just relax and lean forward -allowing gravity to do as much of the work as possible. I decided to try and get these last 2 miles of effort closer to HMP and dug deep. The first mile came out at 6:43 and the second at 6:36. 

Feeling happier with those efforts I was ready to stop and have a breather but John suggested we pushed on as we still needed two more miles to get us to our total of 10 for the day. I had clearly put everything left in me into those last two miles and I was done. My breathing got heavier and heavier and I began to cough again. Despite my trying to keep up with John, I just couldn't manage anything faster than 9:30 mm. Taking pity on me, John called it a day after just over 9 miles. Normally I'd be eager to meet the target but I just didn't care; all I wanted to do was stop. 

Wednesday 

I woke up on Wednesday, hoping to feel better - no such luck. I hadn't slept well and spent the day coughing and feeling very short of breath. The plan asked for 15 miles today. We had arranged to meet Marcus at the club for an extra 5 miles before running 10 with GWR as usual. 

After only a few minutes of running, Marcus had commented on my breathing and I was starting to think that 15 miles wasn't such a good idea. 4 miles in and Dad sent me home. Usually, I'd protest but actually I was grateful at having my mind made up for me. I walked slowly back to club; stopping every few steps- overcome by waves of coughing fits. At one point I'd stopped and was leaning over a road sign thinking I might be sick, when I saw something out of the corner of my eye. A fox! A beautiful, ginger, very tame fox with a lovely bushy tail came right up to me, cocked it's head and looked at me as if to say  'Don't worry - you'll be ok!' We both stood there for a couple of minutes looking at each other before he turned and continued off on his journey. A lovely moment which cheered me up a little. 

As soon as I returned to my car, I jumped straight in, went home and went straight to bed. 

I knew that the next few days were only recovery runs - nothing major. I thought that I could afford to miss a day or two to recover. Sunday though was 18 miles with 10 at marathon pace; these sessions are really important as marathon pace runs are the best preparation for race day. I really wanted to be better by Sunday. 

Thursday 

After being up most of the night coughing and getting very little sleep once again, I felt dreadful. I had lots going on today at work so I dragged myself in with the aim of 'powering through.' This was unsuccessful. As well as coughing, I now had a headache and was feeling run down and achy. After a full on day comprising of teaching, courses and meetings I couldn't wait to get home and go to bed. 

No running today. 

Friday 

I love my job and I like to think I'm pretty dedicated. I guess that's the reason that, until today, I'd never taken a day off sick in 6 1/2 years. Today was the first time for years that I just couldn't face getting out of bed and going in to school. 

No running today. 

Saturday 

After some time with Dr Google I diagnosed myself with a chest infection - great. Dr Google says that chest infections caused by viruses which cannot be helped with antibiotics. The only way to get over this: rest, lots of water and cough up the mucus. And how long do chest infections last...any time from a few days to 3 weeks! 3 WEEKS! I could not afford to take 3 weeks off training. Realistically, any time longer than 1 week off and you start to lose fitness. Mission - drug up and tackle this sharpish! 

Thankfully, John went into full doctor mode and bought every medicine relating to coughing and mucus that he could find - legend. 

Time to dose up and sort myself out. 

No running today...again...

Sunday 

I desperately wanted to feel better today and get a few miles in as lack-of-running-depression was starting to hit me hard. However, after waking up, I was hit with a coughing fit that lasted an hour and a half. I knew I wasn't better and wasn't ready to run. 

So I am playing a waiting game. I'm being sensible, trying to eat (although I've really lost my appetite this week) and taking a concoction of medicines. Trying not to look at strava as seeing the tragic dip in my graph actually brings tears to my eyes! 

Total mileage for the week - 22.6 :(

Surely a little bit of gluten can't hurt!

Coeliac Disease explained...

I've been delighted (and I have to say, rather surprised!) with the amount of people who have been reading my blog. Lots of people have been intrigued by the name of my blog and, as a result, I've had lots of questions about Coeliac disease.

The most common comment "Surely a little bit of gluten can't hurt!" 

 Therefore, I thought I would start today's entry by explaining exactly what Coeliac disease is. 

Coeliac disease is a genetic, autoimmune disease. The only cure for which is a gluten free diet for life. About 1 in 100 people have the condition and, because of the raised awareness, more and more people are getting diagnosed every day. 

When someone with Coeliac disease consumes gluten, ( found in wheat, barley and rye) their immune system reacts. This reaction causes the villi (small hairs found in the small intestine) to become damaged. These villi are vital because they aid the absorption of nutrients. 

Every time I eat gluten by mistake, my villi are becoming more damaged and I am becoming more nutrient deprived. The main nutrient I am lacking is iron. I am anemic (and have been for many years). Once my villi have re-grown and healed from the years of gluten I have subjected them to, I should be able to absorb iron normally and should no longer be anemic. However, because my diagnosis was so late (Coeliac disease is most commonly diagnosed in children) and I was so anemic, I am currently taking iron tablets to give me an extra boost. 

So to answer to the question - YES! Even the tiniest bit of gluten can be a problem for people with Coeliac disease. This means I have to be especially careful when eating out. I have been on a bit of a gluten free mission - searching out the best places for fellow Coeliacs to eat around Bristol. I will be sure to include any new discoveries each week. 

Monday 2nd January 2017 

It might have been a bank holiday but I had a few things to sort out at school so me and John were up at reasonable hour for a 6 mile recovery run at 9:11 min miles. Having not run long on Sunday meant that my legs were actually feeling rather good for a change! 

Once everything was ready in school, we walked around the harbourside in the search of dinner. First stop - the Grain Barge. Unfortunately,  they only had 1 gluten free option on the entire menu, which wasn't very appealing, so we opted for the Pump House instead. Although they didn't have an official gluten free menu, the very helpful waiter spoke to the chef and ticked and crossed items on menu for me. Was slightly concerned when I was told that an item containing barley was gluten free - oh dear!

I went for the safe option of sea bass - delicious. There were also two gluten free pudding options - this is a rarity as all cakes and pastries are out of bounds. 

Tuesday 3rd January 2017 

First day back at school today but luckily only an INSET day. I had a bit of a lie in as me and John had planned to run in the evening. A good first day back; I led some training to staff on the areas of grammar that my Year 6 children need to know by May. The session went well and feedback from other teachers was positive.

Running after work, the plan asked for 10 miles with 10x strides. It had been a while since I'd done a track workout (my favourite type of training session) so me and John headed down to the old Whitchurch track which we'd been using all summer. Unfortunately, it was all locked up for a change! Disappointing as I'd really been looking forward to it. With 6 miles and strides still to go, John quickly planned an alternative route and we continued. I hadn't done a session with strides before so wasn't sure if I'd like them. For those of you who aren't aware, strides are basically sprints for a short distance (100m aprox) with the aim of stretching out the legs and working on improving technique such as cadence (foot speed). 

With 10 to do, I took the first one fairly steady and watched John sprint out ahead of me. Then my competitive spirit kicked in and by the time the second one came around, I had decided to really go for it and race him a little. For most of the efforts I was actually able to keep up which made a nice change!   

For dinner, I decided to try an brand new gluten free recipe sweet potato recipe. It was quick, easy to make an very tasty - success! 

Wednesday 4th January 2017  

Wednesday nights are GWR club nights. The plan called for 14 miles so me and John ran to club to get our extra miles in. I was expecting a nice chilled run providing opportunity for conversing and catching up with friends. Yeah right! As soon as we left the club, the pace jumped instantly to 7:30mm ...not quite what I was expecting! Running in a group with with the Maestro, John, Woody and Dan meant that I was one of the slower runners so I prepared myself to dig deep - mission - don't get left behind. The next mile was downhill (horray) 6:49 mm still seemed slightly ridiculous though! The next few miles were around 7:30 pace. As soon as we reached the Portway, I watched Dan and John storm rapidly into the distance (show offs!) so I stuck with Woody and we did a couple of tempo miles at 6:55 pace. Thinking about all the mileage I still had to come this week, made me take the rest of the run at a more sensible pace. Total of 14 miles at an average of 7:54 mm. 

Dinner tonight was another success. Stir fry with rice noodles and loads of veg. Quick and healthy. 

Thursday 5th January 2017 

An early start today. Out of the door at 6:30 am for a 5 mile recovery run. It was freeeeeezing. Glad I checked my phone before heading out so was well prepared with headband, (amazing how effective it is at stopping brain freeze) long sleeves and gloves.  Legs feeling rather tired after yesterdays efforts (oopps) so a 9:20 mm average. 

A great day at school with a theatre trip to the Tobacco Factory to see Cinderella. It was fantastic! Wonderfully talented actors and a modern quirky twist on the classic - would recommend. 

After school I went straight to me Jules for my weekly PT session which comprised of: 

squats while holding an extra large pizza sized and shaped 10 kg plate. 

Raised leg shoulder taps

8 kg tube clean and press 

Squat thrusts over tube 

Squats while holding 2 x 15 kg dumbbells 

Press ups 

Split lunge jumps

ab twists while holding a 5kg medicine ball 

Squats with a 40 kg bar 

Floor mountain climbers

Jules informed me of the exercises, which didn't sound too bad - until he mentioned that I would start with 25 reps of each (with 30 seconds rest between each pair) followed by 50 (YES 50!) reps of each afterwards. 50 is a HUGE number and this was a really challenging workout. I pushed myself to the max and managed to finish round 1 in 12mins and round 2 in 26 mins. 

After PT, we went to Pizza Express which I cannot praise highly enough for their gluten free options. They make their own gluten free base so you can chose from any pizza on the menu. They even make gluten free dough balls which, after the PT session, I felt I had earned. 

Friday 6th January 2017 

Today was supposed to be 12 miles however we decided to swap today's run for Saturday. After the PT session we (cough, John, cough) were feeling a little achy (for once it was me bounding off ahead feeling a little smug!) so it was a steady 5 miles at 9:47 mm pace - proper recovery. 

Dinner was the 'Cox special' of mushroom and chorizo risotto. Delicious.  

Saturday 7th January 2017 

Saturday = Parkrun day woohoo! 

Me and John were up at 8am for a quick jog around the harbouside to get out mileage up for the day. By the time we arrived at Ashton Court Parkrun we'd already covered 5.4 miles and were feeling in quite good shape to have a bash at a good time. 

As soon as we started, John and Woody stormed off ahead (the Maestro was being sensible and taking it easy in preparation for our scheduled 20 mile run tomorrow). I felt like I was working hard on the uphill but still found myself dropping back more than I'd like so, on the second hill, I decided to pick it up and chase down Woody. On the plateau, I eagerly watched for the speedies to come past and was delighted to see John in 2nd place. Hoping to match his 2nd place I picked it up and caught Woody just after the turn. After some rain the past week, the plataeu was rather puddley. Now there are only two ways to tackle puddles (dainty avoidance or aggressively storming through). I was contemplating which option to take when Dan stormed past me, with huge bounding strides, directly through the puddles sending water splashing all over his 'friends.' Decision made, I too stormed through the puddles with the aim of catching (and beating Dan). By the last corner, I sprinted past Dan and (feeling rather smug) thought I'd beaten him. Unbeknownst to me, he was in fact biding his time and sprinted past me just before the line. Ouch. I wasn't too upset as chasing him down had provided me with my 3rd fastest Parkrun time of 20:20 and the position of 2nd lady. 

After I finished, I walked to find John and saw he was looking rather pleased with himself. Not saying a word, he held up the finish token. WOW! 1st overall. Very impressive. 

Sunday 8th January 2017

Long run day. The plan was to go out with Marcus and John for 20 miles. Marcus stated that he wanted to do 7:30 min miles (ouch). Not sure that I could sustain that, I was feeling rather apprehensive at the prospect of 20 miles lonely running on my own chasing down the boys! After the first two miles, (which might I add, I ran at 7:30 pace) they were already a way ahead of me. Thankfully, they stopped before the towpath and waited for me to catch up. Marcus then revealed that  by 7:30 min mile pace, he actually meant 7:15 min miles (really ouch!). After some scowling and name calling, I agreed to their plan of me running on first to get a head start. 

 I decided to try and stick to 7:30 min miles and was rather surprised when I found the pace quite comfortable. My new mission was to hold off the boys for as long as I could. I didn't look behind at all - just kept going at a steady pace. Before I knew it, I had reached the first meeting point and was still in front! Mission achieved! I especially enjoyed the surprised looks on their faces! 

The rest of the run continued in a positive fashion. I was able to sustain 7:30 mm for all flat or downhill sections and only dropped to 8:00 for the hills. By the time we reached the daunting climb of Bridge Valley Road, I knew I was on for a pretty awesome average pace so powered on and up the hill - only dropping to 8:30 average for that mile. The last few miles were a case of hang on and count down the miles. 

I was delighted when I finished to see that my average pace was 7:29 and I finished the 20 miles in under 2 hours 30 (just) with a time of 2:29:34. I had definitely worked hard and I felt tired...but not shattered. This bodes well for future training as, if I had continued with that pace today, I would have finished the marathon distance in around 3 hours and 12 minutes. That is already under my target and it is only week 4 - rather exciting! 

Overall, a really great week of eating and running. Feeling very happy with my progress so far. 

Total mileage for the week: 72.6 miles 

Looking to the future...

Happy New Year! 

Another year gone and what a year it's been! For me, it has been a tumultuous year involving lots of change. Thankfully, everything has worked out for the best and I am starting 2017 feeling happy, positive and excited for what's to come. 

Running Highlights of 2016 

I decided that 2016 would be the year of speed. I chose not to attempt any marathons this year and instead put a huge focus on speed work with the aim of clocking up some PBs. Success! I have achieved my 2016 goals and gained PBs in 5k, 5 miles, 10k, 10 miles and half marathon. Delighted with my progress since getting my iron levels up (although they are still not at the 'normal' level) and since upping my mileage. However, I believe that the most beneficial element has been the speed work sessions on the track with John. Pushing myself to run as fast as possible, with great support and encouragement, has helped me to grow in confidence so I feel that I can race at a faster pace and maintain that pace for longer. 

The Bristol Half marathon was simultaneously a highlight and rather tragic! Having been desperate to get a sub 90 half for years, the Maestro volunteered to pace me (a great honor!). Unfortunately, despite working as hard as I could, I came in at 90:01. Gutting. However, more lessons learned - I now fully appreciate the importance of putting in more 12 mile+  runs in preparation. 

I also won the GWR Towpath series, came second in the Weston Prom series, 3rd in the Christmas Cracker 10k and Eynsham 10k. Our GWR women's team also won the Eastville Park series, the Severn Bridge Half Marathon and the Oldbury 10 mile race. It's exciting to start placing more frequently in races and has instigated me wondering just how fast I can get and what I could potentially achieve.  

Current PBs; 

5k - 19:01

5miles - 31:10

10k - 38:54

10 miles - 67:39 

half marathon - 90:01 (sob sob)

Marathon - 3:28:34 

Targets for 2017 

For each distance, I have given myself 3 targets with Gold being the one that I am going to really push for. Nevertheless, I will still be happy to achieve even my bronze targets. My A race for 2017 is the Boston Marathon; this is the race that will be the focus of my efforts. I am hopeful that many other PBs will come as a result of my Boston training. 

                       Gold                          Silver                      Bronze 

5k -               <18:00                     <18:30                        <19:00 

5 miles -         <30:00                    <30:30                        <31:00

10k -                <37:30                   <38:00                         <38:45 

Half Marathon- <88:00                  <89:00                         <90:00

Boston Marathon - <3:05:00        <3:10:00                       <3:15:00

Boston Marathon Training Week 3 

This has been an unusual week what with Christmas and New Year. However, I am happy that I've managed to mostly follow the plan. 

Monday  (Boxing Day) 

I was visiting family in London for Christmas so I nipped out early to get my recovery run done. 6 miles in total which included a lap of Nonsuch Park - lovely. 

Tuesday 

When I am staying with my parents, my Dad often asks me to go with him to the gym. It's lovely to do something just the two of us as, when I was growing up, Dad was the one who encouraged me to get into sport and the one who drove me around the country to compete in various table tennis tournaments. 

The River Club in Worcester Park is a converted house so there are lots of different rooms with different gym equipment in. Unsurprisingly, I tend to opt for the running machine! My Dad does some weights and cross training in a different room and pops in every now and then to check I'm OK. Today I was doing a speed session with intervals. Unfortunately, I'm not sure my Dad believed I did any intervals as, every time he popped his head round the door, I was in recovery so not working very hard at all! I actually did put some serious effort in. 5 miles at 6:40 mm (half marathon pace) with a short walking recovery in between. 

Wednesday 

I was really looking forward to running today because John had bought me a brand new running watch for Christmas (Garmin Forerunner 235 in GWR blue!) and I was desperate to get it on and try it out. Me, John and the Maestro ran 16 miles with an average pace of 7:45. I was delighted with that pace (which would have been marathon race pace for me for my last marathon (Berlin)!). My shiny new watch also has a built in heart rate monitor. My average heart rate was 136 (sorry Marcus!) which I am led to believe is pretty good. I will be doing some research into heart rates so I can use this to aid my training. 

Thursday 

The combination of the treadmill session and the long run on Wednesday meant that my calves were really tight today. I was therefore delighted that the plan called for a 6 mile recovery run which I ran at 9:20 pace with average HR of 120. 

Friday 

Today was my PT session. As I have really felt the benefit of these sessions, for Christmas I gave John a voucher for a PT session so he could (hopefully) benefit also. My session went brilliantly. I'll leave it up to John to tell you about his in his blog.  

I started off with a mini circuit which I repeated 3 times: 

12x body weight squats 

12x jumping lunges 

12 x squat jumps

12 x squats with 20kg dumbbells

 Followed by 500 meters on the treadmill. 

Next, was another circuit; this one involved box jumps. Now I have a bit of negative history with the box. This box is made up of 4 sections which are added on to make it higher and higher. A while back I was comfortably jumping on and off 3 sections (aprox 15cm for each section) but couldn't bring myself to jump on the 4th section (aprox 1/2 meter high). I got what I can only compare to the snooker players 'yips' where I literally couldn't make my legs leave the floor! Today Jules decided that the time had come for me to face my fears and have another go. Eventually, (with a rather excessive amount of psyching myself up and panicking slightly) I managed it! Super delighted to have conquered the box (see video evidence below). Of course, that was only the beginning of this main circuit which comprised of: 

12x box jumps 

12x squats with the bar at 30kg

12x box jumps 

12x squats with the bar at 40kg

12x box jumps 

12x squat jumps with the bar at 50kg

Finished off with 500m of the treadmill. 

A great session - delighted that I manged to squat with 50kg (pretty much my body weight!). 

Despite being rather tired now, we still had to get the days run in. 10 miles at, a slower than I'd like, 8:50 mm pace. 

I was treated (by my wonderful boyfriend) in the evening  to a viewing of the 'Snow Queen' at the Bristol Old Vic. Amazing show - some seriously talented actors. Afterwards we went to the Riverstation restaurant on the Harbourside. I was spoiled for choice with an extensive gluten free menu - I would definitely recommend for fellow Coeliacs. 

Saturday (New Year's Eve) 

Today was supposed to be a recovery day so me and John took a gentle run to Ashton Court Parkrun. I started Parkrun with the intention of taking it fairly steadily. Until, I hear Marcus calling to two of the fastest children in my Year 6 class "Go on boys, Miss Dicks is just up ahead!" Not wanting to let them beat me (for a second time), I picked up the pace and finished, to my surprise, as first lady with a time of 20:51 (6:45mm pace) not too shabby. A steady 2 miles home and a good total of 6 miles for the day. 

We celebrated the new year with a wonderful evening of games and drinks with our good friends 'The Woodys.'

Sunday (New Year's Day) 

Waking up at the Woody's, feeling a little worse for wear, the four of us headed off to face our double Parkrun challenge for the day! 

9:00am Ashton Court Parkrun. My legs felt shot but I pushed on up the hill and was pleased to see John slowing gradually- allowing me to catch up. Running our first run of the new year together was lovely- although we finished with a rather aggressive (lots of elbowing from both sides!) sprint finish. I reached the finish funnel first but not sure I can count that as a win - you can never tell with John being such a gentleman! 21:01 the time (6:44 mm) and 4th lady (annoying! My least favourite finish position!) 

10:30 am Pomphrey Hill Parkrun. I'd not ran this one before so was slightly apprehensive of the title as hills are not my favourite things! Unfortunately, the rain was getting heavier and the wind stronger...the thoughts 'Why am I doing this?' and 'Wouldn't it be much nicer sitting in the car!' did cross my mind of a number of occasions! Nonetheless, I got round in 21:43 (6:59mm) and finished as a rather soggy 2nd lady. 

In conclusion, an enjoyable week of socialising and running. Back to work next week. I am looking forward to getting back into routines. Going to try and get over 60 miles for the week as well. 

Total mileage for week 3 = 57.5 miles