Sunday 26 February 2017

The English National Cross Country Championships

7 weeks until the Boston Marathon!


This week I planned to take it easier to enable me to be as fresh as possible for the English National Cross Country Championships on Saturday. After 2 recent strong cross country performances, I'd set myself the challenge of finishing in the top 100 - I knew this would be really tough but I was prepared to work hard and give it a go. 

Monday 20th February 2017 

As always, Monday was a recovery run - 4 miles in the morning at a steady 9:20 mm pace. After the first day back at school after half term (dressed as an astronaut) we did our second recovery run of 6 miles at 9:15 mm pace. Not feeling too bad apart from some pain underneath the arches of my feet and around my ankles caused from cross country wearing spikes. Wanting to be as fresh as possible from Nationals, I actually joined John in his stretching routine which is from the P and D book that our training plan is from. 

Tuesday 21st February 2017 

On the plan for today was a morning GA run...now this is the run that has, in the past, caused slight disagreements between John and myself (usually because I can't / don't want to run fast in at 5:30 am when I can barely keep my eyes open!). So today, I wanted to try and be good, avoid confrontation/ tellings off and stick to the plan at try to hit 8 min miles. 

Knowing how my feet were feeling yesterday, I was a bit apprehensive but, surprise, surprise, the stretching had actually helped (who'd have thought it!) and I was managing to get comfortably under 8mm the whole way around. 

8 miles done at an average of 7:45 pace - a huge confidence boost; I'm definitely getting fitter and faster. 

In the evening was PT. Jules is brilliant because every week is something different. This week we had a series of exercises - 30 of each exercise, 2 exercises in each block separated with cardio in the form of alternating 400m run (which quickly turned into a sprint when John and I got competitive and played the - see who can go the fastest on the treadmill before it shakes horribly and becomes terrifying - game! - I got to 17.5!!!) and 500m row.   

These are the exercises: 


Press up position- row with 4kg dumbbells to shoulders
Squat and press 4kg dumbbells 

Cardio

Upright rows 10kg barbell
Shoulder press 10kg barbell

Cardio

Tricep dips
Squats to the floor with 8kg dumbbells 

Cardio

Bicep curls 10kg barbell
Cable machine - standing ski sit rows "8

Cardio

Cable machine - seated leant back rows "10
Bench press 15kg barbell

Cardio

Squat jumps
Squat thrusts over barbell

Cardio

Chop lunges plus 10kg weight plate
Press up position with shoulder taps

Cardio

VIPR tube overhead -to-side squats
Split lunge jumps

Cardio

Squats to the floor while holding 2 x  16kg kettle bells
Press ups

Cardio

Down-and-ups flat to the floor
Squats plus 10kg plate hold out from the chest

Phew! A very hard session but it left me feeling great afterwards. 

Wednesday 22nd February 2017 

Wednesday morning saw a lie-in - horray! In the evening, we did a quick 4 miles before club and then did our usual GWR winter 10 mile route. After the quick morning run and PT yesterday, I wanted to take today slower than usual. 14 miles at an average of 8:44 mm pace. As always on a Wednesday, it's lovely to run with friends and just enjoy running together - even with the wind that was starting to pick up a bit. 

Thursday 23rd February 2017 

We awoke to the sound of Dorris manically storming around the Harbourside! This was one of those runs where you wrap up warm, get to the door, look out and reaaaallllyyy want to turn around and go back to bed. It was raining pretty heavily anyway, coupled with the strong winds made for a daunting start to the run. Eventually, we managed to convince ourselves to step outside the door into Dorris' path...

The plan was to try and do 6 miles... Leaving home and running up the Harbourside towards the Portway, the gale-force-wind was coming straight towards us. Very quickly, the rain went from heavy to torrential and rather than falling vertically, it was coming horizontally - directly into our faces. Because it was so windy, the rain was actually hurting as it hit me! The only saving grace was that we knew when we turned, the wind would be behind us. Wanting to reach that turning point as quickly as possible (and wanting to avoid running over too many bridges in gale-force winds) meant that out 6 miles quickly shortened to 3.

Running back down the other side of the Harbouside was actually rather fun! The wind was so powerful that we were being blown along at quite a pace! The rain lessened and we actually started to enjoy the run. Nevertheless I was definitely hoping that Dorris had buggered off before the time came for our evening run!

Thankfully, the storm had indeed died down in the evening and our 7 mile recovery run was far better than expected. 

Friday 24th February 2017 

Friday morning and just 7 steady miles to rest the legs before cross country tomorrow. Everything felt good - legs had some bounce in them and feet had recovered from last weeks races. 

Friday lunchtime at school meant running club - the last one for the Year 3 and 4 kids. They wanted the challenge of running further than ever before so we ran to the woods and managed to do 2 laps instead of the usual one. I'm so impressed and proud by the improvement they've made in just 5 weeks. 1.6 miles done  - a long way for 8-year-olds! 

Saturday 25th February 2017 

I awoke feeling that mix of excitement and anticipation that only a race day can bring. We were travelling to Nottingham with our club in a mini-bus. 3 hours there, to run for about half an hour, before driving 3 hours back - we must really like running!!! 

We met at the club and headed off for the North (or as people keep trying to tell me - the Midlands - but to a Londoner - Nottingham is North!).  After a bit of faffing around, we made it to the park only to find a HUGE queue for the car-park. Cat and I began the process of checking our watches anxiously and getting more and more stressed...eventually, we left the boys in the bus and jumped out. By the time we'd found our race numbers and got ourselves sorted, we had to head straight to the start without any time to warm up or soak in any of the atmosphere; not the best race preparation. 

Because the nationals is such a big race, you have to start in a specific place according to your club. Annoyingly, our starting pen was on the far left hand side...why was this annoying? Well, after a short straight there was a very sharp right hand turn which meant I would have to cut across the field and run further than my competitors with starting pens on the right hand side. Nevertheless, I was poised right on the start line and ready to go. In the distance I heard a very faint bang...surely that couldn't be the starting gun... a few of us hesitated for a second...it was in-fact the starting gun but, again, because we were so far to the left, we could hardly hear it. 

Having got off to a pretty dreadful start, I knew I'd have to do some serious work to get anywhere near the front. By the time everyone had moved to the right hand side for the first turn, I estimate I was in about 300th position and I was not happy about it! I picked up the pace and just weaved in and out of as many people as I could while trying really hard not to fall over on the very bumpy ground. 

After about 1 mile, I was feeling more comfortable with my position - I estimated about top 200 which I decided I was pleased with. The first 100 were definitely too far ahead to catch now so I just concentrated on picking people off one by one. The course was very challenging but varied and interesting and actually really quite fun. There was a good mix of cross country features: 1 main, steep hill, lots of smaller undulations, 2 streams (or possibly man-made-bodies of water!)  2 short boggy sections and 1 long boggy section which the organisers had definitely been watering all week! 

The race was 5 miles and I finished in 149th position. Not the top 100 I'd really wanted but, considering the start I had, I was feeling pleased with myself. I waited for Cat (who'd also ran brilliantly) to finish, then we both ran across just in time to see the men start. 





There's something quite incredible about watching over 1000 fit, athletic men storm towards you! Obviously, we weren't spending too much time admiring the talent and instead were focusing on trying to spot our GWR men and cheer them on! Then it was a quick dash to the tent to put on some layers and try and wipe off some of the mud before finding a good spot to cheer from. All our men did us proud. John was first GWR man home in a fantastic position of 509th in a very competitive field. 



Sunday 26th February 2017 

On the plan for today was 24 miles...after cross country...that could be interesting! Nevertheless, I joined John, Marcus and Dr Dave for their Green Man recce. The Green Man is an ultra race that skirts pretty much the whole of Bristol. All of 3 of the guys ran the full route last year and have planned to do the shorter 30 mile route this year. The race is next weekend so, in preparation, the plan was do to 24 miles of the course today to check that they could still remember the route. 

After only about 3 miles, I realised that 24 miles would not be happening for me. Every step hurt. The arches of my feet were in agony on the soft grass after racing in spikes yesterday. The terrain was challenging - lots of bogs - again! I realised that I had had enough of mud and grass. I became very glad that I'd not signed up for this race - I am definitely a road runner! 

12 miles in - only half of what I'd planned to run - but I was done. My feet hurt, I was holding the boys back from the pace they wanted to do and I was simply not enjoying myself. I planned to get a taxi home and let the boys continue on their merry way. However, John - ever the gentleman - decided to sacrifice his long run and come back with me. Initially, I urged him to continue; my plan had just been for me to stop and I felt guilty for spoiling his recce. But it was lovely to have company and not be going home alone. 

After some rest and recovery, I checked my strava - my total for the week - 68miles... well the OCD in me couldn't have that! John wanted to go out and do a few more miles so I joined him for a slow 3 miles to get over the magic 70 mile marker. 

Hoping that my feet and legs recovery quickly as my aim for next week is to stick to the plan as closely as possible. 

Total mileage for the week = 71.6 miles 



Finally, just a gentle reminder that I am running the Bath Half to raise money for the Lifeskills centre which teaches children how to keep safe in the modern world. This is a fantastic cause because it can prevent serious accidents and help to save lives. Please help to educate the children of Bristol and donate by clicking on the link below. 


https://www.everyclick.com/glutenfreerunninggirlrunsbath


I've raised £90 so far. 
Thanks to:
John, Roz, Lucy, Clare, Fidel, Fiona and my Mummy and Daddy who have already donated. 

Sunday 19 February 2017

Gluten free baking and eating out in Bristol

Boston Marathon Training - 8 Weeks to go!

Half term week! - and a recovery week according to the P and D plan. 

Monday 13th February 2017 

Half term had arrived and so what's the first thing I do...go for a run at 6:30am of course! 4 gentle miles with John before going back to bed for a couple of hours. Then I get a message from the Maestro who informs me that he is planning on running at lunchtime. He works very close to my house and it is a beautiful day so why not run for a second time! When John gets back from work, he wants to run again so off I trot for run number 3 - might as well start half term as I mean to go on! 

So 3 runs with a total of 11 miles at an average of 9 min miles; a good recovery pace. 

Gluten free eating out 
In the evening, we were going to the Old Vic to see Miles Jupp (a comedian who regularly features on radio 4 and is also known for his appearance in Balamory!). Before the show, John surprised me with dinner at Aqua on the Welsh Back. 

They had a full gluten free menu with lots of options which makes a nice change. 
I chose the butternut squash risotto which was really excellent. John had Pork Cheeks - again great. Would recommend. 

❤❤Tuesday 14 February 2017 ❤❤

Today was Valentines day. A day which John and I had agreed was too commercialized. We have treated each other plenty during the past 3 months. Consequently, we'd agreed that we wouldn't give valentines gifts. I was therefore very surprised (and secretly pleased) when I woke up to find a 'non-valentines day' card on my pillow. Inside the card, a voucher to see Dirty Dancing at our favourite cinema - the Everyman. x

With smiles on our faces, we left for another early morning run - 5 miles at 9:25 pace - taking our recovery week seriously. 

Before Dirty Dancing, we had our second join PT session to warm us up! Jules (on our request) performed a body fat measurement. I wasn't especially pleased with the outcome but it gives me something to work on! 

John 11.2%
Kelly 21%   

 (Please remember that girls carry more fat naturally - this, at least, is what I've been telling myself!)

This was a much better session for both of us because Jules played on our competitive spirits to get the most out of us. 

Activity 1) While holding VIPR tubes, 4kg and 8kg - 3 sets with 14 reps in each set: 
Squat to overhead to squat, side to side.
Squat n press
Squat thrusts over tube
Mountain climbers              
  
Activity 2 ) Bar hang knee raises - alternate with
Balance v-sits, catch and throw 4kg med ball.              4 sets with 14 reps in each set 

Activity 3) COMPETITION! 
One person Row 1 minute - record distance achieved.
One person squat jumps plus holding 2 x 6kg Dumbbells -record number of reps done in I minute.
3 rounds each

Totals = 
K..22.9.....37.......23.9...43......24.8...49.        =200.6    I win!!! Woohoo (made me feel better for that 21%!)
J..26.........26.6...42.......27.3...47......27.0.    =195.9


Activity 4) Multiple bench jumps:
Low bench, high bench, weights bench, box.
X 10 each

Activity 5) 3 sets with 14 reps in each sets 
Plank hip stretch 
Forward bench lunges raised front foot
Bench lunges raised rear foot
High bench side step downs.      

Another excellent session with great variety.    

Wednesday 15th February 2017

After a few drinks at the cinema last night, we were both grateful that we'd planned an evening run today. We didn't run with the GWR crew as normal but ran earlier with Marcus instead so he could get to his special anniversary meal in time (happy anniversary guys!). 10 miles at 9:35 pace - another steady run because we're racing tomorrow. 

Gluten free baking 

As my parents were due to visit the next day, I decided I'd impress my Mum (who is an excellent baker herself) with some gluten free treats. Now I haven't really baked much ever and certainly not attempted any gluten free treats as yet so I decided to start off with the easy option of buying a packet mix. I am planning to get more adventurous so hopefully future blog entries will contain more exciting baking recipes! 


 I used Asda's own brand of mix. 


I added water, 2 eggs, butter and stirred a lot!  
















After 14 mins in the oven they looked like this - not bad for my first attempt! 








Thursday 16th February 2017 

Today was the 6th Weston Prom 5mile race. I'd been ill for the last one so was keen to see if I could still put in a good performance, whilst marathon training, with a serious amount of miles in my legs. My legs did feel heavy, which isn't ideal for racing, but I decided that I'd really like to go for a PB. My current PB stands at 31:11 and I was keen to get under 31 mins. Luckily, good friend and pacer extraordinaire, Dave Wintle expressed an interest in going for a similar time.


The race started and I set off with Dave at a sensible (for me) first mile of 6:04  - bang on sub 31 pace. Mile 2 felt good an a showed some consistency with 6:06. Now mile 3 is my least favourite mile and I often drop pace considerably at this point. With this in the back of my mind, I pushed on and managed a 6:14  - not too bad but I know what I need to work on next time. Around this point, we caught up with Woody who is a similar speed to me (for now at least!). I was hoping we'd all push on together but the men weren't feeling it today and suggested that I go it alone for the last 2 miles. Encouraged by their words of support, I dug deep. Mile 4 felt better at 6:12 pace. I then passed John going in the other direction - my delight in seeing him on track for a top 10 spot spurred me on some more - along with his shouts of,
 "Go catch the pack in front!" Looking up, I spotted a group of about 4 men who weren't too far ahead. Listening to John's advice, I picked up the pace again and started chasing them down. After the last turn, I passed them to shouts of both surprise and encouragement from the group. My legs were tired and I was checking my watch unnecessarily, desperate for the mile to tick away quicker. Just when I needed it most, a vision of blue ran towards me - John - with a huge smile on his face and more words of encouragement. He ran alongside me, encouraging me to sprint for the line. When I saw the clock I realised why...with just a short distance to go I could see the clock clicking up 30:44, 30:45, 30:46 I knew that if I wanted this sub 31, I'd have to really push for it. So I did. Not taking my eyes of the clock, I crossed the line in 30:57! Phew! Job done!

As well as getting a PB, I was also 2nd lady and earned myself a bottle of wine. John finished in 7th position - which is amazing in such a competitive race so a good night all round!









Friday 17th February 2017 

Today was supposed to be 13miles... that was quickly dropped to 10...then 7... then after we started running and our legs reminded our brains that we had in-fact raced the previous day, that became 3 miles...opps!

Gluten free eating out 
We spent today with my parents and took them out and about around the Harbourside. For lunch, we visited The Cottage. This lovely little pub does have a small number of gluten free options. Today I had a bacon and chicken salad and nachos (after John managed to persuade the bar staff that actually nachos can be gluten free and that they should check the packet!).

For dinner we went to the River Grille. They had a large number of gluten free options. I was especially impressed that the chefs brought out a special gluten free amuse-bouche for me! For my main meal I had  Stonebass with spinach and mushrooms. I'd not had Stonebass before; it is a very meaty fish which is actually similar in texture to Scallops. As usual, the gluten free dessert section was limited to 1 choice; a chocolate and passion fruit mouse. Again it was excellent - would highly recommend for a special occasion. 

Saturday 18th February 2017 

Saturday means Parkrun day! Today was especially special because it was our friend Lucy's 100th Parkrun. Because Lucy is pregnant, we decided to show our support and all stuff our running T-shirts to match her for the day! (I knew there was a reason that the size 'small' tops were so big!). We must have looked rather comical running up and down the hill but I really enjoyed the occasion - even if Lucy did push us all to running considerably quicker than we were anticipating!




Today, Saturday also meant Cross Country. Having not done a cross country race for a while and also having raced on Thursday, I didn't have particularly high expectations. Arriving at the venue and running around the course with Cat, I realised that it wasn't especially hilly, just undulating with lots of little, short, sharp hills interspersed with downhills. This suits me really well as I can find the energy to push up short, sharp hills but struggle when the hill goes on a on.

Standing on the start line, I looked around at my competitors and thought that I might be in with a chance of a good position. About 200 women sped off on the whistle and I pushed hard and stayed near the front. Not looking at my watch, I just raced. Eyes firmly fixed on the women ahead of me I counted...6...I was in 7th position! Passing some of my male team-mates, they shouted at me to try and hold that position - good plan. I dug in and just tried to stick with the pace. My watched beeped for mile 1 of 4 - 5:53 pace - WOA! That's quicker than I usually do on the road! Luckily, I knew that everyone goes off like loons in the first mile and then the pace tends to settle. Settle it did - at around 6:30 pace- which felt comfortable for me to sustain.

After just over a mile, came the stream crossing! This was the first one I've ever done and I wasn't quite sure how to approach it. I went for a - try not to slow down and just go for it - approach. Here's a short clip of it that John captured!



A couple of girls did pass me around the 2 mile mark but I managed to hold on to 9th position! Really pleased with this - my highest ever finish position for cross country. Finishing feeling exhausted and ready to collapse - luckily John was there on the line to catch and congratulate me. I think my performance spurred him on (because he didn't want to have a slower average pace than me!) as he managed an incredible average pace of 5:50 mm! Feeling very proud to see him running right at the sharp end of the field; Cat, Alice and I cheered him and the other guys on -with great enthusiasm. He finished in a fantastic 20th position!

Well done to all GWR runners!


Sunday 19th February 2017 

Legs feeling reaaaaallllyy tired after racing twice this week so would have liked to do 9 min miles for the long run today. Nevertheless, I stuck with the boys and managed 8:13mm average pace for 14.5 miles.

Not entirely sure that I recovered in the most sensible way this week but I certainly had fun! I realised just how much I enjoy racing and pushing my body to the max and challenging myself to improve all the time.

Total mileage for the week = 62.9 

Fundraising...


A gentle reminder that I am trying to raise money for Lifeskills. A centre which teaches children how to stay safe in the modern world. Thank you to John and Roz who have already donated. 

 It is a really worthwhile cause because it prevents so many accidents from happening. Please, please, please click on the link below and make a small donation - it will genuinely make a difference to the lives of the children of Bristol. 

http://www.everyclick.com/glutenfreerunninggirlrunsbath/info   


Sunday 12 February 2017

Fundraising for Lifeskills - please donate!

Raising money for Lifeskills 


Today marks 4 weeks until the Bath Half Marathon. As well as trying to get a PB, I am also running to raise money for a fantastic facility called Lifeskills. This brilliant, interactive centre teaches children and young people how to stay safe in the modern world. In a purpose built setting, children can practice making 999 calls, give first aid, deal with fires, learn how to cross roads and level crossings and many more vital skills.  To enable Lifeksills to reach more children, they urgently need donations.  Watch this video below to find out more and then please click on this link and donate to this fantastic cause. 

Thank you.  


Boston Marathon Training - Half way through the plan! 

Monday 6th February 2017 

Monday always starts with a recovery run which is always well needed after a long run the day before. Run number 1 of 2 should have been 4 miles but getting out of bed proved challenging so it became 3 miles at 9:27mm pace.

In the evening, was the GWR committee meeting so we ran to club and back to get in the extra 7 miles needed for today.

Tuesday 7th February 2017 

Today was a very tiring day. I got home from work and just wanted to go to sleep. 9 miles on the plan but John -what's-the-point-in-doing-9-you-might-as-well-do-10- Cox was feeling eager to get out on the GA run. GA stands for General Aerobic which (as I was reminded of throughout the run) is supposed to be at least a minute a mile quicker than recovery pace (so I should have been running at around 8 -8:30 min miles). Unfortunately, today was one of those days when my legs just didn't want to play. Every step was hard work and every step I got further and further from John who merrily bounded along in-front of me! Running up Ashton Court hill in the dark, with a quickly fading head torch, at 11:25 min miles when I know I am capable of running 7:30 mm is soul destroying. Nevertheless, I finished the 10 (not 9!) miles and hoped that this was just one of those bad run days and not my legs telling me that I'd been doing too many miles and they couldn't cope!

Wednesday 8th February 2017 

Wednesday nights are GWR club nights. I was really hoping that my legs would feel better as tonight called for 15 miles. We ran to club (which is all uphill) and, for the first time in quite a while, me legs had some spring in them! There was a good sized group tonight and we went off at a good pace of round 7:30 mm. Reaching the Portway and my legs were still feeling good; now Dad wasn't at club tonight so there was no one to tell us to be sensible...this resulted in us getting carried away and bashing out a couple of 6:55mm on the Portway...just for fun! The fun continued when I realised that I was on for a rather good average pace....this resulted in another few miles at sub 7:15 mm (marathon pace).

 I finished the run at 15 miles with an average pace of 7:33 min miles. This may seem unnecessary to some (... Dad) but it was a huge confidence boost to me after a really pants run the day before. Now the mission would be to do lots of recovery so that I could be in good shape for our planned 18 miles on Sunday - with 12 at marathon pace (ouch!).

Thursday 9th February 2017 

I woke up nervous about the state of my legs after yesterdays crazy speed session! Conclusion - not too bad! A nice steady recovery run in the morning - 3 miles at 9:46mm - was exactly what I needed.

PT was booked in for the evening. Jules said that john and I were ready to try a session together and I was looking forward to encouraging/competing with him! Unfortunately, it was one of those very busy days where all of the little things I had to do over-ran which caused me to be 20mins late for the session - annoying.

Despite my being late, I was still able to get a good session in; it comprised of lots of lots of squats, lots of lunges and one very challenging circuit. In this circuit, one of use held out a medicine ball while the other completed 12 squats with two very heavy kettlebells; this was repeated 6 times! There was also some core to finish with. Great fun to train with John - can't wait for next week!

Friday 10th February 2017 

Eager to get Friday's miles done and dusted in the morning so we could relax after work in the evening, we set the alarm for 5am and planned to go out for 10 miles. It was cold. VERY cold. I was feeling the effects from the PT session and Wednesday's efforts so was looking forward to a nice steady run. Unfortunately, Mr Cox had other ideas! Thankfully, I was able to win this early morning debate. We ended up with 8 miles at an average of 9:20 pace and an agreement to talk through our differing ideas for Friday morning runs in advance!


Running club today was a huge success. I took the Year 3 and 4 children around our local woodlands which they absolutely loved. It is wonderful to see them grow in confidence in their own ability; the group was far less spread out than previous weeks as the slower kids were able to hold a faster pace for longer. After a forest lap, we did a bit of work on acceleration and deceleration. They jogged to the first lamppost, then sprinted to the next and returned to a jog for the last. While being fun for kids, this workout is great for runners of all standards.

Saturday 11th February 2017 


Looking out the window (once I'd put my contacts in) I couldn't believe my luck...for the first time in 4 years we had snow in Bristol! 4 years ago was before I discovered running so I crossed my fingers and hoped that this could be my first ever run in the snow!

I love Parkrun at the best of times but I knew Parkrun in the snow would be awesome! John and I ran excitedly to Ashton Court at a lovely steady pace (no disagreements today!). This was to be a recovery run and I intended to run it really slowly to ensure I was in the best possible shape for the long run approaching the next day.

Parkjump/skip/spin would probably be a more accurate description of how I traveled around the course today! I couldn't contain my excitement as the snowflakes feel thick and fast around me. The highlights: bounding on ahead to make snowballs to throw at Marcus and John!



After a much needed hot chocolate, John and I ran home to make today's run 8 miles. Legs feeling good - however I was rather apprehensive of the planned 18 miles for tomorrow...

Sunday 12th February 2017 

Having been slightly dreading this run all week, it had finally arrived. 18 miles on the plan (although knowing John and Marcus it was bound to be more than 18!) with 12 at marathon pace.

Why was I nervous?
1) Well the P and D plan carefully builds up the marathon pace efforts through the weeks so that they are progressive and hopefully not too daunting. The problem...I was ill for the last marathon pace effort so rather than starting with a more gentle 10 miles, I was being thrown in at the deep end.
2) I know that my marathon efforts are a lot slower than John and Marcus' at the best of times but, if I was to slip off the pace, that would result in them hanging around even longer, in the freezing cold, waiting for me.
3) Bath half is just 4 weeks away and I've not really done any real distance at anywhere near the pace I want to be running at (6:30 - 6:45mm) so this run going badly would cause me to question my chances of getting that sub 1:30 at Bath.

so...no pressure then...

To give myself the best possible chance of succeeding today, I decided to go into full racing preparation mode. This meant eating lots of (my fav pre-race meal) of egg friend rice the day before and setting my alarm for 5 am so I could get up and eat more rice with time for it to digest before running (I have found that 3 hours is the optimum time to eat before a race). After eating at 5:00, I then went back to sleep until 7:30. I wore my favourite 'race shorts,' my newest compression socks and I even cut my toenails! I packed a gel as well - just in-case.

The plan was to meet Marcus at the start of the Bristol to Bath cycle path at 8:15 prompt (this prompt was emphasized after last Sunday's tardiness caused us both to get a look and tut of disapproval from Dad!) We were initially on time...until we got a little lost in an industrial estate! Finally we made it and- phew - Marcus hadn't left without us....although he was busily searching for materials to use to write us an angry 'You are 12 minutes late - gone without you!' message!

Together we began, with the plan to start with 5 marathon pace miles. The boys were then going to turn and run back to me during our 'recovery' mile before we started 4 more marathon pace miles. Next we'd run to the Portway to do our final 3 marathon pace miles with the plan to finish on the notorious Bridge Valley Road - as preparation for the almost as notorious - Heart-Brake-Hill!

Now I still at this point hadn't decided on my exact target for Boston. I know I want sub 3:15 and I know I'm not yet ready to target sub 3 hours. This puts my target pace at between 7 and 7:26 min miles. So the aim for today; to keep all 12 marathon pace miles between 7 and 7:15.

The start of the Bristol to Bath cycle path is uphill so I knew the first couple of miles might be a bit slower. So when I clocked 7:10 for the first mile effort, I was feeling rather chuffed with myself. I managed the next miles pretty comfortably in 7:01, 6:57, 6:57 and 7:02. I actually felt that I could go a bit quicker but didn't want to get carried away so early on in the run. I was halfway through my last mile of effort before the turn when I saw Marcus and John running towards me with a rather surprised look on their faces! They hadn't expected to see me so quickly! Seeing their looks of pride, spurred me on to finish the last mile quickly. I then ran my recovery mile with them before their immense pace continued and they ran off into the distance. My next 4 miles of efforts felt brilliant. They were downhill and on tarmac (my favourite!) so I just relaxed, lent forward slightly and let my legs go for it! Really happy with 7:01, 6:53, 6:52 and 6:48 for the next efforts. Once again, I quickly caught up with John and Marcus and we took a few steady miles towards the Portway. With only 3 miles at pace to go and my legs feeling brilliant, I was in high spirits. The last 2 miles flew by in 7:05 and 6:41. Once again, the boys had waited for me and their shouts of 'You're here already! We wanted more rest!' spurred me on to push for a strong uphill finish; the final mile of effort complete in 7:17 and I was delighted!

By the time we got back home, I'd clocked up 21 miles (I knew I wouldn't get away with 18!) at an average pace of 7:40mm. From today's run (and advice from John and Dad) I am going to try and target 3:05 at Boston - scary stuff as this will be over 20 minutes quicker than my PB from Berlin (3:28) but with 9 weeks still to go - I'm going to give it a bloody good try!

So I end this week feeling happy and confident! Woohoo!

Total mileage for this week= 76.9 miles 

Sunday 5 February 2017

Boston Marathon Training - Sticking to the plan (for once!).

Boston Marathon Training - 10 weeks to go! 

My goal for this week was to stick to the plan...and I have! I'm following the 70 - 85 miles a week plan from the book in the picture. 
 I have also had my biggest mileage week at 87.1 miles!

Monday 30th January 2017 

The week started positively with an early morning recovery run. After some serious hills on our 20 mile route the day before, my legs were feeling rather heavy and achy. A recovery run was much needed. 4 miles at 9:24 mm pace.

Today was a double day on the P and D plan so, in the evening, we headed out for our second recovery run of the day. Rather than going around the harbourside as usual, John had planned a new route through Ashton Court. It was a lovely run; dark, warm and no one else around - it felt like we had the whole of Ashton Court to ourselves. 6 miles banked at 9:23mm pace.

Tuesday 31st January 2017 

Today was the 4th race in the Aztec West fast 5k series. This race is notoriously flat (apart from the initial hill at the start of each lap) and fast. It is a 3 lap race on pretty much empty roads which is ideal for me; my favourite races are fast, flat and on tarmac. The plan called for 9 miles so we planned to do 3 miles to warm up, the 3 mile race and then 3 miles cool down. I warmed up at 8:22 mm average pace. My legs were still feeling rather heavy and I was missing the springy bouncyness that I know I need for a PB.

Warm-up ended up being 3.4 miles.

The plan was for John to pace Woody (and me - so he thought!) to a sub 19 PB. I knew that I wasn't feeling a PB but I wanted to go off with them and see how long I could hang on. Unfortunately, we started a little too far back and, rather than the crazy fast start that I'd been used to on previous occasions at this event, I got caught up behind load of runners who'd probably started a bit too far forward. Weaving around for a bit, I tried to keep up but my legs were having none of it. I decided to run at a fast but comfortable pace and try and finish in a reasonable time.

My fast-but-comfortable-pace seems to be around 6:30 mm (as I also ran this pace at Barnstaple Parkrun the Saturday before) this is rather useful as I am hoping that I will be able to run the Bath Half as close to 6:30 mm as I can. Good to know that I can comfortably do 3 miles...just need to hold on for another 10!

Finished as 9th Lady with a time of 19:56.

Cool down of 2.6 miles = total for today 9.1 miles - perfect.

Dinner at Nandos with a mix of GWR and Southville crews. I have to admit, when Fi suggested Nandos I wasn't too keen. However, when I asked about gluten free options, the staff were excellent. They have a HUGE file of allergen information to trawl through - which is a bit of a pain to be honest - but at least it is clear what contains gluten and what doesn't. 
The really good news is how they deal with cooking chicken for customers with Coeliac disease; they fully clean and disinfect the grill to ensure it is not contaminated. Plus the chips are cooked in a separate oil to any battered foods so I was actually able to have chips - this is a rarity for Coeliacs! 

Wednesday 1st February 2017 

15 miles on the plan today and I actually wasn't feeling too bad after Aztec. Clearly, doing a proper cool down actually helped - who'd have guessed!

I drove to our running club  HQ in Redland to meet John and Marcus to do what I thought would be 5 miles before the winter 10 mile route. However, because Marcus had already ran to club, he only needed 4 miles. Everyone who knows us will know that Dad is the boss so we stopped after 4 miles. I made a mental note to make up that mile later on as my mantra this week was to "stick to the plan."

We then joined the rest of the crew to run our usual 10 mile route through Westbury and along the Portway. I took it fairly steady tonight and enjoyed catching up with friends and having a good old natter.

14 miles done at an average of 8:13mm pace.

To extend John's birthday celebrations even further, a group of us went out for a curry after the run at Redland Tandoori - a top GWR post run venue! Another good gluten free option as all of their dishes are cooked using lentil or chickpea flour. 

Thursday 2nd February 2017 

To allow John to have a drink with his birthday curry, I drove us both home leaving his car at the club. This meant that Thursday morning's run had to including picking up the car. When we left our apartment - shock horror - it was raining! It wasn't until we were faced with rain that we realised how few wet training runs we've had during our first 8 weeks of Boston Marathon Training. This was the first time that we'd left the house in the morning to rain. Cold and soggy, we quickly agreed to drop our planned 7 miles down to 5.

5 miles recovery at an average of 9:28 mm pace.

A great day at school; I had a maths lesson observation which went brilliantly. Nothing like some excellent feedback to put you in a good mood.

In the evening we had a PT session with Jules booked in. I always look forward to these sessions because they are varied, interesting and challenging - everything a good PT session should be.
Today's work out went like this:

Rowing to warm up.

Circuit 1 =   3  sets  of firstly 20 seconds then 40 seconds and finally (and painfully) 60-seconds.

Squat and press with an 8kg medicine ball 
side to side squat jumps
squat jumps plus 2 x 6 kg dumbbells 

..........

Circuit 2 =  3 sets of 10 reps of

Plank side crunches (or spider-men as I prefer to call them!) 
Tube T- squat thrusts
Cable rotations 

..................

Circuit 3 = 4 sets of 

Box jumps (3 sets) into double box jumps (a smaller box to jump onto first, followed by the bigger box after - like an obstacle course!  - This was my favourite activity). 

Side step ups with a 5kg med ball held overhead

...................

Circuit 4 = 4 sets of 12 with each set increasing in difficulty.   

Seated balance front throws..straight , sides and random (sat, balanced on my bum with legs raised - Jules throws a ball to me for me to catch and throw back - a great core exercise).

Sat chair rows (using the cable machine while in a ski sit  (ouch!) 

.................

Balance work 

Jules presented me with a 'wobble board' for the first time. This would be to improve balance he said. Now anyone who knows me knows that I am rather clumsy. I am known to frequently walk into inanimate objects, fall over and generally injure myself so I wasn't holding out much hope for this exercise! 

After helping me onto the board (first challenge overcome!), he told me to get my balance and make small correcting movements. Then he picked up a huge (in size) 3 kg ball and started throwing it for me to catch. Next, he asked me to hold it and squat - while still trying to balance on this very wobbly board. Then, I had to squat and throw the ball onto the floor as hard as I could - this is a great one for getting out any built up frustration! 

Finally, he asked me to stand on it on just 1 leg. Well that, for me, was literally impossible. Even with a balancing aid (in the form of a wooden pole), I was simply not able to balance for more than a couple of measly seconds. Jules informed me that we would be practicing this again in the future. I await this with trepidation! 

Another really great session. 

While John was put through his paces (on exactly the same session as me) I took the opportunity to make up for the missed miles. 3 miles on the treadmill meant that I was back up to date. A really good feeling - keeping my OCD at bay! 


Dinner - gluten free spaghetti carbonara.
        
Friday 3rd February 2017

Today's run was supposed to be a 13 mile Lactate Threshold (LT) run with 6 at half marathon pace. Now we always like to get Friday's run over an done with in the mornings so we can collapse after work on Friday night. Running 13 miles with 6 at pace at 5:30 am filled me with dread. I knew I wouldn't be able to achieve the target (especially after PT the night before) so I decided to swap over the Friday and Saturday runs. I was a little worried that this might cause problems for me during the planned 22 mile long run on Sunday but John assured me that Sunday's run would be slow (8:30 - 9 mm he said -ha ha!) - so I decided to run my 7 mile recovery run on Friday. 

John wanted to stick to the plan and do his LT run in the morning so he came up with a rather detailed plan which involved me running at 9mm for 6 miles and him running (a lot faster) for 10 miles and us meeting at our favourite recovery point. Eager to be at the right place at the right time, meant the today's run was a lesson in pacing for me. Trying to keep every mile at as close to 9mm as I could was quite a challenge - especially because, for once, my legs were feeling rather fresh! 

Running around the harbourside on my own felt rather odd. I've become so used to running with people that I felt quite lonely! I wasn't scared but my senses were definitely heightened. You can therefore imagine the instant feeling of panic that flooded through when I heard a deep growling sound coming from a dark corner...This was quickly followed by a thudding, scratching sound before two foxes came into sight! Running at full pelt, they sprinted down the harbourside causing my heart-rate to spike somewhat! It was however, lovely to see more of what is fast becoming a favourite animal of mine and a sort of training talisman. Seeing these hairy, ginger creatures also reminded me of a certain someone so I focused my attention on continuing the run!

7.6 miles done at 9:02mm pace. 

Friday means running club. Session 3 with the Year 3 and 4 kids at school. Last week, they were all given a number based on their speed. Today we played a game I like to call 'Cat and Mouse'. I sent the slower kids (group 3) off first, followed by group 2 and finally the faster ones - group 1. The challenge is for group 3 - the mice - to hold off the cats - group 2 and 1 for as long as they can. While groups 2 and 1 have to try and overtake as many mice as possible. They love this game because the slower kids,who often finish last, get to finish at the front. The look of pride on one child's face, as he told me that he was first to finish, was just magical. 


Saturday 4th February 2017

Eager to 'stick to the plan' we left home at 8:00am (lovely to have a lie in - yes, waking up at 7:30 is now classed as a lie in!) and headed to our home Parkrun of Ashton Court. We ran the 'long way' to get our mileage total up so by the time we reached Ashton Court, we'd already ran 5 miles. 

My legs were feeling rather good today- and I needed to get 6 fast miles in- so I planned to go for it at Parkrun and have a bash at a PB. My Ashton Court PB stands at 19:56 so I wanted to run mile 1 (the hardest and totally up hill mile) at 7:04 or less. When I finished mile 1 and my watch said 7:15 I knew I'd have to pick up the pace to get a PB but I knew I wasn't too far off at least. The second mile was much better 6:49 and the third mile was around 5:25 (downhill). It wasn't quite enough for a PB but at 20:10 on a hilly course and 2nd lady as well - not too shabby.

Parkrun was finished but I wasn't. I had another 5 miles to do with 3 of those at half marathon target pace (6:50 or less). 

Marcus was in full 'Dad mode' and told me, in no uncertain terms, that I shouldn't be running fast today (because we had 22 miles to do tomorrow) and that I wasn't allowed to complain about my legs hurting tomorrow! 

We headed for the Portway - a great road for speedwork. I wanted to get 3 miles in under 6:45 mm pace but I was aware that I'd ran pretty quickly for 3 miles already - this would be a good test as to my current half marathon fitness level. 

Mile 1 - 6:38
Mile 2 - 6:37 
Mile 3 - 6:33 

Progressive splits - that's something I'm not able to do very often. Filled with confidence, I headed home. It's a good feeling to know that after 10 miles I am still able to get down to 6:30 pace. 

Annoyingly, my strava data doesn't show these splits as I foolishly stopped my watch a number of times. John kindly stitched them together for me but that has changed the data slightly - lesson learned. 

Sunday 5th February 2017

Getting out of bed and, at first test, my legs didn't feel too bad. Unfortunately, that wouldn't last long as, to reach our meeting point on the downs, we had to run 2 miles completely uphill (including St. Michael's hill!). We had planned to meet Paul and Marcus at 8:00 as usual. Marcus, it is well known, waits for no man (or woman it seems!) so when at 8:00 we were still 1/2 a mile away, I was starting to worry...

Reaching the meeting point, we could see two blue figures running across the downs and we knew that they'd given up waiting and started on the 22 miles without us! Remember earlier in the week when John promised me a 8:30 - 9:00 mm pace, well, chasing Paul and Marcus across The Downs isn't exactly the gentle start I'd hoped for! Thankfully, John raced ahead and caught up with them. Now, as I joined the group, we headed for the Towpath. I didn't remain as part of the group for long though. This 8:30 - 9 mm pace, was clearly a cover for the actual planned pace of 8:00 min miles! For the guys, this was an 'easy' pace but for me, I was working too hard to keep up. I decided that I would leave them to it and focus instead on keeping around an 8:30 pace which is comfortable for me. 

They kindly stopped regularly to let me catch up and although I'd rather have run with them, I was really pleased with my average pace considering the mileage that I'd done this week. Not wanting to get in trouble, I didn't moan once, despite the fact that my legs were really quite painful! As the miles quickly ticked away, I actually started to feel better and better and stronger and stronger. A few miles went by at 8:20 pace or less and my confidence was high. The last 3 miles were downhill so I decided to try and pick up the pace a little to finish strong. This is a great way of training because it prepares your body to run hard even when you're feeling tired. My last 3 miles were the fastest of the whole run - 7:54, 7:53 and 7:35. Job done. 

22 mile done at an average of 8:27 mm. 

Total this week = 87.1 miles 


My highest mileage to date. But best of all - I stuck to the plan!