Sunday 26 March 2017

A win and a decision made!

4 weeks until the Boston Marathon! 

A decision has been made...


After a fantastic response from friends, family and athletes on blogger, strava and facebook, I have decided to do the sensible thing and stick to the plan. I was rather overwhelmed by the amount of people who care enough to read my blog, contemplate my dilemma and write a response. While all advice was useful and thought provoking, I've decided to air of the side of caution and focus on the responses from the 'experts' aka those who have ran marathons and especially those who have ran the Boston Marathon or those who themselves are already a part of the infamous Sub3 club. I've reflected on the fact that 3:05 is an amazing time in itself and would be a huge achievement. I therefore plan on starting off at around 7min miles (or maybe slightly less as the first 16miles is downhill). I'm then going to try and sustain that pace for the undulating section of the course (miles 16 -22). If (by some miracle) at mile 22 I feel good, I'll pick it up on the final downhill section. 

My aims: 
1) To enjoy the race 
2) To get sub 3:15 
3) To get sub 3:05 


Monday 20th March 2017  Last week of training before the taper!  

Up early (but not quite early enough for 6miles - sorry Maestro!) with John for a VERY slow 3 miles after the Gloucester 20 yesterday. 10:04 mm pace - ouch! 

Legs felt slightly better by the evening; 6 miles at 9:38mm pace. 


Tuesday 21st March 2017 - 100th day of Boston Training! 

Today was one of those mornings where I just couldn't wait to get outside. The sun was just rising, the sky blue and all the harbourside runners were in a good mood- lots of smiling, nodding and cheery 'Good mornings!' 3 miles at 9:43mm.

In the evening, I had a go at a GA run - managed a few miles at 8:30mm or less and averaged 8:49 for the 6 miles. Legs definitely not yet recovered from the exertions of the weekend. 

Wednesday 22nd March 2017

John had a special treat for me today - my very first Gluten Free hot cross buns! Obviously I had to earn them first (by running of course!). 3 miles at 9:31mm didn't feel too bad. The hot cross buns were delicious toasted with lots of butter! 

Wednesday evening is of course GWR club night. A fairly steady one as we've got a race tomorrow. 10 miles at 8:54mm. 

Thursday 23rd March 2017

This evening was the 7th race in the Weston Prom 5 mile series. I knew I wasn't in PB form because my legs were still feeling rather achy after Sunday's race. Adding to my this, the wind had picked up big time! My plan instead was to hang on to Bristol and West runner Julia for as long as possible. Julia is a fantastic runner (part of the Sub 3 club!) and someone I've been chasing down at prom for a while now! While warming up, I noticed that there was some unfamiliar female faces; Chepstow Harriers had clearly decided to try the prom out for size and I quickly spotted some speedy looking ladies that I needed to keep my eye on! 

The gun sounded and we were away. For the first section of the course, we had the wind behind us - I wasn't looking forward to turning around! I ran the first mile with John, the Maestro, Woody and Gary. We were gradually picking up the pace and over taking to get a good position. When we reached the first two ladies (Julia and a Chepstow lady - clearly my earlier observation was accurate!), I decided to stick with them rather than push on at this early stage and risk blowing up. John, the Maestro and Woody continued on ahead but Gary stuck with me. We ran with the ladies for a couple of miles - Gary was doing a fantastic job of being my wind-shield and I was feeling rather good so we picked the pace up around mile 4 and managed to lose both the other women! I was in first place and desperate not to loose it so focused on keeping good form and tried to pick up the pace as much as possible in the last mile. We managed to catch up with Woody; I thought I'd try and nip past him but he had clearly left something in the tank and took the lead back finishing really strongly - and very close to his PB. 

I was delighted to finish as first lady in a time of 30:59 and was rewarded with a bottle of wine!  


Friday 24th March 2017

Once again Friday morning got the better of us! Just 3 miles rather than the 6 that was on the plan -oops! 9:33mm - which after racing the day before, wasn't too bad. 

At lunchtime I took my running club out to the local woodlands where they manged 1.7 miles - a really great effort and the furthest a lot of them have ever ran. 

Saturday 25th March 2017

Parkrun day! 

After a rather heavy night of drinking, dancing and general merriment to celebrate our dear Chairwoman getting another year older, we weren't sure if we were going to make it...
However, clearly we are hardier than others (cough * the Woody's * cough!) and managed to drag ourselves out of bed! John even managed an extra few miles - I chose a few extra mins of sleep! 

We ran to Ashton Court and while we waited for the race briefing, bumped into James and Gen (Felicity's sister) who was visiting for the weekend. I knew that 22 miles were on the plan for tomorrow and, as it was Gen's first time at Ashton Court, I was more than happy to run with her and very much enjoyed her company up and down the hill. 




Sunday 26th March 2017 

I'm used to just doing what I'm told when it comes to running. Most people have noticed that there is very much a pecking order in our friendship group. The Maestro is obviously the undisputed leader. He passes detailed orders to John who relays some snippets of information to me which I then pass onto the Woodys and others! When told therefore that we were meeting at 7:45 in the morning, I was less than impressed - normally we meet at 8am (which is early enough) but 7:45 is just ridiculous! However, the Maestro explained to me that because the clocks were changing, 7:45 was actually 8:45 so I was in fact getting a lie in! That sounded pretty good to me so I set the alarm on my phone (which I knew would change the time automatically for me) for 6:45 confident in my knowledge that that would actually be 7:45! I wake up at 6:45 and actually don't feel to bad...that is until I walk into the kitchen and look at the time... 5:45!!!! WTF!!!! So I've actually lost an hour AND got up an hour earlier!!! Not impressed Maestro - I may have to start challenging your leadership! 

Despite being very unimpressed, we actually managed to arrive at the Maestro's on time (for possibly the first time of this whole marathon campaign!). The three of us headed off for the last long run before the marathon! 22 miles to do. 

The first 13 miles felt alright. I was keeping up with the boys and enjoying the sunshine. Around mile 14, everything started to get harder. My legs, hips and lower back hurt and I was slowing down rapidly. John and Marcus got smaller and smaller and further and further ahead - typically - at the very confusing section of the run that was full of twists and turns. I lost sight of the boys and played a bit of trial and error with the route! Luckily, I managed to spot them in the distance having not strayed too far from the route. They waited for me to catch up and kindly slowed down for the last 1/3 of the run. Although it was a really beautiful day, I'd had enough. I couldn't wait to hit the 22 mile mark and get this run done. 

22 miles at an average of 8:28mm - slower than I'd have liked but my legs were clearly still feeling the effects of the race on Thursday. 

Total mileage for the week = 73.8 


The last proper week of training DONE! It's taper time! 

Sunday 19 March 2017

A great race leaves me with a dilemma...

5 weeks left until the Boston Marathon! 


Monday 13th March 2017 

After a hugely successful race at the Bath Half, John and I were up (not as early as planned!) in the morning for a 3 mile recovery run. It's safe to say that our legs were feeling the effects of our efforts- clearly we'd worked hard! I knew it would take a few days to recover from Bath and I was looking forward to the Gloucester 20 mile race on Sunday so I wanted to get lots of slow miles in this week, to give my legs the best chance possible of recovering. 

Run number two of the day was another recovery...4 miles at 9:26 mm pace. 

Tuesday 14th March 2017 

Up early again today to get 3 miles done. The plan called for more but tonight was parents evening - I knew I'd be too tired to run in the evening. 

Also, after parents evening, John and I joined other members of GWR at the ADMF (Arthur Dagger Memorial Fund) Trustees meeting. The ADMF is a charity which was set up in the memory of a former member of GWR who sadly passed away. Arthur was know for his passion for supporting and coaching children, consequently, the ADMF raises money to support future athletes. Having been an enthusiastic member of the GWR committee for over a year now, I was approached by a member of GWR and invited to join the ADMF board of trustees. Being, myself, passionate about teaching and nurturing young people, I was delighted to be invited. 


Wednesday 15th March 2017

Despite having a very busy day yesterday, John and I awoke early and decided to go out for a few extra miles (which turned out to be 5!). In the evening, was our usual GWR club night. 10 miles at 8:07 average pace - the first quickish miles I'd done since Sunday and I was certainly feeling achy still. 

Thursday 16th March 2017

Parents evening round two tonight meant another early 3 miles. Again not as many miles as I'd like but after talking solidly for 4 hours to the parents of 16 different children, fellow teachers will understand, that I just wanted to collapse when I finally got home that evening! 

Friday 17th March 2017

It was VERY difficult to drag myself out of bed this morning. As has often happened on Fridays, we'd planned to do 6 miles...which decreased to 4...and then to 3! Slightly concerned that the spring still hasn't returned in my legs...hopefully they'll be back to normal before Sunday's race. 

Friday lunchtime meant running club! This week was the return of 'Cat and Mouse' the slower children started first and gradually I let the faster ones go and try and catch them. Great fun for everyone and a great workout - especially for my fellow teachers Mrs Powell and Mr Anderson who certainly earned their lunch today! 

After Cat and Mouse, we did some work on running position. I told the children that when I am running, I try to imagine myself in a box (encouraging to keep their arms tucked in neatly by their sides) and that there is a string pulling my head up - like a puppet. We also worked on trying to lean forward slightly when running. I made it into a game where I shouted 'lean back' 'lean forward' or 'good form!' and they had to run in the position I was asking for. This was good fun and also (I hope) got the point across! 

Saturday 18th March 2017

Saturday is Parkrun day! John and I ran to Ashton court - nice and steadily. Before a gentle plod up and down the hill and a steady run back. As much as it is nice to take it easy, it is very hard to restrain myself and not go charging down the hill at full pelt. I did pick the pace up a little on the downhill to stretch the legs out but didn't want to do anything that might jeopardize my chances at the Gloucester 20 tomorrow. John however wasn't planning to race flat out so decided to pick up the pace. 4th place finish and a really good time without even really trying - just goes to show what fantastic form he's in right now. 


Sunday 19th March 2017

I awoke early with that excited pre-race feeling. Despite the fact that both John and the Maestro have been reminding me all week that this is NOT a race but  in face a training run, I knew I was in good form and I also knew (from studying previous year's results) that I might be in with a chance of a good finishing position. With all of this in mind, my initial plan was to work with Dr Dave, Paul and Rob to run a steady 7:15 mm pace for the first 3/4 and then pick up the pace towards the end. Although I did have a sneaky second plan...to see how many women were in front of me and see how many I could pick off during the race. 

We arrived at the race HQ in plenty of time for me to have my usual 5 pre-race wees! 
It was great to see so many GWR members at the race today. All of us using this run as part of marathon training for London, Brighton, Manchester and of course, Boston. 



At the start line, I couldn't help but glance around...not too many ladies I recognised...a couple looked pretty speedy but I thought I might be in with a chance at a good position - very tempting indeed! 

The gun sounded and we were off. We all went off fairly steadily and stayed together forming a great little GWR crew. The first couple of miles of the course contained an out and back section which was perfect for a spot of woman counting! I clocked 8 women ahead of me - my challenge was set; see how many I could pick off during the course of the race! 

The first 3 miles were brilliant. We were running steadily as a solid group and having a little chat as well. It was especially lovely to be running a race alongside John and Marcus who have usually left us all for dust after the first 1/4 of a mile! After mile 3, our speediest friends, sticking firmly to their race plan, left us and pushed on. Dr Dave, Paul, Rob and some newly made friends (from Clevedon and other clubs I can't remember) started to play my favourite game of 'chase the women!' We spotted two not too far ahead so decided to up the pace slightly to catch up with them. Well, that was the start of what became a fantastic race! 

Mile after mile passed and I just felt stronger and stronger. I had a gel at mile 7 (as instructed by the Maestro) and, because I haven't had many gels in training, felt the effects instantly. My whole body almost shock with energy- I was like kids on a school trip after having eaten their lunch! My legs felt like they could run all day and I just kept picking up the pace. It was also around this point when I saw fellow club-mates and brilliant supporters Steve, Kate and Pat. After running Bath last week with supporters pretty much solidly around the entire course, having the majority of this one supporter free, felt rather lonely at times. As a result, hearing the friendly voices of my club mates was just what I needed. Even better, they were telling me that I was currently in 5th position! That info, coupled with the gel was enough to spur me on to the second lap. 

It was a windy day and although I was aware of the wind, unusually, I wasn't especially bothered with it. Similarly, I hardly even noticed the hills and actually overtook people on the uphill section! Before I realised it, I'd passed the 10 mile mark - and all felt great. 

By the time that I passed Steve, Kate and Pat again( at the end of the 2nd lap), I had moved into 4th position. Everything was still going to plan. After finishing the 3rd lap, I was in 3rd position and with just over 1 mile to go, I heard them shout '2nd place is just ahead of you - push on - you can do it!' These were just the words I needed to hear. I upped my pace and chased her down. With only 1/2 a mile to go, I passed her. Not daring to look back, I just kept pushing on as fast as I could in the hope that she didn't have enough left to come with me. 

Turning the final corner, I saw the finish and gave a last push for the line. I finished as the 2nd female finisher and 1st in my age category - well chuffed! I then realised that I hadn't actually looked at my watch for ages so wasn't sure what my time would be. 2:19:21- WOW! Much quicker than I'd planned. 
Again, during the race I didn't really pay too much attention to my pace - just a glance occasionally to check that I was keeping it around the 7mm mark. I was, therefore, delighted when I looked back at my splits to find that I'd actually ran another negative split (my first being at Bath last weekend) and I'd also ran a sub 90 half! Quite amusing when you think that I'd tired to do this for 3 years and then I manage it without even thinking about it as part of a 20 mile race! 

Here's the pace for each mile: 

1 - 7:06
2- 7:12
3- 7:02
4- 7:07
5- 7:05
6 - 6:46
7- 7:01
8 - 6:56
9 - 6:48
10 - 7:12
11- 6:57
12 - 6:54
13- 6:26 (got overly excited on a long downhill section!) 
14 - 6:53
15 - 6:58
16 - 7:03
17- 6:43
18 - 6:46
19- 6:53
20 - 6:17 (my fastest mile - just goes to show how competitive I am - I really wanted that 2nd place!) 

A really fantastic race with an average pace of 6:54. I really surpassed my own expectations. 

This however, leaves me with a dilemma; do I keep to my original plan for Boston (7 - 7:15 mm pace which will give me a time of 3:05 - 3:10) or do I consider altering my race plan with the possibility of crossing that magical 3 hour mark? 

I am genuinely looking for advice on this as the pros and cons seem to balance out! 

Pros of altering my target and going for Sub 3 

  • I'm feeling strong - really strong; I've combined upping the mileage with upping my strengthening and conditioning training and having regular physio appointments to ensure that I avoid injury. 
  • I ran Bath Half at quicker than marathon pace (6:31) and finished feeling like I had more in the tank. 
  • I ran the Gloucester 20 at quicker than planned marathon pace and not too far off sub 3 pace and again, finished like I still had more to give. 
  • My average heartrate for Bath was 169BPM and Gloucester was 157BPM - again suggesting that I have more to give. 
Cons of altering my target and going for Sub 3 

  • It is very late in the day to be changing my plan - All of my marathon paced efforts, up until now, have been at around the 7mm pace. 
  • I've seen first hand how hard it is to get Sub 3 - am I really ready for that on the basis of only 2 strong races? 
  • Do I really want to push myself out of my comfort zone and risk not enjoying the marathon as much?
  • 26 miles is a lot more than 20! 


Total mileage this week = 60.8 





Sunday 12 March 2017

Bath Half Marathon - MASSIVE PB!

A week of recovering in preparation for the Bath Half


6 Weeks until the Boston Marathon 


The plan for this week was to run slowly and recover as much as possible to give myself the best possible chance of FINALLY getting that sub 1:30 half marathon time. 

Monday 6th March 2017 

Monday was a double day so John and I did 3 miles in the morning and 4 miles in the evening. Both runs slow and steady. 

Tuesday 7th March 2017 

Today I added to my recovery run with some strides. Now, I thought that the aim of strides was just to increase the pace and get the legs used to running faster in short, sharp busts. However, John informed me that you should also be focusing on a different element of techniques - such as leg lifts which were my chosen focus area for today. I did 3.5 miles with a 0.1 mile sprint every half mile. 

In the evening, was our weekly PT session courtesy of Jules. I ran to PT and then got a lift home. Sadly, due to the awful Bristol traffic, John was unable to make it on time so I had a solo session. A really great session but I did miss working out with my favourite training buddy.

Down and Ups x10
Goblet squats 15kg x10
Squat jumps x10
Split lunge jumps x10

Down and Ups x10
Squat jumps x10 15kg dumbell on one side....xL and xR 
Press ups x10
Squat and press with 15 kg barbell x10

Crunches x 10
Squat thrusts over tube x10
Scorpions  x10
Elbow to knee crunches x10

Single arm cleans x10 with 15kg dumbell 
Single leg squats to floor x10 8 kg medicin ball
Pup db side to side 15kg db

Then I repeated ALL OF THE ABOVE but did 20 of each!!!! - PHEW!

Bench jumps over a series of different height benches: low,mid, high and the box  X4 

Followed by squats with 30kg bar X4 

Wednesday 8th March 2017 

Wednesday night is GWR club night. Just a steady 10 tonight as I was feeling rather achy after PT. 

Thursday 9th March 2017 

Another double day today and another day of recovery runs. The morning run was a bit worrying as I was still feeling rather achy and starting to worry that I wouldn't recover in time for Bath. But by the evening, I'd loosened up loads and had a spring back in my step. 3.4 miles in the morning and 6 miles in the evening. 

Friday 10th March 2017 

Another recovery morning run - just 3 miles - feeling good. 

At lunchtime, I had the second running club with the Year 5 and 6 kids. We did a 1/2 mile race today and, as each child came in, I gave them a number in preparation for our 'Cat and Mouse' game. After that, we did some work on cadence - 10 fast steps, 10 slow, 10 fast etc before a more gentle run home. They are really getting quick these kids - I'm having to work much harder to lead them! 

Saturday 11th March 2017 

Saturdays are Parkrun days. Today was the turn of our home Parkrun at  Ashton Court. We ran there before running steadily as a group (for the first half at least) John and I couldn't resist giving our legs a stretch out on the downhill. Also really great to see a few kids from my running club attending. 

The rest of the day was spent enjoying the company of best friend Felicity and my Goddaughter Amelia who was making the most of her newly learned skill of running -around the Harbourside while we tried to keep her away from the water!  

Sunday 12th March 2017 

Bath Half day! I woke up feeling refreshed and ready to go! I wasn't really sure what to expect from today as I've not really trained for the half marathon distance - having focused so heavily on marathon training. Many people, however have been telling me that they've gain half marathon PBs while marathon training so I was hoping to follow in their footsteps. 

My race strategy was to start off at 6:30 min mile pace and see how long I could sustain it for.  I knew I could do 5 miles as I had done so at the Weston Prom 5 mile races so I just hoped that I could keep the rest of the miles below 6:45 min miles. I do have a tenancy to be quite bad at pacing, go out too quick and blow up and slow down from around mile 8! My aims - to run more consistently, at a more even pace and not disappoint Dad! 

We got to the start line with plenty of time. Did a very short warm up around our spacious D pen (it was yet to fill up) and waited right at the front with John, Dan, Woody, Martin and Paul. Dad, due to his excellent Good-For-Age time, was in pen C alongside Dave Wintle and  Rob. The conditions were perfect. A little chilly, dry and very little wind. I couldn't wait to get started! 

The gun went and we were off. Marcus and John quickly disappeared into the distance and Dan, Paul and Martin went off slightly quicker than I was comfortable with. However, Woody and I were both keen on keeping to 6:30 min miles so we started off together. The first mile was downhill - which, as I muttered Woody anxiously, would make the last mile especially horrible! The first 3 miles went by quickly and, before I knew it,  I only had 10 miles to go. While I'm running, I like to think of the miles as landmarks that relate to my regular running routes. 10 miles to go makes me think about our weekly GWR 10 miles routes on Wednesday nights. 

After 6 miles, Woody and I were feeling strong. We'd passed a few familiar faces on the way around and it was great to run alongside Woody after the Cardiff half where I couldn't keep his pace and dropped back after only 4 miles. We arrived back to the start of the lap (Bath half is made up of: 1 mile out, a 5.5 mile lap -which you repeat twice- and then 1 mile back). The great things about a 2 lap course are that 1) you know what is coming up on the second lap and can prepare strategically for the different elements and 2) that you get to see your supporters multiple times. At the start of the second lap, I looked out for Nat and quickly spotted her cheering enthusiastically. It was wonderful to have lots of people out on the course supporting and cheering - it gave me such a boost to hear my name being shouted out. Thank you to Nat and her mum, Lucy and family, Jane and Mike, Rita and Pat and all the Lifeskills crew for their words of encouragement. 

7 miles came around surprisingly quickly and I was feeling great. I'd been being sensible and sticking to my plan. I could tell now that I could hold comfortably hold this pace and my urge to race kicked in! I asked Woody if he wanted to play my favourite racing game of 'Chasing the Women' - he motioned at me to push on so I tucked into a gel (for an extra boost) and pushed on. I could see fellow Bostonite and pacer extraordinaire  Dave up ahead so I fixed my eyes on him and picked up the pace a little. I was hoping that Dave would fancy running with me but he wasn't feeling it today so I wished him luck and carried on solo. 

Although the course was rather undulating, and obviously I'd have preferred it flat, my regular hill runs at Ashton Court, Bridge Valley Road and St. Michael's Hill have clearly helped; I was able to dig in during the hills, pretty much maintain pace and actually overtake people on the uphill! The good thing about having uphills is that what follows is a downhill! I love running downhill so again used this as an opportunity to focus on a woman ahead of me and challenge myself to overtake her. This is one of my favourite racing strategies as it gives me a target and makes the miles tick by even quicker. 

Before I knew it, I was at mile 10. 'Just a Parkrun to go!' I told myself. My legs were starting to feel like they'd done some work now but I just put it to the back of my mind and continued racing. As I approached the last mile, I remembered the words I'd uttered to Woody 12 miles earlier...oh dear! Looking at my watch, I knew I was comfortably under the sub 1:30 pace so I just dug deep and pushed on up the hill. Being so close to the finish line, I turned my attention to who would be waiting for me at the finish. I couldn't wait to see John, tell him my time, which, by now, I knew would be a huge PB and make him proud. 

Turning the final corner and I could see a group of guys in blue waiting on the finish line. Feeling over-the-moon, I crossed the line and was quickly scooped up into John's arms. It was amazing to have everyone waiting and hear people's congratulations - especially Dad's (who wasn't disappointed - hooray)! 

Here are my mile splits - actually consistent for a change:

1 - 6:27
2 - 6:25
3 - 6:36
4- 6:33
5- 6:32 
6- 6:33
7 - 6:33
8 - 6:30 
9- 6:31
10 - 6:27
11 - 6:35 
12- 6:37 
13 - 6:32 

Total time - 1:26:31! A PB by 3 and a half minutes! 354th overall, 26th lady and 11th in my age category. Out of about 12,000 runners! 


A really great race. I enjoyed the course - even with the hills and loved the support. The conditions were perfect and I felt great the whole way around. Could not be happier with the time; it is such a confidence boost for the Boston Marathon. 

Also wonderful to see all my friends and loved ones do so brilliantly. John also gained a huge PB with a time of 1:17:52 and in position 101! Marcus, Dan, Woody and Orla all also gained PBs - amazing! And just goes to show that with running, the more miles you do and the more effort you put in, the better you get! A really successful day all round! 



Thank you to everyone who has sponsored me. I have raised £308.20 for the Lifeskills centre! If there is anyone who would still like to, I will keep the page open for a few more days - so there is still time - just click on the link below. 

http://www.everyclick.com/glutenfreerunninggirlrunsbath 



Next weeks challenge is for my legs to fully recover in time for the Gloucester 20 mile race. 

Total mileage for the week = 58.8 miles. 


Sunday 5 March 2017

Gluten-free Pancakes are the perfect race fuel!

Boston Marathon Training - 6 weeks to go! 


Mission for the week - follow the plan...


Monday 27th February 2017 

The week started as usual, with a recovery run - should have been 6...or 4...but we couldn't drag ourselves out of bed so it became 3 miles. An average pace of 9:50 mm shows just how much our legs were aching from last weeks efforts. 

We paid for our early morning laziness in the evening as we had to do 7 miles to make it up to 10 for the day. As it happened, John and I ended up doing 8 miles. It was one of those runs where we were just enjoying running together, chatting all the way around; putting the world to rights! 

Tuesday 28th February 2017

I'd been shopping the day before and stocked up on everything we needed to make the ultimate Gluten-free-Pancakes! Looking at all the ingredients on the table, we realised that we probably needed to put in an extra early morning run to preemptively burn off all the additional calories we planned on consuming! 

2.8 miles done and I was well into chef mode! 


 I used Asda's own brand Gluten-free flour.






I don't bother with measuring... roughly equal parts of eggs, flour and milk.
 I brought a new Tefal non-stick pan especially for the occasion!

Very pleased with how they turned out. They tasted just as good at pancakes with regular flour!


In the evening, was the next in the Aztec West fast 5k serise. I was feeling recovered and eager to really give this race a good go. So far this series I've been making good progress and clocked up times of:
race 1 - 19:30
race 2 - 19:06
race 3 - 19:01
race 4 - 19:56 (when I wasn't feeling too good!) 

My race goal was to get under that pesky 19 minutes. I was feeling strong and had a good warm up. During the warm up, I noticed that it was rather windy...

To get under 19 minutes, I needed to be averaging around 6 min miles. I always slow down mile on mile so I wanted to get my first mile in in around 5:50. The whistle went and I got off to a good start. It wasn't until I turned the corner that the wind hit me. Really really strong gusts of wind. I tried my best to tuck in behind various tall men but it didn't make much difference. I was working hard and just not hitting the pace I wanted. Despite really trying to pick up the pace on the sections with the wind behind me, it just wasn't enough to combat from the loss of pace on the windy stretches. 
mile 1 - 5:58
mile 2 - 6:15
mile 3 - 6:23 

A total of 19:04 ....annoyingly close but not quite good enough today. I didn't feel too disappointed as I managed to get a relatively good time in difficult conditions. Fingers crossed for next month!  


Wednesday 1st March 2017

One run on the plan for today so we had our first lie in (well, until 7am if you can call that a lie in!)for about a week. John and I ran to club before doing the winter 10 mile route with the GWR crew. John was starting to reduce his miles, from today, in preparation for the 30 mile Greenman Ultra Marathon. So, to save our legs, we avoided Bridge Valley Road and finished off at home having ran 13 miles at 8:45 pace. 

Thursday 2nd March 2017

Today was another double day for me. We were up promptly and out the door by 6am this morning which meant we could do our 4 mile 'Monster Route' so called because, when you look at the route on Strava, it looks just like a cross between a dragon and the Loch-Ness monster! 

7 miles with strides on the plan today. Seen as John was now in 'recovery' mode, he drove to our PT session while I ran. I really enjoy doing strides because it breaks up the run and makes it go much quicker. Every 1/2 mile or so (or when I came to a flat stretch) I would run as fast as I could for 0.1 of a mile. I managed to get all 6 strides in around 5:30 min mile pace so was feeling rather pleased with myself when I arrived at the Oakfield personal training centre. 


This weeks PT session comprised of: 

Squats while holding two 20 kg dumbbells    4 sets.  10-15-20-25
Squat jumps                       4 sets.   10-15-20-25
Press ups.                     4 sets.   10-15-20-25
Squat catch and throw.    3 sets.....1 minute sets.  3kg..4 kg...5kg

Clean n press.              5 reps each with:
15 kg then 20  kg bar (I tried 25kg but couldn't manage the weight without compromising on form) 

Squat thrusts into knee raises alternating efforts .  4 sets. 5-10-15-20 reps completed each.

Pass-the -parcel! This was great fun - throwing and catching a medicine ball while sitting down with feet in the air - great one for abs! 
Sequencing balance throws and passing of a  3kg, 4kg and 5 kg ball 

Bench work:
Fast feet
Straddle jumps
Side to side hop over jumps
Bench hops
Bench Burpees                      A set of 30s then 60s


Another really excellent, diverse session from Jules. Feeling stronger every week. 


Friday 3rd March 2017

6 miles on the plan for me while John was only doing 3 to rest up for the weekend. Running solo felt rather strange...I kept looking to my left, only to find no one there. I had an urge to speed up to get it over and done with but managed to remain controlled - 6 miles at 9:41 pace - a proper recovery run. 

Friday lunchtime means running club! This was the first session with the Year 5 and 6 kids (9 - 11 year olds). A lot of the ones I had last term had signed up again which was great. I had a good group today - 24 kids and 5 adults. Because I had some new runners, we took it at a fairly steady pace. We had a bit of extra time so I did my session on discovering how useful arms are for running! I made them run up a hill with their hands on their heads which obviously they found difficult, before showing them how to use their arms correctly (driving them back to help propel them forwards). 

Saturday 4th March 2017

Today was Greenman Day! 

I was given the role of supporter-in-chief  and was looking forward to a day of giving out chocolate milk and cheering on the runners. Unfortunately, this meant that I wouldn't have any time to run during the day. The only solution - to get up early and get my miles done. 

I was up and out of the door around 6:30am with 10 miles on the plan with 4 of those at marathon pace. I was feeling excited about the day ahead, and although I was a little lonely, I really enjoyed this run. The 8 min miles felt very easy and the 4 miles at 7 min mile pace was pretty comfortable as well. There is no way that I would have enjoyed this session a few weeks ago so it just goes to show how quickly your body adapts to the training. 

Back home and John had a cooked breakfast ready for me (legend). We got packed and left home around 9:15 to pick up Marcus and Nat (my supporting partner). Arriving at checkpoint 1 with plenty of time to spare, we met Dr Dave who completed the epic GWR 30 mile trio! 

While we waited for the 30 milers to start, we were able to watch and cheer the 44 milers into the checkpoint. Bristol legend Jarlath McKenna was way ahead already and well on his way to a massive course record. I spotted a number of my Strava followers along with fellow GWR runners Rory, Andy, Big Kev and Gary. Also running was Paul and Jay but, unfortunately, we didn't get to see them. 

At 11:00 they were off! 


You can see the GWR vests at the front of the pack - raring to go! 

Nat and I followed John and Marcus' excellent instructions and managed to arrive at Siston brook. After parking and not seeing any runners for 10 mins, we realised that we weren't quite in the right place on the road...using a mixture of google maps, a printed map, Garmin tracker, View Ranger and Strava Tracker, we eventually managed to find the route. After waiting for only a couple of minutes, our 3 musketeers came into view! A good few minutes ahead of their planned time...they'd gone off quick...we just hoped that it wasn't too quick! 


Dr Dave's classic 'kissing the guns' pose! 

As soon as we'd seen them we were off -heading to checkpoint 2 - The White Horse pub near Winterbourne. This checkpoint was very easy to find so we had a bit a time to wait before our boys came through. We cheered on the other 44 milers who were storming ahead while anxiously watching the Strava tracker to see where our boys where. The tracker was brilliant and it was very exciting to watch the little orange dot move along the screen closer and closer to our position. Again, quicker than expected, we saw them! All 3 together and looking very fresh after 12 miles. We watched them run into the distance before heading off again. 

Our next stop was Aztec West and the affectionately named 'Kelly's Corner' as this was a place I saw them from last year when they all did the full 44 mile route. Nat and I enthusiastically cheered on the other runners who were ahead of ours. By now it was pretty clear that our guys were in the lead in the 30 mile race but because we always left as soon as we'd seen them, we had no idea how close the next competitors were. For the first time, John and Marcus came in a couple of minutes ahead of Dr Dave. After a brief stop for some chocolate milk (what else!?) they were off again - 17miles done. 

After that, we headed to Blaise Castle which was mile 24. By this point John and Marcus were 10 minutes ahead of their predicted time! They were absolutely storming it- and still smiling! Dr Dave wasn't too far behind so we waited to see him go through before heading off to the finish! 
Typically, it chose this point to start raining - annoying for the runners yes - but more annoying for me and Nat who were trying to get out of the poorly designed car park at the same time as all of the other hundreds of parents who, at the first sight of rain, had grabbed their kicking, screaming, ice-cream covered children and headed straight for the exit. Knowing that our men were running at a serious pace and only 6 miles from the finish, we didn't have long to get to Ashton Court...starting to panic a little that we'd miss them at the finish... 

Luckily, we arrived with time to spare. The rain was starting to ease a little and we waited excitedly for them to come around the bend to the finish. Finally we saw them. 30 miles across mud, grass, bog and hills done. They finished in 1st, 2nd and 3rd position - a perfect GWR 1,2 and 3! 

I couldn't be more proud of my Greenmen! 



Sunday 5th March 2017

You'd think that after finishing in 1st and 2nd place of an ultramarathon, you'd want a day off...we'll not these Greenmen! I had to get 18 miles in today and Marcus and John very kindly agreed to accompany me for part of the run. A very gentle but enjoyable run - good to get another 18 miles in the bag. 


Total mileage for the week = 75.8 and the best part - another week of sticking to the plan! 


One more thing...

Next weekend is the Bath Half. I am running to raise money for the Lifeskills centre which is a brilliant place that teaches children how to stay safe by letting them experience, first hand, different scenarios in a safe, controlled environment. They learn how to call an ambulance, the importance of checking your change in a shop, how to cross at a level crossing, what to do if there is a fire, how to cope with a possible knife attack and many more situations. 

Thank you to these people who have already donated and left lovely messages: 

Daniel Jonesdonation05-Mar-2017

Go smash it - Lifeskills is a great cause!
Zdonation05-Mar-2017

Good luck Kelly.
Tomdonation05-Mar-2017

Doing it for the kids!
Marcusdonation05-Mar-2017

Please make Paul cry!
Andy Hollidaydonation05-Mar-2017

Go Kelly Go!! X
Kathryn Batemandonation03-Mar-2017

Good luck!
Gareth & Brenda Lloyd-Jonesdonation02-Mar-2017

Grateful grandparents. Well done!
Lottie & Alice Burrowsdonation01-Mar-2017

Well done Miss Dicks!
The Sullivan'sdonation01-Mar-2017
Go Miss Dicks!!!!
Natdonation27-Feb-2017

Go Kelly! Boston here we come!
Julia Simmonsdonation27-Feb-2017

Go Kelly! Great cause.
Jill Arnolddonation27-Feb-2017

Very proud of you Kelly
Rach and Petedonation26-Feb-2017

Brilliant cause Kelly, good luck! :)
Fiona Harperdonation22-Feb-2017

Go Kelly
Kevin & Janetdonation21-Feb-2017

Clare and Fideldonation21-Feb-2017

Great cause Kelly!
Lucy Ellisdonation19-Feb-2017

Paul will cry if you beat him
AnonymousEveryclick Search
Every search raises money
Roz Gloverdonation18-Feb-2017

Good luck Kelly
John cox

This is a really great cause because it prevents accidents from happening. Please please sponsor me by clicking on the link below. 

http://www.everyclick.com/glutenfreerunninggirlrunsbath