Why I run....

1. So I can eat scones and clotted cream :)

Running through the mist

Last night I ran a route that I haven't run for quite a long time... The last time was on the 15th March.....

The route is over the South Downs and yesterday much of it was shrouded in mist. Running through mist like this is quite eerie at times, it deadens sound and visibility is limited to a few meters. You can also feel it on your skin and it has a very gentle cooling effect that was rather welcome yesterday. Although the temperature has dropped a bit from the weekend it is still quite warm and really quite nice to run through.

This particular route includes a couple of killer hills, they haven't actually killed me yet but sometimes it does feel like it ! This route is going to be one of my regular ones while I'm training for the next half marathon, I have a feeling the hill profile is similar.... Even some of the downhill sections are so steep I have trouble even maintaing a jog going down and last night ended up walking sections of the downhill because the chalk was wet and very slippery...

It was a good run though, you know how you have some runs where everything just seems to come together, yesterday evening was one of those :)

I still have a bit of a twinge in the back of my leg but neither last nights run or the half marathon at the weekend have made it worse so I'll carry on running for now..

So, yesterday evenings run was a total of 8.3 miles in 1:35, my previous best time for this route was 1:55 and the last time I ran this route in March it took me 2:05 so I think it is fair to say I have improved a bit :)


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Henfield Half Marathon

Well, yesterday, in the sun and heat Holly and I ran the Henfield Half Marathon. This was Holly's first half marathon and came almost straight after a hard weeks sailing at Cowes (they came 2nd in their class) so I think it is fair to say that I never intended to "race" this one and I just used it as my LSR of the week. We finished in 2:43:25, not quite last !

The route is primarily off road with one very rutted section along a river bank, none of the hills are too bad but there are a number of gates and stiles to cross and in general I have found that running through longish grass always slows me down a bit... Some parts were in full sun and in 20+ degrees it made it feel very hot...

What I did notice is that my training runs in the heat have helped to acclimatise me to it, Holly hadn't had the chance to do the same runs due to her sailing commitments and the heat really did hit her, throw in to the mix her asthma and I think she did really well to finish, there were points during the run that I thought she may not make it, especially when she was feeling very sick, giddy and seeing stars...... So Holly now has a HM PB to beat on her next race in November. Although we are entering the same race I will be racing it rather than running together as we did for Henfield.

So, my next HM targets are :

October - I am running a very hilly trail HM, similar terrain to the Steyning Stinger, my target time for this one is 2:15 (I completed the Steyning Stinger in 2:26:59 so I really want to improve on this time)

November - This will be my first road HM, it is meant to be flat and certainly shouldn't be 20+ degrees, my target time for this is 2:00

Between now and October I will be running more hills to improve my speed going up them, this is one area that I think will make a big difference to my HM time for the October race, then I will switch to more road running to work on my speed for the flat road race.

With the club we are focusing our training on a flat 10k race so I'm hoping this will also help towards my 2hr HM goal for November.

I'll let you know how it goes !

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Location:Henfield Half Marathon

Rainbows...

Just thought I would post a quick photo from yesterday's run of a rainbow we saw.

Run is a bit of an exaggeration for yesterday's outing, more of a gentle bimble interspersed with periods of walking. My leg is still playing up a bit so I will be taking a break from running for a bit to give it a chance to recover.

The delights of Deep Freeze

Well, it is less than a week to go until my next half marathon and training was going well.... Until Sunday.... Because of work and other commitments I wasn't able to run as much last week as I have been so I set off Sunday for my long run on relatively fresh legs.

The niggle in my knee had gone, the sun was shining and it wasn't too hot.... The first couple of miles I always find tough, not only is my body getting used to running but it is all uphill. Then, when I came to the first steeper hill I felt a twinge in the back of my right thigh... I slowed down a bit ( I was fairly knackered anyway) but the twinge continued... It didn't seem quite as bad on the flat but it came back and started to get worse on the next steep hill. It stayed at about the same twinge level on the downhill section but definitely didn't feel right. I slowed down to a walk and walked the next 1.5 miles.... I decided to cut the run short and had a gentle jog home. This didn't make it feel worse but I think if I had continued it would have been worse.

I think the best way to describe it is like bad cramp in the back of my thigh... I have tried some gentle stretching and then I remembered a freebie I received in a goody bag after a race... Deep Freeze..

I have never used anything like this before so was not sure what to expect. It was great. The cold was so soothing and a lot easier than holding ice on the back of your leg. I left the patch on overnight last night and this morning it felt quite a bit better, just bruised inside....

I haven't been running today but I am hoping to try a very gentle run tomorrow, then I'm planning on just resting it to see how it is before Sunday. I have some very long days at work this week so I think that a week primarily resting will (hopefully) sort it out.

I guess time will tell.....


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Sundays run

Just thought I would post this photo from Sundays run. We have had some very windy days here recently and it has bought down some fairly big branches in places..... Luckily someone had been out with a chainsaw to clear it a bit !

Club run

As a club we are targeting the Brooks Brighton 10k in November so our training over the next few months is going to be geared towards this race.

As part of it we ran a 4km time trial last night to see where we all are at the moment. This was on a route I know well, Mouse Lane. If you know it then you will know it is uphill !

I was pleased to complete it in 20:14, a time that *should* equate to an approx 50 min 10k. We will be repeating this every 6 weeks or so to see how we are progressing. So, hopefully by the end of November I should be on track to break the 50 min 10k barrier, one of my personal targets for the year :)


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An eventful run...

Why is it some runs are far more eventful than others ?? This mornings run has to be one the more eventful....

Normally our runs are quiet, plodding type runs, especially the longer runs of 12+ miles... Over the first few miles we both try and ignore the fact that our bodies are complaining bitterly that they are having to do more running. I know this phase passes after the first couple of miles.. It is though my body gives up the fight and says ok, if you are insisting on doing this then I'll just get on with it.

This morning, less than a mile in to the run, a dog spotted us across the road. Now I don't know if it was the colour of my top he didn't like but he was distinctly unhappy about something and while his owner chatted to friends this dog bounded across the road (missed by the traffic) and showed us that he had nice big teeth as he started barking, growling and snarling at us... Apparently he hasn't had a problem with runners before, maybe he normally swallows them whole, anyway, we did the stand still and make encouraging but hopefully not terrified noises at this dog while his owner crossed the road (putting less effort in to it than the dog did) to retrieve her dog and put it on a lead.

I wasn't wearing my heart rate monitor ( something else I forgot whilst trying to get out early before it got too hot...) but Holly was and it was interesting to see the "spike" created by the dog !

Anyway we continued.... The next thing we came across was a stray dog, not the first time.... But this one was quite old, wearing a collar, but still faster than us.. I think it is fair to say he seemed to know where he was going, even though we were in the middle of nowhere, and eventually disappeared from sight.

We continued our run, saw the normal mix of rabbits, birds and squirrels.... Followed by a weasel running across the path. I see quite a bit of wildlife when running but this is a first for a weasel...

When we were about 3 miles from home we came across a group of mountain bikers. They looked lost.

They were lost.

We were running from Southwater to Steyning along the Downs Link. They were riding from Eastbourne to Winchester along the South Downs Way, they really shouldn't have been heading North !

We stopped for a chat and to show them where they were on their map. The only problem being they didn't have a proper map with them and had gone so far north they were off the "map" they did have ! I pulled out my trusty iPhone with the memory map app and showed them on an o/s map where they were...

We then directed them back the way they came and explained the easiest way to pick up the Downs Link.... They carried on.... A bit later we caught up with them again and point out the clump of trees in the distance on the Downs that they needed to head for....

I do wonder if they made it to Winchester... To be honest covering a journey of that distance without proper maps, a compass or a gps unit does at the best seem a bit daft. Their detour would have added about 6 miles on to their journey, they already looked very hot and tired and they still had a long way to go....

Anyway, today's run was 12.38 miles in a total of 2:39:59 including the time that we were stood still waiting for a dog owner to retrieve her dog, time spent chasing a stray dog and the time chatting and directing lost mountain bikers. It was also very hot (well over 20 deg C) and very humid.....

All in all not a bad run.

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Running Manifesto

I saw this over on Lazy Girls blog so thought I would add my own !

Running is…such a feeling of freedom.
Running is not…a chore.
I run…in all weather, all year.
I run for…me.

I run because…I love to run.
I run when…I'm happy and when I need to clear my head.
I run with…a smile, it may be hidden inside behind the rather knackered looking exterior.

I have never run…and regretted it after.
I have always run…and felt thankful that I can, and appreciate the area in which I live.
I run in spite of…the voice in my head telling me I can't do it.
I don’t run…with people I don't like, I run to relax :).
I should run… faster if I keep up the training.
I might run… an ultra one day, then again I might not....
I will run…a sub-2 half marathon, I'm just not sure when !

New Gadget !

Like a lot of people I took up running to lose weight, and I have.... but I have also become a lot more interested in my general health and nutrition over the last year. Trying to work out how many calories I should be eating, what proportion should be carbohydrates etc...

I am also quite interested in what proportion of me is fat. I must admit that this is a lot lower than it was a year ago !

So, I have bought myself some new scales. Not just any scales, but "Body Composition Monitor" scales. These don't just weigh you, they will give you your fat percentage, tell you how well (or not) you are hydrated, they measure your visceral fat (the dangerous bit) and tell you how many calories you need every day.

I have only just started using them and I'm not exactly ready to post the readings here ! they were easy to setup, you can set them up for four different people to use, and they are quite easy to use.

All I need now is to have a pen and paper handy when I weigh myself to write the results down. I then plan to keep track of these in a spreadsheet and see how they change as I train for the marathon...

Anyway, this is a photo of the scales (complete with my reflection in them whilst taking the photo)....

If you are interested then you can find more about them (or buy them for yourself) by clicking on this image.