Life is not a rehearsal, live every day...

I managed to get out on Sunday for my long run. Later than planned due to work over running but I was determined ! It was getting dark as I crossed the first field with the dogs but the sky was on fire....

It had been raining quite heavily for much of the day and I knew it would be wet when one corner of this field was already under water.... I was running a route I know well but I hadn't run parts of it for a few months. I made it to the top of Chanctonbury ring before I finally lost the last little bit of daylight and had to resort to my head torch.

Running in the dark on trails does slow you down a bit; the light from the head torch can distort what you are looking at (in daylight the direction of light is almost never directly from your head !) and you can miss some hazards.... The other thing I found is that when the light is reflected on water you have no idea what you are running in to... The result of this was me running through water that was quite a bit deeper than I thought because the path was completely flooded !

Running along the ridge at the top of the Downs is always magical, and there is something lovely about being the only person up there listening to the owls hooting....

The last section of the run brings me back down through trees and then it opens out with amazing views looking North, sometimes reality seems a long way away...

I've had people ask if I'm scared running over the Downs at night on my own... I don't know why but it has never scared me, I just feel very much at home :)

Great South Run

I think it is fair to say my head was not in the right place for Sunday's race. I wasn't particularly looking forward to it and had real doubts that I could achieve the same time as last year.

The Great South Run is the largest race I've ever taken part in with 25,000 runners lining up at the start. This causes one or two problems getting to the area meaning you do need to plan to be there far earlier than most races !

I was planning on meeting up with friends and running a paced race with them. But I ended up missing them. The queue for the loo was so long I missed the meeting time/place so I was running on my own...

My first mistake was starting too far forward in my start group. This meant when we did finally start I was running with people at a pace faster than I had planned. I had worked out to finish at 1:25 I needed to run at 8:30 min miles. My first mile was sub 8 minutes and I was trying to work out if I thought I could sustain this pace. Daft really when it is faster than my 10k pace ! I kept this up for the first few miles and realised that I couldn't sustain it; I still don't know why I thought I could ! I slowed down to my 8:30 pace but by then the damage had been done and I started feeling really rough. Looking back at the data my HR average over the first mile was 233..... and this does partly explain why I felt so crap. Between mile 6 and 7 I had to stop to be sick. I then needed to walk for a minute to make sure I re-hydrated and ate a few jelly babies to try and feel a bit better. The last few miles I managed to get back towards my goal pace but it really wasn't pretty.

I finished in 1:27, about a minute faster than last year but if I had got my pacing right I could have been faster and that bugs me a bit...

My next race is the Brooks Brighton 10k and that will be my last road race for a while. I think at the end of the day I've just done too any races in too few weeks 😄

I've fallen out of love......

Well, I have fallen out of love with road running. I'm not sure exactly when it happened but it has. The thought of road racing doesn't fill me with excitement but more of a "oh well here we go" type feeling. I have two more road races booked for this year and I will run them but after that I think that will be that for a while. Knowing me sooner or later I will change my mind but at the moment I just can't see the appeal of running on roads when you can run on hills, through mud and generally have great fun rather than just Tarmac....

I think the last two races have shown me what I love doing and that is real off road running. The Wimbledon half was good fun, and where else can you run a half marathon and get a hug from a womble at the end of it !

Last Saturday I was in my element for the Brutal 10. A true off road race with bogs, lakes and sand thrown in 😄 The hills weren't as bad as the ones I run round here but there was a LOT of water, it actually felt quite nice to cool down a bit. I think if the weather hadn't been quite as good it would have been a bit more brutal but I wouldn't have changed it. The organisation was brilliant and it made me realise that this is what I really love doing.

So, next year I have the Steyning Stinger to train for. I would still like to run an ultra but I still need to work on my strength. I also need to work on my upper body strength to complete some of the other races I would like to enter, so watch this space !

Never say never (a new dawn ?)

Hello :)

I know I said goodbye to this blog but you know I've missed writing it. Sometimes it is nice to have something that can be a bit more personal....

I also know that back in April I said that I wouldn't be running a marathon next year.... That seems quite a long time ago and my plans have changed somewhat. If I'm honest I think I've been missing the long runs so when Phill suggested that I run the Steyning Stinger full marathon next year I think I had my training plan finished before he had finished speaking !

I've also been doing quite a bit of thinking while I've been running... Sometimes I know I don't admit (sometimes even to myself) what my "dreams" and goals are. With me I think it is fear of failure. What if I don't achieve it, what if I try and fail, what will everyone think ? Something happened this weekend that changed that for me. It showed me that not trying is selling your self short. Failing to achieve your goal doesn't mean that you have failed or that people will think less of you. It just means that you haven't got there yet. Not trying is failing....

So, a new dawn..... And a new goal. I want to run an Ultra. If I'm honest with myself I think this is something I have wanted to do for quite a long time, I just didn't think that is something that people like me did, but if I don't try then I don't stand any chance of success...

I have a rough plan in place, the Steyning Stinger is part of that, and then I need to look at my work schedule and race schedules next year to find an ultra to work towards. I know it won't be any spectacular time, but for me just to finish will be enough....

So, this blog is back and I'll keep you up to date with my training for my "dream" goal :)

Moving on....

Well, this is a slightly different post for me.... It is actually a farewell to this blog....

I have been writing this for nearly four years now tracking my journey from couch potato to running coach  and it has been somewhere for me to post random photos as well as my thoughts on running, racing and what I have been doing but it is now time for me to move on....

Don't worry, it isn't goodbye though ;) I have been busy behind the scenes setting up a new coaching business and it makes more sense for me to keep all my running things together on one site so that I'm not trying to write the same thing in different places so please pop along to my brand new coaching website to see what I am up to ! I also have a new Facebook Page ( a bit empty at the minute but I will be adding to it), so it would be great if you could "like" it and spread the word !

Anyway, this site will be staying here for the foreseeable future.... it just won't be getting any more updates.....

I've done it !!

Well, I've passed my final written exam and practical assessments to become a fully qualified UK Athletics running coach :)

I have to say that I spent more time revising for this than I have for any other exam in my life..... The exam has 10 sections and a complete fail in any one of them means that you would fail the written exam....

I don't think I appreciated when I started quite how big a step it was to go from being a running leader to a coach. Over the last 6 months I have been studying nutrition, running technique, coaching technique, creating training plans and planning sessions to cover energy systems, technique and not forgetting the health and safety ! I certainly underestimated the amount of paperwork involved....

After the first weekend away training (two very full days) we had a break of about a month to put what we had learnt in to practice. This was followed by another full day training to see how we had developed and how we had progressed our personal action plans as well as completing set tasks such as a very thorough athlete profile and training plan. It was then over to us to complete our individual coaching diaries.... this did take longer than I thought; with detailed feedback needed from each documented session. Only when my training diary was passed could I book my place on the final assessment day....

I have certainly learnt an awful lot along the way; it has helped me improve my own running as well as my coaching and I'm really looking forward to using the skills I have learnt. I am lucky enough to now be coaching at two local running clubs but if any local runners are looking for personal training plans and coaching then please contact me :)

Brighton Marathon 2014

Well,  I'm still aching as I type this. but that's hardly surprising since it is only 24hrs since the marathon.

This year it was quite a different experience for me because I set out with a goal time in mind. When I entered last year I had initially been planning on running it with my daughter again but after she had a few injuries, illness and holidays we decide to run it individually. This did mean that I was entered in the 4:30 to 5:00 time group, to be honest this didn't really prove much of an issue but it did mean the 4:15 and 4:30 pacers started in the group in front of me so I couldn't realistically plan on using them to get round the marathon !

My training didn't go according to plan either. I had an achilles injury late Oct/Nov last year so I needed to train enough but still give it a chance to heal and I will say that over the last few months it has been getting better so at least I got that bit right ! The thing I didn't do enough of was the mid-week mid-distance tempo runs but I did do quite a few longish runs...

The first 20 miles went according to plan; at the half way point I was on target for my "Gold Medal" goal on 4:15 (I normally have two goals, one I think I can stand a chance of achieving and one that if everything goes amazingly well I might just scrape in... for me my "might just" time was 4:15 and my more realistic goal was sub 4:30)

After 20 miles I started to feel incredibly sick. I found I could only just sip water without being ill and I couldn't face energy gels/shot bloks etc. The downside was I could feel I was low on energy and a bit dehydrated so I knew I really should be eating and drinking. In my training runs I had been fine on shot bloks and water so I don't know quite why this happened..... Part of me wanted "real" food rather than the mush that energy gels, drinks etc seem to be. Perhaps on my long training runs I'll start trying malt loaf or flapjacks rather than squidgy things in packets.

This did slow me down and my pace fell right off. I knew I wasn't going to make the 4:15 so rather than kill myself trying I took regular walk breaks (when the nausea became too bad to run) and tried to remember to smile and enjoy it but nothing can take away quite how hard the last 2 miles were and the main thought going through my head was that when I crossed the finish line I could stop running.

Oh, and by the way.... who hid the finish line ??? It seemed to be ages from the pier before I could see it and by that time I really did want it all to be over !

Don't get me wrong; I enjoyed it. It was just bloody hard work and knackering.

I have said that I'm not running a marathon next year. One of my goals is to run a sub 4 hr marathon and to do this I need to run faster than I do at the moment so next year will be all about getting my half marathon time down. My PB at the moment is 1:55 and for a sub 4 hr marathon it really needs to be closer to 1:45 (or, ideally, below). This will give me a realistic chance of achieving my goal.

So what did I learn this year ?

1. Water and energy gels won't necessarily work....
2. Met office weather forecasts are only accurate that morning (it was forecast heavy rain the day before, on the day it said dry and luckily it was !)
3. Possibly the most important....... Wearing your Lucky Knickers is no substitute for proper training :)

Anyway, for those of you who are interested, this is my Garmin data :)

A fine line....

Well, for me this year it has been a very fine line marathon training between doing enough training and doing too much and getting injured.

I suppose the problem is that I don't take my own advice. My problems started last October when I developed an Achilles problem after the Great South Run. I had bought a pair of trail shoes off the internet (without trying them or making sure they were right for me etc) about a month before. I had opted for a more minimalist style shoe and again, thinking I would be ok, didn't increase the mileage slowly but just switched to the for all my off road runs...

So, after the Great South Run I should have rested, seen a physio and perhaps stopped running in the new trainers. What I did instead was switch to minimalist road shoes, carry on training and then go for a PB less than a month later in a half marathon. When I write this down it does seem a bit stupid really but I think as runners we do tend to believe we have the "immortality" gene or the "it doesn't apply to me" gene where common sense and advice is concerned.

I did take a break of a few days  after the half and my achilles did start to get a bit better. Then I started marathon training and on the lead up to Christmas my Achilles just gradually got worse..... and I carried on running. I did consult the internet and read lots on Achilles problems, I tried heel drops (about 100 per day) as well as lots of stretches and foam rollering. One website worth a mention that actually seems to have sensible advice is Achilles Tendon.com, I think it was at this point I realised that all this started when I changed my trainers...... So, I switched back to my old pairs (they had been relegated to dog walking duties)... and carried on training.

Early January I went for a run. I couldn't even manage a mile before it became quite painful and I realised if I carried on running then I could do some more serious damage. At this point I knew I had to take some time off (rather than just a day !)

I had a 10 day break from running and went to the Marathon Store in London (I was working up there for a week) and had the most thorough gait analysis that I have ever had. The outcome of this was quite interesting. Up until now I have been running in support shoes and had knee problems... I was advised to run in neutral shoes. Yes, I do roll in slightly on one foot but no more than is "normal" and the support shoes  were most probably the cause of my knee problems.

So, I ended up with a rather bright pink pair of trainers !

After my London trip I carried on with the foam rollering, stretching etc and started running again; taking it very easy on speed and hills and by mid-late January I was able to run without too much pain. Yes, it ached and hurt a bit the next day but I was seeing an improvement; I did follow the advice on the Achilles Tendon website as to the level of injury and what you can do....

I have continued training for the marathon but I have also been listening to my body and taking more rest days to prevent my achilles getting any worse and it has gradually been getting better. If I'm honest if I had stopped running for 6 weeks then it would most probably have been completely clear but I wouldn't have down anywhere near enough training for the marathon.

On yesterdays 18 mile run I got to about mile 12 and suddenly realised I hadn't felt anything at all from my achilles :) Yes, it aches slightly this morning but I'll continue with the foam roller, stretching and listening to my body but I do think it is all going to be ok :)

It's been a bit busy lately

I know, that is no excuse for not updating my blog but finding the time to fit everything in can be hard sometimes !

Marathon training is now back on track :) I had a bit of a wobble in Jan; I had an Achilles injury and was really worried that it was going to derail my training completely, especially as it had been going so well !

One good thing about logging my runs is that I could look back and see when it started. The first time I had problems was after the Great South Run in October.... Just before that I had changed my trail shoes to a low heel drop variety thinking I would progress to a more barefoot style. My Achilles didn't start getting any worse, it was more of a niggle at this point, until I changed my road shoes as well. Apart from them trying to rub holes in the back of one ankle they did feel comfortable but my Achilles got worse until a point just after Christmas when it was too painful to run on.

I took a week off running that coincided with a week working away and went for one of the best gait analysis that I have ever had done at the London Marathon Store. I talked through my running history and injuries and then was photographed and filmed, had my feet moulds taken and tried on lots of trainers. After everything I had read about Achilles injuries and looking back at what I had changed it seemed too much of a coincidence that I had changed trainers and then had problems.

The really interesting thing is that I have been told I'm a neutral runner. Yes, my left foot rolls in a bit when I land but not enough to need the stability shoes that I've Bennett running in for years after being advised that I need them from various running shops.....

So, I now have bright pink trainers and I'm back out running !

It has been raining a lot and it has been hard sometimes to motivate myself to get out but my long runs are now long..... I'm up to running about 30 miles a week and my Achilles is feeling better every day :)

These are a few of my recent running photos. I won't leave it so long next time !