I've just got back from my final run of March, a training session with Steyning AC and the first off road session I have done with them. It was also my third day of running in a row this week so I knew I would find this evening hard... I am now having two days off before my long run on Sunday. I'm hoping the weather improves a bit between now and then.
So, during March I ran a grand total of 117.05 miles, compared to February in which I ran 84.36 miles. I wonder what April will bring.... Hopefully some sunshine so we can make the most of the lighter evenings.
As you can see from earlier postings I have started running with a Garmin GPS watch, in spite of everything I have said previously this does feel a little easier that having a phone strapped to my arm although on my long runs that I do on my own I will still be using the runmeter app on the iPhone because it emails updates to Phill. The difference is that I will leave the phone in my bum bag rather than attached to my arm.
I have also used the heart monitor for a couple of my runs this week. It was more comfortable that I thought it would be and it was interesting to see the differences in my heart rate. I'm planning on using it on my long run on Sunday. I'm also planning on putting it on Phill when he next goes running to see what his heart rate is :)
Anyway, I'm off for an early night !
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A blog to track my running... From nothing to something !
Thursday, 31 March 2011
Tuesday, 29 March 2011
Sunday, 27 March 2011
What a beautiful morning !
Well, I'm back and recovered from this mornings run and all I cam say is wow, what a beautiful morning !
Today was the first day I have been running in shorts and t-shirt.... The last time I ran in shorts was at school in the 80's.... When I started out I did wonder if I had been a bit optimistic but as continued running the haze started clearing and the sun came out :)
Today's run also felt really good. After a bad run Tuesday I did wonder how I would get on today but everything felt good. I still have a few little niggles like the blisters that I have started getting again on the side of one foot... and a few muscles that still ache from the hill training with the club Thursday night but after the first couple of miles everything started to come together...I even found the hills easier than before. The ground has dried out a lot in the last week, the section through the woods is still very muddy but when I pick up the South Downs Way the paths are now relatively mud free and drying out quite quickly. It looks as though the farmers have been along and flattened them out in places, it has got rid of the deep troughs but they are very uneven at the moment, I guess they will soon be flattened by the various walkers and runners !
In the last steep section that I run down back in to Steyning they have cattle grazing on the Downs as part of the conservation of the downland. The cattle eat the long grass and that allows the other chalk downland plants to flourish. I am always a little wary of them because they are big... although these ones do seem quite calm and friendly.
Anyway, this week I have run a total of 27.31 miles bringing my total for the month so far to 103.55 miles, so I have now passed the 100 miles a month mark for the first time ever... And there are still a few days of March left :)
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Today was the first day I have been running in shorts and t-shirt.... The last time I ran in shorts was at school in the 80's.... When I started out I did wonder if I had been a bit optimistic but as continued running the haze started clearing and the sun came out :)
Today's run also felt really good. After a bad run Tuesday I did wonder how I would get on today but everything felt good. I still have a few little niggles like the blisters that I have started getting again on the side of one foot... and a few muscles that still ache from the hill training with the club Thursday night but after the first couple of miles everything started to come together...I even found the hills easier than before. The ground has dried out a lot in the last week, the section through the woods is still very muddy but when I pick up the South Downs Way the paths are now relatively mud free and drying out quite quickly. It looks as though the farmers have been along and flattened them out in places, it has got rid of the deep troughs but they are very uneven at the moment, I guess they will soon be flattened by the various walkers and runners !
In the last steep section that I run down back in to Steyning they have cattle grazing on the Downs as part of the conservation of the downland. The cattle eat the long grass and that allows the other chalk downland plants to flourish. I am always a little wary of them because they are big... although these ones do seem quite calm and friendly.
Anyway, this week I have run a total of 27.31 miles bringing my total for the month so far to 103.55 miles, so I have now passed the 100 miles a month mark for the first time ever... And there are still a few days of March left :)
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Tuesday, 22 March 2011
Eughhhh.
Do you ever have one of those days where you realise you have just done too much ?
For me this evenings run has been just that. I was planning 8 miles and completed 4.6. From the moment I started running it just felt wrong. Moving my legs seemed like hard work and I just couldn't seem to get going.
Looking back over the last couple of weeks I think I just haven't had the rest in between runs that I should have done. I didn't exactly take it easy after the half marathon and today was my third day running in a row, with no rest day after Sundays long run.
Perhaps the rhubarb crumble and cream lunchtime didn't help either.....
So, I'm taking a day off running tomorrow, I'll be at the running club Thursday evening and then rest Friday & Saturday before my long run Sunday afternoon. That will still total 24/25 miles this week.
And in future I will take a day off after my long runs :)
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
For me this evenings run has been just that. I was planning 8 miles and completed 4.6. From the moment I started running it just felt wrong. Moving my legs seemed like hard work and I just couldn't seem to get going.
Looking back over the last couple of weeks I think I just haven't had the rest in between runs that I should have done. I didn't exactly take it easy after the half marathon and today was my third day running in a row, with no rest day after Sundays long run.
Perhaps the rhubarb crumble and cream lunchtime didn't help either.....
So, I'm taking a day off running tomorrow, I'll be at the running club Thursday evening and then rest Friday & Saturday before my long run Sunday afternoon. That will still total 24/25 miles this week.
And in future I will take a day off after my long runs :)
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Sunday, 20 March 2011
Today's run....
Well, today saw me heading back out over the Downs for a 10.76 mile run. It is still very muddy in places, so much so I end up having to walk some bits because I feel it is too dangerous to run. I took my compact camera with me today, a canon G10 to take a few photos.. I thought this would be easier than using the iPhone !
I also decided to switch off all the announcements from runmeter and run without music, I thought it would be good just to listen to the birds and run according to how I felt rather than constantly thinking I am behind/ahead of my best run on this route. I also started out with muscles that still ached from Thursday night ! I think that shows how much I need some structured training in my running.......
The skies started to clear as I was running and it was beautiful weather, I felt as though I was over dressed and ended up wishing I had worn shorts & t-shirt, maybe next week :)
Anyway, this week I have run a total of 28.21 miles bring by total for the month so far to 76.24 miles....
These are some of the photos I took this morning showing parts of the route I run and the things I run past.
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I also decided to switch off all the announcements from runmeter and run without music, I thought it would be good just to listen to the birds and run according to how I felt rather than constantly thinking I am behind/ahead of my best run on this route. I also started out with muscles that still ached from Thursday night ! I think that shows how much I need some structured training in my running.......
The skies started to clear as I was running and it was beautiful weather, I felt as though I was over dressed and ended up wishing I had worn shorts & t-shirt, maybe next week :)
Anyway, this week I have run a total of 28.21 miles bring by total for the month so far to 76.24 miles....
These are some of the photos I took this morning showing parts of the route I run and the things I run past.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Size 10 Jeans
I have just been out and bought myself some size 10 jeans. And they fit.
When I started running I was a size 14 and my clothes felt tight on me...... When I first started running I also changed my diet a bit and cut down on the snacking.
Now I eat more or less what I want but I do try and avoid anything processed and keep to a fairly healthy menu :) I still eat chocolate, I still have a few glasses of wine, although that is just about my limit ! I weigh myself regularly, not to see how much I'm losing but to make sure my weight is stable. I have got to a point that I feel is a healthy weight for me. If I start to lose weight I increase slightly what I eat and if I start to gain weight I cut down slightly.
The amount of running I am currently doing is equal to about 3000 calories per week so I know if I stop running I'll have to cut down on what I eat.
The challenge for me now is to stay the size I am..... I have not been a size 10 since I was about 15. For years I was a size 12, then I had children.... And for most of the time since then I have been a 14. I have tried all sorts of diets but never managed to keep the weight off... I have tried the gym and personal trainers... But none of it has shifted the inches in the way that running has.
I feel I have finally found something that works for me and that I can stick at.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
When I started running I was a size 14 and my clothes felt tight on me...... When I first started running I also changed my diet a bit and cut down on the snacking.
Now I eat more or less what I want but I do try and avoid anything processed and keep to a fairly healthy menu :) I still eat chocolate, I still have a few glasses of wine, although that is just about my limit ! I weigh myself regularly, not to see how much I'm losing but to make sure my weight is stable. I have got to a point that I feel is a healthy weight for me. If I start to lose weight I increase slightly what I eat and if I start to gain weight I cut down slightly.
The amount of running I am currently doing is equal to about 3000 calories per week so I know if I stop running I'll have to cut down on what I eat.
The challenge for me now is to stay the size I am..... I have not been a size 10 since I was about 15. For years I was a size 12, then I had children.... And for most of the time since then I have been a 14. I have tried all sorts of diets but never managed to keep the weight off... I have tried the gym and personal trainers... But none of it has shifted the inches in the way that running has.
I feel I have finally found something that works for me and that I can stick at.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Friday, 18 March 2011
Just back...
I've just got back from is evenings run, it is the first road run I have done on my own since the half marathon and I averaged 9:44 mins per mile over 5.49 miles. This is my best training time so far and to be honest is surprised me because I didn't feel as though I was running quite as fast.
I also still ache from yesterday.
Yesterday evening I went along to a training session with Steyning Athletic Club. I have always been very hesitant about sports clubs, to be honest I've never been to one in my life. They always seem to be full of ultra fit looking Lycra covered people who (in my mind) could run forever and still arrive without a hair out of place. I suppose in someways this goes back to my school days. There were always the "sporty" girls, normally taller than me, thinner than me, blonde, without spots and really popular with the boys. Then there was me. Short, with freckles and if I'm honest a bit geeky. For me PE was like torture. I was no good at any of it, struggled with coordination and if I could find a way of getting out of it I would. So, from then on I have avoided anything that may vaguely be athletic. I have tried going to the gym, but sooner or later I lose the motivation when I didn't seem to be making progress..... And I always felt like a blob compared to everyone else there.... Maybe everyone at the gym felt the same as me... and if I had enough breath to talk maybe it would have been different....
So anyway, last night I took the plunge and went to the athletic club. Everyone was really friendly and I was assured that I wouldn't be left behind, they structure the training sessions so you can work at your own pace but still in a group. Last nights session was speed work. I'm not fast, everything I have done so far is normally at one pace and this is one area I know I need to improve. Last night ended with a sprint relay..... I sprinted..... And today I really can feel it in my thighs ! I enjoyed training in a group and next week I will be back with completed membership form :)
Getting back this evening I actually realise that I enjoy my road runs almost as much as the cross country.... They are both different and both push me in different ways but I had missed the road runs over the last couple of weeks.....
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
I also still ache from yesterday.
Yesterday evening I went along to a training session with Steyning Athletic Club. I have always been very hesitant about sports clubs, to be honest I've never been to one in my life. They always seem to be full of ultra fit looking Lycra covered people who (in my mind) could run forever and still arrive without a hair out of place. I suppose in someways this goes back to my school days. There were always the "sporty" girls, normally taller than me, thinner than me, blonde, without spots and really popular with the boys. Then there was me. Short, with freckles and if I'm honest a bit geeky. For me PE was like torture. I was no good at any of it, struggled with coordination and if I could find a way of getting out of it I would. So, from then on I have avoided anything that may vaguely be athletic. I have tried going to the gym, but sooner or later I lose the motivation when I didn't seem to be making progress..... And I always felt like a blob compared to everyone else there.... Maybe everyone at the gym felt the same as me... and if I had enough breath to talk maybe it would have been different....
So anyway, last night I took the plunge and went to the athletic club. Everyone was really friendly and I was assured that I wouldn't be left behind, they structure the training sessions so you can work at your own pace but still in a group. Last nights session was speed work. I'm not fast, everything I have done so far is normally at one pace and this is one area I know I need to improve. Last night ended with a sprint relay..... I sprinted..... And today I really can feel it in my thighs ! I enjoyed training in a group and next week I will be back with completed membership form :)
Getting back this evening I actually realise that I enjoy my road runs almost as much as the cross country.... They are both different and both push me in different ways but I had missed the road runs over the last couple of weeks.....
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
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