Lone Runner

Essentially I am a Lone Runner. 

I have run a few times with friends, and I have enjoyed it, but on the whole I enjoy the flexibility of doing my own thing, going out when I'm ready to go out, working just myself with my Garmin, enjoying the green excercise and seeing and listening to nature. 

I like the solitary time. As a Lone Runner I can think clearly, puff and pant, and talk to myself without bothering anyone else.

On my last long run of my half marathon training last week I thought a lot. I concentrated on my pace (not too fast, so I would manage the whole 12 miles), and enjoyed what was around me as the weather was not unfavourable.

During my run I saw

A few minutes of rain
2 pairs of Jays
20 or so Magpies
River boats going through the lock
A pair of black swans
Several ducks
Cotton reel hay bales wrapped in black plastic
4 other runners
Dogs and dog-walkers along the tow path
Autumn leaves on the trees
Cyclists
Squelchy muddy patches
*And a heron standing still as a statue in the pond in the nature reserve...

Surrounded by so much. I don't live in the middle of the countryside, I live just 3 miles from Reading town centre.

But even in suburbia, the Lone Runner is rarely alone.... 

*edited 12/10 - nearly forgot Mr Heron!

I'm in "Print!"

I'm a big fan of Women's running magazine, both in print and online and via the Facebook page, and quite fancied writing a race review for the magazine as I think they can be very interesting and useful, especially for newer runners choosing which races to enter. They can also act as good motivational and inspirational reading, reminding you that other runners can be experiencing very similar feelings and issues sometimes during a race. Click here to read the review!

I shall also be writing one after the Oxford Half Marathon so look out for it in the reviews section, though I'll try to remember to post a link up on the blog too.  I'm pleased to report that I managed my 12 mile training run on Wednesday without too much trouble and in 1hour 55minutes, so I really hope that I can come in under 2hours 5minutes on the day and on a lovely flat course. I am still feeling the effects from Wednesday mind you, so goodness knows how long it will take me to get over the actual race itself with the extra mile!

A good result

On Saturday I completed the Reading O2O 10K race for the second year running.  This is one of my most local 10K races which runs along the river at Thames Valley Park and along the towpath into Reading and back. It was a 9am start on  a fresh but dry morning, after I had had a rather poor night's sleep for some unknown reason.

I kept my fleece on until the last minute!

Last year my time was 54.40, which I knew would be a hard time to beat having been training for longer distances with slower pace, so I was just aiming to get under 55minutes. I felt the race was hard going to begin with  - though I nearly always find that - and towards the end I knew it was touch and go to get under the 55minute mark.

I gave it everything I had in the last hundred metres or so but it wasn't going to happen without me dropping dead or injuring myself, which I definitely didn't want to do before the half marathon in two weeks time.

So 55:20 was my official time, I'm pleased with that, still consistent, and I know I gave it my all. As usual my lovely loyal supporters came to give me a shout out :-)

Tomorrow I'll run my last long run before the half marathon, 11-12 miles. Fingers crossed for not too much rain!

3 months on!

Well, 3 months on and I don't know where the time went! Over that time I have completed my 6th Reading Race for Life 5k (July), in 28mins 28 (slower than last year but this time it was definitely measured as a full 5k!)

been on holiday to Portugal and had a 2 weeks break from running, put on a few pounds and really struggled to get back into my running stride. Not to mention watching rather a lot of Olympics and Paralympics, including an amazing day watching Paralympics live at the Olympic stadium and Velodrome, inspirational.

Summer holidays can always be tricky getting out to run with children at home, and whilst I managed to go out whilst staying with my parents in Devon, at the end of August I just didn't know why it was feeling like such hard work. As a last resort, with just over 6 weeks to go until my first Half Marathon on 14th October, I looked for a training plan, with no idea whether or not it would work and get me up to hm distance, when I was struggling even to get up to my old 10k distance and pace.

In addition I started a new job at the end of August, so any plan that I found would have to fit in with my non-working days as training days, and my working days being rest day, given that essentially I can only run in the daytime in the week, and at weekends. 

So I found this HM training plan from Women's Running Magazine: 8 weeks to Half Marathon, and I'm amazed at how straightforward it has been. Because I didn't start at 8 weeks I had to jiggle it a bit but it seems to have worked. I won't say it's been easy, as I'm not sure I'll ever find running 8/9/10+ miles "easy!" but the improvements with every run have been obvious. I had never before tried speed training either and can say now that it definitely helps to strengthen the legs, as well as just adding variety to the weekly training.

On Sunday I did my longest run to date, which was 10.5miles, AND in pouring rain all the way! As I've said previously, I've never been keen on running in the rain, but it's always ok once I get out there. This time, however, it was pleasant to begin with but, after about 6 miles, my legs really started to feel cold. But I plodded on and was pleased to run the distance in 1 hour and 40.  I just hope that the weather is somewhat kinder in 2 weeks time!

Last night I took part in a Pilot run of the new Woodley parkrun which was great fun. I clocked about 27.37 which isn't bad for my current 5k pace, and it was great to be part of the new parkrun which is practically on my doorstep. I hope I might be able to drag myself out of bed on a Saturday morning sometime for a quick 5k.

This coming Sunday I shall be running the Reading O20 10k which I ran last year in a time of 54.40.  I think I may be slightly off the mark on that time this year, but it fits in with the training plan and will be good to complete another race prior to the HM. I am still struggling to shift the half stone extra that I'm carrying and I'm sure that can't help the running but hey ho.

Of course once again I haven't managed to fit in as much scrapbooking as I would have liked, but I can't complain as I have been on 2 Scrap Cafe crops, one Saturday and one weekday, which means I have nearly finished scrapping last year's Portugal holiday photos - phew!! Also managed to complete the mini album of Cameron's birthday party which I'm very pleased with.

Next post I hope to be able to blog that I've completed my first half marathon in a time of less than 2hours 10minutes!

Just a quickie

Been busy, busy, busy here what with half-term holidays, tired children etc etc...  but have been managing to get the runs in (in between the ongoing awful weather). At the end of half-term we went to CenterParcs, Longleat, for a family occasion, so I took my running gear with me in order to fit in at least one run through the beautiful and traffic-free terrain. 

The weather was not looking favourable except for on the Saturday, so I took my opportunity to go out for a long run whilst hubby took the children to the pool (hooray for a wonderful husband :-) Not only did I get glorious sunshine, lovely scenery and as much time as I wanted, but I also managed to keep going and complete what is my longest run so far - just over 16km in just over 6min/km pace, so I was very very pleased with myself :-)

I have to admit that my legs did really feel it that evening and a bit the following day, but the run really allayed my fears of not being able to complete 13.1miles as required for my half-marathon. Now I know I really can do it, and hopefully in a decent time too.

My Garmin's first race, and finally a little scrapping too :-)

So despite all that rain that we though was never going to end, I had the Woodley 10k race to run on 13th May so I just had to get out there and train in the rain. Surprisingly, I quite enjoyed it at times, just not when it was cold as well as wet, and I really felt for my cousin Anna, who braved possibly the worst rainy weather of the year on the last Sunday in April to complete the Stratford-Upon-Avon half-marathon (her first HM) in just 1hour and 44minutes, still managed to say she enjoyed it, and as a result has signed up to join me in the Oxford HM.

During previous runs I had begun to have some problems with the GPS on my Mapmyrun app on my mobile, ie it was not correctly tracking my distance and therefore pace. Having wanted a GPS running watch for a while and been given some money towards one for birthday and Christmas last year, I finally took the plunge and bought a Garmin Forerunner 110, and I love it! So simple, and accurate. The only problem I have is remembering to switch it off at the end of a race!

I love my Garmin :-)

So Race Day arrived and I was pretty well prepared, training had been fine, and I was sure I could manage to improve on last year's time of 57:40. I was still nervous, as I always am at the start of a race.  I started near the front as I like to, and though I tried to hold back it was still a very fast first km, well under 5mins! From there on my pace slowed a bit and settled, but I could tell I would definitely beat last year's time, and I came in nearly 4mins quicker, official time 53:50, my 2nd quickest 10k (beaten only by my Dorney Dash 2011, a notoriously fast, flat race.) Needless to say I was very pleased :-)

My usual little mascot, my son, was at a party whilst I was running, so was unable to be with me for the post-race picture, so here I am without him, after getting back home:

Since then, I have been trying to run 3-4 times a week, with one run being a longer, slower one (10k+), to try to build my distance rather than pace, which is easier said than done for someone like me who usually likes to work towards time targets. Once I did manage to slow my pace though, surprise surprise, I was able to carry on running a lot further, simple as that! I have also been going to parkrun when possible, which I cannot "Big-up" enough.... a free timed race, lots of great people who also love running, but essentially just racing for yourself. I love checking the results and scouring the stats - where I have come amongst the other women in my age category, where I have come out of all the women, and also what my percentage age grading is - yes, I'm possibly becoming a parkrun stats geek!

With this weekend being the Diamond Jubilee weekend, at Reading parkrun we had not only the usual race on Saturday, but also an extra Jubilee run this morning. Lots of people wore red, white and/or blue, and some people brought along cakes for after the race. As usual there was a great atmosphere, so I really enjoyed it, and I am getting ever closer to my  parkrun pb of 26:04.

My final word today regarding running is that I have, at last, got my Race for Life 2012 website set up, so please, if you can, take a look and give a little to the great charity that is Cancer Research.

Finally scrapped!!!!

 As I didn't start scrapbooking until about 6 years ago, and I like to scrap most of my photos, I have a huge backlog of of photos to scrap which can be very daunting.  One scrapping friend suggested I try a different way, and start scrapping photos from some of the more recent events so that I can still remember them easily. So I have taken her advice, and have also started to scrap using smaller albums, which can be more manageable with my limited space and time.  I enjoy a subscription to Scrapbook Magazine, and the paper packs that come as free gifts with the magazine ideal for these smaller projects as they contain most of the components I need, so no need to get lots and lots of stash out on the table every time!

Using the lovely Teresa Collins Birthday/party papers that were a free gift with the magazine Issue 63, I decided to scrap my son's recent 6th birthday celebrations which included a bowling party.  The colours are just right for him and I'm using a Bazzill scalloped 6" album. These pages are the first 2 completed, which just involved a little bit of ink edging and journalling, and the first page shows the birthday card we made for him with a photo of his favourite soft toys on the front! 

Simple, but effective, I like to think :-) 

Rain, Rain, Go away!

Just a quick hello, now that I'm back from a wonderful, long (10 days!) holiday with family and friends in Devon. Still with the cough lurking as a remnant from the nasty virus I had, I took my running shoes down with me, determined to fit in some training with the Woodley 10k date fast approaching!

I struggled with a run in Exeter, but kept going to reach the 5k mark, with a little walking up the hills. Then, once we were were in Kingsbridge (South Devon), I ran about 4 times over the whole stay, but not entirely satisfactorily. If anyone reading has ever been to Kingsbridge, you will appreciate just how hilly the terrain is. The hills just killed my legs - I am used to running gradual inclines, but these were something else! - and my walking up the hills rather than running of course slowed my overall average pace. But I continued to run every few days to keep my legs ticking over, even though I have now decided that I am really not keen on running in Kingsbridge, not only due to the hills, but also the traffic and lack of continuous pavement, sooo not enjoyable with the exception of Easter Sunday when it was lovely and quiet of course! Still I had managed to run up to 6k several times whilst away, and it had whetted my appetite for getting out running on one of my "usual" local routes once home.

We came home on Sunday, and even in the car I was thinking "we're going to be home early enough for me to go for a run whilst hubby puts the kids to bed!" The weather was ok too, so I got out there, decided on a 6-7k route in order to start increasing my distance, and lo and behold, on a route which is mostly flat but slightly undulating in parts, I managed 6.95k in under 39minutes, a great improvement. It felt tough for the first 2-3k, but then seemed to settle down. 

My plan was then to run yesterday or today, but alas, the rain has come, and is still here, and doesn't seem to want to go!! It's not warm either, so I'm not going out there running! I don't mind a little shower, but constant rain, wind, and cold temperatures, nah, that's not for me! Instead, my Nell McAndrew Cardio, Stretch and Core dvd has had my attention both days, and it does actually feel good to have stretched other parts of my body, that don't get actively stretched in the same way whilst running.Only 3.5weeks now though until my race, so as soon as the rain goes I'll be back out there :-)

As you may be able to tell, the scrapping has taken rather a back seat what with holidays and running. Back to school and work now so no lazy lie-ins except at the weekends, so by evening I am shattered, even though I would really like to get some scrapping done.... sigh. Hopefully in the next couple of weeks I shall allocate some of my non-working daytime hours to treat myself to some scrapping time.

I hope some of you are managing to fit in some running / scrapping, I would love to hear if you have anything exciting to report!

Jx