Sunday, Long Run Day?

Miles I was supposed to run: 10

Mile I actually ran: 7

I thought about getting up early, joining the serious runner and going for a long run with them. 

Then I thought about it a bit more, and decided to stay in my warm, comfy bed with a mug of tea. 

So I joined my usual 7 mile group, and spent a lovely hour chasing cyclists completing the ride London race round Richmond Park in the sunshine. 

Will try harder and train properly next week...

Friday night is pub night

Miles I was supposed to run: 4

Mile I actually ran: 4

Bit drunk. Went to the pub post run. Probably not the best way to re-hydarate. Whoops!

The protein shake experiment

Miles I was supposed to run: 6

Mile I actually ran: 6 (Getting good at following these plans!)

I also ran 4 miles yesterday, but was too busy lounging on the sofa eating Chinese food to write about it!

I am now officially training for the Amsterdam Half marathon. I did not manage to follow the pre-training as close to the letter as I would have liked, so I'm a bit dubious about how this will go. Especially as I missed my first planned run on Monday. Plus I have signed myself up to a rather ambitious advanced plan. Shoot for the moon and if you miss you'll land among the stars and all that! So I'm off to an enthusiastic start!  

There is some hope though. After much discussion with my brother about protein shakes, (he has been a lot more enthusiastic about this than my recent engagement!) I bravely bought and tried one. 

I proudly collected my packet of protein powder from my local amazon locker last Saturday. Super excited, as this must been I'm a proper athlete now. I'm on the hard core stuff! Just to put a damper on my enthusiasm Mr Runner voiced his grave concerns that that I was now on a slippery slope. He complained that my new found interest in protein powder was going to result in me quickly moving on to 'roids, and then I would get super angry and start beating him. I did my best to reassure him that this was not my plan. I'm not sure he was convinced. 

To be honest I don't think he's got a lot to worry about. 

Protein powder mixed with water to make protein shakes looks and tastes disgusting. It goes all lumpy, no matter how much you try and whisk them. I don't understand how boys can take them three times a day!?! I definitely have no intention of having more than one a day, or moving on to anything harder!

On another note...having had one a day, after my runs, for the last 3 days, I think I can see an improvement in my energy levels and general hangriness. So maybe I will make it through the rest of my training?! Positive thinking! 

Are you bored yet?

Miles I was supposed to run: 6

Miles I actually ran: 6

Today I ran 6 miles. Now I'm quite sweaty. 

It was a nice cool evening in comparison to the last few weeks. 

About 4 miles in, my gluteus maximus started to hurt, so then I had to limp home. Not quite sure how I managed to injure it. 

Probably should do some stretches now, so that it doesn't stop me from running, because that would be bad! Tbh this meme says it all! 

So sleepy!

Miles I was supposed to run: 3

Miles I actually ran: 0

So my punishment for spending all day lolling on the sofa, feeling sorry for myself, was to end up lying awake until 5am. Having only had 90 minutes sleep last night, running wan't really what I was up for after work today. So I had a nice nap (yes I am totally setting myself for another failed nights sleep) and went for a lovely evening stroll.

I will try harder tomorrow. 

I have heard rest is important for muscle recovery. Hopefully todays lack of running will make me faster tomorrow?? 

Urgh! The heat. The humidity. The headache.

Miles I was supposed to run: 8

Miles I actually ran: 7.2

7.2 miles in blazing sunshine and 100000% humidity with a mild hangover was not a good idea. I'm just going to find a shady spot to lie down in and drink all the water for the rest of the day. 

The dreaded treadmill

Miles I was supposed to run: 3

Miles I actually ran: 3

Mr Runner wanted to trial a new gym today. Mr Runner wanted me to join him. As I only had to run 3 miles today, I stupidly agreed.

I hate treadmills. I went travelling down the west coast of Canada and America earlier this year while I was training for my last half marathon, and ended up doing a lot of running on treadmills. It was awful. 

So today I tentatively stepped on to the dreaded thing, and started it up. The first mile seemed to speed by. I decided I was obviously a lot fitter than the lat time I did this, and it was really easy. What had I been complaining about. I was speeding along at a pace much faster than usual. I was clearly on to a winner. I was going to win the Amsterdam Half Marathon at this rate.

Then I realised.

It was not 1 mile, but 1 kilometre. I was going a LOT slower than usual. 

What started as an easy run, became the LONGEST three miles of my life. Even longer than those horrific cross country runs I had to do at school in a t shirt, hockey skirt and 3 inches of snow. 

I hate treadmills. 

So after my 3 miles, I decided I wasn't hanging around to wait for Mr Runner. Instead I was going to sit outside and enjoy the sunshine. 

Just want to say a quick thank you to Thomas's blog for the fantastic picture :)

We're all going on a summer holiday!

Miles I was supposed to run: 6

Miles I actually ran: 6

I have spent a lovely couple of days in the Cotswolds. Lots of sunshine, country walks, good food and wine. I think Mr Runner and I were the youngest people there by at least 25 years!

There was not a lot of running happening, too many hills, and narrow over grown paths. Also I promised Mr Runner I wouldn't. He put me on a blog and running ban for the duration of our holiday. 

So this afternoon I belted out a quick 6 miler to try and keep up with my training plan. 

I was very amused to see a number of 30 somethings loitering on a street corner playing Pokemon while I was out. They were all teaming up to take on a gym, and getting really quite vocal about it (don't ask me how I know that :)!). It did make me chuckle to myself! 

None of us in my generation seem to have grown up really. This makes me feel more comfortable with the idea of getting older, taking out mortgages, getting married and having babies are things which are not that scary really. Especially if it's socially acceptable to take a break from it all and run away with Pokemon for a bit when adulting all seems to be getting a bit too much! 

Hello Sunshine!

Miles I was supposed to run: 6

Miles I actually ran: 6

Gallons of water lost in sweat: 3

Whatever was making me feel so tired over the last week is obviously fixed. I must have been mad to go out for a 6 mile run this morning, it was 28 degrees and rising when I left! But I did, and I enjoyed it!

Off I went, in my smallest running shorts, with mangy legs still covered in hives. The pressure was off because it was so hot. I knew I wasn't going to be able to run a PB, so I just had fun.

Pretty quickly I decided that it would be worth tucking the bottom of my t shirt in to my sports bra, allowing for a nice breeze on my stomach.

So there I was, flying down hills, in 30 degree heat, with mangy legs, and flashing my very white, slightly flabby, stomach. My mother would be horrified. As I think were the nice middle class mothers taking their children to the park this morning.

I didn't really care. It was hot, and anyone judging me could bugger off. It's my body, and my body doesn't want to end up with heat stroke. If it's OK for middle aged men with huge bellies to wander around on hot days with no tops on, people can deal with my white midriff and rashy legs!

Sadly I got a bit distracted in my, mostly imaginary, outrage, and ran in to a thorny bush. I now look like I've been a fight with a cat! As well as having a slightly sun burnt stomach. 

Oops!

Miles I am supposed to run: 3

Miles I actually ran: 0


I'm on holiday this week. I did plan on going for a run today...

But...

Mr Runner and I went out to Kew Gardens for the day. It was very hot and sunny. In that heat the chilled bottles of white wine looked so tempting...

Now I am home, trying to sober up, and there was no running done today. Oops!

Ouchy!

Miles I am supposed to run: 8

Miles I actually ran: 7.2

Time spent trying to put make-up on my legs: 23 minutes

I joined the top group (7miles) at my running club today, and I survived :). I know that I got to make this decision, and it's not really that big a deal, but as a kid I was never in the top group for anything. So I am quite chuffed with myself for this, and the fact that I was able to keep pace with them all.

So I had a lovely 7 mile run this morning chasing my peers across grassy parks. Frolicking through commons with grass that was knee high. I felt like a kid again. 

Then I noticed, my ankles were a little itchy. I looked down, and saw my legs were covered in big red blotches. Hives. Great.

So I have spent the last half an hour sitting in a freezing cold bath, trying to soothe my legs. I can't wear trousers because they irritate my legs more, especially as it's no hot today. So I am off to the pharmacy, in my shorts, with legs covered in big red blotches, to try and get some antihistamines. Lucky I'm not that self-conscious...

On the plus side, at least I can catch some Pokemon on my trip to town. I was trying to be all cool and grown-up today, so I didn't play Pokemon while out for my run. 

The Protein Shake Conundrum

Miles I am supposed to run: 3

Miles I actually ran: 3

I decided it might be sensible to swap today and tomorrow's runs around, and do a longer one with the club tomorrow.

For most of this last week I have been feeling tired and constantly starving. My brother's advice for this was to try protein shakes. That's as far as he got, before getting distracted and not answering any of my further questions.

So this morning I came to the conclusion that the rest was down to me, and started to do some research.

My initial findings were positive. Clearly everything I have been doing is wrong, and protein shakes are the answer to all of my problems. How did I even get this far without them! Apparently they are the cure to any and all ailments!

Then I got a bit stuck. 

All protein shakes for women are pink, and designed for weight loss. I don't want to lose any weight. In fact if I lose any more weight I will fall down a drain on a run, never to be seen again. These are not what I want.

Protein shakes for men come in a variety of manly colours, and will help me to build lots of muscles so I can look like a body builder. Not really what I want either. 

Might just go and have a steak instead. 

Gotta Catch 'Em All

Miles I am supposed to run: 4

Miles I actually ran: 4

Pokemon caught so far: 32

Mr Runner has been obsessively playing Pokemon Go! for the last week. While I have been mocking him for this, I have secretly been feeling a little left out. So after a hard day of adulting at work today, I decided to come home, download Pokemon Go! and take it out for a run.

Given how much I have struggled over the last few days, it definitely made the 4 miles more interesting and a lot more bearable. Although I was quite a bit slower because I had to keep stopping to capture Pokemon as I've not quite mastered the skill of throwing Poke Balls while on the run yet! Hopefully it will make tomorrow's 8 miler a lot easier as well!

I did get a few funny looks though...

I don't wanna!

Miles I am supposed to run: 6

Miles I actually ran: 0

Pokemon caught so far: 1

I don't want to run today. I don't want to adult today. 

Today I am going to hide in my blanket fort, nap and play Pokemon. 

Tomorrow I will adult. Tomorrow I will run...

(By the way, for those interested, I did brave it in to work today!)

The Return of Mickey

Miles I am supposed to run: 4

Miles I actually ran: 0.02 (to my car)

Wine drunk: 3 glasses

This morning I decided that I probably shouldn't run today. I was so tired, walking the few meters from my car to my desk felt like the longest of my life. 

This plan changed, however, when I was packing up to go home.

I was walking down the corridor, mulling over in my mind what I would like for dinner, when the I spotted the Resident Rodent scampering towards me. I picked up my handbag and bravely fled. Those few meters, which just hours before had felt like a mission, disappeared in a lightning bolt as I sprinted towards my car. 

But then a thought occurred to me. My handbag has been on the floor all day. It has my emergency snacks in it. What if the mouse is in my handbag!?!? I couldn't think of anything worse than speeding down the road, away from one mouse, only to find another scrabbling around in my car! 

So I timidly peeked in to my bag. After 10 minutes, of what turned in to frantic checking, I was satisfied that I was safe. I breathed a sigh of relief, and drove off in to the sunset to the safety of my mouse free home. And promptly opened a bottle of wine and poured myself a VERY large glass as a reward for being so brave! 

Still undecided if I am brave enough to go back to work tomorrow or not though...

Choices, choices

Miles I am supposed to run: 6

Miles I actually ran: 5.5 (not a bad attempt)

Pace: 1mile/hr

Today I had 2 choices (because I couldn't think of a good enough excuse not to run). Go to speed training with the running club, or smash out a quick 6 miles and come home for two for Tuesdays and a Good Wife marathon on Netflix. 

I went with the latter option.

Unfortunately, I didn't quite "smash out a quick 6 miles." Pretty sure I am getting slower.  

On another note. Hello pizza! :)

Skinny runner problems

Miles I am supposed to run: 3

Miles I actually ran: 3

Calories consumed: 600 000 000

Food. Food. Food. I want all the food. 

At least being hungry made me run home faster. The only problem is I now need to wait for Mr Runner to get home so I can have my dinner. 

The difficulty with being a boney built runner, chalking up around 30 miles a week is that I am constantly hungry. At the moment I seem to manage to eat my lunch by 11am, and then at lunch time I'm looking around hungrily at my colleagues food, wondering if they'd notice if I accidentally ate their lunch too. By 2pm I've usually given in to the hunger and gone out and bought a second lunch. Mr Runner complained the other week that I managed to eat a months worth of food in a week!

I do keep emergency snacks in my drawer at work, but I'm avoiding that drawer at the moment. Apparently there was a mouse sniffing around it last week, and I'm terrified I'm going to find it scoffing all my food :(. 

The juggling act

Miles I am supposed to run: 8

Miles I actually ran: 7 (didn't quite manage to get out of bed early enough!)

Mr Runner and I have tickets to the tennis today, so I had to get up early in order to fit my long run in. Clearly, as you can see, I didn't manage to get up early enough. I tried though. I left Mr Runner all tucked up in bed with a cup of tea, and Pokemon GO, while I braved the miserable weather outside to plod out 7 miles. 

Off to the tennis now. Not sure how much play we will actually see, but hopefully there will be lots of pimms, with strawberries and cream involved. 

The perils of purchasing new trainers

Miles I am supposed to run: 3

Miles I actually ran: 3

I braved today's run in my new trainers, I've been putting off trying them again after the first time resulted in a lot of blisters. 

Normally when I buy new trainers I use my birthday vouchers and buy the cheapest pair online that I can find which still look pretty in the January sales. As I was reluctant to go in to a scary running shop, where I was sure they would spot that I was a fraud, and not a proper runner instantly. Also if I am going to spend a lot of money on shoes I would rather it was a cute new pair of pumps, or a sassy pair of heels. Not trainers. 

However, due to the high mileage I have been running this year, I have had to invest in a new pair rather sooner than usual. I decided that I should get them fitted properly this time, in the hope that it might resolve the "I run like a duck" problem. So off I bravely trotted to the local running shop for a gait analysis. There, I was relieved to find, was a very nice shop assistant, who didn't seem to suspect that I may not be a proper runner. She asked me to run on a treadmill in bare feel while she watched me running. She produced a couple of pairs of trainers for me try on, based on this. 

Apparently, both had to be a whole size larger to allow for my feet to swell as I run, it was felt that the normal half size wasn't going to be enough for me:(. As someone who has always felt very self conscious about the size of their feet this idea did not appeal. (I now have a pair of trainers that make my feet look like boats. At least if the Thames does flood, I can easily sail away to safety in my trainers.) 

So the first pair of trainers that the shop assistant recommended were very pink and glittery. I wouldn't have been surprised if there was a tiny My Little Pony printed on the side, or if they lit up as I ran. There was NO way I was buying them, despite the shop assistant's assurances that really these were the best for my running style. I would not be seen dead wearing them in public.

The second pair looked much nicer. They weren't quite so comfortable, it felt a little bit like someone had stuffed a brick under the arch of my foot, but I kept quiet about this, hoping that it would be fine once I got going. So I eagerly purchased them, feeling a bit more like a proper runner having been through this experience. 

I toddled back home with my new trainers, feeling very chuffed with myself, and really keen to take them out for a spin. 

After about 2 miles in to my first run, my feet were killing me. I ended up turning back and hobbling home where I discovered several small, but painful blisters. Maybe I should have bought the glittery pink ones after all. 

I put them back in the box, and hid them for several weeks. However, today it got to the point where I wasn't really going to get away with my wearing my old ones for much longer. So after much googling, where it recommended slathering my feet in vaseline and wearing two pairs of sock, I braved another run in them this morning. 

Google really is a genius. My feet were fine today. 

Taco Friday!

Miles I am supposed to run: 3

Miles I actually ran: 0

I decided not to run today after yesterday's rubbish run. It's important to listen to your body, and mine is saying it's tired. 

After much whinging to Mr Runner about how tired I was, he made me these tasty tacos for dinner :). I believe an evening of tasty food, wine and binge watching the Good Wife is what this runner needs! So Rock 'n' Roll I know, but sadly I'm not 18 any more :(. 

UPDATE: officially think I might be broken. Just tried to go to bed at 7.30pm :( 

Bad run day #2

Miles I am supposed to run: 6

Miles I actually ran: 5.09

On reflection, I think the fact that I had to bribe myself out the door this evening with the promise of; the macaroni cheese with chorizo an chilli that's in the freezer; a large glass of chilled white wine; a pink magnum; and a long soak in a bubble bath when I got home, should have been a sign that today's run was not going to go well. It wasn't really a run, more of a slow walk if I'm totally honest. 

But as I did it, or near enough, I'm enjoying my large glass of wine and macaroni cheese (sorry Mr Runner, I know you were saving it. Yes I am eating both portions) and looking forward to my long soak in the bath, followed by a pink magnum. 

#strongnotskinny

Miles I am supposed to run: 4

Miles I actually ran: 4

Bit humid out, felt a little bit like running through treacle this evening! 

I decided to admire my legs in my running shorts when I got back this evening. I have often complained about my manly calves, and muscly knees. The harder I train the bigger they seem to get. Also well defined calves are quite hard to shave. There are contours and corners where there is normally just smooth, slightly squishy flesh. 

Today I noticed that as well as acquiring bigger calf muscles, my thighs seem to be slimming down. I'm a little concerned that if I keep going at this rate, I'm going to have HUGE calves, and no thighs. 

I know I should be proud that my body is so strong and well defined. Mostly though I'm a bit concerned that I might be starting to look a little bit weird. Might stick to tights and trousers for a while, but it's not going to stop me running!

Summer Runnin'

Miles I am supposed to run: 6

Miles I actually ran: 6.12

Braved speed training for the first time this evening. We went for a beautiful run around the park in the evening sunshine. There is nothing quite so therapeutic as being out in the evening sun. It was so quiet except for the birds and the pat pat pat of half a dozen runners feet hitting the path. I didn't feel particularly stressed before I went out, but I feel a lot calmer and zen for going out.

Although there is nothing quite like running through fields of freshly mown grass for a hayfever suffer. So it's a quick blog post today so I can go and scrub all the pollen off in the bath. 

New week. New training plan.

Miles I am supposed to run: 3

Miles I actually ran: 3

I was so exhausted after the race yesterday that I spent the remainder of the day lying dramatically on the sofa, demanding Mr Runner brought me lots of cups of tea and chocolate. He very quickly got bored with this, and buggered off upstairs to leave me to fend for myself :( 

Determined not to have a repeat of yesterdays sub-par performance I spent much of my time lounging on the sofa productively googling, and found a serious training plan that even involves pre-training (sounds impressive doesn't it!) Tokyo 2020 here I come! 

Or something like that anyway.

Technically the pre-training part is supposed to take the 5 weeks before you start proper training...but I only have 3 weeks...with a number of social events that may make it hard to follow. I have also been slightly ambitious and chosen an advanced training programme. 1st half marathon = beginner, 2nd half marathon = intermediate, 3rd half marathon = advanced?? 

But hey, as the saying goes. If you shoot for the moon, even if you miss, you'll land among the stars. 

Sticking with the positives. I managed the 3 mile run on my plan today. Whether I make it to my planned speed training session tomorrow, is a whole other thing. 

On your marks, Get set, GO!

Race Day!

A 10k race. That'll be easy! I've run 2 half marathons, so a 10k is nothing! 

Lies.

There is probably a reason why most people do a 10k to train for a half marathon, not the other way around. 

I was sneezing all night last night, and relegated myself to the sofa, so as not to keep Mr Runner awake. I was also panicking about the fact that I was going to have to wake up at 7.30am on a Sunday! Oh the horror! So it was about 3am before I actually fell asleep, and then woke up with a face like a puffer fish, due to all the sneezing. So I was off to a good start.

Not to be deterred by this, I took a few gulps of tea to wash down a crumpet, laced up my trainers, and headed off to the race.

I was a bit anxious about where I would get parked, so more or less abandoned my car at the opposite end of the common from the start line, and then had to run to the start line to make sure I didn't miss the race. It was fine. I made it on time. Just. And then we were off. 

Very quickly I realised that a couple of gulps of tea was probably not enough to hydrate me for a race, when the temperature was already hitting 15 degrees. It was fine though, I told myself, don't worry. It's only 10k, it'll be over before you know it. 

More lies.

3k in and I wasn't sure I was going to make it to the water station. Oh look. There's my car. I could just...best not to. Keep going.

5k. WATER! Thank God. 

6k. I can see my car again...

7k. I'm sooo tired. I can't do this anymore. I'm going to have to walk.

Luckily, a nice man told me to keep running. He ran with me the final 3k to the finish line, and I made it. Not in the time I was hoping for, but I finished the race.

I am very grateful to the man who picked my spirits up when I was ready to quit. As well as the friends who were marshalling around the course. It was a real booster hearing them encourage me and this spurred me on even more. 

There were no sprint finishes for me today, I was just glad I made it. However, today showed me that running isn't about winning races, or beating personal bests, but about the friends you make along the way, and supporting and encouraging each other. It's a team effort getting round that course, no matter what the distance. 

Now I'm off for a finishers brunch :) All the food for me! I deserve it! 

Running Apps?

Miles I am supposed to run: 0

Miles I actually ran: 0

Reese's Cups Eaten: Many :)

Glad today is a rest day. Feeling rubbish. Not sure I could walk to the end of the street, let alone run anywhere. Also it's raining again. 

Mr Runner came back from New York yesterday with a very large bag of Reese's cups. So I will spend the rest of today working my way through them and drinking tea! 

I'm very aware that after tomorrow's race, I'm going to have to start training for my next half marathon. I've also been in competition with a colleague from work, who is determined to run more miles than me, and run faster then me. I was winning, until yesterday, and I will not be beaten by a boy!

As a result, I am desperately looking for a new running app, that can help me run faster :). I was using RunKeeper, until it stopped recording the first few miles of my runs, which was frustrating. At the moment I'm using a combination of Nike Running, which is pretty but not that good for training plans, and the Apple Watch workout app so I can track my pace while I'm running. Neither of which are very ideal. So I thought I would take this opportunity to ask the internet what apps/training plans they would recommend! 

Race day tomorrow!