Schizophrenicgirlrunning

update

2010-11-02T00:33:00.000-07:00

Hi

I have a 13 mile run on the treadmill to report - 2 weeks after my half marathon - felt a bit sore the next day but not nearly as much as my first race

I ran 22.5 mi this week but my 12 weekly avg is still only 13 - i need to improve week after week now as i really need my average to go up - maybe i should only include the last month avg or work out my MONTHLY averages...

I don't know

At the moment i am doing 4 or 5 day spurts followed by a day or two off

I will run today maybe 4 or 5 miles and then cross train the next morning with a yoga class and hope to run same day later on

I am obsessed with June next year and really need to let up a bit on the mental side of things and also increase my mileage in a big way...
don't know if those 2 things go together

Rift in Time and Space Half Marathon

2010-10-17T18:27:00.000-07:00

HI LOL

this is CARDIFF and the setting for all my favourite TV shows, walked around and had a look at the Torchwood (anogram for doctor who) Hub and the posh way in to the undergroud place, a slab of pavement where there is a perception filter, so that no passers by see the paving stone going down with the people on it!!

And i ran a half marathon around this beautiful city, taking a pee behind a tree in a Park!!, going over this one place where someone disapeared into Cardiff's rift in Time and Space..

anyway back to the race...

I stayed at a hotel near to the start line, perfect for a warm up , got up at a good time, but really should have got there earlier to ensure that i had enough time to find safety pins, we didn't find the Race Villiage till AFTER and was wandering around the baggage drops and the start line getting very fed up, but i was given 2 long strips of stripy wide duck tape, in striking yellow and black diagonals, and stuck it to my shirt, the top bit stayed attatched!! the whole way round!!

so i will look out for photos...

the most amazing thing about this race is I MATCHED my p.b.

2:47:03 AGAIN

lol

i will give you my split times because i was Very slow and in a good zone until about mile 8 then a bit faster for a couple of miles and all out in the last 5k....

Wayne - you said dont' worry about giving it a kick at the end - i don't know what you meant - but suddenly i was Racing...!!!

I was very much focused on form and feeling fresh throughout... it wasn't quite a breeze, the 12 - 13 mile mark was a hard mile...

lap 1 12.48 mi / mi 146 bpm avg

lap2 13,43 mi/ mi 146 bpm avg

lap 3 13.55 mi / mi 143 bpm avg

lap 4 13,56 mi/mi 143bpm avg

lap 5 13.29 mi/ mi 143 bpm avg

lap 6 13.38 mi /mi 143 bpm avg

lap 7 13,25 mi / mi 145 bpm avg

lap 8 13.13 mi / mi 150 bpm avg

lap 9 13.29 mi / mi 152 bpm avg

lap 10 12.18 mi / mi 158 bpm avg

lap 11 11.28 mi /mi 166 bpm avg

lap 12 10.53 mi / mi 174 bpm avg (!)

lap 13 12.22 mi /mi 172 bpm avg (bit tired)

well 2 mi at about 90 % most of it was around 78 - 82% when i was actually looking

last 5 k as a race? what did i want to be stupid??

I hope i will not be too sore i have a hip flexor in a bit of pain becuase of the hill run the other day

might not do exactly that same run in a hurry or if not much slower at some point...

again - recovery suggestions, based on my race would be amazing and soooooooo apreciated i love to get advice and need to know -might keep 12 miles as a long run for a couple of weeks

I will try finding a reverse taper of a half marathon plan and reverse the process

Thanks for reading

Ashtanga and other Yoga

2010-09-26T13:08:00.000-07:00

Hi I have just been starting to get in some cross training in the last 3 weeks and it's been FANTASTIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I can't explain how much yoga has meant to me in the past - and i have found yoga invaluable when long term in patient psychiatric hospitals...

I really don't think cross training should be so much fun!!

I think cross training is something you Have to do and Should do and only do in bits and peices here and there and give up a lot as i usually have....

To find something where i would love to put in the challenge of getting to either 6 or 7 day weeks.... of getting my fix.... every day..... where i haven't even done 5 days yet so that is what i'll start with...

I think i have worked out more intensely than intensively ??

I have done big deals at too fast or too long or hard maybe ? or just not built it up slowly enough

or had the motivation maybe

But my motivation is on overdrive at the moment - i will have to be carefull not to burn out - but in a way - i never did have enough motivation - i think i just wanted to....

even so the intensively has come into play with my one Ashtanga class that i went to 10 days ago, which Wiped me out Completely for a whole week - my long run wasn't kept to schedule and was 5 days later and slowish

I did another class (1.5 hrs) on Saturday - which was easy ish other than some of the upper body stuff and some of the ballancing stuff...

I did my first 2 hr class with this teacher and it killed me - but that was from couch and at the start of my yoga - so it was amazing that i was good enough with my leg strength to be better in some of it than ever -

Amazed to be enjoying yoga again - wasn't really expecting it or looking forward to it just had the idea one day!!!

My fave downhill run

2010-09-16T10:17:00.000-07:00

Hi, I again did a 5.4 downhill run- in 1:04 I am glad that my time keeps improving - that is with very little effort and trying very hard not to push myself as only did 10km race 4 days ago - but i have been thinking a little bit like 'f' recovery!!!
it's not the most amazing journey ...
i have done this run in 56 mins... it loses about i think 600m sooo gradually and needs someone with a car the other end because it's a fantastic one way downhill run

I think i can only class it as a 4 mi run or call it a run to time because it is not as much of a challenge as going the other way - which i sometimes do and enjoy equally...

I just can't wait to get to a 10 miler in a couple of weeks or so or 11, when my Garmin is working again and go UP and DOWN - so far all my longer runs have been on a circular route or at races the up and back thing is great for some reason - esp up and down a long slow hill - you can really feel the gradient on a bike even more so than on foot i think because you almost have no need for peddals on the way down!!!

Powderham Castle 10km

2010-09-15T00:52:00.001-07:00

Finally found the webpage with my result on it - my chip time was 1:17:27

worse than it could have been but i was forefoot striking for the first time in a race after only a few weeks of practicing this form of running.

I have no doubt that the scenery was very beautiful - but being kinesthetic with my mind and running i'm absolutely oblivious and only saw the ground infront of me and felt like i was going far too fast at the beginning, then too slow for the middle bit then all out for the last 4km

it was so stupid to start so near the front and overtake people i knew would just take me back but it felt so easy and the maybe 9.5 min mile i did half of was absolutely the same in feeling as the 13 min mile near the end - because when not tired - how are you supposed to not push it?

I always usually know the answer to that and have never yet failed so dismally as this time at pacing myself

the run went up a grass bank / garden then round onto a path then by the estuary and then round and into the beautiful small roads and woods, then back through a courtyard in the castle and return same way as started.

It was a lot tougher than i thought ... i was under trained - new to forefoot strike - and maybe someone can tell me which of those is a more important feature in my slow race.... I ran a 10km race in 1:13:01 4 weeks ago after avg 4 mpw for 8 weeks, then i get back into my groove a little and have one silly 7,5 mi week and then finish on a race far from my pb.

I hope that it is the forefoot strike out of those - which i'm certain will make me faster in the long run... longer runs...

I did a 2 mi hilly beautiful coastal windy rainy run today it was Gorgeous

and then only about 6 mins of intense yoga - my 4th go at yoga in a week - longest so far 20 mins... improving at first but now tired... i am gonna look at the classes in Totnes again there is a hippy town about 30 mins from where i live i will see if i can get back into classes soon - i am so not ready yet!

UNbelievable!!

2010-09-14T07:24:00.000-07:00

They still have not posted my time on the internet ! i think because it was a special photo oppourtunity for the charity with everyone asked to wear their t shirts before the race specifically - they might be working on the website for a bit longer than usual!

I think it was about 1:17 for 10km of VERY gentle inclines and some real short hills, up and down and etc - but as a preview to my race report I overtook about 7-9 people in the last 3km!!! i really really went mental and pushed and pushed and pushed!! lol - first for me - i usually keep my place or lose it to others!! too fast off the mark then too slow for first 5km prob made it poss!

Hi again

2010-09-11T05:09:00.000-07:00

Hi,
LONG time no blogging!!! everyone else seems a bit quiet around here too!!
I'm just back into running after an 8 week lull of roughly 4 mi per Week!!
When i got married etc!!
So, back to running and in between 2, 10k races - 2nd tomorrow - and a half marahton in 5 weeks!! omg can i really do it with this little preparation? i've done 7.5 quality miles this week, 7.5 total last week and 16.5 the week before - this is not sounding exactly ready for a half marathon just yet - but i hope to get about 2 or so longer runs in before it - a couple of 10 mile runs would be ideal although my longest lately was only 7.6mi in one go

and started back doing a 'tiny bit' of ashtanga yoga - who knows how stupid i can get over that - or not - just promises sometimes - other times i get really hooked - it's not really something to be played with a bit like running but this really is fun for me when i do it properly - but the obsession is x2 that of running - it's a real double edged sword to me.... I don't know what i'm doing getting back into it - except i might get strong arms and shoulders and etc
lol

grueling bit less than 10 miles

2010-04-24T06:42:00.000-07:00

HI what a horrible run!! i had a good time between about miles 5 and 8 where i was in a bit of a rythm but really this was quite tough at over 15 min miles on a sloping to flat course.

I had to remind myself that not all days feel like this when i run - i plodded round
overtaken by a '48 hr treadmill world record attempt' t shirt

but at the same time there were more friendly people than usual which was a great boost.

Looking forward to easier runs (i think) idk had a couple of nice easy runs lately because of lovely recovery period... felt a bit more rested after 3 days off at one point

oh well struggle struggle

Easy 8.5 mile lsd run

2010-04-17T08:53:00.000-07:00

HI
i am finally not too worried about my back of knee pain

This was a great run and the weather was perfect - mild and breezy and sunny

pretty worried about the volcano getting in the way of my half marathon and honeymoon holidays

if i can't do Tromso and scotland has a clear day might try Skye h/m instead

Half Marathon / Full Marathon / Dreams

2010-04-10T11:49:00.000-07:00

HI,
I have been wondering why i have had unreasonable Dreams in the last couple of days about going to Bora Bora - 3 flights, 2 days and about 5000£ away from here and I really have been wondering why I suddenly wanted to climb a Volcano in Bali before dawn

- apart from seeing it on youtube and it looks really cool it is just that all my normal true possible real to life dreams are materializing - i'm getting Married in less than 3 months, Adrian has moved in with me, we have a fab honeymoon planned with a Spa hotel in Austria and some great running routes around there for one of the weeks- it looks beautiful - Midnight Sun Half Marathon in Tromso, Norway also coming up...

All this along with even more ordinary things like cooking and cleaning and selling his house and having a Volunteer Job i love with Donkeys and Special Needs Children, I quit smoking nearly 4 years ago and it's been as long since i've been in hospital...

People say that a marathon is more than twice a half marathon... still healing from my first half but starting to believe i can do it...

Recovering STILL

2010-04-07T10:33:00.000-07:00

HI,

I have just been to physiotherapy - she says i have tight muscles or smth after the marathon and because there are a lot of nerves in the leg - that's why it's hurting ... i must do calf raises twice a day and will soon have even stronger calves
i will be running every other day for the next week and only 2-3 miles each time
for a week

I have plans for long runs recover recover 10 10 8 11 12 8 13 13 taper taper race recover recover wed ( i mean get married ) !!! honeymoon!! run a little in the Austrian and Swiss mountains but as much as i want or as little as i want lol whatever takes me...
those are my basic plans anyway

soooooooo not so bad to have another week or 2 weeks recovery - hope that the second week of recovery includes an 8 miles run at least - i must recover my long runs some time soon the rest after the h/m is dragging on because i wasn't quite ready for it and now i am recovering 2 and a half weeks later still - so is this usual 3+ weeks to recover?
it's annoying!!

over a week since half marathon

2010-03-31T06:08:00.000-07:00

Still got a sore knee - (behind the knee joint) - no energy to run at all - I have done a total of 9 miles since last sunday - most of it crawling or walking - but the odd mile quite fast...

I don't know when my running mojo will come back, i am like a bruised warrior, etc etc etc i just hate it - wanna get back out there and RUN

My first half Marathon!!

2010-03-27T02:53:00.000-07:00

HI

It was a great day - i raced against the final 1000 people i think - i didn't even get to see the elites because i took the long way round to the start 'avoiding crouds'

My time was 2:47:03 and i have decided to lose 30 lbs for my full Marathon next year because of this site:

http://www.runningforfitness.org/calc/weighteffect.php

and this site:

http://www.mcmillanrunning.com/mcmillanrunningcalculator.htm

between them i have worked out i can shave about 45 mins off full marathon just
by losing weight
as well as being properly trained for the full thing i would like to give myself the best chance possible of coming in in under 5 hrs.

my calves have not swollen up at all this time and i am now going to losely follow hal higdon's intermediate half marathon plan for Tromso

I am not going to do the Tavy 13 in a month because i would not be properly trained for it what with recovery and taper!!!!

Official Overdoing it

2010-03-11T10:07:00.001-08:00

HI,

I have been to a doctor who, 3 days after my last long run, looked at my swollen calves and said: it's lactic acidosis...

Which means over-worked muscles...

He actually checked for shin splints and tendon damage as well - but i don't think I have put the mileage in for shin splints yet - thank goodness - lol - and i'm glad i'm not actually injured...

I have been very scared by how drastically swollen my calves have been getting after a new distance - my first 8, 10 , 11.25 and 12 milers were all followed by this kind of swelling... the doc just said i had been seriously overdoing it - i think i can now run 8 miles without swelling and 10 miles with no pain at all - so i'm not too far off the half marathon.

He asked me how important the half marathon is to me and i said that i had sponsorship already and that it was important to me - i think he was asking - do you want to put yourself through that AGAIN?

I really will hope now that race day will bring new energy not new fears - he has suggested walking only for the next 4 days - so a full week of no running - and more stretching - followed by very limited run - walk - running...

I think i will find that i have to run - walk - run this first half marathon anyway - I really thought i had been following a sensible schedule - but maybe i need to go slower than most with my increases - or maybe i just stepped it up too quickly...

I really promise that i will not find myself following an advanced half marathon plan for my second half marathon - ( i will give the Tavy 13 a miss in 5 weeks time ) - which is not till June.

I think everyone has different limits with their fitness and running and i'm sure i will come up with a few more over time - this is not my limit - it is only the beginnng of long distances...

first 12 miler - race in 2 weeks!

2010-03-08T11:14:00.000-08:00

Hi, today - i started out rested and ambitious - i tried a moderate cycle route and went the easy way after about a quarter - nice little hilly great detour for the future!

I walked quite a lot - most half miles had some walking - short breaks - but i felt like such a failure!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I don't so much now because it was tough and took a lot of effort ... i stopped quite frequently and ammassed about 20 mins of stoppage time - but the running was 3: 03: something...

I hope my first half will not be much over 3 hrs - i will race it - but i will try to remember the aim is to complete first time and have a time to beat...

under 3 hours would be ideal....

one long run to go and a Taper!

2010-03-06T05:04:00.000-08:00

Hi i have a 12 miler which i might do downhill lol as it's my first time doing this distance !! Run to near home and get a lift ...

I have just ran a 5 mile uphill route to make up for it - it is tougher - I did go slower than the downhill way but this was 5.25 in 1:12:32....

Wedding plans are coming along! we are sorting out invites and menu options next week... Just about got the day planned - showing my sister (my photographer) and her assistant the venue for the reception and the registry office today...

26.5 Miles in a week!!! I'm amazed

2010-03-04T02:08:00.000-08:00

Ok so now i'm taking a couple of days off - but wow i was not prepared for what i realized after realizing that that is what happens when you move a long run back a day and have 2 long runs 6 days apart instead of 7 days apart

I ran wed 11, then 2.5, 5, and tue 8 in the same week! INFACT i just had to re calculate!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I thought it was 24 when i started this post!! i'm exhausted !!! lol

Please follow Reykjavik2011 also 8 mile

2010-03-02T10:41:00.000-08:00

8 mile recovery long run!!! right - so i was slow with 14.48 min miles - right - so i walked a bit.... Wimp or athlete?? lol

This run was only 6 days after my last long run - so i don't think i was fully recovered...

getting on quite well with putting a sports drink in my camelbak but thinking about swapping to gels and water for hm.

Will need to find out if they are supplying anything... 19 days to go!!

NEW BLOG TITLE - PLEASE FOLLOW IOR UPDATE

2010-02-28T04:01:00.000-08:00

HI

please go to

http://www.reykjavik2011.blogspot.com

and continue to follow - schizophrenicgirlrunning no longer exists - please follow reykjavik2011 instead!!!!!

Katherine

19.5 miles this week!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2010-02-27T12:10:00.000-08:00

This is the first week yet where i have run what has to be the average of the year and really really want to do 1000+++ miles this year

I have a bit of catching up to do having now ran 103.5 this year...

but I am not too worried because i have the plan to double my mileage this year - so no worries about catching up

Did a very easy 5 mile run - probably my least alarming 5 mile run ever - and pretty fast - but i had no garmin on me I think it took 1 hr 4 mins but i gave up looking at my watch after an hour and nearly being there lol

Lovely weather - there was some hazy sunshine ahead of a big gale tomorrow

Very difficult ended up walking a lot

2010-02-24T09:23:00.000-08:00

Hi

I just got back from an 11 mile run... I walked the last of three circuits - must have been about a third of the time

I went slower than usual and ended up with some pain on the inside of my knee inside leg - i think this is a tendon

this eased up when i walked and so i ended up taking a lot of walking breaks...

I had a not very impressive 15.73 min mile avg and really after doing a slightly longer distance in a lot less time on the treadmill last week makes me think that i have been doing something wrong this week - although last week's tread run was partly so fast because of the virtual chocolate chip cookie dash 10k (as part of the distance)

I think with some stopping on the treadmill last week i did 11.25 in 2:32 this week was 11 in 2:53

I had some trouble actually getting around to doing a long run for the first time this week - my excuse being that next week is a recovery week so i have a bit of leeway

but i feel like this is a worrying trend of putting off a long run - unless i have programed in every 8th day instead of every 7th - i should be sticking to the same day of the week...

I guess the chocolate chip cookie dash was a bit of a real race even tho it was virtual and i have been recovering a bit - this is a real downside - feeling like i'm not getting anywhere after a fast run when actually i'm recovering

I can't believe i will ever run more than 11 miles... but 11 would have sounded stupid a year ago so i am ready to improve and continue to build stamina

Virtual Chocolate Chip Cookie Dash 10k

2010-02-17T13:42:00.000-08:00

Hi my time was 1:23:59, which is only 7 mins slower than race time or less!!!

I just finished 11.25 miles on the treadmill - in total i was at the gym for 3 hrs including stretching... 2.45 hrs for the run inc toilet break,, things flying off the back of the treadmill and pulling out the emergency stop button stoppage time and also the tread will only let us do an hour... and 2:30:25 actual running time...

Which makes this by far my fastest long distance on the treadmill - it really helped that the first half was broken up by a virtual race and really, Really taught me to carry a pen and paper for runs like this...

Had 2 sports drinks - some jelly belly after, and 2x 500ml water... and then a cookie (chocolate COATED but nm)

I had a hard time working out how much liquid and kcal i would need for the new distance and expected it to take longer actually - but was quite happy to alternate sports drink and water

when i do the same outdoors next week, i will fill my camelbak with watered down sports drink.... does anyone have any advice? i have never watered down a sports drink before...??

If you fly like a Partridge

2010-02-17T13:41:00.001-08:00

HI,

my mum just gave me this very inspirational quote which i love..

If you fly like a Partridge, you're gonna get shot...

If you fly like an Eagle, no one can catch you...

I just love it ... I just went for a 2.85 mile run and I thought about this quote... it was great although i felt like a very slow, hovering Eagle or tried to be positive, but kept on feeling like a Partridge... lol

SO I made myself into an Eagle, and it was a lovely experience, an Eagle with faults or??? idk, a slow Eagle, an Eagle who hovers, and only fartlek's over to get some prey occasionally??

I have my first 11.25 mile run Tomorrow - it will be my first run longer than 10 miles.... my first time with a long run that heads into being more than half way into a 20 mile Marathon Training Run....
((long way from Marathon Training - have 3 halfs this year tho))

funny 10 miles

2010-02-08T08:30:00.000-08:00

HI,
this was an odd 10 miles i went downhill on some pretty stoney trail for 5 miles - worried about my ankles then leveled out to a nice round circuit for the next 5...

I don't think i came in in less than 2.30 but it was close - i was worried about my knee for the second half - odly - haven't had much knee pain lately

But now home and icing my calves to see if i can combat calf swelling that has been alarming really after long runs...

And feeling great again!!

Have just worked out my total mileage from March 7th last year ( when real records started ) until March 7th this year (projected) and it's not even over 500 miles :-/ it's 469.7

I find that not very impressive but am aiming very high this year with the 1000+++ goal with Tallmomontherun and many others...

sooo i guess not far off 500 miles if i'd had it as a goal i could have done it i think!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Back from Holiday/ illness break

2010-02-03T06:17:00.000-08:00

Hi,
did a 2.25 mile run (thanks Tallmumontherun for the .25) lol
today and it was sooo fab - i spent most of it trying to catch up with a walker on a very long straight - so i was very much thinking - ok make this a tempo run...

I have been on holiday in switzerland but i guess that it's a good thing i didn't bring my running shoes what with cold AND psychotic symptoms...

ok so maybe a run would have done me good - but what about running in the snow - a
long distance would have ruined my ankeles and boy did i want to do a long distance...

but there was tobogganing - i am so rubbish unless i ride pillion - soo many bruises - i am planning a group lessons ski holiday with my sister and fiance next year and if Clare wants to bring someone at the time hopefully she can...

feeling very back to normal but want a meds increase temporarily anyway - i have an appt to see about oral meds top up and see if I can stop any more symptoms before anything bad happens... was pretty much the worst psychiatric problems i've had in about 3.75 yrs so am worried...

Killer 5.5 miler

2010-01-22T10:00:00.001-08:00

Hi .................... that was tough!!!

I have spent the whole week getting over a half mile bf run and now i finally made it out there again and i think I needed to bargain with myself the whole way round... just one more mile - just get to a third of the way round etc...
Luckily.....

I have been able to stop at 5.5 instead of 6.5 and luckily i can make up the extra mile tomorrow or the day after on the treadmill at the airport hotel - going to Switzerland!!!!!!!!!!!!! tomorrow to London - day after to Switz....

I actually didn't plan that extra mile until I remembered later on - i have been helped with a training plan and have decided that I can manage the higher number rather than the lower number ... ie 15 not 13... 21 not 19 ...etc. up until my half marathon - it is only 2 months away now and the next week will be All resting - other than climbing around in the snow to view points or walking to and from restaurants etc.

This is my First Ever Half Marathon coming up on the 21st of March by the way - it is flat and it's in Reading near London....

there are 16 500 ppl running!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I don't think i will be last i think some people will be behind me....

Running Barefoot

2010-01-19T10:44:00.000-08:00

Today i ran barefoot again - just 6 mins or half a mile

I did it along the seafront on paving and it was exhilirating!!

I bought my Vibrams 5 fingers, but have started with total bare feet because I have been advised to by Wendy of the about.com running forum!!

I am starting a lot more carefully this time and beginning with only 5 - 6 mins and will get some real advice for how to progress...

I am wearing my Vibrams around the house and out and getting used to any pressure points...

all good so far...

Very tough 8 miles on Treadmill

2010-01-18T12:31:00.000-08:00

Hi,

yes Bruce - I will eat as much good stuff as i can - i do have a good diet and should still cut down on meats.

I am pretty tired from that run today - I went sooo slowly and really struggled, but i am going to try a running club this week on Wednesday eve.... I hope it goes okay they are pretty serious!!

Can't go vegan

2010-01-17T09:11:00.000-08:00

Hi, well, i can't go vegan because i smell too much... :-(

I will have to be normal...

Lovely 5 mile downhill run!

2010-01-16T07:56:00.000-08:00

This is one of my favourite runs! get dropped off by mum in one place and run down the cycle trail to a more downhill place... my sister came with me but finished first as she's faster, but i took 1:02:32 not fastest ever but wasn't trying to - was watching my hr for the first time in a while (159 avg)

is it cheating to take the downhill route?? I think i have solved it - i will run 8 miles uphill to make up for it on Monday ....

:-)

Going Veggie

2010-01-14T05:22:00.000-08:00

Hi,

although i would love to go Vegan again, i have at least taken steps towards and have gone Veggie as of Today!!!!!!!!!!!

I was Veggie for about 11.5 yrs and vegan for about .5 yr.

It has been a long time and i am relearning things I used to know on the internet etc as of today...

while i was eating meat and fish I KNOW i was getting a pretty healthy diet... now i have to worry about g of protien and g of carbs and fats in a different way again

Is Whey protien - ??? that is from milk right?? i think it is ,,,, pretty sure that is difficult to beat as a sports supplement...

I will have to look into vegan option for sports drinks, but i think i like this one gel i just found enough not to care too much what it' s got in it it's chocolate flavoured!!

I have found a great forum that is good for sports and veggie/vegan - but many of them seem to know a lot less about running than about.com , although i have seen one who is going for an ironman and is vegan!!!!

I am quite worried that i will be discriminated against for being only about 75% vegan - as I will be eating eggs sometimes and milk for the moment, there was a thread where they really laid into Alanis Morrissette for being 90% vegan... as in 90% against domestic violence or etc.

I think not eating meat is a step in the right direction for me, but i am not really willing to go through some of the trials of a 100% vegan - even with the B12 thing - there are real issues for the muscles and not getting enough even if you supplement, some ppl get mouth ulcers from the supplement or are low even tho they supplement or end up needing B12 injections.

I feel like i have entered a minefield!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Struggling

2010-01-13T09:11:00.001-08:00

Hi,
I think I am a little bit tired but the main thing i am worried about is my QUADS on my right leg acting up AGAIN...

Last time i rested for 2 WEEKS and i guess it hasn't completely healed or it's a re - injured quad...

It only hurts a little but it hurts when i have been WALKING for the rest of the day since a short gentle ish 2 MILE RUN...

I am soooooooooooooooo annoyed that i am going to try NOT resting it and see if it gets worse or better - yes i have 48 hrs b4 i have to run 3 MILES.... I have a feeling it won't be long enough... I will probably ICE the bloody thing - i have been kneading it but i think it's not working.... or helping at all...

I have a big way of worrying too much about little things when i'm running and maybe it's time to see if this is a 'real' injury ie if it sticks around and doesn't get better then it may be that i need some time off but ie if it doesn't then i must have just had a twinge...

Feeling extreemly incapacitated that i can't run 2 miles without pain... :-(

I'm not bored of running

2010-01-09T09:19:00.000-08:00

I can spend my life thinking and planning and practicing and recovering and preparing and purchasing and waiting for the mail to arrive on this sport... I have just bought some vibrams 5 fingers, and 3 pairs of socks to go with them - everything about this sport makes me happy - the planning races, schedules, holidays or short trips for races, deciding where to do a run, ordering my first race photo, the waves or smiles or comments of other runners, and the actual running itself is great too and the feeling before and after...

I have spent the morning cooking vennison stew and while that was on i planned my WEEKLY mileage for the year - around my wedding, holidays, honeymoon and taper and recovery for my races - the projected mileage i have put down works out as 1187 miles so for the 1000+ miles in 2010 I will have a little leeway which is prob very important...

1000miles in 2010

2010-01-06T11:35:00.000-08:00

Hi, I just signed up for 1000 miles in 2010 challenge on tallmomontherun's blog...
I think having the goals of completing 3 half marathons and more than doubling my mileage goes with this ...

but it's so exciting to hear 1000 miles now instead of after i work it out in November or December...

Only 10 down, but that was a race!!

sooo, recovery runs start tomorrow - 2 miles tomorrow, 2 miles the day after, and 5 at the weekend... I really hope that i can run at all this week - there is a problem with snow and slippery roads and even getting to the gym might leave me stranded in the car - so, might have to wait even longer!!

Copy - Paste

2010-01-04T10:31:00.000-08:00

http://www.prosportphotos.com/cgi-bin/show-image-page.cgi?image=MK3_3315.jpg&image_dir=../running/2010/tadworth-10/start/images&show_arrows=1&event_dir=../running/2010/tadworth-10/start&template=../auto-html/cgi-template-plain.htm&page_title=ProSportPhotos - Tadworth 10&order_buttons=../auto-html/gr-mk-magazine-09.htm&magazine_event_name=tadworth-10-10&event_title=Tadworth 10 - Sunday 3rd January 2010&first_image=1&last_image=41&chapter_title=(Start)&popup_window=1

Hi it doesn't work as a link but that is me in there with the grey hat with a stripe - my first race photo which i have bothered to look at - i bought it - i like it...

Tadworth Ten

2010-01-03T13:29:00.000-08:00

I am at home and calmed down from the 5.5 hr drive back in the car...

The morning started before dawn at 7 and I had porrige oats with seeds with a great carbs - protien mix, which i have just discovered in the supermarket, a few coffee's and a Viper Extreme Cereal Bar - which is my race day treat/superstition.

The drive was an hour and a half, and when we got there it was a big decision which car park to stay in - ended up driving between the toilets and the start line - where there was only 600 m in between, but we were early and it was -3 or 0 C.

I warmed up, and pretty soon it was time to get to the start line - spoke to someone at the start who said where the hills were and that it had been -7 the year before...!!!

The race started with a hilly downhill over grass, and I had my garmin set for k so for the first 6.5 k i thought - 'they have got these mile markers wrong' ' this must be a 12 or 13 mile race....

it was set for k because of the 400m sprints i have been trying in the taper... and i forgot completely...

I talked with a woman who was running her first run over 8 miles - don't know where she finished... and a woman who was 10 or 15 years older and about 45lbs heavier at least - she finished about 2 mins before me according to my mum.

After the steep grassy downhill there was an on road (deserted lanes) unbelievably long up hill steep and at least a mile and a half, then some curving round and then past some shops then a pond - these were some of the steep corners which were well marshalled and the marshalls did tell us where to look out for traffic and where to avoid Ice which was great marshalling.

Then a long but almost un noticable in all the up hills downward street past some massive houses, through a tiny bit of wood, then back around part of the race course, (to the side)....

then REPEAT: 2 lap course, I don't know when the first people lapped me and as I started near the back i must have been lapped by about 500 ppl. But that was all in the first half of the race it seemed and the last 2 ppl I passed might have been 2nd and 1st last... I don't know yet full results available tomorrow.... had it been completely flat i have no doubt i could have finished in 2 hrs or 2.02 but it was a tough ten miles and therefore my time was i think:

2:07:57 or 58, the first i hope.

It took me about an hour and a half before i was warm again although i hadn't been cold during the race - the marshall seemed to be running disguised as a normal runner with a race number, along side the stragglers, and stopping and waiting for most ppl to catch up... I will be slightly disappointed if i am 3rd last because I did pass some people at times - i just don't know - it's killing me - i know it doesn't matter at all

It was only my 3rd 10 mile run, and the first time i have even done a metre more than that if you count the warm up LOL

My first half marathon is coming up on the first day of Spring!!!

Sprints and photo shoots

2009-12-28T10:11:00.000-08:00

Hi, today I did 2x 400m at at least 5k pace and warmed up and walked in between etc!!!!

what a different feeling - going as fast as I could and consuming a caffiene packed gel at the same time - to try it for my upcoming race!!

I can understand how some people call it running only if you can run at 9 min mile pace - which is sooo elitist and crap - if you look on wiki or a dictionary definition running is when both feet come off the ground and walking is when one foot is always in contact with the ground

We don't have 'trot' or 'canter' like horses

ok i know a sprint feels different from a slow waddle but it's still both running - i refuse to call myself a jogger and won't accept anyone who tells me that is wrong.

I am now officially going to be part of a work of art...

my sister has been doing an ongoing project about my schizophrenia and is now turning it into her final project for her degree show as well as a book an art installation short film, a 3 minute wonder for television and a set of exhibition prints...

part of the work is my writing about my illness... which will be spoken for the film or written in the book...

I really feel nervous about this stage of it when it is all still happening... but the actual shooting - i just want to do her work justice - she is part of the 2009 - 10 Taylor Wessing exhibition at the Tate National Portrait Gallery and is being commissioned for some shots to go along side it.

Her previous short film has been shown in film festivals around the world and if anyone wants to see some of her work, click this link:

http://www.claresmartphotography.co.uk/

there has been some new stuff added btw

11 min miles!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-12-23T01:20:00.000-08:00

HI,I only just realized that I did my last race in 11 min miles... for a 7 mile race... finished in 1:17:01 so it's virtually exact.

I really really really cannot believe it... I did not know i could run so fast!!!

On one pace calculator I am projected 1:52:53 for my 10 miler, that is INCONCIEVABLE
to me at the moment - that means if i push i can do it 34 minutes faster than the only time i did this distance on the road and 29 minutes faster than on the treadmill the other day - that is just a projection but Hell that is a great thing to come under 2 hrs i hope!!!

10 miles on Treadmill

2009-12-22T09:29:00.000-08:00

10 miles is actually a new distance for me - this is the second time i've run it... I was a bit worried about Ice in the morning and although it seemed to be getting above 0C in the middle of the day - I thought oh well make the most of my gym membership ... give knees a treat...

I really enjoyed it - i loved seeing the other runners come and go, I loved typing in 60 mins and then near the end of it typing in another 60... I loved all the calculations i had to make to work out my time (2:19:44) and my kcal (860)
I loved changing over my energy drink bottles (3 of them) - i am so used to eating chewy sweets and coffee beans -

Maybe i need to try out gels for races - I think that is a great idea for my next race on 3rd Jan which is also 10 miles

I know what its like to run in 25 -27F

2009-12-16T04:16:00.000-08:00

ROFL it was fun!!! we dont get these temperatures often im on holiday in germany and that was a 3 mile run in - 3 or 4 C and they say it will get down to - 7 or 8 so 14 or 11 F

go on tell me im not tough enough!!!

I ran 10 miles!!

2009-12-08T06:41:00.001-08:00

HI EVERYONE!!

YAYYYY!!! *raises arms above head*

It was RAINING! the whole time, very heavy drizzle or heavy rain... I was dry including my shoes for the first mile and was feeling very happy to be dry still, but a little while later i was just as happy to be wet!

I had a brand new Garmin on (delivered as a replacement) and it is scratch free and not broken!! It was impossible to figure out how to work it tho i had got used to my old one - so no time out for my pee break it all went on the time.

I also walked every mile - not trusting the funny thing on my wrist i counted my paces 90 - 240 depending on how tired i was i walked 9 or 10 times, trying to get a walk a little for each mile

The first 4 miles flew by, and i was really tired by the time i'd finished the first 5 miles because i stepped up training last week and did a 16 mile week, hopefully 17 this week and 18 the week after, or about that (I want to get an 11 miler or 12? pushing it? before the 10 mile race on 3rd Jan)

Miles 6 and 8 were quite hard because of the increase in training anyway but by 7.5 i started to speed up to beat 2.5 hrs and to finish strong - i still had loads of energy left, but was worried about pushing it. I had a little pain in my legs - but not in the usual places so i wasn't worried.

The last 2.5 miles were the best i think, running through massive streams in the road, (once twisting my ankle because the sky was reflected in the water and i missed a pothole) which was on the whole very fun.

I got very used to WET and noticed not much except my footfalls and some people and nature... my time was:

2:26:45

14:40 min miles and

150bpm

I think I could do a lot faster!

Half Year Total.........

2009-12-03T13:54:00.000-08:00

271.7!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is half a year total of 26 weeks...

I can't give you my year total because i deleted my Garmin... so I am going from my Richmond 5k, to Jurassic Coast 10k, to 6 Moor Miles, to Tavy 7 and up until the end of last week...

This is my first respectable ammount of miles in an ammount of time... I did want a full year total in Jan but kind of forgot that when i deleted everything!!!!

Garmin won't give me my totals anyway any more because I have started running on treadmill...

So... another year when i can promise myself to log all my miles instead of looking forward to a grand total... I was running A LOT less in the first half of the year tho, so i will really make an effort now to Pile On The Miles.

Feeling good

2009-12-02T11:18:00.000-08:00

Hi,

feeling confident about 10 mile race - i have done 8 miles three times now, so it doesn't feel like an impossible fluke that i can run 8 miles...

I guess every new distance has challenges i have heard, and i think in my head i have gone from, 2,3,4,6,8, as markers (or maybe at the start 1.5)

NOW my next big jump is 8 to 10 and I am only planning one 9 mile and one 11 mile run before the next 'big race' ;-)

So, only 2 more long long runs to go then a 10 day taper, a taper should be for this race, 10 days for 10 miles, and cut distance by half - so, after Christmas and up untill Jan 10th (working it out) I will need to do 1, 2, 1, 2,2, 2, 1.5, 1 or something along those lines...

I have just read that you must decrease your intensity also during recovery weeks... I have only been decreasing distance and upping the intensity because i feel better...

So I have been doing that wrong all along... will be difficult to run 2 or 1 mile slowly and is it true that you don't decrease fitness? I know the point is to be rested and there is a possibility that I haven't been doing enough of that before races...

ps. i am absolutely going to hate tapering during the most boring longest week of the year!! Swimming pool might help...

The more grueling the better

2009-11-30T12:38:00.000-08:00

HI, Can anyone else relate to this?? lol

I have just done an 8 miler, I walked a little - about 1 min per mile - as it was only my third 8 mile run and I have just had a cold...

So not a hell of a lot of training behind me, but hoping to step it up a bit and get enough miles under my belt to really do my best on this 10 mile race on the 3rd of Jan.

I went twice round a circuit and enjoyed the second time round more than the first, I think if I have to reach into the depths to pull something more gritty out - then i am having a good time...

It was really nice and cold, not too much wind, nice and sunny, end of the sunshine, early eve... I did exactly 14 min miles ... which is okay... improvement... used my specially adapted camelbak -(adapted with a bolted on leather pouch - where i keep my coffee beans and chewy sweets)- which seems to leak if i over fill it or don't close it properly - had horrible water going down my back lol

however I was perfectly dressed for the climate which makes a really nice change - as i tend to overdress or wear a waterproof which ends up wet through and take that off and tie it round my waist and it's still raining - so this made a nice change - great run all round really,

my sister did one circuit, faster than me and then read in the car while i went round a second time...

11.55 min miles

2009-11-19T10:55:00.000-08:00

Hi, I did a 2 mile run today and am very excited that soon I will be improving more and more with speed and am already improving a lot!!!

This is the first time i have looked at my Garmin and seen anything under a 12 min mile avg and this run was only pretty short - a 2 mile run - BUT i did have a slow section where I chatted to my fiance, slowed down, shouted back to him walking, got my heart rate back, recovered, and then went on at a pretty average I thought pace... after running the first mile downhill in 11:03, so no surprises i was slower on the way back,

Thinking about doing another Cooper's Test instead of a 2 miler next time - good measure of my progress, i think i might be able to pull out of the forum archives my last result...

4 miles

2009-11-17T07:41:00.001-08:00

4 miles is fast becoming a short run... my shortest run at the minute is still only 2 miles, but soon it will be 3 then 4 lol

I did treadmill run in 49.03 today for 4 miles, 1.0 incline.

It is feeling so short and achievable and not a big deal is what i am saying... I was a little daunted to see rest, 4, rest, 4, 7or8, 2 for the week, but this medium short medium long run doesn't feel challenging any more really - whether run fast or comfortably...

This feels massive because i remember really struggling with it not so long ago... beginning of summer, end of winter kind of time

Nice time for 4 miles

2009-11-16T08:28:00.000-08:00

Hi , different course, will have to compare like with like but i was amazed at coming in at less than 56 mins for a 4 mile run yesterday!!

I think I used to struggle to come in in less than an hour really, and this was not far off sub 50 mins... w o w that sounds like something to aim for - I had a 4 mile run in 51:28 and feel great about it!! I think under 57 mins used to be an achievement and this feels like quite a differece...

BUT like i said it was for a different course - so not Really comparing like with like... might get the chance to try same route out as the 56 something tomorrow...

:-)

Tavy 7

2009-11-09T03:09:00.000-08:00

HI, 7 mile race in 12.24 min miles!!!!!!!!! 4th from last out of 800, i don't understand why i am so slow!!! but i tried my best my hr was really up there and I finished in 1:27:01,...

The finishing line was very vague and i think i could have got in in under 1 27 if I hadn't slowed down so much - the guy on the mike said - by the way i'm over here - which really confused me because i was looking for my fiance... and I think i slowed down to a walk before he said - no, carry on!

LOL

So, i was not really awake, pscyhed up, or ready for this race i had done an 8 miler 2 weeks before, (slowly) and a couple of shorter runs but the last time i'd done a run before this race was a fast and easy 5 miler a week before - I was dieting and concentrating on losing weight and lost all motivation for anything else - was physically so drained trying to live on shakes and bars and one meal a day - and was only just feeling better a day or 2 before the race.... so I was a bit de trained!

The run was lovely really - I kept up with the oldest guy in his running club for the first couple of miles - and infront of 2 big guys in yellow jackets untill the last half mile...

a gentle up hill gradient for the first 2 or 3 miles and apart from another shorter gentle hill it was all downhill from there - elevation gain (and loss) of about 716 ft, so not a completely flat race but not hilly either, haven't looked at how that compares with my super hilly 10k that I love, but it bugs me slightly that i'm not really getting faster very quickly!

I suppose my slowest race ever was in 14.39 min miles so I am improving a little...

Bit exasperating looking at a list of 750 names and being 4th from the bottom...

Don't know how bothered I am...

recovery run!

2009-11-01T12:04:00.000-08:00

Hi, today I did an EASY 5 miles, (if you follow this blog you will know about my unhealthy obsession with getting to the point where i can do EASY 6 milers)...

But after last weeks 8 miler, 5 seemed good for a recovery week,
been feeling really drained with my diet and actually 3 weeks of 14% increases avg. so that wasn't a good idea.

I will start again next week with a 13 mile week with a race at the end of it, unless I decide I need less than the 2x3 miles for a taper but should be ok....

Really looking forward to the 'Tavy 7' as in nr Tavistock 7 miles and it's T-shirts to all finishers,

I loved seeing 'Tavy 7' on a T-shirt when i did the '6 moor miles' race a while ago and thought about how nice it is to see that someone can race for 7 miles on a T-shirt! ROFL

I wonder if I will get fanatical about seeing Marathon T-shirts in the future... I actually already have a Marathon T-shirt - as it's a long term goal i guess it doesn't matter too much that i haven't done the Berlin Marathon '09 - and it's written very small... I am such a cheat!

The 5 miles went very well because i have rested 3 days before and was more than 3 mins ahead of my average time for the distance I did 12.52 min miles, which is not far off my hilly race speed (on a very gradual up and down incline) !!!!

losing weight!! yay!

2009-10-30T05:11:00.000-07:00

HI,

I lost 16 lbs between Sept and March last and this year and then came to a complete standstill... It didn't matter what i did i tried and tried and not hard enough obviously!!

I have just started about 9 days ago, an equivelant to slimfast diet which kind of makes me cringe to think about it because i feel like it has a reputation as a 'real diet'... with a lot of marketing, and it's not cheap either, i'm using shakes from a sports nutrition company specifically for weight loss and am eating 2 shakes, 1 sports recovery protien bar, an apple (or equivelant) and one meal a day of about 5 - 700 kcal... so this is a kcal restricted diet... 228 + 228 + 280 +70 + 500 - 700 oh plus 150 kcal in milk for tea and coffee!! so 1650 avg

But i am eating about 400kcal extra for a long run of 5 - 8 miles or roughly that (increasing) ... That kind of workout needs feeding!!

AND it's working!!!!!!!!!!!! So now i have got past the stage of giving up out of boredom which usually happens to me after about 3 days on a meal replacement diet... and will I hope lose another 17 - 22 lbs for my wedding and etc. depending on when people start commenting that i am looking ill (which happens at a very high weight for me really) I want to be in the 131 - 136 range I'm 5' 4"

first 8 miler

2009-10-24T13:25:00.000-07:00

hi,

I almost can't believe i did it, but i had at least two hilly 7 miles behind me, so thought it was time for 8.

I went on a fairly flat just over 2 lap course and got to 3 miles in about 42 mins, walked for 3 minutes and kept that up through the run - walking one minute per mile... I got to 10k in 1:26:59 (then walked for 3 mins) which is not that bad for me and passed my total minutes on my feet running at 1:50 something...

The whole thing took me about 1:54 something, in 14.13 min miles overall - my only pause was picking up another bottle of water from the car... so this sets me up for my 7 mile race in two weeks...

my legs started hurting a tiny bit at just before the six mile mark so i walked two minutes and then managed to finish fairly strong.

I don't know if your legs are meant to hurt a bit when you start getting your distances up or maybe aren't quite used to the distance...

Looking forward to my Long Runs

2009-10-21T11:17:00.000-07:00

This is like waiting for the Weekend all over again... I really can't wait - and get excited and look forward to it...

I get a little tired and then i get proud of my achievement... then i have a small hangover from it, but from about wednesday morning onwards I am completely psyched!!

I have my first 8 miler and i think i will get my Garmin to put it into 2 laps and aim for a negative split...

This will be a flat run and will give me an idea of what i'm capable of after a couple of hilly 7 milers....

I hope i am progressing slowly enough but i have a recovery week next week - then one week 'on' then one taper week (a bit) then the 7 mile race and then a rest week... is it possible to rest 6 days after a race then go straight into another long run or are our bodies not cut out for this?

Difficult slow hilly 7 miler

2009-10-17T12:20:00.000-07:00

Hi,
today I got dropped off at Brixham and ran to near to a cove... via a steep clif path down to a beach and back, and was completely tired after 0.6 of a mile...

1.3 miles later and i was near this cove where i have been running before (already) so i hung a left and found this lovely undulating golf course, with lovely grass - although i stuck to just off the fairway a lot of the time... there were lots of friendly people asking me if i was lost and i was saying - no i know what's in that direction and in that direction - (pointing) - So

other people were waving at me to get out of the way at one point and i just ignored them and kind of thought well sorrrrrry!!! and just kept running...

then i found the coastal path again and went round the car park at Broad sands a couple of times and then all the way up the hill to the nearest shops to get some more water to put in my new camelbak, all the time stopping either for a pee or a water bottle or a phone call to Adrian my fiance... who was picking me up and dropping me off

... so my official time for the whole thing was just over 2 hours, but i stopped my garmin when i stopped so the distance took me 1.50.33 - NOT hugely fast but it was HILLY in places 15.47 min miles if you don't count the stopping which is probably a hell of a lot better than i could have done a few months ago - i'm sure a while ago i couldn't have done the same in less than 18 or 19 min miles so YAY me!!

easy 6 miler

2009-10-10T10:23:00.000-07:00

Hi,

I name my post this because of Tanya, saying in the thread on about.com saying 'you know you're a runner when...' there were lots of suggestins...
and Tanya says when you can run an easy 6 miler and mean it...
This has been knawing away at me since i heard it... I have now run about at least 10 either Tough 10k races OR Tough 7 mile runs... LOL... (can you see where i'm going with this??)

So anyway today i was determined to run an Easy 6 mile run I took about 1.30 over it, ( i forgot to start my garmin when i started)...and took it slow with 14:41 min miles and 149 BPM which really does class as an easy run EXCEPT my legs hurt a bit near the end... which is the ONLY sign that this was not an easy run!!

I really struggled a LOT more than this with 2 miles a few months ago ... and really, I could have pushed myself a lot harder and it could have been an even better workout - i really didn't push myself a bit - so should I have I don't know...

Last week I ran 7 miles up hill to the moors, the last couple of miles of that were Tough.

I am going to keep my long runs at half my total weekly mileage and get up to 10 mile long run by the end of December...

This really is starting to sound possible - I think i entered a lot of short races this year 10 k's and 5 k's that really take it out of me and then give me a week to taper before and a week to recover after!!

So... Couple of half mary's to aim for now, still sounds difficult

plans for a 10 miler

2009-10-02T09:44:00.000-07:00

Hi,

I have been on holiday in Fuerteventura for a week, it was so lovely that i didn't even run... The heat was too much in the day and then in the evening it was meal time so it just didn't work out with me not getting out of bed early enough either...

I had a Great time but i felt pretty bad about not running come day 5 or 6..

I ran 3.5 miles on incline 1.5 or 1.5+ and have been told that 2.5 is a good hilly run, so i'm working up to that oNE DAY.

I have about a mile to add a month which should be easy...

I have great plans for a medium long run on Mondays, short run and cross train wed and fri and Saturday OUTDOOR long run...

7 miles is what I am up to and now i am thinking God wouldn't it be nice to do a marathon next year... when realisically I am looking at the year after next... but GOD wouldn't it be nice to do a marathon next year??

Maybe as i am so injury free at the moment I can add 10% add a fallback week and get up to some high mileages pretty quick so let me work this out what am i looking at??? LOL

Starting at the Gym

2009-09-17T07:51:00.000-07:00

Hi,

I recently got a very good deal on off peak gym membership, and have been going two or 3 times a week and doing 30 - 40 mins on treadmill - then 10 mins on stationary bike and sit ups...

I have been finding the treadmill more difficult than outdoors running though... I don't know if it's because there is more interest outdoors or more friendly people walking past that makes me want to push myslef, but is the treadmill actually BORING?

I am only planning my short runs on the treadmill - but as mileage increases that will still be a distance...

I am thinking of doing a medium long run on a monday in the future - so say 4.5 miles mon, rest tue and thurs and sun, 2.5 miles on treadmill + xt on wed and fri and 7 miles sat long run - but this would all vary apart from keeping the wed and fri workouts pretty constant and not going up all that much on the treadmill running... but i guess it has to stay proportionate so it will go up eventually i hope

Anyway - I don't hate running on the treadmill, it's just harder to fill my head, and actually to get much constant speed up - It's in km per hour - and i'm used to min mile pace - and It seems to be more difficult to push and keep pushing - i have been walking for a few seconds then screaming NO to myself and turning the speed up... lol

New Training Schedule!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-09-09T13:52:00.000-07:00

I have taken my old training schedule and called it 'New Garmin - Jurassic Coast 10k' and stuck it back on the fridge.

It is complete. I will look at it sometimes. It was my 2x 10 k / 6.42 mile race training for over the summer and the November Barnes Green Half Marathon is off!!!!

My new training schedule is a lot more sensible.... I have made 2... one takes me up to a 10 miler on 3rd Jan and one takes me up to the Half Marathon in Reading on 21st March!!!!

I have only filled in the bare bones - the next few weeks of getting back on track with my injury - (now healed?) and the long runs and weekly totals - when I am back on track I am going to increase by .5 of a mile a week overall for 3 weeks, then have a .75 week, then back to week 3... so ie 15, 15.5, 16, 12, 16, etc etc. so very slow increases...

I think the 10 miler will be my first 10 mile run actually - and then I plan on sticking to 10 mile runs after the rest after the race - for a long time - unless I feel really really good and it's still a long way to go before the half marathon taper.

This will top out my Half Marathon training at roughly 10 miles, but i will cover several 10 mile runs and hope to be really ready for the distance anyway.

I will be VERY close to a 20 mile week by the Reading Half Marathon and will then do the suggested Maintenance of 20 mile weeks for Building A Base for Marathon training so that takes me up to October next year....

Sounds Achievable

I also joined a gym so will be cross training twice a week after voluntary work at the donkey sanctuary cos it's near there.

Jurassic Coast 10k

2009-08-22T07:50:00.000-07:00

HI,

Well against some advice I ran this race... my quads didn't hurt on a 3 mile run yesterday so I went ahead. I only had a twinge or two for the whole 10k and feel fine now.

The drive there was very exciting remembering the same road to my first race ever 2 years ago.

I positioned myself at the back and looked around, I saw two women about 20 years older than me and through experience thought they will probably beat me.

The race started and to my surprise I set off at the same speed as some other people rather than being at the very back of the pack. i spoke to one guy, during a slow single file stretch near the start - he said he had been roped into it by a friend (also running with him) and hadn't done this sort of thing for 20 years...

I was surprised to hear someone huffing and puffing more than i was, and told him that I had not been anything but last in a 10k before.

I found myself running between the two women I had seen at the start, and stayed running accross places that had slowed me to a walk 2 years ago. The second woman overtook me between km 2 and 3, and I stayed looking at her arse for most of the rest of the race...

There were some killer hills which I did walk up - but they slowed me to only just about being able to put one foot infront of the other last time, this time I power walked up them.

I ran to the point of exhaustion the whole way round and virtually no where was I doing anything but my fastest possible - I hardly paced myself at all and found myself virtually wheezing at times, my average heart rate was 176 (max is 189) as oppoosed to 173 on my last race... whether this is good or bad I don't know.

The long hill down and the 2km long flat bit at the end had the odd spot of walking by both me and the women I was following... I felt like - oh well if you walk - i can walk - and needed it because of the pace I was doing...

I finished in 1:16:58 roughly, (not official time - garmin time) and last time was 1:29:34
So I beat my time by 12:36!!!!!!!!

Amazing!

5 people were behind me, all of them by at least 5 minutes, and the last finisher was something like 20 mins behind me - slower than my last place time 2 years ago - I know it's not all about times but it's really nice to feel like a competitor rather than the mascot.

However it is good to know that I did my best last time as well and that I wasn't actually dragged around by the marshal - I did it on my own 2 legs!!!!

After a cup of tea I was asked by my fiance - could i walk the same course again now - and I was surprised to be able to answer that yea I could.

This makes me very glad to feel back on course for the half marathon in November (sorry to go against advice - but i really am fine and you know me I complain about every little thing)!!
Katherine

SISTER'S PHOTOGRAPHY IN NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY

2009-08-19T15:37:00.000-07:00

hi, THIS

http://www.claresmartphotography.co.uk/

is my sister's website : will edit this post re which actual pic it is but it is from the 'Club liberty '09' series

This is an international competition - sis has been doing photography for 5 years, she is at Westminster University in her final year... she was selected from over 2400 photographers and 6300 images!!

I am so proud of her!!!

sprained quadricep

2009-08-18T10:34:00.000-07:00

Hi
I have sprained my quadricep muscles and now can't do my 10k at the weekend......... awww...... I was looking forward to it..... looks unlikely i will recover quick enough to do my half marathon in November as well - but that was always a bit ambitious and also there is a good flat March half that I have my eye on...
better for timing...
I don't know how i sprained my quads except that i went too fast too far too soon - i did 12.24 min miles for 7 miles and this is FAST for me, I beat my 5 and 6 and 7 mile times, infact i smashed them...
So I guess because i didn't pace myself or pull out after 5 miles? god - I have a feeling that I will have to go so carefully and slowly with this running thing - 7 miles is my max distance, and now sprained quads -
:-(
my doc said i was -1.1 T score where -1 to - 2.5 is Osteopenic and -2.5 and below is Osteoporosis - for each age group - so it's a borderline score which is good!!

7 miler and health

2009-08-11T12:19:00.001-07:00

HI

Had Loads of days off now - through deciding i had a bad ankle and some detoxing problems with diazepam...

I have to take the approach of running 6 days a week again now - and shorter distances for the most part - as i have just had the diagnosis of Osteopenia - meaning that my bone density is one point down - Osteoporosis is 2.5 plus points down - I don't know my exact levels yet
This is down to my Schizophrenia medications increasing the hormone prolactin - and has caused the start of an illness...
I am now going to have to try a medication that doesn't cause this but does sometimes cause life threatening conditions such as agranulocytosis and serious temproary heart problems... the reason it is temporary I think is becuase there are such serious side effects - the medication is monitored almost to the point of excess and this makes it the safest you can actually be on...

Not too impressed that at the age of 34 I have low bone density - as at 35 one is supposed to have the strongest bones of your life - and deteriorates after that - and i have the bones of an unhealthy over 50...

Will ask when i have the gp's appt if this would have any bearing on stress fractures and longer distance running etc.

I hope it is a fairly minor case of it and that the new meds suit me.

No days off

2009-07-29T12:57:00.000-07:00

Experimented with no days off after the race and did actually have less muscle soreness compared with just rest - so this is the 'active rest' I guess,,, i did 1, 2, 3 miles in the 3 days following... so with 2 the day b4 the race, that's quite a lot of running, lol, in 5 days...
Have been coming off diazepam which makes it harder i think... I was put on it in hospital and have been on a small maintenance dose ever since (3 years)...
I am hoping that without it I will be a better runner, but I intend to improve anyway, so I won't know ;-)
Going on a cycle ride tomorrow with my sister, weather could be dry... should be great!

6 Moor Miles

2009-07-26T07:33:00.000-07:00

Hi,
Fantastic race!! It was cold and starting to rain at the start, my fiance and I got small cups of tea... then time to start, i put myself at the back and said - i will prob be last! out of all these people - god how awful! there were more than 400 race numbers...
but i didn't mean it! my fiance said he didn't want me to be last - incase i got upset, or felt bad about it but i was last, and i don't feel bad
I started right at the back with 2 other runners, but i could tell from the off that they would beat me, because of their running styles and pace, i easily kept up with them for about 2 miles, running and chatting about past and future races and runs, one person had only done 4 miles previously, 10k was my max and this was more than 6 miles on Dartmoor, so I knew it was also the furthest I had ever run - my garmin told me by how much - about 250 meters - at the end!
I let the other runners drift away from me, putting this race with comfortable effort was important to me because I have another 10 k coming up in 2 weeks and not a lot of leeway with increases up until 1st November's half Marathon...
So when my heart rate went up higher than i've seen it I backed off - and then kept to 186 - 176 LOL for the rest of the race!
Surprising how much one can push oneself if the mood is right, - it was a very well marshalled course and the runner at the back was wearing a turtle suit, that must have got very heavy and wet because it was absolutely pouring with rain - i texted my fiance far too early to get out of the car and get to the finish line, I should have texted him again to get some shelter, but my time for 6.42 miles was 1:28:41 and my previous 10k two years ago last time i was a runner was 1:34:29.
So I smashed my time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! but I have the real challenge ahead of me doing the same course again - a hilly 10 k in 4 weeks time.... which is even more hilly but a little shorter i think, it is one massive up hill climb followed by a nice long sloping downhill...
The 6 moor miles course took us up and down some great slopes and wasn't that muddy, most of it was near gorse or ferns, winding it's way around and a part of it was a short way through a small forrest, the views were beautiful, if misty with rain...
Having run very nearly half a marathon, I feel confident for the first time about the distance... I will have to see how i go this week but will hopefully run 7 miles at the weekend... see how my legs feel!!!!

Garmin

2009-07-14T07:33:00.000-07:00

Have been using a heart rate belt and keeping to about 157, which seems to be conversational pace and sustainable... I am not sure if i have the basic understanding here or not, but my runs vary from 12.5 - 16 min mile pace... and usually the 16 min mile pace is on hills so i get a higher hr, say up to 170. I tried to get my hr up as high as i could once and only got to 184 and my resting hr seems to be quite high - so not a big range - about 84.

Had a bit of a shock after a 6 mile run to see that i had burned 1180 kcal - that cant' be right, I will have to check my settings in case I altered my profile by accident in the rain the other day... well it was a bit high left over from carrying weights the other day for a short while but not excessive - so don't know if i have a running total going on here... but my Garmin has never done that before - it just gives a figure for that day...
it was further faster longer stronger and generally better than most runs but then most of it was down a gentle incline... so how is that possible?

Reykjavic Marathon

2009-07-10T07:11:00.000-07:00

For a lot of reasons, I have decided £1600 is a lot to go to charity for a day out in London where I grew up

I am going to Reykjavic next year, August 21st instead, where the money will pay for flight, hotels for me and my fiance and also, this money so far was raised by asking family only and we are all saving for it... so it will still go towards my first marathon - I will run it for the charity I work for then - asking friends for 5 ers and 10 ers and the people i work with etc.

there was barely enough time to fit in the training, and this way I will have all the recommended mileage properly behind me before i start the 19 week or 20 week marathon training schedule...
therefore giving me less chance of injury...

I am very excited and liberated by this decision... I will no longer have to hand in all that money just before the taper - which, my physio told me is a time when a lot of people get injured - which would have put a lot of pressure on as well...

I hope that I can continue training with the mileage buildup to a half marathon and then stay at that level until marathon training...

My training schedule

2009-07-09T07:51:00.000-07:00

I have decided to attatch my adjusted schedule - I am doing 8 day instead of 7 day weeks and making the 8th day a rest day - slotted in so that i don't have to run 3 days in a row...

In addition I have 4 'spare' weeks which i can slot in any time i need some time out or possibly, if everything goes well the whole time - I can just repeat a 4 week stretch or take time after my half marathon...

I hope that someone can take a look at it and give me some comments - my physio is not cheap and talks a lot but she has said that this looks like a lot of miles - so can i get away with less than this??

Having difficulties with adding a link, if possible can you press this link and go to the bit on the post that says 'Mileage Buildup and Marathon Training Schedules'

This is also a link - it's at the bottom of the third post!!!!

http://forums.about.com/n/pfx/forum.aspx?nav=messages&webtag=ab-running&tid=4956

Thanks

16 mile week

2009-07-07T13:26:00.001-07:00

The MBT light jogging is going well, I am 'warming up' for half a mile, light jogging with weights, then changing shoes stretching and carrying on my run...
I cool down at the end by walking and stretching again...
I have had a great time changing shoes and trying a different running style and having a 'break' on some of my muscles very near the start of my run lol
I will increase gradually... and will keep to half a mile at the beginning of every run to start with especially because of my increase to 5 day weeks next week...
This last week I did a training run of 5 miles which was hilly and slow but actually (if I had been able to keep up same pace for one more mile) was exactly my race speed for my hilly race that is coming up... for my upcoming 2x 6 mile/10k races I hope I will be able to keep going at a training pace so that I will have no chance of missing much training...
I have also covered more than 1.5 miles more running than ever in a 4 week period, and more miles than ever in a week by 1
I ran 16 miles this week, 57 in 4 weeks and 63 in a month

MBTs

2009-06-30T04:01:00.000-07:00

HI,
I have just got back from an amazing holiday in Switzerland, the weather wasn't so great but we had a couple of mostly sunny days where we could go up mountains... once into the snow, and once above the clouds... it was beautiful...
I ran 15 miles while away and we walked about 20+ miles on top of this in the week which is at least twice the walking i usually do... so now i have come back with some sort of painful ankles and knees and i'm totally exhausted, I got back on Sunday, my last run was 3 miles on saturday and then an exhausted 2 miles yesterday...
I am slightly injured, but can't seem to stay off my feet, the pain is so intermittent and isn't getting any worse...
I have just been out for my first session of 'floating' or light running: That:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffWhfVeP4Uk

is what i am thinking about taking up...

and Here it is with the weights I use:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKX4udEUs4g

as i run slow anyway, i was thinking maybe this would help with my poor knees and ankles ...
I have been walking in MBTs for the last 2 years and can't wear any other shoe now... so I thought yesterday - so why am i running in regular shoes??

I have been naturally - lately - leaning towards running in the above manner anyway sometimes anyway - running very upright and not very fast - usually when tired
but i have emailed MBT for advice on how it is possible to begin floating when you have been walking in them for a while and how much mileage i should cover at a time to start with: today I did half a mile with the weights...?? could I have done more without them??

I also will definitely vary my shoes to start with and this is something bruce said recently with his quote : always run on the same terrain in the same shoes and you are asking for injury

So maybe i will always vary my shoes, but I am thinking of including most of my running in MBTs when i have worked up to it a bit at a time, I am thinking of taking another pair of shoes with me and changing after half a mile, 3/4 of a mile, 1 mile, 1.5 miles etc a couple of times a week and remembering the 10% rule with it maybe...........??? starting with 2x a week half a mile???

I have gained nearly half a stone or about 6 lbs on holiday ...
I tested the theory that you can't eat more if you exercise more - and it's true -
I usually am so careful on holidays but my diet was going to pot anyway recently so now i have the struggle of attempting to go back on it and it's not going well
I have still lost a stone or 14 lbs since my starting weight, so this is some progress, but now some of my clothes dont' fit again and it's not great looking at myself again...

I have not eaten too much today yet so that can be a starting point...

While i was away i did a run with a backpack on and a run at altitude - both were real challenges.... but the scenery was unbelievable - running around lakes and in the mist and rain and clear weather it was great...!!!

2009-06-18T04:12:00.000-07:00

http://www.marathontraining.com/marathon/m_sch_2.html

http://www.marathontraining.com/marathon/m_mile.html

this is the site I got my marathon training schedule from, at the moment i am at the end of week 1 in the mileage buildup stage which is 4 days a week and 14 miles... Today it took me 56:02 to cover 4 miles...

The great thing is not being too tired after - and still being full of energy, this does not include my warm up cool down or stretching which i don't measure or include as part of the run!!!!

I am not looking too far ahead any more, I am just focusing on the next training run - a 3 mile run on Saturday... hopefully when I get to Switzerland for a holiday I will be able to run on the Sunday - the first day of the second week schedule.....

Prior to this I was doing 11 or 12 miles a week on a regular basis for at least the last 4 months...

I took a friend and my mum with me so that she could walk her dog somewhere interesting today - I ran and they walked - it was really sweet and funny that the dog couldn't figure out why I was leaving and I had to run back and make sure the dog followed me back to his owner. lol so it was quite a zig zagging run... but in the end the dog got the idea and stayed with her.

Jellies

2009-06-14T06:57:00.000-07:00

Hi,
I experimented running without sports beans today, and i've actually found a better jelly - i am talking about a single jelly that will last in your mouth for quarter of a mile and will keep you going for a whole mile - wow!!

I have a bit of a sore ankle and really hope that i can get it better by tuesday's run and will run in different shoes on a different surface...

The jellies are from i think they are called 'the natural jelly company' and they really are good - they also do jelly dinasaours and those are great too... I put them in my bra on my first 10 k in a tissue and they got all sweaty - so now i have these ones in a large tic tac box... almost perfect except every time it breaks i will have to eat a lot of tic tacs - so much sugar!!

Hard 3 miler

2009-06-13T08:03:00.000-07:00

I don't know 3 miles was so difficult today - I have had a lot of rest in the last 2 days and this should really have been easy - I took a walk break which was great, and felt a lot better after a pee stop too :)

I think i was going too fast for me - I felt competitive with the dog walkers and found the whole thing very challenging - i did 3 miles in about 38 mins, which is pretty fast for me i think, and will go intentionally Very slowly for my 5 miler tomorrow...

I have been trying to wangle my last week as being my first week of Mileage Buildup phase of marathon training and i can only do it Mon - Mon rather than Sun - Sun like my plan says - so it's very confusing for me, Mon - Mon i will have done 14 miles but not Sun - Sun - only 9 lol so I am making this my Mon - Mon first week - and will end up just RUNNING and see what happens... which i am going to do for the whole next few months... i HOPE!!

I want to take it as easy as possible - today wasn't easy - but I need an easy attitude - I don't think I've got one - but I need one

Mileage Buildup

2009-06-12T06:53:00.000-07:00

Hi, I have been doing some short and easy runs this week after my 5k, saving a long run of 6 miles for tomorrow or the next day and will hopefully meet my goal of 14 miles this week... with a 6 mile and a 3 mile at the weekend -
I think i have recovered from my 5k last Sat now.
I have had some ankle pain but not a lot, and it's mostly been when i'm not actually running - and then only little twinges... I saw physio and she has given me extra build up for my shoes at the heel to see if that helps and i think it has helped a lot!!!
My marathon build up schedule is about 14 to about 25 miles per week then goes on to official marathon training...
I am only going to make an attempt - and if i get knocked back i think i will take it well - and just go for halfs until the year after next.
The thing about my mileage buildup and marathon training schedule is that it leaves No room for injuries or set backs or holidays and if I am going to take it seriously at some point for next year everything will have to go right... so if it doesn't I hope i won't feel like i have lost much.

my dyslexic sister got my race time wrong!

2009-06-08T14:15:00.000-07:00

Hi,
my sis read the screen at the end of the race and said i'd done it in 36:05, well she was out by about half a minute, lol - my time was 35:24!!! yay!!!

5k official time

2009-06-06T05:00:00.000-07:00

Hi,

I have just run a 5k race, in 36:05, with a race chip, so it is an official time. It is a shame that the 5k i ran before with a time of 31:29 wasn't a registered course. I came away from that not knowing if my Garmin was wrong - saying i'd only run 2.7 miles or something along those lines...

so it was a bit annoying but It's a bit more realistic at least.

I ran with my sister, she did it in 26:56 which is a great time.

Entering the Virgin London Marathon

2009-06-01T08:59:00.000-07:00

In running I have found a reason to be. A reason to get up in the morning and a reson to be hppy - to be a runner... I have searched for this in many places, I did a first year of study for many things, to become something...
Yoga Teacher, Shiatsu Practitioner, Counsellor, T.A. Psychotherapist, Acupuncturist, Artist, nd I attempted to make a Career in Yout Work prior to this all mainly aimed at BEING somethign and to achieve the impossible thing "Overcoming Paranoid Schizophrenia"
I have tried to give up my meds and have found myself becoing as ill as my sister, before she died. She was hit by a car, on leave from hospital and absconding, hitchhiking to London. Since then stress or a combination of factors made me ill and I ws hospitalised for the 7th time, thhis time for 9 months... I was bulimic during this time as on and off thorughout my life, so it ws the battle for the doctors to find an injectable form of antipsychoticc that I would not efuse...
The charity I am running for, Mind, started the process of my being able to live as a member of society where I could live with resonable income - through their suppor in helping me to fill out Disability Living Allowance forms. It is a terrible thing that the government makes it so difficult to achieve DLA. It is also a terrible shame that Mind can't provide this service any more.
This has been all important in my becoming secure bout myself as a voluntary worker in society.
I would also like to run this race in memory of my sister.

Just over 4mph

2009-05-31T08:19:00.000-07:00

Hi,
I have officially ( i think it is time to think it) lost my garmin... this is just after i got my new hr belt which i ordered for about 50£ and will never be able to use... this really sucks

on the positive side it is great news to know that i prefer running without it anyway - i can run to a car measured route one day, run to time another day, and time my miles with a watch instead etc

I prefer it that the garmin is not there to cout every second for me and time me and pace me and measure the run and just to run more for fun

Yesterday i ran 5 miles in 69 mins - not fast but i was still strong at the end of it - and felt like i could have kept it up for another hour

I really enjoyed it... it is difficult keeping away from sunburn in this weather, but so far i've only gone v slightly red in my v neck, which i kept covered on the beach today lol lying there in bikini and hat over face and t shirt over neck lol

Day after XT

2009-05-28T10:11:00.000-07:00

Hi,
I really felt it today, that is about all i can say - it was a hard run... I felt like giving up after ten minutes but carried on and did nearly 35... I did my physio stretches which are basically quads and calves, which i should be doing anyway - once for the calves - 3x for 30 seconds on each leg at the end of the run, and also 1 min into the run and after warm up walk i did 30 seconds on each leg each of those...
this is the most I have done for a couple of weeks and feels good so far - this is what the physio advised me to do and i will stick with it in the hope that i will not have knee probs any more -

Running Barefoot

2009-05-27T11:15:00.000-07:00

In a post about cross training I had a reply from Wendy that I might want to try barefoot running... there is one place where i feel safe to do this around here that is along the seafront and very family friendly - it has cafe's and steps going down to the rocks where ppl dive or swim and etc. it is all paved and doesn't even have many little black stones to hurt ur feet on...

I felt self conscious and so ran faster but only within capability and only ran 20 mins - the miracle was the ease of the up and down slopes, which were challenging when i first tried them... but now this felt like a nearly flat run...

I was extreemly glad that i did not try this 3 months or 6 months ago and at least felt like a serious ish runner even tho I was quite seriously overtaken at one point by a couple... I know there are faster runners, my sister is a faster runner - i can almost never see myself being that fast... but even at shorter and fatter than the girl who was running with the guy, I am still almost an ok weight now ... and friendlier than them - they didn't wave back !!!

I think I might make this a twice weekly thing, but if I want to try for a barefoot 5k I will have to run back and forwards accross this stretch at least 3x there and back - passing the same ppl at least 6x
lol

To Bruce and The Running Bob - Jeff Galloway

2009-05-26T03:53:00.000-07:00

HI,

both of you have mentioned Jeff Galloway, and i am following his 10k training plan - do you have a certain book you can recommend? are there many?

Thanks

Katherine

2009-05-25T02:36:00.000-07:00

Hi,

the hill was 3.8 miles or 1.9 miles one way... I will run 5 miles next week as my long run... I am following Geoff Galloway's 10k training plan at the moment, and should be cross training a bit more.
I have been very slack with stretching, physio, pilates for about 2 weeks now... not too good... need to stop going to Pilates classes i think and concentrate on Physio... (daily??) omg...

2 mile long hill

2009-05-24T08:07:00.000-07:00

Hi,

Today I ran down half then up the whole thing then back down to half way... it was basically from my fiance's house to the seafront and then back up the hill almost to the ringroad - (the top of the hill) - i think the route one way is about 2 miles - well proably a bit less - i can't find my Garmin anywhere, i need to drive it and edit this post later!!!

It took about 64 mins including warm up and cool down walking and as my pace is very slow up and down hills i think i may have only run 3 miles but we shall see...

I think i must have walked at least around 300 m of it on the way up in little spurts and would definitly aim to get that hill to all running one of these days soon!!!

Did a little walk after up and down some coast path and over some rocks from beach to beach with my fiance Adrian - lovely walk - lovely weather...

Getting used to the hot weather running... part of me was not looking forward to it... (wasn't that hot today - 20C?)

Hills

2009-05-21T11:47:00.000-07:00

I ran up and down a hill today - on the road - one of the longest and steepest of my life - i went very slowly and very carefully on the downhills, the most it can have been is just under 2 miles in about 30 mins and it felt really great actually, i was very surprised that i can now run half an hour on a steepish hill - or 15 mins up 15 down, without any problems - i need to increase that by about 3x by my hilly 10 k race but that should hopefully be -

very easy :-)

Leveling out with Weight Loss and a 3.7 mile run

2009-05-17T11:15:00.000-07:00

Hi,

I have lost between half and one and a half lbs, depending which day of the week i weigh on in the last month and a half!!!

This is so frustrating! I guess I can be happy with a lb a month, which is only 113g of fat a week i think! because i would still lose 12 lbs in a year and I would be a size 10 for my wedding next year and from then on i hope!

It is quite frustrating tho, i have lost 18 or 19 lbs since October, but i haven't really changed my eating since the beginning of the diet - eating about 1750kcal every day that isn't a party or Christmas on average...

So, not fast weight loss either! But faster than 12 lbs a year... I guess it would have to be another 6 weeks and another extra lb and a half down -(AND not including that lb that went back on for no reason this morning)!!!!!!!

I don't know if i should reduce my eating again, I managed 1550 for about a week and then really binged ish so i suppose i am answering my own question by saying maybe i should cut back another 50 or 80 kcal a day and maintain that...?????

I also ran a very slow and comfortable 50 minute 3.7 mile run - give or take an extra walking warm up and cool down. This is the first of my 3x 4mile runs, so i will make the effort to run a bit more next week but i just wanted to see how i went running around the whole reservoir for the first time in a long time...

My sister did it in 35 mins and my fiance walked the short cut and i still walked back to get him at the end! (He is a fast walker tho and was still pretty hard to beat).

OH no... 8 things, let me think

2009-05-16T01:40:00.000-07:00

Bruce quickly tagged me, i think that makes me his ninth tag, does that mean i get out of it??
no?
ok

8 things I'm looking forward to:

1. My 10k Jurassic Coast run in August
2. My sister arriving at my Mum's tonight.
3. My fiance's week off and spending time with him.
4. Going to Lundy Island next week when the weather is good.
5. My 4 mile run on Sunday.
6. Voluntary work next week on Friday.
7. Getting some new skins when i reach the weight for 's'
8. My wedding next year.

8 things I did yesterday:

1. Supported special needs children on the backs of donkeys.
2. Helped with getting kids in wheelchairs onto a cart and walking beside, inside because it was raining.
3. Ate half a home made biscuit and a roll with cheese in the staffroom.
4. Went for a walk with my mum.
5. Then ran for half an hour.
6. Chatted with friends on the internet.
7. Made my first 1 2 3 4 kit meal stir fry from M&S.
8. Spoke on the phone to my fiance about his job change.

8 things I would like to do:

1. Ski again without fear.
2. Run a Marathon.
3. Surf.
4. Stay stopped off smoking for the rest of my life.
5. Run an Ultra Marathon.
6. Run a Half Marathon. (LOL)
7. Go to New Zealand and Australia, the Maldives again, South Africa again.
8. Live to a fit very old age.

8 shows I watch:

1. Doctor Who.
2. Torchwood.
3. ER.
4. Buffy the Vampire Slayer (on dvd).
5. Heroes.
6. Eastenders if my mum is watching it.
7. Question Time if my mum is watching it.
8. Snooker, Cricket, etc if my fiance is watching it.

8 people I tag:

1. Tanya 2. Wendy
3. Allen
4. Nikemom
5. Stan
6. Wayne
7. Martin
8. Lorri

PS... I also tagged 8 ppl on another forum

No Garmin on Today's run

2009-05-15T13:03:00.001-07:00

Hi,
today I walked for a bit longer at the start, (of an out and back run) (and a bit shorter at the end) of my run, I started my mum off on a walk because the weather wasn't great and she wants a push in the right direction at the moment - she says!
So I ran further in the time than when i am counting seconds on my Garmin, where i feel a bit like 3000. 2959. 2958. 2957. etc... or something like that .... so it was quite a free feeling to run with a normal wrist watch - not even a sports watch!!

My garmin is missing unfortunately - just after i replaced the heart rate belt, which cost a bit Owch!

This Sunday is my first 4 miler in a long time, since i have been doing physio and pilates to improve my form, muscles and hopefully my knees which i have struggled with a bit on 10k distances.

First 5k race

2009-05-10T07:33:00.000-07:00

I just completed my first 5k race (OH THAT kind of pain Winnston)...

I did it in a total of 31.29 mins, ran 2.73 miles, because i followed the inside ribbon, which makes my average pace 11.33!!!

I never would have thought that possible, but it makes a sub 30 min 5k seem within reach and DAMN it is still a long way off!!!!!!!!!!!!

It was cold to start with, but there was a warmup with an exercise stage and mic, and by the time we got going, (it was an 11am start) it got warmer and warmer with the sun coming out during the race. The grass was medium dry.

It was round a massive field, zig zagging, I thought well, if i beat this heavy person running with a dog i'll be ok, and i didn't see her again, then i kept up with a young kid for a while, eventually i found myself timing myself by these 2 much older women than me, i think i came in between the two. I had so much respect for them i didn't even want to beat them so much as come level.
I did set off too fast as usual, but I almost stayed pretty strong throughout, with bursts of speed in the last 2 k.

Upcoming 5k race

2009-05-07T09:52:00.000-07:00

Hi,

I am doing a 5k run this Sunday! It will be my first 5k race and I wish i knew how to pace it - i think rather slowly because a 5k is now my long run (or 3 miles plus some walking) - on a hilly course... this run should be pretty flat tho, so i will look at my pace for my hilly run and take a min mile off it maybe and try to run to that - probably about 14 min miles - god that is slow!
if i keep it to that maybe i can do a negative split and finish a bit faster!

New Trail Shoes

2009-05-04T08:09:00.000-07:00

Hi,
I started very small with my running - going round a park that is very flat and very small - just about .75miles or something round and just going round that 9x was my max aim (i forget how far it is round - but i think it may have been 1k not sure now)

Then i found an amazing long run which i can do bits of... I would love to do the whole cycle trail as a run.... maybe one day - one way is about 12k

I have recently signed up for another Jurassic Coast 10k and it is amazing - i now run on trails and on hills and it's absolutely fantastic!!!!!!!!!

sooo I went to the local running shop and found a pair of puma trailfox purple and pink beautiful comfortable new shoes!!!!!!!!

ILOVEIT!

Starting on Hills

2009-05-03T07:27:00.000-07:00

Hi, Today i did a 3 mile run on a beautiful breezy coastal path, with gentle hills up and down most of the way... was quite tough my pace was about 15 or 16 min miles or maybe 16+ i forgot - including the walking warm up and cool down...

I slow down a lot on hills still... i think it took me 49.5 mins to do just about exactly 5k, which is pretty slow but i am really enjoying the hills which is a pretty new thing for me!!!!

I have the Jurassic Coast 10k in August which is on a famously hilly bit of coastline... In runners world this month there is a report on the 3 day Jurassic Coast Challenge - 3 marathons along there in 3 days!!!
Not the thing for me at this time...

volunteering

2009-04-25T08:34:00.001-07:00

Hi

as well as signing up for the 10k, i will also be running it for the charity i have started to work for, the elizabeth svensden trust, which is an organization that gives special needs children donkey rides on rescued donkeys...

so far i have been helping with carting, hoof picking and tacking up and poo picking as well as selling some of my cards at the easter fete, where i earned £12 for them.

I hope that everyone is well, and to catch up soon

10 k training

2009-04-25T08:21:00.000-07:00

Hi,

I will be signing up for a 10k race shortly. The same hilly 10k that finished me off 2 years ago, I really enjoyed it, but it was a bit much at the time - this time i will be more prepared by 6 months of running.

It is on the cliff path at budleigh salterton, jurassic coast 10k. I absolutely loved it - came last but loved it... don't even mind if i am last again... just want to beat my time and have it not finish me off... (within a few weeks i stopped running)... before it took me 4 months to get to 10k distance which was too fast for me... this time i will have taken 10 months...

I am following jeff galloway's 5 k and 10 k training plan... it looks really good... and not too much

I will be racing before i reach the end of the 10k plan but 6 miles is reached 6 weeks before the end, so will just be slightly less than perfectly prepared, but like i said, i don't mind coming last again, it was still good fun!

Hi all

2009-03-12T06:22:00.000-07:00

Hi,

I have been running, i only needed to take about 10 days or so off, and then started back again but much more slowly again, I have started to increase again, but very gradually... I am doing a 4 min walk warm up and cool down, and 25 mins running, with a short break and even with the break i am back down to under 13 min miles, which is what i was doing a couple of years ago and wouldn't have even been able to dream about it lately till now...

I think it is great that all the basic slow work has made me fit enough to go faster, i don't know if it is my heart or muscles or both, but somehow i have shaved 2 - 3 min miles off overnight, i hope this is not premature or hasty or an injury watch point but it feels really good, i feel like i'm actually running and not plodding, which is what i thought i would be doing for life!

Thanks runningbob, yes, i'm doing fine, been a bit disenchanted with blogging because of the injury i think . I didn't want to come on here and put anything negative, like - i'm not running at the moment - or anything like that... I have physio exercises given to me with more physio planned for next month at the hospital with running and walking and stairs analysis... so it's all very positive so far... had a mixture of things told is wrong with my knee, first lady said 'lax' knee (i think) and second lady said 'knee cap problems' and slightly knock kneed. Will see.

knee problem - R.I.C.E

2009-02-11T10:26:00.000-08:00

I am really disappointed, i think i won't be able to do the first 5k i signed up for and will probably have to wait until the month after...
I am going to go to a good physio and also to a specialist running shop... i already have custom orthotics, but maybe they didn't have enough motion control and I am still over pronating, I don't think that is the only problem tho
I am thinking very gloomily about this and feel like I will never be the runner i want to be
I might have to end up going back to cycling, which i would prefer not, because I prefer running. could it really be just a case of too much too soon?
I have been so careful most of the time...Damn
Anyway i will do all i can to find out if it is a curable problem...
Thanks Running Bob for the reading suggestion I will definitely check that out

the good times

2009-02-04T09:18:00.000-08:00

Spent the last week recovering from the 6 miler... I hurt my knees (and possibly psoas) a bit, and I did not like to come on here and admit that I overdid it... I don't know how much running my knees are going to let me do, but I really would like to clock up some serious distances, and frequencies of running in the future... So, I backed off every time there was any pain this week AND took 2 days off 1 day on 1 day off, (3 days off in a week).

My run yesterday was fab, there was a lot of edible hail came down and it covered the ground like snow, and then the sun came out again and melted most of it, but i was kicking big peices of ice and also there were Icicles on the hillside from all the water that comes down... it was very very beautiful,

It is so nice that everyone who is out there jogging or cycling or walking or dog walking is so freindly, i really value that...

6.47 miles (including .49 walk)

2009-01-29T08:44:00.000-08:00

Someone from the about.com forum said - run as far as you can at a slow pace -

I had a great run! I could have done more i think, but i thought i should stay on the sensible side, seeing as i'm training for a 5k and don't want to injure myself... lol ... i couldn't have done a lot more
I walked for 4 minutes as a warm up and then that included did 6 miles in 01.49 hours.!!! very very slow, but i will let the speed come on it's own,

my whole philosophy around running has been not to push myself too hard and I have been good at it for a while now. I think i am still recovering from cold or flu on holiday!!! It was a terrible cold or flu but i still had a great time in Switzerland... my poor fiance had one day off anyway, and then needed another 3 days off work!!!

1.49 hrs is the longest i have ever ran continuously, it was roughly 4.4th of a marathon in distance... I have to admit, after 5 miles, i was thinking,,, 'another 20?? you have got to be kidding?! No?'

No i am not kidding! I want to run marathon!

running more than i'm walking!

2009-01-25T09:40:00.000-08:00

I have had a fab time away but had flu and gave it to my fiance!!!!!
Awful, he took 3 days off, and I spent time in bed in Zermatt :(
But it was an amazing trip away and i have come back rested and fitter than lately...

I was experimenting with running for time not distance and also walking some short distances on the same day as a run...... this has paid off now that i have 'increased' to running for distance... I did 1.5 miles in intervals with 1 mile walking in intervals, (in total 2.5 miles)...

This for me is progress and i will keep it up ! I have entered 2 races, one in Richmond in March and one in Penryn in April, (both 5k's).... I don't want to make the same mistake of running one race and having nothing to look forward to except for recovering and some long - distant - not - entered - yet - race.

Had an amazing long walk in the snow and about 6 tobogganing runs while i was away.... plus lots of spa's in the hotel in the afternoon. Was a great trip away and getting ill didn't ruin it even slightly.

Recovery week

2009-01-09T10:20:00.001-08:00

Hi Folks,

I'm really really glad that someone invented recovery weeks, I could not go on without a rest today, i really couldn't.
Green light from my coach for a hilly 10k in August! So now i will need trail running shoes in the Summer!
I am going on holiday to Zermatt Switzerland next week, so lots of walks in the snow and Tobogganing, no skiing this year, but hopefully next year!! Going for 6 days, including 2 nights in Lausanne.
I think i have done well the last couple of weeks, with lots of running and some weights. My run - walk - runs are now half an hour. I am also walking slowly for a while longer to cool down, which adds to the workout and kcal burned with not that much more effort. I think i have to make up for spending so much time on the computer somehow!
Love szgr

long run

2009-01-06T08:10:00.000-08:00

I have just seen that the 10k jurassic coast race is back on for August this year!!! It is Very Hilly and i Really want to do it again but in better shape and beat my time! Even if I come in at last place again.
So.... I will have to do less overdoing it like last week and more steady progress, now doing speed training on Mondays and long slow distance Saturdays, weights will usually be on Tuesdays, and then fit in a cycle ride and for the moment 2 more runs...
I have a goal now to fit in Cycling and Cross Training with my weights on the same day, but I think that i will have to be a bit fitter for that, to make it every week... that might be a long way off.
for the jurassic coast race, i will have had 11 months of training nearly instead of almost 4 months from scratch... I will get back to this spot if I am told I can't do that by then by my coach !!

Happy New Year

2009-01-01T09:19:00.000-08:00

On New Years Eve my sister's cat went missing from my mum's where he has been visiting and on New Years Day he came back... he was gone for 2 nights and one day... we have been frantic and although he is not a house cat and is fine in London, this area is not where he lives! So have been really relieved all day...

My run today was fantastic, I remenisce about starting a fitness fad that lasted about 2 days on one New Years Day, i was going to run on the hilly coastal paths again and took off on my own. I fell over about 3 x in the mud and then gave up on the path and ran round the beach in circles a few times feeling like a complete idiot.

Today I ran 13 and a half minutes out of 30 and it was wonderful to forget about the cat for a while and Just to run... I normally say hi to everyone i go past, but today i just looked at them and walked or jogged past, which is strange... I think New Years Day is a very special day and I think I didn't want to intrude?

I had a long talk with my fiance yesterday and we are still talking about how to move towards moving in together... where to live etc. which is a lovely thing to look forward to this year and in the future after that.

I hope everyone is feeling positive....

Love szgr

Increase

2008-12-28T10:59:00.000-08:00

Hi,

today i ran 12.5 of a 29.5 minute run and it felt really really great,,, I can't wait to run more and longer and maybe more often and further and well faster can happen on it's own... but wow, what a great feeling!

I ran with just a garmin, no ipod, i think i love running to music and i love the silence and the sounds of nature and people, I don't know which i prefer, but both make such a great change...

I also know why i used to hate running, because i was running without being ready for it, and today I earned my 12.5 mins running, LOL 12.5 minutes, it's taken 12 weeks to get this far!!!

Love szgr