what week are we at?!

I'm into week 6! I never thought I was this far into the training! I only have 2 blogs to my name for this training session. Thank god my runs haven't been as bad as my blogging. Saying that I was ashamed to blog last Monday as I never did my long run last week (8 miles). I can tell you all the excuses under the sun as to why I didn't but I didn't. And I actually really enjoyed not getting up early with the thoughts of a long run ruining my Saturday/Sunday morning. It was quite a nice rest. I did do my week runs leading up so at least my legs didn't forget how to run when I started my week 5 last week. I now run to and from work once a week which is nice as I get my week day runs in with a commute. I really dislike the run to work. For some reason I find that one really boring compared to the route home (it's the same route....). Might try and change it up a bit or get some music to entertain myself. It's a varying length of 4.5 miles to 5 mile route depending which way a go and if I make up a couple more miles for myself. I did these runs on Tuesday and Wednesday last week as I had Friday off and was going to be enjoying my Valentines with lots of wine so decided to long run it on Sunday.

On Saturday though I wasn't hungover at all. It seems the wine wasn't as bad to me as it normally is.But I had a plan to go with Sunday so I stuck to it. Sunday was a glorious day. The conditions were absolutely perfect! There was a light wind but that took from the heat beaming down from the sun. I found it hard to mark up my route for this run. I was all over Ealing trying to make up the mileage for myself. Had to double back and rerun tracks. But I got it down. Visiting 6 parks as I went along the way. I felt great during the run which had a 9:03min/mile pace. I hope that all the rest of the runs stay like this now!

My long ass random route! 

I need to keep this up and not forget my long runs. They are very important! I need to get my speed sessions back in too. I love them and I really think they help. This week may be a bit busy though as I'm away from home at the weekend so need to fit my long run in on Friday before work. Not going to be a nice cycle to work at all on Friday! 

Happy running! 

..week 2 complete!

So here we are again! Monday and I'm shaming myself into what I have and haven't done with regards training. Last weeks training...was a little mixed. I was really in a strange mood as to what to do and when to do it. I know I have a plan but I'm finding it hard to get up in the mornings and run in the evenings. Any way less moaning and more reporting!

Monday: Should have been 4 miles easy (didn't). Fail
Tuesday: Should have been rest. Was 5 miles tempo intervals (Wed training). Success?
Wednesday: Re: above
Thursday: 4 miles steady state. Complete (3.5)!
Friday: Rest
Saturday: 6 miles (6.3 miles) at slow pace
Sunday: Rest

So there we have it! I did miss out on one set of training which I shouldn't have. Here come the excuses....

1) I cycle a lot (10 miles a day at least). So my legs are tired....
2) It's dark in the morning. Bad excuse...
3) I'm tired in the morning...still not a good excuse
4) It's dark at night...again I need to fix this.
5) I'm tired at night.

So no. I need to get my week runs in check. I have lots of options I just need to actually stick with them. Treadmill running bores me senseless but I have a perfectly good track outside (Linford Christie) and the large wormwood scrubs. I have reflector gear I can use at night and the street lights are really bright. Next goal is to get my feet out the door during the week and not rely on the treadmill to pound the miles.

Total counts:
Run: 14.84 miles 2 hours and 13 minutes
Cycle: 50 miles

Goal this week. An outdoor midweek run! Let's do it!

...week 1 complete!

So here we are again! One week of training completed and I am still willing to keep going! The training week went okay between wet days and sore legs from cycling. I commute into work, a round trip of just under 10 miles a day so I do worry about the state of my legs this training session. But a brief break down!

Runs scheduled: 4
Completed: 3

Monday: 3 miles easy
Wednesday: 5 miles of tempo running (3miles at 8:24minmiles)
Thursday: 4 miles easy (FAILED)
Saturday: 5 miles long run

So all my runs that I completed were doing really well. I was quite happy with them and glad that my legs could keep going! Monday was hard as I started my run right after my cycle. So I was a bit jelly-like to start with (the same thing will happen tonight I'm sure). Wednesday was a little boring to start with as I was on the treadmill but I got through it. Thursday failed as I was tired and I had a dinner to make for my friend (bad excuses). Saturday's run was nice as the first 2 miles were with Reis and then I finished the last 3 along the Grand Union Canal which I got lost on and was a little muddy. Great to find out about my surrounding area though!

On top of these sessions I did a little spot of yoga on Tuesday morning which I really want to keep up. And also my cycling into work. I did feel quite tired Friday night from that and had a complete rest day on Sunday from any high intensive work out. We went for a nice gentle 5 mile walk to loosen our legs which was nice.

Total mileage and time

Cycling: 54.8 miles  (5hours 58 minutes)
Running: 13.8 miles (2hours 6 minutes)

This week starts session 2 which will increase the mileage again. I hope to get all my sessions done but will see. Starting with a 4 miles easy tonight. :)

Aine

P.S. Saturdays run was dedicated to Meg who was hit by a drunk driver last Monday while out running.

...new year, new goal?

Happy New Year! 

Hope everyone had a lovely break and got to gorge on copious amounts of chocolate like I did :) I do love Christmas time! Though my scales and legs don't. After coming back from Ireland before the new years I did try and pound the pavement to try and combat the pounds that were piling on and to get my legs back into action. Since our move I have increased my cycle mileage daily from 2 miles to 10 miles so I thought my fitness wouldn't be soooo bad. But cycling is a little different to running. But off we went to try out our new area! The parks are lovely and only a little busy. The main thing I am severely missing is my canal. No matter how dangerous it was it meant I got to run with no car traffic and was off a main road. But I must make do now with what I have and even though it is less canal it is more parks! I managed 2 runs and a couple cycles before I got back into work. The parks were great if a little small (1 mile radius) but I'll find my routes! I have the Berlin halbmarathon coming up with my German friend so I need to get my  training game on! There was a little set back as I had to fly home suddenly last week but I am back on track with just over 10 weeks to go! 

So my training so far.....one run. It counts though as it means I'm on my way and I can cross it off my big excel spreadsheet. 

One run of 30 minutes for 3.66 miles which seemed nice and steady as I went through. It was quite cold and I had just cycled home through a hailstone storm for 40 minutes which nearly killed me. Anyway day 1, done! I had a little yoga sesh this morning to stretch out which was nice and which I want to try and wake up to every morning! 

So this is it guys, 10 weeks to go with an intense training schedule for that ever elusive sub 2 hour time! You heard it first here. I will get it done! 

Thinking also of hitting a triathlon this June...thoughts? 

...Paris Versailles Race Report!

Now I know it's a little late for this race report but better late then never right! So this has been a race I have wanted to do since I first saw it January 2012. However I ended up missing the boat on the registration and then had to postpone the race until 2013.

Why did I want to do this race? As it starts under the Eiffel Tower and ends on the steps of Versailles Palace. I had never been to Versailles and thought it was a good excuse to go there. Plus I like to do one race abroad a year now (making it a tradition, Berlin Half 2014!). 

Race prep was fine as I had the Richmond Running festival 10 km the week before and the Royal Parks Half marathon the week after. So for a 10 mile race I was ready! 

Race Organisation

I received a lot of emails for this race which was good. However they were all in French. For me this was okay as I have some French and my Gmail is great at translating what I'm not sure of. However for some one my friends running they had difficulty understanding the information. Also as an international runner a medical certificate was required prior to the race. 

Race Expo

This was in a large hall south of the start of the race. It was clearly signposted and very well organised. There were lots of volunteers helping with the distibuting of the shirts and information bags. Following that there was a small area set up with stalls providing information on Versailles, the trains to and from there and any running gear you may have wanted. Oh and an elevation map......

Yes that is a humongous hill halfway through the race! And yes I seem to be not taking it too seriously here! Little did I know.....

Starting Location

Very, very central which made it easy to find! A sports centre had opened up to allow people to use the race track to warm up and drop yours bags and use the toilets there. There didn't seem to be enough toilets and as usual I avoided the ones the boys were queuing for as they had urinals and if they were queueing I really didn't want to be in there after them! There were no pens, which was a little annoying as the starting area was very crowded and meant we started 45 minutes after the first wave even though we turned up an hour before the start of the race. There is a time limit to the finish of the race so this meant you had to be on the ball if you didn't want the water stations to close up before you arrived. I think they could improve this. However they did let off people in waves of ~100 every 30 seconds which was nice. 

Route

So the start was beautiful, running along the river past lots of nice buildings. We had to go through some tunnels which were long and boring but nothing like I hadn't seen before. Now I knew of the hill....the one hill right? Wrong! So wrong! I don't even think any amount of Notting Hill area hill training could have prepared me for this monster! So it turns out my hill training was bump training. We turned a corner where some nice bands were playing after a great water station and the first climb started. Okay I was alright at this stage, I had pre-empted this, I had this. We then turned another corner and the hill continued. Okay doubt started to cross my mind but I can do this, right? It seemed to level out as we came up to a roundabout. Yay, that's it! That's the hills over! Um no, turn the corner and the ascent continues....another band....more of the motorcycle film crew driving near me (exhaust fumes, yum).....I was pretty worn by this stage but I said there is no way I can stop to walk as I can do 10 miles easy, I could do 13 miles easy! Hills will not defeat me! Turn a corner....another hill. This one seemed steeper also. People were walking left, right and centre. It felt like I was crawling but I was still jogging. It was at this stage I did swear at the hill. I am not an angry runner but oh man, I couldn't believe this climb. I was so dumbfounded! Once we got to the top of that hill I saw the route level again.....surely they can't be tricking us again.....and they weren't. The next couple of miles were a level playing field. A little down hill, a little (now comparative) uphill, and then a massive downhill. My legs tumbled from under me and I found it hard to control the sharp decline. All I could think of while descending was the pain I had just endured! And the fact that I heard in the random english speaking whispers of another hill.....another hill....And sure enough 2 miles to go there she rose. But again, I was not going to be defeated especially since I had gotten this far. Up in the beautiful park region of Meudon I took each step as it came and reached the longest part of the race. The road into Versailles! This mile took forever to end but I got there! This was a PB as it was my first 10 mile but it was well below what I had wanted but I will smash it next time (on a flatter course....)!

Crowds

Not many people out at all! It seemed that maybe the whole of Paris was running instead! Even the finish line was very very quiet....

En route drinks and snacks

Lots of water, raisins and sugar cubes along the way. The people were great at handing out all the drinks and food. There was also sports drinks at a couple of the stops. At the end there was a large 2 litre bottle of water, yucky babies apple puree, granola bars and a banana. 

Official T-shirt

Bright yellow Adidas t-shirt. Which I love. It has a little logo for the race also which is nice. 

Medal

Nice chunky gold medal with an outline of the Versailles gardens on it. 

Marks out of 10

8/10 Only faults were the lack of pens and toilets en route. Great race though. Would definitely recommend it! 

Stretching outside Versailles Palace, as you do

My running buddies! 

....rain is the best!

I know I only blogged recently but my 12 mile run this morning was eventful and what got me through was thinking about what I was going to write later! So as I might have said already I tend to do my long runs on a Friday for several reasons.

1. My PhD means I can be flexible with mornings.
2. I liked for my Prague training that I did this as it meant I was able to be more human after the race!
3. I can't get up and run for 2 hours while my boyfriend stays in the comfy warm bed.

So off I headed this morning in the dark conditions and jogged to Hyde Park! There were several events (pros and cons) to my run that I shall anecdote!

Pros                                                                       Cons
The rain (cooling me down)                                     The rain (so hard I couldn't open my eyes)
Fantastic route!                                                       Soggy runners due to many puddles
Friendly man ("Slow down, You're going too fast")  Angry cyclist ("Thanks, well that f*$king helped)
Hit 12+miles!
Didn't watch my garmin


More pros then cons! Which was why it was a great run even with the torrential down pour! Roll on my nice slow recovery run tomorrow with the other half and then swimming Saturday. Race ready :)

...I like this Garminless running!

So as I have mentioned before I have had to run garminless for the last month as my Garmin was in Ireland. My wonderful mother came to visit me 2 weeks ago and brought my beloved forerunner with her so I could get my tech fix back. However it was NOT the fix I wanted at all! I decided even when she was around I would remain garminless. I was really enjoying these slow paced runs that were really enjoyable as I was running to how I felt and not to what my watch was telling me to speed up to.

So last Thursday I got ready for my long run. Thursday is a strange day to do a long run but I was going to Ireland that night on a mini break with some friends so didn't want to bore them with a 2 hour run instead of seeing the beauty of the Dingle Peninsula!

So I ate my breakfast, packed my bum pouch with keys, toilet paper and jelly beans (my new favourite food for runs!) and strapped on old faithful. Old faithful was not my friend however today. Even though I swore I would not look at the pace, only time and mileage I felt like I was pushing myself from mile 1. I had planned at minimum 11 miles today and I couldn't afford to set off fast! It was a really tough run. When ever I looked at my pace I was disheartened. It seemed to constantly read 9.50 which was well off what I had been running all training session (measured off the microwave). I plodded on and eventually got home. Tore off the garmin and started to stretch (injury free 2013!). Looking at the splits and the average pace I was a little surprised. I did have negative splits (2 or 3) and average pace was 9.20. So not as bad as I thought. However it was still slower then I had thought I'd been doing. I am really unsure about using my garmin now again this race season! Can it ruin your own pace? Is it actually worth the stress?

I had a fantastic 6.2 mile this morning, Garminless, and felt I could have ran farther. Is it a sign for September? Do I test it with a couple races first! Very confused at the moment but I do know for my short runs it's Garminless all the way!

Autumn Races

Running Richmond 10km: 22nd September

Paris to Versailles 10M: 29th September

Royal Parks Half Marathon: 6th October

Do I do any of these Garminless like the BUPA 10,000 where I missed my PB by 4 seconds?