Life Will Be Changing!

I haven't written for a while and there has been a quite a big reason for this!  I'm 17 weeks pregnant.  

I've continued to run so far and during my first 13 weeks my steady paced running was actually getting quicker!  This was partly due to coming back from time off with my hamstring injury but I was feeling quite good in my legs too.  I've been very lucky and not had any sickness but there have been days of extreme tiredness.  On days where I have woken up really tired and not improved during the day so I have taken a rest day so I'm really listening to my body.  I have found that whether its a 30 min run or a 1 hour run about 1 hour after I have finished running I am absolutely wiped out! I'm very lucky that I work mostly from home as at least I can have an hour's sleep in the afternoon!

The tiredness is so different to any tiredness I've had before - its so much worse than when in the peak of marathon training!  As well as my body being tired my head feels heavy and I find it hard to concentrate.  I have to make sure I get any work done early in the morning before I go out running as I know I will have a hard job sitting at my computer in the afternoon!

Since 13 weeks my running seemed to significantly slow down.  That's been a hard thing to deal with as my legs still want to turn over quicker but I can feel I'm breathing heavier and my HR is higher so I have to make myself slow down.  

I didn't tell my parents until last week when I went down to London to visit them.  Its a good job my mum was sitting down as I think she would have fainted if she'd been standing up!  Its an understatement to say they didn't ever expect me to have a baby!

Its been really hard for the last couple of months when people I know keep asking how my running's going and what races have I got coming up!  I've ended up lying and saying I've got few low key 10ks then a half marathon target in the autumn.  At last I can finally start telling people!

Back into the Swing of Things!

I've now been back running 8 weeks and almost feel back to normal! I'm still keeping the strength work up but doing it just once a week now (this will have to continue as part of my running plan now). My steady run pace is not too far off what it is when I'm fit.

I'm back to running every day with one rest day each week.  My long runs have increased up to 1 hour 20, I've been doing hill efforts which were put in to try and engage my glutes and hamstrings and now finally my next block of training starting on Monday is actually race focused with proper effort sessions!  

Its coming up to one year since I last raced and its been such a frustrating year!  I blame myself for not getting it sorted when it first happened but I just kept on thinking it was just tightness that would ease.  If I'd had it sorted out around May last year I honestly think it would have been sorted out by the August and I would have been able to race in the back end of 2016.  Lessons learned and hopefully the break has done me good and I will come back stronger!

It's also coming up to the Manchester Marathon which I won last year.  I've decided I'm going to go over to watch it which is going to be really hard for me but may do me some good.  Dan is helping out with timing and I also have two athletes that I coach running in it so it will be great to give them some support out on the course. 

Running Again At Last!!

After 6 weeks of no running I'm finally back running again!  I can't tell you how happy this makes me! Cycling and swimming are fine but they don't give me the same boost that going out for a run does!  

I've started with running every second day and just keeping them short and at an easy pace. Towards the end of the second week I've started putting 2 days together then a day off and starting to gradually increase the length of the run.  As always for steady runs I've been sticking to my HR zones but my pace is sooo slow!  I've had to switch the average pace setting off from my Garmin so I'm not tempted to look at it as it just makes me think there is such a long way to go to get fast again.

I'm still keeping my strength work in 3 times per week.  I have no pain at all when running now but still have some pinching when I walk especially after I've been sitting at my desk working.  

Injured

I don't know why I put off going to a new physio for so long.  I'd been recommended Leigh from Chiro & Physio on the Wirral by a couple of people I know and finally went there in October.

My hamstring and glute had been no better and my worry was that although I was still running if I tried to race hard what could happen?  If it was just some tightness it should have gone away by now with the much lighter load of running recently and stretching.  I saw Leigh for 3 sessions over about 5 weeks where he gave me some exercises to do.  I then saw him a 4th time and it was no better so with that in mind he suggested I see a consultant and get an MRI on it.  

So I had the MRI and it revealed hamstring tendonopathy and bursitis.  I then had a cortisone injection in the hope of getting the swelling down and ease the pain so I could start a strength/loading programme.  To be cautious I had 1 week of no exercise at all then in the 2nd week I started to swim.  10 days after the injection and there was no change.  I was so frustrated.  After speaking with the consultant we decided I should start the loading programme anyway.  I could also start cycling as long as there was no pain during or within 24 hours after.

So back to Leigh for him to give me the strength exercises.  The exercises I have include weights and bodyweight work for hamstrings, glutes, core and back and I have to do them 3 times a week with at least 1 day off in between.  For the first week my legs were shot to pieces!  Almost 3 weeks into doing them now and my legs are getting used to them.  For the first time this last week I've started to feel that my hamstring is actually slightly better!  

I'm still not running at the moment which is driving me mad but I'm cycling and swimming every day which is helping my fitness.

Amongst all this doom and gloom with my running I've had a few short trips away including the Lake District, Copenhagen and 4 days in New York over thanksgiving.  New York was great and we had 4 days of cramming in as much as possible!  We were so busy that I didn't have time to get down about not being able to run.  

I've had a tight hamstring and glute since before the marathon in April.  I thought that after a break and gradually building my running up again it would settle but it doesn't seem to be.  I've been to physio weekly for about 2 months now and not getting anywhere.  I really think I need a new opinion on this!  For now I'm going to spend 4 weeks doing more stretching and back my running off slightly.  Its nice weather out so a good time for cycling! 

After the marathon I've had a bit of time off.  Partly due to a few niggles that I wanted to settle and partly just felt drained.  During this time I did several bike rides each week which made a nice change.  I've now gradually been building up my running again and starting to think about racing soon!  

So far my plans are to do some shorter races of 5k and 10k distances during the summer then target some half marathons in the autumn.  I think I'll see if I fancy a marathon either next spring or the following autumn.  

I was also helping out at a local race recently when I was chatting with a fellow club member.  They said they've been with their daughter and seen me out running a few times.  His daughter has recently started running and has been really inspired by me winning the Manchester Marathon.  Its so nice to hear something like that.  

To me races like Manchester Marathon who have a British only prize fund are doing the right thing.  Its not just about winning a nice amount of money (although it does help)! but about British runners finishing 1st and/or top 3.  This is what inspires the young runners to firstly get involved in the sport and then stay in the sport.  When you have agencies that bring in foreign runners it doesn't mean anything down at the local athletics club and they have no local runners to look up to.  

Other races have a halfway house of a separate British only prize fund which is often slightly more than the total.  This is good as at least prize money is helping British runners but still doesn't help with inspiring the up and coming.  We do also need the really big races with big international names as that is great in itself but I think the next tier down races have a responsibility for the future of our sport.

First Marathon Win!

As I write this I still can't quite believe I won the Manchester Marathon at the weekend!  I had this marathon planned since almost a year ago with my aims being to run a fast time.  I had a great race at the La Rochelle Marathon in November finishing 2nd and just outside of my pb in very windy conditions so this gave me confidence.  I started my Manchester Marathon build after Christmas but for the first time since I've focussed on marathons my build was far from perfect.  

I came down with flu at the end of January whilst in Florida where my plan was to make the most of the warm weather and get some good training in.  This knocked out 2 weeks of training at a crucial time.  I then just felt flat in training all the time.  I probably over did it as I was slightly panicked about getting the miles and sessions in.  So many times I would wake in the morning with a stuffy head and have to force myself out the door to run.  Usually I'd start feeling better after 10 minutes of running but generally my steady run paces were much slower than normal.  I had several weeks of just feeling like I was on the brink of coming down with a cold.  

I chatted with my coach regularly about my options.  I could back off my training but in my mind I might as well not bother with the marathon if I did.  Or I just carry on pushing through and if I get ill then I won't be going anyway but if I don't and come out the other side then I will go.  

About 10 days before I saw the start list for the women and thought there were about 4/5 of us that could finish in the top 3.  Another chat with my coach and I decided that I wasn't in "the shape of my life" and to run the race competitively but smartly and for the first time not worry about my time.  

So race day morning comes around and I'm quite nervous.  Nervous because I'm not sure about my fitness, in the last week of taper my hamstring/glute feels tight and also it being a fairly local race for me I know lots of people who will be there running or supporting and I don't want to look stupid if things go wrong!  

The race gets going and it feels so easy, like I'm jogging.  I time check my first 1km split and its slightly quick so I make myself slow down.  There is a dead turn just after 1km and I realise I'm in 2nd but the 1st girl (Sam) seems to have gone off very quick and I'm hoping its too quick!  As the field thins out a bit I can see a good 100m up the road and I can't see her so I think she has definitely gone off too fast.  I ran with a couple of guys for about another 2km and chat to a few of them.  One is aiming for 2hr 39 another for a sub 2hr 45.  This is about my aim but I think we're still going a bit too quick so I let them go.  The thing that surprised me about this race was that no one seemed to form into groups.  Maybe I've just been a bit lucky when I've done La Rochelle but I've always found myself in group with about 10-20 men until around half way.  

During marathons you always go through good patches and bad patches.  This time it was a mental game from start to finish.  I never went through a bad patch as such with feeling tired as I felt really strong and relaxed the whole time.  I just had to keep telling myself to keep going and stay focussed.  My hamstring started to hurt around 10km which had me worried and it did take a lot of effort to put that to the back of my mind. 

I really badly wanted to win this race and I was a bit worried that although Sam had gone off too fast there was a chance I wouldn't be able to catch her.  I kept telling myself that if I hold 2nd that's still a good result.  I was also quite worried that someone might be chasing me down and I had no idea.

I think it was around 33km I realised that Sam was in my sights.  I was still feeling good in my body (apart from my hamstring) and felt really within myself on my effort.  I caught up to her quicker than I expected and went past her somewhere around 34-35km.  I had a big smile now being in 1st place but that feeling soon turned to worry.  7km is still a long way to go in a marathon and anything could happen.  I tried to push my pace on a bit as I was still worrying about someone coming through stronger than me.  That last 5km was the hardest - I still felt good but my legs were starting to feel it now.  

Around 800m to go and we bear slightly right then its dead straight to the finish.  I can see the finish line now and I can't stop smiling!  There's also a big crowd and its such an amazing feeling.  I was so relieved when I crossed the line.  I can't believe I've done it!  My first marathon win and the best moment of my racing life!!

Final few weeks

Just under 2 weeks now until Manchester Marathon.  Its been a mixed bag of training this time around.  I missed a chunk of training in January with the flu virus which did set things back slightly.  Ultimately it meant that when I did my half marathon race last weekend I wasn't able to ease down even slightly.  I  normally do a half around 4-5 weeks before a marathon and normally I run well and it gives me confidence.

This time around though I had my longest run and a track session all within 4 days before the race.  Not ideal.  Although I don't normally taper as such before a half in a marathon build I would usually have an easier week than this.  I think in hindsight I would have lowered my expectations on race day but I stupidly thought I'd still be able to run a moderately good time!  

It was evident after a couple of miles into the race that I wasn't going to be particularly fast or in the position I would like to be finishing in.  I didn't quite expect to run quite as slow as I did though.

I've since bounced back in training and its now just down to how I am on the day.

Miami Half Marathon

To be honest this race was a pain in the arse before I even got there!  Back in October I sent off an entry for an elite or sub elite place.  It was the same form and you put your time down and then they would let you know if you were in.  I knew my time wasn't quite good enough for an elite place but was easily a sub elite.  To cut a long story short after not hearing from them then resending my form, getting confirmation of receipt of form it then gets to January and I still don't know if I'm in the race.  I chase yet again and get told that I'm not in the race as my time isn't quick enough for an elite place.  I was livid as the race was now only 2 weeks away and I'd been chasing for a month to find out.  I had to pass it over to my husband to deal with as I was getting very angry by now.  The response then was that I could have a free entry as a sub elite - why oh why could you not have just said that in the beginning - useless organiser!

On a plus side we were going out there for Dan to run his first ever marathon, business conference and a holiday!  Got to fly upper class with Virgin too which was lovely!  Flew out Thursday and decided to stay on UK time as the race was a 6am start!  Feeling good on Friday then Saturday morning I wake and my whole body is aching and my head is stuffy.  Great.  Went for a jog and felt better for it.  2 hours later and I feel like crap and back to bed.  At this point I really don't know what I'm going to do about the race.

I wake on Sunday morning and feel not much different.  I decide that as Dan's going down to do the marathon anyway that I'll start the half and do as a steady run.  

(As a side note this bad organisation for elites was still in evidence as we were walked from the hotel to a point that was supposed to be near the start.  No toilets for us.  Then when we are walked to the actual start line its mayhem getting there.  Then there is 1 toilet by the start for us - so good that)!

I managed about 6 miles and feeling not great but okay.  More disappointed to be running in a race and only running steady.  I get to around 9 miles and I'm suddenly so cold and dizzy.  I just keep thinking it will be so much easier to just jog to the finish than to drop out and have the hassle of getting back.  Another mile and I really can't carry on.  I pull out and then it is a real hassle to get back especially when feeling so rough.  

To top it off with this bad organisation I get to the elite area by the finish to collect my kit to find that my leggins have been lost.  Basically the woman taking our kit on the line didn't have a bag so it looks like she just dropped them.  

I did manage to get back to my apartment, shower and back to about 400m to go to cheer Dan coming in for his marathon.  He did so well - 3hr 39 for his debut which was considerably faster than either of us were expecting him to do.  Not bad for a swimmer and all down to my excellent coaching!

Its not often I have such bad things to say about a race.  Sometimes there are minor irritations like lack of toilets but when the race is done you've pretty much forgotten about them.  From an elite (or sub elite point of view) this is not a race I would ever do again or recommend.  I think for a normal entry you would be fine though.  It would help really if elite co-ordinators of these races were former athletes of elite/sub elite level to know what an athlete needs.  Most races do get this right!


I then had 3 days of lying in bed in a hotel in Fort Lauderdale with flu.  Luckily Dan had his conference so I wasn't missing any holiday time!  We then went on to have a great holiday travelling Florida - Everglades (alligators), Key West (polydactyl cats and dolphins), Cape Canaveral (rockets)!

La Rochelle Marathon

I arrived in La Rochelle on Thursday morning so a couple of days to relax before the big race on Sunday.  Weather was quite mild and hardly any wind but a quick look at the forecast and it looked like the wind would be picking up on Saturday and Sunday.  Not what I want at all.  Rain or even snow I can cope with but strong winds and the prospects of running a fast time are not likely.

Race day morning comes around quickly and I awake early and its still dark out!  I head out for a very slow warm up jog at 8am and it is quite windy!  I meet up with my coach before the race and along with Dan he gives me some reassurance that I'm in good shape and to run a tactical race due to the weather.

I'm quite nervous (although apparently I seemed relaxed)!  The main reason I'm nervous is that my achilles is still not 100% right.  It flared up about 5 weeks ago but luckily settled quickly although I'm always aware of it niggling at me.  More than anything I don't want to be dropping out of this race with an injury.  

The race starts and I haven't started right on the line.  There are several girls ahead of me but I use this to my advantage.  2 Ethiopian girls go off and then I gradually overtake the other girls in the first kilometre.  I think I'm in 3rd place but not 100% sure.  At 3.3k we join up with the men from the other start line.  I luckily find myself in quite a big group which is just what I was hoping for.  I'm feeling good and at the moment time checking every kilometre just to make sure and all is good!  We get to 10k slightly ahead of my target (but only but about 10s) and I'm still with the group.  I see Dan here who shouts out that I am in 3rd.  I can't quite believe it because if I can hold this position this will be my best ever finish here - there's along way to go though so mustn't get ahead of myself.

I get to half way with the same group of men but we've slightly lost some time.  Now I'm slightly over my target time by about 20s.  This is fine though.  I think the wind was probably taking its toll on the guys leading the group.  By the time we got to 30k the wind had picked up quite a lot and then we had a short downfall of torrential rain - luckily not for long though.  By now the group had started to disintegrate.  I was running with a couple of guys but had no group to hide behind now.  

I got to around 34k when a spectator shouted out that I was catching up to 2nd place!  This came as a big surprise to me!  At this point I then had a young lad running with me (I think he was probably running the 2nd leg of the duo) and he saw her and pointed and got me to run behind him and lead me to catch her up.  I caught her at 35k and was on such a high.  I took my final gel at 36k and then picked the pace up.  I dropped my helper (which was disappointing) and just spent the last 6k running with a big smile on my face.  

It was such a good feeling turning that final bend into the straight being in 2nd place.  I'm so happy with where I finished and it was beyond my dreams to finish in 2nd here.  I am disappointed with my time as it was 50s slower than my pb when I was hoping to knock several minutes off my pb.  Finishing 2nd was a good consolation though.  

I spent the next day thinking over about how I might have run it better but I honestly can't think of how I could have.  Apparently, the group I was with was the best place to be as further ahead there were just 1s and 2s of people.  Tactically I ran it right and there is nothing more I could have done so I'm happy with that!

Recent Races

A few weeks ago I had the Cardiff Half Marathon which was also the British Champs.  After running really well at the Lake Vyrnwy Half after several weeks of hard training and feeling like there was a fair bit more to give, I was looking forward to this one and had high hopes of a good pb.  

A week before I was out running and my right glute and hamstring started to tighten up.  I managed to get an appointment on Monday morning (after it was still very tight on Monday mornings run) with my sports masseur.  I opted to miss my second run to try and let it settle.  I did a longish run on Tuesday morning and it was fine until the last 20 minutes when it really tightened up again, so back to my masseur and a physio appointment on Wednesday.  I then gave Thursday's track session a miss.  By the time the race came around it had settled but it was on my mind.  

I started off at a good pace and decided I wouldn't keep time checking and felt like I was holding the pace.  I mostly ran with another girl and apart from a bit of a bad patch mostly down to a loss of concentration I then picked off a few girls in the last couple of kilometres.  I crossed the line in 13th (10th Brit) but really disappointed with my time.  It was 1 min 30 slower than at Lake Vyrnwy.  I probably had my tight hamstring in my mind as although I wanted to do well it wasn't at the cost of ending up injured and risking my marathon which is my main aim next month.  I also think that perhaps I took it for granted I would get a pb after my last half!  

I had decided on one more race before I do my marathon now.  A nice local 10k race which Dan was timing anyway.  My hamstring had still been causing me problems in the lead up but nowhere near as bad as it had been.  I ran really within myself and finished 1st.  What was really pleasing was that a few athletes I've been coaching did really well too.  Liz finished 2nd and Carol who I'm just about to start coaching finished 3rd with Rob finishing just behind them in a solid run.  I also got a lovely bouquet of flowers from Paul Burrell (yes - the former butler to Lady Di) as he has a local flower shop!!

A few weeks of hard training now before I start easing back for my marathon!

Triathletes - Why You Need an End of Season Break

So the triathlon season is at an end now for most people racing in the UK.  You've trained hard all year and then raced hard too.  If you've had a good season you are probably on a high and still keen to keep going.  If on the other hand it hasn't gone so well you are probably analysing what you could do better and also keen to keep going.

This will be the worst thing you can do!  Either way, you both physically and mentally need a break.  It doesn't have to be long, just enough to re-charge the batteries. 

5 reasons why it is important that you do take some time out at the end of your season:

• Will help prevent getting injured at a later date;
• Will help prevent illnesses and fatigue;
• Your body needs to adapt to the hard work and it does this when you recover/rest;
• Make time for your family and friends who you may have neglected over the summer;
• Starting afresh will give you a renewed energy when you start back.

I would advise taking at least 1 week off training completely but preferably 2.  Then spend 2-3 weeks of doing short light swims, bikes and runs which very gradually build over these coming weeks.  You will then be ready at the end of this to start your base conditioning winter work.

Happy resting!

Cardiff 10k and Lake Vyrnwy Half

A week ago I ran in the Cardiff 10k where I was representing the North of England in an Inter Countries race.  After a busy few days including travelling to and from Anglesey helping Dan out with setting up the tracking for the Ring O' Fire endurance race, my cat needing an overnight stop at the vets to remove what turned out to be a tick, plus probably my hardest training week since I've returned from injury, I arrived in Cardiff not quite as fresh as I would usually like to be for a race!  

For once I adopted a relaxed attitude of what will be will be!  For anyone that know's me well you will know how unusual that is for me as I'm normally full of nerves and putting pressure on myself.  I started near to the front along with the other girls to get a good start.  I didn't let myself start too fast though and didn't get carried away with some of the girls who probably went off a bit too quick.  About 2km in I went past a couple of girls who had gone off way too fast.  I then settled in and actually felt good.  From 5km onwards I picked up the pace and managed to pass about 5 or 6 girls.  I was really pleased to finish in what turned out to be my second fastest 10k ever!  I'm so happy that my fitness has returned and I'm up to speed quicker than I thought.

Monday morning I felt tired but managed a slow morning plod and what felt like an even slower evening plod!  By Tuesday's long run I actually felt quite good.  Thursday was a hard 5k paced track session where I just about made my target times but it was very hard going.  So not an easy training week then into Lake Vyrnwy Half Marathon on the Sunday.

I went to this race really wanting more than anything to win but not sure how I was going to feel after yet another hard week of training.  Before the race someone asked what time I was hoping for and I replied that I'd like to get close to my pb (77.03).  I wasn't really sure that was possible.  I wasn't too fussed about my time as I'd rather win today with a slow time than not win but get a pb.  Of course, both would be nice but I'm not greedy!

The race started and I went off fairly steady and controlled.  My thinking was that if there were any fast girls they would think it was slow and go past me then I would be able to track them!  As it was no one went past me so I picked it up to the pace I felt good with.  

This is the second time I've done this race (was 2nd last year) and I do love this course.  Its slightly uphill for the first mile, you get to the dam and turn left and there are lots of spectators there (I think they put on a bus for them).  You then run around the lake although you don't get many views as there are lots of trees!  Its fairly quiet but every so often there are some spectators cheering you on which is great.  I ran with a man for about 5k but time checked and although I felt really comfortable the pace was just slightly quicker than I was happy with so I had to let him go.  From this point I pretty much ran on my own, occasionally picking off another runner.  

2 men went past me in the last 5/6k and if it had been another girl I could definitely have found something but I was starting to get tightness in my lower back and into my glutes.  I didn't feel at the time it was worth the effort and potential damage to muscle to stay with them.  A full loop of the lake done and back to the dam and the cheering was amazing. I felt great being in 1st place with 1 mile to go which was mostly down hill.  

I didn't look at my watch at this point but in hind site I wish I had as I might have found a bit extra to get a possible pb.  As it was I finished in 1st which was my aim and in a time that was just 9s outside of my pb!  I was so happy.  Another good race after hard training.  

Gluten

I'm writing this post to share my experience and maybe it will help someone.

For the last 12-15 years I have suffered with stomach/bowel problems that mainly manifest when running.  It has also caused problems when I have been swimming too.  

The problems I have had are quite common to many runners I have spoken to over the years and that is the need to go to the toilet whilst out running (and I'm not just talking about needing a quick wee because you drank too much water before)!  Most of the time I can go up to 3 or 4 times before I leave the house and think I've emptied my bowels now surely I will be ok but pretty much every run resorts in me having to find a bush.  Most of my runs I have driven out or gone to places where I know I can find somewhere to go.  

10 years ago the problem was getting to me so I went to the doctors and they said it was IBS.  Now, I'm not ok with this as a diagnosis as IBS is so general and refers to many different issues from constipation and bloating to diarrhoea.  I wanted a more specific diagnosis and a way forward to deal with this problem.  The one thing I asked them at the time was "is it a food allergy/intolerance?"   I was told it absolutely wasn't.  I had tests to eliminate things like bowel cancer and I saw a specialist who said he'd vaguely heard of athletes having problems like this and he would look into it.  Of course I heard nothing back from him.

Over the years I just put up with it.  For my long runs I drive out to places where I know I can go and my shorter runs from home I do some out and backs by my house in case I have to nip back which does happen a lot. 

Then 18 months ago I started working with a sports nutritionist.  The main change I made to my diet was cutting out normal bread - his reasoning was the high sugars in both white and brown bread.  I then included more protein and veg with every meal and less sugars.  I replaced normal bread with rye bread.  The only times I was now eating any type of bread was at breakfast where I would have boiled or scrambled eggs with avocado or spinach on rye bread.  Lunch time I no longer ate any type of bread at all and would eat jacket potatoes, pasta or similar. 

Over a few months my problems got a little bit better.  They didn't go away but it definitely wasn't happening as often.

Then this year I spoke to my nutritionist about this and wondered about a gluten intolerance.  He suggested I read a book called Wheat Belly and try and do 30 days without any gluten at all.  So for June this year I did this.  It was quite hard to start with as I really had to plan what I was going to eat.  It meant a lot of preparation in advance too.  Gluten/wheat is in many things that us athletes think we need for energy like pasta and bread.  I now found myself eating a lot of potatoes!  I made a big batch of hash browns that I then froze so I could eat them for breakfast (only take 15 mins to cook from frozen) which I would have as usual with my eggs.  I then eat jacket potatoes (sweet or normal) or quinoa for lunch and then again at dinner carbs include either potatoes or rice mostly.  

Within about 10 days into 30 days gluten free I was finding that I wasn't needing toilet stops on my runs.  This was great but I didn't rule out that this could just be a coincidence or in my head.  Doing the 30 days of gluten free was definitely hard to do to start with but by the end I had gotten into a routine of the types of food to eat and any preparation in advance I needed to do.  There were times I didn't want to keep going with it as it seemed like a lot of hassle.  I'm so glad I did as for that time I had no stomach issues.  

Once the 30 days were up I found I was now in a good routine and didn't actually want to go back to my old eating ways.  I thought I would miss bread but found I really didn't.  The only thing I missed was pizza.  I have now found that lots of places do a gluten free pizza, although admittedly the bases aren't quite as good as a normal pizza base!  

When I was doing the 30 days gluten free I was very strict but now I am gluten free but not 100% strict with it.  I do have the occasional biscuit and when cooking a chili I add an oxo cube for example.  I have found for me that tiny amounts of wheat/gluten don't upset my stomach but large amounts do which I recently put to the test.

At the weekend we travelled up to Scotland for a wedding.  I intended to make myself a quinoa salad to eat for lunch on the way but completely forgot.  At lunchtime we stopped at a service station and was limited to what was available.  I opted for a toasted panini and accepted that there may be consequences.  The next morning I went out to do a run session.  Part way into my second effort and I had intense stomach pains and once again found myself having to stop and look for a bush.  The following 3 days I had a bad stomach every time I went out running.  Now I knew for sure that this was definitely down to being intolerant to gluten.  I had thought that maybe it wasn't really this and perhaps I was just eating better on the whole or it was in my head.  This is the first time I have really put it to the test and just shows what one sandwich does to me.  

I wish I had found this out years ago as it has caused me a lot of distress over the years and races that I've pulled out of with pains and issues.  I am quite annoyed that I went to the doctors a lot over the course of a couple of years around 2005-2007 and they just fobbed me off telling me to just take immodium before I run.  I was reluctant to be gluten free to start with as I know it seems like I'm jumping on the band wagon with a few high profile athletes going gluten free.  

The advice I have to anyone out there who has stomach problems as I had when running or doing other sport is to give the 30 days gluten free a try to start with and see if it makes a difference.  It is really important though that if you do train for endurance sport you find carbohydrates that you can replace your breads and pasta with.  I spent a week just looking at my options and writing out daily food menus before starting this.  Going into it with no plan will either see you relapsing back to bread/pasta etc or depleting yourself and not having the energy to train.

Race improvments followed by a Personal Worst!

I've been getting back into some good training and building in threshold pace effort work as well as building the miles up.  My coach and I decided I would do some 5k races just to track progress.  I haven't done any "fast" work yet so the first one will be to see where I am.  My plan was 3 Sale Sizzler races followed by my local Capenhurst 5k race all 2 weeks apart.  

The first race was ok time wise - but still 40s slower than my pb.  I then did a 10k 2.5 days later!  I felt good during this and finished 3rd but still over 1 minute outside of my 10k pb.  I'm ok with this as its about what I expected.

I then did the next Sale Sizzler 5k and went 20s quicker!  I was really pleased - just 20s slower than my pb.  Quite a lot over 5k but a very pleasing improvement in just 2 weeks.  Someone remarked at the end what had I changed in 2 weeks to go 20s quicker?  For me it is just fitness gradually coming back and I've now done a few more effort sessions but only peaking at 10k pace efforts.

I then went back 2 weeks later to the Sale Sizzler hoping that I might scrape under 17 mins and then be just 10s outside my pb.  The race started and I pretty much felt rubbish from the start.  My legs felt like jelly and when I tried to pick it up there was nothing there at all.  I didn't look at my watch and tried to be competitive so when I came onto the track and saw the clock just before  the finish I was shocked at how slow I'd run.  I thought maybe the clock was wrong, but it wasn't!  I went 40s slower than 2 weeks before and a whole minute slower than my pb.  I think this is the slowest 5k I've run for years!!  

I decided a few days later than I didn't think I could face another 5k so decided to give the Capenhurst 5k a miss which was a shame.  I think in hind site I should have missed the 3rd Sale Sizzler and done the Capenhurst 5k instead.  3 5k races all 2 weeks apart was probably too much mentally as well as physically.  I'm now getting some good training in and looking forward to the Cardiff 10k on 6th September.  

Racing Again!

Now pretty much back to full training again and thinking about racing.  So a couple of weeks ago I entered a local 10k race (Sport in the Port).  Having only done base miles for 2 months then the last 3 weeks included some threshold pace work I was a bit nervous about not having any pace in my legs and how I would run off this.  With this in mind I then entered a mid week 4 mile race in Wigan (where I probably wouldn't know anyone!) to test my legs out!

This went well with a win but bloody hell it hurt and my time wasn't great!  It was 2 lap undulating course with an off road part to it so not a fast course but still....

After this I then spent 10 days of 1 minute I wasn't doing the 10k then I was, then I wasn't!  In the end I thought sod it - do it as at least I can see where my fitness is and it gives me pacing times to work my efforts to in training.  

I then had a surprising race coming 2nd and ran almost 1 minute quicker than I expected to run which was a faster pace than I did for the 4 mile race and felt comfortable!  I actually smiled the whole way around as lots of Chester Tri Club people were marshalling or watching which was really nice.  

I had a "great" idea to run home as I thought it would be about 4 miles but it seems I took a wrong turn then ran on the canal which was a very long way home to take and turned out it was 10 miles!  Oops!

Getting There!

A week in the sun was just what I needed!  I went to Lanzarote for a week in the hope of speeding up my ankle/achilles recovery.  No miracles but there does seem to have been an improvement.  It's still tight in the mornings and if I get up after sitting down for a while (just no sitting around then)!  

I have now included 2 threshold pace effort sessions in the last 2 weeks training with minimal reaction so I'm actually thinking of entering a race or 2 in the next few weeks!  I'm a bit scared as I know my times won't be fast and I don't like racing when I'm not near to 100% but I feel I need to put something in just to know where I am.  

I'm so happy to be running a decent amount again and a lot of it is down to regular massages from Peer and physio from Gary at Pro Physio.  Plus lots of stretching and icing!

Slow Going

Patience - I have none of that!  Ankle and achilles is taking far too long to heal for my liking.  Still just doing steady running and no race plans being made until I'm completely pain free.  3 weeks ago I thought I'd turned a corner as I had 3 runs in a row which were completely pain free then it started to niggle again.  The pain free runs did seem to coincide with a spell of warm weather then the niggling and general tight feeling returned when the weather changed back to being cold.  

I have now made a last minute decision to go away for a week to the canary islands and booked my flights last night and will be leaving on Thursday!  I'm hoping some warm weather will help.  Also, I just feel I need a mini break!

On the Return!

I am so gutted at having to miss the Wilmslow Half Marathon a week and a half ago now.  It's one of my favourite races helped by the fact that I've run a pb there twice and the third time got within 3 seconds of my pb!  I haven't even been able to bring myself to look at the results yet!

I am starting to feel happier though as I started back with some slow and small amounts of running 12 days ago!  Starting out with lots of walking and 2 x 5 mins of running I've now built up to 3 x 10 mins of running with walking in between and little to no pain which is great.  I've been sensible and kept to running every 2-3 days so I always have 1-2 days in between where I'm not running to give my ankle/achilles a chance to recover.  I ran yesterday and today will be the first time of trying a run 1 day later!  

Doing extra cycling and swim training over the last 4 weeks has made me realise how I do miss triathlon training and I'm looking forward to the day I come back to the sport.  For now I still have goals I want to achieve with my running and I'm focussed on firstly getting back to running and not rushing myself and aiming for a good marathon towards the end of the year.  

Keeping Fit When Injured

For several months now I've been trying to run through a niggle but have now had to admit that its more than a niggle and I need to rest.  Its really frustrating because March held 3 races for me 2 of which were target races that I've been focusing my training around.

In a previous post I said how I'd turned my ankle a while back then I think this combined with doing cross country has gradually aggravated my achilles.  I've been having physio and combined with lots of stretching and icing I've continued to run.  In hindsight this has been the wrong thing to do and I'm kicking myself for not resting properly back in January.  At that point though I just thought it was a niggle and how many times do we get niggles that with a bit of stretching for a week or 2 we can just keep going and it eases off?  Every so often though we aren't so lucky and resting is the only option.

I have now had to miss the Bath Half Marathon last weekend, I'm missing Trafford 10k today (which I've had to turn down running for the North of England for) and its likely I will miss one of my favourite races -  Wilmslow Half Marathon in a couple of weeks.

Whilst I am sat here feeling a little bit sorry for myself as a lot of us do when things haven't gone the way we hoped, I'm going to try and find some positives!

Cycling doesn't have any impact on my ankle/achilles so I've now been out on my bike several times this week.  Luckily the weather has picked up a bit so its been a nice change to get out on the bike.  I've got back into swimming and enjoying it!  I have been swimming 1-2 times per week through the winter but just 30-40 mins and very steady and to be honest I find it boring.  Actually doing some swimming with a purpose and adding some efforts in has been good.  Next week I will start bringing in some aqua running (this means wearing a foam belt around my waist and running in deep water).  

Most of the time when we have an injury there is always some kind of cross training we can do.  Its frustrating at the time but on the return we are often stronger and have a renewed energy and passion.