Warm Weather Training

One week down in a four week training block in Mojacar in Spain.  Last week is the biggest week of running I've ever done and I'm pleased to be feeling good!  I had some tiredness during my running on Wednesday and slightly on Thursday but by Friday my legs were feeling good again.  I put the tiredness down to the 5k pace session I did on Tuesday afternoon. Bit of a shock to the system putting some faster work in and I think it took a lot out of me!  

Its also very undulating out here with most of the roads to run on being trails.  Its taken most of the week to get used to this but I feel stronger already!

Weather here has been hot but the wind can really get up.  Yesterday I had a 2 hour 30 run to do and the route I ran started off quite hilly. Just as I was starting to feel good on the flats and with 50 mins still to run I turned a corner and it was like running into a brick wall the wind was that strong.  It had just come out of nowhere!  We have now had high winds all through the night with tables, chairs and bbqs being blown all over the place. Even the car wash at the petrol station down the road has collapsed !

Helsby Half Marathon

Helsby Half Marathon on Sunday and during the week before I was unsure whether to do it.  I don't enjoy racing when I'm not at least 90% fit and right now I'd put myself at about 60% fit!  3 weeks of training after my post marathon break and also not easing up one bit at all before the race I wasn't sure it was a good idea.

I then decided that I should race as it will let me know where my current base level is and it all helps towards race fitness.

I had terrible start.  They've changed it from when I did it 4 years ago.  Now you start in a very narrow line up in the car park and do a few tight turns before getting onto the main road.  In hindsight I should have started a bit nearer to the front and over to the left (which I didn't).  I ended up shuffling along for the first 100m or so.  1km in and I was still overtaking people who I should have been in front of from the start.  Once into the race a few people were shouting that I was in 2nd place.  This was fine by me but I didn't see the lead girl at all so I presumed she must be someone super fast who was going to beat me by about 5 minutes!  

I had a fairly relaxed and comfortable run (shouldn't really feel that when you are racing but that's what not feeling that fit did to me).  In the end I finished in 2nd and was only just over 1 minute behind first place.  I'm a bit frustrated with myself as had I known she wasn't that far ahead I really would have put a bit more effort in.  Overall it was good to do it and I'm pleased with my result from just a few weeks training.  

Chester Tri Club had some great results from members with lots of pbs.  The guys I coach at the club track session ran really well - showing that their consistent training is paying off!

Feeling Broken!

I had a great time snow boarding in Whistler although the we could have done with a bit more snow in the second week!  A really great place and hope to go back again one day.  

Home now and after saying good bye to my nan, then Christmas I'm now back into proper training and preparing for London Marathon.  But my body feels broken - everything hurts.  I must be getting old!  I thought breaks were supposed to be good for you but right now I wish I'd just carried on hard training!  

Lucky!

I've been so lucky to have the pleasure of meeting the greatest distance runner the world has ever seen - Mr Haile Gebrselassie!!

I was invited to an Adidas evening and day via TriActive with Haile as special guest.  He was such a character with lots of interesting things to say and all with a sense of humor.  A few things he said that have stuck with me have been: hard work, commitment, discipline; he mentioned he didn't think barefoot running was a good idea; too many very good runners go to marathon too young (in their early 20s) and then are finished too soon.

 I was then privileged to go on a run with him the following morning.  It started off nice and easy then gradually started to get quicker.  Not great with a hangover and having run a marathon 10 days earlier!!  I must admit I found myself near the front and couldn't possibly drop back!

We then spent the rest of the day seeing what Adidas have in store for 2014 which apart from a couple of dodgy items it mostly looks great!

Thank you to Adidas for putting on such a great event and thanks for the freebie trainers and kit!  To be honest I've had a pair of Adidas trainers in the past which were ok but not my favourite.  They gave me a pair of Adi Glide Boost and I've run in them today for the 2nd time and my early impressions are that they are up there with one of the best pairs of trainers I've run in.  I'm very impressed!!

Marathon De La Rochelle 2013

Arrived in La Rochelle on Friday evening after almost not making it!  First of all a train crashes into the barriers at Chester Station the day before (luckily no one hurt) and I was worried this would affect our London bound train but luckily the service was running as normal.  Then as we arrive at Milton Keynes it is announced that due to a fatality on the line we will be delayed but they don't know how long for.  A quick decision needed - stay on the train or jump off and try our luck with getting a cab into St Pancras to catch the  Eurostar.  Decided that waiting wasn't an option!  We hit luck as we were finding a taxi someone advised us that the best thing to do would be getting to Bedford station (30 mins away) then a train from there straight to St Pancras.  In the end we got to the Eurostar with just 10 mins to spare!  It turns out that our train got sent back to Chester!

A relaxed night and following day at the hotel courtesy of the race organisers (a big thank you). Met up with my coach and his wife for some dinner then an early night before the big day.

Race morning and its cold, dark and quite windy out!  Windy weather is always what I dread when going for a time in a race as I always feel this affects time the most.  Nothing I can do about it and just hope I can tuck in behind some men when I hit the windy bits.  

I'm feeling relaxed (well as relaxed as I can get which is still quite tense).  The nerve feeling I had in my leg disappeared by Wednesday.  Possibly from lots of physio and also a good massage from Peer on Tuesday.  I'm still nervous about getting injured but I guess this is normal after what happened at London.

As the race starts I find myself with the 3 Ethiopian girls.  We are running so slow though so I'm not worried I've started off too fast.  Hit the first 1k spot on.  Stay with them for another 1k which is just a few secs quicker then they seem to gradually start picking it up so I leave them to it!  A girl from Slovakia seemed to go with them so I find myself in 5th which I'm happy with.  At 3k we join up with the men and I get into a small group.  A guy starts to chat to me about what time I'm aiming for at half way which is fine but I start to worry that I'm wasting energy so try to drop back a bit.  

Half way in 82 mins.  I had hoped for about 81 but I'm happy with this as I'm feeling really comfortable and no pains anywhere.  I get to 27km and all good and feeling happy as this is where it all went wrong in London.  

At about 30km there is a group of about 5 guys 10m ahead not pulling away so I make a decision to put a little effort in to get on the back of them.  I was starting to feel it a bit but when I got amongst them my running started feeling easier.  I was really comfortable and keeping a check on my km splits and it was all looking good.  I stayed with them but by 35k the pace was starting to get a bit quicker.  I'm now going about 5-6s per km quicker than my target and I started to worry that it was too soon and I might die a death and lose several minutes if I mess this up.  I was feeling good though but know that I've died in the last 5-10km in the past.  This was the only mistake I made in the race.  Shortly after I let them go we turned a corner and it was straight into the wind for about 5k!  

I can't actually believe how strong I felt in the last few kms of the race.  Turning the final corner with about 50m to go I saw the clock and it said 2hr 44.58.  Gutted!  I really was aiming for a sub 2hr 45.  I finished in 2hr 45.11 and although I'm really pleased as it was a pb by over 4 mins I was cursing those 12 seconds!!  I'd held onto my 5th place though and it turned out I was only 2 mins 30 behind 4th with first being about 7 mins ahead!  

This puts me at 20th on the Power of 10 rankings which is ok but I really wanted to be in the top 15.  I think on a better day with less or no wind it would have made a 2 min difference.  But hey ho nothing you can do about the weather!  A nice break now with a holiday then a big focus towards London where there could be a sub 2hr 40!!

Big thanks yous to Gary at Pro Physio for sorting my foot out from my London injury then putting up with my panics in the 2 weeks before.  Thanks to Peer for my regular massages and thanks to the organisers for a great event.  

Last Minute Nerves!

Just under 2 weeks until my marathon and I'm feeling excited and apprehensive.  In the last week my marathon pace work and steady runs have suddenly moved on to another level and I'm feeling great.  But then a few days ago I started getting a funny nerve feeling in my left leg which sometimes makes my leg almost give way when running.  I'm just hoping this feeling disappears!  Been to physio and going back again in a few days in the hope Gary can sort it out!

Cardiff Half

I spent the last few days feeling a bit down with my running but I've finally picked myself up again.

I did the Cardiff Half Marathon on Sunday in the elite women's start which I felt would be a great opportunity to race against some good athletes on a fast course.  

Basically, I ran a race that I just felt I wasn't there in my head for.  I had no nerves at the start (which I normally get in excess).  I started the first km slightly too quick so backed it off a bit but then just never got going.  My plan was to pick it up around 7-8 miles but when it came to it I just didn't and I don't really know why.  I was disappointed with my time which was 2 mins slower than my pb.  Although I didn't expect a pb at this stage in my training I did expect to go 1 min quicker than I did.  

On reflection and after chatting with my coach I think a few things probably affected my race here.  Firstly, I had to travel down there on my own as Dan was working again.  So a 3 hour drive and a night in a hotel on my own followed by going to the race on my own.  Although I don't mind my own company I do find that I need someone and that someone best being Dan, to be with me during this time before a race.  Secondly, although my training went well within a few days of being back from Lanzarote I think having a lighter week in the lead up to the race my body started to adapt to the hard training and I probably had some tiredness and mental fatigue.  That's not to say I should have carried on with hard training through to the race as I would have needed this recovery week.  

Its quite hard when you have a race that's not gone right.  Getting up the next morning to run is tough.  My legs weren't tired at all (normally they would be after a half) but I just didn't want to be running.

Luckily I now have my mojo back and have had some good runs and a good threshold paced session since!