Wilmslow Half Marathon

It was the Wilmslow Half Marathon at the weekend and I've been looking forward to this race.  I finished 2nd last year taking off 1min 30 from my pb.  I was in better shape this year too and especially after pbing at the Trafford 10k I was hopeful of a good time.

I woke up on the morning of the race with a bad tummy but put it down to race nerves.  I then didn't feel too great before the race but decided it was better to run and see how I feel than to not try.  

For the first couple of miles I felt good.  I was running with Julie (who won last year) but decided to let her go as although my legs felt good I didn't want to start off too fast and slow down in the second half.  Around 8 miles my stomach started cramping and although I felt good in my legs it was a big distraction.  In the end I finished 3rd in 77.06 and just 3s outside of my pb.  Although I was initially disappointed with my run, to run just outside my pb on a day when I wasn't feeling well is quite pleasing.  

I'm pretty sure its what I had for lunch the day before that didn't agree with me.  I kind of knew at the time so I'm a bit annoyed at myself for eating so badly the day before a race.  Oh well, at least it happened here and there's no way I will be so stupid for London in a few weeks!

Trafford 10k

I ran in the Trafford 10k at the weekend just a week after returning from warm weather training.  A very pleasing result - 8th (in such a good standard field) and 24s off my pb.  Very happy to do this in the middle of a marathon build.  It was hard work though - I felt really out of my comfort zone (which is always a good thing to do).  I'm sure 10ks never used to feel that hard from the start.  I ran even splits too so it wasn't like I went off too fast.

I'm now looking forward to the Wilmslow Half Marathon and then London Marathon!

Final Week in the Sun

In my last week of training out here in Spain.  I've had a really good 3 weeks of hard and consistent training and now in week 4 I'm taking it slightly easier to let the hard work take effect.  Dan has arrived yesterday so some light training with a bit of sightseeing!  

A special thanks to Dave and Cathy (my coach and his wife) who have been out here with me and put up with me for the 4 weeks!  They have been really good on insisting that they cook most of the time which is fine by me especially as Dave is an amazing cook and could almost be a professional chef if he wanted to have a change of career!

I've really enjoyed the running out here - lots of dirt track/gravelly trails, a few hills if you want them and even a 400m running track!  That was a surprise - just like an old school cinder track and great for my shorter effort sessions. 

Trafford 10k to look forward to on my return.  I expect to get my arse kicked here as I've seen there's quite a few fast girls entered and with my marathon legs I'm not sure I will have the speed but it will be good all the same.  

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!!