2015 - The Run Down

This time last year I set myself 5 'Runolutions' - running goals and resolutions for 2015 - and boy did I have fun trying to achieve them.

Without a marathon to concentrate on, 2015 saw me become a triathlete after completing the London Triathlon; run with Paula Radcliffe; be a poster girl in the This Girl Can campaign; learn to swim front crawl again, and take part in my first 24 hour race at Equinox24 which included getting up and running in the dark at 1.30am! Phew!

So let's see how I got on with the rest of my goals...

1) Join a running club
This is probably the best thing I've done for my running all year, hell probably ever! After a few tentative visits, in January I signed up to the Manchester YMCA Harriers and haven't looked back since. Running with these lovely lot has meant going to wonderful races I'd never have entered alone, tackling a 24  hour race and coming top ten, winning the Christmas 5K Handicap as well as lots of brilliant social outings - not to mention chat chat chatting all the way through our weekly club runs.

Harrier!

2) Go to parkrun and make it routine
As soon as I completed my first parkrun early last year, I knew I would be back. The atmosphere en route; waiting for the text later to confirm your time and the feeling of being back in the warm tucking in to a post run brekkie by 10am, have all contributed to the best start to the best weekends. This weekly free 5k has also helped in increasing my speed (my 5k PB is now 21.34) and kicked me into gear to up my mileage by incorporating it into a long run. I've run in a number of different parkruns and when I'm away always check if one is nearby! Brilliant.

Impromptu Harrier parkrun meet up

3) Try out Cross Country
Not too long ago I did my first Cross Country race with the club. The wind was howling, the rain was pouring and the mud was slippery. But it was lots of fun. I've only completed one race so far but the season is young and I will be back for more in Jan!

Mud mud mud

4) Properly train for half marathons and try and break 1.45
Along with completing my triathlon, this is the running achievement I am most proud of in 2015 - completing the Wilmslow Half Marathon in 1.39! A new PB and much faster than the 1.45 I was hoping for. It was really hard work, but I really felt like I put the effort and training in, and unsurprisingly it paid off. I must remember this in my marathon training for Manchester 2016.

5) Have a clear out and lend a hand
A mile in her Shoes is a charity which helps women who have been affected by homelessness help find their feet through running. It's great, and I was really pleased when my new club told me they'd read my blog and were also doing a collection of running clothes to donate to the charity. So after sorting through my kit drawer I added my donations to the pile. In fact, having complained that my drawer is currently bulging, it's about time I had another clear out. I also volunteered to marshal our club race this year. It's nice to give something back and I should very much make it my goal to do more volunteering this year.

So there we have it - a pretty busy 2015 with lots of achievements I'm proud of. But the over riding bonus of the last year are all the lovely crazy people I've met and trained with along the way. From swimming, cycling, triathlon training and of course running, it's been the people who have been crazy enough to do these things with me that have really made it a brilliant year.

Manchester Marathon Half & Half Relay

My mate Sheila ran her first half marathon at the Great North Run last year and was keen to do another. In my year of non-marathon running we spotted that the Manchester Marathon allowed teams of two (or four) to run the marathon as a relay. We thought this would be just the ticket for us both, and so signed up and booked an amazing brunch as our post-run reward. Priorities set.

Waiting for someone to run a half marathon before you can start your leg is a strange experience. I woke up at the normal time for a race feeling the usual excitement and nerves, but didn't know what to do with myself. I felt like I was missing something, worried I would miss Sheila - what if she did run it in 20 mins and I wasn't there?! I felt like all the fun was happening without me. I did what any normal runner would do; paced the house, went to the loo about 20 times just in case, then arrived way too early.

MCR Marathon Relay changeover

At the halfway mark the route had a small section cordoned off for the relay teams. You needed to wait here, spot your partner then run over the halfway timing mats together - ending their run and starting yours. This was all told to us on the day by volunteers and not before hand which would have been helpful. I would say the communication and info about the relay teams before the race could have been much better. But hey ho! 

The atmosphere here at the halfway mark was brilliant. A great band kept everyone entertained and it was fun cheering on all the marathon runners knowing you were soon going to be a part of it. 
After spotting and chatting to Jayne from the brilliant Veggie Runners, I spotted Sheila coming down the hill. She did AMAZINGLY and we were full of excitement as we ran down the chute together, gabbling and holding hands all the way over the mats. And then I was off. 

Running like a lunatic
(photo thanks to Chris March on route)

The 30 minute later start for the relay teams meant that I started my run with people who were on for about a 5 hour 30 marathon finish. I felt a bit like an impostor picking all these full marathon runners off with my fresh legs and towards the end of the run at miles 22 -24 it was difficult to keep my speed up amid walkers who were having a tough time. But I soon caught up with the 4.5 hour marathoners and the crowd on course was amazing. It was a good route with a mix of countryside in parts and little villages as well as the huge support heading back in to Old Trafford and the finish. I was spotted and cheered on by a few of the harriers which was a huge boost, along with some blogger friends which was a lovely and unexpected surprise. Jamie was waiting for me at about mile 25 so after a quick kiss I dug deep and kept up the pace to mile 26, turned the corner into the final funnel, cheered on by Sheila and Steve in the final stretch and thankfully over the finish line. 

Team mates extraordinaire 

After achieving my new PB in Wilmslow a few weeks ago, I was happy to not try and beat my time and really wanted to just do a good run and enjoy it. And I did. There is a lot to be said for running in your adopted town - it's so much fun. Great atmosphere, great support and so lovely to see so many people on the route. And running with your mate as part of a team is just brilliant. We were so happy and chuffed afterwards and so proud of each other. We are already plotting our team for next year.

13.1 miles each followed by 4 plates of brunch plus one amazing medal. This is my favourite running maths. 

Manchester Marathon Relay Medal

Eating right for your run

Pre-run smoothie

It's no secret that I love food. Like really really love it. Like plan-my-next-meal-whilst-eating-my-current-meal love it. But nutrition and how to fuel for a run is something different, and something I tend to steer clear of on the blog as it’s such a personal thing. What works for one doesn't work for another; it’s very much trial and error and quite frankly, I think some things are better left to the experts.

But I was lucky enough to be invited to speak to the head Nutritionist Emma at Science in Sport this week and I thought this would be a great opportunity to learn more about what I should and shouldn't be doing.

Following the Wilmslow Half marathon recently, I felt beaten and exhausted for the whole week afterwards. Yes, I raced hard to get a new PB and put in a lot of effort, but I had run plenty of long runs before hand and not felt like I did the following week. So during my chat I wanted to see what could have caused this and if I should have done something differently to fuel pre, during or post running.

Emma was able to give me lots of great advice, some of which is common sense but having a real life person spell it out for you is such a help. We know we should all hydrate before race day and that we should eat some protein and carbs as soon as we can after exercising – but having someone really discuss it with you really opened my eyes. I realised that while I've been paying attention to my training, my running form and my new trainers, I've been neglecting my nutrition - the most important aspect of training. Even though I know the basics and know what I should be doing, for some reason it seems to have fallen by the wayside. I realised that the reason I felt so shattered was because of my bad planning. I dutifully carb loaded and concentrated on what to eat BEFORE the race, but I hadn't planned to eat the correct things after the race, and didn't have the right foods and certainly not enough food, in the days following to refuel my body. 

Leading to the feeling of having been run over by a bus. Not good.

So after a pep talk form Emma, I know what I need to be eating and drinking but I now need to put this in to action. I’ll give it a whirl for the Manchester marathon which I'm running as a half and half relay in a couple of weeks. And hopefully I will feel much better for it.

A lot of you will have marathons coming up in the next couple of weeks, so in the midst of all the taper madness, race planning and dreaming of the finish line, make sure you take some time to think about what you're eating and drinking as well.

The right running shoe - Crandon Runs Friday Photo #27

A round up of Crandon Runs in one weekly photo

After the Wilmslow Half a couple of weeks ago, and my recent run with Radcliffe I realised my legs were hurting. I don't mean normal or expected post-run muscle aches and pains, but something else. Something was amiss and I'd experienced it before. 

When I first started running I was in the wrong trainers, leading to painful and tender shins along with other odd aches and pains. It only took a few trips to the doctors, x-rays and physio sessions to tell me I had flat feet, weak ankles and unsuitable trainers which I needed to sort. Oh the shame! 

So when these niggles showed up again recently I realised that whilst I'd been paying a lot of attention to my running and training, I'd completely forgotten to keep a check on what I was running in - my beloved trainers. I'd been running in them for almost a year, including a marathon! Whoops, that's way too long and too many miles for one little pair to cope with. Happily I knew I just needed some new kicks and took to one of my favourite past times with glee, an actual bone-fide reason to be shopping for new kit. Hallelujah. 

Box fresh - Nike+ Zoom Structure

If you're in the market for new trainers, before you do anything get yourself to a Sweatshop and get your gait analysed to make sure you get the right support you need. It's not time consuming, there is no pressure to purchase and it will change your running life. And you'll get to chat about running - happy days!

After a quick chat with Rick at my local Sweatshop I opted for the newest version of my old faithful Nike Zoom Structure, but this time I went for the men's range, literally because they were £30 cheaper and Rick assured me the fit would be fine. I'm cheap, what can I say. I had a little run on the treadmill to test them out and watched back the video to see how my foot fell in them. Lovely, and right for me and my weak ankles. 

With barely any normal coloured toenails left (you're most welcome for that mental image) I also opted for a half size bigger than my usual size. When you're clocking up the double digit miles you need to do this. 

Yesterday I took my new shoes out for a spin. The only issue I have with these is that there isn't a little space in the shoe for my nike plus sensor which I thought was standard these days, so I stuck it under the lining instead. Not a full time solution but it worked. 

Spot the Nike+ Sensor

After 9 miles in the evening light yesterday I was very very happy and my funny little aches and pains have gone. And they look pretty too.

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Wilmslow Half Marathon Race Report

You know when you're pounding the city streets faced with concrete upon concrete, and you dream of running through the countryside with gay abandon, surrounded by fields and basking in the spring sunshine? Well enter Wilmslow Half marathon and you get to do exactly this!

My main goal for Sunday was to run happy, without putting too much pressure on myself. I had a small but mighty team supporting me en route and I wanted to really enjoy the race, not hate every second trying to get a good time. That said, in true contrast one of my New Year's Runolutions was to run a half marathon under my PB of 1.45.54 and I had Wilmslow in my sights to do that there. Hmmmm a running conundrum. So can you ever run happy AND fast? 

Well yes, after completing the run in 1:39:45 with a big (but knackered) smile on my face, it turns out you bloody well can!

Miles of smiles

So on to the race itself, it was brilliant! The sun was shining which definitely helped but the whole organisation was great. Before hand, the rugby club acted as race HQ with lots of club runners milling about, meeting up and generally chit chatting and getting excited. Tea, coffee, bacon sandwiches and pre/post race massages were all on offer as well as a bag drop and LOADS of loos. Bonus points for that, Organisers. It was a great and friendly atmosphere which continued throughout the whole race. The route was also the only race I've run which is lined with little collections of cheerful balloons and the 10.30 start also means you're not awake at horrendous o'clock to get your pre-race porridge in. 

The route itself is really pretty with an out and back loop, which runs through the country roads through fields and back towards Wilmslow. At times all you could hear were the birds and the metronome tap tap tapping of runners feet. Due to the rural course, the route isn't packed with supporters, but there were little pockets full of people cheering, my favourite being the 15 or so kids at 6.5 miles cheering every single runner by name and offering plenty of high 5's! Thankfully I missed the escaped horses which apparently had to be wrangled back into their farm by marshalls, nothing like the fear of trampling to make you speed up a bit.

Like almost every race now, the Wilmslow Half claims to be a very flat course - and I would agree, although that's not to say there aren't any inclines - there definitely are. And what might be a small descent at 1-2 miles felt like quite a hard climb at 12! It was here that Jamie and Chantal had chosen to cheer, but I had no idea. Seeing them at the top of this little hill was a blessing and a curse! They'd definitely chosen one of the toughest spots but it was great to see them near the end and it gave me a huge boost when I really needed it.  

Supporter selfie

I found the first half really enjoyable - it was the first race I really kept an eye on my pace at each mile. At about mile 5 I noticed I was in synch with a fellow runner and we pretty much paced each other to about 11 miles and I enjoyed it (we had a little chat at the finish line and thanked each other for the help in pacing. I bloody love running sometimes!) I was tired by this point and I knew that I could afford to slow down slightly here and still get a good time. I also hadn't learnt from my London Marathon spring clothing dilemma, and once again overdressed for a warm day. Running at that pace was a challenge for me especially in the last three miles. I knew I was on for under 1.45 but when I saw the finish line and saw that I might, just might, make it under 1.40 too I sprinted as fast as I could, and made it over the line at 1.39.45!

All in all, this is a pretty flat, well organised race with a great community feel and a lovely route. I'm looking forward to it again next year.

PBs and Pints

Happy Running vs Fast Running - Crandon Runs Friday Photo #25

A round up of Crandon Runs in one weekly photo

I have been loving running recently. I have come to terms with the fact that I'm not running a marathon this year and without the pressure of marathon training, running feels bounce-around-the-roads-gleefully-not-thinking-just-running-freedom again! Hurrah!

That said, I've still been logging some double digit runs in preparation for the races I've got looming on the horizon. First up is the Wilmslow Half Marathon this weekend.

Wilmslow Half marathon race number

I am really excited to be running this, mostly because of the pub lunch and beer I've got planned with some of my favourites post race. But also because I feel like I've not run a race in ages and I am more than ready to get back out there and get me some more running medals. One of my resolutions was to beat my PB and run under 1.45. That said, I also want to really enjoy the race and continue with this 'no pressure' running. I realise how contradictory this is, but such is the mind of a self competitive runner. 

So, my number one goal on Sunday is to run happy, number two goal is to get under 1.45. Either way, the beers, roast and friends will still be waiting for me at the end. Fingers crossed I'll manage to achieve both goals and run happy AND fast. That's the dream.

I'll keep you posted.

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