Running in the Scottish Highlands

With marathon training in full swing, my trainers were one of the first things I packed for a few days away in the Scottish highlands this weekend (second to wine obviously).

Staying in a pretty remote, middle of nowhere cottage I was at a bit of a loss as to where to run on my first morning, but a chance encounter with the owners of our little hideaway meant they gave me some directions away from a boring old B road and on to a little hidden trail route straight from my front door. Lovely.

After a hilly mile or so, breathing in clean beautiful fresh air and admiring the view, my off road running attempt was somewhat thwarted by a flock of inquisitive sheep blocking my path. I know, I know I'm such a city girl. But there were loads of them, with demon eyes all starting at me....ahem... I continued my run back towards the road and still had a great time enjoying running somewhere new.

Determined not to be defeated by some livestock, a couple of days later I attempted my run again into the trails. And I was so pleased I did. I was rewarded with the most beautiful scenery; snow capped mountains, babbling brooks and nothing to hear but the sound of my breathe, the 'thud thud thud' of my feet and a whole lot of pheasants. It was breathtaking and not just because of the steep hills. Undeterred by a sign on a fence warning of 'shooting in progress' - clearly I'm more scared of sheep than being shot - I continued until I got to a river and could go no more.

I loved exploring somewhere new, running in the stillness of the countryside and having so much to look at. It was a stark contrast to running around grimy Manchester, if only all marathon training runs could be like this.

New season: Looking ahead

Since the Triathlon, I've been feeling a bit of a mix of emotions when it comes to training. Part of me has been relishing the freedom of doing whatever work out I feel like, whenever I like! Running as usual, has been featuring a lot but I've found myself longing for a bit of yoga and so have often sacked off a run or cycle in favour of a good old stretch amid the rooftops of Manchester, (with cariad yoga, my new favourite class) or some hot yoga. And only doing a little bit of swimming and cycling as and when I feel like it. Bad triathlete.

Rooftop yoga

But alongside this feeling of freedom, I've felt a little bit lost with no big goal race in sight. With no marathon on the cards this year, the triathlon was something totally new and different to work towards. So what now?

But with the beginning of September, along with the whiff of new pencil cases, comes the feeling of possibilities, and my mind has been turning to Spring marathons. I've been thinking a lot about which marathon to run come April: Paris, Manchester or London (Ballot permitting)?

I also seem to have forgotten in all the excitement of Summer, that I do in fact have a pretty exciting and challenging race coming up - the Equinox 24 hour relay. Our team of eight, made up mostly from the Manchester YMCA Harriers, will run as many 10k laps as we can from midday Saturday to midday Sunday at the end of the month. Eek! It's not far away and in a bid to get used to running on already tired legs, yesterday I tried my first double run day: a few morning miles followed by my first Tuesday Track session with the club, and a lot of cycle commuting in between for good measure.

It made me feel tired. But it also felt OK! I'll try and do a few more double day sessions in the next two weeks to hopefully help me get ready for the big day.

I'm excited about the unknown, but mostly looking forward to a whole weekend, camping, running and having fun with the club. Can't wait!

Tuesday Track

London Triathlon Race Report: No longer curious...

...I am an official TRIATHLETE!

Triathlon DONE

16 weeks ago we were all total novices to the sport of triathlon and strangers to each other, but yesterday we spent the day cheering each other on, laughing, crying, ringing cowbells, shouting like lunatics and navigating our way together through the London Triathlon. Then we celebrated our successes with beer, medals and cake whilst cheering on the last of the runners. It was ace!

What a day. Arriving at the Excel was nerve wracking and complete bedlam. I had so many questions. Could I re-enter transition after I've racked my bike and before I got my wet-suit? Why were people milling about in transition when the race was on? What on earth do I eat for lunch??! I had never been so glad to get rid of my bike and leave it in transition before heading to meet the team who were in my wave. Finally meeting, relaxing in the sun together and cheering on our team members as they began their races was brilliant and totally calmed all my nerves. Then the first official Team Tricurious athlete arrived and we oohed and ahhed over her medal in awe. I was having so much fun I actually kept forgetting that we had to go and race, but soon enough the time had come. Off I went to transition, donned my wetsuit and out I went.

Nothing can prepare you for the swim start, you just have to experience it. My big plans of waiting 10 seconds after everyone had started and keep to the back and side didn't really pan out. I suddenly found myself somewhere in the middle of the pack and then the klaxon sounded and it was too late to move anywhere but forward. The amount of people and limbs around and indeed kicking you is mental and not a pleasant experience. With all the excitement and all those swimmers in such close proximity I could not get my breathing right in front crawl so I did breaststroke until I found more of an opening and got into my rhythm. I did as much front crawl as I could but it was pointless as there was no room. Thankfully towards the half way point, the pack thinned out and I was able to get going. I just wish my breathing had been under control but I felt too wound up in all the excitement. And then suddenly the end was near and after answering 'Yes thanks' to the nice marshal who asked if I was OK as I got out the water, I undid my wetsuit, and off I went. Off my wet suit came (thankfully I'd remembered Katie's tip of letting water in towards the end of my swim) and into transition I ran, past Jamie and my cheering supporters which gave me a massive boost. Phew swim done! Next!

T1

Wow transition is long isn't it? Does this count as part of our run? I padded over to my area and seemed to go on autopilot. Helmet on. Socks on. Shoes on. Take a gel. Un-rack bike. 5 mins or so and suddenly I'm cycling. The bike course was longer than I expected. Every time I thought I'd reached the turning point it just kept going. Two laps of sheer concrete was not the most inspiring route but having my boyfriend and friends on course was brilliant and the lapped route meant I passed them a few times. You can see from the huge grin on my face how happy I was to hear and see them. I must admit I did a little tear at this point.  

I also caught up with Chrissy during the ride and after confirming we had definitely done two laps, we rode in together with my cheer squad cheering her in too.

London Triathlon - Swim, bike, run

The second transition was so much faster that I had to double check I didn't have my helmet on or anything. Nope, bike racked and I was good to go.

I'd been warned about the wobbly post cycle running legs, and I'd done a fair few brick sessions in training to try and get used to it. But I hadn't. My word they were like jelly running through treacle. Oof it was hard. The two lap course again helped mentally and although the running route was narrow with many twists and turns I actually quite enjoyed it. Although it was HARD. As a runner, I thought this would be my easiest section, but not after the swim and cycle. Running on tired legs in the beating hot sun is hard work. Still, passing the finishing line whilst heading out on to my second lap really gave me a boost. 'Just 2.5k and I'll be an actual triathlete' I thought. I'd opted to leave my running watch at home so had no idea what speed I was going but I knew it was slower than my normal 5k pace. But that was OK. As I always think in races, as long as I put in all the effort I can in that time on that day that's good enough. I did my very best and kept going. The looped course also meant that I could keep my eyes peeled for other Team Tricurious people on the other side of the route, and this kept my mind of it when the going got tough. Two showers on the running route meant we ran through little rainbows and the cool water felt amazing in the heat. Then suddenly I was heading up a steep ramp, turning back into the Excel and heading for a very short, but very determined sprint towards the finish line. Yey! I did it. Triathlon DONE.

I felt sick, happy and really quite emotional. I couldn't believe it was all over. Even though I found each section tough, I loved it. The swim was hard, the cycle was OK and the run was all over the place, but as I kept reminding myself, a challenge isn't there to be an easy ride. I had decided to not worry about times and just enjoy the experience but I expected the whole thing would take me about 2 hours, so I was over the moon when I got my time of 1.40.10 and looking at the results this is mostly down to my run and a swim PB! Not so slow after all!

Excitement on finding the finish line, beer and my cheer squad

But times do not matter. Without a doubt, the best part of the whole day and whole experience was sharing it with Team Tricurious, and having Jamie and my very loud and brilliant cheer squad supporting me at each and every stage (and acting as official Crandon race photographers!) I felt very emotional, and so much gratitude to them and everyone who sent me good luck messages on the day - thanks for all the support.

Having people to share your training woes, ask silly newbie questions, and cheer and support each other during training as well as the actual race was just brilliant. Rounding it off with the whole Tricurious gang in a little post race party, and cheering on other triathletes was the icing on the very tasty triathlon cake.

Team Tricurious

If numbers are your thing here are how mine add up:

Swim 18:36

T1 5.19

Bike 48.40

T2 2.14

Run 25.22

Total 01:40:10

Position 146 lady

33rd in my age category

The long run - Friday Photo #38

A round up of Crandon Runs in one weekly photo

Triathlon training is all go this week. All my spare time currently consists of swimming, biking and running, and sometimes, like twice this week, all three in one day. Which is great! But the extra sports for me seems to mean shorter runs and I've found I'm missing my long run fun. Running makes me do this...

Disco run!

...and not only when there is a giant glitter ball around (although obviously it helps). When my brother in law suggested we run to and from parkrun last weekend whilst he and my sister were visiting I was so happy. A 9 mile run! With long working hours and tri training I haven't been able to get above 6 miles for weeks.

So off we went. I remembered how much I like longer distances, and so did what anyone would do while training for a triathlon: signed up for my next half marathon in a couple of weeks. That should get me back into double digits where I belong whilst also attempting to become a triathlete.

Do you prefer short runs or are you more of a longer distance runner?

GUEST POST: Gauntlet Games race review

One of my sisters once claimed she 'didn't do running' then this year she requested some running tights for her birthday and text me to say she'd run 5 miles. *proud face* 

Last weekend she took part in the Gauntlet Games and is here to give us the lowdown. Over to Vici...

*Guest post alert*  

I feel it's only fair to warn you, I am a guest poster. If you are an avid runner and reader of Crandon Runs, who looks forward to the helpful running tips, you might want to stop reading. I have none. Except choose good pants. 

My running experience looks like this:

That being said, I have recently started going for the occasional run (by this I mean mostly fast walking) and I quite like plodding along to my tunes. 

So when my friend Becci mentioned the Kidney Wales Foundation Gauntlet Games, I was quite enthusiastic. Only 5k? Fighting gladiators on the way? Why not? I could do that! 

On a slightly wet Saturday morning in early June, myself, Becci and 20 other friends arrived at the Coedarhydyglyn (sorry if you're not Welsh and can only guess how you would say a word with so few vowels!) estate in St Nicholas. We parked in a field where the grass was way up to my knees, and went in search of the enrollment desk to collect our race packs. 

We were given our lovely blue kidney Wales t shirts at this point, and we just waited around for a bit on the side of a mountain waiting for our warm up to start. 

Alicia and Danni Mac pre-race relaxing 

There are two races on the day: the 5k Gladiator Gauntlet and the 10k which consists of a 5k trail run before the Gladiator zone. The 10k runners went off first then we were called in to warm up ready to start.  

Now we were told the estate contained 'breathtaking views, rolling hills and extensive woodland,' but the hills! My poor old legs! I can honestly say I never thought whilst doing the course 'oh what a lovely view,' instead my mind was mostly preoccupied by 'oh another hill,' along with 'oh no - more mud' and 'why does the mud I am crawling in smell of animal waste?' At one point I actually said aloud... 'Oh good. A zombie.' So not your average race thoughts I should imagine.

All this being said though, it was quite good fun and the gladiators were on hand to battle you at a number of obstacles: a tyre wall, elastic web, very deep bogs, a balance beam, a giant ball pit, foam pit (tastes disgusting - close your mouth) and a massive wedgie-inducing slip and slide to name a few.  

Josie realises her underwear may have disappeared

Toni executes a non-wedgie slip and slide run

The gladiators were mostly encouraging and helpful, and you were able to skip any obstacles you didn't want to do. They were not particularly fierce thankfully, the worst were the children  who were bored spectating and were asked to help attack the runners at the bottom of the very last hill. They were, quite frankly, viscous! 

Then we all got a lovely medal to commemorate the worst experience of our lives. How kind! (This is a joke, I have had MANY worse experiences!)  

There were a couple of things body wise that I was not prepared for though like the pain in my back. Apparently running uphill is not good for your lower lumber so the fact that I was in quite a bit of pain there worried me (I was blaming impact of jumping on the slip and slide so eagerly!)  

Stretching out my painful back

I also found that running on the side of a mountain (I am stopping with the hill pretence) hurts your ankles as they are always at an angle.

The other things that didn't massively impress me were the lack of water stations. We were told in the info pack that we would have lots of them throughout but there was only one at what they informed me was the three quarters mark and then at the end when we collected out medals.  

The set up was very basic, I was expecting dirt and mud but you also run through mud and clay, get squirted with paint, travel down a slip and slide and just keep going into more mud and grass and more foam. There is no where to shower or even wash after that. We were warned of this, but the volume of dirt that came home on my body was surprising. I ended up throwing my trainers away as I couldn't bear having them inside my washing machine.

Jess and Morgan in the final stages

The changing facilities were two igloo tents labelled men and women and some portaloos, and the race registration was a marquee, but the volunteers there had it under control. Key lockers were what appeared to be big water buckets where your labelled key sat and waited for you. Luckily we had spectators who were weighed down by all our crap, and they got to meet Welsh Rugby legend who came along to show his support.  

Our supporters meeting Jamie Roberts

The signposts on the course were unclear and consisted of some red and white plastic on a stick. This was confusing and sometimes hard to sport. I met a group of people that had accidentally ended up on the 10k course and more than one of our group went in the wrong direction at one point.

And then the final hill. No, not in the race. To get to the start, you had to walk down a fairly large incline and up another one. To get back to the car, you had to walk UP that same hill. Honestly, I thought I wasn't going to make it. My legs were like lead and jelly combined (strange, but trust me go with it.)  

Things I found about running; 

I don't like running with people - I'm not sharing my '99 with anyone! But also not in an exercise environment.  

There's this opinion among my friends and family that I can be quite a difficult person (in reality I am a constant delight). I don't like small talk for the sake of it and I'm not a fan of people shouting encouraging things at me to 'help' me out. I just like to huff and puff as much as I need to, walk when I feel like it and run when I want to. I'm solo running from now on, but should mention that I still very much like everyone that took part in this with me.  

Some of the crew at the finish

Was it fun? Absolutely, looking back it was quite enjoyable. Would I do it again? No. I am not the right person but if you're the Tough Mudder type and loves getting a mud wrap while doing some exercise then this is for you! The people from our team who actually enjoyed it were Toni (army personnel) Tuesday (actual name) and Lucy who are quite strange to put it nicely. I will stick to fairly flat roads and trails from this point!  

Tuesday, Lucy and Toni really enjoyed themselves

But we did this run for another reason. Becci's partner had a very scary and miserable time early this year due to his kidneys. It was very severe, but luckily they did an amazing job and she wanted to give something back to the people that helped during this time. Extra kudos to her for completing the whole course with a fractured rib!  

Becci pounding home

It's a challenge, it's hard going, but it is for a wonderful cause and its something a bit harder and different than the average 5k race for charity.

DO IT! I'll be there next year laughing at all the contenders as they try to run after the slip and slide with the majority of their underwear in their arse crack!