bike ride with my son: Janathon day 24

Today my daughter is playing in a football tournament in Ware and her dad has taken her. We only have one car and unfortunately my son has a karate workshop in Arlesey too. So he and I cycled to karate in the cold.

It's 3 miles to Arlesey on flat roads, so nothing too taxing. My son complained from about a mile in that his legs were hurting him. I've never seen someone put so little effort into an activity, I spent the next 2 miles telling him to hurry up and to at least look like he was trying. We should've set off 15 minutes earlier in hindsight but I figured 30 minutes would be long enough!

After dropping him off I continued for another 5 miles or so to Letchworth at twice the speed and up some hills. I would've gone further but I was on my husband's bike and the gears were slipping.

Slow cycling: day 26 of Janathon

Last week of Janathon! I don't plan to shirk my exercise responsibilities either, I'm quite proud I've not blogged about doing lunges in the Tesco queue or considered my walk to school and plankaday as my Janathon exercise. 

Today was on course to be another evening of hula hooping, until I walked downstairs in the morning and realised my knee was a bit hurty. I was thinking "Pilates" but then the weather cleared up, so I decided "bike ride". Nice and easy, no actual effort put in at all (heart rate stayed under 140bpm which proves I didn't try hard). Just 4.5 miles in 29 minutes but my knee feels much better now so it obviously worked :-)

Cycling and swimming goals: Janathon day 18

I've not just set myself running goals for 2014, I've also decided to challenge myself by setting cycling and swimming goals too. After I had to stop running for a month last year because of injury, I took up swimming and cycling, and eventually took part in my first multi-sport event (the Duck N Dash aquathlon). I want to continue cycling and swimming because they complement running well.

So this year I want to cycle 100 miles and swim 5 miles. Both targets are fairly low, but are based on last year's totals of 84 miles cycled and 2.5 miles swum. I don't want to put myself off with an unachievable goal! if I can beat last year's totals I will be happy. Also, they need to be achievable considering I run mostly and don't like cycling or swimming very much!

Today, I cycled 6.3 miles, nothing too strenuous, but I wanted to get my bike out and just see how I got on. I didn't work too hard, just enough to get round and home in about 30 minutes (I was slightly over that at 35 minutes, but I had to wait for about 3 minutes for a long wheelbase transit to make a 7-point turn manoeuvre on a country lane. Despite getting chilled while waiting, it was quite entertaining.

2013 review

Coming to the end of 2013, I've looked back at every month to remind myself what I did and give myself some ideas about challenges for 2014.

January 2013

I took part in Janathon for the first time, a running challenge to exercise every day in January and blog about it. It was quite snowy in January, but I managed to exercise daily and I ran more than 100 miles in total.

February 2013

I ran Baldock Beast Half Marathon at the end of February. I trained hard and was hoping for a PB, but in the end my hips and knees weren't up to the pace and I had to slow down after 10 miles because I was in a lot of pain. I took some consolation from the fact I'd been quite badly injured at the end of 2012 and the race was the first proper test of my physio rehab. Plus I ran 1:51, which was a course record for me :)

March 2013

The week after Baldock Beast, I was up in Blackpool to race in the Stanley Park 10K (with my parents-in-law). I was hoping for a PB, but didn't count on how fatigued I'd be after the half the week before. I nearly passed out after 3K. Needless to say, I didn't PB, but I did run sub 50 minutes, which I was fairly happy with (although I discovered afterwards that the course was short-measured...).

April 2013

A poor month from a running point of view; I was unwell for a large part of it with a chest and sinus infection. A lesson learnt: don't train when you're unwell, it just makes everything worse.

May 2013

At the beginning of the month I raced in the Greenway Challenge, an off-road self-navigated half marathon around Letchworth. I'd been hoping for a PB after my disappointment at Baldock Beast, but my illness in April meant I was only just recovered in time. The weather was really hot, and in the end I decided to run to enjoy myself, and finished in a PW of 2 hours. More lessons learnt.
The day before, I'd run in a local 5K with my children, my son (age 7) finished in 38 minutes and my daughter (age 5) in just over 40 minutes. I'd had to carry her for about a mile, but still, that's pretty good for a 5-year-old!

June 2013

I took part in Juneathon, the warmer version of Janathon. I didn't have such high expectations this time round, no aims to run daily anyway, but I failed with 2 days to go when I injured my shin during an interval session at running club. What a noob.

July 2013

I ran 12 miles during the whole of July. My random leg injury (and lack of funds to pay for physio) meant I had to increase the cross-training and take up cycling and swimming. I quite enjoyed the cycling if I'm honest, although not enough to take it up seriously. Swimming was OK; it's never going to be something I look forward to, but I can do it to an adequate level. I signed up to an aquathlon (Freedom Tri's Duck N Dash, 400 m swim and 6 k run) and began to train for it at Letchworth Outdoor Pool with some friends.

August 2013

I finally got back to running, but I only managed about two runs a week because of the summer holidays. I took part in a training day with Freedom Tri for the Duck N Dash, which made me realise how rubbish I am at swimming! But it was valuable training experience.

September 2013

I took part in my first aquathlon, the Duck N Dash, and enjoyed it so much I might do it again in 2014, mainly so I can improve on my woeful transition time (about 2 minutes). Later in the month I ran the inaugural Baldock 10K, which was a training run for Standalone 10K. It was such a tough hilly route that I was completely put off ever running that route again! Which is a shame because the 10K was one lap of the Ashwell Half Marathon that I quite fancied doing. But a lesson learnt is a lesson learnt.

October 2013

This month began with Standalone 10K. Yet another PB attempt foiled by circumstances conspiring against me (a family event the day before meant I was tired and not fuelled properly). Nevertheless, I ran just over 50 minutes and learnt not to give up even when I think all is lost. A good lesson. (I discovered later that Standalone was my fastest 10K race in 2013.)
I decided to push on and put in some serious training for Stevenage Half Marathon the next month. Lots of focus on heart rate training and proper interval sessions. I ran over 100 miles in the month.
I also passed the 1-year anniversary of running my first marathon, which coincided with me signing up to run my second marathon (MK) in May 2014!

November 2013

I finally achieved a PB for the year, running an amazing 1:45 at Stevenage Half Marathon. My training plan paid off, which proved to me that having a plan and sticking to it is really important. I began to plan my training for MK Marathon, with my aim to reach 14 miles in training by the end of the year and continue with quality interval training. I also ran another 100 mile month.

December 2013

I ran in the festive First Saturday 5k wearing my Santa hat, and put in a lot of miles to round off the year with another 100 mile month, and 900 for the year.

Plans and challenges for next year:

January 2014

I'm aiming to complete Janathon again, and I've signed up to Jantastic, which is a longer term challenge (January to March). For January, my Jantastic challenge is to run 4 times a week. I'm also racing in the Folksworth 15, which is a new race event for me, and NHRR's First Saturday 5k.

February 2014

I'm taking part in Baldock Beast again, but as part of a long run for marathon training (17 miles). Perhaps a course record won't be on the cards this year, but it will be good to run the race for enjoyment. Another First Saturday 5K is planned too, with my aim to beat January's time. My February Jantastic challenge is to set a weekly long run target, which with marathon training will be fairly straightforward!

March 2014

Lots of long runs on the cards this month, but I hope to race NHRR First Saturday 5K and beat February's time. March's Jantastic challenge is to set a flat-out time target over a specific distance. Since the 4-week period for this challenge is after the First Saturday 5k, I'll have to either run the route on my own or do my first ParkRun. 

April 2014

This is marathon taper month (for my last marathon I "tapered" for 2 months due to injury!). I'll be focusing on shortish runs (<10 miles) that incorporate speedwork, and staying healthy. 

May 2014

I'm running MK marathon on May 5th, my main challenge for the year! I'm hoping to run near 4 hours. Afterwards, I plan to recover with short runs, easy bike rides, and swimming (when Letchworth Outdoor Pool opens).

June 2014

I hope to have recovered from MK Marathon so I can take part in the Herts Hobble, and I might do Juneathon again, with half an idea to train for a late summer half marathon (there is a rumour of another half marathon around Baldock in the summer).

July and August 2014

Summer holidays! I have no plans other than to run (maintain half marathon fitness), cycle, and swim when I can, and not be injured! If I decide to do the Duck N Dash again then I'll be training for that event, and in August I'll start to think about Stevenage Half Marathon and Standalone 10K training.

September 2014

Duck N Dash possibly, maybe Baldock 10K if the weather is good beforehand. And training for Standalone 10K.

October 2014

Running club's focus event, Standalone 10K, is at the beginning of October. And I'll be training for Stevenage Half Marathon.

November 2014

Never let it be said that I'm a creature of habit, but I'll be racing Stevenage Half Marathon.

December 2014

No plans to do anything except the First Saturday 5k and maintain my fitness.

Baldock 10K: will the hills ever end?

Today I ran in the inaugural Baldock 10K, starting at Newnham, to Bygrave, Ashwell, then back to Newnham. I cycled to the race start with my friend Tracey, since it was only a couple of miles away and we thought it would be a good warm up. We didn't count on our woeful cycling/gear changing and I forgot there were hills. So legs were a bit tired when we arrived!

The race HQ was located in an industrial estate, with the baggage store in a farmer's grain store (complete with combine harvester) and toilets in Reclamation Russell's office (if you see any mirrors, send them to Russell). There was BBQ (supplied by Chapman's butcher) at the start, and I had my eye on a bacon roll for when I'd finished the race.

The start was quite a walk from the HQ, up a farm track. Organisation was a bit hit-and-miss with the timing, the "timing man" couldn't get his van to the start line to put down the mat, so he had to carry all his equipment through the runners. (I did offer to help him but no-one else seemed bothered.) He just slapped the mat down randomly and we were almost ready to go. As usual, we (me, Tracey, and Ralph) were at the front, Dave Lawson has a lot to answer for.

I had a slight idea of the route from a pre-race report published on the organiser's website. I wasn't quite prepared for the muddy conditions though. The first mile was across a farmer's field. It started gravelly with some puddles, it soon turned into thick mud. My shoes were caked, and I was carrying extra weight on my feet. Made the first few km very hard.

Once we hit the road at Bygrave the mud started to fly off my shoes, although we were then hit with a hill for a mile. My legs were starting to protest! I picked up a young lad who seemed to be running a good pace and we ran together for the next few miles, chatting to each other every so often about our hoped-for finish times (about 50 minutes).

When we entered Ashwell we had more hazards to think about: the narrow pavements (couldn't run on the road because of parked cars), stone steps, bushes, and startled old ladies (my personal favourite). There was a nasty hill out of Ashwell, I had to push hard at this point (I'd lost my young man *sniff*). One of the runners behind told me at the finish that he'd been focusing on my back (you know he really meant arse) hoping to catch me up but I was "too strong". Hurrah!

A lovely flat stretch for the final mile was improved 100% by spotting Jane and her young support crew cheering us on. I could also see the smoke from the BBQ so I knew I was close. Unfortunately, a glance at my watch showed me I'd be very lucky to break 50 minutes, even if I ran a 7 minute mile. So I didn't. I resigned myself to 50-something and cruised home. Was lovely to see Ralph and Tracey with their medals!

My official time was 51:45, which I'm pleased with considering I had planned to run this as a training run for Standalone 10K, and in view of all those hills. (As I ran up the first hill, I vowed never to run a race around Baldock again, so please remind me next year when I'm considering Baldock Beast again.) Details of the run are below.


We obviously had to cycle home again, but first we stuck around for the presentation, because Tracey came third lady! Well done Tracey :)

The cycle home was hilarious. We couldn't get going up the hills, and Ralph (who ran home) was way ahead of us! He probably could've beat us home but, as a gentleman, he escorted us through the fields through Radwell back to Stotfold. So. Much. Mud. And tree roots. And just a lot of shrieking. Tracey and I have vowed never to do a triathlon.

Summer holiday training

My last training post was written in the middle of July, at the beginning of the school summer holidays, and this one is written at the end of August, when they are almost over. I find training in the summer holidays quite tricky. My children are home with me, so I can't run in the morning anymore (unless I get up at silly o'clock!), and my evening routine goes out of the window when we are away on our camping trips.

I've managed to continue to attend my weekly Pilates class, which has been a great help with healing my leg injury. I also continued to attend circuits, cycle, and swim whenever I could.

I restarted running in August with a training day for the Duck N Dash organised by Freedom Tri. We had an hour of swim training at 7:30 am, then we ran the First Saturday of the Month 5K around Norton Common. It was a good opportunity to see how it feels to do a dual event. I found the swimming really difficult, but the running went well, possibly because I didn't strictly race the event, I took the first mile "easy" and then began to speed up towards the end (26:27).

Because I've been away a lot over the summer, when I do get chance to run I've been trying to make it count. I've maintained my long run distance by running at least 10K once a week. On the other run day (I usually only managed two runs a week) I was focusing on speedwork, either hill sprints or intervals. It's been good to attempt speedwork on my own because I usually leave run club to organise my fast runs! On my last run (5.5 miles) I concentrated on maintaining a faster pace than usual (I aimed at 9 min/mile vs settling into a 10.5 min/mile plod). I also aimed to run fast up all the hills. It was a good run, despite the faster pace I felt comfortable (and wondered to myself why I'd never pushed myself before this day!). It's definitely given me some confidence that I've not lost too much fitness and I can get back something from this year (aim is still to achieve 10K and half PBs).

This week I'm taking charge of run club. My plans aren't too complicated because I'm not very confident on my own! Tuesday will be about negative splits, taking the beginners to Arlesey and back to see if they can make the return journey faster, and intermediates will be attempting to run a progressive 5 miles. Thursday will be speedwork for the beginners at the Norton Rd underpass, and intermediates will be running 4-6 miles depending on who comes (we might race the distances).

I don't really want to risk injury on Thursday, because Sunday is the Duck N Dash. I can't believe it's less than a week away. I need to concentrate on my diet this week, I need to lose some weight but I also need to keep my energy levels up. I'll be blogging about my diet on soggous.blogspot.co.uk.

Thanks for reading!

Not running, cycling

2 days before the end of Juneathon and I had to give in. SOMETHING (no idea what) has happened to my shin and it hurts to run on it. I don't want to injure myself unnecessarily. I have no races coming up until September so I've curtailed the running for the next few weeks.

Time to up the cross training (ie, anything other than running). Swimming will start again next week (still need to buy a new suit), but for this week I've dusted off my bike and bought a helmet. Let's go ride a bike.

I'm a nervous cyclist. I don't like cars behind me or passing me (I'm too polite and don't like to inconvenience people). I'm also prone to falling off. Plus, for the past 5 years I've had a small child attached to my rear. Doesn't make for confident cycling.

So, for my first ride, I stuck to quiet lanes near my house (no small child attached, the seat has gone forever). Of course, everyone decided to be out driving their car on Thursday, so after 10 minutes I was quite used to people passing me. I'd also got used to being on my bike again, solo, and getting faster with every minute. Instead of just going home after 4 miles I decided to push myself until I was tired. 10 miles, averaging 12 mph. I was very happy with that!

On Saturday I went out for a slower ride but a bit further distance. I decided to go off-road and cover the full Greenway around Letchworth (13+ miles). I've run it in 1 hour 46 minutes. I cycled it in 1 hour 22 minutes. Average 10 mph (14 miles total). Mo Farah could've run faster. In my defence, I was hindered by road crossings and kissing gates. Those things are tricky.

Today I had a very slow 3.5 mile bike ride with the family. Ice creams and the park were our reward. Well done us.