Peaking

Tomorrow is race day. I will be participating in the Run Through Carsington Water Half Marathon. I must admit, I am feeling a bit nervous. I have put in the hard work and completed the training, but I can't help but wonder if everything will go smoothly on the day.

The last time I was at Carsington Water, I was there to support my husband during his run. I had signed up for the race as well, but unfortunately, I had to sit it out due to a strained groin that made running painful. Since then, I have learned a great deal and focused on strength training and improving my hip mobility to prevent injuries. I feel more fit and strong now. Running has always been a challenge for me, but I can see definite improvements.

During my training, I have completed runs of 11 and 13 miles at paces of 13:29 and 13:40 per mile, respectively. My goal for the race is to maintain a pace of 13:00 per mile, aiming for a finish time of under 2 hours and 50 minutes. If I am unable to finish within this time, I will not progress to the next stage.

Today, I am resting and have been tapering my training this week. According to my Garmin Fenix 7S, I am at my peak and in optimal race condition.

I have prepared all my gear, packed water and snacks, and taken precautions to prevent blisters by clipping my toenails, taping my toes, and applying 2Toms. The alarm is set for an early start tomorrow. I plan to have a bowl of porridge for breakfast before embarking on the 1 ½ hour drive to the race venue. This will allow me enough time to park, have a snack, go to the loo, get my shoes and running vest on, register for the race, go to the loo again, and warm up before the race begins at 9:30 AM.

#Garmin #CarsingtonWater #runthrough #Peaking #HalfMarathon #Pace

New start

This week I started a new training plan, new shoes, new insoles, new socks and a new strength plan at the gym. I also have a new running vest which I will be trying out soon.

My new goal is the Run Through Carsington Water Half Marathon on Saturday 16th October. 

I've also booked to do the The Malton10k  - "Le Sans Arret" on Sunday 15th September. This race starts at a very civilised 10.45 so no early start required. After the run there is live music, Sunday market, street food and entertainment. There is also a fun run option with food and drink stops along the way!

My new Topo shoes, combined with toe socks and supportive insoles are working well so far. I haven't done any long runs in them yet, but so far so good.

I have lost a bit of running fitness over the last few months while I've been recovering from my injury but I hope to gain that back quickly. I've got some help at the gym with a more targeted approach to my strength days. I previously did the JD classes as my strength workouts plus occasional home workouts provided by my running coach. I now have a new programme which I aim to do twice a week using the gyms strength equipment with a few 1-1's with coach @sophiebtye. I'll mix this up with my running coaches strength sessions and an occasional class.

#injinji #topo #running #newstart #strength #carsingtonwater #runthrough #visitmalton #sophiebtye @jdgymsdoncaster 

Winter Training

I've found Winter training to be pretty challenging at times. I've had to deal with the cold, icy paths, frozen water, wet feet and mud!

I'm currently on holiday in beautiful Cornwall and don't have access to my usual training facilities. So I ended up doing some sprint intervals on the beach and unfortunately got caught in a hail storm. I got a few sideways glances from the few locals who were out walking their dogs! I was only wearing a t-shirt and thin waterproof jacket (as well aa trousers, hat and gloves!) and the hailstones were quite painful due to the strong winds. As I was only going to be out for a short while and I was quite near to the car, I didn't want to wear lots of layers - I'm always hot while running and especially while sprinting!

Despite the bad holiday weather, I managed to complete a few long runs including a 10-mile easy run along the Camel Train from Padstow to Wadebridge and back. The photo shows the Little Petherick Creek Bridge, a former railway bridge which crosses the Camel Estuary just outside Padstow. Although the weather looks beautiful in the photo, it was actually very windy, and I almost lost my beanie hat while crossing the bridge. I wore my rain proof jacket - for the wind rather than the rain, but the top of the jacket flapped in the wind and kept hitting me in the face and the hood acted as a sail! The sound of the wind running through the bridges steelwork was quite eerie.

Despite the obstacles, I'm hoping that my continued training throughout the winter will pay off in the summer.

Next event: Carsington Water Half Marathon, Saturday 20th April 2024

Carsington Water Half Marathon

Saturday 2nd December 2023 Carsington Water Half Marathon:

I completed the half marathon in 03:04:17 chip time. Just over what I was aiming for but taking into account the conditions I am happy with that. It didn’t get above 0 degrees all day. The paths were icy in places so I didn’t want to run across it and risk slipping and injuring myself. I saw one guy slip over and one lady was turning back because she had fallen over. Even the water at the drinks station had ice in it! I started off with a run 3, walk 2 but ended up walking where there was ice and running where I could.

I was 376^th out of 384 runners

109^th Female out of 113 runners

9^th in my age category

                                                                         

I'm sure a lot of people didn’t turn up because it was so cold.  The total number of runners for the 10k and half marathon was 654 - there was supposed to be 1000 attendees so that is a whopping 346 no-shows! 

Despite remembering to tape my toes up this time, I still got a blister on my big toe which was the only one I didn’t tape up - it was caused by the tape on the adjoining toe! 

I was knackered at the end of the run – my legs were tired and my butt muscles were complaining!  I need to work on my strength and stamina.  Lots more work to do…

runthrough.co.uk #runthrough #running #firelighter #halfmarathon #medal
 

Rassebock Rosliston Rumble

Run Report November Rosliston Rumble.

I completed four loops of the course (17.53km) in 2:33:02. I wanted to do it in just under 2:30:00 hrs. The finishers medal was again a lovely piece of work! I don't know what to do with them. I suggest having medals that can be used for something - cup mats, jewellery maybe?

The course was very boggy and slippy in places so I had to walk in places as it really was impossible to run! If the course wasn’t boggy I definitely have done it within the time I wanted. 

Running on mud uses muscles I’m not used to using and it tires my muscles as I was tensing to prevent slipping. In wet weather/boggy courses, my shoes are rubbish.  My feet got a bit wet and I got a couple of blisters (despite using my trusty TwoToms!). My feet and toes aren’t great at the best of times - I usually tape up my toes even when doing long walks. I need to do that in future for anything over a 10k. The run started at 2pm so it was nearly dark when I finished. It was a strange run but I enjoyed it. 

There weren’t many runners there – only 19 entries. 1 person did 8 laps, 5 did 7 laps, 4 did 5 laps, 6 people did 4 laps (my husband and I included), 1 person did 3 laps and 2 DNS.

I was getting tired on the last lap – I was glad I didn’t have to do another but I could have done it if I had to, even if I had to walk most of it! My hips were a bit stiff after sitting, but my muscles didn’t ache much. I did a pre-run warm-up and stretches afterwards at home, it has become second nature to me now.

My next milestone is to do the Carsington Water half marathon on 3rd December in under 3 hours. It is on trails so should be easier under foot but there are some hills - 656ft of elevation – that's not a lot if walking but when running it is added difficulty - Strava give it a Hard grading.

I've settled on a 3:2 run:walk pattern and I should be able to complete the Carsington Water half marathon within my target time of 3 hours based on the time I completed this run but it won’t be easy with the added hills!

I used a Camelbak Mule waist pack to carry water which holds 1.5L but didn’t drink it all. Carrying water I don't need or use is a waste of energy so I need to work out how much water to carry. Drinks were provided at the aid station (as well as lots of goodies) but runners had to provide their own containers. I don't find it easy to suck enough water out of the tube and it kept coming loose from the magnet, so I think I will go back to bottles and find a running vest that fits me better. The waist pack is designed for cyclists but I find having bottles stored next to a reasonably sized chest is uncomfortable! I can't be the only person who has this problem 😕

Running food - I like the individual Soreen malt loaf bars as running food ….and jelly babies, who doesn't like jelly babies!

#Halfmarathon #blisters #Rasselbock #jellybabies #maltloaf #Soreen #TwoToms #Camelbak #CarsingtonWater

Withdrawn

I’ve made the sensible decision to withdraw from the Firelighter Race as I just wasn’t ready for it. Hopefully someone else will be able to take my place in the race.  

I’m still working towards completing the Firelighter, but it might take me a while to get there.

So, I’ve started a new training plan and entered the Carsington Water half marathon in December. Until I can do a half marathon in under 3 hours I won’t progress onto the next stage. This means I’m not putting myself under too much pressure. I will concentrate on increasing the distance and getting faster at my own pace.

Although I won’t be doing the race, I will be at the finish line to cheer along the finishers. 😃👊

       

#Carsington Water  #Firelighter Race  #Anglesey  Half Marathon  #Running  #Training

Hardwick Hobble

Yesterday I ran the Hardwick Hobble at Hardwick Hall in Derbyshire. The event was run by Rasselbock whose mission (taken from their website) is to create fun and interactive events for people of any fitness level and age. They also try to help the environment as much as possible and plant a tree for every person who signs up for an event.

I really enjoyed the day - it was well run, the aid station was well stocked and the marshals were all encouraging and cheery.  The medal for completing the challenge, featuring Bess of Hardwick is truly spectacular.

My only small complaint is that the website said that if I ran 4 laps it would be a half marathon (ie 21. 09km) but when I looked closer, it was in fact longer at 25.12km as each lap was approx. 6.25km. When you are a novice like me an extra 4km is a lot!

My target time to complete was 3hrs 32mins but it actually took me 3hrs 52mins. I did walk quite a bit of the last lap but at least I completed my intended 4 laps.

I was a bit disappointed at first that I didn't finish within the time I wanted, but when I thought about it, I realised that I had done a little bit more assent compared with the Firelighter race (in proportion to total distance) and there were 3 aid station stops due to the course laps whereas there would only have been one during this distance of the Firelighter Race - all those short stops add up.  Also, I had stepped up the distance more than planned. 

So I'll keep on running and trust that I'll get fitter and faster!

#teamrasselbock   #FirelighterRace2023  #anglesey   #hardwickhobble  #UltraMarathon