Forest Runner, Sherwood Forest 10k

I'm working towards a half marathon at Carsington Water on 2nd December.  As part of my training I've entered a couple of races.  I say 'race' but I'm not racing with anyone. I have my own agenda and a time that I would like to achieve. 

So on the 1st October I ran the Forest Runner, Sherwood Forest 10k, my first proper timed 10k. I completed it in 1:20:40 which is a little slower than I wanted but I ran the whole way (ie no walking) which I'm claiming as a win. The race is on forest paths and rough tracks, which I enjoy, but it is much harder to run on those surfaces than it is on the road. You have to pick you feet up and watch where you are running! There are also quite a few hills which are always challenging.

We started the race in fine weather but by the end it was raining so I finished in an unattractive hot wet mess!  The compere tried to engage me in conversation but I had no energy to stop and chat! I had to go and sit down for a moment as I get a little wheezy at the end of a run when I've pushed myself. Then I headed to the cafe for a well earned cup of tea and something to eat. While sat in the cafe, my Garmin watch gave me a high heart rate alert (twice) but I don't think I need to worry, it was because my heart rate hadn't yet returned down to normal levels.

My next event is the Rasselbock Roliston Rumble on the 17th November. It is a looped course and I plan to do 4 loops which is approx. 17km or 10.7 miles. I hope to complete this in around 2.5 hours.

Withdrawn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

Staying on the path

At the moment I'm struggling to keep up with the training which is a shame as I was progressing well.

The first hiccup was the car breaking down whilst on holiday - after trying to get it repaired at short notice we had to make the difficult decision to scrap it and buy another.  Sorting all this out took quite a bit of time and I was without a vehicle for a few days - so I couldn't get to the Parkrun. To be honest I was quite tired and it was very hot and humid, so I missed a few other training sessions. On the way home from the holiday we decided to visit some friends and relatives who were on-route, so missed another Parkrun and a training session.  

When I got home, I had a few nights in my own bed then I've had to move in with the mother-in-law for a few weeks while she recovers from a hip replacement operation. Then 2 weeks later my sister in law is having a hip replacement and will also need support. This may mean that my husband and I will have to be in two different places which isn't ideal.

Despite the car issues, I had a fantastic holiday - after all problems and inconveniences are part of life and can't be avoided.  .....and looking on the bright side, at least it's not me having the hip replacement!

#hipreplacement #Parkrun #scrapcar #holidays #that'slife

Walking

I'm taking a two break from training while I'm on holiday. It's not a relaxing beach holiday though, I'm walking a section of the South West Coast Path.

I naively thought this would be good training as I'll be walking every day on steep rugged paths with a heavy rucksack. Despite working very hard in the heat with poor sleep due to camping most nights, my Garmin says that my training load has been low but my fitness is holding steady. I now realise that walking isn't good training for a run. 

#SWCP #training #walking #Firelighter #fitness

Firelighter 2022 statistics

In last years Firelighter Race there were 79 entrants (the maximum number of entrants is 150).

17 did not start so only 62 attempted the course.

21 did not finish.

6 timed out with one poor soul completing in 9 hours 6 minutes - they were so close to completing the challenge :-(

3 received a 3 hr penalty presumably they didn't collect the honesty book pages.

Only 32 people finished the challenge within the 9 hour time limit.  Gulp.

The fastest female and also the overall winner finished in 6 hours 23 minutes. Fabulous achievement!

I would be happy to stagger across the finish line with a few seconds to spare but I have a lot of training to do before 1st September and even then its a big ask.

#firelighterrace #anglesey #racestatistics #fastestfemale #honestybook #timedout #didnotfinish

Getting help

I realised I needed some help if I was to complete the Firelighter challenge so I've enlisted the help of a running coach who was recommended to me by my sister in law. First task was to analyse my running and walking style - that's me on the treadmill below. Although I wasn't too bad, I need to work on my arm drive, contralateral hip drop, overstride, posture and eventually leg cycle and heel height. There is a such a lot to learn! I also now have a new 20 week plan that I access through the Training Peaks app which will take me up to the race day on 1st September. The plan involves training 6 days per week and compared to my original plan, has less running and more cross-training, strengthening, mobility exercises, stretching and even some walking. Rachael, my coach at the Running and Movement Hub is also my accountability partner which will really help to keep me focused. I'm only a week into the new programme and I'm already feeling the benefits and enjoying the process more. It's still hard work and time consuming though and the workload will increase as the weeks go by.

"When the student is ready the teacher will appear"

 

#Firelighter #Anglesey #over50 #running #trainingpeaks #runningandmovementhub #challenge 

Goodbye Fitbit, Hello Garmin

I've swapped my trusty Fitbit Versa which I've had for many years for a Garmin Fenix 7S

It was quite a pricey purchase but I think it will be worth it. The body of the watch is a bit thicker than the Fitbit Versa but the face size is about the same but its round where the Fitbit Versa is square. It records so much more than my Versa - as well as Heart Rate, Steps and Sleep Monitoring, it also records Body Battery, Stress, HRV Status and Respiration. It takes a few weeks to build up enough data to give insights and I'm looking forward to seeing what patterns emerge and how that translates into getting fitter.

    

#Garmin #Fenix7S #Smartwatch #heartrate #running #Fitbit #Firelighter2023 #over50 #challenge