After having a good nights sleep and a lie in until 10.30am I woke up this morning feeling extremely chesty! When I was on the plane coming home from New York I was surrounded by people coughing and spluttering so I expected to catch some lurgy! The joys of travelling!
Anyhow, when I first set off I sounded like I had a 40 a day habit and I wasn't really feeling the love! However, I pushed on and after the first mile my chest cleared slightly and I no longer felt like I had a heard of elephants sitting on me!
For the 31st October it was amazingly warm and although I only had cropped tights and a T Shirt on I was feeling incredibly hot - unless that was more to do with me feeling under the weather rather than the actual weather!
I pushed on and actually really enjoyed my run doing 4.51 miles at an average 9.03 minute mile pace! You can view my route here.
A perfect way to get rid of that jet-lagged feeling!
Well I am back from my few days away in New York and feel absolutely shattered!
We had a fab time and I even managed to squeeze in a run round Central Park!
It wasn't very good planning as when I decided to go I had just had a huge Burger for lunch washed down with a beer but hey-ho I seized the moment and survived! I ran whilst my husband cycled alongside me!
It was an amazing experience with a lane on the road marked out especially for runners, and what a lot of runners there was too! We had to stick to this main cycle/run route as bikes weren't allowed on the paths, but we did actually do a walk as well to see the rest of the park!
Towards the end of the run we went through the part of the park that will be the finish for the New York Marathon on Sunday.
They had all the finishers posts and everything up so I actually felt like I was in it!
It made me feel very jealous and I wished that I was actually was doing it.
Anyhow I managed 5.36 miles and really enjoyed it! You can view my run here!
Now just the small matter of recovering from the jet lag before I go back to work on Monday!
Hopefully I will feel a little more human tomorrow and actually get out for a run!
I didn't expect to have time to go for a run this morning but the clocks changing worked in my favour! I was awake earlier than expected, so the jobs I had to do got done which enabled me to lace up my trainers and hit the road!
The only problem was my head was more than willing but my legs weren't keen at all!
I think after the parkrun and lake swim yesterday they were keen to have a day of rest!
However, I pushed on and managed 4.20 miles at a 9.15 minute mile pace!
Now its time for me to leave for my travels!
Trainers are packed - I AM going run in Central Park! Watch this space!
To celebrate the start of Half-Term, instead of having a lie in I went to Fell Foot Parkrun! It's been quite a while since I did a Parkrun and I really don't know why as once I am there I really enjoy it!
Well actually that's a lie I do know why I don't go more often ... It starts 9am on a Saturday morning ... and Friday night is always Wine O'Clock!
Anyhow, this morning I set my alarm had some porridge and was out the house by 8.15am, despite having more than enough wine last night as well as the torrential rain pelting down making me wish I was still in bed!
I stayed in the car keeping dry until the last minute then at 8.55am I made a quick dash to the start line, although it was 5 minutes late starting so I could have stayed dry longer!
I had decided to test out my new Inov-8 trail running shoes, which was a wise decision with the ground being so wet and muddy underfoot!
I haven't done much serious training recently so wasn't running with a time in mind, I just wanted to enjoy the experience. It was wet, cold and windy so enjoying the experience was a tricky one, however I DID! By the time we were running the second lap it was extremely muddy and slippy and I was worried about landing on my bum but I somehow managed to stay upright!
I was delighted with my result as I finished in 26 minutes 36 seconds, not far off my 26:14 PB! I was 13th female and 4th in my age category so very pleased with myself!
Straight after finishing I trudged back to the car and stripped off my soggy clothes to put some dry ones on! Hopefully no one could see through the steamed up car windows at what I was actually doing!
I then set off to meet my friend David to have a swim in Lake Windermere. Thankfully by the time I got to where we swim from the rain had stopped, although it was still cold and windy!
Another quick change into my wet suit followed before bravely going into the lake! The rain had made the lake much colder than it had been on Tuesday evening when I swam! It was also fairly choppy so we didn't swim far, altogether we managed just over half a mile.
Whilst swimming back to the jetty I got the fright of my life! I was in my own little world then when I breathed to the right I came face to face with a big black thing! I very nearly drowned on the spot until I realised it wasn't Bownessie but a Black Lab wanting to play! The owners were highly amused by my reaction - I was less amused!
So this morning I have run 3 miles along Lake Windermere and then swam half a mile in Lake Windermere!
Feeling good about myself now!
Time to pack!
View my run here!
View my swim here!
I have so much going on in my life at the moment I am really struggling to keep on top of everything!
So what have I been doing in the last 10 days?
Well I have only managed to fit 3 runs in and 3 swims in Lake Windermere!
I am very proud that I am still swimming in the lake and despite the dark and the cold I am not freaking out!
I went last night and it was exceptionally dark and I was feeling slightly scared and apprehensive but my swimming friend said "Remember there's nothing down there that isn't there in the light!".
This didn't really help much as it only reminded me that there WAS stuff down there!
It really is becoming a case of mental strength and determination!
Surprisingly its the dark rather than the cold that is proving to be the most testing!
My "Women on The Run" running club is making me proud, or should I say my ladies are making me exceptionally proud!
In the 4 weeks we have been running they have come on in leaps and bounds and have made progress beyond my wildest expectations! I think they are all amazed too and are all exceptionally keen each week and are religiously doing the homework I set them! They have gone from barely being able to run for a minute and walk for a minute to running for 7 minutes and walking for 1 minute continuously for an hour! The first week we managed 2.48 miles in the hour and this week we did 4.06 miles!
It just goes to show that with a little bit of hard work and determination things happen!
On Saturday I did a 3.69 miles road run! Due to work pressures this was my first run in 5 days so I was well and truly ready to run off my pent up stress! I was amazed when I stopped my Garmin to see I had run an average 8.40 minute miles! This is the fastest run I have done since my injury!
On Sunday I did a 4.7 mile trail run up Scout Scar and found myself in the middle of an orienteering race! I had the urge to move a flag or 2 to add to the excitement but I resisted! There was people running round a usually fairly deserted fell like stupid people! It was a very odd experience!
Tonight I found myself back up Scout Scar and Cunswick Scar and did a 5.56 mile run. However, today I didn't see a soul! I started my run at around 4.30pm and it was dry and light but by the time I had got to the top it was drizzly and foggy!
I was slightly concerned about being up there alone in the fog so didn't really enjoy my run ... unless that was just because I was absolutely exhausted after a busy day at work!
Only 2 more days to survive at work before I have a week off for Half Term!
I'm not just excited about having a week off work but I am very very excited about going to New York!
I went out on Friday night and had a fabulous time, but just a tad too much to drink!
I woke up on Saturday morning with the good intentions of hitting the trails and going for a run!
My head totally disagreed!
I am usually up for a good old run to to run out the toxins in my body but I decided that my body needed a little longer to recover!
However, by Saturday afternoon I decided that getting a little fresh air in the form of a walk might be a good idea.
We headed off to Bowness on Windermere and had a lovely slow 5 mile walk and were rewarded with fabulous views of the lake as well as a sighting of the world’s last flying Vulcan bomber!
It was an amazing sight and extremely low! After getting over the excitement of seeing this we went on to see a view that shows exactly where I swim on a Thursday night!
We swim from the jetty marked in the left of the picture then around that tiny little island that doesn't seem as tiny whilst swimming around it and back again! It is approximately 1.25 miles.
Today I woke up determined to get a run in but my body was still saying "No you abused me and now I'm not playing!"
However, I was having none of it! I put on my trainers and headed out to Scout Scar! After the first mile or so my body decided it would play ball after all and I really enjoyed it despite it being hard work! The wind blew the cobwebs away and I returned feeling 100% better! I amazingly did 7.1 miles! My parting words were "I won't be long I will only manage a couple of miles!". Luckily my Garmin has a tracking device on it so my husband could locate me and know I was still alive!
Tonight I had a fabulous swim in Lake Windermere with my swimming friend David.
I was feeling chilly even before I left the house so I wasn't much looking forward to plunging into the icy waters of the lake!
However, by the time I got there I felt a little better (probably due to the fact I had the car heater blasting away for 20 minutes!).
I had attached my new adventure light to my goggles and was using it tonight for the first time! It was a bit of a trauma attaching it to my goggles but apparently being a woman I made hard work of it and there was a simple way to do it! I now know for the future!
When I first got in the cold water was a bit of a shock to the system but once I got swimming I soon warmed up!
It started to get dark fairly quickly but it was a perfectly calm and clear night so the mountains silhouetted in the distance looked beautiful. We even stopped and just bobbed around in the middle of the lake at the half way point to marvel in our surroundings! There wasn't a boat or any other swimmers anywhere in sight, just the occasional car lights travelling past on the other side of the lake!
It was probably my most relaxing and enjoyable swim ever!
My light worked well, in so much as David could spot me and I could spot his in the dark which means any boats would also spot us!
I had white hands and feet from the cold when I got out but who cares when you get to swim in such an amazing place!
We did a shorter swim than usual but that was due to the fact we were awestruck in the middle of the lake so spent time not swimming and it was dark!
We did 0.71 mile. You can view my swim here!
Tonight I needed to run ... desperately!
After an extremely busy day at work followed by an extremely stressful meeting afterwards I needed to get some release even though I felt absolutely exhausted!
I didn't even think about sitting down, I just got changed into my running gear and was out the door before I could reach for the bottle of wine to drown my sorrows!
I was so het up it felt good to be out, free to run and to clear the negative thoughts from my mind!
I managed just under 6 miles and felt a whole lot better for it!
Ready to fight another day!
After last week's madness of swimming in Lake Windermere without a wetsuit tonight I donned it again!
The lake didn't feel too cold this evening and I can't decide whether its after braving it last week in just my Tri suit it made it feel warmer tonight just by wearing a wetsuit or whether with it being a nice day the lake had warmed up!
Whatever the reason it felt a fairly pleasant temperature, the only issue was the dark!
By the time we were returning to the shore it was dark! Thankfully I wasn't the lead swimmer as I couldn't work out where the jetty was and just followed the swimmer in front! As well as our usual tow floats we also wore glow sticks so we could be seen and see each other!
We didn't do our usual mile tonight, we managed just 0.65 mile - mainly due to the dark!
Not sure if I will get used to night swimming, felt slightly strange and unnerving!
I'm going again on Thursday evening so I will give it another chance!
Tonight I did my second Women On The Run Club run and we had 16 runners turn up!
They were all very keen and put in a lot of effort. We did 2.5 miles doing a run/walk session, with 3 minutes running followed by 1 minute walking.
It won't be long before they will be running Marathons!
Feeling immensely proud of them all!
Here's hoping that the enthusiasm lasts!
Yesterday I did my first race since my calf injury!
The Coniston 15K Lakeland Trails run!
I knew I wasn't 100% ready for it but I hadn't truly appreciated just how unfit I currently am!
My aim was just to enjoy the race and finish it - no goals in mind!
I did the latter and finished it but I can't say I enjoyed it!
I think this was probably the hardest 15K I have ever run in my life! Despite the glorious views and Autumn sunshine I hated every second!
I really must start to look at race elevations before booking them willy nilly and happily turning up oblivious to the pain ahead!
I struggled from the outset and never got into my pace! The hills were humongous - I don't think anybody, however fit there are, could possibility keep running up to the top!
I certainly had to do a lot of walking!
More walking than I have ever done whilst I'm supposed to be running! The main problem I had was trying to persuade my body that it was time to run again once the steep bits were over!
Not an enjoyable experience and not a race I would rush to do again!
Surprisingly my body seems to have forgiven me and I am fairly ache free today, just feeling extremely tired and old!
I now have 4 weeks to get race ready for my next race - Helvellyn Lakeland Trail, thankfully I had the sense to book the 10K!
Today, I have had a number of friends running in the Chester Marathon and Metric Marathon! I have been tracking their progress and hearing their motivational stories which has got me inspired to perhaps run it again next year, despite saying never again!
On Friday I got rejected yet again from the London Marathon and I must admit I didn't feel too distressed about it but now I have the urge to do it all again!
Chester was my first marathon and has been my favourite so if London is not meant to be, it might as well be Chester ... or New York!
Watch this space!
What a week! Everything that could go wrong has gone wrong!
I haven't even been able to "run-off" my frustrations as I have been taking it easy this week as I have a 15K trail race tomorrow!
The only exercise I have done is a recce of the run route I will be doing on Monday with my Ladies in my new running club called Women on the run!
This consisted of 3 minutes run and 1 minute walk intervals repeated 10 times and I covered 3.43 miles. However, I think I possibly ran too fast and I will be interested to see what my ladies do on Monday!
So tomorrow I have my first race since my calf injury and my first race for several months!
Its a Trail Run starting at Coniston, other than that I don't know much else about the route!
I do know that it will be hard as it's a trail race and I am not at my fittest but I am hoping just to finish it and to enjoy the views!
On a positive note the weather forecast is looking good - lots of sun and no rain - at the moment!!!
I am going to be wearing my "Women On The Run" vest for the first time during a race - might as well advertise whenever I can!
Although if I collapse unconscious it won't be a very good advert!
The best thing about tomorrows race is it doesn't start until 1pm so no silly early get-up which means I have risked a sneaky Gin and Tonic this evening to help relax my stressed nerves!
