Have you got your bright yellow socks yet?

I have :-)

Very stylish don't you think?

Steaming squirrels

I find this photo quite scary...

How to add comments...

Tash mentioned she wanted to add comments to the blogs...to do that just click on the 'comments' link below each post. Depending on the blog, you might be allowed to post anonymously or you might have to create an account in order to comment. I think this blog is set up to allow anonymous comments so why not give it a go?

Training Update - 27 Feb

Training so far this week is going ok. I had a pretty good run on Sunday but my legs were a little tired on Monday and Tuesday. I've had my usual Monday rest day and then ran around 5 miles on Tuesday at the club with Christine. Actually, we set off with Lorraine too but she was clearly feeling very perky and off she ran into the distance! And today was another rest day, so far so good this week...

The plan for the rest of the week is Hitchin Hills on Thursday, a long (18) miles run on Saturday or Sunday and a 8 mile run on Saturday/Sunday (I'm going to be a barrel of laughs this weekend.)

Today's exciting news is that both Gary and I have got places in the New York Marathon. I had forgotten but I've entered the ballot three times in a row which guarantees me an entry, they even e-mailed me to tell me, so organised! At this point we realised that Gary's half marathon time (and almost his marathon time but not quite) mean he can get an entry based on his speedy nature. So we've just spent $221 each (OUCH!) and booked flights and hotels so we're off, yippee! This wasn't really in my plan for the year but it is way too much of a good opportunity to miss and I am now very excited.

By the way, I've really been enjoying reading Lissa and Secret Squirrel's blogs too...it's a pity there aren't a few more of them, c'mon, sign up if you are reading. Lissa seems to suffer from the same guilt complexes at not running as I do (although that is probably the only way in which our running is similar), it's reassuring to know I am not alone...

Training week ending 24 Feb

This week's training:
Monday: have a rest
Tuesday: headache so no running
Wednesday: held up at work :-(
Thursday: circuits (am), 3.5 miles (pm)
Friday: rest
Saturday: 4.5 mile XC
Sunday: at least 15 mile run in Sunny Warrington (my GPS broke but looking at mapmyrun it looks like 15ish miles. It took me 2:40 and I thought I was going pretty well so hopefully it was longer thanm 15!)
Totals:
Training sessions: 3 running, 1 circuits
Total milage: 23

Verdict: not bad (long run went OK) but could do better.

National XC - the hill was so steep even Gary had to walk

Definitely both feet on the floor at the same time in this photo..:-)

National XC - Alton Towers

I love XC, in fact I love XC so much we drove 150 miles on Saturday to take part in the National XC which this year took place at Alton Towers in Staffordshire. Anyone can take part in the National XC but often it just Gary and I who take part for NHRR. I like going as usually various members of my running mad family take part too and as they all live up North it's always nice to see them.
So, on to the race itself. The ladies race was 2 laps of a firm grassland with a huge, enourmous, great big mother of a hill at the far end of the lap. It was pretty steep to say the least, so steep in fact that it was almost impossible to get one foot in front of another with enough speed and forward motion that you were able to keep running. By the time I had crawled over the top (pictured) my heart was almost beating out of my chest and I was wheezing like crazy.
I didn't have my best run but I did ok finishing 498th out of 495 finishers. My sister did well, finishing in the top 200 but I am afraid I was beaten by my mother (by 4 minutes!) but after all she is the Lancashire LV60 XC champion so maybe that isn't too bad!
For the first time ever, I finished before the men's start (there is only 45 minutes difference and our course was meant to be 8k but I very much doubt that). The start of the men's national is really amazing, 1244 men sound like a herd of buffalo when they set off. Gazza did pretty well, finishing in 409th place. He was chuffed to beat my future brother in law by a few places too. My brother finished in 41st place (wow) but was really disappointed by the way he ran. This was helped a little by the fact that Leeds City won the men's race again (this is the third of fourth time recently, they are pretty good!)

Highs and Lows...

On Monday I was really feeling really enthusiastic after a good weekend of running but over the course of this week I have descended lower and lower...

Here was my plan for the week:
Monday: have a rest :-)
Tuesday: circuits (am) and a 5 mile run
Wednesday: run with the gym running club, around 4 miles
Thursday: circuits (am) and 6-7 in the evening
Friday: have a rest :-)
Saturday: National XC (5 miles)
Sunday: 18 mile

However, things have gone a bit wrong...here's the sorry tale...
First of all I did manage to achieve my Monday rest (yay, that was easy) but on Monday I did have a nasty headache, I got home at 7:30pm, we had a committee meeting at 8 and I finally crawled into bed at 10:30...
Tuesday started with a continuation of my sore head which eventually meant I didn't do my evening run (running with a headache, ugh!) or go to my Tuesday circuits class.
Wednesday was a better head day! But this week has been mental at work and I didn't get home until 8pm and ended up working at home until midnight.
Thursday started better, I made it to circuits and actually did some excercise, yay! But with the continuing mental work issues I got a very late meeting request to a meeting I had to attend that goes on until 6:30pm which means I won't make it to the club. The topic of Unicode is also not the most exciting as I am sure you can imagine! I'm going to try really hard to go running when I get home but I know myself too well :-)

I know I am no different to anyone else who has a job and a life but this does just go to show how hard marathon training can be and I am not even putting myself under huge pressure here. (Mind you, it would be easier if I was faster, at least I'd get through my training runs a bit quicker!!!!!) I am constantly trying to come up with creative ways to make time for my runs...the best solution is to add more hours to the day!

My head hurts...

My head hurts...not a good day for running...

There's light at the end of the tunnel...

Thursday's circuit training killed me! I ached all over on Thursday and Friday which caused me to miss my Thursday night training...
However, there may be light at the end of the tunnel after this weekend.

This week's training:
Monday: have a rest :-)
Tuesday: circuits (am) and a 3.5 mile run(pm)
Wednesday: rest
Thursday: circuits (am)
Friday: rest
Saturday: 7 mile (some off road)
Sunday: 14 mile (some off road)

Totals:
Training sessions: 3 running, 2 circuits
Total milage: 24.5

Gary andI went away this weekend to a cottage in Suffolk called The Pump House. The cottage was on the edge of a village with easy access to quiet roads and loads of footpaths. The weather (although cold) was perfect for running and on Saturday we worked out a 7 mile route using the maps in the cottage. It was just so lovely being out in this weather and reminded me of why I love running. The Saturday 7 miler went really well and given that success we decided to do 2 laps of the same run again on Sunday so that we could get the long run in too. also, this meant Gary could lounge in bed for an extra hour and still finish before me (I ish my legs were that long so I could run a bit faster!)

So, all in all this weekend made me feel a bit more encouraged...let's see how I get on this week!

Too many circuits....

For the last year or so Gary and I have been going to Parkwood Gym (to get some muscles) and twice a week on Tuesdays/Thursdays we go to a circuit training class at 7am (ouch). Normally, running in the evening is perfectly possible after morning circuits and I am sure the benefits of varying training and building up strength are very much worth it! However, this morning was a whole different kettle of fish! The instructor is leaving so he decided to give us a final class we weren't going to forget. So I spent the first hour of Valentine's day punching my husband as well as doing all sorts of situps, push ups, lunges, squats, step ups and squats (repeatedly). I am 110% exhausted...

Training update - 13 Feb

Monday: have a rest :-) - objective acheived!
Tuesday: circuits (am) and a 4 ish mile run - objective acheived!
Wednesday: run with the gym running club? - failed, I am going to the cinema to see Cloverfield

Mmm, maybe that is the problem, too easily led by my Orange-Wednesday addicted husband...and at the time of writing I am caught on a fascinating conference call about reusing code messages in widgets..don't ask, I have no idea either!

Goals for training week ending 17 February

Monday: have a rest :-)
Tuesday: circuits (am) and a 4 ish mile run or speed training (pm)
Wednesday: run with the gym running club?
Thursday: circuits 9am) and 6-7 in the evening
Friday: going away for the weekend so I'm going to try and fit my long run in the morning
Saturday or Sunday: 6 mile?

Long run schedule:
Week ending 17 Feb: 14
Week ending 24 Feb: 18
Week ending 2 Mar: 16
Week ending 9 Mar: Grizzly - 20
Week ending 16 Mar: Oakley 20? (not entered yet)
Week ending 23 Mar:16
Week ending 30 Mar: 14
Week ending 6 April: 10

Training week ending 10 February

My weeks end on Sundays :-)

Monday: 0
Tuesday: circuit training (am), 4 miles (pm)
Wednesday: 0
Thursday: circuit training (am), 6.5 miles (pm)
Friday: 0
Saturday: 12 miles in 2 hours 30 (ish)
Sunday: 4.5 mile XC race
Totals:
Training sessions: 4 running, 2 circuits
Total milage: 27 (0.8 miles more than the marathon itself!)

So, how did I feel about this week's training? Well, the frequency of running is improved but I need to work harder I think! Running on Saturday morning was slow, but I only really struggled on the Hertfordshire hills and it was the most uplifting day for running I have experienced in a while!

Verdict: could do better...

Here I am...

So, here I am, blogging about my marathon training...

Objective: London Marathon, Sunday 13 April 2008, according to the London Marathon website it is 1 month, 27 days, 20 hours, 5 minutes and 56 seconds away...hmm, since when was it that close!

Running aim: under 4:30 please, thank you!

Past form: this will be number 11 I think (London 4 times, Paris 3 times, Zurich, Rome and Berlin all once). My PB is 4:11:16 (Paris, 2005) and my PW is 5:28:46 (London, 2007). Most of my times have been around 4 and a half hours .

Anything special about this one: I was a 5 time reject so I felt after all that effort I should take the place and give it another go!

Current form: mmm, that is interesting. I am not ht efittest (and haven'tbeen for over a year now) and also pretty overweight...time for a change me thinks!

Training so far: January ended up being a bit of a write off due to illness, travelling and general business. I ended 2007/started 2008 with:

• Buntingford 10 on 30 December
• 11 mile run and the Herts XC on 5/6 January
• Another 11 mile run and the Ampthill XC on 12/13 January
• A jet lagged Fred Hughes 10 on 20 January
• The Southern XC and a 7 mile run (my legs were tired!) on 26/27 January
• 10 miles on 6 February
• 12 miles and the East Haddon XC on 9/10 February
• Plus various shorter runs in between times, more in February than in January and no more than a couple of additional runs per week and max 6 miles

So, that means I need to get myself sorted and really work on this as there is less than 2 months to go!