10 September 2015
I turned up at the track again today to learn that I was finally getting my easy session full of drills! Woo hoo! Also, since I didn't know that til I turned up, it meant that I escaped sprint sets this week - double woo hoo!!
Drills were so much FUN! I loved them, even though it turns out I have the grace and mobility of a baby elephant and the spatial awareness of a dyspraxic rhino. I'm really hoping that this was just unfamiliarity with the drills because otherwise I'm really in some trouble ...
It's almost impossible to describe the drills we were doing but basically they involved a lot of leaning forward from the ankles, a lot of shuffling my feet, a lot of picking up my heels and a lot of me being told I was doing it wrong! I've got loads to work on, so I'll be the one looking like an idiot down at the track for the next couple of weeks, trying to use my hamstrings to pick up my heels a bit more (in the correct plane. Jeez.).
Once I'd done the drills it was over to a few 100m sprints, trying to use the techniques from the drills. I love 100m sprints! Which sort of raises the question of why I don't just do 100m sprints, rather than running 150-odd kilometres, but let's not worry about my mental state for now and focus on the fact that this morning's sprints were super fun! There was sooooooooo much going on in my head, trying to apply all these techniques, that I didn't really notice the pain of sprinting ... but then again it could've been 'cause I wasn't going that fast at about 17 seconds / 100m.
The best thing about today was the WEATHER! Oh man, if only it could be like this for the ACC I would be so happy! It's the most gorgeous day we've had in ages, with a perfect blue sky and gorgeous sun beating down. I love days like today!
Thursday, 10 September 2015
Wednesday, 9 September 2015
28. The One Where I Ran Fast Downhill
9 September 2015
So I went out last night to a lecture on "Are You Addicted To Your Phone" (I think I can safely say a massive YES) at the fabulous House of St Barnabas (a fantastic social enterprise and private member's club in Soho), which I've been a member of pretty much since it opened. I was lucky enough to be invited for supper after the lecture as well which was great! It was a lovely night - a little too good, because I forgot to keep an eye on the time and didn't get home until past midnight! It was definitely worth it, but when my alarm went off at 05:20 after only about four hours sleep, I was a less than impressed ...
I dragged myself out of bed though and back to Battersea ... and back to the hills. After chatting with my buddy on Friday who'd done parts of the South West Coast Path (in particular, the last part), I've also been exchanging emails with another friend-of-a-friend whose partner has done the ACC three times. Both their advice has been to walk up the hills and run down them and run on the flat, because otherwise you simply burn too many matches and run the risk of not completing the event. Since they're both uber-experienced and have actually done the path, I'm definitely going with their advice! Therefore, today I really wanted to focus on my downhill running. I noticed at the weekend that sometimes when the hills were really steep, not only did I have to slow almost to a walk, but also my knees were really sore by the end of the hill.
My favorite resource for all questions about running is Kinetic Revolution. James Dunne, who runs it, is fabulously knowledgeable about all things related to running (and triathlon as well, which is how I came to know about it). By coincidence, just a couple of weeks ago he posted a video on how to run downhill pain free, so I checked it out and of course it was brilliant, just like all his other videos.
As I think I mentioned, I've been doing my reps in about 45 seconds (so I get about another 45 seconds rest). I used James's techniques today though and made sure that my knees were flexed, I was relaxed, I was using my arms for balance, and (most importantly I think for me) I wasn't leaning back and ... I took about four seconds off per rep! I'm pretty sure that this was not on the uphill, because it felt hard today (four hours sleep anyone ...?!), so that leaves just the downhills as there are no flats on the circuit. Better yet, my knees didn't protest about it once, which is brilliant news! I'm so pleased because I was a bit worried that if I'm going to be walking UP all these hills, I don't want to be walking down them as well or I'll never do any running at all and I'll probably still be doing the challenge next April (there's a risk of that anyway, let's be honest). I'm feeling good again about this although definitely I was not prepared to make today's discovery that I am T MINUS THREE WEEKS AND TWO DAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Aaaaaaaaaaaaagh!!
I dragged myself out of bed though and back to Battersea ... and back to the hills. After chatting with my buddy on Friday who'd done parts of the South West Coast Path (in particular, the last part), I've also been exchanging emails with another friend-of-a-friend whose partner has done the ACC three times. Both their advice has been to walk up the hills and run down them and run on the flat, because otherwise you simply burn too many matches and run the risk of not completing the event. Since they're both uber-experienced and have actually done the path, I'm definitely going with their advice! Therefore, today I really wanted to focus on my downhill running. I noticed at the weekend that sometimes when the hills were really steep, not only did I have to slow almost to a walk, but also my knees were really sore by the end of the hill.
My favorite resource for all questions about running is Kinetic Revolution. James Dunne, who runs it, is fabulously knowledgeable about all things related to running (and triathlon as well, which is how I came to know about it). By coincidence, just a couple of weeks ago he posted a video on how to run downhill pain free, so I checked it out and of course it was brilliant, just like all his other videos.
As I think I mentioned, I've been doing my reps in about 45 seconds (so I get about another 45 seconds rest). I used James's techniques today though and made sure that my knees were flexed, I was relaxed, I was using my arms for balance, and (most importantly I think for me) I wasn't leaning back and ... I took about four seconds off per rep! I'm pretty sure that this was not on the uphill, because it felt hard today (four hours sleep anyone ...?!), so that leaves just the downhills as there are no flats on the circuit. Better yet, my knees didn't protest about it once, which is brilliant news! I'm so pleased because I was a bit worried that if I'm going to be walking UP all these hills, I don't want to be walking down them as well or I'll never do any running at all and I'll probably still be doing the challenge next April (there's a risk of that anyway, let's be honest). I'm feeling good again about this although definitely I was not prepared to make today's discovery that I am T MINUS THREE WEEKS AND TWO DAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Aaaaaaaaaaaaagh!!
Monday, 7 September 2015
27. The One Where I Have No Idea What My Heartrate Was
7 September 2015
So today didn't go so well! The run itself was fine, but my Garmin is having some serious difficulties in picking up my heart rate. I think I'll have to get another chest strap and pray that it is the cheststrap and not the actual Garmin because I cannot afford to spend another single penny on sports right now!
I was doing another sub-130 45 minute run, but I'm genuinely not sure what I actually did. I channelled what it felt like a few weeks ago, and I think my heartrate was under 130 the whole time, but I had no way of checking. Even the heart rate monitor on the treadmill was broken! So basically, either I'm dead (possible, but I think being dead would be more peaceful than this) or technology was not my friend today.
At least I tried, which is all I can really say about this! I felt okay after yesterday's hilly run which was good news too. So not all bad!
So today didn't go so well! The run itself was fine, but my Garmin is having some serious difficulties in picking up my heart rate. I think I'll have to get another chest strap and pray that it is the cheststrap and not the actual Garmin because I cannot afford to spend another single penny on sports right now!
I was doing another sub-130 45 minute run, but I'm genuinely not sure what I actually did. I channelled what it felt like a few weeks ago, and I think my heartrate was under 130 the whole time, but I had no way of checking. Even the heart rate monitor on the treadmill was broken! So basically, either I'm dead (possible, but I think being dead would be more peaceful than this) or technology was not my friend today.
At least I tried, which is all I can really say about this! I felt okay after yesterday's hilly run which was good news too. So not all bad!
26. The One Where I Chased Brian for 24KM
6 September 2015
So the one thing about ultra training ... it's kinda lonely. There are very few people who feel like getting up and running long runs with you - of all my friends, about half are sporty, but none is into ultra apart from one, and he's so much better than I am that it isn't really possible to train with him at all. In addition, training plays havoc with your social life, because a hangover is 100% incompatible with getting up early and running, and post-run all you can think about is a bath, food, and mindless TV.
So imagine how happy I was to meet a running bud on the train to Eastbourne this weekend! Brian came up to me and asked if I knew how to get start of the South Downs from the station, because he'd never been there before. He was visiting from the US, was training for a marathon, and wanted a long run that had good views to make his buddies jealous! He had about 15 or 16 miles to do, which was perfect because I had about 25km to do, so we decided to buddy up and see how it went. Actually - it went perfectly! We didn't run together exactly, more kept in contact and met up across the course, because he was faster than me overall but I was much better trained on the hills, since he comes from Charlotte NC which he told me is pretty flat. It was so nice to see his red shirt bobbing ahead of me now and again though, or to have him come up behind me. It was also nice to have someone to talk about all this crazy stuff with - he is planning on doing 52 marathons over the next little while (one in every state, plus an extra bonus marathon in his home state), so we had a lot to chat about which was nice. We did get a few funny looks on the train though ...!
For the run itself, I was back down on the South Downs, but I wanted to do Eastbourne to the Seven Sisters and back again. I was planning on doing about 25km and I got close at 24.3. It was hard though - I'd forgotten how high Beachy Head is! The last time I did a similar run was the very first one that I ever did and I was so much faster this time though! I was so happy about that because sometimes with this training I only seem to get slower, so it was a nice boost to think that at least I've managed to get a bit faster! I basically did 20km in about the same time as I did 17km the first time, which was a fabulous lift. Hurrah!
I'm glad I have the South Downs, because I went to a party on Friday night (and drank a bottle of wine, which is why I didn't train on Saturday ... oops! I was bored of having no social life!). Anyway, at this party I was speaking to a buddy who'd just done the same part of the South West Coast Path which I have to do on the third day. She is a massively experienced ultra runner and endurance athlete (think running 84 miles over Hadrian's Wall, swimming the Channel, cycling to Istanbul ...) and she said it was super super hard! EEEEK! She said it was the terrain that made it so difficult, so I'm pleased that the South Downs should at least give me some experience of what it's like, although I can't get it to be as hard as the actual terrain will be. But at least I'm trying!
The South Downs are also so absolutely stunning that they do take your mind off the run, so I'm also hoping that that will be the same on the actual ACC. I've heard amazing things about the Cornish Coast, so fingers crossed!!!!
So the one thing about ultra training ... it's kinda lonely. There are very few people who feel like getting up and running long runs with you - of all my friends, about half are sporty, but none is into ultra apart from one, and he's so much better than I am that it isn't really possible to train with him at all. In addition, training plays havoc with your social life, because a hangover is 100% incompatible with getting up early and running, and post-run all you can think about is a bath, food, and mindless TV.
So imagine how happy I was to meet a running bud on the train to Eastbourne this weekend! Brian came up to me and asked if I knew how to get start of the South Downs from the station, because he'd never been there before. He was visiting from the US, was training for a marathon, and wanted a long run that had good views to make his buddies jealous! He had about 15 or 16 miles to do, which was perfect because I had about 25km to do, so we decided to buddy up and see how it went. Actually - it went perfectly! We didn't run together exactly, more kept in contact and met up across the course, because he was faster than me overall but I was much better trained on the hills, since he comes from Charlotte NC which he told me is pretty flat. It was so nice to see his red shirt bobbing ahead of me now and again though, or to have him come up behind me. It was also nice to have someone to talk about all this crazy stuff with - he is planning on doing 52 marathons over the next little while (one in every state, plus an extra bonus marathon in his home state), so we had a lot to chat about which was nice. We did get a few funny looks on the train though ...!
For the run itself, I was back down on the South Downs, but I wanted to do Eastbourne to the Seven Sisters and back again. I was planning on doing about 25km and I got close at 24.3. It was hard though - I'd forgotten how high Beachy Head is! The last time I did a similar run was the very first one that I ever did and I was so much faster this time though! I was so happy about that because sometimes with this training I only seem to get slower, so it was a nice boost to think that at least I've managed to get a bit faster! I basically did 20km in about the same time as I did 17km the first time, which was a fabulous lift. Hurrah! I'm glad I have the South Downs, because I went to a party on Friday night (and drank a bottle of wine, which is why I didn't train on Saturday ... oops! I was bored of having no social life!). Anyway, at this party I was speaking to a buddy who'd just done the same part of the South West Coast Path which I have to do on the third day. She is a massively experienced ultra runner and endurance athlete (think running 84 miles over Hadrian's Wall, swimming the Channel, cycling to Istanbul ...) and she said it was super super hard! EEEEK! She said it was the terrain that made it so difficult, so I'm pleased that the South Downs should at least give me some experience of what it's like, although I can't get it to be as hard as the actual terrain will be. But at least I'm trying!
The South Downs are also so absolutely stunning that they do take your mind off the run, so I'm also hoping that that will be the same on the actual ACC. I've heard amazing things about the Cornish Coast, so fingers crossed!!!!Friday, 4 September 2015
25. The One Where I Ran Slowly On A Track
4 September 2015
So I turned up to the track this morning, expecting some lovely technique work and a bit of a rest frankly ... to be told I'd be doing a 5km time trial on the track! Say what now?! The look of horror on my face must've been a right old treat ...
I've never actually done 5K on a track before and it wasn't really fun! It's 12 and a half laps of the track, and that half is extremely annoying because you really feel like you should get to be finished after 12 laps. I ran oddly slowly - my Garmin kept telling me that I was doing 5:03km pace which wasn't good, but wasn't awful considering that 5K is not my distance right now, but in total I only managed 25:52 . SAY WHAT NOW?! I think I paced it too well, in that I should have gone faster and not worried about holding back! I definitely didn't push it like I could have pushed it, probably because I was taken by surprise. Basically, it was all a bit untidy and I might have to do it all over again just to prove that I'm not THAT slow now.
After that, however, we did manage to get to the more fun technique stuff. Have you ever run with your hands clamped together and pointing out straight in front of you like a Charlie's Angel? It's a lot harder than you think it is! The idea is to keep your upper body in control so that you're not wasting energy in bobbing from side to side. Turns out I waste a lot of energy bobbing from side to side ... I was just about getting better at it by the end but only after I worked out that you've got to engage your obliques to make it work. I think I can safely say that I have never engaged my obliques while I've been running, so that is definitely something to work on. Drills were super fun, so I'm looking forward to doing more in the next few weeks.
So I turned up to the track this morning, expecting some lovely technique work and a bit of a rest frankly ... to be told I'd be doing a 5km time trial on the track! Say what now?! The look of horror on my face must've been a right old treat ...
I've never actually done 5K on a track before and it wasn't really fun! It's 12 and a half laps of the track, and that half is extremely annoying because you really feel like you should get to be finished after 12 laps. I ran oddly slowly - my Garmin kept telling me that I was doing 5:03km pace which wasn't good, but wasn't awful considering that 5K is not my distance right now, but in total I only managed 25:52 . SAY WHAT NOW?! I think I paced it too well, in that I should have gone faster and not worried about holding back! I definitely didn't push it like I could have pushed it, probably because I was taken by surprise. Basically, it was all a bit untidy and I might have to do it all over again just to prove that I'm not THAT slow now.
After that, however, we did manage to get to the more fun technique stuff. Have you ever run with your hands clamped together and pointing out straight in front of you like a Charlie's Angel? It's a lot harder than you think it is! The idea is to keep your upper body in control so that you're not wasting energy in bobbing from side to side. Turns out I waste a lot of energy bobbing from side to side ... I was just about getting better at it by the end but only after I worked out that you've got to engage your obliques to make it work. I think I can safely say that I have never engaged my obliques while I've been running, so that is definitely something to work on. Drills were super fun, so I'm looking forward to doing more in the next few weeks.
Thursday, 3 September 2015
24. The One Where My Heartrate Behaved Beautifully
3 September 2015
Normally I'd do sprints on a Thursday, but a few things conspired against me today, mostly:
Therefore, I decided that it would be sensible to do a sub-130 work-out, which I normally do on Friday. Therefore, I toiled off to the gym and climbed onto the treadmill. I like this work-out because it's really easy, so it's not like I have the pre-work-out slump, but I do find it kinda boring! Today's TV choice was the BBC's new Tommy and Tuppence series - but it's a load of bollocks!! It's nothing like the books at all, and they've made the new characters into idiots! So even that didn't engage me too much.
So that was the bad news .. but the GOOD news was that my heart rate was soooooooo well behaved! I managed to do the full 45 minutes sub-130 which is fantastic as it's the first time I've been able to do that (I think - my Garmin ceased working last week so a little hard to tell, but I think I did go over 130 near the start of the session last week). I was so pleased, especially because this is an inclusion in my schedule which I've always been really skeptical about. I was persuaded to do it by one of the coaches at my Greek tri camp (the lovely and amazing Mary Twitchett) who swore blind that it really would do me good, even if I felt like it was too easy to be doing anything at all. Since Mary is one of the most successful athletes I know (across all sports, in disciplines as diverse as duathlon and rowing), I could hardly just dismiss her advice and I'm so pleased I listened for once.
I'm off to bed early tonight after not getting any sleep last night (the effects of the two lunches) so hopefully I'll be all ready for my Battersea session tomorrow. It's always a slightly scary session because I can never predict it, so fingers crossed!
** I am actually super-greedy so I would happily eat two lunches for no reason any day, but on this occasion I had a 12:00 - 16:00 meeting, so, not wishing to waste away in the middle of it, I ate before I went. When we arrived, we were told that a table had been booked for lunch - A.MAZ.ING!
Normally I'd do sprints on a Thursday, but a few things conspired against me today, mostly:
- I ate two lunches yesterday so I haven't been feeling that great since**;
- I'm all out of sync with the bank holiday we had on Monday; and
- I woke up to find that I had an unexpected Battersea coached session tomorrow, and I learned a few weeks ago that sprints before Battersea is a no-go.
Therefore, I decided that it would be sensible to do a sub-130 work-out, which I normally do on Friday. Therefore, I toiled off to the gym and climbed onto the treadmill. I like this work-out because it's really easy, so it's not like I have the pre-work-out slump, but I do find it kinda boring! Today's TV choice was the BBC's new Tommy and Tuppence series - but it's a load of bollocks!! It's nothing like the books at all, and they've made the new characters into idiots! So even that didn't engage me too much.
So that was the bad news .. but the GOOD news was that my heart rate was soooooooo well behaved! I managed to do the full 45 minutes sub-130 which is fantastic as it's the first time I've been able to do that (I think - my Garmin ceased working last week so a little hard to tell, but I think I did go over 130 near the start of the session last week). I was so pleased, especially because this is an inclusion in my schedule which I've always been really skeptical about. I was persuaded to do it by one of the coaches at my Greek tri camp (the lovely and amazing Mary Twitchett) who swore blind that it really would do me good, even if I felt like it was too easy to be doing anything at all. Since Mary is one of the most successful athletes I know (across all sports, in disciplines as diverse as duathlon and rowing), I could hardly just dismiss her advice and I'm so pleased I listened for once.
I'm off to bed early tonight after not getting any sleep last night (the effects of the two lunches) so hopefully I'll be all ready for my Battersea session tomorrow. It's always a slightly scary session because I can never predict it, so fingers crossed!
** I am actually super-greedy so I would happily eat two lunches for no reason any day, but on this occasion I had a 12:00 - 16:00 meeting, so, not wishing to waste away in the middle of it, I ate before I went. When we arrived, we were told that a table had been booked for lunch - A.MAZ.ING!
23. The One Where It Was Suddenly Winter
2 September 2015
I woke up this morning, threw on my shorts and running vest, and headed straight out the door ... only to gasp in horror and run back for a warm jumper! It was FREEZING! It's been raining and miserable for a few days, but today the sun was out and it looked deceptively lovely ... hmmph.
Once I'd put my horrible old (warm) fleece and jacket on, I headed back out to Battersea Park to do some more hill repeats. I was doing the same set as last week (every 90 seconds, I ran up the hill and down the hill, with whatever remained of my 90 seconds as a rest). I intended to repeat this as three sets of ten reps with a three minute rest between sets.
In fact, though, I felt really good after the first ten reps and I decided not to bother with the extra rest but to go straight through with the first twenty sets. I got a bit tired towards the end of the first set but my times were still staying about the same (it was just harder!). I decided to take the extra three minutes break between the second and third sets, but to be honest, it didn't really make any difference. I think there is sufficient rest between reps anyway (about 45 seconds on my times) that actually the additional couple of minutes doesn't really make much difference to how you feel overall. Next week I'm going to try and do four sets all up, but I'll take the rest to try and pace it.
Apart from being ccccccold (and also wet, the ground was soaking), Battersea was as beautiful as ever this morning. You can't really tell but the sunlight was sending shafts of light through the trees - they were gorgeous! It definitely makes getting up and running a lot easier when the sun is up. It's only got to be cooperative for another month or so until the challenge, so crossed fingers it can hold out that long!
I woke up this morning, threw on my shorts and running vest, and headed straight out the door ... only to gasp in horror and run back for a warm jumper! It was FREEZING! It's been raining and miserable for a few days, but today the sun was out and it looked deceptively lovely ... hmmph.
Once I'd put my horrible old (warm) fleece and jacket on, I headed back out to Battersea Park to do some more hill repeats. I was doing the same set as last week (every 90 seconds, I ran up the hill and down the hill, with whatever remained of my 90 seconds as a rest). I intended to repeat this as three sets of ten reps with a three minute rest between sets.
In fact, though, I felt really good after the first ten reps and I decided not to bother with the extra rest but to go straight through with the first twenty sets. I got a bit tired towards the end of the first set but my times were still staying about the same (it was just harder!). I decided to take the extra three minutes break between the second and third sets, but to be honest, it didn't really make any difference. I think there is sufficient rest between reps anyway (about 45 seconds on my times) that actually the additional couple of minutes doesn't really make much difference to how you feel overall. Next week I'm going to try and do four sets all up, but I'll take the rest to try and pace it.
Apart from being ccccccold (and also wet, the ground was soaking), Battersea was as beautiful as ever this morning. You can't really tell but the sunlight was sending shafts of light through the trees - they were gorgeous! It definitely makes getting up and running a lot easier when the sun is up. It's only got to be cooperative for another month or so until the challenge, so crossed fingers it can hold out that long!
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