Gade Valley

Today I went to Hemel Hempstead to run one of the Gade Valley Harriers' runs.  They're a running club who organise training runs ahead of the London Marathon and today's was 17 miles, which fitted perfectly with my schedule.  After an early start on a cold morning the run got underway with a phased start to ease congestion on the canal path.  Soon after starting I got chatting to a couple, Laura and Simon, from St Albans.  Laura ran the Watford half marathon a couple of weeks ago, in a time two minutes faster than mine.  We both wanted today's run to be a training run and not a race against the clock so the three of us ran a steady pace for the next 16 miles.  It was great to have company and chatting certainly made the time fly by.  The countryside was lovely, although it was cold in the snow flurries.  The race was exceedingly well organised - surely this is how all events should run?

It was great to put another 17 miles under my belt and gain experience at another event, although I have picked up a couple of niggles.  I guess that's to be expected at this stage of my training.  However, tomorrow's a rest day, I see Jennie on Wednesday and I'll miss the short run at the end of the week.  Hopefully I'll be right as rain for next weekend's trip to Brighton.

To be continued...

Temperate Climate

I've developed a routine for the night before a run: dinner with lots of good carbohydrate, protein and vegetables; plan to be in bed early to make sure I'm properly rested - and check the weather forecast.  This week demonstrated just how variable the weather can be.

Last Friday's good weather continued into the weekend for Sunday's long run.  Again, I was inspired by the warm sunshine and set off at a great pace: I completed the first 1.5 miles 10% faster than the previous week.  However, I paid the price for that quick start over the next 15 miles.  Thankfully it was a lovely day, which distracted me from my fatigue.  Now I've made the mistake of setting off too quickly I hope it's a mistake I don't make again.

On Tuesday I arrived at the park to find everything covered in a thick frost, mist hanging in the air and a bright orange sun lazily climbing into the clear sky.  The deer were silhouetted in the dawn light; green woodpeckers foraged for food on the ground; a fox scampered into the garden where chickens roost (much clucking followed!).  It was a magical place to be and I thoroughly enjoyed my 5 miles.

Wednesday was milder but dark, cloudy and wet.  It was an uninspiring start but I then had a fantastic 8 mile run.  I was very happy to take three minutes off my time from the previous week.  I like the shorter runs because I can attack them: the endorphin rush afterwards is brilliant!

The cold weather returned for yesterday's run around local roads and it looks like it will stay over the weekend.

I love the variety of where I run, the weather I experience and the things I see.  I always wonder what the next run will bring...

Solar Power

I'm luxuriating in a day's annual leave, which meant I didn't have to get up at dawn for my run.  Also, I've been lucky that today's weather is gloriously sunny and relatively mild.  I have a good friend who describes his cycling as "solar powered" because it's easier to ride in the sunshine.  I'd planned to make the most of the sunshine by having an easy 5 mile run.  As it turned out, my run was indeed solar powered - it was one of the fastest non-event runs I've done in the last four months!

It was lovely out there today and very enjoyable.  I wonder if I could train through the summer for a half-marathon sometime in September.... ;-)

My running journey

You've hopefully noticed on the right hand side of my blog I update the total miles I've run in training.  After today's 15 mile run I've reached 293 miles.  To give some perspective, that's approximately the route from my brother's house in Southampton, on to my home in London, my parents in Northamptonshire and then visiting my other brother in Manchester.

All I need to do now is head up to the Beatson Laboratories in Glasgow.  I'm ending my route there because it's where I did my PhD and the labs are funded by Cancer Research UK, who I'm raising money for.

This route is important to me because it reaches the people I care about most.  It also reminds me that I'm running to raise money for CR UK. As I've said, I want to give something back to CR UK not only because of my professional association with the charity but because cancer has touched several people in my life.  CR UK's work is invaluable in supporting patients with cancer and supporting research.

Half way

Yesterday I blazed through two half-way points of my training: 

1. I ran the Watford half marathon, and
2. I reached a total of 262 training miles – approximately half of my training mileage.

The Watford half marathon went really well.  It was very well organised: we turned up, followed the signs and announcements on the PA systems, it started on time, lots of friendly marshals, the water stations were cheerfully manned by local Scouts and the post-race funnel of water station, t shirt collection and timing chip return was a slick operation.  The course itself was undulating closed roads and the people I chatted to en route were friendly.  The weather was cloudy with a light wind, no rain and approximately 4 degrees.  All in all, it was the perfect setting for a great race.  Here I am waiting to start:

And a great race I had!  I deliberately kept my pace slow at the beginning, although it was difficult to go any faster with the number of people bunched in at the start.  I paid attention to how I felt and ran at a comfortable pace, trying to remain calm and relaxed but also making sure I wasn’t slacking unnecessarily.  The first four miles slipped by amazingly quickly.  The hills were good for building strength (I suspect many of my fellow runners don’t train on hills, judging by the number I overtook).  After mile seven I was running strong, passing people but with no-one coming past me.  At 12.5 miles I turned into Cassiobury park and smiled for my photographer (see below), pushed through a final lap of the park (I was reasonably tired by that point) and finished in 1:51:27.  I was *really* pleased with my time.  I wasn’t sure how long it would take - I’d guessed somewhere between 1:45 and 2:30 and I was very happy to be closer to the quick end of that range.  It’s been a huge boost to my confidence.

Special thanks to Chris for being an excellent support “team” yesterday.  He patiently dealt with my pre-race wittering, drove to and from Watford, carried my bags, took the photos, was in position when and where I needed him – and was a great supporter throughout the day.  Thank you.

Update

Time for a quick update ahead of tomorrow's half marathon.

My foot was still tender on Monday evening and so we came to the sensible decision to sacrifice Tuesday morning's short run.  It was to be my 57th training run and it was the first one I missed.  I was gutted.  However, I went to the gym and did 40 minutes of cross training, which meant I worked all the right muscles without high impact.

On Wednesday morning it felt much better and I comfortably covered 7 miles - back on schedule again.  :-)  Wednesday also saw a break in the weather: the park was luscious green after the recent rain and it was bathed in golden, oblique sunshine.  A wonderful sight!

That evening I saw Jennie (my physio/osteopath) and she agreed it was probably just a muscle which cramped at the end of Sunday's run.  She gave me a great (i.e. painful, tension releasing) massage and a clean bill of health.

So now I'm preparing for tomorrow.  Looking at my kit list it's just as well we're not planning to take public transport!  I'm starting to feel a little nervous - not about the running, just about the logistics of the day.