Run | Number 59

As it was bank holiday monday, Charlene and myself decided to make use of the extra day off & head back to Strawberry Hill to tackle some hill reps. This time we drove to Chesterton and jogged over to the hill. I managed 4 reps, jogging up and down so I was pretty chuffed, boy my thighs and bum were hurting by the end of it.

2.5 miles

37 minutes

4 reps

Run | Number 58

You know when you have one of those great runs that cements that you are actually a runner...yeah I had one of those.

On Saturday I joined Charlene, Sarah, Mandy & Becky for the infamous Haddon route (I have heard alot about this route over the past few weeks). I was fairly worried about this as I knew it was a 9 mile loop, not to bad as I've covered this distance before, more concerned that Sarah, Mandy & Becky run nearly 4 minutes faster per mile than Charlene and myself do, but I'm always up for a challenge.

When we set off the others ran off ahead at their pace and had promised to loop back round to check we were ok, Charlene and myself stuck to our normal pacing and I was feeling good. We first took the same route up to Strawberry Hill (thankfully going past not up) where the others had stopped to wait for us. Charlene was starting to struggle and had stopped to walk so Mandy dropped back with her and I went off ahead with Sarah and Becky, I was making a concious effort to keep my pace up but to stick to something I was comfortable with as I didn't want to burn myself out. I found the route really interesting, I think because I had never run this way before and to be honest had no idea where I was. Sarah dropped back to help Charlene and I stuck with Becky for miles 4 & 5 (hence why they are slightly faster split times), we looped back a couple of times to check everybody was ok.

And at mile 6...the infamous Haddon Hill arose, I have never seen anything like it. I would like to let you know that Peterborough is as flat as you can get. I dug deep and powered my way up, only stopping briefly at the top to catch my breath back. From this point Becky and myself stayed on ahead, with the others only slightly behind, Mandy kept alternating between the two groups and it was really nice to have different people to chat to, I think this really helped as it took my mind off things.

The last 2 miles, I was starting to struggle, I have never run more than 7 miles without stopping and I was feeling it. Nothing noticable, my legs felt ok and so did my breathing but I felt exhausted. I pushed through and suprisingly managed to keep up my pace and I made it back. All 9.3 miles as we looped back a few times. I'm so proud of myself.

Looking at my splits I maintained a really good pace, you know except that massive hill!!!

Run | Number 57

Thursday saw the return to Strawberry Hill, my nemesis. It was a really miserable day and I was feeling tired but decided to give it a good go anyway.

The run there felt really hard and I felt ridiculously slow. I manned up and dragged myself to the hill. I managed 3 reps up and down at a slow jog, these honestly make my legs burn so much. As I wanted to do 3 reps, Sarah stayed with me whilst the others headed back. As Sarah and I got to the bottom of the hill to head back the heavens opened, and I mean it chucked it down. This honestly felt like the worse run I have done ever, I was so wet and couldn't shake the rain from my face so I was constantly trying to wipe it out of my eyes. Sarah asked me if I could up the pace so we made it back quicker and I just about managed it. I honestly thought at one point I was going to throw up.

Mile splits -

11:11
14:12
14:09
12:30
11:45
11:16
12.29

Very wet and cold

 

Gym | Week 5

Monday

Treadmill - High Incline power walk - 15 mins

Cross Trainer - Level 6 - Interval Training - 30 mins

Leg press - 20 reps x 4 sets - 32kg

Leg curl - 20 reps x 4 sets - 32kg

Squats x 185

Sit ups x 185

Tuesday

Run - 4.26 miles - 58 minutes (I took out two new runners so pace was a little slower than usual)

Squats x 190

Sit ups x 190

Wednesday

Rest day

Thursday

Squats x 220

Sit ups x 220

Run - 6.08 miles - Hill reps x 3

Friday

Squats x 225

Sit ups x 225

Saturday

Run - 9.27 miles

Squats x 230

Sit ups x 230

Sunday

Rest day

Run | Number 56

Tuesday rolled around again and I joined another club session. My collegue Sofia is over from Sweden and staying with me for the week and she decided to come along. She does run but fairly inconsistantly, however last weekend she watched her Dad run the Prague marathon and it has spurred her on to keep it up.

 

There was also 2 new women at club, Ally & Emma who Mandy asked if they could pair up with me and all 4 of us go out. We set out at a slow pace as I really didn't want to burn the two girls out too quickly. I had planned a fairly easy 5k route and told them if they really needed to walk that it wasn't a problem. We came to a turn in the road and I gave them the option as to whether they wanted to go further or shorter. Surprisingly they both said further so off we went.

 

We did 4.26 miles, which for a first run in years for both of them was amazing and I felt really proud that they stuck with it. Fingers crossed I didn't scare them off and they come back next week.

 

Run | Number 55

After Thursdays pub run, Grumps scared the living day lights out of me by letting me know it's only 4 months until the Great Eastern Run, meaning I really need to get my distance back up. I've found myself becoming comfortable with running on average 5 miles per session. Which is great as before I could barely run more, but I really need to be comfortable with between 8-10 miles if I want to do well in the half.

 

On Saturday morning I dragged Charlene out with me at the crack of dawn (8am) to run round Ferry Meadows. I had a route planned in my head as we wanted to do 8 miles. I wanted to head out to Castor and back down the hill into Ferry Meadows, unfortunately I couldn't find the path I needed for this and we ended up changing the route. On the way back round I was worried we wouldn't make it to 8 and I knew we would be dissappointed so I added in a lap of the rowing lake (much to Charlene's disgust) and managed to get back to Bushfield clocking up 9.48 miles. 

 

 

I accidently stopped Map my Run & had to do it in two parts

 

I felt really good on this run and really enjoyed it, not sure the same can be said for Charlene! We took a few walking breaks as she was having trouble with her hips. Judging by this time, if we ran/walked the GER we would complete it in just under 3 hours. So now I need to work on getting this down to 2 hours 30. 

Run | Number 54

On Thursday we took part in the Yaxley pub run. This is put on by Yaxley joggers and is an event where they invite clubs from around Peterborough to all take part in a run together. We all met at the pub before hand where everyone had a little chat and got to know each other. The initial route was planned for 6.5 miles ish (this normally means more I have come to realise). So I set out with Val, Paula & Sarah (It was really nice to run with some different people) and we headed out on the route, we did just over 2 miles before turning around and heading back. This is not my favourite thing to do but as none of us knew the area we knew it was for the best.

The pub run was a great idea but I think most people ended up sticking to running with members of their own club as they then knew who they were matched with pace wise. Once everyone had returned those who were eating ventured inside for a cavery. Unfortunately due to my tight purse strings and trying to eat healthily I headed straight home. All in all it was a nice change.

Distance: 4.08

Time: 49 minutes 30 seconds

Average Pace: 12:08 (slowly going down)

Gym | Week 4

Monday

Squats x 140

Sit ups x 140

Swimming - 40 lengths - 35 mins

Tuesday

4.74 mile run

Wednesday

Cross trainer - 30 mins - Level 7 - Interval training

Squats - 10kg barbell - 20 reps x 3

Leg press - 25kg - 20 reps x 4

Leg Curl - 25kg - 20 reps x 4

Leg Extensions - 25kg - 20 reps x 2

Abductors - 25kg - 20 reps x 4

Adductors - 25kg - 20 reps x 4

Squats x 150

Sit ups x 150

Thursday

4.08 mile run

Squats x 155

Sit ups x 155

Friday

Cross trainer - 30 mins - Level 7 - Interval training

Bike - 15 mins - Level 7 - 3.4 miles

Lat pull - 20 reps x 4 - 18kg

Seated Row - 20 reps x 4 - 18kg

Chest Press - 20 reps x 4 - 18kg

Rear Delt fly - 20 reps x 4 - 18kg

Squats x 160

Sit ups x 160

Saturday

9.48 mile run  - 2 hours 13 mins

Sunday

Squats x 180

Sit ups x 180

Bike - 6.30 miles

Run | Number 53

Still on a high from my first race I popped along to club on Tuesday. Charlene was there, which put a smile on my face as it felt like forever since I had seen her. I must admit I enjoyed basking in my glory when results were called out from the weekend's races. Alot of people had their first races this weekend and everyone did so well.

As Charlene had been feeling rough the past two weeks and I was a little stiff from Sunday and the swimming session I had done on Monday we set off a few gentle miles. I knew Charlene had more to give then she was letting on so I took us on a route which ended up being 4.74 miles. We stuck to a really gentle pace and even stopped for a few walking breaks.

It absolutely chucked it down the whole run, but it was still warm so the rain was actually pretty refreshing (not so much after, it felt like it took hours for me to warm up again).

Mile splits:

Mile 1 - 11:53
Mile 2 - 14:15
Mile 3: 12:32
Mile 4: 15:08
Mile 5: 13:14

Can you tell which miles we walked on. Not my best run by a long shot but it felt nice to be out there and enjoying myself.

Update | Weightloss

Hello. Just a quick little update from me. Yesterday I popped to the doctors to have a check up for a repeat prescription. The nurse did the usual blood pressure check & weight check.

Since I started this journey in January I have lose 34ls!!! I still have a long way to go but it's nice to be on track! Although I did reward myself with a Freddo (must stop rewarding weightloss with chocolate!!)

Run | Number 52 | Clapham Common 10K

Clapham Common 10K - Race Report

The past weekend I spent in London visiting my Uncle, my Uncle is quite an avid runner and suggested we both sign up for the Clapham Common 10K. My Uncle has run this race quite a few times and thought it would be nice for us to both run together now that I'm a runner. 

This was my first proper organised race. The one I did before was part of the Frostbite league, meaning only club runners could take part. I was looking forward to this being a mixed bag of abilities. There were 3 distances to choose from, 5K, 10K & 15K. 

My training hasn't been great leading up to the race, my horrible cough still hadn't quite shifted and I hadn't run a 10K distance in about 2 and a half weeks. But nether the less I went out there and gave it my all. 

Pre race - Actually looking fairly calm 

As we were staying only a 5 minute walk from the race head quarters we walked over about 9:45am to pick up our race numbers and timing chips. This was really well organised and hardly any queues. I obviously had pre race nerves and headed off to use the toilet. Not many, but the the queue went down quickly and there seemed to be enough for everybody. 

The race started promptly, 5K went off at 10.04am, 10K at 10.06am and 15K at 10.08am. To be honest I didn't really know what to expect, I felt a little underwhelmed if I'm honest, everyone just started moving forward so I followed. I stuck to the back of the 10K pack as I really didn't want to set off to fast. My Uncle's next door neighbour was also running and I knew she was a similar pace to me so we stuck together for the first Km before I pushed off a little faster. It was really lovely to have my parents there cheering me on - This is the first event they have been to and I think they actually enjoyed cheering everyone on. 

The first 5K past fairly quickly, it was nice being around more runners, there was enough space for everyone and the race didn't feel too congested. There was a lot to look at on the course from football games, bootcamps and dog walkers. For the first 5K I felt really good and was keeping an eye on my pace (in hindsight I was probably going a little to quickly), it was really starting to warm up and I was starting to feel a little dehydrated, thankfully a water station was up ahead so I powered through. I walked through the water station to have a drink as these were in plastic cups which I hate. 

The next 3K felt really hard, I was struggling to keep my pace and had to take a few walking breaks. I made sure I only let myself walk for a minute before pushing on. From the start I had been locked on one woman in front of me, we were a similar pace and I knew if I stuck with her I would do fine. She kept pushing on ahead, then I would catch up and vice versa. She dropped back around 8K and I powered through trying to keep my pace up. Around 9K I felt exhausted and started to slow to a walk. Out of no where the woman I had been following gave me a big pat on the back and gave me some encouraging words to push through. We ran the last 1K together, without realising I picked up the pace in the last 200m but she came through the finish line less then a minute after me. 

The post race organisation was great, straight through to have my timing chip cut off, a goody bag handed to me along with a medal and a bottle of water. I am so proud to have my first medal for running. I haven't received a medal since I was about 7 years old, so it felt really good. The marshals at the race were also really good, offering encouragement and showing you where to go to make sure you stayed on track. Support from spectators was lacking apart from near the finish line, but it gave you the boost of encouragement you needed in the last 200m. 

Race entry was £18 which seemed expensive to me (as a non Londoner) but I really enjoyed the race, the organisation was great & as I said I got a medal. What more could you want?!

I ended up finished in 1 hour 13 minutes and 45 seconds, painfully slow for some but my aim was 1 hour 15 minutes so I was pleased to beat my own target and it was nice to get a PB. At least I have something to aim for now. Next time I want to get sub 1 hour 10 minutes.

Look how chuffed I am. 

Gym | Week 3

Monday

Squats x 155

Sit ups x 155

I missed 2 days off the squat challenge whilst I was away so had to make up for them today.

Bike - 35 mins - Level 6 (Interval) - Just over 7 miles

Legs press - 20 sets of 25kg x 4

Leg curl - 20 sets of 25kg x 2

Abductors - 20 sets of 25kg x 3

Adductors - 20 sets of 25kg x 3

Chest press - 20 sets of 4kg x 4

Tricep curl - 20 sets of 4kg x 4

Bicep curl - 20 sets of 4kg x 2

Squats - 20 sets with 10kg barbell x 2

Tuesday

5.23 mile run

Squats x 100

Sit ups x 100

Wednesday

Squats x 105

Sit ups x 105

Thursday

Squats x 110

Sit ups x 110

3.22 mile run

Friday

Rest day

Saturday

Squats x 130

Sit ups x 130

Sunday

My first 10k race (more on that in another post)

Squats x 135

Sit ups x 135

Run | Number 51

With my race coming up on Sunday and my legs being ever so tight, I decided to take things easy last night. I went out with Aunty and stuck to a realitively easy 3 mile route (minus the hill right at the end). I managed to keep a fairly quick pace for me which has made me happy (splits show below).

 

I am starting to get really nervous for Sunday, there is so much going through my mind. What if I set off to fast? What if I need to walk? What if I'm like 30 minutes behind everyone?

 

Why can't I just relax?

 

Run | Number 50

Tuesday rolled around again. It's funny how fast the weeks are rolling round this year. I can't believe we are in May already.

I headed down to Bushfield and ran with Shell. We are of a similar pace but I haven't had the chance to run with her in a while so it was really nice to catch up and have a bit of a natter. I found this run really difficult, I kept going but my it took alot of strentgh. My quads have been practically crying recently from all the running, gymming and general walking around at the weekend and running really wasn't what they wanted to do. Bur I made them with a few walking breaks obviously.

Distance: 5.23 miles

Time: 1 hour 10 minutes 02 seconds

Run | Number 49

As it was bank holiday weekend I jetted off to Copenhagen for a little weekend away. The city was lovely and there was so much to do and see, the weather was beautiful as well, there wasn't a cloud in sight. It was so nice to not have to wear a coat.

 

I have been feeling a little down on my running after Thursdays disasterous run, it's so annoying how one run can make you doubt everything. But on Sunday morning I got up early and decided to run before breakfast. This just shows how crazy the running bug has hit me, I would never of dreamed of getting up early on holiday to go out and run.

 

 

It felt so nice to not know where I was going, I didn't track this run so have no idea how far I went. I was out for 45 minutes so that normally translates to around 3.5 miles, but I had to cross alot of busy roads, with traffic going the opposite way. This is alot for my brain to process at 7:30am in the morning.

It felt so good to be out there, the run felt easy and I didn't need to stop which made me really happy. Until....I literally went flying. I must of tripped on an uneven paving slab. So say hello to my new eye. I'm surprised I managed nearly 5 months without falling over or getting an injury to be honest, so I can't really complain. I quickly checked for blood and/or missing teeth/broken nose, jumped up and ran as fast as I could back to the hotel. The reception gave me some ice and I retreated to my room to have a sulk in the shower and check out my war wounds.

Gym | Week 2

Monday morning:

Bike - Level 6 - Over 7 miles - 35 minutes

20 reps x 2 sets - 10kg squats (I never thought I would say it but I'm loving squats)

20 reps x 2 sets - 4kg forward lunges

20 reps x 2 sets - 4kg chest press

20 reps x 2 sets - 4kg tricep curl

20 reps - 4kg bicep curl

And a good stretch on the foam roller (must invest in one of these pronto).

I also went swimming. I managed 40 lengths in 35 minutes. 30 breast stroke & 10 front crawl. 

Seeing as I go on holiday in 31 days (not that I'm counting) I've decided to start the 30 day squat challenge. I have decided to up this and include sit ups. 

50 x squats

50 x sit ups

 



Tuesday

55 x squats

55 x sit ups

5.89 run - Hill reps (see previous post)

Wednesday

5. 64 mile bike ride.

I bought myself this bike back in September when I knew I was moving closer to work. I hate to admit it but it's been used once since then and takes pride of place in my parents dining room. Last night seeing as it was sunny and I couldn't really be bothered to go to the gym I decided to head out for a bike ride. After a bit of a faff with a flat tyre I was on my way. I just headed up to the boating lake and back round but it was really lovely. Note I am really unstable on a bike and really need some more practice.

60 x squats

60 x sit ups

Thursday

2.06 mile run (A disaster)

Friday morning

Bike - Interval setting - Over 7 miles - 35 minutes

20 reps x 3 sets - 10kg squats

10 reps x 1 set - 10kg squats

70 sit ups - 3kg medicine ball

20 reps x 3 sets - 4kg forward lunges

20 reps - 4kg bicep curl

And a good stretch on the foam roller.

Saturday

40 minute swim in Copenhagen

Sunday Morning

3 mile run in Copenhagen

Run | Number 48

My stupid chest still isn't getting any better, I wouldn't mind but it's now stopping me from running, well at least running well. Last night I went out with Mandy & Sarah, who are way faster then me, but normally I can just about keep up if they take it slow. I managed 1 mile before I had to leave them and turn back around. My chest was so tight and I just couldn't breath properly, I think if I was going at my own pace I would of managed to keep going, but pushing myself to go faster with a tight chest for 5 miles just really wasn't a good idea.

Silver lining though, I managed my fastest 2 miles ever so maybe I am getting slightly quicker.

I feel so annoyed and guilty and I know I shouldn't, but I feel like I've been making really great progress recently and I really don't want this to stop. I'm away in Copenhagen this weekend, the hotel has a gym so if I don't manage to get out running at least I can use the treadmill. I really want to run outside though, it will be the first time I have ran in a different country and I would like to make the most of it.

Run | Number 47

As I'm sure your aware I've been feeling really under the weather this week, resulting in me missing my long run on Saturday. This is really thrown me, I'm a creature of habit and I like to stick to routine. I was unsure whether it was a good idea to go running on Tuesday but decided it would either kill me or cure me, so off I went.

 

Tuesday was a manic day for me & I only just made it back to Peterborough in time for running, in such a panic I turned into one of those girls I hate. Baring a full face of make up (not the end of the world as I knew this would be sweated off in no time) and forgetting a hair bobble, I had to run with hair down for the first time ever (never ever again).

 

Anyway, I decided I would stick with Aunty and do a gentle 3 miles, if my chest started to hurt I always knew I could stop and walk, but at least I was getting out there and trying. Oh how I was wrong. Val decided to stick with me as we are of a similar pace and distance & she was more then happy with 3 miles but Mandy & Grumps had other ideas. We were taken to Chesterton hill, about 2.5 miles away from Bushfield for hill reps (yes thats plural). The run down really hurt and I knew this wasn't going to be easy, it was hot, my hair was in my face and I really didn't enjoy it. Once we made it to the bottom of the hill my stomach dropped, this was really steep. I set off strong and pushed ahead of Val & Mandy, thankfully Wendy was on hand to keep me going and I really wouldn't of made it up without her. I managed to run all the way to the top, power walked down and repeated this again. As told the second time wasn't as bad as the first. When we were all down we set off home.

 

I stuck with Grumps and plodded along at a good pace, I was feeling good so we picked this up a little. I eventually ran back with Wendy as the others had slowed down a little. Thanks to Wendy for pushing me.

 

Splits are as follows:

 

1 miles - 12:02

2 miles - 12:22

3 miles - 13:55 (Can you tell this is where the hill was)

4 miles - 12:16

5 miles - 12:04

6 miles - 13:52 (we slowed to a fast walk to cool down here to let our legs recover)

 

 

I am pretty happy with these times. We covered 6 miles in 1 hour and 15 minutes. That is my target for my upcoming 10k, considering this was with a tight chest and 2 reps of a hill I'm hoping I can get my target next weekend. Fingers crossed.