So after doing some googling, I have created myself a training programme for the 10K and half marathon that I've signed up for. I will be running 4 times a week and doing:
Mon: Easy run (to recover from the long weekend run)
Wed: Tempo run - attempting to run at race pace for as long as possible - perhaps doing it in intervals
Fri: Speed work - sprint intervals and maybe some hill runs
Sun: Long, slow run - starting at 5 miles, reaching 7 or 8 miles before the 10K race (which is 6.2 miles) and then building up to 13 miles before the half marathon.
That's the plan anyway.
Obviously I need to be flexible with it at times when life gets in the way, but I really hope I can stick to it. The 10K race is fairly soon so I'm aiming just to complete that one, rather than worrying too much about time. More than anything though, I want to get a decent time for the half marathon. I'd love to do it sub 2 hours, but I don't think that will be possible - given it's 21K at I can't even do 5K in 30 mins yet! But I'm hoping for around 2 hours 15 mins, which I think is a fairly respectable time for a first half, and should be doable, as long as I train hard.
Tuesday, 31 May 2011
Saturday, 28 May 2011
Holidays and more birthdays
We got back today from a lovely week down in Woolacombe. The weather wasn't brilliant - it was cool and very windy - but we did have some sunny days and were able to spend some time on the beach. We also went swimming quite a few times, which both the kids loved.
It was Daisy's birthday on Thursday. I felt so emotional the day before and on the day itself. It's been a whole year since that incredible night, but I still think about it nearly every day, and still can't really believe it happened in the way it did. It's like it was a dream, but one I relive every so often and try and remember every moment of it. We took the birthday girl (and her bro) for a swim, then to the beach, and then out for some tea. Once she was in bed Wayne and I had a chat about it and he told the story from his point of view...although I knew how it had been for him, we haven't really spoken about it much in the last year. I realised how scary it must have been to arrive home and find two ambulances in the street outside your house, with blue lights flashing. It must have been terrifying. He said he thought he'd lost us. I am really lucky that it all ended happily.
Happy birthday baby girl xxx
It was Daisy's birthday on Thursday. I felt so emotional the day before and on the day itself. It's been a whole year since that incredible night, but I still think about it nearly every day, and still can't really believe it happened in the way it did. It's like it was a dream, but one I relive every so often and try and remember every moment of it. We took the birthday girl (and her bro) for a swim, then to the beach, and then out for some tea. Once she was in bed Wayne and I had a chat about it and he told the story from his point of view...although I knew how it had been for him, we haven't really spoken about it much in the last year. I realised how scary it must have been to arrive home and find two ambulances in the street outside your house, with blue lights flashing. It must have been terrifying. He said he thought he'd lost us. I am really lucky that it all ended happily.
Happy birthday baby girl xxx
Sunday, 22 May 2011
Our first race
The day dawned stormy and windy, with ominous looking black clouds all around. We had breakfast, got the kids sorted and then drove over to Tewkesbury, dropping Daisy with my mum, and Jamie with Wayne's mum. We then pinned on our numbers and walked to the start line. It was very busy as there were around 1000 competitors doing the half marathon, and 300 or so doing the fun run.
The half marathon started at 9.30am and then it was our turn to line up. That's when the nerves really kicked in and the doubts about whether I could actually do it. Wayne had said he'd run with me for the first couple of miles and then might go off ahead if he felt able to, but in the end he started at a much faster pace than me and was very quickly disappesring off into the distance. I wasn't tempted to try and keep up as I could see my pace on my Runkeeper app, and it was already faster than I usually started.
So we ran through the town and out through Newtown with the half marathon runners, and I caught a few of them up and ran with them. There were lots of people lining the Ashchurch Road and clapping, which spurred me on a bit, but I felt pretty sluggish right from the outset, and then started getting a stitch. We turned towards Northway and then the half marathon runners went one way, and we went the other, back towards town. At this point I was running pretty much on my own, and into the very strong wind, so it was a long and lonely stretch and I was finding it pretty hard. As we went through Mitton, a lady caught me up and asked if I thought we'd done 4 miles yet. I could see from Runkeeper that we were only on about 3.4 miles! I tried to stay with her for a while but eventually she pulled away.
Once I reached the High Street, I knew the finish wasn't too far away and I felt a bit better, but I knew I was going slow and already felt disappointed with my performance. I turned onto the Vineyards and could see the finish, and sped up a bit as I ran past Wayne's mum and Jamie, and then a bit further on I saw Wayne, my mum and Daisy. I went through the finish in 51.40 which was a PB for me - although according to Runkeeper, the route was a little less than 5 miles. I picked up my medal and goodie bag, and then found Wayne, who gave me a big hug to say well done. He had really pushed himself, and finished in 43 minutes, which was a really excellent time.
I admit I felt a bit gutted that I didn't do better, but I enjoyed the experience and I think I've been bitten by the race bug and want to do more - and get faster. So I'm planning to enter the 10K Race for Life in July, and (eeek!) the Cheltenham half marathon in September. I'm really excited about putting together a training programme and trying to push myself - so that I finish those races feeling 100% proud of my performance, rather than feeling a bit disappointed.
EDITED TO ADD: A couple of days after the race I came down with the cough/cold that the kids have had an almost completely lost my voice - so I think that might be why I found it so hard on Sunday.
The half marathon started at 9.30am and then it was our turn to line up. That's when the nerves really kicked in and the doubts about whether I could actually do it. Wayne had said he'd run with me for the first couple of miles and then might go off ahead if he felt able to, but in the end he started at a much faster pace than me and was very quickly disappesring off into the distance. I wasn't tempted to try and keep up as I could see my pace on my Runkeeper app, and it was already faster than I usually started.
So we ran through the town and out through Newtown with the half marathon runners, and I caught a few of them up and ran with them. There were lots of people lining the Ashchurch Road and clapping, which spurred me on a bit, but I felt pretty sluggish right from the outset, and then started getting a stitch. We turned towards Northway and then the half marathon runners went one way, and we went the other, back towards town. At this point I was running pretty much on my own, and into the very strong wind, so it was a long and lonely stretch and I was finding it pretty hard. As we went through Mitton, a lady caught me up and asked if I thought we'd done 4 miles yet. I could see from Runkeeper that we were only on about 3.4 miles! I tried to stay with her for a while but eventually she pulled away.
Once I reached the High Street, I knew the finish wasn't too far away and I felt a bit better, but I knew I was going slow and already felt disappointed with my performance. I turned onto the Vineyards and could see the finish, and sped up a bit as I ran past Wayne's mum and Jamie, and then a bit further on I saw Wayne, my mum and Daisy. I went through the finish in 51.40 which was a PB for me - although according to Runkeeper, the route was a little less than 5 miles. I picked up my medal and goodie bag, and then found Wayne, who gave me a big hug to say well done. He had really pushed himself, and finished in 43 minutes, which was a really excellent time.
I admit I felt a bit gutted that I didn't do better, but I enjoyed the experience and I think I've been bitten by the race bug and want to do more - and get faster. So I'm planning to enter the 10K Race for Life in July, and (eeek!) the Cheltenham half marathon in September. I'm really excited about putting together a training programme and trying to push myself - so that I finish those races feeling 100% proud of my performance, rather than feeling a bit disappointed.
EDITED TO ADD: A couple of days after the race I came down with the cough/cold that the kids have had an almost completely lost my voice - so I think that might be why I found it so hard on Sunday.
Saturday, 21 May 2011
Jamie is three!
Today is Jamie's 3rd birthday and we've had an absolutely lovely day.
It didn't get off to the best of starts though! We got to the soft play centre 10 minutes before it was due to open and could see the staff milling around in the very gloomy interior, obviously trying to fix something. Some of our party guests began arriving, as well as some other people (who turned out to be there for another party), and it was clear that they weren't going to be opening the doors at 10am to let us in. Eventually one of the staff came out and said they were having problems with the lighting, that someone was coming out to fix it, and that for now we couldn't come in.
So we stood around outside, with me feeling more and more stressed by the minute, imagining them saying they were cancelling the party...and then what would we do? There were too many people to come back to ours really, but it would be awful to turn everyone away, and for Jamie to have his birthday treat spoiled.
Thankfully, at about twenty past, they let me and Wayne in, and we could see that although some of the lights weren't working, others were on, and that combined with the natural light coming in through the windows, meant that actually, it wasn't very dark at all. The man in charge (who I used to teach!!) said we and the other party people could come in and that they'd put some staff around the soft play equipment to keep an eye on everyone and make sure they were ok in the gloomy conditions. He also said he'd extend the party by half an hour, and gave us tickets so that all the adults could get a free drink.
So we were underway, and from that moment on it was great. The kids all loved it, and because there was only us and the other party there for most of the morning, it was very quiet compared to a normal Saturday morning. After about 90 mins, we were called to go and sit down in our party area, where the food was brought out. Then, Paddy Pig came out with the cake we had made for Jamie an Daisy - which aptly enough, was decorated with two pigs! After that, the kids had ice creams, and then they said they'd do some party games - which I was a bit unsure about as I thought the kids were a bit young - but it turned out fine and they had a game of musical bumps. Then, the party bags were given out and it was time to go. Everyone seemed to have had a lovely time and I was so touched by all the lovely presents and cards for the kids, as well as the fact that everyone had made the effort to be there, at pretty short notice (due to our rubbish planning!)
We headed home for some lunch with Wayne's mum, and then my mum, aunt and uncle came over for tea and cake, and we opened all the presents. We decided to open Daisy's as well in the end, so that we didn't have to take them all on holiday with us. They both had some lovely things, we were very lucky.
Once they were both in bed, Wayne and I sat down for chip shop chips and a few glasses of wine - excellent preparation for our race tomorrow! (the pre-race junk food and wine was recommended by Nick, who has run several marathons, so he should know it works!)
All in all it has been a brilliant day! Can't believe my little man is 3 years old! Happy birthday Jamie!
It didn't get off to the best of starts though! We got to the soft play centre 10 minutes before it was due to open and could see the staff milling around in the very gloomy interior, obviously trying to fix something. Some of our party guests began arriving, as well as some other people (who turned out to be there for another party), and it was clear that they weren't going to be opening the doors at 10am to let us in. Eventually one of the staff came out and said they were having problems with the lighting, that someone was coming out to fix it, and that for now we couldn't come in.
So we stood around outside, with me feeling more and more stressed by the minute, imagining them saying they were cancelling the party...and then what would we do? There were too many people to come back to ours really, but it would be awful to turn everyone away, and for Jamie to have his birthday treat spoiled.
Thankfully, at about twenty past, they let me and Wayne in, and we could see that although some of the lights weren't working, others were on, and that combined with the natural light coming in through the windows, meant that actually, it wasn't very dark at all. The man in charge (who I used to teach!!) said we and the other party people could come in and that they'd put some staff around the soft play equipment to keep an eye on everyone and make sure they were ok in the gloomy conditions. He also said he'd extend the party by half an hour, and gave us tickets so that all the adults could get a free drink.
So we were underway, and from that moment on it was great. The kids all loved it, and because there was only us and the other party there for most of the morning, it was very quiet compared to a normal Saturday morning. After about 90 mins, we were called to go and sit down in our party area, where the food was brought out. Then, Paddy Pig came out with the cake we had made for Jamie an Daisy - which aptly enough, was decorated with two pigs! After that, the kids had ice creams, and then they said they'd do some party games - which I was a bit unsure about as I thought the kids were a bit young - but it turned out fine and they had a game of musical bumps. Then, the party bags were given out and it was time to go. Everyone seemed to have had a lovely time and I was so touched by all the lovely presents and cards for the kids, as well as the fact that everyone had made the effort to be there, at pretty short notice (due to our rubbish planning!)
We headed home for some lunch with Wayne's mum, and then my mum, aunt and uncle came over for tea and cake, and we opened all the presents. We decided to open Daisy's as well in the end, so that we didn't have to take them all on holiday with us. They both had some lovely things, we were very lucky.
Once they were both in bed, Wayne and I sat down for chip shop chips and a few glasses of wine - excellent preparation for our race tomorrow! (the pre-race junk food and wine was recommended by Nick, who has run several marathons, so he should know it works!)
All in all it has been a brilliant day! Can't believe my little man is 3 years old! Happy birthday Jamie!
Wednesday, 4 May 2011
Back in the game!
The running game, that is. I'd fallen off the wagon recently, what with holidays, getting the house ready for sale and Daisy's sleep going downhill again. I hadn't been running for almost 3 weeks and had become quite disheartened with it all - thinking that I would be better and faster by now, and worrying about the prospect of our 5 mile run in a month's time.
But I forced myself to get back out there and have changed my mindset. I had become really hung up on improving my 5K time - my aim is still to get it below 30 mins and although I am creeping gradually closer (PB at the moment is 31.39), whenever I was slower than that, I felt as though I was failing. So I decided to focus on increasing my distance instead, with the aim of being able to run 5 miles/8km ready for our race. So I did several longer runs - 6km, 7km and finally 8km! It feels great to know that I can do it - even though I'm super-slow. It's as much a mental thing as a physical one, getting into the right frame of mind to be able to run for an hour. I hope that, if I keep doing the longer distances, my endurance will increase and my 5K time will naturally improve as a result. I'm even thinking of entering a 10K race as well.
So bring on the Tewkesbury Fun Run, I am ready for you!!
But I forced myself to get back out there and have changed my mindset. I had become really hung up on improving my 5K time - my aim is still to get it below 30 mins and although I am creeping gradually closer (PB at the moment is 31.39), whenever I was slower than that, I felt as though I was failing. So I decided to focus on increasing my distance instead, with the aim of being able to run 5 miles/8km ready for our race. So I did several longer runs - 6km, 7km and finally 8km! It feels great to know that I can do it - even though I'm super-slow. It's as much a mental thing as a physical one, getting into the right frame of mind to be able to run for an hour. I hope that, if I keep doing the longer distances, my endurance will increase and my 5K time will naturally improve as a result. I'm even thinking of entering a 10K race as well.
So bring on the Tewkesbury Fun Run, I am ready for you!!
Sunday, 1 May 2011
It's May!
...and that can only mean one thing for us - birthday month! I seem to write "I can't believe..." a lot in this blog - but how is it possible that Jamie is almost 3 and Daisy is almost a whole year old? A year ago I was starting my last week at work before maternity leave. Where has that year gone? How has Daisy transformed from a tiny newborn to an almost-toddler? How has Jamie turned into such a little boy? Time passes so quickly.
As well as the birthdays, we also have our 5 mile fun run coming up, and a holiday in Woolacombe to look forward to, so it looks like being a busy month.
As well as the birthdays, we also have our 5 mile fun run coming up, and a holiday in Woolacombe to look forward to, so it looks like being a busy month.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)