Groin strain

This morning was an interval training day and all was going well, had a good warm up walk everything feeling pretty good after yesterdays run despite the tiniest of niggles in my left calf and right groin.  As I launched myself into my first sprint, the tiny niggle in my right groin seemed to turn in to pain as it went in to spasm and I had to immediately slow down for a walk.  This did not please me and I probably should have gone home but I insisted on a slow run for a mile but that did seem to ease it.  

I may have to give the interval training a rest for the time being and find something else to do in the gym maybe to replace that session as my body does not like fast running for some reason.  I can happily do an easy run for a while which I suppose is a good thing as my goal is to run a marathon!  Running fast is not very important to me, it's completing the course that means the most, so as long as I concentrate on building stamina in my legs rather than speed then I should be ok! 

Learning

This week is all about learning how I cope with a full on training schedule and so far I have learned some important lessons about overdoing it.  Tuesday morning was  supposed to be an easy run, following my 5 mile extravaganza on Sunday but oh no I couldn't let myself run slow enough and ended up with hamstring pain on the right and a pulled calf on the left!  I also had a late night on Tuesday catching up with friends and although not a sniff of alcohol was involved I still awoke yesterday feeling wrong.  

So, part of the running learning curve is knowing when to give it a rest so I did and started again today with an attempt to crack this easy run lark. Started with a nice little warm up walk then fell quickly in to an easy, slow pace running along at just over 11:30 minutes per mile, which is exactly what I wanted and I happily kept that up for 30 minutes without having to walk and felt like I could have easily kept that up for an hour or so! Covered 2.6 miles running and took it up to a little under 3 miles with the cool down walk, followed by a good stretching session when I got home. Feel a lot more ready for my interval session tomorrow now.

Pre-training for training.

Although I don't officially start half marathon training for another two weeks I thought I might base my training this week on the first week of the plan. So today I went out for an 'easy' run for 30 minutes.  I purposefully took my pace down a notch and trundled along nicely at 11 miles per minute but apparently I should be going around 12.5 mpm according to the training pace calculator on RW website. 

http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/general/rws-training-pace-calculator/1676.html

Tomorrow is a tempo run so I will be back to my usual pace for 30 minutes with any luck, might even manage a sneaky 5k in that time if I step it up slightly :)

Week Nine!

The start of week nine and I can safely say I am now officially a running obsessed mad woman! 

Yesterday I ran 5 miles and loved it! What I love even more is that today i'm not half as sore as I expected.  Today is a rest day though but it's giving me time to sort out the training plan for my latest challenge - a half marathon!  

I have been doing a lot of reading lately and it seems to me that it would be downright foolish to train for a full marathon without having attempted a half marathon.  So from the 1st of July I will begin 12 weeks of training for the 13.1 mile race.  It's also a good opportunity to train for, and participate in, a serious race which will be great experience to prepare me for the full marathon next year. 

I will be running it for Kent Association for the Blind and have set up a fundraising page, which I will no doubt be shamelessly promoting nearer to the time, here:

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/CarolineGower1


I have lots to do so i'd better go and it's Monday, so you know what time it is......

Just popping out to the shop.

It's Sunday, the day of rest and recovering from Saturday night!  Not for me any more, at half past six this morning I was starting what was to become my longest run ever.  I was only aiming to do just over 4 miles but when I got to two miles away from home, to the next town along the A2, I kept going for another half mile so I would have more time for walking at the end of the run. Before I knew it I was halfway through Teynham outside costcutters, which is exactly 2.5 miles away from home! Instead of making the most of the extra half mile walk at the end of my run I couldn't help but carry on running, the desire to push myself seems to get stronger every time I go on a long run.

As hard going as it was though, I did it and in just over 58 minutes so that puts me on course for just over 5 hours to complete the marathon, which is exactly what I'm aiming for.  Most definitely a rest day tomorrow!

Now, for an interval.

Had a great nights sleep last night so i'm over the effects of sleep deprivation which had a firm grip on me from yesterday afternoon onwards, not good!

I am trying to get into a varied training routine that involves a few different activities so this week, for example, I have finally nailed it.  I had a day off Monday, Resistance training and swimming Tuesday, straight running Wednesday and Thursday, interval training today then a long run Sunday morning then day off again on Monday.

This morning was my first interval training session.  For those who don't know what I'm on about, interval training is short bursts of intense activity followed by a couple of minutes rest.  It's a bit like weight training for the heart.  

Today, I ran like the clappers for 30 seconds then walked briskly for 2 minutes while my poor heart recovered from the shock of having to work that hard!  It's one of those things that sounds easy and I have to admit the first 3 rounds were easy,  then I started to struggle and it was hard going. Got up to 10.3mph at top speed, anybody watching would have been amazed to see a boiled ham move that fast! I managed 7 intervals this morning but ideally I need to do 8 or 9 to take my total time to 20 minutes, but like everything else, as long as I keep at it, I will improve with time.

Banana Power

This morning I should still be in bed. Got home from work at midnight last night so by the time my alarm went off at 4:30am I'd had the grand total of 4 hours sleep.  To be fair I did feel half dead and hungover with tiredness but I had promised my OH that I would give him a lift to the station as he was catching an earlier train.  As I got up and started the morning rigmarole of putting together a ridiculously healthy salad for lunch, I was feeling a little better, shoved a banana down my neck (yes Mum, you are right, a banana is the best snack food around!) a bit of Lucozade Lite and I was raring to go for my morning run.

Managed a nice little 2 miler at a decent average pace of 10:30. Despite it being another sunny June morning (i.e. Wind, drizzle, grey etc.)  I am now feeling wonderfully energised and ready to skip into work with a smile on my face :)  Saying that, I'll probably pass out around 2pm though haha!

Ok, so maybe the sun is an exaggeration 

but this is how I feel today

Drizzle Sticks

Another sunny, dry day in the 'Bourne! (When I say sunny I mean covered in cloud and by dry I mean a constant drizzle in the air.)  It was a little moist outside this morning that "fine rain that soaks you through" (Peter Kay, Early 2000's) so I thought it would be wise to wear my mac to prevent me getting too soggy.  This turned out to be a ridiculous idea.  Although today is damp and grey it is not actually cold so within minutes I was looking (and feeling) like a boiled ham.  I stuck with it for the first mile but found myself doing inadvertent interval training with little walking stops.  The tracks 'Pass Out' and 'I Need Air' playing in my ears were becoming a little ironic!

After the first mile I decided to tie the wretched thing around my waist but it's a slippery little bugger so just annoyed me because I was constantly having to tighten it to stop it falling off.  Grrrrrr.

I made it to the end eventually and covered two miles of running with another three quarters of a mile of walking so at the end of the day, I covered the distance.

Week Eight!

So much for the Monday Motivation I was looking forward to, that seemed to get lost under the duvet yesterday morning as I thought it best to have a rest day after my long run.  

The good news is I have made it to the start of week eight, alive! The last couple of months have flown by and I'm still enjoying the feeling of being able to tackle hills with confidence that I'm not going to pass out with exhaustion less than half way up!

This morning is a cross training session, a bit of resistance training at the gym followed by swimming then a power walk around town while I have a couple of tyres changed on my car (the excitement of that alone may kill me if the hills don't!).

Time for Today's Tuesday Trigger (Instead of Monday Motivation)......

Errghhh.

The title of this post says it all.  I opened the door to a grey, drizzly, typical British summer's morning. I almost headed back to bed where it was warm and I wouldn't have to run 4 miles, but I didn't.  

I gallantly strode in to the drizzle and after a little warm up walk began my run.  It didn't tale long for the malaise to creep up on me and before I knew it I was walking again.   I don't know what is making me feel like this, just general eerghhh or maybe the fact that I've already done one 4 miler in the last 7 days so my body was having a little protest.  That wasn't going to stop me though so I tried to run as much as I could and still managed to do the whole distance in 46 minutes, which is only 2 mins more than Monday so it's not too bad really.  The important thing is that I covered the distance and that's what matters.  I want to finish the marathon, not break any world records for speed!

Looking forward to some Monday Motivation tomorrow!

No Music, No problem.

This morning I got up late and was  intending to have a day off but oh no, once I had woken up a little more, the road was calling me and I had to go out!  Didn't have much time so I threw my running gear on and bounded out the door with barely a thought for what I was taking with me.  

Anyone who knows me will know that I am at my happiest when I've got music around me so I normally run with headphones super-glued to my head at all times, but today I left them indoors.  Surprisingly, I had a good run.  Did a mile in 10:08 then had a little jog/walk back home and I didn't get half as bored as I thought I would as it's quite nice hearing the birds tweeting in the trees and even the sound of my own footfalls on the pavement provided me with a rhythm I was soon singing along to in my head.  In the future I'll be saving the music for the long weekend runs!

2 Miles? Easy!!

Today, I ran two miles without stopping for a walk.  This is not something I haven't done before, but today, it felt easier.  The first mile was on a steady incline but I kept a good pace of 10:24 then the second mile which I normally start to flag on I did in 10:25!  It's only a small improvement but still enough to remind myself that I'm going in the right direction :) 

I am also happy that I have no soreness today - result!  I've got to say that I was a little achy following the four miles I did on Monday, so all that stretching and resting must be working! 

Week Seven!

I had a slightly naughty weekend.  It started off full of good intentions to do my first four miler but, as usual, the lure of the pub was too great. I was restrained for me so there was no smoking, no shouting/singing/laughing hysterically at random strangers and no falling over.  Still, I had a good time and there was a lovely catch up with some great friends.  Despite the fact I didn't succumb to the dreaded shots I still awoke to that familiar 'dead' feeling that you only get after consuming alcohol the wrong side of thirty :(.  Unfortunately, my plans for a spritely four mile run when out of the window so I hung out in bed and moped around feeling sorry for myself instead!  Did start to get a bit angry over it but you live and learn and just need to be a bit stronger in the future and stop with the alcohol a bit earlier on in the night so I won't get so dehydrated.

Luckily, today is another day and being on a late shift at work gave me the perfect opportunity to get that four miler in, and it was good!  Didn't break any records (other than longest run) but kept a steady pace and managed to cover 4 miles in under 45 minutes.  I'm happy with that.

Monday Motivation......