***UPDATE***

I apologise for the lack of updates on this blog at the moment.

Due to demands on my time I’ve not had a chance to post in quite some time, however I have still been training hard for the marathon.
I’ll be putting up posts over the next few weeks to fill you all in on the main events from the past few months.

Coming soon will be race results and pictures, weigh in results and the highlights of my training to date.

Week 11 update - Progress!

It's almost 3 months since I started training and I'm starting to really see the progress I'm making. My ankle has thankfully made a full recovery and I was back out again running last weekend.

This week I got out Tuesday and Thursday mornings before work. It's getting darker but there's still enough light in the mornings for me to go for my run. And thankfully there's still other people out and about running and walking their dogs for me to still feel safe.

Today my target was to do 6 miles. I looked up a route online based around the local parks and went for it this morning. However I forgot to account for the distance between my flat and the park and I ended up doing 6.7 miles instead - a bit further than I was planning but it was all good. It was hard work today, so I walked at 2 mile intervals, taking full advantage of where I had to cross roads to recover, but I managed to finish strong which is encouraging.

I'm really impressed with the discipline I've been showing so far. There are days when I really don't want to go running, but I've been good at getting out regularly and pushing through the lethargy and I'm still getting a kick out of going the distance.

I've also given myself an extra helping hand by investing in a Dawn Simulator Lamp to help my body wake up in those dark winter mornings. It gradually turns a lamp on, stimulating the production of those morning hormones which help your body wake up naturally. So far I've only used it one morning and it really made a difference, we'll see how it goes over the next few weeks and months.

Week 10 update - My first injury

After my no-go last Thursday I didn't have another chance to go running again until Wednesday. I spent the bank holiday weekend in Wales on a friend's hen-do where we did horse riding, rock climbing, abseiling and an obstacle course up a stream. My whole body hurt - it was quite a workout!

Wednesday was my first time out running in exactly a week, and although my whole body ached my legs were happy to be out running again. When I first started out I felt full of energy and it felt good.

About 2/3rds of the way round however I HURT! My back and ribs were killing me from where they'd been bashed about doing the obstacle course and I was in a fair amount of pain. I ploughed on as I had to get home anyway and it was just bruised and not a serious injury. However the pain of my back and ribs was masking something a bit more serious and more relevant to my running.

I'd gone over on my ankle on my way home from work and although when I started running my ankle was fine by the time I finished the route it was pretty sore. Thankfully it didn't swell up, but it's been aching ever since.

I called my dad (a qualified medic) and he told me R.I.C.E - Rest, Ice, Compression bandage and Elevation. Since it wasn't swelling I skipped the ice and tried to do the other three as much as possible on Wednesday evening and I've been trying to keep off of it since. It's doing much better so I'm hoping to get back out again this weekend.

Week 9 update

Tuesday morning I was up bright and (very) early and impressed even myself by managing to fit a 3.4 mile run in before work. It was a gorgeous morning with the sun rising over the park and it was lovely and quiet with just the crazy people of the world out and about (some woman feeding the squirrels and us runners). I also managed to do it in under 10minutes/mile which made me really happy.

Wednesday was another beautiful morning in the park and for change of scenery I did the 2.8 mile route - again putting in a sub 10 minute/mile time. I felt really good after the race - ready for the day. And thankfully the rain had the courtesy to wait till after I was done running before arriving. :)

Sadly on Thursday the public transport let me down. To compete in the 5k race I had to get to the venue by 7:20pm at the latest, meaning I had to arrive home from work at 6pm. Due to heavy traffic and then train cancellations I didn't get home till 6:30pm. And by then I was utterly exhausted so decided to get an early night and catch up on some much needed sleep - I'll need all of my energy for this weekend! It'll be action packed so hopefully that'll make up for the lack of running.

As I'm now managing to run my current routes with relative ease I'll be looking to increase my max distance to 6 miles by the 11th of September, even if to start with I have to walk parts. That'll hopefully take my running route past Buckingham palace - what a great place to live!!

Week 8 update

On Tuesday I chose to take it easy after my dodgy run on Sunday so I did a short 2 mile run which went well. On Thursday I picked up the pace and did the 3.4 mile route in a reasonable 35 mins despite the rain.

Saturday I just couldn't be bothered, but on Sunday I pushed myself out and managed to do the complete 2 parks (5.4 miles) in a good 55 mins, running the whole way and only stopping to cross roads safely. It felt good to get such a good run in and it was a good end to the week.

My plan for this next week is to run Tuesday, Wednesday and then run a 5k race on Thursday as I'll have to take next weekend off as I'm away for a friend's hen-do. I'm really excited about the 5k race as it'll be exactly 2 months after my first one and it'll be a good comparison.

Week 7 update

This past week I've been pretty busy so didn't have time to go travelling across London to compete in races, but I made up for it by making sure I did the equivalent distance in Hyde Park instead as I could be out and back in under an hour.

Thursday night I did the full top of both Hyde Park and Kensington Park Gardens and back - a route of 3.4 miles in a reasonable 35 mins.

Saturday I decided not to run as I wasn't feeling too great - generally pretty exhausted.

On Sunday instead of the 5 mile race I did the complete 5.4 mile circuit around both parks. However half way round I had to stop and walk for a while as I wasn't feeling well - which was really frustrating as I knew I had it in me to run the full thing.

Despite the week starting well it's ended on a bit of a bum note but I'm hoping it'll pick up this next week. I'll wait and see how I'm doing this next week before I make any further plans.

Weekly Weigh-in - 15/08/10

My weekly weigh-in sessions will be suspended until further notice as my bathroom scales are proving to be both inconsistent and inaccurate. I'm going to try and find some form of work around, but for now I'll not be posting my weigh-ins.

This morning my weight was somewhere between 72.7 and 74.2 - so I've either gained weight or lost it....not the most useful information.

At the end of the day I'm not so concerned about actual weight as I am about body shape - but it would be useful to be able to track my weightloss, especially when it's gradual.

First Work Handicap Race

Today I ran my first handicap race at work. I was really nervous about it before hand but it went really well.

I was the first person to start which A) was nerve wracking as I didn't know the route very well, and B) made me think everyone would fly past me. But another woman joined at the last minute and ran with me which meant I had someone to talk to on the way round (I know, I know, no talking when racing - but hey, it was the first one!)

The good news is that nobody caught us up and at despite having to walk up the hill that's at the halfway point I managed to finish strong with a good sprint across the finish line leaving the other lady behind.

With a finish time of 30mins 40secs I was pretty pleased as I beat my projected time but set a nice reasonable time to beat in the future.

I'll need to do some work on my hills in future so that that darn hill doesn't slow me down, but apart from that it's all going good. Of course the builders wolf whistling at me half way round just left me confused - I mean REALLY? I was bright red, sweaty and gross - do they have no standards?!

Weekly Weigh-in - 08/08/10

No big surprises with my weight this week.

My new weight is: 73.4 kg (161.8 lbs).

Week weight loss: 0.2 kg

Total weight loss: 0.4 kg

Week 6 update

After my mid-week review of my aims in running I put in a good week.
Thursday morning before work, despite sleeping in, I was able to nip out
for 2.8 miles down the side of Hyde Park. As I knew I was running late I
pushed myself to run the whole way, but it wasn't too difficult as I found
a good stride and managed to do it in about 25 mins.

Saturday morning was the Serpentine's monthly handicap race. It was a grey
muggy day with some drizzle. A couple of the girls I ran the race with last
month were there and we started at about the same time. It was nice to have
people to pace myself with and it was our aim to do the full 4.3 mile race
without having to slow to a walk.

After a quarter of the way round I was struggling so I slowed and let them
pull away, I really didn't think I'd catch them up again. I managed to keep
going for the second quarter when I caught up with a girl who'd started
earlier than us. Now last month we stopped to walk at the halfway point to
catch our breath, so although I'd made it this far and was overtaking this
girl I knew if I didn't pace myself I wouldn't be able to make it all the
way round without walking. So I decided to fall in with her and keep it
nice and slow and steady.

This got me through the third quarter but it was a struggle. By the time we
got to the 3/4 mark we were starting to get overtaken by the main body of
runners making for the finish line. The girl I was running with had to slow
to a walk but I was determined to run the whole way round and strangely the
people overtaking me gave me extra energy to push on.

Then as I came up to the final 1/8th of the race I started to overtake a
couple people - this really gave me a buzz and I powered on. It was a
struggle not to go hell for leather too soon, but I held back knowing I
didn't want to burn out before the finish line. I overtook one of the girls
I started with - I really didn't think I'd catch her but I did. Then as we
came up to the finish line she came sneaking up behind me - I wasn't having
none of it! I was only planning on jogging across the finish line but this
sudden burst of competitiveness found me some extra energy and I sprinted
across the finish line, beating her by 2 seconds! I got quite a fun buzz
from it too! :)

My final time was 46mins and 31seconds - a personal best, shaving a couple
minutes off my time from last month.

This next week I have a further 3 races which will cover my training quite
nicely. On Tuesday it is my work's handicap race - a circuit of 3 miles.
That'll be a new experience for me, running at lunchtime, running with my
work's running club and running in Reading so it'll be interesting to see
how it goes! Hopefully it will go smoothly as I'm planning on making it a
regular occurance, especially when the winter draws in and running
before/after work stops being an option.

Then on Thursday evening I have the athletics league 3.5 mile race followed
by the summer league 5 mile race on Sunday. I'll give them my best shot,
try to do them without having to stop to walk and see how it goes! I might
go running with the club on Saturday morning, but I'll decide on that
closer to the time - I'll see how my body is doing as I don't want to
overdo it. So here's to a good week!