Saturday 31 December 2005

keeping going

Friday
Woke up to torrential rain, which was washing away the snow nicely.

Had arranged to plod with TP - her return to running after weeks of virus and rotten chest (seems to be a lot of it around). Decided as she had not plodded for ages a tready session would be better than her not completing the route.

So tready it was, now this shoud have been an 'easy' session for me as I have my long run tomorrow. But I find it difficult to do easy on the tready.

However 4 miles done - some pyramids, some hill walking and some at around 145-150 HR.

Saturday
Its long run day, but did not wake until 8.00 so up then for some porage and then back to bed for an hour to finish reading Going Postal the latest Pratchett in paperback, that I had for Christmas.

Then up and out - a new route, suggested by mrbeanz, which takes quieter roads out and then my usual main road back.

I have realised that all my runs are hard work - have been running at 145 HR, which is too hard to maintain, so I have dropped the max down to 140 on my Garmin.

This is the first outside run at this new rate. The consequence of this is I am having to learn to plod more slowly without dropping into a walk :>)

First mile is basically downhill to the river, so fairly easy. Then the route begins its undulating climb to a much higher point than my other out and back route.
Once past the toxic 15, I began to enjoy myself, especially as this part was on a road I rarely drive along, and part of it I have never even driven, so all new and different. As the Sun broke through I had fantastic views across the Derwent valley.

My HRM lost signal from time to time and occasionally registered signals of 230 bpm!!! but I am still here to to tell the tale and just kept plodding comfortably.

Reached the turn and found I had done about 5 miles - so it was going to be 9 miles not the planned 8. Keeping to HR140 seems to have been a good idea - the return plod was much more comfortable than the same 4 miles 10 days ago.

Phoned teenbeanz when I was 1.5 miles out and he came out to meet me and did some fartlek stuff looping round me for the last mile home.

Arrived home not feeling too knackered and like I could have gone further if necessary. :>))

So the numbers:

Mile Pace AHR
1 12:59 139 downhill
2 13:43 139
3 14:03 143 rising
4 13:44 151 climbing
5 13:24 149 still undulating
6 13:31 140 coming home
7 13:32 139 nice and steady
8 13:54 138 this is uphill
0.98 15:02 137 killer hill warm down
9.98 13:48 142 2:03:55

Conclusions?
Running on the flat I reckon I can plod along comfortably at 13:30 pace or even a bit quicker - which gives a half marathon time of 2:58 for Brass Monkey. Given my last two were over 3 hours, I would be pleased with that - although I did 2:43:27 last time, which is about 12:30 pace! No chance of that I suspect.

So that's 2005 running done - though there is a local 5km at midnight mmm?

Perhaps not, it is even more vertically 'undulating' than today's route I believe.

Anyway a happy beanz today.

Wednesday 28 December 2005

snow and ice = treadmill

so very cold today, definitely the wrong conditions for a pavement run and did not feel like icy feet from running in the park

off to the gym this afternoon for the treadmill -

10 minutes cross trainer to warm up

then 4 miles on the tready - first two as [pyramids up to 8.0 km/hr and down again in 10m steps

the second half run at 70-80% HR, adjusting incline and pace to keep HR in that zone

4 miles 54 minutes AHR 145

Tuesday 27 December 2005

Christmas is over

That's it then, Christmas is over, the relations have gone home and I'm back on my computer - stayed off for nearly 3 whole days!!


Furnace Inn 5k Boxing Day Race
Did this for the first time last year, with my brother. Unfortunately this year he had a bad back so he just came to carry the bag. But mrbeanz and teenbeanz were fit to run, so we gathered at the start - and this year I knew lots more of the other runners, which was good.

The course starts at a pub, runs through a lovely park (which some of the local runners use for hill training) and along the river - mostly along part of my 4 mile off road route. (Last year it missed a bit out down a steep road in the village, owing to the icy conditions.)

So off we go, I started with my V60 club running partner and another 'slow' lady, but the initial hills caused me to drop back from them, a few walks there I am afraid.

After the first mile or so I am at the back, apart from a couple of fancy dress 'Little Britain' runners who have a weheel chair which one of them rides in on the down hill bits, btut they push empty u the hills and across the grass. As we come back with about a quarter of a mile togo they decide they cannot go any further and drop staright down to the finish instead of completing the last killer loop! I wonder if they are the same two chaps who wore santa suits last year and dipped out of the last loop?

So I am definitely last now, tracking a couple of ladies about 100 metres ahead. I keep going but cannot quite catch them before the finish.

As usual I hated the first fifteen minutes, hated the hills, but enjoyed finishing.

So the numbers:



Mile Pace AHR
1 13:02 152 uphill and on grass
2 11:47 147 downhill and level!
3 12:38 150 level and up
0.11 12:08 169 race for the finish!
3.11 12:28 150 38:51

So does this tell me anything for FLM?

Mainly that I must lose weight, and keep training of course!!

Oh, and teenbeanz beat mrbeanz - for the first time in a race!!

Tuesday
Disposed of all the relatives this morning, taking my Mum home and driving back through snow flurries, reminded me that there may be soem cold training runs ahead.

The plan is written and the rest of the week requires :
a couple of 4 milers and an 8 miler.
I must take the first opportunity of decent weather to do the 8 miler, as the 4 milers can always be done on the tready.

Saturday 24 December 2005

Christmas Eve

Just to record run!

to the gym for the treadmill - trying to make my legs work hard once a week when I can get on a tready

so pyramids - ramping speed up a notch every 100 m and then down again and up again and ....

6.4 km - 4 miles done
max speed 8 km/hr
AHR - don't know - forgot to switch watch off at the end!!


and now its over to Christmas and family

must wrap the prezzies


Happy Christmas one and all

Thursday 22 December 2005

FLM again!

after FLM this year I said I wouldn't do it again until I had lost weight and was running more quickly

wel I have not lost weight

and my last two half marathons have been my slowest

so I did not enter the ballot


but the club had a place spare - scandalously only 4 people put in for the five places!

so tonight I went down there and asked if the fifth place was still free

and it was

so I now have the forms .....


and a number

so I have to start NOW

Lessons learned from last time?

  • choose a plan and stick to it - last time I started on Hal Higdon's then tried to revert to base training - running every day, got injured and lost a lot of training time
  • don't miss the long runs - which means don't try doing them on a Sunday - it messes up the weekend for the family
  • don't think that just becasue I am running I can eat what I like - refuel properly

So this time

  • Follow Hal Higdon's novice schedule but do the long runs from the intermediate - as I am already ahead of where his long runs start from
  • Aim to run long runs on a Monday - it will mean running alone, but I will have to do that mostly anyway and it will not mess up family life - just have to book them in my diary NOW
  • Be flexible about the days I run - I have to be to fit in with the times I work away - and this schedule has 4 days running, 1 day cross traing and 2 rest days which is realistic I think
  • Eat properly and get the refuelling on long runs sorted

That will do for now .......................

all comments welcome!

especially from the professionals ( that's you, Womble)

Wednesday 21 December 2005

"long" run done

no more procrastination I just had to do it

one of mrbeanz's routes to work takes himout along hte mian road i used to do my long runs along
so I decided the only way to do this was to get him to drop me 8 miles out and I would run back

So up at 6.30 for a banana and a drink

then dropped at 7.40 8 miles from home

and plodded back - taking energy drink and phone and emergency pound coin

now considering this route is along the Derwent Valley - following the river down, there always seem to be a lot of undulations, but at least runnign all one way, you don't end up thiking at every downwards stretch 'I'm going to have to go back up on the return'

anyway first couple of miles warming up, stiff calves needed a lto of stretching

then around about 4 miles my right foot feels strange - sort of numb/pins and needles/as though my sock is rucked up; pausew to take shoe oiff but no sign of trouble, now these are my older pair of shoes and not a perfect record of miles done in them (probably around 300), but maybe the cushioning is going considering how overweight I am

anyway, after a few pauses and concerns about this, about a mile later it seems ok again - strange though

next few miles tick away ok, and all of a sudden its the last mile and killer hill!

teenbeanz wanted to do a gentle recovery mile or so after his hard session last night, so I give him a call and suggest he plods to meet me, which he does - it is so good to run together

he does a bit of looping and I do some walking and we return home together

the numbers


Mile Pace AHR
1 14:23 140 stiff calves
2 13:51 137 more stretching
3 14:01 139 numb foot
4 13:37 138
5 13:54 140
6 14:04 139
7 14:20 138 uphill now
8 15:48 135 killer hill
0.09 15:50 120 walking!!
8.09 14:16 138 1:55:27

so now to plan next week's run!

club social evening tonight so maybe I'll ask my V70 running partner if he fancies a 9 miler at the end of next week

Later

V70 doesn't want to do the long runs as he has races each weeekend!!

So its back to the solo runs until Pixie is back on form

but other news .... my first claim club has a spare place for FLM - eeek - I got a place with them last year in the draw - this year no draw, 4 takers for 5 places - wonder if I should phone and find out if it has been taken?

Sunday 18 December 2005

the weekend

Friday evening
East Midlands Social - this all began to fall apart about a month ago when we realised we needed two - so part 1 was last week
June and Coz


Pixie and Steady

beanz and Pixie











Part 2 fell apart earlier in the week when fotoman cried off wit the lurgy - so that was Suzy Q out too - looking after fotoman
then Muzzy had a bad back and could not make it either
and finally Little Miss Happy - usually the life and soul of the soical was laid low and had to send mark and Robin without her

however Jars and Mr Jars made it - and Mrbeanz made one of his rare visits into forumland

Robin, mark*w, MrJars, MrBeanz, Jars





(teenbeanzes had to settle for Dominos Pizzzas, though running teenbeanz did point out as a forum runner he shoudl have been there)

and we had a good time :>)



Saturday
supposed to be long run day, so up for breakfast at 8ish then dressed and off to the shops before getting changed for my run

But where to run 8 miles on my own and not on the horrid cambers of the A6?

I have to find another strategy for long slow plods - I just cannot get out the door on my own - too much to contemplate as I cannot find a local long safe route, without loops and thinking about carrying drinks etc - it all defeats me at the moment

So I chickened out again and settled for a 4 miler in the park - could have done that twice or the bottom two mile loop three times, but just could not face it - I knew I would not do the repeat loops

So the run down the hill in to the park and along the river, then back up the hill - steeper back up to start with and then a gradual climb home.

Mile Pace AHR
1 12:49 132 lots of downhill in this bit
2 13:14 139 down along the river here
3 15:00 141 back up the hill - some steep walking bits here
4 14:03 141 mostly a gradual climb
0.14 15:04 145 last climb home
4.14 13:49 139 under 14:00 pace - yee hah!

It WAS a lovely run and I did enjoy it but was cross with myself for droppping out of the 8 miler I promised myself.

But on Tuesday I am going to run 9 miles withPixie - so no chickening out of that one!

Sunday

No running today - visitors for lunch, so up early for food prep not a run.

And then too stuffed to run later.

But 60 mince pies made (and some eaten) and the tree decorated at last.


well everyone's putting their trees in their blogs, so here's ours -not real I'm afraid

and here are our Christmas people amid the sheep and other animals

Friday 16 December 2005

gym again

so I had that end of term feeling today

dropped the teenbeanzes at school and on to the gym

cross trainig was the plan - but I have decided to skip the squats as I hav espotted a pattern of injury after squat exercises in the past

so tready - bike - cross trainer-tready - 35 minutes altogether - no time for more and included 2.1 km on teready

then off for haircut

oops did not factor in breakfast, but manged to get a banana and a cereal bar at the gym

then shopping - now I am not your average female shopaholic - mainly cos I am oversized and just get depressed by not fitting into anything that I like and not liking seeing me in anythign that will fit :<(

but I do need some new black work trousers - so it has to be done


off to M&S two piars of trousers that fit JUST - a good incentive to keep the eating under control

on ot Debenhams lookign ofr Coloured tops for Christmas - cannot go on wearing back all the time - but what has happened to Debenhams??? It has lost all its decent clothes and its all tat for the young :<( :<((

so a couple of Maine t-shirty tops will have to do

a few pressies bought too and then back home for a sandwich and glass ofg milk and I feel knackered TOTM doing its stuff

so off for a snooze

then collect teenbeanzes

and shortly get ready for the East Midlands Social (Part 2)

so no work done, apart from a couple of emails replied to

and tax form not done yet eeek!

beginning to panic abotu things left undone

must get an ordered jobs list

Thursday 15 December 2005

wildlife

you don't normally read reports of wildlife when people do a run on the tready, but the gym has three treadmills that look out over the River Derwent to some wasteland, which I think is a former industrial site

you cannot actually see the river, but the trees along its banks mark its route

I always choose a tready there - back to the rest of the gym, no mirrors - although at night you can see yourself reflected in the windows


why am I telling you all this?

well normally I just put on the music, and watch the cyclists on the path by the river, telling myself I will not look at the numbers until the next person come into view - tready equivalent of running to the next lampost!

but today the sun was up and the birds were flying, first a cormorant (or was it a shag?) then a fleet of mallards

then a great grey heron - it was magnificent!


oh and the running?

well the schedule said 4.5 miles with TP - but she is still coughing and spluttering so it was me and the tready, so I decided to go for 'speed pyramids'

did 3.2 miles in 45 minutes - including warm up and cool down AHR 134

not the 4½ I was supposed to do, but just couldn't keep going any longer and needed to get on with the day

so I am wasting it here instead!

Tuesday 13 December 2005

domestics

Monday
woke up yesterday to find soggy carpets and a leaky pipe

that meant moving lots of stuff so we could see how much damage has been done - bubbling wallpaper, soggy wool carpet

I did manage to do some core and glutes exercise and stretching - left leg still sore, so no run planned - in fact it was as Hal says - strength and stretch!

Tuesday
found difficulty in getting to sleep - finding a comfortable position with sore leg was difficult - eventually had ibuprofen and paracetomol, which seemed to sort it

not so stiff this morning

but lack of sleep, TOTM and niggly teenbeanzes meant a horrid start to the day

and I could not go out cos I had to wait for the plumber

and now he has been it is a bit late to go the gym as I have to go for a train to London soon - leg still too sore to run, but had hoped to get on the X-trainer and do some upper body stuff

ah well, maybe too tired anyway

will see phyzz if leg not better soon

plan for next few days

so training plan for the next week



Tuesday core strength, glutes and stretch
Wednesday working in London - not exactly rest but just some stretching
Thursday 4.5 miles with TP - are whatever she can manage
Friday gym
Saturday 8 miles
Sunday 4.5 miles by river
Monday rest day
Tuesday 9 miles with Pix - off road





Sunday 11 December 2005

Sunday run

so I've been putting it off for over a week and now I have to do it

mrbeanz and teenbeanz went out and did 6 miles at 8.00 but I was going to take a lot longer for my 7 miles, so we could not go together and I needed to fuel up first

I have just read that Pixie fuels up on energy bars just before her long run, I tend to go for the porage two hours before - which means early morning long runs are not ideal

so breakfast at 10, off to church and then back to run by 1.00

after much debate about route I decided on my usual long run route up the main road, as I was running alone, I am not keen on the rather isolated off road route

a glorious day for a run - clear blue sky, December so sunny but not hot and not much of a breeze

so off I plodded, not too bad, but back begins to remind me its been aching after about a mile, but I am determined to keep going for at least 2 miles before listenig to any aches, as I know that once I am warmed up it will all be different

by 2 miles I am beginning to feel ok about this and plodding nicely

out to the end of the route, and it is not quite 3.5 miles, the first time I have done this run since my garmin days, and I always thought it WAS 3.5 miles to here, ah well

and back home, into the sun to begin with - pleased I brought my cap

seems to be going well until I hit killer hill - and then my back really begins to ache, and the last mile is hard, lots of walking, with little jogs in between

and home for a drink and stretch and a warm shower

and then my left leg began to ache - like it has not done for some time

I have not been doing my exercise prescribed by the phyzz as I should it did not ache like this after Leeds or any other runs recently

it occurs to me that there are some dodgy cambers on this run, and I notice them on the way out when my left leg is downhill, but not on the way back along the same path

maybe this route is the cause of the ache as I have not done more than a mile or so along this route for some months

the numbers:

Mile Pace AHR
1 13:56 131
2 14:16 138
3 13:54 142
4 13:59 141
5 13:29 143
6 13:40 141
0.88 15:32 136
6.88 1:37:00 139

so looking for the half full glass, negative split over the 'running' miles!!

Saturday 10 December 2005

cross training for Christmas

Friday
not much exercise - waiting in for deliveries I did a little core stuff


but then the Christmas East Midlands Social - part 1 - we need two, cos not everyone could make either date

so there was Steady and June (Mrs Steady), coz, Pixie and me. It was quite strange, because Steady had met mrbeanz and teenbeanz at the Sinfin 10k in the Summer so they refer to me as MrsBeanz! A small but select group.

We had a good meal and natter and finshed early - not quite the riotous assembly of a London Social!





Saturday

with scoutbeanz off for a winter camp in Sherwood Forest (but in huts not tents) we have teenbeanz to ourselves

he wanted a haircut so we decided to get into town early and have a go at the shopping before it got too busy

a tiring 1½ hours later we were on our way home with heavy bags and I ahd an aching back from hard pavements

so the plan to run 7 miles did not seem so clever now, but I could not do NOTHING, so after a coffee and a banana it was off to the gym, where I did a good hour of upper body stuff and stretched out my back

and as teenbeanz is off to the AC disco tonight we may have a rare evening at home together :>))

a better day

Thursday 8 December 2005

little runs

Wednesday
Club night, in London but arrived back in plenty of time. While I knew it was the AGM I sort of didn't twig we would be running early to be back to shower and meet.

So when I got there there almost everyone had gone.

Fortunately one of the V60s was around and he went out with me - looping the loop while I went round the block and then off for a longer run on his own - thanks N. So that was just 1.7 miles done.

Then the AGM - a friendly affair that lots of people came to - and a chance to learn a few more names.

Thursday
Up to get the teenbeanzes off to school and out for a plod to make up some of the miles from last night but an achey back meant I did nto go as far as planned. 2.3 miles done and then home to stretch. A shame, becuase it was a lovely morning as the Sun came up.

Back still aches, so will not be running tomorrow - must get back to core exercises again.

Hope to do a 7 miler at the weekend, all being well.

Monday 5 December 2005

wimp

so was planning a long run today

7 miles - ok not long but longer for me

but too long to do on no brekkie, so there I was eating porage at 6.30


then at 8.30 I was falling asleep at my desk, advantage of working from home is I go and lie down

next thing I know its 10.45 and I have not run and now I really don't want to take my fat body on the streets in broad day light

and I have work to do anyway

so I have not been

will try to go to the gym tonight

road to hell is paved with my good intentions

Later that day .................
Thanks for all the kind and supportive comments

I thought gymm plans were going to be sabotaged when the teenbeanzes came home and announced that we were needed at school for a parents evening at 7 an dthen scoutibenaz had to be transported to the other side of town for his meeting .......

however I managed to get my act together, cook and eat tea, go to the meeting take scoutbeanz, and then get the gym for 8.45 - much later than I am used to

so warm up on the cross-trainer - should have been 10 minutes but met a couple of peeps to chat to so it was 20 minutes ...

then on to the tready - heavy legs and fast beating heart, but I did a couple of km and then loads of stretching and the foam roller on the ITB - ouch!

and home to find out what else has been going on in the teenbeanzes' lives

and loggin my little plod revelas I have passed 500 miles for the year- and beaten last year's total with 4 weeks to go


so ending the day more postively than it began :>))

Saturday 3 December 2005

back in Cambridge

I optimistically thought that Cambridge running meant flat running

 

Forgot that the hotel is close to Castle HILL

 

So my route this morning inevitably included the hill – it was that or running across the open spaces in the dark, alone – not such a good idea

 

Ah well it was a very slow climb so that to be honest I hardly noticed it

 

Anyway 3 miles done and now off to breakfast and then a full day meeting

 

And the same tomorrow