Off road.

As you all know, i've been suffering a bit with general aches and pains especially my niggling left groin which has been steadily getting worse and started to affect my hip. Started getting nasty headaches again over the past few days so last night I decided to do something about it and reassess my training and find a new strategy for dealing with injuries.  I know I should probably see a specialist sports therapist but (probably foolishly) i'm very independent (as well as tight when it comes to shelling out things like that!) so I want to know i've tried everything I possibly can on my own before I go down that route.

  

I started by having a warm bath to completely relax and try to clear my mind of any rubbish that has been going around it recently, then the last 10 minutes I topped it up with freezing cold water!  It took my breath away, but when i got out I found that the pain in my hip had eased a bit
This morning on my training plan was supposed to be a 30 minute easy run but I thought i'd give the running a miss and head off to the gym to give my body a rest from the same old movement.  I began with a 5 minute slow warm up on the cross trainer before upping it for 10 minutes before a 20 minute session of hills on the bike.  My hip was still a bit sore after this so I headed to the pool next for a gentle swim and some underwater hip stretches.  This did help a bit so I went for the foam roller when I got home - now, that really hurt! Concentrated all around the painful hip and a long session on both quads and hamstrings then jumped in the shower for some more freezing cold therapy.  But at the end of all that hell my hip felt a hundred times better so it seems that self torture is the way to go!

Tomorrow, I'm due for a 50 minute tempo run session but i'm going to do a spin class instead so that way i'll get the same cardio workout but without aggravating my hip too much! 

Happy Hour.

Good morning! 

Last night, I realised that I've managed to totally balls up my training schedule so I'm actually a week ahead of where I should be - doh! So, to correct this I will have to re-do this week to bring me back to where I should be otherwise I'll be ready for the half marathon a week early.

This week has been pretty tough training wise.  The run times have increased a bit and I'm back to work full time now, so staying hydrated is a bit difficult as I can't just have a drink whenever I want to in my line of work so feeling knackered at the end of every day.  Starting to fully realise the extent of what I'm asking my body to go through after 10 years of inactivity, it is coping way better than I would have expected but I do have a new found respect for the kind of distances I'm planing to run!

The week started with a 40 minute easy run on Tuesday which all went nicely to plan - good start to the week.  Then came the dreaded 50 minute tempo run on Wednesday but only managed just over 20 minutes out of 50, which was disappointing.  Unfortunately, I had to succumb to the fact that at this stage of training, rest was probably the better option as I still had that niggling groin strain on the left.  I rested Thursday and did a 30 minute easy run on Friday and it is getting better slowly and seems to go whilst running, especially after 20 minutes or so. 

Sunday morning came around fast again and with it came another long run, this time it was 60 minutes. Surprisingly, it was a success with minimal groin pain and actually kept going for just over 60 minutes with no stopping!  It was a bit of a milestone too because for the first time I actually felt that I could carry on and happily do another mile at the end, which is good progress. 

Here's a bit of motivation for next week...
    

Running out of bloggy time!

It's Monday again and my training schedule is stepping up a bit from this week so that means my morning runs will all be a minimum of 40 minutes and that will take up the extra 10 minutes in the mornings that I normally use to write this blog.  From now on, I will only be blogging once or twice a week*, probably after my long run on a Sunday and on Monday rest day for a bit of Monday motivation! 

*Don't worry Mum, i'm still running, and if i'm not for any reason you'll be the first to know ;)

Talking of Monday Motivation....




Two things today.  I like the message in this one, but I must stress that my legs aren't quite as hairy as the ones pictured - i'm slow enough already, without all that extra drag!

One of the many reasons I run so early in the day...because I love this -

In the Long Run....

It's long run day today, 3 weeks into the training and i'm up to 5 miles now for the weekend run.  I've "run" 5 miles a couple of times before but to be completely honest both times it involved a lot more walking. 

Today was the day I refused to walk. So, that meant running all the way, with the exception of two 20 second stops to correct a 'wardrobe malfunction'! I kept a nice average pace of 11:50 min/mile which is a bit faster than I should be going for that sort of distance at the moment but it felt the right pace for me - plus if I went any slower and I might as well just walk!! 

Saying that, the run was tough this morning and I really had to fight with the lazy girl in my head to keep going, especially up the hill on the last mile. Before, I have always walked that hill but I just kept using lamp posts, bus stops etc. as landmarks to run to then tell myself that i'll run to the next one and I made it, not only to the top but all the way to the finish and it wasn't half as bad as it seemed.  I'm glad to say the lazy girl lost that battle :)

Easy easy run.

Following Wednesday's tempo run debacle this morning was a breeze, a lovely little 30 minute run in the sunshine. 

The good thing about today is that I really, really enjoyed it. I didn't want to stop after 30 minutes but had to save myself for the 5 miler on Sunday.

I think the reason I enjoyed it so much is that i've finally come to terms with the fact that i'm not in competition with anyone but myself and I don't *have* to win any races. Anyway, it's important to go at my own pace to avoid injury - going out for a run beats hanging around indoors nursing sore limbs with packs of frozen peas any day! So it is OK to be 'slow' just need to keep plodding on and as long as I keep pushing every so often with hills/tempo runs/interval training etc. I will get better with time. 

Just the fact that i'm out there instead of lazing in bed is good enough for me! 

Allegretto Staccatissimo

Good morning! Tempo run time is upon me again and I have decided to describe my tempo runs in Italian musical terms. This is what happens when I don't zone out listening to music while i'm running...my mind tends to wander.

So, I should be going along at a nice lively allegro, I am mostly achieving a very detached (staccatissimo) allegretto, which I suppose is a great improvement from my usual largo!

As usual with tempo runs, I managed a barely respectable mile and a half before I knackered myself out and ended up having a little walk, problem was that I had 40 minutes worth of running to be done and I had managed a little over 16! I managed a few more trots to take me up to 25 minutes then I found myself wandering home.  

I suddenly thought to myself (and most probably muttered out loud)  "NO! YOU ARE NOT GIVING UP YOU LAZY COW! YOU WILL DO THE 40 MINUTES IF IT TAKES ALL MORNING!!"  So I did.  In the end, I got 40 minutes worth of running done at a pace of 10:44 which is only a couple seconds shy of what I should be running at.  

Just got to make the intervals shorter and be a bit more 'vivace' on these runs!

Back on it!

I'm not gonna lie, this weekend was a write off.  Those nasty, unwelcome visitors (hormones) came to wreak havoc in my life and those around me.  While everyone one else was out enjoying the sunshine, I was indoors, either in bed, eating, crying, moaning and sulking whilst every part of my body ached!  What joy.

Normally, I would rise above this, but it had me in it's grip this weekend and would not let go.  Yesterday morning I was supposed to do a 40 minute long run but when the alarm went off and I found I could barely move thanks to the colossal amount of pain killers/antihistamines (thanks hay-fever) I had consumed during the very restless, hot sticky night! 

Anyhoo, this morning marks the start of my third week of half marathon training.  I'm very glad to say I finally got my shizzle together and got out there.  It was hot, It was sticky, my joints still hurt like hell but I was going running if it killed me!  Not only did I complete my 40 min run, it was the longest I have actually run continuously without stopping for a little walk AND I conquered a long hill that has been bugging me since the days of school cross country (22 yrs!) so I am looking at this morning as a success. Oh and I did it without feeling the need to block the world out with headphones :)

Monday motivation (could have done with this yesterday!):