Week four done - keep on keeping on.

  

Last night, I'm ashamed to say, I got 
very close to giving it all up. I seem to have so much to do at the moment what with 
moving, work, on-calls and completing a degree module but after a good chat with the boy I decided that I have to carry on as much as I can and keep on taking it one day at a time and even if I don't make the marathon, there is no harm in training!

This wobble followed what has been, as usual, a challenging week. It all started off waking up with a nasty 3am migraine on Monday morning, which was not the best start to the week.  Lucky that was a rest day then I had a 50 minute run on Tuesday morning.  This was one of the hardest runs I have ever done - it was the last thing I wanted to do after Monday but knew that I had to at least give it a go.  The first two miles were absolute hell but to my surprise things got better and I settled in to a nice pace and made it to 50 minutes in one piece! 

Wednesday was supposed to be a 30 minute run but I was just aching all over and felt like I was coming down with something so took the day off but promised myself I would have a good cross training session on Friday, which I'm glad to say I did.  

So, long run day is suppose to be Sunday, but as I am having what could turn in to a heavy night of partying tonight, I had to get it done today!  The time to reach this morning was 70 minutes. Got up at 6am, saw the usual dark, rainy, miserable January morning wanted to go back to bed blah blah blah - but still had no choice but to go for it! Last week I struggled a bit with the 60 minute long run but today I started off at a slightly slower pace so I had energy left for a strong finish and despite a 30 second stop half way for an energy gel I kept going at a nice steady pace all the way (including dropping 1min 30 secs off my pace for the last mile) and it turned out to be one of the nicest, enjoyable long runs so far!

Great end to a tough week so bring on week five....

Week Three Done!

Finally made it to the end of week three.  I'm just about getting into the swing of training again - i.e back to going to bed stupidly early most nights because I have to get out of bed just before 5am to get my run in - but, it IS worth it though as my reward is a day of feeling tired but satisfied that I have done my bit! 

This has been the first week of marathon training without too many distractions from food and drink and the weather hasn't been too shabby either, considering we are in the depths of winter.

The scheduled run today was 60 minutes, which is the longest run I have completed since the half marathon. It had been a little frosty overnight so despite nearly stacking it on patches of black ice, it all went rather well. 

I had the usual struggling feeling for the first two miles until I found a nice pace but managed to incorporate a few long hills into the run to challenge myself a bit.  I also upped the pace a bit for the final 5 minutes as training my body to find that extra bit of energy at the end is what i'm going to need to get over the finish line of the marathon, so I reckon it's something I should start now! 

Next week is the fourth week of training - need some serious motivation for that.....

New Year, New You!

Happy New Year! 

After last nights celebrations, it is a sure thing that a lot of people out there will be waking up with sore heads, and many regrets.  Not only that last glass of bubbly that tipped them over the edge, but the dawning reality that the new years resolution (i.e. going on a liquid diet for January in the hope of losing half your body weight by February) that everyone held a glass up to last night is not looking quite so achievable. 

As you can probably tell, after years of making such outlandish attempts at life changing weight loss, and failing miserably, I no longer believe in new years resolutions and have resolved to never make one again!  Looking back on 2013, I learned some important lessons about making life changes: Firstly, that you MUST enjoy what you are doing; and secondly you have to be completely selfish about it!

So if you want to lose weight in 2014, I would start by getting active. Try to concentrate on moving more but don't put yourself on a diet that makes you miserable and go mad at the gym all at once - that's a sure fire recipe for disaster. Just try to make small healthy choices instead, like switching to low fat yoghurt at breakfast or only drinking wine at weekends then look at nutrition once you are serious about your fitness.  You won't lose masses of weight quickly but if you make the right healthy choices combined with regular exercise you will steadily lose weight, tone up and feel a lot better for it!

If you want to get fit then for god's sake don't start off with a double spin class as it is never a good idea! If you join a gym, see if they have a 'pay as you go' scheme (so you don't end up with a £300 a year bill for something you never use) and aim to go once or twice a week at first to make sure its the right gym for you. Then look in to joining as you start to get fitter or start a fitness class that's fun that you can have a laugh with friends at.  You have got to enjoy it or you won't go back for more!!

On to the selfish part, the only way you will ever change anything about yourself is to do it for YOU and nobody else.  It's YOU who will have to go walking/running/gymming/swimming so it must be motivated by what YOU want!  Now, most people have pretty busy lives and it's so easy to use other people and their demands as an excuse to not exercise.  So if you have a million and one things to do, making time to get out running/gymming can be hard.  If you want to go out for a 30 minute run 3 times a week without worrying about what you could/should be doing instead then you have to talk to family/ friends and come to agreement that that time is YOUR time and arrange a slot that they can look after the kids/cook their own dinner/clean the car etc. so you can do it without feeling guilty.  

Anyhoo, i'm sure that's enough of me putting the world to rights so i'll leave it there by wishing everyone a happy and healthy new year and raise a glass of water (hang on.....it's not the weekend yet!) to being the best you that you can be :)

Doggie Doo Dodge

This morning was my first 30 min easy run of the week and the last run of 2013! Sounds easy enough and it was.....by the time I got out out there. First of all, I popped my head out of the door then had to go back in to get my rainy running gear on as it was tipping down plus a bit windy but this is England and that's what happens so had to go with it! 

The run itself was fine but the one big thing that bugged me is the amount of dog poop everywhere. I'm a big lover of dogs but unfortunately they can't be trained to clear up after themselves so sort it out people, only takes 2 minutes and a doggie doo bag! What makes it worse is that it's wet, slimy and smeared all over the pavements, lying in wait around corners for clumsy runners like myself to slide around in it!   Luckily I just about managed to avoid most of it. Tomorrow is a 25 minute run, and, from past experience, a new years day run involves avoiding piles of vomit too woo hoo!

If only this happened....

Take it Indoors

After a week of eating my own body weight in unnecessary cheese and chocolate, it was not particularly easy to haul my butt out of bed to go for an early morning long run.  The Long run is only up to 50 minutes so it's not very far yet but considering the fact I simply 'forgot' to go for a short training run on Friday It was important to me that I got out there and did it. 

Winter this year has been a bit all over the place, so i'm never quite sure what to expect when I get out the door but this morning I was greeted with a shimmer of ice over the cars and a slight frost on the grass.  Undeterred by this, I carried on with my warm up walk and began to notice that the pavements were a little slippery too.  Now, to a normal person this would not pose a problem but to someone like myself who falls over on a perfect summer's day on a flat road the thought of running on slippery pavements and the damage that could cause does not bear thinking about!

Before I started to head back and admit outdoor defeat, I quickly checked the opening times of the gym on my phone and as it was open, went home to grab my gym stuff, change out of my thermals and resign my self to 50 minutes of boredom on the treadmill instead. It was horrible and  it dragged on forever, but at least my run was done so it's on to week three for a little bit more of the same! 

Time for the weekly dose of motivation and i've found that this way of thinking has helped me a lot during my training so far..

Christmas pudding

I have made it to the the end of the first week of marathon training still intact.  Had a slight problem this morning when I woke up still under the influence of last nights silly juice and was in no fit state to go for a run but a day of intense hydration and resting got me back on track and I somehow managed the scheduled 40 minute run. 

While I was mooching around today I came across a great article from Runners World about pushing through mental barriers.  Perfect reading for this time of year when it seems easier to come up with a million excuses rather than getting out there. Have a look if you need a bit of inspiration -  http://www.runnersworld.com/the-starting-line/5-mental-barriers-smashed?cm_mmc=Twitter-_-RunnersWorld-_-Content-Training-_-SmashMentalBarriers

On the subject of mental barriers, next week is going to be a bit of a challenge as I will have to do battle with the perils of Christmas indulgence.  There is also some nasty stormy weather on the way combined with the gym closing early, making an indoor run impossible - So it looks like i'll be making the most of my thermals.  Bring on week two!

Must be time for some motivation again to prepare for next week....

What do you get when you cross a snowman with a vampire??

Frost bite!!

All corny Christmas cracker jokes aside, I didn't attempt to cross breed any inanimate objects with fantasy beings but I did go for a run in the cold and wasn't sure whether my fingers or ears were going to fall off first!

The reality of winter training is starting to hit home and it's not even properly cold yet.  In the summer I jump out of bed, it's light and balmy outdoors and all I have to worry about is getting too hot on my morning run.  In the winter it's hard enough open my eyelids let alone the front door to go for a run.  This morning, wasn't that bad once I warmed up a bit (and actually enjoyed it in the end) but it has made me think about investing in some winter running gear as a Christmas present to myself...