Theresas training

Sat 19 May 07 - Well I've just about recovered enough from the trauma to be able to write about last weekend - nasty nasty nasty weather that's all I can say! Sheila M and I headed North to take part in Loch Leven Half Marathon. When we got there we realised that we had forgotten the necessary black bin bag to keep us warm and dry - and boy was it needed! We headed along to the local shop to buy some, ended up with wheelie bin liners which where like floor length dresses - or they would have been if the wind had died down long enough to stop whipping the excess up round our necks. We must have been a right sight. And so the wind and rain continued, and we would have continued looking a right sight. Sooooo tiring running into the wind - think it was behind us for about a mile, and we were sheltered for another one - see if you can guess from the splits!

1 - 9.08
2 - 9.00
3 - 8.08
4 - 9.13
5 - 8.42
6 - 9.01
7 - 9.18
8 - 9.43 (that'll be the hill out of Scotlandwell - head wind not good for those of us who can't breathe well)
9 - 10.04 (still suffering from the last hill and they have another one)
10 - 9.11
11 - 10.27
12 - 10.21
13 - 10.18
.1 - 1.07

Last 3 miles where headwind hell - I put my time at 2.03.49, think the official is 2.04.03 or something. Sheila and I agreed we could take five minutes off for wind factor.....think that's a fair assessment.

Sun 20 - Sheila M and I headed out for a light trot as a recovery run from yesterday. We headed out at 5 so we had a good day to recover - I watched a bit of the great manchester run so was inspired after seeing Jo Pavey win, Kate Read (?) good run and Mo Farah coming third. The Sheila and I started to run - not sure we quite match up with them speed wise but the wee 4 miler helped the stiffness issues.

Tue 22 - For some reason Sheila M and I thought that Daniel's Brae would be a good idea for our club run. So off we headed (Sheila M, Alison and I) took a detour through the trees to get to Spott roundabout in a more scenic way, then running up to Spott, down to the ford, up Daniel's Brae, back to Eweford and under A1 to head back to Halhill via Lochend wood. 2 things shocked Sheila - 1) the amount Alison talks and 2) the fact that she could talk and run up Daniel's Brae quite calmly on her first attempt. (I know how much she can talk but 2) also surprised me as I puffed my way up) She calmly said something along the lines of my legs are burning and carried on running. Amazing.

Thur 24 - Intervals - 12x400m in 3 mins. Last time we did this session was 26th April. And I managed to do better times all the way - probably got something to do with Alison going so fast from the start (she was prob about 5 secs in front of me each lap) and Val and Fay pushing from behind. Probably averaged 1.51 or 1.52 each time, with the last one 1.40 so faster than before.

Sat 26 - Long run. Sheila M and I headed out from mine, along to Doon Hill and followed the path over to the Brunt. We ran on past Ann & Stuart (literally, they where out in their car) and on to Aikengall. Fine so far and about 8 miles covered, and all hills run up (and the rest obviously, apart from the climbing and opening gates moments.) and then....Sheila said may as well go somewhere different. And never ever do this unless you have checked the route on the map first. Our short cut turned in to a very hard long cut up a mountain (ok so up cock law) and past cows and sheep and millions of dodgy barbed wire fences to clamber over. We then managed to get back to the road out of Oldhamstocks, run onto Innerwick and then do some more cross country to get from Innerwick back to mine - so overgrown by the burn at Innerwick - nettles to the waist. Not so bad if you have asbestos legs like Sheila but my wee sensitive legs were getting stung to bits - the air was very
blue.....
Anyway quick sprint to home and in for some lovely homemade cheese-cake. Made it all worthwhile I'm sure - we think a 12 mile run and 2 mile hike is fair.....

Sun 27 - Edinburgh Marathon! Not running, but as bad (or worse) marshalling! At least when running you keep warmer, and it's over quicker....it was really enjoyable at first (apart from the rain) and up until about 2 (so clapping for about 4 hours solid and shouting well done for a lot of that too) but then the back gets sore, and hands really ached. It was cool and breezy and some heavy rain showers but overall everything seemed to go smoothly.
But well done to those running - all looked good as they passed me at 10.5 miles, and 24 miles on the way to the finish. First male was running their debut marathon - what an achievement!
Now I'm deliberating about an easy run tomorrow or heading over to do the rigg race - what's best?

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only cos I've been running so much. This is going to take ages for me to type...might even need to do it in a couple of episodes!

Last time I wrote was 5th May. Here goes....

6th May - ran with Brian from East Links, through John Muir, over A1 just about Tynefield to Hedderwick direction, round the farms and out at North Belton, back through John Muir (nice new tar road is quite bouncy) and back to car. Ran this in my old trainers - not so nice and bouncy as my brand new Saucony's. Awww - hope the Saucony's last - think I could be a convert. So lovely and bouncy on my feet. Anyway went for scone afterwards - worlds best at Lauderdale park.

7th May - bank holiday so guess what - went for a run. Headed out with Sheila for a long run (12?) - headed from Belhaven up to Eweford, Wester Broomhouse, Spott and second ford. Then on to Pitcox, and through a magic gate into a secret garden. Trotted along and went over a cool old bridge next to a hidden cottage, past Biel house (I think) and headed down to the A1 just opposite Tynefield, heading through John Muir back to Belhaven. Found a new wee path in John Muir to avoid boredom. Rain started when we got to the A1 - nasty big raindrops that soak you through - bummer. Shoes kept me bouncing along though - up those hills like tigger. Then lovely food at Sheila's.

8th May - missed club tonight as Sheila M and I went to a running clinic at Run and Become. It was cool - some people from Optimal Fitness talking about lactic acid testing (although you have to be able to run on a treadmill for 40 mins and I think there is no hope of me managing to do that - high boredom factor!) and core stability. Also Hayley Ovens (international athlete - just googled her and think she did the 1500m in Commonwealth Games) and also Yvonne Murray (not telling - you should know who she is) where there giving a chat. We went out for a jog (Sheila and I both bet Yvonne Murray - am thinking of taking this up professionally now - although concerned that she was maybe holding back a bit) and then went back to the shop to ask any other questions. Then guess what? Yup - we went out for dinner. Fab dinner at First Coast - fishy stuff for Sheila (scallops and lythe) and courgettey things for me (courgette and mint fritters & then courgette, sultana and pine
nut linguine). We both had delish pud - banana, covered in hot toffee sauce, covered in toasted oats, with blob of ice cream. Yum

9th May - headed out for another run. This time with Sheila M, Val and Brian. From Belhaven, through John Muir to Tynefield over A1 as per Sunday's run, back through John Muir to Belhaven. Approx 8 but a good speed - Val's fault. And this is her after taking time off........

10th May - intervals, but had to take it easy in advance of race on Sunday. Did all 24x200m but did them at kind of 10k pace (1 min for 200m, so 8 min miles). Found it hard to hold back though - the first six I did in 53 secs each, then was sensible and did the rest at a min - apart from the last one. Did it in 45.

13th May - Glasgow Women's 10k race - fabby race and great organisation. Look forward to this one every year. Sheila M and I were running this one, starting in the second pulse start. Distressingly pressed the wrong button at some point in the race which means that I didn't get my splits. Also had to try to guesttimate how I was doing, without having proper timings on my wrist. Felt quite good and enjoyed it, although it was tough and warm when not in the breeze. Managed to knock nearly 2 mins off my time from last year (55.03 last year, 53.09 this year) and just 17 secs outside by pb. Way better than Dunbar, and this one is def hillier. If only I'd run 2 secs per km faster and I would have managed a pb. How annoying! Although Sheila not speaking to me (lasted about 2 seconds) cos I managed to finish in front of her. Quite a good race though, as managed to finish in top 10%! how good is that?

15th May - Tuesday club night. Sheila M and I were planning on doing a longer one, but as it was a nice night we decided to head up the brunt. Luckily I was prepared with my water bottle belt. Although many were taking the mick out of me....Quite pleased though as legs were very sore after Sunday but made it up all the hills totally. Very cool (had a wee walk just before Spott farm but made it up the horrible hill in the field, then all the way up the Brunt). If you can run that you can run anything....(although still too scared to try Starvation Brae)

17th May - Intervals. Stuart was taking us tonight - he's meant to be tapering for the marathon, but I'm really not sure he knows what tapering is! Tonights session was 16x300m, in 2min15secs. I did 3 out of every 4, but ran the last one as well so did 13 of them. Only ran them at half marathon pace (or maybe slightly faster) so felt ok. Did the last one substantially faster - 1min11 compared to 1min33-36 for the others. Still no faster than my best earlier this year though....Legs feeling tired - races and hills obviously have an effect.

Now will need to stretch them out before the weekend.....

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Got a lot to catch up on again - better get on with it.

19th April - intervals. Bit of a rubbish session (for me) as I only did every second one so ended up running about 2.5 miles. Hmmm. Def not enough to burn off the chocolate intake. Those running the marathon on Sunday also did every second one - but a sensible option for them. Fiona nipped in to see us at the end. Unfortunately she had been struck by a nasty chest infection and the doctor told her not to run on Sunday. Bummer - esp as she had deferred her entry from the previous year so couldn't defer again. How annoying to be struck down after doing all that training - we did suggest she consider running Edinburgh at the end of May so the training wasn't lost.

20th April - took the day off work to go and run up Arthur's Seat with Sheila. It was cool - we started from Meadowbank and then ran up the steep side, round and down, along to Dudingston and back along the innocent railway, then back to the park and back up Arthur's seat on the less steep side. Think knackeration was settling in then tho and gave up a little on the hill, thought it was longer than it was but actually quite short from that side. We trotted back round and down to Meadowbank where we got a shower. Then onto Khushi's for a nice dinner. This is a new annual running event - used to celebrate my birthday (which was in January) but actually timewise this was good as halfway between mine and Sheila's birthdays.
After running we headed to run-4-it. Sheila's friend was working (from her jog scotland course). I wanted a vest, had taken my trainers with me to have a look at other cushioned shoes that may be better and was also considering a heart rate monitor. Well got a bright yellow vest, and bought my hrm - timex as I like their watches. Trainer wise I was recommended another type of cushioned shoes - Saucony's. Two assistants said from the wear on my shoes it looks as if I supinate (opposite of pronation ie instead of rolling in towards big toe, I role out to the other). Interesting given that only last summer I moved from Asics Kayano (top of the range for pronation) to a neutral shoe. So going full circle then.....but they didn't have my size to try.

21st April - Went out for a bit of a leg loosener, and to test out the hrm. Also had to head to Sheila's to pick up my make up that I'd left at hers from the previous day. Just ran from home, round the bottom of Doon Hill, up the closed road to Wester Broomhouse, then down towards the Pleasance, Eweford and tehn down to Belhaven. Brian picked me up and I got my make up and headed off for one of the best cheese scones in the world at Lauderdale park.

22nd April - well of course spent the morning watching the marathon. Then went out for a run, managed to persuade Brian to come along. Just ran from home round the cement factory to whitesands, and back to home. Ran all the way up my hill so was quite chuffed altho annoyingly Brian managed to get just about to the top on his first attempt and after only doing a couple of runs this year! Annoying.

24th April - went out with Sheila and a couple of her jog scotland group - although they are running 5 miles consistenly so not so much beginners any more. Headed out to John Muir Country Park and then back to West Barnes, up to Eweford and back to Halhill through the trees. Got to hear all about the runners escapades in London - they all did really well esp in the heat. Val loved it - not sure which one she is going to sign up for next!

26th April - 400m again tonight - cool. 12 x 400m in 3 mins. Felt good and had hrm on (although obviously not properly) as concerningly managed to be at 240 bpm a few times (and my max is meant to be 191). Anyway all of them were under 2 mins, pobably averaging about 1.53 or lower. So better than two weeks ago most of the way through. My last lap was 1.41 though, so same as fastest two weeks ago. Don't know what I did right but must figure it out so I can do it again!

28th April - my friend had been over for the Friday/Saturday so sneaked a wee run in later on on Saturday night. (my original plan had been to go early on the Saturday morning but too much pink fizzy stuff kinda put pay to that!) I ran along the road to Doon Hill and then turned left, running up to the top of the hill to a gate. Then turned to the right along a path through some fields and ended up at the top of Brunt hill. Cool view, then jogged down the hill, turning right and running through a few more fields to get back to the road from near my house to Doon Hill. Nice loop of about 4.5 miles that I can build some new route variations on. Good downhills too - which I think kinda killed my legs for the next day....

29th April - went out for a long one with Sheila - without telling her where we were going. We ran from Belhaven up to Eweford, up to Wester Broomhouse, down the closed road and then through the fields by the house with the red chimney to run behind Spott farm. Made it up those hills but didn't manage too many more on the run. Ran down past Black Loch (after reading about it in Stuarts blog) which Sheila really liked. We came out at Pathhead/Halls - amazing scenery and then went round by the ford to Spott, then down to Belhaven via the closed road to Wester Broomhouse and Eweford. Good run in terms of location - not such a good run in terms of energy levels - running up the hill from the ford I ended up stopping, whereas the last time I'd run up that hill I'd barely even noticed it was a hill. I blame my big run down hill yesterday.

1st May - club night. Had a meeting so could only go for about 5.5 miles. Ran through trees to Eweford, up the right fork towards Pitcox but cutting up to the left at the Pleasance and over to Wester Broomhouse, down the closed road, down to Spott roundabout and through the trees back to club. Nice run.

3rd May - intervals - handicap 5km. Got to club and realised after wasting some time that I'd forgotten a key piece of kit so had to rush home, change, rush back to club, before we got started. Only managed one lap warm up. Ran quite well - hrm helps to tell you that you still have a bit to go before hitting your max (my average hr was 169, peak 183 with my max being 191 so ok) but got a bit of a nasty stitch and had to stop for 2 cars (where I've nearly been run over before, so thought I'd better stop. Complete pain). Did it in 25.01 - Ian's time. My watch said 25.00. If it hadn't been for those cars I might have broken the 25min barrier (by about a second!) AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHHH. Anyway did manage to match my second best ever time (although the previous time it won me the trophy back in Dec 05). And now no more attempts for about 3 months, until after the summer series....

5th May - today. Went out for a nice hilly run - ran round the bottom of Doon Hill, behind Spott Farm and then down Starvation Brae into Spott. I then ran down to the Ford and up Daniel's Brae (made it right to the top and kept going) then headed down towards Eweford, but turning up at the Pleasance to Wester Broomhouse and then down the closed road. From there it was back up to the house with the red chimney, through the field (again running all the way up the hill) round to Pinkerton and on to home (running all the way up my hill too). First time I've run up all those hills so pretty chuffed with that. A wee run on the cards tomorrow and probably a longer one on Monday again...

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