tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-47999845589456357242024-03-08T11:36:21.339+00:00London Marathon 2014Barbara Greenwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05825854376521503461noreply@blogger.comBlogger29125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4799984558945635724.post-47544857568176112502014-04-14T22:15:00.000+01:002014-04-14T22:15:43.774+01:00Race Report<span style="font-family: inherit;">If you just want the headlines - I did it!!! I completed the London Marathon in a long and tiring 6:42:13, but I crossed the line running and smiling. Here's the longer version:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I got up around 6.40 and shortly after 7 was downstairs in the hotel having breakfast - an instant porridge pot, which I had brought with me, tea, toast and apple juice. David and I left the hotel about 7.45 and travelled by underground and DLR to Greenwich, with him getting off the stop before to go direct to the Cutty Sark. I ate the banana I had brought with me at about 9.30, in good time for the race start at 10.00</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">In deference to my predicted time, I was starting towards the back. It took 28 minutes of slow walking forward till I even reached the start line, but the timing chip attached to my shoe meant that "my" race only started when I crossed the line. I started running just before the line, and I was away. For the first several miles, my strategy was to make sure I didn't run too fast, which meant anything faster than 14 minutes per mile. So I counted 80 running steps (which I know from experience is about 30 seconds of running), then walked until my average pace came back up to 14 minutes per mile.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white;" /><span style="background-color: white;">There were crowds lining the route pretty much from the start, and lots of clapping and cheering to encourage us along. In some places they were several deep, and in others they were more spread out, but there was hardly every a part of the route with nobody watching. I was very glad that I had ironed my name onto my shirt, as it was very encouraging to have people shouting "Go on, Barbara, you're doing so well!"</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">It was sunny pretty much all day, and I am very glad that I had thought to slather on the factor 30 suncream before setting off - and even so, I got some mild sunburn. I'm also very pleased that I had brought some toilet paper with me, as there was none left when I needed a pit stop!</span><br style="background-color: white;" /><br style="background-color: white;" /><span style="background-color: white;">At 6 and a bit miles I realised that this thing looming up on my left was the Cutty Sark. Heading towards the river, people shouting "Go on, Barbara" and then I heard David's voice shouting "Go on, Barbara", and he was right in from of me, so I ran over and managed to lean across the double crowd barrier and give him a kiss, and then I was off again.</span><br style="background-color: white;" /><br style="background-color: white;" /><span style="background-color: white;">Mile 7 comes and there's a Cancer Research UK cheering point and they make a tremendous noise, and in fact many of the charity supporters are cheering all the charity runners, not just their own people. I got a bit choked up at that point. My Garmin beeps for 7 miles, while the 7 mile marker is not yet in sight, and it's at this point I realise that it's not an inaccuracy in either the course measurement or my Garmin, but I am doing extra distance by weaving around on the road. Not deliberately, of course - when I can, I run on the blue line which indicates the proper measured marathon distance. But I am run-walk-running, so sometimes I am overtaking people who are running slower than me, and other times stepping aside to let them through on the shortest line when I am walking. I resign myself to the fact that when my Garmin says 26.2, I will still have a way to go. I ended up covering 27.34 miles, according to my Garmin.</span><br style="background-color: white;" /><br />There is water available every mile from mile 3 onwards. I take some about every other mile, and every 5 miles or so there is a sports drink instead. There are also a couple of carbohydrate gels offered as well as 2 I've brought with me, and the crowd offering sweets at regular intervals. <span style="background-color: white;">8 miles, 9, 10, and there are lots of people outside having barbecues and music blaring out from pubs and we run past a church where there's a priest in robes aspersing runners with Holy Water. In Deptford there are people on the pavement outside the Methodist Church - a mainly black crowd, playing music and singing, and I shout at them that I'm a Methodist, but I don't think they heard me.</span><br style="background-color: white;" /><br style="background-color: white;" /><span style="background-color: white;">Mile 10 comes (on my Garmin) and my average pace so far is 14:20 and I'm quite happy with that. Mile 11, mile 12, and I'm feeling good and Tower Bridge comes into view. And I'm running across and there's Denise Lewis with a camera crew and there's no-one else around but she shows no interest in interviewing me, so I keep going. Off Tower Bridge and onto The Highway, where the route doubles back on itself. The stream of runners coming in the opposite direction is much denser than on my side (they've done 22 miles, and I haven't done 13 yet) - so there are advantages to being slow, as I have much more room to manouevre. I toddle along, passing and being passed by the same people, and this is the point when my quads start to feel a bit tired and crampy. Nothing serious, just they notice they've been working for a while.</span><br style="background-color: white;" /><br style="background-color: white;" /><span style="background-color: white;">I reach 13.1 miles - half way - on my Garmin in about 3:05, but it's 3:10 by the time I reach the official half way line. </span><span style="background-color: white;">We turn right off The Highway and into some narrow streets, and there's a guy handing out cakes and I have part of an apple Danish, yum. 14 miles, 15 miles, and I think to myself I've only got 11 to go, and I realise that I am pretty tired and my feet are sore and my legs are starting to feel a bit done in. And I don't know whether it's the heat, or the fact that this is all Tarmac whereas I've always done a fair bit of my running off road, but it feels as though this is tiring me more than the equivalent distance on my training runs. I have a bit of a wobble emotionally, because another 11 miles seems like a really long way given how I'm feeling, but then I tell myself that time doesn't matter, it's just a question of keeping going, and I can do it.</span><br style="background-color: white;" /><br style="background-color: white;" /><span style="background-color: white;">Up until this point I had been watching my pace for the current mile, to make sure I wasn't going too fast. But since 10 miles, I have been over 14 mins/mile. I decide to stop watching my pace as there is no chance of accidentally going too fast, but if I watch my pace I may be tempted to make myself go faster. So I switch over to the timer/distance screen, and also turn on the walk/run alert. That external signal is going to save me needing to count my running steps, and also make sure I take walking breaks which are neither too long or too short.</span><br style="background-color: white;" /><br style="background-color: white;" /><span style="background-color: white;">15, 16, 17, and here's another CRUK cheering point and there's David with them. He asks me how I am and I say my legs are a bit tired and someone else says it's all mental and I can do it, which of course I can. So, another kiss and I'm off again. 18, 19, and I've run further than I have before, but I am starting to get a little bit confused - the mental impact of physical tiredness, I think. I am losing track of whether I was following the distance on my Garmin or the course markers, and I forget exactly how many miles I've done. But the important thing is just to keep moving. It's getting harder to break into a run when the Garmin tells me to - it is starting to hurt - but I keep on doing it.</span><br style="background-color: white;" /><br style="background-color: white;" /><span style="background-color: white;">21,22... There's supposed to be a CRUK cheer point here, but I can't see them. And then I see </span><a class="glossary" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" style="background-color: white; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #cc0000;">Fetchpoint - a cheering point manned by other members of the running website fetcheveryone. </a><span style="background-color: white;">They supply me with face wipes, snacks, hugs and encouragement to keep going. It takes a special sort of person to hug a sweaty incoherent runner!! Just a little further on I pass 40K, and there's David again at a CRUK point which has been abandoned by everyone else, and he says "See you at the finish!"</span><br style="background-color: white;" /><br style="background-color: white;" /><span style="background-color: white;">The shouts from the crowd have mostly been supportive and encouraging, but every so often there is some smart Alec (who has probably never run a mile in his life) saying something "witty". Most of the way round I just ignored them, but as I get more tired, that gets harder. A few people cross the road without much consideration for those of us who have run a very long way!!! 23, 24 along the embankment. </span></span><span style="background-color: white;"> </span><span style="background-color: white;"> Most of the people around me are walking now, most of the time - and whenever I break into a run there is an extra cheer from the crowd. I'm not sure whether they think I have done it in response to their shouts, when in fact I have done it because my Garmin beeped. </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">25 miles, and I know I'm going to finish and I get a bit emotional and sob a couple of times, but then I keep going. And Big Ben comes into view and it's a bit further away than I'd like, but then it isn't and as I turn into Parliament Square I turn off my run/walk timer and I'm just doing this now.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white;" /><span style="background-color: white;">Into Birdcage Walk and I've thought about running all the rest of the way but that seems too hard but I am running more of the time now. There's a sign that says 600m to go... 400m to go.... and I think I will run the last 200m but I turn the corner and it says 385 yards to go, and I think that's a bit much to run. So I take one last walk break and then start running just before I reach the monument in front of Buckingham Palace and someone shouts my name, and it's Sandra from Thinking Slimmer, and I wave and turn into the Mall and a marshall says "You've done it" and there's the finish, and I'm almost there and I'm there and I press my Garmin and I've run the London Marathon!!!!</span><br style="background-color: white;" /><br style="background-color: white;" /><span style="background-color: white;">I collect my medal, have my timing chip removed, collect my goody bag and kit bag, and make my way to the meeting point. I want to do nothing so much as sit down, but I simultaneously want to keep moving to avoid stiffening up. I have had plenty to drink, including sports drinks and carbohydrate gels, but not much food. We make our way back to the hotel, I have a shower, and put on my Finisher's T-Shirt. I feel well enough to walk (gingerly!) the few minutes over to St Pancras Station, where we have our first proper meal in twelve hours. David, bless him, has been on his feet ever since leaving me on the DLR, and has also not had anything to eat more than a few sweets.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">So, that was the London Marathon. I knew it would get hard towards the end, as it meant running 8 miles further than I ever had before. It became hard rather earlier than I had anticipated, and that presented a challenge in itself, because it made me doubt my ability to finish. But in the course of the training I have learned so much about self-belief and motivation. When it got hard, I reminded myself of all the reasons I wanted to do this, and told myself I could, and I kept going until the job was done. The reasons I wanted to do this were partly about personal achievement, and partly about raising money to defeat cancer. And so far, I - or rather, you and people like you - have raised over £4,300 for Cancer Research.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The day afterwards I am naturally somewhat stiff and will be for a few days. But it is not as bad as I had feared - some people find stairs almost impossible for a few days after a marathon. I saw lots of runners being treated for blisters by the St John Ambulance, but my feet are fine.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Thank you so much for helping me on this journey. It has been a roller coaster!! When I signed up for the marathon, I estimated my finish time at around five and a half hours, based on the pace I had been running in training. Because of the injuries and the training I lost, I ended up taking nearly six and three quarter hours. But I have completed a marathon - something only 1% of people ever do. That is something no-one can ever take away from me. Thank you for all you have done to make it possible.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: 11.818181991577148px;"><br /></span>Barbara Greenwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05825854376521503461noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4799984558945635724.post-16912013427046874912014-04-11T08:26:00.000+01:002014-04-11T08:26:34.992+01:00Final PreparationsWe will be off to London very soon. Every item of kit I'll be wearing on Sunday has been thought about and chosen with care. My route from the hotel to the start is planned and timings worked out. I just need to put things in my case, ring for a taxi, and then we'll be off.<br />
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At the moment, I have butterflies in my stomach and a sense of nervous distraction. I am hoping that in the next 48 hours an air of calm will descend - because I have really done all that I can do. The training is done. It is enough to get me round in one piece, as long as I am sensible in my pacing. I have practised that in my two runs this week - holding myself back at the start. I want my average pace to be no quicker than 14 minutes per mile, and certainly no individual mile faster than 13:30.<br />
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In a way, I am now on a conveyor belt that is moving its way slowly and inexorably towards the start line. I have made all the decisions that are to be made, now I just move on with the consequences. It reminds me a little of the events of Holy Week, starting with Palm Sunday - this Sunday. Once Jesus had entered Jerusalem, a train of events had started which were going to end with his arrest and death. He had opportunities to run away, right up to his arrest - but he didn't take them, because he knew what he had to do.<br />
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I can pull out, any point between now and Sunday morning, or indeed during the race itself. But I'm not going to. A few people, when talking to me, have emphasised how hard it is, how painful. Now, I don't like pain!! I would rather avoid it if I could. But if I can't, then I will go through it - that's all there is to it. I have made my mind up - I have set my face towards London.<br />
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I continue to be amazed at the support and encouragement I've received, and also the donations from far and wide. I am losing track now, but so far the fund has reached over £3,900. When I set my target as £2,500, I thought how cool it would be if I actually reached £2,620 as that would be £100 for every mile I run. I'm wondering now if I could actually double that. And it's not me- it's everyone else, being so generous, and also telling their friends and families and posting it on their facebook and twitter. Some donations have come from people I have never met, and it's amazing.... this thing has taken on a life of its own. I am a passenger.<br />
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So, my part now is just to get out there on Sunday and do it. And I will :) If you are following my progress via the marathon website, you will be able to see when I cross the start line, and get an update every 5K. As a ball park figure, each 5K should be taking me a bit less than 45 minutes - at least to start with. Chances are I will slow down later in the race. I could go faster at the beginning, but that would be a bad idea!<br />
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So, it's almost here. I have a few things to get together, my bag to pack, and then we'll be off. See you at the finish!Barbara Greenwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05825854376521503461noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4799984558945635724.post-53741514955540459212014-04-05T22:55:00.000+01:002014-04-05T22:55:31.347+01:00Nearer and Nearer Draws the TimeOnly two runs this week - but seeing as my long run on Monday was 18.2 miles, I am happy enough with that. The cheque from the Brass Band evening has gone off, and together with other donations received, the total so far stands at £3,492.50. With two fundraising events still to come and several sponsor forms still in circulation, I think it's now reasonable to think in terms of eventually reaching £5,000 - double my original target, and a totally amazing outcome.<br />
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So, Monday. I decided that rather than run on the Southwell Trail again, I would use my gym as a base instead. This would save me the 10-minute drive either way (or rather, replace it with a 6-minute walk), which I felt has contributed to post-run stiffness. The gym gives me a locker to store water and supplies, and access to a toilet (important on a 4.5 hour run!), while avoiding the temptation to bail out early if I came back home to refuel. The downside of the gym compared to the trail is that the terrain is not as flat, so I did rather more ascent than I would have done. With that in mind, I am quite content that I only just got over the 18 mile mark, rather than getting close to 20. It took me 4 hours and 40 minutes, and the last half an hour was quite hard. I used the walk/run timer on my watch to prompt the switch of pace, and I was definitely more reluctant to break into a run over the last couple of miles. But the important thing is - I did it.<br />
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On getting home I did a good session of stretching and used the foam roller, then had a warm bath. Whether it was the walk home, the bath, the foam roller or something else, I can't be sure, but I was significantly less stiff following this run than the 17 miler two weeks ago.<br />
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I took a full day's rest on Tuesday then crosstrained on Wednesday. I intended to run again on Thursday, but was unwell during the night, so took another day's rest instead. My second run of the week, yesterday, was only 4.5 miles - but it was very enjoyable, and at this stage, it is enough.<br />
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A week from now, I will be in my hotel in London, digesting my pasta meal, preparing my kit, and hoping for a decent night's sleep. I am warned that nerves may well interfere with sleep - but I should at least rest. Between then and now, I have a very busy week - isn't that always the way? I plan to run on Monday - about 5-6 miles, crosstrain on Wednesday and have my last pre-marathon run on Thursday. 3-4 miles on Thursday will be plenty. The hard work - well, most of it - is done, and all that is left is to do what I have been preparing for.<br />
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I intend to enjoy myself! I am watching the weather forecast like a hawk (I want it dry, but not too warm). I am rehearsing my mental strategies and motivational self-talk. I am reminding myself, whatever I do, NOT to go off quickly, and to take my walk breaks right from the very start. And I am remembering all the people who have supported and encouraged me... the ones who have donated.... and the ones who have suffered/are suffering from cancer.<br />
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We are almost there, folks. On the day, you can follow my progress by going to the Marathon website www.virginmoneylondonmarathon.com and clicking on the Runner Tracker link which will appear on the day itself. Then search for my name or race number (35972) and you will see the time that I cross the start line, and every 5K, until I reach the end. Keep on watching, and say a prayer (or two) for me, to help me get to the end.Barbara Greenwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05825854376521503461noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4799984558945635724.post-65112206367264446472014-03-29T17:57:00.000+00:002014-03-29T17:57:16.535+00:00Girding My LoinsThree runs this week as intended, although the total was pretty low at a measly 11 miles. The fundraising total now stands at a stupendous £2,970.50, although in fact there is £375 to add to that which was raised at a Brass Band evening at one of my churches last Saturday - I just haven't got the cheque in my hand yet!<br />
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I did a very pleasant 5.5 miles on Monday morning, and afterwards removed the tape from my leg. It really has done a good job of keeping my knee comfortable and enabling me to run. I noticed that the skin which had been underneath the tape was a bit dry and slightly red, perhaps not surprising as it had been covered for almost two weeks. I decided to let it breathe for a couple of days and then go back to the physio later in the week for some more. However, when I contacted him, he said he had run out of tape and was expecting a delivery on Thursday.<br />
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I cross-trained on Wednesday (beat my time for 5K on the rower by almost a minute), but when I phoned on Thursday, discovered that he still didn't have any tape. I started to become a bit anxious about my long run on Monday - I thought I would be OK to run short distances without tape, but not at all confident about the 18-20 miles I want to do as my last long run. On Friday morning, I went to the gym and did some work on the bike, then decided to risk a little run on the treadmill. This went fine, but I limited it to 30 minutes. Then later in the day we went into Nottingham and I bought my own tape from a running shop, and applied it last night in the way I had seen the physio do twice. It's probably not quite as good as having it done by a professional, but I did feel a difference with it on, and went round parkrun very comfortably this morning.<br />
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So, to mental strategies. I have prepared myself a Mile Guide to the London Marathon route - a short phrase or two for each mile, telling me what to expect. The idea is that I can memorise it (I am most of the way there with that) and I will know what is ahead. On the day, though, I need to concentrate on running the mile I'm in, and not worry about the ones left to run, or how many have gone before. And from the various books and articles I've read, and from my experience of training, I have a list of strategies to help me.<br />
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Some of it is about positive mental attitude - people who approach an experience with confidence and expecting good things usually do better and enjoy the experience more, than those who approach it with negative expectations. I know running a marathon is tough - but if I dwell on it being tough, it is likely to seem tougher than it needs to. So, I am practising positive things to tell myself about it. Things like: I can do this, I'm strong, I'm fit, I can keep on going. And I want to do more than finish - I want to enjoy the experience. So I'm going to be telling myself that this is good, that everyone is there to support me, that I'm having fun, that I'm proud of myself... and then again, that I can do this, I can keep going.<br />
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When it gets tough - and it will - I shall tell myself that I've come this far, I can push through, I can keep on going, I can get to the finish, I'm strong, I'm fit, I'm determined. There are those Bible verses I mentioned months ago, especially - I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. So many people have told me they are praying for me, and I am sure that will make a difference.<br />
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But before that day, there is one last hurdle to jump - and that's my last long run on Monday. I want to get past the 18 mile mark, and if I manage the same pace overall as the 17 mile run, that will take me to 4:23. I would ideally like to get to 20 miles, but I need to set a cut-off time, and I think that needs to be 4:30. So, we'll see how we go. I need to remember that my absolute top priority is to stay well enough to run, so if I get any significant pain, or niggles that don't ease off when I slow down, I will cut the run short. I haven't come this far to get injured again two weeks before the day!<br />
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Time is short. Someone asked me this morning whether I was feeling excited, nervous, or terrified - and the answer, of course, is all three. On Monday morning, I need to go out and sort of forget that I am aiming to run close to 20 miles, and just stay in the moment. I can rehearse my Mile Guide to London, I can practise my positive statements - and I can think about all the kind, wonderful and generous people who have accompanied me on the journey so far. Thank you.Barbara Greenwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05825854376521503461noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4799984558945635724.post-39063935815297766522014-03-22T17:38:00.002+00:002014-03-22T17:38:31.121+00:00Positive SignsOnly two runs this week - but they were both fairly long, and added up to 25.8 miles. Having now received a cheque for £200 from my friend's fundraising event a few weeks ago (thanks, Helen) and with other donations in hand, the total now is a tremendous £2,817.50.<br />
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So, to the running. I decided to switch my first run of the week from Monday to Tuesday, so did some crosstraining on Monday instead. On Tuesday my target was to run for up to 2 hours, and in order to give myself the best chance of doing this, I wanted a flat route. I also wanted to never be too far from home, as if the knee became a problem I would need to walk home. So I did most of the run on a flattish circular section of Boundary Wood. My knee grumbled a bit on the way to and from the wood, as I went up and down the hills, but it was absolutely fine on the flat bits. I did just over 2 hours, covering 8.8 miles.<br />
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Later that day I went to see the physio. Only after I told him about my runs did he divulge that, on the previous week, he was expecting things to go one of two ways: either a steady recovery, or a rapid decline! Running would reveal whether the injury was minor, and able to heal without surgery, or.... not. Happily, the 2-hour run indicates it is the former. He gave me some more ultrasound treatment, renewed the taping, and sent me away.<br />
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Yesterday I set out for a long run, with the aim of exceeding 4 hours, if possible. I did this on the Southwell Trail - firm and flat! I completed 17 miles, in 4:08. That, in particular, was a massive confidence booster. It was only in the last half an hour or so I began to feel tired. By the end, I was glad to stop, and later in the day I was, not surprisingly, stiff. Today, however, there is only minor stiffness, and my knee is fine. This is a very good sign!<br />
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In the coming week I plan on three moderate-length runs, plus some crosstraining, in preparation for my final long run, which will be two weeks before the marathon. I do not need to do the full 3-week training taper which is usually advised, because I have not been doing the amount of mileage I had originally planned, nor any speed work. I will gain more from doing one last long run - hopefully this time exceeding 18 miles.<br />
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I will also be doing plenty of mental preparation in the coming week - but more about that next time. The day is drawing near!Barbara Greenwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05825854376521503461noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4799984558945635724.post-5049948425827036582014-03-15T17:55:00.004+00:002014-03-15T17:55:42.498+00:00Your Running Number: 35972This morning's post brought the second Marathon News magazine, which includes the registration form I will need to hand over in order to receive my official race number, which is 35972. I understand that there is a live "runner tracker" available on the day, which will enable you to follow my progress along the course, and you will need my race number to do that. Today also brings good news on the running front, despite my having run barely 6 miles this week. Fundraising - so close to crossing the line, with today's total standing at £2484.50. I know there is at least several hundred pounds to come, in the form of the proceeds from several fundraising events, and whatever is out there on the sponsor forms which are on notice boards here, there and everywhere. But wouldn't you love to be the person who goes online and makes the donation that takes me across the £2,500 line?<br />
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So - running. The physio said, try a run before I see you again. I went to the gym on Wednesday, intending just to do strength and crosstraining. But after 15 minutes on the exercise bike, I kept on glancing across at the treadmills, and couldn't resist. I moved across and programmed the treadmill for 10 minutes of walk/run intervals. I was very cautious, starting with just 15s of running out of each minute, but gradually stepped up until for the last few minutes I was doing 30/30. Admittedly the running was very slow - but my knee felt fine. Emboldened, I programmed the treadmill for another 20 minutes and started again. This time I had only been going a couple of minutes when my knee started to feel uncomfortable. I considered pushing through it, but decided caution was more sensible, so I terminated that run after 5 minutes, giving me 15 minutes altogether.<br />
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The following day I did crosstraining on the rowing machine and bike, then yesterday, David and I went for a long walk. We parked at Bilsthorpe and walked almost the full length of the Southwell Trail and back - 13.4 miles round trip, with a lunch break in the middle. I found that if I strode out (i.e. walked too quickly), I would get a pulling sensation at the back of my knee, but otherwise it was fine. The total duration was a shade over 4 hours. Afterwards, I iced my knee as instructed - but in fact my injured knee was fine, whereas my "good" one ached a bit.<br />
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Today, I decided to attempt an actual run out of doors - it was a beautiful, if breezy, spring afternoon. I wore my Cancer Research UK T-Shirt to train in for the first time. I programmed my watch to show me only time, so I would not put on pressure on myself about the pace at which I was running. I didn't use the walk/run timer, simply ran for short periods, with short walks in between, according to how I felt. I had been going for just over an hour, and was within half a mile of home, when I started to feel a bit of discomfort in my knee. It was quite minor, though, and I was able to continue with a bit of running until I got home, having run/walked 4.95 miles in 1:12.<br />
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So there we go - it is hardly speedy! And there is a lot further to go. But the signs are encouraging - especially the fact that I improved from 10 minutes to an hour before I started to feel any discomfort, in the space of three days. My next run will be on Monday, and I'll see how much longer I can go before I start to feel discomfort. Then when I see the physio on Tuesday, I'll discuss with him what my strategy should be for the 4 weeks that remain. Ideally, I would get 2 more very long runs in - at least 16, preferably 18, and ideally 20 miles. But we are into the art of the possible, weighing up the benefits of doing that training (psychological as much as physical) against the risks of aggravating my injuries.<br />
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A massive thank you goes to all the people who have encouraged me, especially since this latest setback. The easiest thing in the world would be to say, I'm injured, I'm pulling out. If I were a serious athlete chasing a fast time, that would be the only sensible thing to do. But I'm not - I'm an ordinary person, trying to do something crazy, and do some good in the process. It won't be fast. It won't be pretty. But if it's physically possible for me to complete the course, I will do it.Barbara Greenwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05825854376521503461noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4799984558945635724.post-50138007957208130892014-03-11T22:39:00.000+00:002014-03-11T22:39:31.062+00:00The Blue Peter Approach to Marathon RunningLast week's running total was just under 22 miles spread over three runs, the longest of which was 8.7 miles in 2 hours. The fundraising total now stands at £2,432.50, and I've been promised a cheque for at least £175 from a fundraising event run by a friend the week before last - so the target is already reached. Amazing!!!<br />
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Now, the observant among you may have noticed that this blog is late. I would normally write it at the weekend - but this past weekend I was feeling distinctly downhearted and didn't know what to tell you. I mentioned last time that my knees were rather sore after the 15 mile run. Last Friday I ran round Carsington Water in Derbyshire - a lovely 7.5 mile circular route of undulating trails. The plan was actually to go 1 3/4 times round and meet David (who was walking round once in the opposite direction) at the Visitor Centre for lunch. This would have given me a run of 13.5 miles, and then a 1.5 mile walk together back to the car.<br />
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Instead, I called it a day at one lap - because in the last mile or so, my right knee had become distinctly uncomfortable. By the time David joined me at the car, I was in pain, limping, and very discouraged. When we got home, I iced my knee and called the physio. The pain subsided after a couple of hours, but I knew, when I was honest with myself, that something wasn't right.<br />
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I have seen the physio this afternoon. The verdict is that I have a small tear in the medial meniscus of my right knee. When he said that, I expected the next sentence to be "and you will not be running a marathon", but instead he said "and we are going to get you round that marathon".<br />
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So, I have had some ultrasound and electrotherapy, which will be repeated next week. I also have the magic tape around my kneecap, slightly altering its position - and as I walked back to my car, I could feel it making a significant difference to how my knee felt. I am instructed to try running before I see him next week - cautiously, in a spirit of finding out how much I can tolerate. After I run, I have to ice my knee (even if it feels fine) and then put a tubigrip on it. I have another sequence of strengthening and stretching to do, and instructions to use my foam roller on a regular basis. I have the promise that he will tape my knee for the marathon itself. And I have hope.<br />
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Back in the day, every craft activity on Blue Peter started with a wire coat hanger, cellotape and sticky-back plastic. It does rather feel as though my body is held together with those at the moment - not so much finely honed athlete as meccano and rubber bands. I knew the marathon would be hard. I knew the training would be hard.... but I thought the difficulty of the training would be about discipline, running when I didn't feel like it (I've had a little of that), going out in bad weather (I've been very lucky on that front) and dealing with a few aching muscles (I've had plenty of those) and blisters (I've had none of those). I didn't anticipate having to nurse my body through injuries, trying to do enough-but-not-too-much training. I didn't expect the emotional ups and downs - believing, then losing hope, but keeping going anyway.<br />
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When I get that medal round my neck, I will know that I have earned it. I will have earned every penny of sponsorship. My reward will be the satisfaction of knowing that I did everything I possibly could to do this - I owe it to the people who have already donated (rather than waiting until I've done it before paying up!) to try. But the real winners will be the people who, in the future, will get earlier diagnosis and better treatment for their cancer, and longer life as a result. That's something worth working for.Barbara Greenwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05825854376521503461noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4799984558945635724.post-75892544914729938422014-03-02T17:05:00.000+00:002014-03-02T17:05:37.519+00:00Back Into ItA good week's training! 3 runs totalling 26 miles, the longest of which took 4 hours and covered a little over 15 miles. I also did a one hour cross-training session on the exercise bike, and 2 strength sessions. More donations have come in, bringing me to £2,347.50 so far. A friend held a fundraising day at her home on Friday, half of the proceeds of which are heading my way. That should take me past the £2,500 "finishing line", which is fantastic news. I look forwards to exceeding my original target my a considerable margin.<br />
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The same cannot be said for the marathon itself!! My run on Monday was, once again, my furthest so far. The aim was to be out for four hours, and I hoped I might manage 16 miles in that time, though in the end it was just over 15. I did this run on the Southwell Trail, which I have used before as it is fairly flat. Since running up hills places a greater strain on the calf muscles, it was safer for me to stay on flat terrain. I used my car as a base, returning to it twice to top up my water bottle and energy supply, in the form of Lucozade Sports drink and ShotBloks - energy bars which have more than a passing resemblance to raw jelly. I have since managed to buy some Lucozade energy gels, which not many places seem to stock. It's important to try these out, because the Lucozade products will be given out during the marathon, and it's advisable to try them in advance to be sure they don't upset my stomach.<br />
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Four hours is a very long time to keep moving! I followed my walk-run pattern, with every so often a slightly longer walk segment to break things up. The weather was very benign, with just a few spots of rain which came to nothing. I used my MP3 player to listen to a podcast called Marathon Talk - a radio programme on the run, if you like. I also listened to some music, and some of the time I just enjoyed the sounds of nature. Naturally I was getting tired towards the end, but I was determined to complete my four hours, and I did. My legs were rather stiff for a couple of days, and my knees slightly sore. But I managed the rest of my planned training during the week.<br />
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I am however very glad that I had decided on the up week/down week pattern, and I am not going out to run for four hours tomorrow morning! Instead, two (and a bit, maybe) will do nicely. I did feel, during each run this week, that I was nursing my calf. It was never painful as such, but I was conscious of it feeling vulnerable. Consequently I am making no attempt at this stage to run faster, even though at Monday's pace, the marathon will take me around 7 hours. I am hopeful that my calf will strengthen, so that I feel confident in moving a little quicker (but I still don't expect any prizes). So you can see why I say 26.2 miles is far enough, and I have no wish to exceed that target.<br />
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I had my sports massage on Thursday, which left my legs feeling much more comfortable. The therapist discovered a number of tight spots, which she said were probably long-standing, and would cause me to stand and run slightly lop-sided. These can be improved, but she said it would be better to wait until after the marathon to work on them. I've booked another session in a couple of weeks.<br />
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So, that's it for this week. The training is getting tough, so it's time to buckle down and get on with it. Only six weeks to go.Barbara Greenwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05825854376521503461noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4799984558945635724.post-86057759046941956692014-02-23T20:42:00.000+00:002014-02-23T20:42:37.459+00:00Preparing for the Final PushThe past week has been a bit of a pause in running - only two runs, totalling 7 miles. This is primarily because we have been on holiday in North Wales, and have done 3 substantial walks, ranging from 2.5 to 4.25 hours, and from 370 to 500 metres of ascent. Walks of that length are good for endurance training, and the hills are good for leg strength. I've done some strength work as well, and had my first run out of doors since the second calf strain. Sponsorship has taken a great leap forward with a couple of very generous donations as well as a few smaller ones, so the total now stands at an amazing £2,227.50.<br />
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As part of my holiday reading, I have been looking at two books about running, each of which claims that modern lifestyles make runners prone to injury, and that it can be virtually eliminated by changing the way we train. Most of us spend many hours each day sitting - and this leads to weakness in certain muscles, excessive tightness in others, and the resulting change in our gait is responsible for the most common injuries. Modern shoes - including modern running shoes - leave our feet and legs much weaker than they would be if we walked around barefoot.<br />
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Happily, neither of these books are recommending that we stop sitting down and start spending the whole day on our (bare) feet to correct these problems. Instead, they each offer a programme of exercises which will enable us to run with better form, and make injury a thing of the past. You will understand that this is very appealing to me. Strength training has been part of my routine all along, but it has been generic strength work, focussing on the big muscles of the arms, legs and trunk. These programmes focus on the smaller stabiliser muscles. Having tried a few of the exercises out, I can confirm that they reach parts which were not previously being reached!<br />
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So, this evening I'm going to work out how I can use my two strength training sessions in the remaining weeks to the best advantage, and also how to add a 5 or 10 minute strength session into the other days in the week. My running programme is going to continue as I'd planned, with the adaptations I've already decided on to avoid over-stressing my calf, i.e. more walking and swapping one run for crosstraining for at least the next couple of weeks. I'm also going to have my first foray this week into the world of sports massage. I rather suspect that it involves more of the deep tissue massage to which the physio subjected me.... but it is said to be very effective, so I am going to give it a go.<br />
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Seven weeks from now, I will have completed the London Marathon. It's time to start fine-tuning - my kit, my hydration, my nutrition during long runs - as well as launching the final push to build endurance for the big day. At the end of the day, I have to do this. But having said that, the encouragement of others helps a lot too. Thank you.Barbara Greenwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05825854376521503461noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4799984558945635724.post-13759899010355161782014-02-15T14:35:00.000+00:002014-02-15T14:35:05.441+00:00Patience and PersistenceSponsorship money continues to come in and the total now stands at £1,650. This week, I have run on three days, adding up to a total of 13.3 miles. Each "run" was on the treadmill, consisted of 30s run/30s walk, and was broken up into segments of between 12 and 30 minutes. The longest so far was this morning, when I did 3 segments of 30 minutes. In addition there has been an awful lot of cross-training - some strength work, but mostly bike, crosstrainer and rower - for a total of 8 hours spent training. And yes - I did do the 3 hrs 45 minutes on Monday, including the walk to and from the gym. I've also done the calf strengthening exercises most days, and have almost reached the 3 sets of 10 which the physio recommended.<br />
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This week there have been some fantastic examples of dedication and effort on display at the Winter Olympics and in the efforts of Davina McCall in her challenge for Sport Relief. Lizzy Yarnold said a couple of things that really resonated with me. Firstly, she said that by the time she came to start her slides, the hard work had been done. She had done it over the preceeding months and years, in every training session, every decision about what to eat and drink, every time she had an early night instead of going out with her mates. I don't have - and don't need - the the training regime of an Olympic gold medallist, but for me, too, the hard work is being done now. By marathon day, all that will remain will be to put it to good use.<br />
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The second thing Lizzy Yarnold said was about believing in your own potential and working to be the best "you" that you can be. I won't win the London Marathon, I'll probably never make a "Good For Age" time, I'm not attempting a time target, or even trying to run the whole way. But I can, and will, finish. That means I need to stay well enough to start. Several people in the past week have tried to persuade me that it would be better to pull out of the London Marathon and try again next year, or perhaps another marathon in the Autumn. But everything has been planned for this year - and that's what I want to do.<br />
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In order to do it, I need both patience and persistence. Patience to resist the temptation to run too much, too fast, too soon. Persistence to do what I need to do instead - all that cross-training, which I find boring (unlike running, which is intrinsically enjoyable), plus the stretching and strengthening exercises. My 3:45 session on Monday was important as much for the psychological strength of having done what I'd decided to do as for the physical training effect.<br />
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As I think about these things, I am reminded of some verses from the letter to the Romans:<i> </i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>"...<span class="text Rom-5-3" id="en-NIV-28051" style="background-color: white;">we</span><span class="text Rom-5-3" style="background-color: white;"><b> </b>also glory in our sufferings,<span class="crossreference" style="font-weight: bold; vertical-align: top;" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-28051H" title="See cross-reference H">H</a>)"></span> because we know that suffering produces perseverance;<span class="crossreference" style="font-weight: bold; vertical-align: top;" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-28051I" title="See cross-reference I">I</a>)"></span></span><span style="background-color: white;"> </span></i><span class="text Rom-5-4" id="en-NIV-28052" style="background-color: white;"><i><span class="versenum" style="font-weight: bold; vertical-align: top;"> </span>perseverance, character; and character, hope" </i>(Romans 5:3-4). If I had not injured my calf, I would not have needed to alter my training in this way. I would not have needed to endure hours of crosstraining. I would not have learned that I could do this, and I would not have the increasing confidence that I can and will do whatever I need to do to complete the challenge which I have set myself.</span></span><br />
<span class="text Rom-5-4" style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">Romans, of course, is talking more about spiritual challenges than physical ones. The text continues: "</span><i><span style="background-color: white;">And hope</span><span class="crossreference" style="background-color: white; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: top;" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-28053J" title="See cross-reference J">J</a>)"></span><span style="background-color: white;"> does not put us to shame, because God’s love</span><span class="crossreference" style="background-color: white; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: top;" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-28053K" title="See cross-reference K">K</a>)"></span><span style="background-color: white;"> has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit,</span><span class="crossreference" style="background-color: white; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: top;" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-28053L" title="See cross-reference L">L</a>)"></span></i><span style="background-color: white;"><i> who has been given to us.</i>" (Romans 5:5)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"> I fully expect to complete the Marathon - but even if something happens and I am not able to, I have the assurance of two things. Firstly, that it was not for lack of dedication or trying that I fell down; and secondly that, whatever happens, God loves me, just as I am.</span></span>Barbara Greenwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05825854376521503461noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4799984558945635724.post-47194469956792878672014-02-08T14:03:00.000+00:002014-02-08T14:03:52.682+00:00Easing Back InAfter following the physio's advice virtually to the letter - and yes, it did hurt! - I went on Wednesday and was cleared to run. He applied some of that coloured tape you see proper athletes sporting to give my calf some extra support for the first few runs, and it shows no signs of peeling off yet. Here are the rules for my rehabilitation:<br />
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1) Stick to the treadmill for 2-3 weeks<br />
2) Don't run on consecutive days<br />
3) Alternate running with walking<br />
4) Start with a short time and build up gradually<br />
5) At the first sign of tiredness or pain, stop running<br />
6) Continue with the strengthening exercises, building up to 3 sets of 10<br />
7) Stretch frequently<br />
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So, my first run on Wednesday was for just 20 minutes, running for 15s out of each minute. On Friday I did 25 minutes, starting out running 20s out of each minute, switching to 30s run/30s walk after 10 minutes. On each of those sessions I made up the balance of an hour with other exercises -bike, rower or crosstrainer. I've also done a couple of strength training sessions - one of which has left me with some rather sore muscles as I must have overdone it. I also did a full 2 hours of crosstraining in the gym on Monday, in place of the 9 mile run that was on my schedule. <br />
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Next Monday is due to be 16 miles, or 3:45 - which is an awfully long time to spend in a gym cycling round different pieces of equipment. I have yet to decide whether I am even going to attempt that time. Physically, it will be good for endurance. But I think the real benefit would be mental. It's about discipline... making a decision, and following through. Because on 13th April, if I think that giving up is an option, I might be tempted to do it. Whereas if I know that the only reason to stop is a serious injury, I will keep going when it gets tough. As for Monday - rather than do a longer run session, I may do 2 or 3 20 minute ones so I am doing more running in total, but having breaks in between to reduce stress on my calf.<br />
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The guru of run-walk-run, Jeff Galloway, suggests that for the pace I have been running at, the best ratio to use is 30s running and 30s walking. Before this latest setback, I was using 60/60, and itching to increase the amount of running - which is where I came unstuck. Galloway also says that shorter run segments and more frequent walk breaks reduce your risk of injury. Bearing in mind that 30/30 and 60/60 are exactly the same proportion of running to walking, I'm inclined to stick with the 30/30 from now on.<br />
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One of the articles I found on the internet about coming back from injury suggests that, for each week during which you have not run, you should think of taking two weeks to get back to the level/distance you were at before the injury. At that rate, it will be early March before I get back to a 13 mile run, and I may only manage 15 or 16 before it is time to start tapering for the race. A lot of decisions to be made - and nine weeks to go.<br />
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Another online donation this week leaves me just a few pounds shy of £1500 raised, plus I know that people have started to fill in sponsor forms. There's also another fundraising event been organised - a Brass Band concert in March. It's going to be a busy few months, and I am very grateful for all the support and encouragement I've received.<br />
<br />Barbara Greenwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05825854376521503461noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4799984558945635724.post-44563954769553731822014-02-01T13:14:00.001+00:002014-02-01T13:23:34.525+00:00Painful NeccessityAnother £70 has come in this week, leaving only another £1025 to meet my £2500 target. Everyone is so generous, thank you. Of course, I would dearly love to raise a lot more. I've just come back from a funeral visit, listening to a lovely lady talking about her husband's losing battle with cancer and the indignities it inflicted on him. Every pound raised brings closer the day when all cancers will be cured.<br />
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This week's big news is my visit to the physio on Thursday. Apparently, if a calf strain is left to heal in its own time, it will do so leaving a knot of scar tissue which is less flexible than normal muscle. For day to day activity, this is not a problem. But for running, it is a permanent weak point, making the muscle more likely to break down again in future.<br />
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The solution is to break down the scar tissue by deep massage, followed by icing the area to limit bleeding, and interspersed with regular stretching to encourage the healing tissue to align itself in the right way. This treatment is enhanced by strengthening exercises.<br />
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If you think that deep massage sounds painful, you would be right! The physio supplemented it with some ultrasound treatment, and told me to get David to do the massage for 5 minutes a day for the next five days. Apparently I won't be able to do it hard enough to be effective myself, as it's too painful. I then go to the physio again for another treatment, and then all being well I will be cleared to run. He wants me to demonstrate that I can hop 50 times on the injured leg - I managed 40 yesterday, so I am highly optimistic that I will get the go-ahead.<br />
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This time my return to running will be even more cautious - short segments of slow running amid a lot of walking. I will increase the running only very gradually. I will make up the rest of the time when I would have been running with various crosstraining activities - mainly elliptical crosstrainer, exercise bike and rowing machine. For the first week (or maybe two or three) I'll do my running on the treadmill, as this can guarantee me a flat even surface, which is what I need at the beginning.<br />
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So - ten weeks to marathon day, and feeling optimistic. There is still a long way to go, and - for the next five days at least - more painful kneading of my calf to be endured. I've also got to be disciplined with the stretching and strengthening exercises, and with the crosstraining. Some people say they find running boring - I can't understand that, since to me it is a joy. But the cardio equipment in the gym, that truly is boring!! I did an hour this morning, and got through it by dint of listening to some of my favourite songs from my youth on my new sporty MP3 player.<br />
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So, there you go. Months ago, one of the runners on fetcheveryone.com told me that getting to the starting line of a marathon is an achievement in itself, and often underestimated. I am starting to think he may have been right!Barbara Greenwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05825854376521503461noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4799984558945635724.post-63516541007424048212014-01-25T20:40:00.000+00:002014-01-25T20:40:03.377+00:00Recalculating...A few more donations have come in, bringing the total so far to £1,405.50 - 56% of my target. I have begun to distribute publicity and sponsor forms around the circuit, and a couple more fundraising ideas are in the pipeline. I am confident that the £2,500 will be passed. That's the good news....<br />
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The bad news is that I've only run 11 miles this week.... because just over a mile into my second run of the week, my calf muscle went again. This time I stopped running immediately and walked home, feeling somewhat disconsolate.<br />
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If you have a certain sort of SatNav, you may have had the following experience: you are following the instructions and then for some reason you go off the planned route. Perhaps you missed the turning, or were in the wrong lane. So you aren't going where you wanted to go, but then that calm voice says "Recalculating....." A few seconds later gives you the instruction which will bring you towards your destination. You may take a little longer to get there that originally planned, and no doubt you will get a bit anxious. But you know you will get there.<br />
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And it's a bit like that for me at the moment - some of my plans will have to be changed. I need to rest this calf, and when I start running again, I will have to be even more cautious than I was last time. This probably means sticking with Run-Walk-Run for all of my running (not just the long runs) - at least for longer than I did last time, possibly all the way to marathon day. I will have to revisit my long run schedule, I may not get up to the ideal 20 miles, and almost certainly not more than once. I may have to reduce my running and do more cross-training to build my cardiovascular endurance without overstressing my muscles. All of this I intend to discuss with the sports physio next week. In particular, I need to talk to him about the possibility that I have an underlying weakness or imbalance which needs to be addressed. <br />
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If this had happened just a week or two before marathon day, the only sensible thing to do would be withdraw. But with 11 weeks to go, there is every reason to believe that there is enough time for this injury to heal - properly this time - and for me still to get enough training in that I am physically capable of completing the distance.<br />
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Of course I will have to be very determined as well - but you know by now that I am that. I suspect that I will also have to be very disciplined, in the sense of staying within whatever limits the physio prescribes on my running, and doing whatever exercise or stretches he gives me to do. I'm not so good at that part! But I know what is at stake.<br />
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I remember my confirmation by Bishop David Sheppard, who in his sermon talked about a train journey he had recently taken from London to Liverpool. There were problems on the line, the train got diverted, then broke down, and after several unscheduled changes and interruptions, the tired passengers arrived several hours late - but safe. He said that God's plan for our lives is like that - there is a perfect plan, but when things happen to push us off course, God recalculates, and brings us back on course. We get there in the end - perhaps by a harder and longer route than God originally planned. But he never gives up on us. And I'm not giving up on the marathon.<br />
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Thank you for your encouragement and support - it means a great deal, especially now.Barbara Greenwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05825854376521503461noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4799984558945635724.post-45250628456128066462014-01-18T15:19:00.002+00:002014-01-18T15:19:34.877+00:00Good Solid Week3 outdoor runs this week plus 2 brief sessions on the treadmill tacked onto my gym sessions, giving me a total of 25 miles for the week. My longest run was 13.25 miles, 3 hrs 4:30 minutes - so meeting both the time and distance goals for this week. I have finally managed to exceed half-marathon distance :). The first 10 miles of the long run were done at 1 min run/1 min walk, with more freedom to run after that. My midweek run was walk-run according to feel, while the treadmill runs were continuous. And this morning's parkrun was continuous - the longest non-stop run I have done since the calf strain. No more added to the fundraising total this week, but quite a few people have asked about sponsor forms, so that bodes well.<br />
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This week I have really appreciated the different running communities to which I belong. One of these is online, and there are only a handful of the people there who I have met in the flesh (at parkrun). Fetcheveryone.com is a website which allows training to be recorded and analysed to death, information to be shared and discussions had with fellow runners. It is one of my main sources of information, and also encouragement. This blog is weekly (or thereabouts) - on fetcheveryone, I blog about every single run. The comments from other runners are supportive, helpful and encouraging. And no matter what your running problem or challenge, there is always someone who knows something about it and will help you.<br />
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The other community is parkrun - where no-one is too old, too fat or too slow. All runners, whatever their ability, are welcome, and will be told "well done" and clapped to the finish. I have missed the last two parkruns, and for the previous two, we could not have the usual post-run coffee, because the sports centre was undergoing work. And I realised this morning that one of the things I was really looking forward to was the camaraderie with other runners. I know some better than others, of course - but it is lovely to talk to people who share my passion. I had a great conversation today with two other women about Christmas presents. I told them about a pair of Merino wool running socks I had been given, which are brilliant - and one of them commented, "It's only runners who are excited about getting socks for Christmas". How true - as long as they are special running socks.<br />
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Also on offer today was a free post-run massage. I told the guy that I had strained my calf 4 weeks ago, and afterwards he was able to pinpoint exactly where the injury was, because he could feel the area of tightness. He said it is still slightly swollen, which was a bit of a surprise to me, because it has not bothered me at all this week. I suppose that is a reminder not to get carried away - to stick with walking breaks on my long runs, and keep the pace easy.<br />
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Also this week I have been exploring the facilities of my new running watch, which was my special 50th birthday present from my Mum and sisters. It has lots of extra features, including the ability to estimate VO2 Max from what your heart rate does as you run, and convert that into predicted race performances. After having seen me run a few times, it has decided my VO2 Max is 34 ml/min/kg, which is above average for a woman of my age, and predicts a 5K race time of exactly 30 minutes, and a 4:45 marathon. <br />
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Now, don't get too excited - those are estimates of my best possible performance assuming adequate training and all-out effort. I don't expect to be doing those times any time soon, in fact with a weakness in my calf to protect I am more determined than ever to keep my marathon goal as simply finishing it. But it's nice to know the potential is there for the future. And since VO2 Max is related to body weight, if I could get rid of some Christmas bulge, I would run even faster.<br />
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So, there we are. Another satisfactory week's training in the bank, which I will consolidate next week with a moderate length run on Monday. Only 12 weeks to go.... it doesn't seem long enough!<br />
<br />Barbara Greenwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05825854376521503461noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4799984558945635724.post-18403069101893700212014-01-12T13:48:00.003+00:002014-01-12T13:48:55.549+00:00Gearing Up and Counting DownA thoroughly satisfactory week of getting back into a proper training routine - 4 runs, ranging from 3.5 to 8.7 miles, and a total for the week of 23 miles. These were all run-walk-run, although towards the end of each run I increased the proportion of running. I am very happy to report that I have had not so much as a murmur of protest from my calf. The fundraising total stands at £1,345.<br />
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With the festivities out of the way, it is time to start Gearing Up on fundraising. There are a number of things already in the pipeline: one of my churches is holding a coffee morning towards my efforts, the day before the marathon; another is hosting a lunch and talk a couple of weeks after the event, with money raised through ticket sales; someone from my third main church has asked me today to give them some information, so they can start getting sponsorship; a friend is holding an Open House in February, with half the proceeds going to Cancer Research; and in the next week or two I hope to have some exciting news about sponsorship coming from a commercial source. In addition, I will be printing our sponsor forms and distributing them around the Mansfield Circuit - although, if people are able and willing to do so, I prefer them to give through either JustGiving or by text, as it goes direct and saves me a bit of admin collecting the money in.<br />
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With all this going on, and the response to my relatively low key efforts so far, I have every confidence of not only reaching but exceeding my target of raising £2,500 for Cancer Research - hopefully by a long way.<br />
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With the realisation that the marathon is 13 weeks today (Eek!), it is time to start Counting Down the long runs which stand between me and the start line. I talked last week about Jeff Galloway's Run-Walk-Run method. I am now following the broad principles of his marathon training programme for first-time runners aiming to finish, although I have adapted it somewhat. It is based on four runs per week, with a true long run only every other week. He specifies the long run in terms of distance, and the other runs in terms of time. <br />
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I have always been a bit ambivalent about how to assess runs, particularly long ones. On the one hand, it is good to have the assurance of having covered a certain distance; on the other hand, the 13 miles I did in December, which were hilly and included a lot of uneven terrain, are a much more demanding proposition than the first half of the London Marathon course - on tarmac, and almost entirely flat.<br />
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The solution I have hit on is to specify both a time and a distance for my long runs, and count the run as achieved if I meet either the time or the distance targets. In between the long runs I will do 3 other runs each week, one of which will be at a faster pace (probably the parkrun). In addition, I'll be keeping up with my strength and core work a couple of times a week. So, I am counting down the 13 weeks to the marathon in 13 long runs:<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: 12px;">13th Jan - 3:00 or 13</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: 12px;">20th Jan - 2:00 or 9</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: 12px;">27th Jan - 3:15 or 14</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: 12px;">3rd Feb - 2:00 or 9</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: 12px;">10th Feb - 3:45 or 16</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: 12px;">17th Feb - 2:00 or 9</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: 12px;">24th Feb - 4:00 or 18</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: 12px;">3rd Mar - 2:00 or 9</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: 12px;">10th Mar - 4:30 or 20</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: 12px;">17th Mar - 2:00 or 9</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: 12px;">24th Mar - 4:30 or 20</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: 12px;">31st Mar - 2:15 or 10</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: 12px;">7th April - 1:30 or 7</span><br />
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As always, this plan needs to be flexible as things may arise which will make it difficult, if not impossible, to stick to it 100%. Not least we could have snow and sub-zero temperatures, as we have for the past few winters. But at the moment, that's the plan. I shall be setting off early tomorrow morning to get my 3-hour run in, as I am giving blood just before lunch time - I'll be wearing my CamelBak hydration pack so that I can drink all through the run, and also keeping fuelled up all the way. I hope to report next week that the first of my 13 long runs has been ticked off.<br />
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Thank you again for all your support and encouragement - this is all getting rather real!Barbara Greenwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05825854376521503461noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4799984558945635724.post-19989420877981148592014-01-04T21:19:00.002+00:002014-01-04T21:19:30.768+00:00New Year, New StartHappy New Year!! As hoped, my first blog of 2014 brings better news, and a better frame of mind. After running zero miles while resting my calf during Christmas week, I have managed 11 miles of run-walk-running this week. Fundraising has had a little boost, as well, as several people used my birthday as an excuse to make a donation to my marathon fund - Thank you! The total now stands at £1,313 - over half way to my target.<br />
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Now, let me update you with what I have learned about calf strains over the past couple of weeks. A calf strain, like a pulled muscle anywhere in the body, is actually a tear in some of the fibres of the muscle. The severity depends on the number of fibres torn, ranging from a mild grade 1, when only a few fibres are torn, to a grade 3, which is a complete rupture of the muscle, requiring surgery to fix it. <br />
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The good news is that my strain was very much at the lower end of grade 1. After a few days' rest, I was comfortable enough to join in a 3 mile walk on Christmas Day, and to do 4 miles on Boxing Day. After a week, I was ready cautiously to try a little bit of jogging, first on the treadmill in the gym, then out of doors, interspersed with walking. That all went well, and so I planned a more extensive walk/run for New Year's Day. More about walk/running in a moment, but first....<br />
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The bad news about the calf is that this type of injury usually happens when the muscle is overextended. In runners, that's usually because you have been running extra hard, have not warmed up properly, or both. But neither of those were the case two weeks ago... I was running very gently, and it was well on in the run when the pain appeared, so I was fully warmed up. The other way that calf muscles get strained is when the muscle is fatigued late on in a long run (not the case), or, when the overall training load has simply been too much. I suppose we can't be absolutely sure, but that does look like the most likely candidate in my case.<br />
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I had a little rant and a moan on a runners' discussion forum, complaining that I couldn't understand why I was injured, because I hadn't DONE anything. Someone pointed out to me that I HAD done something - I had doubled my average mileage in about 3 months. And maybe the body is complaining about that. I could try ignoring the warning, and go back to my original training schedule, hoping that I was just unlucky..... but that presents the risk, if I'm wrong, of a more serious strain, and a longer enforced rest.<br />
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So that leaves me with a dilemma - because 14 weeks tomorrow, I have a marathon to run, and a lot of generous people supporting and encouraging me. So, I need to do enough training to get me to the finish line, while staying well enough to get to the start line. The answer, I think, lies in run-walk-run.<br />
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Mixing running with walking is hardly a revolutionary concept. It's what virtually every novice runner does - certainly those who start in mature years, anyway. It's what ultra-distance runners - those hardy souls who tackle challenges longer than the marathon - do as a matter of course. It's what I did on most of my runs for the first six weeks, and it's what I was still doing on my long runs. But most novice runners - me included - aspire to run continuously. The first time I got round parkrun without stopping to walk was a great occasion. I have done runs of up to 9 miles without stopping to walk, except to cross the road without getting run over or hop over the odd stile.<br />
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However, there is a school of thought that most runners would benefit from walking much sooner, and more frequently. It reduces fatigue, makes it possible to cover longer distances, and - importantly for me - greatly decreases the risk of injury. According to one if its main supporters, a former Olympic athlete called Jeff Galloway, it enables even sub-3-hour marathon runners to record a faster time than with continuous running.<br />
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He recommends different ratios of running to walking depending on your overall pace. The fastest runners would walk for only 30 seconds of each mile, the slowest ones will alternate 30 seconds of running with 30 seconds of walking. What he insists on, though, is that you take the walk breaks right from the very start, and keep on taking them until at least 2/3 of the distance you intend to run. On shorter runs - such as my parkruns, or midweek 5-6 milers, once my calf is back to full strength - the walk breaks are optional. But he recommends I use them for all my long runs, and on marathon day itself.<br />
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At the moment, there is no question - I need to use walk breaks to avoid setting back the recovery of my calf. I got no pain from it during an hour of run-walk-run on Wednesday, or 45 minutes this morning, when I increased the run segments from 1 minute to 2 and then 3, later in the run. But I was aware of some mild stiffness later on, which was not matched on the other side.<br />
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I learned a couple of things this week. I had resigned myself to not running at all for 2 weeks - my first attempt would have been this coming Monday. When it looked as though it was reasonable to try it sooner (as long as I did plenty of walking), I was crazily, exuberantly, childishly happy. Several people have asked me if I will carry on running after the marathon - and the answer is Yes!! It makes me happy. I probably won't put in as much mileage as I need to do for the next 14 weeks (14 weeks !!!), but I will run.<br />
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So, I'm looking forward to getting out on the lanes and trails on Monday.... I'll try 2 hours, and if that goes well, I'll try 3 hours the following Monday. Then I'll be back to where I was before the calf injury, and ready to build again. My overall pace has had to slow down - but that's OK. It's what I need to do to keep running - and a slow run is better than no run at all.<br />
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So - thank you for all your support and encouragement. You are an extra reason why failure is not an option - by hook or by crook, I am getting round that marathon, under my own steam.Barbara Greenwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05825854376521503461noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4799984558945635724.post-71595647578193309082013-12-22T22:18:00.000+00:002013-12-23T11:29:46.392+00:00Oh, dearThe cold developed, and blossomed, and this has been a very busy week of ministry, as you can imagine. I have only run twice, a total of 8 miles.<br />
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My first run, on Wednesday, lasted just over an hour, and although fairly sedate in pace, left me feeling a lot better for having done it. I was past the worst of the headcold, and it hadn't yet got to the annoying cough stage. My second run was at parkrun on Saturday - in truth I felt I could hardly spare the time, but that made it seem all the more important to go. And I was enjoying it, until the last half mile or so, when I noticed a niggling pain in my right calf. It became uncomfortable enough that I had to walk the rest of the way - it didn't hurt when I walked, but did when I tried to run.<br />
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So, there we are - I appear to have strained a muscle in my calf, although how I have done so when running very slowly and gently, I can't imagine. It's not painful.... until I try to do something more vigorous than walking. Up and down stairs is slightly uncomfortable, but manageable. The general advice of my running friends is that I'm looking at a couple of weeks' rest from running to allow it to heal, although any activity I can do without pain is OK. But the best training for running is running, so this is all a bit annoying!<br />
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Christmas is just 3 days away, my cold has progressed to the annoying chesty cough stage, and I can't run at the moment. Life is full of ups and downs, but all we can do is respond to them as they come. After Christmas, we have a little time to relax, so I'm going to take a break from blogging as well. After all, there won't be any running to report.<br />
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So, I hope you all have a wonderful, peaceful Christmas, and a happy and healthy New Year. I'll be back in January - hopefully with better news.<br />
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<br />Barbara Greenwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05825854376521503461noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4799984558945635724.post-39805387959645365982013-12-14T16:43:00.001+00:002013-12-14T16:43:51.841+00:00Riding the Roller Coaster of LifeMy longest run on this easy week was a little over 9 miles and just over 2 hours. I did 3 runs outdoors plus an intervals session on the treadmill, for a total of 18 miles.<div>
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That total is a little lower than I had in mind at the start of the week. I dropped a run and had an extra rest day on Tuesday - partly because, as Monday wore on, I began to feel more and more tired, and partly because ministry is just so busy at the moment that I felt I needed to give the time to that. I was a little concerned that after feeling so strong last week, a 'mere' 9 miles should have left me feeling like I needed an extra rest day.</div>
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However, by Wednesday evening I realised that the combination of Vicks First Defence and my immune system were losing the battle against that suspicious scratching feeling at the back of my throat. I woke up on Friday morning with a full blown sneezing, coughing, stuffy-nosed cold. This morning I added a gravelly voice to the mix. I was half-tempted to give parkrun a miss this morning, but I was down to volunteer as a pacer. This is someone who deliberately runs to finish in an agreed time (which needs to be comfortable for them), in order to give a lead to a slower runner who is trying to beat that time. I was down to pace 35 minutes, which is just as well, because I would not have run much faster anyway. As it happened, nobody needed my services, but I did it to pace anyway, ran nice even splits with a bit of a speed-up at the end, and finished in 34:37.</div>
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After coffee and a shower at the Manor Sports Complex, I queued to post some Christmas parcels before heading over to Chesterfield Road for a coffee morning and a welcome bacon buttie, as I had not had breakfast. Christmas is fast approaching, and my diary this week is fairly insane, with of course a lot of extra services which need preparing. Ordinarily I would also be doing additional visiting as I take communion to housebound members - but it is not wise to visit frail people and cough and sneeze all over them. Instead, I shall phone them all, explain why I will not be seeing them until New Year and hopefully have a good chat.</div>
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I'm not sure how much running I shall do this side of Christmas. The standard advice is that, with a head cold, you are OK to run if you feel like doing so, whereas with anything chesty you are better not to. So, at the moment, I could run if I felt like it. I must say, I did feel much better after this morning's run than I did before it! But we shall have to wait and see, because colds are tricky beasts which can change from day to day.</div>
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I've written on here before about the importance of having a plan, and just following each step as it comes. The other side of that is that you have to be a bit flexible, because sometimes life gets in the way of your plan. It's important to have a plan but also not to be so totally wedded to it that you attempt to follow it 100% when circumstances make that unwise. Many marathon runners won't be starting their mileage build-up until the New Year anyway, so there is plenty of time. I would ideally like to run that half-marathon distance before Christmas, and complete 110 miles in December - I'm up to 48 so far. But if the combination of work pressure and a small virus mean that can't happen, it's not the end of the world.</div>
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One thing that's not going to change, however, is the date of the London Marathon!! 17 weeks tomorrow I shall be toeing the line.... well-prepared, and ready to go. Thank you for your support - it makes a big difference.</div>
Barbara Greenwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05825854376521503461noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4799984558945635724.post-54113323444924332772013-12-07T13:11:00.000+00:002013-12-07T13:20:38.068+00:00A Journey of a Thousand Miles Begins With a Single StepSo runs the Chinese proverb. Whatever your ambition or goal, it remains a dream until you actually do something about it. And if the whole is too big to contemplate, the thing to do is just to start. Take each step, each day as it comes. When you reach an obstacle, don't give up - work out how to get around it, or over it, or through it. That might mean a delay, or a detour. But then you keep going - that's the only way to reach your destination and realise your dream.<br />
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Fundraising this week has taken a breather, but then, there is a certain major Christian festival coming up in just a few weeks time. People have other things on their minds - as do I - so I'm content to let that lie until New Year. The running, however, continues apace. Longest run this week of 3:09, but the terrain (hilly and mostly off-road on rough paths) meant I didn't quite reach the symbolic half marathon distance of 13.1 miles, instead covering a smidge under 13 miles. Total weekly mileage of 30 miles for the first time ever. And (thanks to the automatic record-keeping of my Garmin watch and the fetcheveryone.com website) - the total mileage I have run since April has reached 496. So, with a bit of poetic licence, and apologies to The Proclaimers:<br />
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And I have run five hundred miles<br />
And I will run five hundred more<br />
Just to be the one who's run<br />
A thousand miles to raise two grand or more<br />
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(or should that be: "... to end up stiff and sore"?)<br />
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Yes folks - the way my schedule looks, by the time I start the marathon next April, I will probably have run about a thousand miles. In other words for every mile of the marathon, I'll have run close to 40 miles in training. They say that running shoes should be replaced every 300-500 miles as they lose their cushioning - I bought a new pair in September, which have already done 230 miles, so I'll probably be ready for a new pair in February.<br />
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But all that is in the future. You can only train one day at a time - which is the only way you can live life, really. Tomorrow is a rest day from exercise, but on Monday I start another week. This will be an easier one, perhaps a long run of 2 hours/9 miles, and a weekly total in the low to mid twenties. I'm happy to report that I have felt less tired this week, in fact I felt like doing some speed work on Thursday and Friday, and also ran parkrun this morning in my second fastest time ever. So with a week of easy running ahead, I hope to feel full of energy the next time I do a 3 hour run. I will crack half marathon distance before Christmas.Barbara Greenwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05825854376521503461noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4799984558945635724.post-46556392256385022762013-11-30T16:37:00.003+00:002013-11-30T16:37:41.739+00:00Milestones and MotivationThis was a good week of training, with a number of "best yet"s achieved. Longest run to date - 2:45 and 12.2 miles; highest weekly mileage - 28.5; highest monthly mileage - 100 miles in November. On the fundraising side, a couple more donations were made after I posted last week's blog (Thank You!) and the total has now passed £1,200. I also took delivery of my fundraising pack from Cancer Research UK. This includes my running top, sponsor form, information about CRUK's work and plenty of hints and tips about both training and fundraising.<br />
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Now you may or may not have noticed this, but for several weeks my confidence about the challenge which still lies ahead has been a bit wobbly. As the long runs continue to increase, and I've dealt with the resulting tiredness, it sometimes seemed as if I would accept any excuse to cut a run short, or to take walk breaks. There have been several weeks when I didn't reach the total number of miles I was aiming for.<br />
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I have written on here that this is reasonable, and not a problem -and that's absolutely true. The body takes time to adapt, and it does so while you are resting. While there are rules of thumb about the rate at which runners increase their mileage, the fact is that we are all different; every runner will have an optimum rate of progression, and it's to some extent a matter of trial and error to discover that. The first rule of training is Don't Get Injured - and slowing down and taking extra rest when you need it are vital to avoid getting hurt. All of the above is logical, and true, and I know it. But at the same time, there has been a little voice inside telling me that I'm falling short, that it's too hard, and I'm not going to be able to do it.<br />
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Confidence is so important. Someone once said that whether you believe you can, or believe you can't, you are probably right. Clearly there are physical limits to what we can do - for example, I will never run a 4-minute mile, because I'm the wrong sex and too old, even if I had the genetic potential to be an elite runner (which I probably don't). But there *is* a maximum speed I could potentially run at, and how close I get to it depends entirely on how well I train and how hard I try. And that depends on how much I believe I can do it - or want to do it. The running gurus believe that most healthy adults could, if they wanted to and they trained for it, run a marathon. Most people don't want to. And that's fine - there are lots of challenges I have no desire to attempt.<br />
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I had thought that I would reach 30 miles per week by the end of November and then maintain at least that through December. I haven't quite managed it. But do you know what? That's only a matter of timescale - I'm going to have a go at it in this coming week, and even if I don't quite manage it, it will only be another week or two before I do. I have felt so much better this week - even after running 12.2 miles on Monday, I ran 5.1 on Wednesday and 5.9 on Thursday, and felt strong and energetic. I am adapting. I am getting fitter.<br />
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Confidence is both cause and effect. It is so much easier to make the effort required to do something when you believe you can do it. And having done it, you then *know* you can do it, and believing you can do the next level becomes much easier. Having run 12.2 mile in just under 2 hrs 46 minutes, I have no problem believing that I can run for 3 hours, or that I can run half marathon distance. I intend to do one or ideally both of those on Monday.<br />
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In 19 weeks time, I shall be down in London, preparing for the biggest challenge of my life. Or will I? It seems to me that the training is as much of a challenge as the day itself - if not more so. By the time I get to London, a 12 mile run will be an easy workout, and I should have several 20 mile runs under my belt. All the logic and experience and running wisdom says that running the marathon - assuming I'm content to take it slowly - will then be demanding, but perfectly achievable. But getting out there day after day, week after week, as the weather gets cold and wet and dark, and time after time going further than I have ever gone - THAT is a challenge. Once I have done that - and I will - running a marathon will be a breeze.<br />
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I hope :)Barbara Greenwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05825854376521503461noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4799984558945635724.post-64290691914446564102013-11-23T16:11:00.000+00:002013-11-23T16:40:36.588+00:00Slow, Slow, Quick Quick, SlowThis was a lighter week in terms of running mileage, with only 17 miles clocked up. I did however do much of that faster than I normally do - more about that later - and also walked the 7.5 miles around Carsington Water with David yesterday. I've done two talks this week (one about training for the marathon, the other about our pilgrimage to the Holy Land earlier this year), and both groups gave a donation to Cancer Research as a thank you. I also picked up some more sponsorship from individuals, and the fundraising total now stands at a magnificent £1,141 - 45% of the way towards my target.<br />
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Running pace is a topic of endless fascination for me. If it's of no interest to you, you may prefer to skip the rest of this blog. Most distance runners think about their pace in minutes per mile. The "four minute mile" is famous, but that sort of pace is restricted to elite runners and shorter distances. As a general rule, you can assume that men run faster than women, younger people run faster than older ones, and the longer the distance, the slower the pace. For comparison purposes, here are some world record times and the corresponding paces:<br />
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Marathon (men) - 2:03:23 (4:43)<br />
Marathon (women) - 2:15:25 (5:10)<br />
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Of course, those are the times for senior athletes, i.e. those aged between 20 and 34 (for women) or 39 (for men). At 35, female athletes are classed as veterans.... but only at 40 for men... funny, that. By the time I run London, I will be 50, so the appropriate comparison is with 50-year-old women:<br />
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Marathon 2:31:05 (5:46)<br />
10K 35:05 (5:40)<br />
5K 16:51 (5:26)<br />
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My best ever 5K time (so far) is 31.04, which equates to 9:57 per mile, and my best mile within that was run in 9:27. So you see, I am unlikely to be competing in the trials for the 2016 Olympics! But that really doesn't matter - I run for enjoyment, for my health, and now of course, to raise money for Cancer Research.<br />
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The other thing to bear in mind is that there is a big difference between training and racing. Most of my runs are considerably slower than my best, which is what is generally advised. Running fast takes too much out of you to do it all the time. I do my long runs at around 13:00 - 13:30 pace and my medium length ones (4-6 miles) at 12:00 - 13:00, depending on the terrain and how fresh or tired I am feeling. <br />
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On Monday morning, I was feeling quite fresh but was short of time, so I only ran 3.8 miles, but did so at a pace of 11:54. My 5.2 miles on Thursday were run at 12:42 pace. I went to the gym twice, and both times<br />
did a spell on the treadmill. One of these was an intervals session, where I ran 1 minute bursts at 10:00 pace, with 2 minutes of jogging in between. At Parkrun this morning I was out for a gentle run, and kept company with a lady who is slower than me. The first 3 miles were run in 11:27, 12:02 and 11:56 respectively. But for the last little bit - the final 0.1 miles - I did my best impersonation of a sprint, running at a pace of 7:50. The world record holder does a full 26.2 miles at more than 2 minutes per mile faster than what I managed for a couple of hundred yards....<br />
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The rule of thumb is that long runs should be done 90 seconds - 2 minutes per mile slower than your intended marathon pace. This makes perfect sense - a training run is a training run, and at the end of it, I need to get on with my day. A race is a race, and after it there is time to rest and recuperate. Running my long runs at 13:30, it's reasonable to think in terms of 12 minutes per mile as my marathon pace, which would see me finish in 5 hrs 15 minutes. It remains to be seen whether, by April, I will be able to maintain that. My goal, really, is to finish and still feel human.<br />
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And, to do that, I need to continue the training. On Monday, I intend to run (slowly!) for 2 hours 40 minutes. I should cover around 12 miles in that time. Before Christmas, I should have run a little over half marathon distance. Little by little, I edge closer. The support and encouragement I get from various quarters is a big help - I can't let you all down now!Barbara Greenwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05825854376521503461noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4799984558945635724.post-69201922983811258022013-11-16T17:31:00.001+00:002013-11-16T17:31:34.127+00:00Differently Shaped WeekThis week I met my long run target of 2 hours 30 minutes, covering 11.2 miles in that time. My total mileage for the week was 24. No more cash raised this week, but I received a phone call from Cancer Research on Friday, asking me how my training and fundraising were going. It is nice to have that support - but it does make it all feel rather real! The first question was, "How do you feel about running a marathon?" My answer was: "Excited and terrified!"<br />
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I had morning appointments on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, and fitting in my long run before them would have meant getting up very early and running in the dark. I'm dedicated - but we all have our limits! There is a distinct lack of street lighting around Blidworth, which would mean a choice between wearing a head torch or running laps of the mining estate. On balance, I elected to leave my long run until Thursday. My run on Monday in particular was a joy. Although I had run quite briskly at parkrun on Saturday, I felt quite fresh. It was a glorious morning for running - bright, crisp and dry. I ran just under 6 miles, thoroughly enjoyed it, and felt invigorated afterwards.<br />
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For my long run, I did a circular route taking in Rainworth, the MARR road, Harlow Wood, Thieves Wood, Ravenshead and Ricket Lane. This involved a certain amount of mud, and also getting slightly lost, as I don't know the paths through Harlow Wood terribly well - but I knew I was never far from civilisation, and if I kept going in one direction for long enough, I would hit a road. In the event, I came out onto the A60 at the point I had intended to, but just didn't take the most direct route to get there.<br />
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As well as being the cornerstone of endurance training, long runs are important opportunities to try out the kit you intend to wear on race day. A garment which appears to fit perfectly well on a 5 mile run, can turn out to have edges or seams which, given long enough, will chafe to the point of bleeding. Race day is not the time to try out new things! Running 26 miles without taking on water or calories is not recommended - but you need to practice drinking and find out what foodstuffs you can tolerate. Some runners suffer from cramps and the delightfully named "runner's trots" if they eat the wrong thing. Many runners use carbohydrate gels, which are quickly absorbed - but there's no reason why you can't just use ordinary food. So, I have started to experiment. This week I consumed a packet of yogurt-coated raisins, and they seemed to do the trick nicely, with no unfortunate side effects.<br />
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I deliberately paced my long run slightly slower than last week, averaging 13:30 minutes per mile. This hides a lot of variability - I was practically whizzing along the MARR road at around 12 minutes per mile, and while avoiding tree roots and boggy bits in Harlow Wood, slowed to over 16 minutes per mile. I don't attempt to run while eating - so I had a few short walking breaks.<br />
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I was - of course - tired after this run, and had a good (and long!) night's sleep on Thursday. But I had very little stiffness the following day, which I take to be a good sign. I had volunteered to be the Tail Runner at parkrun this morning, which means deliberately running at the back of the pack, to make sure everyone gets round safely. This morning I accompanied a lady who was running for only the second time, and encouraged her to run for a greater proportion of the time, as she knocked 45 seconds off her time.<br />
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Having done my long run so late in the week, I won't be doing one on Monday - I shall leave it till the week after. So, in this coming week, I will run 4 times, aiming to cover over 20-25 miles in total. Then the following week, I'll continue the build-up with a long run of 2 hrs 40 minutes, and hopefully getting my total into the upper twenties.<br />
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When I think back to 6 months ago - I was just preparing to run my first race, a 10K trail race at Clumber Park, which took place on 18th May. At that point, the furthest I had run was a little over 5 miles, and the 6.1 miles of the race was an endurance challenge. Now, 6.1 miles is a comfortable mid-week run. How times change!Barbara Greenwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05825854376521503461noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4799984558945635724.post-85757110863307023832013-11-09T21:40:00.000+00:002013-11-09T21:46:01.728+00:00Physio and ParkrunThis week's longest run on Monday lasted 2 hrs 20 minutes, and covered 10.6 miles. My total mileage for the week was 24, and I did a treadmill test yesterday which revealed a further increase in the pace I can maintain for a given heart rate. Fundraising received a massive boost this week - not only did two people succumb to my brazen plea for donations last week to get me over the £500 line (thank you!), but the Phoenix Community Outreach Project made a donation of £500 towards my effort. Together with a donation I received at a church event today, the total now stands at a magnificent £1021.<br />
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On Monday afternoon I went to see a sports physio. The biggest factor in training is - well - being able to train consistently and regularly. And that means staying fit enough to run. I asked the physio to advise on my ankle, which is still not back to 100%, and also to undertake some preventive maintenance on the various bits which niggle and ache. He did some ultrasound treatment on my ankle - to break down scar tissue - and gave me some exercises to strengthen it. I also have stretches to do for my hamstrings, which are extremely tight, some exercises for my shoulder, and advice about use of the foam roller. I'm supposed to do the hamstring stretches 6 times a day.... I'm doing what I can.<br />
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Oh, and he recommended a different sort of support to wear on my ankle when running, and that I should put my foot in a bucket of iced water for 10-15 minutes when I get in. Mmm...... not tried that yet.....<br />
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My Wednesday and Thursday runs were between 4 and 4.5 miles, and run at a slower pace than the equivalent 3 weeks ago. This left me feeling considerably less tired, which has to be a good thing. I think I may do better to go a bit slower on my long run, though - because my shorter runs were slower than my long run, and that's the wrong way round! However, it did mean that by this morning I was feeling pretty strong when I arrived for parkrun.<br />
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Parkrun is an absolutely wonderful idea - a free-to-enter timed 5K run, organised by volunteers, which takes place in parks up and down the country every Saturday morning. The Mansfield run takes place in the Manor Sports Complex in Mansfield Woodhouse and I've taken part every Saturday that I wasn't otherwise engaged since I discovered it in April. It is a fantastic atmosphere - very inclusive and encouraging, and it sometimes seems that the slowest runners get the biggest cheers. Although I do most of my running alone - and I like it that way - parkrun gives me a social aspect to my running which I really enjoy.<br />
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This morning was perfect weather for running it was cold, but dry and bright. I did a progressive run - aiming to do each mile slightly faster than the last. I ended up with a time of 32:19, which is the fastest I have run since I set my best time of 31:04 back in July. Mind you, as the evening wears on, I am remembering something I had forgotten about since the sprained ankle forced me to slow down: running faster is harder work, and therefore leaves you feeling stiffer! I am more stiff after this morning's 5K (3.1 miles) than after my 10.6 mile long run on Monday.<br />
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I mentioned last week that I was going to start introducing some faster running. Running parkrun at pace is one way of doing that. Another would be to do a Fartlek session. Fartlek is a Swedish word meaning "speed play", and all it involves is changing the speed at which you run, but in an unstructured way. For example, you might be running along at a gentle pace, spot a tree about 200 yards ahead, and decide to run fast until you reach it. Then you slow down, until you feel like going hard again. I intend to do a maximum of one faster session each week.<br />
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Well, that's it for this week. Thanks for reading, and all the encouragement and support you give me in person.Barbara Greenwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05825854376521503461noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4799984558945635724.post-28282921220787072872013-11-01T22:22:00.000+00:002013-11-01T22:22:23.515+00:00Cross TrainingExecutive summary: over the past not-quite two weeks, I have been running 5 times, and covered a total of 22 miles. That's less than I did in one week previously. However, this is not a concern, for two reasons. Firstly, as mentioned previously, periods of effort need to be interspersed with periods of rest or lower amounts of effort. And secondly, I have been doing a lot of cross-training.<br />
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Cross-training is any sort of physical activity other than the main thing you are training for. So in my case, cross-training is any exercise other than running. Every time I go to the gym and lift weights, do planks or squats, I am cross-training. But over the past week or so I have been cross-training in the Lake District.<br />
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We have spent a week at a B&B in Keswick, and each day apart from one, we went for a walk. Our shortest walk was 5 miles (and 2 hours), the longest 8.5 miles (and 5 hours). Now, the Lake District has 2 key characteristics: it is hilly, and it is wet. Hilly: our walk up Grizedale Pike involved about 750m of ascent. Wet: we have the gear, but on 2 occasions, everything got wet. And I do mean everything :) But as some of my running friends remind me - skin is waterproof, and after a hot shower and some restorative cake, we were none the worse for our experiences.<br />
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Hill walking is helpful for several reasons. It is endurance training, but the hills are also good for leg strength, and the uneven terrain challenges your stability and balance. And if it challenges you, it strengthens you. Plus, of course, there are fantastic views - at least when the cloud clears :)<br />
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This morning, I went out for a gentle 5 miles, gearing up for a return to full-on training next week. I ran a total of 80 miles during October, and am targeting 100 miles during November. I will be pushing up the duration of my longest run - going by time, now, rather than distance - but I should still be running over 10 miles several times during the month. I'm also going to start introducing a bit of faster running - more about that next time.<br />
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And the fundraising.... well a friend has said she is going to hold an At Home in the Spring, and divide the proceeds between my efforts and Framework, a charity working with homeless people in Nottinghamshire. I've also had an offer to publicise my challenge at events at a church in our circuit. But in terms of actual donations.... no change since last time. Anyone fancy getting me over that £500 barrier with a £4 donation?<br />
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Have a good week, everyone. I'll be back next weekend, hopefully with another 25 miles or so under my belt.Barbara Greenwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05825854376521503461noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4799984558945635724.post-62093009221167925052013-10-19T18:19:00.000+01:002013-10-19T18:19:22.295+01:00October Buildup Week 3 - Phew!This was my toughest week yet - and it feels like it. On Monday, I ran 10 miles for the first time. I broke it down into sections, focussed on the bit I was actually doing, and finished feeling pretty good. I also got exceedingly wet, as the weather veered between spitting, sustained drizzle and heavy downpour. But as my friends tell me, skin is waterproof. So, allegedly, is my running jacket - not that you could tell, because when I took it off, the layer underneath was just as wet as the outside.<br />
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For the week as a whole, my target was to run 25 miles. I actually ran 26, because my ability at estimating mileage when planning routes is pretty poor! On the fundraising front, I am now just £4 short of reaching £500. Could you make my day by getting me over that line? You could donate online via the link on the right, or give using your mobile phone: send a text to 70070 with the message:<br />
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BGLM50 £4<br />
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... and that would be the job done!! Thank you so much if you feel able to do that.<br />
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Now, although the 10 mile run went well, I discovered over the following few days just how much it had taken out of me. I ran on Wednesday and Thursday, doing five and a bit miles each time. And I felt increasingly tired, especially on Thursday. This afternoon (Saturday) as I did my final run of the week, I felt a bit better, but not exactly fresh. So all things considered, I am VERY glad that I had already planned the next two weeks to be easier, and I do NOT need to go out and run 10 miles on Monday morning... This is the first time since I started running that I would say it has taken me more than a day or two to feel fully recovered from a run.<br />
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As I mentioned in last week's blog, training is a balance between effort and rest. When you run further or faster than you are used to, you give your body a stimulus. When you rest, it adapts to that stimulus becoming stronger, faster, more efficient at running. If you don't give it enough rest, it can't adapt, and if you don't give it enough stimulus, it doesn't need to. The skill is to do enough to stimulate those adaptations, while still having enough rest. This week, I could have done with a little more rest.<br />
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So, for the next couple of weeks I am going to be keeping my runs a bit shorter, to give myself a bit of a break - ready to come back for a further foray into the world of the 10 mile+ run. Onwards and upwards... gradually!<br />
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Thanks for reading, and for the encouragement which many of you have given me. It really makes a difference.Barbara Greenwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05825854376521503461noreply@blogger.com0