Great North Run Re-cap

My Great North Run POST it was a bit longer than intended…sorry!

As you will have seen from my last blog post I have run GNR 4 times in the past and this was to be my 5^th time. We travelled up on Saturday after a fast spin out on the bike for me and a cheeky parkrun PB for Sean, having been to the race a number of times before we decided to skip the expo/ pasta party and our only aim was to get to Start Fitness for some new trainers and possible new kit!

So after a brief stop for lunch, we arrived in Newcastle dumped our bags and hurried out of the door to StartFittness three shopping bags later with two pairs of new trainers, new bike helmet and a few other essentials (honest) we headed off some pre-race day hydration via Brewdog. 

The lovely thing with it being race weekend is how many people there are in the City, now to be fair I have never been in the City when it isn't GNR weekend so that might be normal vibe, although perhaps race weekend does mean that the number of people wearing GPs watches, trainers and previous race t-shirts…. after sampling a couple of ciders and watching the world go by it was back off to the hotel and chill out for the rest of the evening. 

To race morning, if you are stopping in the City Centre you do get afforded a bit of a lie-in, as the walk to start is around 20 minutes, and that is mainly because it is so congested with people.  Having so many people around this does help in terms of determining “which way to the start” my advice would be to follow someone who is wearing at least two of the following, you are going to find yourself at the start of the GNR:

• compression socks,
• clean bin bag,
• running shorts /tights
• technical t-shirt
• superhero costume,
• fruit fancy dress costume
• trainers

This start is a specular feat of organisation, this year there were over 54,000 people taking part and I would imagine for most of us trying to organise a party with around 20-40 people is enough to give you palpitations, so taking on 54,000 is not for the faint-hearted!!

We found my starting pen easily enough (Zone C) and I joined the nervous throngs of runners, some stretching, other biting their nails, talking selfies and talking to friends.  Next was the warm-up and then the countdown and finally the claxon went off, as we edged forward at walking pace Sean walked/jogged alongside the fence until I passed the start and then I was off…..

Ooh look a portaloo with no queue!!! Quickly detour off and pause Garmin…back running again. My main objective was to keep to around 8:45 mile pace and try not to head off to fast at the start which is downhill and very easy to get swept along with all the excitement.

  

With a target time of sub 2 hours, my steady pace should get me there, I the 1:50 pacer came up alongside me so it was decided to hang out with him for the race.  Which is pretty much how my race went, we yoyo-d a bit in terms of being ahead of each other and my plan was to run in the middle of the road that way it was easy to dash left or right if there was a need to overtake or dodge someone randomly stopping!

My middle of the road strategy was good until there was this realisation around mile 7 that I had missed all the ice pops, following a quick correction and a detour to the left, there was an ice pop was in my hand within minutes.  Three ice pops later had the desired effect, my pace was back, core temperature was down, legs and body were ready to tackle John Reed Road around 10 miles in.

Before we knew it we were heading down to the seafront and the long mile and a bit to the finish, at one point there was a little wobble and it felt like someone had swapped my head on to a different body mid-race, but just as quickly everything came back to me and the finish was looming fast…throwing my hands in the air as I a crossed the finish line, which a chip time of 1:53 which was will within the goal going in! 

If you have never run this race, it is well worth the trip up North at least once, the people of the North East come out in their thousands to support this race, there is so much additional aid and support give out to the runners; from ice pops, jelly babies, jelly bean, sweets, oranges, beer to very much needed on this day sunscreen! You will never enter a race where there are so many people willing you along the way offering encouragement and support all the way so from me a very big THANK YOU.

      

Personally,  there are so many other races I want to run so I’ll leave it another couple of years before venturing and allow others the opportunity to enjoy the amazing atmosphere and brilliant race.

Next is my triathlon on Sunday and the Bilbao night half marathon in October!

Saddo stato

Not really much of a post, but as sleep was eluding me and my mind was filled with all sort of trivia such as .... when was the last time I ran under 25 mins at parkrun? 

I have made no bones about the fact that I have fallen out of love with running a little and it is difficult to pin point when things started to go sour; was it during my last proper marathon training cycle, which was for London Marathon 2015?  I thought a bit of stat analysis would help....here is what I have found out and I am not sure that it holds the answers.

My parkrun PB was in October 2013, which is 23:25 

I last ran under 25 mins in May 2014 at Hanley

Here are my stats for Hanley parkrun

As for the other stats from my garmin, well that tells me that my pace has slowed down as have the number of miles run and I suppose your can't have pace if you are not putting in the mileage. 

My race calendar for next year is looking very bare, with only 4 races scheduled and one of those is a triathlon. There is the intention to do more races, but there will be more diversity in races and hopefully an injection of pace! 

Unplugged...the key to enlightenment

For the last few years I have been playing with the idea of unplugging from recording and measuring all my fitness activities (running, cycling, swimming, walking).  Ever since I took up running I have recorded every element of my run and dutifully added it to my spreadsheet, before the advent of Garmin Connect or Strava. It was great watching my mileage grow each week/month and watching my average pace per mile decrease over time.  I watched myself go from a regular 10:30 min mile pace down to 7:50 ish with glowing pride and sense of achievement….

However, what I once enjoyed soon turned sour, and that little screen on my watch dictated how I felt about my run, likewise not achieving a certain distance each week (30 miles) made me feel lazy, unfit and a little down.  Which is ridiculous when you think about it, a given pace or mileage should not determine about how you feel about a run, that should come from within rather than from a little device on your wrist.

This is the reason that I unplugged! Now, many of my running buddies are real statos (you know who you are) and they love to know the distance, the pace per mile, splits, HRM, oscillation, VO2 max, which moons were in alignment during their run and they were shocked by my little experiment, and was convinced that my head to explode the first time I went out without my Garmin (they weren't alone in thinking that). ***

But I am happy to report that my head stayed on my shoulders and didn't explode! I've been unplugged since the 1st September and run or cycled 11 times which includes a race.  I would have been on the biked and swam more however, there is story they which I will share next blog.

SO the BIG question is; do I feel more enlightened now I have undertaken this little experiment? To be honest I don’t really feel any different…. I think I need to acknowledge a few things a move on

1. I like data
2. I like recording information
3. I need to stop setting targets
4. I need to set targets based on my current level of fitness ( I didn’t really mean point 3)
5. I should stop comparing myself to a time in the past when I was always getting PBs, summers were sunnier, I was 1 stone lighter and it always snowed a Christmas
6. I should enjoy whatever exercise I do, because it normally means I'm with friends, I am prolonging my life (barring any major accidents see the next blog)
7. I have been coveting my next triathlon GPS device for the last 27 days
8. If I forget my watch it won’t be the end of the world, my run/ride/swim will still count even if it isn’t on Strava

 

I am really sorry if you came to this blog expecting from profound message about how running without devices has set me free and how everyone should do it….it took an unexpected turn for me as well!!

*** other than Olly Clarke he said I could make it!

All good things

I had a lovely time on my holiday recently, it was nearly 6 months from booking it to getting on the plane and sampling my first margarita, well worth the wait! I had a lovely two weeks soaking up the sun in the Dominican Republic.  Quite often our favorite pastime is to plan the next holiday and this year was no different, looks like we are planning to run Vegas RR marathon in 2016, the waiting begins!

While we were on holiday I caved in and ordered my new Garmin Forerunner 225 with built in heart rate monitor in the wrist, I thought my body was worth a chaff free run :) it helped that I did quite well on the tables in the casino.  The only problem  would be the wait the watch was due to be released in June but Runners Need was keeping it very quiet about when.  Then last Friday I got the text message it had been dispatched and was on its way to me (GREAT NEWS) the only problem is that they wanted to deliver on Monday,  curse having to work for a living!! The next suitable delivery was Wednesday another 2 days wait, then I it was a full day of work (till 18:00)  until I could finally unpack, set up my watch and go for a run. But finally my watch is here and I have done my first run

You may have seen from my recent posts that my running has not being going too well, I have been getting out there and running, but nothing is really feeling comfortable, easy or fun.  There are no injuries to speak of, other than my body wishing it was back on a sun lounger in the Dom Rep, I seem to be suffering with a serious case of impatience with my performance. So the one thing I am going to wait have for a little longer is achieving some personal bests. 

But hopefully my couple of weeks rest from my holiday and my new watch will help me to achieve some personal bests this year.  As they say all good things come to those who wait 

Day 10 Running Streak miles covered 46.6 miles, number of blog posts 3 

The pain of training by heart rate

Being of the female variety and runner I suffer with terrible chaffing when I have worn heart rate monitors in the past.  I understand that running is tough and it is going to hurt at times, but I draw the line at wearing something that is going to have me whimpering in the shower at the end of my run.  

Now trust me I am accustomed to the odd chaffing incident  here and there (wearing a wonder bra for 26.2 miles will leave both physical and mental scars for a long time) but very much like wonder bras and ill-fitting shoes I will only do it once, learn and never do it again!  So this was where I was at with my heart rate monitor it didn't matter how much Vaseline I still felt the familiar sting and I am sure feel the familiar sensation of your skin been rubbed away millimeter by millimeter is not going to do your heart rate any good, 

So I put away my heart rate monitor into the back of draw and resigned myself to never really understanding my heart rate zones, but safe in the knowledge that I may be able to wear a bikini on holiday.  Then I saw that purelime have incorporated a heart rate monitor holder into their compression running bra,  worth  look I would say.

Now running bras are not cheap and to be truthful I don't think that a running bra is the place to scrimp and try and save the pennies, it is suggested that ladies breasts will move quite considerable amount when running.  Apparently they move in a figure of 8 and can oscillate up to 8 inches, want to see how your boobs move check this out…. 

So I thought an extra fiver to incorporate a heart rate monitor would be a bargain, not only in terms of getting a firm grasp of my boobs but also to get to grips on my heart rate monitor training.  However, I feel that the extra pounds I am carrying and training in the spring showers,  didn't really realise the chafe free running I was hoping… undeterred when I saw shock absorber had also incorporated a heart rate monitor I gave it another go… but the results where the same :( 

I know I could get a watch which incorporates the heart rate monitor in the strap but as it stands I have had a new running GPS watch every year for the past 3 years, so this free sport of running is becoming quite an expensive habit.

So instead I am now going to try and loose a few pounds and hope that the weather improves, I'll keep you all informed if I can indeed have a chafe free run and if not Christmas is only 7 months away, and Garmin have brought out their latest watch with integrated wrist strap HRM.

Time to stop

After a week off running following my sinus surgery, I went out for my run last Tuesday and as the 1st mile clicked by I could see that my pace was low and my mind went straight to all the excuses I could prefix my run with when I uploaded it to strava later.  

This then got me thinking when we upload our runs to the world wide web, via Garmin Connect, Strava, Fetch etc etc you see people prefixing their run with #recovery or #feelingtired or #heartratetraining as if we are trying to excuse our time or pace.

Perhaps it is just me but I spend too much time during my run thinking about what is this going to look like on strava,  to my running friends that it takes the enjoyment of the run and my run falls in to two baskets good / bad.  This is all based on what I think other people will think of my pace rather than if I am actually enjoying my run. 

When I started out running I enjoyed running; lacing up my trainers, getting out in the fresh air after being couped up  in a stuffy office all day and having some time and space to relax was just bliss, but in the last few months  I have lost a little bit of the sparkle. 

I know I could give up my Garmin (other good running watches are out there) but I feel it is a set too far and I'm a sad stato so instead I have decided to stop  prefixing my runs with anything other than good, bad, I needed that, now where is my cake/wine/chocolate.  I 'm also going to try to start to log more sensory information about how I felt during the run, which should service to help me understand my body a little. I am sure it will make me more happy, bring a spring back in to my step.

On another note 

You may have noticed that I had sinus surgery which meant that I had to take a week of running while I recovered from surgery, which means I couldn't take part in Go-vember this year. 

I am still taking part in XC and Saturday was my 2nd one of the season and I have to say it was a toughie course hilly and quite technical and you can tell from my face that I was not really a fan, but now and again we need to get out of our comfort zone now and again!