Training Tuesday 4

I am now in week two of marathon training! This is a frightening/exciting prospect for two reasons. Firstly, it reminds me that at the end of this week, there are just 16 weeks left until I run 26 miles. Eek! Secondly, every week I'll be running further than I've ever run before! From now on, my Sunday mornings will involve running a mile further than the previous week, which kicked off with a 6 miler last Sunday.

I have only run 7 miles in one go once before, but due to some difficult lessons feel that I now know (generally) how to prepare for these longer runs.

Here is an example of my most difficult running lesson:

I won a competition last year to take part in the Adidas Thunder Run 2012 as part of the Womens and Mens Running magazine team. I entered the competition because I love running in the countryside, and the course looked beautiful! My team mates were all so nice, but I don't think I had any idea how hard it was going to be running at least 3 10ks in 24 hours. It turned out much harder than I thought. I had run a few 10ks previously using no training plans, and had just run a rather muddy hilly cross country 10k that I had not prepared for. Little did I know, the ache in my ankle was achilles tendinopathy, which morphed from a niggle into excrutiating pain during my second 10k of the Thunder Run - that I ran in the middle of the night. I liked the prospect of running at night (there is a video on the internet somewhere that attests to this) but as soon as I started the lap my hips ached, my legs felt like lead and my achilles hurt like anything.
Needless to say I fell over at around mile 4, cutting my knee open (I still bear the scar) and crying with frustration more than pain. I hobbled back and finished the lap in 1:20 hrs. My team mates were all consistently running 40-50 minute 10ks so this was quite embarrassing. And it was all my fault, I only had myself to blame for poor preparation.
The lesson: learn how to prepare for long runs!

After this experience (which I am grateful for-thank you Women's Running!) I consulted a physiotherapist, had a sports massage and 6 months off running, then researched getting strong and organising my training. Following the Hal Higdon plan, I feel I'm being sensible. I've actually stepped down to a Novice 1 plan, which is an even better idea for me, as it has taken the frequency and distance of my runs up just a little notch. A managable, safe, injury free notch. In addition to a sensible plan (indeed a plan!) I have decided to schedule in regular sports massages for my knotty legs and tight calf muscles, have bought a foam roller and am still endeavouring to factor in strength training in the shape of squats, lunges, planks whenever I can.

I had a mini lightbulb moment during my 6 mile run on Sunday when I got half way round the circuit and realised that I felt really good. Nothing hurt. I wanted to continue running. And I was enjoying myself! I got quite emotional.

I'll never be a brilliant runner, and don't think that I'll ever run 40 minute 10ks like my Thunder Run team mates, but with any luck and a lot of preparation, I'll be able to run the marathon.

Training Tuesday again!

Ah yes, training. It isn’t going quite as I’d planned but it is going, which is the main thing!

I didn’t end up running the Richmond half in September, as my knee was still giving me problems. Fortunately the osteopath seems to have sorted it out, so I’m building longer distances back up slowly. I ran the Southend 10K on Sunday 6th October, and got a personal best by 8 seconds (which may be a small achievement but still worthy of celebrating!), running it in 55.31 minutes. I had it on good authority that this race was really flat, so was fairly confident about it despite the fact that I hadn’t been able to run over 4 miles for a good few weeks.

I’m using Hal Higdon’s  training programmes for some guidance, and am on week 8 of the 12 week Spring Training Novice plan which will be followed by the Marathon Novice 2 18 week training plan at the beginning of December. The Hal Higdon programme calls for a half marathon on the weekend of 1st/2nd February, so if you know of any in the London/South East region let me know!

This week I’ve decided to go back to running with the Victoria Park Harriers, and will aim to take part either in the weekly speed session or long run. I joined over a year ago, but have only been a handful of times because I am supremely lazy and will give myself any excuse not to go running for an hour in the evening! I really enjoyed the sessions I did take part in, especially the friendly atmosphere, camaraderie and support as well as competitive edge!

Aside from group running providing great motivation, it also provides a safe way to train. I often run alone, but have been a bit wary about going as the days draw in, as a female runner was recently attacked in the park near my home on a dark early morning. This has made me consider safety when training much more seriously, prompting me to go back to the Harriers once a week, take advantage of light weekend runs, but also to remember these important tips:

·         Stay visible with high vis/reflective clothing

·         Stick to busy or street lit paths if I need to run alone after dark

·         Carry a mobile phone or a personal attack alarm

·         Vary my route and vary the times I go out

 

You can find more tips at this website http://www.running4women.com/running4women-safety-guide-2/

To finish off, here is a picture of me (in the orange t shirt) before the Southend 10K! I ran with some members of the Rayleigh Road Runners, including my dad (with the yellow t shirt on) who ran his first 10K in 1:03.51, which is brilliant!

 

 

Training Tuesday

I have to admit that training has been a little hampered by my knee issue, but I am happy to report that it has now been diagnosed! I visited an osteopath last week who told me that the knee pain and previous injuries on the same leg, were caused by pelvic misalignment, caused by poor posture.
Now I know what the problem is, and have some exercises to do, I'm hoping to be on the mend in time for marathon training to get into full swing in October.
To kick start training, I signed up for the Richmond Half on 22nd September, but am a little dubious about running 13 miles in less than a month as I haven't been able to get any long runs in for quite a while, so it may be a non starter.
On a happy note, I was very excited to see that Hampstead's Sweaty Betty has a Thursday lunch time run club, which I am definitely going to go to! I am a big fan of SB clothes and am using the forthcoming marathon as a great excuse to buy lots of lovely work out gear. Even if I can't run far, I'll look nice trying.
Running clubs are a great way to get enthusiastic about a run, especially on those days when it's a struggle to even get out of bed. I'm slightly worried about motivation as most of my training will be done in winter, and getting up in the dark or running after work in the dark and snow can be daunting! Nevertheless, knowing that the effort will translate into raising money for Burgh House will be motivation enough, I'm sure.

Foodie Friday!

I love food. Since being diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome about 8 years ago, I’ve had a tricky relationship with it (involving lots of trial and error, trying diets and giving up diets), but I’ve finally found a solution that seems to work for me. I’ve learned to base my main meals around vegetables and protein, snack on fruit and load up on carbohydrates towards the start of the day rather than at dinner. This gives me energy for running, but doesn’t upset my gut. I do make compromises with myself though, as I have a real sweet tooth so eating super healthily all the time just isn’t possible!

I’ll try to vary these ‘compromises’ and either have a portion of carbs at dinner time, or an after dinner chocolate bar, or a scone for breakfast, or (at the moment) a white chocolate Magnum as an afternoon snack mmmm.... Knowing I’m allowing myself a bit of flexibility keeps me on the right track the rest of the time and gives me something to look forward to!

The Buttery at Burgh House is the best place to get a treat. My personal favourites are the fruit scones, which are delicious, fresh and huge! We recommend the brownies to everyone, as they’re amazing. General Manager Kate says she can’t eat a whole one, but I definitely could! They are really chocolatey and gooey, and also enormous. Cakes may seem like an unhealthy snack, but can definitely be enjoyed as part of a balanced diet, and especially when training. An article in the September Women’s Running magazine about half marathon training nutrition says that treats should be enjoyed on a training day so that you’re burning off some of the excess calories. I went for a run this morning so bring on the scone!

 

Foodie Friday will be a regular monthly post, and I’ll be sampling lots of the Buttery’s delicious fare and working out how I can enjoy it as part of my marathon training nutrition!

 

Training Tuesday

I thought I’d kick start the Hot Foot blog by introducing some regular posts, including this one: Training Tuesday. Every fortnight I’ll be filling you in on how my marathon training is going, so you can follow along with my progress culminating in April 2014’s Brighton Marathon!

To nudge my training into action, I have signed up for an autumn half marathon (Richmond half on 22^nd September) and am using a Runner’s World beginner’s half marathon training plan. Unfortunately, just two weeks in, I have been experiencing some knee pain, which frantic googling and self diagnosing leads me to believe may be iliotibial band syndrome, or the dreaded runner’s knee. Apparently this can be caused by increasing training too quickly, or having weak legs or hips.

I was told by a physiotherapist that I needed to strengthen my legs after experiencing Achilles tendinopathy (which meant taking a few months off running), last year.  Since then, I’ve been squatting, planking, dipping and press-upping once or twice a week, but I think that judging by this new injury, I may need to step up the strength to combat this weakness. I found a great article on the Guardian website about runners and strength, including a really interesting bit about how squatting with 200lbs (eek!) helped Mo Farah improve his running.

On paper, this is brilliant, but I have to admit that I find doing the same exercises more than a few times a week, or for more than 20 minutes a bit of a challenge. Also, I don’t have much space at home, am easily distracted by anything and constantly find myself being licked by the dog as soon as I’m on my yoga mat, so may struggle with doing more strength.  When mulling over this problem I decided to investigate crossfit, which I’ve read a lot about on the internet. According to the Crossfit London website, ‘Crossfit is a strength and conditioning system built on constantly varied, if not randomized, functional movements executed at high intensity.’

If you’re a crossfit beginner, you are asked to go along to 7 initial sessions to learn how to do all the moves properly, so I signed up for a squatting class last week at the Bethnal Green centre.  I’m not sure how I’d been doing squats before, but it definitely wasn’t the crossfit way! My thighs were on fire! The class was really fun, with a mix of men and women of different abilities, and the instructor was very friendly, scaling each activity to each participant and correcting our form. The group dynamic was really motivating, and at the end I felt that I’d quite like to go back.

Whilst I think I may have found one way to address my weak legs in the long term, in the short term I am resting the knee and have scheduled an appointment with an osteopath. If I can get over this first hurdle, I may be squatting 200lbs and running long distance in no time!

Welcome!

Hello there! Welcome to Hot Foot for Heritage.

I'll be raising money for Burgh House by running the 2014 Brighton Marathon and thought it would be fun to document the experience!

The blog will feature training and food posts, as well as lots of information about what I'm fundraising for, so please do follow along and discover what Burgh House is all about.

I am fundraising through mydonate, so do click through to the site at any point to contribute to the campaign.