Can You Hear That Banging Sound?...........................

Well can you hear that banging sound?.........that would be my heart!

I keep asking myself.....Are you scared yet? but a little whisper of a voice 
comes back saying......................Nope but I am nervously excited, if I can just stop my knees from making that knocking sound, I might even be able to run...for a while

16 months ago I hadn't even gone for a gentle jog let alone thought about trying to run, so I really can't quite believe I am saying this, but in 24 hours I will be lining up at the start of the Fowlmead Challenge 6 hours to run as many 2.67 mile laps of the beautiful country park as you can run in the time limit.

When I chucked caution to the wind many months ago and entered this event, secretly I thought, oh well even I can manage a couple of laps, then grab a coffee and watch Mark finish (whatever insane distance he achieves), but it wasn't long before it dawned on me that Mark was, how can I put this, encouraging me to complete the whole thing and stay out there for 6 hours. 

My first reaction was 'No way' then as the weeks have gone by and my long run has increased in distance, that little voice has been starting to say things like, 'If you really tried you might be able to go for 3 laps' or 'With a bit of a push, you could do 5 laps, that would be a half marathon' by this point if you have a good imagination, you should be able to hear manic laughter.........Stop....just be quiet, this madness has to stop!!!!! I knew I was in serious trouble when I found myself consulting pace calculators to see if there was anyway I could increase my pace to be able to squeeze in enough laps (10) to do a marathon! 

Well the simple answer is No.....No way, I am just not fit enough or fast enough (this year) After finally coming to my senses, it's time to make a sensible plan.......... I know that no matter how slowly I go, I am just not able to run continuously for 6 hours, so the only way I can stay on my feet and moving is to set out with a Run/Walk strategy right from the first mile. So that is what I am going to do......will I manage 3 laps? a half marathon or more? Your guess right now is as good as mine.................but I am sure looking forward to the journey......................see you on the flip side!

I Believe We Have A Winner

Before I get started on this weeks training (session 8) I have some really great news, well to be honest I have known for a couple of weeks but wanted to wait for the confirmation before announcing to the world.........drum roll please.....
I have won 2 places in the 5k Color Run at Brighton on the 14th September 2013.

This all came about because at the beginning of my training sessions, Mark said that it would be a good idea to enter for a race, this he said would keep me focused on my running.........well I did sign up for Park Run but that didn't really count in his book because I could go along any weekend so there was no real pressure. I was a bit scared to say the least at the idea of commiting to a dead line. Then one day back in July I was on the Womens Running UK website and saw a competition for 2 places in the Color Run. Yep you guessed I entered and won, and of course it will be Mark running with me. Now although this is a 5k run it isn't timed and the main idea is to have fun not try to beat your personal best, so all in all I think this is an excellent place for me to start (insert big grin)

With the Color Run now to focus on I was even more determined to do well this week with my training, I had also booked the week off of work fully intending to get all those niggling jobs done, you know all those things around the house that get pushed to the end of the "To Do list" because of work or late nights. I also fully intended to get some use out of my new gym membership. 

Well my timing couldn't have been more 'Off' the gym is CLOSED for 2 weeks for a complete refit, all new equipment is being installed Doh! not to be outdone, I went for a nice 4 mile steady paced walk with my sister on Tuesday,
Aqua Zumba on Wednesday and then running with Mark on Thurday night.

Training Session 8 (oops I seem to of run out of Dino pictures)
I wore my Brooks Puredrift, these are really an amazing pair of shoes and I promise I will get around to writing a full review one of these days.
We did our 5k through the woods and along the train track route, which really is pleasant, the evening was cooler and it had rained quite a lot during the day so the air was fresh and it felt easier to breathe, I am not sure if it was because of the exciting news (could also be read as panic) about the Color Run, the nice fresh air or the fact that I was feeling pretty stressed out over my dog being ill, but I just wanted to really push myself, I 'needed' to run. So run I did, then walked just long enough to catch my breath and then ran again as many times as I could, just random times not counting minutes or seconds just running till I couldn't run anymore, it felt wonderful. Before I even really noticed Mark was saying we had got to our half way point and we needed to turn around and head for home, so we chatted and ran and just for a few moments while we ran through the woods with the light of the day starting to fade, I felt free and at peace with the world, If this is how running can feel then I never want to give it up. As we approached our finishing point Mark was pushing me pretty hard to pick up the pace and bits like through the station car park that we would normally walk, he was egging me on to run. At the time I didn't know why he was in such a hurry, but all was soon revealed when he announced that we had finished our 5k and I had a new personal best time of......*another drum roll please*..........49 minutes and 41 seconds Yeeehaa!
Now I know this isn't exactly super speedy for some runners, but for me this is a major mile stone, I knew that I needed to get below 50 minutes for 5k so that I could enter at Park Run. Eight weeks ago I was doing 5k in 1 hour 11 mins.
Am I pleased............You bet your life, I am over the moon

Till the next time............

Race For Life 2013

The day started bright and breezy, which to be honest was a bit of a relief considering the night before had been a major thunderstorm with plenty of rain. We all considered ourselves lucky. Joining me for todays event is my daughter, she will be running, and my sister who will be walking. Also walking with us will be my Cavalier King Charles Spaniel called Alfie. We have our own cheering squad, both my sons and their respective partners and my hubby.  Kitted out in our Pink t-shirts and armed with enough safety pins to hold all our race numbers and messages of who we are dedicating our run to, we set out.

We were instructed to arrive about an hour before the start so that we could take part in the warm up exercise routine, however when we arrived at the grounds there was such a long wait to the car park we decided to go and find somewhere else to park. This worked out well but it did mean that we had about a 1/2 mile walk to the starting line, oh well just meant our total for the day would be closer to 7K

There's not much really I can say about the event itself, no major dramas, just a nice steady 5k walk with Alfie taking a minor detour for a quick dip in the lake. I guess the real important thing about this was this time last year my sister would not of been fit enough take part at all, but thanks to Slimming World she is over 3 stone lighter than last year. I did do the race last year I too was nearly 2 stone heavier then.

Our times for the race...........my daughter ran with a couple of quick walks on the more hilly parts and finished in an amazing 29 mins. We finished in 1 hour and 4 mins my time last year was 1 hour 11 mins so all in all a really pleasing
result.

We have all signed up in advance for Race For Life 2014 and I have promised myself that I will be fit enough to run the whole distance.........so watch this space

It's All In The Shoes

Training Session

 A few little lightbulb moments for me this week, just small moments where I have found myself thinking about my training and feeling more like I can really do this, I can call myself a runner. I may never be the fastest & I may well stick to 5k but there is nothing wrong with that. I can still achieve that and work towards getting better at that distance, and not get hung up on needing to do marathons etc. 

I am doing the Race For Life at the weekend with my Sister and my Daughter. My Daughter will run, but we will walk with my wonderful dog Alfie. But there is that small bubble of excitement in me knowing that next year I will be able to run the complete distance, I can almost sense how brilliant that is going to feel.

Training session this week got off to a good start, the weather was a bit cooler and with a nice breeze. For this run I am wearing (this is getting to be a bit like a fashion show) Nike Free 7.0 with my Nike anti-blister socks. Now to be honest I was really hoping that these shoes were going to be The Ones, because lets face it just how many pairs of running shoes will I have to cram into my already over crowded closet. Now don't get me wrong I love my Vivobarefoot, you can really feel like you are connected to the ground you are running on, however this can also be a bit of a disadvantage when you are running on pavements, especially as a beginner like me. I will need to have much better form and lightness in my step to avoid the shin pain I am currently getting from roads and pavements. So back to the Nike, they fit very well in width and have a good size toebox. They didn't feel overly heavy, and more importantly I had a quick run around outside my house and my shins hadn't screamed at me, but even before leaving for our run I was wondering if all this comfy padding and squishy feeling was really going to suit my running style. 

Off we go for our warm up walk then through the woods and out into the fields, we do 30,60 and 90 second repeats with 90 seconds or so walk in between, I can feel that I am quicker tonight, but the ground feels muted, I can still feel larger stones and sticks but with a kind of dull sensation.
 
On our way back home Mark says to me we are now going to have like a play session for the final 10 mins or so before we reach home, the idea is to just run or stop at random times and speeds to suit myself, we have a quick race to the bus stop, then a bit of a walk then a steady but speedy dash across a bridge I actually ended up running for just about a 3 minute stretch without being out of breath.  All in all a really good session. And the verdict on the Nike Free 7.0 the jury is still out. While they are very comfortable and I certainly could run on the harder surfaces without any shin pain, to be honest I am still not convinced that that is such a good thing compared with actually feeling the ground you are on.

I have read a lot on the Runners World forums about one of the most important things when you start to run is to get a pair of the right running shoes for your style of running, I have decided that  I am going to go to a sports shop and get a gait analysis done. Lets hope there will still be some space left in my closet for the right shoes!

Stats for 23rd July 2013

 5k = 55mins 8 seconds my Personal Best (PB)
Gear: Nike Free 7.0 and Nike Anti-Blister toe socks

Ready......Steady......GO.....

Training Session

Ok so it's taken a week or Two to synchronize diaries with Mark. I would keep calling him Cardiosaurus, but it takes too long to type & check the spelling so from here on in it's Mark or CM for Cardiosaurus Mark or maybe that should be Coach Mark.

The date and plan is set, we will meet and go for a nice brisk walk up and down some fairly steep hills, then into some fields to do repeats of 1 minute running then 90 seconds walking to recover, repeated for 20 minutes...........Ok so this all sounds like a pretty good plan.

The day arrives & I have to admit I was feeling a little nervous and questioning if maybe I might just be a little mad. But the Garmin is set GPS signal found and we are off..........I soon found that those fairly steep hills were doing a pretty good impression of Mount Everest.  Mark kept up a slow but steady pace, reminding me all the way to keep my breathing going and shorten my stride, now being rather vertically challenged scraping in at 5 foot long strides are never going to be my thing so all was good.

Hills conquered, we arrive at the field and Mark takes some time to explain to me all about correct posture and landing on the front part or forefoot rather heel striking. If you followed my link from my earlier post to Mark's blog you will have already learnt that Mark is a "Barefoot Runner" now although barefoot can indeed mean naked feet, when said in quotes usually refers to minimalist shoes or in Marks case Lunar Sandals.

I would love to say that I will be following literally in Mark's footsteps but for now, I haven't quite decided what I will wear to do my running in, so I am going to be trying out various options and see which seems to work for me.
For this first lesson I just dug out my favorite trainers, not completely zero drop infact I believe they are closer to about 6-8mm. 

Back to the lesson......Right, Mark gives me my instructions to run for 1 minute, not to go for speed but relax and concentrate on form and controlled breathing........and we're off 5 seconds.....yep I'm ok.....10 seconds I'm starting to breathe more rapidly.........20 seconds.....OK my lungs are on FIRE, legs feel like lead.......30 seconds........right that's my lot.... I suddenly got the message of just how unfit I had let myself become and how long 60 seconds is when you just want to cough up a lung. Think we may need to adjust the training plan, so we walked for a few minutes till I had my breathing back in control which to be honest didn't take long. We did a few more repeats of 30 seconds running and then walk to recover. Then finished off with the walk back up and over the hills rounding our lesson off to complete 5K I was knackered but pleased with myself for finally getting up off the couch and doing something to take back control of my life....

Stats for 2nd July 2013



 5K = Total 1hrs 11mins = 23 min mile
Repeats of 30 seconds running, Several minutes walking
Gear: Primark Trainers with Injinji socks.
 

Till the next time.................

The Beginning of The Mummysaurus

Where to begin.............well the aim of this blog is for me to be able to have a place to record my journey from near total couch potato to being able to run 5k without needing hospitalization at the finish line! so lets start with a bit of a basic profile:

• I am female
• 54 years young
• Married with Three grown up children (One of which Cardiosaurus is responsible for my current training, but more of that later)
• I have a wonderful dog, which I am hoping is going to be my running buddy for the next few years.

I had been pretty overweight and out of shape for some years, then last year (the royal jubilee to be exact) I joined Slimming World along with my sister, to get help to finally shed the extra pounds. A little over 6 months later I hit my target weight and have managed to maintain that since thanks to continuing my membership with Slimming World and going to the group meetings each week. But now having lost the extra pounds I thought it was about time to start getting a bit fitter. Like most people my age I have had a few health issues and I have my fair share of cracking and creaky joints and a couple of bunions just to round off the package.

I didn't want to just dive in and join a gym and commit to the monthly fees, which so many people do but end up never using, I didn't need the guilt trip not just over fitness but also over the money being wasted.
So I started going along to my local swimming pool and doing an Aqua Aerobics class for the 50+. This I really enjoyed so much that I also encouraged my daughter to come along to an Aqua Zumba class, Which is not only a really good workout, but also somewhere to have a really good laugh and mummy/daughter time.

Now talking about Mummy/child times brings me back to my son Cardiosaurus you see he is an Ultra Marathon Runner, Ultra's are races that exceed the normal marathon distance of 26.2 miles and can be 50 miles, or even 100 miles or more. But rather than taking up all my blog space telling you about his adventures in running these mega distances I will just give you a link to his blog http//:cardiosaurus.blogspot.co.uk so you can see for yourself.

Back to my own story..............In casual conversation at a family gathering I mentioned that I was going to walk the Race for Life with my sister and my dog at the end of July but that my own personal goal was instead of walking the 5k Race for Life I would really like to be able to run it by next years event July 2014 I expected to hear laughter or rude comments about my dodgy knees or my advancing age, but to my surprise and shocked ears all I heard from my son was "Challenge Accepted"

So here I am, now known as Mummysaurus with a running story of my own.



................ to be continued