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Women's Running 10K Nottingham
Running

Race Diary: Women’s Running 10K Nottingham

For the past few weeks the UK has experienced record heat, heat that frankly I don’t mind.  This heat isn’t nearly as hot as the summers I’m used to back in Virginia so it’s all relative.  I think this weather is great and this heat suits me just fine thank you.

But, I’ve never been a fan of running in hot weather as I tend to overheat pretty quickly and my face turns a bright reddish-purple that makes me look a bit like a beet root. So, I was a little concerned about running in the Women’s Running 10K in Nottingham over the weekend.  After last month’s adventure run (where I walked a good portion of the course), I felt like I wanted to run for a good time but knew I’d struggle to do this if the weather pattern held.  I did make sure to drink loads of water the day before to stay hydrated (downside of drinking loads of water, you have to wee A LOT).

As it turned out, I didn’t need to worry.  The weather was much cooler and the sun stayed hidden behind thick clouds. It was even a little chilly before the start, and my little man complained about being cold in the t-shirt and shorts in which I’d dressed him.  Also, the course, two 5K laps around Victoria Embankment and the river Trent, was almost exclusively covered by a canopy of trees and in the shade.

Women's Running 10K Nottingham

Once again I used the Runmeter app to set up a race plan that I felt would help me achieve my goal of a personal best.  This meant making sure I didn’t start too fast as I’ve had a tendency to do.  It’s so easy to get caught up at the start and go faster than you can maintain over the distance.  That’s why I find the pacing so helpful, it reminds me to stick to my own plan and not worry about anyone else.

And I did it, a personal best of 55:08.  Hooray!  Sub 55 up next!

The best part of this race, though, was having my little man cheering me on from along the route. Because the course switched back on itself a couple of times, I was able to run past him waving and even once getting a high-five.

Like the ZEST Challenge, this race was also women only.  I enjoy these, I find it encouraging to see women of all ages, shapes, sizes, and levels of fitness all running together on a Saturday morning.

Women's Running 10K Nottingham

 

Women's Running 10K Nottingham

This month also marked a milestone, three months into my year-long 10K challenge and I’ve reached my fundraising goal!  Thank you so much to everyone who has donated and supported my cause.  It means so much and I honestly never imagined that I’d get such a good response.

Of course this doesn’t mean you can’t still donate, heck I still have 9 months of races.  So what’s next?  Shall I increase my goal?

ZEST Alpro Challenge 2013
Running

Race Diary: ZEST Alpro Challenge 10K

On Saturday, I ran the second 10K race in my year-long challenge, the ZEST Alpro Challenge 10K.  This race was no ordinary 10K though, it was an “adventure” race filled with obstacles I’d have to conquer over the 10K distance. Honestly though, I think the course conquered me more than the other way around.

ZEST Alpro Challenge 2013

I was just past the 2K mark when I abandoned the idea of running the entire 10K.  I’d been running largely uphill across uneven terrain since the start of the race, my pace feeling slow and my legs like lead.  Thankfully, a short downhill stretch finally gave me the chance to pick up a bit of speed and relax.  I’d made it through the first obstacle, the tyre crawl, my single thought being “don’t freaking trip and hurt yourself.”  But the thing about running downhill is that you know that somewhere ahead you will have to run uphill.  You can’t have one without the other.  So just past 2K I started to climb again and beyond the summit, I had a view of the water slide I’d soon be conquering.  My legs no longer had the will or ability to continue running.  I stopped and walked to the top.  And, it wouldn’t be the last time.

The water slide was basically a giant trash bag on the side of the hill with a dude at the top hosing it down with water.  As I sat at the top of the slide, it actually took me a moment to get the momentum to slide down.  But then I picked up speed, racing toward the bottom and almost crashing into a woman at the end who was filming some friends, who then narrowly missed me.   Thankfully, all we ran away with were soggy bottoms covered in grass.

After the water slide, I crossed another section of relatively flat terrain and running again gave me a lift.  Imagine that, I actually wanted to run!  Ahead, I saw my next obstacle, a set of tunnels I’d have to crawl through.  At least I was plenty wet from the water slide so the dirt really stuck to me.

ZEST Alpro Challenge 2013

Once through the tunnel, I passed a course official who announced “it’s all downhill from here ladies!”  She wasn’t kidding.  In less than 1K, I’d descend the same elevation it had taken me the previous 4K to climb.  At times I was struggling to keep my footing, just focusing on putting one foot in front of the other and not falling forward.  I felt as if one false step would have me tumbling down the hill with a broken ankle.  Then, as I emerged from the woods at the bottom of the hill, I came across a trench I had to jump.  This time my single thought was “please let my foot land on the other side, please let my foot land on the other side.”  They had arranged the course so that many of the obstacles, including the trench, were in full view of the spectators and supporters. Nothing like the risk of embarrassment to spur you on.

ZEST Alpro Challange 2013

I then crawled under some sort of rope as I made my way to “hay bale mountain.”  I imagined that this is what contestants on that Gladiators show felt like as they raced to the top of a foam mountain while being chased by someone named Lightning.  Here, the 5K runners turned for the finish.  My 10K partners and I headed back into the thick of the woods.

The course was actually beautiful, I enjoyed spending a Saturday morning taking in the scenery and some fresh air.  This was my first run in a  long, long time without music and I did find that I was much more in tune with my surroundings, and the sound of my heavy breathing.  But I knew the course would be challenging and I’d need to give it my full attention instead of zoning out to the latest Macklemore song.

Around 5-6K I was back to running until I met a queue, yes a queue, in the middle of the race.  I’d come to the next obstacle, the “slippery wall” I’d have to run up and over.  Women were stacked up waiting their turn, or second turn, at scaling the wall.  As I got closer to the front, a course official looked at us all curiously and said “Why are you guys all waiting?  This is a race you know.  Just go whenever you want, you don’t have to wait.  Just go.”  And, he had a point.  I didn’t know what the proper etiquette was in this situation but in the end I just decided to go for it as soon as I saw an opening.  Getting up was actually the easy part.  As I slid down the other side though, I landed almost face first on the ground.

ZEST Alpro Challange 2013

I had another opportunity to stretch my legs and run for a bit before I arrived at THE HILL.  Despite all my training over the past few months, I could not have felt more unfit as I scaled the almost vertical ascent up a rocky, grassy slope.  There was no running.  There was barely even walking as I leaned forward to keep myself from falling backwards down the hill.  Finally at the top, I found myself doubled over taking deep, deep breaths.  I was not alone. At times, everyone surrounding me was walking.

As I left THE HILL behind, I was beyond thankful for a nice flat section of trail to stretch my legs and run, really run again.  Even in these sections though, it was still tough going, running thorough grass, rocks, and over uneven terrain.  I then found myself in another queue, this one for “the swamp,”  a pond with some wooden pontoons you jumped across like stepping-stones to get safely to the other side.  But as I stood there watching some of the other women attempt to cross, I quickly realized that, no matter what, your feet were getting soaked. The pontoons wobbled and sank into the water with the slightest weight.  A woman ran past me and straight through the water, avoiding the pontoons completely.  This, I decided, was a smart move and I followed suit. Better to just get my feet wet than end up falling in.  Running in soaking wet shoes was not ideal though and I’ve definitely got some blisters as a result.

ZEST Alpro Challenge 2013

Things thankfully went downhill again and I felt like after the swamp, somewhere around 7K, I found my stride and a running rhythm.  And even picked up the pace.  I’d abandoned any idea of a good time before I even started but wanted to feel like I’d run my hardest when I actually could.

There was another pontoon crossing, this one across a creek and with sturdier pontoons.  The woman running next to me was happy to let me take the first step, we’d both witnessed the carnage at the last swamp and were cautious.  I had a couple of small hills to scramble up and then down then found myself faced with a set of balance beams, wooden planks stretched across a big ditch, with several routes to cross.

Next up was the “spider’s web,” a crazy web of string I had to climb through.  I felt like a “slightly” less glamorous version of Catherine Zeta-Jones in Entrapment, contorting my body around a complex web of lasers.

After the spider’s web, I knew I was home free, with less than 1K to go.  The woods opened back up, I’d been running in the shade and shelter of the woods since about 5K, and I could see the finish.  But between me and the finish, a massive log to climb over, a dirt mountain to climb up and over, and then the big inflatable assault course slide.  This thing was like a bouncy castle on steroids.  Once I managed to climb into the thing, it swallowed me up and bounced me around with an assortment of inflatable punching bags.  At this stage, I found that my experiences around children’s soft play areas proved valuable.  At the end I had to climb up and over a wall to get out of the big bouncy castle and, even with the help of 2 people, I could barely heave myself up and over.  It was not pretty.  After the most awkward slide ever, I bounced off the bottom then ran for the finish. Hooray!

ZEST Alpro Challange 2013

And bless if the rain didn’t hold off until I was on my way back to the car in my muddy socks and shoes.

Despite all the physical challenges, I did enjoy this race.  The race was women only and everyone I came across on the course was supportive, determined, and enthusiastic.  Strong women of all ages and physical abilities ran in the race, all getting out there on a Saturday morning and putting themselves to the test.  My official time was 1:13:16, dog slow compared to my time at the Oxford Town & Gown, but I knew I wasn’t running this race for a good time.  It was enough just to have finished.  My goals going in were finish, have fun, and don’t hurt myself and I accomplished all three.

I’m not sure if I have much of a future in trail running.  My next race is a nice normal 10K on pavement and I know I’ll prefer that.

Congratulations to everyone who ran on Saturday, well done!  Special thanks go out to all the friends and family that were out there supporting us.  And thanks Flo for all the pictures!

52 Weeks of Us, Running

52 of Me: Twenty-Three

Tomorrow is the next 10K race in my Crohn’s Running Challenge and I admit, I’m a bit scared.

First, I’ve been on a long holiday this month.  Yes, I did manage to get myself up and out the door early to go running a couple of times on my trip.  (Which, by the way, is a really great way to experience a new city).  But compared to how I’d been training for my last 10K, my training regimen the past few weeks hasn’t been very strict.  My biggest accomplishment some days has just been getting out the door to run, never mind trying to do specific training intervals, sprints, etc.

Second, this race, the Zest Alpro Challenge, is more than just a 10K, it’s an “adventure” 10K. Honestly, I’m not sure what to expect other than doing a lot more than just running and getting really muddy.  There are things on the course map labeled “Pontoon Maze, ” “Zig Zag Balance Beam,” and “Inflatable Assault Course Slide.”  What on earth have a gotten myself into?

So my goals for this race are pretty simple and I’m not worried about my time at all.

Finish.  Don’t hurt myself.  Have fun.  Oh, and don’t crap myself.

Wish me luck!  And, help me support Crohn’s and Colitis UK by sponsoring me over on my JustGiving page (or the handy little button over there on the right).

Oxford Town and Gown 10K
Running

Race Diary: Oxford Town & Gown 10K

On Sunday I ran the first 10K of my 12 month 10K challenge, the Oxford Town and Gown 10K. And, I am so pleased with how this race went.  From the beginning, I declared my intentions, positioning myself at the “Sub-60 Minutes” area of the start.  I ran this same race two years ago and missed this goal by a couple of minutes.  But, this time, I knew I’d been much more focused in my training so really felt like this was achievable.

This race was so much different from the 7K I did at Blenheim Palace couple weeks ago.  First, there were a load more people, close to 4000 runners, many that looked way more serious and fit than me.  Second, it was a very flat course which my legs and lungs greatly appreciated!  The Town and Gown course is a really nice run as they close off many of the main streets in Oxford so you can run through the middle of the city.  And, the weather couldn’t have been more perfect, sunny, but not too warm.

Oxford Town and Gown 10K

I learned so much from the 7K a couple of weeks ago, namely that I needed to pace myself.  In the 7K, I started out way too fast and had nothing left at the end, especially considering the hills I had to climb.  For the 10K though, I figured out how to set up some intervals on my running gadget of choice, the RunMeter app, to make sure that I ran a slower pace at the start then sped up (making sure that my slowest pace was no slower than 6:00 min/km as my goal was to run in 60 min or less). And this pacing felt so much better. I knew that it was OK to run a little slower in sections and not worry about people passing me because I’d speed up later.

Oxford Town and Gown 10K

The biggest challenge I found was that it was a crowded race and some of the sections were quite narrow which meant very little room to try to pass people. I’d be trying to pick up the pace and run faster while trying to dodge other runners and traffic cones. Something I’ll get better at navigating as I do more of these races I’m sure.

Over the last kilometer, I definitely turned the pace up as fast as I could and cranked up my power song.  I’m so pleased with the result, my chip time was 56:00 and well ahead of my 60 minute goal!  Two years ago when I ran this same race I was disappointed with my chip time of 1:01:23 as I didn’t best 60 min. But I knew I hadn’t been training properly.  This time though, what a difference a good training plan makes!  All those strides, intervals, and circuits, really made a difference. Thank you Julia!!

Oxford Town and Gown 10K

(Horrible photo from the front facing iPhone camera.  But hey, it’s all I had at the finish.)

Upcoming Races

So with one 10K done and dusted, what’s next in my 12 month challenge?  I now have the following races lined up for the next few months:

June:  Zest Alpro Challenge 10K, Henley-on-Thames

July:  Women’s Running 10K, Nottingham

August:  Lacock Abbey 10K, Near Chippenham

September:  Prague Grand Prix 2013 10K, Prague

October:  BUPA Great South Run, Portsmouth

Why don’t you join me?  Sign up for a race or head over to my JustGiving page to donate to my cause, Crohn’s & Colitis UK.

Blenheim Palace 7K
Running

My Twelve Month 10K Challenge for Crohn’s Disease

Now that I’ve been back into running, I’ve realized where my fitness plan always fell down.  I need a goal. Without goals to keep me accountable, I know I find it too easy to slack off and give up.  If there’s not a challenge in it, I just get bored.  But now that I’ve finally figured this out, I can put together a fitness plan that works for me in the long-term.  Previously, I’d challenge myself to do a race then when I finished, that was it, I acted like I was done.  But I wasn’t done, trying to maintain your level of fitness isn’t something that’s ever really done.  I just didn’t have the next thing lined up, the next challenge to keep me motivated.

So I’ve decided to change things.  I mentioned a few weeks ago that I was up and running again with the goal of running in a 10K this month.  But this time, I’m not stopping there.  This time, I’m planning what’s next. And what’s next is that I’m going to challenge myself to run a 10K race each month for the next 12 months.

Why?  First and foremost, I need to do a better job of taking care of my body and keeping fit.  Second, I enjoy running.  For me it’s something that, barring injury, I know I can maintain.  And 10K for me is a good manageable distance to that pushes me just enough.  In fact, my Up and Running coach Julia Jones calls the 10K distance “absolute perfection.”  So for the next year, I will have goals that keep me motivated and training throughout the year to keep up my level of fitness.

I haven’t worked out all the logistics yet, but I’ve already started.  My first race (actually a 7K) was at the end of April, the Blenheim Palace 7K.  This was a great race to start with, small, local and unassuming.  And its tough hilly course meant I really pushed myself.  Yes, there was a guy who finished ahead of me running the whole race while pushing a pushchair with TWO CHILDREN IN IT, but I ran at a personal best pace and crushed my goal time.  The most encouraging thing about the race was that fact that of the top 5 overall finishers, 4 were over 40, demonstrating that age is no barrier to just getting out there and doing it.  April – check.

For the month of May, I’ve got the Oxford Town & Gown 10K lined up this Sunday.  Then in June, Phil somehow convinced me to join in the Zest Alpro Challenge near Henley-on-Thames.  This one is actually a 10K adventure run and I don’t completely know what I’ve gotten myself into but I do get to go down a water slide.  With 3 months of races in the books, I’m now looking for races to add throughout the year.  Stay tuned as I put a schedule together.  Please leave a comment or get in touch if there are any races you recommend (UK & Europe).

To make this challenge even more interesting though, I want my running to serve some other purpose other than just keeping me fit.  So I’m going raise money as I run for a cause near and dear to my heart, Crohn’s and Colitis UK, the major UK charity offering information and support to people affected by Irritable Bowel Diseases.  Aside from research into treatments and a possible cure, I believe some of the most important work funded by Crohn’s and Colitis UK is the support they provide to young people affected by the disease.  In fact this year they are focusing on the devastating impact Crohn’s and Colitis can have on young people.

Some of the challenges young people face include:  falling behind in education, struggles with employment, difficulty maintaining a social life and relationships and moving from paediatric to adult health care.  I was first diagnosed at the age of twenty, trying to keep up with college courses and maintaining my social life, all while trying to avoid the embarrassment of an accident while I walked from one class to the next.  Children and teens with IBD can find these emotional and physical challenges almost impossible to cope with on a daily basis.  Crohn’s and Colitis UK works to provide them and their families with a much-needed support system.

So my year-long 10K running challenge will keep me fit but also allow me to do my little part to raise support and awareness for Crohn’s & Colitis.  If you want to help my cause and get involved, head over to my JustGiving page and donate.  You’ll also be able to follow along with my race diaries here on the blog.

And, why not join me in a race!