Muddy Good Fun!

A return to 'good old' Cross Country

One December, not long after starting secondary school (I must have been about 12 years old) I somehow found myself roped into competing in a very cold, muddy Cross Country competition in Swanley, Kent. I remember placing 13th (my sporty classmate came 2nd) despite absolutely no training, but have no idea how far it was or how long I took. I do however remember feeling sick from the exertion of it! That, dear reader, is my entire Cross Country history in a nutshell!

Fast forward approximately 17 years and I was recently called upon to help my club (Dacorum and Tring AC) earn vital points in this year's Chiltern League, with the first race being held in Watford on October 19th. After the Thunder Run experience earlier this year I decided I'd need to invest in some serious 'mud shoes', as my ordinary 'door to trail' shoes just weren't going to cut it if I wanted to run the whole way and stay upright. I'd read about 'Fell Shoes' (trail shoes with an aggressive, knobbly tread, generally best suited to sloppy, loose ground) in Women's Running magazine and decided to invest in a pair made by Inov-8 (http://www.inov-8.com). I was torn between two models from Inov-8's Mudclaw range, so I ordered both and trotted around our front room in them to decide which I would keep and which to return. In the end I picked the 265, as the 300 had a very unstable, rounded sole that I really didn't feel safe with. The 265 has a much lower heel to toe offset than I'm used to, but Inov-8 make 3mm and 6mm footbeds to customise the cushioning, so I've ordered a set of 6mms to perfect the ride.

Image courtesy of Gary Mitchell http://garymitchellphoto.com 

The race was actually great fun (the picture may not be too convincing of that fact, but it was taken very near the end!) and conditions were perfect - overcast but mild with some cool drizzle. I felt so confident in my new, grippy shoes that I charged up and down the muddy slopes and was reassured to find myself still standing and moving at a decent speed - absolutely unthinkable in 'normal' trainers as I'm somewhat of a clumsy oaf on slippery surfaces! The next fixture is this Saturday in Oxford, but unfortunately I won't be there because I'll be chasing after last year's PB at the Grand Union Canal Half Marathon on Sunday (sorry team :-( )

The only thing I disliked about the cross country experience was that there were separate races for the genders. The ladies course was considerably shorter than the men's (just over 4 miles, according to my Garmin), I'm not sure what the logic is there (maybe it's just tradition?), but I did find that a bit sexist and would have enjoyed the challenge of going further. I also found I missed running in a mixed crowd - having run in quite a few races it felt very strange indeed only to be racing with other ladies!

I'd thoroughly recommend having a crack at cross country, it's really not as daunting as it seems and its safe to put fears of coming last aside. I'll admit there were lots of scarily fast runners there, but just as many of us mere mortals ran too, just like a 'normal' road race!

Bournemouth Marathon 2013

What a Scorcher!

Waiting for the first of the Speed of Light 5K runners to come through

This weekend saw the first ever Bournemouth Marathon Festival. We joined the festivities on Saturday evening, just in time to catch the end of the 10k. Earlier in the day the children's 1.5k and 3k races had been run. After dinner we made our way the the finish area to watch the Speed of Light 5k and, despite being an October evening, it was very warm and pleasant. Plenty of spectators had come out to watch the runners and there was a really good atmosphere, helped greatly by the Heart radio team and their impressive selection of upbeat night/light themed music to keep the LED and glow stick adorned runners going. I was amazed to hear that one man, referred to as 'Top Gun' was running all four adult races during the weekend, I don't know how he did it!

Ready to go!

Sunday morning arrived, I forced myself to eat a bowl of porridge with fruit & honey and we made our way from our Premier Inn in Poole over to Kings Park in Bournemouth to park the car and find the start area. I was relieved to discover that it was very easy to find and there were plenty of spaces (unlike my previous marathon, where the road closures had cut off access to the car park, there was inadequate signage to direct us and the marshalls didn't seem to know where we should go to avoid the closures, which really stressed me up!). We walked through the park to reach the starting pens where we found plenty of portaloos, although some had already run out of toilet paper and weren't flushing, despite how few people had used them. The race got off to a well-organised start and we weren't waiting long to cross the line.

A lovely day for sunbathing...but not so much for running a marathon!

The first half of the race passed without incident and the views were absolutely beautiful, although I was becoming increasingly aware of how warm it was and how little breeze we were getting. As we approached midday and it continued to heat up I began to panic because of the heat-induced stomach problems I'd suffered during my previous marathon. I had to focus really hard on keeping my pace down and started to add GU Brew electrolyte tablets to the water from the water stations to counter the effect of the amount of sweat I was producing. I began to feel a familar discomfort in my stomach and decided to skip an energy gel - not an ideal situation, but I considered my options and thought there was no point taking on extra carbohydrate if it was going to make me feel too ill to run, I did not want to end up walking the last 8-9 miles again! I rationed my fluid intake to avoid worsening my stomach situation, but still took regular small sips because of the heat. Throughout the marathon I had to skip two gels in total, but it seemed to work as I suffered no more than a few warning signs. During the second half I managed to find plenty of drinking water taps on the promenade to top up my bottle and splash my wrists and neck, one of the major benefits of a coastal marathon!

When we reached mile 18, to our horror, we had to climb a lengthy hill in direct sunlight. I'd managed to run up the previous shady hill through Boscombe Gardens (where many had walked), but by this point it was too hot and the sun was absolutely beating down on us. We'd already seen a few conscious casualties being attended to by paramedics. I had an inkling of a headache and decided to be sensible by walking halfway up, stopping in the shade of a portacabin for a moment and then continuing up the hill to a flat bit when I could run again.

For me the hardest part of the race was the last stretch of promenade from about mile 20-21, heading away from Bournemouth - the turning point to run back to the finish line seemed to take forever to come, especially as the runners heading back towards us were on mile 25-26 and very nearly finished. It was a relief to finally turn around and head back.

Nearly there, time to step it up a notch!

I sprinted the last 200 metres at an impressive (after 26 miles, in that heat) 9 minutes per mile. I hadn't been watching my overall time for a good few miles, so when I crossed the line, looked down at my Garmin and saw a considerable PB I was completely overcome by emotion, I sounded so bad a marshall asked me if I needed any help! My official time was 5 hours and 12 minutes, 5 minutes of which were spent on two 'wee stops' (we found plenty of really decent PROPER toilets on route, no need to use the portaloos!) and many blissful encounters with the lovely cold water taps along the way.


Bournemouth Marathon was one of the best organised, most enjoyable races I've ever run and I think everyone involved has a right to be extremely proud. So many races get really big things wrong, so for this one to have gone so well in it's first year was amazing! Entry for next year is already open, I'd thoroughly recommend joining in! http://www.run-bmf.com/?entries_open

Four Days to go!

This time next week it'll all be over! The long weekend runs are all done, I've said farewell to my club for 3 weeks (this week is a taper and I'm taking 2 weeks off of running after the marathon) and my bag is almost packed. I've booked a hotel and marathon bus tickets and looking forward to a weekend by the sea. I now only have two runs remaining and one of those is just 10 minutes.

I blame the camera, rather than my speed for this blurry shot!

Going for Gold
So, what have I been up to these past few weeks? I'll admit there's not been much of great interest - just a lot of miles, not a single sports massage and very little stretching (oh naughty, naughty me...), but in a way 'uneventful' is good, I'm not going to complain! A couple of weeks ago I ran a track race for the first time at our club 5000M Championships, walking away with a new PB (23:23) and a gold medal in my category...although regrettably I'll miss the presentation evening to collect my medal as it's the night before my marathon and I'll be doing my best to relax by the sea! I found 12.5 laps of the track really monotonous, but appreciated complete flatness - my usual 5K is parkrun St Albans, which has a little climb before the final straight.

Choose your Battles Wisely
I was supposed to run Women's Running 10K in London a few weeks ago, but my cat, Sassy, was taken ill the evening before the race. Thanks to worrying about said cat (who had eventually fallen asleep halfway up the stairs because she felt too unwell to travel up or down any further) and a loud and lengthy domestic next door at around midnight I had a sleepless night. I decided I just wasn't 'up to' travelling to London by myself and racing - I was on a very short fuse, quite tired and not feeling at all sociable. I'm really annoyed that I missed it as it was a race I was looking forward to and had booked a long way in advance, but I think I made the right decision. (That afternoon Sassy wasn't improving so we took her to the vet and she was hospitalised on a drip for four days, I'm pleased to say she's back to her old self now).

Race Plan
My plan for Sunday is to run by feel, not my Garmin. So, I'm taking the first half at warm-up pace ('easy' pace), running the next quarter a little bit faster ('steady' pace) and seeing what I have left for the final quarter. I'll be wearing my Garmin but it'll be there as more of a 'how am I doing?' tool than dictating my pace. During my recent longer runs I've found that walking for the 30-60 seconds it takes to take my gels gives me a chance to re-set my posture and shake my arms and legs out, so I'll be sticking with that plan for the marathon. I'm aiming for 4:30-4:45 and my number one goal is to run the whole way, not take a sickly 8.7 mile walk at the end!

Wish me luck, I'll see you all on the other side!

Going 'Clubbing'

Wow, the past few weeks have been a bit of a blur, but now there are less than 6 weeks to go until Bournemouth Marathon!

The TR24
After running The National Lottery Anniversary Run I took on the Adidas TR24 24 hour Thunder Run race as part of a mixed team of eight for Women's Running and Men's Running magazines. What a race! Even a marathon couldn't have prepared me for the crazy but rewarding experience which was that weekend!

We camped in a field in Derbyshire at the side of the track and took it in turns to run 10K laps of a beautiful trail course. My first lap on Saturday afternoon was absolutely fine underfoot, although it was a bit humid and warm and, frustratingly, my now familiar stomach issues from MK Marathon started to become a problem again. I kept running but was very much aware of the strange sloshing noise coming from my guts every time my left foot hit the ground. Lap 2 was quite a contrast, it was pitch black and saw the beginning of a pretty wild thunderstorm (very apt!). The rain lashed down and the mud was already incredibly challenging, I found myself walking a lot as I'm notoriously unstable on slippery surfaces and didn't want to jeopardise my marathon training by breaking anything. When I reached any major downward slopes I sat down and slid on my bum, it was actually a lot of fun, a bit like reverting to childhood and playing on the playground slide again! Visibility was zero at this point (despite headtorches), but the atmosphere amongst the various runners out there was great and it felt like such an adventure. It was still quite dark for my third and final lap but the sun rose while I was out there and the views were beautiful, however by this point the mud was truly unbelievable and some of the puddles were above the knee. It took me so long to get around that my team almost sent out a search party!

As a team we managed 24 laps. My team mates were amazing and I'd definitely do it again, although drier conditions would be nice! To read more about this unique race pick up the brand new issue of Women's/Men's Running for the full feature on our team's weekend, it'll be out this week.

Join the Club
Back on the subject of training, I've completely changed my plan of attack since my last post as I've now joined a local running club - I'm running with the club on Tuesdays and Thursdays and by myself on Saturdays (for my long run). I find this works better for me as it means doing fewer runs per week, which avoids the monotony which I find such a challenge during marathon training. Running with the club has improved the quality of my sessions as I have to run up a prolonged slope to get there and the majority of the group are a good 1+ min/mile quicker than me, so I can't dawdle as I might have done on a solo evening run. Tuesdays are speed/hill work and Thursdays are a normal run, this fits in nicely with what I need to be doing and each session comes in at just over an hour because I run the 1 1/3 mile journey there and back again too. Its only been 2 weeks and I'm already feeling much fitter.

Change is Afoot
I've noticed that my knees are beginning to feel generally sore, usually a sure sign that my trainers are wearing out, and true enough I can see that the soles on my 'distance' pair of trainers have worn smooth on the front tread. I've only had them since Christmas but I do the bulk of my mileage in them so they're on their way out. I've ordered a new pair to start breaking in for the marathon - they're a model I've never tried before but they're my usual make and neutral, just like my old favourite pair. I've noticed that the evenings are beginning to draw in, so I've chosen very bright trainers and reluctantly ordered my first Autumn/Winter item - a Gore long sleeved top, ready for the cooler weather. It seems hard to imagine now but I remember how quickly the season crept up last year - I'm only glad that my marathon (and all that training) will be over before the worst of it. I will of course continue to run casually in the winter, but I won't envy all those I see pounding the streets for mile after mile in pursuit of that Spring marathon, the memories of last winter are all still too fresh in my mind. Those runners have my utmost respect!

Parklife
This week I took part in my 10th parkrun, I went to St Albans and ran with my club. I'd set out to beat my PB, but unfortunately fell 35 seconds short at 25 minutes dead, tantalisingly close! I tried the 'Virtual Racer' feature on my Garmin for the first time and raced against my actual PB performance, it was really weird but very helpful, I will be using that feature a lot more frequently from now on as its a lot easier to set up than I thought it would be. I consoled myself in knowing that I had set my PB in much cooler weather in March, this August attempt had been into double figures and felt extremely sticky, with my track record for appalling warm weather running I think I did very well to come so close!

A Change is as Good as a Rest (but a rest is good too!)
Having 'parkrun' at a considerable effort level on Saturday I decided against my 2 hour 30 minute long run on Sunday and gave my legs the closest thing to a rest by taking a 2 hour 30 minute gentle cycle along the towpath with my husband instead. Today (Bank Holiday Monday) I enjoyed a complete rest at home to eat, sleep, read and generally recharge. It's rare for me to completely switch off and I'm aware that its a very important activity to find time for when marathon training so that the body can repair itself and run stronger. Tomorrow I'm back to work and then out for a club run. I'll admit that I'm really not looking forward to a 2 hour 45 minute run at the weekend, but after that there's only a 13.1 mile time trial and a 3 hour run to go and I'm into my taper, so I just have to 'tough it out' that little bit longer.

My own personal adage returns - 'Marathon day is the easy bit, the training is the real challenge'.

And We're Off!

A Day to Remember
As I write this blog post week one of training for my second marathon has just drawn to a rather impressive close. I ended the week with The National Lottery Anniversary Run, a 5 mile race around the Olympic Park finishing in the Olympic stadium. The weather was cooler than it had been during the week and very overcast, but the humidity was still quite a challenge, especially in the last mile (which was my slowest). I'd set myself a target of 45-50 minutes and was very pleased to come in with an official time of 45:30. It was great to run in the same race as Paula Radcliffe and running into an iconic stadium full of so many inspirational memories and roaring spectators was an experience I'll never forget. It's true what the Olympians said last year - it's a fast, springy track!

Week 1 in Summary
My first week back in training was quite straightforward (with the exception of the ongoing heatwave!), although I suffered with some slight knee niggles and had to switch my Friday run to a swim to lessen the impact on my joints and make sure I could run Sunday's race, particularly to reach that stadium finish! The night before the race I had a warm bath, massaged my legs with Weleda Arnica oil, did a very thorough set of stretches, took ibuprofen and slept with an ice pack across my knees. The routine seemed to work as the run went smoothly and I felt really strong! I ran around 13 miles across four sessions and also swam for 30 minutes. Today (Monday) I'm having a rest day as the temperature peaked at 33 degrees earlier and my quads are rather grumpy and sore from yesterday.

Onwards and Upwards
So, that's another couple of ticks added to my 'running bucket list' already, what's the next? Well, it comes in less than a week, as it happens! Last year I read about the Adidas TR24 in Women's Running magazine and really liked the sound of it. It's a 24 hour trail race in 10K laps and I'll be part of a team of 8 (4 girls, 4 guys) camping and running in Derbyshire this weekend. I'm keeping the first half of my training week quite light because the race will make up the bulk of my miles by itself - I'm going to concentrate on core work, stretching and shorter runs instead to make sure I'm ready and fresh enough to handle the challenge ahead without letting my team down.

The Calm Before the Training Plan

After the crazy whirlwind ride that was 'The Project 26.2 Experience' I find myself thinking about what I might change and what I'll do the same the second time around as I approach Bournemouth Marathon (October 6th).

The Plan
For starters, I would already have been training since the beginning of May had I stuck to the training plan I had written especially for me last time, but this time I'll begin in mid July. I've selected a 12 week plan from Zest Magazine's Running Made Easy book as I used the 10K and Half Marathon plans last year and really enjoyed them. At the moment I'm on 'tick-over', running around 10 miles per week over 2 sessions and avoiding anything serious (intervals, tempo and hill sessions, for example). I've run two 10K races un-trained since the marathon (Bupa London 10,000 and Bedgebury Trailblazer) and came in just a minute or two below PB for each one, very encouraging when I consider how little running I've been doing! Training for my last marathon sapped a lot of my running enthusiasm so I'm just using this lull to let my mind and body recover before I start again. I've been running the 7 mile route home from work every now and then - it's incredibly rural and super-technical, but I take my time and just enjoy it. From now on I'll add 1-2 miles per week until I start the plan.

The long build-up of last marathon's training was mentally tough for me so I'm really looking forward to the 12 week plan. I have the full plan in front of me in advance this time, rather than receiving sessions in fortnightly instalments - I feel I'll be able to approach things with a lot more enthusiasm as I know it won't be such a long slog and I can visualise exactly what's to come. I've programmed my Garmin with all of my interval and tempo sessions already, giving myself a zen-like state of readiness before I've even started!

Running Made Easy - an excellent beginner read, but full of tips and training plans for everything up to marathon: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Zest-Running-Made-Easy-Magazine/dp/1843404346

Flexibility
Last time I learned the value of sports massage and its role in injury prevention, so I'm booking in for a monthly session during training and will also be doing the preventative stretches we were shown during Project 26.2, although I'll be limiting those to 2-3 times per week as daily sessions/half sessions were quite hard to fit in and I found myself rushing them instead of doing the stretches to their full benefit. I'm looking into yoga classes too - I dodged the Project 26.2 core exercises completely, so committing to a local class means I'll have to work on my core!

Learning from Others
I've been putting my marathon reward (a Kindle Paperwhite I treated myself to) to good use and started reading Keep on Running - The Highs & Lows of a Marathon Addict by Phil Hewitt, upon many a recommendation from other runners on Twitter. I'm a quarter of the way through and already empathising with Phil - he ran his first marathon under pressure in the media spotlight (I can identify with that!) and completed his second un-trained in a local, rural race. I'm looking forward to finishing the book over the next few days and hopefully learning from Phil's experiences so that I can apply his knowledge to my second round of marathon training.

Keep on Running: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Keep-Running-Highs-Marathon-Addict/dp/1849532362/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1371671584&sr=1-1&keywords=keep+on+running

Addressing my 'Issues'
The only real problem I encountered at MK Marathon was my digestive system's catastrophic (and rather impressive) failure from mile 17.5 onwards, reducing me to a fast walk and an unavoidable portaloo pit stop. I've combated my main suspect, the heat, by choosing an Autumn marathon, but I'm also opting to change back to my old nutrition products, rather than continuing with the High5 items we were generously provided with during Project 26.2. I'll be reverting to my old GU caffeine gels and Nuun hydration tablets as those have always worked for me and I like the taste of them too. I seem to get on much better with very thick gels than runny, liquid ones as I'm that slightly awkward runner you'll see opening gels at races, only to end up using it more as a face product or shoe detergent than the nutritional purposes it was intended for! I tested some really yummy strawberry jelly-like energy cubes recently, but found them difficult to chew 'on the run'.

So, here goes nothing - the next time I post on this blog I'll probably be in training, but first I've got a couple of weeks of un-structured running fun to look forward to, plus a well-earned rest in Rome! (my trainers will be in my suitcase, they may even get used!)

P.S. for those who were wondering, I'm still missing four toenails - no sandals for me on holiday!

P.P.S. If you have a marathon tattoo please do share - I'm looking for inspiration. 'XXVI.II' was my favourite, until I learned that decimal points weren't around in those days. I really can't face the risk of people smugly telling me that my tattoo is incorrect!

Welcome to my New Blog!

Hello reader! If you've been following this year's Women's Running magazine 'Project 26.2' or have stumbled across me on Twitter (@hcrreardon) you'll already have a good idea of who I am - if not, read on...

My First 5K (Race for Life Watford, 2011)

Who ate all the pies?
I really enjoyed 'casual' running when I was younger and entered a couple of fun runs as a small child, as well as a regional cross country competition in my first year at secondary school. After that I fell by the wayside, became a rather fat and unhealthy adult (almost hitting the 'Obese' BMI category, suffering with high blood pressure, frequent migraines and a very real risk of type 2 diabetes) and never attempted to run again until February 2011 at the age of 26, four months after getting married.

I used the NHS 'Couch to 5K' podcasts and found it a real struggle at first because I was so overweight and unfit, but I stuck with the programme. I'd recommend it to anyone starting out, it really works.

Read about and try Couch to 5K here: http://www.nhs.uk/livewell/c25k/Pages/couch-to-5k.aspx

Why run?
Since my 'running restart' I've lost over 3 stone, beaten my blood pressure and migraine demons, smashed my diabetes risk and dropped from a size 18 to a 12. In this time my 5K personal best has dropped dramatically from 45 minutes to 24 minutes and I've even run my first marathon (I say 'run' - at 17 and a half miles my stomach gave out on me in epic fashion and I had to powerwalk the rest of the way, finishing in 5 hours, 24 minutes). I'm a bit of a race addict, having completed multiple 10Ks and Half Marathons, and I also enjoy a good parkrun every now and then - I'd like to visit a few more for a change of scenery as I've only run Bexley and St Albans so far. For me running offers huge mental health benefits as well as the more obvious physical ones.

I frequently hear the 'running ruins your knees' argument from non-runners around me (haven't we all?), but my angle is that the general health benefits I've gained from the sport far outweigh any risk, especially when I look back at my squidgy, lazy former self. The best we can do as runners is to find the correct footwear for our own gait and take good care of ourselves by thinking about technique and complementary measures, such as conditioning work, nutrition and regular sports massage. Everything in life involves risk after all - you don't avoid ever leaving the house for the fear of being hit by a bus, do you?

Five Minutes of Fame (in the running world, at least!)
In November 2012 I applied for Women's Running magazine's 'Project 26.2' and was shocked to be chosen to receive a very comprehensive marathon training package along with 5 amazing, inspirational ladies. I entered the competition on the closing date, not expecting to be in with a chance - how wrong I was!

I won't say too much about the Project 26.2 experience in this blog (even though I could quite easily waffle on about it for hours) as I already have a Project 26.2 blog over on the Women's Running website. Make yourself a cuppa, have a read and don't forget to take a look at Hollie, Leanne, Sheila, Angela and Bernie's amazing stories while you're there: http://www.womensrunninguk.co.uk/helenreardon.obyx

After this year's Bupa 10,000 in London

What's Next?
My next challenge is a brand new marathon in Bournemouth on October 6th this year. My goal this time is purely to run the whole way, so I'm really scrutinising my nutrition and technique with my stomach in mind this time. I'm also going to have a shot at beating the female course record for St Albans parkrun before the end of the year by shaving at least 7 minutes, 18 seconds off of my 5k pb. Tricky stuff, but they do say 'you've got to be in it to win it' - you'll never get anywhere if you don't accept a challenge!

So, what can my blog offer you? Whether you're a new or would-be runner, or have a few miles under your belt already I hope my running experiences (whether triumphant or downright shambolic) can be of use to you - maybe even inspire you to try something new or go for that next pb or distance! I love kit and will give honest opinions on just about everything I run in or with. I'm not a world class elite athlete and my journey from fat to fit hasn't been easy, but I'm living proof that all it takes is a little bit of self belief and hard work to achieve your running (and weight loss) goals. If I can inspire just one person to take that first apprehensive step and make a big change I'll be happy, anything else is a bonus!