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!