Snow snow snow

Well the good news is that my back is much better. However, it snowed on Friday 18th December and the snow is still there - the ground is very icy so I'm not risking a run...hopefully it will melt soon. I move house tomorrow, I will have to work out some new routes!

Trapped nerve

I would have gone running today but there is a trapped nerve in my back and it's painful to walk! Hopefully it will sort itself out soon...

Wheezy 2 miles

Wow it's cold! Ran at a good pace today (probably because it was so cold), but got very wheezy towards the end because of the temperature - it is VERY cold out there. Lots of coughing and wheezing on my return :/

Another 2 miles

Graduated yesterday, yay! I am now a Master of Science :) Went for another 2 mile run, nothing special. My guests leave tomorrow.

Quick 2 miles

I have friends staying at the moment so it's difficult to train as usual. Went for a quick 2 mile run today - it's getting cold!

Sunny Sunday, 4.5 miles

Started off with achey and tight muscles today, but managed to run 4.5 miles, time was 45 minutes. Cold but a beautifully sunny today. Lots of other runners out and about. Music today was Erasure and Leftfield.

Now for a well deserved bath.

First Parkrun, 3 miles

Did my first Parkrun today! Running 5k at 9am on a Saturday morning would not usually be my first choice, but it was great fun. It was cold but fairly sunny, with a few drops of rain just after I finished the run. The results should be up on the website tomorrow, but I think I did it in about 32 minutes. It was quite challenging, as I haven't run with other people in a race-type situation for a while. Will definitely do it again when I can.

Update: my exact time was 29:24, hurrah! However, I was 141st out of 182 people which isn't so great! I think the next one I can go to will be Saturday 19th Dec, so I will have to aim to improve my place and time then.

*Update* Pictures from the day!

Running:

Queuing in the rain to log my details after the race:

Tired 2 miles

Really didn't want to go out this evening! Used the rain as an excuse not to go running at the weekend, and the past two days it has been very cold. Finally managed to get out today despite having a headache, after a break of 4 days. Ran 2 miles at a fast jog pace, picked up the pace a bit for the last half mile.

18th December = 4 months to go till Marathon day...got to start training 5 days a week instead of 3-4 days a week...or less this week!

Fast 2 miles

Ran 2 miles at a good pace after work today. Time was approximately 17 minutes and 30 seconds, so is a PB. Thanks Prodigy! Now to make dinner :)

4 miles! Yeah!

That's right! 4 miles after work today. Twice round the park and twice along my flat 1 mile route. Feels good!

Wet and windy weekend!

Went running yesterday evening on the seafront with my good friend Bee yesterday, I cycled to her house first in the pouring rain and it was so windy on the seafront at times I could hardly make the bike move forward! The run was great, the wind managed to be on our side most of the way. It's good running with someone else because it makes the pace better - Bee is fitter than I am so I have to work to keep up. We also talk all the way which is a challenge as I'm not used to that! We ran about 2.2 miles in total.

I left my bike at Bee's so today I ran to her house and cycled back. The run down was fine, it's a slope down to the seafront most of the way, and I saw the most amazing sunset, which I just had to stop and take pictures of, even though photos never do it justice. Amazing waves too. I ran a distance of 1.5 miles at a fast jog pace.

The cycle on the way back was crazy - it started raining hard, the wind was driving the rain right into my face and it was very difficult to pedal the bike! By the time I had to cycle up the hill it was a bit better. Think I'm going to have a nice hot bath now to recuperate...

Good 3 miles

Went for another 3 mile run tonight, once round the edge of the park (two upward slopes and one downward slope) and then a flat one mile, then round the park again. Felt strong all the way and finished with a sprint. Total time was about 32 minutes.

The thing is I knew I was going to have a good run today, I worked late but didn't feel too tired, felt full of energy, plus it wasn't too cold. Hoping to have more good days than bad days when I train, but I guess I won't always have a good run, and I should be prepared for that. Just hope the race day turns out to be a 'good day'.

3 real miles!

Went out after work today and ran three miles all in one go, hurrah. Didn't run very fast (total time was 39 minutes), but still happy. It's bloody horrible out there at the moment, so to go out in the dark and the wind is an achievement in itself as far as I'm concerned! Bought a warmer running top with longer sleeves but actually got too warm on the run, although had wind chill on the bits of my arms that were showing, weird combination.

Ran my usual 2 mile route which has some slopes and hills, then my flat 1 mile route. Route here.

Will have to work on running the 3 miles at a faster pace.

3 miles, sort of.

Ok, so this morning I dragged myself out of bed and ran around the small park for a bit. Barely managed a mile, didn't have time for more anyway because of the constant snooze button pushing reducing the time available. Felt so tired! Crossed paths with the same dog walker a few times and felt a bit embarrassed as I was obviously struggling. Somehow forgot to take my mp3 player out with me so was music-less too. Silly me.

Got home from a stressful day at work this evening and decided to go running again, so did 2 miles with a 5 min rest in between, then some jogging and hill work. Felt much better than this morning. Mile 1 = 9.58m, mile 2 = 10.45m. Not very fast really, and it was all flat. Need to pick up the pace!

Should try 3 miles all in one go at the weekend. Need to build up my stamina.

Cheap round, 1 mile

1 mile only today after work, timed it as 10.28 mins, not brilliant! Ah well at least I got out there. Plan is to go out tomorrow before work. Ideal situation would be 3 x 1 mile timed runs with a 5 min rest in between.

Early morning run, 2 miles

Went for my first before work run today. It was cold and rainy but it felt pretty good anyway. Hoping the weather improves soon however. Ran my usual 2 mile route in about 18 minutes, finished around 10 metres early as I was pushing it and felt a bit ill! Didn't see any other runners, just dog walkers. Hardcore.

Autumnal weather, 2 miles

Ran the same 2 mile route today, but it took 18 minutes rather than 20 minutes as yesterday. Better pace, especially on the hills. It was cold and windy, but I managed to avoid the rain. The Chemical Brothers were the soundtrack today.

My mission: to be able to comfortably run a 5 mile route by the end of November (3 weeks time).

Went into town today and bought some more running gear (lightweight half length trousers and a top), will also have to buy some new running shoes soon.

It's serious now

First run for about a week, haven't been feeling great so had a break. Ran about 2 miles and felt quite tired...hmm add 24 miles to that and I would probably collapse. Time to get serious! Using mapmyrun to work out some longer routes...

I got a place!

Managed, with the help of my boyfriend, to get one of the final places for the marathon. Feeling pretty scared now! 5 and a half months to go!

Running again

Went for a run on Thursday after a break of over a week, was expecting to be exhausted but it was fine. Only did 20 minutes but felt good, and didn't ache too much the next day. Need to get back in the habit of running after work...

Training for 1 hour

Did my 1 hour! Ran for 30 minutes, walked for 3 minutes, jogged for 12 minutes, walked for 3 minutes, ran for 12 minutes. Not bad...LOADS of other runners around tonight. Got overtaken a few times :)

Quick run

Well, I couldn't fit the 1 hour jog/walk into my day yesterday. Probably could have done if I'd just got up a bit earlier, but the Sunday lie-in was too good to resist. Today I squeezed a quick 20 minute run in before going out to dine at Moshi Moshi (we didn't get in last Monday as it was so busy!) Good run, good pace and strong finish. Just need to slot that 1 hour slog in somewhere this week.

Sunny jog

Beautiful day today. Sunny and fresh. My shiny new sports watch arrived this morning (see left) so I ran with it on this afternoon. It's pretty good actually, I was able to time myself properly instead of guessing. Still haven't quite worked out how to access all the functions but I'm sure I'll get the hang of it. It adds to my blue accessories (I have blue headphones too).

Also listened to my trial 30 minute music sample from AudioFuel today. It was quite good, nice and housey, but I think I might need faster tracks to keep me going.

Today was tough, hadn't been running since Tuesday and I kept feeling an urge to stop and walk which I don't usually get. Kept going though for 25 minutes. Only jogging but with a strong finish. Feel a bit achey now. The schedule has an hour long jog/walk for tomorrow so I'll see how I get on. If it's still nice weather I could cycle down to the seafront and run by the sea.

Sports watch

Should have gone running today, especially after the success of yesterday, but just after I got home from work the heavens opened! Also I was very hungry. The combination of both these things meant that I didn't go for a run. However, I did purchase a waterproof watch so I have less excuse not to go out in the rain again. It looks funky and blue and appears to have a timing function, hoping it lives up to my expectations.

Furthest, fastest, longest run so far...

Great run today. Went straight out after work before it got dark. It's a bit drizzly but it kept me cool. Ran at a good pace for 30 minutes with a strong finish. Saw loads of other runners...wonder if any of them are going to be running the marathon.

Master of Science

Now, I should be going for a run but I just found out that I have passed my MSc with Merit, so I'm going out to celebrate with sushi instead! Woo!

Sunday run

Went for a 20 minute jog/run this afternoon. Felt tired and achey today. Haven't been running since Wednesday so that might explain it. Might be a bit psychological too. If I've lost my goal then what's the point? Wonder if I can run it without a number on or if they would stop me...

Whoops

Damn. All the places sold out already! I didn't apply in time. A few more places will be released in November...fingers crossed I will be lucky enough to get one. Not getting a place has made me realise how much I want to do this.

After work run

Cycled back from the office and then went for a 20 minute jog/run. Lovely evening, but the temperature is definitely starting to drop. Saw lots of other people running in the park today. I'm the slowest! My back is all better after a good night's rest and using a better chair at work today. Feeling tired after work - I'm not used to having to focus on something for long periods of time any more! Think I will sleep well tonight.

Back injury

Well, running didn't do me any harm but my first day in the office did! My lower back is in a lot of pain after sitting at a desk on the computer all day...today is a rest day but I'm hoping when I go for my run tomorrow that it doesn't affect me. Fingers crossed!

Evening run

I was about to go for the day's 20-25 minute run/jog this afternoon when I got a call from a recruitment agency about a temporary office position starting tomorrow for around 3 weeks. Had to dash into town to meet them. Sounds like it'll be good and I'm glad to have finally found a temp job as I was getting tired of being idle! So anyway...by the time I got back from town it was early evening. Went for my run and there was the most amazing sunset, it was blood red. The moon was looking pretty amazing too. Went around the park as it looked a bit dark and scary, so I stuck to where there was street lighting. It meant that I inadvertently encountered a rather steep bit of hill but I kept going. I think my stamina is improving already.

Another sunny day

Well, my schedule said today should be a 1 hour ramble. I'm not really the rambling type, so I went for another 20-25 minute run/jog instead. It's another beautiful day, lots of dog walkers and families out in the park. I'm very lucky to live opposite a park so I have a nice place to go running. There's quite a few slopes but I guess that's a good thing for training. While I was stretching a small dog ran up to me and looked at me with it's head on one side as if to say: what the hell are you doing? Ha. Today's music was Actually by the Pet Shop Boys. Laugh all you want but it's great to run along to and reminds me of my childhood. I can still remember all the words!

Brighton Marathon

Recently my attention was drawn to the fact that Brighton is having it's own marathon in April 2010 and I decided that I should enter. Probably foolhardy as I have never run further than about 5 miles before, so 26 miles may be a bit tricky...still it's 7 months away so plenty of time for training. Sounds like the course will be fairly flat, at least in the 2nd half, so that's a good thing!


Thought that keeping a blog of my training might encourage me to stick to the training and let people know how I'm doing. I started training this week roughly following a beginners training schedule from Runner's World and am planning to move into the intermediate schedule from January.

Had my second 25 minute run/jog today and it felt great. My funky new armband thingy for my mp3 player arrived this morning just before I left for my run and it works really well! Okay, it probably looks silly but it's handy to have. It was very sunny today so it was pretty hot to go running but it's great to finally be getting some sunshine! I also had a long bike ride to The Badgers Watch yesterday involving some steep hills so my legs are feeling the pain today.

At the moment running non-stop for 25 minutes feels like an achievement so running for 4-5 hours doesn't even seem possible right now!