You may or may not have noticed that I quite like running. I've been through periods where I've not been running well (I'm going through one of those at the moment) but even when this happens I hate not running more than I hate running. In the 4 years since I started running I seem to have taken the blame for a fair few other people getting the running bug. I quite often wax lyrical about the fact that running is a cheap activity. Most of us own a pair of trainers and some sports wear. All you need to do is lace up the trainers and step out of your front door. No gym subscription vanishing via direct debit every month (whether you manage to make it to the gym or not) - what could be simpler than that?
But it isn't quite that simple is it?
Once you start getting more involved, dare I say obsessive, about running, you suddenly decide that you can't possibly manage without at least a couple of running outfits. If you're lucky, you've hit this phase in the summer, and you can pick up a pair of shorts and a tech t-shirt for about £20 each, which makes 'running socks' at £10-£12 look really quite expensive, but you throw them into your shopping cart anyway. If it is winter, you are probably going to end up with long running tights, long sleeved tops, maybe a running jacket, possibly a hat and definitely some gloves (I have been know to cry tears of pure misery if I've left my gloves at home in the winter). The cost mounts up and up.
Then there's running shoes. I've just bought a new pair and it only feels like a couple of weeks since my current pair were shiny and new. Running shoes last for about 500 miles, and if you run 30 - 40 miles a week, well, you can do the maths as well as I can, the shoes don't last very long at all. Like most people who run a lot, I don't ever want to find myself in the situation where I have to go on a long run, possibly a race, in new shoes, so I tend to buy a new pair about three quarters of the way through the life of the old pair. And running shoes tend to be pricey. Especially if you need shoes that stop you pronating as I do. I had a voucher for 20% off running shoes today - and still ended up spending £80. (They are lovely - I can't wait to wear them, but eighty quid for glorified plimsoles....) Oh, and then someone mentions trail running and trail shoes, so you end up buying another pair of trainers that are destined to be covered in mud in perpetuity, never, ever fully drying out between puddle ridden (but great fun) runs.
Oh, and I almost forgot gadgets. I do love a gadget! This could range from a few pence for an add free version of an app on your smart phone to a couple of hundred pounds for a GPS watch and/or heart rate monitor. If you are running you may as well know where you have been and how fast you were! It all adds up....
.... and that's before you decide to enter races! I try to forget how much these races cost to enter as soon as I have submitted my application. I do know that the Reading Half for next year is £31.50 (for UKAA members) and the Great South Run is £41 (for just 10 miles). The more high profile the race the greater the cost! I don't even want to think how much I have spent on entering races in the last few years.
I'd like to apologise to the children and partners of anyone I have encouraged to run for any economies they have been forced to make just so the runner in their family can acquire a must have item (this week's must have item for me was a head torch), you know that running makes them happy don't you? You wouldn't really want them being cranky at home without a nice new {insert currently lusted after running item here} so that you can get the latest X-Box game would you? Of course not!!
Thankfully parkrun is free! A weekly running fix that cost nothing (although volunteering at events ins encouraged). It is also a great way to get some experience of running with other people (in some cases a lot of other people - Bushy Park parkrun has over 800 runners every week), and challenging yourself against the clock and other people!
Showing posts with label Great South Run. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Great South Run. Show all posts
Sunday, 11 November 2012
Sunday, 28 October 2012
You live and learn
(Or to quote the late, great Douglas Adams; 'You live and learn. At any rate you live.')
I signed up for the Great South Run about this time last year, just after I'd run it. Looking back I don't seem to have had a good time then, and I'd been ill when I'd run it the year before that in 2010. It seems that I can do the living bit but not the learning!
Of course, when I signed up for this, and forked over my hard earned cash, I hadn't also signed up for a marathon and a half marathon in the same month. A sensible person would have looked at her calendar, worked out which races she really didn't want to miss and given a place in one race away. But I've never really been accused of being sensible.
Having decided to go ahead with all three races a sensible person would have factored in some rest time. I did taper for the marathon, as in my mind my first marathon was very much the 'A' race, but I did not rest afterwards. Admittedly I did not run on the Monday after the marathon (I tend not to run on a Monday) and I had a sports massage instead, but I did run on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday, clocking up 13 miles in total. This was a mistake. I would normally take it easy before any race, and while 13 miles in a week is 'light mileage' compared to recent months it was far too much on the back of a marathon!
I was very glad of the extra hour in bed this morning - even if I did have to faff around with the clock in the car - and even though I had seriously contemplated rolling over and going back to sleep when the alarm went, I decided I had to run this race. I'd been sponsored to do it for UNICEF and so I had no choice! The forecast was for cold, wet weather, so I grabbed a t-shirt and capri length tights rather than my usual vest and shorts, ate some porridge, drank some tea and jumped into the car to set off for Portsmouth. I got there early, because I don't know Portsmouth and hate getting stuck in traffic and panicking about where to park! Soon after I arrived, armed with some marking to pass the time, I got a call from friends saying there were there too and suggesting we met up. Much more fun to chat and gossip in the back of the CPRC minibus than mark year 11 biology papers on my own!
It was cold at the start, and we suffered the madness of an organised warm-up session. When you have over 22,000 people crowded together in the road getting them to jump about is a bit comical! Luckily I was in the orange wave, so didn't have to wait too long to start.
The race was as crowded as last year, with bottlenecks close to the beginning. I think I lost my timing chip around this time. Someone stepped on my foot - it hurt - and I think the chip came off then. I didn't notice it was missing until much later, around the 8 mile mark so I can't be sure. I started slow, and stayed slow! Hitting the perfect pace that would have seen my do much better at the marathon last week! I knew that this was not going to be a PB race for me, but I was disappointed at just how slowly I was running. I couldn't run faster, or rather I was very aware that I could run faster but that if I did I was really going to pay for it, either in the later stages of the race or later this week. And it is half term - I don't want to be suffering during my holiday! It did seem nice and short. Once I'd settled into a pace the miles seemed to slip by relatively quickly. I was at the 5 mile marker before I felt we'd really got going, it was a relief to know I wasn't going to have to run for hours and hours with my tired legs!
The support was amazing! I hi-fived every child I could manage, almost falling into the crowd as I jumped to hi-5 as toddler on her daddy's shoulders! Such a difference from last week - there I was running on my own for miles at a time, this week I was dodging other runners for the entire ten miles.
We were lucky with the weather. The threatened rain held off and it was warm enough once we got going. Even as we came onto the seafront for the last 1.75 miles it was alright. This is the third time I've done this race and I've been very lucky. Seasoned Great South Runners talk about the 'icy blast' that comes off the sea, but I've not noticed it! I'd noticed by now that my chip was gone, and was a bit cross, this meant that I would be marked DNF (did not finish) in the results, and I wouldn't get an official time. I must have looked a bit despondent, at around 800m a supporter of the Chase Hospice team shouted 'Come on UNICEF!' and that gave me the boost I needed to pick up the pace for the last few hundred metres.
As I crossed the line I looked up and saw that the time was 1hr 35mins (and some seconds), I think it had taken me a good couple of minutes to get across the line at the start, so my time should be about 1hr 33mins. Spookily, I do have a chip time recorded. Someone must have picked it up and carried it across the line for me - it crossed the line in 1hr 34 min 04 seconds!
After the race and the collection of medals and goodie bags I met up briefly with friends before heading back to the car with its lovely warm heater!
Lots of good running by my friends to day, well done to you all! Will I run this race again? Probably, although I haven't signed up for it yet......
I signed up for the Great South Run about this time last year, just after I'd run it. Looking back I don't seem to have had a good time then, and I'd been ill when I'd run it the year before that in 2010. It seems that I can do the living bit but not the learning!
Of course, when I signed up for this, and forked over my hard earned cash, I hadn't also signed up for a marathon and a half marathon in the same month. A sensible person would have looked at her calendar, worked out which races she really didn't want to miss and given a place in one race away. But I've never really been accused of being sensible.
Having decided to go ahead with all three races a sensible person would have factored in some rest time. I did taper for the marathon, as in my mind my first marathon was very much the 'A' race, but I did not rest afterwards. Admittedly I did not run on the Monday after the marathon (I tend not to run on a Monday) and I had a sports massage instead, but I did run on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday, clocking up 13 miles in total. This was a mistake. I would normally take it easy before any race, and while 13 miles in a week is 'light mileage' compared to recent months it was far too much on the back of a marathon!
I was very glad of the extra hour in bed this morning - even if I did have to faff around with the clock in the car - and even though I had seriously contemplated rolling over and going back to sleep when the alarm went, I decided I had to run this race. I'd been sponsored to do it for UNICEF and so I had no choice! The forecast was for cold, wet weather, so I grabbed a t-shirt and capri length tights rather than my usual vest and shorts, ate some porridge, drank some tea and jumped into the car to set off for Portsmouth. I got there early, because I don't know Portsmouth and hate getting stuck in traffic and panicking about where to park! Soon after I arrived, armed with some marking to pass the time, I got a call from friends saying there were there too and suggesting we met up. Much more fun to chat and gossip in the back of the CPRC minibus than mark year 11 biology papers on my own!
It was cold at the start, and we suffered the madness of an organised warm-up session. When you have over 22,000 people crowded together in the road getting them to jump about is a bit comical! Luckily I was in the orange wave, so didn't have to wait too long to start.
The race was as crowded as last year, with bottlenecks close to the beginning. I think I lost my timing chip around this time. Someone stepped on my foot - it hurt - and I think the chip came off then. I didn't notice it was missing until much later, around the 8 mile mark so I can't be sure. I started slow, and stayed slow! Hitting the perfect pace that would have seen my do much better at the marathon last week! I knew that this was not going to be a PB race for me, but I was disappointed at just how slowly I was running. I couldn't run faster, or rather I was very aware that I could run faster but that if I did I was really going to pay for it, either in the later stages of the race or later this week. And it is half term - I don't want to be suffering during my holiday! It did seem nice and short. Once I'd settled into a pace the miles seemed to slip by relatively quickly. I was at the 5 mile marker before I felt we'd really got going, it was a relief to know I wasn't going to have to run for hours and hours with my tired legs!
The support was amazing! I hi-fived every child I could manage, almost falling into the crowd as I jumped to hi-5 as toddler on her daddy's shoulders! Such a difference from last week - there I was running on my own for miles at a time, this week I was dodging other runners for the entire ten miles.
We were lucky with the weather. The threatened rain held off and it was warm enough once we got going. Even as we came onto the seafront for the last 1.75 miles it was alright. This is the third time I've done this race and I've been very lucky. Seasoned Great South Runners talk about the 'icy blast' that comes off the sea, but I've not noticed it! I'd noticed by now that my chip was gone, and was a bit cross, this meant that I would be marked DNF (did not finish) in the results, and I wouldn't get an official time. I must have looked a bit despondent, at around 800m a supporter of the Chase Hospice team shouted 'Come on UNICEF!' and that gave me the boost I needed to pick up the pace for the last few hundred metres.
As I crossed the line I looked up and saw that the time was 1hr 35mins (and some seconds), I think it had taken me a good couple of minutes to get across the line at the start, so my time should be about 1hr 33mins. Spookily, I do have a chip time recorded. Someone must have picked it up and carried it across the line for me - it crossed the line in 1hr 34 min 04 seconds!
After the race and the collection of medals and goodie bags I met up briefly with friends before heading back to the car with its lovely warm heater!
Lots of good running by my friends to day, well done to you all! Will I run this race again? Probably, although I haven't signed up for it yet......
Sunday, 30 October 2011
It's grim down south!
I ran this race last year and had been looking forward to running it again this year. Despite being a 45 minute drive away, and me not having a clue what Portsmouth has to offer apart from outlet shopping at Gunwharf Quays I still consider that this is a 'local' race. It is also the biggest 10mile road race in the world.
An early night last night, and an extra hour gained due to the clock going back should have meant that I woke up feeling bright and full of enthusiasm. I love races! And the morning of a race normally sees me buzzing about the house making a 101 last minute checks on my race day bag. But not today. Today I could barely drag myself out of bed. I moped around the kitchen, making porridge and eating painkillers - anything to try to stop the throbbing headache and general acheyness! I thought about pulling out, but I'd been looking forward to my last big race of the year for ages, and surely I'd feel better when I started, wouldn't I?
I left about half an hour earlier than last year, which meant that I got to Southsea Common about an hour earlier than I did last time! I sat in the car, reading my book, listening to the radio and generally trying to avoid the grey, miserable weather outside. About an hour before the race I met up with a fellow parkrunner at the start. Having a friendly face to talk to really did help, and the time passed fairly quickly. I'm glad we were in the first wave to start as it was jolly chilly standing around in shorts and a vest top!
The minute I crossed the start line I decided I was ravenously hungry! No idea why as I'd eaten a good breakfast, and a couple of bananas. Maybe it was my body thinking it was really 12 o'clock not 11 o'clock. As last year the race was crowded through out, but especially at the start. The road narrowed several times and I had to slow to almost walking pace a few times. I wasn't worried, I wasn't out to get a good time, for the first 8 miles I spent most of the time wondering when would be a good time to drop out, and after 8 miles I only carried on because it seemed silly to stop so close to the end.
My headache never let up, no amount of endorphins were going to shift that one (still got the headache now) and I can honestly say that this is the least enjoyable race I have run. I can't think of a single part that was fun! My throat ached, my neck was stiff and my legs were refusing to function properly and to make things even better it was drizzling! I lost it in a major way between mile 6 and 8. My speed dropped right down and I couldn't seem to find any motivation to pick it up. Coming round onto the seafront, and being hit by a blast of sea air seemed to bring me back to my senses. Either that or I realised that if I ran too slowly I'd spend far longer getting soaked and windswept!
At about 8.5 miles I spotted Richard at the Chineham Park Running Club supporters stand. Richard normally hurls 'friendly' abuse at parkrun on a Saturday, so the fact that he was saying encouraging things today convinced me that I must look at least as bad as I felt!
I crossed the line, eventually, in 1hr 27mins 37 seconds, which is over 2 minutes faster than last year, but I felt awful! I staggered back to my car, then realised I was going to have to eat something if I was going to drive home, so staggered back to find a hot dog seller! The drive home was slow due to all the road closures, but I did end up driving along one of the roads we'd run down - I have to say that I ran it faster than I was able to drive it!
Will I run this race again? Well, I have just entered for 2012, so I guess that's a yes, but I don't think I'll be running any race again when I feel 'flu-y!' I run because I enjoy it, and it is very hard to enjoy anything when feeling under the weather.
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