So, cycling....

Last week, one of the dads at school kindly offered to lend me his wife's mountain bike. They both adore cycling, taking part in mad events like the 'Coast to Coast Challenge,' and both have road bikes as well as mountain bikes.

The bike that arrived in my hallway a couple of days later looked HUGE! I didn't worry too much as I had no intention of riding it until after Monday's race. I procrastinated yesterday and went for a run instead of tackling the beast (that currently lurks in my shed). Today I could delay no longer. I knew that I shouldn't really run again, the old knees need a rest now and then. So I lowered the seat as far as it would go, my friend is not only generous and gorgeous - she is also taller than me - most people are, but she is much taller than I am! I grabbed a water bottle and a gel seat (from spinning classes at the gym) and set off on a bike for the first time in 22 years.

It seems that riding a bike is almost but not entirely like riding a bike! You don't forget the basics. That is, you can pedal and balance well enough. Gears have changed a lot though, no need to pedal backwards as you change gear any more, and I feel my mortality a lot more than I did as a 19 year old, cycling in the Canadian Rockies with C Battery RHA! There was no way I felt confident enough to remove my hands from the handlebars to signal, or push my sunglasses up my nose! No worries, I was going on a route that wouldn't have a huge amount of traffic, and where most of my turns would be left not right!

I cycled to 'loopy bit' of the Alton 10mile route. That gave me a ride of nearly 8.5 miles - which took me 44 minutes. I have no idea if that is good or bad. It didn't feel like hard work, but I felt I was going as fast as I felt happy with. The hills weren't too bad on the way up, but they were terrifying on the way down! I spent most of the

down hill sections with the my hand on the brake - this was not the joyous free wheeling that I see cyclists enjoying while I am slogging up the hills on my Sunday morning run!

One thing that surprised me was how little I could hear as I pedalled along. When I run, I listen to my iPod. If I am running on country roads I have the volume set quite low, but it is by no means quiet. That said, I have never been surprised by a car. I have always heard them before I see them (and before they see me too!) Today I had no iPod. My bone dome doesn't cover my ears, but all I could hear was the wind rushing by. Twice cars 'crept up' behind me without me realising they were there until the last minute.

My shoulders were stiff when I got home, from tension and from holding on to the handlebars for dear life. I don't mind going up hill, but down hill is going to take some getting used to - as is the thought of taking my hands of the handle bars to signal! No aches and pains are evident - yet! I hope I don't wake up with aches in muscles I didn't know I had tomorrow morning!

Tomorrow I will run. Ideally I'd like to do this before I go to the hairdressers, but I have a busy timetable of things to sort out before heading to Bergerac for a wedding. Running kit will be packed, and I'll have another go on the bike when I get back next week!

A few things I forgot to say yesterday!

So, as usual, in my enthusiasm to get everything down on paper I forgot a few things! Like husbando and I giggling in the car when the radio presenter said that Paula Radcliffe was returning to racing after taking 18months off to give birth! That is one heck of a long labour! There can't be many sports where people like me get to compete against world record holders. It is hugely exciting to see the elite athletes running back up the Embankment as we set out (they were on kilometre 7, we were at kilometre 3).

The picture above shows my pace profile for the race. Not terribly consistent - every so often I had to almost come to a stop as the runner in front of me abruptly pulled up, or someone moved out into my path without checking behind them. I was going to blame these dips for not making it to sub 50, but the official time shows I finished in 49:59 - which is hugely exciting for me! I like to tell myself I run because I enjoy it, that speed isn't important, but I am too competitive to believe that - even if the only person I am competing with is myself.

Just after the finish line, when I was looking mournfully at the big fat 50:01 on my watch another runner came up behind me and asked how it had gone, and said that following me had pulled her through a couple of k. She thought I must be famous because people kept shouting my name (and me being me, I like to wave to people who call my name). Only when she met me at the end of the race did she realise that I had my name in letters on the front of my vest!

And, while on the topic of running vests, I wore the same vest as last year. I know I have lost 15lbs since the end of March (being cast out of the staff room at the end of teaching practice works wonders for the waist line), but I didn't realise how long I had been carrying the extra weight for. The pictures show me last year and this year. Yes, the sun and a bit of a tan help, but how I pulled those legs and arms around a 10k course in a respectable time (52:28) is a miracle!

I am particularly pleased with my arms. I am very lazy and hate gym work, so worry about bingo wings, but it seems that running is working - oh and saying goodbye to legs like porridge is always a joy! I think I'll have to try and dig out some more comparison photos to scare you all with!

Today has been a busy day - I took the three younger children up to Leicestershire to stay with their Nanna and Auntie for a few days, then drove straight home (quick loo stop, no coffee - just enough time to get my toes licked by the new puppy) for an appointment with 'the foot man!' He is an amazing podiatrist - I think he is a wizard really - who sorted out my hip problems last year. We were going mainly for husbando, who has damaged his patella tendon, but it made sense to get my slightly twingy right calf checked out. I have a tiny new orthotic for the right shoe, my left orthotic remains the same. Husbando's orthotic has been tweaked - and made walking less painful. He has been told not to run for six weeks! Six weeks!! Then he is going to build up gradually to the Paris-Versailles.

When we got home, I set out for a 'slow, recovery run.' Lovely weather, some mellow tunes on my iPod, and a run through my favourite country lanes. I covered 3.75miles in 30 minutes - not sure what happened to slow, but it didn't feel as though I was running sub 8 min/mile!

Bupa 10,000m

When we left the house this morning it was cold, overcast and rain was forecast. I was wearing long running tights and a warm top. I took my hat with me as well as my shades. It was still cold when we parked the car in London, but by the time we arrived in Green Park the sun was shining and it was starting to warm up. Apparently we have husbando to thank for this as he left his sunglasses at home.

We met up with my friend Sue before the beginning of the race, organised wallets, 'phones, kit bags etc. before saying goodbye to husbando and heading off to the start.

This is the second year I have run this race and it was just as well organised as last year. The start is split into 9 waves (3 each in red, blue and green). The organisers use previous or predicted finish times to allocate starting waves, and this ensures a relatively smooth start. While this meant that there was less bunching as we set off it did mean that I was starting at the back of the red wave and Sue was in the green wave, so we went our separate ways to await the start.

I like this part - before the hard work starts, when you can look around, chat with people and take in the sights! I was starting with a very brave gentleman in a Borat style mankini! The chaffing doesn't bear thinking about! The start was slowish, or maybe I was trying to go too fast. I ran a mixed race, averaging about 7.54min/mile. Slow points were around 5k where there suddenly seemed to be hundreds of people in the way, and trying to overtake was a nightmare, and coming back down the Embankment I realised the the green wave were running up the other way - so I slowed slightly to lookout for my friend. I don't think I saw her, there were an awful lot of tall, dark haired women wearing white t-shirts and black shorts!

I spotted husbando as I approached Trafalgar Square, he says I was looking like I had lots of energy still. At this point I passed someone whose husband was trying to encourage to keep going so I joined in with a bit of cheerleading. We were within 500m of the finish - I know how gutted I would feel to stop running that near the end. If I look back on all the races I have ever done, I realise I have spent a fair bit of time encouraging people. Running is a friendly sport, and winning isn't everything, but today I wish I'd been a bit more selfish! My watch showed that I crossed the line in 50min 01secs - so near and yet so far! Next time I shall have to try to run all out for me! On the other hand, I have beaten last year's time and still have an achievable barrier to break. I'll have to wait for the official results - they aren't due on the website until tomorrow at 5pm.

After the race we met up with Sue and went for lunch. A bottle of prosecco slipped down very nicely. Was lovely to catch up after far too long! I had planned to go for a bike ride when we got back home, but the rain was lashing down when we got back, so that novelty will have to wait for another day.

A bit of a grump.

I am looking forward to tomorrow. I have pre race nerves, but on the whole I am looking forward to it.

I was really looking forward to having a friendly face in the crowd, or waiting for me just after the finish. I mostly travel to races on my own as husbando works at the weekend. He has been with me to two races, one because we were on our way to lunch with friends (who doesn't fit in their first ever 10k race on the way to Sunday lunch?) and the second because we were taking our middle child and a friend to the cinema directly after a 5k race. All the others have seen me arrive at the finish line to be met by no one. All around me people are being congratulated by friends and relatives, and I wander off to pick up my medal/goody bag on my own, then wander off to the station to come home.

So, when husbando said he'd come up to London with me for the Bupa 10,000m I was thrilled. I told him where the best places to watch would be, where we could meet up afterwards etc. But he doesn't want to 'hang around for ages' waiting for me. I said he could just get to the finish at around noon and cheer me over the finish line, but he says he'll meet me (and my friend Sue) at the restaurant for lunch. I guess I'll just have to rely on the official photographers for some pre/post and during race photos as he doesn't want to carry the camera all day.

I have the glums about this, which is silly because it is totally predictable behaviour on his part. If the boot were on the other foot I would not only want to be there, he'd expect me to be there!

Ho hum.... what I could do with is a run......

And this was supposed to be a quiet week!

After my long run last Sunday I decided that I should take things easy in preparation for the Bupa 10,000m on Monday. Somehow I have managed to clock up just over 29 miles while, er, resting!

To be fair, I acquired two new sports bras on Thursday. These impressive feats of engineering result in my frontage remaining stationary (with respect to the rest of my body) while I run! So what if I resemble a heavily upholstered sofa?! Given that they are new, and that there are two slightly different styles, I decided that they had to be taken out for trial runs so that I wasn't going to get any unexpected surprises when I wear them on Monday. They are possibly the most unsexy items of clothing in the history of the universe, but they do the job!

One of my trial runs was the Basingstoke Parkrun. I bettered last week's time by 50 seconds! In fact I have been running increasingly fast over the last couple of weeks - not sure why. Husbando reckons it is because I have shed 15lbs so am not pulling that around with me! I just hope I can clock up a respectable time on Monday.

During the week I was chatting with a friend who has given up running for cycling. He and his wife both cycle. He has very kindly lent me his wife's mountain bike (she has a road bike) for me to try for a few weeks. I shall have a go next week after the race - it would be silly to try something new this weekend. I am exceedingly grateful for this loan! I like the idea of cycling, but not the idea of splashing out a small fortune on something that I don't get on with. It will be nice to do something on my 'rest' days, and cycling will be a great way to scout out new running routes...

Today is a rest day...

...and I hate rest days!

Don't get me wrong, I've had a lovely day! I've been up to London with husbando and one of my best friends, we have bought shoes and had lunch. We went to Rigby & Peller on the pretext of getting measured for a new sports bra, but came out with not just a functional sports bra but also a gorgeous bra and knickers set. I've lost a bit of weight recently (well 15lbs) so my bras don't fit as well as they once did, and I needed to do something to stop them wobbling around like jellies on a plate! I don't want to buy too many new bras, as I still want to lose more weight - but I figure I need a minimum of 2 new sports bras. We did all this, and still got home in time for parents evening for my three younger children. The boys are both doing really well, my younger daughter is 'capable but unmotivated!' She is the youngest of five and can't see the point of reading for herself if there is always an older sibling willing to help.

BUT, but, but... no running today and that makes me jittery! I ran on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, distances between 3.7 and 4 miles in increasingly fast times. Yesterday I ran 3.8 miles averaging 8.14 mins/mile. And yesterday I was trying to run slowly! I knew that I should take things easy because my right calf is a wee bit sore, I tried to run slowly, but it just wasn't happening. I am supposed to be doing a mini taper for the Bupa 10,000m on Monday 30th May. The problem is, 10k on a Monday really messes up the rest of my training. It isn't a long run, but I want to give it my best. I can't do my long run on Sunday as my legs will be too tired if I have run a half marathon distance on Sunday, so I will have to try to push my long run forward to Tuesday... which is a busy day anyway.

Had some lovely news today, a friend of mine, who is relatively new to running, has been browbeaten (by yours truly) into running the Bupa 10,000m on Monday. All it took was a promise of a friendly face at the finish line and lunch afterwards. I haven't seen her since I was pregnant with my middle child so it will be lovely to catch up in person while enjoying a post race glass of fizz!

Wow, I think I really can do this running thing!

After yesterday's Parkrun I was worried that today's run might be a bit of an anticlimax. Husbando keeps telling me not to run the day before my long run, but there are only so many days in the week, and I don't have time for along run on many of them. After a cup of tea and a crunchy maple syrup granola bar in bed, I did some laundry and got ready for a run.

It had rained overnight, but was sunny when I set out, and windy. Very windy. At one point I came around the corner, out of the shelter of a hedge and was hit by a gust that almost knocked me sideways! I set off to run the Alton 10 route, I knew that starting from my house I would need to add on a few miles if I wanted to finish back at my house without running on into town. So, when I got to Bentley I ran up Station Road and back again. The run was harder without other people to pace myself against, but I reached the 10k point in just under 53 minutes. I hope I can pull something out of the bag for my next 10k race - I'd like to get a new PB. I saw no other runners at all today, but swarms of cyclists. Cycling looks very appealing when you are slogging up hill and the cyclists are freewheeling in the opposite direction! The hills have their benefits, the views from the top are breathtaking, I truly believe that I live in one of the most beautiful parts of the world. And, while running down hill hurts my knees and hips, it does allow me to take a bit of a breather.

My detour up Station Road and back again was not going to be enough to ensure I was running for 1hr 45 mins, so when I got back to the start I decided to just carry on! I added a loop that takes in Alton Station and the industrial estate (not terribly pretty!) I felt good and knew that I was averaging sub 9 mins/mile, which isn't bad for what was supposed to be a 'long, slow, distance' run! When I first started running (or rather after a couple of months) this loop of the station and industrial estate constituted my 'long' run, and probably took me the best part of 40 minutes!

I stopped running at the end of my road, having run 12.5 miles in 1hr 50mins and feeling very chuffed with myself! I have to say that I have no idea how people manage to take walking breaks in races - I don't think I could have started running again at that point for all the tea in China! But then again I had just sprinted the last 200m. Someone was asking how hilly the Alton 10 race is - so I've included the elevation profile from today's run as the first 10 miles are pretty much the same.