Happy New Year – 2024

Posted on by chunkyrunner41

2024 is here and in the UK the weather has been abysmal. It wouldn’t have surprised me if I’d seen someone building a boat and loading pairs of animals into it at any point over the festive period and anyone who owns a dog have been questioning their life choices.

It’s hard enough to motivate yourself to run or exercise at the best of times but when the weather is bad….and there’s enough chocolate and cheese in your house to sink a battleship? Forget it.

Needless to say other than some long and muddy dog walks, I have not done much over the Christmas period.

Following my last blog and promise, I did run 3 times before the big Ho Ho Ho which was great, but then did nothing for the rest of the year.

Well, this isn’t strictly true. My sisters and families (there were 18 of us) all went to play laser tag on the 27th December and this was MUCH more exhausting than any of us could have predicted. I recommend this heartily if you have teenagers. I still have the remnants of a blister from my “ trigger finger”. It was fun and we were running and shouting and laughing. A kind of “Ab Fab” meets “Die Hard” if you will.

But other than this, ZILCH.

On New Year’s Day, my Instagram feed was a disappointing and depressing stream of “lose weight”, “get fit”, “be a better person” and honestly, it’s so depressing.

Why can’t they be more honest. So you’re not a bad person, and you are perfect the way you are, but if you fancy trying to be a bit healthier, maybe you could try this?…..this would be a much more positive way to proceed and wouldn’t make me (the reader) so angry.

So it’s important that I tell you that my plans for 2024 were already confirmed by the end of 2023 and none of this “New Year, New Me” bullshit is involved. I like to think I’m quite a cool person anyway (I can almost feel my daughters rolling their eyes at this?!) Yes I sometimes drink too much, spend too much money on shoes and handbags, and did lose my phone just before Christmas in an Uber due to too much champagne and sequinned fuelled bravado, but on the whole, I’m ok. I don’t need a complete overhaul, and probably just need a few tweaks – and I suspect most people are the same.

I’ve gained a bit of weight and this is largely due to eating too much and not moving enough for the last 6 months of 2023. There’s no way to dress this up. So if I want to lose this weight (and I’m not desperate but it would be nice not to hear my bum applauding me as a I run along) then I need to eat a bit less and move more.

For inspiration, I have re-read this blog from the beginning and so although I’d signed up for the Bath Half last year, I have now decided that I am definitely doing it. I came to this decision whilst eating some Cadbury’s Heroes over Christmas. 2024 is going to be a year of running for me. Getting back to basics and generally getting moving. But I’m not putting myself under any time pressures – races will be about getting round in one piece and not dying. Smiling is going to be critical for 2024 and I’m really going to try to keep things in perspective, especially as I feel a bit like a beginner again anyway.

I have written a plan and so far I’ve ticked all the sessions off. I’m going to Park Run on Saturday with Madame Maison and I’m excited. (Do need to dig out my barcode though – I only did 1 park run last year I think).

I need a new sports bra and some new running trainers (haven’t bought a new sports bra in over 2 years – this isn’t as awful as it sounds as I have lots of them and do rotate them, but I’m buying a new one and chucking the rest). Luckily it’s my birthday (I’ll be 49) later this month so that’s fortuitous.

I am also doing the 30 days of yoga on Youtube with Adrienne. So many people tell me about the benefits of yoga but I have always struggled. This is in part due to the fact that I am SO tight in my hips that most of the moves are borderline painful and so when I do finally pluck up the courage to go to a class, I hate it so much that I don’t return. BUT, mindful that a return to regular running, plus being a bit heavier can cause injuries, I am committed and will do the whole 30 days of yoga.

I need to be smart about this in order to keep myself moving, but it’s fair to say that I am not a naturally gifted yogi.

Coooeeeee…it’s 2022

Posted on by chunkyrunner41

Well hello there?! It’s been a little while.

The last time I wrote a blog, it was before the Great North Run in September 2021 and I never wrote a race report. Where have I been? Why didn’t I write the race report?

These are very good questions.

Like many, many (if not all) people, I sort of ran out of steam last year. In fact, from a pandemic point of view, I found last year harder than 2020. Things were normal enough that we could do things, but it never felt easy and it never felt without risk. I was COMPLETELY exhausted by it all. I finished the Great North Run and as I travelled up and ran it alone, I felt very proud of myself and so on many levels it was a triumph. But it was also the slowest half marathon I’d ever run and so it left me feeling very flat. I needed some time away. I needed to re-group and I needed a new plan.

Incidentally, if you would like to see what happened at the Great North Run, I live vlogged it via my Instagram page @ladyclaireabell and it’s all saved in my highlights (the circles under my name when you look at my page. To be honest, it’s me rambling along before, during and after the race, but it does cover what my blog was supposed to, but didn’t.)

2019 was supposed to be my big race year. I did complete the 113 Middle Distance Triathlon, (albeit with a knackered ankle) which was supposed to be the trial run for the big event: Weymouth Half Ironman. But as you know, the Dark Summer meant that I never raced it. The aftermath of the Dark Summer took us into Covid and now here we are.

I’d become complacent. I still ran, I still lifted a few weights, but it was a bit half hearted with no real races to train for coupled with the never-ending anxiety about Covid and when would it ever end? I’d slowly gained a stone in weight (which other than my jeans feeling a little big snug around the middle), I don’t think you can really see, but it annoyed me. An extra stone when you’re cycling up hills isn’t helpful. Of course, it’s easy to try and ignore too when due to the pandemic, I largely exist now in clothes with an elasticated middle….

I was run/walking. Now again, run/walking is excellent. It’s a great way to run. It’s been very successful for me. My fastest 5k and 10k times ever are both thanks to a run/walk and you are less likely to get injured. These are all magnificent reasons to run/walk, but I want to be able to race. And fast. Not all the time, but at least once. To be fit and in good shape and to race. I’ve only ever managed a sub 3 hour half marathon once, and I was paced. I want to do it again. To race and know that I was fit and gave it my best and my all. 

Goals. I needed goals. I needed a plan and big race to motivate me.

So basically, 2022 is a re-run of 2019 (the race bits anyway).

I’ve signed up for the 113 again (lake swim 1.9k, Flattish bike 90k, flat run 21.2k) and this is early June. But this is the trial race, the test, the entrée. The main course is…again…Weymouth which is the same distances but the swim is in the sea, the bike is very hilly and the run is flat and along the seafront. Weymouth is in September.

I want to do it properly. I will almost certainly be one of the slowest over the finish line, but Weymouth has timing cutoffs and if you are too slow, they don’t let you start the bike, stop you half way round the bike course, don’t let you start the run. If you don’t finish in 8 hours 30 minutes, you don’t get a medal. The stakes are high (just how I like them) so I needed a proper plan. I needed a coach.

So I have a coach. We’ll call him “M”. If this makes me Bond, then I’m definitely more of a Daniel Craig (knackered knees, drinks slightly too much) than a smooth and efficient Sean Connery, but I’m Bond nonetheless.

M is in charge. He writes the plan, monitors my progress. Is tough when he needs to be and also knows when I’m knackered and need a little rest.

We started base training in October and spent the weeks before Christmas learning to run without walking again. Obviously there was some cycling and swimming each week, as well as my continued PT sessions with Fitbit Sister and Sara, but the main focus was running.

By Christmas I was back running 30 minutes without walking, relatively comfortably. I doubt it will ever be effortless as I’m not that kind of runner, but I shocked myself how quickly it came back.

Since Christmas, it’s fair to say that the training has ramped up quite a bit and I’m currently 7 weeks away from competing in Cardiff Half Marathon. We started the plan initially with a “3 weeks on and 1 week off” ie recovery week, but it didn’t take long to realise that it was too much. I started falling asleep in my dinner, needing lunchtime naps and usually by the beginning of the third week the wheels were coming off, so we changed it to 2 weeks on and 1 week recovery. This is MUCH better. I’m still tired, but knowing that a rest week isn’t too far away really helps psychologically.  I’m also a Mum to two teenage daughters, a wife and I run my own business. There isn’t a lot of free time and I’m fitting the training in before work, lunchtimes and after work.

A typical week (and I’ll talk more about this in future blogs) consists of:

3 runs (1 of which is intervals and 1 being a long run)

2 bikes (interval and a long ride)

2 swims (drills and a swim)

2 strength sessions (1 of which is PT)

And I have 1 rest day a week.

It is challenging and I’m struggling to work out what to eat and when as I’m ALWAYS hungry – it’s a work in progress and some days I get it right and some days I wake up at 3am because I’m starving. But I’m getting better at it.

So this is where I am and as you look at the training plan you’ll understand why I haven’t written too many blogs of late! I am very time poor but I will try and write more regularly now. Especially as we approach the first big race of the year.

BRING IT ON INDEED

Edit: the week after I wrote this blog, I caught covid. Prepare for everything to change……..

13 months to go

Posted on by chunkyrunner41

My last few blog posts (and they have been few and far between this year) have all had the same theme…..”I’m back”, or “here we go again”…or “time to get back to it”. But the honest answer is I haven’t really made it back at all and what I have managed, has lacked consistency.

I’m not completely sedentary though and have been doing the odd gym visit, cycle commuting and running in fits and starts, but it isn’t enough. It certainly isn’t consistent enough to build any fitness and definitely not consistent enough to make a dent in the weight that I have subsequently gained this year.

I started running when I was 41. This blog has now been running a number of years and I almost feel like I have gone full circle. I will be 50 in 13 months time and I do not want to be having this same conversation with myself this time next year.  The time to take action has arrived (yes I know I’ve said this before, but…..here we are).

Am I back where I was 8 years ago? No. I have plenty of invaluable knowledge that I have gained over the past 8 years about running, cardio, strength, core strength, swimming, cycling, HIIT and nutrition so in theory, I shouldn’t be in this state. And yet I am. So what am I lacking?

Motivation. It’s the most important thing. But I am nearly 50 and the menopause is no joke. This isn’t a blog post about the menopause but it’s tough and the most challenging symptom that it has delivered is that it has robbed me of motivation and I am tired ALL THE TIME.

I constantly have an attack of the CBA (can’t be arsed) and it affects every part of my life – with the exception of work. Work is going very well but it takes every ounce of my energy to achieve this and leave no energy for anything else.

2023 has seen the return to the office, largely everywhere, and since October I have been back in the office 5 days a week and my goodness it’s been an adjustment. For my mental health, it has definitely been good as I am a social person and putting makeup on to leave the house is a positive thing for a middle aged woman. The commute to and from the office is a golden opportunity to run or cycle and get some easy exercise in, but the reality has been that I have felt too knackered or “CBA” to do it.

So what to do?

Well, I think the obvious answer is to enter a race and train for it and just focus on this one thing. I need to view it as an escape (it’s a big exam year in our house next year with my daughters sitting A levels and GCSEs and it can be stressful).

Since starting triathlon, I have tried to keep all elements going, but it’s too much on top of everything else. There are only so many hours in the day and with work and family life I need to prioritise. I’m not someone who can get up at 5am to train and it’s time to accept that. (I can hear the people who know me well laughing heartily at that statement). Somewhere, whilst training for the 70.3 triathlon, I lost sight of what exercise is.

It is supposed to make you feel better. I need to chase some endorphins and hopefully weight loss will follow. So I’m going back to my roots. This blog is called Chunky Runner and I’m once again a Chunky Runner.

I’ve signed up for Bath Half and at the moment I can run/walk for 30 minutes and that’s it.

I have a lot to do but I know I can do it. It won’t be fast or pretty but I’m game to try and I’m going to go back to writing this blog weekly to keep me accountable.

My plan for each week is 2 runs in the week as a commute home from the office (short, 5k, hills or sprints) and then a longer run at the weekend. For this I am going to use Parkrun or the Sunday This Mum Runs group so I will have some company. I also think not having a Running Buddy makes it hard to drag yourself out on a cold day, so hopefully running with others will take the edge off the CBA.

I’m going to do my utter best to write this blog weekly once again to keep me accountable, just as I did in the beginning. If you want to join me in a race/goal then please do and let me know how you’re getting on too. There is always strength in numbers.

Bath Half is 17th March next year and I really need to stop procrastinating and get on with it. My strava numbers have never been so low…but the only way is up.

It’s the 6 December today and my plan is that by next Friday, I will have run 4 times. I will let you know how that goes.

Rocky Balboa has nothing on me…

Posted on by chunkyrunner41

What a year it’s been…sheeesh.

It’s also been about a year since my last blog post and as you can imagine, quite a lot has happened so I’ll try my best to catch you up. Quickly.

My training last year was going great. I was working hard towards my goal but alas, as I was to discover, you cannot control everything.

The 113 race (which is the big half iron distance race without cutoffs and a fairly flat bike route in the Cotswolds) was in June and this was the first big test. Except it wasn’t. I felt rough on the morning but put it down to nerves and so soldiered on, gingerly jumping into the lake ready to give it my best. About 800m into the 1500m swim, I started being sick. This is not an easy thing to achieve whilst swimming, I can assure you, and I spent quite a few minutes sobbing whilst hanging onto the end of a safety team raft with the chap on it doing his level best to convince me to stop. Obviously I am too stupid to listen and so I somehow managed to keep myself going and into transition. At this point I DEFINITELY should have stopped. But when you are SO driven by a goal, we do not always do the sensible thing and so I headed out on the bike. I bargained with myself that as it was two laps of 45k, if I felt rough I would stop at the end of the first loop. I stopped 10 miles in, after having been sick a couple more times in a layby. (Vomit has been quite a theme of my triathlon journey last year)and I ultimately pulled up next to a friendly looking Marshall for a “breather for a minute” but as I unclipped and put my leg on the floor I collapsed. I was put in an ambulance in the silver foil blanket of doom (which was overkill in my opinion, I was embarrassed enough as it was!) and was driven home by Merida, feeling very sad and sorry for myself.

I did learn on that day just HOW important it is to have an ICE person written on the back of your race number. I’m not sure prior to that race, I ever really thought I would need it, but let me tell you it is critical to write someone down. I didn’t have my phone on me as it was in transition and I don’t know the numbers of my friends off by heart. Thank goodness I had Merida’s number on the back of my race number.

As I was driven home, snivelling into the sweet tea that Merida had miraculously produced, I was mentally ruined thinking I “just didn’t have it in me” to be a successful triathlete. The very next morning I tested positive for covid, again, and so it became clear that my body had simply been determined to protect me by making me throw up and collapse. Perhaps I could be a triathlete after all?

The summer rolled on, training rolled on (a lot of it in temperatures in excess of 30C) and then the day of Weymouth 70.3 itself came. Now I could do a long and detailed blog about the day itself and I suspect that one day I will, but today is not that day. Ultimately, I was kicked in the throat by a rogue breaststroker around 1600m into the 1900m (the swim had been going brilliantly up to this point) and I swallowed A LOT of sea water. When I got out of the sea and ran to transition, I spent 10 minutes being sick in a portaloo (not recommended), then spent 4 minutes sat on the floor shaking in transition, before heading out on the bike. I was very shaken up, had no food in my system and ultimately, was pulled off the bike course having missed the cutoff. I was not allowed to finish.

This is where things became difficult and it’s hard to explain.

I am very used to finishing races last and I’ve never been embarrassed about it. SOMEONE has to be last, and if it’s me, then so be it but it’s important to show up and give these things a go. I knew that Weymouth was a big ask and knew that I would be chasing the clock to get the medal and expected that I would be crossing the finish line with only a few moments to spare. But I never really expected not to finish at all. Now you may read this and think this is stupid (and you would be right), arrogant (quite possible, I mean it’s half ironman race where the cutoffs are designed for MEN, and everything about me screams “take up knitting”) but the fact remains, that I never expected NOT to finish. But my legs and head were not strong enough on the day and so I failed.

Mentally, this was devastating to me. I was angry with myself, I was furious with the breaststroker, furious with myself that I hadn’t planned for this event and cycled up more hills, etc etc. I just couldn’t fathom that I wouldn’t have that medal. And so I fell into a dark place.

I was signed up to do the Bath Half in October (a month after Weymouth). But I didn’t do it. My heart wasn’t in it and I was worried that something else would go wrong and I wouldn’t be able to finish again. So I didn’t do it at all. In the space of 4 weeks I had gone from someone who would try everything to someone who was scared to try anything at all.

This theme continued for the rest of last year and into this year and I did very little exercise indeed. Weight has crept on and I bargained with myself that I would take this year to regroup, lose weight, get strong and then sign up for something again next year – maybe have another crack at Weymouth. I’m not sure if anyone believed me as I certainly didn’t believe myself. My triathlon friends were fantastic and did their best to rally me. It turns out that some of the triathletes and athletes that I admire the most have had an experience like this (failure). I nodded along dutifully as they tried to cheer me up but the point was that they had all come back and successfully achieved after the failure and I just didn’t feel that I would ever enter a race again.

But then, slowly, and more recently, a shift.

I woke up one morning in February and desperate to try and pull myself out of my hole, I decided to try and train for an aquabike (which is a triathlon without the running). I wouldn’t sign up for it, but I would train and this would hopefully help to drag me back into the sunshine. I did no swimming or cycling training but bizarrely woke up one morning and decided to go for a run. Yes. A run?!

I started run/walking. Never for more than 30 minutes and often less, but I started moving. I was slow. REALLY slow, but I didn’t hate it. Music on, sometimes with the dog, sometimes on my commute to or from the office, but it started happening.

I also started running and training a bit with Madame Maison, who is doing Weymouth this year and we get on fantastically. For me, helping someone else when their own goals is the perfect way to get me off my sorry ass which in turn helps me to feel better. Endorphins are the most powerful drug after all. We get on well, and we’ve been running together. This has been going so well that I persuaded her to sign up to the Bristol 10k with me (it’s in 10 days time) and last weekend we ran/walked 10k together and it felt AMAZING. It’s the first time I’ve run anything close to a “distance” since last August and I felt proud of myself, of ourselves and the feeling of achievement should not be underestimated. I’ve also been leading a few runs with “This Mum Runs” on a Sunday and again this has also been a good thing. When you follow a training plan for so long and grind away at it, it’s easy to forget that exercise is supposed to be enjoyable?! But it is. And I’m enjoying it again, finally.

 I also completed the Tour de Bristol bike ride with my husband and Glinda 4 weeks ago and again, it was joyful. 65k was enough. Blimey it was certainly enough. I got off twice to push my bike up the hills as they feel harder than ever, but I got round in one piece and most importantly, I was smiling.

I’ve been going to the gym with my daughters a bit too. Lifting heavy weights is a great thing and we also now have a full size punch bag at home for those days when you just want to smash the living daylights out of something (I really recommend it).

The one thing I haven’t really been doing much of is swimming. But the weather is finally (please!) warming up and so I’ll be getting in the lake again soon.

The Bristol 10k running race is the weekend after next and this morning, I’ve signed up to do Westonbirt Sprint triathlon which is a lovely, no cutoffs, local race at the end of May. After saying for the past 6 months that I won’t do another triathlon every again, I’m going for a medal. I’m also strongly pondering signing up for the London Tri which is an Olympic distance race in August which cycles past the Houses of Parliament on closed roads. This feels like a big step and will require proper training, but I think I’m nearly there mentally and feel ready to train a bit again and so it’s likely I’ll sign up.

I’ve felt quite ashamed of myself being hidden and afraid to do anything. Especially as the original point of this blog was to be 100% honest about things and how hard they can be, but we are where we are. The menopause, home life, work all play a part too and for a while, it’s been better for me to prioritise elsewhere. However, I’m so pleased to say that I’m feeling ready to try again. Nearly. 

Will let you know how the Bristol 10k goes – have already told Madame Maison to not allow us to chase a pacer as I’m bound to suggest it at the last minute…we’re going to enjoy it…..unless the pacer is close…obviously.

The Red Hand Gang

Posted on by chunkyrunner41

So in February, at the end of my last blog post I had covid, and now today, 8th June and barely 4 months later…I have covid again…..(no really… I wish I was joking)

But as I’ve been so busy (too busy) to finish my half written blogs over the past couple of months, I’m going to use my time of isolation to try and catch you up…. Probably over a couple of blog posts in quick succession.

When I contracted covid in February, I was not well at all. I tested positive for the full 10 days and I was ill, very ill. Raging temperature, extreme fatigue and my asthma was absolutely awful. There is no doubt in my mind at all, that if I hadn’t been vaccinated or had caught Delta rather than Omicrom, I would definitely have ended up in hospital due to my breathing. It was a bad time.

M was very strict about a very slow and controlled return to training once I was better, to ensure that I recovered properly and with no ill after effects. This was very successful and it only took a full month to get back to things fully, but it did mean that the Cardiff Half Marathon did not happen. I could have run it, probably, but it would have meant pushing things sooner than was sensible and so I had to decide if I was training for triathlons to half marathons this year – that crystalised the thinking and the Cardiff Half was gone.

So I returned to my training plan with enthusiasm. It’s a strange thing. Every set back seems to give me the impetus I need to drive forwards. Running was happening, weights, swimming at the pool, swimming drills (early before work) and I was using my time wisely to do my cycling intervals on a wattbike at the gym whilst my daughters were at hockey training.

The one thing I was struggling with however, was the long bike ride – usually 4 hours on a Sunday. I LOVE cycling as you know, but I love the social aspect of it even more. March and April were not particularly warm months and so trying to find the enthusiasm to head out in 6c temps for 4 hours, completely alone was very hard both mentally and practically (what if I got a puncture?) and I needed a plan.

I’m a member of a triathlon club (North Bristol Triathlon Club – the best triathlon club in the world, in case you are wondering) and one of the reasons it’s so good is because it is so inclusive. People are lovely and encouraging and although I am possibly the most inept triathlete in history, they don’t make me feel that way. So I reached out on our facebook “ladies page” (which started one year as a place to discuss what we were going to wear to the Christmas party….the decision in case you were wondering was sequins..obviously) to see if there was any appetite to form a gang for Sunday cycles? Now I was very careful about this, because, although cycling is my best of the 3 triathlon disciplines, I am still not particularly fast and in a triathlon club, pretty much everyone is training for an event and so everyone needs to get something out of each training ride so I wasn’t sure how it would work. In my head, I thought that if people fancied joining me on their “rest week”, when they wouldn’t be pushing so hard, that might work, but as long as I was honest with people about my speed (I cycle at about 22-24 kph on the flat) then they could decide I they wanted to join and hopefully it would be ok.

As usual, I needn’t have worried at all as my question was extremely favourably received and quickly a whatsapp group was formed and then more people got to hear about it and now we have a considerable gang of men and women.  

We got into a little routine of meeting at Henbury Leisure Centre and then cycling up to Oldbury, Berkeley or Slimbridge. The meet up was usually fairly chaotic with kit all over the floor and the gang helping each other to do up their overshoes (ok, so I’m the one who really needs help with that!) but very friendly with everyone pleased to be out, even if we’d all been panicking about how many layers to wear for the ride….I hate being cold.

It turns out that the vast majority of people prefer to cycle in a group for company and they weren’t actually too bothered about speed – for the long rides, although speed is important, it’s actually more about being able to sit on the saddle and turn your legs for 4 hours (which is 90-95km for me). Sometimes a couple of the speedier ones, Madame Ocular, Merida and Glinda (who is so strong up hills that she literally floats up them) would race a short strava segment having lots of fun and their all important “push” for training purposes, but I didn’t worry as they would always wait for me at the next junction or at the top of the next hill. We got into such a routine that we even knew where our “designated pee stops” would be (different fields for ladies and the men) and we all knew where we would stop for breathers and to take in the views, which are spectacular.

Slimbridge in particular is a fantastic cycle (probably my most favourite route) and the café on the canal has an excellent selection of cakes and pasties – most of the gang would have both, leading to me genuinely considering if I should be putting a Ginsters into my trisuit for fuelling on race day.

Everyone was training for different races and although some of the group I didn’t know very well back in March, I have got to know them really, really well over the past few months and I now consider them all to be my friends. We are planning a very big night out once everyone’s races are completed in the Autumn.

Triathletes are a strange breed and we’re all slightly mad and this definitely rubs off on each other. One of the gang, Bagman, thanks to Covid, has back to back Ironman races, on different continents on consecutive weekends. That is a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike and a marathon…… the first weekend is in Europe and the second is in Canada. Now he didn’t plan this intentionally, it’s more to do with races being rescheduled due to covid, but even so, it’s clearly insane…..but I remember everyone’s face when he was telling us what he was doing as we were all eating cake at Slimbridge, and all of us just accepting that this would happen!

I’ve still done the odd solo cycle of course, it’s inevitable, but the group ones have been absolutely brilliant. Quite a few of the gang have also told me that they’ve never started their outdoor cycling so early in the year either so I’m pleased that it’s been beneficial for everyone.

The whatsapp group is now also being used for finding buddies for open water swimming as well as cycling. It’s been such an important factor for my training over the past 4 months and knowing that one of the gang will be with you as you jump into (frankly often bloody freezing) water, makes a huge difference and I know that this will continue over the summer.

Last night, the banter on the group (because at this point, it is banter rather than chat!)  switched from long flat rides (which was for the first race that most of the gang were doing, the 113 which happened last weekend – more on that later) to new routes with hills (hills…argh. Weymouth has a bloody big hill in it and I am scared) – we all now have hilly races to work our way up to (with the exception of Madame Ocular, who just enjoys cycling up hills with the gang!) and so this will be the plan going forward over the Summer.

So the moral of the story is, as with most things, be brave. Being brave and asking for help has found me the best bunch of supportive people that I could have ever hoped for and the training is so much more enjoyable as a result, even if they do video me falling as I climb over a gate at the “peestop”…..!

What do you mean it’s a pandemic?

Posted on by chunkyrunner41

Life has a way of slapping you in the face just as you feel you are getting somewhere and this has always been my experience with running. I always find it hard, even after 6 years, but just when I’m getting somewhere and beginning to feel (dare I say it) strong, I fall down a pothole 2 days before a half marathon or twist my ankle.

I had carefully procured a place for Cardiff Half for the end of March and was beginning to feel good about it. Would this be the half marathon where I would be fit and run a proper race?

ENTER COVID…….and so errrrrr no.

I’ve had a good run (if you’ll pardon the pun) avoiding covid so far, but it’s a pandemic after all and so eventually my luck ran out. Myself and my eldest daughter tested positive first, followed by my youngest daughter two days later and then 5 days later my husband came down with it too. This meant, for the main part, I was isolating with teenagers. So if anyone has any questions about Tom Holland or Harry Styles, I can definitely help you. I’m also quite good at TikTok dances now and we did watch quite a lot of TV, paint our nails, do facepacks and tested new hairstyles quite a lot, but aside from that (which was actually quite joyful), the covid itself was horrible. I have asthma, I’m also triple jabbed and apparently Omicrom is less severe than previous strains, but I was quite poorly. My temperature spiked up and down and my breathing was awful. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind at all that had I caught covid before being jabbed that I would have almost certainly ended up in hospital.

Even after I finally tested negative, I was still feeling awful and not well. The exhaustion was brutal and I was napping constantly. My body felt ravaged. Mentally I was struggling too as I was also feeling very sad and anxious about the Cardiff Half.

The other thing that had happened whilst I had covid was that my left leg had locked up. It was painful and walking was not easy. Running was absolutely not possible at all and so I could feel desperation start to swallow me up. I had to make a decision and this is where M came in.

I am programmed to want to complete everything I enter. I sign up, I train and then do the race but Cardiff Half is not really what I’m training for this year. Yes 2 out of the 3 triathlons I’m doing have a half marathon at the end but I’m training for the triathlons, not the half marathon. So, the decision was made to not run the Half meaning that my first race of the year is now an Olympic distance triathlon mid May (I am also signed up for the Tour de Bristol which is a 100k bike ride in April, but this is not a race).

Deciding not to run Cardiff immediately took all the pressure away. I was able to build back up after covid with gentle training and no running for a further couple of weeks to allow my chest (which was still sounding like a bag of spanners) to recover properly. It was a total gamechanger and a much better and more sensible plan.

Therefore, since having had covid the emphasis has switched firmly to cycling and I’m doing 3 bike sessions a week. A 30 minute endurance ride, an interval session and a longer ride at the weekend.

I tend to fit these in around my daughters playing hockey and do my interval session on a watt bike at the gym whilst they train. The wattbike is an excellent piece of kit, but it seems to have the most uncomfortable saddle I have ever encountered. Goodness alone knows what the “serious looking gym boys” think when I arrive in my cycling padded shorts, with a padded saddle cover and sit there watching the TV on my phone (to distract me from my pain) and diligently following my plan. Last week, I somehow seemed to get into a pretend race with one of them as each time my interval (the fast bit) kicked in for 8 minutes, he pedalled even faster on his separate, not linked to mine at all, bike…..I don’t know who won but I looked like I’d just got out of the shower when I’d finished. Somewhat annoyingly, he didn’t even seem out of breath.

The bike section of the triathlon is the longest bit and if I am to have any chance of getting round Weymouth, I need to gain as much time as possible on the bike leg, to allow me to survive the run. So intensive bike training is going to continue. Luckily it’s my favourite bit, so I don’t mind the training so much.

I’ve also managed a few outside bike rides with my friends. I cannot tell you how much joy this aspect of training gives me. I’ve cycled to and from Bath a couple of times along the cycle path with the Auditor and this week Merida and I cycled to Clevedon for cake (it was very, VERY cold).

Since covid, I have run three times. Once as a 20 minute test (it wasn’t too bad) and then on Saturday I went to Chipping Sodbury parkrun with my eldest daughter and Merida. We met M and the Auditor there too – a flat parkrun is always a good idea! Merida got first in her age group and was delighted and I somehow managed to get a PB for Chipping Sodbury. I was pleased but very shocked. I guess it shows that all the base training is helping and working. Of course, M had already finished his 5k as I came round the corner for my final lap and so he offered to run with me. That kept the mind focussed I can tell you – running with the boss?!! But I suspect if I’d run the final lap alone, that I might have walked more and so wouldn’t had got a PB. So although I felt like I was dying on that final lap and desperately wanting to walk, but my pride now allowing me to, it lead to a good result.

The “covid recovery” weeks are now over in the training plan and so now it’s back to normal. Sleep and nutrition will once again be critical but we’re now 4 weeks out from the 100k bike ride (up mountains….I’ve looked at the route and frankly, what was I thinking?) and so we need to ramp things back up again.

Operation “let’s run everywhere”…

Posted on by chunkyrunner41

It’s been 2 weeks since my last blog and Operation “let’s run everywhere” is in full swing.

The first week we were on holiday in beautiful Dorset. Glorious, hot, picturesque and…hilly. Oh my days….the hills! But I committed to 4 runs and so I completed 4 runs.

The first two runs of the week were with my friend, the Barefoot runner and these were idyllic. We ran, we walked, we chatted, we laughed and we did get a bit lost. But we had nowhere to be at any particular time and so just ambled our way out and back. The hills were horrible however and our speeds were slow, but importantly they were enjoyable. It was very hot and so sweat was a feature and I regretted not packing my hydration vest. I need to remember that in future.

For our second run, all of our daughters (we have 4 between us) and our husbands (who are regular running partners anyway) all went and I couldn’t help but giggle as we set off from our tents, running in a big group (at the beginning anyway!)  We had become the families that I used to look at in disbelief as they would set off running whilst on holiday. I mean, what kind of crazy people do that, I used to think? Well…erm…us. We are now those people. I am bemused about this, yet also proud.

The third run of the week was on my own (so instantly less enjoyable) and this was just sprints backwards and forwards down a lane for 30 minutes (including a warm up and cool down). Functional, sweaty but necessary. The final run of the week (yes 4 runs whilst I was on holiday – I am as shocked as you are) was parkrun! Yes, my first parkrun post covid and I am not ashamed to say that I bribed my entire family with a cooked breakfast post run to attend along with me.

As we arrived in the car park on the Saturday morning, I felt that old prickle of excitement that you get at the beginning of a race that had been absent for so long now – yes I know that Parkrun is not a race, before I get lots of angry messages, but it is a large group of people running together and it’s GLORIOUS.

We attended the “new timers” briefing and then we were off. Husband shot off as fast as ever and was quickly followed by eldest daughter (who has signed up for the Bristol 10k, so is in training and she’s fast) and then my youngest daughter went too. I’m so proud of my youngest daughter as she finds running tedious and challenging and so I empathise enormously with her but she keeps showing up and doing her best. She is of course, still faster than me as she runs and I run/walk but we all got round in one piece and in respectable times. I was grinning as I thanked each marshall for their time (I have been a marshall and I always appreciate it when people say this to me and so we must pay it forward). I can also report that the cooked breakfast was magnificent.

So that was the first week and I had completed 4 runs. This is the most I have run in well over a year and a good start. Not all the runs were feeling terrible and although they were painfully slow, I wasn’t hating it. However, I needed to be consistent and so I needed to replicate this in the following week.

But of course, being back at work and life returning to normal would mean that it would be easy to skip some runs, which is not ideal 5 weeks from a half marathon and so I needed a plan. I like running with other people and although I don’t mind running alone sometimes, I have deduced in recent weeks that to get through this training phase, I need company, and so I reached out to my network of running buddies.

I did and do feel anxious about doing this, as running 90/30 is not ideal for everyone, but I decided to be honest with the people I contacted and give them a pass to say no, especially if it didn’t fit in with their training plans. Transparency is key in these situations and I also knew that I would be happy to run with others if the tables were turned.

So last week I ran with Smiler for a short 2 mile burst before she then joined the “This Mum Runs” Wednesday social run afterwards and on Thursday I joined the Seamstress on a lovely lunchtime run between Eastville Park and Snuff Mills. The temperatures at the moment are not great for running and seem to be a constant reminder as to why I decided never to train for a half marathon over the summer again, but the conversation helps so much. Not only because these people are my friends and so it’s lovely to catch up with them, but also because it makes the runs enjoyable, and I need all the help I can get with that!

On Saturday it was “long run day” and so as I have in the past, I decided to utilise parkrun. I met with the lovely Catherine after 5k and we ran/walked the final 8.24k to, and including, parkrun making it 13.24k in total. I don’t mind telling you that afterwards I was shattered. The heat is hard to run in, as well as getting up with a 5 in the hour to ensure that I had eaten enough to cope with the distance, this coupled with the distance, meant that I was wiped out. I’m out of practice and you forget quickly how hard these bigger distances are on the body. I had also completely forgotten about chafing….but a sweaty 13k run will very soon remind you of that. I had sore bits and sudocrem was my friend in the days immediately after.

I met husband and youngest daughter at the end of parkrun (they had run it too) and we went home – Catherine ran home as she is training for a virtal marathon – legend. I was shattered, but for the first time in a long time, I began to believe that I would be able to run the distance.

My running buddy for the Great North Run, the Red Lady, is injured and so cannot run with me on the day itself and so this is daunting, but I am determined to do it. I am not going for a time. The aim is to simply get round in one piece, uninjured.

I was supposed to run yesterday, a recovery run, following my epic Saturday run, but I was too tired and so didn’t. Bt I did go out for a dog walk and leg stretch and this evening, I have done some strength work. Tomorrow I am already booked in for another run with Smiler and this time her lovely Mum which I am looking forward to. I also have 10 miles planned for next Saturday, using Eastville Parkrun again as part of the run.

I running the Great North Run for charity as you know, so if you are able to, please consider sponsoring me.

If everyone who reads this blog sponsored me for £1, I would hit my target and it would mean so much to me. I would be so happy to be able to give back to the charity that helped me when I most needed it.

Here is my Just Giving page details: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/claire-tiley

This week marks 4 weeks to go and my goal is to complete another 4 runs. Wish me luck.

Guess who’s back…

Posted on by chunkyrunner41

You will have no doubt noticed that it’s been nearly 6 months since my last blog and I’m sorry about this. It’s been a difficult six months (for all of us) including another sodding lockdown but for me it also included an injury. At the end of January (the weekend when it snowed) I set off to take part in the “Me-versus-me” challenge as set by my tri club. The idea is that you pick a 10k route and race the same stretch once a month, all year. The results would be recorded as a percentage increase or decrease only and then prizes would be given out at the end of the year.

Bolstered by my 10k time in the January race, and determined to do well in this challenge, I set off and completed the 10k in a respectable 75 minute or so time. The problem was it was so cold that something went pop and as a result I pulled my groin.

And my god, it was painful. I ended up in A and E and spent a week on some very interesting painkillers that meant I spent the week in bed as high as a kite to be able to manage the pain. There was no running for 8 weeks and if I’m being honest, it isn’t 100% perfect now.

This coupled with the third lockdown meant that I struggled during the first few months of this year from a fitness perspective and have also gained a bit of weight. Not a huge amount (and kind friends tell me they can’t really see it, but it’s enough that I feel it when I run and it’s slowing me down again). I ended up pulling out of the Olympic triathlon completely.

Since April though, I have at least been exercising a bit, but just not at the intensity that my body had gotten used to, and it has been a bit intermittent. One week I would do 3 spins on my bike, 2 runs, a swim and some weights and the following week only 1 run and a weights session. It’s been enough to keep my mental health ticking over, but not enough to get back to proper full fitness.

One positive point though is that I have restarted PT. Since April, I have been going with Fitbit sister to Silverthorne Fitness and this has been a consistent once a week fixture. Strength and weights are now fully ticked off and as the groin strain was so incredibly painful and debilitating, I am very keen that it not happen again. EVER. Sara (PT) is an excellent trainer and even if the rest of my training week has been a bit less than it should have been, it counts as a restart point each week. I have seen huge progress and am now lifting much heavier than when we started. Fitbit Sister and I are naturally competitive with each other too which helps and Sara definitely uses this fact in the sessions too. I love them and they have really helped me this year. We have a couple of weeks break coming up for holidays, but this is something I can see continuing indefinitely.

But running. Oh running. As always, when things are not great for me, it’s the one thing that stops. Honestly, I have been so worried about injuring my groin again, that for a long time I was too scared to re-start running and opted to swim and cycle instead. Regular readers of this blog will not necessarily be surprised by this but it doesn’t help when the Great North Run is now 7 weeks away and it’s 13.1 miles.

I have been so annoyed by the injury also that I have struggled to recover. At the beginning of the year, I was finally, FINALLY, getting my running to a point where I was making progress. I am a slow runner, but I would like to be faster and all that I was doing was beginning to work. To have been stopped, literally, in my tracks by an injury was frustrating on a whole new level. I try so hard and train so diligently, that it just isn’t fair and for a long time this year I was pretty pissed off about it all.
Work has also been very busy and so it’s been easy to not do as much as I need to. Of course, work has been busy in the past and I’ve managed to fit my training by running before or after work, but I was using it as an excuse and wasn’t committed in the way that I have been in the past.  

BUT….I’m pleased to say that I seem to finally be finding my way back.

I have been running a bit more over the past few weeks and as I write this, I am 7 weeks away from the Great North Run – 13.1 miles. I think this has also been part of my apathy, as we really didn’t know if the race would go ahead, and it’s difficult to find the effort to train for a race that might not even happen but now it seems to be confirmed.

I am delighted to be running this event for charity and will be part of the Bodie Hodges Foundation charity team.

These guys were amazing and offered me a place to run with them after my Mum passed away nearly two years ago and I have always been grateful to them for that. Therefore (for the first time ever I add), I am running the race for charity. Please consider sponsoring me and my efforts as they offer such a wonderful services to the bereaved families of children as well as raising awareness of organ donation. https://www.bodiehodgesfoundation.co.uk/

I would be really grateful if you could sponsor me a few quid.

Here is my Just Giving page details: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/claire-tiley

So with this in mind, and the pressure now being well and truly on,  I really do need to get my act together.

Tomorrow I am going to run 7 miles; run/walking obviously, there’s no reason to go mad, but it’s happening. This blog is my call to arms and has always in the past, acted first and foremost as an accountability post for myself. 3 runs a week and 7 weeks to go.

I’ve done it before, but this time it feels like it almost feels like starting over. Let’s do this.

5 years of running….

Posted on by chunkyrunner41

Happy New Year to you.

New Year brings resolutions and new plans and post Christmas, my attention was drawn back to the 5k pb I had been chasing.

I have been running using the 3/1 run/walk method pretty consistently for a while now, but happily I was also able to still pull a continuous 5k out of the bag from time to time (but it feels pretty hideous so I’m not keen to do it too often). I was keen to see if I could break my 5k pb time (previously 37.01 which had been in place for a few years) and really wanted to give it a go before the end of the year. When running, the “3” part of the 3/1, is actually quite fast. Occasionally, some of the pace splits even starts with a “6” (which is a speed unheard of in trundler world) but without the walk break I am unable sustain the speed but I also needed to. Basic maths followed that if I shortened the walk break, I should get a significantly faster time overall.

On the 29th December, conscious of the goal I had set myself, I put my headphones in and set off to run 5k. My plan was still to run 3 minutes but to shorten the walk break to 35 seconds. For the first 3.5k, although it felt like hard work it was manageable, but over the final 1500m I struggled. The walk breaks elongated a bit here and there to 45-50 seconds and this definitely was NOT part of the plan and so I was conscious of the time over the final 500m and had to abandon a walk break altogether to succeed but I was ecstatic to achieve a 5k pb of 36.50. It had felt like it was impossible at the beginning of last year, but I managed it. However, I  was also annoyed that I hadn’t stuck to my plan which would have undoubtably seen me run an even faster time.

The first time I ever ran was 3 January 2016 and this is my “runniversary”. It was around this time that I also started writing this blog (is this my bloggerversary too?) After the cancelled Kelston 10k, I was still determined to run a 10k on my 5 year runniversary and happily DB Max (the company that ran the triathlons I did last year) were putting on a 10k up at the Castle Combe race track. I signed up, along with Merida, my husband (who has recently started running again) and my eldest daughter, and we arrived on the 3rd January ready to run.

It was freezing, I couldn’t feel my outer thighs and bum cheeks for a good 2 hours after the race finished, and these were not the best temperatures for a PB chase, but, as we lined up (6 runners setting off every minute adhering to extremely strict covid rules) I resolved to give it my best. My plan was exactly the same as it had been for the 5k pb chase, except I was not to deviate AT ALL from the 35 second walk breaks. As usual everyone set off much quicker than I with husband and daughter disappearing into the distance with worrying speed. My daughter, whose goal had simply been to finish without walking, managed to complete the 10k in 59 minutes. She is absolutely amazing and I am very proud of her.

The 10k was 3 laps around the course and I made a simple promise to myself to focus on each 3 minute run at a time and not walk longer than the allotted 35 seconds. I had made a playlist of songs (these were permitted but I only wore one earphone so I could hear any marshall instructions) and timed it so that the “Theme from Top Gun” would be playing as I crossed the finish line – I am nothing if not theatrical. I set off and the plan worked. I REALLY wanted to look at the time as I passed the 5k marker, but didn’t in case it messed with my head – if I was going really fast, my legs might “hear” and then refuse to keep going as they would be “tired”. If I didn’t know, I couldn’t react – so kept going 3 minutes at a time. Soon it became apparent that I was the last person out on the track, which I will admit, was slightly disheartening, but when the results were posted, the chap that won ran it in 31 minutes, which is frankly ludicrous. This was a fast field and as I had been so focussed on my 3 minute runs, I hadn’t really noticed them as they have lapped me.

As I came into the final straight, I realised that the Top Gun theme wasn’t playing and so I HAD to be ahead of time. “Shouty Dave” the famous marshall (called Dave and he shouts encouragingly) was cheering me on along with Merida, husband and daughter and although I was last, I gave the final straight my all. I finally finished in 74.18 minutes. The relief flooded over me as I was given my medal (and a bottle of beer – well done DB Max) and I cannot verbalise how happy I was. My previous 10k pb was 78.56 and so I’d taken 4 minutes and 38 seconds off. I’d also further reduced my 5k pb again and so now it stood at 36.07. Let me tell you, run/walking works!

I was tired though and spent the afternoon snoozing on the sofa. It had felt good to put the effort in and finally, get a faster time….AND A MEDAL. It felt like a good solid start to the year and this year I have plans for races, covid allowing.

But now it was time to turn my thoughts to triathlon training as my base training plan which lasts for 6 weeks, before the Olympic triathlon plan starts, kicked in the following day.

The problem was, that running a fast 10k on the Sunday and then the country being placed back in national lockdown again on the Monday evening, has impacted my first training week somewhat.

I plan my overall training plan for each month and then break it down week by week, sometimes things get moved about if I have work calls/meeting that run over lunchtime/before or after work, but on the whole the weekly plan, SHOULD be set in stone. It doesn’t always work out like that though…..

This has been the last week:

MONDAY PLAN: Yoga 30 mins + spin 30 mins

MONDAY REALITY: Ate chocolate and was depressed about lockdown.

TUESDAY PLAN: Swim + run 30 mins 3/35

REALITY: Lockdown meant the swim was cancelled so managed a spin 20 mins, run 30 mins 3/1

WEDNESDAY PLAN: Weights 30 min + spin 40 min

REALITY: felt tired so 10 min spin + 25 mins of weights and over 1 session not the two that were planned.

THURSDAY PLAN: Pilates 20 mins + 40 minute run 3/1

REALITY: Was knackered after work and did nothing

FRIDAY PLAN: Planned rest day

REALITY: When I did nothing yesterday I bargained with myself that I would do yesterday’s session today and so just swap the rest days – erm…that didn’t happen. I worked all day and then did nothing – well actually I started watching Bridgerton on Netflix so it wasn’t a complete loss.  

SATURDAY PLAN: Run 40 minutes easy 3/1

REALITY: No running but went for a lovely 10k walk with the Red Lady

SUNDAY PLAN: Bike/spin/turbo 90 mins

REALITY: Wore my running kit all day (whilst watching Bridgerton – it’s very, very good) and then after procrastinating all day, finally dragged myself out for 5k just as it was getting dark.

So I did exercise, but not enough according to the “Pre-season base training triathlon” plan I am following. Obviously lockdown has put a spanner in the works as the swimming pools are now shut, but I really need to do better.

Today it’s Tuesday in the next week and my legs are already killing me as this is the plan for this week:

Monday:              Weights session 30 minutes + Spin class 45 (10 min warm up, 30 min spin, 5 min cooldown) 

Tuesday:              Run 5k 3/1 + Pilates 30 minutes

Wednesday:      Spin 40 mins (HIIT style) + Yoga 20 mins

Thursday:            30 min weights + Run (warm up, sprints, cooldown)

Friday:                  Rest

Saturday:             10k run

Sunday:                bike/spin/turbo 90 minutes                        

It’s also my birthday on Saturday so all bets are off for Sunday’s session but I will do my best. I will report back in a week or so. Stay safe out there lovely people.

2021…are we nearly there yet?

Posted on by chunkyrunner41

This blog post would usually be my annual round-up. But what can I say about 2020?

Well, let’s be honest, not many good things. It has felt like very, very hard work, even without races to train for. All of my pre-planned (and already paid for) races were cancelled.

In 2020, I had planned to take part in the Bristol 10k, the 51fiver (an Olympic distance triathlon) and the Great North Run (half marathon). As you know, these and almost everything generally, were cancelled.

I did complete the Bristol 10k virtually with my youngest daughter (which was brilliant fun and I gave her the medal we were sent afterwards) and then, as life sort of looked like it might be getting back to normal in August (oh how we laugh thinking about that now) I squeezed in 2 sprint triathlons. It felt good to be competing and it was good to get a couple of medals in an otherwise fruitless year.

When the pools were open, I was swimming twice a week and was also continuing with my weights and strength work. Thanks to my spin bike, I was still able to cycle regularly and my eldest daughter became quite competitive with me using the peloton spin classes on the peloton app. There are many different types of classes on there and I must confess that since we were locked down for a second time, I have chosen ones that made me smile rather than offer a specific training plan. The Bon Jovi and the Beyonce rides were absolutely brilliant – spinning, singing, headbanging and sometimes shimmying along which made me happy, laugh and kept the endorphins were flowing. I’m not sure how useful these were for “pure triathlon training” (although there are definitely classes on the app that would help with that), but without a race to train for, why worry? I needed to sweat and smile and these classes ticked the boxes. As usual, I went with the mantra of anything is better than nothing.

But let’s talk about running this year. I have ebbed and flowed with it but it has been largely consistent during the second half of the year. Following my completion of the Joe Wicks 90 day plan, I gave myself the target of getting my 5k time down and although I have succeeded in getting faster again, I haven’t beaten my PB….yet.

My eldest daughter started running quite seriously in the second lockdown (she’s a hockey player and hockey was cancelled) and we both signed up for the Kelston 10k on the 3 January 2021. This has since been cancelled. She followed a plan and recently ran a sub 30 minute 5k herself. She regularly takes our dog out for a run in the evening and will definitely run a 10k next year as a race. She is very keen to pace me for a 5k PB and so I’m going to try once more to beat my time before the end of the year.

I’ve done lots of different types of running this year and I am happy to report that I seem to have fallen back in love with it again. I love running with the dog in the mud (although I am accident prone and have fallen more than once) and this has enabled me to still see my friends whilst the second lockdown was on. Twin Mum has regularly run with me and Bruce since September and Team G, who has a withdrawn guide dog, has shown me lots of new places to take the dogs running. These have been such joyful experiences. I ran with Team G a couple of weeks ago and Bruce was off the lead for a lot of it. He is absolutely built to run and looks so powerful as he strides through the countryside. I’ve run a couple of 10ks with him in recent weeks and I’m sure he could do double this without breaking a sweat. It’s nice to run with company and this year it’s been the best way to stay in touch with friends – outside!

When the children returned to school in September, hockey was back. Training is 90 minutes and so it’s a perfect running window of opportunity. A lady I know through TMR (Hockey Mum), was keen to run and so Thursday night running became a thing. With nothing to train for and everything to gain mentally from being in the fresh air, we started trundling together. As Hockey Mum hadn’t run for a couple of months, we started running at 3/1 intervals. This is undoubtedly my favourite interval as it’s long enough that you feel like you are running but also, short enough that it is easy to conduct a conversation. We have run together, once a week (with one exception) every week since hockey resumed in September. During lockdown 2, we still met up for our Thursday evening trundle even though hockey was cancelled and it has been so very, very enjoyable.  Last weekend we ran an offroad 10k VERY MUDDY trail, which her husband devised for us and it was brilliant. It was supposed to be 10k but it was actually 13k (we got a bit lost). This was the furthest that Hockey Mum had ever run and the furthest that I had run in well over a year and it was a fitting end to our running year. Thank you to her husband – it really was brilliant. We ran the whole distance using the 3/1 method.

I think it’s important to talk about this for a moment. Running takes many forms and disguises. There is of course the race, the pb, the endurance event, but there is also, and probably most importantly, the running for pleasure. In a year, where many things have felt so mentally hard, if I had not agreed with myself before setting off, that I would allow myself to run/walk, 3/1, I am certain that more often that not, I would never have left the house and so no running would have taken place at all.  The couch to 5k programme uses the run/walk technique to get you to a place where you can run without walking. This is of course excellent if this is what you want to do. For me, I enjoy run/walking and interestingly, often my split times are faster than when I just run so who really knows. All I can tell you is that, at the moment, run/walking is what I’m doing more than I’m not and if the thought of running scares you, try the run/walk method. I have an Olympic triathlon next year and I am already considering run/walking the final 10k – and I bet the time won’t be much different than if I decide to run the whole 10k. It might even be faster.

Give it some thought and maybe give it a try?

The Olympic Triathlon from 2020 has been rescheduled for May next year – hopefully it will happen (although who knows?) but I have decided that I will train towards it regardless.

My training plan starts on the 4 January and so I will be writing more regular blogs next year as I talk you through what should be happening according to my training plan, and then the reality of what really IS happening.

Thanks for sticking with me this year. Merry Christmas to you and your family. Hug them tight.

I wish you all a Happy New Year.