Moving the goal post…

The last seven days have been an emotional roller coaster and not just in regards to running…but for today we’ll focus on running.

Because I’m a good little runner, after work on Friday I donned my trainers and running gear and headed off to the gym. Friday evenings at the gym are awesome as it’s fairly quiet, plus being a Friday I have that smug (and slightly sad) feeling of being at the gym instead of the pub and earning my gin and tonics before I’ve drunk them. However this Friday didn’t go so well; I got on the treadmill and started running, trying out some new ‘running’ songs to see how they transfer from solo car karaoke, to motivational move my feet soundtrack. 

Friday Nights have changed...#icedknee

I think I may have got into the music too much, and I had a little stumble on the treadmill, which kind of shook me up a little, so I lowered the speed and just started brisk walking to compose myself for 30 seconds or so. As I started to increase the speed and running again I felt a twinge in my knee, almost like the bones were rubbing against each other – I’ve spent enough time on running blogs to know that as soon as you feel a pain like that you stop. So I stopped and went off to talk to the trainer at the gym, who made me stretch it out and move it in all kind of funny motions, then told me to go home, ice it and stay off running, the treadmill and any high impact sports. So I headed home, put me feet up, iced my knee, held back the tears and felt like my world had fallen apart.

So now I’m one of those stupid crazy people who cry about exercising (or lack off). I feel like I’ve worked so hard to reach my half marathon goal and just as that goal is becoming reachable I’m hit by a massive road block. On Friday I felt determined that I’ll rest it on Saturday and that by Sunday I’ll be back to running,  but when I woke up on Sunday it still hurt, so instead of running I stuck to the low impact machine that is the cross trainer. It’s Thursday today and it does not feel much better….I’ve missed out on 3 runs now and my average weekly mileage is decreasing dramatically. The finish line of the Oxford Half is looking the furthest away it’s ever been.

HOWEVER…because I’m not giving up, I am becoming a runner, and I have not let all these months of training go to waste, I have made myself a contingency plan. Half Marathons happen all the time, so if I’m not able to make Oxford, I’ll just run the Reading Half Marathon instead, which is in March. It means these months of falling in and out of running have not gone to waste, I’ll still run 13.1 miles, I’ll carry on training, I’ll be able to run off Christmas Pudding and I’ll still get a shiny medal at the end of it. So it looks like the goal post is going to be moved from October 12^th to March 22^nd, with some knee rehabilitation and extra training thrown in.

So as this blog url is thejourneyisme – my running journey has hit a little block in the road, but that doesn’t mean the road stops there. As the saying goes ‘the road goes on forever and the party never ends’.

This also means I’m now going to keep blogging (ranting / complaining / moaning) till March at least, you lucky readers!

Pre-Race Stress has started already....

This week’s runs have been hard (and I’m only 2 runs in), I’ve had a dramatic turn in events and now hate running again….so I’m giving up, not doing the half marathon and never running again!

Just kidding… I've invested too much time to give up now, plus I can’t give up this easily, and my running trainers are so damn cute I can't not wear them.

I need to carry on plodding (also known as ‘running’) along and get as close to 13.1 miles ready as I can in this time. But I’m absolutely stressing out about it, and it’s pretty much all I think off at the moment, it’s become my new unhealthy obsession. I’m spending more time on the runners world website than I am on BBC news (apparently something is going on in Scotland – or should I say not going on?). I’m going through, writing and re-writing training plans for the next 3 weeks. I’m working out all my potential times (which is complete guess work as who knows what I’ll be like on the day?) and the worse thing about all this stressing is that its interfering with my sleep. I keep dreaming that I can’t make the first mile – wake up at 4:00am, and then can’t get back to sleep. 

ARGHHHHHHHHH – who knew it would be this stressful? I’m a crumbling, sweaty mess – I’m not very good with stress.

So for the moment, I’m going to stop thinking about the end goal – and just focus on training for me, because I want to be able to run these lovely long distances, without the pressure of anyone timing me or watching me; just me in the park with my trainers and ipod, enjoying the fresh air, greenery and thinking off all the calories I’m burning off, so I can eat cheesecake.

This weekend’s runs are looking like this (there has been a slight change due to bad runs this week):

Friday – 10K

Saturday – Gym session; some cross-trainer and treadmill time (90 mins in total)

Sunday – the plan was to get to the pool, but it’s closed for a gala – so I’m going to enjoy the last of the warm weather and head out trekking around Oxford, in order to stretch my legs for a nice long run on Monday.

The Countdown Begins, 4 weeks to go!

Oh my, the real countdown begins! It is just under four weeks till the half marathon, and I’m absolutely bricking it. I have never really run in my life and I’m about to embark on running 13.1 miles…I’m absolutely mental and it's bloody hard work, but I love it.

Due to my training schedule over the next four weeks I will hopefully see myself at the healthiest I have ever been. I’ll be covering between 30 – 40K a week, fine tuning my diet, keeping very hydrated and bouncing around off the endorphin's.

My evenings this week are going to look like this:

Monday – 10K

Tuesday – REST DAY (house cleaning day)

Wednesday – Cross Training for increased stamina / fitness; 2 hours 30 mins on the Cross Trainer

Thursday – REST DAY (hot bath, paint nails)

Friday – 14K

Saturday – 8K

Sunday – 40 minute swim (to stretch out the other muscles)

To fuel those days, and typical ‘eating’ day for me looks like this;

Breakfast – Porridge (made with water) and a yoghurt stirred in.

Lunch – Chunky Chicken and Veggie soup

Snack – 2 boiled eggs & an apple or orange

Dinner – Roasted Chicken with Salad, humus and a whole meal pitta bread

Drinks – 1 coffee, 3-4 herbal teas, 6 pints of water ( lots of trips to the toilets).

I’m also trying to listen to all my favourite albums to work out which tracks I want to accompany me around the route. If you have any song suggestions please let me know.

In addition to this all, I’m fighting off  the sniffles, which is making it a tad harder to breath whilst running when I start, but once I’ve warmed up it tends to settle.

So wish me luck for this week, I’ll be updating the blog a little more frequently as the race gets closer :-). 

Slowly starting to love...

Hello – a little side note before I get into my ramblings. Sorry for the lack of posts, work has been busy and we’ve had a very very busy (& super fun!) summer, which is only just dying down. Now we've reached September and back into the swing of routine that September provides (even though no one in my immediate family runs on an academic calendar, I think it’s just programmed into our head from when we were children).

In a complete contrast to my post on the 7^th August, claiming I AM NOT A RUNNER – the last four weeks has seen a sudden turn of events in my running status. With just under 5 weeks to go to the half marathon I’ve only gone and fallen in love with the sport. My PE teacher would be so proud, gone are the days from ‘forgetting my sports bag’ to get out of exercise, to choosing on my own will to run 3-4 times a week.

I think (though I still don’t quiet feel like it) I AM A RUNNER – I’ve put it in a small font, as I’m just whispering about it at the moment, as some of the ‘real’ runners out may think I don’t quiet qualify.

I’m not a very good “runner”; the runs are slow, sweaty and hard – but I’m enjoying them and as soon as I’m finished with one run I’m planning the next one. I never ever thought I’d see the day that I look forward to exercise and plan my schedule around it, but the time has come. I  am embracing, loving and enjoying running.

I am also immensely enjoying the benefits of running;

• I’ve lost weight pretty effortlessly, which probably makes the runs easier and dieting is one less thing to worry about (unfortunately in today’s society it's every females unwanted hobby). 
• My skin is looking pretty good at the moment because I’m sweating out all the rubbish out of it.
• I’m toning up and finally the ‘blob’ that was my body is producing some kind of shape – though because of the legs tonning up quicker than any other part, it’s a little lollipop-ed shaped at the moment, though any shape is a step up from ‘blob’.
• I CAN EAT CARBS AND NOT FEEL GUILTY – this is probably the BEST benefit ever. I said previously that after the half marathon I’m going to give up running, but now that I’m liking running and I can eat carbs and not feel guilty about it I may just carry on. Life is so much better with pasta and potatoes.
• I feel SO ALIVE at the end of runs, not matter how long or short - I feel like I can face anything and take on the world (this feeling doesn't last too long, as usually when I get home I face a pile of never-ending laundry, that doesn't ever seem to be conquered).
• A combination of all the above and the endorphin's means I'm less stressed. I'm getting my 'me' time whilst running and it gives me times to think about things in life that I don't usually have time too, and also come to peace with a lot of internal conflicts. 

So happy running for now :-)