Keep on running by harrietemma

OK I know I haven't blogged for absolutely ages.  I think part of the problem may be that having my blackberry do all my email, facebook etc means that I just don't use the PC so much any more.  How great would it be to have a blackberry app for realbuzz!!??

Anyway, the prompt for this long overdue post is the 8K I did yesterday, during which I thought of all sorts of things I wanted to say in this post, and that kept me going.  So here I am.

I had been looking forward to it for ages.  I didn't go last year because it is a really long drive (about 2.5 hours) which I didn't think my health would stand up to then.  Having felt so very much better this year and finding that my new part time uni course didn't start till 1st Oct meant I could treat myself and enter.

I hadn't trained brilliantly, partly because I have been concentrating primarily on my nutrition which has been revolutionised by the wonderful but occasionally scary Vicki, resulting in very impressive weight loss and a much clearer head etc.  I have also been doing (most weeks) Vicki's "power workout" which I have blogged about before.  It involves horrible and humiliating sprinting (I am always last but to be fair I am smallest and often oldest I think), tyre flips, running holding a tyre with a partner etc etc.  Then a very hard circuit.  All outside on the tennis courts which now have to be lit with floodlights, but it's better now it's cool, when the evenings were warm it could be a bit queasy making!  It was very very hard to start with, now it's just very hard.  But I have noticed a real improvement in my running, particularly in feeling I have much more puff and the running is just easier and more enjoyable.

So anyway back to yesterday.  I left loads of time as I got very lost last time and was late for the start (nightmare).  Found the right place to park, had time to make phone calls, go to the loo twice and eat my banana.  There is a lovely supportive atmosphere and it is all about encouraging women to run, many of whom haven't raced before.  At the start I tried to make sure there was no-one behind me wearing shorts - anyone such attired I would assume is much faster than me and therefore I would be too far forward.  Off we set and started the very long slog up to the iron horse.  It is a pretty up and down route (especially for someone from flat Essex) and I was a bit worried that I would end up walking - but- hooray - I managed to run the whole entire route!  Last time I did it in about an hour and 6 minutes, with walk breaks, and this time it was 57.21 as timed on my new Ironman watch which I got for my birthday (originally thought this might be good for walk/run intervals but now thinking more along the lines of run/sprint intervals!!!).  I was delighted to break the hour and it has given me a lot of confidence for the run10k I am due to do next Sunday (also a hilly course - now thinking I will try to run all of that too!!).

It felt very civilised to be able to go back to my car and eat lunch etc.  I am so happy with my renovated nutrition that it seemed no hardship to have my tuna salad instead of a burger or hotdog (although I can have a treat meal once a week - last week had a curry and pavlova on my birthday and still lost a pound!).  Long drive home but legs seem none the worse - which they shouldn't really as it is only a mile longer than my usual Sunday run and perhaps I haven't caught up with realising how fit I am these days.

Oh and the important bits are - lovely medal and a bottle of water - no goody bag this year but I have had several over the summer - who needs another one?  I had already bought a race t shirt online so will proudly wear it to the gym tomorrow!

Had a thought in yoga on Friday (should have been emptying my mind but still...).  Wondering whether to train for a half in a year's time.  If I didn't live the other end of the country I would really want to do the GNR but the logistics of having to fly there, stay over and get this end looked after while I was away are a bit daunting.  Can anyone recommend a nice half in the autumn in London or around Essex?  Needs to be a big one so there are plenty of slow people - if it's just full of serious runners I would find it stressful as I would be right at the back! [wot has happened to the text colour?  I used to be able to change these things but now the buttons have gone all odd.  Frustrating.]

Off to have a bit more of a sit by the fire - stretched everything this morning with a nice long walk with Destructadog.  He will be a year old a week tomorrow so I feel some photos coming up.  Still not easy to keep him still long enough though, you tend to get a snap of the garden with just a bit of tail in it.

Hope everyone doing races today has had a good day despite the weather - a bit blustery here! xx