Running Rewards!

I’ve done quite a bit of running since the last time I wrote. It’s difficult to find time to run AND write but I am determined to record as much of my journey to the Great North Run as possible!

I’ve been feeling a bit lost with running over recent weeks, literally just taking it from one run to the next and not really sure what I should be doing and when. I’m starting a 10 week training plan with my coach on Monday and I think this will be a great help! I still don’t think it has sunk in that it’s only 10 weeks until I am running an actual half marathon! I know that with hard work I will do it, as this time last year I couldn’t even run at all! That said, it doesn’t make it any less scary or daunting!

I’ve been going to quite a few running sessions in Cramlington (Dynamics Personal Fitness) and I am really enjoying the social aspect of running too. I’ve made some new friends and everyone is so supportive that it makes even the difficult sessions that little bit easier.

I went to a track session at Whitley Bay a couple of Saturdays ago with Dynamics and although difficult, I really enjoyed it. I couldn’t make it last Saturday as I was working but I was excited to come home to my first ever copy of Woman’s Running (and it was free too!)

 

 

On Monday I went to training with Rachael. I picked her up from work and we got ready at my house. I didn’t have any Lucozade Sport for after the session, so we called into the shop on our way. The chocolate muffins at the till were calling out our names and we bought them as post-run treats! All the way through the session we were running for cake! (not the healthiest post-run snack, but a well-earned treat!)

 

I am particularly ‘enjoying’ the strengthening and conditioning sessions on a Thursday evening. (You may notice my use of inverted commas for enjoying – I use this term loosely as they are really hard sessions!) They always make me feel like I’ve done a good workout though and I can usually feel it for a couple of days after, therefore I know they are doing me good! This also highlights, how little used a large number of my muscles are!

On Thursday evening the session was challenging again and it was purposely more difficult than the previous weeks. When Steve told us he wanted us to do some press ups, my heart sank. I’ve never been able to do them but I was determined to give it a go as I never used to be able to run. Steve demonstrated, and although I found it difficult I was able to do ‘an almost press-up’. I did the next ones using my knees as a lever and although they were still difficult, I was proud that I was getting better at them. We ran for 200m between each set and by the third set of press-ups my arms were shaking. We did a variety of other exercises, all of which were equally challenging and I was proud of myself for doing it. They are all things I once would have said ‘I can’t do’ – which just goes to show that anything is possible if you try! The session ended with hill sprints which were really hard – but no pain no gain!

I was expecting to ache yesterday morning, and was really pleased that I was feeling fine. I shouldn’t have been so confident though, because as the day went on I started aching more and more! I’m aching a lot today – Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness has definitely kicked in! My sides, and the front of my shoulders are particularly achy, which shows that the press-ups obviously did something! :)

During the session on Thursday we were talking about generally being fit and healthy, running and weight loss. I mentioned that I started running as a way of controlling my weight and that I’ve dropped a dress size, without altering my diet very much. Five years ago I lost a stone and a half with slimming world but began to put some of this back on last year. I hadn’t been weighed for a while but at Steve’s suggestion on Thursday I just got weighed today and I was pleasantly surprised to see that I have lost half a stone since I took up running! And I haven’t had to stop eating chocolate and cake!

Most of the running I have been doing recently has been at Cramlington with the running group but I did go out on my own for a 5 mile run last week. I intended it to be longer but it was so warm that I cut the route shorter! I still had to walk some of it but I was proud that I did it (with a couple of hills thrown in too!)

 

A few months ago I signed up for the Lambton 10k and later found out that it’s a very hilly run (this serves me right for booking it without checking such a thing!) I wasn’t too concerned as ‘it’s still ages away’ and I got my brother in law to sign up too! Time passes by so quickly and I cannot believe that it’s actually tomorrow! I am also excited that the run is on the Lambton Estate, where The Paradise was filmed (not the most logical reason for booking a run though!) :)

I am using it as a training session rather than a race, as it’s terrain I’ve not ran previously and I can’t compare it to my previous 10k as they are so different. Two weeks tomorrow is the Great North 10k and I am hoping for a pb for that. My best friend, Rachael and her boyfriend Karl are coming to cheer us on and a number of the girls from running are doing it also so it should be a good day out! And hopefully I can still walk on Monday (just as well it’s scheduled as a day of rest!)

Thanks again for reading! :-)

My first bit of bling!

It’s 4 days since I completed the Sunderland 10k and I still can’t stop grinning. You may think this is because it was easy or just a walk in the park…but this is not the case! The main reason I can’t stop grinning is because I still find it hard to believe that I actually did it! I ran 6.2 miles. 10 whole kilometres. I think it’s only really just starting to sink in that I am a runner. I know I’ve been a runner for a while now, but this time last year I still thought my sister, Joanne, and best friend, Rachael were a bit mad for running!  And I’ve thought this about my brother-in-law for years! Now I think I may be just as mad as they are!

Saturday night was my Grandad’s surprise 90^th birthday party. This meant no alcohol for me, ahead of the 10k on Sunday. Joanne, Craig and Rachael were also running so I wasn’t the only one not drinking. I spent quite a while debating what the best soft drink would be too. I had two cans of diet coke but felt this may keep me awake all night. So I spent the rest of the evening drinking orange squash! :-) How rock’n’roll!

Me, Rach and Joanne - (sober!) at Grandad's party

I was concerned that the late night would affect my running but there was little I could do about it. I was so excited after the party that it was well after 1am before I got to sleep. Now, usually I need lots of sleep in order to function properly and I had my alarm set for 7am! I feared this may be too little sleep for the run but decided I just had to try and enjoy it as best as could.

I had porridge with Nutella in for breakfast with a glass of water. I picked Rachael (and her boyfriend Karl) up at 8am and we went through to South Shields to Joanne and Craig’s house. Craig attached my chip to my trainer and Joanne pinned my bib onto my top. I’m sure I could have done this myself but felt I needed the expert support of those that have done this before!

Craig drove us all to Sunderland and we parked near the Stadium of Light. On our way to the stadium I ate a banana to keep my energy levels topped up. I was feeling very tired but I was pretty excited for my first race. We were all wearing black bin bags to keep us warm before we started running. I entertained them all greatly whilst trying to manoeuvre my way into the bag!

We were there in plenty time so Karl took some photos of us with Rachael’s camera (we took our bin bags off first!). Karl then said goodbye to us as we got ready to start and he went to take some photos. I began feeling tired and hungry (not a good combination before running) but there wasn’t anything I could do by this point. We saw Joanne’s friend Sam and stood with her waiting for the run to start.

 

 

Prior to Sunday, in my head I was aiming for about 1 hour 15 minutes. As I felt so tired and hungry before I started running I decided that I really didn’t mind how long it took me to finish as long as I did it (though I was still hoping for less than 1hour30). I started off nice and slow and tried to enjoy it. Just after the start, I saw Karl and waved.

It was quite a humid day and I was beginning to wish I’d put my vest on instead of my long sleeve top. I was glad of a drink of water from the drinks station but the pouches were somewhat challenging to get a drink from! Anyone else that ran on Sunday will know what I mean! I had a mouthful of water, but didn’t want to drink anymore (or indeed risk choking!) in case I got a stitch.

Further into the run, my legs were beginning to feel pretty heavy and my feet started to get numb (this hasn’t happened for a long time). It was advertised as a flat course, but it certainly wasn’t flat. I found this quite difficult but I was determined to keep going.

Some of the spectators and the marshals were absolutely brilliant, using my name (from my bib) to cheer me on and give me much needed motivation! Thank you to each and every one!

Just as I was feeling close to giving up I saw that some people were handing out ice pops next to a water station. I got a red one from a little girl and I never thought I would feel so grateful for someone giving me something so simple. The cool ice pop was just what I needed and it kept me going for the next km.

As I was running through Roker Park, with great difficulty, a child shouted “girl in the pink top, well done!” This really made me smile and kept me going that little bit further. Thank you to everyone who was supporting – you are all superstars!!!

There were a number of times during the last 3km that I felt close to tears. I was too hot, my legs were aching, my knee began to hurt and I couldn’t feel my feet. Every time someone smiled, cheered or said well done, it gave me the motivation to just keep going.  Near the end I saw Callum from the Great North Run Beer Tent Group, which spurred me on a bit more!

I kept thinking about the wonderful members of the North East Trust for Aphasia and how inspirational they are. The 10k is part of my GNR training and I am determined to do well and raise valuable funds for NETA. (www.justgiving.com/jollyjulie - if you can spare a pound or two it would be greatly appreciated). Thinking of why I am doing this made me determined to continue running and get to the end. I couldn’t wait to see Joanne, Craig and Rachael’s smiling faces.

I really struggled during the last 1.5km.  People around me were beginning to struggle too and we kept motivating each other. I saw the 800m to go sign and felt a bit happier that it wasn’t much further. That was the longest 800m of my life. I saw John Iley who I follow on twitter. I recognised him from his Heel and Toe Charity T-shirt. We were both struggling towards the end and helped motivate each other. I was so close to tears by this point that I needed to just focus on getting to the end.

I didn’t think I was ever going to find the finish. And then there was another hill. I ran. And I ran. And I ran. I crossed the finish line, and the relief almost made me cry. Then I spotted Karl with the camera so I smiled for a photo! If he hadn’t been there I do think I’d have been in tears, as I didn’t know if I’d ever get the feeling back in my feet! I congratulated John on finishing and told him I recognised him from twitter.

I couldn’t wait to see Joanne, Craig and Rachael, but I wasn’t entirely sure where they were. I just kept walking. I suddenly saw my sister’s face and she rushed to give me a hug. She asked me if I was ok and I quickly responded with ‘no’. I still felt really emotional but I was slowly beginning to get the feeling back in my feet. I hugged and congratulated Craig and Rach too and we made our way into the stadium so that I could get my t-shirt and medal. I was soon ok again, and the Lucozade and cereal bar helped me regain some energy!

 

I was absolutely delighted that I completed my first ever 10k in 1hour19 minutes! I am super impressed with myself that I actually ran all this time without stopping (for the first time ever!). We waited for Sam to finish, then cheered her fiancé Colin in the half marathon.

I was so proud wearing my t-shirt and medal and really felt a huge sense of achievement. Even though I’d been close to tears and found the route difficult I can’t wait to do it all again! I’m sure only fellow runners will understand what appears to be such a crazy thing to say.

 

Thank you so much to everyone who is supporting me during my Journey to the Great North Run. I didn’t imagine the running bug would ever catch me but it has. I still find running difficult but I am extremely proud of the improvement I’ve made over the last few months. My running coach, Steve has been brilliant with lots of advice and support, and I have lots of supportive friends and family.

Thank you to everyone who inspires me to run and if you made it this far, thanks for reading! Sorry it’s so long, if you haven’t already realised, I’m still feeling pretty excited and proud of myself for completing my first race! My next 10k is on 29^th June at Lambton. This is advertised as challenging and there are a lot of hills so no doubt it will be even more difficult than Sunderland! I do love a challenge and I guess that’s the only way to improve!

Well done to everyone who took part in the Sunderland 10k and half marathon on Sunday. You’re all amazing!