Encouragement and Excitement!

This time last year I didn’t run. I didn’t think I would ever run and I certainly didn’t think that I would be doing a half marathon in less than a year! It has been a tough 11 months of training but I am hoping it is all going to be worthwhile on Sunday!

On Monday evening I went to my running group – my final training run before the GNR! I’ve been finding running particularly difficult the last few weeks and I am so tired. I didn’t go out last Friday as I felt like I needed the rest more than the run. I felt quite guilty about this as a 3 mile run was in my training plan. I emailed my running coach Steve to ask him if I needed to amend the remaining days of my plan but he told me that it was fine that I missed a run. I felt better after Steve reassured me that rest is just as important as training.

I went out on Sunday morning with Rachael for a 3 mile run. We set off early to get it over and done with. It was uncomfortably warm, despite being early and cloudy. It was a horrible 3 miles as my legs were heavy and I felt too hot. I couldn’t have kept going if it wasn’t for Rach. There were lots of friendly people out, some of whom gave us words of encouragement. I was about to start walking when a man told us we were doing well. This was all the encouragement I needed to keep going. I just kept putting one foot in front of the other and knew that we’d soon be home!

I still can’t believe that I am actually running a half marathon on Sunday! On 30^th September last year I turned up at Alexandra Park in Cramlington and met my running coach Steve for the first time. I struggled to run between two lamp posts, and found it difficult to believe Steve when he told me that it would get easier.

I persevered and I am so pleased with the progress that I have made. I have trained in the dark, the cold, the rain, the sun, and the wind. I have trained when running is the last thing I wanted to do. I have foam rolled, had ice baths and leg massages to try and reduce the pain and aches in my legs. I have modified my diet, cutting things out and adding things in (though the flies I swallowed, weren’t part of the plan!)

I can honestly say that this has been the most challenging thing I have ever decided to do. It has also been one of the most enjoyable. I have made new friends, and achieved things I didn’t even think possible. I’ve changed from a walker to a (dare I say it) keen runner! It isn’t easy. It isn’t easy at all, but I would do it all again as it has been the most exciting journey so far.

I wanted to do something to raise money for the North East Trust for Aphasia. Those of you that know me personally, will know how passionate I am about my career as a Speech and Language Therapist. Communication is such an integral part of our lives and language is the thing that makes us human. NETA do amazing work with people who have difficulty in understanding and using language, following a stroke or other brain injury. The members are so inspirational and I am truly proud to be raising funds in their name.

I didn’t think for one minute that I would develop another passion (running!) whilst on my latest quest to raise funds and awareness. I also did not think that I would find myself so passionate about something that is so difficult.

 

I am so proud of my journey – I think it proves that anything is possible with hard work and dedication. I am so grateful to everyone who has been a part of my journey, whether they realise it or not. The encouragement and support I have had, often from complete strangers, has been amazing.

I’ve been struggling over the last couple of weeks, partly due to the intensity of my training and partly due to the realisation that I am actually going to be running 13.1 miles. This is now coming at a time of great change in my life as I have just got a new job and I will be moving house so it feels like everything is happening all at once!

I cannot thank Steve enough for his continued support and encouragement. I would not still be running now if it wasn’t for him.

Tomorrow I am looking forward to doing the mini north run with Joshua and seeing Toni do her first junior run. I am also really starting to feel excited about the GNR (although I am still nervous too!). I have decided that the time it takes me to complete it is no longer important to me. It was a few weeks ago, but now I just want to enjoy the experience as much as possible.

 

 

I went to the Million Ceremony with my parents, Joanne, Craig, Toni and Rachael last night and had an amazing time. We couldn’t see everything from where we standing but the atmosphere was really good. I am excited that the first year I decided to do the Great North Run, is the year of the Millionth finisher. Well done to everyone who has taken part in years gone by, and good luck to everyone running on Sunday!

My journey to the Great North Run is almost complete, yet I feel my running journey is still just beginning. I cannot wait to experience the sense of achievement upon crossing the finish line! Thank you to Joanne and Rachael for inspiring me to do it, and everyone who has continued to believe in me.

If you would like to support my fundraising you can do so here....every penny counts! I look forward to updating you about my first experience of the GNR! Thank you for sharing in my journey J

 

Running Rainbows

Only 6 weeks to go! Six weeks until I complete the hardest challenge of my life to date! I am a combination of nervous and excited, and the proportion of this changes each day!

I’m training hard and this week has been particularly difficult. I got new trainers last Saturday and got my gait analysed again. After wearing the new trainers around the house for a few days I decided they weren’t a wide enough fit so I had to go back to the shop for some different ones. The new ones are a different make and size. I’ve been running in them a couple of times now and they are much better than my old ones (the pain in my shins is a lot better and I no longer feel like I am being kicked in the bum!)

However, both times, I have had that tingly numb feeling in my toes that I used to get when I very first started running. This could be the trainers, or it could be because both times I ran in them, it was ridiculously hot. I will have to see how they are over the next few runs.

Last Sunday I completed the Colour Run in Sunderland with my sister (Joanne), brother-in-law (Craig), best friend (Rach) and her boyfriend (Karl). We’d been excited about this for ages and who ever would have thought I would be excited for a run!

Rach and I before it began!

For those of you who haven’t heard of the Color Run, it’s a 5K run (originated in the USA) where you get powder paint thrown on you at each kilometre. So by the time you reach the end you look like a beautiful rainbow (well that’s the idea, I just looked like a bit like one of the purple minions from Despicable Me 2!)

Purple Minion (me!)

The sun was shining on Sunday and it was really warm, a bit too hot to run! My legs were still a bit sore, so I was struggling to keep up with everyone (especially as their ‘slow’ appears to be my fast!). We walked parts of it, partly as it was so congested with walkers, and partly due to the heat. After each kilometre we stopped for a photo and it was fun that the five of us were doing it together. The first paint stop was at 1K and it was pink. Phil, one of the runners from the Great North Run Beer Tent Group, was a volunteer and did a great job of colouring us in pink paint (so good that it took a week to get it off my glasses!)

Once we crossed the finish we were given a sachet of powder paint each and the 5 of us had great fun throwing this on ourselves to make us even more colourful!

On Monday I went to Dynamics Personal Fitness (DPF) in Cramlington and we did pyramid training (200m, 400m, 600m, 800m 1km, 800m, 600m, 400m, 200m) and it was difficult in the heat! It’s always a good session with Steve though and I am really feeling the benefits.

My training plan for Wednesday was a slow and steady 3 mile run. On my way out of work I told them I was going for a run when I got home. They asked me how far and I said ‘just 3 miles tonight’. I didn’t think I would ever say ‘just’ before any distance but I was confident it would be an easy run. The rather high temperature and large numbers of midges flying around made me eat my own words (and almost a fly or two!). I felt every single mile and hated pretty much every second of the run. I was so glad to get home and have a cold bath (another combination of words I NEVER thought I would say!)

On Thursday I went to the Strengthening and Conditioning session with DPF. I love these sessions even though they are hard work as I can really feel the benefits. My core has only just stopped aching today!

Yesterday I went out for my longest run to date. Eight whole miles! It was another warm morning and I struggled in the heat. My legs felt a bit heavy and my feet began to feel tingly/numb after a few miles. This was made a little easier with walk breaks so I just kept doing that every so often.

There were so many friendly people about (many of whom told me it was too hot to run!) and that made the running a bit more bearable. I had to stop at the shop for a cold drink as it was just too hot, and this made me feel a bit better.

I don’t really enjoy long runs, but the sense of achievement I felt when I got home, made me glad I had gone out.

Next weekend I will be running 9 miles! I haven’t decided where I will go yet but I think I’d like to plan a bit of a different route, as my last few long runs have been mainly the same route with a bit added in each time. I’m looking forward to the sense of achievement I know I will feel once I am home. I am still searching for the excitement at the thought of running 9 miles! I know I can do it though, as I’ve been working hard and have already made more progress than I ever thought possible!

Thank you for joining me in my Journey to the Great North Run!

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! :-)

Running, away from home!

I’ve been working away from home this week and made sure that I packed the essentials (shampoo, phone charger…trainers!) so that I could go for a run when I was away. I finished work early on Wednesday and decided I would use the time by going for a run!

I was excited to be exploring somewhere new. I didn’t know how far I was going so I decided to start off gently just to see where my feet would take me. It was a warm day and I struggled in the heat (particularly as I wasn’t dressed for warm weather). I ran just over 5km in total and although I struggled it was definitely worth going out! If the weather had been nice when I was running at home, I could have chosen cooler running wear, but I was stuck with what I had packed.

After work on Friday, I travelled straight to London to visit my cousin Kirsty and I when I got there I suggested we go for a run on Saturday morning. At first, her face was a picture and she didn’t look at all impressed! I used my excellent powers of persuasion and she decided that as long as I didn’t run off and leave her (which I wouldn’t do!) we could go to the park for a run! Never did I think I would be visiting Kirsty in London and persuading her to run! Funny how life turns out!

Kirsty used to be in Gateshead Harriers as a teenager but it’s a while since she has been running. It made me smile to think that our interest/participation in running has gone the opposite way for both of us compared to what it was 10 years ago!

We got up bright and early and I had a banana and a glass of water before we headed out to the park. Kirsty didn’t want to run until we got to Hamstead Heath but I jogged there, as she powerwalked J Once at the park, Kirsty started running, and we both took it easy at a gentle pace. It was quite a warm morning (and I still didn’t have my cooler running clothes) and we walked a little in between running. There were a couple of quite big hills that I decided to run up with enthusiasm (which made the run more challenging!). By the time I got to the top my enthusiasm was somewhat less, but I did it! We used the opportunity to stop and take a few photos; anyone that knows Kirsty and I will not be at all surprised that we were taking photos even while out on a run!

We saw some parkrunners while we were at the park, and part of me wished I had my barcode and had planned ahead to do it, as it would be nice to do a run in another location. However, it was really enjoyable just having a gentle run with Kirsty and I am pleased that I didn’t have the barcode after all. It’s not every Saturday morning that I get the chance to run with my cousin!

We really enjoyed the run although my calves did hurt a bit again (I think this was a combination of having been wearing heels for work the previous day and the two glasses of wine on Friday night!)

Altogether we covered a distance of just over 3 miles. I was super proud of Kirsty as she hasn’t been running for a while! She kept me motivated when I wanted to give up and I did the same for her! We made a good pair and were full of energy (for shopping!) for the rest of the day!

 

 Yesterday, we got up and started watching the London Marathon on TV. We soon decided that we would like to go and spectate and cheer the runners on (and hopefully get a glimpse of Mo Farah in his debut Marathon!) We got ready and headed out towards Green Park so that we could go near the finish (we weren’t really sure where else would be good and knew that the athletes had already set off so wanted to make sure we’d see them).

We were standing in quite a good spot (about 385 yards before the finish) and really enjoyed cheering everyone on! The atmosphere of the crowd when Mo Farah ran past was amazing and the smile on his face showed his pride J

Mo Farah in action!

We continued to cheer people on for another couple of hours and I really enjoyed soaking up the atmosphere! It was incredible to see how the crowd pulled together to cheer the runners on, particularly when they were struggling, and it was clear to see how much this meant to the runners.

I was in awe of all the runners and I think each and every one is amazing! What an achievement to run a marathon! It was a lovely sunny day which made a nice atmosphere for spectating but I did really feel for the runners having to run in the heat. Well done everyone!

After a while, we decided we needed to go and get something to eat (should have taken a picnic!) and we watched some street dancers in Leicester Square. There were lots of people walking around the streets wearing their medals with sheer joy on their faces. It made me even more excited about doing the Great North Run in September! I wanted to say congratulations but couldn’t catch anyone’s eye and didn’t want to interrupt their celebrations with their families.

People keep saying they think the London Marathon will inspire me to run a marathon, however I am still not convinced! It did make me proud that I am a runner though!

On the tube on the way back to Kirsty’s house, four men got on at the same place as us. They were all wearing their medals and I smiled and said ‘well done!’ They seemed genuinely pleased that we were congratulating them and we started to have a chat! One of them said that yesterday’s Marathon was his 25^th (and first in London). He said he has done the Berlin Marathon many times and never was the atmosphere as good as it was in London yesterday. This made me feel proud to be British and proud to say I was there! As we continued to talk, I told them that I am currently training for my own first half marathon and they seemed genuinely pleased for me. They said they started out running half marathons and never thought they could do a marathon (so I guess who knows what my running future holds?!)

Before they left the tube they wished me ‘Good Luck’ for the Great North Run, which made me smile! Talking to these runners really made my day and they were so inspiring!

Well done to everyone that ran yesterday (wherever you were and however far), especially my brother-in-law who did the South Shields 10k, and my 8-year-old niece (and sister) who completed her very first fun run!

Running, away from home,, has been quite exciting this week but I am on my way back to Newcastle and will be home in time for training tonight! Exciting. The Sunderland 10k is rapidly approaching and I still need to increase my distance.

Thank you for reading!

I was sad to wake up to the news that a runner died after crossing the finish line of the Marathon yesterday and my thoughts are with his family and friends L

Running with Rachael!

Yesterday morning my friend Rachael and I went out for a run. Rach completed the GNR last month and I'm super proud of her. Yesterday was the first time we went out running together and I really enjoyed it.

Before our run!

It was a lovely day and Rach was super supportive when I was struggling. I hadn't been out for a week and I felt it. We ran slowly and completed 2.45 miles in total. I ran slightly further without slowing down to a walk but then didn't run for such long durations as I kept getting cramp in my calves. I bought a foam roller last week but haven't been using it much! Definitely think I need to get into a routine.

Rachael ran all the way and I kept walking in between (same pace as running) and it was nice to have some company as I ran. I do think I talked too much and struggled to keep my pace as slow as I'm used to and therefore think I overdid it a bit :/

When we got back to my house we had a delicious snack of Nutella on toast and strawberry  milkshake (and felt like children again! :)

After!

My thigh and hip are hurting today as I don't think I stretched enough when I got back yesterday (too busy chattering and thinking about Nutella!) Rachael was really supportive and I am glad we went together. We will be doing it again soon! :)