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!

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

Another step closer...

Can't believe it's been a month since I last blogged! I've just been so busy (but am glad to say I've still been running!)

This is just a quick update as I don't want to miss a month as I'm going on holiday tomorrow and it will be March before we know it!

I've done a few Parkruns since I last blogged (Newcastle and South Shields) and have been steadily improving. A few weeks ago I did South Shields with my big sister, Joanne, and got a new pb of 35.31! I was ecstatic with this as it was more than two minutes faster that my previous pb two weeks earlier! It was lovely running with Joanne again and she stayed with me even though I am still slower than her (hopefully not for much longer....I can't wait for a bit of sibling rivalry! Haha).

Me with Joanne after the parkrun

Yummy cake!

After the run we went bought cake and drank tea at Joanne's house, which was a lovely ending to a nice run. The weather was lovely, unlike last Saturday when I competed Newcastle parkrun in a torrential down pour! I went to Newcastle on my own and it was definitely the worst run I've ever done, as I couldn't see out of my glasses and kept running through puddles! I got soaked to the skin and was so cold! However, I am so proud that I didn't let the rain put me off, and even though I didn't get a pb I got up out of bed on a Saturday morning when I could have easily turned my alarm off and gone back to sleep!

Running with Dynamic Running Fitness has also been going really well. I've been doing some speed work and on Monday we increased my distance to 6km! I was really proud of this, as not only was it the longest distance I've ran, there was also speed work in the middle of it. This was an especially proud moment as when I return from my holiday I will be moving up a group! I no longer need to be in the Couch to 5K group as I have now reached that target! Next stop Sunderland 10k in May! My friend Rachael has joined the next group so I am looking forward to running with her there!

Monday's running effort!

Steve has been fantastic! There's no way I would have made so much progress over the last 5 months without his brilliant coaching. He is starting a new Couch to 5K group on March 31st for more beginners and I definitely recommend it to anyone thinking of trying running! I never thought I'd love running so much! If you are interested contact Steve (http://www.dynamicrunningfitness.com) to secure your place in the group before it fills up!

I now have my place in the Great North Run and will be running for the North East Trust for Aphasia. I am really excited (though the thought of running 13.1 miles does still terrify me!)

Well I'm off to check that I have everything sorted for my holiday tomorrow... And I am of course taking my trainers! (Who would have thought I'd ever say that?!)

South Shields Park Run

When my alarm went off at 7am this morning I was so tempted to turn it off and go back to sleep! I couldn't understand why I had agreed to do another parkrun when I could have stayed in bed where it was nice and warm. I'd agreed to pick my friend up and meet my sister and some other Great North Run Beer Tenters at the parkrun in South Shields so going back to sleep wasn't an option!

Rachael and I arrived in South Shields bright and early (8.20am) and I enjoyed seeing the beautiful sky as the sun was rising! It made getting up so early on a Saturday much more worthwhile :-) Joanne arrived not long after us (I text her to tell her we'd arrived) and she came and sat in my car with us while we waited for everyone else to arrive and the Parkrun to begin!

Pretty sunrise

As more people started to arrive I began to get excited to be running at the coast. I recognised Sarah from the Facebook Group (who suggested we do the South Shields parkrun today - thanks Sarah!). I also saw Kelly so we got out the car to say hello. Andy also arrived and we took some group photos. We knew Dawn and Alex were coming too but they hadn't arrived in time for this photo - they're always fashionably late ;)

Group photo before we began! Thanks Joanne for taking the photo :-)

Joanne and I headed to the back of the runners and waited for the whistle to blow! I set my Garmin and began to run! Just as we started, Dawn and Alex got to the back and went running quickly past us - just on time! :) Joanne and I set off slowly - I'm still not fast and Joanne said she would stay with me. South Shields is Joanne's local run and it was nice to be able to run it with her!

There were lots of puddles and mud and a few more inclines than I was expecting, (I thought maybe I'd got lost and ended up doing cross country ;) but Joanne's persistent encouragement kept me going!  She reminded me of the cup of tea waiting for me at the end of my run which also helped!

The little bit of hill training I did at my last running group session helped with the inclines. The run is currently in reverse for the winter so there were more downhills than up. It was a difficult run and at times I felt like giving up. If it wasn't for Joanne's encouragement I think I might have done as there weren't many volunteers today so I wouldn't have known where I was going and it would have been quite lonely!

The scenery is beautiful and I am glad I decided to get up and run this morning! Joanne told me when we could see the finish and I've never felt so relieved in my life! It still felt like quite a way to go but I was glad I could see the finish line! We were right at the back (Joanne was my very own tail runner - there wasn't one today) so we were last across the finish! The final stretch was the most difficult - running through sand! I didn't think it was ever going to end!

We met up with the others in the club hut and got our bar codes scanned. I came in 86th place (out of 86!) with a time of 39.40! This is quicker than the last Parkrun I did which I wasn't expecting as it was a more difficult run. I think I did better as I walked less (due to Joanne's brilliant encouragement). I am so proud of myself and can't wait for the next one!

After the run we went for a cup of tea!  I also had cake (as a reward for running!) - I'd like to point out that I had already had breakfast and this was my mid-morning snack ;)

We got another group photo and chatted about the morning's run! I had a brilliant morning and am looking forward to running again soon. I still find running difficult (and my left knee has been sore all day) but the sense of achievement I feel is worth all the pain!

Group photo (this time with Dawn and Alex :)

Well done everyone! Lovely location, lovely people and lovely morning :-) hope to see you all again soon!