BOOM...just another Julie-ism!

On Sunday morning I was up bright and early for the Lambton 10k. My brother-in-law Craig and friend Claire were also running. My best friend Rachael and her boyfriend Karl came along to support us.

I drove us to Craig’s house then he drove to the Lambton Estate (partly as he has a bigger car, but mainly as he has a better sense of direction!)

We set off nice and early and I was nervous and excited rolled into one! As we approached the car park I saw a sign that said ‘BOOM’. As we got nearer we were talking about running down this stretch of road and I realised that the sign didn’t say BOOM at all…it actually said 800m (clearly an easy mistake to make… and certainly one which had us laughing all the way to the car park! And as Craig pointed out... it's just another ‘Julie-ism’)

We were pretty much the first people there (after the Marshalls) and got parked really easily. We wandered around looking at the grounds and the excitement built the busier it got.

We posed for some pre-race photos and we also spoke to some of the other girls from running J We queued for the toilet (which took a surprising length of time due to the large number of people and small number of portaloos). I saw Colin (South Shields Parkrun Director) and I waved and said hello :) it's always nice to see a friendly face.

 

Craig, me and Claire

 

I started off with Craig, not far into the race there was a little bit of a bottle neck due to the large number of runners but it didn’t take long to get past this (may well have cost some people a personal best though!)

My sole aim for the event was to get to the finish – I hadn’t ran many hills previously so decided to use it more as a training session than an actual race.

 

Me running
(Thanks to Hippie for the photo)

 

I set off at a steady pace and tried to maintain this throughout. I was doing ok, and the scenery was making it a much more pleasant experience. The hills were hard work but I’ve learned a lot from Steve in the training sessions. I kept asking myself ‘are you going to own the hill or is the hill going to own you?!’ I was doing well at owning the hills until the last mile and there was a killer hill. I was determined to keep running up it but my poor little legs just couldn’t keep going so I walked the remainder of the hill. I started running again when it was flat then my heart sank at the next bit of hill (which was really just an extension of the previous one!).

I knew I didn’t have far to go so just kept telling myself to keep going. Some of the marshalls were really friendly (others not so much) and the smiley ones really helped me to keep going.

BOOM just 800m to go! (Just twice round the track!) I knew if I kept going at the pace I was running at I would be able to finish in a good time so I kept focused and put one foot in front of the other. At 400m Craig and Hippie Lee were there to cheer me on, they started to run with me which really helped, but also made me go faster. At 200m to go I had very little left but just kept going.

Everybody was cheering me on as I got near the finish, and seeing Rachael and Karl really helped! When I finally crossed the finish line I felt sick and my legs were like jelly - but I DID IT. I completed my 2^nd ever 10k race (in a time of 1hour 17 minutes which was two minutes faster than the Sunderland 10k). I was so pleased with myself even though I was aching all over and could hardly breathe!

Rach came running straight over to give me a hug and tell me how proud she is of me! I’m proud of Rachael too, she’s part of the reason I run – she’s an inspiration J

When I was eating my refresher and drinking my water I met a fellow Great North Run Beer Tenter and said well done (unfortunately I didn't catch his name but it was nice to meet another member of the group). I really enjoyed the whole experience and I am excited for the Great North 10K a week on Sunday!

 
Huge thanks to Rach and Karl for coming along to support us (after a night out too!) and also to Hippie Lee and Craig for getting me to the finish. Thanks to Hippie for the fab photos too!

 

My official 10 week training plan started on Monday (with a well earned rest day!) I went for 7 mile run last night (which accidentally turned into 7.5miles). I really struggled with the first couple of miles (heavy calves) and didn’t know how I’d get to 7. I settled into it after a little while and I actually enjoyed the middle few miles (who ever thought I'd say that?!). I really struggled with the last mile as my knees began to hurt. I walked a little bit during the first couple of miles as I was getting cramp in my calves but from about 2.5miles until 7.2 miles I ran all the time which is really good going for me when I run on my own! Looking forward to a track session in the morning!

 

View on my evening run yesterday

 

A huge thank you to everyone who is reading this and those who have supported me in any way on my journey to the Great North Run.

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!