Swimathon : Attempting My First Mile of Front Crawl

During one of my more recent swimming lessons, after a bit of chat about whether I race, my instructor drew my attention to a large banner at the side of the pool. "Are you entered?" Um, no, what is it?

The banner in question was advertising Swimathon, a nationwide swimming event that encourages people to challenge themselves whilst also raising funds for Marie Curie. You can choose to take part as an individual over distances of 1.5k, 2.5km or 5k challenges or as part of a team for 1.5k and 5k distances.

I was interested. I picked up a leaflet. I found I was free on the weekend in question (mostly). I wasn't able to take part in the Great London Swim this year. This felt like a Good Thing To Do. The difficult part was choosing the distance. I can happily swim a mile of breaststroke so maybe the 2.5k would be a good step up. Or perhaps use this as an opportunity to see if I can swim more than 6 lengths of front crawl? Utterly paralyzed by indecision I had Rach basically decide for me. Which is how come I'm entered into the 1.5k distance under instruction that it's to be all front crawl, with breaks if necessary. 

Frankly what ever I'd chosen to do would have been good practice for later in the year when I tackle my first aquathlon and Standard distance triathlon but here we are. I've no idea how I'm going to manage it but I will, somehow.

The event is incredibly reasonably priced, just £12 for an individual, which includes a medal if you complete your distance and I've heard that it's usually very well organised. I'm a bit excited and have extra incentive to get to the pool between lessons!

Taper Time. Cue Kit Panic.

This week's training...
Saturday: parkrun
Sunday: 11 mile run (3 with mum)
Monday: Rest day
Tuesday: 5km hills & Body Balance
Wednesday: Rest Day
Thursday: Rest Day
Friday: 6 mile run

I'm supposedly in my tapering phase although I don't feel as though I ever quite got ramped up as much as I'd hoped. There's a week and a couple of days to go until Gatliff and there's a distinct feeling of "I'm as ready as I'm going to be". I've had three good runs in the last seven days.
1) I enjoyed my parkrun tourism on Saturday to Orpington where Strava ambassador and fellow Gatliff participant, John, and I met up for a bit of a chin wag. He went on to smash his PB at Brighton 10k the following day - kudos John!

2) My 11 miler on Sunday was an uplifting experience, being greeted with cheery hellos from many fellow runners and running around the beautiful Danson Park with my mum.
3) On today's 6 mile run I *finally* tested out my camelbak and discovered that it did not chafe or annoy - score! Although drizzly it was beautiful outside, all those golden leaves fluttering down from the trees. I wish I'd taken some photos. I should start doing that.

Winter running. Snug as a bug.

Although my running is almost nonexistent next week it's a busy one, with two trips to London on a school night. I know I should be resting up a bit but there's so much LIFE to fit in! At least one of my social engagements is a swim and sauna evening. I'm in the middle of an assignment for my PT diploma and I'm hoping to use a new book to inspire some more RunFitUK session plans. The taster session is two days after Gatliff... I'm glad I can get away with just demoing the exercises.

Inspiration for RunFitUK sessions

I'm still floundering around with what kit I need for Gatliff. I'm not sure whether to go for trail shoes that aren't reliably blister-free after 12 miles or my road shoes. I know I can wear my camelbak but there's not masses of room in it for snacks so I'll probably take a waist pack as well. How many snacks should I take? Where the heck am I going to put my head torch when I don't need it? I don't have maps! Should I have maps? Bit late now I suppose.

But where will the snacks go!!!!

Maybe there'll be some sort of divine inspiration at the Running & Endurance Show this weekend. I'm missing parkrun so I can make the seminar on Training & Nutrition for Ultra-Running. I've got more daft events in the calendar so it'll be useful for those. I'm looking forward to browsing all the new kit ranges and seeing some familiar faces. My mum's coming along too... although she's meeting me after the seminar ;) If you're planning on being there and want to say hi just look out for the Team Bear hoodie...

Now I've not been pushing it too much but I *am* running Gatlif to fundraise for Hospiscare. I'm trying to raise at least £1,000 by taking part in these challenges. If you can spare even just a few pounds it would be hugely appreciated. You can donate via http://www.justgiving.com/VikkiRunning or by texting  VRUN86 £10 to 70070 to sponsor me £10 (or other amount. I'll be applying for fund matching through my company so every donation will count double!

Thank you.

Weekend Of Reckoning

Saturday: Cycle training & 30 mins online cardio class

Sunday: Bacchus half marathon

Monday: Wall sit challenge & HIIT
Tuesday: 4 mile run

Wednesday: 4.5 mile run

Thursday: Jump & yoga challenge

Friday: Rest day

By the time you read this I will be on my way to Belvoir Castle and embarking on one of the most nerve wracking things I've ever signed up to; Equinox24. I'd been feeling pretty calm about it all until about three weeks ago, even with several changes to the team that require last minute recruiting, but in the last week the terror really kicked in.

In reality, for this event, I've got it relatively easy. I'm in a team of five rather than running solo so although the event lasts for 24 hours I will likely only be running 4-5 laps and having 4 hours rest between each one. I can do this. I've trained. I'm fit and well. It's the logistics that are freaking me out a bit; wondering if I've packed enough kit or too much, have I got the right sort of food (again I've undoubtedly got too much), will the weather hold or will it be miserable. And will the team manage to find each other? Only two of us have ever met in real life before! In the last week we've all been a bit more vocal on email and hopefully making a team banner, adorning the camp with balloons and ourselves with glowsticks and face paints will help with the bonding process. I've never had such a lengthy packing list for anything, even a 2 week holiday to the states!

You wouldn't think I was only going away for a weekend...

All along I've been telling myself that this is meant to be a fun thing. I've no aims for time or numbers of laps, but I want to do my best and it's a complete unknown, completely different to anything I've attempted before. I've been trying to bury my fears in order to quell those of others but they've manifested themselves in my dreams almost every night since Monday so I'm hoping that my honesty here will help.

The temptation has been to go all out with training in the last few days but instead I've held back a bit in order to conserve energy. Held back on the exercise at least... food has been another matter entirely...

Cake to feed hungry runners

I did a couple of hours of cycle training on Saturday morning. Put me on a track in a race situation without junctions, stopping, gears and traffic to think about and I'm fine... put me on the road and it's another thing entirely! So it was off to a free council-led thingy to practice and learn how to ride properly. I'm getting used to pedals with toe clips and so promptly fell off my bike about 10 minutes after I arrived, earning myself some pretty nasty cuts and bruises in the process. But I got up and back on to build my confidence again. By the end of the session I was feeling so much better about it all and I'll be going back for another session in a few weeks time. Best use of 2 hours ever.

The knees worked well enough to get me around Bacchus half marathon on Sunday, even if they were very sore and they've held out and started to heal up over the course of the rest of the week. Only doing a couple of shorter runs and a little HIIT has left me feeling restless but I'm feeling in decent shape for tomorrow.

Happy times at Bacchus

I'm just trying to keep in mind that I'm doing this for the experience and to raise money for a wonderful charity. When I feel overwhelmed I will turn to my team and my friends knowing that they will understand and put aside their fears to encourage me, just as I put aside mine to encourage them. And I will also think of my Aunt, who would have been #VirtualTraining with me, and cheering me on from afar. And I'll know that I can push a tiny bit more.

It all starts at midday on Saturday. Phone battery permitting I'll be posting pictures and updates to twitter throughout. Texts and tweets of encouragement will be most appreciated and if you can spare a couple of quid Hospiscare would benefit greatly. You can donate at https://www.justgiving.com/VikkiRunning/

Good luck to everyone else taking part in Equinox24 or indeed any other event this weekend. The TeamBear motto is "Suffer But Never Surrender" but the most important thing is to remember to have fun :)

New Challenges, New Training Plan

This week marked the start of a new training plan for me. I’ve kept myself ticking over since January, easing myself back into the mileage after taking steps to rectify the iron and vitamin deficiencies I was diagnosed with, but despite taking part in quite a number of races I can’t say I’d really trained for any of them.

This is all about to change. I’ve got some big and exciting challenges on the horizon and to not prepare for them would be sheer folly. If you visit the site rather than reading posts via RSS you can probably already guess which events these challenges are, from the “My Next Events” listing over on the right hand side but for avoidance of doubt they are:

1. Equinox24 – a 24 hour team endurance event (one place still available on my team if anyone's interested)
2. Gatliff Ultramarathon – a 50km event in Kent
3. Tough Guy – pure hell from the sounds of things
4. Brighton Marathon

With the exception of Brighton marathon, these are all new events and challenges for me. I have taken part in Tough Mudder but Tough Guy looks even more hideous and testing. Which begs the question… why??

If you follow this blog you may remember that my aunt passed away in the Spring after a relatively short battle against cancer. She gave me so much encouragement for the London Marathon in particular that I felt compelled to include a marathon in my challenge list, in tribute. During the final weeks of her life she was able to stay in the comfort of her own home thanks to the wonderful Devon-based charity, Hospiscare, which gives high-quality care and dedicated support to people who are terminally ill, free of charge. Not only did they support her directly with regular visits and provision of little things like shaped cushions to make her more comfortable but also offered support to my cousin who took time out from his job to care for his mum.

I saw what a difference Hospiscare made and that is why I’m choosing to raise money for them via these challenges so that they can continue to provide their services to those who need them 24/7. They need around £4.5 million a year to do this spend 88p out of every £1 donated on patient care. I’m hoping to raise at least £1,000 which could go towards some of the services below.

•              £499 funds a 24 hour stay in the Hospice which can help control a complex condition.

•              £40 will pay for a complimentary therapy session to help patients feel relaxed or a soothing assisted bath.

•              £100 enables a patient to visit to one of their day hospices to share experiences and receive expert care and advice.

•              £50 will fund a supportive care visit at home

•              £12 supplies the daily oxygen that their patients need

•              £5 buys medical supplies like dressing and syringes

My current training plan encompasses the first two events on the list. I will be drawing up my training plan for Tough Guy a little further down the line. I’m hoping to practice what I studied in terms of training and nutrition but despite having done some reading around, this is still uncharted territory and any pointers are welcome. I intend to blog about my training progress for these events in much the same way I did for five events I tackled in 2013. I found it really helpful and motivating to be accountable and see the progress I was making. I hope, also, that it will make interesting reading for you as I go back to trying to fit training around the day job and studies.

This week's training was as follows:
Monday: 5 miles at lunch
Tuesday: 4 miles including hill running
Wednesday: 4 miles with Amy after work
Thursday: Kettlebells pre-work
Friday: REST DAY!

This weekend I'll be taking part in Gloanna on Saturday (5km run followed by yoga) with my mum and attempting a long run of 16 miles on Sunday planned before refuelling with a picnic at Kew Gardens to the sounds of Chas & Dave and Bill Bailey :)

If you would to support me and Hospiscare by making a donation you can do so here or via the widget at the top of the blog. If you would like to support me with words of encouragement you can do so in the comment box below :)

Renegading on Promises

I swore I’d never do anything like this ever again. I promised myself, as I plunged through icy water, crawled through pipes on bruised knees, heaved logs around and ran through torrential hail, that I would never, ever do anything that even remotely resembled an obstacle/adventure race as long as my legs could move.

And yet, here I am, having parted with £50 that could have been happily spent on books, theatre tickets… food! Anything more enjoyable than what I’ve actually just spent it on, which is an entry to Tough Guy in January 2015. January! 2015! That’s a very cold month a year away. What on EARTH am I thinking? You saw my review of Tough Mudder last year right? Don’t be fooled, the smiles are merely a reflection of how happy I am to still be alive.

Happy it's over

It turns out that I’m an easily influenced and suggestible soul when it comes to running and events. Even more so now I’ve got a couple of marathons and some back-to-back triathlons under my belt. My brain takes one of two routes; either “I’ve done those”, I say to myself, “I can easily do this” or “oh sod it, what’s the worst that can happen?” The latter usually when someone else is suggesting the event. I’ve got a reputation to maintain as “the crazy one” you know.

Part of the Tough Guy course. Photo by Tough Guy.

I actually entered Tough Guy a few years back, in its Nettle Warrior incarnation. However I didn't go through with it because I had to go to a wedding in the States. And this isn’t the first time I’ve been swayed back into entering something like this. Last autumn I was entered into The Major Series with Anita but she got ill and I was damned if I was going to do another event like that alone so I bailed.

This time it’s Alex who’s suggested the event. Soon-to-be-running-her-second-marathon Alex. Fire-walking, 10-miles-carnival-du-Nice Alex. Do I have any sane friends? The night before we flew to Nice we went online and entered the Fresher Mudder, a paired down version of the Full Brutal Jacket that fits 180 obstacles into about 12km. You miss out some of the biggies that the full course has but still get some kudos. In return she’s entered the Equinox24 event with me. I think she gets the better deal.

We have a whole year to pretend we’re not doing it, which is some comfort. Now I just need to quiet the voice in my head that’s saying “You should have entered the full event… how much more pain can an extra 3km and 20 obstacles really be..?” At least this time I won’t be alone.

Wow what a year!

This really has been the most amazing year. It’s not been a straightforward one. There have been sad, difficult and painful times but a lot of joy, fun, surprises and flat out incredible moments. I’m not exactly where I thought I’d be, I reckon I overshot the mark there and I certainly achieved more than I thought possible, in so many ways.

I find it useful to take stock at the end of each year, to think about the events, what I’m thankful for and to get a feel for the coming 12 months and this year I’d like to say a few things publicly.

Thanks

Firstly, a few thank you's. Thank you to all of you for reading my blog, for interacting here, on facebook or twitter and stopping me from just typing into the void. You guys make this a whole lot more fun.

Thank you to everyone who sponsored me early in the year and helped me to support the Scleroderma Society. Together we made a huge difference to a small charity.

Me and my Aunt, who inspired my charity choice

Thank you to all of my friends who have stuck by me. You’ve helped me through house moves, crazy training and race schedules, put up with me talking incessantly about said crazy training and race schedules and even encouraged me and pushed me to achieve some of the amazing things I’ve done this year. Without Anita-the-Crazy I certainly wouldn’t have done Tough Mudder, for instance.

Most of all thank you to my family, in particular my mum, dad, aunt and godparents. You mean the world to me and have done SO much for me this year.

Dad-hug post-marathon

Gratitude

I’m grateful for the opportunities this blog and the health and fitness community have afforded me. I wouldn’t have met @amerbob for some of the most fun runs I’ve done this year, I wouldn’t have gone to the Run MummyRun social and made new friends there, I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to write for The Protein Works or go to the Write This Run conference and I wouldn’t have been able to write blogs or articles for other sites either.

@amerbob, Anna and me - who knew marathon running could be so fun

I’m grateful for the life change in February that meant I threw myself into my training as a coping mechanism. Silver linings…

I’m grateful for my health, especially now I’m not 100%, and for the fact I managed to get through the year injury-free.

Achievements

This year I’ve taken part in 21 races: 2 marathons, 3 half marathons, 7 x 10k’s, 2 x 5ks, 3 triathlons, an open water swim and 5 others that don’t fall into a category. I’ve gotten through 2 pairs of trainers, logged 634 running miles on the Garmin, swum 10,200 meters and cycled around 143 miles. I’ve set 8 new PBs in the process. I also had my first microadventure, started my Advanced Diploma in Personal Training and became a qualified Gym Instructor.

Plans

I have lots of exciting plans for next year. I aim to be a qualified Personal Trainer by the end of June and will hopefully finish the entire qualification by the end of the year. I would love to start working as a PT and to continue writing for and working with the brands I’ve connected with this year. My studies are going to take quite a bit of time so I won’t be racing as much but I do want to work on my speed and hope to set new PBs of sub-25 for 5k, sub 55 for 10k and sub 2 hour half marathon. I am registered for the following races already:

10 miles Carnival Du Nice

Dorney Lake 10k

Surrey Half Marathon

Electric Run

Bacchus Half Marathon

And I intend to do my first ultra and/or 24 hour event (as part of a team). I’m considering these other events:

Glow in the Park

Royal Berkshire 10k

Samaritans 10k

Equinox24

Gatliff 50k

It would be great to know if you’re taking part in any of them too. Perhaps we can say hi to each other. I’d love to hear about your plans for next year and how you feel about 2013. Did you have goals? Did you meet them? Did you surprise yourself? Feel free to write a few words or pop a link to your blog post in the comments below.

In any case, I hope this point in the year finds you happy and healthy and that 2014 is full of adventures for you.

My Race Wishlist

I've taken part in a LOT of races this year, more than I've ever run in a 12 month period before. What's more only a fraction of those were races I'd done before. I love the atmosphere of races (and the bling) and use them as an excuse to try different things, see different places and as motivation for continuing to maintain my fitness. I don't often use them as arenas to break PBs. Usually to complete in a "reasonable" time is good enough for me.

While it's tempting to keep entering the same races to try and improve my times over the same course I figure that's what parkrun is for and I'm also afraid races I really enjoyed wouldn't live up to expectations on a second try (which is why I won't be running Bournemouth Marathon again). There are masses of fantastic races out there to be run and if I keep doing the same ones I won't get to try them, especially as I've promised my mum I'll only do eight events next year.

I've already got three races in the diary for 2014 which only leaves me five to play with! If I had the time, money and ability to do as many races as I wanted next year this would be my list. As it stands I'm going to have to try to whittle this down A LOT. Let's start with the scary stuff... mum, you might not want to read any further.

The Ultras
Gatliff marathon just your bog-standard 50k ultra (ha!)
Toad Ultra I really fancy a multi-day event sometime and Susie sold this one well.
Oner (I'm hopeless at navigating though so maybe not)

The Foreign Ones
Chicago marathon to run with one of my best friends
Reykjavik half marathon I've been sold on this by Laura

The Halves
Race Your Pace Half at Dorney Lake
Lydd Half down in Kent, my home county
Eden Project Half because I love Cornwall and the Eden Project
Richmond Half because... I can't remember actually... I'm sure I heard good things

The Small/Local Ones
Shinfield 10k
Marlow 5
Wargrave 10k
Samaritans 10k - literally a mile down the road from my house. Been meaning to do it for about 3 years.
Royal Berkshire 10k - a new race i got an email about earlier in the year

The "Fun" Ones
Glow in the Park - oh come on! Glowsticks! And the National Trust! That's two of my favourite things!
The Tough 5/10/15 - I fancy challenging myself with some hills
Moon Walk - the fundraising aspect puts me off this one unfortunately
Kilomathon - there used to be a London version of this so I'm hoping they'll bring it back
Hellrunner - I'm not sure why... I have generally sworn off these types of events

Quite a list huh? I've just realised there aren't any marathons in there. I guess none have really taken my fancy this time around, although if I had to put one in it would be the Vegas Rock 'n' Roll marathon. I'd also have to include Brighton so that I can run with Alex, even though the course doesn't especially appeal, and I'd definitely tackle the Paris marathon if I won a place in the Women's Running 26.2 project. You see how they start piling up? There's even more that I'd like to do in my lifetime (MdS for instance) and that's without considering triathlons or duathons (Blenheim and London Duathlon if you're wondering).

What's on your race wishlist next year? Or do you avoid them like the plague?

Kaizen

I recently came across the word "kaizen". Kaizen is Japanese for "improvement", or "change for the better" and refers specifically to philosophy or practices that focus upon continuous improvement. It's predominately used in manufacturing, engineering, and business management but is also starting to be used to refer to improvement of the self. It's this latter use that I'm really interested in. When I heard the word explained in this way it was as if my world suddenly sharpened in focus. I realised that this was how I was trying to live my life, with a philosophy of continuous improvement and changes for the better. 

I've barely stopped studying since I started school aged 4. After six years at Uni I devoured all the learning opportunities I was offered at work, I took on an OU short course, then a Diploma. I took another short course and have started on my Personal Trainer Advanced Diploma. I'm always seeking another opportunity to learn. Kaizen.

I often despair at the amount of "stuff" I own and try and clear it out because that would be a change for the better. I try to buy less and make the most of what I already have. Kaizen.

I have an allotment and grow some of my own food. I try and cook from scratch as often as I can and try new recipes because these are "things that are good". But I get angry with myself when the weeds take over on my plot and I can't find a free evening to invite a friend for dinner. I start to feel as though eating from the freezer is a cop out (it's really not).

I enter races partly to have fun, but also for the challenge. I get upset with myself if I don't think I did as well as I could have done. I get frustrated when I don't see my times dropping or when I can't find time to put in the work to gain those improvements. I give myself more reasons to challenge myself (for charity, for health). Kaizen.

When I look at everything I try to take on in the name of improvement I see it's not really improving me at all. It's setting myself up for a fall which gives rise this odd mental glitch of thinking I need to do even more to be better. I give myself so many goals that I cannot possibly meet them. Everything I'm taking on in the name of kaizen is actually having the opposite effect. So perhaps it's about time I stopped trying to do everything to perfection and just focus on one thing at a time. 

I will stop entering so many races; just a couple where I can really test my progress against other goals. I will stop comparing my green-fingered efforts to those of the retired gentlemen whose plots border mine. I will complete my current course to the best of my abilities because it's a step towards true self improvement and I will focus any training I do on getting faster over the 10k distance in the next 6-8 months because that is something I've wanted to do for a long time. But most importantly I will start cultivating a positive mental attitude, one of contentment with what I have achieved and what I am capable of. Now that really would be kaizen.

Strength Challenges

Recently I was encouraged to take part in three challenges which work towards improving strength. Strength training is something that is often overlooked by runners yet an area that is pretty important if you want to improve and reduce the chances of getting injured.

The three challenges I took part in were 100 Push Ups, 30 Day Squat Challenge and the 30 Day Crunch Challenge.The beauty of these challenges are that they only take a few minutes out of the day a few times a week, you can do them whilst watching TV, you can adjust them to suit you ability level (by picking the most appropriate banding for the press ups or adding weights to squats and crunches) and you really do see progress.

I joined a group on Facebook, in which we logged our progress and successes, to give myself some accountability. It's also been a great way of getting a bit of a boost when I've felt like giving up, particularly with the press ups. I've I've finished the squat and crunch challenges but I'm still finishing off the press ups challenge which is 6 weeks rather than 30 days. I've definitely found this the hardest and although I'm wondering if I'll actually manage the full 100 press ups by the end of week 6 I know I'll be able to do significantly more than when I started and that in itself is a real achievement.

The developers of the 100 Push Ups program also offer 200 Sit Ups, 200 Squats and 150 Dips with a 25 Pull Ups program coming soon. All of these last 6 weeks and are based on completing a number of sets three times a week.

Have you ever tried one of these challenges? How did you get on? Would you consider adding one (or more) of these to your schedule?