Ice Ice Baby

This week has been so relaxed and lovely, somehow without breaking my training regime. On Monday I took part in my first Body Tone class at the gym, which was, frankly, a bit of a let-down. The instructor was good, checking who was new, if there were any injuries and explaining what equipment we’d need. I set up a step with 3 risers, figuring that I wanted to make this hard for myself but was told I mustn’t use more than 1. As a result, despite throwing myself into the routines (mostly aerobic combinations) with 2kg hand weights, I hardly felt it in my legs, though I was told I should be. From this I conclude that either my legs are super strong or I must insist on using 2 risers if I do the class again. Which is unlikely.

On Tuesday I had a Spa day with my mum at Brooklands, which was just lovely. It’s a fairly small place by comparison to some I’ve been too, and all the better for it. I started off using their gym to do my intervals session before relaxing in the steam room and hot tub and having a facial and rather invigorating massage. On the way home I started to ache quite badly in my sides (it only eased on Thursday) and I can’t work out if it’s DOMS from the Body Tone class or bruising from the massage!

Wednesday saw me brave the icy paths for my tempo run around the park. Well, it was meant to be a tempo run but I had to take it quite slow in order to keep all bones intact, but I went out and covered the distance so I’m happy with that. It certainly eased my guilt over scoffing an amazing afternoon tea later that day.

I didn't really feel like venturing out for my second 1-2-1 session at the gym on Friday evening so I've rescheduled for Monday when I'm going to be there anyway. So I've only done one strength session this week but today I'm helping a friend move house so I'll be heaving boxes of books around for a large part of the day.

Yesterday morning I ran Iceman with Anita. I'll do a full race review later in the week but suffice to say  it was a lovely morning for a run, but the run itself was not lovely. It wasn't especially icy or muddy but the hills were brutal! So many hills. I'm really proud of Anita for completing her first ever 10 miler... such a trouper! I don’t seem to have any aches and pains apart from a twinge in my right ankle which is pretty good considering.

This week’s training: 22 miles and Body Tone

Look what arrived!

I was dealing with my mail whilst sitting on the sofa scoffing egg fried rice after my Iceman event yesterday (which I'll post about tomorrow) and I was thrilled to unwrap my running vest from the Scleroderma Society!

I'll post a photo of me wearing said vest when I get a chance.

Rock My Run

After today's run I feel compelled to write a short post to recommend a site called Rock My Run. I found this site during advent, thanks to a promotion run by PT Mollie where by you could claim two free credits which can be exchanged for music mixes.

You get a free credit every month and can buy additional ones. There's a good range of mixes from about 20 minutes to over two hours incorporating pop, house, dub step and rock (to name some). You can search by DJ, BPM, length and genre, and even filter out the ones with explicit lyrics. You can listen to the mixes before you download and see the full track listing.

One credit can get you a 45 minute mix so it's worth signing up even if you never buy any credits. I've downloaded Rock Da House and Closer To The Edge so far, both of which I love and work great when I'm on my longer, slower runs. I've recommended (and would still recommend) AudioFuel in the past, particularly for times when you want to pace yourself consistently, but these make a great addition to my running playlist too. Sometimes I want songs, sometimes I just want funky beats. Beats having to work out which tracks in my collection suit my pace when making up my own playlists!

You know sometimes when the perfect song comes on your iPod... that was Jessie J - Do It Like A Dude on the Closer To The Edge mix today. So awesome!

Of course you don't have to use them for running too. They'd be just as good in the gym or day to day. 

Gym, club and snow

Cor my left leg didn’t half ache after Sunday’s 12-miler! The bath I had to warm me up post-run worked a treat on my back but not the leg. I hope it’s not my new trainers that are to blame but if it is I can at least swap them. It’s not kept me from training though. And neither has the snow although my wet socks and trail shoes have given my a blister on my instep. 

On Monday I had my gym induction which was a cursory 15 minute talk through what my aims were and then a demo of the CV machines. It’s a well-stocked gym with plenty of CV machines and no one waiting for anything despite it being the busiest time, but I don’t find gyms the most inspiring of places. I managed to get a cancellation place in that evening’s Body Pump class which I used to do regularly in my late teens so it was fun to get back to it. The (fill-in) instructor was really good, asked if anyone was new and reminded us what weights to go for. I’ll be trying Body Tone same day next week. 

Also this week I got my “You’re In!” marathon magazine, forwarded from the charity. I got a little bit emotional reading it, thinking about how it will be me this year. I also got inspired by the film Fast Girls, which I rented through iTunes and watched while the OH was playing computer games in another room. Great little film. I’m thinking of building up a collection of inspiring films to watch before my events. Run, Fat Boy, Run would definitely be on there. What would other films would you suggest?

I went back to Running club on Wednesday for 6 miles and a marathon masterclass given by one of the members. He runs these most years and it was really useful to have my training plan reviewed by someone who has been there and done that. A few suggestions have been made which I'm going to incorporate, such as cutting out a little strength training in favour of more swimming, upping the miles a little later in my training, including a run during my Suffolk holiday and leaving more recovery time after the marathon.

After constant snowfall yesterday I was not exactly looking forward to my run today in 5in of snow but after procrastinating over 2 cups of tea I donned thermal tights, merino top, windproof jacket and trail shoes and headed out for what turned out to be a totally awesome run. The going was fairly easy where the snow was packed and everyone I encountered was in a good mood. I had new music to listen to and I felt strong. I decided to go for time on feet rather than distance and covered 10 miles in 1:50 and came back feeling really hardcore!

About to tackle a mile long hill

Hot chocolate by Hotel Chocolat as a recovery drink... oh yeah!

This week’s training: 22.5 miles plus Body Pump

Next week I’m looking forward to a couple of days off work, one for a spa day with my mum and another for a day in London with afternoon tea. All that relaxation will be undone by the Iceman event on Saturday 26^th… hills are not my friends so I’m pretty nervous about that.

Ousted the January Blues

I’m feeling much more positive this week. In fact I’d go so far as to say I was thoroughly excited and gleeful. I can confirm that I am now registered for Iceman and Eton Swim. The official line up of my quintet of challenges is now complete and looks like this:

March 3^rd – Paris Half Marathon

April 21^st – London Marathon

May 4^th – Tough Mudder

May 19^th – Triathlon

May 27^th – Eton Swim

Events that don’t fall into the official category but serve to encourage me through my training now consist of Iceman on January 26^th, Cranleigh 21 on March 24^th and Bolt Round the Holt (half marathon distance) on April 6^th.

Other things I’ve been getting excited about this week include booking a session kayaking on the Thames with a friend on February 16^th, joining the local gym and using some of my Christmas money to buy a new pair of trainers. The local gym had a pretty good deal on, and a membership level that I can cancel any time after the first three months which is perfect! I get five 1-2-1 sessions with a personal trainer, unlimited use of the pool, group classes, gym and sauna. Of course because it’s January I can’t get booked in to any classes but that will change and I can use the pool and gym. I have my induction on Monday and best of all is it’s only a mile and a half away so I can run or bike there as my warm up!

I got my new trainers on Thursday at Alton Sports in Farnham. We don’t have a Sweatshop very nearby and truth be told I’m losing faith in them anyway and Alton Sports are far more local, friendlier and equally if not more knowledgeable. I went wearing my current/old shoes, which I think the guy approved of. I was analysed on the tread mill (I used to over pronate, now not so much, and was told I was “unusual”. Seems to be a theme) and then fitted with four different pairs of shoes. I really loved these because of the colour but ended up with the ones in the photo instead because they were slightly better, technically. I try not to get too hung up on the colour of shoes because the fit and support are the main factors but I’m kinda glad they’re not pink. I can change them within 30 days if they don’t work for me, though so far they've been dead comfy, and I got 10% discount as a member of the local running club! My old shoes are now demoted to gym duty.

This week’s training looked like this: 22.5 miles and 2 x Tuff. That included a 5-miler on Saturday and a rather grey 12 mile run near where my parents live.

Next on the to do list is figuring out how I’m travelling to Paris and booking it. I’m favouring Eurostar and am hoping they have some sort of sale I can take advantage of. It’s looking at ~£90 return per person at present (the £59 offer they have at the moment doesn’t cover our travel dates). Does anyone have any suggestions for Paris travel? Any knowledge of deals or discounts I might be able to take advantage of?

Happy New Year but not Happy New Training

Happy New Year to one and all! I hope your Christmases were merry and bright and that New Year’s Day was as sunny for you as it was for me.

Somehow I managed to come through the festive period not feeling too stuffed although I have to confess to feeling a little sluggish. I managed to keep on top of my training plan over Christmas thanks to pre-planning less running and signing up to the Gut Buster run which I have reviewed here. Here’s what I’ve achieved in the last two weeks.

Week 4 (w/c 24^th December): 15.4 miles plus 1 x Tuff

Week 5: 17 miles plus 2 x Tuff

I don’t think I’d have gone out for a run at all on the 28^th December if it hadn’t been for my Aunt. I’d arrived home later than planned from Christmas visits so it was dark and cold (although dry) and I was feeling sluggish. I was due to do intervals and had a bit of a moan on twitter about it (@vikkiroberts if you’d care to follow). My Aunt gave me a virtual kick up the backside and reminded me that she was #VirtualTraining with me. It’s becoming a running joke that is helping to motivate me. Today's 11miler was pretty good. I found some new roads to run and stopped in a quiet pub for five minutes at mile 8 to have some water and a gel. The barmaid was rather worried about me, I guess I looked worse than I felt! I’m planning to go back to running with the Farnham Runners from this coming Wednesday as well as spending some of my Christmas money on a new pair of running trainers so maybe that will remedy the boredom I'm feeling on the majority of my runs. I’m enjoying the “Tuff” sessions as they don’t involve going outside.

My lovely friend Anita from work has now officially signed up to do Tough Mudder with me and also signed up for Iceman in a few weeks’ time which she’s persuading me to take part in. It fits with the training plan so I figure why not!

Finally in other news I’ve found out that the Great London Swim won’t be held until the end of August this year, indeed the earliest in the series isn’t until mid-July, which is a bit late for my plans. So instead I’m going to sign up for the Eton Swim which is on May 27^th. I’d kept my eyes on this one in case the GLS didn’t end up being when I’d hoped. It’s 1500m (just under the mile) and still in open water (Dorney Lake) so fits all the criteria. They also hold a 3km event but after much deliberation I think I’ll be sticking to the mile as planned. Quite frankly I don’t think I could swim 3km in the 1.5 hours they demand.

Does anyone have any tips on how to stay warm after long runs? Hot showers and multiple layer work but only slowly. I'm sure I shouldn't feel quite this cold afterwards!

Gut Buster 2012

My last achievement of 2012 was completing the 10 mile Gut Buster multi terrain event hosted by My Sporting Times. The event was held at Butlers Lands Farm in Mortimer, Berkshire, and in my opinion was brilliantly organised. It was only £20 to enter which I thought was excellent value for money.

The site was pretty easy to find with ample parking (although inventive at times) and I only worried that I might not be able to get the car out of the mud at the end but all was well. The number of entrants was relatively small (maybe around 400 total) but around 70 didn’t turn up on the day! There were quite a few loos but the queue was so long five minutes from start time that the organisers very kindly started letting some of the ladies use the toilets in the organisers building which was a huge relief. The proper coffee van on site (fully working espresso machine – thank you!) was a nice touch. The atmosphere was cheery and the briefing very jolly.

As well as the 10 mile there was also a 10k route, both of which started at 9am and followed the same route for about the first 4 miles. The distance markers for the 10 mile route were in miles and for the 10k route were in kms. The route split was really well marked and there were loads of marshals (all in excellent spirit and with a good sense of humour) and marker tape so I never suspected I was going the wrong way. Because I was towards the back there were plenty of points where I couldn’t see anyone behind or in front so this was a big plus. The course itself was mostly off-road, across fields and farmland with a ford at 1.5 miles (we were encouraged NOT to run through it) and only around 2.5 miles on roads. Undulating is probably the right word as I didn’t encounter more than one hill I felt compelled to walk but due to all the rain we’d had in the area the ground was especially wet and muddy and therefore so slippery in places that It didn’t feel safe to run, being at the back of the pack as I was. There were two water stations on each route and some very welcome mulled wine and mince pies at the finish (free to competitors). We didn’t get goody bags or t-shirts but did get a really great personalised medal. You could opt to have your time engraved for an additional charge but I decided only to have my name added (which was free).

I “ran” in 2:02, was 152^nd out of 164 who completed the 10 mile course, and 51^st lady. I wasn’t aiming for any particular time, and my training plan had this down as a slow run anyway so I was happy to finish. It gave me a real sense of satisfaction for the rest of the day, knowing I’d done something active over Christmas.

Entries for 2013 are already open so do sign up if this has whetted your appetite.