Running scared?

It's been a very strange, tragic week in London, and in some of the major cities in England.

Although I've had a good week with my training, in what is my last week before my marathon taper, the London riots have been all anyone has talked about, and I honestly didn't know what I could post on here which didn't end up trivialising everything that has happened.

Luckily, no longer living in town but being perfectly safe out in leafy Essex, I wasn't directly affected by any of the violence but I have lived in London, still work here, and consider myself very connected with our capital and watching the reports on TV and following the twitter and facebook updates, was truly sickening.  Unlike those poor people who had to try and stay safe inside their houses while the pandemonium raged outside, hoping that it wouldn't be their house that was set alight, when I just couldn't bear the devastation anymore, I was able to turn off the TV and go for a run.  It made me realise just how lucky I am to have found running, and to be living under the circumstances where whenever I want, I can get away from everything, to retreat into the serenity and personal space I find when I go out training, and on this particular night, was even able to run past the farmers working late into the night harvesting the wheat - an idyllic country scene.  It was truly a world away from the urban disaster movie that was playing out just 30 miles down the road!

This blog is not the place for me to go into my ideas on what caused the riots, the problems we currently see in certain sections of our community, what should be done, or how the country, politicians and local leaders should move forward after this. I do believe we all owe a debt of thanks to the emergency services who worked to bring some sanity back to the streets, and to all of those in the community who have pulled together, clearing up the mess, and donating goods and money to help those families who have been left with nothing.  However, I'll finish my post by saying that the whole episode has been frightening and shocking; my heart goes out to all of those innocent people who were affected, injured, made homeless, and most horrifically, killed.  I only hope this isn't the start of things to come.

Can I be a Billericay Strider too?

Last Sunday, I went out for my first run with the local running club, the Billericay Striders.  I wanted to join them about this time last year, but after getting in touch with them, realised that my pace was so slow I would have been so far behind everyone else, I didn't think it was worth it.  However, I've now reached the point where I definitely want to be part of a real club, and start to run with other people (rather than just being a member of my online club (Purple Patch Runners) to get my England Athletics license) and now I think that I'm fit enough to manage it too.  The Striders let you go out with them for a few weeks to see how you like everyone, and feel about the club, before you pay your membership fee, and this was my first meeting with them.

The night before the run, I came so close to deciding not to go along - I'm always very nervous about meeting new people and find the whole process quite stressful.  I really wasn't sure, but after reaching out on Twitter about my nerves, I was convinced to go along, and I came to the conclusion that if there was one group of people I should be able to get along with, it's runners!

I'm really glad I did go. Although it was nerve-racking, and I didn't feel entirely comfortable, everyone was lovely and very welcoming, and it was really nice to feel part of a group.  It's the first time I have ever run with other people, except in a race, and it was such a world away from my runs on my own: they made me keep going rather than keep stopping every time I felt like it, which is so much better for my training.  I had run 16 miles the previous day, and really felt it in my legs so found the 7 miles we ran pretty hard going, and was definitely at the very back of the group, but I don't think it really mattered and was never on my own.

Second only to a race, it just seemed the nicest thing to do on a Sunday morning and I'm definitely going to go back this week. 

How did you celebrate your 30th birthday? I ran 50 miles...

As a direct result, I think, of the confidence that I got from my Dartford Half Marathon, I have been thinking a lot about the direction my running is taking, and what I want to achieve next.  This week, I have done two things which have set me on a new course....

* I have contacted my local running club, the Billericay Striders, and am arranging to go out with them on one of their training runs this weekend.  I've never trained with anyone before, but think if I'd really going to get better, this is something I'm going have to do - I need to join a proper running club! You never know, I might really enjoy it, make new friends, get to know people in real life (rather than online) with whom I can share my running passion!

* More excitingly, I have signed up for my first Ultra event, of 50 miles, which is the equivalent of running from Oxford to London!  It will be my 30th birthday in July 2012, and to "celebrate" (although don't think that's really the right word!) I've decided that I want to run my 30th race...and I want to make it a significant one.  

I have, so far, run 15 races, so this gives me a fair bit of work to do over the next year to get to the number of completed races, but in addition to the races I have already signed up for, I have already started scheduling in the others, to leave me with the Ultra as my 30th race.

I'm going to be taking part in the 50 mile challenge, organised by Challenge Hub, and it's being held in Chislet, near Canterbury, so relatively close to where I live.  The event is 8 laps of a 6.55mile course, and although I'm not a huge fan of laps, I think this is a safer option for me as a first timer, as it means I can get help or drop out if I have to without it being a great logistical nightmare!  There is a cut-off limit of 15 hours, and as long as I make it to 50 miles by then, I will be happy - I'm not going to worry about the time, just completing it will be enough for my first Ultra.   

I do have a very long time to prepare...a whole year...but I have two marathons already booked for September 2011 and April 2012, and I don't want to use those those as training runs - I want to try and get a decent marathon time, so I will carry on training specifically for those, and then start following an ultra plan from April 2012.

I'm so motivated by this plan, and I know that this is something that I'm going to be able to do with the right training, and am also excited about the prospect of running so many shorter races between now and July too.

I feel I'm now becoming a slightly different type of runner...probably one of those that most people would consider to be crazy! ;)

My momentous Dartford half marathon

I've been very slack in writing up my Dartford race which was five days ago now, but the more I've been thinking about it, the more important it's felt to me, and the less sure I was about what to write.

The race itself was ok although nothing spectacular, and I probably wouldn't do it again to be honest.  My race review that I submitted on the Runner's World site is also at the bottom of this post, if you're interested - it's a hilly run, not the best organisation, with a mixture of pretty country lanes, running along a horrible main road on a narrow path, and finishing with a lap of an athletics track.

But, for me, it wasn't the route, or the lovely marshals, or even the time I ran in that was the most important thing about this race (my time incidentally was 02:00:15 - a PB and a fraction off my sub2hr target which I would have blasted if it hadn't been so hilly!).  The Dartford Half Marathon, for me, was a turning point I think in my running - it was the first time I feel I truly raced at an event.  I targeted other runners and overtook them from about the third mile all the way to the end, I ran as hard as I could despite the hills, and I ran pretty much the whole of the 13th mile at a bit of a sprint pace (for a plodder like me), completing it in under 8 minutes, desperate to beat the runners in front of me, especially the very slim and fit looking ones!  I felt so strong throughout the race, in my lungs and my legs - turning my training up a notch recently (4 days a week rather than 3 days) has made a big difference in my fitness, and I suppose losing a stone in the last 6 weeks must also have had something to do with it too.  I really did feel like a proper runner...and I love that feeling, it's what keeps me going!  I enjoyed it so much that the actually course itself was a bit secondary - it was the feeling of pushing myself that was so good - although the exhilaration of running fast downhill will always be the very best thing about running ;)

2011 race reviewed by: naominf Overall score 60% Would you do it again? Maybe Details: Scenery 60% PB potential 40% Atmosphere 60% Organisation 60% Value 60% Beginner-friendliness 60% In short: Decent, hilly race but needs work to make it great In full: There was much made about the fact that this race is in it's 35th year, so it surprised me a bit that it wasn't that slick an operation. From the big queue to drop off baggage because we had to wait for a label to be written for each person, to the unclear, poorly signposted winding route in the last mile, to running out of goody bags at the end of the race (and I finished in 2hrs so wasn't one of the last) - it just didn't seem as organised as I'd expect when everyone's had so much practise. However, the marshals were excellent, the water stops frequent (and even stocked with bananas), the locals were very supportive and the hills, although horrendous, were a positive challenge...and the medal was pretty good too! Generally the route was around pretty countryside, although I didn't particularly enjoy the narrow path along the main road. All in all, a good morning's work, but glad I didn't have to travel too far for it, as this wasn't the historic race I was expecting. Date of review: July 25, 2011

Are Friday nights for running?

After a busy day at work yesterday, I got home, had dinner and unfortunately had to spend a couple of hours cleaning and preparing for my family coming over to visit us today - could not get more dull on a Friday night but never mind...needed to be done. However, when I finally sat down on the sofa at about 10.15pm, I realised that I really still needed to run, to keep up with my schedule, and also because I have a half marathon on Sunday and wanted to get in a final training run before my race.  I had set my alarm early that morning to try and get out before work but typically I had turned my alarm off and gone back to sleep!!

So, it's Friday night at 10.20pm, I'm tired, it's raining, and I really fancy just sitting down and watching a bit of TV with Francis.  There have been quite a few similar times in the past, when I slept through my early run, but when it came to making up for it in the evening I just couldn't be bothered...but this time it was different.  I deliberated with myself for just a couple of minutes, before realising that my running really is much more important to me than watching a bit of TV...and it wouldn't be worth the feeling of guilt I'd have if I didn't go out...so within 10 minutes I was changed, ready, and on my way!

I was so pleased with myself for actually getting out, that I think it helped the run overall.  It felt like I got a good pace up (although didn't have my Garmin so not quite sure) and I ended up taking a different route to usual which always makes it more interesting, and my legs and my lungs felt strong.  It started absolutely tipping down with rain not too long into my run, but as I had a jacket and a baseball cap I didn't notice it too much despite getting soaked to the skin, and ended up doing 7 miles, when I'd only intended to do 6, so I must have been enjoying myself ;)

Going out late on a Friday night is kind of entertaining as you get to see all the drunk people coming out of the pubs and trying to get home. I passed a couple of people throwing up in hedges and groups of girls shrieking and staggering around in their mini-skirts.  What they must think of me, this mental runner dashing past them at that time of night, I'd rather not think about too much: when I used to be that person falling out of the pub I would probably have felt sorry for the runner; they weren't in the pub, they weren't having fun - I would have thought they were a bit pathetic.  Now I find myself thinking that of them.....