What a day…..

I think I’ve done quite a lot in the last year -I’ll give a full run down tomorrow. But in a nutshell, despite everything that’s come my way I’ve still made it to the end of the year smiling and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed everything I’ve done. I never thought at the beginning of 2012 that by the end of the year I would be cycling daily – the Olympics has a lot to answer for. But then again I didn’t expect to be dancing on the playground trying to break a world record (Olympics again) or Running ridiculous amounts of laps of the school field (sport relief) and then there was the cricket,Jack’s rugby (Yorkshire Champion again)  oh and a little race in the Olympic Stadium – what a day. So you can have my full review tomorrow.

In the meantime I hope I haven’t bored you all too much and that you have enjoyed some of my ramblings and rants – have a great new year see you in 2013.

What a year

Here come’s 2013

Bring it on

So a three part blog(sort of) today as our late return last night didn’t give me much of a chance to tell you about our amazing day. Yesterday saw my Mum, Jack and I finally make it into the Olympic Park. I say finally but for Jack and I it’s our second visit – see link below. I’m happy to say that despite my worries back in March the Olympic Park well and truly exceeded all of my expectations.

http://jacksmumontherun.wordpress.com/2012/04/03/one-moment-in-time-tissues-required/

One thing both of my visits to the Olympic Park had in common was the weather – it was freezing. Hence a very hasty visit to Primarni to buy some skinny jeans and a long sleeve top – well, a girl can never have too many skinny jeans! The shopping centre itself is amazing – newly built especially for the Olympics – all four floors of it. I don’t think my mum could believe what she was seeing.

Anyway after a bite to eat it was time to enter the Olympic Park, finally we were in and part of the Paralympics. The thing that gets you before anything else is the buzz about the place. The smiling faces (even in the cold and rain) the diverse range of people and cultures and due to it being the Paralympics the unbelievable range of  wheelchairs, false limbs etc being carried around by the soon to perform athletes and coaches. When I was young ( I know it’s a long time ago now!) my grandad had a false leg. The leg weighed more than he did and he rarely wore it as it made what was left of his leg sore. The leg spent more time behind the sofa than in actual use. So to see athletes with prosthetic limbs, carrying their sport limbs around kind of shows how far things have come – I wonder what my Grandad would have thought about blades!

The first venue  you come to when entering the park is the aquatics centre, now this has been the cause of much hilarity in the Earnshaw household as Jack thought  aquatic meant full of various fish (think sea world!) not aquatic as in swimming – bless him. So people probably thought we were stark raving mad as we stood there laughing hysterically as we explained to my mum what Jack had said. Next to the Aquatics Centre was the water polo…, er what do you call it pool, arena, place… not sure. Anyway after that it was the Olympic Stadium (did I mention I’ve run in there!) time for the now traditional pose – the Mobot, and a cheeky Usain as well – I think my mum got a bit confused with the second one – more Nazi Salute than Bolt – Oh well.

We spent the next couple of hours taking everything in, there is so much to see. Not just stadiums and arenas but gardens and art and…..the list goes on and on. My favourite place, apart from the gardens was the Velodrome – it’s huge and so, well mind blowing really. Cycling was also the first thing we watched albeit on the live screen. But you would have thought we were in the Velodrome, what with all the flag waving, cheering and the singing of the National Anthem. Yes we watched Team GB’s first gold of the Games – magic. The swimming was magic too – how can someone with no arms not only swim but win a gold – these paralympians are something else and it’s not disabled!! 

I could go on and on about all we saw and did but I don’t want to bore you.  I think you get the point that it was awesome, amazing and so on but more than anything in some ways it was pretty humbling to be there seeing the results of months and years of hard work and training. Even more humbling when you see some of the health issues and obstacles some of these athletes have to overcome and deal with day in day out.

Hopefully parts of the Olympic park will be there for years to come and will eventually be used by the generation it was meant to inspire – it will be a bloody shame if it’s not.

Tired when I woke this morning, just a bit. Asda Big Shop wasn’t really what I wanted to do but needs must, especially as today is officially the last day of the school holidays – where did the six weeks go!! It was a big ‘Asda Big Shop’ as well took me nearly all day to put it away – honest – well in between trying to watch the Paralympics on Channel 4. Trying being the operative word. What with the never-ending adverts and the relentless chatter in the studio there doesn’t seem to be much actual sport on!

In the end I gave up and went for a sneaky 8 mile run, I was pleased to up my mileage (at last) but not happy with my pace – I ran my first mile in just over 8 minutes and then died. I can’t blame my amazing ‘Nike+ Sports Watch’ – (it never works) because I’ve finally sussed it . If you don’t pause it when you have to wait to cross a road or get attacked by a killer dog(more on that in the next paragraph) then the mileage is accurate – means that it shows you’ve run slower than you actually have but you can’t have everything – well unless you’ve got a Garmin!!

So to the ‘Killer Dog’ , my worst nightmare. Bloody thing tried to trip me up and wouldn’t let go of my shoe lace I had a right job getting it off……Alright, alright it was a puppy – a Jack Russell. But it wasn’t giving up my lace  without a fight – bless it. Not a bad run really 8.3 miles in 1:19:50 – the fight to get my fitness back is on!!!

Another great day out

On the bike tomorrow

Bring it on

Now the time has come to sit back and watch all that’s going on. Trouble is once I sit and start watching I don’t move – it is so addictive and not just because team GB are competing – you name it – we’ve watched it!!  I’ve got to say it’s nice to see the GB medals rolling in now – if only to stop the press whining. Honestly, personal achievements just aren’t enough for the newspapers – the swim of their life only means something if it comes with a medal attached – it’s really starting to naff me off but that’s British Press for you – always on a downer.

The London Olympics is hoping to inspire a generation – judging by the amounts of people suddenly out cycling and running it is certainly inspiring some people. It’s definitely inspired Jack – his sudden interest in Beach Volleyball is amazing – can’t think why, thank god we don’t live near a beach!

Still despite watching the rowing,canoeing,cycling,double trap shooting (!),gymnastics, horse jumping type thing,judo,and the ever popular ‘show us your muff’ Beach Volleyball I have manged to paint the front wall, weed the patio (Jack’s question of the day – are these weeds that stuff you smoke!) clean the downstairs and most importantly – fit a run in – managed just over six miles today- wonder if I’ll be fit enough for the marathon – might be needed now Paula’s dropped out!

Still loving the Olympics 

loving having the running shoes back on too

Bring it on!

Total – 54 miles

Now this really feels like a taper! Barely felt like I ran at all, even though there was still a respectable 54 miles clocked, and my mind was definitely focused on next weekend…

The general rule with tapers is to reduce the volume but keep the intensity up, so I didn’t feel guilty in taking some of the weeks runs a bit quicker than normal. Monday and Tuesday were under 7m/m, but that pace really doesn’t feel that fast any more. It could the new “easy” pace.

Wednesday evening was spent at the track as per normal, but just a short session this time. 3 x 1600m in 5:47, 5:47 and 5:46 was the order of the day, and it just felt incredibly easy. This has to be a good indication of things to come this summer, can’t wait to let rip in some 10k and 5 mile races

Thursday and Friday I felt a bit leggy, so took it easy with some slower runs.

Saturday dawned with an itch to do something a bit faster, so though the schedule was for another general aerobic run I turned it into a short marathon pace session. All went well, and the pace felt “comfortable”. Another confidence booster.

And so to my last long run, if you can call 13 miles long. Continuing the trend for faster running, this was a progressive session starting at just over 7m/m and finishing just 10 seconds off race pace. Felt fine, and actually spent most of it chatting away to Matt, which shows how my aerobic fitness has improved over the last 4 months.

My next long run will be 26.2 miles, alongside 35,000 friends

Along with over 5,000 other runners I descended on the Olympic Park and Stadium for its first public event. The Stadium was fantastic, with music and dancers keeping everyone entertained until we made our way to the start line.

Half an hour later, Princess Beatrice (minus that infamous wedding hat!) got us underway. A flat, winding course took us past all the main Olympic venues and gave us a rare first-hand look at the sheer scale of the site.

Too much, too soon

Like most of my fellow runners, I went off a little too fast. But sense prevailed (for a change!) and I reined it back in and managed to stick at a more realistic 7-minute mile pace throughout – not bad considering the ‘man flu’. 

The highlight was running into the Stadium. Sprinting through a tunnel under the stands I entered the magnificent arena to 10,000 cheering spectators. A few waves and then a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to run on the same track that Usain Bolt and others will grace in a few months is something that I’ll long remember. The final 300 meters on the track flew by and before I knew it I was crossing the finish line in 35 minutes 46 seconds, putting me 634th out of 5,708 runners. (Actually, my GPS watch proved the distance was really 5.18 miles so I’m doubly chuffed with that time.)

One for the record books

The winner managed a ridiculously speedy 25 minutes 11 seconds, beating the official Olympic record by 0.2 of a second. Mind you, the last time a 5-mile race was actually held at the Olympics was in London in 1908. But it’s an impressive double; first to cross the 2012 finish line and another Olympic record for London – 104 years later!

So I’ll sign off from my brief but memorable 35 minutes of glory. Thanks to everyone for your support. I couldn’t have done it without you. And I’ll be back again this summer … as a spectator. But if any Olympic champions need a few tips on how to handle the course, I’m available!

We’re like that at IDBS, always passing on our knowledge for the greater good.

So in total contrast to yesterday,I didn’t run like a plodding hippo and tonights run was in the setting sunshine, granted there was a cold wind blowing but at least we was dry. Good old weathermen got it wrong again – no April showers to be seen. Bit of a relief to be honest as Jack had his mate Alfie round today and I was wondering how I was going to keep them entertained all day if we were stuck in. I haven’t known I’ve had them  to be honest- they’ve been playing out most of the day – looked like they were trying to kill one another to me but apparently I don’t understand wrestling!! Trying to watch them put a tent up in the wind was priceless- wish I’d have videoed it cos that had to be worth £250…………….

So with Jack entertained for most of the day I’ve had a little bit of me time and for once I didn’t waste it doing housework stuff. So I’ve been reading up on how to make the best of my camera – David Bailey better watch out, I’m going to be good!!! Even better I’ve finally sussed how to use Windows Movie Maker – with a little bit of help from my 11 year old – and I’ve now made a movie of my (and a few I nicked off the website) pictures from the Olympic Park Run. I just need to suss out how to put it on here now and you can all have a look!

6.2 miles in 58 minutes and 14 seconds

Another run tomorrow

Bring it on.

Total – 63 miles

Just a short update this week, not much to report as things begin to wind down for the taper. It was, however, a week of “lasts”, my last mid-week medium long run, hard interval session and (proper) long run.

As I had so many “lasts” I chose to run them all pretty quick, I wouldn’t get the chance again before the big day.

Tuesdays 14 miler was run at a steady sub-7 m/m pace, with the final couple of miles at 6.30 m/m, felt good and it was nice to be able to do such a long run after work entirely in the daylight.

The next day I had a 6 x 1200m session, carried over from last week. I think it’s fair to say this is quite a big session, so it was pleasing to get it done in good form. Took the 1200′s in 4:08, which is about 5:20 pace.

A few easy days followed, then it was time for my final long run on Sunday. The first 10 miles were taken at a nice easy pace around 7:20, with the final 7 miles progressively building up to marathon pace in the last 4. Nothing too hard, but nice to have a bit of a burn up at the end.

That’s it for this week. Next week is definitely it taper mode, and the week after that it’s race time.

Bring it on

Well I know I’m not. Theres the Lycra for a start, now I’m not talking a one piece suit, but running leggings are a must for me…to stop me from wobbling all over the gaff, then there’s the shirt…some times your lucky enough to wear your own, but more often than not its a mass produced ill fitting monstrosity that does nothing to flatter the larger lady and I alway wear a headband from swetty betty this is to keep my hair out of my face and sweat from my eyes (nice hey?)

The thing that always makes me cringe though are the faces I pull, half grimmice half smile…with my face all rosy red and not a sign of make up.

So thats why I always have this almighty sense of dread when I get the email saying the photos from the race I have just competed in are up. Most of the time you have to pay to have a download but sometimes they are free…but either way for me they are simply just evidence that I participated rather than something to show everyone.

But on this occasion I thought I’d upload this one…as I said in my earlier post theres not many people who can say they ran the 100 meter sprint and finished before Usain Bolt, 125 or so days faster in fact.

Anything nice about todays photo?

I think my shins/calfs look good….and my new trainers from Sweatshop are still looking fresh, I can see too that my shape is changing oh and if you look closely on my left hand you can see my beautiful engagment ring which is a new edition to my regular running kit.

Total – 80 miles

My last “big” week before officially entering my 3 week taper

The week saw glorious sunshine and unseasonable warm weather, the thermometer rising to 20 Celsius most days, a good week to have chosen to take off work!

There isn’t a great deal to say about the runs early in the week, I took it a bit easy as I had a slight back strain which I was being careful not to aggravate (have done this before and regretted it). Luckily it was feeling mostly better by Tuesday afternoon so took my 8 mile run steady at around 6:40 miling.

Wednesdays track session was actually swapped from next weeks schedule in order to keep fresh for a race on Saturday, so it was a relatively easy 5 x 600m, the same as last week. Took the efforts a bit slower than previously, as the back was still a tiny bit weak.

Thursday was a double, with a 4 mile recovery in the morning and 15 miles in the afternoon. The 15 miler was pretty awful, it was very hot and I felt horribly dehydrated in the second half. Things were back to normal on Friday, and I had another nice 8 mile general aerobic run.

National Lottery Olympic Park Run

Saturday was the highlight of the week as I had a place in this 5 mile race round the Olympic park (the clue is in the name). It was a ballot entry so there was a pretty random range of running abilities represented. The start was quite congested and I had to dodge slower runners for a good half a mile before it spread out a bit. From there I settled into a good rhythm and continued to pass plenty of people right the way to the finish (on the Olympic track!)

I was averaging around 5:20 to 5:22 for most of the way, so was slightly disappointed with the 27:56 finishing time as I think it should have been closer to 27:30. The general consensus online is that the course was a bit long but I’m not bothered, I know what I ran. And it’s still a PB. And I finished 14th

Last long run

Sunday was my final properly long run before the marathon, and it went well. The day dawned slightly chilly but bright and sunny, pretty ideal conditions. I had a 3 lap route planned, and was accompanied by Matt for the first two which helped pass the time well.

My legs were fresh despite yesterdays race. After a gentle start for 5 miles I increased the pace to a very comfortable 7:20 for the next 12 miles. After I said goodbye to Matt I picked the pace up for the final 5 miles to finish at 5 seconds faster than marathon pace.

A good way to say goodbye to long runs for a while, and a nice finish to the last non-taper week

So we’ve arrived safe and well and the hotels, erm…….. Well it’s OK, I just hope no tall people are coming to stay cos they won’t fit in the bathroom, never mind the bath. I’ve seen bigger bird baths. All adds to the fun of the weekend though.
Olympic Runner
Bring it On

Excitements kicking in now though. Giddy, giddy, giddy. Even a little 4 mile trot hasn’t calmed me down. Boy will I have the Friday Feeling tomorrow. Work you have been warned………………

4 miles done

rest till race day

Bring it On

So no aching calves or hamstring issues this morning and I managed to resist the urge for an early morning run. A nearly 3 mile walk to church and back (Easter Concert) in the sunshine also proved pain free – the pre race niggles are starting to go. I wish the nerves would. I think its just the fact that its such a big thing – running in the Olympic Stadium- and just to add to the excitement/nerves, today we found out that some of team GB will be lining the route in the stadium….GULP. A PB or a hug from your hero – which will I go for – assuming we’re allowed to touch them.

Tonights run was going to be my last before Saturday but as five of the six miles were niggle free I’m going to do an ‘ickle’ 4 mile run/walk just to be sure!

3 mile walk

6 mile run

rest day tommorow

Bring it on!

When I ran last Thursday and then Saturday I had extremely tight calves, I blamed it on my bike, so the bikes gone away till after the weekend. This morning I awoke with legs that felt like I’d run a marathon, shouldn’t have had Sunday as a rest day I told myself. So after work I decided to do a gentle jog telling myself all would be fine. Problem one, I’ve forgotten how to gentle jog when on my own. The calves felt fine – which is good so why Problem 2 – I’ve pulled my hamstring………….. No I haven’t, but my head thinks I have. Its a nightmare. A nightmare that happens every time the ‘race’ word is mentioned. Four more days of this to go yet , probably have shin splints and plantar fasciitis  before Saturday. Yet magically, when the gun goes on the startline, every ailment will disappear. Back to the figment of my imagination known as race day hypochondria. Can’t wait!!

3.2 miles in 27.24

Ailment free running tomorrow (please)

Bring it on

Next Saturday will be running and rugby in a different place. Yep next week, after months of waiting, the Olympic Park run will be finally here. So we will be spending the weekend in the capital and I can’t wait. An afternoon in the Olympic stadium followed by an evening at the Stoop watching Wakefield take on the London Broncos. To be honest I probably won’t be bothered about the rugby as I sit there with my Olympic Medal hanging round my neck but its a Saturday and they’re ‘R’ days in our house no matter where we are!!!

10 miles done

rest day tomorrow

Bring it on