Happy New (and muddy) Year!

After a fab Xmas and New Year celebrations, in which time training kind of fell by the wayside, and food and alcohol took over my life…I had a race to do - today!

It was another XC (my second ever) but this time it was for the Greater Manchester XC Championships and I’d been gently pushed into doing it by my coach as ‘practice’ for the Manchester League final in Feb.

*Also note that for the past week (and probably because I let myself relax over Xmas), I’ve been FULL of snot, and haven’t run for 4 whole days. That’s a lot for me, I was getting withdrawal symptoms ill have you know!!*

Its been another wet week (?!) so the course was full of puddles and as senior ladies run at 1:30pm after all the youths, the course is really churned up…mud pie!

I checked out the course map at the clubhouse and it was 2 ‘small ‘ laps and 2 ‘large’ laps (7, 800m total distance), but there was no profile of the course and on a map it looks pretty flat!!! BUT I had heard it was a hilly course…boy that was an understatement-MOUNTAINOUS!!!

Ok this make its not look to bad, but it really was hilly!!

I was pretty much caked in mud 30 seconds after the starting gun, 1^st 2 laps were nice a flat, but muddy all the same, so far so good, then the 3^rd lap diverted us down a massive hill and I realised that if we go down, we gotta get back up again! (see troubled look on my face in photo!!!)...

eeeeekkkk its a hill

Mind you going down was treacherous enough, dodging tree roots,  deep puddles, and the odd attempt at a path which when you don’t expect it, can be a disaster - good job I had my ankle taped. Then I saw it (actually it was the girls in front of me stopping to walk that made me realise there was the killer hill).

I managed to ‘run’ (loose term as my pace somewhat slowed!) up it the first time, but second lap I’ll admit I actually ran-walked, I thought I was going to die. The cheering supporters helped me along and I eventually saw the most welcome finish line, I don’t think I’ve ever been so pleased to see those 6 letters before!

Can’t wait to do this again…*sarcastic tone*!

Note the relief on my face FINISH!

Oh and the guys had to do FOUR lap…hahahahahahaha!!!!

Weeeeee another PB :)

Its was that time again to get up and out on a cold windy and wet December morning for the Stockport 10 mile race! I particularly enjoy this one as its run by my club and there are so many friendly faces all the way. At least the temperature had increased a little from the Baltic mid-week temperatures so the course had thawed out nicely. I was picked up by running buddy Jason, leaving my devoted supporter / husband Matt at home doing DIY (I insisted he didn’t need to come an stand freezing his arse off...as long as he got the living room sorted in prep for Xmas decs!!).

For the first year it was chip timed and we had names instead of numbers on our…well numbers! I was met by Tom my, coach (officially as of 2 weeks ago on ‘power of 10’) who decided to look after me and my bag and was very keen that I did a few warm up laps and made sure I was optimally prepared (I usually try and conserve ALL my energy for the race rather than joining in with the enthusiastic pre-race warm-up malarkey).

The course Map plus Stats

A nice edition was the Olympic Torch bearer who got the race started with a lap of the track (in all his fire-proof gear despite the torch not actually being lit!!!), he then proceeded to shoot out some kind of rocket which totally surpassed me but ended in a loud bang and that was us off!! 2 laps of the track then out into the park, then the heavens opened right on queue-oh well it’d keep me cool.

I wasn’t entirely sure what I was aiming for, initially just better than last year (73:44), then I thought maybe I can do sub-70 based on the half marathon at Tatton…so made sure my watch was telling me I was going at a sub 7mm pace as I knew I’d go above that at the up coming killer hills.

At 3 miles my colleague was standing with a supporters sign and a bag of jelly sweets, which I duly grabbed – thanks Ramon! By this time 2 ladies had overtaken me and I was sure there were at least another 3 ahead already but was sure I was in the top 10. Then the hills. Starting at 4 miles and pretty much continuing until 6.7, I always get to this point in the race and think WHY do I keep coming back for more! Then I remembered that little niggle in the back of my head ‘pbpbpbpbpbpbpb’…oh yeah, ok bite down and just ‘keep driving forward’ said a lady in her 50’s who flew past me!!!??? Eeeek…I wanna be you when I grow up!

Anyway this followed with a welcome bit of downhill until the last looong hill at 9 miles. Having not checked my watch (deliberately) for the last 30 minutes or so I took a peak…OMG I was gonna do sub 70...come on!!! So that finished it off, I pushed and pushed and overtook 3 ladies and 3 guys, entered the stadium to a screaming Tom telling me I was on for sub 67 and PEGGED it like I’ve never done before OUCH!

Check out those hills!

I missed sub 67, coming in at 67:07 but I ain’t gonna complain about that seeing as I was hoping to do around 70 ish, plus I was 5^th Lady, 1^st Ladies team and got a nice bunch of prizes…’you’ll do sub 1:28 on your next HM’ (Quote Tom McNally, Coach!), no pressure then!

XC...MUD GALORE!!

Wow, well that was an experience that I’d recommend to anyone regardless of whether they’re a runner or not - sooooo fun!!

It could have panned out  a complete disaster as Matt will agree, it was a rather mad dash and MAJOR panic at the start, the reason being – disorganization! We left the house in ‘plenty of time’ only to realize we needed cash AND petrol, so 12:30 ended up being 1pm by the time we got onto the motorway giving us an ETA of 1:22…the race was at 1:40 – eek plus I had no idea where in the 200 acre park I was meant to be, we arrived and eventually parked at 1:30 and I literally pegged it to try and find the Stockport Harriers ‘tent’ to pick up my number, BUT it was no-where to be seen, with 5 minutes to spare I’d practically given up and resided to being a spectator but luckily bumped into another Stockport Harrier who told me we had no tend and were gathered around a tree….of course, I should have known!?? 

Anyway, I grabbed my number, Matt managed to cobble together some safety pins, which I was still pinning onto me at the start line (its wonder i didn't stab myself!), managed to get my spikes on then before I knew it the gun went and I was off! Within the 1^st two steps I was CAKED in mud, it was like running through a bog and my ‘white’ spikes were an will never be any more :o(

But it was pretty awesome, like being a big kid again, once you’re that muddy you just don’t care and eventually it’s like the muddier the better, squelch squelch squelch!!!

It was an undulating course, 2 laps and only 6.2km in total so in theory a ‘walk in the park’ after last week, but really it was bloody hard work and I had no idea how I’d done, I managed to come 17^th out of 153 so not bad I reckon and was the 1^st Stockport Harrier lady managing to whip in front of a fellow Harrier in the last 20 meters…was a bit worried that was bad form but she seemed to be ok about it!

Unfortunately we never go a photo of how white they were before!!

So how about the Spikes? Well they’re great, you get so much grip especially on the uphill’s and no fear coming down, the usual worry of slipping on my arse was no more and I just went for it, one slight glitch was the fact that I turned my ankle AGAIN but managed to regain balance and I’m pretty much over it now :o)

Next one in 4 weeks and can’t wait to get the spikes on again.

VLM training...here goes nothing...

I've decided to run the VLM for a charity a little closer to home than usual.
To find out who and why I've attached the link to my Virgin Money giving page:

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/SamanthaJones13

Long story short though, I nearly lost my Auntie to a brain tumor earlier this year and since then she has been working closely with this charity who are doing a lot of great work and undoubtedly helped my auntie through her trauma. She is now thankfully well on the mend and will be cheering me on on the 21st April along with the rest of my family!...and anyone else who so wished to take a road trip to London town for that matter!

Below is the training schedule Tom has put together for me (mentioned in last post), as you can see its pretty intense...i particularly like the green bits of it ;o)

And today I have my 1st EVER XC race. Now I believe this is a completely different kettle of fish, for starters footwear, I always though 'spikes' were for track running, apparently not. I spent a traumatic 2 HOURS in sweatshop last week trying to choose some XC spikes only to come away with Inov8 trail running shoes as the nice lady advised it wouldn't be a good idea to use spikes if I've never used them before-FAIL! I now know that her plot was actually to make me spend £90 as opposed to £20-nice sales techniques!!! Ok so I'm sure she wasn't that snide but back at the track following this traumatic experience I was told I NEED spikes and that it will come completely naturally to me, after all I've gotta start somewhere, so back to the shops I plodded and purchased a bargain pair for £17.50 plus some 12mm spikes.....Ill let you know how I get on!!!


P.S. get sponsoring me to VLM :o)

Tatton Half...NAILED!!!

So it had been been about 18 months since my last half marathon, and just 2 weeks after my ankle injury 'blip' a good friend Michelle challenged me to one - in fairness she's been bullied into it by some colleagues so was roping me in for moral support!

After my Sale Sizzlers episode I re-commenced my training despite still having a fat foot, then at the start of October the confirmation of VLM came through the post...Eeeeeeeek!
So i pulled in the help of one of the club trainers Tom who was more than willing to put a training schedule together for me with the aim of completing  VLM in 3:20....lets see shall we, I guess only time will tell! It involves running 6 days a week (!?) and ditching squash :( I'm not sure its completely realistic or that my body will cope but i will certainly give it a go - after all its worked so far...

Coming to the end...

Soooo back to last sunday, it was a glorious day, the sun was shining but there was definite chill in the air (as Matt and Harry with confirm - the dedicated and loving supporters / photographers!!). After a 10 minute delay due to colossal loo queues (as per usual I went once, re-joined the queue and went again - pre race nerves) we were off and i was flying, although unintentionally as i started out with the aim of completing it in 1:35 meaning an average pace of 7:15 minute mile, but my 1st mile was over within 6:46-woops! But i felt good so tried to keep up a faster pace than originally intended. The support was great and as usual wearing my club vest really helped with en route support. I even had spectators shouting out what position i was and soon found out i was 10th lady - YAY!

Michelle and I...just checking our medals!!

I ploughed on through and finished up 9th lady, 2nd in my category and helped to with the first female team...£20 each, can't complain! My ave pace was 6:54 and i finished in 1:30:46...MORE than happy with that, as was Tom (who incidentally wants to be listed as my trainer of 'Power of 10'

Some handy work from Matt while we were slogging our gut out!!

http://www.cheshirehalfmarathon.co.uk/race_results_2012.php

On the mend...and running(ish) among Ex-Olympians...

Diane Modahl leading the pack at the start line..

After my last blog I had a bit of a rubbish day with a very hot ankle and more swelling for some bizarre reason considering i did bugger all the day before...I think it was probably warning me that if i even thought about attending the Harriers this evening i would regret it.  That on top of colleagues 'un-subtly' telling me i was an idiot for even considering running at this stage, I decided to swim instead.
Front crawl was painful-especially pointing my toes!!...goddammit just as I was feeling better aswell :( so i stuck with breaststroke...falling apart and miserable - not a happy Sam!
The following day, determined to try and maintain as much CV fitness as possible i booked onto a spinning class....i have never sweated so much in my whole entire life, pretty sure i lost half my body weight in sweat, but best of all NO PAIN :D I nearly did a 'Bridget Jones' getting off the bike though!
Rest day on wed (with the exception of cycling to and from my private clinic and getting utterly soaked-i had to treat my patients in bare foot as my shoes and socks were so wet they squelched as i walked and i'd have ended up with prune feet!!).
Soooooo then today came! I always intended to go along to the final Sizzlers 5K as friends were running it plus it was chance to meet some ex-Olympians....there was: Ron Hill (marathon), Diane Modahl (800m), Geoff Norman (marathon), Kevin McKay (1500m), Susan Crehan (10,000m) and few others but can't remember their names! One of them lead a group warm up-a little like Mr Motivator, slightly cring-worthy!

Medal for completing all 4 races-worth all the pain!!??

I decided to have my ankle strapped by the Physio who had a little tent set up during all the races, he was an ex-rugby physio/player and did a great job. I did a couple of warm-up laps, nice and slow and it felt so good that-YES i ran (please don't be mad everyone!!).
I didn't get a PB, in fact it was a PW (personal worse), well of this series, but i don't care, i still got quite respectable time of 20:14 so thats good enough for me! I even got a medal and a spot prize YAY!
Oh and Stockport Harrier won the prize for fastest female team :)

Agony....not running!!!!

After a very frustrating week of no running, my patience have exceeded me...far too much pent up energy and no-where to expel it. The routine of ice packs and elevation has become tired and boring. There's nothing more annoying that getting all settled with the leg up and ice in-situ, then remembering you've left that cup of tea in the kitchen - dammit better get back up again and walk like an idiot into the kitchen to retrieve it...and while I'm there I'll crack open some chocolate or pick and some sweets - Oh dear!

Soooooo after to asking an experienced runner and MSK Physio at work to assess my ankle this week,  I've decided 'to hell' with what I SHOULD be doing and WOULD be advising my patients, I'm gonna go for a run. Said Physio told me if it was him he'd already be running (he ran on a broken leg 3 days after it was diagnosed!!!). I've been cycling to work all week and its been fine, its stiff 1st thing in the morning but that soon eases, I'm no longer on painkillers and thats good enough for me!

So friday afternoon I went for a little 'try - run'-literally just round the block, no more than 1K in total. Ok I'm not gonna lie it wasn't perfect and I wasn't flying (partly due to the OD on snacks this week through boredom as much as anything else) but it got better with time and it didn't give way which is always a good sign! Now I'm not gonna get ahead of myself, I'm under strict instructions from the hubby not to 'overdo' it, so we decided to go for a bike ride instead on saturday for fun and fitness....we got lost following a friends instructions, it didn't help that the phone we were using with said instructions (nigelswheels.blogspot.com) ran out of data usage half way round - we ended up in the centre of Manchester which was fine, but the 3-4 hr bike ride only ended up being 2! On our way back though we decided to take a detour through a park where we used to live and they had MONKEY BARS!!!! AWESOME :o)
So of course I had to have a go...I have better upper body strength than I thought and managed to monkey-walk / swing up and down 4 times before my arms gave out, maybe I'll turn to bar work for the next Olympics if running doesn't work out.....

Anyway today after 10 days of 'relative rest', no pain (unless I poke the injured area very hard!!) and much less swelling and bruising, I've decided, I'm going to the track tomorrow to test my ankle out proper. If it survives the session of 6 x 800m, I'm racing on thursday :D
Keep your fingers crossed!!!