4 weeks to go - not quite there yet

It's been a so-so running week. Stepback week which is always a bit of a relief but somehow is also a very slow week, running-wise. None of last week's running speed I'm afraid. I only managed 10 out of the 12 I intended on Thursday, I made up the 2 I missed yesterday (nice and short run that was!). Plodded around to do 8 today. Next week is my last big week - I'm intending to my last 20 miler on Friday so we'll see if the juice returns to the box before then.

I seem really low on energy at the moment and I think it's due to the following:
- very very busy rest of life where I'm only hanging on by the skin of my teeth. Hard to keep that from encroaching on the running;
- not enough sleep - I'm going to bed too late;
- not enough focus on eating for running - again, I'm just eating here and there and I need to really fuel up.

The one thing about slow runs is that it gives you a chance to think (and then some) so I've figured the above out yesterday and today (all by myself, yes) and I'm doing something about it. Can't do too much about busy-ness but can continue to ruthlessly prioritise running for the next 4 weeks (that sounds SO hardcore no?). I can go to bed earlier. And I can eat better. Which I have, in fact, been doing since I realised this might be a factor.

I've also purchased my racing treads - drumroll! - no no excitement at all - same old Saucony Hurricanes I had before. I love them, they work, I'm not injured - 'nuff said. They're a bit cleaner than the old (new 4 months ago) pair and
there's a bit more bounce there as well - I don't suppose I really really needed new shoes yet but I've always had a new pair before the race (well worn-in but still new-ish) so I guess it's all part of the race juju. The chocolate sports gels work well - they're no more disgusting than regular chocolate which is great - I'm keeping them down and they help. So I'm almost there kit-wise.

Otherwise the weather is cooling down - after that horrendous early summer we've had an exceptionally dry September with an amazing Indian summer which has been good, if a bit warm, for running. However, nothing can change the fact the Northern hemisphere is tilting away from the sun so I thought I'd share with you what I look like on my 6am runs.. Now imagine being the only light in the darkness, running through the woods - yes I get completely freaked out! The light picks up the eyes of all sorts of little critters which then scuttle away - aaarggh. I yelp quite a lot when out running in the dark. Thank goodness my puppy comes out with me on my morning runs - he can protect me against all the woodland monsters..

So wish me luck and energy this week as I tackle my last big week's training before the marathon. I'm feeling kind of funny about it - like I haven't focused on it enough - but the last few weeks should deal with that. Keep running and keep letting me know how it's going. Oh - and I'm still getting WHIPPED by Charles on my Nike+ challenge..

Switcherooni and allsorts..

Woohoo! This Nike+ challenge that amazing Maddy has set up (while also searching for and finding a job and flying across the US for her first week of work- what are you eating woman? I need to get me some of that) is really igniting the competitor within me. About time you might say? For yes indeedy - we are now - tatada! - 5 weeks minus 1 day away from race day. And although I had been feeling rather blase about the whole thing - to me, Amsterdam is not as exciting as New York City and Chicago have been the past two years - I'm beginning to hot up for the race. And my Nike+ challengers are helping there - particularly crazy Charles who isn't even training for a marathon and is just kicking my heinie! He's just done 100 since the beginning of September! So I tell you - this gets me out the door and running my miles.

Running - oh yes. That's been going well at the moment though it's all a bit mixed up. I understand that generally one is advised not to switch one's schedule around too much - hard days should be followed by easy etc. - there is, basically, a reason a week is laid out as it is in a good schedule. However, my life is crazy at the moment. I'm driving 90 miles a day to drop off and pick up my children from school at different times, my husband has just left the country on a business trip and I'm also trying to revive my career. Oh and my wonderful weekend babysitter (my Sunday morning indulgence while my husband works Sunday mornings) has gone to university. These are all some of the reasons that I am cramming the runs in where I can. If I have 90 minutes free - I do the 8 or 9 miler. If my husband's home I get up at 6 to do 5. And I wedged in last week's 20 miler (of which more in a minute) on a Friday morning by promising my husband all sorts of printable and unprintable good stuff if he dropped the kids off and picked nr2 child up at lunchtime. So - things have not been where they should be but I have managed most runs.. The only run I skipped this past week, in fact, was an 8 miler. And what was my valid reason for this? A New Romantics party at which I got totally carried away dressing up and drank a tad too much wine, danced too vigorously and so I basically dragged myself through Sunday. This is Adam (Ant / husband) and I on Saturday night. Who'd a thunk I'd ever be putting nail polish on my husband? But there you go .. it's part of marriage's neverending mystique..

The 20 miler. Oh yes. Now here I did something else Uncle Hal would have slapped me for - I ran it at race pace which, I hope, will be 10 minute miles. I did this for one of my 20 milers last year and I felt it gave me such confidence during the race to know I could sustain this pace for a long time. So my friends, only weeks after rediscovering my mojo I ran this in 3:21! Yes! And that included a 1 minute walk break every 5 miles and a few pitstops along the way! So I am psyched. Saturday's 5 miler was a bit slower as a result - could this have been delayed onset muscle soreness? - but still. I feel quite happy. Stepback week this week and then next week is my last 20 miler before the taper! This has crept up on me a bit actually - I was expecting masses more 16 and 17 milers but there you go, it'll all be behind me, one way or the other, in 5 weeks.

Final thought before you can go back to your real lives - crosstraining? Not one of my stronger points. I've biked some, ellipticalled some etc. but to be honest - didn't do much really.. Anyway inspired by Terry and ShirleyPerly I thought I would join the Swimfit class at the gym I've just joined. HooHa my friends - new respect for all triathletes. I was terrible! I had NO stamina! I was gasping for breath and unlike running you can't just pant - you drown! I had forgotten this. I don't think I've ever done more than 25m of crawl and now I was doing 4 100m reps TO WARM UP? Anyway - I did it and survived most of it although I was firmly and securely the worst person in the group. And the group was a downer. Obviously all serious swimmers they either just ignored me (nice!) or said things like "you're not out of breath already are you?". "Well - yes I'm new to this" I would say but there was no welcome, sympathy or encouragement. It made me very determined to always be VERY welcoming, sympathetic and encouraging to newbies at running.. Will I go back? Yes - but after the marathon. My hip is hurting (no doubt from my lack of technique) and I don't want to run the risk of injuring myself now. But then I will go back. I'm not going to let this bug me. I managed to start running from scratch - below scratch - and I'll knock this swimming thing on the head as well...

So on I chug my friends - keep running, keep posting about it and keep remembering to enjoy it!

I am a turtle; or in praise of Susan

Am I a turtle? I referred to myself as such in my previous post and just had a comment from Susan who tells me I am far from a turtle. Now I could just say "aww, shucks" and leave it at that but she's right - it's relative. She's struggling with her speed at the moment - or rather with the fact that she would like and hoped to be faster - and looks at some of my runs and probably says "what's she complaining about?". And I understand that she thinks that - coming from her current point of view.

But the boot, or perhaps more aptly, the running shoe, is often on the other foot. It's a real toughie, this stuff. I run some of my long runs with a dear friend, Sally, from my running club. Sally is a newbie and has more than 10 years on me. When I met her earlier this year she had never run more than 6M so I convinced her to keep me company for a 10M run. She kept up - with ease. Since then she has gone from strength to strength. She has already run several sub-2hr halves and is now training for the Amsterdam marathon with me. The kicker is that she is training faster and harder than I am - she is keeping up with the Intermediate II program (despite a demanding and more than full-time job) where I've had to step back to Intermediate I. It wouldn't surprise me if she runs a sub 4hour marathon in Amsterdam, something I'm unlikely to ever be able to achieve. She may qualify for Boston - again, something that is beyond me, for a while at least. She is incredibly gracious and modest and is always crediting me for being her inspiration and support but let's face it - this gal outruns me with ease.

At times, particularly when I've struggled with lack of motivation, I have found this really hard to deal with. At other times other runners have made it clear that a "slow" runner like myself is not really a marathoner. I remember telling somebody about a 20M training run I ran last year and his response was "if you're running at that speed, why on earth do you bother?"..

Steve Runner dedicated a whole episode to a critic of slow marathoners and eloquently made the point that we are all marathoners, despite how long it takes us to get there. I have also heard elite athletes remark with wonder on the ability of mere mortals to just stay out there on our feet for SO long - and they weren't all being patronising. Susan struggled with a 17 miler yesterday. She did it in several phases and at every point felt like giving up. She was demoralised by her lack of speed and lack of mojo. But she did NOT give up. Where so many would have given up she carried on and made it.

I suppose the truth of the matter is that if you are going to be competitive about it, you have to accept that you will never be the fastest (unless you're Paula Radcliffe or Paul Tergat but I don't think they're reading this). I would consider myself competitive but I would also say that the main competition is within me. Every time I run - however slowly - I win the race against that part of me that would prefer to be welded to my sofa eating a fried potato product. Every time I race I win the race against that part of me that considers myself a quitter. And having gone through life NEVER being any good at any sports whatsover - and this is no false modesty - every single training run is a victory over that part of myself that believes I'm incapable. For those of us who are not elite runners, who fit it in around the rest of our lives and run despite the constraints that other obligations and our physiques may place on us, every run is a win. After all - you could be not running. And you are. So you are - in my definition - a winner, Susan.

45 miles - KACHING!

It's in the bag! The week following my mojo-meltdown was a triumphant return to running. I ran the 17 miler I gave up on the week before on Tuesday. I know, I know - you're not meant to make up missed runs but we are all a bit compulsive (aren't we? am I the only one?) and I needed to prove to myself I could do this. And I did it. I ran for a mile, walked for a minute and then finished the 17 miles with two uninterrupted 9 minute miles. Which was an enormous boost to my confidence. I then did 2 5 milers this week which both turned into tempo runs - I ran one in 47'23" (9'27" minute miles) and the other in 45'53" (9'09" minute miles). Now this is, again, not an example of targeted training - I didn't intend to run hard nor is my aimed for tempo for the marathon around 9 minute miles - I am aiming for 10 minute miles and am not being terribly successful at hitting that pace. But! (and you knew that but was coming didn't you) after the week I had had it was an enormous boost to my confidence to know I had that speed in me somewhere. And I appreciate my use of "speed" is relative but for a turtle like myself, that is "speed"!

Then yesterday I did 18 miles with my running pal. I can't say it was an amazing run - I did struggle at times and our speed was nothing to write home about - it took us 3'22" - but we made it and we got really caught up on our conversations. Always a good thing. And then to top it all off my friend had brought along 4 fresh rolls with ham and home-made chutney which we polished off sitting on a bench in a churchyard overlooking the field and an orchard. What an English scene!

I've got a stepback week this week but am fiddling about with it - my running pal wants to run the week after next's 20M this week so I'm going along with that - might as well knock the first one on the head - and I might do some longer tempo work this week if I can squeeze it in. I've got to go to London tomorrow with my son and then back again Wednesday morning and then Thursday they both start school! Yay! Although it will be a bit bittersweet - it's my son's first day - the holiday has been so long than I am more than ready for a bit of alone time..

So there we have it. I'm back in the saddle. I even managed to tick another thing off my to-do list - I rambled on in my hideous voice for Kevin, Chris and Nigel and made the contribution I have been promising. All done.

So keep it up and remember - if I can do this, anyone can!

OK - I found some mojo..

All runners should blog. Why? Because it helps. It helps when you are injured and you tell your friends and they come back and help you - not only by giving you tips and advice but by truly understanding why this injury in the middle of a training program is so upsetting to you. Right, Marathon Chris? And when you've lost your mojo - like I did - they come up trumps and bring you some. Thank you - all of you! As you can see from the shot below - and for the full ha-ha do refer to my latest post on What's a few miles among friends? - my mojo is halfway back again. So what happened? Well I listened to you all my friends. I have taken the following bits of advice to heart:
- from Adam Tinkoff on the ZenRunner - if your plan isn't working, change it. Running with my immensely capable friend Sally - who is just fundamentally and genetically faster than I will ever be - I think I have been constantly running beyond my comfort zone. When I trained for NYC 2 years ago I never trained at these speeds. And I never lost my mojo either. While it's good to push yourself, consistently going above what you're capable of is very dispiriting. Sally is more than happy to go at my pace (what a friend!) and I have decided to go down a step to Hal Higdon's Intermediate I.
- from ShirleyPerly - mix it up (one short run will become some horrible but distracting speedwork);
- also from Shirley-Perly - take walkbreaks in long runs. Now this is something she points out marathon runners frown upon and I agree - that I have frowned upon it. But maybe I needed to get to the point where my choice was "take walk breaks or don't run at all" to appreciate them. As Terry pointed out after my report on the dreadful nutty marathon that I ran without training - I walked then and the sky didn't fall on me.. This week I have not been able to get beyond 6 miles. This morning I set out for 8 and the circumstances were not perfect, I'd had some wine last night, not enough sleep and it was hot (for us thick-skinned northern europeans anyway) and I ran for a mile, walked for a minute. Well - what do you know? I not only ran 8 with an average pace of 10.11 minute miles - good, right? But I also sped through the last mile - it was my fastest at 8.21! Woot!
- a noble purpose - Susan - the wonderful inspirational and crazily early-rising wonderwoman from Arkansas reminded us all that there are people who face a bigger challenge than motivating themselves for a run. Humbling. Mixed in with lack of mojo, in my case certainly, is a degree of self-pity. When I see Elijah's courage I get a much-needed slap around the head. OK. My priorities are back where they should be.
- and last, but not least - I think we all need a powersong. Normally I listen to podcasts on my iPod and leave the music behind. But I downloaded Mika's Grace Kelly yesterday and that's what yanked me through my last mile - I was just laughing at this crazy nut singing his crazy nut song. Followed by Beyonce's audibly shaking her booty during Crazy in Love it's no wonder I pulled out that 8:21 mile - I was rockin'! And it wasn't even to Neil Diamond. I was not completely embarassing! Well - running on my own and singing and dancing while running might still have been quite embarassing it was just that nobody except the cows saw me. So that doesn't count.

So there we have it. I really hope that I am now back on track. I'll do 5 tomorrow, 9 on Monday and then do the 17 miler I missed on Tuesday. I will let you all know how I go. Thank you again for all the feedback and support. I would not be where I am tonight without you. Crazy but true. Thank you!

Where I run

Inspired by Susan I decided to take my new camera out with me today to show you where I run. I run on our farm, on tracks and a bit of road which is the drive up to our house. It's all on our land, so I'm usually the only one out there. As you can see, however, I'm not really alone though - the cows and my dog Frankie keep me company..













And then the final shot - me, the girls, and Frankie the indefatigable dog!

She is but something's missing..

Blogging silence for nearly 3 weeks - why? Well... mainly because I've been overloading myself with arrangements. One of the most common tricks in my books is to say yes to too much and to make too many (complicated) arrangements. Travelling to Holland with 2 kids just after coming back from Western Canada (long before anyone's jetlag had worn off) to visit my parents who had just come back from 3 weeks in Mongolia (!) was hard work from time to time. While it was lovely to spend time with them and to spend time in beautiful Oosterbeek, the kids were fairly full-on and demanding and my poor father was ill with pneumonia. I felt quite guilty asking them to mind the kids while I got my runs (though they did it happily) but felt very much that, apart from that, I needed to take charge and plan and manage. Tiring for all. I was quite worn out. When I came home I had to deal with unpacking from both trips and then getting ready to leave the kids with a sitter while Adam and I went off to Oxfordshire to celebrate my mother-in-law's 70th (that's her with my 2 sisters-in-law and myself at left) at a wonderful and very luxurious hotel and I then went to London to see my friend Dawn and came back for a business meeting in Lincoln. Haaaaarrrrggghhh!!!! Complicated plans and travel arrangements - I should know that when it all gets too complicated to think about, it IS too complicated. Anyway, good times were had and now we're slowly heading back to normality - school begins 2 weeks from today.

Running. Ah yes. We were going to get to that weren't we? Well.... It went very well in Holland. Since I came back, the results have been mixed. I got my long run (only 12M) last week which was fine. But with all the to-ing and fro-ing I have missed a few of my midweek runs. I've been reading other people's blogs and it seems many (Maddy and Melissa, for two) have been trying to work their ways out of some slumps (Susan, you don't count because you were ill and you HAVE to take time off then. Boss's orders..). It seems that somewhere in the middle of all the training life sometimes steps in and says, either through other commitments or through your body just being exhausted, that you can't always prioritise your running. So where am I now? Struggling to be honest. Not struggling to run - I'm finding it easy and fine to go out and run 5 or 6 miles. But I'm going nowhere fast - averaging over 10 minute miles in all my runs, 11 minute miles in my long runs. I'm beginning to wish I'd picked a program with some speedwork in it. And I am finding it hard to motivate myself for 18 and 20 milers. I went out for a possible 17 today and left it at 6. Hrmmm. Not good. What now? Well, running along today and listening to the always inspirational Zenrunner I tried to line up my options. As I see it, I have 3 (but do tell me if you think differently):
- I just grit my teeth and get on with my current schedule.
- I jump down to an easier program. Maybe it will be easier to motivate myself if I run slightly shorter distances. I might find myself less exhausted and possibly, a bit faster as well. I'm currently doing Hal Higdon Intermediate II, I could easily go down to Intermediate I.
- I don't do the marathon. While this is a tempting solution I'm loathe to do it. I'm running with my friend Sally, and it's her first. She would not have done one, and certainly not this one, without me. I think I owe it to her.

So that's where I am. All is well actually - after a few weeks of erratic and not necessarily healthy eating and drinking I'm back on Dr. Monte's track and I'm feeling fine and beginning to feel better rested. I am enjoying running, but seem to have just misplaced my marathon mojo.
If I'm brutally honest, what I would like to do right now is just run 5 milers 4 or 5 times a week and then run a 10 miler on the weekend and just stick to that for a while. But .. it's only about 8 weeks to the marathon, I've (sort of) come this far and I truly am not fussed about my time at this stage so perhaps I should just get on with it. What do you think?

This has been a shockingly long time in coming hasn't it? It's fairly incredible but I have actually managed to break my umbilical attachment to my laptop - mostly - for a month. To some extent by necessity - I could rarely get onto a free network - and to some extent by choice - by the end of last month I was feeling swamped by everything on my plate and being online a lot was not helping..

So - I am back from my holiday and back into the swing of things. Quick lists of noteworthy things that happened in the past 4 weeks:
- had a GRRRREEAAAT holiday. We exchanged homes with a family from Vancouver, Canada and it worked out brilliantly. Better for us than for them - in fairness - as it never stopped raining in England - but still the concept is fantastic. We didn't have to pay for accommodation or car rental and so managed to have an amazing holiday and spend our money on the fun stuff. Vancouver is wonderful. I have always loved it there but I really spent the first week of our trip out there running round the neighbourhood at night desperate to just buy one, any of the houses I ran past. But my husband is a farmer and that is just not the kind of business you pick up and take with you and my kids are also so settled and happy in England - I came to realise after an initial infatuation that life, at least for the moment, is better in Lincolnshire. Having said that we all had a great time sightseeing, going to the beach and just hanging out. We even made a road trip to Victoria, Port Townsend and Seattle, where we hooked up with some old friends - it was a wonderful experience and so far away from all our daily domestic obligations and niggles. Very necessary for all.
- unfortunately, upon my return I was faced with an example of the kind of overambitious planning only I am capable of - I had booked for the children and I to go to Holland to visit my parents on a 7am flight last Thursday (we came back from Vancouver on Saturday). We made it, and have done it but are all a tad exhausted given that we hadn’t really dealt with the time change with Vancouver – 8 hours – before having to get up at 4:30 am and travel to Holland. But anyway – we’re here now and it’s lovely even if there’s probably things I should be attending to at home..
- running. My running. Well.. before I left I had definitely lost a bit of my mojo. My 14 mile run on the last Sunday before our trip was a struggle and quite unenjoyable, apart from the natter with my running buddy. Thankfully, I had started my running program 2 weeks early so this let me spread one week’s training over my 3 week holiday which was a wonderful break. I just went running when I felt like it and loved it for the sake of it. I had forgotten my footpod so I never saw how far I ran or how fast and I loved the freedom from a schedule or a given pace. Running in Vancouver was as wonderful as I had hoped – we were minutes from Pacific Spirit Park and I just loved running under the trees, snacking on huckleberries and stopping off for a delicious latte on the way home. Urban life is very attractive when you live as remotely as I do!

So – here I am – back on track and schedule in Holland. It was hard running at home in England last week because I was still so tired from the flight but I managed the week’s short runs and had to cram all the long runs in once I got here. So I ran 8 on Friday, 8 on Saturday and 16 yesterday. And – my friends – I have my mojo back! I’m not going to set any records and I stopped a few times but I managed the 16 miler in an average 11:20 pace and really enjoyed it. I’m also enjoying my new gadget, an iPod nano with a Nike+ gizmo. I was desperate to challenge Maddy and Robert Nelson last week but it took me a few days to get it calibrated and working properly. However, I'm ready now so about to extend an invitation!

So on I go. A fairly hefty week of running ahead I think but very enjoyable. My parents live in a stunning part of Holland with lots of woods and hills and miles of trails throughout. I'm going to try and take some photos this week.

So - till further notice - keep running and keep enjoying it!

me and the elements

For all my running faults - and I have many - I consider my imperviousness to the elements one of my strengths. I'll run in rain and sleet and snow and midday heat - not necessarily without complaint, but I will. But this week has just been too much. Although our terrorism news has probably (rightly) taken precedence in the international news, our weather has been unbelievable. In particular in the midlands, where I live - the rain has been of biblical proportions.
We've had regular days where a month's rainfall fell in a day and finally, last Monday, it all got too much. Here on the farm we have a big lake which overflowed everwhere, the normally quiet stream that runs off it turned into a wild raging river and some of the people on the farm were even flooded out of their houses - it's been quite disastrous. Thankfully we've suffered very little apart from a few leaks..

But back to the running - now that has suffered. I run most of my runs - including the dreaded 20 milers - on a 1.4 mile loop on the farm. I know this must seem tedious to many but it's quite varied - some of it's in the woods, some out in the open field, and the running surface is great - only about .3 of a mile is a tarmac road, the rest is all packed dirt / mud. I like running out of my front door - I don't need to bring my drink / food with me (I set up a drinks station), I can stop at the bathroom when I need to and I don't have to worry about traffic. However, as you can imagine this has deteriorated this past week and I had to give up on my run on Wednesday as I sank up to my knees in mud and water.. So I've done rather a lot of my runs on the elliptical which seems appropriate as I always find it hard to cross train - I've had few options this week! I finished off with 13 miles yesterday with my friend Sal which we ran nearby on country lanes - it would have been great were it not for the fact I'd hosted a dinner party the night before and had had too much wine and champagne and not enough sleep - it was a slow run! However, I struggled through and felt better for it.

Finally - I'm hoping to record some content this week for The Extra Mile podcast - Nigel, Kevin and MarathonChris have put this together and I am so impressed. I am going to try to not complain again about being busy because how they fit this in besides the rest of their lives I do not know..

Till then, happy trails and hope it's drier where you are!

So-so running

This week has not been great for running. The last two weeks have been unbelievably busy and I've only just managed to get my running in, and then not all of it. Every day seems to have been scheduled from 6am onwards, with me driving backwards and forwards, doing work, doing kids, doing house stuff, doing admin, dealing with our flat in london - it's been non-stop. My levels of stress have been sky-high - I have been waking around 5:30 in the morning just taut with all I've had to accomplish each day. As I said I've managed to fit in the running and while it provided some release, to some extent it was also another thing to fit in. Perhaps as a result of that, my running has been so-so this week - no great speeds, no major achievements. I've ended up missing one 6 mile pace workout and a cross training session - just not enough hours in the day. However - on balance, I'm pretty happy with it. I've kept it up and while they were perhaps "junk miles" they were miles nonetheless and I can look back and marvel that somehow they happened.

The stress is tailing off now, or at least I seem to believe it has, which is all that matters. We've done the 7th birthday party, we've done various social obligations - we are now running down the last 2 weeks before our holidays begin! And what a holiday! This year we are heading out to Vancouver, British Columbia for 3 weeks on a home exchange. A family from Vancouver is coming to stay in our house and we are staying in theirs, and we are also exchanging cars. It's very exciting and has prompted quite a bit of work on our part getting our house ready - we have done all sorts of jobs that needed doing for years and I have cleared out everyone's closets . Again this has been a stress factor but now I feel that we have cleared the hump of it and we're on the home stretch - almost ready to go! The kids are so excited about it in part because we are going to a city - we live in deep countryside so cities are a thrill. I'm excited about running in Stanley Park and round the coast - it should be beautiful. Anyone know a runner out there I could contact for some tips?

So here's hoping these next 2 weeks are an improvement on the last 2 weeks, in terms of stress at least. Keep running and keep happy - and stay (or get) chilled!

Maddy tagged me..

For some reason this post was published further down my blog so I hope reposting it will work..

Maddy tagged me and now I have to share 6 weird and unusual things about myself with you. The question is - do you really want to know? It's taken me a few days to whittle the list down (my husband has proved most helpful and has provided a lot of suggestions) but here goes:
- I can't whistle. Have tried a lot, for a lot of years, but I can't do it. However - and IrishBlue is going to be so jealous - I can burp on command.
- I didn't realise until recently how much of a dealbreaker this is, but I don't really like chocolate. I don't mind it but it just isn't really my thing. In fact, Kevin rescinded an offer of marriage purely on this basis (I'm sure it had nothing to do with the fact that both he and I are already happily married..);
- My husband and I share a very untrendy taste in music. I won't divulge too much of the gory details but let me tell you that we were burgled once and the burglars took most of our possessions but left our CD collection. Apparently you can't buy a lot of crack for a Neil Diamond CD.
- Related to this last point - I walked up the aisle to the wedding march from the Sound of Music. 'Nuff said.
- Like Maddy, I live next door to my father-in-law. It makes for an interesting life..
- my best friend helped me realise recently that my first crush ever was on Gopher from the Love Boat. How sad is that?

Well everyone - you know some very weird things about me now. I guess if you meet me in a race now you may well speed up ahead rather than linger alongside..

Happy trails!

Finally..

Finally! It's sad but I've been desperate to blog, just couldn't find the time! I've been running around working, doing house stuff and doing lots of family stuff. I've started every day with a to-do list. Crazy!

First things first - running. On Friday I had my first Adium chat with Maddy which was wonderful and we motivated each other for each other's long run. Mine was going to be 10 miles. But, dear readers, I couldn't do it. It was hot (which I know a lot of you can handle but for us thick-skinned northern europeans can prove a bit of a challenge) and I was exhausted after a crazy busy week - I gave up after 5 miles and felt rotten about myself. Reading other blogs I realised that some of you work much harder than I do (getting up at 5 am to run, Susan? You're amazing!) but I just couldn't get it together. After a good night's sleep on Sunday night I woke up at 6 and resolved to run the other 5 miles as well as cross train. Which, amazingly, I had done by 9am. The day was still crazy busy but at least I got my running in. It still bugged me, however, that I had bailed on my first long run of my training - everyone else had managed so I felt I was being weak. Then Tuesday - which again was really busy - I suddenly found myself with a 2 hour gap in the day while my son had a trial session at "big school". So, this time, despite still being exhausted and despite the fact it was far hotter than Sunday I decided there would be no more excuses so I dropped him off at school and headed out for a 10miler! And I accomplished it! What a feeling! I felt I had really beat myself which was great! So I'm back on track and back on schedule and determined to plan my time a bit more cleverly in the next months. Fitting in marathon training around the rest of your life is a big part of the challenge of training, imho..

I've also resolved my sartorial crisis you will all be relieved to hear. Thank you for all your feedback as to what to wear - I appreciate it. Having returned my running kit to the store I went online and ordered a Sugoi skort and top. Having read Maddy's extensive research into the skort I felt it was an option worth considering. Both items arrived on Tuesday just prior to my long run and so I tested them on a long hot run and they are brilliant! Running chic(k) has arrived! What do you think? Timeless elegance and sporty practicality, teamed with a crazy 4 year-old - life doesn't get any better.

In other news, I've been tagged by Maddy. I was a bit slow on the uptake - I had to visit her blog to work it out - but I'm hoping to post 6 weird things about me. It's taking me some time to narrow it down, guys..

So keep running, keep blogging about it. It's so motivational and really provides me with the kick up the backside I sometimes so desperately need!

Gearing up for events ahead..

I went to our local running store this afternoon and purchased some new bits of gear that I'm going to need in the next few months.. First and foremost - a new pair of shoes. For some reason I'm pretty hard on my shoes so my old Saucony Hurricanes were losing some of their bounce. I had to swallow a bit to buy a new pair (they are not cheapest option and I could have, conceivably, gone for some cheaper Omnis or some Brooks shoes) but I have to say that I really have loved my Hurricanes so, in for a penny in for a lot of pounds..

So in the photo you see my old pair (with my Polar pod on) and my new pair, with 3 new pairs of socks and some sports Jelly Beans (I love those!) and also a chocolate energy gel which the guy in the shop insisted I tried as apparently lots of people who hate gels can handle this one. Given that I don't even like chocolate when I'm not running (my ONE saving diet grace believe me) I'm not convinced but hey.

I also splurged on some black SKINS shorts (compression shorts) and a black short-sleeved shirt but I'm going to take them back. The compression shorts may work but I just don't think I can cope with my heinie in them - they're just too revealing. And the fact they're black just doesn't disguise my behind or the size of my thighs. Can I run in a hijab? But joking aside ladies - please send me some advice. How much does it matter to you what you look like in what you run in? I am somewhat bottom heavy - short sturdy legs, remember? - and my favourity gear is a NB short with built in compression shorts and a tight Helly Hansen shirt but the tight shirt on top draws attention to the mass on bottom so it would be good to have something somehow more balanced on top. I've followed Maddy's skorts / boardshorts debate - but I have to confess I think running shorts are probably more comfortable and that DOES matter over 26 miles. I just find that if I dress for comfort I can't bear to look at the photos of me afterwards.. Should I just put that aside? Any thoughts welcome..

into week 1..

Into week one of marathon training and so far so good... I've decided on Hal Higdon's intermediate II schedule which has 3 20mile runs instead of the two I've done for Chicago and New York and a slightly higher weekly mileage. In addition, I've made a pact with Maddy to take cross training seriously and do it this time (last year I tended to skip the cross training in favour of rest - the couch potato is never far away). So Monday I threw myself into the swimming pool and managed 15 minutes of breast stroke before contemplating sinking to the bottom - I was so bored! However, I didn't want to pull out on my first day of training so I leapt onto my elliptical and did a 20 minute program on that. So, while not entirely succesful, all was not lost. Yesterday's 3 miler was nice and gentle and so in today's 5 miler after 4 leisurely miles (mile 1 10:44, mile 2 9:58, mile 3 10:22, mile 4 9:57) I kicked it in the last mile - 8:17! True, I looked like a beetroot when I was done but it felt great!

There's a new motivational tool on the web now for all of us autumn runners, some of whom are Phedippidations World Wide Half runners and it's called - drumroll - What's a few miles between friends? A whole bunch of us are linking our training logs to this site and motivating each other in our individual training programs for autumn races. Speaking for myself it has already worked - I just don't feel I can let my new friends down!

Finally - as per Irish Blue's latest post on that blog, I'm going to try to lose a few pounds in the course of this training schedule as well and have some ideas about this - I will let you know in the new few days! Till then, happy running and stick to your schedules (hear me Maddy? Don't do much more..)

OK Ok

Ok Ok who was sitting at the back of the classroom, staring out the window and not paying attention? Me sir.. Marathon Chris has already taken Maddy's idea, brainstormed it and is up and running so I'm signing up. Clearly this is a bunch of people who can teach me quite a bit..

I'll be there on June 1st! Which is tomorrow I realise with total shock. OK. I'll be there, still. If there's someone at the back of the pack with her shoes half on and her shirt hanging out, it's only me and I'll be there once I get my act together!

Just footlin' for a few days..

Since my nuttiness 2 weeks ago I've been taking it easy on myself, just doing the occasional 2-4 miler when I fancied them and taking the pressure off my one painful reminder - the sore toe. To my pleasure it has now started to turn mildly black and is a lot less painful so it looks like I got away lightly. Terry told me to watch it wasn't a stress fracture so of course I googled toe stress fractures immediately and found they were regular by-products of, for example, "a sudden increase in exercise intensity". I think I got away lightly this time..

Next Monday, training begins. And as I intimated last week I think I'm going to be doing Hal Higdon's intermediate II program, taking on board a lot of information from the Advanced Marathoning book but not doing the speedwork on running days. Instead, I'm going to try to work some of those speed workouts on my eliptical on my crosstraining days. I hope that this way I can get the speed benefits without the risk of injuring myself. I am my own experiment.

Had an amazing run this evening - just 2 miles out on our farm. We have a big lake we use for irrigation but it's been raining so much it's nearly overflowing every day. There is a sluice gate to take out the overflow but it gets blocked with reeds most days so one of us goes out there once a day to unblock it. Tonight it was my turn and after a day of crazy weather (hot / cold / sunny / wet) it was a dry sunny turn and it was just beautiful. I bounded through the grass like a happy gazelle / madwoman and very nearly went for a swim in the lake, but this is England and May and it has not been warm - I decided enough madness for a little while. Pneumonia would be a major setback.

Finally - like most people I HATE the sound of my voice when I hear it recorded but it obviously does not put me off enough because I'm out there at the moment - you can hear me sounding like Mary Poppins (along with Terry and Gordon from Scotland) in Steve Runner's promo for the Phedippidations World Wide Half and I also think Dr Monte has finished his weight loss CD and has done a preview on his most recent podcast. So I'm now holding out for Oprah...

Otherwise I'm just resting up and limbering - getting ready for next week when the race is on. I'm with Maddy and Cory on the great idea of toting up our training miles - I'll see if I can work out how to restart my mileage counter on BuckEyeOutdoors so I can see how much I train for this and we'll add everyone's miles up at the end.. the marathons will seem like peanuts!

Drawing my conclusions...

Firstly, thank you all for your great comments and support. What a community! There's quite a bunch of us now running marathons in October - Maddy is running the San Francisco Women's Marathon (how cool does that sound?), podcaster extraordinaire MarathonChris is running the Marine Corps Marathon (I would LOVE to run that one one year..), ShirleyPerly is running so many marathons that I'm sure she'll be running one around that time, and as for Melissa - she's running her first in Columbus, Ohio. Kevin has been tricked into running a half at that time and our friend Terry is finally back on the road again as well and will be organising the amazing Phedippidations World Wide Half Marathon in mid-October. Susan - after your 10M race this weekend, what's your plan? And Cory is also planning a fall half-marathon - which one? You can see there's a bit of a trend going on... Let us know what you're doing so we can cheer you on!

Going back to this weekend's craziness - the worst of which was, as Kevin pointed out, that no-one took up my offer of home-made cookies! - I am attempting to extract some pearls of wisdom from this nutty experience. So here goes:
- chafing. I thought I had chafing all covered but with my new CamelBak backpack on (the sportsdrink saved my bacon as they didn't hand out any on this trail marathon) I found new chafing opportunities - back of my neck and my shoulders. So I must always consider whether I've worn ALL my kit on a long run and tested if before putting the BodyGlide back. It would have helped, obviously, if I'd done a long run recently, in so many ways, but there you go..
- sunburn. It's not a common problem here at the moment - summer is not here - but despite the occasional shower I did burn the backs of my legs. So I need to add suncream to my bag and apply it "just in case".
- training. Ah yes - I was going to come to this. Terry pointed out in his lengthy and useful comment that actually, running a race unprepared was an amazing learning opportunity. I DID expect the wall and I slammed right into it but by walking occasionally I did come out the other end and finished the race running. More than anything else though, this experience has taught me to value my previous experiences, particularly my first marathon, NYC in 2005. At the time I was very disappointed with my time (4:55) and felt that I hadn't really trained hard enough. Looking back on it though I realise I ran the whole race comfortably, never even grazed a wall, and finished strong. My training was clearly quite good, actually.. In going over the training programs as I was last week (prior to this race) I was focusing mainly on improving my PB, setting a great time. While that obviously remains a consideration, I now realise that my main aim is to find an achievable program which will enable me to enjoy the race. For last year's Chicago marathon I used Hal Higdon's Intermediate I and I have to say I really enjoyed that - I like having middlingly long runs in the middle of the week as well as the weekend runs, I like pace instead of speedwork (touch wood, I did not get injured last year) and I was trained AND rested at the start. Now obviously a lot of factors come into this, but I'm beginning to incline back towards Uncle Hal and maybe will tackle his Intermediate II program and see where that gets me. Got a week or so to decide so will keep you posted on those developments - and I'm also lurking on Maddy's and MarathonChris's blog's to see what they're doing.

Finally, my body seems to have recovered well from this race. Normally I don't run at all in the week following the race but I went out for 2miler last night (slowly) and enjoyed it. The only thing - and this is quite weird - is that my big toe really hurts. At some point in the race I remember it suddenly hurting as well (not on the downhill) and I can't see what's wrong. I thought I was going to get one of those black toenails (which is unattractive but a rite of passage as a runner, I guess) but no - it looks fine, not swollen, a bit red but man - it hurts! I can get it in a running shoe and run with it without problems but anything more ladylike than Birkenstock sandals is not working for me at the moment. Hohum. Anyway - we'll see whether it drops off or sorts itself out. And I'll be back running again this weekend - I think I have a week or so before my 20 week program starts and I am motivated to TRAIN!

Goodbye for now, happy trails and enjoy your runs!

Guess what I did this Saturday?

Ok - guess what I did today? Let me give you three clues. I did something that was reckless, fearless and somewhat stupid.. I will divulge all to you.

Ok - I had decided, some months ago, that due to taking all that time off because of my chest infection, I would run a half-marathon today instead of my planned marathon. Wise decision. Right? But I didn't get my buns in gear and didn't e-mail the race organisers that I had considered doing this. Not until this week. And guess what? They told me the half was full, as was the transport to the start (the race started and finished in a different place..). So I spent the week fruitlessly coming up with ways to get to the start. My friend Sally and I were going to drive to the race together but I contemplated driving in convoy (how boring!) or trying to find someone to give me a ride. Husband would have taken me but was in charge of children and also had to take them to a party (near to the race, as it happened).

So yesterday lunchtime I decided to throw in my big guns. I went onto the Runnersworld website to the Forum thread for the White Peak marathon and half and offered up my bribe - homemade oatmeal raisin or chocolate chip cookies for anyone who would transport me to the half start. No takers. No takers! My biscuits are fabulous! And the oats make them good! Right? Right. Anyway they obviously didn't sell themselves. Then someone who I have never met posted a message saying "why don't you take it easy and just run the full? You've got a place on THAT bus?". And so, readers, that's what I resolved to do. I told no-one except my husband (who doesn't run and didn't realise the implications of someone SERIOUSLY undertrained running a marathon) and Sally (who thinks I'm nuts anyway so it all proves her point). Which she is right about, by the way.

So guess who lined up for the marathon today? me. Bright and sprightly and perky. My new Camelbak backpack on, mobile with me for disasters, plenty of powerbars - I will confess to you that I thought I might amaze myself.
Friends of mine (mostly men..) have run marathons without much training and I thought that maybe I was being too much of a stick-in-the-mud sticking to Uncle Hal's programs and needed to "live a little". Well, my friends, I lived a lot. I feel like I've lived a lifetime. On the upside - the race was on traffic-less roads, the weather was ok and there were only 200 other marathoners registered. I met some nice people, had some very interesting conversations. So much for running Oprah. On the downside - guys! I can't run a marathon without training! This hurt. SO MUCH! There were some mean and nasty steep downhills and my knees are toast! I found it hard. I walked! I have never walked! I wasn't able to slow down enough - I was either running a 10:30 minute mile or walking. OK OK. Another confession. I thought about blogging about my decision last night but knew that you - wiser friends of mine in the blogosphere - would tell me that I was nuts and shouldn't do it.

Upshot? OK I finished in 4:49. Not too bad - NYC took me 6 minutes more but I was well over 30 minutes off my Chicago time. But I tell you guys - it was not fun. Miles 21-26.2 were horrible. And I've never had that before. Training consistently has meant that I have always been more or less confident and capable during marathons. Today that was not the case. So a lesson has been learned - to everyone's shock and awe Petra does not run fast or enjoyable marathons without training properly. Hear me girlfriends? Don't do what I did.

Finally though - despite all of the above I am happy tonight. Grinning, in fact. I had a rubbish week. I don't think I'm dealing well with the thought of my little boy going to school in September and losing a big part of my mom-job at home. I've been horrible - moody, grumpy, self-doubting, angry - you name it, I have been it. My family has show extraordinary patience with the witch, I can tell you. But doing something stupid and irresponsible brought back my inner naughtiness and it's perked me up no end. I won't do it again - the pain is too much! My legs are unmoveable and stairs scare me - but, strangely and stupidly enough - it was what I needed. I laughed with myself today, and I haven't done that for a long time..

Keep running, keep training, and stick to your schedules, my friends! I am going to have a hot bath and then meet my friends Ben and Jerry in bed with a book. I know how to live.. or not?

the future is bright, the future lies with Advanced Marathoning

The silence of the past 2 weeks has not been due to any more illness (thankfully) or lack of running (well.. not really - more on that later) but rather due to my applying myself and some of my trusty blog readers to choosing a training plan to use to ... train for the Amsterdam marathon on October 21st, for which I have now officially registered!

So - it's all happening. The incredibly impressive ShirleyPerly - who runs marathons the way normal mortals drink the first coffee of the day - quickly! - sent me a long e-mail regarding choosing a training program. She makes a number of excellent points, which I will briefly summarise below (for the benefit of at least some of my readers (you know who you are girls!) who are going to be training at the same time..):
- there's no such thing as a "sure thing" training program. Dang! Easy option out the window right there..
- then she launches straight into her most crucial point: the best program you can pick is the one that is least likely to get you injured and most likely to help you deal with your performance limiters..

OK. Performance limiters for me are:
- genetics. I lost the excess weight, my BMI is great BUT I'm still a short sturdy diesel. My great grandfather was a (very relatively) famous long-distance skater and one of the most famous things about him was, apparently, the fact he had big thighs.. What can I say, it's obviously a dominant gene. My point is - I am somewhat limited by the ingredients I was given. Paula Radcliffe need not look over her shoulder.
- lack of speed. OK - some of that is to do with the above point but, in fairness, I have never done any serious speedwork. I did find in the past that I put myself at the risk of injury with really fast speedwork but there is quite a bit I could do in this area..
- time. Like most of us I have a busy life outside of running and I can't always devote the time and attention to running that I might like to. I think I pretty much give as much time to it as I can get away with.
- fuel. I have never really thought about my athlete's diet as I never really think of myself as an athlete. But there is no doubt that what I eat affects my running and recovery and that I could do more to fine-tune that relationship. Hrmmm..

So bearing all this in mind I have bought the book that Shirley recommended - Pete Pfitzinger's Advanced Marathoning. While I was waiting for Amazon to get it to me I read an article on the Runnersworld website by Amby Burfoot about the ingredients of marathon training and how many runners don't train very efficiently. They run too fast or too slow and so never maximise the benefit of different kinds of runs. Now that I have received the Pfitzinger book I see he makes pretty much the same point and has put together what looks like a good if challenging marathon training program. I think I'm going to go for the 18 week program and add 2 weeks onto it - there's one week during my vacation this summer where I may not get all the running in and I'd like to build in a week for life - tiredness, illness, injury - so that I don't completely fall out of the program if something happens.

Now - my running. After a dispiriting run with Sally last Sunday - we were aiming for 12 and I had to give up after 9 I was so tired, the rest of the week has been good. I've been pondering my tiredness but I think it's just that - life is pretty exhausting at the moment and I'm really going to have to concentrate to get enough rest to train for this fall marathon. My spirit returned to me on Monday - I was determined to lick the 12 miles and did it. At a slow pace - I also think I've been running a bit fast with Sal - I managed it quite easily. And then the rest of the week was good - even managed a lactic threshold and pace run as well as 2 5 mile maintenance runs. Heading out for a 10/12 miler with Sally tomorrow in preparation for next Saturday's White Peak half-marathon and that should bring my weekly mileage up to at least 37 miles. 37 miles! No wonder I'm feeling a bit tired in the evenings..

Otherwise running is proving a bit of a haven for the mess in my head. I was listening to Adam Tinkoff's great new show - the Zen Runner - and he was talking about seeing your mind as a river and what you did to calm it down. Well, at the moment mine is a big stormy river and all that seems to calm it is running. I'm heading towards a new phase in my life - 2 kids at school in September - and I'm wondering what I'm going to do with myself. I have done various bits of odd freelance work in the past years but nothing consistent and suddenly I'm wondering whether I should be pursuing more of a directed course. I won't bore you with my CV but I'm a Jack of all Trades, mistress of none. I've done graduate studies, worked in academic publishing, worked in IT - and now I'm at a bit of a loss as to where to go next. My head is swirling with the voices and opinions of others (which I ask for, to be fair) and my own self-doubt. If this all sounds depressing - it isn't - just a confusing time. Which, strangely enough, is leading me back to a reappraisal of running for its own sake - for the way in which it can take me out of myself and bring me some peace and strength and confidence. So, to finish this post - the running's going great..

marathon? here i come, i think..

Life took over the last week - work, family, home etc.. but the running didn't suffer. I managed to get out to running club on Tuesday and then ran most days of last week, managing 9 miles on Saturday and Sunday despite late nights. However, by yesterday those late nights came home to roost - I only managed two before going to bed very early last night. Still, I am feeling positive and have decided, more or less definitely (is there such a thing?) to enter the Amsterdam marathon on October 21st.

Still haven't decided on a training program but ShirlyPerly of the Humble Triathlete blog has very generously and kindly offered to help me out there. I'm going to be e-mailing her my details and info today and see what she says. I'm still interested in the Hansons program but the fact that there is no book out there about it makes it that much more difficult to do, I think. What do you think? Other exciting news is that Maddy is going the whole hog and running a marathon as well so we can cheer each other on from across the Atlantic!

Otherwise - I just got the MP3 files for this CD that Dr. Monte is putting together on weight loss and healthy lifestyles and to which I made a contribution. Great stuff but AWFUL hearing my voice - I sound like Mary Poppins! I don't know how people do this podcasting thing, this has made me realise I definitely can't listen to myself. Anyway - I will let you all know when it comes out and you can see what you think.

And that's it! Uneventful life this week which makes a nice change. Keep runnning!