2014 miles in 2014 August update!

As some of you will know I decided one of my challenges for this year would be to try and run 1057 miles for my running buddy Haddie in Hawaii and my second challenge was to cover 2014 miles in 2014 in any self-propelled way! 

The 2014 miles in 2014 works out to be an average 168 miles a month! 

The Haddie Challenge works out to be an average 88 RUNNING miles a month!
As its the end of the month and half way through the year it means it's time to tot up the total so far!

The 2014 miles in 2014 Challenge

Swimming:  5.89 miles
Cycling: 15.41 miles
Running:  140.98 miles for Haddie
Walking:  61.66 miles
Hiking:  0 miles

Rowing: 2.49 miles

Cross trainer: 1.52 miles

Arm Cycle: 2.75 miles

August Total: 230.71

+ July Total: 182.03
+ June Total: 123.41

+ May Total: 153.79
+ April Total: 197.33
+ March Total: 167.34
+ February Total: 148.74
+ January Total: 150.77

Grand Total: 1353.44

Only  660.56 miles to go!





The 1057 Haddie Challenge 

August Total: 140.98

July Total: 121.91

June Total: 69.22
May Total: 88.49
April Total: 60.51
March Total: 138.60
February Total: 121.56
January Total: 137.51 

Grand Total: 878.28 miles (inc 11.02 as part of brick session)

 

Only  307.36 miles to go!

End of week 8 Marathon Training!

My Week 8 stats look like this:

Running: 41.77 miles in 4 runs (4.30 in 1 trail run and 37.47 miles in 3 road runs).
Walking:  13.52 miles
Swimming: 0.8 miles 
(0.8 open water and 0 pool).

Total Weekly Training Miles: 56.09 Miles


My total training for the marathon to date since 7th July 2014 is:

Running : 246.07miles (34.67m trail and 211.4m road).
Swimming: 8.09 miles (1.74 m open water and 6.35m pool).
Walking: 112.06 miles
Cycling: 15.41 miles (15.41m Indoor)
Rowing: 2.49 miles (2.49m Indoor)
Cross Trainer: 1.52 miles
Hand Pedal: 2.75 miles

Total Training Miles: 388.38 Miles

Marathon Training Week 8 - Gone off road!

After a rest day yesterday I made up for it today.

This morning the plan stipulated a 5 mile easy run.  As there was no pressure regarding the pace I decided to relax a little and do an off road run.

It was a hot sunny morning and I drove to the start of my planned route.

I really enjoyed the run which took in Scoutscar and Cunswick Fell where I could enjoy some spectacular scenery!

It was tricky navigating over tree roots, loose gravel, long grass and rocks but there was the added bonus of ... NO COWS!

I wore my Heart Rate Monitor for the first time in months!  I was interested to see whether my body thought the proposed easy run was actually easy!

As I was struggling up the hills it became evident that I hadn't actually selected an easy route at all!

Anyhow, to compensate for the hilliness of the run I only ran 4.30 miles rather than the full 5 miles at a slow 11.13 minute mile pace.

However, my body thought it was harder than it appears on paper as my average heart rate was 86% of maximum and the maximum heart rate I got to was 95% of maximum!  

I was very lucky (again) as no sooner had I got in when the heavens opened and there was a torrential down pour!

Later in the day it had stopped raining which I was particularly grateful for as I was going Open Water Swimming in Lake Windermere!  

By the time I was in the Lake the sun had come back out but the water was exceptionally chilly!

Anyhow, after not being in the lake for about 5 weeks I surprisingly felt fairly comfortable and swam 0.8 mile before deciding that my white fingers and toes signalled it was time to get out!

Despite the cold I really enjoyed being back out in the lake!

Another rest day tomorrow and Saturday before Blackpool Half Marathon on Sunday!

Marathon Training Week 8 - another long one!

The marathon plan stipulated a long run of 16 miles for this week. 

Since I am doing Blackpool half marathon on Sunday and I did my last LSR 6 days ago I decided to do my 16 miler today to give me plenty of recovery time before the weekend.

It was a hot and sunny morning and I set off loaded up with my gels and drinks ready to do my best.

I was surprised when I stepped out the door how windy it was as well as being hot - it felt like I was running in a tumble dryer!

I set off with my route in mind focusing on the pace of 9:20 to 9:40 minute miles as stipulated in the plan.  

I was feeling good and set off slightly too fast completing my first mile in 9:19, continuing to get faster with 9:12, 9:11, 9:21 and then I registered a 8:43 minute mile at the end of mile 5.  

I was very conscious that if I continued at this pace I probably wouldn't finish the 16 miles and forced myself to slow down. 

Mile 6 was a much more sensible 9:40 minute mile but by mile 13 I was beginning to pay the price for setting off to fast as I had slowed right down to a 10:36 minute mile, then mile 14 was a 10:55 minute mile, mile 15 was a 10:28 minute mile finally finishing mile 16 in a 10:05 minute mile.  

I struggled to keep running even at this slow pace and ran out of both energy gels and drink by the time I staggered home!

I can conjure up a load of excuses such as I had done a hard sprint session the day before and my legs were still feeling heavy, it was hot, it was exceptionally windy, the route I picked was particularly hilly but in reality I think I just paced it all wrong!

My plan states 

"Chose to start off slow or be forced to slow down later!"

Lesson learnt!  

However good I feel on my next LSR I am going to force myself to start off slower and then if by some miracle I have anything left in the tank towards the end I can increase my pace rather than crawling home with zero confidence in my ability to complete a marathon!

Although I was disappointed with myself all in all on reflection it wasn't a bad run and at least I did the distance required.

I ran a total of 16.12 miles at an average 9:41 minute mile pace, so not too far off the 9:20 to 9:40 pace I was aiming for!

It felt far worse than the final pace says!

Week 8 Marathon Training and speed intervals!

After another boozy day abusing my body yesterday, today I had to put it through it's paces as the marathon plan stated 12 x 0.25 mile speed intervals keeping at a 8.00 to 8.10 minute mile pace.

I'm not good at intervals at the best of times, so I wasn't expecting good results today.

It was a cool and cloudy morning and the dark clouds looked slightly threatening so I decided to get on with my run before the weather changed for the worse!

I decided that since the plan said speed intervals that I would do laps of the river circuit as then I don't have any roads or hills to negotiate!  I did a mile and a half warm up before starting the 0.25 miles fast and 2 minutes slow intervals. I set my Garmin so that I wouldn't have to worry about keeping an eye on time etc  and lost myself in the job at hand.

It was only whilst starting my 4th circuit of the river when an old bloke said "That will be 4 times lass" that I realised he must have been sat on the bench watching this mad woman running literally in circles.  Feeling ever so slightly embarrassed at being rumbled I announced "Last time" and decided to go and finish my intervals on the cycle track instead!

I enjoyed the structure of the run and although I found it hard to keep to the desired speed I didn't do too badly in the end.

My splits for the 12 "fast" (8:00 to 8:10 minute mile pace) intervals were:  7.58, 8.04, 8.00, 8.12, 8.06, 8.05, 8.10, 8.13, 8.12, 8.08, 8.05, 8.55.

It was only during the final one that I was a total failure, the others were there or there abouts!

The total run was 8.22 miles at an average 9.15 minute mile pace.

That will do me!

Week 7 Stats!

My Week 7 stats look like this:

Running: 34.53 miles in 4 runs (9.31 in 1 trail run and 25.22 miles in 3 road runs).
Walking:  12.32 miles
Swimming: 1.03 miles 
(0 open water and 1.03 pool).
Cycling: 3.33 miles (indoor)
Rowing: 0.62 miles (indoor)
Cross Trainer: 0.61 miles
Hand Pedal: 1.10 miles

Total Weekly Training Miles: 53.54 Miles


My total training for the marathon to date since 7th July 2014 is:

Running : 204.30 miles (30.37m trail and 173.93m road).
Swimming: 7.29 miles (0.94m open water and 6.35m pool).
Walking: 97.68 miles
Cycling: 15.41 miles (15.41m Indoor)
Rowing: 2.49 miles (2.49m Indoor)
Cross Trainer: 1.52 miles
Hand Pedal: 2.75 miles

Total Training Miles: 331.43 Miles

Week 7 Marathon Training complete!

After a very busy few days over indulging with both food and drink I didn't have high hopes for today's run!

The sun was shining and it was a very warm morning!

The marathon plan wanted me to do a 6 mile run excluding a warm up or cool down consisting of 1 mile slow, then 4 miles keeping between a 8:40 to 8:50 pace finishing off with 1 miles slow and a cool down.
Feeling extremely sluggish and heavy legged I set off knowing that the distance would be no problem but I wasn't sure whether I could keep at the stipulated pace for the 4 miles.

I did a 5 minute warm up before going into the 1 mile slow section. I felt out of breath and uneasy during this slow section so wasn't looking forward to upping my pace.  However, once I settled into the faster pace I felt better and soon settled down and enjoyed the run.

I ended up doing 7: 04 miles at an average 9:03 minute mile pace.

I did the 4 mile section at a 8:41 minute mile pace which I was delighted with as it was at the top end of the range I was supposed to be maintaining.

Not too bad ... considering!

Week 7 Marathon Training!

I don't know how its got to Thursday already and I haven't managed to blog about my training at all ... but lets be positive at least I have still managed to do the training!

On Monday I went on a lovely off road run with a friend who is a very good runner!  Before I went I felt slightly nervous that her pace would kill me but I needn't have worried.

We met at 9am and she drove us to Staveley where we were starting our run. 

It was a lovely clear sunny morning and life felt good.  The first mile and a half or so was on road! 

I found the road bit difficult for two reasons, the first being I was wearing my trail trainers which have a very hard sole and big lugs which don't make them very comfy for running on the road and secondly the road section was all up hill!  

I was pleased to make it to the top where we turned off the road onto a track which was fairly rocky, uneven and very boggy in places so I had to concentrate on my footing as well as trying to take in and enjoy the beautiful scenery!  

Splooshing through streams and puddles made me feel like a real hardcore trail runner!

There were numerous gates on the route that we had to stop to open so I got several excuses to have a breather - thankfully they weren't stiles!!

I thoroughly enjoyed the run and we got back to the car after running 9.31 miles at a 10:22 minute mile pace which I don't think is too bad for such tricky terrain!

Later on that day I went for a maintenance massage with my Physio and by gum did it hurt!  I'm not sure whether my muscles were particularly tight because I had just done a 9 mile run or whether they were just in need of a massage!

Then on Monday evening just to finish my body off I went to the Tri Club Swimming Training session.  We started off doing technique training and lots of drills before going onto Open Water Skills such as deep water starts and mass swimming!  

Last time we did this I absolutely hated it as I was terrified of getting kicked in the face or elbowed but I actually thoroughly enjoyed being in amongst it all and fighting for my space!

Altogether I did 1650 metres which is 66 lengths or a mile.

On Tuesday I got it into my head that I wanted to see if I had got any faster over the course of my marathon training.  So I set out to do a 5K route that I have used before as a timed run.  It was another sunny day but was still fairly cool!

I really enjoyed pushing myself to run fast despite my legs feeling slightly tired from the trail run yesterday.  I was delighted when I got to the end and had actually run it 17 seconds faster than I did 6 weeks ago.  My 5K time this time was 25:01 with an average 8:01 minute mile pace!  I would love to get that down to a sub 8 minute mile pace!

Today I had planned to do my long run this week as we are going to a wedding on Friday and have a very busy weekend.  However, once I had studied the weather forecast and discovered that the weather was turning horrendous today and was due to last a week I quickly had a change of plan and did my long run yesterday instead!

My marathon plan is always talking about running on tired legs and yesterday I certainly did that!

This would be my third run on consecutive days and I think my legs were wondering what I was playing at!

However, after porridge for breakfast I set off with my energy drink and gels ready to conquer my long run!  I had a 15 mile route in my head and was keen to keep at the 9:20 to 9:40 pace my marathon plan suggested for this run.  Again the weather conditions were perfect with the sun shining through the clouds but with still a chill in the air!

For the first time in a long time I decided to try and distract myself by listening to music whilst running and it seemed to do the trick!  I really enjoyed this run and I didn't get that awful dead tired feeling I have had during recent long runs!

I was delighted that I managed to keep to a 9:40 minute mile or faster pace during the entire run except for mile 13 when I slowed down to a 10:14 minute mile but in my defence that was because I was faced with a massive hill!

I ran 15.06 miles at an average 9:29 minute mile pace so smack bang in the middle of my goal pace which I am delighted with especially with having tired legs!

Yesterday afternoon I had forgotten that I had a date with the gym! I did consider cancelling it but decided not to be such a wimp!

Last week I had a personalised fitness programme written for me and I had to go today to test it out with the instructor to make sure the weights and number of reps etc were appropriate to my level of fitness.

I was really pleased that I had said that I didn't want to use the treadmill as I think I might have cried if I had to do more pounding! In the hour long session did some rowing, cycling, time on the cross trainer and arm cycle as well as using some of the machines for arm and chest exercises and some free weights.  I was absolutely spent by the end of it but survived!

I made the right decision to do my long run yesterday as the forecast was right and we have had torrential rain all day today along with high winds! I wouldn't have fancied running 15 miles in those conditions!

A perfect day to have a rest day!

Coniston Swim was cancelled afterall!

I wimped out of swimming the Coniston 1 mile open water swim today because I wasn't confident enough in my Open Water swimming abilities in such dire weather! 

It turns out that the whole event was cancelled due to the weather conditions!  Perhaps I am not so stupid after all!

Week 6 Marathon Training completed ... only 10 weeks to go!

Today was a rest day although I was supposed to be doing a 1 mile open water swim in Coniston but I wimped out!  The weather has been awful with torrential rain and high winds! I haven't been able to go open water swimming for a number of weeks with one thing and another so decided that rather than brave the elements today and risk putting myself off Open Water completely that I would just not bother!  I am not a strong enough swimmer to fight strong currents and rough waters! 

However, I am another week closer to Dublin Marathon and thankfully I have survived another week injury free! 

This week was a "recovery week" so my mileage is lower than last week to give my body time to get stronger!

My Week 6 stats look like this:

Running: 26.09 miles in 4 runs (4.92 in 1 trail run and 21.17 miles in 3 road runs).
Walking: 14.76 miles
Swimming: 1.24 miles 
(0 open water and 1.24 pool).
Cycling: 5.02 miles (indoor)
Rowing: 1.24 miles (indoor)
Cross Trainer: 0.91 miles
Hand Pedal: 1.65 miles

Total Weekly Training Miles:  50.92 Miles


My total training for the marathon to date since 7th July 2014 is:

Running : 169.77 miles (21.06m trail and 148.71m road).
Swimming: 6.27 miles (0.94m open water and 5.33m pool).
Walking: 85.35 miles
Cycling: 12.08 miles (12.08m Indoor)
Rowing: 1.86 miles (1.86m Indoor)
Cross Trainer: 0.91 miles
Hand Pedal: 1.65 miles

Total Training Miles: 277.89 Miles

Week 6 - MT Run 24/64 and speed intervals!

Yesterday was a rest day which I spent having copious amounts of coffee with a friend so today I was well and truly ready to run!

The plan wanted me to do 1 mile slow, then some speed intervals consisting of half a mile at a pace somewhere between 8:05 and 8:15 minute miles followed by 45 seconds slow to recover repeated 6 times before finishing with another 1 mile slow!

I'm not a fast runner and I am hoping that following this training plan will somehow transform me from a plodder to a super fast athlete - I can dream!

It was good running weather - cloudy and coolish!

After starting with a half mile warm-up, I managed my 1 mile slow at an 9:15 minute mile pace although in hindsight this probably wasn't slow enough with the speed intervals looming ahead! Maybe a fast walk would have been a better option!

I had set my Garmin up with the intervals and pace I wanted but started off on my first half mile interval way too fast!  

My Garmin was getting over excited bleeping "SLOW DOWN" constantly and I should have listened!  

I did my first interval in 8:03, then 8:09, 8:06, 8:11, 8:07, and finally finishing on 8:16!  I really struggled to keep the pace up for the last 2 and it was only my Garmin bleeping "SPEED UP" that pushed me when I felt close to collapse! Perhaps if I hadn't started off so fast I would have finished in a better state!

My final 1 mile slow was much slower than my starting mile at an 10:05 minute mile pace! I was lucky that my legs would actually still run!

Once back home and recovered I felt a huge sense of achievement when I realised that I had kept the pace for all the intervals except the final one which was only a second outside my goal pace!

Believe me for someone who isn't fast this was a hard session but an enjoyable one!

Another rest day tomorrow thankfully before I go on a trail run with a friend on Monday!  

I am feeling slightly daunted by this prospect as this friend is an exceptionally good fell runner who competes in 50 mile fell running events and is fast!  YIKES!

Week 6 - Run 23/64 and A level Results

Today was very stressful in our household as my daughter was awaiting her A Level results!

Thankfully she got what she needed to get into her first choice uni so that was a huge relief!

Whilst she went off celebrating in town with friends I decided to relieve all my pent-up emotion by going for a run!

The plan was for a 8 mile steady run keeping at an average 9:20 to 9:40 minute mile pace.

It was a lovely bright and sunny morning so I donned my vest top and shorts and headed out the door clutching my water bottle tightly!

I was experimenting with a different sports drink today and was feeling slightly nervous about whether it would have any adverse reaction to my stomach!

I have always used "High 5 Zero" tablets but so many people have recommended "Myprotein" products that I decided to give them a go!

I ordered some Tri Carb and Pre-pare to try! 

Just to be on the safe side I didn't want to try both things on the same day in case it didn't agree with me so today I opted to use Tri Carb in my water bottle!

I had a route in mind and tried just to run and not be so obsessed about my pace.

I felt really good and was thoroughly enjoying my run in the sun when at about 3 miles in the sky turned ominously dark and thunder rumbled through the air.

No sooner had I thought "Uh uh!" when I was being pelted with giant rain drops!  It came down so heavily and so suddenly that the roads couldn't cope with it and before long I was wading through floods!  As well as being soaked to the skin from the rain every time a car passed me by I was well and truly drenched with the tidal wave caused!

However, for some strange reason I found it amusing and kept on smiling!  The water got so deep at one point that I was beginning to worry about getting home so although I was still enjoying my run I decided to cut it short and change my planned route! 

However, by the time I neared home and had done about 6 miles the blue skies had returned and the rain stopped so I decided to finish what I had started and did a loop to make my distance up to 8 miles.

In total I did 8.60 miles at an average 9:01 minute mile pace which I was amazed and delighted with considering that I was wading through water for about a mile or so!

If the sun had remained shining down on me who knows what speed I could have achieved ... unless of course getting wet motivated my legs to go faster!

I had no adverse reaction from my new drink, so next I need to try the pre-pare!

Week 6 Run 22/64 plus the gym!

When I got up this morning it was a lovely bright but chilly day so I decided to head out for my run before it changed!

As I was planning to go up a local fell where its notorious for being cold and windy I decided to put a thin long sleeve top on over the top of my vest - just in case!

I drove to the lay-by which is only about 10 minutes away and set off for my first trail run in several weeks.

When I am running off road I seem to relax more and don't stress about the pace I am running - my prime goal is to stay upright, not to trip over rocks, not to slip in mud and to avoid cows!

Being open land you never quite know if or when you will come head to head with a cow so I always feel slightly anxious as I go over the brow of a hill or around a corner ... just in case!

Although I did come across cows on a couple of occasions today luckily for me they were easily avoided and I amended my route marginally to avoid going through them!

After about 2 miles I started to feel very hot so had to whip off my top and tie it around my waist!

I did 4.92 miles in total at a slow 11.07 minute mile pace but who cares? I enjoyed every second and didn't once look at my watch!

I really must do more off roading!

This afternoon I went to the gym to get a personalised fitness programme written! After chatting with the instructor about what I wanted to achieve I did my own thing in the gym and I need to go back next week to collect my programme to follow - once he has written it!

So in the gym I did 15 minutes on the watt bike that not only tells you how far you have cycled but also analyses your technique.  This confirmed what I already know - my technique is pants and I have more power in my right leg than my left! I managed 5 miles in 15 minutes.

After this I did 1.24 miles on the rowing machine, a mile on the cross trainer, 1.65 miles using the hand pedal machine as well as using the arm press and arm curl machines.

I'm not sure if I will become a gym lover but I will give it a go! 

Week 6 Run 21/64 and a swim!

This morning I was very surprised when I got up to see that the weather was dry!  The forecast for the week ahead was supposed to be horrendous!

As I had a run to do I thought it would be a good idea to have some breakfast and go for my run before the weather changed its mind!

However, I wasn't quick enough!  Half way through my cereal the heavens opened and the world around me went very dark!

I groaned but was still determined to go!  It was only water after all - I wasn't going to dissolve.

I got changed into my shorts and vest top deciding that it was best to have less clothes on, so less to weigh me down when full of water!

Anyhow, it was just an extremely heavy short shower and by the time I was ready and heading out the door it had stopped raining but was extremely windy!

The plan today stated a 4 mile slow run with 4 x 30 seconds of fast intervals afterwards! 

This week is a lower mileage week to allow my body to adapt and absorb the previous training apparently which is why I am doing less intervals than in previous weeks! Although to be honest with being on holiday I haven't been doing any intervals recently but I will go with my body needing to adapt!

Usually for this sort of workout I programme my Garmin so I know when the 4 miles is over and when the intervals are about to start!  However, in my desperation to beat the rain this morning I forgot and set off with my Garmin in its usual run mode.

I did my 4:09 miles at an average 9:06 minute mile pace before resetting my Garmin to interval mode and continuing with my workout. 

I think this actually worked better as it allowed me to pick an appropriate place to start the interval's whereas the Garmin just says 4 miles is now over so get on with fast intervals even if I'm having to cross a busy road!

Anyhow, the intervals were 30 seconds fast followed by 2 minutes slow repeated 4 times.

I was quite pleased with my 30 seconds fast intervals which were at an average 7:10, 7:21, 7:00, 7:48 min miles pace. 

The final one was only slower because some people were in my way so rather than try to dodge around them I actually turned around which slowed me down significantly!

With both runs added together I totalled 6.44 miles and felt much better running today!

Here's hoping it lasts!

This afternoon I went for a very blustery 2.5 mile walk with the dog but at least I didn't get wet and then this evening it was The Tri Club swimming training session which I haven't been to for a few weeks due to my holiday!

Tonight's session was an endurance session, and was very quiet!  I think everyone must be off on their holidays!

We started off with a warm-up and then went on to do some lengths in breast stroke and backstroke which I found a bit challenging as I'm not very apt at it! I also discovered I am unable to stay in a straight line whilst doing backstroke!  I bounced off from one rope to another - good job it was a quiet session!

After this the pyramid started with 100m front crawl, going on to 200m, 400m, 600m with a minute rest between each set.

I didn't find this too challenging so I must be getting better!

Altogether I did 80 lengths which is 1.24 miles or 2000 metres.

Week 5 Marathon Training complete!

Today was a rest day according to the plan. 

One I was grateful for on 2 counts! 

Firstly I woke up this morning feeling exhausted with absolutely no energy and secondly the weather has been horrendous!  I wouldn't have liked to have been out running in it! 

Despite running whilst on holiday I have found this first week back exceptionally hard work!

However, I have kept at it and my Week 5 stats look like this:

Running: 33.00 miles in 4 runs (0  trail runs and 33.00 miles in 4 road runs).
Walking: 16.98 Miles
Swimming: 2.83 miles
(0 open water and 2.83 pool).
Cycling: 4.39 miles (indoor)
Rowing: 0.62 miles (indoor)

Total Weekly Training Miles:  57.82 Miles

Week 5 run 20/64 - experimenting in desperation!

I think I must be suffering from post holiday blues as I have felt very down since yesterday's long run!  I can't believe that even after continuing training whilst on holiday I don't feel like I have maintained my fitness and feel like I am back to square one!

I was so exhausted yesterday after doing my long run that I googled for tips on making marathon training easier!

I read lots about the run/walk approach and this morning when I woke up feeling stiff and despondent with a 4 mile run looming I decided to give it a go!

To be honest having an excuse to walk after yesterdays challenging run was very appealing.  After all, I had nothing to lose!

I woke up to a nice sunny morning and decided to get my run over and done with!

I set my Garmin up so it would prompt me when I had run for 4 minutes and allow me to walk for 1 minute!

I felt very awkward on the walking portion and imagined  all the cars driving by were shouting "You're supposed to be running!" but persevered and didn't let my ego take hold!

To know that I could legitimately walk in a set amount of time made me feel less pressured during the run!

I managed to run/walk 5.48 miles and was very surprised that my average minute mile pace was 9.03 despite walking portions!

Perhaps there is something in this run/walk lark after all!

A well deserved rest day tomorrow!