Muddy good fun...

With 78 days to go before the London Marathon (arghhh), here's a little update about what I've been doing over the winter. To summarize, it's pretty much the same as the rest of the year but with a greater proportion of time spent wearing head-to-toe mud or a silly costume.

Running around in silly outfits is genetic

In my opinion, this time (for those of us who divide our year into spring marathon/ autumn marathon/ other) is an excellent opportunity to have a little more fun with running. For me, this has involved; winning a race dressed as Mrs Santa, doing a long run in a 'Mountain Forest' (Worst. DOMS, ever) and getting extremely muddy.

The camouflage method worked quite well

Mainly, I like to do a bit of cross country to show off my other talents. By this I mean my ability to end up muddier than everyone else. (As proof, I offer you a picture of me at the Midlands Cross Country; an earlier edition where I decided to add a triathlon element by diving head first into a bog).  My friends and family actually keep a special towel in the car for me to sit on post run. It's lucky that I have this talent going for me, because I'm not sure I have my cross country running ability.

I've realized over the years, I'm not really made for running on dirt. I feel a bit like Bambi...wearing ice skates. Whilst other people seem to skim across the mud, I seem to slip and slide my way along with odd facial expressions and frequent unladylike language... However, whilst I assume it wasn't pretty to watch (pictures of me where I seem to be imitating a windmill suggest this is true), there were a few races that I was quite pleased with. 

Regaining my Northamptonshire Country title, after a few years as a Surrey-dweller, was a definite highlight. A friend did comment after seeing me fall over twice whilst walking the course that he wasn't entirely sure how I even managed to stay upright. I proceeded to explain my interval method, which involves stopping to wade through a particularly muddy patch and then legging it to the next one...

Probably the cleanest I've ever been in a cross country race...

Last weekend, I came 7th at the Midland Championships. This was a great day out; partly because I managed to stay relatively dry and mostly because the MCAA did an excellent job of putting on a great race after the original location was flooded (they'd have needed a coastguard if I'd have done that one).

I have to say I was fairly pleased with the result on a tough course. I actually didn't feel great at all (a fact that was later explained by a blood test, which showed my iron levels are low). However, I am definitely looking forward to having my feet on some more solid ground. Although, if there are any muddy puddles on the streets of London, I'll probably find them...

via GIPHY

Things you should never say to a marathon runner

What we do isn't normal. Running more miles per week than a lot of people drive is considered a little strange by the rest of the world. Also, it can cause you to become tired...and therefore, cranky. Especially, when hungry.

So as we distance runner types begin to up our miles in preparation for our spring marathon, I thought i'd write a little guide on what not to say to the significant runner in your life. Or how to respond if it's you.

1. I don't know how you fit it all in

Often said in a way that suggests that they've got too many more important things to do; feed starving puppies, etc. Ask them what they thought of the entire Making a Murderer series they had time to watch because you're still on episode one. They were probably still in bed when you finished your first run.

2. Don't you/your legs feel tired?

Yep, all the time. I'm pretty sure I know how it feels to be ninety. If the lift was out of order at work i'd seriously consider a sick day.

                             

3. You'll/ I'd get injured

Aw, thanks for adding to my paranoia. I spend eighty percent of my time running imaging worse case scenarios for my various twinges (The other twenty percent is spent worrying about how two minutes slower than my marathon pace feels like i'm sprinting. A surprisingly low percentage spent worrying about the oncoming traffic in the road i''m about to cross with actual injury inducing potential). I'm so worried that the last time I wore heels on a night out, I stood perfectly still apart from going to the bathroom for secret calf stretching breaks.


4. You're looking thin. You need to eat more.

Guessing you haven't seen me eat an entire family sized pizza? It's pretty impressive. Running lots of miles makes me very hungry. Three meals per day doesn't work for me. I've had to add in second breakfast (first lunch?) and pre-dinner.

5. Don't you get bored?

No...don't you get bored watching TV? I get bored really easily; I've never had a job that didn't bore me to tears and I don't think I've successfully made it through a film longer than two hours. But running? Never.
                 

To be honest, if you do say any of these things, I wouldn't worry. We're horrendously lacking in fast-twitch fibers and have probably ran more than ten miles already today, so you'll be able to get away...                              

Frankfurt Marathon 2015: the one that didn't go to plan

It's taken me a while to write about this one...partly because I was on my post-race break (no thinking about running allowed!), and partly because I didn't feel too great about it.

My previous marathons have gone pretty much exactly as planned; I trained hard, I tapered, marathon pace suddenly felt like a jog and I hit my target time. Marathon number four was a bit of a different story. I trained hard, I tapered, and marathon pace felt like...well, a sprint. 

I felt horrific from the start, to the point of actually wondering how I was going to make it to the finish from 10k, and finished about five minutes slower than I was aiming for. Five minutes isn't terrible, I know, but I really believed I could do it. After struggling from the start to stick to my rehearsed 2.34/2.35 pace, I finished in 2.38. 

Rocking the Saucony arm warmers - still feeling alright here

The thing that frustrates me most is that, despite being probably the fittest i've ever been, I can honestly say I spent every single moment of the race feeling terrible and pleading with my legs to keep going. Having experienced the lovely feeling of being relaxed to 30k in my other three marathons, this was a bit of a nasty shock.

Looking back, i'm pretty sure I know what went wrong; the last few months have involved some pretty big life changes and I definitely spent a lot of that time feeling tired and fatigued. Although, I had occasional flashes of relative brilliance, where I hit my best times ever in training, I spent most of the marathon training cycle feeling pretty rubbish. 

My (very wise) coach Nick had told me many times that to run well, I needed to be happy and relaxed with life. Up until the last four weeks pre-race, work and life stress meant that, although the training suited me perfectly and I didn't miss a run throughout, my fitness was hidden by non-training influences.

A race I enjoyed a lot more - winning the Rugby 10 as part of my last 20 miler

I like to see the positive in all things and I can definitely still take a lot from the build up. I had some very enjoyable wins in races; coming 3rd overall, and 1st British women, at the Great Eastern Run in 76.05 as part of a 20 mile run was definitely a highlight and I developed a new found love of using races as part of long runs and training.

The biggest positive of all, though, was that seeing the negative impact the stress was having on my running motivated me to make some changes and finally, with some help and word of wisdom from some fabulous friends and family, follow my dreams. I have moved away from London, back home, and have started a Masters in Exercise Physiology. I'm sure this will mean I am ready to finally chase the sub 2.34 in the Spring :) 

So, lesson learned, one of the most important thing to remember is, to run well you have to be happy and relaxed in life...and don't be afraid to follow your dreams even if it involves some big changes...

Here we go again! (Marathon Training Week One)

It's that time of the year again. The time when I get to indulge my sadistic love of long long-runs, big interval sessions and basically, running for miles...and miles.

Marathon training has officially begun; I can wave goodbye to my sorry impersonation of a track runner (no one was fooled) and races where I feel like I am sprinting the whole way (anything less than a half).No more arguments will ensue between me and my legs (Me: "Ok, we need to go above marathon pace now", Legs: "Marathon pace? Ok!").

I can't say i'm sorry to see the back of a decidedly unspectacular summer season, the highlight of which, was probably a park run pb where I reached the giddy heights of running at around 15 whole seconds faster than my marathon pace and a local 5 mile race, which I managed to win in a finishing sprint for the first time (probably) ever (cue shocked face, see below).

So, in case I haven't yet made it clear, I am VERY excited about marathon training. This week will hopefully be a decent 80 miles or so after tomorrows long run, which hasn't felt too bad at all despite being back at work.

I resumed my usual life-combined-with-marathon training acrobatics; coordinating clothing changes (sports bras and summer clothes don't work), using running as a means of transport (very satisfying during a tube strike) and fitting in double days around a full time job and trying to maintain a social life (the sign of a true friend is one that doesn't mind if you turn up for a coffee wearing trainers and ten miles worth of sweat).

Starting marathon training also means that my sessions don't tend to fit in with the groups I like to run with (of which there are many, I'm a fan of running club promiscuity). Previously, I've tried to make it work ("ok, you run to here then you can cut cross and join in here"/ "i'll do ten more when you're done"). However, this tended to make things needlessly complicated so I gave up and asked the lovely Geoff of Herne Hill Harriers if I could just do my session at the same time, fulfilling my need for a good half an hour chat before and after. Session one was a good session of faster intervals followed by tempo.

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Session number two was a medium - long run finishing off with some marathon pace. I tried a different strategy to get company on this one; Battersea Park is a fabulous mecca for running and if you just turn up and start running laps at marathon pace, you’ll probably find someone to run with or atleast chat to (hopefully, a fellow runner not a creepy dude or one of those 'naked runner's' you here about).

The third session, was some delightful Kenyan Hills, aka, run up at threshold effort, turn round and try and run down at the same effort...windmill arms to stop falling over, slow down to prevent accidents and then run up faster to compensate until it nearly turns into hill sprints (i’m trying, Nick, I am). I felt really strong and Kenyan-like after this session...until I walked back from town with shopping and had to stop for a rest whilst walking up a much less steep hill anyway.

Finally, Sunday was a long run with some marathon pace at the end. My legs were feeling a bit heavy but I some good scenery and company helped me get through. The marathon pace was more marathon effort given the presence of hills and cattle grids every 100 metres or so.

Finding my feet (and losing some clothes) again

I feel like I need start every post with an apology for not blogging for a while...

Yet again, it’s been a very long time since I updated my blog. I’m usually pretty good at not letting life get in the way of my training....but this talent doesn’t seem to transfer to writing. Maybe it’s because I have to sit still to write. I probably should invest in one of those treadmill desks.

So to bring you up to speed on what has happened (before I turn this into a blog about how bad I am at blogging) since last time I updated have:

• Run Frankfurt marathon as an elite and got a shiny new PB of 2.37
• Competed several cross country over the winter and not fallen in/over anything
• Finally beaten my half marathon PB with 75.37, winning the Wokingham half this February
• Injured my long-suffering left ankle and had 2 months off, missing the Brighton Marathon, which had been my focus for the whole winter
• Spent a few weeks on crutches, bemoaning the lack of crutch-adapted cup holders and my inability to coordinate my arms and legs whilst using them
• Returned to running, experiencing the delirious happiness of that first 10 minute jog (it doesn't last)

So at the stage of writing this, my return to full fitness is going well (*looks for wood to touch, panics due to lack of wooden things). This is apart from my slight inclination for chaos, which I put down to being out of practice; I managed to run home with my bag open, leaving a trail of clothing behind (I'm yet to run into a homeless person wearing my skirt).

Anyway, after building up the mileage again since returning to running at the beginning of April, mid-June I like I wanted to test my fitness, so agreed with Coach Nick to do a 10k as a training run.

Doing a race as ‘training’ for me, means that i’ll spend the whole week telling myself it doesn’t matter how I do, because I’m running hard in the week/days before and probably doing some reps/ more running after. Invariably, though, i'll still get annoyed at myself when my time is less than ideal.

However, I'm pleased to report this time I let myself give myself a rare (small) pat on the back. After a long-ish warm up and a decent days training the day before, I managed to win the Richmond 10k in a time not too far off what I ran last year.

Unfortunately, in true chaotic Hayley fashion, I then completely failed to turn up for the presentation. On trying to complete the rest of my ‘long run' post-race, I got myself lost...It turned into a very long run. This did cheer up my dad who got to go up and collect the Senior Women prize. Apparently, this caused some confusion...I must add in a special mention for him here as it was his birthday, Father’s day AND he beat his time from last year by over a minute.

Running dad's are awesome

Since then, I’ve had some really promising sessions, which suggest that I can have a decent summer season despite the early injury. I’m not really known for my speed so when I say ‘decent summer’ it is in relative terms...(and by ‘not really known for my speed’ I mean that the pace I run my 5k is pretty much my marathon pace).

One thing I have avoided for quite a while (since I was a teenager actually), is track... Somehow (hypnosis, mind control...?) I seem to be running a 3000m on the track on Saturday. Let’s hope I can remember which way to run around it...

London Marathon Race Report

Post-race pb ritual...

It's ten days into my mental and physical post-marathon break so I can allow myself to think about running enough to write about it. 

I'm starting some easy running and being slightly more disciplined (cutting my two bowls of ice cream a day to one is hard, okay!) before getting back on it next week.

So, London...all in all, a good result, especially considering that the fact that my marathon build-up wasn't exactly problem-free... (are they ever?)

I was 4th British women overall and ran 2.40. It was actually 2.40.35 but since my target was actually 2.40 and the .35 is the only slight dampener on my happiness I'm going to round down from now on (except for weekly mileage, which I shall always round up :).

Although, being a perfectionist, the point-something is actually really annoying me (can you tell?), I AM PLEASED with the result. NO, SERIOUSLY, I am. It was over a 3 minute personal best after all.

First ever AW picture

Given the fact that I was EXTREMELY worried about the race, given how marathon pace felt in training, I was pleasantly surprised with how it felt in the race. I felt pretty good until 2-3 miles to go. I'm not entirely sure where I slowed down slightly and don't ever remember feeling like I was struggling alot.

I think I messed up my pace a bit somewhere and suddenly realised my last 2 miles would have to be run ridiculously quickly to actually get under 2.40.

Performance aside, I can honestly say I absolutely loved the day. I've chatted with a couple of people since who have told me they hated doing London because of the constant cheering. I LOVED it...the atmosphere was fantastic. I had a massive smile on my face for most of it; honestly, all my race photo's until the last three are ridiculously smiley.

I even got my first ever picture in Athletics Weekly - made my day :)

These guys run a lot faster than me...

Now, i've recovered I am absolutely desperate to get back into training and attempt to revise my shorter distance pb's over the summer....they need it :)

Thanks for reading!

Three races and a niggle

Hello everyone,

It's been a while since my last post and quite a lot has happened.... Here's a bit of an update on what has happened since the last one.

Race number one - The Marathon Debut

First things first, Frankfurt went amazingly well - better than I could have hoped for. I finished with so much left in the tank and never really hit the dreaded 'wall' so I'm confident there is a lot more to come. 

I won't go into detail about the Frankfurt race here, except to say that I finished in 2:43:58, smashing my target. If you want to read more about the race, I'll direct you to an interview I did for The Running Bug.

So, the next logical target for me was always going to be the London Marathon. I have dreamed of winning this race since I was little so when my coach, Nick Anderson, decided it was on the plan I was more than a little excited. The aim is sub 2:40. A tall order but one which, after Frankfurt, I feel is within my grasp...

The big build up

So began another period of marathon miles. I thrive off of long runs, long tempos and marathon pace work so I couldn't wait. Up until Christmas, I steadily built back up my running but was hindered, somewhat, by the usual winter bugs and yet more niggles. Stress also took it's toll as I commuted into London from Essex for work everyday whilst in the messy process of buying a house.

Race number two - The Mud Bath

Post Christmas, I finally seemed to be getting somewhere. My first target race was in February, the Wokingham Half. However, this was unfortunately cancelled due to flooding. 

Somehow (don't ask), I ended up making a rare cross country outing. It was meant to be a 5k park run but circumstances meant I had to look for another short (ish) race to replace it. 

So, I donned my trail shoes and lined up on the start line of the Surrey League. I probably found more water hear than I ever could in Wokingham and, being unable to wear spikes since my surgery, I did find it tough going. However, I was satisfied to finish 2nd to an olympian (at the triathlon, but still...). 

The niggle

Unfortunately, I felt a pain in my foot during the race and this was the start of the niggle that is still bothering me now. I've been training with it after the diagnosis of a strained big toe tendon in my foot by my very experienced physio, Mark Buckingham. However, it is hampering my speedier running.

Race number three - The one that didn't go to plan

So last weekend, I ran the Reading Half Marathon. I struggle to remember a race where I have felt this bad. My legs felt like concrete from 200m and I ran about 1-2 minutes slower than i'd hoped, finishing in 78:38. 

The time wasn't appalling given the conditions. If I had ran that feeling like myself I probably wouldn't have thought it was a disaster. However, something felt wrong. The level of fatigue I experienced didn't feel like a lack of fitness as I never ran out of steam. I never got going!

After the race, the usual dissection began and I came up with some ideas as to why I felt so bad. I had been ill in the week, which could have had an impact and life/ work stress probably played a part. However, the heavy legs were likely to due to the marathon miles and lack of faster work, which meant that the pace I was trying to run felt fast for me. 

Crunch time

So i've quickly brought you up to date. Now the final 6 weeks of marathon training has begun. The niggle is still bothering me but I'm doing all I can to control it and i'm jetting out to Portugal next week to put the finishing touches on my marathon training.

I WILL be bringing you more frequent updates in these final six weeks....

In other news (on which, I plan to write a separate blog), I met one of my favourite runners of all time, thanks to Adidas UK and The Running Bug.

Here's me and my (almost) namesake, Haile...so much respect for this dude.

Follow me on twitter @HayleyJane4 and please ask me any questions about my training in my Ask the Expert column on The Running Bug site.