I am SO sorry. Where the hell have I been? Well, actually, nowhere, but my poor laptop is still dead and as much as I love my iPhone, it's no good for blogging. I've been having major blog withdrawl symptoms though, so I've hijacked my work PC (and my lunch break) for a quick catch-up.
There's so much I want to tell you about: the Love Run; my birthday; my fabulous new Shock Absorber sports bra; the fact that my boyfriend's started running(!) - but for now, I just want to concentrate on one thing:
THE PARIS HALF MARATHON IS SIX DAYS AWAY!
How did that happen?! It feels like it's been months away for ages, and now *wham* it's in six days.
Right now (and this changes on an hourly basis), I'm feeling confident and excited. I've been cranking out my long runs at a strong and steady pace, taking care of my legs and overall flexibility, and continuing my strength training to ensure my posture and alignment is what it should be. I had my last long run yesterday (8.8 miles), and today is my last PT session before Paris (we usually work out mid-week, but I should be winding down the exercise by then apparently). I'm planning to do a couple of short runs in the next couple of days, and then stop on Thursday to give my muscles a rest, so everything is ready for Sunday.
I've been getting really nervous too, and throwing myself a bunch of 'what if's - basically trying to drive myself crazy. What if I have a bad day and a really crap run? What if I trip over my own feet (it has been known) and injure myself before the run? What if I need the toilet half way through (I really don't want to spend 30 minutes in the toilet queue)? I'm trying not to let those thoughts get to me because, well, if any of them happen, they happen, and I'll just have to deal with it (I say this now, but you know I'll sulk like a muhfugga if I do injure myself).
When I started training for the Paris Half Marathon, I decided not to set myself a target time. Mainly because a) I'd never run anything over 10 km before so how the hell would I know when I'd finish? and B) I'd be so chuffed to finish the race, time wouldn't matter. But having done all the training, I want to come in under 2 hours 30 minutes (the average time of yesterday's run put me in at just under 2 hours, but I know I wouldn't have been able to maintain that for another 4 miles). If I come in under that, I'm going to eat a cupcake/drink a cocktail for every minute I had to spare. How's that for incentive?
I'm going to try and blog lots more this week - mainly because I need an outlet for the running anxiety, but man, I've missed you guys!
On a completely different note, I'm going to see Anna Nicole The Opera tomorrow night - what the hell do I wear to that?!
Monday, 28 February 2011
Monday, 14 February 2011
Just a quickie...
Flickr image from Beneath_B1ue_Skies' photostream
I have been a bad blogger. I'm still here, I promise, but my laptop's broken and is going to the laptop doctor this week, so I won't be able to blog for the next few days at least. I have lots to tell you about, including this weekend's Action Duchenne Love Run (where I ran 10km in a love heart costume), but apparently I'll get fired if I spend all day at work blogging.. So stay tuned for that, I'll be bombarding you with posts as soon as my laptop's back in action.
I hope you all have a fabulous Valentine's Day, or a fabulous Monday if you're not celebrating.
Kx
Monday, 7 February 2011
Run Sweeney Run: Take 1
Remember that VERY scary challenge I told you about? It happened on Saturday. Let me give you a bit of background:
[In the gym, about a month ago. I'm discussing my training plan with PT]
PT: "You know you can run the full distance? Do it a few weeks before the race then you can bring your long run distances down."
Me: "Um... no? No."
[A couple of days later. In between working really hard, I'm on messenger to Gemma]
Me: "So, PT said I should run the full half mara distance a few weeks before the race. Do you want to do a test run with me in February?"
Gemma:
Thankfully she came round to the idea in the end, and we set a date. Then the Timelords decided they hated us and that date whizzed round in the manner of bikini wax day (you know what I mean?).
I took my Nike+ Sportband for a run around the block to re-calibrate it (it was being a little generous with my distances, which is fabulous, but not fair). I don't have a running track near me, so I used RunKeeper to set the correct distance.
GG found a half marathon route which took us around the river from Barnes, across Kew Bridge, through Kew, Chiswick and Hammersmith to Putney, across Putney Bridge, and back to Barnes. That doesn't sound too long, but looky.
It was horrible. Awful. The worst run of my training so far. I'm used to running on the tarmac and pavement of Central London, not the uneven trail of the Thames Path. The track was hell on my calves, and I had to stop when we were only 3km in to stretch them out. I knew then that this wasn't going to be a great run. Thankfully it wasn't all trail, and we did come across some blessed tarmac, but even then, there were a lot of stretching stops and walking breaks.
If this were a film, I'd indicate the passing of time with a wee video montage. It's not, so I'll do it with pictures instead:
Don't worry, I won't talk you through the entire thing. But here's what I took away from it:
My efforts at re-calibrating my Nike+ Sportband clearly didn't work - it told me I'd only run 18.4km, and GG's RunKeeper had us at over 20km. I really need something with GPS to track my runs, the Sportband just isn't accurate enough for my liking. If anyone has any tips on how to sort it, please let me know!
[In the gym, about a month ago. I'm discussing my training plan with PT]
PT: "You know you can run the full distance? Do it a few weeks before the race then you can bring your long run distances down."
Me: "Um... no? No."
[A couple of days later. In between working really hard, I'm on messenger to Gemma]
Me: "So, PT said I should run the full half mara distance a few weeks before the race. Do you want to do a test run with me in February?"
Gemma:
Thankfully she came round to the idea in the end, and we set a date. Then the Timelords decided they hated us and that date whizzed round in the manner of bikini wax day (you know what I mean?).
I took my Nike+ Sportband for a run around the block to re-calibrate it (it was being a little generous with my distances, which is fabulous, but not fair). I don't have a running track near me, so I used RunKeeper to set the correct distance.
GG found a half marathon route which took us around the river from Barnes, across Kew Bridge, through Kew, Chiswick and Hammersmith to Putney, across Putney Bridge, and back to Barnes. That doesn't sound too long, but looky.
It was horrible. Awful. The worst run of my training so far. I'm used to running on the tarmac and pavement of Central London, not the uneven trail of the Thames Path. The track was hell on my calves, and I had to stop when we were only 3km in to stretch them out. I knew then that this wasn't going to be a great run. Thankfully it wasn't all trail, and we did come across some blessed tarmac, but even then, there were a lot of stretching stops and walking breaks.
If this were a film, I'd indicate the passing of time with a wee video montage. It's not, so I'll do it with pictures instead:
Don't worry, I won't talk you through the entire thing. But here's what I took away from it:
- Boiled egg and soldiers is not a sufficient half marathon breakfast. EAT MORE.
- Scoffing a handful of gummy bears behind the Chiswick Boat House then trying to run will give you cramp.
- Tiny kids on bikes will not move out of the way for you.
- There are no downhill sections on that route. Bad.
- I do not fancy boys who row. (Or, y'know, any boys that aren't you, Al)
- Running with achey arms does not improve the ache.
- GG makes an awesome bacon sandwich.
- I CAN RUN A HALF MARATHON WITHOUT DYING.
My efforts at re-calibrating my Nike+ Sportband clearly didn't work - it told me I'd only run 18.4km, and GG's RunKeeper had us at over 20km. I really need something with GPS to track my runs, the Sportband just isn't accurate enough for my liking. If anyone has any tips on how to sort it, please let me know!
Tuesday, 1 February 2011
Janathon: Day 31 - thank you!
Flickr image from vistamommy's photostream
I'm so ashamed to say that, and I won't even make any excuses. I could have got up early in the morning and run, but I let myself sleep in instead. So there it is - laziness won out in the end. But overall, Janathon has been brilliant. I ran a total of 98 km - the most I've ever run in a month - and did a fair bit of cross training. I never would have done all of that without Janathon. Those of you who ran and blogged every day - you are my heroes, go and eat lots of cake.
I've discovered some fabulous blogs this month, which I will continue to follow (if the blogging bug has bitten the previously non-bloggers). Here are a few of my favourites:
- Girl On A Mission
- Jungle GG
- FortnightFlo
- Thru The Blue
- Lazy Girl Running
- JogBlog
- abradypus
- Steve and Katie Run
- Releasing The Inner Thin And Fit Person
- Travelling Hopefully
- RunHelenRun
- Cake Of Good Hope
- Ramblings of a multi-tasker
Thank you to everyone who's read and commented on my Janathon posts (and the rest), knowing you guys were keeping an eye on me really cheered and geared me up when I was struggling. I'd love you all to stay for my Paris Half Marathon adventures and beyond!
Now, will you all join me in a massive round of applause for the wonderful Cathy, who organised the whole shebang? Cathy, take a bow:
Now that Janathon's over, normal service will be resumed here at ksweeswee towers. Training for Paris ramps up, with a VERY scary challenge this weekend (more on that later this week). Stay tuned!
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