Busy Times Ahead (June)

[ladyrunner]

Wednesday 1st June, only two days after my 20k race on The Mall, I was lining up again at Eastbourne track for the Veterans Track League. I had agreed to go along with Cam to take part in the 2km race walk - she was determinted not to let me lap her over the 5 lap race.

Warming up as expected I was feeling tired in the legs, but not as tired had it been a 20km running race. After these I am usually shot to pieces for a few days and struggle to jog afterwards.

We all lined up, mainly runners walking to gain points for their club, but there were another 3 or 4 experienced race walkers taking part. I set off on a steady first lap with 2 other walkers, then breezed past them. Each lap Cam was getting further behind and with 2 laps to go she was 300m behind. I pushed hard and overtook her as I approached the bell and clocked a 2 minute lap (my best lap time for many years). I finished the race feeling good in 10:23. The next walker was about 200m behind.

Afterwards I had a cautious attempt at the triple jump. I haven't done this event for 7 years and I didn't want to injure myself before the 100 mile relay on Saturday. Managed 7.60m and maximum points.

Then I finished off with the 1500m run. I was under strict instructions to jog round by Cam (100 mile Relay Team Manager). I wanted to try out my Newton Fore Foot running shoes which a friend had donated as she didn't get on with them. Ran 6:01 (4th) but I did speed up for the last lap as I ended up in a sprint finish which I lost. The trainers felt good - to be tried again when I run the Parkrun.

Anyway I got through the evening with no niggles. So now it's 2 days rest before the relay on Saturday.

[ladyrunner]

Thursday 2nd June

I'm playing catch up again. Where does the time go??

No training to report today but I received a phone call asking me if I would like to go and race at the Dublin Grand Prix on 26th June. The flights and a nights hotel would be paid for so off course I said yes . I've never been to Ireland and it's got to be worth going to try a pint of Guiness.

This put me in a bit of a dilemma, as with 2 days before the big relay, I was wishing that I was not doing it. Instead I would have liked the month of June to train for the race and maybe look to get under 1hr 50min for the 20k. But needs must, I was already committed so the relay must still be run.

[ladyrunner]

Saturday 4th June - 100 Mile South Downs Way Relay

Again not the most ideal night before arrangements for a 4:10am start on the day of the 100 mile relay. The teenagers had me driving them up to Crystal Palace for their kickboxing grading which started at 6:30pm. I was lead to believe that it would only last an hour so I had calculated that I would be home by 9pm and in bed by 9:10am. Ha ha, off course this did not happen!! The grading finished at 8:30pm, they then had to get changed so we were leaving London at 8:50pm!! The journey home was good up until Gatwick when we hit a traffic jam. Finally we got home at 10:20pm.

I am one of the world's worst for sleeping when I know that I need to be up early for a race so I decided to take a sleeping pill, rather than lay awake worrying all night about trying to get to sleep. This did the trick and I was fast asleep by 11pm. Just over 5 hours later I was up and feeling recharged, and setting off to meet my team at Withdean Satdium at 5:00am.

I was running the first leg at 6:30am. Beachy Head to Exceat, 6.5 miles over the Seven Sisters. A very tough leg to begin the day. I power walked up some of the steep climbs to the top of the Sisters and had to brake hard whilst running down the steep descents. I made it to the change over point in 55 minutes which was 10 minutes quicker than I had hoped for. A good start to the day even though I was feeling a little sluggish (due to the sleeping pill). Then it was in and out the van all morning until my next leg.

My next leg was the 8th from Adur Footbridge (nr Bramber) to Washington. Again it was quite a long and tough 6.25 mile leg. There was a very long steady climb all the way up to Chanctonbury Ring. It seemed like the climb started at 1 mile and went on until 5 miles!! This was a midday run and the heat was unbearable (probably not by Aussie standards!!). I did struggle on this leg and clocked again 55 minutes. Maybe the 2 races in 5 days had caught up with me!! Again it was in and out of the van all day until my final leg.

My final leg was the 14th and slightly shorter, 5.5 miles and over much easier undulating terrain. Also it was much cooler as it was late afternoon, probably between 4-5pm. On this leg I felt very good and probably had my best run. Many people were starting to struggle and walk, whilst I felt like I was just getting going. I have always been better over distance than short fast stuff. This leg took me 45 minutes and I was able to finish with a sprint.

Wow it was a good feeling to finish, but my legs were completely hammered. Mainly my quads from the steep down hill running on the first leg. I did think afterwards that maybe I shouldn't have got so carried away on my last leg. I should have been more conservative as I now have the Dublin race to train for.

My next move had been decided. I would take the following week very easy to try and get maximum recovery. Then hopefully I will be able to commence a good week of fast training before I need to ease down again for Dublin in three weeks time.

[ladyrunner]

Monday 6th June

Met Cam and Marian for a gentle walkl around Preston Park at 6:00pm. The legs were bad, particularly the quads. We only did 3 very slow laps (approx 3.5 miles). No stop watches to record the time but as a guessimate I would say 13 minute miles. I finished feeling ravenous and had to rush home for a second dinner!!

Tuesday 7th June

Met up with Joan at 9:30am for another gentle walk along the Downs Link footpath in Shoreham. It was abit faster than yesterday, maybe 11:30 minute miles. We probably covered 3.75 miles in approximately 40 minutes. Not much again but my legs are still suffering. Tomorrow I have a sports massage booked.

Wednesday 8th June

The massage was painful. The quads and IT bands were not too bad. It was the calves and tendons around the ankles that caused the most pain. Did they hurt? Yes terribly!! Apparently the ankle tendons that run up my legs are inflamed and being restricted by the horizontal band just above the ankle joint that is holding them in place. It is not painful when I train but very painful to touch. I was told to try and rub these everyday with moisturiser.

Thursday 9th June

No interval session today. Again I am concerntrating on recovery. Instead of a complete rest I opted for 4km slow on the treadmill. For the last 1.5km I used my hand weights to do bicep curls, tricep flies and shoulder presses. Legs sore from the massage but the tiredness is easing.

Saturday 11th June

After a week of recovery I was returning to proper training again today. I had agreed to meet up with walking friends Trevor, Joan and Anne for a double Parkrun session. I had already given alot of thought to the time that I was expecting for the second 5km and had decided that I would be happy with 26:30 today. Thats half a minute slower than the PB which I set 3 weeks ago (25:59), but due to the relay and 20km tiredness, a slower one was to be expected.

We did the first 5km in 31:30 (1:30 slower than usual). Oh dear, I thought this was a bad sign and I was now thinking I would be lucky to break 27 mins for the next one. After a 10 minute recovery we were off again, this time in the proper race with over 300 runners. The first small lap was 6:49, the second lap was completed in 16:20. We were the same pace as when I set my PB. On the long uphill on the final lap I started to struggle and slow badly. Trevor walked away from me with ease and I tried hard to keep it together. I finished in 26:04, which was only 5 seconds outside my best but I'm sure that had I wanted to push harder I could have equalled my PB. I chose to be sensible and not push to the maximum as it would probably put my recovery back a few days.

So a very promising performance on tired legs. Now I am going to rest tomorrow (not run) and just do a steady walk with the girls on Monday, before going to Broadbridge Heath on Tuesday for a 3km walking track race. That should give me more recovery for Dublin by keeping the miles down but doing the odd fast session to keep my fitness/speed levels up.

Well finally, eleven days in to June I have caught up with my training diary!!

Julie

[Sweder]

Sounds like although you're understandably tired you've maintained your recent form. Excellent, inspiring stuff. I've managed a couple of very modest outings since I got home at the weekend (I'll post those later). It would be great to get out with you soon but I fear we're on different planets running/ walking-wise.

[marathondan]

BTW Julie, you're not the only one who has switched from running to walking.

[ladyrunner]

Monday 13th June

Tonight was a steady fun walk at Preston Park with Cam, Gill, Marian and a new recruit Me Jason. We did one large lap warm up followed by a large lap fast. Then walking drills finished by a one short lap fast. All the girls have progressed so much but Marian was the star tonight having made a huge improvement on her speed (one minute over the large lap and 45 seconds on the small lap).

There was much laughter tonight as we had Me Jason to entertain us. He was shouting comments to all the park users. We also met a cyclist David the Stalker who chatted to us on our warm up lap then 20 minutes later he appeared again in his running atire. The last I saw of him he was sprinting like crazy to catch up with Gill and Marian. We also met Buster the Long Eared Rabbit and his Daddy (a guy aged approx 45 yo). They were hanging out at the cycle track on the inside grass. Buster was free to run and received plenty of strokes and attention from us girls - I think that his Daddy was enjoying the attention too!!

Tuesday 14th June

Tonight I did a track walking race at Broadbridge Heath. The distance was 3000m - 7.5 laps. I decided that I wanted to set off as fast as I could and hang on until the end. The reason being that I have the 10km race in Dublin coming up and need to get my leg speed up, plus I wanted to test out my technique at top speed infront of the judges.

So I set off like a mad woman behind 2 faster men. I recorded 1:54 for my first lap. That was way too fast as I haven't walked faster than a 2 minute lap for 7 years. After this lap my pace slowed gradually each lap and on the last 2 laps I felt like I was almost at a stand still. My km splits were 4:48, 9:55 (5:07) & 15:13 (5:18). But a very pleasing finishing time of 15:13 - a good bench mark to try and improve on - and positive comments from the judges too.

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

Best of luck in Dublin LR - it certainly looks as though you're ready for it ... great work! :thumb:

[ladyrunner]

Thank you MLCM - hopefully all will go well. It's a 20km race but for some strange reason we have been selected to race a 10km within the 20km. I have been umming and ahhing for the past couple of weeks about what to do here. Whether to go flat out for 10km then try and carry one or drop out.

At this stage I have decided to finish at 10km but really go for it and try and beat my Masters 40 pb of 53:36. Well this is my plan for Sunday but on the day I can't guarantee that I'm not mad enough to still carry on for the 20km!!!

Since the 100 mile relay I have been struggling with tiredness in my legs and been feeling slightly under the weather!!

[Sweder]

I completely empathise on the under the weather thing. A series of niggles and a slight but persistent cough have conspired to keep me away from running. I'm trying again this morning, inspired by the news that I'll be in the Olympic Stadium on the evening of August 4th next year

[ladyrunner]

Yes Sweder that is good news about your tickets. I was going to go up there on that day as it's one of the race walks on The Mall. That is unless I qualify myself he he he

Hopefully we will catch up with you again soon for a run. I think that I am now going to enter the Bewl 15 on 3rd July (Wimbledon Final day) as the footballing arrangements that I had for that day have now been cancelled.

[ladyrunner]

Thursday 16th June

Today I was once again feeling under the weather and extremely tired so I opted out of the 1km interval sessions on the treadmill. Instead I walked on the treadmill for 6km with 8x2min efforts but not particularly hard. Already I have forgotten my pace for the efforts - somewhere between 9.5-10.2km/hr.

Saturday 18th June

Back to Parkrun today but with a late one on Friday night and not having arranged to meet up with my walking buddies I turned up with only 15 minutes to spare before the off. However, I did manage a good/fast warm up with strides and stretching. Once again I wanted to set off fast and see what happened.

My pace was very good for the first lap 6:38 (pb), but on the second lap on the hill the strong wind hit and I felt tired. The second lap was finished in 16:33 (9:55 - 25 secs slower than the last few times). On the last lap I tired even more and finished in 26:40 (that was a 10:07 lap).

A little bit disappointing but the 3000m race on Tuesday after my hectic 100 mile relay and 20k on The Mall has obviously caught up with me. Now I need to concentrate on recovering with Dublin only a week away.

[Sweder]

Hopefully we will catch up with you again soon for a run. I think that I am now going to enter the Bewl 15 on 3rd July

I'd love to join you, especially as Bewl has emerged as the annual Moyleman tribute run. Sadly I fly to Orlando that day, off to set up CWD Friends for Life. I'm sure Chris would let me off

Cam and Gill are threatening to drag me out (it's a ploy to get them here to see the pups) though I'm not sre when that's likely to happen.

[ladyrunner]

Sunday 19th June

This is my last effort session before I start to ease off for my 20km walking race in Dublin next Sunday.

I went over to Eastbourne for a run with my new BF. He is a fast runner, has been running for almost a long as me, and has numerous victories during his career Jog Shop Jog, Bewl 15, Crowborough 10k. An easy time was not had - and I didn't expect one.

We set off from the start of The Beachy Head Marathon and covered the first few miles of the marathon up to Warren Hill then along the top by the golf course. The outward route was hard going, there was a strong headwind and my breathing was very bad from the steep uphill at the start. At 30 minutes we turned round and ran back over the same course. The pace was fast (for me )but thankfully my legs were not too tired and the return route was mainly downhill. We made the return in 20 minutes. At the top of the steep decent in to Eastbourne there were some amazing views to take in. I managed a quick peep before we descended to the finish. I was running down with the brakes on hard, thinking that this steep downhill is a crazy finish to a marathon.

Afterwards we did some stretching on the seafront followed by coffee and croissants. The sun was out and it was a lovely day out of the wind to enjoy watching fellow runners setting off on their journeys along the seafront or up the hill towards Beachy Head.

Monday 20th June

Met up with Gill, Marian and Jason for a walk at Preston Park. We did the usual one lap steady warm up followed by one lap fast. Then a fun couples relay race with Gill and I, against Marian and Jason. Marian and Jason won by about 10 metres. To finish we did a fast smaller lap followed by a warm down. Total time approx 50 minutes.

Wednesday 22nd June

Again I'm feeling under the weather with a sore throat and ear ache in the right side of my face.

Went out for a steady hours walking at the back of Patcham to Standean Farm and back.

Over the next couple of days my sinus problems were still bad and with the added worry of a plane journey ahead I decided not to train in the hope that I will be fully recovered before my travels on Saturday. Saturday came and I was feeling almost better but my glands were still a little swollen and my ear was still a little sore. I had been taking Sinutab and Ibuprofen as instructed by the Phamacist and I got through the plane journey without any further ear problems - I was worried that I might end up with the Sweder blocked ear. And by Sunday, the day of my race, the sinuses were almost back to normal

[Sweder]

Oi! What about the race then???
Come on Jules, don't leave us in suspenders ...

New BF eh? Sounds interesting ... anyone I know ; )
I caught up with Cam on the day of your race. She shamed me out of hibernation, much as you tried to do earlier in the year. More on that over at my place a bit later on.

Looking forward to hearing about Dublin.
Please remember to tell us aaall about the Guinness
*stares longingly into the distance*

[ladyrunner]

Sorry Sweder I will probably be banished from the Forum as the Guinness drinking didn't happen .... instead I was drinking Budweiser Ice!!! So here goes .... the 18th Race Walking Grand Prix race in Dublin ....

Sunday 26th June

Not the best dinner preparation the night before my big race. We were staying in a very plush hotel so I was expecting a nice meal. Instead service commenced at 6:00pm on a ‘be there or miss it basis’. The first course was okay, 2 fresh bread rolls and vegetable soup. Then the main meal arrived commencing of boiled chicken breast, dry penne pasta, and boiled mixture of frozen parsnips, cauliflower, carrots and peas. The food was so very bland even after the waiter later came round with a small helping of tomato sauce. I didn't eat much of the main meal and have to say it was the worst thing that I have been given for many years. This was the end of the serving with no dessert being offered.

Afterwards I went into the bar/cafe area with some friends and bought myself a nice raspberry cheesecake and pint of Bud to finish off on. I didn't want to go hungry throughout the night as I only had a few emergency nibbles in my suitcase.

In the morning the breakfast service was surprisingly good - a selection of cereals, croissants, toast, cakes, yogurts, fruit and fried items. It made up for last night’s disappointment and now I was fully energised and ready for my race at 11:45am.

We all caught the bus down to Phoenix Park at 9:45am. The journey was approx 25 minutes and the park was surprisingly huge and very flat. The course was again a 2km lap (1km up and 1km down the same stretch of road). I made sure that I got a good warm-up in as I didn't want to risk the return of the hamstring cramps that I experienced at The Mall.

I set off at a very similar pace to The Mall. 11 minute laps was my aim to give me 1hr50mins. But already after 3 or 4 laps I was feeling tired and my pace was slowing. My 10km split was 55:20 and I knew that I would have to work hard to try and keep to a time that I would be happy with. At this point I thought that 1hr52min would be okay. But the going got tougher. There was a strong wind at either end of the course and as I got tired I struggled further. During the last few laps my pace was slipping further 12:00, 12:10 ... 12:20. On my final lap I went through with exacting 12minutes to go to get under 1hr55. Now this I wanted to do so I battled hard. One of the other England girls was having a bad race and was in my sight for me to try and lap. This kept me working and I did catch up with her with about 700m to go. For the final 200-300m I could see the finishing clock knew it was going to be close to 1hr55 so I tried to sprint. I just managed it and finished in 1hr54min57sec. I was a little disappointed but this was still my second fastest 20km this year out of 4 races.

After the race the mad rush to catch my plane began. My flight was at 4:40pm. The bus left Phoenix Park at 2:15pm. Just as we pulled up at the hotel the airport courtesy bus left so that gave me 20 minutes to go to the toilets and freshen myself up. As I waited for the next bus I was feeling ill. I was feeling faint, sick and had a headache.. I got on the bus and had a carrier bag ready just in case I was going to be sick. It was very hot and I had to fan myself to keep my temperature down, hence stop me from being sick. I arrived at the airport at 3:30pm. This didn’t give me much time to get through departures and along to my gate which closed at 4:15pm. The queues were terrible to get through the scanners. Luckily it wasn’t too far to the departure gate and I made it with 10 minutes to spare. Only when I got there did I find out that the plane had been delayed by 45 minutes. I sat in the departure lounge sipping coca cola and snoozing. Slowly I was starting to feel better.

When we landed at Gatwick I had another mad rush to catch my train to Preston Park. Only 10 minutes to spare after getting through Passport Control. If I missed it I would have to wait an hour until the next one so I was once again trying to move at top speed. The wheel along mini suitcase was a life saver – so much easier than carrying a holdall.

When I got home I had dinner with a glass of wine. A quick bath and went straight to bed.

In the morning I woke up still feeling terrible. My legs were feeling very sore and I had that feeling of going twelve rounds in a boxing ring. I also had a headache and felt sick again. Thankfully a couple of hours after taking some paracetamol the headache and sickness was on the mend and heading down to Kwik Fit to get my car mended which had developed a puncture overnight!!

[Bierzo Baggie]

Good running, I mean walking, ladyrunner. Hard, hard work these races in the heat.

A question I've been wanting to ask, what's hardest, race walking 20k in the sort of time you've been doing or running a fast half marathon? The race walking technique always looks pretty uncomfortable to me....

[Sweder]

You might be disappointed LR but it sounds like a fabulous effort to me. I appreciate Guinness isn't to everyone's taste - just a shame not to give it a go whilst in Dublin (I think it tastes even better in the smaller hostilries outside of the big cities. Perhaps that's mostly ambiance as like EG last year I found the Dublin main drag punb experience less than a happy one). Budweiser? *shudder*

Throw you out of the forum??? Not likely Jules.
You're the prime source of racing entertainment around here
Great stuff, and yes I look forward to catching up with you (literally not very likely at the moment!) when I get back.

[ladyrunner]

A question I've been wanting to ask, what's hardest, race walking 20k in the sort of time you've been doing or running a fast half marathon? The race walking technique always looks pretty uncomfortable to me....

The race walking is harder mentally as most of these big races are over lapped courses of 2km. But saying this if I am feeling fresh and I have got my pacing just right then laps are a good thing for chasing times. I know exactly where I am at with my lap/km splits which really helped me on The Mall. But when I am not feeling too good and end up dying for the last 10km, 5x2km laps is a long way to go in the head!!

I prefer the race walking technique to running - I stay low to the ground, there's no impact, it's smooth and I seem to roll. But as it's a very technical event it would take a beginner months to get to this stage and feel this way. Running seems so demanding on my back, hips and calves and if I returned to running training 3 or 4 days a week I'm sure that the old lady stiffness would return - particularly in the mornings when I used to struggle to put my socks on!! Anyone else know this feeling??

[ladyrunner]

Monday 27th June

The day after my race in Dublin and I was still feeling rough. Woke up with a headache and felt sick - maybe a mixture of sun-stroke and dehydration even though it didn't seem too sunny yesterday.

During the day I improved and at 6pm I was heading out to meet Cam at Preston Park for a steady walk. We did 4 large laps at a steady pace (no drills or sprints tonight). By the end of it my legs were feeling like they were starting to mend.

Thursday 30th June

My final day of training for June. After an easy week of resting I decided to go out for a fast run to test out my running legs before Bewl 15 on Sunday. I did my Stanmer Park lap in my fastest time since I started this training log - 36:00. Felt good in the legs and was puffing a bit at the finish.