Race Review: Down Tow Up Flow Half

On July 29, 2013 By Girl Running CrazyIn Race Reports2 Comments

Yesterday I swapped the busy, polluted, noisey streets of London for the quiet and scenic trails of Marlow & Windsor. What a great idea that was!

With 13 weeks left until the Frankfurt Marathon the weekly long runs have picked up and I had my eyes on the Purple Patch Down Tow Up Flow Half Marathon. It’s a point to point race which changes direction each year, this year it was Down Tow starting in Marlow and finishing in Windsor. Windsor only took 40 minutes to get to then I got one of the organised coaches to the start so my car would be waiting for me at the end, that’s a quicker journey than my last 2 London races!

The course was described as ‘multi-terrain’, I quickly learnt that meant it was 95% off road, not that that was a problem but there would be no PB’s today! There was also a bit on congestion at the start where the paths narrowed but the organisers had set us off in 3 waves to make it less disruptive. It was, however, flat and a beautiful course, we ran from Marlow through Maidenhead, Cookham & Bourne End to Windsor and it looked a bit like this…

and this…

There were boats on the river with people clapping and waving at us and there were a couple of areas with pedestrians lining the street to give us a cheer and a smile, everyone was lovely!

There were several shady areas through the trees but the sun was out and the heat was rising, together with the trail underneath my feet, I was starting to find it tough but I still felt fairly strong and found the power to overtake several people in the last couple of miles. The finish came around and a couple of people shouted ‘go Clapham’ in the final stretch. I finished in 1.50 and was tired & thirsty (sooooo thirsty!) but still felt pretty good which makes me less nervous about my impending 15 miler on Saturday.

I highly recommend this race – fantastic organisation, a beautiful course and a lovely medal, what more could you want?! I had forgotten how much trail races take it out of you though…I’m back to the penguin walk today…

Look at my really cool medal!

Where Dreams Came True: Following In the Footsteps of Legends

On July 22, 2013December 13, 2013 By Girl Running CrazyIn Race Reports2 Comments

When you run into an Olympic stadium with thousands of people cheering as you pound the very same track that saw Mo Farah, Jessica Ennis & Usain Bolt achieve Olympic Gold Medals you get goosebumps. My Sunday morning was incredible.

The alarm went off at 6am and all I really wanted to do was turn over & ignore it, but it was race day…again. Not just any race day however, but the National Lottery Anniversary Run which would take me on a 5 mile journey around the Olympic Park and finish with the last 300m on the track in the stadium. The race sold out in hours and I was only lucky enough to get a place because my Twitter buddies were frantically talking about it. Thank you!

Each participant received 2 spectator passes for the stadium so Mum & Dad had come up to London for the weekend to watch. We arrived early to soak up the atmosphere and get a good seat.

As I walked to my start pen I spotted Paula getting mobbed by fans wanting photos. I was excited now! I darted into the pen and found a spot in the middle where it was warmer, it was actually quite chilly early on in the day. They introduced Mel C (she does triathlons now apparently!), Victoria Pendleton and Paula, who were all running, and then Sir Chris Hoy who was there to start the race.

The race was fun! It’s fair to say the first mile was carnage – narrow paths, too many people and a couple of points where we were forced to stop & walk due to congestion. However, after the first mile or so the pace & course sorted itself out and I had expected it to be busy anyway. It wasn’t a great view, if I’m honest, we’re talking tractors, diggers and a lot of what resembled a building site, but it was still the Olympic park and we all knew where it would finish. The course weaved around the Park and we passed the Velodrome, the Copper Box and the Orbit. There were several points where you could see people running in the other direction, I shouted out to a super speedy guy in a Chaser vest and he waved at me, everyone was in great spirits.

After about 4.5 miles we rounded a corner to the outside of the stadium and there was a glimpse of the track through the gap. I turned to the guy next to me and said ‘wow, just look at that’, he simply agreed. However, we would have to wait a bit longer as the course took us through the tunnel that ran under the stadium. It seemed to go on and on but the organisers were playing Chariots of Fire into the tunnel to get us excited and the anticipation was rising. Nice touch!

Finally WE WERE THERE, we were only bloody well running through the arch onto the Olympic track!! It was phenomenal. The stadium was full of spectators cheering, shouting, making noise and wanting you to run faster, what a sight – you can just imagine what it might have been like on Super Saturday. That last 300m all went a bit too quickly, I tried to look for mum & dad in the crowd but couldn’t spot them, then the last 100m came around and the only thing left to do was put my foot down and run like Mo!

Action shot, just casually keeping up with the boys…

I crossed the finish line and felt a little sad. It was over. I knew I’d definitely be back if they repeated the event next year. I got my goody bag and medal and it didn’t take long to find my way back to where Mum & Dad were. It was great to sit there and take in the atmosphere, just watching people run round the track enjoying themselves.All the runners were buzzing, massive smiles, people whooping at the crowd, dancing, taking photos and videos, everyone was loving it! It was a lot of runners first time in a race environment and I hope they enjoyed it as much as me. We stayed to watch some of the entertainment, the sun was now out and Little Mix went on stage to perform some songs.

Paula coming back to high five some of the quicker runners, what a ledge!

In conclusion, the race was superbly organised, everything went smoothly, it was a lot of fun and, yes maybe the race t-shirts were a bit big, but it was value for money and I got to run round the Olympic track! On the last 100m stretch I was even thinking to myself, I wonder who was running in this lane last year…

I’ll never know what it was like to be Mo or Jess or Greg on that night that will go down in history as one of greatest nights in British sport EVER but I did get a teeny weeny glimpse into what they experienced and that was enough to blow me away.

The Happiest 5k on the Planet!

On July 17, 2013July 17, 2013 By Girl Running CrazyIn Race Reports1 Comment

It was messy, it was colourful, it was gloriously sunny and it was a whole lot of fun! On Sunday Wembley marked the first Color Run in the UK (it’s American, they don’t use the ‘u’, you have to get over it).

It’s an un-timed 5km run where you get attacked with different coloured powder paint at each kilometer. They call it a ‘run’, there was very little running done by anyone but, as they say themselves, it’s ‘less about your 10 minute miles and more about having the time of your life’! The only rule is that you have to wear white.

It’s fair to say I’ve never participated in a running event that hasn’t had nervous anticipation (vomiting, panic attacks, sheer terror…) built into the excitement but, with my Garmin safely at home, I was nothing but excited. Zoe and I had customised our t-shirts on Saturday night over a couple of glasses of wine and a chick flick (she even got me sewing blanket stitch with pink wool…) and we customised our faces with some neon paint. With my ‘Color Run’ tattoo on my arm, sweatband in place, and phone wrapped safely in cling film (advisable) we were ready to roll.

Wembley was buzzing with excited ‘Color Runners’ when we arrived and they were pumping out some tunes while everyone was getting into the spirit of things. We met up with Kate and a couple of her running buddies and had a bit of a dance. The start was fairly disorganised, they were letting people off in waves of 1,000 at a time but it was a bit of a free for all getting to the start and, with 15,000 participants and 30 degree temperatures, it was crowded & sweaty. Some sort of allocated wave system would have made this a lot smoother.

We jogged along the course, which was fairly well spaced out with people, and before we knew it we were at the first ‘color station’, it was pink! The ‘color dudes’ (made up term) literally throw powdered color all over you, front, back, face, head…there were even people rolling around on the floor! At this point I realised why they advised you to wear sunglasses and was glad I had taken that advice, pink paint in the eye wasn’t the look I was going for.

And off we went again…to the purple zone… then the yellow zone…and finally the orange zone, absorbing new color and dancing around every chance we got. Despite the gentle jogging, Kate & I made it a sprint finish, hand in hand across the line, and that was the best moment of the day! Kate’s long been a running buddy having done everything from 10ks, halves, bogs of doom and marathons together but this was our first Porridge-Frenchy run of 2013 and that makes me so happy!

It all seemed to be over quite quickly and I remain unconvinced that the course was 5k but it was FUN. At the finish line they give you a packet of ‘color’ to carry on the color party. With the DJ still banging out the tunes on the stage the atmosphere had a festival feel about it and everyone was dancing and jumping and throwing their color in the air (it really was as surreal as it sounds).

Honestly, it was overpriced at £30 for a 5k without chip timing or a bag drop but all in all it was a fabulous afternoon and the event had a great feel about it. I’m not sure how it would have worked if it was raining but we were lucky with the weather and that made it all the more enjoyable.

Sometimes, it’s a good idea to screw the time, screw the pace, screw the pressure and just bloody well enjoy it – so get involved, apparently it’s the single largest event series on the planet! Do be warned though, I still have vaguely pink arms and a purple tummy…

I shall now be resuming the use of ‘u’ in colour for the foreseeable future.

When is Enough Enough?

On July 12, 2013 By Girl Running CrazyIn ThoughtsLeave a comment

It’s a question I find I’m asking myself more and more. When is enough enough? 26.2? That always seemed the obvious limit to me but who decided that? Pheidippides? Sure, he would probably say that was enough but he didn’t have a Runners World 16 week training plan or a well rehearsed fuel and hydration strategy… Millions of people around to world have taken on the grueling 26.2 challenge and succeeded. So what next?

Some people might say a marathon is too far anyway, ‘running is bad for you’, ‘it’s bad for your knees’, ‘it’s not natural to run that far’, blah blah blah. What was that sorry? You seemed to be choking on your cigarette, I couldn’t quite hear you, oh yes, running, it’s bad for me.

Some people already think I’m crazy but I fear they haven’t seen the half of it yet. I never know when to stop. I never have, not with anything, sometimes it works to my favour and sometimes it doesn’t. Already in training for marathon number 4 (and my 2nd this year which is already something I never thought would happen), I’ve started to sets my sights even higher. Maybe an Ultra next year? Could I do that? Why would I do that? Why would anyone do that?

A triathlon? That’s most definitely in the 2014 plan, mostly because I really can’t find a good enough reason not to. With a lido down the road and Richmond Park a few miles away as well as a whole group of Chasers to train with, it all seems to fit together quite nicely. I want to call myself a triathlete. I don’t even want to be competitive, just to finish (and get some new bling of course but that goes without saying!)

Twitter has opened my eyes to a whole new world of possibilities. My newsfeed is full of all these fabulous, wonderful, strong, inspiring and quite frankly fit as hell people who are taking on bigger and bigger challenges. Everyone’s training for this and that…sub 3 hour marathons, sub 20 min 5ks, new PB’s, 50 mile Ultras, their first triathlon, their 47th marathon, Ironmans, Marathon des Sables…the list is endless and every one of these people inspires me in a different way.

I text my brother last week and asked him if he was up for an Ironman in 2015. He didn’t think I was crazy, he asked me which one! Could I do an Ironman? Am I getting carried away? I know I can run a marathon, I would still have to put the miles in of course but it would be at a much slower pace than my current marathon training. I can swim. I can ride a bike. Sure, not to any kind of standard and I can’t swim 2.4 miles or cycle 112 miles, but I can train. Can’t I? I would need to get a wetsuit and, ermm, a bike, but that’s the easy bit. Maybe I am crazy. Maybe I would fall at the first hurdle. Maybe I need to get myself a PlayStation or a Candy Crush addiction and pipe down. But maybe, just maybe, I could achieve all these things…

So when is enough enough? I really don’t know but I know I’m not there yet.

Review: Runners Need Women’s Event

On July 5, 2013August 7, 2017 By Girl Running CrazyIn Reviews5 Comments

This summer Runners Need are running some exclusive Women’s Running Events held in their stores across London. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect but when I arrived at the Waterloo Bridge store I was greeted with champagne and Lola’s cupcakes so I was pretty happy already!

They checked me in then gave me a free Asics’s technical run top (a really good one that I would actually have paid for) in a choice of pink or black. Pink please! As if that wasn’t enough, I was then presented with a chunky goody bag and went off to find a seat whilst juggling all my freebies and trying not to spill a drop of bubbly or ending up with cake all over my face!

The first guest speaker was Editor-in-Chief of Women’s Running magazine, Christina Macdonald. She talked about her experiences with running & fitness, problems she’s had along the way and her journey to becoming a marathon runner.

Secondly was Nina Anderson, Britain’s number 1 in W40 200m, 400m, & 800m, and top Running Coach. She was very inspiring to listen to having tackled all distances from 200m to the marathon and coached people across all levels of the fitness spectrum. She offered us 3 key running tips

Nina’s Top Tips:

Every session you do should have a point – how does this run relate to your running objective?
Keep a training diary – an excellent way of monitoring progress and reflecting on achievements when lacking in motivation.
The importance of strength & conditioning work. She recommends a body weight session which can easily be done at home (she didn’t specify what this included but I imagine a combination of squats, lunges, push-ups, tricep dips, dreaded planks etc)

Finally she told us that easy runs should be easy and hard runs should be hard. If you make the easy runs hard then you can’t push yourself as much on the hard runs. Makes perfect sense but I’m still guilty of pushing myself a bit too hard on those easy runs…I’m not entirely convinced this means I don’t push myself enough on the hard runs after throwing up on Wandsworth Common during my last interval session but I definitely understand the benefits of taking some sessions easy!

We also had talks from Mike Whitby from Asics and Nora Mulcahy from Covent Garden Physio.

Mike introduced us to the Asics 33 range (named because it considers all 33 foot joints) which promotes ‘natural running’. Natural running is allowing the foot to run, quite simply, as naturally as possible, much like barefoot running, but still offering your foot some protection against concrete, grimy streets and the occasional dog poo. It’s a lightweight and flexible shoe with a low heel drop to allow your foot this natural movement and strike the midfoot or forefoot rather than the heel. The benefits of this are that you land over the centre of mass which means the body utilises its own cushioning properties and therefore reduces injury risk. Apparently only 15% of runners are midfoot strikers and 10% forefoot.

Nora talked about her transition to barefoot running. When she started there was little advice available so she made the mistake of heading straight out for a 5 mile run…with a backpack. This left her calves feeling like ‘they were about to explode’ so she didn’t repeat this mistake! She stressed the importance of going back to basics and, if you want to transition, you need to build up 1km at a time. Sounds like you need a lot of patience! Nora now runs round Victoria Park, completely barefoot, with her shoes in her hands attracting odd looks from the locals. She loves it!

I’m not quite sure what I think about minimalist running shoes, and I’m certainly in no rush to go crazy and abandon my faithful cushioning altogether, but I have been considering adding a lighter ‘racing’ shoe to my collection. I had a chat with Mike afterwards and, despite being an Asics rep, he wasn’t all ‘Asics this and Asics that’. He advised me that I probably wouldn’t have the time to transition to something too light, like the Adidas Adios or Asics Tarther for my next marathon in October, but I could definitely switch to a performance shoe if that was the way I wanted to go (he recommended the DS for me, yes this is an Asics shoe but I told him I was an Asics fan!)

I shall most definitely be looking into it further and will aim for a lighter racing shoe for my next 10k, maybe that’s the answer!

There are still 2 Runners Need events left this year, Victoria & Southwark Bridge, so if you’re a fabulous runner chick, of any level, make sure you get down there, it’s open to all! Just make sure you register on the website first.

Awesome Swag Bag!

10k’s are for wimps*…

On July 2, 2013September 18, 2019 By Girl Running CrazyIn Race Reports, Thoughts2 Comments

…I’ve drawn this inevitable conclusion after finishing my 4th 10k race in 6 weeks and still not clocked a new PB. 10ks are stupid.

Sunday was the RunThrough Clapham Common 10k and it was the hottest day of the year so far. The Metro reported temperatures of 27 degrees in London, quite a contrast to the wind and rain just 7 days earlier (where I also blamed the weather for my under par performance…)

Saturday was also a beaut of a day and I found myself in a beer garden with a craving for cider. I never drink before a race so this surprised my friend who was more than happy to join me for some fruity pear goodness (practically one of your 5 a day anyway). Staying sober and sensible hasn’t done me any favours in the speed stakes so I thought I’d try the ‘fluid & carbs’ approach. 3 seemed about right.

I also made a careful effort to match my nails to my trainers to see if that improved my speed…

Conclusion? Well, neither of these things worked but you can’t compromise on style just because you’re a big sweaty mess and fluid & carbs are as important as oxygen (this is a fact), so I stand by my race prep.

It really was a hot, hot, hot day and I was even beginning to feel the heat as I left the house at 8.30am. The sun was scorching as we set off on the 2 lap course and it wasn’t going to let up. Don’t get me wrong, I love the sun and I love the heat but running in it is HARD, I even took a cup of water at 5k which I wouldn’t usually bother doing. I finished in 48.16 and couldn’t get my hands on a bottle of Lucozade quick enough. I’ll just call it a training run then.

The best part of the day was spotting super speedy Cat in the crowd, who I met for the first time at the Richmond Relays and meeting Hannah & Lorna who I hadn’t met before but were both fabulous. It’s always great to meet up with people who think the same way as you and, despite all being amazing runners doing amazing things, they all had their own self-doubts and concerns. I think they’re just bloody brilliant.

On my way home from work yesterday I was trying to draw some positives from my recent 10k attempts and it wasn’t actually as difficult as I thought:

Race 1: I beat Paula Radcliffe, ran a time I was more than happy with 4 weeks after VLM and had a fab evening with Zoe & free Prosecco.

Race 2: I only bloody well came 2nd and am now the proud owner of a badass trophy!

Race 3: I was the 3rd female Chaser in Richmond which officially makes me a Surrey Road League Race points scorer.

Race 4: I met some truly inspirational runner chicks who reminded me of the true spirit of running and that’s something no timing chip or Garmin stat can ever take away from us.

On the plus side, I didn’t ache at all yesterday which meant I was totally up for the Club social run and weekly bants with the Chasers – winner!

*Obviously I don’t really think 10ks are for wimps. I have nothing but respect, admiration and embarrassing amounts of jealously for anyone who can nail this git of a distance that’s too long to put the pedal to the floor from the off and too short to make excuses for. RESPECT