On the Bench

Last week I ran the perfect 10 miles and felt fantastic, this weekend was to be the next step up to 12 miles and I was really looking forward to it. The weather was great on Saturday morning, the sun was shining and the temperature wasn't bad at around 7 degrees so good running conditions.
I'd done my first summer route run with the club on Thursday which took us off road down the canal and along some fields, not as easy as I'd thought. I found I had to concentrate far harder on where I put my feet not to mention staying upright as the canal was quite muddy so very slippy in parts.
I'm not sure whether it was the terrain or if I just wasn't feeling the best but my times on Thursday weren't great and I struggled to keep up with the front runners so had to drop back.
When Saturday came I was determined to go for the 12 miles but still wasn't feeling 100%. I set off fine but by mile 3 I was struggling to maintain a good pace and could tell I was dropping back, mile 4 was no better and by mile 5 I was ready to give up. This is most unusual and something I've not had to do on any run in over a year, I feel stopping is cheating, I just can't do it. For this reason I decided to push on to complete 10k and see how I felt then. At least I'd know I'd achieved a good distance - even if it was only half way.
By the time I'd made the 10k I was completely done in, there was no way I could've gone on to finish 12 miles. I walked and found a bench in the sun to sit for a while and figure out what went wrong but I really don't know.
Last week I'd been on fire, I even felt as though I held back in case I ran out of energy in the last miles. Moreover I loved every minute. This week nothing worked, my legs felt like lead, I was breathing far heavier than usual and I couldn't even focus on my mindful yoga, it was hopeless.
Maybe I've just pushed myself too hard and my body was telling me I needed a rest, I've been running further and further lately so it wouldn't be surprising. What did surprise me was how bad I felt about not completing the distance I'd set out to do, as if I'd let myself down.
For this reason I'm going to take a few days off to relax and recharge so I can hopefully get back on track next week.

The Perfect 10

I did it, today I ran for 10 miles without stopping for the first time and I managed to keep my average pace just under 9 minutes per mile - 8.58 to be precise, completed in 1 hour 30 minutes.
The first 4 miles I was averaging around 8.40 per mile and dropped it back just in case I was pushing a bit too hard for the distance. To be honest though, I could have run on, I felt really good.
I've run the course before albeit in two lots of 5 miles so knew the route well, what surprised me was how strong I felt. Even when I've done the shorter routes there have been times where I've flagged but today I enjoyed every minute.
The only notable difference was the weather, it rained throughout. Not torrential rain but it was steady for the whole of the run and suited me perfectly. I'm very prone to overheating no  matter what I wear I get so hot after a couple of miles and I know  this can slow my pace. The rain was fantastic and kept me cool and I'm sure this was a huge benefit to my run time.
I don't know whether my heating up is down to age, having one kidney or simply a common runners problem but it's one that definitely affects how I run. Because I'm in the 'Mono Kidney Club' I always have plenty of water but there's only so many layers you can take off on a road run.
When I get around to entering some races this year I'll be praying for a downpour on race day that's for sure.

Design Priorities

I have a stack of new design ideas, bits of patterns and samples of fabrics piling up but my sewing machines have been otherwise engaged for a while. Next month my eldest daughter gets married and I had the rather important job of designing and making the dress. Today it's back on my tailors dummy waiting to be tried on for hopefully what will be the final fitting.
It's been difficult to fit in any other design work around the wedding dress but now it's almost time to clear the decks and get stuck in and I can't wait.
Already I have a selection of leggings designs in varying styles, lengths and fabrics together with both shorts and skorts now the sun's come out. Work is beginning on some yoga tops and I'll also be adding to my range of accessories with bandanas, bags and belts. Super excited to be working with Midlands Yoga to create yoga leggings and harem pants for the class too.
I'll be keeping the blog posted with plenty of show and tell's as designs start taking shape and heading to the website.

Taking the Pace

One of this years running goals is to run a half marathon so I've gradually started increasing my miles. Until this week I'd managed 7.5 miles with the running club but wasn't happy with the times. When I take part in my first half marathon my aim is to complete in under 2 hours so I targeted a pace of 9 minutes per mile.

Pace is something I'm learning more about as having run relatively short distances for 12 months my focus had been just to get faster. To date my fastest mile has been 7.51 which I'm ecstatic about however, there's no way I'd maintain a pace like that over 13 miles! 

When I run alone my average pace is 8.20 per mile but when I run with the club it drops to 9.30 per mile, I think that's because there are more stops and pauses en route. Either way its becoming more difficult to work out how to pace myself for a half marathon.

That's why this weekend I set a goal to achieve 9 miles, my furthest run yet at a pace of 9 minutes per mile, somewhere in between my club and solo runs - should be achievable?

The course I chose is a regular 10K for me, normally 2 laps so I'd just have to add a third to get to 9 miles. It's at Sutton Park in Birmingham so includes some pretty steep hills which would test my pacing, it's the third lap though that would put my stamina to the test.

Thankfully I had no problems with getting past 7 miles, in fact my 8th mile was my fastest! The splits came out as follows:

Mile 1 - 8.50

Mile 2 - 8.34

Mile 3  -9.07

Mile 4 - 9.11

Mile 5 - 8.58

Mile 6 - 9.23

Mile 7 - 9.24

Mile 8 - 8.20

Mile 9 - 9.04

The best for me was my average pace which was 8.59 just what I'd set out to achieve. 

This has given me some real confidence to move up to half marathon mileage at a pace that'll see me finish in under 2 hours.

Running & Reading

Thanks UKRunChat for sharing another great feature to coincide with World Book Day, The Best Running Books 
The first running related book I read last year was Running With the Kenyans, Adharanand Finn and I was totally captivated. It was hard to put down to go running and when I did I focused on my running style for the first time. Finn's journey to Iten, Kenya the running capital of the world with his family was such a brave move. His investigation to discover why the Kenyan's are so fast, their barefoot running style and his own participation in the gruelling Lewa marathon is not only great reading but also useful info for runners. I have his next book The way of the Runner waiting on the shelf ready to read.
The next book I read was another autobiographical novel by Helen Stothard, It's Just Four Times Round the Village, her personal journey to run her first marathon. The marathon turned out to be the London Marathon and her road there was fraught with injury and illness. It was an enjoyable read on a totally different level to my previous book as here was a complete novice (like me) so it was interesting to hear about the highs and lows she encountered as she trained for the big race.
Right now I'm partway through Born to Run by Christopher McDougall and it's another hard one to put down. Having heard so much about it before I finally picked it up I kind of knew it was a runners reading essential, it's absolutely captivating. From the first few pages you're hooked and like Finn's book there's so much to learn within the story - which also has laugh out loud moments. The book focuses on the authors quest to discover the hidden tribe of ultra runners, the Tarahumara who live and run in the dangerous Copper Canyons of North America. From there he meets running legend Caballo Blanco and as the story develops you are introduced to other well known and talented ultra runners. The book is building up to one of the greatest ultra marathons in which it's hoped McDougall and his companions along with the Taramuhara will compete - but I'm not there yet...
The list shared today by UKRunChat  will now ensure I can keep my running reading going for some time.

Can't Stop Me Now

I did it! Clocked over 7 miles on last night's club run so half marathon, I'm on my way...

Breathe

After another rewarding yoga class today I started thinking about mantra's and more specifically running mantra's. As I prepare to increase my run distance from 10k to half marathon I'm hoping that focusing my concentration and meditating on positive thoughts will improve my overall energy.
This one will start me off as I take on 7 miles tomorrow.