Felt fitter, faster and stronger right from the off. Set to cruise control as soon as the gun went off. Sat in on the back of a pack, and overtook about ten runners in the first mile. I continued to work my way through the field, picking athletes off one by one throughout the race. It was an undulating course, so made sure I didn’t overcook it early on.
I can’t afford for my confidence to drop now, so had the discipline to hang back for the first half, push on the second half, and finish the race strong and on a positive. Time and position tbc but a higher placing position than last race but was slightly longer (4miles) I clocked around 30mins on my Garmin.
Thanks for tuning in…. will post updates once results are up.
*Results are up! Finished 24th, massive improvement on last race where I finished 48th position… So 100% better performance in my book! Also ran 36 seconds faster on a slightly longer and hillier course. Chuffed with that! 😊
Kudos to all my fellow teammates who had outstanding performances – some finishing in the top 10!
Tipton Harriers Ladies Team currently stand 2nd in the league 🙌🏼🇳🇬
A good day at the office I’d say. 👍🏼
Please subscribe to my blog to see more updates on my running progress 🏃🏼♀️
This was my first trip abroad in years due to travel anxiety. It’s taken me five years to get to this point where I feel confident enough to travel, as air travel terrifies me. However, I was determined to conquer my fears through exposure therapy. So with the help of CBT (cognitive behaviour therapy) and through graded exposure, I managed to pluck up the courage to travel abroad again.
So with running shoes packed, posse in tow, off we set to capital of Slovakia! We stayed in a quirky little Botel right on the Danube. It was an ideal location just opposite the castle, and a short walk from the old town so close to all the sights. It cost just £35 per night to stay here, and it was a great experience having never stayed on a boat before. The cabins were sizeable, with a walk in shower. It was clean and cosy, perfect accommodation for what we needed as we were out a lot. The restaurant served a buffet breakfast from 7.30am, and was just an additional 8 euros. The evening meal we had there was amazing too, mushroom tagliatelle and chocolate crepes.
View from the Marina Botel
It turns out, Bratislava is quite the mecca for riverside running! The Dvořákovonábrežie promenade was full of runners, walkers, and cyclists along the flat and even tarmac paths. Being so busy and well lit, it provided an ideal place to train. This path runs for miles, and it takes you right up to Devín castle in the opposite direction and continues right up to the Austrian border.
Running with my friend and training partner was the highlight off my trip! We set off at dusk, just as the daylight was fading and the river was lit up by the bright twinkling lights of the city. It was such a nice relaxing vibe, and felt so free and relaxed.
We took the path to the left of the river, crossed over the old footbridge (Starý Most) which provided a great opportunity to take some nice photos of the city. Beautiful views of the boats all lit up on the Danube, the UFO tower, and the castle in the background.
View from Starý Most old bridge
We made our way to a lovely leafy public park called Sad Janka Kráľa, the other side of the river. Large lawns and lots of great paths to run. It was early evening, so a fair few dog walkers around so seemed safe enough. Lots of statues, gothic towers to make the run interesting, and great views of the UFO tower as we exited the park.
Gothic Tower
We then followed the riverside path back to the boat, taking in the magical vistas of this amazing city.
The following morning I got up early to take some photos at Michaels Gate. We found a nice place to have breakfast, called Mondieu so headed there after our mornings exercise. In addition to the running, we clocked up a few steps each day as we walked between five and eight miles per day.
I have to say Slovakian food is different, delicious, and filling! The local cuisine mainly consisted of dumplings and sheep cheese. Perfect carb fuelled cuisine for runners, as the dumplings are a lot like gnocchi (pasta & potato). The best meal of the trip for me was at the Slovak pub where we had garlic soup, served in a giant bread bowl! The gooey cheese at the bottom just melted in your mouth with every spoonful of soup and rustic bread. We sampled three different type of dumplings; one with cabbage & bacon, one with sheep cheese and one with sour kraut. My favourite ones were the cabbage & bacon! All swilled down with one of their home brewed dark beers – which was absolutely lush!
We also went to some other great pubs, one of them being Čierny pes on Na Vrsku, just around the corner of Kapitulska Street (a must see cobblestone street in Bratislava, with old derelict buildings). The ales in Čierny pes are amazing! They serve Bernard beer on tap, in 0.3, 1.5 & 1L measures and costs around 1.70euro.
Kapitulska Street
Another great pub was Goblins pub in the old town, an underground bar that was most likely an old bomb shelter. Quite a trendy place, with a decent selection of beers. We sampled the wheat beers, dark ales, and Kofola (Solvakian Coca Cola) which they had on tap.
There was a festive feeling everywhere we went, with Christmas tunes playing in bars, shops, and restaurants. The Christmas market provides a warm fuzzy vibe when walking around the cute little stalls taking in the aroma of the fruit punch or ‘grog’ as it is known there. The toffee apples were amazing! as was all the Slovak food, including the chimney cakes, and apple strudel. Except for the ‘bread with grease’ – we didn’t fancy that.
We decided to catch the tram to the airport on the way back, which was considerably cheaper at just 1.20euro per ticket! We used the Hopin app to get from the airport on arrival which cost us over 12euro. It was fun travelling like a local, and got to see even more of Bratislava.
So I’ve just started a new training block where I plan to incorporate some strength conditioning work as part of my schedule. I feel this will benefit my running, as I need to work on leg strength in order to develop the quads whilst getting those glutes firing.
I’ve been struggling with tight hamstrings, which has consequently led to lower back pain. I believe this may have something to do with weakness in certain areas. Hopefully by incorporating the strength work it may help with my niggles and improve my running efficiency long term.
Today I hit the gym, and did this workout below. I wanted to share this incase anyone else thinks they may benefit from the exercises. It can be adapted to suit you, so you may want to reduce or increase the reps/sets (just be mindful of where you are at, and don’t load up too soon!) Recoveries between sets can be suited to your current fitness levels, but I would advise somewhere in the region of 1-3mins between sets.
All of the exercises are quite basic and can be done in a gym, squats, calf raises and lunges can be done at home. Variations can be added/adapted i.e. Lunge Twist or Calf Raise with Barbell. I would recommend starting on the a very low weight, and building gradually up over the course of a few weeks/months.
One of my fondest running memories is making the elite start line at the Great South 10mile Run in October 2012. Despite it being a bitterly cold day, I was determined to put my head on the chopping block, and attempt to race my way to a decent time. Position was irrelevant, as I didn’t consider myself to be a contender amongst the top athletes in the sport. However, it was an honour to share a tent with with Jo Pavey, Gemma Steel and Jess Coulson. Despite feeling like a fish out of water! There was enormous pressure to perform, but I just had to keep a lid on my emotions and put into perspective why I was there – I’d had a decent season, ran some decent times to put me in the frame to be involved in an elite women’s race. Who wouldn’t jump at the chance of this opportunity?
Second from the right, with my face in my hands.I was bang on pace….for the first 100 yards.
The atmosphere was electric, and the crowd so supportive and friendly – lots of shouts and cheers which spurred me on to the finish, despite being off the pace.
It was a lonely ten mile run through the streets of Portsmouth, as I lost touch with the lead pack shortly into the race. As I battled the elements, the wind and rain made it hard for me to get on the back of the group in front of me.
The girl in front of me had a 90 second lead on me, I had a 30 minute lead on the girl behind me! So, I was caught between a rock and a hard running pace! So I settled into a decent tempo, and maintained consistent splits for the following duration.
I ran a season’s best time of 65:57. Although not the worst performance, I was quite disappointed, as I was in the shape to run just outside the hour mark. However, given the conditions, I was just glad to finish.
A famous quote from a hero of mine…
“Don’t look back, you’ll trip over”
Michael Caine.
Sometime’s its good to look back down that road we’ve been down though isn’t it? It can motivate us, and remind us of who we used to be and what we’ve already achieved in our running careers. I hold on to these memories, and use the experiences to make me stronger.
Classic before and after pic.
Take home message – Sometimes you’ve got to run your own race, irrelevant of where everyone else is around you. Look at the big picture, and where the race fits into everything for you. Ask yourself what you are using the race for, and how will it benefit you? Try not to get sidetracked by others, and swept away with their pace – they may have drastically different ambitions to you. However, this does not make yours any less important so just use opportunities to your advantage.
Enjoy every running moment, have faith in yourself, and be positive. Own your race plan, and strive toward your goals. Running is such a rewarding sport, be proud of your achievements and appreciate moments as they unfold. #StayFocused #StayStrong #RunHappy #LookingBack #LookingForward #BeGrateful #BeYourBestSelf
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Midland Cross Country League (fixture one – Coundon Park, Coventry) was my first race back in over two years. Ironically, at the exact same venue as the last one on 11th November 2017. Nerves have been festering for days, but managed to keep a lid on it by distracting myself through various means (music, meditation, writing, reading etc etc…)
I’ve had a similar pre-race prep routine for years, so just picked that straight up again. Woke around 8am, and had a good breakfast consisting of porridge, tea, and toast. Ensured kit was all ready, to alleviate some stress having it all laid out good to go. **see previous blog on pre-race nerves and how to deal with them**
Arrived at Coundon Park at approximately quarter to twelve. Just started to rain! Had a quick look at the course, whilst cheering then men on. Then back to car to warm up again and stay dry. Banana snack (as feeling low – prob due to all the nervous energy I was burning up!)
Went on a warm up at around one o’clock with Sal and the other girls, few strides and drills and it was time to head to the start. As the gun went off, that was it – I was committed!
I started out conservatively, mindful of not going off too fast and blowing up early into the race. Settled into a nice tempo, and held it at that most of the way round. I sat in right behind my teammate Penny for a good portion of the race, and was pleased to hold on to her for so long. It was a privilege to have someone drag me around, and the shouts from the crowd sure helped too.
The course wasn’t too bad, no major hills but the conditions were tough! It was very muddy due to the rain, which made it feel like running through treacle for the most part. Despite having 12mm spikes in, I was still slipping and sliding on the corners – very energy sapping. Felt stronger than I anticipated though, and battling the elements whilst blowing out your proverbial backside is ‘character building’ to say the least.
The rest of the team did great, and was so nice too see such a huge harriers turnout – at least ten counters, all of which packed well. We are lucky enough to have a strong squad, of various ages and abilities which means we have the strength in depth now, so takes the pressure off a bit if one of us is not able to race for whatever reason. It felt good to be back racing with my teammates, and hopefully marks the start of a good season for us all.
Short cool down after the race, as I was already cold enough! quick jog around the near field, then dry kit on and a milkshake to refuel. I feel like I could have pushed myself harder, but I did what I set out to do today and the aim was to just get round! It’s been two years since I raced four miles on the country so just dipping my toe in again so to speak. Although it’s a different course, its more or less the same distance at the same venue and last time I ran there I clocked 29.04. Today I was only just over a minute down on that, which I am pleased about considering i’ve only been back training a few weeks. Still awaiting official results, but Dave seems to think I was in the first half of the field so I can’t be too disappointed with that. He also said I looked strong and performed better than he anticipated so plenty of positives!
It was so nice to see a few of my friends from other clubs too, Aldridge Running Club, Royal Sutton Coldfield, DK, West Brom Harriers. The atmosphere was awesome, and lots of support from fellow runners and spectators.
All in all, a good day at the office (albeit a very cold, and muddy office)
Well done to all who ran today, and to the officials and spectators for supporting in that weather!
Update: Results are up! Performance a lot better than I thought – 48th out of 250, I’ll take that. A great benchmark to work upon. So chuffed to make the first page of results (out of 5) and a fair few of those were juniors so all in all a pleasing run.
POSITIVES all the way from now on… need to build on this in order to move forward, stay focused and maintain consistency in both my training and racing.
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And so it begins. As it gets’s closer to race day, I feel the jitters coming on… less than 48 hours to go until the first XC race of the season, coincidentally at the exact same venue as the last one I did two years ago (when I was considerably fitter). As I attempt to stave of self-doubt, I thought I would share some of the strategies I have employed to combat pre-race anxiety as it has helped me immensely.
“I do not, and have never suffered from pre-race nerves” – said no athlete ever.
I think most athletes can relate to pre-race anxiety and I think most of us have experienced it at some point. It can often take the fun out of racing and inhibit performance if we don’t channel it correctly.
The good news is – pre-race nerves are a good and positive thing, we all need to achieve those optimal arousal levels to perform and shows us that we have that ‘fire in our bellies’ to compete well. It provides us with the adrenaline we need to sustain performance and confirms that racing is still important to us.
However, it can often take the enjoyment from competition and leave us feeling exhausted from the constant worrying about racing.
So, what can we do to use this as fuel and channel it in a positive way?
Firstly – Acknowledge your fears. Ask yourself what you are actually worried about? Is is your competitors, your times, your position? Write your concerns down. Sometimes we don’t even know what we are worried about! We often just learn to worry because we’ve always done it. Once you have identified your fears, you can then start to work on them and find solutions. Challenge them, figure out a way to overcome them.
Secondly – Work on your self-confidence. Reflect on your recent training and highlight things that have gone well. For example, sessions where you’ve felt good, and training you’ve nailed. Previous races or park runs where you’ve performed well and achieved the times you were after. What made these occasions successful? Use positive affirmations to recite good constructive comments to yourself like “you’ve been hitting these splits” or “you are good on hills” or “you beat him/her before, you can do it again”. Figure out your strengths, and recognise you have this in your amour.
Thirdly – Put your race into perspective. Where does it fit in to the big picture? remember – it’s just ONE race. If you miss it because you are ill or injured, so what! there will always be others you can pencil in as an alternative. What if you have a bummer of a race, so what – use the experience to make you a stronger athlete. Figure out where you went wrong, address it, and work on it. What about if I get beat by my opponents? So what! it’s not always your day, respect your fellow athletes and learn from them. Have a solid racing plan, and allow for set-backs – one bad race wouldn’t be the end of the world. Take the pressure off by having contingency plans i.e alternative races.
More tips on how to combat pre-race nerves:
Practice Mindfulness – I cannot recommend this enough. It is a very powerful tool in reducing anxiety. Like running, it takes practice. But as they say, practice makes perfect ! Deep breathing exercises help to trigger the parasympathetic nervous system which keeps us calm. Sometimes the most difficult thing is to initially embrace meditation but once you’ve got over that first hurdle and invested in it you’ll wonder why it’s taken you this long to try it. You don’t have to be a hippy to practice MM – just trust in it and you will reap the benefits. I can recommend a good free app called mindfulness daily, available on iOS and android.
**Who knew that deep (diaphragmatic) breathing can not only improve your running efficiency through relaxation, but also improve maximal oxygen uptake (VO2 max)? **
Pre-race prep is key to developing a constructive routine prior to a race. The 24 hours leading up to a race are critical to get right. Every athlete is different, and what works for one may not work for another. Some athletes may enjoy a nice hot bath the night before, some may read a motivational book, listen to a podcast/music, sort out their racing kit, or some may enjoy a cheeky glass of wine or a chamomile tea. My advice would be to find what works for you, and stick with it.
Use visualisation techniques to imagine yourself executing the perfect performance. Practice sitting quietly, and watching yourself in your minds eye run a successful race. What would be happening, what would you be doing, and how would you be feeling if the race went according to plan?
Try going out for a very short, light run the morning or evening before a race (morning for an afternoon race e.g XC or evening before an early am road race. This can often help to settle nerves by confirming that our body is in good working order (much like starting up an engine of a car prior to racing it) it helps to stay loose, and gets you in the right head space.
By shifting your thinking, you can reduce those pre-race nerves and ultimately perform better and more consistently while enjoying the experience more. Avoid mental sabotage by allowing negativity to creep in and take over. You are in charge of your own thoughts, and this is certainly one power you have over your competitors if you master your thinking. Train well, think right, perform well.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this blog and found it useful. Stay tuned for more!
Saturday’s park run got me thinking… why don’t I enjoy them? why do they fill me with anxiety? why do I avoid them?
I deduced only true answer. Because I am up against me toughest opponent – myself.
Parkrun to me is all about me, and beating my own time. From this, comes pressure. Pressure takes away the fun, and leaves me feeling nervous and miserable. So why do it? well park runs are a great tool to measure current fitness and form. They are about pushing our personal limits, and achieving the best times we can.
I have always enjoyed racing and thrive off them, but not parkruns. Races to me are about running for a place, and feeding off others to work through the field to gain a better position. Parkruns for me are a relentless journey of chasing times. In parkrun, I haven’t got the pleasure of knowing my teammates are there to have my back, or the incentive of reward at the end of it. Just the challenge between the weaker me and stronger me, battling it out for a SB.
My mind was at odds with itself on Saturday, torn between toughing it out or wimping out. Just as I was ready to turn back to the car on the warm up, I saw a good friend who motivated me to brave it. We both agreed we must be mad!
So, there I am on the start line, dripping wet and froze to the bone waiting for them to set us off. It can’t come sooner, truth is I just wanted it to be over. I remember these kind of days, just forgot what it felt like. I was out of my comfort zone. I knew I wasn’t in the shape to run sub 18 like once upon a time so I could only hope to beat my time from my previous one a couple of months back (jogged as a training run). This one would really be my benchmark to see where I’m at right now.
Despite the numb legs, drenched kit and acute anxiety I managed to get round and knock over 3 minutes off my previous time! So I guess I should be happy with that.
So I conclude, without a doubt my toughest opponent is myself. My advice to runners would be to challenge yourself. Step outside your comfort zone. Get tough. Sometimes you just have to put your head on the chopping block and face your fears. Dismiss those negative comments telling you that you can’t or won’t. Replace it with positive self-talk, and push those limits that we can so often put on ourselves.
A year ago I wasn’t enjoying running, and felt I was going through the motions with both my training and racing. It became a clear to me that running had become a chore and had ceased to be enjoyment for me anymore. I no longer felt that fresh, focused, accomplished feeling I’d always felt after a run, instead I was tired all the time and dissatisfied with my performances.
A friend suggested I take six months out the sport to refocus, and I took my friend up on that advice. I am so glad I did because the time out gave me chance to recover, and try out new things whilst running was put on the back burner for a while. Family commitments meant six months turned to twelve – and I’m not going to lie, it’s been a bumpy road. But I honestly feel the break from running what was needed in order for me to return with greater strength, energy, motivation, and discipline.
I should mention that I have been running now for over twenty years, so it’s no surprise i’ve needed the odd break now and then!
So my advice would be take time out if you need to, listen to your body. Listen to your mind. The demands of training and racing can catch up with us eventually. Sometimes it’s good to miss things to make you realise how much you love it. Time out can be a day to a year! I wouldn’t recommend much longer than that, as it can often be harder to get back after a long term layoff.
I am enjoying my running so much now and feel more motivated than ever before. I have set up ‘StreetRunner – the road back’ blog as an informative journal to not only document my own personal journey back to fitness but to help inspire others to get out there and enjoy the wonderful sport of running.
Sometimes, set backs are the most difficult thing to deal with. It can be both frustrating and depressing. It can leave us wondering if we can ever get back on track. But if we use these times wisely and challenge our mindset, it can actually help to shape us as runners and with the right attitude we can use this as fuel to make us better athletes.
It’s hard to accept that we are unable to train in the way we’d like to, which can often lead to the unhealthy downward spiral of negative thinking which is futile and unhelpful. It is important to stay positive and utilize the time wisely to prepare us for when we are ready to train again.
Rest and recovery is sometimes the hardest thing for a runner, but we must use this time for the body to heal and repair. It is from this, that we adapt and improve to perform better in the future.
Training doesn’t always go to plan, and we should be prepared for this. This week has taught me that sometimes with the best will in the world we cannot always put in the training we intended. I have spent the last five days in pain, on a bunch of meds that have prevented me from following my original training schedule that was set. Instead, I have had to adapt to the situation (as frustrating as it is) and substitute planned running sessions for alternative forms of training. For example, instead of doing a run I have used to time to focus on strength conditioning. This is something we can often neglect when we are focused on running running running!
By altering our mindset, we are channelling our energy in a more positive direction. So instead of wallowing around miserable because we can’t run, we become grateful of the things we can do and get on with it. This helps us keep on track, and become less likely to engage in negative behaviours (i.e, defying advice, and going for a run anyway). Yes, we’ve all been there.
Use mental imagery, to visualise how you will run when you are on the comeback. Imagine you are watching a video of yourself running through your minds eye, what would you be doing right? how would you have executed a perfect run or race? How would it feel? What would you be telling yourself? Mental rehersal can prove to be a great tool to become a more confident athlete and enhance physical performance. This is something you can control, and make you feel less helpless during set backs.
At the moment, I am sat on the sofa writing this, because I feel sick and close to passing out when I even stand up! But once I am back on my feet I plan to start work on my strength conditioning as this is something I need to work on. There are so many substitutes to running, which bring about numerous training benefits. Here are just some of them.
Different forms of Cross-Training
Swimming & Aquajogging- A great low impact activity, but still great aerobic exercise whilst maintaining muscle tone.
Yoga – A great opportunity to work on your flexibility, whilst giving you a good S&C workout.
Pilates – A great routine will not only benefit your muscles (including those deep core, and pelvic floor) but improve flexibility, and joint mobility.
As you can see, so many options!
So, just to recap…
Accept the set back, and use it as fuel to drive you on to the next time you can train.
Find new and different ways to train – this can often be quite refreshing! i.e. Aqua-jogging, cross-training.
Use the time to focus on aspects of your running you need to work on i.e, strength conditioning, physio exercises.
Relax and recover – listen to our bodies, when we are tired – rest.
Thank you for reading my blog, and hope this helps you with your running 😊🏃
So I’ve been training consistently now for ten weeks and achieved gradual progression. Attempted to keep to the 10% rule, by increasing my weekly mileage no more than 10% each week. This has allowed my body to slowly adapt to the demands of training and avoid risk of injuries or illness.
I have been motivated by my incremental gains in fitness, and slowly introduced sessions into my schedule the last few weeks off the back of a base of consistent steady miles.
My new Garmin forerunner 235 has encouraged me to work within my training zones, and has often forced me to slow down at times which has shown me that we can often warm up way too fast! Tracking my heart rate helps to illustrate how hard I am working, control my pace, and show my recovery. This watch has proven to be a great training tool, and I would not go back to the chest strap heart rate monitor now that I’ve had the built in wrist one on the watch.
My current training schedule involves a typical week of:
1. A long(ish) run once a week (building up from 30-60mins over the course of the ten weeks)
2. An interval session (grass or road reps of 1-3mins efforts)
3. A core stability/strength conditioning session.
4. Easy/Steady runs of 2-5miles
Going to look at pencilling in a tempo or accelerated run in the coming weeks….
I have had to basically start again from scratch, and be patient and very disciplined (two of the most important qualities in a runner!) in my training and possess the mantra to “hurry slowly”. I consider myself to be a complete beginner again, and it’s been fun starting again from a blank canvas. It’s futile comparing past times and PB’s – just get on with it and it will come! The most important thing is to enjoy the sport, and when we put pressure on ourselves it can become a chore – which we really don’t want.
These autumn months are the best to train in! running on blankets of leaves in the crisp cool air is the best feeling! I’ve got my weekly mileage up to 20miles now, so I plan to plateau at that for a while before I ramp it up again after my first XC race of the season in two weeks – eek.
Streetrunner 🇬🇧🏃🏼♀️ 