Roll on mid December!

What started with me running in tracksuit bottoms and a bog standard pair of trainers and naked (as my fellow runners call it) nearly two years ago has now evolved into me purchasing the most expensive piece of running equipment I own so far my new garmin forerunner 220 unfortunatley it's on pre-order with stock expected mid december.

Isn't it beautiful!  I started with nothing then moved to the Garmin 110 then moved to the Garmin 405 which I hated and sold again within a week and went back to the 110. But this one I chose for the amount of things it will do to help my training particulary for London... I think it does just about everything other than make you a cup of tea when you have finished your run! And yes before you ask like my dad did - it can also simply tell the time!

I have started a new training programme incorporating heart rate training and running by effort with intervals and hill work built in, the aim is to do a 5 hour or sub 5 marathon at London which will be a pb by twenty minutes....big ask? During my first interval session with my current watch I was having to keep looking at my wrist and trying to keep track of how many repititions I had done and how long I had ran and also the maximum heart rate zone I was working in. Too much going on for my little brain to compute (run for 4 mins in hr zone 135-155 bpm then run in hr zone 163 - 177 bpm for 1.5 minutes repeat 5 times) Who does Garmin think I am Carol Vorderman?

So the new watch can not only have the garmin training plan from my computer transferred to it so every day it will automatically know what I'm meant to be doing it will also beep or vibrate to tell me if I run too fast/too slow/ and when to change from running at different speeds etc. Totes amazeballs. It will also stop and start the timer itself when I stop to cross roads or tree gaze (see previous wyre forest blog) It also has a fab option of linking it to the Garmin connect app on my phone so when I get home with internet connection it will automatically upload the data from the run without me turning on the laptop or linking up manually. It's waterproof down to 50mtrs so I can either set my treadmill up next to the bath and run with my arm submerged or it will just be good running in the rain :-)  I think I'll let it off that it doesn't make me a cup of tea.

Proof will be in the pudding maybe xmas pudding when I get it delivered December and take it out or the first time.

Bournemouth Half Marathon Festival

What an amazing experience The Bournemouth Marathon Festival and my first proper Run For Fun meet up was.

The weekend started with my mom and I driving up to Bournemouth on the Saturday morning just over two and half hours drive later and we had arrived at Kings Park drive car park, this was the intended car park we would use the morning of the race and I wanted to check out how many spaces there were and payment for parking etc. We pulled up on what turned out to be the start of a football match so got discounted parking for £1 bonus! The car park was huge and I was happy that this would be where my Bournemouth half marathon journey would start the following morning. After a busy day walking around Boscombe beach and looking in the shops we made our way back to freshen up for our meal with the Run for Fun gang.

Mom, Me, Maureen, Paula, Martine, Lorna, Karyn, Rachel, Jenny, Emma, Fiona

I was so excited as I had only met three people from run for fun and not all at the same time. I only knew what people looked like from photos on Facebook. The meal was organized by Martine and we were to meet at La Strada restaurant at 5.45pm. I managed to get some good parking again (I'm getting quite good at this parking malarky) and we made our way down to the finish line for the 10k race that had started at 4pm. Looking around for the gang I spotted a tall blonde lady wearing a bright orange hoody on with Ultra Girl written on the back then spotted more ladies with the famous Ruffus hoodys on. I had found Maureen and the gang! It was so lovely to meet everyone and finally put faces to names of people who I interact with on a daily basis and also have so much in common with... finally I had found people that talk about running just as much as I do.

The evening was spent celebrating some of the ladies 10k results and some pbs and discussing what our aims were for the following days races. A few of the group were doing the full marathon and the rest were doing the half. Martine and co had already shown us how fantastic the medal and t shirts were. After carb loading on pasta we then left for an early night as the alarm was set for 5.45am to set off for the car park at 6.15am. Waking up after a terrible few hours sleep I forced down a few mouthfuls of cornflakes and a half moldy banana. The nerves were kicking in, I was unsure how my leg would hold out after not running or doing any exercise for 15 days prior to the race due to a hamstring strain. I was hoping for a pb as it was a flat course but was a 2:08 or less possible? Mom and I arrived at the car park at around 6.45 and were glad we got there so early as it was already filling up with cars queuing to get in after us. A quick sort out of bags and mom making sure she had her thermos flask for coffee and we were ready to make our way to the starting pens. I was in green which I originally thought was second from the front...first time ever I've been second from the front with an estimated finish time of 2 hours - 2 hours 15. But no, it turns out I was second from the back! We found Fiona and Lorna but couldn't see Mo or Paula. I got in my green starting pen, I got chatting to a lady who was 58 and running her first half marathon we chatted for a while and I made my way to the right hand side of the pen so mom could see me as I went over the line. A short countdown ensued then we were off to a small jog then stopped again, jogged a bit then stopped again then we were off properly running. The route started off taking us through the streets with the shops and the sun was glaringly bright! As we had set off when it was dark I hadn't got my sunglasses and had to hold my hand up to my head to see where I was going. I kept a good pace going for the first mile at 10.14 minute miles and was feeling good it was slightly congested and I had to weave my way around other runners and soon picked up the pace for the next 2 miles at 9.24 minute miles. Heading out of the shopping area we then ran along a housing estate and came out along the beach, it was absolutely stunning views all you could see was the sea for miles. At this point my music decided to start playing up so I went to get my phone out of my pocket to change it and ended up dropping the blasted thing, I was wary of not tripping up the runners behind me so tried to pick it up whilst looking over my shoulder and ended up kicking it away from me all the way down the road! It stopped near the side of the road so I could stop and collect it and luckily it got away with a couple of dents around the side but the screen was intact. Woopsie!  The route took us a mile or so along the beach then we would turn around and come back on ourselves. My motivational song came on and I was running gazing out at the sea feeling like I was on holiday. I managed another few fast miles of 9.26 and 9.12 then we headed down towards the beach so we were running just along the sand. By mile 5 my bad leg with the hamstring issue felt fine. I had noticed though that there was something jiggling around in between my toes in my sock but decided to keep running as it wasn't painful more annoying if anything. We came to the Boscombe Pier where mom and I had spent the day before and I could see runners running around it. I was looking forward to this bit but then I got diverted off to a shady path..hang on shouldn't I be running around the pier with everyone else? I continued up the shady path and came across a hill.. I decided not to risk more injury and walked it and I didn't recognize any of the runners around me anymore.. I did think I had taken a wrong turn somewhere and I should be running on the pier but carried on and tried to figure out what was going on in my head. After the hill I tootled along and at mile 8 I started to get cramp in my glutes they kept seizing up and I had slowed down now to 10.36 minute miles again but still felt ok. At mile 9 there was an awesome downhill part with lots of support and crowds cheering and I could hear the dj at the finish line cheering people through the finish, I couldn't be this close to the finish at 9 miles surely.. no I wasn't. I got within quarter of a mile to the finish line I could see people running around this pier but then got diverted off to the left and had to run 2 miles back along the beach going the way I had just ran. It was nice as I was along the sea again and there were loads of people clapping and cheering, it was a long old run though made worse by the fact that there were runners coming the opposite way. I finally figured out that I had to run ALLLLL the way back to the first pier at Boscome beach to run around it then come ALLLLL the way back again to where I had just been... so basically I had ran from Boscome to the finish back to Boscome then back to the finish again! Around half a mile from Boscombe pier I was hobbling, my glutes were really tight everything was hurting, I had a few walking breaks, ran around the pier then it was the straight back towards the finish. It took forever...literally. I came to mile 12 and was now running 12 minute miles so had slowed considerably but it was very hot by this point. I passed Lorna running the other way and gave her a big shout out and kept my eye out for Paula who I saw a few minutes later then I was nearly at the Pier at the finish. I was directed to run around it which was going well until I ran past a man who had collapsed and was receiving medical treatment this made me well up and I walked the first part of the pier then got a jog on for the final bit. The crowds were huge at the finish..
I came down the finishing straight and decided I had a sprint finish in me so went for it. I crossed the line at 2 hours 17 minutes which is average for me and only 7 minutes slower than my pb so was really pleased. I collected my t shirt and medal.. which may I say is the most amazing medal ever!!! I met up with mom and she congralutated me on my run, turns out she had a really good spot to take this finishing picture and even had a bop to Up Town Girl played by the dj! I was hurting all over and very tired and still had a three hour journey back home to contend with but I was so happy that my mom was there to share the experience with me. I told her I had something in my sock the whole run and she suggested I take my trainer off but I just wanted to get home by that point. Upon arriving back home I took my trainer off to find a blood soaked sock, I took the blood soaked sock off to find this! What on earth had I ran with in my sock

Cornflake inury

for 13.1 miles?? Well... it was a cornflake! Yes that's right a cornflake. Don't ask because I really don't know.

Bournemouth half marathon was the best for many reasons, one my amazing mom came and supported me, two I got to meet so many fantastic like minded inspiring people and three I ran a half marathon with a hamstring injury and a cornflake in my sock and still came in with a good finishing time. I finished in overall position: 1699 of 2857.
 

Virgin London Marathon

Well Wednesday was a long old day with links being put on facebook for the Virgin London Marathon ballot results. Thing is they were never set in stone 110% true... but I followed the link anyway and low and behold it asked me to enter my card details to pay for my entry.

Was I in???  It couldn't be true... no I will wait for the famous Marathon news magazine to drop on my doormat to confirm it. From then on I couldn't concentrate, with 58 notifications on facebook in the next 3 hours from people saying the link is spam, the link doesn't work. Virgin themselves also released a post stating the link isn't working so shouldn't be relied upon as being confirmation you have made it through the ballot. Argghhhhhhh I'm coming off facebook until I know for sure....

Yesterday people were then posting pics on facebook of their "Sorry you didn't make it" magazines with a blue smurf on the front. Probably the most hated smurf in the whole world by now! and others  were posting their " You're In" magazines. I felt sick, shaky and lacking concentration at work. I went home on lunch but the postman hadn't been. So I went back home after work and there it was...

OMG!!!!!!!

 

I felt like Charlie with the golden ticket for the chocolate factory! I had done it! After the dissappointment of not getting through the ballot last year my second year in and I had made it! Only three nights before I was googling the Boston Marathon as a dream race I wanted to aim for but with a qualifying time for my age and sex of something daft like 3 hours 11 minutes I knew this was an unobtainable dream...for now. So my next thought fell to the London Marathon I never in a million years thought I would be lucky enough to be chosen in the ballot. Next thing to plan was getting there, hotels, who I would go with... could I really go to the big smoke on my own?

Last night my darling sister and Simon offered to go with me as Simon knows London like the back of his hand. So coming home from relatives at 9.30pm I started reading my You're In magazine. Straight away I knew I had to be quick with hotel bookings as many people book before getting their results. Every website I checked hotels were £360 onwards for 1 night! And the cheaper hotels had no rooms available. I decided to post in Run for Fun help on hotels as let's face it I don't really have a scooby doo what I'm doing and it was all happening so fast! The London Stratford Travellodge was mentioned and with it being 1 tube station change from the starting line this seemed ideal.

My grandad was looking down on me last night and I found a family room for 3 people for only £53! I dashed downstairs in only my pants ( I had been in bed sorting this out I don't just strut around the house in my underwear) to fire up the laptop and get this room booked.. God the laptop took an eternity to boot up but eventually I got there and after reading over and over again the details, dates & times to my sister I had booked my accomodation for the London Marathon 2014.

Only the small issue of winter training to do now. I have chosen to also raise money for charity whilst taking part in this event and have chosen the Birmingham Childrens Hospital to raise funds for as my friends baby is currently being cared for there after being born premature with a hole in her heart she has undergone surgery at only a few months old and is now in intensive care with complications. If anyone would like to donate to my sponsor page here is the link http://www.justgiving.com/sarah-morris30/?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=fundraisingpage&utm_content=sarah-morris30&utm_campaign=pfp-share

Beauty & The Beast Half Marathon

This was the race of the year for me, I wanted to enter it last year but due to it falling on the same day as a family wedding I had to wait a whole year to tame the beast (their words not mine)

After recently obtaining a grade A pass in my sports psychology exam you would think that I am rather good at building up my confidence and gaining knowledge on my races...wrong! The night before I started googling details on the race and found a few things out that maybe were best left unread.
Point 1 - The beast is the large hill at the end of every lap (I had to do 3 laps) I already knew this.
Point 2 - The Beast was created by the same people that organize Hell Runner! ( If you don't know what hell runner is google it, I did and wished I hadn't)
Point 3- I read a blog from the previous year which admittidley was from a different venue but it still didn't fill me with much confidence.
Point 4 - The beast is deemed as being the toughest off road trail marathon/half marathon in the UK.

On this note I went to bed ready for the 6am start for the 2 hour drive to West Wycombe to tame this so called beast. Waking up at 6am and the fact that I had packed a towel, I must have been worried to do that? I considered not going but then came across a motivational video and listened to it, it made me cry as I realised my years dream had been to run this race and run it well. I realised that in sports psychology most athletes have a coach, I'm not an athlete and I sure as hell don't have a coach, the voice in my head is pretty damn useless at the best of times and needs to be sacked so I ripped the audio from this video and put it on my phone along with some new songs including the rather appropriate Katy Perry ROAR!!!! If you would like to listen to the video that I used to help get me around what is the hardest race I have ever and will ever do here is the link. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-jwWYX7Jlo

Arriving at West Wycombe Park I made my way to the tents to get my race number and I spotted a load of signs with motivational sentences on them. They were dotted around and I could see a line of them going up

a smallish hill..Is this the beast? I wondered.
At 10am I was ready chip timer around my ankle which I wasn't too keen on and the warm up started. I was pleased it wasn't a silly jump around dancey warm up but a proper runners warm up. Does this mean I'm a proper runner. It was led by some woman from Sky sports 1 I have no idea who she was but she seemed to know what she was on about. With a field of around 300 runners some doing the full marathon (6 laps) the half marathon (3 laps) and team events there was a wide range of runners. I got my watch ready and we were off........... running up a hill!

me at the start, check out the size of my calf muscle!

No way a hill already! This hill came to a climax with a massive sqeulchy mud fest.. I was not impressed and then we took a sharp right to...another hill on gravel and mud. I ran up this hill and at 0.6 of a mile I stopped running, sobbed abit and thought this is it, it's going to be my second DNF. I simply decided I couldn't do it and got myself in a panick. I had already started walking at less than a mile in I wasn't happy with myself at all but I just gave up. I continued to walk then got a little trot on and we were soon into some woods with a muddy track around 8 or 9 inches wide half way up a slope so you had to be careful with footing as if you slipped a little to the left you would fall down a hill. Did I just use that word again.. hill hill hill! I was quite worried I would be holding people up as you simply couldn't pass on this part I was jogging and was pleased to see a line of runners infront of me battling their own way through the branches and nettles. Out of the woods and onto more muddy track and fields we then took a sharp left into a field and I was faced with a ridiculous hill... was this the beast? It can't be it's less than 2 miles into the course.

It seemed to go up stop then veer up even higher it was around 85 degrees at the top. I was very glad when I saw everyone was walking up this one. It took me nearly 4 minutes to walk from bottom to the top and my legs were like jelly. I did a little run out the field took a left into another field then at mile 2 there was the water station. I had decided not to run with my camel bak or any form of drink for this race so was pleased to get a bottle of water. After the water station there was another hill and another, at one point i tried to physically lift my own leg up as I simply couldn't move up the damn thing. The rest of the course went through a large field with tall hard grass that hurt to run through then we came down an incline that was so steep you had no choice but to put the brake on which hurt the front of my thighs. I then ran past my car! and then thought I was going to die. This part is not a joke.. you read stories of runners suddenly collapsing after/during a race.. I actually thought this would be me. I had the worst chest pains I couldn't breathe I was holding my chest where my heart is and the only thought that went through my head was "There wasn't anywhere to write emergency contact details on the back of my race number and I don't recall being asked to give any on entering, I am having a heart attack how are they going to call my mom" I then started crying and trying to breathe and came up to a marshall. I was going to ask for a medic but something stopped me. Come on Sarah pull yourself together if you have to walk it walk it but do not give up and most of all do NOT die! I walked past the marshall and was then faced with a lake. I was directed to run through it. What? This wasn't in the programme. Good job I had put my old stinkers on.. I ran straight through the middle of knee high icy cold water and absolutely loved it!

It sorted me right out and I decided I had nearly finished the first lap I knew what to expect and I will walk all the hills. The later part of the course was lovely we ran past a large lake with swans and little bridges with waterfalls to run over and came back to the tents where supporters were clapping and cheering. The only problem with finishing the first lap was tackling the beast. The small hill I mentioned earlier with all the motivational signs running up it. Small hill more like mount Everest. It was mocking me I walked up the first part got to a brow then it went up and up and up so steep I was breathing like a 90 year old. Where was my inhaler... at home! The only good thing about the beast hill is when you have ran up and around a statue of a man on a horse you got to run straight back down and you get to see the grimace of the runners coming up the bit you've just done. First lap done, from there it went something like this for the duration of the second lap, 20 seconds feeling good, 2 minutes of feeling crap. This is a lot of feeling crap when you add it all up. In the route through the woods I got a stinging nettle caught up in my ankle tag and couldn't get it out so left it. I thought running through the lake the second time around would free it. There were many people walking at this point and my aim was just to finish, I had set out with the hope of a 2 hour 30 - 2 hour 45 min half which would be the worst half marathon ever even worse than my very first half marathon but this wasn't a race this was an endurance event. At mile 10 I got to the first big hill again and phoned my sister for a bit of motivation I only had 3 miles to go and was on the last lap all was good.

my finish picture on top of the beast

My legs and bum were burning like hell on earth I knew this race was knocking me about abit but I was almost there. I put my motivational pep talk on had a bit of a sniffle decided I was going to quit running you know the usual rubbish. Then came to the lake again and was slightly dissappointed it would be the last time I would run through it. Coming to the beast for the final time I had no energy my legs felt like they didn't belong to me, I was walking at -5mph or so it felt but my pep talk was still playing... as I got to the top of the beast there was a sneaky photographer and I shouted to him "make sure you get one of me smiling!" He didn't do a bad job and neither had I. I tamed The Beast in a personal worst of 2 hours 57 minutes! I felt a mixture of things, I was so happy to finish I was proud I guess but I had done a rubbish time and was giving myself a telling off. It wasn't until the official results were released that I was actually rather pleased of myself. In the solo half marathon event I finished 107 out of 122 runners male and female and in the solo female category I finished 28th out of 38.  We'll ignore the fact that some of the male runners finished the marathon, a whole extra 3 laps than me in just over 15 minutes more than my time.. bloody men hey.

Two days on I'm still walking like a penguin and is it any wonder looking at the elevation from the course.

I will never go back to the beast I will never do another off road half marathon but I am however building some proper hill training into my training plan. I went, I tamed the beast and got the medal, tshirt and sore quads and glutes to prove it.

Droitwich Saltfest 9 mile

For the duration of this race I had pesky little voices in my head saying "You can't do this Sarah, why are you bothering, why do you run, I think you should quit" Shut up... No not you I'm talking to the voices!

The day started off after only having a few hours sleep and eating a raw bannana for breakfast which the skin wouldn't peel off and was very bitter. I made the short drive to Cindys and we were on our way to the Saltfest. There were little market stalls set up maybe not enough to occupy Cindys children, husband and sister Wendy but they seemed happy enough. With the change in weather.. yes where did summer go? It is back to the old question of what to wear? Do I brave it with a tshirt knowing I'll warm up after a few miles but risk my garmin getting wet if it rained or wear jackets, waterproofs,hats. Too much choice! I opted for the cap and coat. The concept of the race as it was largely canal based was three runners would be free to run every 20 seconds leaving a gap so there wasn't too much congestion on the narrow parts. This I feel didn't work at all as it wasn't based on your estimated finish time or pace per mile so some slower runners (myself and Cindy included) starting near the front then just got in the way.

Off we went over a bouncy bridge which made you feel slightly drunk and onto the canal path which was very narrow with overgrown reeds that whipped in your face and some mud. Within the first mile we were overtaken by lots of other runners who had the courtesy to shout out "on your left/right" so we knew which side to move across to to get out the way. All of the runners stuck to this etiquette except one.. For the purpose of the blog I will call her Cellulite bum as well quite frankly that's what she was! Though her name will change as the blog goes on. She came up behind and yelled "MOVE" no please or even a thank you after we had moved over for her to then run I may add very slowly in front of us. At mile 2 I couldn't be arsed I wanted to give up not because I couldn't do it..heck I've ran 35 miles non stop before in worse conditions but because the voices in my head were telling me I couldn't do it. We had a stint of having to run single file so weren't talking too much I looked at my garmin at just under 3 miles and realised we were running a bit quicker than I would have liked but I didn't want to admit this to Cindy. Not to matter as half a mile on Cindy also noticed how fast we were running and said it was too fast and maybe we should ease back a little. After the canal path came the fields... lots of them big open ones filled with sheep and cow poo and even a herd of cows. There were these funny metal gates with locks on that we had to figure out you could only have 1 person go through at a time due to the mechanics of them and at one point we got stuck in a gate!! At around 4.5 miles we came across a big hill "oh god not a bloody hill" But with The Beast coming up next week which the sole purpose off is to run the hill I had to get down to it. I ran most of the way up then walked a bit and caught Cindy up at the top as she was stuck at another gate. We carried on running together at this point and all of a sudden Marathon Morris decided to up and leave and Moaning Minnie stepped right in her place. I admit I was boring myself with my moaning but Cindy managed to get me out of it soon enough spurring me on. At mile 5 we ran past a marshall who said go through the gate and up the big hill... I think marshalls should be banned from using that word. This hill Oh My God never seen anything like it! All the way up (and yes I did run it) I had that little voice telling me I should drop out of the beast next week after all that's 13.1 miles) Half way up the hill I noticed Cellulite bum in front and was horrified with the fact that she had peed herself whilst running. She had a massive wet patch spreading from her crotch all the way down the back of her thighs... So I then gave her the honorable title of Pissy Pants!

 Getting to the top we then ran into a field.  Now bear with me on this part... for those of you old/young enough to have read enid blyton books you may remember the Magic Faraway tree in the Enchanted wood? Well this field was like something out of this... it was as I called it the Never Ending Field..... it went on and on and on and on and on in the far distance you could just make out the high vis jackets of other runners and still it was going on I half expected Moon Face to come along to tell me it was a joke. We came across a lot of headwind and rain in the Never Ending Field. It did eventually come to an end and at 6 miles Cindy and I were feeling good and had reached the point only runners will understand when you feel like you can run forever. The last 3 miles took us back the way we had come along the canal and we managed to run together this time chatting away. I realised maybe the race wasn't too bad but was still pleased it was nearly over.. I wasn't impressed that Cellulite Pissy Pants had beaten us but you can't win them all.

Coming to the finish line and our little crowd of supporters were waiting taking photos and we were presented with our medals and could have free bangers & mash from the local pub. I skipped that and opted for a bag of sugar donuts 4 of them! Whilst walking back to the car with bag of donuts in hand, one being mashed into my mouth a farmer market man came across with a box of apples and said "now you look like a healthy young lady here's an apple!" Sorry did he miss the massive wedge of donuts in my mouth and hand?

It was a great day and I'd like to thank Cindy for getting me and Moaning Minnie around in one piece.

Getting lost and not even minding

The little gem I have discovered recently is Wyre forest only a twenty minute drive from my house and with a cafe, toilets on site, go ape and three different routes to explore it's no wonder I have gone twice in the last 3 weeks.

Pulling up to aim for a 10 mile run though I would have been happy with 9 with my drink at the ready and a fruit snack pack in my vest I set off to start the yellow trail around 0.80 miles. This first trail takes you around the Go Ape centre with people whizzing through the air above you on zip wires.. majority of them screaming as they go! After the yellow route was done I started on the green route slightly longer and with some hills to contend with and running of the beaten track. I remember running the green route the last time I came and was looking forward to getting to my favourite part of the forest. It appears to be a part where not many people venture and was beautiful and quiet.. trotting along the green route I realised I had missed my favourite part and couldn't understand where it was.. maybe I had took a different turning though still following the green markers.

 

my favourite place

I carried on regardless and finished the yellow/green route at just over 3 miles, I took this time to sit on a bench and eat my fruit snack pack. Last time I did the red route, the hardest one I remembered a pretty nasty hill right at the end which I walked up so decided to mix things up and run the red route backwards. First part was all downhill which was brilliant though the downhills I did the first time around the right way were now uphills. Around 2 miles into the red route I came across my favourite place...

I don't remember it being on the red route before but I was there and that's all that mattered. It is far enough out the way that you cannot hear the Go Ape screams and far enough away that I stood there looking around and gazing up at the trees for twenty minutes and not one single soul came past. ( I may add I forgot to pause my garmin whilst tree gazing damn it!) If i take up tree hugging I must be sure to pause my watch.

After tree gazing was done I took the gate through the field where I got lost first time around and found my way back out the opposite gate no problems. I finally reached the final stretch and was pleased to be running downhill to visitor centre rather than the long slog I had done previously. A quick toilet stop was needed and I decided whilst on the loo to run the green route backwards too. I set off following the green markers but the other way around. One thing I realised when I'm running is I tend to only look at things on my right hand side and in front so doing things backwards meant I was taking in different views. I started off great following the green markers then after a while I realised I hadn't come across any markers of any colour at all.... F@^CK I'm lost!

 

 I carried on for around half a mile then picked up a red marker, bugger I was running the longest route again! I carried on with the red route and was coming up to just over 7 miles. Along the forest there are sign posts directing you to the visitor centre and telling you how far it is.. I came across a sign with Visitor centre 2.5 miles pointing to the left or 1 mile heading back the way I had just come from, perfect that will get me to the 9-10 miles I wanted!

I carried on running, I was tired I had eaten all my apples and grapes and I began to get a bit lost in my own head. I kept running past a man whizzing by on his bike we past each other probably 4 times in total and everytime he looked at me like "why are you still running?" I was thinking the same about him cycling!
As I was running I noticed a sign in the distance... no... surely it can't be?
Visitor centre 2.5 miles to the left... or 1 miles heading back. What on earth was happening I had followed the route but ended up at the same place... bermuda forest sprung to mind.

 Nothing to it but to keep running so that's what I did and ended up finishing the yellow, green and red route twice with a time of 1 hour 47 minutes  total of 9.60 miles.

Although I spent most of the time it would seem lost I can think of no better place to get lost than in wyre forest.

 

Puckrup Hall 5 Mile

After thinking I would spend the rest of my life stuck in a muddy gridlocked field at V Festival and getting home at 1.30am the night before Puckrup Hall you can imagine how I felt about running... not very good, plus the fact I wasn't meant to be running by order of my physio but what does he know?

Waking up in the morning I felt like I'd been drugged after very little sleep all weekend I wasn't prepared, I didn't know how long the journey would take, I hadn't printed out my entry email that I needed to take with me ( I didn't even know if the printer had ink in it!) I didn't know where my running gear was and I didn't know where my mind was. Oh yeah that's right it was still fast asleep!

I somehow managed to sort my things out packing the usual camelbak, tissues and garmin and set off to Tewksebury. The event details said not to park on the hotel carpark but that there would be signs directing you to the 'runners' car park. These signs did not exist I ended up driving down a small country lane just wide enough for a car and honestly I don't think I was even allowed to be on that road, I managed a three point turn and went back to the start pulling up alongside some runners I asked where to park and they had no idea they had just parked on the hotel parking so that's what I did. By this point I wasn't overly impressed with the organisation and it was going to get worse. I found one sign that said Race HQ with an arrow pointing down a lane where there was nothing... so I just stood there probably looking very silly but then more runners arrived asking me where Race HQ was!? We managed to find it tucked away no where near where the sign was pointing and I got my race number 24. Walking back to the car I told myself I was going to go home, I couldn't be bothered. At 10.45 I made my way to where the lost runners were all stood round scratching their heads asking where the start line was, who knew?

Finding the start line I settled myself in the middle of the pack of around 70 runners and told myself if the organisers are going to do a p*ss poor job I most certainly am not! It was a lollipop course with an out straight road then a loop then back up the straight road for the finish, I had already overheard a runner saying it had some hills but the first bit is downhill. My sleepy brain computed that that meant the finish was uphill.

We were off! I started running down a long big hill and when it levelled out I checked my watch and was running an 8:40 minute mile... WTF!? I decided to keep it going as my leg wasn't hurting and I had my breathing spot on. Around 1.5miles I passed a very overweight man who decided maybe because he had personal issues of his own to pick on me.. He asked why I felt the need to run with a camelbak? Am I a real runner as who needs a drink in a 5 mile run.. I promptly overtook him at the drinks station along with lots of other runners ha! I started running with a lady I had spotted at the start and was initially using as my pacer but at mile 2.5 she was telling me she was really struggling and could see herself walking. I was still busting out 9.30 minute miles so left her and ran on my own.

At just over 3.2 miles I was running behind a man who when we approached the bottom of a big hill he started swearing, when I asked him what was wrong he said it's a hill I don't like hills. This is normally something I would say but I couldn't stop running I even ran up the hill at 9.30 minute mile pace and got a compliment on my bum wiggling when he said he would walk and admire the view as I overtook him. (Blushing). At the top of the hill there were two marshalls who congratulated me and I told them it was an amazing hill to which they replied I was the first runner who had said that and with a smile on my face.

Nearing the 4 mile mark I knew I would be coming to the start downhill/finish uphill I can't say I was looking forward to it and by now I was dry heaving and felt a little bit icky it was hot I was tired but as my mom calls me; I'm Super Sarah and had ran all the way I wasn't going to stop and walk. The last hill was a killer to say the least but I dug in and kept going head down legs turning over, coming into the finish tunnel I had finished 5 miles in 48 minutes 5 seconds with mile times of 9:14, 9:39, 9:55, 9:27 & 9:42 and an average pace of 9:36 I was ex tactic as I had ran the whole way (with a bad leg, in your face Mr physio man) I had ran up all the hills, beat the nasty man and apparently have a nice bum. Then I got my medal.

Rubbish organization, excellent run so the good outweighed the bad and just goes to show even if your mind isn't in it and you can't be bothered at least try because you may surprise yourself.

Injury Frustration and taking a walk

It's funny how I seem to get injured once a year and it's been in the same month! It's also a funny story about how the unjury came about.

Rocking up to the Physio on a monday night I sat in the waiting room debating how to explain to the physio how I hurt myself without him 1. throwing me out of his office or 2. having a good old laugh at my expense! It went like this...

Physio - What brings you here today?
Sarah - I think I have hurt my leg along my groin, it hurts to change gear whilst driving and I cannot run.
Physio - How and when did the injury occur?
Sarah - It happened on the 24th July when I tried to mount an elephant at Chester Zoo
Physio - Well I've never heard anything like that before! Lets take a look.

Here is the elephant in question... you'll be pleased to see it isn't a real elephant and I'm not completely mad!

After an assessment from the physio and me having tears streaming down my face I was then told I had torn my hip flexor at grade 1. Not good news but better news than a grade 2-3. I had ultrasound therapy and outcome was no running for two weeks, daily stretches to do and no more mounting elephants.

Needless to say I won't be attempting that again. It's left me in a pickle as I have Puckrup Hall 5 mile race Sunday the 18th August only 10 days after being told not to run for two weeks. I went for a 3 mile stroll around the woods last night and still have a slight pain in my thigh but not half as bad as it was previously. It's funny how you take in different views and notice more when you are walking not running but if it wasn't for me wearing sandals I'm sure I would have attempted a little jog.

Fingers crossed I'm all fixed for Sunday else it will be yet another race I have had to pull out of this year due to health/injury problems.

Pitchcroft 10k (Race 2 of 2)

After Fridays jaunt up and down the mountains I was looking forward to a flat race around Worcesters race course Pitchcroft, definitely no hills there. The 10k would consist of 3 laps around the perimeter with another kids fun run starting just before.. this time I knew the medal I was looking at was mine as the fun runners were being awarded with certificates. I ended up going out in town drinking the night before which didn't help with my organizational skills the morning of the race as when I arrived at the car park I realised I didn't have my hat with me nor had I bought or put on any suncream oh well I'll finish like a lobster.

I made my way to the start line with Cindy who was running this as her first race and we positioned ourselves near the middle of the pack with the hope of not getting too caught up with the front runners. An announcement at the start made us aware that there were some competitive runners in the field today, we were also given a safety talk on running in the heat and told if we start to feel faint and need to stop don't worry we will still get a medal (Oohh I wish I had  paid attention in drama class at school!) We were off and like a fool I started running too fast not gaining a steady pace I ran the first mile in 9:10 minutes a lot faster than my usual 10:30 and far to fast considering the heat, time to slow it down by the second mile I was running along side a man who introduced himself to me as Tim this was his first race and he had no idea how well he was doing or how fast he was going, he said he liked the pace I was running maybe a bit slower. We ended up chatting for a while and we ran the second mile together in 9:57 so a little slower which was good. I had no intention of going for a pb today I just wanted to finish but knowing the course I was slightly disappointed it was so hot as it's got serious pb potential. By mile 3 Tim and I had settled into a nice pace and he was happy pacing himself with me to get to the finish.  We had the odd walk breaks to cool down and had a natter with Cindy who would come past every so often. We ended up getting lapped by around 7 people all of whom would run up behind us really quick and shout "LEFT" I had no idea if this meant I was too move left or they were coming down the left so I ended up getting in the way more than they would have liked!

At the start of the second lap and drink station I promptly threw a cup of water down my back to cool down and carried on running, the next few miles we slowed down more with a 10:31 & 11:03 minute miles but were still running faster than Tim is used to so kept it nice and steady. Running past the drink station for the last time on the 3rd lap and I simply threw the cup of water in my own face I was dripping with sweat and although I was now soaked through and probably going to end up with a frizzy fringe it was more than welcome. With the finish in sight with all the crowd cheering and clapping on the stands I decided I had a little bit left in me and went for the sprint finish though I wasn't in competition with anyone this time I still went for it. My final time was 1:03:58 and I was delighted when I got home and uploaded the route from my garmin that it was a pb! How I managed to pull a pb out with two races in three days one of them being really tough and both being extremely hot I do not know.

I'll definitely do Pitchcroft again next year and see if I can shave some more time off. All in all a great racing weekend.

Dirtrun Summer Sizzler 6.5 miles (Race 1 of 2)

Who runs on a friday night? Answer.. a lot of people and Dirtrun summer sizzler was the most fun I've possibly had on a friday! Considering I was falling asleep at my desk at work from 3pm onwards I was wondering how on earth I was going to finish a whole day at work then run 6.5 miles in 27 degree heat.

Getting back from work I put my old stinkers on as it was called Dirtrun I didn't want to take a chance taking the new beauties out and getting them muddy. Car loaded up and off I went to pick up running buddy Luke who I may add has just sauntered out the pub from a pre race meal and beers! We made the short drive to Top Barn Activity centre in worcester it was beautiful scenery and I felt lucky to be able to go to events like these and take in different surroundings. There were lots of people milling around registering for 

the race and lots of children as they were doing a fun run before the main event. We watched the kids off and I spent some time eyeing up the medals which looked very nice I couldn't wait to get my hands on one to add to the collection. After around 30 minutes the front runner was finishing in the kids race and we clapped them all through then made our way to line up at the start line where a short race breifing took place. It went something like this.... for those that did the race last year you will remember the mud, well there is no mud this year (so I was wearing the old stinkers for no reason) you follow the lake round then go into the forest for the up and down up and down bit then the steep bit then the really steep bit then down again then the big hill......... At this point I stopped listening I don't want to know about hills and steep bits I just want to get it done.

The whistle blew and off we went I didn't want to hold Luke back but we ran together around the lake and down a slight hill across a field all was well I was rocking my sunglasses, legs felt good it was all good until we ran into the woods. Suddenly it was pitch black and I couldn't see a thing so whipped the sunglasses off and could see what was next. The biggest hills I have ever ran up along the side of one massive hill routing and weaving it's way up like a dirt track that mountain bikers would go on. The part to run on wasn't all that wide initially and the footing was very loose due to dry twigs, pine cones etc so I was very careful to slow down and take my time. Rounding a corner I was then faced with what can only be described as a full vertical climb (imagine the drop on Oblivion) well I was running up something like that, it was so steep the organizers had tied rope between all the trees for people to literally pull themselves up.

This isn't what I signed up for at all! Luke had to start pushing me up from behind and when we reached the top it appeared we were making our way out of the woods...yippee.. but then runners were coming from the opposite direction on the other side of some red and white tape. They had tricked us! We ran out of the woods then straight back in for some steep descents and more steep inclines. For the purpose of this blog I will replace the word F**K with the word fudge. Fudge this and fudge that, this is so fudging hard I can't fudging believe it, I was ranting to myself. Finally out of the woods and having to jump through stinging nettles was next then out to some nicer parts running through fields and on pavements. We ran past a pretty church and the first drink station and started talking to some runners from the black pear joggers group in Worcester we bimbled along with them for abit chatting and another girl also called Sarah. By mile 5 we were run/walking and there were more hills to come.

Finally we came out by the lake and myself, Luke and Sarah had discussed sprint finishes and no one said they were going for it. Liars! On the final straight Sarah booted it and I decided to take her on. I have never felt competitive in a race until now, it made me feel like I was back at schools sports day. She beat me only by 2 seconds but still I could of had her if i didn't have a stitch...honest.

Crossing the finish line I was presented with a medal the size of a fifty pence piece... eh? This isn't the medal I saw before. Turns out only the children got the big medals!I did however get a free burger from the bbq so this kept me happy.  I said at the end I found the Dirtrun summer sizzler 6.25 mile race harder than any marathon or Ultra I've done before and not sure I will go back next year unless I'm allowed to enter the kids race and miss out the hills and get the big medal.

Mission Imbloggable

It's been so hot but you have to be ready for any race conditions so I have been running in the sun mainly trying to stick to the woods where it is shady and also running late at night when it's cooler.

I got home from work feeling run down, tired and not really wanting to run but pulling up on the drive at 5.15pm with the temperature gauge showing 29 degrees I realised I had to take a dvd back to Blockbusters in town before 10pm, here presented an opportunity to run and save petrol.

So my Mission Imbloggable if I chose to accept it was to run what I thought would be 2 miles into town drop dvd off at blockbusters and run the 2 miles back. I accepted the mission. It was never going to be easy due to the heat, the fact I was running in work traffic direct to the centre of town and the shortest route was going down and up Tolladine Road....it should be called Tolladine hill!

I put my ultra vest on and the back pocket was large enough to fit a dvd in it snuggly so packed up and off I went. Straight away at half a mile in I was beginning to think it was a bad idea there was very little shade anywhere but where I could I tried to run on the side of the road with shade. Approaching the top of Tolladine I was looking forward to this bit as it's just under 1 mile of all downhill yippeee. Now I know it's summer and I know I was running through a chavy/rough part of Worcester but is it really necessary for people to sit at bus stops on their own with shirts unbuttoned all the way down., beer belly hanging out drinking cans of special brew?

At the bottom of Tolladine road it leveled out back to flat and I checked my garmin I was already over 2 miles in and not at blockbusters yet so my 4 mile Mission Imbloggable run was actually going to be more like 5 miles. Arriving at blockbusters I had a quick pit stop and found some jelly babies in one of my pockets from a previous race... mmm... yummy I scoffed two of them ready for the climb back home. I had already decided to walk majority if not all of the hills on the way back as it was still so hot and still little shade along the way. It was a case of stop startng with the traffic at road crossings but I was soon halfway up the hill and even managed to run / walk it all the way up. From here it was going to be easy I was 1.3 miles from home it was flat I had however ran out of water but started a sprint back and managed a mile in less than 10.30mins not bad considering I was running at nearer 11 -12 min miles with my run/walking.

At 5.5 miles I arrived back home dripping with sweat, tired, thirsty, hot but happy that I had accepted the mission and succeeded!

Coombe Abbey Half Marathon

I'd been searching high and low for a half marathon / 10k to do this weekend after my high of Malvern Half last weekend and could find nothing near enough to get to or that provided a medal... yes I am a medal chaser! Until Wednesday when I came across the Coombe Abbey Half Marathon near Coventry. Right I was in and looking at the pictures from the Coombe Abbey Country Park website it looked beautiful I was under the impression I would be running on the pavements around the parks passing lakes, fountains and flowers...... I wasn't.

I arrived at 8.30am got my parking space and went across to the registration desk to collect my run number, info pack and a commemorative gym bag and timing chip. I have done many a race before and never in all my life have I come across such a chunky thing. I know I'm a bit mad sometimes but this thing made me look like I was on tag day release from the looney bin! From being sunburnt from a picnic day out the day before my knee caps were bright red and skin very tight so I slapped on the factor 30 all over even though

the day was overcast. At 9.45 I made my way to the portaloos for my pre-race nervous wee and started chatting to a few ladies about the race. It was the first race held here so no one really knew what to expect but I still had the image in my head at the top of the screen. At 9.55 we had the race briefing there were 3 separate distances being covered in one, the 10k, half marathon and full marathon and I was surrounded by the familiar 100 marathon club running vests that I have got accustomed to from doing the Enigma marathons in Milton Keynes. A short presentation was made to a guy who was running his 200th marathon today then the race briefing  commenced. The deal was the 10k runners did a part lap then 2 full laps, and I would be running 6 laps receiving a hair bobble to put on my wrist after each one to show how far along I was. Standing at the start line I wasn't nervous and I wasn't even excited for some reason but got my garmin at the ready and couldn't help but think with garmin on one wrist, mental asylum tag on the other and 6 hair bobbles to slip on throughout the course I was going to be sporting some epic tan lines!

Countdown from 10-1 and away we went running through the start line and into a field covered in sheep dung and long stringy grass that whipped at your legs. The first mile was running through this field and I was wondering where the pavement would come in and the picturesque setting. We rounded a corner and continued through more field with more dung then ran around a chair and back up a long straight with a large lake to the left though you couldn't see much of the lake because of the trees. We then diverted left through a gate and ran on yes more field, more field, more field and I realised I needed the toilet..not for a wee and quite badly. Now runners will understand this but when you need to go you need to go and it's all you can think about, I actually cannot physically run when I'm like this and thought about whether I could divert of course to use the visitor toilets rather than a portaloo as I knew it wasn't going to be pretty. By the time I ran up yet more field I found I didn't need it quite so bad so thought I would do the first 2 loops then go. At this point we came along side some pavement with nice bits but we had to run on the field along side it as the park was open to the general public. We came out at the side of a childrens playground the kind with the wood chipping covering the floor and it bought back memories of going to Telford Town Park with my parents as a child. A quick jog around a line of trees and I was back through the start line finished my first lap and handed a purple hair bobble. Excellent... but half a mile into the second lap and I really really did regret not going to the toilet! I had to resort to run/walking and had got into a decidely negative mood. I don't do trail running often and have never ran a half marathon on grass/fields before I struggled to keep my footing and my ankles kept rolling. Rounded back to the part by the visitor centre I diverted this time and managed to do a 16 minute mile whilst sat on the toilet :-( Once that was out the way I ran back through the start to collect my second hair bobble and I thought things would pick up now. The laps starting going quite quick but the sun had come out in force and I just couldn't maintain constant running, there were two parts on the course where I opted to walk for a few minutes. By lap 4 I had drank all the water from my camel bak so started taking on water from the drinks station I drank half the bottle then would use the rest to tip over my head and back to try to cool myself down it was so hot! Lap 5 came and I was struggling I had been repeating my running mantra in my head saying " I can do it, I will do it, I am doing it" this seemed to help.

By mile 10 I had a blister on the side of my foot from my feet slipping in my trainers trying to run on grass I tried to ignore it and wondered why I was bothered about it when I overtook a young man who was wearing a tshirt, office shorts, white knee length socks and office shoes and backpack. He looked a little bit special and I don't really know whether he had ever ran before but good on him he seemed to be enjoying the walk. I was fading now and still had another lap to do when just at that moment I spotted a single white feather on the floor in front of me (I like to think this is a sign from my Grandad to tell me everything is ok) I said thank you grandad and smiled then a white butterfly flew in front of me for a bit and I had already established a few years back during a harmonic healing course that my spirit guide is a white butterfly. These two things spurred me on to finish. I was very hot, very tired, had an upset tummy and by now also heat exhaustion but I was spurred on to finish what I had started.

Crossing the start line I collected my final hair bobble and started walking to pour yet another bottle of water over my head. I chatted for abit with a lady I had been using as a pacer since around mile 8 she was doing the full marathon. I don't envy anyone that had to run around in that heat for a further 6 more laps than me. The rest of the final lap was a blur I knew I was still run/walking bits and was quite happy with the fact it could be a PW a personal worst but I still throughout everything had enjoyed it... a little. I came around the final bend by the childrens playground and people were clapping me on then I got to the finish with a time of 2 hours 24 mins it wasn't a personal worst and not too bad considering the toilet stops I had to take. I was happy that was all that mattered.