Cobbles & Red Wine - Sarah’s Paris Marathon Plan: Sub 3:35

Evening Tigger!!

No flour in those pancakes! It really is JUST one banana and 2 eggs!! They’re totally yummy too – might have pancakes for lunch tomorrow … yum!

Swimming lesson sounds fab! Homework? As in swimming homework? What like lying on the carpet pretending to swim? Have you got cycling lessons too? When you get good, are you allowed to take the stabilisers off? I’m really excited for you, Tigger!! You SO have to enter East Leake!! No pressure, now… !!

Food Diary 11th January

Breakfast: ½ cup porridge oats made with water with dash of milk, 3 teaspoons sugar.

Lunch: Bowl of spinach with 30g stilton and a large portion of baked ham. 1 tablespoon of mayonnaise.

Tea: Stir fry veg with mushrooms and water chestnuts. Pot of tandoori chicken. Steamed carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, 2 mushrooms, grren beans, mange tout and baby corn.

Snacks: 1 x babybel, 4 x squares dark chilli chocolate, 1 x Thorntons chocolate, handful of red grapes, small cup of yoghurt, cinnamon and mixed seeds, 2 x mini sausage roll.

Drinks: 2 x coffee with small amount of semi-skimmed milk, 1 pint of orange,

Exercise: 90 minutes walking.

Food Diary 12th January

Breakfast: ½ cup porridge oats made with water with dash of milk, 3 teaspoons sugar.

Lunch: A bowl of cous cous. (This tasted yummy but I was ravenous about 1.5 hrs later and ended up making tea at 4.30pm!)

Tea: Stir fry veg with mushrooms and water chestnuts. Added in some extra mushrooms, mange tout and green beans. Added some chopped chicken.

Snacks: 1 x babybel, 4 x squares dark chilli chocolate, 1 x small cup natural yoghurt with cinnamon and mixed seeds, 3 x cookies. And a small chocolate Santa. (Last of the Christmas chocolate – promise!

Drinks: 4 x coffee with small amount of semi-skimmed milk, 2 pints of orange,

Exercise: 30 mins grocery shopping with 3 year old, 2 hours at softplay (woo!), 5 mile run.

Week 4, Day 6

Goal: 5 mile fartlek

Actual: 5 mile fartlek

Got home and thought “Why is it that fartleks are always slower than normal runs on average pace but always feel much harder?” I’d forgotten that I’d added another mile onto my normal 4 mile route and was working out the pace based on a 4 mile run … yup. No hope. But fartlek runs always DO feel much harder.

I’d taken Steve Marathon Coach’s advice on this one and instead of changing speeds based on the terrain, I’d changed the paces based on time. It had meant that I was less tempted to speed up on the downhills and slow down on the uphills because it was a fartlek and I was “allowed to” slow down.  I hadn’t stuck to a set pattern but had changed paces on the minutes and half minutes.

Garmin Info Here Info Here

That's a good average pace for the session RRR. With fartleks, while you do run hard in sections, there are obviously sections where you need to have recovery and ease back, where speed isn't the slightest bit important so it's perfectly acceptable to have a slower pace than if you were running fast steady.

Haha....... yep.......homework....think poof in the middle of the front room! 

My bike is currently in bits as its being serviced, not been on it yet (think the saddle may split me in two!). I am just buzzing at the minute....... in a ready for bed sort of way!!

Had a lovely run this afternoon the weather was tip top! 

Going to try your pancakes tomorrow!

Yo bird - thought I'd just check in and see how you're doing... (sorry this year has started in crazy fashion but I'll try to keep up )

here you go - http://www.tesco.com/groceries/Product/Details/?id=256517423

apparently pronounced "KEEN-wah" - if you need to ask for it without worrying!

If you had to sum up how things are going so far in one word...what would it be?

ps - I've used this recipe before and it was pretty yummy:

http://www.deliciousmagazine.co.uk/recipes/pearl-barley-bacon-and-leek-casserole

Enjoy x

Derrick

well done on parkrun.

I would try and run more off road if you aren't already but also check your shoes aren't worn down on one side.

While it is good you aren't getting problems while running, it may get worse if you don't deal with it and so maybe a sports massage going deep into quads and ITB may help and if it doesn't, a visit to physio/chiro/osteo may be worth doing.

Evening Derrick,

What’s the Bolton parkrun course like? I haven’t heard much about that one – is it one of the hilly ones?

12 miler sounds good – was such a gorgeous day for a run today! I did my 14 miler and it was so nice actually running in daylight for once!

Evening Tigger!

So … you weren’t joking? You really do practise at home??? Please video that and send it to us!!

It was such a great day for running today – so bright and gorgeous!! You had some snow your way, didn’t you? Did that make it more fun? Can’t believe I’ve got no snow at all here!! (Sulks!)

Evening SB!

Fab to hear from you!

Ooh thank you so much for the link!! And there’s cooking instructions on there too!! So I’ve got no excuse for trying to microwave it and reporting back to Ruth that I didn’t like black crunchy burnt tasting sand!

Summing things up in one word? Groundbreaking …

I’d NEVER have thought I’d be doing 7 minute/miles in training runs … and not finding it tough.

I’d NEVER have thought there were so many different types of training sessions.

I’d NEVER have thought that I would be here – the one doing the training … and that it would be so enjoyable!! (Happy dance!)

Ooh yum!! That recipe sounds DELICIOUS!! That’s definitely bookmarked!

Evening Malcs!

Oh that sounds incredibly yummy too!! You realise I’m going to get a telling off from Ruth for putting on 3 stone before the marathon trying out all these new recipes ….!!

So … has everyone entered TR24 yet?

Week 4, Day 7

Goal: 14 miles at 8:30 min/mile

Actual: 14 miles at 8:13 min/mile

I was looking forward to this run as I was going to get to do it in daylight. If I was really lucky I might see some trees, a hedge or even (gasp!) a rabbit. All I normally see on my runs are car headlights, black pavements and orange sodium lights.

It was a fresh morning – read: flipping freezing – and the grass was stiff and crunchy under my trainers. I’d already had the debate with myself – no gloves; sore, cold, blue hands for first 2 miles or gloves; warm hands for first 2 miles and then hot hands and nowhere to put gloves. I’d had the brilliant idea of regressing back to primary school and tying mittens onto bits of string and threading them through my jacket sleeves, but lacking any string or the time to get creative, I decided on gloves and hot hands.

I’d had to stop briefly after the first mile when I realised I’d forgotten to programme the Garmin for an average speed so I did that as quickly as possible and then set off again with the correct settings. I’d decided I was going to try and get the pacing a bit closer to the 8:30 than last time so I wanted to make sure I had it all set up ok.

After the 1st mile, the route takes me onto a disused railway line, which this morning was gorgeous! The puddles were all lined with ice and the grass on the verges was frosty and still. There was a bit of mist lingering and everything felt very quiet and peaceful. There were a few dog walkers about, but it felt as though I had the whole path to myself!

There were a few boggy moments on the path. Unfortunately, the puddles were icy enough to be slippery to a carelessly placed foot, but not frozen enough to take my weight as I found out when I tried to dash over a wet section. Cue one wet foot.

I had to take this alternative route that someone had thoughtfully set out:

After mile 4, I had a brief mile or so along the pavements, then it was back onto a trail past a few farms. I thought I might have problems when I came up to a farm and an old black and white collie stood in the middle of the path barking ferociously. I carried on running without changing my pace to see what he would do … and he just stood in the middle of the path barking down the trail past me as I went around him. I think maybe he was a bit blind and a bit deaf and although he was sure there was a runner there somewhere .. he wasn’t quite sure where. Like an old man who co

Like an old man who couldn’t quite remember where he left his glasses …

I crossed a road, then I was back onto footpaths and heading around the edge of Draycote Water. My end destination was a pub on the canal which should be about 13 miles from my starting point (Anyone would think I PLANNED these things …) so I had about a mile to add in somewhere. I added the extra distance in along the edge of Draycote Water as it was flat and scenic.

There were lots and lots of runners going around Draycote Water today. All wearing the same expressions of determination and stubbornness – giving up their Sunday morning lie-ins for the chance to pant around the edge of a reservoir. In fact, there were so many I would have thought it was a race if they were not all going different directions.

After Draycote Water, I headed back out onto Cycle Path 41 which took me along the Blue Lias line which is another disused railway line. It’s flat and fairly straight and the footpath is smooth and gravelled. There are lovely views and it’s pretty and nice to run on. I had about 2.5 miles to run on this and I always enjoy this part of the route.

I’d forgotten to bring any water with me today – usually on runs over 12 miles I carry a standard 0.5l spring water bottle then I can bin it if it gets irritating, but today although I’d set the bottle out ready, it was sitting on the side in the kitchen about 12 miles away. I thought I might struggle without having a drink but had no problems and in fact didn’t feel particularly thirsty.

I listen to audiobooks on long runs if I’m not running on the road sometimes and if it’s a good one sometimes when I run the route again, it’ll remind me of the book. This part of the route reminded me of Whispers Underground which I’d been listening to last autumn when I was just over halfway through a 22 mile run in preparation for Liverpool Marathon.

 Coming up to the end of my run today, I realised I’d miscalculated the distance and unfortunately was still about 2 miles from the pub when I hit the 14 mile point … a rookie error. But it will give me inspiration for a 16 mile run which I’m sure will come up at some point.

.

Summary

Time: 1:55:27

Distance: 14.06 miles

Average: 8:13 min/mile

Garmin Info Here

(The run is showing as 2 parts on Garmin Connect as I stopped the Garmin after 1 mile and changed it to ‘average speed’ as I’d f

Food Diary 13th January

Breakfast: ½ cup porridge oats made with water with dash of milk, 3 teaspoons sugar.

Lunch: Bowl spinach, 30g stilton, portion of baked ham, tablespoon mayonnaise.

Tea: 2 chicken breasts with BBQ sauce, bacon and cheddar. 3 onion rings, portion of chips, 1 x tomato. (Yep - a pub lunch!)

Snacks: 1 x babybel, 1 x banana, 3 x small choc chip cookies, 1 tablespoon mixed seeds.

Drinks: 3 x coffee with small amount of semi-skimmed milk, 2 pints of orange, 1 pint of water.

Exercise: 14 mile run.

Steve, thanks for replying mate........ I will look into the advice you have suggested,

I'll let you know how I go on.

Morning Sarah,

Barnsley parkrun that is, not bolton.

some lovely pics taken......I went first thing sunday morning so I missed the sunshine, still had a good run...... I went with a friend onto the trans pennine trail.... its a nice flat route (tarmac). I only have one concern and thats injury hopefully I can avoid it and stick to the plan I have.