Good Friday Hill Race 2011

I took my camera and took some pictures during the race.. such a relief to stop and take a few snaps haha, those hills were soo tough.. I must have blocked the memory of how painful it was from last years race haha. I've tried to arrange the pictures into some form of order, it was pretty much an out and back course with a loop at the furthest point and the finish was slightly different to the start... Anyway, most of the hills pictured I went up and down at some point during the race.. Not sure how much speed I picked up on some of the downhills, one of them was so steep I was so scared of falling!

Before the race

This was the second or third hill, I kept the guy in yellow in my sights for a lot of the race but eventually he pulled away and I couldn't keep up

I saw the lead runner on this hill last year so this year I was pleased not to see anyone on it as it gave me hope that I was doing better than last year!

This hill was easily the worst going up and down. The pictures don't do it justice, it is SO steep! I took a few of this one to try and give some perspective..

The view from the top!

Then you turn the corner and your heart breaks a bit 'cause you see this hill, this is one of those evil ones with a fake summit too, ouch!

This one felt a lot steeper in real life too! There was a little boy cheering at the top of this one with his mum and dad and he shouted to me 'I can see you sweating'.. thanks little boy haha

And then we were done!

7.3 miles of hills in 1:14:29 44/49 I was the last woman but I beat a few men. It was a very male dominated race only 6 women ran! Also got 6 minutes off last years time! No splits 'cause Mike wore the garmin though... I need my own, I would have loved to know my splits!

Sweaty tomato

Got home for some Roxie cuddles in the garden

I'll hopefully have some photos from the race organisers website soon, I'm pretty sure some people snapped some of me though god knows what they will look like... I tried a few self portrait style ones but they were really too bad to post. I wish I didn't look such a state when I run, one of the volunteers even asked me if I was ok to finish, I was thinking yeah fine I always look this awful lol... Oh well!

A Little Update

Well I've been a bit rubbish at posting lately.. I've been working a lot and working on another little project which will be lifechangingly exciting if it all works out which has left a slightly tired Laura! I have managed a few runs though, one pretty awesome and one pretty awful...

First, the awesome! I went out with Mike on my day off. We weren't sure what to do so we set off to jog and decided once we got onto the humber bridge we would mark out a mile and both run it as fast as we could. One major downside of this run, we both completely under-dressed I was freezing. I almost pursuaded Mike to do a half mile time trial instead of a mile because I felt like I couldn't bare to be out there on the windy bridge much longer but I changed my mind before he made his up so we did the full mile as planned. I'm so glad we did as we both got new PBs! Mike is down to 5.23, speed demon! I hope one day I can run a mile which begins with a 5, that would be sooooooo good!

2.5 miles at around 9.10 pace
1 mile time trial 6.35!!!
1 mile jog/walk home

Thats 8 seconds off my last mile time which was on a track... and a bit closer to my sub 6.30 goal.. I think I could have probably made that goal on a track with less wind but time will tell! It was a gruelling mile, I swear the pillar which was our end post kept moving further away haha

I went out two days after this run intending on running 10 miles and stopped after 4. Cue sad face! My right shin and left thigh have been bothering me and they were bad for the full 4 miles so 3 miles in I decided to give up and go home. I hate doing that but in reality I'd rather cut a run short now than take weeks off later so I'm not too upset. I've rested well this week and it's the Good Friday hill race tomorrow so hopefully my legs will be feeling fresh and the race will be good. Fingers crossed!

We went to Manchester over the weekend, we loved the city, it seems so much more vibrant than Hull and there was loads of choice of things to do. I ate out for pretty much the entire weekend so I felt pretty sluggish when I got home, despite trying to make mostly healthy choices most of the time.. and a sneaky veggie burger and chips... Well worth it though it was delicious! I unfortunately didn't really take any food pics... Still a bit of a wimp taking them in public hah I was going to leave you with some pictures but I can't find the camera or the camera lead dohh! Maybe I'll add them in later or do another post...

Hope you all have brilliant long weekends!

A New PDR

Well on Tuesday a few things happened and I felt like I couldn't face 14 miles anymore.. Plus by the time I got myself out of the door it was over an hour later than I had intended to set off and breakfast was well and truly digested. I was a bit upset too, and you all know, when I'm upset I like to run fast. So tempo it was!

My tempo for this week was 5 miles at mid tempo pace, 7.59. I actually didn't think that was possible, especially after my last failed attempt at that run.. It started off really well but my last 2.5 miles were plagued by a nasty stitch so I did have to stop 3 times to keel over for about 30s a go... Running is so glamorous! I paused the watch while I was stopped so this time is not totally accurate.. I'll just have to hope next time I can pull it off no stops... I guess I wouldn't discount a run if I had to stop for traffic so maybe it's not so bad... hmmm... rambling now! Splits!

5 miles in 39.22 average pace 7.53
4 miles in 31.17

Mile 1 - 7.47
Mile 2 - 7.37
Mile 3 - 7.51
Mile 4 - 8.03
Mile 5 - 8.04

No negative splits but I did set off a bit fast, oddly I spent the second mile trying to slow down to no avail, I guess my legs had other plans.. I'm loving that my average pace came out at 7.53... My old fastest mile time keeps showing up in this training, it felt amazing to do 5 miles at a pace where a year and half ago I could only do one mile at that pace. It reminds me why I love running, you can make big improvements and you're only really competing against yourself if that's the way you want it to be so you can always strive to better yourself... Hope that made sense...

I did my 14 miles yesterday :-) 14.3 miles before work, that felt pretty good - and also pretty horrible when I was hobbling around work haha that continued today! Also I did 13.1 in 1:59:40 woop wooop :-)

14.3 miles in 2:10:13 average pace 9.07
14 miles in 2:07:48

Mile 1 - 9.16
Mile 2 - 9.10
Mile 3 - 9.18
Mile 4 - 8.56
Mile 5 - 9.08
Mile 6 - 9.02
Mile 7 - 9.05
Mile 8 - 9.10
Mile 9 - 9.14
Mile 10 - 9.08
Mile 11 - 9.07
Mile 12 - 9.40 (I think I had a mini wall here.. everything just hurt!)
Mile 13 - 8.44
Mile 14 - 8.51
Mile 0.3 - 2.25 (8.34 pace)

I'm really pleased with my pacing for this run. All apart from mile 12 were pretty consistent and the run included a few hills, though really overall it was flat. I drunk a bottle of lucazade and a bottle of water on the way round, I couldn't get enough fluid, it was so hot and I was dripping with sweat... told you I'm glamorous when I run!! My sense of direction or lack thereof let me down half way through when I realised I wasn't quite sure I knew which way I was going back... despite doing an out and back route... It turned out absolutely fine and I did know where I was going.... I do wonder about myself sometimes!! I suppose it's just 'cause I'm running in new areas since I haven't done any runs this long before.

I think I'm going to have a few days rest from running after this run, my muscles are so sore! What are your plans for the weekend? I think we'll be BBQing if the weather stays as gorgeous as it has been today. I spent the afternoon in shorts! Amazing :-)

SEED

I just want to take a break from my usual blog posts. I've mentioned the charity SEED a few times before but for those of you who might not be familiar with it it is a local charity dedicated to supporting people recovering from an eating disorder and supporting families and carers of those with an eating disorder. They played a huge role in my recovery from my eating disorder and I would just like to take this opportunity to tell you about some of their services, in case I have any local readers I don't know about and also to ask for your support as they have a runner in the London Marathon and any sponsorship for him would be very gratefully received and would be put to great use.

Youth Self Help United
A group I will be co-facilitating. It is for eating disorder sufferers aged 10-17 and it meets the first Monday of every month at the Endsleigh Centre from 6-7.30. We meet in the Garden Room entry via the side staff entrance and there is provision for carers to stop and have a coffee or just relax for an hour or so. Emily, who is in recovery from anorexia and saw the gap for people under 18. is keen to support young people and dispel the isolation she felt when she was affectedby this devastating illness.. It is a great addition to the SEED services.

Support Group
For sufferers and carers, it is held every first Wednesday of the month also at the Endsleigh Centre from 7-9. We meet in the Garden Room – entry via the side staff entrance. This was the first group I ever went to with Mike and they were so welcoming.

Self Help Group
Taken from the website... This group is for sufferers only and we concentrate on motivational work, confidence building and problem solving, giving you the tools to deal with everyday problems and difficult situations you may be experiencing in a way that is not through the 'control' of an Eating Disorder. We encourage that you make small changes that are realistic and achievable so that you regain 'management' over your illness. A warm welcome guaranteed! They have a rolling program so you can start at any time. This group is held from 7-9 also at the Endsleigh centre on the 2nd Tuesday of every month and again we meet in the Garden Room – entry via the side staff entrance.

Email and Telephone buddies.
Eating disorder sufferers can be paired up with either an email or telephone buddy who they can talk to about their eating disorder. They offer support on a weekly basis and it is particularly useful to those facing long waiting lists for NHS services.

Walking on Eggshells
A workshop for carers which Mike is involved with. This isn't a monthly group but a structured day long workshop, information about when the next one is running can be found on the SEED website. It is based on the Maudsley Method.

They also offer an eating disorder helpline, nutritional helpline and monthly one off workshops which include a wide variety of topics from CBT work to laughter workshops.

So you can see why I want to support them! Any local person (Hull and East Riding) interested in any of the above services do not hesitate to get in touch with me at box-run-eat@live.co.uk or go direct to SEED info@seedeatingdisorders.co.uk or telephone 01482 718130.

Also, last but not least, the cheeky part! Please go here and support Chris, he is running the London Marathon for SEED and any amount you can donate would be so glady received! You can donate via paypal on the top left hand corner. Thanks so much for reading my little plug! All in a good cause :-)

Tempo Tuesday

And some other bits.. since Tuesday is now long gone (yes I'm on about last Tuesday, not today! Oops)!

I set out for my tempo run on Tuesday morning, the plan was actually 1 mile warm up, 2 miles at mid tempo (7.58 pace), 1 mile easy, 2 miles at mid tempo and 1 mile cool down... What I actually did was..

0.5 miles warm up
2 @ 7.32 pace
7.31 & 7.33 = 15.04
1 mile easy
2 @ 7.49 pace,
7.58 & 7.40 = 15.36
0.5 miles cool down

I was really happy with those paces, the first tempo portion was tough though but I set off at that pace by accident really and when I'd got into it I really didn't want to slow down. I think I slightly scared a woman when I stopped near her as she carried on walking a bit then turned round and looked at me and said, I just wanted to check you hadn't passed out... Guess I looked as rough as I felt then ha! I walked a little bit then jogged most of the easy mile before carrying on with the next tempo part.. To be honest I was hoping for times similar to the first but I was too tired. Happy with what I did though as it's still faster than I should have been.. I know sometimes I should probably ease off a bit but I just love going as fast as I can and seeing how much I'm actually capable of.

At some point I did some pushups... 11-15-9-9-15... I'm due to do some more but after rather a lot of Mothers Day excess today I think they will be done tomorrow!

8 miles in 1:07:19 ave pace 8.25
Mile 1 - 8.53
Mile 2 - 8.30
Mile 3 - 8.28
Mile 4 - 8.25
Mile 5 - 8.14
Mile 6 - 8.19
Mile 7 - 8.20
Mile 8 - 8.13

I was so happy with those 8 miles. It felt like such a strong run! I feel like my cardio system is really improving at the moment.. I just hope I feel as good after the 14 I'm setting out to do today! Eeeek, that will be a new PDR! That is assuming I finish! Wish me luch haha!

Plus some more push-ups last night... 14-14-10-10-15... only just managed the 15 at the end... These feel so much harder than the last time I attempted the push-up program! Oh well... At least my numbers are on the up.. slowly but surely!


Also last but certainly not least, Jess @ Almost Over Now gave me this lovely award. Thanks Jess :-) I love the amazing blogging community there is so much eoncouragement and motivation from you guys! I think this has already been passed on to most people since I'm a bit slow on the uptake so I want this to go to anyone who hasn't had it, consider yourself nominated!

March Recap

Better late than never...

March goals
Start that blasted push-up challenge - no more putting it off!! Tick
Run 3 x weekly Almost tick!
Would love to do 50 miles in March, I think that's possible.. Tick

March totals
Push-ups 172
Miles - 59.4

April goals
Continue doing the push-up program
Run 3 x weekly
At least maintain March mileage, would love to increase it a bit.. lets say 65!
Beat last years time in the Good Friday Hill Race, the very first race I ever ran. Race recap. That means running 7.3 miles of steep hilly trails in under 1.20... I think that's possible.. I hope that's possible anyway! I ran 7 flat miles in under 1 hour today so I think I should be able to shave some time off that, depends how my legs cope I guess!

And off topic... I just wanted to say thanks for all the comments on my last post, you guys think I'm way speedier than I feel so I'm well chuffed! Thanks for the huge vote of confidence!