25 in 25... advent running complete!

Wanted to post a quick summary of my final week of Advent Running while it's still fairly fresh in my mind.

Really, it was quite uneventful - a couple of early morning treadmills and a couple of lunch time runs took me up until the 23rd and before I knew it I was finishing work and packing to head home. Just because it was uneventful doesn't mean it was easy though, I don't think I stood up all week without moaning about being stiff, my legs had officially turned to led. It was weird really, because towards the end I could really tell that my fitness had improved but many legs just couldn't keep up with what my head and everything else wanted to do. But whether a plod or racer pace, I managed to bash out some good 5km runs throughout the week.

Christmas eve came round and with it what I was classing as my last "proper" run of Advent Running, knowing full-well that Christmas day would have to be a little hangover pootle to visit my grandparents. I'd been looking forward to this run for a while, I'd decided I was going to just about round off Advent Running with a local Park Run.

One of my key aims of Advent Running was to chase the sub 30 5k which I've not managed since my half marathon training in the summer, so Parkrun seemed like the perfect setting to really go for it. I always love the friendly Parkrun atmosphere and find I normally perform a bit better than my average solo run pace so was really motivated and ready for it.

Unfortunately it didn't quite happen, I came in about 30 seconds over the mark... but never mind! I had a great run, and after not running that route for a while I'd forgot just how bloody hard the hills are! So, unusually for me I didn't beat myself up for not getting to where I had wanted to be. I'm confident I'll crack it in a week or two when my legs are fresh again.

Really, I can't finish up without a brief mention of my Christmas day run! In the familiar Christmas morning hangover haze I really contemplated just not bothering - I was already proud of what I'd achieved already and I was pretty sure I'd end up seeing some of the previous night's alcohol on the way round. But I talked myself round, got out my Advent Running t-shirts and my trainers, made sure I had plenty water and off I went. 2.5km done and dusted... and with it the entire challenge done!

So, what has Advent Running taught me?

• Running at lunch time is brilliant and great for clearing the head after a rubbish day
• First-thing gymming isn't quite as enjoyable, but not as bad as I expected
• Similarly, hang-over running isn't great, but isn't too awful
• Planning and organising laundry takes a huge amount of effort when you run every day
• You get bloody sick to death of washing and drying your hair
• Despite fitness increasing quite a bit, led-legs make some of the last runs bloody difficult

All in all, I think I can quite safely say I've enjoyed it. Although some of the days I really dragged my heels and didn't want to go, I never came back from a run wishing I hadn't. So I suppose that counts as a success!

Final stats
Out door distance covered: 73.61km
Treadmill distance covered: 40.55km
Total distance covered: 114.16km / 70.93 miles
Time spent: 12:40:52

Now to start looking for the next challenge!

I am lucky

I did a lot of thinking today, as I ran for the 17th consecutive day. The last week has been full of ups and downs with the old Advent Running. Some days it's been easy, others it's been a huge struggle. It's been a busy week and some days it would have been so easy to give up, not least at 5am yesterday when my alarm chimed to send me off on my first ever pre-work gym session (early morning sessions are weird and I'll definitely do a blog featuring them in detail at some point!)

So naturally, I've done a fair bit of moaning this week. I do love a good moan and running has given me plenty to moan about over the last 7 days... "it's cold" "I'm too busy" "I'm too tired"... the list goes on!

Today while I was running, I started to think about how really, I shouldn't moan at all (or at least not as much). This train of thought began when I was thinking about my route. I'd already ran through the crowds who were starting to gather for football, soaking in an atmosphere that I've only ever experienced during the pre-match buzz. Then I started to head out of the city on a long, tree-lined stretch of road. 

I wanted to bank an extra mile or so today, in anticipation of tomorrow's inevitable hangover so I added in a bit of a loop around the park. It was gorgeous, quiet and peaceful and that's what made me start to think about how lucky I am. I can go from being in an urban centre which I love, being surrounded by people to being by a tranquil lake with only a few ducks for company, which I also love.

Then I started thinking about all the other reasons I'm a lucky runner.

I'm lucky that I can run pretty much whenever I want. I'm lucky that even at night, I can run by myself in the dark knowing I'm pretty much as safe as anyone can be. I'm lucky that I can run on roads, by rivers, over bridges and through the city. I'm lucky that I can afford to go to a fancy gym when I don't feel like running outside, or if I fancy a swim instead.

I'm lucky because of the people who support my running - I've got a fantastic family who have made sure I've never crossed a finish line without familiar faces clapping and cheering. I'm lucky to be part of a brilliant running club which means I'd never have to run alone if I didn't want to. I'm lucky to be a member in several online running groups, thousands of people at my fingertips to give advice, encouragement and inspiration. I'm even lucky for the fantastic friends I've got who listen to my regular conversations about running.

And, I suppose when it all comes down to it, I'm lucky that I can run at all.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

A couple of weeks ago, as mentioned in my previous blog, I had the bright idea of taking part in some thing I'd briefly seen called Advent Running.

Really, I'm not sure why I decided to do this. I'm not exactly someone who has bags of time on their hands, but phrases like "it's only half an hour" and "making time for yourself every day" had me convinced it was a good idea.

So on 1st December, with fresh legs and still on the post-race high of EMA 10k, I excitedly packed my PE kit to take to work as the only time I'd fit a run in that day would be at lunchtime... 'runch' was a concept I'd heard lots of runners talk about but never something I'd tried. I must admit, I really enjoyed it! Getting a bit of fresh air and time away from the office was great! And it's for the best really, as next week I'll be doing it for 4 out of 5 days.. but that will be a story to tell next week.

Day 2 was good as well. I've hugely wasted my gym membership for a good few weeks so it was nice to get my stuff together and head down for an early gym session on the first day of a week's annual leave. A gentle 30 min interval treadmill session went by fairly quickly and pain-free. I was loving this advent running thing I'd started so much that I even decided to order an official t-shirt to sport during my festive frolics.

Day three was another story, and the first of many times (so far) that I've said Advent Running is a stupid decision. I headed out in the semi-darkness and still with mild hangover symptoms, full of self loathing for not taking on an easier going advent hobby. But I got it done, even though I could easily have thrown the towel in.

The next few days were quite uneventful, some outdoor and some treadmill running, mainly smiley and grateful in the panic stricken days that come before an exam (again.. another story) that I'd set aside time to run and clear my head each day.

Then another couple of tricky days followed.. third treadmill session in a row followed by trying to fit a run in on a stupidly busy and again slightly hungover day triggered lots more thoughts of "This is stupid, why am I doing it?"

Today was good again though.. after my first day back in a stuffy office on a rubbish tip I was dying for some fresh air when work was over and really enjoyed my warm winter evening 5k.

So I figure that's how it's going to be, some days I'll love it and some I'll hate it. But either way, every day I'll be doing it.. purely to piss of those who think I'll give up if anything! I'm over a third of the way though so I'm definitely not packing in now!

Stats so far:

Runs......................9
Distance................42km/26.25miles
Time......................5 hours
Major stops...........3
Minor strops..........about 20
Small accidents.... 1

A quick glide around East Midlands Airport

Race day then! As I explained in my last post, running has taken a huge back seat since September when everything else in my life went into crazy overdrive. So I went into today's race with no expectation other than to soak up the once-in-every-15-years opportunity along with the race day atmosphere and take in the scenery as I trotted around the airport for about 6 miles.

Right from the start it was a great experience (helped in no small part by the spot-on organisation) right from "check in" number collection and the familiar pre-race nerves barely even surfaced, despite roaming around on my own for an hour until my fan club arrived. It was a bit surreal really being at the sort-of closed airport surrounded by a few thousand other people donning their best Lycra eagerly anticipating the starting gun.

I'm not going to lie, it wasn't all sunshine and rainbows, it was flipping cold! I put off dropping my bag and hoody with the baggage handlers for as long as I possibly could but all too soon it was time to do the final bits of prep and head to my pen ready to start.

As soon as the first wave set off it seemed to take no time at all until I was crossing the starting line myself and heading off along the route. After about five minutes I was nice and warm and able to start properly enjoying the run. As I trotted along I really thought about how lucky I was to be a runner, to be able to take in these scenes normally reserved only for airport staff, surrounded by loads of other people all rhythmically putting one foot in front of the other and seeing off the November chills.

At around 3.6km the leader came past me and the people running around me, he seemed to breeze by with ease on his second lap! After that it was easy to recognise the second-lappers flying by the rest of us, it was a great motivator (I'd like to say it was from their running but it was definitely more from following all those lovely shoulders and well chiselled calves!)

To be honest it was a pretty uneventful run other than that - that's not to say I didn't enjoy it, it was brilliant!! But I didn't have any major struggles (ran all the way which doesn't happen massively often), and there was no other drama to report. As such, before I knew it I was passing the 9km marker and was very nearly done!

I'm not going to lie, despite all my "I've barely trained so I'm going for enjoyment not time" talk, I did keep half an eye on my (shiny new) TomTom as I made my way around the course, and I could see that I was going to come in at well below my estimated time of about 1:05. Surprisingly, I came in at 1:01:54 which is up there in my best times ever and a good 4 minutes improvement on last weekend's 10k!

So all in all, it was a great morning to round off my race calendar for 2016. I'm nowhere near finished running for this year though - after a bit of thought I've decided I'm going to go for an advent running streak attempt - at least 30mins a day from the 1st until the 24th December. It will be tricky getting it in some days but I reckon it will be worth the satisfaction by the time Santa comes! As always, I'm sure I'll have at least one overly long and waffley blog post to detail my progress.

Finally, here's some photos from today, thanks for reading!

Ready and raring to go!

 

The obligatory post-race pint

 

Flying feet! Also check my new leggings, definitely helped the family spot me!

The non running runner.

I've been wanting to write this blog for quite a while, hence the long quiet patch. Coincidentally, I've not had time to write a blog about not having time to run.

The week or two after the half marathon were weird. At first there was the initial post-race comedown I've seen so many other runners writing about so much. It was horrible. For a good few days I had a full attack of mardyitus - I was mardy, miserable and probably not very nice to be around. My gym sessions felt weird as I didn't have a target to work to so I didn't really know what to do with myself.

Eventually this wore off a bit, not least helped by me epic fundraising total of almost £400!!! for the Royal British Legion, which I'm really proud of and still so humbled by everyone's generosity!

So back to running, or lack of it! After my couple of weeks being mardy I came to the realisation that my next 10k race was only six weeks away and I seemed to find some new wave of motivation from somewhere. I had a couple of really good treadmill interval sessions (as much as some people hate it, I actually love a good treadmill session!) and was feeling much better about everything.

Skip forward to one Sunday a couple of weeks ago and to one of my least favourite experiences as a runner yet! Trotting along the road, about two miles into what I was planning on being about 5 miles and I heard a weird noise and felt a sharp pain in my knee. It didn't take me long to realise that the "bad-men" in the tinted window golf who had just passed and were now looking at me had thrown something. I ran on a couple of paces then realised that it bloody hurt and I was very sad and burst into tears. I then proceeded to cry all the way home. When I got home I looked where the pain was and saw what was quite clearly a bloody BB gun mark. The bastards!!!

Anyway to cut a long story short, my running has just gone down hill since then. Not because of that, I'm not the kind of girl to let a pair of skallys put me off doing something I love! Essentially, life has got in the way and running has unfortunately taken bottom place on the list of things to do.

It's not that I don't want to run. For a while running has been my release when I'm having a shitty day/week/month, but unfortunately the weeks I've had have been a matter doing whatever task has the biggest repercussions of not being done. And as much as I don't want to run a rubbish time at the end of the month, that's been trivial compared to passing exams/meeting deadlines/being a good Brown Owl.

So I've not ran. Not much anyway. I managed to push out a struggle of a 5k last weekend and that's been it for a couple of weeks. There are now less weeks until my next 10k since it was since I last ran 10k. I've even thought about pulling out but the route is one that probably won't come around again for 15-20 years so I'm not going to miss it, even if it means my last race of the year is my slowest.

I've got two weeks and two days and I'm going to do my best not to get too wound up, I'll train as and when I can but feel like until the end of June (when I finish my CIM) running might just to have to take a bit of a back seat. Suppose it's a good thing then that I didn't get a place in London 2017. Kind of.

As always I've waffled twice as long as I intended, so thanks for reading if you got this far!  

I am a half marathon runner!!

Right then, today. Where do I start?! I'll start at the beginning (I've heard that's a very good place to start...) 

My alarm went off at 6.30am... no don't worry it won't be that boring 

At the start of today I was nervous, extremely nervous. I'm not normally a nervous type, but I am one for putting a lot of pressure on myself, so I think that, coupled with the fact that a half marathon isn't exactly an easy walk in the park, set my stomach butterflies into overdrive. 

I managed to keep things quite well at bay for the first few hours of the day, there was a great buzz around the race village and a particular highlight was catching up with my old friend, Becky. But then before I knew it it was time to head into the pens and my bloody nerves went into overdrive. I spent the next 20 minutes doing what can only be described as a nervous jig which I'm hoping was just about in time to the music to look like I was having a little dance. 

Eventually, the claxons started going and the elites were off. Slowly but surely, my gang walked forward and made our way towards the start line, at long last it was time to start! I pressed play on my mp3 player and the beats of antidote by Swedish House Mafia (always my first song of the race) kicked in and I was off!!

And just like that my nerves melted away! I was running like I've done hundreds of times before and it wasn't scary anymore! People were lined on the pavements and clapping and I couldn't stop smiling. I was finally doing the half marathon that I've been training for months to do. The first couple of KMs (forgot to change the bloody measurements on my watch) went by like a breeze, I kept bumping into the lovely Becky, joined in on a bit of 'bants' with fellow runners and was in excellent spirits. 

Robin Hood marathon/half is popular with runners across the country for being quite flat... and in the most part it is. However, just shy of two miles in you turn off Castle Boulevard and begin the ascent into the Park. Flipping heck the hills!! Obviously, castles are built on hills for a reason, but I've no idea which bloody evil person decided the route should take in these hills. After about a mile of seemingly never ending hills that twisted and turned through the really lovely park area of town I was so glad to see the familiar semi-derelict sights of canning circus.. it meant the gradual descent of Derby Road was upon us! 

Trotting down Derby Road with a grin on my face thinking about many uni memories from the area was great, I was really getting into my stride and enjoying myself by this point. Smiling away to myself, I started to hear "KKAAAAAAYYYYYY" and see flapping arms to the side of the road. My little smile turned into a huge grin as I saw two of my best pals cheering me on! I'm quite the emotional type so I definitely had a few teary sniffles for the next couple of hundred meters. 

I'm conscious that I'm going on a bit now, so I'll summarise miles 4-10. Hot, liked seeing the speedy runners on their way back, loved Wollaton Park, running down the ringroad was fun. Not a fan of the several hairpin bends. There was a final evil hill moment on Abbey Bridge but the cheerleading squad from my lovely Notts Women Runners helped with that!

Before I knew it, I was approaching mile 10 which was when I really started to think "shit, I've got this, I've nearly done.. only a parkrun to go!" I had another couple of little sniffely teary moments when I realised this, one by the Irish Centre where there was a live band playing and another coming past the train station when it really hit me how close I was. 

In what seemed like no time at all, I was at mile 12 and so nearly there! Turning back onto the Embankment and into some well needed shade I couldn't keep the smile off my face. The crowd support on the finishers tunnel was like nothing I've experienced, hundreds of people clapping, smiling, cheering! I almost missed mum and dad, and their camera unfortunately missed me! 

I attempted my usual sprint-finish but my legs weren't fully cooperating, however it didn't matter as in what seemed like no time at all I was clicking my watch off and over the finish line! I'd done it, I'd bloody done it!!! 

I collected my very big and heavy medal and eventually found mum and dad where a few more tears ensued, I couldn't believe it was all over! My time is looking like 2:22:09 which I'm really chuffed with.

And that's it really. I can't really think of how else to round it off. Even now hours later I don't think it's properly sunk in... I am a half marathon runner! Who knows what will be next. 

One more shameless plug.. it's not too late to sponsor me! At least now you know you've got your monies worth and I didn't bottle it! Head over to my fundraising page and help me make the most money possible for the fantastic Royal British Legion. 

Wearing my t-shirt proud as punch

My and my dad promoting Wastecycle!

All done! With the world's best football ground in the background

Look at the evil hills!!

Me and the lovely Becky!

One bad run, one week to go.

As my last couple of blogs have described, things have been going well and I've been feeling as positive and confident as one can about their first ever half marathon.

My first week of tapering hasn't been exactly as planned, at some point in the middle of the week germs descended on me and I became somewhat of a coughing, sniffing and spluttering lurgi-filled mess. This meant I decided to give myself a break after four days of spending a good 14 hours out of the house and give Thursday's planned treadmill 5k a miss.

Not too deterred from my missed session and with the worst of my cold behind me, I woke up this morning feeling quite confident and looking forward to the gentle 10k I had planned as my last long run before next weekend. I followed my normal pre-run routine of breakfast etc and set out in the sunshine, looking forward to having an hour to myself away from the chaos that has been the preceding week.

The first couple of kilometres were fine, I was going at my normal 10k pace and really enjoying it. Then something weird that hasn't really happened before came across me as I broke into the third kilometre. My legs went heavier than normal, my eyes went all spekeldy and everything was just weird. I slowed to a stop and as soon as I stopped moving I went scarily dizzy. I quickly clutched onto the nearest lamp-post and tried to get some blood to go back to my head (having a really annoying squeamish complex which often sends me into these weird spells means that luckily I know exactly what to do!)

As I stood (well, leaned) there, trying not to panic I had to decide what my next move was going to be.  I was close to phoning my Dad to come and get me, but as the dizziness passed I went for the "eat a couple of magic beans and walk it off" plan. Either way I knew I'd have to walk a bit to somewhere my Dad could get me from so it seemed the best option.

A bit shaky at first, I slowly got into my stride and made my way around the seemingly never-ending Bypass and eventually felt like I was up to a little jog. I came up with the plan that I'd jog back home to try and remind myself I could, but I'd go for the direct route rather than adding in the extra 4km loop I'd planned to take the run up to 10k.

The rest of the run is quite uneventful really. I got home, had a long soak in the bath, did lots of thinking and, if I'm honest, had a bit of a cry. I felt quite sad and deflated, after all these great months of training I felt a bit like I'd fell at the final hurdle and the confidence I'd spent months building up was faltering fast.

Fortunately, I'm a member of an absolutely fantastic running club. I explained my ordeal to my lovely purple ladies and ever since I've been inundated with advice, encouragement and, most importantly, reassurance. I'm still not feeling as confident as I was this time last week, but I'm feeling a hundred times better than I did as I plodded up the path this morning.

This all leads quite nicely into my plea for sponsorship. Because really, by sponsoring me, you're not just showing your support for the 13.1 mile challenge that lies ahead of me next Sunday. You'll be sponsoring me to recognise the hours, the sweat, the determination and the tears I've put in over the last few months to get me to this stage. I'm raising money for a truly great charity and I'm so keen to get to my £200 target. Head over to my fundraising page and help me to get there.

Thanks for reading!

Running. Out of time.

Despite being in the final stages of training, I've not done an update for a good few weeks. Not because I don't have anything to say (I can always think of something). And not really because my training has been going particularly well or badly (it's been ticking by quite nicely, if you were wondering).

I've not written anything for a few weeks because I've just not been able to find the time.

It seems to be that there's been an unfortunate clash between some of the busiest and most stressful few weeks I've had in a long time - don't worry I won't bore everyone with all the details - and the final few weeks of prep for my first ever half marathon.

I'm not complaining... I've started a Uni course I've really wanted to do for ages and I've been preparing to take over as Brown Owl which I'm excited about, mixed in with the general work-based madness (oh look at that, I am going to bore you with all the details...) So it has been and is still shaping up to be a fantastic bunch of weeks, it's just that like the proverbial bus... everything's came at once.

So enough with my half-moaning, I'd better talk about running.

I think I'm prepared for the half marathon I'll be doing in what is now less than 13 day's time. My long runs have been good, I trained up to 11.5 miles a couple of weeks ago and bashed (well plodded) 10 miles out yesterday so I'm pretty sure I can do it. I'm in the taper phase now, which I'm still not fully sure what it means but I've found a decent online plan to follow.

In standard Kay Knowles style I'm swinging rapidly from being calm and rational to being a snappy, mardy nervous wreck though, something which from previous experience will probably only get more intense over the next less-than-thirteen days.

What I am worrying about is that I've not started collecting sponsorship yet. I chose my charity - The Royal British Legion - several months ago and some admin issues at my local branch mean I'm yet to start my fundraising. Even if I have to do everything the old fashioned way via actual paper forms, I'll be coming round cap in hand by the end of this week and praying the sponsors come flooding in.

Expect a desperate "dig deep pretty please" style blog post to follow. And I promise that post will feature more running. Because.. well.. it's a running blog not a moaning about being busy blog!

A rate good race... Mansfield take two!

First thing's first, for a lot of this blog to make sense, you'll need to read the post I did about the same race last year.

All done? Good, then I'll begin. If not don't worry, I'll summarise below.

2015
Last year, the inaugural Mansfield 10k was a disaster. Not only was it a disaster for me (the second biggest struggle of a race I've ever done), but it was also a disaster for the organisers. Late start, not enough toilet rolls in the portaloos, long queues for everything... and the biggest balls up of all is missing 400-500m of the route. All in all, not a great day.

2016
Couldn't have been more different! Number arrived nicely in time, new town centre meeting point to alleviate the need for manky portaloos and great organisation meaning a prompt gun fire at 9am.

But bigger than any of the formalities and organisation is my personal experience of Mansfield this year. Even though I remembered really struggling last year, reading that post back has reminded me just how tough it was. It was hot, hilly and I was hugely underprepared.

As a result of how difficult it was last year, I headed off on this year's race with barely any pressure on myself - a big thing Miss Self Critical here! I headed down through the market place and out to the first loop in great spirits, there was a great atmosphere and despite the shocker of a first hill (which I knew I'd have to endure two more times) I had a big smile.

Amazingly, this smile stayed with me all the way round. It was hot (but not has hot as last year) and there were still a million hills that I've avoided training for, but something in me just kept me going. No mid-race lull, no mental arguments, nothing.

I can't not mention that it goes without saying my high spirits were 100% backed and helped by the array of smiling, waving and cheering purple ladies around the course. They gave me a huge boost each time I could see one in the distance and between them managed the first ever collection of half-decent photos of me in action. They did a great job marshalling at the event and made me as proud as ever to be team purple!

Despite saying I wasn't putting myself under time pressure, I naturally checked my watch every now and again.. (that's a fib, it was probably every 30 seconds). I was running at a solid 6:00-6:10km pace and after the half-way wall I hit at my last race I kept telling myself to steady on. It seems, however that my legs had other ideas and just kept going. Keeping that eye on my watch I saw myself smash pb after pb and as I ran past my fan club at around 8.5km I did the token Kay thumbs up face and bellowed that I was massively on track.

Smile still on my face, I charged up the penultimate hill and broke back into a run on the flat, dropped my hips to scuttle along the last major down hill and went round the corner to be faced with the evil what-was first hill for the final time (remember, the one I said I'd be doing three times). I began my uphill charge and was about half way when a lady reminded my that I wouldn't be getting that PB unless I gave it my all. So gave it my all I did.

Soon at the top of the hill and onto the home straight (which was a fantastic gentle hill) I went as fast as I could past the crowds and over the finishing line. I'd done it! I picked up my medal (a great one!) and made my way through finishing crowds to find my family so they could hold all my bits and bobs while I eagerly checked my watch.. a comfortable PB and a course which measured in at the right length.. I couldn't be happier!!

Once the chip time came through it confirmed I'd ran a PB by more than a minute.. 1:00:39 and ever closer to that sub 60 I'm so desperate for.

It's less than five weeks until the half marathon now (my race pack came today!) and at this point I'm really excited! The next few weeks are likely to be a complete roller coaster and before long everyone is going to be fed up of my fundraising pestering, but I can't wait for it all!

Once again I've written twice as much as I'd intended.. apologies.

Here's a couple of photos seeing as I don't look like I've got no teeth and in some kind of critical pain!

Big smiles for a change!

I do love a bit of bling!

Another big smile

What looks like a weird bird impression is actually me waving. I believe this includes the sought after flying feet

Big smiles all around.. and that's before I knew my end time!

Doing the impossible #401challenge

Yesterday was a tough, inspiring, painful yet bloody brilliant day.

For anyone who doesn't know what the 401 challenge is, it's a fantastic chap called Ben who is running 401 marathons in 401 days. Why? Well, a couple of reasons.

Firstly, he wants to raise a quarter of a million pounds for two fantastic charities which both do great work that is close to his heart. The first is Kidscape and the other Stonewall, both charities which aim to stamp out bullying, inequality and support those affected by such things.

Secondly - and I only heard him saying this yesterday - because people said it was impossible.

So there we have it, an impressive mission and something I absolutely couldn't pass up the opportunity of being part of when he was local for the last time in the challenge yesterday. Earlier in the week I decided to abandon the idea of the 11 miles I needed for my training plan this weekend in favour of the 7.5mile loop of clumber park with Ben before he headed off for the rest of the marathon. (Any more than 7.5 miles and I'd be running away from my car, which is why I didn't just plan to join him for 11).

This all changed when I got out of my car at Clumber Park and got chatting to a lady from my running club who I'd never met before. Talking about our training schedules and how we both wanted to do a couple more than the 7.5, we decided we'd carry on with the route then double back when we'd done the extra few miles. Great plan.

However, it was impossible not to be inspired by the atmosphere once we'd got going with the first stage (the fantastic Clumber Parkrun) Helen and I hatched a plan. We'd do the 7.5 mile loop, then shift our cars around so we could rejoin the group at mile 15 (which just so happened to be at a fantastic ice cream parlour) and carry on for the next 5 miles to Walesby Camp - a place which means a heck of a lot to me and has millions of happy memories. Sorted!

Well, turns out the inspiration turned into some kind of madness and as time went on we thought we'd add an extra stop then realised we may as well just leave one car at Clumber Park and do the whole of the afternoon leg of the marathon (11.4 miles of it!!).

I'm conscious that I'm waffling on now, so I'll try and rein it in.

After a lovely few hours in the sun at Thyma Dairy, we set off on our afternoon jaunt though the north notts countryside surrounded by a fantastic bunch of runners. I've never had the pleasure of running with such a polite, friendly and motivating bunch of strangers! We all genuinely wanted each other to do well, and the support between us all was like nothing I've ever experienced - all led by this fantastic man who was on day 348 of this 'impossible' task.

I'm not going to say it was a complete pleasure, those last few miles were the hardest I've ever done. Yet we all kept smiling as we asked each other what the hell we were doing and just as I started to think my legs would never be my friend again we were at the finish, Ben and my new friend Helen's beaming faces welcoming us! When I totted up the two halves on my Tomtom I couldn't believe it when I saw I'd done 18.9 miles! A personal best by 8.9 miles and something I'd have thought impossible for me!

All in all it was a great day, and an experience I'd never forget. Please please, check out Ben's website, and, more importantly his Virgin Money page. Every little really does help!

Here are a few snaps from the day.. if I'd have known about all the photos I'd have been in the make-up bag yesterday morning!

Me and Florence the van!

My two loves combines, Guiding and running. Love this place and the memories!

The lovely purple gang - pic courtesy of Clumber Parkrun

The inspirational Ben and I. Photo courtesy of The 401 Challenge.

Me and the lovely Helen.. a perfect stranger until yesterday. Courtesy of Clumber Parkrun.

There's no shame in a short run

What a few weeks it's been! Running (and blogging about running) has had to take a bit of a back-seat because of an array of social events, entertaining and somewhat reluctantly turning 25!

Having a crazy and interesting social life might seem like it's all well and good until you realise that your waistline seems to be ever expanding and your bank balance ever decreasing. And that's without even mentioning the effect on the training regime for the looming half marathon.

Despite being pleased with how my training's going so far, I must admit it has become quite same-sih.. Couple of treadmill sessions during the week and a long run at the weekend. It's hardly surprising really, I'm a massive creature of habit, I like order and routine almost as much as I like wine and chocolate. However, due to my hectic schedule this well thought out and ordered plan has been non-existent and I've had to cram in little runs here and there as and when I've been able to.

And I've really enjoyed it.

It's reminded me that running doesn't have to be about precise route planning and careful pre-hydrating. Getting home from work, throwing your gear on and nipping out for half an hour can be just as satisfying.. I even managed to work in a run around needing to pop to the shops! (Needless to say I must have looked like a nutter running around with a jar of mango chutney on the way home).

The next few weeks are looking somewhat less hectic and training will once again be top (or very close to top, at least). My social calendar is pretty clear which is good as I've realised the necessity of reinstating the drinking ban if I want to make it to 26!

My long-run dates are planned but other than that I'm determined to be more flexible with myself and enjoy a quick trot around the streets now and again.. I might even go wild and do some hills!

Ten

This week has vaguely followed a theme around the number ten. I did my first ten miler yesterday, it's ten weeks today until the half marathon and down in London there's been all sorts happening at a house which happens to be the tenth on a particular road.

I've had this weekend earmarked for doing 10 miles for a while, my life is so busy that all my weekend runs up until the Half are already planned, I know what distances I'll be doing and what day I'll be doing them each weekend so that there's no opportunity to think "I'll do it tomorrow" "I'll get that distance in next weekend" etc. And to be honest, after the disappointment of my run last weekend I was quite looking forward to getting back in the saddle so to speak and tackling a distance rather than pace run.

Something I've learned since I've been upping the distance is how important route planning is. It's alright going for an out and back or a few familiar laps when it's a couple of miles, but I've found this is tedious and repetitive on my longer runs. Plus, I like to be able to sort of visualise where I've got left to go as I'm on my way around.

Over the past few years, I've lived in eight different places in Nottingham, which has been extremely beneficial to my route planning. I know several different pockets of the city, what roads link them together and where any nasty hills are. With all this in mind, I set about planning my route for this weekend and spent the rest of the week really looking forward to getting out and running it.

Saturday morning came around and while I was quite looking forward to it, it did seem slightly daunting too. I'm part of a running club and while it is nice to run with others, I just felt like going on my own this weekend, and I'm really glad I did. As I made my way around the perimeter of the city I started thinking about all the memories I've got at the various places I passed. The beer gardens I've spent hours laughing and drinking in, the houses I've been to mad parties at, where I crashed my car, the site where the tower block I once abseiled down used to stand, a couple of places I've lived and all the memories they held, another place I crashed my car (whoops). The list is huge and I could be typing all night!

Importantly though, running round the city with a smile on my face thinking about all these things really made the 10 miles fly by! I'm not saying it was easy, but I really really enjoyed it! I'm also especially proud of myself for actually remembering my whole route, I think it's the first time I've not ended up making a bit of it up because I've forgot my plan.

So any of my lacking confidence feelings following last week are at the back of my mind for now. I managed to run ten whole actual miles and I've lived to tell the tale. It's now ten weeks until the race and I've only got another 3.1 miles to pull out of the bag which doesn't seem like a huge amount.

I've got three busy/boozy/birthday weekends coming up now so fitting in my runs is going to be a bit tricky. I'm planned and ready though and I know I can fit in at least 10k at some point each week with the next long run (eleven miles) planned in for Saturday 13th August. I'll be 25 then, flipping heck!

In case you're interested, here's the route...

As always, thanks for reading!

One year on, the good, the bad and the ugly

The good

First things first, a very quick update following my previous post... I did it! The prohibition that is, more about the sub 60 later. I managed 27 whole days without alcohol and I think I'm more surprised about this than anyone.

Also under ‘the good’ is how hard I’ve trained, but again more about that below.

The bad
Now, onto that sub 60. I've trained really hard over the last few weeks. Followed an actual training plan, not skipped any sessions and even did a few short runs after staying out dancing until the early hours in Benidorm last week.

Cobble all this together and, this time yesterday, I was feeling confident and excited today’s Women’s Running 10k race. I could do it.

Well, turns out I couldn't.

I managed to stick tight to the pacer for around the first 5k. This isn't surprising because I've trained really hard for that bit. Endless 5k interval sessions, Parkrun, the lot. I thought I'd scrape together the rest based on the amount of long runs and the distance I'd been covering in them.

What actually happened was that after the 5k mark, my legs began to remind me that they don't naturally go that fast. Also, I've not mentioned yet, but it was flipping hot. I was very hot and very bothered and the second 5k was awful. A real struggle.

Things turned slightly for the last 800m or so when a lovely lady who's part of the same running club as me started chatting to me. I always love chatting and talking to her spurred me on until eventually the finish line was upon us. I didn't have it in me for my normal Usain Bolt sprint finish, but a quick glance at the clock told me I'd ran a PB. But I still wasn't happy, not one bit. There were even a couple of tears.

Since then, I've spent most of today in a strop. But I've just given myself a bloody good talking to while bobbing up and down the pool (decided to go for a swim so I didn't spend ALL day eating).

In the last year I've completed seven 10k races, loads of parkruns and countless miles pounding on the pavements and treadmills. So, I might not have done it today, but I'm sure that I will do. Even if it takes me another year, I'll be frustrated as hell but I'll get there.

It's now the 11 week countdown stage until the half marathon. I'll be doing regular updates again to motivate me through my training and attempting to generate sponsors for my chosen charity, the Royal British Legion who I'll be starting my fundraising for in the very near future. Again, this time last night I was feeling confident and excited for the half, however, this evening it's more nervous yet still excited. I think.

So that's where the name change of my blog comes from. I've been trying to think of something for months since I knew I'd be passing the 10k mark and today it hit me (with the help of a t-shirt I saw someone wearing.) I'm an okay runner, and I think I'm okay with that.

Apologies for the waffle, once again I didn't think I had much to say! Thanks for reading.

The ugly
If you've got this far down and you're wondering how I'm going to fit in talking about the final part of my title, you've clearly never seen any photos of me while running...

PBs and Prohibition

It's been a few weeks since my last blog and there are a couple of bits and bobs I wanted to put down on paper (or screen if we're being picky about it).

Generally, it's been a really successful few weeks with my running. The Nottingham 10k gave me a real motivation boost and has made me more determined than ever to hit a sub 60 10k. My next race is five weeks away now and until the last week or so I'd been quite confident that I could do it. 

I've had quite a few PBs since my last blog post, namely:

• Completing Parkrun in my best ever time of 29.13. I've done treadmill 5ks quicker but that's my best non-interval training time
• Hit 8min mile for the first time. It was the only mile I did that day and I couldn't have kept up that speed for long but I did it! 
• Ran my longest ever run at 13.17 km (just over 8 miles) with two lovely ladies from my running club. 

I think this has been helped in no small part by actually planning my training - something which I've not massively done before. A big bit of this has been scheduling in some interval training which I've never bothered with because I always thought it seemed too much like hard work. However, I think it's finally clicking that if I'm going to improve, it is going to be bloody hard work. 

Which brings me on to the second 'P' of my blog title. Prohibition. I know I've mentioned in blog posts before that I love a drink. Whether it's a glass (who am I kidding... a bottle) of wine after a long day at work, a pint of strongbow in a beer garden or a vokda and lemonade to celebrate the weekend. 

Despite how much I love a good drink, it's becoming more and more clear that drinking and running just don't go together. It's far too easy to abandon long-run day in favour of Netflix and feeling sorry for myself after a pot or two the night before and equally, I always seem to struggle if I run within a day or two of a heavy one. 

It's now 24 days until I jet off to Benidorm with my family, and ideally I want to lose the best part of half a stone before then (well really I want to get rid of 2 but that's looking less and less realistic..). It's also car insurance month in June which is a massive burden on the old bank balance! 

So all these factors lead to one thing really. A 24 day drinking ban! I'm cheating a little bit because it's not like I had any huge social plans which I'll be rocking up to sober, but any any plans won't be involving alcohol (well, not for me anyway!). I really want that sub 60 10k and I know how annoyed I'll be at myself if I don't think I've trained my absolute best to get there. 

Here I go then, 24 days and counting!! 

Psycho, hills and a personal best!

Ever since the inaugural Nottingham 10k was announced last year I've been looking forward to it. I love the city, and the chance to run through some of its streets in the company of an absolute legend (Football legend Stuart Pearce, not to be confused with the other Nottm Legend, Robin Hood) made for a very exciting race.

Originally, I had planned to do a couple of spring races under my belt before this one, but life, post xmas poorness and that bloody injury had other ideas. So all in all it's been six months since I pinned a number on myself and set off on my merry way with hundreds of other runners.

I woke up on Sunday being about 80% excited, 20% nervous. It was a huge relief to see the weather was decent and I had all my family en route to cheer me on, yet I couldn't help being a tad nevous I'd have a repeat of last week's feet fiasco!

As I got into the city there was a fantastic buzz about the place. I don't think I've ever been into town at 8:30 on a Sunday before, but I expect it's usually a world away from the hive of activity it was this week. As usual, the pre race hour went by in a flash and it was time to get in the starting position. As I walked past the rows of runners ready and waiting I quickly noticed this was the biggest race I'd done competitor-wise, it's not a great photo but here's the gathering (and I was only about half way down).

After what seemed like an age, it was finally time to get going. It started with the normal awkward shuffle to the start line and then the attempt to break free from the crowds and set a good pace. A couple of hundred meters in and all was going well, I'd trotted up towards the castle, down into the park and was making my way though some nice leafy streets.

Then I turned a corner and before me was what felt like the biggest hill I've ever seen! Who ever had the cruel idea to put that in there is completely evil! To show I'm not being dramatic, here's the incline map...

Told you it was a big hill, check the ones at the end as well!!

One lucky thing is that as my running has progresses, I've got a lot better at running down hill, so I do find those bits quite fun now at least.

The middle 5k of the race was fairly uneventful. It was lovely how many people were outside their houses in the Meadows, clapping and cheering. There was even a drummer band at one point, I'll miss them next time I'm galloping around The Embankment. I won't miss the warm spring sunshine which was beating down, though!

As I reached the final few kilometres, I got the now familiar endorphin rush and the "Come on, Knowles, you've got this!" feeling. And it was a bloody good job because as you'll see from my earlier diagram, the last bit involved a lot more hills. Fortunately, it also involved lots of clapping and cheering (and that was just from my endorphin-drunk self...). Despite being difficult, meters ticked by quickly and before I knew it I was flying past some of my favourite watering holes and back down into market square.

I'd been avidly checking my watch all the way around, an I knew I was bloody close to a PB so, in proper Nottingham speak, I bloody 'legged it' down the road, past Primark and over the finish line.

My official time clocked in at 1:02:13, a personal best by about 40 seconds and ever closer to that sub 60 mark! Needless to say, there was lots of celebrating for the course of the afternoon.

Next event (I think) on the running calendar is the Women's Running 10k in July. I'm really looking forward to it as it will be back to where it all properly kicked off last year. It's a good, flat course and one I know back-to-front so I'm absolutely determined to get that sub 60... watch this space!!

One Kay runs more than 10k!

I didn't think I was going to bother with a blog post this week, but there have been a couple of little bits which I wanted to mark so here I go.

Firstly, one of my favourite things about Facebook is that it tells me what I was doing on any given day on each year since I joined. Mostly I look through my old posts and cringe, but now and again it has its uses (not least when I've forgotten a Birthday or similar!)

This week, Facebook reminded me that it had been a year since I first started this blog, also meaning it's a year since I decided I was going to make a go of this running thing. To be honest, at that time I had barely any intention of still running now. I signed up for that race as much to try and raise money for a good cause as I did to find myself a new hobby, but such is the running bug that I now fully love it (most of the time) and can't imagine what I'd do with all my time if I didn't run.

So here we are a year on and I'm pretty chuffed with myself on all I've achieved over the last year! Which leads nicely to the second thing I wanted to mention, I now officially need a new name for this blog as I no longer run 10k.. that's so 2015!

I set out on yesterday's long run wanting to do 9km ahead of next week's Nottingham 10k race (which I've not mentioned but am really looking forward to!). I'd vaguely planned where I was going to go, veering off slightly from my normal laps of the Embankment which I'm getting a bit bored of and heading down the Big Track following the canal path.

So I set about my business, headphones in, water bottle in hand and off I went. It was warm but not sunny so decent weather and a couple of kilometres in I was really enjoying myself, so I decided I was going to go for it and wouldn't go home until I'd passed my previous best of 10km.

It ended up making quite an interesting route with a decent mix of the calm of the canal path and the busy city Saturday morning comings and goings (that's without mentioning the strange man rolling around on the floor at one point..) However I couldn't help but notice a really uncomfortable burning on the underside of my foot.

I'm the first to admit that when it comes to pain, I'm very mardy. I don't like pain, I moan a lot when I'm in pain and I generally do all I can do avoid it. So perhaps the biggest triumph of this run is that despite being in bloody (literally!) agony by the end of it, I kept going. I even did several weird route changes, hair pins and loops until I got to my front door at bang on 11km.

Endorphins are a great thing. As I strutted thought my front door absolutely pleased as punch with my longest distance to date, I ignored how much my feet hurt while I set about messaging anyone who'd listen to tell them how happy I was with myself (I do like bragging!)

It wasn't until I peeled my socks off and saw what the damage was that I realised how in trouble my feet were. I don't have the prettiest feet at the best of times, but my God they're in a right old state at the minute!!

As soon as the post-run endorphins wore off I started moaning and I've not really stopped since (remember I said I was mardy!) I'm just keeping everything crossed I'll be ok next week as I've been looking forward to that race for months.

I think I've waffled on for long enough now.. here's a map of my longest ever route, incase anyone is interested! I've even put my splits on even though they're not my quickest (I'm not all brag afterall)

Thanks for reading, I'll be back next week with a race write up!