On to 2023, the hard work starts now

I'm starting 2023 the biggest I've ever been. That's not me saying something for "don't be silly you're fine" and "you look great" comments, because I follow enough body positive accounts on Instagram to ensure me that weight doesn't necessarily have a correlation to how 'great' somebody looks.

It's a mathematical fact - the number on the scales is the largest I've ever seen it, therefore I'm the biggest I've ever been. 

Weight is something that's been a constantly evolving story for me. The numbers on those scales have been up and down more times over the years than I could write about without you becoming very bored.

During the 2020 lockdown, I really thought I'd cracked it. Loads of stuff clicked into place, I lost quite a bit of weight and I felt great. But since then, the more life has got more back to normality, the more it's crept back on, fueled by the hectic social life I thrive from and a demanding schedule which makes it easy to go for convenience over what I know is best for me.

So, like so many times before, I've put everything I lost back on, plus a bit for good measure. 

The effects of this are becoming evermore obvious to me. My clothes are getting together, my pace is slowing, and it's generally playing on my mind a lot.

As I mentioned at the start, a huge chunk of my social media following is dedicated to people celebrating bodies of all shapes and sizes. And I completely agree with their messages for many reasons. But for me, and for my own personal reasons, I'd like my body to change from where I am now. 

So it's time to tackle it...again!

Right now, the most important target I have for myself, and the biggest thing I'm working towards, is the London Marathon on 23rd April. It will be my fourth marathon and third within 18 months, and I really really want to do it to the best of my ability. It's basic science that being lighter will make this easier. Plus, putting marathon training at the cente of what I want to achieve kind of leads all the other changes I want to make. 

I know for a fact that one of the simplest changes I can make which will have the biggest impact is cutting down alcohol, something which I'm going to do almost completely. I've got two occasions coming up which I'll use to keep my motivation up for staying dry in the short term, then afterwards I'll be sober until the marathon. 

Let me clarify this though. Just because I say cutting out alcohol is a simple change, I do not mean it's going to be an easy one! I love drinking, everyone who knows me knows it's a huge part of who I am and what I do. But I know that it's no good for me and it's certainly no good for marathons, so it's got to go. This is a journey I'll be documenting more as part of my training and my fundraising! So watch this space.

Aside from that, I know that achieving my targets is going to be all about planning, discipline and the support of loved ones in equal measure. 

Planning and discipline are entirely on me. I know that I find it much easier when I do a weekly menu plan, for example. And I need to know when my runs are going to be taking place each week and whether there's anything I need to work around to fit the miles in, then the discipline comes with sticking to those plans and giving myself a talking to when I need it. 

The next bit is crucial, because as much as I want this for me, I need people to work with me on it too! 

It helps a lot that Des has got the same thoughts and targets as me, so it can be a team effort on many accounts. And I know we're both actually really looking forward to pushing ourselves to start achieving the things we want to do this year. 

But Des is just one of many people I spend my time with, and I need the backing from everyone. I need cheerleaders, not sneerers when I say I'm chasing some big things this year - so I really hope people can get behind me. 

So what next? 

Well first and foremost, I need to bloody run. I've been terrible over the last few weeks for no real reason. So the next week weeks will be about building up the consistency ready to start building the mileage quite quickly, so that the confidence I can do it emerges before the real hard slog long-runs start. 

I'm planning on putting aside for strength and conditioning training this time, too. I know the dark nights and mornings, coupled with an energetic puppy who needs loads of walks, mean it can't just be about pounding the pavements to get my exercise in. So I'll be using my gym and swim membership and trying out a few other things to get some cross-training in (hopefully) without driving myself too mad and obsessing over miles. 

And of course I've got to pay a lot of attention to what I'm eating. But I know that with how my mind works, that kind of slots into place once I get to grips with the rest of it. When I'm working hard, I always want food which will fuel me to progress and make me feel good. So this week's meal plan is done and I'm even looking forward to trying some new recipes. 

Here we go then. 

This has been without a doubt the most honest and open blog post I've ever written. And I've written it for myself as much as anything. 

2022 was amazing, I couldn't have asked for anything more. But 2023 is a new year with new targets and a refreshed sense of motivation, and I'm really excited to see what I can achieve!

Looking back at 2022, my running year in review

Going into 2022 I had massive ambition for my running. 2021 had been my best yet, I'd smashed PBs across all distances and genuinely fallen head over heels back in love with my sport. 

Picking up in January was tough. The miles had tapered off massively during the festive season and it's safe to say I'd piled weight on. I can remember a particularly tough hills session which made me realise that my fitness had dropped and I needed to kick myself up the arse to get back on track. All wasn't lost at this point, I still did a decent weekly average mileage and when I put the effort in a could get a good pace going, but the huge love I'd felt before was dwindling somewhat.

February rolled around and, other than completing the Skegness 10km in a respectable 57:50 (after a big dark fruits session the day before) there's not really much to report. 

March came and I needed to take action, so I set about a 5km a day running streak. I know consistency, and taking out the option of saying no, work really well for me. I managed 19 days before a weekend away scuppered it. I finished the month with a couple of runs in Spain which I loved, as I always do!

April, May and June we're all pretty quiet too. I wasn't hating running but I wasn't loving it either. I had some really enjoyable runs in the form of parkrun tourism and runs with friends, but I was finding it tough getting any level of miles in, or accessing the pace I'd been running comfortably not too long ago.

July kicked off with my hen weekend in Benidorm, the first holiday since I've been a runner where trainers didn't make the packing list. By the time I returned I was becoming consciously aware of how quickly the weeks were disappearing ahead of the London Marathon. Work needed doing! 

The end of July saw our annual trip to ThunderRun, a brutal 10km course which individuals, pairs and teams spend 24 hours tackling. This year I completed two laps and they really bloody hurt, but it was good training all the same.

In August the final preparations for our wedding were well underway. I knew these next weeks were a crucial training time, but with so many plates to spin, I had to just do what I could without worrying too much. I did manage an epic 15 mile run from my home now back to where I grew up though, which was bloody brutal and therefore naturally something I'd like to do again one day. 

Perhaps the start of actual consistent training came on August Bank Holiday weekend, when I somewhat reluctantly took part in the Carsington Water half marathon. With only five weeks to go before the marathon, I knew I'd left it a bit late!

September was epic. I became Mrs Oldham and took part in the Great North Run and Robin Hood half marathon, two of my all time favourites. Three weeks off the alcohol and the spring in my step from running on home turf earned me a 15 minute quicker time for Robin Hood than my previous two halves and it was just the confidence boost I needed ready to tackle London the following weekend.

I went into London with quite a calm attitude, particularly for someone who is hardly ever calm about everything. I knew it was going to hurt, I knew it wasn't going to be my quickest, but I knew it would still be an amazing experience. My only regret is that I didn't write a blog about it while the memory was nice and fresh! 

I was extremely lucky to be offered a place to do London again in April, which gave me the motivation to not let my running decline too much during October. For November, I decided to embark on another 5km per day streak to build a solid base. 

On the third day, disaster struck. A bullet I've dodged for so long finally hit. Injury time. During my run than day, a niggly ache I'd been feeling in my hip turned into a really bad pain and I had some really uncomfortable days to follow. I rested completely for a few weeks and even got professional advice (that's how you know i wasn't just being mardy!)

The full story of what happened next can be found here, but in short I had a go at the Clowne Half Marathon when perhaps I shouldn't have. My only run of any substance really during November and what turned out to be my final event and long run of the year.

In December, I once again set about the 5km a day challenge for DOrunning's #DOrunning25days advent challenge. I did give it a really go but some bad news, bad weather and bad blisters did all they could do knock me. Christmas day parkrun was lovely though, and is always a highlight of the festive season. 

So that was my year. I plan on doing another post in the next few days with my hopes and plans for 2023, but I need to really find my love for it again, and soon!

For those who are into them, a few stats about the year:

Number of runs: 237

Miles ran: 830.3 (the .3 is very important!)

Number of parkruns: 28 (personal best!)

Quickest 5km: 27:56 (12th May)

Slowest 5km: 45:57 (looking at Strava I think a hangover might have been involved)

Blog posts written: 5 (poor effort, must try harder)

Events completed: Skegness 10km, ThunderRun24, Carsington Water Half, Great North Run, Robin Hood Half, London Marathon, Clowne Half Marathon

Clowne Half Marathon 2022 - a lovely horrible time

There's always something nerve wracking joining the start line for an event. No matter how long you've been running, how many you've done, or what your targets on that day are.

Last Sunday, preparing myself on the start line for this particular event, I had so many causes to be nervous.

I almost didn't attempt to start it. A dodgy hip following London turned into a full blown injury a couple of weeks ago, and until that started to subside earlier this week, I was going to do the sensible thing and give Clowne a miss. But being a runner, we often don't make the sensible decisions and the thought of being sat in the pub afterwards with all my friends sporting their new hoodies (a momento Clowne is well known in the area for) was too much to bear. So, after a test run with some parkrun tourism on the previous morning seeming bearable, I decided I was going to tackle it.

Last year, Clowne was the final event to round off my best ever running year. This year, it's the final event to round off what's been a fairly mediocre year for running amist a hectic yet fantastic year for everything non-running related. For so many reasons, running has had to take a back seat, and for the same reasons, I've been absolutely fine with that.

However, that doesn't make it much easier when you're stood waiting to kick off a race which you know is going to take you a good chuck longer than it has previously! Fortunately, when I suggested to some friends that we should "just twat about and have a good time together" they all agreed. So the klaxon sounded and off we went, heading into the countryside of the Notts/Derby/Sheffield border determined to take the next few hours in our stride in the best way we know...together, having a laugh!

The first couple of miles were fairly uneventful as we fell into a rhythm and got our heads into gear for the challenge ahead. Uneventful was good though, because it meant I wasn't getting any trouble from the dodgy hip! By the 5km mark our initial group had dwindled with people finding their own pace, but me and my friend Rachel stuck together and set about putting the world to rights and catching up having not seen much of each other recently. 

Running has a unique way of providing you with time to give your complete attention to what you're doing, in a way we don't often spend experience. Generally when I'm running I don't check my phone, I'm not looking at housework that I should be doing and I'm not trying to do too many things at the same time - all things I'm generally quite guilty of doing. 

The last few weeks have been 100mph 100% of the time. So a run through the countryside with friends was exactly what I needed, and the miles ticked themselves off nicely as we made our way through the undulations, thanking the many fabulous volunteers as we went. 

By around mile eight, my body was struggling and I had my first little walking break. The hills were taking their toll and my feet were really aching. When I started running again my pace slowed considerably and it started to become a battle of wills to keep going. 

The light hearted chat which had filled the miles previously became a lot of me moaning and complaining, and the walking breaks became more frequent through what seemed like never ending hills.

It was around mile 10 when Des caught us up and, with my constantly slowing pace, it wasn't long before he'd disappeared off in the distance. I wish I'd had the energy to attempt to keep up, but I was really scaping it together so it wasn't to be.

As we passed the 11 mile marker, now in a group of three as our friend Dawn had caught up and joined us, it was time to knuckle down and get it done. I remembered from last year that this mile was a bit of a boring drag down a country lane with a hairpin switchback. It definitely dragged again this year, but was much more enjoyable with friends who shared in the struggle somewhat! The moaning continued, mainly from me, but despite that I still felt in relatively high spirits having a lovely horrible time with my friends!

Before too long we crossed the 12 mile marker. Dawn had a time she wanted to achieve and we knew it was in reach but would need some effort, so it was time to dig out whatever we had left in us and get the job done. However, at this point we spotted some people who'd already finished walking back the other way, sporting this year's hoody. The thing I'd spent the entire race thinking about to motivate me through was a bloody minty lime green specimen! I was fuming when I saw it! Had I known before what I was running for, I honestly can't say whether I'd have done it or not.

But I did do it, and a mile left turned into 800 metres turned into a few yards turned into done! We crossed the line in 2:43:42, nicely under the time Dawn wanted which we were all so pleased with! 

Collecting my hoody, the colour still wasn't my favourite but it felt good putting it on and being part of the group, so I'm glad I decided to run and luckily it didn't seem to make a difference to my dodgy hip so no harm done! 

All in all, Clowne is a lovely event ran by the running club local to the area. The volunteers are some of the best out of any event I've taken part in, which really helped when things felt tough out on the rolling hills. It was lovely to run the whole thing with a few friends and part of it with Des, too. Not every race is going to be a PB, but every one is memorable for its own reasons and I'll definitely remember this one fondly. 

It's now a week later and I must admit the colour of the hoody is actually growing on me too! 

Why ‘ready’ is relative

As I write this, I’m on the train to London ready to take on the London Marathon on Sunday. Over the last few weeks, the one question I’ve been asked more than any is “Are you ready?” And it’s set me thinking, what is ready, and how do we measure it?

As a marketeer, a big part of my job is measuring, tracking and analysing things. As a runner, it’s quite easy to get obsessed with stats. As a bit of a control freak, I like plans and I like to have a good idea of how things are going to turn out.

But this weekend I’m tying to put as much of that at the back of my mind as possible and just enjoy the day.

It’s my second attempt at the London Marathon and, despite how hard and horrible my first stab at it was, it remains one of my favourite days ever. Although I was a much less experienced runner then, I’ve since done heaps of races and the atmosphere has never come close to it – even the world famous Great North Run hasn’t felt as special as that day did.

Just having a place is something to be extremely thankful for, and I’m so grateful to Childhood First, the fantastic charity me and Des are supporting at the moment for giving us the opportunity – even if things haven’t turned out as planned for Des (but that’s a story for another day).

I’m so excited for all of it, the whole experience. From heading over to the Expo this afternoon, to taking in a new parkrun and a nice day with friends tomorrow, to the main event on Sunday. I’m going to embrace every second of it because I know how lucky I am to be taking part.

So on to the technical stuff then. The training.

When I set about this marathon plan, I was in the happy haze of absolutely smashing the Manchester last year, and running London with Des a month after our wedding seemed like a marvellous idea. Everything slotted into place nicely and I was very excited to put to rest the demons from my struggle last time I did London.

Since then a lot has happened.

2022 so far has been an amazing year for so many reasons. Unfortunately, all these reasons have stacked up to mean that training has had to take a bit of a back seat and upping my mileage didn’t really happen at all until the middle of August. My base mileage stayed frequent and consistent but I just didn’t have whole Sunday mornings to dedicate to running a long way, and my work schedule didn’t allow the mid-week miles which bumped up my weekly average so nicely last year.

So, when the middle of August rolled around, it was time to start putting in some hard work. Since then, I’ve tackled a tough solo 15 mile run from Trent Bridge to Rainworth along with three half marathon events and various double digit mile runs with the DOdaily coaching group. Essentially, I’ve done everything I can to cram marathon training into around seven weeks – during which time I also got married!

It's not gone too badly to be honest. My most recent half marathon, the Robin Hood last weekend, went far better than the previous two and I finished in the respectable time of 2:15 which I was both pleased and slightly surprised with – it was the perfect confidence booster needed the week before London.

Of course I’ve had to re-adjust my expectations quite significantly – the time I initially had as a target is now nowhere near the time I’ve got in my head for Sunday. But that’s fine, I don’t mind too much, because if I beat myself up about it, I know it’s going to get into my head too much and it will affect my experience which I really don’t want to let it do.

Back to that question then “Are you ready?”

Some might say I’m not. In fact I know there are people around me saying that. But every marathon is different and this one isn’t going to be about smashing a PB or chasing a time down. I’m doing the London Marathon on Sunday and I’m going to absolutely savour my opportunity to run one of the best marathons in the world, every step of the way.

And for that, I’m perfectly ready!

 

Carsington Half Marathon

Absolutely didn't want to run this half marathon today. My head wasn't in it at all, I'm shattered and stressed. But I spent yesteday evening being frustratingly sober watching my friends have a belting time so that I'd be in a fit state, so when the alarm went off this morning I though I may as well give it a go.

The course was a 5ish mile out and back before a full loop of the stunning Carsington Water. I did the out with no drama,  but my head went during the back. This led to some of my standard cry-running, and I told myself I was going to throw the towel in when I saw Des and Dawn back in the race village before going on for the next bit.

But when I got there I never saw them, so instead of having a full cry I had a good word with myself! Physically, I was having a decent run, I just needed to sort my head out!

So I reminded myself that I'm a bloody stubborn mare and I won't give other people the satisfaction of seeing me bottle it five weeks ahead of London.

After I passed through the race village, the stunning reservoir opened up in front of me and I knew I could do this, I just needed to stay in the moment and enjoy it.

The rest of the route was undulating and challenging, but on I went. I walked if I felt I needed to and I exchanged some nice words of encouragement with fellow runners on the route.

Before long, I was back on the familiar paths I'd ran during that first section of the route which meant I knew the finish wasn't too far away.

The paths were getting busy by now, littered with people out enjoying the bank holiday. While this meant extra care was needed, it provided and additional boost with everyone cheering us on and wishing us well.

When the race village finally came into view, I felt so relieved!! Before I set out, I reckoned I had about a 2:30 in me today...and I was bang on!! 

So even with a wobble and a very nearly DNF, I need to remember that I know myself, I know my abilities and I'm far too bloody stubborn to not achieve what I'm capable of!!

Kay Knowles has had a very up and down  relation ship with running, I get to start a completely new story next week when Kay Oldham enters the room. Let's see what she can do!!

My completely normal, wonderful Saturday run

It's very rare I feel the need to write much, if anything at all, about a 5km run. Especially one as unremarkable as the one I've just done.

For so many reasons it was a very ordinary run, perhaps as standard as can be for me. It's a route I've done more than any other at pretty much spot on my average cruising pace.

But, until less than 10 minutes before I stepped out of the door, I had absolutely no intention of running today. And for me, a completely spontaneous run is a very rare thing!

It's been quite a high effort, high mileage week already and we've had some terrible weather to contend with. So I treated myself to a lazy morning and stayed in bed instead of heading out to parkrun today, before getting myself firmly settled on the sofa for lots of trashy telly. No plans to run at all, especially once the rain started again and I started my second Netflix series of the day.

By mid-afternoon I was feeling a bit irritable and bored when I noticed it had stop raining outside. A thought crossed my mind: "I could just put my trainers on and go around the river". 

Before I could change my mind, I quickly got my running gear on, had a couple of pumps of my inhaler and set off. 

I generally run between four and six times a week, so I'm well versed in how the endorphins make me feel good. But this afternoon's run felt even better than normal, I felt really really free! 

Since the lockdowns have lifted and we've slowly but surely slid back into our normal lives, my routine has become very much focused around a time table of work and various non-work related activities which take place on certain days at certain times, leaving little space for spontaneity.

I'm not complaining at all, I love the way my life is and I'm a huge creature of habit anyway, but I really didn't realise how much my mind and body needed that completely unplanned, low maintance run this afternoon. 

I can honestly say I loved every step, and anyone who runs will know how rarely that happens! It's made me so excited for the lighter mornings and evenings to come, so there's more opportunity to use my perfect doorstep 5km when I find myself with a spare half an hour. 

So I guess what I'm trying to say, what's made me feel the need to write a post in my constantly neglected blog, is that it's not always the events, or the epic mileage or the PB busting runs that remind me why I love my sport of choice. Sometimes it's the ones on paper should be quite dull and boring, that make me fall in love with it all over again on a grey Saturday afternoon! 

Marathon three, week one

If you Google 'marathon training plan' you'll get thousands of results for every level of runner. Some might promise to get you ready for the distance in just 12 weeks, others you'll need to commit 16 or even 20 weeks to getting yourself prepared. 

But if the two marathons I've done so far have taught me anything, it's that if you really want to get the most from it, you need to look at it as a year-long project. 

I'm absolutely not saying that I'll be doing 20 mile training runs every week between now and October. I'm sure that would be counter productive if anything. 

Based on last year, I'll be loosely chunking my plan down as follows:

January-May - putting the sprints, hills and non-event half marathons in. These built up confidence last year by chipping away at PBs and showing good pace progress while keeping my body and my mind comfortable with running for a couple of hours at a time at least once a month

June-September - building in the distance. I guess this is the 'traditional' marathon training phase. The long slogs on a Sunday morning which feel amazing when they're done but take a lot of physical and mental effort to get there. There'll be a few half marathon races in this phase too, to check progress under event conditions. 

October-December - completing the marathon, then recovering. Recovery isn't about stopping, quite the opposite!! This bit is about enjoying running for the sheer hell of it and making the most of the fitness I've built all year.  

It helps massively having a lot of the technical side planned out for me by the DOdaily coaching programme, so I don't need to think about what I'm doing week on week, I just need to turn up and trust Des to get it as right as he did last year!

So what did week one look like? 

In short, it was hard work!! After doing absolutely no running between Christmas and new year (the only week of the year my mileage was zero!) It was straight back to it with both feet all in! After a benchmark time trial on Sunday 2nd, the proper training started with a jolt at 6am on Tuesday with four freezing cold laps attacking Musters Road then topping up the miles with another chilly run with the City Slickers in the evening. 

Then back to Musters Road on Thursday, this time for five reps!! This was a bonus session for me because usually I'm at Brownies, although it didn't feel like much of a bonus as the time!

parkrun on Saturday was a very muddy affair! If you know Colwick parkrun, you'll know it's famous for the winter mud and yesteday it was in full glory!! Being quite clumsy, I'm always fairly tentative in any potentially slippery conditions, so I used it as a recovery run and had a lovely chat with my friend on the way round. Which is probably for the best because this morning's training session was a gruelling 5x1km interval sprint session which really hurt! 

All in all I've ran just under 26 miles which I'm pleased with, supplemented by around 10 miles of walking thanks to dog-sitting a hyperactive terrier pup. 

I definitely feel like I've started as I mean to go on...if the weather could just warm up a bit I'd be living my best marathon training life!!

Post time trial, it's fair to say we all worked hard!!

Me and Des at parkrun, look out for his vlog on it!!