Is it acceptable to go to bed at 8pm on a Sunday? I hope this blog will make some sense, as I sit writing I feel very tired and not as though I am thinking to my usual full capacity! Today has been a long day to end week 8 of marathon training – the half way point! It has been rewarding though, and I make these sometimes slightly crazy decisions to fit in my training because, ultimately, it is what I love.

MONDAY: Body Pump class

TUESDAY: seeing mile reps on my plan for today’s interval session did fill me with a little bit of fear. They are long efforts, and although I ‘only’ had four to log across a 7 mile distance, I knew it could be a test. Aided by a nice cool morning, I was pleased with how well I ran; I felt strong throughout and my interval splits showed very little variation. I think its ok to feel a bit daunted by a run at times, it means you respect it, and once you accomplish it, it feels even better!

WEDNESDAY: on a grey and very wet mid week evening the prospect of running probably doesn’t sound too appealing to most. I had agreed to meet my run buddy at 7pm for 7 miles (7 for 7!) and as I opened my front door to meet her, I gave a look that said – are we mad?! However, once we started running the rain was long forgotten, and easy miles passed effortlessly as our usual catch up conversation flowed. Running with company is just so much easier sometimes, and we logged an 8:17 min/mile average pace, which felt incredibly comfortable. We were rather wet when we stopped, but it was certainly worth it.

THURSDAY: not long after last night’s evening run, I laced up again for my morning miles. My legs were heavy and I was thankful to have another ‘easy’ run on my plan. I aimed for 10 miles, but it was a bit of a slow slog, and as I passed my house on 9.15 miles, and with a Run Club session later – I called it day for the time being. At Run Club later I thankfully had a bit more life in me, taking part in a short, sharp hill session, which rounded my miles up to 11.5 for the day.

FRIDAY: Rest Day

SATURDAY: during marathon training I keep my speed expectations relatively low. I take part in interval sessions and alike during the week, but these are ultimately focused on the 26.2 mile distance, not a 5k. At parkrun I therefore take whatever my legs seem capable of, and at the moment, I am really pleased to find and feel some speed in there still. Today, I managed to log another sub 21 minute time at Lincoln parkrun and felt good for the duration. My final mile was actually nearly as quick as my first - which rarely happens for me! I also had a very strong finish left in my legs, which made me think I probably could have dug a little deeper a bit earlier on!

​SUNDAY: I knew today was going to be a tiring one even before my alarm woke me at 5am. I was working at a community event for the vast majority of the day, and with 16 miles planned, an early alarm to ensure adequate fuelling and running time was therefore unavoidable. Solo long running has been tough of late; in the summer heat I seem to welcome distraction and the extra support, so I have had to really draw on my determination at times. Recently after my long runs I have felt both physically tired and also mentally drained from having to constantly drive myself, and I will admit, it does take some of the enjoyment away! Today I thus had one sole focus; to try and enjoy this run. I decided pace did not matter; I wanted 16 strong miles and I guess I wanted to boost my confidence a little when running longer. It was warm even early in the day, with a fairly gusty breeze, so my decision not to focus on pace felt even more justified. I kept steady throughout, feeling comfortable and never doubting I would get to 16 miles. I think I could have upped the pace towards the end, however I did not want to jeopardise things, and kept to my focus, My average pace was just over 8.30 min/mile – which is not what I want to be running marathon in, but I enjoyed it much more and I feel this run did me good.
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Half way to Chicago…  8 more weeks of work to go. ​

For the second time in a three-day period I found myself huddled on the start line of a race. Two days prior it had been a Friday night 10k in Sleaford, and now on a more familiar Sunday morning, I was lining up to take on Newark Half Marathon. Whilst Friday night’s race was more of an event I entered just for fun, I had entered Newark Half Marathon specifically as part of my current Chicago Marathon training. This was my third consecutive year at the event, and each year it has formed a part of an Autumn marathon training block. I find a half marathon offers a good marker to both my fitness and progress toward the larger 26.2 mile goal, and I also just really like the Newark Half event!

Newark is another race which is fairly local to my hometown in Lincoln, and it felt good to be joined by a few familiar faces as I stood in the start pen. By my side was my friend and run buddy; I was really pleased I had convinced her to sign up to the event too, and it simply made me happy to have her there and to share another race day experience together again. I also spotted a few friends from the Run Club I am part of and gave them some encouragement before the start gun was fired.

I set off confidently but also with some caution; whilst the August day was not too hot at the 9.30am start time, there was a very apparent strong wind, which I knew would play a factor. The Newark course is fairly rural, taking on small villages in a large loop before heading back to Newark itself, and this meant it would be quite exposed to the elements. I did have a vague finish time in mind; I knew I wanted to be under 1:45, but ideally I felt I could log another sub 1:40 time. Rather than become preoccupied by pace though, I instead focused on finding a running rhythm for the early stages, ticking off the first couple of miles almost automatically.

After passing two miles the course turned onto a long stretch of road which continued straight for a few miles. Meeting us here was the headwind, and I knew there would be no escaping it. It was not brutal, but it certainly made things feel harder. From my past runs at Newark, I knew there were some undulations along this stretch, however this year they seemed more notable, probably due to the double whammy of uphill as well as wind resistance! Again, I remained calm, focusing on looking forward to changing direction and just keeping a steady running pace.

The turn in the route was not actually as welcomed as I thought; the wind was lost, however now the sun had appeared through the clouds and without the cooling effect of the breeze, it suddenly felt rather warm! Some more undulations came along this part of the course, and I poured water over my body to keep me cool at each aid station – it felt a bit like I was now running a completely different race!

Halfway came, and as the route turned on to some smaller rural lanes, which would head back toward Newark and ultimately the finish, I felt a bit of a struggle. I think the extra exertion of those first miles into the wind had taken its toll a bit and thoughts flashed through my head. Why did I race that 10k on Friday night? Do I need to walk? Can I do this? I hope my friend is enjoying this more than I am right now!? It was a few minutes of doubt that sometimes you have to learn to override as a runner. It didn’t help that I missed a bottle of water at a drink’s stations (which I have to say to the organisers were really well placed; plenty across the course and with good sized bottles) and this threw me a little more. Thankfully, a fellow runner must have seen my disappointment as I missed grasping a drink and passed me some of his. It was a small act of kindness, but it boosted me and broke me from my thoughts.

I always try to break a half marathon down into sections, and I now focused on getting to 10 miles. I still didn’t obsess over my pace, and I actually enjoyed these few miles, which were fairy flat and straight and were without too much wind or sun. When I hit 10 miles I am not sure what came over me, I suddenly felt refreshed and found an extra power in my legs to push the pace a little. This final stretch to the finish also coincided with the heavens opening – another weather condition to contend with! – but the coolness also helped me drive to the finish. I now knew I was running strongly, picking off runners in the distance as I made my way back toward Newark.

I knew what to expect from the finishing metres – grass. It’s a tough little test at the end of a half marathon, so I tried to make the most of every inch of tarmac before I hit the finish based at Sconce Park. Even though I was mentally prepared for the grass challenge, it didn’t make it easier; I gritted my teeth and dug into my legs, fighting against the terrain as I completed a small loop of the field before being funnel into the finishing straight. Due to the high winds, there was no finish archway, just a few timing mats on the floor, so I was a little disorientated as to which mat was actually the finish! I crossed some form of finish line though, and then quickly looked down at my watch. It read 1:38:52 – goal achieved, and I was really pleased I had accomplished it on a fairly challenging day for racing.

​Quickly gathering my medal I didn’t even have time to process how I felt as I made my way back onto the grass finish section of the course to cheer my friend in. She was not too far behind me, coming round the corner with her familiar strong stride and athletic running gait, and I cheered enthusiastically before dashing back to the finish line to give her a final boost. She met her race goal too, going well under sub 1:50, and as we queued for a goody bag I also bumped into Run Club members again who had each recorded amazing times and PBs – I was so pleased for them all.

The mixture of rain and pouring water over myself in the earlier sections of the race meant after the running endorphins had died down a little and I had finished congratulating my friends, I realised I was absolutely soaked to the skin! The facilities at Newark Half race village are great though, and my friend and I were able to go into the pavilion and change into some spare clothes before walking to the nearby café to enjoy a post race drink.

I had such a lovely morning, I had run well again, enjoyed time my with friends, seen others achieve great goals, and had another bit of bling for my medal board of course! With a very enjoyable Sleaford 10k on Friday night, a happy spell volunteering at my home parkrun in Lincoln on Saturday monring, and now a pretty perfect Sunday race day at Newark, I drove back home to Lincoln feeling a sense of real happiness – it might be tough at times, but I do love running and all it adds to my life. ​

A few months backed I was encouraged to enter this race by a friend; I needed to be quick, I was told, as it sells out and there is also cake at the finish! A race which fills fast (and has cake!) is a good indication of a great event, especially in the local running scene. I signed up, although perhaps my only apprehension was the fact the race was held on a Friday night at 7pm - that was something I was really not used to!

Fast forward to race week and I will admit I had some doubts about whether to run; mid marathon training I also had Newark Half Marathon booked for the same weekend. Could I manage two races in three days? Was it sensible? I had to decide fairly early in the week as it would need me to adapt my training plan slightly. I wanted to run; the event intrigued me and also a Friday night spent running with friends sounded a lot better than doing my weekly food shop - which is as wild as I get these days! With that in mind I felt I would be sad if I missed out - I could always take it steady I told myself!

Driving over to Screddington, a village just outside Sleaford where the race was due to start, the rain lashed against my windscreen so much I could barely see the road. This was accompanied by a very strong wind which shook my little car at times. Was this really such a great idea?! Thankfully the gusty wind blew the rain storm through by the time I had parked up on a small village field, however the wind still prevailed. It was clear the wind was definitely going to play a factor when running, but to be honest I did not mind. My approach for the race was still to take it fairly steady, and if there was a battle with wind, this would basically help me by forcing me to slow down! 

As I walked across to collect my race number from the village hall I instantly bumped into a group of fellow Lincoln runners I knew. This is the best thing about local events in my opinion, the community feel you get that maybe is missing from the larger scale national races. Finding my number I then also found members from the Thursday night Run Club session I am part of, and we chatted away, passing time quickly leading up to the start. 

The start was a short walk from the village hall on a small village lane, quite quaint really. I was relaxed about the run, I just hoped I could keep sensible! As the 'go' signal was given and I crossed the start the course soon turned and proceeded to climb uphill, which was also into the very strong headwind. This was actually a good thing for me as it meant my start was steady; it effectively held me back. The wind would play a role throughout the race, especially into the final sections, however I was surprised by how little it did bother me. It was strong, but I felt equally strong enough to meet its demand.

I enjoyed the following miles, which had a few undulations but nothing too tough, and really felt I grew into the race. I did not look at my watch, I did not want to know my pace in case I felt scared I was pushing too much. I ran to feel and it felt good - so much better that at my last 10k in Woodhall Spa were I tried to stick to a hard pace and struggled in the conditions.

The final 2 miles were pretty much all into the wind, it was so ferocious and at times I thought it was going to rip the paper number off my chest! I make it sound horrendous, but weirdly I just smiled and kept going. It was as I was making one of the final turns along this section that one of the many friendly marshals on course informed me I was second female. I had not really grasped this up until this point, however now, with probably just under a mile to go, I felt the need to push a little more, just in case there were fellow females trying to chase me down! I drove for the finish, still feeling in control though, and I held my place to cross the finish in 44:22 and as second female. 'You will get a prize!' one of the volunteers giving out medals told me - that was a nice surprise.

I went back onto the course and cheered some of my friends in, before then heading to hunt out the cake I had been promised. I will admit I was not expecting the banquet of cake I was met with - there was honestly so much choice, I think Mary Berry would have been in heaven! I had a slice of orange cake and a slice of pineapple upside down cake - both delicious! - as I waited for the prize giving. As my name was called out I went to collect a lovely and appropriately cake themed glass trophy, and I was equally touched that some of my friends stayed behind to watch too. 

I am really pleased I decided to run the Sleaford 10k; I ran well, but I also knew I had not trashed my body in the process, which was also important for the things I had ahead. Running, friends, cake and a little trophy - I think this Friday night beat traipsing the aisle of Tesco! ​

Running can be a funny thing. I started the week feeling so tired and exhausted from it all, but I am ending the week, still feeling a little weary, but full of the joys running gives to my life. 

MONDAY: Body Pump class - it was an effort to get myself to this class. I was tired and had tight muscles from last week's running. I had to apologise to my friend after as I felt I spent the whole class moaning about how hard everything seemed! She understands marathon training though, and I am grateful she knew I just needed a sympathetic ear. 

TUESDAY: time to wake my body up with some intervals! It was a considerably cooler morning than of late, and this really benefited me. I ran 15 x 200m with 200m recoveries, which after a warm up mile, gave me just over 5 miles of distance. I really got into that much loved running 'zone' at some points during this run, logging a lot of the interval splits around the 6.30 min/mile marker. 

WEDNESDAY: another pre-work 10 miler; I felt slightly more accustomed running this distance to start the day compared to last week. Again I kept the pace easy, and whilst the temptation is there to pick up the speed a little and just 'get it done', I know the need for these easy mile is just as vital. 

THURSDAY: with a slightly different running weekend ahead, this morning I switched my plan around a bit to include a steady 3.5 miles, keeping just under 8 min/mile pace. This was followed by a pyramid session at Run Club later. I pushed myself tonight, I had not especially planned to, but I ran with a small group of others and found myself caught up in their dedication. Again I messed up split timing on my watch - I think I give up! - but we ran 2 sets of 1k/500m/200m/200m/500m/1k which at the end was nearly 5 miles of running. The motivation of others definitely helped me challenge myself - being a Run Leader is both very rewarding personally and through seeing the achievement of others. 

FRIDAY: usually Fridays are my rest day, but this week instead of pushing my trolley around Tesco on a Friday evening (wild I know!) I found myself running Sleaford 10k, a local race to me. Full blog to follow, but I was really pleased with how I ran - I had to be really, finishing second female and in 44:22. A trophy and a time is one thing (see image), but I felt really strong, despite the equally strong wind, and also enjoyed every step of the race, as well as the plentiful cake at the finish!

SATURDAY: Rest Day and volunteering at Lincoln parkrun (see image). 

This week I have felt that marathon training notch turn up a little. I have had some tough runs and had to work hard to meet the requirements of my training plan. I have enjoyed pushing myself on the vast majority of my running, I like the feeling of working hard and challenging myself. However, I have to say Sunday's long run was bit too much and the combination of long miles and summer heat really pushed me to my limits.
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MONDAY: Body Pump class

TUESDAY: with an early start at work my morning run had to be completed even earlier than normal today. A 5am alarm woke me ready for my 7 mile tempo run, which I aimed to complete with the middle 5 miles around half marathon pace. I focused on trying to make this middle section log 7.30 min/mile splits, and I was not far off this marker throughout. 5 miles felt quite a long time to hold this pace though, especially so early in the day, and I was pretty knackered at the end (see top image)! 

WEDNESDAY: when I have a 10 miler to run pre-work that is when I know marathon training is starting to fully hit me. 10 miles seemed a long time to be out, even though I did keep the run at an a easy pace, averaging 8.33 min/mile.

THURSDAY: as part of Lincs S&C Run Club we hold a monthly track session and I was really looking forward to the challenge of it tonight. I used this as my interval run for the week and was pleased to see the session was due to be 10 x 400m reps with a minutes rest between. 'Pleased' may sound like strange reaction, but I knew it would challenge me and I liked that. The session was hard, jelly legs hit by half way and I spent a lot of the recovery period with my hands on my knees trying to gulp in air, but I really did give my absolute all to every single lap of that track. I messed up my watch - again! - so was a little gutted not to be able to look back at my splits for each interval. Next time I will get it right!

FRIDAY: Rest Day

SATURDAY: I managed to log another sub 21 minute time at Lincoln parkrun today - 20:53 -  but in keeping with the theme of the week, it really was hard work and I fought for every second. I could feel I was a little jaded from the track session still as I started to run, but I had a real level of determination inside me for some reason and just knew I wanted to battle through. I ran with gritted teeth, trying to smile when marshals and fellow runners cheered my name, and when I crossed into the finish funnel, I was simply really pleased that my efforts had paid off. 

SUNDAY: training for a marathon during summer sounds quite idyllic in some ways, but today I really hated the seasonal heat. I got out fairly early and to be honest the first 7 miles of the 17 miles I had planned were fine; I was in a good running rhythm, had accomplished a couple of hilly challenges I had thrown in at the start, and felt quite content. Heading toward 10 miles and as my route began to become more rural and exposed, the sun started to bore into me though, making me hot and making each step feel heavier than it should be. I stopped in pockets of shade to sip water occasionally, but it only meant when returning to run the sun hit me harder. For the final 7 miles I had to draw on some mental grit to keep on ticking the miles off; my legs were not actually feeling too bad, but I was mentally tired from constantly having to encourage myself. I logged my 17 miles in an average pace of 8.24 min/mile (see bottom image), and as I collapsed onto the foot of my stairs at home, I was exhausted. To be honest I was also questioning why I do this to myself! The 'why?' is of course part of a much bigger picture, and these hard challenges are all part of the process along the way. ​