I've Started Tri Training ... I Suck.

This is it. The first day of my brand new sparkly training schedule. Don’t screw it up, Sarah. 

It started with an hour of easy running. Fine. I could do that. Easy sounded good. But there was a catch.

Isn’t there always?

This time the problem was in coordinating football training, a school inset day, the pool schedule and an easy run. One solution. Get up at the arse of the morning and go for a run then. It seemed like such a good idea at the time, but at midnight when I was laying my running kit out and setting the alarm for a time I usually only see when catching flights, I had the first twinges of misgivings. 

I told myself that it would be so early I wouldn’t be awake and could just get on with the running. I wouldn’t have cognation to slow me down and get things confusing.

I told myself I’d be back home again before I woke up. 

I told myself I could start listening to my new audiobook that I’d been looking forward to. 

I told myself it was an EASY run. No speedwork or intervals. Just run. 

According to the specifics I nailed it. If you look at the guidelines and you let me off 5 minutes (I couldn’t face any more sodium lights and grim Monday-Morning faced motorists) then my heart rate was in the right zone, I didn’t fall over, get lost or get sweaty. It was an hour’s worth of ‘Easy Run’.

However, it was NOT an easy run. It was a shit run. 

My calves were tight. Think frozen chicken fillets. But hairier. 

My entire legs refused to wake up until mile 3. Until then it felt as though I was stumping along on planks of wood like a really unlucky pirate. But without the cool pirate clothes and parrot. (Why are pirate clothes cool? They just arrrrrr.)

My shoelaces came undone. Twice.

It was too dark to run the route I’d planned. I went to run it but it all started looking like the beginning of a horror movie where the stupid girl leaves the nice bright warm house and ventures out into the dark woods. But with the stupid girl wearing lycra in this movie. I hadn’t brought my shotgun or kitchen knife and didn’t really feel prepared to fight off Michael Myers or Freddie Krueger at this time in the morning so I ended up staying on the pavements under the orange sodium lights.

I was sulking. This time of the morning is reserved for ‘Being in Bed’. ‘Being Asleep’ and ‘Catching a Red Eye Flight’. Not running around. Certainly not Shit Running which was what I was doing. 

However, there WAS a good bit. This was getting home, having a shower and getting back into bed. I fell asleep with a smug expression having done my exercise at a time that normal people were asleep.  

I wore my Smug Face for at least 2 hours. Until I remembered that today was a double day ... the double whammy of 2 training sessions in one day. I immediately became 50% less smug. 

The evening session was a swim time trial this evening but with nice short distances: 25m, 50m and 100m.  Even I couldn’t muck this up. 

You really believe that?

I’d checked that the pool was open late. It was. It was also divided into lanes. This was all good. 

What was bad was that ¾ of the pool was booked out by the local swimming club leaving the rest of it open for a free-for-all. So 75% screaming children, 25% pensioners and families. Oh goodie. This was extremely helpful for my time trial attempt. *Cries*

When exactly does a time trial stop being a time trial and turn into a farce?

Was it when I had to swim around the teenager standing up in the middle of the lane? Or when I had to do an awkward U-turn at the end of the lane to avoid the couple holding onto the wall and using up all the kick-space? Or was it when I realised they were all just swimming normally and I was the one splashing up and down the pool in a hurry and going nowhere fast? 

My swim stroke has been politely described as enthusiastic and less politely but probably more accurately as “shark attack”. I end up moving mainly because the people get out of the way and the water recedes in fear and the remaining vacuum drags me forward.  In fact, I swim much like I play tennis, swinging my arms wildly, terrifying casual observers and smacking the occasional ball in error.

My time trial wasn’t much different. 

I managed to splash up and down the pool, propelling myself along with more willpower and enthusiasm than actual technique. I got so excited about the 25m and 50m sessions that I forgot to breathe and ended up doing a bizarre ‘4 strokes then breathe’ style which I’d never tried before and which wasn’t entirely successful. My 100m was the most comfortable of all of them but this was probably because I was suffering from oxygen deprivation by this point and didn’t care or possibly because the other users of the public swim section had moved out of my way in fear, having seen my ‘swim over and drown the #BreastrokeWankers who get in the way’ approach to time trials in the 25 and 50 metre attempts. Anyway, I survived, didn’t drown and didn’t get kicked in the head by a militant breastroker. 

A win. Well ... right up until the swimming watch refused to upload my times.

Head/Wall.

Week 13, Day 4.1: Morning Runs should be Illegal

Week 13, Day 4.1

Goal: 8 miles from last night ... adjusted to 4 this morning.

Actual: 3.32 miles.

Ok ... it’s official. I am completely unable to run in the mornings.

I was supposed to do 8 miles last night, but after a gang of kids came past vandalising all the cars, I decided it might be a better option to stay in yesterday evening and do the run when there was less chance of (a) having insults hurled at me (b) being pushed in the canal or (c) being spray painted.

I decided to do the 8 miles this morning instead.

Steve Marathon Coach was more sensible than me and pointed out that as I’ve got intervals this evening, it might be worth cutting the 8 miles down to 4 miles. I didn’t argue with this. A 4 mile trot in the morning in the sunshine sounded lovely!

In reality it was heavy-legged, lung-burning, breakfast-craving despair.

It shouldn’t have been. The mud was all frozen so all the paths were solid and dry and my trainers made a nice satisfying crunching sound on the trails. The sun was just peeping over the horizon and everything was frosty and beautiful. However, just having had to crawl from my nice warm bed and put my trainers on, I wasn’t feeling particularly enthusiastic about the beauties of nature.

I didn’t even make the 4 miles, instead trailing home after just over 3 miles. It did all look very pretty outside, but there needs to be a longer gap between bed and run before I can truly appreciate it.

Time: 28:35

Distance: 3:32

Pace: 8:37 min/mile

Week 12, Day 4: 3 Min Intervals ... and Daylight!

Week 12, day 4

Goal: 5 miles of marathon, 10k and fast jog - 3 minute intervals (9m total)

Actual: 2 mile warmup, 5 miles of marathon, 10k and fast jog, 2 mile cool down, (9m total)

Decided to try an early morning run … more out of necessity and being unable to fit a run in in the evening but I thought it might be a good idea … after all most races start in the morning.

How do people manage it? First of all the getting out of bed at 5am for porridge … then having to leave the house before the sun was up … heavy, tired legs … having to stop for cars at junctions as the roads were busier (not usually a problem during late night runs!) … although being able to stop at Tesco for a call of nature rather than a pub was a bit of a novelty.

Ooh daylight! ... but FAR too early for comfort.

However, it WAS nice seeing a bit of daylight while running and it meant that I was able to use the canal paths which are usually off-limits when it’s dark because they’re so lonely. It was definitely prettier seeing the scenery rather than just blackness and orange sodium lights.

Pretty!

I used 7, 8 & 9 minute/miles for the paces. My brain doesn’t seem to function early in the morning so I thought I’d keep it simple. However, in the final ½ mile of the 5 miles of the intervals I still forget that I had to change back to 9 min/miles and wondered why it was hard going hopping over the puddles and kerbs … 

Some parts were a touch muddy

Garmin info (warmup)

Garmin info (Run)

Week 4, Day 7: Mittens on a string and an old blind collie

Week 4, Day 7

Goal: 14 miles at 8:30 min/mile

Actual: 14 miles at 8:13 min/mile

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I’d forgotten to bring any water with me today – usually on runs over 12 miles I carry a standard 0.5l spring water bottle then I can bin it if it gets irritating, but today although I’d set the bottle out ready, it was sitting on the side in the kitchen about 12 miles away. I thought I might struggle without having a drink but I didn’t and in fact didn’t feel particularly thirsty. 

I listen to audiobooks on long runs if they’re off road sometimes and if it’s a good one sometimes when I run the route again, it’ll remind me of the book. This part of the route reminded me of Whispers Underground which I’d been listening to last autumn when I was just over halfway through a 22 mile run in preparation for Liverpool Marathon. 

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

Summary:

Time: 1:55:27 

Distance: 14.06 miles

Average pace:  8:13 min/mile

Garmin Info

(The run is showing as 2 parts on Garmin Connect as I stopped the Garmin after 1 mile and changed it to ‘average speed’ as I’d forgotten to do this before I’d started)