New Shoes?

Looked at my trusty shoes this morning and thought they looked a bit sad and tired. In fact, that is what most people have commented on re: my 'face of the race' 10K photo - that I should have at least washed my training shoes before the photo-shoot! I never noticed and just reply that it makes them look well used and authentic!! (not old...)

Anyway, need to get some new ones soon so they are all worn in and trusted before the race. I usually just go to Achilles Heel but has anyone out there got any other recommendations of good service and/ or a good deal?

Thanks in advance...

Glasgow Parkrun

Hello again ,

Just a wee update on the training to date ..All is going well managing to up the miles little by little without incurring any painful niggles which is all good.
Most of the routes we are covering are on the walk jog run website and there,s many routes for all abilities - have a look -might be just whats needed to keep up the motivation .
I took part in the Glasgow Parkrun in Pollok park on sat morning as part of Team Jen all for the good cause of The-Make-A-Wish Foundation UK.. there were 20 of us all first time parkrunners and we were made to feel very welcome by a very competitive crowd of 5K runners .
I really enjoyed the run and will be back for more -excellent training- and very well organised so well done to all who volunteer and make it all possible ...

Hitting that perfect beat

Laid up with (what I hope is) a temporary gammy leg, I was faced with the choice of passing Sunday afternoon in front of the tv flicking between channels showing Eastenders (I know who killed Archie now so no need to watch Enders for another ten years), Holiday On The Buses (really STV, is this the best you can do in 2010?), or another repeat of Friends (very tempting seeing as its impending disappearance from C4 and E4 is looming…end of an era, sigh) but I decided instead to get on with my rainy day project: finishing off a playlist of music for running to.

Before my injury, I had managed to work my way up to 10k on the treadmill and I can honestly say that listening to inspiring music has played a big part in that. With my ipod on shuffle, Born To Run came on at just the right point during the final 5 minutes of last week's 10k and where I would normally have stopped as soon my nikeplus showed the distance I was aiming for, I kept running for another 0.1k (hey, every extra step counts when you've just run 10k :-)) just to spend every last second with Bruce.

Another much played favourite has been Hung Up, which I can always rely on to get me pumping after initial warm up, or see me through any rough patches, which is ironic really cos the last thing you want to hear on a treadmill is ‘Time goes by, so slowly’!

Any song with running in the title or lyrics is also a good bet for motivation, eg “I want to run, I want to hide” from Where The Streets Have No Name, “Let’s take a ride and run with the dogs tonight” Suburbia by Pet Shop Boys, or Keep On Running by the Spencer Davis Group. There are exceptions to the rule though, for instance this is one lazy girl doesn’t need to be hearing Kate Bush’s Running Up That Hill just yet - I’ll leave that to some day when I feel that death by hill running is the way to go.

Having downloaded the Now That’s What I Call Music series parts 1-13 recently, I spent a happy afternoon today reliving the 80s, without the perms, shoulder pads, or ra-ra skirts (unfortunately), and adding the most high energy songs I could find to my running playlist.

Movie songs spawned some faves (Holding Out For A Hero from Footloose, Maniac from Flashdance, and Eye of the Tiger, cos even us girls like to run along pretending we're Rocky Balboa sometimes); 80s pop, being cheesier than a multipack of Quavers, offered up the guilty pleasures of Walking On Sunshine, Take On Me, We Built This City; and Jimmy Sommerville and Paul Weller both hit the dizzy bpm heights with several songs set to get me lifting my legs that bit higher off the ground (Hit That Perfect Beat, Why, Don’t Leave Me This Way and Town Called Malice, Going Underground, Walls Come Tumbling Down, and Shout To The Top from Mr Happy himself).

Getting towards the latter part of the 80s, dance classics from acid house to the beginnings of hip hop left me spoilt for choice, so I'll work on a dance only playlist some other rainy day. But just listening to The Only Way Is Up while sitting at my laptop today had me with my hands in the air so I can’t wait to see what effect it will have when I’m battling with the last mile of a 10k, and who knows maybe even pass 10.1k next time...

I’ve babbled on enough but let me just leave you with a cautionary tale.

Listening to feel good music can also be bad for your health. The gammy leg that has forced me to rest while my friends are out racking up the miles this weekend can, I think, be traced back to a particularly energetic session on the treadmill earlier this week while listening to Footloose by Kenny Loggins. Let’s just say that experimenting with a new genre of exercise, a mixture of running and dancing, or what I like to call rancing, probably shouldn’t be carried out on a treadmill. If at all. But that’s the heady power of music for you!

Breaking that barrier!

I'm really excited because I feel this week I've reached a turning point with my training. Previously I would be utterly exhausted after a run and completely out of puff however this week things have really changed, I'm managing 5K very comfortably and when I'm finished I feel really energized and alert which means my training must be paying off and I'm now seeing the benefits!

Of course I've still got a lot of work to do and will really need to focus on building up my distance and speed if I want to complete the race in under an hour (wondering if that's too ambitious for a first timer?!?) but I feel encouraged. A couple of weeks ago doubt was starting to set in and I slightly regretted signing up for the race but I'm so glad I persevered!!!

I really can't wait until the big day, quite a few of the girls in the office have now signed up and there's quite a buzz, we're all encouraging one another, plus I now have a lunchtime training buddy which is great!

Hoping to get another run in this weekend and hit the 6K mark....oh there's no stopping me now! x

My introduction to Lactic Acid!

Well, I went to visit the lovely people at Glasgow University Sport & Recreation Service the day before yesterday to be given the training programme that is going to help me go a bit faster than I have ever been before!

No surprises but that also means that life is going to get a bit harder (and slightly more painful) that it has ever been before too! Strangely though, I am really up for it and think that I might enjoy it.

Now, I am an outdoor girl at heart but this is going to involve interval training on a treadmill so that I can control the speed that I am going at for the short, fast bits and push my little legs and my heart rate beyond the comfort zone that they have currently been enjoying.

My real introduction to lactic acid came this morning but I am told that it is a good thing... happy days!

I love Fridays!

Part of my training plan involves doing a 10K on Friday mornings around Garscube Estate with my (very energetic) wee dog (Jacob the Cocker Spaniel). This morning was perfect... crisp sunshine and all done by 9.15 so I can then feel great for the rest of the day.

That and the fact that I don't generally work on Fridays makes for a super, smashing end to the week. Happy days.

Planning to do the Glasgow Running Network 5K on 28 March @ Bellahouston - is anyone else up for that?

Get a Move on!!

The title is more reference to my state of mind at the moment, I've been a bit lazy of late due to not feeling my finest but I am going to pick myself up and get back out there. I'm happy all the bad weather is away and any hint of ice is now gone, so I can plan my routes and have a great time.

If you do go running yourself/with friends and without a group then planning your route using a route planner can really help. It can give you a sense of achievement by managing the route and if you still walk a little, then you can note your progress.

I'm starting off slow this weekend, going to try a 5k this weekend at parkrun (which I recommend for all abilities) and get back into it again.

I was thinking of last years women's 10K and how emotional I felt getting close to the finish line - all those folk who cheer you on but don't even know you - they were great and just really help for that final push you need to get that time you've been working towards! Thinking of that gets me motivated and really excited to take part once again!

I spy lighter evenings!

Hello girls!

I'm ashamed to say my training has been a bit sluggish of late, I think it's the cold weather and dark nights but since the lighter evenings are definately starting to creep in I'm quite confident things will get much easier and I won't just be limited to weekends! My husband has also started running more often because I keep talking about it so it's having a knock on effect on him and it's great to have a bit of support!

I've found reading the other girls blogs really motivational and helpful, it's good to know we're all in the same boat, even the experienced runners! The Women's 10K facebook page has also been really handy as there's loads of girls on there sharing hints and ideas to help so I plan to use some of those (plus I also feel like part of wee team of runners now!).

Can't believe it's only 3 months away, I entered the race in October and the time has really flown by, getting really excited, I just keep thinking about crossing that finish line and the sense of relief and pride that I'll feel. I must dwell on this to keep motivated!!!

xx

Any more snow??

OK, so I have finally decided on my charity. I shall be running for the local Hospice - St Andrew's Airdrie www.justgiving.com/julie-paterson. I am trying to think of different ways to raise money suggestions welcome. Rather than asking for just sponsorships I am currently selling stuff I have won in competitions on Ebay, I am also running the 10K in September, so I hope to have raised quite a bit by then.

Back to the training I never managed to run outside last week due to the snow and work commitments. I hit the leisure centre instead - I would like to shift some pounds before the big run so ran on the treadmill on Friday for 35 mins then on Saturday I had nearly two hours of body pump then body attack. OMG! this is now Tuesday and I still feel as if someone has attacked my body!! Fatima was great in pushing me to the end of the class :D Hopefully, I will be able to run tonight.

Being a bit of a gadget freak, I purchased the Nike sensor to connect through my iPod and track my distance's and times on-line, it also updates my friends via facebook. It has a 10K trainer to give you targets to reach, I am just over 5K at the moment and slowing building up to the 10K.

So, a 40 min run tonight - wish me luck!

Baby, it's cold outside or: How I learned to stop worrying and love the treadmill

When I started running last year (or run/walking at first as an unfit beginner) I was so chuffed to have found a form of exercise which no longer shackled me to the gym, and more to the point shackled my bank account to some 2-year contract. I joined a couple of running groups, some cost a little money (the Glasgow Running Network’s 10k Crash Course for Beginners), others were free (parkrun and Jog Scotland), but all involved getting out and pounding those pavements in the fresh air.

Unfortunately, fresh air in Scotland also comes with rain, hail, sleet, fog, and as we have all witnessed recently, snow! If I’m totally honest I have to admit that I only ran in the rain a handful of times last year, just lucky I guess (or does that say a lot about how often I went running... :-0). But when the severe weather took hold last month, I thought sod this for a game of soldiers! Walking on the pavements was a dice with death (and embarrassment if you went flying in the middle of Sauchiehall Street) never mind try running on them (even though I did see some runners out in the height of the icy weather but they were always men, and I just thought, ‘aye trust them‘!) so I did something I thought I would never ever do again…..joined a gym!

But do you know what, hand on my heart, I’ve never enjoyed running more! I’ve discovered all these advantages you see. Like for instance, it doesn’t rain in a gym (unless some eejit has set the sprinkler system off for a lark). The amount of people who get to witness my red face and wobbly arse are way reduced (and I think I am actually doing the public a favour in this respect!). And if I need the loo mid run, I can actually go and use one, instead of wondering if I’ll make it back in time or cursing having been born a woman with the less handy equipment which makes it so easy for guys to go to the toilet anytime, anywhere.

I think the biggest turn on to the joy of treadmill running for me has been that no matter how slow I run I am no longer huffing and puffing at the back of the pack, trying hard not to be last in the race or last back to the muster point. There’s nothing more soul-destroying to be in a running group where you are the slowest (and I have been, quite a few times) . But now on the treadmill I can joyfully keep up with my pal N and although we cover a different distance in the space of an hour, I’ve still done the hour’s run, but just at my own pace, happy as Larry!

That’s just my personal experience of treadmill running though, as I know many people could think of nothing worse than running on a revolving tyre like a lab rat, never moving any further forward than the fixed spot of the machine, while staring at some unchanging view (or in the worst case scenario, a mirror….aarrghh!). Yeah, even I’ll admit that being stuck in the same location can be fraught with dangers. Especially when smelly/letchy/competitive* guy (*delete as appropriate, or if you’re really unlucky you get all three rolled into one) chooses the treadmill right next to you, despite a whole bank of other free treadmills. But that’s when I choose to play my joker: run in an insanely distracting way as possible (a bit like Phoebe did in Friends) and that usually scares them off. Till they go and fetch their pals to point and stare at you, but that doesn’t happen too often.

I’ve probably struck lucky with my gym as well, as they have none of those anti-runner rules like ‘maximum of 20 minutes on machines’ (my friend at work was telling me she actually had a queue behind her when she was on the treadmill at her gym - I can’t imagine anything worse than people standing impatiently waiting for me to finish my go or fall off the treadmill, whichever happened to come first). And I’ve been able to sign up for just 3 months so can de-camp to the real world in April, free of an ongoing direct debit.

But all good things come to an end (even a 10k race, though it doesn’t feel like it at the 1k mark) and I know I’m going to have to go back outside at some point and join all the other brave souls who have already started hitting the tarmac for their 10k training. So if you see a mad girl running along with crazy flailing arms and legs which puts you in mind of Phoebe Buffay, then you will know that the wind changed and I’ve stayed like that!

Enjoying the scenery

Well where do i begin..

Just back from a wee 4 mile run with Evelyn&Mary Well done ladies running in the snow is not for the faint-hearted among us but we weathered the storm and im sure were glad we did.
We ventured out slow to start worrying about sliping, but it looks so much worse than it actually is -The route we chose was slighly hilly but surprisingly easy underfoot considering the snow is a few inches thick:We then finished with two laps of the field which added on an extra mile and you always feel so good when you do a little extra .
Keep up the good work everyone and dont let the weather get in the way of a wee run..

Evelyn Flannery is fundraising for Make-A-Wish Foundation UK - JustGiving

Evelyn Flannery is fundraising for Make-A-Wish Foundation UK - JustGiving

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Hi im running as part of teamjen-5k on 20th February at the Glasgow park run
Jen is raising funds for The-Make-A-Wish foundationUK
AND IS IN THE FINAL 20 of this years Miss Great Britain/Miss Universe comp
please everyone give a small donation and come to the Glasgow parkrun and suport Jen

I will be there running 5K all part of my womens 10K training come along at 9.30
blow the cobwebs off the trainers and get involved
Eviefla