race - AnnaTheApple

August 21, 2013August 21, 2013

Cheddar Gorge Half Marathon

Hi guys! Sooo on Sunday I ~~completed~~ survived the Cheddar Gorge half marathon. And I’m not tooting my own horn here when I say it was no small feat!

The day began very early, showering (ha, what was the point in that!) and having a good breakfast at 6.30am. My dad was supposed to come with Ben and me and support while my mum stayed at home with their dogs and Alfie as it would have been unfair to have left them on their own in the house another day (after Saturday’s BBQ). But my dad was really ill in the night and couldn’t make it so my mum came instead. My dad was devastated. I always joke that he’s my ‘soccer mom’ as he’s always encouraging me and giving me pep talks before races so it was a real shame.

Anyway we drove the two hours towards Somerset (grabbed a coffee en route – necessity!) and arrived with an hour to spare. Perfect!

It had rained a fair bit on the journey up and but it had stopped by the time we arrived and I started feeling excited!

We got ourselves together with our hydration belt (for me) and Camelbak (for Ben). Panic struck when I realised my gel had burst a bit in my bag. Very sticky. Gross. But luckily not too much of it had leaked to make a significant difference. It just meant I had to carry it running rather than keep it in my belt.

Look what we found!! This made me think of Claire as she’s always showing photos of Gromits from around Bristol and London.

Then we got our bibs and made the long journey up to the start. We left my mum (bless her wearing her flip flops) and she went off to have a mosey around the shops to come back later to where we would be finishing. Basically there was no ideal point to spectate!

We could tell as we saw the other runners that this was a different style of race. The runners did not look like your stereotypical road runners. They were hardy looking men and women ready for a challenge. It felt very relaxed which was great.

Ideal to be walking behind the first aid guys!!

We were sweating before we’d even begun!!

And we finally made it to the start.

Here are the elevation changes throughout the course:

Mile one: It began really really tough. A lot of up hill running. We ran through about four fields so there was a lot of jumping over stiles. My game plan had been to stay around 9 minutes a mile. I looked at my watch during the first half a mile and I was doing 10 minutes and struggling.

Mile two: It levelled out, there was a nice downhill section which was refreshing after the climb. Then some rocky bits to climb over and slide down which was good fun.

Mile three: This involved more running uphill across a big field. There was absolutely no point in trying to be speedy. Then we ran through a lovely bog soaking my trainers…good stuff.

Mile four: Still climbing. There weren’t a huge number of runners at all. There was maybe three guys I could see directly in front of me (obviously more further ahead!) and a few behind. I saw up ahead that two of the runners were coming to a stop and looked confused as to where they were going and a bunch of hikers pointed the way. It was that kind of race! There were ribbons on trees and marks on the floor but it was dodgy at times! I caught up with a guy and we started chatting which was really nice. It was his first off-road half marathon as well so it was nice to be in good company!

Best bit was passing a couple of marshals and them shouting “here’s the first lady!” What a boost! The guy in front of me did a bow pretending it was him, which was funny.

Mile five: What a dream! I zoomed downhill. I kept a great routine of doing teeny tiny footsteps and landing on the front of my foot to let gravity basically push me forward. I gained back quite a bit of energy doing this as it didn’t take as much to run it. Though obviously I had to be careful not to fall!!

Mile six: I took my gel, thankful to stop carrying it (putting the now less sticky rubbish in my belt of course!). I managed to get lost off the route by mindlessly following two guys. We ended up going through a very constricted path amongst brambles then realising it really didn’t feel right and backtracked to the correct path.

Mile seven: Oh man this was tough – one of the hardest parts. Serious uphill. I couldn’t run it. It was just impossible. My thighs were burning. The guys around me walked it too so I didn’t feel so bad.

Mile eight to mile 11: Can’t remember much apart from really loving it at this point. No more uphill’s for a bit and I felt like I was zipping along nicely gaining back some speed. My music was being annoying as I was using Spotify and it kept losing signal but when it did burst into life in my ear (half scaring the hell out of me) it was excellent. Otherwise the atmosphere of the race was great too. I’m quite glad I had the best of both worlds to be honest.

Mile 11: Oh mile 11. You ruined my fun. Suddenly in front of me were these steps of doom. huge steep steps we had to get up and it went on and on for what seemed like forever.

Mile 12: After finishing the steps I was flying again. Some fellow racers let me pass them which was nice and one even said “I want her shoes!”. Lots of downhill’s which I took at break-neck speed which I now cringe at thinking back to. All heading downhill to the town where we got some actual road running for a few seconds!

My mum was there with her camera and snapped a photo.

The final bit of the race was a short but very steep uphill. Then done!

Hurrah!

Crazy paces! My official time was 1:58:42. My Garmin stopped several times during the run because of my walking breaks – clearly it was unimpressed with my lack of hill climbing ability and gave up on me. I also came first girl and 20th overall out of 157 runners.

After finding my mum afterwards, I promptly collapsed onto the grass with some water and we waited for Ben.

Ben finished in 2:52:34. I was so worried he hadn’t enjoyed it because of his unfortunate lack of preparation but he was smiling and looking strong at the end. I was very proud!

Nope that’s not a lovely tan; that is just dirt

I’ll spare you the raw details but then commenced the Great Baby Wipe and Change of Clothes Adventure in the car park. We’re classy like that

And then we headed out to find FOOD (this was 3pm!) We found a lovely little pub and walked in praying they were still serving, which they were, hurrah! I hurriedly told the barmaid that we had just finished a race and didn’t always look so bedraggled! She laughed and said she’d seen worse haha.

Code of conduct for post race: always wear your medal. You feel like Mr T.

I had a butternut squash and feta salad to start (delicious but I was so hungry I really wanted to just get to the main!) and then for the main I had a delicious home-made beef burger with chips and tomato relish. Ohhhhh it was heaven. Alongside I had a cup of tea.

I inhaled everything. Those chips didn’t stand a chance.

I thoroughly recommend this race. I loved it. So much variation in the course, such good camaraderie from the fellow racers and the marshals were excellent. Definitely one for next year!

What’s your kind of race? Do you prefer the regular road race, or something a bit more crazy and off-road? I just know my next race is going to seem a bit dull in comparison now?

What’s your favourite running surface? Treadmill, road, gravel, grass, sand (you crazy!)…

Do you run with music or not? I get a boost from music and it helps me not get bored. Sometimes I like my own thoughts for 13.1 miles I get bored of myself.

August 16, 2013August 16, 2013

Preparation

I am on a high today! I had a truly brilliant run last night. I ran with the running club and there were only five of us in the faster group and this speedy girl and me were on fire leading the pack. I couldn’t believe it when I checked out my Garmin as we got into the run and just how good it felt.

I felt like it was at least a minute slower than we were going. We did stop a few times so the slightly slower part of our group could catch up so I guess it was like long interval running. Mile 4 and 5 did not feel that fast!!

My only worry now is that I rinsed my energy for Sunday. But you know what? I don’t even mind. Last night felt so good and I know Cheddar Gorge is going to be tough regardless. And seriously, I am not aiming for a PB. It’ll kill me!! I’m thinking at least 20 minutes slower, which I am perfectly happy about. No pressures, just enjoying the views and the challenge. It’s almost a relief this half marathon has a ridiculous course because all time pressures are gone.

After I got in, showered, put my compression socks on (my calves were so achy) and made dinner it was like 9.30pm! I had to leave my compression socks on when I went to bed to maximise the effect.

Yep I get that look from Alfie quite frequently…He seems bewildered by my sudden love for long socks in bed. I’m the girl who has to poke my feet out of the duvet as I get so hot! I woke up in the middle of the night and had to peel them off half asleep as my feet got soo hot.

I also tested out my new hydration belt to see how well it worked and if it would be OK for Sunday.

I did want the Nathan Speed 2 belt but it wasn’t going to be dispatched until September and I couldn’t find the right size anywhere else…so I settled for the iFitness belt. The two bottles can contain roughly 170ml (6oz) of water each. Not a huge amount but just enough to not be weighty as I run. There’s also a zip up poach to fit a phone and gels in. And it has clips for a race bib. Perfect.

Post-run feeling a bit sweaty…

It rode up slightly as I set out but after I got it into a good position it worked like a dream. It didn’t annoy me, get in my way, leak or bounce. Very comfortable. Thumbs up.

So this weekend is going to be crazy busy. Saturday morning Ben and me are planning on going to Parkrun for a ‘shakeout run’. Nothing crazy.

Then shower and have breakfast to then leave for my work’s annual summer BBQ (at the boss’s ~~mansion~~ house, ooh err). I can’t believe it’s a year since the last one!! Now my aim for that BBQ is to be sensible with what I eat.

Let me put this into perspective, last year I ate three and a half puddings. and we’re not talking mini puddings here. There was a slice of Victoria sponge…a brownie…a scone…and half of something else which I can’t remember…I obviously didn’t like it too much as I only ate half

Oh man, I even found a photo documenting the evidence ^^… that was clearly round one of the puddings.

Anyway, my plan is to enjoy the food on offer (particularly the carbs!) and not go crazy on the sweet stuff. Obviously I won’t turn down pudding entirely but I will be sensible and stick to ~~three~~ ~~two~~ ~~two~~ ~~two~~ one.

The BBQ will go on until 5, so then we’ll get back and just chill and have a light dinner (I imagine we’ll only manage a light dinner after the BBQ! But I don’t want to have nothing). Then up early to go-go-go to Cheddar Gorge, which will take around 2 hours.

No time to chill this weekend! Ho hum.

All preparations have been made beforehand so I don’t get too stressed on Saturday…the list of stuff I need to remember:

Water with electrolyte tablets
Gels
Hydration belt
Hat
Suntan lotion
Chafing stuff
Safety pins
Headphones

And my playlist has been created:

I have quite an eclectic music taste I guess. I wanted music to ‘pump me up’ and keep pushing me, but also not be too pounding in my ears as 13 miles is quite a long way to go! I’m loving Half Moon Run at the moment and Bastille. And I’m a huge Mumford and Sons fan (can you tell?). But can’t go wrong with a little bit of Kanye as well

I much prefer running with music when I’m racing as it stops me from thinking “man this hurts” or dwelling on speed and pace. I can just sort of ‘connect’ with my running. But not all races let you where headphones (safety shmafety! ). But this one is off-road so no issues! Hurrah.

So now all is left to do is run. Wish me luck!

What are you doing this weekend?

What’s your next race or event you’re planning for?

What’s on your workout playlist?

July 24, 2013

A Day Pretending to be an Olympian

Hi guys, so in continuing with my last post on my weekend catch-up, here is Part 2. (See Part 1 HERE).

Sunday morning – race day at the Olympic Stadium! We stayed with friends in Clapham in London so it was fairly easy to get to Stratford via the tube in the morning. I say ‘fairly easy’ because Ben knew where to go and what tube to catch. I obediently followed, bewildered by all things public transport and London.

On the tube journey there was another race goer with her National Lottery race t-shirt and bib on. I decided to wear my running club vest instead because the t-shirt (despite being a small) was HUGE. It fit Ben perfectly though so he now has it in his running wardrobe. At each tube stop, more and more runners got on-board and there started to be a buzz of excitement.

Then we got to Stratford and a sea of blue people flowed out and we were whisked along with the crowds of people heading towards the stadium.

We walked past the huge shopping centre, Westfield…

It was just streaming with blue shirted and Lycra-ed people. It was fairly overcast but that was fine; nice and cool for running I hoped!

Then finally, after security, we got within sight. I was so excited by this point and it really was quite a spectacular sight.

We got there around 8.30am which was perfect really as we got to mosey about before the race (which started at 10am). I stood in the queue for the first toilet I saw and waited for ages. Then afterwards we headed towards the area that Ben would spectate (it was all divided according to the colours of the bibs; I was a red wave). I noticed a million more toilets and realised my initial error of panicking and going to the first toilet I saw. In the end I literally went to the loo three times before the race as I was so nervous and there were so many loos.

I got goose bumps when we first walked in the stadium. It was amazing. It looked a lot smaller than it did on TV but it was very impressive.

We met up with a girl from our running club and her hubby (who also wasn’t running) and little daughter and chatted for a bit just waiting around. Then me and my friend headed to our start area. We were both in the red wave and this was the first wave to start.

Sir Chris Hoy (British Olympic gold medallist cyclist) opened the race and also introduced Victoria Pendleton (British Olympic gold medallist cyclist), Mel C (aka Sport Spice) and Paula Radcliffe (hero! Long distance legend) who were right at the front. Me and my friend were in the middle.

We did a crazy warm-up from some seriously enthusiastic guy and then we were off. Well, after a good minute as we shuffled towards the start.

Mile one was tough because there were so many people and the path was quite narrow at points. It was tricky to get ahead and was a bit of a nightmare trying to get past people.

Mile two the path became wider and we found our stride. I think a water station appeared around 2.5miles but I was OK so kept going. There was also a mist thing that you could run through to cool down. Though the weather wasn’t as hot as it has been, I was still quite hot so I ran through the mist. Lovely. I started to struggle though.

Mile three and it felt really hard. Psychologically it was tough because you could see the front runners doing a further part of the course. You knew what was to come. It also wasn’t a pancake flat course.

Mile four and I was really struggling. My friend was starting to get further away from me. We had both agreed that if one of us felt like stretching it out they should just go. Though it irked me that I couldn’t keep up. We’re around the same speed normally I think and it wounded my pride a little that I had no energy to catch her.

Mile five and I just wanted it to be over. I finally got into the stadium (albeit in a tunnel underneath the stands). They were playing out cheers and moments from the Olympics (from what I can gather) and it helped motivate me on. Then I got into the actual stadium onto the track and think I said out loud “thank God”. I had no oomph left for a sprint finish. I just wanted to get there.

I’m really happy with my time. It’s not a PB – it’s around a minute off. But I feel like it was a good effort considering I think I’ve lost a little bit of my speed since being injured (I know, I know: excuses, excuses!!) My only disappointment was not catching up with my friend. She finished 20 seconds ahead of me. Hey ho!

I was 66th girl so I’m really pleased with that considering there were around 7,000 females!

And the best part? I met Mel C! She finished just after me and in a really embarrassingly ‘OMG-I-love-celebrities-I’m-so-uncool’ kind of way I grabbed her for a photo. I’m mortified now looking back because when I asked her she was like “Can I just catch my breath first? I might throw up on you otherwise”. I die of shame. I like to think I’d be cool around celebrities. Wrong.

The 12 year old Spice Girl obsessed girl inside me is doing a dance

I even said afterwards “you have the same shorts as me!” *Shakes head in shame* Oh Anna, you’re so uncool.

I found Ben afterwards and we watched more runners finish and it was just brilliant. And there were so many did crazy sprint finishes!! As we headed out in search of the Mo Farah cardboard cut-out I spotted Maria from Running Cupcake with her partner. I felt a little bit like a stalker if I’m honest but I really wanted to say hi so I tapped her on the shoulder. (We had messaged each other beforehand to try and meet up at the stadium but we weren’t sure how it would work out considering it was such a big event).

It was lovely to have a quick chat with her – catch her recap of the race HERE. It’s always nice to actually hear someone’s voice after reading so much about them on their blog – does that sound weird? I quite like vlogs in that respect. Well, I can confirm she is as lovely as her blog is

And then we saw the Mo Farah cut-out.

Then we headed home! We checked the train times and found a train leaving in 40 minutes, so we got our skates on and aimed for that one. It was a bit stressful and we hadn’t eaten but we wanted to just get home. Rest assure though I snacked well on the train home to keep me going until lunch.

The event was brilliant. I loved the atmosphere, the hype and seeing the stadium. I didn’t enjoy the running part so much. It felt like a struggle and the scenery was a bit rubbish (it was kind of a building site) but running in the stadium was epic. I did feel bad a lot though as I knew Ben wanted to run but he couldn’t because I forgot to get him a ticket when I applied for mine. I KNOW, worst wife ever. Though in fairness, he is still injured…

So over all, a brilliant weekend!

Did you watch the Olympics when it was on? Have you been to the stadium before?

Who’s your favourite Olympian or athlete? Mo and Paula are high on my list!

Have you ever met a celebrity and/or been star struck?

July 15, 2013July 15, 2013

Survived

Oh man. I am tired. Yesterday Ben and me ran the New Forest 10 mile race. At 11.15am. In stupidly hot weather. It was tough.

Let’s roll it back a bit to Saturday. I did the 5km Parkrun in the morning as a shakeout run. I took it steady and used it just as a nice easy run the day before ~~hell~~ a tough long race. Annoyingly, it was hot and hard work – it did not feel like an easy run. I managed it in 22.49 which I was chuffed with, and amazingly I was third girl.

Ben decided to marshal at the Parkrun instead

For the rest of the day we got the chores done and I persuaded Ben to ~~spend a small fortune~~ go to Halfords so we could sort our bikes out as they’ve both got punctures. I really want to balance things up a bit with the running and do some cycling the odd day in the week. It’s a half-formed plan at the moment so I’ll let you know how it goes later on.

Then my loving husband got to work.

He complained a bit to start with but then he got into it. It was all manly and DIY-ish so he loved it.

Then we chilled for the rest of the day had started getting nervous about the race the next day. We prepared ourselves by having a nice ice bath…

…and carbing it up with a good dinner.

Good old pizza. Chicken, stupid amounts of veg, BBQ sauce. A tried-and-tested meal that never fails me pre-race day.

Early to bed and early to rise. Ben and me both felt so nervous. It was hot. We drank lots of water (and coffee, sshhh!) and ate a good breakfast of oatmeal. Then my dad showed up and we convoyed over to the New Forest.

Over 800 people took part

It would have been a beautiful day for a BBQ, relaxing down the beach or in your garden with a glass of something chilled. Not running 10 miles.

I spent the best £5 I’ve ever spent on a 10 minute sports massage. It was so necessary. My IT band was tight. So tight it was almost agony when the lady dug deep on it. I now have bruises.

Then we lined up and three, two, one we were go, go go.

Mile one I took way too fast. I was optimistic and just enjoying the atmosphere and flow. But it was right in the sun. Mile two I was slowing down (the story of this race) but we were hitting some shade which was nice. Mile three was my first milestone to celebrate. I felt like I was properly into the race then. And we hit our first drinks stop. I threw two waters over myself and enjoyed the coolness. I had a water with me with an electrolyte table in it (Zero High Five if you’re interested) that I kept sipping slowly.

Mile four I was feeling the heat. The water that had been cooling minutes earlier had evaporated so it was back to being hot. My time was consistently slowing. Mile five I hit a low point. The course was pretty flat but there were the occasional gradual inclines and they felt like mountains in the heat. I felt extremely hot, a bit sick and I was tempted to stop and walk. Luckily another drinks point appeared and I was squirted with a hose (I almost stopped and said “can I just stay here now ~~in the foetal position~~?”). Mile six and I was pushing through, still slowing, but I had come back from my darkest hour and celebrated another milestone (firmly over half way). Just before mile seven there was a stone path for a good .2 of a mile. So hard to run over.

Mile eight and I celebrated another milestone in my eyes – you’re almost at mile nine and then you’re almost finished (make sense?). I saw a man walking and I helped push him back to a run with some encouragement and that felt great. He thanked me and pushed on.

Mile nine just couldn’t have come sooner. I stared a little mantra in my head, something like “less than a mile to go, la la la”. Yep madness was slowly creeping in. Then we were on the home-stretch. I saw the finish. I pushed the speed and finished!

I pretty much dropped around 10 seconds per mile until the last mile – almost a perfect positive split. Whoops.

My official time was 1:18:24, fourteenth girl overall, fifth girl in my age category, 120th overall. I suppose it’s a PB as I’ve never run a 10 miles faster than 1:19 but I’ve never actually raced it. Considering the heat I’m over the moon with this time!

I then drank a gallon of water and queued up to be showered with a cold hose pipe. BLISS.

Ben came in a bit later (this was his first ever 10 mile and he was still recovering from an ankle injury).

We got a lovely horse brass as our medal as well, which was a lovely touch.

On getting home I showered, ice bathed, devoured piles of food (and my body weight in watermelon) and then just relaxed. I couldn’t even be bothered to get dressed.

Alfie’s like “Girl, that is not a good look!”

I was pooped. Still am.

What did you get yup to this weekend?

Did anyone run any races in the crazy heat?

What’s your best/favourite medal you’ve ever got from a race?

July 12, 2013

Spa day, races and tasty snacks

OK, I don’t want to rub it in…but I haven’t been at work today! I’ve had the day off! Hurrah! And I had a very lovely day indeed with my mum and mother-in-law. We bought Groupon vouchers ages ago for a spa day. Ooh-err!

We went to a local hotel which was all rather posh and lovely.

And indulged in a bit of a pampering. We had a neck, shoulders and back massage, and a facial. Oh it was divine. It lasted for so long and then we could mosey about in lovely thick robes (though it was a tad hot in them considering the weather). We went in the pool and Jacuzzi (well, I just sat in the Jacuzzi) and then had a lovely salad for lunch in the gardens.

I went for marinated chicken with sundried tomatoes and rock. So good.

Does anyone else find it awkward having a treatment? I’m always so self-conscious. And about the most stupid stuff…like what should I be wearing under my robe? Should I be in just my knickers, should I be in my bikini? And then when she’s actually massaging me I start over-thinking…should I be talking to her? I hope my back is a normal back…Should I be complimenting her technique? Jeeze I never know. So I just stayed silent. Better to say silent then say something stupid!

Well, despite my ridiculous over-thinking anxieties, it was wonderful. We had a lovely morning/afternoon.

Just looking back at the week, on Wednesday night Ben and me headed to a league run with our running club called the RR10 league (do other people have that??). Basically all the running clubs in our area compete in a set of 10 races at different locations. It’s not based on time but rather actual place you finish.

Because I never manage to get home in time from work I haven’t made any others except for Wednesday night which was really close to home.

I was feeling a bit nervous as my hip/knee has been giving me a bit of grief again (*wails in frustration*). I’ve found I have hip bursitis. Joy of joys. Basically my hips flares up a bit when it’s tight and it causes a bit of discomfort in my hip and knee. All I really can do is use lots of ice, stretching and strengthening of my hips.

So I was going to take this run as just a fairly standard run. Not too easy but not going like lightening. The race was off-road and apparently 4.8 miles.

As we started the first mile was quite slow anyway as it was single file through a corn field. You couldn’t overtake which was so frustrating. But I thought this was ideal really as it stopped me from sprinting.

Then the next couple of miles were OK. We came out of the corn field and I could speed it up a tad and get past some people.

I’ve been wearing a knee thing to just give a bit of extra support

Towards the end of mile three we hit a steady incline and it got rough. I felt like my legs were like lead and I was tired. I literally felt like I had no energy.

Then mile four was another loop of the bloody incline. I found myself despairing by looking at my Garmin but I literally could do nothing about it. Anyway at like 4.5 miles I was thinking “excellent, almost there”.

We hit mile 5 and I was thinking “ermm, where’s the finish then?”. Some marshals shouted we were almost there and I decided to give it my all. I mean we were at 5.1 miles, it must be round that corner right?

I got round that corner and no finish line was in sight. I lost my speed and motivation. Finally I saw the finish and practically crawled across it. Really not fun.

Man it was tough. I came twelfth girl though (whoop whoop). Considering the first mile was pants as I got stuck behind so many people (as did everyone I guess) and I’m still having issues with my leg I think that’s great

I went home and had a lovely ice bath and whipped on the compression socks. I still have an irrational fear of my compression socks since the dreaded cramp incident the other week…Ben has to help me now. Haha.

And I also want to share with you guys these great snacks I’ve been sent for review. The lovely Jemma over at Celery and Cupcakes got me involved and I was more than happy to try these bad boys as I’d heard good things about them.

They’re called Garbanzo snacks and have only been around since 2011but the fan-base is expanding! Basically they’re roasted chickpeas and they have a pretty clean ingredient’s list: GM-free, no additives and no preservatives. And they’re high in fibre so help keep you full.

And they taste really good. They’re satisfyingly crunchy and the flavours are great (my favourite is the Thai sweet chilli).

And the best part? The serving sizes are huge for 88 calories!!

This, my friends, is only half a portion! I decided to drag them out for as long as possible as I was addicted and only had three bags. Really, really good.

***Thanks to Jemma, I can offer you guys 20% extra if you decide to purchase any of the snacks from their website. Basically the discount is two packets free of charge for every order. Just type in GARB/02 in the notes section of the shopping cart.***

And that’s it from me! We’ve got Parkrun tomorrow and then the dreaded New Forest 10 miler. I may not survive due to dehydration, so thanks for reading guys. I’ll miss you!

What treatment would you have a spa? I’m all about massages. It feels SO good.

Have you suffered from any injuries?

What snacks can’t you get enough of?