running gear - AnnaTheApple

February 19, 2016September 6, 2018

The Nitty Gritties–The Long Run

This is another post in my marathon training series…hope it’s useful!

One of the key parts of marathon training is the long run. It’s pretty much what differentiates marathon training from other more conventional races, like half marathons and 10ks (I say more conventional races as there are some crazy races like ultras and obstacle races as a whole different ball game when it comes to training of which I have next to no experience with).

**Again, I will stress that all the below is my own opinion. I have no qualifications in this area, just my own experience and what works well for me.**

The Distance

With half marathons you don’t really need to go above 12 miles during training, some plans don’t even go above 10. If you’re quite experienced you might go over the distance, say 14 miles, but higher than that isn’t really necessary. But for marathons you’re looking at 16 miles becoming a medium run and potentially 24 miles as your longest. Personally I’m happy if I can hit 18 miles three times. I might venture up to 20 or above if I’ve got a race I can use but I wouldn’t ordinarily just go out on my own for 20 miles.

It’s really your personal preference. If your new to marathons and you’re scared you won’t make it, then doing a 20 miler might help squash some doubts and give you confidence. If, like me, you’re a bit injury-prone, then doing many 18 miles and above long runs might be tempting fate a bit too much. I would always recommend doing your last and longest run three weeks before your marathon – just before you taper. That way you give your body three weeks to recover from that run and become nice and fresh for the race.

In those three weeks you’re not dropping the ball though and doing nothing. Your mileage should decrease but the intensity should remain fairly similar. For example, if you always do an interval session on a Tuesday night, just because you’re tapering doesn’t mean you can’t still do it. During tapering your runs shouldn’t all be easy plods of minimal distance. For me I find doing a long run of 14-16 miles two weeks out and then 10-12 the week before the race works nicely. It keeps my body ticking over but not exhausting it. My other runs during the week stay the same.

Obviously when you begin marathon training you don’t suddenly bash out an 18 miler though, it’ll take a fair few weeks. And you may find you run 14 miles and wonder how the hell you could possibly run further. But you will, you’re body adapts as you increase the mileage slowly. Next week you might do 15 and it feels similar, but you’ve just run one more mile than last week.

Planning

I still get nervous the night before a long run. It’s silly because it’s just running. But there is something quite nerve racking about running a long way, especially if you’re venturing into a distance you’ve never run before. A way to help reduce those nerves is to plan well. Get your route sorted, organise what clothes you’re going to wear (what’s the weather going to be like?), make sure you’ve had enough to eat and enough sleep the night before, sort your fuel out (are you taking gels? Are you having breakfast?) and hydrate well the day before. To calm myself I tend to run the route in my head. For some reason it helps chill me out.

The Route

I will always plan my route for a long run. I hate going out and not knowing where I’m going or only having a vague sense of the mileage. I like to set off on a predefined route and shut my mind off from it, let my legs do the running and just relax into it.

I tend to use RunKeeper to plan out a route. There are lots of other sites and apps you can use (MapMyRun for example) but I like RunKeeper.

I click ‘Create your own’ and just plan it out from there.

You can follow the roads easily by clicking on them and it’ll tot up the distance for you as you go. The advantage of MapMyRun is that you can have a look at the elevation whereas RunKeeper doesn’t. But for most of my long runs I run them around the same area so I’m familiar with the hills.

Company

I’m very lucky in that I love running on my own. I have no issues with running all my long runs solo. The advantage for that is at the end of the day I will be running my own marathon. I won’t have someone to chat to or help battle through the miles with on the big day. I’ll be running with other people in the race but that’s different. I also have full control over the pace I want to run, where I want to go and what time I leave.

I do of course enjoy running with other people but for most of my long runs I like to be in control. If I stop it’s because I need to stop, not because someone else does. It’s highly selfish I know but at the end of the day I run marathons for me and no one else and being so injury-prone (and a self-confessed paranoid runner) it helps me relax a lot more to know it’s only me I’m letting down if for some reason I can’t carry on the run or that the pace isn’t right.

That said, so many people in my club run on a Sunday together for their long runs and love it. And the long runs I’ve been on with other people have been a lot of fun with good banter and the miles fly by. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with running with others if you find it helps you. But for me personally when I have a marathon I really want to do I know I need to be sensible and keep my head in my own game. I also need to ride that pain train on my own, because on marathon day I’ll be on my own and I need to know I can cope.

This is different though when I decide to run a race as part of a long run. Not necessarily to race it but to help break the monotony of solo long runs and to also have a nice catered long run (aid stations and cheering are always welcome!). And you get a medal… Last year I ran 12 miles and then finished it with a local 10k race, I also ran 5 miles to a half marathon. It does require a fair bit of time management to get it right though!

The Pace

It’s advised that the pace you should run your long runs should be a minute to a minute and a half slower than your goal marathon pace. This is to avoid knackering your body out, especially if that pace is quite a tricky pace to maintain. As you continue training that pace will become easier, but initially you need to slow it down. It’s about time on your feet, not how quickly you can do it.

I struggle a little with this (and when I say a little I mean I kind of don’t follow it at all). I think this is mainly because my marathon pace is generally a pace I can readily achieve in normal life anyway. When I’m running regularly my marathon pace tends to be an easy pace for me (it’s anywhere from 7.45min/miles to 8.30min/miles depending on what shape I’m in). On long runs I don’t look at my watch that often and just run how I feel. Perhaps I should force myself to slow down but so far it’s worked fine. For getting my PB last year at Liverpool I ran most of my long runs around 8 min/miles and then ran the marathon around 7.45min/miles. The marathon itself was comfortable for 80%, where the last 20% was tough but doable.

I would hate to run all my long runs at 9min/miles and then suddenly expect my body to hit 8min/miles on the day. But that’s just ME. I don’t run a huge amount of miles during the week (30ish) and I don’t do a whole lot of speed work. It just works for me. You need to work out what works for you. If you find you’re absolutely broken and exhausted for the following week after a long run then perhaps you do need to slow it down. But if you feel comfortable fatigued (that lovely post-long run haziness that doesn’t hugely impact your day-to-day) then you’re fine.

The Nutrition

Like I said in a previous post, it’s not rocket science but you do need to think about it. I became a little reckless and carefree last year the night before a trail marathon and had an Indian curry that I’ve never had before. I’ve had Indian food before long runs quite a lot but this was a spicy curry I wasn’t familiar with and I thought I would be absolutely fine. “Stomach of steel” I laughed as I chowed down my second portion.

During the marathon I had to stop twice for an upset tummy. It wasn’t pleasant and I learnt my lesson in a big way. Always respect the marathon. Marathon training is hard work and you do have to sacrifice things (going out for dinner or a late night at pub before an 18 miler isn’t always a great idea). Don’t suddenly try something different the night before a long run. Obviously you do need to test different things out but don’t be silly about it. If you know pizza works nicely, eat pizza. I generally have an Indian takeaway most Saturday nights before a long run. I adore Indian food and I love getting a takeaway as I cook all week. It’s a nice treat I budget in for and fits my lifestyle (sad, lonely woman – joke!). But I know exactly what to have from my Indian – mainly chicken, no thick sauces, poppadums and salad. Nothing crazy but I love it and I run well on it.

And you need to work out if you need to take fuel with you on the run – whether that’s gels, sweets or ‘real’ food like dried fruit or cereal bars (questionably ‘real’ food). I don’t take anything with me but I generally have three gels during a marathon (that way I get the maximum boost on race day as my body has trained without them). I already know what gels work with my system so I don’t need to test them out on a long run, but if you’re unsure you should always try before the big day. Some people’s stomachs can’t handle gels. And also you need to work out how you’re going to carry them: in a belt, in your hands, have someone pass them to you or depend on what the marathon has to offer. Most marathons will state if they’re providing fuel and what that fuel will be so you can train accordingly.

Lastly…

Don’t fret and panic. Long runs are a dress rehearsal not the main event. If you struggle and have problems during these runs than that’s ideal as you can solve them before the big day. Better to get your problems and worries done early so the actual marathon is just a celebration of the hard work you’ve put into it. And if you miss a long run because of illness, injury or holiday, you’re not going to fail. It’s not an exact science and as long as you’ve gotten in some solid mileage during the entire process you’ll be fine to miss a few runs here or there. No training cycle is perfect.

How do you prepare for your long runs?

Do you pre-plan your route?

What meal do you have the night before a long run?

November 23, 2015November 23, 2015

Grumpy running, good snacking and a leg workout

Brrrrrrrrrrrr!! It is cold! Sorry to state the bleeding obvious but it really is. OK we don’t have snow and I know we’re far better off than you warriors up North or in countries with lots of snow, so apologies for my pathetic moaning.

Saturday morning I optimistically put on my shorts for parkrun but after taking Alfie for a quick walk I realised this would not be a wise move. It was so much colder than it had been in the week – and very windy.

I had intended to wear all three of my new running tops and take one off on each lap (as I mentioned, jokingly, in a previous post – then people actually wanted me to do it) but it was too cold for short sleeves! Before realising how cold it was I did put them on with the intention of wearing them…Top layer was to be the Bournemouth finisher’s t-shirt, then the Marathon Talk t-shirt, then finally the parkrun 50 t-shirt.It was going to be so good… Then I stepped outside with Alfie and thought “yeah this isn’t going to happen”. There was no way I’d want to strip off any layers when I was running!! Instead I put on some leggings and a long-sleeved top.

I got to parkrun to meet the other set-up crew guys and we were all pretty miserable and cold. It was windy and wet as well as stupidly cold. As the minutes ticked closer to the start I started to feel more and more apprehensive and, well, moody about the whole thing. I was so close to just going home. My muscles all felt really cold, creaky and just niggly. I was worried about my knee and worried about needing to stop.

I did a quick warm-up with some of the guys and I just felt myself sinking further and further into a bad mood and was certain I couldn’t run the whole parkrun.

At the start my friend Mark realised I wasn’t in the best of moods and, bless him, he tried to pull me out of it by running with me and chatting. At first I just wanted to stop and give up – I gave him fairly blunt responses to his questions and conversation attempts. I was so cold and I couldn’t warm up. I couldn’t seem to run any faster either, and I was nervous to push it anyway because of my knee, which was feeling uncomfortable.

Mark realised how cold I was and gave me his jacket mid-run which was nice of him and did help. Possibly because I wasn’t running very fast (for me) and how cold the wind was I just didn’t get warm until the 3rd mile. By then I had started to come out from my dark place and actually be a nice human being to Mark. He was very patient with me and I wouldn’t have blamed him to have left me!

In the end I ran 27:18, my slowest parkrun in a long while and possibly one of the worst in terms of enjoyment. We were also on the winter course which is worse anyway in terms of hills (and wind). I was so glad when it was over. My knee didn’t hurt but it was uncomfortable, but given the conditions I’ll take it!

I was in such a better mood afterwards as you can imagine. I was warmer, relaxed and just glad to have got it done. And there was cake made by my lovely friend, Sheryl, who was celebrating her 150th parkrun!!

Mar bar crispies and Malteaser bites

I was in my happy place once again 🙂 The hot drink in the cafe afterwards was much needed as well!

Later on my friend, Tom, was celebrating his 30th birthday with a Mexican and Cowboy themed party. His wife, my close friend Louise, had made some really tasty cupcakes and an immense Cactus cake. There was a spread of nachos and dips and a chilli slow cooking as well.There were churro cupcakes (with cinnamon sugar and a doughnut texture) and piñata cupcakes that had Smarties in the middle!! I can attest that both cupcakes were very tasty 😉

I also brought round some popcorn I’d found in Budgens.For 99p and buy one get one free I call that a definite bargain! Marshmallow popcorn?? Yes please! To be fair though, it actually just tasted like sweet popcorn with a slight marshmallow hint.1 I think I was expecting chunks of marshmallow stuck to pieces of popcorn (what an idea, eh??) and the salted popcorn was basically sweet and salty. But tasty nonetheless!

I didn’t do a very good job at the fancy dress by just having a checked shirt so Louise did my hair in plaits for me and lent me her hat 😉I couldn’t stay for the evening sadly as my parents had invited me over for a meal with some friends, which also meant I didn’t see the main cake being cut 🙁 Lou, the lovely friend she is, said I could pop over the next day to pick some up. Always need friends like that in your life!After seeing Lou and Tom on Sunday morning, I headed to the gym for my leg workout. I don’t know if you guys care to see what I did but here it is anyway…

Squat: (warmup sets first): 4x 65kg, 6x 62.5kg, 8x 62.5kg x3, 10x 60kg x2, 8 x60kg
Box squat: 12x 60kg, 12x 65kg, 12x 70kg, 10x 75kg x2
Deadlift (warmup sets first): 6x 65kg x2, 8x 62.5kg x2, 10x 60kg, 10x 55kg x2
Hack squat: 12x 47.6kg, 12x 57.6kg x4
Sumo squat: 20x 10kg, 20x 20kg x4

Followed by some glute kickbacks/sidekicks on the cable machine and ab work. It’s a lot quieter on Sundays than Saturdays so it was nice not to feel crowded. The hack squat was a new machine to me, which focuses primarily on the quads. I prefer the leg press machine but it wasn’t working annoyingly. The hack squat machine was quite painful on my shoulders and left marks, despite there being cushions on it. It wasn’t a fun experience!

Anyway the rest of the day was same-old same-old: Alfie walks, housework and watching a new-to-me TV series, True Detective. The first episode was soooo s.l.o.w. I’m hoping it’ll pick up. My physio leant me the box-set so I need to get through it fairly quickly (I feel bad hanging on to borrowed things for too long).

What’s your favourite popcorn flavour?

What machines do you like to use at the gym?

What’s the coolest shaped cake you’ve seen (in real life, not on the Internet!)?

November 18, 2015

Rants and Raves #24

Hello Wednesday! And time for some of my ranting and raving…

Rave: I finally got Alfie into his long awaited Halloween costume. I had to cut the sides to make it a bit more roomy for him but it fits quite nicely.

Alfie’s personality is that he’s kind of a push over. He doesn’t do much growling or get ‘angry’, rather he’ll just stand there and look daggers at you. That’s what happens when I bath him or try and put silly bright orange t-shirts on him. He’s also a huge wuss. When it comes to cats, he’ll be ready to chase them if they run but if they stand there and just look at him he doesn’t know what to do so cowers away. My little hero…

I did take the t-shirt off after getting a photo of him though (which took so frigging long as he just wanted to race about the place).

In other Alfie news… when I have to pop to our local shop quickly I’ll tend to walk there and take Alfie with me and tie him outside. He tries to keep me in view in the entire time and has such a look of despair on his face it’s quite unbearable.

It’s almost like he’s saying “Are you coming back…?”. Bless him.

Rant: Sometimes I wonder how I can ever get through a day on my own. I believe I’m an intelligent person (I went to university and got a first class honours degree from the very respectable Cardiff university in Psychology for what that’s worth!) but common sense? Severely lacking.

The Iceland passport debacle for example. Who puts their passport in the washing machine??

Anyway, so I was working from home last week and, as I mentioned in a previous post, I have no furniture so need to use the kitchen counter for my laptop. When I decided to break for lunch I just pushed the laptop to one side and went on my merry way frying up some bits and pieces on the hob.

Instead of the yummy smells of food cooking there was a horrible acrid smell. Thankfully I quickly realised that my iPhone cable was directly in the flame of the hob and whipped it away while turning it off at the plug. Jesus.

Luckily it didn’t cause any crazy electrical fire… but it didn’t work afterwards (yes I did try it, see above about common sense).

Rave: Getting a lovely new lot of coconut oil.

I use coconut oil for all my frying and roasting purposes. The only annoyance is having to melt the coconut oil before I can coat vegetables/potatoes in it. But it’s a small price to pay for this delicious and nutritious source of fat.

Though I have to say, nothing quite beats onion slowly and gently fried in a load of butter. Literally heaven.

Don’t fear butter! Yes it’s high in calories and fat but when had in moderation it can easily fit in a healthy diet. A tasty healthy diet at that. And when I say ‘diet’ I really mean lifestyle, not the ugly connotations so prevalent in women’s magazines.

Rant: I currently have three running tops that I desperately want to wear but haven’t been able to… yet. One of those is my parkrun 50 top.

It’s so soft and lovely and fits perfectly. But I received it after I got injured so haven’t been able to properly wear it yet.

The same goes for the Marathon Talk t-shirt I ordered.

In ‘classic black’ of course 😉 and I received a free Marathon Talk buff as there was a delay. Again, it fits lovely! Made by Xempo.

And, obviously, my Bournemouth marathon finisher’s t-shirt has been left unworn in my running drawer as well. Now I feel like this week is the week that I can get back to running (PLEASE!). I thought I’d wear all three t-shirts to parkrun and on each lap whip one off to get the maximum effect 😉

Rant: When I was at the gym on the busy Saturday I was just minding my own business doing my squats and there were two men near to me using a bench to do dumbbell presses, taking turns while the other rested. When one of them finished his reps he just threw down his dumbbells (very heavy dumbbells, over 20kg/44lbs each!). They bounced away from him towards me – like literally almost hitting my legs.

I understand people want to do a tough workout and want to be near failure on reps but throwing dumbbells down in exhaustion is dangerous in a busy gym! What an idiot. I glared at him after he did it multiple times but I was too intimidated to say anything. I really should have though. To me that shows a lack of control rather than good weight lifting.

Rave: This is a rave for me and a rant for my bank account. I mentioned in my last R&R post (oooh it has an acronym!) that I’ve been buying lots of gymwear… well here are a few more of my items.

The ridiculous bright yellow shorts are from Nike Pro (from Zalando – in fact, I bought those and a pair of bright pink ones too for £25 in total which I thought was a steal as Nike is always such good quality). Top left is another muscle tee from Forever 21. These are perfect for weight lifting in the gym but not for cardio or running because they’re not technical material. But I love the freedom of muscle tees as the sides gape. The funky leggings are from Boohoo and, again, they’re not technical material but they’re perfect for upper body days. And they were so cheap. I bought a few items from Boohoo as they had a good deal on shipping for next day delivery – £1.99!

MASSIVE RAVE (or potentially MASSIVE RANT): So tonight is the night. I’m going to test out running (3 miles, nothing crazy). I haven’t done a single run since Bournemouth. My leg feels absolutely fine walking and taking stairs so I’m really hopeful. Obviously if anything does hurt I’ll stop but I’m really really praying it’ll be fine. I’m seeing my physio tomorrow so I figured this was the ideal time to test it out. Originally I was going to use parkrun as my tester but realistically I need to run on my own without any external factors… just the road and me. I don’t want to be tempted to push through anything or be embarrassed if I have to stop. Plus my dad and me are driving in together so if the run fails I can emotionally collapse onto him on the way home (what fun for him). FINGERS CROSSED!!!!!

Do you have a lot of common sense?

What kind of oils and fats do you use? I’ve heard gee is supposed to be really good but I’ve never tried it in my own cooking… I keep seeing it in Tesco and I’m very tempted.

Have other gym goers annoyed you recently?

November 13, 2015September 17, 2020

Sole Softec Response Footbed Review

Hello, so I have a great review for you today. I was kindly sent some insoles and socks from the guys at Sole.

I have fairly collapsed arches (though now actually less so after making efforts to strength them over the past year – an exciting and thrilling process…not). So I’m not completely flat-footed anymore but I still don’t have very high or strong arches. Towards the end of a run or race I imagine my arches collapse further and this can cause me all sorts of biometric issues further up my legs and body.

Softec Response Footbeds (£38)

I’ve previously worn insoles to help support my arches and I wear supportive shoes to help as well. So I was very intrigued when I heard about Softec Reponse Footbeds.

They’re a 1.6mm layer of cushioning that you replace your regular trainer soles with. The cool thing about them is that they’re moulded so provide a more custom support.

They’re great for:

Equalised pressure distribution
Reduced plantar fascia strain
Increased balance and feel
Improved natural heel cushioning

They’re mouldable because they have an orthopaedic base layer which adapts to your foot without compromising that orthopaedic shape. You mould them by heating them in oven prior to putting them into your trainers… Sounds bizarre right?

The insoles come with really easy instructions. First I trimmed down the insoles to fit into a pair of my trainers. I used the regular insoles as a guide to make sure they fit nice and snugly into the trainers.

Then I removed them from the trainers and popped them into the oven for 3 minutes (I set an alarm as knowing me I’d have completely forgotten about them otherwise).

There’s a sensor on the side of the insoles which turns from white to black when they’re ready which is very handy. You then have to put the insoles quickly into your trainers (let them cool just slightly!) as you need to put the trainers on and stand in them as quickly as possible to maximise the moulding effect. I won’t lie, I felt panicked and rushed to do this as speedily as possible, though it could be because I’m quite neurotic. Anyway I got my feet into them fairly quickly. Ahhh lovely and warm trainers.

You then stand there for two minutes to let the magic happen. Then it’s complete!

Thought? OK obviously right now I can’t run… but I’ve been doing lots of walking in these bad boys. They’re very comfortable. I feel well supported and not crowded or restricted in movement. I like that my foot fits nicely on them after the moulding because it means my foot isn’t rigidly forced into a position it’s not used to or not natural for it. Yes the soles provide support, but by supporting and working with my natural foot shape, rather than against it. I’m really excited to wear these for running. It was about time I got some new insoles so these are perfect.

Lightweight Sport Socks (£11.50)

I was also sent a pair of their lightweight sport socks.

They’re a great all-rounder sock with breathable mesh panels and moisture control.

Thoughts? They’re too long to wear when I go running or to the gym (unless I wear leggings) but they are PERFECT for wearing with wellies (rain boots for international readers). I struggle to find decent wellie socks that don’t slip down and there is nothing more annoying than having to ferret about inside your wellie to put up your socks. They stick to my ankles and calves perfectly and they’re so soft and comfy. I also love them in my walking boots.

Do you wear insoles?

What type of trainers do you wear? Supportive, cushioned, neutral etc.?

What socks do you prefer? Long, short, compression…?

*** Full Disclosure: I was sent the insoles and socks for free in return for a review. All opinions are my own honest ones ***

November 4, 2015

Running Survey

As I can’t blog about any current running, I can do a running survey instead! This is stolen from Mary’s blog and I love the questions so thought I’d steal it…

Would you rather run along a beach path or on a mountain trail? I’d much prefer a mountain trail. This is probably because I live by the sea at the moment so I’m quite used to running along beach paths. Also I detest running against wind and it can get very windy along the coast. It just feels so demoralising to be putting in so much effort and not getting anywhere fast. You could argue that mountains are, well, hilly but at least you can get to the top and feel like superman/woman. And the views are amazing.

If you could choose the flavour of Gatorade at your next race’s aid stations, what would it be? I’ve never had Gatorade. I’m really not a fan of the sugary sports drinks. I know they work for some people, especially for those who don’t want to take gels, but they make me feel a bit sick and I don’t feel they quench my thirst. I love plain water or nuun/High5 water.

If I gave you a £100 gift card to a running store, what would be the first thing that you would purchase with it? Where do I start?? I could be sensible like Mary and say trainers…but I just love fitness clothes. For running I tend to go with more sensible gear in terms of fabric, technical spec, fit and survival in different weathers.

When it comes to the gym I like to spruce things up a bit with colours and style as I have a bit more freedom as weather doesn’t matter. But back to running, I would probably buy a couple of Nike or Adidas items as they’re such good quality and last forever. Though you wouldn’t get much from the price! Ka-ching!

Do you prefer to follow a training plan or wake up and decide then how far and how fast you want to run? I don’t follow a strict plan per se, but I do plan out the weeks in terms of what I want to achieve. It depends if I have a marathon coming up or a race of course but I will never go out on a run without knowing how far I’m going to go. But if the run goes awfully (niggles, illness, tiredness) I’ll cut it short, I’ll never force myself to finish a set of miles purely for the sake of ticking a box. Though I’m quite neurotic and like to plan ahead. I use a spreadsheet to track things. When it comes to marathons I tend to look at online plans and see where the long runs fall and then do my own thing for the other runs.

Would you rather start your run with the uphill and end on the downhill or start your run with the downhill and end with the uphill? Definitely get the uphill done and dusted first. That way I can run it when I’m fresh and then focus on the rest of the course afterwards without dreading the oncoming hill. That said, I don’t really mind as long as I know where the hill is so at least I’m mentally prepared. For Bournemouth I was well aware of two significant hills (miles 12 & 18) so IN THEORY I could have adjusted my strategy accordingly. Well, we all know how that turned out in reality.

When you can’t run, what type of cross-training do you choose to do? I like Mary’s answer of sulking. I’m getting an A* for that at the moment 😉 But, like I said in my previous post, I’m focused on building strength at the gym. I had previously been following the New Rules of Lifting For Women but I’ve put it on hold at the moment as Stage 2 requires a lot of lunges which I’m avoiding for the moment as I want to give my knee some TLC.

Cardio-wise…*sighs* I suppose spinning and rowing. Boring and purely for the purpose of keeping fit.

What is your preference—> Out and back, point to point or loop runs? Oooh I’m just not sure. I like an out and back because you get to know the course and nothing’s a surprise in the second half of the race. I also like that you can think you’re running back to the finish. But I like loops as well (Cheddar Gorge marathon was great for this, mentally I could segment the two halves). Again, the course is no surprise in the second loop. I’m not a big fan of point to points as it feels like one big trek to the finish. Mentally I find that a lot harder. Hello, Boston 😉

If you could recommend ANY running related item to a new runner, it would be a—> BodyGlide. Chafing is a bitch. It takes two seconds to put on but days of pain if forgotten. It’s small to pack in your pre-race bag and I personally find it lasts a bit longer than good old Vaseline. That said, it’s better than nothing!

Do you ever see any wild animals while out on your runs? I love how random this question is. Not really as I tend to run around residential areas. This is such a boring answer sorry!

Ever gotten lost while out on a run? Surprisingly not as much as I probably should do considering how little of a sense of direction I have. I’ve run in quite a few places that I’ve never run before and just made the route up as I went, but most of the time when I do that I play it safe and do an out and back. It also helps doing that when I have a set distance I want to hit. I hate having to think too much about my route when running which is why, unless I’m running with others, I’ll always do the same routes.

If you could have one meal waiting and ready for you each time you got home from a run for the next 30 days… what would that meal be? As much as I love planning what to have when I’ve finished a race or a long run, the reality is it takes me quite a while before I actually fancy eating anything. I have got better though with protein shakes to make sure I’m not a quivering wreck later in the day. My KFC after Cheddar Gorge marathon was pretty damn tasty but I wouldn’t want that all the time. Dream world it’d be ribs (like I did after the Southampton half marathon that I made into 18 miles), but reality porridge is one of my standards. Then cake.

Capris or shorts… what do you run in most often? Shorts. My lower body doesn’t tend to get that cold when I run. It’s more my hands and arms. I much prefer the freedom of shorts and during a marathon I like to wear compression socks and capris and compression socks aren’t a great combo (weird naked knee syndrome).

At what mile (or how many minutes) into your run does your body start to feel like it is warming up and ready to go? Probably 5 miles in, which is why 5ks royally suck for me. I think my perfect distance is 10 miles (which ironically is my worst race distance so far). I absolutely don’t understand how people can do races less than one mile. We’re all different though and I have a huge amount of respect for short distance runners. My body doesn’t just doesn’t like short speedy stuff.

What do you do with your key when you run? This is terrible but when I’m at the club I used to put it on the wheel of my car…until I realised you could leave it in a locked room. If I run from home I take the key off the keyring and then pop it down my sports bra if I don’t have any pockets.

If you could relive any race that you have done in the past, which one what it be? Like Mary said, I’m not sure I’d want to relive any races. Races are hard and generally if you got a PB it was really hard so I wouldn’t want to go back there. After getting my 10k PB in the summer I swore I’d only run one 10k a year!

If I could re-do a race to improve on it then I would definitely re-do Bournemouth.

Or at least the weeks leading up to it. I don’t want to live in regret but I can’t help feel so bitter about a marathon that was supposed to be run just for fun. As many people have said though, I was pushing it with two marathons so close to each other (and three marathons in less than 6 months) and not really recovering properly between them. I don’t regret doing Cheddar Gorge as I loved it so much…but if I hadn’t have done it and Bournemouth went well? I don’t know if I could choose between them. I do wish now that I hadn’t forced myself to finish Bournemouth. Initially I said I didn’t regret it, but now I realise that one race isn’t worth so much time off for an injury. No medal is that good. But lessons have been learnt.

What has been your biggest motivation lately to get out the door to get your run on? Generally that it will mean I have to rearrange my week’s plan if I miss a run! I’m that anal about these things. If I say I’m going to do something I will do it unless something legitimate stops me. Even if I feel really demotivated about a run I know as soon as I start going I’ll be fine. I’d rather push myself to go then spend the rest of the day annoyed that I didn’t.

When you go for a run, do you leave right from your front door or do you drive somewhere to start? Either I’ll run straight from my office, straight from my front door, or I’ll run from my club or parkrun. Depends what day it is!

When running in daylight—> are sunglasses a must or an annoyance? I have a really good pair of (cheap) sunglasses that just sit really nicely when I run. I hate getting blinded by the sun.

When you get tired, what keeps you from quitting? Fear of failure! If I have a goal in mind I will really push myself to reach it. If I don’t hit it it’s because the goal was unrealistic (I’ve set myself stupid goals many a time!) or something out of my control happened (illness, injury, weather, etc.). I’m a very driven person. Of course I have demons in my head and self-doubt but if the goal is achievable from the training I’ve put it then I will do everything I can to get there. A killer playlist as well is a great motivator for me, or crowds. Something like that can suddenly flick a switch inside me to GO GO GO despite how I might have felt 30 seconds before.

Pick a few questions and answer – I’d love to know your responses!