Happy new year

Traditionally, around Xmas and new year time people do a summary of their year. Today it is a year since my auntie died. It's making me think about what has happened in the last 365 days. 365 days time your life could be completely different, or it could be the same boring shite. I guess we decide for ourselves by the decisions we make

So we start from this time last year:

October

I spent the latter half of the month recovering from the stinking cold I had, and worrying why my HR was so high on my runs. I came to the conclusion it was stress from the events of October, recovery from being ill and getting over the Amsterdam Marathon. Last October I had the best tasting pie I have ever had (I'm not a big pie fan, you may not think that to look at me but its true) - thank you Michelle. It was so good it deserves a photo :)

It was.

November

So I started working at BW in Bristol. I cannot believe that Mark and I used to commute down every day, getting up at 5.30, leaving mine at 6, getting to BW about 8.30 and leaving at around 4.30. Repeat x4 or x5 days a week, and it was so dark in the mornings and evenings... Amazingly I still managed to find the time to run. At that point I didn't run from work at lunch time, I was actually doing Wonder Woman changes in the midlands and going out with both my clubs. Obviously I don't have kids, pets (a life?) but am still astounded I managed to fit it all in.

November was the month of XC races and night running (and a combination of both). You know from previous blogs I love XC. It is also obvious I gues that I love running with my clubs, but Dudley Ladies has a very limited selection of winter routes in Wombourne (think "clockwise loop" or "anticlockwise loop" Zzzzzzzzzzz). Someone had a lightbulb moment (yes pun intended) where we decided to go to Decathlon en mass and buy head torches, thus enabling us to do our summer routes in the winter for added excitement.

Night running is a weird thing, there is quite a lot of light if there is a full moon, and usually you get some light pollution from your surroundings. The head torches provide help to avoid major hazards, but running off road at night is something that really wakes up your senses. It can be spookily quiet, the only sound being the sound of your own footsteps and breathing and sometimes the breeze blowing through the trees. We've had owls flying around, bats in our hair, and badgers run out in front of us from hedges.

Running with Dudley Ladies I'm not sure who needs protecting

The pace slows down a little more than a normal road run, but it is FUN, and some big muddy hills more than make up for any downsides. Sometimes on a Sunday run we do some of these routes that we also do at night, I look at some of the sections and wonder how the hell we managed to do them in the dark without serious injury.

December

More XC and speed work. I love speed work. Since Gobi took over my training I no longer have a fear of running fast, I enjoy it and I enjoy the training processes that make me quicker. We don't have a track at our club but we have some brutal speed work sessions where we run upwards of 10 times round a measured distance housing estate; the point of speed work is not to simply go flat out, but to try and do all your reps at a similar fast pace with a measured recovery time. I seem to be quite good at this consistency even without looking at my watch. It definitely helps.

In December I "found" ParkRuns. Parkruns for those who don't know are a series of free 5K races that happen all over the country at 9am on a Saturday. I had been to a few, but hey it's another opportunity for a bit of speed, and if I run 50 of them I get a free t-shirt. The atmosphere is lovely, they are all run by volunteers, and you really are running against yourself. Obviously having others around pushes you a little bit harder. Another thing to obsess over - "collecting" different ParkRuns and working towards that 50 target.

For those of you who don't know, up until the middle of 2008, I was about 18 stone. I still ran and enjoyed it, but obviously my times were slower because of carrying all that lard around. I turned up at the club one night in December, and got pushed towards a woman with a notebook. Yes it was a magazine reporter at the running club wanting "inspirational stories". Well I'm not sure about inspiring but I told her about my progressive weight loss and how it had improved my running. Would you believe she considered some of the runs I've done to be slightly mental. Pah! The next Sunday a photographer was there, snapping our little group as we headed out for a run. I appeared in the January edition of "Wolverhampton Magazine", inspirng lots of unfit people hoping to change their lives (and probably giving up by 15th Jan), but hey I didn't think I'd ever be in print.

"I'd like to thank my parents....."

Yeah rubbish I know but 15 mins of fame. I love the upper photo of me and my friends. The photographer caught us all completely unaware so the laughing and smirking is all natural (we are actually taking the mick out of the photographer...)

January

Marathon training starts in earnest, and my longer runs really started. In the month of Jan we also have the County and Midlands XC championships. This word strikes fear in to a lot of people. Now I would be the first to admit I worry about a LOT of things, but I genuinely don't give a shit about being at the back of a race. At the end of the day you are racing against the same faces that you race with in the leagues, so it is another case of seeing if I can beat "Pauline" (she eats my dust these days)

In January I started running at lunch times in Bristol. Great thing number #34833498 about running: you pack some kit and off you go. NEW STUFF TO EXPLORE! :) Where I work is on the A38, so give it a mile and a half and I'm in the parks and have a choice of weather I go on the Festival way, past SS Great Britain, along the banks of the Avon, or through Ashton Court and over the suspension bridge in to Clifton. I love Bristol. A nice city and plenty of hills which in my humble opinion is never a bad thing for run training. When Mark was around we would go off to Blagdon Lake, the Bristol to Bath Cycle Path, and again Ashton Court, although "we" only went to Ashton Court the once. He turned purple half way up the hill and stopped speaking to me for a bit. Thought it best to leave that one for solo training runs.


February

I did the the coldest run in the entire world - Newbury Parkrun in temperatures of -14 (I kid you not). I could not feel my hands, my buff froze (I SAID BUFF) and at the end I had ice crystals on my eyelashes

Trying to think of a caption, the only thing I can say is COLD

March

March was the month of PBs, and the start of a bit of craziness in the back to back runs. I factored in some races for A) marathon training variety B) they can be a good indicator of how you are actually doing

Cambridge Half Marathon - 1:51 - A small PB but considering I'd been on my feet all day at the Intercounties XC I was well pleased with that on a twisty turny course with morons congesting the paths in the last 3 miles.

Back to back 20s - Rhayader 20 on Saturday and Ashby 20 on Sunday. Done in similar times, and I felt great after both

Cannon Hill Parkrun - 24:11 - A reasonably big PB given the distance, weird how this was the weekend after the back to back 20s - you'd think I'd be knackered.

In March my mum had her knee replaced, and whilst she will never break dance again, I am very proud of the way she got through the operation, kept battling with the physio exercises and within 8 weeks you wouldn't really have known she'd ever had it done. March was also stressful again in so much as I had the threat of being evicted from where I live. (I own a house I rent out, and rent where I actually live) Letting agency I rent my lovely place from went bust and I was the one getting horrible letters from Wolverhampton Court. It is sorted now, I have new landlords but at the time it was incredibly stressful. My point here is hank goodness for running or I'd have gone mad.

April

Pbs continued - each race seemed to be a PB. It's not the be-all and end-all but it's nice.

Oakley 20 - An accidental PB, half it was slow, half at Marathon Pace and I came in quicker than my old PB to a new PB of 3:13. I don't really give a monkeys about 20 mile PBs but it gave me a good feeling

Maidenhead Easter 10 - this has to go down as one of the races of my life. One of those ones where you just feel really good from start to finish. There was a slight hiccup at the start where everyone went the wrong way, but the course was still 10 miles (in fact it was long!!) so it was all good. I set out at about 8.15 pace, thinking "too quick, too quick" but I held my nerve and came in at 1:23. If the course was spot on it would have been 1:22. I ran at 8.14 pace avg and felt great all the way round.

Obviously in April it was the Manchester Marathon. I'd watched my friends at Brighton 2 weeks before, and London on the TV the week before, and then it was my turn. The heatwave I feared did not happen, instead pissing cold rain, gales, sleet, and I was hypothermic pretty much before starting. I won't go on about it, I've written about it in other blogs, but the fact my friends came and surprised me by supporting will stay with me forever. Really touched. It was a 10 minute PB, coming in 4.02, and if it wasn't for that pesky weather it would have been a sub 4. Watch 2013 it is my intention to SMASH IT!!

May

Well I had a bit of a rest, didn't I! (people forget rest is important) I forgot to mention in April was I went to Newbury again, and whilst sitting in the cafe trying to eat the worlds biggest rock cake, we were talking about "cool runs". I'd seen one that finishes at Niagara falls in the USA, and I'd also spotted an interesting looking 4 in 4 in Donegal, Ireland. Thinking Gobi would laugh me out of the place I mentioned it but to my surprise it was a question of "when is it" and then shortly after "we can get you ready for that". Guess I'm in then! :-0

I had an experience at work in May that really upset me, where basically an old man told me I was too fat to run marathons. I think he used to be a runner and we'd had a bit of chit-chat as I was going in and out of the building in kit. Ironically when this exchange happened I was in normal clothes and looking particularly foxy that day (I don't think that too often so yet another bubble burst *sigh*)

Him: "I really don't know how you run marathons at your size"
Me: "Excuse me?"
Him "Your frame, you're just not a marathon runner, it must be really hard for you"
Me: "Do you realise how that is coming across?????"
Him: "Well look at Tom upstairs, he is 8st and a pair of lungs"
Me "errrrrrrrrrrrrr" <rapidly walking off>

Seemingly innocent but it really upset me. Men. Even when they do or say nothing they have the power to upset, and when they open their mouths the damage is often worse. Take note you cannot win. Ever the professional I said nothing to Mr-foot-in-mouth, but collared our account manager on site because I couldn't find Mark. I had no intention of complaining or anything but I just sat there blubbing at him for 20 mins wondering what was wrong with me. Arrrgh!

It ain't over till.......

June

Stourbridge are quite good for club trips and doing different events, and in June I was lucky enough to run a leg of the Welsh Castles relay. This race is very popular and quite hard to get in to, and our club got in to the mixed teams category. I had the 2nd leg on the Saturday, and despite it being another torrential downpour (I think the clouds follow me around) I had a really good run, managing a similar 10 mile pace to Maidenhead on a much hillier course. The thing I love about this event is that for a club runner each leg is a manageable distance - approx 10 miles - and everyone runs the best they can for the team. We had all ranges of speeds in the team and we all had stormers. The scenery was lovely, we got to see lots of castles and the rest of Wales albeit at a relatively high speed. We had some laughs and such a happy time, it was brilliant fun supporting and screaming 'supportive words' at your runner from the minibus. I would love it if we could do this again. If no one wants to organize it for 2013 I will try and make it happen.

July

I trained my proverbials off for the imminent Quad and I LOVED all the long runs. Topped up my weird suntan lines in the little summer we did have. I didn't do a lot else!

August and September

I will talk about these months in one go because the Quad spanned both.

I kind of broke the news to people that I was going to do this 4 in 4 event in August, and I was genuinely touched by the sponsorship I got. If I had high opinions of people before, in August the generosity and general niceness of people meant they doubled. This in turn was very motivating on the days when I felt I would rather stay in and watch The One Show (desperate times!). It made me get my arse out the door because I could tell myself there were people that believed I could do it. I was doing some hefty blocks of 4 long runs but 99.9% of the time - loving it.

And boom, then it came. The Quad, which is a whole other blog http://ndellar.blogspot.co.uk/  For little me I smashed it. I love this photo:

Raaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!

As I ran down the driveway of the hotel on the last Marathon it was a mixture of "fuuuuuuuuuuuuck! I've done it" and looking up at the sky through the trees wondering if someone was looking after me. I wanted to cry but couldn't. I still haven't. I hope I made people proud.

My physical recovery was good. I missed running on the 7 days of rest I was forced to take, but I think it has made me feel more hungry for getting back at it. In some respects mentally the Quad has helped me, I still respect the Marathon distance, but I am a lot more familiar with it and it has helped me get my head round other distances both longer and weirdly shorter seems easier too.

In other respects mentally the come down has been hard. I am most definitely not an attention seeker, I don't really have a lot of confidence in talking to people - I'm good at pretending sometimes, other times you probably think I'm ignoring you when actually I'm too scared to talk to you. In a lot of cases now I feel people no longer have anything to talk to me about, and friends I thought I had aren't really that friendly any more. When an event is that all consuming, and it is all you can think about for months, when it is gone it leads to a BIG empty feeling.

Organising the JW Ultra teams for Stourbridge was awesome. I love my club, and I love seeing so many friends on that day.

October

So this leads us back to October this year. Having built back up slowly and remained injury free I'm loving the XC season, and the good news is that off of the back of not very much speed work over the summer I don't seem to have lost much if any XC pace, in fact I might have got a bit nippier. Happy days. These races also give me a good excuse to bake, something I love doing but I can't sit at home with a tray of chocolate flapjack beckoning me, so I think everyone is a winner

Decisions. Both?

I would summarise that the past 365 days have been pretty awesome.

I promised myself around this time last year that I wouldn't mess about because life is too short, and I think I've managed to keep that promise pretty well. I've managed to do some amazing things that I really wanted to do. I hope to do the same in the next 365.

And I would run 500 miles

Not quite. But the last couple of weeks I've been thinking - yes that burning smell was my cogs whirring.

I've found myself looking at websites for stupidly long races, partly boredom, and well, I have been inspired by reading peoples accounts of such exploits. Not sure what to do, I want to go faster at Manchester in April, but after that who knows. The idea of running a very long distance in one go appeals, e.g. upwards of 40 miles - been there done that and got the t-shirt that I love dearly and wear at every opportunity (Connemara). Ideally I want something with nice scenery and a course I'm going to enjoy. Ever since I met J at the club and heard her tales of what she has done I've wanted to do a long distance in one go. 4 in 4 marathons in 4 days is easy. <JOKE!>

Commrades or Two Oceans ultras have been mentioned, both in South Africa. I'm usually quite OK with travelling on my own, but to be honest with those ones being so far away I find the idea a bit daunting - it is about the one time it would actually be useful to have a significant other. I could try and organize a club trip, but I'm not sure how many people would be interested in running that distance (unless they have a 1/2 marathon option or something!), going on holiday with ME, and have the money to go out there anyway. To be honest whilst those two appeal, they are a bit short.

I'll cut to the chase, I fancy doing a 100 miler. Why? Well it is not something I would enter in to lightly, but mostly "to see if I can". If that sounds weird then well I guess I'm weird.

Walk 500 miles? You've got to be kidding. Running will get you there quicker.

I've also been looking at the "Piece of string fun run", ( http://www.centurionrunning.com/piece-of-string-fun-run/ ) an event which for extra head f*** does not disclose the race distance or many race details apart from basically where it starts. It could be 10 miles, it could be 100+ miles. An interesting psychological take. Most of the time when you are dying a death at mile x, you know you only have y miles to go. And what about pacing and nutrition if you have no idea how far you are running... I shall watch the upcoming one with interest, but all in good time I don't want to run before I can er..... run.

The plan is to do a 100k next year and then go for a 100 miler in 2014. Things happen and plans change but for now the seed is definitely planted. I may well hate the jump from 40 miles to 100K in which case 100 miles would be a non starter but I want to try.

In a bid for all round fitness, I have started doing some core work again. On selected runs I get back and stick the Jillian Michaels DVD in. To be honest I would rather go to an actual circuits class at the gym (Wombourne Leisure Centre do pay as you go classes) but I've yet to find one that doesn't clash with running so my living room seems the next best option. A few years ago I used to do some core sessions in Hyde Park with my friend Boo and really enjoyed them. We'd spend an hour doing CV circuit type stuff, core and arms and it was actually great fun. (I also met Mo Farah on the tube whilst on the way to one of these sessions!) Other things take over, and really since then all I have done is run. (Not a bad thing!)

I started with the most basic workout, the first session I did seemed fairly easy at the time. Situps, crunchies and anything abs related I seem to be able to cope with quite well. Had a quick plank and I've still got it. Perhaps the sheer amount of miles I've done has helped contribute to quite a strong core. The arm bits towards the end of a set felt hard, especially with the weights, and I nearly lost a lightbulb in a comedy style-ee whilst doing some squats that have an arms up bit at the end. I think I made the schoolboy error of starting off at 2KG weights on my first attempt, I managed to do it but by the end I knew that I was going to pay big time. The day after morning I could barely move my arms, and 2nd day after driving to Bristol hurt every time I changed gear, much to the amusement of Mark who kept prodding me in the arm. I left it a few days and had another go using slightly lighter weights. I could still feel it, but it felt much better! Liking it actually, I hope it is doing some good. I guess it's not doing any harm. I've moved up to the next level, where I have discovered my balance and coordination are even more shite than I thought. Practice and consistency.

I entered the Suicide Six last week, a 6 mile ish 10k at Baggeridge Park near Dudley. I have wanted to do this race for years, but it has always clashed wit the Sodbury slog or other events. I ran a league XC at Baggeridge in Jan and loved it, despite having to leg it all the way up to a trig point and down the other side, and this version has an added wade through a waist high lake to contend with. Example - I don't know this man but I think the photo sums up the general jist:

I know my shoe is in here somewhere......

Looking forward to it. I suppose it is expensive for running round some local trails and getting cold in dirty stinking water, but my friends are doing it so fun fun fun :) :) :)

Not much else to report really. I've had all my hair chopped off and am loving it - am quite pleased I was brave enough to take the plunge. Go me.

Spent the weekend with my parents in their new house, my Dad has purchased a "Smart TV" which is so smart that when he starts to rant and wave his arms around (yes I'm so glad I haven't inherited this trait) it actually switches off. Is it possible to love a TV? I think I love this one for its sheer attitude.

Whilst there, to keep the XC momentum going, had a fairly solid performance at Cambridge parkrun. 5K, 25:29. My PB is 24:11, set on a nice tarmac course in Birmingham, but it was a massive course PB, the first time I have ever run this course in less than 27 mins. Cambridge is twisty turny trail terrain and Saturday was very muddy. I definitely had more oomph in me but was a bit afraid to use it - post marathon (let alone 4 of them) my 5Ks are like stepping stones, I don't have the speed confidence so I do one conservatively (its a sub conscious thing) assess it went OK, do another and push a bit more before I realize I am actually alright. Just need to keep doing them. Speed work starts again in November, can't wait.

The loneliness of the (long distance) runner?

One of the beauties of running is that no matter where you are you can take your trainers with you, pop out and explore whatever new place you might be in. This is a very good thing. I've been a member of gyms in the past and even with the super-duper "I can go to any branch in the country" membership, the cost of belonging to a running club plus some pairs of trainers and sports bras is far less expensive and in reality has got me far fitter and more motivated to train than any gym ever has. Sometimes I just love heading out on a solitary adventure somewhere new with the sounds of the birds (or the radio) for company, but running clubs have done a lot for me.

I belong to two running clubs and love both of them equally, they have different qualities and thankfully different club nights. Dudley Ladies was where I started, and I do my easy/long runs there with my friends. I tell them about my week, they tell me about theirs, we laugh, moan, put the world to rights, talk about current affairs (who'd have thought it - and in DUDLEY ;) ). Through the tough times - the times where we feel a bit pissed off with our lives or upset it is almost like having free counselling with 4 or 5 other people listening and asking you the questions maybe you didn't want to think about. You also get some opinions, it helps to get stuff out and other peoples opinions do make you think.

I joined Stourbridge in 2008, and here I do some of my general runs, speed work and they are my first claim club for races. I am not knocking either club, but Stourbridge has a lot more of a structure with its pace groups, speedwork sessions, excursions out to XC races and other events should anyone want to get involved. A few years ago because I wanted to give something back to SRC, I stood for Women's captain - in reality I was never going to get it against the other lady, but the men's captain had resigned and no one else had put themselves forward. Some bright spark suggested I do that job instead. I hope I do a good job. At first in my typical paranoia I did wonder if all the men hated ME and hated the fact a girl had got the job of bossing them about and harassing them to turn out for races, but I figured that it has been the job of females to boss men around for many thousands of years so I kind of got over it. I do still feel a bit shy when it comes to harassing people sometimes, but I think doing something like this has helped me to actually get to know different people in the club, e.g. the faster folks who I wouldn't have chatted to otherwise (but did because I kind of had to) which is also a good thing.

I was prompted to write this blog by a conversation we had at the XC relays today. Obviously in 'normal' XC you are running for you club, wanting to get the best position possible, your exact time doesn't really matter I suppose. If you are guaranteed your spot there is undoubtedly a temptation to slack off a bit. (For those who are unaware the race positions of the first few runners back from each club are added up and the club with the lowest score is first and so on - there are leagues where you can get promoted /demoted /prizes). Today it was the XC relays, which is slightly different and a one off competition; the first runner goes off, next runner waits for them to come in, high fives them and off they go. Repeat for as many runners as there are in the team. In the relay type races success is measured in total combined time rather than position, so you are running for the team, and the best possible time you can.

I had been given the 3rd and final leg today - I'm not proud BUT if I had been on the first leg I would have been left for dust by the chaps and chapesses doing 5/6/7 minute miling. The course at Walsall Arboretum was hosted by West Bromwich and in my opinion was quite a good one. It was fairly flat but there were some deceptively draggy inclines, there was enough variety in the terrain and scenery to keep it interesting. We have had solid rain all week, and whilst it has been a lovely sunshiney day today, underfoot the ground was completely waterlogged with a lot of standing water on top. Splishy sploshy and very muddy in places. LOVE.IT. Makes for slower times than expected though.

J commenting "It is a bit wet underfoot" whist negotiating a large boggy puddle

With relay type events, the field gets quite spread out and it can be tough for those who are used to being in a pack to not have anyone to cling on to. I seem to have a habit in XC races of being in no mans land, that is to say after a mile or so I find myself with no one close in front and no one behind. A lot of the time I do focus on the people in front of me and try and get closer and end up having a mental sprint at the end where I don't quite catch them. I suppose I'm trying to say I'm used to the lack of company. Perhaps if I had someone alongside me pushing me it would make me do a better time, but in reality I think through sheer experience I am capable of pushing myself to the same level weather there is someone around me or not.

The first mile was OK, I went off a bit quick but not too quick  Not very far in I saw J, who had done the first leg. She shouted at me that there were some other ladies not too far in front. I settled down in the second mile, and came through the start / finish thinking not too bad but my feet are sodden and I've got all that heavy ground to cover... a-gain. The 3rd mile was a bit of a slog, but I held on there. All the time I noticed I was getting closer to another girl, I was getting overtaken by some of the men's teams but this is to be expected really.

At 3 miles I upped the pace and she was getting closer. She looked fairly ploddy - sorry I'm not by any means saying I looked any better - despite looks running is a funny thing, you can never tell what sort of finish people have on them. At about half a mile to go I ramped it up a bit more, and she was very close. As we came past the club tents, I decided that I should really go for it, so I pushed, overtook her and then ran like a woman possessed to the line in case she had decided to take it on. She didn't, and I roared over the line. Eye of the tiger! *punches the air*

As I was coughing my guts up in the finish funnel, I looked up and she plodded straight past. Turns out her team was actually a long way behind us and I had lapped her on what was the end of her first lap. Mistaken identity I suppose,  Hahahahahha :) Well it provided some entertainment and a good looking finish (in my head). I got a well done from I, the club captain, I think my time given the conditions had surprised him (and the sprint finish) and my team mates who had come back over the field in no rush were slightly surprised to find I was already done.

So even if running alone in no mans land, being part of that larger team makes people have a better run I think. I also saw this at the Welsh Castles Relay in the summer where all 20 of us had the best run we possibly could for the team and each person did a cracking time at their individual level of ability.

Sometimes I do just like going out and doing a long run on my own, I certainly don't find that daunting - I guess I'm lucky I don't have many stresses but those I do have seem to melt away... a good couple-4 hours out there in the fresh air helps everything seem better. I guess I'm not really ever alone, I do think running itself is one of the best friends I've ever had.