Training for Virgin London Marathon 2019, from 10K

Itssssssss Saturday, that means one thing, Park Run, and not just another Park Run it was their 5th birthday and to celebrate, we were encouraged to dress up in school uniform, yay, got to love a dress up day. Chris, Lesley and Myself My run began with my running bestie, Lesley and her fur baby Bentley, we had planned a gentle 2 laps as Bentley has a poorly hip, however, he was clearly struggling after 1 lap, so we handed him off to a fellow club member while we finished. It was a really nice run, chatting and plodding round at an easy pace, so we added on another loop, bringing the run up to 4.5miles. i will confess I hadn't consulted the plan and had no idea what i was supposed to be doing but my left calf went tight when i tried to get running again so I walked home

http://www.rebelrunnersmedway.co.uk Team Run, I love running in a group. Feel more secure and motivated. I ran to the meeting point with the lovely Cathy, 2.3miles and met up with the rest of the club to do the reverse of Vanquis Car Park run. I hate the reverse loop, the hill is so long and drawn out. I ran with Lesley again, as we do if we are at anything together and have some good banter going on. Jenny was back running the two loops this evening so we all ran together. was a great run, all be it that it felt tough, kudos has to go to Lesley though as I probably would have bailed after one loop had she not been there to err, "encourage'' me to do the second (what she actually said in response to my debating one loop was "no you are not, come on") My pace is not improving but I am learning to embrace the pace I run at now, and not worry about it too much. The training plan said 9 miles, well, that was for Sunday but as I ran a race, that didn't ha...

The Oliver Fisher 10k The plan said 9 miles today but I had the 10k booked from before I began training, and its for charity. We woke this morning to wind and heavy rain. The pic above pretty much sums it up, trail, wet, mud and cold. I actually enjoy running in the rain though, not so much the mud, as it makes your shoes heavier. I ran again with Lesley, and we were joined today by Keely, a fairly new runner, this was her second 10k and her first trail run. I did this run 2 years ago, it was my first ever race after completing C25K so i was looking forward to going back. It was a lovely surprise to be joined by our fellow Sunday Social gang especially as they had already done a long run themselves this morning, poor Carina looked frozen. Andy, Helen and Carina cheered us on though, with them and Chris cheering us in at the end. Apparently there weren't very many who completed the 10k this year, which is a shame as its not a bad run, if the weather plays nice....

On today's plan was 5 miles, but it's Park Run, so a Park Run Plus was suggested. Our local one is 2 laps, and I ran with my bestie today, Lesley and her lovely dog Bentley. Her poor fur-baby is having trouble with his hips so is only allowed to do 1 gentle lap, we decided to run it together. I love running with Lesley, we can run along chatting, moaning or in silence and always feel comfortable together, or at least I do, I am guessing she likes me too, as she could run off and leave me, being a faster runner, but she never does 💖 We went on to do the other lap and finished our Park Run, immediately setting off for a 3rd lap to get my mileage up, and that is one of many reasons why she is my bestie, as she ran it with me too, even though we hate the football field and the blooming hill!!! As we rounded the last turn Lesley said ''we should have done it in reverse" why didn't I think of that? We should have, it's easier I had to run some of the way ...

Well today was a windy run, as in the weather, not me ;) Friday Frolics, with my fellow Rebel Runners, a regular at the end of the week, and today we did the Upnor route, which I love, all be it very hilly. I forgot to stop my watch at the end so route looks a bit screwy. Was lovely to catch up with some peeps I haven't seen in some time and chat to others I run with regularly. We finished, as always in a cafe, this time it was Twinkletons, which, as it turns out, welcomes dogs too, which was handy as Shainie brought her gorgeous pooch

so after a self imposed eight day hiatus, i am back to training. I haven't been idle, well, not for most of the week anyway. Kitchen renovation, is still ongoing as hubs work gets in the way of progress, and i have done a few strength exercises. Today was a Tuesday, that can only mean one thing, HILLS. I only went and staring my calf during the blooming warm up 😩 So I took things easy and tried to run it off. By the time we had finished the warm up run it was a bit tight but felt ok so I went ahead with the hill training. 8 Reps, running up as fast as I could, for as far as I could. I was knackered at the end but we still had a mile and a half to run to get back to the car. My lovely friend Cathy was driving us, thankfully. Getting out of the car, my calf was so tight, despite the cool down run and stretches. Gentle work outs for a bit. Last time this happened to my other leg, I ended up tearing it.

Another day of rest to allow my leg to heal a bit more, I have a birthday cake to make, I am hoping to get it finished so I can run tomorrow with friends. Failing that I plan to run on the dreadmill in the evening, fingers crossed I make enough progress to run, and that my feet are not too sore

Today should have been hill training, but, I had an appointment to continue with my leg tattoo, a full day sitting, so another rest day was self imposed. That is if you can call getting a tattoo for 7 hours resting. This will put me out of running for a few days as the skin goes so tight. I have started training early to allow for these extra days off though so all is not lost

https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-portal/fundraiserPage?pageId=949798 So, today is a rest day, I really shouldn't as I know I won't be able to run for a few days, however, my calf is tight, and sore, and needed a break after running for few days. We did some more work in our kitchen so its not like I sat around doing nothing, but it sure felt like it

https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-portal/fundraiserPage?pageId=949798 Day 7 is long run day, funny, I grew up to believe Sunday was a day of rest!!! Week 1 is 6 miles though, so fitting it in with Sunday Social gang is perfect. I'm almost in the picture 😂 selfies are not my thing.  It was a very enjoyable run, although a warm one, I'm not complaining though, it was nowhere near the 30 degree runs of last month.  We set off and I got to catch up with Stacy, it has been ages since we ran together and we discussed  our aches and pains, kids and family life for the first couple of miles. The next 3 miles, I had Amanda for company,  we chatted, mostly, but both being less fit than the others we were beginning to feel it towards the end, especially knowing we had a hill coming up at mile 5.5 and its a big one, at least it looks big when your struggling!  After the hill and a little trot to finish, I noticed the run was a little short of ...

           It's Saturday,  training schedule says Park Run, yay!!!  Not sure what pace we were supposed to do today, but I did my mileage. It was a particularly nice run as I ran with my good friend Max. Or, as she referred to herself, my weirdo friend 😂 We had a good natter, was lovely to catch up. After seeing the photo's, I instantly regretted shouting ''3 T's (teeth, tit's and tums)" when I spotted the photographer. 😱🙈 Most running photo's are horrible anyway ;)

https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-portal/fundraiserPage?pageId=949798 Today didn't quite go to plan, the calendar said 3 miles, I did 0. We were beset with problems fitting the kitchen and the day got away from us. finished at 18:50 then had to cook dinner, just not enough hours in the day. Had I known how the day would pan out this way I would have got up earlier to fit it in. Will bear this in mind next time. Oh well, no point in beating myself up over it, tomorrow is another day, and not just any day, but a Saturday and that means one thing, Park Run, yay

https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-portal/dashboard Rest day? What's that? Most people have a day off and catch up with things like washing etc, in our house, we are in the middle of a kitchen renovation so there is no rest here, at least not a full body rest, but most of my running muscles are getting a break at least. We all know the importance of a rest day, it allows the muscles to rebuild all the little micro tears. I used to hate them, but these days I welcome them. I find I enjoy my running more. Having time off allows me to reflect on how bad my diet has become, since losing lots of weight over the last 18 months, I now find myself eating rubbish again, a lot. I Will have to get back into a more healthy regime, i know this, we all know this, but how to resist chocolate?  https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-portal/dashboard

A 5 mile run was on the calendar today, but I couldn't get out, so jumped on the treadmill, or, as its frequently referred to, the Dreadmill. It says easy pace, so this was perfect as it's easier indoors. I put on a film, Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone, if you were wondering,  I am a huge HP fan, I wonder how many times I will watch the films before the marathon, I already know them all word for word! First 2 miles were ok, but I was getting bored by this stage, i stuck it out, thanks only to the movie, wish I could up the speed and get it over and done with!!!! I was relieved when I finished. Cool down stretches, shower, watch a bit of TV, which turned into 2 hours, then bed! https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-portal/fundraiserPage?pageId=949798

https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-portal/fundraiserPage?pageId=949798 As a regular runner of short distance, I joined the 10K to 10miles course offered free in our running club, Rebel Runners Medway, with our newly qualified coach Jane. 15 of us rocked up with trepidation at what was to come. We began with a warm up, and I can guarantee we looked silly, starting with a typical warm up and then came walking on our heels, sounds ok right? walk several steps on your heels, but, then walk on your heels like Charlie Chaplin, ok, now we look daft, followed by walking on your heels with your feet turned inwards, now we all looked ridiculous, but it was funny, we were in it together. There is a method to this madness and it certainly helped warm up our calves and ankles. I've been doing this ever since whilst walking through the house as my calf is weak, fingers crossed the rest of my family don't catch me doing it! we did some other warm up exercise, some involved leapi...

This is me, an almost 49 year old mother of four. I took up running just over two years ago, I won't bore you with why, that story has been told too many times ;) I've entered the London Marathon ballot and wrote to several charities, in the hope of getting in next year. A few weeks after entering I received a call from Epilepsy Action offering me a place, yay, gulp, shit just  got real. I was excited, but did gulp a bit, marathon training is a big commitment and I have heard several people mention it takes over your life for a few months, so there was a little bit of ''what have i done''. After the initial shock i took the decision to start training early, i picked up a couple of injuries at the beginning of this year, and could do with upping my mileage slowly so as to avoid aggravating said injuries. I know my calf is still weak, it lets me know after every run! I've had other runners tell me ''There are other marathons'' ...