Rewarded for running through exhaustion

Gillian

It’s official. Hazel has been charging around her house today like a domestic goddess whilst I played with the grandson. Their house is now on the market. Potentially sweaty trainers and running gear will need to be whisked away as people come to view their house. So much for our taper. Any thoughts Paula?
I was tired tonight and nearly cried off from our five mile run due to the crazy day we had both had. I am so glad I didn’t. We ended up running as the sun was setting, past hundreds of deer in the park. It was a lovely scene and the lighting was beautiful on the river as we neared home. Oh, and I didn’t grimace once. Thank you knees 🙂

20miles: Gillian’s View

Gillian

Having run five miles yesterday this was the big one – my first ever twenty mile run. Gosh I was nervous as we set off. Had I done enough training? Would my knees hold up? Over thirty years ago, I ran nineteen miles but ended up injured for about six months with knee problems. I’ve never managed more than 10k since. This last year I have been doing almost an hour of physio exercises every day in addition to my running. I can only pray at this point that it will make the difference to my now sixty year old knees. Hazel’s running husband has been a big advocate of exercises but I have to confess there were some days early on in our training when I wasn’t convinced that my body was supposed to be contorted into some of the suggested positions. I have persevered though, even on days when quite frankly I was knackered.
I decided to wear my race outfit, to check for chafing for the big day. Having to use copious amounts of vaseline doesn’t really appeal to me. Gosh it was cold though. My hands were freezing. I should have worn gloves but I know that they make it much more difficult using the tether. Without gloves I can feel Hazel pulling on the nylon just before she gives a command and it makes a big difference to how relaxed I remain. Hope it’s not this cold on marathon day. Having to wear gloves will be a real pain. At one point I couldn’t even manage to open my drink bottle and tasty fudge. As my mind began to wander, all I could think was that I couldn’t remember seeing any of the elite runners fighting with fudge wrappers on the TV.
Hazel planned a good varied route out along the river to Dorney lake and back across fields through Eton, before heading to Windsor Castle and into the Great Park where we ran past quite a few deer (up close and personal). We then ran towards Savill Gardens and my training partner even included a run up Heartbreak Hill again. Has anyone else had a baby: remember the final stage of labour when you just want everyone to go away so that you can get on with it? Well that is probably where I was in my head as we got to the top of the hill having already run fifteen miles. I know Hazel was trying her best to be really encouraging as she chatted with ease while we climbed the hill but quite frankly I just wanted her to shut up and let me get on with it for about two miles. She knew what she was doing though. A fudge and drink break made all the difference and I didn’t want to thump her after that. Hazel has been trying over the past couple of months to get me to eat and drink as we run but I am just not comfortable with it. I slosh too much water about, spilling more than I drink and feel sick when swallowing food and running at the same time. I decided to have a go at walking when I ate and drank on this run. This is what I remember always worked better for me years ago and it turned out it still works. We only walked twice for a couple of minutes and I felt much better eating and drinking.
I hadn’t taken into account that when you are partially sighted and weary just how tiring it is to stay focused and concentrate on the guide’s commands. I didn’t really notice it until we reached about seventeen miles. I will have to watch out for this on marathon day. I had to physically reach out and hold Hazel’s arm a few times in the last mile. Miraculously though, my knees felt good. I was in the zone and Hazel paced the whole run brilliantly. We managed a steady ten minute miling all the way round including the dreaded hill.
On the eve of my 60th birthday and with partial sight, I ran the longest distance of my life. What a relief. Happy, happy day. Even if I don’t manage the marathon, I am over the moon and in the words of Freddy Mercury “Don’t stop me now, I’m having such a good time.”

A Tough Week

Gillian

15th March. Managed to get out of my sick bed this morning having kept down my first solid food in forty eight hours. Still have a very unsettled stomach but managed to run a slow six miles along the river. Feel relieved but still concerned this is going to set me back more than I anticipated. My legs feel like jelly after the run.

17th March. My husband is away this week so no babysitter. Hazel once again valiantly strode around the Great Park with one hand on the buggy as we trotted out another five miles. I still haven’t quite recovered from my stomach bug but felt better than on Tuesday. Today I didn’t have to stop enroute for the loo – always a bonus wearing a fluorescent vest and attached to a guide and buggy.

19th March
We ran early this morning and chalked up another five miles around the Home Park and along the river through the Brocas. My whole body feels sluggish this week after the tummy bug but at least I am finally over it.

Increased mileage

Gillian

Today was a big event for me. I had been looking on the calendar since last year at the sixteen mile run marked on my wall. Would I ever be able to run this distance? Well today I was going to find out and as if that wasn’t a big enough challenge, I had to complete it on my own. Hazel was stuck in the car on the way back from her in-laws and recovering from a nasty bout of food poisoning which started on Friday.
I decided on three well trodden circuits. The first was along the river and then two repeats of five miles through the Great Park. As I was about to set off, to my amazement, Hazel knocked on my door in full running gear saying that she was coming with me. I tried to persuade her that I would be fine on my own, but she insisted that she was feeling better now. We ran a steady six miles along the river and Hazel looked awful. I persuaded her that I would be fine on my own and she returned to my house on the understanding that I would call in before embarking on the final lap. I completed the second lap and even managed to take on water and a couple of revolting jelly cubes. I called back at my house as instructed after the second lap, to once again be greeted by Hazel who insisted on running the final lap with me. She assured me she was feeling better after a trip to the toilet, but I realised afterwards that it was because unlike me, she knew that at the speed I was going, I would have to run the last three miles in the dark on my own.
On the solo lap I managed ok, apart from not seeing a couple of speed bumps and staggering a bit. I also had to use all the pelican crossings and stop to walk up and down all the kerbs which slowed me down.
It was lovely to be able to relax on my final lap with Hazel at my side, knowing that she would shout at me if there was a hazard. To my great surprise, we still almost managed ten minute miling pace for the full sixteen miles and I felt a little guilty that I had a really good run. It was a shame Hazel felt so rough. I promise that next year Hazel, you will not have to do anything so demanding for my Mother’s Day present.

And now deer!

Gillian

Our Sunday twelve mile run was quite a challenge. Hazel had company all weekend and couldn’t run until 4.30 on Sunday afternoon. It was a lovely route through the Great Park and we set off at quite a keen pace so that we would be running as little as possible in the dark and not get locked in the park. The gates are at least seven feet high so I was keen not to slow down for the first hour. Little did I know that the worst was yet to come. The sun set was beautiful but it was now pitch dark in the Great Park so far away from any street lights and running through woodland. We made good time for the first eight miles through the park and just when I had stopped panicking about maybe having to climb over a deer gate with spikes on it, my running guide pointed out that there seemed to be what looked like a huge hedge in front of us that wasn’t there before. This didn’t sound promising. Please God don’t let us be on the wrong path or have to turn back. I couldn’t see a thing and a few paces later Hazel was telling me to slow down. In the dark, the hedge was moving and then I could smell them. The biggest herd of deer I have ever seen were completely blocking our path. Hazel suggested we walk slowly at this point and hopefully they would let us through and not stampede. Then she added that walking would conserve our energy in case we had to run for it. “In case we had to run for it”. Who was she kidding? Now I’m not saying that I wouldn’t have given it my best shot and I know I am a lot fitter than six months ago, but her faith in me being able to outrun a stampeding herd of deer was I felt, a little over-optimistic! Luckily for us the deer could smell our sweaty bodies and a few of them slowly parted. We walked as calmly as we could through the middle of them and then ran as fast as our legs would carry us until we reached the exit gate. What a relief. Hopefully this counts as my time trial for the month coach. And this was supposed to be our long steady relaxed run. I can’t wait for next week!

Long Run: Tether Trouble and Marathon Fuel

Hazel

We missed our Saturday run because Gillian didn’t get back from Rotherham early enough. We’ll try not to get into the habit of missing runs, even if they are short ones.

But it meant that I was even more excited by Sunday, so I planned an adventure. We drove to the other end of the Great Park and Gillian and I tethered up to take on the tourists and weekenders around Virginia Water and Savill Gardens. It was only 9 miles, but what with the wind and the obstacles and pedestrians, it certainly kept us both on our toes. Dogs are always fun, and once again I had to have a short sharp word with a pedestrian to ask him to call off the dog which was ‘playing’ with my ankles as I ran. Thankfully Gillian got away without canine entanglement so I assume I have particularly attractive legs….

I think once again the bright green vests came into their own and we were pleasantly surprised by how many fantastic mums and dads held the vice-like grip of parenthood on arms, anoraks and scooters to ensure we could pass without incident. Thank you!

We also held our first nutrition experiment. On the recommendation of the running-husband, we tried a Cliff Shot-Blok. This is one of the jelly cube energy sweet affairs. It was fairly easy to eat and run, and wasn’t vomit-flavoured, so I’m inclined to say it passed the first test. This time it was just to see if we could cope eating them, rather than test their energy boosting abilities, as the run wasn’t long enough to require fuel. My previous marathons have been fuelled by a combination of jelly babies and fig rolls, which I have always evangelically stood by, but I have to admit that these were a little easier to eat than jelly babies. We’ve got a 12 miler this weekend so I’ll try and dose Gillian with them again and see if we can beat her mile-10-slump. More marathon fuel discussion will be coming up, including some recipes for some of running-husband’s tried and tested marathon foods.

With tourists the whole way, often of the gormless variety, we were tethered for almost the whole way, so my right glut (for non-runners this is a way to make bumcheek sound more noble) had a little twinge, and Gillian is complaining today of a slightly more painful back. I’m hoping this is just that we hadn’t run together for a while, rather than that the tether is impeding our running style too much. Otherwise we’ll have to make the terrifying decision on marathon day whether or not to lose the tether once we are getting tired and rely and verbal guiding. Lots more to think about.

Derailed by a Baby: Hazel’s View

Hazel

This week was interrupted by the early arrival of my new nephew, Gillian’s latest grandson. So training midweek was on my own, and Gillian took a break from running to scamper about the country trying to help as much as possible. I decided, as head coach, that the rest would be more beneficial than trying to cram in midweek short runs amongst everything else she was doing. I know she will have been cramped uncomfortably in a car on long journeys, cooking, helping with the baby and generally being elf-like, as she was when my son arrived, so I know she has definitely got her exercise this week. We’ll call it cross-training on the running diary.  Anyway, I got a few midweek short runs in with the buggy, and then the weekend brought us back to earth with a bump.

Gillian coped manfully with four miles on Saturday morning with heavy legs and a look of exhaustion on her face, and then 11 miles on Sunday in the pouring down rain. We experienced the amusing feeling of elation at 9 miles which lulls you into thinking you could easily run another 10 miles, in the groove, kicking along nicely with no apparent discomfort. Then Gillian quietly informed me that the feeling had gone away at 10.5 miles and she was not quite sure she could run another two miles thank you very much. This was not a surprise for me, I always think it takes me 8 miles to get into the swing of things, and then then fuel issue comes into play, because by 11 miles we’ve been running for nearly 2 hours and we’ve used up all our energy stores; no amount of ‘groove’ is going to cover that up. When we get to 12 mile runs we will be travelling with food and water every run, so that Gillian can practice eating and drinking on the move.

Early Morning Quickie

Gillian

This is our second week of trying to fit in four runs; three short runs and a long slower run on Sundays. Hazel delayed leaving for a week’s holiday with the in-laws so that we could fit in our longer run. We both felt a little sluggish to start with, but had a good six mile run. It was so early when we set off, we only saw a couple of other runners and managed to cross all the roads without having to wait – a first since our training started.

Hazel’s view:

Firstly a note about mummy-running. I am not one of those lucky runners who can easily run on an empty stomach. Granted, I am blessed never to suffer with needing to count the hours between banana and start gun, but conversely I hate running with no breakfast. We left so early for this run that I had barely grabbed a hot cross bun (when did they start selling those things year round? It’s Christmas for Pete’s sake) before setting off. Add in the fact that I had just breastfed the baby and I was practically running on fumes. Sluggish isn’t the word. But as the old woman says there were no cars, barely any nutty dog owners and we were bouncing along in no time. Who needs calories over a 6 mile run?

Second, this was our last run together for a week, so we were both looking ahead (I won’t say looking forward) to a week of training solo. More on that later.

 

First 11 Miler!

Hazel

Gillian seems to have played down the 11 mile run, but I wanted to point out what a massive achievement it is. We have not run this far in 4 years and 20 years respectively, and we did it in a respectable 10:30 per mile pace. From a personal perspective, it was great. I was seriously worried about her knees holding up and I didn’t want to jeopardise them for the next few weeks, but once she informed me that they were settling I was able to relax. I got my countdowns all perfect except one, which is a reasonable margin of error at the moment, and once we were in the Great Park I could chill out. No roads to cross, no bumps, just inclines and the odd holiday walker and cyclist. Everyone smiled too so it was fab. Finally, selfishly I felt fantastic, because I was able to talk and guide the whole way round – I was not out of breath. This is such a change, and I finally feel like just maybe I have recovered from having the baby. Nobody prepared me for how broken my body would feel after the arrival of my son, but I haven’t really been ‘me’ for a year and a bit. So yesterday’s 11 mile run was a huge milestone for me. Now I can focus properly on Gillian’s mission and get us round this marathon. I can’t wait.

First 11 Miler

Gillian

This last week was our first attempt at fitting four runs into the week, which we managed to do. A three, five, three and finally an eleven mile run on Sunday. Eleven miles is the  furthest I have run during our training and  considering it is so close to Christmas, I was really pleased as I have been charging around all week like a headless chicken trying to fit everything in before my daughter and her husband arrive on Tuesday for their  Christmas break.
Our long run went well and although my knee was sore for a while, it settled down and I felt relaxed during the final part of the run. I did feel by the end of the though, that I could eat my body-weight in food. I was starving! Something to think about for our future long runs. Hazel still played spot the smiley person even on the long run and once again we managed to meet more happy than miserable people thank goodness. (She is a tough coach) Talking of tough, every hill we came to, she promised it was the last one and didn’t count in the steep slow inclines. Note to self: In future, don’t believe her. Hazel was very complimentary on this long run which did give me quite a boost at the nine mile mark. She joked, and apparently for an old blind lady, I am not doing too bad! What can I say? It certainly made me run faster 🙂