Christmas Day Park Run

Whilst most people were enjoying bubbly in bed and opening presents on Christmas morning, I decided to partake in my first Christmas Day Park Run at Riddlesdown!

With the weather in Surrey having been rain, rain and more rain for the few days leading up to the event, I was constantly checking the Twitter feeds for confirmation of the run going ahead, and was actually surprised on Christmas Eve when they announced it was on, sludge and all!

So 8.30am came and hubby and I drove over to Riddlesdown where slowly but surely another 30 or so runners all wearing Santa hats or costumes arrived for the 9am start. I'd expected the course to be muddy, but it was beyond that - the only word I can use is swampy!

Here is us all at the start line - you can see what I mean!

Muddy start!

We all jogged off and I managed to get round the course in under 30 minutes in one piece. The problem was that in the woodland section, you didn't know how deep the puddles were - you just had to jump in them and hope for the best. Some were knee deep but this just added to the fun - it was like an assualt course!

The rain beat down on us but I just grit my teeth and got on with it, looking forward to some home made mince pies at the end which went down a treat.

The finish is in sight!

There's an event taking place on New Years Day - we'll see how jaded I am after an evening drinking with friends the night before :)

Change of charity

Unfortunately I am no longer running the marathon to raise money for Age UK, as the company I work for were unable to match the sponsorship I raise on my own, and I didn't feel it was realistic to raise £1,800 on my own.

However, I'm now really pleased to be running to raise vital funds for St Catherine's Hospice in Crawley.

St Catherine's Hospice is a charity dedicated to providing specialist end of life care to local people and their families.

I'll be visiting the hospice in January and am looking forward to seeing some of the great work they carry out.

Visit www.stch.org.uk for more information.

Don't forget to visit my new sponsorship page at http://www.justgiving.com/Carlyn-Moram1

Riddlesdown Park Runs - 5 consecutive PBs!

I've been running the weekly 5k Riddlesdown Park Run since the end of October, and love it! It's a free event run by volunteers (you have to volunteer 3 times a year yourself) and is just you against the clock running 3.2 miles.

More information can be found at http://www.parkrun.org.uk/

So far I've been running at the Riddlesdown event, as it's closest to me, but am looking to try Bushy Park and Banstead Woods soon for some variety.

I was a bit nervous when I ran my first race - I didn't know the course and thought I'd be the last one round! I soon learnt to pace myself as I shot off way too early and got a huge stitch halfway round - not ideal. I managed to get round in a respectable 28:36 but knew I could go a lot faster.

Since then I've run another 4 races and each week have been getting faster and faster, setting a new PB each week. I'm really pleased, and it's proving that all my other training is making me faster and stronger. The mid-week hill runs with running club are really helping me!

My results so far have been as follows:

Week 1 - 28:36
Week 2 - 28:20
Week 3 - 27:20
Week 4 - 27:06
Week 5 - 26:36

To be honest, today's run was really tough - the mud was ridiculous after all the mid-week rain we've had, and there was a strong headwind throughout the race. I definitely didn't think I'd get a PB, but I'm now confident I'll be hitting the 25 minute mark soon - something to aim for!

Here's me battling the mud at last week's event! Great fun all round and it really sets you up for the weekend!

Beddington Park 10k

Today I undertook my second 10k of the year in Beddington Park, Wallington.

This race was a lot smaller than the Croydon 10k a few weeks ago, with only 200 or so runners taking part.

The course wasn't the most exciting I have to be honest, consisting of 4 x 2.5k laps of the park's perimeter. There was a small incline at the end of each lap, but it was predominantly flat - good news for me!

Despite having to weave around people walking their dogs on the run route, I managed a really good time - 52:11! I was aiming for the 54mins mark and so this shows that my training is really paying off! It's a 4 minute improvement on Croydon a few weeks ago - can't complain at all!

Roll on the next race!

Here's me with the latest medal for my collection...

Treadmill – bore off!

Everyone who knows me will tell you that I’m a real gym bunny and have been for years. I practically live at Donyngs at the moment and am definitely making the most of my monthly membership!

It’s the Les Mills classes that I love going to, and I’ve always struggled with gym sessions as I lose my motivation.

Since I’ve been running outside in the last month or so, my opinion of the treadmill has decreased somewhat. It’s now referred to as the ‘Boremill’ as I just don’t feel like I’m getting anywhere when I’m on it – I suppose I’m not really!

Everyone kept telling me that outdoor running would be completely different to the treadmill, and wow were they right. Even if you run on the tread with a decent incline, it’s no match for the undulating hills of outside, and the branches and uneven terrain in the woods or park. And it’s all about the fresh air! Who wants to be stood in the same spot breathing in the sweat of the person next to you when you can be free?! 

I’m converted anyway. The tread is a nice pre-work morning session filler but it just doesn’t do it for me any more! 

A really worthy cause

I’m running the marathon as part of team Run For It, working to raise money for YouthNet and AgeUK.

I work with Age UK on a daily basis through my day job in financial services marketing, and am therefore aware of the work that they do for people in later life. Each year they help transform the lives of over 5 million people by providing vital support and services and fighting discrimination, poverty and isolation. 

Did you know that in the UK today, over 1 million older people have not seen another person in over a month?

YouthNet and Age UK have teamed up with a mission in mind – bringing young and older people together to end loneliness and isolation. Young volunteers are teamed up with older people so they can connect with others as they make the opportunities the web has to offer. As older people learn how to use online tools, they’ll discover how easy it is to keep in touch with their friends, family and local community.

Every mile I run on marathon day will raise money to help prevent 1 million older people in the UK from feeling lonely. We’re all going to be old one day – so please, dig deep.

Visit my sponsorship page at http://www.justgiving.com/Carlyn-Moram

To find out more about the work Age UK to help combat isolation amongst older people, visit www.ageuk.org.uk or www.runforit.org.uk 

Croydon 10k - Sunday 21st October

Yesterday saw me tackle my first outdoor 10k race. Having run a couple of outdoor 5ks in preparation, it was time to step it up a gear and give the 6.2 miler a whirl.

Conditions on the day weren’t too bad – it was a bit chilly and it started to spit with rain as all 600 runners warmed up with ‘dynamic Sue’. As we all lined up at the start the rain stopped (must have been a sign) and then the gun went!

I’d positioned myself towards the back of the field (50 – 60 minutes predicted time) and as we headed out of Lloyds Park and turned left towards Shirley, I was feeling good and overtook a fair few people. It was really difficult to get into any kind of rhythm until about 2k when people had bunched off.

The course was fairly flat but there were a few hills at around the 5 and 8k marks, with 8k being a long drag! I managed to get a really bad stitch at 6k as I couldn’t control my breathing, and couldn’t shift it until 8k, so this slowed me down a bit unfortunately.

As I saw the 9k barrier approach I stepped it up a gear and felt like I had quite a bit left in the tank. The final 1k was mainly downhill, so I picked up the pace and produced a good sprint finish (even if I do say so myself) in the last 200 metres, to overtake 4 people in the home straight.

I was really pleased to finish in 56mins, and feel I could have gone faster without the stitch! The good thing was, I felt I had a bit more left in the tank and wasn’t as exhausted as I thought, which has given me confidence. My weekly 5k runs in the build up to the race certainly helped.

Next stop, the Brighton half marathon! It never ends!

Here I am at the end of the race showing off my shiny 10k medal!

At the foot of Marathon Everest with a long way to climb

The definition of a marathon:

1. A long-distance running race, strictly one of 26 miles and 385 yards
2. A long-lasting or difficult task or operation of a specified task

I think the Virgin London Marathon 2013 falls into both of these!

So, my marathon journey has well and truly begun. I applied for a ballot place and for the second year in a row, was unfortunately denied one.

Unphased, I then decided I would go down the charity route and have secured a place with the Run For It team, raising money for Age UK. I’m really excited to have secured a place and although I know the next 6 months will be a challenge, I’m determined to cross that finish line.

I’ve always been quite a sporty person – I was on the cross country and netball teams at school, and represented my county in athletics a few times, but it’s only been in the last 12 months or so that I’ve started to enjoy running again. Having said that, it’s mostly been running on the treadmill, and I haven’t been running long distances – the odd 5k here pushing towards a 10k.

The idea of running 26.2 miles is really daunting at the moment – it’s the thought of hitting that pavement continuously for over 4 hours without collapsing that’s really getting to me. Or running from my house to Haywards Heath – that seems near on impossible!

I’m quite a competitive person however, and would definitely consider myself as positive. So although it will take time, no doubt hurt, will require willpower and changing my life, I WILL get there. I’m taking one week at a time – it’s not a sprint race after all.