Cranleigh 21

Apologies for the delay in blogging but my recent holiday to Dubai got in the way somewhat :)

On Sunday 24th March I ran my longest race, the Cranleigh 21.

It was a bitterly cold day (zero degrees when we left home at 7am) so I made sure I had plenty of layers on, including gloves, which I'd learnt the lesson from after the Worthing 20. When we arrived in Cranleigh I headed for the band room to meet some of the other runners, and mostly keep warm before the 9am start!

It was a strange race in that there was no obvious start (it was literally on a side road, with no apparent signs), but that didn't matter - once the race started we headed out towards the countryside anyway.

The course included a few surprise hills, and was a 9 mile circuit with 2 additional 6 mile loops. Basically you could choose to run 15 or 21 miles on the day. I went through 9 miles fine, and as I was wearing my St Catherines marathon vest with my name printed on, lots of people were shouting support through the high street, which was much appreciated.

I then completed my first 6 mile loop, going past the 15 mile finish. I must admit, a teeny part of me said that I should just finish at 15 miles! It wasn't that I was exhausted...I was so cold! I literally thought my face was going to fall off, it was horrible. But I dug deep and saw it through. The last 2 miles were a killer though - my legs were a bit sore and then there was that awful hill climb to the finish.

At one point another runner told me that I shouldn't have my headphones in as I wouldn't be able to hear the traffic, and I snapped back at her that I couldn't run without music. I honestly don't know how people can do that - music is the only thing that keeps me going!

I was very glad to finish in 3hrs 22mins, and I knew then that I was definitely ready for Dubai and to start my taper!

Worthing 20

Yesterday saw me undertake my biggest running challenge to date – the Worthing 20 mile road race!

It was a bitterly cold and very windy day, and I have to admit that I didn’t wake up in the most positive running mood, but once I stood on the start line I decided to put all of that aside and just go for it.

 

The race consisted of 4 x laps of a 5 mile course, and was completely flat., which provided a great pacemaker for the marathon.

My race plan was to take it really slow on lap 1 and build up speed for the other 3 laps. The plan started off well as I came through lap one in 50 minutes, and as I came through lap 2 at 1hr 42mins I felt really good, and positive. I picked the pace up and at the end of lap 3, went through thinking “only one lap to go”. And then something changed. As I went through 17 miles I think I must have hit a ‘wall’ as my legs started to feel really heavy and there wasn’t much left in the tank – not good with 3 miles to go! I managed to compose myself, take on some gels and pick myself up to complete the race. But it wasn’t easy.

 

I’ve come away in 2 mind sets: positive that I’m able to run 20 miles (this was my longest run to date), but also nervous with the fact that I still have another 6.2 miles to go on marathon day! All I can do now is put in another few long runs and then start to taper off – I’m sure I’ll be fine!

I finished in 3hrs 14mins, I originally thought it was 3hrs 12mins, but my Garmin was slightly ahead of the chip time for some reason.

 Stats

Chip time: 3:14:38

Pace per mile: 09:44

Category position: 46/79

Gender position: 103/1077

Here’s the latest medal in my collection.

 

 

Next stop the Cranleigh 21!

New Year... New Shoes

I decided to treat myself to a new pair of trainers in the Jauary sales as my old faithful Asics are falling apart and badly needed replacing.

So the day before New Years Eve, I headed on over to Sweatshop in Maidstone where I had some motion analysis done. They basically get you to run on a treadmill in a pair of unsupported shoes to look at your running style and whether you need any additional support in the shoes.

Luckily for me everything was pretty normal in my style and the way I toe off, so I walked away with some new mild support Asics. Job done. It was even better that they were in the sale and I also received an additional 10% off as I'm a Park Runner :)




These are going to see me through the marathon

 Whilst I was there I also invested in some new earphones which I desperately needed - the Phillips ones I've been using have always fallen out and the sound isn't punchy at all. Again at Sweatshop they measure your inner ear size so you can choose the correct earphones.

I've bought some Yurbuds which have been developed by athletes for athletes - and are guaranteed not to fall out. I've run with them in twice this week and have to say, they haven't moved at all. Result! Visit http://yurbuds.com/ for more information.



Snazzy pink Yurbuds



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

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.