A PB in arctic conditions? Snow problem!

On Saturday it was minus 2, the snow had settled and it was very icy underfoot. Imagine my surprise then to learn that the Riddlesdown Park Run was going ahead as normal.

My sensible part of my brain told me not to bother, that it would be dangerous, but then my more daring side told me to go for it - and I decided I needed to get outside for some fresh air as I was starting to get cabin fever at home! So I put the thermal base layers on and headed out...

55 of us braved the snow, and it was my most enjoyable race to date! I love the air when it snows - it's much fresher. The conditions underfoot were fine - actually pretty solid, and you were able to get much more speed than when it was muddy and bogged down.

To top it all off, I managed my fastest time around the course! I hadn't had a PB in a while, and I have to say it came as a bit of a shock - must have been that sprint finish as I overtook another runner in the final stages :) I'm now edging ever closer to that 25 minute target!

Here's me battling the snow - a great way to burn calories as the resistance is high!



Snow joke - the Park Run went ahead as planned!



The Chaldon Creakers!

I've been running with the Chaldon Creakers for about 4 months now and I'm really enjoying it.

They're a friendly running club based where I live in Caterham, and the nice thing about them is that there's no joining fee compared to other local clubs I looked at, and you can dip in and out of runs as you like.

We meet every Wednesday at a pub in the area, do our run and then have a drink afterwards sometimes. Each week there's a 3-4 or 5-6 mile route on offer, so again you can see how you feel on that night.

I take the opportunity to use the run as my tempo (or "comfortably hard") run. It's not race pace, but it's still much faster than my long run - put it this way, I'd be happier if I slowed down! That's because the group I usually run with are much faster paced than me and I stay at the back, trying to catch them up! We also run up some fairly steep hills, and this has all stood me in good stead with the recent races I've been doing.

After a nice hilly 5 mile run, our head Creaker Phil always provides donuts as a reward - they always go down well :)

Details about the Creakers can be found at http://www.creakers.co.uk/

Tadworth Ten

Yesterday I ran my first 10 mile race - the Tadworth Ten!

It wasn't the best day for a run along the downs, as it was really foggy and quite chilly, but I was still looking forward to the race.

The gun went at 11:30am and I made the mistake of starting quite close to the back of the field which meant it took a good 2 miles until we unbunched and I managed to get into my rhythm.

I'd heard from other runners that it's a hilly course, and they were definitely right! Straight from the word go it was hilly, with really steep climbs at miles 2-3 and 9-10 - right at the end!!!



Hilly challenging course to say the least!


It's a 2 lap course of 5 miles, so I thought I'd take the first lap easyish so I could leave something in the tank for the last lap. I went through the halfway point in 45 minutes which was encouraging, but then suffered quite a bad stitch for miles 6-7 which slowed me down.

I managed to dig deep though and finished in 1hr 32mins with a sprint finish - I even felt like I had a bit more in the tank to be honest, so feel well prepared for the Brighton Half next month. I'm also comforted that Brighton is a flat course in comparison to yesterday!

Here's me at the end of the race - there was no medal this time unfortunately but instead they gave us a cool bag. Strange.

Loving my cool bag!

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



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!