Getting to London

This is a blog to show my training for the 2015 London marathon

[sarahsrunningblog]

Split runs

I read a article on runners world the other day about split long runs. These are were you run a portion of you run in the morning and then the rest later on in the day - perfect for when you have a busy life style which does not allow you to go for a two/three hour run. I had a cross country race this morning, approximately 5.4 miles. To ensure I was still ticking off the miles i then went for a slow (no watch) 5 mile run about 7 hours later. This 5 mile recovery run was very slow and at one point very painful, however it has put my mind at easy! I will now look back on week 4 and say I had two great races (I finish 7th and 3rd) and I also did a 10 miler on the Sunday 😃

[sarahsrunningblog]

Day 34

So I'm a little behind on this blog 😔 but time for a up date! Today I had a 5.3k xc race and I came 7th 😃 I am so happy with this result as at the beginning of the season I only just made it in to the top 20! My long run is now up to 14 miles! This is the longest run I had ever completed. The first 4 miles were hard and I found it difficult to get into the run! I felt really good at 8 miles! However, the finale 2 felt very long 😔 Overall, my adv pace was just under my wanted marathon pace, so I really can't complain!!

[sarahsrunningblog]

U23 kent champion at 10 miles

[sarahsrunningblog]

Day 21

Today I completed my first 10 miler race.I ran the Canterbury 10, this was a enjoyable race with a few hills!  I had completed a training 10 miler in my first week with a avg pace of about 7.45 so I had hoped to complete this race with 7.40 min miles. 

As you can see I beat my wanted pace! I got caught up at the start and got pulled along in a group, however when I viewed my time I did not panic and decided i was just going to keep going!

I am so proud of myself today, not just because of my time, but because my head was in my run! I told myself I was running well and I did! 

This race was also a Kent championship race. I am the 2015 U23 female champion :D 

[runnerstakeyourmarks]

If you haven’t seen this, watch it. If you have, watch it again. I get chills every time.

[sarahsrunningblog]

Day 20

Today took a lot of effort to get out the door! I started the day with a lay in 😃 and was awoken by my dad bringing me a cup of tea! Right from this moment I new the day had the makings of a onesie day (this is how I spent most of it) The hours ticked by and the person I was going to run with cancelled. But then I realised... If I did not go today i would not question it tomorrow, however when I stand on the start line or when I hit a weak point in my race I would think back to that time in week 3 when I was lazy! I ran just over 5 miles around my town which includes two small hills! It took a little while for my legs to find a rhythm but the miles came quickly and before I knew it I was back home!! Today's lesson - just go, it does not matter how far, it does not matter how slow! If you don't run you will regret it later...

[sarahsrunningblog]

Day 18

Making the decision to have that break yesterday was definitely the wright one! I had a lazy afternoon and then when I crawled into bed I fell straight to sleep 😊 Today was a speed session: 8x1km with a 2min rest (this is on road not a track). My splits were 4.08, 4.03, 4.03, 4.03, 4.05, 4.10, 4.04 and 4.04! So happy with these times and impressed with how even they are. I'm not too sure on my views of this session! I felt I ran well however, due to running a set distance then resting for a set time the group was spilt up right from the start and got more spread out as the reps went on.. This resulted in my running alone, with the front group starting too soon leaving me unable to see them 😕

[sarahsrunningblog]

A photo from day 14 'Crawling' out of the fifth, final and deepest dyke! I have a degree, but still listened and believed the marshals when they said it was shallower in the middle!! I took one step and sunk!! Overall it was a good race, however the smell of the dykes will stay with me for life 😄

[sarahsrunningblog]

Today was meant to be a swim day, however I am full of cold, I ache all over and I'm in the need of a early night! I decided to listen to my body and skip today, I also plan to be in bed in a hour!! 'Miss today to be stronger for tomorrow'

[sarahsrunningblog]

Day 16

I need sleep and new legs!! Today I was going to have a slowish 5to6 mile run, it did not go to plan! The first mile was 8.10, slow but a little slower than I would have liked. I decided to inject some pace into the group... Next think I know I run a 7.10 and I am with 3 men who are normally in the group ahead of me!!!! The miles to follow were 7.01 7.02 and 7.10 the final 0.93 of a mile was in 6.37. I started to full off the back of the group around mile 4, however due to the final stretch of the run being through a dark industrial estate 1 of them waited for me and we both ran quickly together! I also entered my first 10 miler today.. It's this Sunday :O

[divinefitness]

[sarahsrunningblog]

Day 15

Today is day 15 and the start of week 3! In just two weeks I have run 50 miles, swam 90 lengths and play a hour and 45 minutes of netball (2.45hours if you include day 15)! Just typing this has made me feel so proud of my achievement and has made me realise how far I have come in just a short period of time!! I now can not wait to add up everything at the end of week 16!! When I awoke this morning my legs were fine.. No evidence that I had run 20miles (6 of which were xc)! Ankles a little sore at netball, but strapped them up and played a hour as centre! My plan for this week is to loo at my diet, I need more protein and vitamins! It's so hard when there are still so many christmas sweets around!

[sarahsrunningblog]

Day 14

Cross Country!! 

Today was a very cold, very muddy 6 mile XC! 

It was a flat course broken up by 5 deep smelly DIKES!! 

Hip was a little sore due to slipping around but I still found the strength for a sprint finish! 

[sarahsrunningblog]

Day 13

Another long run… Today i went out a ran 12 miles in 1.35.18 (7.56 per mile).

The first mile was slow due to a number of frozen patches and my lack of coordination! However the next two miles helped make up the time. 

Mile 7 and 8 were both above my aim of a 8 minute! This is the point when my hip was very painful and my head was questioning why I was running around the freezing roads when i had a perfectly good bed at home!!

Mile 11 was also over but mile 12 was spot on! On the plus side the 12 miles also finished at the top of my road, so i only had a short walk :D

[sarahsrunningblog]

Day 11

Tonight was a speed session 6x4mins/ 2min recovery! I really enjoyed this run, partly because I felt like I had worked hard. But also because I complete this session in a group (most of them are faster than me)! The first one was a little slow, trying work out if I was getting a cold. The second was much better and I got pulled along with the fast group. Just as the watch beeped to set us off for the third set the sky opened! We were hit with hail stones and the wind was coming across all directions... I also talked to a few people with lots of marathons under their belt!

[sarahsrunningblog]

Day 9

Tonight was a run approximately 5.5 miles long. It was a nice course, out approximately for a mile, followed by two loops (inc a incline) and then back the same way! We ran 7.18 pace, so quicker than our normal training pace, but it felt good!

[sarahsrunningblog]

Day 8

Late :/ Day 8 was the start of week 2 and I began it with a netball game! We lost :(