30 Mar - Brisk 4 miles with warm up and cool down

Another run to get in before a night shift, I managed to get it all in this time, even if I didn't manage to get my tea before work afterwards (which wasn't so bad afterall as it will hopefully help me get rid of those last couple of pounds of the winter weight gain ;o)  )  

This one went quite well  -  target time for the 4 miles was 8:47  and I managed it in 8:50 so not so scrappy really :) 

29 Mar - 7 mile plod (not quite)

This run had to wait till nearly the end of my day, squeezed in after an early starting trip to Bristol to a friend's funeral and just before my night shift.  Fortunately it was a gorgeous blue skies sunny day, and I couldn't think of a better day on which to say goodbye to an old skydiving mate, blue skies and lots of sun.  A funeral is never going to be fun, but I think good weather does make  it easier to remember the good times spent laughing and enjoying jumps all those years ago. 


As soon as I got back to Nottingham, I pulled into Tesco to fuel up so I could get be sure of getting to and from Bedford on Sunday to do the Oakley 20.  No mad queues there, that seem to have overtaken most of the country fortunately.   After dropping off money with Sarah in town, so she could sort some shoes and things out for a party tomorrow night (Oh the joys of being the Bank of Mum ;o)  ) I managed to finally get out there for my pleasant 7 miler.  Unfortunately had to cut it short at 6.3 miles though as I'd have been late for work had I done the full distance.  It was a good night shift though and I helped deliver the biggest baby so far @ 10lb 10oz!!!!!!

28 Mar - The dreaded Hills!!!!

I didn't skimp on the hills today and did the full 10, but I am still pretty pathetic at them.  After todays run, I'm actually longing for those cold wintry days to come back.  Running up and down hills in 19°C is definitely not my idea of fun.  I can't believe how warm it is out there today.  I'm starting to get worried about Sunday's 20 mile run, so checked the weather forecast and thankfully it's starting to get cooler again.

Week 13 - 24 days to go!!!!!

Trying to be a bit more upbeat after Monday's long run and thankfully feeling a lot better.  I've gone and made an appointment with the Podiatrist for next Saturday, so fingers crossed he may have some ideas that can help me with my feet and if I go back to the SIS gels, that should help with the tummy.  As I didn't do my long run till Monday, I'm a day behind the schedule therefore am starting the weeks schedule today, Wednesday, rather than Tuesday and will try and skip the Friday Rest day which should put me back on track.


So I'm starting today with a hill session which should help to prepare me for Sundays 20 miler, the Oakley 20, which is thought by some (probably the  hill-phobics like me) to be on the hilly side.  The event is organised by Bedford Harriers and I did their Half Marathon 18 months ago, which was again quite hilly but I did quite enjoy it (I actually got a PB)  so fingers crossed it's not as bad as the profile below looks.
I'm going to stick to the SIS gels, this time and hopefully won't have the tummy problems. The course profile does look a bit ominous, the worst elevation being just over 100ft over 1.8miles, but hopefully the training runs that I've done will help, as although they haven't been that brilliant overall, they were quite long (390ft over 5 miles) so fingers crossed  it's not too bad and of course for each of the hills there will be a downhill :)

26 Mar - 21 miles The longest training run

It all started out so promisingly even with only 4 hours sleep following 3 night shifts in a row.
Being a loooong run, I needed my entertainment and when I couldn't find my charger for my ipod shuffle, loaded up my iphone with a few podcasts to keep me going including a couple from Marathon Talk which Audrey had recommended.  I must admit I had wondered how interesting an hour plus of talking about marathon running could be, but after listening to 3 episodes on this run, I was quite surprised how interesting and inspiring it was.
I'd bought a couple of GU gels as a change from the SIS ones I usually use -  lime Sub-lime to start with and then  Espresso Love  for the second half when I was sure to be flagging.  For my dodgy feet, I managed to get my hands on these ball of foot pads which seemed to offer a bit of cushioning and put them in both my socks.  As I already mentioned, I'd made up my own pad using cotton wool stuffed into the end of the foot from a pair of tights, which I also added to the Right Shoe as this has been the worst offender.


It was another gorgeous day (I was so glad that the good weather hadn't disappeared as soon as I'd finished my night shifts).  My long run route always takes me via a very long slow hill out to Annesley Woodhouse (going up 130m over 6 miles) - My theory being if I start off with this hard start in training, the flatter route of the actual marathon course will seem like a doddle and of course what is also really nice is that what goes up, must come down, as it's followed by an equally long and gradual downhill :)  Having made it to the top of the hill @ the 8 mile point things were going really well - no tummy upsets and although a little discomfort from my left foot (the one without the extra padding) generally not feeling too pad.  At 9 miles heading into Linby, I took the first gel, didn't taste too bad, it was thicker than I was expecting, but I had my drink to help it down.  I was still fine, heading in to Hucknall, an interesting piece on the Marathon Talk about seeking help from injuries, saying how people usually leave it too long before seeking help (my feet niggling a bit just to remind me that all was not perfect there)  .  I was still feeling relatively OK as I hit 11 miles, where the plan was to try to turn up the pace to have a few miles running at closer to marathon pace.  I'd been initially running at 10.0 min miles and planned on turning it up to 9:15 - 9:30 at this time (although on looking back at the download after the run, I was already running this pace not long after the start of the downhill).


At 14 miles though the tummy started to get a bit grumbly, not too bad but enough to tell me to take a toilet stop.  I felt a bit better after that and managed to keep up my pace and took my Espresso Gel at 15 miles.  By 17 miles I was seriously flagging though.  My belly was turning somersaults and my feet really hurting.  I did the next couple of miles with breaks of walking and the last 11/2 just walked my way home.
Felt really rotten at home, only ate half my dinner and went bed early with a heat wheat pad over my belly.


I'm feeling much better this morning though, (apart from the normal aches & pains to be expected)  so I don't think it's a bug like I had before. I guess starting out with only a few hours sleep after a night at work on my feet, didn't particularly help, but I'm thinking that the Espresso gel might have been the main culprit (perhaps the caffeine in it didn't agree with me).   I'll chalk it down to experience and think I'll stick with the SIS gels from now on, I've never really had a problem with them in the past, but had just wanted to give the GU gels a chance.   My right foot (the one with the extra padding) felt better than the left, so as a temporary measure I'll make up another pad for the other foot and I've left a message with the podiatrist, but it looks like the first appointment available will be on Saturday.
The good thing is that this is still a training run and that's what it's all about and trying things out so that it's eventually right on the day. 

25 Mar - 3 mile run after and before my night shift

I was feeling really good at getting this one in after my sleep and just before my night shift.  Only an easy run of 3 miles (I didn't even take my watch out with me)  .  I could get quite used to little 3 mile runs, just my cup of tea :)

23 Mar - 3 mile Brisk Run with a warm-up and cool down

Another gorgeous day and just managed to get my run in before I started a 'run' (Geddit, ....groan) of 3 night shifts.  I was aiming for 8:25  for the 3 miles and managed to make it 8:33, so although not up to target I'm pretty pleased with it, as I didn't think I'd get even close to it.

22 Mar - Slow 7 miles

Another gorgeous day!   Spring is definitely here, I can remember when I went out for my long run on Monday noticing all the buds and blossom starting to appear on the bushes and trees and how refreshing that was.  Also the days are getting longer which is great.  Everybody feels so much better when there's more daylight.  And the bonus on top of all that is that even though I'm working nights all this weekend, I'll actually be working an hour less on Sunday night with the clocks going forward - Result!  Yayyyyy!
I went and picked up some of the GU gels that Audrey uses from a triathlon shop on the other side of town, they certainly worked for her at Milton Keynes and I've heard a few good reviews on them.  They've got some snazzy flavours, but I've picked out Espresso Love and Lemon Sublime to try.  Unfortunately they didn't have any Chocolate Outrage in stock :(    I also noticed a podiatrist next door to the shop, so if I'm still in pain on  my next long run, I know where I'm going.  I've not had any luck finding a metatarsal pad locally so far, but have bodged a homemade one together by filling the toe of an old pair of tights with cotton wool and taping it on to the shoe insert.  If I don't have any luck getting a pad locally today, I'll get one on line through Amazon like this metatarsal pad


So anyway back to the run - it was a bit of a plod again @10:05 min/mile.  With all that time to think when running, I'm starting to get apprehensive about how long this marathon is going to take me.  At the start of training I'd been hoping to do it in 4 hrs, but now the reality is setting in and I really don't see me being able to make it. I might even be pushed to break 4:15 which is what I did in Edinburgh (which even had a big downhill start).  I've looked at the timings of my long runs from last year and they were faster than the ones I'm doing this year :(  It's a but disappointing as it would be so great to improve that much, but I guess I can only do my best.  I've got a feeling that time may not be on my side and that my age might finally be getting the better of me and to improve on what I've already done is going to be very very difficult.  

21 Mar - Warm Up and 4x 1 mile 'fast' intervals

Warm up, nice day, so easy bit.  The fast pace was supposed to be <8:25 min/mile, but I always knew this was going to be difficult to sustain given my lack of stamina, so just planned on doing the best I could.  
I got off to a good start on the first interval with what looks like an 8:20 pace.  The second was at 8:31, just outside but I was still fairly happy with that, the 3rd was really slow at 09:08, and I would have expected to have slowed down more for the last one, but actually picked it up to 8:47.  So all in all I'd be happy with that if it hadn't been for the 3rd one, but at least I managed to pick myself up after that.

20 Mar - Happy Birthday to Me! Week 12 and 32 days to go

Yay!!!! What a lovely day for a birthday :)   The only problem I've got with my birthday is that I've been thinking for so long that I'm going to be 47 when I run this marathon that I've spent the last 2 months thinking I'm already 47 and have missed out on 2 months of actually believing I'm 46.  Maybe if I run the marathon thinking like a 46 year old, I'll run it like one.  Even better, I'll think it like a 23 year old!!! 

19 Mar - Finally a steady 19 miles Part 2

To keep my energy up over the longer distances, I've been using energy gels, not as many as I would for the full distance, but just enough to help me out when I start flagging.  Over the full distance I'd probably use 5 gels, but am trying to get by with as little as possible in training to see if I can get my body to work that bit harder on it's own and hopefully I'll feel the benefit when I use them for the full 26.2miles.   I only used 2 for this run, the first one at 8 miles and I must admit it was a nice pick-me-up.  I then took the 2nd at 13 miles.  I'm currently using SIS gels as they're isotonic so you don't have to take water at the same time.  I've used lucozade gels before, but they're very thick and sticky, and my friend Audrey recommends Gu gels


The other problem I've had on the long run is the continuing toe and metatarsal pain from about 9-10 miles, a bit like running on a marble.  I'm pretty sure the problem is Morton's Neuroma   I've had a Scholl cushioned lining in my shoe since Milton Keynes which has improved it slightly, but it's still very painful and is only really eased by taking my shoe off, which isn't really practical, and although it eases after the run, it can still be uncomfortable 3-4 hours later  Flexing my toes as I run and making a pronounced heel, toe strike takes the edge off it  but doesn't make for an attractive running style. In true amateur cost-cutting style, I've been googling the treatments to see if there is anything else I can do.  Suggestions range from taped cotton wool under the ball of the foot to metatarsal gel pads, ibuprufen gel, orthotics, steroid injections,surgery and cryosurgery.  With the marathon being less than 5 weeks away, orthotics are likely to be impractical as they usually take some time to wear in and any kind of surgery will have obviously have to wait till after, but I reckon I'll give the metatarsal pad a go and if that doesn't work then it looks like I'd better book in with a podiatrist but the initial consultation  at the local sports therapy clinic is £50 and obviously treatment will be extra. Wish I'd got it checked out sooner, but I thought it was going to improve as it has done previously.  I've also been avoiding ibuprufen in favour of paracetamol recently but so will be giving the old anti-inflammatories a go too.

19 Mar - Finally a steady 19 miles Part 1

It appears that a run over 19 miles has given me a lot to write about, so i'm going to split this down to 2 posts.  
I had an offer this morning to run with Dennis who also needed to get his long run in today  (as part of his training for the Paris Marathon, the week before London) and as much as it would have been lovely to have his company on the run, he's unfortunately running at a much faster pace than I (as it turned out, he did his run with a 8min 42sec mile, which was over a minute per mile faster than me) which makes a big difference over that kind of distance and I would have been dust on his heels as he disappeared into the distance.  Running with others is so much more motivating though, but it can be a problem matching up running pace especially over longer distances. I've always found it useful to run with someone at a slower pace as it deters my initial inclination to run faster.  My problem is that I usually end up running the first half too fast and then generally run out of steam for the second half.  In my mind, I know I'm going to feel tired in the second half  so when I feel quite fresh at the beginning I want to take full advantage of it.  Whereas the other theory is that if you take it easy at the beginning, there'll be more energy left for the latter half.  The only run I've managed to make this 'negative' split work was when we ran in Budapest 18 months ago and that was only by seconds  -  2:13:14 for the first half and 2:12:48 for the second half


Anyway back to today's run.  A couple of hours before I set out, I took some codeine and because I was so paranoid about a stomach upset spoiling the run, I also took a couple of loperamide just before I started.  When I set off, I felt really fresh and full of energy,  so much better than last week.  It was only when I got to the 5 mile mark that my belly started grumbling and by the time I got to 6 it was not happy.  Once I'd manage to sort out the toilet, it was fine again, but the good thing about a long run is that there's lots of time to mull over any problems.  My stomach had never been a problem over the last couple of years as long as I took the codeine  pre-run, so I was trying to figure out what was different this time. I've come to the conclusion that it's probably the iron tablets I've been taking for the last couple of weeks.  I hadn't been on them when training for previous long runs, but,  I know from work that there are plenty of women that do have stomach problems with iron.  I just think that the motion of running tends to aggravate it even more.  I'm feeling so much better since taking iron, so I'd rather not cut them out completely. I think I'm just going to have to balance how I take them, ie. probably miss them out the day before my long run and maybe even stop them the week before the race.  Fingers crossed.

18 Mar - Should have been 19 but turned into a brisk 3

Yet more Physicsy travels again today with Sarah.  She's being very thorough in making her choice and after 2 trips to York Uni campus, she wanted to check out the city itself.  Of course it's absolutely everything she thought it was going to be, a beautiful historic city, what is there not to like.  She hasn't said it, but she's pretty firmly set on York now, it's just to decide which Uni will be her insurance choice, Manchester or Leeds, a tough choice, so I can see a trip to Manchester in the offing soon.


Of course by the time we got back from York, it was nearly 5 and not really practical to get a 3hr + run in, so I used the opportunity to get in the 3 miler I'd missed.  The Garmin was still missing, so I simply checked the clock as I left the house gave it loads of welly and then checked again, as I walked back in.  Obviously it wasn't an accurate time, but I mapped the distance on Mapmy run and it was 3.33 miles and took approx 28.5 minutes, so about an 8:34 pace - a cracking time for me, definitely put a smile on my face :)

17 Mar - 8 miles steady

Spent the main part of the day, with Sarah, driving her around again  in her pursuit of all things Physicsy  -  Off to the NEC this time for the Big Bang Show.  Not the most gripping show and probably a bit too young for Sarah, but found a few ideas to try and inspire Harry for his 6th form and Uni choices.  Once back home, it was another beautiful day for my run.  I'd gone and 'misfiled' my garmin so tried to record the run on my iphone on Mapmyrun, but unfortunately my iphone is a little tired and decrepit these days (and kept losing the GPS signal)  so the timings and pace on it really didn't make sense.  But I do know that it felt good and although not sprinting along, I definitely managed to get a bit more speed on than I've been used to recently. Yayyyy!

16 Mar - A much better day and hopefully a few problems solved

Lots to say and catch up on.  We didn't get back from Leeds on Thursday til later in the evening and by that time it was dark and as much as I tried to persuade myself, I really didn't feel like spending over an hour running - it'd been a long day.  Feeling incredibly guilty about wussing out, especially with being behind the schedule.  But it's been a really useful trip though.  Sarah had been really down on Leeds Uni for making her sit a test (said it was elitism, lol)  and had a poor tour when she went to the open day last year.  She'd also pretty much fallen in love with York when we went there, so Leeds was never really going to have a chance of beating it, so was only really going to Leeds just to say she'd done it.  But it was a really useful day and what struck me most was the enthusiasm within the Physics Department and the option for a year of paid work experience.  The campus, halls and city centre were great too, so she was pleased to come away there with yet another offer, even if it was exactly the same as Sheffield and York's.  Anyone would think that it was me that was off to Uni again ;o)


So when I finally went running and did my 7 miles with 5 of Fartleks, it was Friday and what a beautiful day it was too.  I felt so much better after being so rough on the last couple of runs and unwell the last few days  -  very reassuring :) .  Granted I did get some belly ache for about 1/2 mile close to the end, but nothing like I'd had before.  I'm really going to have to sort this diet out or work some sort of strategy.  I've always been susceptible for a dodgy belly on the long runs and almost always take a couple of tablets of codeine or loperamide which enables me to run all the way around toilet stop free.  I only took one tablet last weekend, so will cross my fingers that taking 2 again will keep me stop free on Sunday.


Another good thing about Friday's run was that it gave me a good chance to clear my head and think.  I've been worrying a bit about the fund raising which is the whole point of this training and the run.  I want to raise as much money as possible, but find it really difficult to push the fundraising side too hard as I think people can find it a little annoying when having the charity raising pushed in their face all the time and so have deliberately not mentioned it too frequently to make the times I do promote it more special.  But obviously if I don't get the word out there then there's no chance of raising funds.  Sometimes it can be quite disheartening, I recently sent an e-mail out to my work colleagues probably over 200, the majority of whom I work with on a fairly regular basis and know fairly well.  I only got 2 responses, one of whom (an absolute angel, because I've never even met her).  Every little bit of sponsorship I get really does mean so much to me and makes so much difference to my mentality when I go out and do a training run.  I suppose it may well be that people are actually waiting for me to do the run, which makes lots of sense and hopefully donations will increase as 22nd April approaches and after I've completed the run.  I am leaving a lot of the push till closer to the marathon date as 16 weeks is a long way down the line from the start of training.  Anyway the result of my pondering on this run, was a silly thought went through my head of using my birthday next week to promote the charity.  I'm going to be changing my Facebook name to Alli "running for Epilepsy" Armstrong.  It's only a little thing, but hopefully will have the benefit of getting my name out there to all those who 'hopefully' wish me Happy Birthday.  Fingers crossed it works   :D

13 March - 15 mile plod

Set off with lots of optimism as the sun was out  (I'd missed the gorgeous weather over the weekend through work) but again not much oomph.  Around the 4 mile point my tummy started grumbling and I started feeling a bit unwell, although I managed  to keep the pace up for 9 miles.  Unfortunately I felt slowly worse as did my pace, with the last couple of miles being over 11:30.  


When I got home I ran myself a bath (I'm normally a quick shower down person to try and revitalise myself) and finally dragged myself out of it after nearly an hour with lots of hot water top-ups.  I skipped dinner and was going to get an early night and hopefully will feel better for work in the morning.  If I can get past that it'll be great as I've not got work till the following Friday night and will just have the runs to deal with.

Week 11 - Eeek! It's getting closer

40 days to go Somehow I've still got to squeeze in last week's long run, alongside this lot.

9 Mar - 8 mile plod

A little overcast out there this afternoon, only supposed to be a slow 8 miles today, but still feeling a complete lack of energy.  Thankful it was a slow pace, because don't think I could have run faster if I'd tried even if it had been a shorter distance.  I've been trying to think if there was any reason other than still being tired after Milton Keynes.  Last year I found I was anaemic with a low serum ferritin, and took iron for a couple of months and felt a whole lot better.  I think I'll give the iron tablets another go over the next couple of weeks and see if they make a difference.  
One thing did perk me up a bit though, a young girl coming out of a shop I passed smiled at me and said "keep it going" as I went past (and not in the way those smart-ass kids shout it when trying to impress their mates by trying to look brave) .  Very sweet! :)


Just been watching Mo Farah running his 3000m qualifying heat at the world indoor athletics championships - there was a lot of jostling going on there.  I took a peep on-line to see what his PB for the half marathon and it is 1:00:23.  Hmmm I've got a long way to go yet ;)

8 Mar - 3 mile brisk pace with a mile either side warm up and cool down

Was feeling quite uplifted this afternoon, with Sarah & Harry coming back with their latest GCSE and A level module results.  Harry had the biggest surprise of his life when he got an A in his worst subject History, whilst Sarah's results have kept her grades up,  making it likely she'll meet her offers for Uni this Autumn.  She was particularly pleased with her English Lit result :) .Just the decision to make of whether to choose Manchester or York.
But myself physically, I've still been feeling so very tired after Sunday.  I managed to just about keep within the 'brisk' pace required with a 8:43 min mile, but it was not pleasant at all.  I actually felt quite sick at one point as I started the second mile.  I didn't get my 8 mile run done yesterday so will probably do it tomorrow instead of the rest day which I had yesterday.  
All credit to Audrey though who ran 19 miles today only 4 days after her PB Half Marathon on Sunday

6 Mar - not really up for it today - it's going to be a hard week

I was feeling surprisingly good yesterday on my rest day, considering at the end of Milton Keynes I felt the worst ever, I can remember feeling after a run.  But one night shift later, things have changed.  By the time I got out it was already dark and as I set off I knew it was going to be difficult.  I seem to have managed the short intervals up til now, but can't seem to carry off the pace for longer distances and I find it difficult to get any enthusiasm up when it's dark outside.  Of the so called 'fast' 1.5 mile intervals, the first was brisk to steady and the other 2 were steady to slow.  Very disheartening to hear the Garmin constantly beeping away at me to tell me I'm running too slow and I can see the target of 4 hours around London slipping away and looking more like 4:15 if I'm lucky.

Week 10 - 46 days to go!!!!!!

After thinking this week I'd be able to slip back into the training plan this week, I found out last night that not only have I got to work this coming Sunday, I've got to work Saturday too, which means that as well as screwing up the training plan, I miss my mate's farewell bash before she goes to Afghanistan for 6 months, I've only got 3 complete days this week to carry out my 5 runs in :(  .  To stay I'm miffed is very, very much an understatement.  There's no way I'm going to get all of those runs in this week

After the horrors of Milton Keynes rain and sleet I was at least able to get a rest day from running yesterday, but had a night shift last night, so am about to go out and get my 7mile run in shortly.

I'm working a long day shift tomorrow, so depending on how I'm feeling afterwards at 7:30/8ish, I may be able to squeeze the 6 miler in tomorrow.  If I don't manage it tomorrow then I'll have to get it done Thursday.  Either way I don't think I should squeeze my long run in on Friday, as I really won't have had an appropriate rest with only 4 days since the effort of last Sunday's Half and there's no chance of fitting it in over the working weekend.  I'm also working a long day shift on Monday, so think I may have to hold that run over till next Tuesday, which in turn will compromise the timing of next week's runs :(  .

Why I ever thought that working Long shifts resulted in me having more free time, I don't know.

Soggy drowned rat!

4 March - Milton Keynes Winter Monsoon

Well if I thought yesterday's weather had started off bad, it was nothing compared to today.  My friend Audrey came down from Tyne & Wear last night, so it was a great chance to catch up on news over the winter with a glass of wine (nutritional purposes only of course).  

It was already spitting with rain as we left Nottingham this morning and by the time we got to Milton Keynes our black bin-liners were ready for their baptism.  We then met up with Craig & Jo and had our pre-race photo

Photo c/o Craig Poxon

At the start, I forgot to turn my Garmin on until we were a couple 100m gone, so I reckon I probably lost a minute before switching it on.  Even though the start was downhill, it was gradual and not as steep as it looked on the profile, so that, together with how congested it was at the beginning,  made attempts to get a bit of a pace going over the first couple of miles more difficult than anticipated and so we started off around 8:50 min/mile.  After 3 miles Jo and Craig edged their way forward and Audrey and I ran together for the next couple of miles. I was having a problem maintaining the pace so fell back a bit but managed to keep Audrey in sight for the rest of the run.  It continued to rain all the way around and although it was 4°C it felt much colder (must have been the fact that we were all drenched through) .  There were quite a few subways under the dual carriageways which was all very well going down them but always meant there was a hill on the other side.  As we were going down them, I repeatedly found myself overtaking one girl in a turquoise top, but she was better at those short hills than me so by the time we'd come up the other side, she'd always overtake me again.  Fortunately over the last mile I was able to keep in front so managed to finish just in front at the end :-)  . It was at this point that the rain turned to sleet and by the end of the race it was practically snow. The last hill although quite gradual was quite tough,so I ended up slowing down to a 10:38 min/mile, but somehow found a little bit extra for the finish and was pleased to manage a semi-sprint (nothing compared to Lou's last week) and did the last 200m in a 8:38 min/mile.  Hands and face were absolutely frozen and it took ages to get my feeling back in my fingers.  

The official times aren't out yet, but I think Jo said she did it around 1h 57m, Craig 2h 1m and Audrey 2h 3m and I brought up the rear at around 2h 4m.  This is the breakdown for the run from my Garmin (although I think my final time will probably be a minute longer due to turning it on late).

Garmin Run Profile

After we got changed we warmed ourselves up with coffees and teas, defrosting our hands on the Mugs followed by a nice spot of lunch at Ask.  

Incidentally when I got home, I dried off my running clothes and by calculating the difference in weight worked out that by the end of the race I was carrying 800ml/800g of water by the finish.  I hadn't calculated on carrying that amount of weight around as a handicap ;o)

I just wanted to say thank you so  much to Audrey Jo and Craig for making what could have been a really rotten run into an interesting and challenging race :) xxx

3 Mar - A nice easy 3 miles

After yesterday's run, I was beginning to think that Spring was on the way, but woke this morning  to wall to wall cloud and a bit of drizzle on the ground so was a little bit down.  Fortunately by the time I'd got out there the clouds had parted and there was a bit of sun shining through a patch of blue sky.  Anyway with the Milton Keynes Half tomorrow, it seemed a good idea to do exactly what the plan said so I kept to the easy pace suggested.

2 March - Hills, what it says on the can

I found myself running late for the hill session at the club on Thursday (can I ever get myself organised ?!?) so went out this afternoon and did my hill runs up Woodborough Road the steepest one I can find around here.  I did the mile warm up first, which was fine and then the hills,  I checked out the gradient afterwardes and it works out to 1:09 gradient, so fairly steep (especially for me who hate hills).
Not much else to say other than still really tired but the sun was out and it was a lovely day :)