Food glorious food...

As my distance runs have lengthened, I have started to experiment with sports energy gels. I have tried 2 different brands so far.
The first:

High5 Energy Gel - orange flavoured.
HORRID!! Though in defence of the gel, I did not take this in the correct manner - i.e. with water. I might revisit this gel at a later date.

The second, which I have tried twice:

PowerBar Gel - Strawberry and banana flavour. This, when taken with water, was just bareable. I haven't felt a huge surge of energy as a result of taking them, but perhaps as I extend my runs still further I might feel some measureable effect...

Today I bought 2 new gels (Organic Mule bars, two flavours), and some JellyBelly sports beans...I'll report back... :-)

A breath of fresh air and breathing to talk...

As I have mentioned, I have been struggling a bit to keep the momentum going in my training, and before my holiday in June I was struggling to get out three times a week. In fact, my runs had dropped to about one every 5 days. I took my running gear on holiday with the idea of going running a couple of times with Mr Taffi (with Mummy and Daddy Penguin looking after the little monkeys) but I felt no enthusiasm to get my running shoes on. This might have been a good thing - a break from the grind of running, and then back with gusto.

I think it has worked too. I have managed 3 runs per week for the last few weeks, and part of this is thanks to a bit of variety.

I have started running once mid-week with an old friend who has also entered the Cardiff half. This has multiple benefits:

• I run with her in the morning (Mummy Penguin looks after Monkey2 while Monkey1 is in nursery) so I don't have to struggle out in the valuable busy evenings,
• I get a variety of routes - my friend and Mummy Penguin both live in a small town in the Vale with quiet roads and lanes and lots of hills.
• My friend frequently runs with other runners, and runs at a pace that allows conversation, and by running with her, and doing the same, I am learning a whole new skill - more on this in a minute.

I've actually really enjoyed these runs - there have only been two so far as time constraints meant this week's had to be cancelled (I really missed it). It has been great to catch up on gossip, moan about various things, and just chat. Whilst I enjoy the audio books I usually use to while away the time and block out the pain, talking is better. The miles pass faster (even though we are travelling slower) and it hurts less (and I don't attribute the lower pain to just the lower pace).

I has also been a lesson in reigning myself in. I am overly ambitious, and that is part of the reason of my aforementioned disillusion - I am always striving to do better, with EVERY run, and that is just not possible. As Mr Taffi is always saying, sometimes your body or your mind is just not up for the run on any given day. It has been good just to run for runnings sake, and not for the time or distance or pace target. And it also means that finally I am doing the mid-week "Easy" run prescribed by the training plan. That "easy" run has always become a "pace" or "interval" run until now, because I am always pushing myself. It has been good to switch off the pace alerts on my Garmin watch and just enjoy without the nag nag nagging...

Comparisons over time...

I've been using SportTracks to try and gauge whether I'm improving my pace over my distance runs as time progresses - this in part to try and alleviate some of the disillusion mentioned in the last post.

As I have varied my runs it was not easy to find comparable distances to compare, particularly distances with similar challenges. I found one run from mid March and one from the end of May, and plotted 1/4mile splits. These runs were not identical, but essentially 10km down and back up the river Taff.

The trends are quite similar, but I hope it is not wishful thinking to say that my splits have improved over this period. The first shows my splits rapidly approaching 11 minute miling and then being largely maintained. In the second my splits are well below 11 minute miling throughout. The overall time 1.07:15 for the first, and 1.03:28 for the second seem to corroborate this.

I intend to repeat this run soon for comparison again - and in my striving to conquer the 60minute 10K!!

Disillusionment

My blogging has been fairly scarce of late (read as: non-existent!)...this has been in part because of the hectic nature of daily life (running around after 2 little monkeys, a holiday, and work that does not stop even when on maternity leave), partly because, as is common with all but the best blogs, or the most savvy bloggers, this blog goes largely unread, and partly because I've hit another little bit of "runners-block"...

The first problem isn't going to go away, but with a little juggling, I should find a bit of time to write.

The second problem...I always knew this would be the case, and actually made a conscious decision not to pimp my blog around on the likes of Facebook or Twitter...and anyway, this blog is for me, and if anyone else does read it, and gets anything out of it, then all the better. If you do, then please let me know! ;-)

The last problem is one which Mr Taffi says I will overcome, and after all, this is what the journey towards the Cardiff Half is all about.

I'll get the blog up to date with a series of posts over the next few days.

But one bit of news... I'm a fully paid up entrant to the Cardiff Half!! I've paid my entry, considered my charity, and finalised a plan of action... :-)

5K PB's

Since my epic run (indeed epic week of running!!) I have run my 5K 3 bridge route twice and achieved a PB both times.

The first time I achieved 29mins52seconds, thus a pace average of 9min38secs and achieving sub 30 minutes for the first time! My pace graph pleasingly shows how my splits are almost exclusively sub-10 - I'm definately improving!!

My second was actually an intervals run - 1/4mile ON, 1/4 mile OFF.



My split v average plot nicely demonstrates my ON-OFF paces. My overall average was 9min16.

My overall time was 28min55.
Clearly I am running within myself on steady runs.

Geographical Dyslexia...

Foolishly, after two fairly intensive runs that week already, I decided to run again. Again around Cowbridge as I was staying with Mummy and Daddy Penguin for a few days. I planned a 10K run (approximately) and checked it out on googlemaps to note down the villages and hamlets I would be running through.

The weather was for rain, and I decided if it was really raining I would call it off, but drizzling was fine. In the end it was not raining at all.

I set off, and noted after a mile that my pace was slower than usual because I had not let myself recover properly from previous runs, but thought: fine, this can be treated as an "easy" run, which I rarely do as I am too ambitious and push for new targets constantly.

However, after about mile 3 I took a wrong turn (I think I mixed up my Penllyn's and ny Pen-y-lan's !!)

I had a fair idea of direction from the sun that was unfortunately beating down, and I kept asking people tending to their gardens if I was still heading the right way to come out on the A48 (yes I was, though the affirmatives were often accompanied by curious looks!)

Many twists and turns later, many hills later, and a whole bottle of water later I came out on the A48 about half a mile further away from where I had expected. I rejoined my planned route, and stopped off in the Crossways inn for a top-up of water (Thank you barman!!).

The conversation went:

Me: Do you think I could trouble you for a top up of tap water. I got lost and ran further than I planned.
Barman: Sure no problem.
Me: I should have been home 2 miles ago.
Barman: Have you got a mobile to ring for a lift?
Me: Oh its okay, its only 2 more miles, and it is a matter of pride now!

(I'm a stubborn so-n-so!!)

I ran my furthest distance yet - 10miles - and averaged 11minute miling, which, for the conditions, I am very pleased about.

Here is my route - red is actual, blue is intended!!

Intended route: Cowbridge--Aberthin--Newton--Penllyn--A48--Llanbleddian(via St-Brynach/Llanfrynach church)--Cowbridge
Actual route: Cowbridge--Aberthin--Newton--Pen-y-lan--Llansannor--City--CraigPenllyn--Penllyn--PentreMeyrick--A48--Llanbleddian(via St-Brynach/Llanfrynach church)--Cowbridge......oops!

But it did turn out to be a "distance-endurance" run, not "easy"...!!

An ambition fulfilled...

The week of the Tata Steel Cardiff Bay 5 was a big mileage week for me. I'm a bit behind on my blogging but will get up to date over the next few posts...

Three days after the race I decided to fulfil an ambition of mine - to run from Culverhouse cross to Cowbridge. Mummy and Daddy Penguin live in Cowbridge, and Culverhouse is a big intersection/out-of-town shopping centre on the outskirts of Cardiff. It is one long road between the two, the A48, and it had long seemed like a HUGE target to actually run all the way.

I had scoped it out previously on one of many trips to see the Penguins, and had determined that there was a path on one side or other for about 2/3 of the way, and then a deep verge the rest of the way. I had also noted that the verge grass had just been cut, so now was the time.

I dropped off Monkey1 and Monkey2 at the Penguins' house, and caught a lift to the top of the Tumble with Mummy Penguin. The Tumble is a big hill out of Culverhouse, and I thought it would not be cheating to run from there, and would save a huge hill right at the start of the run that might have led to injury, or exhaustion too early in the run.

The first few miles were great. I made really good time, and enjoyed the different perspective on the road yielded from running not driving.

Then I inadvertantly crossed from the path to the verge too early (an extra 1/2 mile of path was available) and running on the verge was terrible - really hard-going on the feet, and my pace plummeted. I also found that the deep verge disappears just before the sliproad down into Cowbridge, and I had to run down the old Roman road track - nice scenery, but tough on the feet again.

But I achieved it. Another mental goal ticked off.