Sigh Of Relief :-)

Well today was the day to find out whether I had made the ballot for the VLM (Virgin London Marathon)!

When the magazine hit the doormat, I was filled with apprehension.  Did I make it in or would I be unlucky.  The answer was that I was unlucky this year.  I did breathe a huge sigh of relief when I seen this though and you maybe asking why when I had applied in the first place?  Well the answer was simple.  I did it in a moment of madness after watching the 2010 race and also with the knowledge that so many thousands of people would be entering that it would be a slim chance I got in.  I have to say that I felt better that I had been rejected as I knew in myself that I wasnt ready to a)put in the 6 months training over the winter months with everything that had been going on b)I havent completed a half marathon race yet and c)I have other goals in mind for 2011 with regards to what races I want to enter. 2012 is the target year to try and get in to the VLM.  Its Olympic year in London and the atmosphere will be fantastic!  Although with ballot places, you can never tell - its sheer luck.

So knowing that I havent secured a place for London, I have started to look towards races for next year.  I am still determined to run a half marathon and with this in mind, I entered the Edinburgh Half which is held on 10th April next year.  Plenty of time to train and I am determined to make sure I start early and put the distance in.

Plenty of race plans in the pipeline including the Ignis Women's 10k again and also to complete the GSR Half this time.  I would also like to do the Great North Run but this is another ballot race and again will be down to sheer luck if I'm chosen.

Time will tell with my plans but I'm sure I will be drivellig about it at some point on the blog, so stay tuned if you dare :-)

Kimbles

~x~x~

ღஐƸ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒஐღ

So far so good :-)

Well the return to running this week has been better than I could have hoped for.  In my previous ramblings, I had been complaining about a hip injury which started 8 weeks ago (6 weeks before the GSR half marathon). In that time I took 2 weeks rest from running, had a 2 week trip to India (which allowed more rest) and then came back a week before I was due to race.  Unfortunately the rest did not cure the injury ;-(  I managed to run the GSR 10k but had pain in both my hip muscles during it and it wasnt a particularly great day for me :-(  I seriously thought I was going to have to jack the running in but careful review on hip injuries on the web and advice from other runners, I seem to have managed to get rid of the pain once and for all apart from a tightness issue sometimes in my right hip.  Heat treating the muscles and stretching has made a massive difference, so much so that I managed to start off with 2 treadmill runs of 3.3 miles each on Sunday and Tuesday.  Wednesday was a rest day and on Thursday I was going to go for another run but was alarmed to feel my hips were really tight and stiff.  This prompted a call to the Sport Injury Clinic at Inverclyde and for me to schedule an appointment for Wednesday coming, however I may now cancel this.  On Friday I spent the day with my heat treatment beanie bag and a hot water bottle on the muscles.  By Friday teatime, I felt good enough to get my kit on and try a road run - it was fab!!!!  I headed out my usual route and took it easy and found that the muslces were good - yay.  The flash flooding from Wednesday night was in evidence along the route, 2 rather mahoosive puddles and a over run from the hills which had to be dodged.  There was also a very large muddy stretched where the river had burst its bank onto the fields.  My lovely shiny new white trainers looked as if they had been on a x-country course lol.  The run itself was great.  I managed a 4.1 mile run and I was so pleased that the muscles held out.  I came home and stretched well and on Saturday had no ill effects or stiffness - yay!!

Sunday was long run day again and it was a good one.  A satisfying 5.2 mile run in lovely weather.  The last mile was tiring right enough as I havent run that far for awhile but I feel great after it - not sure the muscles will feel like that in the morning :-)

Could this be the turning point I needed to get me back on track?  I think the hip muscle problems have stemmed for over training for the GSR and not stretching properly.  A valuable lesson learned for future training plans and races I think :-)  I also think my new running shoes have made a difference as my old ones were definately getting a bit flat on the cushioning front :-)


Kimbles
~x~x~

At Last!!!

Well at long last, the hip problems seem to be getting better.  I have been following a series of heat and stretching treatments on them.  The left hip is definately better, the right hip still needs heat treatment to take the stiffness out of it.  But, the good news is that I managed a 3 mile run today on the dreadmill.  I know that they are not under the pressure that road running puts them under but it was a start which I am really pleased with.  I will continue on the dreadmill for the next week and then assess.  If I'm better then I will try a road run the following week.  The only problem with running on the DM is that its sooooo boring!!!  

Still waiting on my physio appointment and by the time it comes out, I might be recovered lol  I actually think the problem is with my IT band as that is what I'm stretching.  I love my heat treatment beanie bag.  Its fab - full of buckwheat and lavender and does the job ;-)  Now I just need to get that wicci bar off my mate and I'm sorted.  

I'm a miserable cow when I cant run and I'm sure my other half will agree with me on that, so thank god the injury isnt serious :-)

Haile Gebrselassie

I watched the Great North Run today.  What a fab event and I'm going to apply for the ballot next year.  Its on my bucket list as one of the runs I want to do.  The great Haile Gebrselassie ran the race today for the first time and won in a great time of  59m 33s.  Now to rank this alongside my times, he ran a half marthon (13.1 miles) quicker than I ran one of my 10k's!  Outstanding!!  He is a great sportsman and a great inspiration.  The women's race was won by Berhane Adere in 68m 49s, again another fantastic time.  The Great North Run is a gold listed road race with the IAF and attracts some great elite athletes.  The other great thing about it is the amount of people who run for charity and raise thousands for worthwhile causes. Hopefully if I appy for the ballot, I'll get picked and experience the atmosphere that everyone talks about :-)


Kimbles
~x~x~

Training Starts Again

Neeeeewwwww Shoooooeeeesss

Tuesday
Well the training has started again for the next 10k in 4 weeks.  I went out tonight for an easy run after Sunday's 10k race.  I even dug out my new running shoes to break them in :-)  It was a bit hard going and I thought by the mile mark I would have to give up as my hip got really sore.  So I stopped for a quick stretch and set off again.  I altered my running gait and found this made it a bit easier.  It wasnt a great run but it wasnt bad either.  I did stop a couple of times to stretch my hip out and by the time I reached home, I had manged to clock up a respectable 3.32 miles.  Came home and stretched thoroughly and sprayed some deep freeze on the affected parts and it seems to have done the trick so far.  I'm hoping as the weeks progress, the hip will ease off with the various stretching exercises I am doing.

Update (Wednesday)
Training is suspended again due to this bloody hip problem.  Left hip is really giving me grief today, so I will have to bow out of training for the rest of the week and follow the R.I.C.E process :-(  Hopefully it will be okay for next week to allow me to go for some gentle runs.

Kimbles

~x~x~

My Next Race :-)

Strathclyde Country Park

My next race on the cards is the St. Andrews Hospice 10k Road Race which is being held on 3rd Oct at Strathclyde Country Park.  This should be good as I like the course at Strathclyde and have already ran a 10k and 5k race there before.  Its a lovely park and they hold parkruns there every Saturday, however I have never had the opportunity yet to attend these as I normally attend the one at Pollock Park. I'm hoping to change that soon and to also get back to the Parkruns on a regular basis - I need the training!!!

Training commences this week for the race as I dont want to feel as un-prepared for this one as I was for the GSR :-)  Lets hope there are no injuries building up and that I am not afflicted with any colds or illnesses which I am sure are ready to spring into action - its is after all coming into the winter season :-/

On a side note, there is also only a month left until I find out if I have been accepted for the VLM - gulp!!!  What was I thinking????  Now that really scares me!!

Kimbles

~x~x~

AWOL & Great Scottish Run

Well its been 6 weeks since my last post and a few things have happened that have seen me leave my blog in a state of abondonment.  Firstly, I injured my left hip while out running.  I had reached the 8 mile mark and was feeling good about the approaching GSR half and then I was hit with an overuse injury.  Basically, my left hip muscle gave  up the ghost.  I reached the week 7 mark in training and my long run would have been 9 miles.  I set out knowing that the twinges in my hip had become a bit more pronounced in the previous week.  I set out and barely reach the mile mark when I had to stop and turn back home due to the pain ;-(  I was bitterly disappointed by this and I then had to take 2 weeks out resting as I couldn't manage even a short run. 

This injury was topped off with the knowledge that I was heading out to India for a 2 week business trip.  I had to take the sad decision before I went to pull out of the half. I thought I would have been fit enough and have the time to train in the gym.  Alas this was not to be the case.  I managed one very poor 5k run at the hotel gym and a Sunday swim as training - not good!!!  When I came home, I had one week to the GSR and knew that there wasn't a snowball's chance in hell of ever doing the half and knew I had made the right decision due to 4 weeks without training - all be it that I was peeved about it.  However I did manage a satisfying 5k run when I came back and made the snap decision to run the 10k rather than not try anything at all.  I headed to Glasgow to swap my half marathon chip/bib number for a 10k one.  My hip was a bit niggly but I thought that if I rested and looked after it, I would be fine for the Sunday race.

Pre-race photo

Sunday 5th arrived and it was time for the GSR.  I had dosed up on ibuprofen on the Saturday and when I woke up on Sunday, my hip was feeling a lot better.  Up, showered, dressed and with a bowl of porridge down my neck, hubby and I set off for Glasgow.  After a wee detour to get to the car park (which turned out to be surprisingly empty due to where it was located), we parked and headed off for George Square.  I was feeling okay and it was getting a bit worrying that I wasnt excited or nervous!!!  The 10k started at 9.30am and we spent the next 40 mins milling about waiting for the start.  I was in the blue zone, although I should have been green for my time, it seems the race people obviously thought I could do it in a quicker time or they didnt have any green bib/chips left!!!  So there I was standing in the cattle pen waiting to start and we heard the gun going off for the "white zone" (line for the film Airplane springs to mind here).  There was a 5 min staggered start between each zone and as we were waiting for ours to go off, you could see the white group heading up St Vincents street (a rather big hill).  It was then our turn to set off and head up that big hill - phew that was hard going.

Post race photo

The lack of training in the last 5 weeks leading up to the GSR showed as I struggled a bit during the run.  I wasn't super impressed with the course as I found it a bit lacking in support but that could be because of the time of morning it was.  People who ran the half said the support for their route was fantastic.  I think the other problem is that I didnt take my mp3 player with me for this race.  I had used it on the Ignis 10k but dont use music during my training runs.  I think maybe I need this motivation during a race.  A lesson learned for the next race :-)

Race bib and medal

The best part of the race?  The end lol.  Crossing the finish line is a huge high knowing that you have accomplished something.  Official time showed that I had completed the race in 69m 49s - not a personal best but still respectable considering.  I have to say that I was a bit despondent on the journey home.  I waited until 2 of my friends had finished the half and I kind of felt I had let myself down by not doing it.  However I have been reassured by numerous runners and non-runners alike that doing the 10k with so little training in the lead up was an accomplishment and that the half might have been just too much considering I was still nursing an injury.  Doesnt stop me from feeling like I failed in my initial goal.  Still, there will be other races and I am sure that each and every one of them will bring either a high or a low.  That's running for you :-)

On an aside note - the trip to India was fab.  The team I work with were fantastic and they made me feel very welcome and a huge thank you goes to them :-) The last day there was a very sad affair for me as I felt I was leaving friends behind.  Lets hope that I can maybe manage another trip over before any more changes are made and I dont get to visit again. 


Kimbles
~x~x~