A Review of 2011

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I was shocked to discover that I haven't been on my blog since May this year :-O  A lot has happened between then and now.  Some good and some bad, some ups but a lot more downs :-(  So in true end of the year fashion, here is my round of my "annus horriblis".


January
January seen the start of my running again after I was signed off from physio with my hip problem.  This was a good thing as I had to start my training for my first ever half which was in Edinburgh in April (more about that laer).  The postponed Jogscotland Christmas Cracker was also held and it was also a good test as to how the hip would hold up.  As it turned out, the hip was doing great.


February/March

Race bib and medal :-)

February seen some ups and downs with training but I was getting out there and doing it (albeit it wasnt a pretty sight).  Training continued into March and was going well.  I felt confident about race day in April.  The end of the month signalled the yearly Running Network 5k which my mate and I do as an "anniversary" race.  This race takes place at Bellahouston Park and has a great atmosphere.  I look forward to doing this every year :-) 

 March also signalled a piece of good news - I was accepted to run for  Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research in the Great North Run.  This is one race that I have always wanted to do (more on this later). 


April
April came and with it my first half marathon.  What a fab day I had :-)  I didnt do it in a fast time but I started, ran it, crossed the finish line and raised money for MacMillan.  You can read all about it here ADT Edinburgh Half.  This month also seen me join Greenock Glenpark Harriers.  You?  Part of a running club? I hear you ask.  Yes well I dont think they knew what they were letting themselves in for by letting Kimbles Tortoise join lol.  Seriously though, they are a lovely bunch of people and very welcoming.  The support from the ladies group when out with them is great!


May
May signalled a busy month of running and races.  First up was the Ignis Womens 10k which again I was running for MacMillan.  Turned out it wasnt a great run for me.  I felt awful and was probably the signal that the rest of my running year wasnt going to be great.  Unfortunately the mental motivation deserted me big time.  The following week saw me travelling to Manchester for the Bupa 10k.  This was a better run and I really enjoyed it.  So much so, I am signed up again for next year :-)  This month also seen me taking to the water - the pool to be precise.  I started back at swimming, took advanced lessons and have been enjoying being back in the water.  I sometimes wonder is I am a better swimmer than I am a runner :-)


June/July/August
June seen me pick up a minor niggle which was enough to push me to the bench on running and concentrate on X-Training.  I did run the Jogscotland Summer Challenge and picked a pretty decent time.  Still not great though.  July and August seen me ramp up my training when the niggle disappeared,  for the Great Scottish 10k and the Great North Run which were coming up in September.  August the training ramped up further but unfortunately the niggles were coming back and becoming a bit more serious.  My right calf and my achilles were beginning to really bother me and it was affecting my running.


September
Beginning of September seen me run the Great Scottish 10k.  I really dont know why I run this as I seriously dont like the course.  My right calf gave out at 9k and the last 1k was spent gritting my teeth and pushing through to the finish.  This was becoming a serious worry with the GNR approaching.  I rested up as much as I could before GNR.  We travelled down on the morning of the race and I was flippin shattered which didnt help matters.  Ankle and calf were strapped up as well.  Both my friend and I were running this. The dutiful spouses headed to the finish to wait for us.  The atmosphere at the start is brilliant but no-one tells you prior to this race just how challenging it can be to a novice.  It was hard going.  Crowd support is great, the hills are not lol.  10 miles in, my calf started to hurt and had to stretch a few times.  I cant tell you the feeling of elation when I got to 12 miles, seen the Red Arrows overhead and knew I didnt have long to go.  I still managed a sprint finish at the end and the relief was immense.  I paid for it however with damaged tendons in my foot and spent the rest of the day limping round Newcastle :-(  I said at the time I wouldnt do it again but I have since changed my mind.  I wont let the course beat me down, so will apply again this year!


October

Still carrying an injury from the GNR, I had the Bupa Great Edinburgh 10k to run.  I really shouldnt have done it but....It was a great race, atmosphere was fab and one to do again but not next year as I will be away. Problem was that after this run, I ended up being benched again from exercise.  I couldnt walk after the race as my foot was pretty damaged :-)  Anyway, the rest ended up being good as I had the Great South to do at the end of Oct, again for MacMillan.  Another fab race, fab atmosphere and fab crowds.  Not to mention the fab company at my mates :-D  Definitely one to do again!

November/December

No races in November, so it was back to easy running :-) In December the Jogscotland Christmas cracker and the Paisley Jingle 5k happened.  Both fun races and no need to go full out - which is just as well lol  At the beginning at the year I set a target to do 500 miles.  So far I am 3 miles short with a few days to go.  I am pretty chuffed at this considering the problems with injury I have had.

2012

So what will 2012 hold?  Rock n Roll half in Edinburgh in April, Great Manchester run, Ignis 10k, hopefully the GNR again and also the Great South.  I may also get the chance to the Glasgow half.  However the biggest challenge I have set myself is doing a 1 mile open water swim at Lake Windemere in June :-O

Anyway, enough drivelling from me.  I think I have covered everything :-) Here's to an injury free 2012 and improvements in my running and my mental attitude

Till next time :-)

Kimbles
~x~x~

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News

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Okay so in my last post I mentioned a few things which have happened recently, so I shall take them in order.

Women's 10k

Firstly was the Women's 10k on 8th May.  After last year's run, I was expecting great things to come out of this but noooooooooo.  What a sorry, disappointing run that turned out to be.  Weather was humid which didnt make for great race conditions for me.  I suffered the whole race with the heat and subsequently a rather elevated heart rate which manifested itself in my heart doing back flips for 7k of the race.  I gave the crowds at the 2.5k mark a rather unflattering flash of my sports bra as I stripped off my long sleeve top which was under my MacMillan vest (maybe not the best idea putting it on in the first place).  By 7k I was severally flagging and at the water station ended up using my bottle of water to cool me down.  This did the trick for the next 3k and I flagged over the line in a dismal 69:25.  The day was definitely not one to go down as a fab run :-(  The goody bag was one to write home about as well - a pen, a bottle of juice, a bottle of water and 2 smints.  Outstanding!!!

Cazza & I after Manchester 10k

Next was the Manchester 10k the following week.  Now that was a great race and I knocked 2.5 mins off the previous week's time.  Still not a PB but I finished the race satisfied that I had pulled out all the stops considering.  The night before we had to put up with a couple having a domestic in the room above us for nearly 2 hours, followed an hour or so later with the 2 lassies screeching in the corridor outside our room.  Still we were up bright and early, breakfast eaten and headed to the city centre.  My goal for the morning was to see Haile Gabrselassie starting his race (and possibly finishing) as I was in the back wave of runners.  That would have been a big NO then!!  We spend ages looking for the baggage area and asked 4 marshalls to be told different directions and then someone from Manchester who said they didnt come into the city often so didnt know where things were *incredulous face*.  I was in the green wave and Cazza in blue.  She went first followed by me 30 mins later.  The race was fab, the course was brilliant and the crowds outstanding.  I finished in 66:55 and was pleased with that.  This race is a definite on next year's calendar (well it ought to be as I've entered it again lol).

Swimming.  Now this is an interesting turn of events :-)  Not content with running, I have decided that my next challenge is an open water swim!!  The marbles have well and truly been lost - fact!  Now this swim is not until next year which gives me plenty of time - I think lol.   So I have been back at swimming and have even taken advanced lessons.  Now the purpose of the lessons is that I have never swam freestyle or breaststroke properly. So online I went, purchased a swim cap and goggles and booked my lessons.  One lesson in the pool and I am dolphin-esque (okay allow me my moment of ego stroking here).  Teacher says that my form is good and I only need to work on my breathing and keep practising.  So with that in mind I went a further twice to the pool last week :-)  Sorted - now I just need to get out in open water with a wet suit and I can guarantee the picture of me in that suit is not going to pretty *shudder*.

Lastly on the news front, I have now joined a running club - the Greenock Glenpark Harriers. I'm really not sure if they actually know what they are letting themselves in for by allowing "Kimbles Tortoise" in, but I am pretty chuffed to actually be part of a club *beam*.  I am definitely not a hare but I am sure by continuing to run with the ladies and attending the club meets, I can pull myself up to a pretty passable standard.  Records will not be broken but I am hoping that my times will improve along with my physical and mental stamina - both of which have been pretty absent of late.

Oh one last point.  I had to pull out of the Edinburgh Half last week.  I twisted a muscle in my back at my rib cage and it was holding out on Saturday until I slept in a lumpy hotel bed and woke on the morning of the race under par.  Still I have to say, that it wasnt any great loss.  I just have to focus now for the races at the end of the summer.

Till next time :-)

Kimbles
~x~x~

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Hhhmmmm

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Well looking at my recent blog entries, its becoming a bit of a sorry story :-(  I'm not sure what the problem is, or maybe I do.  Nothing exciting has been happening and I cant muster any enthusiasm to drivel.  I dont know if this is because I was training for the half and it was becoming a bit same old same old or whether its all a bit of an anti-climax.

I do have a few things to update since my last past at the end of April. 1) I completed the Women's 10k, 2) I completed the Manchester 10k (now that is worth writing about), 3) I didnt do the Edinburgh half and 4) I have taken up swimming again ;-)  This last item is important so bear with me and I will write a post on it later.  Oh and finally, not forgetting the fact that I am now a member of the Greenock Glenpark Harriers.  Although whether that is good or bad I have still to find out but that is for a separate post.  Oh hear look, I have found some drivelling material :-D

Till next time :-)

Kimbles
~x~x~

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My first trip to running club

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Hello Blogglings :-)

I was recently invited to try out a running club in Greenock - the Glenpark Harriers.  After a few false starts of getting to the ladies night, I eventually went on Tuesday night.  Its was fab and just what I need to get myself some motivation.  All the ladies were lovely and the small group I was in was very supportive and gave me loads of encouragement.  They run slightly faster than me (which is not hard lol) but we increased/decreased pace to suit and it turned out to be a pretty decent time for the 3.42 miles we ran.  The route started out at Greenock academy and we ran along Newark Street, crossed into Battery Park, completed a lap of that and headed back out on Eldon Street.  We turned down on the Esplande and followed this right along to the end.  At the traffic lights it was then "up" Campbell Street ( I hate hills), along Union and Newark Street and finished back where we started.  I even managed a quick sprint for the last 50 metres.  Where the sprint came from I have no idea as I was fair pushing my pace for the whole distance.  Weather wise if was a fab evening which added to the enjoyment.  I will definitely go back next week :-)

Distance - 3.42m
Time - 35:25
Splits - 9:45 9:53 11:04 4:41

Till next time :-)

Kimbles
~x~x~

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ADT Edinburgh Half Marathon

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Hello Blogglings :-)

I did it! I only bloody well did it!!!  I'm a bit late posting about this (about 3 weeks) but now that the post race glow has disappeared, I thought it was about time to tell you about my first ever half marathon.


Race day weekend had come upon me quicker than I thought but at the same time I felt surprisingly calm about the whole thing.  I was staying in Edinburgh on the Saturday night as the race start was at 9am on the Sunday.  Saturday dawned warm and was set to continue into the Sunday. I caught the train to Edinburgh as I was staying overnight.  The train to Edinburgh came with its own inbuilt entertainment in the form of a group of guys heading over for a stag night.  The were a fab bunch of guys and keep me laughing the whole journey.  When I arrived at Edinburgh, I headed to the Lothian buses office to find out the time of the bus and where to get it.   This was were I sustained my first injury - a jammed finger when the door slammed back on my hand - aarrgghhh!  My poor wee nail was bruised and it was throbbing like hell.  Thank goodness for the tube of ibuprofen gel I took with me.  I was staying at the Travelodge at Cameron Toll in Edinburgh and I have to say that its one of the nicest I have been in.  Its recently been refurbished and was super quiet, with the added bonus of having the shopping centre right next door :-)  I had my last fill of carbs and then it was bedtime and I slept right through which was fab.


Day of the race dawned clear and bright and it promised to be a warm one.  After showering, getting dressed and bag packed, I set off for the bus to Meadowbank stadium.  I arrived in plenty of time to change, put my bag on the baggage truck for pick up at the finish (I had to finish or I wasnt getting my stuff back) and joined the every growing queue for the loos.  Why is it that there are never enough of these things?  Anyway after my stint at the ladies, I headed off to my cattle pen to await the start of the race.  While waiting for the start of the race, I had a look around at the many people who were doing this for charity and I kept reminding myself that I had 185 reason for doing this and that was every pound that people had sponsored me.  I was also doing this as a personal challenge.

Tick tock, tick tock, bang - starting gun went off and the first set of runners took off at break neck speed.  These were mostly club runners who are like speeding whippets lol.  As everyone moved round to the start line, the excitement was building.  I crossed the start line 10 mins after the first runners set off and I was off and running.  We headed off out of Meadowbank and through a residential area.  By the 2 mile mark we were on the prom at Portobello and the view was amazing due to the weather.  At 3 miles, there was supposed to be a water station but by the time we got there, they had run out of water due a glitch with cups etc.  Luckily I had my own water bottle and could manage until the next stop.  Some kind people along the route handed out water to those who didnt get any.  By the time we came to the 6 mile mark, I grabbed a water and a bottle of lucozade to perk me up until the next water station.  7 miles seen me passing Musselborough racecourse where I would eventually finish (please note the word eventually here).  As I ran past the racecourse, I could see people heading to the finish line - waaaahhh was all I could think of.  This was when we reached the time that you passed people who were heading to the finish as we were heading to the turning point in Prestonpans and to say it was a tad demoralising is being kind.  Next landmark was the wee disco bus with the DJ's shouting encouragement to the runners.  As as I was wearing my MacMillan vest with my name on it, they shouted my name to encourage me on.  9 miles was the next water station - again no water and only lucozade.  Onwards out towards the turning point.  By this time I was beginning to lose the will to live as the turning point seemed to be somewhere out towards the Netherlands.  Okay this is a slight exaggeration but you get the drift as to how long it was taking to get there.  At long last the turning point arrived and found myself shouting out "oh thank god for that".  This was me on the home stretch now.  12 mile marker came up and again only lucozade.  If I seen anymore lucozade I was going to heave!  Looking at my Garmin I noticed that the 12 mile marker was about by .28 miles.  Plodded on past the guy with the hose and water sprinkler - he was a god!  Next was the disco bus again "here comes Kim again running for MacMillan.  Well done.  Not long now".  Turning for home, we could see people who had already finished with their medals and t-shirts on. "come on Kim, nearly there, you can do it"  Then there it was, like a haven for the running weary - the finishing straight.  I picked up my pace.  If I was going to finish, I was going to finish strong.  Finish line got closer and then......I stepped over that line with my arms held high in a triumphant salute.  I had done it!! 2:41:12 - not a blistering time but by god I had finished.  I actually sobbed, I was that happy :-)  We also found out that the course was actually 0.23 miles too long so I managed to run a 13.33 mile race rather than 13.1 :-)


I wandered to get my bag, fished out my phone and texted everyone I could think of with the message "I only bloody did it" :-)  Quick trip to the loo and then headed for the shuttle bus back to the city centre.  I changed at Waverley Station and wore my t-shirt and medal on the train home with pride :-D


When I got home, I was tired, happy, sore and felt well proud of myself.  I also noticed injury number 2 - a whopping blister on my left foot, which would explain the foot pain from 6 miles onwards.  Would I do it again?  Definitely.  I have signed up for another half in Edinburgh at the end of May.  Are you mad I hear you ask. Quite possibily is the answer.

My next race is the Womens 10k in Glasgow, followed by the Great Manchester 10k the following week and then my next half.  I will be taking the summer off (so far) to recover from my exploits.


Oh and one other thing - I have so far raised £185 for MacMillan Cancer Support.  I have 3 more races for this charity to do this year.

Till next time :-)

Kimbles
~x~x~

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Running Network 5k, Edinburgh Half & Other News ;-)

Hello Bloglings 

Well yet again I have managed to neglect my blog.  This is due to a distinct lack of driveling capability and the fact that my training hasn't really been that exciting.   So here goes with the 3 pieces of news I have so far:


Edinburgh Half
It is now less than 2 weeks until the race.  Am I prepared?  I think so.  Well I am just going to have to be.  Too late to do anything about it now lol.  Am I excited?  Yes I am now.  Am I sh*tting myself?  Most definitely!!  I have successfully managed to run a safe 10.5 miles in training.  It was hard going as I was feeling a bit under par but I know I will manage the remaining distance come race day :-)  I am now starting to get excited about it and this is partly due to running a fab 5k race on Sunday (more on that below) and the fact that I am feeling much better mentally for running.  Also because I am running for a very worthwhile charity (MacMillan Cancer Support).  Training is hard and it saps your will to live at times but you have to keep saying that it will be okay on race day and think of that feeling at the end when you cross the line. However, even though I am excited at the prospect of the race, I am still very nervous and I am sure by this time next week, I will need a permanent seat next to the ladies room ;-)


Running Network 5k

Race bib and medal :-)

Well this race is now a fixture in my yearly calendar.  I entered this race last year and met my mate Cazza and we have been firm friends every since.  So this you could say is our anniversary race :-)  This race marks the start of the summer season as the clocks went forward the night before (loss of an hours sleep *groan*). The popularity of this race is growing every year, with 800 people entering compared to 620 last year. Its a well organised event and is fun to participate in.  What makes it even better is that I beat last year's time - woo hoo.  The other good thing about Sunday's race is that it has made me more comfortable with the fact I am running my half in less than 2 weeks :-)

Good News
Now to my piece of good news.  I will be running in the Great North Run - woot woot!!  I had applied to run through the ballot but was unsuccessful.  I was encourage by my mates to enter via a charity place of which I did.  I am happy to say that I was given a golden bond place by Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research to run for them :-D  I shall be part of the "Banana Army". Now this is one race I am looking forward to and I can tick it off my bucket list!

Till next time :-)

Kimbles
~x~x~

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Half Marathon Training - Week 6 Update

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Hello Blogglings :-)

Well week 6 has now passed and to be honest it wasnt a great week.  It was a strange week with a lot of things happening which are best consigned to the past where they belong.

Training totals for this week?  Running - 14.5 miles, gym - nil, food - tons!! So week 7 needs to see a vast improvement.  The running will be okay as I think I will be able to manage the weekly totals.  The gym?  Well I am going to have to make an effort to shift my Bessy Bunter backside up there and get some strength training done.  Food?  Well that will need to be a concentrated zip the mouth shut effort.  Now I know that during training you should make sure you are fueled and hydrated properly (I am such a geek) but inhaling every bit of food in sight is not really the answer.  I really need to stop buying Leerdammner cheese (its the devils food) and stop eating what I bake.  I wont stop baking, it just means I can force feed someone else into eating it mwah ha ha ha.

Oh and last week, I managed to squeeze a Parkrun in.  It is the course from hell.  I hate it but love it at the same time.  Well the love part is really after I have finished and I am sitting in The Burrell with a cup of coffee in my hand :-)  Seriously though, the start is like a pack of wild animals stampeding down the road.  I dont think cattle make us much noise as 300+ runners going all out to improve on their times.  It does get scary and demoralising when your 3/4 of the way round your first lap and some lanky legged whippet races past you as they are about 300 metres from the finish.  Now bear in mind the scary finish times are in the 16/17 minute brackets *sob*.  The nice part about Parkrun is running with old and new friends alike.  At the last 2 runs, I have met 2 lovely people who I got chatting to at the end while we were waiting to have our barcodes scanned.  That's the lovely thing about running.  Its simple to do, a pair of decent trainers and off you go, and you get to meet some lovely like minded people who all have the same outlook to their hobby :-)

Till next week :-)

Kimbles
~x~x~

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Half Marathon Training - Week 5 Update

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I am now at the end of week 5 of my half marathon training.  This means that its 8 weeks today until gun time waaaahhhh!!


This week hasnt exactly been a rockin' experience.  Training has been very lax (assumes position for a swift kick in the derriere).  Monday was a visit to the gym to do some strength training and it went really well.  Tuesday was the scheduled 4 mile run and it was okay but nothing to shout about.  I felt as if I was struggling. The route wasnt great either, as I felt I was struggling to find ways to add an extra 1/2 mile onto my current route.  Wednesday I didnt go to the gym, as other stuff came up and Thursday I felt tired and decided to take a day off from running.  Saturday's gym session was replaced with a trip to Edinburgh to meet up with some peeps from a forum I post on.  It was a good day but by god heels dont have kill your calves and feet.  My wee feetsies were feeling it when I got home.  


And that brings me to today's scheduled long run.  Meh is all I can say about that.  6 miles of hardship let me tell you.  I was feeling a bit tired and was a tad dehydrated.  Its runs like this that I wish I had wheelie trainers instead of normal ones.  My pace management sucks as well - bah.  Long runs are supposed to be slow and steady and mine are....well over th place!!!  No wonder I felt as if I had ran a marathon rather than a piddly 6 miles.  


Ho hum - tomorrow is another week!  Till next time my little blogglings :-)

Kimbles
~x~x~

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Training Update

Well here is my next update.  Okay so its a bit late again :-)

Last Saturday (29th Jan) seen me attend Glasgow Parkrun for the first time in 2011 and it was also the first time I had attended in months!  The course is quite hard and is good for training.  The morning was cold and in fact when the run started, it was hovering around the -1C mark - bbrrrr.  To say it was busy on this occassion would be an understatement.  The Glasgow run broke its attendance record again with 370 people taking part.  It was like a stampeed of cattle taking off at the start!  I actually find it difficult to run early in the morning.  Race days are fine but Parkrun always kills me lol.  Once I was in my stride though I was okay and completed in 33:19.  Not a blistering time and not a PB either but its a start.

I never got out to do my long run on Sunday as part of my training plan, so on Monday I headed to the gym for a workout.  I managed to do a cardio and weights session but my mind wasnt on the ball and I didnt feel the usual high you get from working out. 

Tuesday seen me heading out for my 3.5 mile easy run.  It was a bit chilly and breezy but I felt fab afterwards.  The Garmin is doing the job nicely of keeping me within pace zone and tracking my distance :-)  Wednesday was another gym session and after this one I felt fab.  An hour of cardio and weights again!  

So far this week, Thursday and Friday have been rest days.  I wasnt able to head out for a run as the weather has been truly awful with gale force winds and driving rain.  However on Saturday I will be back up the gym "pumpin' iron" lol.  I will however have to coordinate this with the schedule of housework, watching the 6 nations rugby (2 games) and my Tesco delivery :-)

Running Update

Well yet again I have managed to neglect my blog :-(  I keep meaning to update it and then think "do I really have much to say?"

So what have I done between my last blog and now?  Well I am now into week 3 of my half marathon training in preparation for the Edinburgh half in April.  Training is going well so far.  I am managing to build up my distance and stamina again after enforced rest due to injury.  My hip is also holding out and I am really pleased about that.  I just need to make sure that I now take time out to do my physio exercises and to stretch properly after each run and gym session.  

Jog Scotty

I also took part in the Jogscotland (post)poned Christmas Cracker 5k at Strathclyde Country Park.  Although my time wasnt fantastic, it was a good effort for a first of season and post injury race.  Time to complete was 33:48 and a time I need to work on.  It was a good day out and the weather held out for us. The highlight?  Our picture taken with Jog Scotty the mascot :-)

I'm hoping to do another first for the year and attend Parkrun.  This will also help with my half traning and the course is tough.

Anyway, I will try and make a concious effort to update my blog from now on.  I am usually so full of hot air I need to vent it somewhere but I havent been up to drivelling standard the past few weeks.  So more to come from now on - you have been warned :-)

First Of The Year

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Well we are nearly at the end of the first week of 2011 and I am feeling quite proud of my exercise achievements given everything that has been going on.  


I did my first rehab run since being told by physio that I could start again :-)  This run coincided with it being the first run of 2011.  It was only a short run (1.33m) but it felt really good.  My hip coped really well and the next day, I didnt feel any pain - yay!!  My next run was on 3rd Jan and I followed the same route as Saturday.  Again, another successful run and it was looking good for my next physio appointment.  I also got to use my funky new Garmin for the first time on these runs :-)


I went to physio on Wednesday and she was pleased with my progress.  I've got a few more core and hip strengthening exercises that she has gave me to work on but I dont have to go back for a month and this will just be a progress appointment unless something drastic happens in between.  I also went to the gym on Wednesday and had a good session.  I used the x-trainer, weight machines for my back, shoulders and chest, summit trainer, rower and finished off with a cheeky wee 2km run.  

My legs weren't like rubber when I got up on Thursday and I ended up going out for a 2m run at lunchtime and it was fab.  Bit chilly when running into the wind but when in the wintery sun it wasnt too bad. I also managed a negative split in my laps :-D

Friday is a rest day and will see how the weather is on Saturday and maybe attend Parkrun for the first time this year. Weather isnt looking too promising though.  Its not the actual run in snow that bothers me but the travelling up there.


Kimbles
~x~x~

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My Year In Running - 2010

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Its been awhile again since I updated my blog with my running exploits.  I hope you have all had a wonderful Christmas and are looking forward to the year ahead.  

2010 has been a mixed year running wise.  It started level, reached a high during the summer and then hit the dirt with an almighty thud in November.

January/February/March
Snow and ice during the first 2 months restricted training outside, so I was left to run on the treadmill.  I aimed to do my first race in March and this was the Running Network 5k fun run.  I would use this as part of my training for the Ignis 10k in May.  During these months, I met my friend Cazza through an online forum and we agreed to meet up for the first time during the 5k.  Since then we have become good friends, running buddies and support for each other.  She rocks and I'm glad we met :-) We also found out that its definately a small world.  I used to work in the same place as her dad 19 years ago!! The 5k race was in Bellahoustan Park and was fab.  We will both be running it again this year ;-)  I finished this race in 33:25 and a time I could work on and hopefully bring down.


April/May/June
April seen me attend Parkrun for the first time and I really enjoyed it.  The runs there held me in good stead for the Ignis which was in May and training was going well.  May also seen the start of my blog and my first post was a post race report on the 10k (Ignis Race Result).  My time was 64:19 and something to work on for this year :-)  June seen me run the RFL at Glasgow Green and achieve a PB in the 5k with 28:51. I also ran the Jogscotland 5k in June which was also held at Glasgow Green.  Sadly no PB here as it was a very humid night and killed me.  Time for this 5k was 29:57.  June also seen the start of training for the GSR half marathon which was in September.


July/Aug/Sept
Training for the half continued through July, however by the end of July I was experiencing hip pain and at one point had to stop half a mile into my last long training run of July and walk home as the pain had got so bad.  I took 2 weeks out for rest at home.  August seen me heading to India on a business trip, so that was a futher 2 weeks out but the niggle was still there.  Once I arrived home from India, I had a week left to the GSR and I knew deep down I would not be able to complete it as I had only managed to get up to 8 miles on my last long run.  I made the decision to run the 10k instead.  The GSR 10k wasn't my finest hour but I completed it in 69:49. I had another 10k race coming up at the beginning of Oct, so training started again for this.


Oct/Nov/Dec
The start of Oct seen me take part in the St Andrews Hospice 10k at Strathclyde Country Park.  This was completed in 67:11.  Not too bad and an improvement on the GSR 10k time.  I seriously felt that my mojo had come back and I got straight back into training and this meant going back to the gym and doing my PT programs.  The only downside to this was that the hip pain was not going away and was in fact starting to get worse again.  By the time November came, I couldnt deny there was a problem and my first appointment to the physio confirmed it.  I had a hip bursitis, weak hip flexors and IT Band syndrome. The bad news was that I was benched from running after my last run on 18th November :-(  Physio gave me exercises to work on the ITB and the hip flexors.  As I was going on holiday on 9th December, I was still benched from running and a subsequent spate of bad weather meant I couldnt attend my next appointment before Christmas.  Eventually I attended my physio appointment on 29th December to be given the joyous news that I was signed off to run.  Although I was only allowed to do 2x1 mile sessions to start with.  I didnt care, I was bouncing about the physio room like Tigger on speed :-)  One of the highlights in December which more than made up for my enforced running drought, was the birthday present from hubby - a Garmin 305 watch. However, since I wasnt allowed to run, this piece of lovely kit lay dormant in my drawer until 1st Jan - the day of my first run.  But that is story for my next update.

My Garmin 305

I am hoping 2011 will be injury free and a full of good races, great training and the meeting of new and like minded running friends.  A special thanks go to my husband, my family for their support. Also thanks to Cazza and Sharon for being my friends and running buds :-)  Thank you to all who have supported  me during this year and for also following my exploits on my blog.  A big thank you to everyone who stumped up sponsor money for my charity races.  I raise a glass to you and here's to 2011.

Kimbles
~x~x~

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