Yesterday I ran Run Hackney half marathon and I will mention now (and probably several times during this post) that it was hot!  It was the hottest day of the year so far and running in it was tough to say the least.  I saw two e-cards that said ‘I sure wish it was hotter and more humid out said no runner ever!’ and ‘I think the heat index during my workout today is somewhere between OMG & WTF’ and they seemed apt for yesterdays run.

This was not an event I had on my training calendar for this year but following my disappointment at my half marathon on Brentwood my husband signed me up and he was running with me.  I need to say now a massive thank you to him for running with me as I am not good in the heat and I found it tough.  However, most people seemed to find it tough.

I have never run in such heat, even when abroad.  I have never seen so many people collapsing and being taken off in ambulances or helped by St Johns Ambulance staff.  We saw one guy with a drip being put in at the side of the road. Later in the day the event organisers made a decision that people left on the course had to walk for safety and whilst I am pleased I was finished before then I completely understand the decision and think they were correct to do so.

We drank a lot of water, which meant I needed a toilet stop or would have wet myself so ended up in a kebab shop (of all places though I promise no kebabs were consumed in the making of this half marathon) where a lovely man said we could use his loo – queue panic as I couldn’t undo the drawstring on my new running leggings.

It was interesting as all runners stuck to one side of the roads, where there was shade, as opposed to running in the sun aside from the final 3 miles which had no shade and were a killer.

A really nice touch was in the final miles where the organisers had set up shower stations where water was being sprayed and this was much needed.  There were several people outside their houses spraying hoses, kids with water guns and people with water sprays around the course and I ran up to each and every one for some relief in the heat.

My husband was pacing me though it was clear from the beginning, as the race organisers had mentioned, that given the conditions this was not going to be a run for a PB.  Secretly I was hoping I would get a PB or at least a better time than Brentwood, however, as the day went on the sun got hotter and it was clear that the goal should be completing and nothing else.

No one I knew got a PB on this run, in fact most found they completed it, because of the heat, anywhere from 20-40 minutes longer than they usually do in the heat and so although my time was slower than Brentwood under the circumstances I am not too disappointed and it is all training, job done, medal got!

I think next time someone asks me to do an event in that heat I may well reconsider!  I wilted, melted, sweated and withered in the heat and was so pleased when I saw the finish line and got my medal.  Again huge thanks to my husband, I could not have done it without him!

I had several friends from work who also took part in the run, which was going towards our 50 for 50 campaign at work in which we are completing 50 events over the year for our 50th birthday. One of whom (the lovely Roberta) picked me up the rather fetching hat you can see in the pics and it was a godsend plus you couldn’t mis me with the bright pink hat on (I think my face was the same colour by the end of the run).

It’s not the cheapest events but it is on closed roads and for your fee you get a goody bag, technical t-shirt and medal.  A little disappointed the medal was not as nice as the one my husband got last year at this event and even more so that it doesn’t even say anywhere that it was for a half marathon which is odd?! Overall it was an amazing event and I think Run Hackney did East London proud.  The support from staff, volunteers, St Johns Ambulance, police, marshalls was amazing especially Run Dem Crew at mile 11.5!

And did I mention how HOT it was?!?!

Yesterday I volunteered at the Virgin London Marathon.  My friend Laura was in charge of the water station at mile 23 and so my friend Steve and I signed up to help her and I really wanted to do a blog post to write up my experience.

We arrived at about 9am (Laura had been there since 6.45am) and it was all hands at work setting up the station with water, signing volunteers in and giving out the t-shirts and hats that Buxton had supplied.  There were those like myself that had volunteered but also two scout groups that were volunteering as well and so nice to see the kids get involved.

The first wave to come through were the male wheelchair racers followed by the female wheelchair racers with first places going to Marcel Hug (1 hour 35 minutes) and Tatyana McFadden (1 hour 44 minutes).

Next to come through were the amputee runners and the visually impaired runners being led by guides.  The guides are astounding, running the marathon to assist someone – the first time I saw a blind runner with a guide was at Brighton 10k in 2015 and it made me cry as I had not seen it before and yesterday was no different (emotions are high on marathon day so these were just the first of many tears).

Next to come through were the elite women followed by the elite men with first places going to Jemima Sumgong (2 hours 22 minutes) and Eliud Kipchoge (2 hours 3 minutes).  Obviously these guys are elite but their pace, their stamina, their finish times everything is just amazing.  I was slightly nervous about giving water to any of these in case i dropped it and they tripped and fell and oh god the pressure!

Following this are the runners from clubs, ballot places and charity runners.  This was when the footfall really picked up and you couldn’t hand the water out quick enough.

Being at mile 23 I naturally expected most runners to be flagging but most people looked so strong.  I saw Steve from my running and cycling clubs come through and finished in 2 hours 58 minutes – astounding effort!  I didn’t get to see Joanne from my cycling club but she finished in 3 hours 51 minutes.  Next for me to see was my friend Darren who thought it would be good to soak me with the water I had just given him before he set off to finish in 4 hours 45 minutes.  Next up was my friend Warren who finished in 5 hours 10 minutes shortly followed by my friend and work colleague Amy who finished in 5 hours 15 minutes.  I also missed my friend Vicki though she finished in 5 hours 56 minutes.  Amazing effort and runs by all who are completely inspirational!

There were also people who came through in tears and I just wanted to hug them all, run with them or do something and its easy to say not long now but after 23 miles I am sure another 3.2 seems like an eternity.

And the poor men running with the bleeding nipples – ouch!

I also managed to see a man I had heard about from an obstacle group I am on who was completing the marathon with a 4 stone tumble dryer on his back (as you do)!  And he finished in 6 hours 5 minutes – insane!

I also saw Paul Martelletti who I have seen run and win races before and is an amazing athlete and finished in 2 hours 17 minutes.  And Makoto Takeuchi, from Japanese rock band The Chambers Flag, who was (as he has done numerous times before around the world at various marathons, which is how I had heard of him) dressed as Jesus carrying a cross and running barefoot who finished in 5 hours and 58 minutes.

I truly mean that I am completely in awe of everyone who takes part whether they finish first or last.  I headed home at about 6pm and there were the final people coming through and i found it slightly heartbreaking as they are cleaning up the streets and they have to finish on the pavements and there are very few spectators left but they keep going and are just as inspirational!  This was where the tonne of jelly babies and wine gums that I had bought came in handy and got eaten pretty quickly!

Would I volunteer again? Absolutely!  Would I recommend others to do the same? Absolutely!  It was an amazing and humbling experience and made me realise the hard work that goes in behind the scenes that you do not often realise and everyone who plays a part in that does so voluntarily and completely for free.

Massive respect to everyone who takes part whether it be a runner or a volunteer – I take my hat off to you all especially my lovely friend Laura who has selflessly done this for 14 years! x

Yesterday I took part in the Brighton 10k and it’s safe to say I was not overly excited – I’ve not been overly excited about any running since my half marathon last month.  I was running with my husband and so we chose to stay in Brighton rather than drive up Sunday morning and be rushed/traffic etc.

We got to Preston park and it was way too muddy for my new Asics!  Everyone set off with trainers literally caked in mud.  The route was slightly different to last year but still undulating for the 6.3 miles.  The sun came out the second we started, which was good as it was so cold on the start line – pleased I packed my sunglasses to run in.

I had decided that as I have been beating myself up since my half marathon where I was not impressed with my performance that at the Brighton 10k I would not check my watch and just run.  At about 4k, after thinking we were steaming along, I found out that we in fact were not. I was running slower than usual.  It was strange as I genuinely believed I was running really well up until that point.

From this point on I tried to pick up the pace and push through but I found it tough, tougher than I thought I would.  When we finally got to the seafront I was keeping one girl in my sights the whole time – a fellow Mudd Queen.  You run part way up the seafront and double back on yourself.  At the point you double back there is about 1.5k to the finish and my husband was reminding me to take deep breaths (something I am useless at) and lengthen my stride (which I did try to do but it obviously didn’t last for that long).

Towards the end of the seafront I wanted to be sick and actually heaved (sorry).  Thankfully there was no public puking and off we set again.  At the home stretch this happened again and unfortunately the Mudd Queen I had caught up to was now several metres in front of me.

I finished over 2 minutes longer than this run took me last year and I was really disappointed.  The intention was to stay in Brighton for the afternoon to watch the marathon runners but we headed home instead.

We did get to see a lot of the marathon runners and I am in awe they are amazing – 26.2 miles and here I am moaning about 6.3 miles.

Now I know not all runs can be good and everyone has bad runs but I had no reason for this run to be bad – no illness, weather was perfect, running with my husband, tried and tested clothing but mentally I was clearly not in the right mind.  So i have no excuses.  My half marathon has knocked me and it is showing in my efforts.  Time to get back to run club and work on this I have the Hackney Half coming up and I want to run thinking yes this girl can! 

On Good Friday I set off to London with my lovely friends Laura and Helen as we had signed up for a treasure hunt run.  We did not look even slightly out of place travelling into London wearing Bunny ears at all.

The event was run by Dead Drop Fitness and I had not done one of their events before but they were being discussed in an OCR Facebook group I am part of and I was intrigued.

We had opted for the 10k version and the mission was simple the Easter Bunny had all his chocolate stolen by the Evil Rampant Rabbit and it was our mission to follow the clues to recover the stolen chocolate, take down the Rampant Rabbit and save Easter.

A week before the event we received an email telling us to add someone as a friend on Facebook and they would be leaking information about the event over the coming week.  We first received an email with some clues as to where the event may start and information was drip fed to us through the week on the lead up.  The clues were also hilarious – in the emails giving us bits of information the story was very funny and I won’t give too much away but it contributed to making the whole event a lot of fun!  We then found out the day before where we were to head for the start and what time to be there for.

Once we got to the start and found the other ‘operatives’ waiting in Berkeley Square, some also wearing bunny ears so we knew we had found the correct starting point, we were giving a briefing, a map and explanations about how this would work.  To my relief this is not just a race but there is a different side to it as not only do you have to get to the finish point but there is extra fun involved, which was our strength.

At 12.30pm we all set off and to begin with we had to find 3 separate chocolate dealers who we met and had to give the password of ‘I want to rub chocolate all over your body this Easter’.  It is only once you had given the password they would speak with you, firstly by giving you chocolate and then giving you a clue.  The three clues led you to the Easter Bunny who was in Hyde Park.  The Easter Bunny had 4 clues to give (that you could only have one at a time).  Each clue gave you a number that you then entered into an app to lead you to the finish point where you would find the Evil Rampant Rabbit and then beat him (with a very soft stick – no harm to bunnies here) to get the stolen chocolate back.

Extra fun included rabbit selfies – so on the map there were optional rabbit selfies marked where you can go and take a selfie, which then deducts 8 minutes from your time – we were doing the 10k race and so had to complete a minimum of 5 out of 16.  Don’t want to brag but we got all of them (boom)!  You could also take a photo of other operatives (without them noticing), which then gets them 8 minutes added to their time.  Let’s just say we took a lot of those!

We were lucky in our team (Scrambled Legs) as we had our very own personal human sat nav by way of Helen who very freakishly knew every square inch of Hyde Park and the surrounding areas.  I’m not joking it was like she had a built in park compass and I said if ever she wanted to give up her job as a PA she could be a black cabbie, not that you need a black cabbie in the park but you know what I mean.  Seriously one of the clues for a rabbit selfie was to take a pic at the circular horse track and to try and get a horse in the background.  Helen promptly turned full circle and headed off in the direction of the track (that I didn’t even know was there) though did tell us we would not see a horse, which we didn’t and so most of the clues went this way.

Laura was very stealth like and running off in every direction though taking off her bunny ears when we saw operatives on other teams so they didn’t notice us.  However, given that most people in the park were having a leisurely stroll, picnic or playing with kids and we were running around with a treasure map I think we stuck out like a sore thumb and not sure taking the ears off made much of a difference ha ha.  It surprised me how much we didn’t care we were in a busy park and carried on running around like lunatics without a care.

We tried to incorporate the OCR in us all with Laura climbing on top of the post box we needed a pic off and when we had to take a pic on the band stand Laura did struggle as there was a fence around it, with a closed gate.  I should add the fence is about 2 feet tall so not much of an obstacle though Laura is not one to break the rules so whilst Helen and I jumped it she politely walked round and through the gate.

We got to the pub, which was the finish point, with most people already there – I think we were 3rd from last to turn up but our surveillance skills were on point and we only won!!

After we had bashed the Evil Rampant Rabbit we were each given an easter egg, medal and drink at the bar and as we won we also received a bottle of champagne.

I cannot recommend doing an event from these guys enough.  What is not to like?  You can get in your exercise, spend time with friends, get to run around London having fun, excellent value for money and I guarantee you will laugh a lot and not regret signing up.  I will absolutely be doing another one for sure!

I’ve been training for a long time for my first half marathon which was yesterday in Brentwood.  Run a half marathon people said.  It will be fun people said. It didn’t feel like fun to me.

Running has taught me one thing and that is that a) I don’t much like it b) i will do it if there is mud, water or obstacles involved and c) your result is completely dependant on circumstances that are out of your control.

Unfortunately last week I started my Monday with my usual early morning run and after 4.5 miles, that felt harder than usual, I really started to feel unwell and on Tuesday the doctor told me I had bad laryngitis with a high fever.  I ended up sleeping for most of last week and despite lots of messages from well wishers, and against better judgement, I decided I would still attempt to run the half marathon as planned.

Not sure that was the best idea as I struggled through the whole thing.  I really thought this blog post would be positive and happy and celebrating completion of my first half marathon.  I imagined saying how I got through the run at a comfortable pace and enjoyed it (not sure why I thought I would enjoy it as running is not my favourite).

I was running with my two friends Laura and Helen and they were amazing.  My pacing is hit or miss and most usually an epic fail unless I run with my husband who seems to have a gift for it!  I knew the first 3 miles were pretty much downhill and was conscious not to make the mistake of going off too fast and paying for it later.  We did go off too quick but kept trying to rectify ourselves.  At the 1st mile one lovely lady who had come out to cheer told us we were doing amazing and nearly there – I’m not sure she understood how many miles were to be run and that no in fact we were nowhere near the end but her sentiment was lovely nonetheless!

After the 3rd mile the sun came out and everyone was happy with this.  Not me.  I am not the best runner but I run better in the cold rather than the sun and the warm.  At this point the arm warmers came off.

Surprisingly I actually knew most of the route as it is part of our cycle club route, which you would think would help but it meant I knew where all the bumps in the road where.  I felt like the whole run was either on an incline or a decline with not many flat sections.  And I don’t like hills.  This was definitely not the run for me.

My throat was on fire and I drank so many bottles of water to help so naturally ended up with a stitch that took forever to go.  Maybe I should title this how not to run a half marathon?

By the 10th mile I knew we were on the home stretch and that I could do this.  The marshalls on this section were from Nuclear and obviously this was the best stretch of marshalling and great to see some familiar faces.  Even at the water stop when people noticed we were in our Mudd Queens or Nuclear tops we got a bigger cheer though it was followed shortly after by a huge spraying of water, which for me was greatly received and made me laugh!

What was also good was the sign we saw showing support for random strangers – amazing!

The event is very well organised and it was lovely to see members of my running club Havering ’90 Joggers and friends from local triathlon club Havering Tri – everyone smashed it.  My husband managed a massive pb looking for sub 2 hours and ended up finishing in 1 hour 51 minutes, I am so proud of him he has trained hard for this and given so much time out to help me that to see him smash his goal is amazing.

I finished in 2 hours 29 minutes and whilst my original goal was sub 2 hours 30 which I achieved I will admit I feel disappointed in myself as I know that was not a great performance by me.  I was down on myself most of the way, however, I was not feeling well and I finished it and all training is good training so I really can’t complain even if i cried both before and after – I ran a half marathon and 13.1 miles is 13.1 miles though I am not sure I will ever end up in the starting funnel by this sign!

Yesterday I took part in the Winter Run.  The Winter Run is a 10k event through London organised by Human Race.  The Winter Run series takes part in Liverpool, London and Manchester.

I travelled up to London to meet the lovely ladies from The Earned Agency in my new running leggings that by chance matched my trainers and my nail varnish – bright coral so you wouldn’t miss me!

I had a cheeky protein ball from Fresh Fitness Food that were so tasty I will absolutely be getting more for future runs and bike rides.

Before I started I had some face painting done so was set and ready to run heading to the start line just as the rain started (of course).  Despite this (and the fact that I go bright red and sweat almost instantly) the face paint was fully in tact at the end of the run amazingly!

I took part in this run last year with my husband but yesterday I was taking it on solo and hoping to see some improvement.  My time last year was 1 hour 6 minutes and this year I got 1 hour 1 minute event time.  However!  Somehow I managed to go off course at one point (following a large group of runners I thought was on the run, whilst fiddling with my ipod, who were actually just out on their own run but quickly realised and rectified) and so actually completed a slightly longer course of 6.5miles and was pleasantly surprised that my Strava notified me that I managed pb’s for my 5k (28 mins 44 seconds) and also my 10k (58 mins 42 seconds).  Now I have been chasing a sub hour 10k for a long time.  I have done it once before on a run with my dog but not at an actual event so was absolutely chuffed by this.

Anyway enough about me back to the event.  The run takes place on closed roads through London, which can be somewhat surreal especially as I ran almost past my work that is usually hustle and bustle.  Along the route the support from the event organisers is great.  There are bears, penguins and snowmen.  There are people cheering you on as part of the event crew and snow stations where snow is blown out to you as you run past.

You finish to receive a really lovely medal followed closed by a bear hug – you can’t say no to a bear hug!

I will be back next year also for this – a great run with a great atmosphere and organised brilliantly! And all for a great cause – Cancer Research.  I saw many people on route from my running club Havering ’90 Joggers, work colleagues, friends and a number of people from the Nuclear Races family so it’s safe to say this run was a hit all round!

When I got home I realised that following today’s run I had run a total of 99km for January so I did what any insane person would do and put my trainers back on and ran around the block (in my jeans) with my dog, to make my total 100km for January (yes I am that sad).

And so the Winter Run saw my finish January with a smile on my painted face, pb’s for both 5k and 10k and a total running distance for January of 100km and what a better way to get to that point!