Marathon Training: January week 1

January 6th-12th 2014 marathon training stats:-

No. of runs: 4 (23.2 miles total)
No. of new things tried: 3 (Park Run, Kalenji top, Natural Hero Hot Muscle Rub)
No of times told to go to bed because I'm a grumpy little sh*t: 1 

First week of January means first full week back at work after 2 weeks of long lies and too many pies! It also meant return to full time, less-of-the-excuses marathon training. It was always going to be a toughie! Sure enough, the days seemed long and the legs felt tired, but fortunately I not only have the impending marathon to train for, I'd also signed up to Jantastic as part of Adidas Team Boost with a goal of 4 runs per week. 

The competitive nature in meant I wasn't going to go down without a fight, and stubborn-ness got me through my four runs of the week - three TomTom-tracked runs plus a track session on Wednesday night.

Monday: rest (managing to get through first day back at work was achievement enough!)
Tuesday: 3 miles early morning run 
Wednesday: Back to track - Yasso 800's (6 x 800m at 8min/mile pace with 2min rest)
Thursday: slow 6 miles with the returning-from-injury bf
Friday: rest
Saturday: 11.4 miles total...

Saturday was a a good day for running. My running friend Steph has been keen to rope us all in to try a Park Run (they should give this girl a medal for her marketing and recruitment), so I finally agreed to head to Fulham Palace for my first ever one. I had 11 miles in the schedule, so decided to run the 4 miles from Clapham to the race, complete the 3 mile race and then run 4 miles home = 11 miles. perfect!

Saturday brought a glorious chilly, sunny winter morning, with a beautiful sunrise as I headed out along the Thames towards Putney. Arriving at Putney Bridge I met up with Steph, Lissy and Charlie and we headed over to the park at Fulham Palace.

I had always been slightly nervous about Park Run, convinced it would be full of super-speedy folk, but as we arrived it was clear that the park Run crowd is a mixed bag: all sizes, shapes and ages; from some men and women that would be pushing my grandparents age to those not yet able to walk, in buggies! After a brief run-down of the rules and course form the friendly course director we moved to the start line and, with little fanfare, we were off!! 

Having already run 4 miles and with the marathon firmly in my sights I wasn't looking for a PB, just a reasonable pace to add to my long run. Happily, Charlie and Lissy were also happy to adopt this approach and we trotted round together, coming in at 27.45. 

It was only half way round that I realised I had never run a timed 5K race - this can only mean a new PB! And something to target on my next Park Run - yes, I will be back. Plans are already afoot to try out some other Park Run sites around London and, if Fulham Palace is anything to go by, I can't wait for the next one.

To top off a lovely morning of running, we popped in to the cafe at Fulham Palace for some much needed warmth and hot drinks. Showing no end to her talents, Steph had baked us some post-run reward Banana Cake - just the ticket to fuel me for the 4 mile run home!

I also tried out some new run goodies this week. First, the new Kalenji run hoodie that I bought when back home for Christmas from the sport superstore Decathlon. It was perfect for running in the cold mornings we've been having. And it has the thumb hole thingy that I love for that not-quite-cold-enough-for-gloves weather, if you know what I mean?!

Need a hero? A hot one? Here you go!

I also FINALLY got round to purchasing some Natural Hero Hot Ginger Muscle Rub, which I'd been eyeing up for ages after seeing so many great reviews on twitter. 

I massaged some of the cream in to my sore hamstrings after this week's track session, thinking 'it smells lovely but it's not that hot...' About 20 mins later my hamstrings were basking in a lovely warming sensation - it felt brilliant! You can have a look at Natural Hero's products here. The products are also 98% natural products, which is pretty good for something that works so well!


All in, I'm pretty pleased I made it through this week given that I was coming back from post-Christmas holiday excess. I'm not sure the boy as too impressed though, as I was sent to bed at 10pm on Friday night for being too grumpy - a combination of tired legs, a sore head and a busy work week. I reckon he did me a favour though as I really enjoyed Saturday's run AND managed to keep going through to cocktails in the evening with a smile on my face, grump free. RESULT! Thing are definitely on the up. Bring on next week...

How was your training this week? Are you a Park Run regular? I would love to try out other Park Run sites throughout the year, so I'd love to hear where you run and why it's a great course.

Katy | City Girl Fit

Hello 2014!

Happy Days: New Year's Day walking with the family at
Burghead beach, Scotland

New Year is always a time for taking stock of the year gone by and looking ahead to the year to come; setting goals, making plans, new years resolutions. Well, I pre-empted the new year's resolutions a little this time, beginning my 'reboot' back in August 2013. 

That's when I decided to get back in to fitness, set myself some goals and start really living my life to it's fullest. It's also when I started this blog, as a means of accountability and, I hoped, a place for others on a similar journey to come and see, share and enjoy.

Just 5 months on and a lot has changed! Reading back over my previous blog posts I realise how far I've come, how many new things I've tried, what new feats I've achieved (my first half marathon a definite highlight!) and how many new friends I've made through blogging, running and tweeting. Thanks to the things that the latter half of 2013 brought I'm heading in to 2014 - and towards the big 3-0! - with a smile on my face, a strong mind, a warm heart and looking forward to plenty of new challenges ahead.

Runners, bloggers & friends connected
through a love of post-run cake!

New friends should always have great jazz hands...

The biggest challenge ahead, without a doubt, is running my first full marathon: London, April 13th 2014. Training began at the start of December and, in spite of a minor knee-pain wobble, has been going well. Over the next 3 months I'll be posting a weekly training update as I count down to the big one. This will also tie in with my record of runs for the Jantastic running challenge, which kicks off tomorrow - so if you want to join in get signed up quick!

One of the aims I set in August 2013 was to do a triathlon before I hit 30. My swimming and cycling has definitely taken a bit of a back seat to marathon training, but I've bitten the bullet and signed up for a super-sprint distance triathlon in May!! 

Another first in 2014 will be my first 24-hour race experience - the Adidas Thunder Run at the end of July. Along with four other amazing running-blogging ladies in the relay team, we will be tackling 24 hours of trail running come rain or shine, light or dark. I'm really excited about this one: head torches at the ready!!

There are many more races and challenges already in the diary, and more sure to come as the year moves along. As things stand, 2014 is shaping up to be a vintage fit year for this city girl....

What goals have you set for the new year? Are you running a marathon this spring? I'd love to hear how training is going - drop me a message below or come say hi on twitter :)

Happy New Year - hope it's a good one!

Katy | City Girl Fit

The TomTom Runner watch: is it happily ever after?

Once upon a time there was a Freckly lady who spent many a day tormenting her loving boyfriend... 

Freckly lady: "I’d really love a GPS watch for marathon training..." 
Bf: "Yeah, that'd be cool, you should get one." 

Freckly lady: "it’d be so great if I didn’t have to carry my phone out with me to track my distance and pace when I’m running..." 
Bf: "yeah, probably would. you should get one." 

Increasingly exasperated Freckly lady: "I really want THIS watch" *dances around in front of bf with to TomTom Runner watch on laptop screen* 
Bf: *sigh* 

After much hinting and leaving of leaflets in strategic places around their flat, the lovely bf had the wonderful, independent *cough* idea to surprise freckly lady with the fantastic and generous present of a TomTom Runner watch. What a hero! *swoon* 

TomTom Runner watch arrived in shiny boxed glory: 

On Freckly lady's hand: 

Left: time (6am - ooft!). Right: summary screen on pause

Freckly lady found this beautiful watch very easy to work. First of all she downloaded the TomTom connect software to her computer, then plugged in TomTom and off they went! (The TomTom software can be connected directly to a MapMyRun account if you have one too, which is ideal.) All actions are controlled from the 4-way control pad, to start a run you just go right, right, wait for GPS signal, right and - complete with a mini fanfare - GO! 

Unlike some fairytale heroines (whatev's, Cinderella), Freckly lady DID go to the ball - well, the Write This Run conference at the Running Show, so just as good :) She headed by the TomTom stand to show TomTom Runner watch off and demand extra chocolates given her dedication to their brand!

The TomTom man on the stand explained the ‘laps’ function: you can programme the watch to buzz and tell you when a certain distance or time has passed, and it gives you a breakdown of you average pace over that time or distance. Freckly lady put this function in to action at The Running Show 10k, where she liked the buzz from TomTom reminding her that she was another km down, and let her quickly check her average speed quickly. Back home with TomTom runner watch plugged in to the computer, the data on time, speed, splits and elevation were all updated automatically to TomTom connect and MapMyRun. 

On top of all that new watch giddyness, Freckly lady earned a 10K PB! As you can see, Freckly lady was very happy about this... 

Freckly lady gives the thumbs up. Random guy she sprinted with looks less happy...
Image, in it's glorious moment-capturing genius, courtesy of +Jen Slater 

Is the conclusion to our fairy tale that the TomTom runner watch has super make-you-go-fast powers??! Possibly not, but it did give Freckly lady the info she needed on how far she'd gone and reminded her of my pace every km without having to ask it. TomTom Runner watch likely also has many other secret powers that Freckly lady is yet to discover. The full magical working of TomTom can be examined here. This could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship... 

 *Freckly lady skips off into the sunset with TomTom Runner watch* 

The End.

What's in a warm up?

OK, hands up if your idea of a pre-run warm up is a cuppa then a half-hearted hop around on the toes, with a side-to-side bouncy motion (y'know, that movement you do in the pens before a race, which does not warm you up at all)? 

*hand flies up*

See, the thing is, when I'm up at the crack of dawn to fit in my morning miles the last thing on my mind - or I have time for - is 'warming up'. Running IS a warm up, isn't it??

Strangely, while I'm happy to skip the warm up (as in give it a miss, not skip for my warm up...) I LOVE a bit of post-run stretching and quite enjoy Kara Goucher's pro-runner stretches on the Nike Training Club App. It has some nice yoga-esque stretches, takes about 15 minutes to complete, and you feel lovely, long and lean at the end. If only life could be one long cool down...

Alas, this post is about warm ups! 

At the track session I went to there was a good 15 minutes spent on warm up - 2 x jog round the track plus dynamic stretching - but I'm usually pushed for time so the warm up tends to get bumped down the priority list, and maybe it's just me, but I kind of feel a bit silly doing walking lunges along the main road in Clapham... 

Lately, however, as a number of my runner friends have been rendered sofa-bound due to injuries - get better soon guys! - I've started to think more about injury prevention. Thanks to recommendations from NY marathon runner extraordinaire Charlie, I've started listening to podcasts on my walk to work. One such podcast from Runners Connect seemed to fit the bill for my recent worries: Intelligent and Injury-Free Training. You can download it here.

In this interview, Jeff Gaudette outlines how important warm ups are. He says you should NEVER miss out on the warm up, even if it means you have to run a shorter distance if you're pushed for time. If time is an issue, he suggests the 'lunge matrix' - a 5-mine warm up featuring 5 types of lunge that can, if you're shy like me (haha!), be done in the comfort of your own home before stepping out the door. Here it is, from the wonderfully American Coach Jay Johnson:

Instead of making my excuses, I'm going to try to do at least this before I head out on a run - I'll just need to set the alarm 5 minutes earlier!! 

How do you warm up and cool down? Is the lunging enough? Could someone invent an awesome warm-up dance to a fabulous 80s track that I will never want to not do, please? That'd be lovely, thanks :)

Katy | City Girl Fit

My first attempt at: track training sessions

To run fast you must practice running fast. 

OK, that’s pretty self explanatory. But I’m running a marathon, where I’ll be running long and slow, slow, slow so running fast isn’t for me, right? WRONG! 

If you look at any marathon training programme these days there is a lot of emphasis on adding in at least one session a week that involves increasing your pace - tempo runs, hill work – anything that gets you out of your comfort zone and breathing a little bit harder. This approach apparently makes you a more effective runner and will help you to run faster even when you run slow. Even if speed isn’t your no. 1 goal let’s face it – we’d all like to be a little bit quicker and see some progress on those race times! 

Now, I’m not a ‘lazy’ person, per se. I’ll happily kit up and hit the tarmac for a trot round the park and, if I’m training for a longer distance, dedicate my weekend hours to get some decent mileage in. But push myself to the point of hard breathing and inability to chat as I run (say what now??) – no, sorry, it’s not really going to happen on my watch alone. And if I ever try, I do a few short bursts of speed, give myself a pat on the back and then trot on home for a crème egg and a cuppa. 

My marathon training programme, however, says otherwise. As the teachers at school used to tell me, if you can’t be trusted alone then you require supervision! So, I had the bright idea to head along to a track session. Back in the day I was actually a track runner at school and, unbelievably, I used to do track training 2-3 times a week. Sometimes just for fun! Ah, to be young...

Through tips and advice from fellow twitterunners (did I just invent a new label for runners who tweet?? Trademark pending...) I found a session with run coach Karen down at Battersea track on a Wednesday evening. I’d already convinced my friend Josie it was a good idea too, and she’d gone along a few times already – a guinea pig of sorts, in the nicest possible way! – and fed back that it was quite good and she hadn't died yet: always a good sign. So I decided that this was the week to make my return to the track. Ah, dammit! I now have the classic 90s song ‘Return of the Mack’ inside my head... I digress (as always). 

I’d had my first post-school track experience when I went to Battersea stadium as part of my Run to the Beat training and – despite it being really tough – I loved it! The only difference was than back then it was in August, 20-odd degrees and sunny. As I walked to the track on Wednesday it was November, pissing down and freezing cold! 

As I walked along I gave myself a pep talk: “you’ve played numerous seasons of hockey in the Scottish winter, woman! You can do this!” And I’m glad that the voices in my head prevailed... 

At the track there turned out to be 8 of us plus Karen, and the rain died down so it was only freezing cold now and not wet. Relentless positivity, anyone? To try to explain just how cold it was, I had three layers on and an ear-warmer headband, and not one item of clothing was removed over the course of the session! 

A short ‘warm’ up of two laps round the track, some drills (walking on toes, walking on hills, high knees, bum kicks etc.) Karen explained the session. The regulars told me that each week was different and you don’t get told in advance so nobody knew what to expect... Karen paired us up in a two-man team, and told us we were to do non-stop 400m relays. For 25 minutes. Yup. 25 minutes solid. Ouch! 

Once we got going though it actually didn’t seem too bad. That is until after our 3rd or 4th lap of the 400m track when the legs really got tired and the lungs hurt from the cold air. For some reason I always seemed to die at 200m and had to spend the remainder of the lap screaming: c’mon stupid legs, work!! 

Battersea track in sunnier times!

We kept pushing through, supporting and cheering each other on the rounds and getting some tips from Karen while we recovered. For example, it’s much more efficient to run with short, fast strides than with long slow ones – my preferred mode of ‘bounding’ around the track. I tried the shorter strides out on my next few laps and, while I can’t vouch for efficiency or graceful technique, I certainly felt like I was running much faster! 

Team Josie & Katy managed 9 laps each in the 25 minutes, averaging around 7min mile pace. We were knackered at the end, but with happy, rosy-cheeked faces :) Time will tell how much these sessions will help my running, but it was great to mix up the training and to meet some new people; I really enjoyed it and will definitely be back: ‘Wednesday track’ is now a solid fixture in the marathon training plan! 

If you fancy channelling you inner Usain Bolt and getting down for some track action then get in touch with Karen – the sessions are held on Wednesdays at Battersea Millennium Park, cost £8.90: £3.90 to the track and £5 to Karen. 

Have you tried track training or other forms of speed work? Did it make a difference to your running? 

Katy | City Girl Fit

The week in training - too much (in one day) too soon?

So last week training took a bit of a back seat in favour of some fun stuff, and I'm still not quite in to my 18 week marathon plan. Nevertheless, I'm already I'm finding that fitting my not-yet-at-full-marathon-mode training in around work is tough. As I couldn't fit in my 4 runs this week I decided to push it hard for a few days. Not advised! Here's a breakdown of training this week so far: 

• Sunday - crazy day: think I just about ran a marathon in 4 parts!
• Monday - yoga
• Tues & Wed - away for work trip
• Thursday -6 miles + hills
• Friday - yoga

Last Sunday turned out to be an epic adventure of non-stop movement in one day. 

It began with a 6am alarm call: up, quick shower, get in to running kit (this took a bit longer than usual - it was cold-ass morning, so extra layering required!) I love it when you get rewarded you for an early rise, and this Sunday my reward was a beautiful sky lighting up the London skyline... 

Good morning, London!

I was at Clappy J (oh god. I've been watching too much MIC, haven't I...) to catch the train to Putney to meet up with Stephanie and Jess, who were kind enough to let me tag along on their 12-13 mile run along the Thames path. I hadn't yet run this route, so was quite looking forward to some new scenery and a bit of trail action. 

It was also a great opportunity to try out my new New Balance trail shoes and test out approaches for eating/hydration for longer runs. I ate a coconut and macadamia Bounce ball on the way over (a treat from my Zero Calorie Advent goody bag!) and had a glass of tri-berry nuun - I love this stuff for pre and post run hydration. So tasty! - before I left the house at 6.30. There was a gel in my run bumbag - yeah, bumbag. Super, sexy, cool, I know - should I feel the need to use it. 

Shiny (not for long!) new shoes

Bounce ball: lovely protein-y goodness

After meeting the also layered-up Jess and Steph we set off along the river towards Kew Bridge. Now, these two are speedy girls, so I was a bit worried that by trying to keep to their pace I'd collapse in a heap of sweat and phlegm before we reached half way. Thankfully, the girls were happy to let me set the pace. I've only ever done this distance once before and that was at Run to the Beat half marathon, so I'm not really sure how fast I should run 13 miles in training, but we settled at a speed that, for me, was comfortably difficult, and turned out to be slightly faster that I would have normally - the good thing about running with faster runners than you!

As we were up so bright and early the path was almost empty and it was lovely to see the river so peaceful bar the odd group of rowers: the only other nutters up this early on a Sunday morning. At Kew Bridge - half way - we joined up with Lissy for the return leg. We looked like twins with our earwarmers, neon run jackets, run bumbags and leggings. Well, twins if you ignore the fact that Lissy is half my size and has white-blonde hair... I warned Lissy about the mud - and it didn't disappoint. With the downpours on Saturday the trails were super muddy - I was so glad of my trail shoes! Once you got over the fact that mud was inevitable it was quite satisfying to squelch in to a big muddy puddle :) 

A muddy Thames path run with Lissy and (in the distance) speedy girls Steph & Jess

I also noticed half way along that while Jess and Steph's feet were muddy their clothes were not covered in mud splashes like me. Lesson learned: if you want to stay clean then you have to run faster and IN FRONT of other runners! I earned a few sideways glances on the train home, which I responded to with my best "yup, it's 9am and I've already banged out 12 miles of trail running, suckas!!" look. Otherwise known as 'smug face'.

Home, fastest shower and change in history, off to opticians for an eye test, home, lunch, out the door at 1pm towards Clapham Common for my Sunday touch rugby league.

Some people have been asking about my Touch Rugby team, when we play etc. I play for Maigic Touch - It's a mixed team, and the rules of Touch Can be found here on the in2touch website. Magic are a great bunch to play with and to socialise with - you can catch up with our on-pitch and off-pitch our shenanigans on the Magic Touch blog.

Magic Touch: Greek goddesses & spartans

Magic Touch: super heroes!

Our main season is on Wednesday evenings at Regents Park, which run from April-September, and we are always keen to have new players, so get in touch in the spring if you're interested. We're currently playing in the Clapham Common Sunday Late Summer League. On Sunday we played our league match (lost 8-4 against the unbeaten team in the league) but then also another game against London Moths - like London Wasps, but at night - as their oppo didn't show (we won that!). THEN we had a third game of the Magic 'old skool' players vs us 'new skool' players (a draw - winners all round!). 

Magic Touch - old & new (& non-playing children)

I might be smiling in the post-game picture (above) but after three 40 minute games and a 12 miler in the morning - oh my god - the legs really hurt!! My knees were in agony and I hobbled for a good two days afterwards. 

I realise now that this approach to do everything in one day was probably a bit silly and I'm lucky that I'm not injured. In future, I maybe wont run an almost half marathon in the morning if I know I have sprint sessions in the form of touch rugby later in the day! Thankfully - well, actually, sadly - the Touch season ends next Sunday 24th Nov, so my weekends will be free for long runs and then afternoon resting. My goal over the coming months will be to slow down and take small steps to increase my training each day rather than almost killing myself by trying to take a thousand steps in one!

Have you hit training too hard too soon? How are you finding fitting training in to your schedule? Do you have a plan to work training in around work, Xmas parties and travel? If you've got any good tips then please share!!

Katy | City Girl Fit

Scottish adventures and an early Xmas party

It's been a busy old week for this city girl, but mostly it's been fitness-associated fun!

At the weekend I headed back to Scotland with the boy to visit the parents, which meant fitting in some fitness around home-cooked meals and wine in front of the fire (it's a hard life, eh?!). I headed out for a run in the sun on the Saturday on a nice 5 mile loop from the house through Uddingston and Bothwell. It was a lovely crisp day, and the autumn colours were beautiful.

On the Sunday we went for a walk around Chatelherault country park which has some beautiful ancient oaks and fantastic trails. I've earmarked these for my training runs over the Christmas holidays. It also means that I need some trail shoes, so went for some retail therapy in Glasgow and got some new shoes :)

 

The legs were feeling a bit tight and tired after an 8 hour drive back down from Scotland so on Monday night I decided to do a bit of yoga. It was a cold and wet evening, so didn't fancy heading out, but I remembered that I'd signed up for yogadownload.com. I selected a 20-minute free yoga for runners class, downloaded the audio and pose guide and off I went! The perfect solution for tight hip flexors and calves.

On Tuesday I decided to try out the Nike Training Club at Covent Garden. This class, unlike Nike Town, involved outdoor training rather than on the shop floor! The instructor, Kezia, was really friendly and the class was pretty fun. We jogged from the store down on to the riverside and along to Westminster where we encountered the a mass protest in front of the houses of parliament with hundreds of people wearing the V for vendetta Guy Fawkes masks. Running through that was quite an experience, but we stuck together and found a spot further down the river to do our class. We had six exercises recommended by athletes, ranging from one-legged lunge-hops to squat jumps and modified burpees, each to do hard-out for 1 minute. Then we jogged back to store for some stretches. I really enjoyed this class, particularly taking in the sights of London and seeing the fireworks over the Thames while we worked out. I'm planning to head back on the 19th when my blogger friend Elle will be taking the class - fancy joining? Sign up here.

On Thursday I was invited along to the launch party for Zero Calorie Advent Calendar, a great initiative to have a fat-free Christmas, which is being run by bloggers Mollie, Becca and Christine.


The party was held at Lululemon in Covent Garden, but in true fit-blog fashion we had to earn our prosecco first by taking part in Good Gym. The idea behind Good Gym is that you incorporate doing something good for the community - from helping with a local project to visiting isolated older people - into your fitness session. On the night we ran from the store to Somerset House where we worked as a team to dismantle radiator covers and move some wood for Makerversity.

Afterwards we had a 3km race along the Thames towards Tate Modern before heading back for some well-earned prosecco and cake! The chosen charity for Zero Calorie Advent Calendar is A Mile In Her Shoes - a great charity that supports women in crisis by helping them to get fit and stay healthy. If you have any old trainers or sports clothes then get in touch with these guys and they'd be happy to take them off your hands!

It was great to see some friendly faces down at the launch party, as well as meeting some people in real life for the first time such as #sub50project runner Sian. Mollie, Becs and Christine have done such a great job to pull the event and calendar together and I can't wait until December to begin the countdown to Christmas! It'll be helped along all the more with the lovely goodies and free classes in our goody bags - looking forward to trying out Good Vibes studio in particular.

Marathon training took a back seat this week - was great to do some fun things other than just run. Next week I start to build up the miles again though!

How is your marathon training going? Have you started yet or still in the planning stages?

Katy | City Girl Fit