Running on the back burner!

My Running seems to have been put on the back burner for now. After my 10k at the start of the month I have only been out a handful of times and most have been under the 5k mark.

My Run Kepper stats show that I haven’t even managed to hit the 5 mile mark for this whole week!! It just shows how much I’ve been taking it easy! To be fair both my runs have been with other people (my sister & friend Stuart) and been more about just getting out and going for a wee jog than trying to kill myself breaking some personal record!

I haven't even been exercising much in other ways either, both my usual Body Combat classes and the horrid kettlebells have been dropped off my schedule over the last week! I had good intentions and booked into them both as well as a new class called viper circuits, but I just haven't had the motivation to make myself do anything after work at all this week. I think it's the drastic change in the weather that's dashing my oomphness!

On the plus side I'm happy about missing out on exercising tonight... As I'm getting my hair done instead! :) I've been putting off doing my hair for a while, trying to leave it as late as possible, as I go on holiday next weekend. So I'm glad I won't have big dark roots for holiday, but it's been hard leaving it for over two months!
I'm also trying out a new hair dresser and I'll admit I'm rather nervous! I hope she's good! I had a nightmare last night that she messed it up and my hair was all falling out!

I'll take a before and after pic and upload it later on!

Cold, Windy & Miserable Sunday!

I find that the weather has a direct link to the amount of get up and go I have! My ability to do something productive dwindles as the colder and wetter the weather becomes! I'm pretty sure it’s not just me! Please tell me the cold rain put’s a dampener (bad pun, I know!) on your day too!?

To help me get motivated this week I treated myself to a nice new pair of running shoes! As a little well done for completing my first 10k last Sunday!

How could I not when the guy’s at Run For It gave everyone who took park in the Great Scottish Run a 15% discount! I mean it would just be rude not to!

I’ve been running in a neutral pair of Asics for the last 9 months and they have felt fine for me so I thought I would be getting another neutral shoe, but they fitted me out a pair of Brooks Adrenalines support trainers. They said I have a pretty flat foot, with a low arch and I over-pronate so I had to get a support shoe to help with this. I also left with a size 4.5, even through I thought I was a size 3! I've been wearing a size and a half smaller than I should have for my running shoes! Oops! Glad I eventually went and got professional advice!





They also showed me a new way of tying up my laces so my trainers would feel more 
secure on my feet. Here’s a breakdown of how I do it if you’re interested!

I did a couple of miles on the “dreadmill” on Tuesday in the gym and they felt fine.  So on Thursday I took them out and about and did 3 miles with my friend round Strathclyde County Park. They felt good for the first 2 miles, but after the 3rd I stopped to walk a bit as my shins were hurting a little! Maybe they need broken into slowly, so my legs get used to something stopping them from moving the way they want to when running! 


Check out my break down of my run. I was taking my time and going pretty slowly.

Any tips on how to keep motivated during the cold winter months?

10K Done and Dusted!!

Great Scottish Run 2011 Tshirt & Bib

My first official 10K was a blast! Woohoo!

When I started running at the start of the year I thought it would be a bit of a breeze, I mean I know lots of people who go running all the time and if they could do it then why couldn’t I?

Well a wee jog round the block trying to do 1 mile and thinking I might be sick afterwards soon changed my mind! It was a slow process and it was hard to keep myself motivated to go out running a couple of times a week and try and improve on my time or mileage!

BUT... on Sunday when I crossed the finish line 1 hour, 5 minutes and 54 seconds after I crossed the start line, I felt so elated.  All the hard work was worth it! I really did want to cry... or be sick; actually it was more a mix of both! But the pride I felt overcame all my feelings and there was only one word to describe me... CHUFFED!!

 

Official Chip Time



I was finished... I actually did it! :D



The race itself was amazing, everyone was extremely cheerful and the people all along the course cheering you on were amazing! I’m slightly disappointed that the next run I go on will be just me on my wee lonesome and no one about to cheer, clap , give me water, play the bagpipes, bang on their drums or even to shout out my bib number on their karaoke machine as I run by their house!!  



Me & Ryan at the start line



I had a wee running partner for the first half of the race, but Ryan is much faster than me and I tried to tell him to run on ahead to get a good time! His response was “we started together, we’ll finish together” which was really chivalrous of him! But I knew I was holding him back, so I stopped to walk, telling him to keep going  saying I would catch up, but I knew full well I’d never catch him.



He finished 5 minutes ahead of me. :D

This is how the breakdown of my pace looked on my run keeper app once I had finished!

I can remember that only a couple of months ago I was struggling to get my pace under 11 minutes per mile and that was only doing about 4 miles! So I was really happy to keep it under the 11mins per mile mark for most of the race, even though I really didn’t think I was going all that fast!