I met up with a couple of friends this morning for our Saturday morning run. After discussions of how long and where we were to run, we decided on a run along the railway line into town and then back along the rowing lake. It can be a boring run as there are two very long straight stretches but with company and a little chatter it doesn't seem so bad!

We arrived back at the start 8.8 miles later. However, I still felt like I could go on a bit and with the thought of the Folksworth 15 just three weeks away, I decided to carry on for a bit further. At first I planned to run a couple more miles and then I thought that maybe I could get it up to 13 miles. And then I thought, well, why I don't I try for 15!

Those last couple of miles were really hard but, of course, that is the first time I have run over 13 miles so it was always going to be difficult. I will be happier running the Folksworth 15 now that I know I can cover the distance.

Dist: 15 miles
Time: 2:28:47
Avg Pace: 9.50

And son came too

After having ingested an awful lot of chocolates, wine and food in the past week of festivities I decided it was time to get my running shoes back on! And, surprise surprise my 16 year old son, Sean, said he wanted to come too. He'd mentioned over the Christmas holidays that he wanted to start running in the New Year aiming to complete a 10K race. He's played rugby over the winter season so he has a fairly basic standard of fitness but as we runners know, there is no substitute for running.

After a discussion of how far he thought he could run - I thought he could manage 5 miles at a fairly steady pace but he thought 3 miles sounded better. I knew he would be faster than me at the start but wouldn't be able to keep the pace up which is why I thought a steady 5 would be better but I relented and 3 miles it was.

I set out faster than I would have normally done and tried to keep the pace up all the way round. It was very windy but luckily in our favour for the first half of the run. Coming back was a different matter and it felt like we were running against a brick wall. Sean was going well and kept going strong all the way home.

Once home he collapsed in a heap and said he felt sick! Haha, I remember that feeling from my very early days of running. He had borrowed a pair of my husband's old trainers and said that they were too small. So, if he is serious about running we may need to pop to the shops to get him his own pair. However, let's see how he feels later today....

Time: 26:48
Dist: 3.08
Pace: 8.42

I had another great run on Thursday evening. Again, it was a nice cool evening and as I knew this would be my last run for a few days I was determined to make it a good one. There were not many of us at the club and we set off together. We were running the same route as Tuesday but the other way round. I ran with Alison and we pushed it all the way round - or rather, I pushed it. Alison is faster than me so it was just the competition I needed to get me round.

I don't know about you, but I easily get confused when we turn the runs round and run the other way! There were a couple of junctions we came to and dithered a bit but even so we managed to beat Tuesday's time!

Merry Christmas to you all!

A great run!

I've just got back from my Tuesday evening Club Run and it was great. My legs felt strong and my breathing was easy - oh, I so love runs like that! It was cool and I even wore gloves - although they came off half way round. This weather is perfect for me. I'm planning to run again on Thursday and then I'm not sure when I shall be able to get out again. Several of us from the club have mentioned the weekend between Christmas and New Year so hopefully we shall meet up then to run off the Christmas Day excesses!

Distance: 5.96 miles
Time: 54:32
Pace: 9.08

Hello! Yes, I’m still here - It’s that time of year when there is so much to do that it seems impossible to find the time to run. I’ve managed to get to the Club on Tuesdays and also to get a weekend run in but that’s about it. Neither runs have been that long and on Saturday it was absolutely freezing – it looked beautiful though with a white glaze covering the fields.

On Saturday evening we had our Running Club Christmas Do. It was a good evening and a big turnout with over 60 of us attending (with partners). Presentations were made and I came away with the trophy for Ladies Club Champion (shared with Ann). To get this award, you have to run in qualifying 10K, 10 mile and ½ marathon races over the year. The timings are then worked out in an age-related chart and the one with the highest awards is the winner!

I’ve come to a decision over the London Marathon and have withdrawn my name from the Club draw. I really think I could do with another year of continuous running to get a good grounding to work from. I’m sure I could get round the course this April but as it is probably the only marathon I will ever run, I want to try and make sure that I run it as best I can.

I'm looking forward to 2008 and getting in some good training runs. The foundations have already been laid and it's now up to me to make the most of them.

After listening to the weather warnings on Saturday I was in two minds whether to run the 10 miler on Sunday. Well, that's fatal giving myself doubts - as soon as I start double thinking about running I choose to opt out and that's exactly what I did on Sunday. I felt a bit guilty later on in the day but I have to think positive and decide that the rest will have done me good. After looking back over my log, that was the first weekend since August that I hadn't been on a run!!!

I went along to the club on Tuesday and after having missed the weekend run, I chose to go with a small group who opted to do a longer run than the main group. In total we ran just under 7 miles, although I would like to have gone on a bit further but we have a club policy where no-one goes off on their own, especially in Winter.

I handed in my reject letter for the London Marathon to the club and will just have to wait and see whether I get a club place.....

I went up to the Club on Tuesday and had a good run. I was a bit worried about the nagging ache in my groin and a twinge in my Achilles but it was ok. No pains and a good steady 6 mile run was had. I really don’t understand what is going on with my groin but I don’t think it can be anything serious. I wonder whether I’m just thinking about it too much – you know what us runners are like being very aware of any twinge, ache or pain!

Thursday night was a different story - my legs felt heavy and tired but I think it was the thought of hill work that was making me feel that way! We ran over to where we train for the hill work which is about a mile and then I did 3 repeats and ran back. In all it was just around the 5 mile mark. I had read in Runners World just that day how good hills are to make a marked improvement in running times. I shall have to put that into practice more determinedly next time.

Some bad news came this week – I was turned down for the London Marathon! Not altogether surprised I let our Club secretary know as our Club gets a couple of entries each year. All names of those who entered and were refused get put into a hat – so I do have a second chance. I wasn’t aware of how many others had entered but she told me that at least 8 others had. So…. I’ll have to wait and see.

The Grim Challenge this weekend is off! My two other team mates have pulled out and to be honest I was not looking forward to the travelling – it is over two hours away and with a 10 o’clock start that would have meant leaving very early. The weather forecast is not good either so maybe it is a wise decision. There is a local 10 mile race which I can enter on the day so I intend to do that instead.