The Lliswerry 8 Road Race Blog... Finally!

I'm ever so slightly (very) late posting this blog about the Lliswerry 8 road race which was on Sunday 29th January. The truth is that I was injured before the race so just wanted to test out the injury as I'd been struggling with it since New Year. Basically it hurt like a mofo for the whole race and I haven't been allowed to run since. Bring on the sulking!

Until this morning! I did a slow and steady 2 mile run and had no pain for the first time in ages so I'm a happy bunny again. I need to be sensible and slowly increase my mileage for the next few weeks then hopefully I'll be injury free and able to take on my half marathon sub 2 hour goal.

Ok, enough about that - here's the Lliswerry 8 blog (finally!!)

The race is organised by the Lliswerry running club and based in Newport, it has a limited number of participants so sold out very quickly. I'd never done this race before but there's always a lot of buzz about it so I thought I'd give it a go. I didn't manage to get a place but luckily for me Sarah from Pegs got a place but couldn't go so transferred it to me.

We all arrived at the Newport stadium on a very wet Sunday morning and were eager to start the race. We came well prepared with the latest hi-tech running kit to ensure we stayed as dry as possible until the last few minutes.

Pegs sporting the latest in bin bag fashion

It's never too cold to whip out our Pegs vests

Everyone discarded their bin bags hi-tech running kit and the (very soggy) race began. Luckily we have quite a few Pegs who are a dab hand with a camera. 

And we're off...

I really enjoyed starting the race with these ladies, it's not often I get to run with them as they're speedier than me so this was fun.

Not loving the rain!

It wasn't raining as hard as the forecast predicated but it was still very soggy and cold. I also forgot my gloves which didn't help.

All smiles for the camera!

Rear view Pegs *wolf whistles*

After the first half a mile I could feel my hip starting to twinge a bit but was hoping it would settle down as the race went on and I warmed up. I decided to just take it easy and try to last the 8 miles. Usually I can distract myself in a race or run with the scenery or I'll just let my imagination run riot but the discomfort in my hip kept me in the moment and it was all I could think about. I threw a big pity party to keep me company throughout the race.

The race is 8 miles of flat road except for the one "hill". Luckily it was downhill and basically a small bridge.

This Peg loves a downhill!

I watched the miles tick by and couldn't wait for it to be over. I was cold, wet and in pain but I knew there was cake at the finish line!

The finish line is in sight. Lead me to the cake!

The amazing thing about being in a running club and the fantastic running community is that there is always someone to cheer you through the finish as well as waiting for you after the race to tell you that you did well, even when you don't feel like it.

We all walked back to the stadium to get warm, grab a cuppa and scoff some cake. 

A warm Peg is a happy Peg

Usually after a race I come home and take a photo of Winston wearing my medal but the Lliswerry 8 race doesn't give you a medal. Instead you get a long sleeve technical t-shirt and this is a big reason why a lot of runners love this race. Every year the colour of it is kept a secret so there was much chit chat about what colour people thought it would be. Luckily for me it was white, I had been shopping the previous day to buy a white long sleeve t-shirt to wear under my Pegs vest but couldn't find one.

Back to Winston. I tried to get him in the t-shirt but I lost the wrestling match, it would have made a great photo but I decided it was much better to keep the t-shirt in one piece. I took a photo of my cupcake instead. 

It tasted great by the way

I now understand the hype about this race, it's a lovely nice and flat route so you can really give it your all. I'm hoping that next year the weather is kinder and I can see the sights a bit more, it was wet and grey so the view wasn't the best this time.

Next up for me is the Newport half marathon on Sunday 5th March and I'm hoping that I'll be injury free. I know I haven't got time to get my mileage up so am relying on my fitness to get me through it. I'll take it nice and steady and just listen to my body on the day. Wish me luck!!

A Soggy Caerphilly 10K!

Last weekend I ran the Caerphilly 10k road race with my Pegs. It was my first race since the Manchester Marathon (did I mention I ran a marathon??) and since my IT band injury decided to feature in my life so I was a bit nervous but my nerves were soon quashed when I met up with my running buddies.

Best looking club ever!

The weather did what it loves to do in Wales, it started raining! That didn't dampen our spirits though as we all started the race together which was great, usually we're split up in our pens depending on what our estimated finish time is. 

There were about 2000 runners so it took over 3 minutes to get from our place in the pack to crossing the start line but then we were off! We all shouted 'good luck' 'have a good run' to each other and started our own races.

Tracy and I lovin' the soggy run

I knew that Caerphilly wasn't flat and was prepared for the hills but the first one was about a minute from the start line... not fun! I put my head down, paced myself and got up that hill without killing my race. As we all know what goes up must come down and I love a good downhill.

The rain was actually quite refreshing and helped to keep me cool during the tough sections, well that's what I kept telling myself anyway.

No filter, just rain

My goal for this race was purely to finish it without my knee giving in. I'd been going to physio and doing all the exercises and stretches that she told me to do so I was quite confident that me and my IT band could pull this off. I just wanted to finish without walking and without pain.

At about 4km (ish) we were running up a steady climb and I started talking to a fellow runner. Claire was doing her first ever race so we chatted for a while and discovered that we had the same race goal - just to get it done! We were matching each other's pace really well so stuck together and kept each other going.

I hadn't run further than 5 miles since the marathon and had only just been running regularly again for a couple of weeks so my fitness level felt dreadful. I honestly wasn't sure if I could run 6 miles without having to walk and know that I probably would've given in if it wasn't for Claire.

My new running buddy - we're running in sync!

After a lot of running and a lot of nattering we approached the finish line and my Pegs were there to cheer me on. 

Wooooooooo hoooooooooooo!!

We crossed the finish line and I had completed my goal. I had finish the 10k without walking and without pain. NO PAIN!! I also completed my secret goal which was to finish in under 1 hour and 10 minutes - I did it in 1 hour 9 minutes and 36 seconds!

I picked up my medal, t-shirt, goodie bag and quite possibly the smallest banana I've ever seen.

The organisers of the Caerphilly 10k had put a stage up so that posers like us could have our team photo taken.

Team Pegs

Team Pegs with Jazz hands!

The Caerphilly 10k restored my confidence in my body and my running. It reminded me that I can do anything when I put my mind to it, I forget this on a regular basis and have a tendency to doubt my abilities.

Bling!

So the next step for me is to continue running (obviously) but the hard work has to continue. I need to slowly increase my mileage again as well as focus on my speed, I want to get faster so I have to run faster even when it's uncomfortable and my body is screaming for me to slow down. I need to keep up the cross training and the strength training too. I also need to do more hill work with Caroline and her posse of pain lovers so will join them on their Monday night session of misery very soon.

Apparently this is a regular sight but with more tears and shouting!

I've signed up for 3 more races this year, the first is the Severn Bridge half marathon at the end of August and will give me a good indication on how much I need to improve for the Cardiff half marathon in October where I'm still planning to smash my PB. I'm also doing the Cardiff 10K in September and want to beat last year's time. I'll probably enter a few other races along the way but these are the 3 I want to focus on.

Wish me luck!

Women's Running Magazine 10K Race

I signed up for the Women's Running Magazine 10k race way back in November and it soon came around. On 31st May the day had arrived and it was raining.

The race was in Bute Park, Cardiff so most of the 10k was on tarmac except for the start and finish which were on grass. Grass! I hate running on grass! It's harder and it was wet and soggy so my trainers became wet and soggy immediately and I had to run 10k with wet and soggy trainers and socks on.

Pegasus girlies ready to run!

Natalie and I were there nice and early so managed to bag ourselves a freebie!

Another water bottle to add to the collection

Nessa from Gavin & Stacey (AKA Ruth Jones) joined us for the run. She was recovering from an injury so only did the 5K race whereas Natalie and I were signed up for the 10K!

Oh... what's occurring?

'Selfie' with a celebrity!

Anyone who knows me knows that I love pink. Any shade of pink is fine but I prefer hot pink or baby pink. So you can guess how happy I was when I saw the baby pink port-a-loo!

One just for girls!

After the 2nd toilet stop of the morning it was time for the race to start. Natalie and I queued up and started the race at a good pace. Not too fast but not too slow!

The race was 2 laps around Bute Park and I hate laps. I hate knowing on lap 1 that I've got to run the same bastard lap again before I can finish and eat cake.

Our running buddy John came to cheer us on and shouted helpful things like "stop waving and run faster" "you can run faster than that" etc etc. Near the end of the race he clearly saw the pain on my face and gave a cheery "looking good girls" to spur us on.

I completed 2 x 5 mile races in May and thought "what's an extra mile?" Well, I'm hear to tell you that the extra mile is pain, that's what an extra mile is!

Me during the last mile

Mile 5 hurt. Oh my god it hurt. My feet hurt. My back hurt. My everything hurt and I just wanted to stop and lay down on the floor.

What I wanted to do!

Luckily for me Natalie was a superstar and kept going and I was determined to keep up with her. I started to fall back a little bit during the last half mile so had to stretch out my legs to catch her again. She clearly took this as a sign that I wanted to run faster and kept speeding up!

We completed the race in 62:07 and 62:12, I was only 5 seconds behind her and so happy with my time.

Yay!

The text came through before I had even collected my medal and goodie bag! Natalie and I finished about halfway through the pack which was a massive achievement for me, I'm usually a lot nearer the end of the results list! I felt amazing! 

OK my race wasn't that good but it was a lot longer!

OK so it wasn't as long as this but felt it!

Natalie and I hit the podium for our photo shoot!

Happy Pegasus Girlies!

My medal is my favourite medal so far

And the goodie bag was awesome! Everything in it is useful!

And we got a free technical t-shirt!

Score!

Winston wanted to get in on the action...

I do looks handsome!

I had a bath when I got home and realised how much I was aching

Good plan lady!

The rest of my race day consisted of sitting down and eating everything I could get my hands on!

Must. Eat. All. The. Food!

It was a fantastic race day and I loved it even though it hurt like hell! This running lark is addictive especially when you get a medal, t-shirt and goodie bag for your trouble!

#PushingBackHarder

Cardiff Bay 5 Mile Race Day!

On Bank Holiday Monday I got out of bed and drove to Cardiff Bay for the appropriately named Cardiff Bay 5 Mile run.

Cardiff Bay... 5 miles

It was my first race as a member of Pegasus Running Club and I was strangely calm about the whole thing. I got there nice and early to sign in and get my race pack.

Race day selfie with Katie

Kitted up and ready to run!

The girls and I in the club had a discussion about the best time to go to the loo as we all knew we had to leave it late enough so we didn't need to pee when we started running but not too late otherwise there would be a big queue.

Timing is essential!

We had time for a quick team photo 

Team Pegasus!

We all gathered at the starting line and it seemed to take ages but that meant time for another couple of photos 

Full of smiles and pure terror!

Cheeeeeeeeeeese!

The race started and Katie and I stuck together to make sure we didn't get carried away with the crowd and take off too quickly otherwise that would've ruined our whole race plan... not that we actually had a proper race plan, it was more of a 'one foot in front of the other for 5 miles' kind of a plan.

I can see the finish line!!

I wanted to complete the run in under 60 mins (sub 60) and totally smashed it by finishing in 54 mins and 22 seconds!

Wooooo hooooooo!

Today's race reward was a shiny medal so we all did a lot of posing with our new jewellery 

Say armadillo!

I was totally buzzing after the race and wanted to do it all over again. I'm sure I would've managed about 5cm and not quite 5 miles but my heart was up for it.

I can take on the world!!

 Once everyone finished the race we did some more posing

Bling bling!

Last race day selfie!

The next most important part of the day was all about food. How many calories did I burn so how many cakes can I stuff into my face?

We ended our race day in the Mount Stuart pub. We chatted about the race, our performance and then which races we would do next while we ate our well earned food.

Photo bombing medal

By the end of the meal, I had agreed to do about 3-4 more races before my Cardiff Half marathon. Have I mentioned previously that I'm running the Cardiff Half marathon??!! Maybe only once or twice.

Now this is the dangerous part of the day. You feel on top of the world and want to do it all over again as soon as possible. This quickly goes from this...

I want to do it all over again!

To this...

I just agreed to what??!!

For me, the best part of the whole day was being with my team and feeling the Pegasus love and support. If you ever consider joining a running club then I say do it. It's the best decision I ever made and my race day was a 1000 times better because of my new running family. I knew I could do it because they helped me train for it and were there to cheer me on. Best. Day. EVER!!

#PushingBackHarder