The Year of the Half Marathon!

2017 is all about the half marathon!

My running goal for this year is to complete the Cardiff half marathon in under 2 hours. Yep you read that right, I'm going for a sub 2 hour half marathon!

My last half marathon was Cardiff in October 2016 and took me 2 hours, 23 mins and 28 seconds so that means I need to knock about 24 minutes off my race time. Ok then...

That about sums it up!

In order to achieve this I am going to have to push myself harder than I usually do. I'm going to have to get comfortable with being uncomfortable and with it hurting. When my brain says "WTF are you doing? Stop!" I'm going to have to find the strength to tell it to shut the f**k up and just keep going.

I know I can do this, I know I can push myself further. I've been smashing my PBs since last August, I'm getting stronger and faster so this is doable. I just need to face the fear and not let myself get intimidated or defeated before I give myself the chance to try.

I'm signing up to do 4 half marathons this year so I can keep an eye on how I'm doing as I go, the races are:

Newport on 5th March

Swansea on 4th June

Severn Bridge on 27th August

Cardiff on 1st October

I'm also going to try to blog more often as it's a good way to keep myself accountable and on target. I should probably also draw up some sort of training plan then not really stick to it and end up drawing all over it when I don't follow it. That sounds sensible.

Wish me luck!!

Doing The Parkrun Double on New Years Day!

Wow what a start to 2017!

I woke up at 7am on New Years Day and decided I was going to go to parkrun - start the year as I mean to go on! It was raining outside so I very nearly changed my mind but I was determined to do it. I knew a few of my club Pegasus were going to 'do the double' and also run at Barry Island or Newport afterwards but I was just going to do the Cardiff parkrun. Well, that was the plan anyway.

I arrived at Cardiff parkrun and chatted to my running buddies who tried to convince me to 'do the double' but I was cold and wet before we'd even started so didn't want to."Not this year" is what I said. Last year I couldn't do it because I was injured and promised myself that I'd do it this year but I "just wasn't feeling it". 

That lasted about 400 metres then I turned to John and said, I'm going to run Barry Island parkrun after this! John ran Cardiff parkrun with me and kept me going when I wanted to slow down, he didn't leave my side and laughed when I said I wanted to curl up and die. It hurt. It really hurt.

I didn't beat my PB but I ran harder than I have in a long time and felt great afterwards. After we'd had our barcode scanned, we headed off to our cars and made the journey to Barry Island. I hadn't run the Barry Island parkrun before so was excited and a bit nervous. It's 2 laps (and I hate laps) and it's not exactly flat. I expected to hate it but I loved it! I was knackered from my first parkrun of the day but I just kept going. The marshals were so supportive and encouraging even though it was raining, cold and windy but they kept cheering and smiling as we passed.

The route is mainly 'out and back' which I love. I have such a good time looking for familiar faces and cheering my running buddies on, it's a great distraction and really keeps me going. The last stretch along the promenade was looming and my legs were giving in, then out of nowhere Ally appeared by my side. She kept me going until the end and I am so grateful to her. That's the amazing thing about the running community, we might only see some people a few times a year but it's as though we run together every day. They are supportive and encouraging of each other, I haven't met a community like it before and I love being part of it.

I completed Cardiff parkrun in 29:40 and Barry Island parkrun in 31:21. I expected the Barry run to be slower than that so am very pleased with my time.

Soggy Pegs plus our friendly Les Croups photobomber

After the run I went for a cuppa tea and a bacon roll with Sarah, Rosie and Helen. We chatted a lot about running and exchanged our goals for 2017. We've all decided to do more parkrun tourism this year and are putting together a list of the races we want to enter and/or support our Pegs at.

Wet, freezing cold and pre cuppa and bacon roll photo

I'm so glad I 'did the double' today, it feels like a massive achievement and a wonderful way to start the year. 

My PB Smashing Cardiff 10K!

Sunday 11th September was the Cardiff 10K and, as usual, I was like a kid at Christmas on race day. My running buddy Clare picked me up and we headed into town. Clare was running with her Mind Cymru work colleagues so I wished them all a good race and went to meet my Pegs at the museum.

Our regular race meeting point... right by the toilets

Last year I finished the race in 1:03:35 and was happy to do this years in 1:05:00 or 1:06:00 ish as I hadn't been running as quickly as last year during training.

Pre-race selfie, I can't start a race without one!

Once all the Pegs had arrived, we lined up ready and waited for someone to walk by and take our photo. We were so excited when someone did that we broke out the jazz hands!

Jazz hands!

After all that excitement we made our way to the start line.

Pre-race joy... you just wait!

I was feeling great, ready to take on the race and give it my all. The start was crowded and the pathway wasn't very wide so it seemed to take forever to get into a bit of space. 

There seemed to be runners everywhere and a lot of people were weaving in and out trying to get ahead of the pack. I tried to keep out of the way as the weavers didn't seem to care who they nearly took out in the process. I thought it would ease off as we got further into the race but it didn't until about 7km in.

Trying to hitchhike to the finish line

I kept an eye on my Garmin as I had a rough idea of what pace per mile I wanted to do. I was surprised a few times when I realised I was running faster than the plan but still felt good.

Not long to go and still smiling

At about 8km I realised I was actually doing a good time and there was a chance I could finish closer to last year's time. I decided to really go for it and see just how fast I could do it.

Every bump in the road felt like a hill and my legs were objecting. I could see the finish but it seemed like miles away. I kept on pushing and somehow managed to beat my PB!

I finish in 1:02:44 - nearly a minute quicker than last year!!

New edition to my bling

I was buzzing! I didn't think I would get close to last years race time let alone beat it. I made sure I told everyone I saw!

I found some of the Pegs and we queued for our bags, this was the perfect time to exchange race stories.

Post race chit-chat

Once everyone had picked up our bags we posed for yet another photo... we never get tired of this!

Those Les Croups get everywhere!

My employers, Spire Healthcare, provided the sports massages for the event so I popped over to see my friend, colleague and physio Pippa. She is the person who fixed me after my IT band injury and she got me back running better and stronger than ever! Faster too!

World's Best Physio!

One of the best things about being a Peg is the social side of the club. We all get on so well and it's tradition to hit a bar and talk even more about running.

Post race drinks and cwtches for the boys

This race is what I needed to keep my confidence high and to keep me excited and motivated about my running. Next up is the Cardiff Half Marathon on 2nd October and I can't wait!

Severn Bridge (Very Very F**king Hilly) Half Marathon!

I'll set the scene for you. It was Sunday... it was 4:35am and my alarm was making a racket... it was raining outside... I had to try to wake up, get my arse out of bed, sort the dog out, get showered, dressed, fed and out of the house to pick up some of my running buddies. All this because we were running the Severn Bridge Half Marathon!

Looks a lot flatter in this photo!

At 7am the coach picked us up and we were on our way. We were a combination of Pegasus and Seriously Mad Runners (SMR) and a surprisingly quiet bunch, there was no singing or dancing in the aisle, I think the race day nerves were starting to set in.

#PegsOnTour with our SMR buddies!

Once we arrived in the race village, we collected our numbers, dropped our bags off then joined the queue for the toilets.

A club that pees together, stays together!

We'd been told there was a bit of a walk to the start line and that the race was starting at 9am prompt so we ditched our support crew and headed off.

Don't want to get the two mixed up!

Excitement was kicking in as we reached the start, we are a club that like to take a lot of selfies and Julie did the honours.

Peace out!

The start line was split into predicated finish times so a group of us said "good luck" to the speedy Pegs and SMR then made our way to the back of the queue.

Life's more fun at the back of the start!

Just a handful of runners

And then we were off, England bound!

Sally, Tracy and I making sure we covered the whole photo

The main reason I signed up for this race is that I wanted to run across the bridge, it's approximately 2 miles each way but I still had to do the other 9.1 miles apparently. Also the idea of running in both England and Wales during the same half marathon appealed to me (I'm English but I live in Wales - for those of you who didn't know that).

Luckily the weather had cleared up and the sun had come out so the views were gorgeous.

If you squint you can see the other bridge

Very soon the Pegs split up and we all ran our own race. I have a habit of killing my runs by shooting off too quickly in the first mile so I didn't try to keep up with anyone and watched my Garmin as much as possible. I was very sensible and did a normal paced first mile. I know, I'm still in shock too!

*waves bye to Pegs*

Once we got off the bridge, we headed into a little English village (can't remember the name). I loved this part as it was an 'out and back' so I got to watch the fastest Pegs fly past me on their way back towards the bridge. An 'out and back' is a good distraction, it keeps my mind off what I'm doing as I try to spot familiar faces and check out the *coughs* running 'talent'.

On my way back home to Wales!

The hardest part of the race for me was coming back over the bridge, I had started to feel tired and the bridge seemed to last FOREVER! I was only 5-6 miles in at this point so decided to take an energy gel and see if that helped. As soon as I got off the bridge I felt my energy return and started to overtake some runners who had passed me earlier.

I'm not sure what's worse. Suddenly coming to the bottom of a hill and realising you have to run up it or running down a long hill knowing that you have to run back up it again. We had to do the latter. Running down was awesome, it was an 'out and back' again so I saw loads of my Pegs. We high 5'd and cheered each other on, some were running and looking like they thought it would never end and some were walking up it. That bit was great! 

One of many but the worst of them all!

We got to the bottom and ran through another lovely village but then ended up back at the bottom of the hill again. I think there comes a time in everyone's race where they think "F**k it, I can walk uphill quicker than I'm running it!" and so they stop shuffling their feet and hiked up that bad boy like it was Pen Y Fan. They had definitely saved the worse hill for last... bastards!

The next mile was downhill again and I just let my legs do the work, the race was nearly over and I couldn't wait to get my shiny race bling and see my Pegs and SMR buddies.

My Garmin beeped at 13 miles and there was only 0.1 to go! Yay! But wait... what the hell is this? A hill? Another hill?! 

My thoughts exactly!

I looked up and saw a couple of my Pegs towards the top and I knew I just had to get my arse up that hill. At the top I could see the finish and I just pelted towards it. As I got closer I heard the cheers of my Pegs and SMR so out came the "wooooooooooooo hooooooooooooooo" as I whooshed past them.

It was over! I had survived!

My chip time was 2:33:46 which was 10 minutes faster than last year's Cardiff Half, it was a really hilly route and only my 2nd half marathon so I'm very pleased with that. Cardiff is pretty much flat so I'm planning on knocking some more time off in October.

Bling bling!

My work buddy, Carol

As you know, I run to eat and I like to eat all the stuff that's bad for me. Luckily Graham had brought a tray of donuts and was dishing them out.

Carb loading!

We had all brought food with us so settled down to eat, compare race stories and cheer on the last few runners coming through the finish.

Now you can't get a camera out without us lining up and having our photo taken, it can get a bit awkward when we do this in front of people who probably didn't want to take a photo of us but hey, we just don't care!

Steve and Laura about to do some showgirl style high kicks

After the coach trip home, I drove back to my house to see my boy. He was very happy to see me and quick to tell me that I needed a wash.

Wearing the latest fashion from the Severn Bridge

Once I was clean and presentable (and had passed Winston's inspection) I popped open a bottle of bubbly to celebrate my achievement and invited my 2 favourite men round to watch a movie.

Hello fellas! *hic*

Apparently completing this half marathon guarantees me a place for next year and I'm really excited because they're doing a marathon using both Severn Bridges, it's probably going to be a one-off so there's no way I'm missing out! I've also entered the ballot for the London marathon 2017 so if I get into that then I'll be doing 2 marathons next year. Yikes!

I Have Joined The #SportsBraSquad

Today I finally mustered up the courage and joined the #SportsBraSquad!

What's the #SportsBraSquad I hear you ask? It's an amazing social media movement started by Kelly Roberts over at Run, Selfie, Repeat (see her article here) and is centred around female runners who are being brave, embracing their perceived flaws and whipping off their running tops to run in just their sports bra/crop top.

Kelly Roberts - my runspiration (@kellykkroberts)

I've been wanting to do this for a few weeks now but I just didn't have to guts to do it. When I first came across this I was so impressed and in awe of the bravery I was witnessing but that little voice in my head said "you'll never do it, you haven't got the guts to join them plus you'll look awful so just keep that top on young lady!" I let this voice take over (again!) and I was convinced that it was right.

Now to those confident people out there this probably seems like a ridiculous movement and even more ridiculous that we haven't just whipped our tops off before now. Bless you, you are so lucky that you have no idea what we go through every day. Unfortunately there are a hell of a lot of women out there that do not feel like you and have a list of their 'flaws' that feels suffocating (me included!). So this #SportsBraSquad movement is needed and if it helps women like myself to pluck up the courage and do something brave then it's a winner in my book.

Yeah we can!

Running in a sports bra wasn't my only challenge this year. I have always worn 3/4 length running tights even in the summer and this year was no exception. I trained for my marathon in sunny-ish March and then did my marathon on a sunny April day and ended up with the most ridiculous tan lines ever. I had very tanned lower legs (from just below the knee) and white knees and upper legs - it was like someone had drawn a line around my leg and coloured in the bottom part. It looked like I was permanently wearing knee high tights! 

The very essence of sexy!

I had a wedding to go to in May and the summer coming so I knew I wanted to wear dresses and skirts but there was no way I could do that with these hum-dingers. Luckily I had a couple of weekends of sunshine to sunbath in and I bought some shorts to run in. The tanning sessions and some application of factor 50 lotion on just my tanned lower legs (I used factor 20 on the rest of me) evened out my tan. I had also carefully planned my runs so that there was no sunshine and no need to wear the shorts as I didn't want to get my upper legs out in public for fearing of much pointing and laughing from strangers.

We've had a lovely summer so the need to wear the shorts was forced upon me as there was no way in hell I was getting those tan lines back. It took me 4 long runs in the shorts to stop feeling self-conscious and eventually I stopped thinking twice before putting them on. This was when I knew I had to conquer the #SportsBraSquad challenge as well.

I planned today's 11 miler to start and end in Roath Park, the route would take me to Cardiff Bay Barrage and back. I knew the weather wasn't going to be great so there would be less people around. I started out with my running top firmly on and with the intention of taking it off for a little while mid run but I honestly thought that I was going to bottle it. I kept thinking about Kelly and all the other ladies who had been brave enough to join the #SportsBraSquad and I really wanted to be one of them. By mile 5 I had convinced myself that I was going to do it... soon.

After I crossed the Barrage I stopped and whipped off my running top. I stood there stunned at my bravery and a little unsure about what to do next. I took a quick selfie, like you do, and knew I had two options. Put the top back on or just run. As soon as I started running I knew I'd done the right thing. I couldn't believe that I had actually done it and I was running in just my sports bra and shorts. I had about 2 miles until I would start to see more people so just thought I'd put it back on before that and at least I'd done it for a couple of miles. But no, I ran the rest of my run in my sports bra and shorts! I ran through Cardiff Bay and into Cardiff centre where there were real people with eyes and everything!!

Eeeeeeeeek!

And do you know what, I didn't give a shit what anyone thought or even what I thought they might think. I just kept telling myself how proud I was of everything I'd achieved over the last 2 & 1/2 years and especially of the massive leap I'd made today towards body confidence. I actually enjoyed it and laughed at myself for making it into such a big deal. It's insane how you can allow yourself to be controlled by your perceived flaws to the point that I'd rather struggle in the heat with too many layers on just because I was worried about what people might think.

So if you see a woman out there running in her sports bra then give her a smile or a thumbs up to acknowledge what she's doing, you have no idea what's going on inside her head and what her story is. That might be the little confidence boost that she needs to do it again and again and again.