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Run for your life.
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Sunday:
3.85 mile run, 32 mins. Which included two shoelace tying stops and a short walk about ten minutes in when my heart rate went a bit mad and I got dizzy. No idea why but was fine for the rest of it. Did a swim after, 62 20m lengths in about 55 mins. Swim is def getting much better, breaks are shorter, breathing is becoming a lot more natural and am relaxing into it more. No longer feels like Im wrestling in the water.
Its good at the start of anything like this.. Progress feels quite dramatic. Running was the same. 0 -
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25th Jan
45min run, hard pace, prob the hardest Ive run in a while. Did 19mins, rest for one min, then back the same route, another 19 mins. Then did a quarter mile hill sprint, holding a consistent hard pace. Total distance run roughly 5.5 miles, which allowing for two short (approx one min) rest stops Im happy with.
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Nice run Oryx! Best of luck in Tough Guy, looking forward to that report 0 -
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Wednesday:
Physio. Was told Im not in too bad a way, heres hoping thats true and my calves dont seize.
Thursday:
Out in the evening for a run, 4.25 miles, kept a steady, reasonably hard pace. Course I forgot to check the time.
Thats all for now, folks, rest up for the next two days, then its Yeehaa... charging down the start hill in TG. Hopefully my next installment will be the race report. Fingers crossed! 0 -
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Thanks littlebug. Have butterflies big as seagulls in my stomach.
Forgot to mention in my post above. As promised to my trainer, did one full (from fully extended arms and back again) chin up last night. Actually did 3, with stops between. Havent been able to do that up to now, can do the chins, but that first pull from straight arms always beat me.0 -
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Thought Id write this up as a proper 'race' report, so that in years to come I can look at it and sigh, and remember how fit and stupid I was...
Couldnt sleep the best the night before (duh) and was up at six am to look out at a white landscape covered in frost. 'oh sh!t', says I.
After a fawlty towers style hotel breakfast, Im faffing about sorting my stuff, in no particular panic, blagged a lift to the event with another competitor. Ten past nine, we head off. Quarter past nine, we are a mile down the road. Twenty past, we are another hundred yards in a traffic jam. By ten past ten we still had three miles to go, traffic hasnt moved at all for the past 15 minutes. Oh dear. We make a snap decision to abandon car and non competing driver, and run. So with full kit bags, water bottles etc, we run three miles to get to the event with barely ten minutes to drop our kit, get ready and join the squad in the pit. Took a gel then, cos hadnt time for tea or food. Mad. Turns out loads of competitors missed the start, and we were among at least a hundred who ran to it like we did.
Got hit in the noggin with a tennis ball in the start pit, this is all boding well... Then jittery excited chanting at the top of the hill.. then we're off in a cloud of yellow smoke and gunfire. The inital part of the run was ok, (apart from watching divers break ice in the dragon pools with weights... intimdating or wot?) I was already warm, but jesus the first time into the water in the chatham chase trenches was horrendous. Painful, covered in ice. My feet hurt and I thought, cant do this! Then it was mostly xc running, with mud, very manageable. Kept a comfy pace, cos I knew the slalom would kill me. And it did. On the 7th of 12?? hills I thought to myself 'I wanna go home'. Top of each hill was so steep you had to semi crawl on your hands and knees in a bunch of steamy grunting tough guys. Memories, huh? Uggy uggy uggy chants echoing through the woods.
After slalom was bear wood, a mix of tangly cargo netting you run under, and bales you have to vault, managed it fine. Then on to the painful bit. Mud banks covered in netting, leading into deep water (and ice) filled ditches. Every time it gets deeper its a new level of pain. Stopped feeling my feet at this point. But at least they didnt hurt anymore. The water slalom was fun as usual, 15 climbs in and out of a deep trench of waist deep mud. After that I couldnt run properly, my legs had dissappeared leaving frozen stumps in their place. Then what seemed like an eternity of mud and trenches and clambering, till the start of the killing fields.
First obstacle is a series of three walls youve got to climb, each higher than the last. Apart from a foot cramp it was grand, though my descents werent pretty. Then the behemoth, a rope walk which is scary but doable. The firey holes were smoky and the water more pain. Tyre crawl was a doddle, cos I know the way to do it now, in on your back. From then on the obstacles began to blur into a series of armpit deep mud and ice and cargo net scary climbs. Most memorable was the fear tunnels, where I yelled at the poor sod in front of me to MOVE! each time he hesitated putting his head under. I was channeling some demon woman, my own mother would have disowned me. I apologise to that man, whoever he was, but perhaps it helped him, I dont know. I found it completely impossible to run in a straight line after doing fear tunnels, my balance was shot. Funny though.
My achilles heel was the plank, shortly afterwards. Looked, made a judgement call I will regret till I die, and I took the walk in option instead. Dont reckon I could have done it and still finished. Am mad about it now though, even though coming out of the lake after it, I could barely climb out, so it was probably the right decision. I wasnt alone in skipping the actual jump. Still. grrr at weak me. :mad:
Other memorable bits are:
Being fed jelly babies in the vietcong tunnels, (yum)
Deciding that every step I took along the rope over the dragon pools was a step I wouldnt have to swim if I fell into the water, which was floating with sheet ice. (Didnt go in, but would have survived if I had I think).
Eating jaffa cakes before the fear tunnels. I love the spectators.
Going high on the skyclimb and trying to get the shaking hypthermic poor guy in front of me to pump his arms and move, as both of us teeter on a six inch plank, three stories up. Hope he finished.
Being pinned down by the foot as a viking uses my leg as a lever over the anaconda, hes laughing and apologising all the time. Sod.
Swimming through the last evil pond and thinking, Im done, I only have to finish now, tis over.
Running to the finish with my fist in the air, going yeah!!! 2hrs 30 mins and I could still talk and hold my cocoa, laughing as I spilt half it in a spasm of uncontrollable shivering.
Still. Sigh. Bloody plank. I have to go back again in 2011 now. Mr Mouse beat me this year, but I will get it done yet.0 -
LOVE IT LOVE IT LOVE IT!!! This has to one of my favourite race reports to date. Very entertaining, I just wanted the race to be twice as long so I could read more, not that you would appreciated that you NUTCASE!!
Well done Oryx, you are a tough woman indeed Most definitely on my list for 2011 or 2012 0 -
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Fantastic Oryx!
I'm still shivering here after reading your excellent report
Sounds like pure hell, but also like one of those 'you got to do' things
I would not like to have been the poor sod slowing you down, I'd say he bailed out there and then with the fear of God in him
Don't dwell on the plank thing, how many people (like me) have never even made it to the start line?? FWIW I reckon you made the right decision
Brilliant 0 -
I knew there and then Id regret the plank, but I only really kick myself now cos Ive forgotten how bad I felt then. Though it was a problem in my head before it, Im sorry it got the best of me, wish coulda done it.
Its an event that reduces you to pure survivor mode, and shows you what strength you have, (or have not) and brings out your more basic levels. Which with me is angry cavewoman, it seems.
Many didnt make it, some dropped out at the last pond within sight of the finish. Shows how hard it is.
Oh god I bet the photos will be funny.
Some are already here.0 -
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Friday had intended to go for a run after work, but god I felt so shattered by five o clock, I gave up on the idea. Was totally wrecked all evening.
Saturday:
Out at 8am for a 10kish run. In miles it was 6.45, not fast tho, 57 minutes. Really felt it at first on the hills but my pace picked up in the latter stages.
Still doin a few full chin ups per day. Feels magical to pull up from straight arms and it actually works. 0 -
Sunday:
Out once again at an ungodly hour and did a slow four mile run. Wasnt meant to be slow but my legs struggled on the two mile long hills i had to run. The garmin told it all, 7.5min miles down, 9.5min miles up.. Still, was a few more miles into the legs. Then went into the pool and did 60 lengths to work on stroke technique. Took about 50 mins cos i still need a few secs break after each length. But a good session i thought.
Am tired now. Wonder why? 0 -
Monday.
Circuits.. Five circuits, which were pretty ok, apart from at the end when i was flagging a bit. Most interesting thing was a long heavy and weighted rope which you had to hold by both ends and whipcrack. No idea why we did it, but was hysterical to watch it. Kettle bells after, doin bloody supersets, deadlift and squat, then stiff leg dl and swing, then clean and press, which showed up the fact Ive not recovered from tg. Muscles just didnt have the same power. The finale was turkish get ups, with the kb upside down. Agony. Was glad when it ended. There are times when all you want to do is sit down and be handed tea, and not move for a long time. Tonight was one of em 0 -
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Wednesday: Rest, was needed.
Thursday:
Out for a wee run. 4.65 miles, 8.15 min/mile average. Cant do the same things and expect different results I suppose. Still felt grand during and after it but forgot to take my inhaler and cos it was so cold, was bit wheezy a mile in. Had to work on breath to ease out of that, and once I was on the home stretch had completely forgotten about it.
My sport 10k on Sunday, so wont do much between now and then. Smothering with a head cold anyway. Will see what my time is on Sunday and decide from that what way to plan my running in my weekly training for the next few months. Think I need something rigid written down cos Im trying to cram in so much these days. I forget what day I do which thing.0 -
I find google calendar is great. I feed my entire training program into it at the start of the program, and then I can check it from home, work or mobile phone. It also copes with dentist's appointments, doctors, shopping reminders and TV showsI forget what day I do which thing. It'll send e-mail or SMS reminders etc. Handy. 0 -
The Mysport.ie 10k race in Enniscorthy was on Sunday. What better way to spend valentines day than running around the cold and hilly backroads of scalderland wearing skintight lycra? Romance? Pfffft.
Weather was dry but very, very cold, so wore helly henson base layer top and leggings, at the risk theyd be a bit warm, but I hate standing around cold at the start and finish, so took that gamble. So many people were in shorts and singlets, fair play to them, but Im a cold creature! Was there with some mates so did a short easy warm up run beforehand, just to get the blood moving.
At the gun was distracted by my new Garmin... first race with it.. but couldnt get it to start, lol. So was fidgeting and swearing at that for the first hundred yards. Then looked up and went, oh yeah, better race!
First km is a gradual incline, but not heavy on the legs, then it flattened out and we had the wind at our backs, which was grand. To the two guys chatting behind me at 2km, who told each other 'the view is good' I thank you, clearly my nike leggings were a good choice....;)
Kept to a consistent 7.25min mile pace till about 5k, knowing the course really helped this year, as you know whats coming up, I find it helps you pace better. Was really happy to do that pace because havent managed it in training at all. Just goes to show, you pull it out when you have to. Then I got to the hill that I remembered from last year as being a bugger... and yup, it still is. Lovely downhill stride, then you hit the crawl back up hill. Tried to relax and just work my way up it at a similar but shorter pace, but I know I slowed considerably judging by the number of guys who passed me. Including two who told each other theyd be grand once they got past 'yer wan'. Feckers. Didnt bother trying to stay with anyone, knew I didnt have it in me, and Id just have to stick to my own race and get home in one piece. By 7km, I was really feeling it, and got to that stage where you dont care about your time, you just want it over. (I may have gone out a bit hard at the start, then....) Wind in my face down the last few kms wasnt as bad as I thought, cos its downhill, but I was pushing to my limits to stay at a pace of 7.35 min mile or so. (The garmin was great for keeping me on track).
Finished in a time of 46.13, which is not a pb, nor superfast in the world of 10k running, but I could not have run it a second faster, and Im happy, considering my training mileage is well down on, and slower than, last year. Turns out I was the fifth woman home and the first in my category (F35). So, well pleased.
It was a great run, well organised and marshalled. And with coffee and heaps of cake and sandwiches afterwards, a pretty great day out all told. Not my last mysport 10k. 0 -
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