This fat girl runs, breathes and believes

This was a kind of up and down week for me but in the end all is well and I feel good!

Monday 3rd November
After a fantastic rest day on Sunday I was ready to start the week with another early morning run! Felt myself lagging a bit and noticed my hamstring feeling a bit strained so, it was a bit of a struggle!
Distance: 5.08km
Time: 44.20

Wednesday 5th November
Nothing special about today, although I went for a shorter run as I felt I was overdoing it a bit lately. I’ve been foam rolling and stretching though.
Distance: 3.11km
Time: 27:42

Friday 7th November
Back to 5km today which felt really good. I also went for a 4k walk afterwards! (long story!). Hamstrings seem fine, thankfully!
Distance: 5.12km + 3.97km (walk)
Time: 43:08 + 42.50

Saturday 8th November
35 minute spinning session + 20 minutes abs workout.
Distance: 18.4km (spinning)
Time: 35:56

Next week: I will be preparing for a 5k race

This week was one of the highlight weeks of my year! This week I was preparing for a 5k race on Saturday. It was a race which was significant for me, as I was going to try and run my goal time of under 40 minutes, something I had never achieved before. I am delighted to say that I did it! For more on that you can check out my website (link to same in my profile page) if you want.

Monday 10th November
A planned 5k for me today, last one before my race on Saturday. I felt good, strong and energetic but I still ran it fairly slowly.
Distance: 5.10km
Time: 44.50

Wednesday 12th November
Last run before Saturday's race. A slow and easy 3k.
Distance: 3.37km
Time: 28:45

Thursday 13th November
One hour workout, weights (upper body/arms) and core work. No spinning as I wanted to save the legs for Saturday.

Saturday 15th November
A very busy day in terms of activity! The highlight was the race, and running it in my target time. I then walked home from the race and also had a one hour workout with my trainer (45 minutes weights/core + spinning).
Distance: 5km + 5km (walk) + 6k (spinning)
Time: 38.29 (PB!) + 50 mins (approx) + 10mins

Now that I hit one of my goals (see my introduction), my next goal is to run 10k without stopping or walking. I'm feeling really confident, and strong and determined so I know I can do it! I'm going to take all the advice I've been given on running a faster pace (different thread) and apply that to my weekly runs. I'm looking forward to pushing my limits and seeing just what I'm capable of! Thank you, everyone, for your support and encouragement thus far!

Ososlo wrote: »

I read the report on your running blog from today. Big big congratulations. That's great improvement to see within a year. Imagine what time you'll be running this time next year!!!

Thank you! I can only imagine but I'm determined it will be even faster!

Thank you very much for the kind comments and best wishes!

Chivito550 wrote: »

Just curious, how did you get nearly 2000 followers on Twitter? I'm impressed.

I'm not even sure myself! I'm very humbled and amazed that people are following me; when I first joined twitter I had no idea how many awesome runners and people I would get to know! It's been brilliant

I'm feeling really strong and capable lately with my running, and this week was a really good one. I covered 21k in 4 days of running, I'm getting stronger at lifting weights and feeling much more confident about the goals I want to achieve.

Monday 24th November
Monday’s are my short/slow runs because I also have a one hour workout with my trainer the same day. Today, both run and workout went well.
Distance: 3.08km
Time: 26:44

Tuesday 25th November
Tuesdays will be a longer run, 6k for now…simply because I can! I still need to nail down a route that is closer to 6k and not going too much over.
Distance: 6.20km
Time: 52:45

Thursday 27th November
During the week I decided to try for an 8k run on Saturday, so today instead of the planned 6k I went 4.
Distance: 4.05km
Time: 34:45

Saturday 15th November
I got a bit of a lie in today but still went in the morning for my run. I learned alot from today's run, including a few things I won't do again in a hurry! But very happy with my result, even if I did have to stop a few times mid-run. In addition to my run I did a one-hour workout with my trainer, concentrating on weights.
Distance: 8.02k
Time: 1:07:46

For next week I'm planning pretty much the same schedule, except that my long run on Saturday will be a 5k race! I might turn Tuesday's 6k into a 4k though.

Ososlo wrote: »

Well done today.
I did that race as my first race a couple of years ago also in 39xx mins. By the following March I had it down just below 30 mins.
I look forward to seeing you do similar:)
MSB 5k on Patrick's weekend is a great race so maybe one to aim for?
Well done again.

Thank you! Yes, I'm hoping to shave the time off my 5k; I will get there, I know it!

RacoonQueen wrote: »

Spotted you twice today. Too caught up with marshalling to go over and say hello.
Well done today, nice morning for it.

Not a nice morning for marshalling though! :P

It was a beautiful day but definitely helped to be moving! Great job on the marshalling, the race was really well organized. I enjoyed it immensely and will do it again next year!

Race report for my Jingle Bells 5k with photos is up on my blog but here's the text if you'd rather read it here:

Laughing all the way: Donore Harriers Jingle Bells 5k (Race report)

The Donore Harriers Jingle Bells 5k was my last race of the year so I decided to forget about trying for a PB and not worry about my time; I just wanted to relax and enjoy the race. It worked! I really enjoyed this race with its festive atmosphere, beautiful scenery and easy route.

I had a few experiences along the way that reminded me how much I love running and how much fun it truly is. Not just for me apparently, but for others too.

I ended up getting to the race an hour early, which normally is how I like it but today I hadn't wanted to be that early! Oh well, I just walked around the park a little bit and ended up having a chat with a marshall who was there while her kids were racing.

I had the fabulous experience of seeing the park's herd of deer; every time I go to a race in the park I hope to see them, and today I did!

I also ended up chatting to couple who were waiting around the start line. They were from Canada and have recently moved to Dublin for study. Shortly before the start time I spotted various people in very festive costumes so I went around to take some photos and get some tweeting done. It was a great way to pass the time until the gun went off.

Starting out I kept to a slower pace to let the crowds go ahead of me. The sound of jingle bells was enough to keep me going and there was a definite holiday feeling in the air! (Speaking of the air, the day was cold but dry with a bit of wind but nothing unbearable. I have really lucked out with good weather for my racing this winter! Long may it continue!).

Because I was running this race for fun I paid more attention to my surroundings and the people around me. I noticed quite a lot of kids running and felt really inspired by them all. Two in particular I want to mention because their efforts really touched me and spurred me on during the race.

Firstly, just after the 2km mark, I noticed a kid running with his mom and I'm no great judge of age but I think he was maybe 6 years old? And he was just running along, wearing a Christmas jumper and santa hat. As I came up to pass them I told him he was awesome and asked for a high five for good luck. His mom said he hadn't stopped running since the start of the race. That was cool. Really, really cool. Meeting them left a smile on my face as I continued on with the run.

The other young runner who really inspired me was a girl, not sure of her age but in her teens, who was run/walking with her coach. I noticed them pass me once, and when they stared to walk I passed them. This continued throughout the race; they would pass me, I would pass them. I soon began to realize that we were using each other as motivation to keep going, which actually made me really happy! At around 4k they took off and I wasn't able to catch them again but I managed to find them afterwards and give the girl a 'well done'. It turns out they were part of a youth group who were taking up running. How awesome is that?!

It was really brilliant to see so many young runners on that course. It absolutely inspires me!

The race itself was very well organized and well marshalled, I was glad for the bottle of water afterwards and the banana. The younger runners got medals but for the rest of us we got these bright and cheery mugs. A nice little keepsake from a very enjoyable race!

Oh, I finished in 39:42 but who's keeping track, right?

career move wrote: »

Well done yesterday. Sorry I didn't see you or I would have said hi

Are you planning on doing the Tom Brennan 5k on new years day?

Thanks!

It's the first I've heard of it but I'm tempted!! Are you running it?