A catch up on 2017

So, apologies if anyone really enjoyed my blogs and suddenly they stopped. I've been inspired recently to dust off the blog & bring it back up to date. I'm still not convinced that people want to read about my life, it still feels self-indulgent. But, as FB friends, and Twitter followers will know, i share post-race reflections anyway, so why not blog them was the question asked of me?! I've also been told recently that i'm a bit "wordy", 😂, so i'll try and catch up on three years of races & life events in three relatively short blog posts!

OK, so, the highlights of 2017 - I went and ticked off two bucket list races - Wales Castles Relay, and Snowdonia Marathon. Both events i will do again and again. WCR, or "Castles" as it's known, is truly a magical weekend, one that is the highlight of my year now and i'm about to go away for my 3rd consecutive year. 2017, i was given the legendary and iconic "Drovers" stage. Basically, 6 miles of undulating (definite lumps and bumps along those 6 miles with not much reward on the downhills), before turning off the main road and then being met with a 2 mile winding, twisting, wall, up to the top of the MOD firing range!!!!! As you can imagine if you know me at all, i went into the weekend with an injury brewing - tight calves - i did all i could but i knew they weren't good and true to form, they seized 10m into the race. One of my club buds has a vid of me starting and then jumping into the air as it seized. I was last hobbling out of Builth Wells, determined to race the 10.4 mile race (with that 2 mile wall to climb at the end). This for me was a race i'd wanted to do since 2010 when i had first heard about it when a guy i was seeing at the time told me about it and i was hooked. I have a love of Castles from my childhood when my parents would take my brother and I to a different castle most weekends, with a picnic, and a spirit of adventure and exploration. So, off i hobbled, but the calf eased enough that i was slowly able to run and started to pick off people. The support along the route was epic, even from other clubs, and i lapped it up as if i was a rock star! #showboat onto the climb up Drovers and there was a brutal headwind that left me standing still at one point i'm sure. But, even though i was hobble-running, i got up there and finished strongly & the support from my club, Run4All, was truly eye-watering. Once finished mind i couldn't walk, 😂, but, i had posted a time i would have been chuffed with without an injury, so with it, i was more than happy!

The next big race was Snowdonia marathon 2017. I had been training for the Brecon Beacons 46 mile ultra that was to take place a few weeks after Snowdon, but, surprise, surprise, on a recce doing one 23 mile loop, my itb kicked in after about 8 miles. This was in early September, and i knew deep down that the ultra was gone, but, maybe, i could rest and get through to Snowdon end of October. I basically had about a 6-7 week taper, hardly ran, lots of treatment, and got up there, knowing that the itb would likely kick in within the first few miles going up Pen-y-pass. But, i was determined to get this race done. I love snowdonia, and being away with my club mates again was like Castles all over again. Even the support on the course made it feel like Castles. Surprisingly, i kept waiting for my injury to kick in and it held off. I had no expectations in this race, as i was injured, but, it stayed away. That is, until mile 22, when the wall of a hill for 2 miles is set before you, and my calves decided they wanted to join the injury gang, and i quickly felt them cramping. Quick strategy change to run 20 roughly 20 seconds, walk 20, and repeat. I was surprised to catch a male club mate at the top at mile 24, as he should have way in front of me and i tried to kick his arse back into action, but, it wasn't to be. Now for 2 miles of descent and how i flew, literally! There was no holding back, my calves were fine going down and i love a good fast descent. You get down into Llanberris, and suddenly there is a wall of noise as you enter the high street, 100m to go and the crowds are huge. Finishing that race was such an epic feeling, and to finish in 3:44 was phenomenal given my injury run in, and cramping. I also placed 3rd in the Welsh Marathon Champs!!!!!!!! Like WOW!!!!!!! #whoknew!!!!!!! I've always loved running, but to win medals???? I'm not that good!!!!! But, maybe...maybe over longer distances i am decent?

Needless to say, the next day i could hardly walk and there is an awesome vid of me walking to breakfast that my clubmate took, it's a very painful shuffle i assure you. But, so, so worth it!!!!!!! I was out again for a while after this as my itb seriously kicked in once the race was done, but, i was so thankful that it gave me that race, it held off. It made me realise that after my itb issues in snowdonia trails marathon last year (this was the other itb - b**tard), that i needed to sort my glutes out for sure!

The other highlight was winning the club 5k champs race - just back from a calf issue but raced it as it was club champs in the July and placed as 2nd overall, and 1st Run4All lady. I was blowing out my arse, hanging, disgusting, but, it was job done, and a 5k pb at 20:21. I want to get sub 20, but, in only my 3rd standalone 5k race (rather than in a tri), this was OK, and i'd like to think in time i can get faster. This result meant at the club presentation night in the November, i got a nice little trophy and cup, as 5k club champ, which was lush, and overall, whilst i was injured for the early part of 2017, and the latter part, with many periods in between, it was overall, a very decent year of running!

Scott Snowdonia Trail Marathon - July 2016

This was my first marathon...I had decided last year when I was finally running injury free having changed my technique that I didn't want to wait a prolonged period before achieving a long held ambition, I just wanted to go for it, so from late autumn last year this had been my target for 2016. I had known that it would run long, 28.22 miles in fact, and I also knew that I could have picked far easier marathons out there as my first, lol. But what's the fun in that right?! If I'm going long, I may as well make it hard for myself, and I wanted to finish the course broken, to know that I had achieved something epic with this race...

So the profile of this run was a hill almost straight from the off that went on for a couple of miles, then a period of mildy undulating until mile 20 when you hit Snowdon, BOOM! You had to be at mile 20 after 5:15 hours, otherwise you wouldn't be allowed up Snowdon. Well, I had no intention of being anywhere near this cutoff but...if you'd read my last post you'd know that I came into this race with ITB syndrome and I had only managed to run about 15 miles in 4 weeks since Swansea Half Marathon...not the best preparation by any means as I couldn't use the turbo much either as my other knee was playing up (cleat alignment had something to do with it after my cleats falling off mid-ride and being re-aligned wrongly).

We travelled up on the Saturday (my parents and I that is) and stayed overnight in a quaint family run hotel overlooking the Menai Straits. Can't say it was my best sleep ever as the fabric of the hotel was paper thin it seemed, with wood floors that vibrated every sound and then noisy gangs of people in adjoining rooms!!!!! I think I got off to sleep some time around 2am, with the alarm set for 7am!

As I didn't know what breakfast would be available I took rice pudding with me for breakfast as this has worked previously prior to races and long runs - a good mix of protein with sugars and fats. It served its purpose anyway as I didn't get hungry at all on the run and stuck to my strategy of eating Naked cocoa bites every 15-30 mins or so after the first 50 mins. I also threw in some strawberry chewy sweets to be sure I didn't overload on the natural fruits, although I had taken an immodium pre-race. I also took ibuprofen and paracetamol pre-race, and took another dose after 2 hours of running (boy was I glad to be able to take them, not that they made much difference). 

Pre-race...sizing up the challenge

The race started in Llanberris, on the field adjacent to Lake Padarn, but I can't say I was impressed with the race expo or the "race field" on the day which had advertised itself as having loads of music going on, different fun events for everyone to take part in, etc. The race expo had a few shoes on display to buy, some nutrition stuff, but nothing else, where as I'd been hoping to maybe buy a buff or two as advertised. The weather was grim, drizzly, cloudy, but not cold, almost humid. Not great for spectators though, as it was my parents went back to the car for a bit, then had a coffee in the coffee shop, and I text upon reaching mile 20 to let them know where I was. As it was I was about another 1hr45 from that point, bless them, as they'd anticipated I'd be nearly done so went to the finish area!

So the race itself...well I can say it was truly beautiful, other than up on Snowdon when you couldn't see much because of the mist, but...saying that, you daren't hardly look up to admire the scenery as for the most part the security of your footing was less than assured and there were potential trip hazards almost throughout the whole race. I duly obliged to fall, on a fast decent off the first big hill, which was on a snaking series of switch backs, there was I politely pointing out the boulders and trip hazards to those behind me, as if I were on a bike, and what do I do, slip on almost nothing I think! Smack down and straight back up and again, hardly missed a stride, lol! Fair play, a couple of blokes asked how I was, and one even came onto me after the race when he saw me hobbling asking if it was from when I fell. I also had another stumble or two later on, but these were only air falls and I managed to write myself before anything catastrophic like a face-plan occurred, LOL!

Up and up and up right from the start!

The problem was that at mile 5 my ITB syndrome kicked in like a bitch and after that I struggled to breath at times because of the pain let alone enjoy myself! If I hadn't have been in searing agony then I might have actually enjoyed large parts of the run, but for me from mile 5 onwards was about completion and not having to throw in the towel. The pain had set in even before the split between half marathon and full marathon and for a moment it crossed my mind whether I should play it safe and do the half but no, I was in this for the long-haul, I was told it wouldn't do me any damage if I could handle the pain and that was what I was determined to do! There were times when the pain was less, but still present, and there were other times when I had shots of pure agony shoot through my leg and I could barely hobble. The amount of times on a single track section that I had to stop and let others by purely because I couldn't say I was running, merely moving forwards and I didn't want to hold anyone up. The terrain varied between forest roads, single track muddy slippery tree root laden paths, and muddy grassy boggy sections. My hip flexors had started to play up not long after the ITB pain set in and this made it hard to maintain my usual technique which is raising knee up and landing on mid-foot. It seemed almost that I was barely able to lift my knees so my focus became on just moving forwards!

Some of the terrain meant if you didn't want to face plant you had to walk, there was thick slippery mud on single track sections, and lots of rocky sections that you had to pick you way through. It was lovely to see a friendly face when Jonathan, who I am Facebook friends with from the tri world in Swansea, passed me after about 10 miles or so and we had a little chat, and even a selfie (he loves a running selfie), so that distracted from the pain and misery for a little while.

It was quite beautiful really, even if I hardly noticed!

Like in the Preseli Beast Bach, there was a moment where you rounded a corner and all you could see was a huge hill/mountain in front of you that looked vertical and a steady line of runners ahead of you who were all walking up the climb. This was the climb up to Pen-Y-Pass which was the 20 mile mark, so for about a mile or so it was mostly walking with some brief moments of being able to get into a jog. It seemed never ending but thankfully my calves were fine and it was just a case of moving forwards and overtaking a few people as felt right at key points. It was still single track so overtaking was difficult but I was conscious that if I felt decent (relative to the pain I was in) then I'd push on as much as I could. Getting to the top was a welcome sight as I could then refill my camelbak with isotonic drink, which is what i'd inadvertently been drinking when I had taken cups from marshals on route up until now so I continued to take isotonic drinks when I could. Took a few sweets, a couple of swigs of isotonic drink and then straight on, no hanging about, lol! This is where the pyg route started for us and right from the off it set the tone with huge boulder steps that required a big step up each time. There was no running going on, which actually was my race strategy given the pain, get to this point within the cut off point and I knew I could walk the rest of it. As it was I got here at 12:30pm and the cut-off time was 14:15 so I was fine. Phew! Of course I had no intention of walking it even if running was agony, but the majority of the climb you had no option but to walk/step/scramble. To be honest there were certain parts of the path where if you fell from a wrong footing you'd be off, falling down the mountain that was directly to the side of you - a sheer drop! Mostly it was those huge boulders that went on forever, and at times the signage wasn't great, having to look around to be sure I'd taken the right path when it came to a fork. There was also more traffic on this path that I'd anticipated and this held things up now and again with some walkers just being oblivious to the fact that you were in a race and young kids just scrambling around in front of you for sheer fun! The scrambly bits really were climbing, not for very long, but a good few foot/hand movements at times which is when things could have gotten hairy if it had been windier. It was wet and at times slippery but thankfully no falls for me. It was just a case of keeping on going. It was actually about 3 miles up from the 20 mile mark and that path seemed to go on forever. Hearing the sound of the train was a welcome sound as I knew I must be near the summit to hear it and then I chucked to myself when I saw a seagull perched up on one of the rocks, right up near the summit of Snowdon! Well he was certainly a long way from home. The weather up top was drizzly but not raining really and not as cold as when I was here in May. The race up until now had been a mixture of light rain and dry periods, but never cold, so I didn't feel the need to get the jacket on. The wind wasn't as strong as it was in May either, just no views, not that I dared look around anyway! 

Eventually the climb opened up to the welcome sight of a marshal and from there it was straight right and start the descent down the Llanberris path, which I knew. We didn't have to go right to the top, probably because of the amount of foot traffic with visitors from the train and walkers, plus we'd have to run into oncoming racers going in the other direction, so we were about 300m short of the top when we topped out. However, the descent was where the pain really set in as parts of the descent are really quite steep, which meant fast work for all those that flew past me, some asking if I was OK because I was walking mostly, sometimes trying a little shuffle, but the agony brought tears to my eyes! I had resolved myself to seeing this race as all about finishing, so whilst I know that I could have been at least 30-45 mins faster, and about 10 female places higher, plus about 50 places higher overall (given the amount of people that flew past me on the descent alone let alone those that passed me in earlier parts of the race when I was slow due to my lameness) I just accepted that for me I just wanted to get down off the mountain and finish the race. As the path eased off a bit I did try and run but it was hit and miss. When I was in sight of Lake Padarn (the start/finish area) on a steep descent that I knew left only about 1 mile or so left I was told to turn right through a cafe car park and into woods - NO!!!!!!!!! As it was this section I was able to run (well, what I was able to call running at this stage) as it was flatter, and a nice flowing trail actually. I just thought they were taking us away from the steep tarmac descent but No, they got us within touching distance of the finish, I could hear the commentator, and then rather than left towards the finish, I was told to go right, taking me away from the finish, even though I was probably already on 26 miles by this point (I couldn't even look at my watch at this point). This was another wooded section and then a young marshal said "1 mile to go" - "WHAT????????" But carry on I had to, and then there was a section where there was a little tourist train that was coming meaning the warning sirens were sounding and the path was about to be blocked - the marshals were calling us forwards quickly so I had to speed up - speed up?!?!?!? This hurt like hell but I made it before the train and as it was it possibly helped get into a better stride as from here I was running a bit easier, and we did a loop of the field basically, cutting out of the park, and then back in through what looked like a work's entrance. From here I could recognise the finishing area and was told "400m" to go. Now I always liked to finish a race strongly but I didn't feel I had a sprint finish in me today, thankfully I didn't need to test that out as I'll never turn down a sprint finish opportunity to pip someone at the line. With about 250m to go I was able to pass one guy who was in my sights, and thankfully he didn't come back at me so I had no-one directly in front of me to chase down, and no-one coming up behind me that I had to fend off. I could finish in my pace, arms aloft, and feeling so relieved that I had made it! I had completed the 28.22 miles (I can't say ran, as a fair bit of it was enforced walking from the terrain let alone my injury)!!!!!

Less than 100m left...

Thank heavens for that!

YES!!!!!!!!!!!!

Official photographer delayed taking this till after I had crossed the line and already started to drop my arms, DOH!
I look awful, lol!

Crossing the line I was disappointed to be told there was no medal as they had run out! That's what had kept me going, the feeling of having that medal around me neck. Everyone was disbelieving that they had run out of medals so early on as out of about 600 runners I placed 219th, 29th female, and 16th female under 40. Time was 6hr11. Not quite what I'd had in mind if I had been fit, but given I was running injured for 23 miles then I fared a lot better than a lot of people...They said they'd send the medal out in the post, not the same as the satisfaction of wearing it for the rest of the day for everyone to see, LOL! However, whilst it didn't make up for it, the finishing line treats of chocolate digestives (one for my Dad) and gummy bears with plenty of water was a welcome treat. Crossing the line I felt OK actually, although as soon as I stopped the pain in walking again was EPIC!!!!!!! My mother had thought I was running well when she had seen me but once I stopped and tried walking again she realised how much pain I was in. I can't say I was particularly tired and I certainly wasn't out of breath as there had been no sprint finish. Very strange from finishing a triathlon or the half marathon last month but then I guess the injury put paid to any speed and instead it was just about moving forwards. 

It was disappointing that there was hardly anything going on in the race field other than the finishing shoot so the atmosphere wasn't that great. I decided to have a post-race massage, £10 for 10-15 mins, but there was quite a wait and I quickly got cold. By the time the massage came about I was shivering almost uncontrollably and thankfully Jonny, the sports therapist threw loads of blankets on me to get me warm! I have to say Jonny was amazing, if not brutal! My hip flexors had seized completely and just lifting my left foot off the ground even less than an inch was agonising but he had me lying down and putting my let down straight, and then bringing my knee up to my chest - just this movement along brought cries of agony, let alone any actual treatment! Jonny felt that my adductors and glutes weren't firing and that possibly other areas were tight which meant when the injury kicked in and the body started to compensate all these other issues flared up. My sports massages are always painful but this was by far the most pain I've ever been in, which given I've just been in agony in the race for 23 miles, was quite something! I'd like to think it helped a little as I was walking a little easier that evening but BOY that night I couldn't roll over in bed without waking up through the pain, and the next day just trying to lift my left leg was almost impossible, having to lift my left leg to get in and out of the car, and to get up from lying down. This was purely because of my hip flexors being so tight, other than that and my ITB issue I felt good and had plenty of energy. When back at the hotel that afternoon I had a sauna and a very short swim, but it was lager I wanted!!!!!! Alas, I was so tired when we got back from eating that I went straight to bed, so only a couple of lagers for me over our luscious chinese. 

All in all I'm happy with my efforts and I know if I'd been injury free it would have been a completely different story but I achieved my goal, I completed my first marathon and yes, it had broken me as intended!

Swansea Half Marathon - June 2016

I hadn't run a half marathon for a few years, my first was 2008 in Llanelli, a mildly undulating course (had a few short hills) exposed to the elements on the coastal path. Then I did both the Forest of Dean Trail Half Marathons, the spring one and the autumn one. It's on one of these that I had my personal best time of 1hr41. These trails routes are hilly so I was intrigued what I might post on a flat course like Swansea, which has a total elevation of less than 10metres I think. Coming into this race I'd been getting the long hilly miles in for my July marathon and had done a few tempo runs but I hadn't followed a race plan and I hadn't focused on any particular pacing, I was just going on feel throughout my training. This is what I decided to do in the race, not focus on pace but rather start out on a pace that I felt I could maintain and then try and pick it up in the last few miles. Even though my main focus was the marathon in a month's time I still tapered for this race, just to see what I could do but the last couple of runs before the race I noticed a pain on the outside of my left knee which I wasn't pleased with as I hadn't noticed it before, it had come from nowhere even though I had tailed back the training that week.

Race day came and I was wearing the colours of my running club Run4All for the first time. I'm still with my triathlon club Celtic Tri and it felt very strange and disloyal to be wearing another club's colours, but I've had more to do with the running club of late and I liked the fact that the R4All race vest was nice and tight and that they had race pins in club colours, plus a nice buff to keep the hair under control. I had no support at this race so off I toddled in the morning, getting to Swansea by about 7:30am to be sure of parking and the place was deserted almost! Still, at least I got to use a portaloo that hadn't been used before...a clean portaloo!!!!!!!!!!

The weather was great, not too cold, but not hot, a very slight breeze but nothing that would affect running...Upon entering we'd had to enter an estimated finishing time and as a result we had been grouped into pen starts. I can't remember what time I had put down but I was in pen B, the one behind the elites/fastest club runners! In my mind I'd like to go sub 1hr40 as that would be a PB but if I could get anywhere near 1hr35 I'd be well chuffed. I didn't think 1hr35 was on as that would be consistent 7:15 minute mile-ing and whilst I was running well in training I hadn't done much consistent speed work or threshold work so thought keeping that pace up for 13 miles would be too much. So I thought I'd hang out by the 1hr40 pacer and then towards the end up the pace and move ahead. As it was in my pen I was much nearer the 1hr30 pacer which wasn't intentional but I thought I'd start and see how long I could keep that pacer in my sights as long as the pace felt OK for me. 

The start was delayed by 1/2hr due to road closure issues so this meant we had all been standing around in the pen waiting to go for at least 45 minutes, not ideal by any means and thankfully I didn't need the toilet having gone 3 times since getting to Swansea in the morning! The organisers had gone to a big effort and there was a choir singing in the starting area, and there was another part way down the course which was fab. The support to be fair was amazing out on the course, the best I've experienced and the shout outs I had for being in R4All colours was fab and I found that I overtook someone every time I had a shout out, which wasn't intentional, lol! I was also thoroughly enjoying myself, having been so long out from racing, to now be in a race and loving every step was an amazing feeling!!!! 

Clearly enjoying myself!!!!

The route was a little route out from the city centre starting point and then out and back along the coast road, out on the road and back on the cycle path, this meant supporters could see you on both ways which is great as a spectator and as a runner in terms of maximising support. It also meant you could see the runners ahead/behind you on the route so extra shout-outs for fellow club runners. I also got chatting to a celtic tri bloke at the turnaround point, Gary, had to say I was in that club too but in different colours for the day, lol! I surprised myself immensely when I looked down at one of my mile lap times and saw that I was clocking sub 7 minute miles! This wasn't intentional but the pace I was running at felt comfortable so I stuck with it. As it was, post-race, looking at my pacing, I was pretty consistent other than the last 2 miles when the pain from my knee hampered efforts, but otherwise I had stuck to a pace based on feel alone, and that pace had been both consistently fast and consistent! Happy Days for me!

Just before mile 12 - this is me trying and failing for sub 7 min pace - sheer agony!

So...It got to around mile 10 and I decided to ramp it up a bit, caught Gary back up and overtook him and didn't see him again, I always try and finish a race strongly so I was pleased that I was able to do this. However, the pain in my knee had been there from the off but it was just a mild niggle initially. However, from about mile 10 on it got steadily more painful until it started to actually hamper my running. I was now running in pain and I know it was showing on my face. Right before mile 12 I looked down at my watch and I was on 1hr23, the first time I'd looked at my time - f**k me!!!!!! I was on for a great time and if I could nail a great final mile I might get sub 1hr30!!!!!!! Unfortunately, the pain was just too much and as much as I was trying to push I just couldn't. I did manage a last final sprint though, just got to haven't you, as I had spiderman in my sights in the final straight so gave a sprint from about 100m out but I was in sheer agony, lol, and when I crossed the line, f**k, the pain of trying to slow down!!!!!!!!! The marshals were asking if I needed St John's Ambulance, lol. Nah, but I did decide to head straight to the massage tent, and slowed limped my way over. Thankfully the massage was free as all my cash was back in the car, but she was able to loosen things up slightly, but I was still in heaps of pain walking and spent the next few days limping around!

Spiderman in my wake...this was through gritted teeth though, not pretty on the eye, but at least I'm flying!

As it was I managed 1hr32:27 - BOOM!!!!!!!!! I was well chuffed with this given I hadn't thought I'd get near 1hr35 and know that if it hadn't been for the injury I could have gone faster, so the next target is sub 1hr30!! I'm also hoping that I get a 'good for age' time with this for the New York Marathon. This year for my age-group 1hr35 was the magic number, which is why I'd looked at 1hr35 pacing, so in January I can see if this time is good enough for me to try and get a 'good for age' slot in next year's New York marathon which would be amazing!!!! There's no guarantee of a place, but there's far more chance than if I entered the ballot. Just so happy with this result...I know there's more to come too if I get some consistent speed work in me once I'm over the injury.

So the injury is ITB syndrome so who knows what will happen for Snowdon Trails Marathon 4 weeks after this race...

Preseli Beast Bach May 2016

My first race for 18 months and a brutal looking race at that. But, it was a running race, I love running, it's unlikely I am going to die whilst running (although I came to think otherwise during the race), so I don't get anxious unlike in triathlons where the swim section is my psychological battle because of my fear of drowning. 

It was a late morning start time so nothing to early and the drive across was beautiful. I had decided to wear my marathoner camelbak for the first time to see how it felt ready for my longer marathon training runs. I know you shouldn't try anything new on race day but when I tried it on it fitted so snuggly that I knew it wouldn't be an issue, and it wasn't. 

I knew this race was going to be tough. It's 2000ft of climbing over 11 miles with "the beast" featuring as the highlight, basically a hike up a pretty big mountain over grassy terrain!!! I had seen the profile, but didn't know what to expect really in terms of terrain. I wore my trail shoes and the weather was decent so I had shorts and t-shirt on, with a buff to kerb the bed hair!! 

The start/finish was in a little village square and the locals certainly now how to put on a show with drums being banged and even a little golf cart lead out with hooters and sirens! The sound of those drums as I emerged from the trails on the way back was a welcome sound as this race was brutal! You had your race pack beforehand and I'd bought a t-shirt, as I love a good t-shirt to show off the race achievements, and a slate coaster. I still feel like a cheat getting these before the race has been finished, but then it is a motivator to make sure you complete to be sure you can make use of them I guess, lol. 

So the hooter sounded and off we went, hundreds of footfalls in tandem, up the road out of the village and then right onto the trails. Into a forest section which was fast but potentially a fall hazard as there were tree roots a plenty and little boardwalks that were going to be slippery if wet. After about 1k the race then started, up, and up, and up. This was pretty much a constant theme, lol. As it was the first ascent was a steep grassy single track and unfortunately if the person in front of you stopped to walk you had to also. I can't say I was ready for walk then but you had no other choice until you found a spot to pass. 

The terrain of the race was a mixed bag, forest fire roads, wooded trails, grassy single track ascents and descents, boggy marshland that landed you shin deep in mud, and then proper fell racing up almost vertical mountains on grass that required you to walk and distract yourself from the screaming in your calves! The final 3 miles was a very fast descent off the mountain followed by a return through the wooded trip hazard and then back out the trail to the village drummers! Coming into this race I wasn't sure if I was race ready. I was fit, but having not raced for so long and speed work having been minimal I didn't know what to expect of myself. 

As it was I can't say I "enjoyed" the race. The scenery was absolutely breathtaking, especially on a sunny day, but you didn't dare look up because the footing was so uncertain that you could trip at any moment. There had been a long hilly on a forest fire road that I was determined to run all of it even as others started to walk but then rounding the corner and seeing a line of racers in front of you walking up a bloody big mountain that seemed to go on for at least a mile was demoralising, as was the way my calves said "no thank you very much" to the walked ascent due to it's beyond steep gradient! Then when you got to the top of that you had a little respite before it pitched up again. Thankfully though, at the top of that final climb over rough grassy terrain was the start of the descent and boy was it fast! If you'd fallen then you'd have landed a good 10 feet in front of you I'm sure such was the slope down and the hazards underfoot! 

Pretty beautiful right!

 Throughout the race I'd been too-ing and fro-ing with another girl and on that final pitch up I had just re-overtaken her. Thankfully, on that descent, I left her for dust and I left nothing out there on the way back in, overtaking people on the fast single track section, and then holding off others in the last section through the forest and out into the village. As it was a guy approached me after the race to say he had kept me as a marker point down the mountain by about 400m but that I had pulled away from him so he couldn't catch me. When I got back to the village with about 400m to go I was running as hard as I could to be sure no-one caught me and crossing that line was one of the most welcome reliefs ever!

Thank f**k!!!!

As it was I was 11th female so I didn't do too shabby at all! The food on offer back in the village hall was amazing, although I can never really stomach much after a race, so a nice free cup-cake did me nicely rather than the cawl that everyone else was tucking in to! A change in the toilets as i was stinking was a welcome relief and then after watching for a while and catching up with run4all club members I made the trip back home. All in all a good day's work! Can't say I enjoyed it...would I do it again??? Now I know what to expect maybe, but at the time I would have said no. Still, a cracking race, and great preparation for hilly races to come...

2016 - half a year gone and not one blog post?!?!

A serious lack of blogging has been going on!!!! Life has been a bit of a rollercoaster this year but having done three races this year (that's a huge improvement on recent years) I thought I best write some race reports at least!

So, just to bring events up to current day before the race reports, the start of the year was hit by illness which hampered training, then my asthma flared up as a result quite badly leading to a painful chesty cough that went on a long time. I was training for the Preseli Beast Bach (in May) by this point so when my chest felt a bit easier off I went for a hilly run only to jar my rib muscles on a steep descent when I was coughing badly. Pulled rib muscles are painful buggers as just turning over in bed caused sheering pain and running was out as was swimming as I couldn't stretch. Then I had a minor operation on my finger so again I couldn't swim so all in all I decided to drop out of the triathlons/duathlons I had planned and just focus on my running races as my training had been so sporadic at the start of the year. 

When I finally got back to run training properly things were going well and I was chuffed that all my miles at zone 2 heart rate had worked a treat as my time per mile was dropping steadily without any more effort. I started to add in a few tempo runs and was pleased that I could sustain a faster pace, although I wasn't training to any set pace, just going on feel. 

The races I had lined up were the Preseli Beast Bach, 11 miles covering 2000ft of climbing in the Pembrokeshire Mountain range - The Preseli's. This was a race carried over from last year when I was injured; then the Beast of Bryn (15 miles of hilly trails), again carried over from last year, the Swansea Half Marathon, and then the Scott Snowdonia Trail Marathon. Unfortunately, the Beast Of Bryn got cancelled due to events with Tata Steel (the sponsors) but I still had three good races to focus on with the last one, the Snowdonia Marathon being my first marathon and the most important one in my book. If i could achieve that after the years of running injuries I'd had then I would be well happy...

Training wise I was still using the turbo, but wasn't going out on the bike on weekends as I was focusing on long runs, and getting my gym work in. As it was as well, the early part of the year life took over a bit too so having just running to really focus on was helpful for balancing up work/training/life. My early morning training routine was very much hit and miss, but I was at least getting the training done and feeling good when doing it. It's not been plain sailing though as I've had some stuff going on that affected my appetite so I was conscious I was running on empty a lot of the time for a period but the positive was that the weight I had put on over the past couple of years from being injured and liking junk food too much fell off me so I was the lightest I'd ever been and feeling great for it!!! Now it's about keeping it off!!!!!!!! My shoulder injury still isn't sorted, I had a MRI that looked right at the shoulder joint but they found nothing there and then discharged me, even though I still had the issue. Not sure what I'm going to do about it but for now I'm just watching the pain when I do manage to go swimming and hopefully from now on I can get a couple of swims in a week and then maybe return to club swims from end of September when the focus will return to basics rather than the race prep stuff they will be doing now. 

In life stuff, I passed my MSc in Sport Psychology with a merit and graduated this month out of The Millennium Centre which was pretty stunning, (if not long and tedious as I was 3rd from last to go up!!). I've also started a new job which is setting up a service for people with personality disorders that I am leading from scratch, so that's been a challenge as no-one wants to be helpful and instead people tend to ignore your requests!!!!!!

Anyways...race reports to follow...

End of 2015...where am I at and where am I going?

It seems a long while since I last wrote a blog and given that I haven't raced for over a year this blog seems almost fraudulent but I wanted to write an update, whether for my own cathartic reasons, or just in case people still enjoy reading what I write, or maybe for those who haven't yet come across my blog.

So...where am I? Well physically I'm in Atlanta with my family for another Christmas all together. For 12 years out of the past 14 we have come out to Atlanta to stay with my brother who lives here, and the other two, well he came home to us. We're five hours behind so my mother is busy slaving away in the kitchen making our Christmas dinner, my father is sitting out on the balcony looking out onto the sun shining down on Midtown Atlanta and Piedmont Park, and my brother and I are busy doing our own things - perfect time for me to update my blog and look back on 2015 and forward to 2016.

I'm 35 now, 36 in a month, and in some ways I am very mature, I finally know who I am and feel very settled and content with life. On the other hand, I still feel like a big kid, both my brother and I are single, and that means that we get spoilt rotten by our parents. I know that life isn't forever and that makes me very grateful for the time that I have with loved ones and I am grateful for the small things in life, the things that make the difference, such as getting to a destination safely, landing safely after a 10 hour flight with bad turbulence, or just having another Christmas all together.

On the training front well I'm always grateful for coming out here as it means I'm able to train more than I have been doing recently. This year has been another year filled with injury rehab whilst being consumed by my MSc dissertation. This first half of this year was horrific in terms of the time outlay my dissertation took and the impact it had on my free time. However, it is now done. I've had a provisional mark back for my dissertation and whilst I am far from happy with it, it does mean that I will pass my MSc. I hate the whole subjectivity of academia, where one person looks for their own style when they mark, rather than seeing something for what it is. I was particularly annoyed that the provisional marking has criticised things that I was told to do by my supervisors, one of whom marked it, but hey ho, research is not my forte, but being a clinician is, and that's why I do what I do, to help people face-to-face, not through writing research. I will have passed, I will graduate in July 2016, and that will be a trio of degrees, one at each level, and that's me done for academia!!!!!

On another front, I have been more active with my private work in the past few months, www.youcanyouwill.co.uk also on Facebook @ #youcanyouwill, and I have successfully held introductory workshops to psychology for performance to two clubs in the local area, whilst picking up a few private clients. This private work is my way of helping others overcome issues that I myself have had to overcome in the sporting arena - anxieties about race day, believing in yourself, setting realistic goals and motivating yourself to achieve them, etc. It's only a small venture outside my day job, but my passion is helping others become who they want to be so I love this work to the point that it doesn't feel like work!

On the training front...well I desperately need to get back into a routine next year. As much as I feel restricted by a "plan" it's the only way that I consistently swim and gym, alongside running and biking. There are some new swimming sessions starting within my tri club that I intend on doing and as much as my shoulder pain is still very much present from the off my hopes of a diagnosis fell flat so now i'm just getting on with it! It might mean that a 3.8k swim and a 112 mile bike ride are off the table (my arm hurts when I cycle longer than an hour too on top of feeling like a dead weight and painful when swimming), but I fully intend on racing sprint and olympic triathlons in 2016, even if the whole initial anxiety that sets in when I can't get a breath in the pool is still very much present! I've created a home gym in my garage, so whilst I don't have everything I would want, such as a leg press, and a lat pull down machine, it's more than adequate with my squat rack, trx, kettle bells, slam ball, and free space. I have no excuses for not going to the gym now, other than my own head or time working against me! I even dusted off my rollers recently, after a couple of years of them being tucked away so they are going to become a regular feature alongside polishing up the sufferfest dvds i bought a year or so back! I don't need a class to motivate me, I can do that myself, so to optimise time my cycle and gym work will be done at home most of the time.

The running front though is another issue...I've joined a separate running club...I love the commaradarie of my tri club on race day but I wasn't doing any sessions with the club and felt very out of touch with people other than through the Facebook page. Having not raced for over a year, and properly for two years, I felt almost like I was no longer a member. However, joining the new swimming sessions will definitely help with this. Running though...followers of my blog will know that running is my achilles heel. It's what I love best, but it's also what has kept me away from triathlon/duathlon for 2 of the past 4 years that I have been involved with the sport. This year I finally found the expert that has hit the nail on the head after shedloads of money spent trying to find the answer. James Dunne of Kinetic Revolution has found that my running technique was the cause of the problems I was having and he has taught me to run again using a technique that allows me to run injury free, and to run on consecutive days without issues with my calf and without the ITB issues I was also suffering with. It's saving me a fortune in sports massages, I'll give him that!! Alongside this, the unexpected beauty of visiting Battersea Park in London made the 7 hour round trip for a 1 to 2 hour session all the more worth it, but just to be running pain free and consistently was enough in itself! He won't mind me plugging his website here I'm sure ;) http://www.kinetic-revolution.com

So the fact that I'm running injury free, and have been sensible doing lots of base miles, building from going super slow to ensure I was working to a zone 2 heart rate, which is demoralising in terms of speed, but rewarding when the gains come, adding in some speed, and adding miles slowly, has meant that I've looked to 2016 to actually move on with my running. I've got friends in a local running club, a rival to my tri club in the county cross country season, who were trying to convince me to join their club. This club is on my doorstep, with a multitude of training sessions suiting all abilities and session types across the week at a time that suited me getting home from work. I also recently did a psychology workshop with them and the way they embraced me almost as one of their own was enough to seal the deal in terms of joining them. I am happy running solo, it's what I've always done bar a few runs, but I recognise that I need to meet more people, that I'm missing out on meeting hunky men that might be single ;), that running with others can push you more than you potentially can yourself, plus I get to experience some new routes. So, I've taken the plunge to join Run4All Neath and I'm sure excited about running sessions with them, even if it feels strange to think of myself running in different colours and under a different name in certain races. A race that I will certainly be running under the Run4All name is the Scott Snowdon Trails Marathon in July. It's a lifelong ambition to run a marathon but recent years have made me doubt whether that would be possible due to injury. I have successfully ran three half marathons in the past but this year my hopes of achieving a good for age time didn't materialise due to injury so next year I'm not hanging about, I'm going for the big one, a trail run culminating in a run up and down Snowdon mountain ;) If i'm going to do a marathon, why not choose one that will make crossing that finishing like all the more rewarding even if I am broken by the end of it!

Away from the training front...my full-time work is all set for at least one, if not two, new adventures.  It's exciting but also daunting the potential changes afoot, but they are all career progression and taking me in the direction I have always wanted to go...additionally, the new friends I have made in work this year are magic, and I'd love for them to continue regardless of whatever direction my job goes in.

The final thing to reflect on for this year is how certain things have happened that have made me move on from things that had possibly been holding me back in the back of my mind. It's important to live for now, not the past, and I'm very much a different person from who I was a year ago in some respects, but definitely a different person from who I was five years ago and beyond. As such I'm super excited about seeing where 2016 takes me, the challenges afoot, the new friendships/relationships to be had, and to finally get back racing and continually setting myself new goals.

Merry Christmas everyone, may this post find you well, and I wish you all well for 2016...

End of the season 2015, a completely different challenge!

This year has felt like one long ultimate test of endurance, where your thinking is completely consumed by that one event. It's only now that I'm free from that and able to catch up with this blog. Unfortunately, I'm not referring to some exciting race I prepared for and took part in. No, I'm referring to my MSc in Sport Psychology. As some of my readers may recall I started this MSc 3 years ago when I felt like I needed a fresh challenge in work, even though this MSc was completely separate from my work. Due to my qualification already of a doctorate in clinical psychology I only had to complete four out of the six taught modules in the MSc, which was a godsend. Whilst at times the assignment of these modules would take over my life for a few weeks, it was manageable around my full-time work and just meant training took a hit for a few weeks. However, since the turn of the year my focus has been completely on writing my dissertation as I was conscious of having to do this part-time around my full-time work, and also knowing how busy the tutors were so pinning them down might prove difficult. As it is I'm not sure I ever expected it to be this hellish! I won't bore you with all the details, but basically when I submitted it it was the hardest I've ever worked on anything, and I was chuffed that I submitted it 19 days early meaning I could finally breath and have my life back!

So, here I am, on the second of my two weeks annual leave, and I'm sitting in the veranda of the holiday let I have for the week, looking out over Newgale Beach in Pembrokeshire (South Wales, UK, for those of my readers who aren't British). Other than at night when I fear the bugs coming out to crawl over me in my sleep I feel completely chilled and my stay here so far has involved long hikes along the coastal path as well as a run along the beach.

The view from my holiday let

I knew August was going to be a hideous month, of going into work early to create some extra time, then coming home and studying some more, before spending all my weekends working. The end of August bank holiday weekend I spent 25hours+ studying but the reward was having two weeks completely off and here I am!

Not going to tire of this stunning panoramic view

The long hill up to start my first hike of the coastal path

 But what about training and racing? Well, at the start of the year I decided not to enter any races so as to not put any added pressure on myself to train if my dissertation took all my time. The hope was that I would be able to enter races closer to the race date as and when I felt able to. As it happened I haven't raced at all as my training went to pot and my swimming went out the window. Partly this was due to me finally getting near the bottom of my shoulder pain, although I'm still awaiting the results of a recent arthrogram/MRI which might confirm a SLAP tear. However, I've got pain in the other shoulder too, so it just seemed less hassle not to swim. Although, there have certainly been times when I would have gone, pain included, if it hadn't been for my studying taking over. 

A look back at the bays I have just come from

I had no plan to my training, it was all quite ad hoc. I did write myself a plan one week but I don't think I even managed the first session from it! That's not to say I haven't been training, I have been running consistently, but the cycling and gym work was sporadic for quite a while. I think it's only three times that I've been outside on my bike this year!!!!!! Long rides outside were just time I didn't have so its lucky that I quite enjoy the turbo, other than the pain of being in the saddle for longer than 45 minutes when you're not used to it.

I also made a decision to ditch my gym membership. It's a bug bear of mine that there is only one squat rack in a gym and then one bloke decides to hog it for over half an hour. Unfortunately, it's rare that I will approach someone and ask if I can do alternate sets with them, or ask how long they will be, although I have done it once or twice in the past. In the gym itself session would revolve around the trx, the squat rack and the leg press mostly. If I went straight from work I'd struggle to get on one of the 3 spin bikes there, and definitely wouldn't get on the squat rack. This meant that I was opting to miss sessions rather than go to the gym and waste my time. Ultimately I decided to invest in my own equipment and turn my garage into a mini gym. So, now I have my own squat rack, a trx and a few other bits and bobs to ensure I can train when I want. This also means that my sessions are far more efficient as I am super-setting each exercise and not having to wait around for a piece of equipment to come free. When I return swimming then I will have to decide whether to go late in an evening to a public lanes session (I hate training late at night as I then can't get off to sleep), or to join up with a swim squad again. 

What I have found during this year is that having broken the habit of early morning training sessions getting up early is the hardest thing in the world if I know I don't "have to". If I had to get up early to go somewhere then I wake like a button. If i know there's a chance I can push the alarm back...a bad habit I'm afraid but after my leave is over, BOOM, I'm going to get back on it! I also recognised that my mind was working so hard in work (I was also taking on extra work in work to try and set up a new service) and then at home, that actually I was quite mentally exhausted and all my annual leave prior to these two weeks had either been taken to give me dedicated time to study/write my dissertation, or I was off but it was still on my mind as I was waiting on feedback before I could proceed. Therefore, it's only now that I have switched off from it. 

It's horrible to not be racing though, seeing race reports from club mates and friends about their races and not being a part of it. Granted, I have been working on my running after my session with James Dunne of Kinetic Revolution back in July to try and run injury free, so I wasn't anywhere near race ready anyhow. After my session with James I booked up to have a follow-up for the day after my dissertation was due, to give me time to try and implement his suggestions into practice, and then return to have a follow-up to check on my progress and ensure I was on the right lines. During the intervening time I was now running pain free, it was quite amazing!!!!!!! I had focused on going back to base building which was frustrating as when I started out I could barely break into a jog before my heart rate would beep and tell me it was too high but I stuck with it and whilst my mile splits are still way off what I'd like I am getting faster with my heart rate continuing to be low so I know it's working. I was even running on consecutive days, which is unheard of in "Hayley Land"!! I was up to three times a week running and had built mileage up to about 17 miles total across the runs. When I returned to Battersea Park it was another glorious day and the hour with James flew by. It was pleasing to see that in the first video he took of me in this follow-up sessions you could see the difference in my foot landing (i.e. not rolling in). However, there were still areas for improvement so over the next hour James had me work on technique and when he videoed me for the final time the difference within the hour was evident and it felt good! I have something to work on now over the winter and then I'll pop back up and see James again before Spring next year to check on progress again and see if there's anything else I need to tweak. I have noticed my soleus getting tight after running, which might be my leg adapting to running in a slightly different way so I have some strengthening exercises to do there, along with the other rehab exercises James had given me before. Additionally, this week with all my hiking my shin splints are sore but its not serious, it's not the tibialis posterior pain and that's the main thing!

So how about my biking? I raved about Cycle Specific a few months back but given how busy I got with my dissertation and how my bike work took a hit I haven't been there for a good long while. I've still been working in zone 2, base building, for my heart rate here, and in recent weeks my turbo sessions have become more regular, so hopefully I'll get back up to speed soon and get some outdoor rides in regularly and maybe a class or two on the wattbike. 

I have been considering where I go from here though training wise. Do I need a coach to give my training some structure? But I know from past experience that I have felt restricted by it. However, I also know that consistency is key, even if this means repeating the same sessions so maybe it's my issue. Saying that, I have the Friel and Fink books to work from and my own knowledge that has served me well in the past, so I was then thinking about changing my training in other ways. I've mostly been a lone wolf when training, only been to a smattering of run sessions mostly due to injury, and dipped in and out of swim groups. Do I then maybe need to look at joining in with some organised runs, meeting new people, finding new routes? James had said not to worry about speed work over the winter, continue to base build, but it would be nice to mix things up, maybe even if it's just a hilly run session...I've also got to consider what works best for me, which is training as soon after work as I can, as I'm not someone who enjoys coming home, grabbing a very light snack, and then training late. It just doesn't work for me. So, I'm weighing up some changes...

On a final note, during my dissertation months I didn't do any private work as a performance psychologist #youcanyouwill but now that my MSc is done I'm looking to build this a little to be a regular little side venture. A local run club approached me and have asked for an hours seminar on psychology for performance in November, so I'm looking forward to that, and maybe there'll be a couple of people from there that might benefit from some additional 1:1 time. We all put time and money into coaching, all the bling equipment, all the gels, protein shakes, recovery aids, etc. but too often the mental side is overlooked, yet recognised as being an area of weakness. I know myself that my mind has worked against me many a time in the past, and I'm a psychologist! So, hopefully, I can help people recognise how important it is to train the mind like any other part of their training and preparation. 

Thanks for reading...it was a long one for sure!