May Trophy Cabinet

How the pinnacles of life have changed.
No room for more race T-shirt’s, medals, certificates... here’s my Strava virtual bling.
Not much at all , but a lot more than a long time ago!

Narrowly bagged my May 10k via a build up of a route discovered last week, via some local lakes. 

It was not easy to get going, get the right nutrition and get up and go. Not quite direct to the point, did some extra exploration miles to get to the 6.1miles and call it a day. 

Most pictures circulated of this hidden gem, was just a view of the tranquil lake...but it takes a runner, dog walkers, licensed fishermen  and some cyclists to road test the path to find the patches where one can enjoy these tranquil views, and weather those exposed trunks, mixed terrain delights for the unseasoned.

This is not Crown Estate, manicured metalled roads. Far from it in some cases. It was a highlight extension for my otherwise now new normal run around the block. Unfortunately, with the amount of trash left around, it must have been the highlight of some locals lockdown outdoor sun-bathing excursions too - an inflatable what?

Here’s to June. Will there be more Strava challenges to keep me going this month ,before I cough up a subscription , new shoes and perhaps a bit of regained freedom with lockdown easing (and hopefully not a second virus peak)!

Lockdown restarts - 2 months on!

Long time no see, does anyone still read? Is anyone still out there? Hello! Thanks for reading on...

Its almost 3 years since my last post about my first half-marathon postpartum. And now ? Only one more half-marathon first postpartum. And 0 races second postpartum.

Life has been taken over running after 2 little boys, and also the old man who is younger at heart!

Fitness levels and goals have been rubbish over the last 2 years, unlike with only 1. The only New Years Resolution for 2020 was to earn my Parkrun50 T-shirt at Richmond Park (no longer my closest Parkrun, but still one that I am comfortable with).

And today marks 2 months on from Covid-19 Lockdown in the UK. Probably not up to me if this goal will ever be achieved this year.

And after a slow start....today I am up there again - first visit this far on the A316 , a Corporate Virtual 5K.

Recent meets on Richmond Park have become a huge logistical exercise - if to bring spectators, by enticing the other half to visit his favourite part of the world over here, and favourite food shops whilst at it, and this was no exception.

With no cars allowed into Richmond Park, I have been dropped off - on a saturday morning, an hour later than usual - to an almost empty starting line. I wore my last Royal Parks Half Marathon finish T-shirt from a decade ago, listened to the virtual pre-race talk, and walked to the start line.

Except there was no crowds there, no buggies, no dogs. I didnt have to start as far back!

I trusted Strava to take me around...foxgloves, wild grasses taller and unkempt, deer in the distance, and London in the far horizon... it was only me, the occasional cyclist, the Nordic skaters (if that is what they were called) in the empty road next to me. After a night devoid of quality sleep, and we must thank my Audible nightcap of bringing me to blog here - as my first morning pages in a while, the first mile felt longer, but ok.

During the lockdown, I have been trying to get out for a run 2-3 times a week, and usually a 5kilometre route. This week I have had the good fortune to have a PB by 1 second on a segment that I usually go uphill, on the way home. And I might finally start to have some virtual friends - a lady who does the same loop counterclockwise (I must have been the same previously until I changed to clockwise this week), a nod. And...the Chertsey Runners Facebook Group! Having always been horrible with keeping up with running in groups, I followed, but never plucked the courage to join. Recently I have been starting to become better at run maps reading, to find new routes around my local neighbourhood...today after an introductory post, they said: we never leave anyone behind. Such a supportive comment in a world where one always find yourself chasing the next thing, or realising that inclusion is a myth. JOMO, sometimes. But good when one find like minds....in our 40s, children, trying to balance work and life, and staying fit.

Its not easy, but it must be prioritised, or fit in, now or never. As lost fitness is very difficult to gain again. Whereas a Couch to 5k I am not, whether I can be complacent with having to stop-start/fartlek/jeffing instead of a non-stop 5k...once I stop I cannot start without stopping again.

Whatever it is, less people? Timing? Knowing circumstances aren’t quite the same at the finish....I kept start/stopping, glanced at my Apple Watch....it didnt flick to 3.1 miles when I walked through the virtual Parkrun Richmond funnel...so I did a little bit more.

11 PRs (gold medals) . 5 Best efforts on Strava, whatever that means! Sub-30.

I felt my virtual friends there at the finish...and walked through the gate to leave Richmond Park, avoiding eye contact with the person with the high viz vest.

It was a windy day, and it might have helped a bit (to my disbelief). Hiked down Petersham Hill to reunite with the boys, to a socially distanced Richmond/East Twickenham to the one we knew 2 months ago...

Here’s a first. Time to restart, Time to reflect. New normal. won’t be the same. Just have to accept its different.

Disneyland Paris Semi-Marathon - a Big medal for a Big effort!

Finally, my first medal this year - or rather, my first half marathon in 3 years! 

It wasn't easy getting to the starting line - exactly 13-months after baby was born, the training finally resumed in late July/early August upon doctor's/physiotherapist's advice to 'take it gently' - we arrived at Disneyland Paris at 0615 CET last sunday morning, for the start.

It wasn't even light yet - but I was accompanied by lots of keen runners - lots of them dressed up in Disney characters. I thought about it, but looked back at previous races where I have worn a tutu (Cancer research 10k) or have had too much clothing on (Santa fun run!), I get annoyed with the extra luggage along the way. Besides, I have enough distractions (Disney Characters - photo opportunities) to slow me down, really didn't needed more. I have a blue top (Inspired by Finding Dory) and a yellow hairband...that was good enough :)

It was a slow start - lots of waiting around - official start time was 7am, but for Corral B (the second stream of runners to start) , we only made it pass the starting line (with Mickey, Aladdin counting down on the screen 3-2-1 for us) at around 730!

The first 5 kilometres was the highlight of the half marathon - with a tour of Disney Studios and Disneyland Paris. I haven't been to the Studios before ...it was interesting being taken to the set where an explosive London Scene happened (Tube station, Bus, Postbox and all), or through the stage or through another indoor set...Rock'n'Roller coaster avec Aerosmith... occasional characters appearing here and there, and then I saw the typical Disney phenomenon...a queue!  From then on it became a strategic exercise of 'which character has a shorter queue' /'do I like the character enough to have a photo with them'/'how to maximise the number of pictures on my runDisney photopass (an extra 40 euros of investment to get them all on an account - which 7 days on STILL isn't available to download yet)/'how am I going for time'? As from previous experiences , toilet queues in races could take up to 10 minutes, and despite not having trained enough to have breakthroughs in timing , I didn't want to be slower than my first debut at Watford Half Marathon.

So I managed to get Spiderman in Disney Studios and Mad Hatter (of Alice in Wonderland) in Disneyland. An official photo, and a selfie (conclusion: I'm very bad at selfies!) at the same time. 

 The rest of my first 5k was spent taking in the Toy story scenes (army parachutes and Buzz Lightyear...Barrel of Monkeys spelling out goodbye), Space Mountain! Fantasyland, Adventureland, Main Street USA!  and then photos of other runners getting their photos taken , such as with Cinderella and crew..

Aladdin and crew...

and of course, Disneyland Castle! There wasn't much time to be wasted perfecting my selfie...sigh, must practice next time.

and then at the 5km mark - a drinks station appeared, and so did the exit to Paris Disneyland...I took a cup of water, glanced at my watch - 36 minutes!  Time then to make up for lost time...

The next 12km or so was through the outskirts of Parcs Disneyland - past a school (we ran on their Athletics track!) and some residential areas of Val D'Europe, a newly developed area. No more Disney characters to cheer us on the way , but there were bands, cheerleaders to keep us going....lovely selfie kilometre markers (which I didn't want to try after one failed attempt in getting a virtual cowboy hat on early on the course)

Energy stations were not something to look forward to - Special K bars and apple wedges in plastic bags...hmm, I stuck to my one Powergel Vanilla halfway around the course (having lost the other Gu as it fell off the belt). My Timex Ironman watch became my best friend - as long as each kilometre was under 6minutes, I was fine....I enjoyed the time on my own, celebrated the end of the weekend long runs and mid week shorter runs that became increasingly hard to make time for... and try to avoid hitting people who were right in front of me from time to time (lots more walkers in this one compared to most - maybe due to the 'fun' nature)...I enjoyed watching numerous Mickey and Minnie ears, Donald and Daisy caps (great idea, might try that next time), Tinkerbells, Elsa's, Incredibles, Captain Americas weave in and around me. 

At 17kms - I saw Hotel Santa Fe - the start of the Disney resorts with a 'Cars' theme...yes, we were close to home now. The last 5kms were familiar to me, as I was at the Disneyland Hotels for a work conference 2 years ago and ran around the lake, but I kept my eyes peeled for familar faces. 

Finally at 18.5km I saw 2...Thankfully..

Not long to go! The last kilometre or so wasn't hard...I just had to keep running and not walk....

It was great seeing the 'Arrivee' sign and a glimpse of Mickey coming out to shake my hand...but the organisers said 'no photo'! so we were hurried along to pick up my well earned medal, take more official photos (more queues - especially with some who took their entire stash of runDisney medals for the photo op) 

meet hubby and baby, and set off home (5 hours + drive across the Channel Tunnel, and lunch, and wait times on the way).

My body must be not used to the shock of doing 13.1miles anymore, as I went down with a stomach bug the day after, a cold within the next week and was very tired in general. Hoping to get another chance to train for something else soon, so I have a reason to be out and about and feeling good getting fresh air into my lungs and those aching arms and legs.

When I have the official photos from runDisney Photo pass I will share them - its been a very long wait! 

I was happy enough with my time and an almost negative split...from 36mins at 5k then doing around 5:55min/km at 5-10km, 15-20km intervals, finishing at 2:12...what if there's no distractions? :)

Wokingham - my 5th visit & a medal in the household

(This being a post that sat in the draft folder..only publishing now)

The fourth variation of the wokingham medal came home on the 21st February 2016, but landed on hubby's side of the curtain railing.

(For this picture, I had to borrow my 3 as the other 2 on his side were eroding away from more sweat?)

It's an experience bringing baby as a spectator, this time he was there right from the start.

What's all this about ? He must be thinking. It's cold, and there's lots of people, including daddy, and then they run off!

An hour or so later, they all start running back!

And then they get a medal, have lots of food and drink afterwards.

He will slowly get the hang of things in the months to come, when he has his own running buggy, and comes on long runs with us. 

At Wokingham , baby and I were both spectators, but in a few days, one of us doesn't have to be.

Stay tuned.

Firsts

7 years ago, 1st February 2009, I finished my first half marathon.

(Thanks to Facebook for prompting these memories).

7 years later, 1st February 2016, I finished my group yoga class at the gym, after childbirth.

How life changes when you have to modify your fitness goals to what you are able to and allowed to do at the time.

4 weekends ago, I did my first long run in a long time. Enjoyed the Time on my own. Did not try to go fast at all, and my pelvic bone took its toll. 7.5 miles plus turning back at the 'wild fowl sign' on the towpath. I enjoyed it and looked forward to the weekly designated time-slot (exemption from taking baby to swimming class) to build on my long run, plus 5kms on the treadmill (or 5 times round Twickenham stadium) each visit to the gym, I would just be about ready for wokingham half.

But that Monday after, my Physiotherapist looked at my input/output diary and wrote on her notes 'recommended no high impact sports' until she is happy with the overall situation that everything was healing properly and under control. 'Sorry to spoil your fun'.

Not much choice, but it was for my own good to follow her advice.

Wrote to the organizers and had my entry transferred to hubby.

No more treadmills at my twice weekly gym sessions, but 5 minute circuits on the spin bike, elliptical, rowing machine, exercise bike and the spin again. Glute machine, powerplates. 

Core strengthening. Planks whilst playing with baby. Up dog, down dog, my first yoga class today in a long time (wobbly, but getting there towards the end of class!)

The focus has changed to having'just about time to train for my first spring half in 2 years' to  'all the time in the world to train for a proper (as can be for a veteran) autumn season'. 

Glass half empty, glass half full.

The list of possible races to 'revisit' builds..10ks and halfs....

Til then, every gym session and home stretching session counts. 

There will always be another medal waiting to land on my curtain railing. 

I must focus on getting back on track. 

Hope it wouldn't be too long before that First medal as a mother... ;)

(Down memory lane with baby last week: where the '385 yards to go' banner was, after turning off Birdcage walk for the London marathon finish; the mile marker for my lunchtime runs...;the RPFHM routes ...)

Back to Richmond Parkrun on Christmas and New Year's Day

That's 10kms in 8 days.

The first 5 was difficult, over Christmas day and on the back end of recovering from a cold. I had brought along my cousin-in-law (uni fresher but still a teenager!) along to her first Parkrun, and being a real veteran of the event (& first time back) I felt the same nerves as she did to an extent.

Had that surreal feeling when the start beep went off. I know this course only too well. Surely it must be easier without baby on board? In 2015 I have been round Richmond Parkrun with Baby inside me in various stages, twice as a pacer, and a few times as a participant. 

But too much has happened downstairs that it is almost a couch to 5k experience.

I completed. With picture featured on Richmond Parkrun Facebook page. Me and cousin Maddie in the middle.

It's the first time I had done a jog (indoors and out) for a month and it hurt for the whole week! My thighs had the half marathon finish feel but it was far from it.

I didn't do any more the week of Christmas and focused on recovery.

Back again on New Years Day 2016. Totally exhausted due to 4 night feeds (2 more than usual, maybe due to baby being excited over new year's?) and an early start. The crisp air got me going.

I was shocked that half the people around me at the start had their hands up to 'do a double' i.e., run Richmond New Years at 9am, then to crane park (4 miles away) to do 10:30am Parkrun, or Kingston at 10am! 

In the old days, I would've done it, a great way to train 10 miles with a fast start and a fast end. But times are different now - the times I can make it to Richmond Park at 9am depends on my hubby being happy to take baby along and wait under 45 minutes for the whole thing to be done. Which means a sacrifice of hubby being able to do his morning cycle or run, AND baby being fed and changed all before 8am ready to go.

I spoke to the couple sporting an ironman bob buggy with a 16 month old child in tow, and a few others on the course, and can realistically see that it will be a while before I can be back on saturday mornings.

Today's run was easier but still not quite a walk in the park. My legs were coming back, applying a run-walk strategy in the hilly second half. I know how to, but the stamina was missing after the long absence. 

Memories of the heel pain, wearing the night splint to fix plantar fasciitis, and images of the wokingham countryside flashed before me. 

Less than 2 months before I will make that starting line. For now, assume, business as usual.

Runkeeper's constant yelling of 6 minutes something per kilometer - way below marathon pace, as I picked up towards the end, waving to hubby, holding baby in a brown bear snowsuit....

I got the 225th token at the finish.

Had a chat with Mr flourescent Tshirt who started with me and checked my targeted time of around 30.

How did I go?

..well, considering first times back since the birth of my 4 month old..

It's a long road, but one must start somewhere.

Happy New Year!

An article to share and reflect :

http://www.runnersworld.com/running-tips/how-to-return-to-running-after-time-off?cid=soc_Runner's%20World%20-%20RunnersWorld_FBPAGE_Runner%E2%80%99s%20World__Motivation_RunningTips

Hello from the other side...

10 days since I posted my last blog, my baby boy was born.
Next week, on Christmas Day, he will be 4 months old.

Hello from the other side.

So much has happened in the last 4 months to be captured in just the one posting.
From the days of struggling to get out of bed, or to get any form of proper sleep, to putting on my trainers, to running my first 5km, to getting back to the gym.

It isn't easy to just pick up and go anymore. For one, you cannot simply just lock the door and go for a 4 mile loop around the block.

It always has to be a day when hubby is at home, and I have fed and cleaned, feeling less exhausted.
I said, 'this has to be the day', and off I went, donned my larger sports gear I have procured during my pregnancy days.

That was November 1st.

Too scared to have missed the window, I forgot to visit the bathroom before heading out, and had to suffer the slight unfortunate consequences.

Everyone seems to have emphasised the importance of pelvic floor exercises after childbirth, and times like this you understand why.

To understand whether I am doing them properly, I engaged the services of a physiotherapist that specialises in this area. I had to explain to the GP, 'not just any physiotherapist', as I am no stranger to  spending time in these practices.

Thankfully the situation isn't as bad as I initially imagined, but it does take time to build up those muscles again. The first few visits got me keeping a diary of my liquid inputs and outputs, which gave myself and the physiotherapist a good understanding of my capacity.

From then on its the diligence of doing those various types of squeezes, holds and releases several times a day - and then, no running til January. The physio said, you need to have stronger muscles before you can lift those weights (high impact of running on the pelvic floor).

On December 1st, I resumed my membership at the gym - tandemed with baby spending an hour in the creche (which needed to be booked not more than 10 days in advance).

It was surreal being back, to be able to use the rowing machine, the powerplates (which had been a no-no during pregnancy) and the steam room. However, it was very difficult to not look at the treadmill and jump on.

I had to keep my word, to make it work.

My first 2 weeks back have been focused on reactivating my glutes, a lot of cycling, time on the elliptical, and the relevant weight machines.

The one hour usually goes by too quickly, and too long before the next one.

So last friday, I had a longer session with 'hubby creche' in tow - an extended gym and swim.
But it has been too long, my body wasn't used to it and the immune system got attacked....

I have been down with the cold this week. Every cough and sneeze, tests the strength of my exercises.

There's still more to do - but first, I must not veer from the path to recovery.

Then - perhaps, perhaps, I can still do my first race of the year (free entry to Wokingham Half based on last year's volunteering). But I won't be disappointed if I don't make the starting line, or have any expectations of anything but just to get round.

Just with every new experience on motherhood, things happen slowly, but surely.

I hope to update you all soon with more activity. in my own time.

On one of my buggyfit sessions waiting for hubby to finish his run in our local park, back in October