Exceeding expectations - Whole Foods Breakfast Run 16-miler

A very cold sunday morning - less than 5 degrees, and an 8am start.

Very tempted to withdraw or change to a shorter distance...but with some committed sponsors in mind...I had to soldier on....For my supporters at the Breast Cancer Care stand - they made me feel very welcomed!

Still recovering from the sniffles of the cold throughout all last week, I was very conservative with my pace and decided to start slow and made friends with the 11-minute mile pacer and her group. I asked what her strategy was - she said they are going to maintain even pace throughout, with enough time to stop at drinks station and do recovery. The group were really friendly - one of the ladies were doing VMLM this year for the first time, one handed out gummy lollies (not for me!) ....and some were only doing 8 miles (the other 11 min mile pacer was also just doing 8 miles)....quite a few people said they were too. as it was a combined start one cannot tell who's who.

I figured I knew which group Rhino belonged to!

Off we went, 2 laps around the Thames, starting out from the high streets of Kingston, across the bridge, along the walls of the Hampton Home Park, crossing the bridge again at Hampton Court, heading south along Surbiton and back into town, and round again.

I tried to keep slow, and slow....but very soon realised that I had lost the 11 minute miler...and started to see the 10 minute miler flag in the distance. as I cross the Thames for the first time.... I tried to look back, and realised that at that point in time, that I had to lose the friendly faces and not even see them again.....

Instead I focused on the scenery - the Thames I knew so well, except I hardly run upstream from Kingston to Hampton court (the yearly long run from Staines to Richmond takes me down, but not up) - it was very calm on an early sunday morning - i kept my pace, watched the puddles and ensured that my shoes stay dry....with the 10minute flag around 200 metres ahead of me - I hit the stopwatch on the mile markers at a consistent 9:45ish minute per mine...I was safe. Unsure of how long though, as with previous races I still remember the scenes when the flags took off, and I was unable to chase up....

After crossing the river for the first time...I started hearing a man in red - a 10 minute mile pacer - come up with helpful tips on where the next drink station was, so I started chatting to him  - about the strategy again. He said (again), an equal pace, but up to the individual to push harder. Mr 10 min/mile pacer said the second half of the course were slightly downhill...and those doing 1 lap (the 8 milers) could go for it near a certain point (2 miles from the finish), give it their all...but those staying for the 16.2 miles better who they are following (so as not to run out of steam!) 

Mr 10 min/mile pacer was training for VMLM and Boston, with a qualifying time for his age for 3:10! I was honoured to pick up some tips from him - especially when my last few runs have started way under 9:50 min mile and ended up on the wrong side of 10:00 min/miles...

Seeing the 8-milers off at the finish and heading left next to the finishing  - Lap 2 started off on a great feeling of being the 'elites' - the smaller leftover group - we were the ones to stay...and I better keep things going well this way - we know where we were going, just not as fresh anymore, and that is when you run the 'real race' as endurance runners...

crossing the Thames now a third time, and again seeing 10-minute mile flag in front of me...I slowly find myself drawing closer and closer to it....until I PASSED IT...yes, at around mile 9, I am actually faster than the 10 minute/mile flag! Is it real? I can never tell...but just picked someone in the distance to focus upon, my object being a girl in a red shirt with plaits...she and I became buddies for quite a few miles, we would pass each other on and off...and what kept me going , going was:

Nutrition. After the 'high juice' official drink offered at Farnham Pilgrim Half last year...we had started to ditch the Lucozade drinks and started mixing Ribena cordial instead...so armed with only one bottle of Ribena, I topped up from time to time, whenever a drinks station was non existent..to keep the light on..and it seemed to work, before I hit the wall...as I have done during training..

The gels and power gel liquid stations were pleasantly well placed - without the initial expectations that faster runners would 'loot' all the gels before I get to it...Army officers(?) gave out the gels and one even helped me with opening the liquid gel (it was a new Powergel Hydro with a 'clean usage technology' - not when its one's first time and she couldn't bite through!)

Proud to say I have also taken down Mr 10 minute miler without the group in sight ( I never dared to look back). 13mile marker came and gone - almost 2:10, which is just 'the normal pace'. The last 2 miles were hard , the legs were heavy,  but I do not stop. 

I made it home at the same time I heard sirens in the background....almost racing with the ambulance coming through the finish (they had to move some posts to the left to let it through)...and I passed the last of the timing chip in a glorious 2:39.23 - way under my Jantastic commitment of 2:50.

now where's Mr 10? here's the photo to prove I saw him coming through...

The lovely bag of Whole Foods goodies, the coconut water...the great hospitality from the Breast Cancer Care ....my hands were full...I got to the car, got home...and realised that I had forgotten to take the race mug!

oh well, I have my husband's as a memento - he finished a good 2:17, and went for it towards the finish - proud of him, and a great confidence booster for the upcoming Marathon!

Still glad to have proven that slow and steady wins the race - and it's still not too late to donate...please visit my page:

http://www.justgiving.com/Bonnie-Wong2

every penny counts!

Finding my pace

On the eve of the 16 mile race...time has flown, too much to do, too little time!

Last week was another back ended 3 runner, with bonus miles (13.8 return)to see the new Walton bridge (without the trace of the old)


and to 'hit the wall' on the return....
Ending on an 10:10 min /mile average..

Then to spend the entire week sneezing and trying to keep the cold above the throat...killing boxes of tissues ...not the best at all.

Tomorrow, I'm taking part in the Whole Foods Market Kingston Breakfast Run as the lead up to the longest run for vmlm 2014 (not me, but hubby's) and......to raise money for Breast Cancer Care.


Why?

1.We all know women who are affected by Breast Cancer and to ensure that
they get more informed and support whilst fighting this battle - check out
their website , its a wealth
of information that seems to have a more personal touch for those who would
like to find out more.

2. I've signed up to Whole Foods Market Kingston Breakfast Run 16mile as my
usual spring half marathon was cancelled in February, this is a challenge as it
will be the longest distance for me since Brussels in Oct 2012!

3. Breast Cancer Care have asked if I would like to join their team with no
minimum fundraising target (I have paid for the entry fee without their
support), so every little bit helps.

4. Almost end of the financial year, if you need to include more
charitable donations on your tax return - this is the chance!


Donating to my JustGiving page is easy - just follow this link and click
Donate:

http://www.justgiving.com/owner-email/pleasesponsor/Bonnie-Wong2

Too much on...and it's a half marathon + 5km's with an 8am start.... My aim is to find and maintain my pace and still pick up some decent gels and a goody bag along the way!

After all, it's a whole foods race. And my only membership at the sub-2 club has been a Human Race organised event.

This time, a sub-3 will be lucky. Let's hope the weather is calm for a good run.


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Jantastic - not as Febulous in Feb!

28 days hath February, come and gone so quickly.
Days of relentless rain, flooded towpaths.

The days are getting long and so are the working days...which resulted in a 97% achievement of 3 mainly back ended runs, with a joker played last week making up the quota in quantity, not the distance.




After Wokingham Half was cancelled and going into Chinese New Year of the Horse, i was keen to find another training race (not really for myself, but my other half doing the VmLM2014 - (on a ballot place, hence the small M) ..so decided on the whole foods breakfast run (now less than 3 weeks away).

There was a choice of 8 vs 16 miles with the spring marathoner opting for 16 ....so my dilemma came on a quick lunchtime purchase at the office...I had to take out the calculator to work out:
- price difference on entering 8 vs 16
- my estimated time to finish..hmm. On 10min/mile on a good day this implies 160min/60mins...2:40??

Only then stupid me realised that this uncommon distance tricked me (like the one most ignorant people ask or think they have done a 'marathon' when it's not the official 26.1miles or 42.195km)..
To illustrate here:





I've signed up to a race based on lower cost per mile (for few pounds more you run twice the distance) and it's more than half a marathon without doing a buildup towards this!!

I'm in trouble. Too many weeks of low mileage I need to really build up again... My plan: 10 miles this week and a half next fortnight.

In the last week, on a brighter note, I can prove I can run fast(er). An evening run on the streets recorded a 8:51 min/mile on my 2nd out of 5th mile.



And my <5 mile runs on the weekend have averaged 10 min/mile..

I just need to get over my tiredness (currently bad, lower blood pressure than normal) and get out there without the week wearing me down - strategically run/railing to work this morning.

Back into business.

Track my progress on jantastic here:

http://www.jantastic.me/runners-teams/?runner_id=352


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Jantastic - a 100% score

January - my Jantastic campaign of 3 runs per week have been completed - only just, no more, no less.

I've started keeping a very brief diary of my physical activities, where I work, how I feel, what/when I ate, and any niggles that kick up along the way.

so the last 2 weeks:

last week(15.2miles): the 3 runs in 3 were done backend loaded - friday/sat/sun.

friday -  in the darkness, neighbourhood bonus miles

saturday -  in the familiarity of the Thames Path, the city stretch, very fast splits in the first 2 - but gradually worse with more tourists at Tower/Westminster bridge. It's the first time I've ran the stretch from westminster to lambeth bridge properly - I enjoyed using the lampposts as guidelines...I think I could push on harder, but without any gels, it might not have been a good idea. a fulfilling Char Kway Teow and pre-Chinese New Year shopping was beckoning me as it was close to lunch hour :)



sunday - a weekend finisher in the afternoon - with the expectation of rain - a semi-hilly loop around the neighbourhood...which ended in.....me totally drenched! Put it this way : I ran very fast in the last half mile as it was pouring hard!



[this almost feels like a proper marathon training week, my legs were actually hurting!]



this week(16miles): again, backend loaded but not as bad as last week - thursday, saturday, sunday.

thursday - a lunchtime 2.39 miles. a worthwhile escape from the desk - and great to 'virtually train' with some guys who were up at the top of the loop at G- Park doing intervals - they started later than me but caught up...at that point I tried to keep their pace (9min/mile) and then they all stopped ( perhaps afraid ;) ) and I pressed on, and completed my loop back to the office, which ended in a pain on my right abdomen (which I am still trying to figure out what it is).

saturday  - the laundromat run - as I had some 'seasonal items' to drop off at the coin-op, where staff told me that the washing machine runs for 45 mins, and then I have to be back to start the dryer. this is an extension to my old training path from Staines...and as luck would have it, the wind on my face, and the road was blocked by floodwater - so I couldn't get to my usual 2 mile turnaround (but having started further away from my old starting point due to the location of the laundromat - I gained some mileage).


so - a pause at 46/53ish minutes (for maybe 7 minutes?) to ensure the dryer finished - and then I popped a gel....power resumed, and part 2 of the run on the same route again...deja vu, with stronger winds...and slowing down towards the end....taking home 10.6 miles

sunday - the gym usual...5kms on a treadmill that threatens to break, or slide me off...I had to pause and recompose, and upped the speed after half-time. I was using the ad-breaks on sky news as a guide to when to stop again...but they were 'long'! 500 metres (more than 3 minutes) was how long I think I was waiting for the news to come back on again - I'd prefer running outdoors any day, that's where I belong.

My shoes are starting to be an embarrassment when dirt falls off on the clean floors of the gym!

As I'm approaching race day (in 7 days!) I need to be a little careful in what to do and plan. With further rain and unsettled weather forecast - I may need to preserve my Asics (gradually wearing away, only with 2013 not being a marathon year for me - the asics words are disappearing from the bottom of my feet!) for the sunday when it is sure to get more drenched. A lot of eating lately (and more this week with further celebrations in order!) I need to watch how that affects my wellbeing, sleep, etc.



My legs feel like they are falling off when I pick up speed......its not easy to run in these kind of conditions at all. When will the weather be dryer, more cheerful and I can carve out more time to run well?

A 16 mile+ week!

Jantastic week #2 completed.
3/3 runs this week.
Gym visits: 2.

3.1 + 3.1 + 10.7 almost 17 miles, but I'm too honest to round up.

The first two quick evening visits to the gym was a trial on a slow comfortable pace, then running fast at the finish, as mentioned in my previous.

The Sunday run was what really got my legs working. Home to wey navigation and basingstoke canal, a slight detour from the usual.

The waters receded from the floods before, it was quiet, the canal towpath was well paved.

Pleasant relaxing run with feeling relaxed and focused on breathing and my running style.
It is my first time on this route so perhaps, not quite time yet to fine tune the pacing, but next time I shall know better.


Which means less time to stop for photos.










Fast forward to Wednesday, and I'm heading into the City, feeling the guilt of canceling one lunchtime run earlier in the week, and also the inability to bring my gym AND laptop bag for a day of work and evening professional function where there may not be lockers.

I would so much love a daytime dash along the London Thames path....how to maximize my time and activities in town, with less physical & (emotional) baggage?

Too much to do and too little time, looking in to some inspiration from this book I'm reading..




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Treadmill pleasure to Torture

My first visit to the gym in 2014 on a typically busy Monday night.

At least I did it!

I'm trying to learn to breathe deeply and relax to stop myself getting a stitch or running out of breath.

The treadmill is not my best mode of running, for fear of falling off, making a loud noise, or tripping over headphones or being deafened by stupid tv shows on poor audio.

It's the best place to practice slow running.

A slow 9km/h start....1% incline, I look good. In the mirror.
The TV blared away with images of the dismal floods... But soon I lose interest. I managed to keep up to 3kms and then I started driving up the speed....10.5, 11.5...0.5km at a time..to 12.0km/h...starting to struggle, but it's already 25 minutes. No matter how hard I tried, this is what I can only manage





Need another visit soon to try another strategy, and to lower my cost-per-visit 😛

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Familiar places under water

2 weeks into the new year, and i'm getting motivated ...only just.

jantastic.me - signed up and committed to 3 runs per week, and this week I got out Thursday, Friday and Saturday (Saturday being a 7 miler round richmond park).

It has not been easy at all when fitness levels have not been keeping up, especially with long stressful working hours and eating habits (stay off the chocolate!) - but, the times I have been out, especially during daylight hours - it has worked wonders on my mood and the pink glow on my face, the tingling feeling on my skin, is ooh...so lovely.



Most disheartening sight of the week is seeing the Thames Path (for followers of this blog, you will know of the nicknames along some of these all too familiar traing stretches) flooded.



Never like this before - and certainly I feel for the livelihood of those who live around here and use the path everyday for their various activties...it will be a while before all the water is drained and back to normal again.



Some pictures, and memories to share....when I will run here again?

the 'plastic mat' no longer...this was the sprint 7 minute cutoff..

where the cows go home....Dumsey meadow...and road closed.

After Penton Hook - 12 minutes on, the first of the smoother roads..

Chertsey - the bridge and lock - my 35 minute turnaround,

Near Thames Court, Shepparton - that will usually be where I pop a gel before the turnaround to head home, on a 2 hour training run

The road leading home....road closed for a while it seems

Muddy shoes - to be out in the open air...the gym is no better alternative. I must think hard, and train on higher ground.






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