Despite the terrible weather, this week saw the marathon training runners hit some seriously big mileage. Charlotte did an 18 miler and Sharon "One R" Smith did her longest run to date, banging out 20 miles in the pouring rain on Good Friday. (see more about Sharon below).
Thursday's session saw just a handful of runners head up to Oram's Arbour for some up and downhill sprints. See the earlier blog for the full details.
Sharon "One R" Smith - My Running Journey
So James asked me to write a piece about my running 'journey' which makes me feel a bit like an X-factor contestant but here goes.
It's fair to say I have never been particularly fit or sporty. At school I was one of the last to be picked for teams, struggled to hit or catch a ball and trailed near the back during cross country. I wasn't bothered, my strengths lay in other areas and sport wasn't a priority. During my late teens and twenties I had the usual neglected gym memberships and dipped in and out of fitness classes. A familiar story to many, I'm sure.
Once I had my daughter in 2013 I found it harder to fit any exercise in at all. I was tied to a baby all day and with a husband who didn't get home from London until late it was impossible to get to any classes. I even tried going for a run a couple of times but remembered how much I hated it. I felt like I was going to die!
Baby number 2 came along in 2016 and life got even more hectic. As his first birthday approached I stepped on the scales and realised I was almost the same weight as I was at 9 months pregnant. Quite an achievement since I was back to my pre-pregnancy weight shortly after giving birth! After nearly 4 years of struggling to find any exercise that would fit around children I needed something that I could just do whenever I wanted. It was going to have to be the dreaded running. It wasn't just about weight loss, I wanted to be fitter and healthier and most importantly set a good example for the children.
I had the Couch to 5K app on my phone from years previously. I'd attempted it a few times over the years but never got past week 2. This time it felt different. If I could give birth twice I could definitely run 5k. The C25k programme is basically a run/walk interval programme that builds you up to being able to run continuously for 30 minutes. It consists of three runs a week for nine weeks. I followed the programme and unlike when I tried it before it felt straightforward. Not easy, every run was HARD but I managed it. At the end of week 5 the last run is to run continuously for 20 mins. Looking ahead to it, it seemed impossible. Running for 60 seconds was enough of a challenge. I couldn't believe it when I actually managed it. It was only after that run that I allowed myself to go and buy some proper running gear rather than the old trackie bottoms and T shirts I'd been wearing. The following week I did my first parkrun, with a bit of walking, and that was it. I was a runner!
I started looking for routes and trying to work out how far I was running and my husband suggested I join Strava. This definitely kept me interested. I'm a geek at heart and loved looking at the numbers and seeing how I was improving after each run. It was only at this point that friends found out I was running and were really supportive. This is also where I may have got a little carried away. Several friends were very encouraging and suggested The Great South Run was a good challenge to aim for. 10 miles seemed a very long way but if I could go from nothing to 3 miles in a few months it should be achievable. Plus it was months away so why not? Also after watching the London Marathon I thought I may as well enter the ballot for that next year. I mean it's next to impossible to get a place so I'd never get in...
I optimistically downloaded a 5-10k app and decided to try and carry on. For some reason I never got on with this. Normally because there was always something that made me need to walk before the interval was up; traffic or, more likely, a hill! I carried on with parkruns and was now starting to see a few familiar faces there each week. The heat of the summer was a struggle to run in but at least it was easy to get out in the long evenings to try and increase my distance. Around this time something called Winchester Fit Club popped up on my Facebook feed occasionally and I started following it. It looked like fun, a big group exercising outside and it was only a pound.
I went to my first monday session in August and loved it. Straight away Mike started talking about a new running group they were starting soon so of course I had to go along to that. I've only missed a handful of sessions since. James and the group have taught me so much about running and what I'm capable of. More than that, I've met some great people and made new friends.
The marathon is now less than a month away and I can't believe I'll actually be there on the start line. I ran 17 miles at the weekend which is just surreal (note; Sharon has subsequently run a 20 miler on Good Friday). There's no way I'd be doing these distances or have managed to increase my pace in the way I have if it wasn't for Coach James and the running club. People keep telling me I'm an inspiration but the truth is it's those guys that inspire me to get out there week after week. Plus I get to escape from 2 under 5s at home! The truth is that if I can do it, absolutely anyone can.
If you would like to sponsor Sharon for the London Marathon, she is running for the
Royal National Institute of Blind People, then you can do so at the following link:
https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/sharon-healy3
Hazelwood parkrun
With Winchester and Eastleigh parkruns cancelled I had the opportunity to visit another new parkrun. This time my touring buddy James and I headed up the M3 to the new Hazelwood parkrun.
Set at the training ground of Premiership rugby club London Irish, the run is 2 and a half laps of the outside of the training pitches. The course is mostly around 2 fields, the first is the main training pitches, these have impeccable drainage and so are on firm ground with a few slight muddy patches. The natural consequence of the well drained pitches is that all that water has to go somewhere...and that is where the second field comes in. "Field" is a loose description...it's more like a lake. This made the 5km extremely hard going. Most people opted for a long diversion around the bigger puddles, but I felt that the quicker route was straight through! This meant that I got extremely wet!!
I managed to maintain a steady pace and finished in a shade over 25 minutes and in 21st place.
It was an excellent morning out and I would recommend it to anyone seeking a little cross country fun!
Dates for your Diary
Wed 11th April, 8pm, at Winnal Primary School - Yoga session for runners with Gill
Mon 7th May, 7pm, Bar End running track - Monday Madness track session
Race Calendar
Here is an updated race calendar. If you have any others that you wish to add, please let me know!
Salisbury 10 mile – 8th April – SOLD OUT
http://salisbury10.salisbury-The General – April 14th
Brighton Marathon – 15th April
Southampton Marathon, Half and 10km – 22nd April
London Marathon – 22nd April
Fleet Half – April 29th
Harewood Forest 10km and 5km – 7th May (Bank Holiday Monday)
Gauntlet Games 5km and 10km - 12th May
https://www.naomihouse.org.uk/events/322-gauntlet-games-2018
Alton 10 mile – 13th May
Liverpool Rock and Roll marathon, half marathon, 5km and 1 mile – 19th and 20th May
Hackney Half – 20th May – SOLD OUT
Vitality 10000 – 28th May
Race for Life – Winchester – 3rd June
Eastleigh 10km – 17th June
Arlesford 10km – 17th June
Baccus Marathon and Half – 9th September
The Lake Run, Andover 10km and 5km – 16th Septembver
Winchester Half Marathon – 23rd September
Clarendon Marathon, Half and relay – 7th October
http://www.clarendon-marathon.
Great South Run - 21st October
http://www.greatrun.org/great-south-run
As ever, if you have any submissions for the next blog then please send them through to WFCrunners@gmail.com
Happy running everyone!!
Coach James
Great South Run - 21st October
http://www.greatrun.org/great-south-run
As ever, if you have any submissions for the next blog then please send them through to WFCrunners@gmail.com
Happy running everyone!!
Coach James
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