This week Lorna admits that lycra isn’ t the only thing she’s addicted to.
Name: Lorna
Age: 30
Goal: To finish better than last year!
Marathon history: One marathon under belt – London 2013. Finished in 4hrs 54 mins
What training has taught me this week: Sugar is zapping my energy. It really is as bad for you as everyone says. Honest. (damn it)
As the miles are increasing I obviously have a lot more time to myself on these runs – a huge blessing for someone who is unashamedly married to their work. While on my scheduled 20km run home this weekend I enjoyed taking the time to assess where training has taken me over the last 12 months and what I definitely need to improve on as the time literally flies by to race day.
To keep me focused on my run I decided to make myself a little list of things to do before the next 10 weeks pass me by:
1. I need to perfect my playlist. I’ve asked 26 friends to provide me with a mile of music for race day and for longer training runs. I did this last year and found it really helped when I just didn’t want to push on through – hearing a random song that reminds me of someone awesome just helps to make me smile and carry on. I’ve gathered about 50% of the playlist to date – time to get reminding
2. I need to get my Lycra together – race day trainers, leggings, socks sorted – now it’s all about the top half of me. This is the part of training I LOVE – a visit to my beloved Niketown is a must now I’ve been paid!
3. I need to make sure I’m eating properly. I’m not going to lie – I’ve struggled with my diet this time around. I’ve found it near impossible to give in to sugar (I’m blaming the high – stress career moments of the past 6 months) and it’s definitely having an impact on my endurance. There’s miles left in the legs but I’m feeling beaten up about 70% in to the run. Time to be strict and fuel properly.
4. I’ve got to carry on stretching. I’m much better at this now (my physio will be proud) and I’m noticing that my pesky quads, hamstrings and naughty little calves are starting to pay ball. Don’t get me wrong – they are still dangerously tight, but not as dangerous as they have been. I’ve made foam rolling a part of my daily routine and have stuck to my specific calf stretches at least every other day (ok – I should be doing those twice daily, but I never said I was perfect)
5. I’ve got to improve my interval runs. I tend to practise these on a treadmill so that I can really push myself hard, but truth be told I’m not doing that – I’m opting for a more “comfortable” speed session rather than one that makes me want to collapse in a heap in the changing rooms. I need to bite the bullet and really start to go beyond what I think I can do. As I mentioned last week, with me especially, if I can get my mind on board my miles follow – so I just need to stop taking a short cut with this part of my training. (I’m also kinda skipping these sessions – well not any more I won’t! Promise!)
I’ve got 24km ahead of me this weekend – am looking forward to seeing what comes out of that longer run (note: It’ll be hilarious – I’m running around 18km of this run with my bestest running girl in the whole wide world – the one and only @DunsOnTheRun )
Weekly training stats: 25km covered
Friday 24 Jan: 60 min strength session with a personal trainer. This session focused on back, chest and abs. I don’t usually pay attention to what/how much I’m lifting – that’s why I pay for the personal training – however I was told there was a great deal of improvement – I increased the amount I was lifting by nearly 10%
Saturday 25 Jan: With abs that were sore after each inhale and arms that refused to budge I ventured out on my 20km run this evening. I started off really well – running for about 8km at my desired half marathon race pace (am aiming for a sub 2 – eek) but slowly this decreased to my desired marathon pace. This was a long old run that felt long – I was aware of every step I was taking, longing for the run just to finish.
Sunday 26 Jan: Rest day. I popped into the pool for my 1000m just to stretch the legs and the chest – which was still sore from Friday!
Monday 27 Jan: Work got in the way of training today. It was a stressful little rest day.
Tuesday 28 Jan: Rest day. Still zapped of energy.
Wednesday 29 Jan: 45min boxing session with a personal trainer followed immediately by a (nearly) 5km run with Nike+ Run Club Holborn
Thursday 30 Jan: Lunchtime yoga at Good Vibes Fitzrovia with Holly Warren.
Lycra of the week: If I’m not in Nike I’m generally in something by Lucas Hugh – an amazing luxury sports label that delivers on both style and performance. The new collection launched this week, and I have my eye on EVERYTHING – in particular anything in the Prism print.
