September 2012

Post Olympic Blues

My summer has been a tremendously busy one as I have completed various summer placements. Despite this, I did manage to go to the Olympics twice (VIP seats at Women’s Hockey and the Athletics-100m final!) so my cameras were far from being kept in the dust.

These are a number of photos that I took across the days I went to the Olympic Village. The Red Arrows fly past images are from the night of the Opening Ceremony, when I went to watch it in a park. What I would suggest is clicking on the first photo and a slideshow will appear and you can view them properly.

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@mara.fitlondoner

@thefitlondoner

Recap from the last fortnight. Just about managed

Recap from the last fortnight. Just about managed 3 sessions a week (work’s been long and I’ve been sleeping A LOT) :

1️⃣ hang cleans in commercial gyms isn’t easy- the space just isn’t designed for these lifts 😅

2️⃣ Was invited to take it part in a workshop on improving the diversity and accessibility at a local @parkrunuk . The ideas will be discussed by the Public Health teams in finding which ones are best to implement!

3️⃣post-physio snacking at @breadmeister

4️⃣ banded sotts presses require all the double chins

5️⃣ only run of the week. 8 miles was too long, too soon. Felt so hard 🥵🥵

#trainwithcoros #runstrong #marathontraining #hybridathlete #womenrunners #inspiringwomenrunners #lauf #coureuse #londonrunners #hangclean #barbellworkout #parkrunuk #diversewerun #diverserunnersworld

Signed up to pace the RunThrough 10k velopark race

Signed up to pace the RunThrough 10k velopark race ages ago. Totally forgot about until an email came through this week on pre-race information (whoops).

Whenever I pace races, I go for very easy paces (for me) so I can sit back and enjoy them more than I might if I’m going all engines blazing at race pace.

65 mins was the target time. Job done in 1:04:56🙌🏿. Normally that pace would feel like 3/10 RPE but with everything recently, I’ve definitely lost my running fitness and that felt more like a 5/10 RPE.

Enjoyed running in the new Ride 17s from @saucony_eu - first impressions: very nice cushioning and also quite supportive.

#Marathumbchallenge #saucony #sponsored #ad #womensrunning #londonrunners #diversewerun #inspiringwomenrunners #thisgirlcan #runthroughuk #londonvelopark

Tried to build back a routine after the weeks I’

Tried to build back a routine after the weeks I’ve had. By Friday, the DOMS made an appearance- Haven’t been that sore in a long time.

1. Lifting session: aim was to get over nerves. I’ve been so nervous whenever I’ve left my home lately since I collapsed and the symptoms that have followed, being in a gym environment felt even more nervous.

2. Easy run on the treadmill: first run both after Valencia and being ill - it was freezing cold that day and you all know how I feel about winter running…

3. Lifting session: turns out I can still lift and I felt fine, phew. A confidence booster 🎊

4. Easy run with the club: overlayered for this run. Turns out it was cold but not the wear 4-layers- kind of cold run.

5. Daily physio exercises

Total mileage: 8 miles (felt hard)

This isn’t the new year start I wanted. I feel really low and my mind is so scrambled right now

Can’t wait to get back to normal. I really want to jump back on the Trying To Run Faster train, so telling myself this is just a temporary speed bump.

#trainwithcoros #runstrong #marathontraining #hybridathlete #womenrunners #inspiringwomenrunners #lauf #coureuse #londonrunners #zerchersquats #barbellworkout

I made several changes to my speed workouts this y

I made several changes to my speed workouts this year to optimise the effort and results I put in during training.

Somewhere along the line two years ago, I got into a habit of walking recoveries for speed workouts. We’ve been working on switching walking recoveries to easy running since.

Confession: I’m still working on this one, but we’ve seen progress I think.

If you’re not sure about whether or not to incorporate this in your training, speak with your coach (if you have one) as they’ll know you best.

#runningtips #runfast #runstrong #londonmarathon #wintertraining #speedworkout #marathontraining #worldmajors #womensrunning #marathonlife #brooksrunhappy #inspiringwomenrunners #berlinmarathon #springmarathontraining

I made several changes to my speed workouts this y

I made several changes to my speed workouts this year to optimise the effort I put in during training.

The second was changing up the times of the day I did my speed workouts, based on when I perform the best. I’m really not a morning person, and despite trying, speed workouts first thing just don’t work for me. It takes me forever to fully wake up!

Easy runs and lifting sessions work better in the mornings for me. I found speed workouts best from midday onwards. As I’m not WFH so much anymore, after work is the next best.

Have you tried moving sessions in the day to match your energy levels?

#runningtips #runfast #runstrong #londonmarathon #wintertraining #preworkout marathontraining #worldmajors #womensrunning #marathonlife #brooksrunhappy

I made several changes to my speed workouts this y

I made several changes to my speed workouts this year to optimise the effort I put in during training.

NUTRITION
The first was increasing my preworkout carb intake for speed workouts to 30g. If I was slightly lower on energy (not to be confused with fatigue) or on my period and feeeling the struggle, I’d increase to 40-50-ish g.

I played around with different types of snacks and different portions until I found what worked for me.

If you’re not sure about whether or not to incorporate this in your training, speak with your coach (if you have one) as they’ll know you best.

FUEL PROPERLY & ENOUGH 💫
#runningtips #runfast #runstrong #londonmarathon #wintertraining #fuelyourbody #trainwithcoros ##brooksrunhappy laufen #marathontraining #worldmajors #womensrunning #marathonlife

More than two to four days passed since your marat

More than two to four days passed since your marathon PB…

I couldn’t believe I’d got sub3:30 when I crossed the finish line - I thought my watch had maybe somehow glitched and was trolling me. Plus I have issues with mobile data abroad so I couldn’t check my official time on my phone.

The only way I could figure how to check was to get my time lasered on my medal as I figured they’d have my chip time. So I braced myself in the queue and thought “it’s either 3:47 or really 3:28” and I’m going to prepare for either. I tried to act really cool and unsurprised when they lasered the time

#kutchtohuahai #thisgirlcan #marathonpb #marathoner #marathontraining #valenciamarathon #londonrunners #ukrunchat #marathonbq #inspiringwomenrunners #indianrunners #diversewerun

One thing that helped me with @maratonvalencia?

One thing that helped me with @maratonvalencia?

Beyond the usual advice people give (carb-load, sleep well etc), I’m going to share a few things that helped me as people start their base training for spring marathons.

My first tip?:
Temporary pacing tattoos have been part of my races this year. As someone prone to going off too fast in races and regretting it later, these have honestly really helped me to stick to the plans and hit my goals this year.

I’ve seen them before but always thought naaah these aren’t for me. But this year, as part of my effort to step it up, I thought well I haven’t got anything to lose. Let’s just try it. And they’ve worked!

Using this along with ELAPSED TIME on the watch meant that hitting the sub 3:30 goal felt less challenging to achieve.

At Valencia, I also wrote the markers for water stations on my wrist. Mentally, it created another way to break down 42km. Previously I’ve looked at the courses and mentally taken a note of aid stations, but realistically, once I’m in a race, that just goes out of the window. I also marked some key distances on the tattoo for me.

Where to buy?: GOOGLE “temporary race pace tattoo”

Have you ever used these before?

#thisgirlcan #sundaylongrun #marathontraining #brooksrunhappy #inspiringwomenrunners #londonrunners #runningtips #motivation #valencia #valenciamarathon #londonmarathon #worldmajors #Berlinmarathon

I can’t get my head around it 🤯3: 28:38 at @m

I can’t get my head around it 🤯3: 28:38 at @maratonvalencia 🔔🔔 A 12 min PB!! With all my luck, I started my period just when I got here and had to dose up on strong meds to manage the pain - yesterday I had a mini tantrum and thought about DNS-ing. Luckily most of the pain had subsided by this morning. But wow… I FINALLY got sub 3:30!

I know I’ve worked hard this year towards this goal but this time has still blown my mind. I’ve pb’ed across all the distances this year, which is really testament to @rushbynature and @mrbigfriday coaching.

Swipe to see:
1. Finish line feels
2. Recovery mode: ON
3: race pacing made easier

#trainwithcoros #thisgirlcan #valenciamarathon #brooksrunhappy #londonrunners #sub330

Last long run banked. Tackling Yorkshire hills. Gr

Last long run banked. Tackling Yorkshire hills. Grim, freezing cold weather but fought through the final miles remembering this time next week will be a very different setting.

#ThisGirlCan #YorkshireRunning #YorkshireRun #yorkshirerunners #MarathonTraining #Workout #Valencia #Marathon #winterrunning #winterworkout #trainwithcoros #coros #sundaylongrun #brooksrunhappy #inspiringwomenrunners #londonrunners

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