Training Run 24 - 5.6 miles / 9.01 km, 45'25''

After the excitement of the Half Marathon, I decided to give myself a week off, so today was my first run since then.  I definitely felt a bit out of sorts, although the time is consistent with what I was running before the Half Marathon so I wasn't running any slower, even though it did feel like I was at times.

Distance: 5.6 miles / 9.01km
Time: 45 minutes 25 seconds
Conditions: Cold and damp, with a keen breeze blowing off the river.  Battersea Park absolutely stank of fertiliser!  By the time I got to the pagoda I knew I didn't feel up for a longer run today so I turned around and came back.  I'm happy to be easing myself back into it though, and my leg muscles felt ok so I feel as though I have fully recovered from the race.

Reading Half Marathon, and many thank yous

After all the preparation and training, the day finally came.  My alarm went off at six o’clock this morning and Chris and I wended our way to Reading for the half-marathon.  The weather was perfect – cool but sunny, with a slight breeze.  I had worked so hard in the run up to the race and I couldn’t help worrying about a couple of little niggles I had – the toes on my left foot hurt a bit, as did my right knee and I was worried these might affect my race.  Would I be able to finish?

I need not have worried.  The gun went off and I ran my own race right from the start.  All of the pacing training that I’d had with the Frontrunners really paid off.  I felt confident in my own speed and pace, and was able to not set off too quickly.  My first mile split time was 8.53, which was fast but not excessively so.  I was able to maintain this speed going around.  I also noticed that I felt so much better in myself than how I felt during the first two half marathons I ran several years ago.  Today, the first seven miles felt like a normal training run, enjoyable and effortless.  I had a great time watching the crowd and high-fiving the small children by the trackside.

It did get a bit harder later on, but I didn’t hit the wall at mile 11 like I usually do.  I kept my speed down and focussed on my breathing, and I was able to keep going without it hurting.  By the time I reached mile twelve I knew that this was going to be a personal best, and when I ran through the thirteen-mile marker and into the Madejski Stadium I realised I had absolutely smashed my old PB.

I crossed the finish line in a time of 1 hour 55 minutes 39 seconds.  My previous personal best, in the Birmingham Half Marathon in 2011, was 2 hours 9 minutes.  I was absolutely overjoyed at my time!  I could not believe that I had completed a half marathon in under two hours and was ecstatic.

The last few months of my life have been difficult for a number of reasons.  I want to thank lots of people who have helped me when things have been hard.  Firstly, I want to thank everyone at London Frontrunners for being the most driven, friendly, sociable and hilarious training partners anyone could ever want.  Particular thanks go to Manue, John, Neil, Karl and all the other members of the training team who have all worked to make sure that not only does the club have an outstanding training plan, but also that training with everyone feels like a pleasure and not a chore.  To every other member of the club who has run with me, talked to me, drank with me in the pub and laughed at my terrible jokes, thank you for making me feel so welcome.  We are the best running club in the whole world!

More thanks go to friends for their help and advice.  Stephen Bramah, Chris Calvert, Tris Davies and Pip Green, you are the reason I got into running in the first place way back in 2009, and I will always remember that first half marathon and all the training we did along the Birmingham canals with huge fondness.  Carly McIver, your help, advice, tips and humour have been invaluable and inspirational.  You are the queen of running!  Thank you also to everyone who donated money to my fundraising campaign.  As of now I have raised just under £500 for Alzheimer’s Society.  Each and every one of you who helped to reach this total is marvellous!  If you are reading this and haven’t donated yet, you will still be able to for another few weeks, you can do so by clicking here.

Finally, I want to thank my parents, Caroline and Alan Rendall, and my boyfriend Chris Curtis.  All three of you came to watch me run today and it was inspirational to know that you were cheering me on.  Mum and Dad, you have been cheering me on my whole life and you have been there for me over the last year or so when I really needed you.  I cannot thank you both enough for all the many wonderful gifts you have given me over the thirty years of my life so far.  I love you both so much.  Chris – my life has been enriched so much by you since we met in 2004.  You love me for who I am and you allow me to be myself while also a part of you, which I think is possibly the greatest gift anyone can give.  I love you so much and I hope that you continue to support my running (you won’t always have to get up at 6am to do it!)

Today is dedicated to those people living with Alzheimer’s and dementia everywhere, as well as those who lived with it and have sadly passed away.  Iris Murdoch, Terry Pratchett, Prunella Scales, and my own grandmother, Ivy Gibbs, née Hiscock, who died last year aged 92 and who inspired me to run today for Alzheimer’s Society.  We are all living longer and we all face the very real possibility that either we or someone we love will be affected by Alzheimer’s and dementia.  Our government keeps cutting NHS budgets and we need to ensure that we fight for good Alzheimer’s and dementia care.  Terry Pratchett showed that with the right care and support, people with Alzheimer’s can continue living full and enriching lives and that they do not need to be labelled as “sufferers” or “victims”.  I feel that I owe it to my Grandma to fight for more publically funded Alzheimer’s and dementia care, not just for those who are affected by it now but for all of those who will be affected by it in years to come.

Training Run 23

This was my last training session before the half-marathon.  I had decided beforehand that I would take it relatively easy, but in the end I ran almost the whole session and thoroughly enjoyed it, even though it was hard work.  After warming up, we did eight reps of 800m, aiming to run them at about 80% pace.  I still ended up running quite fast, but like all the sessions I am finding that upping my pace slightly in order to keep up with faster runners is really helping my speed.  This was tiring but not excessively so, and I now feel fully prepared for Sunday.  Bring it on!

Training Run 22 - 5.6 miles / 9.01 km, 45'18''

I'm now into the last week before the half-marathon on Sunday!  This was shorter than the run I usually do on a Monday evening as I am now tapering - I ran to the Pagoda in Battersea Park and back again.

Distance: 5.6 miles / 9.01km
Time: 45 minutes 18 seconds
Conditions: Cold and damp.  The ground was wet underfoot but not slippery.  This was shorter than I usually run on a Monday but I didn't feel that I ran quickler, my legs felt quite tired afterwards.

Training Run 21

In this training session with the Frontrunners, I ran four 1.5km laps of Primrose Hill park, with the aim of keeping our time relatively consistent.  Although the distance is relatively short, there were a lot of uphill sections and I found these slowed me down considerably.  With only a couple of minutes rest between each lap, this became a harder challenge with each subsequent one, although I did manage to run the fourth one slightly faster than the third, which was my slowest.  This was a challenging session, but afterwards I felt as though I had really worked hard.

Training Run 20 - 11.5 miles / 18.5 km, 1 hr 45'31''

This was my last long run before the Reading Half Marathon, I will be tapering after this.  It was a beautiful sunny morning and the first day that did not feel cold in ages.  We ran along the Regent's Canal, up to Primrose Hill and then onto Gospel Oak and then onto Hampstead Heath, around the heath and then back down the canal again, before the others headed back to Primrose Hill for a bit of a longer session and I ran back to the changing rooms.  This was a good pace, although I did feel sluggish in the last part heading back (I had an energy gel, though my feet still felt like lead I am sure it helped).  I am looking forward to the Half-Marathon immensely, I hope I will set a new PB!

Distance: 11.5 miles / 18.5km (roughly)
Time: 1 hour 45 minutes 31 seconds
Conditions: Sunny and warm.  Dry surfaces, some mud underfoot on the trails through Hampstead Heath.  My legs ached a bit afterwards but felt fine all the way around the course.  I did feel tired in the last 2-3km, even though I consumed an energy gel.

Training Run 19 - 7 miles, 11.27 km, 56'35''

I set another PB on this Monday night session and the run felt so good!  I really feel as though I am in the form of my life at the moment, the training is really helping and I feel so positive about it all, I am really enjoying training.  Plus I have now hit my £250 target for fundraising for the Reading Half-Marathon, which is excellent news.  I have raised the threshold to £500, in the hope I can reach this target by 22nd March.

Distance: 7 miles / 11.27km (roughly)
Time: 56 minutes 35 seconds (a new PB!)
Conditions: A cool and clear night.  Dry surfaces which were not at all slippery.  Part of the Thames path was closed so we had to go round via the road but this didn't add very much time (and I still got a PB).  I really pushed myself again this time and I these sessions are really showing me what I am capable of.