race

Knowing your limits – how ill is too ill to race?

/ katieferg89 / Leave a comment

So, a couple of days ago I had my first DNS. Well, apart from a deferred VLM entry a few years ago because of a stress reaction/fracture, but by the by – I don’t miss races.

I’d booked in to run the Berkhamsted Half a few months ago as it’s my home half and therefore one of my favourites. Not an easy one by half (haha, good joke Katie) but a beautiful route with a couple of challenging hills. And nice scenery.

But, I just didn’t feel up to it. It wasn’t an actual injury, it was just a cold. A stupid flipping cold. I’m fairly hardy and tend to run through anything, and this is the first time it’s actually made me decide not to participate. And that was a big step. So I had a think about knowing when not to race – not necessarily just run, but race – and particularly when it’s due to illness rather than injury as I think it’s often harder to judge.

**Disclaimer – I am not a medical professional; please consult your doctor if you’re concerned about an illness impacting your ability to run and train**

This has annoyingly been a two week cold – I was pretty stuffy a couple of weeks back when I did a 19 miler, but also put this down partly to several G&Ts the night before. I then spent the next few days sneezing and spluttering, but able to train and had cleared it by the Thursday.

However, I then went away skiing for a week and it sneakily crept back in. A couple of missed nights out, a couple of mornings waking up like I was swallowing razor blades and a ton of paracetemol meant I realised my delightful cold had not quite left. Add to that a 3.30am resort – airport transfer and absolutely zero sleep in Grenoble airport, I was already debating by Saturday evening whether I should run or not. I managed a solid 9 and a half hours of sleep and when I woke up…the first thing I did was cough.

After being forced to actually think about it properly by my mother and boyfriend (dad’s response was along the lines of  ‘man up I’m sure you’ll be fine’), I decided the best thing to do would be to sack it off. And I’m glad I did.

So what are some of the things you need to consider if you’re not feeling 100%?

  • Will you actually gain anything from doing the race?

It wasn’t my goal race.It never was. It was merely a nice marker, a tune up and a route I enjoy. It wasn’t going to be a PB, I didn’t have to prove anything.I mean something around a 1.36/1.37 would have been lovely, but just that really (I mean also, looking at the results I could have been round about top 15 on current form, but not dwelling on that).

  • What knock on effects will it have?

Prevention is better than cure. I guarantee 13.1 miles probably would have delayed my recovery by a couple of days and then I would have missed more training and got more grumpy. Even if I’d switched down to the 5 miles (that felt doable more than 13.1), I know I would have tried to race it and it probably wouldn’t have ended pretty. For at least a week (again, checked the results and would have been challenging for 3rd. No way I wouldn’t have been pushing myself hard for that if I’d been out there)

  • Where’s the illness?

The general rule of thumb is ‘above the neck, you can probably get away with it’. I had a lot above the neck, but also a pretty hacking cough which wasn’t getting any better. It was also pretty flipping cold out, which I tried to claim would clear me out, but was promptly told would have the opposite effect. If it’s a fever, fatigue, aching muscles – definitely don’t run! You know your body well enough by now to distinguish between the symptoms and what you can cope with – but make sure you listen to it.

  • Is it really going to impact your fitness?

No is the answer. A couple of days off is far, far better in the long run for your overall fitness. One missed run doesn’t suddenly take you back to square one (take note y’all)

  • Race or run?

I mean yes, you might be able to run, but doesn’t mean you can race. And it doesn’t mean you can run the set distance. Like I said, I could have probably boshed out a few easy miles. So this all depends on how you feel, how competitive you are, and back to point 1, what does the race mean to you? Take it down a notch and go out for a few easy miles if you have to, but I wouldn’t really race anything above a 5k…

  • What did entry cost/take?

I didn’t pay much for entry so it wasn’t a big deal, but I can understand if you’ve put in a lot of cash and/or qualifying hard work for a goal race, the decision isn’t as easy. HOWEVER, there is 99% always going to be another opportunity. Can you defer?

There are some serious risks associated with training through illness – take heed and listen to your body; if you don’t feel like it’s a good idea, it probably isn’t. It’s also not a good idea if people specifically tell you NOT to run after spending 12 hours listening to you being a bit snotty and coughy (potentially not a word). They might also say things such as “I can’t tell you what to do but you probably shouldn’t run”. The main reason for this is so that you don’t blame them if you then get upset about not running, or, so that you don’t blame them if you do run and then get pneumonia or something.

On the plus side, I was a much better spectator this year. 3 years ago I cried watching this half when I couldn’t participate. This year I ate a sausage sandwich and cheered on everyone. Mightily impressed by the small children storming the 5 miler.

PS HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY. She had a great run. I had a great scone. My dad did a fairly decent job as well after a rugby match in a quagmire the previous day.

 

Marathon Training Week 1

/ katieferg89 / 4 Comments

Well, January is here. And that means marathon training is here. I think I am excited about that fact (mainly excited because of lots of food and excuses to be tired) Taking a look back to my suggestions on how to choose a marathon training programme, I ended up opting for the Runner’s World intermediate plan which is interspersed with a few bits and pieces from our Clapham Chasers sessions AND a few thoughts of my own.

Goal wise….hmmmm. I have set myself a broad range of 3.20-3.30. Considering the improvement I saw in the latter past year over the shorter distance, there’s no reason why I can’t knock off more at a marathon. And I think just aiming for 3 mins and X seconds to get me below 3.30 is a bit of a wimpy way out.

(This is either a genius move that will motivate me, or a silly thing to do as I kill myself trying to get there)

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The big one – Hever Castle Olympic Triathlon – RACE REPORT!

/ katieferg89 / 4 Comments

Soooooo because I am a really stupid person, straight after my first foray into the world of triathlon at Thames Turbo at the end of May, I had a bit of a ‘two days post race haze of euphoria’ which lead to me deciding that joining the rest of the Chasers at Hever (being used as our Club Champs race) was a sensible idea (and not only just doing another, but jumping up to the Olympic distance from a ‘sprint but with a short swim which is good because I really hate swimming’) and I, er, signed up.

And then realised about two days later what I had actually done. Yeah, so 1500m is a lot for someone who is not a fan of swimming. And puts off swimming. And spends 30 minutes on the phone trying to convince people to tell me that it is OK for me not to go swimming and have a night off from ALL the swimming I do…(you know who you are)

So, without further ado – here is my Hever Castle Triathlon race review! (10/10 for rhyming)

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Adidas Thunder Run 2015….I have to run AGAIN?!

/ katieferg89 / 2 Comments

Well. It’s Friday, I’ve been running twice since Sunday and the best feeling on each of those runs was that I didn’t.have.to.go.again. Well, not within 3 hours anyway.

“adidas Thunder Run is a 24 hour off-road relay race against the clock. Whether you run solo, pairs or teams of 5 or 8 it’ll test your tactics, endurance, speed and team work. It’s an exhilarating, rewarding and tiring race with a great atmosphere. You’ll find TR24 physically challenging and mentally tough but an experience not to be missed”

(100% agree with this entire paragraph)

Last Friday, I had a 5pm panic-phone call to my mum about what to pack. I thought I had everything, however she gave me the (much-appreciated) reminder about a pair of gloves. I shoved everything into my trusty blue and yellow fluoro rucksack and got an Uber to our meeting place at Clapham Junction because a)it was raining and I didn’t want to start the weekend wet and b) I couldn’t be bothered to carry everything. Plus it only cost me a tenner.

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Race Report – Thames Turbo Sprint Triathlon

/ katieferg89 / 10 Comments

My answer now to the question ‘have you done a triathlon?’ can now officially change from ‘no because I hate swimming’ to ‘yes, I still hate swimming but the fun of the rest of it made it alright really’ . And by alright I mean quite fun. And by quite fun I mean I will probably do another one…

I picked Thames Turbo on the sole reason that my club was running a novice programme where this was the end goal.I also had several glasses of wine when I agreed to it. If I am honest, I basically ignored most of the training sessions and made up my own thing because a) marathon training took up a vast proportion of my time and b) I moved back home at the start of April and away from club sessions. Oh and c) I really don’t enjoy swimming in case you didn’t know that already.

Basically, there was a bit of googling and some laid back assumptions that I would get by. Actually, my training was pretty much useless if you want to think about dedicated triathlon training. I think I swam about once a fortnight on average and I just relied on my base running and cycling to get me by. I went to about one spin class and heavily relied on the fact that my commuting and every-other-weekend (ish) cycle legs would get me through (except for the fact that I stopped cycle commuting about 6 weeks ago). Oh and my first ‘proper’ brick in this block was two days before the race where I did a hilly parkrun and bashed around some Chiltern Hills for fun. I did no transition practice (but having done duathlons, not completely blind to it) and tested out my tri top on race day.

So, a potential disaster I hear you say?

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Review: Run or Dye – The World’s Most Colourful 5k!

/ Kate O'C / 1 Comment

We’re on a bit of a review rampage this week, here’s another one for you folks! This time it’s all to do with fun, fitness and flinging paint…

When we were emailed by the lovely people at Run or Dye to ask if we would like to run their crazy, paint-filled 5k in North London last week, we jumped at the chance! Given I’m not much of a runner at all, I was surprised that that was my reaction, but the thought of prancing around a 5k course to some bangin’ tunes whilst hurling powdered paint at K-Ferg just sounded like good, clean (or not so clean) fun, and a great way to kick-start my half-marathon training. So off we trotted to Cockfosters on a breezy but dry Saturday morning to join the throngs of other runners for some fun!

We were treated on arrival to some face-painting to get us in the party mood – courtesy of the ladies at Artyful, who had come to support the event – it certainly worked! Then we changed into our very own Run or Dye T-shirts; just by entering the race, every runner is given a free t-shirt, a wristband, some snazzy transfer tattoos and some powdered paint to get messy!Pre-Race painted faces

Soon enough it was time to get going. As we took our place at the starting hold, we were struck by the variety of people who were in attendance – from those who were there to try and knock a few seconds off their PB, to whole families including small children in buggies or being carried on shoulders – Run or Dye really is for everyone! We loved the fact that the staggered start was not done by predicted finish times. There is no elitism here, it’s truly inclusive and has a great family, party atmosphere as a result. The tunes were blaring (Katie did a lot of singing to Taylor Swift… gutted I didn’t manage to catch it on video), and as we waited to reach the start line the DJ almost caused a riot (I’m obviously massively exaggerating, but people did get very excited…) as he threw free gifts of sunglasses, tutus and packets of paint into the crowd, and then we were off!

The course was set out around some parkland, taking us over fields, pavements, mud tracks, through woodland and most importantly through the ‘Colour Zones’ where paint is hurled at you by some very enthusiastic volunteers! It was pretty windy on the day, so the paint had a tendency to just float away rather than stick to the t-shirts, but just running through a big blue cloud full of squealing people was good fun in and of itself.

Katie paint selfie

We made it to the end with big old grins on our faces, and a fair bit of paint in our mouths (it’s not the best tasting, but it’s totally harmless, and frankly you’re having so much fun you barely care!). I was so pleased to have actually run it without dying, but I was so distracted by the music, cheering and paint, I barely had time to think about the actual running. Runners, joggers and walkers alike, cheered each other on as we went, and there was plenty of support from the side-lines too.

Post-run paint

To top it off, you finish with a party – hooray! The DJ gets spinning and everyone bops away in a final flourish of a paint-throwing bonanza!

paint party time

For anyone who wants to run their first 5k in a fun and friendly way, this really is the race for you – and for all you seasoned runners, RoD is a fun morning out, and something a bit different to do with your Saturday, for £25 we think it’s a bit of a bargain!

More upcoming events from Run or Dye:

30 May – Exeter, Great Fulford
6 June – Liverpool, Aintree Racecourse
27 June – Cheshire, Cholmondeley Castle
5 July – Kent, Penshurst Place
11 July – Bournemouth, Kings Park
18 July – Perth, Scone Palace
25 July – Ipswich, Chantry Park
1 August – North Yorkshire, Castle Howard
5 September – Paris, l’Hippodrome de Chantilly
12 September – Galway, Ireland, Lough Cutra Castle
26 September – Oxford, Cornbury Park
3 October – South London, Hever Castle
10 October – Derbyshire, Chatsworth House
18 October – Edinburgh, Hopetoun House

10 questions I have for people who actually know things about triathlon

/ katieferg89 / 4 Comments

As I am sure I have mentioned before, I will be participating in my first triathlon on the 25th May (if any of you are at Thames Turbo, come say hi, I’ll be the one floundering around in the swimming pool and forgetting where they put their bike)

I’m no stranger to duathlons now and have learnt a lot along the way but the swimming part does add an extra element of complication to the matter. Which is why about 9 of the questions are related to swimming. Note here that I am also doing a pool swim, so I have avoided the other 1000 questions I have regarding open water, people kicking you in the face and how to actually put a wetsuit on. I could (and will) google these questions and ask people in my club, but it actually has helped me to write them down… Continue reading →

Last minute marathon prep

/ katieferg89 / 1 Comment

Mentally? I don’t know where I am. I picked up 3.30, 3.35 and 3.45 pace bands and genuinely don’t know how it’s going to go. I’m not sure I’ve got the miles in the legs for the 3.30. I mean two years ago, March mileage, 182…this year…74. LOL. But that did finish off with a stress fracture whereas this year there have been about 4 or 5 full weeks off in my training cycle. After the Achilles faff I’m just shooting for a GFA which unless it flares up and/or I have a massive mental breakdown (entirely possible) should be achievable. 8.34s doesn’t sound that bad. But I know inside my mind I don’t want to ‘just’ GFA. 3.30 is going to be my nemesis and I’m going to keen having to take a bash at this marathon business until I get it (so the sooner the better really!)

I’ve had a couple of decent shorter races recently where I’ve really surprised myself with my grit but it’s a completely different ball game. I’m ambivalent about the weather – I’ve done a couple of my long runs in fairly grim weather (and hungover but that’s another matter) What I am worried about however is the hanging around beforehand in the rain. Bleurgh. Binbags it is. But apparently now it might not rain so WHO KNOWS?!

So here is what I got up to to take my mind off things!

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Race Recap – Watford Half Marathon, 1st Feb

/ katieferg89 / 4 Comments

Slightly different angle on the blog. Less opinionated, more “I tolerate love running” like. In case you can’t tell, it’s not Kate writing this one! Feel free to skip or just to look at the pictures….

I’m in bed. I’m tired. I really want some chocolate Nesquik and some squash but I am too lazy to get out of bed. And I don’t think my sister will bring me anything.  But I survived, had a fabulous finish with my dad and just about avoided a complete breakdown at mile 12.5. Whether I’m happy with how it went or not is a different matter.

Watford is one of my ‘local’ races –  despite the fact I have now lived in Battersea for nearly 2 years, Herts is still home to me and always will be – and the timing falls in fairly well with my marathon schedule, giving me an opportunity to try a half near to MP to see if it’s actually possible for 13 miles, let alone 26.

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