Category Archives: yoga

Trial Race Day For Portsmouth Marathon

13 Wednesday Dec 2017

Posted by in Running, yoga

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , ,

Evaluating other attempts at running marathons I decided to change things up a bit and throw in a trial race day.  Not just a long run.  Basically, just a long run in which I pretended it was the Marathon.

It was the last long run before Portsmouth Marathon.  The morning of December 3rd (yeah, this blog is late).  It was the second longest run of 2017.  The run totalled 9.11 miles.

It went like so;

24068044_10160032766960001_966192014098185000_n
Woke up at 8am to breakfast and drink coffee,
9am volunteering as time keeper at Junior parkrun,
9:30am set off from that start line of sorts to run along the Snuff Mills trails,
2.5 miles in turned back due to a steepass muddy as fudge decline at a tremendous height that made brain nope,
5 miles in stopped at the fuel station known as the house for hydrate,
7.5 miles in best run snacks of Jelly Beans by the mega handful,
8.6 miles in … 8 point … 6 … fudge 8.6. Keep at it!
9 miles in. 9 miles. Sprint finish home. HELL YES.

I felt fantastic.  When I got home for a cup of tea, a hot lunch and a steaming bubble bath after showering all the mud off it was a relief having done it.  I know it wasn’t 26. miles.  Nearly 10 is a good bench mark of how I will feel on race day.  I felt like I could do more, indeed I considered a second lap but didn’t want to over do it too soon.

JellyBeans

I found Jelly Beans as a running snack worked better than gels with my stomach so I’ve stocked up on lots of these.

Now to rest and carboload before Portsmouth Marathon.  I’ve done nothing but walking and yoga in the evenings.  I’ve bulk bought soups and healthy snacks for my workday lunches.  Of course, the odd Cherry Bakewell is unavoidable this time of year.  However, it’s still easy to eat balanced and just add the Minced Pies in as your afternoon snack instead of because of it.

As I write this Portsmouth looms at the end of Sunday.  I haven’t chickened out yet.  There are no health excuses worth cancelling for.  The weather might be a bit of mischief.  Yet, adventure calls.  The coast and it’s gales, the roses and their dew, the Pyramid Center and it’s Expo.  The runners and their lycra.

This will now be a staple before any race taper going forward in 2018.  It’s helpful to find the zone that gets missed sometimes with ‘just another long run.’  Make your long run work for you.  Make it special.

Happy running,

Eleanor

xxx

Less is more because the mind will see you to the finish

26 Sunday Nov 2017

Posted by in Running, yoga

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , ,

In a slump of only running very minimally for most of 2017 I felt like a fair weather runner.  Some weeks would only be a 5k run or a 10k run.  I realise that still counts as running.  It still counts as being a runner.  It might not be fast, it might be a once a week visit to Southville Running Club, a few laps around the park and a parkrun but it’s still running.

Runners get so used to seeing elites with high weekly mileage.  Strava feeds full of Sunday long runs, breakfast runs, lunch sprints, distance challenges.  It’s cool to be seen to be busy on the roads and trails.  It can be inspirational at times.  However, it can also feel a bit daunting.  It can also be a tool to evaluate your own running.

Realistically when juggling family and careers or other hobbies there is only so much time the regular person without a sponsorship can put in to running.  We still need sleep.  We still need to eat.  We still need to put our kids to bed.  We still need to commit to other commitments and that to do list will still need to be done by the end of the week.

So, sure carve out that hour or two for your run.  But also don’t feel bad or guilty or less like a runner if you haven’t got out the door this week.  It’s never, ‘only a few miles,’ as a few miles is better than no miles.

When running a race training will only get you so far.  If you’re stressed out from your life balance because you haven’t got that permission slip to the school yet or paid that phone bill on your to do list you may not finish strong.  A race is part a mental battle.  Marathon runners understand this.  26.2 is a long time to spend with yourself and if you’re not happy with things demons will crop up to make that stop at mile 18 really tempting.  Prepare yourself by preparing your mind.

Mindfulness, yoga, priority mind mapping, bullet journal your to do list for extra colour.  Carve out an hour a day just for you.  Don’t let running take that time too.  This is your creative time.  Fill it with joy and make it worthwhile.  During mine I like to write or cross stitch.  I really notice it when I don’t have this hour.  Remember you are your own first priority.

Happy running,

Eleanor

Consideration of Self

01 Wednesday Mar 2017

Posted by in Running, yoga

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, ,

As my health is an ongoing work in progress and I haven’t had any official diagnosis yet – regardless of it being nearly a year since I began to get unwell – I have had to evaluate my training regularly. I can’t follow snazzy training plans because if I’m knackered that’s me not getting out of bed tomorrow. This gets even trickier because I’m allergic to over the counter anti-inflammatory medicines so I have to rely on Paracetamol which doesn’t really impact it. So my training has been barely scraping the 10 miles a week barrel I’d half-heartedly set on Jan 1st and is more just ad hoc – doing what I can when I can.  Consideration of self capabilities is super important.

What else have I been doing?

Honestly, studying has been taking up much of my time. I’m finishing the last module of an Open University degree so my nights are spent researching Greek and Roman myth until past midnight in hopes of achieving a predicted 2:2. This means a lot less time to spend in the gym or working out.

Improvisation is key. I’ve been doing yoga daily either in the morning before work meaning a six am rise (thank heaven for SAD lamp!) or in the evening after I’ve put my daughter Holly to bed. This time last year I was running – or trying to – and doing yoga probably once a week if I remembered. I’ve found yoga such a gre20170301_130759at way to stay mobile with my spinal back problems and I’m really relishing my time on the mat. It’s so awesome when you get to see measurable progress. Things like being able to put the entire foot on the floor during a Downward Dog or indeed keeping stable on left leg balancing exercises. The left leg is where I get the pain from my back issues causing
some entertainingly shaky Tree poses! Hats off to Yoga With Adriene! Her videos are legendary. Alongside that I’ve been dancing with friends and the occasional social bouldering session. Bit of an ad hoc mix as I say but it appears to be working at keeping me fit and keeping off any weight increase from doing less than I’d like.

Running wise I’ve been slowly building using the 10% effort increase method over mileage and speed. I’m able to get away with doing 2-3 miles two times a week. I want to get confident in 3-4 miles so I can start club running again in spring and enjoy the lighter days in summer.

20170226_090020My highlight of February has been on training for Run Director as part of a team of Run Director trainees banked for a new Junior parkrun event at Eastville Park in Bristol. As part of the training we ran Little Stoke Junior parkrun as a group and attended an arkrun ethos and event running protocols. Last weekend we hosted our trial event with 11 runners and plan to launch on March 5th. It’s beginning to feel real now!
Happy running,

Eleanor

 

A little yoga goes a long way

10 Sunday Jul 2016

Posted by in Uncategorized, yoga

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, ,

Yoga is the difference between me cursing an entire bloodline or breezing through the day positively like a summer sky scattered with clouds on a bit of a breeze (representing daily hiccups) whilst being able to actually manage them like a fairly balanced person.

That’s a pretty significant difference, isn’t it?  ‘It can do all that!’ I hear you cry.  Yes, it can.  For me anyway.  As you can see from these photos I tend to do yoga anywhere I can whatever I’m wearing!

It’s a moment of me time. So long as my surroundings allow I can turn the few feet around me into a sacred space in my mind.  In a crowded house this can be quite tricky and the noise of other people filter through.  Life goes on around the sacred space.  However, for that moment of me time it is of no consequence accept for when one of the cats slink in to bother you during baby cobra.  When you juggle a 9 year old, a full time job, studying, writing, and training for a marathon me time can be quite hard to come by.

yoga2

Awareness about the body increases as your breath into areas and postures creating feeling to alleviate muscles exhausted from running.  Stretching is so important to maintain healthy muscles.  This aids the warm up or cool down  process and improves flexibility.  Core strength, little thought of when running, gets a good workout with familiar postures like plank.  Because yoga is about flow it doesn’t just focus on one part of the body.

It invites you to pay good mind to your whole body.  For a runner this is quite significant.    Apparently it’s quite easy for us motivated individuals to ignore a niggle and gain an injury due to over training.  When we stretch and pay attention we can sensibly establish the severity of a muscle because we are using the muscle in a different way that isn’t quite so repetitive.  It’s like a highlighter on areas that need rest and recovery.

Take time to appreciate your body because you don’t just run with your legs – you run with your mind and with your soul.  If your mind and your soul power on faster than your body can catch up harmony can fall apart leaving you burning the candle at both ends at dangerous levels.

Never tried yoga and not sure where to start?  Used to do it but fallen off   I’ve recently been working my way through Adriene’s videos on You Tube which can be found here.  It’s a great place to start, so get stretching!

Happy stretching,

Eleanor.