Before I started running, I was a huge fan of snow. Seeing even the slightest speck of a possible snowflake would instantly revert me to a state of complete overstated excitement as I rushed to find my sledge (often followed by acute disappointment as I realised that what I thought was snow was actually turning out to be nothing more than slushy rain, but that never deterred me..!). To me, snow was full of potential 'snow days' from work (I work in a rural area so get enough of the stuff and we get sent home before being stuck there for the week). Not being able to drive my car anywhere (it seems to enjoy snow as much as me and will take any opportunity to go 'skiing' - sideways, backwards, through the neighbours gardens - rather than just driving in a straight line) was the perfect excuse to wrap up, spend a happy few hours on the sledge followed by crunching down the lane to the local pub while something delicious and, most importantly, HOT cooked away in the slow cooker. Yes, snow made it a pain to get to my horse, or do anything with it for that matter, but the positives definitely outweighed this!
So, when the snow started to fall - and actually settle - this year, I was just as over-excited as ever. And this time I had an even better excuse to get out and play - I had running to do! As I already had the perfect winter running gear, the cold and icy conditions didn't faze me and I happily spent the first few days crunching along the trails, enjoying finding routes that hadn't yet been used by others - the satisfaction of being able to leave the first footprints in an untouched, perfect layer of fresh snow is addictive even now!
However, by the end of the week, the novelty of Lapland-style running conditions began to fade. Yes, the snow was very pretty and it still sounded lovely underfoot, but in the interests of staying upright, my pace had slowed considerably. Now, running through snow is hard work, so yes I was still feeling it a little in my legs, and the ice-dodging was great for my agility. All good for my easy and steady runs.. but attempting speed or hill work was impossible! Speed because of the slippery conditions and the need to be more observant about where I was placing my feet (i.e. not on an unexpected sheet of ice!) and hills because, once at the top, the only way down appeared to be sliding on various parts of my anatomy (usually my bum, which is the most dignified methods of descent..). I was therefore starting to feel a bit conscious that my running was deviating somewhat from my running schedule, and have never been so pleased to see the back of snow as I was this weekend! Never has a bit of rain made me smile quite so much!
And so, back on schedule, I was ready to up the speed and get back on track with the marathon training. Saturday was marked as a 5 mile hill run. Never a big fan of hills, this is one of the sessions that I have been finding the toughest - give me speed work any day! The idea of this hill run is to keep the same pace up and down the hills as I do on the flat - completely contradictory to my bodies preference of going fast on the flat, slowing down to practically a walk as I struggle up the hill, followed by a try-and-keep-up-with-my-limbs free-fall down the other side!
For the hill run this weekend, I had chosen a route which I have done, in parts, before - giving me a bit of confidence that I knew just how long and steep each hill was! The route includes one mile-long hill which has more gradual gradient (climbing from Jevington to Willingdon hill, if anyone knows the East Sussex area!), a short but ridiculously steep hill that leaves me gasping for breath as I just about make it to the top, a more gentle slope which is a bit easier on me in between - and a few flat sections linking the 3. Now, the first thing I noticed as I set off up the first hill, was how much easier I was finding it on my legs! Normally they are screaming at me to top before I'm even halfway up the first hill, and despite my best intentions, I usually end up slowing down a little. This time, I was almost heading down the other side before I had even noticed! Considering the lack of hill practise during the 'snow season', I am putting this down to the body pump classes I have started doing on my non-running days. All those agonising squats have definitely had an impact on my leg strength - and it was showing!
The second thing I noticed about my run was my speed. Normally, my legs would automatically settle into a pace of about 8.30 min/ mile - other than a quick check of the Garmin as I headed up a hill, I could be reasonably confident that my speed was pretty much dead on this. Saturday however, a glance at my watch as I finished the first mile shocked me with a time of nearly 9.15 minutes! Clearly my body had gotten a little too used to running at 'snow speed' - and I had to make a concerted effort to get back to the pace I wanted. Still, I got there, and stayed there, for the remaining 4 miles and felt pretty satisfied with my run- it helped that it had been an absolutely gorgeous sunny day as well, perfect running weather for me! Crisp, clear and sunny and just the right amount of exertion to give me my runners high - bliss!
And then came Sunday. The day of my long run, which is steadily creeping up each week. This time my schedule said to complete 8-10 miles - so I had decided to go for 9, with the option of adding in an extra mile if I felt good at the end (haha..). Now, the day was promising to be as good for running as yesterday - yes, it had rained overnight (quite heavily..), but the sky was now clear, the sun was shining.. what could go wrong!?
Everything, apparently! Full of love for the South Downs from yesterdays glorious run, I took the car and headed off up Butts Brow, one of my favourite running spots. Getting out of the car, I did slightly question my decision on the route - it was blowing a gale up there! - but I was well wrapped up and figured that even if its hard work against the wind on the way out, on the way back it would practically push me home, minimal running effort required! The weather, however, was clearly having a bit of a laugh at me. Every time I changed direction, so did the wind. Meaning I ended up battling against what basically felt like a hurricane the whole way around - it was tough, both physically and, more surprisingly, mentally!
And then there was the matter of the rain. Yes, it was now brilliant sunshine, but last nights downpour had turned the ground underfoot into a quagmire - so much so that, as I battled through some particularly deep mud, it managed to suck my trainer right off my foot! Unfortunately, the momentum I was having to use to power through the field meant I kept on full-flow for a good few strides before being able to slow down, stop, and retrace my steps to find the now sunken shoe. Even more unfortunately, this was only 4 miles in, leaving me another 5 to squelch through with one very soggy and uncomfortable sock!
Between the cold and wet foot - which by mile 6 had started to rub more than a little - and the constant battling against the wind, I was not entirely enjoying my run! This was combined with the fact that the ground, in the areas it wasn't knee-deep mud, was so slippery with surface water that for every stride forward, I was sliding 2 strides back. By mile 7 I was knackered, grumpy and seriously wanting to stop. My legs had also started to remember they had done a hill run yesterday (up to this week, Saturdays had been for cross training, so this was the first week they had to cope with a long run after being properly used the day before!). And. as much as I hate to admit it, at mile 8 I did actually stop.. mile 9 involved running past the car and back around another short loop and, with the '8 to 10' option in my head, I decided that reaching the minimum requirement for the day was quite enough!!
So, what have I learnt from this run? Well:
Number one - check the full weather report before going out - and choosing an appropriate route for the conditions! I'm sure, had I picked a flatter route out of the wind, I could have done the 9 miles much more comfortably!
Number two - Put a spare change of clothes in the car, if running away from home. My cold feet were begging for a dry pair of socks to drive back in!! And an extra jumper would have been good, as once I stopped it felt cold pretty quickly!
Number three - Leave some food in the car! I was starving when I finished, and would have been hugely appreciative of a quick snack rather than having to wait to get home. Something other than water to drink could be useful as well - I need to start trying out the sports drinks now I'm approaching the hour long runs as I'm sure I could they would help with recovery, as well as performance on the actual run.
Number four - Don't beat yourself up if your run doesn't go to plan! Yes, I stopped earlier than intended, but then, I had a great run yesterday, I did the basic amount I needed to... and its only one run! and therefore isn't going to completely derail my marathon aims! learn what you can from it, forget the rest of it and get on with enjoying the rest of the running - it can only go better!!
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