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Great Edinburgh Run 2016

Great Edinburgh Run

My first race this year, Sunday 17^th April 2016, I made my way to Holyrood Park for the start of the Great Edinburgh run. I felt a little tired when I got up however after a big bowl of porridge, honey and berries I was ready to get my game face on!

I’m lucky enough to live close by and walked to the start after meeting my friend Tiffany. I packed for the race the night before so my start wasn’t too early.

I’ve run this race for the last three years and it’s a favourite of mine. It’s a hilly ten mile course through Edinburgh city centre. Half the course is up hill and the other half downhill starting and finishing at Arthur’s seat. I really enjoy running the streets I regularly run and it’s a true reflection of hilly Edinburgh!

I got to the start five minutes before the start during the warm up so I wasn’t able to get close to the start line but still managed to wiggle past a few people. Luckily, the weather improved, Edinburgh was grey and wet all week up to the race. Dare I say perfect conditions, over cast and dry however a little windy in some places across the course.

I felt good at the start and the energy was palpable from the other five thousand competitors. My laid back approach to arriving back fired slightly as I spent the first mile running around other runners. After the first mile I was able to get settled in, my own space and start first hill run, up the royal mile from Parliament building. I unexpectedly saw some friends spectating and their cheers spurred me on up the hill.

This year due to works at Scott Monument, the course was changed, instead of running along Princes Street gardens and up the Mound we went up Market Street (another steep hill) but it’s not quite the same as the iconic Mound. To make up the extra distance they added an extra short, out and back section on Lauriston Place.

Miles three to four the sun came out and I instantly regretted not taking my sunglasses and took my gloves off (I‘m used to carrying my gloves in training so no real problem). I felt pretty strong at this point and continued my pace.

Mile five went through the Grassmarket which was well supported, thanks for all the cheers and also half way point. I looked down at my watch: thirty seven minutes, I was determined to get under forty five minutes at six miles and pushed on.

I found mile six the hardest it’s a long incline from the Cowgate, up the Pleasance to the Royal commonwealth pool. I started to dig deep, knowing once I got to the top we were going downhill again. I was picking out other runners and slowly catching them, I’m quite competitive and like picking out people at similar paces to push me further. I heard the bag piper at mile six and looked down at my watch forty four minutes, whoop!

Miles seven and eight I let my legs go down the innocent railway path and to Duddingston village. The last hill is up Duddingston Low road but totally worth it for the views. After hitting the mile nine sign its downhill with a short flat distance to the finish. My legs did feel a little tired at this point but the end was in sight and my legs went with it, I even managed a sprint finish for the last two hundred metres!

I looked down at my garmin, 1 hour 13mins and 40seconds, I was very pleased. Two minutes quicker than last year as I can’t complain with a personal best! I checked my chip time online and was the same as my watch. Overall I was twentieth woman (crazy) and eleventh in my female age group 20-34!!

I had a great race and I would highly recommend anyone to enter.

Jenwaar

Training Week Eleven

Training week eleven

Sunday 12^thJune doesn’t feel that far away….. Eleven weeks in and only 8 weeks to go!! I completed three swims and four runs this week. The weather was bad so didn’t get out on the bike; I have no excuses for not going on the turbo trainer…… oops!

On Monday I went for a long run with my friend Katrina and fellow madwife. We ran eight and a half miles up Blackford hill and around the surrounding areas. I really enjoyed running with someone else, it makes a change from running by myself. Kat had just finished nights so our pace was slow but I enjoyed the company and catching up.

On Tuesday I went swimming between my nights. I got to try out my new long hair swimming cap. I swam 3.5 kilometres in sixty one minutes and I only needed to adjust my cap once. The cap is much bigger and able to stay over my ears throughout the swim. This has made a massive positive impact in my training allowing me to swim continuously like I would in a race. I’ve now ordered more and would highly recommend if you have a big head and long hair like me!

On Wednesday I was a little tired but still went out for a run between nights. I’m surprised I kept up such a good pace; it was a usual run of mine and my quickest time to date! I feel my running in the last couple of weeks has vastly improved. My times are quicker and I feel my legs are not as heavy during the run.

On Thursday I had a rest day. I was pretty tired after my three night shifts and sometimes you’ve just got to listen to your body. Sam and I went out to Oregano restaurant on Leith Walk in the evening and I stuffed myself with antipasto and Pizza. It was delicious!

On Friday morning I ran to swim training and back. In total I ran six miles and swam 90 minutes in the pool. As you can imagine my run in was a lot quicker than the run home, but also because it’s up hill all the way back home.

On Saturday I rested, preparing from Sunday’s race.

On Sunday I ran the Great Edinburgh run over 10 miles of hilly running through Edinburgh City centre. I have run this race for the last three years and it is a favourite of mine. I managed a personal best time of 1 hour 13mins and 40seconds, I was very pleased. The race day had perfect conditions, however it was little windy in places. I felt good most of the race, and even managed a sprint finish. Overall I was twentieth woman (crazy) and eleventh in my female age group 20-34!! My full race report will be in my next post.

Overall I’ve had a good week however lacking in cycling and brick training! I shall focus more on this next week.

Jenwaar

Training Week Ten

Ten weeks of training completed and now only nine weeks till race day, it’s slowly creeping up eeek! This week I completed four runs, two swims, one long ride, one turbo trainer session and two gym sessions. On Tuesday I accomplished my first brick session, I cycled an hour on the turbo trainer and a short run straight after.

This is the first week that I felt improvements in all three disciplines. I am now enjoying training much more because of this. My swim, cycle and running times are all quicker and I can now push myself much more in training.

I am now keeping a much better pace on longer distances with swimming. My new long hair swimming cap arrived this weekend so I will be trying it out on my continuous swim session this week. Hopefully it will stay on my head!

I’m now managing at least one long bike ride each week. This week I went out with the triathlon club for 36miles after a swim session. I am feeling much stronger and faster on the bike. I also completed an hour on the turbo trainer. I need to continue increasing my time and mileage on the bike, especially now the weather is getting better.

I’m seeing my best improvements when running…. I completed four runs this week, one short 2.5miles, two medium 5-6miles and one long run 15miles. My short run was after an hour on the turbo trainer; I had that jellied feeling in my legs but after ten minutes of running it was fine. Both the five and six mile distances are regular runs of mine, I had one good and one bad run. My bad run was between nights and I didn’t have any food prior so I had no energy and was really slow and tired. The good run was the following day I ate a banana prior and ran my best time! (Lesson learnt).

On Sunday I went out for a group session with the triathlon club. We ran the seven hills of Edinburgh. This is in preparation for a race in June, seven hills of Edinburgh. We had a mixed group of abilities and we ran up each hill and stopped to admire the view at the top of each hill and wait for the others. In total we ran 15miles and ran up some steep hills including Arthur’s seat! My thighs were burning the next day!

Next week I’ll be continuing my regular training and increasing the distances during my brick sessions.

Jenwaar

Training Week Nine

Week nine has been my best… four runs, three swims, one bike ride and one gym PT session. I felt great this week even after three 5am wake up calls! My main issue this week was my swimming cap. It was rather frustrating when I was trying to do an hour’s continuous swim when every 15-20 lengths you have to adjust your cap! I have bought new swimming caps for long hair so I hope this solves my problem.

Running this week, I managed one long run of twelve miles, a club hill reps session and two four to five mile runs. My legs were a little sore before my long run (after my hills session) so couldn’t really push the pace. I hope that now I’m running more regularly this will ease and I can push more in my longer runs.

Swimming is going well, I’m noticing my times are getting quicker, I can swim longer distances with a stronger pace and I’m starting to keep up with some of the stronger swimmers during triathlon club training sessions. I’m going to do more continuous swim sessions like I would be doing during the race (Once my swimming cap fiasco is no more).

Cycling is getting better… I am managing to complete one long ride per week. I am slowly getting more confident handling my bike and cycling in different weather conditions. This week I went out with my friend Jill, it was a slow ride as it was wet but I’m getting out on the bike, training and cycling. Again, I need to use my turbo trainer more (the story of my life).

I managed to complete my goal this week, increasing my distance on all disciplines. I am going to continue with this next week and also start brick training. Brick training refers to the stacking of two disciplines during the same workout, one after the other with minimal to no interruption in between. It is really essential to practice this prior the race. I plan to practice cycle into run workouts this next week. Changing disciplines from cycling to running you get a strange feeling of heavy legs. It’s really important I practice this so my body gets used to the change in demand, for race day.

Jenwaar

Training Week Eight

Last week was rather good…. Two runs, two swim sessions, one gym session and one bike ride. My chesty cough continued last week. Earlier in the week I found my runs and swim sessions hard and slow but thankfully it’s now gone.

This weeks bicycle ride I went out with the triathlon club (Edinburgh Triathletes). I am now feeling much more confident in handling my bike again. I’m still quite nervous in wet weather and going down steep hills but I’ve just got to keep practising.

Both swimming and running I’m quite comfort with, my main problem is being able to maintain pace after more than an hour in either exercise. I particularly find this hard with swimming as I’ve swam most my life at short distances hard and fast for 50-200metres rather than 750-1500metres or longer in triathlons. I’m going to focus next week on longer continuous swim sessions rather than short sets during the session.

It was Easter last weekend and also the end of my alcohol free lent. I went out on Saturday night and had a few cocktails and danced the night away. It was great socialising with friends as I currently feel like all I do is train and work. On Sunday morning however I wasn’t feeling my best (hungover) and I didn’t train which I had planned (bad Jennie). That’s life and now I feel much more focused and energised on training.

It’s now only eleven weeks till the race, it’s slowly creeping up! Next week focus is on distance, I’m going to be doing longer distances on all disciplines.

Jenwaar

Training Week Seven

Training week Seven

So this week’s post will be short and sweet. Last week I was sick, I had the flu and a chesty cough so spent the first five days of the week in bed. I felt much better by Saturday and went for walk with my husband. On Sunday I ran Edinburgh Kilomathon 13.1 kilometres (eight miles). It was a beautiful early morning run along Edinburgh’s cycle paths starting from Ocean terminal and finishing at Murrayfield stadium. I really enjoyed the run, I still wasn’t 100% so treated the race more as a training run than a race. My time as expected was slow but I’m happy I completed it. I was also meant to do the swimathon in the afternoon but my cough was much worst after the run and I didn’t want to push myself too much.

This week’s goals are to regularly train and keep well!

Jenwaar

Training Week Six

Training week six

Last week I completed two runs, two gym sessions, one swim, one hour on the turbo trainer, and a long bike ride on Sunday. I’m pretty pleased this week, as I worked five shifts at work and still managed to fit it all in.

My run times are slowly but surely getting quicker, I keep comparing myself to when I was much quicker two years ago. At that time I was pretty much running all the time not swimming and cycling as well. I’m trying to stay positive; hopefully I will be getting close to those times again soon.

I feel I am getting quicker at swimming and managing to keep up with the fastest swimmers in my lane for most or all of the session. I am very good at short sprints but not very good at pacing myself over a long distance. I am completing the 5K swimathon next week so hopefully this will help. I aim to swim it in under one hour and forty five minutes.

On Sunday afternoon, my husband and I went for a long bike ride 56miles in total. We cycled from Edinburgh to North Berwick and back. I was very nervous as this was the first time I had been on my road bike since I fell off my bike in a race last May. I regularly cycle to work using a cyclocross bike. My commuting bike is heavier and uses SPD clip in pedals, whilst my race bike is a full carbon road bike, much lighter and has non-recessed SPD-SL clip in pedals. I sometimes feel like I’m unstable on my road bike due to its light weight. I find it harder to clip in with SPD-SL’s so I can panic when I’m clipping in and out whilst in the city. After a couple of cries and good pep talk from Sam I felt much more confident about cycling on my road bike. Once I was out of the city I was fine, long roads, less cars and less clipping in and out. After the ride I was knackered, it then dawned on me that I would then have to run a half marathon after cycling this distance. This was a massive wake up call. I need to up my cycling time, the weather is much nicer now and I should be able to complete one long distance cycle outside a week on the run up to the ironman.

Next week I am upping the mileage in all disciplines and competing in a swimathon on Sunday afternoon.

Iceland Weekend Trip

Last weekend I went to Iceland with my little brother James for four days. This will be our last trip together for a while as he’s moving to Sydney, Australia on Friday (sad face).

Iceland is so unique and beautiful, definitely worth a visit however it’s not cheap, be prepared to spend much more than on your standard holiday. The landscape is so breath-taking and diverse, one of the most naturally beautiful places on earth. It feels like you’re on another planet, from open fields of lava rock, mountains, glaciers, volcanoes, waterfalls to the vibrant capital city of Reykjavík. The weather is quite varied, always changing and unpredictable. During our visit we experienced, snow, rain, strong winds and cold temperatures, my warm coat and long underwear were essential!

We only came for a short visit and stayed in Reykjavík city centre. We focused most of our stay in the south of the island. To keep costs down we stayed in an apartment using Airbnb, just a fifteen minute walk from the city centre. We stayed with the host in our own private room; our host was great at giving advice and recommendations during our stay.

I arrived on Thursday evening, got the bus to Reykjavik from the airport. Getting the bus is much cheaper at ten pounds compared to getting a taxi costing £60-70. Keflavik airport is about 50kms from Reykjavik, usually buses are waiting after flights for transfers.

Thursday evening we went out for dinner at Fiskmarkadurinn (Fish market). All the reviews we read in advance sang their praises. Our Taxi driver also informed us that the owner was Iceland’s version of Nigella Lawson, Hrefna Rosa Soetran, so we had high expectations. We weren’t disappointed! The décor of the restaurant was beautiful, the staff were very friendly and spoke English extremely well. We had the tasting menu, eight courses of mainly seafood and lamb with a selection of desserts. They also have a great cocktail menu and good choice of craft beers and wines. This has to be one of the best meals I’ve ever had, every single course was delicious. It’s quite pricey but has good value for money because of the quality of the food and drink. I would recommend anyone visiting Iceland to go here, please view (drool) over my photos below.

On Friday we went snorkelling and on the golden circle tour. We were picked up in the morning and taken to Thingvellir, Silfra a freshwater fissure. This lake is so special because it’s the only place you can swim between two continents; North American and Europe. We bravely donned wet suits rather than dry suits and submerged ourselves in the gap where the two tectonic plates meet. The water is crystal clear and as pure as water gets you could even take a sip! Although it was incredible, I have never been so cold, the water temperature is 2C and the temperature outside was freezing. We got ready outside in the snow and before I took the plunge I couldn’t feel my hands and feet. I was quite surprised when I got in the water it wasn’t that cold but that’s probably because I was already so cold. The advantage of snorkelling with a wet suit is that you can dive underneath the surface and explore more. Dry suits you float along the top of the water but stay dry and keep you much warmer.

After warming up with a couple of cups of hot chocolate and dry clothes, we continued on the golden circle tour. Our route commenced at the national park Thingvellir where Althing the Icelandic parliament was established. It is also where the continental drift between North American and Europe plates can be seen in cracks and rifts.

We moved onto a geothermally active valley, Haukadalur. This is where the famous Geysers, Strokkur and Geysir itself which gave others their name. Strokkur erupts regularly, which we saw a few times, quite spectacular to see in person! Geysir erupts rarely our guide informed us it erupted two weeks earlier, but usually goes off about once a year.

The last stop on our tour was Gullfoss waterfall, translated ‘Golden falls’. I don’t think you can really appreciate its magnitude and beauty until you see it in person. My photos don’t do it justice!

Saturday we explored Reykjavík, it’s such a colourful and vibrant city. The houses are wooden framed and clad in wooden planks or corrugated metals painted in bright colours. The centre itself is quite compact and easy to walk around. We started the day walking down to the harbour and continued onto dramatic concrete Hallgrimskirkja church. We went up the tower and took in the wonderful views of Reykjavik. In the evening we went down to the Harpa concert centre and saw a comedy show ‘How to be Icelandic’. Later on in the evening we went to a few bars, most bars don’t have entry fees and all very close to one another. Craft beer and cocktails are popular and lots of specialised bars such as Mikkeller and Friends with twenty beers on tap. Just to mention the drinking age in Iceland is twenty (not that’s a problem for me).

Sunday we walked up to the Perlan (Pearl), which has a panoramic views over the city and a rotating restaurant. In the afternoon we caught a bus to one of the 25 wonders of the world, the blue lagoon. We took a dip in the geothermal water, it was so nice to go into warm water after our freezing dip on Friday. The water is cloudy and steam billows off the pool to make it feel mysterious. Again it’s quite pricey to go and a little busy, but it has good facilities and a nice relaxing way to end our trip. Afterwards we took a taxi to the airport for our late night flight back home.

During our stay we were lucky to experience the food and fun festival. Local restaurants created gourmet menus at affordable prices, using Icelandic ingredients. We tried menus at Sushi and Samba restaurant and Kopar restaurant. Both restaurants served amazing food. All the food we had on our trip was excellent, local cuisine is fish and lamb. I would also recommend Bernhorfbakari for a pastries and K Bar, a beer bar with Korean inspired food.

Sadly the three nights we stayed in Iceland it was cloudy and we were unable to see the Northern lights. Our flight back home was late and we were fortunate to see them from the plane.

The only ‘negative’ I would say is the recurrent smell of sulphur, smelled of rotten eggs. By the end of the trip I think got used to it. The trip was amazing and there is nowhere quite like it. I recommend anyone to visit this mysterious island. I would love to visit again and explore the rest of the island.

Jenwaar

Training week five

Week five was not my finest….two runs and one gym session. So here comes the excuses, I went away on holiday for a long weekend away (holidays shouldn’t really be an excuse). I went to Iceland and it snowed most days and I did not want to risk an injury rather than complete a slow run. During the holiday, I was busy site-seeing and doing tours so I really don’t think I could have done anything more than one run. On a positive note I did not a lot of walking, averaging six to ten kilometres a day.

I would also like to point out that I’m no elite athlete. I exercise for fun and to challenge myself, sadly I have to work to pay the bills and exercising isn’t my full time job. Having a rest is healthy and can help you focus more. I have 13 weeks left before my race and having four days off shouldn’t put me back and should hopefully give me more energy for todays run!

Next week I will be getting back to regular exercise and I’ve planned a long cycle ride on Sunday.

Blog post about visiting Iceland with come later this week.

Jenwaar

Training week four

This week has been good…. Three runs, three swim sessions, two gym sessions and only once on the turbo trainer (oops). My long run this week was twelve miles! I’m pretty pleased with the distance, but the time wasn’t that quick. The last three miles were a killer, cardiovascular wise I felt fine but both my legs felt like ten tonnes each and sore for a couple days later. I’m hoping this will improve as I’m now running regularly.

I’m now starting to feel more at ease with training, previously I was doing six gym weight based session per week with the occasional run. I thought it would quite struggle to get back into running, swimming and cycling however after four weeks I feel like this was always my normal exercise routine. The five AM alarm is no longer a fight but maybe that’s because I’m going to bed earlier as I’m tired from all the training. I enjoy getting up early and getting the workout completed so the rest of the day is mine. I find if I have to wait all day the thought of training lingers and I find excuses so I’m less likely to train.

I’ve found blogging about each weeks training quite useful as I record what I do each week, so I keep a close eye on training and making plans. It also helps keep me accountable and motivated as I know I’ll be writing about it. I don’t think reading about how lazy I’ve been each week would be as exciting a read and I wouldn’t have anything to write about.

Next week my goals are to continue with the regular sessions and use the bloody turbo trainer more!! As you can tell cycling is my least favourite sport in the triathlon, I cycle to and from work every work shift so I feel it’s more a mode of transport (which it is) rather than sporting fun. If I want to improve I must train! I hope next week I won’t be writing this again.

Jenwaar