Rosedawn Ramblings

Today's blogpost is brought to you by letters M, P and W and the number 4. The Letter W At the start of 2013, I started racing for the first time in the North Staffs Road Runners and was allocated to Group W. At the time, I really didn’t really understand the implications of wearing that W on my back in every NSRRA event. It essentially just meant I needed to take extra safety pins to each race. However, after the Alsager 5, the importance of the W became clear… it was about competition, about winning and about rivalry.  From then on, W-spotting became as much a part of my race strategy as pace, refuelling and clothing choices. Friends and family who came along to support me started W-spotting too, providing me with instant updates on my race position. It definitely brought out my inner competitive streak; after my race win in Alsager (first W), I realised I enjoyed winning and wanted to keep on winning, so I kept on racing.  There were ups and downs, highs and...

So it's almost the end of 2013 and a time for reflection of what I've achieved in the last year and also for looking forward, setting new goals for 2014. It's certainly been an up-and-down year - I've turned 40 (hopefully without falling apart), we've lost some very special family members and friends and work has been challenging, busy and uncertain for me (and Mr T). Running has certainly been a big part of my life in 2013 - the word cloud below shows what I've been talking about on Facebook and the biggest word is definitely running: My year in words on Facebook: "club time mile running lots faster" But running has been much more than going outside and putting one foot in front of the other. It has been a distraction from the bigger issues, an outlet for stress at work, a fantastic way of spending time with friends and more recently my husband too, a great excuse for a weekend away, a way of challenging myself to face some fears, a route ...

Almost exactly three years ago, I started on a lose-weight-get-fit journey, which has taken me from someone who couldn't run for a bus to someone who has found an enjoyment in running that I would never have imagined and brought out a long-dormant sporting competiveness. I started out slowly, graduating from running on the Wii Fit to the wonderfully simple Couch to 5k programme , which prepared me for my first event, the 5k Race for Life in June 2011. I kept going and in March 2012 completed my first half marathon .  Just over a year later, in the year I turn 40, I conquered a marathon too and had the most amazing day at the Greater Manchester Marathon . I've taken on many different running challenges, including running in the Olympic Stadium , and loved most of them. I've lost weight and got much fitter than ever before in my adult life and perhaps most importantly, I've met some amazing people along the way and have an ever expanding circle of (running) f...

The St Thomas 7 ... another new race, another new location (Upper Tean, somewhere between Cheadle and Checkly) and actually my 13th race in the NSRRA calendar for 2013. This was my spare, with 12 races needed to be  included in the group competition.  A Mary Poppins Kind of Day! Since my hamstring troubles at Ipstones , I've been taking it relatively easy in terms of training and mileage, but life away from running has been busy so I wasn't perfectly prepared for this race, but unlike the Stone St Michaels 10k back in June when I had to rely on my inner Pollyanna to find some positives from the race, the St Thomas 7 turned out to be practically perfect in every way... much more of a Mary Poppins kind of day.  I liked the course - lovely scenery and quiet country lanes. Traffic wasn't a problem and it was easy to work out where I should be running. Even more appealing, there were no off-road sections, so I felt much ...

Race start! The Ipstones 5 was another new race for me this year and not just a new race but a new place too... I'm still getting to know the area around Stoke-on-Trent and the little village of Isptones on the edge of the Peak District National Park was an unfamiliar destination. I knew two things about the race... one, it is part of a fundraising day at the village fire station and two, it goes up! I've had a good few weeks of training since launching myself on the comeback trail , so I was hoping for good things. Race sign-up was efficient and I then completed a short warm up to prepare my legs for the hilly miles to come, especially the promised 1 mile up with which the race starts. The field seemed smaller than many of the NSRRA races I've completed, but there were still plenty of familiar faces as we lined up at 3.30pm outside the fire station to get underway. Downhill: #636 thanked me for waiting until after the photo before overtaking! It w...

For Grandad: Bushy parkrun pilgrimage It's been a while since my last races in the North Staffs Road Runners - Cheadle 4 and Berryhill 10k back at the start of July. Since then, I've run in the Olympic Stadium ; made a pilgrimage to the home of parkrun at Bushy parkrun, where we met up with the Holmes family and had a lovely run with over 800 other parkrunners, and also made a return visit to the Olympic Park for the anniversary games (and what an experience that was)! Over the last few weeks my running mojo has been returning slowly - kickstarted by the Olympic Park Run. I've gradually been building up my weekly mileage, adopted a new training geared towards a half marathon at the end of October and decided to run two NSRRA races 4 days apart - the Staffs Knot 5 on Wednesday evening and the Leek Half Marathon on Sunday morning... I'm not sure this was a wise plan but the comeback trail has to start somewhere. I set myself two very different targets for ...

The temperature was top of the list of topics of conversation as I arrived in Cheadle for the latest in my series of NSRRA races - this was to be race number 9 of the 12 I need to complete to be included in the annual competition. The sun was out and even at 10am, it was already hot and getting hotter. It was a relief to know that at least this race was one of the shortest on the calender - just 4 miles, although with a challenging climb after the first mile (or so I'd been told). Milling around before the start, I spotted many of familiar faces from previous NSRRA races, including plenty of other runners from Potters Trotters, Hanley parkrun and also the other members of Group W. In general, runners from the same club tend to hang around together before the start, but there's always a bit of conversation with runners from other clubs too. The race itself was pretty much as expected (thanks to the advice from those who had run previously) - a fast slightly downhill st...

Another week, another NSRRA race. The races have been coming thick and fast since the beginning of June and I've been feeling the pressure of my 7-race winning streak in Group W and the impact on my legs! My last few races have been tough and I've had to rely on my inner Pollyanna to find some bright spots. View from the Kitchen! As race day dawned for the Berryhill 10k, my enthusiasm for another race was distinctly lacking. The rain was back and conditions did not look favourable. But I'd arranged a lift with Liz and Mr T was coming to support me too. In the end, we were pretty lucky with the conditions - the rain disappeared, the wind eased quite considerably and over 160 runners lined up for the start of the main race, which involved one small lap and two larger laps around Berryhill Fields - which I see from my kitchen window every day. Despite my best efforts at organisation - I remembered safety pins to attach my race number - I forget my Garmin and so woul...

During the first half of 2013, I've really enjoyed taking part in races as part of the annual competition by the  North Staffs Road Runners Association . There was the first race of the season in Alsager where I learnt about the importance of spotting the other "Ws", two hilly 10k races in Newcastle and Clayton , my accidental half marathon in Uttoxeter . Even the tough races at Westbridge and the Potters 'Arf  had moments of enjoyment, where I felt like I was accomplishing something as a runner. And my first season in NSRRA Group W has gone better than I could have hoped - six races, six wins. Last weekend, it was time for my seventh race - the Stone St Michaels 10k.  I didn't wake up on Sunday morning feeling enthusiastic about running - the weather was not inspiring and if I hadn't pre-entered and arranged a lift, I might have been tempted to give it a miss and have an extra couple of hours of sleep. But I did run - two laps ro...