Rosedawn Ramblings

I'm not quite fully recharged but I'm going in the right direction... I've starting running again, albeit very cautiously, and very much enjoyed getting off-road with a lovely run around Berryhill Fields on Thursday evening. I was the 40 minute pacer at Hanley parkrun, thoroughly enjoying running with one of younger parkrunners as she set a new PB. I've been swimming, thanks to an invitation and a guest pass from my Friday Five running buddy Liz. We did six lengths on a Saturday this time, rather than five miles on a Friday... the priority as always was taking the time for a good catch up and a cuppa! And I still need to take it easy for at least a couple more week; I'm determined to learn from past mistakes and stick to my careful approach. No speed work or over-enthusiastic hill reps, everything done at an easy pace. It's a challenge though, especially when I've been used to following a really detailed training plan and counting mileage...

It's fair to say that it's been a long week; the exhilaration of completing my ultramarathon adventure last weekend quickly gave way to exhaustion and my batteries were running on empty. On Sunday, I was moving at the slowest of slow paces - actually I hardly moved at all. Walking to work on Monday was a bit of a challenge too... taking me about 15 minutes longer that usual. And don't ask me about the steps. Physically tired, my concentration levels were low too. So this week I've focused on recharging my batteries and letting my body recover. I've taken a complete break from running, got lots of sleep and taken time to read a book or two. I've put my feet up. I've left work on time. I've had a rest. It seems to be working.  As the week has progressed, I've started to feel my energy levels coming back up. I've been for walks at lunchtime and enjoyed being tail walker at Hanley parkrun yesterday. A perfect, chatty recovery walk....

The sun has been shining, there is blossom on the trees, the nights are getting lighter, the clocks changed this weekend... it really does feel like spring is finally here. Spring hits Hanley Park The change of season seems to have had a positive impact on my running this week... the aches and pains of a couple of weeks ago have eased ( rest really is best ) and I've been clocking up the miles this week; all the time remembering to take things steady and focusing on recovering well after each run. Yesterday, with the sun shining brightly and conditions practically perfect for running, I set out with another of my running buddies Jane for a long-ish run. We were playing it by ear... ready for a long run but not exactly sure how far or where we would go! The goal was to relax, spend time on our feet and enjoy the miles. We settled on a canal route and headed out of Hanley along the Canal towards Endon... I run this way regularly and it always brings back good memories - th...

I've been struggling this week, feeling tired and a little bit under the weather, an ache in my right thigh and a slight twinge in my lower back. Really not surprising after the battle that was the Knighton 20 and two months of running about 25 miles per week. I've not done that for at least a couple of years, so it's probably been a shock to my system. With nothing to be gained from pushing myself when my body has been begging for a rest, I've basically taken a week off from my training schedule and put my new trainers back in the box for a few days.  Rest is best. Sometimes it's easier said than done, but I've learnt from bitter experience how quickly an ache or a twinge becomes a serious injury, so for once I'm listening to my own advice (and Ryan Hall). Not running for a week has given me a bit of extra time - I've been trying to avoid spending all that time eating by getting my card-making supplies out of the cupboard again; us...

This week has mostly been about rest and recovery.... After pushing myself on race day last Sunday, I've taken a few days to live life at a slower pace this week: a leisurely lunch on Monday, skipping this week's early morning run and having a bath instead, completing all my runs at a slower pace and finally finishing a book that's been half-read for a good few months, the final chapter in Sue Grafton's alphabet series, Y is for Yesterday . Farewell to Kinsey Millhone I've been running for almost 8 years now and it's very easy to spend time looking back, especially in a week where I've been in recovery mode with a bit more time on my hands. I have lots of great running-related memories: my favourite race finish on the track in the Olympic Stadium ; taking part in the iconic London Marathon , picking up my group winner prize at the North Staffs Road Runners Awards in 2014; completeing 53 miles on one day at Race to the King ; running in the dark...

I t's been a while and I'm not sure why. I've been running a lot until this last week, got a new job, visited lots of new and interesting places and had lots going on. I've just got out of the habit of writing and I feel a bit sad about it... it's like I lost my voice (which is a pretty desperate state of affairs for a chatterbox like me). Two things have shaken me from my silence... Last week, I went along to a reception hosted my Peter Hooper from Cox Bank Publishing, the man behind the Sporting Stories initiative. It was a gathering of authors - it was great fun and I particularly enjoyed chatting with paralympian swimmer Jenny Booth and finding out what motivates her to get up at 4.30am for training sessions at the pool. But I felt a bit of a fraud... my blog has been without an update for so long, did I still count as a writer? Photo Credit: Cox Bank Publishing And then at the weekend, I received this message via Twitter: And that got me thinkin...

Life including my running has slowly returned to "normal" after the extraordinary experiences of the London Marathon in April. Learning from last year's mistakes, I didn't launch straight back into training and racing and devoted more time to resting and recovering. I made another batch of cards, which were sold at the Ribble Valley Jazz Festival - a weekend in Clitheore with funky music, fun times with my family and lots of washing up at the Atrium Cafe . But the running and racing buzz doesn't go away for long. I've got a new goal - the London Enduro challenge in June. It's a 12 hour through the night team challenge - 10k laps round Wimbledon Common. I'm part of a team selected by Write this Run and I'm looking forward to it. It's a new location; some new running companions; a team event rather than a solo run; and a totally different endurance challenge, as I'll need to run 3 or 4 10k laps in a 12hr period on trails and in the dar...

The London Marathon... An iconic sporting event broadcast all over the world. Something I've watched but now would take part in for the first time, my second marathon. My first one in Manchester couldn't have gone much better... perfect conditions, a negative split, amazing support. That's a lot to live up to. Setting out for the start... thanks to Potters Trotters Liz for my send off If this were any other race, I would probably write about my disappointing result, my goal of 4 hours disintegrating in a few moments just after half way, the first race where I've had to walk for long periods because I just couldn't run anymore. I might write about what went wrong in great detail - probably a combination of the sunburn, heat, residual tiredness and problems with hydration and refuelling - and ponder on why running 9 minute miles felt so tough almost from mile 1. I could show you graphs of my km split times getting slower and slower. But this wasn't any...