Rosedawn Ramblings

I don't do that well in the heat and I can get sunburnt on a cloudy day in Manchester... so when the weather forecast for Easter Weekend predicted " the hottest Easter on record " I wasn't really doing a happy dance when I thought about my running my weekend running plans. With just three weeks until my ultramarathon, this was scheduled to be another big weekend of running (after 50km last weekend). But then the sun came out and I started sneezing... not really a good combination. Time for me to make some adjustments to my plans. I've still got close to 40 miles for the week (with another run planned for Easter Monday) but I've run slower, walked more, taken extra breaks in the shade and done everything possible to make sure I stay well-hydrated and avoid the dreaded sunburn. I've not worried about what my watch said about mile pace or split time; slow down, smile and breathe. And whilst running in the sun can be tough, it does have some p...

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...