SJ does 10k!

                                             

Since I last blogged - I trained for and ran a 10k. The last blog I wrote was not that long ago. So the main tip I would give you my friends- preparation is everything! Although I am doing strength and conditioning workouts - I found out the hard way, I am not fit on a treadmill!

I signed up for the Samsung night run on Sunday 27th April and started training on Tuesday 22nd April. Bad idea. Real Bad. Today is Tuesday - 48 hours after I crossed that finish line - and although, I'm writing this blog so I obviously survived it, I am in a LOT of pain!

So far this blog looks really negative - so I'm going to change that!. If you think you would like to tackle a 10k - or a 5k maybe, it is a really great thing to do. I enjoy races for a number of reasons; I like having a route outdoors without 40 sets of traffic lights or running the risk of getting knocked down by the 46A, the adrenalin before and during the race is amazing and most of all - on finishing the race - there is a massive sense of achievement. I'm also a bit competitive - so I love passing people out during the race and tripping people up to get rid of the competition. All lies - but running is a race is a lot of fun, just don't take anyone out!
                                             
A friend of mine, Olga, signed up for the race with me. Another great idea - to have support in the lead up to the race, on the day of and during the race too. Just another handy tip -I will go into more on our race in a little bit.

Training (or lack of): In preparation for the race I took to the treadmill and ran 3k on a Tuesday night in 15 minutes. That was very fast for me! My knees were in a LOT of pain the next night. But psychologically I said - right tomorrow I will double it. I was advised by a pro to only do 3k again and maybe 3k on a cross trainer. But guess what I did - 6k on the treadmill. Silly move. I was now shattered and sore before the weekend! So lesson for you all - give yourself a few weeks to train for a race- and rest in between each day!

I did not run any more until race day, I spent time in sauna and steam room and spent a lot of time foam-rolling seriously tired muscles. One more day til race day - how many more mistakes can I make? One...yes just one. I had planned to go out on Saturday night. I went out and drank about 5 drinks (possibly more!). Worst mistake yet. I felt EVERY one of those drinks during the race. So - I make all the mistakes and you can all learn from them. Do not, under any circumstances drink alcohol the night before a race. You may see that booze again after the race!

Race day -Hungover but I managed to eat strategically, little and often. Things like eggs are good, nuts for energy and carb loading is allowed (woooohooo to Carbs!) and I made sure that I ate about 3 hours before I ran to give it time to digest. I also bought a protein bar for directly after the race (this was the only sensible thing I did!)

                                                            

We arrived to the start line around 15 minutes before the race, the atmosphere was electric. Everyone in the same glow in the dark tops (but yellow is so not my colour) - there was an organised warm up and a DJ. It felt very cool to be part of! With your race pack you get a timing chip - and your result gets put on a website, so there is no hiding when you cross the line! With that in mind, Olga and I had set ourselves a target of between 54-57 minute for the 10k.

The race was tough, really tough, The route was hard work - a lot of uneven surfaces (kinda dangerous when it is dark out!), and I think the race was over subscribed. There was a couple of "gridlock" moments. But once we got into our stride it was fine! There are usually markings to show when you hit each KM, which is great at times (but I did want to cry a couple of times - like eh at 2,3,4,5 k etc!). Olga and I stayed at same pace for the whole race - she jogged fast and I kept up. If I was on my own I would sprint and jogged slowly. Everyone has their own way - so my advice is do your own thing or maybe find out by doing a few races what works for you.

We finished the 10k - and felt very proud! We did it in 56 mins - I was hoping for a little faster, but always next time. Finally - warming down and stretching in the hours and days after the race cos guess what - I didnt do that. And now I am in bits!

                                                    
I have added a list of a few races that are coming up - I will probably run a few of them - so if anyone fancies joining me - just let me know!

Date	Event	Location	Distance
June 2nd	Flora Women’s Mini Marathon	City Centre	10K
June 28th	Dublin Race Series	Phoenix Park	5 mile
July 20th	Dublin Race Series	Swords	10K
July 17th	St. James Hospital	City Centre	6K
August 23rd	Dublin Race Series	Phoenix Park	10 mile
August 30th	Great Pink Run	Phoenix Park	10K/5K
Sept 20th	Dublin Race Series	Phoenix Park	Half Marathon

Hope your enjoying the blog! SJ x

                                               

Downtime and My Debut Detox

Hello one and all! It has been a while since I last blogged quite a bit has happened. First off - I developed a pretty bad chest infection at the start of March, that left me bed bound for a good few days. This was obviously not ideal from the ole training front - but I was probably burning the candle at both ends and I learned my lesson to take it a little easier from now on!

Whilst being sick for the week, all I wanted to do was eat crap. It was pretty tough being ill and eating healthy - but I did my best not to lose the run of myself! Lots of fruit and veg to aid the recovery.  I couldn't train for a whole week -and even when I got back into training - I was still nowhere near my fitness from before my chest infection. But I eased myself back into training and now - a couple of weeks later I am totally fine!

After my illness- I felt like getting some sun on my bones, so myself and my friend booked a week in the Canaries. Holidays can also be a bit of a disaster from a fitness perspective! For once (in probably forever) - I actually didnt mind so much getting into a bikini and flaunting what my mother gave me in front of a load of strangers around the pool! So I was determined not to have a week of boozing and eating crap coupled with no exercise. I tried to eat well - which isnt always easy on holidays, but where there is a will there is a way eh! But when I felt like ordering what I wanted off the menu (or ordering my favourite dessert) ... I didnt feel one bit guilty! I did exercise a little over there (thanks to Lisa being organised and bringing yoga blocks and mats etc!)..just did about 15-20 mins of plank, squats and tricep dips. Every little helps I guess!

My final update for this blog was my first attempt at a detox! A few of my friends in work had tried it -so I said why not! I ordered 3 day detox plan from PureGreen in Georges Arcade for 75eur (or they can deliver to work or your home for free!). Its 4 juices a day for 3 days. Zero food - yes...not a morcel of solid food for 3 whole days. Madness I hear you say...but in reality I really enjoyed it! I rarely weigh myself - as muscle weighs more than fat - so dont often see a huge change on the scales..but for a change I decided to weigh myself before the detox, end of day 2 and end of day 3.

Day 1 - woke up and panicked - Oh Holy Fook - no food for 3 days- Im starving (mostly psychological I would imagine!)... but I was very hungry for all of Day 1. Enerjuice for brekkie and Liquid Lunch for Lunch was just like any juice, was very tasty and a mix of fruit and veg. They are juices now (not like a smoothie) - so you really dont feel like your full after them! Got an almighty headache in the afternoon (which Im pretty sure was down to sugar withdrawals!). Got home - didnt exercise (the people at PureGreen recommending not exercising/light exercise when detozing). Final juice of the day was a beetroot based juice. It was awful - I got used to it eventually, but not one I would wanna be trying regularly! Went to bed early - and slept like Ive never slept before.

Day 2 - woke up before my alarm (another first ever!). Had heaps of energy and felt great going to work. Was really feeling effects of the detox - less bloated already and felt I had energy naturally (not needing granola bars etc!). Today was a different combo of juices - Enerjuice was yummy. Proceeded by the worst to come - I had been warned!!Super Juice - ok the contents may have been super (Kale, Spinach, Celery, Parsley, Cucumber and Wheatgrass)...but it tasted far from super. I cried a little inside with every drink. But I finished it!! I also exercised on Day 2 - bad idea!! Follow the rules- and go for a light walk. I nearly collapsed trying to do any form of exertion of energy!! Took trip to the gym in work gear, weighed myself and walked out (gym go-ers must have thought I was delirious if I was expecting to lose weight by walking to the gym alone!)...down 2kgs in 48 hours (thats about 4.5 pounds). I was astonished. Early to sleep again - great sleep again!

                                                   (The one that broke my heart)

Day 3 - same as day 2- up before my alarm. Heaps of energy and I wasn't craving food at all. Was getting used to my juices...but looking forward to solid food all the same! My skin and hair felt great and all in all, it was a great 3 days. Did a weigh in again at the end of the day and was nearly exactly same weight as day 2 - but 4.5 pounds in 3 days was great. It may have been mainly water retention, but it felt good to set the body back to zero for a change and get rid of all the badness in my system!

Thats it for now, weather is picking up outside, so I think I will sign up for a few 5ks or 10ks to keep me out of trouble and see if I can beat my personal best in a 10k now that I seem a lot fitter.

Hope you enjoyed the blog - and as always happy to hear any feedback or answer any questions!
SJ x