Lightning Feet

Lightning Feet

Tag Archives: half marathon

Uncomfortable truths

31 Sunday Jan 2016

Posted by Catrine S in Update

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bcm, bergen city marathon, half marathon, health, running, update, weigh-in, weight

Today I finally gathered enough courage to step on the scale again. After nearly two months of not-very-healthy eating I feared the worst. At the end of last summer I was at my lightest, at just below 83 kg. I knew I had gained weight – how could I not have? – but it wasn’t as bad as I had feared. Yes, I had gained 3 kg (between 6-7 pounds), but with a hectic timetable and me doing the good old emotional eating, it could definitely be worse. I’m still quite a bit below what I was this time of last year, and considering I am very bloated now due to one of my medications, I’m happy that it wasn’t worse.

After postponing it forever (or so it seemed) I finally went to the doctor on Friday, to get my foot checked out. Two of the toe joints have been acting up for well over a year now, and it’s frankly problematic for my dancing. There’s no definite answers yet, but she said it might look like arthritis – which I have suspected too. And since it runs in my family… Well. We’ll see how it goes. On the other hand, I also told her that I had been able to quit antidepressiva completely, which she was very happy to hear. So that was nice! (Sorry, this apparently became a very disjointed post…)

Last piece of news: I signed up for the half marathon distance at the Bergen City Marathon, which apparently has become an annual tradition after one year. I am running with one of my best friends, and even if we get quite different results and barely run together, we at least start together. And this year I’ll manage to get below 3 hours. It’s not anywhere near the results of many other running/training blogs out there, but I cannot pretend to be better than I am.

The BCM is a very supportive and encouraging event. People of all sizes and shapes compete, and the people along the course are super-supportive. The fact that I managed to get through the entire thing last year, after not having trained whatsoever for a month and being considerably heavier than now, is partially due to those wonderful people. I am excited to see how it feels now that I have two half marathons behind me – if it’s harder or easier than I remember from last time. Lesson learnt from last time though: This year I’ll arrange for someone with a car to drive me home instead of waiting for my bus. It tends to get very cold… 😉

Well, off to find a training program. Do you have a good half marathon training plan to recommend?

The half marathon I almost didn’t run

06 Sunday Sep 2015

Posted by Catrine S in Update

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half marathon, knarvikmila, news, race, running, shoes, update

Truthfully, I could say that about both of the half marathons I have run. In April I had decided not to run, when my good friend and running partner talked me into going. This time it was my first “solo” half marathon, in the sense that I didn’t have someone who started with me and waited for me on the other side of the finishing line. So it was a bit scary.

I was debating whether or not I’d run until about fifteen minutes before I absolutely had to leave home. I had already prepared everything just in case, but I was definitely not feeling the enthusiasm. I had slept really badly (didn’t help that I didn’t even get home until one at night) and could barely get out of bed. When I get really, really stressed and overwhelmed, I sometimes feel physically paralysed. Weird feeling. So I started the day with a complete mental breakdown (oh God not this again I cannot be like this again I thought I was over it), then had my breakfast, and then I was out the door. Which was a HUGE victory.

The “look what I’m about to do” photo for Instagram. This is the route overview.

The half marathon was this one: http://knarvikmilauk.idrettenonline.no/p/11159/half-marathon and it was BEAUTIFUL. We ran over three bridges (two of them twice), it was sunny, the volunteers along the way were friendly and encouraging, and they had prepared enough water and energy drinks that there was plenty even for the last ones. That was a problem in Bergen City Marathon in April, actually – there was nothing left to drink or eat for the last two stations. The only problem, if you can call it that, was the wind. I think I could have gotten a better time if I didn’t have to spend so much energy running against the wind, and on one of the bridges it was so windy (from the side) that I was seriously wondering if I’d be able to run straight ahead. Still, it could easily have become far too hot without it.

Half way over the second bridge (where we turned and ran back the same way for a while) I realised that there was a woman who had held approximately the same pace as I did, and somehow we got talking. And kept talking, more or less, throughout the race. Why run five metres ahead of each other when we keep the same pace anyway, and we can run together? So we did. Neither of us had any very ambitious goals for the race, and for my part it’s easier to keep my pace up and my motivation in check when I have someone to keep up with. It was really nice!

Contrary to Bergen City Marathon, this one seemed to have more athletic people, more “proper” runners, and so we soon realised that we were nearly the last ones. We thought we were actually the last ones for a while, but somehow it didn’t matter. With my preparation and training I had decided I would be happy to just cross the finish line and, hopefully, get a better time than in April. Also hopefully get across the finish line before they stopped taking the time after three hours (which tells you something about my current fitness level), which didn’t happen – but when I checked the website today, my time was actually registered. I ran on 3:12:53, which is exactly five minutes faster than in April, when my time was 3:17:59. I am happy with that!

Anyway, when we had a third of the course left, we heard someone come running full speed behind us, and it was a woman who had run with a friend who had decided to not continue, and one of the Red Cross guys had told her that we were not far ahead. So she ran to catch up with us and ran/walked with us all the way to the finish. She was great!

IMG_20150905_175948

When we finished, we of course got the medal – isn’t it nice? I now have two proper race medals, and they hang side by side very visibly in my living room. If you got it, flaunt it! We also got a banana and a sports drink, but I wish they also had T-shirts. BUT we actually got flowers! A bouquet of roses each. Isn’t it nice? (Never mind the mess on my dining table…) Flowers, a medal, new friends, a personal record and a great experience – can it be better?

IMG_20150906_092158

I ran with my new shoes, too, and while it felt a bit risky and I am a bit sore, they were very good. Actually, very good is an understatement.

Today I’m exhausted. I never sleep well when I’m this tired, but even so I went to bed around ten and fell asleep about an hour later, I think, but I woke up fairly frequently through the night. And then I got up at half past seven today – it was a beautiful sunrise, and I get so much energy after a race.

So I’ve been cleaning up a bit here at home. I don’t have the energy for a lot of it, but I put a thing or two in their proper place, then relax a bit, then do another thing. And I’ve decided to say the final farewell to some of my favourite running shoes.

IMG_20150906_092017

I wore them almost to pieces – they are Gore Tex shoes, and living in a city as rainy as Bergen that has been invaluable. Particularly when you practically live in running shoes/trainers every day. But eventually they became too old and worn out to be worn in public, and I started using them for Storehesten Opp, a race (one that you can also participate in just for the social side of it, without being timed) up a mountain near my hometown. My brother and I have a tradition of going there, even if we couldn’t make it this year. The outer soles are still very good in these shoes, so they were great for walking in the muddy and wet terrain that is there. But I think their time is up now. They are heavy, stiff and lumpy now, and I realised that now that I have actual terrain running shoes (Salomon Fellraiser, which are GREAT) I am probably never going to wear them again. So out they go, along with another pair that is slightly ill-fitting. Why I bought them I have no idea, except that they felt good in the store.

Anyway! Just thought I’d write a little update about the race. Now I’m going to tidy up a little more here, then prepare tomorrow’s lessons, and make myself something to eat – and enjoy the fact that I did something I almost didn’t dare to do, something that I would have thought was completely crazy less than a year ago. And I had fun doing it!

But next year I’ll run in less than three hours, just saying… In other words: I will actually prepare and train for it. 😉

The week in review

03 Tuesday Feb 2015

Posted by Catrine S in Habits, Update

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ballet, diet, exercise, half marathon, irish dance, race, the week in review, training, update

Last week was the first week I logged absolutely everything I ate. Well, except for two carrots, but they’re hardly a big deal. It was also my big “getting back to working out” week, and though I did more than I probably should, I am happy.

Diet

My food intake has been so-so. Calorie-wise it has been good, and the only day I went over my limit was Friday. I spent five hours just drinking coffee at a café with a friend of mine, and then we met up later in the evening and went to the movies after eating out. So I am not surprised. I did not go much over, though, and I was well below my limit for the week.

The reason I am not quite so happy is that my food choices weren’t the smartest. I’ve eaten chocolate (which I should not really eat because of health reasons to begin with) or candy or crisps nearly every day. While I didn’t go over my calories due to all the exercise, I’m not exactly building good habits. Still, for my part there’s a very fine line between being strict enough and too strict with myself, and I’d rather be a bit too lenient and know that I can keep going. I don’t need to lose all my weight at once, after all.

It should perhaps be noted here that my last weigh-in showed that I have lost 0.4 kg since Monday last week. I always get a bit heavier when I have worked out more than usual (water retention, perhaps?), so I am very happy with this.

Exercise

I have worked out a lot for the past week, as you can see from my previous post from Tuesday. I’ll post everything here:

– Tuesday 27th: Pilates/stretching, 55 minutes. Thought I said I shouldn’t work out that day…
– Wednesday 28th: Dancing (ballet) 74 mins, 491 kcal, Les Mills Combat 55 mins, 645 kcal
– Thursday 29th: Aerobics (video) 24 mins, 114 kcal (don’t remember what it was, but my heart was clearly not in it), and stretching for 42 minutes.
– Friday 30th: Dancing (ballet) 77 mins, 493 kcal. Les Mills Combat, 35 mins, 467 kcal.
– Saturday 31st: Running for 60 minutes, 839 kcal (Yes! Back in the game!)
– Sunday 1st: Les Mills Combat, 62 mins, 576 kcal
– Monday 2nd: Irish dancing (my first class after Christmas!) 105 mins, 942 kcal. I thought I had kept my stamina up… I hadn’t. Clearly intense aerobics is not enough to not feel like you’re going to die during dance.

Overall I am happy with the week. I try to have recovery days in between, but it’s been so fun working out lately that I haven’t been able to. I have a heart rate monitor that tells me when I’m in danger of overreaching, and so far it seemed okay. But yesterday was dancing, and that means really, really intense intervals during the two hours that class lasts (a dance typically lasts a bit more than a minute, and you have to give it your all every time, or your rhythm or technique will be off. Combine that with steps that are full of both jumps and fast footwork, and you have a recipe for exhaustion). I barely managed to get up this morning, in fact. I wasn’t really sore, I just felt heavy and slow all over. So today will be a complete rest day. Not even stretching (at least not very much).

Competitions and other news

I have signed up for my very first half marathon, on the last weekend of April I think. I can’t say that I feel very confident, having never run longer than just below 10km, but I’ll do my best. If I didn’t sign up now, I might have postponed both the race and the training, and ended up in the same situation.

In the end of May there’s the four-mountain hike here in town, and I’ll participate with a friend of mine and some of her friends. I don’t yet know if I look forward to it or not, but we’ll see. I’m not very good uphill, but it’s good to have a goal.

On the last weekend of June there’s another race, this time up a mountain near my hometown. Or race – we’re not entering in the group that is timed, but the one where you participate just for fun. I’ve done it three times before, I think, and it’s very fun. Not all the time, since it’s pretty steep here and there during the hike, but it’s the best feeling ever once you reach the top (and even better when you reach the buses when you’re back down).

I’m quite glad that I have a few things like that this spring. Dance competitions are in autumn, so I always struggle a bit with my motivation during spring. I need something to work towards, to keep my motivation up!

Well, that was it for today, sorry for the very long post. I am working on a proper workout plan, simple but doable (which is always my problem), and I’ll post it here once I’m happy with it.

Who am I?

30-year old bookworm, recently addicted to running, not-so-recently addicted to Irish dancing and with 15 kg left to lose. I prefer to spend as little time as possible in the real world, and am in love with most things related to words, images and music.

Currently I'm working towards becoming a better runner and dancer, and to be able to live a healthy, comfortable life that is NOT dictated by chronic illness.

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