Pipers, a puddle and photos!!

Well, the excitement of the day is over - the camaraderie in the muster groups, the anticipation of walking up to the start line and waiting for the off, the drummers and pipers and others on the route and finally turning into Mosspark Boulevard towards the finish line!

My day had ups and downs - I LOVED the atmosphere, there is nothing like this race!  Part of it I think is the all women thing, the idea of 10,000 women getting together to do the run, each with their own goal - amazing!  It really brings out the best in people, the runners of course, but think about how many volunteers there were.  There are the official ones - the marshalls and so on, but how many people did you see with water stations set up in front of their houses, or giving out jelly beans, or just standing in the rain at the roadside cheering?  It is brilliant!
My back held up well - hopefully I can now just go on from here and get fully back to normal.
My hill training paid off well - the 7-8 K hill in Pollok Park was only hard, not totally knackering!

The not so great bits - well like everyone else - running into that wind was hard, I was cold and wet. (Big temperature contrast with my holiday in the sun)  Didn't realise how wet though till I sat down afterwards, thought the chair must have a puddle but when I got up and looked, I realised it was actually me!  Eeoow - but funny at the same time ;-)    I was kinda tired as well, hadn't fully got over the trip back from our hols.  My time was 1:00:43 - I was a bit disappointed - so I will just have to do better in the Paisley 10K at the end of August!

Worst of all though was the fact that I wasn't in a single Marathon Photos photo!!  Again! - hmmm, maybe a tutu next year??

Hope you all had a great day, that you have a great deal of pride in what you achieved, and that like me, you will be back to do it all again next year!!  Have a good year, train hard, stay safe

Lynn x

Good luck!

With race day almost upon us, we've done all the training we can do! Good luck to everyone tomorrow, we hope you all have a great day and achieve your goals - whether it's a PB or raising lots for charity - and remember, have fun!

Countdown on big sleeps!!

Back from the sun..........to the rain.  According to the forecast tomorrow looks not bad, and sadly Sunday looks not good  :-(    Hate the rain and wind, but nowt we can do about it, so just need to get on with it - this is Scotland, after all.

Did the two runs I needed to do while I was away, a 6 mile and a 3 mile.  They were quite hard - sweat/sun screen blinding you as you go is never good!!  Had some more treatment for my back today, so I'll be doing my last wee jog, just to turn my legs over a bit, on Saturday.

After that, just one more big sleep, and ta dah!!! it'll be the big day.

Hope you all have a brilliant time and achieve whatever you are hoping for!! 

Lynn x

Final Week!

Well its now only 2 days to go till the big day, it is just me or have the last few weeks flown by!?

Unfortunately I have had the worst possible week of training! I have been loaded with the cold and unable to do anything!

I now have not ran for 4 weeks due to my foot injury, however I have kept going to the gym when I can. Over the last couple of weeks I’ve managed a few gym sessions. Last Thursday I went to Glasgow Club Easterhouse and did 40mins on the bike then 30mins on the cross trainer. Friday night I had a weights session at Glasgow Club Whitehill.

Had a break on Saturday, then Sunday morning went to Glasgow Club Whitehill again and did some pool running. Was off on Monday for the bank holiday so went to Glasgow Club Easterhouse and had a great session of 30mins on the cross trainer, then did weights, and then 30mins on the bike. Was feeling really positive and full of good intentions of going to the gym a few nights during this week to keep my fitness up, plus my foot has been a lot better now so was sure I would be fine running on Sunday. Unfortunately though I’ve been floored with this cold!

I really want to take part in the 10k on Sunday, I do it every year and love being a part of such a special event. Hopefully I will be able to do it, even if I have to walk the course if I don’t have the energy to run!

Massive good luck to everyone taking part on Sunday – hope you all get the times you want and have fun!!

It's almost here!! And so is the rain!!!

Well its only a few days till the big day. Where did all the time go at the end? My training is officially done now and apart from teaching a spin class on Friday it's a few easy days and good eating in final preparation. Oh and a sports massage and lots of sleep! Training has been good. Ran 10 miles on Saturday and felt good. Raced on Sunday - a fast 5k at Barshaw Park in Paisley in 20:50 which isn't bad especially after a long run the day before. Monday I did 4 miles easy and Tuesday was spin and 5 miles of hills, finishing off with a speed session on Wed night and weights. Rest day today and Saturday and spin, as I said tomorrow (Friday) then it's the big day. I've done this event for as long as I can remember and have only missed it twice. Once when pregnant and once when i had a broken toe!! It's still my favourite race of the year. There's something about the "women" thing that feels great - us all running together with one goal - to get to the finish line!! Doubtful that I will get the pb I wanted (41mins) due to setbacks in a training and my mums broken leg, but I'll do my best and see if I can get close to 42/43 mins. Good luck to Gemma Rankin, my friend and club mate at Kilbarchan AAC. Gemma will be up there at the front - wish you all the best Gemma!! And also to fellow bloggers Lynn and Claire and all the others who took the time to do this. Finally, let's hope that the weather sorts itself out. Have a great run ladies and stay safe!! Lynne x

Penultimate week of training

With less than 2 weeks to go before the 10k, not only are we really excited about collecting our sponsor money and receiving our race packs (pink t-shirts!), but we’re also trying to push ourselves that little bit further in the last full week of training.

In our penultimate group training session we took a different route and set ourselves the challenge of finishing 6 miles. Whether it was due to the nice weather, the good banter or the new scenic route, 6 miles seemed to pass before we realised it!

Running as a team, we split into sub-groups but we all managed to cover the distance without too much of a gap widening between each group – the important thing was we all found a pace we were comfortable with.

Head of Team Craigholme, our Maths teacher, also gave us a lot of useful information about what to do on race day so we thought we’d share it with everyone — eat a proper breakfast; make sure you have safety pins ready for your race numbers and above all, do not to wear any brand new clothes/trainers on the day!

See you all in 9 days!

Here comes the sun ;-D

Well, as I hinted at the end of my last blog, I am heading off on holiday for a week.  We booked it on the spur of the moment a while back, but I got a fright when I went to put the dates in the calendar and realised how close I had come to being in Gran Canaria during the 10K!! - honestly, old age doesn't come alone!  We leave tomorrow morning, and get back on Thursday 10th.

I had another treatment on my back on Monday.  It has been quite achy since then so I didn't do the planned 3 mile run at the beginning of the week.  This morning I ran 10K on a fairly hilly route, a lovely bright sunny morning, the cycle track bits of it were green and pretty, great to run. It was hard going, but hills are always worthwhile - honest!!  Time was 59:51, not wonderful, but not a disaster.

While we are away I will definitely do another 10k and a 3 miler.  Depending on how I feel, I may also do an extra 3 mile run to make up for the one I missed, but I'll play that by ear.   That will leave just one gentle jog on the Friday, after I get back.  Then its the big day for us all!!!

Enjoy this last push,  this is what all the cold, wet runs have been all about, to get you to the point where you can tackle the actual race fit enough to be able to enjoy the day in the way you choose!!  Doesn't matter if you run, walk/jog or stroll, its brilliant to see so many women there on the day.  So be inspired!!