The collies don't like cross training!

 Some of you know but for those that don't I was a very good girl last year and so Father Christmas gave me a bicycle for Christmas.

Now for one reason or another I've only just started riding it after the initial Boxing Day jaunt. Ok, I'll cough ...... the millions of gears scared me ....... well the last time I rode a bike it had three gears and you pedalled backwards to change gear.
So now that I have a rest day in between running means that I should be cross training ........ which means

As in riding my bicycle.

Today was my fourth time out and I was feeling very confident, pedalling like fury and changing gears as if I knew what I was doing!!!

The collies who need to run for England came with me whilst Chris went to the village shop for our weekly shopping. If you didn't know our challenge last year was no supermarket shopping and it was so successful we've continued with it www.supportinglocal.blogspot.com

It seems Tilly and Jess don't like me cycling ...... at 3/4 mile Jess turned for home and at a mile Tilly did the same. Hey ho!

From then on I expected a call from Chris asking if I was ok or even him turning up in his truck looking for me.

Nothing!

And why not?

Well those crafty collies were waiting outside their 'Aunty Janet's' house, the lovely lady who looks after them when we're at markets.

They greeted me with a well there you are and trotted back up the lane behind me.

So Sarah 4.25 miles

Collies 1.5 miles

I'm fundraising for Children's Hospice South West

When I shared my first post from this blog on Twitter and Facebook several friends asked if I was doing it for sponsorship. The immediate answer was 'No'.


Actually I hadn't even considered it.


However the Bideford 10k www.bidefordaac.co.uk/bideford-10k is raising funds for Childrens Hospice South West www.chsw.org.uk and guess what???


SO AM I!!!


I now have a huge bucket to collect cash in so when you pop by our stall www.shebbearcheese.co.uk whether you buy cheese or not you can chuck your money in! Thank you!


I have a sponsorship form so you can cough up in the old fashioned way. Thank you!


Covering all bases I have an online donating thingy www.virginmoneygiving.com/sarahstylespower
Thank you!


AND ...............


I have a running vest to wear on the day ( I will model it at some point but snow stopped play today)


P.S. Yes I know my photo is horizontal ...... bit of a technophobe thing going on!!!

Strides and Sprints

When I signed up to run the Bideford 10k www.bidefordaac.co.uk/bideford-10k last week I didn't really think too much about training, in fact I just assumed that I'd gradually increase my runs from 5k (3.1miles)  to 10k (6.2miles)  over the coming weeks!


Of course on Tuesday as you know I ran 10k just to check that I could do it and get an idea of my time so when Steph's training email arrived that evening it was a surprise to say the least to see that my long run should be 4 miles and that one of the weekly training sessions should be a speed one. The other one being Parkrun on a Saturday (or a run at home).


Sooooooooooo I decided that my training started last Saturday at the Parkrun, would ignore that I ran on Sunday instead of having a rest day, pretend that I ran only ran 4 miles on Tuesday  and then today would be the speed one.


Now what is a stride and what is a sprint?


New jargon to me.......


........... and as I haven't made it to the running group yet absolutely no idea.


Thank goodness for Google and You Tube then.


So after watching several American blokes sans upper clothing and with six packs I got the idea!!


Next problem ...... how do you know when you've run your strides or run like the clappers for the sprints??


Well you get an old bloke on a bike who has a kitchen timer and then he bellow the times at you!!!
Along with two collies who have absolutely no idea why the old biddy is running differently to normal and try and trip her up.


Anyone passing us would have found the whole scene hilarious and thought that I had tourettes as I shouted and swore ....... that'll be the blokes in the Southwest highways truck and Sue and Mike who had to stop, in fact Mike if he looked in his rear view mirror would have wondered why I was running like a maniac after his car for thirty seconds!! Actually that might be why he sped away!!


So that's my first week of training for the Bideford 10k and nearly a month of only drinking at weekends so in celebration we're on the gin (oh and if you must know the wine!!)

Today I tried to run 10k

The plan is to run three times a week with a day off in between. So a Park run, a longer run and the other run with a running group if I can get to it otherwise it'll be my usual down the lane and back nearly 5k run!

Since I started running last year I've tried to run at least five times a week so this regime is going to be slightly alien to me to start with and of course I have broken the rules already! In theory as I'd Parkrun on Saturday, Sunday should have been a day off ......... fat chance .........I ran!

However I did have yesterday off and just went out on my bike.

Today I decided that I might as well go for it and see if I could run 10k. No point in fannying around! I'd use the woman on my phone to log the distance but try and ignore her when she broadcast my split pace times. Normally if I think she's lying we argue and she learns a few more swear words. That'll be competitive Sarah again then!!

So I set off with my 'trainer' and two 'pacers' well Chris on his bike and the two collies!

I deliberately kept my pace slow and was pleasantly surprised at the one mile mark to have done it in 11.29. It does help that the first mile and a half is down hill, on the downside it's all uphill on the way back!! At four and a half miles my right leg felt like it had come unscrewed and I was waiting for it to fall off, luckily it hung on for the rest of the run and seems ok now.

The result is I can run 10k without stopping albeit slowly and I now have a time to work on.

By the way 6.2 miles is 10k.

How do you train for the Bideford 10K?

Question: How do you train for the Bideford 10K

Answer: I have absolutely no idea

Not a good start really seeing as I've signed up and parted with my dosh!

'Have you thought this thing through?' I hear you ask

Errr no ..... it just seemed like a good idea at the time though!!

 Luckily one of Belinda's friends, an experienced and enthusiastic runner has offered to help us and a few others with our training. How lucky is that?

 Cue Steph!

So we're now under her wing as part of the 'Biddy 10k running group' and hopefully as there's a few of us we'll be able motivate and support each other over the next three months.

 It's great that I've already met two of the others,  Sarah and Andree through Tamar Lakes Parkrun and we've now done the Facebook friends thing too!

Steph has emailed us some things to ponder such as making sure we have enough kit when stuff is in the wash, checking our running shoes don't need replacing and planning on doing three runs a week with a day off in between.

No excuse then not to get on with it!!

Tamar Lakes Parkrun

Upper Tamar Lake

Today was my fifth Parkrun www.parkrun.org.uk at Tamar Lakes. If it wasn't for volunteers this event wouldn't happen so a big thank you to them. It was a lovely sunny morning with no wind, if a bit on the chilly side. Fifty two of us set off at 9am to run round the lake, all 5k of it! Initially I ran alongside Sarah, another Bideford 10k participant, thinking that we should be making conversation but I can't run and talk so we ran in what I think  is termed companionable silence.

At the one mile point (I have a woman on my phone telling me this) I was slightly ahead of her and was waiting for another Sarah to overtake me as she has done on the previous weeks. Although someone did overtake it wasn't her! It was nearer two miles before she did. We exchanged hello's and then she had passed me.

With no warning 'competitive Sarah' was in my head saying 'stick with her, you'll get another PB if you do, don't let her get too far ahead'

'What?' said my legs 'you're joking, she's too fast'

I stuck to her like glue!

Luckly she had her earphones in so was spared my heavy breathing which sounded like an audition for the soundtrack on a low budget porn movie as we climbed the hill to the finish! I thought I was going to die ...................

So I was two seconds behind her and got a time of 30.10 and ..................................we both got PB's!!

Before I got hot and sweaty

As a treat and to put all the calories back on we had toasted crumpets for elevenses!

What have I done?

I'm so easily led .......


All it took was a post by Belinda on the Bradworthy running group page advertising the Bideford 10k on 10th May and I was there with a credit card and podgy fingers on my phone key pad!


Ok so why was I so eager to part with my money?


Well if she was going to do it then so was I!


Competitive or what?


Actually until recently I thought I was the most uncompetitive person in the world but then I went to my first parkrun www.parkrun.org.uk and although its non competitive ...... I've found that I can run reasonable well (especially when the proper running club people don't turn up!!!) there are people of all ages and abilities who are there to have fun, including me.  I now know who to try and keep pace with and overtaking people gives me a sense of satisfaction.  Not many mind you but enough for a buzz and then of course there's the PB (personal best) ........ each time I've been, well four times (one was cancelled) I've got a PB. Yes the competitiveness has kicked in and I've been pushing myself.


Who'd have thought it??


I now have the gear too ...... proper running shoes and lycra!!!


Soooooooooooooooooooooooooo Bideford 10K ............


Three months to prepare .........


What have I done?