From the middle of January, the training was coming on really well. I went out on a 6 mile run with my colleague Annabel, which we did in just under an 60 minutes. We were really happy with this as we did a whole mile more than the last time we went running together, which was before Christmas. Showing improvements! :) The mileage has now bumped up to 10-12 miles at the weekends which is getting tough to stay motivated when your running for almost 2 hours. I always try to think of why I am running the marathon to help with this.

Unfortunately, over the last week I have sustained a knee injury along with a hip problem which I have had for a while. This means that I will be out of running for a good 2-3 weeks. Although this is very frustrating, I am being treated everyday by the amazing physiotherapists here at Mike Varney Physiotherapy and being assured that the time off will actually do me good, instead of injuring myself further and not being able to do any other events later in the year. I can always find time to do other things when I'm injured, that I don't usually get time to do. Such as revising for an upcoming exam... Time keeping was never a speciality of mine!

Ice is the best option for injuries as it reduces any inflammation and swelling in and around the area. It can also ease the pain slightly. Ice is always applied for 10 minutes and then 10 minutes off and repeated for an hour.

March is usually the time we have a lot of people coming into the Clinic with running injuries from over-training, as people are stepping up the mileage or doing too much running and panicking that they only have a few weeks left until race day. Don't panic! There is nothing worse than over-training and getting injured, then not being able to run the race! Just step up the training slowly and you will get to where you need to be with no injuries and at least then you have a chance of completing the race than not at all.

Hope all your training is going well! Please feel free to leave a comment on how your training is going, as I would love to hear from you all and if there are any questions you would like me to answer.

Happy Running! :)

Merry Christmas and a Happy new year!!

As the Christmas period and New year are now over, mince pies and chocolate have been eaten, now is the time to start thinking about starting a routine training programme and healthy eating.

On Christmas day I always do two runs. This is a decision I make based on the fact that all my competitors will be running only once on Christmas day, therefore I will have that slight advantage. This also makes you feel better after eating your bodyweight in food!! The first run is a challenging hill sprints session. I find a long steep hill and run up and down 12 times, followed by a 20 minute jog. The second session is a 30 minute flat run later on in the evening. Luckily for me I have a heart rate monitor so that I can track where my heart rate is the whole way round the route. For long slow runs you want your heart rate to be within zone 2, so on average this would be between 120 and 140 beats per minute (bpm). For hill or sprint sessions your heart rate will peak at the end of zone 3 to zone 4 which would be between 160-180 bpm.

My last run of run of 2014 was a 7 mile run which took exactly 1 hour with a mixture of flat ground and hills with an average heart rate of 151.

Today will be my first run of 2015! I am beginning training with a short run which is a 5 mile loop round my town of Buntingford and surrounding villages, which I am hoping to do in 35 minutes. Starting off slowly to build base fitness as I have done throughout winter and then gradually increasing intensity, time and distance as it gets closer to race day. 

Bring it on 2015!! Lets hope it's a good one, as there's a long journey ahead and a lot to fit in!

Becky :)

Fundraising

I am fundraising this year for Children with Cancer UK. 

This charity raises awareness of childhood cancer to protect children and improve the lives of young cancer patients. They also fund welfare projects to provide better support for the children and their families and fund essential research into the causes, prevention and treatment of childhood cancer.

If you would like to donate to this very worthy cause then please click the link below. Thank you very much for your support.

Becky :)

https://www.justgiving.com/MVPhysioBeckyMarathon

Introducing Our Star Runner..

Becky joined the clinic this year as a student Sports Therapist. She is currently studying Sports Therapy at the University of Hertfordshire and is furthering her education by completing a placement year with us. She has a history of longer endurance events including triathlons, but has not quite stretched herself to complete the 26.2 mile London Marathon.

Becky has a place this year with the charity Children with Cancer UK. To view their website click the link below..

Children With Cancer UK

Becky has started her training early having completed a 5 mile hill run today over Harlow Town Park, you may have seen us puffing up the hills behind the old swimming pool. Look out for her on the roads she will be heading into the harder runs into the new year.