London British 10K: 14 Days to go!

On Sunday 9th July, I will be running 10K for the Scoliosis Campaign Fund in the iconic London British 10k! This will involve a flat, fast 10K through London’s most famed sites.

I have also signed up for another challenge for scoliosis after this. In October, I will be taking on a trek of the Great Wall of China. This will involve 9 days of hiking on challenging and uphill terrain (a post on this is coming soon!)

Through these activities, I want to raise money and much needed awareness of scoliosis. But not only that, I want to inspire others who are suffering with the condition and show that having scoliosis doesn’t have to stop you from achieving your dreams.

The Scoliosis Campaign Fund raises money to support people with scoliosis and their families, and fund research into finding the causes of scoliosis and treatments to improve quality of life for patients.

So, with just 14 days to go until my first scoliosis challenge, I thought I’d write a post to share my training over the last few weeks!

Luckily, I have Strava to help keep a record of everything I do so I can remember… 🙂

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Sunday 28th May: Great Manchester Run (10K)

I have already written a blog post on the Great Manchester Run so I won’t repeat myself too much! I spent months training for this event, which I wanted to use as a kind of practice for the London British 10K in July. This was my first ever timed 10K race and I had an amazing time. It was tough as it was quite a humid day but the atmosphere was incredible. I managed to finish under 60 minutes too which was a huge achievement for me (and a PB!)

Thursday 1st June: BODYPUMP

After the Great Manchester Run, I had seriously bad DOMs (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness) in my legs and the running also took its toll on my back and shoulders! For this reason, I had a few days off from training.

On the Thursday after, I started feeling ok again and headed to the gym for BodyPump. I love BodyPump and have written a few posts on it before.

For me, BodyPump is a great complement to running as it helps to strengthen all the muscles in the body, which is crucial to prevent injuries,

 

Saturday 3rd June: 7.7Km run

 

This was the first training run that I did after the Great Manchester Run, almost a week after the event. I was surprised how much this event took it out of me!

I managed a steady 7.7km which took me 45 minutes – even if I did get a bit wet in the rain!

 

Sunday 4th June: 9.2km walk up and down hills

Instead of running again today, I decided on a walk with a friend as it’s important to mix things up.

We walked a part of the Sandstone Trail in Cheshire – Bickerton Hill. I’ve done this walk a few times so it wasn’t too challenging, although there were a few steep climbs and steps. The views across Cheshire are amazing though, so it’s worth it 🙂

 

Tuesday 6th June: 7.3km run

I had Monday as a rest day, then on the Tuesday I went for a run after work. It was a really windy day so I struggled quite a bit and my pace was a bit slower than usual.

 

Thursday 8th June: 7.4km run

Wednesday was a rest day, so I headed out for another run on Thursday evening after work. I managed 7.4km which I was pretty pleased with!

 

Sunday 11th June: Tatton Park 10K

 

My friend asked me to do the Tatton Park 10K with her and, in a moment of madness after the Manchester 10K, I booked it! To be honest, I wasn’t really looking forward to it as the Manchester 10K really took it out of me. But I thought it would be good as a longer training run for the British 10K. It was a horrifically early start for a Sunday too – I had to get up at 6.30am for an 8.30am race start!

It was a really nice course though through pretty grounds and mostly flat. Tatton Park is a historic estate with 1,000 acres of lavish gardens and a deer park, so the views were lovely, although I was disappointed that I didn’t spot any deer!

I ran the race with my friend, she is much faster than me but wanted to take it easy so ran at my pace. Although I think running with her must have sped me up as I managed to complete this 10K even quicker than the Manchester one. My time was 57.22 – a new PB. Either that or early morning running could be my new thing (I normally run in the evening).

Considering the first 10K I ever did took me 1hr 20 minutes, I was pretty chuffed with this improvement in my time! Actually, scratch that, I was in total shock!

Overall, I was really impressed with this event. It was really well organised and the grounds were awesome, not to mention the friendly marshalls. They have another 10K here in November which I might sign up for when it’s closer.

Thursday 15th June: 7km Run

After the Tatton Park 10K, I had a few days off from training to let my body recover and headed out for an evening run on the Thursday after the Tatton Park event.

 

Saturday 17th June: Mount Snowdon!

Now, this was a challenge! I was on holiday in Wales this weekend (glamping!) and we were staying right by Mount Snowdon (the highest mountain in Wales!) So we (stupidly?) decided to trek up (and down!) it while we were there. The weather was a challenge, as it was a hot day, but other than that conditions were pretty good. Clear blue skies = amazing views!

I have actually walked up Snowdon before when I was only 1 year, 8 months post my scoliosis surgery so I kind of knew what to expect. Although on reflection, the first time was much harder because the weather was poor (rainy and misty with it being March) and I was much weaker than I am now, so I struggled much more the first time.

This time, I still struggled with the steep climbs despite all the running I do. However, I found the “scrambling” parts much easier. I think the months of body pump squats and lunges have made me much stronger!

It was about 6 hours of walking overall (3 hours up, 3 hours down) and it gave me a bit of an insight into what the Great Wall of China might be like. It also made me realise that I’m not as fit as I like to think as I am, as I did struggle with some of the steepest parts. I think it’s great training for China though and I might try and fit another training hike up Snowdon in before my China trip.

 

Monday 19th June: 6.4km Run

Anyone that lives in the UK will know we had a bit of a heatwave this week, well a heatwave by UK standards anyway!  So it was still around 28 degrees Celsius when I went out for my evening run, which was a bit hot for me to run in as I’m not used to running in the heat. I still gave it a good go though as I didn’t want to let my training slip!

I managed to do 6.4km, although the heat did affect me and I did struggle to run at my usual pace.

 

 

Wednesday 21st June: 5.5km Run

This was another scorcher of a day for the UK and it was another hot evening run, I think it was about 28/29 degrees Celsius when I went out after work. I didn’t really feel like going out tonight as I was too hot and bothered and feeling sluggish from work.

To be honest, I really had to force myself but I still went out as I wanted to keep on top of my training for the British 10K. I struggled in the heat though and kept my pace fairly steady. I was a right sweaty mess after this one I can tell you!

 

Friday 23rd June: BODYPUMP

I decided to take a break from running tonight and go to a BodyPump class at my gym. I try to go to BodyPump once or twice a week usually but have struggled to fit it in over the past few weeks. It felt great to get back to BodyPump tonight as it’s one of my favourite classes.

I love the feeling of getting my body stronger and I really do think that going to BodyPump classes over the past year has contributed to the improvement in my running.

 

Sunday 25th June: Colshaw Hall 10K

So, this morning I was kind of regretting the Friday night Body Pump as I had seriously bad DOMS/muscle pain in my legs from all the squats!  I could hardly walk let alone run 😉

Despite this though,  this morning I took part in the Colshaw Hall 10K in Knustford (my third chip timed race this year and ever). Unlike the Tatton Park 10K, I’ve had this one booked for a fair while and wanted to use it as part of my training for the British 10K.

Overall, I really enjoyed it! It was fairly flat (apart from a killer hill at the 7km mark which I was pre-warned about!!). It took us through some rather plush areas of Cheshire, down the leafy country lanes – we ran past some rather nice big houses and also Jodrell Bank, which was pretty cool.

I decided not to push myself with this one, as I didn’t want to injure myself before the British 10K.

I wasn’t trying for a PB or anything, I just wanted to complete it!  So I took a steady pace and in the end I finished 59.05, which was similar to the Great Manchester Run (59.09) but not as quick as the Tatton Park 10K (57.22). Still, I’m really pleased that I managed to get under an hour and that it didn’t actually feel too bad at all! I have definitely come a long way with my running. Plus, my legs were ok once I got going, tomorrow may be a different story though…!

I was also glad that the mini heatwave we were having in the UK last week finished in time for this event. It was actually perfect running temperature for me, about 15C and cloudy!

The only downside was that I had to run with a full bladder because the queues for the toilets at the start were mahoosive! Note to self: leave earlier next time…

It was worth it for the huge medal though!

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Please help me to support the Scoliosis Campaign Fund! 🙂

Phew! It’s only writing it all down that I’ve realised how much I’ve actually been doing. No wonder I’m always hungry..

Seriously though, this is pretty much a standard month for me. When I’m not training for a specific event I usually have more of a mix of different gym classes thrown in too. This month though, I’ve been focusing on running and running events in preparation for the British 10K.

After the British 10K, I will most likely tone down the running and focus more on hikes and trekking to prepare for my Great Wall of China challenge in October.

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If you’d like to sponsor me for these events and raise money for those affected by scoliosis, I have set up a Virgin Money Giving page for both events below:

 

Through Virgin Money Giving, donations will be quickly processed and passed to the Scoliosis Campaign Fund.

Virgin Money Giving is a not for profit organisation and will claim gift aid on a charity’s behalf where the donor is eligible for this.

I really appreciate all your support and thank you in advance for any donations.

 

Louise X