D-Day - after

We did it! We did it!  2 hours 9 minutes...
... and we ran all of it!
So I know earlier I said I wanted to finish in less than 2 hours 7 minutes, but I actually cannot believe we ran all of it (well, I had a 30-second walk up the steepest hill but apparently that doesn't count). By mile 6 I was having some serious issues with my left ankle, by mile 10 Maxx was in agony with his knee, but we just kept pushing on.
I'm pleased that I felt pretty good from the start to about mile 8, but after that my ankle did start to really hurt. The last 3 miles were gruelling for both of us and we are very sore now - I have the biggest blister on one of my toes. I wanted to post a photo of it, but I also like having people read my blog, so thought better of it. 
The highlight for me (aside from running the whole damn thing!) was running up the longest hill - about 2 miles - without walking. I've never done this before, in training and during the half in 2012. It's a real achievement for me, but because I kept a slow but steady pace it didn't feel horrible, surprisingly! Maxx encouraged me when I was tired and I couldn't have done it without him - I'm so proud of him for pushing through the pain and completing his first half in such a good time. He's been a real source of support for me during training and during the race, and I'm truly grateful. Thanks Hen!
I love this half marathon. There were people lining the streets cheering, clapping, offering sweets and high fives and support for all the runners, and it really created a great atmosphere. Everyone who came out today - to support or to help at the water stations - deserves a medal too. It really makes a difference when you reach mile 9, your body is aching but someone shouts 'Well done 966 and 965, you're doing great!'. Four runners actually went back to help carry someone who couldn't weight-bear on one leg across the finish line, and one of the guys shouted 'Come on, give him a round of applause!', which everyone duly did. Now that's sportsmanship. You can see them behind us in the picture below.
We've now raised £425 for Wimbledon Greyhound Welfare, but if you'd like to sponsor us after hearing about our HUGE SUCCESS please go to: https://www.justgiving.com/pipandmaxx/

Look at those nostrils, sucking in all the air

D-Day - before

Jimmy, our first hound

It's D-Day and I'm nervous! I had a dream about running last night - but not even the running part, just getting ready to go to the race and picking up my number and going to the toilet.
I had a run on Tuesday, which went well (6 miles in 52 minutes), and I do feel confident I'll finish the race, but I'm starting to have stupid doubts, like: what if I can't do it? what if I'm really slow? what if AAAHHH all of the 'what ifs'. I really just want to get going now!
We've smashed our fundraising target, so thank you to everyone who's sponsored us! We were aiming for £300 but have actually raised £400. It's a definite motivator, knowing how many people are supporting us. I'll also be thinking about all the rescue hounds at Hersham today, imagining them waiting for us with wagging tails at the finish line. And, of course, my hounds past and present.
Ultimately, no matter how hard the race is, nothing beats that euphoric feeling when you cross the finish line. Running long-distance is such an emotional journey - you battle pain and exhaustion, and if you can keep going, it's a real achievement. 
We're hoping for under 2 hours, but anything less than my 2012 time of 2 hours 7 minutes would be good. 
See you on the other side! .

Guest Post: Basingstoke Half Marathon Training Run (4.9.14), by Maxx Le Hen

With the half marathon coming sooner and sooner, I felt really strange on Thursday. Firstly I went to badminton on Tuesday (I joined a badminton club last April) from 19.40 to 22.40, so I was really tired and my legs ached (it’s for this reason I couldn’t go with Pip on Wednesday). In the other hand I didn’t run for a week and a half, and the half marathon is coming with the speed of a Formula 1 car - it’s what I feel - and Pip had run the day before, so when we run again together I’m worried I will have lost my running stamina. So on my way back from work I found some motivation to go and run a big loop, to carry on the good training we have. When I was home I climbed the stairs and changed my clothes to go running while I had the motivation. 

I did an 8-mile loop around the house. I start running in what I felt the same rhythm that I run with Pip – to keep having the same rhythm all the time – I reached the next village (2.8 miles) in 26 minutes, which gave me the reason why I was feeling so bad. Everything was hurting me - like if it was 6/7 miles I was running - because I ran faster than I thought. I decided to walk a bit, when I say a bit it was a bit, I walked for 20/30 seconds then  I restarted running on the same rhythm that I started – I don’t like changing my rhythm. I did another 2.6 miles, I ran this 2.6 miles in 26 minutes as well. 

But from this point I started paying for the silly mistake I did: before running I always drink a big glass of water to hydrate my body during the run (and Pip often brings some water) but because I was so motivated to run this loop I forgot to drink my water.  Anyway, from this moment I started to feel my mouth and my throat becoming dry, and it was more difficult to run like this so I decided to walk another 20/30 seconds only and then carry on running. 

After another 1.5 miles (in 13 minutes) I felt really low, my mouth and throat were dryer and dryer and it became really difficult to run like this. At this point I was in the park and it left me only 1.3 miles to finish. But my body was too tired to carry on running, my legs were aching a lot, my ankle starting to hurt as well, my mouth and throat were dryer than the water in the middle of the Sahara… So I decided to walk home. 

When I was in the park after a 20-second walk, it was downhill, so it was faster to run down the hill than walk. I restarted running without forcing anything, I just let my body go down the hill. Then, when I reach the end of it I felt that I did rest my legs a bit so I carried on running until home. 

I did the 8 miles in 77 minutes in total, which is not too bad. I’m happy with myself, I know I did not too bad. But to be honest today my legs are killing me! Each step I’m taking is really hard (but I like it).

Please don’t forget to sponsor Pip and I for the half marathon, we are running for Wimbledon Greyhound Welfare. Every donation is important; every little penny will help them to carry on doing a great job for all the greyhounds. Please don’t forget, WE COUNT ON YOU!

Princess' Voice: YEAH give some money for Pickle and the Big Wuss! (that's right, we have voices for our greyhounds).

Basingstoke Half Marathon Training Run #6

Happy Sunday. I've had such a relaxing day - I've watched 3 episodes of Obese: A Year To Save My Life (I love it! So addictive and Chris Powell is such a cool man), walked my greyhounds and been for a long run.
Maxx and I went on an 8-mile loop at around 12.30 - our longest training run so far. It was quite warm, so I felt a little uncomfortable at first, but I didn't want that to be an excuse to take it easy. The first 4 miles were comfortable, but the fifth mile was surprisingly hard given the route was flat.
After a 5-minute walk, we ran another 1.6 miles. By this time I had been having stomach cramps for 40 minutes, so decided to walk the last mile home. I might have collapsed next to a roundabout first, feeling very nauseous...
The last 1.6 miles were exhausting, partly because it was the longest training run we've done so far and sometimes having a walk makes it harder to get going again. After analysing our times for both sections, it became clear why we had burnt out - we ran 5 miles in 43 minutes, which is about 8 1/2 minutes a mile. That's a pretty good pace, if I say so myself. After our walk, it took 21 minutes to run 1.6 miles - really slow in comparison.
I think it comes down to pacing - while I'm pleased we ran 5 miles so fast, we cannot afford to burn out so quickly during the half marathon. But this is precisely why training is so important - making these mistakes now means we'll be much better prepared during the race!
The half marathon is 6 weeks away today, and I'm feeling a little apprehensive when I think about the big hills. However, I know that getting out on the course and running up them will reassure me - it's easy to build something up in your mind to be much scarier than it actually is, and I'm anxious of failing to finish because I'm running for charity. But I will finish, as I said in my last post - I just would rather sprint through the finish line, rather than be dragged across it.
Here's a breakdown of the run: 5.0 miles, 43 minutes 0.4 miles, 5 minutes (walk)
1.6 miles, 21 minutes 1 mile walk home - we didn't time this as we were cooling down Total = 8.0 miles, 6.6 running

Post-run bath with Lush's Fizzbanger bathbomb, a p-shake and some quality reading

Basingstoke Half Marathon Training Run #5

Due to being poorly last week, I didn’t manage to do much by way of exercise – I felt drained, couldn’t eat or drink and had excruciating stomach pains, so didn’t fancy running 8 miles or lifting heavy things! Being thoroughly spoilt on my birthday and not indulging too much surely helped my recovery, so this week I was looking forward to getting back to training.

Maxx, Maxx’s cousin and I ventured out on Monday. I’d Google-mapped a route which we’ve not done before but looked very picturesque, as it was mostly country roads, so I felt really motivated.

In total, we ran 4.8 miles (with no walking!) in 50 minutes – the only reason we didn’t reach the full distance was because I didn’t want to be late to my grandparents’ for dinner. I know that I would have managed the other 1.2 miles as my pace was perfect and I felt really comfortable, so I’m not worried about this. Monday’s venture also reassured me, as I thought it would be awful after not being able to eat properly/train the week before.

I’m equally as motivated to run on Sunday – I’ve mapped an 8-mile circuit which incorporates part of Monday’s route, so they’ll be plenty of magnificent houses and farms to look at on the way round. That’s definitely why I loved Monday’s run – farm animals grazing in the fields, a cool breeze, old houses, a little bridge with a stream underneath... Perfect!

Due to being poorly I’m a week behind where I’d like to be in training, and I was feeling very down about it just before my birthday, but I know that whatever happens I will finish the half marathon. It might not be the fastest time, and I might have to walk a little, but I will cross that finish line.

If you haven’t sponsored Maxx and me yet, and would like to, please go to: www.justgiving.com/PipandMaxx. We’re hoping to raise £300 for Wimbledon Greyhound Welfare, a wonderful charity in Hersham who care for over 80 greyhounds. In 9 donations we’ve managed to raise 55% of our target, so please help us smash it!

   

The BFF challenge is still on, which I need to lose 2% body fat for. I have 10 days – I’ve been keeping a food diary for the last 3 weeks, to monitor my intake and also keep a record of any reactions. I am not counting calories, I am looking at how healthy my meals are and trying to find which foods are IBS triggers. Maybe it is wishful thinking but I do think I’ve lost a little body fat as I’m less squishy! 

Basingstoke Half Marathon Training Run #4

I need to make a confession. Yesterday at my grandparents' I had a snack-size packet of smarties - I know I said no treats before my birthday but... OK so I have no excuses. They were delicious and I ate them slowly. However, the rest of this week has been 100% clean, although I may have a treat tomorrow on my bff's birthday. I certainly won't be having treat days anymore, I can tell you... On to the good stuff... On Wednesday evening, Maxx and I decided to go for a run. Our route, which I thought was about 4.2 miles, goes through the village next to ours, past the Civil War ruins and through another village on the way back home. It's picturesque and quiet, passing pretty rows of cottages, a church and a couple of pubs. We ran the entire way round without a walking rest. Maxx mapped the route when we got home and found it was actually 5 miles! We completed it in 44 minutes, so I'm astounded at our pace - at times, I did run very slowly to catch my breath, so we must have been steaming along the rest of the way!  My motivation was just right; I was exhausted by the last mile and a half, but I kept telling myself how close we were and how proud I would feel running the entire way. This was a timely boost from Bad News Monday and puts us on track for our training plan ("plan" is used loosely - we're aiming to run 8 miles comfortably by the end of August and 11 miles by the end of September). 
In case you'd forgotten, Maxx and I are fundraising for Wimbledon Greyhound Welfare, aka Hersham Hounds, where my family have adopted 3 of our 5 magnificent goosehounds (to clarify, we don't have 5, but of the 5 we've owned - 3 being deceased - 3 of them have come from WGW). Please sponsor us - WGW is a wonderful charity with over 80 hounds in their capable care:  www.justgiving.com/PipandMaxx

A Brief History of Greyhounds

Once upon a time, there was a family named Jones who decided to adopt a greyhound. His name was Jimmy, and he was a beautiful light-coloured brindle. He was kind to the other, very old, family pet, a whippet cross named Jasmine whose sister had recently died. 

The youngest Jones, Pip, remembered being picked up from primary school, in 2000, by her mother and new greyhound. He was patient and long-suffering, laying down for hours so Pip could sketch him for her GCSE art coursework in 2006.

When Jimmy was diagnosed with cancer and had to be put down, the Jones’ were bereft. It was an unprecedented shock. But Jimmy had started something beautiful, and had introduced the family to the most superior of all pets, the greyhound (or long-snout as they are sometimes known in that most strange family). 

By this time, Jasmine too had passed and Pip had accrued a girlhound named Lassie (ridiculous name for a greyhound, but one must not judge). Lassie, or SeaBassie as they nicknamed her, was lonely. The family were lost, staring at the empty space on the carpet where Jimmy liked to rest.

Mother Jones researched greyhound centres and came across Hersham Hounds (aka Wimbledon Greyhound Welfare). Looking out at her, with perfect Malteser eyes which shone like the midsummer sun, was Rio, Hound of the Month. 

Romeo and Juliet’s love story could not compare to the love felt between Mother Jones and Rio. Of course he came home with them. The bond between Mother and hound was stronger than Ironman – Rio walked so close behind Mother Jones that his paws often went inside her slippers. He slept on her bed with his chin on her shoulder. He once gazed at her for a full hour while she ironed – as did her children, but that was more with shock than love. Rio helped to heal the gaping emptiness of Jimmy’s passing. He also helped to start Pip’s GCSE’s off with a bang when, on the morning of her first exam (Spanish listening), he tripped over his food bowl, smashed it, fell on it, and opened his perfectly-formed thigh muscle. Mother Jones nursed him on his dramatic return from surgery.

Lassie was diagnosed with cancer and passed away on 31^st January 2008. She was Pip’s hound – they snuggled together, listened to music together, pretended to do homework together. She had been there through Pip’s hardest, loneliest moments at school, and now she was gone. Loss is hard to describe because there is a nothingness which swallows everything – her spot on the sofa, her place at Pip’s side, her lead, her special walking boot which Brother Jones had decorated with the Nike symbol. 

The only thing harder than grieving is watching your deceased pet’s partner in crime grieving. Rio looked for her and wouldn’t settle. He slept in the family’s bedrooms but it wasn’t right.

Off the family went to Hersham.

Princess (aka Princess Pickle Baggins) bounded into the Jones’s life with more force than a Carl Froch knockout punch. When she stopped, dropped and rolled every five minutes on their trial walk, the family knew she was the one – she was odd, just like them. But the strangest thing was yet to happen – and that’s not referring to the jar of pickles she stole and safeguarded on her first night at home. Princess captured Father Jones’s affections by stealth – never before had the family seen him gently caress the ears of a dog, claiming what a lovely hound she was. Never before had he laughed when a hound joined him in his study and proceeded to chew his chair leg. Never before had he had a greyhound sign his Father’s Day card – until Princess. 

When Rio passed in early 2011, the Jones children saw their mother cry for the first time in their entire lives. Pip called her brother at work to tell him, then went home and cried, hugging Princess. She had promised her they would bring Rio home, but they couldn’t. This time, they had not said goodbye properly as he was already under anaesthetic. To this day, there is a Boofle toy which hangs in Mother Jones’s car - it is acknowledged as Rio in spirit.

Mother Jones called Hersham in secret. She told them she had lost her soulhound but she hated not having a boyhound in the house. Mother and Father Jones had had two dogs their entire relationship, and while she desperately wished Rio was still here, we sadly cannot bring back those we love when they become SkyHounds. 

Getting a new hound after losing a beloved one is ridden with sadness, happiness, and guilt. Is it too soon? Would they think we’re replacing them? Why are we here again? Why my hound? Pip waited on the bench outside with Princess, crying quietly. So many hounds which need homes, she thought. 

Out came a handsome black greyhound, with fur silkier than the Queen’s own bed sheets. When he turned his head to look at Pip, she almost fell into a swoon he was so heavenly. Mother Jones knew he was the right one, as ‘he licked my hand when I walked past’. It was apparent on bringing him home that he did not suit his name, Chief – they agreed he couldn’t be called ‘Big Wuss’, so Pip decided on Claus (his nickname is Mr Silks). 

That was in 2011. The family have had Princess for 5 years, Claus for 3 ½ years. The Jones family have adopted hounds from Wimbledon Greyhound Welfare since 2006, and will always advocate the hard work and passion Denise and her team put in to re-homing and caring for these loving, affectionate, gentle (and surprisingly lazy) dogs.

Please sponsor Maxx and I. This really is a worthy cause.

www.justgiving.com/PipandMaxx 
Once you go grey, you never turn away! 

Basingstoke Half Marathon Training Run #1

After entering the Basingstoke Half Marathon on Saturday, I was eager to go for our first training run on Sunday - Maxx and I set off on a 3-mile route, aiming to run for as long as possible but with no pressure, as we have over 3 months to train.

Here’s the breakdown of our run: 

Run: 20 minutes
Walk: 3 minutes (Maxx had a pain in his lower leg and I was a little puffed out)
Run: 7 minutes 

My pacing was quite off during the first mile, so Maxx suggested running behind him – this helped a lot. He’s better than me at keeping a regular pace, so I think I’ll continue running behind him for the time being. It also means I get to watch his lovely bottom, so win-win. 

I pushed myself during the first stint, past where I would normally take a quick break. I thought about stopping there, but realised it would just have been out of habit and not because I actually needed to walk.

The final ¼ mile was tough. Maxx did need to encourage me – he held my hand for a while to help me keep going! However, I did find the energy for a short sprint at the end, so I can’t have been feeling too bad.

Overall, a very positive start to our training.

Please sponsor us:
http://www.justgiving.com/PipandMaxx