Author Archives: Sally

El Medano

Back in February I spent a lovely 2 weeks in El Medano with Geoff. before he went on his travels to Africa.

We decided to see what it was like to stay in one place for 2 weeks and El Medano offered winter sun,biking, walking  and beaches but being a wind and kite surfers paradise also means it also always very windy !!IMG_3123

We stayed at the adult only hotel Arenas Del Mar, a little isolated but only a short walk into El Medano village.  A lovely hotel with a great buffet breakfast , and a pool ,although unless you went out and bagged a sunbed by 9am you could never get one !!

There are 2 small volcanoes to walk up, Montana Pelada and Montana Roja, we enjoyed walking up both of these but they were not hard walks just a fews hours stroll for us. We never got to swim in the sea because it was always wild and choppy due to the wind but we did enjoy watching the wind and kite surfers.

FullSizeRender (11)We hired bikes for 6 days from the excellent Bike Point who were very friendly and helpful. The plan was to do the famous Teide climb, the longest climb in europe. The Biking was fantastic , always climbing and always windy but we enjoyed rides to Vilaflor, Los Abrigos, Los Cristianos and San Isidro,though the highlight of our holiday had to be the Teide climb, which was totally amazing and had me close to tears with emotion when I realised that I had reached the top !! Riding back down was another experience altogether and one that I need to get used too !!

After we returned our bikes I felt quite sad and wondered how we would fill the rest of our holiday but we spent the rest of our time walking in and out of town basking in the sun out the wind, watching the wind and kite surfers and reading.All very enjoyable but i do think one week in El Medano would have been enough.

A fab holiday but i do miss our long distance walking adventures.

Freethorpe 10 miler

Freethorpe 10 was my first event of 2016 and I was using it as a training run for the Cambridge half in February.

imageAs usual I was meeting up with my Norwich running friends which always makes these events great fun,this time Linda was marshalling and Jayne was able to join us too, Was also great to have Geoff along to support us and take photo’s.

The weather was cold and drizzly perfect for running not so nice for marshalling but at least the strong winds had died down.

Gina and I decided to run together, although she is usually a faster runner than me her knee had been playing up and she wanted to take it easy !

I am used to running these events now and don’t get as nervous as I used too although I was slightly worried about this one as I had not been feeling my best, so having Gina to run with was good for me.image

The route was more undulating than I am used too but I enjoyed the run and all the marshals did a great job of encouraging us along.

I ran better than I expected too finishing in 1.42 and loved the first bling of 2016.

After the run we enjoyed lunch at the Rampant horse just across the road from the village hall and then had fun trying to get our cars out the car park , a turnip field that had turned to mud after having 700 cars parked on it.

2015

Well  2015 was an amazing year for me I kept myself injury free and I finally ran not one but 3 half marathons

DSCF7741In total I ran just over 500 miles and biked over 4000 miles.

2016 is going to be an interesting year with Matthew joining the army , also I have plenty of events lined up including my first Audax ride.

If all goes to plan the first  3 months I have running events , then biking events through the summer , ending the year with more running events.

I have decided to give up my running club for the summer and go on the SWNC training rides as I really want to try and improve my average speed .

There will also be biking holidays with Geoff  in Tenerife and Mallorca then back to the Cotswolds with SWNC in October.

An exciting year ahead … I think 2016 is going to be all about the bike !!!!!

Ely NYE 10k

Ely NYE 10k is one of my favourite runs of the year and a fabulous way to end the year.

elyI have been luckily enough to do this run 3 times, although I was almost tempted by a new NYE 10k at Marham this year and probably will do the Marham one in 2016.

The reason I love this run so much is because I love to hear the Black piper playing his pipes as we run up the hill.

My running friends Gina and Linda joined me and we decided to run this together, no one was after a fast time just an enjoyable chatty run.IMG_1174

This year the weather was very mild, sunny with just a little wind, a perfect running day and by far the best weather in the 3 years I have done this run.

A lovely chatty 10k and the hill was hardly noticed, I would like to think this was because I am fitter but I think the chatting just took my mind off it !!!

I had a lucky number, 287, which is Geoff’s house number and it was nice to have him come along to support us and take photo’s.

Coffee was enjoyed after with even more chatting, what a great way to end the year.

St Neots Half Marathon

St Neots was not a half marathon I had planned to do as I dithered and  missed out when entry opened early in the year but when more places came available I grabbed my place.

st neotsIt was also an opportunity to move on after Peterborough Half  and another chance to meet up with my running friends Gina and Linda.

Race day weather was dull cloudy and very very windy, I did wonder how I would cope with the wind and the slightly undulating route but i needn’t have worried.

The atmosphere was buzzing and my excitement grew once I met up with my friends, who always put me at ease.

I enjoyed this far more than I expected too, a lovely rural route , great support from strangers and the wind just seemed to make it more fun !!

Finish Time was 2.16 which I was very happy with and this one I would certainly do again !!

Swapping running shoes for 2 wheels

First week in November and I spent 5 days in the Cotswolds with biking friends from SWNC. We stayed in a fabulous lodge on the Lower Mill Estate near Cirencester, our lodge even had its own hot tub on the balcony

I was worried about this trip as it involved biking up hills, when it comes to hills I lack confidence and fail mentally but I was hoping this trip would help me overcome these fears !!

imageTuesday we were going to head North to the hills riding through plenty of typical Cotswolds villages.

Wednesday an easier flatish ride leaving time to enjoy the spa.

Thursday drive over the Severn bridge and ride into the Wye valley by Tintern valley and Monmouth

The weather was damp but warm and we managed 2 of the planned rides , happy to say I coped with the hills far better than expected. On the third day we decided it was too wet to risk the ride especially with all the wet slippery leaves about.

We didn’t waste the day though spending it in the Spa and generally having fun, I even tried the outdoor plunge pool .

This was a totally fabulous week spent with great friends having lots of fun and laughs  ,so good that we have booked to go again next year and certain people have promised to join me in the plunge pool.

and I may be starting to fall in love with those hills at last !!!!

Peterborough half marathon

My whole year had been focused on the Peterborough half marathon, it was a very important run for me, after having to pull out last year, due to  an achilles injury.

But this one was doomed too !!

Somehow and somewhere I picked up a heel injury,maybe it was while walking up Snowdon, which had involved some scrambling.

I was so worried that it may be Plantar fasciitis that I decided to go to the local sports injury clinic and see Ian Brown. Thankfully he was almost 95% certain that I had just aggravated a nerve in the side of my heel , this put my mind at rest but it still needed resting.

IMG_2828Then Geoff  decided not to come and support me as he wanted to go swimming in Dunwich with his friends,and although I encouraged him to go I was actually devastated as this run for some reason was really  important to me and I wanted him there.

So after 3 weeks of no running and with my head not really in the right place  I arranged a lift with 2 other ladies from my Ladybird running club and thought I can do this !!! 

And I did but………

I can honestly say it was one of the hardest things I have ever made myself do, I hurt everywhere apart from where I expected to hurt … my heel !!  and my heart rate was far higher than normal which meant i had to run/walk a few miles in the middle which I was not happy about.

I managed to finish in 2 hours 36 but did not enjoy one second of it and hated the route which just seemed to go through housing estate after housing estate and for the first time in many many years my legs ached so much I could hardly walk for a week 🙁

Now the question is ………will I do it again next year !!

Wissey Half marathon

Back to September 6th , this run was not one I had planned to do, Peterborough was always wissey 4going to be my first Half marathon but with some encouragement from my friends I decided to do Wissey and just treat it as a training run for Peterborough.

I also thought it would be nice to support my local running club, Ryston Runners who organise it.

Needless to say when race day arrived I was very nervous, but I knew many of the other runners and they were all full of encouragement , which soon put me at ease.

This was a beautiful rural route ran on a perfect sunny day, I put myself under no pressure just wanting to do the distance and I can honestly say I enjoyed every step !!

I carried my own drink and did not stop at any of the water stations and I think this works well for me, I also took a gel at around mile 8/9 which seemed to give me a burst of energy towards the end when I needed it.

Much to my amazement I finished in 2 hours 14 ,much quicker than the 2 hours 30 I had predicted and I still had a smile on my face 🙂

A great first half marathon .