Hi!
My name's Lucy, also known as Lou/Loopy/LouLou/Luce .. And a number of other things!
I started this blog to keep track of my running, though I'm technically a little late to the game, as I started running semi-regularly last year - I ran my first 10k (on a treadmill) in April 2012. It took me 1h16, and I paused for a very short water break in the middle, as at that point I was completely useless when it came to running and drinking simultaneously!
After that, my final-year dissertation, part-time work, exams, coursework and graduation meant that running faded out of the picture almost entirely, and it wasn't until that summer that I picked it up again. I stuck around the 3-5 mile mark, though I didn't keep it up very regularly.
In September I started to run a little more often, and worked my way up to a 10k race in October. It was wet, cold, muddy and the terrain was a LOT more uneven than the tarmac I was used to training on. I finished it in 1h02, with a sprint finish - though I shouldn't really be too proud of the latter, given that my Dad had slowed down and stuck with me for the entire race, only to be left with the finish line in sight! Sorry, Dad!
Boxing day was when I began my marathon training in earnest, managing a five-mile run in the dark after a day of stuffing my face with chocolate and a gazillion other things! (Not the most comfortable run in the world, has to be said). I kept up the training, and completed my first half marathon in February, in 2h28. It was pouring with rain, and I felt pain in places I didn't know I could hurt. But I made it to the end, where they gave me a medal and a creme egg, and I was happy :)
Unfortunately I had to postpone my first marathon. I was supposed to run Brighton this year (next weekend, in fact) but by the time I got to 16 miles, I developed a persistent niggle in my knee that still doesn't seem to want to go away. Given that it hurts when sitting and walking, I didn't think it would respond too well to running 26.2 miles!
So for this year, I plan to improve my PBs, and keep myself running by lining up plenty of races!
As for the big 26.2, I'm hoping to get a place in next year's Paris marathon - and, knees (and everything else) permitting - complete it in under 4h45. I'm hoping that by building up my mileage much more gradually, and NOT NEGLECTING cross training, stretching, and the foam roller, I can avoid injury the second time round.
Fingers crossed!
