May 10
26
Marathon Training for Women
I just wanted to tell you about my experience on marathon training for women, because at the time I started there were not that many women marathon runners around. Today it’s a popular event for both men and women, participants come in all sorts of shapes, sizes and ages. It takes hours of training and dedication, to build up to the race day. It is tough – I should know as I’m ex marathon runner, I ran for Winsford Athletic Club, in Cheshire for over 10 years, taking part in several marathons, one of which I was 8th lady home (Liverpool 1984). My time was 3.32 minutes which is quite a respectable time and I suppose really you could take off the 2 minutes that it took me to cross the starting line !! Not as if I’m being picky is it ?
I got into running through a friend at the Squash Club where I used to play regularly in the leagues. The race was 10 kilometres and the proceeds were for a very good cause, Cancer Research. The first time I put on my running shoes I went out and found I could run 3 miles quite easily. So I did my training ran the race and was 3rd lady home, winning a trophy. From then on I kept up the running, joined Winsford A.C, got a training coach called Dennis and continued to win medals, for being in the top 3 race positions.
I used to run all over the U.K. picking my events carefully, if I was on holiday I would see if there was a race on nearby and take my running kit. I also used to pack my running kit in my suitcase for overseas holidays, I used to run early mornings before the sun got up, or at tea time when it wasn’t so hot, but used to get some strange looks from people who must have throught – who is that mad woman running, when she should be sunbathing on the beach !
The biggest race I was ever in, was the Paris half marathon, which had 28,000 runners and the strangest feeding stations ever. The first feeding station was peeled oranges, thrown onto the road and everyone had to grab a piece as they went by, you can imagine how slippery it got ! The second feeding station was bottled water, where the organisers were trying to pour water into paper cups, but with such a lot of runners, in the end everyone just grabbed a bottle. The third feeding station was biscuits, not very digestible when you’ve run 10 miles. The Paris race was a fantastic experience for me, starting and finishing under the Eiffel Tower, seeing all the famous landmarks and sites on the way round. Also unforgettable because I had my suitcase stolen with all my running kit on route to Paris, so had to run in brand new shoes, bought before the race – but that’s another story !
My swan song was running London marathon in 1994, probably similar size race as Paris. I was part of a team of 6 runners sponsored by AstraZeneca (where I worked), we raised £10,000 for the charity “SANE” which was the foundation company for schizophrenia. We did this race in style, taxied down to London by the company photographer, arriving the night before, put up in a luxury hotel (White House) and then taxied to race next day. We ran the race, partied afterwards, celebrated over dinner and taxied back to Cheshire next day. How’s that for an exit to my professional running days ?
With running and other energetic sports you need stamina to complete the task and then you need to refuel to hydrate, repair and recover. If only I had known about the Herbalife products then, I may have come higher in the races than 3rd position. But as the saying goes “it’s never too late” I’ve now found Herbalife, love the products (especially H30 Pro for training) and use them regularly, in my other sporting acivities, which are: gym training, aerobics and step classes, windsurfing, cycling, hill walking and snow skiing.
Buy H30 Pro from my “Wellness Products Store” You will need to register first.
