Happy with New York; pleased by UKA appointments

[Paula]

Hi All,

Hope thyat everyone is doing well. Again a bit of a delayed post after New York but we have only just got back home so it is kind of quick for me!!

I was really pleased with the run in New York, especially as I felt sluggish the first few miles into the wind but was happy to pull through that and actually felt stronger as I picked it up in the closing stages. I have also been really happy with the way I have recovered since.

We stayed in the States for 10 days, some in New York, where we showed Isla and Gary's Mum, Sally, who was there for the first time, the sights. Isla's favourite was the huge magic piano in FAO Schwarz that she could run up and down on.

Then we spent time in Portland, Oregon where Nike HQ is. We have lots of friends there so caught up with them, caught up with the shoe design guys and I was invited to present at the Nike Maxim awards which were good fun.

Then we were back in the UK for a week, caught up with my parents and friends, had a lot of physio and general check ups before getting back into training. Then last weekend I was up in Scotland for the Scottish Endurance Conference and Awards dinner. I had a great couple of days, really enjoyed meeting everyone and blew out some cobwebs and got to see how unfit I was when I joined in the squad session.

Then home to Monaco where I learned of Ian Stewart's appointment to to the UKA Endurance post and we had our first meeting of the Endurance Committee. It was very positive and hopefully will work well. In some ways it has gone full circle as Ian was in a similar position back in 1993 when I was breaking into senior teams. I think it is a good appointment as he knows what it takes to achieve at Championships and is also well placed to help british athletes get the races and experience they need. I am a big believer that it is not huge amounts of funding that endurance needs but rather good medical and coaching back up, assistance with training camps and altitude and a return to squad training.

Well did my first hill session back today so feeling a bit stiff and off to bed!

Best Wishes

Paula

[AlexM]

Paula, thanks for taking the time to write a diary entry. Glad that recovery after New York has gone well and back in training Long may it continue
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“It doesn't matter how fast you're moving, as long as you're moving forward"
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[nevetssllim]

Thank you very much for your entry piece! It was great to see you winning in New York again and we weren't biting out nails in the final 10km, which makes a change in the NY Marathon

It sounds as though you enjoyed your time off after NY and good luck with your training, for what will be a great 2009 season
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Retirement home;
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[willie]

Glad to hear you are doing well. Keep up the hard work and we'll keep up the support. Thanks for the post.
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[Donna23]

Great to hear that you are doing well, and you are positive about your running.
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"Our greatest honour is not that we never fall down, but that we pick ourselves up again each time we fall"

OUR MARATHON GIRLS ARE MADE OF TOUGH STUFF

[Paul A]

Paula,

Indeed great run in New York and the Beds County Chairman was relaying his enjoyment of watching you win again... he seems to go every year; mjust ask him how he manages that some time

The appointment of Ian Stewart is indeed interesting and I share your point that endurance doesn't need lots of cash but that the medical back-up is key. I remember Lizzie saying when she lost Lottery Funding that it was the loss of access to medical support that was the biggest issue.

Lizzie of course has been running endurance training camps this year as well to reinforce your point.

Squad training days is something we do at County Level. Not sure they are working properly yet though so I think seeing some thoughts on how to do this would be great. A call to Mr Stewart perhaps I think.

Keep up the great work and here's hoping you have a great 2009
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[Lincsrunner]

Thanks for the update Paula.

Wishing you, Gary and Isla a happy and successful 2009.

[mistar]

There were a lot of happy people, the weekend of the New York Marathon.

I remember Ian Stewart running, during a great era for British male endurance runners...it's a shame we have to go back that far to look for such success.

I don't know why, but the part about Isla running up and down the piano tickled me...I must be showing my age...or the fact that she's running at all! Time is flying by.
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{ I love Paula }

[xxSarahxx]

Thankyou Paula! I love your diary updates!
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PAULA, YOU ARE AMAZING!

[JSrunner]

Hello Paula:

What a run Paula you made running 26.2 miles look so easy it looked like you didn’t even break a sweat, you looked refreshed like you could tackle another 10 miles, which I think, is about 16 KM!

I tried running today I usually don’t run outside when it gets below 50 F it was 7.8 C/45 F when I went out with a 14.4 mph/23 km ph wind it felt like it was 38/3.3 degrees Celsius. I hope I got the conversions right but I ran for only 3km before I developed a headache from the cold!
I hate wearing hats during the winter I never realized how tough it is running outside during the winter I don’t know how you train outside when it’s snowing!

I’m looking to run my first NYC Marathon this year I’ve been training since this past summer I decided to take it slow like the Pointer Sister say in one of their songs! My problem was that I am a sprinter, we run like a BOOH (Bat Out Of Hell) for a couple of minutes usually no longer then six minutes! It’s like we have a little guy sitting on our shoulder that will ask us after six minutes, why are we still running?

So I had to retrain myself to hold back and run longer, I still weight train, and like to do sprints after I first run a 5 KM for a warm up. I was doing my long run on Thursday until it started getting colder outside last month so for the last month I have been running once a week in the gym.
I had to get back into running if I want to run the NYC Marathon next year so I started getting back into it this past week but I mostly kept it indoors until today when I ventured outside for a run!
I just bought one of those LG H/H under Armour running outfits so I could run in the 40 to 50 degree range outside I find that the hardest thing to predict is how to dress correctly for the weather.

Once again Paula a very nice run you looked good the whole way totally in control of your game!

Take care!
Joe

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[Eli]

Thanks for the update, Paula!

My middle sister lives in Portland, OR. Geee, if I had known, I would've flown up there to say "hello!"

Still hoping you'll venture down to sunny Southern California and jog in a Nike-sponsored 10K. You'll have LOTS of company!

Take excellent care of yourself. Rest up because it sounds like you'll have a lot on your plate for 2009.

God bless!

Eli

[mr.jack]

Thanks for the update Paula
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Olympic Year

[theanarunner]

We love you in New York Paula!