Wow, it's been a while, hasn't it? Seem to spend so much time tweeting about my marathon training, I forget to blog. But it's been an eventful few weeks, so much to capture.
I went through a brief period of non-dedication to the cause, mainly due to a few days away in Norfolk/Suffolk. I defy anyone to carry on their marathon training while stuck on a boat in the Norfolk Broads - I would have had to do 200 laps of the tiny deck while wearing a life preserver. Luckily, it was a low mileage week, so I was able to do a couple of landside maintenance runs at least.
Since I got back, I've had to start doing the really long runs - 17 miles, then 18 miles and now 2 weekends' worth of 20 milers to look forward to. The long runs just mess with my head - it's not really about training your body to be out there for hours, is it? It's about training your head to be out there for hours. It's about keeping yourself motivated even though you know you have been running for ages and you haven't even made it half way through yet. It's about keeping going, even when you think 'oh sod it, I could just turn right up here and head home, not bother'.
I'm counting on Berlin being like New York, with lots of support and distractions all the way round, so that I don't have to deal with this kind of negative thinking. It's not going to be like the towpath along the Thames, where it's a constant battle to stay out of the river while the population of West London tries to knock you over on a bike, bite you with a dog or just generally push you out of the way by walking 4 abreast and not sharing the towpath with other users (or do the people of Chiswick just not know how to share?). I'm not going to have to make regular stops in newsagents to pick up Powerade or water refills, the lovely organisers of the Berlin Marathon have sorted all that out for me. I'm also assuming that at no point I will have to witness a squirrel being hit by a car, which is surprisingly stressful. Who'd have thought?
I'm also hoping that Berlin is like New York in that it will all fly past. I even remember at one point during the NYC marathon that I thought 'oh, this is all going to be over so soon' with a sense of disappointment. You might argue that this is a classic case of insanity kicking in mid-marathon but, if it is a fantastic experience, I do think a (very) small part of you doesn't want it to end. I keep reminding myself that the training is the hard part, the race is the fun part, but it's quite a difficult psychological trick to pull off.
The training was definitely the hard part on Tuesday morning of this week, when I took to the streets at 7.15 to survey the wreckage of Monday night's riots in Ealing and West Ealing. Two burnt out cars at the car hire place at the top of my street were just a taster of things to come, as I picked my way through a sea of discarded jewellery boxes and broken glass on the Uxbridge Road. Virtually every window seemed to have been hit by a brick, with many shop windows destroyed. The poor old electronics shop, Seba, has been there for decades - my best mate from school had a part time job there when we were teenagers - and has survived the competition of the internet and bigger chains. Now he's been looted by a bunch of kids and I hope he can recover. Ealing itself had borne the brunt of the arson attacks, and shopkeepers were lined up along the high street surveying the damage to their businesses. Photographers, tv cameras, fire engines - it was not your normal Tuesday morning run. And I can only hope I never again have to run past a total of 7 burnt out cars on a run ever again. The smell was awful, and the sadness was palpable - the streets were lined with disbelieving residents, trying to work out if what they were witnessing was actually real or just some horrible, daylit, nightmare. It is the single worst run I have ever had to do.
By the time I got back to West Ealing, the streets had been swept clean, and the police had moved on. Businesses have repaired damage and reopened where possible. But today a man has died as a result of injuries sustained during the attacks - not all damage can be repaired or insured. I think it's going to be quite a while before people get over what happened here on Monday night and Tuesday morning.
Friday 12 August 2011
Tuesday 19 July 2011
10 weeks and counting
I am now entering week 9 of my 18 week training plan - almost halfway through, only 47 more runs til Berlin.
The mileage is starting to rack up now, although this week is a low mileage/respite week, so my longest run is only 11 miles.
Get me, only 11 miles. The madness of marathon training is that you can say 'only 11 miles' without any irony. And, of course, that you genuinely think 'ooh, only 11 miles'. It's a testimony to how bonkers the whole marathon training process is that is gets you to a point where you genuinely think 11 miles is quite short.
I've been experiencing real training boredom recently, as I mentioned in my last post, and I think the 5 times a week thing is still bothering me. But I suspect the real reason is not the fact I am bored of running just that I am so busy with non-running activities that I am starting to get a bit panicky about my time management, and turning that into resentment of running. It is difficult to fit your marathon training in, and I still look back on my last marathon experience and maintain that the training is way, way harder than the race itself.
Perhaps that is why the training is so gruelling. It's not just to prepare you physically, because of the challenge the marathon presents. But it's to prepare you mentally, to get your head ready for the length, the solitude, the mood swings that you experience while you run.
Despite the training boredom, I managed a 15 mile run without too many issues this weekend. I was out on the roads for a long time, due to two run breaks to shelter from torrential rain (I can safely say I have never been so pleased to see the M4 flyover in all my life as I was on Sunday afternoon). The first break was at Richmond swimming pools, and I made the mistake of taking a toilet break while it rained. I had forgotten the basis rule that soaking wet running tights are FREEZING cold when you pull them back up onto bare skin. It's July for god's sake, the whole point of me doing an autumn marathon is that I get to train in good weather, not the cold, wet and wind. But no, I live in London, therefore I find myself on a Sunday afternoon in July wrapped up in waterproofs and soggy knee length running tights, wishing I was wearing a hat and gloves. On the plus side, Beloved told me when I got back that I looked 'remarkably fresh, considering' and I strutted round like a soggy lycra-ed peacock for a good half an hour on that compliment.
One thing that is happening during this training that happened during my New York training is definitely the food cravings. Mad food cravings persist in any run over 10 miles, it doesn't matter how much stuff I take with me. On Sunday, at mile 11, I was overwhelmed with the urge to write to the Berlin Marathon organisers and ask them to make sure there was a stall at the end of the race selling spätzle with cheese on, because that is really what I will fancy eating when I've run 26.2 miles. Of course, I have no idea what I will fancy eating in 10 weeks time (well, apart from an ice-cold Coca Cola), but it helped me pass away a good two miles on Sunday dreaming of various German foodstuffs and deciding which one will be most desirable after the marathon. At least it's not Arctic Roll and Birds Eye potato waffles - I've obviously got much more cosmopolitan in my food cravings since 2009!
Anyway, must run and send that Jim'll Fix it style email to the Marathon organisers. Mmm... spätzle...
LON
The mileage is starting to rack up now, although this week is a low mileage/respite week, so my longest run is only 11 miles.
Get me, only 11 miles. The madness of marathon training is that you can say 'only 11 miles' without any irony. And, of course, that you genuinely think 'ooh, only 11 miles'. It's a testimony to how bonkers the whole marathon training process is that is gets you to a point where you genuinely think 11 miles is quite short.
I've been experiencing real training boredom recently, as I mentioned in my last post, and I think the 5 times a week thing is still bothering me. But I suspect the real reason is not the fact I am bored of running just that I am so busy with non-running activities that I am starting to get a bit panicky about my time management, and turning that into resentment of running. It is difficult to fit your marathon training in, and I still look back on my last marathon experience and maintain that the training is way, way harder than the race itself.
Perhaps that is why the training is so gruelling. It's not just to prepare you physically, because of the challenge the marathon presents. But it's to prepare you mentally, to get your head ready for the length, the solitude, the mood swings that you experience while you run.
Despite the training boredom, I managed a 15 mile run without too many issues this weekend. I was out on the roads for a long time, due to two run breaks to shelter from torrential rain (I can safely say I have never been so pleased to see the M4 flyover in all my life as I was on Sunday afternoon). The first break was at Richmond swimming pools, and I made the mistake of taking a toilet break while it rained. I had forgotten the basis rule that soaking wet running tights are FREEZING cold when you pull them back up onto bare skin. It's July for god's sake, the whole point of me doing an autumn marathon is that I get to train in good weather, not the cold, wet and wind. But no, I live in London, therefore I find myself on a Sunday afternoon in July wrapped up in waterproofs and soggy knee length running tights, wishing I was wearing a hat and gloves. On the plus side, Beloved told me when I got back that I looked 'remarkably fresh, considering' and I strutted round like a soggy lycra-ed peacock for a good half an hour on that compliment.
One thing that is happening during this training that happened during my New York training is definitely the food cravings. Mad food cravings persist in any run over 10 miles, it doesn't matter how much stuff I take with me. On Sunday, at mile 11, I was overwhelmed with the urge to write to the Berlin Marathon organisers and ask them to make sure there was a stall at the end of the race selling spätzle with cheese on, because that is really what I will fancy eating when I've run 26.2 miles. Of course, I have no idea what I will fancy eating in 10 weeks time (well, apart from an ice-cold Coca Cola), but it helped me pass away a good two miles on Sunday dreaming of various German foodstuffs and deciding which one will be most desirable after the marathon. At least it's not Arctic Roll and Birds Eye potato waffles - I've obviously got much more cosmopolitan in my food cravings since 2009!
Anyway, must run and send that Jim'll Fix it style email to the Marathon organisers. Mmm... spätzle...
LON
Thursday 14 July 2011
Who's laughing at who?
Given that my last two posts have failed to upload after a long time writing them, I've sort of given up temporarily on blogging. Work is so hectic, and running 5 times a week with increasingly higher mileage is so time-consuming, I haven't had time to waste on failed blog posts. Needless to say, I've been training, I've had ups (fast times, waved at by a cat, called 'sexy'), I've had downs (chased by 2 dogs and a rat since last post) and lots of bizarre food cravings. You know, the usual.
But IT problems are solved, and I've decided to use my training runs as modes of transport to help the time management over the next few weeks, to ensure I make it out of this manic July unscathed. Next week's long run will be my journey home from a 4 hour meeting in Vauxhall (which should ensure all pent up meeting stress has disappeared before I get home) and today's 7 miler was my run home from a tax seminar in Twickenham.
There is nothing better than a run where you have lots of fun stuff going on in your head. Last night, I went to the cinema and watched Bridesmaids - it made me laugh so much I cried for most of it and as a result, I looked awful this morning. My eyes were extremely puffy, from weeping with laughter and from not being able to sleep because I was still laughing at the memory of scenes from the movie. As a runner, I was particularly taken with scene where the bride-to-be ends up going to the toilet in the street - it somehow made me think of Paula Radcliffe all those years ago in the London Marathon!
I was still feeling vaguely hysterical and extremely giggly when I got to the tax office this morning. It didn't help that the tax office itself was vaguely comical. Friendly staff, but the whole set up vaguely shambolic and then this woman appeared to take us to the workshop that reminded me of a female besuited version of Sloth from the Goonies. Although unlike Sloth she did have hair. Which she hadn't washed since the Goonies was released in cinemas, it seemed.
As my fellow business expenses students turned up, it all got even more ridiculous. One solicitor woman turned up with her mum (!) and another guy introduced himself as someone who was thinking of going into 'import/export' which just reminded me of all those episodes of Seinfeld when George Costanza pretends he is 'in import/export' to impress people. I spent most of the first 30 minutes trying not to laughly randomly at things that weren't really funny but, in my heightened state of post-movie hysteria, were putting me in a dangerously giggly state. I was particularly tickled by the brash Cockney in a flash suit, with a flash watch, who seemed determined not to pay any tax ever in his entire life and spent the whole time asking questions that would ensure he got away with zero profit. Although the guy that wanted to claim for a trolley he'd owned for years was quite a favourite too.
By the time I ran home, I was still laughing at it all. Not just replaying the scenes from the film, but musing on how there's nowt so queer as folk. Mind you, I'm sure my fellow students and staff from the tax office are still laughing at me getting changed into my running gear in the loos after the seminar ended...so hilarity is all in the eye of the beholder.
But IT problems are solved, and I've decided to use my training runs as modes of transport to help the time management over the next few weeks, to ensure I make it out of this manic July unscathed. Next week's long run will be my journey home from a 4 hour meeting in Vauxhall (which should ensure all pent up meeting stress has disappeared before I get home) and today's 7 miler was my run home from a tax seminar in Twickenham.
There is nothing better than a run where you have lots of fun stuff going on in your head. Last night, I went to the cinema and watched Bridesmaids - it made me laugh so much I cried for most of it and as a result, I looked awful this morning. My eyes were extremely puffy, from weeping with laughter and from not being able to sleep because I was still laughing at the memory of scenes from the movie. As a runner, I was particularly taken with scene where the bride-to-be ends up going to the toilet in the street - it somehow made me think of Paula Radcliffe all those years ago in the London Marathon!
I was still feeling vaguely hysterical and extremely giggly when I got to the tax office this morning. It didn't help that the tax office itself was vaguely comical. Friendly staff, but the whole set up vaguely shambolic and then this woman appeared to take us to the workshop that reminded me of a female besuited version of Sloth from the Goonies. Although unlike Sloth she did have hair. Which she hadn't washed since the Goonies was released in cinemas, it seemed.
As my fellow business expenses students turned up, it all got even more ridiculous. One solicitor woman turned up with her mum (!) and another guy introduced himself as someone who was thinking of going into 'import/export' which just reminded me of all those episodes of Seinfeld when George Costanza pretends he is 'in import/export' to impress people. I spent most of the first 30 minutes trying not to laughly randomly at things that weren't really funny but, in my heightened state of post-movie hysteria, were putting me in a dangerously giggly state. I was particularly tickled by the brash Cockney in a flash suit, with a flash watch, who seemed determined not to pay any tax ever in his entire life and spent the whole time asking questions that would ensure he got away with zero profit. Although the guy that wanted to claim for a trolley he'd owned for years was quite a favourite too.
By the time I ran home, I was still laughing at it all. Not just replaying the scenes from the film, but musing on how there's nowt so queer as folk. Mind you, I'm sure my fellow students and staff from the tax office are still laughing at me getting changed into my running gear in the loos after the seminar ended...so hilarity is all in the eye of the beholder.
Tuesday 21 June 2011
Low five
I'm in week 5 of the training, still running 5 times a week. I'm pretty much fived out, I think.
Two years since my last marathon training, I'd forgotten just how much of a time suck it actually is when you start running longer distances. What with trying to juggle setting up my own business, and this last fortnight sorting out my parents' 40th wedding anniversary party stuff, it's becoming even more of a feat to fit in all the miles.
I'm managing ok, don't get me wrong. But it is that long-forgotten feeling of it taking over your life. Your social life - every social occasion has to be checked against runs scheduled, even a weekend away has to be planned with scope for a run built in. Your home life - every shop contains the requisite amount of protein and carbohydrates, one shelf fully stacked with energy gels and recovery shake mixes, the permanent presence of lycra drying somewhere on the premises. Your love life - all those early starts for long runs really put an end to a long lazy lie in with breakfast in bed, all those evening runs putting an end to nights out midweek.
And as the mileage starts to stack up, now I'm just waiting for the germs to kick in. I'm resigned to the fact I'll get a stinking cold, just like I did when I trained for New York 2 years ago, because I think it is just the body's reaction to the vast increase in weekly mileage. It's just another memory that's coming back to me, another long-buried recollection from the marathon training last time round.
To counteract all these negative memories, I'm putting a photo of me crossing the finish line in Central Park on my desk to remind me of the overwhelming positive feeling you get when you complete the 26.2 miles. That smile tells a thousand stories and puts all the aches, pains, sniffles and increasing laundry bills into perspective.
LON
Two years since my last marathon training, I'd forgotten just how much of a time suck it actually is when you start running longer distances. What with trying to juggle setting up my own business, and this last fortnight sorting out my parents' 40th wedding anniversary party stuff, it's becoming even more of a feat to fit in all the miles.
I'm managing ok, don't get me wrong. But it is that long-forgotten feeling of it taking over your life. Your social life - every social occasion has to be checked against runs scheduled, even a weekend away has to be planned with scope for a run built in. Your home life - every shop contains the requisite amount of protein and carbohydrates, one shelf fully stacked with energy gels and recovery shake mixes, the permanent presence of lycra drying somewhere on the premises. Your love life - all those early starts for long runs really put an end to a long lazy lie in with breakfast in bed, all those evening runs putting an end to nights out midweek.
And as the mileage starts to stack up, now I'm just waiting for the germs to kick in. I'm resigned to the fact I'll get a stinking cold, just like I did when I trained for New York 2 years ago, because I think it is just the body's reaction to the vast increase in weekly mileage. It's just another memory that's coming back to me, another long-buried recollection from the marathon training last time round.
To counteract all these negative memories, I'm putting a photo of me crossing the finish line in Central Park on my desk to remind me of the overwhelming positive feeling you get when you complete the 26.2 miles. That smile tells a thousand stories and puts all the aches, pains, sniffles and increasing laundry bills into perspective.
LON
Tuesday 14 June 2011
It's not always fair weather
It's been a while since I posted - too busy training to blog. This five day a week plan is certainly time consuming, and I'm not sure I could have managed it if I had not been made redundant and taken a freelance route.
I've had a real contrast in my training since my last post. First, I had a week in Spain for a long-deserved break - my first time off since I lost my job. It was lovely to get away but I had forgotten how hard it is to train in the heat. Essentially you have to run very early, or very late - it's not very sociable to be heading out for a run at 10pm when you're on holiday, as it really messes up everyone else's dinner plans, and part of the holiday was to actually catch up on some sleep so I found that most of my runs took place about 11am or 7.30 when it was still at least 25°. It seems weird to be so hot and sweaty while out running at 7.30 in the evening but it's a nice change to experience.
Which is more than can be said for the Spanish dog population. Clearly the new must-have accessory in small town South East Spain is a small yappy dog. Everybody has one. Every dog is aggressive and highly strung. Every dog is freaked out by someone exercising in the heat. And every dog yaps at you. And when one dog yaps, every other dog within a 250 yard radius joins in. Every run set off a cacophony of yaps, where individual Yorkshire terriers try to pretend they are Rottweilers, so in retrospect it was probably a good thing I wasn't running too early in the morning otherwise I would have had the whole town up.
And it's not just the yapping. It's the dog poo. Yappy dogs do very skinny long poos, and Spain does not scoop poop. So every single run has to be done eyes down, watching the pavement for little brown hazards. It's not as if you risk treading in the doggy do - it's so warm, every turd is dried out and hard within seconds. The real risk is kicking them a fair distance and whacking a passing pedestrian with one - as I found out the hard way.
In a way, it was a relief to get home to some new running hazards - this time, puddles and downpours. British summer time seemed to disappear for a week, deciding to christen me with a very heavy shower every time I left the house. Long runs are particularly soul destroying in the rain and it really got me thinking 'What if it's like this in Berlin?'
I've only run one marathon and that was in pretty ideal conditions. What if it pees it down in Berlin? (it did last year, and someone I know who ran it said it was a nightmare)
Will I really be able to run 26.2 miles in heavy rain?
I've run a half marathon in particularly heavy rain and it was no fun. My time was slow (admittedly I was injured too) and I'm now crossing everything very tightly that the weather gods are kind to me on September 25. I'm such a wuss. Failing that, let's hope that Berlin's reputation as a fast course helps knock the miles out in spite of the weather
Here's hoping...
I've had a real contrast in my training since my last post. First, I had a week in Spain for a long-deserved break - my first time off since I lost my job. It was lovely to get away but I had forgotten how hard it is to train in the heat. Essentially you have to run very early, or very late - it's not very sociable to be heading out for a run at 10pm when you're on holiday, as it really messes up everyone else's dinner plans, and part of the holiday was to actually catch up on some sleep so I found that most of my runs took place about 11am or 7.30 when it was still at least 25°. It seems weird to be so hot and sweaty while out running at 7.30 in the evening but it's a nice change to experience.
Which is more than can be said for the Spanish dog population. Clearly the new must-have accessory in small town South East Spain is a small yappy dog. Everybody has one. Every dog is aggressive and highly strung. Every dog is freaked out by someone exercising in the heat. And every dog yaps at you. And when one dog yaps, every other dog within a 250 yard radius joins in. Every run set off a cacophony of yaps, where individual Yorkshire terriers try to pretend they are Rottweilers, so in retrospect it was probably a good thing I wasn't running too early in the morning otherwise I would have had the whole town up.
And it's not just the yapping. It's the dog poo. Yappy dogs do very skinny long poos, and Spain does not scoop poop. So every single run has to be done eyes down, watching the pavement for little brown hazards. It's not as if you risk treading in the doggy do - it's so warm, every turd is dried out and hard within seconds. The real risk is kicking them a fair distance and whacking a passing pedestrian with one - as I found out the hard way.
In a way, it was a relief to get home to some new running hazards - this time, puddles and downpours. British summer time seemed to disappear for a week, deciding to christen me with a very heavy shower every time I left the house. Long runs are particularly soul destroying in the rain and it really got me thinking 'What if it's like this in Berlin?'
I've only run one marathon and that was in pretty ideal conditions. What if it pees it down in Berlin? (it did last year, and someone I know who ran it said it was a nightmare)
Will I really be able to run 26.2 miles in heavy rain?
I've run a half marathon in particularly heavy rain and it was no fun. My time was slow (admittedly I was injured too) and I'm now crossing everything very tightly that the weather gods are kind to me on September 25. I'm such a wuss. Failing that, let's hope that Berlin's reputation as a fast course helps knock the miles out in spite of the weather
Here's hoping...
Tuesday 31 May 2011
One week down, 17 to go - and I feel blue
I've survived the first week of 5 days a week training, and have come out relatively unscathed. Admittedly, I had to lie on the sofa for two hours on Sunday after the long run, but I think my legs are thanking me for it.
Last week, it wasn't too bad to fit everything in but this week is looking fairly nervewracking in terms of scheduling. Overall, the post-redundancy-newly-freelance lifestyle should be conducive to fitting in 5 runs a week but because I have foolishly decided to head to Spain for a week on Thursday (to seemingly RUBBISH weather - sigh) it means I've got to fit 5 days work into 2 days as well as pack, run 3 times and just generally get my life together. I'm daunted already by the prospect of fitting everything in - I shouldn't even be writing this blog, let's face it, it's just another task to add to the list.
At this rate, my hot weather training camp is looking like a grey and stormy training camp, so I will be unable to rest my legs at the beach and instead will be trapped in the house, going out of my mind, and will end up just checking my work emails and not getting a break at all. As you can see, I'm feeling very bleak about the week in prospect.
Still, it could be worse. I could not be able to run. I woke up this morning with the toes of my right foot in spasm, unable to put any weight on my right foot. So I'm going out shortly for my first training run of the week, and hoping and praying that the old foot injury is not going to come back in just the second week of training.
On that note, I'm going to try and flip my misery, take a couple of extra books, price up a couple of nights in Valencia in case the weather gets really bad, and just crack on with the work. The sooner I finish it, the sooner I can run, pack and generally wish for nice weather on my holiday. The power of positive thinking!
LON
Last week, it wasn't too bad to fit everything in but this week is looking fairly nervewracking in terms of scheduling. Overall, the post-redundancy-newly-freelance lifestyle should be conducive to fitting in 5 runs a week but because I have foolishly decided to head to Spain for a week on Thursday (to seemingly RUBBISH weather - sigh) it means I've got to fit 5 days work into 2 days as well as pack, run 3 times and just generally get my life together. I'm daunted already by the prospect of fitting everything in - I shouldn't even be writing this blog, let's face it, it's just another task to add to the list.
At this rate, my hot weather training camp is looking like a grey and stormy training camp, so I will be unable to rest my legs at the beach and instead will be trapped in the house, going out of my mind, and will end up just checking my work emails and not getting a break at all. As you can see, I'm feeling very bleak about the week in prospect.
Still, it could be worse. I could not be able to run. I woke up this morning with the toes of my right foot in spasm, unable to put any weight on my right foot. So I'm going out shortly for my first training run of the week, and hoping and praying that the old foot injury is not going to come back in just the second week of training.
On that note, I'm going to try and flip my misery, take a couple of extra books, price up a couple of nights in Valencia in case the weather gets really bad, and just crack on with the work. The sooner I finish it, the sooner I can run, pack and generally wish for nice weather on my holiday. The power of positive thinking!
LON
Thursday 19 May 2011
Rain - what rain?
My attempt at running 5 times this week is already under threat. I have only run once so far so I am fast running out of time to fit in 5 runs - maybe I'll have to go all pro and do two runs one day!
Although I do think I should get major bonus points for my run last night. Working temporarily again in Central London ( and hating it) I thought I would make the most of my change in location and run back from the office to Paddington Station via a loop of Regents Park. Sounds lovely, doesn't it. Unfortunately, I picked the only hour this week that it actually rained to make this run.
Regents Park is lovely, but I am convinced that the rain falls heavier there than in a built up area. Is greater exposure to the sky proven to make you even more soaked? By the time I exited the park my eyelids had filled up so much with water I was genuinely concerned that my contact lenses might wash out of my eyes, leaving me unable to read the departure board at Paddington and ending up accidentally on a train to Swansea with nothing but wet kit, a fiver and an Oyster Card. The last time I went to Swansea, I was verbally abused by a drunk and pushed out of a taxi by a drug addict, so I was in no hurry to get back there.
Unfortunately this meant that I left the park by the first available exit over the west side, not really paying any attention to where I was. Regular readers of this blog are familiar with my tendency to get lost on runs and last night's was no exception, although the heavy rain should have been inducement enough to get the route right. I ended up on a lovely little detour of chi chi St Johns Wood, but luckily years of being a cricket fan meant I was able to orientate myself from Lords, and headed off in the direction of Paddington proper. There were even road signs to reassure me.
By the time I reached the north end of Edgware Road, I realised I stood a chance of catching the 6.18 train back home. Spurred on by the thought of a hot shower and a dry towel, I accelerated and went for a lovely tempo run all the way back to Paddington. Running a race pace is a new thing for me midweek - I've never been able to achieve race pace outside of a race before, ever, and by the time I reached the back of Paddington Station I was breathing so heavily the entire population of W2 was staring at me like a lycra-clad phone pervert.
Still I made the train and managed to have a lovely journey home, where no one rested their paper on me, used me as a tray for their handbag or otherwise ignored my presence. I was so obviously someone to be noticed and avoided, with rivulets of rain and sweat dropping from my hair, my nose and in particular my sleeves. Showered, dressed and dried by 7, I think all in all the rain wasn't that bad a thing to happen.
Deluded
LON
Although I do think I should get major bonus points for my run last night. Working temporarily again in Central London ( and hating it) I thought I would make the most of my change in location and run back from the office to Paddington Station via a loop of Regents Park. Sounds lovely, doesn't it. Unfortunately, I picked the only hour this week that it actually rained to make this run.
Regents Park is lovely, but I am convinced that the rain falls heavier there than in a built up area. Is greater exposure to the sky proven to make you even more soaked? By the time I exited the park my eyelids had filled up so much with water I was genuinely concerned that my contact lenses might wash out of my eyes, leaving me unable to read the departure board at Paddington and ending up accidentally on a train to Swansea with nothing but wet kit, a fiver and an Oyster Card. The last time I went to Swansea, I was verbally abused by a drunk and pushed out of a taxi by a drug addict, so I was in no hurry to get back there.
Unfortunately this meant that I left the park by the first available exit over the west side, not really paying any attention to where I was. Regular readers of this blog are familiar with my tendency to get lost on runs and last night's was no exception, although the heavy rain should have been inducement enough to get the route right. I ended up on a lovely little detour of chi chi St Johns Wood, but luckily years of being a cricket fan meant I was able to orientate myself from Lords, and headed off in the direction of Paddington proper. There were even road signs to reassure me.
By the time I reached the north end of Edgware Road, I realised I stood a chance of catching the 6.18 train back home. Spurred on by the thought of a hot shower and a dry towel, I accelerated and went for a lovely tempo run all the way back to Paddington. Running a race pace is a new thing for me midweek - I've never been able to achieve race pace outside of a race before, ever, and by the time I reached the back of Paddington Station I was breathing so heavily the entire population of W2 was staring at me like a lycra-clad phone pervert.
Still I made the train and managed to have a lovely journey home, where no one rested their paper on me, used me as a tray for their handbag or otherwise ignored my presence. I was so obviously someone to be noticed and avoided, with rivulets of rain and sweat dropping from my hair, my nose and in particular my sleeves. Showered, dressed and dried by 7, I think all in all the rain wasn't that bad a thing to happen.
Deluded
LON
Sunday 15 May 2011
Back in training
The last week or so has been all about pre-preparation for the Berlin Marathon. I've selected the training plan I'm going to follow - from Hal Higdon's Marathon book (which I am loving, by the way. Lots of self-aware, overanalytical American nonsense in there, but for the most part an excellent book about running marathons, with lots of practical advice too). My training proper starts on Monday 23 May, so in the meantime it's just about testing how much fitness I lost when I was not running with my foot injury.
I've had a few short runs and they've all gone well. The only real problem is the hayfever, and no amount of training is ever going to prevent that!
Today I entered a 10k race, as a test of fitness. I wanted to compare this morning's time with past runs in this event, to see how much fitness I had lost in the last month.
On the whole, not bad overall. I had a bit of stressful journey there, as I got stuck behind a series of slow moving vehicles, whose drivers insisted on driving way below the speed limit. Only the last of the four was a learner driver - the rest of them have no excuse whatsoever. Luckily I had allowed lots of time to get to the race start, but I was feeling frustrated and bad tempered before the race.
The first couple of miles were a struggle - for the first km I was last! The sight of a group of pensioners ahead of me was enough incentive to kick on and start pushing myself a bit and I did manage to get in front of several runners by the 3km mark. And I was pacing nicely - really even times. My mile times were consistent with my mile times in the NY Half marathon in March and although for a 10k I would normally be a bit faster, I was pretty happy with that consistent pacing overall.
As the race went on, several other runners were starting to slow (pacing is everything, people!) and I managed to really move away from last place. By the 6km mark I was fairly convinced I was going to finish, and finish ok. I felt no issue in the right foot, despite chunks of the race being on uneven grassy surface, and the longer the race went on, the stronger I felt. Shame it wasn't a half!
I also finished strongly, with the last mile the fastest, and I am definitely taking that as a positive. I was probably about 2 minutes slower than when I did that race two years ago, but consistent with my 10k time in New York in March, so the verdict is: not too much of the fitness has been lost.
The new marathon training plan is 5 times a week. One more outing per week than my NYC 2009 training plan. The mileage looks good, however - testing but feasible. So I'm going to go for it. Essentially this means even less social life than ever before, but I'm hoping that my current redundancy-induced freelance working lifestyle means that I will be able to be more flexible and fit in more runs. Here's hoping.
This week I'm going to try and run 5 times a week as a test before I start marathon training proper. Will I be able to manage 5 times a week for the next 19 weeks? Is that really all it is until Berlin? I won't know until I try, but I'd be lying if I didn't feel a little bit daunted by the prospect of that frequency.
Still, I'm determined to give it a go, test myself and hopefully knock those minutes off my time on September 25. Time to dust off the Jaffa Cakes and hit the streets in earnest.
LON
I've had a few short runs and they've all gone well. The only real problem is the hayfever, and no amount of training is ever going to prevent that!
Today I entered a 10k race, as a test of fitness. I wanted to compare this morning's time with past runs in this event, to see how much fitness I had lost in the last month.
On the whole, not bad overall. I had a bit of stressful journey there, as I got stuck behind a series of slow moving vehicles, whose drivers insisted on driving way below the speed limit. Only the last of the four was a learner driver - the rest of them have no excuse whatsoever. Luckily I had allowed lots of time to get to the race start, but I was feeling frustrated and bad tempered before the race.
The first couple of miles were a struggle - for the first km I was last! The sight of a group of pensioners ahead of me was enough incentive to kick on and start pushing myself a bit and I did manage to get in front of several runners by the 3km mark. And I was pacing nicely - really even times. My mile times were consistent with my mile times in the NY Half marathon in March and although for a 10k I would normally be a bit faster, I was pretty happy with that consistent pacing overall.
As the race went on, several other runners were starting to slow (pacing is everything, people!) and I managed to really move away from last place. By the 6km mark I was fairly convinced I was going to finish, and finish ok. I felt no issue in the right foot, despite chunks of the race being on uneven grassy surface, and the longer the race went on, the stronger I felt. Shame it wasn't a half!
I also finished strongly, with the last mile the fastest, and I am definitely taking that as a positive. I was probably about 2 minutes slower than when I did that race two years ago, but consistent with my 10k time in New York in March, so the verdict is: not too much of the fitness has been lost.
The new marathon training plan is 5 times a week. One more outing per week than my NYC 2009 training plan. The mileage looks good, however - testing but feasible. So I'm going to go for it. Essentially this means even less social life than ever before, but I'm hoping that my current redundancy-induced freelance working lifestyle means that I will be able to be more flexible and fit in more runs. Here's hoping.
This week I'm going to try and run 5 times a week as a test before I start marathon training proper. Will I be able to manage 5 times a week for the next 19 weeks? Is that really all it is until Berlin? I won't know until I try, but I'd be lying if I didn't feel a little bit daunted by the prospect of that frequency.
Still, I'm determined to give it a go, test myself and hopefully knock those minutes off my time on September 25. Time to dust off the Jaffa Cakes and hit the streets in earnest.
LON
Tuesday 3 May 2011
Marathon training - it's all in the planning
I am still not running, due to ongoing footache. It is markedly better and I'm hopeful of a run this weekend, but in the meantime have been cycling and walking long distances (which surprisingly does not hurt) to maintain some fitness
I've also been using the downtime to plan my marathon training a lot more rigorously than New York in 2009. Then it was easy - the world (well, it's wide web) is littered with beginner marathon training programmes.
However, after beginner plans move straight into advanced. Some are called intermediate, but essentially these are still for people running their first marathon after trying one or two half marathons. The advanced ones are so daunting as to be impossible. It's becoming a bit of a minefield, to be honest.
I started with the Internet, as that is where I have downloaded all previous training plans. There are essentially 3 types of internet training plan online:
1) the I have never run before, but have accidentally signed up for a marathon/wanted to run a marathon before I die and need to get round 26.2 miles plan. These build basic fitness and measure runs in time rather than miles. And are not testing enough for me
2) The sub 4 hour marathon plan. God I would love to do a sub 4 hour marathon but surely there is something in between getting round in however long it takes and 4 hours. Like sub 4.30 (my target)? I'm quite happy to attempt a sub 4 hour training plan, though, as soon as I find one which doesn't require you giving up full time work due to the amount of mileage and runs/cross training you have to put in.
3) elite. Nuff said...
Failing to find anything suitable on the internet, I've gone for the book route. Currently on my table are 4 books containing training plans.
The first two are female orientated, one more overtly than the other. Liz Yelling's the Women's Guide to Running is quite well written, but aimed predominantly at women who don't do anything resembling exercise, have difficulty motivating themselves or finding time to get out for a run etc and contains nothing for a female who runs already. Even the improvers marathon training plan is plotted in time not mileage. This makes me incredibly sad and equally furious - that a woman's life is so fraught that she can only slot in runs based on time rather than distance.
Runs based on time are dull, dull, dull. I can't figure out how long it will take without doing out and back (yawn). And it doesn't help you to develop pacing strategies for races either. But hey, women are only doing it for the weight loss, aren't they. They aren't serious people, like those masculine chaps. [Feminist rant over.]
The second is How to Run by Paula Radcliffe, my girl crush. It's quite new and not essentially for females but when you read it, you get the sense that the publisher assumes mainly females will buy it. Being Paula, there are some testing training plans in there. Very testing. The gulf between the intermediate (time not distance again, grr) and the advanced (give up work because you're running a minimum of 10 miles 6 times a week), however, is huge. I would like to give the advanced programme a go, but know that off the back of an injury layoff I am asking for trouble. So I will maybe park that one for next year, and hope for full fitness in advance of NYC 2012
The remaining two are chalk and cheese. The Essential guide to Running has made me so mad on opening it I can't even bear to discuss it. Again, aimed at someone who is thinking of taking up running, or just started yesterday. But to make matters worse, it also talks to them like they are a complete simpleton.
Where are the books for the inbetweeners? Surely I can't be the only person looking to improve who isn't going to be a bloody elite after their first marathon. I am getting lots of extra training in walking back to the library to take these books back but not much joy in terms of training plans
My hope is now pinned on Hal Higdon's Marathon. A quick scan of his webpages this morning was vaguely positive - training plans based on miles not time, and a range of them to choose from. Surely something called Marathon must be the winner? Certainly compared to the Essential guide to running, it appears like a seriously worthy tome. I live in hope of these plans working out for me.
In the meantime, if anyone can offer a mileage-based, 4-5 week training schedule that is testing without being a full-time job, please let me know!
LON
I've also been using the downtime to plan my marathon training a lot more rigorously than New York in 2009. Then it was easy - the world (well, it's wide web) is littered with beginner marathon training programmes.
However, after beginner plans move straight into advanced. Some are called intermediate, but essentially these are still for people running their first marathon after trying one or two half marathons. The advanced ones are so daunting as to be impossible. It's becoming a bit of a minefield, to be honest.
I started with the Internet, as that is where I have downloaded all previous training plans. There are essentially 3 types of internet training plan online:
1) the I have never run before, but have accidentally signed up for a marathon/wanted to run a marathon before I die and need to get round 26.2 miles plan. These build basic fitness and measure runs in time rather than miles. And are not testing enough for me
2) The sub 4 hour marathon plan. God I would love to do a sub 4 hour marathon but surely there is something in between getting round in however long it takes and 4 hours. Like sub 4.30 (my target)? I'm quite happy to attempt a sub 4 hour training plan, though, as soon as I find one which doesn't require you giving up full time work due to the amount of mileage and runs/cross training you have to put in.
3) elite. Nuff said...
Failing to find anything suitable on the internet, I've gone for the book route. Currently on my table are 4 books containing training plans.
The first two are female orientated, one more overtly than the other. Liz Yelling's the Women's Guide to Running is quite well written, but aimed predominantly at women who don't do anything resembling exercise, have difficulty motivating themselves or finding time to get out for a run etc and contains nothing for a female who runs already. Even the improvers marathon training plan is plotted in time not mileage. This makes me incredibly sad and equally furious - that a woman's life is so fraught that she can only slot in runs based on time rather than distance.
Runs based on time are dull, dull, dull. I can't figure out how long it will take without doing out and back (yawn). And it doesn't help you to develop pacing strategies for races either. But hey, women are only doing it for the weight loss, aren't they. They aren't serious people, like those masculine chaps. [Feminist rant over.]
The second is How to Run by Paula Radcliffe, my girl crush. It's quite new and not essentially for females but when you read it, you get the sense that the publisher assumes mainly females will buy it. Being Paula, there are some testing training plans in there. Very testing. The gulf between the intermediate (time not distance again, grr) and the advanced (give up work because you're running a minimum of 10 miles 6 times a week), however, is huge. I would like to give the advanced programme a go, but know that off the back of an injury layoff I am asking for trouble. So I will maybe park that one for next year, and hope for full fitness in advance of NYC 2012
The remaining two are chalk and cheese. The Essential guide to Running has made me so mad on opening it I can't even bear to discuss it. Again, aimed at someone who is thinking of taking up running, or just started yesterday. But to make matters worse, it also talks to them like they are a complete simpleton.
Where are the books for the inbetweeners? Surely I can't be the only person looking to improve who isn't going to be a bloody elite after their first marathon. I am getting lots of extra training in walking back to the library to take these books back but not much joy in terms of training plans
My hope is now pinned on Hal Higdon's Marathon. A quick scan of his webpages this morning was vaguely positive - training plans based on miles not time, and a range of them to choose from. Surely something called Marathon must be the winner? Certainly compared to the Essential guide to running, it appears like a seriously worthy tome. I live in hope of these plans working out for me.
In the meantime, if anyone can offer a mileage-based, 4-5 week training schedule that is testing without being a full-time job, please let me know!
LON
Thursday 21 April 2011
One foot in the not-so-grave
Well, two visits to the podiatrists later, and it seems that there is good news and bad news
The good news is I haven't got a fracture
The bad news is I have got some random acute injury which hurts to run on, and means I have to stay off my running feet for a couple of weeks until it gets better. The doc even tried strapping my foot up to see if altering the mechanics would help but to no avail. It's rest, anti inflammatories and (im)patience for me for a while
The weather here continues to be amazing, so pretty heartbroken to miss out on all this fairweather training, and will have to resort to my very rickety old bike to get some outdoor cross training in.
Not being able to run has made me fantasize about running somewhat, I've been musing on my marathon experience of 2009 and wondering what it will be like in Berlin this year. Will I have a similar experience? Will it be positive? Will it be negative?
It also occurred to me that my marathon memory is starting to fade. When I try to plan for this year's test, and I look back on lessons learnt, I've realised that I'm starting to forget the experience.
To refresh my memory, and provide a tangible record, this and my next couple of blog posts will be a retrospective of the 5 boroughs 2009. For those of you who've heard it all before, I apologise. And hell, apologies to the rest of you too.
Pre-marathon I remember well, as it basically involved a very long sleepless night. Whoever decided to hold a marathon the day after Halloween, when America par-tays, was a very foolish or very cruel person. Wisdom tells you to get an early night before a marathon. Easier said than done.
Adrenalin and nerves were enought to keep me awake. Not content with the body's ability to keep me alert, the pre-marathon gods had also conspired to make Halloween the night the clocks went back an hour too. I was in utter panic at the thought of my alarm clock not being set to the right time, panic at the thought the hotel would forget my wake call, panic at not getting any sleep. A very restful combination, you will agree.
The final straw was the group of people who decided to par-tay in the corridor outside my hotel room. I thought shouting at a bunch of complete strangers, who felt well within their rights to be shouting and hollering at 3.30 am in a hotel corridor, was pretty much the nadir of my pre-marathon experience. But then I hadn't used a portapotty at that point.
If I remember correctly, we got to the ferry terminal in Manhatten for the trip to Staten Island at about 6am. But it might have been earlier. Who knows, it was unholy, that is certain. There was an amorphous mob of lycra waiting to get on a ferry and you couldn't help but feel sorry for anyone who might have just had a great night out clubbing and wanted to get home afterwards in a dishevelled Halloween costume.
I remember the ferry ride being very serene, with Lady Liberty looking on. I remember the transfer bus to the start being a bit more hectic, but with the added entertainment of seeing what everyone had decided to wear as a disposable pre-race outfit.
When we got to the start area, we found we still had a couple of hours to kill. Thankfully NY is a sensible woman who had brought magazines and a paper to read. We also had plenty of time to visit the delightful portaloos for the ritual pre-race toilet visits. Equipped with toilet paper and hand wipes (get us), we were ready for anything. Even for the misfortune of using a toilet that had been frequented by a fool who thought chilli was a good pre-race dinner.
Pre-start is just a lot of sitting and waiting (sit, don't stand - after all, you're going to be on your feet plenty for the next few hours), watching other people's rituals. Lots of 'thanking your lucky stars you get to wear a sports bra rather than just a loose running vest'. Men have a lot more 'chafables' than we ladies, and for that I am eternally grateful.
And then the moment of truth, where they call you to the start. It had been raining overnight so the start area was fairly muddy and it seemed unlikely that any charity would be able to use the clothes we dumped unceremoniously at the start. A complete stranger took our photo on his BlackBerry to email to us, and we were ready to go. With the cheesy sound of Francis Albert Sinatra blaring out, we set off in a throng towards the Verrazzano Bridge and all of a sudden, that was it. Racing. Across the bridge. With a perfect view of just how far you have to run for the rest of the day stretching out on your left.
As you as you leave the bridge, you enter Borough 2 - the biggie, Brooklyn. A major chunk of the race is run through Brooklyn, which is probably just as well given the amount of visual stimulation it provides. And then there is the support.
Bay Ridge, the residential part of Brooklyn that kicks it all off was lined with complete strangers - all shouting our names. At first, natural manners kick in and you think 'ooh that person must know me' Then you realise 'oh no, I have my name on my shirt' and wave anyway but after about 10 miles you realise that you can't acknowledge everyone who cheers you along.
The first couple of miles are all about checking people out, figuring out who your pacemakers are, seeing who is doing the weirdest thing mid marathon (bouncing a basketball all the way round, for example). Fancy dress is not a big thing in the NY marathon, which is a relief if you've ever been slapped in the face by a balloon mid-race at the Great North Run, but there is still plenty of gimmick runs to keep you mentally occupied. Taking in my fellow runners helps me get mentally settled in, establish a vague community, get into a pace. All important stuff at the outset.
Then I had my long race toilet panic - I knew I would have at least one, and I had to stop at about mile 4 in Brooklyn. That one visit to the portaloo ensured I would never need the toilet again during the race, even if I drank in gallons of fluid. I still have Nam-style flashbacks about the inside of that toilet - to the day I die I will not understand how a previous visitor had managed to do what they did that high up the wall - but it had the positive effect of giving me toilet-fright and ensuring I would run to the finish before I stopped again
And it was uphill from there - literally.
Stay tuned for part 2
LON
The good news is I haven't got a fracture
The bad news is I have got some random acute injury which hurts to run on, and means I have to stay off my running feet for a couple of weeks until it gets better. The doc even tried strapping my foot up to see if altering the mechanics would help but to no avail. It's rest, anti inflammatories and (im)patience for me for a while
The weather here continues to be amazing, so pretty heartbroken to miss out on all this fairweather training, and will have to resort to my very rickety old bike to get some outdoor cross training in.
Not being able to run has made me fantasize about running somewhat, I've been musing on my marathon experience of 2009 and wondering what it will be like in Berlin this year. Will I have a similar experience? Will it be positive? Will it be negative?
It also occurred to me that my marathon memory is starting to fade. When I try to plan for this year's test, and I look back on lessons learnt, I've realised that I'm starting to forget the experience.
To refresh my memory, and provide a tangible record, this and my next couple of blog posts will be a retrospective of the 5 boroughs 2009. For those of you who've heard it all before, I apologise. And hell, apologies to the rest of you too.
Pre-marathon I remember well, as it basically involved a very long sleepless night. Whoever decided to hold a marathon the day after Halloween, when America par-tays, was a very foolish or very cruel person. Wisdom tells you to get an early night before a marathon. Easier said than done.
Adrenalin and nerves were enought to keep me awake. Not content with the body's ability to keep me alert, the pre-marathon gods had also conspired to make Halloween the night the clocks went back an hour too. I was in utter panic at the thought of my alarm clock not being set to the right time, panic at the thought the hotel would forget my wake call, panic at not getting any sleep. A very restful combination, you will agree.
The final straw was the group of people who decided to par-tay in the corridor outside my hotel room. I thought shouting at a bunch of complete strangers, who felt well within their rights to be shouting and hollering at 3.30 am in a hotel corridor, was pretty much the nadir of my pre-marathon experience. But then I hadn't used a portapotty at that point.
If I remember correctly, we got to the ferry terminal in Manhatten for the trip to Staten Island at about 6am. But it might have been earlier. Who knows, it was unholy, that is certain. There was an amorphous mob of lycra waiting to get on a ferry and you couldn't help but feel sorry for anyone who might have just had a great night out clubbing and wanted to get home afterwards in a dishevelled Halloween costume.
I remember the ferry ride being very serene, with Lady Liberty looking on. I remember the transfer bus to the start being a bit more hectic, but with the added entertainment of seeing what everyone had decided to wear as a disposable pre-race outfit.
When we got to the start area, we found we still had a couple of hours to kill. Thankfully NY is a sensible woman who had brought magazines and a paper to read. We also had plenty of time to visit the delightful portaloos for the ritual pre-race toilet visits. Equipped with toilet paper and hand wipes (get us), we were ready for anything. Even for the misfortune of using a toilet that had been frequented by a fool who thought chilli was a good pre-race dinner.
Pre-start is just a lot of sitting and waiting (sit, don't stand - after all, you're going to be on your feet plenty for the next few hours), watching other people's rituals. Lots of 'thanking your lucky stars you get to wear a sports bra rather than just a loose running vest'. Men have a lot more 'chafables' than we ladies, and for that I am eternally grateful.
And then the moment of truth, where they call you to the start. It had been raining overnight so the start area was fairly muddy and it seemed unlikely that any charity would be able to use the clothes we dumped unceremoniously at the start. A complete stranger took our photo on his BlackBerry to email to us, and we were ready to go. With the cheesy sound of Francis Albert Sinatra blaring out, we set off in a throng towards the Verrazzano Bridge and all of a sudden, that was it. Racing. Across the bridge. With a perfect view of just how far you have to run for the rest of the day stretching out on your left.
As you as you leave the bridge, you enter Borough 2 - the biggie, Brooklyn. A major chunk of the race is run through Brooklyn, which is probably just as well given the amount of visual stimulation it provides. And then there is the support.
Bay Ridge, the residential part of Brooklyn that kicks it all off was lined with complete strangers - all shouting our names. At first, natural manners kick in and you think 'ooh that person must know me' Then you realise 'oh no, I have my name on my shirt' and wave anyway but after about 10 miles you realise that you can't acknowledge everyone who cheers you along.
The first couple of miles are all about checking people out, figuring out who your pacemakers are, seeing who is doing the weirdest thing mid marathon (bouncing a basketball all the way round, for example). Fancy dress is not a big thing in the NY marathon, which is a relief if you've ever been slapped in the face by a balloon mid-race at the Great North Run, but there is still plenty of gimmick runs to keep you mentally occupied. Taking in my fellow runners helps me get mentally settled in, establish a vague community, get into a pace. All important stuff at the outset.
Then I had my long race toilet panic - I knew I would have at least one, and I had to stop at about mile 4 in Brooklyn. That one visit to the portaloo ensured I would never need the toilet again during the race, even if I drank in gallons of fluid. I still have Nam-style flashbacks about the inside of that toilet - to the day I die I will not understand how a previous visitor had managed to do what they did that high up the wall - but it had the positive effect of giving me toilet-fright and ensuring I would run to the finish before I stopped again
And it was uphill from there - literally.
Stay tuned for part 2
LON
Monday 18 April 2011
Jealousy, panic and a waste of beautiful Spring weather
It's been a difficult week for me, on a personal and sporting level. The search for freelance work continues apace, and a vague depression is setting in at the lack of immediate income and the current inability to pay my mortgage after May.
I was also heavily distracted by legal stuff and nonsense re my redundancy claim, which sapped most of my energy last week. It's ironic that all this happens when you start spending huge periods of time in your own company - just when you need others to take your mind off things, you actually enter a period of your life where you don't get a lot of company. And I can't keep popping out to meet people for coffee or lunch, as this all eats into work time and income must be found.
Not helping my mood is the added problem of my right foot. Following last Sunday's fiasco, I'd stayed off the pavements to help ease the injury but of course, this prevents me from my regular stress release of a run. So it all builds up.
Yesterday was the London Marathon, and I was green with envy watching everyone experience the wonders and horrors of 26.2 miles. In typical British fashion, a mild sunny day was transformed in everyone's mind to a small heatwave, but I suppose given that most training has been done in the bleak British winter, it probably does class as the warmest running conditions most first-timers have experienced. Personally, I thought it was pretty near perfect weather yesterday, and I hope it actually helped more people than they realised. I will definitely attempt to get a place in the lottery next year, although I steer clear of running in a charity spot. If I get in that should guarantee some fairly foul weather for all those anti-sunshiners out there.
Inspired by the marathon, and feeling little or no pain in my foot, I headed off into the 'dreaded' sunshine for a run round the local 3 parks. I got to the first park, about a mile from home, and felt the foot go into spasm again. The pain was excruciating and I stopped to walk instead to the nearest park gate, trying to be sensible and not run until it stopped. After a couple of minutes walking, the pain completely disappeared so I set off at a jog again - and it immediately resumed 'agony' mode.
Slinking home at a slow walking pace, I realised that this was a biggie, and with a marathon to run later this year I had to be a grown up about it and stop running until it was sorted.
Some Google self help later, I've come up with two options for my foot. It's either a stress fracture or extensor tendonitis. Or something that has never come up on an internet forum before - I could be a ground breaker.
Despite my parlous finances, I'm biting the bullet and visiting a podiatrist in the morning. I haven't got the time to wait for an NHS consultation - it could be two months. So I'm paying £30 and hoping he can give me some relatively good news re diagnosis and prognosis.
Here's hoping Operation Siegesaule can get on track on time and that this isn't too serious. The thought of having a real injury is truly frightening and I don't think I can take any more blows right now, so here's hoping the gods of foot injuries are smiling on me
LON
I was also heavily distracted by legal stuff and nonsense re my redundancy claim, which sapped most of my energy last week. It's ironic that all this happens when you start spending huge periods of time in your own company - just when you need others to take your mind off things, you actually enter a period of your life where you don't get a lot of company. And I can't keep popping out to meet people for coffee or lunch, as this all eats into work time and income must be found.
Not helping my mood is the added problem of my right foot. Following last Sunday's fiasco, I'd stayed off the pavements to help ease the injury but of course, this prevents me from my regular stress release of a run. So it all builds up.
Yesterday was the London Marathon, and I was green with envy watching everyone experience the wonders and horrors of 26.2 miles. In typical British fashion, a mild sunny day was transformed in everyone's mind to a small heatwave, but I suppose given that most training has been done in the bleak British winter, it probably does class as the warmest running conditions most first-timers have experienced. Personally, I thought it was pretty near perfect weather yesterday, and I hope it actually helped more people than they realised. I will definitely attempt to get a place in the lottery next year, although I steer clear of running in a charity spot. If I get in that should guarantee some fairly foul weather for all those anti-sunshiners out there.
Inspired by the marathon, and feeling little or no pain in my foot, I headed off into the 'dreaded' sunshine for a run round the local 3 parks. I got to the first park, about a mile from home, and felt the foot go into spasm again. The pain was excruciating and I stopped to walk instead to the nearest park gate, trying to be sensible and not run until it stopped. After a couple of minutes walking, the pain completely disappeared so I set off at a jog again - and it immediately resumed 'agony' mode.
Slinking home at a slow walking pace, I realised that this was a biggie, and with a marathon to run later this year I had to be a grown up about it and stop running until it was sorted.
Some Google self help later, I've come up with two options for my foot. It's either a stress fracture or extensor tendonitis. Or something that has never come up on an internet forum before - I could be a ground breaker.
Despite my parlous finances, I'm biting the bullet and visiting a podiatrist in the morning. I haven't got the time to wait for an NHS consultation - it could be two months. So I'm paying £30 and hoping he can give me some relatively good news re diagnosis and prognosis.
Here's hoping Operation Siegesaule can get on track on time and that this isn't too serious. The thought of having a real injury is truly frightening and I don't think I can take any more blows right now, so here's hoping the gods of foot injuries are smiling on me
LON
Monday 11 April 2011
Thames Towpath 10 torment
Yesterday I took my cuts and bruises out for a 10 mile race. Maybe racing 10 miles after only two 3 mile runs in 3 weeks is a bad idea. Maybe I should have given the foot injury another week. Or maybe yesterday wasn't my day.
Tempted out of the house by a beautiful and uncannily warm Sunday in April, and the thought of running along the lovely Thames instead of a traffic-filled road or a dog-filled park, I decided to go ahead and race anyway.
The first warning sign came when I could not get my Clif bar down me at breakfast time. Normally these are a great raceday breakfast, but yesterday I felt like I was trying to eat a brick, with no appetite whatsoever. I forced the majority of the bar down, along with a small coffee, and headed out to the race site.
All started off well, with a good even pace and no real issues with the foot injury. The uneven towpath is not the best surface for running, admittedly, but nevertheless it makes a really pleasant change to be running in glorious sunshine where the only traffic noise is the swish of a rower's oars through some very picturesque bits of the Thames. The surface caused a couple of fallers, so I was glad to get my fall out of the way earlier in the week. Yesterday's stony gritty surface was causing some nasty cuts.
After 6 miles, Beloved turned up alongside me on the bike to shout some encouragement - it was well timed, because it was at this point my faulty right foot was start to voice some serious displeasure at the level of activity I was asking of it. However, Beloved pointed out that I was making good time, so I relaxed a bit and kept on.
Unfortunately, in mile 7, just as I approached Kew Green, the foot went into major spasm. I had to stop completely for a few seconds, then limped a few yards until the pain went off. As soon as the pain subsided, I started running again.
I can hear a voice now saying 'duh, why did you start running again?'. I'll admit to be pathetically stubborn on several points and one of those is definitely race mementos worth winning. I was determined to finish and get my engraved pint glass so onwards I went. Also, from a practical point of view, I had driven to the race start and had to get back to the car so I could get home, so really had very little choice. I am not totally mad.
I managed another half a mile before stopping again. This time I loosened the laces on my right shoe to ease the pressure, and remove a stone that had worked its way in. Off I pressed again and made it safely to the 9 mile market without further incident. As soon as I entered the final mile though, my foot made its final protest and went into spasm again. I part-limped, part-hopped, part-ran the final mile - finishing in a depressingly slow 1:42 - 11 minutes slower than last year. I wasn't totally last, but very nearly.
The patronising tones of the marshals didn't help either. They seemed to be talking to me like I was some simpleton who had decided randomly to run that race because it was a nice day. I wanted to say 'I run faster than this, I do, I do' but couldn't for wincing with pain.
On the plus side, I got the damn glass - so it was not a total failure
I'm back in rest mode with the foot, and hoping to be back out again for another 10 mile race in 11 days. Certifiable - yes. Stupid - maybe.
LON
Tempted out of the house by a beautiful and uncannily warm Sunday in April, and the thought of running along the lovely Thames instead of a traffic-filled road or a dog-filled park, I decided to go ahead and race anyway.
The first warning sign came when I could not get my Clif bar down me at breakfast time. Normally these are a great raceday breakfast, but yesterday I felt like I was trying to eat a brick, with no appetite whatsoever. I forced the majority of the bar down, along with a small coffee, and headed out to the race site.
All started off well, with a good even pace and no real issues with the foot injury. The uneven towpath is not the best surface for running, admittedly, but nevertheless it makes a really pleasant change to be running in glorious sunshine where the only traffic noise is the swish of a rower's oars through some very picturesque bits of the Thames. The surface caused a couple of fallers, so I was glad to get my fall out of the way earlier in the week. Yesterday's stony gritty surface was causing some nasty cuts.
After 6 miles, Beloved turned up alongside me on the bike to shout some encouragement - it was well timed, because it was at this point my faulty right foot was start to voice some serious displeasure at the level of activity I was asking of it. However, Beloved pointed out that I was making good time, so I relaxed a bit and kept on.
Unfortunately, in mile 7, just as I approached Kew Green, the foot went into major spasm. I had to stop completely for a few seconds, then limped a few yards until the pain went off. As soon as the pain subsided, I started running again.
I can hear a voice now saying 'duh, why did you start running again?'. I'll admit to be pathetically stubborn on several points and one of those is definitely race mementos worth winning. I was determined to finish and get my engraved pint glass so onwards I went. Also, from a practical point of view, I had driven to the race start and had to get back to the car so I could get home, so really had very little choice. I am not totally mad.
I managed another half a mile before stopping again. This time I loosened the laces on my right shoe to ease the pressure, and remove a stone that had worked its way in. Off I pressed again and made it safely to the 9 mile market without further incident. As soon as I entered the final mile though, my foot made its final protest and went into spasm again. I part-limped, part-hopped, part-ran the final mile - finishing in a depressingly slow 1:42 - 11 minutes slower than last year. I wasn't totally last, but very nearly.
The patronising tones of the marshals didn't help either. They seemed to be talking to me like I was some simpleton who had decided randomly to run that race because it was a nice day. I wanted to say 'I run faster than this, I do, I do' but couldn't for wincing with pain.
On the plus side, I got the damn glass - so it was not a total failure
I'm back in rest mode with the foot, and hoping to be back out again for another 10 mile race in 11 days. Certifiable - yes. Stupid - maybe.
LON
hitting the wall
It hasn't really taken me over three weeks to finish the New York half marathon - I have merely been neglecting the blog, for reasons that will become clear
The New York race was fantastic. As usual, the city was very kind to me, giving me lots of sunshine and no rain on race day. Admittedly it was cold, and my mistake was not to wear enough clothing for the race (I think I have only just managed to repair my chapped knees in the last couple of days) but apart from that, everything went really well.
I managed to knock 4 minutes off last year's time, even including a toilet stop, and feel really confident again about my ability to progress in my running. I know Berlin is a long way off, but it's important to me at my age to not feel like it's all downhill and for that, I am really pleased with my NYC half time.
Since the race though, things have not been so rosy. I managed to run once on the Wednesday after the race, but on the Thursday I pulled a muscle in the top of my foot going downstairs (the shame). I've done this before but on the other foot and I know that rest is the answer, so I just took a week off and tried to stay off the foot as much as possible. On top of that, my work decided it would be a good idea to make me redundant, which proved a fairly time-consuming distraction from foot injuries and running.
It's been a tense time, with lots of downs and very few ups, and there is still a whole mess to sort out and God knows how it will be sorted. However, there are positives that I am trying to take from the situation.
I've decided to go freelance and work from home. This should give me much greater flexibility with my running and mean that it is easier to fit in training, as I won't have to be commuting into London every day. I'll miss the long runs home, but there is nothing to stop me finding another route nearer the time, and it will be two hours of my life I will get back on a daily basis
Secondly, I think it is going to have a really good effect on my weight. I've already lost four pounds on the stress diet, but working from home has already meant lots of healthy lunches and no temptation from the office cake and biscuit mountain. So that should also have a positive contributionn to my marathon training
My first redundancy run, however, has not worked out so well. I headed out midweek around 5.30, after closing the computer down for the day. I was feeling quite stressed by the events of the day, and thought a run would clear my head. By 5.37 I was lying flat on my back about half a mile from home, wondering where my glasses had landed and worried that I had actually lost part of my head, rather than cleared it.
I'm still not sure what happened, whether I tripped over myself or a paving stone, but all of a sudden I was conscious I was heading towards the floor. More importantly, I could see a waist level brick wall heading towards my face, as I hurtled towards someone's front garden wall. My first reaction was to protect my face (vanity = king of the emotions) and somehow managed to twist myself round in a corkscrew fashion so I landed on the wall with the length of my left side. I then ricocheted back off the wall and rolled onto the ground in a Starsky and Hutch style, glasses flying off my face in god knows what direction.
Of course, this had to happen on a main road. My vanity kicked in immediately and I got straight up, picking up my glasses and (pathetically) stopping my GPS. I let out a very loud 'ow' and looked down to see blood pouring out of about 5 points on my left hand. My left ear felt like it had been sliced in half, and my left shoulder was protesting fairly loudly as well. So I slouched off towards home, feeling embarrassed, agonised and generally chastened by the whole experience.
Remarkably, I have only a mild graze on my right knee and elbow, and the left knee and elbow are intact. However, there is not much left of my little finger on my left hand apart from blood and scabs. I somehow have managed to cheese grate the inside of my ear, leaving the outside intact (don't ask, I'm never going to figure that one out). I have also cheese grated the back of my left shoulder, and have a big hole in the front of the same shoulder that, bizarrely, resembles a bullet hole.
Hell, maybe that's it, maybe I was shot and that's why I went down! Yes - that's my story and I am sticking with it...
LON
The New York race was fantastic. As usual, the city was very kind to me, giving me lots of sunshine and no rain on race day. Admittedly it was cold, and my mistake was not to wear enough clothing for the race (I think I have only just managed to repair my chapped knees in the last couple of days) but apart from that, everything went really well.
I managed to knock 4 minutes off last year's time, even including a toilet stop, and feel really confident again about my ability to progress in my running. I know Berlin is a long way off, but it's important to me at my age to not feel like it's all downhill and for that, I am really pleased with my NYC half time.
Since the race though, things have not been so rosy. I managed to run once on the Wednesday after the race, but on the Thursday I pulled a muscle in the top of my foot going downstairs (the shame). I've done this before but on the other foot and I know that rest is the answer, so I just took a week off and tried to stay off the foot as much as possible. On top of that, my work decided it would be a good idea to make me redundant, which proved a fairly time-consuming distraction from foot injuries and running.
It's been a tense time, with lots of downs and very few ups, and there is still a whole mess to sort out and God knows how it will be sorted. However, there are positives that I am trying to take from the situation.
I've decided to go freelance and work from home. This should give me much greater flexibility with my running and mean that it is easier to fit in training, as I won't have to be commuting into London every day. I'll miss the long runs home, but there is nothing to stop me finding another route nearer the time, and it will be two hours of my life I will get back on a daily basis
Secondly, I think it is going to have a really good effect on my weight. I've already lost four pounds on the stress diet, but working from home has already meant lots of healthy lunches and no temptation from the office cake and biscuit mountain. So that should also have a positive contributionn to my marathon training
My first redundancy run, however, has not worked out so well. I headed out midweek around 5.30, after closing the computer down for the day. I was feeling quite stressed by the events of the day, and thought a run would clear my head. By 5.37 I was lying flat on my back about half a mile from home, wondering where my glasses had landed and worried that I had actually lost part of my head, rather than cleared it.
I'm still not sure what happened, whether I tripped over myself or a paving stone, but all of a sudden I was conscious I was heading towards the floor. More importantly, I could see a waist level brick wall heading towards my face, as I hurtled towards someone's front garden wall. My first reaction was to protect my face (vanity = king of the emotions) and somehow managed to twist myself round in a corkscrew fashion so I landed on the wall with the length of my left side. I then ricocheted back off the wall and rolled onto the ground in a Starsky and Hutch style, glasses flying off my face in god knows what direction.
Of course, this had to happen on a main road. My vanity kicked in immediately and I got straight up, picking up my glasses and (pathetically) stopping my GPS. I let out a very loud 'ow' and looked down to see blood pouring out of about 5 points on my left hand. My left ear felt like it had been sliced in half, and my left shoulder was protesting fairly loudly as well. So I slouched off towards home, feeling embarrassed, agonised and generally chastened by the whole experience.
Remarkably, I have only a mild graze on my right knee and elbow, and the left knee and elbow are intact. However, there is not much left of my little finger on my left hand apart from blood and scabs. I somehow have managed to cheese grate the inside of my ear, leaving the outside intact (don't ask, I'm never going to figure that one out). I have also cheese grated the back of my left shoulder, and have a big hole in the front of the same shoulder that, bizarrely, resembles a bullet hole.
Hell, maybe that's it, maybe I was shot and that's why I went down! Yes - that's my story and I am sticking with it...
LON
Monday 14 March 2011
Ready or not, Brooklyn, here I come
With a week to go to the NYC half marathon, the weather decided yesterday that my last long run should not be conducted in the breezy Spring conditions of last week, but in proper grey, dank and dreary London weather. I'm hoping that this means I might have kept a bit of weather luck back for Sunday's race but whatever the conditions, I'm as ready as I am going to get now.
Still carrying too much weight, still feeling I missed too much training, still sporting the most disgusting-looking big toe in the history of disgusting toes but nevertheless enjoying the running again - psychologically I'm looking forward to testing myself and seeing just how far I need to progress before Berlin in September. I was reminded yesterday afternoon on my long run of just how tedious distance running can be and thanked my lucky stars I have an unrivalled capacity for daydreaming. It's a skill that gets you to 8 miles before you even realise it's full-on tedium (and one that gets you through the dullest of meetings during the working day). I'm sure I should probably be concentrating on form or pace or some other running-related technique but unfortunately I'm not. Most of the time I can't even remember what goes through my head on my long runs, which I tell myself is a blessing.
I don't get much practice at hills these days, so I decided that my last long run should be a hilly one and headed off to the dreaded Horsenden Hill for an out and back route. Every time I set foot on the bottom of that hill, I berate myself for taking the route - it's a vile steep incline from the start, with a few dips along the way, and really tests the old lungs. It doesn't seem so steep on the way back but I can't quite tell whether that is psychological or topographical. However, I learnt yesterday that not only is it steep, but it's a damn sight nearer my new house than I thought it was, which meant that I had to find an extra 3 mile loop before I headed home.
As a result, I ended up taking in about 5 hills in total. Not all as steep as Horsenden, but enough to feel everything working. No squeaking of lungs, which is good. Some squeaking of hip, which is not so good. I did take in a few new streets as well, and looking at the massive mansions of posh Ealing is quite distracting. I was particularly taken with the huge white house on top of hill 4, which in an ideal world is probably worth a couple of million pounds, but is instead in total disrepair. Every possible bit of paint was peeling off and/or filthy, and it reminded me of Johnny Weismuller's house in Beverley Hills when I took the 'homes of the Stars' tour in LA. Overrun with weeds, run down and filthy, a massive mansion unable to be sold on or developed until Johnny's estate runs out of money - a condition of his will. I remembered thinking that they certainly weren't spending any of the estate money on upkeep, which would have seemed to me a pretty quick way of getting rid of the dosh and being able to sell the house on. It would have costs millions of dollars just to weed the garden.
Look at me, comparing Ealing to LA (not actually possible with yesterday's weather). I should start comparing to Brooklyn first, as that is my destination on Thursday. Will fit one more run in here in London, then the rest of my taper will have to take place on the other side of the Atlantic. What a hardship!
While I wish my running buddy was a bit closer for training runs, it's lovely to think that I'll be running over the Brooklyn Bridge soon in a last minute leg loosener, getting ready for Central Park and Times Square on Sunday. I am privileged to run in such iconic locations, and it makes running round suburban Ealing easier to bear.
NY, here I come!
LON
Still carrying too much weight, still feeling I missed too much training, still sporting the most disgusting-looking big toe in the history of disgusting toes but nevertheless enjoying the running again - psychologically I'm looking forward to testing myself and seeing just how far I need to progress before Berlin in September. I was reminded yesterday afternoon on my long run of just how tedious distance running can be and thanked my lucky stars I have an unrivalled capacity for daydreaming. It's a skill that gets you to 8 miles before you even realise it's full-on tedium (and one that gets you through the dullest of meetings during the working day). I'm sure I should probably be concentrating on form or pace or some other running-related technique but unfortunately I'm not. Most of the time I can't even remember what goes through my head on my long runs, which I tell myself is a blessing.
I don't get much practice at hills these days, so I decided that my last long run should be a hilly one and headed off to the dreaded Horsenden Hill for an out and back route. Every time I set foot on the bottom of that hill, I berate myself for taking the route - it's a vile steep incline from the start, with a few dips along the way, and really tests the old lungs. It doesn't seem so steep on the way back but I can't quite tell whether that is psychological or topographical. However, I learnt yesterday that not only is it steep, but it's a damn sight nearer my new house than I thought it was, which meant that I had to find an extra 3 mile loop before I headed home.
As a result, I ended up taking in about 5 hills in total. Not all as steep as Horsenden, but enough to feel everything working. No squeaking of lungs, which is good. Some squeaking of hip, which is not so good. I did take in a few new streets as well, and looking at the massive mansions of posh Ealing is quite distracting. I was particularly taken with the huge white house on top of hill 4, which in an ideal world is probably worth a couple of million pounds, but is instead in total disrepair. Every possible bit of paint was peeling off and/or filthy, and it reminded me of Johnny Weismuller's house in Beverley Hills when I took the 'homes of the Stars' tour in LA. Overrun with weeds, run down and filthy, a massive mansion unable to be sold on or developed until Johnny's estate runs out of money - a condition of his will. I remembered thinking that they certainly weren't spending any of the estate money on upkeep, which would have seemed to me a pretty quick way of getting rid of the dosh and being able to sell the house on. It would have costs millions of dollars just to weed the garden.
Look at me, comparing Ealing to LA (not actually possible with yesterday's weather). I should start comparing to Brooklyn first, as that is my destination on Thursday. Will fit one more run in here in London, then the rest of my taper will have to take place on the other side of the Atlantic. What a hardship!
While I wish my running buddy was a bit closer for training runs, it's lovely to think that I'll be running over the Brooklyn Bridge soon in a last minute leg loosener, getting ready for Central Park and Times Square on Sunday. I am privileged to run in such iconic locations, and it makes running round suburban Ealing easier to bear.
NY, here I come!
LON
Thursday 10 March 2011
the F word
I realise it's been a while since my last post - I suppose I've just been too busy doing things to blog about them.
Admittedly I did have a little slack period after last week's Lost in South London fiasco but it wasn't all deliberate - honest! First of all, I had a weekend trip to Vienna. Regular readers will know that I am not averse to running in new cities, in fact I love a new route that combines sightseeing. However, Vienna was taken over by European radiologists conferring and confabulating, so we were consigned to a hotel out near the airport. This meant that the local scenery was not so wunderbar but the hotel did have a gym. So I packed some very lightweight running stuff, planning to fit in a quick treadmill session and keep my sightseeing to a more sociable even pace.
Unfortunately the hotel then tried to charge me 9 euros to use the treadmill and I had a Northern moment, refusing point blank to pay for something I actually hate (cf several other posts re hatred of running on rubber belts while watching daytime tv) and regretting not bringing some cold weather kit so I could hit the ring road. Instead I decided to have a extra hour of Vienna tourist time and resolved to fit an extra session in this week when I got back to London.
And how glad am I that I did? While I would have loved to run round central Vienna (a gorgeous city, full of runners and blessed with perfect weather last weekend), I have had an absolute ball running round my local area this week.
Running is fun again! Fun, fun, fun!! (Beach Boys or Housemartins, take your pick for soundtrack to that exclamation)
It's been a combination of factors - perfect weather brought back from Vienna (cold, but bright sunshine), the later sunset giving me some spectacular warm glows over my evening runs, not having to dodge any foxes en route and a general buzz from the running itself
I have loved all 3 runs so far this week and plan to fit in 2 more before the close of the weekend, including a final long run. So what if I'm fat and slow, this running lark is fun! (Maybe not that bit of tonight's speedwork session where my lungs started to make a squeaking noise on the exhale but, hey, that stopped when I started jogging again).
If I can maintain this rekindled love of running until March 20, then NYC will be a blast. I am so excited about the race now, excited to see my running buddy again, excited to get out there and be cheered on by the world's most positive crowd.
Go, fresh air! Go, cancer! Go, Nylon!
LON
Admittedly I did have a little slack period after last week's Lost in South London fiasco but it wasn't all deliberate - honest! First of all, I had a weekend trip to Vienna. Regular readers will know that I am not averse to running in new cities, in fact I love a new route that combines sightseeing. However, Vienna was taken over by European radiologists conferring and confabulating, so we were consigned to a hotel out near the airport. This meant that the local scenery was not so wunderbar but the hotel did have a gym. So I packed some very lightweight running stuff, planning to fit in a quick treadmill session and keep my sightseeing to a more sociable even pace.
Unfortunately the hotel then tried to charge me 9 euros to use the treadmill and I had a Northern moment, refusing point blank to pay for something I actually hate (cf several other posts re hatred of running on rubber belts while watching daytime tv) and regretting not bringing some cold weather kit so I could hit the ring road. Instead I decided to have a extra hour of Vienna tourist time and resolved to fit an extra session in this week when I got back to London.
And how glad am I that I did? While I would have loved to run round central Vienna (a gorgeous city, full of runners and blessed with perfect weather last weekend), I have had an absolute ball running round my local area this week.
Running is fun again! Fun, fun, fun!! (Beach Boys or Housemartins, take your pick for soundtrack to that exclamation)
It's been a combination of factors - perfect weather brought back from Vienna (cold, but bright sunshine), the later sunset giving me some spectacular warm glows over my evening runs, not having to dodge any foxes en route and a general buzz from the running itself
I have loved all 3 runs so far this week and plan to fit in 2 more before the close of the weekend, including a final long run. So what if I'm fat and slow, this running lark is fun! (Maybe not that bit of tonight's speedwork session where my lungs started to make a squeaking noise on the exhale but, hey, that stopped when I started jogging again).
If I can maintain this rekindled love of running until March 20, then NYC will be a blast. I am so excited about the race now, excited to see my running buddy again, excited to get out there and be cheered on by the world's most positive crowd.
Go, fresh air! Go, cancer! Go, Nylon!
LON
Friday 4 March 2011
How many times can a person lose Hammersmith?
I've been neglecting my running this week - work and potential redundancy issues have reached critical mass and distracted me from my normal routine. My early starts have been reserved for staff meetings and one to ones with affected team members, not leaving me much spare time for training.
I did however manage to keep one evening free for a long run. In fact, my longest run. I'm not going to have time this weekend to do a long run - I'm going to Vienna for the weekend with a friend, and it seems unfair to her to take off for an 11 mile run when we are only there for a couple of days. Obviously, a runner knows that this is the ideal way to sightsee, but my travelling companion thinks my running activity is a sign of insanity and therefore I'm going to have to make do with a couple of shortish runs in the hotel gym before breakfast
So I opted to bring my long run forward a couple of days and run home from work. Since I moved house last summer, in theory I am now within long run distance of my place of work. Admittedly it's more of a marathon training long run than a half marathon one - effectively it's probably 14 miles between home and work, maybe a bit less or more depending on the route I decide to take. Running home would be a great way to save time and achieve a training goal - the ultimate in multitasking.
Wrong! I set off happily in the sunshine after work on Wednesday, hoping to get across Battersea, though the park and over to the north side of the river before the sun came down. My final destination was set for B&Q in Chiswick, where I would end my run with the purchase of a new kitchen tap and a ride home in the car by Beloved.
Less than a mile from the office, I set off merrily down the wrong road in south London. This applies literally and figuratively. God forbid London councils should include road signs at the start of every road, are we all supposed to just have a TomTom in our head now? I passed Nine Elms Sainsburys, blithely assuming this meant I was on Nine Elms road. Nope, I was on Wandsworth Road which, instead of hugging the river to Battersea Park, heads south west away from the river and the park.
If they ever wanted to film The Wire somewhere in England, Wandsworth Road would be a nice place to start - 'projects' on either side of the road, interspersed with desolation and some of the scariest looking pubs I have ever seen. There was the odd quirky bar or shop, for those middle class south Londoners who like to 'keep it real', but that was it. I did think about getting my phone out to check where I was but clearly Wandsworth Road doesn't get many runners and the entire population seemed to stop and stare at me as I hurtled past, so I didn't feel too confident about stopping and flashing an iphone around. I did however get a lovely mouthful of very strong dope smoke, just to make the run a bit more interesting. To make matters worse, Battersea Power Station loomed large in the background, mocking me with its ever increasing distance from my route.
So when I finally reached the bottom of Queenstown Road, meaning I knew where I was and how I could get to the park, I was deliriously happy. I was also conscious that my detour was going to significantly impact on my overall mileage but the sun was still shining so I just stopped worrying and sped up to reach the park while it was still light.
As I got into the park I got out my phone to see how far I'd run and bloody Endomondo hadn't worked! So I had to start tracking my run there and then, feeling totally deflated that I couldn't even take comfort from the fact I'd knocked a few miles off the distance already.
After being chased through the park by two yappy dogs and one careless owner, I was starting to feel a bit harrassed about the whole running home lark. The sun was going down, the temperature was plummeting and I remembered I had brought no food with me at all. At this stage, if I was an emoticon, it would be 'Frowny face'.
Relieved to see Chelsea and familiar territory, I went heading off north and onto the Kings Road. Knowing that this was essentially taking me south west again, I thought I had better start heading in the right direction and headed off north towards Parsons Green. With a quick pitstop for some emergency JellyTots in Parsons Green co-op, I headed off towards Fulham, with a view to running though Hammersmith and then into Chiswick.
Those of you who followed the marathon training in 2009 might recall the 'losing Hammersmith Bridge' incident. This week I went one step further and lost the whole of Hammersmith. Some might call this more efficient, but emoticon-wise, this took me into 'tears running down face' mode
As I went further and further down Fulham Road, distracted by very nice looking cafes, restaurants and posh butcher shops, I found myself heading South West yet again. Like a faulty compass. Given that the whole point of choosing the Battersea route was to avoid running through Putney the sign saying 'Putney' (straight ahead) was enough to drive me to a stiff drink. Instead it was more likely that it was me that was stiff, getting colder and colder as the evening wore on and by now running in circles.
As Fulham Road is much more suited to getting out an iphone and looking lost, I finally stopped for as short a time as possible, to find Hammersmith before I froze into an ice statue. Pointed in the right direction by GoogleMaps, I made one final phone call to advise Beloved that B&Q Chiswick was now a pipe dream and 'could I have a lift home from the tube station instead?'
Running the final leg back to Hammersmith, I have never been so cold. I could almost feel my thigh muscles stiffening as I moved, the temperature had dropped so dramatically. I have never been so pleased to see Hammersmith tube station in my entire life. Anyone who has been through the station will know that this is a sign of utter desperation.
Cold, miserable and fearing the worst for stiff muscles the next day, I prowled the shops of the tube station to find a suitable recovery foodstuff. I made do with the world's sweetest chocolate milkshake - though I could only finish half, it was so sugary.
Home, showered and feeling very sorry for my navigation skills, I vowed never to run south of the river again unless accompanied by a native. We northerners really need to know our limitations.
LON
I did however manage to keep one evening free for a long run. In fact, my longest run. I'm not going to have time this weekend to do a long run - I'm going to Vienna for the weekend with a friend, and it seems unfair to her to take off for an 11 mile run when we are only there for a couple of days. Obviously, a runner knows that this is the ideal way to sightsee, but my travelling companion thinks my running activity is a sign of insanity and therefore I'm going to have to make do with a couple of shortish runs in the hotel gym before breakfast
So I opted to bring my long run forward a couple of days and run home from work. Since I moved house last summer, in theory I am now within long run distance of my place of work. Admittedly it's more of a marathon training long run than a half marathon one - effectively it's probably 14 miles between home and work, maybe a bit less or more depending on the route I decide to take. Running home would be a great way to save time and achieve a training goal - the ultimate in multitasking.
Wrong! I set off happily in the sunshine after work on Wednesday, hoping to get across Battersea, though the park and over to the north side of the river before the sun came down. My final destination was set for B&Q in Chiswick, where I would end my run with the purchase of a new kitchen tap and a ride home in the car by Beloved.
Less than a mile from the office, I set off merrily down the wrong road in south London. This applies literally and figuratively. God forbid London councils should include road signs at the start of every road, are we all supposed to just have a TomTom in our head now? I passed Nine Elms Sainsburys, blithely assuming this meant I was on Nine Elms road. Nope, I was on Wandsworth Road which, instead of hugging the river to Battersea Park, heads south west away from the river and the park.
If they ever wanted to film The Wire somewhere in England, Wandsworth Road would be a nice place to start - 'projects' on either side of the road, interspersed with desolation and some of the scariest looking pubs I have ever seen. There was the odd quirky bar or shop, for those middle class south Londoners who like to 'keep it real', but that was it. I did think about getting my phone out to check where I was but clearly Wandsworth Road doesn't get many runners and the entire population seemed to stop and stare at me as I hurtled past, so I didn't feel too confident about stopping and flashing an iphone around. I did however get a lovely mouthful of very strong dope smoke, just to make the run a bit more interesting. To make matters worse, Battersea Power Station loomed large in the background, mocking me with its ever increasing distance from my route.
So when I finally reached the bottom of Queenstown Road, meaning I knew where I was and how I could get to the park, I was deliriously happy. I was also conscious that my detour was going to significantly impact on my overall mileage but the sun was still shining so I just stopped worrying and sped up to reach the park while it was still light.
As I got into the park I got out my phone to see how far I'd run and bloody Endomondo hadn't worked! So I had to start tracking my run there and then, feeling totally deflated that I couldn't even take comfort from the fact I'd knocked a few miles off the distance already.
After being chased through the park by two yappy dogs and one careless owner, I was starting to feel a bit harrassed about the whole running home lark. The sun was going down, the temperature was plummeting and I remembered I had brought no food with me at all. At this stage, if I was an emoticon, it would be 'Frowny face'.
Relieved to see Chelsea and familiar territory, I went heading off north and onto the Kings Road. Knowing that this was essentially taking me south west again, I thought I had better start heading in the right direction and headed off north towards Parsons Green. With a quick pitstop for some emergency JellyTots in Parsons Green co-op, I headed off towards Fulham, with a view to running though Hammersmith and then into Chiswick.
Those of you who followed the marathon training in 2009 might recall the 'losing Hammersmith Bridge' incident. This week I went one step further and lost the whole of Hammersmith. Some might call this more efficient, but emoticon-wise, this took me into 'tears running down face' mode
As I went further and further down Fulham Road, distracted by very nice looking cafes, restaurants and posh butcher shops, I found myself heading South West yet again. Like a faulty compass. Given that the whole point of choosing the Battersea route was to avoid running through Putney the sign saying 'Putney' (straight ahead) was enough to drive me to a stiff drink. Instead it was more likely that it was me that was stiff, getting colder and colder as the evening wore on and by now running in circles.
As Fulham Road is much more suited to getting out an iphone and looking lost, I finally stopped for as short a time as possible, to find Hammersmith before I froze into an ice statue. Pointed in the right direction by GoogleMaps, I made one final phone call to advise Beloved that B&Q Chiswick was now a pipe dream and 'could I have a lift home from the tube station instead?'
Running the final leg back to Hammersmith, I have never been so cold. I could almost feel my thigh muscles stiffening as I moved, the temperature had dropped so dramatically. I have never been so pleased to see Hammersmith tube station in my entire life. Anyone who has been through the station will know that this is a sign of utter desperation.
Cold, miserable and fearing the worst for stiff muscles the next day, I prowled the shops of the tube station to find a suitable recovery foodstuff. I made do with the world's sweetest chocolate milkshake - though I could only finish half, it was so sugary.
Home, showered and feeling very sorry for my navigation skills, I vowed never to run south of the river again unless accompanied by a native. We northerners really need to know our limitations.
LON
Sunday 27 February 2011
Nice race, shame about the Kit-Kat
I have a weekend of positive, productive running behind me. Admittedly, it has taken me all day to stop coughing since I finished my race this morning but nevertheless I feel great
Yesterday my training plan set out a short run of 3 miles, on grass, as prep for today's 10k.We've had so much rain recently we don't actually have any grass left, just mud, so I knew I'd have to just pound the pavements as normal. I also needed to get a birthday gift for a friend who was having her birthday dinner last night. The thought of going out in the rain for a run, then coming home and getting washed and changed to go out to the shops was just too depressing, so instead I ran to the nearest shop that did gift vouchers and bought those, putting them in two plastic bags in my waterproof jacket pocket, and ran the rest of my mileage home. Multitasking marathon style...
Today was the Harrow Hill 6 mile race - so not quite 10k but close enough. Hills count extra, you know.
I'd been experiencing pre-race nerves this week, as I just don't live in a hilly area anymore and don't get the practice. Readers of this blog this time last year would know that I did a fine job in lapping several people up the hill, raising the smugness levels to orange. This year I would be happy just to get up the hill both times.
And I did! And I did lap people - I never cease to be amazed by the number of people who sign up for a race with the word 'Hill' in the title and then proceed to whinge about having to run up them. What do they expect?
The best bit about very steep hills is the descent, because you know you've got plenty of time to recover and get your breath back. You can even pick up a good pace on the downhill as well, so I managed to knock a minute off last year's time too.
I'd started off very slowly as the first few hundred yards are all uphill but actually I think this served me quite well. The hill really splits all the runners up, so you don't actually feel like you're in a race for a while - everyone is too spread out and you just end up running on your own. So I decided to track a Pink Lady in front of me for a while, as she seemed to be putting in a nice steady pace. After about 2 miles though, I realised she was going too slow for me, so I set off past her and tried to find someone else to track.
I lapped two young men who didn't event attempt to run up Harrow Hill (quitters) and then just had Harrow to myself for another mile before I hit the 5 mile mark and got into view of some other runners.
I 'chicked' a guy in the last mile, who sounded like he was dying from TB for the rest of the race, and headed off into the final strait with a happy heart and protesting lungs.I did feel like I had plenty left in the tank though, so I think my pacing was spot on.
I'm feeling a lot more confident about my ability to get round 13 miles in a few weeks time now.
The only disappointment of the day was the goody bag - no KitKat! Instead we got a banana (boring - had brought my own), a bag of salt & vinegar crisps and a plastic keyring in the shape of a football (!?)
I don't even like KitKats that much but really, a plastic keyring in the shape of a football - what kind of a freebie is that?
You don't get that sort of tat in NYC - roll on March 20...
LON
Yesterday my training plan set out a short run of 3 miles, on grass, as prep for today's 10k.We've had so much rain recently we don't actually have any grass left, just mud, so I knew I'd have to just pound the pavements as normal. I also needed to get a birthday gift for a friend who was having her birthday dinner last night. The thought of going out in the rain for a run, then coming home and getting washed and changed to go out to the shops was just too depressing, so instead I ran to the nearest shop that did gift vouchers and bought those, putting them in two plastic bags in my waterproof jacket pocket, and ran the rest of my mileage home. Multitasking marathon style...
Today was the Harrow Hill 6 mile race - so not quite 10k but close enough. Hills count extra, you know.
I'd been experiencing pre-race nerves this week, as I just don't live in a hilly area anymore and don't get the practice. Readers of this blog this time last year would know that I did a fine job in lapping several people up the hill, raising the smugness levels to orange. This year I would be happy just to get up the hill both times.
And I did! And I did lap people - I never cease to be amazed by the number of people who sign up for a race with the word 'Hill' in the title and then proceed to whinge about having to run up them. What do they expect?
The best bit about very steep hills is the descent, because you know you've got plenty of time to recover and get your breath back. You can even pick up a good pace on the downhill as well, so I managed to knock a minute off last year's time too.
I'd started off very slowly as the first few hundred yards are all uphill but actually I think this served me quite well. The hill really splits all the runners up, so you don't actually feel like you're in a race for a while - everyone is too spread out and you just end up running on your own. So I decided to track a Pink Lady in front of me for a while, as she seemed to be putting in a nice steady pace. After about 2 miles though, I realised she was going too slow for me, so I set off past her and tried to find someone else to track.
I lapped two young men who didn't event attempt to run up Harrow Hill (quitters) and then just had Harrow to myself for another mile before I hit the 5 mile mark and got into view of some other runners.
I 'chicked' a guy in the last mile, who sounded like he was dying from TB for the rest of the race, and headed off into the final strait with a happy heart and protesting lungs.I did feel like I had plenty left in the tank though, so I think my pacing was spot on.
I'm feeling a lot more confident about my ability to get round 13 miles in a few weeks time now.
The only disappointment of the day was the goody bag - no KitKat! Instead we got a banana (boring - had brought my own), a bag of salt & vinegar crisps and a plastic keyring in the shape of a football (!?)
I don't even like KitKats that much but really, a plastic keyring in the shape of a football - what kind of a freebie is that?
You don't get that sort of tat in NYC - roll on March 20...
LON
Thursday 24 February 2011
Autopilot
I had one of those autopilot runs this morning, one where you find yourself dressed in lycra and a mile from home before you've even woken up and realised you're running. I'm taking this as a positive step in the move away from complacency, but it could just be that I was actually in a dream-like state and hadn't realised I was doing it.
I'm getting a bit of cold feet about my 6 mile race on Sunday. It's a race I did last year, a Harrow Hill 6miler. The singular use of Hill is somewhat misleading as you have to do the Hill twice as part of the route, not including the fairly hefty incline to get out of the car park start in the first place. Last year I did really well - I set a good time, lapped people going up the hill both times and was given a KitKat for my efforts at the finish. But this year I am not feeling so positive.
Partly it's because my training has taken a dent because of germs but also partly because, since I moved, my training doesn't include quite so many hills as before. Where I lived before, it was impossible to run in any direction without taking in a hill. Now I have to travel quite some distance to get to a hill, unless you include railway bridges and staircases (in which case I am getting quite a lot of practice). I'm therefore a little nervous that Harrow's long steep hill, combined with my slightly defective lungs, might prove a much bigger test this year.
Still I've got to test myself in a race environment before March 20 and this is a nice friendly club environment in which to do it. I should at least get a guide to how badly I might actually perform in Manhattan.
I just hope you still get the KitKat at the end
LON
I'm getting a bit of cold feet about my 6 mile race on Sunday. It's a race I did last year, a Harrow Hill 6miler. The singular use of Hill is somewhat misleading as you have to do the Hill twice as part of the route, not including the fairly hefty incline to get out of the car park start in the first place. Last year I did really well - I set a good time, lapped people going up the hill both times and was given a KitKat for my efforts at the finish. But this year I am not feeling so positive.
Partly it's because my training has taken a dent because of germs but also partly because, since I moved, my training doesn't include quite so many hills as before. Where I lived before, it was impossible to run in any direction without taking in a hill. Now I have to travel quite some distance to get to a hill, unless you include railway bridges and staircases (in which case I am getting quite a lot of practice). I'm therefore a little nervous that Harrow's long steep hill, combined with my slightly defective lungs, might prove a much bigger test this year.
Still I've got to test myself in a race environment before March 20 and this is a nice friendly club environment in which to do it. I should at least get a guide to how badly I might actually perform in Manhattan.
I just hope you still get the KitKat at the end
LON
Wednesday 23 February 2011
All you need is dedication
The mist and the rain really test an amateur runner's desire, don't they? It's been unremittingly grey and damp here in London for several days (yes I know, it's living up to its global reputation) and it's now starting to become a real downer on my runs.
It has made me think a lot about the worst possible weather scenario for a run. My top 5 worst running conditions, after much reflection over lunch yesterday, would be:
1 Heavy rain combined with wind
2 Heavy rain combined with low temperatures
3 Strong wind in every single direction, even when you run in a grid fashion
4 Icy pavements
5 Non-rain rain
Non-rain rain is my new term for London's current weather - it's rain, Jim, but not as we know it. How it manages to be permanently wet without actually raining I don't know, but you've got to give London's weather kudos for creating a whole new weather condition. It's not actually raining, so not wet enough for a waterproof, but yet when you arrive home you are soaked all over. Bizarre.
On a plus side, the mornings are now much lighter so it's becoming easier to rouse myself for a pre-work run. However, the non-rain rain is accompanied by a grey blanket. It's not fog, or even really mist, more just a general 'dirtiness' of landscape. You know it should be daylight but instead you have run through a grey haze. It's like a TV with a broken brightness function.
The murky weather has made me realise that I am actually complacent about my ability to finish a half marathon. It's not really an issue of speed anymore, (although I would dearly love to knock some more minutes off my finishing time) but when I have had training setbacks (such as a hacking cough a 40-a-day smoker would envy), I have been consoling myself with the thought that I can make it round on patchy training. I just won't make it round in a good time.
Complacency is a terrible state to be in but at the moment I just feel I need to survive my runs. Life outside of running is just so complicated, and work is making it increasingly difficult to schedule in midweek runs, that it takes all my energy just to get out there, let alone really test myself.
The thing is, it's not just about the New York Half, is it? I've got to remember that the ultimate goal for this year is the Berlin Marathon in September - and there is no way I can just wing that one on just the long runs.
Somehow I have to recover that marathon fear and awe, and regain that dedication from 2009.
Somehow.
LON
It has made me think a lot about the worst possible weather scenario for a run. My top 5 worst running conditions, after much reflection over lunch yesterday, would be:
1 Heavy rain combined with wind
2 Heavy rain combined with low temperatures
3 Strong wind in every single direction, even when you run in a grid fashion
4 Icy pavements
5 Non-rain rain
Non-rain rain is my new term for London's current weather - it's rain, Jim, but not as we know it. How it manages to be permanently wet without actually raining I don't know, but you've got to give London's weather kudos for creating a whole new weather condition. It's not actually raining, so not wet enough for a waterproof, but yet when you arrive home you are soaked all over. Bizarre.
On a plus side, the mornings are now much lighter so it's becoming easier to rouse myself for a pre-work run. However, the non-rain rain is accompanied by a grey blanket. It's not fog, or even really mist, more just a general 'dirtiness' of landscape. You know it should be daylight but instead you have run through a grey haze. It's like a TV with a broken brightness function.
The murky weather has made me realise that I am actually complacent about my ability to finish a half marathon. It's not really an issue of speed anymore, (although I would dearly love to knock some more minutes off my finishing time) but when I have had training setbacks (such as a hacking cough a 40-a-day smoker would envy), I have been consoling myself with the thought that I can make it round on patchy training. I just won't make it round in a good time.
Complacency is a terrible state to be in but at the moment I just feel I need to survive my runs. Life outside of running is just so complicated, and work is making it increasingly difficult to schedule in midweek runs, that it takes all my energy just to get out there, let alone really test myself.
The thing is, it's not just about the New York Half, is it? I've got to remember that the ultimate goal for this year is the Berlin Marathon in September - and there is no way I can just wing that one on just the long runs.
Somehow I have to recover that marathon fear and awe, and regain that dedication from 2009.
Somehow.
LON
Monday 21 February 2011
A weekend of two halves
Apologies for dropping off the blogosphere recently, but it's very hard to write a blog about running when you're not running. The day after my last post, I developed another heavy cold and a hacking chesty cough, which kept me from pounding the pavements in my usual frequency. While I can run with a cold, coughs are difficult. After a week of coughs and sniffles, I attempted to head out for a mid length easy run as it was a beautiful sunny winters day. I ended up having two massive coughing fits (including one over Kew Bridge that, for a moment, genuinely risked a lung coming up and out of my mouth) and called it short at 7 miles, deciding to leave it a few more days before I risked the streets again.
Two weeks is too long to take easy with a half marathon on the horizon though, so thought I would take my defective lungs out for training again this weekend. Saturday was intended to be a short 4-miler, just to test the waters. This included testing the waters that came out of the sky, as I had to plod round in mist and dank rain for the full route.
But as I approached Ealing Common, I was given a real lift by my Endomondo app. My American virtual coach told me I had completed the preceding mile in 7.5 minutes. I was ecstatic and skipped my way through the rain for the rest of the route, convinced that my enforced rest had actually done me the world of good and, like many a good racehorse, 'I go well fresh'.
So you can imagine my disappointment when I got home and checked the app on my phone, realising that my GPS had somehow 'flown' me over the first half of my route, giving me a false time for the first two miles of the run. Frowny face.
Yesterday, I decided to pick up my training as if I had never left off, and give the GPS a second chance. So I headed out for a nice slow 9 miles, in the mist and the rain, crossing my fingers that I would make it round without losing a lung. It was particularly grim weather for running and it got greyer and greyer as my run went on. I'd decided that I would attempt Kew again, after the previous week's early finish, but somehow Kew is not so pretty and leafy when it's drizzling and thick of fog. I'd also not really thought through fully the geography of the run. I'd allowed for the river, obviously, and planned in the requisite crossing points. What I had forgotten about was the train line, which meant that I had to insert a railway bridge into my run too. Stairs are good training for half marathons, right?
I did have a couple of amusing moments en route though. My American virtual coach, or the Pocket Shouting Lady as I like to call her, caused quite a stir on the homeward stretch. A couple of Sunday afternoon drinkers, who'd clearly been at it since the pub opened 3 hours previously, were outside having a cigarette. Obviously the sight of someone doing exercise when they could be having a pint and a fag was interesting enough, so I'd already caught their attention.
As I approached them, and got ready to cross the road away from them and their cigarette smoke, Pocket Lady decided to shout '6 miles, 1 hour 3 minutes' at top volume. Transatlantic ventroquilism is obviously the sort of thing you don't come across every day in shady pubs in Brentford, and the watching drinkers were positively slackjawed in wonder at my trick. I like to think I may have saved them from further liver damage, by convincing them that they had clearly had enough to drink at that point if they thought that a passing runner's lycra outfit could talk.
The next stage of my route home brought me up against a new runners hazard - girl learning to use roller blades. This is surprisingly hazardous if you are trying to cross a busy road with the roller blade newbie crossing the other way. It's impossible to predict which way her legs are going to go next - a dog on a lead is easier to avoid! As I moved left, her right leg slid towards me. As I switched right, her left leg moved towards me. With every inch of movement, she became more and more hysterical, and so did I. Just for very different reasons.
After spending the next mile laughing at the roller blade performance, I managed to fit in dodging two crazed dogs in the park before heading home to check out the accuracy of technology for the day. Thankfully, GPS is back on track and seemingly, so am I.
This week is race week, with a hilly 10k race planned for Sunday morning, to really test my fitness (and my lungs). I hope the stair training at Kew Station pays off!
Two weeks is too long to take easy with a half marathon on the horizon though, so thought I would take my defective lungs out for training again this weekend. Saturday was intended to be a short 4-miler, just to test the waters. This included testing the waters that came out of the sky, as I had to plod round in mist and dank rain for the full route.
But as I approached Ealing Common, I was given a real lift by my Endomondo app. My American virtual coach told me I had completed the preceding mile in 7.5 minutes. I was ecstatic and skipped my way through the rain for the rest of the route, convinced that my enforced rest had actually done me the world of good and, like many a good racehorse, 'I go well fresh'.
So you can imagine my disappointment when I got home and checked the app on my phone, realising that my GPS had somehow 'flown' me over the first half of my route, giving me a false time for the first two miles of the run. Frowny face.
Yesterday, I decided to pick up my training as if I had never left off, and give the GPS a second chance. So I headed out for a nice slow 9 miles, in the mist and the rain, crossing my fingers that I would make it round without losing a lung. It was particularly grim weather for running and it got greyer and greyer as my run went on. I'd decided that I would attempt Kew again, after the previous week's early finish, but somehow Kew is not so pretty and leafy when it's drizzling and thick of fog. I'd also not really thought through fully the geography of the run. I'd allowed for the river, obviously, and planned in the requisite crossing points. What I had forgotten about was the train line, which meant that I had to insert a railway bridge into my run too. Stairs are good training for half marathons, right?
I did have a couple of amusing moments en route though. My American virtual coach, or the Pocket Shouting Lady as I like to call her, caused quite a stir on the homeward stretch. A couple of Sunday afternoon drinkers, who'd clearly been at it since the pub opened 3 hours previously, were outside having a cigarette. Obviously the sight of someone doing exercise when they could be having a pint and a fag was interesting enough, so I'd already caught their attention.
As I approached them, and got ready to cross the road away from them and their cigarette smoke, Pocket Lady decided to shout '6 miles, 1 hour 3 minutes' at top volume. Transatlantic ventroquilism is obviously the sort of thing you don't come across every day in shady pubs in Brentford, and the watching drinkers were positively slackjawed in wonder at my trick. I like to think I may have saved them from further liver damage, by convincing them that they had clearly had enough to drink at that point if they thought that a passing runner's lycra outfit could talk.
The next stage of my route home brought me up against a new runners hazard - girl learning to use roller blades. This is surprisingly hazardous if you are trying to cross a busy road with the roller blade newbie crossing the other way. It's impossible to predict which way her legs are going to go next - a dog on a lead is easier to avoid! As I moved left, her right leg slid towards me. As I switched right, her left leg moved towards me. With every inch of movement, she became more and more hysterical, and so did I. Just for very different reasons.
After spending the next mile laughing at the roller blade performance, I managed to fit in dodging two crazed dogs in the park before heading home to check out the accuracy of technology for the day. Thankfully, GPS is back on track and seemingly, so am I.
This week is race week, with a hilly 10k race planned for Sunday morning, to really test my fitness (and my lungs). I hope the stair training at Kew Station pays off!
Friday 4 February 2011
My left foot
I have now finished the course of antibiotics and unfortunately don't seem to have made much progress with the toe rot.
Admittedly this time last week it was bright red and throbbing. Now it's bright green and achy. This might actually be progress for a more medically minded person, but for me it's just moving from one unpleasant state to another.
The most worrying thing about it is how my toe seems to have aged, leaving the rest of my body behind. The skin looks old and withered, the nail looks - well, I won't go into too much detail, in case you're reading this while eating. I now admit to a slightly irrational fear that my whole toe might just drop off through old age, leaving me permanently unbalanced. As if runners' feet weren't disgusting enough, I have to go and catch something which turns my toe into the Picture of Dorian Gray.
There may however be a major upside to the toe infection though - speed! Still smugly triumphant after Tuesday's speedfest, I managed to knock another 30 seconds off my mile time yesterday morning, bringing my mile average down by 42 secs overall. The house is just not big enough for my ego right now.
I can't decide whether it's the lush new Brooks trainers, the pre-run Powerbar shots or the green pus in my toe. Perhaps green pus is my superpower, a bit like when Spiderman gets bitten by the exotic spider? I have not yet been able to shoot a web of green pus out of my big toe, so this would appear to be a limited superpower, but increasingly fast mile times are a huge bonus. If nothing else, it means I get home for breakfast a lot quicker!
I can only hope that this is a permanent positive curve I'm on and not just a freak week. At this rate, I'll be able to shave at least a minute or two off my half marathon time in Manhattan next month. And maybe, just maybe, even shave some minutes off that marathon time in September.
A girl can dream
LON
Admittedly this time last week it was bright red and throbbing. Now it's bright green and achy. This might actually be progress for a more medically minded person, but for me it's just moving from one unpleasant state to another.
The most worrying thing about it is how my toe seems to have aged, leaving the rest of my body behind. The skin looks old and withered, the nail looks - well, I won't go into too much detail, in case you're reading this while eating. I now admit to a slightly irrational fear that my whole toe might just drop off through old age, leaving me permanently unbalanced. As if runners' feet weren't disgusting enough, I have to go and catch something which turns my toe into the Picture of Dorian Gray.
There may however be a major upside to the toe infection though - speed! Still smugly triumphant after Tuesday's speedfest, I managed to knock another 30 seconds off my mile time yesterday morning, bringing my mile average down by 42 secs overall. The house is just not big enough for my ego right now.
I can't decide whether it's the lush new Brooks trainers, the pre-run Powerbar shots or the green pus in my toe. Perhaps green pus is my superpower, a bit like when Spiderman gets bitten by the exotic spider? I have not yet been able to shoot a web of green pus out of my big toe, so this would appear to be a limited superpower, but increasingly fast mile times are a huge bonus. If nothing else, it means I get home for breakfast a lot quicker!
I can only hope that this is a permanent positive curve I'm on and not just a freak week. At this rate, I'll be able to shave at least a minute or two off my half marathon time in Manhattan next month. And maybe, just maybe, even shave some minutes off that marathon time in September.
A girl can dream
LON
Wednesday 2 February 2011
From the sublime to the ridiculous
(Or 'how I went from running bliss to muscle soreness in 15 hours')
Despite my persistent demotivation over the last few weeks, I'm still managing to drag my new shoes out for training runs. The dark evenings remain a challenge, so I'm directing my efforts into running in the mornings before work.
Gradually my runs have been getting faster - admittedly in small degrees - but it's safe to say I'm slowly getting fitter. My Endomondo app on the iphone is proving really useful for measuring my progress, and mapping my routes, and I've become very comfortable with being shouted at several times every run by an American lady. Yesterday morning though, it all seemed to start to come together properly
The mornings are definitely getting lighter, which a huge plus for my darkness-demotived self. I also remembered to take on board some PowerBar ride shots before I left the house, as opposed to just heading out on a glass of water. So I don't whether the psychological boost of sunshine was key, or whether it was simple sugar rush that helped me produce my PB for 2011.
I managed to knock 62 seconds off my best mile for this year so far and reproduce it over a second mile too. The moment my US friend shouted out my mile, I even did a little fist pump to myself. I was elated - I'm now remembering what it is like to get fitter and progress, rather than just thud round like a fat plodder.
I'm obviously still weeks away from the NYC half and will no doubt experience some running lows over the rest of the training period but nevertheless I'm now starting to feel positive about my abilities again. I've got my running mojo back.
Unfortunately, I had to spoil my running high by completely overdoing things for the rest of they day. As if running 4.5 miles before breakfast was not enough for my grudgingly unfit body, I then decided that the best way to move around London in between 3 separate meetings and a night out at a music gig was on foot. First I walked from Victoria to Westminster (not so far), then from Westminster to Trafalgar Square (little bit further but not too far) then from Trafalgar Square to Oxford Circus (further than I thought).
With a seated break for dinner, I then proceeded to stand for 2 and half hours at the music gig, with a throbbing infected toe and a gradually increasing hip ache. My aches and pains weren't helped by the world's most preposterous support act, a man in a suit with a stuffed cat and a tiny electronic organ singing children's songs.
On leaving the gig, we bumped into the entire contents of the Arsenal football stadium trying to get onto the Tube, so had to walk yet another mile and a half to another tube station to be able to board a train.
I'm not sure my legs have felt that tired since I ran the New York marathon!
As a result, my paronychia-ed toe now looks shrivelled and worn, with a yellow and black colour scheme. It's almost like a part of my body has died prematurely - I can only hope it won't shrivel up and drop off entirely, because I'm pretty sure you need both big toes to run any race distance. My entire lower half aches gently from marching round London in work shoes and I have only myself to blame
So I'm inserting a rest day into the plan today and intend to head back out and test my new speed status tomorrow morning instead. Here's hoping...
LON
Despite my persistent demotivation over the last few weeks, I'm still managing to drag my new shoes out for training runs. The dark evenings remain a challenge, so I'm directing my efforts into running in the mornings before work.
Gradually my runs have been getting faster - admittedly in small degrees - but it's safe to say I'm slowly getting fitter. My Endomondo app on the iphone is proving really useful for measuring my progress, and mapping my routes, and I've become very comfortable with being shouted at several times every run by an American lady. Yesterday morning though, it all seemed to start to come together properly
The mornings are definitely getting lighter, which a huge plus for my darkness-demotived self. I also remembered to take on board some PowerBar ride shots before I left the house, as opposed to just heading out on a glass of water. So I don't whether the psychological boost of sunshine was key, or whether it was simple sugar rush that helped me produce my PB for 2011.
I managed to knock 62 seconds off my best mile for this year so far and reproduce it over a second mile too. The moment my US friend shouted out my mile, I even did a little fist pump to myself. I was elated - I'm now remembering what it is like to get fitter and progress, rather than just thud round like a fat plodder.
I'm obviously still weeks away from the NYC half and will no doubt experience some running lows over the rest of the training period but nevertheless I'm now starting to feel positive about my abilities again. I've got my running mojo back.
Unfortunately, I had to spoil my running high by completely overdoing things for the rest of they day. As if running 4.5 miles before breakfast was not enough for my grudgingly unfit body, I then decided that the best way to move around London in between 3 separate meetings and a night out at a music gig was on foot. First I walked from Victoria to Westminster (not so far), then from Westminster to Trafalgar Square (little bit further but not too far) then from Trafalgar Square to Oxford Circus (further than I thought).
With a seated break for dinner, I then proceeded to stand for 2 and half hours at the music gig, with a throbbing infected toe and a gradually increasing hip ache. My aches and pains weren't helped by the world's most preposterous support act, a man in a suit with a stuffed cat and a tiny electronic organ singing children's songs.
On leaving the gig, we bumped into the entire contents of the Arsenal football stadium trying to get onto the Tube, so had to walk yet another mile and a half to another tube station to be able to board a train.
I'm not sure my legs have felt that tired since I ran the New York marathon!
As a result, my paronychia-ed toe now looks shrivelled and worn, with a yellow and black colour scheme. It's almost like a part of my body has died prematurely - I can only hope it won't shrivel up and drop off entirely, because I'm pretty sure you need both big toes to run any race distance. My entire lower half aches gently from marching round London in work shoes and I have only myself to blame
So I'm inserting a rest day into the plan today and intend to head back out and test my new speed status tomorrow morning instead. Here's hoping...
LON
Saturday 29 January 2011
The importance of lower extremities and nerve endings
The breaking in period for my new running shoes may need to be extended, as I don't think they are getting a fair test. A long running niggle in my left big toe has literally come to a head this week. I have paronychia, a nasty nail infection that has left me with a large big red throbbing toe and a lovely abscess under the nail. (I'll spare you photographic evidence). I'm therefore assuming that the intense throbbing pain while I run can be attributed solely to the infection and not my shiny white new shoes!
While Beloved questioned the wisdom of running with a 'double' toe this morning, the ache in my foot was nothing compared to the ache in my head on this morning's run. I had a very well behaved Friday evening, with just one beer, and healthy high carb meal. On top of that I had a nice long uninterrupted sleep. And yet still I woke up with a pounding headache.
I don't get a lot of headaches - which might explain why I naively took to the streets without taking a painkiller first. If there is anything more uncomfortable than running with a headache, I've yet to experience it. It's even worse than running with blisters.
Basically I did 4 miles with a large jelly inside my brain. This jelly was full of outward-facing needles that, with every step, bounced painfully in a different direction inside my head. I have never felt so miserable over so short a distance. Although admittedly it did distract me from the searing pain in my toe. So not all bad.
I'm now following a course of antibiotics to try and get rid of the infection before it really has an impact on my training plan. It seems hard to believe a little yellow tablet is going to get rid of the giant yellow moon under my toenail but I live in hope. I've stocked up on the headache tablets and have learned a hard lesson.
Back out tomorrow hopefully for 8 miles but will keep to circuit route just in case the toe needs to bail out early. In the meantime, I'm pinning all my hopes on science producing a very fast recovery from toe rot!
LON
While Beloved questioned the wisdom of running with a 'double' toe this morning, the ache in my foot was nothing compared to the ache in my head on this morning's run. I had a very well behaved Friday evening, with just one beer, and healthy high carb meal. On top of that I had a nice long uninterrupted sleep. And yet still I woke up with a pounding headache.
I don't get a lot of headaches - which might explain why I naively took to the streets without taking a painkiller first. If there is anything more uncomfortable than running with a headache, I've yet to experience it. It's even worse than running with blisters.
Basically I did 4 miles with a large jelly inside my brain. This jelly was full of outward-facing needles that, with every step, bounced painfully in a different direction inside my head. I have never felt so miserable over so short a distance. Although admittedly it did distract me from the searing pain in my toe. So not all bad.
I'm now following a course of antibiotics to try and get rid of the infection before it really has an impact on my training plan. It seems hard to believe a little yellow tablet is going to get rid of the giant yellow moon under my toenail but I live in hope. I've stocked up on the headache tablets and have learned a hard lesson.
Back out tomorrow hopefully for 8 miles but will keep to circuit route just in case the toe needs to bail out early. In the meantime, I'm pinning all my hopes on science producing a very fast recovery from toe rot!
LON
Wednesday 26 January 2011
New trainers, second attempt
Now the owner of some, hopefully blister free, Brooks trainers. I am feeling optimistic about these - they feel right. New running shoes are a bit like a relationship really, you sometimes just have to go with your instinct. And avoid the colour pink.
I'm told they have a memory for your feet and where you need cushioning. I'll admit to being sceptical about inanimate objects having a memory - apparently, my mattress has a memory too. I think it remembers how to make my back hurt in the middle of the night. Hopefully the new shoes will not be so cruel, and I'm going to head straight out to give them a whirl!
Kudos to Sweatshop for having a 30 day satisfaction guaranteed policy - it's comforting to know that if the shoes don't remember to buy me flowers or compliment me on my hair in the next 30 days, I can take them back and try again.
But I'd prefer not to, so here goes...
LON
I'm told they have a memory for your feet and where you need cushioning. I'll admit to being sceptical about inanimate objects having a memory - apparently, my mattress has a memory too. I think it remembers how to make my back hurt in the middle of the night. Hopefully the new shoes will not be so cruel, and I'm going to head straight out to give them a whirl!
Kudos to Sweatshop for having a 30 day satisfaction guaranteed policy - it's comforting to know that if the shoes don't remember to buy me flowers or compliment me on my hair in the next 30 days, I can take them back and try again.
But I'd prefer not to, so here goes...
LON
Tuesday 25 January 2011
Overcommitted
Training is such a massive time commitment. I can't quite believe how much organisation and planning it requires to fit it in around a job and a personal life.
Obviously I am not a serious runner, otherwise I would run to work, and every lunch hour, and home every evening as well as put my entire social life on hold . Halfheartedness suits me just fine. I need to work (and at the moment, also need to spend time looking for new jobs too) and I also need to spend time with family and friends.
I don't really have the facilities at work to run to the office or run at lunchtime - not unless I was prepared to sit redfaced and sweaty for the rest of the day. Somehow I don't think this will add to my credibility at meetings. But I do like to run on the way home, at least part of the way, depending on the distance I want to run.
Unfortunately I'm experiencing serious motivational problems at the moment. Is it possible to become scared of the dark? It took me about 10 minutes to get my tights on this morning - first, I was going out for a run, then I changed my mind, then I decided to run anyway, then I changed my mind again. By the time I had finally dragged my lycra-ed self to the front door, the light was beginning to show and the problem had therefore solved itself. Is it only me that is put off by running in the dark?
In winter, running in the dark is unavoidable, but it doesn't make it any more motivating. Every run is a chore, and when that run is interval training, then it becomes a herculean task (cf previous posts for hatred of interval training). When you're overloaded at work while spending your evenings filling in job applications, it's very easy to make excuses for why you shouldn't go for that run and doing something equally constructive instead.
I know it's definitely related to the dark, because I do not have any similar issues at the weekend and will happily hit the streets for a run of any length on Saturday or Sunday during the day. Is there such a thing as a runner's nightlight?
I'm happy to take advice or motivational strategies on how to get out there in the dark. Perhaps I need to find that running buddy sooner than later?
But before I find the running buddy, I've got to take the new trainers back to the shop. Two blisters and an ankle welt later, I don't think Adidas have kept the Salvation to quite the same spec after all. Thankfully Sweatshop have a 30 day guarantee policy, so I'm heading off to try out some alternatives instead.
App-wise though, Endomondo and I are developing a beautiful friendship. I am really enjoying the audio coach facility, particularly when she tells me I've run a particularly fast mile. I even did a little fistpump this morning after my second mile. How pathetic am I?
LON
Obviously I am not a serious runner, otherwise I would run to work, and every lunch hour, and home every evening as well as put my entire social life on hold . Halfheartedness suits me just fine. I need to work (and at the moment, also need to spend time looking for new jobs too) and I also need to spend time with family and friends.
I don't really have the facilities at work to run to the office or run at lunchtime - not unless I was prepared to sit redfaced and sweaty for the rest of the day. Somehow I don't think this will add to my credibility at meetings. But I do like to run on the way home, at least part of the way, depending on the distance I want to run.
Unfortunately I'm experiencing serious motivational problems at the moment. Is it possible to become scared of the dark? It took me about 10 minutes to get my tights on this morning - first, I was going out for a run, then I changed my mind, then I decided to run anyway, then I changed my mind again. By the time I had finally dragged my lycra-ed self to the front door, the light was beginning to show and the problem had therefore solved itself. Is it only me that is put off by running in the dark?
In winter, running in the dark is unavoidable, but it doesn't make it any more motivating. Every run is a chore, and when that run is interval training, then it becomes a herculean task (cf previous posts for hatred of interval training). When you're overloaded at work while spending your evenings filling in job applications, it's very easy to make excuses for why you shouldn't go for that run and doing something equally constructive instead.
I know it's definitely related to the dark, because I do not have any similar issues at the weekend and will happily hit the streets for a run of any length on Saturday or Sunday during the day. Is there such a thing as a runner's nightlight?
I'm happy to take advice or motivational strategies on how to get out there in the dark. Perhaps I need to find that running buddy sooner than later?
But before I find the running buddy, I've got to take the new trainers back to the shop. Two blisters and an ankle welt later, I don't think Adidas have kept the Salvation to quite the same spec after all. Thankfully Sweatshop have a 30 day guarantee policy, so I'm heading off to try out some alternatives instead.
App-wise though, Endomondo and I are developing a beautiful friendship. I am really enjoying the audio coach facility, particularly when she tells me I've run a particularly fast mile. I even did a little fistpump this morning after my second mile. How pathetic am I?
LON
Sunday 16 January 2011
Do my new shoes make me look like a new runner?
My new trainers are still only a week old and, despite the best efforts of several days of heavy rain and deep puddles, still pristine white. I am now starting to become a bit self conscious that lots of the other runners I pass think I'm just newly resolved to running. I keep wanting to stick a note on my front saying 'I have run a marathon, you know - I'm just breaking these babies in'
It's a much more competitive area here for running than my last home. Previously I was the local lone female runner, regarded by local residents as totally cuckoo for a) attempting any sort of physical exercise and b) leaving the house without an escort. Here it's runner central, with lots of very pro types running around morning, noon and night - literally. The apparent high calibre of fellow runners is definitely encouraging me to push myself a bit more - I don't want to be the local slowcoach.
There's also a nice split between male and female runners too, although the majority of the female runners run in small groups - safety in numbers.
I'm considering trying to find myself a running buddy on this basis - if there are lots of fellow runners around, surely one of them is going spare who runs at a similar pace? This might help drag me out more willingly in these dark evenings - I'm easily put off going out for a run when it's cold and dark, so a buddy would make me feel guilty about not going out. Unless they were equally put off, in which case it's the high road to run-avoidance.
There's a few local females who are clearly way too fast for me, but surely somewhere out there is a partner for me? I've tried looking on fetcheveryone.com, but this seems to be heavily weighted towards male runners who would all undoubtedly find me very slow (and might wear little tight shorts, in which case I would be unable to take them seriously). How else do fellow runners find running buddies, if your buddies don't run?
It's a much more competitive area here for running than my last home. Previously I was the local lone female runner, regarded by local residents as totally cuckoo for a) attempting any sort of physical exercise and b) leaving the house without an escort. Here it's runner central, with lots of very pro types running around morning, noon and night - literally. The apparent high calibre of fellow runners is definitely encouraging me to push myself a bit more - I don't want to be the local slowcoach.
There's also a nice split between male and female runners too, although the majority of the female runners run in small groups - safety in numbers.
I'm considering trying to find myself a running buddy on this basis - if there are lots of fellow runners around, surely one of them is going spare who runs at a similar pace? This might help drag me out more willingly in these dark evenings - I'm easily put off going out for a run when it's cold and dark, so a buddy would make me feel guilty about not going out. Unless they were equally put off, in which case it's the high road to run-avoidance.
There's a few local females who are clearly way too fast for me, but surely somewhere out there is a partner for me? I've tried looking on fetcheveryone.com, but this seems to be heavily weighted towards male runners who would all undoubtedly find me very slow (and might wear little tight shorts, in which case I would be unable to take them seriously). How else do fellow runners find running buddies, if your buddies don't run?
Thursday 13 January 2011
New routes, and how to map them
Two very exciting things happened to me in 2010 - I moved house and I bought an iphone. Not on the same day, of course - a girl can only stand so much excitement, after all.
Both of these events will have an impact on my training plan for this year. I'm looking forward to preparing for the marathon with a host of new routes but I am also experimenting with different apps that track or log my runs
I've always used Nike+ to track my runs, with a heart monitor to track my fitness on longer runs. I don't bother with a heart monitor on shorter runs - I'm sure this is probably a training no-no but it's too much palaver to get all the kit on when you just want to head out of the house quickly before or after work. The Nike+ is not wholly accurate and you do need to keep checking that it is calibrated to your stride so it calculates your mileage, but overall for the price I think it is the best tool out there for monitoring your mileage and progress.
So when I bought the iphone I downloaded the Nike+ app to try it out. Its main advantage is that you don't need to wear a watch, so when it's cold and you've got long sleeves on, plus a pair of gloves, it's one less thing around your wrist. The downside is that with your phone in a back pocket or an armband, you can't see your progress. So it's only really suitable for routes you know really well and can track the mileage in your head. Another downside for me is that it shouts a report on your run at you as you finish. Admittedly this might only be a negative for me because the first time I used it I finished my run at the local bakery, and therefore had to stand in the queue while the shouty Nike lady recited my time, distance and average speed to the rest of the shop on a busy Saturday morning. We live and learn.
The last three runs have been using Endomondo. This is a GPS tracker, which has the benefit of being linked to your computer so you can see your run mapped without having to upload any data. It's a bit Big Brother but helpful not to have to upload something every time you come home. It also has an American woman who shouts at you - I have it set for her to tell me every time I complete a mile, and how fast I did it. I find this incredibly useful, especially as I am now trying to map out some new routes. It means I don't have to sit at the computer and map them out before I leave the house, which is what I have always done. More time saved. Less excuse not to run. It also rates your splits with either a tortoise or a hare logo, which I find quite amusing. I suspect I will not find this funny for long, particuarly if it keeps using the tortoise more than the hare, but at the moment it's quite a nice touch.
I'm now considering downloading the Nike+ GPS app, which seems to combine both in one.
There is however one major downside to all of these fantastically clever apps - the fact you have to lug your iphone out with you. I do not listen to music when I run, but I do like to carry a phone for emergencies (ie it starts peeing it down so hard you can't see out of your glasses and you have to phone for a lift home). Unfortunately the Iphone is huge - I have an armband for it but this is cumbersome and deeply unsafe, as the phone keeps sneaking out of the top of the case. For the moment, my winter running kit has enough pockets to stow it away, but as the weather warms up and my layers thin out, I'm going to have to come up with another solution. All suggestions welcome!
LON
Both of these events will have an impact on my training plan for this year. I'm looking forward to preparing for the marathon with a host of new routes but I am also experimenting with different apps that track or log my runs
I've always used Nike+ to track my runs, with a heart monitor to track my fitness on longer runs. I don't bother with a heart monitor on shorter runs - I'm sure this is probably a training no-no but it's too much palaver to get all the kit on when you just want to head out of the house quickly before or after work. The Nike+ is not wholly accurate and you do need to keep checking that it is calibrated to your stride so it calculates your mileage, but overall for the price I think it is the best tool out there for monitoring your mileage and progress.
So when I bought the iphone I downloaded the Nike+ app to try it out. Its main advantage is that you don't need to wear a watch, so when it's cold and you've got long sleeves on, plus a pair of gloves, it's one less thing around your wrist. The downside is that with your phone in a back pocket or an armband, you can't see your progress. So it's only really suitable for routes you know really well and can track the mileage in your head. Another downside for me is that it shouts a report on your run at you as you finish. Admittedly this might only be a negative for me because the first time I used it I finished my run at the local bakery, and therefore had to stand in the queue while the shouty Nike lady recited my time, distance and average speed to the rest of the shop on a busy Saturday morning. We live and learn.
The last three runs have been using Endomondo. This is a GPS tracker, which has the benefit of being linked to your computer so you can see your run mapped without having to upload any data. It's a bit Big Brother but helpful not to have to upload something every time you come home. It also has an American woman who shouts at you - I have it set for her to tell me every time I complete a mile, and how fast I did it. I find this incredibly useful, especially as I am now trying to map out some new routes. It means I don't have to sit at the computer and map them out before I leave the house, which is what I have always done. More time saved. Less excuse not to run. It also rates your splits with either a tortoise or a hare logo, which I find quite amusing. I suspect I will not find this funny for long, particuarly if it keeps using the tortoise more than the hare, but at the moment it's quite a nice touch.
I'm now considering downloading the Nike+ GPS app, which seems to combine both in one.
There is however one major downside to all of these fantastically clever apps - the fact you have to lug your iphone out with you. I do not listen to music when I run, but I do like to carry a phone for emergencies (ie it starts peeing it down so hard you can't see out of your glasses and you have to phone for a lift home). Unfortunately the Iphone is huge - I have an armband for it but this is cumbersome and deeply unsafe, as the phone keeps sneaking out of the top of the case. For the moment, my winter running kit has enough pockets to stow it away, but as the weather warms up and my layers thin out, I'm going to have to come up with another solution. All suggestions welcome!
LON
Monday 10 January 2011
Charity fundraising - will it hit the wall?
As a regular runner, I'm now at that point in the year where I get asked, 'so, you running the London marathon then?'
Relieved to be able to say 'no' (the thought of a heavy training schedule in these dark nights and mornings is offputting, and the utmost respect to those who are doing it and training now), I then have to explain the ballot system and the fallback options for those who don't make it through the ballot - charity places
As an 'unlucky' entrant to the ballot, I was sent a huge glossy magazine after the results were announced, advertising a host of charities who would only be too happy for me to run for them. However, the vast majority of these charities want a deposit in advance and a minimum sponsorship target averaging £2200 to run the Virgin London marathon on their behalf.
I've never taken a charity place in any race - I've only run in races that I was able to gain entry to by paying an entrance fee or by ballot - but I have raised money for charity by running. Last year I ran both the Great North Run and the Royal Parks half marathon for Parkinsons Society, as my dad has been recently diagnosed with this condition and it therefore has a personal significance for me. My family, friends and colleagues were extremely generous yet I managed to raise just over £700 - a long way short of £2200.
A couple of friends did not sponsor me because they had recently sponsored someone else to do another activity for charity, therefore blowing their sponsorship budget for the year. This leads me to ponder whether this monopoly of charity places for the feature race in the UK running calendar is really sustainable in this financial climate?
I know charities are in a difficult position with regard to funding - I work for a charity myself and am well aware of the financial challenges they face. But part of the reason they face this is because the people who do support them are also experiencing additional pressure on their personal finances. Money is tight, VAT is increased and the cost of living is rising while many people's jobs are under threat, so an obvious expenditure to cut is charity donations.
Charity race places must be a lucrative option for charities - why else would so many of them purchase so many slots to offer out? A charity Platinum+ package for this year's Great North Run, a fabulous event that generates massive crowds and great publicity, costs £19850 plus the charity must purchase 320 places at £46 a pop. So they must expect to significantly more for that outlay, and the GNR's total fundraising total runs to millions.
In 2007, 78% of all runners in the London Marathon raised money for charity. They won't all have taken a charity place - some, like me, will have raised money for a charity of their choice after winning a ballot place.
What concerns me is who is around to sponsor them?
I sponsored four people last year, two for Race for Life, one for a sponsored walk and another for growing a moustache during November! I also sponsored myself ie gave some money to Parkinsons Society to round up the total I raised.
But people are now overstretched financially. Every penny counts. If you work in an office where a couple of colleagues are running London, you may feel under pressure to sponsor them both or aleternatively sponsor neither of them. Team entries are particularly common and these must place huge pressure on colleagues or friends in common. Perhaps they do it every year? Is this still an achievement? Are people still inspired to sponsor you for a race if they know you bang out that distance twice a week? Take the example of Race for Life, where women walk or run 5k to raise money for cancer research. This is a fundraising phenomenon that is already taxing a lot of people's financial goodwill - either because they have been asked so many times to sponsor so many colleagues or friends or for the expense of entering alone. If people are starting to experience donation fatigue, will charities fill all their places? Will they be forced to drop their minimum sponsorship? Or will they just forfeit the places they have purchased and don't use, preventing someone who might raise £500 (still a healthy profit on the entrance fee) from running the London Marathon and promoting the charity in the process.
And I wonder just how many runners are forced to make up a shortfall in the promised £2200 themselves at the end of the fundraising period?
I know some of my colleagues on the lower end of the wage scale were pressed to give me £5 as a donation and I am very grateful for their financial sacrifice. I'm just glad I don't have to go round now with a begging bowl desperately trying to raise £2k again so soon after. I'm running the Berlin marathon later this year and, if asked, will suggest people donate to Parkinsons Society if they want to sponsor me. But the thought of taking on such a financial commitment in addition to the pressure of training is daunting, and potentially unsustainable in the current climate.
Relieved to be able to say 'no' (the thought of a heavy training schedule in these dark nights and mornings is offputting, and the utmost respect to those who are doing it and training now), I then have to explain the ballot system and the fallback options for those who don't make it through the ballot - charity places
As an 'unlucky' entrant to the ballot, I was sent a huge glossy magazine after the results were announced, advertising a host of charities who would only be too happy for me to run for them. However, the vast majority of these charities want a deposit in advance and a minimum sponsorship target averaging £2200 to run the Virgin London marathon on their behalf.
I've never taken a charity place in any race - I've only run in races that I was able to gain entry to by paying an entrance fee or by ballot - but I have raised money for charity by running. Last year I ran both the Great North Run and the Royal Parks half marathon for Parkinsons Society, as my dad has been recently diagnosed with this condition and it therefore has a personal significance for me. My family, friends and colleagues were extremely generous yet I managed to raise just over £700 - a long way short of £2200.
A couple of friends did not sponsor me because they had recently sponsored someone else to do another activity for charity, therefore blowing their sponsorship budget for the year. This leads me to ponder whether this monopoly of charity places for the feature race in the UK running calendar is really sustainable in this financial climate?
I know charities are in a difficult position with regard to funding - I work for a charity myself and am well aware of the financial challenges they face. But part of the reason they face this is because the people who do support them are also experiencing additional pressure on their personal finances. Money is tight, VAT is increased and the cost of living is rising while many people's jobs are under threat, so an obvious expenditure to cut is charity donations.
Charity race places must be a lucrative option for charities - why else would so many of them purchase so many slots to offer out? A charity Platinum+ package for this year's Great North Run, a fabulous event that generates massive crowds and great publicity, costs £19850 plus the charity must purchase 320 places at £46 a pop. So they must expect to significantly more for that outlay, and the GNR's total fundraising total runs to millions.
In 2007, 78% of all runners in the London Marathon raised money for charity. They won't all have taken a charity place - some, like me, will have raised money for a charity of their choice after winning a ballot place.
What concerns me is who is around to sponsor them?
I sponsored four people last year, two for Race for Life, one for a sponsored walk and another for growing a moustache during November! I also sponsored myself ie gave some money to Parkinsons Society to round up the total I raised.
But people are now overstretched financially. Every penny counts. If you work in an office where a couple of colleagues are running London, you may feel under pressure to sponsor them both or aleternatively sponsor neither of them. Team entries are particularly common and these must place huge pressure on colleagues or friends in common. Perhaps they do it every year? Is this still an achievement? Are people still inspired to sponsor you for a race if they know you bang out that distance twice a week? Take the example of Race for Life, where women walk or run 5k to raise money for cancer research. This is a fundraising phenomenon that is already taxing a lot of people's financial goodwill - either because they have been asked so many times to sponsor so many colleagues or friends or for the expense of entering alone. If people are starting to experience donation fatigue, will charities fill all their places? Will they be forced to drop their minimum sponsorship? Or will they just forfeit the places they have purchased and don't use, preventing someone who might raise £500 (still a healthy profit on the entrance fee) from running the London Marathon and promoting the charity in the process.
And I wonder just how many runners are forced to make up a shortfall in the promised £2200 themselves at the end of the fundraising period?
I know some of my colleagues on the lower end of the wage scale were pressed to give me £5 as a donation and I am very grateful for their financial sacrifice. I'm just glad I don't have to go round now with a begging bowl desperately trying to raise £2k again so soon after. I'm running the Berlin marathon later this year and, if asked, will suggest people donate to Parkinsons Society if they want to sponsor me. But the thought of taking on such a financial commitment in addition to the pressure of training is daunting, and potentially unsustainable in the current climate.
Nylon runs Berlin
I haven't posted for a while, ostensibly because this was intended as a marathon training blog and 2010 was a marathon free year. But 2011 brings a new marathon challenge - Berlin.
I'm told it's pancake-flat and PB potential, but I'm mainly excited about running round one of my favourite cities knowing that there will be a great beer (and possibly an even greater bratwurst) waiting at the end for me. The running environment is a real motivation for me - running in dull scenery is not nearly as stimulating as having something to look at. The thrill of finishing at the Brandenburg Gate awaits - and I'm very excited.
So I will be posting again for the rest of the training campaign, with the last weekend of September seeming a long way off for now.
In the meantime, I'm setting myself some training targets. I've got a lottery place in the Manhattan half marathon in March, so hope to be running NY again even if it is not the marathon itself. Stay tuned for progress reports, running musings and food craving updates
I'm told it's pancake-flat and PB potential, but I'm mainly excited about running round one of my favourite cities knowing that there will be a great beer (and possibly an even greater bratwurst) waiting at the end for me. The running environment is a real motivation for me - running in dull scenery is not nearly as stimulating as having something to look at. The thrill of finishing at the Brandenburg Gate awaits - and I'm very excited.
So I will be posting again for the rest of the training campaign, with the last weekend of September seeming a long way off for now.
In the meantime, I'm setting myself some training targets. I've got a lottery place in the Manhattan half marathon in March, so hope to be running NY again even if it is not the marathon itself. Stay tuned for progress reports, running musings and food craving updates
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