New kit for a good cause

I probably don't need half as much kit as I own but can't seem to resist a sale bargain. Recently I have bought a couple of new pairs of Nike and Moving comfort shorts from the Sweatshop sale and a rather fabulously bright Asics vest top, a bargain at a tenner.

In a bit of forward planning, I ordered some leggings from the new A/W collection from Nike. Not really for running (no key pocket, no drawstring) but they are really very lovely so I am keeping them anyway - they'll be fine for intervals and other sessions where I don't need to carry a key with me. Look, I love them, ok - let me make as many excuses as I want!

An unexpected pay rise earlier this week coincided with a visit to the Sweatshop store on Rathbone Place, which still has a host of sale bargains in clothing. I ended up with a new long sleeve Nike top from the sale and another pair of new season Nike bottoms, this time a more functional pair of running capris with a fabulous navy camouflage-esque print. These are already my new favourite running trousers, and I haven't even worn them!

Unfortunately now I've got everything home, my drawer and a half of all my worldly lycra goods is getting a bit full. I need to have a bit of a clear out. Which is handy, because there is something happening this weekend that is the perfect home for my old running kit.

A Mile in Her Shoes is a brilliant new social enterprise set up by Nicola Miller @InHerShoesHQ, which aims to support homeless women get into running as a way of boosting their fitness and self-esteem. On Saturday 17 August in Ealing, there is a fabulous event to raise money for the project, showcasing local bands in a pub that serves an absolutely excellent range of beer, including my favourite Meantime London Pale Ale.
So if you live near Ealing, or can travel to it easily by Tube or train, why not get down to the event and support a good cause?

Nicola is also looking for unwanted but wearable running kit, including shoes, to distribute to the women benefitting from her project so at least I know where to put all those bits of lycra that I need to get rid of to fit in my lovely new trousers!

Putting the Great in North Run

I got my race pack this week for my favourite race - the Great North Run. Some days I waver and think the New York marathon is the best race in the world but really it can't compare to the Great North Run. It's part of our culture. If, like me, you grew up in the northeast of England, it's one of the major events of the year, up there with Christmas and a rare spot of hot weather. It's not even a marathon, yet it generates as much publicity and excitement as a much longer race. For me, the 13.1 miles from Newcastle to South Shields are the best 13.1 miles in the world. And here's why.

Toilets
It's a little known fact that The Great in North Run actually refers to the urge you will experience to go to the loo when you see the length of the queues. With loo waiting times like no other race, it gives you a chance to chat to fellow runners and bond over whether or not that hedge over there would be a suitable alternative if you don't get to the front before your pen closes. Everyone knows that the perfect race prep is queueing for 55 minutes, realising your pen is about to close, abandoning the queue to pee in a bush on a motorway embankment then slithering down the slope to get into your pen with seconds to spare. Isn't it?

Celebrity starters
Running the Great North Run, you get to touch the palms of the British great and good. Where else can you get to high five a collection of British celebrities as wide ranging as Sting and Ellie Simmonds at the start of a race? Not for us, the Ryan Goslings and George Clooneys of this world. We are delighted if we get to touch the palms of Ant or Dec. (Well, just Ant actually, cos they were doing a side each). You wouldn't get to start the race to 'Let's get ready to rumble' with Ryan Gosling, would you? 

The great Mo Farah started the race in 2011. This year he'll be starting it in a very different way, but it will be just as exciting for the runners waiting behind him. We're all giving him a head start. Honest.

Oggy, Oggy, Oggy. Traditions are important, and this one gets everyone off to a flyer. Many have copied, but nowhere does Oggy, Oggy, Oggy like a motorway flyover  in Newcastle. Even when it's soggy, soggy, soggy, the locals are out with the oggy, oggy, oggy. And everyone obediently responds 'oi, oi, oi' in return. It's as much part of the first mile as sorting out your Garmin pace. I don't know where it came from but I hope it never goes away!

Support
The local support for this race is incredible, given the route. Don't run the Great North Run if you want nice scenery. There is a lot of dual carriageway involved in this race. But that doesn't mean that there is only support in residential areas or at the finish by the seaside. There is support everywhere. People bring picnic chairs and put them on the hard shoulder so they can sit, hand out baby wipes (!) and watch the race. Even when it rains. To be honest, if we northeast people didn't go out in the rain, we'd be housebound so we're hardy souls. Which is just as well given the weather last year. It was so wet last year I was thanking spectators for coming out.

Even the little scrotes who hurl stuff at the runners make me smile. But not as much as...

Bus stop hose man
I love bus stop hose man. Every year, he stands on the top of a bus shelter on the outskirts of South Shields and 'cools down' the runners with his garden hose. Even last year, when - quite frankly - we were wet enough off the bloody rain. But I still love him for his constancy and reliability. You don't get bus stop hose man in New York (he'd probably be arrested). In fact, when it's warm and he takes his shirt off, he might even get arrested in South Shields. I just don't stick around long enough to find out.

Community refreshments
The final element of support is the catering. I've posted before on the North East's love of community refreshments. People in the North East are natural hosts, and genetically we are all wired to be worried that our visitors have got/had enough to eat. People going hungry would bring shame upon our house (or region). On Great North Run day, this gene takes to the streets, with its jelly babies, ice pops, orange segments, plastic cups filled to the undrinkable brim with Coke and orange squash. There's even one woman with a tin of digestive biscuits. I mean, if you're doing all that exercise, you must be hungry. Get this bit of cake down you. Ee, pet, you're wasting away...

Fancy dress
I am not a big fan of fancy dress in races. It can be a bit of a hindrance, particularly if people aren't used to running in it. But the wide motorways of the North East mean that there is plenty of room for you run past people, even if they are wearing the most cumbersome of costumes. The organisers do try to get the really big stuff to the back but there's always some sights to behold out the front. One year I say two men attempting 13.1 miles as a push me-pull you from Dr Doolittle. Which meant one had to run it backwards. Yes, that's right, backwards. There was a little gasp of awe from every runner that went past them.

Not all the fancy dress is fun to watch though. Imagine seeing this run ahead of you in the final mile. I don't have to imagine it. The image has been burned onto my retinas since September 2009.

Essay question: mankini back view is worse than front view - discuss

Size. It used to be the world's biggest half marathon until being pipped by somewhere Scandinavian. But when you turn up to go into your pen, it's hard to imagine anything bigger. The pens go back a long way, and there are so many people that it can take over 20 minutes for the people at the back to cross the start line! If you're towards the front, you can't see where the pens actually end. As the locals would say, 'hoo, man, it's massive'. You feel like you are part of something incredible.
Well, that's because you are! Enjoy!

Can you see me, mum? I'm the one in yellow! Oh, wait...

 

 

Sub 4 hour marathon - target or pipe dream?

I've been aiming for a sub 4:15 marathon for over a year now. I missed out at London Marathon 2012, with an angry ITB foiling my first attempt. I missed out at New York 2012, due to the race being cancelled. And this year I missed out at London again, by a mere 76 seconds.

I've spent the months since April wondering if I can really improve any more. I'm 40 so I'm not really sure how much improvement I have left. Some reading I've done seems to think I can only hope to maintain my pace, other opinions are that as I haven't been running that long (7 years) I've got a bit more scope for improvement.

On the positive side, since I turned 40, I've PBed twice at 10k and half marathon distance, as well as notching up 5k and 10 mile PBs too. So I like to think that I've actually benefitted from turning 40, rather than gone over the hill.

My next marathon is York on October 20. I'm always more confident about autumn marathons - I like summer training and hate winter training, so always feel better prepared for an autumn race. In the first couple of weeks of training, I had a couple of (accidental) strongly paced runs which indicated that I might be able to run a bit faster than 4:15. I started to wonder, should I aim high and train for a sub 4 hour target?

So I've subtly been doing this. Not publicising it to anyone much, just monitoring my performance and seeing how it maps across to a 9:09 race pace. My inaugural race at 5 mile distance in the anniversary run in July indicated that my PB for a 10k could be reduced by 3-4 minutes again at current form. But I'm experienced enough to know that short distance improvements don't always translate to long distance pace for me.

Last Saturday, I tackled my first 'long run', which for me is anything over 13 miles in marathon training. 16 miles, a long slow run. I know can run a half marathon comfortably below 9:09, (my PB is 1:57:15) so this was my first real test to see if I could maintain a faster pace (for me) over a longer distance.

Miles 1 and 2 were comfortable about 9:39 pace. Maybe even a little too fast for what is supposed to be a long slow run. But I thought I'd keep going and see how long I could maintain it for. Miles 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 - all at a similar pace. Mile 8 saw me drop to 10:08 but this was running up Richmond Hill so I don't feel too bad about this slip. I managed to run 15.5 miles in the end, in just under 2.5 hours, averaging 9:43 pace. In fact, my pacing was really consistent overall.

My speedwork sessions are also encouraging, averaging under 8 mins per mile for long reps. I am noticing that I am able to maintain a faster mile pace than ever before. Which is encouraging me to think big.

The only thing standing in the way of a sub 4 hour marathon time is me. If I don't train for it, I'll never do it. So I am starting to believe. Maybe I can do this sub 4 hour marathon after all.

Chapeau! Ride London 100 - a spectator's review

Today was an inaugural event in London's sporting calendar - the Prudential Ride London 100 mile cycle sportive. Initially set up to celebrate the anniversary of the London Olympics, it has already become a fixture, with ballot details for the 2014 race outlined before this year's debut had even taken place. So why the excitement?

Well, it's a very special sportive in that the roads are closed. Normally, when you ride in a cycle sportive in the UK, you take your place on the road with the rest of the weekend traffic. But not Ride London. Mayor BJ had decreed that the roads should be closed, allowing people to cycle freely and safely - and in massive numbers.

And the chance to ride most of the 2012 Olympic course, to emulate Cavendish and Armistead, was too good for nearly 20 000 people to miss. And so it was that so many turned up at the Olympic Park in Stratford on Sunday 4 August to start their 100 mile ride across London and the South East, with 15833 cyclists finishing the route on Sunday.

Obviously the fact that so many London and Surrey roads were closed was not popular with everyone. Many people complained about the road closures, but many of the complainers were people who spend a good section of their time whingeing about cyclists in general and were glad to have another reason to hate them. It didn't stop 1000s of people turning out to cheer the cyclists along the route, even in NIMBY Surrey. And for tourists and many Londoners, a quieter capital - with free entertainment - is something of a treat. There is a special feeling to be able to cross roads and not have to sprint to avoid an erratic taxi or bus. And I can only begin to imagine how surreal it must be to be able to ride your bike without worrying about cars, buses and lorries. I think the route quite cleverly covered areas with rail or tube links as well, ensuring that only the infirm were really trapped in their homes for the day.

I went along to watch my Beloved race. Normally he gets to watch me run plenty of times, but I never get to watch him ride sportives (as I can't be arsed to get up at 5am usually) so it was nice to have the opportunity to return the favour and be on spectating duty. I'd arranged to spectate at two points: near Monument and at the finish. Unfortunately, thanks to a severe delay on the Central Line, I missed him at Monument by just a few seconds, but I did manage to see a couple of other friends there who were in a later start. Determined not to miss him at the finish, I then headed straight to the Mall and got myself in position, just in time to watch the first finishers.

Despite it being a sportive, there was certainly a lot of competition. The first group of riders really went all out to 'win', making for an exciting finish to watch. It didn't work out for everyone, with someone called Joe coming off worst in a final run-in spill, but he got to walk his bike across the line and get his own special cheers. Hope his shoulder gets better soon.

Spectating for a loved one or friends at cycling is difficult, as riders go past so fast it's difficult to pinpoint single riders You need to know what colour top they're wearing and they need to know where you are standing, so they can spot you. I also distinguished myself with a pink hand clacker inherited from Beloved's Giro d'Italia trip earlier this year. Essentially this meant that friends could spot (or hear) me instead of the other way round. It also guaranteed me lots of space in my spot on the Mall, as it is deafening!

But in the end it wasn't just about watching for people I knew. As a frequent race participant myself, I know how big a different support can make so I wanted to support everybody. I ended up with very sore arms from banging boards and clacking my pink plastic hands at everyone in sight. I spent a good couple of hours watching random cyclists finish, waiting for Beloved to show up. And I loved every minute of it.

There were basically 3 main groups of cyclists at the 350m from the finish point:

• the determined sprinters, desperate for the fastest finish, not noticing where they were. These men and women are just focused on their time and their performance, oblivious to the surroundings. They will not look so good on their race photos.
• the grim faced cyclist, with little left in the tank but wearily focused on the last few 100 metres. These men and women looked so tired, like it was taking them every last ounce of energy to get them to the end. Hopefully one grimace will come out like a smile on their race photos.
• the happy cyclist, the 'oh my god look at all these people thumping the boards for me!' rider, engaging with the crowd and grinning like mad. Adrenalin had kicked in and they were loving it. Some were even taking photos and videos of the finish with their smartphones. They'll have some great race photos!

The happy cyclists made it just as much fun for the spectators, and seemed to get extra loud cheers from the crowd. While the crowd was relatively thin, it was definitely making a lot of noise and not for the first time did I wish I was out there riding, not just because it must be a great feeling to ride such an iconic finish.

I was a bit worried at the end that I might have missed Beloved. I'd been tracking him on Endomondo and knew he was close, so I started to get paranoid I'd missed him a second time. Then the speaker started playing the Black Eyed Peas, which is a band he hates with a passion. I've seen him walk out of parties when they get played. Once I heard the music, I was pretty sure that he would turn up while that song was on - and sure enough, he surged out of a small group at the 300m mark. Apparently the noise of the crowd was so loud, he didn't actually hear the Black Eyed Peas playing, which is just as well as it might have caused him to storm off course in protest. I was so excited at actually getting a glimpse of my speedster (100 miles in 5:01 seems speedy enough to me) that I didn't manage a photo, but it was still great to see a loved one so close to the finish.

This was one of the best bits of the sportive - spectators could get right up to the end to watch. It constantly frustrates me in the London Marathon that the last few 350m are just you,  a few photographers and a TV newsreader's family. You could really do with the support right to the end. Luckily for the cyclists, and us, you could follow them right to the line and beyond.

It was an incredible spectacle in general. Cycling attracts young and old, thin and fat, grumpy and happy, and it's wonderful to watch. A lot like the London marathon, but with less chafy fancy dress. And with a much, much, better medal.

So much so it's really inspired me to enter the ballot for next year. It's about time I tried a new challenge, and while I know I won't fit a triathlon schedule in my life, I think I can fit some long cycle rides in. And if that means I get to Ride London, then that would make me very happy! I'll definitely be putting my name in the ballot 'chapeau' next week.