August 2006

Worst Best Run

We went back for a re-run of the Nike 5k training session in Regents Park last night. Both of us felt like seasoned pros this time - all the nerves had vanished - and we even felt cocky enough to skip the embarassing group warmup.

I ended up setting off a little behind the main group as I had to give the forerunner chance to pick up a few satellites. So far I have found the Nike chip to be unreliable at recording run times and I can't stand running without the hope of statistics at the end.

I set off at quite a high pace and was tempted to try and catch a group of girls that were only a little way ahead. There's that competitive edge coming into play again! I caught them at the 1 k mark but I was wheezing while they were chatting comfortably. Having passed them I had to keep the pace up despite feeling sick and breathless and generally pretty damn awful. This time it really did feel like school sports day. My chest was stoving in, it was so hot. My heart rate for the run averaged at 171 and maxed at 179 bpm so you can tell I was pretty uncomfortable.

Click image to enlarge

The route isn't very well signposted and as with last weeks attempt at the same route we all got lost at the 4k point. This time it appears I cut off the final corner which is a shame as it means my total distance was only 4.7k and given that I was running so fast I would have liked a proper 5k benchmark. I came in at 0:31:35 which I think would equate to a 0:33:50 time over the full 5k distance. This is my best pace so far, shame it felt so awful.

Have to confess to recovering with rather too much beer and another bag of chips - sinner!

August 2006

Feel Good 10k

Don't you feel great when you start the day off with a run?
My thighs hurt, I'm struggling to stand unassisted, I think I will probably be stranded in my flat for a day cos I can't manage the stairs and yet I feel wonderful. What an invigorating sport this running is.

Today I was supposed to be running ultra slow to keep my heart rate at 145 bpm but Shakti was cycling behind me shouting "yalla yalla" so inevitably my pace picked up. Actually my average HR turned out to be 154 bpm which seems pretty low for me but I'm sure this is a result of the lovely cool weather rather than my pace.

I took my favourite 10k route around the West London portion of the Thames, looping around Chiswick, Barnes and Hammersmith Bridges. These are two of the handsome bridges on the route:

Enlarge Barnes Bridge	Enlarge Hammersmith Bridge

Total distance: 10 km
Time: 1:14:37
Avg pace: 7:27
Max HR/Avg HR: 164/154 bpm

August 2006

Where are you?

Sorry to keep blogging today, I've had a wee drink and now I can't stop nattering away.

Yesterday I added a little world map image on my blog, it shows the position of all my visitors, the large view can be seen here and you can get your own here. I have little red blobs almost all over the world, I find it fascinating. One nice blob smack in the centre of India, another in New Zealand and a whole smattering across America.

I'm afraid I am completely intrigued, who are you guys? I want to know who that person was in India, what do you do, where do you live, where do you run? Blimey, I may have to remove the map, its throwing up too many questions.

So here is a plea to all viewers that stumble across this blog - please leave me a comment, let me know where you are, what you are up to and where your favourite run is. Put me out of my misery.

August 2006

Ignoring Heart Rate

As I was running along this morning, dreaming that my pace might actually increase enough for me to one day consider entering a marathon, it occured to me that I only ever run at one pace, regardless of distance. Yesterday I was using Jeff Galloway's race predictor to determine my potentail marathon finish time - 6 flippin hours! Grief! I can't think about entering a marathon until I could complete it in 5, preferably 4 hours and something (I would happily replace the something for anything in that last sentence) but 6 hours is seriously gruelling.

I've just surfed on by the runnersworld website and found myself attracted to an article discussing the advantages of heart rate training and particularly the system designed by Phil Maffetone. The link to the article is here, but I think you might need to be a subscriber to view it. The point that attracted my attention was that Phil made the comment that most beginners make the mistake of running all runs at the same pace regardless of duration. He suggests a period of running slowly in order to speed up and recommends a base training period of at least 2 months at a heart rate of 180 - (age), providing you are fit, healthy and have been exercising recently. For me that is a heart rate of 145 bpm, which seems very low for me. I currently find a reasonably comfortable run, averages about 164 bpm. Tomorrow I will make a point of checking out how slow I need to run to stick at 145 bpm.

Other people who have tried this method also found the prescribed heart rate to be painfully slow but those that stuck at it seemed to notice speed benefis in the long run. One woman improved her marathon time from 4:05 to 3:31 which is a major benefit.

I find these radical programs really intimidating. I run really slow as it is, suggesting I run at 145 bpm would see me practically walking and then I'd be back at square one. On the other hand, I see that my current heart rate is pretty damn high for an easy training run and maybe I would really benefit from trying something new. Hay ho I suppose this is what makes sports science so interesting - no hard facts - its all trial and error.

August 2006

Richmond Park Running

I didn't run yesterday, not sure why, I was feeling a bit under the weather I suppose and lethargic. I felt really restless by the end of the day though and nearly took myself out for a jog at midnight. Trouble is my routes aren't really suitable for solitary night time runs. I made sure I was up nice and early this morning to ensure I got some running in.

I went out to Richmond Park with the intention of joining the Nike training run but I miss judged the distance to the start. After walking 6k and finding I was still miles off the start point, I decided to just turn around and run home again.

Its a slightly hillier route than I'm used too but I spent as much time descending as climbing so I still recorded my standard 35 mins for a 5k. I hope I'll be able to get this down to 30 mins eventually. Richmond Park is quite a good area for running, you can see from the satellite image that their are plenty of route options across the park, I reckon I could get loads of different length routes here. I feel pretty lucky to live around here - I have some really scenic running and cycling routes on my doorstep, which isn't bad for London.

Click image to enlarge

It was a bit of a lazy week, I have felt a bit rough, but fortunately I haven't actually come down with anything so I should be back on track next week. Tomorrow I plan to cram in a 10k run, Shakti has agreed to cycle alongside me with the Stumpjumper, she seems really comfortable on that bike.

Week Commencing	Distance	Time	Av Pace
21/08/06	13.03k	1:31:46	7:02
14/08/06	25.5k	3:05:40	7:16
07/08/06	11.4k	1:23:24	7:24
31/07/06	21.3k	2:40:50	7:33
August Totals	71k	8:41:40	7:20

August 2006

School Sports Day Terror

Ok that title is a bit melodramatic but I was certainly a bit disturbed on the day of my first Nike training run. It ocurred to me that I had somehow managed to voluntarily sign myself up for an event that could only prove to be as horrendous as school sports days. Horrible childhood memories came flooding back to me - I was the fat kid, somehow bullied into representing the form in the 1500m event. I always found myself lapped while my chest was caving in like a furnace.

The anxiety levels built up during the day, not helped by the tea-break crew who thoroughly enjoyed winding me and Occassional Gym Buddy (OGB) up. With two hours to go I was sat at my desk with a chronic stitch and I hadn't even started to exert myself.

In rather an apprehensive mood OGB and myself wandered along to Regents Park to meet up with the Nike training team. We went disguised as regular park strollers so that we could walk straight on by if it all looked too terrifying for words. Turned out to be not so bad, just a tent and a handful of guys wearing what appeared to be their mother's cami-knickers.

After signing up we were dragged into a warmup run. This is not part of my regular training schedule, I do not believe in warm ups. If the forerunner isn't switched on and recording the distance and pace, then I'm not interested. Hopping and striding sideways just exhausts me before I've even started and it feels way too much like PE.

We got to start soon enough. OGB did his best to stick with me but in the end found it too painful and had to spurt on ahead. Thankfully that meant I could drop back down to a more comfortable pace without feeling like I was holding him back. I never understand how people manage to run with others, its so difficult to run at someone elses pace.

Regents Park is actually really pretty, I've never been there before. It's a good place to run. The route turned out to be 4.97k and completely flat. I ran most of it alone. There were two girls ahead that seemed to be using me as their pacer. They would set off at a fair old pace and continue running for about 200 yards and then drop down to a walk. When I approached and they got within earshot of my puffing, plodding running machine, they'd glance at each other and shoot off again. This was repeated about 5 times, each time I was about to pass them they'd just shift up a gear and escape my wheezing form. Half way through the run the skies opened and the rain started bucketing down. My tormentors dived into the loos for cover and I took my opportunity and ran for the lead, (This isn't a race remember - just a training run - I can't help being so damn competitive). Deege on The Getting Buff blog has a funny entry on the nature of the competitive spirit.

Don't you just love running in the rain, it makes everything so much more bearable. Pretty grotty at the end though, I was so wet that I chilled down really quickly.

Click image to enlarge

Good fun event in the end. I'll go again. Maybe next time I will try and avoid the lure of the pub at the end and the chips on the way home.

August 2006

Treadmill Disco

I'm off to the gym this afternoon so I'll see if I can copy a few of these moves without breaking my neck:

August 2006

Thames 10k Run

I really enjoyed the run this morning, I kept it steady and it was raining lightly so all in all I felt pretty comfortable. I turned the usual Chiswick and Hammersmith Bridge loop into a figure of 8 run to bring up to exactly 10k.

Click image to enlarge

I had been a bit worried about my knee which still seemed wobbly while I was putting on my shoes but it stood up well to the run. All the same I have taken Steve's advice and ordered some Glucosamine to repair my cartilage. I've got Shakti some too but I can't remember if she's got any cartilage left to repair after her op.

This weeks totals show a big improvement, I actually made it to the gym a few times to do some interval training on the treadmill. I'm taking the training seriously because the Nike training runs start next week, it will be the first time I've run with a group.

Week Commencing	Distance	Time	Av Pace
14/08/06	25.5k	3:05:40	7:16
07/08/06	11.4k	1:23:24	7:24
31/07/06	21.3k	2:40:50	7:33
August Totals	58k	7:09:54	7:24

August 2006

Knee Trouble

Jack Osbourne - Adrenalin Junkie 2 has just started up again. I really enjoyed the first series, and found myself thoroughly motivated by his physical transformation . This evening chronicled his attempt to complete the ridiculously tough Marathon Des Sables, a 151 mile endurance race across the Sahara. I really can't imagine why anyone would contemplate this event, it is clearly going to be unpleasant. Jack appeared to go into this race fairly blind. His preparations for the event included ocassional treadmill running for a maximum of 2 hours (10 miles). What sort of nutter would head out into the desert with such inadequate preparation? Predictably he didn't finish, plenty of others did though which is probably more surprising.

In contrast to this gruelling event, my morning run just pales into insignificance, mind you I still managed to make enough fuss about it, huffing and puffing for the first 3k. From the splits it shows that I set off pretty speedy for me and only really started to enjoy myself when I slowed up and the rain started.

Click image to enlarge

I'm being troubled with knee issues today. I don't think they are actually related to the running, they give way on me a bit when I'm cycling, if I push too high a gear, but today I seemed to exacerbate the problem when I pulled my shoes off without undoing the laces. Pushing the shoe on without undoing the laces, hurts too, so suppose I will have to commit to not being so lazy. I'm a bit worried about my run tomorrow though, I was hoping to try for a 10 k run but I don't want to injure myself.

August 2006

I Tube - Do You?

I couldn't wait any longer, I had to find out what all the hype surrounding YouTube is about. That canadian girl started me off with a link to a haunting film about a giant little girl puppet. While I was there I came across my fave advert - the Tango/Bravia spoof:

I only caught it on the telly once, so I don't know if Sony kicked up a stink about copyright infringements, and had it shifted.

August 2006

Technical Running

I went on the treadmill this lunchtime and tried the Balke test for determining my V0₂ max score. This involves running as far as you can in 15 mins, I actually ran for 20 mins so I obviously wasn't pushing hard enough, but I still managed to get up a fair speed. I actually managed to run at 11 km/hr (not for long) without being propelled off the back of the treadmill. I wouldn't even dream of running that speed a couple of months ago. Things really seem to be coming together with this running malarky.

Anyway, back to VO₂. As with everything else I do, I have to get thoroughly obsessed with the science behind my hobby. Hence the purchase of all the sporting gadgets, training software, books and whizzy excel spreadsheets. I recently bought Daniels Running Formula which aims to tell you exactly what pace you should train at, based on your VO₂ max. So there would be a set pace for the long slow runs and another for marathon, 10k and interval runs. Trouble is I am too slow to even get onto his tables, so that was another waste of money!

The runningforfitness website is a techies dream. It is awash with converters and running calculators to tell you everything from predicted race paces to speed improvements associated with weight loss. I love it. The link I have given above enables you to determine your VO₂ max figure based on the 15 min run and then tells you what pace you should train at.

Apparently I should do my long slow runs at a pace of 08.03 and it reckons I should complete the 10k in 69 mins. Not sure if that figure is based on me running the race tomorrow or after a training schedule. I would hope to be running slightly faster than that by October but we shall see.

I am so impressed by the runningforfitness site that I have taken up PHP programming to recreate some of the conversion tables on my website. Not that I need another project at the moment - I'm supposed to be submitting my thesis in 2 weeks, instead I am spending every evening cursing about some line of code that refuses to do what I want.

August 2006

Stormin Run

I really enjoyed the run this morning even though I wimped out and cut it down to a short 3.5k route. I started moaning away to myself more or less straight away, as my legs felt as stiff as stumps and seemed to have lost all bounce after yesterdays 8k.

Click image to enlarge

I'd been watching the marathon runners on grandstand before I went out and really admired the way they stretched out their legs and ran in the true sense of the word. So I thought I would ignore my stiff legs and try proper running - actually it felt ok. I started dreaming about the day I could actually maintain this pace. Coming up to final straight I still felt good so I opened up again and completed the final 500 m split at a pace of 6.20 min/km. It felt great, my heart was steaming at 178 bpm but this was the first time my legs felt properly stretched out. I don't know if this is down to visualisation or whether its an indication that I have just lost enough weight from my legs for them to actually pivot at the top of my thighs rather than just above my knees. That knee waddle really does inhibit fast paced running.

This weeks totals look pretty poor:

Week Commencing	Distance	Time	Av Pace
07/08/06	11.4k	1:23:24	7:24
31/07/06	21.3k	2:40:50	7:33
August Totals	32.5k	4:04:14	7:30

I think it is time I put in place a training program for the 10k in October. I reckon I could be persuaded to try some speed work at least once week. I really don't want to come last.

August 2006

Even a rubber duck runs faster than me

It was a tough psychological run this morning. I took the new route around both the Chiswick and Hammersmith Bridges and I've displayed the MotionBased viewport below. It turns out to be an almost perfect 10k route, but its hard on the mind. I'm dreading starting my marathon training when I'll have to face considerably longer runs each weekend.

Continue reading "Even a rubber duck runs faster than me"

August 2006

Running, Beer and Motivation

I have committed to cutting back on the alcohol, in order to get the diet back on track again. Therefore this view of the brewery is the closest I'll get to a beer for a while. It's the sight I get on the last few hundred yards of my run, just after I've crossed Barnes Bridge. Beautiful stretch of the river.

It's a bit overcast this morning and the photo looks a bit dull but it gave me an excuse to try out this new photoshop tutorial I found on Photojojo. The tutorial shows you how to select areas of the photo based on their colour and then alter the levels to either increase or decrease exposure. Quite good fun, but I suppose the skill is in subtlety and I'm not sure I possess much of that.

I struggled on my run today, I had intended trying out a new variation on my route which would have come in around 9k. Once I'd set off though, I felt like a furnace and ended up cutting it short and finishing after only 3.5k. I don't know if I'm still feeling tired after last week - I went a bit giddy and increased my weekly distance from a typical 13k to 25k. I'm certainly sleeping well anyway.
Maybe I'll try my new route out tomorrow.

August 2006

Beautiful Lebanon

My thoughts are with all the civilians in Lebanon.

August 2006

It's been a week since my last BFL post

Oh I feel like it's time for a major confession. I have been slacking big time. I've stopped recording my meals and I've ignored the last note to self which required me to stop having alcohol. Everything is slipping badly, I keep drinking beer and port and there have been more than a couple of chocolate muffins making their way into my gut this week!
The only positive is that my running has increased pretty dramatically but even then I am guaging my performance on how many muffins it entitles me to eat.
Not good!
I've just been skim reading the life history of a blogger who appears to have started the Body for Life scheme (or similar) about 6 months ago and seems to have made quite dramatic fitness gains in the process. It's quite motivating.

August 2006

This mornings 8km Run

This is a small extension to the 6.6k route I mapped out a few days ago. It saves me retracing my steps as its a truly circular route. It was nice and cool this morning with quite a blustery breeze, I'm sure this helped to keep my heart rate under control and meant I was able to run the entire route. Oh well, not quite the entire route, as usual I walked up the steps to each bridge and you can see this reflected in the heart rate profile. Still a pretty good effort I think, and makes a stark contrast to the enforced interval training on the 26th. It looks like a heart rate of 160 bpm makes a manageable run for me.

You can check out more details on the MotionBased website again.

Continue reading "This mornings 8km Run"

August 2006

Running Efficiency

I was reading the other night that the most efficient running style is associated with exactly 180 strides per minute. Apparently, almost all athletes run at this cadence regardless of distance and therefore speed. The faster runners just take longer strides.

Anyway, I thought I better check it out. So on this mornings run I discovered I take 158 strides per minute. So it looks like I'm not an athlete. Darn am I surprised.

So now what to do about it? It is suggested that most runners would benefit by taking slightly shorter steps and increasing cadence but if I take shorter steps I'll be running backwards. Also, efficiency is not all its cracked up to be. Efficient runners use less calories, which is pants! Inefficiency rules - as do cream cakes.

**UPDATE 14/01/07**

Thought I ought to provide a link to a more informed opinion on running cadence. The endurance coach
records cadence as the number of times 1 foot hits the ground in a minute ie. half the figure I quoted above, and on his site he details a few training exercises to help increase your cadence. Must admit that non of them involve listening to music with the target bpm.

August 2006

Buff Headgear

I was running blind the other morning, which seems to be an occupational hazard for sweaty unfit runners. I was desperately trying to wipe the sweat out of my eyes with the hem of my t-shirt, whilst trying to maintain my modesty and continue running. I failed on at least one of these.
I decided I ought to purchase a headband to improve matters. This thought occupied me til the end of my run wondering if I could bear the 70s look and whether I would be prepared to wear matching leg warmers next.

Two days later I received an unsolicited parcel through the post. Inside was a brand new Buff headwear thingy. This is a head band cum balaclava cum scarve cum neckerchief cum headwear thingy.
Now where did that come from?!
No note, no invoice, just a solitary Buff headwear thingy.

Nice eh?
I'm going to dream about a car on tomorrows run.