Commuting

No Homing Pigeon

by warriorwoman on 13 January, 2012

I’m approaching marathon training with all new vigour this week. After a slow and somewhat glum start to the program, which saw me achieving only 20km of a 20 mile weekly target, I have decided to show a little more gumption this week and commit.

Today was scheduled for my mid-week longish run which means a resurrection of the running commute. I wasted a good portion of the day playing with google maps, trying to determine the best tube station to start my run from. Shame I didn’t spend more time examining the details of the route.

It didn’t seem that tricky, just Tooting Bec to X marks the spot but less than a mile from home I managed to get myself horrendously lost, turning right when I should turn left and then again. Looking at the map it seems like such a sharp bend that I can’t understand why I didn’t notice that I’d just doubled back on myself and come back down a parallel street.

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Day 13 – Delays

by warriorwoman on 14 January, 2011

The day disappeared with itself yesterday. I’d planned a running commute which takes precision organisation and an evening without commitments but my boss had other plans and kept me back late. By the time I’d run home I had no energy for Jog, Log, Blog, all I could manage was the 3 B’s: Beer, Bath, Bed.

I had 17km on my plan but the route didn’t quite work out that way. I walked for about a mile before the satellites picked up and then struggled to actually start the running motion. I was happy standing by the Houses of Parliament in the rain, watching the goings on, as the Garmin strained to communicate but did finally press go somewhere past Millbank and trogged fairly happily along the river and up through Battersea and Clapham.

I had a few good kilometres in the mix where I felt relatively spritely but it dropped off from 10k and by 12k I was suffering. My feet lost all spring and it felt like I was bouncing on bone. I was not sufficiently on form to deal with the hill that greats me within yards of our house.

I’ve had major energy slumps on my last two long runs. I’m pretty sure its diet related as I’ve been messing around with my carb intake. I’ve decided low carbs don’t work too well with long runs so have upped the consumption but I still felt sick as a dog by the time I got home. Lynn force fed me peanut butter on toast and I perked up miraculously

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Day 6 and another Running Commute

by warriorwoman on 6 January, 2011

I took my nordic poles into work today. I proper ummed and ahhed about it, but in the end I decided the health of my knee might be worth a bit of humiliation through Brixton.

When the heavens opened, mid afternoon, I was so grateful, imagining empty streets in which I could gallop along, bounding from one puddle to the next.

By the time I got to Brixton, it had dried out and multiple commuters were gathering. I extended the poles. Walked a little bit. Considered running.

I managed approximately 10 yards but was too embarrassed to overtake the couple who had witnessed me faffing with the poles and so stopped and retracted them. That meant I had to continue the run with two poles clutched in my hands. I now have rotator cuff injuries to go with my dodgy knee.

I’m not sure I’m going to stick with Nordic Jogging as a concept. I can’t cope with the spectacle and besides, the poles seem to skitter all over the tarmac. Maybe I should give it a go on a proper muddy trail.

Despite suggestions to the contrary my knee actually held up very well today. 9km ticked off and not even a twinge. I’m putting this down to a very positive experience with performance and injury specialist, Craig Carroll but more on that later.

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Return to the Humdrum

by warriorwoman on 4 January, 2011

A few days away from the hum and drum of life and I’ve already forgotten how to function.

This morning’s cycle commute was a case in point, I couldn’t get my brain into gear at all.

The moment I left the house and pushed myself down the col de Norbury, pedalling head first into the icy winds, I released I’d forgotten the windproof jacket. A few more miles of bobbing up and down on the Brooks machine of torture (aka saddle) prompted me to discover missing item number 2, the hoo haa ride and glide.

By the time I’d cycled for an hour this morning, certain essential protuberances had turned to cubes of ice and my hoo haa was non too happy.

I’ve ticked off 17.5km for the Janathon gods, hopefully I’ll be back later today with a running related offering.

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Another Suitably Titled Running Commute

by warriorwoman on 16 December, 2010

I forgot how much preparation these running commutes take, especially in this weather. I should have been at least 24 hours ahead of the game and deposited supplies at work, but I wasn’t. Instead I had to try and cram my work and running stuff into the tiny little hydration pack. It didn’t all fit, so I had to wear it all on the way into work. Despite layering up with shirt, jumper, running tops * 2 and a windproof, I was still freezing. I was also about 3 times larger than usual and took up more than my fair share of train seat.

Remarkably I managed not to forget any of my vitals and was able to leave the office this evening perfectly togged up for a cross town running commute. I stopped off en-route for an MRI scan on my left knee and then picked it up again from outside Guys Hospital.

I had a perfect 10k route plotted and uploaded to the garmin device but satellite communications were iffy until I’d wandered as far as the Elephant and Castle roundabout – which took an unsatisfying 0.79km off my schedule.

Now that I’m getting medical intervention for my running ailments I’ve turned into a bit of a hypochondriac, I can feel meniscal twinges on every step. I’m pleased to report though, that my debilitating calf injury appears to have cleared up and any remaining niggles seem entirely manageable.

I think the lay off must have done me some good. On the face of it, this was not the most inspiring running commute. The Elephant & Castle subway is a bit grim, and the A23 isn’t the most scenic thoroughfare in London but I was loving it nevertheless. It helps a lot that I’ve discovered the best running podcast ever (marathon talk) but I’ve also been raring to go for weeks and can now finally release all this pent up enthusiasm. I feel like I can run and run.

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A Dithering Commute

by warriorwoman on 9 September, 2010

Yesterday I announced to anyone that would listen that 3k’s were the new half-marathon.

It’s just not true though.
A bag of chips and a bottle of Newcastle Brown still tastes like a sin after 3 paltry kilometres.

With that in mind I decided to dust off my long distance shoes and attempt another running commute. Attempt being the operative word because I’d prepared myself for one of those last week but got diverted by the pub and managed only 4k.

Today I had a little more incentive, the underground was still pole-axed with the strike fallout and my journey in on the train scored high on the “most hellish journey ever” scales. I was not in a rush to embrace public transport.

I wandered down to the embankment, slowly picking up my satellite signal and started running along the Thames.

I trogged on, ignoring pub invitation texts, choosing instead to descend into an anti-running mantra. This was my make and break run for next weeks Great North Run. My training has been lacklustre and I am no where near 13 mile standard, this commute was supposed to make my decision clear – run or not run.

What I think about when I go running:

Ughhhhh I don’t like running, I want to stop, I don’t want to run 13 miles, I’m not cut out for long distance running, maybe I could just stop now and try out this pub, it looks like a very nice pub but probably too nice to sell Stella, not that I only drink Stella, if I did the Great North Run I’d drink Newcastle Brown ale and folk would cheer as I ran and I’d be a hero.

Then I’d start again taking a slightly different route but basically ending 13 miles later with a beer in my hand and a medal round my neck and a new t-shirt for my collection.

By the time I’d quit whining I’d run 6km and it occurred to me that my breathing had calmed down nicely and if it wasn’t for all the whittering in my head I was almost having a nice time.

I passed on through Battersea Park, admiring the Buddha admiring skippers carried on to Clapham Common and arrived at Tooting Common slap bang in the middle of the night. Dark and gloomy and altogether just a little bit too spooky to navigate. I skirted the edges and called a halt to my run 12.5 kms after I started it.

Still not good enough to confirm I can manage the half marathon but at least I was still standing. I’ll try a proper long run at the weekend and make my decision then.

Short aside – This post is a little out of context now, it was written last week but the publishing was delayed by an administrative error on behalf of my web hosts who kindly forgot to renew two of my domains!

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Two Common By Half

March 11, 2009
Two Common By Half

The new accessible job arrived and sucked away all my handy exercise avoidance excuses…..time to resurrect the running commute. My first attempt was an unwelcome struggle, my head was in a seriously moany place and my feet were doing that teenage scuffing thing. I made it past two commons lurching in a stop go fashion [...]

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Another Commute

August 13, 2008
Another Commute

This grotty summer weather is doing wonders for my running. It just needs to threaten drizzle and I’m grabbing my trainers, or at least I’m thinking about grabbing my trainers as I’m the world’s worst procrastinator when comes to running. I’d scheduled a run for first thing Saturday morning but although I kept putting the [...]

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Running Over Old Ground

July 10, 2008
Running Over Old Ground

The race packs seem to be dropping thick and fast through the letter box this week, after the painfully slow 5k at the weekend I came home and opened an envelope to discover I was entered in the Great Capital 10k in just 2 weeks time. Goodness knows when I signed up for that, I [...]

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Two Tone Brompton

July 4, 2008
Two Tone Brompton

Here’s a quick pictorial introduction to the new bike recruit. The Brompton is squeezing alongside the other two bikes and trying to carve out a niche for itself. So far it’s doing very well and I’m beginning to worry about what I’ll do with the other two. I wonder if I could have a go [...]

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