Archive for Running
May 4, 2009 at 9:00 pm · Filed under Event, Running
Suzan and Carol the two founder members of the Surrey Housewives Set (SHS) have been relentlessly running the Bushy Park 5k time trial over the last 2.5 years and this Saturday they finally reached the 100 runs milestone.
500 kilometres ticked off (each) by the grim determination to get out of bed at the crack of dawn almost every Saturday. Pushing themselves through just about the worst running distance ever invented.
I think I’ve been equally relentless in my avoidance of these painful little runs recently but I dragged the non-runner out of bed this Saturday so we could celebrate the grand achievement from the side lines.
I don’t think I’ve won over a convert to the cause, the whole event was rather a strange spectacle, 450 runners turning up at 8:55 to run around the park and then shoot off again after about 30 minutes of painful sweating. You really could be forgiven for wondering why anyone would do it, from our vantage point at the 4k mark, no one appeared to be enjoying themselves and there were quite a few concerning retching noises from within the pack.
Of course runners, know why they do it and even though I was glad I didn’t pack my running shoes, part of me hankered after that smug post run satisfaction and now I’m half tempted to set the alarm early for the occasional Saturday to come.
After a quick congratulatory pat on the back I felt the swarm of the sweaty crowd and shot off out of the car park.
When the photos came out I wasn’t all that popular with the NR who discovered she’d been dragged from her sleep to attend the strange event and then yanked away just as the champagne and buns made an appearance.
Popularity: 12% [?]
Related posts
Tags: BPTT, bushy park, ParkRun, SHS, Surrey Housewives
March 11, 2009 at 8:52 pm · Filed under Commuting, Running
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 and finally quit at Somerfield in order to replenish the Stella supplies.
Today’s run was a bit more exciting, I’d heard a rumour that the non runner may be catching the 5:18 train. Thereby giving me approximately 25 minutes to hot foot it down the high street and nonchalently drape my sweating being across the bonnet of her car to ensure a lift half the way home.
Needless to say I made it. Amazing what you can pull out of the bag for an easy ride.
I got an iPhone recently which has proved mighty useful for navigating me through some commutimg crises but will unfortunately result in a decline in photo quality for my blog.
I’ve been checking out the promisingly named “50 Awesome iPhone Apps for Runners” blog post, they don’t all have very good reviews on iTunes but I may check a few out. High on my list will be True Weight - 3 months of idleness has not done me any sartorial favours and I need to get back in control.
In the spirit of
1. getting back into the swing of things
2. jumping in at the deep end, and
3. acquiring more t-shirts
I’ve signed myself up for an assortment of events.
First on the list is the London to Brighton bike ride which has been on my wishlist for some time.
Then it’s time for a re-run of the British London 5k which promises to be particularly exciting - at least in terms of the location of it’s post race champagne reception. Stay tuned.
Finally (at least for now), I’ve gone and signed myself up the scary Great North Swim. I’m hoping to be able to finish it without the asthma attack this time, which probably means a little more training…
Popularity: 19% [?]
Related posts
Tags: commute, Running, Stella
March 2, 2009 at 11:37 am · Filed under Equipment, Running, Shoes
I think I may have suggested a little while back, in a pub somewhere no doubt, that I would put happiness to one side and actually start running again in March. The arrival of the month also coincided quite nicely with the delivery of a damn fine pair of running shoes, so the pressure was building.
These are the Salomon XA Pro GTXs and are a very desirable pair of trail running/adventure madness style shoes. They require rather beefy terrain so yesterday I bundled the non-runner and the mountain bike into the car and headed off to my favourite off road haunt - Swinley Forest in Bracknell.
The non-runner vowed to stick with me on the bike as I led the way on foot through the undergrowth. With an evil glint in my eye I hit an immediate right turn out of the car park and headed up and across the bracken to the forest proper. It was steep, strewn with stump hazards and ruts and altogether pretty tough going. My lungs were burning and I wanted to quit but the expletives exiting my loved one’s mouth made it all the worthwhile and I kept heading up until I thought she was going to quit on me and head back to the cafe.
Respite from laughter was required so we took a short flat section for a breather before heading off in search of shoe testing swamps and hills.
The shoes are very impressive. They’re extraordinarily light, in fact I suspected the box may have been empty when I picked it off my doorstep, but I still felt very supported by them. They have a good cushioned sole a very simple and effective lace system. I really like them a lot actually and as I’ve they’ve got a gore tex lining, my feet stayed dry even after a bit of light puddle action.
They are fortunately very grippy as well.
I took the lead on one particularly exciting stretch of singletrack before realising that I didn’t really stand much chance of staying ahead of a carreering lunatic on a bike. I upped the pace and started squealing like an out of control rhino on a snowboard. Legs were ticking over at a rare ole pace but my body was still in the lead. I expected my chin to reach the forest floor just moments before the chasing bike nipped at my heels and left me with broad tread marks along my flattened body.
At the first sign of an escape route, I threw myself off to the side, to roll gently in a bank of soft mud, only to spot the non-runner, half way back up the slope, hands clenched tightly over both brakes, bouncing ever so tentatively and non-threateningly downwards on locked wheels.
I muddied my shoes for nothing…..
Popularity: 23% [?]
Related posts
Tags: salomon xa pro gtx, Shoes, Swinley Forest
December 24, 2008 at 3:08 pm · Filed under Running
The non-runner dragged me out on another run this Saturday, and I mean literally dragged. I clung on to her belt for dear life as she tried to master pace setting on the bike. It’s obviously fairly tricky cycling at my running pace and more practice is clearly required. I’m pretty sure that we hit the giddy heights of 8 minute miles on some of the down hill sections. I couldn’t verify it on the garmin as any downward glances were destined to lead to messy “running shoe - in - bike spoke - acrobatics”.
It gave my lungs an unaccustomed workout though and my legs couldn’t believe what was happening to them.
By Monday the legs were moaning in that positively satisfying, muscle torn way. Every time I had to stand up I’d feel a rush of self-satisfaction and accept another Quality Street, safe in the knowledge that I jolly well deserved it.
That got me thinking today. How much better would Christmas feel if I dragged myself up on Chrimble morn to feel the achy thighs of a self-righteous, long distance, runner? I could hobble down stairs and start on the nuts from the crack of dawn and not even feel a hint of guilt at my festive excesses. Excellent plan. So I headed out this morning for quickish pootle along the river to M&S to buy nuts. At 2 miles it perhaps doesn’t count as a long distance run but I’m hoping I did it fast enough for my legs to ache and provide the necessary sacrifice for bone-fide excess offsetting.
Popularity: 33% [?]
Related posts
Tags: christmas, Garmin, non-runner, Richmond Park
December 8, 2008 at 6:03 pm · Filed under Running
I got accused of mis-selling myself this morning. It seems that I have a record of portraying myself as an active sort who is known to occasionally entertain with stories of puddle running, cold water immersion and wholesale slug annihilation, but who now seems to have turned into a bit of a lazy good for nothing. Albeit a grinning, happy, good for nothing.
Despite managing to accidentally close off my last post to feedback, the most tenacious of my readers still managed to get through and post astute comments, some of which could be paraphrased as: “stop enjoying yourself and get running again!” So with a definite theme emerging from the outside world it seemed like the time had come to re-acquaint myself with myself, and that means running, gardening and blogging.
The non-runner valiantly offered (actually under duress so it may not count as valiant) to become a cyclist for the afternoon and drag me around the river for 4.5 miles until we arrived at the allotment - in time for garlic planting. It must have been exactly 3 weeks since my last run and that was only a titchy one so I was desperately in need of dragging.
Running is so tough, I can’t imagine why anyone would do it really.
Popularity: 30% [?]
Related posts
Tags: allotment, Bone Idle, non-runner
November 17, 2008 at 2:01 pm · Filed under Running
Running. Don’t you just love it?
I woke this morning with one of those huge grins that point blank refuses to go away and look just a tiny bit less smug with itself. Wandering down to the station I had to work hard to keep my feet in some kind of order as they were threatening to leap into the air for a spate of heel clicking frivolities.
When Amy MacDonald came on the iPod I couldn’t resist any more and had to run - I didn’t get too far, the platform was crowded and my rucksac was loaded with heavy study texts. The moment I got home though, I dropped the extraneous trammel and headed down to the river to release my joy with a sprint through the drizzle.
Sprint being the operative word.
Either it’s good for me to run on smiles or else someone has been slipping me performance enhancers. I broke my 3 year record for the two bridge river route and it’s my second zippy run of the week. I may have to attempt a time trial again if this keeps up.
Popularity: 24% [?]
Related posts
November 8, 2008 at 8:18 pm · Filed under Rambling, Running
I struggled with the running concept again this morning. I was awake from 4am thinking that I might just go out any minute and take in my required 10 mile pootle but I was still flouncing around at 11am throwing anti-running strops on the living room floor.
The new non-runner in my life has taken to questioning my strange obsession with this odd masochistic feature of my life and as a result I’ve found myself slightly bemused by the whole thing as well. I really and truly did not want to run today but at the same time I knew I had to, ought to and should go running!
What’s that about, when did I develop this addiction and do I need to go into rehab?
Sometimes I really want to run just out of the sheer pleasure of bounding around but I think I mostly run to escape myself. It’s much worse at the moment because I’m in the middle of exam stress and so am supposed to sit around on my arse all day studying. It doesn’t take much of that to make me want to run from my own company. I used to be able to sit around just fine without driving myself nuts but this exercise malarky seems to have given me boundless energy and without an outlet it turns me into a serious irritant!
I left the house knowing that a 10 miler was on my schedule but under the circumstances (I’ve no idea what they were) I’d settle for 8. In fact it was actually quite clear that I was open to negotiation and my baseline requirement was that I at least started running and I needed to get as far as Marks and Spencers for biscuits. Not a good start to a long run - I anticipated my inner whiner would kick in at the 1 mile turn off for M&S.
As it happens I seemed to be enjoying myself. I positively bounced past the first turn off point and then it started to pour down again. Rain is such a joy on a run, I love it. It makes me feel cool, committed and vaguely but satisfyingly ridiculous. I got to run past miserable walkers, huddled under the cover of trees, splashing through the puddles and calling out “light weights!”
Why is it that only runners smile in the rain?
I started to remember how great I feel when I run - you can continue forever and ever, meditating on the joys of your life and composing literary masterpieces (or even mediocre blog posts). When you finish you feel so goddamn smug that you can relax on the after affects for at least 3 days. I’m going to have such a productive revision day tomorrow!
The sun decided to put in an appearance over Twickenham Bridge and removed my perverse enjoyment so I turned round and headed back. I did nip into M&S but with my new found runners self-righteousness, I settled for grapes instead of ginger nuts.
8.5 miles - 1hr 46 mins.
Popularity: 25% [?]
Related posts
Tags: non-runner, why?
November 4, 2008 at 8:46 pm · Filed under Running
I wasn’t going to blog today but as both JogBlog and FitArtist have made the admirable commitment to blog everyday this month, about anything and everything, I thought the least I could do was blog about a bone-fide run, even if it was short one.
Their challenge is entitled NaBloPoMo which is perfectly explained in Cathy’s post. She may call herself a pedant but today it rang too many bells as I sat in an accountancy lecture listening to the tutor attempt to simplify the functions of Internal Audit with the mnemonic (or is it acronym?) ISACSRACE. That apparently stands for, Independent, Systematic, Analysis, Controls, Systems, Records, Adequate, Complete, Exist. What the heck does that lot mean and how does it help me with internal audit?!
I’ve got about 10 days before the exam and am wasting this evening trying to decide whether to spend the next week commiting that helpful little snippet to memory - well actually I’m not, because I’m going for a run instead! 7 hours of that sort of rubbish and I need to break free!
Accountants are crap at mnemonics, medics on the otherhand are the undisputed masters, how about: “Some Lovers Try Positions That They Can’t Handle”?
This helps you remember the carpal bones (in the hand) from proximal to distal row, both lateral-to-medial: Scaphoid, Lunate, Triquetrium, Pisiform, Trapezium, Trapezoid, Capate, Hamate.
Pure Quality!
Although it may be good I have to admit that I couldn’t remember it, and had to google “dirty medical mnemonics” to trigger my memory, but you can bet in another 15 years I won’t be going to so much trouble to remember the functions of internal audit.
Anyway, back to my run. Did I mention that I went for a run today? A whole 3 miles! Split in the middle with an allotment inferno of gargantuan proportions. So you could say I did two runs today!
Impressive or what?
Popularity: 24% [?]
Related posts
Tags: allotment, fire, NaBloMoPo
November 2, 2008 at 10:20 pm · Filed under Running
My new once a week running schedule is just not sufficient to keep me sane. By Sunday I’m absolutely climbing the walls.
I’m still off work, with college/study/mahjong-playing leave and have been going stir crazy. All week I’ve been promising myself a weekend treat splashing around the muddy trails of Swinley Forest and I bought some swanky inov8 mudclaws for the occassion - check out those treads.
Swinley Forest is my old haunt from the Broadmoor days and I love running around there. After last weeks Hebden Bridge trip I’ve been eager for mud, hills and bouncy forest trail - there’s nowhere better.
It was a bit cold and wet today but those are the perfect conditions for an autumnal forest run. The leaves were lush and the going was soft to squishy.
The shoes held up very well but then the soles would give a tractor tyre a run for its money. - solid grip. I slipped only once, while trying to leap a 4ft puddle by way of a slimey tree stump. Anyone with half a brain would have known that was going to end in tears but my oxygen starved brain has a tendency to want to see me in an emotional and painful heap. I escaped with only minor groin strain and some very cold feet.
I was heading to the lure of Caesar’s Camp. I love running around that hilltop fort, it was inhabited over 2000 years ago and it feels powerful. You can run around a thin trail, hugging the edge of the hill, and every time I’ve been there it’s been delightfully solitary.
Things have changed a bit with the seasons and the place seems to have been invaded by tiny xmas trees.
It seemed to be getting dark under the tree cover by 2:30 so I headed back a little earlier than planned. I was diving in and out of the woods following any trail that seemed passable and many that weren’t. I found an exciting mountain bike trail that proved almost as much fun on foot which is just as well as I’m about to flog the mountain bike to fund my lavish lifestyle and expensive tastes in running shoes.
Arrived back at the car park only to realise that I couldn’t remember the colour of the hire car and hadn’t a clue what the number plate was.
Of course I made it home eventually and was rewarded with this view of Barnes as I crossed the bridge.
I think a river run is called for next week.
Popularity: 24% [?]
Related posts
Tags: Bracknell, Broadmoor, Swinley Forest
October 19, 2008 at 7:55 pm · Filed under Running
After any major event, of Great North proportions, me and OGB have a tendency to gather around a pint and discuss our potential prowess for next year.
So this year, as with last year incidentally, we planned to maintain our new found half marathon fitness by running at least 10 miles every week, thereby avoiding that tiresome fitness building phase before the next one. I also remember him suggesting we lose some weight, and while he couldn’t lose a stone without panicking his mother, I could easily afford to shed 5 of em, nevertheless I just nodded at him and ordered the next couple of pints.
Two weeks on from the beery bravado, I haven’t heard any hint of OGB sticking to the long distance running plan, he has however sent me begging requests to run another half in a foreign land. And he calls me expensive!
Although I’d planned a day of sheer indulgence, pouring over one of my accountancy text books, I was eventually shamed into heading out for my promised 10-miler. In fairness, I had also run out of other study avoidance techniques, there were literally no more clothes left to wash and iron and there really is a limit to the number of times you can scrub a bathroom sink.
I received a bit of stick from SHS1 in my last post, regarding my choice of running playlists. I think she may have hit the nail on the head really.
In retrospect, I feel some what betrayed by my body and the internal slob for last weeks failure to complete. Despite allowing both of them to convince me that I was facing imminent internal melt down, the predicted muscle damage failed to rear it’s head last week at all. I didn’t wince even slightly as I bounded down the stairs the next morning. That strikes me as a major cop out and I feel like the pair of them (body and slob) ganged up on me in a fairly outrageous fashion. Had they had a little private conflab, then come back to me with the view that the legs couldn’t be arsed to carry me any further and the slob was no longer having fun and just wanted to go home and play with the new computer, then I think I would have been quite reasonable about it.
In the absence of anyone else to blame then I have no alternative but to pick on the playlist. I started the Royal Parks Half with some fairly upbeat tunes but despite sticking somewhere near 60 songs on my list, they had run out by 10 miles. Then I had to scavenge through my iPod in desperation. There were no unplayed episodes of the Archers so I had to head to the audiobook section and the only unheard remnant in there was “Pontoon” by Garrison Keillor. I rest my case. That guy can induce a coma within 3 minutes, it’s a miracle I managed to push another mile out of those mutinous legs.
So today I refreshed my running inspiration and trogged up to Richmond Bridge and back.
Hip’s Don’t Lie - Shakira
Pon De replay - Rihanna
Jesus, Take the Wheel - Carrie Underwood
Jump - Madonna
Push the Button - Sugababes
Never Give Up - Melissa Ferrick
Ready to Run - Dixie Chicks
I Run For life - Melissa Etheridge
I’m not Dead - Pink
Run - Amy MacDonald
Breathe - Melissa Etheridge
Runaway - Pink
Get This Party Started - Pink
Of course 13 songs didn’t keep me going for 10 miles - I had to listen to that lot at least 4 times, so if I try that for another long run I’ll probably be chucking my iPod in the Thames.
Popularity: 23% [?]
Related posts
Tags: OGB, playlist, Royal Parks Half, SHS, thames
Next entries »
