Running

London 10k Training

by warriorwoman on 21 April, 2013

Many people will have been inspired by today’s heroic efforts along The Mall and for those not tempted by the full marathon distance you can still enjoy some of London’s finest sights in a more manageable distance.
This guest post from Bupa, highlights the Bupa 10,000 and provides tips for 10k training.

Summary: From beginners to elites like Mo Farah – we all need to train for a 10k race. Read on to find out how to get ready for this year’s Bupa London 10,000.

Whether you’ve still got Olympic fever or are simply looking to get fit – a 10k run can be the perfect way to test your stamina.

10km has become the distance of choice for runners in Britain; being both long enough to provide a challenge whilst remaining an attainable goal for committed joggers. However don’t be fooled into thinking that a 10k will be a walk in the park, a rigorous training schedule is essential in the lead-up to the race, especially if you are new to running.

The Bupa London 10,000 is one of the most popular road races in the country and the ideal event for beginners to enter the world of athletics. If you’re thinking of running the iconic course in 2013, read on to find out how best to train for its challenges.

Bupa 10,000 route

Protect your feet

You’ll probably be clocking up hundreds of miles during your training so look after the things that will carry you through – your feet.

Do you know what type of feet you have? It might sound like an odd question but there is an array of different kinds of trainers to match your gait. Over pronators (people who favour the inside of their feet) and under pronators (those who prefer the outside edge) need different kinds of support to maximize their training and prevent injury.

Get ready to train

Running might be one of the most basic human motions, but you need to start slowly.

Dynamic stretching is the best way to get your body ready for 10k training, helping to get your blood pumping and familiarizing muscles with forthcoming movements. Lunges, leg kicks and lying scorpions are all great examples that will help prevent strains or pulls.

Training partners

Running is the ultimate individual sport but many people enjoy the company and motivation gained from training with a buddy. If you and a friend have both entered the London 10,000 then it might help you both to train together. Or if you’d prefer training in a larger group, there are countless beginners’ running clubs across the country to help you stay on target.

Pick your Program

There are a multitude of training programmes to choose from, but the best approach is to start your first few runs without any guidance, just go for it and find your own pace. You can then select a training program to suit you.  This will help you train safely and set realistic goals that are achievable. Bupa has a range of training plans available to choose from.

Replicate race conditions

The Bupa London 10,000 course runs through some of the most iconic and interesting parts of the capital. The race course itself is mostly on flat ground, meaning speed rather than hill work will be more beneficial in your training regime. Taking part in a couple of other races of varying distances in the build-up to the Bupa London 10,000 event will also help acclimatise you to the hustle and bustle of running alongside hundreds or even thousands of others. Bupa’s race events range from 5km to half marathons. While it’s good to make sure that you’re comfortable running 5km first before the London 10,000, keep in mind that rest days in between race practices are just as important in order to keep running injuries at bay.

Train like an athlete – act like an athlete

To make the most of the Bupa London 10,000, you might consider doing more than just running. Your training will mean you burn a lot of calories, so it’s vital you eat before and after a run. Whole grains, lean meats and fruit and vegetables will provide you with a balanced nutritional diet that will help maximise the benefits of your training.  Ensuring you get enough sleep is also vital to guarantee that your muscles and body are able to recover from your exertions.

What are your top training tips for the Bupa London 10,000?

{ 1 comment }

Sophisticated Ladies Run for Bolly

by warriorwoman on 20 April, 2013

Back in 2007, at my first Bushy Park Run I was introduced to two women who exposed me to the joys of sophisticated running. I’ve never been a stranger to the pleasure of a post run Stella but these two raised the bar with their post run champagne and canapes.

Surrey Housewives run for Bolly

When you get invited to a Surrey Housewife (SHS) event, I strongly recommend you make an effort to attend – even if it involves a disturbingly early start and a gruelling run.

SHS 250Today’s event was the Bushy parkrun. A quick scan through my running logs reveals that I have attended the sum total of 19 parkruns over the last 6 years.

Today’s event was not about my 19th run but Suzan and Carol’s 250th parkrun.

Thats 250 5k’s each and 250 missed lie ins.

An amazing 1006 other runners joined them for the run and were rewarded at the end with a celebratory glass of fizz and a cream bun. I was a teeny bit slow for the cream bun stall but I’ll settle for champagne any day.

Congratulations Carol and Suzan – and don’t think I didn’t notice the pre-race cocktail, I reckon I could be persuaded to add that to my usual run routine.

{ 0 comments }

Teenage Tabata Trouncing

by warriorwoman on 6 March, 2013

Apologies for the alliteration but the title just landed in my lap.

I’m always on the look out for short cuts, particularly of the fitness variety. I have books on my shelves with title’s like “7 mins to commando fitness” and “train less, run faster”.

Despite the books I’m still a slow poke and excepting a recent fancy dress party where I got to don a paratrooper beret, I still haven’t made it into military ranks.

20130306-212955.jpgYesterday I read about another short cut to supreme fitness designed by a Japanese fella called Tabata. Apparently a mere 4 mins of intense exercise is all one needs to achieve impressive endurance gains equal to at least 300 mins of less intense training.

This morning I attempted my first Tabata inspired treadmill workout.

For me, this was the nausea inducing session:

10 mins warmup @ 7kph
Hop off treadmill
Ramp treadmill to 13 kph
Jump on for 20 secs
Jump off for 10 secs
Repeat Jump on Jump off for a further 7 times
Warm down for 1 minute at 6kph

That results in a 15 minute session with so much promise but an unusual amount of light headedness. I was impressed with myself.

When I got home from work I found that teenager number 1 had discovered the treadmill and had been dabbling with a few programs in search of fitness.

I felt the need to test her mettle so encouraged her to try out my evil pre-programmed 20 min HITS ( High Intensity Interval Session), which although high intensity is a relative stroll in the park compared to Tabata.

She handled the full program like a walk in the park. No puffing like a steam train and no melodramatic symptoms of exhaustion. I was feeling a little tense so challenged her to a Tabata show down.

I managed to ramp the treadmill up to 15kph before I managed to get her to squeak and her mother told me to behave. I consider myself well and truly trounced by a beginner.

She still wasn’t sweating though so I reckon I’ll be able to dial that treadmill to the max 20kph before she flies off the back.

Will keep you informed.

{ 0 comments }

Return to Running School

by warriorwoman on 27 January, 2013

Just over 18 months ago I enrolled myself on a crash course at The Running School determined to overhaul my running style and evolve into an efficient, faster, pain free runner. Back in the summer of 2011 I was racked with plantar fasciitis pain and experimenting with barefoot running as a potential cure all for mechanical mis-alignment and associated injuries.

I’m afraid that I was probably guilty of the “too much too soon” mentality that seems to have plagued me throughout my life. High intensity training at The Running School interspersed with snail crushing barefoot runs around the neighbourhood did nothing to ease the PF pain. Finding myself nigh on crippled I quit running for a few months and I’m afraid I had to take a rather long break from school. It perhaps didn’t need to be an 18 month long break but stuff happens.

I attend the Running School at Body Logic in Battersea and they were great throughout my sojourn, sending me regular emails to let me know that I’d be welcome to return for my remaining sessions at any point.

So yesterday, I returned, a little sheepishly, wondering how much I’d remember and if I’d be back to square one.

Kirsty took me through my paces and carried out a few tests to ascertain my core strength and see if I’d been doing my strength homework. I knew she was looking for wobbly pelvic movements so I gritted my teeth and tried to bluff my way to a pass. I fixed my pelvis with all my might and carried out the squats and semi lunges. I thought I’d demonstrated excellent control but I’m afraid she was not impressed and saw straight to the truth of my core – flabby and apathetic.

It seems there is no short cut to a strong core – you have to actually do the exercises.

On the treadmill I tried to make amends and stood tall, pumped my arms chin to pocket, and lifted my knees to attempt the cycling motion. I’d forgotten the key element of my posture though and Kirsty was able to point out in the mirror that I run stooped, with a permanent flex at the waist. To correct this I needed to scoop my pelvis under. It made a dramatic impact on my profile and I immediately straightened up, it plays havoc with the buttocks though.

After a few more sprints my arse was throbbing. You are supposed to run from your glutes and given how large mine are it seems a shame that my standard running shuffle doesn’t encourage their use. The Running School style forces you to switch on the huge muscles so who knows, hopefully in a few more months I’ll be powered by two efficient buttock cheeks and be able to run for hours without tiring.

 

{ 0 comments }

Breakfast Sprint

by warriorwoman on 25 January, 2013

Inspired by Lazygirlrunning and her fab post about interval running I decided to shake things about a bit this morning and so not only did I manage to drag myself out of bed and into some running gear before sunset but I also shocked the system with some sprints.

I normally plug away on the treadmill at a 7.4kph pace but today I chucked in 30 sec sprints every 400m. I probably managed 10 sprints before I had to turn my energies towards getting into work.

It was a great work out. The sprints made me feel athletic and inspired. I never used to have two speeds in me but I can certainly tell the difference between 7 and 12 kph and my usual pace felt so sedate afterwards.

It’s really encouraged me to keep mixing things up in my long haul towards the 100k London2Brighton challenge.

Back on the stoutathlon challenge it was rather nice to enjoy a little tipple without the threat of a wobbly stint on the treadmill afterwards. I’m beginning to struggle under the pressure of all this stout though and todays choice of Youngs Double Chocolate Stout didn’t really leave me singing the joys of the dark brew. I would have much preferred to settle for a bar of Cadbury’s Fruit and Nut.

Double Chocolate

 

{ 1 comment }

IceSpike and Yaktrax for Snow Running

by warriorwoman on 20 January, 2013

For an urbanite living in a city where snow falls for approximately 2 days in every 365, it does seem a little excessive that I have 2 different sets of ice cleats and snow grips.

As London transport tends to collapse at the first hint of a snow flake, and commuters are left to fend for themselves in the harsh cold streets, I’ve developed a slight -ism. Call it what you like but my -ism means that from October to May I carry a set of Yaktrax in the bottom of my bag just in case I should find myself stranded at Victoria again and have to walk home through miles of slippy slush.

We’ve just had the annual weekend of snowfall so I was quick to take the IceSpikes and the Yaktrax Pro on a head to head test across Mitcham and Tooting Commons.

I was given a pack of IceSpikes at the recent running show. I think they retail around £25 (amazon link) and consist of a pack of hard screws and device for inserting them into your shoe. It took me about 10 mins to get them all set up and screwed in. You could technically remove them from your shoes after use as they only result in a smal puncture hole but really its a bit of a faff. I’ve instead chosen to sacrifice an old pair running shoes to become my permanent snow shoes. They will spend most of their remaining life in the bottom of a cupboard but on their annual outing they’ll become the star of the show.

I’ve had the Yaktrax for a couple of years now, purchased after the “stranded in Victoria” incident, and they haven’t seen snow that often. I’ve just checked on (Amazon) and at £16 they are cheaper than I remember.

The Yaktrax are much quicker to set up than the IceSpike although you have to do it over and over again. You start at the toe and peel them over the sole of the shoe. They are quite a tight squeeze and I’m always worried about trapping my chilled fingers in the coils and taut rubber but so far I have remained injury free. The pro versions have an additional velcro strap across the foot that gives you the confidence to run without fear that the contraption may spring off your foot mid-stride.

In terms of gripability I would say that both the Yaktrax and IceSpike were on a par. They both enabled a confident pace to be maintained across snow covered pavements and trails. The IceSpike were the least conspicuous and unless you walked on cleared tarmac you could forget that you had them on.

So if you can’t distinguish the two grips in terms of their performance on snow I suppose you have to look at the relative convenience factor.

Yaktrax can be carried around with you until required and convert any shoe (barring stilettos) into a snow shoe. Should you encounter patchy road conditions or need to enter a building you can whip them on and off at will. IceSpike, once installed on your shoe can just be left in place but that means if you walk across gritted and cleared roads you would either need to change your shoes or put up with the loud, sticky sound they make.

I think I’ll be sticking to the best of both worlds. My newly IceSpiked shoe will remain my snow running shoe of choice as they are so comfortable   while the Yaktrax will remain in my bag, ready to transform any commuting shoe to an expedition ready mountain shoe – if ever required.

{ 1 comment }

Stoking the Furnace

January 13, 2013
Stoking the Furnace

I mistook the absence of snow for evidence of a gloriously mild morning. It is easy to make meteorological errors when assessing the weather conditions from under a warm duvet. The truth revealed itself pretty quickly when I set off on this morning’s long run. I was repeating last weeks circular route from Putney Bridge [...]

Read the full article →

Ten Green Bottles

January 10, 2013
Ten Green Bottles

Ok, it’s 21 and they are brown but regardless, they represent the challenge still ahead. Another 21 days of jogging, logging and blogging and another 21 bottles of stout. Given the mad January dash of treadmill running and cushion jumping its hard to believe that we’ve ticked off barely a third of Janathon. Its been [...]

Read the full article →

Cloudtec On – The Cloudsurfer Review

January 7, 2013
Cloudtec On - The Cloudsurfer Review

I’ve been sporting a trial pair of On Cloudsurfer running shoes for the duration of Janathon. They are the odd shoes with built in clouds, otherwise known as the CloudTec system, in the sole. You look at these shoes and either think fad or innovation. When they first came out I probably veered towards the [...]

Read the full article →

In Need of a Bath

January 6, 2013
In Need of a Bath

A friend commented on my blogging the other day and said that while she was completely fascinated by my route maps and device obsession, what she really wanted to know was what I think about when I run. I think she was being polite and was really asking, “Why do you do this running thing? [...]

Read the full article →