Stop press....better food helps you run!

My choice this week was either an easy 10 - 12 or keep going with a longer run so I went for the longer run, obviously.

Throughout the week I'd eaten differently, by adding more carbs into my diet, I didn't want to feel the way I did at the end of last weeks long run. Prepared well enough the night before and woke up looking forward to the outing, I was hoping not to need as many layers.

The day before I'd been into the running shop, as I do need new trainers, (I'm conscious that my next pair will be the ones I cross the finishing line in, well hopefully, at least the start line!) I also needed some gels.

The guys in the shop were really helpful and supportive, all moaning about January and the hope of a brighter, dryer and warmer February. I bought some new gels, natural, supposedly.

January seems to be a difficult month for people training, I spoke to Maria, a friend, who did the marathon a few years ago. She said that she found it a slog, it was just good to talk to someone else about the same type of emotions, mentally and physically.

It had snowed over night, but only a little. it was a fabulous day fresh and blue sky. So, off I set, full of porridge and treacle.....

My route - Home, Kings Cross, Canal towards Camden, Maida Vale, down to Hyde Park then return via Regents Park, Camden and home.

Summary of the run was overall better than last week, my knees were slightly sore again towards the end of the run again but that may well be that I need new trainers. My intake of water was better, I hadn't really drunk much in the first hour but I did this time and had a gel at about 50 mins.

I drank about 1200ml of water, the new gels were vile though!

This was probably the closest I'd come to being sick, after the second I was dreading the third, not good, need to find something else or have something different in my stomach than porridge. The combination of all that ingredients being mixed and swirled isn't nice and the thought of seeing it again is even worse!

16 miles again round about 2:40 therefore, just over 10min miles, getting better.

When I got home, ate lots of toast and good food throughout the rest of the day, what a miracle that I felt quite good......

Heath hill time....

After the events of the weekend I had a new type of run to introduce into my training program.

Hill work in the Heath.

The weather is still cold but typically English, the Heath is a great place to be either exercising or just exploring. The run was a 15 min warm up, then hills. I did 5 rather hard but decent runs, they were no longer than 3 min each but challenging.

It was a 45min outing, very rainy.

I'll need to improve, obviously it's hard work but it will make me stronger - well that's the plan!

Wake up call...and being an idiot!

To say that I was aching all over, obviously my legs mostly, from my session on Thursday was a little under statement.

The fun side of this is in little supply at the moment I'm having to dig deep.

2 sore days and now time for a long run.

Ran Sat am, 23.1.10.

For breakfast tea, porridge, honey and blueberry's. I knew a little more what to expect today and the route was the same as last week, down to Limehouse basin again.

This time I was prepared with 2 bottles of water 500ml each and 4 gels. I purposely didn't keep an eye on my watch for time, I know the miles at certain points so just cracked on. I had my first gel and drink round about 5 miles and was feeling comfortable there were lots of people running along the canal. I wore a long sleeved top, t-shirt and the new windstop jacket, I took the jacket off at 5 miles - too hot. (somehow at this point managed to loose a bottle of water, idiot! school boy error....)

Well, the halfway point arrived quicker than I thought, I had another gel. Luckily I was able to fill my bottle up again at a dentist, result. I was under 1:18, quite pleased. The return leg was good, I was feeling pretty well, I had another gel with about 5 to go, this one made me feel a bit sick.

Came out of the canal into Islington and my knees started to become sore, really aching. With about 2 miles to go I had to keep stopping and stretching and rubbing them, disappointing.

I got to the shop grabbed a muffin and a fizzy drink then dragged my carcass up the hill home. I was pleased with my time 2:42 and 16 miles.

Now, here are my ridiculous mistakes:

1. Not eating any carbs for the best part of 5 days to try and loose some more weight.

2. Hardly eating anything for 4 hours after a run, when you've burnt nearly a 1000 calories.

We went out for some food in the evening but by this point I wasn't feeling well, what a surprise....I did eat but I think the damage was done.

It's taken me probably 3 days to get back to feeling nearly normal again but this has been a little bit of a wake up call, get a grip.....

This is my first attempt at a race of this distance, I'm not a full time athlete and work hard and have lots of other commitments. (it's just I want to do well, not win the damn thing, just really enjoy the day. I just don't do things by half which is the problem).

I'm ready now to go out for the next run....it's like an addiction......but needs to be a fun and heathy one.....

Try to move gracefully.....

I arranged a well needed gym session with Andy, after my long run and being sick over Christmas I needed to get back on track.

We did lots of stretching and movement exercises trying to get more flexibility in muscles and places that I didn't know I even had! It makes perfect sense that if I have limited movement in certain areas of my body, (toes, feet, ankles, calfs.... just keep working up) then graceful flowing movements aren't possible.

This is what these sessions really expose, but in a good way, it demonstrates how the body needs to move together.

Naturally we try to cheat if we can't or find it difficult to move one way, we'll do it another. Our brain knows that our muscle memory has done something in a certain way for so long, when it's challenged it doesn't like it and finds it very awkward particularly in my case!

The session was hard for me and I knew the next day was going to hurt, so the interval training I was due to do the next day I did straight after.

Interval training, treadmill: Gradient @ 2, 2 min jog at 7 - 8. 3 - 4 min faster 12 - 16 (x 6)

This was hard and great at the same time......

Muddy Heath lunchtime run......

I was a little stiff from the long run at the weekend, I tried to take it easy but it was an action packed couple of days with Sid.

Worked from home on Monday so I was able to put some gear on, only 2 layers, brilliant, and go out for an hour across the Heath. The run was to work hard up the hills, it was a great day, still boggy under foot lots of slipping and sliding, puddles and mud, I just ran as fast as I could and as hard as I could.
Those short periods when you're running and everything seems to be working well, almost like you're flying, just the best feelings. I really hope that I can get the same feelings when doing much longer runs. The run was past the ponds, up to Kenwood House out through the top over kite hill.

About a year ago we were walking in the Heath and we stopped to watch this older lady runner, she would start at the bottom by the playground and run straight up the steep hill to where the seats are.
(This is a hill which Sid and I would run down as fast as our legs would carry us, sometimes I could actually get both of his legs off the ground a fabulous memory.)
This lady did this run at least 10 times before we walked on, her stamina was amazing, not fast but true grit.

At the end of my run I did that hill, it is hard, burning legs hard! So every time I do that same type of run I'm going to run up that hill 2 more times......

Book review and banging house.....

Over the past year I've made an effort to try and read more books, so I have.
Many books about many different things, then people hear you are training and inevitably people buy you books about running. Lynn's mum buys me great books, books that I would never choose myself and some that I leave on the shelf for ages and then pick it up and can't put it down!

For Christmas she bought me a book by 'Haruki Murakami' 'What I talk about when I talk about running' I mentioned this to Andy, he's read it and was interested to know my thoughts. Both he and I are coming from completely different directions, me just starting my running journey and Andy who's incredibly experienced and knows everything!

As a novice runner it's great to hear experience's that other people have had, the periods when you run a long distance or you are running for a long time, the 2 aren't always related at my stage, yet. The thoughts that you have are sometimes dark, doubtful, tremendous highs, just mixed.....but after reading the book it gave me some reflective answers. I tried to pool the good thoughts and experiences from his long career of running and working and enjoyed his explainations. The description when running 'like a river flowing...ect' good thoughts.
It's important to remember we are lucky to have choices. (Sorry, all got a bit emotional there!)

Well, my curiosity and bloody mindedness was getting the better of me, the longest run so far has been 15 so I though I would try 16.

Route: Home, Archway, Holloway Road, Islington, Camden Passage and onto the Canal, down to Limehouse Basin (8 miles) and return the same way.

I did it!

I was obviously pleased, for the first time I wore my ipod, listened to old tunes for the first hour and a half, they became a little mealancholy and weren't helping so then found some banging house! I don't know if they helped but they took my mind off things.

I don't know if I'll wear it again, I'm just trying different things. More seriously, I quite enjoyed it, it's better knowing the distance and route, the last long run, I ran out of miles and had to run in a circle for 2 miles, not good.

I took 3 gels and drank 2 x 500ml of water, could of done with more water.

Time: 2:45 Distance: 16.00 Average 10:30

Summary: Pleased to have covered the distance, it was slow yet satisfying.

It's oh, so warm inside.....

It's been a difficult couple of weeks, the whole family Christmas thing and feeling sick really hasn't helped my state of mind for training. But as always, crack on!

I've had to train inside due to my chest infection, so over the past week and a half I've been like a hamster in a wheel; only my wheel has been a treadmill.

I started off gradually just an easy-ish 30 minutes at just over 5k, then a little swimming.
Over the next few days as I started to feel better I increased the sessions up to 1.5hour and included some interval training when things were becoming monotonous. I did about 4 - 5 gym sessions, spoke to Andy a couple of times and now want to get outside again. It's still really rubbish weather though.

Since I've lost a couple of stone and I am actually getting older (hard to admit, mentally of course I'm still 21) I'm really feeling the cold, I know this sounds increadibly soft! It's just that I have never felt the cold, I found myself becoming one of those people who's concerned what it's like outside before training. I've had to have a strong word with myself, as my pal Povall tells me "there's no such thing as bad weather only bad clothing", that makes some sense.

So now I'm ready to see how much fitness I've lost with a decent run......

Stopped work and got sick....

So I did my longest run so far 15 miles, had a great session with Andy and asked him to do me a hard programme for the Christmas period....and got sick!

I suppose it was inevitable, I'd been working long hours and training quite hard so my body was just saying, right listen now time just to chill for a while.

Now of course the normal thing to do is to give in and get better, this is just the opposite to what I did! My take on feeling poorly was to try and train outside in the freezing weather and show my cold/flu that I could beat it...that'll show it. The more I tried to train the worse I became, my performance was rubbish I could hardly breath, and the cold weather felt like someone was squeezing my chest in a vice. See, that certainly showed that cold...all the way to a chest infection...well done Trad.

Even when I knew I was still feeling rubbish I was concerned about going to the doctors in case they gave me antibiotics...I asked Andy's advice and true to form he reassured me...'go to the doctors and get better properly'; in summary! (He told me that 8 weeks before his first marathon he got really sick and still did well, at this point please don't think I am comparing myself to him!)

My experience at the doctors was surprisely good. It wasn't my regular doctor, I said that I was trying to train for a marathon and she mentioned that she was a runner and had completed Paris recently. She confirmed I had an infection between my lungs and throat, gave me an inhaler and told me to crack on with the training in a couple of days; just not allowed outside stay on the tread mill!
Seemed reasonable, her final comment was quite ammusing, she looked me up and down and said, "we don't look like runners, do we?" Must be medical humour...