It's that time of year when all the fitness magazines and Sunday supplements are offering advice for how to make this year 'your fittest year ever', or promises to that effect. The pages are full of advice regarding gym memberships, home training plans and the latest exercise fads. Somewhere amongst that advice, you will almost inevitably find the journos advising you that, if your budget doesn't stretch to fancy gizmos, gym memberships, dvd purchases etc, then there is always the 'free' option of donning a pair of trainers and heading out for a run. Be warned! This advice is akin to the drug dealer offering you your first 'fix' for free, knowing that you will then be sucked into an addiction that will turn you into a gibbering mental and physical wreck whilst financing his monthly Hire Purchase payments on his blacked-out BMW! Sure, it's a more insidious process with running, and it doesn't draw everyone into the addiction in the same way, or to the same extent, but trust me it sure can take hold!
I have been running seriously for about 14 or 15 years now. In the early days, I didn't cover that much distance, either on a weekly basis or in a single run. Life was pretty simple. I owned a couple of sets of lycra kit, a couple of sports bras, and maybe one or two pairs of running shoes which I also used for going to the gym, playing badminton, and hanging around in at weekends. But then I started to compete at 10km and 10 miles and 'needed' a pair of racing flats - I'm not sure that they made me physically faster, but I felt fast in them and that sure helped propel me to some better times! But then, some of those 10km races started to take in some off-road terrain, and I started to train off-road a bit more, so I 'had' to buy a pair of trail shoes, with their improved grip in mud and crud. A couple of years in, and approaching my first Marathon, my attention turned to what type of shoe I was going to need to stop my knees from melting during the 26 miles! Cushioning was the buzz-word at the time and I bought 2 pairs of gorgeous Asics Grid Omnis - one pair for completing all my long runs in, and one pair to break in on a single 20 mile run and then run the marathon in. Those Asics were definitely the start of the slippery slope for me. I wore both pairs into the ground training and running in that marathon and a further one before they started to fall to bits. Fast forward to the current day and, for the sake of my marriage, I dare not confess how many pairs of trainers I now own. Running crazy long distances across constantly varying terrain tends to make you pretty precious about your feet and what encases them. I have 'barefoot' shoes in various brands and designs for fast, free, shorter runs. They are also my shoe of choice for work (for those of you who don't know, I'm a personal trainer!). At the opposite end of the scale, I have a few pairs of super-cushioned Hokas for when my feet and legs are screaming 'enough' . I have smooth soled shoes for road running, super-aggressive mud-pluggers for wet and wild off-road, shoes for mixed terrain, waterproof shoes, even a couple of pairs that I bought simply because I liked the colour! My wardrobe is now full of running kit, with an occasional item of non-running clothing sulking in the corner. My lacy underwear has been eschewed in favour of scaffold-like running bras, for which I constantly struggle to find matching briefs. I have water-proof, water-resistant and plain old wind-proof running jackets and running gillets, running hats, visors, buffs and gloves, running waist belts, running rucksacks, running gadgets and all manner of running socks... and I still can't resist the word 'SALE' at any of my favourite running shops or online sites! I am not alone! Amongst my friends and clients, everyone I know who runs to any degree is at some point on the way down that slippery slope. But do you know what... we all love it! The financial cost may increase the further you get into our sport, but generally so do the rewards. Who wouldn't love being addicted to a 'drug' the side effects for which include improved self-esteem, better mental functioning, reduced depression, decreased body fat, increased muscle-mass and general all-round awesomeness! So although I don't own a blacked-out BMW (just a soft top Mini, honest!), I am going to own up to being a pusher of this particular 'drug'.... with one small piece of advice ... Run free my friends, but don't assume that it won't cost you anything!!
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So it is onward and upward with the mileage this week... and it didn't feel too bad either! 4 days of running alone through the week, getting those midweek miles in despite some tough weather conditions. Whilst my muscles didn't complain during the week, they felt pretty empty by Saturday's runs (2 miles with daughter Ellie and then 8 miles with friend Julie) but I got through both runs okay, and then a tough and hilly 18 miles on Sunday (again with Julie) - yes it wasn't particularly quick and it certainly wasn't all that pretty, but having Julie along helped the miles pass by relatively pain-free. This week's training summary is as follows:
Walk Miles Run Miles Monday: 4.2 Rest Tuesday: 1.2 5.3 Wednesday: 1.1 6.6 Thursday : ---- 4.3 Friday : 1.2 3.0 Saturday : ---- 9.9 Sunday : 1.3 18.0 So my total run miles for the week were 47.1, plus 9 miles walking making a total of 56.1structured exercise miles. My Fitbit has totalled my structured exercise plus my other daily activity to just over 166,000 steps, or 83.2 miles. It's the little things that make a big difference!
Take today for example. It was minus two with freezing fog, with no promise of it warming up. I had a run of around 6 to 7 miles scheduled. Cue Lu wandering round the house trying to find anything to distract her enough to not have to get out of the door! It wasn't one of those runs that I could avoid either - my Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday runs are currently set back-to-back-to-back to build fatigue-resistance into my legs. What was it that got me out for that run, and made me continue through the miles with ice in my eyelashes, eyebrows and hair? Raw dedication to my training schedule? Nope. A need to prove something to myself or someone else? Nope. It was the promise of the 'award' set out above! I have subscribed to Run The Year 2016 and my running miles are logged through their system online. A quick check of my mileage log this morning showed me that, provided I managed 6.6 miles today, I would get my first milestone award of 100 miles today... So 6.6 miles it was! I know, I know, I have the inner psyche of a five year old! But it got me out of the door and round my scheduled run... :-)
Well... that's week 2 in the bag! It has certainly been a more productive week of running for me, although one of contrasts.
This week's summary is as follows: Monday: Walk 1.2 miles, Run ---- (rest day) Tuesday: Walk 1.1 miles, Run 6 miles steady (10:15/mile - dreadmill!) Wednesday: Walk 1.2 miles, Run 7 miles steady (9:46/mile) Thursday : Walk 1.3 miles, Run 5.7 miles steady (10:05/mile) Friday : Walk 1.5 miles, Run 2.1 miles steady (9:21/mile) Saturday : Walk ---- , Run 8.8 miles slow (14:15/mile for 1.8 miles with my 6 yr old, then 7 miles steady 9:44/mile) Sunday : Walk xxxxx, Run 15.2 miles slow (11:16/mile) So my total run miles for the week were 44.8, plus 6.3 miles walking making a total of 51.1 structured exercise miles. My Fitbit has totalled my structured exercise plus my other daily activity to just over 167,000 steps, or 82.25 miles. Motivation-wise, the weather has made it pretty tough to get out there. Due to a busy work schedule (it's January so the gym is rather busy!!) I had to squeeze Tuesday's run in on the treadmill at work :-( I truly hated that hour of running! I don't know what it is about my running style but I really struggle to hold pace on the tready. Having endured that hour, I was eager to get back outside on Wednesday until it dawned ridiculously cold and icy!! Oh how I pithered and dithered around putting off getting out there. However, once I was out, it was a great run! I really rather enjoyed it, and (despite aching lungs and freezing cold butt-cheeks) felt great by the time I was finished. Thursday was again cold, and I again struggled with motivation, mainly because there was a cutting wind blowing. I eventually dragged myself out and round my chosen route but it wasn't the best run ever... however, it was job done for the day! Friday was just a short jog to keep the legs turning over. Both Saturday and Sunday were days to run with friends and family so were great run days! 1.8 miles with my 6 year old daughter first thing on Saturday (it was minus 2 when we went out and she still wanted to go!!!) then 7 miles with my best running buddy nattering about nothing in particular throughout our first of 2 back-to-back runs for the weekend, then 15.2 miles on Sunday with a mixture of a couple of friends, and then said 6-year-old for the last half mile or so. The miles pass by so much easier with company. The week has left me feeling that my early season training is going in the right direction. With 24 miles run in the last couple of days, my legs still feel great which bodes well for the 7 Marathons in 7 days I have to run in just 4 weeks time! Don't forget to check out my virtual monthly challenges for your chance to win a free training session - details of January's challenge are set out in below: In order to help keep everyone motivated, I have decided to run a 'virtual' challenge each month in 2016. Entry to each challenge will cost a small donation fee to that month's nominated Charity, and there will be the opportunity for one or more entrants to win a prize at the end of the month. The nominated Charity for the first few months of 2016 is Children with Cancer. January's challenge is to run 5 kilometers and the entry fee is just £2. In order to enter, please make your donation via the JustGiving Link below, then go out and run your 5k accompanied by your tracking device of choice (GPS watch, phone app etc or treadmill). You do not have to run all the way (you can take walk breaks or even walk all of it if needed) but the 5km must be covered in one go and not split between 2 or more runs. Please then submit photographic evidence to me on my Facebook page (screenshot of App, photo of watch/treadmill readout etc). All entrants will go into a draw at the start of February (to be pulled out of the hat by my daughter Eleanor). The winner will get a free half hour training session* with yours truly (minimum value £15). You can enter more than once, thus gaining more chances of winning the prize, but each entry must be accompanied by the £2 donation. *Ts and Cs apply. Session to be taken within 3 months either at DW Sports Fitness Kidderminster or at an agreed location within a 10 miles radius of Stourport on Severn. All sessions subject to availability. I'm often asked where I get my energy from, how I stay so enthusiastic , where my motivation come from... and I struggle to find an answer... much the same way as I DO sometimes struggle to get out of the door to go for a run!
I thought it may be insightful for me to share a few of the lower points in my training, as well as the highs... A quick glance at my last post will show you the miles I put in last week - not a particularly high mileage week for me, but enough mileage to push me a little as I was returning from a break away from running. But whilst that tells you the miles, it doesn't tell you the moans and the smiles - here's a run-down of the 7 days Monday to Sunday. Monday was never going to be easy - first day back after almost a month of very little running. My legs were a little sluggish and my pace wasn't great, but it felt good to be back in the 'training groove'. A smile! Tuesday's run felt the effects of the lay-off somewhat more than Monday's as I had a little bit of aching in the muscles - they were in shock! I ran with 'heavy feet' - whilst I can't normally hear my footfall on the pavement, today they were slapping down! It wasn't exactly a bad run, but it wasn't the most satisfying either. Wednesday's run had the benefit of being done partly with a friend. I love running with friends - somehow the miles seem to slip by, and because we are almost invariably chatting, the pace tends to be a little slower to facilitate breathing! Whilst my legs were a bit achey, it was a definite smile today! Thursday's run was, weirdly, rather fun. Why? Who knows?! It was basically a repeat of Tuesday's run but on legs which should have been more tired, so why did it feel better? I don't have an answer to this one - but it was a smile! Friday... oh dear, what can I say about Friday?! I had between 4 and 6 miles on my schedule. My legs were achey (yes, I probably pushed a bit hard on Thursday due to enjoying the run...) and I just felt... well... bleurgh! Having eventually coaxed myself out of the door, I hoped I would get into it, but didn't. I just really wasn't feeling the love for it. I slogged out the 2 miles minimum I allow myself on days such as this, and quit! Whilst my schedule is organised to provide a number of runs where I do have to slog it out on tired legs, in order to develop the necessary endurance for my sport, today's wasn't one of those runs, so I listened to my body and took a bit of a breather. Definitely a 'moan' day today! Saturday was actually a scheduled rest day but my 6 year old daughter Ellie wanted to try out her new running kit, so we did a family jog around the block - a total of 1.9 miles, which we were all delighted with! A smile!! Sunday was long run day. Long runs are the backbone of endurance running, and during the winter in particular, they can be pretty challenging. I've done 18-22 milers out in windy, icy, rainy, and haily conditions (sometimes all in the same day!) and questioned my own sanity for 3-4 hours at a time. Today was different though. Miraculously, the sun made a rare appearance and I had the company of one of my favourite long distance running buddies. A definite smile! Coming in to this week, Monday was a rest day. Tuesday then had me shoe-horn a 6 mile treadmill run into the middle of a busy work day. I hate treadmill running. I am abysmal at it. My pace on the treadmill is riduculously slow - about 90 seconds to 2 mins per mile slower than I can manage on the road for the same effort level. I'm clearly not build with a treadmill runner's gait. I slogged it out on the 'mill for the necessary hour but didn't enjoy it in the least. Today (Wednesday) however, my schedule dealt me a 7 mile road run. The walk up to school to drop Ellie off showed me that conditions were less than favourable - there was black ice everywhere and it was pretty darn chilly... great!! After delaying the start of my run to allow the ice to clear (no point risking injury unless I have to!) I pithered around in the house for far too long trying to find the motivation to get out of the door! Eventually, I gave myself a kick up the rear, donned my cold weather gear, and got out there. The minute I started to run, I knew it was going to be a good run, and I was able to keep a good pace all the way round my selected route. I was a little surprised, but sometimes it just goes like that - that's why even on the days when I don't feel like running, I try to get out for at least two miles, as it sometimes just feels so much better once you're out there! So you see, I do have good days and bad days. I think the art is in dealing with the bad days in an appropriate manner and putting them into perspective. One bad run does not make you a bad runner, and quite often will be the pre-curser to a really good run. See them as strength-training for the willpower, see them as character-building - they are all part of life's great tapestry! Well. It's been a busy week! Having only arrived back home from the Alps last Sunday, I had to hit the ground running in all respects on Monday - back to work, back in training. My legs weren't very happy with me but I managed to steadily plod my way through this week's sessions, finishing on a beautiful high note with a long run with a friend through some of our county's finest scenery (see above).
For anyone wanting the details, this week's summary is as follows: Monday: Walk 1.3 miles, Run 5.2 miles steady (9:37/mile) Tuesday: Walk 1.1 miles, Run 5.2 miles steady (9:15/mile) Wednesday: Walk ----, Run 7.2 miles steady (split into 3, pace between 10:02 and 11:52) Thursday : Walk 1.1 miles, Run 5.3 miles steady (9:35/mile) Friday : Walk 1.1 miles, Run 2 miles slow (9:57/mile) Saturday : Walk ---- , Run 1.8 miles slow (14:15/mile - run with my 6 yr old!) Sunday : Walk ____ , Run 16.4 miles slow (10:39/mile) So my total run miles for the week were 44.1, plus 4.6 miles walking making a total of 48.7 structured exercise miles. My Fitbit has totalled my structured exercise plus my other daily activity to just over 146,500 steps, or 74.3 miles. I'm hoping to better that slightly next week as I had a couple of relatively light days this week whilst my legs adjusted to the regime - watch this space. Don't forget to check out my virtual monthly challenges for your chance to win a free training session - details of January's challenge are set out in my previous post... :-)
In order to help keep everyone motivated, I have decided to run a 'virtual' challenge each month in 2016. Entry to each challenge will cost a small donation fee to that month's nominated Charity, and there will be the opportunity for one or more entrants to win a prize at the end of the month.
The nominated Charity for the first few months of 2016 is Children with Cancer. January's challenge is to run 5 kilometers and the entry fee is just £2. In order to enter, please make your donation via the JustGiving Link below, then go out and run your 5k accompanied by your tracking device of choice (GPS watch, phone app etc). You do not have to run all the way (you can take walk breaks or even walk all of it if needed) but the 5km must be covered in one go and not split between 2 or more runs. Please then submit photographic evidence to me on my Facebook page (screenshot of App, photo of watch etc). All entrants will go into a draw at the start of February (to be pulled out of the hat by my daughter Eleanor). The winner will get a free half hour training session* with yours truly (minimum value £15). You can enter more than once, thus gaining more chances of winning the prize, but each entry must be accompanied by the £2 donation. *Ts and Cs apply. Session to be taken within 3 months either at DW Sports Fitness Kidderminster or at an agreed location within a 10 miles radius of Stourport on Severn. All sessions subject to availability. So... here goes 2016! Happy New Year!
My aim this year is 16 runs of marathon distance and beyond (including 4 or more ultras!) with a total running mileage of 2016 miles. I will be blogging about my journey as well as various health and fitness issues as I go along. This will be my first full calendar year of using a Fitness Tracker, so I will be posting my stats from the tracker as well as my logged training distances etc. Hopefully you will find them interesting reading. If you have a FitBit, please feel free to look me up on the Fitbit site and add me as a friend. Likewise, I am also on Strava - again feel free to follow! I will aim to post my stats to this Blog at the end of each week. Having started this year away in the Alps skiing, it has taken me until the 4th january to get my first run of the year done. Just a steady 5.25 mile plod today to find my running legs after having had three weeks off due to illness and holidays. I have signed up to Run the Year 2016 ( to run 2016 miles throughout the year) to give me some extra motivation to get the miles done, although I suspect that, on the whole, the miles will see to themselves as I log the training necessary for this year's challenges. First of the challenges will be 7 marathons in 7 days in the middle of February (UltraRunning Ltd's Hot Runner 7 in 7), so my training focus for the first 6 weeks of the year is completely biased towards endurance. Once that is out of the way, and I have taken a couple of recovery weeks, I will aim to tune some speed back into my legs for the following 6 weeks, before possibly running a road marathon at the end of April, then a 24 hr race, and London To Brighton, in May. A couple of trail marathons will follow in June/July, with 2 more 24 hour races scheduled for the end of July and beginning of September, and a couple more marathons in September and October... watch this space?! If you want me to blog about something specific, or you have any queries, just ask, either in person, or through the comments or contact section of this site... :-) |
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