Spike (aka “Running for Beer”)
A good week
Monday, November 5th, 2007Monday October 29th
3m Treadmill, around 9 min miling.
(approx 360kCal = slice fruit cake + a J2O drink)
Short run to keep ticking over from yesterday. Mostly around 9:30 pace with a few half laps (200m) at 6 min miling. Also threw in 100m or so at 5 min miling just to see what its like. Its beyond me how people can keep that sort of pace up – hats off to them.
Thursday November 1st
4m ave 9:43
(555 kCal = 2 bags monster munch + Starbucks tall frappuccino mocha with whip & syrup)
Ran reps of half mile easy, half mile pushing a bit (target of 4min or 8 min miling on the level).
Did 3:39, 5:29, 4:15, 3:25. The second was a pretty tough incline, but I should have got it done in under 5 mins. Could probably do with doing more reps really, but I find the schedule pretty tiring as it is. Maybe I should consider putting a soundproof fridge door on the kids bedroom so I get better sleep at night.
Saturday November 3rd
12m ave 10:53
(1729 kCal = 6 slices of spicy hot one pizza + small glass red wine)
Today I took the slightly flatter road route from Melbost to Barvas and back. I was vaguely aiming for something like 11 min miling, so was pretty pleased with the time. But this was with the weather being pretty kind to me. More worryingly, towards the end I started to feel some discomfort on the underside of my right foot (I was going to say balls, but thats not where it hurt at all). I very quickly get leg pain if I run on the left hand side of the road, so I always run on the right. I wonder if this is causing the problem as I have noticed my right foot recently has turned outward a bit more, a bit like a duck.
A the end of the run I felt very tired. Not really a problem today, but I’ve got further to run tomorrow.
Finished the day off with a couple of sparklers for the girls (being nearly bonfire night and all). They were really excited. They seemed a bit bemused by the purpose of sparklers, and a bit disappointed that they were only one colour, but seemed to enjoy it anyway. I think the idea was actually more enjoyable than the sparklers themselves, the spectacle being not a patch on the spectacular sunsets we often get here, which even the girls look at in awe.
Sunday November 4th
16.1m ave 12:09
(2020 kCal = 2 bottles wine + big mac + cheeseburger + fries)
I would have been aiming for 11:15 – 11:30 min miling, but with a niggling right leg I wasn’t sure I would even make the distance. In fact, at the half way point I nearly called it a day when I also got a bad feeling in my calfs. I decided to carry on and hope I won’t be regretting that decision over the next couple of days.
Took the more lumpy route from Melbost to Habost today. Its good to get a few inclines in. Some of them are quite drawn out – when you get to the top you then see there’s more to go, so its a good mental workout too.
There was a bit of wind and rain today as well. I knew my luck couldn’t hold out much longer. Still, I’m sure there’s much more challenging weather to come.
I felt thoroughly tired at the end of today’s run. The long work hours and broken nights don’t help, but I could probably help myself quite a bit with a better thought out diet. And whilst my hydration’s not bad, it could be much better. At one time I was drinking Chinese teas and Rooibos as my only hot beverages. I do enjoy these, and was drinking at least half a dozen Rooibos in the daytime and one or two large pots of tea in the evening. It did wonders for my hydration.
Comments OffBurning calories
Monday, October 29th, 2007Saturday October 27th
6m (treadmill) Ave 9:45
Got one of those artificial dawn alarm clocks from Lumie which arrived Thursday. Seemed great. Gradually reduced light at night to give a relaxing wind down. Gradually increased light in the morning for a gentle wakeup. Fantastic. Until I went to set it last night only to find it no longer works. That really lasted well. Not sure I’ll be recommending that to people I like.
It was pretty wet outside today & lots of standing water on the roads. Bearing in mind I’m running tomorrow as well, I decided to get out the tready.
Started off on a rolling hills program and tried to keep to a 9:30 pace. It tuned out to be a bit adventurous for me. I kept it up for the first half, then had to magic away the hills. I knocked the safety cut out a mile or so in, then at 2 miles to go there was a quick power cut. It was enough to stop the machine pretty much dead & jolt me forward. Not best enjoyable.
I was really struggling today, fighting the little voice inside that was saying “that’s enough, go get a beer now”, so I had to try something to give me focus. With 1.25 miles left (5 virtual laps) I decided to try to really force the pace for half a lap, then do a lap at 9 or 10 min miling, then repeat. So I cranked it up to 10mph (6 min miling) and was really surprised I could keep up, and even more that I did so 3 times. Maybe there’s some hope for me to speed up a bit yet.
Sunday October 28th
16m Ave 11:14
(2139 kCal = Big Mac + cheeseburger + fries + 6 pints bitter + tiny pack peanuts)
I’ve sorted out my camel back so could go out on the road up to Habost and back. The weather was generally kind, but the route is not exactly flat and I found it pretty tough going. That said, it was one of my better long runs, so I can’t complain. I would like to go a bit quicker though.
I didn’t look at my watch until one mile from the end. I wanted to get back inside 3 hours and thought I may just have a chance. I haven’t done that on this route before. My tired mind was trying to calculate what I could do in the last mile. As the end of the 15th was approaching, I decided as long as my watch said 2:47, no matter what the seconds, I had a pretty good chance. At the beep I looked and … 2:49 something. Bum. Still, I thought put in a bit of effort and if I can get to half a mile to go with the watch saying 2:54 I was still in with a chance. When it beeped I looked to see it just clicking to exactly 2:55:00. I thought I was going much faster and could ease up a bit for the last half, but now I would have to speed up more. And I had a wet & slippy cattle grid to navigate & one last hill. Still I faced front, concentrated and pulled it out of the bag with 20 seconds to spare.
Just goes to show that very often you are limited by your mind not your body.
Comments OffLoop de loop
Friday, October 26th, 2007Wednesday October 24th
2 m Ave 8:39
Ran my favourite loop again today. Got back well within my 20 min timeframe. In fact i think this may be my best time so far for the loop. Maybe its not fast for most people, but I’m pleased with it.
Thursday October 25th
4.16m Ave 9:49
This was supposed to be some speed training, but the weather put paid to that.
I do repeats of half mile leisurely, half mile pushing a bit. For my faster half miles I aim for 4 mins to 4:15 (8:00 to 8:30 min miling). These are roughly based on the idea of “Yasso Loops” for which the half mile is run in minutes your target time in hours for a marathon, which for me equates to 4hrs to 4:15. Thats way faster than I have run to date, so I don’t need to go any faster than that.
Today’s second fast half mile was particularly tough, taking me 5:50 (11:40 min miles) – and it was a real struggle to do that. The ground is a bit rough and its a fair uphill, so I would normally expect to do it in around 5 mins with the effort I put in. But the wind! At times it was all I could do to keep going forwards. It was most noticeable when I had finished and was walking the few yards back home – I couldn’t walk in a straight line.
Its 3am as I write this, and its blowing up a bit of a gale outside. The wind is howling and you can feel the walls vibrating. The girls are pretty good, but need a little comforting to help them get back to sleep when they wake. Our bedrooms are on the 1st floor. A lot of the houses here have bedrooms on the ground floor so they don’t get quite so much of the noise from the wind.
Comments OffMy October
Wednesday, October 24th, 2007Sunday 7th October
Rest day for me.
Julie ran Loch Ness today & put in a really great time. OK, we’re not fast runners by any stretch of the imagination, but I was really proud of Julie bringing her time down from 5:53 at Abingdon to 5:10. And on a pretty tough course. I’ve only managed better than that twice, and only on a flat course, and I haven’t got too near that recently. So its a bit of a kick up the bum for me.
Saturday October 13th
5.11 miles Ave 11:07
I haven’t seemed to find the time to write up notes on my runs recently, so am filling in the last couple of weeks as best I can remember. I have been struggling to find the time to fit in the running with work, so have been going out later and hence less likely to feel like writing up. Am getting plenty of use from my head torch though.
Its a strange thing with a long one week, short next week type schedule. Even though I am only doing half distance this weekend, its as though the runs are really long. I am really struggling mentally to get out there and run. Managed it OK in the end today, but am not so sure about tomorrow.
Sunday October 14th
7.23 miles Ave 11:03
Found it very tough to get motivation. Its not a long run, but it seems it. I didn’t get round to sorting out my water bottles & belt, so ended up running 2 loops so I could stop off for a drink (unfortunately not at the pub).
Monday October 15th
2.52 miles Ave 9:41
Just a small run round my favourite loop to keep the legs going. A pretty pleasing pace for me, especially given the reasonably large hill.
Saturday October 20th
10.1 miles Ave 11:24
Having missed a run again (work is my excuse again) I was feeling a bit daunted by the task for today and tomorrow. I still haven’t got the water bottles sorted out so once again am doing 2 laps.
The problem with using the house as a drinks stop is that I also use it as a toilet stop and that can pretty easily become a habit. It sounds stupid, but if I have a pee break a few times I find the urge to pee increases for future runs. Does anyone else find this?
Sunday October 21st
14.04 miles Ave 12:41
Still no water bottles sorted out, but I decided to go for a bit of exploration today. I started with my favoured run along the cliff tops, then round the small village road, then round the back roads of the next village, then the next. I found two or three roads that led up to different parts of the sea shore. That was really nice.
The wind had also picked up quite a bit today. It strikes me as strange how you can be almost unaware of the wind when it is behind you but turn into it and it can be hard to make any headway.
Some of the roads were quite hilly, and some pretty stoney. One in particular went from tarmac to gravel to stoney to rocky, whilst gradually getting steeper at the same time.
By the end of the run I felt good but pretty tired. My preferred running shoe (Nike Free) has little cushioning and the rocky ground left its mark on the arches of my feet. They were quite red and a thin layer of skin was peeling off. They were also a little bruised. Still, I prefer that to shoes in which you can run over any type of ground and feel no difference at all.
Monday October 22nd
4.11 miles Ave 10:59
The legs were starting to rebel a bit at the start of today’s run. Not so much because of the distance as the wind. Unless its coming directly from behind or in front, I find myself struggling to keep in a straight line. And this seems to tax muscles that are not too used to getting much work to do.
I have now booked up for the Cornish Marathon in mid November, so I will have to adjust my schedule for that. I will be on the mainland for a week and a half for work. I was worried about finding somewhere decent to run then worked out that I if I got the sleeper train from London to Cornwall & back again I could make it to the marathon. I have heard great things about this marathon (its a pretty tough one) so am looking forward to it.
Tuesday October 23rd
Worked through lunch again which meant I missed my 2 miler for today. Started a new intense Gaelic course this evening, so a late run was out of the question (especially since I had no option but to come home via the Chinese takeaway with a big bag of food – guess I may as well have a few glasses of wine now too). Gaelic will take up Tuesday & Wednesday evenings for the next few weeks. I just hope I can keep up with the kids (or at least my 3 year old). Sydney, my 5 year old, still thinks its funny to teach me new words, then later let me into the secret that she made it up.
4 Miles Recovery on treadmill
Sunday, October 7th, 2007Av Pace 8:55mm.
Saturday 6th October
Julie flew off to Inverness for Loch Ness Marathon today, which meant I had the kids. Discovering the bread had seen better days, I abandoned the sandwiches and made them a pizza for lunch which went down well.
For tea I made fresh Haddock fishcakes with the intention of serving them with beans. Couldn’t find beans, so opened an emergency tin of processed peas. Sydney found that if she took the skin off they tasted better, so she set about skinning them one by one. I left them to it and later asked if they had eaten the fishcakes. Darcy said “No Daddy, we’re making pyramids”. Then Sydney poked her head round the corner and said “Daddy, mine’s on the floor”. Great to be appreciated.
After tea & stories it was time to pull out the treadmill. I was amazed not to be interrupted by the small people and had a pretty reasonable run. Was aiming for around 10 min miles and managed a little under.
Comments OffMy week – cliffs and wind
Saturday, October 6th, 2007Wednesday 3rd October
Was due for a 4 mile speed session. Had aimed to fit it in at lunch time, but as usual lunch didn’t happen and neither did the run. Semi-consciously deferred it to after work then it dawned on me I had my Gaelic class. Still, this could be a good thing as Julie is away over the weekend running the Loch Ness marathon, which means I’ll have the kids & won’t be able to get out.
So, today’s turned into a rest day & I can do my long runs on Thursday & Friday after work (time to dig out the head torch).
Thursday 4th October
12 Miles (3×4 mile loop) at around 12 min miling. Weather’s pretty good. Would have gone for a straight out and back, but hadn’t got round to sorting out a feed belt. Started off with the intention of doing a known 3 mile loop 4 times but decided to try to stretch it out to 4 miles which would mean 1 less loop.
The loop takes me down to the sea, then up along the cliff tops taking a couple of detours around the cows (they seem to like standing on the trail), turning inland after a mile and meeting up with the road. Its fairly tough going but enjoyable all the same. I’m making the most of the clifftop run before the weather turns.
By the second lap I was running with my head-torch. It was fine on the road but you have to be a bit careful with your footing offroad. The trail is pretty small so its easy to drift off it.
Friday 5th October
8 Miles (2×4 mile loop) at around 11:30 min miling. The wind announced its arrival today. A bit too strong to risk a clifftop run, so a bit more road than yesterday’s loop. At times its hard to make any headway at all against the relentless gusts, even running downhill – and this is just the start of the wind.
Found that if I let my mind wander off I was quickly veering off course. Really takes its toll on the knees too, I presume its due to landing slightly off alignment. I will have to try hard to get some leg exercises going.
Considering the trouble I had with my first few runs, I am really pleased with the last 2 days. As ever, my runs were slow, but at least they were steady and more importantly enjoyable.
Comments OffStitches and trails
Tuesday, October 2nd, 2007Beginner’s Tips
That’s me being the beginner passing on some tips that have helped me. I don’t expect these to be of use to the ‘real’ runners, but some other beginners may get something useful.
Stitch
I get this quite a bit. I tried quite a few suggestions before I found one that worked for me.
First, accept that its almost inevitably your own fault. This may help put you in a better frame of mind to correct the situation. Its usually (for me) due to eating the wrong food or to soon before running.
Then I exhale fully followed by a large inhale, then repeat. This usually works though sometimes I have to do it a couple of times. The theory behind it is that its just a muscle that gets a cramp, so it just needs a stretch to set it right. Whether true or not it seems to work for me.
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Diary
Saturday 29th September
Off road 4 miler. I put on my Walsh’s and headed off across the moor. The going is very tough, even though it has been comparatively dry recently. I am still unsure of my footing on the moors, not quite sure whether the next step will hold me or sink in. I try to follow a trail that I’m not sure if it was made by man or beast. Most likely beast judging by the droppings.
The trail takes me down to the cliff edge, the powerful sound of waves crashing against the rocks. I pass a couple of small sandy alcoves and the piles of large stones that mark the place a dry stone building once stood. I am warily watched by the sheep as I plod on my way, slowly, carefully picking my next step and gradually starting to feel more at ease with the conditions underfoot. Any momentary complacency is likely to quickly be met by a boot full of peaty water.
Sunday 30th september
Road 6 miler. Started off fine. Not expecting any problems on a very short ‘long run’. This is part of my easy lead in to training, and the mileage will be double next weekend. I got a stitch about a mile in, probably because I didn’t leave long enough after eating, but I controlled that without letting it cause any real problem. Then at about a mile and a half in I just completely lost all energy. I’m not sure what caused it, was it the unusually warm weather, the lack of thought about diet, perhaps the wine the night before? I’ve also had this happen before when I’ve had a sports drink 10 minutes before running – I feel good for a mile or two then die. Is that coincidence? I felt really ‘wobbly’ and as if I could pass out (was id dehydration). I felt sure that if I had a small packet of Haribo, two or three little sweets would get me over it, but as I didn’t I had to take a 2 or 3 short walk breaks and keep on plodding.
I was glad to get back home and a while afterwards had a bit of a hot flush going on. Maybe I’m still seeing the end of a cold. Let’s hope tomorrow is better.
Monday 1st October
2 Mile recovery. Was hoping to get the run out of the way before starting work, but it just didn’t happen. Think I’m starting to get used to sleeping on the floor again now, but still have a bit of an achy back. Only a 2 miler today sounds pretty straight forward and easy to fit in, but I have to fit it in alongside trying to catch up on work after a 2 hour conference call, cooking up a pot of ‘cowboy stew’ and before collecting my daughter from dancing and getting the two of them up to bed. Julie starts her Gaelic lessons this evening, which clash with the end of dance lessons.
The run was good, got back well inside my 20 minute mental timeframe. But then, it was a good day with very little wind. Won’t stay that way for long. Bit of a twinge in the left knee but I hope its getting better not worse.
With job done I got the girls to bed and let Sydney choose the storybook. She chose a gaelic one, so I struggled through a few pages trying hard but really not doing well with the pronunciation. I have found a weblink to an audio for that book so will have to study that for next week.
Comments OffMy new training schedule
Friday, September 28th, 2007Have now started on the new schedule. A nice easy start with a 2 mile loop on a warm and pleasant day. I have come up with a schedule that builds up the mileage every other week with the main runs on 2 consecutive days with a short run on the following day that I hope will keep the legs from ceasing up.
I am hoping that I can change my sleeping pattern so that at least for the 2 mile loops I will be able to get them done before I start work. I have jacked in the bed and swapped it for the floor which I hope will also help me feel less aching in the mornings.
I am contemplating getting one of those ‘wake you up with fake natural light’ type alarms. Maybe I can get one that also speaks to me in Gaelic?
Training Schedule
I have now put together a draft training schedule.
The main ideas are to have 2 longish runs one after the other and to build up mileage every other week, doing something like half the mileage in the intervening week to help recovery. I also want to try a shorter run on the day after the 2 long runs to see if that will help make me less achy during the daytime. I will also have a shorter ‘speed’ session, which will maybe be speed sometimes and hills sometimes. Then I add a very short run which I have as a compromise between a day off and doing a little.
This may change a little as my training progresses.
My Routes
2 mile loop
This is a nice run from my house round in a loop. At the end of the 2 miles I have a couple of hundred yards to walk as a small cool down.
The first half mile is downhill to the sea. The second half mile is a pretty tough uphill. The third is a much more gentle uphill which levels out and the last is level with a short down then up to finish.
I use this in place of a rest day just to keep the legs ticking over. I am happy if I get back inside 20 minutes, particularly when the wind kicks up.
My Equipment
Shoes
My preferred shoe for the road is Nike Free 5.0, and for the trail Nike Free 5.0 trail. I also sometimes run in Nike Free 7.0 which give a tad more support and are definitely a bit easier on the feet over rocky terrain. I will give any version of Nike Free a go, and also own a pair of Walsh’s for fell type terrain but find them a bit too narrow for comfort.
When not running I rarely wear anything other than Vivo Barefoot, a very thin soled shoe which seems to help toughen up my feet.
I’m not sure I could recommend my footwear unreservedly to others. The Free are designed to be half way between running shoes and bare feet, so don’t offer much in the way of cushioning or support. This means you really have to ‘listen’ to your feet and legs and change the way you run so that your body can provide its own cushioning. The average runner who changed to Frees and carried on running as they are used to would probably pick up an injury pretty soon. Most people that wear them use them as a training tool for short runs only.
Comments OffTraining commences
Tuesday, September 25th, 2007Training has started, but with my mouth not my feet. A neighbour dropped by last night with a present. A bit of a local delicacy and tradition, there is a small island / sea stack a few miles off the north of the island. Since ‘time immemorial’ the islanders have visited once a year to catch guga.
This is the first time I have tried this, or anything quite like it. A gamey meat that is very salty and sea-like, I should imagine it very good food for training.
Soon I will start on the legs.
Comments Off