Feeling a bit foolish about the name of my blog now.
Ok, first off - last week was great. Knackering, but great. I turned up on thursday to the social run with the club, and was told by Steph in no uncertain terms that I wasn't to be running with the medium group.
Fast group it is, then.
I was quite proud of myself - 8 miles at just over 8 minutes/mile. By no means the fastest I've ever been, but a lot faster than I've been recently, and I managed it without dying. Just.
Then Sunday was my first solo run in a while - a lot of people were off at the Blackpool half marathon, so no group training. I managed to be reasonably well behaved on friday (despite being at a winter bbq!), and set off saturday morning through the waterpark, up following the canal to salford quays (about 4 miles). 2 Laps of the quays, following every contour of the waterways added another 8, and then another 4 back made it 16. In fact, I took a slightly different route on the second lap of the quays, and ended up with a total of 17 miles, in bang-on 2.5 hours, which will do nicely.
Then Saturday night happened.
My friend Helen's birthday, which started with curry in rusholme (aka "the curry mile", for which this blog is named), and then some beerage. All good fun. Except for the food poisoning. Bugger.
Saturday night: don't ask
Sunday and Monday: laid out
Tuesday: First real meal
Wednesday: back to normal eating
I'm all better now, but didn't want to push it, so I've not done any running yet. I'm gonna do a short-ish run home this eve - 4-5 miles or so - rather than head out with the club.
Still... if that's the worst setback I get in training, I'll do great! :)
Garmin data for Thursday is here, and for Saturday is here. I just noticed how variable my speed is on the Saturday run looks, but then realised it's not really - it's just that the scales are different. Also... my average heart rate is only 164. Awesome :)
Will.
Thursday, 25 February 2010
Monday, 15 February 2010
Correcting Gait
I bought some new trainers this week.
I've been running in various generations of the same model of mizunos for about 3 years so the change is a bit of a risk- it can sometimes take a few changes to find a pair that suit you well, and the last thing I want right now is to mess up my feet in shoes that don't fit.
However, manufacturers have a habbit of fiddling with trainer designs, and the current generation have been giving me blisters everytime I run over 5 miles, so it's time for a change. Having done two fairly long runs in my shiny new brooks this week (7 and 15 miles), I'm pretty confident that they will do my proud (and soon be much less shiny).
When you're buying running shoes, the most important thing to consider is the way your foot moves as it strikes the ground. This is called your gait. If you were able to see your lower leg while running, you would typically see it either roll inwards (or 'overpronate'), or outwards ('underpronate') as your body moves forward. Either of these can bad- the angle places excessive stress on your knees and joints.
Running shoes can correct this by having different levels of support on the inside arches of your feet, for different types of gait.
So- one of the most important things you can do when you're taking up running is find a pair of running shoes that suit your gait. Luckily, running shops can help. They have treadmills in store with video cameras that video the back of your lower leg as you do a short run in a neutral trainer. By measuring the angle of your lower leg, they can then find a trainer that will correct that angle to be vertical. A few iterations later, your should have 3 or 4 trainers by different manufacturers that suit your gait, and it comes down to which best fits your foot, and feels most comfortable.
The running shops provide this for free, but it'd be a bit rude not to buy from them if you find a pair that work for you. It is often very slightly cheaper to buy trainers online, but only by £5-10 or so. It's well worth it, to have trainers that fit you properly.
While I'm at it, here's the garmin data for the 7 miles round Salford Quays*, and 15 miles up Through Salford towards Prestwich, which I did this week.
Will.
* Observant readers will be able to spot where I stopped to pick up fish & chips on the way home :)
I've been running in various generations of the same model of mizunos for about 3 years so the change is a bit of a risk- it can sometimes take a few changes to find a pair that suit you well, and the last thing I want right now is to mess up my feet in shoes that don't fit.
However, manufacturers have a habbit of fiddling with trainer designs, and the current generation have been giving me blisters everytime I run over 5 miles, so it's time for a change. Having done two fairly long runs in my shiny new brooks this week (7 and 15 miles), I'm pretty confident that they will do my proud (and soon be much less shiny).
When you're buying running shoes, the most important thing to consider is the way your foot moves as it strikes the ground. This is called your gait. If you were able to see your lower leg while running, you would typically see it either roll inwards (or 'overpronate'), or outwards ('underpronate') as your body moves forward. Either of these can bad- the angle places excessive stress on your knees and joints.
Running shoes can correct this by having different levels of support on the inside arches of your feet, for different types of gait.
So- one of the most important things you can do when you're taking up running is find a pair of running shoes that suit your gait. Luckily, running shops can help. They have treadmills in store with video cameras that video the back of your lower leg as you do a short run in a neutral trainer. By measuring the angle of your lower leg, they can then find a trainer that will correct that angle to be vertical. A few iterations later, your should have 3 or 4 trainers by different manufacturers that suit your gait, and it comes down to which best fits your foot, and feels most comfortable.
The running shops provide this for free, but it'd be a bit rude not to buy from them if you find a pair that work for you. It is often very slightly cheaper to buy trainers online, but only by £5-10 or so. It's well worth it, to have trainers that fit you properly.
While I'm at it, here's the garmin data for the 7 miles round Salford Quays*, and 15 miles up Through Salford towards Prestwich, which I did this week.
Will.
* Observant readers will be able to spot where I stopped to pick up fish & chips on the way home :)
Tuesday, 9 February 2010
Sundays are better than Saturdays
This weekend's long run was on a Saturday rather than Sunday, and I press-ganged into doing the full length marathon training session - 16 miles out from town, roughly following the Irwell north out towards prestwich, and looping back.
You'll notice that description is a bit vague - I used google maps afterwards to work out where on earth we went, but quickly got lost. It feels quite odd not knowing where it is I've been, when I'm used to running my own routes. I'm doing my best to get a route map from one of the other runner's GPS watches - if I get it, I'll post it up.
In the meantime, the heartrate info and so on is here
I felt pretty good for most of the run, all things considered. Very heavy legs by about 13 miles in, but I got round ok. Two & a half hours is much longer than i've ever run before, so I has happy with that. Plus, that pace would put us about bang-on 4 hours for a marathon, which isn't too shabby at all.
The problem with it being on a saturday, is that saturday morning is followed by saturday evening. And this particular Saturday evening started with watching a 5pm rugby match in the pub.
I recall worryingly little about what happened later, but suffice to say afternoon pints of strong continental-style lager beer straight after running all morning isn't the cleverest idea I've ever had.
Luckily, I've been reliably informed I didn't make too much of a fool of myself, and the weekend runs revert to a Sunday next week.
Will.
p.s. Big love to a number of unexpected donors to my fundraising. You guys rock.
You'll notice that description is a bit vague - I used google maps afterwards to work out where on earth we went, but quickly got lost. It feels quite odd not knowing where it is I've been, when I'm used to running my own routes. I'm doing my best to get a route map from one of the other runner's GPS watches - if I get it, I'll post it up.
In the meantime, the heartrate info and so on is here
I felt pretty good for most of the run, all things considered. Very heavy legs by about 13 miles in, but I got round ok. Two & a half hours is much longer than i've ever run before, so I has happy with that. Plus, that pace would put us about bang-on 4 hours for a marathon, which isn't too shabby at all.
The problem with it being on a saturday, is that saturday morning is followed by saturday evening. And this particular Saturday evening started with watching a 5pm rugby match in the pub.
I recall worryingly little about what happened later, but suffice to say afternoon pints of strong continental-style lager beer straight after running all morning isn't the cleverest idea I've ever had.
Luckily, I've been reliably informed I didn't make too much of a fool of myself, and the weekend runs revert to a Sunday next week.
Will.
p.s. Big love to a number of unexpected donors to my fundraising. You guys rock.
Monday, 8 February 2010
C'mon now - it's for charidee!
Many of you know I've been running for a good few years. I've never done a sponsored run before, because they have always been runs I would have been doing anyway, and have always felt well within my comfort zone.
This one feels a little different. Right now, a marathon feels like a very very long way - twice as long as any run I've done before, and pretty daunting. Since this is my first one, I felt that raising some money for a charity I cared about would be a Good Thing (tm).
So - over the next 16 weeks, I'm going to be doing a whooooole lot of running. I reckon it'll be around 350 miles. In the process, I'm also hoping to raise £350 for charity.
There were a few different causes in the - a'hem - running. All of them are very worthy, but once I started thinking about it carefully, one of the contenders felt right.
Rosemere Cancer Foundation is a charitable trust, supporting cancer care in Lancashire & the Lakes. The Rosemere Centre in the Royal Preston Hospital is one of the biggest specialist cancer treatment centres in the UK.
This centre, along with local Cancer Units in Blackpool, East Lancashire and Morecambe Bay, form the Lancashire and South Cumbria Cancer Network, bringing specialist care to patients throughout this region. Rosemere raise over half a million pounds a year to fund additional facilities and services for patients.
Some of you will know that both of my parents - Alan and Angela - have been affected by cancer over the last few years. The Rosemere Centre was where my Dad was treated. As a family, we feel extremely lucky that in both cases, and purely by coincidence, the cancer was noticed early, has responded well to treatment, and they're both currently fine and dandy.
Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.
So please dig deep and donate now.
http://www.justgiving.com/willlovett
This one feels a little different. Right now, a marathon feels like a very very long way - twice as long as any run I've done before, and pretty daunting. Since this is my first one, I felt that raising some money for a charity I cared about would be a Good Thing (tm).
So - over the next 16 weeks, I'm going to be doing a whooooole lot of running. I reckon it'll be around 350 miles. In the process, I'm also hoping to raise £350 for charity.
There were a few different causes in the - a'hem - running. All of them are very worthy, but once I started thinking about it carefully, one of the contenders felt right.
Rosemere Cancer Foundation is a charitable trust, supporting cancer care in Lancashire & the Lakes. The Rosemere Centre in the Royal Preston Hospital is one of the biggest specialist cancer treatment centres in the UK.
This centre, along with local Cancer Units in Blackpool, East Lancashire and Morecambe Bay, form the Lancashire and South Cumbria Cancer Network, bringing specialist care to patients throughout this region. Rosemere raise over half a million pounds a year to fund additional facilities and services for patients.
Some of you will know that both of my parents - Alan and Angela - have been affected by cancer over the last few years. The Rosemere Centre was where my Dad was treated. As a family, we feel extremely lucky that in both cases, and purely by coincidence, the cancer was noticed early, has responded well to treatment, and they're both currently fine and dandy.
Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.
So please dig deep and donate now.
http://www.justgiving.com/willlovett
Monday, 1 February 2010
Cottage cheese to the rescue
After being well behaved on Saturday, I got up early on Sunday and did my first big run with the harriers. Most of them were doing 16 miles, but that's a bit too far at this point - last thing I want to do is injure myself. Luckily, a small group (well, 2 of us) wanted a shorter distance so left them after about 6 miles, and looped back, ending up with just over 10 miles.
A nice steady pace meant my heart rate stayed reasonably low, but my legs were definitely feeling leaden by the end. I'm writing this the next day, and quite pleased my legs don't hurt much. After a conversation with Gisle (friend and occasional health freak) last week, I decided to try getting a bunch of protein in me straight after the run, and it seems to have helped recovery. I'm not the biggest fan of cottage cheese generally, but if it stops my legs hurting, it's all good.
First Sunday run with the harriers
A nice steady pace meant my heart rate stayed reasonably low, but my legs were definitely feeling leaden by the end. I'm writing this the next day, and quite pleased my legs don't hurt much. After a conversation with Gisle (friend and occasional health freak) last week, I decided to try getting a bunch of protein in me straight after the run, and it seems to have helped recovery. I'm not the biggest fan of cottage cheese generally, but if it stops my legs hurting, it's all good.
First Sunday run with the harriers
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