My colleague Sally is running the London marathon, raising money for Action for Children as she goes. Keep up with her training antics here, and sponsor her here.
Good luck Sally!
Category Archives: Running
Routine begins again
Two treadmill runs in on the new Startrac and it feels like progress is slowly happening again. I feel MILES away from where I was when I did the half in September but its really hard to tell – the heat seems to put a lower ceiling on exercise. Either that, or I’m going to have to start taking a bottle of water on the treadmill with me. Anyway, good 5ks happening but no longer runs as yet.
Incidentally, whilst I was warned that it would be more painful to do my ITB stretching on a tennis ball, it’s more the coordination required that presented a challenge – it’s hard to balance and roll from your upper thigh down to your knee on a tennis ball – especially when slicked with sweat after a run in 30 degree heat!
I’ll get there…
A side note: the treadmill was delivered within 24 hours by no less than SIX delivery men and the general manager of the fitness equipment importer. I know it’s a high margin, high value item but this is taking service to ludicrous extremes! In any event, it took all of them to shift it – that is one HEAVY, big-ass machine.
Malaysian running training #2
A disappointing training day. With the broken treadmill my highly motivating wife suggested we go to a gym, and we found one in Celebrity Fitness, a chain of gyms with an outlet in Mid Valley Megamall, a 10 minute drive from the house and a building full of distractions for Amanda, Emily and Emily’s Grandpa, who volunteered as chauffeur and local guide.
First, we looked for a replacement treadmill. Limited progress was made with the actual dealer we wanted to visit, despite claiming to have an outlet in Mid Valley on their website, actually not so much existing. So it may be some time before we sort that out.
Let’s start with the things that were good about the Celebrity Fitness experience.
1. They had good working treadmills
2. They had reasonable showers
And the bad:
1. Appalling customer service. I was shuttled back between the front desk and the customer service desk, not told where the changing rooms or equipment was, asked for my mobile number three times (“I don’t have a local mobileâ€), and made to wait for 10 minutes whilst they registered my limited information for a day guest pass. I’d made reasonably clear that I wasn’t going to join and just wanted a transactional relationship with them – give me a pass, damnit! Eventually got in, having eaten into a short window of time I had for the workout.
2. Damnit it was hot. It must have been 30 degrees in there WITH the airconditioning going. The whole point for me in going to a gym was to avoid the blistering outdoor heat!
3. It cost RM60 – about £12. An absolute rip-off for the experience.
4. There were no locks on the lockers (another fact they didn’t apprise me of – should I have just known? I told them I was from the UK, they could have given me a heads up…). You’re meant to bring your own, apparently, so kit stayed with me – including during my shower. Fortunately I found a broom closet to stash my stuff in whilst I had the world’s quickest shower.
5. Crap water coolers, despite the heat.
So… not going back there. Will find another way to work out here. My mediocre run total for the day came to approx 5k in 33 minutes. Not a great time on a treadmill.
0n the plus side, whilst I continued to fail to find a foam roller, I did remember that Sudhir told me I could do the ITB workout with a tennis ball – so will dig around the house for one of them instead!
Weekend training update
I’m not going to lie to you, I was diminished this weekend. Underslept due to the neck injury, slightly demotivated and struggling… I eventually made myself hit the road on Sunday morning and only managed a 5k. But better than nothing…?
The running helped the pinched nerve thing, with my neck seeming freer after the run… but I seem to have some have back tightness today so will spend a bit of time this week stretching out ahead of next weekend’s training. I’m getting old.
Next weekend will see me down the coast so the running will be a bit more exciting, hopefully, and keep me going for longer!
Running technique–the stride
Another run today, thinking a bit more about running technique.
Before this recent bout of running hit me, if someone had talked to me about running “technique†I’d have been somewhat cynical. One foot in front of the other, and all that.
When the ITB injury hit me last year I learnt how much I was doing wrong from Sudhir, and it became apparent that I needed to put much more thought into the way my feet rolled off the ground, the length of my stride, etc.
On Friday, Amanda was watching the One Show (before Eastenders rather than through deliberate choice) and they were doing a feature about rabbits – and how they run quicker than people. A big part of this, they said, was because the proportional stride of a rabbit was equivalent to a full grown man striding three meters with each footfall as they run. My running stride probably varies between 60cm and a metre, at a guess, due to rubbish hamstrings, poor fitness and disciplines. So on the run today, I gave it more thought and was amazed at the difference in pace I achieved when making a conscious effort to lengthen the stride. (Incidentally, the One Show tried to extend the stride of a man by extending his legs with those running stilt things – silly, but fun)
It makes sense, after all. 1000m is 1000 steps with a metre stride, and 600 odd more with 60cm strides. Effort wise, it stands to reason that the smaller effort in lengthening the stride is proportionately less than the effort needed to take the extra 600 steps. So I plan to spend a bit more time focussing on my hamstrings and my stride in the runs to come.
As an aside, another bit of random telly we had on whilst Emily was feeding was some athletics. During a 3000m race, people were finishing in 8 minutes, with a 2m 30 odd second split per kilometre. Given my best time for 3 km is about 17 minutes, this was pretty awe-inspiring. Their stride was immense. No idea how big but a damn sight bigger than my meter / 1.2m at best running stride.
More effort / training needed. Need to give that running coach thing a bit more thought…
Running in the dark
For a variety of reasons I was working from home this morning – which meant – early morning run instead of my commute! The 5k was fairly standard, although odd running with a head-torch, past early morning commuters driving into the station and trying to avoid slipping on the countryside frost.
I was wearing the new trainers, which surprisingly enough were totally comfortable and didn’t seem to need much breaking in. Even the ITB rolling was less painful than I’d expect… so hopefully a good investment and encouragement to resume training.
2011 distance to date – 25.7 miles – about a marathon in the first three weeks. My pace is still pretty mediocre, but at least I’m starting to rebuild the routine…
How to buy running shoes online
My advice? Choose them offline. Which is what I did about 4 years ago, when I first discovered New Balance’s line of anti-pronating running shoes… then the 859, it’s since been “upgraded†to the 850, and after the hundreds of kilometers I ran last year I needed a new pair a mere 9 months after the last pair of 850s arrived.
Amanda made them a Christmas present to me, and they arrived a couple of days ago courtesy of an eBay shop, Running Outlet. Amazingly they sell the shoes at about 60% of the typical retail price, and as I know exactly what size, width and model I wanted it was bargainous.
I tried them out this morning – without breaking them in… but more on that shortly…
2011 running / week 3
Best week yet in distance terms, worst in time. 5k yesterday (respectable for me, in around 30 mins, around my old London 5k circuit), and today’s LSR (and I meant it to be a LSR, if not quite so S), was around 11k in 1h17m. Which is about 11 minutes slower than my peak. But then, stress levels, training, eating, stretching have all been left off… hopefully with this aspect of things picking up I’ll get closer to my former state and start making respectable times soon.
Also need to get shoes sorted, and gauge the temperature better. Today’s 11.5 degrees really didn’t require the running jacket…
Sunset vs sunrise running
Most of my running training last year was done before work – 6ish am runs along the canal path for 30 mins to an hour depending on how early I needed to be in and how vigorous I was feeling.
I found the running on empty, early morning runs purifying in a strange sort of way – serene, calm, contemplative and, well, from a practical point of view, not-resulting-in-unexpected-upset-tummy along the way, caused by random combinations of foodstuffs rebelling against the exertion.
But with Emily around, and the commute, the early morning runs are not so much an option so didn’t make it out today till 3ish – and again on Amanda’s egging on, had decided to make it a 10k so, at my pace, running through sunset. To my surprise, I improved on my pace from recent 5ks and really quite enjoyed the late afternoon run.
I’m not sure what the received wisdom is and mostly intend to avoid the risk of an unsettled stomach on a run, but I won’t write off afternoon running as I have done in future….
2011 running to date – 20km. Not too bad. Hoping to get out again tomorrow but we’re also taking Emily swimming so time might be somewhat short… still, v exciting way to spend her 3 month birthday!
Leasing trainers
For Christmas, one of my gifts from my lovely wife was a pictogram, which I failed to decipher… when it was interpreted for me, it transpired it was code for “New Balance Trainers”, as mine are probably past due for replacement, having served well over the “recommended” 200 miles they’re meant to cope with (as Sensei Paul tells me some companies advise).
Even at a modest level below my training target, this translates to 9 months at best  (if you run 6 miles per week – 2x5k runs) – which seems a bit meagre! So here’s a random shower thought / appeal to the sports shoe companies – if you can’t build trainers to last, how about you lease me a pair of trainers? I’ll pay £5 a month and you give me a new pair a year, and recycle the old ones.