Running, should IT be BANneD?

Last week during the week I had lunchtime runs with two of my mates who are running their first marathon this year (Jamie & Geoff).

Saturday, I didn't run Parkrun, but went along to Norman Park for the Bromley Parkrun to support Mich and was delighted to see her put in a burst at the end to knock a minute of her PB.

Then we travelled to Sunbury as it was my mate Badger little boy's first Birthday.  This meant a cross training session for me as I crawled, climbed and threw myself round softplay for an hour.  After this I made sure I recovered by sitting down and watching Millwall secure a 2-1 victory on the box :-) 

Sunday was the Tunbridge Wells Half Marathon.  I went through my usual routine, but having left home, within 5 mins, I was turning round to go back and pick up my Garmin.  Mich will tell you that this is my usual routine, as I normally forget something!

As you are probably aware, it was a bit cold at the weekend.  I was fortunate enough, that another mate of mine (FatPants) lives less than a 5 minute walk from the Start Line.  So I was able to stay warm at his until 15 mins before the start.  At the start I bumped into a few PWR's and also managed to catch up with a couple of other people that I knew.

At the start was the Bloco Fogo Samba band that had everybody jigging away, this was reminiscent of the Barcelona Half Marathon the week before, along with the distance of 13.1 miles that was where the similarities ended!

I am pretty sure the race started 3 minutes early, probably because the Mayor of Tunbridge Wells was freezing his proverbial off and had a mug of tea and a bacon sandwich with his name on it.

The course is undulating and in fact in the first 3 or 4 miles there is quite a bit of down hill, this meant that I put in a couple of miles around the 7:30 m/mile pace.  I was going quite nicely. 

Everybody knew about the 'Big Hill' around the 7.5/8 mile mark.  Now when I started running with Petts Wood, our club coach Richard could vouch that if there was anything with more than a 1% incline, I would pipe up saying "Richard, I thought you said there wasn't any more hills"  Over the last year and a half I have now embraced said hills and in fact, I quite relished the almost mile long hill.  In fact I still managed to put in a sub 9m/mile despite the incline.

After the hill is when things started to go a bit Pete Tong.  I had a few twinges in my right knee and then on a couple of strides, I can only explain that it felt as if by knee was buckling.  I started to slow my pace as a preventative measure, but the situation began to deteriorate.  So much so, that I had to walk the last 3 miles.

My mile time after the hill was 8:14, so even if I had a 9m/mile pace for the last 3 miles, I would have still got a sub 1:50, but in the end I managed to hobble over the finish line in 2:02.

Tunbridge Wells Half Stats

In the last 3 miles I got really cold having to walk, to the point of shivering, this wasn't helped by meeting FatPants after the event (having a communication breakdown with our wives - FatPants fault) and then walking back to his house to find out he didn't have any keys.  Cue more violent shivering!

This next paragraph may sound a bit strange, but I want to explain honestly how I felt during the last 3 miles. 

I actually felt a bit awkward and embarrassed by spectators and fellow runners who were encouraging me and telling me to keep going.  It felt as if they were looking on me with pity, that I maybe hadn't trained enough or wasn't fit enough to be able to run 13.1 miles.  I almost wanted to say to everybody, "I know I can finish, I did the Barca Half last week, I am just injured"  But all I could do was smile and acknowledge the encouragement.

I hope that last paragraph doesn't sound nonchalant in anyway and I have the greatest admiration and respect for anybody that is running irrespective of how long they take to get round and whether they walk or not.  Because at the end of the day, they are out there doing it!

Geoff, of lunchtime running fame, finished in 1:58 which was a cracking time, in fact he passed me not long before the finish and was going to stop to see if I was alright and said to him "Sod me, keep going and get that sub two"

All in all 32 PWR's completed the half marathon.  Unfortunately, Eleanor a fellow PWR who I was chatting to before hand (bizarrely about the our training, injuries and the fact that we were both scheduled to run the Surrey Spitfire this coming weekend and the Brighton Marathon in April) also suffered a knee injury and was unable to finish.

It transpires that it seems (having both seen Physios) we have both have suffered Iliotibial Band Syndrome (ITBS).  I personally think my downfall if you excuse the pun, was the downhill elements of the course.  It is quite jarring on the knees and I was maybe running a bit faster than I should have done.  Also having doing some research today, it seems that muscle imbalance and weak glutes (which I know I have) can magnify the issue.

So it seems that Brighton Marathon is very doubtful now :-(  In some ways I am happy, in the fact that this situation has occurred for a marathon that I would just be running for myself and therefore not letting anybody else or a charity down.  Plus, I can use this a valuable lesson regarding over exertion and also looking into additional strengthening and and stretching.  And at least I can defer my entry until next year!

Incidentally to help me numb the pain of my sore knee, a pre planned Sunday Lunch with friends had been organised and then the 15 of us went back to FatPant's parents house and the recuperation was assisted with delightful hospitality with a couple more ales and a dip in the hottub with the kids :-)

Until next time
TJH

P.S Can you see what I have done with the title ;-)

Second time, Seconds Quicker

I started the week last week with a 5m lunchtime run with Jamie (mate from work training for his first London Marathon) and after the Matrix situation with my Garmin the previous week, I decided to run the mile circuit of Victoria Park again.  I managed the mile in 6:42 which was 21 Seconds Quicker than my previous attempt 2 weeks prior.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/272353832

Tuesday I cycled to and from work again, so another 20 miles cross training

Thursday I did just over 4.5 miles with another mate Geoff who is also training for his first London Marathon.  As I was fortunate enough to be involved in Project 26.2 last year and learnt a lot, it is nice to be able to run with others and pass on some tips and advice.

Friday morning was a very early start as Myself, Mich and Max were flying to Barcelona as I was running in the Barcelona Half Marathon for the 2nd year running.  We were also being joined later in the day by friends Brian & Suzie and their boys.

We checked into our hotel and and had to immediately check out the roof terrace with swimming pool.  We were quite pleased with the view :-)

Brian is a fellow member of Petts Wood Runners and like me he has gently persuaded his wife to get into running and she is currently taking part in the PWR beginners running course.  So despite being away, Mich and Suzie went out Saturday morning to run along the sea front.  Very commendable!

Last year when I ran the Barca Half, I was on the wagon, but this year I thought it would be rude not to have a drink a two. The plan was to have a couple of drinks Friday night with a meal, abstain on Saturday and then maybe a celebratory drink Sunday afternoon.

However, Millwall were on the box Saturday lunchtime playing in the FA Cup.  So I did the traditional British thing, I went to an Irish pub in Spain, watched football and had a pint of Guinness.  Embracing the Spanish culture I think you will agree :-)  I did limit myself to just two pints though.

Sunday morning Brian and I met at 07:45 and had a 20min stroll to the start area.  The vibe is very relaxed, despite their being 12,000+ runners.  Music is being pumped out through the sound system and it just gives you a feel good factor.

Brian is a bit quicker than me (read as significantly).  He was in the yellow area (predicted sub 1:20) whilst I was in the green area (predicted 1:40-1:55).

We had pre-arranged a spot at about a mile where we knew our wives and the boys would be.  At 09:45 the gun went. However, there was a staggered start, with the green's being the next start.  So we got our own gun and an explosion of ticker tape, but over 6mins were already on the clock before I crossed the start line.  So I knew that Brian would have probably already passed the girls before I had even started!

If I am totally honest, I didn't have a race plan.  I set off and clocked the first mile in sub-8.  I thought it might be a bit fast, but I felt pretty good, so decided to keep at that rough pace and take stock after 4 or 5 miles.  I was still feeling OK, so consciously made the effort to try and maintain the pace.  I was trying Maxifuel gels for the first time (free samples kindly sent to me)  I really liked the berry flavour, but am not too keen on the citrus.

Prior to the race, I had been mentioning to Brian that I think I prefer the race measurements in kms and once again, I found this to be the case.  The distance markers appear quicker, plus you can break the race down into 5k segments which is a Parkrun.  So when I saw the 16k marker, I knew all I had left was a Parkrun!

What I have to do now is try and get my head round min/km pace rather than min/mile pace.

I managed to finish in 1:43:56 which was 6mins 29secs or 389 Seconds Quicker than my 2012 time.

click to see bigger version

So I was pretty pleased with my time and I was in the correct time zone. 

Barca Stats
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/275047780

I can also tell you that Brian was in the correct time zone and managed a sub 1:20 finishing in 1:19:13. A tremendous time, I think you will agree.  We both agreed that we made the course a bit long? After meeting up with the wives and boys afterwards, we had a couple of beers before going back to our hotels to have a shower and freshen up before going for something to eat.

The only chance I get to be close to Brian when wearing running gear

I took the opportunity to use the rooftop pool.  It was bloody freezing, in fact it was like having an ice bath.  I managed to stay in for 5 minutes, but then the cold was getting too painful.  I then donned my compression tights as well (under my trousers) and today as I type this, no DOMS!

Yes, it's lovely and warm, come on in!

Another successful trip to Barcelona and  I am pretty sure the Sievey's will be making the annual trip again next year.

Until next time
TJH

All headings end in ING

Running

Tuesday last week I did a 5 mile run with mile 3 at (for me anyway) a fair old lick.  I managed the mile in 7:03.  It also transpired that one whole lap of Victoria Park is almost exactly a mile, so I can repeat this session quite easily to try and improve my time.
Lunchtime run

Thursday, I decided to throw in some cross-training and cycled to and from work, just over 20 miles in total.

Home to Work    Work to Home

Friday, I decided to repeat my run from Tuesday to see if if I could get under 7 mins for the mile lap of Victoria Park.  Usually it takes a few minutes for my Garmin to pick up the satellites, but I was surprised for my watch to tell me that a connection had been made almost as soon as I walked out of the office.  I knew something wasn't quite right, when I arrived at Victoria Park which is usually just shy of 2 miles and my watch only showed 1.7miles?

I then started my fast mile and despite going at 'a fair old lick' again, my Garmin showed I was only doing an 11:30m/mile.  So I was either in the Matrix, or my Garmin was playing silly buggers.  As I had not been offered the choice of a blue or red pill that morning, I suspected the latter.  With the 1 mile lap complete and my watch only showing 0.6 miles covered, I don't know if I was quicker or not? 

As you will see from the link below, despite starting my run from Liverpool St, I apparently started my run from Leyton, ran over the Hackney marshes and crossed rivers and railway lines without the need of bridges! I managed a couple of 6 min miles, my fastest pace was under a 3 min mile and the temperature was 37 degrees!!  When I run, I don't see what you see, I just see ones and zeroes ;-)

The Matrix

 

Saturday morning, Mich (my wife) and I ran Bromley Parkrun.  I was accompanied by my coach (not Nick Anderson) but my son Max.  He is very demanding with his shouts of "Faster Daddy, Faster"  With the boggy conditions it was tough work pushing the running buggy but I managed to get round in 24:11 and Mich was only 9 seconds outside her PB!

Parkrun Stats

 

Buying

Wednesday night I popped into the new Sweatshop store in London to have a look a few pairs of running shoes to help me decide on my next purchase, I discovered that they have a running group that goes out 3 times a day, 5 days a week, so I think I will pop along one day in the near future and join them for a run.  I was considering buying the Adidas Boston, but I think they were a bit firm for me.  So I have now ordered a pair of Brooks Pureflow.  I will blog about them once I have received them and worn them a few times.

Disappointing

Twice this week I received the Thanks but No Thanks message.  First, I found out that I was unsuccessful in the ballot for the Cycle London100 and then I found out I was unsuccessful in the ballot for the Royal Parks Half Marathon.  Ho Hum!

Redesigning

Now I am sure the eagle eyed amongst you will have noticed that I have revamped the design of my blog and added a few, what Google call 'Gadgets' You can now add a reaction to each blog (hint hint). And there is now even an option on the right hand side to translate the blog into a different language!  I now know that the 'The Jogging Hippo's Jog Blog' is 'Blog Jog El Jogging Hipopótamo' in Spanish and 'Die Jogging Hippo das Jog Blog' in German.  Very useful, I think you will agree. 

I have also now added my blogs from when I cycled LEJOG in Sept 2010, as unbeknown to me the domain name for that website has expired and now it is £165 to renew instead of the usual £5 per year.  Sneaky buggers!  Anyway something different for you to read if you are bored one evening/lunchtime.

Until the next time

TJH

P.S. (Apologies if you have not seen the film The Matrix, as the pill and the ones & zeroes references will mean nothing to you)

Variety is the spice of life.....

and it is good when running!

RECOVERY
After the Canterbury 10 on Sunday, I was suffering with DOMS on Monday which to me shows I didn't do enough stretching afterwards. So Monday lunchtime I went out with Jamie (My mate from work who is training for his 1st Marathon). He had done a 9 miler on Sunday, so was also suffering a bit. We must have looked like a couple of 80 year olds as we hobbled the 1st half a mile as we loosened up. We did an easy recovery run, 3 miles at just under 11min mile pace

INTERVALS
On Wednesday I did 5.5 miles with some intervals thrown in. I found it tough going but it was a good session to get the heart pumping

THRESHOLD
Friday was one of those days! And I don't mean that in a negative way. I plotted a new run on Mapmyrun that would mean I could loop back rather than have to go down Regent's canal and then back again. The sun was shining, the wind was behind me and after easing into the first mile I picked up the pace and basically managed to maintain it? 6.5 miles with an average moving pace of 7:40m/mile. I was very happy with that. As I said, one of those days!
Threshold Stats


FLYING LESSON & A SANDWICH
Not quite what you think. Petts Wood Runners are part of KLAN which is the Kent & London Athletics Network. As a result of this a 'flying coach' visit had been arranged where a professional coach would provide a training session and a Q&A session afterwards geared towards Spring Marathon training.

I was looking forward to this as the coach was no other than Nick Anderson who had coached me last year for Project 26.2. After going to Norman Park to watch Mich run Bromley Parkrun, I made my way to Beckenham Runners HQ. There were 13 of us in total from PWR & BRC. After a 5 min jog warm up, Nick put us through our paces with a 'sandwich session' which was 3 x 2 min 5k pace intervals sandwiched between 2 x10 min threshold sessions. A good workout and a good hours chat afterwards with Nick providing his expert knowledge, all accompanied with tea and choccy biscuits.

Everybody said they found the session useful and all came away more positive about their Marathon training. The only downside, was I forgot to get my Garmin off Mich before I left so was having to keep asking others the time when trying to judge the runs.

MUDDY (K)NIGHTS
Saturday night, Petts Wood Runners resident 'fruitcake' er I mean Ultra Runner Jerry had offered to take anybody daft enough on a night run through the woods. 9 of us met up at 19:50 in a variety of Opal Fruit coloured jackets and an equally diverse range of head torches.

Bright at Night

Once Jerry had given us our briefing on safety, etiquette and general rules he led his Knights into the woods.  I was in stitches as there were constant squeals from some of the girls as they were trying to avoid the mud (a futile effort).  We covered 6.4 miles and the run was tough, muddy (very) but thourougly enjoyable and as Jerry said it is more of a sensory exeperience. 

The clouds had cleared which meant it was a very chilly evening, but this also meant once in the heart of the woods with no light pollution penetrating, we stopped to look up to see a diamond encrusted sky.  This type of run was a first for me, but definately something I want to repeat, as I said, thouroughly enjoyable and 'variety is the spice of life' 

Once again, in ensuring I had torch, keys, gloves etc,  I forgot my Garmin, leaving it on charge in the kitchen.  Twice in a day, what a numpty!

Until next time
TJH