Pack it up, pack it in

Run in the morning, or run in the evening? I was feeling a bit rough so the obvious choice would be to wait until the evening to have a better run, right? Just laze about for a bit in the morning, get the washing on, do the dishes.

Or, the alternative would be to decide that while I’m dehydrated, on the verge of a headache and it’s blowing a hooly and cold, I should stuff some old jeans into a small rucksack and start running with a pack to get used to it. The hell’s wrong with me?

The bag was only a couple of kilos but I’m more interested in finding out how it sits while I run, where it rubs, how I like to have the straps and all that. I’ve run with a few times but not for any particularly great distance so this is something that I need to start working into my routines.

Turns out I can also run a fairly decent 10km into the wind, wearing a pack, while sweating out a hangover.

******
Distance: 10.07km
Time taken: 00:53:10
Average/Max Speed : 11.36/14.93 kph
Average/Min Pace : 00:05:17/00:04:01
Calories: 721 ******

Running backwards for Janathon

Well, not, not literally, but I’ve taken to running familiar loops in reverse just for some variety in scenery. You still see the familiar parks, streets and buildings, but somehow it feels a bit more fresh. Unfortunately, running around where I work pretty much means you’re going to end up on the cycle path at some point and I’ve seen that in each direction many, many times.

However, at least yesterday’s run had the slightly new experience of shouting at a dog. As I was running along at one point, I saw that a small, yappie puppy was harassing a runner ahead of me. When I say “harassing” I mean he was running alongside, yapping loudly and trying to bite heels. The owners were ineffectually calling it rather than, say, coming down onto the path and retrieving it. As I neared the dog it turned its attentions to a girl walking in the other direction who was clearly unimpressed with it. Again, owners not doing anything about it.

As I got close, it decided I was a better bet so had a go. I tried to run past it, it tried to bite my heel. I spun on said heel and yelled “Voetsak!” in its face. The little shit turned tail and whimpered off back to its owner. The owner who was still watching from a distance.

******
Distance: 6.88km
Time taken: 00:33:44
Average/Max Speed : 12.24/20.34 kph
Average/Min Pace : 00:04:54/00:02:57
Calories: 499 ******

Ice Ice Baby

Suffering as I was, from feeling just a little bit tired, I decided that I’d make today’s run an evening one. In general, I’ve been a lot more alert through this -athon than I was during June. To be honest, during that race for big distance, I wasn’t exactly at my best in the afternoons at work.

Unfortunately, the weather’s been turning a bit colder of late which isn’t generally an issue from the wimpy view of “oh boo hoo it’s cold”, more that it can make conditions a bit treacherous. Which is exactly what it was tonight. A little bit of surface water on a thin layer of ice. Horrible.

I’d intended to do a reasonably long, slow run around the top of the town but that’s where the ice was. By the time I started heading back down where there was better grip, my legs were making their opinions known. So I just headed back in.

******
Distance: 8.05km
Time taken: 00:44:51
Average/Max Speed : 10.77/14.83 kph
Average/Min Pace : 00:05:34/00:04:02
Calories: 568 ******

Speed Racer

I can’t upload stats cos Running Free is down, but I’ve got them in the GPS.

I went out to do a short run and with the words “don’t try to run slowly, just run comfortably” echoing in my head. So, erm, I ended up running pretty damn fast: 7.3km in 34:23. That works out at an average 4:44 min/km. I guess I just felt like going fast.

New Fitocracy quest achieved!  “Somone’s Chasing Me! Run 1 mile in under 10 minutes”. Achievement unlocked.

What Do You Want From Me?

Okay, Janathon, what do you want from me? A pound of flesh? Nah, not getting it. Bruised feet? Yeah, okay, you’ve got those. A tired smile on my face? Yeah, that too.

******
Distance: 9.01km
Time taken: 00:47:23
Average/Max Speed : 11.41/105.35 kph
Average/Min Pace : 00:05:16/00:00:34
Calories: 633 ******

Plus two hours of tai chi for the first time in a year (I think) so you can add two buddhas to that as well. All in all, 1110 Fitocracy points.

Don’t strip your gears

It was cold around here last night, something around -5 which meant the conditions underfoot were not conducive to the fast session I had planned for today. I was going to use the Water of Leith path to do some fartlek between the lampposts, but since there were still several patches of ice around I decided that that was going to be a bad idea. However, I still managed to keep a relatively decent pace of 5min/km for my lunchtime loop.

******
Distance: 7.05km
Time taken: 00:35:06
Average/Max Speed : 12.04/118.66 kph
Average/Min Pace : 00:04:59/00:00:30
Calories: 482

******

I don’t think this workdays are going to be good for Janathon this week; I had to get away on time this evening which meant no long lunch, I’m heading back to tai chi tomorrow night so I don’t want to be trying to hold a standing position on tired legs and then it’s a podcast recording on Wednesday. Actually, that one’s pretty good as it means I’ll be hanging around late to soak up some time. Mind you, after two hours of tai chi I might not feel like doing much running. We’ll see how that goes¹.

However, I feel that tonight I have to offer up a rebuttal. After ordering a couple of new pairs of running shoes last night (these current ones are knackered) I tweeted that Wiggle were out of X-Socks and that I didn’t want to try out others but rather wait for fresh stock. My at-one-time rival Ben “I’m not French” Thomas (the ‘s’ is silent), came back with this: Running socks? FFS man up! 

See, I have in the past been a gear doubter, and I’m by no means a gear nut, but I think if you’re going to do it then do it right. When I started running I would go out in an old t-shirt, an old pair of shorts pulled on over cotton boxers, with ancient trainers and “sports” socks from Asda. You know what? I loved it. I thought this was the way forward, I was getting fit and feeling great. If a little damp. Like, really, horribly, sticky and damp. And if I left the gear out overnight it would reek. Like really, horribly, honking.

So I started to invest in some gear. First it was the technical t-shirt. I think I’ve only ever paid for one of those and it’s long gone. I get a steady supply from Detail Events volunteering and entering races. They’re indispensable. Lightweight, sweat wicking, comfortable and, above all, non-chafing (apart from stupid, fucking, race shirts that insist on massive stick-on logos over the nipples).

Then the shoes. Oooh! So this is what it’s mean to feel like. And then the socks. The socks were an eye-opener and a wound closer. No more (or less often) the regular blisters and raw skin on the feet. Also, if you’re like me and suffer from the horror of radiator feet, those man-made fibres can do wonders.

Lastly, I gave in and went for lycra. I had scoffed at the tights and shorts before, “Haha! Not for me!” I thought. Then I did my first off-road race in the form of the inaugural Mighty Deerstalker. Thing is, that race has a fair bit of water in it. Like, up to your balls in icy water. Do you know what happens when you get cotton underwear damp and then run in it? Yeah. I switched pretty damn quickly after that.

So, all in all, running is the great democratizing sport where all you need is a pair of shorts with a hole in the crotch and an old pair of trainers. But if you want to be comfortable and enjoy it beyond the initial rush of endorphins then a lot of that gear is there for a reason.

I’m sure Ben was only kidding.

[1] – If you’re thinking “Pah! That’s not exercise!” then you’re doing it wrong.

Within The Woods

Not so  much a walk in the park as a walk in the woods. I woke up this morning and just didn’t feel like going for a run and not in that comedy “well, I don’t really want to but I’m going to anyway”, it was a very simple “I have no enthusiasm for putting on my running shoes”. To be fair, after 14 days on the trot it’s hardly surprising.

So, instead of running, I headed up to Blairadam forest with my Jetboil, the titanium mug I got for Christmas, some coffee and croissants. Turns out Blairadam got hit pretty hard in the storms.

My pictures don’t really do it justice so just take it from me that there are a lot of trees down. I found clambering over the fallen trees a lot of fun and went searching for newly uncovered paths behind the large, root clumps pointing at the sky. Not too many to be found at the moment, but that’s partly just because the fallen trees further back haven’t been cleared away yet. I’m sure that’ll happen in time.

What it does mean is that there’s a smell of pine sap all over the place which was great. Only slightly marred by the insistence on the part of dog owners to bag up their vermin’s shit and leave it in plastic bags by the paths. Either bag it and bin it, or let your mutt go into the trees and shit there.

******
Distance: 7.38km
Time taken: 01:41:59
Average/Max Speed : 4.34/11.54 kph
Average/Min Pace : 00:13:49/00:05:11
Calories: 394 ******

Spoken Word Tour

Today’s run was a bit of a drag in that I had to drag my arse out of the door. I got up feeling a bit grotty and was negotiating with myself about making it a lunchtime run, until I swore loudly, pulled on the gear and just went  out.

******
Distance: 8.25km
Time taken: 00:44:35
Average/Max Speed : 11.10/35.32 kph
Average/Min Pace : 00:05:24/00:01:41
Calories: 593 ******

I’m pretty much coasting a lot of these runs, but it’s all good exercise. I’ve got some big things planned in the future for which I’ll need to plan a much more structure training regime but for now it’s gear on and go. However, I could really do with some new gear in some areas. I got some advice from Gary Vallance recently that included “don’t run in the same pair of shoes two days on the trot”. Well, my current pair of running shoes were bought for Juneathon and are the only pair I have. I’ll be doing some show shopping on the internets tomorrow.

Sorry that there’s really not a lot of running content in these posts, if that is indeed what you’re after. For the most part they’ll be about whatever was occupying my mind while I was running.

This still counts!

It’s within 24 hours so it still counts! Honest! Anyway, I can’t stop long as I’m about to head out for today’s run.

******
Distance: 8.36km
Time taken: 00:43:59
Average/Max Speed : 11.40/64.86 kph
Average/Min Pace : 00:05:16/00:00:55
Calories: 585 ******

Baby, It’s Cold Outside

So it got cold suddenly. I realised this as I left the house and my legs froze. However, I knew that I was only going to be going out for a short one tonight. Having conceded that I’m not doing this for distance (as opposed to Juneathon), I feel no guilt in thinking “Yeah, I’m tired so a quick loop and then back to that book I left on the arm of the sofa”. So that’s what I did.

There are still a lot more people than usual hitting the pavements at night, but the number of new years runners is starting to thin out. I don’t really understand why people choose to start running in January cos, y’know, it’s cold and icy. Why not decide to start in April or May as the nights get longer and the weather warms up? Ah well, it’s the artificial boost of the change of the calendar, I guess.

******
Distance: 5.89km
Time taken: 00:33:29
Average/Max Speed : 10.56/12.76 kph
Average/Min Pace : 00:05:41/00:04:42
Calories: 417 ******