Filed under: running | Tags: hampstead heath, health, heart disease, Jerry Morris, running
Many thanks to Highway Kind over at Running Matters, who flagged this article on the late Jerry Morris last week – an absolutely fascinating account of the first person to make a link between sedentary lifestyles and heart disease in 1949. Jerry studied postal workers and transport workers; some of whom were active and others relatively inactive at work.
Jerry became certainly one of the first people to take up running as a means of reducing the risk of contracting heart disease:
“I was the first person to run on Hampstead Heath, in the 1960s. Every Sunday morning, if the weather was at all possible, I took off my coat, and my little boy carried my coat, I took off my jacket and my little girl carried my jacket, and I ran for 20 minutes. People thought I was bananas.”
It’s amazing to look at how far our knowledge has developed in the two generations since. Few people in the developed world, at least, can be ignorant of the importance of exercise in promoting good health and long life.
What a shame, then, that the National Obesity Forum has seen fit to declare this “National Obesity Week“. Apparently one in two people do not have an accurate picture of their weight, and are being encouraged to calculate their Body Mass Index (BMI). For the record, at 5′4″ and 9 stone 12, my BMI is 23.7 (just about within the healthy bracket – the result, in part, of a sedentary lifestyle at work and a deep-rooted love of food).
Phil and I ran in Jerry’s footsteps around a bit of Hampstead Heath yesterday morning in torrential rain. Despite being really quite displeased at the thought of going out in the soaking wet, I really enjoyed it once I was out.
4.5(ish) miles
46 minutes
4 very soggy feet
Filed under: running | Tags: Abbey, Bracknell, Hellrunner, running, St Albans, St Michael's, Swinley Forest, The Look Out, Verulamium
Last weekend was a relatively quiet one, and Phil and I ran both Saturday and Sunday. We were visiting my parents on Saturday, and did a nice 4(ish) mile circuit around Verulamium, the Abbey and St Michael’s village which took an acceptable 35 minutes. However, I don’t think it was anywhere near enough to burn off the cheese, bread, meatballs, spaghetti, wine and ice cream, courtesy of Mummy J, that we consumed during the course of the day.
So, back out we went on Sunday after getting back to my place. We drove over to Swinley Forest in Bracknell, aiming to do around seven miles. Navigating the forest is a bit tricky, even with the map you can get from The Look Out, unless you stick to one of the marked trails. Trouble is, the marked trails are only up to around five miles in length. We had a go at joining up two routes – the “nature trail” and the “heritage trail”. I didn’t have the faintest idea where we were most of the time, and I’m not even sure the map points north. We were running for 62 minutes, which suggests we finished some way off the seven-mile mark. Ah well, it was a pleasant run underneath the autumn leaves on a lovely sunny day.
Monday brought with it a bonus run. Phil was still at mine on a rare school night, so I skipped British Military Fitness and we went for a short run around Twyford. That was an experience. The Map Reader decided to take us off down various country lanes and through a ford, in the dark, wearing head torches. I threw a bit of a wobbler at the ford actually (bad day at work, hungry, tired, generally prone to stroppiness). Perhaps I should have gone to BritMilFit after all…I don’t lose my rag quite so quickly with comparitive strangers.
Filed under: British Military Fitness, running, running gear | Tags: British Military Fitness, fartlek, leggings, seasons
Despite the significantly cooler temperatures and fading daylight, I’ve made it to British Military Fitness twice this week – on Monday and this evening. I couldn’t believe the difference between this week, and when I last went about four weeks ago: it was as dark at the start as it had been at the end of the class before.
But despite this slightly depressing trend, training outside does make you appreciate the changing seasons more than you would if your gaze sinply drifted away from inside the gym while slogging away on the treadmill. And, without trying to compete with Mr Highway Kind’s much more eloquent and philosophical musings, I like that. I fully appreciate the excitement and sense of something better to come in spring; I adore the long, warm evenings in the summer months, sweating out all the stresses of the day; I like jumping around in damp, autumn leaves; and I even get a thrill out of the looks on my colleagues’ faces when I head out of the stuffy, centrally heated office in my BMF kit for a class in the middle of winter.
In fact, I haven’t been to the gym in such a long time that I’m thinking of giving up my membership.
Both today’s session, and Monday’s session were taken by Dan. And Dan’s got some new moves…
Exhibit 1: the “tripwire” – while jogging along, Dan shouts “TRIPWIRE” and we all have to jump in the air, legs tucked underneath ourselves
Exhibit 2: the “grenade” – when Dan shouts “GRENADE” we all dive to the ground, hands over heads
Exhibit 3: the “firing of one’s partner across the grass” – where one person lays down on their back, legs bent and in the air. The second person leans back with their bum against the first person’s feet. #1 bends their legs, then straightens them – firing #2 up into the air. Most amusing, though I do think it could be improved by introducing an element of long-jump -style competition, as I’m pretty convinced long-limbed Stu might be able to fire Leigh right across the road outside the park.
Exhibit 4: the “fartlek” – possibly a contender for my least favourite exercise and one most like to make me vomit. Involves the line of lamp posts down the middle of the park – you start running at 50% of maximum ability, increase to 75% at the second lamp post, then 100% at the third, back to 50%, then 75% and 100%. After a 30-second break – you repeat the exercise…and so on. It’s HORRIBLE. Even worse than the hill runs. But it has to be good for you, right?
Oooh, and in fashion news, it would seem that lycra is the new black. Three of the chaps turned up in snug little leggings on Monday – and spent the entire class fretting about them falling down, being draughty and having a general feeling of tightness. You’ll get use to them lads – much more practical than baggies in the winter. 
Filed under: running | Tags: Hellrunner, Knowl Hill Bridleway Circuit, running
Upon my return from Morocco last week, it dawned on me that there were only four weeks until Hellrunnner – and I hadn’t run for four weeks. And then it was only about a four-mile run. I don’t think four is my lucky number.
The Hellrunner website says:
HellRunner™ is over multi-terrain and varying underfoot conditions. There will be everything from running tracks and trails to water-filled areas and plenty of steep hills. Expect to get very wet! It will be nature at its toughest. The course will be marked but do not expect to see mile or kilometre markers….that’s for those softy road running types. All you need to know is that the course will be probably more than 10 and less than 12 miles in length. Hey! With what we have in store, who’s counting?
Crikey.
Time for some reasonably serious training then, ideally of the off-road variety. So Phil and I set off for Knowl Hill in the new and improved MINI on Saturday morning, and ducked south of the M4 onto the Knowl Hill Bridleway Circuit intending to run the eight-ish mile bit round in a circle back to the car.
And, to our surprise, we managed it feeling almost fine. A few twinges in the knee department, slightly sore back and leaden legs by the end, but nothing you wouldn’t expect given the lack of recent running expeditions. I had to admit that, left to my own devices, I probably would have done a less ambitious five- or six-miler and worked up over the course of a couple of weeks; but I’m actually glad I proved I could run more than eight at this point in time. Not that we will be breaking any records – that took an hour and 24 minutes over pretty flat terrain, but the great thing about off-road races is the lack of pressure to put in a good time. It’s all about finishing and having a bit of a laugh.
The back was still sore again on Sunday, but I think that’s the hip flexor/glute trouble again. I must must must do more post-run stretching. That’s one thing I’m just beginning to learn as I stumble towards my mid-thirties…
Filed under: running | Tags: ice bath, osteopath, running stretches, static stretching
Ice baths - not pleasant (source: www.smh.com.au)
During my follow-up appointment with the osteopath on Monday, we started talking about the merits of stretching before running. The perceived wisdom seems to be that it could be damaging, or at the very least has no beneficial effect, to do static stretches – though Simon says this is mostly based on one small study carried out in Australia.
His advice – and he acknowledges most people don’t have time to do this – is to warm up the body’s core temperature with a warm bath. Dress, and start walking, progress gradually to a slow run, stop and stretch out all the major muscle groups – then start running proper. Hmmm, I’d have to get up about 4.30am to fit that all in before work.
More important, Simon says, is the cool-down process and he was trying to convince me of the benefits of a post-run ice bath after thorough stretching. He’s cycled 120 miles in eight hours from Normandy down to Le Mans one day last week, and took an ice bath afterwards in a local spring whose water temperature was around 4°C. He reckoned he sprang out of bed the next day withouth a single twinge.
I’m not sure I can think of anything worse. I hate being cold – particularly after running when I cool down quite rapidly anyway. However, I may do as he suggests, and try turning down the shower temperature from hot-tepid-cool and running that down my legs next time. Brrr.
Anyway – good news is, after a good massage on Monday, back/bum/hip feeling really good. Need to keep up the stretching and do more core stability work – but I’m definitely on the mend.
Filed under: British Military Fitness, running, spinning | Tags: British Military Fitness, GRIM Challenge, hampstead heath, Hellrunner, running, spinning
I’ve managed to restore some semblance of normality to my exercise regime again, after a couple of weeks of doing not a lot. I’ve been much better at doing the exercises the osteopath gave me – primarily aimed at stretching out the hip flexors and glutes – over the past week, so hopefully won’t get told off when I go back this evening.
As per my promise to the world last Tuesday evening, I did go to British Military Fitness the following day. I grabbed a blue bib when I got there, joining a slightly slower group than usual, so I didn’t overdo it. Lovely new chap called Tom took the class – he introduced us to some new forms of torture games, including one where we had to get into two teams and take turns to leopard-crawl underneath the rest of our team who were lined up in the plank position. My bum kept getting in the way – though I’m hoping that was more to do with me not doing the leopard-crawling quite right, rather than purely having a humungous arse.
Back/bottom/hip actually felt ok during and after the class, certainly no worse, so I also went spinning on Friday – fairly uneventful class, which I won’t bother elaborating on.
On Saturday, decided to run with Phil around the regular 4.5-mile circuit encompassing part of Hampstead Heath. Neither of us have done a lot of running lately, so were expecting to feel crap, but we felt surprisingly good. So on Sunday, we did the circuit again – but backwards, (as in we ran the route the other way around, rather than physically running backwards). It’s quite weird how you see things that you don’t normally see when you view them from a different perspective.
Encouraged by such progress, we’ve signed up for Hellrunner South on 15 November and GRIM Challenge on 6 December along with my much-faster-even-though-he’s-only-just-taken-up-running brother. We have been warned about the Hellrunner “Bog of Doom”, but I’m more concerned by the lack of accuracy in the phrase “10-12 miles of challenging off-road running”. It is 10 or 12 miles then? That’s a fairly significant difference on a road in good conditions, let alone when you’re carrying half your bodyweight in mud along for the ride.
Filed under: running | Tags: back pain, glutes, hip flexors, osteopath, simon griffiths, thatcham
Reading iliketocount’s list of ailments, I thought I might have been a bit of a wimp about the pain in my bum but, after a couple of low-impact sessions at the gym this week, – exercise bike/cross-trainer/stepper on Tuesday and a spinning class yesterday – my back/bottom was feeling worse than ever.
So I traipsed off to Thatcham first thing this morning to see Simon Griffiths, an osteopath who’s effectively treated a couple of running- and ski-related knee problems in the past. I’m not necessarily a fan of all types of alternative therapy, but I really believe in osteopathy. Unlike the experience I’ve had with physios in the past (where they tend to look at the muscles in isolation) osteopathy covers all the bases – bones, muscles, ligaments, tendons and other connective tissues – and helps them to work together better.
Before laying a finger on me, Simon typically diagnoses the problem by asking a series of questions, then fixes it with a combination of massage, ultrasound and prescribed exercises and stretches. He’s got the most phenomenal memory (unless he keeps very comprehensive notes on the personal lives of each of his patients) of which I am just plain jealous, as I am in possession of a head like a sieve. He’s also sports-mad himself, so he doesn’t tut and shake his head disapprovingly when you tell him you’re a runner.
So, what was his verdict? Well, it turns out that the root of the problem isn’t in my back or bottom at all – but in the hip flexor. This acts as the opposite muscle to the glute (like the triceps to a biceps) and is incredibly tight. That’s resulting in pain in the other areas, and also causing a tendon nearby to rub against my pelvis – creating that grinding sound when I do sit-ups.
It’s not terminal – or even that much of a drama. Simon contorted me into various positions, yanked me about a bit, made lots of things crack, gave me a bit of a massage and dispatched me with a few exercises aimed at stretching out the hip flexors and glutes. I’m in some degree of pain now, but it always feels worse before it gets better!
The only things he suggested I avoid doing between now and my next appointment are golf and vigorous hoovering. I’m truly awful at golf and anyone who’s been near my flat will agree that I’m not much better at cleaning – so that’s fine by me.
Filed under: running | Tags: A4, Knowl Hill Bridleway Circuit, running, Waltham Green, White Waltham
I realised when I reviewed my Juneathon stats that I haven’t actually been doing a lot of running recently.
Whereas when I lived in Bath, my “standard” weekly run was seven miles around the Skyline route, my regular run is now only four or five miles. That happens once a week. I also do the odd 5k challenge here and there at the gym, and I run about quite a lot at British Military Fitness, but it’s not like doing a proper long run. One of the key reasons for that is not having entered any long races since the Reading Half in March, for one reason or another.
So after my 5k challenge on Friday, Phil and I decided to do two runs over the weekend. The first – on Saturday – was the standard Dinton Pastures/river run; a distinctly average plod of around 53 minutes.
On Sunday, we contemplated getting the train to Reading or Henley before running home, but Phil spotted the Knowl Hill Bridleway Circuit marked on the O/S map so we pottered off in the car and parked somewhere off the A4 near a slightly dodgy-looking pub called the Seven Stars. The bridleway is apparently 20 miles in length, and goes north of Knowl Hill through Warren Row, Burchett’s Green and Littlewick Green; and continues south of the A4 around Waltham St Lawrence and White Waltham. We stuck to the southern part of it; and very nice it was too. Well signposted, clear of overgrowing bushes and not too much horse poo. In fact, we didn’t see a single horse the whole time we were out and, in fact, not many people at all. We ran for around eight miles – very slowly, it has to be said, particularly towards the end when my lower back stiffened up.
Good to do a slightly longer run, though my back wasn’t very happy. Nothing serious: it doesn’t feel too bad at all today. But perhaps I should see the osteopath like I’ve been meaning to for ages before I do any significant damage.
At the end of last year, I made some sort of sweeping statement about getting my 10k time down below 50 minutes. I haven’t made much progress in this respect.
Instead, I’ve been using my sporadic visits to the gym when I’m not spinning to monitor my 5k times (historically a lazy 30 mins). My last attempt was on Friday, and I did the 5k in 25:41. I was sweating profusely by the end of it, and I’m pretty sure a few people actively avoided coming anywhere near me.
My times are going in the right direction, but would probably get there a bit quicker if I went more often…
- 28 May – 28:02
- 5 May – 27:24
- 8 May – 27:01
- 29 May – 26:01
- 17 July – 25:41
Filed under: British Military Fitness, running, running gear | Tags: British Military Fitness, Fitness Footwear, Inov8 Roclite 295, off-road, running shoes
Inov8 Roclite 295 (source: Fitness Footwear)
Firstly, an apology: to the lovely Adam Smith at Fitness Footwear, who approached me some time ago to see if I would review a pair of shoes that I got to keep afterwards. Let’s just say it was considerably cooler when he asked me, so my review is extremely tardy. However, that has given me time to give them a proper road-test. So here’s my review…
I’ve had mixed experiences when buying running shoes in various stores in the past. I have quite wide feet, and shoes that are too tight can be immensely uncomfortable. But, last year, I found a pair of Saucony road running shoes that I’m really happy with, and wasn’t inclined to waste my Fitness Footwear opportunity on another pair of road shoes that may or may not fit.
Added to that, I’ve been doing a few more off-road races lately, and noticed other competitors wearing specialist off-road shoes – generally lighter weight with less cushioning and bigger tread on the soles. Though I’d come across the likes of Salomon – notable for their extensive sponsorship of various off-road races around the country – I didn’t really have a clue where to start looking for the right off-road shoes. I asked Adam for his advice, and he suggested I try the Inov8 brand. Completely unknown to me, but apparently quite good for people with generously proportioned plates of meat.
I ordered a pair of the Inov8 Roclite 295s from the site – based more or less on what they looked like (I’m not a big fan of flourescent yellow) and waited for them to arrive. Sure enough, they appeared within a couple of days – great service from Fitness Footwear.
My pair (source: me)
They felt quite lightweight with a much deeper tread than normal running shoes – as expected – in fact, slightly more like walking shoes (I normally buy Merrells) than running shoes. I’d ordered a size 7 (my normal shoe size is a 6/6.5 and I wear size 7.5 Sauconys to run in), but they felt quite large when I put them on. Certainly they were wide enough, but they actually felt longer than necessary for my feet. Nonetheless, I had nothing to lose by giving them a go and it is true that your feet swell once you get going.
My first run in them was a 4.5-mile loop from West Hampstead up and around Hampstead Heath and back. And they felt terrible on the road – like running on planks – a bit like when your running shoes need replacing. The cushioning is absolutely non-existent and my feet felt like they were slopping around inside the shoes. But, then something happened when I got off the road and onto the woodland paths on the outskirts of the Heath: suddenly my feet felt super-grippy on the gravelly and sandy surface.
My next excursion was to a British Military Fitness class… and one of my class-mates was wearing an identical pair. More to the point, he was a man. Turns out the Inov8s are unisex shoes. Hmmm, surely men and women have different anatomies and therefore different requirements? Anyway, I carried on regardless, and found – once again – that the Roclites came into their own on grass. Their grippiness gives you confidence on slippy grass, particularly on inclines and descents, of which there are plenty in the average BMF class!
A subsequent class in very wet conditions confirmed their ability to deal with damp as well as uneven or rough terrain. However, my feet did get very wet indeed – the lightweight uppers are not in the slightest bit waterproof.
I haven’t done much in the way of off-road racing over the past few months, so I haven’t tested them in a race situation. But I would only use them if the race was entirely off-road rather than a mix of road/off-road terrain, and wouldn’t attempt a long run at all; 10k is about their limit because of the lack of cushioning. But the shoes have become my default British Military Fitness footwear of choice – and are standing up to the beating they get twice a week much better than my normal shoes, which were destroyed within the first six months. Even the fit has improved over time with a small amount of adjustment in the laces department. Just tonight, I was reminded of the edge they give on grass: as my class-mates gingerly picked their way down a steep bit of the park, a bit frightened of slipping, I hurled myself down the hill with complete confidence.
I wouldn’t suggest readers use any online store to buy running shoes for the first time – I think it’s vital to get face-to-face advice from an experienced runner who can help find the right fit. For that, my store of choice is Runner’s World in Eastcote – hands-down the best guys to talk to. I’ve had poor experiences everywhere else.
But, if you’re buying a second pair of the same brand/model, or want to try out some off-roaders where fit is less crucial, then Fitness Footwear’s Inov8 range is a great place to start.
