Running in Brittany

It’s been a while since I last posted anything, rather shamefully. I do (sort of) have an excuse or two. Namely, a busy period at work and then a holiday – I finished an 11 day stretch with 4 night shifts, followed by a week in beautiful Brittany.

That has given me something to write about though: running on holiday. A few years ago, I would have taken the stance that, unless lasting for more than a couple of weeks, holidays are a chance to take some time away from running, particularly our traditional summer break to Brittany. In recent years, that’s changed, because now the idea of taking even a full week away from running is not particularly tempting. The change really came into effect in the run up to my first marathon, when I realised an Easter trip to Brittany coincided with the longest run of my training programme. And now, it’s just habit. Besides, going for a run whilst on holiday gives me a chance to explore new running territory.

And last week, that was the wonderful countryside around our cottage in Brittany. It’s an area I know well, having visited it every year of my life, but things look different when you’re running. Particularly the hills. Until last week, I don’t think I realised quite how hilly the area was! The last few times I’d run in Brittany, I’d done repetitions of a single lap, because it was the only way I could be confident I’d run whatever distance my training plan required of me. Now that I have my beloved Polar watch, I felt free to explore a bit more.

So, on three of the days I was there, I pulled myself out of bed before the rest of the family were up (not hard whilst on holiday – breakfast tends to start at 11am!), strapped on my trainers, connected to GPS, and headed out into the countryside. I stuck mainly to the small country lanes, which wind up and down. The weather was mostly favourable – some sun, some cloud, but no rain and not too hot – and the scenery was lovely. I managed a long(ish) run of 12.5miles, a shorter recovery run, and a speedwork session, as prescribed by my half-marathon training plan.

And the best thing about running whilst on holiday? It certainly works up a decent appetite for breakfast – best croissant in the world, anyone?

The Dreaded Treadmill...

KL from above

I’ve just got back from a week-long trip to Malaysia, to attend one of my good friend’s wedding. The trip was amazing, and mostly spent relaxing, eating, drinking, and enjoying the warm weather. There was only one thing missing…exercise. Kuala Lumpur is an interesting city, like a slightly less rich version of Singapore or Hong Kong, with a lot of character and some really incredible buildings to visit. It is not, however, a city in which anyone walks very much. The lack of pavements, the high humidity and 31C weather, combined with taxis that cost less than the price of a tube ticket at home, meant we spent a lot of time driving places and not much time on our feet.

Which, if you’re like me, actually gets quite difficult to bear after a few days. I get restless, itchy to move properly, and it starts affecting my ability to sleep. So, after a night spent tossing and turning, and with nothing planned until lunchtime, I finally decided to bite the bullet and head to the gm.

Now, I am not a fan of gyms. I like getting my exercise outdoors, so I avoid gyms as much as possible. I also really, really don’t like treadmills, so when I did drag myself downstairs, my intention was to try and do some strength training. That plan fell by the wayside however, when it turned out the gym had only a few weight machines and they were mostly already in use. So treadmill it was.

The dreaded treadmill...

My main problem with treadmills is that, without the distractions of changing scenery, I tend to get overly focused on the numbers on the screen. And that makes the session feel much longer and more painful than an equivalent session on the road. It also frustrates me that I can’t alter my pace without jabbing at the buttons in front of me. And ultimately, I just find it incredibly boring. It’s the one time when having an iPod and some podcasts to listen to is actually pretty vital. Otherwise I’d never keep going.

In the end, I actually did a couple of fairly decent sessions. For all my distaste, I will concede that treadmills do have a slight advantage when it comes to interval-style sessions. If you can figure out the individual machine’s programming system (not always the easiest thing in the world), then you can push yourself to increase speed, or run up hills, and if you are willing to be a stickler, you can keep up a higher intensity of work out with a lot more ease than when your outside.

On my first visit, I did 30 minutes worth of 5min fast/5 min slow run with the fast sessions run at 6.54 minute miles – pretty good for me and a pace I’d struggle to stick to if I was running intervals outside. The second visit I just did a steady 40 minute run (there’d been a fair amount of alcohol the night before, so I wasn’t at my best). And on my third trip I tried a hill session, running at a steady pace with the machine’s pre-set varied inclines. I’m not sure how those compare to hills in the real world, but as I’m someone who does a very good job of avoiding doing hill session, it was probably a good place to start.

So I’ll admit, the treadmill does have some advantages, and  whilst I can’t see myself deciding it’s worth joining a gym for, and I certainly won’t be going out of my to use one (my parents have on in their basement which my dad uses on particularly rainy days…), if the opportunity presents itself, I know I can get a decent workout on one.

Music or silence?

Last week, my beloved, nearly-a-decade-old iPod shuffle took its last breath. The battery has been a bit capricious recently, and it finally gave up the ghost – 5 minutes after being unplugged! Thankfully, shuffles are no longer expensive, and the friendly folks at Westfield supplied me with a new one in double quick speed. It took me a little longer to get it up and running, but it’s now performing marvellously and the crisis has been resolved.

It got me thinking though. When I started running, I couldn’t go out without being plugged into some music. The idea of trudging along without a soundtrack of some kind was slightly terrifying. Over the years since, my attitude has done almost a complete about turn. Now, I use my iPod to listen to podcasts on my way to work, but I don’t often use it when I’m running. I’d much rather be listening to the world around me. Those around me – friends, family – are divided in their opinions too. My brother never listens to music when he runs. My mum always listens to podcasts. And I have friend’s who can’t imagine running without music.

The opinion in the wider world reflects this divide. Search for “running with music” and you’ll find articles on websites such as Runner’s world (here) or the Guardian (here) debating the question. And I can see both sides of the debate. Music, provided the tempo is appropriate, can help drive you on, pick your feet up and keep going when your legs start to feel heavy. Podcasts, on the other hand, are good for longer, slower runs, providing distraction when the miles seem too long. There seems to be some evidence floating around that suggests people do run faster when they’re listening to music, and indeed, that increasing the tempo of the music increases the effort they put in (some of these studies are quoted in the Guardian article, and it makes for interesting reading). And that’s something I can admit to having personal experience of. When I was rowing for my college, I certainly couldn’t have done some of the hard ergo workouts that I did (namely, the 2k time trials) without a pumping playlist!

For those on the other side of debate, there are two types of argument. The first is the safety argument, which is the one that has also seen headphones banned from some runs. When you’re plugged in, blocking out the world, accidents become more likely to happen. This is partly because you tend to be less aware of your surroundings – less likely to hear the car coming, or the dog barking as you pass by, or the child yelling before launching himself into your path. And if you’re focusing on what’s inside your head, you automatically become slightly more blinkered, and less likely to notice those around you. Those things can all be overcome, though, by paying careful attention to the volume of the music.

The other argument, and the one I’d use to explain why I don’t listen to music when running, is that you can focus more on your body and your workout when you’re running without. It’s easier to pay attention to things like foot-fall, heart rate, breathing and so on when you can hear them without the distraction of music. Certainly with interval sessions or hill sessions, I find it easier to feel confident that I’m doing the right work at the right intensity when I’m not listening to music.

Having read more of the debate, and some of the scientific studies, I wonder if it might be time to start incorporating some music back into my training though. I certainly won’t be listening to music all the time, but perhaps the odd podcast on a long run, or some pumped up music during a tempo session… We’ll see!