Runner's Need Event

I’ve spent a lot of time reading about running – both online and in magazines. And I’ve spent a fair amount of time discussing running and training with friends and family. As someone with a scientific background, and who can, I’ll admit, get a little obsessive about things I’m interested in, I’ve always liked to know the whys and wherefores of my chosen sport.

So when I received an email a few weeks ago about a series of events being help by Runners Need to talk about running, I’ll admit I was interested. When I discovered that one of them was on an evening when I was actually free to attend, I signed up straight away. Which is why I found myself heading against the flow of commuters towards Victoria Station yesterday evening.

The event I attended was being held in the branch of Runners Need near Victoria Station. It was billed as an ‘Excusive women’s evening’ to talk about running. We were greeted with a glass of prosecco or a freshly pressed fruit juice (anyone want to guess which I picked? Here’s a hint…I don’t really like fruit juice…), a goodie bag filled with different energy and rehydration products to try, and a nice Runner’s Need t-shirt. And who doesn’t like a free t-shirt!

The rest of the evening consisted of three speakers, talking about training, injury prevention and equipment, with plenty of opportunity for questions and answers. First up was Nina Anderson, an athlete and running coach. She’s the European 400m veteran woman champion, and coaches a lot of athletes at a huge variety of distances. She talked to us about having goals and the importance of strength training, and how to make the most of the sessions that you have, even when you have to fit them in around work. For more information on Nina and more tips, here’s her website: http://www.ninaanderson.com/

Next up was Naeve from Pure Sports Medicine (http://www.puresportsmed.com/) who gave us a run down on the importance of conditioning and strength training to help prevent injury. She also ran through some of the common sports injuries – like patella-femoral syndrome and ITBS. This was followed by some more Q&A time, during which I was reminded of the importance of foam rolling even when not injured…

Finally, a Nike rep talked to us about two vital pieces of running equipment: sports bras and running shoes. The main take-away from the first half of the talk was to remember to get fitted and make sure you’re wearing the right bra for the job – apparently a poorly fitted bra can cost you up to 10 minutes (I’m not sure what distance this is over, or where that figure comes from!). The second part was about the difference between running and training shoes, and about why it’s sometimes necessary to have more than one pair of running shoes.

I have to admit, the last bit did win me over. I’d been thinking about it a bit before anyway. I currently have two pairs of the same shoes – Asics Gel Nimbus 17, if you’re interested. They’re good running shoes, and their really comfortable over long distances. However, I’ve recently started going to track sessions with my running club (of which more later), and my trusty Asics feel a little heavy on the track. So, with the words of the experts ringing in my ears, and a lovely one-night-only 15% discount on anything in stores…I have bought myself a pair of light weight running shoes for track sessions and short distances. I will report back once I’ve actually used them!

In summary, the evening was, in my opinion, a great success. The speakers were interesting, informative and approachable. And whilst I probably didn’t learn that much which was brand new, it did give me a chance to ask direct questions and get answers more relevant to me. I like Runners Need – they’re a good chain of shops which offer good advice and a great selection of running products. Now that I’ve discovered that they do events like this as well, I’ll be sure to pay a bit more attention to their newsletters in the future!

10km is an interesting distance to run. Or perhaps a better way to describe it is as a particular form of torture. It’s not a short race like a 5k, where you can push yourself as hard as possible, knowing that there are only 20-odd minutes of pain to get through. And it’s not a long race, like a half or full marathon, where the focus is on pacing and strategy (as much as there is every strategy in running). No, a 10k is at the intersection of the two. Not long enough to settle, not short enough to sprint… what fun!

And it’s not as if I’ve never run 10k before. I often do - as a training run. I’ve used the distance for tempo or threshold runs, or as an easy recovery run. But today, for the first time ever, I’ve run a 10k race. And I still can’t quite decide how I feel about the distance, or if I want to go back…

The 10k race in question was a fairly low key one: The Fuller’s London Pride 10K for Cancer Research UK. The course follows a very familiar loop for me, over ground that I often use when training, which was both a blessing and a curse during the run itself (nothing worse than passing a landmark and knowing exactly how far there is left to go before you can stop running!). It was mostly flat, except for the two bridges we had to cross. And I ran it a lot faster than I was expecting to.

With Manchester marathon now just over two months ago, and having taken roughly a month to recover, I’d only devoted five weeks to properly training. And that, plus the low key nature of the race, and the fact that it was 10k instead of 42k, meant that the whole thing felt a little odd, somehow. More like a parkrun than a race. Which is probably not the worst way to approach my first attempt to run a fast time over that distance. On the morning itself I felt relatively well prepared – I’d slept alright, I’d eaten breakfast, I’d had a decent warm up jog to the start  - but I struggled to get the adrenaline up the way I do before a longer race. I was nervous, but only the way I am before a parkrun, because I know I’m going to run as fast as I can and that it’ll probably hurt.

After a little faffing at the start line (mainly to do with waiting for marshals to be in place) we were called to the start. My mum and brother were also racing, and, urged forwards by my dad, we were more or less at the front of the field when the order to start was finally given (a 3-2-1 count down, with no order to go and a slightly fumbled attempt to start the clock…). And then I found myself somewhere I’m not used to being: near the very front.

Whilst I know I’m relatively speedy for my age, I’m by no means fast enough to be at the front of most races. So when we set off, and I found that initially there were only two people ahead of me, I was convinced that I’d made a huge mistake with my pacing and was going to blow up spectacularly a short distance in. Glancing at my watch, I confirmed that I was running at a faster pace than intended – I’d been aiming for 7:13 minute miles, which would give me a sub-45 minute finish. I ran the first mile of the race in 6:45 – but it didn’t feel too fast. And, because I’m me, I decided to stick with it and see what happened.

What did happen? Well, the runners ahead of me pulled gradually further and further ahead (one, my brother, managed to finish a ridiculous four minutes ahead of anyone else!). I lost a couple of places on the overall ranking by the 5km mark, but then nothing. One other runner sat on my heels for a while in the last 2km, but I managed to pull away again. And I finished in a ridiculous 5^th place overall. And 2^nd woman. And in 41 minutes and 29 seconds. A time of which I am inordinately proud.

So with that result…I’m left with a quandary. I didn’t particularly enjoy the distance as a race. It hurt, a lot, the whole way round. I didn’t hugely enjoy the race itself, partly at least because I didn’t enjoy running on my own so much. I know that sounds silly, almost, but I think it made the whole thing a lot harder and a lot more painful. I love parkrun because I’m running in a crowd, and that pulls me a long. This felt like trying to do a long training run at race pace without much of the race atmosphere. On the other hand, I was happy with my time, and I feel like, in the right circumstances, I can go faster. And it was a challenge – and I do love a challenge. The question then: do I sign up for another 10k?

It’s not a decision I’m going to make yet. I’m sure, at some point, I’ll run another 10k race. Whether it’ll be this year – who knows. The next even on my calendar is the Ealing Half Marathon, which is 14 weeks away. I know I could fit in a 10k race as part of my training, if I decide to. Equally, I could wait and try and race one afterwards. We’ll see. If the right one comes along...

Oh, and just to make it clear - I'm aware that a local 10k is never going to be organised like a bit city marathon. And the organisers of the Fuller's Pride 10k did a great job. The atmosphere was great and really friendly. It felt like a local race, with people happy to chat to one another and cheer each other on, and great support on the ground. It's easy to see my parents convincing me to sign up again next year. And hey, it's always nice to pretend I'm winning material! 

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!

(Not) One size fits all

It’s been nine days since Manchester, and I’ve managed just one short run so far. I’ve walked quite a lot – as required by my job and commute – and I’ve been swimming once as well. But my foot is still not entirely happy with me, so today I bit the bullet and visited my physiotherapist.

Like many runners, I am prone to self-diagnosis. There is a huge amount of information online about running injuries and rehab, and if you add my medical background to that, it’s easy to feel like I should be able to figure out what’s wrong and how to treat it without any external help. Experience has taught me that this isn’t necessarily the case, and today’s visit has once again confirmed that!

The problem with looking for injury advice online is that it mostly covers the more common running injuries – things like plantar fasciitis and ITBS – but it can often be very tricky to identify less common injuries. And crucially, even if you can correctly work out what’s wrong, without the experienced eyes of a physiotherapist, you won’t necessarily be able to work out why it’s wrong, and therefore what best to do to fix it.

Even common running injuries can arise in many different ways. Everyone has slightly different anatomy, and a slightly different running style. To properly treat an injury, you need to know why it’s happened. Your treatment can then focus on two things: the immediate rehab of the injury, and the more long-term alterations that prevent it recurring.

Which is why today’s visit was so beneficial. The first thing I learnt was that my foot pain isn’t plantar fasciitis. My online research hadn’t been able to provide me with any other suggestions for the pain, but my injury didn’t quite fit with the descriptions. My pain was on the bottom of my foot, but more along the outside edge than under the heel. So when I was told I had a peroneal tendonitis, I wasn’t really surprised. The explanation of why it happened also made sense: my right leg has always been stronger than my left leg, and this, combined with the fact that I’d struggled with a hamstring problem in my left leg earlier this year, meant that I’d been favouring my right leg and consequently overloading my right foot. So I’ve come away with reassurance (that this injury should clear up relatively quickly) and a plan of action. More strength training and a gradual return to running, and hopefully I’ll be upping my mileage again soon.

The major lesson from all this? If something hurts, don’t rely on the internet, or even the well-intentioned non-specialist (my doctor friends are not particularly helpful when it comes to running injuries!). Your best bet is to visit a good physiotherapist, who can give you the right advice for you. Like most of medicine, running injuries are not one-size-fits-all, so don’t treat them as if they are.

Marathon Blues

The week after a marathon is a bit like the week before: frustrating. If you’re anything like me, you find yourself spending a lot of time wishing that you could go for a nice long run but aware that it’s a really bad idea. Every article I’ve read about marathon recovery drums it into you: a long run like a marathon damages your muscles and stresses your immune system. It is important to take time off to allow these to recover, otherwise getting back to running will take even longer. But it’s not easy.

Last time I ran a marathon, I gave myself a stress fracture in one of my metatarsals. I blame running in the wrong shoes, with a poor running technique. As soon as I crossed the line, my foot was in excruciating pain and for the next two days I could barely walk. The final result was 6 weeks in an air cast and no running for nearly 8. I hated it.

This time round, I finished feeling fine. My quads and hamstrings hurt, but no more than expected. And then Monday was fine. I walked to and from work, which is just part of my usual routine. I felt sore but ok. On Tuesday, I started walking to work and my foot started hurting. The idea that I may have another stress fracture made me want to cry, the thought of missing out on weeks of running was almost too much to bear. A clear x-ray and a quick assessment from one of my colleagues did little to reassure me. And now, three days later, it still hurts, though not quite as much.

The period after a big event is always a struggle to get through, because so much energy and time has gone into planning for it – Marathon Blues is not an unfamiliar term to anyone who runs them! Adding potential injury to that makes things even more stressful. But I’ve got enough time as a runner – and a doctor – under my belt to know that, no matter how much I want to just go for a run and see how it is, that will only lead to more heartache down the line. So the plan for now is this: rest from running. Walk a little, because that’s unavoidable. Swim if your desperate. And if it still hurts by next week, see the physio. But no running until the pain is gone.

Maybe I’ll just start looking at which race to run next instead…

Asics Greater Manchester Marathon

My job often requires me to work long shifts. But even on the longest of them, I don’t have to wake up before 6am. So it came as something of a surprise that I’d already been awake for a good twenty minutes when my alarm went off at 5.50am this morning. But I suppose pre-race nerves are not to be messed with.

The trip to the race village went smoothly, much to my relief, and was partly shared with another runner who hailed from Scotland – in fact, very near where my Granddad lives. I love how friendly people are around big races like this. I suppose when you’re all sharing the pre-race jitters, it’s nice to talk it out!

I spent the last hour before the race trying to work out how many times I could queue for the loo, whether or not I was about to be sick, and hoping I wasn’t losing too much energy shivering. When the starting gun went off and we finally started moving, I was more than ready.

I’d chosen to run with the 3hr29min pace group – partly by design (I was aiming for a 3hr 30min finish) and partly by default (they were standing right in front of me when I reached the start). The group’s plan was to go off at a faster pace to allow for a fall off in the second half. I wasn’t sure how sensible this all sounded, but as the pace didn’t seem too awful, I decided to give it a chance.

The result was this: I ran most of the race at 7:46 pace, which felt far more comfortable than I expected. When we passed the half-marathon point in 1 hour 43 minutes, I still felt good. And when we hit a short downward hill a few minutes later and I found myself pulling ahead of the group…I decided to go with it. I managed to hold that pace, or thereabouts, until just after the 20 mile mark – further than any training run I’d done.

And then it started to hurt. The last 6 miles were painful. My legs felt heavy, my knees were screaming, and it was all I could do to keep going. But by that stage, you can slip into countdown mode. Six miles is, after all, just a 10k run. And then you can tick off the miles; I don’t consider a 5 mile run to be a ‘long run’ these days; our social club runs are around 4 miles long; I can run 3 miles home from nights; even my shortest taper run was over 2 miles; and I can always run 1 mile…

If I’d been able to breathe a little more easily, I would have burst into tears as I crossed the line. 3hours, 27 minutes, 20 seconds from the gun. A new PB, a London (and Boston) qualifying time, and better than I’d dared to hope for.

Manchester did herself proud with this race. The community support was great – lots of cheering, high fives and bowls of jelly babies. I really enjoyed the course: it has a lot of out and back sections which means you get to see the front runners zoom past, and then the boost of knowing you’re not too near the back! It was well organised, everyone was friendly, and I’d definitely come back.