Running - AnnaTheApple

March 29, 2016

Easter Weekend

And just like that the four day Bank holiday Easter weekend is over… But it was a pretty good one!

I didn’t do that much on Friday as I was driving up to Cardiff to see some friends and also to do the IAAF World Half Marathon Championships in Cardiff on the Saturday (sounds way more exciting than just saying the Cardiff Half Marathon). From Southampton to Cardiff it’s about three hours and as one of my friends and her husband lives there I went and stayed over on the Friday night so it wouldn’t be as stressful getting up there in the morning.

It was really nice to see them and they cooked an amazing chicken chorizo meal that evening (I stole the recipe, a Hairy Biker’s one, and will be recreating!) They even got slices of cake from a bakery as pudding – now that is good hospitality!

The next morning I’d planned on getting up and doing the Cardiff parkrun in the morning as the half marathon didn’t actually start until 2.10pm (which I assume is so they could get optimum TV coverage). As I raced my last weekend’s half marathon I wasn’t intending on racing this one and wanted to try and get to around 18 miles for the day, though it would obviously be a bit disjointed as parkrun starts at 9am.

I went to Cardiff University so it was such a blast from the past to be back again. Though I have obviously been back since, just not for a while and usually just to visit my friends who live in the suburbs. I love the city and have such great memories so this was one of the main reasons I wanted to do the race (and the parkrun).

The parkrun is right next to a huge Tesco so they’d advised parking there, which was very handy as I knew exactly where that was. I got there just before 8.30am. I was meeting up with my friend, Matt (a good running friend who went to the MT running camp weekend). A few of my running club were doing the Half but most of them wouldn’t be up until later and Matt was happy to run a couple of miles before parkrun with me to get my mileage up.

One half of a running club couple, Mark, who had also stayed in Cardiff on the Friday night joined as well and ran down from the hotel (another marathoner in training) so it was nice to catch him too there.

Matt, Mark and me resplendent in red!

Matt and me ran 2.5 miles nice and easily and quite close to the parkrun starting time so there wasn’t much of a gap. The parkrun course was super flat and followed the Taf Trail. It was such a walk (or run!) down memory lane as I used to live in the student flats literally five minutes away and we’d often come down to the park. I wasn’t a runner back then so it was quite surreal.

I ran with Mark and we both decided to keep it easy… though this didn’t exactly work out that way as we were both enjoying the flatness and also both being too polite to the other person to slow down in case the other person didn’t want to.

(Photo credit: Danothy Bennett)

So in the end we went faster than we’d intended and tried not to worry what that would mean for the half later on!

The above splits include the 2.5 miles at the start (obviously). My parkrun time was 22:59. I’m really chuffed with the royal flush negative split for the entire run – not too shabby! (Though it was entirely unplanned).

Mark ran back to his hotel (hardcore), and Matt graciously invited me back to his hotel (wahay! Joke) so I could freshen up and get changed before the next run. I packed so much kit as I wasn’t sure what the weather would be like. I really didn’t want it to rain at parkrun and then for me to be soaked for the rest of the day. Luckily parkrun was lovely and pleasant and rain-free. I sensibly brought some warm trousers and a good coat to put on over my shorts and vest this time. We now had a long time to kill before 2.10pm!

After changing we walked into the centre of town (so handy for me to leave me car outside his hotel as it meant I could avoid ridiculously expensive car parks and could get home quickly at the end without getting stuck in traffic coming out – thanks Matt!).

The city was buzzing with excitement for the upcoming race. Runners were walking round everywhere, brandishing coffees and bananas looking at maps and carrying their race packs.

The sky was looking more and more ominous as the time ticked by. There had been weather warnings for Wales and the chance of rain was now almost guaranteed.

To fuel up, keep warm and pass the time, Matt and me headed to a Welsh cafe for breakfast, though really brunch at this point. My friends the night before had recommended this place to me the evening before saying they did great breakfasts and it was just slightly off the beaten trail down one of the boutiquey alleyways.

It was called Garlands Eatery and it was a lovely quaint cafe with beautiful, random decor (lots of old pictures all over the walls). We both saw the ‘Full Meaty’ English breakfast (Welsh breakfast I suppose!) and ordered that with some coffee and some added black pudding for me – I love the stuff!

It was about 10.30-11ish by the time we were eating and I thought this was pretty safe for such a big meal before a race. I’m too greedy to resist a Full English and it was a training run (these were the arguments I told myself as I tucked into that epic meal). It was, as you can imagine, delicious.

To pass some more time we had another coffee and just chilled out chatting. Then we left for a wander around and to help digestion!

We checked out the bag drop area and race centre which was packed already full of people and good atmosphere. Matt then indulged me by walking with me to my old psychology building where I used to go to lectures etc. Compared to the beautiful Hogwarts-style university building nearby, the psychology building is so ugly!

A 12-floor tower block of ugliness. But it brought back good memories nonetheless. At just after 1pm we headed to the bag drop again as the race drew closer. The race pack came with ponchos so we quickly put those on after de-robing. It was windy and chilly but nothing as bad as I’d felt in Weymouth the week before. The rain was just about holding off…for now.

This obviously required a poncho selfie I then met up with my running club mates who were equally attired in the latest look.

Hedge End Running Club (Photo credit: Andy Cockerell)

I’ll recap the race in full in another post as this will be far too long otherwise.

So skipping instead to Sunday… I had a terrible night sleep on the Saturday. I think the combination of the later than normal race, a Costa coffee late afternoon on the journey home, aching legs from a big mileage day and just general excitement and buzzy-ness from a good day meant I was a bit wired. I didn’t fall asleep until about 1am, and then woke up around 7am (though because of the clock changes it was actually 8am now). I was at my parent’s house so I did have the absolute bliss of laying in bed and watching stuff on my iPad for a couple of hours as Alfie could just go out in their back-garden with the other dogs so I had no reason to have to get up straight away.

I also had no long run as I’d done it the day before! I did want to have a 3 mile recovery run though to shake my legs out as they felt pretty terrible (especially after the three hour car journey home). I was a bit dubious to go for a run after such a hard day the day before but in the end it was the best thing I could have done.

The weather was sunny and the temperature cool, though it was still so gusty. Surprisingly my legs felt OK. I thought they’d be niggling and heavy but they felt good. I just ran comfortably and went with it, listening to the radio (Radio 1 had a requests show all weekend so there were some great and random songs being planned, not just the top 40). Then at around two miles it suddenly went really dark and the heavens opened up. A ridiculous amount of rain and hail descended upon me and I was literally drenched. This sped me up somewhat as I ran back to the warm and dry. My dad found it hilarious when he opened the door for me.

But I’m glad I got it done as my legs felt a lot better afterwards. I’ve never really been fully on-board with recovery runs as I always fear the pounding will only make things worse for me and my injury prone body…but actually it worked nicely.

A hot shower felt so good after that run!! After breakfast my parents gave me my Easter egg. I realise this makes me sound about 12 with that sentence but I’m doing my parents a favour in a few weeks and I jokingly said they could repay me with an expensive Easter egg… They thought it a great idea and who am I to disagree?? Especially when it’s a Hotel Chocolat THICK chocolate egg (£25!).

It’s a ridiculously thick egg (as you bloody well should expect for that price!). One half of the egg is packed full of cookie and puff rice pieces and the other half with caramel pieces. Inside the egg it’s full of different chocolates. Best. Egg. Ever.

The rest of the Easter break was full of a) lots more food with my family and enjoying some film-time and walks, b) lots more chocolate, and c) lots of chilling out and a bit of shopping! I did manage to get the gym on the Monday but it was heaving with people. Not a fun experience! Clarifying why I prefer to go so ridiculously early normally! Everyone clearly had some calories to burn

What did you do over the Easter weekend?

Did you get any Easter eggs?

Thoughts on recovery runs?

March 24, 2016

Weymouth Half Marathon

On most marathon training plans you usually have a half marathon where you try to push the pace to see where you are fitness and speed-wise. Though it’s always nice to drop the mileage down for a long run, you know it’s not going to be that easy because the effort is going to be so much harder than the normal long run.

Anyway, I’d chosen Weymouth Half Marathon to give it my best go as I’d heard really good things about it, we got a discount through my club and a couple of other guys were doing it too. We merrily signed up a while ago and then as we were organising getting there etc. we realised the start time was 8.30am. Coming from Southampton we were looking at around 1.5 hours to get there. Ooof. That meant a 5.30am alarm for me. Thankfully my parents agreed to look after Alfie so all I had to do was get up and get my stuff on. I wasn’t having breakfast (see last post’s mega meal) and I was being picked up so it was really very simple. Except ridiculously early.

Will (left), Mike (right) and me on our way (Photo credit: Mike Head)

Mike, Will and me got to Weymouth, with a pit-stop for a coffee, at 7.30am. It was cold and breezy. Parking was easy and nearby. I had my hoodie on but had chosen shorts for the occasion. I really need to invest in some long sport trousers to remove before races…

The sights of Weymouth, including the clock tower and some amazing sand sculptures

We headed straight to the race HQ which was thankfully indoors and warm. We used the proper toilets (hurrah) and then loitered for a bit before dropping our bags off. I had a race poncho with me to keep warm at the start and one gel. I left my phone and everything else in my bag. The race had a no headphones rule.

We lined up just next to the Jubilee Clock on the seafront about five minutes before the start and huddled a bit like penguins in the crowd. It was cold!! My poncho helped somewhat but I ditched it as the race started.

(Course map from JustRacingUK.com)

It was very crowded at the start. In fairness I should probably have started further forward but it was difficult to judge and also difficult to move forward without annoying people when you’re lining up pre-race. This caused the first mile to be quite tricky as Will and I spent a lot of time dodging through people and weaving in and out.

Will had a similar sub-1:40 goal so we naturally stuck together aiming for 7.30min/mile pace. Straight away it became clear this wasn’t going to happen because of the crowds and because of the headwind that was directly against us at this point. I didn’t worry too much though as I knew we were coming back the other way in a bit so it would even out. Plus there’s always time in a half to gain back time later on.

On the second mile we headed back and though we couldn’t feel the wind behind us (isn’t that always the way?) it was far easier to run than it had been. I had some initial worries of not being able to maintain the set pace with Will and wondering if I should just run an easy run. But as we got to the third mile I felt myself getting into things and my pace naturally quickened. I pulled slowly away from Will and hoped he didn’t mind but I knew I just had to go with the good feelings I had. It didn’t feel like I was exerting too much effort so just went with it. When the wind wasn’t against me I was running comfortably around 7.15s and then when it was behind me closer to 7s. I just went with it as I knew the wind would be against me soon (and my pace would be closer to 8 minutes). I decided to maintain the same effort and ignored my watch.

(Photo credit to Stephen and Helen Jones)

Previously I’d have dreaded a race that wouldn’t allow music, but now I actually find I quite enjoy it. I feel claustrophobic and a bit alone with headphones on – shut out from the external things of the race. I definitely think I need music when I do short sharp intervals on my own or if I really want to push a 5k but for longer stuff I think I do better listening to things around me and also my body. How funny how things have changed.

(Photo credit to Stephen and Helen Jones)

I concentrated on overtaking people in front of me, not quickly but slowly gaining on them. The course runs along the Jurassic Coastline, which is gives it fantastic beautiful views of the sea, the cliffs and the historic harbour. As there are a couple of out-and-back areas it helped break it into different segments. Though good mentally it was hard because at times the wind was fully against you, and then to the side and rarely behind you as you headed along the coastline to Portland. Though I knew there would be a blissful time at the end where the wind would be behind us as we made our way back after we got to Portland Castle.

At around seven miles, before the turnaround, I spotted the lead runners heading back. This gave me a boost as I realised we’d be heading back again and then it kind of feels like you’re almost done. There was a huge car traffic queue building up (the race was mostly on road and the major roads had been closed) and all the cars were suddenly honking and some drivers were even getting out and yelling at the marshals. It was quite amusing but obviously not fun for the marshals.

Finally after reaching the turnaround bit (in a not-so scenic random car park around a cone) we headed back, this time along some off-road section. This was tough going. The wind wasn’t so much fully against us but side-ways on us and the path was pebbly and tricky. It seemed to go on forever.

I’d been sort of running with a friend of one of the guys from the club, Adam, who was training for London. He said he was aiming for around 1:35 so at the beginning I knew to not go with him – I wasn’t in that sort of shape! But I caught him up around 5-6 miles – apparently his knee had been giving him a bit of grief earlier on but was now OK. He kept encouraging me on and as grateful as I was for that I just wanted to focus on my own race. I didn’t want to make conversation (I know this sounds quite rude); I just wanted to zone out. He drifted ahead for a bit and I zoned out again though it was nice to keep him in my vision.

Mile 11 was one of the worst miles. It was fully against the wind and we went through a section that felt like a wind tunnel. I wondered if I was just slowing and had gone too fast at the start but I kept pace with everyone else so knew it was the wind. At this point I knew I could hit a better time than expected if I could keep going at sub-8 minutes for the last few miles.

The last mile was absolute bliss. We swung back through Weymouth town centre and the wind was right on our backs. It felt glorious. I started overtaking people, Adam included, and got into the zone. The finish line is right on the seafront but the wind was behind so I was flying.

I finished in 1:36:35, 9th female, 108th overall (out of 939). Not a PB (just over two minutes from it) but my fastest half in a while and my third fastest half ever. For it being windy I’ll take that! I was never going to PB (I just know what shape I’m in) but aiming for sub 1:40 and getting that made my day!

At the finish line I collected my medal and they had an array of biscuits, sweets and chocolate, as well as protein bars and a whey protein drink. The water had run out and people were getting a bit annoyed as no one really wanted the luminous chalky liquid… I quickly headed to the bag drop and grabbed my bag before heading back and cheering on Will as he finished and snapping a great action shot photo.

Apparently his previous injury had flared up and he decided to take it a bit slower (sensible) so didn’t quite hit his target. He grabbed his bag and we waited for Mike. Mike was aiming for marathon pace which he achieved with flying colours (and more as I think he went faster than he expected!). So two out of three…finger’s crossed Will’s injury heals quickly as he has the Brighton marathon ahead (as does Mike).

And then we quickly became cold again so walked back to the car. I was glad to have brought a huge bottle of nuun water with me as I never did get any water at the end.

The car journey home was a bit longer on the way back due to the time but we were chuffed to have got a half marathon done and dusted before 10.30am. Normally halves are a bit later and with journey time you often find the day has run away by the time you get home. By this point however I was starving. I hadn’t needed my gel during the race and I hadn’t eaten since the ribs the night before (though to be fair, that was a HUGE meal). As soon as I got home I had the biggest lunch before even considering showering or sorting my stuff out. I had been banking on a post-race banana but sadly there weren’t any. I didn’t want to refuel on sugary crap so I hadn’t had anything at the end. But my lunch fully made up for it!

The medal is pretty cool and we were given a buff as well. I have so many buffs now! I definitely recommend the Weymouth Half as it was well-organised, the marshals were all really helpful, friendly and cheered you on and it was mostly flat (there are a couple of short sharp inclines though) and despite the wind I enjoyed it.

What do you like to be seen offered at the end of a race food-wise?

Do you wear buffs?

Do you like to run with other people during a hard race?

March 21, 2016

Happy birthday Netley and weekend recap

The start of the week is always sweeter when you know you have a chunky four day weekend on the horizon, am I right? Knowing I only have four days at work just puts me in a happy mood. I like my job, don’t get me wrong, but I like not being at my job more

Saturday started as most of my normal Saturdays do, at Netley Abbey parkrun. I walked Alfie before leaving and the weather was dry but chilly. I didn’t think it was that cold so went with my running skirt and long sleeved top. When I got to parkrun to help set up however it seemed far colder. Obviously I had a coat but I was suddenly really quite cold.

Setting up parkrun (Photo credit: Max Andrews)

As I had the Weymouth Half Marathon the next day I didn’t want to go too fast at parkrun. It’s always nice to turn up to a parkrun knowing you’re just going to ‘plod’ round. The pressure is off! Lots of people were volunteering and not running as there was the very popular Eastleigh 10k the next day too which is a local race for us that lots in our club and nearby clubs take part in. I’ve actually never done it despite it being so close by. It just didn’t fit in with marathon training and I hate 10ks…

It was Netley’s four year anniversary of setting up so there were a collection of awards given out during the race brief. I thought I was going to be third on the female points table but surprisingly I turned out to be second.

Apparently the maths had gone wrong somewhere and so it was wrong on the website. I was over the moon. What was nice was that the first place female and third place female were all lovely ladies from my running club so we were quite chuffed to all be on the podium.

Receiving my certificate (Photo credit: Max Andrews)

Anyway parkrun was good fun. I ran with my friends Mike and Matt. Mike was also doing the half the next day and Matt is just getting back into running after an extended time off. It’s always nice to see people back at it after a break – and enjoying it again

Matt (in green), Mike (in purple) and me (in black) (Photo credit: Max Andrews)

We went round at a nice conservative pace though I felt fairly pants running initially. But after two laps I perked up and decided to push the pace with Mike to the end. He went with me and we went back and forth overtaking each other before finishing – both knackered from the random bursts of speed.

Final stretch (Photo credit: Max Andrews)

I finished in 24:08 so not too shabby!

I enjoyed a nice hot drink in the cafe after helping clear down everything. I’d been looking forward to it the entire run – a lovely hot peppermint tea! Then I headed home to quickly freshen up, have breakfast then head to the gym. I’d skipped my usual gym visit on Friday morning as I’d felt tired after my evening seven miler on Thursday and for once I had nothing really planned for the afternoon apart from chores so thought I’d have a quick visit.

I quite enjoy going to the gym at the weekend (despite it being a bit more busy) as I’m less rushed and more awake. I did some assisted pull-ups (still working hard at them!), chest presses, single-arm rows, press-ups, lateral pull-downs, narrow cable rows and some kettle bell swings. A nice hour of upper body work (apart from the swings). I didn’t go too hard as I was conscious about the next day.

In the evening I met up with a fairly dedicated triathlete I’d chatted a lot with on Twitter. His family lives in Portsmouth and he was down from the Cotswolds for the weekend and apparently I go on a lot about ribs and Coast to Coast (do I…? ) and he wanted to see how good it was.

It’s funny because he’s read my blog (careful what I say here I guess…ha) so I felt a little at a disadvantage of him knowing more about me than me about him. Though it was also nice because he didn’t think I was a loon (or so he says) for photographing my dinner despite initially me saying I wouldn’t as I’d been there so often. But Coast to Coast had changed their menu! My favourite St. Louis ribs were gone and they just had regular baby back ones and the dishes were slightly different, which therefore justified more photos

I had my regular chicken wings to start (still good and fairly similar to before), baby back ribs for main with sweet potato fries (which, though smaller than the jumbo ones, were still pretty damn tasty), followed by millionaire’s waffle (a waffle with honeycomb ice cream, honeycomb chocolate balls and chocolate syrup).

When I ordered the pudding the waitress informed me that there were no honeycomb balls left. I jokingly said (well, I was sort of joking) what else could she put on top then and she said how about Oreo crumbles? Sounds good. Then five minutes later she came back to the table with a little bowl of honeycomb chocolate bowls and whispered they were from the bar and used in the milkshakes but I could have them. Amazing! Great service!

And happily I wasn’t the only one eating everything on my plate for the three courses (and he even had a thick shake!) Major kudos there All in all I lovely evening. Though I was stuffed.

I knew I wasn’t in a chance to get a PB for the half the next day so I wasn’t too worried about feeling so full of non-race ideal food. Though I did want a hard effort – ideally I was aiming for sub 1:40. I know I’m not in PB shape and that seemed like a realistic target, maintaining around 7.30min/miles. I’ve also done a lot of long runs having had a big meal (ribs included) the night before so I wasn’t stressed about it.

I’ll recap the race in another post, but all in all it was a great weekend.

How was your weekend?

Has a favourite restaurant of yours ever changed it’s menu for the better or worse?

How old is your local parkrun?

March 17, 2016

Rants and Raves #28

More raves than rants lately which is all good in my book. Marathon training is going well (*TOUCHES WOOD IMMEDIATELY*) and I’m in a happy place. For no specific real reason really (I’m still single…which I don’t particularly mind right now), just loving that the days are longer, the sun is brighter (or actually present) and I’m enjoying life!

Rave: I’m not a huge shopper (unless it’s to do with running/gym clothes, then I’m the worst) but occasionally I might splurge on non-fitness related items. I recently fell in love with a pair of Timberland boots. My mum has the same size feet as me and has a pair but annoyingly she has them in a deep raspberry colour, of which I wasn’t too keen on (otherwise I could borrow them). I went and perused a light brown pair on Saturday and tried a few different styles. They were quite expensive though so I left without buying them. But then ended up going back the next day as I couldn’t resist. That’s always the sign of a good purchase I think!

They’re really good quality, water-proof and hardy. Though the worst of the weather seems to be behind us, I always need a good pair of ‘proper’ shoes that aren’t just trainers or slip-ons. I also got myself two new pairs of jeans from H&M that were a bargain (£15!). They fit perfectly so I bought one in black and one in denim (in above pic). When you’ve found a pair of good fitting jeans, BUY THEM ALL.

Rave: OK I have a leeeeeeeetle thing for leggings. Most of my leggings though are more gym appropriate than running appropriate. They tend to be a bit more flashy or the material isn’t as good. I normally stick with either my trusty Nike capris or my slightly longer Helly Hansen ones. I do have Puma full-length ones but I rarely wear them unless it’s super cold. Anyway, my Nike’s are looking a bit tired (they’ve been around for a few years now…) and I’d seen some cool compression-style ones at the Marathon Talk Run Camp. In the end I went for 2UX 3/4 tights.

I got them from Zalando (I had a £10 off voucher. It made sense. [Not an affiliated link]). They are expensive at £70 (without my voucher) but I know how long my Nike’s have lasted and I wanted a quality product. And let me tell you, they are fantastic. They’re compression so they’re obviously a bit tighter than my Nike’s but they feel great on. They don’t slip down, they’re water-resistant, they have a little pocket for a key and they’re lovely and smooth. And they have the compression technology in them. Fully recommend!

Rant: When you’re one of the few people in an office who regular runs you become known somewhat of a ‘guru’ for all things running related. It doesn’t sound too bad I guess but it’s become more and more regular that people expect me to solve their fitness-problems. One fellow colleague started running with his dog and found after a few runs his knee started hurting. He told me this and then looked at me questioningly as if I could a) explain his knee issue or b) give him some solid medical advice. I’ve had my fair few injuries, don’t get me wrong, but I can barely solve my own let alone other people’s! I suggested getting trainers fitted and laying off the running until it felt OK…and possibly seeing someone about it if it wouldn’t go away.

Another guy told me how he was going to run the Reading Half Marathon which is in a few weeks time. I asked how his training was going and he said he wasn’t really training for it. OK… Yeah so plucked a random time goal out of the air, he then plugged that pace into a treadmill and evaluated how he got on. Apparently he lasted 10 minutes. Riiiiight. I told him normal half marathon training plans were at very least eight weeks long for fairly new runners, though ideally 12 weeks realistically (and that’s probably with at least some running experience behind them). He laughed and said, “Weeks?!”. Good luck, my friend. Good luck.

Rave: But on that similar note, it’s always nice people from other companies (we share an office block) coming up to you and saying they saw you running after work and asking what I was training for. They did London, they’re planning on doing this or that and the conversation just flows nicely. Running brings people together

Rant: When I was in Bristol the other weekend Alfie joined me. This is a tad gross but Kate said when they took Alfie and Doug, her pug, for a walk in the morning when I was at parkrun she noticed Alfie’s poo wasn’t, er, optimal. She suggested feeding him pasta to help his tummy as that’s what the vet has always told her (Doug’s had a few sick times). She kindly cooked him a little bowl of plain pasta (fusilli if you’re interested) for him to eat. He absolutely wolfed it down. Now Alfie is far more a grazer than a wolfer-downer (I just leave kibble in his bowl and he has it as and when he fancies it). I was really shocked.

My little Alfie is a carb-lover it seems! However, when I tried to recreate this at home but with rice instead of pasta (as I never have pasta) he played around with it and then left it. I’ve now been finding rice grains all over my floor since. *Sighs* Thanks Alfie. Clearly he’s picky with his carbs. But his poo has become more normal so it’s all good (TMI?).

Rave: I’ve been doing so well in reducing the number of artificial sweeteners I eat in my diet. I’m really quite bad at this… Sugar-free squash, sugar-free jelly, Options Hot Chocolate. It isn’t pretty.

But I’ve managed to cut back on my squash successfully; only two glasses a day. The rest have been swapped for herbal teas (peppermint and raspberry & Echinacea are my two current favourites). I haven’t been able to stop the jellies (choose your battles). But I have been able to stop the Options Hot Chocolate. This is a big move for me as I literally have one every single night. Not now though!

I now have real cocoa powder with Stevia to sweeten. Stevia, though yes is still technically a sugar, is far better for you than other more chemical ones. At first it wasn’t the same… Not as sweet, a little bit too bitter, but now I’ve adjusted. Cocoa actually has some great benefits for reducing inflammation and contains antioxidants. Win win!

Rave: Still loving the gym. I thought I wouldn’t be able to balance the two: strength training and marathon training but I listen to my body and go with it. When I’m tired or ache from a run, if I still fancy going to the gym I’ll lower the weights or do less reps. Or avoid some exercises completely. But I’m really pleased that I’ve managed to reach 75kg for my squats (six reps!). My depth probably needs to improve a bit but I focus on that on a different day when I do higher reps (12) with a lighter weight. My deadlift as well is coming on better. I had a break from it for a while as my lower back was bugging me (trampolining…). When I went back to it I needed to lower the weight again and work on my form but it’s all nice progress

Rant: Easter eggs. They’re everywhere. How am I going to resist?!

It’s just a nightmare. I love Easter Eggs – especially the ones with bits in the actual egg (Thornton’s do a great peppermint speckled egg and ones with fudge pieces in) .I can give or take the plain chocolate ones but anything that’s remotely a bit more exciting I struggle to resist. I do want one this year but I know that it’ll only goad me from it’s see-through prison and then when I break into it it’ll be game over. I just have no self-control.

Do you buy Easter eggs? What do you go for?

Do you eat a lot of artificial sweeteners?

What kind of ‘proper’ shoes do you usually go for?

March 16, 2016October 28, 2016

The Nitty Gritties – Gear

I thought I’d do another marathon training post, this time focused on gear you might need whether in training or for the actual race.

To catch up on previous posts in this series you can find them here:

Also if you want to request a topic, let me know!

Loads of non-runners I speak to (yes, I do socialise with them occasionally ) just think that all you need for running are trainers. And any old trainers at that. Runners, however, are wryly well aware that you need a lot more than that. And “just” trainers can cost quite a chunk of money anyway. But what do you really need for running a marathon? Is it any different to just normal running or running something like a 10k?

Hydration

Well, it really depends firstly on which marathon you’re doing. If it’s a big marathon, like London, Manchester or Berlin for example (to name but a few), then water and carbohydrate water (like PowerAde or Lucozade) are going to be readily available. In the Paris marathon there was water and PowerAde every 5km. At London I think it’s every mile. You really don’t need to carry water with you – unless you want to.

Bare in mind it can be stressful and difficult to get to the water stations in busy marathons. If you’re concerned that you will need water regularly and don’t want to keep making a dive into the water area (it can be a crazy area where people randomly slow down, stop or change direction without warning) then carrying your own might be a good idea. Personally I don’t tend to drink a lot during races unless it’s very warm so for Boston I won’t carry anything as I know I can grab some if I need it and risk the mayhem.

For my trail marathon last year at Cheddar Gorge it was a really small race (less than 100 people) and there were only three aid stations if I remember rightly. It took place in mid-August so I knew I’d need to carry water with me. I used my iFitness Hydration Belt and at the aid stations and made sure I topped up the bottles as well.

Fuel

Similar to hydration, some marathons will offer gels or food at the aid stations. Check where the fuel will be, what it will be and how many of them will be available during the race. If you want to use gels and your marathon is offering them, test out those gels in training. Never try them for the first time during the race – they might not agree with your stomach. The Cheddar Gorge marathon offered sweets, biscuits and fruit – but I’d never trained with that sort of thing so I took my own fuel with me.

My stomach’s generally quite good with gels so I don’t really have an issue with different ones, though I know I prefer it if they have caffeine in them. For me, I tend to have a breakfast of porridge, a black coffee and then three gels (at least one of those being a caffeine one) during the race. But you don’t have to use gels. You could try things like chopped up cereal bars, dried fruit, salted cooked potato chunks (an ultra marathon favourite apparently), jam, and even baby food (like fruit purees). Basically what you ideally want is an easy source of carbs so your body can use it quickly. Just make sure you trial it during one of your long runs.

But you don’t have to use any sort of fuel during the marathon if you don’t want to. If you know you can last an entire marathon without fuel then there’s nothing to say that you have to have anything! Some people can last on a good meal the night before and a good carb-based breakfast on the day of the race. Though if you’re new to marathon training I’d probably advise against this.

Running belts/bags

If you do decide to take fuel or hydration with you you need to find a way to carry it with you. I actually don’t mind holding gels in my hand and I’ve also been quite lucky to have had my dad at three of my marathons handing me gels (he told me where he’d be at what mile). Obviously at a very busy marathon like London this would be nearly impossible.

I love this photo as it literally shows my dad handing me a gel at the Bournemouth marathon

Some people use belts that you can attach gels to or running belts like the Flipbelt. Again, you just need to get used to wearing something like that for a long period of time. Some belts bounce or ride up, or even chafe. Be careful with your selection. I recommend the Flipbelt – minimal riding up issues and no bouncing. It can also hold a phone, gels and keys.

For liquids, you could consider whether you want a full-on rucksack like a Camelbak or a belt like I’ve shown above. Or whether you fancy carrying a bottle for the race (I don’t recommend this, it could give you an imbalance while you run – and 26.2 miles is a long way to hold a bottle for!)

MP3 Players

Does your marathon allow MP3 players? Some smaller marathons could disqualify you for wearing headphones because it’s a safety hazard if the roads haven’t been closed. The worst thing that could happen is you get a DQ at your marathon for something as silly as wearing headphones, so do check! If your marathon doesn’t allow headphones then make sure you’ve done a lot of training without music or podcasts. If you depend on that sort of stimulus it could be a shock to suddenly have to entertain yourself for several hours.

My current preferred method for a marathon is have nothing for the first 10 miles as the atmosphere is all go-go-go and the crowds cheer you along, then for the next 10 miles I’ll put on a podcast as I find these the hardest miles. The atmosphere has died down a bit and mentally it’s the toughest part for me as I’ve still got so far to go but have run a fair way already. Listening to a podcast helps take my mind off of things.

Then for the final 10k I’ll switch to some high tempo music and go for it. I don’t have it on really loud as I like to have the atmosphere of the crowds and other runners but just loud enough so I can feed off of it. I also make sure that the “Final 10k marathon playlist” is a playlist I never touch any other time. I won’t listen to any of those songs at any other point so to maximise their effectiveness and magic.

Tissues, tablets, plasters

Small but some may say potentially essential items. Tissues are a very handy item for the obvious nasal-related reasons. But also if there are portable loos on the course they may not always be adequately stocked with loo roll…

Ibuprofen tablets might be handy to have just in case. Worst-case scenario, a niggle crops up. My advice is to evaluate whether it’s going to become something so much worse or something you could potentially run through. I’m not advocating running using painkillers, but we all know that if we’ve trained for a marathon for 12 or more weeks we’re bloody well going to try and finish it. Come what may.

Plasters in case a blister occurs and you really need to sort it out. The likelihood of actually stopping, taking off your sock and trainer to sort it out is probably slim but a plaster weighs next to nothing and for me it’s more to settle my mind than actual use.

And like everything, the most important thing is to try nothing new on race day. Test things out, have a dress rehearsal at a half marathon race or a long training run. And set things out the night before so in the morning you’re not stressed running around the place trying to find what you need.

What gear do you usually take with you during a marathon?

Do you use gels? Which ones and how many?

Do you listen to anything during a marathon or race?