Tag Archives: running

Running update

Posted on 10 April, 2012 | Leave a comment

My place in the Run to the Beat half marathon is booked and the training for the Bupa 10k in London on 27 May is rolling.

I’d have never have thought that I’d have been able to up my pace as quickly as I have and then maintain dedication to a training plan for as long as I have. I’ve surprised myself by actually enjoying the majority of the runs and remaining relatively injury free.

I’ve let my strength training and yoga slip for the last few weeks and am paying the price with a pretty tense left hip flexor but I’ll use that as a reminder to keep paying attention and not letting that part of my prep slip. I’ll be sure to incorporate even more stretching in to my daily routine.

If nothing else, I’m already turning out my fastest 10k times and a whole clutch of PBs. I pulled off my first 100% pace perfect interval session on Sunday and that was off the back of a night on the tiles with a vodka in my hand. Although that’s not clever (well – maybe slightly…), it does bode well for the real thing. I’m a little bit proud.

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Music nostalgia

Posted on 7 March, 2012 | Leave a comment

I’m pining away for Ibiza now whilst simultaneously wishing winter away and wanting to be in Miami for the music conference.

As I’m running so much, I’m also spending a seriously large amount of time listening to music and the sparkle on my collection is starting to fade. I’m not sure if the effect of SOPA is starting to be felt or if it’s just the time of year but the amount of preview music released to blogs has taken a nose dive. The days of legally pre-seeding tracks to generate some buzz seem to be well over.

So… I’ve created some new playlists. The big tunes of 2009 and 2010 to be precise. They contain the top 150 tracks of each year ordered by most plays. Top of 2009 was Major Lazer – Keep It Goin Louder and top of 2010 was Florence + the Machine – Swimming. If you have no choice but to stick to what you know, those aren’t a bad place to start.

Roll on Miami and Ibiza. I’m all excited to get some fresh tracks to provide the backing to my race training.

 

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The first rain run

Posted on 4 March, 2012 | Leave a comment

How I’ve been running all these kilometers without once having to go out in the rain, I don’t know, but today it happened.

Full on, puddle making, cold, in your face rain. Grim as. I suppose it makes up for the light and sunny sprint session on Thursday morning.

I got chilly, my face got sore and my legs got wet. On the plus side, I got to test out the waterproof-ness of my Casall running vest and it passed with flying colours.

I need to get used to the idea that when I actually race, it might be in the rain. In fact, in May and October, it’s more than likely it will be raining. So all good preparation really.

A few things I learnt:

  • You don’t need a fancy waterproof bag or waistpack for your phone or ipod. A freezer bag with a well placed hole for headphones works just as well.
  • Get some kind of hat or visor. Rain in your eyes is actually pretty distracting.
  • You’ll be colder than you think. Wear a thin, sweat wicking, long sleeved top rather than a t-shirt.
  • If you avoid proper puddles, your feet won’t get wet.
  • Get in the shower asap and bundle on the sweats. You need to get back to warmth asap.

My GPS tracking seemed to fail at about 35 mins in so it was more difficult to keep pace but, all in all, a 7.4km tempo run in the rain isn’t too bad. Happy Sunday!

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