Running and life around me

The three stages of injury

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 22 Sep 2013 18:53:00 +0000

What do you do eight weeks into your half-marathon training programme and you pull your hamstring? Well if you are me you spend the first week limping, taking anti-inflammatories and convincing yourself it is not that serious. The second week is spent feeling depressed and convincing yourself that you do not really like running anyway so what has been lost. By week three you pull yourself together, start on a routine of stretching, massage and miracle heat cream.You have realised that while the 13.1 miles is officially off the programme, the 5K race that is also part of the event might well be within your grasp if you approach your recovery both sensibly and with a positive attitude.

So tell me Lara, running - why do you do it?

This past week has been week 3 - getting myself into shape to run the 5K at the Atlanta All State half marathon. I did not want to miss out being there when my training group ran but at the same time, I felt silly just turning up and not running.

Today I went for a run, the first one in three weeks and I felt good. My leg held out, I ran steadily and I clocked a respectable 2 miles. The downside is my fitness level has plummeted and I was pretty breathless at the end of it.

The 'ambrosia' of medicinal creams - what I credit for my recovery

Ultimately this injury was at the 'better' end of the injury spectrum but it was severe enough to put me out of action and painful enough for me to run the gauntlet of emotions on what I feel about running.

The first week of my injury I was confident that it was not serious, a blip that yes hurt, but would not put me out of action for too long and I would be back at it in not time. Clocking up the miles, back on my schedule and looking to see how I can get faster and make a decent time. Unfortunately it did not take me too long to realise that actually yes my injury was pretty serious.

By week two I had sunk into a kind of depression and a sense of "what is the point of all this anyway?" I spent week two seriously contemplating never running again. Here was my get out I thought. While I love running I do not love all my runs. It is a seldom session that ends with me feeling euphoric at the accomplishment, that the run was seamless and at a consistent pace. No, most of my runs are of the variety best left....

I recently heard a very apt description of running. This person said for him it was like smoking, the majority of cigarettes he used to smoke were not very nice, not enjoyable, he did it out of habit. But every twentieth cigarette was bliss. Everything about it was right - for him, running was the same thing.

Week three saw a glimmer of hope. My leg was beginning to feel better, I was stretching and walking and using the miracle cream and it was feeling stronger. I realised that the October race included a 5K. I realised that I could probably, if I was careful, manage 5K. My mood immediately lifted and today I was running smoothly and running two miles.

So while my half-marathon journey is over for this time, I think the injury taught me how to work through unexpected events. As Mr Lapin said - "you could have done all the right training and come down with flu the week before."

Training statistics to date

DATE	DISTANCE		TIME	PACE/HOUR
Saturday 13 July	4 miles		44:49	11:32
Tuesday 16 July	3 miles		35:21	11:45
Wednesday 17 July	3 miles		35:10	11:33
Saturday 20 July	6 miles		1:10:48	11.23
Tuesday 23 July	3 miles		33:11	11:07
Wednesday 24 July	4 miles		47:21	11:46
Thursday 25 July - HIIT	2.3 miles		28:36	12:00
Saturday 27 July – Speed work	6.36 miles		1:12:21	11:19
Tuesday 30 July - Hills	2.25 miles		25:19	11:19
Wednesday 31 July	4 miles		48:03	12.:02
Thursday 1 August	NONE
Saturday 3 August	NONE
Monday 5 August	3 miles	33:43			10:55
Wednesday 7 August	3 miles	35:25			11:48
Saturday 10 August	5.27 miles	1:05:12			12.22
Tuesday 13 August	3 miles	32:40			10:46
Saturday 17 August (hills)	4 miles	1:04:50			13:27
Sunday 18 August	4 miles	42:45			10:41
Saturday 24 August	10 miles	1:56:53			11:34
Monday 26 August	3 miles	33:19			10:57
Friday 30 August	1.42 miles	16:02			11:16
Saturday 21 September	2:10 miles	22:47			10:51

Lara

The runners around me

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 18 Aug 2013 03:48:00 +0000

As we know female runners are different to male runners - there is always a new article in a running magazine or website that tells us this. Our bodies are different and therefore our training and injuries tend to be different. I have been living in the United States for one year now. That is one year of running amongst the American female runner and I can report that in the USA the female runner comes in many forms and varieties. Below are just a few that I have spotted out and about these past 12 months.

1. Super Mum Runner

There she is, wonder woman in the perfectly laundered running kit pushing not one, not even two but three children in a buggy up a hill and holding a conversation with them all the while. I am never sure whether I should be jealous or impressed when I see here and so I veer between the two whenever I see this specimen of runner. Now I know that her life is just like mine, full of things she has forgotten to do and complete exhaustion come Friday night. But when I see her out running, I think of her as the woman who doesn't have "can't" in her vocabulary.

3. Will Run for Beer

This runner is anywhere between 29-42 (and there is a male form too). They are the runners who have woken up to the fact that they are no longer in college. They can no longer drink the beer they used to and still fit into their jeans. So they make a pact with themselves and a group of friends - if I run then I can drink beer. And like most running types - appearances are deceptive. While they will profess to "run for beer" these runners are competitive. Soon they realise that running is fun and the longer and faster you run the more beer you can drink afterwards. The "Will Run for Beer" crowd are to be seen loud and proud at most races from a 5K to a half-marathon. 13.1 miles - just think how much beer you can drink after running that distance!

3. The Glamorous Older Lady Runner

I have been struggling to find the best way to name this runner. The best I can come up with is "Glamorous Older Lady Runner." This is the runner who is immaculately turned out. Coordinated outfit, perfect hair and jewellery. However do not let the outward appearance fool you (a bit like the "Will Run for Beer" crowd). The "Glamorous Older Lady Runner" is fast. Really fast. You see her sprinting around the track with nary a a hair out of place. I just think this runner is of the mind that just because I am going for a run does not mean I shouldn't put the effort in. She is really the sort of runner who could look just at home sipping a mimosa at the local brunch place as running a 10K race.

4. The 'Runner'

Finally there is the specimen that I call the "Runner." The "Runner" is the runner that we all dream to be, that we all believe that if we keep up the training we will look like her (genetics be damned I say). The "Runner" is that long limbed lithe creature who positively glides along the surface. It is almost as though their feet are not touching the ground. You know the type, they are on the cover of Runner's World every month. Even after a tough 8 mile hill run they look mildly out of breath. The "Runner" is the stereotype. The advertising they use to get you started. Most of us will never be that person on the outside, but as the cliché says - we are already that person on the inside.

The Last Couple of Weeks Running
The last couple of weeks in running has been up and down. I was down with a cold that put me out for one of the long group runs. Which was annoying. I did start my morning routine which I think is the way to go and I am working hard to keep that up. I finally went and bought some compression sleeves for my legs. With bad circulation I have begun to notice that my legs are taking longer and longer to get going. I am running too many training runs with heavy dragging legs that make it not enjoyable. I bought some sleeves last week and they have been my miracle. I feel so much lighter and stronger in my legs which is great as it lets me concentrate on running rather than on how bad my legs fell.

DATE	DISTANCE		TIME	PACE/HOUR
Saturday 13 July	4 miles		44:49	11:32
Tuesday 16 July	3 miles		35:21	11:45
Wednesday 17 July	3 miles		35:10	11:33
Saturday 20 July	6 miles		1:10:48	11.23
Tuesday 23 July	3 miles		33:11	11:07
Wednesday 24 July	4 miles		47:21	11:46
Thursday 25 July - HIIT	2.3 miles		28:36	12:00
Saturday 27 July – Speed work	6.36 miles		1:12:21	11:19
Tuesday 30 July - Hills	2.25 miles		25:19	11:19
Wednesday 31 July	4 miles		48:03	12.:02
Thursday 1 August	NONE
Saturday 3 August	NONE
Monday 5 August	3 miles	33:43			10:55
Wednesday 7 August	3 miles	35:25			11:48
Saturday 10 August	5.27 miles	1:05:12			12.22
Tuesday 13 August	3 miles	32:40			10:46
Saturday 17 August (hills)	4 miles	1:04:50			13:27

Lara

Making friends with pace not a pace maker

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 28 Jul 2013 22:28:00 +0000

This week I am looking at pace. To me one the great mysteries of running. In the early days I naively thought that all you needed to do was to just go out and run. To a large extent that is true and always will be. But what I had not counted on was that after a while 'just running' was not going to be satisfying enough for me. I wanted to get faster and stronger and in paticular faster.

However with much of my running I spend a lot of time thinking about what I want to do but quite often very little time actually putting it into action. This week however is different. This week is my week for speed, well pace really.

I have built in two speed sessions , one on Thursday as part of my easy run and then one with the training group on Saturday. Speed training is all about understanding your pace and understanding how to build up strength to run at your race pace. To do that successfully you must learn how to run for short extended periods at your race pace then dial back and run at a slightly slower pace.

There are two ways to speed train - one is laps on a track at pace race and just under, and the other is hills - running them.

Adding 1-2 speed/hill training sessions to your programme should - the theory says - increase your stamina and build up your speed. And I have a challenge ahead of me.

When I signed up for the race earlier in the year I was fitter and running regularly. I subsequently dipped with my training and probably stopped running for around 6 weeks, enough to seriously impact my fitness and in effect make it so I am training from an almost beginners form. As if if that was not annoying enough, in my registration for the race I put a finish time of 2:10 optimistically believing that I could knock 10 minutes off my March finish time. Now that might have been realistic back in April. It is now July and I am not sure whether a 9.55min/mi pace is achievable considering my quickest last week was 11.23min/mi

Running sessions

Tuesday's 3 mile easy was a nice run, mid-morning as I am on leave and I decided to run in the park to get some steep hills into it. October's race is meant to be pretty hilly so I need to begin to get steeper inclines and descents into my weekly runs. I ran a good time, faster than Saturday's group run. Wednesday's 4 mile long was tougher. I did it but much slower than my previous runs - which I put it down to Tuesday's 3 miles and then about another 2 1/2 mile walk later that afternoon making me pretty tired the following day.

Thursday's 3 mile in which I incorporated my first speed session was hot, hot, hot. I decided to try out HIIT - high intensity interval training at the track in the park. I did two sprints as fast as I could go until I ran out of speed with walks to recover in between. I repeated this for a total of three rounds of the track. I averaged a 8.00min/mile with my sprints. Interestingly everyone else at the track that day was also doing their speed work

I had read about HIIT in Runner's World and thought I would give it a try, to see how fast I could sprint and then how bad my legs felt afterwards. I think I did OK - particularly as this was done at about 3pm when the sun was out and it was still around 30C. I will certainly do another HIIT session but probably not until the end of next month - the article I read said you shouldn't do too many of them

Saturday's group run, was the long run with speed intervals factored in. We ran a 1 1/2 mile to the park and then it was 2x2 mile loops around the lake at a slightly faster than normal pace - I was with the 11 min/mi group. Saturday's run was really difficult. I think I was just too tired having overdone it during the week. As Coach Graham said, Saturday is your tough day, it is the one that is going to hurt and should hurt. With that in mind I think I made good on my difficult Saturday.

That run then closed my week of pace - I am not sure that I have got a proper handle on it yet, but I think I am closer to understanding what my current pace is - the pace that I run comfortably. Now I have to work on running a tad faster than that pace for extended periods to condition myself to become faster. Saturday's type of speed work is now going to be part of my weekly run - probably one of my 3 mile easy runs. I will do the mile loop in the park following the design of the group run.

Running log to date

DATE	DISTANCE	TIME	PACE/HOUR
Saturday 13 July	4 miles	44:49	11:32
Tuesday 16 July	3 miles	35:21	11:45
Wednesday 17 July	3 miles	35:10	11:33
Saturday 20 July	6.2 miles	1:10:48	11.23
Tuesday 23 July	3 miles	33:11	11:07
Wednesday 24 July	4 miles	47:21	11:46
Thursday 25 July - HIIT	2.3 miles	28:36	12:00
Saturday 27 July – Speed work	6.3 miles	1:12:21	11:19

Overall happy with this week's times - Thursday's HIIT session doesn't count as I walked to recover so these times are not representative. Tuesday's 3 miles is a great improvement at 11:07 and Saturday's speed work in my long run was also a good time.

The week ahead is another 3/4/3 with 7 miles on Saturday. And along with pace, I am incorporating some hills into my weekdays runs - nothing drastic but looking for routes in the neighbourhood that include them.

To round of a successful week of training is news that I have lost 1 kg (2lbs). I want to loose 5kg by race day. This will be a balance as I get closer to the date and my miles increase. I will have to make sure I eat sufficient to keep my energy good and my muscles recovered but not too much to put the weight on. Not being a seriously long distance runner I have to resist the lie that because I run I can eat what I want - which I can, but it won't help me loose weight if I do.

Lara

The seriousness of a (semi) long distance runner...

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 21 Jul 2013 01:30:00 +0000

I could just have the most understanding supervisor ever. After nearly dying from heat stroke on Tuesday evening (I can have a sense of the dramatic on occasion) from running my 3 miles along the Atlanta Beltline which has little to no shade I realised that I needed to switch my running to the mornings if I was going to keep to my schedule, enjoy it and not die.

While I clocked my three miles in 35 minutes (included a couple of walking stretches) I know I am not going to get stronger or faster if I continue to do the majority of my training in the evening summer heat. So my great boss TC has agreed to let me come into work a little later on Tuesday's, Wednesday's and Thursday's. This will allow me to run in the mornings and not be rushed into work overheated and hungry. Three cheers for TC please.

Wednesday's training run was also weather affected. Atlanta experienced 3 inches of rain fall in about 2 hours. Flash flood warnings and rivers flowing down the roads meant that Mr Lapin met me at our local bar where we stayed put for a couple of hours. I was eventually able to get my run in, another 3 miles, this time in the park. It was however a little dicey for two reasons: 1) I had not really digested the burger I had eaten earlier and 2) I was accompanied throughout my run by intermittent fork lightning over the skyline. Between the indigestion and the lightning I was not really sure what pace I should be trying to maintain - faster to avoid getting struck or slower to avoid throwing up.

Saturday's group run went well. Six miles with a steep hill at the beginning, a steady incline to mile three then we double backed and the return was downhill all the way. Weather was bright, sunny, humid but not too hot. I finished in 1 hour 10 minutes which I am happy with for my first long run. Slow pace of 11.23/min but I did not stop or walk at any part of it. I had set Saturday's goal of running the entire distance no matter how slow. From now on it is about working toward steady increases in speed and distance so by week four I am able to see more progress.

This week I have four runs, increasing my mid-week long run by 1 mile. Next Saturday is another 6 miler with speed work mixed in. Another two weights session with Mr Lapin will help with the strength and I will begin to focus on improving my diet.

Training stats to date

DATE	DISTANCE	TIME	PACE/HOUR
Saturday 13 July	4 miles	44:49	11:32
Tuesday 16 July	3 miles	35:21	11:45
Wednesday 17 July	3 miles	35:10	11:33
Saturday 20 July	6 miles	1:10:48	11.23

Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional.

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 17 Jul 2013 00:32:00 +0000

My sister sent me a book for my birthday this year "What I talk about when I talk about running" by Haruki Murakami. As the title suggests it is about running. Mr Murakami has run a marathon every year for the past 23 years and in 2008 he published a book about his meditations on his running journey.

I have not read any of his other works but I started this one last week and the phrase in the title of this blog was what jumped out at me when I read the preface. A simple yet effective mantra that I repeated to myself several times on Saturday during my first training run for the All State half in October. It was billed as an "easy 4 miles" and while it was not terrible, I don't know whether I would categorize it as "easy"...

The training programme I have signed up to started last Saturday. The schedule asks for four runs a week - 2 easy, 2 long. One cross training day and two days of rest. Mixed into the 13 week schedule is some speed work and hill work. My plan is to also get in at least two weight sessions at the gym per week and then I have to figure out what my cross training activity is going to be. Most likely cycling but I will also include some lunch time walking.

I am also revamping or to be more accurate reengaging with a healthier diet. I had let that slip quite a bit these past few months. So the kilos I had successfully lost, very successfully found me again *sigh*...

If I want to complete the race in 2 hours 10 minutes, it means I need to run a 9.55 min/mile. I ran the half in March at an average pace of 11.07 minute mile. I have a lot of work to do so it is a good thing I signed up for the help I am going to need to meet this goal.

Part of the excitement of training for this race is challenging myself to follow this plan and be intentional about improving. When I trained for the March race I did not know what I was running. I did not know what 13.1 miles felt like. I did not really understand pace. After the race I did and I decided if I were to run one again, I was going to train effectively for it. That meant a committed training programme, a committed diet and serious thought put into strengthening my body.

I think I have it all covered, the physical, the nutritional and the spiritual/intellectual - I am reading both the Murakami book and Hal Higdon's Marathon - The Ultimate Training Guide; which when I think about it perhaps a bit of a betrayal.... After all I am training with Phidippides and that is the store opened by Jeff Galloway.

Mind you in the end I am sure neither will be that concerned and as long as I hit my goal and I will be thankful for all the help I got.

Training Run #2 tonight is 3 miles (easy). Pain is inevitable, suffering in optional, heat stroke is avoidable.

Where's Lara?

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 06 Jul 2013 12:39:00 +0000

Like the eponymous character in the Where's Wally? cartoons - north American readers will know him better by the name Waldo - Lara Lapin has been somewhat hidden these last six months. Despite my signature red running face but unlike Wally's red stripy jumper hiding slyly in a crowd, I have been nowhere to be seen in any Atlanta running crowd. My running in 2013 has been sketchy to say the least.

Where's Wally? Where's Lara more like

But first, things first, back on 17th March I ran my first half-marathon. The race was great, I loved all 13.1 miles of it. I think this was because during the latter part of my training, I discovered two things: 1) I enjoy running longer distances and 2) I actually enjoy hills. I like the challenge they present throughout the run. I like the spurt of energy that I get when I see an ascent looming in front of me.

I did not run a fast race but I ran it well within my primary goal of 2 hours 45 minutes and I made it within my last minute personal goal of 2 hours 30 minutes. I ran it 2 hours 26 minutes of which I am incredibly proud.

Mr Lapin accompanied me, walked me to my starting group and saw me off with a lot of encouragement. He then spent the next 2 hours 26 minutes hanging out in Centennial Park, having breakfast and talking to other families who were there in support. And there he was as I turned the corner for the last blast to the finish line, from within the crowd this large English accent shouted my name and told me to run strong to the end. Which I did smiling all the way.

After hitting that goal I then kind of stopped. Running that is. Since March I have not been engaged with running and despite that making me feel very guilty, the guilt was not enough to get me back out training. While some of my non-running was down to bad - and I mean really bad - hay fever I can not use that as the excuse for just not feeling the love for running.

The reasons were many and varied and not really worth going into here and by now in July a moot point. On 4th July Mr Lapin and I woke up at 5am to get ourselves ready for our first ever Peachtree Road Race here in Atlanta.

I was in J, Mr Lapin was in D

Peachtree is an Atlanta institution. A 10K road race that has been held each year since 1970. The first race had only 110 runners, this year it is estimated that over 60,000 runners pounded the 6.2 miles from Buckhead to Piedmont park. The week leading up to the race was tense with the possibility of it being a wash out. Heavy rains had been predicted and arrived over the Atlanta area. With heavy rain, thunder and lightning. Flash floods were being warned. The Atlanta Track Club who organise the race, reassured the runners and the press that the race would go ahead (it has never been cancelled) despite the severe weather warnings. And although it rained throughout Thursday for about two hours during the morning the rain held off and the run went off without the predicted nightmare of flash floods and sheet lightning.

Complete strangers, but I liked their thinking

It was great fun, full of 4th July celebrations and flags everywhere. We had the party bus drinking and partying for all of us runners - so thoughtful of them! We had bearded bikers cheering from the pavements. Children screaming, dogs barking and sound stages dotted along the route. The course was lovely to run, straight and for Atlanta pretty flat - despite the alarmingly named cardiac hill that was a half mile elevation that ended by the entrance of Piedmont Hospital. Either I just love hills, or I am just so used to them, but that was one that passed me by with not problem.

At the start line

Despite no training to speak off and a dodgy leg, I ran it in 1 hour 9 minutes which while not as great as my 10K race last December was a lot better than I expected.

The good news that in amongst all this running existential angst I have signed up for another half marathon in October here in Atlanta. I have also signed up to the training programme with Phidippides Atlanta. This is just what I need to get myself focused, train properly, gain speed and relaunch my love of running.

I have a goal of 2 hour 10 minutes for this race and with the help of this training group and Ms S who will be joining me I am pretty sure I can hit it. So I am back running and start training next week. Thank God for that I say.

Harder than you think....

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 20:33:00 +0000

Is this month over yet? Happy new folks. I can tell you right now that my first two weeks of 2013 in terms of running have been utterly, utterly crap. I started off all hopeful, positive and full of the new year zeal. I went out for my first run on 3rd January - crap. Heavy legs, heavy lungs and an even heavier sense of failure. My only consolation at the end of that run was that with the first one of the year being that bad things could only get better... right?

Wrong. It seems I started 2013 with a second indication that I am a runner - I lost all motivation to run. Every run I went on during the first 10 days of the year was worse than the one before. It did not matter whether I was looking forward to the run or I had dragged myself out despite my better intention. Every run was heavy on my legs and lungs, mind and motivation. I thought perhaps I could leave the funk in London but no even when back in Atlanta those early January days were tough.

Mr Lapin noticed my predicament and took me to one side to help talk me through it. He had noticed how over the past few months I could have great weeks of running - easily completing 10K and then not being able to get past 4.5K. He talked about how loss of motivation is common not just to running but other sports. He talked about how running is only a small part of being a runner; that the biggest part is believing you can complete the distance you had started to run. He reminded me to keep going no matter how lousy I felt; that I had to push through the lethargy because then I would feel great at having overcome the downside instead of lousy that I had let myself give up so easily. Wise words from Mr Lapin as always.

I had also been thinking hard about why my motivation was down. Why was something that only a month or so back had been so wonderful and something that I believed I was good at now become a millstone? Why was I now hating running and hating the fact that I hated it? Was I having nerves about the half-marathon? Was the thought of trying to complete 13 miles suddenly seeming far too much? Was I making myself fail before I could possibly fail at the run? Was I ever going to stop asking myself questions?

I still do not really understand what happened but this month has certainly been a tough, rough running time. I think some of the problem has been monotony - I have been running the same route for the past 4 months and I think I was just getting tired of it. I think some of it is the age old battle with my self about exactly what I can and can not accomplish. What has certainly helped kick me back into the enjoyment phase has been running with others. With the half-marathon weekend long runs starting, I have had the enjoyment of running with others again. My half-marathon buddies Ms S and Ms L have come to my rescue by helping me get a new routine going. OK they are still running ahead of me so it is not like I am chatting away with them on the long runs, but knowing they are there and waiting for me has certainly helped get me back to pounding the streets.

Did one of my longest runs yet - 11K (7 miles) a couple of weeks ago and this coming Saturday I am scheduled for an 8 mile with them. In between I want to get at least a couple of mid-length runs in. I still need to condition myself (physically and mentally) to run for at least two hours; this more than anything is something that I have to work on over the coming weeks.

Now the good news in amongst all this doom and gloom is that while I might have lost my running zen for a moment there; it did not stop me, Mr Lapin and a few others from braving the wintry Atlanta morning today to run 5K in celebration of Martin Luther King. I did better than I expected - 31.39min

So while the first 15 days of this month have been pretty damn depressing I think I might just be over the hump and perhaps January is not such a long month after all...

All weather, fair weather, ill weather...

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 30 Dec 2012 11:26:00 +0000

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and general Festivus all round. Mr Lapin and I flew into London last weekend to spend our first Christmas in 10 years in England (oh bah humbug - why would you deliberately leave a tropical clime for cold damp England in December if you did not need to?)

Ill weather.....
I am all set to start my half-marathon training; running in the park, beginning to put some core exercises into my post stretch routine and building the focus I know I am going to need to push past my 11K maximum. Not to mention the anticipation of wearing my presents, because an interesting discovery is that once you have become a runner you need never struggle to answer the question "what do you want for Christmas?" The easy and truthful answer now can always be "oh running kit please."

However; after 8 hours on a plane I have come down with a fluey cold - all shivers and achy bones that meant my Christmas Eve run of 5K ended rather abruptly at around the 1.7K mark when I felt my ankles give way and my thighs begin to tremble. I tried to push through and run/walk the rest of it but that was not going to happen as the growing sense of nauseous and faintness kept me focused on just trying to get home in one piece. Consequently I have been laid up and dosed up on cold remedies and whiskey for the past 48 hours.

I have decided to work on the assumption that this will be my only hiccup in my training plan and that I will be up and (literally) running very soon. This is, I am hoping, my ill weather phase.

All weather or fair weather?
As I am now a real runner the next big test is to find out whether that is really true. Do I run in all weather or will I be a fair weather runner? The opportunity to test this theory arrived this morning when I felt well enough to attempt an easy 5K up to Marble Arch and back.* I got myself ready and then I looked out of the window. It was raining, grey and cold outside with a brisk wind whipping up the puddles and ensuring a steady horizontal rain fall. I stood looking out of the window debating whether I should go out or curl up on the sofa to watch some Christmas television - though with what is on offer that may well have been a worse experience. I decided I should go out, I wanted to run and what is the difference between running in the rain or running in the stifling heat? Just varying degrees of discomfort.

Early morning at the Serpentine

It turned out to be a great run, not fast but steady and after being laid up for a couple of days I was happy with it, a little under 5K in 30 minutes. The rain poured, the wind blew and I and a few other runners were out in the park putting in our necessary miles with smiles on our faces. Now I have conquered at least one run in vile weather I have set the precedence that is going to be difficult in the future to ignore. I think I am an all weather runner!

Training Schedule
Here is my long run schedule (kindly put together by my running buddy, hence the miles) that I will be embarking on every Saturday up to race day. We are also mixing in some speed work on the Piedmont Park track mid-week, and I will squeeze in a couple more short and medium runs during the week. Aiming to run at least 4 times a week up to 17th March and mix that with some cross training to build up muscle and stamina.

Long runs timetable
3rd January - 6 miles (9.6K) in London
12th January - 7 miles (11K)
19th January - 4 miles (6.4K)
26th January - 8 miles (12.8K)

2nd February - 9 miles (14.4K)
9th February - 6 miles (9.6K)
16th February - 8 miles (12.8K)
23rd February - 10 miles (16K)

2nd March - 8 miles (12.8K)
9th March - 6 miles (9.6K)

* This post was written on Boxing Day, but due to appalling internet connectivity it has taken a few extra days to be able to post. Short up-date: all over the flu, done a couple more moderate runs in the park and the weather has got even colder....

The Half-Marathon Has Begun

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 17 Dec 2012 22:51:00 +0000

It is a truth universally acknowledged that an aspiring runner in possession of a goal, must be in want of a few races to run. And so it is that having run two 10K races this year I have signed up to run the Georgia half-marathon next March.

As some of you will know I ran my first race in February; I trained hard and ran a very respectable time of 1:10. OK Mr Lapin (aka The Fitter One) verily sprinted away once the race began; but I remember having a lovely race, running around parts of Bangkok; across bridges and through old parts of the city. I vowed then and there that 10K was going to be 'my' race. It was a doable distance. One that didn't necessarily demand too much of my time or a single minded and focused training plan. It was a distance I could work towards running in under 60mins.

A couple of week's ago I ran my second 10K race and my first one in the US; the Atlanta Beltline 10K; it was a route along the newly opened Eastside part of the trail. Me, my US running buddy and about 1500 other people ran along the trail in the winter sun.

My second race bib - lucky number 1121

When I think about this race compared to the one in February so much was different - I was more confident that I would run the distance and probably in a good time; I didn't worry about what pain I would experience, or whether in my head I would just give up and stop. I ended up completing the race in 1:03; all the time keeping my with my running buddies (both veteran 10K, half and full marathon runners). And though the last 1 1/2 miles were a struggle - it was hotter than I realised and very little shade on the route - I place 42nd in my age group (in the top 40%).

How did I shave 7 minutes off my time without seeming to do anything in particular? Well, it turns out that I have become a runner; I know I have been running for over a year and running pretty regularly. But I have never at any point in the past eighteen months felt as though I could call myself a runner. I have always felt like an interloper into someone else's life. That I would be found out by the 'real' runners and kicked out of the club before I had even made a dent into it.

How did I achieve this transformation? The biggest change was being able to push through the mental barrier of running on consecutive days. Consequently without being conscious of it I have built up a steady running routine and positively look forward to getting out onto the streets and running my distances. Putting in the miles and increasing my speed.

However not everything has been all American and positive; I have still been holding onto my British self-doubt and fear of being seen to be 'good' at something - exactly how far could I run? A 10K? No problem I have that distance conquered; I am running that on a regular evening run. But a half-marathon - 21K? Could I do that?

Well, it turns out that after a few months of self-doubt and trying to justify why I should wait to run a half-marathon I suddenly realised that if I didn't sign up and make the decision to train to run it; I was never going to be 'ready' to run it. If I did not set myself the goal how was I going to achieve it? So here I am roughly 12 weeks away from hitting the pavement to run 21K and I am about to start my training; running, cross training and diet. If I want to get a time of about 2:30 I need to build up my distance and push through my second psychological barrier of running further than 11K (the longest distance I have run so far) as well as trim about 2kg off my weight and strengthen my core to help counter the back ache.

So stay tuned for Lara Lapin's half-marathon training plan as I aim to run 21K in 2:30 on 17th March 2013

Running the Beltline - there I am #1121

Hills, Thrills and the American Way

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 01:32:00 +0000

Well how y'all doin'? Welcome to Hotlanta! You're gonna' have to get a car.

Mr Lapin and I have been in the United States for two months now, Atlanta to be precise. The last couple of weeks in Bangkok were so incredibly stressful that I had just about enough time in the day to get the relocating stuff done let alone trying to contemplate running.

Needless to say I arrived in a very hilly city very unfit. I am not kidding the first few weeks here it seemed that whatever direction I was walking in I was always walking up hill. Big hills. I am beginning to think this is why everyone drives. Oh, my legs ached and my heart thumped. I huffed and puffed and thought how the hell am I going to be able to run these hilly streets?

The solution was to get all American and take my 'sneakers' to work so that I could join my ladies walking at lunch time. Now don't be fooled, when I say walking I am not talking about a gentle lunch time stroll to 'stretch the legs'. I am talking FAST walking.

Our group is led by the 'take no prisoners' Ms T; a women so committed to getting her miles in during a 55 minute break that woe betide the person who talks too much or slips back too far - you get dropped. So forewarned I began to walk with the group 3-4 lunchtimes a week. The initial two weeks were actually as though I was running for the first time again - they went so fast and uphill that I was the huffing, puffing newcomer desperately trotting to keep up. But the walking did the trick and very quickly my fitness levels rose, my legs ceased to ache and my hips no longer felt arthritic and stiff.

After a couple of weeks walking I felt I was ready to start running again. Let me tell you now no matter what advantage I may have gained running in extreme heat and humidity it was nothing when running at a higher altitude and hills. Oh boy, were those first few runs an embarrassment. Mr Lapin had been scouting the new neighbourhood and discovered some wonderful streets for us to run - the trouble was they were hilly. Seriously hilly. Hilly to the point that at times I believed I was in danger of running backward that was how tough I was finding it.

I hated running during those first ones. I thought I was never going to be fit again. I envisaged myself having to start from the beginning and spend the next 8 months getting myself to a point where I could comfortably run 5k. I wasn't even trying to be ambitious and think 'getting myself to run 10k'.

Those initial runs, though painful, eventually bore fruit in that my fitness continued to increase (coupled with those daily walk/sprints I was doing) and I started to find the hills challenging in a good way rather than sickening one.

Beautiful Piedmont Park

In addition, when you have a park as beautiful as Piedmont to discover, the thrills come into play. I have mentioned in earlier posts that Bangkok parks (what few there are of them) come with multiple rules about what you can and can not do in them. Essentially you are allowed to run/walk along the paths but using the space for recreational activities or as a piece of calm civic space is not so encouraged.

In the US it is different - I don't think you are allowed to smoke in them but I think you can drink a beer in them. You can certainly run, skip, jump and roll down the hills in them. You can bring in your dog and relax with your family and friends while grilling a Hotdog.

My runs are now concentrated exploring the park which is a wonderful combination of open space, shaded paths, hills, a lake and best of all an asphalt track. at .52 miles I have begun again to build up my distances. I'm still pretty slow and the hills are testing my ankles, but I like that I am being challenged by this terrain rather than running a predicable flat course. The park enables me to choose different routes that give me different gradients. The aim is to keep myself going and not stop, not allow the voice in my head to say 'Oh Lara just stop will you, this hurts'.

Yes, I can honestly say the move to Atlanta has been a positive one. It is hard to be cynical in a place where people smile at you and say hello as you walk or run past them. Where people will join a conversation just because it is happening. Atlanta is a strange place; full of contradictions that in other posts I will explore. For now though I am loving it here, the running, the air, the people.

Tumble of pumpkins

Something else I like about Atlanta. The city that is famous for its car culture still has corners where it is possible that someone like me could fit in and find a home, it is a city that has places that refuse to conform to the 'norm'

Spotted at the Midtown Music Festival a couple of weeks ago

Bangkok: It's been nice but now it is time to go.

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 11 Jul 2012 12:27:00 +0000

Things I will miss when I go:

Life on the streets: Bangkok is one of the most vibrant cities there is. Everything happens on the pavements here. Food stalls and market stalls. Motorbike taxis idle while waiting for fares. Dogs, cats and people jostle for space.
The eternal sunshine: Pretty much every day for 12 months of the year the sun shines. Even when it doesn't it is only cloudy for a while. It is perpetually sunny in this country and that is nice.
The colours: Thailand is full of colour. Perhaps it is the Buddhism, perhaps it is the perpetual sunshine, but people wear colours with abandon.
Double think: The concept that allows people to hold two opposing ideas and treat them as equal. This means that you can be the President o
f a major Thai corporation and still visit the fortune teller to ensure that you do important things on auspicious days.
Never ending supply of taxis: Some people say it is over supply, but I say it is is great that I can walk to the top of my soi and there will be a taxi driving by.
The cheapness of said taxis: OK so not exactly helping with carbon emissions, but cheap taxis make it almost impossible for me to think about travelling in another way. And I am well aware of how sentence that sounds.
Food, restaurants, home delivery: I can not think of another country that is as obsessed with food as Thailand, and I say that as a positive. The cliché that says Thais are either eating, talking what they have eaten or deciding what they are about to eat is true. Food is central to people's lives in ways that you can't comprehend in the west. Food stalls, cafes and restaurants abound. From high end to 'cheap as chips' food available for almost everyone's budget. Best of all most places deliver!
A safe city: For the most part Bangkok is a safe city. There are very few places in the world that are as safe to be a women in as Bangkok. I do not think I will ever be quite as confident about jumping into a taxi at 3am knowing that the driver will get me home.
The rain: Watching the storms come in from the west from the balcony at home. Seeing parts of the city disappear behind a wall of rain is still exhilarating.
Warm rain: A tropical country means tropical warm rain. I don't mind getting wet here as I never get cold.

Bangkok Skyline

Things I will not miss when I go:

Scuzzy men: Leaving behind the sexpat, lost, western man is going to be welcome. If I have to see any more such men walking down the street looking smug while their small, young Thai wife/girlfriend, 8 1/2 months pregnant waddles beside him I will scream. Well done you managed to get a woman pregnant - you do know that her 'brother' is in fact her husband don't you?
Thai price/Western price: Double pricing is just not fair and it pisses me off. I tried hard not be irritated when I went to national parks and had to pay up to 4 times the 'local' price while the Thai woman with the real Louis Vitton bag who was staying in the resort that cost $200 per night slipped in for 30 baht ($1). I don't think I would have minded so much if the money charged actually went to preserving the park but it didn't...
Crap pavements: Why is it so difficult to keep a pavement walkable? Loose paving slabs, uneven surfaces, sink holes and food stalls all conspire to make sure that walking in this city is an unpleasant as can be.
Traffic: I once waited for 45minutes in a taxi for the light to turn green so we could turn right. I couldn't get out and walk as I had 4 boxes of wine in the boot.... Bangkok traffic jams are legendary. It is while stuck in these jams for no apparent reason that Jai yen is a state of mind I strive to achieve.
Blatant queue jumping: Just because I am a foreigner does not mean it is OK to push in front of me and get served first. This used to happen a lot when I first arrived, less so now. Perhaps I look like a long time foreign resident or maybe people have got better.
Filling out departure cards: The incessant need to record everyone's movements. Yes you need to check-in to a country, but do you need to be checked out? Surely by now are my details are in the system. Why do I have to write all my passport details onto a form if what you do is scan my passport anyway?
Exclusive shopping malls: Apart from the respite they provide to people who do not have air conditioning during the hot season. I still have not worked out why every new large scale construction seems to be the famed "shopping mall, office space, exclusive condo" offering. Are there not enough already?
Humidity: Not the heat so much as the humidity. It means I am forever sweating and I am fed up of never having a break from constantly feeling overheated (and damp).
Having to run at set times: This has been a huge issue for my budding running habit. I could of course run any time I want, as long as it is on a treadmill but I hate that. If I want to run outside it needs to happen post 6pm or pre 7am. Which is not always convenient. I have lost count of the number of times on a weekend that at 3pm I thought at 'wouldn't it be lovely to go for a run'. Well yes if I wanted that run to happen in 34C heat and beating sun.
Walking idly: Somewhat controversial but I am not going to miss the groups of Thais just wandering down the street and stopping for no other reason than to carry on the conversation. Flipping around to walk back or insisting on walking three abreast on a crowded narrow street. People you need to learn to walk with purpose!

Glass, metal and commerce

That then is Bangkok. The past 8 years in 20 points. But as with anything, there is of course so much more to it. More than can adequately be expressed here. I was 32 years old when we arrived and I will be 41 when we go.

In those 8 1/2 years Mr Lapin and I have lived a life. We got married. We lost friends and family members. We supported others through serious illness and injury. People we cared for got divorced and gave birth. We witnessed a (thankfully peaceful) military coup. A city flooded and a country in the midst of social and political upheaval. There will be much more that I will miss about this city and country, but the time has come to say goodbye. New adventures await Mr Lapin and me in the USA. Just think of the fun we are going to have there!

Blogging: It's a bit like bank statements

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 07 Jul 2012 07:13:00 +0000

While speaking to my mother the other night she gently chided that I had not posted anything on this site since 27 May and she was left to tracking me through my twitter feed and the photographs of what I ate. I proffered such excuses as "been really busy", "never quite got back into the rhythm after injuring my foot" and my killer "well I am trying to relocate myself and Mr Lapin to the other side of the world in four weeks time". All of which are true but it got me thinking about why something I started (running and writing) as a way of relaxing and opening up my horizons has become quite quickly the first thing I drop when life piles up.

In some ways I relate blogging to bank statements. The bank statements pile up unopened and the guilt increases with each new statement*. You know you should have opened the first one but you put it off and now the thought of opening any of them is a tad scary. Blogging provides a similar feeling; you don't write anything one week - well you didn't run, nothing much happened - and then before you know it, it is six weeks later and your mother is asking what is going on and you don't actually have an answer.

So what has been going on? The main reason I have not been posting (or running) recently is that I have been overwhelmed with moving logistics. Mr Lapin and I are relocating to the USA in early August. I have a new position and so after 8 years and 10 months living in Thailand we are moving to Atlanta, GA. All of which is actually pretty daunting. Mr Lapin is very excited, being half American he is experiencing a nice symmetry; his father moved to the UK over fifty years ago and now one of his sons is moving back. Me? Well I'm not sure what I am feeling. I am pleased to have a new position. I am thrilled to be moving to the HQ. I am glad to be leaving Thailand however, I am ambivalent about moving to the states; but then that is not entirely correct. Perhaps it is better to say I am too busy moving to think about where it is I am moving to.

And that is where the running should have kicked in. The activity that should have given me space to think about what it I am doing, what it is I need to do and to think about something other than moving. But I have not managed to achieve that. So I don't run because I have too much going on. Because I have too much going on I get stressed so I don't go running. I think it is time to start opening those bank statements.

* To clarify I am actually a very financially responsible individual who balances her her budget each month.

The low-fat foodie

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 27 May 2012 14:27:00 +0000

I like my food. As Mr Lapin will attest I enjoy great food with a glass of good wine - the latter unfortunately difficult to get here in Thailand. And while I like to think I eat well my recent medical showed to the contrary and that I need to become more focused about what I eat, erring perhaps on the side of the low-fat end of the dietary scale.

At the same time as my Doctor suggesting I go low-fat, he did remind me that I am still out gunning the bad cholesterol with high good cholesterol numbers - this I put down to regular running, olive oil and garlic. For the last two, I thank my mum who brought us up on what is now termed a Mediterranean diet, but to her was just how you cooked and ate food. Lots of vegetables, garlic and herbs, fish and olive oil. So eating well for me is not about a radical change of life long habits but is about becoming more intentional on what I cook and how much I am eating.

So under doctors orders I have found a renewed energy to make the effort to cook the majority of our suppers. I enjoy cooking but I have fallen into the rut of believing that I am too 'tired' to cook when I get home. This past week has reminded me that spending time preparing food is an incredibly relaxing activity. It helps me wind down after a day at work, it makes me use my brain in a more creative way than I have been for the previous 8 hours. It has also reintroduced me to the cornucopia of tastes and textures that you find when you eat great food.

For this post I am presenting to you some of the better dishes I prepared this week. They are full of good flavours, with not an additive in sight and nothing was deep fried in the making of them.

Sautéed Spinach with pimento

Baked white fish with mustard seed, ginger, lime and tarragon

Fish with capers, garlic and ginger again baked in the oven

Roasted red, yellow and green peppers with basil, lemon and olive oil

Not quite the low-fat foodie, but certainly on the way to better nutrition and I hope that it translates into losing some of those stubborn kilos which in turn will help with my running, increasing my speed and reducing my times. You see, everything is connected!

Being lapped by a Lady Boy...

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 25 May 2012 11:24:00 +0000

My first week back to picking up running seriously again went pretty well; as did the dive into exploring a more low-fat diet. Now I am not going to sit here and boast that all was a cracking success. A month off running and in fact any training of any kind whatsoever clearly revealed itself to me within the first ½ km of my Monday evening run. It was hot - I know, I know a reoccurring theme that I am sure you are getting fed up with. But in the absence of any comment available to me about the terrain or even changing weather patterns you just have to give me the one constant to my running at the moment – it is hot here, hot and humid and about 35C.

So I was running, in the heat, hoping that my foot was properly healed, wondering if it was possible to sweat any more than I currently was, and dreaming whether I would ever attain a graceful flow to my stride when I was overtaken by a sight that you would probably only ever see in Thailand. I was overtaken by a Kathoey. A Kathoey wearing itsy bitsy denim cut offs, waving very flappy hands and in deep animated conversation with her running buddies.

The most beautiful ladies of them all

For those unfamiliar with the term Kathoey, you are perhaps more familiar with the term Lady Boy. Kathoey are I think very particular to Thailand and perhaps also Cambodia, and are probably best considered as a third sex or third gender - they are most certainly not drag Queens. Kathoey are strange and mysterious to the outsider but seem to be accepted and part of life in Thailand. They cause heads to turn (foreign ones), and laughter to be hidden and are one of those iconic images people have when they think Thailand - along with fake Rolexes, just ask Lady GaGa.

Though not a naturally competitive person, being lapped by her brought home to me how unfit I am at the moment and that it will be a long hard journey back to happily running 11K around the park in just over an hour. That first run/walk on Monday of 5.5K took me 52mins 34 sec. So I extend my heartfelt thanks to that Lady Boy with the great legs (and flappy hands). She has given me the push to get back and get faster. Perhaps one day soon I won't be being lapped by the Lady Boys but I will be running with the Lady Boys.

If you are interested in reading about Thailand that is beyond the sleaze visit my friend Greg's blog - http://gregtodiffer.com

Heath Warnings Now Apply

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 19 May 2012 14:23:00 +0000

As most of you know I turned 40 last year, I began to run, found I really liked it, ran my first (and so far only) 10k and have been on the fitness motorway ever since. Since turning 40 I have also started to consider my health a lot more seriously, as in, which parts of me are likely to fall to bits over the next few years, and which bits of me should I start to get checked out on a regular basis?

The past year of self-monitoring has not yielded any useful information other than me wondering whether the slight ache in my wrist meant something other than a side effect of having slept on it awkwardly. The past year has however seen me become more intentional with nutrition, supporting my diet with vitamins and other supplements as well as trying to understand the best approach to sustaining a healthy lifestyle despite constant travel with the associated hotels and restaurant food that goes with business trips.

As I am most definitely in the age bracket where health warnings now apply what were once vague warnings about things that could potentially happen to people a lot older than me, now take on a more immediate sense of relevance.

Of course my Doctor did not look like George -
but this post was a great excuse to have a picture of him

All this contemplation finally led me to pluck up the courage to go and have my first ever comprehensive health check this weekend, and by comprehensive I mean I was checked from head-to-toe, inside and out. I am happy to report that overall I am fine with no overtly serious outcomes. I do however have high cholesterol and a fatty liver - both of which my Doctor assured me while being a concern do not necessitate anything more serious than a move to a low fat diet to reduce my weight which will keep my liver and cholesterol healthy.

The good news is the running has helped to keep all my other bits in check and should, along with diet, help with the cholesterol. I should most definitely keep going. With my foot now healed, the instructions to go low-fat to heal my liver, as well as to lose those stubborn kilos to keep it that way, have given me the long sought after goal to inspire me back to running. And as it was my health that started me on this journey so it should probably be my health that keeps me on it.

Keep the stride and stay tuned for the return of Lara Lapin's running stories. I am happy to report that the Bangkok hot season seems to be abating and the 40C heat is gone and if we are lucky the rains should soon be upon us. Now whether that means I will be running or swimming is still to be seen.

Runners strife

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 18:18:00 +0000

As you know I am currently in London enjoying the cold spring weather and the tree blossom that is starting to burst. The cool weather has prompted me to dive back into regular runs and on Tuesday I ran my fastest 5k ever - 27 minutes. It was 27 minutes of pure joy running through Kensington Gardens; the morning sun low in the sky that made running past an iron fence like dancing in a disco with a strobe light.

The park was full of other early morning runners, walkers and their dogs and cyclists making their way to work. A London park is so utterly different to a Thai one that I had to remember to keep running and not stop with the shock of seeing a park being used rather than revered. Sometimes Thai parks want to make you feel grateful for being allowed in them - not always, but sometimes.

Maybe it was the spring feel to the air, maybe it was the lower temperature or perhaps I am just getting faster, but I was surprised when I hit my 5k to find out it was my fastest - particularly as I was not feeling completely out of breath or as though I had pushed myself further than I had ever done before.

I was beginning to think to myself how wonderful it was going to be, two weeks of great running conditions. I wasn't going to have to make sure I got my runs in after 6pm when it was cooler, as I do when in Bangkok. I was not going to have to make do with a treadmill should I not make it to the park. I was going to be able to pretty much run where and when I wanted - a revelation to me.

Early morning running legs

The only problem with this grand plan is that I have injured my foot. My left foot to be precise. A sprain that has been moving from the side to the sole of my foot. So, just as I have got back into a routine, just as I have figured out that it was a goal I needed to get me running regularly again, just as I was plotting how to increase my distances and push myself to run for longer - all those plans are now on hold. OK temporarily on hold, but on hold none the less.

Mr Lapin reassured me that these things happen, always when you are in a good running place something - whether injury of work schedule - will occur to knock you off course. But for me it seems never ending. I made it to my February 10k race after which I got knocked off routine by a work conference in the US and a fall in my apartment that bruised by back. Not to mention some soul searching as to why these events were making it harder for me to get back to running. It is frustrating; and while I know it is not for long I can comfort myself only so much by reading my running twitter feeds, other runners blogs and encouraging my Daily Mile running buddies.

I just have to remember that desire leads to suffering and due to suffering I realise that I must now be a runner.

Some of my favourite places

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 05:34:00 +0000

Not running today but I have just got back to London for a short trip home for Easter. So as I am feeling a little whimsical I thought I would share some of my favourite places that have nothing to do with running.

I don't consider myself particularly sentimental but the following have a special place in my heart for a variety of reasons.

The Palm House, Sefton Park Liverpool

I first visited Liverpool in 1997 with my boyfriend (now Mr Lapin). As a proud Liverpudlian he was keen to take be me back to visit his childhood and spiritual home. So one cold winter's night I found myself on the last train heading north from London taking a circuitous route via Manchester finally alighting at Liverpool Lime Street. And there he was, Mr Lapin, just before midnight waiting for me on the platform.

In 1997, the Palm house was in disrepair and locked behind rusted gates and fence. You could see through the bars that this grand iron structure, a building of its time, was sitting forlorn and in decay. The Palm House had broken down and was now but a shadow of what it must have once been. A symbol of Victorian grandeur and mercantile success. My husband spoke with sadness about it and the decline of his city and in so many ways the Palm House was a metaphor for a city that had long past its glory.

Mr Lapin carries a sadness about Liverpool, a sadness mixed with immense pride. We didn't go back to Liverpool for some years after that visit, and so we did not know that at the time of our trip there was a fundraising effort to renovate the Palm house. In 2001 it was finally restored to glory and in 2011 we went back to Liverpool for a visit and took a walk in Sefton Park. In between the trees, reflecting the sun off its glass the Palm House stood in all its majesty, looking as it must have done over 100 years ago.

visit: http://www.palmhouse.org.uk/index.php for the history of the house.

Crepes & Co, Sukhumvit soi 12, Bangkok

Why is this in my list of favourite places? Partly I will admit because of its close proximity to my home, partly for the food; a nice mixture of north African tajines and Belgium crepes, and partly because of its setting, an old house in a beautiful tropical garden. For me, I just can not go wrong when I eat there, whether it is for brunch, lunch or supper. Unfortunately, it is rumoured to be closing sometime this year. The land is finally being sold. No doubt the plot and the one next to it will soon see a leviathan rise up in its place - some fanciful high-end apartment living complex that are taking over the city and Bangkok will have lost another little gem of peace and tranquillity. Such is the change that is happening in that city.

The lake where I water ski

In August 2009 I plucked up the courage to join my friend Ms L to go water skiing. It was not a pleasant sight the first few times - a lot of falling flat on my face and wrenching my shoulders from their sockets. So much so that there were quite a few Monday mornings where the only way to drink my coffee was to clasp the mug shakily with both hands and lower my head to the mug rather than the other way around. Eventually after a number of weeks I cracked it, I suddenly understood how to stand up and go with the boat, not fight it. I have been skiing on and off ever since. The picture here captures the beauty of the place and the wondrous light you can get in Thailand once you leave the city behind. The picture represents the calmness and focus I get from skiing coupled with a sense of drama about whether I will manage to stand up, stay standing and make across the wake. I never thought I would be a water skier; I never quite believed I had the skill or the nerve to try it. The joy has been discovering that I was wrong.

London Town

Where I am now writing this post. I was born, grew up and educated in London. My working life started here, actually everything started here and it is a place that I love and hate in equal measure. It is difficult to explain. When I was young I felt that London held me back, kept me from doing what I wanted to do - I wanted to get away from it and see the world. I suppose as most teenagers do, I saw my home as my gaoler, keeping me from adventure and life. I did not think it all that great and could not understand people who would look wistful and say how jealous they were of me living there. London was a hard, tough place in my eyes. Yes it had beauty and history and opportunity but during the 1980s, my teenage years, it was a place of extremes, from extreme riches to poverty, where you would see homelessness and Ferraris side-by-side I saw an ugliness in the city that stayed with me for many years.

I have been away from London for almost 9 years now and each year I return for a holiday and perhaps it is because I am getting older but I seem to have become more at peace with myself and my home town. I have started to appreciate the city more. I am looking at it through different eyes. It is still a tough place, it still has the economic and social problems of the 1980s but that will never change. I now begin to see to see how beautiful London can be and how it is a city that challenges you, and maybe I am no longer angry at that challenge. Last summer after a night out with friends, Mr Lapin and I took a walk across Tower Bridge, one of the quintessential images of the city. I looked up to take the picture and suddenly felt a tug of homesickness to be leaving this place the following day. I am home again now for a couple of weeks and time to rediscover London- though it is threatening to snow eek...

Happy Easter everyone

Too Hot to Run?

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 12:16:00 +0000

I have been contemplating this question for the past week - is it ever too hot to run? I am not talking about the Olympic marathons runners or those who take part in endurance races in the desert, but I am talking about runners like me who are just starting out or those that run shorter races most weekends.

Here in Thailand the hot season has suddenly ramped itself up and last week saw the temperature hit around 37C (falling only slightly to 35C in the evening). Along with the rising mercury the humidity has also been going up. The combination has made my last three outside runs feel as though I am running in a sauna or at any rate having to fight my way through something heavy that is trying to drag me backwards. The air has been thick and sultry and most certainly tropical. And while this is to be expected in April in Bangkok it has made me wonder whether it is ever too hot to run outside?

Running in these temperatures has meant that I have worked up a good sweat and I have come off my runs feeling a nice glow of healthiness and my skin has certainly looked good this week - an unexpected and I suspect unintended consequence of running in a Sauna. But is this really doing me any good? And while my my times have been pretty decent, my heart has taken a pounding.

So while I was storing up my liquids and keeping my self well hydrated through my runs it has led me to consider whether it is worth running so much out side for the next couple of months (roughly how long this extreme heat is going to last)?

It's been hot, seriously hot...

Talking to some other runners, the consensus seems to be to take it slow and keep taking in liquids which I ended up doing as well as completing my circuits in a run/walk mode. I will just use this hot season as an acclimatiser and hope it makes me stronger.

I have also cracked why my running routine had collapsed so spectacularly and I was finding it tough to get back on track. I did not have a goal. I had made February's 10k race my goal last year, I trained towards it and ran it. Afterwards I was a bit deflated. I was listless, not really knowing what I was running for. Yes, I was enjoying it and I was feeling guilty when I was not running, but I was finding it more difficult to motivate myself. I realised I did not have a 'reason' to run.

Once that connection was made I scanned the Bangkok race events and I identified two 10k races that we can participate in together. One in May and one in June.

Luckily I have only another week of these temperatures because Mr Lapin and I are off to London for an Easter break and some lovely spring runs in the park!

A final word on distance, despite my Daily Mile widget telling you I have run 10k (this week's total), I have in fact clocked up 300k on my Nike+ since last August. Hurrah for gadgets that keep you motivated.

Flooding not Running

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 06:56:00 +0000

A couple of weeks ago I cancelled my evening run (I know I was complaining in the previous post about my lack of running time - but I'm human what can I say?) Instead Mr Lapin and I made hasty arrangements to meet at Siam Paragon, a gargantuan monument to high end materialistic consumerism that is all the rage in Thailand, to go and see John Carter at the pictures. Despite us both loving films we seldom manage to get ourselves to the cinema so this was a treat for us. We splurged the extra Baht and paid for the luxury screen which seemed to enable us to watch John Carter on Layzboys.

All was going well, we had time to spare so we headed to the bookshop to browse before the film. Then my mobile rang, it was our neighbour with the words "you have to come home now, your flat is flooding." What the f%*k?

She then ominously added "it's bad, prepare yourself" Rushing home and up to the 7th floor, we came out of the lift and were confronted by about an inch of water that had seeped out from our apartment across the hall. A tap in the bathroom burst and spewed water at an alarmingly high rate across the bathroom, our bedroom, out to the sitting room and kitchen, under the door and walls (old badly converted apartment building Thai building standards are not quite what they are in the UK) and into our neighbours home.

Water, water everywhere - and it was

There was water everywhere. Thankfully, living in Thailand, in an apartment building means that there are a lot of maintenance staff. They mobilised themselves and armed with super sized window squeegies descended upon our home to sweep the water out, lift furniture, rescue carpets and generally take care of it all. I loved them. The damage has been minimal. Because of the quick action by our neighbour in getting into our home and turning the tap off and alerting the staff the water probably wasn't resting for more than an hour. How it avoided flooding the electricity sockets and power strips I do not know but it did.

Furniture that had been sitting in water dried quickly, the carpets have not suffered too much are off to the cleaners. What did get damaged though was me! I managed to do the classic 'slipping on a banana skin' comedy fall. One slip and up I turned and down I came hitting the wooden floor on my backside. Nothing too damaged except for a deep bruise. However it has put paid to my running this week and bending is proving a tad sore.*

So it seems something else had come up to put a spanner in the works of my getting back to running regularly. So instead of running I'm perusing the running blogs and enjoying other people's runs this weekend and trying to plan a return trip to see John Carter...

*Since first drafting this over a week ago, we have managed to get the carpets cleaned, I took up tennis and my bruised behind recovered enough for me to break my self-imposed running embargo and put in a decent 6k in 49:01 on Monday. Oh, yes, she's back and running!

Running hills and the hamster wheel

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 12:18:00 +0000

A few weeks ago I found myself in Atlanta, Georgia for a conference. It proved a good time for catching up with dispersed work colleagues and all of us valuing the face to face time that is all too rare in the budget tight world of an NGO.

One of the great things about being in the United States is that this is where (modern recreational) running was born. I mean the ‘jogger’ came from America. While the rest of us in Europe looked dismissively at those crazy Americans and their running. Those crazy Americans had discovered something that the rest of us would soon catch on to – running is fun. Seriously, it is.

A week in the US meant new running partners as a surprisingly large number of my colleagues are also runners. I was all excited the first Sunday I was in town. I was going to meet a friend and she was going to take me out running. I was so excited that I visited Big Peach Running the day before and bought new shoes. I had also very cleverly (and for once) taken the advice of Mr Lapin – aka The Fitter One, and a veteran runner – and packed his Helly Hansen thermal top. I was going to Atlanta in February people – I was leaving the comfort of 32C and facing a 15 degree drop in temperature.

Would you have gone out? Well maybe you would have.

Sunday arrived, I opened the curtains and half of Atlanta has disappeared under cloud. Rain and wind lashing at the window added to the overall effect of one flipping horrible day outside. There was no way with only Mr Lapin’s top as my protection against the elements was I venturing outside for a run. Yes, ladies and gentlemen I cancelled my Sunday morning run and stayed in bed reading a book. Thankfully my friend understood my wimpy ways but still went out proving she is far more hardcore than I am.

The next opportunity for an Atlanta run was the following Tuesday. An early finish and no evening meetings meant another running colleague and I headed out into what was now a sunny crisp spring afternoon.

The route took us to Centennial Park and down the hill to the Georgia Tech Campus. I suddenly found myself in a quintessentially American location – the Campus complete with Frat houses with strange Greek symbols on the balustrades indicating God knows what Kappa Kappa Pi Delta? I had stumbled onto the set of Animal House - that being my most immediate point of reference!

Animal House Frat House

Louche young men were hanging around, music systems were battling it out across streets, the odd beer-can could be seen and lots and lots of young people. This was fun. We were running well, I had happily scooted down the downhill section of the route. My new shoes (Mizuno) were doing nicely. Running in Atlanta was pretty good.

Then came the hills – the upward part of hill running (see previous post for my hill shocker). The first thing I need to remind you all is that I live in Bangkok Thailand and Bangkok Thailand is flat. Flat as in the Netherlands flat, delta flat. Any advantage I might have had training in high heat and humidity was cancelled out by my ineffectual leg muscles not being able to get me up the next set of elevations in any graceful way. I spent the next 10 minutes huffing and puffing my way up gradual gradients - all the time replaying Mr Lapin's mantra on hills 'you've gotta bomb 'em babe' in my head.

Fast forward to last Saturday and a trip to the gym to get a run in mid-afternoon. Remembering the challenge of the Atlanta hills I thought the time was right to start integrating hill training into my routine and the best way was to use the hamster wheel hill programme. I managed 2.5k at a gradient of between 4-6. My legs hated me all the way but my heart was smiling for the rest of the day. This is going to be a great addition to my training programme. I am determined to learn to love hills!

Yet again, my training has been sketchy. I have had some crazy jetlag to recover from and other unexpected events have meant my evening runs in the park have been few and far between. I am looking again at my work load and evening obligations hoping to rearrange things to enable me to get back to a regular routine.

The good news is that I have found two more 10k races in Bangkok this May and June and I will focus on these for my next training goal. I want to run at least one of them under 60 minutes. The coming hot season is not something I am looking forward to so if anyone has tips for coping with 35C+ and 60% humidity please let me know?

No running stats this post and no running blog recommendation - I have been a bit slack...

The 10k race: a story in two parts

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 15:46:00 +0000

PART ONE
Once upon a time a slightly overweight and depressed woman wanted to make a change. She had had enough of feeling the way she did and something had to be done. So she decided to start running. Not in a Forrest Gump type of way but in a 'one day I'm going to run a race' type of way. She found a friend who ran, and together they ran around the local park a couple of times a week. Surprisingly this woman discovered that she enjoyed running. It made her feel good, less fed up and blugh like. In October of last year the woman signed up for a 10k that was part of the annual city marathon later the following month. A 10k race seemed a reasonable distance, something attainable. By that stage she was regularly running a steady 5-8km each time she went out.

Race shirt and bib

The woman continued her regular training. She got into her running and began to read running blogs. She enjoyed her running and her blog reading so much that she thought she would start a blog of her own. It would be fun she thought. I can write about my running experiences and keep track of my progress. Maybe if I'm lucky I'll get a few followers and others will enjoy my journey too.

This running woman was doing well, training hard and putting in the time and distance. November 20th was not far away and soon she would be lining up to start her first ever road race. Then disaster struck, the city she lived in was suddenly under threat of flooding. That threat soon turned to reality for thousands of her fellow city dwellers. Large parts of town were under water and people had to climb into boats just to get down their streets. The city was struggling, the people were struggling. The organizers of the event decided to postpone the race to a later date. The woman while sad was also pleased. She didn't feel right thinking about running a race when so many others were struggling. The woman was lucky, she lived in a part of the city that wasn't affected by the water. But she watched the news each night and saw the damage it was doing. The organizers then announced the race would be postponed to 12 February 2012.

With water up to people's waists in parts of the city

PART TWO
3am is a horrible hour to wake up. I know this because this was the time Mr Lapin and I needed to wake up to get to the start line of the Standard Chartered Bangkok Marathon on the 12 February 2012 for the much anticipated 10k run. At 3am on a Sunday morning the streets are full of Saturday night revellers, drunk, hungry and a little dishevelled. I am sure the taxi driver stopped just for the novelty of not having a two drunks in the back.

Arriving with plenty of time, Mr Lapin (a veteran race runner) was impressed by the event organization, I was impressed by just being there. The marathon had begun an hour before and the half marathon was at the starting line as we put in our bags. We had an hour before we needed to line up so we watched other participants arrive, we warmed up, and I soaked in the atmosphere of my first race.

I am not sure what my reason was, just to see if I could perhaps.

At the start line I was excited. The atmosphere was fun, there were a lot of us. Mr Lapin was looking at the type of footwear people had, I was busy looking around me. We were all ages and nationalities and in the darkness before dawn a hundred different languages could be heard, all talking quietly and each of us preparing for our own race. I began to feel slightly nervous about whether I would make it and whether it would hurt. Then the bull horn sounded and the crowd cheered and moved forward.

At the start line a sea of pink and yellow race shirts

I had misguidedly said to Mr Lapin (aka The Fitter one) that he should run his race and not worry about staying with me. He stared at me with an expression on his face that said 'well yes honey, that was what I was always going to do, see you at the finish line.' And with that he gracefully glided off to run his own enjoyable 10k.

The crowd began to even out, the faster runners surging ahead and the rest of us finding our own pace and place in the pack. I started to find a rhythm listening to my body to see where the aches and pains might be; how were my legs feeling? Did I drink too much or not enough? What if I needed to go to the loo? Then I looked ahead ahead and saw a sight looming in front of me, something I did not expect to see in the city of Bangkok - which at its highest elevation is around 2.5m above sea level. The route was taking us up onto the elevated section of the highway - I was going to have to run a steady incline. A steep incline. More of an incline than I had ever been run before. I soon had the impression that I was not alone in feeling this way because it almost seemed as though the mass of runners ahead began to move backwards.

Once at the top (and a quick wave and shout of encouragement from Mr Lapin as he ran past me on the return stretch) the route continued along the highway towards the Rama VIII suspension bridge a beautiful bridge spanning the Chao Phraya river.

I was running a race, my first race and I was enjoying it, in fact I was loving it. It was both quiet and noisy, groups of runners chattering, a man dressed as Superman sprinting back and forth encouraging us and stopping to have his picture taken - I don't think he was that worried about his time!

Rama VIII Bridge - admittedly it did not look quite so spectacular.

I ran for 1 hour 10mins to complete the 10k and as I sit here now I find it hard to actually explain what happened. I ran, I followed the route, I passed some runners, other runners passed me. Along the way there were small pockets of well wishers - not many - road racing that early on a Sunday morning does not draw the Thai crowds. I smiled all the way through. I picked my pace up at the 6km mark and then I was at 8km. By this stage, the traffic was being allowed back onto the roads, so we had to navigate lane changes with mad Thai traffic coming into the last 1.5km. As I came up alongside the Grand Palace I knew I was close to the end. Around one more corner and there it was - the finish line and there was Mr Lapin with a friend, beaming at me as I came into the finish. I crossed the line and then that was it. It was over, I had done it. I had run my first 10k race six months after I started to run regularly. It was only 7.30am and I had finished! I spent the rest of the day smiling and feeling more accomplished than I have felt about anything else for a long time.

Post race with medal and Mr Lapin's triathlon t-shirt to keep me warm

Will I run more 10k? Yes and lots of them. A half marathon? Maybe, but not for a while yet.

A runner's little helper

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 10:52:00 +0000

It was like Brief Encounter but without the repressed English emotions or perhaps it was more like the song Strangers in the Night except we were not exchanging glances. In fact we resolutely kept our gazes forward.

The other night I ran with a stranger and it was a brief but extremely welcomed encounter. I was heading into the last 3k of my 10k circuit in the park. It was hot and humid and I was tiring and overheating. I was determined to finish it running not walking when quite by chance I fell into step with another runner. We were roughly the same height and build and it turned out a matching pace. So for the next 2k we ran together. Not looking at each other or acknowledging that we were but we knew we were running together. We held back if one of us got caught behind people and we sped up to avoid obstacles.

It was a strangely intimate and brief encounter. It did not last because as I headed into my last 1k I began to develop a slight cramping in my calf so I fell back dramatically. He carried on. He did not look back and it did not matter. We had shared two kilometres together and it certainly got me through an otherwise tough patch where I might have just halted to a walk.

Full moon over Lumpini Park

Celebratory running distance: 10k that meant I have completed the Nike+ orange level - that is 249km run since August 2011. Not bad, girl, not bad.

What I have discovered about running

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 14:18:00 +0000

As you know I started to run seriously last August. This was when it all fell into place and I realised that running was something that I both enjoyed and could probably be good at if I applied myself.

Since then I have been running regularly and outside and on Sunday I made one of my more startling running discoveries. I hate running on a treadmill. I really do. I ran on one for an hour because a: I needed to get a ‘long’ run in (T-6 days until my first race) and b: the weather wasn’t sympathetic to me running outside (too hot) so Mr Lapin (aka The Fitter One) and I went to the gym to pound the treadmill together.

What I discovered was that running on the treadmill really did not seem like running at all. Yes I had chosen one of the machines that had a fan to try and give the illusion of movement. Yes I had brought headphones to watch television but even season 2 of Hawaii 5-0 wasn’t distraction enough from the realisation that running on a treadmill isn’t really running. You are moving but you are not really doing anything…

I pretty much felt like this chap

I had read hard core runners blogs that dismissed treadmill running as irrelevant and I had read blogs where people apologised for having to run on a treadmill. These souls usually lived in northern colder climes where a -40C temperature had finally forced them inside and onto the treadmill, but until Sunday I had not realised what they meant. Running on a treadmill is not really running.

My previous attempts at running had been using treadmills, but this time I focused on running outside. And while in Bangkok that comes with a whole set of issues, namely my genetic disposition to look-like-a-tomato after any run of any distance, I had not realised the massive difference there is to running outside versus running on a treadmill. On the treadmill you are the gerbil. I know treadmills have their place and for many it is the easiest way to ensure a good run and I am not here to dissuade anyone that they are wrong, but I can tell you, treadmill running is not for me.

Other running discoveries that have made me smile include the classic: running is not a cheap activity. Between the running kit (wicking properties all the way please) and shoes (still heading for the Merrell Women’s Dash Glove range) I am spending a small fortune and I find myself wondering around the sports section, rather than the shoe department, seeing what else is available - water bottles, sweat bands anyone?

Suddenly these are more alluring...

than these...

Another revelation is that since I now enjoy running I enjoy other forms of exercise. Cross training, or as I like to call it "going for a weights work out because it will help my running", now has a purpose. To become stronger makes my running stronger. Alongside actually running and reading and writing about running I am now watching runners. When I see a one I crane my neck to see their footfall. Are they a heel-to-toe or mid-foot planters? I even got excited the first time I saw a bona fide barefoot runner in the park, I almost stopped him to talk and then realised that I probably should not do that...

I realise reading this back it does seem slightly obsessive but it is not, really. It is more like a discovery that keeps on revealing itself to me. And while my mother has asked me not to get addicted to it, she did concede the point that of the arc of addictions it was properly one of the healthier ones.

So I am telling myself to remember these discoveries next Sunday when I am at the start line of the 10k and wondering whether I will make it. I know I will make it, I have run this distance already, but I also know that my mind plays tricks and there will be a little demon in there telling me that it is going to hurt (which it might) and that I won’t make it (but I will).

What have I been running lately? - 23.64k over the last four runs.
This means that I have 2k to run to reach my Orange Level of 249k since August 2011.

Run soul girl, run.

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 03:07:00 +0000

On the 22 August 2011 I ran 3.27k in 22mins 18sec at a pace of 6’48” per kilometre. How do I remember this momentous day? Not from some dog eared notebook but from my shiny Nike+ gadget that sits on my iPhone and the 22 August was the first time I used it. I am unashamed to say I love my Nike+ it has been a solid motivating tool that has helped me to keep focused on my running. For example today as I sit here writing I know that I have only another 28k to run to reach the goal of completing 249k and thereby conquering the second level on the programme, level orange. I can track my runs, see my times and trace when in a session I speed up and conversely slow down. I also love the way I get shout-outs from either Lance Armstrong or Paula Radcliffe congratulating me on running faster, longer, stronger. If I keep this up I may turn into the Bionic Woman!

The Nike+ is not all perfect though. Like all love affairs what started out in a giddy appreciation of the miracles it could perform is at the moment leaving me feeling somewhat deflated at its lack of accuracy. I have a horrible and growing suspicion that it may be a good 1km out in its tracking. I am making very different distances when I train in the park to when I run on various treadmills. I am investigating. I don’t expect the application to be perfect, but a 1k error is kind of a big thing.*

Aside from my Nike+ there are other things that motivate me to run. There is of course my running buddy. It is she after all who encouraged me to join her and another friend one evening after work to “just run around the park”. She motivates me because she is a runner who is able to just run and run. Long distance is clearly her thing and there have been many an evening when I have tailed off at lap 3 and she’s gone on to complete another, if not two more laps in that session. Another motivation is music or podcasts. I have noticed on a lot of running forums people sharing their music lists and great discussion is had about the merits of some tune over another. I like music but it does require me to put together play lists and honestly I got out of the habit of producing mixed tapes sometime in the late 80s… I like listening to the spoken word and so for me a lot of times when running on my own, radio shows are what I press play to. There is a pace to be found in listening to Radio 4’s Media Show that can’t quite be replicated by a blast of AC/DC.

Of course one of the best motivators is accomplishment. Achieving the goals I set gives me a great sense of motivation. “I did it. I ran that extra kilometre I thought I couldn’t.” Setting myself the goal of running my first race in under 1 hr 30min is what is keeping me going at the moment. Ideally I want to run it in 1 hour 10 minutes and perhaps I will.

On Thursday I ran 4.56k. It was like running in a steam room. Almost from the moment I took my first stride my body reacted as it does in the steam room, and let me tell you that effect didn't stop until I finally did 4.5k later. I think I was also feeling tired from my epic 11k run on Monday (my longest distance to date - thank you Paula)

* After a few minutes searching on the web I have discovered the cause of my 1k margin of error. I had not calibrated my darned gizmo. I have calibrated and now I can run with a little more confidence that my distances are more or less accurate.

Barefoot in the park but not a Redford in sight

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 16:09:00 +0000

The blogging and running took a serious hit over the Christmas and New Year break. However, I am back with a committed mind-set and posting and running much more regularly. This radical promise has mainly come about because in less than three weeks I will be waking up at an unearthly hour to get to the start line for my first 10k road race at the Standard and Charter Bangkok Marathon (the catalyst for this blog in the first place).

While I might have been tardy with writing and running that is not to say I have not been thinking about all things running! I have been building up the running twitter posse. Some of whom I am stalking (ahem following) and have also been kind enough to follow me. My tweeting has mostly been focused on trying to get @johnprescott to retweet my bad film titles along with the odd pithy reply to a couple of tweets . I will endeavour to be more “running focused” in daily tweets.

In an earlier post, I wrote about speed training and my observations on running styles in Lumpini Park. This led me to read a lot about styles and speed work. It took me to the hot topic of the moment – barefoot running – or, to be more precise, the issue of minimal running shoes that give the impression (to your feet) of running naked. I have become strangely fascinated, dare I say almost obsessed, with reading everything I can about this topic. I knew I was onto something when, in a strange moment of Jungian synchronicity, my visiting mother brought with her a newspaper cutting about how to reduce running injuries. It was about barefoot running and how, for many, it may be the way of the future. And good at reducing all those pesky running injuries, knock on wood.

What appeals is the potential for injury free running. Running with a natural gait, faster and with less effort; running more simply with, supposedly, a less plodding form. I am also drawn to a sense of ‘getting back to basics’ the simple idea of running without too much kit like some latter day hunter-gatherer. As a side note, future posts will include musings on running NOT being the low-tech/low-cost sport that some say it is; but, in fact, an expensive fad-driven, gadget obsessed, fashion sport. However, I am not one to complain.

I am going to explore barefoot running seriously. As I need to buy new shoes shortly I will consider minimal ones – but NOT those five finger shoes (they actually scare me). I’m thinking of buying the ‘they look like rock climbing shoes’ type. First point of research will be the Merrell Barefoot Run Dash Glove collection.

As to roadwork, last week I clocked up 24 km (X4 6k). Times were not great. But the weather has been hot and I am just getting back in the swing. This week, back to clocking up the kilometres with more 10k runs! Tonight I did 11k in 1 hour 14 minutes.

…And finally, a new edition to my posts for 2012 will be occasional running blog recommendations. These will either be ones I’ve stumbled across or ones recommended to me. The first of 2012 is Feet Meet Street blog.

Good night all.