Hauling My Carcass

Maas Half Marathon Race and Trip report

2013-05-14T22:07:00.000+01:00

One of the best things I've ever done! The planning I mean. It was spot on. As for the rest of the trip, sublime. 6 days, 5 nights with one of your best mates who shares the same beliefs of doing something a little bit silly and pushing your boundaries as you do.

From the first Royal Parks Half Marathon we ran in 2008, we've almost egged each other on, year on year. From eatingtrees first suggestion in a pub afterwards that we should do a European Half 'next year' which put us in Prague to our first Dunwich Dynamo in 2011. We like a challenge and this little adventure had been in the making for 2 years but got put on hold when we decided to tackle the Berlin Marathon last year. Now it was time for the silliest one yet.

If you've read anything of mine recently, I won't go through all the detail again but essentially it was a 3 day cycle across Netherlands & Belgium with one day of rest (when we did a little more cycling) before running the Maas Half Marathon. Oh sod it, here's the detail...

After meeting at the station, the first day was a gentle 30ish km to Harwich to catch the overnight ferry where we froze to death (almost) due to some Dutch cargo loader deciding that lorries were more important! I have to be honest this is the only thing the Dutch did wrong the entire time!! When we disembarked at the other end, we just had these views (and quite a lot of mist).

If fact it felt so good, we decided on a 25+ km detour to Rotterdam purely on the basis of 'we could'. Thats the kind of thinking that came back to bite us on the arse later as surviving only on coffee and cake that we had earlier, we struggled to find anywhere for lunch. Eventually and by the power of Open Source mapping and GPS, we came across the tiniest of places and by the power of charades, play acting, guesswork and luck, managed to get coke, coffee, water, chips and rolls. Honestly, it's like the carb gods were smiling down on us! Oh... and a mars bar!

After finding our most wonderful B&B which I fully and whole heartedly recommend, the heavens opened and stopped our trek up the road to find a restaurant BUT... we were then saved by our wonderful B&B owner who took some of our cash and drove up the road to get us a Chinese takeaway. After explaining the eatingtrees only eats trees and not proper food, she headed off to get us a mixture of stuff. Vegetarian to Chinese restaurant owners in Netherlands means the following. Try and hide the meat under the non meat. Needless to say, I ate like a king. Grant enjoyed some rice. And some soup. Well until he found meat in that too. The chicken omelette in a sticky sauce wasn't exactly welcomed either. Anyway, this completely unstaged picture was taken the next morning when still full from the banquette, we headed off!

Day 2 was the most enjoyable day cycling for me. Nearly all on wonderfully flat, even cycle paths without a pothole in sight through some absolutely beautiful countryside as Grant demonstrates below.

We also cycled along the massive Albert Canal which for a transport geek like me was just brilliant. Huge, huge ships and the canal was as straight as an arrow for miles upon miles on the smoothest bike path that the world could throw at us. Lunches were planned slightly better too meaning we didn't starve and when we got to our apartment, an awesome 3 bed place near nowhere but a forest and a bar, it gave the perfect end to the perfect day. Well that was until we tried to get food. On a public holiday. In Belgium. After a 14km round trip, we had a box of pasta and a jar of sauce. Still it could have been worse, the Chinese might have been open!

That evening, after discussing where we were heading with Josee, the apartment owner, she made an up and down movement with her arm. Grant assumed this wasn't an up and down movement at all, more a we were going from place to place movement and there would be no hills. In the morning when we left, Josee's husband confirmed my fears. There were hills. After 2 days when a bridge over a river was our biggest problem, it seemed we were going to be tested a little more. With that in mind, we decided, after a breakfast of coffee and biscuits (the shops were shut remember) to try and crack on that morning and get a good portion of the days ride done before lunch. Although there was still time for an action shot!

And one to prove there were hills!

Anyway, we certainly did and 60km was ticked off before a lunch of milk rolls containing pate, cheese and sweet chilli crisps and a can of beer. Don't judge me, it was all fuel...

Mid afternoon and rush hour in Vise meant that we arrived and saw more traffic in 15 minutes than we had for the entire trip previous! And then the second biggest hill of the trip so far which over the next 2 days, we rode up and over too many times to mention!

Anyway, to the race itself. The Maas Half Marathon. Brilliant. Organisation was second to none (they had 6 different distances from 300m for the very young children to the full marathon for odd people). The Half was our race of choice and having cycled 370km up to this point, I wasn't expecting a quick time. In fact completion was the goal and because of the lovely course, great support and shere bloody mindedness that my my aching legs would get me over that line, I finished in just under 2 hours. That I didn't expect and was chuffed to bits. The screen shot shows my relief quite well I believe!

This race cost me 10 euros. For that, I got a brilliantly organised race, loads of support, a full buffet, race rucksack, a technical t-shirt and loads of great memories. This trip will live on with me for a long time so next time you fancy a race that's outside of your local area and has some good cycling routes on the way, this is a must! Here's the post run shot for you all!

For the final jaunt, we had to get changed (very quickly), get back on the bikes and head off to catch a train. By the time I got home late Sunday night, the odometer was reading 400.5km ridden and 21.1km run. Not bad for a weeks work. Now if I could just stand up without other people's help or having to use furniture as a balance, everything would be fine!

The 'we should know better trip' Day 1. 48.4km

2013-05-07T17:34:00.001+01:00

Day 1 and we're currently sat waiting for the ferry! We made it across London without any problems and despite Greater Anglia's best efforts to the contrary, managed to get the bikes on train, get a seat and relax.

Once we got to Colchester, we managed to haul the bikes out of the very front of the train and get them down a lift and back up the stairs, and finally hit the road again.

A lovely countryside cycle (well once out of Colchester) was ruined only by the lack of open countryside pubs. Do they not have alcoholics in the countryside? We plodded on regardless and ended up in a cheap chain pub which has done the job.

Now I'm stood looking at a ferry I can't board for another 30 mins but hey ho, inside I have a bed, maybe a pint and I get to get out of the cycling underwear that I've had on for quite a while. It's like a nappy.... Now I know how my kids feel!

Nearly ready, nearly packed & nearly fit enough!

2013-05-05T19:38:00.001+01:00

Tomorrow, the final packing will be completed and the only thing left for me to do will be to get on my bike and pedal!

This is gonna be awesome. A reminder of what myself and eatingtrees have planned for our 2 beautiful singlespeeds is as follows:

Tues: Get the train to Colchester in Essex early afternoon for a 30km cycle to Harwich to catch the night ferry to Hook of Holland.

Wed: Approx 95km ride to the Netherlands/Belgium border where a lovely B&B awaits.

Thurs: Around 80km ride following the Albert Canal to an apartment in the middle of nowhere with the only thing close by, being a bar. Liquid dinner then!

Fri: The final long ride will be approx 105km all the way to a place near Vise in Belgium. This is our base for 2 nights.

Sat: Nothing, a quiet day resting the legs before Sunday.

Sun: Take part in the Maas Half Marathon on very heavy legs before getting back on the bike and cycling another 20km back to Liege before getting on the Eurostar from Brussels and *hopefully* getting home at a reasonable hour in Sunday night.

See simple. As long as we don't get lost, crash, have a mechanical breakdown we can't fix, find our places to stay, get injured, find enough to eat, are able to run 21.1km, not miss our train, get the bikes on the train and South West trains still run on Sunday night without engineering works to allow me to make it home. What could possibly go wrong?

Walking and wheeling

2013-04-29T16:53:00.000+01:00

With 8 days remaining until myself and eatingtrees get on our singlespeeds and head for The Netherlands and Belgium, the weekend before last, I needed to check I had the ability to cycle 2 consecutive days before I attempted to do it for 4 and run a half marathon at the end of it.

With the in-laws kindly putting me up for the night, I abandoned my parenting duties and hit the road fully laden with everything I'll be taking with me. I've done the route south to Worthing a few times now so I pretty much knew when it was going to hurt and when I could relax so with the weather a wonderful 20 degrees, I made it in a good time despite a detour due to a road closure and feeling pretty damn good. 80km done.

The return journey started around 8:45am after a mountain of breakfast but as I'd decided to go in a completely new direction I'd never done even in a car, let alone on a bike, I was thankful for the GPS showing me the way. That was until after speeding along and making great time, I accidentally hit the North Downs. I say hit because that's how it felt. I just stopped. Going up an 18% gradient on a single speed fully loaded with panniers, saddle bags and a fat bloke ain't gonna happen. I got off top walk and was suddenly joined by many a Lycra clad roadie as a found myself slap bang in the middle of a cycling event. I enjoyed a certain smugness that at least it wasn't only me walking...

Anyway, after that little power walking exercise, I made it home again feeling pretty damn good albeit very hungry! 75km done.

The running training for the half marathon I've abandoned in the knowledge that anything I do is more likely to make my foot worse, not better so I'll just wing it and hope for the best. I certainly won't be setting any records but after all the cycling, that was never likely anyway. Completion is everything!

This weekend was spent getting attacked in Zagreb for Mrs HMC's early birthday trip. I say attacked but I do mean by tree pollen. Being a hay fever sufferer got me worse than it ever has before and it was really tough to get any sleep but, and here's the thing, it was totally worth it. 3 nights spent in Zagreb looking around and seeing the place was great but my absolute highlight was walking up Medvednica Mountain. Just the hiking trail was 4.5km at a 14% gradient so up and down that plus a couple of km either end getting there and back meant we did a 12ish km walk to pretty much the summit through the conservation area of forest. It was awesome... Even if it did mean that we could barely walk the next day. It's the downhills that seemed to cause the most problems with ankles and calf muscles but come next week, I'll be hoping for every downhill I can find.

Telling Tonsillitis to toddle off!

2013-04-18T13:37:00.001+01:00

That was bloody horrible! I had no idea how much it makes you ache and how much it hurt. I am a big girls blouse but hardly being able to swallow is a particular worry for me considering my wine and biscuit addictions (I should point out, not together). I was in danger of withering away to nothing. Or at the very least losing my 4th spare tyre!

I spoke to the docs and was advised not to run and expect to get very tired if I got on the bike. Not ideal when training to cycling across Belgium and a little bit of the Netherlands in order to run the Maas Half! Bugger!

On Monday I took to the bike for my commute and although the 'to work' was good, the 'from work' hurt a little more than it probably should. This morning, I ran some of the way into work and a steady 8 and a bit km was done in around 44mins. It didn't hurt too much so I'm either improving or not trying hard enough. Probably both.

None of those things will quite prepare me for this weekends excursions though. Cycling 75km down to the coast where the in-laws are very kindly putting me up before I jump on the bike again on Sunday morning to cycle home again. That's gonna be sore. There are hills and everything. And the bike will be fully loaded as if it were the trip to Belgium in order to make sure I have everything!!

I have pre-warned Mrs HMC that I'll probably be in a foul mood by the time I return and may need excessive amounts of doughnuts and beer to see me through the afternoon. I expect her response will be something along the lines of 'I've been looking after our children while you've been lazing around on your bike. Get over yourself and help me out!' To be honest, I don't deserve anything more.

Me =

2013-04-06T18:12:00.000+01:00

Have : Tonsillitis
Training : None
Mood : Miserable
Fitness : Crap
Dream : To run or ride
Ability : Sit on arse in pain
Half Marathon : 5 weeks
Cycle Benelux : 4 weeks, 2 days
Excitement : HUGE apart from
Have : Tonsillitis

arse....

10 bloomin' miles

2013-03-29T19:41:00.000Z

Good Friday. Well it certainly felt like it. OK so spring hadn't actually sprung but the sun was shining, the wind had dropped and with the temperatures reaching the dizzy heights of +1, I set out with a friend of mine who I don't get to run with very often on my longest run since the Berlin marathon and my friend's longest run ever.

I was back visiting my parents where I grew up so the chance to run on some small country lanes through the Essex countryside and catching up with someone I hadn't seen in a while was a great thing to do and although it certainly wasn't fast, it was good to get some miles in the legs. With only 5 weeks until mine and eatingtrees' epic ride across The Netherlands and Belgium to run in the Maas Half Marathon, I now have a more little confidence that I'm actually going to be able to run at the end of the 3 days of cycling.

Tomorrow, the plan is to get on the bike and try a little more of that too as after all, If I can't even make it to the start of the race, what's the point in doing the running...

Holding Out for the Warm Weather

2013-03-26T06:45:00.000Z

GUEST POST: Craig Bradshaw. Marathon Runner, Blackpool.

This year, I decided to enter the first ever Yorkshire Marathon, which takes place at the end of October. My reasons for doing this were threefold.

One of my main reasons for entering the Plusnet Yorkshire Marathon was that it has an exceptionally flat course - flatter than New York, Paris and London, meaning I can hopefully record an exceptionally fast time.

Another reason that I opted for York over London was that, as my old University stomping ground, I am sure to be kept visually stimulated throughout the 26.2 miles of the scenic course; starting and finishing at York University, and taking in villages, countryside, and famous landmarks such as Mansion House, Betty’s Tearooms and York Minster along the way.

Finally, and most importantly, as someone who is well-versed in competing in marathons that take place in April or May, such as London and Edinburgh, I couldn’t bear the thought of starting my training in early January, and having to put up with 16 weeks of completely miserable weather.

The Yorkshire Marathon was set up as a tribute to Yorkshire fundraiser Jane Tomlinson CBE, who died in 2007 after completing an Iron Man, three London Marathons and a host of other challenges, and raised almost £2m for charity, all while undergoing chemotherapy treatment for terminal breast cancer.

Given that the Yorkshire Marathon doesn’t take place until 20 October, I don’t realistically need to start my serious training until June, which hopefully means that I can enjoy 4 months of relatively warm weather; hopefully making training that little bit more enjoyable.

However, seeing as the mornings are getting lighter, I have started to do a few 5 mile runs before work in the morning, as a way of slowly increasing my mileage in the run up to June. Unfortunately the days might be getting longer, but the temperatures aren’t getting any higher.

In my opinion, one of the most indispensable pieces of clothing for any runner in this weather is base layer clothing, as they can help to regulate your body temperature, reduce your recovery periods, enhance your performance, and reduce the risk of injury.

Since I have been running, one of my most pivotal pieces of clothing for any marathon training is my Helly Hansen base layer, which aren’t available to buy direct from Helly Hansen (they don’t have a UK site), so I have to get them from a licensed supplier such as Outwood Sports or Amazon.

In previous marathon years, I have managed to shed most of my layers by late March, affording me the luxury of being able to train in appropriate race attire, such as vest/t-shirt and shorts. This year is a completely different kettle of fish, and it looks as if I will be stuck having to wear at least 3 layers for another few weeks at least!

Ooops

2013-03-19T20:36:00.001Z

Well and truly told off! That was me after spending 45 minutes with my osteopath this morning after I tried and almost failed to get out of bed the day before.

The tightness in my left shoulder which has been causing my a lot of pain in the night while attempting to sleep and had gone down to my lower back and in my left leg and ALSO caused pain in my left knee when cycling is all down to the worlds tightest left hamstring!

I was told that sessions with him alone would not solve it, I need to start stretching it properly every night otherwise it'll get worse again. Joy. At least it's happened now rather than a week before I cycle across Belgium and run a half marathon I guess.

It's the only the second time in my life that one visit to the Osteopath hasn't sorted a problem. It bugs me really, they're like insurance companies, expensive and pretty pointless up until that point you really need them!

I move slow and steady

2013-03-10T12:33:00.002Z

I've had to temporarily abandon my transition to minimalist running due to what could be plantar fasciitis or what I generally class as a bloody sore foot! The facts are this. I'm too fat and my running style too inefficient to carry on in those shoes to be able to run a half marathon in what is only around 8 weeks time around Maas.

Today, I reverted back to the old faithful's that got me through the Berlin Marathon. You know, the ones that made my toes go numb for 4-6 weeks!! Brilliant. Quite frankly though, I needed to get some k's back into the legs. I know I can get through the 3 days of cycling on our trip to Belgium but I needed to prove to myself that I can run more the 7km without dying. I can!

I left this morning with the words 'I don't know where I'm going and I hope to be back sometime between 35 mins and an hour' depending on how it was going. Well it went OK. As per the Of Monsters & Men inspired blog post title, it wasn't quick but 12.3km completed in 1hr 6mins.

What made it better was some good coffee when I got home. Now rather embarrassingly, I cannot remember for the life of me, who sent it to me but I can vouch that it is bloody tasty despite having quite frankly, the most bizarre packaging. What has a picture of a pouting/angry women and a fake monkey got to do with coffee. Any who, it's called Bounce or Aroma, I think. Who knows.... However, as I said, really, really tasty and highly recommended. So much so, I'm off to make another pot!

Getting into Intervals

2013-02-20T19:44:00.000Z

As the weather gradually starts to improve, more and more people are going to start planning long distance races into their schedules.

In the midst of winter, the thought of spending longer than 5 minutes running outside is enough to make you want to rustle up a hot chocolate and pretend that humans were never designed to run in the first place.

However, the appeal of long distance races seems to grow exponentially with the increase in temperatures, meaning now’s the time to ramp up your training.

One of the most valuable training methods to utilise in your quest for a new PB is interval training, which refers to training using a mix of short, high intensity effort combined with slower, recovery phases throughout a training session.

The benefits of interval training are myriad, but one of the prime advantages is that you can squeeze more quality training into a shorter period of time (especially valuable seeing as it’s dark by 5pm). Interval Training will also allow you to maintain some semblance of a normal working and family life.

Integrating an interval training session into your weekly training schedule will definitely put you on an accelerated course (pun intended) to improved fitness and race performances. The science behind this interval-based wizardry is that interval training has the ability to increase your anaerobic/lactate thresholds; the premise of this can be neatly summed up with this nifty little infographic

As any running aficionado will be well aware, the term anaerobic means ‘without oxygen’ in plain English.

Working at an anaerobic level is a result of lactic acid accumulating in your system as it cannot be broken down quickly enough, which sends you into oxygen debt. For any gluttons for punishment, you can reach this anaerobic level by doing any form of exercise at a really hard effort, but you are unable to stay at anaerobic level for long periods of time.

This is why interval training makes use of intense bursts of short effort, and the more you train at anaerobic level, the more your own body’s anaerobic/lactate thresholds will improve; this will result in significant gains in your speed and endurance.

The following example of an interval training plan can be easily incorporated into your current race plan (or just as a substitute for a normal run if you aren’t training for anything in particular). As a responsible running contributor, I must advocate that you are adequately hydrated and properly warmed-up before your interval training session.

Another handy piece of advice is to invest in a proper running watch to help you keep track of your interval times and pace; my personal favourite is the Garmin Forerunner 410, which has a built in GPS and has more features than you can shake a stick at. I got mine from Uttings Outdoor, but if the Garmin is a little too pricey for you, there are plenty of others out there to choose from.

RUNNING INTERVAL PLAN
When performing interval sprints on either the treadmill or the track, the basic unit of measurement is 400m with 45 seconds rest. Start by doing 16 reps of 400m at slightly quicker than race pace with 45 seconds rest in between; the following week, do 8 reps of 800m with 90 seconds rest in between. You will gradually work your way up to 3 reps of 2000m, with 225 seconds (3 mins 45) rest in between; then you start to decrease the distance again. The following table should provide you with a handy guide.

WEEK	REPS	DISTANCE	REST
1	16	400m	45
2	8	800m	90
3	6	1200m	135
4	4	1600m	180
5	2	2000m	225
6	4	1600m	180
7	6	1200m	135
8	8	800m	90
9	16	400m	45

My achilles are my Achilles' Heal

2013-02-16T15:01:00.000Z

'ow, ow, ow, ow'. That is the sound I make as I walk at the moment. You see, it's all a bit tight down there. NO! Further down, near my ankles. Yep that's it, my Achilles. Today I did what everyone will tell you is a silly idea. I increased my distance by 50% and went for it. I'm alive. Just. It hurt, a lot though.

I didn't managed to hit my timings as I wanted to but I did 7.5km which is more than third distance of the Maas Half marathon which is 12 weeks tomorrow. It's like I'm a complete novice again. Getting that distance up is just painful. Part of me thinks 'why don't I just revert back to my old thick heeled shoes' but i don't wanna. I really want to run this way and I do enjoy it it's just I don't like being a beginner again.

In fact the other reason is this......

This will contain everything I need for 6 days and 5 nights including all running, cycling and general gear. My tiny red 'barefoot' running shoes weigh next to nothing and will take up very little space. If I take my 'normal' running shoes, they'll weight more, they'll take up most of a pannier on their own and quite frankly that's a waste!

I ran the Berlin Marathon only 20 weeks ago with 16 weeks training. This should be a piece of piss right? We'll as long as I'm still able to walk anyway!

Old routes, New times

2013-02-09T14:18:00.000Z

I HAD to get out and run today. My excuses have completely run out and quite frankly, I was beginning to become a fair weather runner. Or maybe just a lazy one! I also need to shift the spare tyre around my waist as the Belgium trip to the Maas Half Marathon is only 3 months away and my longest run in my barefoot running shoes is 4km. About 17km short of the distance I need then so frankly, the additional weight ain't helping much!

Today I made it 16km short by going out and hitting a 5.14km route I haven't done in a while. Quite frankly it got boring after I ran it around 20 times during Juneathon 2010. I didn't have the Garmin charged (yup, forgot it was in the drawer) so just had a stop watch on my phone and just had to hit stop at the end. It was odd not running to a pace and I didn't feel like I was going fast enough really so had to remind myself to try and keep pushing. The result is the second fastest time I've ever done it in which I'm pretty damn happy with to be honest!

I'm still consistently under the 5min/km pace where I want to be it's just I need to start upping the distance in to be in with a chance of a good HM time although not sure how good it will be after 3 days of single speeding through The Netherlands and Belgium!!

Dishing the dirt on Obstacle Races

2013-02-02T07:48:00.000Z

It goes without saying that obstacle races have become one of the hottest tickets around; all you need to do is check your Facebook or Twitter feed to see an array of photographs of your friends caked in mud, and looking as happy as a pig in the proverbial.

Obstacle races, such as Tough Mudder and Total Warrior, provide a fantastic change of pace from your regular 10k or half-marathon (fear not, you’ll still get a free t-shirt), they also test your body in ways you wouldn’t even think were possible. Obstacle races test your stamina, determination, co-ordination, strength and teamwork to within an inch of their life, but in exchange you will get a genuine feeling of achievement that would only be possible in your average road race if you managed to beat the Kenyans to the finish line!

Now I’m not advocating abandoning running completely; I am attempting to open your eyes to how obstacle races can enhance your running performance and achievements.

For a start, obstacle races are addictive! Once you have experienced 10-12 miles of gruelling punishment, you will be hungry for more difficult and challenging races. This newfound motivation will encourage you to take the step up from a 10k to that elusive half-marathon or full-marathon.

Secondly, in an obstacle race there are no PB’s to chase; the aim of any obstacle race is to just get round in one piece. This means that you can tackle each individual obstacle as it comes, and not get too hung up on whether you are still hitting your 4, 5 or 6 - minute mile target.

Thirdly, it will give your mental fortitude a boost; the only way to describe these events is ‘gruelling’, both physically and mentally. To successfully complete an obstacle race you will need mental strength as well as physical strength; having to pick yourself up for the next obstacle is incredibly difficult and is infinitely more taxing than finding the energy to continuously put one foot in front of the other. However, if you have got the grit and determination to keep going, this will be extremely useful for the next time you hit ‘the wall’.

So there you have it, if this has opened your eyes to the benefits of obstacle races, why not sign yourself up for one now. You can find your nearest obstacle race here, and seeing as most of the obstacles are designed up by Special Forces types, why not pay homage to them by competing in one of these functional Camo T-Shirts from Bushwear? You never know, they may even make you feel a bit like Rambo – perfect for when you’re covered in mud and wading through icy waters!

Cool Runnings

2013-01-25T22:46:00.000Z

At this time of year the weather is notoriously cold, bleak, damp, and wet (and any other negative weather adjectives you care to think of), and the glorious days of spring seem like a lifetime away. In the winter months, those of us that have been bitten by the running bug are faced with two options; we can risk the further onset of middle-aged spread by staying indoors; or we can carry on regardless and brave the elements.

I am firmly of the opinion that running in the rain is actually rather enjoyable; for one, there is no greater feeling than coming back from a shiversome run and feeling the familiar warmth of the central heating soothe your chilly extremities.

Secondly, your body has to work much harder when you are exercising in the cold, as it is also expending additional energy (calories) trying to keep you warm. Cold weather is known to activate your brown fat stores, which helps you to burn more calories from your regular fat stores. Stimulating as little as 85g of brown fat by exercising in the cold can burn an additional 500 calories a day, which basically equates to an additional ‘hearty’ winter meal per day.

Thirdly, exercising in the cold and rain affords you a certain level of smugness, which comes from the looks of astonishment and respect that you will get from motorists, commuters, and pedestrians when they see you pounding the pavements in freezing temperatures. I can safely say that you wouldn’t receive the same respect if you were sat at home in your pyjamas watching The Simpsons.

Fourth, as we all know, the feel-good chemicals in our brain dip dramatically due to the short days and long nights; exercising outdoors can counteract this, as it increases the levels of serotonin in your brain. Running has also been clinically proven to be four times more effective at reducing the symptoms of depression when compared to anti-depressants.

Fifth, running in wintry conditions means that your body is actually being trained to use oxygen more efficiently.

Finally, believe it or not, exercising outdoors is also one of the most effective defences against the dreaded colds & flus that are so prevalent at this time of year; this is due to fact that frequent cold-weather exercise will boost your immune-system. But be warned, this isn’t true if you hit the pavements in a skimpy vest and pair of shorts; you need to ensure that you are adequately protected from the elements by layering up, which will help to keep your muscles warm.

The secret to layering is to invest in running clothes that have zips and vents, which will keep your muscles warm but will also stop you from overheating. When the weather is particularly arctic, I prefer to wear my Jack Wolfskin Serpentine Waterproof Jacket while I am running; it has both a fleece inner, and a weatherproof outer, which can be removed easily once I am in my running stride. In my opinion, it is probably worth investing in some base layers for your winter running exploits, which are made from innovative fabrics that draw moisture away from your skin and help to keep you warm. I find that Cotswold Outdoor has a good selection of base layers for both men and women.

In the meantime, I am going to crank up my central heating to full power, in anticipation of my return from my 7 mile run in the snow, sleet, slush, wind, cold and rain this evening!

GUEST POST: Craig Bradshaw. Marathon Runner, Blackpool.

The best yet!

2013-01-13T15:18:00.000Z

I took The Boy for our pretty regular Sunday morning swim this morning and as I was driving back, I was seeing quite a few runners wrapped up against the elements, pounding the pavement. I was quite proud that I was one of these strange creatures that likes to put a pair of shorts on in 2 degrees and go out for a plod.

At that same moment, I realised that I was trying to give myself an excuse NOT to go out for a run because it was about 2 degrees and I'm a delicate little flower really. This had the instant effect of turning my pride to shame.

With that in mind, I left myself with no choice and once I got home, I got changed and headed out into the cold. I'm still learning my way with my barefoot running and since the beginning of Jan, I've been out a few times with the main intention of staying under 5 min/km and also increasing the distance I'm covering. Today I managed just over 4km which is the longest so far in 4:53's which is my quickest pace of 2013. Chuffed with that and only 1km away from being able to do a park run.

All this on a very limited amount of sleep in the last few days too due to my lovely baby girl who is not quite as lovely at 3am!

Walking the line...

2013-01-11T22:46:00.002Z

Myself and Mrs HMC have always been up for going on some long walks into the countryside and spending some time out and about. In fact prior to The Boy and The Girl arriving, we had an awesome walking holiday up in Skye. We took the night train to Fort William which quite frankly, is the only way to travel.

It was great. We just walked all day seeing some of the most awesome sights around. Also, for this year’s summer holiday, we’re planning on heading down to the Dordogne which apparently has some fantastic walking routes. Things will be slightly different with a 3yo and and a 9month old though. One in the Baby Bjorn and with The Boy, we’ll just let him run. He’s like the energizer bunny sometimes!!

Walking’s a great way for us to all keep fit and if you can swing it to go past a few child friendly pubs on the way, even better. I find it’s all in the route planning. Hills. CHECK. Pub. CHECK. Awesome scenery. CHECK. That’s this weekend sorted then...

I would happily sacrifice one run a week for a nice walk with my family at the weekend. The lil' HMC’s get fresh air which firstly helps them sleep and secondly assists in them not driving me mad by being stuck in a house for a long time. So it’s good for everyone and with the hills involved, it actually helps build all the right muscles for the running too.

The only thing really needed for these outings are a decent pair of walking boots. Everything else is all about comfort. Upon a recent visit to Millet Sports, I noticed that they have a decent range of walking boots for men, women and youngsters which is going to come in hugely useful when we need to source some for The Boy and his ever expanding feet! For now, he’ll be in his wellies, jumping in the puddles!

Back in the game

2013-01-08T20:46:00.000Z

My mojo was hidden down the back of the sofa crumpled up in birthday paper, mince pie wrappers and new born nappies from the little bundle of joy that is my new baby daughter, Elsie Grace. The Girl will now join The Boy in taking up as much of my time as humanly possible for approx the next 18 years.

To be honest, this maybe part of the reason I even started looking for my running mojo again. As with many people out there with families, it's some of the only time I get to myself. I rarely ran in the evening before but now once The Boy has gone to bed and The Girl is having some dinner it's the only time I can really. Not that I'm complaining mind. I could do a lot, lot worse than a beautiful and happy family!

The other thing that helped get me back out there is I have entered the Maas Half Marathon in May. I think it's something of a small race as I was competitor number 17 to enter. But they'll be plenty more I'm sure. Eatingtrees has already entered so that ups it again. The cool thing is our fundamentally ridiculous plan to cycle to the race. From Britain. On single speeds. I love that I have a friend as ridiculous as me!

There may be people out there who think that therefore, we are relatively fit and in good shape. I assure you for me, this is not the case and I suspect it's going to hurt a hell of a lot but the idea of 4 days of cycling, staying in little Belgium B&B's, drinking Belgium beer, talking crap with one of my favourite people in the world and then ruining all the goodness by running a half marathon in 'barefoot' running shoes is something that I just cannot say no to to be honest!!

Running with sugar

2012-10-31T21:52:00.001Z

Now the pins and needles have finally died down after the Berlin Marathon (it took 3 and a half weeks!!), I finally got to go out for a run a couple of weeks ago which was bloody lovely I can tell you. You know how long I had to run? As long as I wanted! You know what pace I had to run at? Whatever I liked! The horrendous monotony of the training schedule is done. Bring on enjoying my running again!!

Although being me, I need something to focus on. If I don't have it, I tend to let me training slip and get fat(er) and lazy(er). So, what to do. After plenty of aches and pains in knees and hips etc during the training, I've decided to pick up with my barefoot running again. It's something I looked at very briefly in the summer after seeing eatingtrees convert and enjoy it but then there was no way I could train my body to run differently that quickly so I quickly cast it aside.

I now have the time to learn again and the best thing about learning from scratch is that I'm going to teach myself to run quicker too. Just lace up the shoes, step outside and run as fast as I feel I can for a set distance. That distance is currently 2km. I want to run that in 9:00. 4:30 km pace. Once I do that, I'll add half a km to the route until I achieve that pace for the longer distance and so on and so forth until I hit the 10km or HM. That's the plan anyway. I have no idea whether this plan will work and whether there's any science to back it up but I have a logical argument in my head and I'm sticking with it. It is going OK. My first attempt came in at 9:04 when I hadn't run for 3 and a half weeks and the second attempt was 9:07 when snotty and wheezing like a good 'un.

During that time I also had a lovely run with a friend who I've hardly ever run with which was a pleasant 10k around a lovely undulating route although I had to revert back to the old trainers and style which I could feel the difference instantly. The barefoot, although only shorter distances so far, feels more springy and bouncy which is good.

Having, last night, finished 'Running with the Kenyans' by Adharanand Finn, it bought my new plans into context and made a reasonable amount of sense. Recommended by @LongJogRoz on twitter, whether you're for or against barefoot running, it really is a good read. Mind you, I really could do with losing a stone in weight to really feel the benefit and I will attempt to lose some but quite frankly, I have the Christmas season coming which is never useful as well as a baby due in December which will set new standards in lack of sleep, lack of exercise and too many biscuits! This I'm confident of BUT I do know that to get quicker, I need to stop carrying the equivalent of 6 and a bit bags of sugar tied round my waste. Shit! Really?? That's mental. 1 stone equals 6.35kg. No wonder I'm slower than last year!! That's depressing, I'm off to have some sweet Pumpkin Tart to cheer myself up!

Berlin Marathon - Race Report

2012-10-07T17:45:00.000+01:00

The Berlin Marathon. This was it. My own stupid bet made with myself was back to bite me on the arse big style! Luckily eatingtrees was kind (stupid) enough to come along and put himself through the joy (pain) of 42.195km as well. For fun.

At least we picked a good'un. Berlin. One of the big 5. In one of my favourite cities and it's flat to boot. It'll be fine right? Well it should be. I followed an exact training schedule. When I say exact I didn't bother with the sprints after week 7 of 16. I didn't enjoy them. In fact I didn't bother with the mid week medium runs after about week 4. I didn't enjoy them either and I'm lazy. So in essence, my training was based on the tried and tested (well it is now) of one long run a week on a Saturday morning and a bit of cycling during the week. The training was quite frankly, monotonous, tedious and dull and this was one of the only ways I could get through it and that's the main reason I won't be attempting another one in the near future.

But to the weekend. A trip to Berlin with the family and eatingtrees with an apartment booked and the whole thing still not feeling very real. That was a good thing really. Even getting to the expo and collecting my race number and chip etc didn't get me. I mean I knew it was happening but I wasn't nervous and don't think the concept of running a maraton had quite sunk in yet! Until I put The Boy to bed on Saturday night and that was it. I could hardly eat, I kept running through everything in my head and realising that THIS WAS REAL NOW!!!

NUMBER COLLECTION AT THE EXPO

I did manage to sleep quite well though (without the aid of wine I might add) and when the alarm went off at 6am, my only thoughts were... it's time. By that evening, I would have either a Marathon PB or a DNF. As this was my first, there was no other option and to be honest, major injury was the only way there would be a DNF. The start/finish/baggage/toilet area is all around the Tiergarten so we headed there, dropped the bags off, and due to the differences in our numbers, lost each other for the first time before a race. Not really a problem as we run different paces anyway but would have been nice.

I knew the pace I had to stick to and with the aims of 'Under 4:30, I'll be happy' and 'Under 4:15 I'll be delighted', I set off enjoying the crowds, the bands and the steady pace. Mrs HMC and The Boy were waiting for me at the 11km (7m) mark and it was good to see them but as expected, all was good and I was having fun.

11km DONE AND STILL SMILING

I was OK for the next hour and a half but at around 28km (17m) I started feeling a bit of pain in the ball of my left foot. Nothing completely unusual but I'd generally only felt this after my long runs, not during. Essentially, it's just a bit of bruising caused by the impact of a 14 stone bloke thudding against a pavement for long periods (you should have seen the roads, they came off worse).

At around 34km, the pain was steadily getting worse and the ibuprofen came out and did absolutely nothing to help. It was painful but I did the best I could to not change my running too much knowing that that can generally cause an injury elsewhere. I have to admit, I wasn't loving this bit. But, the thing that kept me going was that you hear so many stories of THE WALL at 20 miles and while I wasn't bounding like a gazelle, I certainly wasn't dead on my feet and while I was OK, I just carried on.

At 37km, a friend who was out there supporting another runner SCREAMED my name at the top of her lungs. This lifted me no end and a blown kiss and a thank you and I was on my way again. 4:15 was still achievable if I just didn't crash and burn.

At 40km, I knew Mrs HMC was going to be waiting somewhere around there so I just kept an eye out and eventually saw her and stopped for a kiss to let her know I was OK. I couldn't actually speak to tell her I was OK but did have to stop her wanting to run along with me. She was 29 weeks pregnant after all! She did take a short cut though which meant I saw her again 3/4 minutes later and before I made my final turn towards the Brandenburg Gate.

THE GATE AS WAS 41.5km BEFORE

At this point I just put my head down, concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other and not bursting into tears. Through the gate an into the final 200m stretch completed with a sprint. OK, more a slightly faster amble than the last 8km had been done in but it felt like a sprint. The watch stopped and a big smile crossed my face as I looked at the watch. I'd done it. The stats can be found here for anyone interested.

BEAUTIFUL

Completely surrounded by other finishers and all the marshalls and quite frankly, I felt alone. It was strange but that was it. I was delighted but completely drained and I just wanted to get some food and drink inside me. The one thing I have to recommend to everyone out there was something that proved vital. Around 6 weeks before the day I looked up what energy drink they would have on the day and then trained with nothing else. By the time I finished the marathon, I had consumed 5 bottles of the stuff and it proved vital to me.

I finally met up with Mrs HMC and The Boy and we waited for eatingtrees who was making his way round. While we were waiting, I received a congratulatory call from my Mum and Dad but who unfortunately had some bad news. My Grandad who had turned 100 only 3 weeks before had passed away the evening before. This added to my emotions of the run and meant the tears well and truly flowed for a minute or 2 but a glass was raised that night in his honour. To Grandad. This one's for you. Cheers.

MY FAMILY AND OTHER ANIMALS

The Peak of my Training

2012-09-11T06:48:00.001+01:00

Now by that, I don't mean my physical peak. I don't actually feel any fitter than I did when I started this marathon training program in June while in France. However, clocking up, which for me is a massive 33.51km on my run on Saturday morning is something of an achievement and the longest run I'll do pre Berlin.

Considering how I've loathed this training from the start and hated the way it dictates time and distance leaving you bored of it's repetitive nature, I was proud to have completed it without stopping once and UNDER my target time. Now I suspect this has more to do with my Garmin flashing the low battery warning at me at around 22km and me having to turn the GPS off than anything else. It meant the last 11km were run with only a stop watch. I had no idea of my pace, no idea whether I was hitting my target times and quite frankly, I didn't care either. I just had to get home and that seemingly gave my all the motivation I needed. Maybe this should be my plan for Berlin. When the going gets tough, the tough turn off their GPS data. Doesn't quite have the same catchiness to it does it. Maybe for now, I'll settle for turning the beep off so I don't feel the need to check it EVERY. SINGLE. KILOMETRE!

Anyway, a moderate 24km next weekend and hopefully both my nipples and toenails will have recovered by then!

Running...

2012-08-28T20:38:00.000+01:00

Running. That wonderful and energetic activity that keeps a smile on your face, your energy levels high and motivation that continues to rise as your meet or beat your own personal goals. That is unless you're training for your first (and last) marathon. Then it's a ball ache of epic proportions. Seriously.... how do you lot do it?

To say training's going swimmingly may be a slight fabrication or the truth on one hand but on the other, may just be an out and out lie. I have got to the root cause of my hatred for this training though. I'm an idiot! See, I want to complete a marathon and do it well. I want that feeling everyone talks about, the emotion, the sense of achievement and the like, I just don't want to have to spend 3 hours of my Saturday morning pounding the pavement trying nasty energy sweets and energy drinks. I'm aware one isn't going to happen without the other and there's not a chance in hell I'm giving up on this but it doesn't mean I have to enjoy it and therein lies the reason for the lack of blog activity. I'm a miserable git when it comes to my running at the mo.

Not running in general mind, In fact, I'm already planning on the aftermath when I'm going to concentrate on becoming faster at the shorter distances but at the moment, I'm bored of long runs! Really, really sodding bored! Half Marathons are nice, 10k's are lovely but anything over those 21.1km is nasty.

I've had a couple of weeks where I've completely missed my target times too though which for my latest jaunt of 29km I'm not too worried about but the week before 22km annoyed me somewhat. Especially as I came in under 2 mins quicker the previous week on a 27km go. Nothing seems to be consistent at the mo.

After Saturday's horrible 29km, the balls of my feet were actually bruised and painful so luckily having another pair of brand new identical shoes in the cupboard, I did just under 5km on Monday morning to see if it was any better and I think it was although we'll see come Saturday when a lovely 24km is called for before 33km on the following week.

Berlin is 4 weeks and 5 days away. Get through this and I can start enjoying my running again..

The sound of silence

2012-07-17T11:55:00.001+01:00

Ooh, ooh, ooh. The giddy excitement of a bright warm morning, a cycling commute in a T-shirt and a bike in one piece again! Obviously it'll piss down later and I'll get wet but that's a UK summer for you!

The utterly tremendous news is this... my bike is silent. This may not be a revelation as being single speed, it's pretty much always been that way unless I'm freewheeling. Well since Cycle Surgery fixed my wheel (and serviced the freewheel of their own accord), it's silent. Utterly silent! Well apart from the tyres on the road and the wheezing from the man in the saddle that is. It's brilliant with one tiny exception. I used to use the freewheel clickerty-clackerty as kind of a warning to pedestrians on cycle paths, cats, birds etc. This morning, silence and very nearly, a squidged cat! I now have to make a noise myself which means I'll now look like 'that weird cycling man that yells at animals'. Seriously, that's what the kids will call me!

On the marathon training front, yesterday's intervals were not the easiest of things. It took a while to get things warmed up and I really had to do some stretches before hand. This was pointed out to me in no uncertain terms when I tried to cross my legs on the train home and had to use my hands to move my leg. Winner! I had to do my 1200m at 4:29 pace. All were between 4:34 and 4:41 which although too slow, I felt like I was pushing so not too worried and on the back of my longest ever run only 2 days before, I'll take it! Mind you, I'm sure my runs were uphill and my rests downhill! Or maybe that's just how it felt!

I have a new route planned for Saturdays 24/25km so should make things a little more interesting although the elevation chart looks like a right arse. Going to have to blank that out I reckon as it's like a sodding rollercoaster!

I can't wait for the end of the work day as I can get back on the bike and see just how much my legs have seized up but the way I'm feeling, I'm just going to attack those hills again.

Show me the light

2012-07-11T21:08:00.000+01:00

I don't want to tempt fate, especially as I have 8km on the schedule for tonight but I may finally be relaxing into this marathon training a little.

After a pleasant 17km on Saturday, I think partly due to the company of my Mum on a bike for half of it and partly due to be running on roads I've rarely been on therefore being less mundane, I then had a very successful interval session where I hit 9 out of the 10 times I needed to and the one I missed was only missed by 1.5 seconds! Mind you, this has massive potential for me to fall flat on my face on Saturday morning as I will be running the longest distance I have ever done. 23km. A shade over 14 miles. 21km has been my limit so far and I've only got there sometimes due to the big sign that says finish and the knowledge that I can stop.

In fact, for the next 3 Saturdays in a row, I'll be running longer each time than I've ever done before! This is where the worry kicks in a little. Fear of the unknown for me. Can I cope with just me for company while pounding the pavement?? I'm really not that interesting so wondering if it's time to change my 'no ipod' policy that I self imposed after the dreadful Lisbon Half Marathon in 2010. It's a thought....

On another note, I was recently asked if I would like to review a product from the www.upandrunning.co.uk. The choice of product was mine so on I went, looking through the vast selection of products available in order to find something that a)would be useful and b)that I needed. This caused a little bit of a problem due to the fact that marathon training is pretty much dominating my thoughts right now and from a clothing/equipment point of view, I have everything I need to get me to Berlin. So therefore I had to look at other options. Then it hit me, as Dunwich Dynamo was just round the corner and wanting a little extra light for the trip, how about a new head torch being as mine is old and not very bright. I started hunting through and found a couple. One in particular caught my eye but mainly due to the price. £45 for a head torch seemed a bit steep. This had to be a special head torch.

The PETZL PG TIKKA XP 2 was chosen despite having a name that sounds like the bastard child of a snack and a computer program. So what does this torch have? Firstly and surprisingly, there's a whistle to attract attention built into the clasp and head strap. Genius! I would never have though of it but when running and cycling in the dark, you never know when you're going to need to attract attention. The torch has a number of modes. Very bright, bright and strobe. Then on each of these, you have the option of a long distance bright spot or a dispersed light that avoids a hot spot. Then... if you push and hold the button, it switches to a little but bright red LED that could come in really useful for other road users to see when running or if needing an emergency bike light. For a headtorch, it really is full of features!

I gave it a proper test during Dunwich Dynamo where it was my long distance light source while the bike light concentrated on the bit just in front of my wheel. It really is extremely bright and lit up the dark country lanes with ease which made the down hills a lot easier to deal with. Now I know this is 'just a headtorch' and you can buy a reasonable headtorch that does the job a lot cheaper, it's the little extras like the whistle and red light option that really got me all geeky about it. Sad I know but hey, you're used to it by now right??

Dunwich Dynamo XX - What a ride!

2012-07-02T19:37:00.000+01:00

I think it's fair to say that Dunwich Dynamo is awesome! Statements on twitter such as 'the most life affirming thing you can do on a bike' aren't that fair off the mark. As I decribed it to someone the other day when asked why I do things like this, the bright bit at the end once you've gone through the dark bit in the middle is one of the most fantastic feelings there is.

Dunwich Dynamo even more so than most. Everyone's there for a bike ride. Not a race, just a ride of 180+km though the middle of the night. You're with chatty, happy like minded individuals that are all there for a variety of reasons but will all experience that bright bit at the end and that brings everyone together.

For those who know nothing about this event, it's an hardly organised bike ride from Hackney in London to Dunwich on the Suffolk coast. There are no marshals, no exact route, no official start time (QUOTE: people start to leave when they feel like it after 8pm. A sort of momentum develops'), no van following to help if things go wrong (you rely on the good nature of the other riders) and no charge.

Only my second year for this but last years lessons had been learnt. The flask of hot sweet tea was genius, the change of top and long socks at the half way mark got rid of the chill from last year and the music in one ear from 1am onwards to help me through those dark moments from last year. In fact, because of the above, I didn't actually have a dark moment this year. In fact I didn't stop grinning from 2am - 5am!! Like a bloody Cheshire cat I was!!

Grant and I had had a long Saturday before the ride as we took a car up there to make the return journey easier (last year waiting for the bus was painful although the service they provide is second to none and such good value, but we wanted the option to leave when we were ready this year). This turned out to be a stroke of luck later though! 5 hours of driving is not the best preparation for a 10 hour bike ride!! However, the chippy supper was!

We set off Hackney at 8:15pm once we noticed there was a steady stream of cyclists heading off North so after picking up some directions (for the bargain donation of £1) we joined them. Now a horrible creaking sound is really not what you want to hear at this point but it's exactly what was there. At the regular traffic light stops though the first few KM, we established it was my rear sprocket and then just hoped the chain wasn't on it's way out! I put a lot of lube into the freewheel and by chance more than design, the creaking then stopped. It seems I'd been a bit eager with the cleaning on Friday night and it'd taken a while to get itself going again. Phew!! For a second there, I thought I might have to do it fixed wheel!! (There are people that do that but quite frankly, I'm not that cool and would have moaned a lot... I like freewheeling downhill too much).

Anyway, the bit through Epping was a lot more pleasant this year and with a lot less abuse from passing motorists too! The first quarter flew by and we stopped for refuelling at around 10:30pm. Lunch was had around 12:30 and a further snack break around 3am.

THE LIGHT FANTASTIC AT 3AM!

DD gives you so many memories, but everyone will tell you that one of the most ingrained and amazing is during those early hours where you pretty much just have a line of red flashing lights as far as the eye can see! It just inspires you and I really can't put how it feels into words. The spiel I've written will never do it justice!

So as you can see, it was going well. Too well some would say. Well you're all a bunch of pessimists! But unfortunately, you are correct. 5am and with only 18km to go and it happened! I slowed to check if we had to take a turn, Grant didn't notice in time and was closer than I thought and he rode straight into the back of me. I managed to stay upright and stop the bike. As I turned to see Grant, he wasn't there. Nor was his bike.... Running back up the road 10 yards, he was found lying in a 4 foot deep ditch with bike on top. A helpful participant who'd been nearby lifted his bike up and I helped an uninjured Grant out of the ditch.

THE BROKEN WHEEL. IT'S VISITING THE LBS TOMORROW

Oh Shit! His front wheel had bent and popped 3 spokes. Oh double shit, I'd snapped 3 on my rear wheel and it wouldn't even turn! DD was over. We popped his rear onto my bike and I set off faster than I had for the entire ride so far in order to collect the car so I could pick him up again.

Technically, I finished as I got there but only to throw the bike in the car and head back out to where Grant was. It feels incomplete. There was no soaking up of the atmosphere and dozing on the beach in the sun. We started together and cycled together and therefore DDXX will always be incomplete to me but I can't wait for next year. There is just nothing quite like it!