Freezing fog, rain, sun and rainbows: What a week of running!

So then, this week has been a great week of running for me with three very distinct runs all with various weathers to contend with – and also to relish…

The Friday morning run with Sandra and Let’s Go Run was a short affair and a good thing too. We met at St Andrew’s school and ran for 40 minutes through icy rain, slowly losing the feeling in our extremities but giving ourselves (all 3 of us) a smug feeling of how hardcore we were to be so committed that we would run in such horrible conditions. Also, please bear in mind that as I’m new to running I haven’t yet acquired thermals and was doing this in shorts and a t-shirt only. Bring it on!

Midweek I ran out with Gavin (another TB runner) and we did about 5 miles including a timed one-mile tempo run. What was remarkable about this run was the fog (freezing as it was). As we emerged into Bath city centre and the whole place was lit up with a backdrop of Christmas lights and shrouded with a dense layer of grey fog I had one of those “I love running” moments. We slowly approached the Abbey tower and got have a proper look as it rose eerily and majestically into the foggy winter night; what a treat. If, however, I were seeing this from my car, I'd probably have about two seconds to admire the view before having to pay attention to the taxi about run into me or the suicidal tourist about to jump in front of me. Yes, if you want to see Bath in a new light, go running. Of course you could walk, but why anyone would be out walking on a night like that, I don't know.

On Sunday I joined up with Let’s Go Run again and we did a wonderful 10k run. Again the weather was odd and we found ourselves running in glorious sunshine at one point with rain simultaneously beating down on our heads (never did get that). From there we were literally chasing a rainbow as we ran through the park. The run itself took us from the sports centre, along the river, up through Victoria Park and The Approach and then into yet another area of Bath that I haven’t been to: We went off road on the Cotswold Way and up the hills to a very muddy Primrose Hill. Along from there we emerged by Kingswood School and then finished off the run with a very fast and hugely exhilarating belter all the way down Landsdown Road and back to the sports centre. Once back in town, it was fun trying to make our way around a bunch of Sunday shoppers with just over a week to go until Christmas, but we just about managed to zigzag around them with no collisions. 

View from the Cotswold Way (taken by somebody else on a sunny day)

If we (the TB runners) do collate our runs into some form of 'Transition Guide to Runs Around Bath', this 10k will definitely go on there. It’s great training as the long slog up the hill really works you, but the scenery is fantastic and the blat down the hill at the end is great – says his inner child. This run comes highly recommended; thanks Sandra for showing it to me. 

Do You Get Fog In Woods?

You have to love the longer evenings.  If for nothing more than being able to cosy up and chill out in front of the log burner and now for my new found love of night trail running.

I had my first experience of this back in March when I completed an adventure race on exmoor.  Since then I have been out running at dusk on easy tracks and trails.  Last night however I ventured off with PJ for an exploration over the Bath Skyline.  For a first night trail run I would of thought this would have been easy.  Its a course we both know well and the route is well marked.

It soon became a navigation run as we ascended onto the hills into dense fog and the challenge became finding the path, dodging cows which are difficult to see when lying down and generally trying to stay on 2 feet.

If you have never been out night running I highly recommend it.  Its a chance to see nature in a different light.  Hear new sounds and see paths and familiar landscapes in a completely different light (literally).   Its amazing to sit overlook the city and see the glow from the street lights in the fog.  To the red and green eyes of the creatures of the night reflecting off the head torches.

More fantastic adventures night adventures to follow...

A Run With a View

I love being in Bath during the early evenings.  Standing outside the Abbey with the Christmas Market sheds being constructed and watching 3 lads recording a rap video, and the peacefullness of standing in a place which is so often busy and full of tourists tonight was beautifully calm and relaxing.  It was great way to begin the run and hopefully a great way to finish in the coming weeks with a little mulled wine at the end from the market too.

This is a great little run with a few variations to offer in the day too out to the George and back via the Cannel.

If you like Hills and want to take in the view of Bath running up Camden Crescent is worth it just for that.  Heading out to Bailbrook will give you some spectacular views.  Running the course in reverse to grab a lovely sunset and stop to snap a few pics is a definite must.

Thanks Gareth for leading us on this one.

My 3-Point Plan to Physical Perfection

So then, I’ve not really got any running to talk about today as I've been injured. However, following on from my injury I decided that I needed to go back to square zero and safeguard my body a little more from my new-found hobby. Therefore I am proud to introduce my ‘Conscientious, meticulous, splendiferous three point plan to protecting your knees (and feet and hips and groin and shins).’ And, yes, I am trademarking that name:

Point 1:

Get the Dr to check you out. Did that, and the doc said my knee was fine. Good.

Point 2:

Learn to stretch properly. Went for a lovely Friday morning run with Sandra from Let’s Go Run and learned how to stretch and warm up properly, as opposed to standing on one leg while holding the other in some Karma Sutra-esque yoga pose, while simultaneously trying to read random internet instructions on correct stretching from my precariously-perched laptop. Much better.

Point 3: (the most revelatory point of the three)

Get the right trainers. I went along to Running Bath and had my gait checked – turns out I seriously over-pronate (my foot turns in). After a few sessions of running up and down the Corridor in front of bemused early morning shoppers, I was given a pair of high-support trainers, instead of the zero support ones that led me to injuring myself (see the photos for the difference). My new shoes felt so much better as soon as I donned them and the friendly chap watching me run advised that he also thought these were the best of the five pairs he gave me to try. Job done.  Ok, so the added support they offer makes them look slightly orthopaedic, but do I care? Well, yes, a little; but who cares? My feet will be moving so fast that they are nothing more than a blur come March 3rd.

After going for my small run in my shiny new shoes, my knee felt fine, perhaps a touch aggravated, but so much better than previously. Unfortunately, though, I then went and walked a mile to school with my 3-year on my shoulders, followed by an hour’s ice skating session, so I’m now in a little bit of pain. Silly. I do comfort myself, however, that it was not my run that did this, more just me aggravating a not-completely-healed injury.

Look at the difference in the support...

...and here notice the difference in the middle of the foot.

As you can see, there is a huge improvement in my new shoes, although the colour is a little more difficult to match to my other clothes!

So that’s it. I’m back in the game and looking forward to our first run as group in a few week’s time.

Looking at my feet

This is where a photo of my feet would go, if I hadn't realised that my old card reader doesn't read the cards from my current camera... So next time, you will get your Simon's Feet photo.  And it will be glorified through Picasa, to make the feet look almost hallucinatory.

Gorilla foot...this is how I envision my feet evolving

But for now, I will begin with what I just read on the QI feature on feet that is on the Telegraph website:

A South African study in the podiatry journal The Foot, in 2007, studied 180 modern humans from three different population groups (Sotho, Zulu, and European) and compared them to 2,000-year-old skeletons. The researchers concluded that people had healthier feet and posture before the invention of shoes. The Zulu, who often go barefoot, had the healthiest feet of the modern humans. 

(from: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/qi/8404696/QI-Quite-interesting-facts-about-feet.html)

This quote ties in pretty well with what I was going to talk about in this entry:

Everyone's been asking me about why I would decide to go barefoot.  

Isn't it dodgy on my ankles, as I don't get the ankle support that I would normally get in shoes?  

BE CAREFUL OF BROKEN GLASS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  

Won't I get frostbite?  

Sure, it's kind of understandable to run cross-country without shoes on, but tarmac isn't made for me to go barefoot on!  

I'll get HARD FEET!!  

Won't I be called crazy if I venture outdoors with no shoes on?

My experience with this barefoot project has been very different as of late compared to how I represented it in my first couple of entries.  

1. Firstly, I've cut back on the running.  I've neither found the time to go running (getting up at 5am has been a huge challenge, and I have failed to do so on almost every day since we began trying to get up at 5am...), and nor have I felt that I feel comfortable to be running yet.  I had my hip x-ray'd at the RUH today, and I should know the results of this in about a week.  And my feet are still only hardening up - I think it would be a bit foolish of me to be running around on soft feet.  This has led to me walking lots, barefoot.
2. So I've been walking loads barefoot.  I go to peoples houses barefoot; I go into shops barefoot; I get the bus barefoot; I go to uni barefoot (although I've been putting shoes on before going to lectures/seminars).  My feet are my new play-thing.  And I've been exploring using them on different grounds.  For instance, last night I went to the skip of a charity shop that I know throws out lots of fascinating stuff.  But the skip is round the back of the shop, and I have to go down a fairly bumpy bit of road where there was plenty of shiny stuff (shiny stuff is always quite scary as a barefooter, because of the whole glass idea..).  I was treading more flat-footed at this point, to spread my weight more so that if I did hit some glass it would be less likely to pierce my skin.  Anyway, I must've crunched at least 10 bits of glass under my feet in this very short walk down this 10 metre stretch of road, and none of the glass pierced my feet.  Moreover, my feet felt very refreshed after these fairly sharp steps along this road.  There were plenty of those small stones that seem to just pick themselves into your toes or the arch of the foot, which can be quite painful.  But really, it's like receiving a painful massage: it helps the muscles unless it tears them apart.
   
   
   
   Coloured gems on the famous 'glass beach' of California
   
   Also last night, I started to walk with my head up towards the sky.  The sky was beautiful.  My feet hit no glass, just a few of those dodgy little stones.  But it felt really liberating to take my eyes off of my feet.  Have you ever tried walking with your eyes closed for more than a few seconds?  I did this on the beach back home when I was last there - I planned to walk all the way to the sea without opening my eyes.  This was on Old Hunstanton beach, which is massive, it takes about 10 minutes to walk out to the sea on a good day anyway.  I ended up opening my eyes because I was confused... But anyway, the feeling was the same when I walked on the beach with my eyes closed as when I walked last night with my eyes away from my feet.  It is definitely one of my goals for the next few weeks to be able to walk/run barefoot without feeling that I need to be constantly scouting out the ground in front of me.
   
   
   
   Old Hunstanton beach
3. I'm now more interested in the spiritual benefits of walking barefoot than of the physical benefits.  Sure, taking off my shoes allows me to feel the impact of hitting the ground in the wrong way (heel-first is definitely the way of destroying your hips and knees...).  But it is much more important than that.
   I have found myself on a number of occasions to be walking in the centre of town, and losing myself amongst the hustle and bustle.  Since taking up barefoot, I've begun to strip down my feet when this happens, and put my shoes and socks in a bag.  A few minutes of walking barefoot seems to radically clear my head.  It grounds me.  I feel connected to the earth, and I feel light and freer.
   
   So I don't want to rush my barefoot running training, as I still have absolutely plenty of time until the half marathon, and would rather find the spiritually best time for me to get into running more properly.  Perhaps when my feet have hardened some more.

On a strange kind of end note for this entry, there is apparently Biblical citation of Jesus encouraging his apostles to go about their business barefoot.  It says in Matthew 10:10: 

'Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass in your purse, Nor scrip for your journey, neither two coats, neither shoes, nor yet staves.'

Jesus Christ, the barefoot shepherd

Definitely down… but definitely not out.

So then, after a month of running, I’ve only gone and bloody injured myself haven’t I? I am sitting here feeling a touch low because as I look out of the window at this wonderful sunny day, I know that I should have been on a refreshing morning run with Let’s Go Run down by the river.

Don’t worry, my injury isn’t serious (it’s just a very common case of runner’s knee, brought on by me pushing too hard over the last few weeks) but it has hurt to walk for the last week and of course I haven’t been able to go for a run.

Having consulted Dr Internet, I know that the reasons I have done this to myself are simple:

• Not getting my pronation properly checked and then buying the right shoes. I just went out and bought a pair of Nike Air running shoes and figured these will do the job fine. Wrong.
• Increasing my mileage by more than 10% – the other day I went from doing 3 miles to 6 miles. (I think that’s more than 10%)
• Not stretching properly, not stretching long enough, not stretching at the correct times and missing out some vital muscles.

So, I’m going to be fine as long as I get my pronation checked out, buy the right shoes, stretch properly and don’t think that just because the music is pushing me on, that I am superman. I’m not. I’m also not as young as I was.

Widcombe Locks. I'd never been here until now. Lovely

Still, the good news is that I am loving my new-found fitness regime and, more importantly, this Local Running Adventure is doing exactly what it said on the tin: I have found parts of Bath that I never knew existed before I got out of my car and have thoroughly enjoyed getting lost along the back alleys and footpaths of this amazing city. I’ll be back pounding the trail soon – hopefully next week  – but until then it’s a diet of take it easy and plenty of rest (I just need someone to tell my kids that!)

Peace.

Sustaining Myself Sustainably

I completed my first triathlon and ran my 3rd Half Marathon in September.  Both were tough and yet enjoyable.  Unfortunately the only way I could sustain myself was to consume those horrible energy gels that send me crashing once the sugar has burnt off and often leave me with a stinking headache.  

Over the summer on many of my training runs I have been burning 2,000 calories which as you can imagine has left me feeling pretty empty.  I have been exploring how you can get your body to store more calories and also prepare better for a longer runs (which I hope to blog about later).  I have read some interesting digests about running with hummus wraps and alike and wondered what a local alternative would be to a light high carb - protein mix could be.  

So as winter settles in and the frost starts to harden the ground I am wondering what naturally and locally available food stuffs there are that could help me to keep my energy levels up whilst training and aid recovery post runs that will fit into what can be seen as a rather busy lifestyle. 

Any good advice would be gratefully received.  

A Sunday morning running adventure

Ok, so this is my first ever blog post, I don't know how to make it look all fancy and add photos but guess I am here to learn! I also really hope this has some sort of spell check function. Here goes! I'm Lucie and I am taking part in the local running adventure! excited! and slightly worried my running will be on a par with my blogging skills... So today I went on a running adventure- it was quite exciting really (though it was waaaay to early on a Sunday morning). It was an unexpected adventure as I was supposed to be kayaking but the river was too high so I donned my running outfit (always good to look the part) and strode out into the morning chill... I have been running in Bath before, but if I am honest I plan to downplay previous exercise to make myself look a bit better when I limp over the finish line after an embarrassingly slow run in March. So I headed to the park- easy, took about 10 minutes, turns out I live quite close to the park. Next challenge I thought I might aim higher- quite literally and decided to tackle a hill- being in Bath, there’s a few so I aimed for the one I thought was nearest and went for it. So after a short stint of running up and down what I fear may have been the same 3 roads for about 20 minutes I make it to linear park- success!!! Or not... it was closed and I was back to square 1, but it did give me the chance to entertain the lady walking her Jack Russell by running (If I am brutally honest at this stage it was walking) up the drive of someone’s house- in my defence I thought it was a footpath, realising, then trying to pretend I meant to do that, while beating a hasty retreat. I finally found my way and carried on up to Bear Flat and familiar territory. I was a lovely Sunday morning and linear park was the perfect place for a run- it’s actually closed because of the "Two Tunnels" project which will provide a walking and cycling route through 2 disused railway tunnels to the other side of Bath. It will be lit, which is handy as the tunnels are pretty long and a fantastic link to the existing routes, avoiding the dreaded hills! You can read more on their website www.twotunnels.org.uk Also heading down Lyncombe hill- you just get the most amazing views of Bath- especially in the morning.

A foot massage

In my last blog entry I mentioned that I hadn't actually done any barefoot running since being in Alicante over two and a half months ago, and that the last time I walked barefoot was over a month ago and had to stop because the ground was too harsh on my feet.

Well, I'm going to deviate a bit now.  I just wanted to set the scene, before I would go on.

I've started a very, very healthy routine with my flatmate of getting up at 5am every day.  Whoever is up first knocks on the door of the other, and then we both do our respective spiritual routines.  My plan has been to go for a barefoot run after I've finished my morning meditation every morning, but upto today this has not happened purely because I've felt too tired.  And then, so the plan goes, I have breakfast after the run, then either leave out to uni or get on with some work or go back to bed for a while.  The important bit is actually making the disciplined effort of rising at 5am, no matter how stubborn I'm feeling towards staying in my bed and my dreams.

Today I managed to kickstart my barefoot training!  And my, did it feel good to get into it.

I thought I would just go for a walk down to Moorland Road from my flat on Hillside Road, and walk back again.  Ya know, just so that I can carefully place the tips of my toes in the water, so that I can get a feel of its temperature.

I noticed a few things in the first half of the walk, whilst I was walking down to Moorland Road.  Firstly, 7am is such a special time!  It is before anyone has really got up and started the day, but there are still a few people about.  It felt very atmospheric to me.  Oh, and the sky was really quite something.  It was pretty sunny, but there was a layer of dark clouds that looked like they were about to come over (and they have since been over, about an hour later).  The birds were at band practice.  The temperature was actually fairly mild, though my feet were feeling very cold on the slightly damp pavement.
I noticed, straight away after leaving out, how completely different of a sensation it is to be walking barefoot.  I can actually feel my weight moving on and off of the ground when I'm barefoot, as I can feel the after-shock/vibration of every footstep.  I guess shoes normally absorb this all.  So leading back to the last entry that I did, where I linked to this article here: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/01/100127134241.htm in saying about the different kind of stride that you're supposed to have when being barefoot because of how much more uncomfortable it is to walk with the heel hitting the ground, I can clarify that in my experience I very much agree with this finding.  I don't know if it's like it every day (it certainly wasn't quite like this in Alicante), but today the pavement seemed so spiky and hard!  It was actually quite painful to walk until I started walking on the balls of my feet, and then I felt a lot bouncier (as the article suggested I would), and I found that I was walking very very quietly, like as if almost all impact of my steps had disappeared after I stopped walking on my heels.

Now, what about this ball of the foot?  Why is it called the ball of the foot?  Won't I do damage to it by walking on it?  Well, as for its origins, it is named after the largest metatarsal bone which has a ball-like appearance.  Interesting huh?  It's been used in this way since the mid-1300s.  And as for the damage, we'll see.  I'll let you know if anything happens.  But it has not happened in my experience so far with being barefoot, and I don't honestly expect it to happen in the future.  Also, I would regard the possible injuries to my feet to be much less serious compared to the injuries I have already experienced with my hips from playing badminton, from cycling, and from running badly.

I got to Moorland Road, and then walked round Triangle North, so that I could do a loop and go up Junction Road.  But, quite unexpectedly, I started running just before I got onto Junction Road.  It wasn't even raining or anything, I just felt completely like running.  Sure, my feet were cold and I was deliberately twitching my toes quite a lot so that blood kept circulating in them (I'm paranoid about getting frostbite in above-zero temperature...how embarassing it would be!), and I didn't have any speed about me because I wasn't used to either running or going barefoot, but there was a really nice feeling that I got of moving my body in this way.  It was really really relaxing, just bouncing away up the hills.
And then, to make things even more interesting, I started needing to run.  My bladder had become a little upset by the fact that I'd decided I didn't need to go to the loo between waking up and going for the run.  So I started to run faster, and more urgently.  But it still felt peaceful and relaxing.
I became surprised by how warm I had become - even though I wasn't actually running with much speed at all despite my latter urgency, I had picked up a sweat very quickly.  Next time, I decided, I won't go out with all the layers on.

So I returned home, sorted myself out (including, very importantly, washing my feet.  This avoids any awkward confrontations with either my housemate or anyone else who see me barefooted and notice the cleanliness of my feet...), and had my well-earned breakfast.  A very good start to the day.

And the best part of it all: the feeling after sitting down.  My feet tingling, and feeling smooth.  They had just received an unorthodox massage, but a massage regardless.  Completely for free.

So if anyone would like a foot massage, I would suggest you join me on my early morning barefoot run.

And for an inspiring video of this guy winning the 1960 Rome Olympics marathon (he was completely unheard of previously) without wearing shoes, see: http://youtu.be/0Dppdcy1pyM?t=5m55s

My bear feet are bigger than yours!

Hello world, again.

I am Simon.  My name is ironic, because it is often translated as to mean 'he who hears', and yet my hearing is not so great.

Now, there's a philosophy that I really really like.  And that is that all of the muscles and nerve endings on the soles of your feet are connected to different parts of your body.  I assume that this is how reflexology works, but I am not so interested in massaging other people's feet.  I do give a lot of upper back and neck massages, but for some reason I have never felt compelled to massage anyone's feet before...I think that foot massagers are a special breed of people, perhaps of a similar kind to that Tarantino guy.
But I am into exploring making use of these magical gems at the bottoms of my legs.  I don't think that I enable them to be as magical as they could be, as I keep them for too often in a comfortable environment that merely decreases the power of their muscles.

One of the reasons for me deciding to explore running barefoot is this: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/01/100127134241.htm.  In March of this year, I ran the Bath Half.  I had ran some quite long distances before, but never 13 miles.  I didn't want to mess up my new badminton shoes, so I decided to go out with some dodgy trainers, thinking that they're still shoes and so I'd still be fine.  I learnt through the experience that I had, of being unable to walk without pain for the following two weeks and still continuing to have some pain in my feet for upto a month after, that not all shoes are good shoes.  In fact, after this run, I started my first explorations in walking barefoot.  Walking barefoot, for the first couple of painful weeks, was the most comfortable way of walking, as my feet muscles had been damaged and shoes seemed to just restrict the muscles moreso.

A friend of mine in Bath began to urge me, since way before the summer, to start running barefoot with her.  I agreed that I will plan for it when I got back to Bath after the summer.  She hadn't really ran barefoot before, but I liked the idea of this adventure that we'd share.

I was in Alicante, on the Mediterranean coast of Spain, for a month in the summer.  The weather was good, so I mostly walked around topless and barefooted.  There were times when I'd go to a shop and realise that I'd forgotten to pack my sandles, and so either I was not allowed into the shop or I had to sneak in.  Shop workers seem to not like bare feet in Alicante.  I was running often in Alicante, as there was very good reason to be doing so.  My brother had a room in a flat about twenty minutes run from the beach, so I often ran down to the beach with just swimming shorts on, and nothing else.  My bare feet felt lovely cycling the ground - it felt at times like I was hovering along the surface of the ground, as there was no aftershock being felt throughout my body.

Perhaps due to excessive wintery cycling on a bike that was way too big for me, or perhaps because of playing badminton at a competition level (both arguments are probably equally as likely), I have attained a hip injury that makes a lot of physical activity a little stressful.  I haven't ran a huge amount this year because of this injury:- after the Bath Half in March, I had been planning to run some 10k's throughout the year, but this hasn't happened because I've not been able to begin running distances with my dodgy hip.  However, that running that I did in Alicante had very little consequence on my body.  I believe that the findings from that study I have linked above, of how barefoot runners do not have to absorb the collision impact that shoe-wearing runners absorb, is the reason for why barefoot running was so good for me in Alicante.

I left Alicante for a Buddhist community in the Spanish Pyrenees.  The landscape was harsh, and very rocky.  My barefoot running routine was forced to stop, because I could not master the terrain there.

When I got back to England, I went on a hike in North Norfolk.  For the first day and a half-or-so, I walked completely barefooted.  It felt good, but I really didn't feel good to be walking along the boardwalked path that was covered in chicken wire.  So the sandles soon were used.

Since then, I haven't really been barefooted so much.  This little adventure with Transition Bath is incredibly exciting for me, as I believe that it will be very life-affirming.  This will be my first deep exploration into my feet's properties.

The benefits of a little competition.

Well, another first for me today: I went for a run while away at work.

I know that we’re supposed to be blogging about our local running adventure, but I just wanted to share this as it was quite an interesting experience for me.

First, just to clarify; I work as long haul cabin crew for BA (not very Transition, I know) and my job entails a lot of time spent in hotel rooms around the world. Until now, that time has been spent doing many things – but getting fit wasn’t one of them. For me to get up and go out for a run was a wonderful, fresh experience and I’m very much looking forward to doing it again.

I didn’t push myself too hard, however, because after a few laps of this lovely little park in Johannesburg, I realised that to do so could prove a little silly for 3 reasons:

·   I had only had about four hours sleep the previous night as I had been working a 12-hour shift bringing 300 passengers the full length of the African continent.

·     It was 27 degrees, very sunny and my water was back at the hotel.

·      Jo’burg is 5751 feet above sea level. Oxygen is harder to come by at this altitude.

Nonetheless, having realised all of this, a fellow runner then appeared. He was running the opposite way to me and, as the track was on a ½ mile loop, we kept on passing each other at the same two spots. Now, I’m not overly competitive, but knowing that this other guy had seen me, there was no way I was going to drop off first, and I made it my goal to keep going longer that him. Silly? Perhaps, but having that incentive really worked to push me on even when the above reasons had me feeling pretty ropey after just 10 minutes. I also like to think that he felt the same way and that my presence pushed him on a little too.

Anyway, I am glad to say that my self-induced competition ended in a draw: He backed off and started walking the course – I imagine as a warm down exercise – and I told myself that enough was enough and not to over do it (being half a mile away from my hotel and in a foreign country I didn’t really want to collapse from heat exhaustion and dehydration). 

As I left my impromptu competitor walking round the course and headed home out of the gate, we exchanged a friendly salute and – so I like to think – a mutual gesture of thanks for the company and the amicable competition. A good run.   

Hill training: My God it actually works

So, I went to go on a jog with Let’s Go Run on Friday morning, but due to heavy traffic on the school run, I was a bit late and never made it. Instead, I went for a bike ride and then took a little jog up to Perfect View and around the block. 

The road to Perfect View

Interestingly, I noticed how much easier this little hill was than when I tried it a few weeks ago. In the time since first running up it I've done a few small runs and plenty of cycling, and that little bit of work seems to have paid dividends because I relatively flew up the hill on this occasion, as opposed to struggling up last time; this bodes well methinks.

Morford Street

Yesterday, on the way back from visiting the Moscow State Circus, I ran a mile home to fetch the car because my 3-year old was cold and my 7-year old wasn’t feeling well and the half-hour walk home with them would not have been a pleasant experience, believe me. However, after running up Morford Street and then to the top of Camden Crescent wearing (the highly inappropriate) Converse trainers and jeans and carrying a rucksack full of stuff, I found myself questioning the sense of this decision. Still, to quote a much over-used, but-oh-so-true phrase: no pain, no gain. I guess any kind of hill training is handy for the Bath Half.

I also made a couple of notes to myself when out running:

• The right tunes are very important – Before going on a run  I need to make sure the iPod is stacked with bangers that push you on and not slow stuff that… well… slows you down. Save that for dinner parties.
• I need a bum bag - Carrying my phone, iPod and keys in my hands while running is, quite frankly, a pain in the arse.

I also have a couple of questions:

• Do you just run through a stitch, or should you stop?
• How can I make myself less flat-footed? (I can hear my shoes thudding on the ground even over the music in my headphones)
• Why does it always rain on me?

Balloons in Victoria Park - nice.

 Photos courtesy of my lovely wife.

Off we go then...

Just like Nathan, I have been totally inspired by the London Olympics this summer. When I heard about an opportunity to run the Bath Half for Transition Bath, I just couldn’t resist. Luckily, the invite appeared in my inbox just as I was contemplating my need to get trim and healthy again and trying desperately to think of a fun and exciting way to do it. I’m a reasonably fit individual, but I have never run for fun, and the closest I’ve ever got to running a half marathon is jogging along next to my little girl as she cycles to school.

My uncle winning his Commonwealth gold.
 (it's in the blood)

There is much more, however, to this quest than just getting fit and challenging myself. The chance of joining in this Local Running Adventure has appealed to me on many levels: it will get me out in the open to go and explore this wonderful city we live in as I never have before; it will allow me to join not just the small community of TB runners, but the greater community of Bath runners and indeed the community of Bath as a whole; and, finally, it will allow me to get more involved with TB, hopefully raising some much needed funds at the same time.

So then, here begins the adventure. Like the other runners, I’ll be updating this blog regularly with training stories, running routes, photographs and, no doubt, many complaints as to why my legs and lungs are feeling so sore.

Wish me luck…

Be Inspired. Be Inspirational

There is no doubt I have caught Olympic fever. What a fantastic and exciting time we live in and how amazing to see people achieve what most of us can’t even dream of. Inspired by the Olympics and Para-Olympics I have been out running more miles than ever before and even signed up for the Bristol Half at the end of September and my first ever Triathlon too. I love to run and particularly on the trails and hills of Bath. I love the excitement, energy and challenge that running on single track can give you.

The connection it can give you to the more than human world and the variety of wildlife you can see.
One of my favourite runs is the skyline and running to the top of Rainbow wood with Daisy (our dog), who seems to make it all feel so simple on four legs. At the top of the climb, lungs burning and legs on fire, you are hit with the most amazing smells of wild garlic and sweet scented flowers whilst you run through a tunnel of trees and beaming sun waiting for you at the top (well sometimes).

This brings me to the idea. When I heard the Bath Half charity places were opening I couldn’t wait a minute to apply. However, thinking about it it would not make sense to just run the day and doing nothing with it. Over the summer I have been reading Born to Run – a fantastic book to inspire the even the most stubborn of coach potatoes to get out running – and although no ultra marathon across torturous terrain in depths of Mexico lets have our own running adventure. One that can give us our own sense of connection and inspire ourselves to do more, to build a legacy of transition physical activity and get everyone up on their feet running, walking, and cycling and seeing some of the best and cherished spots in Bath.

We are born to run to help us survive. We are not designed to be great sprint runners but we are exceptionally efficient at long distant running, Chirs McDoughall explains in his inspirational book Born to Run. The surprising bit is we are only good when we remember the important ingredient… Love.

"Vigil had become convinced that the next leap forward in human endurance would come from a dimension he dreaded getting into: character.  Not the "character" other coaches were always rah-rah-rah-ing about; Vigil wasn't talking about "grit" or "hunger" or "the size of the fight in the dog"/  In fact, he meant the exact opposite.  Vigil's notion of character wasn't toughness.  It was compassion. Kindness.  Love...  

That was the real secret of the Tarahumara: they'd never forgotten what it felt like to love running.  They remembered that running was mankind's first fine art, our original act of inspired creation.  Way before we were scratching pictures on caves or beating rhythms on hollow trees, we were perfecting the art of combining our breath and mind and muscles into fluid self-propulsion over wild terrain.  And when our ancestors finally did make their first cave paintings, what where the first designs? A downward slash, lightning bolts through the bottom and middle - behold the Running Man.  

Distance running was revered because it was indispensable; it was the way we survived and thrived and spread across the planet.  You ran to eat and to avoid being eaten; you ran to find a mate and impress her, and with her you ran off to start a new life together.  You had to love running, or you wouldn't live to love anything else.  And like everything else we love - everything we sentimentally call our "passions" and "desires" - it's really an encoded ancestral necessity. We were born to run; we were born because we run. We're all Running People."

Quote from Born to Run by Chris McDoughall 2010 (pp.91-92) 

We were born to run for food. Now running I hope can re-connect us with natural world, friends and the whole community. A chance to step back and see the world for what it is.

Together we can make a difference and continue the good work that the volunteers of Transition Bath continue to do.