Rice and Chips

According to a good friend (who since living in South Wales for a number of years, appears to have caught Welsh), there is a term which means having a little bit of both. It sounds like a phrase borne of the late night butty van: "Rice and Chips".

I wanted a trail run today. I've been missing them. After today's family schedule got pushed back due to a poorly littl'un, it was looking like another midnight ramble, and I promised my wife I'd only be an hour.

So where to run? North Downs or Army Training areas? I was undecided, and running short on time, so I made up a route as I went, and ending up having a bit of both, and loving it all. Having run it on a whim, I feel a bit guilty for overlooking it in the past.

One of the nicest things about it, is that it suits my preference for a training loop with a testing "third quarter". I'll explain, since this may also benefit your training and route choice (even though this one was a fluke):

                                                                                                                                              

Caution - If you prefer your running "improvement free", you should probably look away now

                                                                                                                                              

Pick a route that has a natural effort, between roughly 50-75% of the way round. This could be an uphill drag, or a long straight, or even a wiggly, sandy or muddy section on a trail or forest run. When you reach the start of this section, imagine that this is actually the home straight, and the plan is to get to the end of the section as fast as possible, all out, maximum effort.

If you've ever run with a friend and found the pace ramping up in the last third of the run, this is the same principle, except you're doing it sooner, superimposing the finish line on the 75% mark.

Once you get to that 75% distance, back right off, to a pace you can just manage, without keeling over. You might be puffing, sweating, or wanting to stop, but keep going, at a plod, a shuffle, whatever. Eventually, your breathing gets back to normal, your heart rate lowers, and your running starts to quicken again. All you have to do now is get to the real finish, at a pace that feels good. In many cases, you'll unknowingly start moving again faster than you were going in the first half of your run, despite the sustained effort in between.

It's a natural way to add an extra training element to some of your loops, and hugely effective at developing speed and stamina. Most importantly for me though, is the mental training of feeling like you've used all the gas in the tank, only to find there's more in there than you thought.

I learnt this seven or eight years ago, on some of the runs I used to do with a buddy who's enjoying his first Janathon as Beanoutrunning. He runs phenomenally well, and throws together a great blog. Look him up here.

Tonight: 7.88m, 64:32mins, avg pace 8:12/mile, 1099 cals, slightly more rice than chips.
Janathon Week 1: 59.5miles, 9:50hrs.

You can check out my stats here, but I'd much prefer if you wrote a nice comment below. If your browser won't let you, then go to the stats page and write something rude instead! Cheers!

Midnight Rambler

A day of two halves.

The first half started at nine at my desk, and finished about eleven hours later. The second, rather shorter half started at about half eleven, and finished about three quarters of an hour after that.

I didn't say these halves were equal. They were, in fact very inequal.

Half number one was very considered, since it was a day of work, but the significant (and favourite) part of the output was to prepare the following items for people signing up to our two day ultra-running event in June:

1. Top tips for completing an ultra
2. A five month, multi-discipline training plan to turn mortals into ultra-distance runners
3. An article providing event-specific recommendations on clothing, shoes, nutrition and kit.

Nice work if you can get it.

I'll put a link to the content once it's live on the site. The event, in case you were wondering, is an ultra-run from Carlisle Castle to Newcastle Gateshead, either in one go, or over two days, with a night stop half way. Have look at the current site here if you like.


Half number two was a my run. It was ill conceived, rushed even. It came too late in the day, and too soon after a fish supper. Whether it was all the gastric activity going on, or a residual symptom of my now receding cold, I daydreamed (nightdreamed?) the whole way round, and at one point, forget where I was going. Thinking back, I remember bookmarking certain aspects with peculiar clarity.

- The clouds were hanging low, and felt like they were hogging the mildness, the light, and the sound. I could see my breath, and it felt like there had been a fresh snowfall, but someone had stolen it, and left the effects.

- Curled beech leaves rolled as they blew down a street lined with Victorian houses on one side and a building site hoarding on the other. They were all I could hear, and they sounded like spinning pebbles bouncing down a rocky hillside.

- Running towards a formaldehyde car showroom, intense forecourt uplights appeared to fire sparks of light towards me, along the reflections of the brand new gutters hanging from eaves of the building overhead.

- Dented hatchbacks full of partygoers beep horns and swerve as they burble past. I wonder how close they'd  consider funny if it weren't for the wheel-buckling kerb between us. Meanwhile, the polite druggies in the park beyond the fence call "good evening".

- I collide with a very small dog outside a pub, the very next signpost insists Dogs Must Be Kept On Lead. The smoking owner seems oblivious. It occurs to me that the same control is not required of the owners of tigers.



Tonight: 6.5 miles, 51:32mins, avg pace 7:54/mile, one dog, three hatchbacks, no snow.
So far in Janathon, 51.62 miles, and all my Christmas chocolate, finally. Run stats are up on runningfreeonline here.

Less running, more congesting

The lurgy's not letting up. I can put up with the rattly chest, the runny nose, the rollercoaster temperature. When I've got all that going on, I actually look forward to a run. But.... all that fresh air and elevated heart rate isn't doing me any good now my Christmas Cold has become a Happy New Ear, Nose & Throat infection. My sinuses are so motion-sensitive I feel like I'm teething, and my hair is painful to the touch.

2.77m, 23:51mins, 500mg amoxycillin, 3x bowls boiling water, 1x towel over head.
Janathon totals: 45miles run. 28% family brownie points used up.
You can view today's run here if you're having a slow morning.

"Cross Country" Running

Those of you that followed my Janathon blog last year may be familiar with today’s scamperings, since it was the only route to (roughly) feature twice. It’s basically six short runs in one day.

Guess I won't be running along the riverside today then...

Every fortnight I travel 240 miles “oop north” for an 11am meeting. If I take the first train from my home town, I can arrive at about 1030. However, if I leave an hour and a half later, and forego the Underground connection in favour of a two mile cycle across London, then I can arrive by the skin of  my teeth. This makes sense to me, and is the main reason I have a foldie bike, for the to-and-fro at each end, and the time-saving crosstown dash.

In January last year, I realised I could also just about make it on foot. Whilst it’s significantly more physical than biking, it has practically no impact on those at home: Janathonists everywhere will recognise free mileage when they see it.

But it’s bloody hard. The stop-start wears you down, as does the rucksack containing office clothes, lunch, netbook, work stuff etc. Choosing running wear to allow for weather variables throughout the day in Hampshire, London and Yorkshire is further frustrated by inconsistently tropical and baltic meetings rooms at the office. It means spending chunks of the day being a little bit uncomfortable.

Today, on my return sections my pack included an extra full-sized laptop PC. Not the most welcome addition. If you’ve never run with a 14lb pack, dodging rush hour commuters, then it's worth doing once, only to feel what a redundant stone in weight does to your running. It's quite the motivator.

Todays runs: 14.2m total (2.1m, 2.3m, 2.5m, 2.7m, 2.3m, 2.2m), Avg pace 8:43/mile. Wet socks x2.

Janathon Total: 42.3miles. You can view today's runs (if the mood takes you) by clicking here.

Gymnastics and Ju Jitsu

I teach people how to ride mountain bikes. From complete beginners to competitive level; teaching, coaching, generally making people better in the dirt, on two wheels.

A couple of years ago, someone asked me whether I could design a skills course that taught people how to fall off mountain bikes safely. I shuddered at the thought. Whilst it's very possible to teach old dogs new tricks, young dogs bounce better. Ultimately, some things are so counter-intuitive to the adult mind that the risks simply outweigh the rewards. I imagined the end of a session, the ambulance waiting in the carpark, while battered bikers limped back with tails between legs and confidence in tatters.

There's an ideal time to learn how to fall well, without hurting yourself. It's while you're young. It's why I hope to introduce my growing son to gymnastics and ju jitsu, as I was.

So why this, now?

Well, after the meteorologcial onslaught that devoured the country through the first half of the day, I felt I should bag a few miles during a starlit reprise. Which is when I took a purler.

Given that I still have a cold, I left the house with the intention of taking it easy, but a gentle downhill start felt good, so I kept cadence high, backed off a bit on the hills, and breezed my way round an unassuming loop.

Rub some dirt on it - all better.

However, half a mile from home I came a cropper. On a narrow pavement between wall and oncoming traffic, a manhole cover had been forced open from underneath by a million wet leaves. This slab of immovable iron was invisible on my full-tilt approach, and my left foot swung into it with a "Oh-heavens-what-the-hell-was-that-I'm airborne-and-the-feet-aren't-hitting-the-ground-again-any-time-soon-here-comes-the-tarmac-this-could-hurt-hang-on-angle-hand-tuck-shoulder-roll-back-scuff-hip-heel-aaaand-stop". My next thought as I laid on my back was to pause my Garmin, while I checked my legs were still working.

The principles and application of tumbling techniques can be the difference between instinctively distributing an impact force around the body, or smashing wrists, knees, elbows, head. The medical profession call these kinds of injuries FOOSLs - or Falls On Out-Stretched Limbs, and they constitute a high proportion of winter A&E admissions.

I however, received a scuff on my hand, a throbbing big toe, and another dramatic fall to run away from, and feel good about.

Today's run: 3.6miles, 27:38mins, fastest pace 5:18min/miles, highest airborne trajectory 1.4m,
Janathon total: 28miles, one fall, no submissions. Click here for today's run stats.

Surrey Inns Kanter

I ran this event last year, and kickstarted 31 days of running in the name of Janathon, and I was keen to return. It's a 20(ish) or 12(ish) mile treasure hunt, where the answers to the majority of the clues can be found on the signs of pubs, inns and hostelries. No waymarking, no drink stations, just good old-fashioned self-supported trail running with map and compass. Participants' start times are recorded by Molly, at the door of the Village Hall, and they then run, walk, or do a bit of both to return with a full list of answers, and muddy feet.

A sunny North Downs Way - smiles for miles

I committed to this event again for this year (albeit a different route) before I'd subscribed to Janathon. However, knowing that I'd not be running as fast this year, I decided on an alternative approach, and emailed some running buddies offering my services for an informal navigation training session.

Fiona said yes, and the timing should work out nicely as she trains towards her first 100 miler this spring. Also great for me, since a slower pace would allow me to finish despite this confounded cold.

We set off gently to let Fi get used to the mapping symbols, our pace across the page, and some navigation techniques. Soon she was bogarting the map, and navigated intuitively for almost all the journey. We finished with smiles on our faces, despite the extra effort Fi put in to stay on top of the nav. I'm confident she'll go from strength to strength.


Today: 21.4miles, 4:40hrs, 1775ft ascent, 2485cals, one cup of tea, four choc chip cookies.
Janathon so far: 24.6miles run. Click here to view today's run in Running Free Online.

The Green Triangle

Oh, but were today's run as wondrous as the shiny green triangle we know and love from our festive chocolate assortment!

Sadly, today's run was far from wondrous. But it was in the shape of a triangle, and green was the colour of the runner.

I've picked up Christmas Lurghy, and were it not for Janathon, would not have left the front step. Still, I decided to follow my own advice, and ran to the end of the road, (which is the best place to decide if you want to go for a run or not), where I decided I would continue, for a bit, then a bit more, and so on.

Just over three miles managed on some quality streets (ho ho ho), never straying more than half a mile from home, and I actually feel a bit better for having gone.

I'm doing a long trail run tomorrow, so I'm going to try and leave the cold at home.

Today - 3.17 miles, 26 mins, 336 cals (or seven and a half Quality Street green triangles)
Click here to see this run at Running Free Online