I thought I'd share a few pictures and short video from the Woman's Olympic marathon last Sunday morning.
I went along with my two boys (the youngest whom I must give credit to for the photos!) After an early start we made our way from Waterloo, across the river, past Big Ben and along to the end of Birdcage Walk. It brought back some great memories from my marathon back in April.
We had a great position to see the runners come down the long road before they followed the bend around to Buckingham Palace. The only thing that ruined the morning was the great British weather and the biggest downpour ever!
The great thing about this Olympic course unlike the traditional London course was the runners would complete laps which meant we got to see the athletes more than once, after the first couple of laps we made our way back towards Big Ben and watched the remainder of the race from there.
The men's marathon is next Sunday, if you can make it, I would recommend it. It's free and an amazing chance to get right up close to the elites. I was very nerdy looking at trainers, running style and even the way their feet were landing!!!
The weather leading leading up to this weekend had been horrendous so the idea of camping in a single skin 2 man tent (which turned out to be a one man dwarf size tent) and possibly running for 6 hours in torrential down pours was not appealing.
Friend Brian and myself had signed up a while back for the Love Life, Love Running festival taking place in the beautiful forests of Cannock Chase in Staffordshire. I can't remember where we saw the event advertised but it sounded something a bit different and a bit of an adventure, out camping for one night and running for the weekend.
Ah Ha..I think we're here!
We arrived at the site around 11am on the Saturday after a 3 hour drive. The God's were obviously with us this weekend because Summer had finally arrived (for a day or 2 at least!) The vast grassed clearing set within the surrounding forest was scattered with the tents of the other participants, music was playing from the speakers as we drove around mulling over where to set up camp for team 'Running OK in the UK'.
A mile race and a 10K were being run on the Saturday, we didn't have much time before these started so we stuck to what we had originally signed up for which was the 6 hour endurance race on the Sunday. We had signed up as a pair, but the options were to run solo, or in a team of 4 or 6. Brian and myself would be running alternate 7K laps for the 6 hours and we were hoping to achieve a total of 11 laps.
Once we had set up camp and stocked up on some food supplies we decided to run a slow lap of the 7K course to get a practice lap in ahead of the next days race. However the markers were still out from the 10K race so we ended up running a hilly 6 miles instead of just over 4 miles, not the preparation I had in mind!
The elevation was tougher than we had imagined, but fortunately we had been doing plenty of hill training recently which would not go to waste this weekend.
The organizers put on a pasta party on the Saturday night. We had a good nerdy run chat with other runners including Nicky, Lisa and Claire who had done the 10K in the day before retiring back to our miniature tents.
We also met up with a Twitter friend Mike (@mikew30) who was with his family, and a great bunch they turned out to be. The event catered really well for families, which there were a lot of. There was plenty to keep the kids occupied with face painting etc. There is also a 'Go Ape' near by in the forest, plus bike hire, cafes and plenty of MTB trails. I will definitely bring my family along next year.
Me, Mike and Brian
The night's preparation for the next day could not have gone any worse with a massive sleep of....2 hours on a dodgy flat air bed. What with running the 10K course the evening before and 2 hours sleep, I wasn't sure how I was going to fare with the race.
Our plan as I said earlier was to run 11 laps, the idea was Brian would start and do the extra lap at the end. The race kicked off, Brian was gone and I had at least half hour to wait till I set off. It was not long before Brian was back from his first 7K lap laying down a low 7 minute/mile pace. Automatically I set off too fast as well and completed my lap with a 7:30 minute/mile pace. We had both pushed the start of the race too hard and would have to be more conservative on the remaining laps.
Pre race gathering
The lap starts with a half loop around the camping field before heading off into the forest and undulating trails. The terrain is a mixture of stones, sand and woodland trails with some man made paths through the more popular areas of the forest. After some early undulations in the first mile the next mile is the toughest with a hilly section to the course that by lap 4 and 5 I was cursing! After this section is out the way there is plenty of short up and downs before hitting the biggest downhill section which comes as a welcome relief. A trip past the fishing lake, a windy woodland path, one last evil short hill and then you are back in the site with a testing loop under your belt.
The live results were on a screen so you can see how you're doing throughout the race. At one stage we were 3rd in the women's pairs!!! After a quick word we were back in the male pair group which 3/4 of the way through the race we were leading! I think other teams had the same problem with their categories because by the end the male pairs list had grown and we finished up 3rd, still a great achievement.
Baton change over
In the end we achieved the 11 laps, I completed 5 and Brian 6. So I ran over 21 miles on the day. In some ways running a straight 21 miles straight through seems easier in the fact that you are not stop starting and can find a rhythm but on the other hand the break between laps was a great chance to fuel and hydrate properly.We fuelled ourselves on coconut water with pineapple, water and flapjacks.
Each lap takes in 850ft of ascent so by the end of the race I had climbed 4250ft, with the 10K the evening before and 2 hours sleep, the weekend has given me confidence to what I can achieve.
Finally time to praise the organisers, super friendly and helpful. The facilities on the site brought in for the event were great which consisted of a portable shower block with hot power showers (most welcome after the race) and a toilet block. There was also a food van selling a variety of food. The camping field is huge and plenty of space to pitch where you want.
The Monodome 2 tent from Halfords - Don't buy unless you are 4ft tall.
I will definitely be back next year and I thoroughly recommend this to everyone, the challenge can be made as easy or as hard as you want it. You can follow Love Life, Love Running on Twitter @TrainRunAchieve
At one stage there were about 10 of us, but come today and the inaugural run of Club NDW (North Downs Way) there were...3! OK not the greatest of starts but a brilliant run never the less.
The club has been informally formed by a bunch of us local Twitter friends who can all access some of the most stunning scenery and trails in the South. The North Downs Way runs through Surrey all the way to the Kent coast a whopping 156 miles long. Today we were on a stretch between Newlands Corner near Guildford and Ranmore Common near Dorking, covering 15.6 miles and a challenging ascent of 2474 ft in total.
So the 3 amigos, @bsmithy100 (Brian) @jedirider (Tim) and myself @runningokinuk set off in the brilliant summers sun rain. The recent down pours made for a lot of slipping and sliding along the muddy trails and at times when running on an incline streams of water cascaded down the sides of the trails. It was all worth it though because eventually you come to some quite spectacular and beautiful views over looking the Surrey hills that even the rain and grey skies could not spoil.
Drink and gel break and a chance to enjoy the stunning views
The mud made for some energy and leg sapping miles but the deep puddles and sliding around added to what was a brilliant run with plenty of chatting and laughter along the way.
Mud and Water the theme of the day!
It may all sound a little daunting with the terrain and ascent covered but this was a very relaxed and easy paced run. Hopefully the next time Club NDW meets up we will have a few more on board and the original gang of Tweeters who were going to be here today will be there next time, plus anyone else reading this who fancies it.
This is going to be a very informal get together when it fits in with everyone, and it matters none about ability, whether you're an ultra runner or a 5K runner who fancies running some trails. The distance and route today was what it was because its what the 3 of us were planning today, but the miles can be reduced to whatever, people can run on if they want, stop and wait and enjoy the views, it really doesn't matter. The whole reason for this is a relaxed run with like minded runners to enjoy some great trail running once in a while.
So if you want to come along next time find any of us on Twitter or the hash-tag #clubndw and enjoy some of the best trail runs the South has to offer.
I've been thinking a lot lately about the ultimate question in running... "Why do I run?" It's such a difficult question and for many years I've never really known the answer. Initially I ran to be fitter, to feel better about myself, it's helped to reduce stress and anxiety. But since I have got into trail running the answer has become more clear...Total escapism! The world we live in is getting busier by the day. Technology is advancing at a rapid pace, emails make our daily work more demanding, people want everything yesterday. Even if you get to the gym or hit the streets running you are surrounded with the latest gadgets, lots of people and traffic.
Hitting the trails strips back life to it's raw bear bones. The stresses of the modern world are left behind, you are transported back to a world that evolution has left behind. I stepped out of the modern world for an hour today. I slipped out of my claustrophobic shirt and trousers into shorts, running top and trainers, left my car and headed onto the trails on the South Downs, I headed into Houghton Forest past a few dog walkers and in moments was the only man on the earth (or so it seemed). I went on a 6 mile run quiet,beautiful and at times challenging. I was either running up or down but very rarely horizontal. Once I got through the dense forest, I tracked around the perimeter of the forest with stunning views all around of open rolling hills that went on as far as the eye could see. I couldn't be further away from the modern world (apart from my mobile phone!).
My feet did not touch the tarmac once. Trail running is exciting, I love to run in new places with a bit of the unknown factor thrown in. The trails are pollution free, better at conditioning your body with the ever changing terrain and so much better on the joints and muscles. I still don't mind the odd road race, as Scottish Ultra and trail runner Ellie Greenwood says on a recent post on her blog it's a good place to see where you are at with your overall speed. Ellie recently finished an amazing second place in the Comrades road marathon in Durban. I reckon she has got it spot on with her mix. You will never run a trail marathon quicker than a road marathon 1)They are usually a lot hillier, and 2) The changes in terrain. Who can run faster in sand than on tarmac! Today for instance I had to trudge through long wet grass up to my waist which was impossible to run in so I had to except a few minutes at walking pace. But surely that's a greater payoff than running on tarmac through the busy polluted streets or the monotomy of the treadmill.
I would say that 90% of my running is now done off road and has been for a few years now, so it was about time that I made the switch to the fast growing world of trail trainers. It would appear my love affair with my Nike Lunarglide's (which I've had 3 pairs of) would be put on hold. I've been so impressed with the Nike's and they have handled the non technical trails well but essentially Nike are in the business for road running shoes. I did have a look at what they had to offer in the trail market but decided on sticking with the brands that have been in the trail game longer.
As this was my first time dipping my toes in this market (forgive the pun!) I did not want to spend a fortune on my first pair so decided to go with the Adidas Kanadia TR4 a popular entry grade trail trainer. The trails I cover are not super technical (mud,sand,towpaths,woodland) so these should fit the bill nicely.I was slightly worried about the less support trail trainers seem to other, but remembered someone telling me that the trails are a lot more forgiving than tarmac so support is not required to the same extent as a road trainer.
Although not as cushioned as I'm used to, the TR4 feels and fits really nice around the foot, they look good, but one should not judge a book by it's cover. At 340g they feel pretty lightweight to which is a plus.
The lugs covering the underside of the TR4's front to back
I got myself down onto the North Downs Way to put the trainers through their paces over the undulating trail which offers Tarmac, Mud, Sand, Grass and woodland paths, so a good mixture of terrain.
The trainers seemed to come through with flying colours on all the terrains including a stretch of tarmac. The TR4's are not that flexible and I could feel the lugs underfoot on the tarmac, although not as big a problem as I thought it would be on the tarmac it was a bit like driving an off road vehicle on the road when its used to tougher terrain.
The TR4's were particularly good in the soft mud and sand, gripping and preventing sliding around. They also were happy with the harder uneven woodland trails although I did sometimes feel the foot rolling with no medial support to prevent this.
Sandy trails and obstacles
There is plenty of ventilation with the mesh that covers the forefoot but I did not run through any puddles to see how the trainer coped with holding water and drying out.
I know when its time to change my trainers, the 500 mile rule works pretty well but my Achilles start playing up too as the trainers lose their support. This was the reason in getting new trainers again this time round, but after today's run I've no reaction from my Achilles. This is the area that the TR4 offers best protection and cushioning so hopefully all will be good.
To sum up, the TR4 is fantastic value for money (£40 Sports Direct) looks and fits well and handles less technical trails really well. The only con's I can spot at the moment is it's lack of flexibility and both laces came undone once on an hours run, but so far so good.
Don't worry I'm only running half that speed!
Updated 12/06/12
A further test for the new trainers this morning, 13 miles along the flooded canal path so plenty of mud and water. There is certainly no miracle waterproofing properties to TR4's, by mile 3 my socks and feet were saturated. Admitley I ran through every puddle and to be fair even the specific waterproof trail trainer would have done well to keep the water out today. Although the trainer did remain light throughout the run and did not hold the water so a plus there. Once again the TR4's played to their strengths making mud and soft ground a breeze to run through with no sliding whatsoever, and I went through alot of mud.
Today's run confirmed all the positives of the TR4's, and the laces stayed done up all the way on this run!
A super easy quick nutritious classic dish ideal for carb loading with low GI wholewheat pasta. (Remember keep your pasta and breads brown and not white)
Serves 4
Ingredients
500g wholewheat pasta
1 onion finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic
1000g of chopped tomatoes
2 heaped tablespoons of muscovado sugar
Bunch of fresh basil chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons of Olive oil
Method
Cook the wholewheat pasta to instructions on packet
Heat the oil in a large saucepan
Add the onion and garlic and fry for 2-3 minutes
Add the chopped tomatoes, cook for 3 minutes before reducing heat to simmer
Stir in the muscovado sugar
Add salt and pepper to taste (Lots of pepper works well)
Add the basil and continue to simmer for a couple more minutes
Drain the pasta and then add to the sauce and mix together well
Serve and enjoy
This dish is low in saturated fat but for a treat you can added grated cheese. Tastes even better the next day reheated.
