The British 10K London run 2014

Having run the iconic London marathon two years ago, it was nice to return to the capital to run again and take part in the British 10K London run.

I was invited to the event by Gung Ho, on behalf of New Balance. I've been lucky enough to review New Balance's latest trainers and their 1260 model has become a firm favourite of mine.

It was an early start as I made my way up to London and to the Cavalry and Guards Club in Mayfair for some pre-race hospitality adjacent to the start line. I could get used to this sort of hospitality pre-race in such grand settings.

Inside the Cavalry and Guards Club

Pre-race Breakfast

After breakfast and chatting with fellow blogger Steve from Blog7t and a couple of journalists from the Express newspaper covering the event, it was then great to be sharing the balcony looking over the thousands of runner, with the Military Wives Choir who sang some old wartime songs and then listening to the retired former head of the British Army reading wartime poems.

Great view from the balcony and the waves of runners

With the Military Wives Choir

The Military Wives Choir performing

With the 100 year centenary of the First World War it all felt terribly British and I felt quite proud of my Country. With the National Anthem being sung by the Choir before the start of the race I was feeling quite pumped up and ready to run despite my nagging Achilles injury.

World War 1 procession

Another bonus I had was the chance to start in the front group, a privilege I've never had in such a big race. Me an elite athlete for the day...who would have thought!

With so many runners taking part, I was expecting a slow start and a struggle to settle into any kind of pace early on. 

However with being at the front of the pack and amongst the lead runners, I started way too fast and by the first mile was running at sub 7 min/mile pace which is unfamiliar territory for me. 

Surprisingly, I managed to keep the pace fast for the first few miles, at 5K I was not far off my PB for that distance. My running the couple of weeks previous had become somewhat subdued due to my Achilles problems, so I was more than happy to be flying along. My new New Balance 1260's were performing great on the wet tarmac streets of London.

The crowd support was good despite being a short race and a damp Sunday morning. The crowd was particularly good along the embankment and approaching Big Ben near the end of the race. It bought back great memories of the marathon but this time without the pain of being at mile 24!

In fact the best way to describe the race would be a mini London Marathon. The course takes in some of the route of the marathon and some iconic London sites like Trafalgar square,The Ritz, St. James's Palace, St. Paul's Cathedral, the London Eye, Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey and Downing Street, All that within a 6 mile run! 

A great way to see the Capital, traffic free and I would highly recommend, especially for runners who don't want to take on the marathon but want the big London race experience.

The iconic route

I managed to complete the race in a respectable 48:26 before heading off to the New Balance Village in Waterloo place to collect my belongings. I picked up a nice New Balance goody bag and my medal and then took advantage of a free massage from YourPhysioPlan.com. 

This was great to get some long overdue attention on my Achilles and my tight calves which are causing the problem. I say 'great' but at the time it was far from that as the Physio pummelled into my knotted muscles!

Race Stats

A great morning and a massive thank you to Gung Ho and New Balance for their wonderful hospitality.

The walk back and past one of the races landmarks

Some nice race bling

New Balance 1260 v3 & the British 10K London run

I'm pleased to be able to get a chance to review one of my favourite running shoes again. I've reviewed and run in the version 2 of the popular New Balance1260 so now it was time to see how the 3rd generation of the trainer would fare.

What's so great about the 1260 is that although it's a stability trainer you feel close to the ground and the responsiveness of the trainer is second to none. 

The latest version of this trainer feels similar on foot to its predecessor, a roomy toe piece but keeps the forefoot in place, the upper then hugs the foot nicely feeling comfortable upto the ankle.

The blown rubber outsole gives plenty of stability but makes the shoe lighter than the v2 weighing in at 305 grams (10.8 oz).

The shoe looks busy with plenty going on, is bold and bright and is no shrinking violet! The appearance may put some people off, but I like it.The breathable air mesh upper allows for plenty of ventilation and is noticeable on the run; great when running in the heat.

The grip underfoot works really well gripping to the Tarmac and allowing a good push off yet there are no deep grooved areas that allow small stones to get stuck in (a real bug bear of mine on the run).

Not too many noticeable features over its predecessor but not much improvements were required. As the saying goes, if it's not broke then why fix it!

Cushioning - 8 out of 10, Good cushioning you'd expect from a stability shoe

Comfort - 9 out of 10, Very comfortable especially in heel area

Flexibility - 8 out of 10, Good Flexibity.

Responsiveness - 9 out of 10, Very responsive with the low profile

I will certainly be wearing my new trainers this coming Sunday at the Vitality British 10K London run on Sunday and will be heading to the exclusive ‘New Balance Village’. New Balance, which is an official sponsor of the race, is treating runners to special incentives including access to an interactive chill out area, as well as a free sports massage for runners wearing New Balance.

The ‘New Balance Village’ will be home to a host of activities including sports massage from YourPhysioPlan.com, a network of expert independent physiotherapy practices across the UK. Together with YourPhysioPlan.com, New Balance is offering runners wearing the brand a free sports massage in a space before or after the race. Those wearing the iconic brand will also receive a free New Balance T-shirt and an exclusive discount on a 12 month membership with YourPhysioPlan.com

Ready to run!

All runners are invited to celebrate after the race in the ‘New Balance Village’ chill out area, where they can play crazy golf amongst London landmarks, feast oncomplimentary popcorn and pose for a picture in front of Westminster Abbey and Big Ben within the photo cut out boards. Visitors to the New Balance Village can also head to the New Balance market to pick up the latest New Balance technical trainers from sports retailer Sweatshop.

All participating runners will receive a free pair of exclusive New Balance union jack trainer laces and a discount voucher for Sweatshop at the bag drop areas at the end of the race.

The New Balance Village will be located at Waterloo Place, London. Runners taking part in Vitality British 10K London Run who don’t want to miss out on the New Balance race day incentives can pick up an exclusive discount on a new pair New Balance trainers with Sweatshop. Head to www.sweatshop.co.uk and enter code NBB10K by 31st July, 2014 to receive 20% OFF all New Balance footwear and apparel.

This year the Vitality British 10k London Run is supporting Help For Heroes as its lead charity partner and will honour the 100 years since the First World War with a host of activities.

Keep up-to-date with all of the latest New Balance news on Twitter @NewBalanceUKand newbalancerunninguk on Facebook.

Asics half zip top and 2 in 1 woven shorts

Following on from last weeks review of the Asics Kayano Gel 20 trainers, this weeks review is on two more Asics products. The half zip compression top and the woven running shorts.

Firstly the t-shirt is designed to improve your posture whilst running. The built in diamond shaped muscle panel on the rear helps to open up your chest to allow you take in more oxygen. 

You can definitely feel the panel working on your shoulders and your running posture which would be a great benefit on a longer run or race when losing strength in your core and getting ever closer to the ground mile by mile!

The compression top truly feels like a second skin, extremely comfortable, with no chaffing experienced. The material's wicking properties work extremely well and the t shirt stayed lightweight throughout the run.

There is plenty of reflective prints around the shirt making it safe to run in on when the sun drops on a warm summers evening.

Overall a comfortable compression top with some clever features above and beyond a lot of compression tops. Highly recommended.

The outer layer of the shorts are made with a breathable woven fabric which is extremely lightweight and loose fitting giving plenty of ventilation. Due to the lightweight material the shorts can flap around but the benefits of the ventilation out weigh this minor criticism. There is also a zipped pocket in the rear of the short.

The inner sprinter length tights are made from a breathable mesh which gives extra support, and are seamless which helps prevent rubbing against the skin.

There are reflective prints around the shorts increasing visibility running at night.

Asics Kayano Gel 20

• I must admit, I'm new to Asics, never had a trainer nor any running Apparel....but If the Kayano Gel 20 is anything to go by then I've sure been missing out! 
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• The Kayano is now in its 20th year, I've been running for nearly half that time and wish I'd given these a go in that time. This is a stability trainer which is particularly good for me as I overpronate and have low arches, so need good support for my feet.
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  There is plenty of support in the Kayano but by far it's most impressive features are making the run comfortable. It's truly like running in your slippers! It's noticeable from the first time I put them on and I particularly liked how soft they felt around the ankle which again was noticeable when running. 
  
  
  The Fluidfit technology that Asics use in the upper is a flexible mesh that stretches in multiple directions and this gives a snug but not restrictive fit, imagine wearing a glove on your foot.
  
  
  The Kayano is nice and lightweight for a stability trainer but with new technologies in outer sole making, most trainers are so much lighter these days. Asics use their GEL cushioning system in the rearfoot and forefoot along with the FluidRide technology which gives bounce back, and again enhances a comfortable ride. The outsole material has high abrasion-resistant qualities for added durability, which is good if you go off road like me. Although not a trail trainer, I took mine on some less technical trails and they handled the surfaces fine but the trainer is at it's best with what's it's designed for and running on the tarmac, this is when you really get the benefit of the bounce back and how comfortable the shoe feels.
  The Impact Guidance System (I.G.S.) allows linked components from rear to midfoot and forefoot to work together to enhance the foot's natural gait from heel strike to toe-off.
  
  
  Others features of note is the Exoskeletal heel counter that provides good heel fitting and plenty of reflective material for added reassurance when running in the dark.
  
  
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    Without a doubt this is one of the best trainers I've run in (and I've been through a few!) with comfort being the Kayano Gel 20 best attributes. A new favourite for me.
  Cushioning - 10 out of 10, Plenty of support throughout
  Comfort - 10 out of 10, A*
  Flexibility - 8.5 out of 10, Good for a stability trainer
  Responsiveness - 10 out of 10, Very responsive on the Tarmac
  
  Overall 38.5 out of 40

The Kayano Gel 20's can be purchased at  http://www.asics.co.uk/ 

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Marathon training - Week 5

Week 5 already and still the main emphasis is on speed while the mileage on individual runs is relatively low.

Last Saturday I managed to bag a 5K PB at my local parkrun which I was really chuffed with and finished 24th overall out of 169 runners, 3rd in my age group. So there may be some life left in this old dog after all! But let me tell you, it hurt, real bad, I'd rather be at Mile 22 in a marathon! 

22 minutes running at full capacity is a killer but when the pains gone and the results are in, it's very rewarding.

With exception to two of the runs above, all the rest of my running has been faster than marathon pace which I'm finding to be beneficial on the longer slower runs. On the 11 miles last Sunday, I ran the first 3 miles slower than marathon pace, the next 5 I tried to keep at marathon pace to learn how this feels and the final 3, faster than marathon pace to push myself when I'm feeling tired at the end of the run. Hopefully I can continue to do my long runs like this for a while but will probably struggle when I start hitting the big 18 -20 mile runs later in the schedule.

My Achilles are still causing some problems but I'm managing the injury well enough to being able to keep running. A combination of orthotics, eccentric heel stretches and ice cold soft drink cans are doing the trick! It's a little trick of mine I use at work where I keep two cans of drink in the fridge. After my runs I stuff them into the back of my socks where they ice my Achilles (Genius!) As long as I keep all this up (which I forget to do a lot of the time) then I seem to be keeping the injury at a manageable level.

My Orthotics to support my low arches and achilles support

Stretching everyday keeps the Physio away!

My 10.36 mile Sunday run was my first hilly run. I've not really been concentrating on hills this time round as my race in September is a nice flat one. Although I will add some hill training into the schedule for variety my main concentration at the moment is building fitness. But it was nice to get back on the trails for this run and run one of my favourite local routes, and despite not running this hilly route recently I found I coped quite well with some of the tough hills.

So it's so far so good, I'm really happy with how the training is going and despite the Achilles niggles it's onwards and upwards!

Diet Cults - Matt Fitzgerald

If like me you are a) Fed up of all these different diets that we should be following or b) Confused at what is now considered good or bad foods; then you should definitely have a read of Diet Cults by Matt Fitzgerald.

Matt is an endurance sports writer, coach, nutritionist, and athlete so he knows his stuff. In fact I have read a lot of Matt's articles over the years on the Internet and always find his work, knowledgeable, accurate and mostly common sense!

Once you've read the book and considered all the main diet cults that are out there it does make you question how can one diet be the correct diet, how can one diet allow grains and another not. Its similar to religion, whose right because not everyone can be.

Matt almost sums it up in one example; with the odd exceptions, no elite athlete follows any of these diet cults but rather follows what science teaches us after years and years of practice of what is right. Now what does that tell you straight away.

"We saw, through the example of Paleo dieters, that people don’t choose diets by reason; rather, diets choose people by appealing to identity-based dispositions such as masculine self-image."

The Paleo diet is probably one of the most popular diets around today, but Matt refers to archeological evidence that "with new methods of extracting DNA from dental plaque revealed both Neanderthals and Paleolithic people ate barley, beans and tubers". Hominids living two and a half million years ago ate more grasses and grains than fruit and leaves and "that virtually every food humans eat today is different from those eaten by our Paleolithic ancestors"....and people are making money and living their lives based on diet that doesn't and has never existed!

All these various diets miss out on key nutrients between them and there is not a 'bad' nutrient out there, even sugar which has had more bad press than normal in recent years, if used correctly has a benefit ie. for sport and energy. It's when it gets abused by people consuming it in processed foods like sweets and cakes that it becomes a problem.

Energy drinks are loaded with sugars and have a place if you're running a marathon but not guzzled daily by kids as a 'cool' drink and that's where sports drinks manufacturers are to be held responsible. They are quite happy for it to be sold in newsagents, supermarkets and vending machines the world round knowing full well that people are consuming them as a soft drink and not what they were intended for!....OK I digress, back to the book!

Gluten intolerance is on the rise or is it? As Matt experienced with his own Mother, stress can cause similar symptoms and the world we live in is becoming increasingly stressful affecting more and more people in many ways.

You dont have to be a nutritionist to understand the book, the author's writing does not leave you baffled with scientific spill but an understanding of ...well how basically, when you put all these diets next to each other how bizarre they really sound. 

To sum up these chapters, it is that there is no such thing as one true way to eat for health.

In the last chapter of the book Matt explains his own way of Agnostic healthy eating. By no means is this the author hitting on us with another diet cult but putting all foods into a diet quality hierarchy. Ten categories of foods to eat in order of quality, sticking mainly to the foods at the top of the list but not ruling out anything. The order is as you would expect: vegetables,fruits,nuts&seeds,high quality meat and seafood,whole grains,dairy,refined grains,low quality meat and seafood,sweets,fried foods. The lower you go down the list the less you eat of, in other words, a healthy balanced diet. 

It sounds simple, but with all these diet cults existing, it's getting harder to see the wood for the trees.

Marathon training - Week 2

Already I'm two weeks into marathon training and feeling good, the miles have been kind this early into the schedule with the long run on Sunday only upto 7 miles. This has eased me nicely back into regular running after my Achilles problems.

I've not really been thinking about the big picture and getting myself back upto 26.2 miles and with the miles being low I've gone for speed and getting my fitness back. I've only run one of my runs so far slower than marathon pace, but I'm not too worried as I will definitely be slowing down as the miles increase.

Following on from last weeks 5K PB, I again run my local Parkrun this Saturday and managed to PB again, but my God did that hurt! I swear the pain is comparible whether going full out for 3 miles or running a steady 26.2 miles. The first mile was even run at 6:47 min/mile pace and I've never recorded a mile that quick before. Maybe it's down to my new streamline haircut, I've gone super short which means no more sweaty clogged up hair when I'm training through the Summer. Who am I kidding, knowing the great British weather I'll be running in more rain than sun, but at least my heads also waterproof :-)