Tag: training

Let’s talk about pace

Jess Guth2 Comments

Yes, let’s. Better talking about it than actually doing anything about perhaps increasing my own! Pace is a thorny issue with running isn’t it. It’s all soo relative. I was talking to someone the other day who told me she’d got home after a 5km and realised she’d done it in 32 minutes and was ecstatic and then her husband went and came back all grumpy because it had taken him just over 30 minutes and he said it was his slowest ever… Hm, Pace.

So, rewind a little bit. I should explain what triggered this post. I was looking at information about the sports facilities offered at the university I now work at. I came across information about the running club and noted with interest that the focus was on beginners and intermediate runners. I liked that. I’d never go of course- it’s a running club, not something for me – it’s for, like, proper runners…

Anyway, I was pleased that the institution I am now affiliated with included beginner runners. And then I read on. If you’re a beginner, the running club, it appears, runs roughly 3 miles at roughly an 11-12 minutes per mile pace. A whole wave of thoughts hit me all at once.

  1. 11-12 minutes per mile is not beginner pace
  2. I’m not a beginner
  3. I’m slower than that most of the time
  4. I don’t think I’m a beginner
  5. So moving from beginner status is just about getting faster?
  6. Oh – I’ll be a beginner forever
  7. What would happen if I went?

I’ve not been running that long, there’s lots I don’t know about running but I’m not a beginner. At some point since Dopey my perception of me as a runner shifted. I’m still not really a runner, never will be BUT I’m not a beginner.  I don’t see myself as a runner at all but I also don’t see myself as a beginner. It’s odd. But according to that pace guidance I’m not even at beginner level. I might be able to hold that pace for 3 miles on a good day but I couldn’t be sure. I have done a mile in under 10 minutes – once.

Anyway, it made me think about pace and running and what that all means. And it’s not so much the groups that are problematic – having an 11-12 minute mile groups is great- lots of place don’t have that and the slowest is 10 minutes. I think the problem is the labels given to the groups. You see I might never get to intermediate – which would be 10 minutes per mile sustained over 5-6 miles. I might however get to be a very experienced runner who knows what works for her and what doesn’t, who can put together a sensible training plan to achieve her goals, who can work on increasing her pace, her distance and her pace over specified distances. In fact I think I am making good progress towards that.

So actually the problem is labelling running groups as beginner, intermediate etc. You could never have really run but find out that actually you are naturally pretty speedy or you could  have been running for years and years but never really get much faster – either because you are happy at your pace or because you’re focussed on something else or because it is just not going to happen. Every now and again I get frustrated that the chances of me getting much faster are slim to none but mostly that’s ok. I know I can get a little faster if I train and work on it but it won’t be by much. Mostly that’s ok. Pace is relative. What is fast for me is painfully slow for someone else.

So, rant over. Run at whatever pace you want, you can and let’s outrun those labels that always seem to come with a hint of judgement. As for the running club, I was never planning on going anyway…

Busy not running

Jess Guth2 Comments

Ok, ok so you know how this works – no posts, means no running. I have been utterly crap! My fat arse seems to want to stay glued to the sofa. Not in the depression fogged way of late but in a lazy sort of ‘yeah I’ll go later’ sort of a way. I guess that’s sort of a positive – I can get off the sofa, just don’t want to.

Actually that’s not entirely true – I have wanted to get off the sofa and I have done stuff – I’ve walked miles both here and on our trip to the Lakes, I’ve sorted photos, I’ve organised books onto shelves, I’ve sorted work files, I’ve looked after our sheep, looked at new cars, looked at sheep trailers (stories yet to be shared on the sheep blog…). I’ve been busy. At least it feels like I have. All of this is of course just an excuse. I could easily have found time to run – just didn’t want to.

It’s 24 days to the Disneyland Paris Half Marathon. Hm, I think I better start thinking about running again. I think we’re ok. I’m not really panicked yet. I’m not worried about not making the distance – that’s the nice thing about a half marathon. It is doable, not so stupidly impossible like a marathon. I will be slow because I always am and I don’t mind. I am going into this with a slightly different mindset I think. I am not worried or scared. I am looking forward to it. I also have the memory of the Dopey Challenge Half which I loved. Yes it was hard somewhere in the middle where I felt a bit miserable but it didn’t last long and the overall experience was really positive. That’s what I am aiming for again. Just being there, doing it and taking it all in. If I do that the finish line will come to me!

For a few days I’ve felt grumpy about running and fitness and weight and food and ‘being good’. Just the very idea of trying to be good makes me want to eat a bar of chocolate. That thinking doesn’t work for me. I’ll refocus on fuelling and eating good stuff rather than being good! I feel better about it all today, much better and I’ve got my running gear on so when Kath breaks for lunch we can go and have a little trot out and then I’ll decide whether I want to panic about running 13.1 miles in just over three weeks!

Oh, did I just say I was LOOKING FORWARD TO a half marathon? How odd.

An expensive little run

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Today has been a funny day. We were both in funny moods and didn’t quite know what to do with ourselves. We lounged around in our PJs watching the replay of yesterday’s olympic action. As they were counting down to Mo Farrah’s 5km race we said we really should go and do something. We were supposed to do half mile repeats today according to the training plan- oh and we all know how I love those. Unfortunately for me (or fortunately maybe) Kath asked how far Saltaire is from here – maybe because I had suggested going for lunch a while earlier just to get out of the house. It’s not quite six miles from home and we figured we could do the half mile repeats going in that direction, have a little look around Salts Mills and then get some food.

So that’s what we did. I wore my new crop Nike running tights I reviewed yesterday and my new Salomon trainers I reviewed the other day. Hm. Ok the pants are fine – they stayed up which is always a bonus and they were comfy. However, there is a seam that runs round the inside which sits just under the draw string and that has chafed a little. I have had a bath and sat for a while but it is still red now – not sore though. I felt it most as we were walking home towards the end. The shoes are a different story. My feet were not happy, not happy at all. As I started running they felt uneven  and achey almost immediately so when we stopped I loosened the left one a little. The next interval was’t better – feet were really quite sore. After the third my feet were in agony, I think I cried a little. After the 4th I loosened both as much as I could but it didn’t really help. The shoes felt stiff rather than supportive and every step was painful.

Somehow I got to 6 and then 7 and then I thought I might as well finish. The last one actually wasn’t so bad – maybe because it was the last one or maybe because my feet were finally getting used to the trainers. There was no way I could push the pace though – it took all my focus to just keep running.

The distance was perfect for running 8 x half a mile with 3 minutes between each. We finished the last walk just a few steps away from the entrance to Salts Mill. We had a little look around and bought a few books and cards and then headed over to Don’t Tell Titus for some food and more importantly water. We sat and enjoyed their punjabi nachos, pita bread and hummus and some halloumi. Then we set off to walk back home but got drawn into a lovely little art gallery/shop and bought some more cards, earmarked some gorgeous prints for future purchases and then Kath bought me these gorgeous little earrings. I so rarely see any I like and I was drawn to these (they’re hard to photograph!).

So anyway, we spent a small fortune in Saltaire – I blame whoever designed running pants with credit card sized pockets for that one! It was too nice a day to bugger about with trains and/or buses running to a Sunday timetable so we decided to walk back home. It was a lovely walk along the canal. We saw mostly ducks and a swan or two but also a heron, a few wrens and other small birds and one very happy spaniel-type dog playing in the canal. There were other dogs too but this one stood out because it was so excited and happy to be playing in the water. We can learn a thing or two from that!

We went straight to our sheep rather than going home first because we thought we wouldn’t get going again if we stopped.We needed to move the girls to their bigger field as they have eaten the one they’re in now right down so we thought we might as well do that now. Luckily they were all in a good mood and were happy to follow me and the food bucket. Well when I say follow, once they realised where they were going they shot past me and I had to jog on behind! So in addition to our 5.2 mile run (well 4 miles of that were running), we also walked about 7 – probably a bit more- miles. My feet were fine once we’d had a little rest and on the walk home they felt very well supported and not at all achey. I’ll try the shoes running again but if my feet are painful again then they’ll be relegated to walking shoes and I’ll try and get a pair just like the previous ones which needed no real breaking in and were comfortable from the first run.

Right I’m off to do some yoga and get an early night. Happy running.

 

New Pants – Nike capris and crop tights

Jess Guth3 Comments

Well while we’re in review mode… here’s another one. My adidas capri running pants are beginning to disintegrate at the seam  along the inner thigh- age old problem for someone with my size thighs. So I needed to think about getting new pants. I hate – absolutely detest – buying running pants. The idea of going into a sports shop is bad enough – seeing all the stuff for skinny people, looking at sizing that suggest that a size 10 is getting a bit on the porky side, being asked by some young springy, bouncy little thing if I need any help (yes actually but I think you’re out of your depth with me), watching women pick up and consider a bit of fabric masquerading as a sports bra is enough to make me feel quite nauseous. Taking that a step further and actually going to try something on – probably the only thing in the entire shop that is supposedly in my size  (and will therefore undoubtedly be in black) but still unlikely to fit – urgh.

Now I have braved this experience once or twice and was appalled at how grateful I felt when I found something in my size. Come on sports shops – us fatties need exercise gear, too! As for the big brands, well I can almost cry with gratitude when their stores stock something that fits more than one leg, never mind if there’s something there that fits my hips. Sometimes it feels like if you’re fat you don’t deserve to have nice gear – you have to make do with cheap crappy stuff. Anyway, on one of the more successful outings I found a pair of Nike capris. Yes Nike. I also found the adidas ones which are now disintegrating so clearly  big brands do  occasionally make stuff in bigger sizes – thanks.  I can’t even remember where I bought them but they fit really well. This means, theoretically at least, that I don’t have to go into those ridiculous shops because I can simply find the same ones again online and order them! Or not.

It seems impossible to find the exact same type of running pants again online. It’s impossible to tell which are the same and which have some subtle but potentially disastrous differences. I didn’t know what to do but in the end I ordered online rather than braving the shop. I ordered a pair of capris and a pair of crop Nike running tights from sportsshoes.com. The crops are these: NIKE WOMEN’S PRONTO ESSENTIAL CROP RUNNING TIGHTS, the capris I can no longer find online – typical.

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Anyway, both pairs came and they look great. Lovely bright colours for a change rather than my usual black. I compared the size with my existing ones and they were about the same – the new ones maybe just a little smaller – ok they were enough of smaller to make me put of trying them on for a day or two. I have tried the capris on a little run and they are lush. They fit snuggly without feeling too tight. They have a drawstring but one which sits flat so there are no ‘edges’ that might cause chafing.

They have a zip pocket in the back which easily fits my keys and another little pocket that sits on the left hip which would do for bit of small change or something (or a gel or something like that if you use them).

I got size L and that seems to be true to a  UK 16/18 fit. I have to say I was surprised that L was big enough. So often in sporty clothes L is like a 12/14 which is just silly. The capris are a lovely length coming just down over the knee far enough to not ride up at all. I’m really happy with them. I haven’t run in the crop ones yet but tried them on and they fit exactly the same as the capris apart from obviously being a bit longer. They also have a pocket at the back for keys etc (the pockets would comfortably fit a credit card or my bus pass or something like that too).

I really would recommend these based on my experience so far but I suppose the question is: how long do they last? My adidas ones aren’t old and I haven’t worn them that much and yet the seam has gone. We shall see.

 

New Shoes – Salomon Trail Running Trainers

Jess Guth2 Comments

As you know I don’t really care about what my trainers look like, I’m all about comfort and support. I have had several pairs of Salomon trainers for running as well as for every day use. Quite a while ago now I saw the Salomon XA Pro 3D Mountain Trail running shoes in a sale somewhere online. Or actually I think Kath saw them and they were stupidly reduced (I cant remember to what – maybe 50 quid or so). I got a pair even though I was still perfectly happy with my old ones. Yesterday I wore the new ones for the first time for a run. I’ve worn them round the house once or twice and once to got for a short walk.

IMG_1064.JPGThey are billed as on and off trail and they seem perfect for running round here where I am mostly on the canal towpath in its varying forms and sometimes on paths and tracks and muddy bits. You can read all the spec on the Salomon website if interested. Doesn’t look like they have this colour any more but the spec is pretty much the same I think. I have so far only taken them out on a short run which turned into a walk anyway (see previous post!) but they fit nicely. Initially the way to tongue cover comes over and you sort of have an internal sleeve that hugs your foot for better fit felt a bit weird  but by the time I got to the end of the road I’d forgotten about it and I can really see the benefit of the design as it stops little bits of dirt or branches or little stones from sneaking in at the side of your foot. The laces are sort of fun and easy to do and undo and the release mechanism and ‘spare’ laces can be tucked into the little hud. The grip was great – possibly slightly better than the grip on my previous ones or maybe it just seems that way because the grip on my older ones has worn down a fair bit. No sliding about or feeling like I might slip. Maybe I’ll even be able to run down the golf course in these!

The trainers have what Salomon call a 3D chassis. They say it ‘maximizes security, motion control, energy management and push through protection for a high performance, stable and responsive ride’. Well, it felt pretty stable and secure and comfy but also just a little stiffer than I am used to and my left foot felt a bit achey after a little while. I think they’ll soften though and then they’ll be perfect. I was worried that the tongue cover etc would make them feel tight and I don’t like tight but there is plenty of flexibility in it and it didn’t feel restricting at all.

Sometimes trail running shoes seem clunky and heavy to me and while these are slightly heavier than my road ones, they are not heavy and I don’t think they look or feel to clunky or chunky. I have quite wide feet but these shoes fit well. Kath has some too and she has narrow feet and they fit her well so there is definitely something about the design that really does fit and support different shapes of foot. The laces help with that I think. Kath has hers quite tight whereas I hardly adjust mine from the really loose setting.

So far I like these. We’ll see how we go. Kath really likes her pair and she is a fussy one when it comes to shoes – understandable given how she suffers from blisters and a dodgy ankle.

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