Running like Robocop

This blog update will be about technology, and what I have found so far that works for me. Please comment below if you have found anything useful and share it! A fellow runner recommended the book 'Chirunning' by Danny Dreyer on this blog last week, and I have put some comments about it below. I am already half way through the book and am enjoying it greatly! Please share any of your experiences, I am just finding my way through this experience and any advice or tips that you have would be great. They might also help someone else who stumbles across this blog!

Now, I love technology, and there is a fair amount of decent tech out there that can help with your running. I don't want to give an impression that I am running around looking like Robocop, but I use the following gadgets and tech:

• Garmin Forerunner 205
• Endomondo.com - GPS data and PBs are stored here of all my running/cycling since I bought the Garmin device back in May 2011
• Google Docs - I keep a journal of my training, just started this (link below, I have shared this online)
• High vis jackets
• Ronhill velcro lights flashing red for any traffic, its very dark around here
• Head torch so I dont run into trees at night!
• Kettlebell - now I don't run with these (obviously :)) and am just getting used to them, but so far they are amazing. They are really working well for me, I will write about those another day

My training diary is here: 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/19VXAJk8bzsIwZH17cen84PZhIJyxM0GQjxevZsv83vk/edit

The Garmin GPS watch is the device that has helped me understand where my pace has dipped on a run, and where my pace can be improved. The GPS watch helped get me out of a running rut, but tech alone may not help me accomplish my goal of completing the MK marathon next April.

According to the philosophy of chirunning, running to a time target alone doesn't help you improve your running form. If you focus on time alone, you are unlikely to correct those inefficiencies in your running style that may contribute to injuries. So, the idea goes - get your form right and build pace from there. Around 70% of runners get injured every year according to the chirunning book - form is especially important if you are piling on the miles. I am currently laid up with a sore achilles tendon, therefore I have learned this week that I may have to focus on my running form first and let the pace come in later on. Chirunning appears like common sense to me, I would recommend that you read Danny Dyer's book.  If you type 'chirunning' into youtube.com, there are also many demonstrations of efficient running techniques, although some of these may be questionable.

As this blog on the internet, I should probably say that you ought to consult a trained physician before beginning any exercise programme. There you go, don't sue me!

On my ipod this week has been Talk Talk - Colour of Spring and Zola Jesus - Conatus. Talk Talk's song 'Life's what you make it' is a chirunning call to arms (at least that's my interpretation :))! So if you really want to improve your running, get on with it, and don't worry about that rut that you may have been in, just get on with it and experiment - have fun. Oh and use technology, any excuse to buy more gadgets.

You can listen to colour of spring here, please do, really you won't regret it:

http://www.last.fm/music/Talk+Talk/The+Colour+of+Spring

Zola Jesus can be listened to here:

http://www.last.fm/music/Zola+Jesus

Life without ale

You may have came here from mkmarathon.co.uk. You can read my latest blog update here: http://waddyranger.blogspot.com, or you can see different blog updates on the links on the right hand side of this page. This blog is updated every week to two weeks with my own experience of the following:

• Training approaches
• Running tech
• Running books
• Running nutrition

While here, you are welcome to comment on any of these updates. Please share anything that you have found during your training that has worked for you.

I hope you enjoy my blog!

Blog starts:

This one will be about nutrition, no don't stop reading!

I have always enjoyed being active - but eating carefully has never been on my priority list. If you do exercise you can eat what you want right? All that running around will burn off calories, so eat all the pies you want and drink all the beers that you feel like and all will be ok right? Well, maybe not.

If you wander to a dark corner of Tescos you might find the 'exercise' isle. In this isle will usually be celebrity endorsed exercise equipment - mostly held together by rubber and cheap plastic, but if you look closer you will see a variety of huge tubs of powders and pills. I have spent a little time here trying to understand what all these tubs can help you with, they usually have macho sounding names such as: PowerMAX, GR-XVT & BIGUS DICKUS (ok I made the last one up). On the back of the tubs is an array of complex information promising exceptional results such as: 'muscle growth' or 'added power', or 'fat loss'. The information is generally portrayed in graphical form to give it the added credibility - clearly the marketing teams at these companies are paid lots of money to blind the unsuspecting pretend athlete (ie. me) into forking out 30 pounds for powder.

The powders I have used are either protein based - for recovery, or carboydrate based to keep me going through an hour long aerobic exercise session. The powders I am using are pictured here, note that the 'PowerBar' has more protein per portion than the 'Nutri1st Advanced', but is cheaper, at least in Tescos. I don't know what that means but generally if you look for around 27g of protein per 30g portion of powder that's good I think. Usually these tubs mention amino chains or something or other complicated sounding, but my rule of thumb is stick to the powder that packs the most protein punch.

As I have stated, I am in the wind down phase of my current lard boy diet, probably preparing for a horrible existence in the new year of eating muesli and celery. Oh god.

I am cutting down on chocolate, biscuits, beer, chips, pies (no not the pies, I love pie!) and am trying to eat more smoothies, fruit and veg. Its probably best to do this gradually rather than everything at once. Let's see. For evidence of my cutting down, I only have to check my recycle bin. It was emptied last weekend, that means one London Pride Ale and one Grolsch in 10 days (picture below, I know I could have emptied the bin before taking the picture, but you can trust me :)):

On another note, I have been listening to the following on my ipod this week whilst struggling with weights and skipping: 'Neon Indian - Era Extrana' and 'New Order - Power, Corruption and Lies'. You can listen to these here:

New Order: http://subscription.we7.com/#/album/New-Order/Power-Corruption-And-Lies
Neon Indian: http://subscription.we7.com/#/album/Neon-Indian/Era-Extrana

Running, but not running

This one may be a little philosophical, please bear with me!

I am not yet running, and am focused on cross-training - the marathon is not until April 29th, plenty of time. My routine is a mixture of cycling, skipping, weight training and swimming for now (not all at the same time). I get my training in early before work starts, get it out of the way before the day begins and daily life takes over (problems to solve, meetings to go to, lunch/dinner to have with old friends or family).

So why am I not yet running? I have a view (not really backed up with evidence) that to become a better runner one ought to get stronger first - build a solid base and then hit the long runs. It's also more fun to mix things up! Let's see if it has any affects later on on my current meagre fat boy personal bests.

To improve my running I have also been reading a few sports books. That might sound odd, how can reading help you run? You might think running is about going red and huffing and puffing around a park, what's the point? So you don't need to read them, the books below can be summarised as follows:

• Endurance events are about confronting pain and suffering to see how you confront a challenge. Succeed or fail, it doesn't matter, the point is you stuck at it and you have learned something about yourself - you are not a quitter (for example)!
• People run to find an epiphany, to find meaning (of life, who knows?)
• People run to feel alive, all that pain and suffering gets you away from your safe life of central heating, of being sat behind the wheel of a car or in an office - face the elements and feel free, see how you can survive out there. You can do it!
• These books also use metaphors such as running along a river or taking a journey giving a sense running means learning something about yourself

These books suggest people don't run to lose weight or get stronger alone. Now those things may happen, but they are not the goal - where's the fun in running to lose weight? These books suggest that people who run to lose weight don't enjoy it and they give up over the longer term. Best not to focus on those goals and focus on the challenge, of learning about yourself of finding meaning through running.

Runners understand all this stuff, so these books suggest. Who thought running could mean all of these things?

I would recommend all of these books if you are either running now or are thinking of running (you can find them on Amazon):

We we run, Robin Harvie
What I talk about when I talk about running, Haruki Murakami
Born to Run, Christopher MacDougall

I said it was going to be personal! What's the point of starting something if you don't give it some thought - this is a serious business :)

Americans with odd sounding names

Last week I discussed SCUBA diving, this week I will turn this blog's attention to a marathon that I will be training for in mid 2012. I am at the start of that journey.

Frankly, at the moment, the thought of running my 6ft and near 14 stone frame for 26.2 miles continuously is sobering. So how will it be done? I have a number of items that I think will help me get there, and only some of them involve running. I have also been working to create some space in my garden for a gym. Anyone that lives in the UK knows that you don't go in the garden from November until May as its dark and wet on this island, so why not make use of that space? The tools I have for now are:

My bicycle - Margo (she is my friend - always reliable)
Free weights
Push up bars
Incline sit up bench
1 Kettle bell (7.5Kg)
Skipping rope
A monthly pass to a local 25m swimming pool
Nike free running shoes
Saucony ProGrid running shoes

I have also been reading a few running and cycling books to help me understand how I am going to accomplish this task. I expect I will add and swop out a few of these tools as I learn more about the art of training for a marathon. Another point to make here is any search for examples of good exercise form for 'strength training exercise' or 'kettlebell exercise' on google will inevitably lead you to a video of an oddly named American called Chip, Chuck or Larry dressed in a bandanna and lycra. Frightening stuff! There are many fads out there - clearly a challenge here is to sort the wheat from the chaff. undoubtedly, marathon training is an art - what will work for me may not work for others, but I will document my progress here anyway.

My ipod helps to get me through this training, it helps me get into a frame of mind for working out on cold mornings and as an aid to motivation. I will also share what I am listening to as I train. This week I have been listening to Matthew Dear's 'Black City' and Peter Gabriel's 'New Blood'. In Peter Gabriel's 'New Blood', many of the songs are about change and fear in the face of change, but as anyone who is familiar with Peter Gabriel's music will know, his characters mostly manage to face up to the challenge and succeed in the face of adversity. And on that positive note, I will leave it there for this week!

You can hear Matthew Dear here: http://www.last.fm/music/Matthew+Dear
You can hear Peter Gabriel here: http://www.last.fm/music/peter+gabriel

I have uploaded a few photos from where I have been cycling Margo around North Buckinghamshire. It really is lovely here in North Bucks, I am sure you will agree!

A day at Chepstow.....

I spent this weekend (5th and 6th November) at Chepstow dive centre (http://www.ndac.co.uk/) practising a few dive skills as well as eating bacon sandwiches, munching on mars bars and finding time in a local pub to watch QPR lose valiantly to Man City whilst enjoying a few local Welsh beers. 

The Chepstow dive centre is great. It's very relaxed, the same person driving the bus from the centre to the quarry is likely to also work in the shop, do the air fills and give you local information. Having visited some other dive centres in the UK, its great to find somewhere that is serious about diving but actually makes you feel welcome rather than just after fleecing a few quid out of your pocket.

The best way to describe the dive site at Chepstow is that it is like a children's play centre for adults. There are tubes to swim through, tanks, jeeps, planes and helicopters, it's great fun!

So what did I learn over the weekend, well:

1. Diving in November is cold

2. Diving in November is especially cold when you leave your damp wetsuit in your car overnight ready for the next morning. Getting back into a cold and damp wetsuit on Sunday morning was, well, cold

3. Don't stay in a B&B in the centre of Chepstow on a Saturday night if you want to be up at 7am for diving! I learned a few local football songs though - a few drunk Bristol City fans seem to live in Chepstow

I took a few pictures from the diving, and a few photos of the Stowe sub aqua club fellow divers below.