He who dares wins Rodney!

'He who dares wins Rodney!' was a comment made regularly in the UK comedy program 'Only Fools and Horses' as the character Del boy encouraged his younger brother to take a chance at one more crazy activity.

If Del boy was being more accurate, he may have said: 'He who creates an appropriate plan for the task at hand and he who designs the plan to mitigate against any risk that may be determined from achieving the task at hand gives himself a reasonable chance of achieving said task'. Although that probably wouldn't be as catchy.

I have just completed reading 'Feet in the clouds', Richard Askwith's tale of fell running and other derring do. In the book, Askwith describes a meeting with Helene Diamantides. Helene Diamantides is described as possibly the greatest fell runner the UK has produced (male or female), she is a fell running and endurance athlete that has held many athletic records, including those that had been previously held by men. In his book, Askwith asks Helene Diamantides what he needs to do to complete an endurance event that he is preparing for. She answers (p.299):

'Find out what's involved. Find out what your strengths and what your weaknesses are. Face up to your problems - there is no substitute for knowing yourself. Sort out which pair of shorts don't chafe and what food you can keep down. Do your homework. There is no such thing as good luck. Good luck comes to those that are best prepared. Above all, if you are not going to enjoy it, don't bother. It's an awful long way, and an awful long time to be miserable'.

If truth be told, I am a few weeks behind in my running plan. I have not started yet. I have an achilles injury that just doesn't seem to go away - I have had it for at least 6 months now and it is a little frustrating. I have made a few attempts to come back and have ended up aggravating it further. I have decided to stop the following activities as these seem to make things worse: running, skipping and football. I still have until the end of March for a half marathon (Marlow) and the marathon (Milton Keynes) at the end of April. I am aware that to train for a marathon is usually a 16 week task - that at least appears the accepted wisdom, so by that measure I am out of time.

Things are not over yet :) I am making an assumption though that these training events are for those starting from a relatively low fitness base or for those that want to achieve fantastic times. I am fortunate in that I cycle and swim regularly and that I have a reasonable level of fitness and quite frankly I am just looking to get around the course. I may be over confident (and a marathon is not something to attempt if you have an unfounded large ego), but I just think if I can rest up for a few more weeks I can hit the ground running. Who knows? Let's see.

My cross training plan is:

Monday: Weights (kettlebell core routine - 40 minutes) & Swim 45 minutes
Tuesday: Day off
Wednesday: Cycle 45 minutes
Thursday: Swim 45 minutes and Weights (kettlebell core routine - 40 minutes)
Friday: Cycle 45 minutes
Saturday: Long 2-3 hour cycle (20-30 miles) + weights
Sunday: Swim an hour or cycle depending on the weather!

I have been following this plan for the last 16 weeks and feel good. If you are on www.endomondo.com, search for Chris Lovell and we can connect there. You will be able to see my cycling and sporadic running routes and PBs if you are interested!

To follow the advice that Del boy might have given, and that Helene Diamantides has given I intend to cycle the MK marathon route. It has been published and can be found at the blog below. I have never ran a marathon before, but if I follow it, it may give me an advantage on the big day (29th April):

http://www.miltonkeynesmarathon.co.uk/Race-Info/Course-Map

If push comes to shove, I can always plan for MK 2013, or perhaps another marathon later on in the year. For now I am assuming all will go ahead.

I was out this morning cycling around east Oxon and took a few photos - it really was a beautiful morning today. Here they are below:

The music that was accompanying me this morning as I cycled around the country lanes of North Bucks and East Oxon were M83s 'Hurry up, we're dreaming' and South's Unkle influenced 'From Here on In'.

You can listen to them here:

South: http://www.last.fm/music/South
M83: http://www.last.fm/music/M83?ac=M83

Lies, damn lies and marketing campaigns by health and fitness companies

It is said that there are 'lies, damn lies and statistics'. I believe that statement is a little tough on the hard working statisticians, scientists and analysts out there compiling information. A more accurate statement may be that there are: 'Lies, damn lies and marketing campaigns by health and fitness companies'.

I now realise that it is difficult as a rookie marathon runner to make sense of the fog of information that is available from the web, running magazines, TV programmes and friends. How is the trainee marathon runner expected to understand what approach may work or what is nonsense, or as Freddie Mercury may have said in the classic song 'Bohemian Rhapsody': 'Is this the real life approach to improving my running form and reducing the possibility of injury, or is this just fantasy and nonsense'?

The approaches that I am taking I have to offer thanks to my GCSE and A-Level Maths and Physics teachers at Longdean School in Hemel Hempstead: Mrs. Golabek, Mr. Craggs, Mr. Parker and Mrs. Baldwin. Some of these approaches are common sense, and where common sense fails one may apply basic tools such as evidence searching to help understand whether a claim is realistic or whether it is likely to be just fantasy. You don' t need to bury your head in textbooks, 5 minutes with google is all you need. I do not pretend to be a strong user of these tools, but its all I have to make sense of the fog of noise. With these tools I can discard what may be nonsense from what might just work for me.

Just look at the following group of claims from advertisers in Runner's World UK' for February 2012:

• Nick Dunn (Triathelete) says: 'Trion Z makes me feel more alert, energised and active' (statement made in an advert for Troin Z)
• High5 sports nutrition suggests you can: 'Burn 41% more fat with every training mile' with their product
• SCOTT running shoes promise 'Improved energy transfer providing a biomechanical advantage'
• Motorola state that their MOTOACTIV running watch pushes you, learns you and crushes quit (not sure I understand the English language used by Motorola here - Dickens will be turning in his grave)
• How about this group of buzzwords from Adidas: 'The sequence 4 has anatomical GEOFIT (TM) construction, the sequence 4 protects your joints with impact absorbant adiPRENE (Trademark reserved) cushioning support.'
• EAT NAKED suggest that their chocolate bar is '1 of your 5 a day fruits and vegetables'

Confused? You should be! What does all this crap mean?

Well, a reasonable place to start may be with the claims themselves, you might start by asking a few questions:

1. Are these claims backed up by scientific evidence?
2. What tests were used, were these reasonable?
3. Are the claims reasonable based on the evidence found?

Trion Z

Let's start with applying these techniques to Nick Dunn's claim that Trion Z makes him feel 'more alert, energised and active'.

Are these claims backed up by scientific evidence?

If you go to the website www.trionz.co.uk there is nothing there that suggests that these product claims are backed up with any evidence derived through the scientific method. There's lots of nice pseudoscience diagrams of magnets that when worn 'remove toxins'. Looks like this advert has failed at stage 1. My limited tools of reasoning have deduced this product is nonsense. Is this product's health benefits real or are they fantasy, it's up to you!

If you are going to build a business and spend money on marketing, you may also as well make some tests and search for evidence. Or then maybe you don't want to do that as there may be no evidence for your product promoting any health benefits aside from placebo affects. Let's not let science get in the way of cash and that big house in the country!

SCOTT Shoes

How about SCOTT running shoes and their 'biomechanical advantage'?

Are these claims backed up by scientific evidence?

Its not clear on the SCOTT website whether these shoes are barefoot or minimalist shoes. Having read 'Born to Run' I assume that they are. There is (inconclusive) scientific evidence for barefoot running shoes.

What tests were used, were these reasonable?

This is a huge area, and I can't do this justice here. As ever, wikipedia is a place to start: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barefoot_running

It's reasonable to assume at the moment the scientific evidence is inconclusive. One test found that the more expensive the running shoe, the more likely injuries were to be found. Brilliant! (claim made in Christopher MacDougall's Born to Run).

Are the claims reasonable based on the evidence found?

Well, it may be assumed that as the evidence is inconclusive, making wild claims on improving energy transfer and biomechanical advantage are most likely unwarranted.

But, look - they are a nice blue colour! ok I'm off to get a pair.

High5

ok, one more. How about High5's claim that you can: 'Burn 41% more fat with every training mile' with their product?

Are these claims backed up by scientific evidence? yes, there is even a brief statement on the advert - I like it!

What tests were used, were these reasonable? They sound complicated, perhaps they were. A sample size of 22 looks small though to make such a claim, and how do you account for differences in metabolism and body shape?

Are the claims reasonable based on the evidence found? Maybe, but I would like to see more studies completed.

Perhaps I am being harsh here, at least HIGH5 have made an effort.

Don't get me started on EAT NAKEDs claims. There isn't any evidence on their website supporting their '5 a day' claims. I love chocolate and oranges, if I want a chocolate I might try their stuff, if I am trying to be healthy I will give it a miss. If you have a claim, show the evidence?

It may be easy here to draw the conclusion that these companies are being dishonest. Well, that's fine, its up to you whether you are fooled or not. Next time you see such claims, ask a few questions. After all you are trying to get fit, trying to lose weight or maybe just trying to be healthier. Don't believe the marketing people all of the time!