It's squeaky bum time

The marathon is only 4 weeks away and I am nervous. I have crept my mileage up to 10 miles, but clearly that is some way from 26.2. Running a marathon is not just about putting your shoes on and running, you have to prepare for the race itself. To this end I have entered a half marathon in Marlow on Sunday. 13 miles, oh dear, that's a long way isn't it?

At a running event I guess you have to think about a few things:

• Where the hell is it, do I know how to get to this place?
• Is it hilly or flat, on pavement/road or a trail (what techie equipment do I need)?
• How do I run with all these other mad competitive nutters?

I have run with a local club here a few miles away in Aylesbury, but I generally run on my own. Why would I want to run with anyone else? I don't run to be sociable, part of the fun of running for me is that there is no one else there. It's an obvious point to state that to run a race you have to run with other people, so this Sunday run out will help me get used to that. I generally don't enjoy the competitive aspect of running or any sport for that matter. I run with the purpose of that good old British Corinthian spirit - it is not the winning or losing that counts, it is the taking part, of being there (that's why I support QPR - experiencing all those wins as Man City fans do must be bloody tedious the sad smug gits).

I have run half marathons before, a good few years ago, I remember it being a rather humbling experience. As a 19 year old you think you are superman, but I do remember being passed by some relatively senior people rather effortlessly (my times were 1.45 for a half marathon - that's not bad I thought for a fat bloke). A 19 year old huffing and puffing away and being passed by a 70 year old granny on mile 12 may sound odd, but I suggest you run a half marathon race on a Sunday if you think its funny. There are a few 'experienced' people out there who will take your lunch you young fool. On that point, I passed an old duffer last week on my 10 mile run whilst going up 'Mark Hughes Hill' (regular readers of this blog will know what that is) and the old bugger said to me, 'well you are much younger than me chap'. Bugger off I thought, I am just fitter, age has little to do with it, not when it comes to recreational half marathons. Maybe at the elite level it does, but I am some way from elite (putting it generously).

So the purpose of this half marathon is not for a 'chocolate medal' but to get organised for this daunting MK marathon at the end of April, and to experience a race. Oh god, I am nervous now. It's squeaky bum time.

And they think it's all over

My team QPR could have done with that Russian linesman that enabled England to win the world cup in 1966 on Saturday. The ball did cross the line! Does it really matter? No, QPR are rubbish at the moment, and anyone that knows me well will know that I find that comforting. It didn't feel right with QPR winning every week last season, oh crushing defeat and disappointment - where have you been my old friends.

Anyway, onto a more optimistic topic. I am not giving up on the marathon just yet. I have been outside in the elements running for the last few weeks and have built up to 8 miles on Sunday (slow 10 minute miles, but they felt good). Yes, I know that's a long way short of 26, but you have to start somewhere...

I am aiming for the Marlow half marathon on 25th March, and I will see how I feel after that as to whether I push up the miles for the MK Marathon at the end of April. I have been experiencing an achilles issue for the last few months as anyone who has read this blog may know and it feels much better having not ran at all for two months. Let's see if it holds up. What's the worst that can happen, if it really goes bad I can always stop :)

I guess I could just stop, but what's the fun in stopping? I have been training for this (well swimming and biking) for months now. I have the places booked on these races, so I will go for it. I will reduce my targets and will aim to just get round. I fear that 26 miles is an unforgiving distance, but again if things fall apart halfway through the race, I am not stuck in the desert on one of those crazy ultramarathons, I am in MK - I can just catch a bus hahahaha. You have to watch out for those dangerous concrete cows though I've heard in MK, look at these:

I haven't mentioned the music I have been listening to for a while - so accompanying me on these runs recently were:

School of Seven Bells. I like this very 80's pop (but released a few weeks ago) and that's great: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUrQnDVWXvo
John Mellencamp. I haven't listened to this in years and recently came across it again. it reminds me of my 6th form back in 1993 before I discovered Britpop indie music (Blur, oasis, radiohead (is Radiohead Britpop ohhhh)). Oh it's great to indulge oneself with this american rock stuff isn't it :): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXCD7hmlicg

Reflection on the last 4 months

I have decided that I am not able to enter the MK Marathon this year, or indeed the Marlow Half Marathon that I had booked for the end of March.

I have been plagued with an achilles strain for the last few months and unfortunately this has prevented me from doing any serious running. By now, I should be building up to 20 miles a week of varying intensity - I am no where near that. As the MK marathon is now only 8 weeks or so away, I have run out of time. Over the last 4 months, I have lifted weights, been swimming and biking, so I believe my all round understanding of fitness has improved.

Although the MK marathon was always my end goal, I believe that I have had a reasonable attempt at my objectives. These objectives were never made explicit in this blog, but they may be:

• Improve my understanding of fitness and how to change my lifestyle to ensure I don't put weight back on
• Build fitness into my daily routine, so it doesn't become a chore, it just becomes something I do to help me reflect on my day to day work
• Enjoy long distance biking, swimming or other activities, otherwise what's the point

My goal hasn't been achieved (for now), but I believe that I have achieved my objectives. There will be other marathons to train for. I aim to continue to learn and improve my understanding of what it takes to complete a marathon. Once this achilles strain improves, I will restart my training and run a marathon.

I hope you have enjoyed reading this blog!

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!

Plenty left to take away

'Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away' - Antoine de Saint-Exupery

I have been working over the last weeks to change how I run, and am realising that it is going to take months to gain any proficiency. I am realising that running is difficult. Playing sports such as football, rugby and tennis may require skills such as hand eye coordination and pace, but running seems just as difficult to master. That doesn't make much sense. You would think how hard can running be, all you do is put one foot in front of the other, the faster you do it the faster you will be. Simple?

If you think about it - running 26.2 miles is much about conserving energy as it is about running. If you have a running style where you bounce along the road thrashing from right to left, all the while hunched over looking at your feet its likely that you are wasting energy. You are likely to be burning as much energy moving vertically (gravity will win) or sideways (the marathon finish line is ahead of you not to the right or left) as you are moving in the direction of travel. Great, so logically the perfect running style will minimise any unnecessary movement. As someone who has limited time, rather than has years to experiment with a technique that will minimise unnecessary movement, are there any shortcuts that can be found?

With this purpose in mind, I have recently read chirunning by Danny Dreyer. Chirunning is a guide for how to run long distances with a technique that is designed to minimise injury. Dreyer's technique strips running back to basics - that's good, the easier to follow the better - but the reader is warned that to run properly can take a lifetime. Dreyer advises that the aspiring runner ought to view a running session as a learning experience. When the runner reaches home he encourages thinking about what went well that can be taken into the next session, and what can be stripped out for the next one. He advises that the runner ought to constantly think about gait or style. As he puts it, an old dog may not be able to learn new tricks, but he can learn anything through repetition. For me, in my early stages of learning this stuff, my repetition is:

• Bring your foot down on the midsole rather than on the heel on on your toes
• Try to bring your foot down directly under your hip - this is meant to reduce pressure on your knees
• Relax your lower legs when running
• Look ahead when running, the other aspects of my technique seem to follow from this point, when I look at my toes the other steps drift off target

I try to check that I am doing these things every few minutes. More often than not I drift back into my hunched heel striking alter ego, but I am aiming for my alter ego to steadily fall away.

In the chirunning technique, running comes from the core muscles. Rather than propelling yourself along  with your small lower leg muscles, chirunning encourages the runner to run from the larger core muscles and use the hips and knees as levers.

I am sure there is much more to it that than this, this is early days, I am looking forward to seeing how my technique changes over the coming months.

You can find the chirunning book at the link below:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Chirunning-Revolutionary-Approach-Effortless-Injury-Free/dp/1847392784/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1324407787&sr=8-1

On my ipod this week has been Bon Iver, Bon Iver. I am trying all that I can to avoid Slade, Shakin Stevens, Mr. Blobby or any other Christmas pop song disaster:

http://www.7digital.com/artists/bon-iver/bon-iver/

Mark Hughes Hill

Any article or book on marathon training that I have read recommends that hill training should form a key part of your marathon training. All that hill training is supposed to pay off as you move past the 20th mile and begin to pass the poor unlucky buggers who neglected to build hill running into their training schedule.

Hill running is not fun, and anyway can't I just avoid it? On the last occasion that I found myself in wonderful and glorious Milton Keynes I don't remember seeing any hills? So why build running up them into my training programme? Well, at the moment I know very little about running a marathon, I have never run a marathon before so I will just follow what the gnarled and grizzled runners say and build hill running into my training program.

I am fortunate to live in an area of England where there are plenty of bloody hills. Quite nasty ones actually. Frankly the thought of completing 10 to 20 reps up and down one of these buggers fills me with fear. So how will I do it?

Let's go off at a relevant tangent here to my school days and mention QPR's Alan MacDonald and his legendary battles with Manchester United's Mark Hughes in the late 80s. 'Macca' as he was (and still is) affectionately known to QPR fans was a hard tackling centre back, a tough Ulsterman and a legend. He represented his country at the world cup in 86, he was no mug, but perhaps up against the leading lights of English football such as Mark Hughes you may have thought that Macca would have come up short. By the late 80s Mark Hughes had not only been schooled at Manchester United, but had also mastered his craft at those two citadels of European football - Barcelona and Bayern Munich. Mark Hughes was a great player, of that there was no doubt. So how would Macca cope with Hughes' craft and guile? The battles between Mark Hughes and Alan MacDonald were stuff of legend at QPR. Neither of them would want to give an inch, but at least in my biased QPR view of the world Macca bested him. I loved watching those battles, Macca would lunge in and bully Mark Hughes into submission - the legendary Mark Hughes physically would shrink by the end of the game, it really was a beautiful thing to watch. Perfection in fact.  If you are a fan of boxing you may recognise this in when you watch a heavyweight giant make his way to the ring and appear so imposing and threatening, and then on seeing the giant defeated at the end of the fight, the once giant boxer looks a sad, lonely and dejected character as he leaves the ring alone. It is a sad sight. Mark Hughes became a sad sight as he left the pitch against Macca. I have uploaded a picture of Macca performing a 'fair' challenge on Sparky below:

When approaching my hill training, I will approach it as Macca faced his great rival:

• Play to your strengths
• Don't give up when the plan is going against you, your opponent has skill but can be bested
• Be relentless

I am working to build strengths now, these are what I am focussing on:

• Build core strength (kettlebell 2 and 1 armed swing + plank + incline bench with weighted sit ups)
• Build lower leg strength for stability (calf and achilles)
• Use skipping training to build cadence and rhythm into my runs
• Improve my running form - look ahead not down at my feet or road when I run, point my feet forward when running, don't slouch or hunch whilst out there, build my running style to be as efficient as it can be; land midfoot, don't heel strike!

When I build these characteristics into my training I will be able to tackle this hill and complete those 26.2 miles with confidence for sure (I hope). I have pasted a few pictures of my 'Mark Hughes Hill' below. Its a beast. It twists first to the right and then the left as it raises through 55 metres. Ouch.

On my ipod this week has been Memory Tapes and Toro Y Moi - two electronic artists. Generally the music is relaxed which suits me for now. I am doing easy runs now, not pounding for PBs just yet. When that time comes, perhaps I will step up the the Battles or perhaps 'The Music' - my favourite artists for running hard with! Anyway, you can listen to them here:

Toro Y Moi: http://www.last.fm/music/Toro+Y+Moi
Memory Tapes: http://www.last.fm/music/Memory+Tapes

That's all for this week. See you here next week!