Distance leads to strength

Having run 3 half marathons in 8 days I was feeling a bit tired and my calf muscles were a little bit strained, nothing serious just sore. I took a couple of days off and today I felt strong again so I decided to run a quick 10k instead of doing more distance work.

I managed a creditable (for me) 49 minutes which is most encouraging. This was an average pace of 7.5 mile/hr which would equate to a better than 3.5 hour marathon. Now, I know that you can't just extrapolate the time directly but I'm still very encouraged and feel that the past week has been progress. I know I could have kept this pace up for a while longer.

The Biggest Threat to our Hearts Good Health - Homocysteine Levels!

I suscribe to a health and fitness email which I receive every few days. If you'd like to receive it then email Ray Collins [gll@email.emv1.com]. Here's what he wrote in his last email. I found it very helpful... see what you think.

My Great Uncle Richard was quite a guy,
In the late 60s, before the fitness crazes of the 70s took hold, he was obsessed with exercise.
A thin, rake-like figure, he used to run circuits around the park near our house in Oxfordshire.
We kids used to find it hilarious because he was an unnatural runner, taking such tiny, quick steps that he hardly seemed to move... like he was on a treadmill. Women with prams used to lap him!
But, bless him, it kept him fit for the next two decades.
Which was why it was so shocking when he died of a heart-attack the age of 61.
How could a fit man with low body-fat, low cholesterol and an exercise habit die so relatively young?
You may find the answer shocking...
---------------------------------
The truth about heart disease
---------------------------------
Recent studies have uncovered what seems to be the REAL culprit behind 50% of cardiovascular, heart and stroke problems.
And it's none of the usual suspects. Not fat. Not lack of exercise. And not even cholesterol.
According to research published in the British Medical Journal, homocysteine is THE BIGGEST THREAT to our heart's good health.
A study at the department of cardiology in Southampton General Hospital trawled through 92 studies that focussed on homocysteine levels in over 20,000 patients - an incredible number when it comes to looking at stats.
I won't bore you with the pages of reports I ploughed through, but in a nutshell, high homocysteine levels are a strong indicator that heart problems are present.
But, as always, I am the bearer of good news.
Homocysteine levels can be brought down quickly and easily (and without spending a fortune), using a combination of nutritional supplements. Here's what to do...

** Get your homocysteine levels checked out. Under 8 is good. Under 7 is even better.

** Studies (reported in the British Medical Journal) have shown that vitamins B6 and B12, together with folic acid, help lower homocysteine levels. So make sure you eat foods rich in these substances.
For folic acid, liver is absolutely the best source, plus spinach, brocolli, asparagus, beetroot, banana, oranges and peaches.
For B12, eat liver beef, chicken, pork, fish, eggs, milk, cheese and yoghurt.
For B6 eat whole grain cereals, breads, liver, avocados, spinach, green beans, bananas, fish, poultry, meats, nuts, potatoes, green leafy vegetables.

** Boost your intake of these substances with supplements.
Folic acid and B 12 can be taken daily between 500 to 1000mcg each, and for B6 try 50 - 100mg.

Do you want a real chuckle?

I came across the following website and its just hilarious. Its full of wacky facts that will just make you laugh out loud. Go to: http://www.odd-info.com/

3rd Half Marathon in 8 Days!!

Now that might not be a lot for many serious atheletes but for me its quite a significant breakthrough - especially in the mental area. When I awoke this morning (Saturday) my Marathon Training schedule seemed about as enticing as a cold bath followed by a spot of flaglation! However, when I looked out the window it was a pleasant morning and didn't look too cold so I got up and had my breakfast and debated over my Weetabix whether or not to go out running. My leg muscles were a bit sore and my nipples were still a bit tender from last Saturday but, I know its good for me so off I went - Garmin strapped to my wrist like a mini computer!

In the end I ran exactly a half marathon through very pleasant surroundings and did it in 1 hr 56 min - not very fast but I wasn't really pushing it. Andrew wasn't available once again so I was doing my marathon training on my own which really does slow me down. According to my Garmin I climbed over 273 metres during the run and descended 248 metres. That's simply because I don't start recording data until I reach the canal bridge and have a good stretch and the bridge must be the extra 25 metres below our house. It is a pretty hilly run and I'd love to know if any of you reading this ever record your physical ups and downs.

Once again I'm looking forward to a bit of a lazy afternoon followed once again by a night at the pictures. Going to see Rocky Bilboa tonight. I'm interested in this especially as Sylvester Stallone is claiming that he has recently become a Christian and that this movie has a sort of Messiah/resurrection type theme running through it. I wonder if I'll spot it or whether Mr Stallone is just working the publicity angle very skillfully? I'll let you know next post. One thing's for sure, Sly has got an amazing body for a 60 year old!

Lung Freezing Half Marathon

When I set off this morning it was freezing, literally. There was ice on the road and it almost hurt to breathe but it was also gloriously sunny and dry. I decided to do another 13 mile run just because I had the time to do it. I had a very enjoyable run which included going through the lovely little village of Aldbury and up the infamous 'Tom's Hill' which is one of the steepest hills in the area. I managed it without stopping. Total time was 1 hr 52 mins again. Not bad but I want to get it down to at least 1 hr 42 min before the big day in June.

As I was running I started doing a little bit of philosphying today. It occured to me that doing marathons is probably predominantly a middle class sport just for the reason that it takes a lot of time to train for marathons and a degree of knowledge (and finances) to get your marathon nutrition worked out. Its an indisputable fact that most of the world couldn't concieve of running a marathon for pleasure - they're just too busy surviving to think about wasting all that time and energy on such a stupid thing as running a long distance. I don't feel guilty at being part of the very privileged minority who are able to enjoy this sport but it did make me feel incredibly blessed.

By the way, I went to the pictures last Saturday to see Will Smith in 'The Pursuit of Pleasure'. Go and see it. It will inspire you.

Half Marathon (well almost)

I ran 12.4 miles today in 1hr 49 mins which would equate to roughly a 1hr 52 mins half marathon which is not too bad at this still early stage of my marathon training for the June 7th Stockholm marathon. After the recent storms and heavy rain of last night it was nice to be able to run in lovely sunshine through glorious countryside. If you ever want to see the routes I run regularly I've put them on a site called www.favoriterun.com. They are all under the name of William Milton.

I didn't feel any pain but when I got home the front right hand side of my tee-shirt was a mixture of sweat and blood. My right nipple had started bleeding. I'm in two minds whether to slather it with Vaseline or whether to let it toughen up by itself. I quite fancy a tough nipple so I'll probably leave it be. If you have any good advice for avoiding joggers nipple then pop them down in the comments box below.

Now its time to enjoy a nice rest before going out to see the new Will Smith movie this evening with my lovely wife. Does life get much better than this?

Run in a storm to increase your marathon strength

I came home from work tonight with the wind threatening to blow my car off the road. Quite exciting actually to see nature in the raw. Anyway I decided to still go for my evening run and it was great. The wind was so strong in my face at one point that it almost brought me to a standstill. Even so, my time ended up only about 50 seconds slower than last night's run. I felt quite strong and really enjoyed it. If I want to run the marathon in under 3.45 then I need to keep on forcing myself to run this 5.5k distance as fast as I can. My ultimate aim is to do it in under 25 minutes before June.

My marathon nutrition is back on track after the usual Christmas wobble. The chocolate is almost done and the fruit cake will soon be finished and then its back to really sensible eating - plenty of fruit and veg, and of course continuing with the Juice Plus. So far this winter I have had no colds or muscle strains so I'm feeling very greatful to JP+. The complete powder is such a good recovery drink after a run.

Glorious winter run

My Marathon Training continued today with a new partner, Iain, who is quite an experienced marathon runner with a best time of about 3 hours. It was great to fall into stride with him and allow him to pull me to quite a good time for the 12 k (just over the hour) but I really enjoyed chatting to him all the way round which I guess means that I was running within myself. We ran half of the route up and down the Grand Union Canal and the other half up and down the side of the valley - very steep each way. The sun shone, God is on his throne, and all is well with the world. The Garmin 201 seems to be working well and I'm finding very helpful for exact distance measurement.

My first Garmin run

Earlier this week I bought a Garmin 201 on eBay (for only £70) with the intention of beefing up my marathon training. I tested it out on a run which I know (I have measured it already) is almost exactly 10k and the distance measurement was spot on! It really is amazing that these satellites can pinpoint your location so accurately. As well as that, the other most useful measurement is the continuous read out of your speed. I know that if I don't drop below 7 miles an hour I will definately run the marathon in 3.45min and it is much easier to maintain that pace when its right on your wrist. There are lots of other little aids that will make my marathon training much more fun such as running against a virtual trainer and getting a little map printed at the end to show me where I've run. All in all a good investment I think.

My time for the 10k was 54.5mins. Need to improve quite a bit.

Dangerous (but fun) run

Tonight I ran along the main road between my town and the next village. Its a nice 10k route but only half of it is lit up, the rest is pitch black except when a car goes by. Its amazing how darkness changes everything. At some points I could hardly keep my balance it was so dark and then a car would come along and I'd sprint ahead with the temporary light source. I suppose I could have hurt myself if I'd slipped off the pavement or slid on the grass verge but it actually was great fun and sometimes I just burst out laughing at my helplessness. I still managed exactly 55 minutes despite the handicap of a) cold and b) temporary blindness for some of the route. Sometimes its nice to do things that are just a tiny bit stupid!

6 things you need to know before running a marathon (6 of 6)

6. A good after-race strategy is crucial if you want a quick recovery.
Many runners find themselves in great pain after a marathon, so much so that it often puts them off ever running another race. Here are a few tips to help you get back to normal living as soon as possible.
· Immediately after finishing you should try to keep walking for 5-10 minutes to allow your legs to cool down. If the weather is cold, windy, or wet make an effort to get inside or back into warm clothing. Keep drinking small amounts of water or sports drink if your stomach will allow it, even when you feel you no longer need to. My personal favourite marathon nutrition is ‘Complete’ from the Juice Plus+ organization. www.juiceplus.co.uk/+mm026962
· Ice any sore spots immediately.
· As soon as you feel like eating, begin with small amounts of easily digestible food that you know will agree with your stomach. Although carbohydrate replacement is vital, protein is important for rebuilding damaged muscle tissue immediately following the race and for the next few days. Drink a lot of water for 48 hours.
· Keep your legs elevated as much as possible for the 24 hours after the race.

Great site for measuring distance

http://www.favoriterun.com

This free site allows you to plot all your favourite runs and then it measures the distance for you. If like me you spend ages trying to manouvre around a map with a piece of string and a ruler then you'll love this site.

A Hard Half but Great Rewards

Due to work pressures I was unable to run at all over the weekend so I decided to go for a long run today (Monday) to get my marathon training back on schedule. I ran around 12 miles over a very hilly course and it was pretty hard going, I can tell you. It rained from start to finish which always messes with my mind a bit. I covered it in 1 hr 47 min which is okay given the course and the conditions but I want to get down to 1 hr 30 min before the actual marathon in June and during the actual marathon I hope to cover the half in 100 minutes. I let my marathon nutrition slip a bit over the weekend due to not getting time to sit and eat properly so I ate quite a lot of biscuits and crisps and I felt like I was paying for it this morning as I ran. I didn't feel very energised and I do think it was partly to do with feeding myself quite a lot of junk for two days.

However, I did get to see a few things this morning that your average non-runner doesn't see very often. The first was a fox that popped out of the hedgerow in front of me and trotted along for a hundred yards or so unaware that I was catching it up. When it finally noticed me it leapt straight throught the hedge and took off. The next thing I saw was a beautiful big stag lying down in the trees, sheltering from the rain. It had a magnificent set of antlers and was almost invisible in the darkness of the forest with its antlers making it look much like a fallen tree with its branches and twigs sticking out. As I looked a bit more carefully I could see that there was about 5 of these stags all lying down and all practically invisible. Nature has a wonderful way of protecting its own. The last thing that I saw that made me gasp at its beauty was a lovely black Porche Carrera! If he had offered me a lift I'd have definately packed in my run... aahh well.

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A lofty thought for the new year

I was talking to a guy in my church today who also runs marathons (a lot faster than I do) and he said when he is asked for one tip to improve your marathon time he tells people, "Right from your very first training session run at the speed that will bring you in at your ideal marathon time." In other words, don't start slow and slowly build up to a better time, start fast and just work at building up your ability to maintain that speed. I like that notion, tough as it is to maintain. In order to test it out I decided that in my run tonight I'd just run as fast as I reasonably could right from the moment I left the front door. I just did my usual 6.5k route and did it exactly one minute faster than I have ever done it before! That is a big improvement over that distance and gives me hope that I can achieve a really good time in a full marathon once I learn to cope with the pain of keeping up that pace. By the way I did it in 27.5 minutes.

Let me leave you with a great quote that someone sent me today. I intend applying this to my running:
"I do the best I know how, the very best I can; and I mean to keep on doing it to the end. If the end brings me out all right, what is said against me will not amount to anything. If the end brings me out all wrong, ten angels swearing I was right would make no difference."
Abraham Lincoln.
Read that quote, and read it again. Don’t just skim it – understand what it means. And get ready for a rollicking good new year.

Happy New Year

We (my family + dog) went for a lovely walk yesterday afternoon. Probably walked about 6 miles, most of it sloshing through mud as it rained very heavily on NY Night. It was lovely to blow the cobwebs away but strangely both May (my wife) and I felt our calves a bit tight when we got home. I think that maybe it was all the stress we put on our legs trying not to slip over in the mud.

Today I went for a nice gentle 10k run to get back into the swing of things after a few days off. It was fine, no real problems except for my left calf twinging just a wee bit. I stopped for a quick stretch and it seemed to go away so I'm not too worried. It was great seeing all the overweight runners on the road starting their new year's resolutions to get fit and lose weight. Good on them I say! The secret of any programme be it physical, mental or even emotional is not knowledge but action and at least these folks have overcome the single biggest obstacle in achieving anything - they've taken the first step. WILL YOU TAKE A NEW STEP THIS YEAR?

Now, for all you exiled Scots (and anyone else with taste) go to the following website for a dose of nostalgia and amusement. www.irn-bru.co.uk/snowman/index.html Make sure you have the sound on.