Great things to do! – Page 3

February 22, 2013

Cloud Atlas

I thought Sunday was cold, but it was positively balmy compared to what greeted me as I opened the car door at Jack & Jill on Thursday morning.

Testament to the temperature was Daren’s somewhat uncharacteristic first question to me… ‘shall we go & get a cup of tea?’

The idea rolled around in our collective mind for a few minutes, but ultimately our good sense was overridden and we went for a run anyway.

It was twelve degrees warmer than my run in Sweden last month, but felt WAY more chilly and my nose physically hurt from the icy tentacles of the sharp easterly wind.

The normal route was undertaken which is largely sheltered from an east wind so normal hilarity soon returned to the dynamic duo.

As per normal we ran through all manner of discussion subjects… to give you an example, I likened our recurrent run to the novel (and now film) Cloud Atlas, with us repeating our journey again and again, facing different challenges each time but with the same key characters. In terms of Jonathan Livingstone Seagull, our ebullience appears to make each circuit greater fun than the last, albeit with the occasional exception. Life is like that.

Unlike normal, the obligatory mud at the bottom of Wolstonbury was not appealing to take head on. We attempted to skirt around the issue, on account of the icy water in the deep puddles… and both failed.

On a day when even the tank tracks could not quell our enthusiasm, it was a small price to pay for such an enjoyable outing.

We finished the supremely hilly 6.25 miles (10km) in a characteristically sedate time of 1:15… although 5mph is actually pretty good bearing in mind our shared paucity of runs over the last month.

January 20, 2013

The Stockholm Syndrome

There were a number of facets of my run last Sunday that were unusual. It was dark, minus ten degrees and the ground was covered in packed snow with a layer of powder snow on top. Oh, and I was in Stockholm.

My brilliant host Martin had persuaded me to take my running gear and he augmented this with an extra pair of running tights, a head-torch and a set of running spikes for the bottom of my trainers.

I was particularly glad of the latter. My outside runners were covered in mud from the previous run so I had packed the pair I use on the running machine. Only when I put them on did I realise how slippery the soles were: a combination of the rubber hardening with age and the silicone lube we use on the machine.

It may have been minus ten, but it really didn’t feel that cold, which may have been due to low humidity. We ran gently along one of Martin’s training routes, through his neighbourhood, around his local lake and up into the forest. It was beautiful and I could certainly get used to this being my local run, snow and all.

All too quickly we were back at the house and I felt elated… 55 minutes had passed in a flash! I’ve no idea how far we ran, but we were chatting constantly so probably about 5 miles.

After work the following evening, Martin decided I should experience more of the local way of life. We headed to a local recreation centre and I once again changed into my running gear… this time swapping the slippery-soled runners for a pair of long Swedish ice skates.

The last time I can easily remember being on ice skates was around 1995. Whilst standing nonchalantly with my hands in my pockets I had slipped over and fractured a rib! Not wishing to worry Martin, I withheld this information!

Not expecting to go far, we set off along the track… across the surface of the lake. You might think this sounds crazy, but the track would have been maintained by a tractor, so the ice is pretty thick. Having driven on frozen lakes in the past it wasn’t the thing that was concerning me… I just didn’t want to make an idiot of myself by falling over!

Fortunately some basic elements of the technique (none of them glamorous, alas) came back to me and we completed the lake circuit… a whole 3km!

That was the hors d’oeuvre. We changed, showered and climbed into the the typically Swedish sauna… it was a mixed session and everyone was naked, though clearly no-one seemed to give a hoot.

Having been thoroughly heated, Martin led me outside, across the snow and down to a small jetty on the lake… still naked, of course. Here there were a pair of stainless steel handrails and between them the treads of a ladder descending into the black water.

The water on the handrails was frozen, as was the surface of the jetty and only a submerged fan prevented the surface of the water freezing over like the rest of the lake that we had been skating on.

I thought a little trepidation was probably in order, but I didn’t want to show myself up as a weak-minded Brit so I grasped the icy handrails and started to step down until only my head and hands remained in the air.

It’s possible that my mind has blanked out the experience, but it didn’t seem that bad… probably because I had been recently super-heated . I counted to five before I retraced my steps out of the water and then walked back across the snow. We even sat outside for a few minutes chatting before returning to the sauna… with our feet lifted off the frozen ground!

Probably determined to get a girlie squeal out of me, my wonderful host then repeated the exercise… this time with a camera to capture the moment. Two photos were taken though, despite the effects of the cold water, only one is publishable!

Worried about my place in the Brit-dip-list and also strangely enjoying this new experience, I returned for a third time to lower myself into the icy water. I actually can recommend it… highly!

We showered & changed & headed out for food and a celebratory glass of beer!

I now understand why Stockholm Syndrome is so named… despite the generally chilly winter temperature, snowy weather and extended hours of darkness, it’s a beautiful and fun place populated by really warm-hearted people. I can’t wait to return!

January 6, 2013January 6, 2013

The mud thickens

Aristotle claimed that true excellence comes from repetition and is thus not an act but rather a habit. I find habits fascinating, especially the ones that you create or optimise in a deliberate conscious way.

The whole point behind this blog for example was to create a habit of running and of writing… helping me to stay fit whilst forcing me into the habit of explaining myself in words.

Even after five years though it’s not a fully formed habit as it still requires conscious effort… I don’t yet suddenly notice that I’m leaving the house with my running kit on. In fact, if anything, I’ve got into the habit of getting up late on a Sunday and reading before I even think about running.

Good or bad, a fully-formed habit is like a line of computer code that is run by the subconscious. Hitting the snooze button is a good example of a suboptimal habit. Better to set the alarm later to the point that you want to get up, thus elongating the length of quality sleep. And then get straight up, thus helping develop conscious resilience.

Left to its own devices the subconscious will persuade the body to remain in the current comfortable state until a different motivation causes it to re-prioritise. Only our conscious is concerned with the longer-term benefits of getting to work on time.

Driving or playing a musical instrument is an example of a different kind of habit. Here the task is way too complex for the conscious to handle with its limited bandwidth. Instead. a period of practice is needed in order to show the subconscious what pattern it needs to repeat and under what circumstances. Provided the pattern is learned patiently and precisely, then a high degree of competence is feasible.

Higher degrees of competence are possible when you repeatedly break the pattern as you learn it, each time pushing the performance bar a little higher. This is the power behind interval training, where both muscles and mind learn that they can do more. Unfortunately the approach is also frustrating, as it constantly delays the reward of ‘felt competence’ for a future time.

Three years ago tomorrow I embarked on an experiment. Despite having played the guitar for 35 years, I had not progressed for 25 years and my use of the instrument had slowly declined to zero. I embarked on a series of 52 weekly guitar lessons and forced myself to practice for at least five minutes each day.

I’m still no virtuoso but my ability has improved and with it my passion. This progression has been typically non-linear. There was very little progress for a long time and then everything started to improve at the same time as the subconscious started to take over.

In the last nine months I have composed several songs and learned two short jazz pieces. The experiment continues and is now part of an interesting meta-habit… a habit of experimentation, of creating other sustainable habits.

Meanwhile, I finally relinquished the fascinating Wired 2013 magazine I was reading this morning, climbed into my running gear and set of into a grey day.

The surface water had subsided from last week, but the mud had thickened. When your feet are wet, it’s easy to persuade yourself to run straight through the puddles, but with the glutinous mud today and relatively dry feet I tried to stick to a dryer line. This meant that I was constantly testing the limits of my core stability muscles as my feet slithered this way or that on the steeper gradient at the margins.

I ran the same short route as recently, out to Wivelsfield and back via the magical path, with the latter still being uncharacteristically waterlogged.

At one point I stopped briefly to balance across a particularly wet bit and experienced a Forrest Gump moment… you know, the one where he just stops running and turns his attention to new challenges.

It was momentary, but palpable and that’s where the power of habits really come into their own. Rather than give in to the subconscious feeling (and hit the snooze button) I just started running again.

The time was slower at 55 minutes for the 5.2 mile route and it didn’t have the highs of my last run… as you can see this has made the task of writing more complex, hence my rambling post. But it was still a worthwhile step in the slow pursuit of excellence.

January 1, 2013

Happy 2013

Happy New Year!

We’ve had a great Christmas break with a restorative balance of quiet reflective time and really fun time spent with friends and family.

We took in the amazing Lost and Found Orchestra which is a riotous kaleidoscope of percussive sound and vision. Originally designed by STOMP for the 40th Anniversary of the Brighton Festival in 2006, it has since toured internationally to wide acclaim. Brighton is home to co-creator Luke Cresswell (who I went to school with in the late seventies & early eighties) so the performances here hold special significance!

We also saw the amazing film Life of Pi which is a beautifully produced and really thought-provoking tale of survival.

After days of dark, wet weather, 2013 dawned bright and clear so it seemed only right and proper to get out for a run. I quickly realised that the rain had left its mark with puddles and fluid mud everywhere.

I first headed out to Ditchling via Oldlands Mill, which sat facing the Downs in almost springlike sunshine.

Normally dry paths were waterlogged and those that are often wet were completely under water… there was little point in shirking the mud, though I kept generally to the edges.

One garden I passed en route had filled up to become a small lake… maybe a 150 feet long and easily 20 feet deep! The water sometimes fills the width of the garden but I’ve not ever seen it this high and close to the path before.

The normally slippery chalk up the Beacon path had been washed clean and was abnormally grippy, especially compared to the slippery ground around it.

As I neared the top of the path, the view to the left was more warm March than soggy January… apart from the extent of the midday shadow!

The top had a range of similarly beautiful views accompanied by a chilly breeze, especially where I was standing… on the trig point at the highest point in Sussex.

After slip-sliding down the Beacon again, I ran past Sporting Cars, admired the beautiful houses through Ditchling and then climbed back up to the Oldlands path at the end of the village.

Where I had been relatively circumspect on the outbound route, I now just headed through the middle of most of the big puddles… and there were a lot of them! By the time I reached the Keymer road again I was dripping wet and coated in mud.

My first task upon returning home was to stand in the garden and wash off the worst of the mud with a scrubbing brush and hosepipe… which also usefully cooled down my tired leg muscles.

So ten miles in a sploshy 1:55 and a GREAT start to the New Year.

December 20, 2012December 20, 2012

A short run on a short day

Tomorrow is the shortest day, although at only 4 seconds longer today comes a pretty close joint-second. With dark clouds and heavy rain it sure does feel like winter is about to start. Which is what made it a perfect day for a hilarious run with Daren!

We met ‘upstairs’ at Jack and Jill, laughing at even the notion of running when there was enough water on the roads to kayak comfortably. Perfect weather for clean trainers!

It felt cold to start with, especially with the rain biting at our faces, but soon laughter warmed us up as we dropped down past a difficult green on the golf course.

The path towards Pyecombe was a small stream and there was little point trying to keep our trainers dry… we just waded on through!

The path out from Pyecombe was probably less muddy than normal since it had been washed right down to the hard chalk layer. Moreover, when we reached the point that is normally thick deep mud, someone had tarmacked it over since our last visit. Odd.

We made good time up Wolstonbury but chose not to stand on the top to admire the (absent) view on account of the needling rain. The steep grassy decent was always going to more interesting in this weather but we both managed to stay upright… with the help of some girlie squeals and aerobatic body movements.

A subsequent steep incline led to more squeals and one moment that almost undid me… my uphill foot was secure in a hollow while my downhill foot slipped inexorably away.

The end of that path as we approach Clayton is always a mud bath, even in the middle of summer, but today it seemed somehow easier. Probably because we weren’t trying to avoid it in any way… we just waded right through the middle.

Eventually we came to the hard hill. The ‘tank tracks’ take the scarp slope of the South Downs head on and require every ounce of resilience to run from bottom to top… neither would have made it alone today but together we managed to triumph.

And then we were back in the deserted car park, stripping off sodden clothes while the rain did it’s best to soak our dry ones.

6.3 miles in 1;14 works out to 5.1 mph, which is actually a little faster than normal… you were right Daren!

My trainers have resumed their dirty state but I’m now brimming with positivity ahead of the approaching winter!

December 9, 2012December 9, 2012

Reluctant tempo

We went to an awesome party at Clive & Nats last night, with an excellent live band and lots of interesting folk to chat to.

If there was a Mens’ Sussex Fitness Party League, then Clive and Nat would consistently be at the top… both in terms of quality and quantity. Meanwhile I can count the number of parties we’ve held recently on no hands at all!

After such an excellent evening this morning was flat and grey and I had little inclination to run. However, I know that in order to be able to have the occasional run like last weekend, whilst also keeping this blog trickling along, I need to keep my running going.

So I reluctantly climbed aboard the magic carpet machine, dialled in 7mph and set off in the general direction of the cheese plant.

One hour later, having covered, er… 7 miles (but strangely not yet reached the aforementioned plant) I went outside to stretch and cool down. By that time the sun had come out and it was relatively mild… just as well as I was standing there steaming in shorts and shoes only!

So a good tempo run and a few more words to the wise: all worthwhile stuff, reluctant or otherwise.

November 21, 2012

More autumn colour

Sunday was another beautiful day so I followed the same route as last week… except that this time it took me 40 minutes longer. Somewhat worrying for a run of only 51 minutes!

The countryside around here really is lovely and the last of the autumn colours were out on show.

Somewhere past the halfway mark I came across the inimitable Lew and stopped for a short conversation. This clearly turned into a not so short conversation (we did put the world to rights), although it only seemed as if I had paused for ten minutes!

My modest run and large pause meant that I still had energy to spare to make the most of a sunny day by getting out to give the cars a long-overdue wash. The downside of this was that I ended up with a painful shoulder, but this had an excellent silver lining. My friend Evrim has been doing a sports massage course and she kindly worked some of her new-found magic on my shoulder, which now feels better than it has done in an age!

So 5.2 miles in (ahem, 91 minutes, but let’s call it) 51 minutes, followed by a similarly delayed post due to a busy few days.

August 27, 2012

SAIL NOW ON!

After enjoying the camaraderie of running with the St Francis Running Club last weekend, it was great to receive an email from Andy last week announcing a Bank Holiday Monday run. Not least since it also saved Karen & Cleo, down from London for the first half of the weekend, from seeing me drag myself sweatily back into the house after a long run.

It was like one of the eye-to-eye groups, with Andy, Cliff, Pete, Nikki, Kevin, Lydia and myself, whilst the start at Falmer could easily have been one of the checkpoints. In fact it was for Pete, since he ran from Brighton to get warmed up!

There were varying agendas, but Cliff helpfully set a clear initial direction by saying that he wanted to take a closer look at the windmill at Kingston, as it looked from the road like they had at least one sail on.

And we were off… initially up the hill out of Falmer. When I was doing more hill running I would deliberately race ahead up this to test my staying power, but today I took it more cautiously, mindful of the distance I might have to cover afterwards. Happily I can report that it wasn’t too bad, though I could hear Cliff’s steps right behind me the whole way, which kept me going!

We then ran across to Newmarket copse, after which there is a steep hill to the top. Although I was initially dubious, I have to agree with Cliff that either someone has flattened it off or we must be generally fitter now than we used to be.

Across he top and down into Kingston was at an easy conversational pace and we quickly reached the windmill, which did indeed now have a sail on.

Actually, I can see from the Sussex Mills Group website that it’s a reconstruction of the Ashcombe windmill… and that unusually, as far as I’m concerned, there are going to be not two pairs of sails but rather three pairs of sweeps (the correct technical term).

From there we ran down into Lewes, with the added excitement of a near-miss when I turned left across the front of Pete… luckily he was awake and has good brakes!

After passing the prison we ran up to Lewes Racecourse… in fact, Kevin nigh-on sprinted up there with Pete in hot pursuit… and then on up to the next gate. Here I met a couple of runners who I recognised, though after a little to and fro (which involved a quizzical look when I said I was running with Martlet Kayak Club) we realised it was because he generally shops in Waitrose at the same time as me on a Friday evening! Nice to finally put a name to a face, Mark & Rosie!

Next stop Blackcap and both Andy and I were were uncharacteristically restrained in our rivalry, arriving slowly and at the same time!

Here the group decided to split. Pete would head for home, joined for a while by Cliff, Andy & Nicky who were going to run back via Ditchling Beacon. Discretion being the better part of valour (we were already 1:25 into the run), I decided to join Kevin & Lydia in the more direct return to Falmer via Waterpit Hill… which just happens to be downhill all the way!

We three arrived back in 1:57 having covered 10.9 miles… about 5.6mph average.

If there is a point to keeping up my occasional running, other that staying fit enough to keep any cognitive lethargy at bay, it is to be able to join a bunch of good friends on a day like today! Thanks guys!

August 19, 2012

FosterRuns.com is five years old!

Earlier today one of the St Francis runners asked me how long I’d been writing my blog and it wasn’t until I was in the shower that I actually thought about it and realised that I had missed its birthday this week! It’s not the only birthday I’ve managed to miss this year either so my apologies all round!

Some hastily thrown-together stats show that I’ve had a somewhat lazy year… a teacher like Dai Thomas (who helped me start this blog in the first place) might mark me down as ‘could do better’!

Following the format from previous years the numbers are as follows:

Number of posts: 66 (83 in year 4, 110 in year 3, 102 in year 2, 156 in year 1 – the numbers below follow this format too). The original aim of the blog was to force me to run and to write in a virtuous, self-supporting circle, but other projects have been taking my attention this year and both body and mind have suffered as a result.

Number of runs: 41 (72, 92, 63, 67) although this doesn’t include the two more involved events, namely the informal Tour du Mont Blanc with Daren last year and the Eye-to-Eye (London Eye to Brighton Eye).

Mileage: 292 (653, 726, 538, 512)… this is the lowest yet, even if I added 108 miles for the TMB and 47 miles completed in the Eye-to-Eye

Hours spent running: 47 (113, 113, 84, 87)… excluding 53 walking hours for TMB (excluding breaks and overnights) and 13-odd for the Eye-to-Eye. Actually, these numbers make me feel a little better, although it seems odd to have spent more time on the TMB than running for the whole of the rest of the year!

Average run: 7.1 miles in 1.10 (9.4 in 1.34, 7.89 in 1.24, 8.14 in 1.20, 8.07 in 1.31).

Average speed: 6.1mph (5.8, 6.38, 6.05, 6.15) or 3.9mph including the longer events

Average minutes per mile: 10.4 (9.4, 9.9, 9.65) Slower than a slow thing!

Worst month distance: 6 in March 12 (31.6 in December 2010, 10.4 May 10, 13.6 Jan 09, 22.3 Feb 08).

Best month distance: 50 in Jan 2012 (68 miles in Jan 2011, 157 in March 10, 62 Apr 09, 68 Nov 07), whilst the average monthly mileage was 24 (52, 61, 40 and 44)

Total mileage to date since start of blog: 2724 miles (excluding the aforementioned 155 miles)

Time spent running since start of blog: 447 hours (excluding the aforementioned 66 hours)

Visitors according to Google Analytics: 1504 (Clustermaps: 1722, 1479, 1496, 2906 for year 1, the first year being higher as a by-product of my work with Qype.com).

I forgot to mention (by way of a vague token excuse) that a number of my posts this year involved cross training, including 8 visits to a circuit training class and 5 high intensity training sessions. Despite the fact that this latter involved a mere 5 minutes of exercise in total, it was actually more exhausting than anything else here!

The best part of running is doing so with friends and strangers alike and here’s to yet another sociable year of it!

Finally, my thanks to all that have stopped by at FosterRuns.com during five years of blogging! FIVE years!

February 28, 2012

Breaking news!

If you didn’t see Horizon tonight and are interested in the health benefits of exercise, it makes essential watching! http://www.bbc.co.uk/i/b01cywtq/

The bottom line is that three bursts of max activity, duration 20 seconds each and interspersed with a recovery period, three times a week, can have a dramatic effect on both insulin retention and VO2 max levels… even within the first month!

Worth a watch… and a try too!