Seven Miles And A Sore Hip Joint

Wednesday 26 August, 2009

I must be getting old. This morning a seven mile run gave me a pain in the hip. Internet consultation tells me this could be down to my shoes or the way in which I'm striding. I hope it is the shoes... resolve to get new ones and KEEP GOING!












Ran: 7.02 miles
Time: 1 hr 5 mins, 5 seconds

9 Weeks To Go - Humidity Strikes!

Monday 24th August, 2009

The past week has been a write-off in terms of running, I've only managed to get out twice, because the weather in Brussels has been crazily hot and very, very humid.

Each day temperatures breached 30 degrees Celsius and last Thursday the record for the hottest day of the year in Belgium was broken, with the peak temperature hitting 38.2 degrees Celsius. More Here.

It didn't even cool down at night.

The problem wasn't so much the temperature but the humidity - the amount of water vapour in the air.

I've never lived anywhere with high humidity before and it's quite different to living somewhere where it gets just hot.

High humidity makes you feel hotter because it prevents the body’s sweat from evaporating.

Sweating is the body's method of keeping cool, especially during exercise. When that's not working, blood flow is diverted to the skin, limiting your ability to cool down.

I found these stats on the internet, about the effect of heat and humidity on heart rates:

For Heat:
Temperatures between 60-75°F (16-24 degrees Celcius) will increase your heart rate by 2-4 beats per minute
Temperatures between 75-90°F (24-32 degrees Celcius) will increase your heart rate up to 10 beats per minute

For Humidity:
Humidity levels between 50-90% will increase your heart rate up to 10 beats per minute

So a combination of high temperature and high humidity levels can increase your heart rate by 20 beats per minute and that's before you've even started running!

The main methods of managing this are to keep hydrated and then either reduce your pace or use the run/walk/run method of training.

I opted for the first, keeping going for as long as I could before stopping and walking for a bit and then starting up again. The concept is the same as reducing the pace because the walking part of the training allows your heart to recover.

I managed a total of 5.7 miles in three intervals before I was too hot to carry on.

The forecast for this week is slightly cooler, and I'm off to the Champagne region of France at the weekend so hopefully I'll be able to pick up the training again!

10 Weeks To Go - 10 Miles Down

Monday 17th August, 2009

TEN MILES this weekend, without stopping, no sweat. I felt pretty good actually.

The weather in Brussels couldn't have been better for the run - grey and overcast with a slight rain. I had my friend Natalia along for support and we ran deep in to the forest to the south of Brussels.

The ten miler felt pretty good and there's no muscle ache this morning. Completing it reminded me how much of the marathon takes place in the mind, rather than in the body. Of course a large amount of preparation is needed to build stamina and prepare the body for the onslaught of the 26 miles, but if you really put your mind to it, and are prepared to ignore the initial niggles when you set off, you can run as far as you like.

Ten miles took one hour thirty-six minutes and - according to the Nike+ - we burnt 1058 calories. Which was a good job, considering the amount we were about to eat...

We'd be invited to an English Lunch - a traditional Sunday roast:














French onion soup: not very English but tasted VERY good.
















The main event: roast chicken and excellent home made yorkies.
















My creation: apple and blackberry crumble. Learnt a new french word: mures















Stinky cheese course: obligatory in Belgium.
















Finishing with Brussels' finest: Pierre Marcolini chocolates. One of these will give you a stomach ache. And English tea.

Perfect Sunday!

Ran: 10.05 miles
Time: 1 hr, 36 mins, 9 seconds
Pace: 9 mins 33 seconds per mile
Calories: 1057

Early In The Morning

Wednesday 12th August, 2009

Wide awake at 5am this morning, feet twitching, I decided to get rid of some of my pent up energy and head off for a run.

I am getting pretty bored of the same route, which I follow every single time I go running here in Brussels: down Avenue Louise, through the Bois de la Cambre, twice around the lake and back home.

The total run is 6.22 miles, or about 10k.

I need to inject some variation into my running, maybe get involved in a race or two to try and up the pace, or even just get a running buddy to inject something new...














Ran: 6.22 miles
Time: 57 minutes
Calories: 654
Pace per mile: 9 mins 10 seconds
Watched: Kill Bill last night. For about the 10th time. LOVE IT!

11 Weeks To Go - Progress, Little By Little

Monday 10th August, 2009

Nike have revamped their running website nikeplus.com to coincide with the relaunch of their Nike+ running bands. Now on the website you can create your own "mini" version of yourself (see mine below) and publish details of your runs direct to Twitter and Facebook.

















This weekend I managed a few runs. One short and slow one of about 4 miles on Friday (I really wasn't feeling it) and almost seven miles on Sunday.

12 Weeks To Go - Foot Off The Gas

Monday 3 August, 2009

This week I've been really bad at running and really, really good at going out.

Since my run last Monday, I managed one other run (which I think was about 6/7 km) and went out every single night.

Not the best behaviour for someone due to run a marathon in 12 weeks time. After a weekend of more indulgence - two friends came to visit for the weekend from London - I decided today was the day to get back in the swing of things so I donned my trainers and sped off to the forest.









Distance: 9.35 miles or about 15 km
Time: 1 hour, 25 minutes, 12 seconds
Average Pace: 9.06 mins per mile
Calories: 983