Running On A Hangover

Thursday June 18, 2009

A lovely evening and too many drinks in my local, Bistros des Restos, saw me spend most of Thursday feeling pretty out of it. But a gorgeous day in Brussels had me hankering for a run.















Most people don't recommend running with a hangover because alcohol has a dehydrating effect, and when you feel hungover, what you're actually experiencing is intense dehydration. Not good for running.

I tried to overcome this by drinking A LOT of water during the day, and setting off. Felt terrible, uncoordinated and clumsy but pushed on for almost five miles - you can see the massive, hangover-induced dip in the middle, here:













Ran: 4.9 miles

Time: 44 mins 59 seconds

Pace per mile: 9 mins, ten seconds

Calories: 515

Ate: A LOT: Museli, tomato salad, steak frites, ice cream sundae, thai green curry

Personal Plateauing

Wednesday 17th June, 2009

Of course I've heard of plateauing in exercise - when you get to a certain point and you find it difficult to push yourself beyond it. But I didn't expect to hit one myself.

A chart of my last eleven runs shows differently. Each run - apart from the two that were with other people - have been under the four-mile plateau level. I've noticed this when I've been out running, I get to a certain point and I just can't seem to run any faster or any further. I am pretty sure it's mental - when I am running in a race or with others I don't seem to have the same problem.














I consulted a long time runner and friend of mine for tips:

"It's to do with motivation more than tiredness, you've just got to get on with it," he says. "See what works for you, join a running club, some people are quite single minded and like running by themselves but others prefer - and need - to go out in a group. Failing that get some new tunes, trendy ones!"

He is right of course, once you push yourself through the barrier, carrying on seems easy.

The internet has a few other suggestions. It says other types of exercise can help because if you vary your routine you are more likely to enjoy the few runs you do go on and push yourself harder.

Other online hints include breaking up runs with 1-2 minute surges of faster paces and recovery breaks of easy jogging for 3-6 mins. This again adds variety and gives your body and mind something different to focus on. I think there is a Swedish name for it...

Motivation

26 May 2009


Here is lovely photo of me and Nicky from my running group taking part in the Flagey 6k on Sunday
















Keeping up your motivation to run is tough. There are days when it's raining, days when its too hot, days when you're tired and some days when you really really just can't be bothered. Some days all of the above happens at the same time.

Take yesterday evening for example. It was beautiful in Brussels, perfect running weather and the park where I like to run is just down the road. But I can't get going. I can't even bring myself to put on my gym kit. I consider other forms of exercise: I know there's a step aerobics class going on at my gym. Again: I can't be bothered.

For most people the lack of motivation is mainly associated with actually getting out the door. Whether you are putting off going to the gym, avoiding a run or ducking out of a swim, the rot sets in at home, where the cozy sofa and the Six Feet Under box set beckon. The trick is to find ways of getting past the initial "I don't feel like it" feeling, knowing that once you get out there, you'll be fine. A very effective trick I used to use was to change into my running kit, which almost always forced me out the house.

And so to this morning, it is raining in Brussels, and I am still unable to get anywhere near motivated, so I get up and don my running kit. I pump up the i-pod, set the sports watch going and I run out of the house. Admittedly I don't get very far, as the rain comes down harder and I'm really just not in the mood, but I am feeling a remix of Madonna's Miles Away and that manages to spur me on for ALMOST 2.5 miles before I jack it in and come home.

Alexander James writes an interesting article in the Times about music, motivation and working out, here: Music holds the key to working out successfully


Ran: 2.48 miles (pathetic)
Time: 22 mins and 59 second (see above)
Average pace per mile: 9 mins 14 seconds
Calories: 261

Bruxelles

13th – 16th May



Attending the annual Brussels Economic Forum I knew I wasn't going to get much running done. The days are long, the hours are relentless and you're lucky if you can remember your own name by the end of each day, let alone the fact that you're running a marathon in just over a week.

Nevertheless I decided to try a few short runs during my stay.

I managed two. Both in the morning before the conference day started.

The weather in Brussels this week was super hot. Hotter I think than in London and also muggier. The air hung heavily in an uncomfortably close fashion. I felt almost claustrophobic, penned in by the humidity.

The first run took place under these conditions and even though it was early in the morning on Thursday, I found it stifling. I made it round one lap of the park near where I was staying.

Parc du Cinquantenaire, a park built by King Leopold was named to commemorate 50 years of Belgian independence. It's a relatively small park, the distance of my running route around the outside is about 1.25 miles. It's in the eastern part of the European District of Brussels and is dominated by a huge arch in its centre which was built in 1880.

Over night on Thursday it rained very heavily, clearing the air and making Friday morning's run much more bearable. This time I made it round two laps of the park. I'd like to have continued for longer but time pressures didn't allow.

While I was running I worried all this tapering was making me unfit. Have I been taking the taper too seriously? Had I tapered myself in to a new unfit realm? I certainly don't feel as fit as I was feeling a few weeks ago.

Looking back I was feeling fittest around the time of my second long run, when I was doing several longish runs during the week. Now I feel sort of sluggish and lumpy, which is causing me to worry.

I'm told one final run of ten miles this weekend will round off my training nicely and that then I shouldn't do anything from Wednesday onward. I suppose this is the kind of knowledge that comes with experience of running a marathon and that it's only natural to have a few pre-mara jitters ahead of your first one. Let's hope it'll all be ok in ten days time.

Nice Cup Of Tea

Monday 7th April
This one doesn't need any explanation but very accurately captures my current mood.

It's from the lovely Last Lemon Productions: www.haroldsplanet.com

Ljubljana and Bled

3rd - 7th April

Work took me to Slovenia for a few days this weekend while training took a back seat. Left my running kit at home but did manage two walks and one short swim which I hope went someway to bolstering my fitness.

Walk One took me through Ljubljana Old Town and up the steep Castle Hill to Ljubljana Castle, a hotchpotch of architectural styles thought to have been first settled in 1200BC. According to the information points, the castle was first mentioned in literature in 1144, and was gradually added to over the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries. After a brief spell as a prison in the early 19th century, the building was renovated in the 1960s and is now used as a venue for weddings and cultural events. There’s a café in the main courtyard and a great 360 view from the top of the main tower.

Walk Two was a far-more-substantial 6.5k in Bled, a small town in the north-west of the country at the edge of the Julian Alps. It’s almost too pretty to believe and eerily quiet. The town is set on a picture perfect, mountain ringed lake, with an island-church in the middle. That’s overlooked by a cliff-perched castle which adds to the Disney-esque fairytale setting. Gave myself a near-heart-attack and several blisters hiking up to the viewpoint to get some photos. Undid all I’d achieved by scoffing local-specialty the kremna rezina – a vanilla custard and cream pastry not dissimilar to England’s custard slice.

The Battersea Loop

Tuesday 1st and Wednesday 2nd April

Motivation, Staying Power and Enthusiasm have all abandoned me these past few days.

Drank too much wine. Worked a lot.

Ran the tried and tested "Battersea Loop" just to keep going. The loop is just 2.9 miles, or 4.7 kilometres long. Realised I would need to run it nine times to make a marathon.

Got depressed. Not good for reviving Motivation, Staying Power or Enthusiasm. Resolved that one day soon I will run the Battersea Loop six times in a row. Felt better.

Two More Days Of Nowt

Friday 28th and Saturday 29th March

Really there isn't much to blog about. I've wasted 48 hours of my life lying in bed. Felt well enough on Saturday to try 3 "normal" meals but not well enough to run anywhere. Consulted my friend's doctor-boyfriend over lunch at Le Pain Quotidien. He said I'll be well enough to run again on Sunday, provided I'm properly hydrated. Apparantly that's one of the key aspects of marathon running (eight weeks off, it's a constant learning curve). Onward and upward, off to bed early ahead of loss of hour and VERY early start...

Learnt about: hydration

Watched: Hot Fuzz on dvd

Ate:
Dry bread
Smoked chicken salad
Chocolate brownie
Chicken stir fry
Cadburys Creme Egg

Wipe Out: Third-Straight Day

Thursday 27th March

The second day of trying to shake off the norovirus saw me floating round the house in a trance, bleaching everything I own and watching a lot of dreadful day-time TV.

Realised things were hitting a low point after spending thirty minutes musing as to why diet coke tastes so much better out of a can...

Ran: No where, THIRD DAY IN A ROW

Ate:
A few jacobs cream crackers
Lots of cans of diet coke
Two slices of dry toast

Inpromptu Day Off

Tuesday 25th March

Knee and hip felt off after yesterday’s escapades. Resolved to tackle problem by wearing four-inch heels to work and “resting” i.e. ignoring alarm clock to lie-in when I should have been on a pre-work run. Wracked with guilt over lack of training: tried to overcompensate by researching training watches on the internet. Couldn’t commit to one. Watched Hollyoaks, ‘Stenders and Napoleon Dynamite in succession. Should have been running.


Ran: No where

Worried about: Getting a cold

Resolved: To do better tomorrow

Ate:
Soy-milk porridge with honey and banana
Niçoise salad (no anchovies)
Apple, kiwi and strawberry salad
Innocent mango and passion fruit smoothie
4 x mini eggs
1 glass of white wine
Prawn and pea risotto
3 x mini Cadbury crème eggs
Lots of Rooibos tea