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

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

The Grim Reality

Monday 13th July, 2009

Short post today as I am not feeling that positive about the task ahead. Went out and managed a measly 3.75 miles in 39 minutes.

That's ok, according to the New York Marathon's Basic Marathon plan. I remember from my last marathon that it is more important to go running regularly - read five days a week - to keep your muscles used to running, than to push yourself to go further each time.

I hope this is true...

Victoria Beckham runs 4 miles a day, seven days a week, according to this story in U.K. tabloid, the Sun:

"I run four miles, seven days a week," Posh Spice said. "I feel energised and healthy - there are really nice gyms here and I just enjoy it. I need that self-discipline to get up in the morning, drop the kids off at school then go to the gym. I can think properly then go home and do some work. But I do feel so much better.

"David puts music on my iPod and Gordon Ramsay bought me trainers where you have a little chip so you can clock how far you're running."

VB is a NIKE+ user too - I wonder if her screen has an error on it??

Summer Rain

Saturday 11th July, 2009

One of the frustrating things about Brussels is the erratic weather. The climate changes at a pace more rapid than any other city I have lived in or visited.

You can be sitting in a pavement cafe, sipping coffee in the sunshine and within a matter of minutes black clouds will have gathered, prompting a ferocious torrent of rain.

The Belgian sky. In JULY:















This morning: I dressed for my run - it was sunny - but no sooner had I donned my running shoes the rain started. In the end I went out and ran for about half an hour in the rain. Pretty unpleasant. Retired to the gym. Oh, and my Nike+ Sportsband seems to have given up the ghost too. Not. A. Good. Day.

There's an interesting article on geeky-blog Wired about running barefoot and how it's supposed to be better for you:

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/07/barefoot/

The Big M: New York

10th July, 2009

113 days to go until the ING New York City Marathon on November 1st and training has to start.









I am really excited by the challenge of running New York. The race is one of the World Marathon Majors and goes through all five boroughs of the city, finishing in Central Park. It has more than 35,000 runners, two million spectators and 315 million television viewers.













Starting to train for a marathon is very daunting. I remember back to early 2008 when I started to build up to the Edinburgh marathon - the task ahead is so big and incomprehensible you can start to think you'll never be able to do it.

One thing is for sure, Marathon training requires a lot of preparation and a lot of determination. Mental strength is key: both to pushing yourself out of the door to run 12 miles on a rainy Sunday afternoon when you'd rather be watching telly, and also to carrying yourself around the course, especially those final five or six miles.

Most marathon experts advise 12-18 weeks of preparation - with 12 as an absolute minimum. There are roughly 16 weeks to go now and it's time to step up to the plate!

The NYC Marathon website has training plans here

I am going to use one of those - meaning I will have run over 400 miles by November - and combine it with other activities - tennis, yoga, aerobics and weights in the gym.

My goal is to be able to show a marked improvement in my fitness and in my body shape and also to get comfortably around the marathon course without injury. WISH ME LUCK!

http://www.ingnycmarathon.org