Warsaw

Saturday, 5th June, 2009

Not a lot of running these past few days, as work has taken me to the Polish capital, Warsaw. But I have done about five miles of walking and I went to the gym in my hotel.

















Warsaw isn't top of most people's travel wish list, but that didn't stop it being voted one of 2009's top cities to visit, see here:
http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/europe/warsaw-steps-out-of-the-shadows-1030804.html




















The city itself is very interesting and I enjoyed the little time I had to explore. Like many central and eastern European cities it's has two sides: a shiney-new-glass-skyscraper-I'm-so-modern side and a crumbling-concrete-communism side.




















Interestingly, one of the main tourist attractions here - Warsaw's Old Town - is actually not that old. It was rebuilt after the second world war, having been ripped down when Hitler told the SS to "turn it into a lake". In the ten years after the war the old part of the city was rebuilt to look like it had previously.















Picture Of The Old Town: Not That Old, Actually

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Photographic Evidence

Tuesday 2 June, 2009

A few more pics of us "greening up" and getting ready to run:

Runner's High

Wednesday 3 June, 2009

My friend who duped me in to running the New York Marathon with her phoned with a revelation on Sunday: after around three weeks of running training, she'd hit her first Runner's High. You can read about it here: http://rosanneperry.blogspot.com/2009/05/progress.html


















The "Runner's High" is a euphoric, calm and clear state which many people say they reach after exercise. Most runners have experienced it at some point or another, but what interests me is that I don't get it every time.

I felt pretty high after the Edinburgh Marathon Relay last Sunday. Other days I feel nothing and some days I actually feel worse after the run than I did before. I always feel good after a competitive race, no matter what my time is.

Most likely, the feeling is down to a confluence of factors: mood, the weather, endorphins, adrenaline, a sense of accomplishment. I felt on top of the world after my Edinburgh marathon stint on Sunday, likely due to a number of things: I was with my friends, the sun was shining, running along in a big group by the sea. I find the rhythmic thud, thud, thud of thousands of runners' shoes hitting the pavement just fantastic as well.

Pinning down exactly what creates the Runner's High is the subject of thousands of books, articles and studies, like this one What's Behind The Runner's High?

The New York Times has a great piece titled "Yes, Running Can Make You High"

Coincidentally, Runner's High is also the title of an album released by Japanese band, The Pillows in January 1999. The lyrics of the title-track are pure genius:

Escape from the sinking
Do you see what i mean?
Freedom beats the kingdom and i saw you in my dream
Me o tojiteitatte subete ga mieta kaze o kaki wakete


Just Runners High!
Runners High!
Just Runners High!
Runners High!

Edinburgh Marathon Take Two - Ninja Turtles

Monday 1 June, 2009

And so to my second running of the Edinburgh marathon.










And *news flash* I have decided that I like the city and the course and the atmosphere so much that I will run it ever year. But only as part of a relay team!

One year ago, having dinner to celebrate my completion of the marathon, my university friends and I dreamt up a plan to run the Edinburgh Marathon Relay dressed as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Fast-forward 12 months and we were faced with the prospect of running the race as part of a very green and very silly-looking quartet...














The 'Hairy Haggis' Team Relay - its official name - splits the marathon's 26.2 miles between four runners and is designed to make race running more fun and more accessible.

Leg One is 8.1 miles, from the course start to Musselburgh, Leg Two is 5.4 miles, to Port Seton Links, Leg Three is 8.0 miles, up to Gosford House and back and the final leg is 4.7 miles and runs from Port Seton Links to the finish at Musselburgh Race Course.

Having entered, we devoted our entire weekend to to costume making and running. We carbo-loaded by eating pizza - in true Ninja Turtle style - and fashioned costumes from Peacock's Size 20 T-shirts... On the morning of the race we donned lime green footless tights and a lot of green body paint.

I was up for the first leg. At the start I was reminded of my longer run a year ago and what a massive achievement it was. I don't think that really sunk in at the time.

The start of the race is beautiful and goes down past the Parliament building, out toward the Edinburgh coast and along through the beach resort of Portobello.

The heat was really draining, even for just eight miles, temperatures were as high as 22 degrees Celsius with hardly any breeze. Ten people were taken to hospital and 160 were treated for heat-related illness on the scene, according to local newspaper The Scotsman.


I finished my eight miles in 1 hr 14 mins. The others notched up great times too, giving us a total time of 04 hours, 09 mins and 14 seconds. Only slightly faster than my solo effort a year earlier.

1st Leg (Me, Leonardo): 1h 14m 28s (01:14:28)

2nd Leg (Caz, Donatello): 55m 55s (02:10:23)

3rd Leg (Anna, Raphael): 1h 19m 11s (03:29:34)

4th Leg (Miller, Michelangelo): 39m 40s (04:09:14)


Well done team! See you next year.



We raised over £700 for Medecins Sans Frontieres

To donate!! Click here:
www.justgiving.com/ninjasgo

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

Flagey 6k

24th May 2009

Exactly one year on from my triumph in the Edinburgh marathon, I signed up to run a 6k run in my new hometown, Brussels.

Walking down to the race, alone in the sunshine, I felt strangely nostalgic, remembering all the races and the preparation that I did last year and how great the Marathon Day had been.

The Flagey 6k race started in Brussels' famous Place Flagey, home to a very cool arts centre and cinema and also to Cafe Belga, a hang out for cool kids and one of the only places I have encountered in the city that doesn't have table service.

Before the start there was a great carnival atmosphere and a group warm up which involved a lot of jumping up and down, making me pretty sweaty before the race had even started...

A whistle sounded and off we went, through the blow up start line and around the Ixelles Ponds. The route comprised of two 3k loops.

The Étangs d'Ixelles are two long, skinny ponds separated by a narrow strip of road. It was hot and running down one side of the lakes we were going up hill and directly in to the sun. Not good, especially on the second lap.

At the base of the lakes, the run took us through the grounds of the Cistercian Abbey de le Cambre, founded in 1196. The gardens are immaculately manicured and part of the building now housees a visual arts school, while some of the other bits are used by the Belgian Geographical Society.

The finish was great, running through the blow up arch, directly on to the Place Flagey. There was a live band playing covers of The Beatles' Back In The USSR and a stand selling beer for Eur1.50. I was tired, but I got to thinking I could get used to running in Brussels...

Ran: 6km in thirty minutes and 41 seconds

Loot: VERY IMPRESSIVE: Pink rose (gotta love The Continent), running magazine (useful for future races), Vivaqua sports water (new to me), Eur15 voucher for Brussels running shop, microfibre headband

Visit the web page of the event

You can see my time, by clicking here

A distraction plan

28th April 2009


My friend is looking for a challenge. She's given up smoking, is bored in London and wants to get fit.











An email lands in my inbox: A distraction plan

The text reads as follows:

The new york marathon...

You and me

Whaddayathink?


Whaddaithink??? Giving it no thought whatsoever, I hit reply and type:

I am in. When do we register?


Fast forward 2 days and we're signed up for a four day trip to New York in November and a run of 26.2 miles. Only then does the magnitude of the decision begin to sink in.

WHAT WAS I THINKING

Last year I gave up four months of my life, every single weekend and endured a great deal of pain. What sane human being would put themself through that again?

Hysterically I phone my friend, who reassures me that I should focus on the "immense sense of personal achievement" rather than viewing the situation so negatively.

People are queing up offering advice on how to tackle "those dreaded bridges." I feel worried.

www.nycmarathon.org