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Bought some shoes: the Saucony Trigon 5 Ride. Ran 5k on the treadmill…so far so good.
New shoes
Also did 43.5 miles on the bike with my Dad, an all-day affair that took in the garden centre for tea and cheese scones on the morning, and several pints of lager and some sandwiches at the Maiden’s Head in Whitwell at lunchtime. Well, it was his birthday.
No time to write more now…off on my holidays, via Wembley for the Nike 10k tomorrow.
Filed under: 10k, Nike Human Race, Pulse8, gym, running | Tags: 10k, gym, Nike Human Race, Pulse8, running
Congratulations to the GB team for bringing home 19 gold medals out of a total of 47. What a fantastic boost to the 2012 team, and a thorough “up yours” to all of the people moaning about how much money the Games will cost us. Isn’t it all worth it? I’m not a big sport spectator, but I’ve really enjoyed watching the achievements of the GB team alongside the other faces of 2008 – notably Usain Bolt and Michael Phelps. Let’s hope our disabled athletes share similar success as they complete their final preparations before the Paralympics start on 6 September. I hope the BBC gives them the coverage they too deserve.
My own training has muddled along during the course of August – though it’s been hard to get in my three/four weekday sessions over the last couple of weeks because of work commitments (on holiday now for two weeks, whoop whoop!)
But I haven’t done toooo badly. Here’s the rundown:
- Sunday, 3 August – Run around Hampstead Heath (45 mins/4.4 miles)
- Tuesday, 5 August – Circuit training + treadmill run (10 mins/1.82km)
- Wednesday, 6 August – Spinning (on X-bikes with virtual reality screen. Liable to cause motion sickness)
- Thursday, 7 August – Treadmill run (45 mins/7.77km)
- Sunday, 10 August – Bike ride with Dad and chums (32 miles)
- Tuesday, 12 August – Circuit training + treadmill run (15 mins/2.82km)
- Wednesday, 13 August – Spinning
- Saturday, 16 August – Run around Twyford/Dinton Pastures (60 mins/5.57 miles)
- Tuesday, 19 August – Circuit training + treadmill run (15 mins/2.63km)
- Thursday, 21 August – Treadmill run (35 mins/6.23km)
Also managed to get in a couple of good walks in the Brecon Beacons this weekend. I could feel my glutes starting to gripe a bit by the end of day two anyway.
Five days until the next event: the Nike Human Race, a 10k starting at Wembley Stadium. Unusually it’s an evening run, with music from Moby and others before we set off. This is what I’ll be wearing…alongside thousands of other runners.
Lemming top
I won’t be going for gold of course. Happy just to jog along with the crowds. First though, I’m off to Runners World in Rayners Lane to get a pair of shoes that fit. My feet hate me at the moment, as I keep forcing them into a pair of Asics that have never been quite right.
US researchers say running can slow the ageing process after tracking 500 older runners and non-runners for 20 years. 34 per cent of the non-runners had popped their clogs by the end of the survey, compared to 15 per cent of runners. Professor James Fries, from the University of California, said:
“If you had to pick one thing to make people healthier as they age, it would be aerobic exercise,”
Sadly, the late Isaac Hayes might not agree. He was found dead next to a treadmill that was still rolling. I like running, even on a treadmill, but I can’t say that’s the mode of transport I’d choose to depart this earth.
Just flicked on the telly-box to watch the news, only to find Trinny and Susannah convincing some nice ladies to wobble their bottoms around on national TV. What possesses people to go on these shows and allow the nation to view their cellulite? I have enough trouble stripping off in the gym changing rooms, but then again there are plenty of girls standing around stark bollock naked and slowly rubbing moisturising lotion into bits I really don’t need to see.
On the flip side, T&S have the same effect on me as that other terrifying TV presenter twosome – Kim and Aggy. I suddenly realise that my bum isn’t nearly as big or dimply as those on display, and my flat isn’t as dirty. I think I’ll just have another bit of chocolate and watch the dust accumulating. It’s better than the telly-box.
Filed under: gym, music to run to, podwogging, running | Tags: gym, music to run to, podwogging, running
I’ve discovered podwogging, defined by a man named Jim Webster as:
The act of walking and/or jogging in time to music played on a portable MP3 player
This was an accidental discovery. Some time ago, I found myself bouncing along happily to a track I wouldn’t normally listen to for pleasure: Eminem’s Lose Yourself. I was running in total harmony with the beat, and found myself upping my normal pace a notch to keep time. Somewhat shamefully, I will also admit publicly to a penchant for Kenny Loggins’ Footloose when on the treadmill. I did a bit of Googling to find out the rhythm (measured in beats per minute or BPM) of these tracks and – you guessed it – found they are very similar: Eminem comes in at 171 BPM and Kenny racks up 174. Hmm, I thought, there must be something in this.
Others have done far more scientific research than me. This chart could prove to be useful to work out your ideal BPM for running comfortably and pushing yourself a bit harder. According to that chart, I need to find some tracks around the 160 BPM mark to maintain a consistent nine-minute mile pace, adding in a few 170 BPM tracks to help me speed up.
JamGlue is handy for finding out the BPM for popular music. There are downloadable tools available for scanning tracks yourself of course, but I haven’t managed to find one that works with iTunes on Windows. Maybe I’ll have to get a Mac after all…
It’s worth pointing out that there are other tracks that I absolutely adore running to, that don’t fit the Jogwogging theory. Last week, running the third race in the Finch Coasters Woodland 5 Series, I hit the bottom of a hill (which was actually more like a ladder made of tree roots, it was so steep) when the Faithless track Insomnia filled my eardrums. I more or less bounded up the hill, dead in time with the beat of the music. That track measures 127 on the BPM scale – but it was just perfect for that hill at that particular moment in time. I’ve also discovered that it is also a particularly good tune for zoning out on the treadmill, to the point where I’m almost completely unaware of what’s going on in the gym around me.
So it’s good not to get too obsessed with the BPM thing then.
