Tuesday 29 May 2007

Tony - One year on

One year ago this morning I sat and watched my brother Tony die.

I'd intended to write a lot about Tony, what sort of brother he was, the fact that he'd finally got his life together, his artwork and the various scrapes he'd gotten himself into but I'm afraid I can't. I'm still angry about the way he was abandoned by the health service who are scared shitless to venture outside NICE guidelines even when the cause in their eyes is lost, about the complete and utter lack of coordination even within the same hospital and about how the hospice service is nothing but a glorified human scrapyard. Abandon hope all ye who enter here.

While I'm at it, I'm also unspeakably angry about people who waste their health so if this applies to you: stop smoking, stop eating crap and get some ferking exercise!

Good night.

Global Wetting

Not to let a simple thing like a gale stop me from going out I decided to get serious and go out for a longer than usual run yesterday. It was mostly off road but I left the dog at home as I didn't want to get half way round to find she'd had enough. At about 6 degrees centigrade it was borderline leggings weather but I opted for shorts (coupled with thermal top and waterproof jacket). As it turned out it was just about right. I overheat very easily. The route took me over the Chilterns highest point (a whole 900 ft), down through Wendover then up Coombe Hill (top left in photo, a massive 850 ft) then down and round the back of Chequers (prime minister's country retreat, see photo). Tony didn't seem to be in. I once ran past there under the watchfull eye of a shades wearing security man sat in his Range Rover in the middle of the field in the foreground of the photo. I guess Tony was in that day. The post and rail fence around that field is made from old railway lines and steel bars. Up over Dunsmore Ridge then back down to Wendover to pick up the Ridgeway path back home. There were leaves, branches and fallen trees all over the place. The trees around here fall over at the slightest excuse. I reckon their roots are shallow as the top soil is any a few inches thick on top of the underlying chalk. I took a Camelbak rucksac with 1 litre of fluids, a banana and two biscuit bars for sustenance. Felt commfortable all the way round but was glad to finish. According to my trusty Polar I did 34.2 km (about 21-22 miles) in 3h 20 mins. Well worth a road marathon considering conditions underfoot. Legs don't feel too bad today which is encouraging.

Sunday 27 May 2007

Cross Training with Soul

One of my lifelong passions has been the Northern Soul scene. In a nutshell, Northern Soul is an underground dance scene that's been around, predominantly in the North of England, for some forty years. It's based on thousands of largely black American up-tempo soul songs that never saw the light of day in the charts but have been rediscovered (rescued) by avid soul fans. The dance style has to be seen (take a look here) but could be described as a cross between Riverdance and Kung Fu! We were breakdancing before most of the breakdancers were born. The fact that we're still doing it in our 40's and 50's is testament to the quality of the music and the scene.
Anyway, the point is that going to a soul night is a brilliant way of keeping fit. Dancing at a rate of knots for 4-5 hours (or 8-9 hours if it's an all nighter) is a fantastic form of aerobic exercise. I keep meaning to take my heart rate monitor one of these nights.
So that was what I was up to last night. A trip out to a new venue near Cambridge with my mate Brian. Had a great time and made lots of new soulmates. Back to the running tomorrow.
Keep the faith. (Old Northern Soul expression).

Monday 21 May 2007

Big Softie

I really am too soft. I'd planned my long road run on Sunday but couldn't resist taking Phoebe dog out on an off-roader. She loves running and goes mad when I put my shorts on (believe me it's not the sight of my legs). Those pleading eyes are just too much for a big softie like me to resist. So a quick replanning later and off we go down the Ridgeway path, over Ivinghoe Beacon then round back through Ashridge forest. A mere eight miles but a lovely run on a gorgeous spring morning.

Interestingly, I found it difficult to get the heart rate over 120. Not sure what's going on there. Maybe something to do with the curry the night before.
Woof woof!

Friday 18 May 2007

Me Run

I just spotted a freaky coincidence with my name and the German language (see Ich Lerne Deutsch). My name is Mick Wren. In German 'mich renn' (pronounced exactly the same) translates literally as 'me run'. How spooky is that!

Talking of running, I did the old canal run to work on Wednesday. Another 48 minutes but a bit slower on the way back. I need to work on an eight hour recovery technique for the run home.

Me go now.

Monday 14 May 2007

Rain Man

I love running in the rain, which was just as well on Sunday as it peed it down all day. As much as I like the sun you just can't beat a good run in a downpour. One of my fondest running memories is running along a lane down which water six inches deep was flowing during a storm. It was just like being a kid again splashing along while laughing my head off. The passing motorists must have thought I was mad.

Anyway, yesterday I set off for a long(ish) road run with the intention to get in as many hills as I could. I went up Aston Hill (after which Aston Martins are named as Mr Martin used to trial his cars up the hill) and through Wendover Woods. I did go off road for a mile or so but it was a fairly good surface. I didn't even get my shiny new Asic Kayano's dirty. Then it was straight up The Hale and round back via The Crong (a lot of hill roads around us have names starting with 'The'. We also have TheTwist.) After the Hale all other 'hills' looked very flat and I even managed to accelerate up them which is unusually for me. In the end I did over 21km (bang on a half marathon) in a very comfortable 1h 45min which I'm more than happy with considering the hills. The rain kept me nice and cool but I was completely soaked when I got home and was banished to the utility room to strip off. Not a pretty sight.

Saturday 12 May 2007

Polar Test

Not, as the title might suggest, a trek across artic wastes but a relaxing 5 mins laying in bed while my heart rate monitor checks my fitness. My Polar HRM performs a test that gives the equivalent of a VO2Max reading. This gives an indication of the body's ability to use the oxygen taken in while breathing. The higher the number, the fitter you are. I have increased a whole one point to 52 in the last five weeks. While this sounds like not much of an improvement the Polar manual suggests that it will take at least six weeks to notice any difference. My maximum heart rate has also dropped two beats to 172, again an indication of improvement. As stated in my earlier post Easter Runny Bunny I'd like to get my VO2Max up to 60 by September. At the rate of 1 point every 5 weeks that'll take me beyond Christmas so maybe 55 is more realistic. Still, 52 is good for a 20 year old and off the scale for someone my age so I can still feel smug knowing that I can beat most of the ipod generation up to the top of the nearest hill. Not that that would remotely bother them of course.

Planning to go for nice long and hilly road run tomorrow. Whilst I prefer to be off road I like the consistency of road running as it lets you get into the groove, or cruise mode as I call it. That feeling of effortless cruising down the road for miles can't be beaten (well almost). It's not so easy off road due to the variation in terrain and having to negotiate stiles and gates.

Whatever!

Friday 11 May 2007

Route Canal Work

I know I've been whinging about the canal run to work and back but it is teaching me an important lesson in running. As I've mentioned previously I try to do a different route everytime I go for a run. This canal run is the same every time and provides a useful measuring stick for my progress. Having overtrained a few weeks ago I could see the effect it had on me: depressed heart rate, heavy legs and at 53 mins, an extra half minute a mile. Having rested I did it again on Wednesday and did it in 48 mins! That's 40 secs a mile faster in one week. For the non-runners out there that's a massive change is such a short time and is a sure sign that my glycogen reserves were depleted by the overtraining. I could feel the difference. It also seemed a hell of a lot shorter. So those extra miles weren't in vain after all.

Apparently we are moving office in June so I'm going to have to find a new route (assuming there's a shower at the new place).

Having mentioned Jos Naylor in my last post, who should be on the telly tonight but the man himself. He was on the Wainwright's Walks programme on BBC2. He's run from Seathwaite to the top of Scafell Pike (about 5 miles and 3000 feet) in 47 mins. It took the presenter and her film crew ten hours. I walked the same route, with a detour up Glaramara, last November on a gorgeous late autumn day. Think it took me about three hours. The photo, from Glaramara across to the Langdale pikes, was taken on that day. The day before I'd been on top of the pointed hill in the middle (Pike o'Stickle).
Take to the hills!

Tuesday 8 May 2007

Saint Jos

Not a lot to report on the running front apart from getting out for a road 7 miler on Monday to see what the old ticker could manage after the low average heart rates of the last week. Glad to say its back up to the 130's and my average speed was surprising at just short of 15kph on a hilly route. I'll be back on the canal route tomorrow to work and back.


Just picking up on the theme of watching inspirational tv while running on the treadmill (see Marathon Week posting) I can't recommend Naylor's Run too highly. For those who haven't heard of Jos Naylor he's a legendary fell runner and shepherd from Wasdale in the Lake District. Google him to find out more. Naylor's Run is a documentary of his 60th birthday run in which he ran 110 miles in a day and a half over the 60 highest Lakeland peaks. This has a combined ascent of nearly 40,000 feet (the equivalent of one and a half times up Everest from sea level. That puts the Jungfrau into perspective (more than four times longer and six times higher). Two days later he hand sheared 1000 sheep. Not bad considering the he's had two discs removed from his back and the cartiledge from his knees as a young man and the docs told him he'd never run again.
Incredible (but true).

Friday 4 May 2007

Miles Out

Maybe I was a bit too enthusiastic the other week and got carried away with the miles as I'm now suffering the consequences. When I first did the canal run into work three weeks ago it took me 50 minutes. It's now taking me 53 minutes. My average heart rate on these runs has also dropped from 139 to 127. That suggests to me that I've overcooked it in the previous weeks.

In the three weeks coming back from injury I did 40km, 40km and 81km all at 7 min mile(ish) pace. Previously I hardly ever did more than 15-25 km a week (and still somehow managed sub 90 min half marathons) so this was a big step up in mileage (kilometreage?) for me. I think I need to be a bit more realistic and focus on the quality rather than the quantity.

Also, I'd stopped enjoying it. In the last twelve years at home I've not run the same route twice thanks to the plethora of paths and bridleways around us. On the work run I was running the same boring route 4 time a week.

Regarding the 7-day heart monitor. I handed it in on Monday and have not yet heard from the hospital, unlike the last time when they rang me up the day after. I reckon no news is good news.

Toodle pip.