Black and Tabby Runs

Hot Runnings

So July 2013 has finally remembered its meant to be the SUMMER! Someone’s flicked the thermostat up to HOT!!! The cats are lying in strange places around the garden (either flaked out on warm patio slabs, or hiding under shady bushes), the garden is blooming (although the lawn is starting to look a little brown and crispy in places), and British people are getting used to not taking a cardigan and waterproof jacket with them every day ‘just in case’.

One problem with the heat is that running suddenly becomes much harder work. What was meant to be an easy 3 mile run, becomes a sweat-soaked struggle with a sky high heart rate. Apparently after 14 days your body starts to acclimatise to the heat, so the trick is to struggle through the next two weeks and hope your body feels happier in the heat after that.

So, to help you though those 14 days, I give you the Black and Tabby Guide to Hot Runnings.

1. Be prepared to sweat.

Its your body’s mechanism to help cool itself down. Its perfectly natural. It doesn’t mean its pretty though. Make sure you’re wearing running kit that’s really comfortable. If you occasionally get a little bit of chafing somewhere, then make sure you use something like Bodyglide, or good ol’ fashioned Vaseline in the appropriate area.

If you’re self-concious of sweat marks on your clothes, then don’t wear clothes that are going to show them. I have a new running t-shirt, in a gorgeous plum colour that I bought to reward myself for a good Marathon this year. I’ve worn it lots because its light, fits well and is loose rather than clingy. Unfortunately it also shows any sweaty places, no matter how strange.

I give you exhibit A. Tummy sweat marks.

Also be aware you may sweat in places you didn’t know you could. As well as the strange tummy sweat marks, I discovered only this week that on a hot run I end up with sweat dripping from my elbows. Who knew, eh?

2. Sun cream

Make sure you apply an appropriate sun cream before you set out. Give it time to soak in to your skin, and make sure it can cope with sweat. Yesterday I picked up the wrong bottle, and covered one arm in a quite expensive sun cream especially for your face. (I bought it last year, but stopped using it when I realised it just made my face extra shiny). The other arm had my usual sun cream on (bargain, half price own brand from Superdrug, non-animal tested, good for the whole family).

After a hot 40 minute fast-ish run, I discovered that only did I have sweat dripping off my elbows again, but the arm with the expensive ‘face’ sun cream also had sun cream dripping off. I could see the track of white cream from the crease of my elbow, down to my elbow, and then down to my wrist.

There are sun creams that specifically say they are sweat proof so it might be worth trying one of those. I’ve never used one, but am happy to hear any reports of good brands that won’t leave me with white tracks on my arms.

3. Head and Eyes

Obviously if the sun is strong then you need to protect your eyes from the UV rays as well as make it more comfortable to see where you’re going. Sunglasses are good, obviously wrap-around styles are going to protect more of your eyes than the latest fashion glasses, but as long as they’re comfortable to run in and have proper UV filters they’ll be good.

An alternative to sunglasses that I’m only using for the first time this year is a running cap. Previously shunned as looking ‘too geeky’, I decided to give one a try earlier this year. (I was in Decathalon and it was a bargain, let’s be honest). I have discovered that my cap keeps my face shaded so I don’t have to wear sun glasses as well, which is good as my best running sunglasses tend to pinch behind my ears after about 45 minutes). I guess keeping the sun from the top of my head is probably a good thing, although I do find my head gets pretty hot under there. I presume the next step would be a triathalon-style visor, but I don’t think even I’m ready for that level of geekiness yet!

4. Hydration

As you puff and pant along in the hot weather, you may well find yourself feeling thirstier than usual. Hardly surprising – think of all that sweat your body has made (I refer you back to Exhibit A above). I used to just take water with me, but I noticed I was getting headaches after long / hard / hot runs. I tried drinking more water, thinking I was dehydrated, but that didn’t help at all. It was only by chance I read somewhere that I could be losing too much salt, and I would be better off drinking an electrolyte drink, which contains the right balance of salts and water for my body.

I dislike any sugary sports drinks, so I was very pleased to stumble upon High 5 Zero tablets. They were in my goodie bag after the Bristol Half last year so I decided to try them. They just dissolve in 750ml of water and are good to go. I find the taste mild and pleasant, not sweet and sticky at all, and easy to drink. My favourite flavour is the Pink Grapefruit, which is strange because I don’t actually like grapefruit. they have zero calories so are great to take on runs where I don’t need any extra calories. As an added bonus, my post-run-headaches have disappeared as well!

Obviously everyone has their own tastes, likes and dislikes, and there are many different brands of sports drink, electrolyte drinks, powders and gels, so get out there and start tasting!

Even following all of my own advice, this was how I looked after my 40 minute slog in the sun yesterday.

I think that may be it – I have used up all my words of wisdom. My final thought – if you can train through this hot weather, think how fast you’ll be at your Autumn race. And dream of how wonderful that first run in the rain will feel!

If I’ve missed anything out, or if you have any top tips for keeping comfortable when running in the heat, please add your comments below.

Ask and You Shall Receive

So, the challenge was to write an account of the funniest / most embarrassing / worst race experience I have had, in a competition to win a place on a Write This Run Running Retreat. Since I read about it, I have been considering all the funny, odd and strange things that have happened what I’ve been out running.

I considered the time I was attacked by a psycho pheasant mid-run. I also pondered on the day I was feeling ill, decided to bail out rather than run the 4 miles back home, and caught a taxi back instead. It was a good plan, except I had to listen to the taxi driver regale me with stories such as “You know that chap that invented jogging? He died of a heart attack one day. It’s not good for you!” Then there was the time I saw a runner ahead of me elegantly slip through a stile rather than clamber over it like I usually do. I decided to do the same, except I was less ‘elegant slipping’ and more inelegant slipping head first right onto my face, following by wriggling to extricate myself.

This afternoon I decided, in order to help me decide, that I should go back and read the flippin’ question (just like all the best exam advice). Good job I did, as I noticed this time the story had to be about a race experience. Facepalm! (as my children would say).

I immediately though of something that had happened in this year’s Brighton Marathon. At about mile 15 I had a real wobble. I’d run such a long way, but there was still so far to go. My family hadn’t turned up yet, so I was feeling a little abandoned and really tired. I walked whilst I drank some water, ate some Shotbloks and gave myself a good talking to. After about 5 minutes of feeling sorry for myself I pulled myself together and started running again. As I ran, I wondered idly if I needed to find a toilet, just in case. Each set of portaloos I’d passed since the start of the race had had a queue outside, and I knew from last year how easy it was to lose 15 minutes queuing. I pressed on, but having thought about maybe needing a wee I was now becoming obsessed.

For a couple of months before, I had been reading a series of books on my Kindle about a little old lady who turned out to be a brilliant detective. She realises that being invisible (as old people often are in this society) can be extremely advantageous, and that a grey haired ‘senior’ can get away with asking questions that a would arouse suspicion with a younger person. The lady in question was also a very committed Christian, with a slightly annoying habit of asking God what to do about any tricky situation she found herself in, with words like “Lord, if I should follow this man to see what he’s up to, then help me find a way to get through this barbed wire electrified fence”.

At this point I was hot, tired and unsure if I was desperate or not. I was ready to try anything, and this book popped into my head. Feeling slightly silly, I said “Lord, if I should go to the toilet, show me one with a very small queue”. Blasphemous? Maybe, but I hoped it was more ‘ask and you shall receive’. I looked around, but couldn’t see any portaloos. Slightly disappointed I looked down the road ahead to the corner, and looked, and looked again, and gaped open mouthed.

As the sun was already shining I can’t claim the clouds parted and a shaft of sunlight beamed down like a giant celestial spotlight, but in the film of my life that’s what will happen. Right on the corner was a church. Outside the church was a sign. A sign! A sign saying “Tea and coffee inside. Toilets” At the corner instead of turning left I dashed inside the cool church, panting “toilets?” to the ladies with the tea urn. They pointed the way, and I found myself in a clean toilet, with toilet paper and water to wash my hands. A little flushing oasis in the madness that is a marathon.

‘Ask and you shall receive” indeed! I felt so much better after this, and pressed on to finish in 5:25. Still slow, but a new PB of over 40 minutes for me. Thanks, Big Guy!

Chippenham River Run 5K Race Report. 3rd July 2013

My once-a-year 5K race has rolled around again, on 3rd July 2013. I really should get around to doing a Parkrun and then I wouldn’t feel the ridiculous pressure of it being my ‘once-a-year’ chance to get a PB.

Fortunately I had read something just that morning about pre-race nerves. It said something like “if you’re feeling nervous, remember you’re the only person putting the pressure on yourself. If you really don’t want to do it, then go home!” It was quite a liberating thought and made me feel much better. In my mind I wanted to beat last year’s time of 27:45, and my 10K time from the previous week suggested I could run 5K in 26:39. I confess, I had 27:45 written on my hand in biro so I could check my time as soon as I finished

It was a warm and sunny evening as I arrived at the Olympiad sports centre, and I collected my number without issue. I made my way to the start area, and milled around with the other runners. There were a number of groups of runners from local running clubs and I did feel rather on my own. I think I was missing my running partner from the last 2 years.

I had a little warmup jogette and found a railing to hang onto to swing my legs around in some dynamic stretches. I always feel rather silly and very self conscious doing these so I naughtily skimped on them and made my way to the start mêlée. A friend spotted me at this point and we had a little chat as we waited. The course goes right past her house, which must be a very strange feeling!

We heard the race director shouting “3 – 2 – 1 …” We never heard “Go” but the masses pushing forward told us it was the start. As in previous years it was a mad rush for the first corner, where the course narrows from open grass to a single track path. I think I timed it just right this year as although the first dash felt way too fast, as I settled in line on the narrow path I was running with runners all going at the same pace as myself. It felt fast but do-able so I basically just hung on. At the slope where the route zig-zags up to the cycle path we all slowed down, and the guy in front of me actually slipped as he turned the gravelly corner. I slowed down even more as I’m a coward and I did not want to end up on the floor as well.

The cycle path was slightly shady which was a relief as the evening was proving to be very warm and muggy, and then we were off the path and on the streets heading downhill back towards the start. I was starting to feel tired and hot at this point, and had to keep giving myself updates to keep going. I was telling myself I was half way, I only had a mile to go, just round the corner….

We left the road and headed back on the ‘single carriageway’ path. I unfortunately found myself behind a handful of runners who slowed down at this point. I was torn between gnashing my teeth in frustration, and being grateful for a chance to catch my breath. I managed to squeeze past them as soon as the path was wide enough, and headed over the grass to the finish line. My legs were shouting loudly at me, my heart was pumping, sweat was pouring off me, but did my best approximation of a sprint finish and made it to the line.

As I stopped my Garmin, I saw the time – 26:45. I’d taken a whole minute off last year’s time. Another new PB? YES PLEASE!

new5KPB — Replace my 5K PB? Don’t mind if I do!

Juneathon – a Final Thought

So now that Juneathon 2013 is well and truly over, I’ve just a few final thoughts on the month. My aims for the month were to do some work on my abs, to help me write blog posts quicker, and to find some lovely running peeps to follow on my new running Twitter account, @BandTruns .

It was a busy month, and as someone who spends hours crafting her blog posts (no. honestly!) the hardest part of Juneathon was the blogging every day. Mind you, I obviously found something to talk about, as I didn’t use two of the ‘Emergency’ blog posts I started just in case I ran out of things to say. I did my best to read lots of other people’s blogs and comment on as many as I could, but there were hundreds of blogs so I ended up just picking out a few that I’d enjoyed reading previously and tried to follow them. I have found some lovely runners to follow on Twitter and have enjoyed Tweeting with them. Funnily enough, most of the people whose blogs I now read, or that I follow on Twitter seem to have cats and / or enjoy wine and / or are vegetarian. Strange that!

So did I manage to exercise every day? Yes I did. Some days I did have to stretch the definition a little, whereby I counted ‘allotmenteering’ as my Juneathon exercise. Our village allotments are truly rural allotments which are squeezed in at the far end of the village cricket field meaning you have to carry everything – water, compost, flask of tea – across the pitch. The two 5 litre water containers are quite heavy on the second trip across, and I often swing them around imagining I’m doing a kettle bell workout. Good job I’m usually on my own up there! I think that counts as exercise so Iogged it and therefore it counted!

One thing I did want to work on was my core muscles, particularly my abs. Partly because I have so many race photos of me running ‘crumpled’ by the end of a race, and also because hopefully summer is nearly here and I can no longer hide my mummy-tummy under large jumpers. I dug out my abs DVDs and did them a couple of times, although both have presenters with VERY irritating voices, so my abs might be tighter but sadly so are my jaw muscles.

I also made it out on my bike a few times, which was something else I wanted to get back into the routine of. Now that I’m organised and have tools and water bottles at the allotment it was as easy to pop up on the bike as it was to get the car out. As I swear my bike is made of lead its a good workout just getting it out of the garage!

And now for the stats:-

Running – made it out 16 times for a total of 71.8 Miles in 12.9 hours
Cycling – got on teh saddle 5 times for 21.9 Miles in 1.8 miles
Walked once for 1.4 miles in 0.4 hours
Cross training 13 times for a total of 5.8 hours (included, allotmenteering, abs DVDs and Planking)

So – Juneathon – job done! Thanks so much to Cathy at Jog Blog for running the whole she-bang,and for answering my Tweets such as “Does getting into, and then back out of, compression socks count as exercise for Juneathon?”

Roll on Janathon …

Juneathon Day 30. It’s the Final Countdown…

Sorry for that ear worm, but it had to be done! The final day of Juneathon. 30 days of exercise, blogging, excuses, and occasional creative definitions of exercise. (I still think getting into, and out of, compression socks really should count as exercise).

After resting my tired ’10k PB’ legs on Friday and Saturday I decided it was only right to get out and run today to celebrate the last day of Juneathon. A lovely slow 3 miles around my usual 3 mile loop proved to me the wisdom of not running either of the previous two days. Wow my legs were stiff. My calf muscles I knew would be stiff, however I wasn’t expecting my thighs to feel as tight as they did.

Anyway, enough moaning. Juneathon is done, I just need to have a think over the month and then I’ll do a blog post summing it up. Not tomorrow though -I expect I’ll be doing some form of exercise, but I’ll enjoy not *having* to blog!

Juneathon day 29. DOMS.

So much for thinking about finishing Juneathon on a high. So much for idly planning to maybe attend my first ever Parkrun this weekend. No, today DOMS has hit with a vengeance after Thursday’s 10K PB. In particular my shins are sore, probably caused by tight calves from running in the cold.

So as I have an eye on my annual 5K race next week I decided to be sensible and not run today. Instead I worked in the garden for an hour and a half, and by worked I mean heavy work (digging out the back of the pond) rather than flitting around in a summery dress with a trug and a pair of secateurs. I also ‘planked’ for a minute and 10 seconds.

My shins are still sore now, but hopefully I’ll manage a little plod tomorrow to celebrate (commiserate?) the end of Juneathon.

Juneathon Day 28. Great Chalfield 10K Race Report

So one of the secrets of a good result is good preparation. In this house that usually means good food. So good race preparation means a good carb load. Cue the ultimate triple carb meal. Pasta, potatoes AND bread! And jolly tasty too

It’s actually Minestrone Soup with Focaccia bread. All home made, and even eaten outside because it was a lovely evening. It was so good I even had some more for race day lunch (I find evening races really weird to get myself organised for – wot no porridge?)

Thursday dawned warm and sunny again, so with a line full of washing drying I spent the day gardening and allotmenteering. Maybe not as good race prep as the meal. I was worried about the heat though, as running in the sun tends to push my heart rate sky high, meaning I feel shattered and have to slow down. My rain dance must have worked, because bang on 4 pm the rain started.

By the time I made it to the race it was pouring down, chilly and quite miserable.

This is a great little race run with, and raising funds for, the local Scout group. Last year there were 97 runners, the sun shone, and everyone was cheerful and friendly. (See last year’s race report here, with some much prettier photos!) This year, there were 71 runners, the sun was nowhere to be seen but everyone was still cheerful. Bless the marshals who had to stand out in the rain until we’d run past. One was heard to cry defiantly that he didn’t need an umbrella, he was a Scout Leader!

It was freezing standing around waiting for the off, I dutifully listened to the pre-race briefing and was most amused to hear that each kilometre would be marked by a big sign. Apart from Kilometre 6, because they couldn’t find the sign. You’ve got to love these little races!

Great Chalfield 10K 2013 Start — The start. Already soaked

Eventually we were off, and i was amazed to find that, as I’d hoped, by the 1Km sign i was already warm. I was wishing I’d worn my compression socks to keep my calves and shins warm though, because I could feel my right shin just feeling a little sore. I did a Jens Voigt, told it to shut up, and ignored it. I was aiming to keep as close to 9 minute miles as I could, which I duly did. With a small field, once we were off the Common we quickly separated and I found myself running on my own. I did overtake one man, but after that there were long sections where I couldn’t even see any other runners.

It was all feeling good, but as I got to the 5K marker I did question if I could keep this pace up for another 5K. My legs just kept on going though, so I told my head to shut up and pushed on. As last year, Great Chalfield Manor surprised me by suddenly appearing and then disappearing at around 8K. After this I had memories of a long hill back up to the Common (and the finish line) from last year where I overtook a couple of people who had slowed to a walk. Maybe they’ve taken a steamroller to the course since last year, or maybe I’m a bit fitter, because there was a just small incline there this year. No walkers to overtake either. Curses – always an ego boost!

I splashed my way back along the Common and as I crossed the finish line I heard them shout out my time, 55:21. Wow, wow and wow!

Great Chalfield 10K 2013 Finish — The End is Nigh!

A new PB! To put it in context, my time for the same race last year (but in the warm sunshine) was 59:26. My previous 10K PB, from 2011, was set on the pancake flat Castle Combe Circuit and was 58:35. How lovely to see this as I uploaded my times to Garmin Connect:-

Okay – so I take it ‘resting on my laurels’ will count as an activity for the rest of Juneathon??! (Just in case it doesn’t I’ll do my Abs DVD again later).

Juneathon Day 27. A new 10K PB!

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so to save on the typing, here’s a picture:-

Accept this new PB? Oh, alright then, if you insist!

Juneathon Day 26. “We’ve dropped Mum. Again!”

Cycling around the Castle Combe circuit last night I was a little ( Oh all right, a LOT) disappointed to see my husband and son sailing off into the distance without me. On one occasion I distinctly heard “We’ve dropped Mum. Again.” I mean, I know my husband does lots of cycling, and his bike weighs about a quarter what mine does, but I would have hoped to keep up with my son, who does as little exercise as possible.

When we got home my husband heaved my bike up onto his bike maintenance stand to have a ‘tinker’ with it (that’s a technical term, apparently). Later he was very pleased to announce that, despite the fact my bike has only recently had a service*, he found that both brake blocks were rubbing on the wheels. Effectively I had been pedalling with the brakes on all the way around. That would explain why it felt so hard!

This morning, when trying to decide what I should do for Juneathon today, I was reminded by @weegjs over on Twitter that I’m racing tomorrow, and so should keep it gentle today. I decided I would try out my new souped up bike and see how much of a difference the non-permanent brakes made. The addition of my lovely basket on the front could only put me in a good mood as well.

I set off to the local Farm Shop to pick up a few things, then back to the village and out to the allotment for some watering and pottering, then back home for lunch.

6.17 miles in 34:38. Wish I could run that fast!

* I’ll not name the shop that serviced it, but equally I won’t go back there again.

Juneathon Day 25. An unexpected double day

So the plan was to go up to Castle Combe circuit tonight and take part in their Midsummer Bike Ride. This is an annual event when you can cycle on the motor racing circuit (no cars allowed!) and the idea is to ride as many laps as possible to raise money for the Wiltshire Air Ambulance. Great plan, and a chance to do something different for Juneathon.

Then my daughter wasn’t well and had the day off school so I figured I wouldn’t get to the bike ride. In order to get my Juneathon exercise in I decided to pop out for an easy 3 mile run. I even managed a plank for 90 seconds as well when I got back home.

By the evening my daughter was feeling much better and was happy to be left at home whilst the rest of us went and cycled. So in an amazing double day I also cycled 10.4 miles.

Tired now and only just remembered to blog!