Great South Run 2012

I ran the 10 mile Great South Run last Sunday, along with 24,999 other people! Thankfully had a fast club runner number, so got a spot just behind the elites up the front! The wind swung to the west and filled in as the morning went on, definitely not as bad a some previous years but still hard going in the final 2ml.

I'm pleased to report it went well, primary target was to get to 8ml, ie pre final headwind stretch, at target half marathon pace (5:45/ml) and after that I wasn't going to be too fussed as almost anything was going to be a PB today (previous was 1:03:xx). 

Going past HMS Victory in the Naval Dockyards at mile 2-3

Going out on the out & back section at mile 4

Went off quick and mile 1 came in at 5:33, was surprised at the low numbers of faster club runners, but hung in with a group who's pace backed off a bit and then stabilised around my target nicely. Hit the easterly turning point back to the finish at 8ml a bit under 5:45 pace I think, so main job for the day was complete. The last 2ml were slower into the wind (5:5x) but I came across the line in 57:39 (garmin time). Results put me 45th with a gun time of 57:42. Had very little trouble from my calves, felt pretty strong throughout the race and only got the odd prang of a stitch which was manageable. Overall very happy with a morning's running that's set a good benchmark after a month or two of training inconsistency, things are looking better for attempting a good time at Gosport (probably just over 75mins at a guess!)

Trying to go fast on the final stretch!

The Shoe Fits...if it's comfortable

Peter Larson, author of www.runblogger.com, has written a good synopsis on how we ended up with the running shoe categories we have today. He highlights how confused the shoe market is in reality, that going to neutral/minimal shoes is not necessarily the goal (v hard to accurately define the category in a lot of shoes anyway) and ultimately it's really up to the runner to choose the best shoes based on comfort. Link below....

http://www.runblogger.com/2012/10/neutral-running-shoes-need-not-be-goal.html?m=0w

Shoe Status Oct 2012

Right now I have the following shoes and what my use status/opinion is;

- Adidas Adizero Adios in Green - original marathon shoe (Abingdon 2011) now retired from racing as tread is going and upper starting to fail at widest point of foot. Still in use for general training runs. Not really big enough in toe box (slight toe end blistering issues) also caused a nasty blister on back of right heel pre VLM.

- Adidas Adizero Adios in Orange - reserved road race only shoes, brought for London Marathon. Personal fav & no longer on sale, so I need to preserve as much as poss until an alternative can be found!

- Adidas Adizero Adios in Red/Blue - 1st pair of racing 'flats' really a 1/2 size too small, useable for speed work & short races. Not out much these days, might sell them on.

- Adidas Adizero Adios 2 - given to me as a freebie. Very different feel to first version, much stiffer and direct feeling, also has very stiff heel counter. Not a great fan of these, but do use for racing & longer speed/tempo sessions sometimes. Mainly used to preserve the v1 orange shoes for racing only!

Adidas Hagio - brought for short racing and speed work, very light but surprisingly harsh for amount of sole underfoot. Took time to adapt to them and stop slapping the floor! Pretty hard work currently to run well in these. Also upper seems to be failing (especially at big toe joint) after only 150miles :-(

Saucony Kinvara 2 : only used of training (did run a single 10k in them back in Jan), feel very nice but low heel (4mm drop) takes a few miles to adjust to. Have run up to 15 miles on them without issue, prolonged use over consecutive runs tend to put a lot strain on calves/ankles (currently off running for a few days with a dodgy ankle after doing lots of Kinvara miles last week!). Overall very comfortable

Merrell Sonic Glove - A bit of an experiment, I generally use these for slow/low intensity runs (recoveries) and for fun. Feel very nice, once off heels, but can be very straining on lower legs, care must be exercised when in use!

Saucony Peregrines - XC shoe for Forest runs, same heel drop as Kinvara. Good for long slow winter runs in the forest, but a bit too cushy around the heel and tongue for racing use. I never feel like I can lace them up tight/snugly enough for fast running off road. Also need to pay attention to strain levels in lower legs with extended mileage

Reflexes & Running

This post on the role of reflexes in gait and the benefit of running on different surfaces on Jay Dicharry's An Athlete's Body blog is worth a read...

http://anathletesbody.com/2012/10/01/reflex-hammers-running-surfaces-and-running-what-do-they-have-in-common/

Runblogger Minimal Shoe Guide - Updated

Pete Larson author of Runblogger has updated his minimal running shoe guide to bring it up to date with some of the recent new shoes released on to the market here

I have a few of these shoes (Saucony Kinvara, Merrell Sonic Glove and Adidas Hagio) and plan to post some thoughts one my experiences of them in the future...

John Austin Half Marathon (inc Video/TV Coverage)

Back in March I ran the John Austin Half Marathon in Brockenhurst , Hampshire (a few miles from home). It's a scenic XC route around the New Forest, not a potential PB, but a fun race non the less! On the day the weather was horrendous, cold, heavy rain and very windy, the first few miles were ok as they were on hard forest tracks and a bit more sheltered amongst trees and I moved up into 2nd place having run with a couple of others to start with. However as we emerged out onto the exposed ex-Beaulieu Aerodrome, the full force of the conditions hit! There were lakes of water on the course, I stopped trying to avoid them after a few and consigned my feet and legs to a soaking for the rest of the race. Hydration wasn't a problem, you just had to open your mouth :-) Managed a gel too despite non-functioning fingers! Later sections of the course were saturated and muddy, my pace suffered accordingly, but I maintained 2nd place. The last few miles through Roydon Woods were nasty, with a couple of steep climbs, but less feet swimming which was a relief. As I can up and over the railway bridge near the finish, the next runner was closing on me, but I managed to hold him off (helped by the fact he took the last turn on the playing field too quickly and slipped over on the mud!) to take 2nd overall and my first race prize, a nice Salomon runnning hydration pack :-). I was very cold at the finish, it took nearly half an hour to stop shivering, next time wear I'll more clothes when it's only 5 degrees, pouring with rain and howling a gale...

Here's a link to my Garmin data (ignore the HR data, the transmitter was playing up!) and below is a short video of the race, which includes about 3secs of my post race interview at about 4:30 from the start. Also below is the local news coverage of the race from ITV Meridian. May well run it again next year and see if I can improve my result ;-) Hopefully the weather will be a bit better too!

Race highlights video

ITV Meridian Coverage

Virgin London Marathon 2012 Report

My first London went to plan very well. I was at the start way too early, but at least the train ride from Charing Cross was quiet! Saw the rest of the New Forest crew for a quick pre-race photo and then wished them all good luck as they were all in the Champs start.

Some of the NF Runners at the start of VLM 2012 ( L-R Al Pickburn, Erica Fogg, Steve Morton, Becky Hollowbread, Henry Szwinto, Valeria Sesto)

Got a great start at the front of pen 1 on the blue start (over the line in 30secs or so from the gun) and paced the first miles with Steve Morton (New Forest). We were joined after the red start merged with the blue by Chris Brobin (Southampton AC), who I'd met during the Mad March 20 down in Christchurch. The atmosphere on the majority of the route was fantastic, rounding Cutty Sark and crossing Tower Bridge were the big highlights. Caught a glimpse of the elite women running westwards at mile 22 as I passed half way in  01:21:37 (just inside my 02:42 max pace limit). Also picked up my sunglasses (left in brother's flat) in a sleek pit stop manoeuvre with my wife :-)

Ran around the Isle of Dogs pretty consistently, but my feet were really starting to burn, which was off putting. My quads started to tighten from about mile 20 and I managed missed the mile marker at 21 completely (under the bridge as you turn off Popular High St?) and that threw my watch splits out. Upside was that I got to mile 22 a lot quicker than I expected!  The final few miles were a battle with my quads which were screaming at me to stop, my margin for getting under 2:45 was only 1-2mins so I had no choice other than to push to keep the pace up. I really want to enjoy the final stage of the race up to Big Ben and through Westminster, but it felt like just me and my legs on their own. that said the several thousand cheering supporters were still in the back of my mind. The final drag up birdcage walk was horrible, 800m, 600m and finally 400m to go just before Buckingham Palace and final turn right to see the finish line a few hundred yards away, it looked like a mile! I kept going and didn't believe I was going to come in under 2:45 until I was 50yds from the line.

I finished almost perfectly halfway between my two pacing limits in 2 hours 43 minutes and 33 seconds.  A PB by over 12 minutes on my 2011 Abingdon time. Overall aerobically I was fine, the gel plan (8 in all) worked really well and I tried to make sure I was drinking enough and regularly. In the end it was muscle fatigue that put the brakes on, thankfully it wasn't so bad that I couldn't hold the pace required. Here's a link to my Garmin race data if you're interested. Now got a good idea of what my marathon HR is (around 165) and it only started to drift upwards in the last 2miles.

2012 VLM Route Flyby

With just under 2 weeks today to the Virgin London Marathon, time for a little route swotting (as it's my first time at London), courtesy of Mapmyrun 3D run player...


 

Camille Herron - From Recreational Runner to US Olympic Marathon Trials

Camille Herron recently placed 26th the the US Olympic marathon trials (02:38). She has written a really great article describing her journey from a reasonable (recreational) runner to qualifying for the US Olympic marathon trials and how she transitioned to running exclusively in road/xc racing flats, minimalist shoes and barefoot.

The article can be found HERE

Dr Mark Cucuzzella on Minimal Running

US trail running website, Trail Runner Nation have recorded a podcast with minimal running expert (and family doctor) Dr Mark Cucuzzella, director of the Natural Running Center... He succinctly describes the state of minimal runner as it stands and how it can be applied to runners of all abilities. It's well worth listening to understand the problems with traditional running shoes.

Trail Runner Nation go as far as to post the following disclaimer before listening to the podcast! "You may never lace up a pair of shoes the same after you listen to this podcast. Disclaimer: This podcast may be hazardous to the health of your traditional running shoe, orthotics and even your socks. Runners proceed with extreme caution!"

The podcast can downloaded from iTunes or here

Runblogger's Shoes of 2011 (& maybe 2012!)

Runblogger (Pete Larson) has publish his 'Lightweight & Minimal shoes of 2011' review, proving a good cross section of the available lightweight and low heel footwear on the market for both on & off road use, as well as a look forward to some shoes about to be released in 2012.

A Podiatrists View of 10 Common Barefoot/Minimal Myths

Written by US podiatrist, Nicholas A. Campitelli, this article seeks to counter some of the common complains/excuses/myths associated with barefoot and minimal footwear running. The key point is that if you run on your heels you need supportive protective footwear, if you make the effort to change your running form to a whole/mid/forefoot landing (depending on which you are more predisposed to) you don't need the same footwear (or orthotic inserts) as when you land on your heels....