When Chrissie met the Chasers

On November 9, 2015November 9, 2015 By Girl Running CrazyIn General5 Comments

Meeting your heroes. It’s always a risk. How can they ever live up to your expectations? You put them on a pedastool and marvel at their achievements, but, through no fault of their own, you may very well come away feeling just a little disappointed.

Chrissie Wellington is one of my heroes but, having met her before, I had no doubt she’d be as inspirational, funny and friendly as ever (she even came to cheer me on at the Rome Marathon….well, she was there…and she cheered!) I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Chrissie is phenomenal. Not only is she 4 x World Ironman Champion, but she’s won every single one of the 11 Ironmans she’s competed in.

It didn’t come easy. Having battled an eating disorder, teammates who were often jealous of her ability, more than a few dodgy hotels the night before competition, wetsuits that made her sink, and numerous falls off the bike (one which left her with 3rd degree burns just 2 weeks before Kona…which she went on to win), she showed the world what it was to be a true champion. I only wish more people knew about her journey.

Last week, we were lucky enough to have our very own session with Chrissie, I was soooo excited I bounded out of work on the dot, still on my conference call, because I really didn’t want to be late. Absolutely could not be late for Chrissie….

…err, so I wasn’t late

One of my favourite things about Chrissie is that she’s very down to earth. She started by saying she had just come from an event with Prince Philip and had to get changed in a McDonald’s toilet on the way to us! Apparently we’re much more fun than Prince Philip too 🙂

Growing up in Norfolk, Chrissie always wanted to be a tractor driver when she was little, she loved fancy dress and was always a sporty kid with a passion for swimming. She went on to tell us about her life at uni where she captained the swim team, but was actually much better at drinking for them than swimming for them (which, if true, she must be one hell of a drinker!)

When I was little I dressed up as a starfish and then I became a World Champion…

After uni Chrissie started to take running a bit more seriously and knocked out her first marathon in 3:08, she had a knack for it. With skills in both swimming and running, it was suggested that she try her hand at triathlon and, after a few sprint and Olympic distances, she became hooked on the activity that would see her become one of the most inspirational women in sport.

It’s important to add that, whilst Chrissie was so good at triathlon, she didn’t have the fancy equipment to go with it. Far from it, her first road bike had 2 previous owners and her wetsuit was was second hand and didn’t fit, she didn’t care, and I think it’s this attitude that made her into such a strong competitor.

During a secondment in Nepal, Chrissie discovered the joys of mountain biking. She quickly learned that running wasn’t an option, unless you wanted to get bitten by rabid dogs (which did happen), and swimming was totally off the cards unless you were prepared to be violently ill. So, she bought a bike called Prem (Nepali for boyfriend) and developed the kind of mental and physical strength you only get from consistently battling sand storms and snow at altitude.

‘Silver Bullet Solution’

After returning home, getting a coach, and making further improvements in triathlon, Chrissie made the brave decision to turn pro in 2007. No ‘what if’s’. It wasn’t long before she made the start line of her first Ironman (2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, 26.2 mile run), smashed it, took the win, and qualified for the World Champs in Kona.

Following this, Chrissie Wellington became 4 x World Ironman Champion in Kona, as well as winning every other Ironman distance triathlon she entered, all the while remaining humble and fiercely dedicated to her training. There was a lot we could learn from her!

Chrissie’s Top Tips

People don’t become a champion, they act like one
You have to find your passion, what makes you happy?
Take a chance, don’t be afraid of change because if you never try, you’ll never know
Juggling balls is all part of the challenge but sport should be a good stress – your training needs to work with your life and other commitments

The Training Plan

Have a sensible, realistic training plan, it should be a journey
Consistency is key, but be flexible
Base your plan around 4 key sessions:
1. Steady
2. Strength – eg hills
3. Race pace
4. Intervals
Quality over quantity
Don’t faff, have your equipment clothes and food ready
Rest days are important…
…as are off seasons, have a break!

Make Marginal Gains

Incorporate strength & conditioning
Sleep
Massage & physio
Nutrition & hydration

Your mind in your most powerful weapon, train your brain

Train alone, some of the time
Remember your goals and motives
Use positive words & affirmations, have a mantra
Break the session or race into smaller, manageable segments and stay in the moment
Test yourself and recall your ability to cope

“Accept that you are not a professional athlete. The aim is to be the best in the context of your life”

We finished the session with a team photo in which Chrissie was more than happy to wear the Chaser vest!

I came away from Chrissie’s talk feeling pretty inspired about sport again. Maybe I can get that Boston Qualifier after all, don’t be afraid to take a chance right? Huge thanks to Chrissie for sharing her top tips, her enthusiasm, encouragement and for simply being herself, you’re our favourite!

They say you shouldn’t meet your heroes. Don’t listen to what they say.

Sometimes the most inspirational people are right in front of you

On July 19, 2015July 19, 2015 By Girl Running CrazyIn General2 Comments

Like many people, I’m hugely inspired by those who achieve outstanding things, the likes of Paula Radcliffe, Jessica Ennis, Victoria Pendleton, Kelly Holmes (the list goes on) are phenomenal athletes. But they are professional athletes, and, for clarity, I am not one!

I often think real inspiration comes from much closer to home. I only started running because my Mum and Dad were runners and, without that, I probably wouldn’t have much interest in the achievements of our nations elite to start with.

Mum & Dad coming to watch me run round the Olympic track

David was always the sporty one when we were younger, I was quite the opposite. Over the years, I was dragged out to all sorts of local races on a Sunday morning, rain or shine, and watched from the sidelines as he would take the outright win and come home with excessively large trophies. I had no trophies.

I was always encouraged to take part as well, it would take me 15 minutes to run a mile and I would absolutely hate it (in fact, the only thing I hated more than running was shepherds pie, I still hate shepherds pie, there’s nothing to like there) but I enjoyed the sense of achievement afterwards and David would sometimes let me hold his trophies…

Actually, I have my own trophy now…that time when I came 2nd!

Anyway, without that early support and encouragement I never would have taken up running more ~~obsessively~~ seriously when I was older and would never have even met the people who inspire me to push myself further and take on new challenges today. In turn, I’m proud to have inspired several friends to take up running who have watched me progress from plodding round a 5k to breaking myself in marathon training (I mean, who isn’t inspired by a friend who refuses to wear anything but compression tights and Ugg boots to the supermarket after a long run?!)

The Clapham Chasers have introduced me to people who have inspired me and given me the confidence to tackle things I wouldn’t have even considered before, from Tuesday night track to trail running in North Wales to an ultramarathon in a few weeks (errr, maybe..)

A couple of months ago when Cat organised an evening of training advice for the girls, 3 of our very own Chasers bravely got up in front of the group and shared their experiences and words of wisdom.

Gemma

Gemma is one of my favourite people and when I met her I didn’t realise how relatively new she was to running because she was always so excited about it! Within 3 years she went from a life of heavy drinking & smoking with just a pair of Converse for trainers to 3 x marathon runner.

Inspired by her boyfriends keen interest in running, Gemma invested in a real pair of trainers and went for a run. Red faced and out of breath she realised it was tougher that it looked and only made it up the road. Not one to give up, she persevered until she eventually fell in love with running.

Gemma stays motivated by picking out other runners in a race and trying and stick with them as long as possible to get to the finish line quicker. She says you need to think about how you’ll feel when you’ve finished, when you’ve achieved it, and that’s what keeps her going.

And then Gemma said something that captures her spirit perfectly:

What’s the worst that will happen? If I don’t finish I’ll just get up and try again

Always smiling, always positive and rarely letting anything get to her, there aren’t enough Gemma’s in this world.

Naomi

Next up was one of our successful GB Triathlon Age-Groupers, who started by saying, ‘when you’ve got your name across your boobs (of your trisuit) it’s a really cool feeling!’

Naomi believes women can achieve anything they set their minds to. She recognises that women can be defeatist, a trait not so common in men, and offered us her top tips for staying strong.

Surround yourself by ladies who inspire you, not only will you find it motivating but you’ll find you really want to please them with your own achievements
Get used to the pain in training so you know what to expect on race day
Have a carrot in front of you, whether it’s finishing your fist 10k or a new PB, dangle the carrot and go get it.
Make public declarations so you can’t back out if you get scared!
You’ll be surprised what you achieve when you don’t think you can so don’t say you can’t, just do it anyway.

Mel

Finally we had super-speedy marathon runner Mel. Mel has run 4 really bloody fast marathons with her last one coming in under 3 hours, a phenomenal achievement she worked really hard for. This is her advice:

Be brave enough to set goals that are challenging
Pressure in training, and on race day, can make you do crazy things like run through illness & injury…think about what you’re doing
Marathon training leaves you fatigued, try to benchmark progress against how you feel during a session rather than the numbers on your watch
Give your target finish time a range so you have a contingency to fall back on, flexible goals allow you to manage negative thoughts
When your legs hurt shift your focus to your breathing, remember you are actually OK and you can keep going!
Try to get excited about your race! Be nervous but use that nervous energy, don’t be fearful of racing
Be prepared to make decisions during the race, plan ahead and imagine what you would do if…
Finally, importantly, imagine yourself being successful!

I think it’s really important to surround yourself with people who inspire you, whether it’s Olympic champions, your best mate or your Dad. Hearing such motivational speeches from my friends made something I’ve known for some time crystal clear: The fabulous people who surround me inspire me every single day.

Chasers at the post London Marathon party. Photo: Shamir Patel

Naomi finished with a quote she keeps with her and reads on race day, I think it sums up everything perfectly:

20 years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.

Mark Twain

3 Peaks Challenge!

On June 24, 2015July 3, 2015 By Girl Running CrazyIn General4 Comments

The 3 Peaks Challenge needs little introduction, the goal is to climb the three highest peaks in Scotland, England and Wales within a 24 hour period. It’s been on my list for a while so when the opportunity came up at work to join a 3 Peaks team and raise money for mental health charity Mind, I volunteered without a second thought.

About a week ago I thought I should do some proper research on the challenge and started to worry about by distinct lack of mountain-climbing-specific training, I hadn’t done any. I was working off the (possibly naive) assumption that my marathon fitness and strong legs would carry me through, but everything I read about the challenge made me doubt that. In any case, it was too late to do anything about it now…

As with any event like this, it’s truly the people you share it with that can make or break your experience and I was fortunate to be with the best bunch I could ask for. The team was made up of myself, Hannah, Tara, Ellen, Pippa, Carmen and Jack (who became an excellent not-gay-gay-best-friend, GBF). Jack wanted to be the alpha male, but unfortunately that was firmly taken by our mountain guide Jake, he was also after the beta male role, but was pipped to the post by our laugh-a-minute drive Wayne, so GBF it was…

I only really knew Hannah when we all met at Euston for our 8.10 train to Chester, but by the end of the weekend, we were pretty well acquainted! We were picked up from Chester by Jake, our leader, and Wayne who would be our driver for most of the trip. We quickly established the banter would be plentiful and we couldn’t take anything Wayne said seriously, but, together with DJ MC Willy (Hannah) blaring out the tunes, and some laser light action, the 8.5 hour trip to Fort William was quite a lot of fun!

Fort William is a lot further away from absolutely everything than I thought, but the views driving through Scotland were worth it. We made it to our bunkhouse, Bank St Lodge, just after 8pm and headed out for a pre-climb dinner. After a fairly short and broken sleep (we had a snorer in the group…), the alarm went off at 5 and we were ready to go!

Ben Nevis

We were dropped off at the base of Ben Nevis at 6.20 am which meant we technically had until 7.50am the next morning to officially complete the challenge (due to driving regulations the time has been extended to 25.5 hours).

Ben is not only the tallest mountain of the challenge, and the highest peak in the UK at 1,344m (4,409ft), it’s also dubbed the toughest of the 3 so I was glad we were tackling this one first, on fresh legs and the most sleep we were going to get all weekend. We started off at a faster pace than I was expecting but I didn’t mind, apparently we were making good time! We got warm quickly so it wasn’t long before we were taking layers off.

There is one main route up and down the mountain, the Mountain Track, but I was surprised by how many people we encountered coming down at this time of day, it meant they must have climbed up in the dark, I definitely wouldn’t fancy that! Nearly everyone we met along the way wished us a good morning, mountain climbers are pleasant folk!

The path zig-zagged upwards and the terrain was a mix of rocky steps, pebbly slopes and loose scree which would later be covered in a thick layer of snow. I was enjoying the climb, it was early in the morning and there were some beautiful views as we made our way up. About half way there was a waterfall to cross over and we stopped for a photo!

The mountain got steeper the higher we went and it started to get really cold. It wasn’t until we stopped to layer up that I realised how wet we all were from the damp atmosphere. We came across a couple of patches of snow, which turned into may be a solid half mile of quite deep snow we had to trudge through all the way to the summit. Everything was pure white in the middle of June!

After just under 3 hours of climbing we reached the top, it was cold, windy, and snowy but amazing to reach the first peak. We stopped for a snack, a hug and a summit selfie (obviously).

The next challenge was to get down the bloody thing, or GTFD (get the f**k down) as we called it. This was not my favourite thing at all and I quickly learned that I was very, very bad at it. I got my walking poles out for the descent but still found myself at the back of the group sliding all over the place on the snow. We were warned to stick to the path or we could easily veer towards the edge where there was a big crack in the snow, errrr, noted!

When we reached the rubble I seemed to get slower, in hindsight I was relying too much on the poles than my own balance and leg strength, which I would later learn was much more reliable. My slow descent wasn’t helped by the volume of people who were now coming up the mountain, the path was quite narrow so everytime I picked out my route someone would be coming into it the other way.

I found getting myself down the mountain stressful, mentally exhausting, and frustrating, I was holding the group back and I didn’t want to be the reason we would fail, it wasn’t enjoyable at all. We got to the bottom at 11.50am after a 5.5 hour trek. They estimate 5-6 hours so we were well within that, but we were aiming for 5 so had already lost half an hour, I felt like I had let the team down already.

Getting to the car park I had never been so happy to see another person than Wayne, with a silly hat and a flask of hot water ready to make us coffee. We were back on the road for the 256 mile journey to Scafell Pike with the highest mountain already under our belt. Onwards!

We stopped a couple of times to make sure Wayne had his allocated breaks and took the opportunity to enjoy the sunshine. We didn’t have any problems on the road and together with Wayne’s, errr, efficient shall we say, driving, we got to Scafell Pike at 18:50 and we were ready to go again.

Our only photo with Wayne!

Scafell Pike

There are a couple of routes up Scafell but we went for Wasdale Head, the steeper but shorter option, which should take about 4 hours. This mountain was definitely my favourite. It had been a gloriously sunny day and the views on the way up were beautiful, it was also very warm so we were grateful we weren’t climbing in the middle of the day.

Scafell Pike is the shortest mountain at 978m (3,209ft) but is the highest in England. I was determined not to be so rubbish on this one so I went for it on the ascent and really enjoyed the climb. There were some large boulders to navigate but there was also a lot of grass either side of the path which I thought would be useful on the way down.

It was also a lot quieter on this mountain, just a few other hikers and a lot of sheep (and lovely black slugs), the sun was setting as we made our way up and it got chilly again as we hit the cloud. As the view disappeared, all we could really see was lots of loose rubble, it flattened out as we reached the top and I felt a bit like I was on the moon. However, the flat did not mean we were at the top and it was another 15 minutes or so before we actually reached the summit.

It was now 9pm so it had taken us 2 hours 10 to reach the top, time for another hug and a summit selfie but no time for snacks because we needed to GTFD before it got dark! Luckily, we had picked Summer Solstice weekend so it wouldn’t get properly dark until near 11, hopefully we would make it…

At this point Jake literally confiscated my walking poles. He told me I didn’t need them and I’d be much quicker without them…errrr, really?? Turns out he was right, relying on my own balance and strength gave me much more momentum so I progressed a lot quicker than descending Ben.

Tara was in quite a lot of pain with her knees so we stuck together at the back. With the sun going down, darkness was closing in and visibility was starting to get poor so it was time to get my pink head torch out! Jake gave Tara a piggyback the rest of the way down to save her knees for Snowdon and we finally made it to the bottom at 11pm. It was dark. All in all it had taken 4 hours 10, not far off target.

Back in the laser light party bus we were back on the road to Snowdon which was 211 miles away. We all fell asleep on this part of the journey and woke briefly to say goodbye to Wayne who handed over the driving Derek at around 2.30am at a service station somewhere along the way.

Snowdon

We arrived at Snowdon at around 4.30am. Having all been asleep, the last thing we really wanted to do was drag ourselves up another mountain but it needed to be done. It was very windy, but it was light again and spirits lifted when we realised we were actually on our way up the last mountain! To complete the task on time we would only have around 3 hours 10 to get up and back down again, it was going to be unlikely but none of us cared by this point, we would still have completed the 3 Peaks!

Snowdon is 1,085 m (3560 ft) high and we were led to believe this was the easiest mountain to climb…I’m really not sure it was! It’s difficult to pull apart how much of the inevitable tiredness and accumulation of mountain-miles in the legs affected the climb but I didn’t feel particularly tired so I think it was just the mountain!

It started off pretty easy with solid stone steps but they got a lot steeper as we went up. This was much more of a clambering up with hands type of climb, but I was grateful there wasn’t as many loose stoney areas as there were on the other 2.

There were some nice flat areas along a ridge with some awesome views of the lake below, but at some points the stones were very jagged and steep and I didn’t really want to look down! I was a little concerned about how the hell I was going to get down again…I might just have to live on the top of Snowdon.

When we reached the ridge at the top the wind was really, really strong. We kept going until we reached the final steps up to the summit where there was a big brass dial. Jack jumped on top of it and we had to cling onto him to stay steady! After more hugs and summit selfies I decided I didn’t want to live there so we had to GTFD before we blew away!

The poles came back out for this one, my left knee was hurting from twisting it on Scafell so I wanted the extra support. Jake decided to take us a different path back down, this would be a longer route but it would involve a much shorter, sharper decent so we could get back to the lake quicker and then the rest would be pretty flat. I liked the sound of that!

Clambering down, we all made it to the lake and took some time out to appreciate the view, it was stunning. It was fairly non eventful from that point and we all enjoyed being on the flat even if it did seem to go on forever as we curved round the mountain. Tara was still struggling with her knees so she had another piggyback for the last section…we think she had a little crush on Jake!

Seeing car park and cafe come into view at the end was the best thing I’ve ever seen, I couldn’t wait to take my boots off! Arriving at 10am, literally as it started to rain, we had completed the 3 Peaks Challenge in around 27.5 hours which we were all happy with, we’d bloody done it!!

It was then time for breakfast at Pete’s cafe where Hannah was devastated to have ordered a burger and became slightly deranged with jealously over everyone else’s food, the amusement never stopped!

Heading back to Chester we all fell asleep immediately, but we were greeted by a cheery Wayne on arrival to bid a fond farewell. Finally we were back on the train to London, we were all a little sad our victorious adventure was over but happy and completely exhausted.

The 3 Peaks Challenge is an epic experience which I would recommend to anyone, but don’t underestimate the challenge. It’s tough, mentally and physically, you need to be prepared for a lack of sleep and changeable weather and I would recommend going with someone who knows the mountains well. Situations can change fast and you need to be prepared for anything. Thanks so much to my fellow hikers, Jake and Wayne (and Derek!) for making my experience the best it could’ve been, I couldn’t have done it without any of you!

3 Peaks: In Summary

7 adventurers
3 Mountains
3 Countries
26 miles walked
9,800 feet of ascent
1 expert Mountain Guide (thanks Jake!)
1 minibus complete with disco lights
2 drivers (we love you Wayne)
880 miles traveled on the road
334 miles traveled by train
15 hours walking up and down mountains
Nearly 26 hours travelling
Snow, sunshine, wind & rain
Excessive amount of mountain selfies (80% by Jack)
67 little sheeps (approx)
167 strange black slugs (approx)
1 case of severe personality disorder (Hannah / Helen…)
Too much sugar to quantify
Challenge complete!

Post challenge, post breakfast team shot

Wimbledon Half: The search for Wombles & my usual self

On June 1, 2015June 1, 2015 By Girl Running CrazyIn General, Race Reports3 Comments

The weekend before last was my birthday. I ran a grand total of 5 miles across the whole Bank Holiday and drank all the alcohol and ate all the food. I had a great birthday, I really did, I had an amazing time with some amazing people but it left me a shadow of my usual self.

By Monday, after 3 nights out, I was hungover, tired and fat…I hated myself, and I mean I absolutely loathed myself. I realise that sounds a tad dramatic, it’s really a really difficult feeling to describe and might not make sense, but that Monday was really not a happy day.

On Monday evening I decided my goal for the week was to get to next Sunday feeling my usual healthy and annoyingly energetic self. I made a commitment to spinach and my trainers – everything was going to be OK. Probably.

So, I had spinach, orange, banana and chai seed smoothies for breakfast everyday, and kept my promise to my trainers, squeezing in a workout around my job and seeing friends:

Tuesday – 5 mile run
Wednesday – SOFunctional Athletic class at the gym – it was a high intensity class with lots of squats and lunges and jumping and punching and stuff…
Thursday – Spinning
Friday – Spinning
Saturday – 5 mile run
Sunday – Wimbledon Half – just so we’re clear, this had absolutely nothing to do with a Womble medal. Cause that would be silly.

On Thursday, a post from Run Through popped up in my Facebook newsfeed advertising the Wimbledon half on Sunday. I’ve done some Run Through events before, they’re fairly low key but very well organised, cheap to enter and offer a t-shirt and pretty awesome medal to finishers, definitely value for money. So, on a whim, I entered 2 hours before it closed – this would make sure I stayed out of trouble this weekend (ie. no booze, no dancing on tables) and force me to run further than I would have by myself (ie. more than 5 miles)

I haven’t really run much since the London Marathon 5 weeks ago. Partly because back to back marathons left me in a desperate need for a little break from running and partly because I pulled my hamstring a few weeks ago and would have done anything to make sure it was better for Green Belt. Also, partly because life just got in the way…sometimes that’s OK you know.

I then started to wonder if I could actually run 13 whole miles…without stopping?? The furthest I’d run since London was during the Green Belt Relay which was just under 10 on the Saturday and 9 on the Sunday – what if I couldn’t do it?

The race would be 2 laps of the Common, it was all off road, there were some hills, and the forecast was heavy rain. I decided my only goal for the race was to just run the 13 miles, enjoy the route and, ahem, add a Womble to my medal collection.

Sunday morning was grey and dreary, but it wasn’t raining. I live down the road from Wimbledon so it didn’t take long to get to the start on the NW side of the Common. Registration was very quick which left some time to visit the free Lucozade stand (they have a new flavour, mango & passion fruit, it tastes like Um Bongo!) and loosen up my legs with the music booming over the loudspeaker.

Today, all I wanted was to be just another anonymous runner so I left the Chaser vest at home and wore a black t-shirt. I didn’t want anyone to recognise me, I didn’t want to race, I just wanted to go for a jog. I think this has been the first event I’ve been to in 2 years where I haven’t worn my club vest and it felt a lot stranger than I thought it would, but I just didn’t feel worthy of the vest today.

The race started on time at 9.30 and we ran up the grass for about 200m before turning off onto the trail path. It was a 2 lap course and we were warned that the first 1.5 miles or so would be up a hill before hitting the flat and a coming back down a hill for the last mile. Everyone started off quite fast but I held back, determined to stick to my jog pace and enjoy the run, especially if we were about to head uphill!

The course was lovely, all off-road along the trail paths around the common, we ran through trees, jumped puddles, ran past the windmill and the golf course and barely saw any cars, perfect! Despite being so close to home, Wimbledon Common is fairly uncharted territory for me, I know Richmond Park inside out but Wimbledon seems much more closed in and therefore easier to get lost!

The rain mostly held off and the cool air was nice to run in, the marshals were friendly, there was plenty of water and I even high-5d a real life Womble (fact!) The miles ticked by and I tried not to look at my watch, I was going to put some tape over it so I couldn’t see but I forgot! I felt comfortable and knew I was running slowly but I was fine with that, I was just another anonymous runner right?!

The last mile was mostly downhill, I saw my Womble mate again and then there was a small section on an incline before we turned back onto the grass to finish where we started. I didn’t even pick up the pace for the finish, I really was happy just to jog. Over the finish line and I got my hands on my Womble medal and t-shirt – I was sooo pleased that I could still run 13 miles, order had been restored.

The power of a good run never ceases to amaze me, I wish more people knew. Just the woods, fresh air, my own thoughts and a few other runners around me. With a familiar stiffness in my legs I feel like me again, and I don’t hate myself so much anymore. Thanks Wimbledon.

Womble Medal!!

Men. Women. What’s the Difference?

On May 12, 2015May 12, 2015 By Girl Running CrazyIn General5 Comments

Women are not physiologically capable of running the marathon distance. At least that’s what the race director of the Boston Marathon told Bobbi Gibb in 1966, she was categorically not allowed to compete. Because she was a woman.

On 19th April that year Bobbi did something that would change everything in womens running forever…she went and ran the Boston Marathon anyway.

We let out a roar that day, sensing that this woman had done more than just break the gender barrier in a famous race…

Diana Chapman Walsh – 1966 Boston Marathon spectator

The race official tries to pull Bobbi off the course but, in a move of solidarity, her fellow runners wouldn’t let him.

That day, Bobbi successfully challenged archaic gender stereotypes and prejudice and proved that women were more than capable of competing it long distance running alongside men. She finished in 03:21:40 with two thirds of the pack still behind her. What a woman.

Of course, change didn’t happen overnight, it took 30 years for Boston to officially recognise Bobbi’s 1966 (and subsequent 67 & 68) wins, but today, women compete in all distances, and indeed all sports, at both a professional and amateur level.

However, it begs the question, do physiological differences between men and women affect athletic performance?

Arguably, yes. Paula’s 02:15:25 marathon world record is over 12 minutes slower than Kimetto’s 02:02:57 and no one has even come close to taking that record from her which was set in 2003…

Recognising that women are different to men, Cat arranged an evening of female-specific training, nutrition, performance & recovery advice for the Chaser ladies. It was a great excuse for a cocktail and a catch up!

Whether you’re male or female doesn’t always determine who will be the fastest runner (hey, I beat 58% men in the Brighton Marathon…just saying), but men do have some physiological advantages over women that give them greater capacity to go faster and this is evidenced across all distances at a high level. Amy and Laura, physiotherapists from Body Logic, explained to us what these differences are.

Body composition

Firstly, women naturally carry more fat than men simply because that is the way we are meant to be, women need more fat to be healthy. Unfortunately, this doesn’t do us any favours when it comes to running… Not only this, but men also have a greater percentage of muscle mass than women making them naturally bulkier, stronger and often leaner.

So we’re a little bit fatter and a little bit weaker, not a great start. However, we can help to combat this by increasing the amount of strength training we do, this is especially important as we get older because apparently after the age of 40 we lose 1/3 lb of muscle every year!

Amy suggests 2-3 sessions per week strengthening the arms, legs and core and you only need 8-12 reps once or twice per exercise to make a difference.

Aerobic capacity (using oxygen to produce energy)

Men have larger hearts than women which mean they can pump more blood round the body with each beat. Within this blood, they also have 10% more hemoglobin than we do (science bit: hemoglobin is the protein that carries oxygen from the lungs to body tissue). So, women are getting less blood and less oxygen being pumped round the body with each heartbeat.

The good news is we can help improve this through interval training. The bad news is we have to do interval training…

Skeletal / Muscle Structure

Skeletal structures differ between men and women and our structure makes us more prone to knee, hip and foot injuries.

Men are stiffer round the hips making them more quad dominant and overactive on the hamstrings. Women tend to be weaker in the hips which can lead to crossing when running, a bit like trying to run on a tightrope, and cause ITB issues.

Unfortunately, wearing high heels has a negative impact too and can contribute to an increased arch in the back which leads to a weaker core. Sadly, pretty shoes always come at a cost.

So, strengthen the hips and do some planks, and if you love your heels…double plank work!

The Mind

Men tend to have an advantage of the mind – they often believe they can do something much more than women can and I think there are many, many reasons for this.

In the workplace, I was once told that men put their hand up 6 months before they’re ready, whilst women put their hand up 6 months after they’re ready. Ever since I heard that, and realised it was in fact true, I’ve forced myself to be much more confident in my abilities because it was the only way my career was going to move forwards.

That confidence doesn’t transpire into my running. I often don’t believe I can do something, sometimes I genuinely know I can’t, but more often than not I just don’t believe it. I know the reasons why I think a certain way but it doesn’t help me change them.

It doesn’t matter whether you’re standing on the start line or turning up to a job interview, if you don’t believe you can achieve the goal, you’re already at a huge disadvantage.

The Body – Conclusion

So, women are a little bit fatter, a little bit weaker, working with less oxygen, having to do double core work just so we can look good on a Friday night and struggling to believe in ourselves…that’s quite the challenge, doesn’t that just make chicking someone all the more sweeter?!

It’s not alllll bad news for us ladies because we’re able to burn more fat than men, very useful in the tough stages of a marathon – hurrah!

The night didn’t end there, there’s more to follow later, but MASSIVE thanks to Cat for arranging such an informative and useful evening (especially when you chose a venue with 241 cocktails…)!

All’s Fair in the London Marathon Ballot…isn’t it?

On May 4, 2015November 10, 2015 By Girl Running CrazyIn General6 Comments

The London Marathon ballot opened today, as it does every year a week after the big day. But this time there has been a fairly significant change, instead of closing the ballot after 125,000 entries (which only takes a few hours), it will remain open for 5 whole days with no limit on entries.

If you thought your chances of getting in were slim before, they’ve just gone to near-on impossible. How many people will enter the ballot? 200k, 500k, more? Who knows, but I do know that the usual 1 in 7 chance has just been dramatically slashed.

VLM has come under fire in recent years for the way they operate the ballot system. They never announce the time the ballot will open, which means people stay up until the early hours, and it can already be closed by 10 or 11 in the morning. That’s all well and good if you’re able to do that but if you’re a shift worker, a nurse, a fireman, you can easily be left disappointed at the first hurdle. So I understand why a change has been made, and the new system is certainly fairer, but going from around an 8 hour window to 5 whole days is, in my opinion, a little excessive and a little silly.

I believe anyone can run a marathon, but I don’t believe everyone has the drive and commitment to make it happen, it’s a shit load of hard work. The problem is the ballot opens when everyone is still high on the smell of sweat and Lucozade and still moved by all the emotional success stories, they want to be a part of it.

Marathon day is glory day, and it certainly doesn’t come much more glorified than in London. But a marathon isn’t just 26.2 miles, far from it, a marathon is made of hundreds and hundreds of miles over months of training. It’s tough early morning runs, late night tempo and wet, windy long weekend miles. A marathon is made of everything you don’t see.

What I don’t think is fair, and I’m aware it may be controversial, is that there are people who are lucky enough to get ballot places but, when it comes down to it they aren’t prepared to make the sacrifices and put in the time and effort to do the training. I don’t subscribe to the ‘proper runner’ theory, if you run you’re a runner, and I’m definitely not not saying you need to finish in a super quick time, but I am saying you need to put an honest effort into the training and do the best you can to prepare, because there are thousands of people that are willing to do it.

Some people enter the ballot just for the hell of it. They make a half arsed effort to get to the start line because they didn’t want to give up Friday nights in the pub, or give up their warm bed on a freezing January morning, and the people that are willing to do that are left on the sidelines cheering them on. Is that fair? I don’t think so.

I know I’ve run London more than once, and yes maybe it is someone else’s turn, but I’m sad I’m unlikely to be running next year and I’m angry with myself for not trying harder to get a GFA place. There are many people that would say I made a half arsed effort with training this year, that’s why I wasn’t good enough and I’m back in the ballot, maybe it is fair after all.

Quite frankly it would be a lot easier to score a London Marathon place by becoming a Z list celebrity for doing something ridiculous than through the ballot. Screw it, where are the reality show applications? That might even be quite fun…

The Power of Music in Sport

On April 25, 2015August 7, 2017 By Girl Running CrazyIn General6 Comments

Haile Gebrselassie is one of the greatest and most successful runners of all time. In 1998 Haile took the Indoor World Record for 2,000 metres…whilst ‘I’m the scatman, ski bi dibby dib yo da’ boomed into the Birmingham arena. At Haile’s request.

I’ve always enjoyed running with music, not only does it help me switch off and drift into my own thoughts, but it can also be a powerful motivator through the tough miles. My Dad always says running with music is for wimps. Well, I guess me and Haile have something in common…because apparently we’re both wimps!

But what is it about this rather odd track that Haile likes?

It’s nice music, it’s fast written, that’s why I could break a world record, by that music…’I’m a Scatman! Dum dum’ and then you know the timing and at the same time your style changes immediately.

Are there performance gains to be had from running with music? If so, why do you see so many faster runners listening to the sounds of their own bodies rather than their favourite tunes? Most importantly, could my Dad be wrong??

Last weekend, Currys invited me to a workshop that would help me find the answers to these very questions. With the rise of events such as Run to the Beat and the increasing frequency of live music along race routes, there must be some science behind the power of music?

I met some other fitness bloggers, and Dr Costas Karageorghis (who has spent years researching the psychological effects of music on running), for a fun afternoon learning how it can be beneficial to athletic performance.

A little warm up game!

There have been strong links between music and sport for a long time – the National Anthem is always played during international competitions, the All Blacks perform an intimidating Haka before playing rugby, and who doesn’t feel energetic as soon as they hear the theme tune from Rocky?!

So, everyone loves music but what exactly does music do during exercise? After explaining the different constituents, tempo, rhythm, melody etc, Dr Karageorghis revealed that listening to your favourite tunes on the run can have the following benefits:

Lowers perception of effort
Can trick your mind into feeling less tired
Encourages positive thoughts and mood
Can increase endurance by 20% if you sync your body to the music (that’s a BIG claim!)

Whilst the beat is important, and syncing your movements to the music has the most positive impact, the lyrics can also be very powerful. Words can carry strong personal messages that help to motivate and focus. I was surprised that several very successful athletes listen to specific tracks before they go into competition to help mentally prime them:

Michael Phelps got in the zone at London 2012 with Lil’ Wayne’s ‘I Am Me’ before taking home 6 medals
- “Ain’t nobody f**king with me man…I know the game is crazy, it’s more crazy than it’s ever been”

Iwan Thomas uses music as part of his pre-run routine on the start line with Prodigy, ‘Firestarter’
- “I’m the trouble starter, punking instigator, I’m the fear addicted, danger illustrated”

James Cracknell – favours Red Hot Chili Peppers, ‘Get on Top’
- Get on top, get on top, hit me, come get me, I bite but she bit me”

These are all very stimulating tracks and, generally, the more stimulating the music, the more active you feel. However, sedative music can also have a very beneficial & calming effect.

Before the 2004 Athens Olympics, Dame Kelly Holmes had been feeling very anxious following a period of injury. She used music to help control her pre-race anxiety and block everything out by listening to the soulful Alicia Keys.

Interestingly, Olympic gold medalist, Audley Harrison combated pre-fight nerves by listening to Japanese classical music to induce relaxation & focus, and Whitney Houston’s ‘One Moment in Time’ has been cited as the track used to calm the GB Bobsleigh team whilst still being mentally stimulating through the lyrics:

I want one moment in time
When I’m more than I thought I could be
When all of my dreams are a heartbeat away
And the answers are all up to me

It’s not just before and during sport where music can be helpful. There are also gains to be had from listening to slow, sedated music post exercise which can help slow the heart rate and reduce stress. I’m definitely going to be giving that a try!

By the end of the session I was left with no doubt in my mind that music is a very powerful tool and I’m absolutely convinced of the benefits (sorry Dad!)

We were then introduced to Monster headphones. Monster make a range of sports specific headphones, iSport, that are designed to stay in the ear, be sweat proof, shock proof and comfortable. There are several models available but they were keen to show us their wireless SuperSlim which are fairly new to the UK.

The iSport SuperSlim are a bluetooth headphone that claim to deliver exceptional sound quality and stay in the ear with a unique SportClip no matter activity your doing, despite being so small. We were all lucky enough to be given a pair to try! I’ll give these a full review when I’ve had a chance to try them properly after the London Marathon – no matter how powerful music is, it will never be as powerful as a London Marathon crowd!

There’s nothing I love more than an easy run in the sunshine with some upbeat tunes in my ear – here are my top 10 running tracks:

Til I Collapse – Eminem
Paris – Jay Z & Kanye
Party Right – Lethal Bizzle
Berzerk – Eminem
Eye of the Tiger – Survivor
What a Feeling – The Hughes Corporation
Not Giving In – Rudimental
Keep Your Head Up – Ben Howard
Don’t You Know who I Think I Am? – Fall Out Boy
Hitz – Chase & Status

I guess number 11 should probably be Scatman…!

I would like to thank Currys for the opportunity to attend this workshop, all views are my own.

Thanks for the awesome goody bag!

The Road to Brighton

On April 2, 2015April 2, 2015 By Girl Running CrazyIn General2 Comments

With just 10 sleeps left until the Brighton Marathon I’m starting to get that familiar nervous, sickening, slightly uncontrollable panic that only the taper can bring.

How do you ever know if you’ve done enough? People ask how you’re feeling, if you’re ready, whether you’ll hit your target…I genuinely don’t know what to say. However, what I do know for sure is that the way I’m feeling now is worlds apart from how I was feeling this close to Amsterdam.

It’s fair to say my injury set me back more than I thought in October, foolishly I don’t think I ever really believed I was injured but, given it hurt to walk a lot of the time, I think it’s safe to say I was! My runs were slow and laboured, my legs didn’t work and I just didn’t enjoy running. Whilst Marathon day was nothing short of a disaster, it was a lesson well learned.

Coming out of Amsterdam my resolution was to remember why I love running and the most obvious way I could think of was to start running with my friends again. Training for the last marathon involved a lot of long, slow, solo miles, I wasn’t going to track, I wasn’t going to tempo, I wasn’t having fun, and it clearly showed.

I went back to basics. My PB still stands in Frankfurt 2013 and that was the marathon I went into with no expectations. It was the first time I had run 2 marathons in a year so I promised myself if I was going to do it I would only commit to 4 runs a week and I wouldn’t be a slave to the plan.

My approach to training for Brighton has followed these rules. Of course there is a plan, it’s actually a very carefully structured and beautifully colour-coded spreadsheet (I love a good spreadsheet me) but it’s pretty fluid and flexible.

Sometimes, you really, really don’t feel like going for a run after back to back meetings, and other times you love nothing more than a stress busting 10 miler after work. The body doesn’t always follow a plan, you have to roll with it.

Step 1: Get some speed back

The first thing I did was reinstate club track and tempo sessions into my training. I had become painfully slow, for me, and these sessions really work to improve your pace.

Hard, sweaty, lung busting speed sessions are tough, but meeting the club at track on a freezing night to chase them round a set of 800s, or having a gossip with Ruth and Laura before knocking out a few tempo laps of Battersea Park in the rain, is infinitely easier and more rewarding than plodding the dark streets of SW London on my own.

An Inviting Battersea Park: The Stomping Ground

Step 2: Cross-Training

The next thing I did was commit to a yoga and spinning session each week.

I had forgotten how much I love spinning with it’s loud music and high energy. Combining intervals and hills, spinning is great for some additional low impact training, and I’ve used this as a substitute for a 5th run.

Yoga has also become an important part of my plan to improve core stability, posture and muscle tone. 60 minutes of sun salutations, lunges, cobras, triangles, back bends, and even head stands, yoga has been more challenging than I thought it would be but I’m really starting to enjoy it.

I’m now one of those people that gets up at 5.50am on a Tuesday to get bendy on a mat in Waterloo. I don’t recognise myself.

Me: Being a Tree

Step 3: Enjoying the LSR

Finally I wanted to start (sort of) enjoying the long runs again so, wherever possible, I’ve joined forces with some of the Chaser girls to tick off the miles together. That’s what friends are for right?!

I genuinely have no idea how race day will go. I feel so much stronger than I did 6 months ago but I have an ongoing cramp in my calf and I’m still running slower than before Frankfurt…I don’t know.

To Brighton…

A long run shared is a long run…halved?

On March 13, 2015March 13, 2015 By Girl Running CrazyIn General1 Comment

The big 2-0 on the training plan is a daunting prospect to even the most seasoned marathon runner. Not only is it a very long way, but it’s as much a mental challenge as a physical one. It’s also the run that can give you the confidence that a marathon is actually achievable – if I can just get to 20 miles in training the last 10k will be fine…right?

Of course, it doesn’t actually work that way in real life because during last 10k of a marathon things can either miraculously come together, or spectacularly fall apart! I’ve definitely experienced the latter more than the former but it doesn’t stop the 20 miler giving me some confidence before race day.

On Sunday the Clapham Chasers hosted their annual Thames Riverside 20 mile ‘race or pace’ event (TR20) which is geared up with Spring marathoners in mind. We offer pacers from sub 7mm to 10mm so it’s the perfect training run to check you’re on track. For me, I just love the fact that I can focus on running with my friends around me rather than worrying about the distance.

A sunny race HQ in Bishops Park at 7.30am

It’s an out and back route from Putney Bridge to Richmond along the towpath which means you get to see some friendly faces as people start turning around and a friendly face can offer the same pick-me-up as a caffeinated salted caramel gel!

I find participating in an event like this really beneficial for several reasons:

There’s emotional strength to be found in not running alone. Even if you don’t know the runners around you, even if you don’t speak, they’re right there and going through the same thing you are (unless you’re Nathan who won the race in a new course record with a full 7 minute lead…but he’s pretty amazing).
Plenty of water stations mean you don’t have to carry your own
There are marshals all along the course to offer encouragement and a smile (and maybe a high-5 if you’re lucky)
When you’re wearing a race number other pedestrians seem more willing to let you past
If anything happens help is never far away
If it’s the TR20 there’s guaranteed to be a whole lot of cake at the finish!

Chaser Pacers, a happy Garmin & an almost empty cake table!

I went off in the 9mm wave not really sure if I’d be able to hold it but, with Laura and Gemma by my side having a good ol chat, it felt surprisingly easy. We were a bit ahead of target which worried me, but I managed to hold the pace even though we split up on the way back – I made friends with some South London Harriers instead!

As I rounded the corner to the finish line I was greeted by the Chaser Cheering Squad shouting my name and cheering, I couldn’t help but finish with a little sprint and a big smile!

The best thing about the TR20 is that all I had to concentrate on was getting out of bed (at 5.45am!) and getting to the start rather than planning a route, carrying fluids and being mentally strong on my own.

Maybe sharing a 20 mile run won’t make it any shorter, but it’ll sure make it happier. I’ve got 18 miles to knock out this weekend and I’m more than grateful to have some Chaser ladies lined up to share it with!

Laura & I looking surprisingly perky post run.

Hot & Sweaty with Ellie Goulding

On March 5, 2015March 5, 2015 By Girl Running CrazyIn General, ReviewsLeave a comment

When an email landed in my inbox from Nike Women inviting me to the exclusive launch of Ellie Gouldings’ new Tighten & Tone N+TC workout with none other than Ellie herself I couldn’t reply quick enough!

The venue was Tobacco Dock in East London where I joined maybe 300 other like minded ladies bubbling with excitement and ready to get sweaty on the mat. There was a small stage at the front and the evening kicked off with a stunning acoustic performance from Ellie who treated us 5 or 6 of her hits including the current number 1, Love Me Like You Do and one of my favourite running tracks, Anything Could Happen.

Ellie Goulding was singing just a metre away from me!! ARRGHHHH

Despite being an international superstar, she told us she was feeling shy. She needn’t of been because we all loved her, and even more so for being so normal, but she was clearly putting her heart into her performance. It was bloody brilliant!

Ellie then rushed off to change into her workout gear (reminding us why we were there!) and we went to find ourselves a mat, the punishment was about to begin…

The Nike Master Trainers were introduced on stage together with Ellie’s personal trainer, Faisal, who would be leading the session with Ellie. Ellie has been a bit of a fitness freak for some now and she’s also a keen runner so I knew the workout would be beneficial to my marathon training.

We started the session with a good warm up before getting stuck into the Tighten & Tone workout. I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect but it’s only a 15 minute workout, how hard could it be? I was expecting an easy ride. I was wrong.

Tighten & Tone is a combination of high and low intensity intervals designed to activate the core, strengthen the arms and work the legs. We completed a range of exercises including burpees, planks, pike push-ups, squats, thrusts, seated scissor kicks (ouch!) & lunges for 30-60 seconds with a couple of 10 second rests if we were lucky.

The Nike Master Trainers were dotted around everywhere checking we weren’t slacking so there was nowhere to hide! Ellie proved herself to be just as fit and strong as I thought and completed all of the exercises with graceful ease.

How was it? More intense than I thought and definitely one to work up a sweat – there were some real lung busters in there. I’m definitely going to need some more practice at those seated scissor kicks!

After the workout we were greeted with a choice of healthy meals, I went for the teriyaki salmon salad, together with a welcome glass of bubbles, it was just what we needed!

And how did I feel the next day? In pain…

Thanks To Nike for a fabulously fun evening of live music, sweaty exercise, delightful company and champagne!

I’ll definitely be doing Ellie’s workout again and you can try it yourself by downloading the free NTC app, you don’t need any equipment so you can even do it in front of the TV. No excuses! There won’t be any Faisal though…sorry 🙂