Solstice, or thereabouts

I have previously enthused about these few precious weeks when my 5:30 alarm is met with daylight, which not only makes staggering out of bed easier, but means my pre-work run has the appeal of being able to see where I'm trotting and even the possibility of some interesting wildlife sightings.

I do realize that those living in Seattle, Stirling or Stavanger will find this most amusing, but here in San Francisco, "long" summer days are rationed. Sure, we enjoy mild, friendly weather for much of the year, but you guys have the last laugh with your extended summer mornings and evenings.

My pathetic sluggishness of the past few weeks means many light mornings have already slipped by me, so I am determined to make the most of what's remaining. Somewhat to my dismay, we are already past the summer solstice, the longest day of the year in the northern hemisphere.

It's very likely you'll recognize this photo as Stonehenge, Wiltshire, in the UK. Much debate surrounds precisely when Stonehenge was built, by whom, and how, but the rising of the sun on the summer solstice was clearly of extreme importance in the precise placement of these enormous stones which measure up to 24 feet tall and weigh 50 (English) tons.

If these sun-lovers could achieve something of this scale and accuracy with the resources available to them around 4000 years ago, then the least I can do is hop willingly out of bed for a gentle dawn run.

Stonehenge photo thanks: Konrad Mostert

Well, this is embarrassing...

For my own benefit as much as yours, I thought I should do a post to clarify, Yes, I am still here, just struggling a bit.

I've been feeling utterly crummy for three weeks. Nothing in the least bit serious, just a stupid cold that I haven't quite been able to shift. But I felt too guilty to take more than one day off work, and so have been using up my energy just on the daily ins-and-outs of existence. I probably should have spent the last couple of weekends on the sofa, but joining several thousand San Franciscans to watch the USA play England at soccer, plus the unending quest to prettify my home, have just been too tempting.

Three weeks, of course, isn't the end of the world, but before those, there were 16 lazy vacation days, and I wasn't anywhere near wonderful shape before that.

My runs, therefore, have been short and sluggish. This morning's 5 miles were a photo-finish between me and the neighborhood snails. My weight is creeping slowly but undeniably upward (well, brownies are good for morale when you're under the weather, right?).

But this can't go on. I'm a fit, healthy person, not a 10% overweight reluctant exerciser who gets sick at the drop of a hat. If any of you know of a magic pill marked Energy, I'd love to hear about it. I need to get my groove back, and quick!

Photo thanks: Miroslav Sárička

Slip Sliding Away

Isn't it funny how something as trivial as a common cold can make you feel so utterly wretched?

Having run just 13 miles in the last 2 weeks, eaten badly, slept poorly, crossed 8 time zones and then come back again, I really shouldn't be surprised at feeling under the weather.

Image found here

I'm trying not to be too paranoid about my fitness level slipping slowly but surely from pretty good to average to poor. To be honest, I spent the latter part of last year feeling somewhat smug: I had achieved a PR half marathon, was running 3-4 times a week, doing weight training twice and yoga once. Right now I'm not sure I could jog a mile and I'm feeling extremely guilty at not having done one single knee exercise while I was in England.

The plan: be kind to myself while I kick this cold, and then get firmly back on track. After all, it's only 9 months to marathon day! As we say in England - Crikey.

Blogcation

Things will be quieter than usual around here for the next couple of weeks as I'm heading to Cambridge, England for some much-needed family catch-up time, not to mention a spot of rhubarb crumble.

The countryside around Cambridge is mostly pancake flat, and therefore great for running. One of my favorite routes is this unusual trail just outside the city:

Photo: Andrew Mac

Photo: Sustrans

Why the stripes? This section of path marks the 10,000th mile of the National Cycle Network and was opened in 2005 by Sir John Sulston, who won a Nobel prize for his work on the Human Genome Project...

"The artwork along this section of the route celebrates the role of the nearby Sanger Institute in decoding the vital human gene BRCA2. A series of stripes in four colours representing the 10,257 genetic letters, or bases, of the gene BRCA2 have been laid on the path using thermoplastic strips heat welded onto the tarmac."

Photo: Andrew Mac

Pretty cool, huh? And it'll be nice to have a medical concept that is not knee-related in mind, as I use this measured mile to knock a few seconds off my previous times.

All being well, I'll see you back in blog land in early June.

The Link Between Running and Rhubarb

Not surprisingly, my reduced running activity during the last few months has had an unfriendly effect on my waistline and the scales are nudging higher than I would like. And even though I'm not going anywhere on vacation where a bikini will be required, news that my mother is lovingly planning to feed me rhubarb crumble next week is enough to make me rein in my eating a little, in anticipation.

(For US readers, an English crumble is not dissimilar to a cobbler; the photo I've "borrowed" is a tasty-looking recipe by Britain's beloved Delia Smith).

Normally, when I visit the UK, I ramp up my running a bit, to offset all the tea-cakes, scones, sausage rolls and other dietary necessities which must be enjoyed to make the most of the travel experience. However, this time around I'm not sure whether I'll be able to burn quite so many calories and I need to watch out that my longest-lasting souvenir is not around my tum.

Moreover, according to this slightly depressing Knee Pain Guide from Sutter Health, every extra pound of weight adds four pounds of pressure to your kneecap. And that's just walking - don't even think about climbing the stairs.

...But I'll try not to let that trouble me, as I get stuck into dreamy, creamy crumble and custard in the comforting surroundings of the family dinner table.

How about you: would you rather eat dessert, even if you have to run a few extra miles as payback?

Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Forget about the Christmas song: I am officially declaring the next 8 weeks the best possible time of the year for runners. Why? Well, in the northern hemisphere at least, we are now enjoying fantastic amounts of one of the world's most precious resources: daylight.

Today I was up at 5:30 and out of the house to run well before 6. The day was waking up with a soft but clear grey light. The breeze was cool, the wildlife was plentiful but unperturbed by me trotting past. My three miles were slow but painless; I was energized rather than tired.

Does it get any better than that?

On the small chance you are reading this blog and have never tried running, I urge you to seize these long days and get out there. For those of us who love to jog, trot or sprint, it really is the most wonderful time of the year.

Photo thanks: Craig Goodwin

Physiotherapy Class

My first brush with physiotherapy was a little on the strange side, but the jury is happily still out.

Kaiser Permanente, my health provider this year (not sure how long that will last) bundled all their knee-challenged clients into a group and dealt with six of us en masse through an introductory educational/exercise class. I was pretty skeptical as to how all these people of different shapes, sizes and diagnoses could benefit from a blanket approach, but since the gist of the message seemed to be Strengthen Your Quads, and that's spot on for what I've read about Runner's Knee, then I don't mind playing nicely for a month or two and seeing what happens.

Photo thanks: Kings College London

I now have 3 fairly challenging exercises (including sitting on the wall and single-leg bridge, if you're interested) to repeat 20-40 times, every other day. Icing afterwards is mandatory, even if my knee doesn't feel inflamed. The plan is, this should yield some improvement in 2-3 months. What the heck, I can give that a shot, especially since I'm allowed to sneak in some short runs, as long as I stop when it starts to hurt.

Probably the best part of the class was the rather selfish satisfaction in seeing that, of the six of us, my "condition" is by far the least severe. I'm extremely lucky that, so far at least, my recalcitrant knee is not interrupting daily life. I can get up, down, or sideways without difficulty, and, within reason, I can still take a nice long walk without anxiety. I take great comfort that, being in vaguely reasonable shape to begin with, a single dodgy joint is not enough to bring everything to a grinding halt. And unless I get over-enthusiastic and trot too far, I'm free of the pain which my classmates were clearly enduring. That knowledge, if nothing else, should provide the motivation to stick to my exercise schedule.