Physio Guilt

Last weekend I was aiming to do about 9 miles, but only got as far as 7 when my nemesis-knee told me enough was enough. I could, therefore, write a post full of wailing disappointment, but the gruesome truth is I haven't been doing my physio exercises nearly enough, so I feel like I have only myself to blame.

You may wonder, if running is so enjoyable (it certainly is) and if doing just one full marathon in my life is so important to me (ditto), why have I been so negligent at spending just 10 minutes waving my leg around, a few times per week? Probably, I need my head looked at, as well as my knee, but we won't go there right now.


Perhaps I should add a gadget to the side of this blog so you can all nag me if I don't keep up with my exercises. Or is anyone else, apart from Asha, registered with DailyMile? I could log my knee-lifts there, if you promise to keep me honest.

How do you keep track of, and encourage yourself to stick to, the goals you set?

Cartoon thanks: Cerebral Vortex

Runner or Jogger?

I confess this is not an original thought of mine, but has been bouncing around in my head since I was re-reading a rather old issue of Runner's World. I'm sorry that I didn't note the issue date, and I can't find it online, but there is a similar piece here.

The question is, how fast do you have to be, to call yourself a Runner rather than a Jogger? For someone like me who never seems to do any great distance faster than 10-minute-mile pace, and in which every single candid "race" photo makes me look like I'm out for a somewhat sweaty walk, the topic is extremely pertinent.

The columnist's answer surprised and comforted me, and I'm hereby adopting the viewpoint that running is about attitude, rather than speed...

• If you're out to accomplish something, you're probably a runner.
  
• If you're seeking to improve in some way (no matter what your starting point), you're a runner.
  
• If you haul yourself out of a cozy bed before daylight, because it's important you don't miss a session (even if that session is 3 miles which take you 33 minutes), you're certainly a runner.
  
• If you sulk when you get injured and get antsy not lacing up your shoes for a week, then you're most definitely a runner.

So to all those runners who take 5 hours for their first marathon, I salute you. Even if I take 5 hours 55, I'm still calling myself a runner.

What do you think? Does speed matter, or is it all a state of mind?

Image thanks: Mike Lockett

Wacky Races

If your running and racing routine is feeling a little boring, there are a myriad of ways in which you can perk things up.

Naturally, your regular training could take place at a different time, different place, different speed or in different company. You can take a tour of your hometown on a jogging tour (thanks, Asha, for the San Diego Jogging Tours info - here is a San Francisco offering, too.) Road runners might try switching to trails for a whole new nature kick.

But there are also weird and wonderful race options available if you want to mix things up a bit. Here are just a few which have caught my eye:

Burro Racing
You and a donkey (burro) complete a course together. The burro may not carry the human, but the human is allowed to carry the burro. The legendary Bart Yasso's hilarious account of his 10km burro race (in which the burro clearly thought it was only a 5k, as he ran like the wind for that distance and then stopped dead) had me in stitches.

Run and Juggle
Yep, some people are co-ordinated enough to race while juggling. Joggling (that's what it's called) world championships are held annually, and believe it or not, the record marathon time for a joggler is a stunning 2 hours 50.


Do It Blindfold
Think you trust your running partner? How about blindfolding yourself and letting them guide you around a course? The Vision 5K takes place each year in Boston and is also a chance for visually impaired runners to test their ability. This event appeals to me to to test the teamwork in our marriage and to show some support for my Mum who recently hit challenging 'speed bumps' with her own eyesight.


And if you're still looking for ways of making things more interesting, why not check out Muddy Buddy, Skirt Chasing, or the wine-soaked Marathon du Medoc?

Photo thanks: Western Pack Burro Association, International Jugglers Association, Vision 5K.

Re-thinking of Goals

My goodness, how can half the year be gone already? As I trotted a very modest 7 miles on Saturday (only just over a quarter-marathon, how tame!) I was thinking how this year has not quite gone to plan.

My goals for 2010 included:

• running my first marathon...
  
• ....alongside my husband
• and completing a half marathon in under 2 hours.

Oh dear. Best laid plans and all that. Instead, I'm now praying hard that I'll be healthy enough to run a single once-this-lifetime marathon next year, and I've kicked any ideas of speed out the window, in favor of good, solid knees. One day, sure, I'd like to break 2 hours for the half, but until I get 26.2 under my belt, I'll settle quite happily for a slow jog, if that's what it takes to get round.

As for Beloved Husband (my trusty wing-man), his knees are also giving him grief and he's not running at all at the moment. We're both hopeful that with some care and rest, he'll bounce back, but I have to be prepared for the possibility that I'll be running entirely on my own for the next few hundred miles. (That'll teach me to sign us both up for things without checking with him first!)

So, not exactly a stellar year in terms of fitness goals. But the strange thing is, I'm OK with it. Every time I go out and manage more than 3 or 4 miles without pain, I'm grateful to be able to run at all. And I firmly believe that if I build up really gradually, there's no reason why I shouldn't be able to do a 26 mile course within the 6-hour limit. Everything else can simply wait.

How are your 2010 fitness goals going?

Photo thanks: Sanja Gjenero

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.