Energy Gel Experiments - Results

Well, it's been a month and I've had 4 long runs in which to test these energy gels that I bought from Runners Need. As I've said before, I'm not a massive fan of energy gels, but I recognise they work and all I need to do now is decide on what I'll be taking with me when I run the Virgin London Marathon. 


Power Bar are made by Nestle, so they are out, which is okay by me because they're not unmissable. Shotz seemed to give me a stitch every time I tried them, so I've discounted those, and Torq had the worst consistency and taste of the lot, like a midway point between congealed sports drink and a science lab. Ick. 


I really do like the Gu consistency and will definitely use them because they seem the most effective at giving me that burst of energy (am thinking my last 45 minute of the Marathon), but I must say that Clif Shot Bloks are also great. They come in packs of 6 and you chew 3 to 6 every hour, and I say chew, because they are like cubes of jelly from the packet, with slightly less give. Unlike gels, you don't end up with sticky fingers and I know it sound stupid, but they give you something 'do', because chewing them takes a while. They only sell Mountain Berry, Strawberry and Orange in Runners Need, but as I hate hate hate orange and strawberry when they're not in their original forms (jams, ice cream, cordial drinks) I'm stuck with Mountain Berry. Their website shows more flavours...perhaps I make use of my parent's trip to NY next week? Another bonus about Shot Bloks is they also actually taste like human food too. As in something that might consume if you weren't running non stop in the rain on a Sunday morning. Which can only be a good thing in my book. The Limehouse 'loop' is where I expect I'll need these, as it's the one area of the course I know less well than any other, and when I don't know where I'm going I tend to perceive distance as much longer than it actually is...anything to keep me going. 

MY SUNDAY RUN IN NUMBERS

14.66 - miles I was at when my Garmin battery died, grrr
21+ - miles estimated that I ran in total, time about 3:35 ish 
9 - pain level from 16 miles onwards (out of 10)
4 - hours sleep the night before (hence the pain level, I can only suspect)
9 - Cherry trees in blossom in Hyde Park 
1 - dog rolling in fresh horse manure, easily the funniest thing during the run 
30 - minutes of torrential rain 
3 - cases of runners rash on my body 
15 - minutes of stretching, performed in front of bemused tourists 
1,000 - hours I could sleep for right now 

MY SUNDAY RUN IN NUMBERS

Miles run - 20.03 

Time - 3:25:10

Gels snaffled - 3 

Gels snaffled that tasted halfway decent - 1 

Club goers in full drag make up returning home discussing the existence of the 4th dimension - 2 

Number of bulldogs at a get-together in Hyde Park - 40ish

British Military Fitness sessions witnessed from afar - 3

People learning to cross country ski - 14

Tourists outside Buckingham Palace that I had to fight through - 2,000+

Number of people protesting outside the Libyan Embassy - 0 (first time this week there's be no one) 

Speakers ranting away at Speakers Corner - 6

Flowerbeds so awesome they make me want to take up gardening - 3 

Attack geese by The Serpentine - 1 

Motivational tracks listened to - 0 (yup, no music!)

Gade Valley Harriers London Marathon Training Run

This Sunday I got up at the unearthly time of 6.45, ate my energy filled breakfast of porridge, grated apple and seeds (okay, and a bit of golden syrup, so shoot me) and headed out to Hemel Hempstead. 


I'd read in a couple of magazines about the Gade Valley training runs - you don't have to register in advance, just turn up on the day, pay £5 and run with others. They're not timed, but they are marshalled. Back in early January I thought that there was no way I could ever run 17 miles without some help and support around. As my miles have steadily increased the Gade Valley training run became less about the distance and more about running somewhere different than my usual routes around Central London parks to stem the boredom of the long run. 


The early morning sun was streaming down as a handful of runners got off the train with me and filed down a path of squelchy mud towards the club house. As a city runner, little did I realised quite how much mud I would see in the coming hours. 


The course, pictured below, began with a staggered start to allow runners to get onto the towpath - a 3 mile dirt stretch next to the canal that was muddy and very wet - you had to leap around or navigate puddles and at times I had that distinct feeling the mud was going to suck my trainers right off my feet. It could have been a bit treacherous, but I think everyone decided to slow the pace and come out the other side without a twisted ankle or an embarrassing tumble into the canal. It was the longest 3 miles of my life, but I soon discovered I was to find myself even more out of my comfort zone. Once off the towpath and back on the road the incline began, at first pretty gentle, but it just kept on going for 2/3 of a mile, then you turned a corner and the hill in front of me made me want to weep. Some just walked it, I tried attacking it, but ended up with a 12 mm pace. All this and I'd only hit the 4 mile mark.


Thankfully the rest of the race was less eventful - stunning country scenery, woods, a few more hills, although none as evil as the first, and back to the towpath for the last 1,000 metres or so. What was great was that despite the distance and only about 500 max taking part, you were always running with people, I even had a lovely chat with a woman named Sue from 10 - 12 miles, a surefire way to make the time pass more quickly. 


Typically for any run in Britain, the last hour of saw the weather change from sunny and bright to rain that became heavier and the temperature dropped noticeably. I have never been so glad of a steaming hot cup of tea and piece of cake at the end, served in the clubhouse. 


So, that's it. 17 miles under my belt in 3:05, slow yes, but my longest distance yet, and most challenging I think I've ever done thanks to the mud and inclines. Only another nine to add to that to do a marathon...


Thank you Gade Valley Harriers for letting us non club runners share a great event. 

Energy Gel Experiments

I've only just relented and started using energy gels. It's lovely to find out that they do actually work! Where I used to seriously flag around the 10 or 11 mile mark, I now take an energy gel and find by mile 12 I'm full of beans again. It's no longer the actual act of running that I find difficult, but keeping the energy in the tank. 

My first foray was accidental - Power Bar gels, given away with a triathlon last year that turned out to be made by Nestle. I try never to buy Nestle products, so even though I found a flavour I liked (green apple),  I won't be repeat buying. 

In Runner's Need I decided to scoop up a selection of other gels to try over the next few LSD runs to see what suits me best, because I'm a bit picky with fake flavourings. Cliff Shot Bloks got the thumbs up from my personal trainer, so I will be trying them next week, but on Sunday I tried the (recommended in the shop) Gu energy gels. I was told that many runners had found them favourable, and I'd have to agree. The have a slightly gloopy consistency that funnily enough is not unpleasant - if anything if kind of gives you something to work with, almost chew, not just a runny liquid to knock back. I tried the Jet Blackberry and Tri Berry - I think Tri Berry is the better of the two. See - these are the empty packets...no running and littering for me. 

Once I've got through these after another 3 or so runs I'll report back more fully. If you have any tips or recommendations, please let me know...

Week 6 of London Marathon Training

After a shaky end to the first month of training (oversleeping, aches and pains, general grumbles, legs made of actual lead), I think my body is finally starting to get to grips with the demands made on it. 

Last week I managed my longest ever run to date - 16 miles. Afterwards I was surprisingly okay. I've learned to be much stricter with myself regarding warming down and stretching, and it would seem my body appreciates the effort. I had virtually no leg tiredness or tightness the next day. When I have previously run half marathons my legs protest massively the day after and I slightly hobble. No longer! 

Today I ran 14 miles and it was relatively easy. Of course at times it gets a bit boring (I ran today and last week without music), but physically I was comfortable, not out of breath or experiencing any muscle tightness. I'm not exactly the faster runner in the pack, but I've noticed that hills no longer slow me down quite so much, nor do the last 2 or 3 miles, which I used to run a pretty glacial pace. I can maintain a steady 9.30 - 10.15 minute mile at all times now. I know this is not big whoops to most of you who can run much, much faster, but it's a small victory for me. My half marathon times during my LSD runs on Sunday are now about 2:10. For comparison my actual 1/2 marathon times have been around the 2:18 mark. So...an improvement of sorts.  

My goal is to get my 1/2 marathon time down to as near 2 hours as possible, but I still don't expect to finish the actual marathon much faster than 4:45.

New York Run

Last Monday I ran my longest run since the Royal Parks Half Marathon in October, and my longest ever run in normal training. There will be many more of these as I increase my mileage steadily from now on until April. 


I ran twice around the Central Park outer loop - the loop is 6.03 miles in total, so 12 + miles and also the run to and from my New York hotel. Running that far is not exactly a breeze for me yet, especially when it's -5 and there's snow and black ice everywhere. But still, I managed it. I was tired for the last two miles, but I held up well and kept to a pretty comfortable 9 min mile pace for the first 8 miles...I slowed down to about 11 when I was more fatigued and the cold started to set in (the water in my Camelbak FROZE as I ran). By the time I got back to my hotel room I was so cold I had to pile the duvet and cushions over me and shivered for a good half an hour uncontrollably. 

With an overnight flight back home, a personal training session and a 7 mile run on Thursday night, I'm pretty beat right now. Slightly dreading the state I'll be in very soon when the runs are up to 18 - 20 miles. How do people find the energy? 

The Marathon Training Begins

Well, the New Year is upon us and I have to start really running if I'm going to get round a marathon course without any tantrums. 


The London Marathon is on Sunday 17th of April, so I have 14 weeks to train from tomorrow. I can run 10 miles pretty comfortably with my current standard of fitness and run 5 - 8 miles home from work once a week at least. 


I have written out my marathon training on a calendar - I always find it easier to assess what is in front of me if I have to physically write it down. On the whole it doesn't look too bad. The long runs on a Sunday will be a bit of a bugger just with regards to the number of hours they'll eat of my weekend, but hopefully I can get in the groove of a 2 or 3 hour run and use that time to think and reflect, activities I currently do in bed. I'm hoping the time shouldn't be too hard, after all I do run for about 90 minutes on my longer runs at present without any real difficulty. 


The other thing I'm slightly nervous about is the speed training portion - in particular how I determine I've covered 800 metres and now have 400 metres to cool down before I start again? I've lost my Garmin forerunner 50, so I'm using a Nike GPS app for my iPhone, but I can't see the distance as I run. I could go to a running track, but I don't fancy running 10 miles in a circle, or indoors on a running machine. Anyone have any tips?