Running Not Jogging

You might have noticed that it has been snowing recently? And I might’ve mentioned that I don’t really do running in the snow. I like to see where my feet and the ground meet, and try as much as possible to do this on a non slip, firm and even surface. Like tarmac:)

In order not to get fat and to lose too much of the fitness I have been working hard to get hold of, I have had to get myself off down to the gym and onto the treadmill.

I find treadmill running soooo tedious. I spend most of the time looking at the clock and wondering how long a second actaully is – it’s certainly longer on a treadmill than in the glorious outside world!

Anyway, for the last couple fo weeks I have been running 5k on the treadmill twice a week. I won’t go into anymore about treadmills here as I am planning a post or 2 about them soon.  Suffice it to say, I have my favourite treadmill, and another couple I will use. There are 2 in the gym that I wouldn’t use for anything other than a gentle walk though!

So, the session I have been doing is a simple 5K on a hilly “fat burner” (weird name) at about level 6 – all treadmills are different so this is pretty meaningless for you I know – running at a constant 12.5kph. I finish in about 24-25 minutes, depending on whether I play with the speed at all.

5k is really the boredom limit for me, so to make it worthwhile at all of going to the gym, I also do a few stretches and some body weight exercises at the end – in fact a little circuit of abdominal, inner thigh, outer thigh and lower back exercises.

This takes another 15minutes, leaving just enough time for a quick shower, change and back to the office in 1 hour’s lunch break!

PS – I’ll go into some more detail about this little circuit routine in a later post….

The Guy Fawkes 10 mile run in early November 2009 was fantastic, if not a bit wet and very cold!

Run in Ripley, North Yorkshire, it was about 2 degrees Centigrade and very very wet. I have never seen so many people warming up in their cars before a race.  Just before the start (about 2 mins) there was a mass exodus from the car park to the start line and after a long health and safety warning about puddles, we were underway.

After about a mile I was nice and warm. The decision on what to wear in the rain had been a tricky one.  Thing was that it was freezing cold which would usually mean I wore tights and a t-shirt and gloves.  Problem was it was raining really hard and I didn’t want to carry around soaking wet clothes for 10 miles! So I chanced it and after a mile I was really glad I did – just vest and shorts – not too much to get wet!

As this was my first 10mile race and the course is very hilly, I was aiming for a sub 80 minute run. Combined with the horrid weather I thought this was just about achievable. Still I started off at about 7.30 miling pace which was comfortable. I was a bit worried about the hills as I’d heard that they were bad.

All the training I’d done in the last few weeks obviously paid off for me because I was able to work up the hills, overtaking loads of people, which is always good for confidence.

Dodging puddles in the first couple of miles in order for the feet not to get too soggy was a joke.  I think at mile 8 we ran through a puddle that was about 10 minutes wide, above ankle deep! Still, by that time I wasn’t too worried. The run in to the finish was a bit rough as it was a track and with the rain it was very muddy and slippy.  Very pleased with the end result!

Will I do this run again? definitely. Would I recommend it to others? absolutely!

Cheers

Andrew

PS If you want to see my run on the Garmin Connect site – click here:

When it comes to running in the snow I’m really pathetic. There has been snow on the ground here for a couple of weeks now and I haven’t ventured outside (other than sledging and snowballing – with the kids of course;) ).  I’m just really worried that I am going to slip over and hurt myself – would love to hear about how you guys get on in the snow.

It doesn’t snow here all that much anyway so it is not a huge problem – although missing 3 weeks does seem to be a bit of a waste – all the training I have done over the last couple of weeks is ebbing away. This time round it has been over Christmas, so it does mean I’ve been able to slob around the house with the kids and eat / drink too much.  Usually I can balance this excess with a good amount of running – not this time though, so I’ve stayed off the scales and now that Xmas is over I’m cutting back to normal!

Maybe I just need to get some different running shoes for running in the snow? I tend to stay mainly on the road, unless I’m dragged across fields in the summer, so I don’t have any experience of off road shoes – any tips from anyone?

Anyway, I’ve found a local gym which is Pay as You Go – a bit of a spit and sawdust type of place with lots of grunting and groaning going on lifting massive weights around.  The main benefit is that the treadmills are quiet, so I don’t get dirty looks for hogging it for more than 20 minutes!

PS – would love to hear your thoughts about running in the snow!

Hello and welcome to runningnotjogging.com, my brand new running blog for the year 2010. I love the internet and running and I have wanted to have a running blog for quite some time. So, as a New Year’s resolution
, here it is. It will of course last longer than most other NYRs!

First a very quick introduction – my name is Andrew Halliday, I have been running for about 25 years (I’m 36 now). I live in Harrogate, Yorkshire (UK), and my favoured running event is now the 10k. I say now as when I was a lot younger I used to be a 400m (and hurdles) runner – so 10k is my marathon:) So I am pretty much a beginner – and as such I have a lot to learn and hopefully I can share some of those learnings with you here.

What will you find on this running blog?

Well, if the technology works there’ll be a feed from my Garmin Forerunner 405 showing all my runs. There will be running product reviews, including watches and various clothing etc.  Write ups on running trainers and running socks. I am hoping to write a little about the nutrition side as well although I have a lot to learn here – I will post what I find out:)

Enough waffle – I will speak to you again on my next post – Happy New Year!