Castle Mooch

Archive for the ‘Exercise’ Category

Thanks to the kindness of my family at Christmas I received a lot of vouchers for Up and Running. I’d asked for them, because I wanted to purchase some new running shoes. Specifically, I wanted some shoes that were more “minimalist” than I am used to.

I’ve been running in Inov-8 trail shoes for a year now so my first thought was to try out their new(ish) range of road shoes: Road-X. Basically, these are shoes designed for road running, but without the excessive cushioning/motion control “technology” of more traditional shoes. I bought the Road-X 255, which are the closest to traditional running shoes, and so the perfect introduction to a more natural running shoe and style.

I used them for the first time today and I love them. The lack of bulk and therefore lightness make them a nice shoe to run in. I do think the fit is a little snug compared to other Inov-8 shoes of the same size, but in use this was not a problem. I ran 3 miles and they felt great.

Now that I have Inov-8 trail and road shoes, I have left behind my old stalwarts Saucony Grid Omni. They did well for me over the last 8 years, but I now prefer the feel of the lighter, more natural shoes. Of course, this sort of shoe isn’t for everyone, and I’m no zealot. I firmly believe you should run in what is comfortable for you, and only consider a change if you suffer from repeated and similar injuries.

Now to kick my training up a gear and enter a race or two to test my new shoes.

Thanks to Up and Running for the excellent service in getting the shoes to me so quickly.

I had earmarked today as the day I was going to attempt to up the distance I was running.  It was a beautiful morning, so around 9 am I set off to do five miles or so.  I had my Garmin 405 with me so I’d get an accurate distance measurement.  Unfortunately, today I had to run without the company of the magnificent Peggy-Dog, because the route wasn’t all on off-lead ground and it was also probably too hot for her to run for an hour.

I knew the route I was going to take, but I wasn’t sure of the exact distance.  As it turned out it was pretty much bang on five miles, and I ran for about fifty minutes in total.  And that included a little stop to say hello to a gorgeous German Shepherd too!  It was a great run, I felt good all the way round, and despite the extra distance it wasn’t a problem.  In fact, if anything, running five miles again is like getting back to Distance Basecamp when I look back on the running I’ve done.

Last night I decided – actually, I decided days ago, but last night I beat my apathy – to put up for sale all my decent, sellable PlayStation 3 games: Uncharted 2, Modern Warfare 2, Battlefield: Bad Company 2, FIFA 10, MAG.  I haven’t played anything on my PS3 for nearly a month now and I decided I may as well have the cash instead.  I am considering using it to part-fund a PSPgo, but now that we’ve – Gillibobs and I – bought Jay-Z tickets for June, I may use the cash for that instead.  Not really very interesting, I know, but it’s all I got today.

And now it’s time for tea.  Any runners out there – or people that do any form of exercise – will know there’s nothing like the hunger you get from physical exertion.  Bring on the chicken casserole!

I was supposed to be blogging every day.  But that lasted about a week and then it became once every other day.  And I was about to blow that goal too, but here I am writing some boring, mundane words describing nothing of interest just so I’ve written something.

Today started well enough.  Up at 6 and out for a run with Peggy-Dog.  Then off to work and the utter, crushing tedium of doing something that interests me not one jot.  I don’t mind the problem solving side of things as at least my brain gets a vague workout, but in all honesty for the most part I just sit there thinking about getting home.  If you knew me, like properly knew me, you’d know that I can’t do anything about it because I’m a hopelessly apathetic…ah, jeez I couldn’t even be bothered blogging once a day, right?

So, anyway, one good thing at work was that Gillibobs sent me a genuinely beautiful email that made me smile.  Inside and out.

Once home I had another nice surprise because Gillibobs had ordered me some breaded chicken when she did the online shopping yesterday.  Total result.  I love breaded chicken.  It’s just the best.

Then I sorted out TSA Times, the weekly newsletter of TheSixthAxis, before watching Liverpool get a decent enough first leg result in the Europa League of UEFA Teams Challenge Trophy Cup semi-final.

And now to bed.  Because tomorrow, at 6 am, it all starts again.

Oh.  Almost forgot.  I made friends with a Husky today.  I love Huskies more than breaded chicken.  I’m not saying I’d eat one, mind.

6 am isn’t the best time to go running, but it’s not the worst either.

This morning I got up and decided that it was once again time Peggy-Dog and I swapped our usual morning walk for a run.  Once I leave the bedroom and head downstairs I can hear Peggy stirring in anticipation of the walk to come.  Once she sees me get the running gear together I’m sure she gets a little more excited, although that may be just in my head.

When I run with Peggy I wear a special waist belt that has two zipped pockets and a bottle holder.  I thread her lead through one of the straps and then fasten the belt around my waist.  This means I can have her securely on the lead, but also have my hands free.  I use one pocket to store empty poo bags, and one to store…well, you get the idea.

I’m lucky to live in a street that has open countryside 100 yards from my front door.  I put Peggy on the lead, run that 100 yards, and then let her run free the rest of the way.  At that point, and at that time, it’s just me, Peggy and whatever wildlife happens to be awake.

After about one kilometre running down a path with fields on either side, the route opens up with a small lake to the left and further paths off to the right.  This morning we went left, because at that time the mist on the lake is beautiful and the swans and ducks can appear almost ghostly as they glide across the water.  Today, however, the peace was momentarily broken by a man with a big stick whacking some of the plantlife into submission.  I have no idea who he was or why he was doing said whacking, but he only did it for a few seconds and then carried on walking.  He was probably the farmer and they were his things to whack.  Odd, though.

Peggy and I carried on our way and got to the half-way point just a little quicker than I did when I ran the route on Sunday.  A brief stop was all I had this time, just long enough to get rid of the non-empty poo bags into the poo bin and off we went.

The sky was virtually cloudless and because the sun wasn’t yet fully up, it was actually quite cold.  Peggy, of course, loved this and ran the whole four miles without a care in the world.  You know, apart from my freezing hands, I pretty much did the same too.

It’s a great way to start the day, for both man and dog.  Peggy is over 11 now and yet she still takes to running with me like it’s the best thing in the world.  The only difference these days is that she likes to sleep a lot more once we finish.

And that suits me fine, because it means she won’t eat the house like she used to do in the past.

I love to run. I especially love it once Spring arrives and I can finally run again under blue skies. Ok, the skies in Winter are sometimes blue, but it’s freezing and I like feeling the sun on my face.

Today was only the second time this year that I’ve been running in anything other than my cold weather gear. That’s Under Armour and Gore Running Wear for those that want recommendations. Some of my warm weather gear is that too, but I digress.

So, my run. Four miles (ish) through some lovely paths, past the little lake, through the middle of farmland and Pig Island, to the Sign. The sign is for St Helens, and once there I turn back and run the reverse route home. Yes, it’s point-to-point and back, not circular like a lot of runners prefer. But I don’t really care; It’s the time and distance that’s important

The best thing about running is “runners’ high”, that feeling when the endorphins flow through your body and everything seems just peachy. Then after the run, when you feel like eating a horse and it’s ok because you won’t get fat. And finally you get to sleep the best sleep because you’re physically tired. It’s the best type of tired, so much healthier than the psychological tiredness a day of crappy work saddles you with.

And that’s me done for the week. I need to sleep that sleep my exertions deserve.