Running to Think: running

Showing posts with label running. Show all posts

Tuesday 5 September 2017

Strava or Garmin

Alright, these two giants are both amazing and helpful for the average/advanced runner.
Both services provide great tools to keep track of your running sessions and long-term schedules. Both services allow multisport activities. Both keep each runner in contact with other runners. Both accommodate the awesome features of modern devices, from watches to smartphones.

However there are some major differences in terms of price and capabilities.

Strava makes no difference between a Suunto or Garmin watch, or smartphone, be it Android or iPhone, as long as the GPS is up and running. One feature worth mentioning is the capability to connect to runners met on the road (or trail). I am not sure that's a capability though... it sounds more like a huge privacy violation :) Other interesting features of Strava, more into the analytics realm, are available only in a premium account, which sometimes feels like a bummer...

Garmin improved so much in the last few months. From setting a workout, scheduling it on a calendar and pushing it to the device works like a charm. It also provides social networking, a bit more discretely than Strava. Only problem is that I feel there are just many more runners on Strava than Garmin. But as I do not consider running a social activity, it doesn't really matter. The only concrete drawback is that Garmin works only for Garmin devices.

Tuesday 29 December 2015

New shoes review: Adidas Glide Boost

Unknown 11:58:00 adidas , boost 0 Comments

Christmas is not just chocolates and candies, especially when it is time to think about new running shoes. Recently my running habits have changed into trail, and I am basically burning more trail shoes than road ones. Anyway, I hit the road "once in a while", and with that I mean for about 60 km per week.

After a distraction of about 3 months and a quite disappointing New Balance 860 v5 that have been pierced by my thumb in about 2 weeks, I decided to go back to one of the best shoes I have been running for a while now, namely the Adidas Glide Boost (don't remember which version I started with).

The technology of these shoes is just amazing. They sell them as a repository of energy that boosts at the right moment of your running activity. For those who are not familiar with material science, the Boost is nothing more than a hyperelastic material that is very resistent and light. A sole made of such a material takes the properties of it, that is lightweight, very flexible and super comfortable.

The first feeling I got is indeed like wearing a pair of socks, just with a nice protection under my feet. It is not easy to find shoes that are resistent, stable and comfortable at the same time.

The glide boost has a bit less Boost material than the sister Energy Boost. This is not bad as we might think, especially for those who want to feel a bit the road a bit, and need a more responsive piece under their feet.

If you put these shoes upside down, you will read something ridiculously funny: Continental. That's right! The same protection of tyres used for high performance cars.

Do you understand what I mean now?

Glide Boost by Adidas are the best road running shoes I found so far. One more reason to buy two pairs in a row this time.

The colors are still a bit too flushy. But there is an improvement with respect to the old version (which was fluo yellow). These ones look more like a python snake :)

Happy running!

Tuesday 19 May 2015

Trail de la Lesse 55km Race report

Unknown 08:35:00 50km , hills 0 Comments

Before the memories of the trail running of Sunday fade out (as if that were even possible) let me share the report of a race that has been scheduled in two months, and for which I have been struggling with nutrition and mileage... this time without inflicting any injury to myself.
To start with, I finished Trail de la Lesse in 5th position and arrived after 5h50'09" on the distance of 55km and 1850+ mt elevation gain.

I must say that the organization was not impeccable. The signalling was quite poor which led several runners to get lost in the middle of nowhere, forced them to run back to the last visible checkpoint, lose some positions and add some more mileage to the already longer-than-50-km track. That happened to me too, around the 13th km. I was holding 4th position and could see the leading group. They were fast, much faster than I expected. But being capable of seeing them made me feel still in the race.
Unfortunately, a quite hidden signalling flag that should have told me to go down towards the river and cross it for the first time, made me run in the opposite direction and cover a distance of 800 mt plus return. That meant a solid 8 minutes lost, and I think 12 positions back. By km 28 I was holding position 13.
Not for long. I heard that voice telling me that the race was still open and I had to catch up to the position I deserved.
Caroline was waiting for me at the first station, around km 22 then I saw her again at the next one around the 34th km. I gave her a flying kiss and promised to meet her at the finish line. I had a moment in which I was kind of hesitating about my promise.

When I passed from the starting line, I had one last loop of 17 km after which I could have gotten some rest. But you know what 17 km can look like when your feet are wet, you have very little water, a few verticals to climb and the last 900 mt elevation gain. Number 17 has never been so scary to me.
But that voice was still there, whispering not to give up, then screaming not to quit, in the loudest possible way, squeezing the energy out of me and forwarding it directly to my legs which had to do the job of carrying my remains to the finish line.
Come on, come on. It's only 15. Go Francesco, 12 km left.
I realised to be holding position 5.
Not so bad.

I also noticed that the first four runners were too far to even think to catch them. The only possibility was to defend my position. It could only get worse.
Number 6 was only 3 minutes behind me. Would I got lost another time, and I would have been fighting for that position at the end. No way.
I had to stay focused not to miss any flag.

Caught the first, check. Where is the next? There! Go. Run.
Where is the next? There!
Go, run. Run, for God's sake run! Don't look back.
Where is the next? Left? No. Right? No.
Ahead! There is a river. Cross it! Go into water, walk fast, water to the knees, walk fast. Come on, Francesco.
It's you against time.
Don't look back.

It was such a Hell for more than one hour. A physical and mental pain that was going to finish soon. Well, not so soon. The last vertical, 90 mt elevation in 300 mt distance, something that we had to climb with a rope gently bound to some trees by the organizers. And we had to do that twice.
I crossed some guys of the 35 km race that was going on at the same time.
We were running the same last loop. I had to climb on that rope as fast as I could. Number 6 was on my back, remember? The runners of the 35 km I met on my way were slower on the rope. I became quite pushy to some of them.
"Sorry guys" I shouted. "Leave me the space I need." I told them, without speaking a word.

After the vertical climb, the road became familiar and I remembered that I had been there already. My mind was not bright anymore. I was running on inertia. Legs were painful, when I could feel them. The feet, no I could not feel them.
At the last 2 km my watch showed km 53. I wanted water. Nothing in the hydration pack. Just a dry straw and some sweet gels that could have destroyed my stomach. A guy seemed to have some water in his backpack. I asked if I could drink some. He did have water in a bottle. Just a few sips, not much. Enough to swallow some nasty sugar and run towards the finish line.
Number 6 was just a bad memory.

The good memory was Caroline waving her arms 200 mt from the finish line, telling me that I was running on the wrong path and I had to jump into another lane to get back on track. I was not really capable of seeing flags, lanes, nor recognizing things around me.
I could only detect the horizontal white stripe on the ground, and the voice in my head saying "You made it man. It's over."

Then another voice told me "I am proud of you, babe. You are in the top ten".
It was Caroline's voice. That one yes, I could recognize.

Thursday 14 May 2015

I am ready

Unknown 09:29:00 action , belgium 0 Comments

Motivation leads you nowhere without action. That's what they say.
I have been keeping myself motivated so far. To overcome the struggle of injuries, hills, miles and sweat.
But motivation is not enough to accomplish things. Action is necessary. Motivation only triggers action. And I am acting.
This sunday I will put myself to the test.
To prove that motivation was not enough.
Action was.

This time with no fear.
Wish me luck for Trail de la Lesse.

Sunday 26 April 2015

Running a marathon, at the end of the week

Unknown 15:17:00 long distance , marathon 3 Comments

The end of the week has been marked with the long distance running session that has been scheduled, namely 42 km self supported, completed at the pace of 4:34" per km on 270 mt elevation gain.
Legs were rolling like wheels. I never pushed along the test and was running very relaxed, breathing and looking around as if I was running on a much shorter distance. I take this as a sign that my condition is getting better and better.
The workouts at the gym are being effective, as expected. No pain on the hills, no slowdown, no problem to the knees whatsoever.
Looking forward to May 17th.

Here is a split of 40.1 km of the total.
Happy running!

Wednesday 15 April 2015

Training harder. Doing what it needs to be done

Unknown 12:00:00 nutrition , plan 0 Comments

A small update from the running department.

As some of you know, I set my next race to May 17, Trail de la Lesse. A 50 km trail run nearby Liege in Belgium. One more time to "feel the hill", pumping lactate around the blood stream. One more time to feel alive.

The training of the last four weeks has changed to become harder and harder. A steep increase of mileage characterised it, as you can see from the screenshot below. I also added interval training sessions to the mix and after four weeks I can feel the improvement of my cardio condition.

I am being followed by iamsofit.com and added strengthening exercises at the gym (will publish some schedules in a later post). Caroline of iamsofit.com is also providing a nutrition plan.

Running towards best shape of the season.

Keep it up!

Tuesday 24 March 2015

Alone in the dark

Unknown 13:03:00 back , gipsy 0 Comments

When I don't run, I don't think.

And when I don't think, I don't live.

The burdens of life in the last weeks,

maybe months,

have been so big and unexpected

that sucked out the time I was used

to dedicate to running.

Away from the forest, away from the road,

away from sweat and aching legs,

away from beeps of the watch

that keeps counting miles and seconds

in an unstoppable way.

This has been my life for a while.

With very little running, a bit of gym

to strengthen the knees and build core abs,

for the rest

one of the darkest moments I could experience.

Caroline has been around,

trying to figure out the reasons of the unexplained lack of miles

and running clothes to wash.

I haven't found out either.

I just have been missing the simplicity

of putting one step in front of the other,

of feeling the silence of the road and

the noise of the lungs,

pumping air in and out,

of the music playing only in my head,

of those quotes echoing in my ears

telling that one thing I wanted to hear

which was energy transforming into pain

and speed

and knees absorbing the shocks of the stones

in that trail that goes up and down like a roller cost

and the hearth that wants to get rid of that fuckin' chest

and pump blood until it has nothing left

because there is no more blood left,

only lactate,

white as milk,

heavy as pain, thick as oil.

The nightmare is over.

I see light at the end of the tunnel.

I am back.

The Gipsy is back.

Friday 2 January 2015

Happy Fit Year: how to get fit once you got fat

Unknown 20:43:00 cardio , fat 0 Comments

Believe it or not, Christmas is over. And with Christmas also candies, chocolate (a bit less for those who already abuse sugar on a daily basis), cakes, sugar, fat, pasta, fish, meat, panettone, bread, cakes and cakes and cakes.
Every year I prepare myself for the toughest period of the year, that they refer to as Xmas. I even strategically try to lose weight around November to get below my regular threshold by December and be "normal" by January. It never works.
How can it work with a mother like mine, Italian from the South, who already thinks that I am sick just because I am fit.
Holidays are nice, cakes are awesome. But we are runners, aren't we? We need to crash our legs on the road and how could that be with a belly always full and hours and hours spent to digest?
The best way to stay fit in such conditions is of course to control yourself at the table, which, I know, can be extremely hard to accomplish. In the common case of failing in such an attempt, I found that some more cardio is always the best solution to save what can be saved. Slow-pace long-distance running allows one to burn fat slowly and steadily and should be done every day for the whole period of our dangerously unhealthy holidays. That is the price to pay for some slices of that cake we really cannot say no to.
I survived my holiday with 1 kg more on my weight. Not bad, considering how much fun I had at the table. My trick was in one word, cardio.
Do not draw any conclusion right after your holiday. Everybody is different and metabolism varies as well, as side effects of eating and the number of days after which you actually realise of your, well, new condition. In order to assess the damage that you inflicted to your own body after so much food, you should wait one full week and keep your fingers crossed. Easy gainers are usually those who fall into depression when they end up on the scale. Caroline is one of them. Do not panic though. Easy gaining usually means easy losing. Moreover that extra weight that really annoys you could be water kept by your body due to salts and sugars, not just fat. Again: cardio is the answer.

What does cardio mean?

Here is an easy running schedule you could start with, right after landing to the airport near your hometown.

Monday: 1h slow pace run + stretching
Tuesday: 45' slow pace run + stretching + 5 times sprints at 90% max on 100 mt + stretching
Wednesday: rest
Thursday: 1h slow pace run + 5 series of 20 crunches for abs. + stretching
Friday: 45' slow pace run + 15' faster
Saturday: 45' slow pace run + stretching + 5 times sprints at 90% max on 100 mt + stretching
Sunday: 1h slow pace run

After this week of recovery, you not only should get back to your usual weight but also get ready to start your regular running schedule (with interval trainings and the like) or to your daily physical activity.

Happy 2015!

Monday 6 October 2014

Half-marathon Bruxelles: our short tale

Unknown 11:29:00 21 , beard 0 Comments

October means fall, trees losing their leaves, the sky getting greyish (a bit more here in Belgium) and people getting more lazy. Not us.
October for us has just one meaning: running more and getting ready for the winter season, in one word, actually two, half-marathon of Bruxelles. Due to the race-of-the-year, scheduled on October 25th, I decided to run it at a gentle pace and be Caroline's bodyguard in the first part. I ran with her for the first 5 km at the pace of 5':09" per km, a pretty fast one for her. I had no reason to mentally push her as I saw she was enjoying the run, measuring herself in the first three hilly tunnels at the beginning of the race and projecting her condition on the long distance of 21.1 km.
At km 5, I got her approval to go, crashed my lips on hers as a mere sign of good luck, and gave free rein to my legs, which were waiting for the signal. Unchained, they galloped me towards the finish line, which was only 16 km far. I passed a number of runners and put myself (and my backpack) in front of 3500 people in about 12 km.
I enjoyed it, a lot. No pain, no stress, no rush, at the moderate pace of 4':05" per km.

I hereby thank Bernard for the beautiful image and post-production.

The best came in the last 3 km when I decided to taste the delicious flavour of strain and increase the pace to 3':29" per km. A joy you can appreciate in this picture of me almost approaching the finish line.
I had no bib number with me. We need none in the forest. Caroline did. Therefore she could get her diploma and the official race time of 1h:55':54".
Not bad at all as her first time.

Tuesday 30 September 2014

In search of motivation

Unknown 04:05:00 goal , motivation 0 Comments

Dear runners,
a lot happened since my last trips to Finland and Vienna. Buying a house that I don't really need has probably been the stupidest thing I've ever done so far in my life. Even more stupid when I realised that being a gipsy is indeed my attitude, at least for the time being.
Thank God, sad things never come alone. The grateful smile of Caroline is one of the most fulfilling experiences I have day by day.

With this said, I should be here to write about my running experience rather than my personal life, right? Well, running is about my personal life. No off topic.
The last weeks have been partially dedicated, as I said, to working in the house, working in the office and eventually maintaining a good condition by running in the forests and hills around Liege.
Before each running session and especially during many of them, however, I often felt tired, with that feeling of emptiness in the legs, not in the mood at all and kind of bored. Have you ever had such a feeling?
Life was never meant to be easy, as the lyrics of a song say. I do agree. But running with no enthusiasm can be more painful than interval training itself. I was even hoping to find some good pals out there who experienced the same at least once in their life, when, one day, I got enlightened by my own schedule.
Actually there was no schedule!
I was lacking the most important component of a runner's plan: the plan indeed! No target race planned any time soon, no training schedule, no goals to achieve, no weekly mileage to keep up to... Basically, I was just running. I don't know how good or bad that is. Many people just run. Many go out every day, after work or during a break. Some even at lunch time. I was probably becoming like those people. Nothing bad of course. Except that... it was killing me. It was like I was not running at all. That feeling of disappointment brought its consequences also in my diet, with a consistent increase of sugar, chocolate and frangipane cakes. Not to mention ice cream.
I am a runner who needs a plan. I've always had one.
To let things work out again I did it: I decided to run the Bear Trail this year. A 56 km trail with 1200 mt elevation gain near the belgian-dutch border.
I don't have much time to train for it. Four weeks are definitely not enough. But I have the feeling that those weeks will be intense, full and meaningful.

The running philosophy is the best lecture with which I deal on a regular basis. Goals keep me alive and remind me of one important fact: I might fail them, trying is already successful.

Keep running!

Wednesday 6 August 2014

Adidas Supernova Glide Boost review

Unknown 09:25:00 adidas , glide boost 0 Comments

Here is my review of these wonderful shoes I bought during my holiday in Southern Italy. I found a great deal, last number, last color, last everything and got a super discount, which was the perfect reason to buy running shoes for half the price.

Adidas Supernova Glide Boost presented themselves as really soft shoes since the very moment in which I took them in my hands. Quite a lot of marketing around the Boost technology was indeed attractive and worth trying. Yes, I had to wear and run like an idiot around the shop to prove that the cushioning was indeed comfortable.
At the beginning it seemed to be very soft. Probably too much. But I gave these shoes the amount of kilometers they needed to express themselves and decided to get an opinion only after 100 km.
The springy feeling of the Boost technology is not really nice for a runner like me who is used to run in the trail and wants to stay in contact with the ground. But things are different on the road. As a New Balance 890 v3 heavy user I must say that Adidas did a good job with the Boost. The springy feeling, too accentuated just outside the shop, literally disappeared after 100 km leaving only the good part of it.

As a result they provide a soft cushioning that is discrete on the heel and present on the forefoot. I am mainly a forefoot runner and some cushioning helps a lot there. The shoe in general is not stiff at all. It wears your foot like a sock and gives you the freedom that you need if you are a neutral runner. There are no stability features. Therefore watch out if you have been diagnosed with pronations.

One more thing: forget the trail. These shoes are made for the road and should stay on the road. Rocky tracks and dusty roads are not the perfect terrain for them. The tread is made by Continental, which also designs road tyres for cars. That should say a lot.

Happy Boosted running!

Monday 28 July 2014

Update from Puglia

Unknown 16:49:00 heat , puglia 0 Comments

Still in hot Puglia, Southern Italy. Long distance running in the heat seems to be not well indicated, especially when there is no water support, but a Salomon belt with only 400 ml of hot fluid and a fruity gel that gets hot just after 5 km.
This morning I had intervals, which usually give me more stress due to the fact that keeping a moderately high pace is the actual exercise. Not today.
Running a shorter mileage was such a relief, because of those 30 degrees (and more) around me.
There are several aspects of the country side that are worth mentioning.
Nice roads and no cars whatsoever are invaluable. Ok, some barking dogs sometimes. But if they're not in a gang they're actually harmless.
A million cicadas chirping so loud in the middle of nowhere, more than just breaking the silence, at the point that the beep of the Garmin at every km was barely audible.
The weak wind blowing at its best to dry the litres of sweat on the chest and the arms, dropping on the quads in a continuously interrupted flow.
Finally, the scarce shadows of the crowns of olive trees on the left side of the road, like they were inviting me to cool down for a fraction of a second before going back to the road, exposed to that sun, yellow and white, stubborn to deliver that amount of degrees every runner would fear to go into.

And he would be so right!

Friday 25 July 2014

Unknown 08:37:00 heat , running 0 Comments

An update from hot Puglia, southern Italy, the heel of Italy, geographically speaking. We decided to spend our holiday this summer. Running here is just awesome even thought it has to be an early-morning activity. In fact, heat is a big problem here.
I have been running both intervals and long distance in the country side of Molfetta (check my Strava) and, indeed, the hydration belt revealed to be absolutely essential, even not sufficient after 25 km in the sun. Thankfully I can stand the heat quite well. But I usually get rid of my running shirt in crazier conditions. Have a read at this, if you don't stand the heat at all. Except that, well... we use underwear or running shorts ;)

What else? I bought new road shoes. Still putting some miles on them and preparing my review on this very blog.

Stay tuned and happy warm running!

Thursday 15 May 2014

Some apps that will make you run better

Unknown 16:29:00 gadgets , running 0 Comments

The title of this post is a bit pretentious. I know. The less gadgets I run with the better.
These are the tools I use the most before, during and after my running sessions. Because, you know, running is not only about running.

I really cannot start without a Garmin watch. Even for slow pace runs. The list of watches is huge. After the Forerunner 410 - awful watch ever - things changed at Garmin and their devices became more reliable since then.

After running I usually upload my training session to Strava. Some followers will see my tracks and performance. And I will see them. It's nice to get inspired about many things, such as mileage per week or training strategy. I mostly use it to find new courses whenever I run abroad and I really have no time to explore myself.
Sometimes I bring my mobile phone with me, especially when I run to work with a urban hydration pack I convert to all-in-one backpack. These times I switch on the Strava app from Android.

Twitter is the App I use the most. For everything. News, updates about nutrition, sports and if you ever check my Twitter you might find something interesting. Although this is not guaranteed.

The new entry is MyFitnessPal that is helping me keeping track of how many calories I eat and how many I should (not) according to the daily training schedule.

One app that seems to be interesting but I honestly never used is Rock my Run that plays music at a pace that follows your running. Quite fun. But I prefer to adapt my pace to the music, which is usually at a high pace. The most efficient running technique is at 90 bpm (or 180, depending on how you count). I prefer the old good mp3 player.

Run long!

Tuesday 18 March 2014

Why do I run?

Unknown 09:50:00 philosophy , reason 0 Comments

Whenever I am waiting at the airport I feel quite inspired to write something about me or whatever is currently around me. Or I just have nothing better to do to kill some time. The period I was travelling consistently, I was used to write a piece each time, in each different airport. I wrote about everything, my feelings, the person in front of me or the the new pair of sunglasses I got. I still have those pieces and if I ever organise them well, I could probably write a book out of them.

What comes to my mind today regards running. Hence this post. A question I have been asking to myself for a long time now is “why do I run?”. Every time I posed such a question I found something better to do, postponing it to a better time. Maybe there is no better time than this, now that my flight has been delayed - and hopefully will not be cancelled because than I should be thinking of something more than just that question.

I am a runner since I was a child. When my friends played football, I ran. When we went out with the family on a sunday evening, I ran. When my mum asked me to buy the ham she forgot, I ran to the shop. I was just a factory of salty sweat that could burn shoes in weeks and t-shirts in days.

I have never been attracted by football despite the numerous attempts of my father who brought me every sunday to watch the football match of some team I forgot the name of or, to be more specific, I never fixed in my mind. I remember my friends collecting their heroes aggregated in groups they called teams.

For some reason that didn’t seduce me, at all.

In contrast I was attracted by the “red carpet” as I was used to refer to the track&field in my hometown. One day I entered the stadium just to run in the first lane, with the shoes that my mum bought for special occasions like dinners with the family or going to church.

As a child I couldn’t experience the philosophical beauty of running.

I just ran. And I am sure it was not for fun. It was to compete. The idea was - and I must admit sometimes still is - to defeat a competitor I didn’t know of and I would have never met again. No purpose at all, one should say. But for me it was very simple: they asked me to run as fast as I could on a distance they specified the day of the race. And I did, with no discussion. Defeating opponents was the main purpose. Running faster and winning was more a a statement of possession, a way of confirming the physical strength and endurance.

As I was becoming more mature, I could understand what I was doing. I even started giving my personal interpretation to running and the feelings that running transmitted to me started to change too.

I saw it was different from the other games and sports that my friends were used to practice. I’ve never been attracted by football for the simple reason that it’s a team game. Scoring or loosing is a product of a number of people who, somehow, contribute to their achievement. Tennis and other sports with a direct opponent have always been out of my league, due to the desire of doing sport regardless the presence of other people.

My mother usually reminds me of how much I liked to spend time on my own. I not only remember that period, but I am not surprised of the fact that today I can spend hours running in a forest, with trees and wind and rain and nothing else.

The feeling of competition slightly disappeared as I grew up.

I could grasp the joy of running alone relatively recently.

Running makes me think. It switches off some parts of the brain that otherwise would stay on and heat too much. I don’t know if that’s a matter of neurotransmitters or hormones or what. I am not even searching for an explanation.

Or maybe there is one. Running, as I see it, is the lack of dependence, the emblem of individuality and the proof that a man needs no hero.

When I go out for a run, there are no complications.

When I run, it’s simple.

Monday 17 March 2014

Summary of week 10

Unknown 15:46:00 running , schedule 0 Comments

Another week of trail running around Madrid; another week of 120 km and 9400 kcal burned to convince myself that I am ready for the 80k of Paris. I started this week doing something I would have liked to do a while ago: resting.

03/03/2014

04/03/2014 intervals on a longer distance of 3km for a total run of 23 km. Really cool interval session. Tough but lovely. If you know what I mean.

05/03/2014 23 km from Cantoblanco to Alcobendas at a quite fast pace that I was keeping since the very beginning. Today I tried the new outfit I will wear during the 80km in Paris. New stuff needs to be tested first because I'm really not in the mood of having getting surprises the Day. Caroline following me by bike did the rest.

06/03/2014 10 km easy run with some drills on the trail towards El Pardo, once residence of Franco. Kind of mine, today.

07/03/2014 17 km a long and tedious interval training on 400 mt on the road, to be added to the usual mileage to go back home.

08/03/2014 quite dumb legs, as expected. I decided to stay at home and save some energy for the ultra distance of tomorrow.

09/03/2014 easy run to El Pardo and back to Cantoblanco. Caroline joined me by bike in the second part to cover the distance of 44 km. I remember this run to be a bit boring. At some point I really felt the need to talk to someone. Luckily I met another runner who decided to overtake me at a slightly higher pace. Of course I didn't let him go. Not to challenge him. I just needed some company. We started running at a faster pace of 4:20" per km. I didn't tell him that I had been running for 30 km already, not to get his mercy :)

Wednesday 12 March 2014

Isotonic drinks. The do-it-yourself solution

Unknown 14:14:00 beverage , diy 0 Comments

Preparing the hydration pack with an awful isotonic drink.
That smile will disappear soon

Whenever I prepare the hydration pack for a long run I realise that I would never use all the stuff I put in the bag. Even though I am aware of this terrible mistake and regardless the fact that I really force myself to drinking and eating during workout, I still end up out of fuel in the middle of the race.

My body really can't take more after the 45th km. I think that very few people could take more after 45 km of running without really replenishing carbs or sugar.

I remember when I criticised those watches with a reminder functionality some years ago. Those devices had a function that alerted the runner and reminded him to eat or drink. My conclusion about that feature was "how can he forget to eat and drink? These watches are total bulls***!".
I should reconsider my idea on it.

In one of the most recent long trail runs around Madrid, I decided to put on a test a new isotonic drink (which I will not advertise here). Turns out that the drink was effective even though the taste was so horrible I was about to throw up at every sip.

Whenever I read words preceded by iso or ipo, I have the tendency to investigate more and put some science into the dibate.

Isotonic drinks have a peculiar characteristic summarised in their osmotic pressure that is similar to the one of plasma in our blood. Fact.

The components of an isotonic drink would therefore be rapidly absorbed by osmosis. Fact.

This detail is quite irrelevant for those cases in which the time window between two training sessions is quite large. The runner would have a consistent amount of time to reintegrate the salts and minerals lost during the first workout. This is not the case for an ultra runner.

There is no time there since two or more workouts are very well packed into a very long one. The only available option for a ultra runner is to keep running to the finish line, which, for the sake of clarity, could be as far as 40 km or more. What then?

Isotonic drinks might make a difference here, being the osmotic pressure of the solution very similar to the one in the blood. In such a scenario the cells of the lucky runner (I wish I was that one) will not shrink nor shred and the absorption would be just smooth, with all pleasure to muscles, tissues and blood.

Despite the amount of blabbing about isotonic drinks, the benefits introduced by such beverages are real. I have always been quite skeptic about it. The main reason of my distrust is due to the fact that most of the times commercial isotonic drinks are enhanced with other elements like sirups, sugars, carbs etc. that usually give a party into my stomach, with the side effects that everybody might think of.

Indeed, something that I am going to try soon is a do-it-yourself isotonic drink.

Here are the ingredients

1 lt. water

1 tea spoon of baking soda (powder)

2 tea spoons of sugar

1 tea spoon of marine salt

1 lemon or orange or juicy fruit you like

and preparation

the base is water, of course. For 1 lt of plain water add baking soda, sugar, salt and lemon and shake it a bit or just start. Running wearing the hydration pack will do the rest.

One thing to bear in mind is that the drink I just described will be subjected to deterioration, due to the lack of the awful set of chemicals that is usually added to commercial drinks. Thus, it should be consumed in about 3 or 4 hours, which is not really a problem for any ultra runner.

Saturday 8 March 2014

Summary of week #9

Unknown 10:33:00 running , schedule 0 Comments

I dedicated week 9 to exploring the country side around Cantoblanco, the district of Madrid where I am staying. As I mentioned earlier the terrain is quite diverse, giving me a series of options that I choose according to my schedule. Regardless the terrain that can be simply road or rocky or sandy or muddy, what really characterises this place is the elevation. It's not possible to run for longer than 1 km without hitting a hill which usually kills my legs or slows me down at the point that I have to reconsider my will to keep that pace longer.
The average milage of the last three weeks was 110 km. Week 9's was just a bit above it.

24/02/2014
Coming from a 19km run at progressively higher pace, the run of a monday is usually easy and slow. This reflects a bit the mondays at the office, during which people get familiar with their new (working) condition

25/02/2014
Rest was just what I needed

26/02/2014
Probably one of the most adventurous running experiences I had in the last few years. I wrote about it here. As a recap, I ran for 30 km on the hills near Tres Cantos, with a bull chasing me and dogs so close to my legs they were probably confident of seeing two big sausages instead

27/02/2014
Easy run and stability exercises, following the schedule of the physiotherapist to prevent injuries of ankles and feet

28/02/2014
Second expedition to El Pardo, following a dry rocky road, climbing short and steep hills. I'm still aware that terrain would be more indicated for cyclists on a mountain bike rather than runners. A total of 30 km and dumb legs. Of course...

01/03/2014
Easy run again. No exercises this time. I felt so stiff that the only thing I would have liked to do was sitting in front of a beer and a boccadillo de tortilla. Which I did.

02/03/2014
Purpose of the day was to keep the milage high. Another expedition to El Pardo, with a total of 30 km did it.

Tuesday 25 February 2014

Brooks Cascadia 9 (2014): first impression

Unknown 12:30:00 2014 , brooks cascadia 0 Comments

After the third training session with the new Brooks Cascadia 9, it's time to write down my impression. I honestly don't like reviews because I think that shoes and feet are such a subjective and complicated topic to be summarised in a pros-and-cons list.
First of all, I consider myself a versatile runner who enjoys the road and, on a similar amount, the trail. Running on the hills around Liege is not really an easy task, not only due to the elevation gain, but especially because of the irregular terrain, usually soft and muddy.
The terrain where I am running since two weeks, in Spain is just another story. Rocky, aggressive, rough and only partially soft and muddy. And, of course, I am running on the road too.

I chose a pair of Brooks Cascadia for several reasons, definitely not for the colour (which, for the record, I find disgusting). When I first tried them in the shop it was kind of love at first sight. The shoes adapted quite instantly to my foot. The feeling of having comfortable shoes since the very beginning is invaluable and already a positive sign for a buy.
With the aid of some drills in the shop I also checked their flexibility. Brooks Cascadia are shoes that, if I close my eyes and run around I really won't feel to be running in a pair of trail shoes, if you know what I mean.
They looked bulky only in my hands. On my feet, it was another feeling.

The first training on the road was quite disappointing though, for several reasons that I can explain a posteriori. Running on the road does not allow these shoes to express at their full potential.
Moreover, the first training session should not be considered by any runner who wants to assign a score to any shoes.
Two days later I tried about the same distance on the rocky roads around Madrid and the tale was indeed quite different. Protective but still capable of giving me the responsiveness I need from the ground. Soft but stable. Running on rocks for long distances doesn't seem to affect the sole of the foot, which is isolated by a solid but flexible platform.

But what impressed me the most was the top line. Not bulky at all. Actually quite low; as low as the New Balance 890v3, probably my favourite road running shoes. I personally think that this is what makes Cascadia a winner in the realm of trail running.

Runners are usually focused on the midsole and the heel, believing that those two components can change their running technique. Probably. I am not sure. But a lower top line is the only thing that can give me the mobility I need from the ankles.

But don't forget that an off-road run requires a good running technique and trained ankles, regardless of any type of shoes.

Wednesday 19 February 2014

The spanish experience: training in Madrid

Unknown 22:37:00 long distance , madrid 0 Comments

First time in Madrid. Actually day 2.
After landing I had to take a train to get to the apartment which is located out of the city centre and I really couldn't contain the excitement. After only half an hour I was cycling around to check some of the places I will be running in the next few days. The weather conditions are much better than those of Belgium. A steady 14 degrees/celsius and the presence of the sun in the morning can make the running experience just perfect. This is also the time for serious training sessions due to the fact that the race of the year is much closer now (and I am really feeling it).

New place, new tracks, new distances and, of course, a new form of intensity training.
In fact I am experimenting another form of training in which the resting time is basically set to a minimum, sometimes even below the threshold governed by the heart rate monitor. This prevents me from running at very fast pace during interval training.
I believe this to be open to debate. I heard of runners training at a pace they will clearly not get to during race, not even in their last 30-second sprint. So what's the point?
Moreover, running at slower pace will give benefit to your ligaments and tendons and to your running technique in general, due to a better control in body coordination.
I believe this applies quite well to those who are training for ultra marathons, which is exactly what I am doing.

Running smart in Madrid!