Back In The Medals

It’s been a long medal drought for me. Ok I have a box full of medals so I shouldn’t be greedy but at the same time a medal signifies something to me, it signifies that all the work I’ve put in has resulted in this medal. It’s why I do it, it’s what I earn. Ok, so it doesn’t put food on the table but every medal won ultimately says ‘Roger Alsop gets results’ and I’m proud of them all. The last time I won a medal was on 13 October 2010, I was running for the England M45 team in the British and Irish Cross Country International, we came second and every member of the team got a silver medal, though frankly I didn’t feel like I deserved it after my poor run. In 2011 I didn’t get one championship medal, the first year this has occurred since 1989, which is the year I started to run. So after last year’s poor showing I vowed that I would be aiming for medals again this year.

My quest for medals has already been thwarted this year, I was 2^nd M45 in the Cheshire Cross Country Champs, but only the winner received a medal. I was all set to run in the BMAF Cross Country Championships but I injured my back the week before and was unable to run. My club, Herne Hill Harriers, fell one man short of sending a team to Sutton Park, for the BMAF Road Relays, when we were almost certain to medal. So this weekend I was on a mission, I was sure I would be the lone Herne Hill Harrier on show, at the BMAF 5k Champs, and I was proven right. If I was going to get a medal it was up to me alone and I was up for it. A recent run of improving form had given me the confidence that I was getting closer to my 2010 form, when I came 2^nd in this championship. Of course I’m still a little way off that form so I wasn’t sure I’d sneak a medal, but it wouldn’t stop me from trying.

For the race, in Horwich, I went up with Ray. Ray had run it last year, but I was away so couldn’t join him, and he was confident he would improve on both his position and time. I was ready for a hard race and had my eyes set on a top 3 position in the M45 group. We arrived early, as is my preference, and went for a run around the course. It was very windy on the uphill section and I knew this would have an effect on times, but I was still hoping my strength would see me to a season’s best. Back at the changing rooms and people had started to arrive, it was nice to catch up with a number of my competitors and friends. It was the first time I had spoken to a number of my Scottish friends and my local rivals the Whittingtons were also here, though only Russell was down to run. There were runners I’d known for years and others I’d only really got to know since I became a geriatric, and then there was Mike Deegan, superstar runner of the past but even at 55 keeping us young geriatrics honest.

I’m usually pretty calm before races but I’ll admit, on this occasion, I was a little nervous. My week hadn’t gone exactly to plan. I had shaken off the cold but hay fever was making life a little uncomfortable. I had done my usual front loaded week with a short hard session on Monday and then my treadmill session on Tuesday, and all was going well, but I’d forgotten I was training with Katy on Wednesday. That shouldn’t be a problem though and I’d be able to do my last speed session on Thursday. However Katy was in very good form, not only did she run great but she ran me into the ground. At the end of the session my right calf was tight, I had to abandon any ideas of a fast run on Thursday, it was easy running only then and on Friday. On Saturday I was taking the day off but my calf was still a little tender so I put my compression socks on. They gave me instant relief but the calf didn’t feel 100% right. Sunday morning it felt better but still not 100%. I wasn’t nervous about being in the race I was nervous I might pull, or worse, tear, my calf muscle.

As we started to congregate at the start line we were told there would be a delay, the cycle races were falling behind and we should expect a 10 minute wait. It was then that I was told that the walkers, it was a walk championship as well as a running one, would go off first and we would then be set off. Originally the walkers were due off 10 minutes before the runners, which should have given them plenty of time to separate, but the organisers were trying to claw back some time so decided to set us off only minutes after the walkers. I was thinking that this was a potential disaster and as the walkers set off I watched with a slight dismay as they stretched across the road.

Do you think those walkers could get a move on!

Then it was us, we were off and I shot off with the front runners. I’d known Big Stuart Doyle, of Vale Royal AC, was going to be there so my plan had been to try to hang onto him for as long as I could. Stuart is a consistent runner and I was sure it was my only chance to get clear of any M45 opposition, without putting in all the leg work myself. As we pushed up the first hill Chris Fell had already got a lead but there was a big pack of us behind which included myself and three other M45s; Charles Thomson, Simon Wright and Aaron Keene. There was a certain amount of jostling for position as we tried to pass the slower moving walkers and there were at least 3 occasions where I was forced towards a walker only to chop my stride in order to avoid them, it was an uncomfortable half lap and only adds weight to my feelings that it would have been better to set the walkers off a lot earlier or after the runners.

Around the corner at the Crown Hotel and some relief that we were onto the downhill section with the wind behind us. I tried to maintain a good pace and was still in with the other two M45s, I think it was here that we dropped Aaron. Up the hill for the second time and I was having to dig deep, Charles and Simon were starting to pull away from me, which was a little frustrating. The 3^rd time up the hill I was really feeling it, I had started faster than recent races and this combined with the hill and wind was starting to take it’s toll on my body. My legs felt like lead and I appeared to be jogging up the hill. Charles and Simon were now well clear but I was aware I was still 3^rd M45, not sure how close the 4^th place was though, I was certain I would soon lose that 3^rd place and probably 4^th, 5^th and 6^th. But I made it round the corner, still in 3^rd and I put everything I could into the downhill, thinking that if I was going to be taken it was going to have to take a real fighter to take me. We turned the last corner, with about 250m uphill to the finish. The guy in front of me was an M40, I didn’t care about beating him but I tried to aim for him to stop any M45s sneaking up behind me. Boy did it hurt and that last 250m seems to go on forever, but I did it, I came home in 10^th place overall, taking 3^rd M45 and I had set a new season’s best and fastest time since I ran 15:59 on this course, two years ago, my time 16:22. I was happy with that.

I grabbed a drink and watched other runners coming in before jogging round the course to cheer on Ray. Ray did finish higher than last year, and quicker, just missing out on a pb, 21:02. Then it was off for a little lunch and to the presentation. It was a good feeling being presented with that medal, it had been a long wait. Now, I know that there were a lot of good runners missing from the race, I don’t know why it’s a great race, and people may look at my time and say that I wouldn’t have got the medal if others had showed up. But do I care, no, it’s not my fault they chose not to turn up and I did and frankly I ran my socks off to get that medal. As my old coach, Arthur Bruce, would say the trophy only states who the winner is, it doesn’t say he won but such and such didn’t show up. Now onto the next one.     

Incidentally I spoke with Mike Deegan afterwards, he looked terrible coming into the finish and I couldn’t stop myself being honest with him, then I saw this photo of me coming into the finish, courtesy of Harvey Whittington.

Was I running fast or was that the wind flattening my hair?

It’s been a bit of a family weekend, for the second weekend running, last weekend my brother and his wife were up visiting my parents and we all, along with my sister, went out for a meal. This weekend it was Carole’s turn, her mum and friend were down from Scotland, along with some much needed Scottish treats, Lorne sausage and bread rolls (apparently we can’t make bread rolls in England, though I can’t say I’ve noticed), though this time the tablet stayed in Scotland. On Friday night England were playing Sweden in the European Championships, football. I was looking forward to watching the game but with three Scottish ladies waiting to go to the pub my choices were limited. We went to the Cock O’Budworth where the menu was quite good and service was excellent. Price was pretty decent too, plus they had Spitfire on tap, though for obvious reasons I was restricted to one pint.

Then on Sunday, after the race, I had my parents join us for a roast dinner which was a lot of fun. Unfortunately I was in celebratory mood and, making up for two nearly dry days, I had a little bit more to drink than I should have. Oh well it’s not like I drink all the time.

With the race being on Sunday I decided to go for a relaxing run on Monday so hit the woodlands. It was a beautiful morning so I extended the run a little to go a nice 9 mile route.

This morning it was treadmill day, week 4 of my training plan. I’d intended to start the first rep at 19.4km/h and work my way up but once I got to Cottons I decided I should up the ante. I was pleased with my run on Sunday but decided I needed to push more if I was going to get anywhere close to achieving my goals this year. So I started the first rep on 20km/h (3 min per K pace). It surprised me how comfortable it was and by the end of the session I’d got up to 20.6km/h (2.54 min per K pace). It’s still a little short of the 2:40 odd pace I used to run, but that was back in the 1990s, so I think I can be forgiven for my slower pace, after all I’m not running 1k reps, I’m running further. So I’m very pleased with that and with seven weeks still to go on this programme I’m getting more confident by the week. However I’m mindful that I’m running faster than I have for a long time and conscious that this is the time I’m likely to pick up niggles, which, if I’m not careful, could turn into injuries, so I’ll be trying to be sensible too. Mind you I’m training with Katy again tomorrow so I’ll have to watch out for her demon pace.

Finally a thank you to Ronhill for the package they sent last week. The kit looks good on me, even if I don’t look good in it.

Written by Roger Alsop
http://www.rogeralsop.co.uk/

Supplements

As a Personal Trainer, and probably like a number of other people in the self employed sector of the fitness industry, I receive an awful lot of calls for people trying to get me to sign up for various things. Many of these calls are related to the use of supplements. Now I have no specific problem with supplements, I’ve even used them on occasion but I don’t use them as a matter of course. I think that people should make their own informed view on whether supplements are for them or not, I’m not there to promote any particular brand but I’m happy to give general advice. I’m don’t get paid to sell supplements and, in fact, generally people want me to purchase the supplements and sell them onto my clients. But I’m not a selfish seller at all costs kind of guy, I will purchase things on behalf of my clients but only when I feel that I can get them a better deal, on something they want, by getting it via me. In fact it’s one of the things my clients tell me they like about the way I operate, i.e. I don’t try to sell extras to them all the time.

Now I’ll openly admit that I do have my own nutritional planning programme, that I will sell onto clients and anyone else, but I don’t push it onto clients, there are other dietary planners out there, but I believe the product works and I do use it myself. I also do a certain amount of work for Ronhill and Hilly, for which they provide me with kit, they don’t expect me to push there products onto my clients either, but I do wear the products in public places and will happily endorse them to anybody who’s interested as I really do think the products are great and innovative, I just wish they made trainers too.

Well I’ve digressed a little but only to make the point that I’m not paid by anybody to sell supplements and I have no bias towards any particular products out there, the following blog will summarise my feelings about supplements. I’m not currently taking any supplements, and haven’t for some years but I know plenty of people who do. Whether they need to take them I’m not sure, we all have our own knowledge of what our body is up to and can make those decisions ourselves.

I first came across supplements as a child, though in those days they were called vitamin pills. All of a sudden my mum started bringing home sanatogen vitamins, horrible hard round sweet tasting things, and we would all have one each day. My dad, being bigger and older than us three kids, got to eat the horrible bitter tasting red ones which were big enough to make them hard to swallow. I didn’t envy him. As a child I didn’t really know why I was taking the vitamins, I just did what I was told, perhaps our diet in the 70s wasn’t as good as it is now, I didn’t even have my first Indian meal until I was 17.

When I left home I was still a student and, naturally, I didn’t really care much about healthy things, I didn’t take vitamins, did very little exercise, ate badly and drank too much too often. I did have a good time mind you. Luckily I survived any abuse I gave to my body. As a young man starting out a work, I continued to drink too much too often, I ate better, still not great, and I started to get involved in sport, occasionally.

It was only when I started to train properly that the question of whether to take supplements came up. I actually remember one of my training partners Adam Armstrong (incidentally Adam was an actor who appeared in Grange Hill, Crimewatch and various other things – in fact I must relay the story about Crimewatch latter in this blog, see if I can write it as funny as it was) telling me that one of the 800m runners we knew had been taking creatine and was complaining that it was making his legs heavy. In actual fact it was probably the fact that he was training harder due to taking the supplement that made his legs tired. Around 1992 one of my training partners, Nutritionist Alex Luce, asked me if I’d take part in a study he was working on. I said yes as long as it didn’t include taking any banned substances and didn’t impact my training. Alex didn’t tell us what the study was at the time but it was a study on the effects on vitamin c on the athlete.

I thought this was a great opportunity to help one of my training partners while gaining the benefits of taking extra vitamins, I even didn’t mind trying to swallow these gigantic pills every day, until I found out I had been taking the placebos. I’m not sure what the results of the study were but I was progressing better than everybody else, even with the placebo effect. As a thank you Alex did give me a proper consultation and, because I was having a few bowel problems, he gave me a detox and suggested a course of vitamins and minerals. This seemed to resolve the problems I was having, which I consider were stess related. I took these vitamins and minerals on and off for a while, whenever the problem returned. I also took iron supplements when I was feeling run down, as I’d previously been diagnosed with slight anaemia and extra calcium when I got a stress fracture in my foot, but I’ve not taken any supplements for years.

Due to my lack of supplementation I can’t really give you much information or recommendation on particular types. I don’t take supplements because I believe I can get the nutrients I need from fresh ingredients, though not everything you buy in the shops is fresh and therefore it may not be as nutritious as it could be. Food can be stored too long and lose some of it’s nutritional value and it can be overcooked with nutrients being lost in the process (I generally steam or stir fry my veg as I believe it is better nutritionally). I’m lucky in that my lifestyle is such that I am in a position to take care with what I eat but others may not be so fortunate. It’s worth considering supplements if you feel you’re not able to maintain a healthy diet because of your lifestyle or you are feeling run down, however, ideally, supplements should not be taken in place of normal nutrients they should be taken to supplement them and the bulk of your nutrients should still be gained from natural ingredients. 

If you are going to use supplements, make sure you understand what benefits you will get and if there are any side effects. Also be sure to check out what is in the product, particularly being sure of any hidden ingredients (this is particularly important for athletes who may undergo drug testing). Of course there is the worry that supplements can become contaminated during production but if they are made by a reputable company that is unlikely and of course natural food can also be contaminated.

I’m currently in a phase of hard training, in fact I’m training harder than I’ve trained for a long time and I’m feeling tired. Therefore I’m using a lot of the nutrients I’m putting into my body, do I need to take supplements? Well it’s a good question, I’ve been carrying a bit of a cold for weeks and it is affecting my breathing a little but taking supplements doesn’t necessarily protect you from colds and I do eat well. I feel like I’m replenishing all the nutrients I need but maybe I’m missing something, perhaps it wouldn’t be a bad decision to take some. If I did take them the one thing I would ensure I did would be to check the register of banned substances, yes I know I’m not going to be selected for London 2012 but I do still compete at a reasonably high level and don’t see the point of getting banned because of carelessness. Plus I like to know what I’m putting into my body. But in truth, I think I just need to eat a bit more, I’m burning calories at a pretty high rate (over 300 for 10 minutes workout) so I’m stocking up with more food and ensuring I take breaks in my day to eat.

This weekend I went to the Heaton Park parkrun. Heaton Park was the scene of my first parkrun, back in March, when I finished 8^th in 17:25. It’s been a few weeks since I’ve raced so I was thinking about going to Pennington Flash but then Ray got in touch and suggested Heaton Park, as it was going to be the last run on the course, before they changed it to another one in the same area. I was happy to try it, I figured I might get a chance to run faster on the, mostly, pathed course rather than the multi-terrain test that Pennington is. As it has been some time since I ran there I went to the website to remind myself of the course and found that it had actually been won, on a number of occasions by people running slower than 17 minutes. So there was a possibility that I could win, but then again there were a considerable number of winners who had run significantly under 17 minutes and a number of sub 16 minute winners with a course record of 14:49, so there was a good chance I wouldn’t win. But it wasn’t the win I was interested in, I was keen to get another sub 16 minute run under my belt and having run 16:56 at Pennington I thought I should have a chance, particularly when I saw my old mate and Santa Claus world record holder, Paul Simons, had a 16:58 timing. Paul and I go back a long way, we used to compete against each other in the British League when he was Shaftesbury Barnet and I was Belgrave, and that has continued over the years in road relays. Now us two ‘Londoners’ are both based in the North West we see each other at various races and are still finishing within seconds of each other. So I was confident of a sub 17 minute run, although I did notice that Tommy Prenders had only run 16:50 and he had a 16:40 clocking at Pennington Flash.

We were a little late setting off and only arrived at the car park about 10 minutes before 9:00. Not the sort of preparation I normally like for a race but this was a parkrun and I’m pretty chilled out about them, I treat them as time-trials rather than races, so as long as I get a chance to warm up my muscles I’m ok. Mind you there was no need to panic anyway as the presentation of t-shirts before the race meant a very late start. Before the off I, almost literally, bumped into Ron Hill. Although I do some work for Ronhill and Hilly I’ve never actually spoken to Ron before so I introduced myself.

It was a nice morning, sunny with a bit of a chill in the air. It was warm enough standing in the sun, so I wasn’t too bothered by the delayed start. As we walked to the start line I looked ahead and wasn’t really sure where we were going to head, as the path appeared to fork. I asked the chap next to me and he pointed out the route and then said ‘but you won’t need to worry unless you’re in the lead’. I didn’t say anything at the time but I was thinking to myself that it was a possibility. As we set off I did indeed find myself in the lead. The course was well marked with arrows, unfortunately, with age, my eyesight is starting to fade at a greater proportion than my leg speed and I was approaching the signs quicker than my brain could register the direction to take. Thankfully there were plenty of marshals and they were a big help on the three occasions I had to check the route.

After the initial small loop it was nice to pass the start line again in a clear lead, to generous support from the spectators. As I came close to the start of the hill for the second time I noticed a bunch of runners on the corner. I recognised Andi Jones and his wife, it looked like a group of Salford Harriers ready for a training session. Needless to say they let me pass then started their rep session, running in the same direction as me. It brought back memories of my old fartlek training in Richmond Park, where we had a 5 minute rep on part of Ranelagh Harriers cross country course, occasionally there would be a race on as we were kicking off our rep. It was good fun as it gave you a load of runners to chase but I remember one occasion when a guy worked really hard up the minute long hill to try to hold onto me, only for me to stop at the top. I wasn’t going to fall into that trap today I let them go past without upping my pace and then I was on the hill.

The last bit around the lake seemed to take an age but I’d checked my watch and was confident of running sub 17. I relaxed, perhaps a bit too much, and then the finish which seemed to stretch on forever. I crossed the line in first place in a time of 17:04 and it was hard to hide my disappointment. I know some people can’t see why I would be disappointed with winning but my focus wasn’t on winning, it wasn’t a championship race, I wanted to run sub 17 to give me a booster for the next race. But, as always, the disappointment was short lived and I started my jog back around the course to thank the marshals and cheer on the other competitors.

Ray came through, running yet another pb, he seems to be setting them every week now. Next was Carole, leading home Ron Hill. She’s quite proud of the part she played in pacing Lee Riley in his training for the marathon world record, now she’s outpaced another multi-world record breaker, albeit a septuagenarian. And then Sharon came home in a course pb. So all 4 of us had set course pbs, with Ray setting an absolute 5k pb. Not a bad day on reflection. The disappointment of not breaking 17 minutes was soon forgotten as I thought of the fact that I have 7 parkrun wins under my belt this year, not bad for a man approaching his 47^th birthday rather more rapidly than he would like.

All in all, though it’s not been my best year, the two months out through injury have definitely had an impact on my fitness levels and this is the first year since 1993 that I haven’t won a championship medal of any kind. But on the bright side I’ve helped others to achieve great things; Ray only has to wake up to set a pb, Lee has set 3 world records, and I have a number of other clients who are on their way to something great in the near future. And, more importantly, I am enjoying my running, even if it is a lot slower than my memories tell me I used to run. I know that I have the capability of running a good time in a race, it’s just a matter of when, so onto the next challenge, the next race is a 10k.

This weekend coming is the British and Irish Masters International Cross Country Championships. I’ve run it for the last 5 years, 4 times for Scotland and once for England. This year I didn’t make the team, but I know most of the runners who did, so I’d like to wish them a good run and enjoy the Scottish hospitality.            

Now for the tale about Crimewatch. In our little training group we had a guy named Vic. Vic had a certain amount of talent when he was younger but family responsibilities took him away from running. I’m not entirely sure what brought Vic back to running but he was a good man to have in the group as he was a good judge of pace and would lead out one of the sub groups perfectly, he was also full of interesting stories and had a great way of telling them. Vic also like a drink and would often go home after training, collapse into an armchair with a few tinnies and fall asleep in front of the TV. On one such occasion he woke up while crimewatch was on and it just so happened that Adam was acting out the role of one of the criminals in a particular scene. Vic opened his eyes, saw Adam, heard the request for anyone who knew anything to contact the police and promptly phoned up the police. 

Surely you’re not going out for a run in this?

A comment I’ve been asked many times, whether it is hot, cold, wet or windy. Well the truth is there is rarely a time I have let the weather dictate to me. If you refuse to train in inclement weather how are you going to get on when you turn up for a race and the weather is awful. The only conditions that have stopped me from training outside are ice and thunderstorms, but then again we don’t get extreme weather conditions like those experienced elsewhere in the world.

Ice – I have actually trained on ice, and it’s not pleasant. My first negative experience of ice was at a New Year’s Day 10k in Hyde Park in 1995. I was in good form and fancied a win, despite entries from Ethiopian Kassa Tadesse and Kenyan Koikai. It was a nice dry sunny day, but it was crisp and I hadn’t noticed the odd small puddle that had iced over. The field was full of American teenagers, clearly obeying the no alcohol before 21 rule that applies in their home country. They were a lively bunch and clearly didn’t appreciate how far a 10k was as they all sprinted off at the start. I was fighting my way through them as I went for the first corner and put my foot on one of the puddles. My legs shot from under me and I was down, landing on my left elbow and hip and right knuckle. I didn’t think about the pain but was a little annoyed that my opposition were getting away from me so got back on my feet and went after them. At the 1^st mile marker I was in the lead but having run a 5 minute mile into a heavy head wind, and taken a fall, the adrenaline ran out. I was forced to concede and spent the next 5+ miles trying not to get overtaken by too many people. It was at this point I noticed the hole in my elbow and the state of my knuckles, as blood leaked out of both. Oh well, I thought, if I’m going to be in pain I might as well finish the race first. Ethiopia won with Kenya in 2^nd and Britain 3^rd, unfortunately not me as experienced Ealing runner Bill Gristwood took that spot away from me, leaving me trailing in a dejected 4^th in 32:43, managing to hold off club colleague Owain Lewis. There were no first aid facilities so I had to get home with blood running into my coat. The physical scars have faded over the years but I’m much more wary of icy conditions. It hasn’t stopped me completely though, in Edinburgh I used to live close to the canal and some mornings I was surprised to encounter ice just as you dipped down to the canal. I also experienced really bad ice a couple of times on nightshift when taking my ‘wee small hours’ runs, on those occasions I gave in after about 3 miles and went back to the office, not wanting to take a fall when nobody was around to help me out. Now I’m in Cheshire it’s not often we get ice but I did take a tumble a couple of years ago, again I stepped on a frozen puddle just as I turned a corner, luckily it was right at the end of a stride otherwise the consequences could have been worse than the bruised hip. These days, if I can see it’s icy, I’ll only venture out if I can get to an area of grass close by, as grass doesn’t freeze as easily as road surfaces.   

Hail – being hit by lumps of ice, as you run, is not pleasant. Mind you I expect it’s not pleasant if you’re not running. Hail storms tend, in my experience, not to last that long so if you just hold off you should be able to run, hail free, in a short while. But that doesn’t help if you’re caught while you’re already out. My worst experience of a hailstorm came during my time spent working in Germany. I used my lunch break to do alternate repetitions or 8 mile runs. On one particular day I went to the changing room in glorious sunshine but emerged to see a huge black cloud approaching. I wasn’t going to re-enter the changing room to put more clothes on so headed off towards the forest. I was about 100 metres away from the entrance to the forest when it threw everything at me, freezing cold wind and big hailstones. It didn’t last long but at the end of it I was cold, sore and wet. I kept running but my hands were so cold it took me 10 minutes before I could uncurl my fingers. It has to be one of my least pleasant runs.

Heat/Sun – I love running in the sun and in warm weather, but you do have to be careful. If I’m running for less than 45 minutes I’ll not bother with sun cream, any longer and it’s factor 15 (despite my extremely fair skin I find factor 15 is as high as I need to go, mind you I do spend a lot of my time shade bathing). I also wear a hat, because I do have a small bald patch that I’m not at all self conscious about. Luckily, or rather by good design, the kit I get from Ronhill and Hilly often contains fabric up to UPF40 so I feel well protected from the sun. I also wear shades. The other thing to be conscious of in the heat is to make sure you’re well hydrated. My body is well adapted, I don’t have to carry water on my runs, but I do watch my pre and post run hydration and I have been known to take water in a race, even over 10k. Last year I was in good form and entered the European Masters Track and Field Championships. They were being held in Hungary and I knew it would be hot. I therefore purposefully took a holiday in Turkey, a few weeks prior to the championships. Normally on holiday I ease back a little on training, but this time I wanted a medal so I was training hard in very hot temperatures. It was hard but it paid dividends as I came away from Hungary with a bronze medal, having said that I thought Turkey was hot but it wasn’t as hot as Hungary. I’ve also raced a half marathon in Lisbon and, although it took place in October, the temperature was touching the 30 degrees Celsius. What was worse, on this occasion, because I was representing Belgrave at the European Clubs Champions Cup, was that we had to be at the start a full hour before the race start, and the start was scheduled for 14:00 hours, to take part in a procession. The start area was jet black tarmac, you could feel the heat bouncing back off it. Luckily we had old timer, and European marathon representative, Knud Hegvold in the team and he guided us to a shady place where we tried to rest before the start. I didn’t run too badly, finishing in 36^th position, though it was a tough race.    

Rain – rain rarely puts me off exercising, of course it’s not nice setting off in the rain but my attitude, as already mentioned, is if you can’t train in the rain how are you going to race in it. Mind you I really don’t like loading/unloading my car with my portable gym when it’s raining, but that’s the choice I made, if I’d wanted it easy I’d have stayed at Fitness First. If I think it’s going to rain I’ll take one of my rain jackets, which one depends on how warm it is as I have different grades of warmth and different styles. If it’s really hot I won’t necessarily take a jacket as the rain can be quite refreshing. The only time I really don’t enjoy running in the rain is when it’s heavy, cold and there’s a cold wind too, those conditions have made me cut short a run before as it’s just not pleasant. But those days should be over as Ronhill are sending me a storm jacket, waterproof to a minimum 10,000mm hydrostatic head. With waterproof seams, zips and a pocket (essential, so I can carry a phone when with clients). 

Cold – I hate the cold, but I don’t mind running in the cold. What I do mind is hanging around at the start of races, in the cold (or wet for that matter). In this country it’s generally not that cold that your body can’t cope with the temperature, exercising, after all, warms you up, but it’s always good to get a selection of clothing that helps you deal with the cold. My essential equipment is the hat and gloves, I have been known to wear gloves over gloves, and of course I have thermal tops and thermal lycras.

Wind – Occasionally we have strong winds that are dangerous and you actually feel like you’re moving backwards. It’s rare in our country but no point in risking your life for a run. Other than that wind can be a bit unpleasant but again what are you going to do if it’s windy on race day. You just need to develop an effective way of running through wind, and only practice can do that. Personally I like the wind as it means I can run hard without having to run fast, at my age it’s much easier to run hard than fast. Windproof jackets will help you to stay warm if the wind is cold.

And now onto other things.

Last week I ran my slowest ever parkrun, admittedly I’d only done 8 in total so plenty of time to run even slower. I was a little disappointed as only 6 weeks previously I’d run my best time around Pennington Flash, to become only the 3^rd ‘official’ person under the 17 minute barrier. I’d put it down to lack of racing and the week I’d spent inactive, after spasming my back, plus the muddy and windy course just made it a tough run. I was about to throw in the towel regarding England selection, but I’m a great believer in pushing all the way to the finish line and I still have a week to prove I’m fit. Ok lets be honest, I’ve done very few road races this year and all the BMAF championships have fallen when I’ve been away, with the exception of the cross country champs which occurred at the very start of my return from a 2 month absence, so my chances remain pretty slim. I therefore decided I’d have one last throw of the dice and do something I’ve not done before, run two consecutive parkruns. Now I love the parkrun concept and, in particular, I love going to Pennington Flash, where you always get a tough run but a warm reception, but I’m not a creature of habit and like to do other races too. However this Saturday I rolled up with my regular partners in crime, Carole and Ray. It had been a bit of a strange week with having to fit my training around new clients, workmen at the house and a meeting with Ronhill/Hilly (more of that later). So I’ve not done as much running as normal but at least I’m back into the weights, core work and kettlebells. My confidence was a little low after last week’s run and I wasn’t expecting to run that well but I just thought I needed to race again. The dryer weather cheered me up, though it did start to spit with rain close to the start. This time I had the front all to myself and once I’d rounded the tight turns at the start I put my foot down. I felt back in proper race mode and kept pushing, despite my mind asking the question why, if you’re so far ahead, do you need to keep pushing. Well the answer is I wanted to keep the right side of 18 minutes. My legs did feel a little flat at times but I did really feel like I was running ok. As I’ve said Pennington Flash is a tough course and I was glad to crest the last hill to the enthusiastic support of one of the volunteers and her baby. A quick glance at the watch showed I was on good time and I pushed on to the finish. I won my 4^th Pennington Flash Parkrun, I now have 4 wins and 4 2^nd places out of the 8 I’ve run there, in my 2^nd fastest time 17:13. A much better run and I feel that I can move on from there, come November I should be in good shape – now to see if I can get that place in the England squad, though I’m prepared for rejection this year. To cap off a fine Parkrun both Ray and Carole set new course pbs by around 30 seconds, with Ray coming close to his 5k pb on the road, just goes to show marathon training can influence your results over shorter races too, or maybe it has a little to do with the fact that I’m coaching him!

Speaking of parkruns I was chatting to Lee Riley earlier in the week, you may recall I helped Lee achieve his world records over the half and full marathon, carrying a 40lb pack, I had seen that a parkrun was starting in Hanley and I suggested he tried it. Well he did and he won (he wasn’t carrying the pack this time) so well done Lee. Lee has set himself his next challenge and I’ve been advising him on how to train for it. The challenge is to set a world record for carrying the 40lb pack over the 1 mile distance. The current record is 5:35. Lee’s attempt will be taking place on 12 November at the Cumberland Sports ground in Crewe, between 09:00 and 12:00, so if you’re around pop along to support Lee, or even take part, and help him raise more cash for the soldiers charity.  

As I mentioned earlier, I had a meeting this week with Ronhill/Hilly. Ronhill and Hilly being two separate brands, related through their parent company, that produce clothing and accessories for runners. I have a good relationship with both Ronhill and Hilly and they supply me with kit, I also test their products. I’ve been pretty impressed with the products, they look good, feel good and are practical, as well as being made specific to purpose. Anyway, I’ve been associated with Ronhill and Hilly for about a year and a quarter now and both they and I would like to expand on that relationship. Much to be discussed but even if nothing extra comes out of it I’m still happy to be associated with these innovative companies and of course I’ll be continuing to test the 2012 catalogue gear and will be receiving a box of new gear soon too, as a thank you for the testing work I’ve already done. One really good thing about the last batch of shorts they sent me is that they are black with red flashes, which go great with my Herne Hill vest (Paul Coughlan take note), unfortunately I rarely get a chance to compete for Herne Hill as my lifestyle and location interfere.

Speaking of which, Herne Hill Harriers gained silver medals in the South of England Masters Road relays on Sunday. Last year we were unable to get a team together, having won the event for the previous 7 years (3 of which I had taken part in), so it was great to hear the news, even if I was unable to make it this time.   

Watch Out Autumn’s About

It’s staying darker longer in the mornings, as Summer drifts towards Autumn, this darkness makes it that bit harder to get out of bed, particularly on the mornings I have an early start. Which reminds me that it’ll soon be getting darker earlier in the evening as well and it’ll be time to make sure I have enough high visibility clothing. I’m quite lucky, Ronhill produce some really good high visibility clothing and accessories and, as part of their support for Roger Alsop Personal Training, they supply me with enough to keep me visible in all the sessions I do outside.

If you run in the dark, or even semi-dark, it’s important that are visible and seen aas early as possible, particularly if you are running on the road. Having moved from Edinburgh to the countryside (when I lived in Hassall Green) it made me realise that cars travel fast down country lanes, not expecting to come across a runner in the road, so it’s even more important to be noticed early, I always recommend a high visibility jacket at any time of the day if your run takes you down country lanes.

But it’s not just the dark that poses Autumn danger for runner, you can also be sidelined by tree debris. Lots of things fall from the trees, branches, twigs, leaves, acorns and conkers, to name some. If you’re not paying attention you can land awkwardly on some of this debris and cause an injury. Leaves in particular can be a problem, they tend to collect in hollows, hiding potential dangers from view, I always recommend that people avoid treading on a pile of leaves as you never know what they’re hiding. Wet leaves can also be a problem, as you can slip on them very easily, particularly if going downhill.

One other thing to watch out for in the dark, overhanging branches, with the leaves having been dropped it’s not always easy to see thin branches as they protrude into the street. On a number of occasions I’ve been running along a street and taken a direct hit in the head from an overhanging branch, blood has been drawn and I’ve even taken a nasty poke in the eye, but thankfully no lasting damage. Be alert to these dangers.

The start of Autumn isn’t all bad, it also heralds the start of the cross country season. Now I know that school cross country running has been the cause of many an adult having a psychological fear of running but there are many people, like myself, who absolutely love it. Ok love is perhaps too strong a word for me, in fact I absolutely hated every minute of this year’s National Cross Country Champs (which you’ll recall is the first blog I wrote about), but there is a certain smell about early season cross country (and I don’t mean sweaty competitors), plus you can get some really nice sunny and dry conditions and some venues are actually really beautiful to run around. But the main thing I like about it is the camaraderie, not just with your team mates but with your opposition too, sure you’re out to beat them but it’s in a nice way, like beating your mates in a kickabout. As I live about 200 miles away from my club I don’t get to do much cross country these days and it is the one thing I miss most about not living in London, or Edinburgh for that matter. In fact I want to see if I can run in a local league as a guest, but then that lacks the team element might still make it like running a road race. Having said that, and I can only really vouch for Pennington Flash, but I feel like the atmosphere at Parkruns comes very close to that of cross country as it’s often the same people week after week at the same venue, and whilst still trying to beat others you’re always happy to see someone else have a good run.

This week I returned to proper running training. I’m still not doing as much as I was 4 weeks ago, I’ve been quite busy with new clients and housey things, but at least I’m able to do quality training. I didn’t do any core or strength work during that first week  but I’ve started that this week. In fact on day 4 of my return I was doing a Yasso session with Ray. This involved running 10 x 800m with 400m recovery and the principle is that you get an idea, from it, of what you could do in a marathon. With Ray due to run the Chester marathon in less than three weeks he was keen to see what he should be aiming for. It turned out pretty good, Ray has come on hugely since I first met him, there is no way I could have considered doing this session with him 6 months ago but on Tuesday he managed to average 3:23 for the 800m reps. Now I think that’s pretty damn good, and as I was running them with Ray it gave me a good session too. Incidentally I’ve just picked up another client looking to improve from a 38 minute 10k, so I’m going to be training pretty hard over the next few weeks, just to keep up with my clients. As I’ve mentioned, in a previous blog, there’s a limit to how many clients I can run with and I’m getting close to that limit, so better book me up soon if you want to Run with Rog.

On Saturday we decided to go to Pennington Flash Parkrun, I had wanted to go the previous week but my back injury put paid to that. It was a reasonable start to the day as Ray, Carole and I set off. It had rained quite a lot over the week and we were expecting some mud, but it has been wet before and there was always a way to avoid the worst of the mud. However conditions on Saturday were the worst I’ve seen them and I have to admit to treading gingerly in a few places, almost coming to a standstill at the bottom of the grass hill as I tried to avoid falling over. This coupled with a slight loss of fitness gave me my slowest time around the 5k run, 17:50. Still good enough for 2^nd place but not good enough to avoid ruining my average. Oh well it’s only a statistic. I was beaten by youngster, Matthew Crehan, who comes from a long lineage of very good Crehan runners and I’m sure he’ll be producing some great results as he builds up his fitness. As I slip into old age I’ll be able to watch him from afar as I slip down the field. Carole had one of her better runs but it was Ray who surprised us all by setting a personal best on the course, that marathon training is turning him into a powerhouse. Unfortunately Ray twisted his back on the mud and is having to consider his training carefully, in his lead up to the marathon. Hopefully no lasting damage. 

On Saturday night I went to the Northwich beer festival. I’d arranged to go with Ray but Ray had to call off, due to his back. I’ve only ever been to beer festivals during my time living in Germany and they do them very well, so as it was local I thought I’d give it a shot. Well it was a really good laugh, some of the beer was really nice though some was a bit disappointing. Still it all went down. There was a group called Cheeky Monkey playing throughout the night and they were pretty good too, playing punkish style versions of many 80’s hits – took me almost back to my schooldays, though not completely otherwise I’d have been drunk after two pints. 

Nutrition and How I Deal With It

This week I wanted to write about something other than running, though obviously there will be an element of running within the blog because, after all, I am a runner, and of course I’ll end with an update of what I’ve been up to and any other follow up tales. So I decided to write something about nutrition. It is not intentional to blind you with science, or tell you everything there is, but rather to give you a few generalised facts and then to tell you how I interpret that to help me in my fitness. Remember that everyone is different and what works for one person does not necessarily work the same for everyone, in the same way that I use the same basic training principles for all my clients but manipulate them to get the best results from each, your own nutrition should be treated likewise.

I’m not going to go into great detail about what GI certain carbohydrates have or what foods contain different vitamins, etc. I’m going to generalise, otherwise the blog would just go on and on. There is plenty of material available for anybody to do follow up research or, of course, have more in-depth nutritional advice from myself.

There is some really simple advice for people wanting to lose weight, just ensure you eat fewer calories than you burn off. For the non-active reducing carbohydrates and increasing protein intake can be beneficial as it increases the metabolic rate, but don’t even consider cutting out carbohydrates altogether, even if your diet states so, it’s just not healthy to do such a thing. If you are active I wouldn’t cut back on carbs unless you eat a mountain a day, you just need to look at what exercise you are doing, you need to exercise for more than 20 minutes at an intensity of at least 60% max (however you measure this, heart rate, perceived exertion, etc). I strongly believe in a higher intensity workout, carried out over short bursts, with recoveries, coupled, on alternative days, with the 60% workout. Strengthening your muscles also helps to increase the metabolic rate, burning off more calories. That’s not to suggest you should consider becoming a body builder, for many of my clients, particularly the females, I use light weights with endurance which, tones and strengthens the muscles whilst using aerobic exercise to help burn calories at the same time.

If you’re doing quite intense sessions, i.e. for sport, you need more carbohydrate, before, during (if the session goes beyond the hour) and after (particularly within the first hour post exercise as that’s when glycogen replenishment is most successful). Think about glycaemic index (GI), low before exercise, though for more anaerobic exercise some high GI carbs can be beneficial just before exercise. After exercise, depending on intensity, you’ll benefit from a little high GI carb, for quick absorption, but low GI carbs are still good for long term glycogen replenishment. During exercise you shouldn’t need any carbs if your exercise period is less than an hour and you may actually be ok for longer as training your body for glycogen depletion is similar to training your muscles for lifting heavier weights, as an example when I ran the London Marathon in 2003 I ran for 2 hrs 34 min, I didn’t hit the wall, in fact I finished pretty strongly, but all I took on board during the duration of the race was water. I’d been regularly training for 2 hrs 40 min taking only water, so my body was used to it. This is not what I would particularly recommend to clients, it’s just that I didn’t get on with any of the carbohydrate based drinks I’d tried, so I took the risk, the risk being reduced by the training I was doing. My recommendation is to try out these products in training to see how your body reacts to them, it may take some sessions before your body is prepared to accept them.

       

After exercise you need replenishment, which should consist of carbs and protein. Carbs, as I’ve already mentioned, are to help replenish the glycogen, the protein will help repair damage you will have done to your muscles. For those thinking of building bigger muscles, i.e. for show rather than sport, a higher protein intake will help. There is an optimum amount, based upon your activity level and weight, above which you’ll gain no further benefit, any further intake of protein above this amount will just be turned into glycogen or fat, though you’d need to be eating a lot of protein for it to be turned into fat.

Speaking of fat, don’t neglect it, fat is required for the absorption of certain vitamins, there being both water and fat soluble vitamins. Fat is also required for tissue structure and hormonal function. It’s important to remember that very low body fat can cause problems, the minimum recommended percentage of body fat is 5% in men and 10% in women.  Obviously unsaturated fats are better than saturated and trans fats, and omega 3 is very good for oxygen delivery to cells which means improved athletic performance (for those doing aerobic exercise).

Water must not be neglected, you should aim to remain hydrated at all times but it’s particularly important to ensure you are properly hydrated before your event. So excessive alcohol intake the night before a race is not recommended as it acts as a diuretic. The best way to remain hydrated is to sip fluid throughout the day, drinking a large amount of water in one go will just go straight through you whereas sipping enables good absorption. That’s not to say that you shouldn’t consume a good amount after intensive exercise but don’t go overboard or you may dilute your blood, such that the sodium level falls and you end up with hyponatraemia. That’s why sports drinks are useful after exercise, as they will contain sodium and carbs. You could of course make your own sports drink; 1 part fruit juice to 4 parts water and a pinch of salt.

That’s a brief on some aspects of nutrition, there is so much information available and I haven’t gone too specific, if I had you’d have a book rather than a blog. Now the interesting bit, how do I, as an athlete interpret all the above?

For starters, you might consider that a man who trains as often as myself is very particular about how much and when I eat. Well I can tell you that one thing I don’t do is weigh my food or measure my portion sizes. I’ve got a pretty good idea of how much my body needs to eat. At the moment I’m about 5kg heavier than my ideal racing weight, due to reduced exercise whilst injured. I know I will burn that off, with an increased calorific intake, over the next few months, as I intensify my exercise.

Because I train pretty much every day, and usually my running takes place in the morning, I tend to eat the same breakfast. A bowl of porridge, with a banana and honey, made with a drop of milk and water. It’s a big bowl mind you, I’m a daddy bear portion man. I have a small fruit juice before, not diluted with water as I put a lot of water into the porridge, and a large cup of coffee to follow. That’s it, then I wait an hour and a half to 2 hours before I exercise. This gives plenty of time for the stomach to work on it and, even in a hard session, I rarely have any issues. I usually give myself a little longer if I’m racing, if the race is in the afternoon and I’m travelling a fair way, I have two bowls of porridge.

I don’t take anything on board during training, it’s unusual for me to be training for more than an hour in one go and I cope pretty well without water, even in hot climates. After training I’ll have a cup of milk (if I’m away from home I’ll take a milk shake carton). I usually try to follow my run with some other form of exercise, either abs, with or without weights, or kettle bells, during which I’ll eat a handful of peanuts, in the rest between sets. Then off for a shower, swiftly followed by lunch. 

Lunch will usually be sandwiches on wholemeal bread, I’ll either have cheese and tomato, tuna or a spread (houmous or taramasalata). Because I’m still burning calories from my session, I’ll have six sandwiches, followed by a piece of fruit and a coffee, which will keep me going until dinner, although if I do get hungry I snack on peanuts. Occasional cups of tea in the afternoon to keep me hydrated, I will drink water outside of the home but prefer tea at home.

Actually my hydration plan is the one thing that I could do better, I actually don’t like drinking too much and will sometimes not drink much water before a race or training session, as I don’t like the feeling of it sloshing about. Whilst that isn’t something I would recommend for others, it works for me and my body has adapted to it. This further reiterates my initial point about us all being different and how we need to find what works for every individual.

My dinner is something that usually consists of a mix of vegetables, fruit and meat and pretty much depends upon what is in the house at the time. I usually have potatoes, pasta or rice, chicken, various vegetables and tinned tomatoes. I’ll drink water with the meal and have a coffee after the meal. Occasionally I’ll replace the water with wine, sometimes more occasionally than I should, but I’m only human.

So you see my gastronomic life is a little dull. Unfortunately I do enjoy pretty much every type of food and drink, and know that if I wasn’t so regimented I could eat all day and eat four courses regularly, easily. In fact the one thing I really hate is having to eat out at both lunch and dinner time, as I’ll invariably end up eating too much. The same is true about staying in hotels before a race, though in this situation I try to go with fish instead of a cooked breakfast. To add to my bread and water style existence I try to not have crisps, biscuits or beer in the house – because it’s too easy to just eat or drink it! Lord help anyone who shacks up with me.

British Masters Cross Country Championships – Perry Park, Birmingham

For those who’ve been following my blogs, you’ll know that I made a last minute decision to enter these championships. A year ago I was flying high, topping the UK M45 rankings for 5 miles and 10k, and went to Belfast full of confidence. With the course very much to my liking, I ran one of my best cross country races to take Silver, just 15 seconds behind the winner, Brian Rushworth. This year, with very little training behind me and the memory of a very muddy Alton Towers still deeply entrenched in my memory, I was also confident, confident I’d get nowhere near the medals.

And I was right. Despite the course again being to my liking my lack of fitness was telling, though I would say I actually ran a good race for my current fitness level. I came 53^rd in the race, 17^th M45, taking 29:36 for the 8k course. Clearly the fitness is improving as I finished 46 seconds ahead of Alex Rowe, whom you may recall was passed by me just before the finish at Alton Towers. Still a long way to go on the fitness front but I’m now running 24 minutes of quality, on my hard days, instead of the 18 minutes I’ve been doing previously. A few more weeks and I’ll be back up to 30.

I was a good decision to run as I came away with lots of confidence for the future. I feel like I’m on the way back and believe I can be in a position to make a difference to Herne Hill’s chances of gaining further road relay medals. It’s now just down to fitness and confidence to run at a stronger pace. It was also nice to meet up with so

many of my peers and the friends that I’ve made over the 22 years I’ve been running. In particular it was great to catch up with Phil Carstairs and Charlie Dickinson, old training partners from my Belgrave Harriers days, both of whom have suffered long lay-offs due to injury. I was also pretty amazed to hear so many people giving me vocal support around the course, proving what a friendly atmosphere comes with Masters Athletics.

After the race I went for a warm down with Mike Deegan, who works for Ronhill, the company who supply me with some of my kit. Well I should say Mike went for a warm down, I was still running at race pace to keep up. Not bad for a man about to turn 55. An interesting fact I learned about Mike, which ties in nicely with the previous section of this blog, is that he also eats porridge before a race, though I forgot to ask him the size of his bowl.

I haven’t thought about my next race yet, I’m aiming at the masters road relays in May so I may do a few more park runs and then there is the Killer Mile at Mow Cop.

Riley’s at it Again

Lee Riley was back in action this Sunday, this time carrying his 40lb pack around the Stafford 20 miles. Lee ran another fantastic race on his way to the London Marathon, finishing in a time of 2 hrs 40 min 06 sec. That’s exactly 8 min mile pace, if Lee can keep that going for a further 6 miles he can squeeze inside 3 hrs 30 min. It’s the Derby Kilomathon this weekend, Lee’s final pre-London race with his pack. After that he’ll be into his final training phase.

Herne Hill Southern Silvers

I couldn’t finish off without saying well done to my club, Herne Hill Harriers, who took part in the South of England Cross Country Relay Championships, finishing in runner up position. A great achievement, and one that should build further enthusiasm for more of the same.