excessive running

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Aliveandrunning October 3 2014

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I really must stop taking pictures of huge fish on the front cover of angling magazines in Tesco. No sooner had I snapped this when the security guard suddenly appeared at my side.

“At it again are we,sir? It’s not normal y’know. Move along now and don’t dawdle in front of the Krispy Kremes’ cabinet.”

I am doubtful of the  actual existence of these mega fish. The three or four monthly magazines which feature them always depict grinning men casually holding a very heavy weight with no apparent effort. There’s something fishy about this! I suspect Photoshop can turn a goldfish into anything.

At the beginning of the week I went for my last long run before the half marathon at Wimpole Estate this weekend. I ran for about 75 minutes. It started raining as I set out and it didn’t stop until I returned. As a result, I suffered the excruciating pain known as Jogger’s Nipples and had to undergo the humiliation of applying Sudocrem to them  before going to sleep. Very rock’n roll.

I’ll be doing Cambridge parkrun tomorrow  but I won’t be running the half marathon after all. My family feel that it’s a half marathon too far (I had planned to do 3 halves in 9 weeks). I’ve done one and Wimpole was the second). They instanced this research http://heart.bmj.com/content/99/8/516.extract (O’Keefe and Lavie) which addresses the impact of excessive or more prolonged running on the heart. It describes the possible cardiac damage that running over longer distances and over longer periods may incur. I read the paper rather than the extract and I also read an article on this research in Runners’ World some months ago. The training and the half itself would fall into the category of “extreme running” if it occurs more than very occasionally. The paper gives clear guidelines regarding duration. It doesn’t discuss excessive running in the context of people like me who have had a heart attack or heart disease. So I will err on the side of caution. I’ll miss Wimpole but do the St. Neots half in November. My next half will be Cambridge in March.

I will still go to Wimpole, though. I’m giving my arch rival Kerry a lift and another arch rival, Mike, is also taking part. It’ll give me a chance to take a zillion pictures and spend a longer time in Wimpole second hand bookshop.

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Aliveandrunning September 6 2014

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No Cambridge junior parkrun at Milton Country Park today because one of the series of Spartan obstacle races took place instead. I’ve not seen any of the mud run/obstacle events before and didn’t think they would appeal to me. But I was completely won over. The people taking part had a great time and it’s a very entertaining to watch.

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Despite an initial impression of lots of men in macho posturing mode, this quickly changed when I saw the effort required to negotiate the course and the number of women taking part. By the time the runners hauled themselves up this ramp, they were very wet, muddy and slippery. Not everyone could do it but they all tried it. They weren’t worried by looking undignified and they got a lot of cheers and encouragement.

 

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This a small pond I run past when I do Cambridge parkrun. It’s stagnant, smelly and looks like a swamp. It is a swamp! It looks filthy and vile. As I watched dozens wade, swim and stagger across, I confirmed  it was all these things. A big Cambridge triathalon  has just been cancelled because of the degradation  of the water quality in the Cam. Well, the Cam is like crystal clear mineral water compared to this mud bath.

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No Cambridge parkrun at Milton Country Park yesterday because today’s Spartan race. Ms Alive and Running not able to accompany me to Wimpole Estate parkrun because she has joined a cult and is away for the weekend. But I wasn’t alone in the car. I gave my pal Kerry a lift despite his track record of being 2-3 minutes faster than me over 5k. This clearly demonstrates my current altruism, so different to last week when I had a nice collection of little dolls (which had surprisingly similar features to some of my faster friends) and a selection of needles. I’ve recycled all that paraphernalia now and turned to the mild side. I fully accept that I will be  frequently beaten by chums  and my mind is at peace (or piss as a European accent might have it).

They had a record 362 runners at Wimpole yesterday and I came in at 125th. Kerry ran a good race but his personal barcode didn’t scan which meant that he was regarded as an unknown when the results went online. There were quite a few unknowns sprinkled throughout the 356 and Kerry didn’t know his position number or his approximate time . He wasn’t an unknown unknown but a known unknown. Possibly he regarded himself as an unknown known. Who knows?Anyway, there’s a campaign afoot to change his status to to known known which I have contributed to. But wait! The text I received from parkrun central tells me I am second in my age range. If Kerry becomes promoted to known known, I am demoted to third in my age category (behind Kerry). This is a test of my integrity. My integrity remains intact. I spend most of the night tirelessly working on Kerry’s behalf to get him the justice he deserves.

 

 

 

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Aliveandrunning June 1st 2014 Juneathon Day 1

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Juneathon Day 1 and the new Flaming June half marathon at Histon, just outside of Cambridge, UK. The weather was fine but on the warm side for running – around 20c . The course took us along roads, woodland paths and a lot of tracks besides the fields. I could have appreciated the environment a great deal more had I not been running and struggling to maintain my pace. I don’t think I’m fully recovered from my attempts to sabotage my fitness yesterday and during the last week (see May 31st post). My back only mildly ached and my ankle didn’t give me any trouble. I seldom get injuries unless I decide to lift something too heavy and too far. I have great difficulty in coming to the conclusion that I should ask for assistance. I have to test myself . On this occasion, despite some problems, I was still able to run successfully, so I was right all along. I can lift and run.

I did do something very sensible to mitigate this daftness. I took a drink at 3 drink stations and walked while I drank. I felt better for doing this although I wasn’t able to catch up most of the people who overtook me. No matter, this water and the drinks I took at the finish staved off dehydration which I experienced at the Cambridge half marathon in March. The medics were sympathetic and readily restrained Lorna from beating me about the head because of my stupidity (not only did I not drink during the race but hardly drank afterwards).

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I felt nauseous for 20 minutes after the race and needed a couple of hours rest in the afternoon. Apart from this, no ill effects. Overall I was pleased with my time of 1 hour 55 mins 16 seconds. Arch rival Kerry came in 4 minutes quicker. We stayed for the presentations which included baubles for the over 40’s and 50’s but nothing for the over 60’s! Can anything be unfairer than this? I don’t think it’s likely that Dave and Nick’s gangsta government (for hard working tax payers) will take up the cause and insist on including this category next year. And one more minor issue. Was it right and proper for me to be described as looking like a banana over the PA system as I ran, like a lemon,to the finish line?

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Aliveandrunning May 24 2014

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Zeus, Greek god supreme, is Lord of the Skies. Today, he determined that there be torrential rain in the environs of Cambridge parkrun (and elsewhere, for good measure) and lo, the heavens opened, the deluge came and we got very wet. And the mud did stick to flesh and it was all very squidgy and the puddles were deep. But we survived to run another day and our spirits were not dampened. Furthermore, because the rain is good, and helpeth my plants and flowers to grow strong and true, I stepped back into the life giving downpour and undertook my voluntary duty of post event closedown (like a lemon sole, I flopped my way around the parkrun course and collected the direction signs). And my reward was a wholesome mug of coffee with Lorna and friends in Milton Country Park tavern. And they saw fit to comment that I was steaming in the damp warmth which they positively connoted and were greatly amused.

So I did Cambridge parkrun in under 24 mins despite the crap weather! Having rested most of this week I felt refreshed and would’ve  got a faster time if the conditions had been better. The puddles and mud really do slow you down. The rain resulted  in nearly half our usual parkrun attendance. How strange that some  people don’t like running in it! Flaming June half marathon in 8 days. I’ll probably go for one longish run of an hour to an hour and a quarter this coming week and go out with the club. I’ll also do parkrun the day before. Parkrun continues to get precedence over all other races in terms of my interest in doing a particular time.

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Aliveandrunning May 17 2014

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Our new pond  is proving to be a source of  endless fascination. I created it last summer and bought  aquatic plants that needed to be brought  into the house to over winter. I put them back successfully at the end of March and now they are taking off with the warmer weather. The pond has been quickly colonised by all sorts of interesting bugs, a couple of frogs  and at least one sizeable newt. Today some  dragon flies turned up, stayed around  the pond area and appeared to be mating. All this is  entertaining, very enjoyable  and relaxing.  I think  building a pond would prove to be a good method of reducing and managing stress. It can be creative and provide a sense of achievement. It doesn’t sound  riveting, perhaps, but it can be and often is. You’ll gain respect for the smallest of pond creatures and feel excitement when you spot the larger ones. And you can claim maximum mindfulness points!

I went for a long run yesterday, training for the new Flaming June half marathon, which is local to me, in Impington.My training regime is to carry on running as I would normally do but add 3 x 13.2 mile runs in the month leading up to it. I did the first one 5 days ago and perhaps I should have left longer time for recovery. I feel tired today but not overwhelmingly. Tomorrow I’ll do parkrun and on Sunday I’m running a 7.7 race at Willingham, a village about 6 miles away.

A couple of days ago, BBC news posted an item on their website  concerning the possible effects of endurance training on the heart, particularly with reference to older runners and triathletes http://bbc.in/1kfomk2  Apparently intensive and prolonged training, and the consequent lowering of the heart beat down to 30 per min and lower, can result in dangerous heart arrhythmias. Previous research has indicated that intensive training can stress the heart by causing multiple small tears to the heart muscle leading to recommendations limiting exercise  to around 2 to 2.5 hours per week. I seldom see any reference to people who already have  diagnosed heart disease or have experienced a heart attack. After my heart attack 5 years ago my cardiologist saw no reason why I shouldn’t run another marathon. When I checked out current thinking with the cardiac rehab team 6 months ago, the advice hadn’t changed.

 

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Aliveandrunning March 10 2014

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Mea culpa! I’m on the naughty step. Here is a picture of me powering my way, discreetly, to the finish line in the Cambridge half  marathon. I’m focussed and in the zone. Or maybe I’m worrying about the the plight of the hard working tax payer, brought to our attention by the altruistic Tory government. Anyway the temperature was around 17-18c in a cloudless sky and a lot of people were uncomfortable in the warm conditions. I find the heat OK to run in, and having drunk a reasonable amount of fluid before the race, I didn’t feel thirsty. I decided I didn’t need any available water or gels as I went around the course. I was pleased with my time  and failed to drink sufficiently for over an hour while I met up with incoming friends and family.

As we left Cambridge’s Midsummer Common to return to the car, I started to feel very nauseous  and couldn’t continue walking. I managed to get over to a stack of concrete fencing equipment to lean on for support and simply felt ill and on the verge of being sick. Lorna was with me and I resisted her suggestion of drinking water or seeking help from the volunteer medics. But I failed to feel better and remained too nauseous to move so I agreed I needed help which Lorna immediately organised. A passing first aider advised me to drink water and I gave it a try. Within a short space of time I felt a bit better and was able to clamber into the nice Land Rover Defender which raced over the Common, blue light twinkling, to take me to the medical tent. I was able to give Lorna a cheery wave as I passed her, walking, to same tent. The diagnosis : dehydration, unbelievably caused by me not drinking enough! I drank around 300 mls of water while they were ministering to me and I quickly felt a great deal better. They were happy to discharge me and I tottered off trying to avoid Lorna’s glare which reflected her dismay at my failure to sensibly take on water during the race. Well, lessons have now been learned. I don’t want others to suffer as I did. If I can prevent just one person from being hydrated then it was all worth it (please add your own cliches).

Apart from this interlude, it was a very successful day. My three daughters and son all ran very well indeed and Lorna took some lovely pictures. I managed to beat four arch rivals, three of whom are much faster than me in 5 and 10k races. The weather was excellent and the atmosphere was great.

New running resolutions for this year (and subsequent years) : ensure adequate hydration when running and particularly when it’s warm or hot : have much more consideration for Lorna who worries about my health and thinks I don’t take myself seriously enough.

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Unfortunately I couldn’t be in this picture of my family since I was trapped on the other side of the fenced in course, collecting my baggage, before I felt ill. Still I recovered relatively quickly and we all went for an Indian meal in the evening. I had plenty to drink and ate humble pie.

 

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Aliveandrunning February 23 2014

 

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Two random pictures. These trees are silver birch (betula jacquemontii) which have ghostly white, smooth bark. There is a beautiful group of them in the Anglesey Abbey gardens, Cambridgeshire. On the right is the main house in the grounds.

Two weeks to go before Cambridge Half Marathon! Last Sunday I ran 13.2 miles and today I ran the same course  around 3 minutes faster. No sunshine today and I reckon that accounts for about 4 minutes extra plus it was very windy which adds on another 3 minutes. Several runners did not respond to my greeting which dismayed me and resulted in a temporary slower pace while I recovered emotionally; add on 2 minutes. Finally, the river Cam anglers, notorious for their complete disinterest in anything other than catching ridiculously small fish and hoisting them out of the murky waters, kissing them and then depositing them back into the water, were all dressed in dull, drab, dark, dismal jackets and heavy duty trousers. This also resulted in a brief lowering of spirits and accounted for a further 2 minutes. So, if better conditions prevail, I could run it 11 minutes faster on the day!

I certainly felt more tired today compared with last Sunday. This is probably because I am still recovering from last week’s run. According to Lorna, I should now “taper” my runs until race day. My response is tapery wapery or bish,bash,bosh. I may defy running convention and run 20 miles mid week and 25 miles next weekend. But I may not. One of the reasons for not doing further long runs, apart from being deliberately idiotic, is because I tend to lose too much weight. When I returned today, I weighed 9 stone 5 lbs which is on the light side for me. I have a good appetite but I can still lose weight easily and look thin and gaunt; more like a moving match stick  rather than a young Clint Eastwood.

 

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Aliveandrunning Janathon January 13

Day 13. A short run of 2 miles a day should be achievable for most Janathon runners, if they are sufficiently motivated. It doesn’t take long and you have the option of before or after work. I might add that a run after you reach home in the evening is an excellent way to wind down and begin to relax your body. Of course, when I was in paid employment, I seldom managed to go running in the evening but it’s a nice standard to apply to others.

An uneventful 2 mile run just before dusk. It was a cold and sunny day. I should have run sooner but I was busy fixing old clay pantiles to my garage roof. I did this successfully and also fixed some guttering so I had a small but perfect sense of achievement when I set out. Tomorrow I’ll be road running in Cambridge, in the evening, with the club.

I’m very confused concerning the reports I’ve read about the amount of running undertaken and the effect on the heart. In the Observer Tech Monthly yesterday, part of an article by Catherine de Lange entitled What Science Says About The benefits Of Running (not available for sharing) discussed running and repeated the same evidence I have heard on other occasions. A study of 20,000 people in Denmark over years found that those who ran lived on average for 6 years longer than those who did not. The biggest benefits came from running between on hour and two and a half hours a week, over two or three sessions, at a comfortable pace. There is speculation that long periods of vigorous physical activity, over an hour or two, puts too much strain on heart muscle, causing it to stretch and tear, which – over years – can lead to stiffening and scarring. One 2011 study found higher levels of fibrosis, or scarring, in the heart muscle of competitive endurance athletes aged 50 or over, compared to others of the same age. It  suggests moderate intensity running in small doses – of about 30 to 50 minutes at a time. Some argue that excessive running  can cause increased calcium plaque build up in the heart, which increases the risk of coronary heart disease.

I had my heart attack 4 months after running the London Marathon, aged 58. I don’t believe that my running regime, before marathon training, contributed to heart disease. I’m well aware of factors that almost certainly did and over many years. I think my level of fitness helped me to recover quickly and allowed me to return to my prior running ability. I could physically do a marathon again and I would enjoy the challenge but I do think it would be asking too much of my heart, given I have established heart disease. OK, no more marathons then. I can live with that (no pun intended) but what about half marathons which would still exceed recommended running levels? I currently run about 3 hours a week. If I do a half marathon, the training will increase for a period of time? Is this OK for me or risky? I don’t know. How about asking a cardiologist? Well, apart from an out patient appointment after discharge from hospital, you never see a cardiologist again. You are prescribed NICE  guideline cardiac medication and are monitored by your GP. There’s not deemed to be a problem if you don’t experience troublesome symptoms. I may give the cardiac rehab nurses  or sports scientist a ring.They provided an excellent 12 week rehab programme after my heart attack and work closely with the cardiologists. It would be good to speak to other runners who have heart problems and hear what advice they have been given concerning mileage and duration.

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