Blog
100 runs in 100 days - part one
(posted by Nick)
Last year was a difficult year for many reasons but particularly my worst personal health year. I had headaches, virus-like all over body aches and was exhausted for months. I have always been well so this was quite an unpleasant shock. With running I found I would plan to go for a 45 minute run and grind to a stop within 5 minutes of torture, walk another 5 minutes and then call it a day.
This year my health has improved, my energy levels are good again and I am managing to run again. So much so that I set myself the task of running 100 runs in 100 days.
We took an extended month long holiday over Christmas which was great. Early in the holiday I read ‘Born to Run’ by Christopher McDougall. I couldn’t put it down and finished it within 24 hours. I am not so sure it was beautifully written but it was continually intriguing and I felt like it was story of the running I love.
I also bumped into inspiring friends who were coaching young triathletes, competitive adventure racers or just out there running and loving it.
One such friend is a proud newish Dad of an 8 month old son, Alfie. He has been a home Dad for the last few months. Some of his friends were completing 100 runs in 100 days so he took on the challenge and when I met him he was on day 44. He had managed to plenty of them pushing Alfie in a running pushchair. I remember being a bit daunted but a couple of days later I decided what better way for me to put last year behind me than getting really fit, and so I embraced the challenge – and it’s got to be easier if you don’t have to push someone.
100 runs in 100 days is a personal thing. There are no rules other than those self-imposed. I have decided that my 100 runs will follow roughly my Alfie-pushing friends’. So my rules are: 100 consecutive days of at least 5km or 30 minutes whichever comes first; I can miss a day but have to make it up eg 2 runs in the same day; I can’t bank future runs eg do 2 runs so I don’t run tomorrow; and 1 hour of football can count as a run (because the start of the season will overlap the 100 days – and because they are my rules).
Those are the rules but the essence of what I attempting is more about enjoyment.
I would normally tend to run the same favourite routes. Here I intend to explore, to run in the pouring rain, in Northerlies, Southerlies, in the pitch black at midnight, in moonlit evenings, the middle of a hot day, before the birds and kids have woken, up the road I have never checked out, to the top of that hill and around that rocky coastline to that point, slow at first, but then with differing speeds, before a meal, on a full stomach, not in jeans because that’s too far, in running shoes, five fingers, barefoot on grass, followed by a plunge into the ocean, passed the sweet smelling bakery and through the earthquake prone tunnel.
So who’s with me? Ok I’ll do it by myself…….(to be continued)
Nick
Posted by Nick Conn on 21st February, 2012 | Comments | Trackbacks | Permalink
Tags: 100 runs, barefoot running, health and fitness, goals, born to run, energy levels.
One on one pilates; lesson one.
(posted by Amy)
I had my first one on one pilates appointment with Rachel last week. It was a great luxury for me to take a break from the chaos of life with 4 kids at home (been a very long summer at our place) and focus on myself for half an hour. Taking a step back and going through things with Rachel I realised that I have come to see my nightly pilates as 'another chore' that's been tacked on to the end of the day. Consequently I power through it without really engaging with it and try and 'get it done'. This is probably at the heart of why I'm not progressing as I'd like to be. Rachel explained that engaging mentally plays a significant role in successful pilates. So we went right back to basics and talked about my breathing. I'm actually pretty rubbish at breathing - I tend to hold myself in a state of tension at all times with my shoulders up round my ears, taking shallow breaths. I'm like the perpetual meerkat on the lookout post and even when all 4 kids are safely tucked up in bed I find it hard to relax my stance. Rachel got me to concerntrate on relaxing my ribs on the exhale - quite a revelation for me.
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We then looked at getting some of my 'deep' muscles switched on. I now realise that much of what I've been doing over the last few months has been building up my strength and mobilising my weak lower back but I've skipped over activating some of the important muscles that will help give me really good core stability. Rachel showed me how to switch these muscles on with some basic leg raises, knee fall outs etc to start working them. I had a go at co-ordinating good breathing with the exercises which really does require quite some concerntration ( a bit like that game you play as a kids where you try and rub your stomach and pat your head at the same time) but hopefully it will become automatic for me soon (if I engage with it rather than attempting to furtively watch Grey's anatomy re-runs at the same time as I have been!)
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Finally Rachel went over my back extensions which have become the cornerstone of my back-care programme and repositioned me to do them more effectively. Next appointment in 3 weeks time.
Amy
Rachel says:
" Like many post pregenancy mum's, Amy's focus starts on setting the foundation for.... fortunately she has good body awareness, so it's about fine-tuning this intuition.
Many of us adapt holding patterns, and re-setting these internal switch boards is key for great comfort and stability... it starts with learning our own neutral alignment zones and dominant muscles that require letting go. One-on-one allows us to build a framework for this discovery, something that gets oveerlooked in most group situations. Hopefully she'll remember to breathe for the next few weeks too!"
Posted by Amy Black on 2nd February, 2012 | Comments | Trackbacks | Permalink
Tags: Breathing, pilates, back extensions, core stability, stomach muscles
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