Asics Target 26.2: Runners World Bootcamp 2

First of all ... an apology.

This is the blog post of the Runners World Bootcamp 2 of the Asics Target 26.2 which happened on the 26th January!! I'm so sorry. I thought I'd already posted this ....!!

Honest! 

26th January...

The snow was still hanging around so I decided it was probably safer to book a train. Safer than driving anyway. Not necessarily for me getting there on time.

Trains should be simple right? You buy a ticket for where you want to go ... and then get on. Apparently not. The time on my ticket said train departs 6:58am. Turned up – the train was in the station so I asked the Virgin train man. Nope, apparently the train I want is 7:17am.

A dark, confusing station

I'm confused. Again. Sigh. Decided he knew what he was talking about so got onto the next train.

I hadn’t had time to finish my usual coffee that morning and hadn’t had a chance to grab one at the station, but decided that getting one from the Uni coffee shop would be the best option. I listened to an audiobook on the train on the way down and enjoyed the novelty of being able to sit and do nothing. With an energetic 3 year old it’s a treat to be able to sit down.

I got to Birmingham New Street station needing a wee. But apparently you needed to pay 30p. THIRTY PEE? What happened to spending a penny? I only had notes on me. I looked despairingly at the attendant. She either decided that I wasn’t a budding graffiti artist, either that or I was about to wet myself and she let me through for free. Phew.

Had a wander aimlessly around the station and then gave in and asked a train man. Managed to get on the right train for the Birmingham University. The route was surprisingly scenic and we passed the canal, frozen solid and with the paths packed with snow and ice. A runner in a hi-viz running top was stopped and was stretching out his legs. I watched him until he was lost to the distance.  A good sign of the day to come.

Arrived early and met Tom who was doing the photography. We decided that the first and best idea would be to source a good strong cup of coffee. Coffee shop was shut ... until 10am. An hour and a half to wait.

We went and posted some money into the instant coffee machine in the lobby. Nope. It decided that under no circumstances was it going to dispense any coffee today. Argh! We texted the others asking them to bring caffeine. Urgently. I was dispatched to the Starbucks on the other side of the campus to try and track down 2 Americanos. Starubucks was also shut. Anyone would have thought students didn’t get up early on Saturdays. Oh.

Everyone else arrived, having had their caffeine hit at the station. Grrr!

However, it was lovely to catch up with everyone. Shady Ady looking very swelte – obviously a combination of tracking his food and hard marathon training was paying off! Mel looked fab and smiley and again ... we were wearing the same kit. Down to the trainers. Sigh. It looked as though this was going to be a theme of our training days.

Alex had decided that although he may be miles quicker than the rest of us, we wouldn’t lose sight of him by wearing a pair of beautiful but eye-burningly orange trainers. Today it really DID look as though he was leaving a burning trail like the De Lorian in Back to the Future.

Bacon Steve was glowing from a combination of being deprived of his takeaways and fever, having been forced from his sick bed by the thought of a nice run in the snow with the rest of the Target 262 group. However, he rose to the challenge and knocked out a set of perfect laps of the campus.

The icy, slippy, snowy canal path

Our training session today was supposed to be mile repeats on the scenic canal paths, but due to the amount of packed snow and ice and the fact they hadn’t brought grappling hooks to fish us out of the canal after we undoubtedly fell in through sliding on the aforementioned, the Asics and Runner’s World team decided we would do the laps on the track ....

Which wasn’t to be. The track was under a couple of inches of snow and also had a couple of snowmen sitting proudly on the inner lanes. Hmmm.  

The track ... somewhere under the snow

Sam Murphy spotted a runner and smoothly accosted him. Apparently there was an almost perfect loop of the campus which worked out at about .8 of a mile. All on tarmac and practically snow free. Just the odd car and running group to dodge. Perfect.

The snowmen ...

The first lap was at marathon pace which worked out for me neatly at an 8 min/mile, the next was marathon pace -15 seconds a mile at 7:45 min/mile, then 7:30 min/mile, 7:15 min/mile and the last lap was to be as fast as I liked. Steve Smythe and Sam Murphy had all of our times worked out perfectly so we’d all start at different times and then finish by crossing the line all together. Nice.

It was fun although difficult not to try and catch up the person in front. This was supposed to be a pacing exercise, but trying to maintain pace rather than catching up Ady who started each lap just 10 seconds in front of me was difficult. Had to get brain to outshout legs ... is NOT a race!

I managed to maintain the correct paces for my laps and managed to resist the urge to chase the others (must have been a Labrador or a Springer Spaniel or some other equally loopy dog in a previous life) and was rewarded by being allowed to do the final lap as fast as I liked. So ran it at a 5:55 min/mile.

Marathon Coach Steve had been watching how we were running and gave me some valuable tips. Apparently I keep my arms and shoulders quite hunched and he suggested relaxing these which made the arm action more comfortable and was a lot smoother. He also suggested trying Power Bars or Protein Shakes as I don’t eat a lot of carbs so these may act as an additional insurance.  

The Sports Centre

Sam Murphy ran with us on our cool down lap and helped us find a more efficient style of running as we all had a tendency to overstretch our legs. She got Alex – our super-speedy chap - to run at a comfortable speed – for him!! - then to run faster and made us watch the difference. It sounds so basic but it really did illustrate the point. His arms came higher in front and his feet kicked up higher at the back. She gave us all a quick exercise which was to pick our knees up further and kick our legs back further while keeping our hips under the body. The aim was to make your legs move in a more circular motion – think Road Runner, rather than over-stride.

Got back to the room with all of our kit in it and arranged to have a shower. Best of all the coffee shop was now open and Elaine had brought us all coffee!! Amazing!!! I put the coffee down in a safe place on one of the benches and went off to have my shower, safe in the knowledge that it would be the perfect temperature when I got back. 

Got to the showers and realised I’d forgotten my towel. Face/palm. However, I HAD brought a very large and drapey scarf ... now just to explain the black bobbly bits of wool stuck all over me...  

Got back to lecture theatre ... my coffee had disappeared! Argh! No time to get another so postponed that until after I’d spoken to Ruth McKean.

Ruth is lovely! She is also tiny – which was unexpected as judging by her photo was expecting someone tall and intimidating! We had a good chat and she suggested carb loading before races and the types of foods to try. She also said that if there were gels or sports drinks I hadn’t tried at a race that I could always wash my mouth out with these if I wasn’t going to drink them. There had been a recent study showing that athletes (not sure if I class myself as one of these, mind) who washed their mouths out with sugary drinks or gel got a burst of energy even if none of the substance was absorbed. Apparently the body was expecting the extra energy so had a bit more of a push! A really, really useful tip! Especially if you’re accident prone like me and may end up dropping your final gel or squirting it all over the floor. We had a chat about my ‘delicate stomach’ and we decided to go pretty much gluten and wheat free. Especially on the days leading up to a race. It was really nice to chat and to get an idea of sensible fuelling.

Finished up and went to get a coffee ... Coffee shop shut. Head-bang-wall. Repeat.

Had a sit down and a chat with Marathon Coach Steve and he outlined the training plan for the next few weeks, including when the long runs were likely to be and fitting these in around races scheduled such as Dorney lakes Half (Race your Pace) and the Silverstone Half Marathon. It was really nice to sit down and chat to Steve. He REALLY knows his stuff.

Had an MOT with Sarah Connors and she put me through my paces. She could tell I’d been foam rollering my ITB ... but also she could tell that I hadn’t been doing the bridges as diligently as I should have! No secrets from a good physio! She loosened off my knee and showed me how tight my hip flexors were ... With her elbow. I could feel the pain right down in my foot. She looks so sweet too! But it’s definitely a lesson to make sure I foam roller my hip flexors properly and do the ITB stretch using a partner.

We all got called outside separately to shiver in the snow and to have an interview in front of the camera! Wow! Felt like a celebrity ... although came across as a gibbering idiot. Oh well. At least I came across as myself.

Time to head home and back to the station. Next time we’d all be together would be the March Bootcamp! And that sounds SUCH a long way away ... but I know the time will fly by. Fingers crossed for some good long runs, no injuries and lots of smiles!

P.s. I finally got a cup of coffee at the train station. I went to pour some milk in and the lid fell in. As did all the milk.

Coffee. Pre-milk. Milk jug looking innocent in the background.

Runners World & ASICS #Target262 Bootcamp

RunnersWorld and ASICS #Target262 invited me to the Bootcamp with 44 other runners with the aim of narrowing the field to 22 and to put those through to a public vote to choose a final 5 to go on to run the Paris Marathon!

My alarm went off at 6.30am so I sprang out of bed and into my perfectly prepared clothes and ate my wonderful breakfast. The birds were singing.

Actual: Dragged self out of bed, had shower and went to put on clothes I’d laid out ready yesterday only to find that my red top was missing. Emptied Running Clothes drawer out to find no sign of it. Finally discovered red top in the clean-but-not-dry washing basket. Soaking wet.

Considered hanging my red top out of the car window but thought it might blow away as I was driving down the M1. Next time I’d see it, it would be being worn by a tramp telling a story of how this wondrous but slightly sweaty smelling red top came flying out of the sky and landed in his Special Brew.

Decided was not going to clothe tramps for free and resorted to hairdrying the top. Thank goodness for quick drying synthetics.

Made it unscathed through the Brum traffic and into the South Carpark of Birmingham University. Saw a gentleman in running clothes and promptly grabbed him – in a non-threatening way of course. Poor Mark had no idea what hit him as he was subjected to my nervousness-induced verbal diarrhoea. However, we managed to find the Munrow Building eventually – after complete strangers took one look at us and told us where the gym was - and to grab a cup of coffee and a chair in the cafe.

The cafe had been completely taken over by a friendly looking group of people in various styles and colours of lycra. It was either the Runners World lot or I’d stumbled into some sort of fetishist group with an obsession with eye-watering colours and skin tight elastic-wear. I decided I was reasonably safe from getting my leg licked as I noted the sensible running shoes. I don’t think BDSM groups tend to go in for pronation support footwear.

Caught up with a few people in the cafe whose names I remembered from the ‘ASICS Target 26.2 – 2013’ thread on the Runners World forum, among them ‘JenF’, ‘Green and White Tigger’ and ‘KarenG’. Fab to have a quick girlie chat and find out their running backgrounds.

We all started filing towards the lecture theatre where we had an introduction to Asics and Runners World and the Simon Cowell of the Bootcamp day! We were all also told we could quite freely tweet about the day and post pics and to use the hashtag #Target262.

Photo Shoot

We were all told it was time for the photo shoot. It sounded quite glamourous and nothing to do with getting sweaty running or lycra at all. We were all told to line up in height order so I waited while pretty much everybody else filed past ... except Emma aka ‘First26point2’, Caroline aka ‘CaroT’ and Sarah aka 'Sarah Osborne 4'. One day we 4 girls may reach the heady heights of 5’4 … but until that day we go to the back of the queue in height order.

'Sarah Osborne 4' (left), me 'RunnyRunRun' (centre), 'CaroT' (right) 

The photographer was snapping away and it all looked very glam! I waited until the last minute to take off my warm top for the photo … and realised I clashed. Horribly. Not only did my pink top clash with the stripes on my Capris, my neon pink socks clashed with EVERYTHING else. Including the flooring. I’d managed to clothe myself in a collection of pinks which sounded delightful, but actually looked as though Barbie had vomited into a running shop. Hmmm … well at least I’ll be memorable.

In my individual Barbie-Vomit style

The photographer was lovely. Really took time to try to put me at my ease. However, when I’m nervous I gurn. Yep. Gurn. It’s completely unintentional and I have no doubt the ability will win me good money when I’m old and toothless, but while I’m in my early 30s and trying to get a decent photo for the Runners World comp, the gurning ability is not really my friend.

Dammit.

Also, I reckon I can safely say that I don’t think my video clip will be used for the Bootcamp publicity. I was told not to look at the camera. So in checking where not to look, I promptly looked into the camera. OK not a great start. I can save this.

Interviewer:     So what do you want to get from today?

Me:                  (Looking around desperately for inspiration). It will be great to get some tips from the experts ... and um ... talk to other runners about running. Um ... Because when I talk to my partner about running, he just huffs and gets glazed eyes. (Trailing off quietly) Um ... I talk too much don’t I?

OK. Probably not the impression I had hoped to make. But I can save this, can’t I? Got told where to go to get back to the others and promptly opened the wrong door into a sports hall. Then proceeded to open 2 other doors into cupboards looking for the way out. Find the right door. Escapes.

Physiotherapy – Sarah Connors

I was in Group 3 and we were scheduled to have the first session with Sarah Connors who is a chartered physiotherapist. She’s had over 20 years treating athletes and worked for the British Athletics Team in the past. Sarah was lovely and REALLY knew her stuff. She gave us some really good information on which niggles to look out for and when your trainers are bin-ready … and it’s a lot sooner than I’d thought! Once your trainers are twist-able diagonally – that’s it. It’s time for some new ones. Sounds good to me – I HAVE to have new shoes. Sarah Connors told me so!

She also showed us 2 valuable exercises. One was to work your glutes. You stand on one leg and rest the side of the bent leg against a surface like a wall. The supporting leg has the knee slightly bent and then you twist your knee slightly outwards. You can feel your glutes working immediately.

The second exercise was the bridge. You lie on your back (your arms not supporting your body) and raise your bottom off of the floor until your body is being supported by your upper back and your feet, with your knees bent. Your tummy and upper legs should form a straight line. You engage your core and your glutes and raise one leg, trying not to dip to one side. Repeat.

Track Session – Pacing with Sam Murphy.

Sam was really nice. She came across as really knowledgeable and approachable which was lovely as we were all quite nervous. Our fellow runners at the bootcamp were friendly and it was great chatting to them about running, but it was hard to shake the fact that we were all competing for the same prize! 

Sam got us checking our pacing and our consistency. She made us do 400 metres (1 lap of the track) at our marathon pace + 60 seconds. My marathon pace was 3 hrs 35 so I was looking at just over an 8:30 mile for marathon pace, so 9:30 m/mile for this exercise. The second was marathon pace + 30 seconds for 800 metres, then marathon pace for 1600 metres. The whole run was comfortable and I found that I was reasonably good at keeping the pace consistent which was good as it was the first time I had tried this type of exercise. Maybe the recent marathon had been a good lead up!

Sam gave us some good tips for pacing over long runs and she recommended doing a negative split on long runs to get you ready for running on tired legs towards the end of a marathon. For instance, the pacing exercise but over a longer distance although Sam advised us not to take it over 12 – 14 miles. She also recommended off road and trail runs for long runs to avoid impact injuries and as a good balance to road running. Sounded good to me. Running trails is my favourite kind of running! 

Gait Analysis

We had the gait analysis straight after lunch. It was really interesting. I’ve always worn the same shoes – Asics 2160s and own 6 pairs at the present moment (including a mud running pair!) and have always worried that maybe I’m not wearing quite the right ones. But I haven’t liked to get any others while the Asics are fine!

Don't knock over the treadmill camera!

 The Gait Analysis gent put us in neutral shoes and got us to run at a comfortable pace on the treadmill which felt very strange in front of a group of people. Afterwards, he showed us the video. It was very odd watching my feet flailing around and it looked as though I was trying to put out a fire by tap dancing on it. However, I was reassured that this was perfectly normal. 

He stopped the video at a point where my foot was flat on the treadmill and drew a line from the centre of my heel to my knee and depending on where my ankle was on the side of the line depended on whether I overpronated or supinated. The verdict came back -  my left foot was neutral and right foot overpronated. The chap was very good and said could recommend the models for every brand. I'm apparently in exactly the right shoes... But they could do with a good clean!

Track Session – 5k Time Trial with Steve Smythe

Next was the session we were all dreading ... The 5k time trial. Steve is quite intense and comes across as quite stern. You can imagine he wouldn't brook any shirking off from intervals. It was 400m at faster than 5k pace, 100m at a fast jog, repeat 10 times. The idea was to come out at around your usual 5k time. 

I nailed it home at 21:51 with a sprint finish. Thought I’d end on a negative split. Bang on what I put on the form. Felt good afterwards and knew that I could have gone faster. Think there's going to be a new 5k pb soon as 6:45 m/mile was comfortable. Did a warm down lap with the lads and we picked up our gear and sauntered back to the exit. The photographer was snapping off loads of shots of us all.  It was good to know that we were done for the day and could relax a bit now. It was a fantastic day talking about running with runners and experts. Perfect.

Finishing off the 5k Time Trial at the track

We all went back to the lecture theatre for a farewell. Got a goodie bag with a bottle, sweat band, 'run addict' t-shirt, RW magazine and some socks – always appreciated! Also given a cool keyring by the gait analysis chap. Very funky and a nice reminder of a fab day whenever I look at my car keys!

Went to coffee shop with Karen, Sarah, Malcolm and Tony. It was really nice to have a coffee, relax and chatter about upcoming races and to dissect the day. We stayed there for about an hour and just chilled.

I left the bootcamp feeling really positive. I’d done everything I could and done it the best I could. It would be an amazing achievement to make it to Paris, but the bootcamp was a win in itself. It was enough to have done it all right and to show myself that I could compete. One day I’ll get to Paris … 

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QUICK UPDATE: Can't quite believe it ... but I'm through to the voting stage! I'm in the final 4! Eeek!

Please, please vote for me here.