And finally there is light...

Something great happened during my usual Monday evening run (while Little Miss Outdoors goes to a French class) - it remained light for the entire outing. While this new occurence (for 2010) has obviously been creeping up on me over the past few weeks it was most noticeable this evening. I ran until 5.55pm and still it did not get properly dark. "Woohooo!" - that's what I thought to myself (I may even have let out a happy squeal but hopefully not too loud!)

So finally I can look forward to warmer days and longer evenings. Being a female runner the lighter evenings are a true bonus. For too many months I have been forced to stick to lit-up street areas for evening runs, sometimes going round in circles, or find the time during daylight hours (there aren't that many some days) to go for a run further afield. But now I can begin to stretch my evening outings into the more peaceful and interesting country roads and off-road. I don't mind running alone but I'm careful not to go out in the dark in unlit areas unaccompanied.

The same is true for cycling. The lighter evenings offer greater opportunities for an hour or so of riding without having to worry about bike lights and an inability to see on dark, unlit roads.

I can imagine there are many runners and cyclists like me feeling a little more positive about the prospect of spring and summer training outings. Time for a collective "wooohooo... spring is in the air" moment! (Bet it snows tomorrow just to prove me wrong!)

Speed running in the sleet

While 20 or so of our fellow Glasgow Tri Club athletes headed out to the warmer climes of Club La Santa on Lanzarote today, eight of those left behind in Scotland braved a chilly and sleety run session tonight.

Led by Major Tom, aka the Captain of Communication and one of our fab coaches, we completed a 30-minute speed session, with one minute of fast running followed by a minute's recovering. Now I know that doesn't seem like a long time to to be running but speed intervals are always tough.

The session is as much about gauging pace (ie starting at a pace you can manage for the whole set) as it is about mental resolve over physical pain. These sessions are always the same for me. I set off thinking that the first three reps are really quite nice, then by the halfway point I start to think I'll probably puke. By the time we get to the last few reps I am close to actually puking ... and then on the last two reps it's mind over matter that always wins and I find I can just about make it to the end of the last rep before my legs give way.

Ah, and while it is painful, these sessions do work wonders on overall speed. We're starting to build up for the triathlon race season – and the aim for many will be to pull off a decent run time at the end of a triathlon event (swim, then cycle, then run on wobbly legs).

Thanks Major Tom for keeping our motivation up tonight - while we all tried to forget about the warm weather training our fellow members will be doing this week in the Canaries. Hurumph!

"i" really, really want one!

So I didn't really want an Apple iPhone. Not really. I could appreciate it was a thing of gadgetry beauty and that it offered all kinds of nice apps. But I thought I could get by without one - and that I didn't want the expense.

But now I've changed my mind! On Sunday the G-Force showed me how he'd tracked his cycle ride via the app, MapMyRun. Now I've used MapMyRun and MapMyRide a few times via my Mac and I know how useful it is to be able to plan a route or to check the mileage covered during a run or cycle outing.

But with the iPhone app it's possible to actually track the exact route covered, check out your speed, and also discover overall pace and time thanks to the in-built GPS. And I am now very jealous. I know there are other gadgets out there, such as Garmins, that offer a similar tracking facility but do they a) look as good as the iPhone? b) combine as a mobile phone? c) have a music player? d) have the facility to integrate with Twitter? In short, no.

Oh, and I've just noticed that it's also possible to download a Nike+ app to turn your iPhone into some kind of personal coach. I really, really want an iPhone now.

PS I'm wondering how many brownie points I'll to need to earn before the G-Force lets me borrow his iPhone for my next run or cycle ride.

The thoroughly modern guide to buying trainers (for kids, too)

You don't just pop into a high street shoe shop to buy a pair of trainers on special offer these days. Especially if you're planning to do even the tiniest bit of serious jogging. The 21st century road to trainer wearing heaven is to find yourself a specialist sports shop and to then spend at least 45 minutes having your gait assessed, your foot analysed, your mileage accounted for and your goals considered.

After this you must then try on an eye-opening range of "running footwear" each with their own special piece of hi-tec gadgetry. This could include hexagon-shaped cushioning to better protect your joints, an improved support system for your arch, a wider/narrower front foot, plus support to deal with over-pronation or under pronation (this is what happens when you foot either rolls inwards or outwards when it strikes the ground). It's even possible to buy "customised" trainers that can be created to almost perfectly fit your own foot shape, running gait and desired level of cushioning.

And if you think this is all a bit OTT even as a grown-up wannabe jogger, then imagine your incredulity as a parent of a child who needs a pair of new trainers when they are treated to almost the same level of attention.

While the ubiquitous slip-on black gym pumps will "do" for school, they most certainly won't cut it at the local running club. Nor will any kind of lighting up trainers. Which is how I found myself at my own favourite specialist sports shop, Achilles Heel, inquiring about trainers for Little Miss Outdoors, who is a member of the excellent Garscube Harriers (a club that is somehow bucking the "kids-are-horribly-lazy" trend and boasts a waiting list for junior members).

And if I'd expected there to be a choice of a couple of pairs of mediocre-looking, scaled-down adult trainers for kids I couldn't have been more wrong. In the 21st century just about every sports shoe manufacturer offers a range of trainers to suit different activities and different foot shapes and running gaits.


Even Little Miss Outdoors, with her long, thin feet and very narrow heels (just like her mum) had the choice of no less than six different pair of very-smart-looking-indeed trainers.

The Specialist - and very attentive – Footwear Fitting Assistant at Achilles Heel also dedicated an unbelievable amount of time to ensure that Little Miss Outdoors chose exactly the right shoe to suit her running style and ability.

* First the Very Attentive Assistant looked at how LMO walked barefoot and then ran barefoot. This is to assess one's gait and to see how the foot strikes the ground.

* Then she carefully measured the length and width of her foot, and added on a small thumb's width of space to the length. This extra space allows for the forward force and movement of the foot each time it strikes the ground.

* Then she asked about LMO's running. Off-road, on-road, track, cross country, for fun, for competition, mileage?.
There are off-road trainers, cross-country shoes, cheaper trainers with less cushioning, more expensive trainers for more mileage with extra cushioning and support. As well as trainers for the gym, aerobics, indoor football, netball etc.

* Then the VAA went off to the stock room to select a range of trainers that might perfectly suit Little Miss Outdoors, her feet and her type of running.

And, boy, did my daughter love the attention. Carefully assessing every pair of trainers LMO paced and jogged up and down the shop, even trying out a different brand on each foot "just to see the differences," suggested the VAA. The VAA also had LMO trying trainers with an additional cushioned insert in a bid to find the absolutely perfect fit. And added a nice pair of supportive elastic laces.

But why all the fuss, I asked? Well, it seems that just like adults who can incur injuries and strains to muscles, ligaments and tendons in the legs, hips, backs etc because of the combination of the repetitive action of running and ill-fitting trainers so, too, can children. It is unlikely that potential injuries will be as severe in youngsters because they should never be running as many miles as the grown-ups but the damage/pain could still occur.

And so it came down to just two pairs of trainers that LMO was "almost definitely sure about". A pink pair and a blue pair. While both looked amazingly pretty (if trainers can ever be described in such a way) there came a final lesson from the VAA. "Be sure about the fit, not about the colour," cautioned the VAA.

Hmm. Well, I knew that was going to be a tough call for LMO who has always had a very strong connection to all things girly, fluffy and, above-all, pink. Quite incredibly, however, it appears that she'd been taking the whole trainer buying experience rather seriously. For in the end (this bit did take several tedious minutes) she pointed at the blue pair. The Mizuno trainers are a mixture of bright white, navy blue and baby blue and the laces are white-and-sprakly-blue striped but they were definitely not pink. Or fluffy looking. Or flashy and lighting up.

The price also took me by surprise. While proper running trainers for adults can cost between £75 and £120, the Mizunos for kids were just £35. I felt I'd not only got my money's worth thanks to the time and advice from the VAA but also because for once in her life LMO had been able to choose a pair of trainers from a wide range and come away with a pair she felt looked "really nice and trendy". She says she can't wait to go to the running club on Tuesday. "How marvellous and healthy!" I thought.

You want to come on a trip to buy school shoes to find out how different the whole experience normally is. Let's just say that long, thin feet with narrow heels never, ever fit into pretty, attractive or vaguely trendy shoes. They only ever fit into the one pair of horribly sensible looking, lace-up shoes that most shoe shops stock only for those crestfallen-looking children with very, very narrow feet. But that's another story.

The bike and wine diet

Some years ago I recall the Herald's flamboyant wine writer Joe Fattorini waxing lyrical about his great new weight loss plan. Rather than deny himself all his favourite treats, Joe told me that he'd save up enough calories every day to allow him to enjoy a large glass of fine red wine every evening. His theory was pretty sound (although not all the health experts would agree) in that he realised that total denial of all things tasty and calorific would only lead to desperate cravings and an inevitable caving in. The plan certainly worked for him as Joe seemed to lose half his body weight over the space of months.

Yesterday I wondered on Facebook about whether I'd worked off enough calories cycling over recent days to justify a couple of large glasses of wine. The idea was that my cycling endeavours could cancel out a slight excess of wine.

It seemed that my Facebook pals agreed. Replying to my Facebook poser one came up with the calorific facts: One bottle of wine = 500 cals consumed, while half an hour of cycling = 200 cals burned.

Another Facebooker stated: "One bottle of standard red wine would provide about 28% of your total daily calorie count but since nobody drinks standard red wine it probably has 50% extra alcohol so maybe 40% of daily calories." Gosh!

So I reckon that the fact that I've cycled for a total of more than three hours in two days means I could allow myself a couple of large glasses of vino.

Now, I'm not for a minute suggesting that wine is packed with lots of health-giving nutrients and to be honest I'd be a whole lot fitter and healthier if I carried on cycling and running and ditched the wine. But, then, where would be the fun in that?

Does anyone else have the same ideas about balancing keep-fit and booze?!

Get on your bike to get fit

It's lighter, ever so slightly warmer (on some days) and there's the faintest whiff of hope in the air as finally we all allow ourselves to look forward to spring and summer. So there's no better time to embrace your shiny new 2010 Get Fit for Summer campaign.

Whether it's walking, running, swimming or cycling that's your chosen activity why not give yourself a little momentum by aiming for a race? There's a host of mass participation events taking place across Scotland this year and there's sure to be one to suit your aspirations and location.

Better still, why not get fit – and raise money for charity? One new event that provides the ideal goal for women is the Pedal It Pink women-only cycle event. Coming to Scotland for the first time on Sunday May 16, the event aims to raise funds for the Breast Cancer Campaign – and get more women on their bikes.


Organisers are predicting hundreds of entries for the event, taking place in Holyrood Park, Edinburgh. There will be a choice of routes from a family 5k lap to a half marathon (13.1 miles) to a full marathon (26.2 miles). All routes will be traffic-free on the day and are suitable for a wide range of cyclists.


Cycling offers a great all round, cardiovascular fitness. The average person will burn around 200 calories per 30 minutes cycling at a moderate pace. Pedal a bit faster and you'll burn more cals and also work your leg muscles just that bit harder. So, ladies, cycling will give those wobbly bits – the thighs and bum – a good work out.

Another great thing about cycling is that it can be done socially. Why not get out for a ride with friends or with your family? Scotland has a wealth of safe cycling routes, too, including many, many miles of Sustrans routes, both on-road and off-road, and more mountain biking trails than you could ever imagine. Scotland is Europe's number one mountain biking hotspot, don't you know?

All this cycling will have you aiming for the full marathon distance in the Pedal It Pink event, for sure. Entries are now open.

1,576 steps to madness!

I found my jaw dropping as I watched competitors in the annual Empire State Building Run Up earlier this week. See here The bonkers event sees almost 300 runners racing up 1,576 steps – and a total ascent of 303m – to the Observatory deck on the 86th floor of the iconic New York skyscraper.

Now in its 33rd year, the race, which is by invitation only from the New York Road Runners, claims to be the world's most famous stair race and the oldest of its kind. (There are others?!)

This year the men's race was won by 25-year-old Thomas Dold, of Germany, for the fifth year running, in 10 minutes and 16 seconds. His enlightening post-race quote told us that his training for the event was important so that he could climb stairs as fast and hard as possible. Well, you don't say!

Meanwhile a woman aged 40 (yes 40!) took first female place in 13 minutes and 13 seconds. Talking after the event New Zealander Melissa Moon, who is a former successful mountain runner (that will explain the win then!), said she was delighted to have come first (possibly over the Moon?!) – and reckoned she'd be talking about it when she was 90, sitting in a rocking chair and surrounded by all her grandkids!

Anyone want to suggest a building in Scotland that could serve as the perfect place for a similar event?

Running in the rain

It might have been wet and puddley underfoot but at least the ice and snow had gone. And it might have been heavy rain but there was a great turnout and lots of new faces. Last night's running session at the Glasgow Triathlon Club was tough but fun and all-inclusive.

Led by Captain T, we all took up the challenge of a pyramid set of speed intervals. Each pyramid had a 30-second sprint, followed by the same length of jogging recovery, then a 60-second sprint, followed by a recovery, then a 90-second sprint and recovery. At the "top" of the first pyramid we then proceeded to complete the set in reverse. We did this five times in total.

It was possible for all participants to complete the pyramids according to their own ability and with some time for jogging there was the chance to enjoy a few snippets of chat in between the sprints.

I pushed it and found the training session hard-going but at the end it felt good to have completed something that wasn't my ordinary comfort-zone outing.

These sort of sessions might just get me in shape for having a go at another sprint triathlon sometime this year. I know I should!

It's all in the detail

Sometimes I come across new fitness/outdoors kit that includes a detail that is so fab I want to tell everyone about it. This time it's a couple of new Nike products that I recently bought.

The first is a Nike Dri-FIT Running beanie (and also the Nike Thermal Running Skull) that features a small but highly useful hole in the back. For us girls with ponytails this fab detail offers a truly genius solution to the usual bunched-up-at-the-back-of-the-head-hair nightmare that all too often occurs with a ponytail and a woolly hat.

You don't have to have a pony tail to wear this hat as guys or women with short hair won't even notice the hole, but for women with long hair it is nothing short of fabulous. (Actually, come to think of it, guys or women with short hair might find the hole useful for feeding through earphone wires.)

Since buying the hat numerous long-locked pals have commented on the brilliance of this hat. I plan to wear the thinner Dri-FIT beanie under my cycle helmet, too, and as an additional layer when out walking in the hills.

Nike also have a pair of running gloves called Nike Lightweight Running Gloves with a tiny wee pocket on the inside of the palm just perfect for slipping a key into. If you're a runner then you'll know the problem well: you're heading out for a run from the car or the house but you're only wearing a basic pair of leggings or shorts and a top. So where on earth can you stow the key?

These Nike gloves offer the ideal solution. Pop the key in the palm pocket and then hold your hands in the natural curled position for running and you'll find the key stays perfectly in place.

These two features might only be small additions to a couple of pieces of ordinary running kit but they make a huge difference to comfort and practicalities.

The fab running specialist store Achilles Heel, Great Western Road, Glasgow, sells these Nike products.

New Newtons - a Eureka moment?

A Glasgow Tri Club comrade was sporting a shiny new pair of the Newton Gravity trainers at the run session last night. They do look very beautiful and certainly the extra ledgey bits underneath the front sole look interesting. These trainers, which have been 10 years in the making, have received rave reviews in many sports mags. The theory behind the footwear is that they better mimic the advantages of barefoot running and should help to prevent many of the niggles and injuries of runners. The claim is: Newton running shoes will help you to "run smoother, more efficiently and, ultimately, faster". See here for the science stuff. The club's El Presidante - aka David - has promised me a Newtons review soonest. In the meantime, he said they are ace and they did seem to make him run a lot faster than most folk last night. In Glasgow Achilles Heel, on Great Western Road, are selling the Newtons.

Running out of ...

Ah.. and so it's back to those killer speed sessions that I so clearly recall from last Spring. Round about now each year the Glasgow Tri Club move to Victoria Drive in Jordanhill for a couple of months of killer speed reps running as fast as we can along the edge of Victoria Park for set time intervals.

The fact that I can remember how sick I felt during every single weekly session last year should lead me to leave the club for these next two months. That would be the sane way to go.

But I doubt I could ever be described as sane. And in reality I know that the pain and nausea will pay off in the end with smarter, better times for 5ks and 10ks during the summer months. Whether I will actually get around to running any 5k or 10k races in the summer is another matter but all I know is that if I do want faster race times I need to train faster. It's as simple as that (apparently!). Except that doing any fast running really hurts.

This is my first week of speed reps for 2009 and while thought I was doing just fine for the first four reps, by the sixth I could feel a rising nausea, by the 7th I thought I'd collpase half way and by the last rep I could only imagine how amazing it would be to stop RIGHT THERE RIGHT NOW. For a short while after the session I felt good knowing I'd done it - but now sitting at my desk
my thighs are aching and complaining. By tomorrow I just know I'll have trouble getting down the stairs.

Still, I think it will be good for me in the end...