Photo of the day - 22: Trying to master barefoot running so I can do SwimRun

 

I went out for a run today - just my standard 5km trot around my local parks in Crystal Palace. I enjoy running; it's something I've always done since as far back as I can remember. In fact, I consider myself to be more of a runner than a cyclist because it is the sport I did first, and it is the one sport I have done competitively since I was a child. 

I have done all sorts of running races in my time - from sprinting in my teens, through middle and long distance races including marathons, as an adult. It was a bumper 12 months in 2018-2019 when I did Beachy Head, Paris and New York marathons all within that time. 

I haven't done a marathon since, or even a half marathon this year. That is a turn-up for the books for me. The main reason has been because I took up a new kind of race called SwimRun, this year. Basically, it's like an aquathlon, but where an aquathlon is swim once change into running shoes and then run once, SwimRun is run swim, run swim, run swim, run swim and you keep repeating that however many times required depending on the race. It's about trying to get from one point to another across a body, or bodies of water. Apparently the sport began in Sweden when a group of guys, after a night out, had a bet to see who would be first to get across a group of islands surrounding Stockholm.

The novelty of SwimRun is that you keep the same gear on throughout the activity. So you run in your wetsuit, and you swim with your shoes on. Yes, you heard correctly. Regular competitors have a specific SwimRun wetsuit that gives the flexibility to run in it, and they wear lightweight trail shoes or minimalist running shoes that don't weigh your legs down when swimming, and drain the water off when running. 

I invested in a pair of Vivobarefoot ESC Tempest shoes, specially for SwimRun and they're great. However, my problem is that I normally wear orthotic soles in my shoes when running. I need them in order to have the correct gait, and avoid running injuries. The problem is that if I wore them in the water they would be ruined. I did check with podiatrists to see if there is such a thing as waterproof orthotics but apparently that doesn't exist. 

So the only thing for it is for me to learn to run again without orthotics. So I am trying to do barefoot running. I don't actually run in bare feet. but I wear the Vivobarefoot minimalist running shoes. To master this new way of running though, I need to keep my usual running to a minimum so that my muscles don't get confused about which way they should be used. 

At the moment I have got up to running 2km in this new way style. So I am very much a beginner. That means for now, I can't run very far - which is a bit of a pain. Well, actually it's not - but it would be if I did run far! 

A couple of times a week I do indulge though, and allow myself to put on my usual Mizuno Ghost running shoes with my orthotics and break out to do 5 or even 6km. Realistically, it could be another six months before I am able to run that distance with minimalist running shoes. So for now, I will have to make the most of my local jaunts around the park.

Daily photo - 3: South London running route

View from my run: Docklands as seen from Lower Sydenham station

This time last year I was preparing to run the Beachy Head Marathon. Twelve months later I am once again preparing to run 26.2 miles at the New York Marathon. It is a greater undertaking than last year because of the distance I am travelling to the race. It is also hillier than other big city marathons.

So the maximum must be done so I am ready for the start line, and can also reach the finish line. These days I am doing training runs of over half-marathon distance (13.1 miles or 21.1km), so it's important to keep things interesting and vary the places I go to, in order to stay motivated.

Long runs are an opportunity to explore local parks and green spaces. Being in South London there are lots of local parks to discover, especially when following the Green Chain Walk. I have done a 14-mile (22.5km) run that took in Crystal Palace Park, Dulwich Park, Brockwell Park, and Dulwich Wood. Today, I did a 16-mile (26km) run that included Beckenham Place Park, Crystal Palace Park, and South Norwood Lakes.

It was interesting to see the different neighbourhoods and see new areas and views that I hadn't previously noticed. This is the view of Docklands from Lower Sydenham train station as I was running from Beckenham Place Park to Alexandra Recreation Ground. It was a slightly dull morning when I ran here, but I hope to return on a sunny day when you can really see Canary Wharf in it's grandeur.


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Trail running in Cheshire, Yorkshire and in Bellagio Skyrace too!

Getting in lots of trail runs in preparation for Beachy Head Marathon, and doing my first trail running race in Italy

Over the summer and into Autumn I really got into trail running. It was spurred on by my failed attempt to make it to the Paris marathon.

Having done all that training, only to not use it I wanted something else to look forward to this year. I had considered doing a mountain marathon, but orienteering with the prospect of getting deserted on a mountain in Cornwall or the Lake District didn't fill me with excitement.

Preparing for Beachy Head Marathon

Eventually I plumped for the Beachy Head Marathon, which struck a good balance of being a challenge, while having signage. Also, with this being a trail run through the South Downs, I would never be that far away from a town or public transport that would get me to Eastbourne or Brighton.

Glad to reach the summit at Teggs Nose Country Park

So with this challenge ahead, I did a fair bit of trail running - around the North Downs, along the Pilgrim's Way, and of course the South Downs - around Devil's Dyke, Ditchling Beacon, and Queen Elizabeth Country Park.

Earlier in the summer I did a run in Cheshire around Macclesfield Forest and Teggs Nose Country Park.

I had been hoping to take part in a fell race that was organised in conjunction with the Sheep Dog Trials, but traffic got the better of me and I missed the start, so did my own improvised run instead, which included going along the Gritstone Trail. It was my first stab at doing a trail run with a very steep gradient, and I loved it.

Teggs Nose Staircase - a lift would've been nice! 

Then a couple of weeks ago while on my trip to Cycle Expo Yorkshire I did a run along the trails of the Yorkshire Dales at Kettlewell.

The initial part of the route went up the dreaded tarmacked climb that cyclists know as Park Rash. I then left the road to go up a steep bridleway up to the stars - well actually to Starbotton.

From there I returned to Kettlewell along a valley trail that was part of the Dales Way. It was a lovely run, especially as it was early on a Sunday morning, and with no one around at this point I had the place to myself.

Trail down to Starbotton after a long climb

I felt lucky too, because there had been a forecast for heavy rain, and I had gone out expecting to get drenched. But somehow the rain stayed away, and only began as I was going up the steps to enter the Youth Hostel.
The rain did get very heavy though, meaning that when I arrived in Harrogate later that morning to take part in the cyclocross race I knew it was going to be a mudbath - and it was!



Trail running Italian style

The following weekend I was in Milan for a weekend of cycling and running. It was mainly cycling that I did, but the most memorable event for me was a trail run called the Bellagio Skyrace.


I had been a little apprehensive about the competition because I had not done much of this sort of racing before - not even in the UK. It wasn't the distance that was the problem, but the altitude gain.

Looking at my Garmin records none of my runs had included more than 500m of climbing, and I was going to be doing double that amount. This could potentially kill my knees or my Achilles tendons, or both, as well as any chance of running the Beachy Head Marathon the following week. Would I be able to get around the race before the organisers packed away the signage and the finish gantry? Was this a really silly thing to do, entering this race as a non-fell runner? I was about to find out.

Around 600 of us lined up in the main piazza of this beautiful town on the shores of Lake Como, and at the gun we sprang out of the blocks running uphill into the forested peaks of this area known as Lario (latin for Como). Half of us were all set to do 14km with 1000m of climbing, while others were doing 28km with 1900m of uphill.

Getting ready for the off in Bellagio main square

Actually, everyone else set off at a fast enthusiastic pace, but I was quite conservative, conscious of the need to not go into the red, and save something for later. Also knowing that I would be running a trail marathon the following week, I really didn't want to wreck myself.

So, it must have looked a bit odd in front of all the townsfolk who had come out to watch us, seeing me all in race gear and with a number on, some 50 metres off the back of the pack. I wasn't going to let these things bother me though. The only problem was the road twisted a bit and at a crossroads, I had to ask some passers-by which way the other runners had gone.

For a time we were running along a road I was familiar with, as it was the cycle route up to the Madonna del Ghisallo sanctuary that I had ridden the previous day. Once we left the road and started running up the trail I began to catch people as a bottle-neck occurred and things were at a stand-still. Also, many people had already started walking as the trail became increasingly steeper.

I swapped places with this lady loads of times as I stopped to take photos

My plan was to run as much of the course as possible. I was able to do so for the first couple of miles, which went along a wide stony trail and then through a field.

As we got deeper into the forest, the trail became steeper as it zigzagged through the trees. It also became narrow and so we were reduced to walking as a single-file procession.

I would have run it if I could but it was too much energy to try and squeeze past people. In any case the path was so steep that I wouldn't have been able to run much faster than walking pace along this section.

The forest was beautiful, and it was great to be able to run through these trees that normally people only tend to see up in the distance at lake level.

Glad to reach the summit - and some wine was waiting just around the corner!

Once at the summit on Monte Nuvolone we ran through a specially erected gantry, marking the 980m above sea level apex.

From here it would be a short distance along the plateau before making our way back down to Bellagio.

I must say that although this was a race I felt that it would be wrong to come all the way over here without stopping to admire the view of Lake Como from an angle that I rarely get to see.

For this reason I stopped and took a few photos. In fact quite a few times I stopped to take photos, meaning that I lost a bit of time on the various people I'd managed to overtake, though I managed to catch them up as they continued to walk, while I chose to run.

I rarely see Lake Como from this angle - would've been rude not to snap it

Further along on the plateau of Monte Nuvolone I stocked up my energy levels at the feed station ready for the descent, which would be taxing on the legs. The marshals at the top jokingly asked me if I would like some wine.

I thought they were being serious (especially as I had previously drunk six glasses of wine at the Bacchus half marathon some weeks before). So I accepted the offer, thinking it was just a normal thing to do during races in Italy. But when they looked at me with a mixture of bemusement and incredulity, I realised this wasn't quite normal. They obliged by serving me a glass of Montepulciano d'Abruzzo, probably thinking I was an alcoholic or something. I just happily downed it in one before continuing my run.

Soon I regretted drinking wine as I was faced with a very tricky drop across some boulders. There were ropes cut into the rocks that we could hold onto, but I didn't really trust them and preferred to hold onto the ground to steady myself. Although it was only a short stretch, I found it a little unnerving. The mountain rescue team were on hand, giving tips but I felt more comfortable negotiating this stretch in my own way - even if it looked unelegant being on all fours.

Apart from that slight difficulty, the run back into Bellagio was straightforward technically provided you kept an eye out for the tree roots in the woods, and put your foot in the right places when running over the rocks, stones, and rocks on the stony trail, and you didn't bump into the trees or field furniture along the way.

By this time the number of runners had thinned out from the feed station onwards, with half the field having continued on to do the 28km-course up to Monte Primo (the hightest peak in the area), so it was easy to just settle into a natural pace and not have to worry about anyone on your tail, or trying to get past people. At this point in the race I felt fine physically, and not particularly fatigued which was a good sign. I had run very much within myself, which was what I had wanted to do.

The final run back into the finish line was on a gravel path along the side of Lake Como with lots of people - spectators and tourists - giving encouragement along this home straight. It felt quite special.

On this comparatively smooth stretch I was able to put in a bit of a sprint, so that in front of the spectators I might look a bit more athletic than I did on the outward run through the town. As I neared the finish line, the crowd cheered avidly, and that made me put in an extra spurt. Then I realised they weren't cheering for me, but for the first finisher of the 28km route! The winner was a guy from Rwanda who had basically run exactly twice as fast as I did. Hey ho!

At the finish line I congratulated one or two of the other runners I'd taken turns with overtaking through the race, and discovered that one of the runners was a woman from Fulham Running Club. She was there with a fellow club runner Daphne, who had finished a good few minutes ahead of us, and some other club mates who were doing the long route.

I was just so amazed to see other people from the UK doing this. Normally when I go to races abroad I end up being the novelty competitor from London. So it was good to meet others who'd had the same idea as myself. They invited me to dinner with them at their place near Bellagio, but I had already arranged to meet people back in Milan, so had to decline. Hopefully I'll see them at another race in the area in future.

All good at the finish line

This was definitely a fun race to do. Anyone who does regular trail runs or fell running would find this a breeze, and would probably prefer to do the 28km race. If you're not a trail runner, but run regularly the 14km is still doable, and on the really steep bits a lot of people walk it anyway.

It is one of the most beautiful locations you could choose for a running race, and it was well organised.

 Even for the post-race pasta party the marshals provided table service and you had a view of Lake Como as you wolfed down your farfalle followed by polenta, with wine.

My apprehensions about the race had been completely for nothing. It had all been pretty straightforward, and had definitely set me up nicely for the Beachy Head Marathon.



For those interested, this is the 14-km route on Strava

I can't believe I made the cut for this video. I can be found somewhere at 3mins 45, just after Daphne!
BELLAGIO SKYRACE 2018 - Official Video from URBANPRODUZIONI on Vimeo.


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One day one photo - 24: More running in the South Downs

I am just over a month out from a running challenge I have signed myself up for, the Beachy Head Marathon.

Earlier this year I as supposed to run the Paris Marathon. I did all the preparation, and then a couple of days before I as due to go things went wrong. My orthotics that I had sent in to be reposted arrived back to me late, and the podiatrist had messed up the settings so that they were unusable. So I as left without any orthotics and couldn't do the race.

It was very frustrating. I had toyed with doing New York, but bottled out of signing up for fear that because the money would be a lot to lose if something went wrong again. So I plumped for doing something in the UK. Initially I thought of doing a mountain marathon, but in the end I plumped for Beachy Head - which, being in Eastbourne is comparatively local for me.

It consists of running a marathon - 26 miles (or 42 km) but with loads of hills of the South Downs thrown in, meaning 1200m of climbing. That is not something I have done before, and would be a real challenge.



But thankfully, using the fitness from my Paris Marathon training I have been building on that, but just adding loads of hills. Near to me is of course Crystal Palace, but I have also been running around the North Downs. The real hills are done in the South Downs though.

So that's where I went today. Normally I cycle around these chalky hills, but running them really gives a different perspective, and also the time to notice things that you don't necessarily see when you are focused on bike handling and not falling down!

When running along the trails there's a monument near Ditchling Beacon. It's known as the Chattri Memorial, to commemorate Indians who died during the first World War. Many of them were treated in the Royal Pavilion in Brighton, which served as a hospital, and the site of the Chattri Memorial is where the dead soldiers were cremated. The memorial now has Grade II listed status. It looks great in the middle of Downs, though I have to say it does look a bit random.

Today's run went nearer to Trudleigh Hill and Edburton Hill and Devil's Dyke. That was a pretty long run, and by the time I got back to my car at Portslade and Southwick 15 miles later, my legs were like jelly! I like to think it's all miles in the bank, and hopefully it will make me stronger.


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One day one photo - 9: Bacchus half-marathon

One of this year's sporting goals was to run the Paris marathon, which took place in April. I did all the training and got into a good place with my running.

Then it all went pear-shaped literally the day before - a trio of events stacked against me and I ended up not doing it. Still wanting to salvage things in some way, I considered entering the New York marathon, which happens in November.

In the end I chose not to enter it because there was too much at stake if things went wrong again and I decided not to go. Also I wasn't sure if my wish to go was just a knee-jerk reaction, so preferred to wait a few months and reflect before forking out £2,000+ to go across the Atlantic.

In the meantime I began to toy with doing trail runs, and the idea of even a mountain marathon in a national park became appealing. I didn't sign up for a mountain marathon in the end, but what I have plumped for is the Beachy Head marathon. It's going to be 26.2 miles up and down through the South Downs - around 1500m of climbing.

I do like that area, having cycled there a number of times with my mountain bike or my cyclocross bike.

Mbaba Mwana Waresa running with some elves at Bacchus half marathon!

A run around there will definitely be a challenge. So with that in mind, I have been doing lots of trail runs. 

And the Bacchus half-marathon was one of the milestones in my preparation.

You will have guessed from the name that this event relates to wine. And yes, it certainly did! Held at the Denbies Vineyard in Dorking, this race also showcased the tipples from the Surrey wine producers.

Well who better to sample them than we runners! So at each of the six drink stations there was water, but on top of that every runner could have a small glass of one of their wines. We were treated to things like Juniper Hill (sweet white), Zig Zag (red), and White Downs (sparkling) - all named after places in the local area.

I was doing just the half-marathon, but there was also a full marathon option, which basically involved doing the loop twice, and therefore having at least 12 small glasses of wine! Now that's a challenge!

In addition, it was a fancy dress race. Being dressed up is strongly encouraged, as you do look a misfit turning up in your club running kit! It doesn't matter what fancy dress you wear - there's no theme. I ran past a few Wonder Women, fairies, tigers, elves, and many Batmen!

This race was our answer to the Marathon du Medoc, in France. In fact, that event took place on the very same weekend.

My costume was probably quite conservative as I went as the African female equivalent of Bacchus - Mbaba Mwana Waresa. This goddess wears a colourful long dress, headgear and a lot of jewellery. So for me I just dressed like I was going out for a dinner party in Surrey (dahling), but stopping for a little run with a wine and cheese aperitif along the way!

My run was a fun affair - probably the easiest 13.1 miles I will ever do in a race! It's not that the course was easy. With 400m of climbing along the North Downs Way and the Pilgrims Way it was no walk in the park - well actually it was a walk for many! On a number of sections most people were reduced to walking, particularly in the first half which gradually climbed up to Ranmore Common.

As most of my running recently has consisted of uphill running on trails I wasn't phased by the slopes. What made the race easy for me, was the fact that I could stop as much as I wanted - to savour the wine, chat to people at the drink stations, take photos and make adjustments to the odd wardrobe malfunction.

It was more like my usual Sunday morning training run, probably with the same amount of stoppages except that in the Bacchus half-marathon these were more fun than my usual loo breaks or consulting the Ordnance Survey map!

The time recorded on my Garmin was 2hrs 14, but my official time was 2hrs 45. I really had been savouring the atmosphere, and would definitely recommend it!