Fitness kit I’ve tested this week: Belkin sport armband

Here I am with another fitness kit I’ve reviewed this week, aimed at the runners amongst you (how’s the marathon training going, by the way?).

This Belkin sport armband, available from the Three store, is a water-proof neoprene armband designed to carry a range of smartphones. It’s perfect for wearing in the gym or out running: the neoprene material keeps your phone dry and protected, but the entire display of the phone is visible and accessible through the front “window”. I’ve got an iPhone and had no trouble “swiping” my screen and pressing the buttons whilst the phone was in the armband.

The arm band is wide – perhaps a bit too wide if you’re in the gym doing biceps or triceps (as I found out!) but perfect for running or other cardio. It’s very lightweight and comfortable. There’s a little velcro bit so you can fold up any extra cord from your earphones and clip it up out of the way. It’s only £15 and you can get it here.

Fitness kit I’ve tested this week: Belkin sport armband is a post from The Fit Writer blog.

Nicola Joyce – the Fit Writer – is a freelance copywriter and journalist who writes for the sport and fitness industry. Her main website is here.

Fitness kit I’ve tested this week: SOLE Sport Flips shoes

Today’s fitness kit I’ve reviewed this week is for my runner friends. With marathon season fast-approaching, no doubt you’re all racking up the mileage and spending a lot of time on your feet. Here is something I’ve tried out recently which might be right up your alley, plus a few expert tips to help keep your feet happy before you start your taper.

SOLE Sport Flips

I’ve reviewed a SOLE product before (in this post) – the Exhale recovery shoes, which I still wear around the house. This time, I was sent SOLE‘s Sport Flips, which look like flip flops but offer a lot more support and comfort to tired hard-working feet.

They’re great! I’ve been wearing them round the house and actually even wore them out and about yesterday (that was before it started snowing…!) They’re extremely comfortable (even the bit which goes between your toes isn’t annoying or painful) and very good for you feet. And that, of course, is the point – slippers and socks are all well and good but they don’t help your feet recovery whilst you’re slouching about. In fact, they’re likely to encourage the arch of the foot to flatten out, making the muscles work hard to keep you balanced. By putting their orthopaedic mouldable footbeds into shoes, SOLE give you a couple of great recovery options (these flip flops or – if you want a cosier option – the Exhale shoes I reviewed before) for more cushioning and support.

I don’t do long runs any more but I imagine these would be ideal to pop on after your Saturday or Sunday run, so your poor feet can slowly recover. And they’ll be great for wearing during the days and weeks after your marathon! The Sport Flips come in loads of colourways, too, so you’re not stuck with one choice. They are £50 and you can get them from the SOLE website, Runners Need and other selected sport stores.

An expert note on recovery time between runs: Andrew Stanley, Podiatrist and running Biomechanics Specialist at The Rebound Clinic, says it can be difficult to know how to help your legs and feet recover between sessions when you’re trying to peak for a long race. “Traditional flip flops, slippers and slouch socks create a very unstable platform”. he says. “This instability can lead to excessive foot motion resulting in foot, leg and even back pain – not helpful when you’re trying to recover between runs.

“These SOLE Flips and the SOLE Exhales mentioned prevously are scientifically designed to support the heel and arch of the foot which stabilise the walking motion. They keep the feet and legs in a more neutral position reducing the stresses of walking, resulting in less stiffness, pain and tiredness after running,” he says.

How is your marathon training going? Did it snow on your long run today?

Fitness kit I’ve tested this week: SOLE Sport Flips shoes is a post from The Fit Writer blog.

Nicola Joyce – the Fit Writer – is a freelance copywriter and journalist who writes for the sport and fitness industry. Her main website is here.

A cautionary tale (why runners and bikers should always carry emergency ID)

Just one day after he was merrily giving you his opinion on rye bread, my husband came off his bike on a busy town-centre roundabout.

He’s (relatively) OK and in one piece. We’re both shocked, he’s in huge amounts of pain, but the main thing is – of course – that he is still here to tell the tale. He has one dislocated shoulder and several torn ligaments, but things could have been so much worse.

So, today’s blog post is a short but serious one. If you run, or ride a road or mountain bike, whether it’s every day to and from work like my husband or whether it’s once in a blue moon, my question to you is:

Do you wear some kind of emergency ID?

Happily, my husband was still conscious and just about with it enough to remember our phone number. And the person in the car behind him, who stopped to help, was a qualified First Aider. And he was (ironically) just moments from his work building. What if all of this hadn’t have been the case?

Who would emergency services – or that good Samaritan – call, if you slipped or were knocked down whilst biking or running? How would they know who to call?

Please, get some kind of ID tag which carries emergency contact details and other important information. It’s easy. Just click here for Road ID, or here for Cram Alert. Make it your Friday Thing To Do.

Happily, sandwiches can be eaten one-handed, so I think my husband will survive this latest scrape. But next time he gets on that bike, he’ll be wearing emergency ID. I’ll insist on it.

A cautionary tale (why runners and bikers should always carry emergency ID) is a post from The Fit Writer blog.

Nicola Joyce – the Fit Writer – is a freelance copywriter and journalist who writes for the sport and fitness industry. Her main website is here.

Treadmill training to try

I used to turn my nose up at the treadmill, preferring to head off on road or trail to pound out mile after mile of same-pace stuff, with the odd track session or set of hill reps thrown in. Sport-specific, innit: I used to take part in running races and triathlons, and I needed to train that way.

These days, I do very little cardio, and the cardio I do needs to be short and sharp, stripping away body fat but preserving precious muscle (yep, it’s a good trick if you can do it). These days, I’m on first name terms with the treadmill (Chris), cross-trainer (Lesley) and rowing machine (Simon).

It dawned on me this morning, as I slid home from the gym on icy pavements (I’m still doing cardio during deload week), that even my triathlete and running pals might be getting familiar with a treadmill in this weather. And, why not. Sure, treadmill running isn’t as picturesque as a few glorious miles across hill and dale (unless the person on the treddie in front of yours possesses a particularly pleasing derriere…) but it does the job. And, actually, for the endurance folk amongst you, a short sharp treadmill session could deliver measurable benefits which are quite different to your longer, slower outdoor runs. So this post is for you, too!

I don’t (currently) do anything longer than 30 minutes of cardio in one go, and I prefer to do 20 minutes of “work” with a warm up and down. But the work does need to be work! Got 30 minutes? Then here are three treadmill sessions to try today (not all in one day, obvs). They’re my current “favourites”:

11/11/11
I’ve written about this before. This was given to me by a PT called Ben Lauder-Dykes. It’s a true delight. Really, just try it. And if you think it’s too easy, well that’s great, because you can also do 12/12/12 or whatever you like. You’re only limited by the % to which your treadmill will incline.

How to do it:
- get on the treadmill, warm up (walk/jog) for 4 mins
- set the treadmill to 11kph, 11% incline
- start running and run for 15 seconds
- jump to the side of the treadmill (so you’re straddling the belt) and rest for 15 seconds
- keep doing this 15s on/15s off for 11 minutes (if it all gets a bit much, just remember you’re looking for “15:00″ on the display)
- hit that speed button and decrease it slowly for 5 minutes til you’re walking to cool down
There. 20 minutes out of your day=boosted metabolism, fat burning, speed work, incline training, glutey-bootay greatness

Hill intervals
I did this today. How to do it:
- walk/jog for 5 minutes on an incline of 0.5% (only because completely flat feels weird)
- run at a sustainable pace (read the full session to guess at what this might be for you) for 2 minutes
- increase incline to 2% for 2 minutes
- down to 0.5% for 2 minutes
- increase incline to 4% for 2 minutes
- down to 0.5% for 2 minutes
- increase incline to 6% for 2 minutes
- down to 0.5% for 2 minutes
- increase incline to 8% for 2 minutes
- down to 0.5% for 2 minutes
- increase incline to 10% for 2 minutes
- hit that decline button, bring the incline down, and start to bring the speed down too so you jog/walk for a 5 minute cool down
There. 30 minutes of deceptive, increasingly heart-pounding work which will leave your metabolism ramped up for hours and do you much more good than just running at the same pace and the same incline for 30 minutes.

Flat intervals
How to do it:
- 5 mins warm up until you’re running at a sustainable pace (somewhere between 5 mile and 10K race pace I’d say)
- alternate 1 minute at this pace with 1 minute recovery (jog not walk) pace. Try not to bring the speed down too much, simply because then part of your next minute’s effort will be spent getting the treadmill back up to speed
- do 20 minutes of 1 min on/1 min off
- decrease the speed for a 5 minute jog/walk cool down

Do one session per week (or, if you dare, do all of these in one week) and tell me how you feel and how it’s affected your body recomposition and/or fitness goals. Don’t underestimate them, though. I’m always hugely hungry and very tired for a day or so after doing one of these sessions; a sure sign that they work the body hard.

Treadmill training to try is a post from The Fit Writer blog.

Nicola Joyce – the Fit Writer – is a freelance copywriter and journalist who writes for the sport and fitness industry. Her main website is here.

2011 XT Memorial Mile round-up

Thank you all so much for your sweet and positive responses to this year’s XT Memorial Mile even though I sprung it on you a little late!

Have you checked in and told me how you got on? If not, please do.

Here’s a round-up of XT Memorial Miles I’m aware of (the Mile went global!)

- Allie of Allie in Wonderland ran three miles with her Mum (they’re training for Race For Life) and dedicated one of them to XT (and perhaps the other two to her dearly-departed Basil?)
- Anna of Up ‘anley Duck walked three miles with her two dogs and dedicated one to XT (and maybe the other two to gone-but-not-forgotten Ruddles).
- Jenny of Cover Girl says she’ll run a mile today, even though she’s only just started running AND yesterday was her birthday (happy birthday!)
- Richard of Richard’s TransRockies took part in the Chilterns Classic mountain bike event, and rode the first mile for XT (he knew him very well indeed).
- Nat of Modal Corpus did a mile for XT on the X-Trainer (clever… clever!) at the gym.
- Sable from Squat Like a Lady walked two miles and dedicated one of them to XT.
- Kristen from Following Fit ran a mile at track after her gym session.

And non-bloggers took part, too.

- My sister walked a mile with my big ol’ baby nephew in his pram (good going Sista!)
- My husband did the same mountain bike event as Richard – the Chilterns Classic (75kms) – and dedicated the first mile to XT.
- My friend Jo and her dog Buddy run-walked on Saturday in memory of XT (they both knew him well).
- My friend Sally and her dog Mws (who looks a bit like XT) went for a walk (which I suspect was a lot longer than a mile!)
- My friend Morag and her dogs Cuán and Xena, along with Jet and Tiggy walked two miles in the pouring rain (I know how rainy it was cos she lives close by).
- My friend Lisa walked at the weekend and dedicated a mile to XT and other furry friends.
- My friend Lan got in on the action early, and did her XT Mile on Friday by walking home rather than getting the DLR (American readers: a bit of London’s public transport) and had a think about XT, dogs in general, and her miniature dachshund Mabel. As she told me, “I remembered the gorgeous pictures of XT and his ears and how well behaved he was at your birthday picnic. I remembered my disbelief at the pictures of him not eating everything!” (He was incredibly well-behaved! And did have incredibly huge ears…)
- My friend Kelly walked a lot on Saturday, including Southport Pier – which is a mile long.
- My friend Gaynor went on a long walk with a friend and the friend’s dog, perfect for remembering XT.

Me? Well, my initial plan was to go to track, where I ran the 2009 and 2010 XT Memorial Miles by myself. But it was absolutely lashing with rain here all day, and my husband had the car, so I would have had to ride my bike there and back. I decided to do the XT Mile in a way that would fit with my current training plans.

My second training session of the day was “steady state, medium”, one option for which is the cardio machines at the gym. So, I rowed a mile, walked a mile on the treadmill on a steep incline and then biked (much more than a mile!) Of course, I also walked theFitDog yesterday (we do about three miles).

Thank you all so very much. I’m really touched that you all took the time to walk, run, jog, amble, cross-train, bike or push a pram whilst thinking about XT.

2011 XT Memorial Mile round-up is a post from The Fit Writer blog.

Nicola Joyce – the Fit Writer – is a freelance copywriter and journalist who writes for the sport and fitness industry. Her main website is here.

Will you run/walk/swim/amble the 2011 XT Memorial Mile?

Ohhh I’m a bad blogger. I hold my hands up and admit that I forgot about the most important event in the athletics calendar: the XT Memorial Mile.

It should have been on 13th July. But I only remembered (with a start!) this morning. By which point it was too late to hold the event on the 13th, but not too late to hold it this weekend.

For my newer readers: my training partner wasn’t always brown and stripey with a baggy face. Nope, once upon a time I had a black and white training partner with disproportionately huge ears.

His name was XT, and you can read about him here (if you’re a dog-lover, you might want to have a hankie nearby).

It’s been a couple of years now since XT left us suddenly, but he’s far from forgotten.

The day after he died in 2009, I went to the track in an attempt to run the pain in my heart out through my legs. Last year, deep in my running-groove, I celebrated him in the best way I knew how: by running a mile at our local track.

Since then, I vowed that the XT Memorial Mile would become an annual event, and I know a lot of you pledged to run/walk/jog/swim/cycle/whatever the distance this year.

So, we’re a couple of days late, but will you do your own XT Memorial Mile this weekend? Shall we say Saturday (tomorrow)? You can do it Sunday if it suits you better, and of course you can cover the distance wherever you like and however you want. You can even do further if you like: if you’re running a 10k, just dedicate one of the miles to XT and dearly-departed dogs we’ve all known and loved.

Please let me know in the comments if you’ll be taking part, then come back and let me know how you got on.

I don’t expect to run anything like as fast as I did two years ago, or last year! I might even run it as intervals. But I will run it.

Will you run/walk/swim/amble the 2011 XT Memorial Mile? is a post from The Fit Writer blog.

Nicola Joyce – the Fit Writer – is a freelance copywriter and journalist who writes for the sport and fitness industry. Her main website is here.

Guest post: Kim Ingleby on mental strength for athletic performance

Today’s guest post is from Kim Ingleby, a GB Team Sports Therapist and International Personal Trainer of the Year 2007. She’s dropped by to talk to us about mental strength for athletic performance, particularly for those of you currently training hard for the London Marathon (or any Spring race).

If you like what you read, consider one of Kim’s Mental Strength Training Workshops. Kim works with Olympic, County and everyday athletes wishing to enhance their performance and enjoy competition and travelled around the World to major competitions with her athletes. (She’s also competed at the World Triathlon Championships in her age group).

Here’s Kim!

Mental Strength for the London Marathon

The greatest revolution of our generation is the discovery that human beings, by changing the inner attitudes of their minds, can change the outer aspects of their lives. — William James 

Last April, as you sat and watched the London Marathon, you may have felt compelled to sign up to the race. Or you may have just completed the race, and decided that you really wanted to do it again. Or maybe you’ve decided that you wanted a challenge?

Now you have to start training!

But what can you do to train you brain for the race? How can you complete that marathon and enjoy it? How can you believe that you can actually do it?

I work with many athletes, from beginners to international elites, from rugby to running, triathlon to synchro swimming. All have the aim of enhancing their performance, unlocking their full potential and increasing their enjoyment.

Training your brain is like training any muscle in your body – the more you do it, the more effective and powerful it becomes. Races can be won or lost, completed or unfinished, on the mental state of the athlete, often disregarding the amount of physical training they have done.

So I am going to share some of the top mental strength training tips with you! These will strengthen your training for any goal and enhance your enjoyment and focus.

Top Ten Mental Strength Tips

Clear motivation

Write down all the reasons why you are aiming to run the marathon, and next to the reason why this is important to you and how it makes you feel. This all needs to be stated in the positive. Then highlight the top three motivators and pin them somewhere to remind you when motivation is low.

It is important to write things down as this will clarify things in your mind and make things a reality.

Focus on what you want and remember to forget what you don’t want

Take a moment to write down all the things that are concerning you or making you feel stressed (you don’t know how you are going to do the training, worried about illness, injury, improving your times, not letting people down…)

Then write them in a list and, next to them, write what you can do to change this worry, and how it will make you feel when you begin to focus on the positive. Create a step by step plan for each limiting area.

We get more of what we focus on – so choose to focus on what you do want, and let go off what you cannot control. It will make everything much easier and more enjoyable.

Make a plan that works for you and stick to it

Write down the amount of training you are going to do per week to allow you to reach your marathon goals (if you are not sure, ask a qualified professional to give you advice and support). Then write down all the other things you would like to do, and things that are expected from you (time with family and friends) and your own time to recharge.

Prioritise the main training sessions in your diary, followed by the key family things and your own time. This will allow you to feel in control on your training, and your family to realise you have valued them which will allow them to support you more.

Make sure you discuss the plan with your close family and friends so they support and encourage you.

Make yourself accountable to two people

Once you have a clear training plan, motivation and positive focus, tell two people what you are planning to do, how you would like to feel and how they could support you. By sharing things with people you are much more likely to achieve your goal and enjoy the process. Choose people who will be positive and encouraging in their support to you.

Keep a feel good training diary and use positive self talk

Everyone is advised to keep a training diary of the physical side of things but I would like you to add the mental side of your training to this. Write down how you feel on different runs, with different people and on different days. Then you will notice a limiting pattern and can do something to change this – different route, time of day, more sleep, different people, more food or water – the options are many, but only if you keep a record..

Be flexible and listen to your body

So you have your plans and goals but it is important to be flexible. Listen to your body and if you need to move your rest day then do so. If you are constantly tired and unmotivated, look at your nutrition and have good quality sleep to give you the energy to do quality training. Without this your mind and body will suffer so be kind to yourself.

Model qualities and training from people who inspire you

A really important one tip is to choose two or three athletes who inspire you and ‘act as if’ you had those qualities. For instance, you may admire determination, strength and enjoyment as qualities in different athletes. Watch how they behave, listen to what they say, and try to imagine what it would feel like to be in their body – then ‘act as if’ you did have these qualities. It can be a famous athlete, a club runner you know, a celebrity or a friend – it doesn’t even have to be a runner – just a quality you would like more, and a person who represents that quality.

Anchor positive qualities for your race (with music if you like)

Decide on the four main mental qualities you need to be able to complete your training sessions, and the race. These could be anything from calm, relaxed, motivated and focused to strength, power, enjoyment and energy. For each quality write down all the memories you have of times in your like you have felt, say strength and any people who represent this quality for you, and any music.

Each time you are training focus on these four qualities – breathing in what you want, and out what you no longer need (any limiting thoughts) – allowing your physiology to be relaxed and focused. If you press your thumb and forefinger together as you think about the qualities, it will act as an anchor point and enhance their potential.

Create a clear, positive outcome

Take a big sheet of coloured paper and write in the middle “What do I need to make my race a really positive experience” and then write down around it all the things you need from the qualities and training runs, to the clothes you will run in, the sports massages you will have, the money you will raise for charity, the friends who will be there, the food you will eat before and after and the way you will feel when you have completed the race – write down every single positive detail.

Make the outcome really real and then work towards it and make it your reality. It is also useful to put some goals down for after the race which will keep it in perspective, and help should injury or illness mean you need to postpone the race.

Relax and enjoy your training and racing

Some may argue easier said than done but I can assure you that if you focus on positive motivation and what you do want – you will be able to relax and enjoy your training – and if you are not – do something that makes you feel good inside and out!

Happy training and racing… see you on the start line…!

Thanks Kim – some really powerful food for thought there. I hope you all enjoyed reading Kim’s valuable tips.

Guest post: Kim Ingleby on mental strength for athletic performance is a post from The Fit Writer blog.

Guest post: Lisa Loves To Run on injury prevention

Today’s guest post is from Lisa of Lisa Loves To Run. Lisa left the corporate world to pursue studies and a career in sport, health and fitness. She is about to graduate this year in Sport Therapy FDSc. Her real passion lies in injury rehab and conditioning. She’s also a Level 7 football referee (and tells me that, yes, that does include refereeing 22 men during senior matches!) With many of you training for spring marathons and the upcoming triathlon season, I asked her to write about injury prevention.

Over to Lisa.

Nell McAndrew and Lisa at the Jane Tomlinson York 10k in 2010

Running is like hand writing; we all have our own style. Having said that, as a runner myself, a couple of things do stand out as linking us all: the thought of getting injured and the effect it would have on us.

Whether you’re running for the first time or an old hand, you need to take several factors into account. Here’s my advice.

Common running injuries affect the knee area. The balance of muscle strength between the quadriceps and hamstrings is crucial to injury prevention, as these two groups go some way to supporting the knee.

That old saying “prevention is better than the cure” is one that I truly believe in. This is why a training plan will help prevent injury.

How? A training plan will take into account your training season and goals you may have and break them down into smaller, manageable chunks. Additionally, it will help you to consider the type of training you should undertake: the intensity rate, the duration and rest periods. Not only that, it’s such a simple tool!
A training plan can be quick and easy to put together, so use your diary, kitchen calendar, iPhone or anything you fancy so you can remember and keep track of your performance. The objective is to write down a structured plan that will enable the goal to be met.

As we already know running uses the legs, but how much thought do you give to your core?

Not only should your training plan include cardio work to either improve distance or speed, it should also include some core work. This will help decrease lower back injuries, running posture, alignment and balance.

Rest and recovery are crucial to any type of training plan. There are in fact two types of recovery: Passive Recovery and Active Recovery. Passive is as straightforward as just taking the day off. Active, however is simply exercising but doing something a little different, like working on those hamstrings with a Swiss ball, strengthening the quads by performing some sets of lunges, swimming or a class at the local gym. Studies have shown that the latter will accelerate recovery more than passive.

Active recovery, adequate rest and core strengthening, all pencilled into a wider training plan which will give you an overview of your race season. Putting a plan like this together is easy, yet so effective, and is a great injury prevention and performance enhancing tool.

Thank you, Lisa, for sharing some of the expertise you’ve gained from your studies. I know I’m guilty of not stretching enough and, although I always like the sound of active recovery, I never seem to have the energy. Perhaps your post will give me a nudge in the right direction!

Guest post: Lisa Loves To Run on injury prevention is a post from The Fit Writer blog.

How to train any time, anywhere

As I might possibly have mentioned, you know, once or twice I became an Auntie for the first time on Friday. My sister lives in Kent, where we grew up, but I live a couple of hours’ drive away now. Therefore, when I got the call that my nephew was on his way, I packed the car knowing I wouldn’t be back for a few days. Babies being babies, I had no idea how long he’d take to arrive or how long I’d be needed for. (As it turns out, I was right to pack for longer than expected!) But I did know that I was going to be away, and running on a very odd schedule, during my last key training week for the Little Woody.

So what did I do? Write off a week of training? No fear. Give myself a few days off, then promise to cram all the training in when I got back? Erm, no.

I put swim, bike and run kit in the car, along with a coolbag full of necessary eats and drinks, and printed out my training schedule.

And, you know what? Being at my Dad’s for a long weekend, spending lots of time with my sister and nephew at the hospital, and keeping highly questionable hours made for some great R&R. Not rest and relaxation, silly. Running (and riding) and reminiscing.

I didn’t stick to my training plan 100%, I’ll admit. Friday’s morning swim made way for…well, for my nephew actually being born and for me getting to see him at just an hour old. But I got Friday’s evening run in, and it was a good ‘un: high on adrenalin and endorphins, I tackled the Road of Remembrance in Folkestone (it’s a hill) at a good pace. That’s how Aunties roll, you see

Saturday’s long ride made way for a run, because it was pouring with rain. But it turned into one of the nicest runs I’ve done all year.

Devil's Kneading Trough, Wye

I ran from Wye (near the hospital) through beautiful little villages to a village called Stowting where I lived with my sister when we were kids. Then I ran back to Wye, using the North Downs Way byways and paths along which I used to ride my little fat horse when I was younger. Nostalgic doesn’t even begin to describe it.

Sunday was blowing a gale, but I absolutely had to get my 3-hour ride (and short brick) in, so I set off from my Dad’s negotiating some hairy dual carriageway before heading into the Kent countryside and following my nose, led mostly by memories of horse-riding, relative-visiting and pub-lunching of yesteryear. I only got lost once. Hilariously, I ended up popping out at a T-junction, looking around to see where I was and realising I was about 100 yards from the hospital. My nephew must be magnetic !

I missed another swim because I wanted to see my “oldest friend in the world” (we’ve known each other for 30 years…!) and meet her baby. I think that’s a good enough excuse. But, all in all, I don’t think I did too badly. I did all the key training sessions over a long weekend at the peak of my training plan.

Just setting a good example for the kids. I’m an Auntie now, after all

How to stick to your training plan when you’re out of your routine:

• pack everything you think you might need. You don’t know how long you’ll be away for
• don’t forget things like bottles of sports drink/powder, and a multi-tool
• don’t leave one set of kit (swim/bike/run) at home. You’ll kick yourself if you find a great local pool or gorgeous run route
• even if you’ve only got 30 minutes, you can still get some valuable training in
• use the time away to explore new (or old) routes, rediscover places you’ve forgotten, and see some new sights
• see it as a challenge – my bike ride was windy, I knew the roads would be busy, and I had no idea where to go. All the more reason to feel dead chuffed once I’d actually done it
• make it social. I had every intention of persuading my Dad to come swimming with me, had I actually made it to the pool!

PS I didn’t take any pictures, so I googled for images to illustrate this post. I found this lovely blog post about the bit of the NDW I ran on Saturday – the images are from there. Thank you, blogger!

1st place in a bike race!

I was down in Kent on Saturday, seeing family at the annual Joyce get together. It just so happened that, on the Sunday, there was a 50-mile bike sportive just a few miles away on the Romney Marsh. So I had to do it, right?

I’ve mentioned a few times that I’m training for the Little Woody, a half-Ironman distance triathlon in…er…a few weeks time. So what I really need to do is some long bike rides, immediately followed by some long runs. The obvious thing to do, then, was this 50-mile sportive and then a long run, back in the direction of my Dad’s house. Easy…!

The one downside of the sportive in terms of Little Woody training is that (being on the Romney Marsh), it was dead flat (more like a 50 mile time trial really). Whereas the Little Woody course is Not Flat.

So, on Saturday, I took it upon myself to eat at least two Joyce-family-members-worth of party food, loading up on pizza, rice salad and, um, cake in readiness for a hard bike and run the next day. I even steered clear of Uncle Chris’s elderflower champagne.

Next day, husband and I drove to St Mary in the Marsh, west of Dymchurch, for the sportive. It’s a low-key affair, more of a charity ride (with a 10-mile route aimed at families), and we had no idea how many riders would have entered. I actually thought we might be the only people doing the 50 miler. But as we drove along the seafront, we saw groups of club riders all kitted out in their matching jerseys, and I actually felt a bit better knowing that I’d have some competition. Sure enough, as we went to get our numbers, a chap riding a Cervelo slipped in behind us, and the two guys in front of us were busy talking about some sportive they were doing soon near Crystal Palace. As ever at a bike event, there weren’t many women, but I did see plenty, including some riding for cycling clubs.

Me demonstrating by the power of arm-gesture how flat the surroundings are

The plan was to finish as close to 2 hours 30 minutes as possible (that’s 20mph). The course really is completely flat, but the wind out on the Romney Marsh can be brutal because the landscape is so open.

Oh – before I go on – want a laugh?

Here’s the profile of last week’s sportive (maximum elevation – 250 metres)

And here’s the profile of this one I’m on about (maximum elevation – 25 metres)

Off we went, following the circular 50-mile route which took us out towards Dymchurch, through Burmarsh and out to West Hythe, back to Newchurch and then out to Ruckinge and Ham Street. Early on in the race, a group came towards us (going the wrong way) and we stopped to ask what was wrong. They told us we were going the wrong way (we weren’t – for one thing, we were following the arrows which had numbers 1-52 on them, and for another thing, we had a map. As did they, presumably!) We carried on the way we were going, annoyed that we’d stopped at all!

It wasn’t a windy day, but even a bit of wind is a real pain out on the marsh because there’s nothing to shelter you. At points in the race, it was a bit of a slog against a headwind, but we just had to hope that it would turn into a tailwind as the circular route progressed.

We saw the group going the wrong way again – they seemed to be doing the route but backwards. I’ve no idea how they’d managed it. And they were club cyclists! (I’d hate to see them try and do an Audax!)

At a couple of points on the route, the organisers sent us over a busy A-road and insisted we got off and walked across with our bikes…bit of a shame but we had no choice.

Other than that (and stopping to talk to the backwards cyclists!), it was head down and push on like a long time trial. Husband did a grand job of setting off in front to hold our agreed pace, look out for the route signs, tell me about oncoming traffic and point out poor road surfaces. All I had to do was ride. And I loved it! We were holding 34-35kph quite easily for long stretches and it felt great.

There was an aid station but we flew through it. I wasn’t going to waste time eating a flapjack if I was only going to be riding for about 2 1/2 hours.

The ‘hill’ was nothing, but it was noticeable, if only because I’d been in the same position (down on my aero-bars) and in the same gear for almost all of the race. So, in a way, it was a nice change of pace to actually have to change down a couple of gears, quickly get up out of the saddle and push on.

Otherwise, it was flat, flat, flat. The organisers set the riders off at intervals, and we’d overtaken a few groups who set off before us within the first 10 miles. We hadn’t seen anyone else for ages and I wondered if we were going to be the first riders home. As it turned out, there were two just ahead of us, but we rolled in in 2 hours 42 and I was told I was first lady “by a million miles!” (Enthusiastic, if not strictly accurate)

Of course, just because I was first lady home, I might not have been first lady over all. A female rider who started after me could still be quicker. But, by the time I set off on my run, no other women had finished. I was first female finisher!

I couldn’t hang around long to revel in my little victory, as I had to run. I changed my top and shoes, put my ipod on and totally forgot to have a drink (!) Then I set off, heading for the seafront, determined to keep my pace slow (and my heart-rate slower) as I know this is what I need to do if I’m going to get through the Little Woody.

And I felt fine! 50 miles of caning it on a time trial bike and my legs felt great. 5kms went by without me even noticing it, and then I was on the sea wall at Dymchurch, heading east towards Hythe, sweating my way through the chip-eating Kent holiday makers.

I passed a lovely hour trotting along at 8:30 minute miling, and then I had to get off the seawall/promenade and run along the main road into Hythe, which wasn’t so great. At this point, I started to feel not so great myself. My heart rate started shooting through the roof, and I made myself walk to get it down each time this happened. I was absolutely soaked with sweat, but my arms were goose-bumpy. I’d told husband I’d try to get “to the icecream van” (gotta have a goal!) in Seabrook, but I knew that was too far.

So I stopped, pulled out the trusty iPhone and called him. “I can’t go on!” I claimed. “Please come and get me from Hythe.”

I trotted on for a bit, and bought a lolly in a newsagents. It was only 20p but I dropped £1 into the big freezer. The newsagent man can have it for being nice and not complaining about me coming into his shop looking such a state.

That 20p lolly was the best thing I’ve ever eaten. Cold, sugary, lemony. I ate a bit, ran a bit, ate a bit, ran a bit. Someone in a car laughed at me and I wondered how funny they’d find a 20p lolly if they won a 50-mile sportive then ran 9 miles. Idiot.

I just finished my lolly and then there was my knight in shining Renault, brandishing a big bottle of orange juice and water, which I put away in about 10 seconds flat. He told me I looked quite pale. “Drive me to the sea!” I wailed. “I have to jump in the sea!”

So I did, had a quick swim, and felt a lot better.


50 mile sportive, 9.5 mile run. That’s some brick!