Introduction

Its not been the easiest running weather during the last month, especially when all of the UK was covered in snow and ice.  But, many of us still managed to keep up the training and there are plenty of forum entries with quite varied opinions on the joys of running in these conditions!  There's snow excuse as Andy points out in the following article. But, lets hope that getting out there in the open air continues to be easier in the next few months, its certainly good to see it beginning to get lighter slightly later.

Also, in this newsletter we have our regular site news article which outlines our plans for 2011, so please read this and send through any suggestions that you would like to be considered for implementation.  Our league tables are still going strong there is some information on this in our League Talk article, including a race report from member Vicky Bishop for some inspiration.

Louise at GRG
www.GoodRunGuide.co.uk

There's Snow Excuse
(Not To Run)

Being in London Town one day in December I decided to join the London Raven’s for a run as it was cold but clear. However, on leaving the tube I encountered a veritable blizzard and the sight of a besuited gentleman taking two steps into it and ending up flat on his back. Immediately I'm on the phone 'Hey guys, catch you for a couple in the pub' the reply comes back 'What? We're all going out for a run, be there fella' (or words to that effect).

So there I was at the start 4 layers, waterproof top, leggings, 'hey look Andy's wearing leggings' says group leader Phil 'forgot your shorts?' and 'Get a haircut' ...Charming!

Anyway off we go and surprise, surprise the snow stops, the footing on the fresh snow is good and the route all pretty and clean looking. With a mile or so to go a guy, phil II, catches us with a long sleeved top on to hoots of derision, 'is your singlet in the wash?' etc. I'm feeling foolish dressed as I was like Scott of the Arctic. Towards the end of the run the sun even came out. A great run.

I guess the moral of the story is either: 'you never know until you try', Or 'London Ravens we're mad we are'.

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Site News

When Garmin introduced the new Forerunner x10 range (110, 210, etc) they opeted for a completely different data format to most of their other devices.  These devices store data in FIT files, which use less storage space (so you can record much more) but are more complicated to process.  We have now developed a brand new uploader tool just for these devices so that you can import your data directly to your GRG Training Log.  Just select Import from FIT File from the Log Book menu.  We think this new tool is working fairly well now but if you do experience any difficulties, please let us know and we'll try to help.

Since we launched the GRG site in 2006 we have added an enormous number of new features and we're delighted with how the site is now shaping up.  We are really pleased to see so many members getting so much enjoyment and motivation from using it.  We have tried to build the site to be as user-friendly and intuitive as possible while still providing a very wide range of features for you to use and we get a great deal of feedback from members saying that they find it easy to use and a great tool.   However, we want to avoid making the site overly complicated by continually adding more features, so we plan to be a bit more selective about additions to the site during 2011.  We are reviewing suggestions from members that we have already received but if you have any other thoughts on enhancements you would like to see to the site please get in touch.   At the same time we are continually working on maintaining all the existing functionality to ensure that all the current features continue to perform well and that the site is responsive and resilient.

As always, if you have any feedback about changes to the site or have a suggestion you would like to put forward, please let us know.

League Talk

In the last newsletter I remarked how most of the top runners in the main age graded league (which levels the playing field in terms of age and sex) did high mileage but two runners bucked that trend. Well, guess what, now we see one of those two topping the league. The first lady to reach the summit for the last couple of months is Vicky Bishop on a miserly 22 miles per week and this month I make no apologies for focusing on her achievement.

Proving there is more than one way to skin the proverbial cat, Vicky is an advocate of quality rather than quantity. Over the last year just 29 and 26% of her runs were easy and steady leaving a whopping 45% hard running (races, intervals, tempo etc.). She also advocates using the treadmill in the winter, not only to avoid the weather, but also because you can't slack without making a conscious decision to press the button, tending to keep hard runs honest. Injured over the last couple of months (too many races in too short a time) she expects to increase her mileage leading up to her second attempt at the London Marathon where she has a good for age place. I'll let her take up the story of last year's race....

'Last year's VLM was amazing. It was my first marathon, even with 5 years of running I didn't want to rush things. Obviously I had a schedule, but I'd say I only completed about 80% of it due to a family bereavement. However I did have a good February and March of training. So although I was slightly apprehensive as I am at the start of every race, I was reasonably confident of the marathon pace that I had been working on. I didn't hear a start gun, klaxon or anything else, I just became aware that everyone was starting to move forward. I pulled off my old tracksuit bottoms that I had earmarked as disposable but kept my old jumper on for about half a mile until I felt a bit warmer (what can I say, I'm a cold mortal) then I chucked that by the side of the road (friends at my running club had advised me - that's what is good about a running club, lots of experience to listen to). I was blown away by the crowds and the entertainment. The best entertainment was the big Japanese drummers under the flyover at about 6-7 miles. What with so much to look at, remembering to take a High 5 gel every 30 mins, making sure I got a water bottle with a top on each time, so that I could sip as I went along, talking to other runners, I didn't notice that my legs were running most of the time. I did occasionally think mmmm, my legs feel a bit tight, or my legs feel they might go into a cramp, or I feel a bit nauseous, oh well I'll deal with that if it happens. I had such a ball I struggled to keep my pace from getting too fast. My family were trying to track me through the chip tracking thing but apparently I gave them the colly wobbles because I was going too fast and they thought I wouldn't finish. For most of the marathon I had the biggest smile on my face ever. (see photo evidence, Ed)

I got just past mile 24 when I hit the wall. I suddenly had the overwhelming urge to stop and really had to talk to myself to make sure I didn't give up, I suddenly felt so incredibly tired, not really in pain just exhausted. It took me nearly 20 mins to complete the last 2 miles. The good news was that because I'd gone ahead of my marathon pace mid way I still came in at 3:30:37. My target was 3:30 - shame about the 37 seconds but I was still happy with my performance. I was surprised by the sudden discomfort in the bottom of my feet when I stopped running but I did keep walking which I think helped my recovery.'

I'm sure we will all be interested to see how Vicky gets on this year and if you see her give a loud shout! In the rest of the league the weather has meant not many members have had great racing performances so some drop out of the league, not having raced for 3 months, and therefore many members move up a few places by default. however a few members have managed to make significant moves up the table. To pick out a few in the top 40 or so, new to running Mike Sheridan and Matthew Slater move up 7 and 10 places and slightly more experienced Simon Thomson is up 8. I would expect these three to improve their age grading over the next year and Matthew to move up the fastest runner table from his present already excellent 5th place. Thanks go to Vicky for her report and to all those participating in the league and especially those giving us an insight into their running lives via the member profiles.

Andy at GRG

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