Looking Forward to Another Year of Running

So this week sees the start of LFR Membership Renewal ready for 1st April and you will all have your invite to rejoin arriving in your inbox. It has been 2 years since I joined the club and this weekend at the MK Festival of Running I took part in my very first race.  Looking back over what has happened in my running achievements I’m surprised that I have managed so much and I can hand on heart say that if it wasn’t for being in the club I would have never even considered any of it.  I still can’t run fast (but who cares) and I am still totally adamant that I will never run a marathon but I have a few Half Marathon’s and a nice amount of 10k’s to be proud of, more importantly I have some fantastic memories. Being part of the club has really opened up a lot of opportunities that I would have never had otherwise.  I took a little trip to Paris to cheer on the LFR members who where running the Marathon (I may have even jumped the barrier to run the very last few metres with Debbie), I got to cheer on the runners at the VMLM as a marshal, I ran round Central Park, I got very drunk very quickly running laps round Astral Park and downing cans of gin, I got to go to Amsterdam with the Club and complete my 3rd Half Marathon and I even got to be in a band even though I can’t play an instrument. This weekend after I finish writing this blog I’ll be heading out the door for my longest run ever with a 15 mile training run, eek!  I’m partial to a bit of bling but I love a hoodie even more and in a moment of madness I signed up to run Oakley 20 in April.  I know, I know everyone says ‘well to might as well run a marathon, it’s only another 6 miles?’ but I honestly don't want to.  After I have (fingers crossed) finished Oakley I’ll be quite happy to get back to 10k’s and maybe a few more Half’s. What I enjoy most about being with the club is going out on a social run and cheering on the runners that really push themselves, even if it is running their first 5k.  We are all runners in this club!

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Never mind the Sex Pistols, Here’s Dan’s Bo@&$£%s

I sat there with the family in the Café at Rushmere Country Park after a cold winter morning’s work as volunteer / dad at Park Run, when a member of the committee looking for a club captain accosted Vicky. ”Of course he will”, she said! “He’ll be great”, they said. “He does most things anyway”, they said. “Go on, email Max”, they said. So here we are, my first month as club captain and my first blog, so I want to open up and share a little about my motivation and love of running. By the way, I did try writing an Autobiography once (pre Vicky and the kids) and one day I’ll dig it out, finish and share it. For those who don’t know me, when I start on about something I’m passionate about, like my family, running, LFR or lighting, I never shut up! I just want to share my enthusiasm with everyone and if I do get on your nerves, then just tell me to shut up. My ears are always open to listen to your comments, suggestions and thoughts, so grab me or message me at any time. Anyway, back to running, I met a member, Steve Harrison though an anti-natal group nearly seven years ago and after running a couple of races together he eventually dragged me along to the club. It didn’t take long to realise what a wonderful friendly group of people the Fun Runners are. Meeting and chatting with fascinating individuals who constantly push themselves to their own limits for pure enjoyment and the odd bit of metal on a ribbon or T-Shirt or mug or if you’re really lucky BEER. You inspire each other, me and even Vicky. In fact so much that she partook in a half marathon and may even run Oakley 20! She hates running with me as I’m too bouncy, apparently, but that’s for another week! To me running is an amazing, relatively inexpensive form of exercise that is open to every Tom, Dick or Sally. It started as an opportunity to drink and eat more and between you and me, I now eat more than I’ve ever done before just to keep running driven hunger away. It may be difficult to believe but I used to be two stone heavier and consume considerable amounts of alcohol. In my first half marathon - 6 yrs ago - I was at least 20 minutes slower and at my first marathon – 7yrs ago - I was over 1hour 15mins slower.  If I can do it, so can you. So what can you expect this year, a plethora of interesting and varied weekly runs including more trail options and new challenges designed to encompass all members. Most of all I would love to see mass turnouts at local races and team spirit like at Winslow 10k. So come on throw yourselves into it and together we will ensure that we all reach our goals but more importantly, there is FUN FUN FUN on the way. GO FOR IT LFR

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How do you get into running when you just can’t run?

So… For my first ever blog, where on earth do I begin? It’s been one hell of a year and has culminated (somehow!) in my becoming vice-captain of what has to be the best running club in the country!  I spent the first 31 years of my life thinking that running was something that was done only by masochists and lunatics! Whenever anyone suggested to me that running could be ‘fun’ I would actually laugh out loud! I was ‘that’ person who regularly said things such as “I’m just not built for running”. I worked with people who regularly explained the benefits of running to me but I wouldn’t be swayed.  That all changed just under 14 months ago on New Year’s Eve. After one too many glasses of prosecco one of my friends announced that entries for the Leighton 10k were open and we should all do it. Through my tipsy haze I gamely agreed to give it a go, despite never having run further than about half a mile in one go in my whole life. We booked our places that night and the die was cast! The weather the following day on New Year’s morning was beautiful – cold but sunny. I stood in my kitchen looking out onto the running track in front and watched scores of runners trotting round. Determined not to be a New Year’s cliché I left it for two more days before I pulled on my running shoes (unworn at that point for about 7 years) and ventured outside. To say my first training session didn’t go well is a bit of an understatement! After about half a lap of the track my legs hurt and I was already starting to run out of steam. When I returned home after having staggered around for about 20 minutes my husband took one look at my face and clearly decided it was best not to ask how it had gone! I downloaded a 10k training app and stuck to it pretty religiously but there were still many times over the first month of training when I wanted to give up. Running over 6 miles seemed like a pretty impossible pipedream but I’m also a pretty stubborn sort of person so I doggedly kept going. I’d signed up for a race and was determined to complete it. However, at this stage my main aim was just not to collapse in a big heap half way through the race and have to be stretchered off in an ambulance! As the weeks went by I slowly increased the distance I was running and actually started to enjoy it! After my previous protestations of just not being able to run my colleagues were rather curious as to my progress and I rather sheepishly had to concede that this running malarkey wasn’t quite as bad as I’d previously thought it was! Race day arrived rather too quickly and I was a bag of nerves. I arrived over an hour before the race was due to start and was greeted by large groups of very serious looking running people wearing various club tops and generally having a jolly time! I collected my number and spent at least 10 minutes carefully pinning it to my top before making my way down to the start line. As soon as the race began I immediately felt better. I was careful not to set off too quickly and soon settled into a nice pace with a few other runners around me. As I ran past the water station at the 5k mark I was wondering why I’d always been so daunted at the thought of running. That was before I turned off Heath Road and saw Shenley Hill stretching out in front of me! I remember wondering how I could have lived in the town for so long and not noticed there was a huge mountain right in the middle of it! Staggering up the hill was worth it though just to be able to run down the other side to the realisation that the end was really very much in sight. When I crossed the finish line in 1 hour and 40 seconds (a good 5 minutes faster than I thought I’d manage) I was on a massive high and well and truly hooked. I found it really quite difficult to believe that less than 3 months beforehand the only running I’d ever really done was sprinting through Euston after work to catch the train! At that moment, running was, to me, the most fantastically awesome thing I’d ever done. I joined LFR less than a week later. When I went to my first club night I couldn’t believe how many people had come out on a cold, dark, wet night to go for a run. When I finished an hour later, I got it. I just found it so fantastic to be able to do something I loved with so many other people who wanted to do the same thing. Of course, it hasn’t all been plain sailing. There are times when my fitness takes a bit of a dip or I go for a run and it just doesn’t go very well. After the Leighton 10k I signed up for another 10k and was determined to improve my time. Unfortunately, I had a bit of a temperature the week before and didn’t feel too good the morning of the race. When I finally finished I felt ill and extremely grumpy! I’ve also had the odd running injury since I started out although in all honesty I don’t mind those so much – I like to think I only get them because I’m a proper, serious runner!! However, these downs are few and far between and are massively outweighed by how great running makes me feel every day. Since then LFR has become a very significant part of my life. I love how social the club is, how friendly everyone is, and how it can be a club for absolutely anyone, regardless of ability. It has also been fantastic for me to have people to push me along, suggest races and events to me, and just generally to have a club to run and socialise with. LFR has given me and done so much over the last year so when the position of vice-captain became vacant I just felt it was just a bit of a no-brainer for me to stand. I’m really looking forward to the fun and challenges ahead and really hope I can just give a little something back to the club and all the fantastic people in it who have done so much for me.

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Choosing the Next LFR Charity

Choosing the Next LFR Charity We are coming up to the LFR AGM in a few weeks and one of the decisions we need to make is who we choose for our charity. All proceeds from the our C25K, Virgin Money London Marathon ballot places, Leighton 10k, 5 caKe Nights, Breakfast Run, raffles etc all go towards our nominated charity. Last year this was over £5000! There are lots of motivations for running, some are for your own personal goal or for your club but raising money for charity can also give purpose, a goal to work towards. When you are running just for the sake of running, it can be really easy to start to question if you can do it or if you can even be bothered. When things get tough or after a bad run it makes it much easier to give up on what you were aiming for especially if motivation is something you struggle with. So now it is time for you to all have a think about who we as a club can use as our motivation. Over the years we have raised money for big charities like Hearing Dogs for the Deaf, local charity Jamie's Rhythm of Life and the past year East Anglia Air Ambulance and as a club we have been able to hopefully make changes to people's lives though our fundraising. As well as raising money we can also can help raise awareness of our nominated charity through having information on our website, money boxes and running in a charity top. Even our club spirit and enthusiasm at events can help build exposure for a charity So now it's over to you. We need you to think about which charity is deserving of all the hard work and effort that it takes to fundraise, as well as the motivation to get out there in freezing temperatures, pouring rain and bad runs when you feel like giving up. When considering we do try and support local charities that we can build a relationship with over the next year and your selections will be reviewed by the committee. The top 3 or 4 charities will then be voted for at the AGM. To help with the selection it is important that the charity is a registered charity so please make sure they have a registered number. Send your nominations to: secretary@leightonfunrunners.org.uk With your nomination please include the following - 1. Your nominated charity2. A few sentences describing the charity and the work they do3. Links to the charity website4. Charities registered number Closing of date for charity nominations - Friday 3rd February.  

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Hill Reps for your PB dreams

Its that time of year when runners are starting out on training for races, often with big dreams of a big PB. They will have told themselves that this time is THE time and they're gonna smash it....but how to get from the post-Christamas January blues to a race-day PB? We've all seen training plans before that have regular running, speed-work and core exercises in it, but often hill repeats or hill training. But if you're not training for a hilly race then why train on hills? Hill training is a key ingredient in the PB soufflé.  In much the same way as speed training it conditions your cardio-vascular system to being able to cope with the increased strain of racing. However, in addition to this, the different terrain can also improve muscular strength as well as injury prevention by not running in the same way all the time. Many runners avoid regular hill training because, well, it's hard. Depending on the grade of the hill, lactic acid builds quickly, the heart rate shoots up, several muscles fire all at once, and we tire quickly. Even though the runner may not be in training for a hilly race, there are plenty of good reasons to incorporate hill training into the regular regim. These benefits include: Increase in burst speed for overtaking Strength building Improvement in proper run form Increase in aerobic capacity and VO2 max There are 3 main types of hill run. These are long hill repeats, short hill repeats and the long hilly run and each will bring some benefit, so its a good idea to rotate these as part of training. Short Hill reps: The main focus of these short workouts is on speed. In general, these repeats should take about 20 to 90 seconds and you should be running at or very close to your absolute maximum. The hill should be quite steep, like we do at Greenhill on Thursday night improver sessions. As you will be working hard for a short period of time this session should last about 30 minutes and include rest periods for you to recover between reps. Longer Hill reps: When you are doing long hill climbs, the focus is more on aerobic energy recruitment and less about speed. These hills climbs can take up to three minutes, so it's important to start slower and manage your pace on the climb. Your perceived exertion will be approximately 6-8 on a scale of one to 10 so its going to feel like you are working but not as hard as with shorter hill reps. Here you will do fewer reps but you should again look to something like 30 minutes of training at this level, allowing your body to recover between reps. Long Hilly Run: These runs are really very valuable, especially if you know that your race will be hilly. If you want to not suffer on race day then build some of these runs into your schedule, because as the saying goes...Train hard, race easy!  You should be careful with achilles when running up hills and remember to lean ever-so-slightly forward when running downhill to avoid heel-striking too much which can lead to back pain.  Finally, make sure you've built up a good running base before adding in too many hill workouts, because your body will need to be able to adapt to the new demand but do not have too many hill sessions close-together, your body will need time to recover from the added strain. Hill training is one way to not only mix up your running and make things a bit more interesting, but when done as part of a group can be a fun session too. The sessions have been proven to add value to a training plan and if you are dreaming big right now about a PB at some race in the near future, you might want to consider adding hill reps into your schedule!

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Getting to Know You – Sally Puddephatt & Kevin Hare

Getting to Know You - Sally Puddephatt & Kevin Hare   This week I have two new members to introduce... Sally Puddephatt Tell us about yourself:Hi my name's Sally and I live in Milton Keynes. Previous running experience/ achievements: I started running about 3 years ago to loose weight and increase my fitness.My biggest achievement has been running the London marathon 2015, it's up there as one of the best days of my life! Who do you normally run with?: I enjoy running on my own,  listening to music and having time to think. I also enjoy running with my friend Tracy who recently joined LFR's with me. Favourite distance: I joined the Milton Keynes Parkrun at Willen and was thrilled when I managed to run 5K without stopping! I have since then run several 10k races and 6 half marathons. Experience with the club so far: I have really liked the Tuesday club runs, and the 5K to cake is great fun haha!Tracy and I ran the recent cross country race which was amazing fun, and were also tail runners at the Santa dash.I wasn't too sure about joining a running club, but everyone has made me feel very welcome 🙂 Future running plans: I have recently been diagnosed with arthritis in my left foot and 10K is the furthest I can do at the moment   Kevin Hare Tell us about yourself:I am 45 years old, married and have with 2 boys age 14 and 10. I live and work in Leighton Buzzard. Previous running experience/ achievements:I have been running on and off for the last couple of years, I started running at Rushmere parkrun as a way to lose the extra weight I had gained and have really enjoyed it as I am starting to finish in the top ten places . Who do you normally run with?: I normally run by myself as I am up early in the morning so I head out then. Favourite distance:I have a run which is 5.3 miles, it goes from Bideford Green through the town and out to the other end and back down Chartmoor Road to Bideford Green, it is a good route as it has plenty of hills to challenge me. What made you decide to join LFR?:I was running at Rushmere parkrun and also got into volunteering as a Marshal when I met Dave Ayers. We got to talking and he invited me down to the club, I ran on a couple of social runs and enjoyed the company and the runs. Experience with the club so far:I have found the club and its members to be very inviting and friendly, always willing to give advice and encouragement. I have enjoyed meeting different people within the club and the different routes the club run and the social side of the club. Future running plans: I am looking to advance my running with long distance running, half marathons in the future as my abilities increase. Say hello when you see them next next! If you would like to introduce yourself then drop me an email - vicecaptain@leightonfunrunners.org.uk

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What is Fartlek and why you should try it

On the surface of it the word Fartlek could be seen as slightly comical for obvious reasons, but what does it really mean? At LFR we’ve had a Fartlek training night for the last year and many of you have attended, and improved as a result, but what is it supposed to be? What does it actually mean?Fartlek training was invented by Swedish coach Gösta Holmér in 1937 to help Swedish cross-country running teams that were being regularly beaten by the Finnish. It worked and soon after started to be adopted by many coaches. In fact, during the 40’s Swedish mile-runners Gunder Hagg and Arne Anderson took turns lowering the world record in the mile, after embracing this training.Fartlek means ‘speed play’ in Swedish, and the original plan relied on ‘faster-than-race-pace’ running interspersed with active recovery movement, fast walking or jogging in other words. Since then, the idea has been adopted by many coaches, clubs and individuals looking to improve their times and performances, right up to today.The first Fartlek session was oriented towards the cross-country running, but it could be argued that there is cross-discipline benefit from such workouts. The session looked like this;·      Warm up·      Pacey run for 1 to 1.5 miles·      Speed work: 50 to 60 meter sprints with active recovery·      Easy running with some quick acceleration movement to simulate responding to overtaking in a race environment·      Flat-out uphill running for 150 to 200 meters·      Pacey run for 1 to 2 minutes to close out·      Repeat stages from speed work above until session time ends·      Warm down So that’s what the first Fartlek looked like, and it looks like a beast if I am honest, although that doesn’t mean I am not tempted to try and re-create it to see just how hard that first session was. Of course the regular LFR Fartlek sessions are sometimes hard too. But what are the benefits of Fartlek though? How does it work? Firstly you need to understand that Fartlek improves your running but you might not know that it does so in four ways: Speed, endurance, running economy and stamina. All that from one workout!! No wonder its stood the test of time since 1937. Some of the benefits are that Fartlek is customisable, you can literally do what you like with it, meaning that you can tailor sessions to any ability. Its results benefit short distance and longer distance runners, so its very flexible. Fat burning is enhanced by alternating the intensity of the workout, so you would expect to typically burn more overall and more fat-calories from a fartlek workout. So Fartlek sessions have something for everyone it could be said.Fartlek sessions are a great addition to a regular running schedule for all the reasons mentioned above, whether you are training for a race or simply enjoy running. We all know that spicing things up now and then helps keep our interest up, and the variable nature of Fartlek plays well into this. Additionally, we change our Fartlek run leaders each week to keep things interesting too.So there you have it, a potted history of Fartlek and why its good for runners. If you haven’t been to any of our sessions on Wednesday night, you really should give it a try, they are super-friendly and all of the regular attendees have improved their times, so I suppose you could say it’s a fun, social way of improving… remind me what’s not to like?

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Cross country or Bake Off

Today was the annual hosting of the 3 Counties Cross Country event hosted by LFR (just incase you missed it on Facebook, the weekly comms, club nights, talk of…

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Getting to Know You – Tracy Cardno

Getting to Know You - Tracy Cardno   I have a guest appearance on my blog this week.  The club is growing bigger every week and its getting harder for members to know who everyone is so thought this would be a nice way of getting to know some of our newest runners.   Tell us about yourself: Tracy Cardno Age 49 (well for the next 5 weeks) After gaining a lot of weight I took up walking which then turned into a kind of running (which is a love hate relationship), I’m also a very keen swimmer.  Now 3 stone lighter and fitter. Previous running experience/ achievements:   2 half marathons, 7 10k’s, 4 5k’s and 151 parkruns (now a run director at Rushmere) Who do you run with:  Mainly on my own, occasionally with friends. Favourite distance: 10k Why did you decide to join LFR: I have always thought of running clubs as being clicky but after meeting so many friendly LFR’S at parkrun - my mind has been changed (now known as the crazy one driving from Newport Pagnell to run with LFR). Experience with the club so far: Has been great so supportive – and it is defiantly FUN. Future running plans:  I don’t class myself as a proper runner but I get round so would love to improve my running.   Who knows what the future holds – maybe a marathon one day ☺   Say hello to Tracy when you see her next! If you would like to introduce yourself then drop me an email - vicecaptain@leightonfunrunners.org.uk

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Not trained for this…

Run a marathon…with no training…..what???? For those that are regular readers of my blog, you’ll no doubt be aware that I have had to vastly reduce the number of miles…

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