Runaround! Now!

A friend has started a new blog about his experiences with running, training, racing, and all the things he gets up to in the world of fitness. I have been enjoying a read, and if you find this you might like to go look too...  http://www.runaround.london

I have to say that I love the title to the blog - Runaround! - a simple statemnet which sums up so nicely what a lot of us spend our spare time doing :-)

One post titled "Running Form" really has made me think, in it Karl outlines his adventures with a Kinetic Revolution run clinic. His experience was extremely positive and has even seemingly produced a half-marathon PB at the Bournemouth Marathon Festival recently. The journey through changes in running form and technique is one that I hope to emulate this winter, as a result I am checking when there is a clinic session running nearby so I too can avail myself of some useful insights.

Kinetic Revolution - 30-day challenge

So now the half marathon is out of the way I am really getting on with shaking up my running before the winter so that I can get a really good training block under my belt. If you have read this blog (and to be fair why would you have) you will note the number and frequency of injuries and niggles ruining this run or that, so I have taken up the Kinetic Revolution 30-day challenge as an injury preventing, form adapting, run improving strategy.

Who? - basically in my wanderings around the interweb I came across the Kinetic Revolution site (headed up by James Dunne, a sports rehab therapist) and their run training video offerings.

What? - I'm only on day 2 so I don't know exactly what it will all be about, but it is clearly designed to strengthen runners around common areas of weakness / injury. It claims to be 10-15minutes a day following a guided set of drills, exercises and stretches. Given my inability to single leg balance for 20 seconds last night, I'm taking it that I need this more than I thought.

Where? - wherever I can fit in the sessions, probably at home on the yoga mat I pinched from my wife.

When? - probably each evening, though to be fair 10-15minutes shouldn't be too hard to fit in earlier in the day.

Why? - having dabbled and never really followed up on the videos and well written short articles I thought it would be sensible to see where more structure to my run training would take me. After all I have never really (ever) done enough stretching, core or mobility work around training sessions.

I will try to report back with how I get on.

Very brief musing of the freedom of mass running

Yesterday was the Cardiff Half marathon and during my pre-race dog walk I found myself facebooking the below post. It was not so much inspired by it being race day moreover the international news that had been breaking over recent weeks and a deep appreciation of the quality of my own little bit of the world. All things have their own contexts.

"Beautiful morning in Cardiff, and I find myself recognising the privilege I have in being able to run freely around a free city as part of an open tolerant society. Not everyone on this tiny planet has had or will have these very particular freedoms. Which makes me humble though hopeful that some day anyone anywhere can just pop out of their home and run around their hometown on any given day."

London says "no" again

So today London Marathon ballot drew another blank for me, I have a "no" magazine waiting for me at home apparently. Still at least now I can get on with formulating my Winter / Spring running plan, I can never work out quite why they take months to draw the lots in the ballot leaving us all in limbo so long.

Right! Halves or Full marathon next spring that is the big decision...

By the way I hope you got in :-)