The home kit of navy blue and white wouldn’t be so bad if it weren’t for the bright orange numbers (and the fact that the number have the football league logo on them). Can’t complain though, I actually quite like it.

Home Jersey

The away kit is…well, pretty bright. I don’t know who picked fluro yellow but I doubt they would have if they had to wear it :-)

Away Jersey

On the upside, at least we still don’t have to wear a sponsor logo.

So there we have it. Thoughts? :-)

I’ve had this shirt a while now and, running in it on Saturday evening, I decided that it should get a little write-up of it’s own. You may have seen it in my Gear section but the photo doesn’t really do it justice. You can have a look at the Pro-Direct page to see the proper fit, but you won’t get an idea of the proper colour unless you actually see it first hand.

It’s the same bright yellow as the high-vis vests that construction or road-workers wear. It really shows up at dusk, when everything else is starting to look a bit dimmer the yellow of this shirt is still as bright as the sun as it is in the day. It has a few reflective logos on the back but they’re not particularly big. I’m hoping that these, combined with the reflective strips on my capris and trainers, will be enough should anyone not see the rather bright, migraine-inducing colour of the shirt.

While a good fit length ways, the shirt is a bit short in the arms for me (but then again, I do have long arms), and the exceptionally light technical fabric is obviously more designed for warm summer evenings than cold October ones. While these shortcomings may seem few, I had hoped for a little more substance from £27 worth of shirt. If I decide to go further afield and outside of the city I’m going to think about getting extra reflective straps, and the shirt won’t be enough on it’s own if it gets much colder. All in all, a good product to have but, even though it’s a long sleeve, it it may not suit all conditions.

Monday: Easy 9km in 56:55. I put my HRM on for the first time in ages and got an average of 157 – only a little bit lower than June’s average of around the 160-163 mark.

Tuesday: Had intended to do a 14km run at 6:00/km pace. 20m out the front door and my legs felt heavy and I got a stitch…then I forgot the route. I decided not to let this annoy me too much and in the end I decided to finish the slightly shorter route I was taking and let my body pick the pace. Turned into a 12.5km in 1:19:36. Was quite a struggle and my feet hurt when I got back. Hope I didn’t make the wrong choice in shoes.

Wednesday: No running to give my feet a break. Basketball in the evening was a rather small affair with only 5 of us there. Still a good session, with some layups, passing drills and some 2 on 2.

Thursday: 14k in 1:28:18 today. I had intended to do this much quicker but it just didn’t happen. I hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast (went out just before 1pm) and I’m still getting used to the distance. Still a good run though.

Friday: An hour of 1-on-1 basketball with Ally in the afternoon. I was going to go for a run afterwards but ended up cutting Al’s hair for him :-)

Saturday: Last of the postal league competitions at archery today. We had the option of shooting either a Long National (80 and 60 yards) or a National (60 and 50 yards) and, after the trouble I was having at 70m last week, I chose the National. It went pretty well, scored a 520 and had no problems holding the weight of the bow after 6 dozen shots. Pretty cold out there today but indoor season will be starting when I get back from Egypt so at least we won’t have to battle the weather!

Sunday: As I mentioned, I had planned to run this morning but a bad night of not sleeping and the need to pack before basketball meant that I never actually got out there. Basketball in the afternoon was a bit of a let-down. Only Ally and I turned up to practice, the hall was double booked so we were put into a smaller gym, and then I found that I had a puncture so couldn’t play. Managed to get a couple of minutes of 1-on-1 before we decided to call it a day.

Total Run: 35.5km

After the battering my toes got from the Lichfield 10k, and then the sliding about my feet were doing last Tuesday on the track, I decided enough was enough, and on that Tuesday afternoon I drove over to Sutton Runner. I’ve always had neutral shoes and, even though I haven’t had massive problems, I decided to have a look at the video gait analysis to make sure they were right. As it turns out, my right foot was a little bit off (I suspected I was kicking off at a funny angle, but the video showed I was landing at one as well) and so I tried on a couple of pairs of asics before deciding on the Nimbus 11s.

asics Gel Nimbus 11

They’re a neutral shoe but with a really stable base. I tried them on and got back on the treadmill. The stability in the sole made a huge difference and I could see from 20 seconds of video that my foot was landing straighter.

I had also decided to go up half a size due to my aforementioned battered toes, but they didn’t have them in stock. I was just about to pull out of the car park when the sales guy came running out to tell me he’d found a pair, so back in I went, tried these new ones on and I was sold (or rather, the shoes were). I also picked up another pair of the X-Socks, since I’ve decided I quite like them.

I was going to wait until after the Great Capital Run but decided there was no reason to put my toes through more torture (one of my toenails was looking rather bad) and so started wearing them from last Wednesday, when I did a 4.3km run to break them in. The cushioning around the heel is immense, and very comfortable. My next run was significantly longer and I managed to get a blister and make my toenail even worse. I was slightly worried that, having worn them for less than 20kms I was going to have to get something else, but I’ve since worn them in a bit more and they seem to be getting better. They did fine for the Great Capital Run at the weekend and I’m hoping that taking a few extra days off this week will help my toe get a bit better.

All in all, I’m pretty happy with them. I must give a mention to the staff at Sutton Runner. The guy I spoke to definitely knew his stuff, was very helpful, and even gave me 10% off! If anyone in the West Midlands needs shoes I’d recommend them.

Wednesday: Just a quick one round the block in an attempt to work out pace for Sunday’s 5k (and break in my new trainers – will post about them soon). Did 4.3km in 24:53 (5:47/km). Really want to get that down to 5:30/km for Sunday.

Friday: After Wednesday’s short run I was finding I still had a few aches left over from Sunday’s race, so I decided to take Thursday off and persuaded Ally to give my legs a massage. By Friday morning they were feeling pretty good so I headed out for a long and slow run. Ran 14km in 1:28:39 (6:30/km pace).

Saturday: Day off running to give my legs a chance to recover from yesterday’s 14km before the Great Capital Run on Sunday. Spent the morning at archery tuning the pressure button on my bow. No aches, even though I haven’t been for a few weeks. Weighed it once I’d finished and found it was only 31.5lbs (draw weight – how much it takes to pull the string back), might have to wind that up a little bit.

Sunday: Great Capital Run in Regent’s Park today. Little bit cold for my liking but it was a good event and I am happy that I ran it at a decent (for me) pace. Official chip time for the 5k was 27:17. Race report on Wednesday.

Total Run: 29.9km

Commisserations to WBA who lost to the Wolverhampton Rhinos 40-33, I heard you played well though!

Monday: I wanted to know just how much of an effect my slow attempt at the hills in Sutton Park had on my 10k time so I took Charlie the Garmin. I started off well, at tempo pace, running the first 3 kms in 6’05″ (warm up), 5’48″ and 5’46″. I did the next 3 kms at base pace and still managed to get to the half way point at 30’29″. I thought I was going to be able to keep it up for the full 10k but I got a stitch at the 7th km and ran a 7’00″ and a 7’39″ km, bringing my final time to 64’42″. Still pleased that it was 3 minutes quicker than before though.

Tuesday: I was determined to do better than Monday, so I headed out for another 10k. Started with a strong 3k again, then slowed down a bit to attempt to maintain something around the 6’10″ mark (thank you virtual training man) but was let down again by my 7th and 8th km (6’54″ and 6’37″). Still, I did better than yesterday, managing to get home for 62’17″! Very happy!

Thursday: Cold and wet today (of course, it starts raining the second I step outside) meant that I had fleeting feeling in my fingers and toes and an excess of snot (thanks to raynauds and asthma respectively). I had already decided on a leisurely 5k but decided to try a negative split in an attempt to get used to a faster pace. I made it home in 29’29″, which I’m reasonably pleased with (for a training session that was planned whilst doing it anyway!)

Friday: I fully intended to do a 10k at base pace today but my legs were sluggish and heavy and I found myself jogging instead of running. I decided that if I wasn’t going to maintain a decent pace then I would at least put some effort into the distance and so managed 12k in 78’07″.

Sunday: Ally and I went back to Sutton Park and did the same route as last time. Knowing that I could push myself more than last time I set out with the intention of letting myself speed up on the downhills to compensate for the slow uphills. I made it to 5k in a little over half an hour and then to 6k in a little over 36 minutes. I decided to give it everything I had and try to break the hour mark. I got to 9.1km at 55 minutes and still some hills to go but I really went for it and managed to get to 10k in 59’50″. I now know that I can do it, so it’s just a case of repeating that in 3 weeks time!

Total Run: 47km

Gym buddy Baines

It’s also worth noting that this week is the last chance to buy a RoadID whereby 10% goes towards my sponsorship goal. If you buy a RoadID through this blog after this week then the 10% will go towards whichever charity I run for next year. If you’d like to buy one (and I think they’re a great idea, especially if you run on your own) then please click the button on the right hand side of the page. Thanks.

I had the Garmin Forerunner 305 first and loved that. Not only was the GPS a lot more accurate than the glorified pedometer in Nike+, but it also had the heart rate monitor. The screen was big enough that I could display 4 different things and still be able to read it easily. I’d often have the stop watch, heart rate, distance and pace when I was running and then stop watch, time of day, distance and speed when I was cycling. The size of the screen was also the biggest disadvantage. The unit itself is huge, meaning my little wrists were swamped by it and running was a tad lopsided. As a result I would only take Steve (the 305) out when I needed to measure a distance on a regular route and I felt guilty for not maximising it’s potential.

Forerunner 405CX. Picture courtesy of wiggle.co.uk.

The 405CX is much smaller, but unfortunately not small enough to be worn as a regular watch (it displays the time in Sleep Mode instead of just turning off but needs charging every few days if using the GPS a lot). The face and surrounding strap (where the GPS is stored, what’s shown in the picture) is still too wide but this really is it’s only downfall, and as soon as Garmin make a GPS HRM that fits me I’ll be queueing to buy one.

So where to start? Well it took me a few days to come up with a name for the new Garmin. As you may have noticed from previous posts I called it ‘the CX’, which then became Charlie X-Ray, which was then shortened to Charlie. So the new Garmin is called Charlie. It does pretty much everything you could want. Turning it on to training mode it will pick up a satellite signal in seconds. Unlike Steve (the 305) which could take up to a few minutes, I’ve had Charlie take less than 2 seconds, no exageration.

It’s incredibly simple to use. I managed to set up my custom displays on the fly as I was about to start a run. Everything is controlled by touching the bezel, which works a bit like the scroll wheel on an iPod but doesn’t depress. When I’m running I have my distance, time and speed displayed on the screen. By tapping the bezel I can scroll through pre-set screens. Tap once and my heart rate will appear, tap again and I have a diagram of my ‘virtual partner’ (or imaginary friend in my watch, as Scribs calls it) – a virtual pacesetter, complete with time and distance you are ahead or behind by. The last tap will bring up the time of day.

I can also display any of about 35 other elements, in a combination of screens of my choice. I can work to heart rate zones and pre set routes. I can mark locations using the GPS and then use the feature to find my way back to one of these locations (I swear I’ve never got lost in the woods whilst running, regardless of what Ally might say!) I haven’t really begun to explore all the different things I can do with this thing, and that’s only the running setting, just wait til I get back on my bike!

10k run on Tuesday 16th

When coming home I stop the timer, reset the fields ready for next time and put it on to time mode whilst I’m collapsed on the floor in a red sweaty heap stretching properly. When I take the watch back upstairs it’ll automatically send my run information to my PC (which I tend to leave on) due to the USB stick I have permanently plugged in. The Garmin Training Centre will display anything and everything that you might want to know. Pace and heart rate show up on the graph, but I can also add in HR as % of max, elevation, speed etc. There’s a whole table of information available as well. I have set my laps to 1km so I can get accurate times for each km (which you’ll see in Monday posts), as well as my average and max speed, calories burnt, average and max heart rate and total ascent and descent (for each km as well as a total).

Charlie does have a bit of a problem when going through tunnels and might randomly spit out that I’m running at 23km/h, but otherwise it’s pretty accurate. I’ve sat here for a few minutes trying to think of other things that are wrong with it (this ‘review’ is somewhat one-sided) but I can’t really fault it. The price is maybe a bit hefty but everyone should have a boyfriend that buys them graduation gifts!

Tuesday: Still ill but felt good enough in the afternoon for a stroll around the barefoot trail in Trentham as per last Wednesday’s post.

The rest of the week was spent indoors not doing a whole lot. I know I have to be patient but I really want to go out for a run or a cycle – anything. There’s only so much of this staying couped up inside that I can do!

Total Run: 0km

I know I haven’t mentioned my progress on my goal to shift some weight of late. Being ill meant that I lost a fair amount in a very short period of time but I don’t think it counts! I’ve been trying to keep my calorie intake up during the week but it’ll probably be a fortnight or so before I can give you a proper idea of how I’m doing.

A reminder to anyone out there that runs/jogs/cycles alone, ID can be essential in the case of an accident. Buy a RoadID (I have one) by clicking on the button in the right hand column and 10% of the sale price will go towards my sponsorship goal.

Near the start of the trail - notice the reasonably clean feet!

Reading Born to Run a little while ago also raised the notion of barefoot running and it’s possible advantages. The book did seem to make out that running shoes were completely unnecessary and that everyone would be better off without them (though you have to wonder why, if this fact is as well known as Christopher McDougall makes out, you rarely see a barefoot runner).

To ease myself into the idea of barefoot running I decided to try the Barfuss walk in Trentham and so went there yesterday with Claire, Scribs and Lauren. It’s a 1000m (though it seemed a lot shorter) path through the gardens that has a number of different surfaces, based on a natural theme, and generally broken into sections of about 10-20m. We had stones of all sizes, logs, grass, water, woodchips and mud – which was surprisingly deep, and funny :-)

Getting muddy.

The idea of walking barefoot on these different surfaces stems from the principles of Sebastian Kneipp, a priest in the 1800′s who is most famous for his hydrotherapy techniques but also incorporated barefoot walking into his treatments, believing that walking barefoot could cure the body of a myriad of illnesses.

I’m not sure if doing the Trentham Barefoot Trail could cure me of consumption but it was certainly interesting. I found it best if you take your time and really pay attention to the different surfaces under your feet, not just the different shapes and textures but the temperatures as well. Speed round the trail also seemed to be dependent on just how tough the undersides of your feet are. I was hobbling over some of the gravel like it was hot coals and Scribs was miles ahead of me like he was walking on a pile of feathers.

Standing in the water section doesn't really do much to get the mud off.

So now that I’m prepared for the barefoot world I shall be attempting a barefoot run…as soon as I’ve found somewhere that looks gentle enough!

Many thanks to Claire for taking the above photos.

You probably already know I listen to music because I have the Nike + sports kit for my iPod. I have a 2nd generation Nano (in shiny blue) and Sennheiser MX75 headphones. Having gone through a myriad of headphones in the past I’ve found that these are the only ones that will actually stay in.

As far as music goes, I tend to listen to something with a good beat. Over 50% of my running playlist is by The Prodigy. As it happens I usually have a moment of guilt at a certain point of my run down the canal path. If I’m running south then I get to the edge of the city after 3kms and am suddenly in the quiet, away from roads and people, though all I can hear is Keith reverberating around in my head. As if it’s somehow disrespectful to the quiet of nature to still be listening to my electronic punk rock :-)

I can run without music, there was a time when the sounds of my laboured breathing would put me off my pace, but I find it much easier now. I think it’s more a case of having something to listen to, to keep me occupied and motivated. The Nike+ system has a ‘power song’ which you can start by pressing the big centre button on the iPod. Mine is currently set to Voodoo People (Pendulum Mix) by The Prodigy, and I used to find that just having it play would make me run that bit faster, though I’ve had it for a while and it isn’t giving me the motivation that it used to. I’m finding that Run With The Wolves, from the new Prodigy album is giving me that extra push now (which I usually save the last km).

So, my playlist as it stands:

No Good (Start the Dance) – Prodigy
Skylight – Overseer
Omen (Extended) – Prodigy
Hard Wax – Manchild
Invaders Must Die – Prodigy
Leave You Far Behind – Lunatic Calm
Weapons of Mad Distortion – The Crystal Method
Thunder – Prodigy
Ready, Steady, Go – Oakenfold
Breathe – Prodigy
Keep Hope Alive – The Crystal Method
Run With The Wolves – Prodigy
Spybreak! (Short One) – Propellerheads
Firestarter – Prodigy
Voodoo People (Pendulum Mix) – Prodigy

This will get me through about 65 minutes, but I don’t really like starting again from the beginning. I’ve had ‘No Good’ as the first song on my playlist for so long it’s quite intrinsicly linked with the start of my run and hearing it after 65 minutes would just make me think I have to do it all over again. Weird? Yeah, a little bit.

Another favourite is Drive by The Crystal Method. It’s one of the mixes in the Nike+ Original Run series and I like it for a slightly more relaxed run. However, it’s only 45 minutes long and so I tend to keep it for the runs I know won’t take longer than that. There are about 4 or 5 of these ‘continuous mixes’ that Nike have released so if you want something that’ll keep you going, I suggest checking them out on itunes.

So what about you guys? What music do you listen to when you work out?