Exercise and Socialise

I found this really good article in the New York Times online which makes the link between exercise-shy people sticking to some sort of "moving" routine if there are ancillary benefits to be found, such as making new friends, socialising and broadening their horizons.

Extract from the article:

"“My research suggests that we have misbranded health behaviors such as exercise,  The ‘health’ and ‘weight-loss’ brand of exercise doesn’t create desire in people to exercise on a daily basis. It makes the behaviors feel like a chore and a ‘should,’ which undercuts our desire to do them.”


Dr. Segar likened this approach to telling young children, “Eat your vegetables; they’re good for you,” which almost never accomplishes the desired goal. “We’ve based our promotion of exercise on a medical and logical model,” she said. “And people don’t necessarily behave in a logical manner.

“We’ve made exercise feel like a chore to most people, not like a gift we give ourselves.”

Full article here  [link to associated article "Even More Reasons To Get A Move On" here]

The article draws on the experiences of retirees but I can talk from personal experience that even younger folk can gain ancillary benefits from an exercise regime. 

When I first started training for the London Marathon 5 years ago I put up an ad on Runners World online looking for a training buddy.  A Women's Running Network trainer got in touch and we agreed to meet up for a run around Canary Wharf.  She then invited me back to hers for a coffee and I went onto join the network.  We trained and ran the London Marathon together and I couldn't have done it without her.  Even though I've moved out the area she's still one of my closest friends.

I met another good friend when I walked up to a stranger at a half-marathon and asked if she could keep an eye on my bag for me.  Turned out we ran at the same pace and we ran the half-marathon together.  Seven years later and we're still in touch. 

Over the years I've come into contact with lots of people, from all walks of life that I would never have otherwise encountered.  I can truly say that running has enriched my life way more than just making me fitter.

Does Exercise Boost Immunity?

I love the New York Times - their articles on health and fitness are second to none.  I've just read this really interesting article on reasearch done into exercise and the immune system. 

For many long distance runners, footballers and rugby players autumn heralds the start of training for the season ahead.  This coincides with an increase in seasonal flu which strikes horror into the heart of any athlete. 

Find out how you can keep healthy here.

Do you think exercising has an impact on your immune system? Leave a comment - go on!

Andy Murray shivers his way to the top

According to an article in the Evening Standard - 01 July 2009:

" Andy Murray's run to the quarter-finals at Wimbledon, where he takes on Juan Carlos Ferrero today, has been assisted by regular dips in the cubes normally used to cool your gin and tonic".

Full article here

Ever since I heard about Paula Radcliffe having ice baths to aid recovery, I've given them a go. After all what's good enough for Paul is good enough for me!

OK, I don't actually have bags of ice cubes to hand, instead I sit in a bath of cold water [which in winter is icy] and it also does the trick. The water is so cold it literally takes my breathe away.

The reason behind this torture is:

"During exercise muscles suffer small fibre tears that cause small amounts of internal bleeding. When you get into an ice bath (for between five and 10 minutes), the cold causes the vessels to constrict and the blood to flow out of your limbs.

When you step out of the bath, and your body warms up, blood flows back and this invigorates the muscles with oxygen, helping the cells to repair themselves better"

It really does work! Whenever I do a run that is over about 90 mins I spend the last 10 minutes of the run actually looking forward to my ice bath. Why? Because that means it's over, I've done it and I can now relax for the rest of the day. My legs also don't feel so heavy afterwards.

I think I'm going to try a few ice cubes next time ........

I'm in training .......

It seems a long way off but I'm already in training for the Virgin London Marathon 2010. I'm currently up to running 2 hours [albeit at a snail like pace] and I'm on track to complete the St. Albans Half-Marathon on 14 June 2009. My goal is better my PB of 2h08, so I'm going to have to really concentrate on doing more speedwork. As they say - the only way to run faster times is to practise running faster!

To follow on from my previous post about Map My Run - a very useful site for people who don't own mobile GPS systems - I've discovered that I can put a link in my blog to my training runs.

So take a look at where I went to last Sunday - I ran across those very fields!

Congratulations!

Congratulations to Victoria and Saul who ran the Flora London Marathon on Sunday. They'd both done excellent training and their legs were in great condition afterwards. This is testament to what consistent training and putting in the miles can achieve. [Along with having massage of course!].

If you've been inspired to enter for next years race then you'd better get ya skates on. For 2009, the ballot has moved to online only and they have allocated 120,000 ballot places. By Monday evening the first batch of places - 80,000 - had already gone! You'll have to wait until Monday 21st April to try and bag one of the remaining 35,000 online places. There are 5,000 paper entries allowed [for those without access to a computer] but you need to call them to request a paper form.

Flora London Marathon 2009

Good luck!

Like running - but only in summer?

The cold winter nights have drawn in and finding the motivation to maintain cardio-vascular fitness is a struggle. Especially if you're used to jogging or cycling outdoors.

I try and run on the weekends in daylight. However, with massage appointments and social commitments to fit in, it's not always easy. I recently checked out my local Leisure Centre and luckily for me, they have a huge CV area encompassing treadmills, cross-trainers, stationary bikes and rowing machines. So on those cold, damp nights - when wild horses wouldn't be able to drag me onto the streets - I'm planning to head for the warm indoors and get in a CV session in comfort.

Another benefit of the Leisure Centre is that you don't have to be a member to use it. You can pay as you go and the sessions are reasonably priced at between £4-5. So, no need to shell out a monthly membership fee and or sign up for the obligatory one year contract.

Find treadmills boring? Check out this Treadmill Masterclass for some inspiration.

Give yourself permission to be lazy

My running is a hit and miss affair at the moment. Due to demand for massage increasing [thank you my lovely clients] the spare time I have left for training is decreasing.

Therefore, to be realistic, I doubt I'll be training for the 2007 London Marathon after all. Which moron said that writing down your goal was the answer ;-)!

This dawning realisation could have made me decide not to go for a run this evening. The gathering clouds were a pregnant grey and the wind was chilly. Nevermind, I thought - I want to run anyway - no marathon goal and horrid weather aside.

Before I set off I gave myself permission to be lazy. Even if I ran for 20 minutes it was better than nothing. Even if I plodded along slower than normal, it didn't matter. I went out with an open mind, expecting very little from myself.

Lo and behold - helped along with banging techno on my shuffle - I completed a joyous 45 minute run along the canals and through the parks of Milton Keynes. At certain junctures on the run I told myself "you can turn back now if you want to" but that just seemed spur me on even more!

Allowing myself to be a slack ass had the opposite effect. I'm not sure this approach will work every time but I intend to apply this to other situations and see what happens.

This year I'll mainly be .....................

RUNNING!

Technically that should read "for the rest of this year until the end of March 2008" I'll mainly be running. That's because I've decided to run the London Marathon again in 2008.

If you want to be nit-picky I should say PLODDING! and not running. Taking 10 minutes to cover one mile is stretching the concept of running to the limit.

I reckon that if I publish my plans then I'll be shamed into training. It is said that writing down your goal is the first step to attaining it.

At the moment I'm running twice a week, with my "long" run being 45 minutes.

My "sub" goals are to run without stopping and to knock 15 minutes off my last effort and finish in 4h45. My partner, Anthony, will be in training too, for his first ever marathon.

Now I have to get creative about how to raise enough money for a charity place - as I doubt I'll get a place via the lottery.

There! it's in black and white. I'm already scared.