June 29, 2009

Running in a heatwave. Ideas anyone?

longroadRegular readers will know that running in the heat really isn’t my speciality. I can acquire sunburn simply by watching Ice Cold In Alex on the TV and develop heatstroke from standing too close to the toaster.

Little surprise then that I find running in anything over 18 degrees uncomfortable, and anything over 23 degrees to be borderline suicidal.

But as it is always at least 23 degrees when I make it to the start line of any race, anywhere in the world, I’ve been making efforts over the last couple of years to improve my performance in the heat.

Medical opinion is that by regularly exercising when it’s hot, you can train your body to send more blood to cool at the surface. But having tried this theory out through most of last Summer, I have to say that this doesn’t work for everybody.

In fact, the only thing I’ve found that helps to ease the pain of hot runs is to slow right down in order to minimise the strain on your heart.

The effects of heat on heartrate

Having recently reviewed the Garmin 405CX, I’m beginning to pay more attention to my heart rate than my running pace these days. So I recently noticed that while pacing myself at exact 8 minute miles with the Garmin, my heart rate was fully 15% higher in 22 degrees of heat than it had been a couple of days earlier in a more pleasant 16 degrees.

Yet when I repeated the exercise and compared otherwise identical hot and cool runs at a very leisurely 8.45 pace, my heartrate was just 3% higher in the heat.

So while these are far from being the results of a major medical study, they certainly convinced me that the only way to avoid putting too much strain on my heart in the heat is to treat every hot weather run as a slow run.

Unless of course, you know better?

Dealing with heat is one area in which I’m happy to admit my shortcomings. So if anyone out there has got a great tip for how to deal with it, feel free to leave a comment.

I’m going to be writing a ‘how to deal with the heat’ piece for my Mate Down the Pub column on the runningbug.co.uk shortly, so any really good tips will be shared with roughly 50,000 fellow runners.

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June 19, 2009

It’s hot. It’s damned hot. And maybe we’d all better get used to it…

Don’t worry, Al Gore hasn’t hijacked the post. But just in case he’s right, as looks increasingly likely, maybe it’s time to learn how to run cool when the weather turns hot.

The thing is, I don’t think I’ve had a single email from a fellow runner lately where ‘this damned heat’ hasn’t been mentioned at least once. We have all discussed it, until we are blue in the face, or in my case, extremely red. And yes, we are all agreed that it makes going for a run a bit of an uphill struggle and adds at least 10% to normal training times.

If I’m honest, I’ve always tried to avoid running in any kind of heat, generally waiting for nightfall, or at least rainfall, before I run during the Summer months.

Which is probably why, every time I arrive at the start line for any kind of race, and it’s so unseasonably hot, which it always, always is, that I have such a hard time dealing with it. All of which simply feeds my Arthur Dent-like paranoia, that even were I to run the Arctic Marathon there would be some kind of fluke heatwave on the day of the race.

Paranoia aside, however, the fact must be faced that while I’ll never be able to run the Saharan Marathon des Sables (After all, it took several St John’s Ambulance persons to talk me away from the pretty white light and towards the finishing line at the FLM last time I ran in 23 degrees heat), I feel that I really should be training myself to handle warm days a little better.

But is that really possible? Well, I’ve done a little bit of research, and it seems that while some of us will always fare worse than others in the heat, particularly during sporting activities, some acclimatisation is beneficial to all, even sweating, red-faced weirdos like my good self.

Now, before getting to the serious business of sharing my findings on acclimatisation training, there is just one thing I’d like to share with you, for no reason other than that I’m plainly a very bad person. And it is this: according to the American Medical Association: “Exertional Heat Stroke (EHS) can affect seemingly healthy athletes even when the environment is relatively cool. EHS is defined as when the rectal temperature becomes greater than 40 degrees Celsius.”

Ohhh-kay! Thanks so much for that particular mental picture…which surely brings a whole new terror to post-race changing areas.

But back at the serious subject of acclimatisation, current scientific thinking is that after as little as 14 days of light exertion in a hot climate, the human body is capable of re-prioritising blood flow, sending more of it to cool at the body’s surface, thus reducing fluid loss and also the strain placed on the heart by having to pump more blood during exertion in hot conditions.

So, while it’s currently 22 degrees outside, I think I’m going to go for a slow 6 miler anyway, complete with a Camelbak full of iced Taut, and see if I can’t improve my performance the next time I run in the heat.

Or, at the very least, avoid the possibility of a paramedic checking me out for EHS…

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June 13, 2009

Gear Review: Garmin Forerunner 405CX (Part Two)

fig 1.

fig 1.

Having given the new Garmin 405CX rave reviews a couple of weeks ago when it arrived, I thought it would be a good idea to write a follow-up review now that I’ve got a bunch of training runs under my belt with it.

I’m pleased to say that my opinion hasn’t changed: this is an incredibly clever piece of kit. But more important than the clever design and ease of use,  it really has made my training more effective.

Training smarter with the 405CX

Now, as the Garmin website itself give comprehensive details of all the many, many clever things that this thing can do, I won’t waste your time trying to regurgitate them here. Instead, I’m going to focus on just three screens that I’ve been using on the Garmin 405CX, by way of illustrating how even I, of all people, can finally make the claim that I’m ‘training smarter.’

Figure 1, shown at top left is the screen that I now use most on training runs. As previously noted, the little chap at the top is your ‘virtual training partner’, the little chap at the bottom is you, and the ‘you are ahead by’ numbers relate to exactly how you’re doing in relation to the pace you’ve set for yourself, which is shown in figure 2.

fig 2.

fig 2.

Here, I’ve set it for 8 minute mile pace, but you can easily adjust that by simply stroking the bezel either up or down. Then, once you press the start button, the screen changes to show your virtual partner.

Should you wish to change to a simple stopwatch mode, you simply tap the bezel once. And if you want to see what your heart rate is doing, just tap it again, to go to the screen shown in figure 3.

(Could I also point out at this juncture that as a finely honed athlete in my mid 40s, my resting heart rate is a healthy 60 beats per minute. The somewhat higher reading on this shot seems to be due to the cafetiére of Columbian Roast I had imbibed just before taking these pictures.)

(And while we’re talking in brackets for a moment, I might also add that if, like me, you always struggle to run in the heat, the heart rate function on this thing has proven to me how big an effect the heat has on you, as my heart rate is a staggering 15% higher when running in 24 degrees than it is in 18 degrees of heat when moving at exactly the same pace.)

Training smarter by running slower

As you may know, training at full pelt all the time isn’t the cleverest way to go about it. So for some years now, I have attempted to mix ’slow’ runs with tempo runs, and fartlek sessions. Yet running slowly all the way through a run (as opposed to just in the last mile or so when I’m knackered) is a skill that has always eluded me.

But with the Garmin, you can tell it just how fast or slow you want to go, and even a total incompetent can run at exactly the right pace to get the most from their training runs.

fig 3.

fig 3.

Listen to your heart…

Another fancy training technique that has always seemed like far too much trouble is ‘running at 75% of maximum heart rate’ which is, by all accounts, the optimum fat burning zone. Yes, I know. Seems like an incredibly nerdy thing to aim for, doesn’t it? But not if you’ve got a Garmin 405CX.

I used it to establish my maximum heart rate by the simple expedient of running up and down sand dunes until I felt sick, before dividing the resulting heart rate by 75%. So now when I go for a slow run, I simply use the heart rate screen shown in figure 3 to make sure that I’m burning fat rather than rubber.

The upshot of all this is that in just three weeks of using the Garmin in this way, I’ve dropped two pounds in weight, I feel fitter than I have in a long time, and I’m performing dramatically better on my tempo runs.

So while I’d love to return to the ‘jumpers for goalposts’ simplicity of my youth, I have to say that if you’re at all serious about improving your fitness through running, you really do need to have a Garmin 405CX.

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June 2, 2009

Shoe Review: Asics Gel Cumulus 11

cumulus 11The Asics Gel Cumulus is the piece of kit that made me a one shoe runner, in road running terms anyway. I had them recommended to me several years ago, when I think we were on the Cumulus 6, and since then I have largely avoided injury, however many junk miles I manage to rack up every year.

I’ve also spent a large chunk of take-home pay on them, as blokes my size can really only expect 3-400 miles out of these things before they have to be consigned to gardening duties.

And yet, I’ve been waiting for the arrival of the new Gel Cumulus 11s with some anticipation and no small amount of trepidation.

You see, as I posited at some length in earlier posts about the difference between the Cumulus 9 and Cumulus 10 shoes, I’m of the opinion that the Cumulus 10 had some of the qualities of a stability shoe, making it slightly less desirable than previous incarnations right up to the Cumulus 9.

Now, while the 10 is by no means a bad shoe; for my money, and quite a few other people’s too, it wasn’t quite as neutral, flexible and comfortable on the road as the 9. So is this a trend that the 11 is set to continue, or is the new 11 going to be a return to all that’s been great about the Cumulus for many, many years?

First Impressions Out of the Box

cumulus 11 heelWell, at first sight, the 11 looks pretty much like the last five or so incarnations of the Cumulus – and as one of the guys from Asics once admitted to me, Asics trainers don’t sell on the strength of their sexy looks…

There are the usual cosmetic tweaks, but the main point of difference is in the slightly raised and broadened heel area. While this is only slightly wider than previous versions of the Cumulus, the visual impression is of a shoe that’s going to give more stability to the heel strike.

Inside the shoe, the main difference is in the new ‘removable ComforDry sockliner’, which is pretty much just a fancier insole with raised edges to keep it in place within the shoe, or to facilitate removal for drying or replacement purposes.

cumulus 11s ocklinerWhich is no bad thing, as the insoles coming loose when you take them off has been a problem for me with most of my Asics shoes once they’ve got a couple of hundred miles on the clock.

The inner part of the heel also seems to be narrower and more highly cushioned than the 10, which I presume is part of the ‘personal heel fit’ they talk about in the blurb? But hey, the proof of the pudding is always when you hit the road in these things.

So despite it being 28 degrees and completely windless, I put something mellow onto the iPod (But Seriously Folks by Joe Walsh, if you’re interested. A soft rock classic album, with lyrics that are just right for Summer running), set my Garmin 405CX to ‘dawdle’ mode, with clear instructions to keep my heart rate below 160bpm, and headed out to see what the 11s could do.

First Impressions on the Road

Well, my concern with the Cumulus 10s was that they seemed less flexible than previous versions of the Asics Cumulus, with a stiffness to the outer edges that put me in mind of a stability shoe.

However, while it was incredibly hot when I took these things for a spin earlier today, my very first act was to breathe a big sigh of relief, and wipe some totally imaginary sweat from my brow, because after their slight wobble with the Asics Gel Cumulus 10, it soon became clear that with the Cumulus 11, Asics have once again created a completely neutral, cushioned performance shoe that is ideal for the slightly larger plodder like my good self.

My feet felt completely supported, and the whole foot cushioning quickly took my ageing feet, knees and ankles to their happy place, as if I was running across one of those rubber kids’ playgrounds rather than concrete.

They’re not quite like the 8s or 9s though. Leaving aside all the technical stuff about Space Trusstics and the AHAR+ heel (which mean very little to me if I’m honest), these shoes do seem to plant themselves very squarely onto the road, yet without any pretensions to being a control shoe. In fact, quite the reverse. If it makes any sense at all, these just feel super-neutral to run in, but more stable than ever.

They’re also slightly less flexible than the 8s and 9s, but no less comfortable. In fact, I have to say that for me personally, the new Cumulus 11s are as close to perfect as neutral, cushioned running shoes can get.

The Big Self-Important Verdict

I try to keep these reviews as neutral and honest as possible. After all, with an RRP of £84 or thereabouts, I wouldn’t want any fellow runners to buy these on my say-so if they were rubbish.

wholedamnbagThe fact is though, that in my opinion, the Cumulus 11 represents a very welcome return to form for Asics, and one that will be pretty popular with all those of us who have been wearing Cumuluses (Cumulii?) for a number of years. In fact, a quick count up in my shoe diary suggests that I’ve now personally racked up around 10,000 miles in various incarnations of the Cumulus over the years.

Thanks to the Cumulus 11, I’m now starting to consider the possibility that I may be wearing them for the next 10,000 miles too. And so, despite having handed out several 4.5 or 5 Jelly Baby Ratings recently, I’m afraid that 5 Jelly Babies just won’t cut it for the new Cumulus 11s.

I’m astonished, but very, very pleased to say that for the first time ever, and probably the last, the new Asics Gel Cumulus 11s are getting the whole damn bag…

Technical Specification

UPPER:
• Air Mesh
• Synthetic leather
• Modified Kimono tongue
• Personal Heel Fit
• 3M Reflective.

SOLE:
• Impact Guidance System (I.G.S.)
• Solyte midsole
• DuoMax
• Visible Rearfoot GEL
• Visible Forefoot GEL
• Space Trusstic
• AHAR+ heel
• DuraSponge rubber Forefoot.

FEATURES:
• Solyte 45 lasted
• Removable single layer ComforDry sockliner
• Gender specific midfoot design.

WEIGHT:
• 340g.

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May 22, 2009

Gear Review: Garmin Forerunner 405CX – (Part One)

forerunner 405 CXHaving recently rubbished the abilities of the iPhone 3G as a GPS-enabled training tool, I was delighted when the brand new Garmin Forerunner 405CX finally showed up here at Jelly Baby Towers; the first one that was dispatched to me having, somewhat ironically, become lost in the post…

Nevertheless, having taken the frankly gorgeous unit out of the box and attached the rather nifty ‘clip on’ charger, I set about to read the manual, and quickly realised that attempting to review this thing in one go was slightly pointless; as not only do I want to see if it really is the state of the art as a GPS unit, I’m also keen to see if it’s any use in making my training any more effective.

So this is just Part 1 of the review, where I’ll probably make fun of it’s gadget value a fair bit. But I’ll also be posting Part 2 in a couple of weeks, discussing the heartrate-based calorie counter, followed by Part 3 detailing all of its technical wonderfulness a couple of weeks after that.

Setting up the Garmin 405CX

Well, OK, so after reading the manual, it all sounded pretty straightforward. You control the 405CX’s functions by tapping the relevant words on the bezel, and scroll through the function menus by ’stroking’ the written part of the bezel in the direction you wish to scroll. The ‘Start/Stop’ button acts as an ‘Enter’ key, and the ‘Lap/Reset’ button acts as a ‘Go Back’ key. So far, so straightforward? Well, yes and no. Even after following the setup ‘wizard’ that makes you try each technique in turn,  I really struggled with this system for about 45 minutes, as it was entirely new to me. But having now lived with the unit for 24 hours, and run with it earlier today, I’m already completely comfortable with it. In fact, it’s very, very clever once you get the hang of it; a bit like the scroll wheel on an iPod, but without the moving parts.

Going for a quick run with the Garmin.

garmin virtual partner modeThe 405CX is just about as high-tech as things get. Not only will it wirelessly sync with your PC or Mac using a USB dongle called an ANT stick, it also comes complete with a wireless heartrate monitor. However, I didn’t bother with the HRM today, as, still struggling with injury, I was only planning on a slow 5.5 miles, at around 8 minute mile pace. So I entered the ‘Training’ mode, noted that the unit acquired satellite reception in 5 seconds flat, selected ‘Virtual Partner’, scrolled the target pace to be 8.0 minute miles, pushed the ‘Start’ button and set off.

I found the display to be easily readable, and it was also easy to tap the bezel and switch to other views including a standard stopwatch. But apart from the GPS measurement function, which is great for analysing your run afterwards, I think that Virtual Partner is the really crucial tool, especially for unsociable weirdos like my good self. The little chap at the top is your partner, the little chap at the bottom is you, and the large display shows exactly how much you are ahead or behind your intended pace. Simples! And an absolute boon to those of us who don’t like running with a real training partner…or, who simply have no friends who run…or simply, have no friends…

The only small flaw came when I got back home and pressed the ‘Lap/Reset’ key button instead of the ‘Start/Stop’ button, which meant that another minute and ten seconds had been added to my time before I realised my mistake and pushed the’Start/Stop’ key.

garmin run pageOnce indoors, the Garmin uploaded the data to my Mac without even being asked, and I was then taken to the Garmin Connect website, where I could view not just a map of my run, but splits for every mile, average pace, quickest pace, and a whole raft of other data. It was quick, seamless and well laid out.

My only quibble is that I couldn’t edit out the 1:10 added to my run by my own clumsy stupidity. However, another quick read of the manual allowed me to alter the Garmin’s settings to ‘Auto Pause’ the timer whenever I stop running in future, so this can’t happen again. And, if I’m honest, this was my fault rather than the unit’s.

So is the Forerunner 405CX any good?

Well, let’s see. It looks great, and is far less bulky than any other GPS unit I’ve ever tried. It acquired a satellite signal in about 5 seconds flat, using something called, if I’m not mistaken ‘HotFix.’ Once I’d gotten over my initial ham-fistedness, the controls turned out to be spectacularly clever and easy to use. It even set the clock to the right time of day, all by itself, using satellites.

Best of all, the ‘Virtual Partner’ function meant that I was able to set a sensible goal for my run, and meet it exactly, which would suggest that this thing really will help me to increase my currently appalling level of race fitness,  by helping me to meet further, slightly more ambitious goals in the not too distant future.

Naturally, it remains to be seen if that will happen. And goodness knows what I’m going to make of the heart rate monitor and calorie counter function when I have a go of that over the weekend.

5 jelly baby ratingFrankly, with an RRP of £329.99, or an Amazon.co.uk price of £281.77, this thing really has to be very good indeed. But in the interests of honesty, my first impression of the Forerunner 405CX is that here, finally, is a GPS unit that gives runners everything they need, including simplicity of use.

So if you have that sort of dosh lying around, this could be exactly what you’re looking for. And so, having failed to find anything wrong with the 405CX that isn’t actually my own silly fault, and which Garmin have a fix for anyway, I’m afraid that I’m going to have to give the Garmin Forerunner 405CX a resounding 5 Jelly Baby Rating. Though in fairness, it probably deserves the whole bag…

Product Specification

• Advanced heart rate-based calorie computation

• Fits most wrists with either the original strap or the included fabric wrist straps

• High-sensitivity GPS receiver with HotFix™

• Touch bezel interface

• Training and motivational features: Virtual Partner®, courses, workouts, goal

• Battery life: up to eight hours (training) or two weeks (power save mode)

• Water resistant to IPX7 (1 meter of water for 30 minutes)

• Weight: 2.11 oz (60 g)

• Display: round four-level gray FSTN, 124 x 95 pixels

• Size (mm): 45.75mm x 70.5mm x 16.4mm

• Distance accuracy: 99% with clear view of sky

• Temp range: -4oF to 140oF (-20oC to 60oC)

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