I LOVE My Brooks Trainers!

After running in my Brooks around 15 times now I feel like I'm ready to talk about them.

These are the best trainers I have found yet!!!

My Nike Lunarglides hurt my toes, my knees, and my arches. They had to go and I was so unhappy that I didn't want to use Nikes ever again!

My Asics Nimbus 12's were good and I have to admit I was a little scared to change brands but no matter what size I bought in them I'd still end up with squashed toenailess toes! (That doesn't look like a word to me but I think I've earned the right to use it).
A few American friends (and the Brooks guys at Berlin Marathon expo) suggested I try Brooks so that's what I did :-)

My Brooks Defyance 5 trainers are great! They are lightweight, have great support and  fantastic ventilation. My toes actually feel a little cold for the first few kilometres but this is only going to be a good thing for my toes (and toenails) once I start running the longer distances in them :-)
And the arch support for me is absolutely amazing!

From the very first run in these shoes I knew I was going to love them! My knees especially seem very happy about the change.

I know that Brooks are a sponsor of the Rock 'n' Roll Edinburgh half marathon so I'm planning on going over with a half empty suitcase and filling it up with Brooks goodies at the expo :-) And the free t-shirt? Yes it's a Brooks!

My New Trainers are Brooks Defyance 5

I decided a couple of weeks ago that I wanted some new trainers as my old ones didn't seem as cushioned as they used too which isn't good for my knees. I wanted to change to Brooks and had already found out while at the Berlin marathon expo that Brooks Ghost would be best with Brooks defyance being a close second.

I'm a member of Løbeklubben on Facebook (running club on facebook) and because of this I found out about a great pre-sale yesterday at a sports shop in Copenhagen. I couldn't find any Brooks ghost trainers in my size but did manage to find some Defyance. I was a little sad as I really wanted the Ghost ones! This changed once I had tried on the Defyance as they are so cushioned and I could feel that these would be the trainers for me.

They are neutral trainers just like my Asics Nimbus 12's. I'm not a neutral runner but have found out why these type of trainers suit me best. Basically I have high arches (so high I actually have to lace my trainers a certain way for them to be comfortable) and I also overpronate. This is a very strange combination (kind of like me).  I've found out that the overpronation comes from either my legs, knees, or hips. The most common being due to instability in the muscles of the lower leg. It would seem that if I learn the chi-running method and land mid foot I can solve this problem and stop my heel striking at the same time which will be a great relief for my knees. I'm going to give it a go and see what happens. You never know maybe I'll become a faster runner! I can always dream :-)

Tomorrow my training for Rock 'n' Roll Edinburgh half marathon starts and I can't wait to take my new Brooks out for a spin :-)

Rock 'n' Roll Edinburgh Half Marathon

And so at last I have decided on one of my half marathons next year. I've signed up for the Rock 'n' Roll Edinburgh half marathon :-)

My friends Ciry and Greg ran it last year before the Madrid marathon and gave great reviews of it! It's on 14th April and I didn't really want to travel until at least May but what can you do?

I have come up with a new goal for myself as I'm not planning on running many (or any) marathons for a while. My next goal is to run all the international Rock 'n' Roll series races! Right now they have them in Nice, Lisbon, Edinburgh, Madrid, Oslo, and Dublin. Oslo and Nice are new ones so it will be fun to see which other cities join the series year by year.

I've only run Madrid right now so have a few to go.....I should be kept busy for a while :-)

Which Race in Europe Next??

I need some help and suggestions on my next race as I can't decide and in 2013 money will be a little short as I've bought a house which I move into 1st March 2013.

This means that Spring races are out of the question as I'll have to spend money on house things. I'm already on a trip to England with my younger son the last week in July which counts out any races in June, July and August. There are no races nearby where I'm staying in England while I'm there.

Basically this means I need a race in Europe that's not longer than a half marathon either in May, September or even October.

I found this great race called Race the Train which is in England on 17th August but can I really go back there 2 weeks after I've just been?

I also found this other race the train run which is in October http://www.cotswoldcare.org.uk/train/details.php

I'm open to any ideas at all :-) Help!!!

Valencia (my 10km) Marathon 2012

As you can probably tell by the title I didn't run the whole of Valencia marathon! I was very close to changing my mind and doing it anyway but thought I might end up doing more damage to my knee and not being able to run at all.

So I decided to meet my friend Ciry just after the 30km marker and run up to 40km with her. From there I could cut through the park and watch her run into the finish :-)

I arrived in Valencia on the Saturday evening and went down to the Science and Arts area which is also where the start and finish lines are. Then I went back to hotel to meet Ciry.

At 9am on the day of Valencia Marathon I went and stood downstairs of my hotel and watched the start of the marathon. I actually cried because I wanted to be running with them (I was glad later on that I wasn't as it got very hot again).

At 11am I waited at the 41k marker and saw the two marathon leaders come running by! That is something that I normally don't get to see :-) From there I walked up to 30k and waited for Ciry.

Once she arrived I jumped on the course (I had last years bib number on minus the chip so I wouldn't get sent off again) and joined her for the next 10k. A lot of the spectators that had been there on the walk up had now disappeared, probably down to the finish area. It felt really strange running in a marathon which I wasn't really running in! Ciry was doing great and only started getting tired around 37k (from what I could see anyway).

At 40k I said goodbye to her and ran down to the finish area. She came running past about 13 minutes later looking very tired but very determined :-)

Ciry finished in 4 hours, 36 minutes and 9 seconds!!!

Valencia Marathon is a No Go for Me!

After Berlin Marathon my recovery hasn't been so good! Actually it's been the worst yet after a marathon....

I knew my legs would hurt for a few days but I hadn't figured on my knees, especially my right one, still hurting on and off after 9 days :-(

I've always had knee problems after a run but since training for Valencia Marathon last year they stopped hurting and have been fine since. I can only imagine that because I was pushing my body to the limit in Berlin, and didn't slow down for the last 5k as I normally would, that my knees just couldn't take the extra pressure. Also maybe going from not running at all to running 4 marathons in 16 months might not have been so smart!

Not that I regret running Berlin for one second as, thanks to Paul, I DID finish in under 4:30!!

My plan for the next couple of months is to take it easy and learn to land on my fore or midfoot to take away  some of the jarring on my knees. I'm also going to stengthen up my quad muscles as this should help too. Right now my plans for next year include no marathons but at least two of the Rock 'n' Roll Marathon Series half marathons in Europe. Next year I will have the choice of Nice, Edinburgh, and Dublin and probably Lisbon. Edinburgh and Lisbon are the ones I'm thinking of doing! So next year for me is going to be no serious racing and just running for fun :-)

So basically because I'm going to be learning to land differently and I want to give my knees some time to recover I won't be running Valencia Marathon :-( I will, however, be running the 10k there if my knees are feeling better by then but I'll just be using it as a 'fun run'. I'll also have to jump on the marathon course in a couple of places to run with my good friend Ciry and help her beat the 4:30 time as I did in Berlin :-)

I last saw Ciry in Madrid in April and can't wait to see her again in Valencia!! See you real soon Ciry!

Mike's Sightrunning Berlin Marathon Orientation!

While in Berlin Paul, Latimer and I met up with Mike from Mike's SightRunning Berlin who had kindly offered to give us a Berlin Marathon orientation tour :-)

I first met Mike when I visited Berlin to see the 'Festival of Lights' in October 2010. I thought it would be great fun to run around the city at night seeing the lights and having a guided tour at the same time. You can read my review of that tour here Festival of Lights Sightrunning Tour and here More Photos of Light Sightrunning Tour. As you can see, I had a great time and highly recommend Mike's SightRunning.

Anyway on the Friday morning before the marathon we met Mike outside the main station along with two other guys. He took us over to the marathon start/finish area and then proceeded to tell us everything he could about the marathon. This was a lot as Mike has run the marathon over 10 times!! Mike told us about the different ways into the start area, the best way in to avoid the crowds, how we would have to walk a long way once we finish and be penned in like sheep again. He gave us tips on drinking water and how to avoid lots of toilet visits (I certainly needed help there). He is very interesting to listen to.

We enjoyed very much our time together with Mike and it won't be the last time I see him as I'm hoping to visit Berlin for a little holiday next year and will definatly be doing another sight running tour with Mike :-)