Results tagged “pace” from Birmingham Mail - Road Runner

Today, for the first time in weeks, my run started out perfectly. The pulled muscle in my thigh has healed, the ache in my foot has gone, my knees didn't have trouble warming up...it was all great. Getting to this point has been a slow learning curve though. It took me a while to realise that although stretching before a run is all well and good, wrenching limbs into positions they don't want to go is not that good.

I only realised my way of stretching (pushing something into a position where it hurts - no pain, no gain was my motto) was actually damaging my muscles, when I read about stretching in Runner's World. What I should have been doing was pushing something just far enough that it felt stretched and holding it there for 15 seconds. Then start out with a gentle jog to warm up.

Having since tried that, it has made the world of difference and I can now progress to a decent speed quickly after beginning a run. All perfect, I was going at my target pace of 10 minutes a mile and on course to run four and a half miles in 45 minutes...and then my stomach started playing up.

I slowly remembered I had eaten a mint toffee and a couple of Murray mints before I left work today, and boy did I pay the price. By the 25 minute mark my stomach was aching and with every step I could feel its contents lurching from side to side. I had to cut off the last part of my run and take a short cut home.

But I still managed three miles in 30 minutes, so still on target (sort of). I just hope the runner's diet learning curve is a bit steeper.