BRR Blog – 2 December 2024
Prizewinner Greg Adams
Ho Ho Ho Road Runners!
It’s December already! You may be celebrating the fact that it is nearly Christmas, for religious reasons or just because you like time off work/school, the presents, or the excuse to over-indulge. I’m afraid I just find this time of year, with the short days and long nights, a bit depressing. So, I guess I should be pleased that we are now less than a month away from the Winter Solstice and the longest night. After 21 December the days will gradually begin to get longer again – thank goodness!
BRR 2023/24 Presentation Night
I needed cheering up, and this year’s Presentation Night certainly did that; what a fantastic time we had! I didn’t count how many people were there but the room at the Prince of Wales Pub was packed. We had a good buffet too.
Some of the trophy winners
Some more of the trophy winners
For those who missed it, here is the list of winners (hope you can read it!):
On the night, we also had the announcement of the winner of this year’s Members’ Cup, and it was well-deserved: we all appreciate his efforts pulling together the news article for the Barking and Dagenham Post each week, and for organising the Summer Handicap Series. Oh, and of course, compiling all the competition results. Guessed who it is yet? It’s Greg Adams!
More Miles or More Speed?
We all want to run the best that we can, even if we aren’t interested in racing. But if we want to improve, what’s best? More miles or more speed? The answer, of course, is both!
When we train, we increase muscle mitochondria and blood vessel capillaries. More mitochondria lead to greater and more efficient energy production. More capillaries lead to greater oxygen delivery. Together, they help you run further and faster. New runners see rapid improvements in capillarisation but, for experienced runners, mitochondrial gains are probably most important.
Research into the ‘Effects of Exercise Training on Mitochondrial and Capillary Growth in Human Skeletal Muscle: A Systematic Review and Meta-Regression’ published in the Sports Medicine journal found that, in a sixty-minute training session, the more speedwork you the greater the impact on ‘mitochondrial content’ However, higher training frequencies (i.e. running more often) were also associated with large increases in mitochondria content.
The researchers concluded “Training load (intensity × volume)” is the “most suitable predictor” of a successful approach. This means “that higher exercise intensities can compensate for lower training volumes, and vice versa.” So, adapt your training approach to your lifestyle and what suits you best.
Don’t (Just) be a Plank
An orange person showing good plank form. Picture courtesy of Wiki Commons
Planks are a great exercise for building core strength. They are relatively simple and safe to do, as long as you maintain good form. Proper plank form means maintaining a straight line by looking down at the floor, tucking your toes, lifting your hips, and keeping arms vertical and directly below your shoulders. The main plank mistakes are either arching your back or letting your hips sag during the plank position. You are better to hold a plank with good form for 30 seconds than for five minutes with bad form. Around 1-2 minutes is the maximum duration of plan that you should aim for.
But planks are a static exercise. To improve the dynamic stability you need when running, especially over uneven surfaces like at cross-country, you need core-strengthening exercises that involve movement whilst maintaining a balanced position. The seven exercises here will help you build a stronger core and improve your balance at the same time.
Good Burger/Bad Burger
I’m not a vegan, or even a vegetarian, but I had taken to eating vegan meals from a company called Allplants once or twice a week, after track or the Thursday night run, as a healthier alternative to succumbing to a takeaway on the way home. I was very disappointed to get an email last week saying that the company had gone into administration.
My last healthy vegan meal…
But it seems that veggie or vegan meals are not always the healthier option, at least not when they come from a fast-food restaurant. A study that looked at the menus of 75 large chain restaurants in the US from 2013-2021 found that, plant-based foods had lower “total calories and calories from protein, unsaturated fat, and saturated fat.” However, the plant items also contained more sugar than meat.
Another study found that the ultra-processed ingredients tended to be more prevalent in plant burgers than in meat burgers, So, don’t just assume that a burger or other veggie option in a fast-food chain will be healthier than the meat alternative. That said, if your main aim is to avoid another living creature being killed to provide you with a snack, then sticking with the plan burger is still the way to go. But, for all of us, meat-eater or meat-free, home-made is probably the best option.
Greg’s Race Report
With no races or anyone reporting a race they have done, I haven’t sent a report to the post this week, so it is just the parkrun results.
BRR Parkrunners
Barking - Daniel Plawiak 21:33, Peter Jackson 21:35, Joshua Ezissi 23:20, Adrian Davison 24:24, Belinda Riches 25:30, James Sheridan 27:16, Sian Mansley 27:46, Chris Muthaka 29:10, Dennis Spencer-Perkins 30:19, Faye Spooner 32:24, Martin Mason 33:02, Dawn Curtis 41:57, Rob Courtier 49:48, Alan Murphy 51:34 and Darren Graham 59:24.
Billericay - Louise Chappell 35:16.
Louise and friend at Billericay
Gunpowder - Paul Ward 23:07.
Harrow Lodge - Rory Burr 24:44 and Steve Colloff 32:16.
Morden - Mark New 26:07.
Thames Path - Tom Shorey 27:17.
Valentines - Kevin Wotton 23:44 and Rachel Sharples 36:17.
Worthing - Nikki Cranmer 33:57.
Highest BRR gradings this week were Belinda Riches 68.30% for the women and Peter Jackson 68.34% for the men.
BRR Diary – December
To see the full diary of BRR events on the TeamUp app. Just download the TeamUp app onto your phone, then enter the calendar key: ks67p21gt8p5gzdo66 when asked. If you don’t want another app on your phone, you can also find it under the ‘events’ tab on the Barking Road Runners website: https://www.barkingroadrunners.org.uk/calendar.
7.00pm, Tuesday 3 December – Speed Session. Jim Peters Stadium, Mayesbrook Park. This week we have a session we haven’t done for a while (since January 2023 t be precise): Diminishing Recovery #2:
The following block, seven times (yes, SEVEN TIMES!!)
1:00 minute fast, 1:00 minute recovery
1:00 minute fast, 0:45 seconds recovery
1:00 minute fast, 0:30 seconds recovery
This is pretty full-on so make sure you start your one-minute fast reps at a pace you can maintain throughout, even when the recovery shortens. This session improves the body’s ability to increase running velocity at lactate threshold. The decreasing recoveries also help to get you used to running at high intensity without much recovery, like you would in a race.
7.00pm, Thursday 5 December – Club road run. Jo Richardson School/Castle Green Centre, Gale Street, Dagenham. Usually around 4-5 miles.
10.00am, Sunday 8 December – One Tree Hill (SECCL 02). One Tree Hill Country Park, One Tree Hill, Stanford-le-Hope SS17 9NH. The second race in this year’s South Essex Cross Country League series. I say the same thing every year: there isn’t one tree, and there certainly isn’t one hill! As usual, it is £5 to enter but BRR subsidies the cost so our members pay just £3, either on the day or directly into the BRR account. If you don’t fancy running, we also need volunteers to help with the scoring.
7.00pm, Tuesday 10 December – There will still be a track session, for those of you not planning to take part in the Chingford League race (though you are missing a treat!) or those you are pushing themselves in training.
7.30pm, Wednesday 11 December – Chingford League 04. Lee Valley Velopark, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, Abercrombie Rd, London E20 3AB. Women start at 7.30pm, men at 8.00pm, but the race is great for spectators so please come along and support. Please remember your bib number, if you already have one.
10.30am, Sunday 15 December – Southend Rudolph Run. Starts adjacent to Ness Road on the Esplanade, Southend-on-Sea, Essex, SS3 9HG. A flat and fast seasonal 5-mile run along the Promenade, along an accurately measured course, very similar to the Southend 10k but starting at the Shoeburyness end. There are festive sweet treats on offer plus a mince pie and bespoke medal for all finishers. You can wear fancy dress if you like but it is not compulsory. Enter at https://www.nice-work.org.uk/e/southend-rudolph-run-9240
9.30am, Sunday 22 December – Royal Parks Run. Meet at Matthew Parker Street, Westminster. Either meet at 8.00am by the Faircross shops or go straight to Westminster (nearest tube is St. James’s Park). It’s a Christmas tradition: the Club’s Xmas run through the Royal Parks, starting in St. James’s Park, then Green Park, Hyde Park, and Kensington Gardens, before wending our way back. We usually have lunch in the St. James’s Park cafe afterwards. A very gentle run of around 10k (more if you want to loop back). Nobody gets left behind.
10.30am, Saturday 28 December - Ilford AC 10-miler. The Plain, Chigwell Row, Lambourne Rd (opposite Millers Lane), IG7 6ET. Three laps of an undulating route comprising the tracks and grassland of Hainault Forest. The race is held as a tribute to Kevin Newell, an Ilford AC left with terrible head injuries after a fall from a ladder. A donation will be made to his charity. Entries are £7 or on the day for a tenner. There will be a cut-off time of 2 hours. Runners likely to exceed this time may still complete the course, but it may not be marshalled and you may not get an official finish time. Prizes to the first three men/women and veteran categories. Enter at
https://www.entrycentral.com/IlfordAC-10milesXC
10.00am, Sunday 29 December – Hadleigh (SECCL 03). Hadleigh Country Park, Chapel Lane, Hadleigh. The third race in this year’s South Essex Cross Country League series. This is the wet one, where we get to run through flooded ditches and waterlogged grass. You will definitely need trail shoes; make sure they are securely tied on. Entry fees as above.
Cracker Corner – the Maths Edition
There are three kinds of people in this world. Those who can count and those who can’t.
Do you know what seems odd to me? Numbers that aren’t divisible by two.
What do you get when you cross a dog and a calculator? A friend you can count on.
Which king loved fractions? Henry the ⅛.
Quote of the Week
“The race always hurts. Expect it to hurt. You don’t train so it doesn’t hurt. You train so you can tolerate it.”
Mark Rowland
Former British Steeplechaser and Coach
And Finally…
Thank you to everyone who took part in my short poll about the tree that had fallen across the path in Barking Park, and what action we should take at parkrun as a result. Fortunately, the B&D Council Parks Department moved the offending tree before Saturday, but I found your responses fascinating.
The ‘fallen tree’ poll
I guess I wasn’t surprised that none of you parkrun addicts thought the event should be cancelled. Over fifty percent of respondents thought the show should go on, with a detour put in place. Almost a quarter of you thought hurdling the tree was the best option – ok if it was like the skinny tree we had to jump over at Hainault on Sunday, but maybe not such a good idea if it was one of the more mature, chunky, trees. I was intrigued by those of you who thought we should enlist 100 parkrunners to shift the tree. I assume everyone who voted for that option would have been there in your lumberjack outfits if needed (I’d quote the lumberjack song from Monty Python but I don’t want to go the same way as Greg Wallace…)
Happy running!
Alison
Chair, Barking Road Runners
