Lost at Sea

I love stories like this. A man buys a boat and decides to sail from Gillingham to Southampton.He is a total novice and has no navigation aids but sees no problem because it is simple - right? All you have to do is keep within sight of the coast and keep it on your right hand side and eventually you will arrive. Unfortunately he forgot he would be passing the Isle of Sheppy, on the right hand side, and so keeping the coast always on his right meant he went round and round in circles until he ran out of fuel.

Although I am amused by the dumb failure, I secretly admire the spirit of someone who sees no barrier to just giving something a go. Also I can never be too critical of someone, going round and round in circles as metaphorical I have spent large sections of my life doing the same thing. Even my running can feel like that at times.

Just like the sailor I set out on my running journey with one simple rule - if I get out enough and run regularly my fitness will improve and I will run better. The most important thing is consistency and that is all I need to know (and in fact despite an amount of reading and a certain amount of experimentation that is all I really know). But although the rule is true there are very many Isles of Sheppy that can send you off course:

• Go out too hard, fail to build gradually, get injured - break the consistency.
• Over estimate your capabilities, get discouraged - break the consistency
• Get distracted by other things (or just life in general)- break the consistency
• Fail to establish the unthinking habit of getting out the door at a regular time, so you leave it too late in the day - break the consistency.
• Repeat the same runs too often so you loose freshness and enthusiasm - break the consistency.
• Get ill - break the consistency.

There are all sorts of reasons for a stop/start programme, some within your control, some outside. The key is to recognise what is happening and re-plan. The advantage of running is that at any point we can pause, reorient ourselves and make changes. There is no reason to get stuck.

I Do Not Understand Quantum Theory

In which the author’s already tenuous grasp of reality is put under further strain.

My attitude to running technology is conflicted: ideologically I like the idea of running with as few encumbrances as possible - just getting out there and not worrying; but I also like toys.

The only tool I have consistently used is a heart rate monitor, which I principally use to manage my effort on slow runs. Adding speed and distance has been great for keeping records and has cut the time spent on Google maps working out distances, but I have never used the extra information on the run (as everything is about effort level). My engagement with speed and distance has therefore been at the lowest level, I bought a Garmin 50 very cheaply on Amazon, but it has been just fine. Importantly I have never worried about its accuracy. I measured it at the beginning, was happy and have trusted it ever since. This means it has never occupied much of my brain: all I have to do is put on the hrm and watch, which is second nature, and I am out the door.

As I said I like to run with as few complications as possible

That has now changed as the Adidas micoach has introduced a degree of confusion. When I first got it I ran with both it and the Garmin to compare the distance measurement and as I reported the micoach registered a shorter distance. No problem I thought, it is just a matter of adjustment and all I need is a calibration run at the track.

Yesterday I managed to organise myself and run the test (Hemel has a nice track but its opening hours are quite limited). Garmin on one foot, micoach on the other, over three runs (1600m, and 2x800m).

The Garmin was pretty good, 1.67, 0.825, 0.829km (especially as because of some cones I mostly ran in lane 2). The micoach was however way out: 1.88, 0.94, 0.99km. A longer distance!

Today I went for another normal run with both sensors for a further test and again the micoach showed a shorted distance. This is too confusing.

The only explanations I can think of are that either my running style was slightly different on the track and the micoach was more sensitive to the change, or on my normal runs, over longer distances, the micoach suffered some signal interference.

But I am puzzled as I now have something that records distance as both longer and shorter. Truly it must be a quantum device.

Canal Boat Interlude

Last Friday was my birthday and to celebrate I decided to see the canal from a different viewpoint.

I have lost count of the number of times I have run alongside the Grand Union Canal. I never tire of it as everyday brings a fresh view: a new boat, changes in the vegetation, new ducks, or even a fisherman actually catching something. Over time I have developed a great attachment to the place a sense of belonging that I feel I have earned - because I run. But I have never seen it from the water, never used it for its original purpose of navigation by barge.

For my birthday I thought it would be a good idea to hire a boat and see if it is as peaceful on board as it looks from the towpath. From the outside the boats seem to chug along at a gentle walking pace, with the person at the tiller standing almost still, looking relaxed. Nothing can be done faster and there is nowhere else to go. Perfect.

Now after having tried it I can report that it is not quite so simple. For a start it is quit hard work: the locks need a lot of effort to winch up the sluice gates and push the paddles back and forth. On the boat there were only three of us (one for each paddle and one to steer) and although one person could push a lock paddle it required strength. It would not be an issue if the locks are well separated but we had to seven very close together and eighteen in all - the ultimate result was delayed onset muscle soreness, which only goes to show that fitness comes in different forms and exercise can be found in unexpected ways.

I didn't get stiff because I avoided the grunt work: not because of some sort of birthday pass but because I was the least troubled by the idea of piloting the boat into the lock without really knowing what I was doing. But piloting the boat also had its own challenges. Physically there was no problem apart from standing for a long time (not something I normally do as I am either moving or sitting ) but my inexperience forced constant concentration as I tried to keep in control of the steering: trying to remember which way to push the tiller, how far it needed to be moved, and calculating how long it took for the direction to be changed.

So not quite the easy-going slow-paced day I imagined but it was rather wonderful.

It was surprising how quickly time disappeared. One of my fears had been that, after the initial novelty, the experience might become a little bit boring. But no - the day was full. It was a great way to see the surroundings and, perhaps because of the slow pace, there were more interactions with people as we passed, those on other boats, fishermen, the one runner we passed, and at the locks people would often watch and sometimes help with the pushing. It was also good to be able to stop anywhere and have the extremely elaborate picnic prepared by my wife and daughter: moments of pure contentment.

The boat was a great interlude but now it is back to the serious relationship between me and the canal - running. Yesterday I was back along the familiar tow path but there was a change: I made a conscious effort to look about more.



P.S. The photo of ducklings was taken last year but one of the pleasure of the outing was passing similar groups of fluffy little mallards. It felt as if spring had suddenly arrived.