Rejected from VLM Ballot

Boooooo!!

Rejected from the 2013 VLM Ballot time for Plan B..…

But seriously! What an absolutely HIDEOUS jacket to send out to non-successful applicants. As if the bad news of Elvis wasn’t enough, Virgin go rub salt in the wounds with a cheap and nasty jacket like this. Good lord above, I bet couldn’t even sell this jacket at a Boot sale for 50 Pence.

Come on Virgin be fair??

Adidas miCoach Pacer Bundle

Week five after the London Marathon and still sore, I decided to **gently** return to my running. (Read last year's blogs) As this is the time my body is weakest and likely to pick up injuries. However a knock at the door and the postman delivered my package from Adidas!!! Get In ;-) So having used the phone app for so long! Just how would the bundle differ and more importany Improve my running??

Within my pack i received the Pacer, Heart Rate strap and speed cell(foot pod) The heart rate strap is self explanitory the speed cell either sits inside your adidas shoe (which I do not own a pair) or firmly attaches in a cradle which you thread your shoe laces through. Looking at it the material isn't flimsy and I feel confident with every impact and stride I take, will remain attached to my shoe. The only downside I found here is that I do own more than one pair of shoes regualarly rotate each pair so I can see have to plan my runs and swapping the cradle from one shoe to the next will be an extra job for me! My only solution will be to hunt down and buy another cradle so at least then I can leave my cradle's attatced and just swap the speed cell over.

The speed cell is a nice shade of green and an oblong shape. Probably not much bigger than fifty pence. I've never run with. Foot sensor before but I have seen earlier Garmin and Polar versions which to be honest look huge! This speed cell is virtually weightless and doubt it will be of any hindrance at all.

The pacer is another titchy piece of kit. The biggest part is probably the belt clip. A switch with three modes. Off, free run or your miCoach setting runs to which you synced with your profile on the adidas website which stores your next fifteen scheduled runs or ten scheduled runs and five favourite runs. I don't think I'll be bothering with the second option here. The other buttons of interest are the start/pause/sync button. Volume button and a repeat button and that is basically it?

Firstly I needed to pair the three units together and get my website scheduled runs onto the unit. Which really is a bit like pairing a blutooth device on your phone. Placing a USB adapter that plugs into your computer to receive data from the speed cell. Then downloading adidas manager software the installation was straight forward. My speed cell was in range and voila synced already..... Sweet I thought to myself, no hassle!
Now where is my pacer... Problem.... How do I charge this unit? Right I need a USB to 3.5m Jack lead.... Which is *not* in the box Arrrrgh! This lead is missing and so is another 3.5 to 3.5 jack lead to enable me to listen to my music whilst I run. Considering this prize arrived by post from Germany! How am I going to get new ones? Especialliy as it was now nine o clock at night my first port of call was eBay! I easily ordered the jack to jack lead but opening a second tab with a google search aparently an iPod shuffle lead will suffice in charging my unit so that was ordered too. I did however email adidas support who really were top notch and within three days had sent me my new leads. Result! .... Considering may eBay order arrived after adidas's order too. Which reminds me to leave negative feedback for such slow delivery and from a UK shop too?!

Placing the pacer on charge with my new adidas lead, took two hours, if that? Opening the adidas manager software, again pressed sync and my next fifteen scheduled runs were now on my pacer. I then pressed a sync button on my pacer and a lot quicker than waiting for my Garmin to pick up a GPS signal my speed cell and Heart rate monitor symbols were flashing green meaning everthing is good to go and satisfaction knowing I'm getting there.

The next problem was just where do I position my pacer on my runs. Adidas advise the pacer be placed forward facing? So has to be near my music source. The pacer can work without music which is less hassle but me! I do train to music (never race) but my training does consist of the latest playlist which now means I'm starting to look like a T1000 cyborg with my gadgets and wires hanging off my body.

Now my android phone app consists of phone, sports armband and earphones. Now with the pacer .... my phone pumping out my latest tunes sits in the same sports armband. The pacer clips onto the armband above my bicep. The 15cm 3.5m jack to jack lead (shorter the better) is now plugged into my phone which then connects to one side of my pacer with my earphones are now plugged into the other side. Which is now awkward to start my music, place my phone back into the sports armband, then to wrap it securely around my arm and hopully not pull out one of the other leads. If I didn't want to run to music and just listen to the pacers running instructions, there's no trickyness at all! To run with music where I have positioned my phone and pacer, now that will be awkward :-/

On my first run turning on the unit I'm politley greated by my female trainer who as I scroll through my training schedule informs me of each session. I chose. Progressive run and set off. My tunes on my playlist were great then as I hit 0.99 of a mile I was told my heart rate, stride count, current pace, zone time distance and as you notice the time then as i crossed the imaginary mile marker. Superb I thought. Loads more information and stats to absorb :-) having run the required ten minutes the music cuts out to be told speed up to green zone. I do just that... Maintain green zone. Excellent!! Then music cuts out again... One quarter complete says the voice... Er hang on where's my encouragement from Jessica??.... Iater I was told speed up to yellow zone, typical on the hilliest part of my run. Speed up to yellow zone.... I'm thinking give me a chance.... Speed up to yellow zone. Maaaan I'm running up a hill and... I can't? - But this is the encouragment i need to improve my running

However I completed my run. Sadly without any encouragment from Jessica Ennis on the paced bundle itself unlike the phone app. I paused the system and while I got my breath back switched off the unit to be told my final running stats. I got home and connected my pacer to my computer where my data was uploaded to miCoach, Twitter and facebook and saw even though I felt I was struggling, I still achieved 91% for staying in my running zones, which was not perfect but encouraging.

The phone app is great as wherever i am my time, distance and score is uploaded immediately and it has Jessica to encourage me. The bundle itslelf needs you to be patient to get your percentage score the next time you conect it to a computer but your strenghts and weakness's within that run can be seen as you comapre you stride count, to heart rate ans see which zone you're currently in and getting that idea of underrstaning your body and "controlling" your own pace. E.G not to push too hard to early and blow out rather than hold back and progess i suppose hrough the gears until you reach you maximum output!

London Marathon 2012

Did you run in this event? How did your race day go? Well I was more than happy that the disastrous weather London was having in the lead up to race day miraculously disappeared on the day itself and the usual London Marathon support was out in full force. I especially love the huge drums under the motorway at Westcombe Park and Brazilian Latino drums at Canary Wharf where I 'm guaranteed to slow my pace down to observe this atmosphere. at Like me I'm sure your race consisted of high's and low's, positives and negatives which affected the outcome of you race. Reflecting back what would you have changed or done differently? Did you reach your goal or did your time you hoped to finish the marathon by slip away out of your grasp? I again fell for the same old trick! I pumped myself up for weeks telling myself do not!

under any circumstances submit to the voice in my head telling me to slow down, give up or.... It hurts! Fight back Brooksy! Think positive thoughts come on you can do it! Push through to the end << what a load of nonsense! Explain later

With me, My aim (one day) is to run a sub three hour marathon which means running a pace under seven minutes per mile for 26 miles. Quite a challenge! and today just wasn't going to be that day. My next aim which I thought I may just sneak was to run under 3:09:59 and obtain a Good For Age Marathon time [and easy entry into the 2013 London Marathon]...

Oh I tried for this and even instructed my Garmin virtual partner to pace me. At one point I was 770 metres up on this time but by mile 19, I knew I had to dig in deeper, my pace slowed and my hard work I had put in, in the early miles I found myself slowing and my initial advantage was getting eaten in too. Re paragraph above: Fight back those voices of doubt! I totally forgot my pre race plan and promptly crumbled submitting to the voices of pain and was now running on auto pilot without any passion or drive. I knew if I didn't up my pace, would be a close finish. Alas like Tottenham Hotspurs 2011/2012 season the wheels came off my wagon and as I left parliament Square my Garmin bleeped like mad at me saying 03:09:59 time I wanted was now up! I plodded around that last 3/4 mile finishing 3:16:35. Crossing the line I was in so much pain, agony that I hadn't felt in my other three marathons and I was even rather cross with myself that the after marathon pictures clearly show a false smile. I stropped around a little saying "That's IT!" ....

I'm not running this event again because my pride was a little damaged but most of all my body was screaming at me in *pain*. Seriously checking my heart rate which looked normal... My heart actually was hurting..... woah! Don't go there! I hoped!!

Being a #geek two days later I have printed off my Garmin stats and observed my pace mile for mile. I've also printed off my last two years VLM times and side by side on my desk I'm comparing my times mile by mile! If you can do that I'm sure you'll have a surprise and if you are upset with your performance I bet doing this you'll say to yourself hang on..... Firstly compared to other years I may have set off too fast.

Quite noticeably I had quite quick miles (by my standards) which puts me miles up the road compared to previous years. This year I even had mile paces within a second of each other which tells me my pace was steady and consistent. Even when I "thought" the wheels had come off late in the marathon, WoW the times we still perhaps slightly quicker than the same miles in previous years which justified my quickest PB time for 2012. 2011 3hrs:25mins, 2010 3hrs:45mins

I'm sure in all our races there are moments we're not happy with or the race or our body throw in a surprise we're not expecting that never happened in all our months of training! Stitch, blisters unexplained pace. The more competitive runners (I try to be) we can beat ourselves up about it like taking on Mike Tyson for 12 rounds but I'm sure! By stepping back and re evaluating the situation I bet you didn't do to bad after all and can more than easily see the positives in your executed race plan

I have spent so much time the last year trying for a Good For Age and on the day missed out by nearly a mile. It's the closest I've ever been but us runners are told, never, never give up! One day know I will reach my target. Yes a spanner firmly wedged in the works today, disappointed maybe but my day will come if i keep on working at what i set my main objective.

I've come too far to give up now and you shouldn't either! Onwards and upwards