The Magic Mile



If you're interested in sports in general, and a runner in particular, then you'll know who Roger Bannister is. Heck, you should know it even without being a jock because Roger was (is!) the first dude ever to run a sub  4 minute mile, which he did in 1954 whilst pracitising as a junior doctor. A few days ago I was reading The Guardian's running blog and came across an article about Marathon Talk's Magic Mile Challenge. In short it's about running a single mile as fast as you can between August 24th and September 8th. Now running a mile isn't normally something I'd do, especially since being Swedish means that I'd never used miles as a measurement unit until relocating to the UK, but I like the idea of challenging myself to speed up over a shorter distance so I'm on it like a car bonnet.

In my head I'd already started to plan my mile challenge when I yesterday hit Barry's Bootcamp for a full body Friday - and a fitness test! It so turns out that they do a little fitness test every Friday - press ups, sit ups and running one mile! Coach Olly told us what kind of pace we needed to keep to run a 7 minute mile (and also a 6 and an 8 minute mile) and off we went. My legs felt heavy and tired so I settled on running slightly faster than a 7 minute mile but with a vision that over the coming few weeks I'd try and run a little faster every Friday. Having treated myself to a Silver membership at Barry's Bootcamp in August (like The Academy, but you don't have to settle on the same specific time every day which would be hard for me with my working pattern). I know that I'll be hitting those Woodway treadmills at least 5 times a week and I'm planning to make the most of it. Watch out Roger Bannister, I'm hitting the mile too!

It's Getting Close!

Yesterday myself and the BOOM! Cycle boys were out for one last ride before the Ride London relay on Sunday. We did some laps of Regent's Park and today I picked up my race pack. Today I also met my two big enemies that I'll tackle on the third leg...Box and Leith Hill! Wish me luck....

I also met Sir Bradley Wiggins Olympic time trial bike! 

Me, a Bradley Wiggins.

 

 

'Mum, look - there's a Bradley Wiggins!'

'Oh yes, it's  girly Wiggins!'

 

It seems like English kids have now started saying 'a Bradley Wiggins' instead of  'a cyclist'. I have o say I quite like being a Bradley Wiggins.....!

Sunny Sunday

Today is my last day in Sweden and I celebrated my great holiday with a 21k run. It's one of the runs I used to do frequently when I was training for my first marathon and it was as lovely as I remembered it. I just ambled along, listened to music, admired my surroundings and enjoyed running. I made some new friends, as you can see on the picture below, and soaked up the sunshine. I'm very sad to go back to London tomorrow but happy to have been fortunate enough to go on so many sunny runs whilst being home. I bloody love running!

It's A Hard Life...

..when you had to spend the majority of yesterday swimming with your family.....

...and when you had to endure a 30k cycle ride with views like this one this morning.

Yeah, it's a hard life.

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Six Superpowers We Cyclists Never Knew We Had

Today I recommend that you read Rosamund Urwin's great article on superpowers us cyclists never knew we had.....:

"Riding around London recently, it struck me that many motorists must believe we cyclists are superheroes. Perhaps it’s the shared penchant for Lycra that confuses them. Maybe it’s that our leader, Sir Chris Hoy, has hamstrings straight out of a Marvel comic book. Either way, these drivers act as though we possess the superpowers to stop an evil overlord but only use them while we’re on two wheels. Let’s consider cyclists’ supernatural (and super-imaginary) skills:

TELEPATHY: Good news, fellow velocipedists: you can read minds! Apparently, our psychic abilities are such that drivers don’t need to indicate when changing lanes or turning left around us. Similarly, when they creep out into a junction that we’re cycling across, we will know that they’ve spotted us and that they aren’t simply going to mow us down. Essentially, we’re Professor X, just on a different type of two wheels.

INVISIBILITY: More a hindrance than a help this one, we occasionally disappear from sight. That explains all those “SMIDSY” (“Sorry mate, I didn’t see you”) comments — it couldn’t possibly be that they didn’t bother to check their mirrors — and why motorists gesture to fellow drivers to pull out in front of us, even though that’s a swift way to get us squished. It also accounts for all those car doors that open inches away from our rotating front wheels.

TELEPORTATION: Some drivers are under the impression that cyclists never need to turn right. Should we make our way to the centre of the road, they beep, gesticulate and curse. This must be because we can actually teleport from street to street. Cycling around the city anti-clockwise is merely part of our superhero training regime.

SHAPE-SHIFTING: When we get shoved into the gutter or overtaken so tightly that our arm hairs vibrate, it must be because drivers think we can stretch ourselves à la Elastigirl from the Incredibles. Likewise, tailgating is fine — even in a lorry — because we can shape-shift out of the way if a vehicle comes too close.
TELEKINESIS: Obviously, cyclists must stay in their designated lane at all times — and should be honked at if they don’t — even if there’s a fat 4x4 parked in it. Apparently, we can move all obstacles with our minds.

INVINCIBILITY: The most dangerous belief that motorists exhibit — the one that unites almost all reckless driving — is that cyclists are unbreakable. Be aggressive! Be impatient! Overtake us just before turning left! But the reality is that drivers, wrapped in 1,300 kg of steel, are far closer to possessing Wolverine’s adamantium frame than we are. Three cyclists have been killed on London’s streets in the past month. So drivers: please stop treating us like we are invincible. We aren’t. We bleed just like you."

7am Sunshine

This morning my big sister Madelene and I went to a big outdoor area in the town she lives (and where I used to live during my uni years) called Skyttis. We ran the 10k loop, both on and off road, up and down and through some lovely surroundings. Our legs were a bit stiff as we went to the hospital gym yesterday but it was one of those runs who was great despite not being an easy run. Sometimes you don't have to feel or run great to have a great run.

When we got home we did a bit of a bounce on the trampoline, before eating a big breakfast.