This week I was lucky enough to get some expert advice from the running specialists at Bupa during the “My First Run” event at the very swish Bupa Centre just behind Oxford Circus.

I had the opportunity to spend some quality one-on-one time with the Bupa sports medicine specialists who were happy to give me advice about stretching and foam rollering as well as some specific advice about my niggly hip flexor from their physiotherapist.

After watching me go through a series of single leg exercises and a quick exam, she showed me how a weakness in my left glute medius is causing instability in my pelvis. She got me to stand in front of one of the huge floor-to-celing mirrors and perform single leg squats on each leg. On the right side, I’m pretty stable and my hips stay level but when I switch to the left leg, my left hip kicks out to the side and my pelvis tilts down to the right quite dramatically.

The issues with my hip flexor are likely to be caused by tightness of the psoas (a muscle which runs obliquely from the spine to the femur) and a good in depth physio treatment to loosen the muscle might help. I’m not really looking forward to having someone digging around in my mid-section but I do need to book an appointment to follow this up. I also found a very good article on runnersworld.com - “The Runner’s Guide To The Psoas” – many of the niggles I’ve had in the past six to eight months are mentioned here, I really wish I’d found it sooner.

My Week In Training

Monday – 3 miles easy

Tuesday – lunchtime PT with more boxing intervals and lower body focus

Wednesday – 3 miles easy

Thursday – upper body workout

Friday – 60 minutes Boxing Yoga at Total Boxer

Saturday – 3 miles walk

Sunday – 3 miles easy

In Other News This Week 

I went to my first boxing yoga class at Total Boxer – I’m so pleased to see it back on their timetable! You might be a bit sceptical about a class that combines boxing and yoga, but it is an excellent workout that focuses on the muscles that take a pounding along with the punchbag.

I also managed to grab what I think might have been the very last pair of Black Milk Muscle Leggings in the UK. These have now ceased production so I’m hugely relieved to have a pair of my own. I just need to track down one of the Muscle Swimsuits!

On My Stereo This Week

The sun is shining and I’ve been looking for some new summer tunes. Hey Love by Quadron has been played about 900 times since I added it to my iPod, I love the track and the video is guaranteed to please a Strictly fangirl like me.

I’ve been using Matt Fitzgerald‘s excellent book Racing Weight to calculate my ideal marathon weight. The formula for doing this got a bit complicated if attempted before my second cup of coffee;

but in order to start I needed accurate figures for my current weight and body fat percentage. The weight was easy enough (scales calibrated by an impartial third party) but for the body fat percentage I decided to use the caliper – a.k.a. Dreaded Fat Pinchers – rather than my new Tanita scales. I’ve heard really good things about scales that also monitor body composition, but as a starting point I wanted the grim truth.

Another good thing about the caliper method was that we could use the information provided to get a BioSignature profile done at the same time. BioSignature Modulation was developed by world renowned strength coach Charles Poliquin . The method is based on the correlation between body fat storage and possible hormonal imbalances, which can lead to stubborn body fat storage and other health concerns including poor sleep, low energy and impaired cognitive function.

I have to say that standing in a consultation room wearing a sports bra and shorts while a sculpted personal trainer pinched my fat with this instrument was probably the low point of my Paris Marathon training so far;

(obviously not my back, I didn’t quite have the heart to photograph the process too!)

We took measurements from 12 points on my body, including my chin and cheek (general indicator of fat loss), pecs and triceps (the androgen sites), hip and shoulder (the insulin sites),  ribs (thyroid site), umbilical/stomach (the cortisol site), knee and calf (the growth hormone sites) and quadriceps and hamstring (the oestrogen sites).

As well as working out my overall body fat percentage (which I don’t really want to publish in public, but lets just say its a good 8% higher than I would like) identified that I need to keep an eye on my insulin and oestrogen levels.

Sadly for me, this means looking at my carb intake and limiting the carbs that have the worst effect on insulin response such as bread, pasta, rice, couscous and alcohol. All my favourite things! I have a list of foods that I should be eating and I’ll be adjusting my diet accordingly over the coming weeks.

My Week In Training

Monday – lunchtime 60 minutes PT (as with last week focus on core, glutes and legs but with some nasty boxing sparring and staircase sprints mixed in). Evening London Boston Strong run 3 miles easy

Tuesday – rest day

Wednesday – 60 minutes weight lifting class (did overhead squats for the first time – ouch, but I did really well on my normal squats)
Thursday – upper body workout

Friday – 60 minutes Reformer Pilates (I was expecting my hamstrings to be too sore to do anything but surprisingly, I coped much better with this class than I did last week

Saturday – 3 miles easy at parkrun, 3 miles hilly walk in the afternoon

Sunday – 2 miles easy

In Other News This Week

On Monday, I took part in the Boston Strong London run – let by Mollie Millington and joined by a great group of runners including Becca from fromsnickerstomarathon and Nicole from RunDanceRun. Thank you to everyone who came out and showed their support, both in London and worldwide. Thanks also to Pavement Runner who came up with the idea and to Mollie for stepping up to lead the London run.

Also, this week I was hugely honoured to join the Girl On Fire section at amazing sports style blog Kicks and Kit! You can see me here and check out my fellow Girls On Fire here. Kicks and Kit is responsible for introducing me to some truly spectacular fitness fashion brands – make sure you follow her on Twitter (@kicksandkit ) for a daily dose of fashion lust!

On My Stereo This Week

I’ve become slightly obsessed with this track by Austra, which has been played at the beginning of my Reformer Pilates Class.

Coming up next week …  I’ll be implementing the changes based on my BioSignature into my diet … I’ve got some food phobias to get over!

I’m feeling really energised this week – the first week of decent Spring weather we’ve had all year. What better way to celebrate looking forward to the start of Summer than with one of the supercharged Bolt Tanks from Electric Yoga?

The Bolt Tank has a longer length which is one of the first things I look for in sports tops (I hate tops that ride up when I’m exercising), a built in sports bra for additional support – very helpful as the T-back design (which I love) is great for showing off sexy toned shoulders but wouldn’t do much to cover up my not-so-sexy sports bras.

My favourite part of the design is the bolt pattern which cleverly slims the silhouette and I think lends a touch of Ziggy Stardust chic. I also love that the bolt pattern is repeated on the lining.

The Bolt Tank has a seamless design made from supersoft stretch fabric for a flattering fit and full coverage as you twist, stretch, jump and sprint. The performance fabric also wicks moisture away from the skin.

Available in a wide range of electric colours, my favourites are the Hot Orange (as above) and the Tropical Green (below).

Also worthy of mention are the super-funky Electric Bolt Capris. Combine with the Bolt Tank and I’ve got the perfect outfit for the next Funk The Buddha night in May!

This week I got our entry packs and Wonderbras, so it’s time to start thinking about my costume. I’m still not completely sure how to decorate my bra, but I’ve created a Mood Board on Pinterest with various images for inspiration – take a look here and let me know what you think! I’m thinking of going more futuristic chic (as imagined in late 70s and early 80s) – along the lines of Bladerunner, Barbarella or Ziggy Stardust.

Is anyone else doing the Moonwalk? How have you decided to decorate your bra?

New for 2013, healthcare experts, Bupa are supporting their ambition to help get as many people active as possible by opening their doors to runners of all abilities from regular participants of the Bupa London 10,000 to those who are taking their first steps to fitness.
Bupa’s “My First Run” events will provide you with an opportunity to have all your questions on training, injuries and race preparation answered by Bupa’s experts, join fellow runners in a 3km training run and get a free consultation with Bupa’s sports medicine specialists.

The invitation is not exclusive to Bupa London 10,000 runners, if your friend or partner has never run before they are welcome to come along with you to get some expert advice on how best to get started.

The events will be held on 24th April, 1st May and 8th May at Bupa’s West End centre between 6.00pm and 8.00pm.

Places are limited so register for an event now

Other Beginner Resources

Check out your local sports shop to see if they have a running club. Nike, Sweaty Betty, Lululemon and Run and Become all have weekly running clubs that are free to attend. It’s a great way to meet other runners and find out about special offers on the shop’s swag.

There are various online resources for new runners – take a look at Spogo’s new ‘In The Running’ campaign, the NHS Couch 2 5K plan or one of Bupa’s training programs.

Lace up your trainers and go!

Reblogged from rundancerun:

This week, my Sunday Shout Outs go to all the amazing runners, volunteers, supporters and staff at the Virgin London Marathon but especially Carrie Anne (@cazzdevil) and Emma (@twentyfourhours) – who both ran awesome races today – and Run Dance Run – who volunteered at the London Marathon this weekend and the Brighton Marathon last weekend, after running both races over the past two years.

An extra special shout out goes to Pavement Runner who is responsible for organising the global #BostonStrong runs taking place tomorrow, and PT Mollie Millington who has given her full support to the project and will be leading #BostonStrongLondon. If you would like to join us, we’ll be meeting at 6.15pm at Apsley Gates at Hyde Park Corner and running a gentle 3 mile loop of Hyde Park.

This week has been overshadowed by the horrific events at the Boston Marathon on Monday. I was keeping half an eye on Twitter for updates letting me know when my friends had finished the marathon when I realised that something had gone very wrong. It was horrifying and bewildering, the overall reaction from the running community was shocked disbelief. A marathon is a festival of goodwill and camaraderie, the finish line a scene of jubilation, which made the scenes of destruction at Boston on Monday even more devastating.

If there is one positive that we can take from the events of Monday, it is how the running community has rallied round to support each other. Messages of support and practical help for the runners in Boston,  gestures of solidarity at other races, people dedicating their runs this week to Boston and the global Boston Strong events scheduled for 22nd April. It has made me realise what an amazing privilege it is to be part of this community and to be physically able to take part in these events. In the past I’ve been quite blasé about being fit enough to at least complete the distances (even if I’m not setting the world alight with my times) but the events of this week have made me realise that one day I won’t be able to do this, so while I am capable of it, I should give it everything.

This week’s training has really been a series of reality checks all of which pointing to the fact that I’ve got a lot of work to do in the next six months if I’m going to be ready to start marathon training in October. Funnily enough, the weaknesses I’ve been aware of for over a year (tight hamstrings, shortened hip flexors, weak glutes) haven’t magically fixed themselves while I’ve been lazily not working on them; and the decline in my weekly mileage since the Brighton Marathon (coupled with absolutely no decline in my carb intake) has left me quite a long way from my ideal racing weight.

My training this week looked like this;

Monday – 60 minutes PT (focus on core, glutes and legs)
Tuesday – 2 miles easy
Wednesday – 60 minutes weight lifting class (more glutes!)
Thursday – 2 miles easy, legs workout
Friday – 60 minutes Reformer Pilates
Saturday – 2 miles easy walk
Sunday – rest

Next week is going to be all about getting an accurate idea of where I am now in terms of fitness, performance and injury-potential, so that I can work out exactly what I need to do in the next six months. Starting with an accurate body fat analysis (using a 12 point pinch test with calipers, rather than a scale that measures body fat – which can be rather inaccurate) and using that to calculate my ideal racing weight.

I’m really loving Sweaty Betty’s Summer collection, especially the underwater-inspired run collection. My favourite piece by far is the gorgeous blue colourfade of the Adrenaline Ombre Run Capris

£69 from Sweaty Betty

These high stretch capris are made from lightweight, sweat wicking fabric.
They have streamlined flatlocked side seams, a flattering deep elastic ages waistband, back zip pocket and reflective elements at the knee for high visibility.

(Interestingly, they are also the first running tights I’ve ever seen carry a warning that the fabric is not fully opaque. Why don’t more manufacturers do this? SuperSarah & I have complained about that awful moment when you realise that the swish new running / yoga tights you’ve been wearing for a week aren’t completely opaque, and that for the last week you’ve been treating half of London to a view of your knickers).

The Adrenaline Capris look fantastic in motion. If there’s one image that inspires me to be more active this summer, it’s this one;

What do you think of the ombre trend in sportswear?