Have you ever tried a British Military Fitness class?

A few Sundays ago I was invited over to Clapham Common to join in with a British Military Fitness (BMF) bloggers event comprising of a taster BMF workout and some brunch to follow.

The date in question came a week after running the St Petersburg marathon, I know what your thinking not ideal timing.

However not being one to turn down an opportunity to try out a new workout (with a free breakfast to boot!) or to explore a different part of London I gladly accepted the invitation.

My motivation for giving this bootcamp session a go was my need to do more circuit style training to improve my fitness to aid my running which I have frequently referred to in previous posts.

Despite identifying the need to do more of this type of training it hasn't actually managed to find its way into my schedule so I thought this might be the chance to turn a corner and motivate me to do more circuit training going forward.

So early on a Sunday morning I was up and out early to catch a train across to South London and the vast green expanse of Clapham Common. It felt weird going out early on a Sunday morning and to not be going running but oddly refreshing at the same time  to be trying something different. 

I arrived in Clapham far too early such was my distrust of Sunday mornings public transport provision so I killed some time with a coffee.

It was soon time to meet up with an excited if apprehensive bunch of bloggers ready to be put through their paces by BMF instructors, worried about how they would survive an hour of being barked at by military personnel.

There was of course nothing to worry about, the instructors were all a friendly bunch and we even had the opportunity to hear from BMF founder Serjeant Harry Sowerby who gave us an explanation of how BMF was founded. In fact BMF was the first organisation to ever do any kind of group outdoor fitness classes. Its weird to think that group bootcamp type sessions were once an alien concept as now they seem to be a common part of outdoor exercise.

So down to business, bootcampers are split into ability groups based on your perceived fitness ability, blue bibs for beginners, red for intermediate and green for hardcore nutters! Post marathon I didn't feel brave enough to go for green so played it safe and went for red.

I was glad of the earlier coffee as I think I needed the caffeine boost to help power me through! 

An enjoyable if not sweaty hour followed where we took part in a variety of group and individual exercises.

All the usual kind of bootcamp exercises you would expect, press ups, sit ups, star jumps, squat thrusts, lunges and of course the dreaded burpee, not to mention planks, lots of planks. Planks for a short time, planks for a long time, standard planks, planks with variations and even planks as a rest in between exercises! Torture! 

It was great to be encouraged and put through my paces  doing familiar exercises as well as trying out new exercises and different variations on usual techniques. 

The end result was the rewarding glow of a good workout knowing that my body had been given a good workout and I had event worked out some muscles I never knew I had!

After a quick chill out recovering sitting in the park with some delicious brunch snacks it was time to head home and get ready for the week ahead. Ah yes before I forget the week ahead, my week ahead was plagued by awful pain in my glutes and hamstrings courtesy of all the burpees and lunges!

Big thanks to British Military Fitness and Active in Style for putting in a great event and for inviting me along, the goody bag was awesome! 

British Military Fitness now operate over 400 group exercise classes in 145 locations across the UK, if you are thinking of trying out something a bit different to challenge your fitness levels then why not give it a try!

Karkoa sports bag review

I was recently contacted by the nice people at Karkoa and asked if I would like to review their sports bag.

My first response was 'Karkoa' who are you? Never heard of you and every time I look at your brand name I keep thinking it says Koala and therefore start thinking about Australian marsupials. 

Anyway turns out they are an European sportsbag manufacturer looking to promote their brand on the shores of the United Kingdom.

I checked out their website to see what they were all about and to see if I thought their bag was any good. Checking out their website it looked to me like they are a trendy kind of 'up market' company with a cool type of European style looking to supply busy professional sporty types with a bag that will accommodate all your daily luggage and sport equipment for when your hitting the gym at the start of the day or running after work. 

My first instinct was to opt for the smaller bag in their rucksack range the 25L Smartbag25 purely because one of the bags in this range had an orange trim. A bit superficial as no doubt the larger 40L bag would be far more useful because its bigger and you can fit more in to it which is after all the name of the game, but no my fondness for my favourite colour ruined my judgement. Whoops! 

So how did I get on with the bag?

Slightly mixed reviews if I am honest, it wasn't as spacious as I thought it would be as the website and the marketing promo gave you the impression the bag was going to have magical TARDIS qualities able to amazingly have room to fit everything you could imagine into it. 

Perhaps if I had opted for the larger bag then this would have been more accommodating so please bare that in mind if you are considering your options between the smaller 25L bag or the larger 40L bag.

I also had a concern with the design of the bag, the main design of the back is in the photo below. As I understand it the basic idea seems to be thinking about redesigning the standard concept of a rucksack to give you more internal storage options as well as more ways to access what is in your bag rather than a standard one main way to put things in and get things out.

I felt pretty vulnerable carrying the bag on my back knowing that the front of the bag is basically one big exposed zip running along the bottom of my bag where everything would just fall out onto the street if it was to be opened. 

OK so this never happened but it might be considered a design flaw? Or maybe it's just me just thinking back to being at an all boys secondary school where anybody with this bag would be constantly at the mercy of practical jokers. 

Having all the handy compartments inside is really useful though as its better than having all little things like snacks, deodorant or fruit floating around with everything else in one large compartment. 

Its also really great to have a separate space for used running kit so it doesn't stink out everything else! However my concern is that this compartment bag would itself get rather smelly pretty soon and would need regular washing? I suppose using my current system of a plastic bag is easier but then again using a plastic bag every time I workout is not very environmentally friendly, neither is it very cheap now there is the 5p plastic bag tax. 

My other gripes were that my laptop didn't fit into the bag very easily. By easily I mean I had to rally stretch the bag to squeeze it in and then I didn't have much capacity left for anything else. Again my bag was not the larger 40L bag that Karkoa offer and neither is my laptop the smallest or thinnest laptop going but being able to fit my laptop easily into my bag without engaging in a wrestling match is a mandatory requirement. 

Karkoa were also quick to point out during our correspondence that the bag wasn't really designed for running but more for carrying everything you might need for running or other sport. A big problem because surely as a runner you want a bag for carrying your stuff if you are going running but also you want a bag that can handle a run commute when required? I certainly don't want to have a bag for each. To be honest I didn't try running with the bag as I found it pretty uncomfortable to walk with let alone run with. The bag seems to be designed to sit a bit higher on your back rather than sit down in the small of your back, which is in contrast to bags I am used to, its probably better for posture or something I don't know but I didn't find it very comfortable. 

I have tried to make this post constructive and not too negative but I am not sure it has turned out that way. 

Just because the bag wasn't for me doesn't mean others wouldn't find it a great bag to use. The bag is certainly very well designed and looks super cool especially the orange sunrise design that I went for.  

I have noticed a few other running bloggers have recently reviewed Karkoa bags and got on very well with them. Check out Steve Skinner's review here or The Runners Knees review here both of these guys opted for the 40L though which is perhaps where I went wrong!

In summary Karkoa certainly offer a very stylish and thoroughly well thought out designed bag which will appeal to lot of people I'm sure, it just didn't tick some of my requirement

Disclaimer: Karkoa approached me and provided me with a bag of my choosing free of charge for me to review.

48 hour marathon countdown

With around 48 hours to go until the Robin Hood Marathon on Sunday, my 4th ever marathon and the 2nd of my 3 in 3 months challenge how am I feeling?

The answer in short is not that great!

I suppose the thing is I always think I feel amazingly super fit and well pre marathon so when I don't feel all energised bouncing around like the Duracell bunny I feel a bit disappointed. Although there is no doubt that I am fit enough, strong enough and ready to run and hopefully even able to run faster than I have before there is always that disappointment when the transformation into a Mo Farah replica doesn't take place during your training programme.

Then there is the doubt, the crippling doubt. 

Have I done enough training, have I done the right training?

Have I ran often enough? Or ran too often?

Have I done enough speed work and ha my speed been fast enough?

What about my long runs? Have they been long enough?

So many questions with no real answers and I always have the voice in the back of my head trying to convince me my whole training plan has been an utter shambles!

This last week I have taken it very easy, 13K on Sunday, gym on Monday, 7K Tuesday, circuits Wednesday and then 3.5K last night. I fear I over did the squats and lunges on Wednesday though as I have felt a bit achy and stiff since.

My run last night was not great as my calves felt so tight and stiff and I struggled for energy despite massively increasingly my carb intake. 

I have been foam rolling twice daily in an effort to get my calve into good shape but they aren't great and I think this will really hamper my time as they will prevent me from running a good pace for the opening few miles while they warm themselves up.

My marathon preparation has been blighted by a feeling of disorganisation

The problems have been should I run with my hydration pack? If I do will it slow me down? Do I really need to carry water when there are regular drink stations? Do I nees to carry energy gels or should I just rely on the energy drinks provided? If I choose energy gels should I carry this in my hydration bag or in my running bum bag? Then what about my phone? Its easier to carry in my bag as I don't get on that well with arm straps, or should I carry it at all? 

Too many questions that I haven't given enough thought to and made definitive decisions to, I have just kind of muddled along with an answer. My plan is to carry a few energy gels, ditch the hydration pack (on account of not wanting to look like a prick!), take advantage of the energy drinks on route if I need to and carry my phone in my arm strap and hope it doesn't cut of circulation to my arm over the course of the marathon!

Realistically I know a sub 4 marathon is out of the equation so my aim is to turn up, run well, enjoy the run, enjoy one of my favourite cities and hopefully be able to look back on the marathon as a positive experience.

The weekend is a big marathon weekend with Berlin and The Loch Ness marathons also taking place. Good luck to everyone running a marathon or racing another event this weekend. Thanks for reading! 

6 month anniversary

Wow! I realised it has been six months since I started my blog! As they say time flies when you are having fun! 

So I thought I would mark this milestone with a specific blog to mark where I am now, what the last six months has brought and where I am headed going forward. 

Over the last six months I have really enjoyed writing and sharing my experiences on my blog and through social media. My blog has developed quite quickly and I am suprised and impressed with what I have done with it in a short space of time on top of a full time job, all my training and many other commitments.

My blog kind of kicked off when I wrote this article for the website running junkies. Give it a read and let me know what you think! Running junkies is a brilliant website whether you are a fanatical regular runner or just starting out  on your running journey.

My blog quickly moved from its blogger domain to being self hosted in June I think and I have since branched out in several directions.

Google+

My main outlet is via Google+ where I have met loads of people and some really interesting runners and learnt so much about a wide range of stuff and have enjoyed being part of communities sharing tips, photos, ideas, quotes, facts and recipes. If you are on Google+ add me to your circle +Gareth Davies.

Twitter

Twitter has long been something I have wanted to get involved with as a way of interacting with people and as a way to follow the going on of my favourite sports star and teams. I set up a twitter account for my blog @beoutrunning in April and have greatly enjoyed following many fitness and running type resources, organisations and individuals.

Recently I have also started branching out onto Bloglovin and Pinterest. 

Bloglovin is a great way for you to keep up to date with your favourite blogs and Pinterest provides a opportunity to find and share ideas, pictures and quotes on your chosen subject or interest. If you are on these platforms and want to connect with me I am garethdavies31 on Pinterest and you can find me on Bloglovin as Gareth Davies or as be out running. 

Running wise again I have achieved a lot over the last six months and the two feed off each other. I want to run more to give myself something to write about and having a blog on the go motivates me to run to provide writing material.

My main highlights have been smashing my Half Marathon PB in March, a few parks runs and the Spitfire Scramble 24 hour team relay event. I am also smack bang in the middle of my three marathons in three months before I am 30 challenge (I really need to think of a snappier title!) trying to crack a sub 4 marathon. The first marathon was last month at the Vanguard Way and I have my next one up at the end of September with the Nottingham Marathon.

My blog is very much a work in progress and I will continue to add new posts and pages. I have so many posts drafted waiting to be finished and posted and have so many great ideas to write about!

A big thank you to anyone who has every read a post, wrote a comment, +1'd me, reshared, liked, favourited, retweeted, pinned or connected with me. And a special thanks goes to everyone who has wished me well for races or provided any kind of running or blogging advice I am genuinely grateful. 

Training update, midweek long run, tiredness and steak

So after being so ill last week I am definitly back up and running now.

With the girst of my three autumn marathons just over three weeks away I am focusing hard on my training and working hard in this important section of my training plan but it is tough going.

My 22K long run at the weekend was followed up by a 4K recovery run on Monday, some interval treadmill running on Tuesday and a 14K run on Wednesday night.

Overall I feel my training is going pretty well, I am definitly feeling stronger and am continuing to increase my fitness and stamina. 

However I have reached the hard part of a training program. Training has started to become somewhat arduous as spending so many hours a week running takes its toll, I am feeling much more tired from the increased training and early starts as well as a surge in hunger of wanting to eat anything and everything but trying to stay strict to my diet objectives.

I am sure all runners recognise these kind of symptoms of a hard training program, but although hard I know this is ther period that if I stick at it will have big rewards when it comes to race day.

I am already experiencing a massive indicator that my training is going well as my trousers are starting to hang off me and I am down to the last hole on my belt. I think I should buy some extra clothes to wear just for the few weeks before an event when the weight has dropped off and my regular clothes stop fitting!

Last nights run was over a made up route of new streets to explore coupled with familar sections of routes I usually run. 

I realised recently that as my training has grown in intensity and I have started pushing harder on runs that I have stopped taking photos on runs which I can appreciate makes my blog much less interesting!

So last night I tried to take a few interesting photos. This is the best view I experienced on my run, a giant St Georges flag flying proudly from a roof of a house on the edge of the country park a magnificent sight in the evening sunshine. Hopefully you can make it out, I found it quite a striking sight against the back drop of an open sky.

I have tried to refrain from taking the same photos that I have included in previous posts, heres a photo of the crowd that gathered to cheer me at one point on my route.

I say cheer it was more of a quack and if anything the latge numbers of water fowl aroynd the lake where I regularly run are an irritant as they tend to gather around the paths causing an obstruction as well as leaving plenty of slip hazards everywhere if you get what I mean!

By the time I got home I had time to knock up a bit of dinner before it was time to settle down and watch the second World Cup semi final of Holland v Argentina.

This was actually my first shot at cooking steak at home using my George Foreman grill and although it turned out far more well done than rare which is what I was aiming for it was still pretty good!

With only the final remaining in the World Cup I am glad that I will be able to have more time available in the evenings and will be able to get to bed earlier. Staying up to watch games especially the 9pm kick offs have been difficult for me as they have eaten away at my usual early bed time routine so although I will miss the World Cup when it finishes I will welcome the extra sleep. 

Many thanks for reading!

Getting back to a healthy routine

Back from holiday its time to face reality; 3 marathons in 3 months the firat of which is in less than 90 days. Time to shape up. 

Step 1 : First of all post holiday blow out!

Major taste, major calories a massive cheat day an awesome foodgasm courtesy of Papa John.

Hawaian BBQ & The Greek

Step 2 : Sweat out the holiday excess

13K run to sweat out the holiday excess, all that alcohol and cheese (http://idratherbeoutrunning.blogspot.com/2014/05/greek-holiday-foodporn.html). I always find I need one workout to sweat out all the bad stuff before I can get back to training normally again and this run did the job nicely.

I was pretty impressed I managed to have a pace of practically 5min/Km for what at the moment is my maximum distance.

Step 3 : Start eating right

A massive stir fry with loads of veggies. One of my favourite things to cook, this was a chicken and prawn concoction made using some garlic, soy sauce and chicken stock.

I have also loaded up on healthy snacks:

And I am making sure I eat right at work:

Step 4 : Start training my ass off

Next I need to start putting some hours in, I got bck Tuesday afternoon and I have now trained 5 times in 3.5 days. A cardio gym session, 2x runs and 2x weight circuit sessions.

Step 5 : Plan out how I am going to knock this challenge out of the park! 

So now I need to put some work into planning out my training strategy. I do love a good spreadsheet so I will plan this out like a geek! My basic plan is to do 15K at the weekend and then follow that up with at least one 18K and one half marathon by the end of the month.

Then in June I plan to have done at least one run in the area of 30K.

So fingers crossed it all goes to plan and watch out for more updates.