Juneathon 2011 Day 2 - RunBreeze Socks

Another lovely warm and sunny day and with no side effects from yesterdays run there were no barriers to me doing a 5 miler. The only real constraint was time as I needed to be back in order to meet with a cousin who out of the blue contacted me to discuss ancestry and our family tree sharing as we do the same great grandfather.

My Garmin 205 also seems to have given up the ghost and the battery no longer holds a charge. It may be dead but I am searching for a solution before looking at alternatives. For the moment I am using a standard watch and running courses where I know the distance I have covered.

However I digress as Juneathon day 2 gave me a chance to try out for the first time some running socks that I had been sent by a company called RunBreeze. The first thing I noticed was the good comfy snug fit . OK I only ran 5 miles in them but they were good as my feet remained cool and there was no warming sensation which you can get from some socks after a few miles. I shall them regularly over the next month of Juneathon and hopefully test them out over some longer runs

RunBreeze state this about their socks

"10 Reasons to choose Technical Running Socks over normal everyday socks:

 

1. The material.  RunBreeze.com use breathable fabrics such as CoolmaxTM that help wick moisture away from the feet which can cause irritation.  

 

2. The Fit.  Normal socks move up and down the foot and are one of the reasons for blisters. Technical running socks are designed ergonomically around the shape of the foot so movement is limited and the sock stays in position.

 

3. The toe.  A RunBreeze sock has a seamless toe.  This helps prevents rubbing at the end of the toes which occur in a normal sock.

 

4. Achilles Heal protection.  On RunBreeze’s trainer liner range they have a padded support where the Achilles Heal sits, to help prevent rubbing on this area.

 

5. The Mid-Foot.  A technical running sock will have a Mid-Foot grip to help keep the sock in place.  In a normal sock a lot of people find their socks slip down, this won’t be the case with a properly fitted sock with a mid foot grip.

 

6. Left and Right Footed.  Socks designed to fit both of our feet properly.  Our feet our different shapes, so your socks should be too.

 

7. Cushioning.  Having a more cushioned area at the bottom of the sock like on the RunBreeze Cushioning sock helps with impact protection on your feet (they are very comfortable too!)

 

8. Anti Blister.  Blisters are a runners nemesis.  Help prevent them by using double layered technology like in the RunBreeze Anti Blister sock.  You don’t get that in your normal sock!

 

9. Health.  RunBreeze asked 100 people how long they keep socks and the average response was 8 years!!  Running socks should be changed just like trainers or kit.  RunBreeze.com have a sock calculator that tells you how many socks you will need per year depending on how many times you run and allowing you to change regularly without breaking the bank!

 

10. Performance.  You want to get the most out of your run so get a technical running sock.  They are lighter as they get rid of sweat quicker, they fit better and are more comfortable – all that means a big personal best for you!"

 

The anti blister socks that I am using are priced at £8 each and if this prevents me getting blisters during Juneathon 2011 then they have got to be worth it.

For today's run I followed a route through Bury St Edmunds along the River Lark and into the Abbey Gardens. Even at 8am it was warm work but enjoyable.

Total Juneathon mileage 8 miles.

Bats and a good run in Bury St Edmunds Suffolk

Last night my better half and I visited Nowton Park in Suffolk for an advertised guided walk at dusk. The walk indicated the possibility of hearing various bird songs and tempted to learn a little we ventured out at 7.30pm to the park.

We arrived met the ranger Malcolm and his daughter then waited for others to turn up. We waited in vain for this as no one else did! We were the only ones who turned up for the walk despite it being free and advertised in a leaflet. Not wanting to keep the ranger out just for us we did ask if he wanted to carry on but as it was his job to be there anyway he confirmed that the walk could go ahead.



Although we didn't see or hear any unusual bird life the highlight came at the end of the walk when we reached the lime tree avenue.  The ranger produced a monitor which detected  the frequency pitch of pipistrelle bats. I have never seen so many bats and as we walked down the lime tree avenue there must have been hundreds of bats diving through the air. Fantastic experience and totally free. Thanks to Malcolm and his daughter.

After last nights walk I ventured out at 8am for my long run of the week. I am building my base slowly and my log run at present is just 55 minutes. I am running for time and by heart rate monitor at the moment. The weather was good , warm with a breeze. I wore a technical t shirt and shorts with my Saucony Jazz 13's. I really like these shoes immeadiately comfortable straight from the box, light but supportive for the neutral runner.

My run today consisted of a slow 5 min jog warm up and warm down which sandwiched 40 minutes of steady green zone running. This is a meduim effort run run which keeps my heart rate around 150 bpm. Adidas Micoach states:-

• Heart Rate coaching takes into account how you’re feeling each day. If you feel stressed or tired, your heart beats a little faster. As a result, you can run a little slower than usual while remaining in the zone. This helps prevent overtraining on days when you could use a break. Conversely, if you feel great, your heart rate will remain lower and you’ll be able to go faster while staying in the zone. Heart Rate also accounts for challenging terrain. If it’s hilly, for instance, you won’t need to run as fast to remain in the zone.
• Seeing results: Check your charts to see how your average speed per zone increases as your fitness improves. For instance, you may simply walk to stay in the Blue Zone at first, but as your fitness improves you may find that you’re able to jog in the Blue Zone.

I am really enjoying the Adidas micoach, I feel freed up not having to look at my watch to see my distance and times. I am running more slowly than I used to but to avoid injury I think this is sensible and hopefully by following the heart rate monitor my fitness and speed will improve.

My route took me through Bury St Edmunds town centre  and into the Abbey Gardens and along by the River Lark.

My stats today were :-

55 minutes
759 calories
5.3 miles
heart rate average 139 bpm
pace 10.26
stride rate 189 steps a min

73% of the time I kept to my heart rate zone. my heart rate remained in the green zone and didn't drop back to the slower blue zone jog pace at the end of the run 

Please with today as this was my longest run and it was pain free.

Bury St Edmunds Town Centre Five Mile Run

Saturday morning and the weather was set fair with a little drizzle in the air.

I was tired this morning before I started to run and consequently I ran a very slow five miles. It was however at the half marathon schedule pace of 9.09 miles.

I decided to run around the centre of the town which is possible on a Saturday before 8.30am as although the market stalls are set up there was very few people about .

I had the Abbey Gardens more or less to myself but unless you are going to run in circles over and over you need to venture a bit further afield if you are running five miles. So running out of the Abbey Gardens you pass through the old graveyard next to the St Edmundsbury cathedral shown in the  photo on this post.



There are many interesting old gravestones particularly in the old charnel. Mary Hasleton in the photo on this post was said to have been struck and killed by lightening in the act of prayer at the age of nine.

 The second photo is an epitaph to the prime mover and founder of Jamestown North America - Captain Gosnold. His daughter Mary is buried in this churchyard hence the naming of the place known as Martha's Vineyard

Run in the Abbey Gardens Bury St Edmunds Suffolk - January 8th 2010

This lunch time between snow showers and with a little blue sky I fitted in a five mile run. This is day 5 of my 11 week Runners World SMART Coach Schedule which called for an easy 5 mile run at a 9.20 pace per mile.

Most of my training last year apart from the interval track sessions was run at the one pace that being dependent on how I felt and what I could run which varied between 8 and 9 minute miles.

There was a lot of lying snow on the ground which has been regularly added to with snowy showers. A thaw isn't due until the middle of next week according to the Met Office weather forecast so it is a case of getting used to it and running the best you can in the snow.

I can certainly feel new muscles on my inner thighs that I didn't know I had as a result of running in the snow. I find you have to work a bit harder in snowy conditions to look where you are putting your feet and when the snow is shoe depth you can tend to slow. As a workout running in snow must be equivalant to running on sand providing resistance training.

Keeping warm hasn't been a problem as long as you layer up well with clothes. The one area that inevitably tends to get damp is the feet and this could be a problem over a longer run. Perhaps double up on the socks anyone else have any ideas on avoiding damp feet in the snow?

Choosing a route to run in the snow is difficult. On the one hand choosing to run in a built up area near traffic and people is safer than running a trail in the country. I largely prefer to do the later but realise that it is all to easy to have a trip or turn an ankle and this isn't something to do in below freezing conditions. The trouble with running near roads is the potential for drivers to lose control and spin off the road , you can also get a lovely wash of slush so I tend to run as far as I can on the inside of pavements.

A good compromise is to find a park or field to run around. Here you obviously avoid the traffic and there will be people around to watch your embarrasment if you take a tumble.

I got most of my run in the Abbey Gardens and avoided one or two snowballs. My speed was slow. The snow actualy helped in this respect as I ran the 5 miles at a 9.20 pace as required. My mile laptimes showed splits of 8.52, 9.23,9.30,9.39,9.14 making for a 46.38 time overall.

One other great preparation for running in the snow is to fuel the body with porridge oats! I did this morning . 
The right breakfast can keep your energy levels high for the rest of the day, says nutritionist Natalie Savona.

The author of the Kitchen Shrink says 'My favourite winter breakfast is a bowl of porridge. It's warm, satisfying, comforting and is a great source of B vitamins, which help convert food to energy in the body, and play a role in making serotonin, the feel-good chemical, in the brain.'

Breakfast may even keep you healthy. Scientists at Cardiff University have shown that breakfast eaters are less prone to winter ills than those that grab a coffee and run. I must admit I generally do the later due to lack of time!!

Boxing Day Run 2009

 This morning after a week of ice and snow, finally most of the ice had gone and a bright blue sky and temperatures above freezing brought out many runners on to the roads of Bury St Edmunds.

If they were like me they were rolling more like a barrel rather than running smoothly through the parks. Many runners and non runners alike will start to think about starting their training schedule for the Virgin London Marathon 2010. I didn't get a place in the ballot and probably just as well. t present I don't have the stamina to run a marathon.

I initially headed to Nowton Park  but conditions here were dodgy with the car park like an ice rink it was impossible to run through . Once through the car park the grass was water logged in places and boggy and whilst runnable I didn't fancy a slow bog run.

So instead I headed back into the centre of Bury St Edmunds and headed to the Abbey Gardens. As you can see from the photos the ice has gone from the centre of town making this the safest place to run at the moment.

During the holiday break will start to think about plans for training and races to enter for 2010

Abbey Gardens Bury St Edmunds Suffolk

Another Seven mile run in the centre of Bury St Edmunds Suffolk.

7 miles in 1 hour 4 seconds. Total for week 37 miles and 102 miles for June.

I am beginning to build up my mileage though I need to enter some races so that I have a target. I am happy just to run but having a race in mind helps give more of a focus to your training.

I again visited parts of the Abbey Gardens and this memorial to the 94th Bombardment Group can be found in one of the gardens near to the Park keepers hut. There are many links between England and the United States of America and this is one from modern times.

From 1943 to 1945 the 94th Heavy Bombardment Group was based at Rougham Airfield. Rougham is about 2 miles from Bury St Edmunds.

Over 300 operational missions took place in the 2 years with 8000 plus sorties and a bomb tonnage of more than 18,000 tons being dropped. 153 aircraft were listed missing in action. The B17 Flying Fortress and the B26 Marauder would have been a common site over the skies of Suffolk during this time as they were used by the 94th Bombardment Group.

Abbey Gardens Bury St Edmunds Suffolk

Seven Miles in 1hour 2 mins and 43 seconds.
30 miles this week , 95 miles this month , 771 miles this year and 13,053 miles in a lifetime.

When I look at the distance I have run in a lifetime 13,000 miles doesn't seem an awful lot. After all 13,000 miles is the distance covered by leatherback turtles in one migration non stop.

I haven't always recorded my running in a diary so this figure won't be exactly accurate but is fairly close for the mileage that I have recorded.

If I was running from Bury St Edmunds where could I get to if I ran in a straight line? It is about 1/20 of the distance from the Earth to the Moon. Well I could have run through the whole of Western Europe , Asia , Australia and on to New Zealand. My 13,000 miles would place me somewhere in the South Pacific Ocean but with another 4,000 miles to go before I hit Santiago in Chile.

Of course rather than really being in the South Pacific I ran today in the Abbey Gardens Bury St Edmunds.The history of this site dates back to the 7th century when King Sigebert , the first Christian king of East Angles who established a small religious community here.

It is said that King Edmund who refused to rennounce his christain faith and was slain by the danish vikings is buried here in the 9th century.

King Cnut established a benedictine community here in the 11th century . With the dissolution of the monasteries in England the Abbey Gardens was neglected for 300 years until the Marquis of Bristol arranged for a botanical garden display. Over 2,000 garden plants were available to view and subscibers financed the maintenance and upkeep to this private victorian gardening gallery throughout most of the 19th century.

Even at the end of the 19th century 'riff raff' were not welcome as visitors could only enter at the cost of 1 shilling for an adult or 6d for a child. According to Mitchell (British Historical Statistics) the average agricultural wage in 1900 was around 14 shillings a week and a weeks dole money was 6d .

Abbey Gardens Bury St Edmunds Suffolk

7.50am 7.4 miles in 1 hr mins 2 seconds
Week to date mileage 40.6 miles
Month to date mileage 18
Average weekly rate 30.2 miles
Average monthly rate 131
Year to date 1056
Lifetime 10649

After a good weeks running and feeling a little tired I decided to take it easy on my hour run by doing a circuit of my nearly measured circular run. Starting at the Ouida memorial at the bottom of Vinery Road I head up hill along Hardwick Lane.Following the road around in a circle to take back towards town along Cullum Road before heading back along Out Westgate Street and back to the Ouida memorial. Has any read or got an Ouida novel? A 2.21 mile circuit according to mapmyrun.com. I didn't run very quickly but ran an 18.20 time.

After this I turned back along Out Westgate Street and into Bury. The Albert Buildings and the Chapel both date from 1840. At this time Bury St Edmunds had just gained its first Police Force in 1836 the gas works had just been built but the town had yet to be connected by rail to any other towns.

We are very fortunate to live in Bury St Edmunds and have the wonderful Abbey Gardens on our door step. It is a place I never tire of visiting and it makes a great place for a run. It was here I headed next.

It was quite at this time of the morning with just a few early bird families heading for the swings and one or two tourists consulting maps. Running here doesn't feel like work at all as you are totally distracted by everything around you and time passes though the benches looked tempting.

Vinery Rd, Hardwick Lane , Cullum Rd and Out Westgate Bury St Edmunds

8.30am 7.4 miles in 1hr 0.11 seconds
Week to date mileage 19 miles
Month to date mileage 110
Average weekly rate 29.9 miles
Average monthly rate 130
Year to date 1016
Lifetime 10609

I started my run with a couple of laps of a circular run which I see a lot of runners use. Being a circular run you can join this route where ever you like. I decided to time my second lap of the course which I have measured on mapmyrun as being 2.21 miles. I ran a slow 18.33 for the run which is 8.24 pace. I felt slow and I was . It is a fairly hilly run up Vinery Road and Hardwick Lane is fairly undulating. But no it was a slow run but at least it gives me something to beat next time.

After this I had a run besides the River Lark and into the Abbey Gardens

River Lark Bury St Edmunds Suffolk

9am 6.4 miles in 53 mins 10 secs
Week to date mileage 36 miles
Month to date mileage 91
Average weekly rate 30.2 miles
Average monthly rate 131
Year to date 997
Lifetime 10590

I decided on a run around the town centre of Bury St Edmunds. There is always so much to see and after a good week's mileage this was easy work.

My run took me around the Abbey Gardens, I like the height added by the gardener to some of the flower borders. In the early part of the last century when entrance to the Botanical gardens was chargeable I imagine the gardens were more like Kew and some of the photographs give an impression of a jungle with lots of tall plants.

Over the bridge over the River Lark I ran two laps of the circular walk which takes you around No Mans meadow and the Haberden Rugby Club.

Many years ago I worked at the Haberden Service station before self service pumps were in operation. I believe 4 gallons were £5 and folks did ask for a fill up, a fiver's worth or so many gallons. The pumps didn't operate then in litres. I was still at school so this must have been around 1977/78.I can recall my hours on a Sunday were 9am to 7pm on my own with no official break though it could be quiet at times.

Abbey Gardens Bury St Edmunds and Moreton Hall

8am 8.1 miles in 1 hr 7 min 30 seconds

Week to date mileage 28 miles

Month to date mileage 14

Average weekly rate 29.9 miles

Average monthly rate 130

Year to date 920

Lifetime 10513

After a rest day yesterday I decided to run a little further distance today. I chose to run around the Abbey gardens and around Moreton Hall.

The Abbey gardens was fairly quiet and I ran around the park 1-2 before heading out along Eastgate Street and up around Moreton Hall.

The barley at Moreton Hall near the Sugar beet factory is looking ready for harvest any day. Where as the winter oil seed rape and many fields of wheat have already been harvested the barley remains standing for now with its long feathery appearance.

Back into the Abbey gardens via the bridge over the River Lark after doing the circular walk around No Mans meadow I was able to run around the park a bit more before running up Abbeygate Street and heading home

Bury St Edmunds Town Centre

8.30am 6 miles in 50 mins 27 seconds

Week to date mileage 34 miles

Month to date mileage 6

Average weekly rate 30.2 miles

Average monthly rate 131

Year to date 784

Lifetime 10377

I decided on a short easy run as time was limited. With no particular course in mind I decided on a run around Bury. I still find I see things which I haven't spotted before and it is a beautiful town despite all the current changes around the cattle market.

I set off towards town along Out Westgate Street and St Peters Church which is rather hidden behind the fish and chip shop and the Elephant and Castle Pub.

I headed along Cullum Road and into the water meadows to see what the effect of the recent rains had been. Although the water levels are high it didn't appear too flooded and I have seen footpaths flooded recently but not today. Not sure what this bird is but it looked like a puffy youngster.


In Southgate Street is the Abbey Hotel which dates to the 13th century. There is an Oast House here where there was once the Southgate Brewery.

Just up from here is St Mary's Square and the site of the Greene King Brewery boxes in one corner.

There must be a book that could be written about this square there being so much history and famous people who have lived here or have visited. Once the home of the horse market in Bury St Edmunds, it was also the home of Thomas Clarkson the abolitionist, Dorothey Wordsworth stayed here when visiting Henry Crabb Robinson who lived in Southgate Street and in recent times the home of Kelvin Davis once an Ipswich Town goalkeeper now at Southampton.

From here I ran through the graveyard and into the Abbey Gardens. The secret garden with its central sundial, roses and heather was looking wonderful.

As part of the 400th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown said to be the birthplace of America there is now a gardening based recreation of the Godspeed one of the 3 ships which sailed to America and was captained by a Suffolk man Bartholomew Gosnold.

Bartholomew Gosnold’s daughter Martha was baptised in St Edmundsbury Cathedral and is said to be buried in an unmarked grave in the great churchyard alongside it. Gosnold named Martha’s Vineyard after his infant daughter Martha who had died before he embarked on his first exploratory voyage to the New World in 1601

Around the Abbey Gardens before back through the town centre past Moyse's Hall.
One of the doorways with the bars must date from the days when this was a gaol and a police station.

I spent the last 20 minutes of the run up and down Risbygate Street and Newmarket Road. An easy run but good mileage for the week totaling 34 miles.