Newcastle parkrunners, please complete!

As you may know I am currently working towards a masters (MSc) degree in Applied Positive Psychology. As part of the course we are each asked to undertake a meaningful piece of research which will be ready to submit for publication by an academic journal.

My main research interests lie within physical activity, and how exercise can improve mental health. Couple with this my passion for parkrun, and this is how I arrived at my research topic for my thesis.

I am running a survey which looks to understand the impact that parkrun might have upon individual and societal functioning, and I am administering this survey online.

If you are a registered Newcastle parkrunner, then please do click the link below and complete the survey.

http://edu.surveygizmo.com/s3/724049/Understanding-the-impact-of-parkrun-on-individual-and-societal-functioning

I am looking to get all registered Newcastle parkrunners to respond - regardless of how many times you have ran or volunteered at parkrun. Even if you have never attended a Newcastle parkrun, but are registered with Newcastle as your home run, I would still love your responses to the survey.

I have already had 90 responses, within just a few days which really is amazing, and a great data set to work with. However, ambitious as always, I would love to think that all 3000 (ish) members of Newcastle parkrun might be able to complete the survey in order to allow for some really robust results.

The survey is completely anonymous and takes 3 minutes to complete, so please click the link above and participate in the study.

Thank you to all that have completed and are about to complete the survey, your response is very much appreciated!

Niyc xx

I shall return

So I haven't posted here for almost a lifetime (well, a year), and since then a lot has changed. I now live in europe for a start! Its snowing outside and its too cold to run, so I joined another gym this week and tried a few classes. I have done spinning classes for years and I really love them. They're a great, high energy, intense work out and I would definitely recommend them! I did body pump this week too and absolutely love it - the class focusses on barbell work, with lots of squats and lunges combined with other exercises to really work deep into the muscles, and the instructor was fantastic. I always admire how group exercise instructors maintain their energy whilst teaching and doing the class themselves. Fitness is such a great industry to work in, filled with energy and motivation and I love it. I still have some pain in my knee when I run, so 40 minutes has been about my limit for the past 6 months. Very frustrating, but I'm limited with treatments whilst I'm out of the UK so I have been focussing a lot on strengthening exercises to build the muscle around the knee and take the pressure off the joint. Body weight exercises have formed the main part of my training, with some short runs, interval sprints, and now the classes as well. Its good to mix it up a bit so you don't get bored, and it means your body is constantly adapting and improving because of the different training methods and how they work the body. Im sure I'll manage a marathon one day, just not anytime soon unfortunately!

Each time I visit the UK I head straight for Newcastle parkrun as soon as I get home. It's great to catch up with everyone and see how the run has grown and developed. When I left the UK last year I handed over operations to Ian Kirtley and he has done a fantastic job alongside the other race directors David, Sue, and Nigel to bring the weekly attendance numbers up to over 300 runners. Great news that so many people across the North East are getting up and running each week, fantastic! In the north east, many other park runs have been developed, with Sunderland and Durham both operating great runs, and Whitley Bay and Gateshead looking to launch in the near future. Paul Sinton-Hewitt's vision for every town in the UK to have a parkrun is quickly becoming a reality, which is great news for the health of the nation and the development of communities. Visit www.parkrun.com to find your local parkrun.

Alongside fitness it is so important to also look after your nutrition, as both go hand in hand when creating a healthy body and mind. I truly believe that if you nourish your body right you give yourself a great foundation for healing and development. Because of the way food is produced these days, lifestyle diseases are widely prevalent and many people are simply not allowing themselves to reach optimal health and functioning. Food choices should always fresh foods rather than processed, and should favour organic and sustainably farmed meats and fish, sourced locally where possible. Mass produced and processed usually means factory farmed and full of chemicals and diseases and this is what should be avoided. I no longer eat meat at all, and lots of vegetables and legumes, with organic and wild fish. I avoid processed foods completely, preferring to make everything from fresh organic ingredients. It really allows you to feel great every day and always full of energy.  More on nutrition next time.......

A few great runs and then runners knee!

I had a really good run on Sunday and did 15 miles from Gosforth to Byker, along the river to Scotswood Bridge, around past the Metro Centre, and back up to Byker. It took around 2 hours 20 minutes and I really enjoyed it! I left the house late and so the first four miles to Byker were very fast(!) to ensure I made it on time to meet parkrun regulars David Daniels, Rob Wishart, Micky Baker, and a few others from Tyne Bridge Harriers. We set off just after 10am and settled into an easy pace down to the Quayside and along the river. Luckily David Daniels brought along some Lucozade carbohydrate gels which came in handy half way through the run to top up energy supplies. This is now the furthest I have ran, and after getting back to Byker and having a few minutes of walking recovery, I actually felt as if I could do more! Thanks to Tyne Bridge Harriers for pacing the run so well and inviting me along to run with them. Check out Tyne Bridge Harriers great new website at http://www.tynebridgeharriers.com/

After taking Monday and Tuesday as rest days I had another great run on Wednesday, and headed out from the city centre, along Scotswood Road, across the bridge, along past the Metro Centre, and back over the Swing Bridge (which has a huge Comic Relief Red Nose on the side of it!). The run was around 8 miles, maybe a little bit further, and it took me 1 hour 12 minutes, which is perfect marathon pacing time. I was really happy with this run and felt good, although my left knee had begun to ache for the last mile or so.

By the time I had made it back to work my knee was really hurting, with a sharp pain on the outside. I managed to catch the physio and she suggested I may have damaged the cartilage behind my knee cap from running. I iced and elevated it and ended up being sent home from work early as I couldnt put any weight on it. The past few days have been a bit better; my knee hurts behind the knee cap when I walk and drive, and the doctor has advised rest, ice and ibuprofen, which is pretty standard for most running injuries. It looks like I have Pattelofemoral Pain Syndrome, otherwise known as 'Runners Knee', which comes on after running long distances or when sitting down with the knees bent for too long. It is very common in female runners due to the angle of the thigh bone from knee to hip (Q angle), and often occurs when weekly mileage gets up to 40 miles. This is the weekly mileage that I have been reaching, and I have also noticed pains in my knees when sat at the cinema, or at university, due to sitting down for too long, which is another symptom of runners knee.

Treatment is to rest, which means no running! I'm totally gutted about this as I was really enjoying getting into my longer runs and making progress with my marathon training. Exercises to strengthen my inner quadriceps and stretch the IT band (which runs down the outside of the thigh) will help, as will running in trainers with support in the sole. Recovery time is usually 2-6 weeks, and Edinburgh Marathon is in 9 weeks. Hopefully I will be up and running again very soon and will be able to pick up my training and ease back into running with a slow run at Northumberland (Wallington) Half Marathon on March 27th. This is my goal for recovery as I would love to be able to attend the race, even if I dont run for a time and just get the distance through my legs. Apparantly Wallington Half is quite a hilly run so it might be a blessing in disguise that I dont have to tackle it at a decent pace!

Our first paced run at Newcastle parkrun went really well last week, with times of 20, 25, 30, and 35 minutes being paced so runners can break these time barriers and set some new PB's. It really helps to run with a pacer and gives you that extra bit of motivation to keep going. We will be holding a paced run on the second Saturday of each month, with the next paced run falling on Saturday 9th April. If you have a particular time you would like to achieve for your 5km distance then do come along and run with one of the pacers, or meet other parkrunners who may be able to pace you to your desired time. We have even received new parkrun volunteer tops and caps from Nike which will certainly make volunteers and pacers look the part.

We will be holding a collection at Newcastle parkrun this Saturday to raise money for the Japan Red Cross appeal, so do bring along any loose change that you would like to donate, and help relief efforts continue. Newcastle parkrunner Isao Hara has made a special appeal for donations which you can see on the Newcastle parkrun facebook page and website, and parkrunner Craig Smith has kindly offered to run his London Marathon in aid of the Japan Red Cross appeal. It is great that so many people are getting involved with raising money for this great and much needed cause. If you are unable to make it along to Newcastle parkrun to donate tomorrow morning then why not donate online at my friend Jasmine Bell's online fundraising page. Search facebook page 'Make Change for Japan' or visit www.justgiving.com/Make-Change-For-Japan

Dont forget that today is Comic Relief Red Nose Day......good luck with your fundraising ideas and hope you all raise more than you expect! Hopefully we will see a few giant red nose costumes running around Newcastle parkrun tomorrow morning!?

Thanks,

Niyc xx

A new personal best!

I really suprised myself at parkrun on Saturday and beat my previous time of 27 minutes 37 seconds with a 2 minute 13 second personal best of 25 minutes 24 seconds! Woohoo! I am very pleased with this and am hoping to break 25 minutes next time I run at Newcastle parkrun, which will be on Saturday 12th March. We will be starting a new pacing system on this day, with times of 20 minutes, 25 minutes, 30 minutes, and 35 minutes being paced by volunteer runners. This is the perfect opportunity for runners to get a little bit more motivated and push themselves to achieve a certain time at parkrun, so why not come along and try it?

My marathon training is going well and I did a 10 mile run on Sunday, fast 800m repeats last night, and 7 miles this morning before work. I have a fairly easy week this week and will be doing a fast 2 miles tomorrow, 4 miles on saturday, and racing a 10k on sunday!

I read some scary stats in Mens Health magazine the other day....If the world keeps going the way it is going then by 2020 depression will be the second most disabling condition in the world and by 2050 over 50% of the UK population will be obese! Depression and obesity are both conditions that are able to be helped hugely with physical activity and exercise, and exercise is now known to be as effective, and longer lasting than the effects of antidepressants, with psychologist Tal Ben Shahar actually suggesting that, 'not exercising is like taking depressants'.

I am busy preparing lectures on the psychology of exercise, and also obesity, which is proving to be good reading. The benefits of exercise are so vast and yet exercise adherence is often hard to achieve. I love lecturing on subjects like these and believe if we can educate everybody as to the benfits of exercise then many of the lifestyle diseases mentioned above will be able to be more easily managed and the symptoms and effects dramatically reduced.

Great news that my friend Monica Harris has started training for this years Models Fight Night which she founded, competed in, and won last year. It proved to be a great night of entertainment and lots of money was raised for charity in the process. Check out http://www.modelsfightnight.co.uk/about-us.php for more information or to get involved!

Have a great day,

Niyc xx

My first Marathon

February is National Heart awareness month, and its that time of year when everybody picks up their fitness routines and decides to get their heart pumping. My gym has definitely been busier than usual, with many clients asking for personal training to help them reach their goals. I love this time of year and alway feel really good getting into to intense training and living well! I started my marathon training plan this month and am feeling on track for the event on May 22nd in Edinburgh. David Daniels, an experienced marathon runner from Newcastle parkrun, devised the plan for me and top UK ultra runner Sharon Gayter looked it over and made a few amendments. With such expert training advice I should be prepared for the marathon; provided I stick to the training, which I have done so far. The plan consists of a day off on Mondays, with speed work on Tuesdays, a 5-8 mile run on a Wednesday, a steady run on Thursdays, Fridays to rest, then Saturdays are 3-4 miles, and a long run on Sundays, currently around 10 miles (1hr 30 mins ish), and increasing to 22 miles as the marathon draws closer.

Last night I did a fast running session, which I find really difficult. I'm used to running long distances but not so accustomed to short, faster runs. The session consisted of three 1 mile repeats, which means running a mile fast, then jogging until you get your breath back and recover, then repeating this another two times. The benefit of doing mile repeats is that it improves your running style and efficiency, and improves your fitness, speed, and stamina too. Incorporating a speed session into your training also allows for practise at overcoming both physical and mental discomfort, something which is important in long distance events such as a marathon. Having trained hard last night and really pushed myself I did a slower run this morning, running 3 miles into work (at 5:30am!), and then running a further 3 miles on the treadmill, which took around 55 minutes overall. Morning exercise really sets you up for the day and energises!

Many of you will have found out this week that you have a place in this year's Great North Run so why not come along and get into running or start your training with a completely free run, alongside 200 other runners, every Saturday at 9am in Exhibtion Park Jesmond. I am going to run my second Newcastle parkrun this Saturday and hopefully beat last months time. I will be able to track my progress online at http://www.parkrun.org.uk/newcastle/results/AthleteHistory.aspx?AthleteNumber=50288 and see how my times improve in the run up to the marathon. I'd definitely recommend Newcastle parkrun as a training tool for any event you might be working towards, or just for general fitness and a good laugh, and it is great to see your own online profile with a catalogue of your runs and volunteer contributions! Visit http://www.parkrun.com/ to sign up, print out your barcode, and come along and run. See you in the park!

Niyc xx

parkrun goes from strength to strength!

This week we had some very good news for parkrun! London Mayor, Boris Johnson, has announced his programme of funding in order to increase community sports participation in London, and he has awarded parkrun £130,000 to help support the set up and running of up to another 23 parkruns in the area. This is excellent news, and certainly a sign of things to come in terms of funding and development for parkrun as a whole. It is great that government and councils are working parkrun into their plans now, and that parkrun is being recognised as the outstanding community organisation that it is. A huge congratulations to all involved! Take a look at http://www.london.gov.uk/media/press_releases_mayoral/mayor-announces-further-funding-community-sports-participation for the full break down of funding allocation.

On a local level I will be looking to involve Newcastle parkrun with government and council initiatives in order to increase sport participation and also volunteering participation within the North East. Hopefully we will be able to secure some local funding for continued support and promotion of Newcastle parkrun and all we have to offer. If you are a key decision maker within a business or educational organisation and think that your institution would benefit from a free weekly exercise initiative, or from continued professional and personal development through volunteering, then do get in touch and I can come along and introduce parkrun and encourage employees and learners to get involved.

I would like to say a huge thank you to all parkrun volunteers who have braved the snow recently to keep Newcastle parkrun running as usual. We had 30 runners when the snow first fell, and then last week we had 45 runners that turned out to run in below freezing conditions. Well done to all that ran and helped out.....we are all incredibly dedicated, or possibly slightly mad! Videos from these two events can be seen on the Newcastle parkrun facebook page (search 'Newcastle parkrun', or click the link at the right hand side of my blog page. This weekend we are set for another snowy and icy parkrun, which will go ahead as usual, providing the course route is safe to run on. We are still looking for volunteers for this Saturday and so if you are free and willing please register online at www.parkrun.org.uk/newcastle/home.aspx and then email newcastlehelpers@parkrun.com to let me know you would like to help out.

I will be delivering a workshop at Newcastle College this evening based around Character Strengths, which is an area covered within Positive Psychology.  A strength is something that is morally valued, displayed in behaviours, thoughts, feelings, and actions, and contributes to fulfilment for self and others. Charcter strengths (as classified by the Values in Action classification of strengths) include such things as creativity, leadership, integrity, kindness, self control, and gratitude. Strengths are useful within recruitment in order to match candidates to job roles. They can be utilised when building teams, in order to group complimentary characters together, and jobs can be seen to be valued more when strengths are used within the role. Strengths provide a sense of direction, increase experience of positive emotions, and improve confidence and well-being. To find out what your top strength is visit http://www.viahappiness.org/ and take the test.

Thanks,

Niyc xx

Maps, stress and shoeboxes!

I did a course a while ago on mind mapping and had a go at drawing one this morning as part of an assessment within my Certificate of Education (training to be a lecturer). Mind maps are kind of like a spider diagram, but more complex. They consist of a putting a central idea in the middle of a piece of plain landscape paper and then drawing coloured branches radiating from the centre with particular themes written along the branches. As the branches get further from the centre they get thinner, and the writing along the branches gets smaller and changes from capital letters to lower case. Mind maps are useful for developing creativity and offer a heirachal representation of information. They use both the left and right brain, allow for greater knowledge retention than note taking, and are useful when attempting to solve complex problems. I found it quite time consuming producing my mind map this morning and definitely find it easier to write an essay, but I enjoyed the challenge and understand that with a bit more practice mind mapping will come naturally and will be an effective tool to use. Many people use it within business meetings, when studying, or when brainstorming ideas. I have uploaded a copy of my mind map to twitter at www.twitter.com/niycpidge

I have been doing a lot of studying recently, and was in London again at the weekend for my masters degree. We looked at the topics of mindfulness, neurochemistry, and biological psychology, all of which were interesting and offered some new information. The biological psychology lecture coincided with some reading I have been doing into the effects of stress, and how it can be reduced.

Cortisol, which is the body's stress hormone, is produced by the adrenal gland, and is vital for dealing with stressful situations and producing the 'fight or flight' response. Cortisol tends to be highest in the mornings, tapering off towards the end of the day. However, when stress is experienced, cortisol levels are higher throughout the day, and can result in physiological changes such as digestive issues, lowered immune system, and increase fat storage around the midriff. Light physical activity has been known to help relieve stress and reduce cortisol levels, although with higher intensity training cortisol production is actually increased to help regulate blood sugars (with good nutrition this should not have negative impact). Governments are now looking at programmes to reduce stress in the workplace as a high proportion of absences are stress related. Current research suggests that reducing caffeine, getting good quality sleep, and experiencing more positive emotions can impact favourably upon stress levels. This is an area within which I am beginning to develop training and coaching which looks at what can be done to reduce stress and promote positive emotion in individuals and also within the workplace. Get in touch if this is of interest to you!

Newcastle parkrunners have suprised me recently......even with the days getting darker and colder, we have had a few record attendances, with our top turnout being 152 runners. Well done everyone! Im really pleased with the way Newcastle parkrun is growing and reaching a wide variety of people and im sure numbers will continue to increase. We will be continuing parkrun as normal over the festive period, and there will indeed be a Newcastle parkrun at 9am on Christmas Day, and also New Years Day (whether everybody will be sober or not is another matter!). We will be hosting a Christmas Brunch on Saturday 18th December, immediately after the run, in the Cafe in the park, where all runners and volunteers are encouraged to bring along a sweet or a savoury item to add to the table. Similarly we will be hosting a 1 year anniversary event on Saturday 15th January, again immediately after the run and in the cafe in the park, where Sweatshop, Lucozade, and Nike will be present to help us celebrate! Please do come along to both of these events and join in the community spirit of Newcastle parkrun, whether you have participated in a run yet or not.

I will be making up a shoe box this year for Operation Christmas Child, to send out to St Lucia which has just been hit by a hurricane. One of the girls at work has family in the area that has been hit and her Dad's house is one of only two left standing. If anyone would like to contribute a shoe box full of things for a child at christmas then give me a shout (via facebook, twitter etc) and I can organise getting it sent for you. Have a look at http://www.operationchristmaschild.org.uk/ for more information and ideas on what to pack in your shoebox.

Thanks,

Niyc xx