Wednesday 20 April 2016

Running with bluebells and other fat burning adventures

I have been doing some very slow running recently, experimenting with running at 'fat burning threshold' using  Phil Maffetone's '180 formula' to calculate optimal heart rate to promote the body's use of fat for fuel. Basically having established this heart rate you use a heart rate monitor and try and keep within it. If your heart rate exceeds this threshold you're supposed to slow down to bring it back down.  Painfully slow, I ended up on something like 12 minute miles. Not totally convinced of the benefits, but interesting running to heart rate rather than the clock.

One advantage is that you have plenty of time to admire the scenery, which at this time means bluebells. Bluebells in Dulwich Wood, which I took in during a run that also included Belair Park and Dulwich Park:

Dulwich Wood bluebells
Bluebells in Nunhead Cemetery (see previous post on running there):

Of the thousands of graves there only a handful have bluebells growing on them, one of life's mysteries... must be something to do with the bluebell fairies!
One of the numerous flower fairies painted by Cicely Mary Baker
- she lived in Croydon incidentally so maybe this is also a South London bluebell!

Bluebells in Kent, in Scathes Wood at Ightam Mote near Sevenoaks (OK I was actually walking there rather than running).

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