With fatherhood comes plenty of change and one thing that has taken a bit of a bashing has been my running.

I have still managed to get a few runs a week but I have had to be pretty flexible. Grabbing 30 mins here and there pretty early in the morning or late at night. One run started at 10.15pm. Not recommended.

Every run has been a tempo or speed session. No LSD for me at the moment.

This doesn’t mean that when it happens the running hasn’t been enjoyable. When you know you only have a limited time available you squeeze all you can. That’s what every session should be like. You don’t have to become a parent to learn that lesson!

Try it out with their 16 minute free sample.

Up to now, he had considered running as something he did to warm up for his main sports, football and squash. And though getting started was an effort to begin with, after a couple of weeks he really began to enjoy it. Running three times a week is now something he looks forward to. At the age of 44 he never thought he would be taking up a new sport. And that’s one of the great things about running. No matter what you age, or ability, its never too late to take it up.

For some great beginner advice about how far, how fast and how much to run when you are getting started click here and here.

Oh, and some wine tasting too.

The injury I aggravated during the Paris Marathon meant that any running was out of the question, though that didn’t stop the rest and recuperation, nor the wine tasting.

We stayed in the sleepy village (aren’t they always) of Stigny at an excellent gite called Sous Moncelot, which we found through Chez Nous. The owners Graham and Helen have done a superb job in restoring this old building to a really good standard.

We focused on independent wine producers. In the Tonnerrois area were looked after by Celine at Domaine Celine Cote and Dominique Gruhier at Domaine de L’Abbaye du Petit Quincy.

Stigny is also less than 40 minutes from Chablis and here you are spolied for choice for wine tasting. Laurent made us feel very welcome at Domaine Francine et Olivier Savary, as did Isabelle at Domaine Isabelle and Denis Pommier.

A really lovely week, even if there was no running.

Thousands of runners will be starting to focus on their Spring marathons. For those running Paris or Rotterdam they will be well in to their taper, with only a couple of weeks to go before race day. And for those running marathons towards the end of April, such as Boston, Madrid or London, they are approaching the top of their training, with the last, long run only a few weeks away.

Spring is definitely the time to treat yourself to some new running gear. You have trained hard over the Winter on that running body of yours, you have become that lean, mean running machine, so you need the right clothing to show it off.

Whilst new gear may not make you a better runner, having the right clothing can certainly make you feel like one. And feeling good and being comfortable is very important, it makes your run more enjoyable. Modern running clothing is virtually all made of technical materials, breathable and designed to wick away moisture keeping you dry. This type of clothing really does have the edge over a cotton top and old shorts. Cotton adsorbs and retains moisture very easily, making it heavy and so it will stick to you and inhibit movement.

There are plenty of places to indulge yourself. If you are lucky enough to live in London, Cardiff or Edinburgh, there are the excellent Run and Become shops. Up and Running tend to be good too, and there are plenty of these around the country. Buying online is also an option, and Wiggle has yet to let me down with its choice and service. I recommend these only because I use them, there are plenty of other really good retailers out there.

Go treat yourself.

Ultramarathonrunning.com has a comprehensive race calendar for events taking place in the UK, the U.S. and other countries around the world, plus links to training programmes for distances of 50k and beyond.

Well worth a look if you are thinking of stepping up your racing distance.

And where you have an injury, massage can improve the speed and quality of muscle repair.

Read more here to find when you should go and what you should expect.

Yet not hitting their goals during each and every session is a problem for some runners and could become a problem for you if you don’t read the signs. Doing exactly what the programme says can lead to the dangers of ‘overtraining’.

Read more here and here about what is and its effects.

This tunnel vision comes partly from the fact that running is an easy sport. Simply slip on some shorts and a top (though with the current weather we are having a few more layers are needed), chuck on your shoes and you are out of the door, with a limitless set of running routes and terrains out there for you.

In contrast other forms of training can seem annoying. You either need more kit and equipment (such as cycling), or equipment and specialist premises (such as rowing and swimming), or just because they seem like a lot more effort (such as weight work in the gym, or even worse, at home – for anyone who has tried to do regular strengthening exercises at home will testity, its tough, and that’s just the motivation to get started!)

But convenience, equipment and effort aside, these things are important. Other training is certainly not wasted time.

First and foremost the body likes a break from the monotony. Other types of aerobic training (cycling, swimming, rowing) work the aerobic system and muscles in slightly different ways, but ultimately they give your joints a break from the impact of pounding out the miles.

But probably most important of all is that other training will work muscles that surround your main running muscles, so reducing the chance of injury and making you a more efficient and effective runner.

Read more here and here for the benefits of cross-training.

No, that would be wrong.

Putting the right amount of effort into a session is undoubtedly a good thing, but pain is the body’s way of telling you that you are overdoing it. Knowing exactly when training effort moves from ‘difficult’ (your lungs are working hard, and the effects of lactic acid build up is leading to a burning sensation in your muscles) becomes ‘painful’ (leading to potential injury) comes with experience. You want to be able to run injury free for as long as possible, and that means avoiding pain.

One useful method to ensure you avoid crossing the threshold between ‘difficult’ and ‘painful’ is to remember that 5% too little is better than 5% too much. That may mean reducing the pace of your tempo run by a few seconds per mile, doing one less speed work repitition than planned, cutting back that long, slow run by 1 mile.

Little tweaks like these mean you can live to fight another day feeling recovered, refreshed and raring to go.

Read more here.