The BlackPrint

Well there’s another response that often gets overlooked because it’s not quite as catchy as ‘fight or flight’ and that is the ‘freeze’ response. That’s right, we forgot all about the deer in the headlights. Instead of running or fighting back we stay put - maybe out of fear, maybe out of acceptance that the other two won’t work.

Over the last year or so I’ve found myself injured and unable to run. Not just a little twinge or tweak, but debilitating pain that meant running hasn’t really been an option for a long time now. My source of power was suddenly taken away from me. This coincided with some more of life’s curveballs and now I seem to be so worn down by life that I am unable to fight, frozen in time. Lately, instead of fighting back at life and doing everything, I have found myself doing nothing, paralyzed by my failures.

Unfortunately, my life is so inextricably linked to running that it’s impossible to escape, and when everyone else is running circles around you (on the track and in life) it’s hard to maintain your sense of self-worth. Other people’s accomplishments are not my failures, but when everything else was falling to pieces before I still had running to fall back on; now I feel like I have nothing.

To be clear, this isn’t really a version of myself that I am proud of. But should being physically grounded really define who I am? Someone with no fight?

Being an athlete was the driver to improve myself, to achieve goals, to be a better person. I know the worst thing you can do is look backwards and compare yourself to your five-years-ago self, but it’s so hard not to because frankly, that version of me was better.

Maybe this is a wake-up call that I need to find another way to deal with my problems. I was too strong for too long and now the mask has finally slipped. I’ll be able to run properly again eventually (I think), but I don’t know whether my fight will come back with it. That’s a reality I need to face, but whether it does or doesn’t I will find another source of power - after all, Samson was more than his hair and I am more than my legs. What I do know is that I can’t stay here. 

Now for most, just ONE 4.35 mile is beyond reach in their lifetime. I agree that most runners will never be able to relate to that speed, but that doesn’t mean they should give up altogether. Not all running has to be about performance - none of us should be running if we don’t enjoy it. Some runs are pure, some seasons we just want to run for running’s sake - no watch, no splits, just pure movement. But some running is different. Some runs take you to a place with darkness at its core, but light at the other side. The pain talks to you in riddles, but when you reach the end the satisfaction is unrivalled. And that pain is the same for you as it is for elite level runners - they’re just running a lot faster than most of us. Times may be different, but 100% effort is the same for everyone.

When Kipchoge stood on that start line in Monza, he didn’t stand there thinking ‘man, I better be famous after this’ or ‘this better sell a lot of Nikes’. He did this to see what he was capable of, to see what the human body might be capable of. Some of his final words after the attempt were that ‘the world is now only 25 seconds away’. Not ‘I am only 25 seconds away’, but everyone who has ever been invested in running ever. He did this for progression. And personally, I don’t think we should be encouraging people not to get any better. Let me preface it with this: every pace is valid. There’s nothing wrong with running 11 minute miles and if you do them consistently, eventually they might turn in to 10 minute miles and then 9 and then 8. If you don’t want to push yourself out of your comfort zone, that’s fine, you may be happy with your once a week sexy pace which may mean you won’t get much faster for a long time, but actively saying “I don’t want to get any faster” is just stupid.  Don’t deny yourself of progression.

Human beings have seeked progression throughout time. If no one wanted to advance in any way, we wouldn’t have electricity, we wouldn’t have cars, we wouldn’t have sanitation and we wouldn’t have the Premier League. I’m exaggerating, but if we were all just happy being stagnant the world would be a very different place. The very essence of being alive is improving yourself, otherwise, what’s the point?

I get it, I know it’s not easy. Trying is hard. But Breaking 2 wasn’t just about running, it was more about breaking barriers. For elite marathon runners, their barrier is a 2 hour marathon. For some, their barrier is a 2 hour half-marathon or it might just be getting outside every single day. We all have our own personal barriers and if we never attempt to break them then we’re trapped in a box surrounded by disappointment and missed chances.

After we witnessed history being broken in Monza we had a chance to talk to some of the other greatest runners in history, Joan Benoit Samuelson, Allyson Felix and Shalane Flannigan. One of the things that I took away from this Q&A was that these athletes are amazing. They’ve achieved everything any of us could ever dream of. But what makes them amazing is that they weren’t afraid to fail. Allyson could have settled for just the 400m or the 200m at Rio 2016, but she wanted both. Unprecedented and extremely difficult. When the Olympic schedule said this was impossible she got them to change it. She ended up missing qualification in the Olympic trials for the 200m, but the point was she just wanted to see if it was possible.

So back to Kipchoge. If Kipchoge running a 2 hour marathon puts you off running than that says more about you than it does him. If you sat there and watched a man put his body on the line for just over 2 hours all for the love of the sport, risking everything just to see what is possible and thought ‘urgh, that makes me never want to run’ then there is something major that you’re missing. Of course we will never be that fast. Most of us will also never be on MOTD, will never make the Forbes 100 list, but footballers still play and try to be a little better each time, we go to work and try to do a good job anyway because when it’s all said and done do you really want to look back and think ‘damn I should have tried harder’?

What does track mean to you? Track is the most challenging safe haven there is. Track means a weekly gathering with my friends and peers, an anticipation of discomfort and the ability to strengthen your gut to handle those churning moments, especially around the bends.

What is your strongest memory of running? There are two. One is in my primary school in Hong Kong, I was the last leg of a 4 x 100m relay. Master of no sports but generally physically fit enough, I was determined to show down everyone else. I trained with my dad in the running track in my local park leading up to the race. I will never forget that feeling I had, digging deep whilst sensing two people on either side of me catching up, and just barely winning that gold for my class. My second memory is my constant complaint (as a 10-15 years old teenager) I would have after running a 625m track. I was always dizzy and feeling faint, apparently.

What do you do when it hurts? I concentrate on my breathing, I study my form through my movement to make sure I am not slacking. And I think about the end in sight. I never overthink how many more reps I have to do, as I find that discouraging sometimes, especially if I am already hurting 2 reps in. I take each rep as they come, keeping my mind fresh, and my body as intact as possible.

What does track mean to you?

Track is an equilibrium for me it is constant, it keeps things consistent. I know on a Thursday night I will turn up to the same place to run around the same distance - although the workouts are never the same the atmosphere is always the same; always welcoming and creating that real comrade vibe.

What is your strongest memory of running?

Having to do laps before we could kick a football at school. We did this grueling 12 min test in which you just had to keep running until the coach told you to stop, it was a memory that I never wish to relive.

What do you do when it hurts?

I think about the post race party and whiskey.

What do you want?

The most distinctive development is the high collar on the shoe, made with the brand’s signature lightweight upper technology, Flyknit. It’s designed this way for a more fluid feel - basically, it’s supposed to feel like an extension of your foot, which it actually does. I’ve seen countless people try it on and one of the most common pieces of feedback is “it doesn’t even feel like I’m wearing a shoe”. It definitely takes some getting used to, but after breaking them in a little bit, you don’t even notice it’s there.

The cushion itself is made from Lunarlon, the lighter, softer, more plush cushioning from Nike. You can see just from looking at it that it’s a fairly cushioned shoe, which it is, but it manages to not be too bulky. With a 10mm drop it sits in line with their other longer distance shoes like the Pegasus, but the tiny cuts in the midsole allow the shoe to compress wherever the runner lands, whether that’s on the forefoot or the heel.  We see something similar on the outsole, which is pressure-mapped to allow more targeted impact control. It makes for a really smooth ride and really is like a parachute for your foot.

My initial problem with the Epic was that I wasn’t sure how it would fit into my shoe rotation. It feels nice to open your stride and run fast in so great for an interval session, but if you’re trying to hold a faster pace for a longer period of time it doesn’t quite work for me. Because of the way the outsole is built, it’s not the most stable of shoes, so I wouldn’t really recommend it to anyone with any kind of ankle issues. However, as with Nike’s Free series, this technology allows for more freedom in movement which means you’re working a little bit harder and this obviously helps with strengthening your foot and leg muscles in the long run.

The pressure mapping on the bottom also means it’s not really intuitive for a tempo run. The outsole is almost like a gecko foot - pistons - as Nike call them. When you land, the little sipes on the bottom spread out, sucking the air in to give you an amazing grip. It does just that, but that promotes more time spent on the ground, which is pretty counterintuitive for anyone looking for a quick turnover - after all, running fast is about spending less time on the ground. However, because of the extra work you put in while in the Epic, when you put on your racing flats everything feels a lot easier in my opinion, thanks to the conditioning (similar to the way sprinters train with resistance bands, if you catch my drift).

I’ve tried it for everything - long runs, tempo, track workouts but now I know - it definitely works the best as a slower long-run shoe for me just because of its easy, plush feeling and the way it conditions you. I now love this shoe, but I wouldn’t say it’s for everyone. It’s totally different to everything else on the market and probably needs some adjusting to for anyone. I would say that it’s worth trying and giving it a chance because it’s unlike anything you will have ever put on your foot before - in the best possible way.

Since April 2016, Lucocoa has been available at two Whole Foods stores in London (Kensington and Stoke Newington) and the future looks bright. I caught up with Ama, just as she had packed up her gazebo and returned home from her usual Saturday stint trading Lucocoa at Primrose Hill market, to find out a little more about the story of Lucocoa. 

Ama explains that Lucocoa was born out of an idea that stemmed from her love of sport and her awareness of good nutrition for sporting performance. She has a proven track record playing football, as a runner and more recently as a boxer; "I realised just how important diet and nutrition was through boxing" and so in 2014, Ama set about trying to devise a range of healthy, but tasty snack products with the catch that each would be under 300 calories.  Her boyfriend, Andy, suggested that she just focus on one product and do that properly rather than having a potentially huge scale production of multiple products under 300 calories, on top of keeping up with her full-time day job if the idea started to take off.

As part of their experiment in food product testing, the pair researched and trialled chocolate-making. Ama is keen to stress that she is a chocolate-maker ("there are fewer than 30 in the country and they make chocolate from the bean") and not a chocolatier ("there are thousands of them who work with pre-made chocolate"). Ama and Andy discovered that historically, chocolate was considered the "food of the gods" but that reputation had been destroyed over the centuries with chocolate being produced with added refined sugar and vegetable oils, reducing chocolate to an unhealthy guilty pleasure. Ama thought that "surely there was a better way" to make chocolate in different rich and healthy flavours so that it could be enjoyed and appreciated again as the food of the gods.

With this principle in mind, through recipe testing and trial, the Lucocao concept was born as a "not naughty, just nice", delicious chocolate range with no refined or added sugars, but using lucuma, coconut sugar and cocoa beans instead. They believed in their core products so much that they used them to influence their company name. LU – lucuma CO- Coconut sugar COA –Cocoa beans and cocoa butter: LUCOCOA

The scale of the brand’s progress becomes clear when Ama explains that at first she had "no idea how to make chocolate" so she and Andy taught themselves by watching YouTube videos and reading books. They imported beans from Madagascar, Belize, Guatemala and Dominican Republic, having no experience of importing ingredients and having to explain to suppliers that they didn't understand the official details they were being asked to provide when they were trying to order products.  That seems to have all changed now as Ama expertly describes the bean to bar making process. This involves roasting, willowing and conching the beans and then finally tempering the chocolate into bars in optimum weather conditions at 5am in order to get the look of the Lucocoa bars just right. All this just flows naturally when Ama talks about her venture although she admits to being constantly nervous about knowing enough and hoping people like the products.

After friends and family tested early sample products, the Lucocoa range was first sold at the London Chocolate Festival in March 2015 when they "rocked up" to the festival as the new bean to bar kids on the block. A spot at Brick Lane market followed in the summer of 2015  - "it was a real hustle" - the whole project feels like being on The Apprentice full-time and the Brick Lane market period for Lucocoa was like the street level selling task. This period was tough as Ama was working full-time for a busy tech start-up, which meant that between customers on a Sunday she was on her laptop doing work for her day job. She says it was simply unsustainable as she was working 7 days a week so she changed jobs to work for Unicef and switched from Brick Lane Market to the current pitch on a Saturday (10am – 3pm) at Primrose Hill market. 

Ama describes her new routine as being more ‘relaxed’ compared to the early days, but she is still up at 5am to do "chocolate emails" and product making until 7am, working at Unicef until 5:30pm and then returns for the evening Lucocoa shift from 7:30pm until midnight.  

Through her previous work and through sport I had always known Ama as strong-willed, hard-working and determined and I ask whether her sporting characteristics overlap with her work on Lucocoa. She explains that her determination comes from not wanting to fail and constantly seeking that next goal – like in running when you are hunting down the PB. In this business, Ama is working to grow it and gets a sense of achievement each time the capacity to do more is expanded to the next level. She tells me that the day before, Lucocoa had won a bronze award from the Chocolate Academy awards, but "it should have been gold" - a true competitor.

I wondered whether they had their own Willy Wonka factory to make the chocolate - apparently it’s not as glamorous as that as the 'factory' is the spare room in their 2-bedroom flat, which is kitted out with a big metal table and the beloved half-ton heavy chocolate grinder and a dedicated chocolate fridge.

Although Ama does the lion's share of the work due to Andy's ever increasingly busy schedule as a boxing  and football commentator, he also helps out with roasting, willowing and packaging as much as possible. She also credits Andy for having the spirit to “do things properly” and get the whole idea off the ground and to be operating on the scale it is now.

And finally, what’s next for Lucocoa? - "chocolate world domination" exclaims Ama straight away. I can’t wait to watch the story unfold.

Available to purchase at Wholefood Market (Kensington & Stoke Newington), Raw Press (Green Park and Sloane Sq) , Hortus shop in Blackheath, Chocolate Museum in Brixton. Lurem clothes shop in Bethnal Green , www.cocoarunners.com and directly from them weekly at Saturdays at Primrose Hill market 10-3pm

Twitter @lucocoachoc Instagram @lucocoachocolate

Last time we concentrated on 400s, which will hopefully have helped you learn how to manage fatigue and that nagging feeling in your legs, which is telling you to leave the track and head to your nearest eatery. BUT because you are dedicated you have smiled, picked yourself up and, as they say, toed the line in preparation for what’s to come.

Now, make sure you have done a proper warm up of at least a mile really slowly, some dynamic stretches and of course some activation drills and we will begin.

This particular workout is a personal favorite of ours so we thought we would share.

No times needed for this JUST EFFORT. Now for those of you who are not fully familiar with paces here’s a little key for you.

Mile pace – Able to maintain for 5 – 10 minutes dependent on level of fitness. 5k pace – Able to maintain for 16 – 30 minutes dependent on level of fitness.

Now for the workout. (1 set)

3 minutes of 30 secs at mile pace followed by 30 secs at 5k pace. 1 minutes - press ups. 1 minute - mountain climbers. 1 minute – plank. 3 minutes – recovery.

Week 1 – Build – 3-5 sets dependent on level of fitness. Week 2 – Develop – 4-6 sets dependent on level of fitness. Week 3 – Survive – 5-7 sets dependent on level of fitness. Week 4 – Own it – 6-8 sets dependent on level of fitness.

As well as Iron, a runner’s best friend, the spinach & courgette provide a good source of Vitamin C to help boost your immune system, something we often run down during endurance sport training. Red Chillis provide beta-carotene for a further immune boost, and capsaicin - another potent anti-inflammatory. Cashews give a good source of healthy fats & protein, with the added benefit of fighting inflammation. We get a big hit of protein to help your muscles repair from the fried-egg, and cooking in coconut oil gives us a dose of healthy medium chain saturated fats which are metabolised into energy immediately and help stave off any sugar cravings.

This recipe is simple, but highly effective at hitting the spot…

Ingredients:

1 Courgette 2 Handfuls Spinach 1 Red Chilli 1 Spring Onion 1/2 Lime 2 Tsp Coconut Oil 1 Slices Sourdough 1/4 Cup Cashews

Equipment:

A couple of frying pans (ideally one with a lid), a chopping board, sharp knife & peeler should see you through but you can improvise around most issues.

As is always the case in the kitchen a bit of preparation will make this whole thing run much more smoothly.

Grab a peeler & get to work slicing the courgette into strips, finely dice half the red chilli (more if you want things hotter) - make sure you get the seeds out unless you want that extra kick. Take most of the green top off your spring onions and chop them at about a 45 degree angle so you get a decent length. Wash your spinach thoroughly under running water and pat dry with some kitchen towel.

Get the pan on a medium heat and throw in a teaspoon of coconut oil. Once it’s melted and evenly spread across the pan throw in your sliced courgette, let it soften up for 2 - 3 minutes and then add the chilli & spring onion to the mix. Give it a quick stir and throw on a small pinch of salt, then let it sauté for another couple of minutes with a lid on.

Now’s a good time to get a smaller frying pan on for your egg, we’re going to cook it in coconut oil as well - let thatt melt on a medium heat then crack your egg into the middle of the pan. Once it’s set around the edges dial the heat down a little bit so it stays nice and silky with none of that burnt white.

Chuck your sourdough in a toaster or under the grill - once it’s toasted you’re ready to plate up!

Cut the slice of toast in half and spoon the spinach and courgette mix evenly on top. Squeeze the lime juice onto the vegetable mix and place the egg on top. Crush the cashews on the chopping board and sprinkle over the whole plate, a quick twist of salt & pepper and it’s time to eat!

Easy and ready in about 15 minutes so you won’t have to fight back the haaangry mood for too long!