Training update

So just a month til the big one... and training is starting to get a bit more serious now... although it never feels that way which is a good thing! The weekly mileage is still below 40 miles. This is in part because the mad dog stands by the rule of taking things nice and progressively (and somewhat slowly) so whilst I've been chomping at the bit to get loads more miles under my belt I have restrained from doing so and am probably better for it... i.e. I'm injury free and will hopefully peak for the big 3 in 3 rather than get their and feek knackered from the previous months of training.

One significant change in the training has been the new club run on a Wednesday night. Running with 15 or so other runners from the Leighton Buzzard Athletics Club has been a great change to my usual pattern of runs. Its run at a good pace out front with the fastest looping back every now and then to keep the whole pack together. This means that everyone an run at a pace they feel comfortable wih but not get left behind. Those in the front pack (including me) also get some extra distance in as the loops do add some mileage.

However to accommodate the club run into mad dogs weekly training schedule hasn't been straight forward. However to cut a long (and dull) story short I plan to move my long run from the weekend to the club night. Thus I will run 10 or so miles straight before the club run then join up with LBAC runners and enjoy a good work out for another 8-10 miles then do the usual warm down jog/walk pattern that follows the normal long run. This way I won't compromise the 4 set sessions I run per week, and should stop me from over doing it. We will see how this all goes, as I'm starting the very schedule this week. Can report back on progress in due course!

oh and my new 2XU compression tights arrived today too... as modelled below! :-Da new purchase from my nan's birthday money! :-) these are apparently really good for long distance running reducing muscle fatigue and speeding up recovery! So looking forward to testing them out on Wednesday!

training update

So with less than 8 weeks to go until the Atlantic Coast Challenge my training must begin in earnest once again. My coach Mag dog has as usual after a big race allowed plenty of time for me to fully recover so i have taken it easy in the last few weeks. Last week was 24 mile week with a slow 5, 6 mile hill reps which was full on,fast 5 in the heat and humidity on thursday, and my long slow run yesterday which was 9.5 miles. Met another runner on route and we ran together for 6 or so miler chatting about running and the local running club which i have decided to check out next week. Ok thats it for now as on mobile which groov the easiest to blog on :-)

MK Half Marathon race report

Despite this race being over a week ago now I thought I would provide a short report nevertheless if nothing else to keep a record of my slowest half marathon to date!

Of course there is a good reason for that, in that my 50 mile effort was only a week prior to this so I certainly wasn't racing. I decided at the last moment that I wanted to do this so drove down on the Sunday morning to MK to see if I could register on the day. I paid my £25 and I was all set.

I always knew that this wasn't a race for me hence I'd already set in my mind that I wanted to keep to a steady pace of around 10 minute miles. It was nice to mill around on the start line at the back of the pack with my own thoughts for company, as others around me talked frantically about their race strategy. I absorbed the energy around me, and the little sun that was trying to shine through the clouds as the hooter went to signal the start. And as always happens with start crowds of this size nothing actually happens (especially at the back) for a good minute or two before you are actually going.

MK half Marathon route (uncannily the shape of Britain!!)

The route was described as rural. Well there are obviously different grades of rural depending on where you are. This was Milton Keynes so my expectation were very low (not unfairly so for this concrete jungle of a city). However I was very pleasantly surprised as the course wound its way along the cycle greenways that circle MK. As can be seen from the route image above... but look closer... does it not strike an uncanny resemblence of our shores - GB! weird.

Anyway as planned and with the aid of my garmin 305 I stuck to my race plan and averaged around 10 minute miling for the first 10 miles. Whilst this was an easy pace (and the same pace that I run much of the 50 miler the previous weekend) I could still feel that race in my legs, and I had no want to go any faster. Well not until after the 10 mile mark anyway.

In the last 3 miles I upped my pace looking for around a 2hr finish time (my PB for this distance is 1:32). Its always nice to past runners in a race and this was no exception. And as I thought I was on the final home straight with the finishing arch ahead of me I made a dash for the line only to find out that the course actually continued around the back of the school building and on the field where it doubled back on itself. A bit strange and caught me off guard slightly. For someone else who perhaps was on their last legs and giving it all they had only to have to run another 300 metres was probably quite a shock.

Anyway with the 300 'extra' metres run I finish in a time of 2:02.05 (official chip time). An enjoyable race which in my local city and supporting such a great cause as the NSPCC is cause to come back next year and have a proper go at my PB.

50 mile challenge race report

So the waiting was over... this was it... my first 50 miler (52.4m to be exact). quite a step up from my previous furthest run in May of 33 miles at the Marlborough Challenge. My training had gone well and I felt ready to take it on (which is probably half the battle won).

It was a bright clear morning in Chislet Marshes (just outside Canterbury) as the 100 strong field assembled outside the Gate Inn pub which would be the start/finish area for the next 8 laps of this multi lap 6.55mile course. The course was a figure of eight with varied terrain mostly off road on farm tracks, with one long section of concrete and a short section on road for good measure.

The course map

The multi-lap nature of the event plus the varied terrain was really helpful in breaking down the enormity of the task I faced. Simply thinking about the total distance was a little daunting to say the least, but six and a half miles X eight sounds far more manageable!

Me, Mike Inkster (race organiser), and dad at the start

I can't actually remember how Mike started the race.... but at 6am we were off on our way as I quickly settled into my stride. I had planned to adopt the same run/walk strategy which worked so well for me at Marlborough. Thus I would run for 9 minutes, walk for 1 minute and repeat from the start to the end of the race. In the run sections I planned to keep a pace of around 10minute miles, however I found myself running faster than this in the first lap, yet it felt comfortably for me so I continued at this pace (around 9:40 m/m). Inserting the walk breaks too gave me an average lap pace of just under 10 min miles per lap.

And so it was that I notched off the laps sticking to a consistent pace. Laps 1 to 4 which make up the marathon distance, I ran in 1:05.19, 1:05.40, 1:04:50 and 1:05.50. Pretty good going but was I going to keep it up as I went beyond this?? At the end of lap 4 I made full use of my great support crew - wife, mum and 1yr daughter with a fresh pair of socks, a change of footwear to my lighter innov8's, and a dash of sun cream. At the end of each lap I had also been alternating between two drinks; a high carb energy drink, and a electrolyte drink to replace lost sodium. This seemed to be working well so I kept this going, with the wife kindly refilling my bottle.

Lap 4 to 5 pit stop!

Lap 5 was very eventful due to the torrential downpour that ensued at about 2 miles in and lasted for a further 2 miles. I passed two runners that had decided to try and stay dry by stopping under a tree, however in my mind this wasn't an option. Standing around certainly wasn't going to get me nearer the finish, and as coach Mad Dog says always keep moving forward whatever happens. I actually found the drenching quite refreshing and it kept my mind on the task at hand finishing lap 5 in 1:06.31. A quick change over and back out for lap 6, which would take me into unknown territory as I went pass the 33 mile mark for the very first time!

I guess this was the lap where I first noticed that I was finding it harder to keep on the same pace. I slowed slightly as my average pace dropped, and the walk breaks became a much welcomed restbite. At this stage though there was no overwhelmed urge to stop, as I continued on my way. I completed lap 6 in 1:10.57 my slowest yet but perhaps not too surprising considering.

So it was into lap 7 having completed 39 miles and with just two laps remaining that my world changed. I simply couldn't continue at my 10 mile pace. I remember looking down at my garmin in amazement as my pace dropped and seemingly I couldn't do a damn thing about it. First 11 minute miles, then 12, and then 13... was I in a never ended spiral of decline that would continue to the end? That was if I even made the end! I had the overwhelming urge to stop and lay down in the grass verge for a nice kip, but I knew I simply had to keep moving forward and perhaps I could get through this bad patch and out the other side. I really thought this lap would never end but thankfully it did in time of 1:27.14. Ouch!!

Completing the lap from hell!!

As I ran into the start/finish area my support crew were waiting... including my dad who had joined them after completing 4 laps himself (well done dad!!). So this was it... one lap remaining but I couldn't endure another like the last, so I dived into my bag and pulled out my secret weapon... the ipod. The time for enjoying the scenery and taking in the sights and sounds of nature was over... it was time to crank it up and blast out some METALLICA!!

Haha... and so it was that I flew around lap 8 zipping along with a new found energy and zeal that had totally deserted me in the previous lap, and in fact more so than I had felt in any of the previous 7. I made the decision to ditch the walk breaks which at this stage would serve no real purpose and would only break my rhythm, and also not to look at the garmin. It helped immensely as I dug deep and didn't look back. I completed the 8th and final lap in 0:59.36 (my quickest of the lot!) much to the surprise of my family who weren't expecting me for another 20 minutes, and thus totally missed me crossing the line! My dad was even sleeping in the car at the time. lol.

Me recreating the finish line photo!! (as family missed the real thing!) lol

And with that I had finished my first 50 miler (52.4m :-) in a time of 9:06.01, which was way beyond my best expectations.

Looking back on it now even lap 7 which seemed a total disaster of epic proportions at the time wasn't really so bad. I had actually paced a pretty good race considering it was a distance that I had no experience of, therefore making it quite hard to gauge what pace you should run at. And lastly I actually achieved by running mantra to 'Finish Strong'.... Happy days!

what have I done...

haha in a moment of utter madness (probably brought on by the thought of running 50 miles on Sunday) I just entered the Devon 100 in 2010!! bring it on baby

Getting closer....

So less than a week to the Kent 50 mile Challenge :-O

A nice 6.5 miler this lunchtime has done wonders for my mind set ahead of the big one on Sunday. My toe which was playing up a little, now seems fine now so fingers crossed thats all behind me. Feeling fit but realise that Sunday will be 20 miles further than I've run before so I need to prepare mentally for this now.

I was watching that James Cracknall/Ben Fogle prog on BBC2 yesterday (south pole race) and Cracknall said something on his approach to endurance events which has really stuck in my mind for Sunday's race. Basically... expect the absolute worst and so when/if it does happen and you feel dreadful half way through a race then you will be ready to deal with it. I was perhaps being a little naive as to what I could expect on Sunday...how I might feel... and what I will need to finish this thing... so now I'm mentally preparing myself for the race and the pain fest that it could become. Whatever happens though I'm going to enjoy every second :-)

Taper to Kent 50 mile challenge begins...

So with just over a week remaining before I embark on my first 50 miler I'm winding down the long runs as the taper begins. To be honest since my first ultra back in mid May (which was just 3 weeks after the London Marathon) I don't feel like I done all that much training for this epic encounter. This is partly due to the recovery time following the 33 miler. However its more the fact that I just don't feel like I've trained so hard for this. Is this good or bad?? I don't exactly know... The true test will of course come on race day. But perhaps my recent training, scheduled by my coach The Mad Dog is such that it hasn't felt like I've been killing myself on every run, however it hopefully is still having the desired effect... i.e. that I can run further for longer with less effort!! The Mad Dog's philosophy is that you don't have to train hard, just clever...

Anyway... all that remains to decide is my race pace strategy for the 50. Do I repeat the strategy that worked so well in the Marlborough Challenge... e.g. run for 9 minutes, walk for 1 and repeat. Or do I run the whole distance at a considered pace (perhaps 11 minute miling). Well I have a week to decide so will sleep on this one.

One other thing that will make this race special is that my dad is also running. Because the race course is a 6.55m circular lap which you go round 8 times to make up the 52.4mile total distance there is the opportunity for runners to choose the distance they intend to run. My dad is running the marathon - 4 laps, and hoping to go under 4 hrs for the very first time. I really hope he does it too, as he thoroughly deserves it after missing out on this milestone at previous attempts.