It's the people you meet

I'm often asked what I enjoy the most about running in the mountains and the answer is always the same.  What makes it so special, other than the scenery, is the people you meet.  Complete strangers smile and say hello.  If you are in trouble they help and if you've stopped they will have a "natter" with you.  They will offer tips about the route or even some food.  Nothing surprises me these days and I always come away uplifted.
Yesterday was a good example.  Due to time constraints and being on my own, I decided to go locally to Tinto hill as I had done the weekend before.  This time I was going to do 3 repeats and see how my knee stood up to the downhill running.  I set off at 6.20am from the car park and half way up met two guys who I'd managed to catch up with.  One of them told me that I "was him 12 months ago" and that he used to be able to get up and down in 50 mins.  That's quicker than me but he'd obviously had some health issues, but was on his way back.  I wished him luck and passed him on the way down.  When I met him on my next ascent he offered me words of encouragement and looked like he was enjoying being back on the hill.  I also met a father and son, aged 6, and a mountain biker descending fast - I wouldn't fancy pushing a mountain buke up that hill for a speedy descent.
As I left the summit for the second time I met a running pal Laura MacDonald.  She was actually running up the steep section at the top as she is preparing for the Ben Nevis race in September!  It was lovely to catch up and we first met in a 50km trail race where we were doing the same pace for 40km and got chatting.  I blew up in the last 10 km but she went on to finish 2nd woman.
When you are doing reps people notice and start to ask you why.  One such persons friend had completed the UTMB and had also come second in the West Highland Way race that I am preparing for.  Another lady was being dragged down the hill by two very big dogs but she still smiled and complimented my descending.
After I finished it was off to the Tinto Tea Room for a cooked breakfast, cake and coffee.  An 82 year old gentleman started chatting and it turns out he was a Munro bagger until his quadruple heart by-pass.  As the conversation went on, at the next table there was a father and son who were serious cyclists.  Turns out they came from the same area as the older gentleman and the four of us had a wonderful chat.  They had so many mutual connections but had never met before.  He finished off by saying to me what a pleasure it was to have shared stories with us.  Much better than sitting next to someone on their iPhone he said.  We all left the hill or the tea room uplifted by our conversations.
I'm sure our friends that have been running in the London Marathon today will have tails to tell of the people they met - well done guys.  It helps we are all like minded in our passion but it's just nice to strike up a conversation with another human being you've never met before.  It's uplifting and reinforces my faith in people.  Next time you're on the hill or a trail run, strike up a conversation and see where it leads.  There's nothing to lose as you can always move on if the chemistry isn't working.  Oh and I almost forgot, my knee survived the downhill reps so progress on that front.

It's a fine balance

69 days to go before the West Highland Way race.  Anyone who has done the race before would point out that my training isn't what you'd normally be doing to be successful (i.e. finishing) this race but as they say, if someone throws lemons at you, make lemonade!  Consider this an "experiment" in approaching training for such a long race in a different way and only on 23 June will we know if it's worked.  In my head, which is important, unless there is a physical failure then I'm up for it.
What I've lacked in miles, and time on the WHW, I have made up for with gym rehab/strengthening work and yoga.  My knee wasn't happy with some downhill steps at the end of 21km at Chatelherault but fortunately I had an appointment with my sports therapist the next day.  On Saturday I did some speed work intervals on the treadmill and some strength work.  But the test was today.  Repeats of Tinto hill (711m).
Stu and I set off at 8.30am and with all the rain we've had, the bottom track was treacherous.  I said on the way up, "we'll need to be very careful on the way down".  As usual despite some blue sky the summit was clagged in so poor visibility, the wind was howling and it was very cold.  Heading down my knee let me know it wasn't happy, but it wasn't sore.  I suggested to Stu that rather than go all the way to the car park we should turn back up where it starts to get wet and muddy.  After all, we just wanted the elevation - Stu is doing the Highland Fling (53 miles on the WHW in 2 weeks time).  We summited for the second time and I decided not to do a third summit as I'd rather finish with no knee pain.
Everything was going well till we hit the wet muddy trail.  Stu & I both slipped at the same time.  I immediately felt my knee and tried to stop - suddenly both feet were off the ground overtaking my head that was accelerating towards the ground.  I instinctively spread my arms to help with the impact.  It happened so fast but the collision with the ground set off my Garmin Incident Alert and I couldn't stop it from sending messages to three of my contacts.  Two came back to me immediately which was reassuring, but a bit embarrassing.  My back and bum were covered in mud but I was lucky there were no rocks there.  Stu and I took it easy in the final section but even in the last 10m we slipped but didn't fall.  Normally I'd have been running with poles and would have caught myself but the WHW doesn't allow them so I'm training with out them.
It was a reminder of how easy it is to take a fall when running, especially on trails.  Every foot step is a potential ankle turn and the WHW has some rough sections.  The good thing about my strength training is that it helps my core which is so essential, especially on uneven ground.
My training has been dictated by circumstances and it's a fine balance.  I need to do sufficient running to get me to the start line but not "cram in the miles" as I will risk further injury which would rule me out of my "A race".  I know this is a problem for lots of runners and with the race season about to take off, Boston Marathon tomorrow, London Marathon next week and The Fling in two weeks time, take care and don't push it too hard. 
This weeks message is to get the balance right based on how you are feeling.  If you can't do the miles do some other form of training to keep your fitness and strength up.  And here's to you avoiding a "soggy bottom"!

Missing mojo

 I'm sending out an appeal for anyone who has seen my mojo.  In the last month it has gone AWOL and when I think about it, I should have spotted the signs earlier.  I could give you a list of reasons why my mojo has disappeared but there's no point.  They'd really just be excuses and as a runner, niggles/injuries are just part of the gig.
But I'm not going to be too hard on myself as I'm not a full time athlete and have a life and work outside of the sweaty lycra.  My living doesn't depend on my results but how I feel is certainly impacted when I am not training on a regular basis.
I've kept up my gym work with my PT and progress with my knee is being made.  It's getting a balance between strengthening the muscles without causing further damage.  It constantly reminds me it's still "there" and I dread sitting in a cramped position for any length of time.  When I run it lets me know it's there and I have no idea what it will be like when the long runs, that are way overdue, start.
But this morning I saw on FB someone raise a "west highland way" glass to a runner no longer with us and thought, that's the message I needed to get my finger out.  I can't get back the training I haven't done so let go of it. I have 84 days to get my self in the best possible condition to tackle the 96 miles in my target time of 30 hours.
As long as my training is consistent and relevant then when I am nervously "toeing the start line" at 1am on 22 June I'll be good to go.  The physical side is important but what matters most in these long races is my mental state.  I will be trying to avoid going 12 rounds in my head during the race about my lack of training.  I'll be focusing on the challenge of the race, the beauty of the scenery and how lucky I am to be on this side of the turf and able to drink some whisky when I finish from my WHW crystal glass.
Welcome back mojo and thank you to the person who put up the post on FB.  Sometimes you have no idea how far a message can reach.  Just like a pebble causing a ripple effect in a pond.

Cinderella Mountain

What a week of training. Keeping up the mantras of "less is more" and "quality not quantity" I had a mix of daily yoga (only 25 mins per session), gym sessions (one with my PT that is always a challenge, some short 8 km runs leaving the best for the weekend.
I got good news from my physio on Tuesday which means I can now squat again as long as the weights aren't too heavy and my knee bend doesn't go beyond 90 degrees.  This is fantastic news as I need to build my leg muscles back up and especially the VMO in my left leg.  It will continue to "niggle" until it gets stronger.  So under Bartek's careful supervision on Thursday, the work began.
Saturday was a chance to put my body to the test as I headed back into the mountains with my pal (and chaperone!) Michael Martin.  We headed off to Ben Vorlich at Loch Earn.  It's been a long time since I was in the mountains in winter conditions and the first mistake was the wrong gloves.  Fortunately I had the right footwear with titanium studs in the soles and had a back up plan of mini spikes if required.  Ben Vorlich has a path more or less to the top but when the path is covered in ice and snow it makes for tricky walking.  I didn't have my poles with me as I am trying to train without them which is a requirement for the WHW race - I regretted that decision.
Michael was carrying an ice axe which I thought was a bit unnecessary, but again was wrong there.  We summitted Ben Vorlich, which was clagged in of course, then headed to Stuc a Chroin.  For safety reasons we had to take a detour off the track that we couldn't see so lots of ankle twisting going through snow, never knowing what the depth would be - oh for a set of poles.  Michael and I have "history" on this mountain.  It's when he discovered I don't like heights or edges as we had to scramble over rocks to the summit last time.  We seemed to be heading in the same direction but there was no path to follow, just a set of foot and paw prints.  Michael's view was, "well this climber seems to be going in the right direction".  Maybe the right direction but not the right route.  We caught up with Abby and her beautiful golden retriever Oban (who has bagged 28 Munros) sitting on a ledge trying to work out if this was the route - it wasn't.  Brave lady out on her own in those conditions, especially as she wasn't wearing spikes.  She had tried to put them on earlier but had failed.  Michael obliged and once he had one on her left foot he "invited her to a ball"!  Abby then became Cinderella which we found amusing but I was more concerned with the bloody scramble over the rocks as my hands were going numb in the snow.  Michael lent me his ice axe and I felt much better getting some grip.  At one stage Michael was trying to help Abby and me up and if he's slipped or we'd pulled him too hard then.........anyway, we made it and I have told Michael under no circumstances am I doing that again.  At the top my hands were numb and my gloves wet so Michael to the rescue, he lent me a pair of heated gloves! Absolute life saver and the rest of the adventure my hands were toasty. 
We parted company with Abby & Oban and headed over the back.  A tough ankle and knee twisting decent as we weren't always on the trail.  When we got back to the car we took a dip in Loch Earn - just about the coldest water I have ever been in and we waded up to our "rab haws" and within a few minutes our legs were numb - good recovery.  Michael did stumble and , said rab haws got a shock!  I almost fell in while laughing.  It was a fantastic day out and great to be back with Michael in the mountains.  Many more adventure to follow and great training with 5 hours on our feet.
Today Beth and I headed out for a 16km run, after her HIIT class and my cross trainer warm up.  I wanted to see how my body had recovered.  It was a good training run and my heart rate averaged 130 which is amazing.  My foot, ankle and knee on the other hand were complaining so I just need to be careful.  Stretched afterwards followed by a sauna then soup, toastie, cake and coffee - the perfect way to recover.  Tomorrow, other than yoga, is definitely a rest day.
I love our adventures and the people, and dogs, we meet along the way.  As the weather improves try and get on the mountains but a word of warning; pack for the worst weather you can imagine and I'd recommend you don't go solo.  It's too easy for something to go wrong.  Take care out there.

Quad shredding

It happens every year as we start to come out of winter.  I head into the hills to shred my quads.  I haven't been able to do it in the gym as I'm under instructions from my physio not to squat, hope this changes on Tuesday, so I knew that running up (part of the way) Tinto and running down twice was going to hurt.  Well it has.  I'm walking like the pensioner I almost am.  Living 3 flights of stairs up doesn't help either.
Beth and I need to get into the hills as she has the Highland Fling and I have the West Highland Way race to look forward to.  But we only had 4 hours and travelling to the WHW and back would take up at least half of that so we headed down to Tinto (height 711m)  which is 45 mins away.  The forecast was for rain but fortunately it stayed dry.
Conditions underfoot were wet, icy, snow and mud so on the way up I was concerned for the descent as we weren't using poles as our race doesn't allow them. It was cloudy at the top of the first assent and we'd taken Poppy up with us so we got some pictures and headed back down.  Poppy was so well behaved on the lead and it wasn't as bad under foot as we'd imagined.  We left her behind for the second ascent.
Beth powered ahead and I lagged behind as I tried to keep my heart rate under 160 so I arrived a few minutes after her at the top.  Her strength work on her legs and core was showing.  I felt we could have gone for a third repeat but we'd have been tight on time as I was heading off to the rugby and I am so glad I stopped after 2.
When I woke up this morning my legs were like bricks.  I'd planned a 12 km run but needed my yoga to get me moving.  I was running to pick up my car but had never ran this route before.  I'd driven it but it's a different route than when running due to a busy dual carriageway with no pavement.  The one thing I hadn't realised was the fact it's straight up hill.  Again I was working on HR so took it easy.  When I go in my car I was sweaty and cooling down rapidly.  However I had to go to the shops - rooky error.  Getting out the car was an effort and I hobbled in my running gear into the shops.  Not only did I look a state, I caught a few worried glances from shoppers, but I smelt terrible! 
When I got home I headed straight into an Epsom salt bath then had some lunch and took Poppy out for a walk thinking this would help the pain in my quads.  Then I spent the rest of the afternoon dozing on the couch while watching the football. 
I'd forgotten what it's like to return to downhill running and the initial pain you suffer.  Come Wednesday it will be gone and I will try and get a sports massage to ease the legs off although that won't be a pleasant experience.
Next week will involve some gym sessions and I am hoping to be allowed to work on my legs as they do need to be stronger.  I'll also include some consistent running all on low heart rate.  Hopefully next weekend we'll be on the West Highland Way.  Until next week, enjoy whatever training you are doing.  Remember if you are doing trail or mountain running, quad shredding is essential and it only hurts the first 2 or 3 times then your quads become accustomed to it.  No pain, no gain!

Building slowly

123 days to go before I take on the challenge of the West Highland Way - 96 miles.  The maths is simple.  If you manage 2.74 miles per hour (4.38 km per hour) you will finish on the 35 hour cut off.  Sounds easy but it's more complicated than that as I won't be moving 100% of the time as there will be checkpoint stops to refuel and rest.  There's 14,000 ft of climbing so the pace will obviously vary plus I want to finish in under 30 hours if everything goes to plan.  The challenge is more mental; keeping your mind focused on the task for 30-35 hours  and over coming the pain, but that's what excites me.

My training plan is to get stronger in the gym to reduce injury risk before and during the event.  I don't intend "pounding the streets" with junk miles.  I'm concentrating on keeping my heart rate down so that means slower running.  Consistency is the key so todays 8km early morning run will be repeated regularly and increase to 15 km soon.  Where possible I'll be on the trails and last weekend 12 out of my 18 km on Saturday was on trails along the Clyde.  I'd hoped for a longer run but the route was closed by the farmer.

I have no races organised between now and June 22-23 and am comfortable with that.  On Sunday I supported Beth and her daughter Holly who completed the tough Glentress trail half marathon - I did it last year.  I enjoyed watching the competitors take on the challenging 10, 21 & 42 km races but didn't feel ready myself to compete, so enjoyed being a spectator. 
I'm still not back to  100% fitness with my knee and don't want to jeopardise the months of rehab by risking it on such a technical course.  Runners of all shapes, sizes and ages took part and the event had a friendly atmosphere.  It reminded me why I enjoy trail running more than anything - the people and the beautiful areas we get to run in.
If we don't have the time to run on the West Highland Way then we'll make full use of Tinto, our nearest mountain.  It's not the biggest mountain at 711m but 3 or 4 reps is a good way of preparing your body. My aim is simple; to train smart and not over do it.  I'd rather reach the start line under trained but not injured than over trained and injured.  There's more daylight time now meaning earlier morning runs which sets me up for the day.  I hope to see you guys out on the trails soon.

Progress doesn't come easily

Following my last post when I'd ran 20km on the WHW, which was an increase of 150%, I was bust.  I said at the time that you are meant to increase your runs by 10%, so this was always a risk.  That means virtually no training, certainly no running the next week.  I managed some yoga and one gym session.  That's what I get for stepping it up but I knew that I needed to "shock" my body and my mind into increasing the load.
Work was also mental as I was clearing up to go on holiday on the Saturday so that didn't help either.  On Saturday Beth & I flew off to Lanzarote for a "rest" and some training in the sun,  What a week we had.  We were able to train like professional athletes. Train, eat, rest and repeat.  What a privilege it is to be able to do this.  I started with a 10km run, then 11km, the 2 x 21km.  It was tough in the heat but it was quality running.  We also were in the gym for 6 days, did yoga and swam in the beautiful 50m outdoor pool.  Considering neither of us have been swimming, 3 x 1 mile swims was hard but rewarding - couldn't get my garmin to record the right distance!  An excellent weeks training and I think my enforced rest did me some good and 21 km is now my minimum longer distance run in the build up for the WHW - 131 days and counting (154 km).
Today we ran 10km at Chatelherault to "shake the legs" out and getting used to the temperature took time.  But it's good to be back home and we could feel the increased level in base fitness.  It hasn't come easy but definite progress has been made.  Now to maintain consistent running which is key to building the miles.  Every time we reach these goals we strengthen our mind to believe that they are achievable.  More hard work and progress to follow.