Time out

When you are well you generally don't realise it. Life goes on and you take it for granted. This was how I felt until a few days ago and then was "struck down" with "man flu". I know, it's pathetic but when you are swallowing broken glass all day, popping pills, sipping lemslips by the dozen, gargling salt, sucking stepsils, drinking lemon tea ginger and honey.... you get the message. I have swollen glands in my kneck and a viral infection according to the doctor. As a result I can't train and have had to pull out of a 16 mile race I had lined up on Sunday - it would be unwise to race with a virus. I'll have to take the rest and make the best use I can of the time. I'll pick up the training when I recover. I also reflect on people who are really ill and have months or years of discomfort and realise how luck I am - man flu or no man flu! So I'll just have to accept "rule 5" as they say in cycling - man the frig up!

Swallowing broken glass

I've been dodging a cold for a couple of weeks now with family members and work colleagues all suffering. So it was inevitable that I'd catch something. I woke at 4am with a feeling of swallowing broken glass and had to eat some ice to help my throat and allow me to get back to sleep. Today I've been substituting tea for lemsip and feel this has a few days to go - hopefully it won't turn into anything like my sons which has been two weeks of hell. So I've skipped training today and I'll treat that as my one day off per week. I am scheduled for my tough yoga session with my teacher at 6.30am tomorrow and will do everthing possible to be there. I may have to adapt me training to "tick-over" mode with indoor turbo training (easy sessions) and yoga for the rest of the week. On Sunday I have a 16 mile race and based on yesterdays run I was in good shape. Time will tell but when your body starts to "break down" I've found the quickest way to recover is to back off the intense training. It's fortunate I have this now and not in March/April!

Sir Chris Hoy Veladrome Glasgow

What a fantastic weekend. It started with my early morning yoga to get the stiffness out of my legs. Then out for a fast 6.25 mile run. It felt great but had to be short because I had tickets for the Thunderdrome at the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome in Glasgow - what an unbelievable facility, worldclass. The racing was brilliant and the drop on the banked corners frightening - I'd be scared to ski down it. Now my cycling pals have all been trying to persuade me to get accreditation so I can ride on the track but I've been refusing. There was a raffle and guess what I won? You guessed it, free accredditation! Must be a signal. The we went off to the Braveheart Cycling Charity dinner and mixed with the cycling elite including Sir Chris - it was wall to wall fit athletes. I met Roddie Riddle, ex Commonwealth cyclist, who is doing MDS and we planned a long running excursion. Good to actually meet someone of that calibre and know we will be sharing a tent in the "sandpit" - with 6 others! I paced myself so that at 9am the next morning I could go running. It was chucking it down with rain so we went for a trail run. I was hoping to do more that 15 miles but circumstances kept it to that although I felt I could have run all day. The mileage will have to increase next week though and soon I'll be running with a rucksack. Bring it on.

Cross training

I have come to the conclusion that Triathlon training is brilliant for fitness and keeping relatively injury free. Whenever you feel a niggle, you just switch the emphasis to reduce the pressure in that area - this week I didn't run for 3 days to give my ankles a rest but kept training. In addition swimming, cycling and running are all good for you but combining them gives you an all round fitness. Why am I telling you this? Perhaps just to reassure myself that while all my newly found MDS pals who will be in the sand pit in 2013 are murdering themselves on long runs, ultra races and even starting to run with back packs, I'm swimming! Apart from the fantasic cardiovascular workout it eases off my legs and helps with my current ankle niggles. This means over the weekend I can put in some decent mileage running with my ultra pals knowing I'm not causing a problem with tired legs. I'm building up so that I peak just at the right time for the event. Right now I am just building the base fitness which I can then build on.

Hill training pays off

At 5.20am I can here my son getting ready for an early shift. I'm thinking about my yoga and run when my alarm goes off at 6.10 - that was a nice lie in! It amazes me how withing 5 sun salutations I can get 6 inches closer to my toes and by the end of the short practise feel brilliant and ready to take on my run. It's midweek and pitch black outside so it was only a 6.25 mile run but it seemed effortless and fast. Obviously the hill training on the trails is having a positive affect so there will be more running at the weekend. My yoga teacher was slightly concerned with a thickening around my achilles but I've rested this and am feeling the benefits. It's nice to see results as sometimes the training can seem like a slog, but not today my friends!

Perfect practise

You'll have heard the phrase, practise makes perfect. Sadly that is not correct as practise is only any good if you are practising the right things properly. Otherwise you get better at making mistakes. Let me explain. Today was a day off training but I was running a breakfast meeting for my clients and the guest speaker was Justin Urquhart Stewart of Seven Investment Management. If you watch the BBC you'll see this eloquent investment commentator who wares the red braces - it's his brand. He is a true professional and he speaks without notes, seemingly easily. However I also had the pleasure of his company the night before and the same phrases were being used. I know just how hard he works at researching the information and rehearsing his presentation, before he stands up in front of his audience. He is a true professional who makes it look easy. If we relate this to swimming, cycling, running or any other discipline then it's exactly the same. It takes perfect practise to deliver excellence and it requires a mindset to reach that level of professionalism. Today might have been a day off training, but I learned a lot. Thanks Justin.

Mind games

Isn't our brain a wonderful thing? It seems to contain a wee voice in our head that constantly talks to us. Usually it is critical or full of reasons why you can't do something and this is a daily challenge, even to someone as positive as me. This morning was a perfect example. I was in my yoga class and being pushed hard. At times I though my muscles were going to snap but my teacher kept telling me that if I breathed then the oxygen would help the muscle stretch. In the meantime my brain was screaming at me to stop. Nothing snapped. It got worse when I went upside down, that really confused me but again the voice kept giving me negative feedback. "Just breath Derek" I was being told - so I did. The mind plays games with you and this kind of practise is going to be good for the desert when my mind and body are telling me I can't go on any longer. But if I can breath and silence my mind then I will have the best chance of achieving the seamingly impossible and that's worth working hard for. It will be relentless with 5.5 marathons over 7 days carrying a 10kg rucksack, and in the end, ignoring the false signals and focusing on breathing to feed the muscles will get me there. Why not try working on your breathing when you feel under stress? It's a great way to relax. Have fun.

Lovely nails!

When my alarm went off at 5.45am I thought I was dreaming. It was pitch black and silent the other side of the curtains and I really didn't feel like getting up. But I had to so that I could get in 20 minutes of yoga followed by porridge which would give it 1 hour to digest before swimming. In the pool I worked on keeping my legs closer together and I thought my times were ok till I checked my watch - even slower than last week! 4 x 500m was my session but I mustn't get dispondent about the time because I am not training enough to warrent a better time. I am only there to ease my legs from the running and that it did. Tonight a "foot doctor" came and checked out my feet and toe nails. They got a nice filing and any calluses were reduced with a scapel. I've been advised to put moisturising cream on my feet twice a day to get them in good shape for the desert. I know it all sounds like I'm getting in touch with my feminine side, but this is all to help me survive in the desert. If your feet aren't properly prepared the it will be a very painful and perhaps short adventure in the sand pit! It would also be a waste of all my fitness training so my feet are now a priority!

The Red carpet

After a week of rain we've had the most wonderful autumnal weekend. Yesterday I went out on the bike for 2.5 hours. I haven't done that in a long time and I really enjoyed the feeling in my legs. Cycling keeps my fitness up while giving the legs a bit of a rest - but not too much. You're using different muscles which keeps a balance as too much of either discipline can cause problems which I have experienced before. My pals had gone out earlier so I was on my own for the ride. Again I didn't use my Garmin and just went on feel. It felt good. Then I had to clean the bike due to all the muck on the farm roads because of the previous weeks rain. It was filthy. This morning the sun was shining brightly in the blue sky and I headed out for a 14.4 mile trail run. My ultra running pals were either exhausted from a race the day before or hungover from the night before or both - they train hard, race hard and play hard. So it was Derek no mates again. The trail is tough with it's constant ups and down but the scenery makes up for it. At one part there was a red carpet of leaves , absolutely stunning. I lost my water bottle on the first lap and decided that I would continue and treat this as "desert dehydration training". Fortunately I found it on the 2nd lap as running for 2 hrs 13 mins with no hydration isn't advisable. Now I'm home and resting so I can start again tomorrow.

Improvement

The last few days I have noticed some aches in my ankles and have put this down to increased mileage on trails i.e. uneven ground. So a trip to the sports mausseuse Grant this afternoon was, painful. But a good kind of pain. It's been too long since my last visit but the yoga has kept me going. Grant was impressed by the greater range in movement in my ankles and again this is as a direct result of my yoga. That's the first time in 3 years that I have seen a marked improvement of that nature and that encourages me to go keep going with the yoga. I went out for an early morning run with my swimming pal in the dark and pouring rain but he developed a stitch so we cut it short. But this will act as a warm up for a tough weekend of distance running!

It's a drag

Swimming was never my strong point and as I stirred at 5.10am I realised I would be getting up in an hour for my swim session. At 6.10 I was thinking of every reason I could to stay in bed but then I remembered I'd have to report back to you in the blog. That's one of the reasons I write the blog almost daily as it keeps me going when the motivation is weak. So into the pool for 4 x 500m and I had to drag my ass up and down the lane whilst getting passed by an excellent swimmer and fellow triathlete on a frequent basis. He made it look so easy that didn't help my frame of mind as my times got slower with each 500m. But being realistic I can't swim once a week and expect to see improvement. It's not my priority but is there to help my legs recover from the running. So tomorrow I will bury that swimmer when I take him out running and later on will suffer at the hands of the sports masseuse. With all the running I expect there will be a few sensitive points, you'll probably hear me screaming!

Key session

When I was training for Ironman Lanzarote I realised that there were key sessions which you "banked" and they paid off on race day. But you must complete them. Today I had a key session. After 1.5 hours of wonderful yoga which keeps pushing me to new limits, I came home and rested in anticipation of what was to follow. The weather was awful with the rain hammering down so I waited till the afternoon when it wasn't as heavy. I had ran 14 miles on the road on Saturday and 10 miles trail running on Sunday. So I had miles in my legs and wanted to push it further. So I went out in the rain and completed a 14.5 mile trail run. Not a huge run but the important aspects were; I was on my own so tougher mentally; the trail is up and down and the weather made it difficult and heavy under foot; my legs had covered 24 miles in 3 days so it wasn't going to be easy. The session was a success and it's important to put in mentally and physically tough sessions. In 3 months time I won't regard this as a tough session as I'll be running with a weighted rucksack but at this stage of my training, it was important. As I sit and recover watching the footie I realise that my legs feel great. But a sports massage would be wise in the next couple of days. The yoga is really working at keeping me injury free and today I did my first headstand! Chuffed to bits.

Bike fit

A weeks holiday at home with the family and the chance time to relax, spend quality time with them and train. So today I went out on my bike for the first time in 7 weeks. I had no Garmin, no targets in mind, I just wanted to spin my legs after all the running. It was also the first time I had ridden my bike since the bike fit and what a difference it made. My quads felt great. The scenery was amazing in a crisp autumn day but I stopped to take a photo and when I started again I was freezing! It was great to be out on the bike but my bike fitness has gone. No worry there as this will improve when I started my turbo training this week. Tomorrow I have my 6.30am yoga which will be followed by a couple of hours trail run. I feel so good just now, I'm loving it!

Lighten up!

Winter is definately here and we seem to have skipped Autumn. After my yoga session I went out running at 6.50am and had to wear a head torch to enable me to avoid the potholes on the pavements and the roads and as a warning to car drivers that I was approaching. The rain was relentless but I had dressed appropriately and other than wet feet, stayed relatively dry. But it was only towards the end of the run that the darkness started to lift. I suppose there is no choice but to get used to it and not be tempted to pull the covers over and enjoy an extra hour in bed! My long runs will be contained to the weekend so I can do them in day light and having back to back long runs (between 10 - 30 miles) is ideal training for the desert.

Virgin training

I declared today my weekly rest day - I'm allowed 1 day off a week and this was it. However it wasn't exactly rest as I was on an early virgin train to London (Virgin training!) meaning a 5.30am start and I won't get home till 11pm tonight. But the strange thing about training for an event like MDS is that it's never far from your mind. On the way down I laid out the foundations of a training plan to improve my focus. When meeting with clients they ask how the training is going and usually as I lay my head on the pillow, not during client meetings, I turn my thoughts to what it will be like sleeping under the stars in the desert. This really is the adventure of a lifetime and the more I read about it the more excited I become. However before I feel the furnace of the Sahara a lot of work needs to be done and many miles covered. It's hard to contemplate how my body and mind will cope especially when I start to run with a loaded rucksack. But I've stretched the boundaries before and gone through a similar thought process so I'm not going to waste any energy worrying unnecessarily. I leave that to others. In the meantime I can look forward to my yoga at 6am tomorrow!

Being in touch with your body

I am totally amazed by the transformation my body is going through with yoga. Only yesterday I reported struggling to touch my knees after some running at the weekend. However today in my yoga class I got to touch my toes! This might not sound much but it's a major break through for me and it came about because I was able to tilt my pelvis by engaging my core muscles. I have always had good stomach muscles but your core is so much more than that. I also realised yesterday that my bum was higher in the water when swimming therefore improving my effeciency which again was down to engaging my core. The workout is hard and I am sweating buckets but with the support of my teacher Pamela Young (check out www.pamelayoung.co.uk) I am in touch with my body. I feel energised and haven't felt any of my usual hamstring or calf muscle twinges since I started. I've a long way to go but with this kind of progress and feeling so good it's not exactly a task - more of a pleasure.

Stiff as a board

My legs didn't feel too bad when I go up at 5.45am for my yoga session, but when I tried the second move in the 1st sun salutation my hands reached my knee caps and no further - ouch! Most people I know can get close to touching their toes but for me that is a goal. Normally I can get a good six inches past my knees but it didn't start that way this morning. However by the end of the session I had improved and felt a lot looser but it just goes to show how important the yoga is going to be with the running mileage increasing. Then I headed off to the pool for part 2 of loosing up my legs. I have worked really hard at my swimming over the last 4 years to become reasonable at it but I have hardly swam in the last few months so I knew this was going to be tough. My times were all dramatically down but I reminded myself there is no swimming in the desert and the only reason I am doing it is for fitness and something to help my legs recover which it does. As for my times they should improve with some hard sessions over the coming month and this will give me a focus in the pool. Having scoffed a "heart attack roll" (black pudding, bacon & egg) and a coffee I feel brand new!

Building up the miles

Last weekend I ran 22 miles on the Sunday and It feels like I spent the rest of the week recovering. So this weekend I decided to have 2 medium runs to allow my body to recover fully. Yesterday it was an 11 mile run but I could feel the difference running on Tarmac makes. I'm pleased that my running will involve more off road as it certainly has less impact on my body. I was at a wedding last night so took it easy with the liquid carbs (beer) because I was meant to be out with the ultra runners in the morning. However no run details came through, I suspect they were hungover, so I ran around a football pitch while my son played his match. I managed 13 miles and running on soft grass is tiring so good practice for the desert. No for some proper recovery. Feet up watching the grand Prix then the football. Life is good.

Failing to plan is planning to fail

When preparing for Ironman I had a daily, weekly, monthly plan which I followed to the letter as on a weekly basis I had to go over my results with my coach. Having this "control mechanism" in place helped me stick to the plan and push myself through the tough sessions. For Marathon des Sables I have no coach (as yet) and am making the plan up as I go. Part of my reasoning is that in the desert it is down to me so I'd better get used to disciplining myself in training. However the downside is weeks like this one. Having finished the run challenge which lasted the month of September and had me posting my results daily to the rest of the team (a control mechanism)my motivation has failed. I did a hard yoga session on Tuesday morning followed by a tough swim session in the evening. I took Wednesday off to rest (I only normally train 6 days a week) but yesterday only managed my morning yoga. Today I was going to practice my yoga before swimming but didn't manage to get out of bed. Had I a coach there would have been no doubt I would have got up, even though I am feeling very tired. Guilt is a normal part of this journey and I've analysed my week and realise I am tired - too many very early starts and two late nights which is not normal for me. But on Wednesday I will be travelling on a train all day so I am going to set out my plan. That way I won't be like a rudderless ship and get back on track as there are only 25 weeks to go and a lot of hard work to be done before then.

Making improvements

The September running challenge is now finished. As a result I can get back to cross training in the build up to Marathon des Sables. The benefit of cross training is that it reduces the likelyhood of an injury, especially if I'm putting in high mileage on my feet running. So tonight I returned to the pool for a group training session. We spend the beginning of the session on drills to improve our technique. Then the main set is fitness based and because you are part of a group that are all aiming to improve, you put the effort in. You don't want to be dropped in the lane so you hang on and do what ever is required - even if your lungs are screeming to stop and your feet are cramping. All the hard work is done in the winter months and will pay off next season. Bring on the winter!

Seve's legacy

Sporting climaxes such as last nights Ryder Cup don't get any better. The mental toughness of those players under such duress was incredible. Even Lee Westwood was shaking over a critical 1 foot put. Great players crumbled on the greens that must of been like putting on a coffee table - super fast. But in the end, their belief in themselves, their pride in their team mates, the wanting to win for their team and their respect for their hero Seve Ballesteros pulled them through. We can all learn from these acts of courage in the sporting field but the one lesson I take from it is no matter what the score is you must fight on because it's "not over until the fate lady sings" to use a non-PC phrase which we all understand. The thousands of hours of physical practice in the end came down to the mental side and didn't they do well. Congratulations Team Europe - I'm sure Seve will be smiling down on you.