Speed bump

I've hit a speed bump - a way of been told to slow down. It turns out the technology was telling me to stop training but ignored it. My body has gone on strike. Since my last run I have been floored by a "snot fest". It was 3am before I got to sleep last night and it will be a few days before I can even consider training.
I shouldn't be surprised as this happened last year at the same time. As soon as I take my foot off the gas then bam! There is little I can do about it except get through this as quickly as possible.  It will mean I have to dial back on the training and rebuild.  If there is a time to get a cold, it is 4 months from a major event.  So I am human after all. What is going to make the difference is how I approach this mentally. It's only a small set back but the thought of taking two steps backwards to take one step forward isn't fun. However if I want to achieve everything I have set my sights on in 2014, I need to get back on track.  Here's to a healthy 2014 for everyone. 🏃

Blown away - literally!

This morning the wind was howling and the rain hammering down against the bedroom window.  Did I want to get out my nice warm bed? No, I was on holiday. There are severe weather warnings on the news so the easy decision was to stay in bed.  But that's not how you prepare for a 53 mile run.
Time to get up for a yoga practice followed by a trail run with a fellow athlete who is in training for his 1st ironman.  For the first time the wind penetrated the trees at Chatelherault and the conditions were wet under foot.  At one stage I took a fall straight down. Nothing more than a grazed knee but it could have been worse.
My head cold meant I really shouldn't have been running but I felt up for it. However it became clear I wasn't 100% and the scheduled 2 laps was cut to 1 so a good 5 mile of trail running. It was done in a decent time but pushing it for another lap wasn't advisable and I listened to my body. Home to chocolate milk and home made soup after a shower and clean up. I feel really good now so conclude that I was right to run and right to cut it short. There will be many more training sessions in poor conditions but as I have a major event in the early season, I have no choice so it makes the decision easier to make. Stay safe out there folks.

Confessions of a triathlete

In my last post I said training would start today and that's the great thing about blogging.  Once I've said it I really can't go back on my word.  Knowing you may be reading my blog means I need to deliver.
The same goes for the goals I set.  Make them public then you can't go back.  As you will know my next challenge is the Highland Fling.  A 53 mile ultra marathon that I want to complete in around 12 hours.  My blog is there to record the blood, sweat and tears during my journey so you can get a "front row seat" of what's involved.  Now here is where the confession comes in. I'm 52.  Not a fact I've tried to hide but just as importantly not an excuse I will make for my performance.  I don't consider myself an athlete, just someone who is determined to push my own boundaries.  It's almost like an expirement to see just how much more I can get out of myself and I look at other older athletes and realise there is plenty more to go.
A lot of my training is done on my own so I can fit in family and business commitments.  But I enjoy getting together with other triathletes and runners. In 2014 a large group of ATHelite members are training for Ironman distance and I look forward to joining their training sessions, after all my second race this year is a 70.3 Ironman.  However what I have to guard against is trying to keep up with them or being despondent when left trailing behind.  I need to keep my goal in mind and follow my own training plan.
So with a view to my 53 mile ultra marathon I weighed myself on Xmas morning.  Not happy to be touching 12 stone as I recon my "fighting weight" to be 11.25 stone max.  So carrying all that extra weight takes a lot of effort and I can't afford to do that over 53 miles, never mind all the training miles.  I said training starts today so I will be blogging on a more regular basis.  I hope to provide technical details for those that are interested and details of the journey for those wanting a laugh over a coffee.  So, how do you get from 6 miles, which I ran today, up to 53 miles in 4 months?  Well sit back and enjoy the journey.  Better still grab a pair of running shoes and start your own journey.  Thanks for following mine. 

Endurance training

In training for Ironman events, Marathon des Sables and now other ultra marathons I have trained my mind to put up with a lot.  Exhaustion, pain, freezing conditions, extreme heat, dehydration and long periods of boredom.
Over the last few days, such is my dedication to the cause that I have completed a back to back endurance training session that has included all of the above. It started on Friday at 4pm and my first mistake was getting the pace wrong. I went off too fast with the hydration plan forgetting the importance of food - I suffered for that later.  The one advantage of the mistake was how quickly the event passed and I shed a lot of pounds, hundreds in fact. Outside it had been freezing but inside the layers were coming off to keep my core temperature down. The boredom of waiting for the carriage home while listening to people who had obviously missed their feed stations eventually passed.
But this was a back to back training session so last nigh I repeated the training. But like all good athletes I had learned. I paced myself. Got the balance right between hydration and food. This was a better experience which enhanced my performance.
Fortunately I only undertake this dangerous training once a year. If you're motivated to try this over the next few weeks then be careful but enjoy yourself. Normal training resumes on Thursday. Have a wonderful Xmas and thank you for taking the time to follow my adventures. Knowing that you are following me keeps me motivated at the most difficult times. Like now when I have a hangover! Merry Xmas.

To hibernate or not?

It's that time of year when triathletes tend to catch up on what they missed out during the year due to training and races.  But for me, my "A" race was in April and I've enjoyed the 6 months recovery time but not the 3/4 of a stone I have put on.  I've been slim all my life so please take my comments in context.  I'm not enjoying being just short of 12 stone as having trained for the MdS with a weighted rucksack, I feel I am carrying around excess baggage which is an effort.  So come January when my training gets back to normal, this excess baggage is going!
But should I just hibernate for the rest of the month.  Enjoy the lovely food, fine wines and a few beers?  Stop any kind of training and just enjoy a couple of weeks off?  Well I had 6 days off training last week but did a 10k run on Friday and Sunday with some yoga.  My glutes complained on Saturday so I went for a painful sports massage which helped loosen them up. 
After doing "Dad duties" on Sunday while the weather was dry I found my only "window" to run was in the pissing rain with the wind sending it sideways.  This is always a good mental test - am I mental enough to go out in those conditions?  I decided it would be character forming and once your wet you can always look forward to the hot shower afterwards which is the best bit.
I have concluded that hibernating would be nice but I feel sluggish if I don't do any training.  Therefore I will continue a "winter schedule" over the coming weeks, buildng it around social occassions, food and wine - at least it should mean no more weight gain.  Then come January it won't be such a shock to the system when my training and my diet gets a radical overhall.  In the meantime I think I'd better start my Xmas shopping which will definately involve running around some shops!

Technogical dilemna

I can't start my blog this week without saying how sad the passing of Nelson Mandela was.  So much has been written and said about him this week. but I would just like to mention one of his famous quotations which I like. "Do not judge me by my successes, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again."  There's a message there for all of us.
As you now I have always preached you should "listen to your body" but I decided to take this to a higher level by buying some new technology - there's always room for more technology IF it helps your performance!  Friends often are concerned that I might be overdoing my training as the mileage starts to build up but this might help prevent problems.  For the athlete's out there here's a bit of science. 
I bought the ithelite HRV monitor and app.  It measures the heart rate variability (HRV) which assesses the effects of stress on your body. It is measured as the time gap between your heart beats that varies as you breathe in and out - you measure it 1st thing in the morning and last thing at night. Research evidence increasingly links high HRV to good health and a high level of fitness, whilst decreased HRV is linked to stress, fatigue and even burnout.  If you get a green reading then go for it in your training session, amber means reduce the intensity and red means take the day off.  Here's a link to the science. http://myithlete.com/the-science-behind-hrv.html
However it has given me a dilemna.  Having conducted measurements for over a week now I have had 3 red readings.  On each occassion I've felt ok then realised I have had a slight head cold.  Is the equipment that accurate or am I imagining things?  I ran on Saturday under an amber reading.  I was on my own, taking it easy but feeling, or thinking I was feeling, not 100%.  I had decided to only do 5 miles (one lap) when a fellow triathlete (Derek Boyd) joined me.  What a difference having some company made.  I realised I would have to do 2 laps because that was the original plan and I didn't want to let Derek down.  The pace also crept up and at the end, it had been a good but not too strenuous workout.
So this morning I was meant to head out for a hard 10 mile hill run.  The reading was, you guessed it, red and again the head cold was there but really not much.  So reluctantly I called the run off and rested but it has been annoying me.  The concept of reducing or not training when you are not 100% makes sense but when I am really only running at the weekends and it coincides with that then it's a bummer.
I am going to persevere with the technology for the month of December as it's not a heavy training month and I can evaluate the variables.  Come January the mileage will start to pick up on the swimming and the running as will the hours on the turbo trainer so I want to make sure I am in good nick (as oposed to "Old Nick"!).

The age question?

Is your age important or is it just something in your head? As I struggled up a series of hills on my 10 mile hill run today I was asking myself this question as I was blowing out my arse! My heart rate was off the top of the scale and my fellow runners were pulling away. On 3 occasions I decided to walk rather than bury myself on the hill.  Was it my age (I'd just turned 52) or was it the excellent red wine and vintage brandy with dinner last night or was I just weak mentally - none of the other runners were walking although one stayed with me to encourage me.
However on the down hills I got my breath back and caught the runners in front, finishing in front of them with the one runner who had held back with me. We were flying down the hill which isn't easy on wet trails, but easier than the climbing! I don't want to give the impression this was a race but  over 10 miles I do want to push myself. I'll be more sensible on the longer distances - I'll need to be. In conclusion re the age question, on the way up it felt like it may be a factor but on the way down I realised it wasn't and it was more the disturbance between my ears that was the problem.
Funnily enough that is also a common problem in the pool although two good training sessions this week made me realise that the hard work is beginning to payoff.  There are no short cuts in this journey which is why it is so satisfying to see results for the hard work. Enjoy your training folks no matter what distance or time you are working towards. It's better than killing yourself slowly on the couch!  Pass me another slice of birthday cake - I think I've earned it.