Back to Chatelherault!

Unfortunately I missed our best summer in years due to my injury.  It would have been so good running through Chatelherault Country Park with the sun streaming through the trees but it wasn't to be and swimming became the order of the day.
I upped my running mileage on Saturday to a whopping 8km around the local streets and felt my heart rate was more under control than the previous week which was encouraging.  So on Sunday I thought, let's take a risk and see if I can complete 16km (2 laps of Chatelherault).  My theory was that if it was too hard due to the 425 ft of climbing per lap I could stop after one lap or if I needed to walk the later part of the second lap that would still be a good work out.
It was so nice to be running through the trees on the pine laden floor listening to the birds singing - they were probably saying "the old heavy breather is back"!  I was determined to take it easy and set myself a target of 50 minutes per lap which is about 4 minutes slower than normal.  I managed the first lap in 49:30 so was pleased with myself as I had no aches or pains but knew the second lap would be tougher.
The second lap was completed in 51 mins so I was happy with that and more importantly I had kept my heart rate under 160 beats per minute so felt good.  I had also run it all, with the exception of the "heart attack hill" which I always walk in true ultra runner fashion!  I can't explain how enjoyable it was to be back on this trail again as I had missed the variety of the run.  It's going to get a lot of use over the winter as I rebuild my fitness for my next challenge - details to follow soon.
My quads were telling me they had a workout but my hamstring felt fine - it's still tight and I can feel it but isn't giving me any concerns.  I feel surprisingly good this morning but yoga tomorrow will completely refresh them, so I'm chilled.
On 2nd November I've entered the Strathaven 10km which is a fast course.  If I do feel fit enough to run it, without injuring myself, then I will but all speed has gone from my legs in the past couple of years.  Just got to make sure I don't get carried away with the pace of the runners around me.
It's just a joy to be back running and I am looking forward to the start of my winter training preparing for 2015. I've a lot of work to do.

We're all on a journey

This has been an incredible week in Scotland. The biggest decision in over 300 years and the ramifications of the outcome are incredible. But I'd no idea how the pressure of the outcome weighed on my shoulders. I lacked energy. My HRV scores were the worst ever and while some would be down to the 10k swim on Sunday, the nervous tension was telling. But I'm not about to start talking politics in my blog. It's the impact it had on me physically and mentally that shocked me.
On Friday once the news that Scotland was going to remain in the UK, I felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders.  Eventually friends started to talk about training and bridges started to mend. This morning my HRV reading were back to where they should be so I decided to go my first run in 2 months.  The injured hamstring feels different but I just have to test it and see how I get on. I warmed up with a short yoga session and then headed out for 5.5 km run. It felt amazing to be out running again. I took it slowly and concentrated on my chi running form. I had taken an extra layer as it wasn't warm when I left but of course the sun came out and I over heated. My heart rate was too high but this is the first day of a new chapter in my journey.
I know what I want to do next year by way of a challenge and it's going to be tough - something I said I'd never do. But I'll "keep my powder dry" at the moment until I see the consultant in 3 weeks. But I will carefully plan my recovery. Build the strength in my hamstring while improving the flexibility. It's going to be small steps at first (I.e. 5.5km) and I'll be slow but I'm determined to come back and complete an iconic race next year.  Hopefully you will follow my progress and if it inspires you to get out there, then even better.  We're all on a journey but remember this is no dress rehearsal. Enjoy every day and live in the present. Thanks for following me.

The River Dart 10 km - my "A" race

I survived.  My "A" race is finished. It's over and I will try and explain to you what it was like, from my point of view.  It was a year ago that my swimming pal Matt Drew mentioned this race to me. We should both enter he said. 10km I thought. You must be mad but it is a stretching target so I agreed. Immediately I posted it on the blog but as the time approached to register, Matt had backed out - probably too easy for him as he's a real swimmer. But I'd posted it so there was no going back.
800 places disappeared in under 2 hours and I was one of the lucky ones. I still hadn't worked out how I could swim that distance. Anyway I had a 53 mile ultra marathon to worry about 1st.
As summer went by I started to pick up my swimming activity and I had a few rough sessions in Loch Lomond with big waves and at the time, while battling through the waves I thought to myself this could come in handy one day. How true that turned out.
So on Saturday I met up with 2 other swimmers from Glasgow , Gary Hurr and Jessica Livingstone. We had a cup of tea while looking at the River Dart, a tidal river. All we could see was mud / sand and it didn't look pretty. The following morning we arrived and the river was going in the wrong direction - shit! But as the race started the tide turned. We waded into the water which was brown and salty with leaves, branches and sea weed floating along.  My goggles started leaking but with hundreds of people around me I couldn't sort it for a while. When your arm entered the water you couldn't see it. This meant you couldn't see someone's toes in front so there was quite a bit of climbing over or being climbed over at the beginning. I settled down trying not to go off to quickly. The tide is meant to improve your speed over a mile by 2 mins but you weren't aware of it. Before I knew it I was at the first feed station (4k) which gave me the opportunity to get some lucozade and get rid of the taste of salt. I felt really good but that was about to change.
The next feed station was at 7k but the river was getting wider (1k at its widest) and very choppy. It was getting like a washing machine and in the waves I was swallowing salt water.  This led to me being sick on a number of occasions and my concentration had to be of getting any water out and not swallowing.  The river seemed to go on forever, a bit like the desert last year, and I tried to enjoy the scenery but the constant bashing by waves made me think more about survival.
At the 7k feed station I took on more lucozade and some jelly babies. A marshal said we'd come through the hardest part but the final section wasn't much easier and I was getting tired - the furthest I'd swam before was 5k and that was only the weekend before. Again the waves were battering me and I was taking water on and being sick. I notice one marshal on a body board keeping an eye on me but by now I was determined it was just keeping moving forward and I'd get there. Swimming in such a large river takes a different mind set because you don't have a turn every 25 or 50 metres. My eyes kept looking at the geography to try and work out when the finish would come into view.  It seemed to go on forever and my swim stroke was shot. I was just holding on. Then, above the waves and the mass of bodies in the washing machine, I saw the end. My stroke came back as I focused on the finish. And it was almost an out of body experience in the last 500 m. Before I knew it I was coming out of the water, in 2 hours 47 minutes, and for a change, I wasn't staggering. I came in 321st out of 722 who finished the race. I felt quiet emotional, I don't know why but that was it. My stretching "A" race for the year finished. All I had to do was walk 300m across a pebbled beach (ouch!) and collect my medal. As I did that I reflected on the journey and was so pleased I had chosen my weakest discipline to work on. I've grown to love swimming, especially open water swimming. The excitement is the risk and the freedom - when I was throwing up and struggling to stay afloat I had to work out how to survive. You don't get that in a pool. The scenery is amazing but I won't be rushing back to a mucky river swim. I think I'll stick to the crystal clear lochs in Scotland.

Loch Ard 5k swim

If you had said to me 6 years ago that I would have swam 5km in open water I'd have thought you were off your head.  Running that distance  back then was hard enough.  But yesterday I was standing with my fellow ATHelite members getting ready to swim the longest I have ever swam.  Was I nervous? No.  I was excited.  What my training and being involved in endurance events over the last 6 years has taught me is that worrying unnecessarily just uses up valuable energy which you will need.  6 years ago I took on a white collar boxing challenge and paced the dressing room for 4 hours.  As I stepped into the ring I remember wondering where all my energy had gone - valuable lesson.
My plan was simple, I was treating this like a training session where all that mattered was an even pace and having an economical style.  Let's face it my swim style isn't pretty and although it's improved over the years, I still think a real swimmer isn't going to be worried that I'll be challenging them.  I entered the water to warm up perhaps a little early as my feet began to lose sensation after 5 minute (lesson #256).  This was a nice, friendly, safe race run by Robert Hamilton of Vigour Events. The 5k race involved about 25 people and Robert gave us our instructions before we set off - no punching, kicking, being swam over or any of that crap.  I quickly got into a rhythm and kept telling myself not to go off too fast.  Sighting at the beginning wasn't easy as you were heading into the sun so spotting the first buoy was a bit of a hit or miss.  Once of my team mates certainly made it a miss as on two of the five laps he swam into a 25 foot high inflatable Iceberg that was 30 metres off the racing line - he won't live that one down in a hurry will you Graeme Scott!
As I turned for home on the first lap I panicked as I couldn't see any swimmers or the next buoy.  That's because I was looking at the wrong angle back down the loch but it made me realise how essential it was that I was wearing my contact lenses, which I don't normally do.  Without them I'd have been blind due to the distance between the buoys so when my goggles started letting water in you can imagine what I was thinking - Sh1t, I can't lose a lens or my swim is over. I took a minute out to sort my goggles and this lost me time with the pack which left me swimming the rest of the race on my own.  But having the security of the marshals in canoes meant I could just concentrate on my stroke and get on with it.
At one stage I thought a fish had locked onto my big toe so I started kicking that toe with my other foot but quickly realised it was just the loss of feeling in my feet combined with an over active mind about what was below the water surface that was making me think this nonsense.  I cruised around the course and kept reminding myself how lucky I was to be doing this.  Loch Ard is stunning and the weather couldn't have been better.
As always I staggered out of the water as lying prone and not using my legs (consultants orders) for 1hr 54 mins (official time) causes you these problems.  I wasn't out of breath or tired but my shoulders were telling me they'd had a decent work out.  After some food and a hot drink I felt great and started to think about next week.
It will be a very different experience for a number of reasons; it's a river so I am hoping that will help although I don't think it's a case of floating down stream; there will be 800 people in the water with me; the water is brown due to the peat so you won't be able to see your fingers; it's double the distance.  Not that it's comparable but I did ask myself the question as I got out the water could I go and repeat it and the answer was yes.  I'm not going to waste any nervous energy worrying about it but feel luck to be taking part.  My main learning point from all of these activities is that you can achieve what you tell your brain you want to do as long as you repeat this behaviour in training.  The human body (and brain) are capable of so much more and next week will be a good test of my belief.  See you on the other side!

Countdown to this year's "A" race

The countdown is on.  When I was persuaded last year to enter the River Dart 10k race I hadn't really thought it through.  I didn't know how I was going to prepare for it but as the time approached I though starting to swim was a good idea!  The last few months have brought a certain focus and not being able to run has helped.  Last week I did an 8 x 500m session however yesterday I did my longest continuous swim (est 4,200m) and felt great when I got out the pool.  I got the pace right and tonight will be getting put through my paces at our weekly swim training session - I work harder when training in a group.  It's amazing how quickly with regular training you can build up the distance whether it be swimming, cycling (I will be back) and running (I will be back).
This morning started off with a wonderful group yoga session.  One hour of indulgence as you drift off into a different world.  I didn't want to leave my mat and inner peace but, needs must so I floated off to work.  At some stage in the future, years away, perhaps the majority of days will start off with a yoga session followed by a relaxing breakfast and a day of discovery.  But until then I will sandwich in my yoga and training along with my family life and work.  At least the yoga takes you to a very peaceful place.
On Friday morning I will have a "warm-up" swim session in the morning before my 5k open water swim on Saturday which will be my final open water practice before the 10k on the 14th.
My mind set is simple.  I've not swam 5 or 10k before but in my head I know I will complete the challenge.  I may visit dark places in my head but I'll just think of what I'll be writing in my blog to distract my mind.  I'm entering new territory and that's exciting.  After all, if I can swim 10k what's next?