Real trail running!

There’s trail running and there is real trail running as I discovered yesterday. We all know what road running is, that’s easily defined.  But the GGU was more tarmac than trails which was my only disappointment about what I thought was a fantastic race. As you know I do my trail running at Chatelherault but recently the trail have been “sanitised” and it’s really disappointing.
Nearer to home there’s is a tough trail known as Dungavel and with a two mile uphill start it’s not one I particularly enjoy but I know it’s good for me.  It’s a mix of forrest fire tracks which I regard as better than tarmac but not ideal.  But yesterday a local runner Donald MacLean (who is on a 1,700 day running streak!) decided to show me the real trails around Dungavel. I lost count of the number of times I was up to my knees in water crossing a river and as for running through heather that’s up to your knees - that’s tiring.  My economical running style isn’t suited to getting your feet off the ground and knees up so I was knackered.  The sun illuminated the massive spiders webs that glistened and there were hundreds of them but I didn’t see any spiders.
Going through forrests was like something from the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.  A completely different trail experience and one I will return to, but only with my trusted guide.  Local knowledge is important re the conditions underfoot and it was boggy in places so you had to be careful.  I also don’t think I could find the trail as a lot of it is covered with heather with no clear path.
Today I was back to Chatelherault for a very wet and cold run on my own.  It’s been a good weekends training and I was inspired by 4 ATHelite members who were taking part in Vichy IM 70.3.  3 speedy results and 1 super speedy result - my coach Genevieve was 2nd in her age category and qualifies for the World Championships!  I am so pleased for her as she has worked so hard to get into shape for this race.  Results like this don’t just happen, they require dedication and perseverance and those 4 results are just the boost I need when I’m tired and it’s wet and cold like today.  Thanks guys.

Scientific experiment

I’ve been on a journey for the last 10 years.  It all started with a charity white collar boxing match and the rest is history.  But as I’ve taken on new challenges, each with it’s own unique difficulty, my body has adapted and got stronger.  I’m treating it almost like a scientific experiment.  During the journey I have monitored my heart rate during every training session except when swimming and core workouts.  It’s a good indicator, amongst others, as to how I’m feeling at any particular time and many of my sessions have a target heart rate range.  But when I’m pushing it hard it just a case of let’s see where it goes.
I mention this because as I’ve been getting faster recently, I’m able to hold a higher heart rate for longer and maintain the fast pace.  While that might be an obvious sign of improving fitness it’s fascinating to watch and also requires me to mentally adjust.  2 years ago while running with my coach my heart rate was all over the place - no consistency.  We noticed that when it reached 163 my performance fell and I either had to slow down or even walk to get it back under control.  Yesterday my heart rate was 165 for 10 mins, 163 for 20 mins and 160 for 60mins and during those periods my performance didn’t fall - but I was working bloody hard.  Today on the mountains I topped out at 179 bpm for 5 seconds.  Sure I was tired but I kept going and finished strong.
This “experiment” will continue and my coach keeps a very close eye on every training sessions results so I’m not taking unnecessary risks.  At the same time I am enjoying my training and what lies ahead. I don’t want to limit my potential but at the same time realise I am doing this for fun.  But I also believe “we are all capable of so much more” so hopefully my story may persuade you to push the boundaries.  Have fun.

Returning to the core

As someone who doesn’t enjoy the gym or weight lifting, when I return to core training it isn’t with an expression of joy, especially at the beginning but I know it needs to be done.  It’s only a 30 minute session but those side planks are tough.  My coach has also added in an additional 15 minutes of Swiss ball exercises which has me falling off the ball on a regular basis.  Every part of my core is screaming at me and I feel like I’ve been in the boxing ring doing 12 rounds!  But I know the importance of it as next year if I am going to have a successful season with my biggest ever challenge, I’ll need to have greater core strength that I do currently. So rule 5 is being applied!
My aches and pains last week were attended to and a painful hour on the physio table where she worked my achillies and groin were anything but pleasant.  Although sensitive to the touch I’ve had another good weekends training and once again fast!
On Saturday I was given a target pace of 5:10ks and without looking at my watch I ran 4:55ks and didn’t feel I’d pushed it.  That was followed up today with a longer run on target and no aches or pains from my achillies or groin.  Result!
Today was also the Strathaven 50 run and I passed a number of runners at the 20 mile stage.  It was raining hard and their stare told me everything I needed to know.  They were completely focused on the race and running in their “bubble” where they were ignoring everything other than the road ahead.  That’s a great place to be and it inspired me to work harder and get on with my core training with a smile rather than grimace on my face.  My 65km Ultra on 18 November is fast approaching and I’m really wanting to finish the season on a high and then build my core strength for 2019.  How’s your training going? I hope you are formulating your plans for next year.

Back to basics

This is my first week on my training plan as I prepare for a 65km ultra on November 18th.  My coaches instructions were simple - run on feel.  36 mins on Tuesday, 56 mins on Thursday, 1hr 24 min on Saturday and 51 minutes today.  On Thursday’s run I decided to push myself to see how my recovery was going - I got 3 peak performances related to my heart rate over 5/10 and 20 mins on that run. That’s a good start I thought.
On Saturday I was running on my own at Chatelherault and decided again to see what would happen if I pushed the pace.  Normally I aim to get around in 45 mins which is a reasonable pace if doing 2 laps.  I finished the first lap in 42 minutes, my quickest time ever so as I started the second lap thinking this was going to be tough.  Much to my surprise I repeated the 42 min lap.  For me that’s a big achievement especially as I am “recovering from the exertion of my ultra.
I had a massage during the week and my Achilles on both legs are tight as is my groin.  It’s vital that I make sure this doesn’t get worse so I have a massage tomorrow and when I can get booked in, will have my physio check me out.  Running faster means I have increased my stride length by 7 cm so perhaps this is causing the groin problem or it may be the fatigue from 4 weeks ago.
Today I had a 10km to run and the target time set was challenging.  I didn’t look at my Garmin for the first 7km and then checked to see how I was doing.  I needed to pick the pace up slightly which I did and got in just under the target setting a new threshold target.  It will be interesting to see how this continues.  If I can stay injury free and keep up this consistent training I might surprise myself on Nov 18th.