It’s where you set the bar,

As my training hours and intensity builds, my body and mind are “going through the ringer” as they say.  It’s like tenderising a piece of meat , you just keep hammering it.  I’ve never set the bar as high before and the great thing is having a bunch of likeminded people supporting me through this journey.  Nobody in that group is questioning the height of the bar, or the reason it’s set so high. They are all just playing their part in supporting me which is helping me work outside my comfort zone.
On Monday I set off at 5.30am and ran 33km to the office - remember that was on the back of a lot of  KMs in the previous 3 days. Tuesday was gym and swim, Wed was a day off, Thursday a 1 hour run with hill reps.  Friday was a gym, swim and 3 hour run.  Yesterday I spent 5 hrs 15 mins in the mountains expertly guided by my friend Alan Stirling.  There was over 4,500 ft of ascending and the conditions underfoot made it almost impossible to run.  Today I ran for 2 hours 40 mins and was grateful for Beth’s support for the last hour and 20 minutes.  My body was tired and yesterday’s blisters didn’t help but the session was done.
Tomorrow is a 5.30 am start with a run to the office - 3 hours.  Now you know what I mean about tenderising meat! But surprisingly my legs feel ok.  They might not tomorrow night!
Everyone sets a bar. The worst thing you can do is set it too low and accomplish it.  But if you have a support network of likeminded people around you then you really can set that bar high.  Go on, edge your bar up a few notches.  We are all capable of so much more and it’s great fun pushing the boundaries. How else will we find out what we are capable of?

It’s getting serious

What a week it’s been.  Some great training sessions and as the clock ticks down, 47 days to go, the mileage begins to build.  On Friday I headed off to Ben Lawyers with my friend and guide Michael Martin.  With a weather front coming in for the weekend I rescheduled my training so that we got the best weather for the mountains.
In the morning the mountain was clagged in and no view available - nothing new there for me!  It was very windy on the summits and having had my cap blown off 3 times, I put it away.  1,800 metres of climbing and 28km covered in 5 hours 15 mins.  We spend a considerable time either traversing the mountains or cutting through boggy ground which sapped the strength from our legs and  twisted our ankles while our quads were grumbling with the pressure of heading down hill.
Saturday was always going to be a mental day. It wouldn’t have been safe in the mountains on my own with wet weather forecast so I stayed local.  I ran up and down Tinto four times - mind numbing but that’s part of the preparation.  It’s slightly higher elevation in total than the day before but the distance is similar.
This morning was 3 laps of Chatelherault which was tough having put my legs through a lot in the previous two days.  I was starting to flag when I met a runner on the final lap.  We finished the last lap together and when I checked my stats afterwards it was my quickest lap!  It’s always good to have someone to push you when you’re tiring - thanks Lorna!
My coach has been busy and since I’ve got home and got cleaned up and fed, she’s been sending me my schedule for the next few weeks.  It’s going to be tough for the next two weeks, very tough.  Major miles to be run and tomorrow morning I have 3 hours to complete before work.  My legs have held up well which shows the gym work is paying off.
I’ve also been deciding on equipment based on how my kit has been performing in my long runs.  This weekend decided my top and shorts. These are important decisions and I have to take into account the conditions I’ll be running in.  It’s getting close but I still have to put the miles in so the next two- three weeks will be brutal and critical.  After that my body will start to recover and feel amazing, but I’ll need to get their first.  What a journey!

Tahoe - the logistics

This was planned as a light weeks training but the last two days were tough.  A number of hours were also spent on the logistics of my Tahoe 200 race which is only 53 days away.  

Yesterday and today were on a local hill, Tinto.  It’s not the biggest hill but it has steep sections that makes it ideal to practice ascending and descending.  Going up and down twice is a good workout and repeating it two days in a row means you’re working on tired legs.  The second ascent today was particularly tough and it made me think about the challenge ahead.

Tahoe has to be completed in 100 hours which doesn’t seem like a long time when you actually look at the route.  The “sleep stations” mean I’ll be sleeping during daylight rather than at night - 3 hours max.  Sunset is at 9pm and sunrise at 8am so I’ll be covering a lot of miles in the dark which will be challenging.  I could sleep rough but the bears in the woods might put me off that strategy.

The plan so far is to take two 30 minute breaks and a 3 hour sleep every day - that’s moving 20hours a day for 4 days!  Depending on how I adapt to the condions, heat, altitude, fatigue the plan may need to be altered during the race but you need a structure to work around.  My wife will be meeting me at the check points after the first 63 miles where there is no contact allowed due to restricted access roads/trails.  Check points can be 20 miles apart so one of the challenges is carrying enough water and water is heavy!

Navigation will be a real challenge as regular readers of the blog know I could get lost in a car park!  I’m going to get some map reading instruction and will be checking out the use of GPS but then you need a power supply.  My drop bag strategy will be important so lots to do in the coming weeks.

But back to Tinto.  As my heart rate raced and I was short of breath wanting to take a break today, I thought about the conditions I’ll be facing in Tahoe.  Man up was the message so I did.  More miles, hills and planning to be done thanks for all your support it makes it easier.

Every day is a learning day

What an amazing weekend of training.  It’s been a hard week of training and on Saturday ATHelite had 3 teams in the John Lucas Ultra Relay race.  This was the inaugural race and it started  2 minutes from my house so I had to do it.  It was an exciting day with lots of banter between the teams as we wound each other up.
I was running the second leg and ran the leg last weekend to make sure I knew it.  I’m so glad I did as you can easily mistake a building 3.5km from the end as the finish, and that would be a “ball breaker” in the race as it turned out to be for some of the runners.  My team runner Dan smashed the first leg.  Fortunately I’d turned up 2 minutes before he did, which should have been a warning for what was to come.  This meant I could chase down Michael Martin who had a 2 min head start.  I knew he was aiming for a 1 hr 28 mins which was faster than my estimate.  I also knew he was strong on the hills and there are plenty of them so I had my work cut out.  But I felt strong and before I knew it I was right behind him.  I ran past him, gave him a high 5 and never looked back - I just pressed on.
I dug really deep and finished in 1 hr 24 mins which was 8 mins ahead of my estimate and 5 mins ahead of my coaches earimate.  I was bust but happy.
Our next runner Stuart smashed his leg and this is where the learning started.  His team weren’t there as we’d screwed up on our timetable and were 20minutes late! Unforgivable.  Geoff who ran next did an amazing time, absolutely incredible, but got lost!  You couldn’t make it up.  He was gutted.  Beth took on the last leg knowing we were possibly disqualified but put in a great effort.  In the end we all had a good laugh about it but lessons were learned.
Today Stuart and I headed out on a long hill run.  It was a new one to both of us and unsurprisingly we got lost! We managed 85% of the route and it was a toughie.  Stuart ran out of water and that wasn’t a good position to be in, but another valuable lesson.
I felt strong throughout the run and after the last week of hard training, I was pleased.  I’ve just received a note from my coach telling me just how fit I currently am which is a real boost to my confidence.  The hard work is paying off.
I’ve 60 days left till Tahoe.  There’s a lot of hard work to be done between now and them and I’m going to build on this fitness because Tahoe is a “ whole new rodeo”.  15-20 hours a day with 3 hours sleep a day is going to be brutal - but that’s what will make it worthwhile.
I’m doing this for a reason and it’s personal. A year ago today my wife and I was celebrating in Philadelphia with our great friends, Carol and John.  It was the wedding of their daughter and it was a fantastic day.  Sadly Carol was diagnosed with cancer, stage 4,  when she returned home.  She’s no longer with us but I know she’ll be with me, pushing me every step of the way in Tahoe.  I’m raising funds in her honour for Maggies Cancer Caring Centres and if you’d like to support me then please visit www.justgiving.com/fundraising/derek-stewart8 .

Scottish Mountains rock!

I am so lucky to live in a beautiful country and have amazing mountains within 60- 90 minutes of my house.  Last week was an important week in my build up.  From the Friday through to Tuesday I had a really heavy training schedule as I needed two days off as I was going to Wimbledon for a day and then Belfast.  I had four very early starts that week so come this weekend I knew I was going to have to dig deep. My quads were shredded from my 5 day schedule before my two days off, and walking, never mind running or squatting in the gym was painful. But I knew more mountain running would make me stronger.
Saturday was amazing. My friend Michael had planned an hour route in the mountains - only 1 hour from my house.  It involved three summits with a total of 5,000 ft of climbing over 20 km.  I got some good practice in with my poles in varying terrain.  As we were approaching the top of one mountain it got technical.  I was squeezing in between rocks and didn’t dare look back as I don’t have a head for edges - glad I didn’t have to go back down that route as I don’t think I could have done it. We ran down the mountains and this is to prepare my legs for the Tahoe 200.  We finished the run by bathing in a cold Loch to help our legs recover.  The views from the tops of the mountain were amazing.  We bumped into two people and a dog on the top and I consider it a privilege to be in these places and to listen to the sound of silence - blessed.
Today I went a rece of the leg of the relay race I’m doing next Saturday.  It was a beautiful sunny day and I’m glad I took the time to refresh my memories of the lumpy 18km route.  My legs felt great which is a sign I’m getting stronger and used to running down hills at pace.  Tomorrow will be a real test as I have a 5 hour mountain run planned.  Again Michael has set me a beautiful route with plenty of climbing but nothing technical as I’ll be on my own.  As I get closer to Tahoe, 67 days to go, there will be more back to back mountain runs but with so many mountains on my door step, it’s going to be fun especially if I have my pals to keep me company.

I love running

This mornings run was humid and breezy.  Then it turned to light rain which was welcome to cool me down. The thought occurred to me, I love running.  How lucky am I to be healthy enough to be out in a running vest and shorts enjoying the beautiful scenery.  Today’s run was building on yesterday’s 20km mountain run. With tired legs I had to maintain a reasonable pace and keep my heart rate below 155 bpm.  All targets were hit.
Yesterday Michael led Stuart and I up the “Arrochar Alps” for 3hrs and 15mins of tough running / power walking with 4,000 ft of climbing.  I was wearing my rucksack with a 4.5kg load and that certainly made a difference. While we started the run in blue skies, by the time we’d reached the summit it was in cloud base.  Despite my gym work my legs were working very hard.  When we finished we walked straight into the Loch to cool our legs down - felt great.  There will be much more mountain running in the next 74 days.
On Wednesday I had an early morning run with my coach Genevieve and it was a fantastic run.  Low heart rate and fast pace is a good combination.  It shows that consistent quality training pays off.  I’ve run over 300km so far this month on top of my swimming and gym work and that’s including a weeks holiday.  But there’s a lot of work to be done, especially in the mountains so hears hoping the weather holds up.
I’m also addressing the logistics.  We’ve got a group together for Tahoe and are sharing info and asking questions.  One of my French friends had posed the question, what’s your bear strategy? Good question.  Mine is to outsprint the person next to me but his was to play Celine Dion music! Top tip so far.
But I’ll finish where I started. I love running.  We were designed to run and it’s so simple.  Just place one foot in front of the other. And it doesn’t need to be long distances.  Find yourself a Jog Scotland group and do their couch to 5k programme if you are a beginner or someone returning to running after a while.  Get outdoors and get fit.  There is no better feeling.

Inspiring week

Your first week back from a holiday is never easy but I also had to step up the training as with 81 days to go, there is no room for slacking.  Swim gym and run, even double runs on Wednesday, got me back into the swing of it.
But the highlight of the week was speaking to 800 staff at the annual conference of Glasgow Clyde College about “Everyday Superheroes”.  I had spent time preparing with the Principal & Chief Executive Jon Vincent who himself is an inspirational character.  On the day I was blown away by a video about the students and the difference they make in the communities they live in.  Before I spoke, they had three students put on a musical/ theatrical performance that had me “choking up” - absolutely first class.  It was then my turn to speak.
I’d been asked to nurture and inspire the audience and I did my best to use my story to get them there.  It’s a story of continually raising the bar and not listening to the “voice in my head” which is the health and safety officer.  Your brain has a factory setting that is set too low.  You need to over ride it and push the boundaries.  If you’re in your comfort zone your dying. Life begins outside the comfort zone.
If you are too worried about failing then you won’t make any progress.  Chinese proverb; success is falling down seven times and getting up eight.  I was so inspired by the students stories and what the staff at the college did for them.
With those thoughts ringing round my head I headed out for a 30km run on Saturday with my pal Mark.  Due to bad planning on my part (7 P’s - piss poor preparation precipitates piss poor performance) I didn’t have enough fuel with me - amateur!  I had 1 gel and 1bar.  The latter stages were extra hard but in the end it was a good run. Today 14km even faster run.  It’s a full on training week but on Saturday I head for the hills.  This is essential training for me.  I have to get used to long hours in the hills and “shredding”my quads running down the hills.
I also got news that my friend from G2G who had suggested the Tahoe race had pulled out. This gives a few logistical problems but I’ll sort that over the next couple of weeks - there are at least another 8 runners that I’ll know but the key is coordinating it so we can help each other.  I do need to get my kit together and that will take some research and planning.
Yesterday was also a special day in that it was the annual West Highland Way race. 95 miles of tough trail with climbing and it takes a special kind of person to complete it.  I had a number of friends running the race and am in awe of their achievement. I’m sure their mind chatter was loud by they blocked it out!
I finished my talk to the college staff by asking the “killer question”: how bad do you want it? That’s all that matters and I want Tahoe BAD.  So game on. #Tahoetough