Surviving the festive period

This can be a dangerous time of year due to the excesses which we all undertake.  It's difficult to avoid the rich food and the copious amounts of alcohol as you catch up with friends and family and totally switch off from work.  Triathletes tend to take November and December as a wind down period having trained all year however for me I missed so much of last year with my hamstring injury that I'm certainly not "over trained".  So I am slowly building back up.
In my last blog I promised I would fit in two turbo sessions - well that almost cost me a very serious injury.  On boxing day the weather was beautiful, crisp, cold and blue skies with no wind so rather than get on my turbo trainer I decided to head out at mid-day when the chance of ice was lower and go out for my first bike ride in 6 weeks.  It was fantastic being out and the roads were ok.  However on a fast decent when I was doing 35 mph I got a speed wobble on my front wheel.  This is where the wheel starts vibrating and moving from side to side affecting the whole bike.  Your arse certainly tightens as does your whole body which makes the wobble worse as what you need to do is relax.  I got myself into the position that sorts the wobble and the bike began to behave but I felt sick so took it easy for the rest of the ride.  Coming off the bike in just lycra and a crash helmet would certainly have set my training back or even worse ended it.  Later that day a friend of mine posted the same had happened to him at the same spot so it must have been the road conditions.
I've had lots of regular running on road and off road and not only managed back to back 10 mile runs at Chatelherault but also did my first 3 laps in one go meaning the mileage is increasing.
But yesterday I remembered I had promised 2 bike sessions so I went out and set the turbo up and climbed on.  It was only a short session to spin my running legs from the day before but it made me realise I need to get mentally prepared for the turbo because it is so boring but essential training.  At least there are no speed wobbles - I'm going to have to build up my confidence after that one on my next downhill.
This afternoon I am trail running with Rosie Bell a past winner of the West Highland Way race and I intend to pick her brains in preparation for my 100 mile run along the same trail.  I need to understand the nutritional requirements because after taking food on you will be running so it needs to be simple food.  Also runners have been known to hallucinate when running over 70 miles and there is also the issue of running for at least 5 hours in the dark.  So plenty to learn and what better way to do it that while running through some beautiful countryside in the sunshine. This break has been fantastic so far and the training means the extra food & wine shouldn't have any impact on the waistline!  Hope you are all having a wonderful Xmas and thinking what you'd like to achieve in 2015.  All the best.

Feeling great

Last week I started the training to get my body and mind read for my 100 mile ultra in 178 days time.  My running hasn't been regular so I addressed that immediately. On Monday night I went out with the Strathaven Striders, a friendly local running club, as I wanted company to motivate me. The pace was faster than normal but I held on for 7.5 miles.  On Tuesday I went for my tough swim session which always makes my legs feel better - even if my lungs want to exit my chest!
Wednesday I was on taxi duties so in between drop off to my daughter's clarinet lesson and pick up I did a fast road run. My thinking was that I should push the pace on the road runs.
Saturday saw 2 laps (total 10 miles) at a wet and muddy Chatelherault with some pals and Duke & Rosie who are fast, cover double the distance and use their "4 wheel drive" to its full advantage! I felt good after the run but it was a couple of minutes slower than my norm.
I returned this morning to have a back to back session and ran with another friend for 2 laps. We ended up just under the target time so I was happy with that but the most pleasing part is my legs feel fantastic! Back to back runs are a great way of preparing for ultra runs and they will play an important part in my training.
What is lacking is my turbo training on the bike. But this is where you can help me. I am going to set my bike up today on the turbo and promise to have done 2 sessions by next's week blog.  I've been putting it off because you need to be mad to love turbo training and I know it's going to be tough. I also need to find my heart rate monitor which has been missing for months. But even if I can't find it I need to get back on the bike because I have a tough half ironman in May. So one week in and the plan seems to be working.

From 10 miles to 100 miles in 185 days

What a difference a week makes.  My last post was talking about motivation and how getting a place in the West Highland Way would have motivated me to ramp up my training.  Well I didn't make the ballot, I was one of the 75 people that didn't get in.  I was gutted.  There went my season's "A Race" and who's to say the same wouldn't happen next year as it is an absolutely fair race and wouldn't give preference to those that failed the year before.
The next day I was running an "inspirational workshop" with a senior management group talking about my journey and explaining how important their mind set was.  That night I got home and posted on FB that I was looking for some ideas for a new race for next year.  As a result I have the most amazing opportunity.  I have created my own event.
The West Highland Way + has been launched.  Two days before the main event I will be meeting friends from ATHelite Triathlon Club and the "tartan army" from the Marathon des Sables 5 miles north of Fort William (I don't want to clash in anyway with the main event).  We are going to run the race in the reverse order and we are going to add on 5 miles so that it become a 100 mile ultra (5 miles more than the WHW race).  Some people will be running the whole way, others will be running one section and others will be providing the support required from water to food to encouragement to massages.  My friends have come forward in numbers wanting to support me in this event.  Today The Cross Garage in Stonehouse owned by Davy Dorricott offered me a campervan as a support vehicle.  Thanks guys, this is going to be awesome - even better than running the official race and getting the coveted goblet.
We'll raise lots of money for our chosen charities along the way.  I feel so motivated I can start my training seriously.  I now have 185 days to get my running mileage up from 10 miles to 100 miles - now that's what I call a challenge!  So hopefully those that follow my blog will see what is required to get myself into shape to complete a monster of an ultra marathon.  Thanks in advance to all my friends that will be supporting me in the planning and the execution of the event.  Here goes!

Motivation requires goals

It's a tough time of year to get motivated.  Plenty of distractions like nights out and bad weather so usually Nov/Dec is a quieter time.  However with the potential of a 95 mile ultra marathon with 14,700 feet of climbing in June, you'd think I'd be raring to go.  Not the case.  However this will change next week when I find out if I have been successful in getting a place in the West Highland Way Race.  I think my focus will turn on immediately and the plan will be formulated.  Strange how motivation works or perhaps it's just me, but I doubt it.
If I don't get in well I will need to find another "A race".  I've got my half ironman in May and that will be tough but it's not my "A race". 
My training has been poor although I had an excellent swim on Friday of 2,200m with a pal and then ran with a group on Saturday covering 20k.  My injuries seem to be behaving so the reduction in training has given them longer to recover.
I'll need to step up my mileage on the runs but this will be gradual.  Yoga is going to have to play a bigger part to reduce the chances of injury.
I also need to get back on the bike but in this weather it will be indoor training.  Can't say I am looking forward to it but I know that after 1 month of hard training I'll be in great shape.
I started my blog talking about motivation.  A lot of people think I'm always motivated but it is difficult to keep it going sometimes.  Here's hoping that next week the news is good.