The mental battle

This week has been good for training. It's still on the light side but I'm building it up and making sure I don't get injured.
On Monday night I went out for five hilly miles. I needed to build in some speed and hill work to prepare for the half marathon on Sunday.  My legs aren't used to speed (it's all relative) and weren't too happy about it but I pushed them on. On Tuesday morning I had my usual yoga class followed by a tough swim session in the evening. I felt tired the following day and after a heavy day at the office I decided a rest would do me good. So on Thursday I repeated my hilly speed session. It seemed easier and I was happy with the pace of 5.25min per KM.
I made the decision to rest and hydrate on Saturday and had a yoga session to work the muscles and prepare them for Sunday. I felt guilty about not training but I was sticking to my plan.
On Sunday morning the weather was awful. High winds, sleet, snow, ice on the roads and a tough half marathon course. I spent hours deciding on what to wear - shorts or tights, full wind cheater or something lighter?  The temperature was 2 degrees but with the windchill probably -3 or more when at the top of the highest climb.
I wasn't sure about the pace I should run, after all my 100 mile pace will be slow as my training should be.  I asked top ultra runner Rosie Bell what her plan was. She said she'd be running 9 minute miles. Perfect I thought that would bring me in just under 2 hours which was my goal for such a difficult course in terrible weather conditions.  I stuck with Rosie for 3/4 of a mile before I realised her pace was more like 7 minute miles! I then had a decision to make. Should I keep up this fast pace, or as fast as I could go and ignore Rosie heading off into the blizzard, or slow down to the 2 HR pace? I felt good so decided to get some "time in the bank" which I could draw on later. The big climb up "the rig" wasn't too bad but the conditions underfoot were slippy. Therefore I had to be careful on the downhill where I picked the pace up.
At 7 miles we turned back towards home but had a 3 mile undulating climb straight into wind. It was every bit as tough as I thought it would be and as it wasn't an ultra race, I couldn't walk the hill. I gritted my teeth and dug deep knowing that the last 3 miles that followed and if I had anything left I could push on. The plan worked. I truly believed I would be doing well to get 2 hrs but I came in on 1 Hour 51 minutes - delighted especially as the average pace was 5.15 per km which was quicker than my 5 mile run during the week.
I can build my running from here. This was a good test of my physical and mental fitness and gives me confidence for the half ironman in May.  Tough races make you stronger and with my training intensity increasing I am looking forward to the benefits!

targets create focus

The  great thing about having a target is that it's set. I've made it public. There is an expectation and I can't back out. In 122 days time I will be standing 5 miles north of Fort William on the Great Glen Way with 3 running pals, Roddie Riddle, Steve Drake and Michael Martin. We will be running 100 miles to  Milngavie and on route we will be joined by numerous triathletes who will be supporting us with food, water and running part of the route with us. It will be a joyous event and I am aiming to raise as much money as possible for Maggie's Cancer Caring Centres, an amazing charity that supports Cancer sufferers and their families throughout the illness and beyond. I'll post more details in due course but any support you can give me is appreciated.
However as I sit in Vancouver Airport waiting to return after a week's skiing, the timescale before I undertake this task isn't going unnoticed.  My training is about 6 weeks behind for a number of reasons.  I thought 5 hours skiing a day would get me in shape but the conditions were so bad I might have managed 7 hours in total. I ran two days and found the altitude tough but was invigorated going through the forrests. But also had to keep an eye out for the Bears who may be coming out of their winter slumber early.
I've eaten well and enjoyed a few glasses of wine so it will be interesting when I step on the scales tomorrow.  All week I've suffered from jet lag and just as I'm getting used to Canadian time, im heading back home.  It was great to see my eldest son working in Whistler and the opportunities that lie before him. Skiing with all the family was great and it was real quality time.
But if I didn't have my goal set, if it was just an idea then I'd be postponing it so I could build my training up. I've always been honest in my blogs over the last five years and it's no exaggeration that this is going to be a big ask. The most I've run in one session is 15 miles but I am determined that in 122 days time we will be completing the task, ticking the 100 mile box, the west highland way box, and having another wonderful adventure with like minded friends. While we do this money will be raised for Maggie's which will improve the quality of people's lives.  And it will be that thought that drags my sorry ass out of bed and forces me to put one foot in front of the other for many many miles!  And to help me I have the Strathaven half marathon in a weeks time - bring it on.

Sensible head

It's been a crap week weather wise with the snow on the road and pavements increased the risk on injury so I didn't venture out.  On Tuesday I enjoyed the swimming training.  It was tough with a surprise time trial thrown in but with a lot of us doing a sprint triathlon in May, we need to work on our 750m time.  Although I haven't been swimming much recently, I felt comfortable working hard and in the end we did 2.2km.  I knew I had worked hard because the next day I was tired.
Yesterday was really looking forward to 3 laps at Chatelherault (15 miles) but it didn't go to plan.  Half way round the first lap I started to feel sick.  My morning routine was normal with porridge 75 minutes before exercise so I'd have sufficient fuel.  At the end of the first lap we had a break as some needed to "lose some weight" but when we started the second lap I knew I was in trouble.  The pace was fine but I felt empty.  My left calf wasn't happy but I've never turned back on this run before.  I thought through the situation.  What would I lose if I stopped against what would I gain.  I stopped having completed 1.25 laps and walked back.  I spent the afternoon on the couch and must have fallen asleep for an hour so obviously something wasn't right.
This morning I repeated my routine and ran  2 laps at an easy pace with my pal who had done 4 laps the day before so he was looking for a relaxed pace.  My calf was tightening up on the 2nd lap but I felt great.  I'm trying to see the physio this week as I want the calf checked but I think I made the right decision yesterday and today so that I can get back to some serious training in the next few weeks.
I recon my training is a month behind but there is nothing I can do about that.  Worrying about it certainly won't help.  So I'll build up the miles slowly and get some more time on my bike as come May I have a sprint triathlon and a half ironman.  Winter is a difficult time for all athletes and there are lots of niggling injuries affecting everyone but the key is making sure they get sorted so we can all achieve our goals.  Train hard and train safe my friends.