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. 

The long game

It's been a strange week for my heart rate variance. I started of with a score of 69 and green which was one of my highest scores ever however with a very busy and long week at work the score dropped to 44 and red meaning I didn't train.  I've gone against the score before and ended up out of action for a week so I rested even although I was due to be training. It paid off this morning I went for a 10 mile trail run and felt good.
I reminded myself that I'm in for the long game.  I have 6 months to go before my 70.3 Ironman and the priority is building up my base fitness. I'm not a full time athlete and there will be times when work or just life affects my ability to train. The heart rate variance keeps me in check and I will persevere with it  for the next few months although it can be very frustrating.
It's my mind, the inner chimp, I have to keep in order. I can't stop thinking about when I was training for MdS and did 4 laps (20 miles) with an 8kg rucksack on my back and then repeated it the following day. Now I'm restricting myself to 2 laps with no weighted rucksack. But I'm 6 months out from my event so I need to give myself a break, even if it frustrates me.
Even a professional athlete has peaks and troughs in their training and I need to come to terms with rebuilding my base fitness and not to compare myself to others who are working towards different goals. I'm so lucky to be able to run around Chatelherault with my pals and am looking forward to building the mileage!

Lazy(ish) week

It's been a lazy week for a number of reasons. My main training was restricted to the Tuesday morning yoga, Tuesday night swim, Golf on Friday (5 mile walk,) Saturday morning 10 mile trail run and yoga on Sunday.  This was due to being in London for 2 days and this weekend seeing my son flying off to Vancouver for 6 months - the adventure of a lifetime!  Life isn't all about training although as events approach it does seem to take over.
Having done little running over the last few weeks, the 10 mile trail run on Saturday was an effort.  But I went out with a fellow ATHelite Gav and his two dogs Rosie and Duke and they set the pace. Their energy meant the first lap was faster than was comfortable so at the end of it I was considering packing it in. But as we were having a quick drink two other runners came along and started chatting about various ultra races. This short break and the enthusiasm of the runners changed my mind so I headed off for a second lap. I think Rosie & Duke got the message and were happy to double back to make sure I was ok. So the second lap was slower but it's time on my feet that counts.
Last night I had the weirdest dream about the WHW race and turning up unprepared.  The panic as I realised I didn't have my food organised or my blister kit! Can you believe it? I'm not in the race  yet ( will know 2nd week in December) and I am already dreaming about it.  This will become a regular occurrence if I get in.
Today I was meant to be off to run part of the WHW but instead I was off to the airport for an emotional farewell. As I am typing the flight is boarding at Heathrow.  It was a nice cold, sunny day but my legs were suggesting a yoga session would be more beneficial.  If I was nearer an event I'd have done both but at the moment there is no need for that intensity of training - that will start in January.
So I took my time and had a wonderful yoga session. I worked on my breathing and took my time in the stretches. I sweated buckets and by the end felt refreshed and relaxed. Mission accomplished. Next week I'll pick up the training.  As we head towards the festive season the training schedule will need to be flexible.  The 70.3 Ironman in May will get me focused followed by the WHW in June (hopefully).

Listening to my body

It's been an interesting week. Following last weeks struggle with my Tuesday swimming training I enjoyed this weeks much more. That's probably because we did longer sets rather than short faster sets as we had done the week before.  It allowed me to get into a rhythm and although I slowed down towards the end I came away feeling that I had achieved my goal for the night.  But I had noticed my left calf was extremely tight so I booked a sports massage as the yoga hadn't managed to loosen it off.
You can get rollers that help stretch off your muscles but you can never go deep enough yourself so you have to pay someone else to inflict the pain.  I almost needed a rubber stick to bite down on but was reassured that it would ease off within a few days which it did.
My right foot has been giving me problems and my fantastic chiropractor Gill Dingwall wanted to check the structure of my foot. So on Friday she set about it. More extreme pain but I got some answers and was told it would settle down.  But the following morning walking was painful so I decided to listen to my body and take a rest day. Gutted as I really was wanting to go out running with my pals.
Saturday night involved a heavy session (carb loading!) with friends and a very late night. I had budgeted for that which is why I was disappointed I couldn't run that day.  But my master plan was to leave my car and return the following day by bike. This gave me a good reason to get back on my bike which is long overdue and essential now that I've entered a 70.3 Ironman in May at Loch Lomond.  I'm really excited about that as it's been a long time since I've entered an event with my ATHelite Triathlon Club mates -11 of us have entered so it will be fun!
Today's bike ride was just an hour but it was foggy so I was lit up so the car drivers could avoid me and most of them did. My glasses kept misting up so I ended up taking them off and squinting my eyes to avoid the pothole. I was good to be back on the bike.
The good news is the rest did my foot some good as today it's much better. I really do listen to my body and considering the training miles I will be putting in over the winter, I need to be make sure I don't aggravate any injuries.  Next week I'll be checking out part of the West Highland Way -  can't wait!

Setting your "high bar"

When I was a kid we'd play football in a field, kicking the ball up and down but eventually it got boring as we had no aim.  Then we'd put down a couple of jerseys and all of a sudden the game got interesting. We had something to aim for and we knew when the ball went between the jerseys we'd scored a goal.  Bit of a coincidence, not, that goals are what we aim for and training is what gets us there.
This week I have been persevering with my night splint which I am wearing for an hour a day.  It's unpleasant but I know it will help me achieve my goals by going through this discomfort. On Tuesdays swim session I got out 2/3rds of the way through the main set as I felt tired and my stroke was getting worse with every length. However on Friday I slowed down and concentrated on technique and felt a lot better. A good reminder that winter training allows you to build your strength and improve your technique.
For over a month I have been getting low HRV scores and my fitness, or lack of it, has been backing them up. But this week my HRV scores improved and my 10 mile trail run on Saturday felt good. Today it was a bit slower but I would have been tired from the day before as I also fitted in a 30 minute session on a Watt Bike riding beside the legend Mark Beaumont who was cycling for 24 hours raining money for charity.  The watt bike analyses the smoothness of your pedalling action and it turns out mine isn't! That gives me the opportunity of working on that over the winter. But speaking to Mark was inspiring and talk about setting the bar high, he's off any scale you care to mention. Such a nice guy. I asked him what was the hardest part of cycling round the world. He replied a 3,300 mile stretch in Australia where for 32 days he cycled into a head wind!
We can all stretch our goals, push the barrier, get out of our comfort zone but first you need to put the jerseys down to measure your progress. The winter is the time to put in the hard work and I am slowly beginning to feel the benefit of mine although I need to make a massive improvement if I am to reach my goals in 2015. Thank you Mark Beaumont for reminding me just how far we can all go.