This is my favourite time of year when the colours are changing and the shadows get longer. You can rely on autumn more than you can summer in Scotland. It's cool and fresh with blue skies on the good days and this morning was one of those classic autumn mornings so I pulled on my running shoes and headed out.
I've just come back from London and the contrast couldn't be greater. When walking through the busy streets, runners are trying to cram in a short lunchtime run and they have to compete for any pavement space available or run in the cycle lanes which isn't that safe as cyclists are very protective of the space they have been granted. You also have the pollution to contend with but when I run in London it's always in the beautiful parks to avoid this congestion.
This morning I went out for 11km run. The air was fresh and clean. The sun shone and the sky was blue - not something I've seen too much of this summer. On my run I met 5 cyclists, 1 runner and two dog walkers. There was a handful of cars as I came back into town but that was it. Quiet a contrast to the last few days in London.
Ideally I would have gone for a trail run but needed new trail shoes which I bought later today. This will get me back into the forest runs where I'll enjoy kicking up the fallen golden leaves. I'm so lucky to live in beautiful countryside where outdoor activities are even more special. Autumn will coax me out onto the trails which are just waiting for me. Here's to autumn.
Sunday, 9 October 2016
Sunday, 2 October 2016
Achieving goals - takes desire and hard work
It's been an interesting weekend. Once every 2 years the Ryder Cup comes along. I'm currently watching it, as I have been all weekend, and the USA are in a strong position. But the competition is immense. It's like gladiators going at each other with the partisan crowds egging them on. Sport at it's very best and it has taken years of practice to get to that level. Whoever wins, I may be sleeping by the end, will certainly have worked for it.
Also this weekend I've got friends taking part in the Scottish 10k in Glasgow and my assistant Julie Wilson got a PB of 57 mins - first time she's got under an hour and she worked so hard for it - well done Julie. Notice a theme here?
Other friends were in the half marathon and got PBs. The reason this race is relevant to me is in 2007 I ran the 10k. I hadn't run in years and was delighted to break the hour - it was the start of this mad journey. When I crossed the line I thought of the runners doing double the distance after the 10k was finished and thought, how could they do that? 3 years later I completed my first Ironman.
In the last hour three of my friends have just completed Barcelona Ironman. They have all worked so hard to get to the start line, 2 PBs and for one of them it was his first Ironman and crossing the line he'd have welcomed the words, Graeme Brown you are an Ironman - an experience he won't forget!
As for me I ran on Wednesday and then on Saturday and Sunday. I'm feeling good and getting back to regular running is making me feel good. All week I have followed the Grand to Grand ultra which I will be taking part in in a years time. The pictures coming back are unbelievable and will drive me on in my training. Having a picture in your head of what your goal is makes all the difference. It will be in my mind on every single training session for the next year. It's good to have a goal.
Also this weekend I've got friends taking part in the Scottish 10k in Glasgow and my assistant Julie Wilson got a PB of 57 mins - first time she's got under an hour and she worked so hard for it - well done Julie. Notice a theme here?
Other friends were in the half marathon and got PBs. The reason this race is relevant to me is in 2007 I ran the 10k. I hadn't run in years and was delighted to break the hour - it was the start of this mad journey. When I crossed the line I thought of the runners doing double the distance after the 10k was finished and thought, how could they do that? 3 years later I completed my first Ironman.
In the last hour three of my friends have just completed Barcelona Ironman. They have all worked so hard to get to the start line, 2 PBs and for one of them it was his first Ironman and crossing the line he'd have welcomed the words, Graeme Brown you are an Ironman - an experience he won't forget!
As for me I ran on Wednesday and then on Saturday and Sunday. I'm feeling good and getting back to regular running is making me feel good. All week I have followed the Grand to Grand ultra which I will be taking part in in a years time. The pictures coming back are unbelievable and will drive me on in my training. Having a picture in your head of what your goal is makes all the difference. It will be in my mind on every single training session for the next year. It's good to have a goal.
Sunday, 18 September 2016
Post Ironman blues
For the last couple of weeks I been going out for some runs. No schedule has been set yet I'm gently reintroducing my body to exercise although I'm looking forward to get back into a routine, but not yet. I tweaked a muscle in my shoulder a few weeks back which means swimming and yoga are out just now and I'm not fit enough to go cycling with the group. I'm setting my turbo trainer up so I can increase my fitness without the pressure of keeping up with my pals. The good thing about the winter months is this is where the hard work is done.
Yesterday I went out for a run with my coach Genevieve and we were out for just over an hour. But it was "a game of two halves" as they say in football. In the first half I ran at the same pace that I had for 10km the following week - but I forgot to take into account this was hilly whereas the previous week had been flat. The second half wasn't much fun and my heart rate monitor was saying I was at 195 bpm which isn't possible as I could still talk! But we walked a few parts to let me recover and it showed me just how much work I need to do to get back to a reasonable level of fitness. But as Genevieve said it was a poor good run and it would take a couple of them before I became more comfortable - certainly it put me one step closer to my goal than sitting on the couch would have done! Everyone says I am "looking better" with my weight back to 156 lbs although I'm not so happy carrying that around with me!
To summarise I am returning to exercise slowly. I don't feel motivated despite aiming for a half-ironman (I retired from full ironman) in May next year followed by the Grand Canyon in September. Most people go through post Ironman blues and I've been here before so I'm not concerned about my lack of desire to be back to training 5/6 days per week. That will happen within the next 4 weeks and that is a promise!
Yesterday I went out for a run with my coach Genevieve and we were out for just over an hour. But it was "a game of two halves" as they say in football. In the first half I ran at the same pace that I had for 10km the following week - but I forgot to take into account this was hilly whereas the previous week had been flat. The second half wasn't much fun and my heart rate monitor was saying I was at 195 bpm which isn't possible as I could still talk! But we walked a few parts to let me recover and it showed me just how much work I need to do to get back to a reasonable level of fitness. But as Genevieve said it was a poor good run and it would take a couple of them before I became more comfortable - certainly it put me one step closer to my goal than sitting on the couch would have done! Everyone says I am "looking better" with my weight back to 156 lbs although I'm not so happy carrying that around with me!
To summarise I am returning to exercise slowly. I don't feel motivated despite aiming for a half-ironman (I retired from full ironman) in May next year followed by the Grand Canyon in September. Most people go through post Ironman blues and I've been here before so I'm not concerned about my lack of desire to be back to training 5/6 days per week. That will happen within the next 4 weeks and that is a promise!
Tuesday, 6 September 2016
Green light - 382 days to go
In my opinion, life starts outside your comfort zone (the exceptions being your family & friends) . We spend too much of our life in a "safe" environment leaning over a laptop or pushing a pen. My adventures to date have pushed me hard and while the last Ironman was extremely painful this was due to the effects of an infection. 6 weeks out as was so fit and looking to kill it on the day but sh1t happens. I was still very happy to have raised £6,200 for Maggie's Cancer Caring Centres and achieved a significant PB of 11 hours 50 minutes but know my time could have been so much better - I've got more in me.
Living in the Grand Canyon will be such a privilege and if it's anything like MdS it will be life changing. Leaving aside the snakes, spiders and scorpions, running at altitude will be a real test but sleeping in the canyon will be amazing.
But before I get carried away thinking about the race, there is a lot of hard work to be done before I stand with Steve on the start line in 382 days time. First of all I have to contend with a permanently injured foot. I am receiving treatment to ease the pain but funnily enough the time it doesn't hurt so much is when I'm running! Walking in business shoes is challenging and I may start to wear my training shoes with orthotics going forward. My light unscheduled training continues but within the next 4 weeks my training plan will be sorted. I hope you follow me on this latest adventure. Good luck to the runners in the 2016 event which starts in 19 days time.
Green light - 382 days to go
In my opinion, life starts outside your comfort zone (the exceptions being your family & friends) . We spend too much of our life in a "safe" environment leaning over a laptop or pushing a pen. My adventures to date have pushed me hard and while the last Ironman was extremely painful this was due to the effects of an infection. 6 weeks out as was so fit and looking to kill it on the day but sh1t happens. I was still very happy to have raised £6,200 for Maggie's Cancer Caring Centres and achieved a significant PB of 11 hours 50 minutes but know my time could have been so much better - I've got more in me.
Living in the Grand Canyon will be such a privilege and if it's anything like MdS it will be life changing. Leaving aside the snakes, spiders and scorpions, running at altitude will be a real test but sleeping in the canyon will be amazing.
But before I get carried away thinking about the race, there is a lot of hard work to be done before I stand with Steve on the start line in 382 days time. First of all I have to contend with a permanently injured foot. I am receiving treatment to ease the pain but funnily enough the time it doesn't hurt so much is when I'm running! Walking in business shoes is challenging and I may start to wear my training shoes with orthotics going forward. My light unscheduled training continues but within the next 4 weeks my training plan will be sorted. I hope you follow me on this latest adventure. Good luck to the runners in the 2016 event which starts in 19 days time.
Monday, 29 August 2016
Run, fatboy run!
I'm feeling a bit like Simon Pegg in the film Run, fatboy run at the moment. We've just come back from 4 days of indulgence (gold medal standard) in Budapest and when I stepped on the scales this morning I was 155 lbs! Now I can hear some of my friends saying give me a break, that's not fat but for me it's starting to look a bit chubby. That's 11 llbs heavier than when I lined up on the start line for IM almost 2 months ago and it means I'll be carrying this extra junk when I go out for a run later today. But I did promise myself this 2 month rest and it's now coming to an end!
I've just registered for my 2017 "A" race www.g2gultra.com so fingers crossed I get in. I'm starting my light training now to get my body back into shape and will be doing everything possible to avoid injury including more regular yoga.
On holiday we did a 90 minute yoga class and the instructor apologised to my wife afterwards saying she hope she hadn't killed me! Just breathe she kept telling me - believe me I was trying! Lots of work to be done here as this will help my breathing, flexibility and strength all of which will be essential for a 6 stage 170 mile race through the Grand Canyon in a year time.
A wee trip tomorrow to my chiropractor to sort a tweak in my back and hopefully I'll be good to go. I've enjoyed the break but can see if I don't get back to regular exercise and keep eating as though I'm training, I'll soon be a "chunky monkey" which is not the desired outcome. I'll keep you posted.
I've just registered for my 2017 "A" race www.g2gultra.com so fingers crossed I get in. I'm starting my light training now to get my body back into shape and will be doing everything possible to avoid injury including more regular yoga.
On holiday we did a 90 minute yoga class and the instructor apologised to my wife afterwards saying she hope she hadn't killed me! Just breathe she kept telling me - believe me I was trying! Lots of work to be done here as this will help my breathing, flexibility and strength all of which will be essential for a 6 stage 170 mile race through the Grand Canyon in a year time.
A wee trip tomorrow to my chiropractor to sort a tweak in my back and hopefully I'll be good to go. I've enjoyed the break but can see if I don't get back to regular exercise and keep eating as though I'm training, I'll soon be a "chunky monkey" which is not the desired outcome. I'll keep you posted.
Sunday, 14 August 2016
Weekend warriors
The Rio Olympics are in full flow and after the negative build up over facilities not being ready, poor crowds and doping athletes the real action is getting to the medal stages. These finely tuned career athletes have put in at least 8 years hard graft to get to this level and made an amazing sacrifice to represent GB in Rio. They have a support team of trainers, physio's, nutritionists etc giving them the best chance of bringing home the medals. Not everyone does but just representing your country at the Olympics is an amazing achievement in it's own right.
For us weekend warriors we can only dream what it must be like to be on the start line of the Olympics. But when I listen to the interviews and the athlete's saying "we've worked so hard to be here today; the early morning starts in the winter, training in the snow and rain", I think to myself we're not so different in that way. Training for an Ironman takes 9 months of hard graft 6 days a week, while holding down a fulltime job and having no support team. Getting ready for the Grand Canyon will take a years training and during that time I have a business to run and a family to support.
Yesterday I was at the ATHelite Triathlon Club BBQ and I was looking round at all the successful weekend warriors. From sprint triathlons to ironman, ultra duathlons to ultra marathons we'd done them all. It made feel very privileged to be part of this friendly, fit group of individuals who encourage and cajole each other to bigger or faster challenges. The Olympics may be the pinnacle of an athlete's career but let us salute the weekend warriors that hold down jobs, train in every spare moment to line up on a start line that won't be featured on the BBC but the result is every bit as important to them as a gold medal. Weekend warriors - we ROCK!
For us weekend warriors we can only dream what it must be like to be on the start line of the Olympics. But when I listen to the interviews and the athlete's saying "we've worked so hard to be here today; the early morning starts in the winter, training in the snow and rain", I think to myself we're not so different in that way. Training for an Ironman takes 9 months of hard graft 6 days a week, while holding down a fulltime job and having no support team. Getting ready for the Grand Canyon will take a years training and during that time I have a business to run and a family to support.
Yesterday I was at the ATHelite Triathlon Club BBQ and I was looking round at all the successful weekend warriors. From sprint triathlons to ironman, ultra duathlons to ultra marathons we'd done them all. It made feel very privileged to be part of this friendly, fit group of individuals who encourage and cajole each other to bigger or faster challenges. The Olympics may be the pinnacle of an athlete's career but let us salute the weekend warriors that hold down jobs, train in every spare moment to line up on a start line that won't be featured on the BBC but the result is every bit as important to them as a gold medal. Weekend warriors - we ROCK!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
