Dead man running!

It's not been a good week for me with the snot fest followed by the flem fest and I have a feeling the chest fest is soon to follow.  But I'm well rested and my HRV technology was telling me I was ok so today I went out for a 10 mile trail run - the one I only managed half of last Saturday.  The conditions were so wet underfoot that at one stage I had to divert via a very muddy field to get round my circuit.  But othwise it was a perfect day for running.
I enjoyed the freedom of running while not gasping for breath and taking in the beautiful scenery of Chatelherault Country Park.  There is 800 ft of climbing during the 10 miles so it's a tough track but after lap 1 I felt fine and after lap 2 I knew I had run within my capability, but pushed it a little.  However the data from my ever reliable Garmin said my average heart rate was 199 and my max was 256.  I remember looking at my watch at 256 and thinking, if this is accurate them I'm dead!  I wasn't struggling with my breath so I disregarded the data.  Time to buy a new heart rate strap as these heart rate statistics are meaningless.
Tomorrow I will be running again but will use it as a recovery run.  My son will also be competing in an 800m race.  Should be fun, at least for me to watch, but he will look as tired as I am at the end.  It's great to be back exercising but I know I've got to take care at this stage.

What will 2014 bring?

Every new year brings similar thoughts about the future. And so much of what happens lies in our own hands. If you really want something to change, then make it happen. I'm not a fan of new year resolutions because they are usually made with no commitment and broken within a month. So if you're like me, you'll have decided what you want and then plotted a course on how to get there. That's why I completed a short yoga session and run this morning because that takes me one step closer to my goals. But before you do that you should reflect on 2013 - the highs and lows to see what you can learn from your journey.
The world lost some great people during the year such as Nelson Mandela but look at the legacy he and many others less famous left.  It's what you do and the impact on other peoples lives that makes a lasting difference.  So as I start to feel human again after my bout of "man flu" I am realising just how lucky I am to have my health, family, sport and business life. I have set challenges that will stretch me for the next two years and I will learn and meet new people along the way. Happy new year to everyone.

Speed bump

I've hit a speed bump - a way of been told to slow down. It turns out the technology was telling me to stop training but ignored it. My body has gone on strike. Since my last run I have been floored by a "snot fest". It was 3am before I got to sleep last night and it will be a few days before I can even consider training.
I shouldn't be surprised as this happened last year at the same time. As soon as I take my foot off the gas then bam! There is little I can do about it except get through this as quickly as possible.  It will mean I have to dial back on the training and rebuild.  If there is a time to get a cold, it is 4 months from a major event.  So I am human after all. What is going to make the difference is how I approach this mentally. It's only a small set back but the thought of taking two steps backwards to take one step forward isn't fun. However if I want to achieve everything I have set my sights on in 2014, I need to get back on track.  Here's to a healthy 2014 for everyone. 🏃

Blown away - literally!

This morning the wind was howling and the rain hammering down against the bedroom window.  Did I want to get out my nice warm bed? No, I was on holiday. There are severe weather warnings on the news so the easy decision was to stay in bed.  But that's not how you prepare for a 53 mile run.
Time to get up for a yoga practice followed by a trail run with a fellow athlete who is in training for his 1st ironman.  For the first time the wind penetrated the trees at Chatelherault and the conditions were wet under foot.  At one stage I took a fall straight down. Nothing more than a grazed knee but it could have been worse.
My head cold meant I really shouldn't have been running but I felt up for it. However it became clear I wasn't 100% and the scheduled 2 laps was cut to 1 so a good 5 mile of trail running. It was done in a decent time but pushing it for another lap wasn't advisable and I listened to my body. Home to chocolate milk and home made soup after a shower and clean up. I feel really good now so conclude that I was right to run and right to cut it short. There will be many more training sessions in poor conditions but as I have a major event in the early season, I have no choice so it makes the decision easier to make. Stay safe out there folks.

Confessions of a triathlete

In my last post I said training would start today and that's the great thing about blogging.  Once I've said it I really can't go back on my word.  Knowing you may be reading my blog means I need to deliver.
The same goes for the goals I set.  Make them public then you can't go back.  As you will know my next challenge is the Highland Fling.  A 53 mile ultra marathon that I want to complete in around 12 hours.  My blog is there to record the blood, sweat and tears during my journey so you can get a "front row seat" of what's involved.  Now here is where the confession comes in. I'm 52.  Not a fact I've tried to hide but just as importantly not an excuse I will make for my performance.  I don't consider myself an athlete, just someone who is determined to push my own boundaries.  It's almost like an expirement to see just how much more I can get out of myself and I look at other older athletes and realise there is plenty more to go.
A lot of my training is done on my own so I can fit in family and business commitments.  But I enjoy getting together with other triathletes and runners. In 2014 a large group of ATHelite members are training for Ironman distance and I look forward to joining their training sessions, after all my second race this year is a 70.3 Ironman.  However what I have to guard against is trying to keep up with them or being despondent when left trailing behind.  I need to keep my goal in mind and follow my own training plan.
So with a view to my 53 mile ultra marathon I weighed myself on Xmas morning.  Not happy to be touching 12 stone as I recon my "fighting weight" to be 11.25 stone max.  So carrying all that extra weight takes a lot of effort and I can't afford to do that over 53 miles, never mind all the training miles.  I said training starts today so I will be blogging on a more regular basis.  I hope to provide technical details for those that are interested and details of the journey for those wanting a laugh over a coffee.  So, how do you get from 6 miles, which I ran today, up to 53 miles in 4 months?  Well sit back and enjoy the journey.  Better still grab a pair of running shoes and start your own journey.  Thanks for following mine. 

Endurance training

In training for Ironman events, Marathon des Sables and now other ultra marathons I have trained my mind to put up with a lot.  Exhaustion, pain, freezing conditions, extreme heat, dehydration and long periods of boredom.
Over the last few days, such is my dedication to the cause that I have completed a back to back endurance training session that has included all of the above. It started on Friday at 4pm and my first mistake was getting the pace wrong. I went off too fast with the hydration plan forgetting the importance of food - I suffered for that later.  The one advantage of the mistake was how quickly the event passed and I shed a lot of pounds, hundreds in fact. Outside it had been freezing but inside the layers were coming off to keep my core temperature down. The boredom of waiting for the carriage home while listening to people who had obviously missed their feed stations eventually passed.
But this was a back to back training session so last nigh I repeated the training. But like all good athletes I had learned. I paced myself. Got the balance right between hydration and food. This was a better experience which enhanced my performance.
Fortunately I only undertake this dangerous training once a year. If you're motivated to try this over the next few weeks then be careful but enjoy yourself. Normal training resumes on Thursday. Have a wonderful Xmas and thank you for taking the time to follow my adventures. Knowing that you are following me keeps me motivated at the most difficult times. Like now when I have a hangover! Merry Xmas.

To hibernate or not?

It's that time of year when triathletes tend to catch up on what they missed out during the year due to training and races.  But for me, my "A" race was in April and I've enjoyed the 6 months recovery time but not the 3/4 of a stone I have put on.  I've been slim all my life so please take my comments in context.  I'm not enjoying being just short of 12 stone as having trained for the MdS with a weighted rucksack, I feel I am carrying around excess baggage which is an effort.  So come January when my training gets back to normal, this excess baggage is going!
But should I just hibernate for the rest of the month.  Enjoy the lovely food, fine wines and a few beers?  Stop any kind of training and just enjoy a couple of weeks off?  Well I had 6 days off training last week but did a 10k run on Friday and Sunday with some yoga.  My glutes complained on Saturday so I went for a painful sports massage which helped loosen them up. 
After doing "Dad duties" on Sunday while the weather was dry I found my only "window" to run was in the pissing rain with the wind sending it sideways.  This is always a good mental test - am I mental enough to go out in those conditions?  I decided it would be character forming and once your wet you can always look forward to the hot shower afterwards which is the best bit.
I have concluded that hibernating would be nice but I feel sluggish if I don't do any training.  Therefore I will continue a "winter schedule" over the coming weeks, buildng it around social occassions, food and wine - at least it should mean no more weight gain.  Then come January it won't be such a shock to the system when my training and my diet gets a radical overhall.  In the meantime I think I'd better start my Xmas shopping which will definately involve running around some shops!