Unbroken by Brecon

Last weekend was the Brecons Ultra. Billed as a 45 miler, it always ends up being at least 46 miles with some change over (depending upon how much you wobble off the most direct route as the crow flies), so you need to prepare yourself for the Garmin clicking over to 45 miles despite the final two bridges still being out of sight.
We stayed at an Outward Bound Centre the night before, courtesy of one of Kevin’s contacts, which was SO much better than getting up at 3.15 am to drive to Talybont. It also meant that we could register and collect our race numbers the night before. On the morning of the race, we had a good breakfast, made the final tweaks to our gear and put our numbers on our shorts before leaving for race HQ.
We set of along the canal at around a 7.30 pace for the first three miles to the start of the hill, walking up the first hill at a brisk pace so as not to overcook it right at the start. We then made a rapid descent to Checkpoint 1 to refill our bottles and push on along the old railway line. At this point I could see that even though I was feeling good, Justin had much more to give so both Kev and I told him to push on and that we would see him at the end. Kevin and I continued to run together for a number of miles albeit that he pushed up the hills and I then caught him on the downs – all good fun. We stayed together until the beginning of the hill on the second lap when Kev pulled away and I didn’t see him again until the end. It was at this point that I became VERY tired and had to give myself a good talking to not to give up. I think I was feeling a bit fed up at not feeling as strong as last year. Having told myself in no uncertain terms that this wasn’t surprising given that eight weeks ago I thought that I may not be able to run an ultra again and that just being able to complete the two laps was a HUGE achievement – I carried on with a slow steady chug. This worked well as it enabled me to take on food and water and to maintain a forward momentum. Having got to the top of the hill, I knew then that I was going to finish this race and more importantly that I would be happy with what I had achieved.
The lads both ran VERY well. From a position of around 18 when he left us Justin pushed himself to a 7.01 finish and 7th place and Kevin kept his running strong and came in, in a great time of 8.17. I finished in a time of 8.44 and even managed to out sprint a runner at the end. I’d been tracking him all along the canal without having a thought about catching him let alone overtaking, but I think I took less ‘walk breaks’ in the last section and in the end we were so close I had to have a go at passing him.
Overall, I am VERY happy with how my body performed on the day and I feel that I can move forward confidently with a winter work programme to carry on building my fitness so that I can begin next year both stronger and quicker and more able to be competitive in the ultra races I love. Bring on 2012!!!

Me and Justin last year 09 seconds in

Taly-Ho @ Talybont

Since I last posted a blog, I have done my longest and (for me) most important run this year, having completed a lap of the Beacons ultra-course - and it went VERY WELL
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Myself, Justin and Andy (who was on last year’s team) set off in very warm conditions a couple of Saturdays ago and by the time we reached the first big hill we were all thinking that running with a couple of layers of clothing, hats and gloves was the wrong choice – forgetting that (a) we were running in a valley and (b) that we were in Wales (more later). Justin and I had set ourselves a target to try and run the lap at a pace around 09:30 to 10:00 minute miles but we didn’t quite manage this as Andy hasn’t been doing quite as much training as Justin and me and we were running the lap as a team. We walked the first big hill after 3.5 miles and noted that it goes up for 1.5 miles. SOOO on race day we are planning to walk up the incline at a rapid pace on the first lap and to hobble up (hopefully not in quite as much pain as last year) on the second. By the time we ran onto the Taff Trail, we had been running in steady rain for a couple of hours and the temperature had dropped significantly, so we had a ‘re-dress’ and put on our waterproof jackets (which stayed on until the last three miles). Because we felt relaxed and comfortable at the steady pace, we were able to take in all the key changes of direction along the route (an important ingredient of any recce run). From the Saddle it was just a matter of cruising down the stony path to the valley bottom without tripping. Unfortunately I didn’t quite manage this and ended up going over spectacularly, although instinct kicked in and I managed a perfectly executed Para roll to avoid any serious injuries. We finished the lap in four and a half hours and enjoyed a coffee before travelling home. It was actually quite nice not to feel like our legs had been through a meat grinder!

The following week I did a local cross country and felt good all the way round, although was not able to beat my team mate for the Brecon Kevin, who had done a lap of the Brecon course the day before, I am sure he will be very strong on the day.

I have had a restful taper with just a couple of quality runs with Justin, and feel as ready as I can be for the race and am looking forward to meeting and catching up with friends I have not seen for a long time on the ultra-scene. I will give a report next week when I can sit still for more than five minutes without my legs cramping!

Not quite NNNN Nineteen

Last Sunday, Justin and I ran a very nice 18.5 mile route from Oxford to Long Hanborough, taking in the Thames, the Oxford Canal and a lap around Blenheim Palace. I felt strong and was pleased to be able to maintain what was (for me) a decent pace while still holding a conversation! We ended up running an overall pace of 8 minute miles and I even managed to push it a little on the last mile (downhill) to 7.05 – good practice for race finishes! Although my legs were a little sore on Monday morning, they felt much better than they have for a while.
It feels as though my ‘back to basics’ training is beginning to pay dividends and I am starting to hope that I might just be able to have a go at the full race distance for the Brecons Ultra. Of course it really all depends on how the long reccie run next weekend goes. I’m hoping it will give me an indication of whether I am going to be able to contribute positively to the race strategy of the team which will make my decision much easier.
I am going to have an easy week this week with just one tempo run so that I can be as fresh as possible for the weekend. Here’s keeping everything crossed that everything goes well!

I have my MOJO back

I think I may have got my MOJO back!!
Last weekend I was up at my mum’s in Maltby, South Yorkshire while the Round Rotherham was on.http://www.hmarston.co.uk/rhac/trail/rrr.htm A member of my family was going to be taking part in the relay class with other members of her running club and I had arranged to run with her on her leg and then continue back to Maltby (a distance of 16 miles in total). I also wanted to pop over at the start of the race to say hello and good luck to a couple of people. I knew from the start list that Colm (who I partnered on the OMM last year) had entered, and I thought it would be a good opportunity to catch up with him before he was completely knackered!
Although I knew that it would be extremely foolish to attempt to run the entire distance at this stage of my ‘come back’, I was VERY tempted once I saw everyone else prepping and getting keyed up for the start. However, I had a good chat with Colm and a few others and then tore myself away to go back to my mum’s for porridge before meeting Caroline at the handover point for the start of her leg. Unfortunately, having waited for some time at the checkpoint, we heard that the first runner in Caroline’s team had got lost and that it would be quite some time before she would be needed. Colm was due to be along shortly after we heard this and with Caroline’s agreement I decided to ask him whether he minded me tagging along with him to Maltby. He didn’t mind me keeping him company and we set off.
It felt incredibly good to be running in a competitive environment again (even if I wasn’t technically in the race) and everything was working as it should have, so rather than stopping at Maltby I carried on running, ending up at the finish at Dearne Valley College - a total distance of some 26.8 miles. We averaged 10:27 minute miles for the part of the race I covered. A steady pace for me (which is maybe why I was able to cover the distance)and a great pace for Colm given that he had already done 25 miles cross country! He finished in 08:16:47 and was in 22nd place.
All-in-all I have to say it was a FANTASTIC weekend. I caught up with some old friends, the weather was great for running and I had the best run I’ve had in a VERY long time! I even managed to take the dog out for a run the next day. To say I came back home on something of a high is an understatement.
I would certainly recommend the Round Rotherham as an enjoyable, if challenging, event to anyone looking for a 50 mile ultra.

Moving Forward

The running has been going well; I have made my times this week so I am pleased with that.
I did a 12 mile run on Sunday and even though the heat was very uncomfortable I managed to achieve a pace that would put me at week six of my training. I do not wish to move forward to that week at the moment as the Tempo run times are beyond me at the moment.

BLOODy Training!!!!!!!!!!!

My planned 50 mile test run did not go well, and I only managed to reach the 23 mile mark before having to call it a day. I probably could have gone on for a bit longer because, as before, my head was strong and I felt no pain or strain in any part of my body, but my running partner was clearly getting nothing from the run and, more than that, he was expending his energy dragging me forward. The problem again seemed to be a lack of energy getting through to my legs which resulted in a very slow pace (actually excruciatingly slow) from mile 10. I had been very careful with my nutrition before the run and made sure I was hydrated but it didn’t seem to make any difference.
My second blood test came back with similar results to the first – with my bilirubin on the high side and my white blood cells on the low, although both levels showed some improvement.
Following my unsuccessful attempt on the 50 miler and having talked things through with my very understanding (and supportive) doctor, I have decided to go back to basics in terms of my training to see if strengthening the foundations of my fitness can help overcome the problems I seem to be having. I have done a 5km time trial and have used this to calculate my training times for a 16 week marathon plan which I began last week. I have been happy with how the plan has been going so far. I seem to be making the times (albeit not ‘comfortably’) and seem to be recovering well for the next training session. I have managed a 10km in 45 minutes and a 10 mile cross-country run without feeling like I needed to stop.
I am going to review the plan at week 8 and my doctor is going to take some more blood samples, this time to test a host of other things and to check my red blood cells. Hopefully this will give us some answers!
On a positive note, rather than wasting the entrance fee, I have decided to run the last lap of the Brecon Ultra with the team rather than missing out the race altogether. It will allow me to assess how the training is going, whether I am able to run for four hours in one go and I may even be able to help the team through the second half of the race!
One really exciting development is that my Personal Training web site is now up and running so please do have a look at http://cwpersonaltraining.com./ . Let me know if you have any thoughts on its layout or contents. Hope you like it!
Lastly, I did an Instructor’s course on suspension training this week and enjoyed it very much. The Trainer was good and the materials and the practical sessions were well thought out. It’s always good to brush up your technique and to learn how you can do things better. The course was run by Discovery Training http://www.discovery.uk.com
One last thought - always try to run with a smile on your face!