A week to go.........

One week to go to the big event, time to make sure everything is place, get the last few training runs in and get some rest!

It’s not been perfect build up in the last couple of weeks, we’ve moved house and I’ve been picking up extra shifts at work so training time has been at a premium. Since coming back from travelling in December last year we’ve been looked after and made to feel incredibly welcome at in-laws. However, it’s nice to finally be somewhere we can put some roots down after moving around quite a bit in the last few years. The move actually went very smoothly, thanks to some very hardworking and helpful friends and family, and we’re now settled in to our new home. An added bonus to our new home is that it’s surrounded by some of Cheshire’s beautiful countryside. I made good use of this last week with run of just under 30 miles, It took around 5 ½ hrs, with a short break in the middle to fill up my water bladder, and to learn that drinking a pint of milk then trying and run to is not a good idea! That will be my last long run before the Ultra and It felt pretty comfortable so I’ll be going into the 69 miles feeling confident. I did develop a blister on my heel which will hopefully be gone by next weekend. I’ve not done any other running but have played some squash, rugby and done some weights sessions.

Turning my thoughts to race day, I’ve been going through the compulsory kit list, needed to pop out and pick a few little things up to make sure I had all the boxes ticked. I didn't realise that I would need a survival bag and emergency whistle for a run! I've also been going over the course details, set out a rough plan for how long each stage will take me; prepared my halfway kit bag with extra supplies and spare trainers etc and we’ve got hotels booked for Carlisle and Newcastle.  All that’s left is to run 69 miles! I've found that having this blog and the fact that people are sponsoring me to raise money for Cancer Research UK has been a useful tool to keep me focused on my goal. Everyone at work thought I was crazy to attempt this, when I first signed up I think I probably felt the same, however as with any targets you set or goals you want to achieve its been a case of building up week by week setting short term targets with an eye on the bigger target. The main lesson I've learnt from training and building up to an Ultra Marathon is exactly that. Despite setting myself a pretty daunting target by breaking it down to smaller short term targets and hitting them I'm now seven days away and feeling really confident! I've kept telling myself that I can do this and I think the positive mindset has really helped, I'm a firm believer that 'If you think you can, or you think you can't, your probably right.' And I know that at least one of my friends is now planning on doing a marathon next year and is keen on doing an Ultra Marathon and whatever happens next weekend I'm already thinking about what my next Ultra event will be...  

I’ll be working nights Sunday to Wednesday and then travelling up to Carlisle on Friday with the fiancé to register. I’ve enjoyed writing this blog and hope someone out there has enjoyed reading it, my final post will be after the run weekend providing I survive the ordeal! 

...and don’t forget that I am undertaking this challenge in an effort to raise funds for Cancer Research UK, please visit my just giving page at www.justgiving.com/runchinmanrun and give generously!

     

My first Marathon!

On the 19^th May I took part in the Brathay Windermere Marathon, it was my first full 26.2 mile marathon and I thoroughly enjoyed it! I completed the course in 4:09:54, which was a little outside my goal of 4 hours but I was satisfied nonetheless.

Last time I posted I was still having trouble with my knee, I’ve continued with the stretching and strengthening exercises and the week before the marathon I managed a 17 mile with only a small amount of discomfort. I also fitted in short high intensity sessions around my night shifts. We had planned to camp at Grizedale forest with some friends and family for the weekend but, due to work commitments and poor weather, the future wife and I ended up sleeping in one of those camping ‘pods’ that are very popular

these days. It was basically a big garden shed with a carpet but, it was warm and dry which, after the previous night in a slightly leaky tent with a punctured air bed, was a luxury (we also borrowed our friends air mattress so were able to get a reasonably good nights sleep).

On Sunday morning, all fuelled up with the previous nights obligatory pasta meal and some porridge for breakfast, we headed for Brathay Hall. By the time we were parked and had walked back to the staging area it was time for the pre race briefing. We were introducd to Horst Preisler the world record holder for marathons completed, a mere 1821! Also we given an update about the hardcore group of who had been taking part in the 10 in 10 challenge, they were already out on the course on their way to completing the course for the 10^th time in ten days!   

www.brathaywindermeremarathon.org.uk

We were then marched down, led by a marching drummer band, to start and off we went! As for the actual run there’s not that much to say, the hills were a killer, I hit halfway in 1:57 so was on track for a sub-4hr. At 20 miles I felt pretty knackered but saw the fiancée at that point cheering me on which gave me a boost, only to get pretty severe cramp around 21 miles! As I’d had this problem in a previous training run and been able to carry on after a short break I wasn’t too concerned. Don’t get me wrong I was annoyed to have to stop and walk and it was pretty painful but I knew within a few minutes I’d be able to carry on. So from there I pushed on, in the last half a mile I got a bit emotional, I don’t know if it was relief or happiness or the tiredness but I found myself filling up! And then it was over, a medal, a bottle of water and a banana handed to me as I crossed the line then a big hug of the future wife and we hopped in the car to drive home.

I enjoyed a few beers that evening then it was back to work the next day, the legs were pretty sore the day or two after but by Wednesday I’d pretty well recovered, and back into training on Thursday with two 10 mile runs either side of a game of footy. The latter run ended up being in the dark and so was my first experience running with a head torch on. It was a little eerie running along a canal path only able to see a small area directly ahead of you, but I made it home safely.

Next week I’m thinking of having a crack at a 30ish mile section of the Sandstone trail, should be fairly similar mix of surfaces to the Hadrian’s wall run so I think it should be good training.      

cheers!

Build up to Brathay

So since I  last wrote my training hasn't progressed a great deal. The sore knee I mentioned last time out has continued to bother me, although a regime of stretching and strengthening exercises is gradually increasing the time/distance I can cover prior to the onset of pain. I was also struck down with a vomitting and diarrhoea bug for a few days during which I wasn't really able eat leaving me feeling incredibly weak. So in the last two weeks the longest run I've managed is about 6 miles! not really the sort of distances I was planning on covering at this stage. I also attended a Stag party this weekend in York for my soon to be brother-in-law. So all in all a pretty good example of how training plans can be easily disrupted. However I've not let it get me down (too much), I got my diary out and replanned my training for the next month so I can hopefully get back on track with where I need to be before I start to taper for he big event. As well as changing my schedule I've had to look at the types of training I'm doing. Due to the current problem with my knee I've been trying to keep the length of my training sessions up by running on the treadmill until the pain starts then switching to the exercise bike and continuing on there for the equivalent time. for example I was planning a 15 mile run (~2hr 15min), I ran for 55 mins before the knee started to niggle then switched to the bike for 1hr 20mins. I have also focused more on the shorter sessions with a more speed work and High Intensity Interval Training. Runners world - article on HIIT  

In two weeks time I will be participating in the Brathay Windermere Marathon, my original plan was to ease my training back over this next two week period, tapering slightly to give myself a chance at running a good time for this, my first ever marathon. However seeing as I've done less than I would have like over the last 2-3 weeks I will just be incorporating it into my schedule as my weekly long run and continue with the other training. It should be a really tough but enjoyable challenge as the course is very hilly but has some beautiful scenery. Ill be aiming for around 4 hours, but realistically I'll be happy as long as my knee doesn't stop me from finishing. With that in mind I'm off to do so stretching. I have a busy work week coming up so I'm going to have to be very disciplined and make sure I get my runs in where I can.

next installment will hopefully be after a successful run at the marathon, speak to you in a couple of weeks! 

Playing the Long Game

Long time no blog...

Where were we...

Two weeks ago I'd just done an 18 mile run at the end and for the following few days i felt pretty awful and had very sore legs indeed. Following the cup final I had a painful right ankle which prevented me from playing the following week. Since then I've completed two 20 mile runs in 3:20 and 3:09. After both I felt pretty tired but hadn't suffered from any cramp. However, after my latest run I have started to develop shin splints, almost predominantly on my left side, as well as what feels like it might be 'Runners Knee' or ITBS (Iliotibial band syndrome) in the same leg. As things go I've been pretty lucky with injuries in my sporting life, I've never broken anything bigger than a toe. I've had a few bad ankle sprains and the only other injuries I can remember were a subluxated (fancy word for nearly dislocated) shoulder and a rib problem from playing rugby. The rib injury which wasn't very pleasant as it limited my ability to expand my ribcage meaning it was a struggle to breathe! Thankfully a bit help from a physiotherapist friend sorted that out, only for me to then undo his hard work by throwing myself on the floor whilst playing with his son! This is typical of my behaviour when it comes to injury, when I hurt my shoulder it was during a warm-up drill at an introduction for Chester Romans American Football team a few years back, what did I do? I kept going for the full 2 hour session despite being in pretty bad pain because I didnt want to miss out. The same thing has been true when I've sprained my ankle, I always went back to playing football to soon and often made it worse (I didn't convert to rugby until I was 24). So for me making the descision to miss 2 out of our last 3 rugby matches of the season was tough to make and left me feeling pretty pissed off. Without the final goal of running 69 miles being quite prominent in my mind I probably would have played both weekends, risking further injury but at least getting to be involved. Now, I might have come through unscathed but just as easily I could have put myself out of training for an extended period, this would have seriously dented my chances of achieving the goals I have set for myself in participating in the Wall Ultra Run 2013. This tends to be true in general life too, set backs tend to occur when I've been trying to do too much and not taken the time to step back, have a break and put things in perspective. Training runs when its cold and wet, eating and drinking the right things, sticking to a training schedule, all important elements in preparing for a long distance running event, but there needs to be a balance. If you're full of cold and it's raining cats and dogs then there's no point saying 'my plan says I've got to do a 90 minute run today, so off I go!' rest and recovery is just as important as the training. So I'm trying to listen to my body, its telling me 'your knee is not right, have a break and sort it out' so I'm not playing rugby on this beautiful Saturday afternoon and instead I am sat at the laptop writing this. At least this is better than being there watching and not being able to play, that's just like torture! 

Any way there's plenty of people who have made it though the training and are getting ready to compete in tomorrows Virgin London Marathon including a colleague of mine Liam Jones who has gone from being a non runner to 26.2 miles over the last year. He is raising money to aid the expansion of the Neonatal Unit where his daughter was cared for at the Countess of Chester Hospital. You can support Liam by going to www.justgiving.com/ladiesmanlondonmarathon. 

There was also the sad news from the Boston marathon this week, my thoughts go out to anyone affected there. My inspiration for this blog came from Haruki Murakami who entered the Boston marathon on several occasions he considered it one of his favourite marathons, also whilst travelling last year we met several people who had taken part in the marathon, hopefully one day I'll get the chance to enter myself. 



Until next time, best of luck to all those taking part tomorrow!

Wake Up Call!

Last week I mentioned how I felt stronger at the end of my long run compared to the week before. This most definitely was not the case this week. If you remember last weeks long run was mainly on a canal path meaning it was pretty flat (or easy).The plan this week was to do 18-20 miles off-road, the route I'd planned on doing was a long loop including two local hills.  

With the future wife left tucked up in bed (She'd just finished her own run of nights) I headed to Frodsham to get going. It started off pretty well, I was enjoying the views from higher points after scaling Frodsham hill and despite the remaining snow the temperature was pretty mild. My navigational skills let me down once again as I ended up on a different path to the intended one and I decided to make an alteration to the planned route as I didn't fancy my chances at getting back on track. My feet had got soaked, as some of the lower points were flooded from the melted snow, but thankfully I didn't get any blisters. My amended route took me along the Sandstone trail to Delamere forest where, as it was a sunny bank holiday I had to share the trails with many dog walkers, other runners and mountain bikers. I particularly enjoyed overtaking some mountain bikers, while they were struggling up a steep incline, as they'd come whizzing past earlier and sprayed me with mud!

My halfway point was Old Pale Hill, which some may remember as the first section of the Hell up North trail running event (they might have moved it to the end now). It was pretty tough getting up there due to the slippery compacted snow and I did some pretty impressive flailing around a few times to avoid falling. Coming back down the other side was just as treacherous. I'd felt pretty good despite the inclines and had been using my energy gels roughly every 20-25 minutes up until about the 10 mile mark, when I started to feel myself tightening up a bit. I was carrying my energy gels in a new bottle carrying bum bag I purchased as a back-up/replacement for the leaky hydration pack. I was also using some pink grapefruit flavoured High5 electrolyte replacement tabs in my water bottles (which, if nothing else, taste really nice). Despite these supplements I began to feel pretty tight around the 12 mile mark and got pretty sore in my quads during the uphill sections of latter stages. Then at around 16 miles cramp started to set in, first in my calves then in quads. I felt like if I stopped my legs would completely seize up so I kept running for as long as I could despite the pain. About half a mile later I had to kneel down and do some stretching at the side of the road, finish the last of my pink grapefruit flavoured water and thankfully after a minute or so was able to jog again and then finish the last mile and a half. 

Can you feel my pain?

This was probably the first point at which I thought 'hmm.... 69 miles, that's gonna be tough!'. I had (naively) felt up until that moment that it would just be a case of mind over matter and that I'd be able to just will myself through the miles. I now realise that I'm going to have to get myself really well conditioned for the challenge and even then my body might let me down. As leg cramps are caused by dehydration and electrolyte imbalance I can only think that I had not drunk enough a) because I wasn't thinking about drinking, I got distracted by not being sure of my route and focusing on taking the energy gels at the right times and b) because I only had about 1500ml on me. Just another lesson learnt to take into next weeks training, also the positive fact that despite getting cramps they resolved quite easily and I was able to continue running, I think I'd be more worried if I'd had to walk the last mile back to the car.In the end I did a total distance of 18 miles including 750m of ascent, I'd say roughly 80% on muddy, snowy paths, the rest on roads.
3 days later I played rugby for the first time in a few weeks in the Cheshire Bowl final, we lost 17-18 to Crewe & Nantwich. My legs probably weren't quite up to it after this last run and I wasn't anywhere near my best form, so all in all pretty disappointing day (for match report click here).
 Since then I've had a closer look at the profile of the The Wall Ultra Run, and the individual stages and found that the longest stage is 17 miles and it includes a total ascent of 520m, and the majority of the stage is road or tarmac path. With this in mind I doubt I'll do quite as much ascent in one run again. Next weeks main run will be around the same distance possibly up to 20 miles, and on mixed surfaces around 50:50, road to trail.

A weights session on Tuesday (including matching my PB on the bench press for the first time in a long while), an intervals session on the bike on Wednesday, and a game of squash this morning round off the last seven days of training for me.               

All The Gear, No Idea!

Hey there! This week I had a four night run in work which pretty much rules out 5 days of the week for any long distance running. I can get away with doing a strength/weights session before a night shift, some times it even helps to perk me up if I've not slept well during the day, but I'd be nodding off halfway through my shift if I went for a two hour run before work. So the schedule for the week was long run, rugby and a couple of gym sessions. 

So, after finishing last weeks post I got myself ready and headed out for my scheduled 15-16 mile run. Since I'm now doing more than the odd jog now and then I've started to accumulate bits and bobs of running gear. Along with the trainers I got last week I have, so far, collected a selection running clothes (including some leggings, which I enjoy wearing a little too much); a hydration pack; a bumbag/utility belt; a head torch (for night runs) and  three multifunctional head band things. 

For anything over an hour I like to take my hydration pack with me to make sure I don't go thirsty. I also was using a recently purchased bum bag/utility belt to carry my iPod and 3 High5 Isogels (www.highfive.co.uk) So with all the gear and no idea I set off and quickly found myself with a problem. After only a mile or so I noticed my hydration pack had sprung a leak and my lower back and thighs were soaked. I was using a replacement bladder I'd just bought because I'd melted the last one trying to clean it with boiling water! There was only about 150mls left in the pack so I drank that down and pondered what to do. I didn't fancy running in wet pants and with nothing to drink for the next 2 hrs but seeing as the wall run is split into roughly 15 mile stages I thought I could easily find myself in the same situation on the day and can't really just turn round and go home, so I soldiered on (I know, I'm a real tough nut!). But then it got really bad... my iPod stopped working! It had gotten wet from the leak and halfway through Olly Murs' Troublemaker, the music stopped. Thankfully a minute or so later it came back on,  and I was able to carry on enjoying the latest offering from Mr Murs featuring additional vocals by Flo Rida. 

Anyway the rest of the run went fairly smoothly apart from taking the wrong turn to get on a canal path and ending up in a canal boat repair yard. It was a new route for me, quite flat going out and back from Runcorn along the Bridgewater canal and through Walton gardens. The weather wasn't bad, dry but with a chilly breeze. I had planned on taking the energy gels every 4 miles and did feel like I had a bit of boost 10-15mins after taking and generally felt stronger at the end of the run compared to my last weeks 13 miler. The recommend use is to take three an hour so I'll probably try that next week to compare. Thankfully I had ordered the Isogels which are more of a liquid consistency rather than the standard thicker energy gel which you need to drink water with so it wasn't too hard to stomach without a drink. 

So along with learning the new route I learnt a couple of things to change for future long runs: 

- More than one water source, in case of leakage or some change so I could buy a bottle of water would be a sensible idea; 

- Take spare energy gels in case I tire more quickly or need to take them more often;

- Keep iPod away from water! 

- And don't buy cheap hydration bladders!

The next day we entered the start of the sixth major ice age so our rugby match was cancelled on the Saturday, I hit the gym instead after having a quick snow ball fight! There is quite simply nothing like rings training! I Indulged in a rather large Sunday dinner at mothers before starting my run of nights in work, managed to squeeze in another good gym session on Tuesday and a kettlebell workout on Thursday. 

Next up 18-20 miles off road on Friday! 

Training plans

As my original aim for this year was to complete a marathon, I have looked at various different marathon training plans from different online sources such as runners world, the London marathon website etc. Most of these give you an example of a 10-12 week, day to day plan, including various different types of training: fartlek, hill sprints, long slow runs, short fast runs, interval running, core stability and so on. Typically they have you training on 5-6 days a week. The internet also provides a range of ultra marathon training plans which are along the same lines. 

For people working Monday-Friday 9-5 they're  probably a really useful but for many people, myself included that sort of plan just doesn't fit with real life. My normal working week includes three or four 12hr shifts sometimes days, some times nights. I also play rugby on a Saturday and train to attend training in a Tuesday and Thursday night. Along with this my wonderful fiancée and I are planning our wedding for this summer, so all in all not a lot of time left for 6 training runs a week! 

On the flip side to this I found an interesting story about a guy who does ultra marathons but doesn't really do any running. I heard about a guy who does Crossfit and spends more time working on his heavy dead lift or back squat than he does thinking about how many miles he's done this week or what sort of pace he's doing. He ran two 50 mile races months apart and only went for one 7mile run in between!(www.liftheavyrunlong.com)

Ill probably have to do a few more than 7 miles but I like the idea of having strength training as a big part of the build up, I guess the stronger your legs are the less it takes out of you in hilly sections for example. 

So my plan then is to do one long run per week, I think this is important not only for the obvious physical reasons, but mentally be conditioned to spending hours running is going to be important too. Along side this I'll be doing a hill sprints session, fast pace 10k or interval session usually no longer than an hour, Ill also try to keep up with two gym sessions a week which focus on strength and core stability and finally get to rugby training as and when I'm available. 

Im now in my third week of training and so far I've stuck to my plan, I've been working nights and had a couple of days away doing wedding planning, so as well as my gym work this is the running I've got in

 week 1:

- 10 mile

The first run of more than 10k that I'd done in a while, varying terrain some very muddy and plenty of rain. Really enjoyed it though had a full pack on my back as well, nice sense of satisfaction at the end! However I did start to get some pain in my right ankle towards the end which was a bit of concern but I put this down to wearing a cheap pair of trainers I've had for nearly two years... Time to invest in some new ones I reckon!

Week 2:

 - 10k  treadmill run 

- 13.5 miles hilly road route

Running on a treadmill is always an exercise in patience for me, I find it incredibly boring but sometimes due to my schedule it fits best doing treadmill run at gym after a weights session. I'm probably going to mix this up with bike sprints and rowing as well to keep it interesting/varied. 

As I mentioned earlier I needed some new footwear so on a friends recommendation I booked myself a gait analysis session at tri-active sports shop in Chester (www.tri-active.co.uk). They put you on a treadmill and film your feet to see what your feet and joints do when you run and then try shoes with different types of support to see what works best for you. It turns out I had quite marked over-pronation in both sides, left more so than right, and after trying 3 or 4 different shoes ended buying a pair of Mizuno inspire 9s. I've never had 'proper' running shoes before so it will be interesting to see how much if any difference they make. They way it was set up at the store they had a screen in front of you so you could watch yourself running, I was shocked by how much my ankles looked like they just collapsed inwards, but with new shoes they looked much straighter and also felt really comfortable. I'm never sure with these sort of things how much it's is psychological though, so Ill have to wait and see. I didn't have to wait long to try them out as I did my long run the same afternoon, a winding hilly route ending up at the rugby club in time to watch a 20 man brawl in the second team game. I did get a bit of stick for my fetching running leggings but the trainers had felt good, no pain in my ankle, however the arches/soles were a bit painful I guess from having more/different support in the new shoe. I Felt quite worn out by the end but I guess it's no surprise as I was running for nearly two hours and had not taken on any feul.  A couple of beers and some Cheesey chips probably wasn't the optimal post workout nutrition at this point but god they tasted good!

Week 3:

- 10k round local streets

- 15 mile flattish route

A quick warm followed by trying to run a reasonably quick constant pace for 10k, finished in about 44mins (roughly 7min/mile) which is 6mins off my pb but felt like I was working pretty hard all the way round, and enjoyed over taking a couple of other runners on some inclines. It's not really relevant as Its not like we're racing but I find it gives me a little boost passing another runner in any situation.

Next 15/16miles this afternoon - with some energy gels that arrived yesterday, ill let you know how I get on in my next post!

How I got myself into this mess!

Well, 69 miles, where to start? At the beginning I guess.

I’m not what I would call a runner, I go for runs as part of my general fitness routine and I’ve done a few events for fun or for charity but I don’t really train for running. My running career so far includes a few 10k’s, 2 Hell Runs and 3 half marathons and one of those took three hours and I was carrying a car!

I decided 2013 is the year to step up to do a full marathon, but having enjoyed the Brooks Hell Runner events in Delemere forest in 2010 & 2011 I decided to look for an off-road/trail marathon rather than a bog standard road run. This search then overlapped into the intimidating but exciting world of ultra running (basically any event longer than the traditional 26.2 mile marathon). There are loads of events on all through the year, many more than I thought there would be, meaning there must be loads of people out there pushing themselves along some ridiculous distances. So why not me? The more I looked, the more I got sucked in! Then late on Sunday 10^th March after a frustrating hour with a very slow laptop I managed to get myself registered for the Wall Ultra Run June 22^nd 2013. A one day, 69 mile route along the iconic Hadrian's wall from Carlisle castle to Gateshead Millenium bridge. I decided to raise money to support the events partner charity Cancer Research UK, not only as it’s a great cause but because knowing that people were sponsoring me for charity might serve as extra motivation somewhere down line when I start wondering what I’ve got myself into! So that was it I got my just giving page set up (www.justgiving.com/runchinmanrun)  and let the world know what I was doing through the magic of social media!

 

Whilst travelling recently I read a book by Haruki Murakami called What I Talk About When I Talk About Running, a Jazz bar owner turned novelist and oh yeah, Ultramarathon runner! The book was a deep philosophical look at what running was as part of his life and how his approach to running reflects him as man. It was made up of essays he’d written as a sort of running diary over several years and this inspired me to have a go at putting down some of my thoughts about running. So this blog is to share my experience with anyone else who makes the amazing decision to enter an ultra run and also as a personal diary to look back on and enjoy in the future. It probably won’t be very deep or philosophical, I’ll mostly be talking about how much I’m suffering, but I also hope to share bits about my planning my training schedule, what sort of kit I’m using, what I’m eating and drinking (besides beer) and what some of my favourite running music is, along with any random insights about running that pop into my head.

 

I’ve got 14 weeks to go to the big day and I’m hoping to upload something every week, I have no qualifications as a running coach and everything I write is based on my own experiences and feelings so don’t take any of this as advice, I’m just doing what feels right for me!