One thing I always seem to forget is to document how I have recovered from big races. So this is what I aim to do now being a week and a day after Clyde Stride.
On the Sunday I not surprisingly had stiff legs and Monday it was worse. I expected this though and its like having a good hangover. Limping about the office knowing that you have achieved something amazing. Tuesday most of the stiffness had gone and it was just like I had rusty legs. It felt like they were just about ready to go again but I thought it would be better to have a full recovery so I just left it.
Wednesday I went for an easy gym session and I felt great. My legs felt completely recovered.
Thursday was club night. The usual proceedure for a club night is that we turn up at 7.20, have a chat then about 7.30, everyone gathers around and they do the roll of honor for the week which is basically what people have achieved in the club in the last week. Being July there weren't many races on. So my fellow clubmate Jim did a speech about my run, really building it up and then there was a big round of applause. I was slightly embarrassed about it the same time it was a very special moment getting the respect of my peers like that. It kind of put things into perspective and how people view ultras. I really just saw it as a fun day out. Other people see it as a massive challenge and some can't really comprehend going for that long or covering such a distance in one day. I suppose that is why it is a minority sport. After that we started the session and it was down to Pollock Park for a tempo run. A 2 mile warm up down to the park, turned into a faster and faster pace after the first mile. By the time we got down to the park, Stephen and I were a bit behind and thought they were going to stop, but they kept going so we had to work hard to catch up. Once we did though I felt I was running really well and felt no niggles at all. Overall we did 7 miles in 54 minutes and that was including doing the 2 mile warm down at a slower pace.
Friday, I ran the cross country loop in gogarburn at lunch time with Alex H, which was about 2 miles.
Saturday, I went down to Pollock Park to marshal at the Park run. I was at the 1 lap, 2 lap split again, directing runners and also chatting away to Rodger from my club who was also help marshal. The leader came past and he was way out ahead. One of the Bella Harriers who was standing with us noticed that he took a wrong turning. When you turn left down the hill at the split you are meant to turn right down the bottom and there is a sign saying so which I could see from where I was standing. But he went left up to the pond. We tried shouting but to no avail. We decided to leave it to the funnel who would be able to tell by his time. Funny thing is I am sure he has done the course before.
Anyway a big congratulations to Ian Goudie who completed his 50th Park run, a great achievement! Ian is the one that gave me the idea that you really don't need to treat every park run as a race. Use it as part of a longer run, recovery run or be the tail runner. He has done them all and now will have the t-shirt which you get in recognition of this.
After that I had a dentist appointment and headed up to Milingavie to meet Alex. We dumped stuff in my car and headed up to Drymen in his. We headed off down the WHW across the field. We followed this cyclist who turned left and ended up back at the road. Should have really learnt from the Clyde Striders not to follow people! So turned back and went along some very undulating roads before turning onto a path. We decided just to go for the 12/3 strategy. We were doing good up to the Beech tree inn. I started to have a niggling pain just under where the lace is on my shoe. I had a salt tablet which I was experimenting with today. Then we headed off up the hills towards Mugdock Park. When we got into Mugdock we were both feeling really good, so upped the pace alongside the lake. Then we got into the foresty bit and down the really fun slope. At the station we refueled and I ate a muller rice and another salt tablet. The muller rice went to fine which was good. We walked for a bit to make sure everything digested then got running again. We took it a bit easier up to Beach Tree Inn as my foot was starting to get sorer and Alex had a hot spot on is calf which was bugging him. I tried to re-tie my shoelaces thinking they were not tied tight enough but that made them even sorer so re-tied them again more loosely.
At the Beech Tree in we stopped in and ate brownies, lucazade and re-filled our bottles. When we got to the roads section we decided to do things a bit different and run the flats/uphills and walk the downhills. So overall about 5 1/2 hours including stops for just over 24 miles.
Today my foot was still sore so just a short gym session. I did try to go running but was sore instantly so will just be sticking to the gym at the moment. I have been reading up on the issue and it sounds like it occurs when you tie your shoelace too tight for a long run and you just need to ice it. So hopefully I'll be ok for Helensburgh Half next Sunday. Overall though apart from the foot niggle, I couldn't have really asked for a better recovery. There were people in my club who weren't expecting me back for weeks!
Sunday 25 July 2010
Saturday 24 July 2010
Lessons Learned from Clyde Stride
Double post this weekend, as decided it would be best to seperate the lessons learned from the past weeks antics.
First of all here are some photos from Clyde Stride taken by David Hall. The first one is Colin Smith and I, just outside the first checkpoint at Cambuslang about 10 miles in. I was so pleased to hear finished his first ultra. He came in last but well under the cut off. There is never any shame in finishing last especially in ultras as it means you have been out there for longer. I know he really had to dig deep too which makes his finish even more impressive.
Then here is one of me at the finish:
Even though the race went remarkably well, I still feel it is important to document all the things that went right, as well as the few things I can change. Plus although I was tempted to do another ultra this year I've decided to stick with current plan. Next year though...
So here we go:
Pacing: My pacing was spot on and meant I could continue at that pace the whole way through and feel reasonably comfortable. So for near enough the first 30 miles I did 12 minutes running then 2/3 minutes walking. Then walked every hill and for the last 10 miles in particular it was walking all the hills and running whenever I could and make sure I am not running for more than 12 minutes. I think I did well also to run at my pace and even though most of the field took off ahead as I was right at the back. This is a tactic I will continue to do in future. One of things I was talking to Colin about, is that I am sure every person in that field could do the first 10 miles in that race in 1.30-1-35 comfertably. But in my opinion its only worth doing if you know you can sustain it for the next 30.
Now I know I can do this I think next time/in training I'll go up to 14 minutes then 2/3 minutes walking and see how that pans out. Of course if I am doing longer/hillier events I think I'll just stick to what I have done before and take each course on its own merit.
Eating and drinking - Here, I did something that I have never done in training. But it was a very very low risk and totally worked out. In training I would take a 500ml bottle for 10 mile stretches and found that I ran out before the end of the section. So for the race I upgraded and took 750ml bottles, which I was fine carrying and I made sure I finished it at the aid stations before taking a fresh one for the next stretch.
For eating for starter I had a marmite (my salt source) sandwich every half an hour apart from one half hour per section where I would have a gel. I have to say when I got to Crossford (about mile 34/35), I found it a struggle swallowing the sandwich so need to find alternatives for longer races. I did just switch to gels after that and they were absolutely fine. I also had a banana at each checkpoint and they were fine.
I think for longer races I need to make my calorie intake more of an exact science. As well as experimenting on training runs with different foods. I need to work out the amount of calories I need per hour and how I go about getting them. Also need to try out different salt sources if marmite sandwiches aren't going to be an option for over 30 mile races.
Checkpoints I feel I had a quick turnaround at checkpoints especially compared to the people around me. I finished my water, had a banana, re-stock and go. I think, on average I took 2 mins to 2 mins 30 sec. I know I could be quicker if I had support, walked while eating my banana. But just over 12 mins for all checkpoints/comfort breaks is pretty good going, so will probably stick with this.
Approach I think my mental approach to the race was spot on. I forgot about times and just ran at a pace which was comfortable. After the first 5 miles, I relaxed and just really enjoyed the day. I did see it as more of a day out than a race. I think with these events you need to. If you start thinking about the big picture (unless you do it to make you slow down) it can be quite daunting. So just focusing on the next 15 minutes each time really helped.
Garmin Which brings me on nicely to my Garmin. This was another thing which I never tried before race day but again was very low risk. Usually on my garmin I would have the Overall time, pace at that second and overall distance. I decided to change it to the big screen having Current Lap, this was a really good move as previously mentioned. I found on the training runs I was having difficulty calculating when to stop, especially with hills and my brain is surprisingly less effective after 30 miles! Then I had overall pace. No reason just for something on the screen! Then I had Overall time just so I knew when to phone my parents at 3pm. I am thinking in future just to have a stop watch and reset it. In longer races, unless I did the charger thing the garmin would cut out after 10 hours. Plus some of the other races I plan to do give you splits at checkpoints. If I was worried about cut offs I could just flick the stopwatch back to the time.
Video and pictures This was mainly inspired by John Kynaston who takes videos pictures at pretty much every ultra he has ever done. Did it slow him down? Some say it might cost him 10 minutes, but as he says, he does most of the footage/pictures when he is walking so it could quite easily be argued it is beneficial to do. And if you see his times, they are very impressive, usually finishing high up the field.
So I decided to give it a go again like I did for the WHW, Stephen's 50 at 50. I felt like it was like having a secret weapon, especially in the first 10 miles where I would just stop for 2 seconds whenever I saw something worth taking a photo of. Also doing the videos, it not only passes the time during the walking sections. It also gives you something to think about to split up the sections more. As I would be thinking when am I going to do the next video or where am I going to take the next picture. I would also get it set up while I was running just before I was going to stop. So in my opinion it works great and if people enjoy watching it that is a big bonus (the response I got from friends/family has been great!). So this is something I will continue to do. Will need to bring a spare battery for longer ones though as nearly ran out!
Ultras: The future As previously mentioned I don't plan to do any more this year, but I will continue to train for ultras. One of my friends, Alex who helped ran with me on reccy runs for Clyde Stride is doing the River Ayr Way challenge so I plan on helping him with reccy runs for that. I know this might affect my training for Loch Ness but it would be great to see Alex finishing his first ultra, just as he was pleased for me when I finished mine.
So next year, the Highland Fling will be my main focus for the first half of the year. It is 53 miles of the West Highland Way from Milingavie to Tyndrum. The rest will fall into place around the ultra schedule as I understand a few races will be moving to different times in the year and obviously getting into races before they get full. Fingers crossed the Cateran trail which I think is moving will be to later in the year as that would be my other focus. Then Clyde Stride hopefully again and maybe River Ayr. But again all depends on dates.
Well I think that is all but if I think of anything else I'll just add at random points as I'm sure when I'm doing this next year it will come in handy!
First of all here are some photos from Clyde Stride taken by David Hall. The first one is Colin Smith and I, just outside the first checkpoint at Cambuslang about 10 miles in. I was so pleased to hear finished his first ultra. He came in last but well under the cut off. There is never any shame in finishing last especially in ultras as it means you have been out there for longer. I know he really had to dig deep too which makes his finish even more impressive.
Then here is one of me at the finish:
Even though the race went remarkably well, I still feel it is important to document all the things that went right, as well as the few things I can change. Plus although I was tempted to do another ultra this year I've decided to stick with current plan. Next year though...
So here we go:
Pacing: My pacing was spot on and meant I could continue at that pace the whole way through and feel reasonably comfortable. So for near enough the first 30 miles I did 12 minutes running then 2/3 minutes walking. Then walked every hill and for the last 10 miles in particular it was walking all the hills and running whenever I could and make sure I am not running for more than 12 minutes. I think I did well also to run at my pace and even though most of the field took off ahead as I was right at the back. This is a tactic I will continue to do in future. One of things I was talking to Colin about, is that I am sure every person in that field could do the first 10 miles in that race in 1.30-1-35 comfertably. But in my opinion its only worth doing if you know you can sustain it for the next 30.
Now I know I can do this I think next time/in training I'll go up to 14 minutes then 2/3 minutes walking and see how that pans out. Of course if I am doing longer/hillier events I think I'll just stick to what I have done before and take each course on its own merit.
Eating and drinking - Here, I did something that I have never done in training. But it was a very very low risk and totally worked out. In training I would take a 500ml bottle for 10 mile stretches and found that I ran out before the end of the section. So for the race I upgraded and took 750ml bottles, which I was fine carrying and I made sure I finished it at the aid stations before taking a fresh one for the next stretch.
For eating for starter I had a marmite (my salt source) sandwich every half an hour apart from one half hour per section where I would have a gel. I have to say when I got to Crossford (about mile 34/35), I found it a struggle swallowing the sandwich so need to find alternatives for longer races. I did just switch to gels after that and they were absolutely fine. I also had a banana at each checkpoint and they were fine.
I think for longer races I need to make my calorie intake more of an exact science. As well as experimenting on training runs with different foods. I need to work out the amount of calories I need per hour and how I go about getting them. Also need to try out different salt sources if marmite sandwiches aren't going to be an option for over 30 mile races.
Checkpoints I feel I had a quick turnaround at checkpoints especially compared to the people around me. I finished my water, had a banana, re-stock and go. I think, on average I took 2 mins to 2 mins 30 sec. I know I could be quicker if I had support, walked while eating my banana. But just over 12 mins for all checkpoints/comfort breaks is pretty good going, so will probably stick with this.
Approach I think my mental approach to the race was spot on. I forgot about times and just ran at a pace which was comfortable. After the first 5 miles, I relaxed and just really enjoyed the day. I did see it as more of a day out than a race. I think with these events you need to. If you start thinking about the big picture (unless you do it to make you slow down) it can be quite daunting. So just focusing on the next 15 minutes each time really helped.
Garmin Which brings me on nicely to my Garmin. This was another thing which I never tried before race day but again was very low risk. Usually on my garmin I would have the Overall time, pace at that second and overall distance. I decided to change it to the big screen having Current Lap, this was a really good move as previously mentioned. I found on the training runs I was having difficulty calculating when to stop, especially with hills and my brain is surprisingly less effective after 30 miles! Then I had overall pace. No reason just for something on the screen! Then I had Overall time just so I knew when to phone my parents at 3pm. I am thinking in future just to have a stop watch and reset it. In longer races, unless I did the charger thing the garmin would cut out after 10 hours. Plus some of the other races I plan to do give you splits at checkpoints. If I was worried about cut offs I could just flick the stopwatch back to the time.
Video and pictures This was mainly inspired by John Kynaston who takes videos pictures at pretty much every ultra he has ever done. Did it slow him down? Some say it might cost him 10 minutes, but as he says, he does most of the footage/pictures when he is walking so it could quite easily be argued it is beneficial to do. And if you see his times, they are very impressive, usually finishing high up the field.
So I decided to give it a go again like I did for the WHW, Stephen's 50 at 50. I felt like it was like having a secret weapon, especially in the first 10 miles where I would just stop for 2 seconds whenever I saw something worth taking a photo of. Also doing the videos, it not only passes the time during the walking sections. It also gives you something to think about to split up the sections more. As I would be thinking when am I going to do the next video or where am I going to take the next picture. I would also get it set up while I was running just before I was going to stop. So in my opinion it works great and if people enjoy watching it that is a big bonus (the response I got from friends/family has been great!). So this is something I will continue to do. Will need to bring a spare battery for longer ones though as nearly ran out!
Ultras: The future As previously mentioned I don't plan to do any more this year, but I will continue to train for ultras. One of my friends, Alex who helped ran with me on reccy runs for Clyde Stride is doing the River Ayr Way challenge so I plan on helping him with reccy runs for that. I know this might affect my training for Loch Ness but it would be great to see Alex finishing his first ultra, just as he was pleased for me when I finished mine.
So next year, the Highland Fling will be my main focus for the first half of the year. It is 53 miles of the West Highland Way from Milingavie to Tyndrum. The rest will fall into place around the ultra schedule as I understand a few races will be moving to different times in the year and obviously getting into races before they get full. Fingers crossed the Cateran trail which I think is moving will be to later in the year as that would be my other focus. Then Clyde Stride hopefully again and maybe River Ayr. But again all depends on dates.
Well I think that is all but if I think of anything else I'll just add at random points as I'm sure when I'm doing this next year it will come in handy!
Monday 19 July 2010
Sunday 18 July 2010
17/07/10 - Clyde Stride
The run up
Clyde Stride was always going to be a special race for me, being my first ultra. So my excitement/nervous levels rocketed from Thursday onwards when the taper was fully kicking in. This though was the time I was mentally preparing myself. I was asked by Lee MacLean, the organiser to predict my estimated time. I had 2 goal times in mind - 8 hours and finish under the 11 hour time limit. As soon as I sent it, I thought maybe I should have done sub 9 hours as I really wanted to take every ounce of pressure off. But I decided just to leave it and not think about what I predicted.
I wasn't sure how far the last section was, as it could have been up to 12 miles. So since my parents were meeting me at the finish, they said they would meet me at Crossford, so that I could get a fresh water bottle to see me through to the finish. My Dad then said something that took all the presure off. He said what time I expected to be there and I said it would be there after 3pm. Then he said he didn't care how long they would have to wait, as he wanted to make sure I wasn't pushing myself to make times. Wise words! So he said just to phone him at about 3 then he would know where I was and how long roughly he would have to wait. I decided my approach to the race would be to enjoy the journey as much as possible and not to even think about the finish. As my view is if you enjoy the journey the finish will come to you.
The night before the race, I got all my drop bags ready and kit all laid out ready for action.
Race day
I was up at 7am, ate a couple of Muller rices then my Mum picked me up and we were off to Partick Subway station/Morrisons. I got signed up, said hello to Lucy who I met at the Kintyre way,spoke to various other runners, then spent my time sipping my water. Time passed quickly and before we knew it, Lee was giving us the race briefing. I looked around at was like a whose who of ultra running in Scotland both marshals and runners. We then all crossed the road over to the cycle path to get to the start. I made my way to the back of the field. We were laughing because Lee was saying how flat the first section is but we were starting on quite a steep slope. But yes the first section is very flat apart from this!
GO GO GO!.... 1st section - Partick to Cambuslang
I had a plan for the flat sections. I set my Garmin so I could only see - The current lap time in the big screen then average pace and overall time in the small screen. The idea behind this was that I would only be focusing on small sections at a time and overall time just so I know when 6 hours had passed to phone my parents. So the plan was to run for 12/13 minutes then walk for 2/3 minutes, then reset the current lap to 0.00. Every second walk break I would eat a sandwich or a gel, then 1 walk break per section that I was not eating I would do a video clip. I also stopped to take pictures which is a tactic I used to make slow me down early on.
And we were off. Grant Jeans took off as expected, followed by Paul Hart and Lucy Colquhoun. It was amazing seeing these guys take off at the start of such a long race and knowing they can sustain it. I immediately got chatting to a guy Colin and we ran together all the way along to Cambuslang. We ran along the Clyde (surprisingly enough :-) ) passing the Secc and BBC/ITV buildings. Then through to Glasgow Green. After Glasgow Green I was surprised about how nice it was. We got chatting to a few other people here, including Audrey who was raising money for Blesma and running 4 marathons and an ultra in one year!
Due to the foot path being closed at one point we had to take a diversion round through Parkhead. At the time I thought we went the right way and just followed the diversion but looking at the map afterwards it looks like we ran maybe half a mile extra as the route diversion left at Shawfield bridge. But people around us seemed to be doing the same thing, so I wonder if everyone just did that. Anyway because we didn't know we went wrong we had nothing to be bothered about. I was quite glad still to be with Colin at this point because he knew the footpath diversion route and I really wasn't paying attention at all, I missed all the signs! When we got back down to the river we were now starting to look for Cambuslang bridge where the first checkpoint was. We reached a bridge that I knew was near Cambuslang, went up on to it. But no one was there and there was no track down the other side, so we saw a sign for the cycle path which I knew goes over a bridge and that would be the right way. So no time lost and we cruised into the first check point. When we got there Colin went off to chat to some of his buddies and got sorted. I ate a banana, finished my water and got more supplies for the next section. They were talking in the checkpoint how there was only a few left to come in. I wasn't surprised by this as I knew we were quite near the back, but I was surprised when I looked at my watch and saw 10.30 pace, I was more than happy with that!
2nd Section - Cambuslang to Strathclyde Park
A guy directed us across the bridge who I recognised as Ian Beattie who is one of the organisers of the West Highland Way race and a very experiencd ultra runner. Colin was still eating a sandwich so we walked for a few minutes. We had a quick 2 minute change over at the checkpoint and we were moving forward again so that was good. I was now on to familiar territory which was good news. Well apart from the grass and everything around the path was now up to waist height. Colin and I continued to have a laugh/chat. He is a funny guy and would set me off when we got to a steep downhill and he would laugh all the way down (probably had to be there, lol). There was one point where I got a bit worried going down to small bridge crossing a tributary before Blantyre farm road where I though my right thigh was going to go. But after walking up the hill I was running pain free again. At Blantyre farm road, I had made all the mistakes in training so I knew exactly where to go this time. We went over the steel bridge and bumped into 4 other people who had made the mistake I made in training and gone into Uddingston. I really like this next section as it gets into the trees and is nice trail. We ran behind the four, who were using a map. There were some points where they would say where to go, and at these points I knew you could go either way but I always seemed to go their way. Need to believe in myself a bit more as the other way was quicker.
There was a diversion which took us in and around the A725. I thought this would be quite long but it wasn't at all and we were back on the cycle track in no time. Here, there was 2 cyclists coming towards us. It was Jacqui and Stephen from my club! What a boost. They got my number and went to the checkpoint at Raith interchange, just outside Strathclyde Park. This is where Colin told me to go on, so I wished him luck and told him I'd probably see him soon, but that was the last time I saw him. When I got there I was feeling really good. My brother was there also and it was great to see him. They had my bag open, I restocked and had a banana. I noticed Paul Hart who I also met at the Kintyre way to the side. I was so confused about seeing him. He looked ok but then I thought he probably got here over an hour ago so had time recover. I wanted to find out what happened but at the same time I had a policy of not hanging about aid stations for too long. With the fast folk though it must be so easy to go too fast especially as these guys are properly racing ultras. He wished me a good race and on I went.
3rd Section - Strathclyde Park to Mauldslie Bridge
Stephen and Jacqui cycled along with me through Strathclyde Park. Where I noticed another few people who had taken the long way round to get into the park. Stephen said I was pulling away from them and later told me I looked really relaxed at that point. I recognised Ally form the Strathclyde park run and a few others with her. They offered me some food but I decided not to risk trying anything new, I appreciated the support though. I took a comfort break and again Stephen and Jacqui were really helpful sorting out my bag. Then I left them and was on down some nice trails. I started reeling in people here and also got talking to a few more folk - Vicky and Chris. Just at the gate before the fields in Carbarns Farm. I went through the gate with 3 other people who were deciding which way to go. I went straight through and followed the path round. I really like this bit as it just all opens up.
From where the farm is, I have not done the section before. I was really looking forward to Carddies bridge but unless its the small wooden bridge I went over, I must have missed it. I think it probably was for some reason I was expecting something massive! It was really nice that bit though again going through forest with some nice trails. It then turned on to a single track road up to A71, where there were some very enthusiastic marshals supporting, it gave me another big lift. I then got back on to the trail and more foresty trail running :-) You probably guess by now but I absolutley love trail running through forests and with the Clyde there it just tips it off. I remember in this section passing/seeing a lot of people. There was one point where the trail turns right downhill. I remembered this as the point were Alex and I turned back to New Lanark, 2 weeks earlier. You have no idea how good it felt to recognise this point and to know the third checkpoint was less than a mile away. I went into the checkpoint with about 4 other people with about 3 just behind that. I again went for a quick change over and I was first to leave.
4th Sectio - Mauldslie Bridge to New Lanark
The next section has a few really steep hills but I was power walking well up them. At this point because of the hills my run/walk strategy went a bit to pot. But I was still running more than I was walking and if I had a hill I would just extend the amount of time maybe to 20 minutes before resetting the lap. I was again lapping up the scenery and feeling really good still. When I got to Crossford, I saw my Mum on the bridge and I walked with her to the car. My brother and my dad were at the car with vaseline and fresh water. My parents said there was a couple of guys 100 yards ahead but I had no intention of chasing them down - if I overtake them/I overtake them (turns out I did overtake them as they took a wrong turning). The next bit was uphill quite a bit until Stonebyres power station. then it crosses over the dam and goes up a nice runable single track road joining onto the A71. Just as I reached where the A71 crosses the Clyde, I jumped out my skin as my Mum was shouting from the car if I wanted anymore water. I was fine though and appreciated the support once I had come back down from the clouds! I crossed the bridge and now I could smell the end. Some more fun trails down to the river then back up to the road.
I was there in New Lanark. I ran down the road, saw my parents again and gave them my bum bag. As soon as I left them I felt a small bit of cramp in my right calf! I actually burst out laughing - I was 1 mile away from the finish and I thought I might have to limp across the line. But somehow I walked for 10 metres shaking my leg and it went away and I was running again. I had no idea how long the out and back was but I was still running well and was determined even with the uphill to run as much as I could. I then saw a Clyde Stride sign which at first glance I thought was saying left to go further up the hill. I ended up going right up to it until my face was about 10cm away from it when I realised they wanted me to turn right back down the trail! I couldn't believe it! That is all you want me to go up?! ok. I cranked on the gas, I had far too much energy and must have been 8 minute miling down the hill. I passed the marshalls who I think were the ones that were marshaling the A71 crossing. Again they were so supportive and in great spirits. I reached the wall/entrance to New Lanark. And I'm sure it was Murdo the organiser of the Highland Fling telling me it was 100 yards to go.
The Finish
I could see the finish and everyone was clapping and cheering. Normally in races you finish with tonnes of people around you, but it was just me and I still hadn't seen anyone since the 3rd checkpoint. Lee handed me my goody bag and said well done. I almost thought there was something else I should be doing. So I asked and one of them suggested I should run back! haha!! I really felt I could have gone on but at the same time I was absolutely delighted to finish my first ultra. I would not have changed the way I approached it or ran it. In terms of time I can't actually believe it - don't know the offical time yet but the garmin showed 7 hours 38 minutes and I'm not sure when I clicked stop so it may be a few minutes quicker. But I absolutley smashed my gold target of 8 hours. So very, very pleasing. This race really had everything and is easily one of my favourite races I have ever run.
Question
Will I do this/an ultra again!?
Answer
Guess!!!
Thank you's
- to my parents for dropping me off picking me up and also supporting at Crossford.
- to my brother for his support at Strathclyde Park and Crossford
- to Stephen and Jacqui for their support at Strathclyde Park
- to every single marshall/registration people/everyone else involved in the run. And in particular thankyou to the race director Lee MacLean
- to Colin, who made the first 19 miles seem like nothing, what a laugh!
- Thank you to the folk at Giffnock North and Park run
- to the ultra community - you have no idea how much I have learnt from you about ultras. If you have a blog, for instance in the WHW blogs, I have probably learnt from you at one point or another. So thank you.
Video here: http://stuartmcbeath.blogspot.com/2010/07/clyde-stride-video.html
Sunday 11 July 2010
Looking forward to Clyde Stride
I have decided not to dwell too much on this week and just give a brief overview of what happened rather than the usual depth. 2 reasons for this - 1. I think its still important to document weeks even if there not so good and 2. I want to channel all the positive energy into looking forward to next Saturday.
So in brief last week
Monday - Really good 7 mile run with gym session sandwiched in between
Tuesday - Ate too soon before the run even though it was just a muller rice so had to cut hard session short
Wednesday - day off
Thursday - Woke up with extremely sore back (think it might have been a trapped nerve) so another day off but loads of back stretches
Friday - day off but back was remarkably better
Saturday - Marshalled at Park run then a light gym session
Sunday - Went up to start of WHW did a couple of miles out and back
So glad to get this week out the way and probably a blessing in disguise as training is winding down anyway. I plan for next week is just easy runs on Monday and Wednesday then 2 days off before Saturday. Its getting close now and it is pretty much all I'm thinking about at the moment. Overall I am pleased with how my training has gone since Lochaber, getting in 1, 25 miler, 2, 30 miler and 1, 40 plus mile run. But during those runs I have run with the same person all the way. So in that respect, it is going to be a completley different race to anything I have ever done before.
I know for starter everyone is going to have different strategies and I need to make sure I stick to my plan. In the first 10 miles in particular and for the rest of the race there is going to be lots of yo yo ing (people overtake you, you overtake them). I fully expect the first leg to be the fastest leg of the race for me, as it is the flatest, but I need to make sure to find that easy rhythm and take walk breaks every 15 minutes at least. I don't really want to carry a watch but for that I will need it. So I think I might just reset it at each checkpoint. From Cambuslang onwards there are small steep hills dotted about which I will walk all of, but there are also some long flat stretches like through Strathclyde Park and beyond it for quite some time. Crossford onwards is where most of the hills are and I am prepared for them. I like how the race now finishes in New Lanark as it means a downhill finish.
I will be using the drop bag system meaning I put food drink in to drop bags at the start and they will be waiting for me at the checkpoints. On top of this I am getting my parents to meet me at Crossford with extra water to see me through to the end. I am also going to have extra supplies in case things don't go according to plan. The way I see it, if I can do the first 10 miles in 2 hours. Then I have 9 hours to go 30 miles which would be just over 3mph/3 hours for 10 miles, so should be walkable from there. This is of course the back up plan and I would like to finish slightly quicker!
I am also excited to see how this race pans out up front as since it is the first time it has been run, course records are up for grabs! Three names stand out in both the men and female categories as those I think will end up on the podium. In the mens, Grant Jeans, Paul Hart and Ritchie Cunningham. Grant Jeans won the D33 and came second in the Glasgow to Edinburgh Double marathon. On the flat I think he would be clear favourite but I am not too sure how good he is on hills. Paul Hart on the other hand, I have seen with my own eyes at Kintyre way relay that this guy is a machine on hills. Ritchie Cunningham just won the West Highland Way race so will be sure to be in amongst it at the end. The thing is with these sort of races is that some of these guys might just treat it as a training run as they have bigger things later, so that will play a factor too. I know from speaking to Paul he plans to do the 24 hour race in Perth in September and Ritchie is down for UTMB in August, I'm not to sure about Grant apart from I don't think he'll be treating it as a training run if he is planning on running it in under 4 hours 10!
In the womens race, Lucy Colquhoun has to be the favourite, with Gail Murdoch and Sharon Law I think will come 2nd and 3rd but again depends on who is treating this as a training run or a race etc. There are probably people I have missed that could also be up there but just not familiar with at the moment.
In other races, the Hardrock 100 took place last weekend and almost had a female winner. Diana Finkel was leading going into the last checkpoint but looked like she blew up or got injured meaning Jared Campbell took the win, with Diana coming second and 1st female. Badwater starts tomorrow and I am looking forward to seeing how Jamie Donaldson, whose blog I follow gets on, as she goes for 3 in a row. She is so enthusiastic and a real inspiration, I hope she does it.
So its onwards to Partick train station for the start of Clyde stride........Bring it on!
So in brief last week
Monday - Really good 7 mile run with gym session sandwiched in between
Tuesday - Ate too soon before the run even though it was just a muller rice so had to cut hard session short
Wednesday - day off
Thursday - Woke up with extremely sore back (think it might have been a trapped nerve) so another day off but loads of back stretches
Friday - day off but back was remarkably better
Saturday - Marshalled at Park run then a light gym session
Sunday - Went up to start of WHW did a couple of miles out and back
So glad to get this week out the way and probably a blessing in disguise as training is winding down anyway. I plan for next week is just easy runs on Monday and Wednesday then 2 days off before Saturday. Its getting close now and it is pretty much all I'm thinking about at the moment. Overall I am pleased with how my training has gone since Lochaber, getting in 1, 25 miler, 2, 30 miler and 1, 40 plus mile run. But during those runs I have run with the same person all the way. So in that respect, it is going to be a completley different race to anything I have ever done before.
I know for starter everyone is going to have different strategies and I need to make sure I stick to my plan. In the first 10 miles in particular and for the rest of the race there is going to be lots of yo yo ing (people overtake you, you overtake them). I fully expect the first leg to be the fastest leg of the race for me, as it is the flatest, but I need to make sure to find that easy rhythm and take walk breaks every 15 minutes at least. I don't really want to carry a watch but for that I will need it. So I think I might just reset it at each checkpoint. From Cambuslang onwards there are small steep hills dotted about which I will walk all of, but there are also some long flat stretches like through Strathclyde Park and beyond it for quite some time. Crossford onwards is where most of the hills are and I am prepared for them. I like how the race now finishes in New Lanark as it means a downhill finish.
I will be using the drop bag system meaning I put food drink in to drop bags at the start and they will be waiting for me at the checkpoints. On top of this I am getting my parents to meet me at Crossford with extra water to see me through to the end. I am also going to have extra supplies in case things don't go according to plan. The way I see it, if I can do the first 10 miles in 2 hours. Then I have 9 hours to go 30 miles which would be just over 3mph/3 hours for 10 miles, so should be walkable from there. This is of course the back up plan and I would like to finish slightly quicker!
I am also excited to see how this race pans out up front as since it is the first time it has been run, course records are up for grabs! Three names stand out in both the men and female categories as those I think will end up on the podium. In the mens, Grant Jeans, Paul Hart and Ritchie Cunningham. Grant Jeans won the D33 and came second in the Glasgow to Edinburgh Double marathon. On the flat I think he would be clear favourite but I am not too sure how good he is on hills. Paul Hart on the other hand, I have seen with my own eyes at Kintyre way relay that this guy is a machine on hills. Ritchie Cunningham just won the West Highland Way race so will be sure to be in amongst it at the end. The thing is with these sort of races is that some of these guys might just treat it as a training run as they have bigger things later, so that will play a factor too. I know from speaking to Paul he plans to do the 24 hour race in Perth in September and Ritchie is down for UTMB in August, I'm not to sure about Grant apart from I don't think he'll be treating it as a training run if he is planning on running it in under 4 hours 10!
In the womens race, Lucy Colquhoun has to be the favourite, with Gail Murdoch and Sharon Law I think will come 2nd and 3rd but again depends on who is treating this as a training run or a race etc. There are probably people I have missed that could also be up there but just not familiar with at the moment.
In other races, the Hardrock 100 took place last weekend and almost had a female winner. Diana Finkel was leading going into the last checkpoint but looked like she blew up or got injured meaning Jared Campbell took the win, with Diana coming second and 1st female. Badwater starts tomorrow and I am looking forward to seeing how Jamie Donaldson, whose blog I follow gets on, as she goes for 3 in a row. She is so enthusiastic and a real inspiration, I hope she does it.
So its onwards to Partick train station for the start of Clyde stride........Bring it on!
Saturday 3 July 2010
Clyde Stride Recce and X training
I finished my last post like this:
So planning another short run tonight, then hopefully it will be back to hard training tomorrow.
Famous last words! After eating loads this turned into a 2 1/2 mile run...to the gym. Then weights, then 2k on the rower, then 12k on the bike.........and then a 4 1/2 mile run home. So what started as sluggish Sunday turned into a great Sunday.
On Monday I was feeling stiff but after the first half mile I was loosening up. So I did the 4 1/2 miles first this time to the gym. Then did weights, 2k row, 20 minutes on the cross trainer then the 2 1/2 miles home.
On Tuesday, not surprisingly still stiff. But decided to go out again anyway. So went to Linn Park and did short hill reps up various hills.
Wednesday, I decided to take the day off to get rid of the stiffness. So when I went to the club on Thursday, I felt like I had press the re-fresh button on my legs. It was long miles (1.14 miles) at Roukenglen again and it felt just as good as last time. The first rep I took easy and just let other people go if they wanted to speed up. Then the next 2 I just relaxed the legs and they just took off. I did the second one at 6.30 minute mile pace then the next one at 6.20 pace.
Friday I did an easy jog at lunch time round the Gogarburn estate with Alex H.
Then for today. I met Alex W, my mate from uni at Crossford to get in my last Clyde Stride recce before the race 2 weeks today! So we met there at 7am, put supplies in Alex's car then headed for Bonnington Linn. I had tried to find this on Thursday night but ended up along every back road imaginable round that area. So I thought the only road I didn't take must have been it. Wrong! We still couldn't find it and ended up parking at New Lanark, so no big deal as we could still cover that section.
We headed off at 7.45am up first to Bonnington Hydro electric power station. I can't remember much of this section but must have been up hill. When we got up to the power station we crossed over it, then headed back. More because we wanted to make sure we weren't going for more than 10 miles in any section. So it was just under 2 miles to get up there. So we ran back down and headed towards Crossford. We did make a few mistakes here. The first was after New Lanark, going through the forest. There was a point where the trail switched back on itself but there was a path going straight ahead which looked ok. So after going up, down a few times we realised we were on the wrong track and back tracked. The thing is coming the other way (the way the race goes) you wouldn't make this mistake as you would be coming down from the switchback and turning left up the river. The second mistake was at Kirkfieldbank. I looked at the map before leaving thinking it was all the trails were on the north bank not noticing that here you were meant to cross to the south bank for a bit. But although it was a lot hillier, luckily the nice people at the council had put signs up for getting on to the walkway at Stonybyres powerstation. The organiser Lee has said that there is a diversion at this point so it would be funny if we did accidentally go the right way!
Throughout the day, Alex and I got chatting about various things. One of which was one of the comments on Clyde stride s facebook page that someone was planning to run Clyde Stride 40 miler in under 4 hours 10 minutes which is just less than 10 miles an hour. With the amount of stairs and climbs on this bit of the course we looked at each other and wondered how it would be possible for anyone to run at that speed on average on this section. Don't get me wrong I'm sure this pace would be more than do-able on the early section of the route. But the last 6 miles particularly and various bits before will slow people down. Going by results earlier in the year I would presume it is Grant Jeans. If he does manage it, I take my hat off to him.
Anyway after the power station it is nice rolling trail till we reached Crossford. We left the trail, crossed the bridge and headed to the public car park, to refuel at Alex's car. We were off again and the trail was a lot flatter leaving Crossford. The one thing which does slow you down a wee bit is the gates. I named this section Gatefest as there must have been about 5. The trail then turned away from the river and headed upwards, these hills were steep but there was some nice long downhills since we were heading down river at this point. We reached the bridge just after Rosebank and ran for a wee bit until we hit 15 miles on the garmin. I wish I had looked at the map because I had no idea we were so close to Cardies bridge which is meant to be a really scenic bit. But I suppose I won't have to wait too long now to see it!
So we turned back and there was one climb in particular which was a killer and lasted quite a while. There are even some steps on this section which again put the 10 mile an hour thought back in our heads. Alex started to struggle hear with his ankle/back of his leg and I somehow managed to stay upright after tripping over a root. But we made it back to Crossford, so we were just short of 20 miles at this point and refueled again at Alex's car. Alex was still struggling as we left but just told me to run when I wanted to and he would just keep going and he did well as he never told me to stop as I told him to do if he did want to walk. This time when we got to Stonybyres power station we went the proper Clyde Stride route across the dam/bridge. On to a narrow road which took us to the A72. Here I started to hurt, I have never had this before but the soles of my feet were hurting which made the rest of my legs hurt. But we battled on down to Kirkfieldbank. Now Alex was struggling to run down the downhills but was ok on the flats. Once we got back on the trails I felt better. I still can't believe how far the trail goes above the river at points, it really did make some cracking views. I just wished my camera wasn't out of battery! D'oh! We just went into New Lanark and walked back up to the car park and that was job done. 25 1/2 miles in just over 6 hours which is easily the hardest parts of the Clyde Stride course so a very good one to have in the bank.
As you can imagine I am thinking about the race more and more. Initially and crazily I had this race down to tick me over between marathons. But it has now become my focal point for the whole year. I really can't wait. After running the last 6 miles in particular, I now think I would be doing really well to do it in 8 hours. The only way I think I could do it is if I chip off enough time in the first 30 to compensate for the hills in the last bit. In saying that I am not going to 'go for it' in the first 30. I really want to run it like a 30 mile training run, then do the best I can do in the last 10. Finishing is definitely more important to me than time, especially since it is my first ultra.
So planning another short run tonight, then hopefully it will be back to hard training tomorrow.
Famous last words! After eating loads this turned into a 2 1/2 mile run...to the gym. Then weights, then 2k on the rower, then 12k on the bike.........and then a 4 1/2 mile run home. So what started as sluggish Sunday turned into a great Sunday.
On Monday I was feeling stiff but after the first half mile I was loosening up. So I did the 4 1/2 miles first this time to the gym. Then did weights, 2k row, 20 minutes on the cross trainer then the 2 1/2 miles home.
On Tuesday, not surprisingly still stiff. But decided to go out again anyway. So went to Linn Park and did short hill reps up various hills.
Wednesday, I decided to take the day off to get rid of the stiffness. So when I went to the club on Thursday, I felt like I had press the re-fresh button on my legs. It was long miles (1.14 miles) at Roukenglen again and it felt just as good as last time. The first rep I took easy and just let other people go if they wanted to speed up. Then the next 2 I just relaxed the legs and they just took off. I did the second one at 6.30 minute mile pace then the next one at 6.20 pace.
Friday I did an easy jog at lunch time round the Gogarburn estate with Alex H.
Then for today. I met Alex W, my mate from uni at Crossford to get in my last Clyde Stride recce before the race 2 weeks today! So we met there at 7am, put supplies in Alex's car then headed for Bonnington Linn. I had tried to find this on Thursday night but ended up along every back road imaginable round that area. So I thought the only road I didn't take must have been it. Wrong! We still couldn't find it and ended up parking at New Lanark, so no big deal as we could still cover that section.
We headed off at 7.45am up first to Bonnington Hydro electric power station. I can't remember much of this section but must have been up hill. When we got up to the power station we crossed over it, then headed back. More because we wanted to make sure we weren't going for more than 10 miles in any section. So it was just under 2 miles to get up there. So we ran back down and headed towards Crossford. We did make a few mistakes here. The first was after New Lanark, going through the forest. There was a point where the trail switched back on itself but there was a path going straight ahead which looked ok. So after going up, down a few times we realised we were on the wrong track and back tracked. The thing is coming the other way (the way the race goes) you wouldn't make this mistake as you would be coming down from the switchback and turning left up the river. The second mistake was at Kirkfieldbank. I looked at the map before leaving thinking it was all the trails were on the north bank not noticing that here you were meant to cross to the south bank for a bit. But although it was a lot hillier, luckily the nice people at the council had put signs up for getting on to the walkway at Stonybyres powerstation. The organiser Lee has said that there is a diversion at this point so it would be funny if we did accidentally go the right way!
Throughout the day, Alex and I got chatting about various things. One of which was one of the comments on Clyde stride s facebook page that someone was planning to run Clyde Stride 40 miler in under 4 hours 10 minutes which is just less than 10 miles an hour. With the amount of stairs and climbs on this bit of the course we looked at each other and wondered how it would be possible for anyone to run at that speed on average on this section. Don't get me wrong I'm sure this pace would be more than do-able on the early section of the route. But the last 6 miles particularly and various bits before will slow people down. Going by results earlier in the year I would presume it is Grant Jeans. If he does manage it, I take my hat off to him.
Anyway after the power station it is nice rolling trail till we reached Crossford. We left the trail, crossed the bridge and headed to the public car park, to refuel at Alex's car. We were off again and the trail was a lot flatter leaving Crossford. The one thing which does slow you down a wee bit is the gates. I named this section Gatefest as there must have been about 5. The trail then turned away from the river and headed upwards, these hills were steep but there was some nice long downhills since we were heading down river at this point. We reached the bridge just after Rosebank and ran for a wee bit until we hit 15 miles on the garmin. I wish I had looked at the map because I had no idea we were so close to Cardies bridge which is meant to be a really scenic bit. But I suppose I won't have to wait too long now to see it!
So we turned back and there was one climb in particular which was a killer and lasted quite a while. There are even some steps on this section which again put the 10 mile an hour thought back in our heads. Alex started to struggle hear with his ankle/back of his leg and I somehow managed to stay upright after tripping over a root. But we made it back to Crossford, so we were just short of 20 miles at this point and refueled again at Alex's car. Alex was still struggling as we left but just told me to run when I wanted to and he would just keep going and he did well as he never told me to stop as I told him to do if he did want to walk. This time when we got to Stonybyres power station we went the proper Clyde Stride route across the dam/bridge. On to a narrow road which took us to the A72. Here I started to hurt, I have never had this before but the soles of my feet were hurting which made the rest of my legs hurt. But we battled on down to Kirkfieldbank. Now Alex was struggling to run down the downhills but was ok on the flats. Once we got back on the trails I felt better. I still can't believe how far the trail goes above the river at points, it really did make some cracking views. I just wished my camera wasn't out of battery! D'oh! We just went into New Lanark and walked back up to the car park and that was job done. 25 1/2 miles in just over 6 hours which is easily the hardest parts of the Clyde Stride course so a very good one to have in the bank.
As you can imagine I am thinking about the race more and more. Initially and crazily I had this race down to tick me over between marathons. But it has now become my focal point for the whole year. I really can't wait. After running the last 6 miles in particular, I now think I would be doing really well to do it in 8 hours. The only way I think I could do it is if I chip off enough time in the first 30 to compensate for the hills in the last bit. In saying that I am not going to 'go for it' in the first 30. I really want to run it like a 30 mile training run, then do the best I can do in the last 10. Finishing is definitely more important to me than time, especially since it is my first ultra.
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