I've been a bit quiet on the blog front recently mainly because my running has taken a bit of a back foot and I have been going to the gym more. I think I needed a bit of variety as I think I've covered the streets of the southside of Glasgow so many times, I just needed a break from it and time to reassess my goals. And yes I have been missing some sessions especially in the long run department hence the reason not to do Clyde Stride this year.
I was out for my first bike ride today since last years Pedal for Scotland. On the way out it was absolutely chucking it down - I think I experienced every type of heavy rain - it was so refreshing. After about 9 miles I got a flat. I tried to fix it only to find the valve on my pump didn't fit the valve on the inner tube. So I had a fun, slow cycle back which was challenging to say the least. I have decided to do Pedal for Scotland again this year but undecided on whether to go for the 50 or 100. At the same time I plan to get back into running with Pentland Skyline in the forefront of my mind and either Lomonds of Fife hill race or Ochils 2000s hill race depending on how much I manage to get out on the hills. Then hit the ultra scene hard next year.
Well done to everyone who did Clyde Stride yesterday - that t-shirt looked awesome!
Euro Takeover
Thought instead of doing a double post; I'd just put all in one.
It's a very exciting time for ultra running with the big races being more competitive than ever.
Over in America, the Europeans have been tearing it up with Kilian Journet winning Western States and Julien Chorier winning Hardrock. But who dominated the top 10 in the Men's race and won the women's race? Brits!
Nick Clark 3rd, Jez Bragg 4th and Ian Sharman 10th. While Ellie Greenwood came in 1st in the Women's race! Nick Clark was at Hardrock just a few weeks after Western States and came 3rd place there too!
Well done to the British team over in the Connemara World Trail Championships where Lucy came 3rd!
Awesome and inspiring performances. The re-match between a lot of the big guns at UTMB is going to be incredible.
Hopefully this is a return to regular blogging for me. I say hopefully as if I'm blogging I've actually done some running!
Sunday, 17 July 2011
Sunday, 3 July 2011
02/07/11 Dollar Hill Race
So much has happened since my last post. But my 2 main focuses since were the Kilpatrick hill race in early June and Dollar hill race just yesterday.
In the Kilpatrick hill race I was 5 minutes down on last year, but I enjoyed it a lot more and it was really muddy more importantly. In between the 2 races I have been back at the gym and just been doing general fitness stuff.
Yesterday I thought I'd give Dollar hill race a go and cut it a bit fine getting to the start. There were 100 runners and I arrived 20 minutes before the race start to pick up number 99. We were off before I knew it and after a short run out of Dollar Academy, we were funneled through a gate. The route then goes down the road for a bit before turning left up through a forest path. My legs were still feeling it a bit from Thursday's club session so I ensured I didn't go out too fast.
After we got out the forest the climb up to . It was just relentless. At times it was a case of crawling up on all fours it was that steep. I altered my strategy between going straight up and zig zagging. I was overtaking well on the way up which was nice. A few false summits later I reached the top of the Whitewisp hill. After that the course was rolling hills on grassy paths - great stuff! I really enjoyed going up and down. I found myself in a group of 4-5 runners who I would play yo-yo with. With me overtaking on the ascents and them overtaking me on the descents. There was a small stretch of technical stuff but nothing to write home about.
Overall a great race and one I'll be back at for sure. Thanks to the Westies and Ochil runners who helped out at the respective races.
In the Kilpatrick hill race I was 5 minutes down on last year, but I enjoyed it a lot more and it was really muddy more importantly. In between the 2 races I have been back at the gym and just been doing general fitness stuff.
Yesterday I thought I'd give Dollar hill race a go and cut it a bit fine getting to the start. There were 100 runners and I arrived 20 minutes before the race start to pick up number 99. We were off before I knew it and after a short run out of Dollar Academy, we were funneled through a gate. The route then goes down the road for a bit before turning left up through a forest path. My legs were still feeling it a bit from Thursday's club session so I ensured I didn't go out too fast.
After we got out the forest the climb up to . It was just relentless. At times it was a case of crawling up on all fours it was that steep. I altered my strategy between going straight up and zig zagging. I was overtaking well on the way up which was nice. A few false summits later I reached the top of the Whitewisp hill. After that the course was rolling hills on grassy paths - great stuff! I really enjoyed going up and down. I found myself in a group of 4-5 runners who I would play yo-yo with. With me overtaking on the ascents and them overtaking me on the descents. There was a small stretch of technical stuff but nothing to write home about.
Overall a great race and one I'll be back at for sure. Thanks to the Westies and Ochil runners who helped out at the respective races.
Saturday, 14 May 2011
The Rebound
That’s what this week has been all about. Getting myself back on top of things. Mentally I took a pretty major blow at Kintyre as if I’d been in a boxing match for a full 12 rounds and the referee wasn’t stopping it. But as always, best thing to do is just get straight back up – look back – learn – move on. Thanks to Santababy for the comment on my last blog talking about her DNF and saying how its not always about finishing. It's so true in the world of ultras and you've just got to pick yourself up and look to the next challenge.
So that is what I've done; I’ve got back into my training this week and I have been building up my mental strength again . Due to the experience I felt the need to make some changes; the first one being pulling out of LAMM. This was obviously a decision I did not take lightly as I knew I would be letting my partner Stephen down. The reason for pulling out was because of the lows I have hit on the last 2 times I have been away, combined with the remoteness of LAMM and how we would be spending all weekend in each other’s pockets. It would be selfish of me to go as I just don’t know if I’ll hit another low. So I let Stephen know and who was really supportive and understanding and we pulled out. The other being Hardmoors 60 as well as I just don’t want to travel too far just now to a race and to do it justice I would need to go down to do recky runs too. I’m thinking River Ayr at the moment but I’ll leave it for a bit before making a final decision.
So for the moment Kilpatricks hill race will probably be next. But my overall focus will be on Clyde Stride and hope to get under 7 hours 30 minutes or even closer to 7 hours and have the bronze goal of 9 hours. But have the approach which worked for me last year with all races up to half marathon and just take every ounce of pressure off myself and just see what I can do on the day. I'm also thinking of mixing up my training a bit by doing some cross training. Also getting back to the club for speed work which I definitely neglected in the run up to Kintyre as I was focusing on the longer runs at the weekend. Going to draw up a plan and try and get some balance.
It’s always good to read things too about people deal with the mental side of ultras. Like this from Geoff Roes’s current blog (well worth a read):
“For me I think I end up a little burnt out (mentally) before I even start a race when I focus on one specific event for too long. I operate a lot better when my most important run is my next run and not some run several months in the future.”
I'm going to go on a similar approach too. So for the rest of the year, although I have loads of ideas on what I want to do, I'm just going to focus on the next few races at the moment and decide on the rest later.
It's always nice to get a 'Win' which is what I got today at park run. I was the timer and out of 400 people running I didn't miss a click :-)
Sunday, 8 May 2011
07/05/11 - Kintyre Way Ultra
There is only one race I can think of that I have struggled as much as I did yesterday and that was my first marathon in 2004 down in London. Although 2 completely different races - my experiences during them were quite similar.
It starts with the excitement and nervousness factor. I couldn't sleep the night before each, at all, because both became an obsession, taking up a lot of my thinking and I had a goal without really any back up goals. In London that was running a sub four hour marathon. In Kintyre it was the potential that I could get a podium finish and the back up was finishing within the time limit. Both those goals were realistic as yesterday there was 5 soloists and of course I didn't know what level any of them were at so why not?
I was keen to do things my way and really try and nail the first leg with a pre-planned strategy having done this leg last year. Last year my legs felt beaten up at the end of that leg. After the first 4 miles up mainly uphill the last 8 miles of the leg are down or flat mixed with paved roads or single track. This year I had altered the strategy so that even though I was going downhill or along flat bits I would have a walking break every 10 minutes. Also I had my Hokas on thinking that would also reduce the impact and I tried delibratley to keep my foot striking soft. What happened when I got to the first check point? My legs felt totally beaten up. I arrived in 2.20 which is down on any of the previous soloists from previous years. I decided to change into my road shoes but the 2km down the road to the turn across to Clachen it wasn't helping. Then my mind really get messed up and I really started to struggle around 14 miles - which is where things went wrong in the London Marathon. It felt like I had totally got my fueling wrong. I was eating shot blocs every 15 minutes. Then at checkpoints I would have muller rice with a wee bit of marmite. The reason I didn't have marmite sandwiches like my long distance runs last year was because I found that after 30 miles I just couldn't digest the bread. So I'll need to go back to the drawing board in terms of my nutrition. You just know in your head and your body when it is just not working.
But anyway the wheels were coming off and I looked at my watch and realised this wasn't going to be my day. I was 4 hours in with 4 miles to Clachen. I did the maths and 22 miles in 5 hours would mean I would have to continue to do that pace on beaten up legs, a run down body and mind which was now not in my control. As the cut off to finish is 66 miles in 15 hours.
I know I made the right the decision and have absolutely no regrets. Looking back the Kintyre Way is one tough ultra and should not be underestimated. I did have thoughts before hand of finishing even if its out with the time limits. But that to me would be a DNF(DID NOT FINISH) anyway. To me ultras are all about finishing within time limits. If I wanted to complete the Kintyre Way, I can do that any time of the year.
This has also given me some perspective of why other ultra runners choose not to finish races. Especially the top guys and women who often get a lot of stick for not finishing. It really depends on what your goal is in the first place.
A lot of lessons to be learned for me here. But I did get a book delivered through the post the other day which I'll read: Relentless forward progress. This is from a guy who runs the www.irunfar.com website, and is a good ultrarunner in his own right and also knows a lot of the top ultra runners in the business. A lot of ultra books on the market are personal stories where this is more of a reference guide. He is arguably the reason why Jez Bragg won the UTMB last year too, as he gave him a lift to the start.
Thanks to Ken and Nic for their support throughout the weekend.
Onwards and Upwards.
It starts with the excitement and nervousness factor. I couldn't sleep the night before each, at all, because both became an obsession, taking up a lot of my thinking and I had a goal without really any back up goals. In London that was running a sub four hour marathon. In Kintyre it was the potential that I could get a podium finish and the back up was finishing within the time limit. Both those goals were realistic as yesterday there was 5 soloists and of course I didn't know what level any of them were at so why not?
I was keen to do things my way and really try and nail the first leg with a pre-planned strategy having done this leg last year. Last year my legs felt beaten up at the end of that leg. After the first 4 miles up mainly uphill the last 8 miles of the leg are down or flat mixed with paved roads or single track. This year I had altered the strategy so that even though I was going downhill or along flat bits I would have a walking break every 10 minutes. Also I had my Hokas on thinking that would also reduce the impact and I tried delibratley to keep my foot striking soft. What happened when I got to the first check point? My legs felt totally beaten up. I arrived in 2.20 which is down on any of the previous soloists from previous years. I decided to change into my road shoes but the 2km down the road to the turn across to Clachen it wasn't helping. Then my mind really get messed up and I really started to struggle around 14 miles - which is where things went wrong in the London Marathon. It felt like I had totally got my fueling wrong. I was eating shot blocs every 15 minutes. Then at checkpoints I would have muller rice with a wee bit of marmite. The reason I didn't have marmite sandwiches like my long distance runs last year was because I found that after 30 miles I just couldn't digest the bread. So I'll need to go back to the drawing board in terms of my nutrition. You just know in your head and your body when it is just not working.
But anyway the wheels were coming off and I looked at my watch and realised this wasn't going to be my day. I was 4 hours in with 4 miles to Clachen. I did the maths and 22 miles in 5 hours would mean I would have to continue to do that pace on beaten up legs, a run down body and mind which was now not in my control. As the cut off to finish is 66 miles in 15 hours.
I know I made the right the decision and have absolutely no regrets. Looking back the Kintyre Way is one tough ultra and should not be underestimated. I did have thoughts before hand of finishing even if its out with the time limits. But that to me would be a DNF(DID NOT FINISH) anyway. To me ultras are all about finishing within time limits. If I wanted to complete the Kintyre Way, I can do that any time of the year.
This has also given me some perspective of why other ultra runners choose not to finish races. Especially the top guys and women who often get a lot of stick for not finishing. It really depends on what your goal is in the first place.
A lot of lessons to be learned for me here. But I did get a book delivered through the post the other day which I'll read: Relentless forward progress. This is from a guy who runs the www.irunfar.com website, and is a good ultrarunner in his own right and also knows a lot of the top ultra runners in the business. A lot of ultra books on the market are personal stories where this is more of a reference guide. He is arguably the reason why Jez Bragg won the UTMB last year too, as he gave him a lift to the start.
Thanks to Ken and Nic for their support throughout the weekend.
Onwards and Upwards.
Saturday, 30 April 2011
A hilly lessons learned
This weekend I’ve learned so much about running that I thought I’d document it. On Friday my LAMM partner Stephen and Derren and Marc from my club headed north and knocked off a few munros: Ben Vorlich and Ben Vane. Derren and Marc have done a lot of this type of event and I learned a great deal just by watching them. It’s not just about being good at hill running. It’s about working as a team and being able to read the terrain and maps. It’s also about knowing each other’s strengths and weaknesses.
Photo taken by Derren of Stephen and I going up Ben Vorlich
Photo taken by Derren of Stephen and I going up Ben Vorlich
Stephen and I, understandably have to work on this as it doesn’t just click overnight and we are going to make a lot mistakes which we can learn from.
What I learned from yesterday was:
- Going uphill Stephen and I are about the same pace.
- Going downhill, if technical (lots of loose rocks and steep) I was miles behind (Although that path going down Ben Vane is torture!). I kind of knew this already. But if you saw the way the other 3 guys bounded down Ben Vane it really does highlight that this is not one of my strengths.
- Even if the contours are far apart (which means it is less steep), doesn't necessarily mean it is easy terrain to run over. So even If we made a decision based on the map, the best route decision might actually be made when we can see for ourselves where the best route to take is.
- Where to stop and eat – always best to find shelter from the wind. Also knowing when one and other needs to take breaks.
Today I went up to Alva to do some of the Ochil hills with Andy, Ash, Fraser and Tomasz from my work. We did 3 hills in Ben Ever, Ben Cleuch and The Law. It was a great day and we had some stunning views. When I looked at the map I thought I’d never go running in this area as the hills looks really steep. But the opposite happened today compared to point 3 above yesterday. The hills looked very run able as it was all really grassy paths. I say run able but there is always an exception which was coming down the Law. WOW, that is a beast of a descent. There is a hill race on there at the end of the year which has been going for 3 years. In that time it has run the full course once, a looped course another time and had to be cancelled the other. I can’t actually believe people can run down some of the sections. It took me more time to walk down, than it would take a mid packer to do the whole thing, never mind the front runners.
View looking to the fourth
So another lesson is that I’m always going to recky hill race routes before deciding whether or not to do them. There is a few round this area which were in the 'No' category are now in the ‘Yes’ category. On the other hand, races like the Law and Arrochar Alps firmly in the ‘No’ category.
Now focus is firmly on Kintyre - a week from now - fingers crossed - I'll be finished or roundabout there.
Sunday, 3 April 2011
National Road Relay Championships + decisions, decisions
Today was fun. It started off with a good laugh. I was driving in to the car park at Livingston's stadium to find myself in a queue which I thought was parking for the event. The thing is a bush obscured the queue and when I crept forward a bit, I realised it was the queue for the car wash which was taking up some of the parking spaces , d'oh, haha.
I walked round to the school where the race was being held and met up with the team captain. Only to find there had been loads of call offs and what not. So it ended up instead of having 3 mens teams, we just had one mens team. So I was in the A-team by default! Awesome. Understandably there were of course some grumbles of disappointment as if we had our best team out we could get top 10 easy I reckon. But you gotta play with the hand your dealt so we made the most of it.
Our young guns took the first 2 legs, Alistair coming in 24th. Then Luke ramped us up to 8th on the second leg. Then of course no matter what order the 4 of us took; the person doing the next leg was going to be overtaken. So it was Jim then David, then I took the shorter 5th leg. I started with this guy from Lasswade who rocketed off and I didn't even try to keep up, just focusing on doing the best I could. I really went for it and was overtaken once (by people on the same leg) by a Cambuslang guy. As I reached the join where the long leg and short leg came together. A Shettleston guy doing his final leg went flying by. Then approaching a bridge I could hear shouts, and sure enough a Central guy (2nd overall) overtook me. I really tried my best to make sure the 3rd place (overall) guy didn't over take me. And again at the right point, the team captain gave me a shout of encouragement. I handed over the 'baton' to James who finished things off for the A-team.
It was nice being in the A-team once. But I really hope for my club's sake that I'm not in it again (especially for shorter distances), we just have far too much talent right across the age spectrum.
Decisions
The last couple of months having been crazy and really I have ran how I have felt rather than sticking to a plan. I think I have pretty much decided not to do the Fling this year as it just doesn't feel right. The reason for this is because the Kintyre Way is the weekend after. You just have to read my report on it down the right to realise just how special that day was to me. So I have entered to do the full thing this year (well to Campbeltown anyway where the race finishes).
Whether I finish it or not I don't care. I just want to give it ago and enjoy the scenery and magic of this part of the world. I realise its 20 miles further than I have gone before. But at the end of the day, if I'm gonna do the WHW, that will be 30 miles on top of the length of Kintyre. I am going to stay entered to the fling in case I change my mind but for now my training is focused on Kintyre.
I walked round to the school where the race was being held and met up with the team captain. Only to find there had been loads of call offs and what not. So it ended up instead of having 3 mens teams, we just had one mens team. So I was in the A-team by default! Awesome. Understandably there were of course some grumbles of disappointment as if we had our best team out we could get top 10 easy I reckon. But you gotta play with the hand your dealt so we made the most of it.
Our young guns took the first 2 legs, Alistair coming in 24th. Then Luke ramped us up to 8th on the second leg. Then of course no matter what order the 4 of us took; the person doing the next leg was going to be overtaken. So it was Jim then David, then I took the shorter 5th leg. I started with this guy from Lasswade who rocketed off and I didn't even try to keep up, just focusing on doing the best I could. I really went for it and was overtaken once (by people on the same leg) by a Cambuslang guy. As I reached the join where the long leg and short leg came together. A Shettleston guy doing his final leg went flying by. Then approaching a bridge I could hear shouts, and sure enough a Central guy (2nd overall) overtook me. I really tried my best to make sure the 3rd place (overall) guy didn't over take me. And again at the right point, the team captain gave me a shout of encouragement. I handed over the 'baton' to James who finished things off for the A-team.
It was nice being in the A-team once. But I really hope for my club's sake that I'm not in it again (especially for shorter distances), we just have far too much talent right across the age spectrum.
Decisions
The last couple of months having been crazy and really I have ran how I have felt rather than sticking to a plan. I think I have pretty much decided not to do the Fling this year as it just doesn't feel right. The reason for this is because the Kintyre Way is the weekend after. You just have to read my report on it down the right to realise just how special that day was to me. So I have entered to do the full thing this year (well to Campbeltown anyway where the race finishes).
Whether I finish it or not I don't care. I just want to give it ago and enjoy the scenery and magic of this part of the world. I realise its 20 miles further than I have gone before. But at the end of the day, if I'm gonna do the WHW, that will be 30 miles on top of the length of Kintyre. I am going to stay entered to the fling in case I change my mind but for now my training is focused on Kintyre.
Sunday, 20 March 2011
20/03/2011 - Alloa Half Marathon
Today was a great success for so many reasons. Going into the race I felt like I was going a bit into the unknown. Usually when I do half marathons my training is geared towards them or at least a stepping stone to a marathon. While I’m still running 5+ days every week, the type of training I have been doing has varied greatly and has been more focused on the hills/ultras and easy runs. Not tempo runs and long bouts of pavement plodding which I usually do when I’m training for halfs.
One thing I did have going into this race was plenty of experience in running half marathons. In fact I have run more half marathons than any other type of race or distance. This was my 11th and 2nd Alloa.
To the start
I decided to go for a slightly different approach to my journey to the start. I drove myself up to Alloa getting there an hour before. I parked in the furthest away car park and walked to the Leisure Bowl for registration. Picked up my number, dumped my stuff in the left luggage and headed for a warm up. Since the course is a loop, I decided it would be good to re-familiarise myself with the last half mile or so. So on the way out I did some active stretching and the way back I did short burst between lamp posts at race pace. I then went back to the Leisure bowl and got changed, met Giffnock folk then headed to the start.
The start to 3 miles
We exchanged good lucks and I tried to step back a bit from the people I knew. The reason for this is that I like to just totally get in my own zone just before the gun and go through the course in my head. It also means I am running my own race.
And Action...
The gun went off and I tried to look down as much as I could for the first mile just to let the field spread out and not pay attention to what other people are doing around me. To start with there is a mile loop which goes back near the start. There was great support here and I spotted a couple of Bella Harriers out of the corner of my eye who I recognised from park run, cheering, which was nice. I heard a shout of ‘Keep it steady’ – wise words for the first mile of a half. In the second mile a Giffnock team mate, James overtook me and we had a joke and wished each other good luck since I hadn’t seen him at the start. I was feeling good and was enjoying easing myself into the race.
3-6 miles
I did something from 3-6 miles which I don’t think I’ve done in a race since the Lochaber Marathon last year. I worked with Neil from my club and we were stride for stride for 3 miles. We were gradually overtaking people and I felt I went up a gear.
6-10 miles
I think the 6 mile mark was about Tilicoutry where the course turns west. This is where I cranked it up another gear and started to pull away from Neil. My next focus was James who had remained in view but must have been a good 400 meters away. This is where I started using some mental ammunition and just stayed positive. The crowds that were there I would feed off and I would smile back at them or give them the thumbs up. I had 2 songs going round in my head. “Steady as she goes” by the Raconteurs and “Smile” by Flickerstick. All these were good motivators and I was picking people off quicker now. I knew if I could get to 10 miles I could slog it out. I have to admit when I got to the 10 mile marker I did feel physically sorer at this point this year. But mentally I was in such a better place. I was thinking “Call this pain?” “Ha, try doing an ultra again – that’s proper pain”.
10-13 miles
In the 10th mile there was the famous hill everyone talks about. I did what I do for most hills which other people see as daunting. Take a look at it from the bottom – “This doesn’t look too bad and it’s never as bad as it looks”. It’s the only time since the first 2 miles where I looked down again. I look down at the kerb and watch the divides go by really quickly which make me feel like I’m going fast. I glanced up every so often to see if I have to overtake anyone. Boy did I overtake! I reached the top and felt like I was spent. But I knew that there was only a small incline to go and the rest was flat/down. I continued to overtake and got overtaken once by a Wee County Harriers runner. I got to the set of lights where I reached during my warm up. At this point I was beginning to think just how well today had gone. I really did nail it and didn’t hide my smile. I even managed to fit in a high five with a guy supporting who was dressed up as banana man. I turned the corner and there was the finish.
The Finish
I crossed the line in bang on 1.39 (chip time). I was delighted and I was less than 3 ½ minutes off my PB. I went and congratulated the rest of my club mates who also had some fine performances before getting changed and having a slow warm down back to my car. What a great race this is and thank you to everyone involved in making it so –organisers, marshals, police, water people, registration, folk at the start/finish, car park attendants and of course the runners. Chuffed to bits.
Splits:
Type | Distance | Time | Total Time | Pace |
1 | Interval | 1 mi | 7:43.61 | 7:44 |
2 | Interval | 1 mi | 15:32.23 | 7:49 |
3 | Interval | 1 mi | 23:31.14 | 7:59 |
4 | Interval | 1 mi | 31:20.95 | 7:50 |
5 | Interval | 1 mi | 38:56.75 | 7:36 |
6 | Interval | 1 mi | 46:35.42 | 7:39 |
7 | Interval | 1 mi | 53:59.83 | 7:25 |
8 | Interval | 1 mi | 1:01:28.71 | 7:29 |
9 | Interval | 1 mi | 1:08:46.36 | 7:18 |
10 | Interval | 1 mi | 1:15:59.79 | 7:14 |
11 | Interval | 1 mi | 1:23:13.30 | 7:14 |
12 | Interval | 1 mi | 1:30:30.39 | 7:18 |
13 | Interval | 1 mi | 1:37:31.49 | 7:02 |
14 | Interval | 0.23 mi | 1:39:05.97 | 6:51 |
And Finally...
1. Well done to everyone who completed the D33 yesterday. I have read some of the news on Facebook and seen some pictures. Looked fun!
2. Well done to Geoff Roes on his course record at the Chuckanut 50k.
3. Well done to Mo Farah on winning the New York half marathon in 1.00.22.
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