2014 - a mixed bag

Stroud Half this weekend was supposed to be a target race for the autumn, with lots of work travel in the summer marathon miles were out, and a sub 1:20 half was a good target. I had a bit too much fun riding my bike though, pretty sure I've built a bigger engine over the summer but have also put on 5kg since London marathon and not run enough. Coupled with whiplash from a car accident and work being hectic, I'm not where I want to be in October and will be running Stroud Half for fun, hopeing I'm in 1:25 shape!

It's been a good year though with PBs accross the board:

5K 18:02 at the white horse in August
10K  37:02 at Bourton in Feb
HM  1:20:52 at Bath in March
M  2:55:15 at London in April
53m 10:10:31 at the Highland fling in April

But aside from the 5k it's been a long summer without real running form. My cycling has improved a lot this year though, what with Darren Jewell giving me some reprogramming, Caroline Handley announcing that if I wanted to see her at weekends it needed to be on a bike, and Singapore turning out to be a great place to ride, I definitely swapped ultra marathons for road biking this year. So the target of 3100 bike miles in 2014 was completed easily in September, much to my surprise!

So where now?

I want 2:45-2:50 at London 2015 and believe 100% it's possible if I put the work in. To do this its going to be 50-70 miles a week, get back down in weight, live a bit more healthily. 

I also need some other targets, not sure what yet though.

3 rings of Shap

The 3 rings of Shap is a Long Distance Walkers Association event held annually in Cumbria, you can choose to enter 1, 2 or 3 rings all for less then £20. It puts some of the commercial Ultra running events charging £100+ for entry to shame. I made it up to Shap by 10pm, after stopping for pork pies, bananas and other grub at the farm shop at the back of Tebay motorway services, it's great that place.

It was raining hard as I put my tent up out the back of the Strickland Arms. This pub is the halfway check point on ring 2, and I read that a certain sir Wiggins and team Sky had visited during the tour of Britain last year after winning the tour. So if it's good enough for them....The pub won a competition for supporting cycling and the tour 're France, not a bad prize:

 

Anyway, long story short - loop one was hilly and boggy underfoot. We went up to 700m 18.5 miles,

3:20 ish, one of 4 leaders back to the village hall. Feeling good, but wondering if I'd gone off too fast.

Lap two, flatter, warmer, perhaps the best aid station I've ever seen: 2 massive biscuit tins full of mixed biscuits roped to a gate and a water carrier. In the absolute middle of nowhere. Halfway round was the Strickland Arms, very quick kit stop at my tent and a pint of coke. Was moving well back to the village hall and we were now 3 runners within a couple of minutes at the front of things.

Time for pork pie. And going into lap 3, the other two seemed to have a much lighter refusing strategy and I had to let them go up the hill while I focused on a slower digesting pace. 8 miles into this lap and the heavens opened. 10 miles in I got passed by a pair of mates going at least 2min a mile faster than me.

Even with rain gear, I was soaked to the skin and getting very cold. On descending to a village in the downpour about 3 miles from the finish I found a pub. Chips, coke and a warm fire certainly saved me from a dangerous situation. I tried to get moving again again after as n hour or so but the fight had gone.

 Taxi! DNF. I'll go back to this one, it was fun.

Change of plan

Cloud at 1500m. It's not a day for the big mountains with 50% chance of rain. Booked in for 2 more nights, time to hire a bike and head for France.

Wow, what a ride. Packed 3 climbs into 64 miles. First the Portilhon, a steady introduction to the Pyrenees, 500m in 8km. Ok I can do this. 5% and a triple chainring is the way forward. A drop into Luchon, I remember watching guys on the way up and thinking I had the easier side, and I may take a longer way home. Stopped at a cafe in Luchon, and decided the Peyresourde was on.

From 640m to 1580m in 14.5 km. Ok I can do this better than the other col worshipers today, passed 2 guys on the way up. There were ramps at 10%+ but not for too long. The cool weather definitely helped. So did the crepes and coffee at the top. Coming up from the other direction was a 12 year old French kid, who beat his father by a good 5 minutes. Chapeau!

The descent was chilly, got stuck behind a truck so stopped to get some clear road. Stuffed a caramel sports bar at the bottom, ditched the jacket at the foot of the Portilhon and set to work. Oh yes this side was tougher, there's one incredible section near a waterfall where you end up 100m vertically above the road below. Stand, sit, spin, try and breath more air than ever before. This one was hurting. Suddenly Allez Allez Allez! From some guys dropping off the top. Push push push, and lie down at the picnic spot. Victory.

Another cold drop and then 10 miles up the valley to Vielha with a snickers and not much drink. Got to the car, stretched and ate. I wasn't going up to Port de la Bonaigua tonight! But the guy did say I could drop the bike back in the morning.....

Shower and a snooze. Now camped out in montGarri coffee & shop with beer and some chilled electronica.

Long weekend

Saturday - Black Mountain Big Dipper

30 miles,1820m of ascent

I love the black mountains, less than 90 minutes from home, plenty of variety and over 800m, not too busy, and the quite brilliant castle Inn for great hospitality, camping, steaks and ale.

After dusting off the cobwebs it was clearly going to be a glorious day, and I made Llanthony my aim. I had to get over three ridges to get there, but If I want to survive the Cotswold way century then I need to get used to hills. As I came up towards the main Waun Fach path it was jacket on time, despite the clear blue sky and warm sun the wind was really strong. Got a really fluid pace going on the gentle 4 mile down hill, then started the second ascent. On top of the second ridge the supposed footpath through the forest had lost out to the trees, so decided to zig zag gently long the forest roads. I hit a real sweet spot here, clocking sub 8 minute miles and felt like I could go all day. Needed some lunch though and the pub at Llanthony beckoned  so dropped through the trees to the road and then started the third climb of the day.

Looking back towards Pengenfford

AT 17 miles I arrived at the campsite in Llanthony where they also have a bacon & burger van. I couldn't get past the smell so had a great locally sourced beef burger :) Then onto the pub in the  Priory where last nights beer was asking to be neutralised with a lasagne. I took the next 7 miles  at a brisk walk to digest and save the legs a bit until back up high, it was 5pm now, a great time to be on the hill I had it to myself. A gentle run back to the pub finished off a great day in the hills.

mid wales in the sunshine

Back to Waun Fach on the final descent

What a great route back down to cold beer

Sunday - Welsh Castles Relay

Leg 18, Merthyr - Abercynon, 9.05 miles, 59:08, 15th Place

Now, the other reason I was in wales was to join Stroud AC on day two of the Welsh Castles Relay. I've never raced anything quite like this, 20 legs, mainly on minor roads, down the length of wales. With each leg starting at a set time, it's not a true baton passing relay, but the teams time is added up. We had a mixture of runners and were there for fun more than to compete at the sharp end of the field, with teams from all over the country the standard was really high.

1) 1m - 6:24
2) 1m - 6:35
3) 1m - 6:29
4) 1m - 6:54
5) 1m - 7:01
6) 1m - 6:59
7) 1m - 6:10*
8) 1m - 6:02 
9) 1m - 6:18
10) 0.05m - 16

*Can you spot the point where my club mates on Bikes joined the route and started shouting at me?!

It's amazing what you can do when you think you can't give anymore but someone else thinks you can....I was felling the heat and had settled into a fairly comfortable pace, but Darren Jewell was telling me If I ran as hard as we do in training I could catch some people "they're knackered up there mate, you can get them"...."i've got them....." - I think I picked up 4 or 5 places in the last three miles. I don't intend to race comfortably for half marathon or shorter again after that!  

Had great fun following the race and supporting, it's great running as a part of a team especially when it's people you've trained with through rain and snow all winter. Stroud finished 27th of 61.

Monday - Westonbirt 10k

38:49, 30th of 712, 4th Stroud runner

With tired legs, I wasn't expecting a pb (37:54), but thought I'd see if 6 minute miles were possible  Of course they weren't, especially on an undulating course. I started off with Jason & Dan from Stroud who I run with regularly, but couldn't stay with their fresh legs after the first mile. Dan went on to run his first every sub 40:00 10K, in 37:56!!! an amazing improvement. 

I was hurting but going for it and passed a fading Jason at 5 miles. Was really pleased to finish within a minute of my spring best. there's close to a 37 minute 10K in me on the right day at the moment I think.

Split Summary
===
1) 1m - 6:01 169/177bpm 
2) 1m - 6:27 177/180bpm l
3) 1m - 6:09 174/177bpm 
4) 1m - 6:26 175/178bpm l
5) 1m - 6:29 176/180bpm 
6) 1m - 6:22 173/178bpm 
7) 0.11m - 40 180/181bpm 

Near the start with Dan Brook 

Cardiff Ultra

Next up was the Cardiff Ultra, a 50 mile route along the Taff Trail from Brecon to Cardiff. Just 4 weeks after the Fling, I wasn't sure quite how this would go, but felt good.

Time at each 10 mile mark and (average pace in brackets)

10 miles 1:37 (9:40)

20 miles 3:16 (9:48)

30 miles 5:18 (10:36)

40 miles 7:14 (10:50)

50.2 miles 8:54:49 (10:39)

Felt really good throughout, helped to share the first half with Jamie Blair, in not only his first ultra but his first Marathon too! Amazing effort from him to finish the thing, though I wonder if I've put him off Ultras?!

It was a really hot day, and we we're trying to stay in the shadows before 9am, but by the middle of the day it was baking hot. After a few miles walking (and eating) with Jamie to see if we could carry on together, I was went on my way at mile 33, and picked the pace up, running all the way to the finish. I felt really good, picked up about 20 places as people faded in the heat. I was able to throw in a couple of 8 minute miles at the end to bring it inside 9 hours :)

8:54:49 51st of 140 - OK, now I'm an ultra runner, I actually ran this one. The fact is was mainly tarmac and gravel paths made a big difference, as that's still where the majority of my training has been. But getting offroad and on hills every chance I can get now. I was really pleased with the recovery after the race too my legs were'nt to bad at all and I was back to normal training 4 days later.

Beyond The Marathon

So better late than never I've found some time to catch up on events Since the Blackpool Marathon in April. Having achieved the time I was after to qualify from London Marathon 2013 my focus for the rest of 2013 is Ultra Marathons, and running more miles.

I'd run one 40 mile ultra marathon before in November 2011, it was flat and on good paths, and whilst I had a hard time from mile 25 onward was keen to try again and try to master a new discipline. First up was the Highland Fling a 53 mile race along the route of the the West Highland Way from Milngavine to Tyndrum. The WHW continues as far as Fort William, 93 miles in total, and the fling was originally started as a training event for those running the full thing! 

I lived in Milngavie when I was young, and my uncle and family are still there, so it was great to base myself from their house whilst others scrambled for hotel rooms. After a good feed I sealed up my drop bags and tried to get some sleep

A 6am start saw a great atmosphere as around 500 runner leave Milngavine, The first section was nice and flat and it felt very easy getting to Drymen in 1:45. From here the route headed up conic hill, a mere pimple compared to the highlands, but a tough enough climb as the day warmed up. I found I was in the company of some lakeland 100 miler veterans and questioned if I should be going this quick, but felt good. A speedy runner dropped his gloves, so I went a bit quicker than planned and caught him on the descent to give them back before realising I'd hammered my legs a lot more than I should have done at this stage. After refueling at the first checkpoint in Balmaha it was a long trip up the east edge of Loch Lomond. I decided to throw in a walk for a mile here to let my system recover a bit, and lost several places to sensible paced types!

The legs were complaining along the loch side, and more walk sections (and hands on the rock clambering) were needed. By 40 miles it hurt lots to run, and hurt lots but in different places to walk. I was finishing this thing, but not in the fashion I'd hoped for! I'll be back to Fling again a really well but together event, with great atmosphere. It might be a bit close after the London Marathon form me in 2014, but to be continued!

I finished middle of the pack, 254 out of 416 that made it to the finish inside the 15 hour cut off. The beer I was handed at the finish line is the best I've ever tasted :)

Split times:

12.6 miles Drymen 1:45:58

27.2 miles Rowardennan 04:51:38

40.9 miles Beinglas Farm 08:46:37

53 miles Tyndrum  12:18:06

With the marathon as a focus this Spring, I hadn't run enough hilly offroad miles to be fully prepared for the fling, so lesson learnt! 2 days resting up and I got on with the week in the highlands. I finished off the West Highland way in 2 days, walking and dropped straight into the leisure centre at Fort William for a sauna and swim as a reward. The Full WHW race is definitely something I want to be able to complete one day. More training needed! 

I also had a bit more time and energy to snap some photos.

Run to Paradise

So on Friday the car was in the garage and I was waiting in the queue to board a bus to work. The gent in front of me said to the drive "single to Paradise please"! It only cost him £2.40. So, on Friday sat in the pub waiting for the (hourly) bus home, about 3 miles from Paradise, I decided a trip there on foot to investigate was required.

Spent Sunday morning on the sofa watching the London Marathon with an eye on the internet site for live updates of friends at each 5K point. 3 people I was watching who have given me loads of support and advice this year went sub 3 hours so it was a great start to the day. By the time the grass was cut and other jobs were done it was 4pm and I'd missed lunch. So a bit of running with a full stomach practice was in order for all these ultras I'm supposed to be doing. I downed a slice of cold pizza and a bowl of cereal. and set out with a small backpack with energy drink in it.

It was all about being out there and enjoying it today, first run in 2 weeks since the marathon, intended a full week off, but have had a stinking cold that is still lingering. So now that marathon training is a background task - it's all about running on the trails, nice and steady, building that aerobic base. Luckily, since we moved to Stroud last year I know have this out the back door: 

 The Wysis Way - Offas dyke to the Thames Path? Don't give me ideas.

Having covered 99% of Offas Dyke Path last year, perhaps this is a good way to finish it off.







The mud has dried on the footpaths for now, making for much quicker running conditions than in the winter. There's still some swampy patches down in the valleys though.

 So with the first few miles done I arrived at Bulls Cross, and looking over the Painswick Valley, Paradise came into view.

The Road to Paradise is not flat!

 

  Would you Adam and Eve it?!

Golfers will be please to know there's an 18 hole course in Paradise.

Wikipedia tells a tale. A fools paradise? A little bit of good tourism marketing for the 1600's?

While Royalists were encamped in Painswick, tradition has it that King Charles went up to the Beacon and, seeing the beautiful valley to the east said "This must be Paradise". Since then that valley, and the hamlet on its western side to the north of Painswick have been called Paradise.