Definetly Ultra for a bit!

Ran a race yesterday pretty much on the coastal path - I thought my legs were ok but they certainly were not but never the less was good to have a run but it was too soon to race, especially something that short!

It was a real shock to the system and to me no way as enjoyable as going far....so I think I might get in to this ultra business. Today I got up early and hit the road on the bike - it didn't matter how far or how fast, I just went to enjoy the weather and enjoy the outdoors. Ended up doing close to 50 miles really relaxed and got back for work at midday. Loved it!

I forgot until recently but before the ultra I entered a marathon this weekend, It's too soon so I probably wont do it. I definetly wouldn't race it but there's a side of my head saying I might just jog it around, very easy like a long run with no watch just a laugh. (I'm actually really chuffed Iv'e got my endurance up to a stage where I can say this, even if my speed has taken a little hit) We'll see nearer the weekend as I'm not planning getting back to proper running training until the end of the month.

In addition the last blog about nutrition has stirred up some discussions. All I want to say is that when I write about nutrition I try and write it in a realistic way. We all know we can eat healthier but we got to have a life to, thats why I go on about having a balance not a 100% strict eating plan that makes life way to strict. I'm convinced it's better to eat well throught life not 100% strict for a month which is so strict that people end up unable to maintain it and turn even more unhealthy than before.

Happy running

Nutrition - Eating out

As there hasn't been much action on the training side of things this week I thought I'd write today about nutrition, more specifically food swaps. Except for stuff that go in the microwave or 'plastic' frozen food nothings 'off the radar' with me nutrition wise. I dont see any need to tell someone stop eating this and that. Just eat less of the bad stuff and more of the healthier stuff. Everything in moderation. Lets be honest unhealthy stuff like chocolate and cake do taste good. I just recommend people to eat a 'bit' of everything but exercise. I've noticed that many people eat less 'junk' food in time, when they start exercising and become fitter - they find they feel better from healthier food so cut down naturally. We have to eat to live so just manage your health around your food - not around fad diets!

Speech over, today I'm going to talk about food swaps when eating out. What I mean by food swaps are basically choosing good food whilst still having a life. For example - Eating out, it gets a bad name for making people obese, I dont think its the food it's just the choice people make when they get there. I't doesn't have to be avoided just choose the best options from the menu.

1) Indian food - Tandorri based indians are really healthy - there's no cream just marinade. Tomato based curries like Jalfrezi are healthier and less rich than creamy tikka massala or korma. Bread swaps - Chapati instead of Naan's (Ok, naan bread is amazing but if you are watching what you eat the calorie difference is huge) A typical Plain Naan - 500 plus calories depending on the size (Let's be honest there usually huge) compared to a Chapati - 100 - 250 maximum.

2) Saturday night kebab - Despite the typical serving of that doner meat rubbish or huge pizzas being unhealthy there is a beauty of a swap in the kebab shop, and to be fair it's probably one of the healthiest low fat protein packed meal you can have from a takeaway - Chicken Shish kebabs. A typical serving has about 500 calories in and is basically a pitta bread with grilled chicken and plenty of salad. In contrast, the heart attack on a plate that is Doner meat and chips can set someone back well over a thousand calories and not be too far off the amount of fat recommended for the average person in a day in one meal.

3) Subway - By going easy on the sauces and choosing the healthier subs like 'subway club', chicken teriyaki, Ham and turkey and not the classic metball marinara Subway is actually pretty good fast food. The healthy persons fast food. By choosing wholemeal bread aswell to try to balance the carbohydrate utilisation you could have a 'foot long' sub for about 650 calories which is a great feed. I usually order a foot long subway club with no sauce (actually sometimes barbecue, just because I love it :) and I get all the salads which usually raises the eyebrows of the staff for some reason.

4) Chinease takeaway - Whats this thing about getting rice and chips? Dont bother with this if you can help it - Chop Suey is one of the 'healthier' options as it's beansprout based and has lots of stir fried vegitables. Chow mein is also good if you want to bulk up the carbs as its packed full of noodles, again stir fried dishes are good guide. Unfort the tasty sweet and sour covered in batter is one of the most calorific meals on the menu and has too much saturated fat - A guide is about 1200-1500 calories depending on the size. Thats a lot for one meal but fine as an occasional treat :)

5) Sunday dinner - ummmmm there is no sub for this just eat unlimited amounts of veg and eat it like a king!

When eating out choosing anything 'grilled' is by far healthier for people. Thats the best advice I think. Also you know when you want to treat yourself and it's fine, just keep it all balanced with plenty of exercise.

Slowly becoming an ultra runner?

It hasn't taken me long - I've entered another ultra. :) love it!

This time it's in August and it's 40 miles. One reason I've entered is because deep down I loved everything about the 50mile - maybe not at the time but looking back I certainly did.

Another reason - the thought of not having any sort of challenge in front of me and nothing to train for is just boring to me. I've been inactive all week, which I've needed to to heal, so I've had to, it's only wise but I can just feel myself recovering fast and tonights sports massage as well as the weekends rest will leave me well up for it again by Monday I just know it - I'll be honest I'm lost without running or some sort of challenge to test me - a life just living for the weekend is just not for me!

I've been currently searching a couple of events that I'm considering could be a great chance to raise some money as well as test me - nothing finalised yet but hopefully get on something big in 2012.

I've got a feeling this could be the start of something. So as of next week -training blog is back! :)

Whatever it is you love - do it, chase it, love life! A bit cheesy (but true) ha ha

Recovery

Im already feeling a lot better - I've almost even forgot the pain of Sunday...almost!

It's taken until today but I feel much better except for my toe which isn't great so it will probably stop me running for a good week but I'm not fussed. I planned on taking two weeks to rest up and do some cross training. This morning I did a 10min very light conditioning circuit and a 90min cycle extremely easy but was nice to get out there again and I feel ok, not healed completely but certainly on the mend. Going to try and get a sports massage somewhere this week to aid the recovery as my legs feel pretty tight.

Iv'e already been checking events out, so it looks like I could well do another ultra ha ha - I actually think I love the thought of seeing what my body can do and going further than the perceived limitations. Granted ultra distance events take a fair bit out of the body but as long as you rest well after then the body is a fantastic machine and heals fast. I love a good night out (which I'll be sure to enjoy this weekend) to, but I'd rather push my body through endurance and fitness than push my body through smoking or drinking like a tank every weekend. Each to their own isn't it.

I've seen a couple of events but nothing decided yet probably aim for something big in 2012 so I can do some more training and training events - so will keep the blog posted for when I decide if things are do-able both physically and financially!

My appetite has been monstruous this week, with no activity just recovery but my body needs it to help with the healing. After my recovery phase (2 weeks) I'll get sorted again with the nutrition and look ahead for the next event.

I'm not going to lie, I fancy a huge event! :)

Cardiff Ultra

That was pretty hard to say the least - for me it was the pain you get towards the end of a marathon but for another 25miles. So hard.

I made a couple of poor eating choices early on (ate too much) and my stomach just turned and from 25 miles on I could barely eat anything. I've never had this happen to me before. I use to always say, 'How can people not eat after running etc....Just put food in your mouth and swollow, full stop'. What an idiot I was as yesterday for the first time I couldn't stomach a thing for the second half. My thinking or guess work as I hadn't run the distance before was maybe after about 20miles why not eat the equal of a big meal then maybe it would be like starting again after that. I tried this, within the first 20miles i ate 2 cliff bars, a 9bar, 2 cliff shots and a whole malt loaf. I thought I'd be fine doing this, I was so wrong and ended going a little bit sick at mile 28 and this ment I hit a really bad patch till about mile 33. I went from 2nd down to 6th in the space of a mile or two, had lost loads of motivation, felt a little ill and was already in pain so all sorts of negative thoughts were happening.

33/34 miles something changed, not much, I still couldn't stomach food and I still felt tired but I sort of found some sort of rythum and ended up running or shuffling all the way to the end. Walking just stopped the rythum so I just kept running no way was I stopping, I was afraid of hitting another proper low. I ended up just breaking it up to 10milers where the checkpoints were, which was still a killer.

About 3-4 miles from the end I recognised Llandaf, this gave me a bit of a boost as all of a sudden I knew where I was so I just plodded to the end where I'd never been so relieved to get to the end.

My stomach was tender all the way and even at the end I couldnt stomach food which I was shocked at. I couldn't eat after running 50 miles!!! Didn't make sense. I ended up not eating until I got home, then I got a chinese takeaway but more just because I needed calories more than wanted. Weird! Probably now next few days I might be pretty hungry.

If I ever did another, I'd change the eating to little and often and I'd probably start a bit slower. The guy who won was an Irish International and I was running pretty much with him for the first half which didn't make sense really. There we are, it was hard to say because the pace at the start was easy and felt so comfortable. The only difference was the winner kept it up mostly all the way whilst the rest of us faded a bit more.

I got to the end and said 'I don't think I could do another ultra marathon', this morning I'm on 'maybe I'd do another' woooops!

With the ultra done, im going to continue to update the blog covering all things running aswell as other aspects fitness and nutrition whilst I decide what challenge takes my fancy :)

Final prep

Here we go... the last blog before the attempt at a 50 mile. Im nervous, excited, scared, on edge + the rest but I honestly can't wait for this!! I just hope I manage it and just treat this one like an experiance not a race. So goals for the 'jog':

1) The main goal is just to complete it.
2) Secondary goal is to stick to my target time and not start faster - 7-7.5 mph I'm heading out at. If it goes drastically wrong then I'll just put it down to experiance and know it's a bit fast at the moment.
3) I know I say, it's no race but deep down it is, what run isn't? So thirdly a top 15 finish would be nice - but this is the least important goal, infact it isn't important at all is it ;)

Carb load gone well today, I'm at about 430g carbs so far. Should get to about 6/700. Food has been good today again, ate similar to yesterday but ate a little more fat with a portion on the cashew nutts this morning. Yesterday I reached about 650g carbs so was a little below what I targeted but I'd had enough ha ha. I do feel full by today, the eatings been a push but this is why tomorrow I wont eat as much, be nearer the 300g. The idea by Sunday I'll feel slightly less full but knowing I've loaded well. However it's just full from mainly good quality food so the stomach is settled and I feel as ready as I can be.

That said, I've gatherd most of the kit (picture) now but in the shop earlier they were out of malt loaf!! Oh no, this isn't ideal so before leaving tomorrow I'm going to do the rounds to make sure I get my loafs.

Next time I blog will be a good summary of the ultra, hopefully be able to summaries all the highs and lows on a great day. Let's hope it goes well :)

Carbohydrate Loading

Yesterday I did about 3-4 miles, again easy with a few 10 second strides involved but nothing strenuous. That done means except for Sat mornings little stride out thats it now before the 50 mile. Scary. I am now a little nervous, thus a little excited it's still unlike any feeling I've had doing any other run. Not like preparing for a 10k anywey!

I've pretty much got all my kit ready, tomorrow I'll gather them all together and maybe I'll try and get a first picture of all the kit and supplies up on the blog.

With that done it's left today and tomorrow for a Carbohydrate load. Usually I just eat lots. I've tried a few different methods from the carb cut at the start of the week which is suppose to completely empty the body of most of it's glycogen (sugar) stores which is suppose to mean you can eat even more when you come to the load at the end of the week. I found this to work but I don't like the idea of cutting early in the week of say a marathon which leaves you low on energy the week when you really want to feel good. It doesn't seem logical, but then like most things it works for some not for others. I've tried Carb loading for a whole week - I didn't like this, too much food, and too long feeling sluggish. Another method I've tried is leaving the load until the day beforean event then eating an huge amount, again this was not nice as it left my stomach all over the place the morning of the run. I tried this one in this years London marathon - what an error, it certainly made me slower! My grudge with the marathon continues, I know there's a fast one in me somewhere. I've even tried loading on lots of junk food in the past which gives you a serious sugar rush but again left my stomach rumbling. Sometimes though I do think there is a place for eating a little junk when loading. A dessert or choc bar does good to up your calories without eating as much but I tend to just top up with say a choc bar if I have to. First choice is good quality food. The final method I've tried which is the best for me by far and is what I'm doing this time is eating normally until Wednesday. Thursday and Friday aiming for about 800g of carbs then Saturday eating a little less so that come Sunday I'm not over full and hopefully full of energy and eager to start. I don't usually keep a strict track but today as I have the day off and wanted to update the blog on the nutrition side I have. So todays nutrition (overly specific is below).

Todays nutrition (This is approximate intake, just going off labels)

Breakfast - 50g oats, 200ml skim milk, banana, berries
Carbs - 65g Protein - 13g Fat - 5g

Mid morning - Banana, 2 x Wholemeal pittas with a little marmite
Carbs - 70g Protein - 14g Fat - 2-3g

Lunch - 200g Sweet potato, 100g Turkey, Veg (broccoli, carrot, cabbage, long peas)
Carbs - 80g Protein - 30 - 35g Fat - 2-3g

2pm - 2 x Wholemeal pittas with a little marmite, apple
Carbs - 60g Protein - 14 Fat - 2-3g

3pm - 125g Dried apricots
Carbs - 70g Protein - 2-3 Fat - 1-2

4pm - 2 x Wholemeal pittas with a little marmite
Carbs -50 - 55g Protein - 14 Fat - 2

So far I'm not near 800g and with the huge cut in exercise I'm pretty full. Thats about 400g and if I'm being more keen the fats are a touch low so tomorrow I'm going to maybe swap marmite for peanut butter which will up the fat intake but keep a good intake of mono and poly unsaturated fats. As well as this I've got oily fish planned for both days so it's not too bad in my opinion. I use marmite at times just to increase the B vitamins in my diet, especially pre race as with out going to scientific it increases red blood cell production, helps break down the energy from the food I eat as well as help regulate blood sugar levels and keep nervous and digestive system healthy.

Food I have planned this evening to up the intake is rice pudding which per tin has about 75g, another veg based dinner with salmon but I'll maybe try and get 2 sweet potatos which will add approx an extra 40g from my lunch. With that I'll be nearing about 600g which is a bit below my target. I'll top up with a bowl a couple bowls of cereal which may get me to about 700g. That will do for me then unless I have a couple choc biscuits with a cuppa. All in all thats definitely good enough for me. I'm happy with the fact it's been all fairly healthy to.

I'll repeat this tomorrow to then I should be good to go.

I've just ordered zinc cxide tape, touch wood it arrives or I'll have to get the poor quality (to be polite) tape from the pharmacy. I've used it before and find it pretty usefull when carrying a camelbak. As well as this it's useful for the soles of the feet in an attempt to avoid blisters. I'm thinking tape them up before they hurt - might not make much difference but im not taking that chance. As for the my back, i'll just tape it up to avoid as much chafing as possible. Taping my feet and back might seem a bit far to go but I know it's not, so end of story :)

As for this week there isn't too much to write so the blogs may not be daily but I'll try to update as much as possible. Also so much for 2-4 mile daily runs this week, I ran 6 yesterday and even though it was slow and I feel fine it was still the first time iv'e gone off the 'plan' since the taper started. I hate plans, I just like running, runnings so simple sometimes I think we over complicate things. This is one reason why I follow the run on feel business, I still follow the standard guides of long runs, speed work, recovery etc but more casually. Whether thats a positive or negative I dont know but I like it. However because I tend to over do things on the taper this is one of the rare times when I do follow a plan that I've made. The only time I run with rules. Back to this week I'll stick to the plan despite yesterdays blip, and stick to 2-4 miles today and Wednesday, two days off to carb load then an easy 2-4 Saturday morning.

Talking about carb load, when I load I make a rough guide so that I know roughly my carb intake. I'll probably aim for about 800grams of carbs Thursday and Friday then a little less Saturday. I'll blog thursday of what my carb load nutrition will be. I'll probably aim for high carb meals then toasted pitta breads in between meals with a little peanut butter or marmite. This is also a good time to eat a little more simple carbs, buns, rice pudding, malt loaf even a little more chocolate is fine as it's a good way to up the calories without getting to full.

Hopefully I'll get some ultra pictures up here after the event to.

Final run!

With the 50mile now only a week out, today I did my last run of any meaning. It was a 12mile pretty much in race day kit. Usually I wouldn't bother with the camelbak for such distance but today I did because I wanted to test out a couple of things, one of which was my new electrolyte tablets. These were better tasting anywey but still nothing on plain and simple water, never the less it's something I need to take so I will. Another bonus from these ones were that the tablets dissolved fast in the water (with the others i had to stir). First bit sorted.

Secondly, when I ran one of my long runs I remember the camelbak starting to rub against my shoulder. So what I wanted to try out was wearing my compression t-shirt (pretty much looks like a posing top for the guys who want big biceps) because it's tight so acts like another layer of skin, thats my thinking anywey. Even though it was only 12 miles the camelbak felt much more comfortable than wearing a t-shirt.

Finally even though I was feeling fairly fresh from the taper I wanted to stick to a pace I think I can hold in the 50 mile. The good news was that it was very comfortable, what I'd be thinking 25-30 miles down the line I'm not sure but I think I'll give it a go. The worst thing that could happen is that I'm ridiculously fatigued and have to slow down. If I slow down it really doesn't matter, the only thing I'm nervous about is the fear of the unknown as I havn't tackled this distance before.

Taper summary for last week:-
Sunday - 17mile very slow
Monday - 6mile fartlek
Tuesday - 5 mile slow
Wednesday - 4 mile, 6-8 intervals 30-1 min @ about 10k pace (maybe a little slower just to stride out a bit)
Thurs- 2 x 3mile
Friday - Off
Saturday 6mile easy

Total - 44miles (85% very easy)

This week I'm going to run 2-4 miles up up until wed, 2 rest days to carb load the run 2-3 sat morning, all really easy.

Treated myself last night to a monster piece of gammon. Certainly reminded me of university days :)

My first 50mile is getting closer - the excitment's starting to hit me now and to be honest it's on my mind a lot. This week has seen a big cut in my training load, today I did a 4mile with 8 x 30-1min intervals to just stretch the legs. Thats 36miles for the week with a couple days left one of which will be about 12 miles which will see me get to about 48/50 miles for the week which was what I planned. I'm glad I started the taper this week as I can feel my body healing and today I really had to hold back so this is good. Iv'e kept to the 5 od minuets of stretching this week, infact my favourite is the classic hamstring stretch whilst waiting for the kettle to boil!

This week I've been thinking about what kit I need to wear, take, food and other bits like medical things like foot care! At the moment (this could change) I'm thinking for food I'm going to carry my cliff bars and cliff shots with me as well as some salted cashews. That will be it, for the rest I'm going to use the check points to re-fuel and stock up. As well as this my commited supporter (my Dad) will be along so I'll give him a rucsack with ample malt loaf and other little bits. People have mentioned ibuprofen so I'll carry these just incase. Vasaline is my other saviour (everywhere) and I'm going to tape parts of my back up with zinc oxide tape to try and stop the cuts and grazes coming from the camelbak. It's like giving me an extra layer of skin. From previous experiance I'll take a foil blanket incase something goes 'tits up' and I have to stop because I'll get cold fast. I'm also thinking about putting a 2nd pair of trainers in the rucksack incase I 'just want a change' to give relief to possible saw spots. Saying all this I don't know maybe I'll be fine with less food, no more vasaline, no second pair of trainers etc but I havn't a clue due to inexperiance in this sort of thing. This is the case with speed to. Today I felt fast and thought maybe a touch faster is possible but I'll probably play it safe and enjoy it.

Nutrition wise been great all week so I'm happy with this. As well as the physical benefits, eating well certainly helps with mental recovery as you just feel better. What people get wrong is to think that eating well is dieting. It's not, you can eat loads of calories through good healthy food which will fuel you well and on top of this keep you'r body at a much smaller risk of illness and disease.

If you want regular little updates 'like' my facebook page (beyond endurance - Rhys Harries) which will hopefully become one of my Personal Training pages in the near future.

Nutrition

There isn't too much to mention today especially with me being in this taper. Today I just ran a very easy 5/6miles which I think is around the theme I'm going to continue now, maybe find a speed session somewhere and about 12 miles on the weekend but it's all pretty easy now, time to heal! On the plus side this spare time has given me a chance to get my personal training course work done.

Last couple days has also seen me eating well so the rest is will definetly benefit me and to be honest I can just feel myself starting to recover all ready so hopefully by the weekend I'll be feeling good. I find good nutrition makes me feel so much better and I really notice it when I have a couple days of eating junk. My nutrition for today is below:

Breakfast: approx 50g oats, chopped banana and kiwi with about 200/300ml milk. mug of herbal tea, pint of water. This is my morning meal more or less every morning.

Post workout: Small bowl of maple and pecan oaty cereal with some milk and a handfull of raisins.

Lunch: Big Sweet Potato, brocolli, carrot, runner beans with a good size chicken breast with plenty of herbs and spices involved.

Afternoon (over the whole afternoon): 2 bananas, 40g cashews, some figs and dried fruit from my graze box.

Evening meal: Couscous salad with a can of tuna with all sorts of spices to make it interesting and some salad cream. Tuna is so much nicer with a little salad cream :)

Looking at that, it's fine considering I'm not training very hard at the moment. Except for the 17mile I did the other day its been low miage recovery since thursday.
I will probably eat on these lines now until a week wed or thurs where I'll start to carb load where usually nothings off the radar, but I'm going to try and keep it 70/15/15 with the bulk being complex carbs with a little simple sugars involved like buns, rice pudding, snickers (but not too much :s) and malt loaf. Nutts are easy calories to but low on fat but give a decent protein hit and good on the fat. The rest I try to load on wholemeal pittas in the toaster between meals.

Something different tonight but hopefully interesting.

Endurance a frame of mind?

Yesterday I continued with the less volume and ran a slow 6mile before doing some strength endurance/conditioning. It was really good to do something different other than big endurance running. The first circuit I did involved 20 dumbell squats to press, farmers walk followed by 10 clap press ups. Did three circuits with no recovery in between. After a breather I did one more circuit of 20 dumbell swings, Burpees, chest press and lunges, two circuits. Short but sharp the strength work was but the change in intensity really motivated me. Infact I've got some DOMS (muscle soreness) in my chest today. I really think intensity is definetly the way forward with strength conditioning.

The last few days has also seen me stretching out for longer. I'll be the first to admit my flexibility work is not consistent. Some days I'll have a good go at it after a session but most of the time I just don't :s
How ever I think allowing myself just 5 mins a day would be about 35mins in a week which would be a start, 10 mins would be overan hour. It just seems to stretch out any soreness and help increase range of movement. I know this but I can't always be motivated to do it!

Today I ran 17 miles at about the pace I'm guessing for the ultra. After easy days it felt very comfortable but I'm definetly sticking to it as I've never run anywhere near 50miles before so who knows how I'll react later on. The more I train for longer than the 'norm' the more I start to realise the roll the brain has to play. I honestly think training the brain is as much a part of endurance as training has on physical fitness. Maybe a persons experiance is what trains the brain as such, so with that thought, training the brain may just come through going further in training. For example, two months back I didn't think 50m was possible, I wrote it off instantly. By now I think it's possible to complete it.Hard but possible. Why? It's not like I'm much fitter in two months but my brain is now telling me through repeatedly going far in training that I can do it. Switching the way I think seems like half the battle. Another example is PB's (Personal bests) They are there to be broken. If one day someone breaks a PB then does it again two days later then it's not because of your all of a sudden much fitter, so the brain must play a part. You know mentally by experiance that you can sustain a pace. Mentally you know you can run at x speed so next time you'r brain tells you let's run a little faster, so you usually do or at least come pretty close.

It's like everything in life, part of peoples limitations are mental and are only limited by experiance.

With that geeky blab over, and I'm sorry that last bit was pretty geeky I'll call it a day for now.

By the way I've just got some new electrolyte tablets, none caffine! Hope these are better.

Taper and Feeling Fatigue

Having only done an easy day thurs a day off friday and just 30mins worth of running today I've really cut back last few days and its going to continue for the next 2 weeks so hopefully by the ultra I'll be like a caged animal ready to go!

A slight concern is that over the last couple days is I've ate a serious amount of rubbish and in serious amounts! I've noticed previously that this sometimes happens when my body starts to crave a complete rest, so basically for me this is an overtraining symptome, which at the moment is not what I need. So last few days has been much less training but eating more, and more junk. If the ultra had already been then I'd just take say a month off just x training and running small amounts (like normal people) and eat what I want to flush the whole thing out then re-start. It does make me put weight on on the break but after a rest from everything I'm then gasping to enter something big again and I just get back in shape again. I did this after the Coastal challenge and put 7 lbs on in 6 weeks over xmas then eyed up the london marathon, trained hard and returned to my previous 11st in no time. I think I'm pretty fussy on what I eat to, so the rest from being more picky is also a nice one. This works for me and going back to winging it, I've actually run some good times when I've been on this recovery period. So for the next two weeks im going to be careful not to push the training too much so that after a couple days my nutrition will get back to normal and I can focus on the ultra.

Im not 100% when I'm going to do what this week but it's definetly going to be just one session a day, the way I've been training recently has been pretty full on so one session a day is a cut for me, especially if I add in one or two complete days off. As for today I actually ran a training pb and it was in to a head wind so maybe my tiredness is more mental fatigue rather than physical from all the training since xmas but mental fatigue is just the same as being physically fatigued because when mentally I'm starting to tire pushing it in training becomes hard. Its been full on now for over 5 months so as much as I'm up for the ultra and the new challenge a lot the 4-5 weeks of just major easing off is going to be essential for me, before eyeing up something else it can also be some catch up time on some boozy nights out ha ha.

Finished my last big milage week yesterday and reached a 103miles, good enough for me.

Looking back, what's been interesting is the fact that mentally I seem to have got familiar to the big milage (maybe not 50) - Suddenly doing 8 miles yesterday, felt like a day off!! It's as if I've trained the brain as much as my body to become accustome to big milage.

Going back to yesterday I ran 8 miles on the Taff trail, heading out towards Castell Coch but turning around a little sooner because I'd reached the 100mile. What was very nice to see was that it was far from hilly, (on this part anywey, maybe not so over the Beacons!) not flat but nothing like the Pembs coastal path. The run ended up being a decent fartlek session as I kept having a go at chasing down runners and cyclists aswell as having to run away from dogs!! I even had to do one of my turn around and chase the dog to scare it off waving my arms like some mad man as the owner just sat looking....keep your dog on a lead!

Around my course I also managed to fit in a sports massage, which was brutal but very needed, I should get these more often.

I'm going to take it easy until Sunday, maybe x train only, might even try and get to a squat rack. From Sunday will give me two weeks exactly before the ultra so next week I'm going to drop to about 50 miles and get at least two fast sessions in just to feel a bit sharper again. One of them will be my time trial and the other might be 1k repeats, the rest I'll wing it just keeping a cap on the milage. I'll probably x train more this week to keep active recovery but a rest from the running motion.

The final week will be horrible, I'll probably have to start cleaning or something to keep me busy, but like I once got told 'the taper is as much a part of the discipline as the running itself'

Discussion!

After yesterday I wanted to see how I'd be so pushed out 13 miles very slow today but that doesn't matter - after this week I'm going to do one week speed work just to get that sharpness back. Iv'e got three speed sessions I really want to do, one of which I often use to measure progress so I'll be sure to get that in. Let's just hope I'm not slower!!

As I'm away in Cardiff for a few days I thought it would be a good chance to book myself in for a sports massage, so that done and a run on the taff trail and I'll be happy, it will also put my milage up as im on 75 this week with 2 days left. I should get up to a 100 again this week before the taper starts.

Thought I would throw something out there tonight, a discussion. (Feel free to comment...infact do comment :)

My question is: Do you train better when you feel better? If so, is it not possible to dictate the intensity or volume of a programe by how we feel? E.g Do your big sessions when you best feel like it, going faster, heavier, longer etc only planned a day or two befor or even as you start the session?

Personally, ideally this is how I like to train. A general goal but I dictate the intensity of the session of the cuff. I wake up at the same early time most mornings so that if I suddenly fancy a long session I can before work or if I wake up feeling bad I rest that day not the next etc. It also suits me as it keeps me motivated. However this is just me, there is no right or wrong but for me I'm sure I do better from this method. I think I'm also lucky with the fact that I love my hobby, so not having a plan isn't an issue because I know I'll still be motivated to work out most days. For a beginner I think this method would be difficult to maintain. Please comment...

Electrolyte problems!

After a change of plan from having today off I decided best to get the long run done so left at 8am and having ended up having yesterday off completely felt fairly good. I thought I'd do about 28-30miles, ended up 28 but I'll take that.

I've been thinking recently about what sort of pace to run this 50mile. At the moment I'm think I could handle approx 7mph but its hard to say having never done one before and having never run more than 30miles. The pain just seems to get worse and worse from about 20 onwards so it's really hard for me to say. Up until about 21 miles today I was very comfortable at 7mph, infact I was getting nearer to 8mph which I'm sure is too fast for me to even consider for 50miles - it's naive of me to even consider 8mph so I'm playing with 6 - 7mph for the ultra. Iv'e also got to get this 1st is 1st 2nd is last attitude out of my head big time!! I just want to get around but there's this evil voice in my head that keeps turning things in to competitions! arghhh

From about 21 - 24miles today my stomach was really dodgy, and I'm putting it down to the electrolyte drink I've got. From the first sip today I was pulling those faces you pull after drinking some sort of cheap alcoholic shot. Unlike the tablets I used before, these ones were + caffine and I didn't like it. I think my stomach got better from 24-28 because I stopped drinking it, this I cant do so I've got to fix this problem and find new electrolyte tablets or powder. Any ideas?

The stomach issue slowed me to a walk at one point and it hit my pace but I'm not to bothered I slowed down, I'm only practicing and I still got the job done which was the main thing and I did average 7mph. It could be hard to keep that pace up for another 20 od miles but it's hard to say because towards the end today, despite hurting I actually got a bit faster again.

Recently I've also found eating big meals straight after the long sessions hard so I've had to get a recovery drink down me again today so that theres something going down, I just want to drink cold water so maybe I'm not drinking enough on the long runs but I think I have been drinking enough so not sure 100% there. All I do know is im craving one of them old school '99s' with a flake of course, so I'm going to find one of them this afternoon.

On the whole it was better than the last 29/30miles I ran so it's progress and it gets me to 63 miles this week with 3 days to go. Due to the Cardiff trip I have to make, if I get to 90 od for the week I'll be happy enough but 100 would be nice before cutting back for the last 2 weeks.

Up's and down's

Having done nothing today and having a good load on the food I'm now thinking of getting the distance in tomorrow!!

This is why I dont do strict programmes, I like to wing it!

The long run update could be eventfull!

Highs and lows

Iv'e been waiting for this....I'm finally feeling a bit fatigued, as if the running's about to become a chore. So that said I'm x training today with a little spin on the bike and going to cancel the 33miler I had planned for tomorrow and bike again or do nothing then look to kick start things Tuesday. This will hit my weekly milage a bit but if I'm tired I've got to cut back. The only time tired will not exist is in the 50miles itself - that day I just get the hell on with it until I reach the end!

Yesterday I did two 7.5mile runs and I really had to motivate myself to go, when im at full force I dont need a second to decide if I'm up for running I just am so with that and the thought of running today again being hard I've decided to swap the run and x train easily. With 20 miles done friday and 15 yesterday and with a 30 to come before the end of the week I doubt I'll have reached the 100 this week so I'm adjusting the goal to about 80/90miles. It may look like I'm wimping out but I'm convinced I'm so much fitter and healthier when I'm sort of open minded with the training and not forcing running just for the sake of it.

On the plus side a trip to Cardiff with work for a couple days this week will give me the perfect chance to run on the taff trail itself so that I am looking forward to.

So for now the up's and down's of training for long distance has got me on a slight down but not for long I'm sure!

Also do like this little quote I found -

When my longest run was 13 miles, a marathon seemed nearly impossible.
When my longest run was 26 miles, 50 miles seemed nearly impossible.
When my longest run was 50 miles, 100 miles seemed nearly impossible.
When my longest run was 100 miles, 50 miles seemed like a nice, long training run.
Don't let the distance scare you; run from aid station to aid station and the distance will take care of itself.