Back on the endurance!

As of yesterday I got my ass back in gear, entered the coastal challenge and got out of party mode and in to training mode. With six weeks to go, I'm going to up the running again and see if I can get myself back in to triple marathon shape. Whether or not I've left it late we'l see but I needed the 'party' break as I was exhausted. Either way, at the moment I'm ridiculously up for smashing some big training in and trying to go well this year. I'm refreshed and ready to put in 6 weeks of graft, trying my all to come as close to winning the marathons as possible then chill out and probably party it up again over xmas! ha ha

First day back on the endurance yesterday, started with a bang. Over 2hrs of running and a quick 30min conditioning circuit in the gym which was 12mins AMRAP (As many reps as possible) of 1min running, 10 burpees, 7-10 20kg thrusters, 10 low squats. Following that 12mins AMRAP 300m row, 10 low goblet squats, 10 press ups. Smashed it yesterday and quads/hams were tired today so this was a good chance for me to practice running on tired legs so ran today again for 75mins and once I got the fatigue out of my legs was going good at the end. Good solid start.

Food wise hit the calories hard yesterday on my return to the endurance. Around the 4000 cals mark, essential for endurance, especially when we have to find energy for work to! Food ranging from lean meats, veg, potatoes, bread, bananas, chocolate coated rice cakes, oats and plenty of milk!! I'll save the endless chocolate, chips, pizza and other junk until I start the back to back long runs.

Anywey back in the game and I'm well motivated again! Class

Finding it hard to get motivated - Triple Marathon or the pool

Since I pulled out of the last ultra with injury then took it easy for a few weeks, I'm really really finding it hard to get motivated again. I'm changing my mind like a little child about weather or not to enter the coastal challenge in November. 7 weeks away, I know if I start again this week I could get back in shape for it but plain and simply, I seriously don't know if I can be arsed to run that much already again. Recently I've been doing Monday to Friday training, which has been a mix of cycling, conditioning and running and then just having the weekend off where to be honest except for this weekend I've been drunk as a skunk most Saturday nights. Saying that it's been fun to just do 'normal' amounts of training without letting it take over your life, which I find almost impossible for ultras, especially if you want to do well!

The second reason is that since watching Ironman Wales last weekend I've got it in to my head that I really really want to do it next year which means I need to get swimming lessons because I can barely swim, let alone swim 2.4miles in the sea, and cycle much more. Even though there is a year to go, I'm one of these people who gets far to 'in to it' as I always want to to the absolute best.

I'm in two minds about wheather or not to wait until after the Coastal Challenge (November 21st) then start stepping up the bike and swim especially more than the running or to start now??

I really cant decide. Some one told me the other day though, to go for one more big running event because they thought I was getting closer and closer to winning one. That's pretty humbling but it's a lot of repetitive training which for some reason I'm struggling to motivate myself for, something I've never found hard since I started all this fitness.

8 weeks this weekend, but I'm having a night out in Cardiff next weekend so wont do much in the way of back to back long runs, so 7 weeks training it would be....

I could do that, one more push then 100% swim and cycle with Ironman a certainty for next year!

Taking it easy (easier)

Since the last ultra, hurting my hamstring and getting a DNF in a race I felt I was capable of winning I've taken things a bit easier, even though I've still trained most days, I've mixed things up with Cross fit, cycling. In fact I've only run about 15miles in two weeks but I need it more than anything, I'm drained from huge amounts of training and looking back over the year it's been one thing after the other so I've always been in the training zone and until now realised I just couldn't switch off, knowing in the back of my mind I had something to train for.

Don't get me wrong I love competing and I love ultras but it's a huge huge commitment and I think its caught up with me. So, at the moment I'm thinking I may not enter the coastal challenge in November, drop the milage a bit and mix things up a little with cross fit, cycling, rowing or whatever else takes my fancy. Emphasising my whole training on intensity and including some more strength and conditioning. I want to switch off from the ultras for a few months then come marathon season next Easter, really really smash a fast marathon then get back in to the ultras. Basically unless I'm able to train 100% and actually improve I'm not that interested, it's winning or putting so much in to it that there is nothing left to give. At the moment I'm not, I need a rest from the mileage.

This is not to say I wont be training because training is just what I do but just want to do more of what I fancy and concentrate on intensity and speed for a while. E.g. the other day I did a tough circuit then just ran 1mile and left nothing in the tank, I pushed it so hard was exhausted and had done less than 25mins of work. That was brilliant and exactly what I fancy at the moment.

It feels like there's a weight off my shoulders that there is no huge events coming up. I usually thrive off the events but for a while I'm happy to be able to just train how I like without it taking over. Until I recover, get the hunger back and hit it hard as possible again, I think it's a case of one step back to take two forward.

I cant wait to be back but for now I need to chill out a bit :)

Peaks 40mile - disappointing

My attempt racing in the 40miles in the Peak District was a disappointment. 25 miles in and an injury caused me to pull out. So disappointed, I've never had a DNF before and felt really good, I was definitely catching the 5 in front of me. I had guesstimated 5 hours 45mins but you can never tell in these races because of the terrain etc but after seeing the winning time of 5.47 I was gutted. I probably wouldn't have won but I was going strong and catching people ahead fast so was a shame to get an injury. How ever one thing you can't know in these long races is how you will feel late on, maybe I would have hit a really bad patch, slowed down and been nearer 6hrs or something but will never know for this one. At the end of the day I got a DNF so that's the end of it.

What I am sure of is that after a little rest period for a few weeks to let my leg heel and then X train to give me that mental break from running, I'll be back, enter the Coastal Challenge and do well in that.

Unfort not much in the way of a race blog today, arrrgghhh.....so frustrating!

I mentioned I was going to attempt negative splits every 10m - well I did for the first 2 then had to withdraw, I think it's definitely something I'd like to try again. Early door I was way down the field and it was really hard to let people run off at the start, but had to keep telling myself they'll slow (unless there awesome!). Got to the first checkpoint in 12th/13th, by 20miles I was in 7/8th and feeling strong - Past another two then had to withdraw. Got picked up by the Marshall, humiliated by having a lift to the 3rd checkpoint and past 4 of the 5 ahead of me together hardly ahead of me at all. By the end the leader had slowed a lot and one of the 4 over took him so it was a shame about the injury but that's life! Like I said earlier though, I may well have slowed in the later stages too, what I think doesn't count, I was out and others weren't it's just one of those things.

Next time...

Preparing for the ultra - Carb intake and rough plan

Here we go then, the day before another big weekend. I'll be the first to admit I've barely thought about this ultra, which is weird as I'm not exactly experienced at running these sorts of distances but then again the relaxed feeling I've got going in to this might be naive of me or pure accidental genius ha ha

A two rest before the ultra is all I'm doing just because I haven't managed anywhere near the consistency of previous adventures this time and I'm really not bothered with times etc for this one, I just want to go out and leave it all on the trail, no one can do more than that - When I get near that wall of pain my attitude will be 'Move you f*****g p***k, or I'm smashing straight through you!'

With that attitude in mind I'm not going to fuss to much about race nutrition there's checkpoints every 10miles with plenty of food and at the Cardiff ultra I fussed too much, ended up eating so much that I went ill and ended walking off and on for the next 3-4 miles. The only food I'm taking with me are nutra grain bars as there so easy to eat compared to most bars. This and nuun electrolyte tablets mixed in my water.

Nutrition wise I've been generally great recently and I'm back down to a more suitable 71kg for this which I'm happy with, I feel fit despite the lack of any distance. I know this is down to good nutrition, this is even more evident if my nutrition is crap for a day or two so I try my best to nail it in the weeks before an event then just not worry about it for about a week post race. Today is about eating carbs, a lot of them to. The goal is about 600g of carbs - that's almost 2,400 calories just in carbohydrates. What I think people often get wrong with carb loading, something I've been guilty of myself is that they food load and not carb load. Usually that means eating way too much food, not being comfortable resulting in loads of calories but not enough carbs. This is the time too forget protein get a normal amount of good fat and lots of carbs - If you eat enough carbs (for me about 600g) then the protein takes care of itself, nutts and fish are good for some fats at this point.

Carb load food intake today -

7am - Normal breakfast, 50g oats, banana, low fat milk, grapes (Low fat because I'm just a baby when it comes to the full fat milk and I'm not going to change two days before)
Carbs - 70g (ish)

10am - 3 wholemeal bagels with some hummus - Carbs 120g ish (A good intake of good fats from the hummus to, a small pot about about 15-17g of fats)

Lunch 13.30PM - New potatoes 250g, kale, broccoli, broad beans and an egg, homemade chutney - (All that food has come from a garden directly and within about 10miles from home - as fresh as it gets) - 70-80g approx of carbs

3pm - Nettle tea with pack of belivitta biscuits - carbs - 30-35g (nettle tea, I'm always changing herbal teas just to see the different ones)

16.30pm - Breakfast all over again - 50g oats, banana, grapes, milk - 70g ish carbs

Dinner - Same as lunch but with 100g chicken (Chicken just to get some of the highest quality protein which offers more to the body than relying on secondary protein from wheat/oats etc) carbs - 70-80g

Pre bed - 2 wholemeal bagels small amounts of jam - carbs 80g

The end ha ha

Approximate carbohydrate intake - 550g (ish) it isn't exact but as good a guide as I can take from labels etc. 50g shy of my 600g goal but I think that will do unless I find something small again but that will do me fine to be honest. I'm already a Little on the full side and I'm not on the dinner part yet and got my bagels to go. Will easily manage tho. A little more 'normal' for tomorrow so that I'm not too full and sluggish Sunday morning.

Big amounts of eating and with work too it takes some serious planning and is like an endurance session of it's own!

Water wise I'm always around the 4 litre mark so just maintain that, If I up the water intake then I will be too full to eat! Tough old job this carb loading is, it actually is the main job of the day today!

Tomorrow will be mostly spent travelling so the main emphasis on eating is today as well as the fact that a big day of eating the day before leaves me too full and sluggish before the run. I want to be buzzing the day before not bloated so I always try and emphasise more on the carb load two days before.

Once the ultra is done I'm looking forward to 3 weeks of cross fit, cycling and rowing with the od run day. For anyone that doesn't do cross fit and want to get some good full body conditioning in try it. Be warned if your a poser who does weights purely for the dance floor this is probably a little on the hard work side for you, so maybe stick to your bicep curls, bench press and the od tricep extension with ample rest to work on posing :)

Example cross fit circuit I did the other day was - Pull ups , 25kg dumbbell clean and Press, Tyre flips, Keg carry, box jumps, = 6 rounds of great conditioning.

Gadgets, top of the range equipment and expensive fridle fradle!

I read an article in a magazine last week about someone using all the latest gadgets and expensive things to basically track his whole life. He used £300+ watches, online scales about food, some machine about water intake, running gait and even some headband that woke him up after the exact amount of sleep!

Granted all the results were really interesting and would be pretty interesting to do for a short period but god, it's all too much and I know people who do this sort of thing, it rarely last more than a week or two and results in people just going back the way the were - sedentary/lazy or whatever you want to call it.

It all frustrates me slightly as it's all money making. Some of the most in shape people I know are the ones who rarely use any fancy gadgets and just work out for the love of it. An example for me was yesterday, I entered a local cycle race. It wasn't big scale but there were some pricey bikes on the start line, my road bike is there one I use to travel around has a slightly worn chain and was bout £500, which in biking terms is cheap. Anyway I was 3rd, watched on as some guys got there sport supplement down them asap! Where as I just ate a chicken and spinach sandwich. Next week I'm running this ultra, probably in a pair of slightly ripped trainers as there the most comfy, I'm not sure I've given enough time to wear my new ones in and nutra grain for fuel. The last time I did strength and conditioning I used a Keg, tractor tyre, a pull up bar, an oil drum filled with water and an Olympic bar as my most fancy of equipment. Basic as it comes, touch wood I'm fairly healthy and able to keep active most days.

As nice as some of the gadgets are, they are no way essential and no way replace good old hard work and consistency.

My advice is use what you can, when you can, use your imagination and work hard and leave the luxury's as luxury's unless your lucky enough to be able to afford them. That and find a balance. If training becomes a chore, take a break or try something different, just when you train for a goal - train hard! :)

Harries Personal Trainer + The Paleo way

Last few months I have worked my ass off trying to get this Personal Training Diploma done as well as thinking how to start the venture. I still feel like I'm a million miles away but a local business set up course has really helped me this week, finally feel like things are starting to move forward.

Hopefully by mid September the business will be official, Harries Personal Trainer where I hope to put all these ideas that I'm trying to start in to place. A lot of work, and seems like a 24/7 style job. Unless I'm preparing work for the business, training others or training myself I'm probably sleeping. However I do love it, and so far I think that's what spurs me on.

With that said I remember saying that I was going to post an entry on the paleo diet, or a more sustainable version of it. Without really thinking I find that I eat very well 6 days a week then usually have a much more relaxed day. For you that aren't familiar with the Paleo diet it's eating food in it's purest form - no shit at all included. The food is near enough untouched by a factory. It's an awesome way to eat but a totally unrealistic way to be 365 days a year. Well for me anyway, I know some people do it but I want a life to. Paleo means no booze, absolutely no processed foods - So things like a steak with veg, potatoes. Nuts, fruit, Almond milk, coconut milk, butter, chicken, pork, lamb, fish but no grain or oats as there grown by man or something so that's me buggered all ready as I live on oats and with my endurance training find bread so convenient when I'm in a rush and for work.

So I had to face it as awesome as it makes you feel and It's well worth trying it for a week if you haven't got anything 'social' on. I could live on it. I think I've said before my general rule of them that suits me and definitely helps me with training is veg daily, as much as possible. Oats daily lots of fruit and salad and a good whack of lean protein every now and again. The main one though is except for when I'm doing ultras absolutely no microwave meals and 90% of the time no processed junk. So ye I'm fairly strict but unlike paleo I love my homemade jams and chutneys, bread etc and the OD treat which I almost always end up saying, why did i eat that? I feel like s**t' but sometimes they do taste good. The same with alcohol, I rarely drink but when I do I'm usually in rite a state which isn't good but you get some good stories from drinking ha ha

Anywey anyone interested in learning a bit more about the paleo way check out - http://www.civilizedcavemancooking.com/

Moving on, I'm about 10 days out of my next race. This 40 mile in Derby. I haven't put in anywhere near the mileage that I did for the Cardiff Ultra but feel like there's no pressure with this one so pretty up for it. Most I've done is about 60 I think but I've barely kept track - that said I've done about 22 miles in two days this week so gonna target 70 this week then a very little next week, just enough to keep me ticking. A week Sunday look out for the blog entry, could be an interesting one.