Back In The Groove... (Kind of)

I have been back from the MDS for 8 weeks now and one thing I can truly say is that it has certainly left its mark on me! I remember the last couple of days in the desert just wanting the whole thing to be over, but as soon as the race had finished my initial thought was "I could have done better.."
I have my sights firmly set on coming back in 2015 and I hope that by having learnt so much in my first outing I can come back stronger, faster and more prepared to hopefully achieve the things I wanted to in my first attempt.

So what have I been upto in the last 8 weeks or so? Well, here in Jersey I have turned into somewhat of a local celebrity! I had a great interview with the local newspaper and also an appearance on the local news and a local kids TV show "Puffins Plaice" The local media appearances have helped to boost my fundraising attempts and I am now over the £13,000 mark raised for Jersey Hospice Care.
Initially I was very tired and lethargic after getting back from Morocco, and for about 3 weeks I could not stop eating with sugary snacks and stuff that generally wasnt very good for me being what my body craved. This seems to have calmed down now thank god, as I would have been rolling around my next race otherwise!

I think after the focus of the last years building to the MDS upon completing it I was in a bit of an in-between place for a week or so. I had set myself goals for after the MDS but nothing major so it was important for me to get a few things set up to give me that reassuring goal to be heading towards. So... I am confirmed on the Spine Race in January, entitled "Britains most brutal race" it is a 270 mile in 7 days jaunt across the Pennine Way in the middle of winter! I must admit to being very tentative about this race as I have read blogs of people who have taken part in the race, which will be in its third year this year and it seems brutal, as promised! To get me ready however I have set up training weekends over the coming year every 6 weeks to 2 months apart in various mountainous areas in the UK to try and get experience of the mountains, navigation, hill climbing and the route. I view this is essential to be in with a shot of being both safe in the mountains and to give the event my best shot. My first experience of the Pennine Way being a few weekends ago with one of my MDS buddies Graeme. We did the Yorkshire 3 Peaks Challenge which is a 26 mile route taking in 3 Mountains - Pen Y Ghent, Whernside & Ingleborough. I have to say it was beautiful up there, we were blessed with an amazing day, the weather was amazing and the scenery stunning. A great introduction to the Pennine Way, although I figure it might be a little colder when I am back there in January!

I have recovered well after the MDS, with a few long challenging runs having been done. I did 40 miles of the South Downs way back at the start of May which again was another part of the country I have not visited and was another great day out with one of my Jersey running buddies Simon. It felt nice to get a long run like that under the belt and it confirmed that the recovery was going well, plus I implemented alot of the lessons I learnt at the MDS about nutrition and pacing.

I now feel I have hit a new level with my running, and have been training well for my next race, Jersey's Round The Rock Ultra Marathon being held here on July 3rd. I have been working with a local endurance coach here Bruno who has been giving me great advice about periodisation and differing levels of intensity of training which I think is a big aspect of my training where I can improve. I am really looking forward to RtR this year, this being the 3rd year I have run it. I hope to break the 7hr 30 mark this year, last year I completed it in 8 hours 25 and the previous year in 9 hours 25 (my first ultra!) I see RtR as a real bench mark to see how I have prgoressed over the previous year and I count myself so lucky to have this Ultra Marathon on my front doorstep in Jersey. For those of you not from Jersey, we are lucky to have some of the most amazing coastal paths, beaches and trails that you could wish for, I highly recommend the Round The Rock Ultra, a truly friendly, small, challenging ultra!

This year will then see me take part in my first 100 miler - The Cotswolds 100 in September. I am using Round The Rock as a stepping stone in terms of training, my goal being to complete the 100 miler and nothing more! I have discovered alot about running with no expectations in the last 4 or so months and find I enjoy the race alot better if I have multiple goals within a race, the goals are achievable so that i dont start to beat myself up too much if it all goes a bit wrong on the day, and that primarily I do enjoy the day, finish the race, and then worry about the other goals!

And I think this sums up the allure of Ultra Running for me - mind over matter on the day. There are so many variables in a long race that can affect your day both negatively and positively, and lately I have started to think alot about how I react when things start to go wrong in a race and really try to be mindful of this so that I dont beat myself up too much and get too downhearted. A classic example of this for me was during the 3rd day of the MDS, when I saw alot of people going past me and the voice in my head was saying "You've Blown This!" I think having been in the top 200 the previous 2 days and having finished fairly well both I was waiting for the crash rather than having confidence to believe that I could still do well even if I did have a hiccup on day 3. I got in at the end of that stage, not even bothering to check the stage result, which as it turned wasnt as bad as I feared and then made the decision to take it really easy on the long day as I doubted in my ability to get through. If only I had gone and checked out the facts by seeing the results I could have then made a better decision based in reality rather than what I thought was going on. This then altered my race and I lost quite a bit of time on the long day. I now see this as one of the most valuable lessons I have learnt and it has meant that I am now actively trying to "big myself up" on the long runs when the familiar demons start to chatter away! It seems to be working so far and I have been finishing longer runs alot more strongly due to my revised in run nutrition plan and just nipping negative thoughts in the bud before they are able to take a hold over me.



So overall the MDS was a massive learning experience, and has been a catalyst for me to try and get the very best out of myself for the upcoming races I have planned. I am looking forward to the running trips I have planned over the coming months; Snowdon with the guys from my tent in the MDS in July, The Peak District with Paul from the MDS in August, The Snowdon Marathon in October and then who knows what in the latter part of the year. Lots to look forward to and I am sure the running in the UK will do nothing but improve my running and also increase my love of it.

Call for comments - I am really interested to know the reasons you guys run? What is the allure of running for you? Whether it be ultra, road, trail, 10k or round the block! What do you get out of running?

Mont St Michel Marathon and Jersey Half

In the last month quite a bit of racing has happened, I had the Mont St Michel Marathon on Sunday May 13th which was a really well organised marathon. I went over with a few running friends and we stayed in St Malo the day before and it was a beautiful weekend. On the morning of the race, it was sunny and crisp and we took one of the shuttle buses from St Malo to the start at Cancale. Not really knowing too much about the course except that it was flat with a hill at the start we set off in the 3hour 30 pen jammed in like sardines to begin with. The race soon spread out though and I hit my pace of 7:30 min miles. I was planning to maintain this for as long as possible and then slip down to 8:00 when I fatigued. However this was to be one of those days when everything went right and I felt good. I was able to maintain the pace and I got through the race with a new PB of 3 hours 18 mins. This was 30 mins off my previous marathon PB which I got last Oct here in Jersey. As you can imagine I was very pleased with this. I thoroughly recommend the MSM Marathon, very well organised, very well supported and a great course for a PB.

The week after was mainly about recovery for me. I didnt run all week as I had pushed it hard during the marathon. I did however naughtily enter the Jersey Half marathon the week after, as it is a race I generally do every year. I was feeling a little nervous having run a quick marathon only a week previous and I wasnt sure how my body would react. The weather conditions were the polar opposite; Rainy windy and cold! However it was a good opportunity to meet up with running friends and catch up. It again was a quick course with a tail wind for the first 6 miles or so and I went out at a ferocious 6:25 min mile pace which I maintained for quite a while.. I was within reach of the lead pack and felt ok for most of the race but started to run out of gas towards the 8 mile mark due to the previous weeks exertions. I did however record a new 1/2 marathon PB of 1 hours 27 and came in 26th place overall in the race which I felt marked real progress for me, and now provides the spring board for my next race which will be Jersey's Round the Rock Ultra Marathon in July. I completed this last year in 9 hours 25 so hope this year to complete in sub 8 hours. Training will be starting in earnest over the next week or so with some large mileage runs factored in and lots of cliffpath training!

A year to go...

So it was with bated breath I watched the 2012 Marathon Des Sables unfold. I was mainly watching the end of day videos on the Darbaroud website looking at the photos and keeping track of the results, particularly keeping an eye on the progress of Jen Salter and Rory Coleman who I had the pleasure of meeting at the Jurassic Coast challenge a few weeks ago. Jen finished 4th female overall in the end and 38th in the overall field which is a stunning result and Rory coming in 226th. I think between them they have run 14 or 15 MDS so I will be paying them a visit sometime this year to get tips on packing my rucksack the lightest and other essential info to aid my desert vacation! :)

The last few weeks my focus has switched to the Mont St Michel marathon on May 13th in France. I have been getting the miles in both on trail and road to mix it up and have one long run left before the taper down to the race. I feel the most prepared I have felt for a race to be honest and have been logging good road times so hope to finish in the sub 3 hour 30 mark, although you cant account for what goes on on the day! I have read up on the MSM marathon and it appears that it is a flat course with the only stumbling block being the potential for headwind, which if this occurs will be with you for the whole 26 miles! I am of course no stranger to the wind, as I am sure anyone who ran the whole winter will attest (is it me or has this winter/spring been particularly windy?) so am not too worried about running into a head wind, but a wind assisted marathon time would be nice.. So we will see on the day.

Training has been going well on an off road, with training runs along the cliff paths helping to build leg strength and building supporting muscles as well as endurance. My ultimate short term goal is the Round the Rock ultra here in Jersey in July which is 48 miles around the island here. I hope to improve on last years time of 9 hours 25 by making it within the 8 hour mark, I have a competent plan in place and hope that as long as I follow this I will be in a good position to achieve my goal.

Post Ultra Recovery

Its now just over a week after my first ultra event. Recovery was quick, my legs were back to normal within 2 days, which was alot quicker than my first marathon. I couldnt walk down any stairs for a week after that!
I am now contemplating my next moves as to races for next year (2012). I am planning to run the Jersey marathon in October, and I have entered the Dorset trail marathon in December to keep things ticking along. I plan to do the Jurassic coast challenge (http://www.votwo.co.uk/_webapp_1205242/Jurassic_Coast_Challenge_2012)
in March which is a 3 day event with 26 miles on each day. I figure this will be a good introduction to multi day racing as well as a good challenge. I am thinking about then doing the Cardiff Ultra (50 miles in May) as well as hoping to get a ballot place in the London marathon in April. I was trying to negotiate a place in a race called the Dragon's Back, which is a great 6 days race from North Wales to South Wales through the mountains. Places are limited however and they felt I didnt have the necessary experience to take part. So its back to the drawing board for my mid summer race..
By the middle of next summer i hope to be significantly fitter, and stronger than I am now. I am moving in the right direction and achieving the goals I am setting, which is a great feeling.
I plan to commence marathon training from tomorrow. I have worked out my programme for Octobers marathon here, and I have set myself the goal of a 3 and half hour time. I plan to do hill reps as well as to continue trail running as I feel this complements my road running. It will be good to be running again after a week of inactivity, I feel ready to go and hope for a good few weeks of productive sessions.
I will also be making my transition to a more minimalist training shoe during this phase of my training; I recently purchased a pair of Saucony Kinvara running shoes so am looking forward to adjusting to using them. I have read good things about them promoting more of a mid foot strike and hope it will assist my persistent calf issues. Having done more trail running and using the Inov8 Roclite 295 has definitely helped, so I am looking to these to do the job on the road.
Heres a picture of me during the last Ultra, doing a great job of looking like I was loving it! (I really did!)

Round The Rock Ultra Marathon Event Jersey

Yesterday I completed my first Ultra marathon

. 48 miles around Jersey in the Greenlight: Round the rock Ultra Marathon, over 1000 metres of ascent.
I finished in 9 hours 27 mins which was completely beyond my expectations to be honest. It was a hard day although felt good for the first 2 thirds of the race, which was a pleasant surprise My friend Steve and I went out cautiously as the longest either of us have run in one go is 26 miles, so we started with run 7 mins walk one minute as the first 10 miles are on road. We then switched to walking the uphills and running flats/downhills as soon as we hit the cliffpaths. It seemed an effective srategy and we passed alot of people on the paths which was encouraging. I remember feeling so good that I was waiting for the crash! I tried to keep eating and drinking and this seemed to sustain my energy and definitely between that and Steve and I just chatting for the whole thing to keep us in good spirits were the reasons a) I completed it and b) managed to complete in under 10 hours and gain the Silver Medal standard.
The cutoff time was 12 hours and the standards split into Bronze for completion under 12 hours, Silver for under 10 hours and Gold for under 8 hours. The winner came in at 6 hours 15 and was Daniel Doherty from Ireland. The great thing about the day was there was 115 runners, which was great for this inaugural event here in Jersey and over half the field were from abroad; The UK, Finland even a lady from Korea and a 76 year old lady from Welwyn Garden City which was truly inspirational to see!
A great day, especially to do my first ultra at home, friends coming to run with me at certain parts of the course as well as being at aid stations, and I dont feel too bad this morning to be honest.. I just got out of bed and can actually do an impression of walking which is great! I have however lost 4 toenails but who needs these?
For the run I used Inov8 Roclite 295's which I can heartily recommend, great traction, lightweight shoe. But the real success stroy for me for the day was some Nike Drifit Anti Blister socks I purchased from JD sports one day when I forgot to bring socks with me to go running. They were £12.95 for a pack of 2 and I took them off at the end and I did not have a single blister, which was amazing for me. I usually suffer from blisters on 10km runs so was expecting something resembling a crime scene at the end of yesterday!
I heartily recommend entering next years event if you want to do an ultra with stunning scenery and great camaraderie.

Ebay Bargains

So one of my character "traits" is that I cannot resist a bargain. I am an Ebay addict and consequently cannot resist buying things that "I need" on a regular basis from there. The other day I saw a pair of Inov8 Roclite 295's on there, there was 20 mins left on them, they were brand new never worn and I thought I would bid on them. I was lucky enough to get them for £35 including p&p which for a pair of trail running shoes worth £85 is a good deal in my opinion.
I wore them last Friday on my usual Friday night trail run with my colleague Spencer and found them to be really nice to run in. Compared to the Roclite 315's they were lighter, better fitting and seemed even grippier. We set a fair pace, covering 6 miles on undulating paths and tracks ranging from little ups and downs to steep gradient hills. I recommend getting a pair of these trainers as I found in road shoes running downhill on the tracks to be a risky affair with the likelihood of slipping or turning your ankle quite high. Whilst wearing the 295's I had the confidence to run freely down the tracks knowing that my feet would find grip and that they would support me.
I have noticed that trail running as a whole has really affected my running in a positive way, I am stronger, able to accelerate quicker up hills and have built up more stamina. I ran 10km's on the flat last Wednesday and felt considerably faster. I heartily recommend trail running for all the above reasons as well as the fact that it is fun..
Round the Rock training is going well, I have managed to recce alot of the route so far, I am out on Weds night to cover another 8 miles of it. The whole course is split into 13 miles of road section to start, 25 miles of cliffpaths and some more flat to finish off.. It is going to be a challenge, and whilst I am looking forward to pushing my limits once more, I wonder if I have done sufficient training to really give this a good go and to complete it within the 12 hour cutoff? I guess the next few weeks are critical and as long as I can get some good long run/walks in I will be fine..

Round The Rock Jersey Ultra Marathon

I have finally bitten the bullet and entered my first Ultra Marathon event.. I was umming and aahing about it for a few weeks because I didn't genuinely believe I would be ready for it. It is on Aug 6th and is 48 miles around this beautiful island of Jersey. It is demanding terrain, covering mostly cliffpaths. Yesterday I did a training run with some of the guys taking part, and we ran from Greve De Lecq to St Aubins which totalled just under 17 miles.. Was hard going but it was actually enjoyable, the scenery was amazing, dramatic cliff drops, beautiful green/blue sea, challenging trails and the general free feeling of being out in nature. So I kind of got coerced into entering, and so I capitulated and did it last night.

Yesterdays run was a testament that the ultra will not be easy.. I had vague ideas of running a bit walking a bit but no real concept of how hard it actually will be.. We did the 17 miles in 3 hours and I probably could have carried on had I had extra food and electrolyte etc etc, but the legs were definitely starting to hurt by then. I was pleased with the pace though, on certain stretches even towards the end we were averaging 8-8:30 min miles, which for me is great.. I now know that I have alot more training between now and then just to be psychologically ready to do it.. I have planned my long runs to take in the hardest sections of the route so that I can really prepare as well as I can.

Wish me luck over the coming weeks! :)

As an aside to this, I used SIS Rego Electrolyte on the run yesterday for the first time. I have really struggled using gels in the past and am intending to use the runs in the future to find the best way for me to refuel. I found the lime tasting electrolyte/energy drink to taste nice, and definitely gave me the energy I needed. I also discovered the Power Bar Shots, which somebody had with them. I needed a kick at the end and I took 2 of these, I will definitely be including these in my run kit next time. They taste of cola and also contain caffeine.

The website for round the rock is www.roundtherock.co.uk

Round The Rock Ultra Marathon Training

So I’ve got about 1 and 3/4 years til the MDS so right now I am in the process of identifying suitable events to compete in over that period of time to prepare for the MDS. On August 6th I hope to take part in the Round The Rock Ultra Marathon here in Jersey (website www.roundtherock.co.uk) I am just getting into the zone with my training, having done the London Marathon in April then resting for 3 weeks after that, and then taking part in the Jersey half marathon in May, my focus is now on intensive cliff path running to prepare for the ultra marathon around the island, taking in various off-road terrain, sweeping cliff paths, golden sands and long flat sections.. This is my first foray into the Ultra world and a considerable step up from marathon distance. I have decided to employ a walk run strategy for this particular race. There is a 12 hour cut-off so haste is required, however I am pretty confident in finishing within that time if all goes ok..

Last Sunday I took part in a 5km Race, which is the first in a series of trail races here in Jersey. The weather was atrocious but still there was a good turn out of 60 or so people.. The course was hard with lots of uphill, but was very enjoyable, and I came in a credible 14th, which I was pleased with. I then did an 8 mile cliff path run, with lots of lactic acid in my legs and in driving rain and wind. It was a hard day but I am pleased that i got through the 8 miler, a definite confidence booster..

Next up is a 17 mile training run on Sunday, again taking in cliff-paths and flat. This will be a true test and if I complete this satisfactorily I will know I am in good shape for August. This is Jersey’s first ultra marathon so will be a great event to be part of.