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2007 Training Plan Month 4 & Weekly update 2007-04-08 21:12:00 Above is my month 4 training plan. Since we are a couple of weeks into it, i've updated to show what I actually did as my normal training was interrupted by the Tenerife holiday/training and subsequent recovery. This month’s milestone was the 19 mile Tenerife training run as detailed in my previous blog post.No Long Distance Walkers Association (LDWA) event this month for that reason, and also because 2 weeks into month 5 I must do a 35 mile route. This will be exactly one month before I take part in La Trans Aqu in France in June. After that 35 mile, which will simulate the longest distance I will have to cover in one day in France, I will not do another route as long, probably only 15 miles max. For the next 8 weeks, injury permitting, I will also be concentrating on running.On the subject of injury, I'll move onto my weekly update. I posted last week about my shin pain which caused me several days limping following Tenerife. I still don't know what it is or what has caus Read more:Training
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Race conditions and pain analysis. 2007-04-16 11:42:00 It's been a mixed week, mostly improvement.Last week I said I would not do any running this week, due to on-going knee issues. Well, that lasted until Thursday. This was brought about by a gym session I did on Wednesday. I did half gym, and half swimming. However, I’ve moved to a new gym recently and the pool is rubbish. It's only 15M long (versus 25m at the old gym), it's also half the width. To make matters worse they had half the remaining width roped off for swimming lessons. It was barely possibly to get two people swimming abreast. However, I swam (mostly dodging oncoming traffic) for 20 minutes. A few months ago I rolled my ankle, once it healed it hasn't given me a moments trouble running but it started to in the pool. I guess it's the wiggling motion of the feet on front crawl. I took that as a sign that it was time to get out. Not sure if or when I'll return to the pool again given those issues. My ankle is fine incidentally.So, on Thursday I went for a r Read more:conditions
Chiropractor, mileage and equipment tests 2007-04-23 10:36:00 I've had a very productive week. On Tuesday I did a 6 mile undulating off-road route, then another on Wednesday whilst working away in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. I did a couple of laps of the 'town moor'. Both sessions I had a 5 kilo back pack on. On Thursday on my way back home, I arranged to visit my Uncle's Chiropractic clinic in York. I'd spoken to him about my knee and hip problems and my concerns about my orthotics.He took one look at me and said you are all twisted. Specifically my pelvis was twisted and tilted down and to the right I think he said. He instructed his massage therapist to massage some specific areas. These included my lower back, which even as he massaged it began to crack and crunch as muscles softened. He also massaged my right knee, behind the knee and one of the tendons on the right side of my lower leg that attaches to the bone below the knee (can't remember its name?). After he had finished my uncle came back in. He also did some massage before d Read more:tests
A lighter week, but more pack weight. 2007-04-29 23:46:00 On Tuesday I had my final Chiropractor session (for now). So, I am pretty much straightened out, but I've been obviously running with a strange gait for weeks (maybe more), so my knee is 100% better but not perfect. My theory is that my pelvis twist and rotation has caused some tendonitis or ITB friction on my knee, and has been for a couple of months. The area is inflamed and is going to take a while to calm down. If I could afford to, I'd stop training, but I can't with La Trans Aqu only 5 weeks away. I'm certainly getting a lot less pain when I run, but I am still getting some. I've only had one ibuprofen this week total, versus the 1 or 2 after each session in previous weeks. I am however, partly as a precaution, icing my knee after every session regardless of how it feels. Fingers crossed this will keep things under control and see me through the training for and actual event itself in 5 weeks time. So, Tuesday this week I had the chiropractor, and I took Wednesday o Read more:lighter
35 mile ultra training session 2007-05-07 00:03:00 I'll post detail tomorrow as i'm too tired now. Completed 35 miles, walked the first 17.5, run-walked the other 17.5, 2300ft of climbing (all in the second half), 8kg pack to start. Finished in 9:41:01, that's 3.6mph, exactly my target pace. Second half very tough, you'll see why tomorrow.Anyway, bedtime... ZZZZzzzzzz Read more:session
Training Plan 2007 Month 5 (La Trans Aq countdown) 2007-05-09 00:06:00 Below is a modified training plan for the next 4 weeks. I've specifically tailored it from my spreadsheet to fit my training for La Trans Aqu, which starts on the 4th June.I've adapted the training session for more endurance running focus, but not forgot to add a weekly speed (interval) session it to keep it balanced. I'll continue to use a 7kg pack, but I will taper over the weeks by 25%, 50% and then 75%.I did my hour long session today. I did plan a 10k route, a very easy and flat one. I drove to the place I intended to start, but the car park had some really suspicious looking young guys in a knackered BMW. When I drove into the small country park car park the car looked empty. I was just parking when I saw the window was half open. I thought that it was a bit strange then a lad poked his head up. They had tilted the front seats right the way back. One of them sat up, but put his arm up and kept his face looking away. Smoke drifting out of the window, so I figured they Read more:Training
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Soaked to the skin and cold, but happy. 2007-05-13 21:44:00 Before this weekends training, a few words about the training in the week. My last post detailed Tuesdays run.I had a blister from Sunday that wasn't too bad, but instead of leaving it to dry out I ripped it off on Tuesday night. Fool. I then could hardly walk for two days, let alone run, so I lost Wednesday and Thursday.On Friday I did my usual gym strengthening session, with some core muscle exercises again.I decided I needed to do two reasonable distances this weekend, as it would be my last opportunity to put some serious mileage in, before I have to taper to gather my strength for La Trans Aq in 3 weeks.On Saturday I planned a 14.5 mile route, once again heading into Swynnerton Old Forest; similar terrain to what I expect meet in France. The route map is shown below, along with the hill profile.As you can see, it's an undulating route; plenty of long hills. Using the knowledge I have gained over the last couple of weeks I decided that I would make a good attempt to run the
All coming good at last. 2007-05-20 23:11:00 I've had a very successful week.After Monday, my day off training, I ran every day, no gym sessions this week.I did an 45-55 minute run on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. On Tuesday I started off thinking I would do a very gentle run indeed (10 min miles), but ended up picking a hilly route and running a little quicker at 9 min miles. On Wednesday I did intervals; 2 minutes fast, 3 minutes recovery. Thursday I decided to pick a familiar route heading down to a canal and then putting in a loop of Westport Lake before coming home. This turned out to be a very useful run for all the wrong reasons. It's 80% concrete or tarmac; surfaces I avoid at all costs. I pretty quickly found that I was experiencing foot pain on the mid part of my left foot when on this hard surface. I knew that this was the orthotic in my shoe causing this. In my running shoes the orthotic that has been built, to replace the insole has an 8mm lift on the heel to compensate for a leg length differenc
Mow Cop punishment. 2007-05-27 05:04:00 I had my usual day off training on Monday, and followed up on Tuesday with a pace run. Only scheduling in 30 minutes for this weeks sessions, meant a quick 3.5 mile blast up the hill to the local monument, over the fields and back home. It's a familiar route, taking in about 320ft of ascent, pretty much all in the first mile. I didn't start off running quickly, but speeded up as I went along. Starting on a steep climb it's difficult to run this route quickly, plus there are a few stiles to negotiate and a slightly divoted field. However, I ended up with a reasonable pace at the finish of 7:55 minute miles. I've finished this route in little over 7 minute miles average when I put my mind to it though.On Wednesday I had to travel down and into the very centre of London (EC3), by the gherkin building to collect to equipment from Accenture's building. I despise driving through London, I'm sure everyone does. It took me almost 2 hours to get back out to the M1 after sitting in
Final thoughts before La Trans Aqu 2007-05-30 14:02:00 I catch a train on Friday at 6pm to Birmingham international airport. I've booked a hotel for the night because my flight to Bordeaux is at 6am on Sunday. I did get an offer from my folks to give me a lift straight to the airport, but they would have had to get out of bed at 2 or 3am. Also, I figured I can more or less fall out of bed and be at the airport terminal, hopefully getting more sleep. That said, I never really sleep well in hotels. I wonder what I am going to sleep like under canvass for a week with aching muscles next week!I re-weighed my La Trans Aq' items after finding some digital scales in the house. I found quite a few discrepancies from what the manufacturer claimed were the weights. I have updated the previous blog post with the new weights of things. The net result was not a great deal different, as some were over and some under weight. One thing to bear in mind is even lightweight freezer bags weight 5grams. When you are using 6+ a day that soon adds up Read more:Final
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La Trans Aqu packing list 2007-05-27 15:17:00 Ok, I've finalised, packed and weighed my rucksack for La Trans Aqu which starts a week tomorrow. I fly out to Bordeaux on Saturday, get a train to Lesparre and then get picked up and taken to the first bivouac.First of all, this is the equipment I will be wearing. The numbers beside are weights. I've only showed weights for non-wearable items which I will must still carry. It may be possible to leave some of these items with the organiser, so I have no shown these with the main packing
list.Next up is my equipment. Those shown in bold are the mandatory items.Total kit weight is 3616 grams, including the optional carry items such as my phone, money etc.A few items to mention here: I am taking two spare pairs of socks. I plan to use all three pairs in one day on the longer routes to reduce blister risk.Instead of taking running tights and a thermal top for the night run and for around the bivouac at night, I am packing a disposable paper suit. These are well used in these kind
La Trans Aq Day 2 44km 2007-06-05 14:46:00 A very tough day. Almost every step of the last two days has had deep sand. Everyone found today hard and went slowerfrom the start. I finished in about 6hr 50min i think. One tentmate quit. Tomorrow 54km - hot weather expected. Get a FREE AOL Email account with 2GB of storage. Plus, share and store photos and experience exclusively recorded live music Sessions from your favourite artists. Click Here for more information.
La Trans Aq Day 1 30km 2007-06-04 12:07:00 Successfully completed day 1. Not sure exact time but under 4 hours. Check the La Trans Aq website. Tougher course than expected, lots of sand and some very steep climbs. 44km tomorrow - gets tougher now. Get a FREE AOL Email account with 2GB of storage. Plus, share and store photos and experience exclusively recorded live music Sessions from your favourite artists. Click Here for more information.
La Trans Aq Day 3 54km 2007-06-07 04:37:00 Completed the long day! More sand than evertoday, but less climbing than yesterday. Objective was just to finish so started slow, and finished fast when others were tired and walking. Time approx 8hr 20min. Night stage tomorrow, starts at 9pm. Get a FREE AOL Email account with 2GB of storage. Plus, share and store photos and experience exclusively recorded live music Sessions from your favourite artists. Click Here for more information.
LA Trans Aq Day 6 30km 2007-06-10 16:00:00 It's a hotter day than yesterday, over 30C. One of my ankles in bandaged and taped, painful. The last day is not easy at all, lots of undulating sand tracks. It's so hot I run out od water 3k before the only checkpoint and struggle on desperate. After the checkpoint, I fill up with water gratefully. A route change means the last 8.5 miles are on the beach in soft sand, no cover from the sun. It's a furnace and so hard to run with no traction. We have to cross a 30m wide thigh-high river 4 miles in, shoes and everything. Feet like lead afterwards. I almost run out of water again when they add a extra checkpoint with 5k left. After an eternity I see the finish. I overtake a French girl who had overtaken me miles earlier. However, I slow and say 'we finish together'. We finish shattered, 4 hours 11. I've done it!84th overall, a lot better than I could ever have expected. Now time to eat and celebrate! I'll post a ful acccount when I'm home.
Le Trans Aq Day 5 35km 2007-06-09 04:15:00 I force myself to eat this morning. The plan to go slow and walk goes out the window but i steady run good paths and walk the bad ones and hills. Its hot - 30deg, sometimes no cover. I gradually reel in some of the field and finish spriting! 5hr 12min I think. Last day tomorrow, shorter but hard and very hot.
Le Trans Aq Day 4 34km Night Stage 2007-06-09 04:12:00 The toughest run of my life. Up the 350ft largest sand dune in Europe, along 3km then into deep forest. I'm forced to run with fast runners to avoid getting lost. I run out of water and arrive in 4hrs 53min confused and trembling. I realise something is wrong and go to the medical tent. They run some tests and I'm hypoglycemic. They fill me full of cola and force me to cook and eat something at 3am. 3 hours of bad sleep, up at 6.30am for day 5 - 35km. Its blazing hot, I need to go slow and recover as I was in a real mess last night Read more:Night
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Lessons learned and equipment review 2007-06-14 06:26:00 Equipment review
and lessons learnedNew Balance 1100MDS shoes.Performed well. I had no foot soreness and never felt they lacked cushioning. They are heavier than most trail shoes for this reason. I chose a size a little too large and did get a couple of blisters that were sizing related. I will probably continue to use these, and I’ve now been using them (and the 1100 predecessor) for over 12 months. The winners of the event wore Inov8 Flyroc’s. I have a pair, but the lack of cushioning makes them too harsh for me.Raidlight Gaiters.If I would have had time to stitch the supplied Velcro onto my shoes I would have done. However, I just used Evo-Stik serious stuff (comes in one of those glue-gun type tubes. I just cut off the end and squeezed it out!). The adhesive held for the whole event, in temperatures above 30C. The gaiters didn’t leak any sand. I did tear one on brambles on the last day. I recommend carrying a needle and cotton for evening repairs, or even a spare Read more:Lessons
La Trans Aq’ 2007 - The Full Story 2007-06-12 06:11:00 I travelled by train and stayed in a hotel opposite Birmingham airport on Friday 1st June, grabbed a few hours sleep and was up to check in at 4:15am for my 2nd June 6:15 flight.Whilst in departures a voice said ‘Are you Richard’? I turned around and there was a Vaughan and Anne (husband and wife). They were doing the event and we had kind of agreed to meet at the airport but made no actual arrangements. They had recognised me from my distinctive yellow and blue Raidlight rucksack, which Vaughan also had.We sat at chatted, as we did for much of the next week and I learned a lot from them; both really nice people who look way younger than their age. Both are late forties, but look almost 10 years younger! They are both outstanding ultra-distance runners, taking part in Long Distance Walker Association (LDWA) events 3 weekends out of every month! They of course enter as runners, and not walkers. Just the weekend before, both had completed the Wales 100 mile event in about 29 h
Back in the saddle 2007-06-17 13:49:00 Well I took a week off since finishing La Trans Aq'. I got my ankle checked out Tuesday. It was nothing too sinister, just an inversion sprain which had caused me to lose some mobility (can't point my toes or pull them towards me as far as the other foot). I've still not quite got full range of movement back yet, but it's not painful at all.I had my usual gym session on Friday, was working all day Saturday, and so I went for a run on today. I planned a 10 mile route, and as a special treat did it without any backpack. It felt very strange. I felt as though I was bouncing along weightless. I discovered part of my planned route wasn't a footpath and so had to make some on-the-fly adjustments, so I actually ended up doing 12 miles.I didn't make it easy for myself either. I picked a hilly little route through Swynnerton Old Forest and Trentham with 1300ft of ascent. I really enjoyed running through the forest trails. What I did notice was that all the tough climbs seemed a
More La Trans Aq' photos 2007-06-21 12:42:00 The organiser of the event has now posted up some photo's on the La Trans Aq' site.Stage 1Stage 2Stage 3Stage 4Stage 5Stage 6The CompetitorsI've also had some photo's sent by Vaughan, one of my tentmates:Here is the full team before the start of the first stage.Morning of stage 2. They all loved my white suit. Nobody laughed...honestly.The beginning of stage 2. I'm still smiling.The end of stage 2; 28 miles later. I'm not smiling anymore!I described this photo in my diary of the event. Well here it is, me looking like a tramp. It was cold that morning, seriously!This is the morning of the last stage; bandaging up that ankle to be on the safe side. Note the missing arm on the white suit. I'd had to use it to make a sock for my sore feet a couple of days before! Read more:photos
July training and future plans 2007-06-28 15:41:00 Above is my training plan for the next month. I've simplified the plan now from the format used for the last 18 months. I have reached a level where I am comfortable with my overall fitness, but want to start targetting specific areas. I'm certainly a long way from being as fit as I want to be for the MDS, but that extra fitness is going to come from some specific sessions. I'm including a weekly hill rep session. I usually pick a nearby hill that takes about 45 secs to run up, and do as many reps as I can force out of myself. It's a mile and a half jog to and from the hill, so I get a nice warm up and cool down too. I'm using two gym sessions a week to build up core stability and strength. On Saturday and Sunday I will stick more or less to what I have been doing. I will typically do an easy pace run for about an hour and a half on a Saturday, then a long run or run/walk on a Sunday.I am aiming to do two LDWA events per month, every 2 or 3 weeks in other words. I will e Read more:plans
Back to the Grindstone 2007-06-25 13:49:00 Last week I was back in the saddle, this week it's back to the grindstone. In other words, backpack on again!I had an unintentional easy week. I took off Monday as usual, but could not train Tues, Weds or Thurs due to early start, late finish work away from home. On Friday I did my usually gym session. I'm doing much more core-stability in those sessions now, which I think really helps. I'm looking to focus some exercises on knee strengthening soon too.On Saturday I did a tough 6.5 mile trail session just as it was starting to get dark. It was a route I was familiar with but it's now fairly overgrown with tall grass, ferns, brambles and nettles. So I was unmercifully whipped, scratched and stung multiple times because I was wearing shorts. An idea came to me because of this. I still don't know if it's a stupid idea or a good one. Basically trail-armour! Ultra-lightweight, possibly transparent shin and quad guards, akin to soccer shin pads I guess. They would be thin,
LDWA Peakers Stroll 2007-07-02 02:31:00 This week I did a hill rep session on Tuesday. It's a mile and a half jog down to my hill. I then collected up some stones and left them in a pile at the top. I jogged down and ran back up; about 45 seconds to the top, moved across one of my stones and repeated. After 10 I was shattered, but forced another 2 out just to make it tougher. The mile and a half jog back was slow going and felt hard, especially because it's all uphill!On Wednesday I did a 5 mile trail route. I swapped my gym session to Thursday this week; so more strength work and core stability and this week some single leg squats to build up strength.On Friday I travelled down to the lovely city of Bath, where I was working that day, and Saturday. After work I used the hotel gym for an hour. I did a half hour hill climb on the treadmill. It was the first time I had been on one in a while, as I normally hate these things. Why would you ever want to run on a treadmill when you can run outside? I also did half an hour stren
La Trans Aq 2008 2007-07-10 09:41:00 I have had some email from the organiser of La Trans Aq. The organisers are deciding in the next 2 weeks if they can stage the 2008, and are after an idea of numbers. They experienced a drop in numbers of about 20 this year, despite having promises of more entrants. Lots of Jordanian runners could not get Visa's (if I understood correctly) and a bunch of other people pulled out very late. They are looking to try and get approximate numbers for next years event, and recognise that the North Europe UK market is important as it's a bit of holiday for us in the South of France!My focus next year is of course MDS, which is 2 months before La Trans Aq in June. It's debatable as to if I can do it next year, becuase I will already have rinsed out all my holidays for the MDS! However, I won't rule myself out just yet. If you are running the MDS in 2009 then this is the event for you in 2008. This event is the same format as the MDS, self sufficiency, lots of sand, a similar distance, and
Twin Peaks 2007-07-08 16:37:00 I almost had a full week of training, with no remote working taking me away from home.On Tuesday I did a gym session mirroring my Friday session; cardio warm-up then lots of core stability and resistance work. On Wednesday I took a trip down to my 'hill' for more reps. This week I picked up 12 stones en-route. I piled them all at the top and moved one across again with each successful climb. Then, like last week, I treated myself to two extra ones just to tire me out more. I coped better this week. Maybe I’ll make it 16 this week. Well, 14, but I'll do 2 extra!On Thursday I did a 10k trail session. It's was raining and very wet underfoot. I ran down to and around a local reservoir before the climb home. I tried to guess a different way home and guessed badly. I lost the footpath and emerged via barbed wire into some farmer’s field. I terrorised a couple of cows accidentally, who went pretty nuts and starting running in circles. I made a hasty exit over a large gate Read more:Peaks
Harden Hard'un 2007-07-15 08:31:00 On Tuesday and Friday this week I did my core stability work in the gym. These sessions are going well and I am improving each week.On Wednesday I did my hill rep session. I did 16 (14 +2 extra as always). I timed the rep. It typically takes me 50 seconds at a regular running pace to do the hill. I always wind up the pace towards the end of the reps to really wear myself out. I managed to do the 2nd to last rep in 38 seconds, and the final one half a second quicker. After this week I think i'll look for a longer hill to use. I doubt I’ll find one that is as steep, but if I can find one that takes me almost 2 minutes to run up I will drop my reps back down to 8-10 again.On Thursday I did an 8 mile trail route in and around Apedale Country Park nearby. The route took in plenty of small hills, and challenging terrain. So, by Friday, after the gym session I had done a full week with plenty of emphasis on hills.On Saturday morning I left the house at 6:30am to travel to Harden,
Slow start, fast finish 2007-07-22 14:12:00 On Tuesday I normally go to the gym, but since the weekend I had some pain in my left hamstring. It was nothing serious, I hoped. I guess all the leaping and leaning when hill climbing had strained it. I decided it would be wise to give it a miss.On Wednesday I decided to try and do my hill rep session, acutely aware that this was probably the last kind of session I should try. I got down there OK, but my hamstring was sore pretty quickly after just a few reps. What made it worse was all the rain had made the ascent slippy. It wasn't possible to run up on my toes because there was not enough grip. I was forced to run up flat footed, which only stretched my hamstring more. I decided to call it a day after 10 reps. The run home was difficult and my hamstring really sore. I even slowed to a walk for a while being overprotective.I did my Friday gym session on Thursday instead, but stayed off all of the exercises that may cause problems. I intended to do my Thursday run on the F
August Training and weekly update 2007-07-29 17:50:00 My next month training plan above as you can see. My 2 main events this month, are the Dovedale Dipper this coming Sunday, and possibly the 29 mile version of the Rhayader Mountain Trail 2 weeks later.The Dovedale Dipper is only 45 - 50 minutes travel from me. It's a 26 mile route, but takes in some 1250M of relief. I guess it's not called the Dipper for nothing! I've managed to get a copy of the route for my Memory Map program and I've watched a 3D simulation of the route (sounds very techy I know!!). The first 12 miles look pretty straightforward, but between 12 and 21 you get to ride the Dipper by the looks of it; all up and down. From 21 to 24 miles you are on a valley floor, so flat, before a final sting in the tail climb out of the valley and dash to the finish. I'll be carrying about 7-7.5kg again, so I aim to finish in about 6.5 hours or better.Two weeks later there are no LDWA events on nearby. About the best match looks to be the Rhayader Mountain Trail. There a Read more:August
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Under the weather 2007-08-02 15:50:00 Just a short update this one. I have been out for a run for the last 3 days, after taking Monday off as usual.I've had the sniffles a little for the last few days. Not terrible, just a bit of a runny nose. I've obviously got some kind of cold virus, and my immune system is a bit low.I did a 6 mile trail on Monday at moderate pace. It was tough going, tougher than usual. In fact tougher than it should have been. I just didn't have as much breath in me. I managed it, but it wasn't enjoyable. I should have taken that as sign as either had a day off or an easy day on Tuesday. Instead I did at 6.5 mile interval session. 10 minutes slow pace warm up, followed by intervals of 2 mins fast, 3 mins recovery. Once again this was on a trail route, so demanding but not too steep. Again, this wore me out more than it should and I was pleased to get home. Both days I was conscious of my hamstring. It was tight, but not too bad. I stretched it out a couple of times at stiles, and al Read more:weather
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