tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19614766624632313282024-03-05T06:59:20.048-08:00Running up that hillAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18327756702983321935noreply@blogger.comBlogger27125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1961476662463231328.post-19895827305074532802013-11-03T23:42:00.001-08:002013-11-06T03:12:35.105-08:00Murcia marathon<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So, for those of you who don't want to read all the way to the end, I completed the marathon, all 42km 195 metres of it, in 4:23. I am ecstatic about this. Not anywhere near the time I wanted, but there were mitigating circumstances.</span><br />
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For background, I may have had the crappiest two week taper in the history of marathon running. A cold, throat infection, cricked neck, swollen foot...all combined to devour my confidence, make me paranoid and believe in chess as my true calling. However, I was still at the start line on a fine Sunday morning, with my Newfeel trainers, vasline and garmin all in place, finally realising it was all in the mind and I was ready to go.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">At 8:30 we set off. As per the million pieces of advice I had been given, I didn't set off too fast and in any case, the first two kilometres were uphill. The sun was also already quite strong after a few gloomy days. Eventually we turned around to begin descending and I started to speed up. Then my breathing got a bit laboured so I held myself back and settled into a pace that would see me finish in about 3:45. I was happy with this pace and started to knock off the kilomtres without too much trouble. It helped that Murcia is a beautiful city to run through.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And that was it for a while. I ran along, acknowledging the people supporting us and thinking it was going to be a piece of cake. However, at around 17k, things started to go wrong. My abductor muscles started to feel really tight and I started to lose a bit of power in my stride. By 20k, I knew I was in trouble. The pain in my legs wasn't acute, but I couldn't push them forward and my pace started to dramatically drop. I went from 5:30 per km to around 7 minutes per km over the next 3-4k.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">At around 30k I suddenly felt I couldn´t run any further. My chest was tight and my legs were hopelessly weak. So I tried to walk for a bit and found that more difficult than running. I was becoming a real mental mess as well, with my body pretty much demanding that I stop, telling me with certainty that I would die if I didn´t, while my ego wouldn't let me contemplate giving up. In the end, I just kept going, one foot in front of the other, robot style. There are no words to describe how tough this was, and I guess only those who´ve been there will know how this feels. But...there´s also something about the marathon that is special in this respect. You are not alone, there are others trying to get to the end as well, and this solidarity can be a real source of strength if you can tap into it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Eventually, the <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">kilometres</span> whittled down and I passed the 41k mark. Then I turned a corner and there was the finishing line, about 800 metres ahead. The support here was huge and I started to milk it for all it was worth and started to enjoy the moment. I even got a bit more pace in my legs and crossed the line in 4:23.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">To bring a usual cliche into this, my marathon was a real mental battle. It was simply about keeping going when my body didn´t want to and, although it wasn´t pleasant at the time, I´m really glad I went through it. The sense of achievement at the end made everything ok (and still does - I´m on a real buzz this morning).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Things I did right</b>:</span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I picked the right shoes - I´m a firm believer in this. I run in a pair of Newfeel trainers designed for walking. I chose them because they are minimalist and comfortable and above all, €5. You do not need to spend a fortune on expensive trainers, in my opinion, but would be better placed building up your foot strength over time. These trainers were perfect for me and can be for anyone else.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Diet - I ate a paleo diet for the three months leading up to the race. Apart from my legs giving up, I felt fine within myself during the race, and I was injury free for all my training.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Time-based training - doing time-based training instead of distance training delivered everything it said it would. The only thing I may need to improve in this is doing a longer base-building period next time in order to increase my general pace.</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Things I did wrong</b>:</span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I have never dedicated myself to building up my leg and core strength. I´ve no doubt this was a major part of the problem yesterday. If I am to continue to improve this now has to become a priority.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Dealing with stress - I let my mind get the better of me in the build-up. I have to deal with the stress better next time.</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So that´s it. A fantastic experience and I feel stronger and more enlightened for it. And finally of course, there was this:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Will I do it again? I´m already planning it.</span><br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18327756702983321935noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1961476662463231328.post-59653746732314116792013-10-13T03:47:00.000-07:002013-10-13T03:48:30.480-07:00Wot no zombies...???<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Today I completed my last long training session that eventually came in at 3 hours 30 minutes. Due to various family commitments, I had to be back home at 9:45am so that meant this:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Going out in the dark was a bit of a change and despite the early start I was quite looking forward to it. It meant I would be running when it was cool, as opposed to having a baking hot sun trying to turn me to jelly, and there would be little traffic and nasty fumes around. I was hoping this would give me a good indicator of where I really am fitness-wise, especially as I haven´t played rugby for two weeks either. My other motivation was that it was my<b><i> last </i></b>long run...and while I cannot put into words how happy this made me, I can give you an idea:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So, off I went. I walked the first ten minutes as per usual, then started some kind of demented stagger to try to get my legs moving like something resembling a runner. I went my usual route through the back streets and then hit the countryside, which, due to the hour of day, was pitch black:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Despite it being scary as hell, this run through pitch dark country lanes has proven beyond doubt that zombies, and monsters in general, don´t exist. The simple reason for this deduction is that if they did exist, I wouldn´t be here now. It was the perfect setting to get me. As they clearly didn´t, we can obviously put that one to rest. I hope you can all sleep easier now as clearly, the only thing resembling a zombie was me.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">But then, things started to get better. I started to be properly warmed up, was making a good pace and in general, finding the whole thing a lot easier. I hope this means my plan is paying off and all those summer training hours may have done me some real good.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I carried on up through Mutxamel and then, instead of coming down through San Juan, I kept going north and headed towards the N340. It was at this point that God started showing off how many colours He knows:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Then I got a case of runner´s trots just before I hit the national road so had to stop in a garage. There is nothing more embarrassing than this - stopping in a garage when you don´t have a car, buying one poxy bottle of water and spending far too long in the toilet, so it´s obvious why you went in there. I know we all have to, but I hate rubbing it in people´s faces.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Anyway, down I went through San Juan and eventually came to the beach. Now, I don´t want to brag about where I live but I have to say that just after sunrise, the beach is possibly one of the most uplifting places you can be:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Inspired and close to the end of the run I headed back through the Alicante Golf and made it to Albufereta at about 2 hours 50, which meant I could go into cool down phase i.e. start walking. This made me very happy indeed:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">When I got home, I´d covered just over 17 miles, which according to most people is good enough to get around a full marathon. I´d also done this distance by incorporating a fair amount of walking into my training, especially for the cool downs which last about 30 minutes, so I reckon there´s a fair bit left in the tank for race day itself.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Sooooooo.....3 weeks to go!!! I´m looking forward to it, so much so that I´ll sign off by sharing this short 2 minute video...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">They can´t scare me. My next post will be from the finish line...happy days!</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18327756702983321935noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1961476662463231328.post-33623833367160260452013-09-21T09:11:00.000-07:002013-09-21T09:11:17.968-07:00Six weeks and counting...Oh, bumbly, bumbly. bum, bum...6 weeks to go and I´m starting to get nervous. I´m not quite as nervous as last night in rugby training when a huge slab of whale meat decided he was going to run through me rather than around me, but nervous all the same.<br />
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I don´t know what to make of my aerobic training. I seem to be stuck at a pace around the 6:15 per km mark at best, but which normally translates to 7:15 because of all the stupid hills in Alicante. A 6:15 pace in the race will bring me in about 4:20 whilst a 7:15 pace will bring me in after everyone has gone home. I know the theory, according to Lord Maffetone is that this training will translate into a much quicker race pace because of my newly-constructed aerobic base, but it´s hard to feel that way when it JUST ISN´T HAPPENING.<br />
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And I want my 4-hour time...<br />
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The Paleo diet is going well though and I´m beginning to feel pretty good on it. The body is holding up great since I´m running 4 times a week and doing 1 day a week of rugby. My ankle is still niggly but manageable and I think it´s down to 1) eating the right food and 2) getting stronger.<br />
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But still...here are some photos from recent runs...<br />
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First...Victims of Terrorism Street in San Juan de Alicante. Nice!<br />
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Second, has some kind of English religious sect set up in another small Spanish village...?<br />
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And some nice countryside...<br />
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I did see even more interesting things on my runs but they involved other people so it felt a bit rude to take sneaky pictures of them. I´ve got another 2hr run tomorrow then next week, I´ve got a 3 hour Sunday run after a rugby match the day before...it´s all getting quite intense.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18327756702983321935noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1961476662463231328.post-53414328233115020912013-09-04T21:20:00.000-07:002013-09-04T21:20:30.902-07:00The Caveman ApproachI´ve had to take an injury break for the past week. It´s not ideal but about 12 mins into my mid-week session last week, it was clear that my ankle was giving me big ´no-no´ signs by hurting more with every step I took. I concluded this was more than your normal aches & pains and sensibly stopped. It was very frustrating as I feeling more Mo Farah than Mo Farah himself.<br />
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As always I thought a sensible solution was needed so I radically changed my diet, to go along with the standard RICE treatment. Therefore I am now fully paleo! From Saturday onwards I am no longer eating grains, legumes, processed foods, breads, sweets, dairy etc etc. Basically, all I can eat is meat, poultry, lamb, fish, and all the veg and fruit I want, plus most condiments and vinegars. There are many ideas and theories behind this diet, so I won´t go into them now, nor will I advertise any reading I´ve been doing. First, I want to see the (if any) positive effects. To add to my suffering I also gave up caffeine.<br />
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It´s been ok. I spent the first day pretty light-headed, which is normal. The second and third days have brought feelings of being rundown, again pretty normal. Then I hurt my back lifting the kids out of bed, so I´ve been distracted by that. However, on Tuesday, just two days into my diet, I went out to run again, with my ankle seemingly well-rested. Interestingly, I set my fastest kilometre within my target heart-rate of 135, completing it in 5:51 running on the flat. This was a total surprise. I can´t honestly say it´s down to changing my diet as I also had a good rest, but it´s certainly encouraging.<br />
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So, to spread the word, try this dish:<br />
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Ingredients:<br />
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Hake fillets, plum tomatoes, garlic, onion, nutmeg powder, black pepper, salt.<br />
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Chop the hake up into small chunks. Fry the onion and garlic in butter for a few minutes, then add the hake and fry it until it´s slightly browned, adding some black pepper. Chuck in the tomatoes, nutmeg powder and salt and simmer away to your heart´s content. Optional extra - add some cayenne powder whilst frying the hake to spice the whole thing up.<br />
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For those who say paleo is difficult, how easy is that?Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18327756702983321935noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1961476662463231328.post-16767812879486073342013-08-18T07:24:00.000-07:002013-08-18T08:02:58.979-07:00First LSR for Murcia...There´s no room for negative thinking when you´re training for a marathon. So when my alarm went off at 6:50am this Sunday morning, I jumped straight out of bed and put the chicken broth on to heat up. I drank that, got my magnesium down me, unplugged the iPod from the Mac and headed out the door for 2 and a half hours. The reason I had to go out so early can be summed up in two words: Alicante & August. Any later in the day and I would have shrivelled up like a snail in a salt bath.<br />
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It seemed like I just couldn´t get going today. I suppose it´s a consequence of my first rugby session on Friday after a couple of weeks holiday, but I felt stiff and lethargic, despite the raucous support from the drunken Alicantino´s going home after their Saturday night out. But I carried on of course. Although I was stiff, none of my niggles started protesting sufficiently for me to consider cutting the run short, and my new ankle support seemed to be doing the trick. So I headed down to the centre of town, up the coast road towards San Juan Playa, across Cabo de Huertas and back again.<br />
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Here are some pictures of Cabo de Huertas...<br />
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Two things were significant about today. First, I made the crazy assumption that filling up my iPod with 80s classics would help me along, so last night I purchased an 80s compilation album on the cheap. Then, without really checking the songs in great detail, I put them on the iPod. When one of the first songs to come on was Sabrina´s ´Boys, Boys, Boys´, I realised I may have made a mistake. When Luther Vandross started his drivel, I knew I´d made a mistake. Time to search for some iPod editing software.<br />
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Second, Cabo de Huertas is obviously a place when gentleman of a certain persuasion like to meet other gentleman to get to know each other better, albeit in a very fleeting manner. Funnily enough, this is going on among all the other runners, fishermen, sunbathers and yes, nudists. Now I´m as open-minded as the next person and each to their own and all that, but let´s face it, there were no A-list models on display. No wonder most runners stare straight ahead. I´ll continue to do so, probably after changing my schedule around. After all, I wouldn´t want to be a nuisance to anyone.<br />
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Garmin data for whomever is interested: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/360884066<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18327756702983321935noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1961476662463231328.post-58354541580098829272013-08-04T03:39:00.001-07:002013-08-04T06:25:11.936-07:00Cricket grounds and ankles<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As it's hammering down with rain today, I thought I'd write my blog as opposed to do a 2 hour LSR. This is not good for my marathon training but I don't have waterproofs and I'm used to running in sunshine, so...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">On Tuesday this week, I managed a 1:20 LSR going up and down the Taff Trail. It was fantastic. I was running through beautiful countryside, next to a river that doesn't smell and enjoying the rabbits crossing my path. Dog-walkers said a cheery 'good morning!'. For the first time in my life I also ran across a cricket ground before crossing the railway bridge at Radyr and heading up to Castell Coch. I kept going for half of my allotted time before heading back down the trail. In the end I didn't come back down exactly the same way because I stayed on the other side of the river, so I got lost. I ended up asking two people for directions, one of which was a runner who, while sprinting past me, claimed contrarily, 'I can't run today!'.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The great thing about this run was that I managed two kilometres, both under 6 minutes, at 130bpm. This is a major improvement for me proving that my aerobic capacity is improving considerably. I have to say it's probably because of the rugby. This bodes very well for my marathon.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">What doesn't bode well is my ankle and the tendons in my lower leg. I have a bit of chronic soreness there at the moment. It's ok when I walk but it's just niggly. I'm worried that with the upping of intensity it's not going to recover properly and it's going to have to be managed between now and November. That's not ideal. So now I'm caught between cutting down on some sessions or sticking to the training programme as best I can, maybe taking a rest week along the way. The reason for doubt is that I've had this injury before so I don't think a rest week will necessarily make it go away.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18327756702983321935noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1961476662463231328.post-89813252751810421832013-07-29T15:11:00.001-07:002013-07-29T15:15:27.088-07:00The Road to Murcia<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">I would like to formally
announce, to all 7 of my beloved followers, my candidature of marathon
debutante in Murcia on November 3rd, 2013. It's taken a lot of soul-searching
to decide to enter this race but in the end, boredom won out.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">I've been running for
about 2 and a half years now and like anyone I've had my ups and downs. In the
end, I've decided these are no worse or better than anyone else's so I've kind
of become a bit alienated from the running community. This is because I've realised
that blogging about the mental aspects of running, as this blog attests, can be
mind-numbingly boring. So I thought I'd just get on with it, enter the bloody
race and see how it goes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">There are a couple of
great things about this particular marathon that grabbed my attention. Firstly
it's being organised by a club called 'Corre Birras' or 'The Running Beers'.
Cool. Secondly, it's limited to 1,500 runners so there won't be big crowds to
negotiate, which is something I am eternally grateful for. Third, it's Murcia's
first marathon so I reckon there will be a pretty good atmosphere.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">I've done four training
sessions so far, using a time-training approach I've downloaded from
micoach.com. It's really good. My sessions have included my first interval session
(where my son came with me and played on my mobile while I ran up and down past
him, high-fiving on the way), a mountain session where I fell over and gashed
my knee (taking me back to my school days) and a two hour LSR that I'm still
stiff as houses from. However, it was the beach session that really taught me a
lesson. I won't say much about it except that no-one ever told me I had to wear
underwear and not just run in my swimwear. Chinese water torture had nothing on
it. I only got through it because I'm so mentally hard but there were some
delicate moments for days afterwards.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">The other great thing
about running is I'm back in Cwmbran at the moment. Wales is a beautiful place
and makes such a contrast to the grim desert heat of Alicante. You can see this
by looking at the garmin routes below and changing the map to satellite mode:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><a href="http://connect.garmin.com/activity/348559437" target="_blank">Alicante</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><a href="http://connect.garmin.com/activity/350375774" target="_blank">Cwmbran</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">The other thing about
Cwmbran was the running in the rain. If I tried to do two hours in Alicante I
woul</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 13.5pt;">d be stopping every 30 minutes to glug down 20 litres of water. In Cwmbran
I did my 2 hour LSR without the need for any water and I got soaked into the
bargain. I also got heckled by a car full of lads, who I gave the finger to,
and a car full of girls, who I waved at. Oh, the mysterious vagaries of the mind.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 13.5pt;">Anyway, I'm underway. My
ankle is hurting. I'm feeling positive. I'm blogging again. All 7 of you have
my love if you could be bothered to get this far. Let me hear you say 'yeah!'<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18327756702983321935noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1961476662463231328.post-19197086868077510532013-06-09T12:24:00.000-07:002013-06-09T12:24:06.793-07:00Knowing what you´re made of...<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It was about 2k into today´s 6k race when I had a lightbulb moment. I was suffering pretty badly, more mentally than physically, after just completing the first beach leg of the race. My legs were gone, I was sucking in the air from across the other side of the Mediternean and it was clear from the other happy, energetic runners, who were becoming increasingly smaller dots in the distance in front of me, that I wasn´t taking home any medals. I wanted to give up.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Then I remembered the sig from one of my fellow forumites on the Runners Forum. It was StuRunner´s and it said:</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">"Gold medals aren't really made of gold. They're made of sweat, determination, and a hard-to-find alloy called guts."</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Guts. That was the word. What did it feel like to dig down deep and draw on all the strength you had to get around the course? </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I realise this may be sounding a bit dramatic but I should put a few things into context so you understand.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">First, I really was hoping for a medal today. Ok, so running should be for fun, it should be a reward in itself etc etc and all that crap but let´s face it, if you had a chance of something to show on your mantelpiece, you´d take it wouldn´t you? In the same race last year I would have had a podium finish except that I wore my chip around my wrist and it didn´t register when I crossed the line. It was the first time, I´d worn it there and I out-sprinted some other bloke at the end after an epic race. However, he was on the podium and I wasn´t because he was dressed correctly. </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">So, I was hoping I´d get the same small field and another crack at glory. It became obvious within about 10 minutes of the race starting that I´d been dreaming and this, for some superficial, banal and totally innapropriate reason, did my head in.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Second, half the race was on sand. Do I need to say anymore? Well, ok a bit. If you haven´t ran on sand yet, it sucks the energy from your legs quicker than Angry Birds sucks the battery from your Smartphone. Not the funniest similie but it wasn´t feeling very funny at the time.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Thirdly - it was bloody hot.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Finally, what the F**K has happened to my fitness? I was knackered from really early on. Maybe I´m getting my pacing wrong, maybe my expectations are too high or maybe I shouldn´t be doing this silly low-carb diet anymore. It could also have been to do with the 7k trail race I did the weekend before when I thought I was going to die from nipple rub:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I just don´t know. All I do know is I was really suffering from early on and I wanted to give up. But then, as I said above, good old Stu Runner´s signature popped into my head. From then on it was just logisitics - one foot in front of the other, try to catch the guy in front and try not to get overtaken. I achieved all three of these apart from the last two. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">However, what I did manage to achieve was looking like I was singing an 80´s rock ballad in my head to help me get around:</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw1JLvGYfVjcpjnmUA6fmd9W_320dTAKFiVI55wIAxrNuMZMSsvVQHG5_iV6648Yd84i97bxr1UAsV53-l-U1KgrgYumjxmrXRI5iQWHBesVHU50P9trV0t851MhbeAX2jL5mXIF_gP-E/s1600/El+Campello+-+Love+Isn%C2%B4t+Always+on+Time.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="253" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw1JLvGYfVjcpjnmUA6fmd9W_320dTAKFiVI55wIAxrNuMZMSsvVQHG5_iV6648Yd84i97bxr1UAsV53-l-U1KgrgYumjxmrXRI5iQWHBesVHU50P9trV0t851MhbeAX2jL5mXIF_gP-E/s320/El+Campello+-+Love+Isn%C2%B4t+Always+on+Time.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And of course, guts. So what are they?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">To be honest, I´m not sure. I think they´re a determination to do your bloody best coupled with an absolute stubborn-mindedness not to give up. That´s what was going through my mind today. The other trick to using them is remembering you´ve got them. And I´ve got Stu to thank for that. He saved me just when I was feeling like a beaten, bloody, pulpy mess of jelly nothing. I owe him a beer when I see him.</span></div>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18327756702983321935noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1961476662463231328.post-54590734553926409992013-05-18T08:33:00.000-07:002013-05-18T08:33:08.407-07:00Marathon planOk, so I´ve decided that it has to be the marathon. I have to admit that this is down to coming across the web page of the first Murcia marathon and finding out it is being organised by a running club who like their beer. It is also limited to 1500 runners so it´s right up my street.<br />
<br />
After last year´s failure to get to the Valencia marathon I am determined to get the preparations for this one right. Patience is the key. Last year I decided to enter a race 8 weeks before the Valencia marathon and that messed up everything. I´ve always made the same mistakes - over-training, bad eating, racing at the wrong time. This year, I´m going to take my build up seriously and with patience<br />
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Training has been slow this last couple of weeks. Sticking to my max HR of 135 hasn´t given me much progress and I have to say, I´ve been having doubts about Maffetone´s theory. If it wasn´t for the testimonials to him and my own experience of breaking his rules, I may be trying different things now. But no, I´m sticking with it. The other thing I´m sticking with is the low carb diet, although after some sessions I´ll allow myself to get some good fruit and/or rice down me.<br />
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The other key is I´ve got to get my anxiety and stress levels down. I´ve a feeling this is impacting on my running in a much greater way than I realise. However, with a full-time job, two small children and a wife also eating up all her free minutes, I´m not sure how to do this. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.<br />
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So, how to approach this. The temptation is to go full-on which is why I did my first ever double session yesterday. I don´t think this is the best approach though. I´ve suffered the effects of over-training in the past so I should know better. I think what I will concentrate on is hill-running, aerobic training and barefoot beach running. Now that I´m starting in the morning I reckon I can drag myself out of bed twice a week to do 40 minutes base-training. Then, one evening session can go up to the top of the Castle and back, followed by an LSR going over the mountain to the beach to improve leg and foot strength. I´ll just gradually build up the LSR and slowly increase one of the early morning runs and I reckon that´ll be ok. The race isn´t until November so I reckon this is a sound plan.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18327756702983321935noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1961476662463231328.post-5893944572745159702013-04-20T15:39:00.001-07:002013-04-20T15:39:23.106-07:00Can 26 miles be easier than one?I have to admit that I´ve been having trouble setting my goals for this year. To be honest it´s probably a reluctance on my part, due to failing to get to the Valencia Marathon in November. I know the reasons why I didn´t get there and I believe I´ve changed my attitude accordingly, but I still can´t quite decide where I want to take this running lark.<br />
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I´m not a runner who can just run for the sake of it. I do really enjoy it, but the best bits involve racing and running with others so my goals involve races and that´s that. It always seemed logical to just go on and on, distance wise, so the marathon seemed the next step up. As Valencia is on my doorstep I always thought that would be where I would get to eventually. However, I´m beginning to have second thoughts about what I want to achieve and reckon that on a scale of 1 to 10 laughs-wise, <a href="http://www.islwynrunningclub.org.uk/Murder-Mile.php" target="_blank">this would rate up there with the best of them.</a><br />
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It´s only a mile for gawd´s sake. Just one poxy mile. And it´s gotta be easier than 26, doesn´t it? I even had a look at the results from the last few years and I´ve just got to run a fast training pace to be up there with the leaders. I´m light as a feather as well so it should be a piece of piddle really.<br />
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I´m tempted anyway, but I still can´t make that final choice. I wish someone would just tell me what to do.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18327756702983321935noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1961476662463231328.post-21068205301326371242013-04-05T08:49:00.001-07:002013-04-05T08:51:50.157-07:00Beautiful BurgosAfter a crap start to the year, running wise, I´m finally on 10 days of relaxation with the in-laws in Burgos, Northern Spain. To say it´s different to Alicante is like saying the sun is not the moon - the two are worlds apart. As I write this a blizzard is falling outside and hopes of us being stuck here forever begin to surface.<br />
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It´s in this context that I´ve started to run properly again. Not having to worry about work, or getting the kids into their routine has freed me up and I´ve been able to get out again. This time, I´ve been taking it easy as I am coming back from yet another over-training injury. I set myself a golden rule of no more than 40 minutes and that I would stop if I felt any twinges. I´ve also been religiously doing the exercises for the lower back shown to me by my physio and am starting to feel like Bruce Lee. It´s good to be back.<br />
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What has helped immensely is Burgos itself. It is truly a beautiful place to run. There is parkland galore near to my in-law´s house and coupled with the fresher weather and a spikier attitude, my running has been thoroughly enjoyable. You could do a lot worse than visit here.<br />
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It´s also got me believing in Maffetone again, which is no bad thing. I´ve always insisted when I´ve been injured that it´s only happened because I haven´t followed my own rules (or to put it another way, Maffetone´s). However, that doesn´t stop you getting down when things do go wrong and you start to doubt yourself. None of that now though, my running has gone superb and I´ve gone from a 9:58 mile at a HR of 135 two days ago to a 9:13 mile today. It´s all to do with keeping within your limits, eating properly and knowing your body. Now I just have to keep it up.<br />
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As for going Ketonic, I´m going to delete that blog and bring it on in here. I cannot stress enough how much of a difference I notice in my well-being when I eat properly. I feel great, to be quite frank. It´s been hard to keep to the diet, especially when you´re a guest in someone else´s house but I´ve managed to take charge a bit and I´m on track. My in-laws look particularly impressed with my Chicken Broth so maybe I´m managing to spread a little happiness as well. Not that I give one really.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18327756702983321935noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1961476662463231328.post-55357522532354631682013-04-04T06:43:00.004-07:002013-04-04T06:43:52.669-07:00Back to basicsI´m going back to basics this week. I´m on holiday in Northern Spain so have a new environment to run in, which is perfect for coming back after injury. I´ve already been out three times this week for sessions going no longer than 40 minutes, including my warm-up and cool down (working on Maffetone principles). This is a good habit to get into because my very busy life means I should be able to fit these into my weekly schedule without too much difficulty. I´ll also look to keeping my LSR to 1 hour max and build up very slowly from there.<br />
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Lots of rain, refreshing breezes and no twinges. Just like being a teenager in Wales again.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18327756702983321935noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1961476662463231328.post-43207452193234909682013-03-26T14:38:00.000-07:002013-03-26T14:38:41.558-07:00I bloody love/hate running!!!!!!!!!When I think of running I think ´Arse´. Well at least, at the moment. I´m injured again and it´s no fun at all, when all my plans are being laid to waste.<br />
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I can see all the other no-hopers out there and I´m quite impressed to be honest. They´re running when I´m not after all. But even though I still can´t help thinking that they´re doing it all wrong, it´s me who´s sitting on his arse in the house.<br />
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I bloody hate running sometimes, especially when I´m not doing it.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18327756702983321935noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1961476662463231328.post-3547272525829320412012-11-20T01:07:00.001-08:002012-11-20T01:07:06.464-08:00Lessons learnedSo, I didn´t do the marathon in the end. As per my previous blog, I did the half-marathon in Alicante and absolutely knackered my self. Then I went out training and in a fit of stupidity, decided to go barefoot for about 40 minutes. One hairline crack of my metatarsal later and there was no running for six weeks.<br />
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When will I learn? I am not a superman, or at least not yet, and I have to take it easy and build things up slowly. I was angry during the half marathon because I really struggled from about 7k onwards, but that was only because I went out way too fast, not because my training hadn´t been good. I calculated that I would have broken 1:30 if I´d maintained the same pace as I made during the first 5k. That´s just ridiculous and it´s all my fault (I have to say, it felt bloody good though during the first 7k, when I was leaving people trailing in a wake of Standing-dust).<br />
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So, what now? My impatience has cost me my goal for this year, although it has maybe shown me that my goal wasn´t all it was cracked up to be. It leaves me with a burning question:<br />
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What is so special about the marathon?<br />
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It feels like everyone who is anyone has done a marathon these days. People from all walks of life manage to get through 26.2 miles without what appears to be too much difficulty. Some of them also dress up in stupid costumes. However, I do realise that there is a big difference between trotting through 26.2 miles and running the same distance to the best of your ability. But, that´s not the point. The point is that the marathon was something to measure myself by, to run that distance at a sustained pace which tested both my mental and physical capabilities to keep going. It was something that was hard. And at the moment I, clearly, am not.<br />
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So I´m now left without a goal, and just some vague plans. Do I go for Santa Pola again and try to get yet another PB? Do I try the HM in Aspe on Dec 23rd as it´s bound to be a pretty route? Do I aim for the Madrid rock n´roll marathon in April or the Rome marathon in March? Or do I go for the Valencia mountain marathon in April?<br />
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Or do I go for the Valencia mountain marathon in April?<br />
Or do I go for the Valencia mountain marathon in April?<br />
Or do I go for the Valencia mountain marathon in April?<br />
Or do I go for the Valencia mountain marathon in April?<br />
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Don´t rush Mart...you can´t run that fast yet.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18327756702983321935noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1961476662463231328.post-80731073905891152512012-10-07T07:36:00.001-07:002012-10-07T07:36:14.978-07:00Alicante Half Marathon This was the third Alicante HM and had a much improved route this year, going through the centre of town and out past my house, returning to town via the cost and then doing a zig-zagging route through the centre. I didn´t think it was that hilly when I studied the route but I had my mind changed for me by the end. I found this one tougher than Alcoy which, for those that don´t know, is built on the side of a mountain and has considerably more metres of elevation.<br />
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I won´t go into my prep, suffice to say that after almost arriving at the start line I realised I´d forgotten my chip. One frantic taxi ride later, followed by an inadequate warm-up and we were off. I´d decided I wasn´t going to look at my Garmin during this race and try to run on feel. Consequently I set off stupidly fast, regularly clocking kilometres around the 4-4:20 mark. I felt bloody good though so thought I´d be ok. Then we hit the first hill. I didn´t push too much on the hill and let those I´d stormed past earlier take me over, thinking that I´d recuperate and come back later. However, it didn´t happen and I realised my legs were drained. From that moment on, I was getting overtaken regularly. I´d also decided not take gels but I did put together a honey and lemon drink to sip from on the route. This meant I was more or less running on my own reserves but this was what I´d planned all along. So...from kilometre 8 to kilometre 21 my legs felt heavy and every stride was laborous, but my mind was strong and I was really pleased with my attitude. On some of the later hills I passed plenty of walkers and started to hold my own a bit more to stop people over-taking.<br />
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Finally, after a 3 kilometre climb to the finish I arrived in 1:46:46. I think if the course had been flat I would have hit 1:40 with no problem but you can´t be displeased with a PB. All in all, this was a tough old bird.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18327756702983321935noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1961476662463231328.post-7920167483275293092012-10-03T12:45:00.001-07:002012-10-07T07:15:48.083-07:00Time to back yourself<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It´s getting to the business end of the experiment and I should be happy. After the most horrible summer of stress I can remember, which involved a series of bad lifestyle choices, which then culminated in one great one, I got myself back on track.<br />
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After not running throughout July and August I suddenly found myself 12 weeks away from a marathon with clogged lungs, blood sugar levels rising and falling like a rollercoaster, and little training in my legs. A summer in which I desperately tried to work out why I didn´t like my life had ended with a huge self-kick up the backside and a new found self-identity that demanded I put things right.</div>
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So...fags in the bin, sugar in the bin and running shoes back on. If I was going to get ready for the marathon I needed to change my running style and do something drastic to my endurance. So I thought the best thing would be to quit sugar. I´d heard plenty about the wall and how it comes on runners when their bodies need to change from sugar-burning to fat-burning during a race (I know I´m simplifying things here) so, no more bread, pasta, soft drinks, cakes, sweets, chocolates, potatoes and loads and loads of protein, nuts and veg with a little fruit here and there. I´ve not foresaken sugar completely. I´ll still have some honey in my green tea and in my yoghurt but that´s about it.</div>
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As for the running, it´s been a struggle. To take such a long break and then try to immediately put the miles back in my legs is just not practical. My feet and calves have really suffered. However, in the last week or so, with 6 weeks to the marathon, I´m noticing signs of improvement. I did a 2hr LSR on Sunday and I was ok to run again by Tuesday. There is hope.</div>
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Or at least there would be if it wasn´t for my childlike fantasy world in which I run races for guts and glory. Instead of concentrating on my training, I´ve entered a half-marathon this weekend. I promised myself I wasn´t going to but it´s in Alicante, my local town, and the route is such an improvement on last year I just couldn´t help myself. I´ll be running past my house and my office and am obviously going to win. At least that´s what my fantasies tell me. I realise this has a chance of knackering me to the extent that I´m not ready for the marathon but I just couldn´t help it. I´m impatient and what to check out where I´m at. How will my diet, my aerobic training and my new-found self-resilience serve me?</div>
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My six-year-old daughter said it best. ´Papi, run as fast as you can right from the start and keep going all the way round as fast as you can, and that way you win´? Child geniuses do exist you know.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18327756702983321935noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1961476662463231328.post-44508862543132058872012-06-10T06:51:00.000-07:002012-06-10T06:51:05.556-07:00Mixed emotionsToday was the 6 something K race at El Campello. As I thought it was on sand I was going to run barefoot but upon arrival they informed me that it was 50/50 sand and asphalt. Because of this I decided to choose the trainers - big mistake! The other mistake I made was to tie my chip around my wrist.<br />
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Sand drains your legs more than anything I´ve ever run on, including steep hills. I had set off quite fast but the first 1.5k was along the beach and it didn´t take long for the strength to turn my legs to nothing. I got overtaken by a few people along this stretch as I gamely battled on to keep my rhythm, but it was hard. I realise now it would have been easier without the trainers but that´s a lesson for another day. Then finally we moved onto the road to come back towards the start. By this point I was already quite tired and I got overtaken by more people. The sun was also beating down and I was feeling very dehydrated.<br />
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Eventually I got to the end of the first 3k lap but there was no water station in a race this short. Luckily my wife was there and she handed me a drink with a wry smile on her face. This must have been because I was sweating like I was in a shower and my face was redder than a lobster´s. Then it was back to the sand. Mentally I was doing fine and I just concentrated on keeping my pace as best I could while finding the best line on the beach to run along to ease the pressure on my legs. I kept going and was still getting overtaken now and again (a consequence of sprinting ahead of better runners than myself at the start) but I was ok. Then finally, I got back into the home stretch along the road neck and neck with another guy.<br />
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I noticed that he was trying to gently edge ahead of me by slightly increasing the pace but I kept with him. Then I tried to do the same and he kept with me. Suddenly realising I was in a battle, I remembered a cross-country race at school where I let someone go at the end when I had plenty left in the tank, and our team lost by one point. It was a funny thing to remember but it spurred me on. Then, with about 400m to go I kicked and pulled away from him. To my eternal satisfaction he couldn´t keep up. I crossed the line in about 28:30 which was pretty good for me considering the terrain.<br />
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But...because I wore the chip on my wrist it didn´t register when I crossed the line, so that guy got the podium finish for our category.<br />
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How do I feel about that? I had to remind myself why I go running as it isn´t for recognition. But...well, you know. Overall though, I´m really pleased as I felt I showed really good mental strength and that´s the best thing I can take forward from this.<br />
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Footnote - my kids also entered their first race!!! They both got medals as well for doing about 200m and they are made-up. So am I. They looked so happy.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18327756702983321935noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1961476662463231328.post-22186544478508609242012-06-08T07:56:00.002-07:002012-06-08T07:56:27.490-07:00A first for my kids!Just a quick note. I do have a race tomorrow, of 6k on the beach at El Campello. If anyone is there I´m wearing dorsal number 77. If you can´t find me I´ll be on the podium at the prize-giving around 11am (ahem).<br />
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I´m choosing this one over a 10k trail race because my kids will get the opportunity to race as well. My 4 year-old will do a 200m run and my 6 year old will compete in a 500m run. Note to kids - it´s not the winning etc...<br />
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I´m sure I´ll scream myself hoarse. Watch this space!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18327756702983321935noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1961476662463231328.post-15555922648919659302012-06-03T01:46:00.000-07:002012-06-03T01:46:11.453-07:00At least my legs aren´t jellySo...they cancelled the race. The whole point of my training for the last 8 weeks comes to nothing. I even pulled out of a dinner last night (no big loss on my part though) and tried in vain to get some sleep, ending up with about 4 hours, before I got up at 5:30am, filled up with a huge breakfast and set off for an hour´s drive to the start line.<br />
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I don´t think it´s justifiable just putting a notice on the website. There was only 31 of us registered and we had all submitted our email addresses when we put our names down. How difficult or time-consuming is it to notify us by email? Not very, is the answer. The other argument is how difficult is it to check the website. But no, I think the onus is on the organisers to do their best to inform everyone, especially when they live an hour´s drive away from the starting line.<br />
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Anyway, at least my legs aren´t jelly. As I was joining the motorway to drive back I saw a Mediterranean storm starting up over the mountain. I thought it would have been quite cool to run in that, apart from the danger of being struck by lightening, or running down steep, slippery slopes in old trainers. But still, imagine the thrill. Then I thought, at least I´m not knackered and wondering if I´m losing the will to live which is what almost certainly would have gone through my mind at some point.<br />
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The next thing on my list of goals is the Valencia marathon in November. I´m still not sure why I want to do a marathon though. Maybe someone will tell me one day.<br />
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I don´t want to write anymore. I´m furious.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18327756702983321935noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1961476662463231328.post-11471231139279167582012-05-28T13:46:00.002-07:002012-06-08T07:56:52.866-07:00Is that what I think it is?Ok, let´s start this final Blog before my race with a question. How many of you, while out running, have accidently stumbled across a nudist beach? It happened during my LSR on Sunday morning. It was also exclusively a gentlemen´s club of which they were all fully stand-up members. An interesting find all round, but I feel I may change the time of my run next time I go out that way.<br />
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Anyway, it served to teach me one thing and it´s this. How I do in my race on Sunday doesn´t really matter. What matters is that I´m going to race, I´m fit, I´m living healthy, I have no stress and I´m running and running and running. In other words, I´m not doing bad things to myself. This is not to say that bathing nude in an exclusive gentlemen´s club is doing a bad thing. Each to their own. All I´m saying is it reminded me a little of my Jimmy Page personality and the living free/not giving a toss mentality or the one I´m trying to keep under control. I´m glad and more than a little relieved I´m keeping it under control so if I ever do decide to try nude-bathing I know it will be a fully-informed choice.<br />
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So...the race is on Sunday. I´m ready. My LSR, apart from the interesting views, went really well. I was out for 3 hours, part-walking, part-running and I covered 14 miles. My mentality is also ready to be on my feet for that length of time. I´m still having fantasies about winning but I think that´s ok too. I like them and they beat fantasies about headlining at Glastonbury, simply because I think it´s slightly more realistic (but not by much).<br />
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Another thing I did was a full range of cardiac tests. Everything is fine just like I knew it would be. Like I said, I´m ready. My next blog will be a race report of the Pedreguer Mountain Half-Marathon. I love the way it sounds simply because 18 months ago this wouldn´t have been possible in my wildest dreams.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18327756702983321935noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1961476662463231328.post-91953949418229761992012-05-16T13:37:00.002-07:002012-05-16T13:37:36.467-07:00Doubts creeping in...<br />
It´s been a strange couple of weeks since I last blogged. I´ve done quite a bit of training over this time, including a great 2 hour LSR that took in two pretty good hills (one pictured below) and a beach run. The weather has also started to turn and, as is typical for Alicante, the season of Spring lasted about 2 weeks before it started to get seriously hot. Hot weather is good for running as it develops your mental strength and makes you draw on reserves of will when your mouth starts to feel like a desert and your legs start to feel like jelly.<br />
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However, I´ve also been to A&E. On one of my Saturday runs I was just starting to head up my second steep hill when I suddenly had the sensation of all my breath being knocked out of me. It passed almost instantly but then repeated again a couple of seconds later. I stopped running and walked home. The next day, on a doctor friend´s orders, I went to A&E where they did a load of tests, resulting in an all-clear. However, just to make sure I´m having a full range of proper cardiac tests on the 22nd. Paranoia is an expensive business.<br />
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Why do these doubts creep in? I used to suffer from anxiety a lot more when I was younger and I thought I´d beaten this kind of thing. Maybe it´s the race coming up, which normally sets me off with the symptoms of a cold. Now it´s setting me off with fears of something far more serious. My bloody subconscious gets right on my wick.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18327756702983321935noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1961476662463231328.post-32829955889848239622012-04-29T01:45:00.001-07:002012-04-29T01:45:03.918-07:00Up and down the ´Candela´Something good happened on my training run yesterday. I went up the ´Candela´, the rather large hill next to my house which is a lovely little trail run and which commands great views of both Alicante city and the sea. The ascent went well because I warmed-up properly and managed, more or less, to keep within my target HR. Then, on the descent, I saw what looked like the fittest runner in Alicante sprinting up the ascent on the other side. As he passed me he gave me a big thumbs-up and a smile. Now I believe that this is the norm in the UK, or at least fairly common for runners to acknowledge each other, but in Spain it´s rare. This made me realise two things. First, I´m doing the right thing by running and not sitting on my backside and second, I´m not going to win my mountain HM.<br />
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These two things may seem obvious to anyone with a shred of common sense. However, at the age of 40 I´m supposed to be able to work all these things out for myself, so any help from outside sources is very welcome. The problem are fantasies. We all dream of glory so I don´t see anything absurd in imagining myself running faster than anyone else over longer distances, then lifting a trophy with a coy smile and an inner sense of supreme smugness. However, it does mean that I get disappointed with myself when I realise, or believe, that I´m running slowly. It doesn´t matter whether I´ve trained to run well or not, I still get disappointed. In the past this has demotivated me to the extent I´ve gone back to unhealthy habits. But then I realise that we´ll all a community and one that I´m very happy to be a member of.<br />
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In total I ran about 7.5k yesterday but in 5 weeks I have to run 20k. So I´m a bit behind my target and the training programme is going to be tight, as long as I keep myself healthy and injury-free. I know I´ve banged on about Maffetone in previous posts, but I´m now also advocating the 15-minute warm-up and cool-down. If I´d ran yesterday´s session without them in the past, and subsequently not stretched, I´d be a mess this morning. But now, I hardly feel tight at all. Maffetone doesn´t endorse any stretching because he believes the warm-up and cool-down does the job and stretching can be damaging to the muscles. <a href="http://philmaffetone.com/stretching.cfm" target="_blank">I reckon he´s on to something.</a><br />
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I´m also continuing to eat well. Yesterday was beef stew with veg (9 of them in all) which made for a great recovery meal. My kids also ate it, which made me happy. Then this morning, eggs and asparagus on rye bread and green tea for breakfast. Most people think they can´t do without their crap breakfasts but I have to say, you do get used to, and dare I say it, start to enjoy eating good stuff. It´s just a case of getting into the routine.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18327756702983321935noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1961476662463231328.post-782457386926629432012-04-23T13:02:00.001-07:002012-04-23T21:39:58.840-07:00HRM´s, eating and that marathon death.I´ve done my second day running in a row today and it feels great. I took the HRM again and, again, was very disciplined. It was a simple jog over 30 mins with a good warm-up and good cool-down. But even after only starting yesterday, I was able to jog the whole time today. I did say the benefits come quickly.<br />
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You can see both runs <a href="http://connect.garmin.com/activity/171101325" target="_blank">here</a> and <a href="http://connect.garmin.com/activity/171101313" target="_blank">here</a>. You can see the improvement on the second of them, although I´m hardly threatening to make a late entry into the olympic team. It doesn´t matter though because I know that by the time June 3rd comes around I´ll be struggling to even make a HR of 135 by running flat-out. The running is going well.</div>
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And so is the eating! Why is it that when I quit smoking my diet changes for the better? I have this strange urge to eat healthy stuff, whereas when I´m smoking I have a strange urge to eat rubbish. I´m not complaining though as I suppose it´s good for me, although the wife did complain about the salad tonight. She should remember that I´m on a mission, then maybe she´d choose her words more carefully. Honestly, does she think I run for myself?</div>
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Finally I have to say a word about the lady that died in the London Marathon. Like any death of a young person it´s tragic but when it´s from doing something you do yourself you have to think about it. Does it affect me to the extent I´m nervous about going out and running? I don´t think so as you have more chance of dying from a lightening strike or being attacked by dogs (apparently). One US study said that over 11 marathons they studied there was one death for every 259,000 runners. That´s incredible odds. So...get yourself checked out by all means, and also mourn the tragic death of someone who went too young, but don´t get hung up about running. A lot of her friends have been commenting upon how healthy she was - that remains to be seen. What I do know is that sitting on the couch is far worse for you in the long run, as is not living your life to the full like it appears that young lady did. RIP.<br />
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</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18327756702983321935noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1961476662463231328.post-57808793284267258012012-04-22T13:53:00.002-07:002012-04-23T12:41:31.269-07:008WOS - Lucky dayThe best thing about this week´s blog, the <i>great</i> thing about it, the <i><b>amazing</b></i> thing about it, is that I have some running to report - and all went well. Considering there are 6 weeks to go before I launch myself over a HM´s worth of mountains this has to be a good thing.<br />
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It´s been hard mentally over the last few weeks, especially since I fell so low in my first week, but I finally put my foot down with myself and went running even if it wasn´t far and it wasn´t fast. I was considering leaving the HR monitor at home and just enjoying myself without being too disciplined but I decided in the end that this way would only lead to rack and ruin i.e. injury. So...with my HRM on I studiously did my 10 minute walking warm-up then found myself running and stopping, then running and stopping, because my HR kept creeping up over 135 (my limit for developing aerobic function). It was impossible to run for more than a few seconds at a time. However this didn´t matter to me. You see, I´ve been here before I know what it´s like when you lose your aerobic fitness - it´s like this. However, what I also know is that it comes back pretty quickly and I would expect, within two weeks or so, to be able to do at least 10-15k without getting near my HR limit.<br />
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I also had the scare of my life this week. This blog is supposed to be reporting on my training for the mountain HM in Pedreguer on 3rd June. The only slight catch, that I found out this week, is that this race doesn´t actually exist. I´m not sure how this happened. I overheard someone talking about the race when I was at my last one and I asked them to confirm it. As they were one of the organisers of said race, I presumed the info was solid. Apparently not. Luckily I found another mountain HM, on the same day, about 100k to the north of where I presumed my fantasy race was taking place. So not only do I still have a race, but I get to take the family away for the weekend. How lucky is that? Here´s hoping it´s a sign of things to come.<br />
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The profile of the race is <a href="http://www.mtbtuejar.com/imagen/MDT2012_perfil.gif" target="_blank">here</a>. As you can see, I wasn´t joking when I said there were mountains involved. I may have been joking when I said it was a HM though - it´s only 20K. Perhaps I´ll go for a jog around the village afterwards.<br />
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Just to end, I´d like to say a big congratulations to everyone who did the London Marathon today. It looked like a great event. And a big well done to everyone off the <a href="http://www.runnersforum.co.uk/" target="_blank">Runners Forum</a>. You did us all proud.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18327756702983321935noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1961476662463231328.post-90762967522762611492012-04-15T11:22:00.000-07:002012-04-15T11:22:28.353-07:008 weeks of something - back into the frayWell...I finally got back out there. After messing up my guts and my head I finally went out for a run with my mate. I was visiting him on holiday and only see him about once a year so, it was something else to see that he had also now quit smoking and was also into running. Anyway, we went on a nice gentle run up around a park near his house in Oviedo (the bit of Spain that looks like Wales) and it gave me immense pleasure to watch his face turn red while he tried to suck air in from the next valley across. Don´t get me wrong, I don´t like to see people struggle, but it was nice to know I hadn´t lost as much fitness as I thought. I found the whole thing quite easy.<br />
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I also imparted my considerable knowledge on warming up and cooling down with the indulgent air of someone who is bored with the whole subject, then I woke up the next morning with my hamstring laughing at me. I was injured. So I did what every pro does in these situations and drank and smoked my way through the rest of the week. Not the best reaction to adversity and definitely not the way to go with my mountain HM in 6 weeks. Why does he do it to himself you may ask? Why, when he has obviously got a good fitness base, enjoys running and is not afraid of challenging himself, does he fall apart at the first sign of a problem? Well the answer is easy - I´m a perfectionist. The problem with this label is that most people think it defines someone who does something to perfection. In my case it actually means someone who wants perfection. Therefore I get very affected by things not being perfect and run away (ha ha) at the first sign of a problem.<br />
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But this time...I don´t know. Something is chipping away at my soul. Instead of collapsing into an alcholic, tobacco-fuelled haze I entered a race. This gave me the motivation to chuck the fags away and get running again. I only managed 1k before my leg felt so bad I had to stop but at least I ran and it felt, at least aerobically-wise, very good. I even took a cold water bath to try to help the injury but I mainly just ended up swearing a lot. In the end my hamstring wouldn´t let me race but it didn´t matter - it was the preparation that mattered.<br />
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I forced myself back into it and back out there. I prefer it, I really do. So, I´m going to get some ice on my leg and keep my plans going. There´s a mountain to climb in 6 weeks time.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18327756702983321935noreply@blogger.com0