Always learning...

Yesterday was my last long run before the Born to Run Ultra on 29th March. I'd sorted a route that was more challenging than my last long run (28.4 miles a couple weeks ago). It would take me out of Leckhampton over the hill towards the A435, which is the old Cirencester road. The first 4 miles up hill towards Seven Springs climbing around 900ft. The heart rate spikes on that for sure. Enjoyed it though as was quicker than a road cyclist up the steepest part of the climb. 

Once onto the A435 it's a winding road down to Cirencester which is a further 12 miles away. I cruised on this part of the run. The sun was out and the roads were pretty quiet. Then a problem. At 8.5 miles i turned my ankle. Enough that my first thought was i wasn't going to be able to continue. I walked a bit to see if it calmed down and then tentatively started running again. It eased off much to my relief. Once running again the ankle settled down and wasn't a problem again. 

I made it into Cirencester, Stratton, in a little over 2 hours and replenished my water. The plan was then to turn around and head back the same way. I had scoped a little deviation though and rather than just do that headed up Gloucester Road towards the A417 (the new Cirencester Road) well towards the underpass that goes under the A417 and then brings you back towards A435. A climb, which i walked, up to Forty Acre Copse then a downhill cruise to the A435 coming out just by the Bathurst Arms.

It was around this point that i was starting to struggle to keep running experiencing some problems mainly with energy and my stomach.

My stomach felt empty. Up to this point i had drunk a couple bottles of water with electrolytes (1 litre) and some plain water that i bought from the shop in Stratton. I had also had an SIS energy bar and 3 gels. When i did my last long run this was enough to get me all the way around comfortably. This time was different. There were a couple of factors that were different...

• My previous longest run was immediately after breakfast. I'd had a couple of Weetabix and headed out the door.
• The weather was much improved, the temperature probably around 8 degrees (C) warmer than previously.
• The hills, my previous long run was pretty much flat. The 2,000ft elevation gain being a significant difference.

At mile 25 i stopped at a petrol station. I bought a snickers bar and some jelly babies. I couldn't eat the snickers bar quick enough and made my way through the best part of half a bag of jelly babies in a matter of seconds. I guess i really did need some food. I made sure to drink some water and then started running. I felt immediately better and started to run/walk the way home. My miles splits drifted at this point to around 9:30, in my head i just wanted to make it back. 

I arrived at home after a gentle downhill section. I'd covered 30.9 miles in 4hr 27mins.

More importantly i had learned a few things for the ultra....

• I need to make sure i eat breakfast reasonably close to the start time of the race, looking at the race information this will be around 7:30 before heading to the start for registration and a 9am off..
• I need to carry more proper food, i won't carry a snickers bar but go for flap-jack based foods that won't melt and that will provide my stomach something more solid to work with.
• I will carry spare electrolyte tablets for when i replenish my bottles. My clothes and race vest, when i got home, were ringed with salt deposits from sweat. I need to replace this. (Shortly after i got home i was craving salted peanuts!)
• I'm settled on 90% of the kit i will use for the race based on yesterday and assuming similar conditions, what i will do though is put my Halglofs gilet or The North Face rain cover in my pack for race day (just in case).
• Hoka One One Stinson Tarmac shoes 
• Injinji socks
• Century riding cream 
  
• Skins half tights compression shorts 
• Brooks shorts 
• Nike compression t-shirt
• Nalini arm warmers
• Inov8 Race Peak Cap 
• Salomon Advanced Skin Lab Hydro 5 Set 

They aren't massive changes really but they made a difference yesterday probably because they were combined with slightly increased temperatures, an increase in elevation and poor starting nutrition.

It was not all bad though as i made it around. And all things considered in reasonable repair. Recovery was a For Goodness Shakes drink and some quiche that was left over from the kids lunch. A quick shower and it was into the SKINS compression tights and then out for a stroll with the dog. Taking the view that it was better to keep moving than just sit. 

That puts me on 58.4 miles this week, so far, my schedule calls for 12 miles tomorrow which isn't going to happen. I am planning a run with Amelie which  will treat as recovery and hopefully take me over 60 for the week. Then it's taper time. 

This week will be a gentle 36 mile week, there will then be a 20 mile week with the then week of the race to follow. I'm still feeling good about the race, just glad that the glitches experienced yesterday were yesterday rather than on 29th.


.

Durable

I almost want to whisper it for fear of tempting fate. Maybe I should
have used a smaller font for the title. Obviously I don't believe in
fate we have to be responsible, largely, for what happens to us. If I
break down it will be because I have done something wrong.

Right now I feel really strong. My running has been incredibly
consistent and I really feel ready for the ultra at the end of the
month.

I made a cock-up with my training plan, missing an entire week from
the schedule, so this coming week will be a hard one with another
28miles or so at the weekend. Then it's a 3 week taper. Today's run
was 15 miles with a significant climb in there from the off. What I
did today though was experiment a bit on the downhill sections. I run
mid/forefoot striking which down hill is not that comfortable, your
toes jam into the toe box of the shoes and it feels unnatural. Plus I
am really slow at it.

Today I just let go and found myself heel striking and rolling
forwards. I say heel striking it was almost flat footed rather than
heel. It also meant that I could really feel the rocker my Hoka's
doing its job. The result was I really felt like I was flying down the
hills. As soon as it levelled off I reverted to my normal stride
pattern.

It really did feel awesome!

This is what got me thinking about my durability. I the 10 days
previous I have run every day including a run of 28.4 miles and
totalling around 100 miles. I get that this is not that huge, not at
all. But I am 43, have a job, a family and a dog! To get the time for
this is quite an achievement. That I am not suffering from it it is
quite another. I have talked before about running twice a day and
really cannot say enough how significant that this is to my current
level and how I can run.

I have never run as much or as far or as consistently. I have never
felt this strong or this fit. In the year since my knee surgery and I
have run just short of 1,500 miles and gone from 11st 9.5lbs
(160.5lbs) to 10st 11lbs (151lbs) and with 11% body fat.

The born to run ultra is on March 29th. I have entered ultra's before
- even this one of the first edition. But have never really come to
close to being able to compete or complete them as injury has always
taken hold. In the last three years an ACL reconstruction and a
meniscus tear have been the problems.

Injury free I can get there. I will toe the start line and give a good
account of myself.

I bloody love running.


Sent from my iPad

Salomon S Lab Skin Lab Hydro 5 Race Vest

I've been looking for an ultra race vest for the last couple of weeks.
My search narrowed to three, the AK vest by Ultimate Direction, the
Inov-8 Race Ultra vest and the Salomon Advanced Skin Lab Hydro 5 Set.

Looking online at the various options I had settled on the AK vest as
it seemed to be the best mix of function and at a good price. I
discounted the Inov-8 one when I checked it out in the local Up and
Running store as it didn't have as many pockets for storage that I
wanted. The Salomon whilst I was sure it would be great was
considerably more expensive.

I checked for the AK vest but could not find one online in my size
anywhere. As I needed the vest sooner so I could try it out before
race day I opted for the Salomon vest choosing the 5ltr size (as
opposed to the 12ltr model).

First impressions are that it's stunning! The weight, design and fit
are perfect. With a chest strap fastening that holds the vest in solid
position there is no bounce. The soft flask bottles (half a litre
each) slot into the shoulder straps and on the front of the pack. They
are odd and feel like, I imagine, breast implants. They work
brilliantly though and as they empty weigh nothing which is an
advantage over the plastic bottles that the other vests use. I did
make a mistake when taking the bottle out of the vest by grabbing it
by the bite valve which caused it to spurt up into my face!

The vest has a number of pockets for gels that are easily accessible
on the move. They fit in the straps above the bottles and of the sides
of the vest. There are then two zip pockets, one on each side, easily
big enough for an iPhone, I used the second one for some cash and my
bank card.

In the back there are stowage pockets big enough for jackets and other
items. I found them a little tricky to use with gloves on but they
were secure.

The vest is really comfortable but it did start to pull on my back a
bit I think that was the weight of the bottles on the front which I'm
not used to. It's a snug fit, it doesn't bounce. The chest straps hold
it in place without being too tight or constructive. The pockets are
easily reached with the rear ones taking a bit more practice to reach
on the move.

This is a quality product, as you'd expect from Salomon. It's pricey
and certainly more expensive than the competition but you can see it
in the design and build. The only aspect preventing me from really
going overboard about this vest is the cost. If it were closer to the
£80 mark I'd say it was perfect.