My new tattoo...with 7 weeks to go until the Viking Way!

There are 50 days left until I take on my toughest race so far...the 147 miles of the muddy, cross country, self-nav, no GPS, tight 50 and 100 mile cut off, 40 hour time limit, Viking Way Ultra.

But you know what, I'm really looking forward to it.

I know there's going to be lots of pain, it's going to be hard, and all of those bad things, but the positives of being involved in this race really outweigh all of that. Truth be told I can't wait.

Training has been going well since Country to Capital, and I have a realistic plan to get me through these last 7 weeks. I've been losing some weight, had some wonderful training runs that I really enjoyed, and yesterday I got my tattoo finished by Julia at the King of Hearts studio in New Cross, London.

Am very pleased with it, and although it means a few days of enforced rest (can't get sweaty for a while!) I'm ok with that. Here she is...taken just minutes after the tattoo was finished.

Country to Capital

My first run of 2016, in fact my first run at all since getting injured after Christmas, was the Country to Capital ultra on 16th January.

I was pretty nervous as to whether my hamstring would cope with the distance (somewhere between 42 and 45 miles) and the hills, and the mud I was expecting, and even less enthusiastic about the 4:15am alarm call and the freezing temperatures, but nevertheless I was still really looking forward to the race. It covers some beautiful scenery on the cross country route from Wendover in Buckinghamshire, down to London, and finishes with 20 odd miles along the Grand Union Canal.

Getting ready to go

Very cold at the start

Thankfully...my hamstring held out. I took the first half of the race slowly, and whenever my leg grumbled a bit, I slowed my pace, and generally had a wonderful time. I ran the first 15 miles chatting with my friend Anna, and just soaked up the scenery, and once I'd warmed up, realised the weather conditions were perfect! Cold enough that the mud had frozen pretty solid in most places, but dry, clear and sunny. I plugged into the iPod for the last stint as we headed towards the canal, and after about 20 miles I really came into my own and finished off strongly. Although my watch died before the end, so I can't be certain of the final distance or my pace, I felt like I was flying for the last few miles and was so pleased.

I finished in 8:27, which is a far cry from my time of 8:10 that I ran in 2014, or the sub 8 hours I'd been hoping for, before my 17 day injury layoff, but it was fabulous and I was very relieved to have got through it without crippling myself!

I also practiced being self-sufficient, only filling up my water bottles once along the route, and I didn't take any food from the aid-stations, eating only what I was carrying. My race vest was packed with jelly babies, salted cashew nuts, 2 babybel, 4 "finger of fudge" chocolate bars, and two flapjacks. I didn't finish all the jelly babies or the nuts (although snacked on them on the train home), but it worked well. With races this year not having aid stations for 15 or 20 miles, I need to be comfortable and disciplined in doing this (making sure I do actually eat during the run and not wait for the aid stations).

The whole race was a real confidence booster and I thoroughly enjoyed myself! 

"Catch up" It's been busy, now I'm injured, but I have a race tomorrow

I have been a very bad blogger. My last post was at the beginning of November, and since then a lot has happened that I've missed telling you about!

We moved house, and I'm now on the Essex coast. I found moving VERY stressful, but have been exploring new trails and local routes. Lots of my runs are now, inevitably, by the sea but my heart always pulls me back to the woods!

With the structured training I've been doing, as a result of Lindley coaching me, with the hills, tempo runs and intervals, I've actually been getting fitter and faster. Brilliant stuff! All very positive. I've also run a few races in the last couple of months - 4 trail marathons in fact, and a 20 miler:

* The tough Trailscape East marathon - very hilly but beautiful, along the North Downs Way.

* The Kirkstall Abbey marathon, which is a bit of a 10in10 reunion and Brathay fundraising race. There were lots of us there, but this is a photo of those of us who finished at about the same time. Lovely to catch up with everyone.

10in10ers at Kirkstall Abbey Marathon

* The Usual Suspects challenge - 6 hours to run as many or as few laps as you like by the White Cliffs of Dover. A social event more than anything...so many friends there. A medal to treasure for ever too.
 

* The Great Barrow Challenge - three muddy marathons in three days. I only did the first two days...

So, what else has been happening since my last post? Obviously, we've had Christmas and New Year! It was a whirlwind of seeing friends and family, but lovely and I thoroughly enjoyed decorating our new house and eating and drinking far too much!

I've missed out on doing the traditional "review post", although here is my haul from 2015's 10 miler, half marathon, 20 mile, 13 marathons and 12 ultras! I'm very proud of what I achieved last year, particularly of my TP100 and GUCR double!

Oh, and I've managed to pick up an injury. I was signed up for doing all of the days of the Great Barrow Challenge, which is three trail marathons in three days, between Christmas and New Year. They're absolutely brilliant events and was SO looking forward to it. Sadly, on the second day, after a good morning when I was on track for a sub 4:30 on the hilly, muddy, fabulous course, at about mile 19, I suffered a hamstring injury. The pain was so excruciating when I tried to run, that I had to walk the last seven miles back. I considered dropping, but with the really long races I've got coming up, when you never know what's going to happen, walking seven miles with an injury is actually still pretty good training!

As a result of this, while it's been healing, I haven't run a step in 17 days! Yep, 2.5 weeks! It's really not good at all. But it is feeling better than it was and my physio said I could start running again this Saturday to try out my leg and see how it feels. Nothing too strenuous (no running up hills or trying to be fast) but I can give it a go.

Saturday happens to be the day of the Country to Capital 45 mile race that I have a place in - a race I enjoyed so much in 2014. So, I'm going to try out my hamstring there. I know that's not what the physio meant, but if it starts hurting, or cramping, or aching...I'll stop and DNF. I will be sensible. But I have to give it a go....

Loving being a runner again

I've totally fallen back in love with running these last few weeks, and am finding that being coached by Lindley is making a massive difference. The plan he's given me is working and I can feel myself getting fitter - consistent training, hills and doing tempo runs apparently does work!

It's a good job that I'm enjoying running again...

Last night I got a place in the GUCR ballot for 2016! I'm very excited to be running this iconic race again...I made so many mistakes this year (yes, that chafing and blisters from hell!) and really want to try and learn from those and improve my time next year.

Also, I've finally had my tattoo done, at the King of Hearts studio in New Cross...something I've wanted for years! Lou Hopper was the artist. It's not quite finished, and I have another appointment at the studio in a couple of weeks, but as you can see it would be a bit of a mistake if I had already decided I was no longer a runner....

Becoming a different person

Francis and I were talking this evening. I told him, "I got up this morning at 5am!!"
"Did you run?" he asked, totally incredulous.
"Yes, I did, again!"
"You're like a different person..."

I've always struggled with morning running, being far too lazy and happy in my bed to get up early. Even if I've managed it for a couple of days, I've always failed to maintain it, and for the last few months, I've barely been able to drag myself out on night runs either, despite telling Francis throughout every evening that I was on my way. I might sort it out and run for a few days here an there, but then would lapse back into nothing. I felt guilty for not running but couldn't make myself want to go enough to actually do it and have just been lurching from race to race! I felt like I was losing touch with who I was despite desperately fighting to get back to normal. Anyway, I can understand Franc's surprise at my 5am start, and his surprise that I was running again. 

All of a sudden, and for the first time (I think) I have been able to maintain morning runs. I've been following my plan, and we're not just talking about hauling myself out and plodding around - I've concentrated, put in some effort as well as done some sensible easy runs...tomorrow morning I've got another tempo session. It feels different...brilliant...I feel like a real runner again, like myself. I've been rewarded with some beautiful countryside trails, with stunning morning sunshine lighting up the vibrant autumn leaves, with sloshing through rain and mud. My mood generally has drastically improved.

More running = a happier and less stressed me!

So, what happened?

Running Chelmsford marathon a couple of weeks ago was so much harder than it should have been. It was a bit of a wake up call - I realised just how much of an effect not running regularly was having on my race performance, and when I saw the photos of me I realised just how much weight i'd put on too. I was not impressed with myself, especially as I knew that even feeling so disappointed wouldn't make any difference and I still wouldn't be able to make myself do any training. I realised I needed some help and something had to change if I had any chance of doing justice to all the ridiculous races I've entered for next year.

So, I emailed Lindley Chambers from Challenge Running,

I've known Lindley for about three years, have shared some miles with him out on the trail, taken part in lots of his races and he and his other half Maxine looked after me at 120 miles into the Grand Union Canal Race! He's been coaching other runners for a while now, and I thought he might be the man to kick me back into shape and to help me start training again! I've tried coaching before, and it didn't really work for me, but Lindley talked to me in great depth about my running, what I wanted from coaching, how he could help, and how we could make it work. Everything he said made a lot of sense, and so I signed up with Coach Chambers! It really feels very different this time.

Me & Lindley at this year's Saffron Trail

The training plan that Lindley's written for me makes sense, is straightforward, and suits me, and he's agreed not to ask me to cancel my races, but will work with me to help me be the best runner I can while racing as frequently as I do with legs that never really recover! He's been keeping an eye on what I'm doing via my posts on Daily Mile, and has been in very regular contact which was such a motivator for the first few days, and I'm sure will continue to be. I know that if I don't post to say that I've run that morning, he'll be getting in touch to find out why! It's also fantastic to get home after work and not have to worry about having to go for my run because I did it that morning - it's such a relief to have already done it.

So, it seems the wake-up call from Chelmsford, and of course Lindley's guiding influence, is changing me. It's only been a really short time, but out of nowhere I've maintained my commitment to morning runs, rediscovered my enthusiasm and on Sunday had a hugely enjoyable race at the Stort 30 mile event, coincidentally put on by Challenge Running. It helped that I had friends there, that the weather was perfect and the course looked absolutely stunning, but the miles ticked by really quickly and I was disappointed when the race was over. Not sure there are many people who can say that at the end of 30 miles! I was a bit frustrated with my time (5:25) as it was my slowest out of three Stort's I've run - but I know that my pace will start to improve. I love my medal too.

Now I just need to keep the momentum going...but this time I have help. I've been trying for so long to become a better runner and every time I try something new to help my training, I seem to fail after the first blog post! But when I start to lose enthusiasm for the cold and rainy mornings, and I expect I will, I'm confident that this time, Lindley isn't going to let me give up. Maybe this is where my running will really start to get better.