One for the trail - They're here

Happy or Sad...play it loud (Just not at night!)

Olympics Games Maker tips

Good luck to everyone who is being invited for interview for the Olympics Games Maker.

As some of you know I had an interview in early February and honestly it is nothing to worry about. You have been selected for your skills and your life experience, remember:

• Smart Casual
  
• Arrive on time.
• Stress your achievements and why you would make a good volunteer for the role you have been asked to do
  
• Be positive and talk clearly.
• Don't chew gum! :-)

Like everyone I haven't been offered a place yet but they will do there best to put you at ease just be yourself and be very positive

New Kit

I emailed Chris from the Prostate Cancer Charity this week to touch base and have requested a running vest and a collection tin from him as a start towards my endeavours to collect some moneys this month.

I will be running in a few events over the next few weeks for training purposes to get those all important miles into the legs and as time goes on I will be creating a Just Giving Site for donations so watch this space.

Together we can stamp out this horrific disease.

Uuurrrghhh!

Tonight is an official rest day from training and I am just catching up with some admin for College and enjoying the rest from exercise.

That sounds lovely but my legs feel absolutely trashed today, I am aching all around my thighs, hips and my left butt cheek is hurting. It has been like this all day and however I sat in my chair I felt uncomfortable, even my 1.5 mile walk from the station was slightly tender in nature as though pounded by a steak hammer.

I have tried to stretch my legs and hip area but put it down to a reasonably tough run yesterday off the back of a long week, so tonight it is TLC time, a couple of ciders and an early night hopefully allowing my body to recover slightly for tomorrow's run.

4 Marathons in 24 hours

My good ultrarunning friend David (Mr Immune) has taken on a mammoth challenge this year to not just run the Virgin London Marathon once (that would be too simple for David) but to run it FOUR times, yes you read it right dear reader four times!!!

It has been unusual as David and I have both run in his annual "big" challenges over the past few years

2009 - London to Brighton trail run (57 miles)
2010 - Ridgeway Challenge (87 miles)

and now for 2011 he is to run 4 marathons in 24 hours (104.8 miles)

David will be running for the Shooting Star Childrens Hospice and his charity donation page is here

I have other challenges ahead of me this year but to keep the tradition alive we have agreed that I run at least one leg of his 4 marathons and have been offered the third marathon which will be the hardest for him to complete psychologically, I have happily accepted this responsibility.

March on

I have just looked at my training plan and a cold sweat has appeared on my brow as it proves to be an absolute monster month. To start I will have to run 65 miles this week comprising!

Day	Distance (miles)
Monday	0
Tuesday	12
Wednesday	0
Thursday	10
Friday	15
Saturday	0
Sunday	28

Sunday will be hard as I will be running by myself as my training buddy, George, is off racing so will have to hack it out myself

Prostate Cancer Awareness

Prostate Cancer Awareness Month is March 2011

http://www.prostate-cancer.org.uk/

Under tall

I am not making a point of losing weight nor am I too worried about it these days primarily due to the amount of exercise I do. However I do have a habit of weighing myself every week just to see if I am going up or down which is an indicator if I am eating correctly.

I was a little taken aback today when I discovered I have lost 7 pounds (3.2 kg) in the past month. I know this will be a combination of running two races totalling over 80 miles and packing in a heavy schedule even with an increase in the amount of food I eat. I did not have this problem prior to other "big" events last year so I can only put it down to the intensity of my runs. Oh well, yet another thing I should keep an eye on but to reaffirm, I am not too worried just mindful.

Plodding on

So the training continues and during a reasonable ~20 mile trail run today, George and I were discussing our progress and how we have changed over the last 2.5 years since we started this ultrarunning thing.

We have certainly become mentally tougher and unphased about the mileage and George commented that it was amazing how resilient the human body is, which is probably a damning indictment as to how soft we have become in these modern times!

We were talking about some of our club mates who were running in a local half marathon and how some of them were chasing their PBs for the distance which was an interesting as we both agreed that we were no longer in that mindset like we were 2 or so years ago because of the runs we do that are a challenge against yourself and it was near on impossible to compete easily at these runs at the age of 45 years old now especially as family and work have taken presidence. I am happy if a PB comes my way but I am certainly not making it a priority in my life at the moment, going the distance is the important feature.

On a up note, I was really pleased with this week being that it was a Cycle Down week and the fact we had a really strong, consistent trail run with only a bottle and a half of orange squash (cordial) and no food intake, we are getting there, slowly but surely.

One for the trail

I heard this in the car this evening and realised the lyrics were quite poignant for ultrarunning

Don't Give Up
In this proud land we grew up strong
We were wanted all along
I was taught to fight, taught to win
I never thought I could fail

No fight left or so it seems
I am a man whose dreams have all deserted
I've changed my face, I've changed my name
But no one wants you when you lose

Don't give up
'cos you have friends
Don't give up
You're not beaten yet
Don't give up
I know you can make it good...

Night Run - In search of Ghosts

A night run with a difference, this time we are in search of ghosts!

In Kent, England

• Did you know that some of our favourite runs go past scenes of murder and highway robbery and infamous hangings?
• Did you know that some of these places have poltergeist activity, some cause cold spots and spectral aberrations?

This run doesn't promise that you will see a ghost or phantom horses but it will give you a sense of some of the malcontented spirits that hang around the paths and lanes of our local area.

A week earlier than Full Moon but I have tried to fit around race calendars and shift patterns but there will be a beer at a haunted hostelry ;-)

Put it in your diary Saturday 12th March 2011 we meet in Knockholt, Kent, later there will be a beer at a haunted hostelry ;-)

The sidewalks and the street

Great song lyrics were churning around my head tonight as I plodded around the neighbourhood and then I saw the letters Pb, not for Personal Best but as in Lead and how by legs felt as though

The sidewalks and the street
The concrete and the
clay beneath our feet
Begins to crumble....

under my feet as I thumped towards home, stiff legged and not feeling that I had partaken in the most useful of runs but then realised I had knocked out 7 miles in just under an hour. So all is not lost, my legs maybe feeling tired but they are still doing the job they were trained to do.

In a way I am glad this is a natural Cycle Down week in my training plan as it gives me a little time to recover before the next onslaught of mileage!

New Challenge?

This my Dear Readers is possibly going to be my post-GUCR challenge for 2011, more to come as the weeks and months go by but if this is to come off it is going to be a real cracker and I am excited just thinking about it! I have a feeling some of you may know what the race is :-)

MTA: Whoops I have now entered it!!!!

Run, Eat and Sleep

I have just said this to Mrs S "I just seem to run, eat and sleep these days" well at least I normally would.

I have taken this week off having realised that I have a load of leave to use up before the end of March and though this would be the time I can just relax and enjoy myself do the chores and general stuff, however, I have been having really bad sleep at night. I reckon I woke up at least 5 times last night and a similar number the night before.

Today I had to get up and do some run of the mill stuff in the car, collect this, drop that but have been continually hungry but when I have had a break I have found myself fighting the Sleep Monster! Take this evening, I have had a nice Tea and then immediately fallen asleep for 45 minutes.

I have a feeling it is a combination of lecturing on Monday evening that always leaves me wired up for a few hours after and quite an intensive run last evening. I also think that Saturday's run may have taken a little more out of me than I thought it did as I physically felt fine afterwards but my body is telling me something.

So I may have an early night tonight as we have the plumber coming first thing in the morning but I really want to go for a reasonably good run as well to try and blow these cobwebs out of me.

Mr Unpopular

As this blog is titled I do like to report on my Trials and Tribulations especially if connected with running and tonight was no different.

I had left my shoes on the side after the Moonlight Challenge and hadn't quite taken into account the amount of mud that was covering them and was now receiving complaints from Mrs S about the state of them. I decided that there was only one thing to do and that was to wash them off in the utility room sink and pored some water into the sink and started to scrub away.

I was slightly amazed to find under two lumps of mud there were a pair of running shoes and they indeed look very clean, that said there was a rather brown sludge in the sink but like an idiot pulled the plug.......

....and there the water remained, not budging an inch. I thought to myself "No problems, I'll get the sink plunger" but I can't find it so now I have a few hardened stares from Mrs S across the living room a blocked sink but beautifully clean running shoes!

Moonlight Challenge 2011 - Race Report

This is a story of mud, rain and trashed feet, this is a course which changes every year from sun baked, parched earth to wet, muddy the next.

The plan was for Andy and Matt from my club to meet up at my house at about 3.30pm for a 3.45pm start to get to Marshside, Canterbury in Kent. Google stated a 75 minute drive but the miles seemed to eaten up quickly with one hour of running talk and race tactics. This was a run of personal best challenges, Matt to get to 20 miles, Andy to go ultra and me to beat my course record.

We arrived quite early which was really good as we managed to get a good parking space in the adjoining car park to the pub where the race started.

The Course

The course is 6.55 miles in length and comprises, concrete, tarmac, cinder and grass track roads or paths. We are required to run as many laps as we wish to a maximum recorded 5, some of the runners are happy with 4 laps to make the marathon whilst there is the usual bunch who want to do the full distance.

The first part of the evening was to meet up and catch up with old running mates from previous runs, meet new ones and have the usual pre-race banter but then as the time went on and the race start closer it got a little quieter as kit preparation took precedence and more sober talk of the weather and mud. I was really pleased to see barefoot runners who were going ultra.

We were soon called the start line for a race briefing with some health and safety thrown in for good measure which always amuses me, we were about to go out in the middle of a marsh with headtorches for up to 8 hours!

The Race

Andy, Matt and I found our own places in the crowd as we all stood outside the pub ready for the off, we were to await a firework to go bang which seem to take an age and then BOOM, a large cheer and we thundered down the road ready to get onto the track.

I was feeling pretty strong and I got into a natural rhythm quite quickly on 7 mph, possible a little fast but I wanted to get through the dreaded mud section as quickly as possible as it would soon to turn horrific. The first lap of this course is also the one to be careful as it takes quite a while for the pack to thin out and it is not always easy to see the route ahead as there are so many torches flashing everywhere.

I got through the first lap in just under an hour, similarly lap 2 in an hour but then decided to pull off the gas as the muddy section was now quickly turning in to the consistency of wet concrete and it was very easy to slip as I was to see with so many runners now covered in mud where they had swan dived.

Throughout this first 2 hours the rain drizzled continually making causing water drops to collect on my torch and drip. I was really pleased with my kit choice of long-sleeved top, short sleeved top and my OMM Kamleika smock as I was toasty warm and dry, my hat was even put in my back pack.

Lap three complete I popped into the tent for a cup of coffee from my flask and to grab a couple of carb gels and grab a new bottle of water and was out with in 5 minutes ready to crack on into the next lap. This lap was probably the worst psychologically as it was the run up to the arbitrary marathon distance and the fact that I had to walk about 1.5 miles of it as I found the mud section and the grassy section treacherous underfoot but was pleased with the break as it made the dryer sections better to run on at speed.

On my return to the pub I saw the happy face of Matt who had just completed his ~20 miles, his longest run. I grabbed a cup of tea (my own green tea and lemon) which raised my spirits and I heard Matt say "You are not stopping are you?" which was both a question and an instruction which spurred me on to get straight out (Thanks Matt)

I was on fire now as my pace picked up and the thought of one more lap made me think of it as a short run which was further boosted as I saw and passed other runners which I was lapping. I was now looking forward to the muddy section as it gave me a chance to greet and joke with the runners coming in the opposite direction. That soon over I was on the return trip with 3 miles to go and I was really pleased to see that I was going to get my course PB even if I walked it so was spurred into action passing more runners on the home stretch.

The last mile is cinder and tarmac, I was now a man with a mission, all I wanted was dry clothes and a BIG bowl of pasta soup and there it was the pub, I was home in 5:51 beating my prvious time by 13 minutes even in the horrific conditions.

Post-race

After having a chat with Matt I excused myself to do my admin and soon got changed into dry clothes and had a few cups of tea and an enormous bowl of pasta/potato/tomato soup with a roll. A feast for Kings and Queens.

Andy soom came in with and enormous grin on his face both of a brilliant accomplishment and possibly relief. Great effort by all....a brilliant night of adventure running

Back from the Moonlight Challenge

A little tired to give a report of the event but this was a great night for all involved, I went with two friends from my club and all three of us got a Personal Best for the evening either in distances or in time.

Conditions were horrendous in parts, that is what makes our personal victories that little sweeter.

More in a later post

The Moonlight Challenge

It is quite extraordinary that the Moonlight Challenge seems to attract such a group of people; there are people training for Marathon Des Sable, charity runners, runners going for their first ultra distance run, me up for a training run to raise my weekend runs as I approach GUCR and no doubt a few wanting to race.

Most of all, what I love about these events is the pre-race preparation of the Facebook and Twitter banter, what kit we are all going to wear and the age old question of what shoes to wear.

In the Moonlight Challenge there is only one thing to do, wear layers, eat loads, drink when you can and keep moving, however muddy it is. I have no idea about time, afterall I have been cracking the miles out of late and still in recovery from the Thames Trot 2 weeks ago but will take it as it comes.

My race box is packed as best it can be and will look forward to the event...it is going to be a muddy one :-)

Not quite a taper run!

The plan tonight was:

1. Tape up heel, best practice now.
2. Nice Easy 10km
3. Heart rate down
4. Enjoy the run and be back in 50 minutes

It didn't go as planned though; I left the house and trundled out towards my 10km set piece and was a mile in when I saw 3 figures running towards me, 2 I immediately recognised by their gait, Kevin and George, the third, a new guy Andy. Greeting them I made the decision to join them with no idea where they were going although I could easily turn around at 5km to go home.

I actually was enjoying the chat with Kevin and chose to stay with him at his pace at the front and then realised I was 4 miles from home so slowed down to say my farewells to George and Andy to which Kevin said "Phew we can go at a slower pace now!" Oooppss, there was me thinking I was going at Kevin's pace where in fact we were working off each other.

I went off a side street and alley to go cross country back to my house, the mud horrific but not impossible as I finally reached the door. I soon realised that I had run 8 miles in 67 minutes....not exactly Easy pace but I felt really comfortable with it.

Heel taping held up but may add some more padding so that it holds up to 30+ miles on Saturday though.

Moonlight Challenge 2011 (part deux)

The countdown is on for the Moonlight Challenge on Saturday and I am secretly really looking forward to it.

In a way I quite like the idea that it is billed as a challenge, no prizes just the chance to run in a safe off road environment around marshes on farm tracks and fields. The route starts at a pub where there will be a marquee to put our kit and drop bags and takes us on a 6.55 mile lap with a drinks station every 3 miles so there is almost no need to carry water as it can be kept back at the starting area.

There will be about 100 people running or walking the course and we have to complete 5 laps. within 8 hours. More during the week but this is going be a training run for me so there is no taper from me although the runs in the weekdays will be shorter that is because I want to be fresh for Saturday night