Week Eleven

Monday - 8 miles
Tuesday - 8 miles
Saturday - 4 hours (22 miles)

Sunday - 1 hour 30 minutes (8.5 miles)

It's been a busy week!  On Monday I went out for a quick run after work - the aim was to get all my mileage done early in the week so I could have a rest before the weekend.  It worked quite well - I ran it at marathon pace, doing an extended Thames loop.   I'm running out of interesting views to take photos of on that loop - I feel like I've taken all of them - then I spotted this rather lovely view of Tower Bridge from Old Billingsgate.

On Tuesday night I went to Midnight Runners for the first time in weeks - it's been really tough to get there because of work, but I had a late start on Wednesday so I thought I'd take advantage.  It was a lovely evening and nice to see some familiar faces!  If you click on the photo and look closely I'm standing slightly right of centre....

Photo credit: Máté Fülöp

It was the usual circuit with plenty of body weight exercises and a quite ridiculous number of squats!  I took this photo on the way home, halfway across Millenium Bridge as it was looking really beautiful with the full moon.  

For the next two days my legs ached and I couldn't understand why as I felt I hadn't really run all that far.   I was even struggling to get up stairs... I started to wonder whether I had somehow picked up some sort of weird delayed injury.... The penny finally dropped on Thursday that it was probably all the squats. Oh yeah... that'd do it.  Needless to say they have probably strengthened some muscle that needed a bit of work so I'm glad I did it!

I had the rest of the week off then went back to Horsham on Friday night.  I went into my room to collect my kit to find this awaiting me:

My mum had stayed in my room during the week and laid out all my kit like this, I burst out laughing and called the assembled company for a good giggle.  Being bonkers obviously runs in the family!

Friday was World Sleep Day - I know this because there was an event at work with lots of info about getting a good night's sleep.  This amused me greatly!   I'd been advised by George back when we set up my training programme that I should try to replicate the conditions of the actual ultra as closely as possible during training, and that included one run where I had to get up and run at 3am....

The lovely Toby had volunteered to come and accompany me as I was a bit nervous about roaming the country lanes of Sussex on my own at 3am, and to take the sting out of it he had booked us into a rather lovely hotel.  It was quite sad having to go to bed early but we did and after 4 hours sleep, the alarm went off at 2am.  When I picked up my phone to turn it off, I found this text:

 

which really made me smile!  Thanks Giulia!  We got up and I went through the motions - preparing electrolytes, eating porridge, putting my kit on.  I called room service and they brought me coffee at 2.45am - they must've thought I'd lost my marbles.  Toby had brought his folding bike and was busily getting ready also.  I'd planned a route and we were ready to set off.  Toby had bought special mega-watt lights for the bike and I was all kitted out in head torch and flashing back light.  It was actually kind of spooky running at that time.  We ran the first 5km listening to the sounds of the countryside... we saw bunnies, heard owls and saw deer run across the road ahead of us.  Later an enormous rat scurried alongside us for 100m or so.  It was pretty amazing.

A couple of hours passed.  I'd downloaded a cheesy 80's playlist for when the going got tough so we put that on and stormed along blasting out Kylie, Abba and Rick Astley.  Music always helps get through my marathons and it cheered us both up.  We got into Horsham proper by the time it was getting light.  Toby was completely amazing - keeping me company, putting up with my rambling, and not objecting to going on a four hour cycle ride at 2 o'clock in the morning.  What a star.

We were at the 30k mark when I realised that the route I'd planned was about to start featuring some pretty beastly hills.  I failed to take any photos that actually capture that in any way but trust me it was pretty rough.  There was a lot of walking involved...  I discovered later there had been 269m of ascent - almost all of it in the last 5k.  Go me and my amazing route planning skills!

After four hours we were back at the hotel and we had a lovely bath, an amazing breakfast and an hour's nap.  I had another hour's sleep that afternoon, but was still feeling pretty knackered by the evening.  That night I looked at my Garmin and I had done almost 50,000 steps.  I'd normally go and walk round a bit to get a nice round number but I was so exhausted that I just couldn't be bothered!  Instead I went to bed early and had an epic 10-hour kip!

Sunday morning I just needed to do 1.5 hours so a nice trail run was in order.  I set off on my usual route into the forest but as I headed into the normally deserted part, I could see a load of vans parked in the field.  As I got closer I discovered there was a motocross event happening.  It was busier than I could ever imagine somewhere so isolated being and incredibly LOUD!

Even once I got into the normal bit of the forest I could still hear the revving of engines!  It has dried out a lot since I last ran this route and was as pretty as ever - thoroughly enjoyed myself today.  Lots more hills but because it was so short it only added up to 121 metres of ascent this time.

 Finally a bit of stats geekery...  My Garmin keeps track of how many times I use my trainers so that I know when they're coming to the end of their useful life.  Astonishingly, this is the record for my new black ultra trainers, which I've had less than a month.  180km in six runs - wow!  They're earning their keep!

 

I also found this which shows how many steps and km I've done over the past 4 weeks.  500km a month, 21,800 steps a day on average.  I feel like I will never see numbers like this ever again!  I only have one more week of really hardcore training coming up before I start tapering off so I thought I would share!

People have continued to donate very generously to my cause - thank you all so much.  I'm delighted to report that I'm only £270 away from reaching my target with five weeks to go before the ultra.  Every donation counts and so please do consider donating if you can, the page is here: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/marathonmadness.  Much appreciated! xxx

Week Ten

Tuesday - 3 miles
Wednesday - 15 miles
Saturday - 3.5 hours (20 miles)

My first run this week was with Toby, who has not run properly since his knee problems started but since having physio has been much improved.  I suggested we run 5k together, but after 3k he was struggling and suggested he walk back while I continue.  In typical unreasonable fashion, I declined, and insisted we keep running as, "it's all in your head" and "if it's not a stabbing pain, you don't need to stop".  He suggested we stop at Millenium Bridge and walk from there.  I declined again: "You've almost done it now, it'll be worth it afterwards".  To my delight, he did me proud and finished the job.  His knee was OK afterwards, his physio is pleased and he did another 5k today (Sunday).  Which is good because we have signed up to do a marathon together!  We are off to Tromsø in Norway in June to do the Midnight Sun marathon - one of the ones I've always wanted to do, yippee!

Because I did such a short distance on Tuesday, I knew I'd have to do extra later in the week to make up the mileage.  On Wednesday I did an 8-4 shift on placement so I was home early enough that it was still light.  This was too much of a gift to miss so I headed out on an evening 15-miler incorporating quite a few major landmarks!

Top row: Battersea Park lake, view towards Albert bridge
Middle row: Albert memorial (Hyde Park), Speaker's Corner (Hyde Park)
Bottom row:  Big Ben, South Bank

This has been another exhausting week at placement and the last thing I felt like doing was getting up at 7am on Saturday morning for another long run,  but obviously I did it anyway.

It was a slow route, pootling round lots of familiar bits of Horsham.  Midway through, I found myself running in the wrong direction through the local Parkrun (not recommended!)

When I got home I was eating a Clif bar and Iz asked me what it was.  I explained that it was a snack with lots of carbohydrates in it and that this one (oatmeal/raisin/walnut) is my favourite.  Unfortunately it is really difficult to get hold of and most running shops don't stock it, so I have to sneak into the most hostile and unpleasant environments to source them..... (cycling shops!  Hiss!!!)

That reminded me that my favourite gels (High5 banana) are also impossible to find so I have to buy them by the box from the internet.  Literally nowhere stocks these bad boys.  They taste like foam bananas and I love them more than any other gel.  Iz thought I was being a bit of a princess because all my favourites are obscure and nowhere sells them... I don't know what to say to that!  Maybe I just have exclusive tastes!!!

On Sunday, my training plan said I needed to do some other cross-training.  I'd already planned that I was going to take my new rollerblades out for a spin with Iz but as it was forecast to rain we made an early start.  It was great fun and I took to them quite quickly and we rolled around the South Bank for a couple of hours.  It was all going really well until I went over a bump in the pavement and landed pretty heavily on my arse - I expect I'm going to have a pretty major bruise as it's still sore 10 hours later.  I have to say rollerblading is amazingly good fun though....

...even if the fun police are trying to stop us!

Hope you're all having a lovely week, the next couple of weekends feature interesting runs so do come back next week to read about the latest insanity.  Sponsor the madness here:  http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/marathonmadness Thank you so much to everyone who already has, you are all wonderful people xx

Week Nine

Saturday - 4 hours at heart rate zone 3 (21 miles)

Sunday - 3 hours 30 minutes (22 miles)

This week, I've discovered I can only do one of these two options: run or socialise.  I chose socialise, and running just didn't happen.  It has coincided with a busy week at placement - actually that's every week! - and I've discovered I really can't have it all.

Monday was a planned day off and I went for drinks with Toby at Oxo.  Tuesday I finished work late and then went to the Nutrition Society pub quiz.  Wednesday I was planning to run, but I was invited for dinner at Nando's with friends from uni and then it was dark and rainy so I abandoned it.  Thursday I finished work late then went for an amazing massage with the lovely Emma on a boat*.  Friday I went for after-work drinks with placement people then drunkenly bought a McDonalds (!) and ate it on the train back to Horsham.  Probably not a typical ultra runner's training diary, eh? 

*Emma is still training as a massage therapist, but she is a total pro and it really was one of the best massages I've ever had.  The boat is amazing and really close to the City.  As soon as her website is up and running I will be totally recommending her services, you won't regret it!

 

On Friday evening I started having doubts about whether I could still run.  It's very unlike me to have an unscheduled day off, let alone two, and I was worried I'd screwed it up entirely.  Objectively I know this isn't the case - I missed some training runs last year too - but in my head I was dreading Saturday's long run and was quite fearful that I'd made a terrible mistake.

Saturday's run was a 4 hour heart rate run.  I'd also planned to trial having savoury snacks instead of gels for the first time.  Ultra runners tend to eat savoury foods as sugar gets too sickly.  Someone once told me that ultras are like a really long picnic with some running inbetween!  I'm planning to have savoury foods in the backwards section of the marathon and then gels in the forward section and as ever it's important to trial everything beforehand. 

I set my alarm for 7.30am and set about making my picnic.  I made crisp sandwiches and cheese sandwiches (on white bread with the crusts cut off for ease of digestion), a bag of pretzels and some roasted cashews.  I loaded up my Camelbak with a litre of electrolytes and strapped on all my kit.

 The run was surprisingly easy.  The pace was slow, often having to stop and walk to stay below HR 135, especially on the uphills.  I headed out on the same route as last week, but decided on a whim to just carry on out into the countryside rather than looping back to Horsham as it was a nice day and I was enjoying the views.  This was a good idea as it just got prettier and prettier.  

I ran past a pub with this sign which made me laugh out loud so I stopped to take a photo:

At the end I checked and I'd managed 21 miles with an average heart rate of 132 - not bad!  Impressively, I had run at almost exactly the same pace as my previous heart rate run, but that one had an average heart rate of 139 and was 9km shorter, so I must be getting fitter.   The savoury snacks were also a raging success - it really did feel like a sort of running picnic, especially as I was snacking on a mini sandwich or a handful of pretzels every 20 minutes or so towards the end.  I was amazed that I never felt that I was running out of energy, it seems that the need to rely on gels is a bit of a myth.  Hmm.

 Today I needed to do another 3.5 hours with Horsham Joggers.  They were only doing 15 miles so I ran to the start point, which adds on an extra 3 miles.  I knew the weather was going to be bad but it was absolutely horrific - torrential rain forecast all morning.  I was soaked before we'd even started...  these photos don't really do it justice...

  One of the great things about Horsham Joggers is that the run organiser drives their car around the course, stopping 2 or 3 times to provide aid stations.  When you arrive, the boot is already open and loaded with snacks and drinks for eager runners to consume before the next leg.  It breaks up the runs and allows you to catch up with the people in front, and is always a welcome sight!  This week the organiser's wife had baked three different types of flapjacks which were all delicious (I know because I tried them all)! 

The weather continued to be unpredictable.  Beautiful sunshine, followed by further torrential downpours.  The rain had also created a few GIANT puddles - this was one of three we had to wade through:

I was running with Nigel (pictured above), who runs at pretty much exactly my speed, and we were both having a good day today and kept up a cracking pace.  I was astonished I was feeling fine after 21 miles yesterday, but it was all good and I'd completed 18 miles in 2:45.  As I still needed to make up another 45 minutes, I ran a longer route home, which unfortunately turned out to be very muddy.  I was on the phone to Toby when I discovered this, so he was treated to a barrage of swearing as my precious new trainers sunk into the wet grass: 

Oh well.  Hopefully it'll come off.  

In the end I managed 22 miles, so a mile further than yesterday in 30 minutes less time!  This was mostly because the heart rate restriction had been lifted, but I also credit having 2 unscheduled days off which gave my muscles some extra recovery time, the massage on Thursday, and perhaps also I'm getting fitter.  Even I'm pretty impressed I ran 43 miles in two consecutive days (only 9 miles short of the ultra distance).  In a few weekends' time I have some even longer back-to-back runs so this has done wonders for my confidence. 

That's all for this week - as ever you can sponsor me here - and hopefully next week will look a bit more normal on the training front!