Race Day Part Ten - My Reflections on the three months up to and including the Race To The Stones race

What prompted me to write about the whole experience of training for my first ever ultra was the lack of blogs that mentioned their training in the run up to doing the Race To The Stones race in the past - I could find plenty that were about the race itself but not how they trained for it.

Being a new challenge, and for most people including myself, a distance in the realms of madness, gave me all the enthusiasm to stick to a training plan, and not hit a training wall - when I trained for my first marathon, I hit that training wall about two weeks before the race, and as soon as I completed the race I didn't run again for nine months, due to being exhausted trying to balance home, work and training.

It was a great talking point at work, where I am surrounded by colleagues who are physically active, doing cycling, running, triathlons, iron mans, and white collar boxing.
Even these people thought it was an exceptional challenge to do, and one referred to it as the "Death Run" - although he would have had to pick all my work if that were to come true....

Training, whether it is for an ultra, a 5k, or another sporting event should be about making mistakes, so that on race day you don't make those mistakes - anyone who has perfect training is missing the point.
As an example, one of my disasters was getting lost the first time I did a run in the Halvergate Marshes, to the point I ended up in the middle of a locally notorious single-carriage stretch of road known as the Acle Straight - this definitely taught me to more aware of the signs, and knowing my route.

I did all of my early morning training as fasted training sessions, with the exception being the Sunday long run where I would run fasted for about 90-120 minutes before starting to take on food.
This approach is something I will continue for future events, as it does teach your body to manage on what it already has.

I discovered a love of doing long runs in the countryside off-road, and this is something I want to continue doing - what I need to do is plan in advance doing these run/walks as otherwise the Wherrymans Way route will be my only option, and that was getting a bit samey near the end of the training.

I lost a stone in weight and hit my lowest weight in about 20 years - I had two "aspirational" shirts hanging up that I bought about two years ago in a sale and are of a slim fit style - both were worn comfortably on the week back on work after the race.

As for race day itself, the key thing I would do differently is be less cautious when it came to what I was capable of, particularly in the first half of the race.   The second half I discovered I could run a lot more uphill and downhill, and it was less strain than trying to speed walk - I had not done any speed walking training and so those muscles were not ready but my running muscles were.
To be fair to myself, it was my first ultra and so being cautious was sensible but if there is a next time, I will be more confident of what I am capable of.
It was a very well organised race, hence the cost is noticeably more than a standard 100k ultra race - you are pampered with Aid stations every six miles allowing you to stock up on food, water, and go to the loo (without the need to find a secluded place along the race route) - it also encouraged a wide range of running and walking abilities, so again unlike most ultras, it's cut-off times were very generous.

This year circumstances fell perfect for me to do this race, so I took the opportunity that presented itself.  Next year it may not be possible but if the "planets do align" again then I will seek to do a new challenge, maybe the Norfolk Ultra, or a new race by the RTTS organisers called Race To The King which is a mere 52 miles, or something entirely different - maybe I might take on doing a solo non-race of walking/running the whole of the Wherrymans Way from Norwich to Great Yarmouth (about 45 miles) - the choices out there are endless.

The blog will continue, as I have currently two races to do this year (10k road race end of August, and half-marathon in November), and whilst I have enjoyed a break from running since the race, I intend to re-start this weekend.

I hope you enjoyed my blogs about the Race To The Stones over the last three or so months, and here's to new adventures going forward.

Race Day Part Nine

With nightfall, I packed away the IPad I had ran with in my hand for over 14 hours.

It was at this stage fuelled by the sugar in my tea, and a determination to go for it, I choose to run in the dark with my head torch and hand torch - the running beast was unleashed!

A number of walkers were surprised to find someone running past them but they always cheered me on as I flew like someone possessed up and down the trail.  The "pedestrian" lady particularly shouted lots of encouraging support as I passed her.

Mid-way in this stage, I would pass the first of two pairs of power-walkers, the first being two unsociable women.  The second pair were male, built like the proverbial brick outhouse, and almost certainly army types - again unsociable, and I would play leapfrog for about two miles as the route got technical in places, including a jammed gate that meant you needed to climb over it but eventually I would pass them for a final time as the terrain became like my Wherryman's Way training runs, and that was the last I would see of them, as I picked up the pace into the last Aid station before the end.

Again I had hot cup of tea with a large spoonful of sugar, grabbed some grub, and started on the last seven-ish miles, which continued with nice terrain to start with, then it turned into very stony ground where I needed to make a stop to empty tiny stone chips from my shoes - always interesting trying to balance on one leg whilst doing this in the dark having run about 57 miles ......

After few miles of this stony ground I was really hoping for better terrain but with 2.5 miles to go, I would have to endure nearly two miles of the worst terrain ever - I can only describe it as if a large tractor or monster truck had churned up the path and it had set rock solid - completely un-runnable, and barely walkable.

Eventually after forever, I got pass this and could hear music from the finish but before this you run into Avebury, run past the turning to the finish for there is a loop to the Avebury Stones, which at 2.30am in pretty much darkness is hard to see - I was going to head back at 5am for the sunrise but the heavens opened at 4am.

With the loop done, I headed to the finish line, stopped half a km from the end to strip off the mid-layer, so for any finish line photo, I could have my race number visible - as it was, there was no photo taken but a dozen people cheered me over the line at 2.40am, some 18 hours and 40 minutes after I had started.

I collected my luggage bag, and headed for the showers where I would be for 40 minutes as I forgot to get the tie cut on my zips for the luggage.  I spent 15 minutes stark naked trying to bust the zips, which I eventually did.

I had a final hot cup of tea with sugar, along with a chilli hot dog with all the trimmings, something I thoroughly enjoyed both.

The "pedestrian" women came in about 2.5hrs after me, and we congratulated each other.

I spent most of the next three hours chatting cheerfully to the female medic, with the endorphins crashing about about an hour before we left on the scheduled bus back to the start of the race.

On the bus I met an amazing women who completed the whole 100k, pulling a car tyre behind her, and this was not her first, as she had done many ultras and marathons pulling this tyre.

With no sleep in 27 hours, I drove the 20 minutes back to my hotel including 10 minutes on the motorway before getting about 4.5 hours sleep.

Having woke up, I decided the need for a cappuccino outweighed any sleep needs, so I shuffled the steep inclinations that passed as roads to the shopping centre where I did indeed get a cappuccino, a hot panini, and a cheesecake.

When you've run 100km and had just 4.5hours you will also look this knackered.......

I will do one update on the Race to the Stones, which will be my summary of reflections about the experience.

Race Day Part Eight

This was the start of a long ascent that I ran most of.

Eventually there was a sharp descent before I came out into civilisation.

I could have done with a curry....

By road, it is 5 miles until you get to the motorway but....

Half a mile along a busy A road, some of which had no grass verge to run along, we would get to....

The bridge over that motorway....

As you can see, dusk was upon me, and it would be about half an hour before nightfall.  I was convinced that I could get to the next Aid station but I had forgotten to note the distance of this stage and I was unsure how far I had travelled this stage as well.

Time is running out on whether I could get to the next Aid Station before needing to get torches out.

Horses...shortly after this I came across a bench, and here I stopped to add a mid-layer and get the head and hand torch out.

The last photo on race day.  At this Aid Station I had a cup of tea with a large spoonful of sugar - the most wonderful thing ever.  I am now 14 miles away from the end.

I bumped into the "pedestrian" lady who had taken some of my advice to run whilst it was cooler ahead of nightfall. Hence she had remained ahead of me up despite me running, and again left the Aid station well ahead of me.

Race Part Seven

The photo is a bit darker than it was at this stage, probably because it angled downhill - a sharp descent that some cyclists were struggling up - one where you needed to control how fast you went down it,

There was a path off the course to the Uffington White Horse but I had decided to push on as I wanted to cover as much distance as possible before night fall.

There was a steep descent just before this that I flew down as part of a good running section for me.

The cheap non-prescription sunglasses were replaced with my prescription normal glasses, knowing that dusk would hit at some point during the next stage.

Race Day Part Six

The above photo is a view back towards the camp.  As I mentioned in my last post, I was mainly walking to start with, due to allowing the sandwich time to settle but the views were great if like me you love the countryside.

The terrain had mainly been smooth roads and then directly after that sign, the path turned very rocky and stony.

To add to the "fun" I caught up to a female runner who was talking loudly on her mobile whilst walking - I would have to put up with this for about 15 minutes.

Blessed relief as I completed this short stage.

Socks were changed again, and I caught up with the "pedestrian" who was leaving this Aid station just as I got there.

Race minus 6 days - Last training run of note completed, and Planning for the Big Day

Keeping in the spirit of last week's "reverse" run, I ran along the river from Reedham to Cantley.

It is clear summer was here, as at Reedham I saw boats moored, and their occupants enjoying the 20 degree sun, plus I passed a walker along the river, and just as I got to Cantley I was passed by a runner(!) who without a rucksack and longer legs breezed past me.

I tested out some cheap curved sunglasses I had purchased for a £5 in "Pri-Mar-Che", and the fact they were not prescription was no issue, although after 2+ hours they made the skin sore - I will try and wear them in a bit this week for the final two runs.

I had decided that I would run for two hours and then walk for an hour, so I could get that experience as on the day, it is highly unlikely I can run the whole route, and walking briskly requires slightly different muscle usage.

As expected, I did the target 10 miles in the first two hours, and covered another two miles in just over 34 minutes.  I then did a quick test to see if I could get the usual running speed, and it was no problem - if anything I was going faster.....

The key thing is to avoid stoppages where possible, and keep moving irrespective of it being a brisk walk or a run - two weeks when I ran to Great Yarmouth and caught the train back showed clearly that even within 30 minutes of inactivity, it becomes impossible to get those legs running again.

With just two easy three milers left on Tuesday and Wednesday, I now need to focus on making sure I have the kit I need for the big day.
For the Rucksack, I have broken up my requirements into four groups;
1) First Aid - Sun Cream, Bite/Sting Relief Cream, Hand Gel, Plasters, Paracetamol/Ibuprofen, my medication, Wipes - the last three I need to get.
2) Clothing - Spare running socks (3 Pairs), Waterproof Top, Mid-Layer Top, Gloves, Head Torch, Hand Torch, Spare Batteries - All sorted except Hand Torch, which a friend will lending me one of his collection.
3) Food and Drink - Two full water bottles, and Back-up Food (Jelly Babies and Salted Nuts/Trail Mix) - Jelly Babies sorted as are water bottles - just need to get some Nuts.
4) Other - Fully Charged Mobile Phone, Normal Prescription Glasses, Shuttle Booking details, IPad.  Yes, I am taking my IPad with me, so I can photograph the scenery, and as such it is likely to be in my hand a lot.
I have supermarket plastic bags to triple-bag everything as the rucksack is not waterproof but I knew that when I bought it.

I have also drawn up a list of stuff for the handover luggage bag that will be transferred from Lewknor to Avebury which will have Change of Clothes, Wash Bag, Towel, Toothbrush and Toothpaste, Sleeping Bag, a Pillow, and my shuttle booking (7am on Sunday) back to Lewknor.

The next thing I need to do is decide what route to take from Norwich to Lewknor on Friday , where I have a hotel booking.  whilst M11-M25-M40 is the quickest route, it apparently has lousy service stations after the M11, so I may well do A14-M1-M25-M40, or given I have plenty of time to get there, avoid M25 altogether and go for something for scenic.

My Approach To Training For My First Ultra

One of my work colleagues was enquiring about my whole approach to training for the Ultra, not just about my running but my recording of food eaten on MyFitnessPal, so I thought I should share my answer in case it is of interest to anyone else.

In terms of my four to five runs a week I do them first thing in the morning typically starting at about 5.30am to 6.30am, and I do them having not eaten anything, known as a fasted run.

The reason I do this is based on forcing my body to learn how to burn it's carbs and fat stores more efficiently, so on race day when I do fuel up pre-race, and depending on distance top up at regular intervals, it learns to make the efficient use of the fuel I provide - that's the theory and based on the recent Sunday long runs, I am mastering the ability to keep sufficiently topped up so I do bonk late in the run.

The exercise aspect is only one part of my approach, with the other being how much and what I eat each day, and for that I use MyFitnessPal to help keep me on the straight and narrow.

A typical mid-week running day, I allow 1800 calories plus the calories earned from the run, which seems to be about 700 to 900 calories.

When I get back from my run, I have a cup of milk then a large bowl of cereal, typically muesli but currently Shreddies (as they need using them up) with a similar amount of milk = 500 calories.

Lunch will be soup and roll, salad with cheese or some meat, or last night's dinner leftovers, so anything from 400 to 600 calories.

During the day, snacks will be mainly fruit based, such as banana, apple(s), pear, orange etc plus breakfast bar style food = upwards to 500 calories.

Dinner will be about 800 calories.

Total = 500 + 600 + 500 + 800 = 2400 calories based on the maximums.  Given my "allowance" is 1800 + 700 = 2500, then it is all about right, and typically I will be 200 to 300 calories each of these days.

I eat less on non-running days with Monday being an exception as the Sunday long run makes me very hungry the following day, so I tend to merge Sunday and Monday together.

I hope this makes sense.

Rose-tinted glasses for off-road running were removed today

This morning I was up at 5.30 am, and 20 minutes I was doing my five mile off-road fasted run on the local farm fields, although I picked a new one to do as it looked like common land.
It had a downward slope to the back of the land, and naturally I picked up pace only to run into a very grassy area where it was as much stinging nettles as there were grass......ouch.

Other than that it was a decent run, and I did it with the backpack, that I had slung some clothing into to give it some weight but not too much.

The real test is to repeat it tomorrow at 5.30 am and then again on Thursday morning.


Yesterday, according to Garmin Connect (Exercise) and My Fitness Pal (Food eaten), I consumed 1751 calories out of an target 1840 but in addition the 10,000 steps meant I had burnt an additional 208 calories, so I was under my target by just under 300 calories.

Today it is currently (with no intention to eat more before bed) 2490 calories consumed  so 650 over target but because I ran 5 miles, I am allowed an extra 775 calories plus another 80 for steps walked, so I am under target by 200 calories.
It should noted that I resisted temptation to eat a fresh cream cake at work, only because a colleague reminded me of my challenge to not eat cakes, otherwise it would have been well over target......

The Last Big Long Run Before The Black Dog

Because the Black Dog Marathon is only two weeks away, I needed to get the longest last run out of the way, so yesterday I got up and did 18 miles using the fasted approach.

I recently listened to the Talk Ultra podcast where their training section was talking about the need to run in a fasted state, and to not fuel up until you effectively have exhausted your body reserves.  Up until this I had been pre-loading with a banana, refuelling at regular intervals which meant I was never forcing my body to learn to fat burn.

The run was surprisingly easy for the first 12 miles but gradually after that the need for run-walking became more and more, and miles 17 and 18 were really tough but I was determined to get to 18miles no matter what.

The next run will be on Monday when I aim to clock up 10 miles.