Training Log Archive: KingTim

OMM Day 2.

We decided to bail out. No injuries, just not up for doing another near-marathon without being able to run. John was suffering with bad wankles and arse, and I just wan't really feeling it this year. Mind was on other things and I was quite happy to settle with what we'd done.

Event: Original Mountain Marathon
 

Dartmoor, starting at Okehampton Camp.

Laura very kindly bought me a nice new Inov8 sack especially for this weekend, so my pack weight was reduced by 300g (total weight 5.3kg plus tent pegs and poles).

Nothing particularly challenging, apart from the length. Nav was very easy, visibility was perfect, controls were hung in very easy places. A lot more track/road running than one would expect or like in a mountain marathon.

Our strategy from the start was to not go off too fast, and to try to pace ourselves for the 27 or so miles.

After about 3 hours John wanted to show me his walking that he's been practicing for the last few weeks. He seemed pretty good at it so that's what we did for the next four hours.

Finished 19th which we were both pleased with considering the lack of running we'd done.

Just found this cycling article on the Guardian website. Amazing. I was chuckling out loud in the office. Anyone who cycles can relate to most of it I'm sure.

C • Which one are you? 2

The new BOK Klub night at Coombe Dingle. Rather than the organised 30 min score around the sports pitches, the Team Monday boys and girl went off for a trot around Blaise. Mark & Hanne, Keith, and Charles.

Another proper cold morning. Just the sort of morning you'd want to wake up to find that there is no hot water or heating because all the water in the system had drained out through the thermostatic radiator valves, which opened themselves overnight, and into the upstairs floorboards after having removed two radiators so that the plasterer can do his thing on the wall behind. Just the sort of morning you'd want to spend 5 minutes trying to fill the boiler and heating system back up, all the while the water you're charging the system with is just pouring unnoticed straight of said radiator valve and into the bedroom flooring.

Just me and the Marks tonight, from our gaff. Hilly loop around Blaise, then Kingsweston, Shirehampton golf curse, Trym valley, Blaise golf course. As it's the OMM at the weekend I ran with a full pack.

Around Cribbs, around airfield, Southmead, Badock's wood. Legs aching from yesterday.

...and I thought yesterday was cold. 2 degrees this morning. Full leg cover was required.

C • 2?! 6

...and of course I boiled on the ride home.

Left Bristol in bright light, with the promise of a calm, dry race with a stunning sunset backdrop. Crossed the Avonmouth Bridge into a heavy black cloud and torrential rain which continued right up to race time.

Fortunately the rain stopped after 5 mins of the race.

9 seconds slower than last time. Mustn't grumble.

First half: 14:15
Second: 14:20

C • Good effort 2

Before and after the race.

Jeez it's cold this morning.

Just about made this in daylight. A lovely cold light evening. The usual loop around Blaise, Kingsweston, Shitehampton golf course, Mariner's Path, Downs and Henleaze.

Feeling fine, but quite snotty.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/53745382

No GWR tonight for me. Feel like the office cold is making a bid for me. Been feeling crap all day, so decided a night in was wise. Yesterday's walking must have taken more out of me than I thought.

A very brisk walk from where I parked the car to the dentist surgery - I was a little late leaving home and didn't want to upset them. Usually I wouldn't log a walk, but I was walking very fast and I had a few things in my pockets weighing me down, plus I was wearing my tracksuit bottoms so I guess that counts as exercise attire. Had a bit of a rest in the dentist's chair, then walked back to the car at a slightly less aggressive pace.

C • 3 7

A good Team Monday turdout tonight. Mark & Alice, Mark & Hanne, Matt & Matt, and Duncan.

Loop around AC, across into Ashton Plantation, ended up in Failand, and then with no one knowing any better route back we ran along the road to the AC quarry, and back from there.

http://connect.garmin.com/player/53536546

C • trespass into the golf course by the road in the dark. 1

Event: Compasssport Cup Final - Burbage
 

Burbage & Hathersage Moors, Sheffield. Brown Course.

Stunning day, stunning venue. Mostly open moors with a lot of heather, some technical rocky areas and some steep climbs, and a couple of grotty plantations.

Was running and orienteering fine in the open, but predictably fell apart in the technical areas.

Started off ok across the heather. Didn't spike 1, 2 or 3, but nothing to complain about. Took the track route towards 4 but then got lost in the 100m between the track and the control. Took the wide route along the tracks towards 7, which felt like a very long way and a long time, and I stopped a couple of times to reassure myself I was going the right way.

Then totally screwed up #8. Didn't keep track of exactly where I entered the forest, and couldn't see any difference between the shades of green once I was in it. So I spent ages running around trying to find something to relocate off. Mark Saunders and Neil Crickmoor caught me and we all spent a while doing the same thing.

Hit 11 nicely, although lost 10-20 seconds looking for it while it was right below me. 12, 13 and 14 all went very wrong. Couldn't make sense of the rock detail or the contours, and I haven't a clue what I did to 14, but it wasn't right.

15, same story as #11, and the rest was fine.

Disappointing to make so many mistakes and to be at the bottom of the Team Monday pile, but still, at least I didn't get Benned. A great win from Craney, and it's good to see Dr Bone back on form.

C • 15! 1

Early run in the bright, sunny, dewy morning. Westbury, loop around Blaise, and back again.

http://connect.garmin.com/player/53126290

Had to spend the afternoon walking around Bristol centre for work, so cycled down to Bristol Bridge, then back home at the end of the day.

Lunchtime with G. Steady jog around Bradley Stoke. It's cold today.

A real gentle jog exploring the streets of Henleaze. Didn't feel too bad, until I turned to run back downhill. Quads complained about that.

I was surprised that my legs don't feel worse than they do. It hurts going downstairs, and everytime I stand up from my desk I wobble around for the first few steps, but no way as bad as after the DCPR. Back and chest ache too. And I'm very tired.

C • Every Day 2

Event: Eden Project Marathon
 

What a fantastic day for it. Warm, sunny, with only a light wind. Shame last night wasn't so perfect. Barely slept a wink in the B&B. The pub a few doors down had a band playing seemingly outside until gone midnight, then people stayed outside talking loudly until 1.30. Add to that my heart racing and pounding so loud it was keeping me awake. Not a good start to the day.

That aside, we arrived at Eden with 70 mins to go, but it took us 35 mins to get from the car park to the actual Eden building. By then, they were on last call for marathon runners to get up to the start for the race briefing. So I quickly changed and jogged the 1km uphill to the start, not being allowed back out to say goodbye to my wife. So by the time Laura decided that I must have gone, she didn't have time to get to the start herself!

Started right on the front line alongside Dr Bown, and some young lad by the name of Holland who was about to complete his 100th marathon and become the youngest ever person to do so. Set off at a nice comfortable pace and settled into 5th place during the first mile, which was mostly uphill. My aim was to keep between 4.00 and 4.30 per km as best I could, but I didn't really know how feasible this would be on a 'hilly off-road marathon'. I had a target of 3 hours in my mind, but again, didn’t really know how feasible this would be. On the early flat stretches I found myself creeping under 4.00 min/k and wondered whether I should ease off a little, but decided just to run at what felt comfortable and deal with hills, of whatever magnitude they might be, when I came to them.

The route was in two halves, starting from the top of the Eden Project quarry, and finishing at the bottom next to the tropical biome. The first half was an anticlockwise loop out to the west, up, over and around the ‘Cornish Alps’ – the china clay mining country with massive white spoil heaps and big deep turquoise lakes. The first 13 miles was pretty much all off road and was a mixture of hard-pack gravel roads, soft loose sandy paths around the china clay mines, muddy squelchy paths through woods, rocky/stony paths, and open grassy moorland. We climbed over 200m to the highest point which was between miles 5 and 6. The views from the top were far reaching with sights of the north and south coasts and Bodmin Moor to the east. I was comfortably in 5th place for the whole of the first loop, with 4th, 3rd and 2nd in sight, and no one close behind as far as I could see. I gained on them all on every climb, but then they pulled away on every flat bit. The temptation was to speed up and catch them up, but having never run more than 21 miles I was rightly cautious about giving too much too soon. So I told myself to run my own race and if I catch #4 over the next 18 miles or so, then all the better.

Dropping down from the top was a bit rough in parts, sandy and rutted; rough enough to make road runners slow down to a walk, and would have warranted trail shoes rather than my road ones, but that didn’t last long. Miles 6-12 were a long descent back towards the Eden Project, but there were plenty of little climbs to keep you working.

The race details said there’d be water every 3 miles with SIS Energy drinks at 13 miles and at the end. So I carried a pack of Clif Electrolyte Blocks which I planned to take during the second half. My tactic was to take a couple of mouthfuls of water at every station, and the energy drink at the half-way point. Presumably SIS gave the organisers more than anticipated and they put the energy drinks at several of the drinks stations, so I took whatever energy was on offer. Another nice surprise were the 2 or 3 sponge stations, and the family who had trailed their garden sprinkler out to the roadside to give us a shower as we ran past their house.

The end of the first half took us back into Eden and back through the start. I passed the start line at 13.1 miles in 1.26.51. We went past the spectator area where Laura was waiting, cheering, and taking photos. I was expecting her there, and was trying to spot her amongst the crowds as I ran through, but I totally missed her, presuming she’d fallen asleep somewhere in the sun.

From here we then followed the route of the half marathon course on a different loop out to the east. I was still in 5th, but had lost sight of those ahead. Still no sign of anyone behind. Once out of Eden again it was on to the road for a fairly sharp downhill for 1.5 miles, dropping 150m down to the lowest point of the course in St Blazey. Then came the big climb. The next 3 miles were off road along an old tram line climbing up through a wooded valley. There were bits of old track to negotiate alongside muddy puddles, tree roots and rock. We climbed 200m between miles 15 and 18, which although wasn’t that steep, made my legs feel properly tired for the first time by the end. I passed mile 16 in 2.00 and in the hope that climbing would shortly be over, I was optimistic of a long downhill run to the finish, and the 3 hour target seemed highly achievable.

After those 3 miles offroad, we were back on the road for the rest of the course. Mentally I was starting to tire, and with every little climb between miles 18 and 21, and there were lots of them, I longed for the descent back to Eden so I could just relax and cruise home. We stayed high for a lot longer than I was hoping, and the road just kept going up, and then down, then back up, then down again. And the downs were often steep enough to make me have to brake rather than let myself go. Still, I was maintaining a healthy pace of sub 4.30 per km, and on the whole felt strong enough to fight for my 3 hours.

Then we rejoined the bit of the course we’d started the first half on, to run back the opposite direction. It felt like we were almost home. A steep climb up a gravel road to a crowd of St John’s Ambulance and race marshals really took its toll, and I was distraught to hear them shouting something different at me. Up until now, the marshals had been cheering me on, telling me I’m in 5th place, and wishing me well. This time they were shouting “Well done guys... you can catch him...”. A quick glance over my shoulder and I saw that someone had caught me up and was only 100m behind as we began to descend again.

Suddenly my chest tightened and I was struggling to breath deep enough. It felt like my diaphragm had frozen rigid and I just couldn’t open my lungs enough. I had to slow down a bit, but it didn’t help. I stopped, and the other guy cruised past. I rested my hands on my knees and took some good deep breaths for a few seconds. I set off again, back at target pace, but my lungs tightened again. I dropped down to 5.00 per km, then down to 5.30 and I felt comfortable.

My 3 hours was clearly out of the window. Up to now all my miles had been under 8 minutes, even the climbing miles of the second half. Here, with the climbing done, on the last 2-3 miles back down to Eden, I had to trot at over 8 min/miles otherwise I couldn’t breath. Mile 24 I did in 8.09 and 25 in 8.18. But then adrenaline took over from here. I was back in the Eden Project, I was overtaking more and more of the half marathon competitors, and it was all downhill. I saw my wife ahead with the camera, only half a mile from the finish. I did my best to smile as I ran past, then turned a sharp corner into the final descent. It was too steep and I was too tired to let my legs go. I had to run with the brakes on, and in doing so, another guy caught me up. He came alongside and glanced at me as if to say let’s do this last bit together, but I just couldn’t. I said “well done, it’s all yours – I’ve got nothing left”. So he pulled away and crossed the line 100m ahead of me.

My first marathon; a tough one to do, but very enjoyable. I could probably have done a proper flat road marathon, but I was a lot more at home on this terrain, and I’m very pleased to have finished in 7th place only 10 minutes down on the winner. It was disappointing to have had to let go of 5th place after so long, and of course 6th place too. I don’t know what that was about. I’ve never had that happen before. It wasn’t lack of energy, it wasn’t the legs giving up; it was the lungs/chest inexplicably tightening up.

Well done to Mark for completing the marathon in just over 3.5 hours, especially after 4 weeks of illness and uncertainty of whether he’d even start.

http://connect.garmin.com/player/52466062

Photos

Mile splits:
1 00:06:30
2 00:07:43
3 00:05:13
4 00:06:43
5 00:07:15
6 00:07:24
7 00:06:30
8 00:06:34
9 00:06:49
10 00:06:28
11 00:06:32
12 00:06:17
13 00:06:53
14 00:06:38
15 00:07:24
16 00:07:12
17 00:07:44
18 00:07:31
19 00:07:32
20 00:07:27
21 00:07:58
22 00:07:05
23 00:07:51
24 00:08:09
25 00:08:18
26.2 00:09:03

C • A Good Choice 6

Lunchtime on my own.

2 laps of Aztec West, then 6*100m strides in The Tumps, then another lap of Aztec. Feeling good, although I think I was sweating pasta.

Down in Bournemouth for a couple of days again. Went for a gentle run around Wilverley with Jus and Tobydog. Forgot my Garmin so the distance is a guess.

Had special treatment from Mike tonight.

He sent me off for a gentle recovery pace run along the Portway to the suspender bridge and back.

Then back at the club, he had me doing the usual sets of drills, and 6*100m strides as he watched on and shouted encouragements at me.

He told me that I'm running the best he's seen, that I'm clearly down to race weight, and that I should go for the win on Sunday.

C • sunday 5

Arse hurts.

Part 1 of the 5 hour adventure race. Foot orienteering. With Keith, aka The Hairy Beanbags.

2 hour score starting from The Pludds, heading south into Beechenhurst.

Good race. Interesting use of a colour photocopy 1:25,000 OS map. The nav wasn't too challenging, but finding the 'checkpoints' often proved to be. No control flags, just a little red pin punch tied to a tree/fence/gate, with descriptions like "base of silver birch 10m SW of fence corner".

Couple of issues: 4 was not where the circle was drawn on the map, and 11 was a) not where the circle was, and b) the description was totally wrong so we wasted 15 mins looking for it before we jacked it off and carried on without it.

The organiser apologised for the mistake and gave us the points anyway. So that was a clean sweep of the Foot-O.

Part 2 of the 5 hour adventure race. MTBO. With Keith, aka The Hairy Beanbags.

3 hour score, again from The Pludds, after a whole 1 hour transition. Overall a good race that I really enjoyed, but someone/something was properly conspiring to make me quit from the outset.

I forgot my clear specs so with all the rain we were riding in I could see barely anything when we got any speed up as all the dirt flicked into my eyes.

I spent a ridiculous 90 mins yesterday fitting Sloanranger's map holder to the handlebars. My bars are too fat for it so I had to use a t-bar to attach it. My bars are tapered, so as soon as we got moving today, the t-bar just slid down the taper and came loose. While trying to tighten up, the t-bar snapped. So I had to ditch the map holder in a bush after about 10 mins, and carry the map in my hand.

The map got wet straight away, and all the print rubbed off. So my map was useless. Stuffed it in my pocket and just followed Keith for the rest of the race.

I kept getting chain-suck whenever I put any effort into it, which was very very annoyoing as the whole thing just jammed solid whenever I needed it. Fortunately this only happened in the granny ring and the middle ring, but that meant that I then had to be riding on the big ring for the whole time.

Once all that was out of the way and I'd had my paddy in the pouring rain, we carried on and actually got around the rest of it pretty quickly and with no real dramas.

Turns out we won, by quite a long way, with about 300 points more than the next team. Hairy Beanbags rule.