New Balance

Short but sweet this week, ahead of Saturdays Moonlight Challenge.


Recovery is going well and despite one or two other issues the last week has gone well running-wise, with 40+ miles training over various distances and paces and a good split day last Friday, when I ran to work and home again in the evening.

This week will be relatively light with only a 4 miler on Tuesday and then nothing to the weekend, except keeping hydrated and warm. The weather for Saturday looks to be cold and wet, so Hedgehogs will get what will probably be their last outing and hopefully the Gore-tex uppers will do their job.

Finally on another note - I have to say a big thank you to New Balance for their help with a damaged jacket, which they couldn’t repair, but replaced with a Motion Jacket and complementary pair of Winter Laminate running tights, which will come in useful this weekend end.

A big thanks to them and 'til next Monday - Safe running.

Fruitful Labours

Mid week and a couple of gentle runs have caused no problems with my thigh, although both have been very easy. Before Saturdays run I had pleasure of meeting Lee Chamberlain - a Guinness world record holder on the treadmill, and thoroughly nice guy. He had already run the route of the race from the finish to where we were and was also running back again - 100 miles in under 24 hours - unbelievable effort - Check out his web-site and send him your support.


I took the chance on Monday to pick his brains over training, nutrition and running in general and as a result am now changing a few areas, namely pacing and re-hydration to hopefully improve my running and stamina. As mentioned in the previous post, one thing I must work on is leg strength and have already added squats and extensions to my gym work, albeit light exercises as I don’t want thighs like Mr Universe.

As for the title of this post, i have today received a goody selection from Sandy Letman at Whitworths the UK’s leading supplier of home baking, cooking and healthy snacking products, consisting of:

Nibl Snacks - Fruit and Nut Berry Burst, and Jaffa Berry Choc
Juicy Mini Apricots
Fruits Multipacks
Sunny Raisins
Jumbo Mixed Raisins

All in handy snack bags, ideal for taking on runs.

All very kind and offered to me before the Marathon Des Sables (an offer stupidly forgot to take up at the time). With me burning over 13,000 Kcals in January alone energy levels need to be kept up, and these are a better way of maintaining that than using high calorie, high cholesterol snacks such as chocolate, crisps, biscuits etc, and taste even better.

I have always loved dried fruits, easy to carry with you on a run, ideal to snack on at my desk and add to breakfast cereals, salads, etc so, avoiding prunes, they will keep me heading in the right direction (prunes in another direction, but let's not go there).

I have the pleasure of adding their logo and listing them as one of my sponsors and hope that next time you go shopping you think of them when you fancy something healthy to snack on.

Next blog in a few weeks time when I will be able to confirm if I will be running in the Moonlight Challenge, although intentions are there, recovery may hamper.

Healthy living all

Thames Trot (and 3 fatal letters - DNF)

Saturday 6th February - 8.30am - Oxford.

130 runners line up ready for a 50 mile slog alongside (for most of the way) the River Thames, following a track that goes under the name of Thames Towpath. However this "towpath", is nothing like the paths you see by most other canals etc this was 40+ miles of mud, dirt trails and glassy banks, interspersed by the odd bit of road and tarmac (ideal for off-road trainers).

The one thing that was obviously missing from this race was Alex Flynn - running partner and someone to nag at for not keeping up the pace (his orders). Due to a combination of heavy cold, long office hours and a flight to JFK on Sunday morning for 2 weeks of business conferences, he needed family time and did the sensible thing and gave this race a miss. My original plan was to drive to Henley the night before and stop at Alex's, before going on to the race in the morning, however our cat was badly mauled in a fight on Thursday night, so after a trip to the vets i decided it was better to make sure he was ok, before going, so set off at 5am on Saturday morning.

I had loaded up my waistpack with Sports Beans / Chocolate covered Espresso Beans / cereal Bar / camera and filled both bottles (one water, one Nuun), spare socks, double tied shoes laces and took my place.

Once i started, after a briefing by Steve Adams, the early morning nerves vanished and i was quickly into my pace, albeit not too quick (8 min miles), and headed off along the path away from Oxford and toward CP1. The going was tough almost straight away, as the route was extremely boggy underfoot, with the kind of mud that sticks in great clumps. The scenery and company was great, chatting with Quentin for most of the way to the first CP, although something didn't feel right!!

CP1 was at Culham after 10 Miles, which we reached in 1hr 35min, and served the famous Go Beyond fruit cake - one of the best i have tasted (sorry Mum!!), and a huge incentive to get to the next CP, stopping for only a minute to refuel, we quickly moved off , my pace quickened slightly and i was off on my own, but again my leg (left) felt weak and i found myself struggling with the turns......... Finally at 17 miles, as we turned onto a footbridge across the River Thames, my left foot slide outwards at an angle and a sharp "ping" in the top of the thigh spelt the end of my race. The next 1½ miles could only be taken at a slow walk and i could feel my body temperature dropping quickly, as i could keep no pace going, so continuing to the end would be a disaster, and i have to think long term.

I made CP2, at Benson after 19 Miles in 3hrs 15, and called it a day - something a runner never wants to do, and even though another 27 runners also withdrawing on the day, its still no consolation.
However it did teach me a valuable lesson.......................

It has only been 3 weeks since the 45 mile Country to Capital Race, and in reflection, i had taken too much for granted, as my training had been low key, due to recovery and then a minor taper, and i had neglected to keep my leg strength up with other exercises, assuming that the running would suffice. The injury was a combination of heavy feet, slippery surfaces and reduced leg strength, that i should have worked on. A mistake i intend to rectify over the coming months, so I am now putting together a series of leg and core exercises to add to my gym routine and build the strength that i will need to cope with all these races i am undertaking over the next 6 months

My next race is in 3 weeks time, but thankfully the next race on 27th Feb is only a short (well compared to this one) race, the Moonlight Challenge, a 32 mile run starting at 6pm, which i will be undertaking as revenge for not finishing in 2008, after a knee strain after mis-judging a pothole. So this time "its personal". That will then be followed by a another 3 weeks off, before the Wiggle 12 hour race on 21st March. However i need to fully recover from this injury and re-assess what i do (i.e. miss the next race) as long term i have to be fully fit for the Grand Union Race at the end of May.

Finally - My Kit consisted of mainly the same as last time (why change a good set-up)

The North Face Hedgehog GTX XCR - Courtesy of Fitness Footwear
Mizuno Performance Tights
1000 Mile All Terrain Socks
X-Bionic Accumulator L/S Top - Courtesy of Ardblair Sports
Ronhill Jacket
Camuflaje Polar Buff - Courtesy of Buffwear UK

Country to Capital 45

A very hard race, not only due to the distance (45 miles) but also down to the lack of training and underfoot conditions. Both the latter were a result of the recent snow and laying ice which had completely destroyed my training plans, leaving me only a treadmill to run on safely, which in turn led to a serious amount of under-training - still at least I felt fresh for the run.
The race started at Wendover in Buckinghamshire and after 20 miles of trails and roads joined the Grand Union Canal footpath at Denham Lock at Uxbridge and followed this path to the finish at Little Venice in London. An 8.30am start meant I had to catch a train at 4:50 that morning, travel to London and meet up with Alex, before the onward trip to the start. Once there, as the rain started to fall, we registered and with a light pack, carrying only a top, cap, socks and Sports Beans, we set off with approximately 120 others.

The weather was poor to say the least, raining constantly for 5 hours and very chilly so the addition of a pair of gloves and a Polar Buff were the order of the day, and with an extra layer under my jacket I felt warm enough without over heating. Bladder was full (camelbak in the back-pack I mean) and so we set off at a stead pace (10 min miles) and settled down to enjoy the run. An enjoyment that started to wane after about 3 miles as rain soaked gloves (must get some waterproof ones) started to become very cold and feeling in my hands started to go. Still my feet were dry due to the Hedgehogs Gore-Tex uppers and everything else felt fine.

A slight detour then at Ballinger, as a group of 15 missed the bridleway path meant an extra spell on the roads, but we were all at CP1 (8 miles in 1hr 40min) in Chesham only a mile later, and with the famous Go Beyond fruit cake available, as well as water and Jelly babies, we quickly refuelled and continued Southwards. The route was still mainly trails and bridleways but as we passed Chorleywood West, Alex started to suffer from pain in the outside of his right knee, which grew progressively worse as we ran. Just to make things worse we hit a large flood road ½ mile form CP2 and my feet got soaked as the water went in over the top of the shoes.

Adopting a run walk strategy meant we could carry on at a good pace but after CP2 at Horn Hill, after I emptied my shoes, we slowed to walking pace for the rest of the race. Alex could only manage 10 yards of running before having to stop and stretch out. So with me on point dictating the pace we marched onwards, covering about 4½ each hour, which reduced the strain on his knee. After 5 hours on the go we hit the Grand Union Canal, our home for the next 6 hours, and with more snacks and cake at CP3 in Cowley Peachy we could do nothing more than march, talk and set the world to rights.

The canal split in 2 directions so we turned northwards, at a welcoming sign of "Paddington 13½ mile", only a ½ marathon to do and we would be home, however now, as we let CP4 at Greenford 3 miles later, I was suffering as well. A large blister had formed under my left foot and the walking and change of gait wasn’t suited for the Hedgehogs and shin muscles were expanding at a painful rate of knots, still we had only a short distance to go and weren't going to stop.

Headtorches now on we stopped briefly at CP5 (Alperton) knowing that there were only 6 miles left and headed for home, at a pace dropping to almost 3 mile per hour. Every climb on bridges and locks had me gritting my teeth in pain, but the relief of finally reaching the finish, amidst warm applause from the organisers and others was joy in itself and with a warm cup of tea inside, a sudden dash to the toilet (well shuffle) Alex and I made for the station and wound our ways home.

We finished in 10 hours and 51 mins, 86th & 87th, and with 30 others pulling out/not starting could be pleased with our efforts. Also we now have another 69,200 metres under our belts and can progress knowing that we need to improve fitness but that our endurance is good, despite injuries.


My Kit consisted of
The North Face Hedgehog GTX XCR
Mizuno Performance Tights
1000 Mile All Terrain Socks
X-Bionic Accumulator L/S Top
Ronhill Lite Jacket + Gloves
Buffwear Camuflaje Polar Buff
Polaroid 7007 Glasses

Next race is only in 3 weeks time, again organised by Go Beyond Ultra http://www.gobeyondultra.co.uk/, which is the Thames Trot, starting from Oxford and finishing in Alex's home town, Henley-on-Thames, so I have a few days rest, and then back on the road again, with gentle training rather than high intensity, although the shins ands left knee will need to recover suitably first.

Til then - Safe running all.

So much to do and Thanks

Happy New Year to all my friends, colleagues and sponsors. I feel that this year will be a busy one, especially on the running front.
2009 was very eventful with Family Holiday to Florida in January, followed swiftly by a very wet Marathon Des Sables in March/April, a month of illness in May/June, moving house in July and making plans in August for the 1 Million Metres challenge, getting a great range of sponsors on board in September and kicking off the challenge with our first race in October.

Sadly this was also a year of big shocks - both regarding Alex - the lowest point of the Marathon Des Sables was hearing that he had been forced out of the race at the start of the long stage with Pericarditis - something that he thankfully recovered from very quickly - swiftly followed by another shock, when he announced that he had been diagnosed with Parkinsons Disease - but this didn't stop him from completing the 85 mile Ridgeway race in August, and with me nagging in his ear we ran the Henley Half in October - the guy will not stop until he achieves what he wants, and it is my pleasure and honour to be working and running with him as we not only complete the Million Metre Challenge, but push onwards and upwards.

As we planned races for 2010, the total distance increased and now new plans are being formed for longer runs in 2011 (London to Rome), as well as 2012 (LA to NY??) - These are still in the infancy of planning, but with the right support and backing the 2011 looks to be a certainty. Hopefully this will generate a lot of publicity for both Cure Parkinsons Trust Charity, as well as our sponsors, with national TV and newspapers, from not only the UK, but also France, Switzerland and Italy hopefully being interested.

On the note of sponsors i must offer my greatest thanks to Adam Smith at Fitness Footwear, Patrick Lambertz at X-Bionic, Nicki Reid at Ardblair Sports and Sarah Gowans at Buffwear, as well as their support teams for all the help, and equipment that we have had so far, and here's to our future working together, and us all achieving our goals.

And talking of goals - our next race is the Country to Capital race on 16th January - a 45 miler from Wendover in Bucks to Paddington in London, via the Grand Union Canal (for the last ½), which in light of the current weather conditions which is expected to last for another few weeks, it will be cold, wet and arduous - but as they say "If it was easy - everyone would do it". Next report will be after the race.

Finally - We are in the process of designing a new web-site and making changes to the challenge name to reflect the increase in distance and new races, which will be announced soon.
Safe running everyone.

Snow, Modena and Christmas

Well Christmas is upon us and my training since the Doyen of the Downs has been abysmal to say the least. The week after the run and all i managed was a slow 5k, and the last week was an effort to say the least, having done only 14 miles in total by Friday. With the snow, that usually grinds the country to a halt arriving on Friday the planned trip to see Alex had to be postponed so no run on Saturday morning with him and with more snow overnight on Saturday covering the ice on the roads, my 16 miler on Sunday morning was cancelled too. Looks like my runs over the next few days will be spent on a treadmill, so an early start on Tuesday should see a 10 miler possible before work, once the car has been scrapped free of ice.

Hopefully, atrocious weather permitting, i can get back in the rhythm of things and get ready for the Country to Capital run on Jan 16th, as well as get a proper core and weights programme going too.

Over that last few weeks Alex and i have been pondering future runs and plans. We have already drawn up ideas to run John O'Groats to Lands End in 2011, and possibly LA to NY in 2012, although the latter has been hit by an issue with a chance in an already planned run, which is now a year earlier - so we will have to review that.

Once i found this out i quickly hatched another idea, that sounds more suitable to do in early 2011, with JOGLE at the end of the year - London to Modena - unusual end venue, but this is where X-Bionic's factory is based in Italy, and the hope is that we can persuade them to give us a massive support package, that will help us do the run and help fund accommodation and support crew for the 850 mile run. The route can take us passed the X-Technology department in Schwyz in Switzerland too, and we have to cross the Alps somewhere, which after 2 weeks of running 45 mile days should certainly tax our determination and energy reserves. This idea needs to be discussed with X-Bionic in the New Year and see what they can do to help.

Not a great deal happening anywhere else at the moment on the sponsorship front. The press release in America has been hit with renewal problems, which we hope will be resolved soon. The newsletter from Ardblair has yet to have a response, although with Christmas approaching fast other things occupy peoples minds, so hopefully the new year will prove fruitful.

Planning to meet up with Alex between Christmas and New Year to check all is going to plan and formulating plans for the months ahead.

Hoping everyone has a great Christmas and Happy New Year - Here's to 2010.

Doyen of the Downs

This race must break trade description laws, as the amount of Downs were far exceeded by the amount of ups.

The photos from last years race showed a crisp, sunny and frosty race - this year however was the exact opposite......... heavy rain, 30mph wind and very soggy underfoot. The race was a circular route starting at the foot of Arundel Castle (although it was so gloomy and dull it was hard to see). ½ after the start and having run though the town we were onto towpaths along the side of the River Arun until we hit the roads in pouring rain after 2 miles. a further mile down the road and it was trail - well when i say trail - mud and lots of it, that went on and on.

This was to be the format for the rest of the race, and being further down the field than i would have liked the ground in places was a slop of sticky glutinous mud and dirty pools. The footwear (The North Face Hedgehogs) worked superbly as others slipped and slid around - although the hill at 19 miles that went up for 100 metres in ¼ mile across a ploughed field made life very difficult for even my trainers.
After another decent into the the town of Storrington we faced the 1 mile climb up to the top of Kithurst Hill - 213mtres climb, although most of this was hardened trail and the sun had come out (shame about the very strong winds in you face on the rapid descent). With hamstrings and quads refusing to move properly and energy at an all time low thankfully the last 4 miles were flat as we followed the river back to the finish, which looked close but with the meanders took even longer than i wanted.

It was nice to be greeted my the race director at the end and with an engraved shot glass (as well as t-shirt) the memento was nice, however the facilities at the end were poorly planned. No drinks or food available for us at all. It would have been nice to have tea/coffee and some cakes, especially after all those miles. The check points had limited items, namely water and banana' but for an entry fee of £36 i expected at least a hot drink to be available.

I had been struggling with stomach pains from about 8 miles which at time almost forced me to pull out, but this was an important run for me too do, and the physical and mental strength i gain from it will be dragged up at future events. I must put in more training after this weeks rest ahead of the next race on 16th January - Country to Capital 45 miles and loose a bit of weight too i think.

Stats
99th from 170 finishers (300 had registered) in 5:35:11
Winners time 3:36 - 15 mins ahead of 2nd place who was a further 10 mins ahead of 3rd
39th place in 5hrs dead, which indicates how tough it was.
Last placed runner (cut off time was 7hrs) at 6:56 but results don't show DNF

Next year??? - I think not, but one lesson i have learnt is that the hills in Essex will not be any help in the SkyRace in May.

My Kit consisted of

The North Face Hedgehog GTX XCR

X-Bionic Spykers

X-Bionic Running Shorts

X-Bionic Accumulator L/S Top

Ron Hill Jacket

Buffwear - Zac Logo

Hedgehogs with Attitude

I have to say that i can only find one thing that i would complain about with the North Face Hedgehog GTX XCR, and that's only a personal preference - more later, but first the shoes.....

The Hedgehogs are made ostensibly for what the North Face call "Fast-paced outdoor activities" - at first this worried me that they were aiming the shoes at hikers and ramblers (in a hurry), but not at runners, however after my first outing i have to say that these will suit whatever your speed. The shoes are light enough for trail running, whilst being stable and rigid enough for climbing and scrambling across rocks. The sole is peppered with a very rugged and spiky Vibram outsole (hence the nick-name), which seems to grip in even the boggiest of trails and with the bonus of a waterproof Gore-tex upper and padded tongue makes the ride easier and more pleasant than other off-road shoes i have used.

I ran in a 30 mile trail race this weekend in them (Doyen of the Downs) and due to a combination of the recent weather we have had and heavy rain the night before they were thoroughly tested, handling very well in the churned ploughed fields as they did on the compact trails (not that there were many of those) and roads. The sole being as hard wearing and rugged as it is doesn't seem to have a much cushioning as some heavier runners would like and is definitely more of an off-road shoe than a road/off-road shoe, but handles very well on all surfaces. The Gore-tex uppers are brilliant and the only time that water actually got into the shoe was after my foot had been totally immersed over the ankle in a nice deep dirty puddle. Still finished the race without sore feet or any new blisters from the race and better still dry feet (well... foot).

My only complaint (albeit my own preference) is that i would have liked lace-locks with the shoes as the laces supplied are very thin and not easy to tie tightly to prevent the shoes coming off in very sticky conditions, and needed re-tying several times on the run, but baring that i am very happy with what The North Face have created and looking forward to getting them even muddier (if possible) in the winter weather.

Muddy Marvellous
Rich

In a Glass of their own

Ahead of this weeks Doyen of the Downs race, on Sunday 6th December i have had the chance to use a new pair of sunglasses, generously supplied by Ardblair Sports, of which i can already sing the praises of.

Polaroid Eyewear are world leaders in optics and lens technology and the inventor of polarizing lens technology and their sports range of eyewear demonstrates this perfectly. Both Alex and i have been given 2 pairs of the 7007 range, with 3 interchangeable lenses (Clear, Amber and dark), Now the winter may not be the sunniest time of year (especially in the UK), but the choice of lenses is ideal for someone like me who wears contact lenses. Friday last week i had my first run out in the glasses with amber lenses in late afternoon and i was amazed by how light and comfortable the glasses were. No fogging whilst running, even with a Buff over my nose in heavy traffic, forcing air upwards, no bouncing either and more importantly a clear field of vision, with the amber lenses lightening the gloomy afternoon.

These have made a very pleasant change from the heavier denser framed sports glasses on the market, and will now be a a regular item in my kit bag and more importantly on my nose.

Marks out of 10 - it can only be 10.

Half a Double Act

This lunchtime I discovered our fate regarding the Grand Union Canal Race. Entry forms were emailed out last Monday, with instructions to return them by Thursday 5th, the 260 names would then go into a hat and 115 drawn out. Our biggest worry would be that we miss out and have to find another event to use as qualification for Spartathlon, which we would need to do before the end of May. Not easy considering the lack of races and Alex's trip to Morocco for the MdS.
However the draw threw up the worst result possible - Draw - only I have managed to gain entry, good for me, (although 145 mile run, without Alex for support and for me to nag at, does not initially fill me with a huge amount of enthusiasm) bad for Alex, as he now needs to find that 100km race and do that under 10½ hours, or another one of over 200km (single stage, non-stop). With the MdS at the end of March it only really leaves him May and to-date the races seem scarce. I will be contacting Ian Corless in Paris to see what he can find for him, so all we can do is cross our fingers.

On a positive note, the press release from Ardblair Sports went out - Read it Here - to about 40 different magazine, both retail and trade and Nikki at Ardblair is hoping for a good response and more publicity. On a similar front we now have someone in the US doing some advertising for us. Lee Hart of Brand Amp Wire runs the Buff Facebook and twitter sites is planning press release in the US, which may also bring in some interest and with Denis Wischniewski, of German Trail Magazine also doing an article it looks like we are covering half the globe.

Will see what results all this gets and post them on here.

Need to get some more training in tomorrow morning, before work and more on here in a week.
Auf Wiedersehen (As denis would say)