Being Led Astray

I had a wee Google for quotes about being led astray and the one on the right appealed.  Interestingly there were also a few about 'looking for scapegoats'....

Anyway, it's been one of those weeks where I've allowed myself to be diverted from the fairly strong focus I have had, with the distraction of a couple of lovely days away on Islay, being immersed in the wonders of Bowmore and Laphroaig malt whiskies....along with some fine food, and rather more sugar and caffeine than an average week.

It's always a challenge with these events, and while I managed to resist too much alcohol, the sweeties took a bit of a battering.....'calories on "holiday" don't count'.....

And I did manage a couple of short training runs while I was there, much to the amusement of my colleagues (one of these involved going down the wrong track, ending up on a pebble beach in a downpour, and my headtorch packing in....)

Hopefully I can remedy the indulgences, as, although training has been lighter as it's a semi-taper week, it is RACE week......with Glentress marathon tomorrow! 

Last year I ran it in just under 6 hours, and it's a tough old shift (and it was jolly cold, icy etc), with some challenging climbs and descents (1,500m of ascent in total across a 2 lap course).  It will be an interesting test tomorrow, although I'm not sure how my pace will compare.  I don't want to end up broken or needing several days/week recovery, so I'll be taking that into account as I scamper round the trails optimistically.

I'm half looking forward to it, and the chance to catch up with friends....

Race report next week!

Go Compare......Don't!

It’s that time of year where everyone is ramping up their training and going all out to post on social media about how good (mostly) or bad it is going.  Strava links appear on Facebook in abundance with ‘check out my run which I did while you were sitting slouched at your desk drinking coffee and trying hard to resist the pile of sweeties in the snack trough!’ and ‘look at me grinning atop the latest peak I have summited’.  (BTW, I know I’m prone to posts of a similar nature!)

I’ve probably blogged about this before, maybe often.  I see a number of people getting caught up in this again this year with ‘OMG, you’re doing loads more miles/ascent/lifting than I am’.

 

Control what you can control.

They are not you.  They will not be running your race for you.  They do not live your life.

'Killer Hill' (Blackford)
Pic by Clark Hamilton

 

They’ll have their own challenges to contend with, and maybe while you are out at the weekend tearing up the heather, they are working, or doing night-shifts, or dealing with their respective families and ‘other commitments’. 

While you’re getting up at the crack of dawn, they are still sleeping off their bottle of wine and fajita-fest from the night before.  They may not have posted for a few weeks as they’ve been sick…but you’ve not noticed that…you just hone in on their ‘come back’ AMAZING jaunt up Conic Hill, and it puts the fear right into you.

Don’t do it.  Focus on being a better you.  Fit what you can, as best you can, into your life.  Plan and prepare (training and food)!  If you’re hurt or under-the-weather, think about what else you can do instead of your ‘usual’ (be that 30, 40 or 100 miles a week).  Don’t fight through viruses that will wipe you out for weeks or months.

Stay positive and focused! Adapt, change, deliver!

Feeling the Heat

As part of my renewed vigour this year, I was keen to ensure I was putting enough emphasis on training elements that weren’t just all about running…a long way…slowly.

Being married to a PT is a blessing a curse…Clark tells me a lot of good things (about how to train better and smarter), and I haven’t always acted on them, despite wholeheartedly agreeing with (most of) them. 

Doing what I’ve done before, won’t necessarily get me where I want to go.

So…what can I do differently…

Aside from the obvious focus on eating less crap, drinking more water…I’m making a conscious effort to get back into Pilates and do regular hot yoga.  I’ve been a fan of Pilates for many years (still totally missing the guru that is Gill Webster) and have joined a local class (in Braco Church Hall (man is it cold in there some weeks)) and gone back to basics with a bunch of middle aged locals.  Who knew that the basic moves could ‘hurt’ so much two days later when you really focus on doing them ‘right’, having been out of practice for the best part of a year…!?!  Thanks Gi, it’s definitely working!

Having previously been a doubter of yoga (did a class with a load of old ladies years ago and it was proper dull!), at the end of last year I found some ‘pop up’ hot yoga classes, being run in Bridge of Allan, by Jack and Jules from Heat Fitness, back in the UK after a life in Aus (or something like that…not my story to tell!).  So I gave it a try and loved it…despite being significantly challenged by my lack of balance (see previous posts about falling over a lot!).

Skip forward a couple of months, and having found it hard to make the BofA Friday evening class often enough, Heat finally got their studio at Springkerse opened, and with a cracking “£20 for 20 days” introductory offer, it would be rude not to try and make this work!

The first time you go into ‘the box’ (actually a fairly big room), the heat is immense (38-40 degrees celcius) and you wonder how you will ever be able to do anything useful.  You do get used to it after a few minutes, and start to get all the benefits it brings – for me in particular the appeal was around driving increased length and flexibility into my muscles, to offset all the pounding the running brings, and the potential to help prevent injury.  There are a number of other benefits quoted (see the website for more!), and the more I attend (trying to commit to the 0630 class at least once a week), the more I feel these develop.  Combined with my other training, things are definitely starting to take shape!

A few observations:

-        It’s not all skinny hippy-types doing yoga, there’s a broad cross-section of society – men, women, national athletes to the other extremes, and everything in between…and don’t be fooled into thinking you’ll be ‘better’ at it than some more generously proportioned or “old” people….(and don’t be put off by the svelte, skinny people!)

-        Listening is key – there are few demo’s, part of the training is to focus on the dialogue and move accordingly.  There are a couple of moves I’m still struggling with where to fixate my gaze (and consistently ignore Jules request to stare forwards at my outstretched fingers…but I know she’s right and that’s what I should do….)

-        It’s sweaty!  The first class, I looked around as a river of perspiration cascade off my head whilst doing ‘Standing Bow’ (or something similar), wondering if everyone else had the same going on….turns out they did!  (Two towels are best…one for your mat and one to mop your brow!)

-        It’s a great workout – the calorie burn is good (yes, I’ve been wearing my Garmin), and there’s definitely significant strength gains to be made....and DOMS to be felt a couple of days later!

-        There’s no chanting, or funny ‘ommmmmmm’ noises (hurrah!!)

-        You’re allowed to hydrate during the class (a couple of folk have asked!)

-        Don’t moisturise your hands/feet the night before….this makes grabbing your feet/ankles during some of the balancing postures a bigger challenge than it already is!

-        When you’ve tried it, you’ll want to do it again!  I’ve recommended to several people and most of them are now devoted!

-        It takes a while to stop sweating afterwards…even post-shower…..cue me driving to work in a vest in the middle of winter so I can get dressed and do make up at the office sweat free!

-        100% feel great afterwards…and now miss it when I’ve not been!  If only it were closer, and I had more hours in the day!

So hopefully you'll get the idea that I'm quite enjoying this new element to my training, and it's something I hope to continue throughout the year.  I'm sure the heat adaptation will do me good for the sunnier climes of Chamonix later in the year!

 

Oooops, I did it again!

Ah well, maybe that's the falling out of the way for the year?!  I certainly hope so!



Photo by John Kynaston / WHW Race Family

It was the annual West Highland Way race January training weekend last weekend, and always a great opportunity to catch up with a big group of lovely people, run on the best trail in Scotland, and have a good scoff at the Oak Tree Inn, who are not averse to hosting a bunch of sweaty ultra runners in various states of joy, despair, sobriety and drunkenness!
My plan was to join on the Saturday and do a 20 mile out and back.  The 'full' run is 30 miles to Inversnaid and back, but I've not done that distance in January for a few years, and felt that 20 would be plenty for this weekend.  I was going to be running with Carol, which meant good company for the day, and an opportunity to explore 'the low road' which I hadn't yet been on!

I was also mostly planning to take the van, and stay over, if the run went well, and the lure of chat and a wee glass of wine got the better of me....

I don't have pretty knees at the best of times

However......this happened.....(I do wish I'd picked that bit of skin off my left knee before the pic.....)

After a lovely 11 miles out to cover most of the low road - which is lovely, and has some interesting steps and climbs on it, and is much more in keeping with the true feel of the further lochside path....covered mainly with Carol, and chats with others, including Lorna and Kirsteen, who had run Rowardennan to Millarochy to join us...we ventured on the return, and just shy of Rowardennan....BOOM....down I went!

I'd had a few stumbles earlier in the day, so it shouldn't have come as much surprise.  And boy, did this one sting!!   Both knees, both thighs, both forearms (somehow my brain told my body to not put my hands out to save me)....and luckily not my face (Carol's first question!  Mine was 'have I smashed my Garmin??').  Carol was a great first responder and made sure I didn't get up too soon, and that nothing was hanging off.....

Photo by Fiona Rennie

When I managed to get up (with Carol using her unbroken collarbone side to help me), I had a rush of blurred vision and nausea and needed support to walk along a short while to a big rock, where we could administer some paracetamol and get some big gloves (by this point I was proper Baltic!).  Carol phoned Lorna to come rescue me, and I felt ok-ish to start walking for a few minutes, and then an adrenaline fuelled shuffle.  Come Sallochy, and Lorna wasn't quite there, so I opted to push on (feeling super guilty for wasting Lorna's time (however she managed to rescue someone else later, so not a totally lost cause)).

Made it back, to complete 22 lovely miles!  And straight into the Oak Tree for a seat by the fire, and big cup of coffee (thanks Julie, I owe you one!), and then remembered my emergency £10 and got some soup, while Laura (first aider) checked out the bleeding knees (another ruined pair of XBionic tights :-().  Decided I wasn't dying, nor did I need antiseptic scrubbing!  After a shower (thanks Helen), and the challenge of getting into my skinny jeans(!) Sean also checked me out when he got back from sweeping, and we decided, other than having had my second set of painkillers too soon, I was ok to drive home (I was still feeling a bit puggled and needing a rest with my feet up!).

Photo by Fiona Rennie

3 days of rest...Sunday and Monday suffering extremely pounding head (we think there was some concussion), Tuesday a little more 'normal', so back to some training on Wednesday with hot yoga before work (postures involving kneeling were a bit of a challenge) and a short, flat run after work...decided there is not material damage, and with arnica pills, massaging with arnica lotion, and taking care, I will focus on getting on with it.  There's nothing else for it!

Thinking about my gait on today's run, I think I have a bit of a roll out on my right foot, probably from the historic medial ligament damage, weak adductors, tight IT, probably some glute issues.....aaaah, plenty to work on then!  Plenty of time to make progress, and I've treated myself to some shiny new Hoka Speedgoats...just in case!

More another day.....