I feel the need.....the need for speed...(relatively speaking!)

Time flies when you're having fun!  I meant to start this post at the weekend, and now, all of a sudden, it's Wednesday, half-way through my holiday, and I'm only just putting a word on the screen!

I don't "do" speedwork...unless you count the training runs I do with Clark, since he is a significantly stronger/faster/more gutsy runner than I...that I inevitably try harder to keep up with him when we do go out together. I know there is mixed opinion on speedwork for ultra's, but in reality, most of the time it's a struggle to find time to train, never mind do speedwork!

Last weekend however brought the opportunity for a little "racing" over "short" distances, due to heading to Nethy for a week's holiday.

The A9!

Saturday was the Newtonmore 10 miler, starting at 11am...and on the way North, so no excuses really (even the drama of the A9 being closed for 24 hours before seemed not to get in our way!).  

The race itself was ok.....quite expensive I thought for a fairly basic, flat out and back (£16 entry which included a local beer), although we didn't stay for post-race scoff and awards (because the Mountain Cafe Aviemore all day breakfast was calling our names!!).  



The conditions were baltic (headwind all the way out) and snowy underfoot, so we both opted for trail shoes despite the terrain being mostly tarmac and cycle path.  The field seemed to be pretty evenly split between those in trail vs. those in road shoes.  Outbound the trail shoes were an advantage, gripping through the snow, and making me feel I had a wee edge over the road shoe runners...in fairness though I think they benefited on the return!  I did the usual race strategy and set off faster than I usually run (a 7:59 first mile), and tried to sustain it (8:21 average), although a poor fuelling strategy made the last couple of miles pretty tough going!  A decent enough time though at 1:22..and I only go overtaken by 3 runners on the return leg.....so I'll notch that one up as a speed-work session!



Sunday brought the "unofficial" invite only off road "half-marathon" at Munlochy on the Black Isle. When the alarm went off first thing, we both felt the affects of running 10 fast miles on tarmac in trail shoes the day before.....but this was the event we had both wanted to do, so, nothing for it, but MTFU, get the kit on, in the car and off we go!  Entry fee for this one was much more reasonable....cakes, a flask of tea/coffee and an optional donation to help the organiser's son go to the special Olympics!  A quick pre-race briefing in the village hall, followed by a mad car dash up to the Mount Eagle mast before the 11am start.  

Me, Cori and Kate (from Cairngorm Runners

Dogs were allowed to run too, so Cori got to try out his new cani-x kit (which worked pretty well, although I don't think made me run any faster!).  He ran with me the first 9.5 miles (by which point Clark had finished, coming 2nd no less!!!!), so I dropped Cori off on the way back through for the second section.  A really nice off road route with a few challenging hills in it, and some options for those who didn't want to do the full route (12.2miles), or wanted to bike it.  First Aiders on bikes and marshalls on all the key junctions, and on bikes were all on hand, as well as an official photographer!  Great organisational efforts put in for a "social" run.  I think there were maybe 30-40 people in all, and there was talk of making it official in year's to come as it was thoroughly enjoyable!  I still count this as speedwork as my average of 9:37 miles is faster than my usual!

Running through Ryvoan Pass

So, now we're firmly entrenched in Nethy Bridge, enjoying the peace and quiet....both pretty tired from the hustle and bustle of "normal" life, combined with a weekend of speed!  

Managing to make the most of the beautiful surroundings though, with a 15 miler yesterday through the Ryvoan Pass...at a "better" pace....albeit the last 4 miles were all around 9:30 or less....!  A sports massage yesterday, a rest day today and a 30ish miler planned for tomorrow!  All peppered with good scoff, and a few cakes/wine!  Perfect holiday!  Just can't believe how quickly the time is passing!

Lochan by Ryvoan

Oh yes, and we managed to find time to join Cairngorm Runners club....the things I'll do for a discount at the Mountain Cafe!!

So, that's all for now....back to the log fire, and to raise a glass to toast absent friends!

Run on, and stay safe.....

Tales of a Leaky Bladder

I've been threatening to write this blog post for about a week now, so some of the memories are fading, and my bravado about revealing both leaky bladder stories has faded....(Fiona 'Chief Grumpy' MacDonald you get a reprieve......what happens on tour, stays on tour....)...

Ready for "the off"

Anyway, what a great weekend we all had at 'Highland Fling "Training Camp"' last weekend...there was fun, laughter, old friends, new friends, fear, frights, food, drink....oh, and a good dose of running too!  

Arriving on the Friday straight from work I dumped my bags in the cabin I was to share with Johnny Fling, Lorna and Carol and headed across to the hostel for a coffee with the ever chirpy Fiona (who'd "just come down fae the Isle of Skye" (she's not very big....but she ain't very shy....;-))) and then off for a wee 4 mile warm up with Dawn, Frank and the 2 dogs, just as the sun was setting.  Great start to the weekend to clear the head after another busy week at work! And then followed later with a few drinks, and some lovely dinner cooked by Mr Fling himself (he obviously know's I'm used to being catered for (before Clark makes any smart comments!!)), which we shared with Vic O'Reilly who'd arrived late from Bute and missed the other's trip to the Real Food Cafe (cue the funniest story I've heard for a long time from Fiona.....(leaky bladder part 1....) which had tears rolling down our faces!

A few more drinks and introductions in the hostel......lots of chat about who was running where, with who, how far and how long....and then off to bed!

Saturday dawned fairly clear...a wee flurry of drizzle and a wee bit cold...but turned into another beautiful day to be running on WHW.  I had my heart set on a 30 miler, so headed north with a big group, who, after a short interlude to ensure Ian Minty picked himself out of the icy stream, spread out pretty quickly.

I love this part of the WHW - the views are stunning and the terrain is pretty runnable (except the power march up Murdo's Mount, which called for a snack stop and photo opportunity at the top!)

Admiring the view from Murdo's Mount (photo by Dave Hetherington)

The only downside of the day was my leaky bladder...and if I'd had a fiver for everyone who mentioned I had orange squash running down my legs for the first 2 hours, I'd be rich by now!  And it wasn't very pleasant as it froze in the cold!  Wrapping it in a poly bag didn't make any difference either!  On the plus side, once the fluid higher than wherever the mystery holes is had leaked out, I still had enough to keep me going for the rest of the day!  So now it's time to re-evaluate hydration packs and work out which to go for next!  I have about 6 Camelbaks already, but am tempted by one with bottles instead of a bladder next....

The 30 miles seemed to pass in a flash with time to chat with loads of different folk, stops to take pictures and have a bite to eat, as the pace and hills affected everyone differently...and we were 'soon' back at the By The Way accommodation for food, showers, a trip to the shop for some soup...and a wee disco nap before the communal (and delicious) chilli and sticky toffee pudding scoff later that night.  I was surprised how well I felt I had run, and that I didn't feel too 'burst'...and that I managed to stay up eating, drinking and chatting til past midnight (almost unheard of these days!!)

There was much chat of a run the following morning at 9....but as it transpired, there was just me (I know Dawn went earlier with the dogs and Fiona, Vic and Dave were going cycling)....so I managed to hijack John and Katrina Kynaston's (and Caroline) first couple of miles south (I think they were off for a 32 miler having not been with us the day before), before turning back, just to get a few extra wee miles in.   And then back to the cabin to deal with clearing the devastation....you'd think the 4 of us were planning a month's survival/feeding of the 5,000 the amount of kit and food we'd all taken!

After many sad goodbyes, had to head back home to see how much mess I could make before Clark got home, in the house which he'd tidied before he went on his wee jolly to Aviemore.....it's fair to say I succeeded, before lighting the fire, wrapping myself in a blanket and falling sound asleep in front of the rugby.....

Happy running, good times....and still feeling the effects a week later....!  But there's still training to be done.....as always!  Here's hoping this good weather is here to stay!

In The Zone

I was on a training course a couple of weeks ago about 'Constructive (Non-Violent) Communication'.  After the week I've just had, this sub-title of non-violent makes me laugh (well, sometimes you just have to....either that, or drink a lot of red wine, which is what happened first...).  I was reflecting on this a lot today, as Bob, Mossy Dog and I trotted along the WHW from Rowardennan to Doune Bothy and back (more of this later)!

One of the themes on the course was about how you approach your day/life/communications, and the impact that can have on those around you, and how they respond to you.  There were 4 (maybe 5 but I can only remember 4) levels:  Over the Top; In the Zone; Bad Day; Bad Life.  I like to try and adopt an 'in the zone' approach to most things, and think that most runners, especially those of the trail/ultra persuasion tend to be the same.  This really is the optimum place to be to get the best from yourself and those around you.  This week, I've been challenged (and on one occasion by what would verge on the more violent side of communication!), by others who are most definitely in the 'Bad Life' phase of the model.  What is it with some people not accepting responsibility for choices they themselves have taken, and apportioning blame and resentment on those around them?!

Anyway, I'm not going to dwell on the in's and out's of that, suffice to say, there's just no need! And that I'm happy that I'm an 'in the zone' runner, and surrounded by a lot of other like-minded friends!

Today was a run designed to over-come my wondering about the 'tricky' and much talked about section of the (WHW) Highland Fling route past Inversnaid, and get a 20+ miler in the bag.  So off we set, me, Bob and Moss in the dreich foggy damp, nil visibility through the forest and off towards Inversnaid.

The first 7 miles were fine (cheeky 'wee' hill not far out of Rowardennan made us adopt the 'ultra runners can walk the hills' mantra), and we hardly saw a sole (1 walker just out of the car park, and one runner (Neil Gibson I think) just before Inversnaid).  Eating and drinking to more of a plan, was the order of the day, and I think we both did ok on that front...albeit desperate for a vat of diet coke when we were done!  And luckily we'd both prepared so had plenty waiting for us!

The next section...the 'tricky bit' wasn't actually as bad as anticipated....I actually quite like that kind of stuff (when awake enough and paying attention!) and there were only a couple of bits I thought could be problematic on race day.  We'd planned to do 20 miles, but went on a wee bit further to ensure I'd seen all of the bad bit (thanks Bob!)).  A wee snack, change of gloves/buff and headed back to Inversnaid, passing a few more runners on the way (including 4 boys who appeared to be having a 'who can wear the most fluro clothing' competition!)

Inversnaid Waterfalls

Noticed a missed call from Clark when I stopper to take the photo....(a) wondering what was taking me so long and (b) to tell me he'd bought me a jam donut and it might not survive if I didn't run fast enough to get home before he ate it!  So that was cause to scoff my 'emergency' Mrs Tilly's (only 2 squares!!)

After the big climb about 3 miles from home, we managed to push the last couple of miles (downhill, LOL), thinking the car park must be closer than it really was, and I even managed an extra lap of the carpark to tip the Garmin over 21 miles!

A great day's running, no falling, and I think I've easily replaced the calories burnt off!  Quads a wee bit achy from all the extra big steps and clambering....here's hoping all's good tomorrow as I think I've a 6 to do!

"It could rain on race day...."

Ooft what a run today!  The forecast promised rain and gales, and didn't fail to deliver on that!  What they didn't mention was the sleet and snow, and the icebergs floating down the Sherrifmuir road, requiring a detour!

This weekend's planned long run was for 20 miles, and as I've not been adhering to the rest of the schedule particularly well, I was keen to nail it this weekend, and get over that psychological hurdle.

Yesterday might've been the better day to do it - clear, dry, but bitterly cold and snowy (still lying deep on the paths and trails), and there was an alluring optional distraction....a trip to the Cairngorms (one of my favourite ever places) to see the Husky Rally (oh, and we happened to detour into the Mountain Cafe afterwards for a cheeky wee scoff!)

Wise and contemplative!

I could easily have stolen this wee man

So, today I knew the miles had to be done, so I wrapped up in 4 layers, thermal tights, spare clothes/gloves/buff in Camelbak, and set off at good pace (probably a little too quick in hindsight looking at the stats).  I'd pretty much planned all week that I'd run on the road this weekend, so headed into Braco, Kinbuck, Dunblane, Bridge of Allan and back via Pendreich and Sherrifmuir. 

My latest "secret weapon" on the long slow solo runs is audio books, and I've been trying to catch up with the rest of the world by listening to "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo".  It seems to be working well so far.  I started listening to WHW podcasts last year and really find the spoken voice a better tempo for the longer stuff.  You just have to make sure you don't forget to listen for traffic, watch for potholes/pavements etc....nor get distracted and let your mind wander and miss key points of the story!

Still I had to dig pretty deep....back to that old mantra "it could rain on race day" to get through it.  it's not that long until the D33 and the fling, and the way this climate is going there's going to be many a "character building" run to be done (thanks Helen!).  And I'd back-weighted all the hills...so the challenge mentally was to build in the "walk the steep bits" philosophy, even though there was tarmac down there somewhere!

I detoured the last 3 miles - Clark had been running out from the house to meet me, and called to warn of 1 foot-deep ice rivers of icebergs on the descent from Sheriffmuir to Greenloaning and loss of feeling in his feet.  Thankfully my superhero was on hand to drive to Dunblane to pick me up at the revised end point!

So glad of a hot shower (with cold jets on the legs first!), the big pot of homemade soup, a wee square of Mrs Tilly's fudge and a lazy afternoon by the log fire (and without the almost obligatory afternoon nap!)!

I'll sleep well tonight I think!

Life is a roller coaster....but then, so is the WHW...

It's been another one of those 'interesting' weeks...and given I couldn't get to sleep last night (very abnormal for me!), I thought maybe it was time to blog again and download some of what's in my head!

Oh look, there's me scoffing the sweeties!

After a great run last weekend from Drymen to Balmaha over Conic (& back!) with the Glasgow D33 Training (but really training for all sorts of things) Group I was feeling pretty good - new friends, new route, good running.....a riding the roller coaster of the WHW...up, down, left, right, mud, rocks, rivers, bridges, gates, great views....(and subsequently pleased to hear Emma hadn't broken her ankle on the tumble down Conic!).  Followed with 5ish miles in muddy Crieff on the Sunday, and a good weekend was in the bag!

And then the week became a swift carriage of ups and downs.  It's always busy at work, and that's kinda why I like it!  Always the diversity of things to be done (in too little time), but great brands and mostly great people to work with!

Monday became 'interesting' because Cori the dog had an appointment at the Vet School in Edinburgh, which I somewhat mistakenly thought was for a consultation about his ongoing limp issue.....turned into 7 hours of Clark nervously hanging around Edinburgh while they knocked him out again, shaved an inordinate number of body parts and took CT scans, fluid samples and what-not....and still we end up no further to a diagnosis, and with a confused, dazed, vomitty dog.....! Oh, and it was 'rest day'....erghh!

On Tuesday, another fast downhill as I was feeling pretty grim.  I'd been started on some medication (another long dull story!), which I'm pretty sure wasn't fixing anything and was having some nasty side-effects, so by the time I finished work, and headed for pilates, everything was a bit dizzy and sick feeling.....which in my wisdom, I decided a bag of sour Skittles would help!  Well, yes and no....and I'm sure it didn't help my Slimming World weigh-in later that night!!  The result on the scales would count as an uphill on my roller coaster but only because it was a + and not a -!

Anyway, apologies for the long boring story (if anyone has actually read this far!).

The big fall - Wednesday!  I'll give you any number of reasons....it was 7am, it was dark, the batteries in my head-torch were low, I was chasing Clark, it was rocky, my head was still sore...and I was bizarrely thinking about Luco the running pug..and obviously just not paying enough attention...but anyhow, I came tumbling to a painful thud, squealled for quite some time, ripped a hole in my trousers (and my good knee!)...and then spent the rest of the day unable to put any weight on it!  So...another 2 days of rest then!  Arghhh!!!

Thursday was a bad dizzy sick ('am I getting the lurgy'?) day, combined with the knee still throbbing and the DOMS from the impact running through the rest of the body.  So, I decided to stop taking the tablets, as they weren't fixing what they were meant to anyway!  Winner!  Much better day on Friday!  The fastest and most productive day of the week...decided the best option was just to MTFU....and Saturday's run to look forward to!

A lovely 10 miler, in great cold conditions and some lovely views, checking out another bit of the WHW I've never run on before from Balmaha to Sallochy Bay and back with Bob, Clark and the 2 pooches.

Doesn't do it justice but an awesome early view

The knee(s) held out - hurrah!  I didn't fall (despite ice, tree routes, windy tracks etc etc) - hurrah! And we ended up going further than I thought - hurrah!

Bob and I were slower than Clark as usual...as he skipped like a mini-mountain goat up the hills and scoffed at my "I'm an ultra-runner - we're allowed to walk the hills!" logic!  But a good effort all round, and no bad after effects (yet!)!

So, looking like a high end to the week - aiming for another few miles tomorrow just to keep myself ahead of Clark in the miles-to-date challenge!  I'm less than quarter of a mile ahead at the moment at just over 67 for the month......!

So, apologies for the 'Dear Diary' effort on today's blog!  Glass of wine and some cheese & biscuits if you read this far!

Happy weekend all!  Run on friends!

Recaps and Resolutions

Well, that'll be 2012 over then!  There's been good times, there's been some bad times, and although I'm not superstitious, entering 2013 does make you wonder....

The highlights of 2012 for me have to include staying pretty much injury free (touch wood), getting some decent mileages done, and completing my first Scottish Ultra at Devil O' the Highlands....set your mind to it, and anything is possible!  Along the journey, I also ran a PB at the lovely Strathearn Marathon, which I aim to go back and run again this year (and hopefully shave 43 seconds off my time to get in under 4 hours)!  I also had a great run at Cape Wrath Marathon, a race I've been hankering to do for a good few years!

Finishing at Cape Wrath

I entered the infamous marcothon in December...running 3 miles or 25 minutes every day for the month....I did miss 4 days, but boy, that was hard enough to keep up with given how busy the month is, and how crap the weather was!  But, I guess that's the whole point!!  Clark soldiered on and completed with flying colours!  So the picture below has to be for him really!

Analyst by day, I'll be keeping a closer eye on my training stats this year... 2012 got me to 1,180.24 miles running (had I spotted this a little sooner I could've pushed it to 1,200...I don't know why I think that's important!), and (a better, more rounded) 1,801 from all activities!  The more exciting numbers are 155,400 calories (119,000 from running!)...which is a good few pounds of fat (about 45 I think)!!  

1lb of fat!

In 2013 I'll be trying to increase the quality and quantity of those run miles, as well as shifting the extra half-stone that has crept on post-Devil...back at Slimming World to save me getting into my bad habits....and because it's a good laugh every week!  Had a look back recently at some of my 'before' photos from 2010 before I lost the 3 stone 4 lbs, and that was a scary flash back too, as if the motivation of having less weight to carry around on the long runs wasn't enough!!!

So, the grand plan for the events in 2013 then.....

March: D33 to give me some motivation to get out there and get the miles in, followed by a training week later in the month in Nethy Bridge 
April: Hoka Highland Fling to have a stab at the first 'half' of the WHW
May: supporting Clark & Steven at Bealach Beag, followed by some good scoff and a week of sunshine (I can dream!) in Plockton
June: Strathearn Marathon and hopefully some supporting, by way of sports massage at the WHW race
July: hopefully supporting Clark & Bob at the Corrieyairack Challenge
August: Devil O The Highlands
September: Glenmore 24 to challenge myself to see if I can run through the night

So, here's to a happy, healthy 2013 for all, with stress free solid training, great events, good times and much fun!

Head vs. Heart

I'd been planning, since entries opened in July, to run the Glen Ogle 33 on 3rd November, the last day of my 'Autumn' holiday, most of which to be spent in Nethy Bridge, my (I wish) home from home!  Training however had not been going according to any long distance plan, and I seemed to be carrying some sort of wintery virus - nothing major, but sniffy, sore throat and feeling a bit run down over a few weeks at work as the date grew increasingly closer :-(.  So after a couple of weeks of head vs. heart debating, I took the decision to withdraw from the race, rather than push myself to destruction.  It took a while to reach the decision, as the event is fairly local to me and I'd been looking forward to it for ages, and I was slightly annoyed with myself for not being able to get the miles done.

However, decision made, and on the positive, I had a week in Nethy to look forward to, and the hope of some good weather, fresh air, and opportunity to get some miles in!  I love Nethy, and we come up here at least twice a year (and usually to the same house/cottage.... http://www.strathnethyholidays.com/).  And with views like this from the front window, it's not hard to understand why!!

View from Bynackbeg Cottage

Clark had always planned to run the Meall a Bhuachaille hill race on the first day of our hols, and my intention was to be official support, clapper and photographer....but with no Glen Ogle to rest up for, somehow I found myself being talked into participating!  I was still a bit undecided on the day, but we arrived in good time, the conditions looked clear, and somehow I found myself signing the disclaimer and handing over my £6 (bargain entry fee)!  It's a hill and route I've walked up many a time (apart from the random deviation to the second summit where in the race you have to detour through the heather, end up right thigh deep in a freezing bog, and then scuttle up a 'goat' path), so I thought I knew what I was in for!

A different, and still unflattering finishing grimmace!

I'm 'glad' I did it, and I wasn't last (closest to last I think I've ever been, with only 6 people behind me!), but the Innov8 Roclites were Rocsh&te in the compact snow on the summit which caused a sense of humor bypass.....lesson learnt there...ooh, do I need another new pair of running shoes?!  But there obviously was still some endurance in me (even if 'only' an 8 mile race) as I overtook 2 folk before the final summit too, and they were nowhere near me at the finish!

So, not a bad day all in all, and one to probably repeat next year, with a bit of targeted training, and some better shoes!  (and maybe less pink!)

On the way to Ben MacDui

Cairngorm plateau

Great rest of the holiday week - mileage c57 (running and walking) with some pretty decent weather (we're always pretty lucky up here), and some new routes found as usual!  And a fantastic day in the snow on Ben MacDui (with no ghost!)

Oh, and the dog has had a ball too!

Cori practicing his favorite stunt dog manouvre

Sad to be going home tomorrow, but in need of a rest!  One final 5 miler around Dell forest in the morning, before a well earned 'All Day Breakfast' in the Mountain Cafe en route home!