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!

 

bru-tal Adjective: Savagely violent. Punishingly hard or uncomfortable

Brutal!  That was the word of the weekend...and my 4th outing to the HandsOn Events Ullapool Beag Sportive. 65.5 miles and 7815ft of ascent.  Not your average day out!

In fairness, it's never been an 'easy' ride - year 1 was bloody windy, year 2 I had to drop out at half-way due to ongoing hip/knee injury (and being a tad overweight), year 3 was a fantastic ride and this year was just brutal!  Not being bike fit was always going to be an issue this year, hoping to 'get by' on all the running miles in my legs, despite a good few weeks recovery still going on....and the lovely Scottish weather always adds that element of the unknown!  Although it was fairly clear that rain and wind were on the cards again this year!

Friday evening across Ullapool Bay

Friday night looked 'promising', with the rain clearing as we arrived at the house we had rented for the weekend (which was lovely - dog friendly, nestled at the foot of Ullapool hill, and plenty room for 6 of us - 3 cycling and 3 lovely support crew (who were very relieved to not be pedaling!!)).

Race day dawned (I assume, behind the cloud and rain!) and after a hearty bowl of porridge, several cups of coffee and a fair amount of faffing about (especially from Stewart, who I eventually left at the house to go and register on my own!), it was a short pedal across the road to the village hall to register, sign my life away again, collect the timing dibber and join the crowd huddling just inside the door praying for the rain to stop and laughing at the guy with the deep rimmed wheels, which caused the race director some concerns that he was going to get blown off!  

It's a great route for a challenge (Garmin Stats apart from the first 12 miles when I forgot to press start!) and there's a good few ups and downs!  As usual, people passed me on the uphills, and I passed them on the downhills!  The field quickly dispersed as we set off into the rain and severe winds, and any hopes of getting to work in a group vanished!  In fact, most of the second half, I hardly saw another cyclist!!  And that made it really tough too! 

On a better day, the scenery is amazing, as you can see from some of the photos I took when Clark and I did some walking and touring on Sunday!

Random sign at Knockan Crag

Awesome view and a great piece of stone
masonry at Knockan Crag!

Cori, eyeing up the tourists

Achmelvich Beach

That aside though, I spent the last 25 or so miles of the event saying "Never Again!" and I think this time I mean it!  I thought about DNF-ing several times, but knew that would just mean I had to come back again!  And, I'm tough, and I know I am, and even though it was hurting, I didn't want, or need, to have to admit defeat...even when some of my miles I've averaged <6 mph!  I can run faster than that FFS!  (and several times I thought that running this course would have been easier than biking it!).  And, all the hills on this route are pretty cyclable - not like Bealach, where often you have no choice but to walk some of the way!  It was more the weather that was an issue - head wind, side wind (never a tail wind!!) and some torrential downpours to boot!

The marshalls, as usual, were on good form, and had some fantastic home baking and banter - even when they could hardly stand upright at Leadmore Junction!  And my support team also kept me going, with "Whoop Whoop"ing and shouts of "Remember this is F U N - FUN" out of the window!  So, I made it to the end, definitely not a PB at 5hrs 16m, but then, everyone's times were down!  And it was a great long weekend away as Clark and I stayed on an extra night to potter about - getting to see the beautiful deserted sands at Achmelvich, and a wee trip to Corrieshalloch Gorge on the way home today...not to mention lunch at the Mountain Cafe, Aviemore on the way back down as a reward (lunch on the way up on Friday was just a bonus!).  I'm not massively sore either...tired, hungry and a bit of back/hamstring pain...but the latter was there before I started, albeit a little less severe!

New cycling event required for next year!  Ullapool is job done!

A Favourite Run - And Reason to be Thankful!

Two days of blue skies and sunshine!  Pretty unheard of in Scotland this year.  But that's what we've had this weekend, and we've made mighty fine use of it!

After a great wee bit of pedaling action yesterday (a 35 mile 'taper'/almost the only training ride in advance of next week's Ullapool Sportive), today had to be the turn of running....and the challenge of one of our favourite local runs, an off road 10.5 miler up at Loch Turret.   (http://connect.garmin.com/activity/225930549)

The first views

 It was a foggy, freezing morning, but the hope was that we would get up above the clouds and get the spectacular views of the inversion, and burn some calories and tire out the dog at the same time!!

It's an awesome view, right from the outset, as you head up the wee slope from the car park and get your first views up the loch.

The early inversion

And we were right about the inversion.  The photos don't do it justice, but it was spectacular.  And made for lots of opportunities for a breather and a photo, which was welcome relief today!

But it did get me thinking about how thankful I am that we were both there, and both able to run, no matter how painful or slow some sections were.  Probably less than 2 years ago, neither of us believed we would ever run this route again....and at that point struggled to even walk round!  At that point, Clark was still struggling with post-op issues from his double slipped disc op, and I was 3+ stone heavier, with a dodgy knee and dodgy hip which even the physio thought meant trail/hill running (or in fact any running) was out of the question for my future!

Cori enjoying a breather (and eyeing up the sheep)

Some day I'll work out how to smile for a photo!

My two boys near the summit

View from the descent

Time and determination (and supportive training partner/buddies) are great healers though....and the lure of the great Scottish countryside kept us both going through many a tough training session or moment of doubt!

Turning point for the last 3 miles along the Loch

So, overall, lots to be thankful for - health, happiness, a great part of the world to live and train in....and that happy Sunday afternoon euphoria/pain of getting to veg out on the sofa/in the garden with a satisfied and smug grin on your face! Doing it, because you can....and thousands out there can't!