Two days after the Tooting race I developed a really bad cold, the worst I've had for years. I don't often fall ill after an ultra race but this was a bad one.
Possibly a result of not showering immediately after finishing the race. So, in the future I may have to choose between Exercise Associated Collapse and developing a cold. No contest really ...
Didn't run for eight days but since then I've been out every other day and the aches and pains have slowly subsided and I'm beginning to look forward to the next challenge ... an ultra next spring probably, to confirm my fitness and injury free status before the England Athletics team is announced in June/July for the Commonwealth Championships.
I may do two races in the spring.
This morning a journalist from the Yorkshire Evening Post phoned asking for a quick interview - he's sending a photographer round on Friday.
Showing posts with label Exercise Associated Collapse. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Exercise Associated Collapse. Show all posts
Wednesday, 5 November 2008
Monday, 20 October 2008
Results
Back home and happy ... but aching all over.
Ran 228.011 km (141 miles 1196 yards) in London finishing in third place. Well pleased with that as it is over the 225 km qualifying distance set by England Athletics for the Commonwealth Championships next year.
Full details can be found on the race website.
However ... the one thing that let me down was the too frequent visits to the gents. I feel I lost at least 3k by simply not being on the track. At this early stage I tend to feel this problem was caused by my sodium potassium ratio being wrong. The overall ratio in my food and drink was just under 7:1 but my guess is that it should be higher.
Anybody out there have any thoughts on this matter ?
One thing I was very pleased with is that whilst running the second half of the race (especially in the second half of each hour long segment) I was moving much quicker that the two guys in front of me. I passed them far more often than they passed me. I think they were walking quicker or for less time than me and didn't pee as much.
Two people ended up in hospital - including the winner (Chris Finill) - I hope they're both OK.
Thanks to everyone involved with the race: organisers, helpers, lap counters, runners, crew members, etc. It really was a good one.
Oh yes ... I didn't collapse !!! Kept moving for 10 to 20 minutes after the race then sat on the floor with my feet on a chair for a while. Didn't shower or take off my compression tights either. All this seemed to work brilliantly until I got on the tube at about 2.30pm - keeled over after about 10 minutes. Got a taxi to King's Cross instead.
Mustn't go underground after an ultra race in future :)
Thanks also to my crew, Fay and Keir and also to Julian for keeping the Otley AC website updated with my progress.
I'll update the other pages on this site in the next few days.
Ran 228.011 km (141 miles 1196 yards) in London finishing in third place. Well pleased with that as it is over the 225 km qualifying distance set by England Athletics for the Commonwealth Championships next year.
Full details can be found on the race website.
However ... the one thing that let me down was the too frequent visits to the gents. I feel I lost at least 3k by simply not being on the track. At this early stage I tend to feel this problem was caused by my sodium potassium ratio being wrong. The overall ratio in my food and drink was just under 7:1 but my guess is that it should be higher.
Anybody out there have any thoughts on this matter ?
One thing I was very pleased with is that whilst running the second half of the race (especially in the second half of each hour long segment) I was moving much quicker that the two guys in front of me. I passed them far more often than they passed me. I think they were walking quicker or for less time than me and didn't pee as much.
Two people ended up in hospital - including the winner (Chris Finill) - I hope they're both OK.
Thanks to everyone involved with the race: organisers, helpers, lap counters, runners, crew members, etc. It really was a good one.
Oh yes ... I didn't collapse !!! Kept moving for 10 to 20 minutes after the race then sat on the floor with my feet on a chair for a while. Didn't shower or take off my compression tights either. All this seemed to work brilliantly until I got on the tube at about 2.30pm - keeled over after about 10 minutes. Got a taxi to King's Cross instead.
Mustn't go underground after an ultra race in future :)
Thanks also to my crew, Fay and Keir and also to Julian for keeping the Otley AC website updated with my progress.
I'll update the other pages on this site in the next few days.
Wednesday, 16 July 2008
More thoughts
Recovering well. Compression tights definitely work for post race muscle soreness ... but not for my Exercise Associated Collapse [I've got the bump on my head to prove it !!!].
Looking at all the amazing stats kept by my crew. Let's see what we have here:
1) position and distance travelled at the end of each hour
2) a note of what I ate and drank - EXACTLY how much and when
3) how far I walked during my breaks (to nearest tenth of a lap) and how long it took
4) exact times of all toilet stops (and their duration)
5) time and duration of vaseline stops and changes of clothing
6) notes regarding how my digestive system reacted to the various foodstuffs I asked it to deal with whilst running
This stuff is amazing and there are no words to describe how essential a good crew is - without a doubt they deserve the prizes just as much as me. During the race all I do is run and report how I'm feeling, everything else is the crew's job.
Right now I'm starting to piece together a race report which will appear on this blog when complete. I'm also starting to plan my next campaign (already - yes I know - not too long though before London in mid October). I feel 225k will be a realistic target for that one.
Next week will be very important though - training resumes and I'll soon discover any lingering injuries.
Thanks to all who've offered their congratulations, from Otley AC members to members of other clubs to non runners including the Otley Police Officer whose name I have mysteriously forgotten (sorry about that but you know who you are).
Finally, spare a thought for Samuel Black. He took part in Hull at the weekend and just before he left home for the race his club (Abbey Runners) persuaded him to run in the Washburn Relay on Friday 18 July. A 24hr race on Saturday and a 3.5 mile race six days later !!!
And you lot thought I was mad.
Looking at all the amazing stats kept by my crew. Let's see what we have here:
1) position and distance travelled at the end of each hour
2) a note of what I ate and drank - EXACTLY how much and when
3) how far I walked during my breaks (to nearest tenth of a lap) and how long it took
4) exact times of all toilet stops (and their duration)
5) time and duration of vaseline stops and changes of clothing
6) notes regarding how my digestive system reacted to the various foodstuffs I asked it to deal with whilst running
This stuff is amazing and there are no words to describe how essential a good crew is - without a doubt they deserve the prizes just as much as me. During the race all I do is run and report how I'm feeling, everything else is the crew's job.
Right now I'm starting to piece together a race report which will appear on this blog when complete. I'm also starting to plan my next campaign (already - yes I know - not too long though before London in mid October). I feel 225k will be a realistic target for that one.
Next week will be very important though - training resumes and I'll soon discover any lingering injuries.
Thanks to all who've offered their congratulations, from Otley AC members to members of other clubs to non runners including the Otley Police Officer whose name I have mysteriously forgotten (sorry about that but you know who you are).
Finally, spare a thought for Samuel Black. He took part in Hull at the weekend and just before he left home for the race his club (Abbey Runners) persuaded him to run in the Washburn Relay on Friday 18 July. A 24hr race on Saturday and a 3.5 mile race six days later !!!
And you lot thought I was mad.
Monday, 10 March 2008
What Happened?
I'm still unsure as to exactly what happened in the early hours of Saturday morning. I walked about 10m, down one flight of stairs, walked another 10m, stood for a minute or so ... then collapsed.
I didn't trip and I didn't slip.
On the floor I remember feeling a bit nauseous and when Fay laid me on my back with my feet elevated I began to feel better.
All this does sound like Exercise Associated Collapse (EAC) ... but surely not after a minute or two. I've run 40 or 50 miles without EAC [in fact, it's only happened to me in the past after reaching 200k].
I'm aware that a major factor is a sudden drop in blood pressure after stopping running so could there be something else that caused my blood pressure to drop suddenly ... or is there some other mechanism at work here?
This afternoon I ran by myself, carefully, for 50 mins with no achilles or other problems at all.
I didn't trip and I didn't slip.
On the floor I remember feeling a bit nauseous and when Fay laid me on my back with my feet elevated I began to feel better.
All this does sound like Exercise Associated Collapse (EAC) ... but surely not after a minute or two. I've run 40 or 50 miles without EAC [in fact, it's only happened to me in the past after reaching 200k].
I'm aware that a major factor is a sudden drop in blood pressure after stopping running so could there be something else that caused my blood pressure to drop suddenly ... or is there some other mechanism at work here?
This afternoon I ran by myself, carefully, for 50 mins with no achilles or other problems at all.
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