Continuing my preparation for the Commonwealth Championships I've just begun the second week of tapering (out of three).  Last week the mileage was 30 miles, this week it will be 40 and for the final week 20 [not including the race].

If that seems a little strange it's because the final week before tapering was my crash training period and to help recovery after that intense seven day period I half my normal weekly mileage.

Also in the final three weeks I try to include some heat training sessions, ie training with lots of clothes.

Yesterday afternoon I took part in another relay for Otley AC.  This time it was the Yorkshire Road Relay Championships at Headingley, Leeds.  I completed the windy 4 miles (6.4 km) in 24:20 which I'm very pleased about as that's the equivalent of about 18:50 for 5k.

Fifteen teams started.  The A team finished third and the B team (for which I ran the first stage) finished ninth.

Also, for the first time ever, Otley AC had a women's team taking part.  In my time as secretary (1999 to 2009) I tried incessantly to get a women's team together for various road relays.  Always without success for one reason or another.  It didn't help that some senior women seemed to have the attitude that in general the club's women were not up to the required standard.

I always thought that was irrelevant and that it was the taking part that was most important.  If the team came last then at the very least they would have learned from the experience.  So, well done to Tamara Weatherhead, Liz Ashton, Liz Fawcett and Caron Ralph.

Last minute preparations

Yesterday morning I ran a  6 mile fartlek session - with lots of extra layers - heat training.  Following the tried and tested advice of Ron Daws and others I wore 3 T shirts, a long sleeved top, a sweatshirt and a rain proof jacket.  It wasn't raining but ... every bit helps !!

In case you were wondering ... I also had three layers on my legs.  Tracksters, track suit and shower proof trousers.

As expected my sweat rate was well over 2000ml per hour.  Over three times what I would normally expect for such a run.

That's the heat training finished.  Nine times in the last three weeks is about right.  I know it works if the race is in hot weather but it is very difficult to quantify if the race is in the same conditions as the training.  I know the science is sound but how can I test whether it has worked or not ?

With the race just over three days away now I've started applying vaseline to my feet morning, noon and night (and wearing old socks) in an attempt to prevent blisters which are the bane of many ultra runners.  Luckily I very rarely have blister problems - maybe it's because of all the vaseline I use.

Yesterday my crew and I went through some stuff and checked details, etc.  It's always good to have input from another person, especially crew, because it's essential to strike a balance between what works for the runner and what is practical from a crewing perspective.  We'll go through everything for a final time on Thursday afternoon/evening.

Feel good now and ready to go.  The first big test of the year and soon I'll know whether my training is on course for a good performance at the Commonwealth Championships.  Hopefully I'll also have lots more info about nutrition (particularly protein and potassium) and also whether I can run a bit slower at the start and quicker at the end (ie slow down less during the race).

All this info is vital for good ultra performances.

More than that though ... I'm just looking to enjoy the race and I hope the weather isn't too bad.  The current forecast is for the temperature to be 17 C during Friday afternoon, dropping to 11 C at night.  Dry during the day but perhaps a little rain overnight into Saturday morning.  Winds of 11 mph from the west dropping to 6 mph later.  Overall that sounds OK to me.

Aaarrrgh ... Keir has a bad cold.  I hope he stays away from me, I definitely don't want a cold so close to a 100 mile race.  Luckily for me he's a teenager which means he spends most of his time either in his bedroom or outside.

Heat training has been going well generally but causing lots of extra laundry.  Running with lots of extra clothes is quite a bit harder sometimes and about a week ago I found a 6 mile tempo run to be extremely difficult when wearing 2 T shirts, a long sleeved top, a sweatshirt and also tracksters and tract suit bottoms.

Tomorrow, with only a week to go, I start on the beetroot juice.  You may remember that I drank 500ml per day in the week before the Perth 24 hr race last September - with excellent results.  It does taste better than expected and 500ml isn't too much really ...

All the best to those who are running the West Highland Way Race - I hope the weather holds out for you all, or at least that it doesn't rain solidly for the entire race.

And watch out for Richard Hamer - Otley AC member - who set off yesterday to walk the route.  I hope he doesn't get in the way too much !!!

This morning I noticed the route changes for next week's race.  Especially the major one involving the first 8 miles or so.  Looking at the map (and being a former Race Director) I can understand the reasoning behind it but personally I would have preferred the original route as footpaths on the course of old railways tend not to be too inspiring - those I have used anyway.

So long as the overall distance is the same.  That's the main thing I suppose, along with runner's safety.

tapering

Tapering for the ULTRArace 100 miler has now well and truly begun.  This week will see a reduction in training to about two thirds of last weeks level.  Next week it will be down to less than 50% and for the final week before the race about 20 to 25%.

Obviously I can't fit in long runs but everything else is per my normal training - less of it that's all.

Also started heat training this morning.  I know the ULTRArace 100 will probably not be a hot race but the physiological benefits gained are still useful.  The most meaningful physiological adaptations that occur is an increase in blood plasma volume ... other adaptations include changes in sweat rate, changes in sweat sodium concentration and changes in core resting temperature.


Two of the most useful articles I've read about this stuff are from Endurance Science and from ULTRAFitnessTraining.com which is turning out be an exceptionally useful resource.

initial thoughts and questions

At least eleven national records from the 229 competitors shows what a high quality field it was.  Generally, 100 miles is seen as a good performance and at Tooting Bec the organisers try to have 25% above that distance, in Brive it was over 75%.

Eight runners over 250k, 43 over 225k, 100 over 200k.

Twenty one runners over 150 miles, 98 over 125 miles, 173 over 100 miles.

A true World Championship.

For my part there are a few questions:

- the temperature was consistently about 9 degrees Celsius (16 degrees F) below average. Did my heat training therefore have an adverse affect on my performance ?

- my plan was to start at about 7:45 per mile and gradually slow down to about 9:45 per mile at the end. Would I have done better if those figures had been 8:00 and 9:30 ?

- did I take my caffeine tablets at the most appropriate times, would they be better used when I feel a bad patch coming on ?

- cramp, why ?

Other thoughts/memories:

- the American woman, Amy Palmiero-Winters ran with a prosthetic leg but every few hours had to have the dressing on her stump changed.  She ran very close to 200km.  My hero for the race.

- Jim Rogers had been drinking beetroot juice for a week before the race. He ran a very good pb.

- my hydration plan worked exceptionally well.

- six portaloos for over 200 runners wasn't enough.

- the meals provided by the organisers before and after the race were excellent.

- the crowd support was absolutely amazing.  Hundreds of people lining the course, especially near the feed stations, made for a very special atmosphere.

I feel much more myself today, not running yet though - I'll save that for Thursday.  Hopefully the full race report will make an appearance in the next few days.

Icelandic volcano disrupts flights in and out of UK

Training has gone well this week except for the incident reported in the previous post.  Heat training is progressing well but I'm a bit worried about all the cancelled flights over Europe due to the volcanic eruption in Iceland - will we get to Brive ?

Tomorrow will be my last long run before the big race.  I ran 21 miles on Saturday [part of which was with lots of extra clothing], 21 miles fartlek this morning and I'll do 21 miles again tomorrow but half of that will be with lots of extra layers - 5 tops, thick woolly hat, etc.

a strange day

Let me start by recounting yesterday's training.  In the morning (7.30am) I left home for a 25 miler taking in an eight mile stretch of the Leeds Liverpool Canal.  Overall time 3h 35 ... no problem at all.

In the evening I spent an hour doing strength and conditioning followed by some stretching.  I did this in lots of extra clothing and in an extra warm room.  Again no problems at all ... apart from lots of sweat.

This morning my heart rate was quite a bit higher than normal ... usually in the morning it's about 43 to 44 bpm but this morning it was 51 bpm.  An increase of well over 15%.  I thought that perhaps my cold was about to get worse.

7.15am - headache started ... took two ibuprofen

7.30am - spent 50 minutes on the bike. Wearing lots of clothes and in a very warm room. Headache fading.

9.00am - headache returns with a vengeance. Took two more ibuprofen.

9.30am - feeling very ill now, and getting worse. Symptoms were: headache, feeling cold even though the air temperature is 22 degrees C (71.6 degrees F), restlessness, complete lack of appetite, extreme sleepiness.

11.00am - managed to get into the kitchen to make myself a large cup of coffee.

noon - beginning to feel a bit better.

1.00pm - feeling almost normal.

2.00pm - went for a run ... 13.2 miles in 1h 50. Pleased with that considering I didn't push the pace at all and this morning's experiences were always at the back of my mind.

4.00pm - everything back to normal ... but what will tomorrow bring ?

I can see I'll have to be careful with this heat training thing.

Otley AC handicap

This morning I took part, for the first time this year, in a club handicap.  It was a 6.1 mile race around Eccup Reservoir, north of Leeds.  Here is a route map.  Having a slight cold I didn't expect too much and certainly didn't plan to run too hard as I was also going to run the 6.6 miles back home to Otley.

Setting off with Huw Illingworth we passed the first mile in about 5.55 (about 30 seconds quicker than I would have liked).  Huw was always about 10 to 30m in front of me for the first two miles but it became obvious that he was slowing quite a bit so I pushed on in front ... and continued pushing all the way round.

Finished with a time of 38:24 which means that that the final five miles were run at about 6:22 per mile (my target time for the entire race was about 39:30).  I was well chuffed to beat that by over a minute - and to win the event too.  Full results are on the Otley AC website.  Also pleasing for me was the fact that this was my fastest time on that course since the year 2000 - well before my ultra running days.

After a few minutes recovery and a drink I put on three extra tops and a warm hat (the temperature was probably about 15 degrees C at this point but in Brive the temperature is not likely to fall below 14 degrees C.  For the entire 24 hours.  So a period of heat training is in order ... as used successfully in the 1960s by marathon runner Ron Daws (and also the walker Don Thompson (?) when training for the 50km event at the Rome Olympics of 1960).

And also by more recent ultra distance specialists such as William Sichel.

Anyway, the 6 miles plus home in the early afternoon sunshine saw one or two strange looks from passing motorists and other people out in shorts and T shirts enjoying the sun.  Still ... I'm sure my body got a lot out of the experience which will be repeated with increasing regularity as the big race approaches.