summer cold, etc

Just when things couldn't get much better they took a turn for the worse.  Over the past few days I've developed a rather bad cold.  Over the past five or six days I've noticed my morning pulse getting progressively higher and higher and that's usually a sign of illness.

It hasn't been high enough to reduce my training in any way (until today) but yesterday afternoon the cold began in earnest.  Streaming nose, tiredness, lethargy, etc.  I immediately began taking lots of vitamin C as advocated by Frank Horwill and others.  Not as much as he suggested but I realise now that I should have started the 'medicine' a couple of days ago.

One thing I have noticed over the past six months or so is that I seem to have forgotten stuff like that.  I'm sure it will all come back once I get properly into training mode again - only another four weeks to go.

As mentioned above my morning pulse was exceptionally high - over 20 % higher than normal.  So, I've decided to ease back on the cycling and strength training for a few days.  The running, such that it is, is only at a very low level anyway at the moment.

One thing I have noticed ... England Athletics have put on their website details of an English 24 hr Championship - this year held in conjunction with the Tooting Bec race in London.  There appears to be some confusion though because there are slightly different details on the two pages it is mentioned - here and here - and no mention on the race website (or on the entry form).

If this is the beginning of an annual English Championship then that can only be a good thing as athletes in all other disciplines have a national championship to aim for.  For me it's just a shame I won't be fit enough to take part but hopefully it will be something the powers that be continue with - and maybe (hopefully) us it as a selection event for a home nations 24 hr championships.  Or is that a step too far ...

At this point I should mention that I suggested a championship to England Athletics back in 2009 when I also pointed out that the list of English records did not include ultra distance events.  Within a week or two some ultra records were included but, even now, the men's 100k is missing and the women's 24 hour (road) has not been updated to include Lizzy Hawker.

news ... news ... news ...

Just three short news items today:

(1)  The Planet Ultramarathon website has an interesting post about solo running and the logistics of keeping records of those feats.  After my Run to London last year my main thought would be that some people do those kind of things just for fun.  They may be interested in the record aspect of it but do not want to get tied down with all the red tape and/or paperwork and/or other requirements that may be needed to absolutely prove they did what they claim to have done.

It is a good idea to have a body recognising these achievements though.

(2)  The German website (DUV) has been uploading lots of ultra race results lately.  Some of them going back to the 1970's.  This website is proving to be a great repository of results and provides a brilliant statistical service for the last six years over a wide range of distances and times.  Well done to Jurgen, Bertram and Andreas.

Good to see Alan Young at number thirteen in the British 24 hour rankings for 2010.

(3)  William Sichel has uploaded loads of podcasts, many of which were filmed with the Athens 1000 mile race in mind.  They contain an amazing amount of information and show just how meticulous ultra runners have to be with their preparation and racing.  Amazing stuff which is well worth a look.

World Challenge & European Championships (again)

Yesterday I studied the results carefully and Anne-Cecile Fontaine of France had a sensational race missing the world best performance by a mere 14 metres.

Let's put that into perspective for those among us who are not ultra runners.  She ran 243.644m and the record is 243.657m.   That is equivalent to missing Paula Radcliffe's marathon record of 2h 15:25 by 0.43 seconds or missing Usain Bolt's 100m record of 9.69 seconds by 0.0005 seconds.

Even comparing it with Tomoe Abe's 100km world record of 6h 33:11 gives the result that Anne-Cecile would have been a mere 1.26 seconds behind.

Amazing

New Challenge

Charity Number 1080540

After the disappointment of December and having to withdraw from the race in Athens I've been thinking of another way to raise funds in aid of Orchid whilst using my 'ultra running talents'.

My main focus for this year is the Commonwealth Ultra Running Championships in September so anything I do has to part of my overall planning for that. I would also like the event to pander to my competitive nature ... and, for the time being, not involve huge sums of money travelling to the venue.

So ... I've decided that beginning on Saturday 24 May 2009 I'll run from my home town of Otley all the way to London. The approximate distance is about 210 miles (over the next few weeks I'll get an accurate measurement) and my proposed route can be viewed here.

For my competitive nature: in late May 1985 Mike Newton ran the following on the London to Peterborough road:
1) 300 km in 36h 26:29
2) 200 miles in 38h 22:15
3) in 48 hr he covered 363.228 km

Although these are not official British Records they are apparently the best recorded performances and it would be a good incentive to try and better one or more of them.

Also, they'll be an inaugural time for Leeds to London for other runners to aim for.

Well, that's my target for late May. Must get back to training now. There'll be regular updates regarding the route, how to donate and other relevant stuff about the run.