Boscombe 10k

What? Marco blogging again? And he isn't talking about sore Achiles or the West Highland Way. WTF a 10k race? Really. 

Since coming back to running in early September and finding out how much fitness you really do lose by not doing anything all summer I needed a goal to get back into the way of it. I don't know what other people do but I need a race or challenge so that I can focus on training. Without it I find it easy to miss days and not give it my all. With Debbie and I planning on visiting my brother Paul and his girlfriend Gillian in Bournemouth it seemed a great place to also do a 10k where I wouldn't know anyone and so have false expectations of trying to keep up with them. Perfect. 

So training started in September after being fixed up by Frank from Sports Medicine Science at Hampden I was then instructed to only run 100m at a time. Training with the lunch crowd I noticed they all now ran at International Standard or perhaps it was that I was just so slow now that I was just miles behind where they and I used to be. But the beauty of starting from scratch is that you quickly make fantastic gains and although they were slow to come by at the beginning by the start of November every week I was getting faster and my endurance better. Even so I knew that a 10k was going to hurt. With no 10k under my belt in over a year as well I had also forgotten how to race them too. Some people might think that is strange but I really think that if you don't continually race a distance you forget how to race it and have to relearn it by racing it a few times to get back to your best. 

Anyway enough gibber gabber. Back to the race weekend. Disaster nearly struck when Cairn was sent home for nursery with Chicken Pox and Debbie decided to stay at home to look after the wee man. I was torn what to do and so with a heavy heart I travelled to Bournemouth myself. 

Paul and Gillian have been fantastic and it has been great down here. I was getting worried by how much steak I have been eating though and how that would affect the race. When I arrived I had steak, for dinner I had steak, for lunch, yes steak.  I have to admit though Paul cooks damn good steak. He also knows a butcher that sells (what I now hope is steak from a cow) very cheap. Seriously though I have eaten very well down here and they have both made me feel so welcome. Both Paul and Gillian are fab cooks. I have had lovely chicken soup, banana cake and tablet. Yum. I needed a 10k to make space for more home cooking. 

Race morning came and I was shitting myself. Thankfully not because of the steak and also thankfully not literally as the water was off in the flat for maintenance and that would be embarrassing not being able to flush the toilet.

So we arrived at the stadium for the start of the race. Paul started to point out some fast looking guys to me. "he should win" or "keep up with that guy cause he does about 36mins". Although I wanted this to just be a fun run I was now getting into race mode and was sussing out the runners. Trying to figure them out. What could they do. But I wanted a conservative start so I just positioned myself in the middle of the pack and waited for the race to start. 

It was a strange start. All of a sudden a klaxon sounded and away we went round the track.  The runners quickly fanned out though and by the end of the loop around the track the front guys had formed a pack of 5 and were galloping off. There was another group of about 6 about 20m just in front of me. I looked at my watch and I was doing 5:40. Too fast. So I reigned it in a bit and relaxed. I felt fantastic. Now running 5:50s I noticed that the group in front weren't gaining any distance and I was now in no mans land between them and whoever was behind. So I picked up the pace and slotted behind the 2nd group of runners.

Perfect. As we ran through an expensive housing estate the wind would come and go and being tucked in helped me here. This was when I noticed the runner that Paul had pointed out to me who was "about 36 min". The thought now entered my mind that I could get 36 mins. The group started to break up now so I moved forward and kept with the lead 2 or 3. 

Still this felt easy and relaxed. There was a long way to go and I was worried about the last 2 miles. I hadn't raced at this intensity for a while and I knew it was gonna hurt then. 

The route was not an easy one. I had been told this before the race but as I ran through the housing estate that was far from my mind. Then we hit the first hill. I am seriously crap at hills at the moment. Really bad. The Killers Hill session a few weeks back had me crying for my mummy as I struggled round the loop. So it was a big surprise when we hit that first hill and the group collapsed and I found myself at he front and still feeling good. At the top though I slowed a bit intentionally and a couple of the runners caught back up. I still wanted to run in a group and didn't feel ready to go it alone yet. 

The course was now getting a bit harder. Under an underpass and then a sharp turn and through barriers. There was a lot of wee sharp turns. I didn't mind the slowing down for them. It was the speeding back up that hurt. 

Then we hit the big hill of the run at about 4 miles. A half mile slog up a steep hill just when you are starting to feel it at 4 miles. Again though I seemed to be fitter on the hill and the group collapsed again and I found my self alone. Also I started to see that the front group had collapsed too and a couple of runners that had gone off too fast had been spat out the back and looked like they were struggling. 

Now the race was going through trail paths with sharp downhills that made my tired quads scream. Now I could feel the effort and my HR monitor was agreeing. It was now reaching 170. I expected that at this point in a race though. I caught one of the lead pack runners. 

Then there was a grass section up a steep embankment. My quads turned to jelly but it wasn't too long and we were back on trail. Then back under the underpass and the dreaded barriers. 

On the other side it was back into housing estate. I was caught by a runner who seemed shocked when I shouted well done to him. Maybe that's an ultra running thing talking to the competition. :-)

Only one mile to go and some cheeky sharp uphills through the estate.  I was gaining a bit with the runner that had overtaken me but when we got to the stadium he kept the distance from me. The last section was so windy going round the track again. 

So that was it. I finished in 36:27. Very happy with that and I think I would have been closer to 36 dead on a flatter course. But that is for another day. :-)

Paul finished not long after in 40:39 and Gillian in 1:03. Both a little slower than last year but happy with how they did. 

I would certainly do the race again. A hard wee course but good and friendly. 

Coming down and seeing Paul and Gillian and spending the weekend with them has been fab. 

Results

Born to Run

It's only two days to go to my biggest race of the year. Most people that read this blog don't need me to tell them that. They are either doing it or I have bored the hind legs off of them talking about it.
Being injured during the taper has been a weird experience. Everyone has been concerned with, are they doing enough running, too much running, not enough sleeping, too much eating. My only thought is - will my Achilles be okay by Carbeth huts. Even my support plans are just a last minute thing instead of the weeks of research, versions and what ifs. Luckily last years plans are good and it was only a case of changing the year at the top. But do you know something? The taper has been much easier. I haven't stressed at all or worried. It is out of my hands and there is nothing I can do. So on Saturday morning I will line up in Milngavie and run. I won't look at each checkpoint and think I must go faster or slower but instead thank someone (I am not entirely sure who, maybe some ultra running God) that my injury hasn't played up and I am allowed to go on.
Don't get me wrong. I have still tried to do as much as I can to make sure I am on the start line not completely out of shape. I have been to Hampden Park Sports Science Centre. I have had awesome support from these guys this year and it has been great to be able to bounce ideas and receive so much wisdom from them too. They prodded and tapped and said that they hoped I would be okay for the race but not to run again until then. And so it has been two weeks of aqua jogging and cycling. I swear that by the time this race starts I will be faster swimming the Loch.

So like I said before - it's two days until the race. How will it go? I really don't know. But two weeks ago Scott Bradley was winning the Hardmoors race when he collapsed. Thankfully he is making a recovery now but it does bring all this ultra racing back down to earth a bit for me. Nothing is as important as life. No race is and everyone has to remember that. No use finishing the WHW to then spending 6 months recovering or worse - never recovering. We are born to run but it should never take over our lives completely. With this in mind I will start the race. Will I get to the first checkpoint? Will I finish? I certainly will try my best. I will also remember a bit of advice Scott gave to me once - "If your not enjoying it, then your going too fast" Its been invaluable over the last two years. So if it all goes pear shaped then I will also remember one more thing - in the end there is always next year.
JK - did we ever discuss the 5 year plan?

And so I just want to finish off wishing everyone a fantastic race on Saturday, newbies and old timers alike. Try to enjoy it, have fun and enjoy the whiskey on the finish line.
Thank you to all the organisers, marshals and support crews that will battle against the midges, rain, cold and give up their weekends so that us nutters can run. Thank you so much. :-)
See you all in Milngavie. I can't wait. :-)

He's dead Jim

Well it's all looking desperate now. I went for a 10 mile run yesterday and by the end my Achilles was really sore and my calf swollen. I have a Physio appointment at Hampden Park on Wednesday but it's back to no running for the next couple of days. At the moment it is looking like my shoes is doing the damage so don't count me out yet.
I will be optimistic until 1am on Saturday although I don't think Leonard "Bones" McCoy would have any hope and I am starting to think that wearing a red t-shirt ain't helping either.

The Countdown Continues

Well it has been a while since I blogged.  I could blame a lack of things happening in regards to training but that wouldn't be true.  In fact I have done some of my best training ever but I have also been truly tested in terms of injury.  I have learnt a lot in the last couple of years about when to listen to your body and believe me I have certainly been having to use that knowledge recently.

So last time I blogged was a week before the Fling.  I had Achilles Tendonitis in my left leg after having shin splints on the same leg.  All caused by a tight calf and so this caused me to make the biggest decision ever in my running career and drop the Fling race.  It was really annoying.  Here I was in my best condition ever but an injury meant that I wouldn't be able to race.  On the day of the Fling I supported Debbie and there was only one small minute that I wished that I was racing in that heat.  While watching Andrew and Jez battling it out for first I wanted to be part of it.  Reality though hit me moments later when I realised I never would and would have likely been about an hour behind them.  Well unless they were just coming to Drymen and we all know how my story went that year.  Back to the Fling and Debbie had a fabulous result coming in second.  Even more amazing considering the heat and how she normally only has a comfort range between 14.5C and 15C  I was sweeper for the last 12 miles and although it was a long journey I met a few new friends on the way.

After the Fling it was time to ramp up the mileage and try to get back what I had lost during the month of April.  Against all my training of previous years I decided that I would need to have 5 weekends of long runs and then taper for the West Highland Way.  This completely went against my usual 3 weeks long 1 week short (Recovery) but the way things were panning out I had no choice if I wanted to be fit for the race.  I checked with Graeme at Hampden and he agreed with the plan.  So the day after the Fling I ran 17 miles easy on the hills.  Then the following weekend I did 26 miles on the hills and then 10 miles on road.  After the enforced rest for April and only 114 miles total for that month including 40 in one day the running was so tough.  But I kept it all easy and this made the runs a good 4 to 5 hours of tough time on feet.  The weekend after I ran with Thomas who was still recovering from the Fling.  It was great to be back out with my old training partner though.  Next day I was out doing 12 miles, the Achilles still niggling but manageable.

Then it was onto the most important runs of my training.  The 2 back to back weekends that I had planned.  I had taken the Friday off and was running from my house to Callander where I would stay over as part of the Garscube Training weekend.  The distance is just under 40 miles and once in Milngavie you take the WHW to Drymen before going onto the No7 Cycle track to Aberfoyle and then Callander.  I had ran it last year and thourouly enjoyed it.  Again I tried to take it easy and relaxed.  I never stopped the watch for any breaks and was pleasantly surprised that the run only took 6 hours.  About an hour faster than I thought it would take.  So it seemed that the enforced rest and not doing the Fling may have helped.  I felt so fresh at the end that I even managed to go running with some of my club mates that night for 6 miles at 7:16 min/mile pace.  Probably not the wisest thing to do and certainly if I had known what the next day was going to bring I would have instead gone to bed.

The next day I ran 36.50 miles including two munros (Ben Vorlich and Stuc a Chroin).  The first 18 miles I did myself before meeting two runners from the club, Athole and Euan.  Athole had done this run before and has supported me in every WHW but this was all new to Euan and I dont think he will ever be inclined to run in an ultra anytime soon after it.  All was fine until we reached Ben Vorlich.  Athole was going great and forging ahead, but I was having a low point and struggling to get enough food into myself.  Once we got to the top the wind and rain hit us.  Hillwalkers were dressed for the winter and here was the three of us dressed as if we were going for a newspaper on a summers day.  There was gasps of disbelief as we headed for Stuc a Chroin whilst the well dressed Hillwalkers retreated from the top of Vorlich to go to the pub early.  By Stuc we were all totally miserable.  I was so cold that the fell shoes I had carried for 60 miles over the 2 days didnt come out of my pack in fear that my frozen hands would not be able to tie them up.  It was so cold and my hands so numb that they started to swell and looked like red balloons attached to my rain jacket.  I had gloves with me but again it was too late as I would never have been able to get into my pack.

Luckily this year we didn't get lost like last year and found the track out (and the correct valley) quickly.  Problem was that this year the river crossing that we had to make was horrendous.  We had to wade through it but seeing as I was soaked through it didn't matter so I jumped in.  The sudden freezing water sending my calfs into cramp.  Not great when you have been nursing them for the last 2 months in the fear of more injuries.  We got back to the bunkhouse in time for the football that had been keeping us going the whole way.  I then missed the whole thing when I fell asleep.  36.5 miles in just over 7 hours with 1800m ascent so happy with that even with the weather.

I then had a slightly easier week to recover before hitting the distance again and running the 30 miles from Balmaha to Inversnaid and back.  I had just bought a new pair of shoes (After one and a half hours trying loads on in Achilles Heel, thank you Christine).  I had been unhappy with my Nike Pegasus since they had changed the sole to something even more cushioned than the pillows they had before.  So with my new Brooks Adrenaline I ran the route in 4 hours 50 mins.  It didn't feel fast at all but was quicker than I had ever done it before.  But I was sore by the end.  My left shin and now my right Achilles.  Damn injuries.  The worst thing was though that I had promised to meet some other WHW runners on the way that night for a 20 mile night run too.  So I spent the next 4 or 5 hours trying to get a rest as my calfs twitched and pulsated and prevented me getting any sleep at all.  Nightmare.

I turned up at Milngavie for 11pm after popping painkillers and promising myself that if I had any twinges at all I would head straight back to bed.  Fortunately I had no twinges at all and made steady progress until a lot of fallen trees stopped us on the way through the forest after Drymen.  At the end of the run and 50 miles ran in the preceding 24 hours I could have actually continued on.  That was a great feeling and gave me a lot of confidence which was then shattered when I went out a 5 mile easy jog on Tuesday and the return of my screaming achilles (in the right leg now) and more time off running and back to the pool and bike.

And so after 5 very good weeks training I am back to resting an injury.  Luckily its taper time and I am meant to be taking it easy.

The funny thing is that this taper is actually different.  The years before my taper has been a nightmare.  Three weeks of nerves and fidgeting.  Not sure if you should train or not, are you going to fast/slow.  This year I cant run and so there is no stress.  My body is recovering and I am enjoying it.  I weighed myself after the 5 hard weeks and had lost 3 Kg so no food fears as I gain it back on.  Is this a new way to prepare for a big race?  Don't train at all.  Well we will see in 2 weeks time.

The Fling is Flung

It's a week before the Fling and its now official. I have pulled out. My shin splints have eased but I now have tendinitis in my Achilles. That with the fact I haven't run over 10 miles in three weeks is an enforced taper I wasn't wanting. Running the Fling would be far too risky a strategy for the WHW now. With such an elite field the chances are that I would get pulled along at too fast a pace, end up broken or worse injured more and then spend even longer with little training and really struggle for my main race.

This week started so well. After last week easing myself back into training I felt ready for a bit of speed on Monday and I was flying. Feeling good and reckoning my Fling chances were good. On Tuesday I went out for an easy 8 mile run. After 6 miles I felt pain in my Achilles that would go away on hills but hurt on the flat. I think it was caused by all the calf stretching I had been doing recently to combat my shin issue.

So no running on Wednesday and Thursday and by Friday I was ready to run again. But to be on the safe side I decided to do an aqua session with Graeme at the Sports Science Centre. Into the pool and luckily for me there was Frank the Physio there too. He took a look at my ankle and straight away said 10 days no running. So that was that. No more pressure or decisions. I trust Graeme and the guys at Hampden. It is good having them look at things away from any emotional attachment etc. If this had happened when I didn't have their support I would have run the Fling. And most likely struggled, got a disappointed time or worse injured.
So on with the Aqua session and Graeme didn't take it easy on my injured body. I was knackered at the end but felt good at doing something. We also went through my training plan and adjusted it for not racing the Fling. Afterwards I felt much more positive.

I left Hampden and immediately called Murdo the Fling organiser. Done.

So how do I feel? Actually still okay. I have wanted to see what it would be like to run the WHW without doing the Fling race but I never had the guts to do it. I also think that personally for me any run or more so race over 35 miles are counter productive to my training requiring too much of a taper and too much recovery to be of any real benefit. They do have their place though for a lot of people that like to have done a 50 mile run before the WHW as a confidence booster for it. For me I know I can stagger over a 100 miles so I am happy that my longest run this year before hand will be 35. Kate Jenkins said something similar earlier this year. She does not to badly on that philosophy.
And if I ever worry about my mileage I alway take a look at Gav's blog. He does amazingly well on lower mileage with a sub 20 hour WHW under his belt after having only ran 450 miles that year before it. Well, I am on about 800 so does that mean I can put my feet up until June?

Good luck to everyone running the Fling. It's gonna be some race and I can't wait to watch and cheer you all on.
Enjoy the easy week. I will. :-)

Running Again

Woohoo. After my enforced rest the Physio gave me the go-ahead to start running again on Tuesday. I had actually gone to the Physio in my running gear in the hope that the answer would be yes. To be honest I knew it would be as my leg was much better and after some prodding and manipulation he agreed with me. Shame that I still had 30 minutes of my appointment left and so he massacred my tight calves.
So I left Achilles Heel limping more than I had when I went in but feeling fabulous that at last I could run again. I drove to a field beside my house and then attempted to run. It was pretty horrific and I must have looked hilarious as I tried to run again. Everything was tight and sore but after 5 minutes I was off. This lasted another 5 minutes and then my body decided it liked being a lazy bugger and decided to get slower and slower. Still I was happy to get out and logged 2.5 miles. On Wednesday I logged another 6 miles and then today it was 8. Today felt great and no problems with my shin but I honestly feel like I ran 30 miles. I was just tired, my legs ached and my HR was just way higher than it normally is for an easy run. Hopefully though after another few more runs everything will settle down.

I also spoke to Graeme at Hampden Park and it was this conversation that brought me back to earth a bit.
The Highland Fling race is probably not going to happen for me. It's not that I can't do it. Heck I could run it tomorrow but the problem is that if I get injured or take too long to recover then my WHW is finished and so is my season.
I am not going to make any definite decisions yet though. I am going to wait until the Monday before the race and I am going to train as if I was still doing the race too. I may still do it but the benefits really do have to out weigh the risks and with a race of 53 miles this is hard to justify.

I am not unhappy about this decision at all. Actually I feel quite grown up and I know that the Fling is a B race for me but the WHW is my A race. Last year I actually felt my fittest in the Fling. Fitter than the WHW and so this enforced rest may be a way to try something new. Richie didn't finish the Fling last year and he did pretty good at the WHW. So everything happens for a reason.

So at the moment I am 50/50 for doing it. I will see how the next week or so goes and make a decision then.

Good luck to Athole, Euan C, Euan G, Russ and everyone else that is doing the London Marathon this weekend.

D Day

First of all, I just want to say thank you to everyone that has been asking after me over the last week or so. Most people have said that the problems I am having are shin splints and that has helped me in looking at ways to speed up my recovery. It certainly has helped me.

So I haven't ran since Saturday 2nd April now. The longest time without running since the West Highland Way race last year and even then I still did some sort of exercise in the way of Aqua jogging and walking. In the last week I have done next to nothing. I did one session of Aqua jogging on Saturday and it was okay but hurt a bit when I started. My legs felt tired and there was nothing in them.
But I am still optimistic. The last few days have seen an improvement in the pain on my shin and certainly since I started stretching my calf muscles. Tomorrow is the day though that the Physio will reassess me and I will find out if I can run. I feel ready for running again although I do feel wee twinges every now and then. If the Physio does give the okay I have decided to take my time coming back. Maybe I am just getting lazy.

Another reason in posting today is that I am trying some new blogging software that I can use from my iPad. I have had an iPad for a year now and this is the first time that I have found some half decent software to blog with. The iPad is perfect for doing quick blogs with and so hopefully this will help too.
The app is called Blogsy. So far it seems to have some better features than many of the Blogging apps for PCs and Macs.

I'll see what it is really like over the next few posts.

Injured

I am injured.

After my 40 mile run on Saturday my lower left leg swelled up, got very tight and made even walking painfully sore.  I now have to cross roads at traffic lights, use banisters going up and down stairs and get overtaken when walking outside by the young, old and physically challenge.  Although I did have one win the other day when I overtook a very fat middle aged woman.  Her benefit fuelled fags slowing her down to a crawl.

So what happened to me?  I have gone from being the fittest ever to a hobbling mess.

The first signs were just after the D33.  My calfs during the race had felt like they were going to cramp and then afterwards had felt tight.  During the two weeks that followed they didn't cause me any concern but were still tight.  Also though the front of my left shin was now tight too.  I had rubbed it, massaged it and stretched it but still it wouldn't loosen.  But there was no cause for concern when I met Lucy for a 40 miler from Drymen to Tyndrum as I had had 2 weeks of good training.

After about 20 miles though I could feel the shin a bit.  Still nothing too bad and nothing to raise to much concern but by Beinglas and 30 miles I could feel it a lot more.  The frustrating thing was my legs felt fantastic.  Loads of energy and no tiredness at all.  Just the sore shin.

We stopped at Beinglas for a beer (as you do on long training runs) and really on hindsight I should have just called it a day there.  Running to Crianlarich was fine and after leaving Lucy there I continued towards Tyndrum when it started to actually get painful.  The constant ups and downs of that section was what got me and by the wigwams I decided to just walk, run to the finish.  Still my legs apart from my shin felt great.  Thomas caught up with me then looking really fresh after his 100k race and I decided since this part was a bit flatter that I could run in with him.

I had no problems at all running again and finished in good spirit thinking that after a day or two's rest it would be fine.

That night I even did some ceiledh dancing too.

The next morning though I woke up to my lower left leg badly swollen and looking a bit bruised too.  I knew straight away that this wasn't going to be a couple of days fix.

So I haven't ran since Saturday now.  The swelling hasn't gone yet but I did go to the physio yesterday and it certainly looks like the tightness in the muscles of my lower leg and foot is what is causing the issue.  The physio (Andy from Achilles Heel) tore into the leg and although painful I was pleased because he wouldn't do that if there was any damage.

This morning my leg is starting to feel much better and I even managed to run about 3 meters (yes meters) in the office when someone was looking for me.  There was no pain and I was pleased that things are getting there.

The physio has asked to see me again and has said no running until at least Tuesday when he will reassess me.

So am I worried about this or driving everyone nuts with temper tantrums?  No actually I am fairly fine about it.  It may even suit me as my body will be fully recovered and repaired for the high mileage next month for the WHW or if I make it the Fling.  Yes the Fling, it isn't a definite anymore as I will need to see what happens but I am at my fittest ever at the moment and I don't think that a couple of weeks off will affect that at all.  Certainly not my endurance although I may slow down a bit which isn't a worry when your key race is run at 10+ minute miles.

I certainly would rather have a few weeks out at this stage and get it sorted than trying to keep training and mess up the WHW completely.

So now I just need to fill up a full weekend running free.  What do normal people do nowadays?  I cant remember.

D33

Results Garmin Connect Info

The D33 is the first race in the Scottish Ultra Marathon Series for 2011.  This is the second time that this ultra has been organised and because I did it last year I decided that I would do it this year again to see if my training was progressing forwards or backwards.  Since the Nationals I have felt a little bit more tired than usual and this has resulted in me having an easier weekend last week.  But this week I felt rejuvenated and actually started to look forward to the D33.

Last year I finished in 3 hours 57 minutes in 5th place.  I was ecstatic with how it had gone.  To be honest I was a bit more worried about this year because of that.  This year though like last I would run it as a training run.  This would mean that I would not taper and the race would be at the end of a normal training week.  Well not quite because I would take Thursday easier (aqua jogging) then train as normal on Friday before travelling to Aberdeen and racing on Saturday.  The first half of the week consisted of a hill run and two speed sessions.  So no way that I was tapering.

So we travelled up to Aberdeen on Friday and stayed at my friend Tom's house.  Waking up on Saturday I was very relaxed and didn't worry at all.  In Duffie Park I registered and said Hi to Karen and George the organisers before walking about a bit and then wandering up to the start line.

I met some of the usual faces and some new ones too at the start.  Matt Williamson and Bob Souter were both here and would be the first time I had ran a race with them.  Both are strong runners and I knew would do well.  Grant Jeans and Scott Bradley were here and a welcome return by Lucy as well.  I also met Mark Cooper for the first time as well.  Bob Malcolm, Ian Beattie and others meant that this would be a really social run..

Last year started very easy and I ran an 8 min mile.  This year my thoughts were if I did a 7 min mile I could ease back to last years pace and a PB would be certain.

George started the race and I ran with Lucy and Matt.  It really was great to see Lucy enjoying running again and she really did seem happy.  So the first mile went by quickly as I chatted away and I took a look to see I had run it at 6:45.  Result I thought.  But it felt very easy and I felt relaxed.  Lucy said to go on and so I ran up to the next group and joined in the conversation with them.  There was a runner in this group who was running in a pair of plimsoles.  I worried how his feet would feel at the end of the run.

Starting with Lucy and Matt

By the second mile I had left the group and was by myself.  I kept checking my watch and it would say under 6:50's.  But my heart rate was still under 150 so I wasn't taxing myself.  I would try to slow down but then my pace would shift back up again as if my body was actually more efficient at the faster pace.  At the 6 miles mark I crossed a main road and saw Debbie and Tom taking pictures.  It was good to see some people and have some cheers.  Looking at my watch my average pace had now dropped below 6:40 so I decided to slow a bit again.  But still my natural pace seemed to keep pushing me faster and after the next hilly section my pace had again dropped back down.  I decided now that as long as my HR didn't start to cause any concern I would stick at a pace that felt comfortable and hope that my body would feel okay for all 33 miles.

Arriving at the road crossing at 6 miles

At 8 miles there was a checkpoint and I was 5 minutes ahead of my time last year.  By now I was in the countryside.  The sun was out and I could feel the warmth from the early Spring sun.  I was glad because I had decided to just wear short sleeves today and I felt sorry for anyone with warmer clothes on.  By now I hadn't seen a runner since the second mile and in fact couldn't see anyone in the distance either but I knew from last year that a lot of people slow down in the second half of the run and I would hopefully catch them then.  I wasn't sure what position I was in either but thought I must be in top 10.  I didn't care though and just made sure that I was okay.  No 1 priority to make sure the body is fine and the race will take care of itself.  That's what Mark Johnston always tells me and so far its working.

At about 12 miles I finally caught sight of another runner in the distance.  Over the next few miles I slowly caught up with him until when I was only a couple of hundred meters from him I saw Debbie who was there to change around my bumbag just before the half way point.  But I was totally preoccupied with the guy in front and I threw the bumbag at Debbie and continued on.

Throwing my bumbag at Debbie

Instantly I felt lighter and within a minute I was right behind him.  I waited for a space and then went by.

At just before 16 miles I saw the first of the faster runners going past.  It was Grant Jeans looking relaxed with Scott Bradley hot on his heels.  I cheered both of them on.  Next was Bob Souter.  I cheered him on but he looked like he was starting to struggle a bit as he wasn't his usual cheery self.  Fourth place also looked like he was struggling and then I reached the checkpoint.  Excellent, I was in 5th place.  Spurred on and knowing that I would be able to increase the pace over the next few miles I went up a gear and was happy that the headwind instantly disappeared as it started to push me on now.

Straight away I started to go past the runners going the opposite way.  Matt wasn't far behind me and looking very relaxed.  Certainly someone that is going to do well this year.  I was so surprised at how many people cheered me on by name as I went past.  This spurred me on more and I caught 4th place quite quickly.  He stayed with me for a bit but I soon couldn't hear his steps behind me anymore.

Then I caught sight of Bob Souters blue vest in the distance.  I was surprised to catch up so soon with him so I knew that something must be wrong and as I came up behind him I could see he was limping and holding his hamstring.  When I past him I asked if he was okay and if he needed anything.  But he said he was fine and told me to get going.

The next few miles went by quickly.  I was ecstatic to be in 3rd place but knew that I had very competent runners not far behind me.  I was well aware that I hadn't refuelled since I had met Debbie and thrown my bumbag at her.  So I got back to my 30 min fuelling regime.  Because it was a faster run today my food of choice was gels, energy drink and red bull.  I quickly ate all three and felt a surge of energy and so pushed on again.  The hills I walked up last year, this felt easier this year and I was able to run up them.  This gave me more confidence and when I looked at my watch my average pace was now 6:34's and I still felt very good.

With 6 miles to go I met Debbie again.  I didn't stop but kept going.  The end was close.  But things started to go a bit wrong with 3 miles to go.  At first it was a tingling in my calves.  Then they started to twitch.  Then I felt one of them feel like it was going to cramp.  I instantly slowed the pace and it went away.

Damn I thought.  This is all I need.  If my calf cramps I might have to walk the last 3 miles and that would be the end of all my hard work.  The twitching went away so I sped up and it would come back again.  On a long straight section I stopped and looked round.  No-one was in sight so I stretched my calves.  This worked great and I managed to get going again at 6:30's.  After a mile though it came back again.  So I stopped and went through the stretching again.

Finally at the park and I again had to think where I was going like last year.  I didn't want to get lost in the last half mile.  Any moment I thought that someone would over take me.

Then I saw the finish line.  I could see everyone smiling and loads of people taking pictures.  Wow.  This is what its like to finish on the podium.   Just as I crossed the line my calf started to cramp.  No not now I thought but the moment i stopped it went away.

Finishing in 3rd position

So I finished in 3rd position in 3 hours 38 minutes.  I am very happy at that.  Looking at my stats I was at halfway in 1 hour 49 minutes and so my pacing was pretty bang on.  The only issue I had was my calves which I need to look into.

1st place Grant Jeans, 2nd place Scott Bradley and 3rd place Me

Lucy was 1st Female

Matt was 4th (With Jayne his support and me with Debbie my support)

So I just want to say thank you to my support - Debbie and Cairn and also to George, Karen and all the marshals.  It was a fab race and I hope to be back next year.

The D33 Medal

3rd Place Prize

 

National Cross Country

Results

As I said in my last post I was a big doubt about running this one.  As the week went on I got worse and by Friday I was feeling awful.  I came home a shaking wreck.  Whatever was wrong with me hadn't wrecked my appetite though and I ate the biggest serving of Fish and Chips that you have ever seen.  Straight away it seemed to do the trick and I went to bed feeling that I might just attempt it.

In the morning Debbie was off to recce the Perth Ultra Course.  When I got up I opened the curtain hoping there would be six foot of snow and an excuse not to go to the Nationals but there was nothing and so I spent the morning being lazy and getting ready.  I arrived in Falkirk in plenty of time but then spent half an hour pushing Cairn and his buggy through a much muddier course than last year before I met Debbie and Sharon.  By this time I was bursting for the toilet and on the verge of kidney failure.  The toilet queue was far too long so I jogged uncomfortably about until I found a suitable bush.  Then with half an hour to go I realised I didn't have my number and so spent the next 20 minutes looking for the Garscube Team Captain.  So much for the warm up then.

 

This is my second National XC Race.  It is some race with the creme of Scottish talent running side by side with us normal punters.  The start is phenomenal with 450 runners flying off at stupid pace up the first hill.  I remembered this from last year and decided to get over to one side and not be crushed in the stampede.  Still when the gun went off I could feel people pushing me and trying to get by.  But I stood my own and didn't let them dictate my pace.  I wanted to test my fitness and make sure I had no lasting effects from whatever I had during the week, oh and also I had to warm up.

After a few hundred meters the course went down hill (which was really boggy this year) and then around the Loch.  I spied Mark Johnston and decided to latch on beside him.  He is a great pacer and I knew from recent training that I should be okay to stick with him for a couple of laps at least.  John Bell joined us and the three of us started to pass people that had certainly started far too fast.  Not long after this Mark dropped off the back and John and I went on but I was keen to stay in a tempo effort HR (<166) and didn't want to push the first lap too hard and so I let John go on.

To be honest I didn't feel that I was going too fast and the effort was easy, well for a Cross Country.  I was half way around the first lap and starting to pass runners that I recognised.  It wasn't slower runners but runners that have beaten me recently and so I started to think that this could be my day and I might have a good race.  I passed Russ and Neil from lunchtime training before we crossed a flooded section of the course and then we made our way towards the start again for the next lap.  This is very muddy but still I was passing people without too much effort.  I knew it would get harder as the race went on so I was keen to not overdo it or get too excited but rather let others fatigue and slow down.

At the end of the lap Debbie, Sharon and Cairn cheered me on and this encouraged me more.  Then I spied Paul Thomson and Chris Upson.  Paul had beaten me last year in the Nationals and had been someone I was keen to test myself against and Chris who was injured a lot last year had come back and by all accounts was getting very fit.

Into the second lap and I passed Paul.  Feeling strong I targeted Chris who I think had a shock when I said hello.  I passed him but he wasn't letting go so easily and quickly overtook me again.  He was much stronger on the very muddy section and so I let him go first.  I have been strong on flat surfaces recently and thought that I would be better waiting until then.  I overtook Chris but all the way round the rest of that lap I kept thinking he would be just behind me somewhere.

Midway around the second lap I heard a familiar heavy breathing and spitting behind me.  Only looking halfway round I shouted "I know that noise"  It was Mark Johnston and he had caught me up.  I was hoping to try and stay ahead of Mark in this race but he is stronger than me in this terrain and has a better racing head than me.  Back into the flooded section of the course and I ran through it while Mark had to go around it as he had forgotten his running socks and had some hillwalking socks on instead and was trying to keep them dry.  I thought that this would buy me some time to get ahead again but Mark pushed by me not long after.  I latched onto him but by the third lap there was a bit of distance between us.

On the third lap I was amazed at how much people were slowing and at the Loch section (which really was like the terrain I train on) I was flying and passing a lot of runners.  A few would catch up with me on hills but once it evened out I would start to pass them again.  With only half a lap to go I noticed I was getting closer to Mark again but it was too late and I didn't catch him before the end.

So I finished in 90th position in a time of 45:36.  19 seconds slower than last year but 13 places better off.  It was much muddier this year with most times at least a minute behind what they were last year so I was pleased with that and pleased at my pacing throughout.

It certainly is a boost to my confidence to be ahead with the training compared to last years races.

 

A tough week

After quite a few weeks on top of the world it was only a matter of time before I crashed back down to earth again.  This week has been tough.  It could be one of many things Saturday's Race, Faster than usual long run and then a Fartlek on Monday or perhaps one of the many colds that people seem to have at this time of year.  What ever it is I haven't been feeling 100% this week.  My legs are fatigued and I feel mentally and physically tired.

In response though I am trying my best to be sensible.  I am eating well, drinking fluids, sleeping loads and most importantly relaxing my training a bit.  It is starting to pay off as I am now feeling a bit better today so here is hoping I feel great by Saturday which is the National Cross Country race where I am hoping to break into the top 100 this year.

So after my fartlek on Monday with Garscube, I ran an 8 mile run on Tuesday at a nice easy 7:44 min/mile pace and then yesterday I did a session that involved 8,6,4,3,2,1 minute reps.  I took the first two at my normal pace for this session but tried to lay off a little for the rest of it.  Although the pace was still good my HR was in a steady zone rather than my normal tempo zone and so showed I wasn't working too hard.

This morning I was in Hampden Park's Sports Medicine Department for some recovery work with Graeme.  I really am enjoying learning from him at the moment.  Today we did an Aqua Jogging session which involved some faster efforts but also some stretching in the pool as well.  Thankfully he didn't film it as I am hopeless at stretching.  On a positive note my legs felt fantastic after it although I do still feel a bit tired.

Graeme spoke to me about some of the training I had done recently and showed me that there was a couple of areas that I looked a little fatigued in recently according to my Heart Rate.  So after the Nationals I am going to try to keep a lid on my effort and make sure that I am recovering well.  We also talked about nutrition and what went wrong in last years WHW race.  I can't wait to start looking into all of this in more detail in the next few weeks.  Graeme though true to form told me to eat more and that muffins were good.  So at lunchtime I ate a massive muffin.  Yum.

So the session with Graeme this morning was very good for me and I am going to try to organise another pool session with him in the next few weeks.

Tomorrow I am going to just do an easy run of about 5 miles with Mark Johnston and forget the strides session.  Hopefully with the two easy days I will be fully recovered for Saturday race and the important long run with John on Sunday.

A two PB weekend

Saturday 12th February

Garscube XC 6 mile race

Cross Country Championships Results - 12 Feb2011

With Debbie having a weekend training for Scotland duty in the Perth 100k race I was left to my own devices.

I decided to run an old favourite the week before the Nationals.  The Garscube XC Championships is a great warm up for the Nationals and I need some practise at this sort of distance as well.  Not having raced this distance in nearly a year I also had to work out my pacing before I blew up big time at Falkirk.

Before talking about the race I though I would show a picture of the race after the first mile.

Ben, me and Joe.  Garscube XC First Mile (picture courtesy of Alan Blair)

Yeah, I may have gone off a little too fast at the start.  To be honest this picture wasn't too bad.  A couple of hundred metres after this I was ahead of Ben and Joe.

So back to the start and I had a plan.  Stay at an HR of under 162 on the first lap then 166 on the second lap and then I can see how it goes on the third.  So I started behind a lot of people but without trying I was before long in a group of Ben, Joe and me with John Bell just behind me.  I have to say but it felt easy although I knew that this is normal in the first ten minutes of a race.  I tried to relax a bit more but felt myself being pulled along in the group.  Towards the end of the first lap though I started to realise that I couldn't sustain this pace and so dropped off the back.

I tried to relax but was wary that John Bell wasn't far behind me.  After the first lap I could hear the cheer as John went by so I knew he wasn't far behind but the early pace had tired me out and John was going strong and caught me on the second half of the lap.  But instead of going past he waited on me while shouting encouragement to me.  He looked very relaxed and strong.  He is certainly training well and looking good for Falkirk next week.

John pulled me around the rest of the lap but as we crossed into the last lap he stopped and said he had had enough.  I was puzzled as he was so strong and certainly could have got round in front of me without too much effort.

So back by myself again.  I could still see Joe not too far in front of me but there was no-one close behind me at all.  So I relaxed a bit more until I realised towards the end of the lap that I was onto beating my PB from last year.  So I sped up for the last half mile and finished 3rd in 37:19.

Apart from the first lap I was happy enough and taking 20 seconds off last years time too.  As a bonus I also won the handicap race by 1 second.  I do need to watch next week though because Falkirk is a lot less forgiving if I go out too fast on the first lap.

Sunday 13th February

18 mile Kilpatrick run

One of the things that I am trying this year is doing some of my runs a little faster than I did last year.  Its a dangerous thing to do as it could backfire on me and I could end up being injured or overtrained.  But at this stage of the year I am trying it now and then but I will monitor my recovery in case it starts to go tits up.  I am not totally abandoning what I learned last year though as I still stay within my recovery HR zones, all be it my new ones.

To keep me motivated Matt Wiliamson was joining me for this run.  A very fast road runner and hill runner.  He is running the Fling this year and if he gets it right then he will do very well.  So one to look out for.

I was worried that Matt would really put me through my paces on this run but he was gentle.  It was great training because at hard sections we took it easy but at easier sections we pushed the pace a bit more but not the effort.  Just like in an ultra race.  So great training.  It wasn't made any easier though by the fact that it was heavy rain throughout the run and the underfoot conditions were some of the wettest that I had ever seen on the Kilpatricks.  At times my feet were so cold that I couldn't feel them at all and this wasn't just for a couple of minutes but for tens of minutes.

By the end we were both soaked through but strong enough to log the last mile at 6:30 and the last half mile at under 6.  I am hoping to get out with Matt a few more times before the Fling.  He was good company and very strong.

18.48 miles in 2:45:36 @ 8:58 per mile

Next week I will be back in the Kilpatricks for my 20 miler with John Kynaston which I am really looking forward to and that will be the day after the National Cross Countries Race in Falkirk.

January, a long run and an easy week.

I always think of January as the start of my training for the ultra season and more importantly the West Highland Way race. To be honest I never stop training but I did have an easier October before using November and December as a time for some 10K training and an attempt to get my speed back a bit. I did hope to do a couple of 10K races during my off season but because of the weather the ones I had planned to do were cancelled. Not a problem because I still managed to train well and get a lot of my speed back.

So onto January then and with the start of Ultra training it is back to my 4 weekly training plan. There is no right or wrong way to training for an ultra but while training with other runners you pick up a lot of wee things from them. I picked this up from John Kynaston. First week I do an 18 mile run, second week it is a 20 mile run, then a WHW run that increases every month and then an easy week for recovery. It worked for me last year and so hopefully it will this year too.

My total mileage for January was 285 but miles isn't everything. I think that it is better to have consistency rather than hundreds of miles. Better to do less miles at the weekend but be fresh to continue your training through the week than do mega miles at the weekend and then need a few days off to recover from it. Like I said before though what works for one person doesn't always work for others but this works for me.

30 mile WHW long run

I love the monthly long runs on the WHW. It really is just a social run with friends on some really stunning scenery. Actually I miss these runs the most when the Ultra season finishes.
The first run of the year always starts at Drymen and finishes at Beinglas Farm. Just under 30miles but along some of the hardest sections to run of the West Highland Way along the east side of Loch Lomond. My plan is to always run these runs within my recovery HR zone but today I also had the chance to test my new recovery zone of < 151bpm. I didn't plan to go near this HR but just use it when I needed it. A bit like an extra gear for emergencies.

 

Ross, me, John, Thomas, Richie, Richard. (Photo courtesy of John Kynaston)

Debbie and Sharon were also running this but due to training for the 100K in Perth in March they decided to start early and run 35 miles.

Just after 9am we left Drymen and went up the hill into Garadhban Forest. Straight away I felt what my increase recovery zone can do. I ran up the hill without going over. Normally before I would have had to have walked or at least slow right down but today I easily ran up to the top.
Before long I got into my stride and started to chat along with Richie. We chatted about the 100K in Perth and whether we would run in it or not. I have decided that I wont as I am finding it hard to fit into my plan. Before long I looked back to find that everyone else was quite a far bit behind us. It felt very comfortable so Richie and I continued on. Chatting away and running relaxed.  I had my large backpack with me full to the brim with unnecessary junk to weigh it down. Train heavy and race light.
On the way down from Conic Hill, Thomas caught us up. He looked like he had ran fast up the hill to catch us.
At Balmaha we waited on everyone to catch up again and then off we ran towards Rowardennan. With the flatter trails I was again able to test my HR zone and found that pretty easily I would gain distance on everyone else and then I would slow down again and they would catch up. I felt fantastic and very light on my feet.
Again I ran ahead but this time Richie and Thomas followed and we ran on. Chatting and all looking relaxed.
At Rowardennan we waited on the others again but then decided just to carry on. The tap at the Park building wasn't working so I had to look for a stream to fill up my bottles. This happened just as we started to go up the hills and my HR monitor started to complain as I tried to run the hills with Richie and Thomas. So they both started to pull away from me but I was not wanting to waste myself on the hills and so eased off and made sure I stayed within my zones.
Luckily though they waited for me at Inversnaid where they had met up with Debbie and Sharon and so we all left together.

Straight away Richie started to push and feeling great I responded and tried to follow. Still within my HR zone and still comfortable. But it was an eye opener watching Richie dance across the hard terrain. He would pull away on this and then I would catch up a bit when we hit easier stuff in which I could run faster. Then Richie would get away again on an uphill and I would start to catch him again on a downhill. The whole way to Beinglas we played this game with Thomas just behind us. He was a bit tired after pushing over Conic Hill but really wasn't too far behind.
It was great fun trying to keep up with the winner of last years race but especially when it felt not too hard. Okay I was touching the upper limits of my recovery zone and going over it every now and then but I felt fantastic and the best bit was I could have kept going once we reached Beinglas.
We met Silke and Katrina. Thomas arrived shortly after us and then Debbie, Sharon, John, Richard and Ross not far behind.
It was a fantastic run and everyone had a great time.

Recovery Week

Monday 31st January

 

After a WHW run I always have an easy day which means Aqua Jogging. Its a bit different though today as it was my first time trying out the facilities at Hampden Park in the Sports Medicine Centre. It was great having a pool to myself that was deep enough to Aqua Jog around and my legs felt great after it.

Tuesday 1st February

Just an easy 8 mile run. Nice and slow and really just to get my legs going again.

Wednesday 2nd February

2 x 8 min reps + 4 x 2 min reps

It was very wet and windy today but this was a great wee session to do. I felt good and my legs didn't have any problems after Sunday. But I have noticed that I am so hungry since Sunday. I really have had to eat a lot and with less training I feel quite lazy. Oh well thats what recovery weeks are for.. :-)
The nutritionist came back to me from Hampden Sports Medicine as well today. I had given them a list of a normal weeks food intake and they commented that my carbs and nutrients are good but I need to have more protein after runs. Woohoo more food.. :-)

Thursday 3rd February

Another easy 8 miles scheduled although it ended up as over 9 when we took the new route over past Dawsholm. Feeling tired again but that is normal for a Thursday for me.

Friday 4th February

Friday can only mean one thing. Glasgow Green Strides. The weather was horrific but this session is one of my best during the week and great the day before a race. All it involves is an easy 2 mile run and then 20 diagonal strides across the football pitches using the bye line as recovery. Then 2 miles easy back. Simples. But your legs always feel fantastic on the Saturday

Saturday 5th February

No long run on an easy week and so I was on the bike for a 35 minute cycle on my rollers. You would have thought that I would have given up after falling off of them on my first attempt but I persisted and now have no issues. So I spent 35 minutes singing and sweating buckets in the house.
Here is the proof that I can go the rollers... Sorry Murdo about the topless shot again... :-)

 

Sunday 6th February

Today was a 12 mile steady run on roads. My 12 mile steady route is quite hilly but it is a good hard run especially at steady pace. My neighbour Gary came along with me too.
I felt very relaxed and the pace felt very good. I spent most of the run in my upper recovery zone but with any harder section I went into steady state. I was very happy with how it felt to run along at this pace on a hilly course and feel good. Certainly looks like my recovery week has gone well and now ready for the next 3 weeks being harder again with 2 races including the National Cross Country.

11.37m in 1:16:22 @ 6:43 min/mile Avg HR : 145

Week 1 February 2011 / Total miles 43.16

Fantastic News

A couple of weeks ago I received an email from Graeme Jones at the Sports Medicine Centre at Hampden Park. He was asking if I would consider the opportunity of being a sponsored athlete for the next 8 months. I didn't have to think for too long. Graeme at Sports Medicine helped me so much last year and the opportunity to be sponsored by them is fantastic news for me. To be honest it has come at a great time for me. After last years successes I was wondering how I would improve on that but with Sports Medicines help I have a feeling my chances have just got a lot better.

Last year I had a test at the Sports Medicine Centre. This included a V02 max test with lactate profiling, nutritional analysis and Graeme looking at my training plan. He then assigned each session a heart rate zone based on my lactate threshold and turnpoint. Straight away I noticed that most of my sessions I was doing too hard. I had it in my head that a session should hurt and afterwards I should be tired and worn out. But when using Graeme's zones I found that sessions were easier and I was forced to slow down. At first I felt lazy but after a couple of weeks my body reacted by getting faster at running even although I still felt it easy. I had stopped breaking my body down completely every session and had started to improve after every session. Mark who coaches me at lunchtime can do this without gadgets and in his head but I needed technology and training zones to help me and the Lactate test helped with this. Also chatting with Graeme I found I was drinking too much coffee and not enough food and water. I changed my habits (one of them was to eat more cake and less fruit) and straight away I got rid of the constant cold I had had for a year. I now drink more water at the slightest hint of a cold and I swear I haven't had one in a year. Amazing considering I must have had a sniffle at least for nearly 80% of 2009. Probably in hindsight not a cold but my body complaining about dehydration and overtraining.

And so I spent a lot of last year telling people the merits of having the Lactate test done to them. I learned so much about how my body worked and so when the opportunity of being sponsored and having another one done I jumped at it.

Lactate Profiling with V02 Max Test 25th January 2011

I was a bit tired when I turned up for the test at 8am in Hampden Park. A 12 mile 6:20min/mile run on Saturday and then a 20 mile hill run on the Sunday and my legs certainly were tired. Not much different from last year though but my body certainly felt fitter than last year. I just wondered if the test would show similar results.
I started off speaking to Graeme and peeing into a cup. I think that is to check for diabetes but I am not completely sure.
Then onto the scales to check my weight. Exactly the same as last year at 73.8Kg even although I am eating at least a 3rd more in the 5 meals I eat a day. Then I had my height checked. Again thankfully I was the same height at 184cms. Cool I hadn't shrunk at all during last years training. Then it was straight onto the treadmill for a 10 minute warm up. The last time I had been on a treadmill had been the last test. I hate them and more so I hate running indoors. Far too warm and stuffy. So I took my top off. So sorry about that seeing as I have included pictures.
After the warm up it was time to put on the mask. I hated the mask last year but this time it didn't seem so bad. I wonder what it will feel like at 100% effort. yikes.

So my test had begun.

At the start it is pretty easy. Graeme sets the treadmill to have a 1% gradient and the speed at 11 km/h. After three minutes easy Graeme asks me what effort I am feeling from a chart on the wall. Then he gets you to jump off of the treadmill and takes a spot of blood from my finger to measure my lactic. Then back onto the treadmill straight away without stopping it. Then Graeme increases the pace to 12km/h. Still easy. Another three minutes - more blood, increase the pace and ask my perceived effort. Still the same.

Before long though I am up at 17 Km/h. The effort level is much harder. Breathing through the mask is hard but not as bad as I remembered before. Jumping from the treadmill to test my lactate is hard work now. Even harder to jump back onto the treadmill again and get my legs back moving. Graeme has music on - Pendulum. I trained to them before so this makes it easier but the song doesn't last long and its back to something I don't know again.

The lactate test is over though its now time to see what my max is.
Onto the treadmill but this time instead of increasing the pace Graeme leaves the speed at 17km/h but increases the gradient. I am tired already but the gradient saps my legs and my heart rate rises rapidly. My legs are complaining now and I can feel that I am struggling to keep up with the treadmill. Graeme is shouting at me to continue - "Come on, keep going." He raises the gradient again and I sink further back towards the edge of the treadmill. My legs complain again and I cant get a full breath anymore. My heart is going to leap from my chest. "Come on" Graeme shouts. My legs are buckling, sweat is pouring over my eyes but still I run. Further back on the treadmill "Am I close to the edge?" I think

But Graeme is watching over me so I don't need to worry. Can I go longer? No I don't think so. "Come on, 10 more seconds Marco" shouts Graeme. But I am further back on the treadmill again. My legs are solid and turning to jelly, I cant see properly, my running form is all over the place and I feel like I am about to collapse but just then Graeme stops the test. Its over and I am relieved but I recover quickly from it. Could I have done better? Not sure. It is hard work but the information you gain from it is invaluable for training and racing.

Results

Graeme was able to tell me some of my results straight away and the rest of them in a report that I received a few days later.
Below is some results this year compared to last year

2010
HR at Lactate Threshold - 147
HR at Lactate Turnpoint - 164
V02 max - 49.5
Max HR - 179bpm
% Body Fat - 14.1
Long Distance HR - 147bpm
Recovery HR - 126 to 145bpm
Steady State HR - 147 to 154bpm
Tempo State HR - 155 to 164bpm
Interval State HR - 165

2011
HR at Lactate Threshold - 151
HR at Lactate Turnpoint - 166
V02 max - 54.6
Max HR - 181bpm
% Body Fat - 12.9
Long Distance HR - 151bpm
Recovery HR - 130 to 150bpm
Steady State HR - 151 to 160bpm
Tempo State HR - 161 to 166bpm
Interval State HR - 167

So I am very pleased that I have according to the test improved my fitness. But I could feel it before hand. I certainly think that the training I have done during the winter has helped but also how last year went and how much I learnt to listen to my body while not only training but racing as well.

The information will be invaluable for this years training. Already I have done a long run and with my new HR zones I am able to push it longer and a faster pace but still feel very comfortable. I do think that having a good last years training plus a good winter training for 10k's has given me a fantastic base for Ultra training this year.