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