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.