So... with the hard work over, it is time to reflect upon the biggest week of running I have ever done and try to bring together all the lessons learned so that I can benefit from them going forward.
In no particular order, I set out below my thoughts regarding how my body performed for the week, what worked, and what didn't, and what needs some work for the future... Apologies if this gets a little tedious, these ramblings are probably much more benefit to me than to anyone else, but I have to record them somewhere so it may as well be on the blog!! Pacing: I have to be honest and say that this was pure guesswork on my part, based upon how I felt... I selected a pace that felt comfortable on day one, that I felt I could sustain, and when that worked, I stuck with it for the rest of the week! As it happens, that was just under a 12 minute mile average taking account of both running and walking sections. This is pretty much my usual ultra distance pace, and the one I had used predominantly in the last couple of months of high volume training. Could I have gone faster? Possibly, but probably not without risking blowing up (metaphorically speaking of course!!) or making myself too sore for the following day. As it was my times for all 7 of the runs fell within a 26 minute window (and all under 12 minute mile average pace), and I did not suffer any undue stiffness/tightness in my leg muscles. I will take that as a win and a good predictor of my early season pace for this year's ultras. I want to work on my speed in March once I am recovered from this run, but more about that in later blog posts... Training: How do you prepare your body for running these distances on a daily basis whilst still maintaining a normal working and family life? There aren't exactly loads of sample training plans on the internet for runs/feats of this magnitude, so I had to formulate my own, based upon the previous marathon and ultra training that I had done. My plan was to run shorter back to back (and 3, 4, 5 days back to back) runs in the week, with a marathon-training style long run on the weekend (16/18/20 miles) following on from a shorter run (5 to 10 miles) the previous day... some days I would do 2 or 3 shorter runs with a break in between, and some days I would run longer in a single run... All in the interests of building a lot of fatigue into the legs and then still going out and running! On top of the running, I added in a number of short walks of between 1 and 2 miles - often 2 or 3 times per day - totalling between 10 and 20 miles per week. This is the first time that I have specifically used walking in my training, and was more fuelled by the desire to accumulate Bounts points than to improve my ultra-running. However, I do feel that it made a difference. Beyond marathon distance, I have always utilised a run/walk strategy and I approached the 7 in 7 the same way - I established all of my walk and run points on day one and stuck to them throughout the week. Historically, I found that the different gait required for walking led to blisters and calf problems which I did not suffer from when running the same distance, so I was thrilled to find that these issues appeared to be alleviated by training specifically for the walk portions. That said, I think this is an area of training that I still need to expand upon as I found on day 7 it hurt my legs more to walk than to run, and I actually ended up skipping some of my walk breaks as it was easier to keep running! It didn't matter because it was the last day, but I don't want this to become an issue in any of my other ultras this year. Footcare: This has been a real journey of trial and error over the years - the errors sometimes costing me the skin off the entire ball of my foot and several of my toenails. I am pleased to say that I appear to have found a solution which, for the time being at least, works for me. Incredibly, I finished the week with all 10 toe nails intact and happy, and without a single blister or sore spot. My routine was simple - trim and file the toenails a week before, then each morning spray each foot with anti-perspirant foot spray, followed by a dusting of foot powder, then into technical running socks (I varied between Lidl's own brand and More Mile ones). Incidentally I always keep my tootsies super soft, as I have previously experienced the deep blistering which can occur beneath hardened skin, and it is not something I ever want to repeat! Running Shoes: For all bar the wet Wednesday and the Saturday, I wore my trusty K-Swiss Tubes Run 100s. They were ridiculously cheap (about £25 per pair) and, over the years, I have got through 7 pairs of them. This pair alone have run at least 8 or 9 marathons plus numerous long training runs, shorter runs etc etc. Their tube-based cushioning never seems to wear out and I am normally only forced to 'retire' a pair when the upper becomes unbearably worn. They seem to perform as well on short, fast runs as they do at marathon distance. I am devastated that they are no longer in production and most places have now sold out of all their old stock. I am now searching the market to find their replacement... On Wet Wednesday, I wore Saucony Kinvara 4s in the Goretex model. This is the second wet marathon I have run in them and I have to say I am impressed with their performance. My feet stayed pretty much completely dry all day, which is amazing considering how bad the weather was. They aren't highly cushioned, but they are nice and lightweight and relatively springy. My only criticism is that the toebox is a little narrow for my duck-like feet! Not enough to make them uncomfortable for 26 miles, but I probably wouldn't risk them over greater distances where the foot-swelling becomes a bigger issue. The only other shoes I brought into action for the week were my trusty Hokas, which I rotated into the mix on the Saturday (day 6) in order to alleviate some of the pounding. I love Hokas, and this is the 3rd marathon that I have run in a pair, but I generally train in pretty minimalist shoes and so find the Hokas rather chunky. I never feel capable of pushing the pace in them and guess this is because they absorb power as well as absorbing shock. But they are uber-comfortable and my feet were happy! Injuries/Weaknesses: Okay, this is where I confess to all my weaknesses!!! 1. Achilles Having not suffered with achilles tendon issues for more than 6 years, I suddenly noticed a lump on the back of my left heel about 2 weeks before the start of the 7 in 7. How long it had been building for, I don't know, but there it was! The achilles was stiff first thing in the morning, so there was a definite tendinopathy there.... I swore to myself and wondered what was best to do! As I normally always wear zero drop shoes, I switched out to wearing 4mm drop to take the pressure off the tendon, I used deep tissue massage for as long as I could tolerate (not long!!!), and tried doing lots of heel drops on the vibration plate at the gym. The lump remained steadfast. I resorted to the 'bugger it and bimble on' approach! Please note that I DO NOT recommend this as a piece of medical/sports injury advice!!!! On day 1, I kept doing a mental check on how the tendon and lower calf felt... it was tugging gently, but not specifically painful. I expected it to be stiffer and complaining by the morning of day 2, but it actually wasn't. In fact, throughout the course of the week, it has all but remedied itself. There is still a slight lump there, but it is no longer stiff first thing, so I think I am beyond the worst of it now! I was always advised that strengthening work was more effective than rest with achilles issues but this appears to have proved that on an extreme level! I am, however, making a note to do some more calf and achilles work at an appropriate time in my schedule. 2. Hips/Pelvis I have a wonky pelvis. It wanders off all by itself! It causes me all sorts of grief, mostly with my IT Band, piriformis and gluteus on my right hand side. I need to work on it! Additionally, and presumably as a connected issue, when running beyond marathon distances, my right hip flexor tends to completely throw teddy out of the pram. After last year's Joust 24 hour race, it was the only area that ached, and was ruddy painful for a day or two afterwards. Thankfully, although I could quite often feel that things were somewhat misaligned, I didn't suffer too badly last week with these issues... but they were definitely there in the background, so my aim this summer will be to strengthen and stretch opposing muscles in order to help keep things better aligned... I will keep you advised. 3. Left Bicep Tendon How's that for a bizarre running niggle?!!! For the last 6 months I have done very little strength training, as my running schedule has taken up much of my available time. Consequently, by day three my left arm was starting to niggle at all the effort of driving me forward. (No such problem with the right, which does the bulk of the work in day-to-day life...). The bicep tendon became quite sore. I need to work on this, and soon! The Week's Statistics (non-geeky-nerds look away now!): Day Total Time Elapsed Time Average Pace Av. Heart Rate Daily Steps Daily Calories Burned 1 4:59 4:42 10:54 157bpm 52,170 4,655 2 4:55 4:44 10:58 151bpm 51,362 4,132 3 5:07 4:51 11:17 147bpm 51,498 4,942 4 4:44 4:38 10:42 144bpm 49,779 4,677 5 5:09 5:01 11:33 139bpm 50,818 4,999 6 5:09 5:01 11:39 137bpm 51,776 4,659 7 5:02 4:55 11:24 137bpm 50,987 4,344
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How to describe the feelings on day 7? Firstly, relief... that I had made it as far as the seventh day injury free... and that it was nearly all done. Secondly, apprehension... as there was still another marathon to run, and it doesn't matter how many of them I run, they are still 26.2 miles long and that's still a long way to run. We had opted for an early start on the Sunday, with the 7 in 7 folk going off earlier than the rest of the marathon, half marathon and 10km competitors, although I had asked one of my friends, Lynn, who was doing the 10km if she wanted to join the early start, so she joined us early as did a couple of other runners. This meant that I had the pleasure of Lynn's company for the first four miles of the day, which was a marvellous treat after 3 days of running almost entirely solo. I had decided to stick to the same game plan that had worked for Friday and Saturday so was aiming for 12 minute miles again, although the excitement of it being the last day, coupled with the company, meant that I went off a little quicker, but felt comfortable enough to maintain that pace even once I had parted company with Lynn. The day seemed to zip past, and before I knew it, it was 'lunch time' (two peanut butter sandwiches and a cup of coca cola!!), and I was 14 miles down with just 3 lots of 4 miles to do (with a return to base at the end of each 4 miles). Towards the end of my first 4 mile loop, another friend, Rachel, and her hubby walked out to meet me having completed the 10km run earlier and then grabbed a bite to eat. They were happy to jog alongside me for the ensuing 8 miles (with my 6 year old daughter Eleanor joining us briefly too) which made for a fantastic end to the week for me. We eventually hit the finishing post in a time (for me) of 5 hours and 2 minutes, with Rachel having run 8 miles more than she had ever before run in one day (and having set a personal best for the 10km run too!!). So there it was ... I had run 7 marathons in 7 days. All my times fell between 4 hours 44 mins and 5 hours 9 mins. There are some interesting (well... to me anyway) facts and figures to be analysed regarding my training, my heart rate, pacing etc, but those can wait for another post on another day... What about everyone else? Well, there were 7 people starting out on Monday to try to achieve the 7 marathons. Some of us knew some of the others, but we were a bunch of relative strangers. Through the trials and tribulations of endurance running, with the vagaries of the British weather in February throwing sun, ice, rain and winds at us, we slowly moulded into a bizarre army, fighting adversity with as much good humour as we could muster. It was like some odd social experiment on commercial television, but without anyone being eliminated... yes, we all made it across that finish line! We all completed 42 loops of the 'morning' circuit (up to the 14 mile point) and 21 out-and-backs of the 4 mile 'afternoon' course. What an achievement! Here's a few pics from the week... Credit to Ian Wall, Mick Ward, and Ultra Running Ltd for the photographs.
I felt very low after Friday's run... emotionally spent and starting to feel the physical effects of a week of long running days. Whilst none of my muscles actually ached, my legs felt like they had a low electrical current running through them, and I struggled to settle down to sleep. I therefore wasn't feeling very optimistic about today's run.
But Saturday dawned reasonably bright and dry (although rain was forecast), and so it was time to put my game face on and get out there... Having coped with yesterday's run by focussing on holding a 12 minute mile pace, I decided to try the same again today, but with a view to the fact that I probably would need to aim for a slower pace with yet another day in my legs. However, with a change of shoe option for the day (comfortable Hokas... just love them when my legs are spent!) I started out well enough to try for 12 minute miles again, and stuck to the game plan... the result - another 5:09 marathon (the same time as yesterday!). Even the threatened rain didn't turn too heavy, and soon fizzled out. I'll take that! So, tomorrow is our final day. The end is in sight... just 26.2 miles left to run... or walk... or crawl... I'll let you know! I won't lie, today was a tough one!
I did manage to slow it down a bit, finishing in 5:09, but it was a mental game out there today. I spent the whole 26 miles playing games with myself to keep me to a 12 minute mile pace, including my walking breaks (which were more frequent today). The rain just about held off, so we had a dry day which was a bonus... and only two more days to go! (I'm trying not to think that it is 2 more marathons left - that just sounds too damn much for my body and mind to take right now!) To be honest, I am starting to suffer from a creeping bone-weariness that effuses both body and spirit. Gotta tough it out for the next couple of days... Today's forecast doesn't look so great, I'm just hoping the weather gods smile upon us! What can I say about day 3... erm... it was wet, and cold, and damned hard work! The rain was incessant, forming huge puddles around the course and it was a very cool 6 degrees.
My aim for the day was to slow my pace down to about a 6 hour finish, but with my watch tucked away up my sleeve, I wan't going to keep soaking my arm by untucking it to check on pacing and, for the first time ever, I completed the distance without a clue as to my pace or the time elapsed. Because I am now familiar with the course (same course each day), I knew how far I had done, and how far I had left to go, but that it all. My finish time? 5 hrs 5 mins - just slightly slower than the last 2 days! Dammit - maybe tomorrow I'll manage to slow it more! Physically, everything seems to be holding up just fine. Mentally, today was tough, but we are only 13.1 miles away from the half way point now, which will help with the mental battle I believe. Oh, and to cheer me up... I passed 300 miles for the year today! :-) Oooh! We are over the 'hump'!!!
It was with delight that I woke up to sunshine this morning! It was very cold, but at least it looked set fair! A quick drive around the course before the start told me that it was indeed rather chilly out there - parts of the course resembling a skating rink and the car thermometer hovering around freezing. I then had a quick decision to make - choose the shoes that were less comfortable over marathon distance, but with better grip in the ice, or the comfortable ones with quite frankly abysmal grip... I opted for the latter, trusting that after an hour or so, the roads would improve and I would benefit from the improved comfort... I think it proved to be the right choice. The ice made certain parts of the course rather interesting (particularly one reasonably steep downhill section, where we would normally carry a lot of speed but which had us all tippy-toe-ing around trying to find the best grip!) but it was just so nice to be out in the sunshine after yesterday's rain! I ran a solitary run for the most part , as most of the other 7 in 7 participants had chosen to slow things down today. As I mentioned yesterday, it was my intention to slow to somewhere near 6 hours today myself, but I found I was enjoying the run too much, and the miles just slipped by... and so Day 4 came in at a rather poetic 4 hours and 44 minutes - my fastest run of the week so far. Tomorrow, the weather looks fair to start with, but with rain moving in later... Tomorrow, I will slow down!!! Well... we had another beautiful day today!! Albeit a little bit colder than yesterday. My intention was to run a bit slower today but I actually managed to knock a couple of minutes off yesterday's time... Woops! I will slow down tomorrow! I MUST slow down tomorrow!!!
Nutrition today was very much the same as yesterday so not much to report in that respect. Bodily, everything seems to be holding up, although my hip flexors have started their usual aching - more on this to come in due course, as I am going to try to strength everything around my hips/pelvis once the 7 in 7 is out of the way, and hopefully that will alleviate this problem which always seems to trouble me once I go beyond single marathon distance. I'm tired tonight having once again nipped into work after the run, so another early night is definitely in order. Then we will see what tomorrow's weather actually has in store (we have the threat of rain hanging over us! )... Wow... what a beautiful day for running - clear, crisp, sunny... a little cool if I'm being picky but just above freezing. The plan was to take today real steady and I had in mind a pace that got me back to base in somewhere between 5 and 6 hours but the legs felt so good that I was able to nip in just under 5 hours. Will I pay for that later in the week? Who knows! My legs feel fine tonight as I type this and I feel surprisingly fresh BUT I have got another 6 marathons to run this week so time will tell!
Foodwise, I managed to guzzle down a Nine Bar, a round of peanut butter sandwiches and about a litre and a half of coca-cola, plus a small amount of blackcurrant squash. It seemed about the right amount and I felt good all the way through the run, and was able to eat well straight after the run so I will aim to replicate that plan tomorrow and see how we go. The course is reasonably undulating with 1000ft of ascent and descent which throws the odd hills in... which work well for me as I am running each day like I (and most other mere mortals) do an ultramarathon - run the flats and downs, hike the hills. I enjoy the natural break that it gives and I feel it keeps my legs a lot fresher. However, I expect my concept of what constitutes a 'hill' will expand throughout the week to provide for a lot more walking! Off to bed now to rest up before hitting the first of 6 'groundhog days' tomorrow. :-0 Well... here we go... The Hot Runner 7 in 7 starts tomorrow! The picture shows me with the amazingly lovely, ever bubbly Julie (who is currently cursing me for having gotten her into this escapade) and Race Director Steve Worrallo.
I'm nervous but excited and eager to get started now. The last week's training has left me feeling pretty fresh, with much reduced volumes all round... just a total of 16.6 miles running and 12.2 miles walking... or from the Fitbit data total activity of 125,000 steps, or 58 miles. I haven't quite been climbing the walls, but I have remembered what it is like to have a life outside of running! My kit is laid out ready for tomorrow, together with food and drink options for the day... with the rest of the week's kit and caboodle all packed into curver boxes so I don't have to stress too much about them in between runs. The weather for the next couple of days looks reasonable - hopefully cold but dry... I will definitely take that! I am working in the evenings Monday through Thursday but will endeavour to post updates each evening before heading to bed... To all who have sponsored myself or Julie and/or sent good wishes can I say a HUGE thank you... it really does make it so much more rewarding and worthwhile... x Apologies for the lack of posts mid-week this week but I have frantically been trying to get ahead of myself ready for next week. It is school half term whilst I am doing the 7 in 7 so I have had to make provision for Eleanor to be looked after whilst I am on my running jollies! She has a couple of days/nights at Nanna and Grandy's and a couple at a friend's house, and a Beavers' camp all whilst I am running this epic, so I have had three lots of bags to pack in readiness!
I am not immune to the Mummy guilt attached to spending hours away from my family, both training and taking part in these events. I try to make it up to Ellie by spending quality time with her when I am around but it doesn't completely salve my conscience. Longer runs always have the potential to guilt me out. If I am not in the right mindset, I can start mithering my way out of completing the distance by desperately missing my family time whilst I am out there. On more than one occasion, my hubby has been shocked to have me back after 45 to 60 minutes when I had planned to be out for two or more hours. When we are on holiday I normally manage to get out for an hour's run before either of them are awake, returning just in time for breakfast, which generally works really well (and means that I am my calm, collected, post-run self for the rest of the day). Sometimes I will arrange to meet Ian and Ellie for a meal at mid-run point, or at the end of the run (and cadge a lift back!) and these can be quite fun family times. I am also extremely grateful that Ellie has started to enjoy running in her own right - she ran her longest, furthest run this morning with me - 2.2 miles in under 30 minutes - I must say that I am very impressed with the way she paces herself. But I digress a little. Training as an ultrarunner takes time... 10 plus hours per week of actual running plus showering/changing time etc - so generally at least 15 hours per week. On top of running my own business, this leaves little time for being a 'housewife', so please, if you visit my home, don't write rude words in the almost inevitable dust!! Is the trade-off worth it? Can I justify to myself and my family the amount of time and effort I dedicate to what is basically just a hobby? I feel it is. I know that I am a better person when I run. My longer runs help me organise my brain and sort out the issues that may be bothering me. Ultrarunning gives me direction and purpose. And it forces me to keep my own fitness levels up, which (and this may be a surprise to some) I would struggle with if I did not have the focus of the challenges I put before me... Yes... hold the front page - even Personal Trainers need some butt-kicking to move their sorry carcases! And ultrarunning is my means of kicking my own butt! Although, come to think of it, with the amount of miles I am doing through the week, one thing I probably won't be able to do for most of next week is... kick my own butt! :-D Yay! Finally, we started the taper... the weekly miles reduced by one third this week (and will fall again by a half next week) !
This week's training summary is as follows: Walk Miles Run Miles Monday: 2.4 Rest Tuesday: 1.1 2 Wednesday: --- 5.2 Thursday : 1.2 5.2 Friday : 1.1 2.1 Saturday : --- 5.2 Sunday : --- 11 So my total run miles for the week were 30.7 plus 5.8 miles walking making a total of 36.5 structured exercise miles. My Fitbit has totalled my structured exercise plus my other daily activity to 141,000 steps, or 68 miles. The relatively low miles has left me feeling much more rested, although in many ways it has been hard not doing so much running! Reduced mileage aside though, the end of the week saw me hitting 200 miles for the year. Go me!! :-) Thanks to all who entered January's Challenge. Following this morning's draw by the lovely Eleanor, I am delighted to announce that Lynn Brookes has won the free personal training session. Well done Lynn!
For your chance to win for this month, I am upping the ante a little!! With my 7 marathon's in 7 days challenge in the middle of the month, we are going with a marathon theme. The challenge is to run marathon distance (26.2 miles) in the space of 7 days. It doesn't have to be a calendar week, so could be Saturday to Friday, Tuesday to Monday, or however you want... just get those miles in, then submit the evidence for all the runs to me via my facebook page or by email to [email protected].... The nominated Charity for this month is again Children with Cancer. The entry fee is just £2. In order to enter, please make your donation via the JustGiving Link set out to the right of this page, then supply the evidence of your runs as recorded by your tracking device of choice (GPS watch, phone app etc). You do not have to run all the way - you can take walk breaks if needed, but MOST of each submitted 'run' should be actually run and not walked. All entrants will go into a draw at the start of March (to be pulled out of the hat by my daughter Eleanor). The winner will get a free half hour training session* with yours truly (minimum value £15). You can enter more than once, thus gaining more chances of winning the prize, but each entry must be accompanied by the £2 donation. Good luck and happy running! *Ts and Cs apply. Session to be taken within 3 months either at DW Sports Fitness Kidderminster or at an agreed location within a 10 miles radius of Stourport on Severn. All sessions subject to availability. There almost always comes a time in a marathon/ultra training plan when your mind and body shout 'enough' and you are left wearily grinding out the miles as best as you can. So it happened this week...
This week's training summary is as follows: Walk Miles Run Miles Monday: 3.5 Rest Tuesday: 1.2 9.1 Wednesday: 1.2 4.4 Thursday : 1.2 2.1 Friday : 1.4 4.1 Saturday : 1.2 10 Sunday : --- 20 So my total run miles for the week were 49.7, plus 9.7 miles walking making a total of 59.4 structured exercise miles. My Fitbit has totalled my structured exercise plus my other daily activity to just under 182,000 steps, or 88.46 miles. Certainly, this wasn't that many miles more than last week, but the cumulative effect was to grind me down to the point where Sunday's run was really tough. Thank heavens I had company for the whole 20 miles... I certainly wouldn't have got through it without. Thankfully, the next two weeks are 'taper' weeks, so I will be reducing my mileages in order to rest and recover in time for the start of the 7 in 7 on Monday 15th February... still plenty of running to be had, but considerably less than of recent times! |
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