Running Crazy

It’s been quite a while since I last posted.

There were quite a few runs after the Ridgeway and by the end of the year I had we’ll and truly injured myself but completed 16 runs of at least a marathon in length (9 ultras and 7 marathons).  My lower left leg and foot became very sore and swollen after running an ultra and 3 marathons in 8 days.  A 6 week break gave my leg a chance to recover but it also gave me the time to plan for the next year.

The plan for this year is to run at least 20 marathons and I’ve already run the first 9 of them.  I can’t say it’s been easy.  After 4 marathons over 4 weekends I’m getting slower and  I’ve felt tired, but in a good way.  This Sunday will be my 5th weekend of running with Marlborough Downs challenge (33 miles), I’ll enjoy the rest afterwards.

Day 3 began the same as the others with a race briefing at the HQ and a chance to scope out the competition before being bussed to the start at Lulworth Cove.  A quick chance to stretch our legs before the start and then we were off down the road and up the first extremely steep hill.

From the beginning I had been dreading this days running because I had recently run a large section of it and knew that it was very steep – even the most energetic would not be running some of the hills.  So the routine was very much climb to the top of one steep hill take a deep breath and run, as best as you could, down the hill.  In some places there were steps for you to walk up/down but the spacing and height of these was always random so they were of dubious benefit.  This carried on for about half of the days course.  The expectation was that the sea would always be on the right and near by so when I noticed that the sea was quite some distance away I mentioned this to my companions and we had to carry out a course correction – why do I always make these wrong turnings!  This course correction added at least a mile to the overall distance and worst still it involved running into and out of another valley.

Shortly after this wrong turn was the first checkpoint at Gaultar Gap.    From here the route continued to be hilly but with a lot of steps.  While the steps were made for a clearly defined route they were there because it was steep so there really wasn’t a rest.  I can’t say that I was really taking in the scenery at this point.  On the 3rd day I was tired and the only thing that was on my mind was getting to the end.    A push up another steep set of stairs brought us to checkpoint 3 at the coast guard station near Worth Matravers.  This was perfect timing for me to refill with energy drink.

Now things became a bit easier.  The track was narrow and often sloped away to the coast.  At one point we had to head inland, although it looked like an adventurous person could take a short cut we had already been advised against this.  It seems a tragedy to head inland when you know that the shorter route is along the coast.  Check point 4 was at Swanage and the run through the town was a change to, what was otherwise, beautiful scenery.

Heading out of Swanage there was one more hill and then the trail was pretty level until just before Studland where it dropped down to the shoreline.  Now the end of the trail was at Studland Bay but it was still a good 2 miles or so along the sand. Keeping close to the sea the sand was firm and the sound of the waves was pleasant but the 2 miles seemed a lot further. Almost at the end and if it was for 2 other runners that I’d just overtaken I’d have carried on along the shoreline and missed the flags showing the way to the finish. This bit was cruel because we now had to move cross the loose sand and into the car park for the finish line.

Overall I enjoyed this run. It was my first multi-day event and I did enjoy it, but the whole event was marred by my hamstring injury. It would also be a shame not to mention the weather. If it had rained or been windy throughout the run it could have been really miserable but unseasonably hot weather was also quite a challenge.

On the 11th March the Sunday Times ran an article “Ironman athletes pound their way to heart problems”.  There have been a number of articles during the last year with a similar message.

This particular article referred to a study that found half of veteran marathon runners had fibrosis of the heart.  With this type of article it’s natural to wonder what this means for the individual and there isn’t really an answer.  Is this an indication of a genetic difference or something to do with the training methods and intensity?  Without a doubt running ultra marathons is physically demanding and at times will place a strain on the heart, but on the other hand ultra marathons are not normally particularly fast events (my own 6.5 hours or so for 35 miles isn’t a stunningly fast pace) whereas a normal marathon (3.5 hours for 26 miles) is sigificantly faster but still nothing like that of the elites.

My only concern about the article is that it send out the wrong message to the public – running is bad for you – when we are really talking about a small study with interesting results.  GPs will no doubt, on learning that you run ultra marathons, now be advising you not to, etc…

OK, confession time.  I didn’t go for a run today.  I was going to go for a run with the Allstars after going to the gym but I’d left my hat and gloves behind, and it was very cold outside.  Still I had a good workout at the gym.

Back in 1992 my sister told me about a running club that she had been going to.  They ran once a week from a pub and finished up in the bar afterwards.  It was called hashing and I’d never heard about it before.  So I started hashing, made lots of friends and enjoyed myself.  Hashing is great, it’s relaxed, easy going and sociable and you only put in as much effort as you want.

Bringing things forward a bit, to 2008, after changing jobs I decided that I’d like to take up a hobby of some sort.  I considered climbing, learning to fly a plane, sailing and cycling but eventually decided that I’d take this running thing a bit more seriously.  So I set myself some goals and set about training, running to/from work, etc.

For the first year (2009) I just set myself the target of running half-marathons and attempting to complete one in less that 1 hour 30 minutes.  On my first half-marathon of that year I hit my target and continued to run well for the rest of the year.

For the second year (2010) I set myself the goal of running marathons.  In a rush of enthusiasm I entered myself for several races and then realised that I would be running 3 marathons with just a 2 week break in between, and to make matters worse I’d also managed to put a half-marathon between 2 of them.  Still I completed all of them.  My first marathon, the Cotswold marathon, was a small event with 3 circuits on relatively quiet country roads and it was pretty tough.  I was really glad to get to the end of that first marathon and while I wasn’t staggering at the end I wasn’t far from it.  The next 2 marathons were also tough runs but now I knew what I was in for.

For the third year (2011) I set myself the goal of running an ultra-marathon.  Notice that this time I was a little bit wiser and didn’t over-commit myself.  That first ultra-marathon was the Malvern Hills Ultra, a 52 mile self-navigated course with a significant number of hills.  This was a hard run and I pulled my hamstring after about 17 miles but pushed on.  By 26 miles I had only just started on the hills and I was tired but determined to continue.  Towards the end I couldn’t run any more, I was exhausted and my legs had stiffened terribly.  But I finished.  It took about 6 weeks to recover from that first ultra but gradually I started running again and as my confidence grew I decided to enter the Ridgeway Challenge (85 miles) in order to gain enough qualifying points to enter the Ultra Trail Mont Blanc for the following year (what was I thinking).   Running an additional 33 miles wasn’t easy but, surprisingly, it wasn’t as bad as you’d think.  Yes I was exhausted, every muscle in my body hurt and I was tired but I did it and more importantly I was hooked.  To finish off the year I ran the Endurancelife Gower and Dorset coastal trail ultras (both 34 miles).

So what’s the aim for 2012?  More and longer.  For this year the goal is to run 14 marathon or ultra-marathons.  For this the definition is that used by the 100 marathon club which is that each run is a recognised event, a mimimum distance of 26.2 miles and for multi-day events each race counts.  A 100 mile non-stop race only counts as 1 race.  A 3 day event covering 1 marathon per day counts as 3 races.

Strictly speaking I’m not sure I enjoy running but I do enjoy the challenge and sometimes, if I’m lucky, I have a run where I feel fantastic or I’ll have a beautiful view and it makes it all worthwhile.

Well that’s today’s run finished.  My regular run around the block covering 9.17 miles, according to the GPS.

The tibialis anterior muscle on my right leg is still very stiff, but better than yesterday, and tonight I’ll spend some time massaging the area to release the muscles.  At the same time the calf muscle on the same side has a small sore spot and I wonder if that’s related.

It’s a blog – but what about and why?

Any of my friends on facebook will have seen my frequent posts about running but I only post a few selected highlights there.  On this blog I intend to talk a lot more about running, the highs and the lows, plans and experiences.  It will also act as a kind of running log.