Sunday, May 22, 2022

The days slowly are getting closer to UTMB. I’m still unsure of the training but today am exploring an option to see if I can find some vertical. Photos from last weeks long run out the Worcestershire Way.

As soon as the kids are off to school I’ll drive about an hour to Church Stretton. The area has some solid hills and is home to a bunch of fell races. Fell racing is a very British running event where you basically run up a hill or fell and run back down. There is no route, you navigate to a checkpoint, then move on to the next. There is no obligation to follow a trail so many times the most direct route is taken, up and down.  I’ve found a couple loops that have the same, and more, vert per mile to UTMB. Perfect for training, however I’ll need to get in what I can in a four hour window in order to be home in time to get the kids from school. I’m excited and anxious at the same time. I don’t want to be late or get lost, but this could be the answer. 



Wrapping my head around proper training took a couple positive steps this past week. My muscular endurance (ME) strength routine has begun to give benefit, or at least I’ve found the appropriate weight, as I was fairly sore after it! I’ve gone through this cycle of box step ups and split jump squats a few times before so needed to adjust, but it took a few weeks. 

The unnecessary style on the Worcestershire Way, this should have a fence around it!

I had been doing a weekly speed session; 400m repeats, mile repeats, and last week a 200m medium hill rep session (think Mulberry’s from Stillwater cross country). All appropriate for road racing 5km and 10km distances, not for a monster ultramarathon. Yesterday I reverted back to the standard super steep and short hill rep I normally do, much more appropriate for UTMB. The idea is to engage fast twitch muscles going all out. If done right your legs should burn before your lung do, before the rep is over. I’ve always struggled with this session, it was easy because my body was well adapted to using it’s aerobic system, my legs never tired. However, I think the road speed work flipped the switch for me and I finally feel like I’ve stressed my body within the anaerobic system, recruiting the fast twitch muscle. The legs finally burned and today I’m sure I’m doing it right for the appropriate adapts. Very very happy about this!


River Teme along the Worcestershire Way, still unreal there’s no canoes out! 
 
I had an interview the other day at work with Running Insight about the MotionMetrix 3D system we use at work. Running Insight is the US running industry magazine. The guy from Chicago I spoke with was very interested in it and seemed amazed we charged for it, granted it’s not for selling shoes, and our knowledge is worth it so of course it’s not free! I was surprised he’d not heard of it! MotionMetrix is a computer software that scans your running efficiency and economy via infrared cameras and spits out a load of info pertaining to your technique and posture. Ground reaction forces, joint angles, work against gravity, joint loading, ….. the list goes on. We are one of five stores in the UK that have it and only one of 2 or 3 that use it to help people run better. It’s normally used in a medical setting I believe. Why so few? It’s very expensive software and you need the knowledge to interpret and prescribe drills to make changes. It’s not really retail it’s coaching. I’ve mentioned it before on here. It was rad speaking with him and cool I’ll likely be in the magazine! I don’t doubt my interest in this stuff but sometimes wonder where it will go, this really enforced that I’m following a solid path. I seem to get the impression that this is cutting edge for a running store. Maybe it is? I don’t know, all I do know is I really enjoy it.  


MotionMetrix data screen, I’m not doing too bad! Still trying to get rid of that over stride though! 



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