And like always as I get excited things topple down. Some sickness infiltrated my house and I was unknowingly sick. I was insanely exhausted. I kept pushing through until one day I finally opted to nap versus run. I slept for two hours! And I'm not a napper! 

It's finally on the way out and I'm feeling better even doing all of the night feeds of my new son. I'm up about every 3 - 4 hours at night and it isn't bothering me too much. 

I found another "training race" leading up to GUCR. The Wychavon Way Ultra. Point to point. Local. 40 miles. Cost is only £21! I signed up immediately. I believe it's about five weeks out from GUCR so ideal timing for a long run. Having aid stations make these long runs do much easier to do. 

And my legs are back. That didn't take long. 

I'm feeling pretty good despite major episodes of sleep deprivation. I'm trying to not stress too much about missing days right now. Considering the circumstances they'll most likely be a must. Not because I don't have time, but because I'm not sleeping consistently. I've already picked up some illness, noticed a crazy bump of flesh protruding near my ear the other day. It ended up being a lymph node. Sure enough a day later the scratchy throat arrives! I need to stay healthy.

It's been fun toying with training deprived of sleep and it's opened my eyes to the possibilities of training; ie running at 3am IS possible. Training around a crazy schedule also makes me realize even more how much free time there really is when you focus on what's important to you, disconnect the iPad and use the time productively. 

One of the hardest things it seems while being exhausted is staying calm and positive. The more I see this side effect of my family life right now it's a huge training opportunity. Realize that yes I feel like shit. I'm tired. Grumpy. Rarely am I this tired so focusing on staying in a positive frame of mind during these times of exhaustion is a win win for everyone. It's not easy, willpower is a fascinating phenomenon, but practicing can only build it up. 

In order to maximise my time last week at work I got out for 5 miles on my lunch break. I can't believe I hadn't taken advantage of this before!  Probably because I can normally bang out 17 miles before 7am and it was unecessary, but now I would feel confident tacking on another few at lunch. Great opportunity to run in a new area. I think this will become routine. Kind of a hassle bringing my running stuff to work but well worth it. Good opportunity for day time photos too! 

2015 race plans, training with kids!

I'm in the Grand Union Canal Race! 

Pretty excited about this one. Kind of the same feeling I had for Superior which is good. The best thing is that despite 145 miles it's pretty much flat so the terrain is in my favor unlike a mountain race. So it 

looks like this will be my "A" race. 

Training for now will be difficult. A lot going on in my family life with a new baby and all. I've been running consistently now for maybe ten days but scheduling has been tough. Night time runs, which I hate, have been a must. Just trying to work back into it and get my legs going for now. I'm planning on MAFF for 4-6 weeks and see where I'm at. Then "officially" start training and looking at increasing mileage, still at MAFF pace, and adding in two days of focused marathon training a week. In the build up to GUCR I'd like to race a couple marathons going for a PR. I think fast marathon training with a some races, higher mileage, and also a 50 miler (maybe Malvern Hills Ultra) leading up to GUCR should set me up pretty good despite the 145 mile distance. 

This all sounds good as long as I can find the time, stay injury free, and stay motivated! 

I'm signed up with GUCR as an "unsupported" runner (no crew), thus the race organiser supplying me with food and also shuttling drop bags throughout the race. However it sounds like a possibility that a few family members who helped crew at Superior may try to fly over to help! That's pretty sweet as not only would it be great to see them but make the race that much more fun! I think having family and friends at Superior made it way more fun. The other races I've done it's just been me, and yeah they were fun, but it just wasn't the same. 

I said scheduling has been tough. Watching two kids, one a baby, and trying to keep the house in order is crazy busy. I have no consistent period of time off. The iPad and Internet are on hold. I have no time to waste. I just need to sneak in my calisthenics more effectively to be sure I get them done. Hopefully the new addition starts sleeping through soon and I can get my mornings back. That and nights are usually a sure thing. 

Not sure where I'm at on this thing, usually all over the place, but it's off season for me! 

Lots has happened recently. Skipped Cotswold Century as my wife was way too pregnant to justify it, we had the baby, my parents were over to visit, and sleep deprivation has been top notch! So it's been super busy.

Previous to the time off I'd been enjoying running in the Brooks PureFlow 3 which was a new shoe for me. It just fit better than the Cadence 3 so I went with it. 

Am near to registering for the Grand Union Canal Race lottery, I'm really excited about this race, the demeanor of the race director is hilarious. Sure hope I get in. 

Anyway, starting to get the itch to train now after about a month off. Received some running toys from the kick ass crew at Alpenglow Sports in Tahoe City, CA as well. 

Getting back to any sense of normalcy and routine will take a bit I think. I had a kick ass routine going before the new baby arrived. I'm back at my calisthenics which has been a challenge to stick with. I'm exhausted by the time my 3 year old is in bed and she demands so much attention now with the baby around its hard to fit it in throughout the day. Before the baby arrived I had be meditating every day for 98 days straight. That milestone disappointingly was lost. Oh well, I'll just need to start over soon. I'd also been working on my JKD 5 nights a week for 30 minutes after my daughter went to sleep, this should be fairly easy to get back into. The hardest thing will be running. It's selfish, it takes time away from the house, but I'm ready to train again. Even if I'm stuck on the treadmill in the garage I'll be happy as it's a start. Feeding the baby the middle of the night has been taking its toll on me. I'm exhausted all the time, so getting out early like I normally do isn't really feasible as I need the sleep. I think this is the week to start though, it's go time. 

Keeping flexible

So I'm all healed, running well, and lacking motivation! My longest run since Lakeland has been 10 miles although my pace has been consistently below 7 minute mile pace, even dipping below 6 minute mile pace a few times. Not really 100 mile training that's for sure. Cotswold Century is in 10 days and I was unsure of how to recover, start training again, then taper over an eight week period. Well considering the wife is VERY pregnant I've accepted the fact that if Cotswold doesn't happen it's ok. 

Yes, any chance of getting into UTMB is gone but with so many other races I have options. Besides if I really do want to race in Chamonix I do qualify for two other shorter races. Options are good, right? The crazy ass huge option is to enter the lottery for the Tor des Geants in Italy (September). A vastly more difficult race than UTMB. Twice as far, 200 miles, I think three times the vertical, 75,000 feet. The race is won in 70 hours. Other races that I'm looking into are GUCR, the Grand Union Canal Race (May 23), 145 miles Birmingham to London along the canal. I've enquired about entry and this race seems like a great option considering where I train. A "classic" UK ultra that seems to be overlooked by many since it's "only along a canal". It has a very small field and they only allow maybe 40 unsupported runners, they prefer runners with crews following them the entire race. I'm sure it make their logistics far easier, understandable. 

I've done some sweet races here but have yet to do a European race. I feel I need to take advantage of living so close but with family and cost I seem to keep staying close to home. 

Change of topic, now after a few years of consistent running I feel I've got a solid base mileage but am hugely lacking speed. Running the Worcester Marathon on a whim for a "training run" and easily running 3 hours shows this. I'm considering focusing on a spring marathon at 2:45. I figure if I can get the leg speed from a decent marathon training plan all I need to do is add in some longer runs focusing on ultra distances and things could improve drastically. Obviously this is in an ideal world. Things like injuries, motivation, family, NEW BABY BOY, race course specifics (elevation, terrain, etc.) all would need to be considered and factored in. This plan does line up nicely with any plans for GUCR.

This Saturday I'll be running my first 5km in probably 20 years! And my first road 5km as well! Two of my co-workers and I are taking part in the Worcester City Run/Bike/Run Duathlon. We are in the team category where each of us run one of the legs. I'm the anchor doing the 5km! Kind of excited to see how I do but wish I would've done more speedwork. I'll be super happy if I break 17:00, that's about 5:28 per mile pace. I did an 8 miler last week and averaged around 6 minute miles so I'd like to think it's possible. 

Otherwise in general I'm just out running to run. I've been having trouble adjusting to the darker mornings but everytime I get out I feel good. It's nice to feel good! 

Berlin Wall, 100 miles.

More and more this is very intriguing, 100 miles following the Berlin Wall. I'd assume it's flat which caters to my training grounds. http://www.100meilen.de/en. Considering the uncertainty of UTMB I've been looking for alternatives. Yeah it's not a big mountain race but as I've found out at Lakeland it's tough to race in the mountains without training in the mountains, this seems like an excellent option. 

Planning ahead for once

So I went and did it. Entries for 2015 Lakeland 100 opened today. I registered for the 100. I believe it filled in 30 minutes. I figured I'll need a big race to keep up any sort of qualifying for other races (like Western States 100) and LL100 is the main race here in the UK. So if I don't get into UTMB for 2015 I've got something big, fun, and familiar planned. Considered the LL50 as a lead up to UTMB but then I'd lose the opportunity to qualify for other events, plus UTMB isn't guaranteed. If by chance I get into UTMB I'll most likely do both, the altitude and mountains will be extremely hard to train for here so just finishing will be the main focus. 

I ran all of last week with minimal pain in my foot, even had a hard 8 miler Saturday which I felt great for. Cotswold is coming up in four weeks, still unsure of the foot for that distance but if it doesn't happen not much I can do about it. Glad I'm in LL100 so if UTMB doesn't happen I've have a back up, even if it isn't a new race that was a great event.