A quick one

Been there done that. Lakeland 100. I didn't perform like I would've liked but as the day(s) went on I changed my goals and finally finished. I'll write a full report as I find time and remember but for now here's a damage report.

I'm actually doing far better than I did post Superior 100. My quads are still a tiny bit sore but pretty much any delayed muscle soreness is on it's way out. Initially yeah I was in bad shape but could manage stairs fairly well. I had a bit of a click in my left hip which is now gone. I can use my foam roller no problem on anything. I am a bit achey though and definitely still tired from the sleep deprivation. You'd think that not sleeping for over 48 hours you'd crash out but I didn't, I've slept like crap most nights. I'd guess due to the lingering aches and pains. The past two nights have been better.

During the race I had no nausea or vomiting despite eating anything and everything, I think I'm lucky with this one! Also, I only got one blister! I didn't even know I had it but discovered it at Dalemain while changing shoes (mile 60 I believe). A small one on my right second toe. A quick drain and a blister bandaid and I never noticed it again! Once again, lucky! No chafe problems, only reapplied BodyGlide once. 

Feeding went well throughout the race. In the past I've just tried to go with gels but considering I can't carry them for the entire race this wasn't an option. I ended up thriving on everything! I ate dry ass British cookies, pasta, squash soup (this was awesome), tomato soup, peanut butter sandwiches, cheese sandwiches, jelly babies, beef stew, coffee, coke, fresh fruit, rice pudding, among other things I can't remember. Oh, wait, even a friggin' hot dog! The soups, sandwiches, and especially the fruit was a life saver. Despite the heat there was nothing cold, no ice, so finding something refreshing was great which ended up being watermelon, blueberries, nectarines, and strawberries. A few of the early aid stations were fairly low on good things but fortunately it got better as the race went on. I think I'm sold on solid food for these races. Maybe I was always worried about puking. 

Initially I wasn't drinking enough water despite the heat, the same thing happened at Superior, but this time I feel it was my downfall in performance. I started with one bottle and a second smaller collapsible bottle in my pack as a back up. I should've started with two. It took a long long time to recover from the hole I had dug being dehydrated. 

Just a quick one for now. I got back from the Lake District and it was immediately back to business as usual so I'm still playing catch up. Got out for my first run since the race this morning. Felt a bit sluggish, legs were fine other than a little bit of quad pain, but it was just nice to be outside. 

And some race thoughts......

So I'll start with the navigation factor of this race. I'd much prefer to follow a premarked course but with Lakeland 100 you're required to carry a map, compass, and a road book describing the route. The last race I did messing with a map and compass hindered progress significantly so I decided to get a GPS unit to hopefully help. I'd prefer a watch with navigation but as of now they are just too damn expensive, especially in the UK. So, I picked up a Garmin eTrex 10. It looks like it's the same as my current GPS, the Garmin eTrex Summit, but it will accept GPX downloads. It also looks like it will be a bigger version of a GPS watch with the ability to change batteries if needed. It's pretty basic but supposedly has a battery life of 25 hours and has accepted the entire Lakeland 100 course. I think I've figured it out (it's so simple it seems too simple!) and now just need the confidence in it! More expensive models have a map on the screen but I figure I've got to carry a map anyway, we're not off trail, there will maybe be other people around, and I wasn't prepared to spend twice as much! 

Kind of worried about this part of the race more than anything but with no expectations now it will be part of the fun! I'm not worried about getting lost, it's just frustrating doubting directions.

It's really annoying not being able to be supported throughout the race other than the aid stations. Food will be the biggest sacrifice. In the past I've had three gels a hour until I got sick of them. Do the math over 20 plus hours and there is no way I'm carrying all those gels! I'm still deciding what to do. I've got a pretty strong stomach so I'm thinking of carrying enough gels for one a hour and then eat at the aid stations what I can. Most of them are under 7 miles apart with only 3 or so longer stints, 10 miles being the longest. So planning ahead for these and have extra gels or other food will be super important. I think I'll have a spare ziplock bag to grab food from the aid stations to carry with. I'm going to have to be on top of my feeding.

I'm still trying to find the best way to carry all my crap and have access to it! I have room but I'd prefer to grab stuff on the go versus take my pack off. I'm considering one water bottle up front so I have the other bottle pocket available for the map, gps, and some extra food. I do have a couple small collapsible bottles, I may bring one with in my pack in case I feel the need for more water (it looks 

Ike it may be hot). It also sounds like people drink straight from streams there so getting more water may not have to be from aid stations. 

As of right now I don't know how the race will go. The wife wants me to leave Friday however I'd prefer to leave Thursday night. Friday really isn't that big of a deal but I'm realizing the last thing I want to do is travel via train and bus for 5 plus hours then get oriented, set my tent up, register, get everything situated for the race, then at 6pm go run 105 miles. Add on top of that the stressful past few weeks of the little one being sick, then having an allergic reaction to the medication I'm not well rested. Running-wise I should be plenty rested but overall no. 

My toe problem persists, and as always it never gets worse, sometimes better! Who knows what will happen with this!

One huge factor about this race is that I'll be there alone. At Superior I had family and friends like crazy watching. It was awesome and tons of fun! I know watching a race that hoes on so long can be boring but I think everyone had fun chasing me around! I kind of wish I was with them! Here I'll have no one. It's just me. Kind of a real bummer honestly but I wouldn't have expected anyone from the US to come over to watch, or help, as the spectating points are few and outside help isn't allowed. Oh well, I'll be surrounded by my tribe of people, even if I don't know them I'll already have a lot in common with them. I'm a conversation piece in general being from the US! 

That seems to be all I've got right now. I need to get my things all packed and ready to go. Maybe today I'll get after that. I'll hopefully get one more post up Thursday before I head out! 

One week to go

Well here we go. The final week before Lakeland 100. I'm in full taper mode, running very little, riding my bike more. Slowly accumulating gear and finalizing plans etc. More thoughts on this later.

I'm actually pretty relaxed about the whole thing and not worried. I think I've come to the conclusion that I'll do what I can. My strongest trait is the most important, staying calm and positive. I've been meditating more, visualizing more. Physically the few weeks running up to the race nothing I do (or did) will help so I focused my training on what will help, getting my head straight.

rainy canal run

Anyway, a brief thunderstorm this morning on an easy 5 miler. I felt good mentally. Physically a bit sluggish, which was expected, despite easily running 6:50 miles.

Bad thoughts go away!

Ugh. The view of the climb at mile 82 (credit to someone on Facebook). I'm already down mentally about a lot of things pertaining to LL100 then I see this! 

The negatives: No UTMB points. Training has been on and off. Minor injuries that could grow into bigger injuries. I've got another 100 8 weeks later that is worth UTMB points.

The positives: It's the frigging Lake District! It's a classic must do UK race! It will be super cool despite how I finish! 

I just need to accept that I'll do what I can do and not get down about it. This seems easier than it sounds. It's ok to be a "completer" and not a "competer". 

The mind: friend or foe

I keep having difficulties looking at these two up coming races as "just to finish". That concept I'm having trouble with. It is a race and my mentality in a race is to, well, race! I've got to get that out of my head! 

Training has been ok. I feel decent, injuries come and go, some persist (toe). Yesterday I was planning and psyched to run 50 miles, I even had an easy week leading up to it. It's that time in the training cycle for Lakeland 100 but I couldn't find a race to do so figured I'd just go run. This became more difficult than I thought. 

I had a nice 13 mile hilly loop all laid out. The plan was to run four loops and resupply food and water at home. I woke early and headed out, feeling decent, moving along at a consistent pace. I did two loops and went in to resupply and say hi to the wife and little one. I was feeling fine and running well and then got sucked into the house, demotivated to run. It was over that fast. 26 miles in about 3:30 was a solid run I guess but as so many people say "don't sit down at aid stations" I essentially had done that. 

I had a fun day in the sun with my wife and daughter but was depressed all afternoon and evening for not finishing what I started. I still need to do the workout but only have two weekends before I need to taper. Who knows if it will happen but it all comes back to the "just finish" thoughts. Other than getting you to try out your equipment, feeding plan, and experience some discomfort, I think this one long run solidifies the thought that yes you can finish.

I have the ability to finish Lakeland. But the race mentality keeps sneaking in. I currently do not believe mentally I have done the proper training to race Lakeland. I need to focus on purging the racer thoughts from my head and just go run the event or try to convince my mind that I have the mileage to race. Some people run 35 mile weeks and finish very high in these races claiming it's all mental. I believe this, just need to find the mental training. 

Looking Ahead

So it looks as if the plan for the Cotswold Way Century is a go. I just need to register. I got the all clear by the wife. This may not seem like a big deal but the wife will be a few weeks from having our second child! I think she understands how important it is to me to at least try to get in to UTMB since this opportunity may never come around again. I think that's pretty cool of her since she isn't a runner and pretty much has no idea of what I'm doing! Ha ha ha! 

I was looking at my training from last year running up to Superior and was comparing it to this year's lead up to Lakeland 100. I'm definitely down a bit on miles but I think this shortness will be made up in consistentcy. Pre-Superior 100 I didn't have the consistent months of running like I do now so hopefully I'll be ok. 

I've kind of started viewing my running in the long term, like everything I'm doing now will pay off in the future and I'm not overly concerned with how I finish these two hundreds this summer but more focusing just on finishing. I mentioned the no UTMB points for LL100 kind of turned me off on the race which may be one factor. Also I think the daunting task of having a 3 year old AND a new born this winter has had an affect (effect?) too. I'm most likely not going to be able to train as much this winter and who knows what will come in 2015 as far as available time to run. That's a HUGE question pertaining to a UTMB entry! 

I figure if I can just hold on to my fitness not worrying too much about big miles I think I can come out in a year or two alright and maybe even ahead. By ahead I see it as the consistency and adding more years of running when the opportunity to race again conveniently comes around as the kids are older I should be faster than I am now. The nature of these distances seems to bode well for masters athletes where fast twitch muscles aren't as important as shorter distances. 

Hopefully by then I'll be living back in the USA and then have the opportunity to get into some of the classic ultras I first read about in high school; Western States, Leadville, etc. and maybe even Arrowhead 135. That would be pretty cool.

Morning running

Nothing much going on in my running world. Kind of at a standstill. Went to the doctor yesterday to have a check on my toe and she was positive it isn't a stress fracture which is good. Many times I don't trust what they say though since most aren't avid runners. Kind of gave a vague answer about tendons and ligaments blah blah blah. So I'll keep running on it and try to do more extensive massage and stretching to hopefully work any tightness out. It's the same as it's always been, sore, but doesn't get worse. 

In other injury news the pain on my iliac crest of my pelvis seems to be getting better. I may have mentioned I believe it's my tensor facia latae, TFL. Stretching and ice have been helping it feel better running.

sunrise over the Severn Valley, St. Leonard's Church to the right (1677!)

Despite these two nuisances I've been handling some pretty good miles. I hit 60 last week which is the biggest week I've had in a long time. I wasn't overly tired either, last year when I got up to 70 mile weeks I was wrecked so the accumulation of miles over time is helping. Mid week I picked up the pace one day, managing a 630 per mile pace for 10 miles. It felt very comfortable too. Sometimes I think I need to do more of those. I know they are good for me I'm just being cautious to avoid injury I guess. Stress the body and it comes back stronger, it also motivates, and keeps the mind out of a rut.

River Severn, I wasn't planning on the ducks! 

Been seeing some new wildlife out lately. I chased a badger down the canal path yesterday for a while. Also recently saw a few Asian water deer I believe. They are tiny, the size of a big dog. One day I spooked one and it jumped into and then out of the canal! It had a tiny set of antlers on it, kind of creepy looking. I've never been hugely into birds so can't identify a lot of the new ones I've been seeing. Mainly ducks and waterfowl. Quite a few baby ducks in the canal and also saw a Canadian goose with 6 goslings. Of course all of these occurrences I didn't have my camera! 

Severn singletrack

430am is the new 530am. I've fully adjusted to early hours which is super nice. I've got plenty of time to get a good run in and on my days off, like today, I get a nice quiet morning. It's totally light out too which is nice. Not that I don't like the dark it just makes it easier I think. The funniest thing is on the weekends seeing the drunks stumble home. Some of the clubs don't close until 6am! This past weekend one guy I saw fell down three times on his journey walking home. It's hilarious. Dead silent out, no cars, and it's light out. A lone guy fights his way home! Should've got a video of the guy it was great.  I also saw some girl 3 miles from anywhere in stiletto heels alongside the road heading home.

lock in Stourport

Looking ahead to July I was getting kind of mentally down about Lakeland. My running had been mediocre and not what I'd prefer so these past couple weeks have been good. I'm still disappointed in LL not being a UTMB qualifier. I am so close to being able to get in the lottery again, but the big question then is if I did get in could I do the training with a new baby on the way in October and is it feasible to take off for a few days to France in late August leaving my wife here with the kids? 

seeds looked like snow

I did find one race that is pretty convenient and it's worth 4 points, just what I need. The Cotswold Way Century. It's 103 miles I think with 12,000 feet of vertical so "easier" in comparison to Superior and LL100. The course follows the Cotswold Way starting in Chipping Campden and finishing in Bath. The convenience factor is that it's about a hour drive to the start or a hour by train with a short taxi ride AND it starts at noon on a Saturday! Which means no hotel! I could travel to the start the morning of, race for around 20 hours, then catch a train home (about a 3 hour ride) from the finish in Bath, UK. So I may run it by the wife over the next few days.