Barry, Wales United Kingdom Christmas runs

So as promised a few photos. Honestly they didn't turn out as good as I thought they would. It was hard allowing enough light in and avoiding shake with the camera I had. 

footpath to Barry Island

stairs finishing the footpath

 Christmas run on the beach.

beach at Whitmore Bay

buildings along Whitmore Bay, Barry Island

Whitmore Bay from Friars Point

tunnel

 Rain and wind followed the next couple days.

stairs at Barry Island Rail Station, raining

raining at Whitmore Bay

Whitmore Bay, huge winds fetching waves

entrance to Barry Harbour, huge winds fetching waves

abandoned boats in Barry Harbour

The gauntlet of the holidays

Well we are in the middle of this mess called "the holidays". I'm down south in Barry, Wales and still going strong with my running every day in December. I was worried about being way out of routine and being able to run. Fortunately I don't think it's being seen as selfishness, I think I'm being seen as a weirdo which is good! 

Have had some great runs. It's been nice running and exploring somewhere new. Mainly on the roads and at night which has been good as well. Being on the ocean has been nice, windy and cold, but this adds to the experience. After a long day of chasing the little one around I'm wrecked and just want some quiet but the habit of running is so set now that it's what I look forward to at the end of the day. It is my quiet.

Mostly "sightseeing" runs which has been good. Nice and easy, no rush, so my aches have been staying away. My hips seem to always be super tight though, this has been on going for a while. Did some abbreviated calisthenics to try to stick to my routine. Lack of a convenient pull up bar, or even playground, kind of slowed a full routine, but I got in enough. Christmas I happened to do my handstand push-up routine, post-run, with a Budweiser! Got it done though, man was I light headed! 

I have been exhausted. The little one has been not wanting to sleep so my schedule is all out of whack. I actually slept in to 8am today! The wife has been hung over here and there so it's all on me for kid management. Kind of worried about getting sick being so tired. Trying to keep my food intake as healthy as I can, snuck away to the kitchen to eat a bag of spinach the other day, avoiding commentary. So many people view my habits as me being elitist and better than others so I tend to dodge the conversation starters if possible. Well today and tonight, then we head home. Kind of looking forward to the routine again, kind of not. It's been nice to not be at home. Sure I've been out of the comfort zone, which is actually a good thing, but the running has been excellent. Nice to have people around to talk to as well.

I've been running with the camera and have taken a fair amount of photos which I'll post in a few days as I don't have my computer here, only an iPad. 

The ticket is in the hat.

Fingers crossed. Now I wait for the lottery to see if I actually got in.

More info here, http://www.ultratrailmb.com/page/20/UTMB%C2%AE.html

Priorities.

Read an interesting article on wasting time the other day. So many people make up excuses, as do I, for not doing certain things, the basis being didn't have time. 

For me, in my running life, it could be missing a run, not stretching, not doing pre-hab exercises, letting my healthy diet slip, the list goes on. The point of the article was that you DO have time for these things it's just that they aren't a priority to you. I looked at how much time I waste on the internet, which is most of the time I am online. Am I benefitting myself by surfing the web? Window shopping for things I really can live without? Reading an article on something I already know? Most of the time no. I may be gaining knowledge but mostly it's worthless entertainment. So I've been making a point of reminding myself of what my priorities are when faced with such a time waster.

The internet, smart phones, texting, social media, etc.. More and more I see these things, although important, they are totally taking precedence in peoples' lives over there personal well being and even their family. 

Disconnect. Hang it up. Put it down. You DO have time. What's your priority? 

And on to the running........

So I'm still going ok with this running streak. I keep worrying about this ankle pain I've been getting running. I may have said achilles in the past but I've narrowed it down more to the medial side of my left ankle, running near my arch and kind of up my lower leg, if that makes any sense! I could ramble off a few muscles and tendon it possibly is but we'll skip that. It only hurts when I run (midfoot strike) and I am able to run through it which is good. I also am unable to find any pain anywhere pushing with my fingers. Good I'm assuming. My piriformis issue is still there but as I've been mentioning doesn't cause any problems, especially when I midfoot strike. It does tingle when I heel strike however. Midfoot or heel strike there is a snake on both ends! 

I was stuck on the treadmill the past two days but back outside tomorrow. The only days I'm worried about are while we are traveling back from Scotland over Christmas. One day in particular, waking up in a hotel early with a sleeping toddler can be tough to get a run in, then drive most if the day? Well I guess it comes down to priorities right? Night runs are tough to motivate for but all I need is three miles or 25 minutes. I guess I'll deal with it when the time comes.

Update.

Been a bit since I've wrote here. Honestly not much going on. Back running again, about 25 to 35 miles per week. Taking it real easy and keeping my heart rate below 150, about 730 to 800 minute mile pace.

I've officially changed my stride from a heel strike to a mid foot strike. Although in sub-elites this hasn't been proven to make a difference I think it can help my efficiency. I feel that the sub-elite class has become fast and efficient at heel striking due to their experience. All the elites mid to forefoot strike so why not? Anyway, it feels more natural now and as of yet any injuries are still holding off. My calves and achilles' have taken a beating though, sore, and seem to be awaiting injury. We shall see.

Been damn dark out in the mornings. I don't run with a headlamp normally, I just let my eyes adjust. The other day I scared the shit out of a woman walking, she didn't see me until I was face to face passing her! Weather hasn't been too bad, strong winds yesterday knocked down some trees over the canal impeding the boats but not too much rain. 

So I'm trying something new, and fun I guess. Some guy over here in the UK has an unofficial "personal challenge" he set up. I think it's been going on for a few years and seems to have most of the participants from Scotland, so I'm assuming he hails from up north. It's called The Marcothon, named after him, and is the challenge to run everyday in December. Minimum of 25 minutes or three miles each day. There is a web page with activity from last year, a post-less Facebook page, and some activity on twitter, but nothing big. I'll just keep to my self versus being "social" anyway but interesting to see how many other people are chasing it.

Essentially I need to run on my normal two days off. So far so good despite it being early in the month. However I am on day 8 since I ran the final two days in November, but they don't count obviously for the challenge. I think I should be ok unless injury rears it's head. The only tough part will be having the flexibility to take a day off if something "feels" like an injury developing, such as the tight calves and achilles I've got going on from the gait change. A total day off can work wonders. I guess this will force me to be more diligent in stretching, icing, and general maintenance that I should do more of and I don't! 

I'm considering focusing on a road half (March) and maybe a full marathon (April) this spring just to see where I'm at. All these trail races are fun but knowing I can run a 1:24 half marathon on hilly muddy trails really means absolutely nothing. So what does that mean for training? Well basically I'll add in a fair amount of speed work. I'd like to break 2:40 in the marathon, and think I can, and I'm not sure what I can do in a half since I've never raced a road half. Either way going fast is fun and if I go through with it I think it will be pretty cool. Besides I miss putting on a racing singlet and lacing up racing shoes!

Yeah I know I said more photos! Sorry, but it's still too damn dark out when I run, I almost pulled out my crappy phone camera to snap a photo of a tree over the canal today but I had a bike bearing down on me and I hate passing bikes. Could have been a good photo with my camera, I always tell myself to carry it no matter what but then get lazy!

2014 Race Thoughts

A few random recent average run photos, I swear soon I'll have something a bit better and not of the canal! Some of this may be a repeat, because I'm guilty of that, but oh well you can read it again and it may be a more organized manner or even contradict what I've said before, anyway......

I'm patiently awaiting December 19. That will be the first day to bring the anticipation of what races I'll be doing next year, 2014. Why? Well the 19th is the first day you can sign up for Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc (UTMB). It's a lottery system and the results I don't believe are released until January, but my entire race season is hinging on it.

I decided that if I'm going to live over here, well for now at least, I'm going to try to do at least one of these major races in Europe. After this past year of racing I qualify for pretty much everything so I thought it best to take advantage!

UTMB is intimidating. Mainly because I live in a flattish portion of England at low elevation. It starts in Chamonix, France and winds it's way through the Alps via Italy, Switzerland, and finishing back in Chamonix. Total mileage is 104 miles with 35000 vertical feet. The climbs and descents are what scare me as it is difficult to prepare for the length of them as well as the altitude. I do live within a few hours of Snowdon in Wales which will work well however it is still not at altitude. It is funny looking back at the places I used to live, they were all ideal training grounds for these races; Colorado I lived above 8000 feet, Arizona 7000, Tahoe 6000, all with access to nasty mountains. 

So UTMB is the main goal and until I find out if I get in I'm holding off on entering other races. I'd hate to sign up and then lose my money but the downside is many of these fill up so fast you miss out. I really wanted to do Lakeland 100, the UK's biggest race, but registration opened while we were in Minnesota, my phone was off and I missed the alert, and it filled in a day or so. Anyway, I figure I qualify for UTMB I'm going to try to get in.

And if I don't win the lottery? Well a few other options are out there and to put them in perspective Superior had 21000 vertical feet. I've considered Lavaredo Ultra, 74 miles and 19000 vertical through the Dolomites in Italy; Ultra Trail Andorra, Ronda del Cims, 106 miles circumnavigating Andorra with 46000 vertical feet (yeah, that's very very very last on the list!); Zugspitze Ultra in Germany, 100km (60 miles) with 17800 vertical feet, and a few others that aren't so much priority. Mainly due to them being way too long or too short. I'd prefer 50 or 100 miles. More and more I look at it Lavaredo is a really good option.

Also a repeat at Superior 100 could be a possibility. The wife took a new job, which was much needed, but unfortunately it hampers a move to the US. So depending on funds a Minnesota trip could happen, I doubt it, but it could. Flight prices are the factor as the little one no longer flys for free and it may be best to squirrel that money away for a one way flight instead, fingers crossed.

As of late the running has been ok. Only doing maybe 25 miles per week. Official training isn't super important until February but it's still nice to get out. I've been feeling kind of blah for some reason despite my piriformis doing well. Just feeling unmotivated even with my calisthenics.

The fall always mentally hurts as all my life it preceded a real winter. The anticipation and excitement of snow and ski season is hard to shake yet I know now it will never come. Sure it may snow, but only enough to screw this country up for a few days and make me wish I had some rock skis to kick and glide down the canal. Even missing Thanksgiving, the beautiful color change of the leaves, the crisp weather. Here it just all goes to shit. Grey. Rain. Maybe some yellow leaves. The wife claims "autumn is my favourite season as well as winter" (spelling error intentional!), well, she's never seen a true fall in Minnesota, an aspen grove in the mountainous western US, or experienced an entire real winter where you are actually used to it and it's not a novelty of a vacation! Hopefully she'll get to see those things sooner than later.

Last night we were at a get together with some people we know, nothing big, just some fireworks shooting off, beers, snacks. We didnt stay late since the little one had to get to sleep and, well, I'm not much of a night life person anymore so was happy to leave early.

We were talking about time management and sleep with a guy who had a new baby. The wife mentioned that we're sometimes in bed by 830pm, which this guy laughed, thought was a joke, and asked what time we get up "4am!"? I of course in all seriousness replied 5am, which some mornings is sleeping in for me! 

Anyway this guy's shocking look reminded me that I am an outlier and made me think of the things I do so different from the norm. And maybe why in many social situations I speak little of myself. I work with outliers, I wish I knew more of them. Outlier ways vary but many crossover, they know they are different and afraid to speak of their ways.

I wake between 4 and 5am.

I am elated to be laying in bed by 830pm.

I'm the guy who eats the vegetable plate at your party. All of it. No dip. And I'll raid your fruit bowl.

Sometimes I'll just drink water at your party, but I hide it in an empty beer can.

I eat fat in my coffee, I add 2 tablespoons coconut oil and 1 tablespoon of butter.

Fat doesn't make you fat. Sugar in your "low fat" processed food does.

I sometimes eat an entire bag of apples in one day. Carrots too. 

I think sugar is addictive and although tasty it should be avoided in a day to day diet.

The smell of fast food makes me sick, it does taste good though.

I use sandpaper on my feet to reduce callouses, I also put lotion on my feet most days.

I shave my legs. It makes post muddy run clean up easy, brambles don't rip the hair out, bandaids stick better, and self massage is less painful.

I wear tight clothing when I run. I wear really short shorts when I run.

It's not for vanity's sake, it's efficient and comfortable.

Bodily fluids and excretions do not embarrass me, they are a part of life.

Speaking of these things and "adventures" with them is entertaining. Even at dinner.

I wipe my ass with nearly anything when toilet paper is not around.

I run a lot, well at least compared to normal folks.

Running 26.2 miles on my day off is no big deal, a training run. 

Some days I'll run three times if I can fit it in.

I almost deleted this section, as it comes across elitist, but it is not normal.

Although many people seem to view my ways as elitist or smug it is just who I am. I feel I am no different from the guy who eats like shit and doesn't exercise. Many of my friends are like that. I view them no different and they view me no different. Viewing someone as being elitist may likely be because you have nothing in common, little to talk about.  I hate politics. I am not up on my European history. So having a conversation with me about these things I will listen, and most likely not reply. I am not being elitist in my limited interaction, you are speaking of things I am not well versed in or uninterested in. Just as you would feel if I spoke of biomechanics, technical fabrics, or "outlandish" physical feats.

I'm an outlier. I like that.