Nervous? Moi?

At some point in every training plan there comes a point where you look at the plan, and go "Oh Shit! I'm doing what this weekend???"

Intellectually you've seen it for weeks and months, you've known about it... But that's different from feeling it, and very different from doing it.

When I was training for halfs, it was the 10 miles run...

When I was training for Marathons, it was the 18 miler...

This weekend its the 2 x 13 milers... Yup... 2 of them...

Saturday morning...

and...

then...

again... 

Sunday morning...

I'm not bothered about pace, it's just about doing it and then doing it again.

The obvious question is why?

Most of the endurance training I do is about two things - time on my feet so my body is used to the pounding  and running the second half of any event.




Tomorrow and Sunday are about that second half... I've done 38km (23 miles) from Last Sunday, and I can feel most of them...  Sunday will hurt, but that hurt will help me get through in  5 weeks time...




Which is all nice and intellectually sound... As for feeling it and doing it... I'll let you know.

Now it's time for a late bowl of pasta, each of the runs will burn around 2000cals, so pasta is needed 

TTFN




Paul

I think I've fallen in love...

My heart raced...

I breathed heavily...

I got hot under the collar...

I smiled a lot...

I now ache in strange places...

This weekend was the BigRunWeekend... A weekend of running, with added talks, cake and beer... It was already on to a winner with that list - through in a running expo with lots of new toys to fondle and I'm a happy boy indeed:-)

The talks were from people who had been there and done it, and done it big.. Running the alps in 34 days, taking on the Marathon De Sable (a year after an ablation) or setting and breaking the records for the lakeland peaks, the bob graham round and much else in between whilst dealing with breast cancer and needing a hysterectomy.

What came through was their love of running, whether it was a good day or a bad day at the end of the day there was something to be taken from it...

Those doing the Peak District Ultra set off at 8 - 60 miles, bar a smidgeon... I watched them go... And then set about my prep... Porridge, a sneaky bacon barm, tea and hydration fluids...

I'd looked at the map many many times, and reckoned if everyone went well I could probably do the course in 3 hours. By way of comparison, my flat half marathon PB is 2:30, so for a little less distance and 2000ft up up and down I added 30 min...

There was no gentle warm up - straight up the hill, in high humidity... I don't do humidity well, so went straight to plod mode.  I was still in plod mode at 7km when I started seeing the front runners come back at me... Without fail they all, and almost every runner for the next 3 km was wishing me well, telling me to keep going.

You don't tend to get that much friendliness on a road run...

The run along Burbage Edge to Burbage North Car park and then up to Higger Tor bought back memories of walks with the GUCH Walking Club and others, throw in the mildly insane river crossing, the losing the path on Higger Tor and needing to scramble down are memories that I'll try and keep for a while...

One hill to slog up, and a drop down to the finish... I managed to run across the finish line... Just... I was last, well and truly last... and 8 minutes outside of that prediction of mine... And you know what I really don't care.  I did think about quitting, that first couple of km with the heart rate racing, sweat pouring off me was hard, but I've been there before and knew the bad times and normally followed by better times... so plodding along and hoping things would ease off, and they did... And yes, my splits really do range from over 12 min a km to 6:38... and yes that feels right:-)




What next... I've only 2 formal runs in the calendar - the Great North Run and the Notts Ultra... The GNR will be my only "fast" run between now and the Ultra... Everything else is a slow plod...

I'll be going out tonight for a slow 5 km to bring up the 1500km so far this year, and to break some of the scar tissue in my thighs... trust me its a good thing.

I don't know how many of these fell/trail I will be able to enter, a lot have maximum time cut-offs for safety reasons - often the safety of the marshals stuck out on hill!  But where I can I will...

So a huge thank you to the team at Accelerate UK and Thirlow Hall Farm - You, the marshals and the runners were all superb!  I'm just sorry I didn't have time to stay for the party!

TTFN

Paul

Going at the Speed of Light...

Putting one foot in front of the other, day after day, week after week can I have to admit get a little stale... Scrap that, it can bore the pants off anyone.

Some of my friends run the same route, the same way every time they go out... I'd be gibbering in a week... I hate laps... I need change, variety...

So I pepper any years worth of running with the exotic, the unusual and the new.

When I get really lucky I combine all three...

Which is what Sunday night was...

Trail running... At night... Up, along, around, down and up Arthur's Seat in Edinburgh... while wearing a radio-controlled suit of LEDs... and performing in a live show for the punters on the opposite hill.

Madness?  Yes, but my kind of madness:-D

The trailer gives you an idea... The walkers with their self powered light staves watching from the hill as the runners do a range of things...

Walk...

Run...

while trying to keep 10m apart...

Then high 5 to the runners either side...

Then zombie...

And improv... The Macerana (Hey Macerana!) led by Claire, one of the other runners, by a dozen runners in their light suits is a sight and a memory that will live long in my mind, and I hope others too.

It wasn't a long run, but doing it at night on wet slippy mud, whilst performing made it not easy.  Not hard, and we'd had plenty of warning to wear decent off road/trail shoes.

All too soon, my time was done and I handed over an apologetically hot and sweaty suit to the second Red 2...

If I was able to get back to Edinburgh I'd want to run it again, and do the walking thing! But other runs, and that pesky thing the day job, get in the way.

However, 900 miles in a year came up on the flanks of Arthur's Seat - so thank you NVA, and Moira and Andrew... For being exotic, unusual and new... and most especially a hell of a laugh:-)


So, tomorrow its off to Up & Running to pick up my gear as one of their Charity runners (thanks guys:-)) and a sports massage... which will hurt!

So TTFN, and feel sorry for those in my office - I do scream!

Paul







   

Why I Run...

A blog about running, surely not...

I don't think this is deep psychology, I suspect I have more places in my heart and my head to go before I hang up my trainers, but introspection is sometimes a good thing.

I run because I enjoy it.

My personality type draws its energy from the external environment, so being in the that environment; feeling the wind across my chest, the sun making me squint, the rhythm of my legs and feet impacting on the ground, even the trickle of sweat down my face and the hiss of the local geese make me smile, and makes me feel good.

Being one of these extrovert-activist types means I naturally spend a lot of time with people, so the time on my feet is time in my own head.  It may seem an extreme way to develop my reflective style, but after a couple of hours of talking to myself I do tend to start focusing on the important stuff.  It sure as hell beats the sound of my own singing!

There's some reasons why I enjoy running, rather than run itself.

It helps my diabetes management, helps me control my weight,  though eating less or healthier would help too... Which in turn helps my climbing, my walking and my having fun... The comments I've had from friends about the weight loss over the last 6 months have made me blush, but have convinced me that my pie eating days are over...

It makes new friends, the runners at work and on the streets of Liverpool, some names I'll never know apart from "yellow hat man" and "one glove lady" but we nod and bob and say morning.  The work friends I share injury woes, wonder foods and tales of the streets - drunks jumped over, attack swans, yobs with their weapon of choice (eggs, apples, more worryingly recently air rifles). We also share targets, training hopes and goals... We all know what we're better at, so supporting any of us when we go outside the norm is key to the banter.

It's counter-intuitive. A bloke. In his 40s. With a heart condition. That he was born with!

Running?

Yup, its not apparently normal. And that means occasionally its newsworthy. I can raise awareness in places that congenital heart defects aren't often, if ever, mentioned.  Runners World and Men's Running have had letters or short pieces in, some people have even read them (and commented positively).

I enjoy that other people find what I do entertaining or even inspiring. I don't set out to do any of those things, but if me pounding out another run makes someone else smile then good, its been worth some of the calories I burned.  If you're inspired, then all I would ask is be safe, be sensible and pass it on.  I asked in my blog for the Adult Congenital Heart Association for inspiration - the same applies to you -  ACHA Blog

And don't think its all the high energy stuff that is inspirational - seeing a friend learning to knit is as inspirational to me as someone I know completing an Ironman Triathlon. I wish I could be more practical with my hands, but somethings I can't get the hang of... like languages and swimming...

As I said above, I'm an outwardly focused person. The miles I run give me a safe space from the expectations of many people that I'm the showman, the life and soul of the party.  Its a space that lets me grieve, lets me think the dark thoughts that I have to deal with from time to time.

I also like a challenge, a target, something to aim for... So a walked half-marathon, the Great North Run - thank you, many years ago, has become the spring board, can I go faster, can I go further... The answer to both has been yes.  I will never be the fastest, I will never go the furthest... But I can set sensible targets (quite often discussed with my cardiologist and annually with my diabetes nurse), train for them and hopefully meet them.

Those of us who were at the Eurohearts conference are under Doctors Orders to tell the world about our exercise, as a cardiologist he wants everyone (with or without a congenital condition) to do something, to help keep themselves healthy...

So this week - a 5 mile (8km) PB - 51:09:-) 18  (30km) miles of hot and humid slow running:-) And some climbing... The training for the ultra is getting serious.

That also brings up the 1400 km in this years challenge... 870 miles in 7 and a half months.

Good job I enjoy running:-)

TTFN

Paul

Info-dump started...

Ok,

as ever my life has been a little bit hectic, so apologies this is going to be a rapid fire rattle through a couple of good weeks...

The Dane's did us proud - From around Europe we converged on Ishoj, to learn and to share.  Yes there were excellent lectures, and a cardiologist whose approach to everything was so refreshingly fresh that I suspect he's considered a bit of a maverick.. One tip though don't let him navigate if he's on a bike ride with you... a 70km bike ride will turn into 80km...

Oh, the cycling team - all young adults with congenital heart conditions... A lot of them quite complex... As I said a bit of a maverick, but my sort of maverick.

However, as well as the lectures there was the learning from each other.  How we've grouped together, helped each other, planned and delivered events and most especially supported our growing community.  I've seen new groups in far flung countries build and an expand in the years I've been going, learning from our, my, mistakes and hopefully being as diverse in organisations as we are as people.  Two stand out for me, Russia & Italy - not so long ago there was no support organisations in those countries.  Now there they are, growing slowly and strongly reaching out through  whatever means works for them to provide the support that is so needed.

I'll write up the football match, and what I hope it means elsewhere - not sure soccer translates, but the emotions and love will.

As with 2 years ago a new working group for the European Congenital Heart Group has been selected; each of us is an expert in an area and although we have a challenging remit I have no doubt that we will achieve more than we think in our 2-years.

Old friendships were renewed, and new friendships made. Old friends were missed and remembered, and as predicted from time to time some of us needed to take a few moments to reflect on our own, or with those who know us best.

Which would be busy enough for even me normally, but sometimes time and tide wait for no man... Up and Running ran a competition to "Aid a Charity Runner", and out of the 300 applications mine was one of the 8 chosen to be supported.  For me its some shiny new kit, and support for my training, for CHF a lot of publicity and I hope for congenital heart disease a lot of awareness. Up and Running will be featuring my blogs tweets and facebook page - so thank you Up and Running:-D

Which nicely brings me on to the running...

Most of what I'll be doing in the run up to the Notts Ultra is long, long miles... my 30km before the conference, my half marathon this weekend were slow, steady designed to accumulate miles in my legs, and my plan has me going out to a full marathon to get all the miles needed in before the 7th Oct.

However, sometimes the legs just need to rotate... Sod the heat, forget my backpack has my work clothes in, and just blast it... and a 5mile PB will come - in 51:09:-D

So, that's the info dump - thank you for listening... More sill be going up soon on my more immediate madness in Edinburgh!

TTFN

Paul