Training for an Ultra-marathon: The physical side

To put my ultra-marathon training into one short blog about training would do it a great disservice. The training was in fact harder than the ultra itself, and it went on for 12 very long weeks. I could never have anticipated my training to be as tough as it was, and it wasn’t just the physical demands, there was the strict nutrition and the mental conditioning.

Physically….I shouldn’t have been able to complete the ultra. Being unprepared and putting off training, I left myself with 12 weeks to train; I should have trained for at least 20-24 weeks. You were meant to get in rest periods…a rest week was 40 miles and a lot of burpees. You were meant to have completed an previous ultra of around 40-50 miles…the most I had ever ran was 28 miles.

From the offski the odds were against me, and it wasn’t a surprise that my body played up, constantly. I spent most of the 12 weeks constantly strapped up in tape, compression tights, having 20 minute ice baths twice a day and the most brutal sports massages, to keep every niggle at bay. Even with all of this the majority of the training was painful, having to work through niggles, alter running stride and grit my teeth and bare it, and hope that come race day it would all pay off and my body would be stronger and heal itself.

From a physical side, the training wasn’t necessarily what I expected. Yes there were miles, lots of miles. There was also every kind of hill, from being just half a mile to being over 3 miles long, you would have been deceived looking at my Garmin that I was in the U.K and not a mountain region. However, I went from hills being my enemy, having to stop every 30 seconds, to being able to complete a very hilly 10 mile run without stopping, and actually running it quite fast. My nemesis had become my best friend and actually I began to find running hills fun.

The hardest parts were pushing through my physical boundaries, yes I could run 10, 15, 20 miles in my sleep. But completing 50-60 miles in less than 24 hours? Having to complete another 10 miles having just completed a marathon. Brutal, and tiring. Mentally I just had to shut off and get on with it. To get through that sort of training, a part of me that acknowledged pain, boredom and frustration had to shut off and I had to let go of all logical thinking. For 12 weeks everything I did lacked any kind of logic and the things that I put my mind and body through lacked all normal sense.

But my training didn’t just stop there. To say I just ran a lot of miles would be the easy part. There was the getting up at 2 in the morning to go out for a ten mile run or hill training session, staying up for over 30 hours training, the hundreds of burpees, and then there was the 10 mile yomp with 18kg on my back.

Physically I put my body through everything I needed to in 24 weeks, and more. Let’s just say it was character building!

The ultra itself was just the final product of everything I had done and everything I had given up for 12 weeks, it was a way of showing how I had pushed my body to its limits and strengthened myself both physically and mentally.

When people ask how I managed to run a 100 miles, I think to myself, I’ve done harder, I completed the training.

Marathon 10: Preston Guilds Marathon

Preston was to be my final marathon of the year (well official marathon of the year). The past few weeks had been wet, very wet, the rain was pretty much relentless…mental prep?

The day of the Preston marathon wasn’t any different. The weather had been predicted that it would rain, and true to its word, exactly a minute before the race began it started to rain. As the day went on, it didn’t just rain it poured. In fact it was pretty relentless, and the icy rain chilled you to the bone despite pounding the pavement and working up a good sweat. Blisters…of course.

(The pre-race atmosphere about 2 seconds before the rain came)

The route itself wasn’t that inspiring, although it was better than I thought, taking us round country roads, however the weather was bleak. My time was the fastest that I had achieved since my knee injury at the beginning of the year, however I was nursing other injuries and niggles from the demands I was putting on my body.

All in all, it was a pretty bleak day. My body was tired, really tired, but with just over a month to go until my ultra, I had to suck it up and get on with it.

There was a lovely moment at around 2 miles from the finish where I knew I was going to see my family, a lovely moment as they hadn’t managed to get to my last few races, and having them cheer me on at the end for one final time that year definitely made my day. However the tears came, fast. I think people thought it was the emotions of completing a marathon, no it was the fact that I was freezing sore and had to go home, change my kit and complete another 10 miles. My tears were me feeling well and truly sorry for myself.

 (A quick little break at the finish, sopping wet)

A trudge to costa for a nice warm mocha and a packet of crisps later, it was off home to complete another 10 miles. The rain had eased off so I changed into warm kit. As soon as I stepped out again the skies went black and it didn’t just rain it well and truly belted it down for the next two hours I was out.

However, when training for an ultra-marathon there is a need must and I had to complete the distance, and I did. Completing my final official marathon of the year and then taking my total mileage of the day up to 36 miles…was I goosed…most definitely.

And I had another 18 miles to run the next day…bollocks.

(My last Marathon Medal of the year)

Marathon 9: Kielder – Second time round

The Kielder Marathon will always have a special place in my heart, as it was the first marathon I ever completed. It was the marathon where I had blisters from the beginning, was completely unprepared hill training wise, kit wise and fuel wise. It was the marathon where I hit the wall at the finish and spent my post-race glory vomiting in the toilets for 20 minutes, and then hobbling for around 2 weeks. It was also the marathon that made me adamant that one marathon was enough and that I would never do one again, and then signed up to complete 10 more marathons and a 100 mile ultra-marathon in one year.

(A brisk yet clear start)

It was important that I tackled this beast again. My first marathon was actually a rather quick marathon and my fastest one yet. But the reason why I was adamant that Kielder was in my 2012 diary was that in all the misery and focus of trying to break into the marathon world, I had failed to take in the beauty of my surroundings and really enjoy running what really is a fantastic run.

They say that running is all about mind-set, and this one certainly was. I started out in an amazing mood and finished euphoric. The instant difference to my second Kielder marathon was the weather. Beautiful clear skies and although it was a bit nippy early on, the beautiful weather definitely made peoples spirits high as we had what would be called perfect running weather conditions.

(Perfect weather conditions)

The difference with my second attempt of Kielder was that I was prepared. I had a routine and I was sticking to it. I knew exactly when I would be taking on isotonic drinks, exactly when I would be taking on electrolytes, when I would be taking in sugar and when I would be taking in protein. I knew what my average pace should be, and what started out as feeling like a relatively slow marathon, as I got to 18 miles keeping the same steady pace, over taking constantly, it was clear that I was on to a winning formula. Preparation!

(Larking aroond with Maxine)

I had a game plan, it was going exactly to plan and I finished this run, although a good 20 minutes slower than my first time, in a much better way.

Kielder second time round was never to beat my first time. Now fully into my ultra-marathon training it would have been ridiculous to push too hard and risk an injury. And at this point I had the obligatory extra running to do at the end. Yes I dumped my kit, and went and ran an extra 3 miles, with some absolutely mortified stares from my fellow runners around me; little did they know that the next morning I would up early pounding the pavements for another 10 miles! 

(Heading to the finish line)

I ended the day with some good food, good company and in good spirits. Kielder is definitely in my 2013 diary!!!

Marathon 8: Great Langdale

Great Langdale made it officially as my favourite road race, as it didn’t really feel like it was a road race. Set in a beautiful part of the Lake District, you would have been deceived into thinking you were out on trails instead.

(What a beautiful start line!!!)

 Having actually prepared for this race, I knew what was ahead in the route. I knew where the inclines were and knew not to get disheartened when the legs started to feel heavy or slow down, knowing which were the more challenging sections of the run.

(A rather beasty incline at the beginning...and then halfway around)

(But how could you complain with views like this?)

The beautiful weather kept the mood high, but there was always going to be one little battle in my head, that it was a lap race. The one thing I hate is laps and running similar things twice, little did I know what good preparation this would be for the ultra. However over 13.1 miles, it’s surprising how easily you forget pretty much the whole route (apart from the humongous hill right at the beginning).

The whole of the run went relatively scathe free, I made a few friends, got some ultra-tips and had a lot of fun. I also got a few blisters and some very sore feet from the steep declines, but there’s got to be some war wounds! One of my favourite parts of the day was getting my race mementos! The t-shirt was the best one I’ve had this year and it even had my name on the back (yes I’m getting excited about a t shirt). The other nice surprise was that instead of a medal we got a little silver trainer trophy.

The most significant part of this day however, was that it was the day I started delving into the ultra-marathon training world. The battle in my head around the whole of this route wasn’t that I had to run 26 miles, it was that once id run 26 miles, I had another 4 or 5 miles to do straight after.

What seemed like a daunting task, especially with rather sore legs and feet, actually wasn’t that bad? There were a few tears as I broke the 30 mile barrier, the longest distance I had ever covered, and the reality of what I was going to attempt to do with a 100 mile ultra-marathon, hit home. 

(Looking relatively fresh at the end!)

Dusting off my trainers and getting my rojo back…

 

Running and I for a long time have had a love hate relationship. The times when I love it….most of the time, who couldn’t love something that gets you out in the great outdoors, gets you fitter and stronger and allows you to eat whatever the hell you want. The love of running can be known as rojo, running and mojo combined; a rather wonderful way of describing the love of running, created by the great Lynsey Palmer and myself on one very early morning run around the toon. The times when I hate it…when body and mind do not want to play ball.

Before I had even completed 100 miles, I had already resigned myself to the fact that my body would need a well-deserved rest, and it didn’t take much encouragement for me to set a period of at least 5-6 weeks off running post ultra. Christmas came and went, there were still niggles when testing the water with my shoes, and then came the snow, needless to say my running shoes had begun to gather a rather thick layer of dust.

For the past couple of months I have pretty much said everyday “I’ll go out tomorrow I don’t want to overdo it”, the irony being that you can’t overdo it when you’re not actually doing anything…

A play around with diet and nutrition, a few experiments here and there and a bit of HIIT training at home and on the gym bikes have kept me in relatively ok shape, but crunch time has come around very quick, especially signing up to my runs for the year, suddenly it became very clear…I was going to have to man up and start running again.

Hilarious as it sounds, having completed hundreds of miles last year, I had suddenly developed a fear of running! What if I couldn’t remember how to run? The truth of the matter was that I was scared of how unfit I had become and entering beginner mode and the pain area again.

A few days into training, yes it hurts, a lot, however in a sick way it is incredibly enjoyable. For a first week back into training my body has held up relatively well, clocking up over 20 miles in just a few days and some bike training; not bad for a couple of months off!!

So I have answered my own question that no I haven’t forgotten how to run, in fact I’ve found a love of running that was lost quite a long time ago even pre ultra-marathon. Some of the down sides are still there, hobbling around with blistered feet, ice baths to keep the niggles at bay, constant stretching, battling with heavy legs and pushing through that little voice saying what the hell are you doing.

But amongst all the discomfort there is truly some comfort in knowing that I’ve got my rojo back…