Turning the page

So of course like everyone else, I’m thinking about 2022 now. 2021 has not been my greatest year for running, in fact, probably one of my worst, especially if I review my statistics, although, being a stats nerd, I can make them work for me 🙂

I have not run now for something like 6 weeks after being ill with a really bad cold and cough and then (I think) breaking a toe, I think, because now that we are in the grip of Omicron, there was no way I was going to get it checked at a hospital for them to just strap it up the same as I can.

Now I’m thinking it is time to turn the page on 2021 in my head and look forward to 2022, with a new baby on the way in January, I have no plans to set lofty goals.

I was sat on the sofa, beer in hand and foot up, when my wife mentioned that a family friend had just signed up for the Oxford half.

And then all of a sudden, so was I ! Thanks Katie!

Here we go again! But at least it is something that I am confident with. I had planned to just focus on my 5k time which has slipped dramatically but here we are and I’m now considering purchasing a coaching plan, new gear, blah blah blah!

The Oxford half is a lovely run and fairly local to me, I’ve run it before, so I have a good insight to the route, the one thing that sticks in my mind are the cobblestones, ahh the pain lol.

I have some weight to lose (some, ha!) and we will have a young baby, but with some flexibility around what time of day I run and maybe taking our nearly 2 year old on some of the runs in her buggy, I think I can successfully train for a HM for October 2022. The plan will be key, but the discipline to execute is what will really make the difference.

I found that using a power based plan before did not help me, I actually got slower, so this time, I will be going full on and asking a coach to create me a plan, making sure the objective (time target) is realistic and achievable, I have a time in mind, but I want to see what the coach thinks and follow the advice.

So while 2021 has not been a great year in many ways, I’m now ready for 2022 and mentally preparing for the changes that are fast approaching.

I do hope that you all are safe, stay safe and that 2022 brings an end (or at least an improvement) to the Covid-19 situation, and that you all have a wonderful Christmas.

 

Adam

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Well that hurt

Well, yesterday I ran along The Ridgeway, was aiming for 2 hours in power zone 2, did not achieve that!

I am learning to respect The Ridgeway.

My training plan was to run 2:45 on Sunday, this was never on the cards as I had missed some training due to ‘reasons out of my control” such as a 1-year-old, and work, insomnia, physical pain related to my cancer surgery etc. So I had planned for a 2-hour run, which was my longest this year, at that, I only managed 9 miles and even then, not in zone 2. The hills pushed me up into zone 5 at times and predominantly zones 3 and 4, despite being slow!

Aside from power zones and pace, I was running in my Vibram trail shoes, which to be honest, I might have as well been running barefoot and it felt like I was running the whole 9 miles on cobblestones. It. Really. Hurt!

I mean. Really.

By mile 5, I was suffering big-time, like no other run.

I had run a 10k the day before so my legs were a little tired anyhow but nothing dramatic. I had also had a bad nights sleep and was not feeling it but went anyway, after some mocking from my ever-loving wife when I was trying to chicken out of the ‘long run’, she rightly said, if you can’t run 2 hours now, how can you expect to run the ultra in 2 months? She was right and I knew it, so my stubborn side kicked in and took control.

Bloody idiot!

I ran, it hurt and it was slow and it was not pretty, but I slogged through a painful 9 miles at a ridiculously slow pace and I cared not a jot!

I ran up a huge hill, chatting to cyclists as I overtook them and then they overtook me and we switched places a couple of times, I stopped for photos I convinced myself that I would carry on, limping while running and then I discovered a new mantra for myself that kept me going.

SUCK IT UP BUTTERCUP!

I had no choice, either give up and sit or just keep going, so I repeatedly told myself to suck it up buttercup.

This worked!

I swore at myself. I mocked myself. Then I ended up telling myself that I am better than I thought I was. Particularly when I got within 30 minutes of my finish point. 

So my lesson of the day is that I must respect The Ridgeway. It is beautiful but unforgiving, in its way.

adam

Big Bloke Running Ultra. 

Moving over to Vlogging!!

So…. I’m trying out Vlogging 

Here is the link to my first video

Not sure how this is going to play out, it’s maybe my technology geek coming through! I know I don’t have the right lighting yet or maybe background etc, but I’m playing with it and having fun.

 

Let me know what you think if you have a few minutes to spare 🙂

 

Adam

Longest run in 3 years

Today’s run was long, for me anyway!

A 14 mile run, twice around a 7 mile loop which takes me passed my house. Going passed my house was hard, starting the second loop was a little emotional to be honest!

The run was a power zone 2 run so was intentionally slow, which from a power perspective is ok but oh lord it took so long at nearly 3 hours, it seemed a very long time to be running so slowly. You can see below I had regular stops for water and Trail-butter which I love, along with a couple of extra traffic stops as this was all road running.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have also blasted my weekly mileage goal, which is set at 20 miles a week in order to hit 1000 miles in 2020, this week having hit over 33 miles, putting me 34 miles ahead at this point for the year. Bearing in mind my wife is due our second baby in 12 days, I need to get ahead if I want to ensure I meet that target, obviously, it is far more important that I support my wife than meeting the goal, but it would be nice to do both.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So as you can see above, slow, but done! Whore hey (Jorge) was kind to me and it stayed dry, if a bit windy. At around 9.5 miles, I nearly bailed, strangely, I started feely fuzzy headed and could not focus for some reason. I was not sure what was happening as I have run further than this before with no problems and had been taking plenty of fluids and nutrition. I decided to carry on running and see what happened, knowing my wife would be unlikely to come and pick me up anyway as she was out (also with baby 12 days away, I wouldn’t blame her for not wanting to come searching for me lol). So I trudged on and if you look carefully at the charts from Stryd you will see that my power output went all over the place at around 10 miles, which was me basically battling this fuzzy headedness. At around 11.5 miles I started feeling fine, but it was a real battle during this time. This is something I am going to have to investigate because, it felt like I was bonking, so maybe my nutrition was not at the right levels for a run of this length on an empty stomach.

 

 

 

Slower than a slow thing having a slow day in slow town

Today I was slower than a tortoise in treacle

But I’m ok with that.

Today was a 1 hour zone 2 run, simple, straightforward, nothing fancy. It was a good time to chat with my friend about work and understand more of the politics going on at work while having a nice relaxing run at very low effort.

We didn’t run far or fast, which was exactly what we had planned. I stayed in mid zone 2, did not break a sweat or get out of breath at all. Slow. Yes, indeed, but I was ok with that because that is what I am supposed to be doing. Running like this brings the joy back to running again which I love, but also it allows me to spend an hour with a friend just talking stuff through, I think we both find that beneficial to be honest.

You can see here that I am diligently following my plan, tomorrow is a long run (well, long enough for me at 14 miles). I have a nice 2 loop local route planned and I am hoping that storm Jorge (whorehay!!!??? WTF!! LOL!) won’t hit too hard in the morning and the run will be a comfortable one. Whatever happens, you can be assured that I will complete my target, worst case scenario I might have to run on the treadmill. I don’t mind a treadmill run but for this distance, I am going to struggle with boredom I think, which then means I will end up focussing on the pain. So hopefully, whorehay will be kind!

As you can see from my PMC I am now slightly fitter than I was 2 years ago when I ran the London Big Half, which is encouraging because I don’t feel like I have had to train particularly hard to get back to a fitness level where the thought of running 14 miles tomorrow does not phase me, in fact, I’m looking forward to it.

I have found that forcing myself to slow down while running has allowed my body to adapt faster. I am definitely losing weight, at some point I might have to change the name of the blog, but hold on, let’s not get carried away lol! People are noticing my weight loss and my clothes are getting looser, so the 80/20 plan I am following is doing all the right things!

2 social soulless sociopaths bound together in a friendless world

So this post is nothing about 2 social soulless sociopaths bound together in a friendless world, I just heard that phrase recently and it made me laugh, thought maybe it would share a smile!

Today was a rest day so I am feeling fat and heavy, hold on, I am fat and heavy(!), well, more than normal! I have been sat at my computer fathoming out spreadsheets for work all day and cajoling people into doing what they are paid to do, but hey ho, I’m paid too!

The rest day is an odd beast, the night before, I look forward to not having to get up early and going out in the rain. Then I wake up early, get up and look out the window, wanting to run! I then proceed to slouch around all day and hardly move.

Normally I take about 13000 steps a day, on a rest day, it’s more like 3000 steps and I really feel the difference.

Anyway, Just a short note tonight to have a grumble about inactivity, looking forward to my run with a friend in the morning!

My Stryd wind pod says I’m balancing my running stress and recovery and my TrainingPeaks PMC says I’m getting fitter (blue shaded area), in fact, fitter than I have been for over a year now so I will trust the data!