Epic weekend, done and dusted...

This weekend was our last big training weekend before the race (3 weeks away). Time to taper a bit now with a 20km thrown in for good measure next weekend...

So here's the low-down of the two big runs we did over the last two days;

Friday

Didn't set out till 1pm as Jesh worked till 3am the night before so needed a full nights beauty sleep before the run.

The first few km's we went very slow. This is going to be critical in the first 5km of the race in order to ensure we have the energy to finish. It feels very weird cause you are already going slow because of the terrain... and now forcing yourself to slow down further. But I can testify to this strategy paying off big time at the end of this 40km...

Didn't take in first gel until 60mins - about 9km. Some people do the first one at 30mins but this always feels far too soon for both of us. However, as i've learnt it's going to be important to be sipping electrolytes in that first hour rather than just water.

The first 15-17km were pleasant, felt good and going at nice pace so were able and willing to talk lots. This tends to change later on when you are too tired and grumpy to be bothered with conversation! I found the few km's between about 17 and 20 the hardest of the whole run. Kind of weird but i think this was purely psychological. My legs were starting to feel a bit tired and I was just keen to get to halfway. Plus I always find it hard going through new territory. We'd only run about 15km into the park previously so the last 5km (through and past Torrent Bay) to halfway was all new. Nice to see a new part of the track but mentally difficult because you don't know what to prepare for!

Quick dip at a very conveniently located pool...

Well Jesh got right in... i put my legs in. Wasn't keen on being completely soaking for the rest of the run!

Stopped here for about 10mins and then set off eating our sandwiches as we walked for first 5mins. I needed another gel at this stage too. I hadn't timed my breakfast overly well and was feeling very hungry by this stage!

The next 5kms (to around 25km) seemed to go really fast and felt nice and easy. We seemed to have settled into a good rhythm.

We decided to have a 1km walking break before we hit the waterfall - which i thought was at the 32km mark. So we started walking at 31km... but the waterfall was more like 33km so after walking for 15mins we realised we'd need to start running again to get inside our goal of 6 hours.

At this stage it's actually the changes between walking and running that are difficult. It's often really hard to get running again after a walking break and actually just easier to keep jogging slowly.

In terms of injuries/niggles - my left ankle (sprained 11 days prior) was a little achy but overall feeling fine. I was very glad to be taped up though as another roll at this stage would make the likelihood of me getting to the starting line pretty low! Other than that i had a very sore toenail for some reason. Jesh was trying out new shoes (despite my advice not to) and was having problems with something digging in on the inside of one foot.

Km's 32-40 were actually ok as long as we could keep going at a relatively even pace. We even jogged up the few last hilly bits between 38-40km!

Went home exhausted but happy, and feeling alot more confident about completing the race in a few weeks time.

Saturday

Started out at about 5.30pm, as we wanted to allow for 24 hours between our b2b's. And this way we would only be running in heat for about 30-45mins. Plan was to do 20km. I did not strategise this well and went out thinking we'd do it in 2hrs. Jesh tried to slow me down saying we should just be aiming for 2.5hours. But we still went out too fast. During the first few km's i felt a niggle in my left quad. It seemed to come right for a while and although my legs felt tired and a bit sluggish i felt pretty good.

That all changed around the 13-14km mark. We had a walking break and when we started up again my left leg literally gave way on me. It was like i was carrying a leg with no muscle in it. I kept trying but it kept giving way. I finally got going... a limp/jog for a wee while before having to walk again. This continued and everytime i tried to run after walking my leg would give away. I'd never felt anything like this before and was completely bemused.

Jesh picked up that i hadn't had enough electrolytes/energy. He carries water with electrolytes all the time, while i've always carried just water and gels. It had worked for me the day before for 40km...? I'm not very good at getting the right nutrition in at the right time though. He had also had a whole bottle of Loaded when we finished the 40km, whereas i'd only had half.

So I figure what i was experiencing was 'hitting the wall'... which i've never done before. Maybe because i've never done a marathon before? The closest distance i've come was 37km in a road relay. I don't count the 100km run here because you naturally eat ALOT of food over this distance and i clearly had alot of powerade or similar during that run.

So i've learnt my lesson and will now be carrying electrolyte charged water from the beginning of the race. If i want plain water i'll have to wait until the aid stations. I'd say that's a pretty vital lesson to learn at this stage as i'd be getting a DNF if that hit me during the race!

Onwards and upwards - less than 3 weeks to go now.

Epic weekend begins

I'm about an hour away from heading off into the Abel Tasman for approximatley 6 hours. 6 hours for 40km would be pretty good and i think makes the likelihood of a sub 8 hr possible in 3 weeks.

Feel very unprepared for today. Camel bladders are in the freezer and that's about it so far! We have some gels and protein bars... and will take some cheese and ham sammies! Sometimes savoury after all the sweet gels is soooooo good.

Ankles are strapped and ready to go but i'm a bit nervous about the strapping being too tight after a few hours on my feet. Taking small pair of scissors just in case i need to get it off!

Hope to include some pics of the run on next blog as we'll have both phones with us.

Starting to feel nervous about the race in 3 weeks.... and don't want 3 weeks of nerves so better get that sorted quick!

My journey to STRONG ANKLES!!!!

A week after #4 sprain I have had a physio appointment. I've become very cynical about using physio's over the last five or so years. Too many who just give out lists of excercises and send you on your way. I know - excercises are important - and i'll be the first to admit i'm pretty useless at following up with these regulary. But excercises are just part of the toolkit that should be used in order to rehab effectively AND prevent further injury (oh gosh I actually sound like i work for ACC, which is unusual!). And perhaps it's just that i haven't found the right therapist.

Today however, I visited the Sports Clinic in Nelson and saw an excellent physio. She was very clear about the steps to getting my ankle back to 100%, and instead of giving me a long list of excercises, just gave me the most effective ones that will hasten the strengthening time. Here's the low down of my plan;

1. Tape both ankles on ALL trail runs until (and during) the race (taping to be done by a physio)
2. Desist taping after the race as taping limits the amount of strengthening the ankle can do
3. Practice one legged standing whenever possible, ie. when waiting for the jug to boil, waiting to cross road.
4. Progress to one legged pose (similar to tree pose), from firm surface to bed, from eyes open to eyes closed. Aim for 50 secs. Acheiving 50 secs is a good measure of strong ligaments.
5. If after a resonable period (maybe 3 months) of consistent strengthening, the rolling/spraining is still happening, see the shoe clinic AND a podiotrist.
6. I have minimal arches and mostly a neutral foot. May benefit from small arch support.
7. I am pretty close to 'hyperextension' in all joints so this predisposes me to this type of injury (but makes yoga easier!)
8. If after shoe/podiatrist/strength based remedies don't help, refer to orthopedic surgeon. This is the extreme measures if it appears that over time my ligaments have loosened ALOT and can only be helped by tightening through surgery (ick!).

Phew, quite a few steps in there but with such a long history of varying degree sprains on both ankles it's time to seriously do something about it if I want to continue trail running.

And i do.... yesterday I took to the trail that led me up the center of NZ, very short, but fairly steep (150m climb), and i was reminded how much i love running trails. Its bliss being away from the roads and cars and in amongst the trees and birds. So peaceful and makes me feel very connected to God - regardless of how much praying i might do! (i actually find cycling more conducive to prayer!)

Anywho... I have a plan. A master plan to dominate my weak ankles!!

Onwards and upwards. 15km road run tonight. Just aiming for a steady 1:30. Thursday is a day off running, to prepare for huge weekend. This will be the peak of our training, a back to back session, 40km on Friday (trail run into the Abel Tasman), and follow up with 20km on saturday. It's gonna hurt, but it's the best way to prep for Tarawera.

Ankle Sprains: the bane of my current existence!

The last 3 weeks training have been completely hijacked! First by the dreaded gastro bug that wouldn't go away. And this week, the fourth sprained ankle in as many months. Yes, you read correctly, sprain #4!

To be fair the middle two were more of a 'roll' and there was very little swelling/bruising. This time round I did a fairly good job (similar to sprain #1 of the season) and had signficant swelling and pain on weight bearing.

It all started out so good... Tuesday morning I had great motivation - which is often hard to come by at 6.30am - and headed out for a couple of loops around the botanical gardens. Great little training run for the ultra as it's partly trail and has a few steepish sections, including some stair work.

Great intentions turned to custard after about 10 minutes. It may not have been the wisest choice of route considering it was still pretty dark, especially under tree cover. But you can't tell me that when i'm determined and motivated. I need to seize the moment!

Interestingly enough i had just been thinking what a good 'run' i'd been having, several big trail runs with no rolling (on a roll? ok, i'll stop now). Literally about 5 seconds after that thought popped into my head I stepped on a stone the wrong way and over i went. Left ankle. I could tell straight away it wasn't going to be pretty. I pity anyone else that was anywhere near me, trying to enjoy their morning excercise, they would have been rudely interupted by some rather unsavoury language.

I finished my one loop - very slowly, and headed back to work to ice. It's kinda funny that the clumsiest most injury prone person works in a pod with 2 trained physiotherapists and an GP!!! Comes in handy though. Thanks to the help of the lovely Natalie, who strapped me up and gave me great advice, i'm back to running today!

Fast recovery was essential as i'm only 5 weeks out from the race, and have only 3 weekends to get in some last big runs before having a bit of a taper. The plan for tomorrow was to do 40km of trails. However i'm really not keen on doing any more damage so the plan has been scaled back to 21km road run - a bit of a time trial for the half marathon i'll do in May.

The following weekend will be a huge one. 38km dun mountian loop on the saturday, followed by a 20km on sunday. Biggest mileage over the next 3 weeks so here's hoping I have all the injury/illness out of the way!

Dun Mountain Domination... er, not quite! (& Chia Seeds!)

This week i'm finally back into it after the dreaded gastro bug that knocked me out for 10 days.

Today I was planning on a 38km run. The Dun Mountain Trail loop. This is one of the hills/mountains at the back of Nelson.

I was feeling pretty good setting out today, got myself well organised the night before, including packing my new Chia seed balls.

Chia Seed Energy Balls Recipe

Chia seeds are meant to be awesome for long distance running... there is a legand about Indians eating a teaspoon before running a 24 hour race. They are a superfood, have 2 x the amount of protien than any other grain or seeds, 5 x the calcium in milk and 2 x the amount of potassium as bananas. Plus loads of other benefits. I used them raw in the above recipe but i think they are even better in terms of the benefits if they are soaked in water for 20 mins.

Ok so, back to today's run.

Starting out at about 9.45am after dropping DD off at Nana & Poppa's, but it was already VERY hot. And the first part of the trail was a few km's of dusty stoney road with no shade at all! Not to mention the uphill. Oh wait, actually i will - it went up, and UP... and UP! It wasn't mega steep but i certainly knew i was climbing. Felt very cross when I found myself having to walk after only a couple of km's! My lungs couldn't keep up! *need more hill practice :-(*

Being that i'm ridiculously useless with maps, the fact that i'd been studying it during the week and on entrance to the track was to no avail. I made a critical error after stopping and chatting to a south african runner - and followed her.... after about a 1km steep climb we realised that i was NOT going the direction i wanted to! So back down i went, and finally got on the right track.

And up i continued to climb for the next 10km's. It took A LONG time to get 12km in. I quickly realised that i'd be gone alot longer than i wanted to be if i was to do the full 38km loop. And after climbing for 12km I didn't have to ask myself twice! Cutting a run short is always annoying but since my body had only just come back to 100% from the gastro bug it probably wasn't a bad thing. I'm hoping to fit in a 15km tomorrow and if i do it means by mileage for the week will still be in the 60's which is pretty good.

The run back was awesome. I'm not usually a huge fan of downhills as i'm pretty clumsy, but today i managed to keep it together and didn't trip or roll an ankle once! Pretty big acheivement for me considering there was a fair amount of loose stones underfoot.

I was feeling great until another runner passed me, commenting on how it might be difficult to keep up with the mountain bikes on the way down. I laughed politely whilst cringing on the inside... the fact that she was even trying to keep up with the bikes was just stupid. *annoying stupidly fit people make me want to sit down and eat cake*

So my run was approximatley 24km and it took me 3.5hours, that included a fair bit on walking on the way up though. Not flash time wise but I have to just think it's time on my feet, better than sitting on my ass.

Last tweaking to training plan

It's 6 weeks out and i'm starting to panic that i haven't got enough good quality running in. So i've added in a couple of extra long runs that i hadn't originally planned. After reading a few things on training for an ultra that you just want to finish, i've decided that the extra time on the feet will be good, and the 10 day 'proper taper' plus 3 easy weeks leading up should be sufficient time for recovery.

Soooo this means i've got 3 HARD weeks ahead of me, with the 3rd one topping out at around 90km. This was my top weekly mileage for the 100km 6 years ago! However i'm hoping to make a much better pace for this 'race'.

Here are my plans for the next 6 weeks.

Week	Date	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday	Total Mileage
11	4-10 Feb	X-train	6km @ 5.30-5.40 P	12km Hills	5km	OFF	38km	15km	(76)
12	11-17 Feb	X-train	7km @ 5.30-5.40 P	15km Hills	5km	OFF	40km	OFF	(67)
13	18-24 Feb	X-train	7km @ 5.30-5.40 P	15km Hills	5km	OFF	42km	20km	(89)
14	25 Feb- 3 March	X-train	7km @ 6min P	15 Flat Easy	5km	X-train	15km easy	15km Easy	(57)
15	4-10 March	X-train	5km	45-48km	5km	OFF	15km easy	OFF	(73)
16	March 11-17	X-train	5km	7km	5km	OFF	TARAWERA 60km	OFF!	(77)

A whole week off!

I've just had a whole week off thanks to a tummy bug. Started last sunday night with vomitting... thought i'd come right on tuesday but apparently it was still in my system as i got really sick again saturday/sunday with nausea, cramps and diarrhea. Not nice.

In the couple of days where i thought i'd recovered i managed to get in 2 swims and a short run. My run on friday was pathetic though and i knew then that i wasn't well still. I'd planned on a 10km but by the time i'd run 3km i knew i needed to shorten it to 5km.

I'm trying not to panic about missing a whole week of running. It was only meant to be 35-40km total this week anyway but with a fair bit of x-training as well.

Will probably take today off too since it's the first day i'm feeling completely normal. Focus on eating well today (i've lost 1.5kg, not a bad thing but my energy levels are very depleted), and plan the rest of my week. I think i need to reshuffle things to ease back into it this week. Now that there are only 6 weeks left i'm trying to organise long runs around Jesh's schedule so we can do them together.

Will post revised training plans up here later.