42. The One With All The Preparation

30 September 2015

I'm not actually running today - I did a stretch session from YouTube this morning.  However I took the day off work so that I could get all my stuff together, do any last minute shopping, clean my house etc (can you imagine coming back from an eight hour drive after three days of running to have to clean the house?!).  It was actually so nice to have a sleep in this morning because Susan, Julia and I went to Bobo Social last night in Noho - OMG it was AMAZING.  Obviously, since I'm carb-loading, I investigated the peanut butter burger.  All in the name of nutrition you understand ... from now on I shall be demanding peanut butter on all my burgers.  That is all.

So, you know how running is this minimalist sport right, where you just need a pair of trainers and you can head out the door and be on your way?  So I really shouldn't need that much stuff right?  Ummm ... well, so far I've filled my entire suitcase and I haven't even packed my running shorts yet because they're in the wash.  I have an entire bag full of food and water on the side of my suitcase, plus my duvet and pillows separately again (I could bring a sleeping bag I know, but it's not any more hassle to take the duvet and a lot more comfortable ... and comfort is soooo where it's at right now).  I have been to multisport events with considerably less STUFF!

Most of my stuff is of course for recovery - I have compression tights galore, plus warm clothes and my Ugg boots for maximum comfort each night.  On top of that I've got way, way, way too much emollient cream for aches and pains ... we're talking tiger balm, Neal's Yard warming balm, voltarol gel (for real injuries rather than aches), Deep Heat and Deep Freeze as well as the only one I'll actually use - AntiFlamme!  AntiFlamme is uhMAZing ... it's called Nature's Kiss over here for some reason which I will never understand (Nature's Kiss FFS) but to those in the know it's always AntiFlamme.  The NZ rugby team uses it, so not only do you have the most soothing, sweet-smelling, non-greasy, relieving emollient in the entire world, you're one step removed from this guy.  Need I say more?  Then there's panadol, neurofen, blister plasters, kinesio tape, band-aids ... who knows what I'll need?!  Then obviously God forbid I should go anywhere without an entire Currys PCWorld contained within my suitcase, so we're talking laptop, iPad, iPhone, Garmin, chargers ... more chargers ... I've also got my swimsuit in there because the holiday park has an indoor pool.  Obviously, the first thing I'm going to want to do after running at least a marathon each day is jump in the pool for a nice hard swimset.  Who wouldn't right?  I might take my bike too, what if I fancy a good bike ride as well?

The rest of my case is filled with compulsory STUFF.  Obviously, trainers are high on that list, plus three long-sleeve running shirts and three short-sleeve running vests, running socks, sports bras, my hydration pack, the compulsory safety stuff we have to carry (which includes warm waterproof clothes plus torch, compass and whistle which is a bit worrying, but also includes a chocolate bar so I think overall it's okay).


Basically, I'm pretty much prepared for WWIII so I think I should be good for almost eventuality.  I'll still have forgotten something essential like my toothbrush though ...

The one other piece of essential kit is the two gorgeous cards I received yesterday - one from Debbie (all the way from San Francisco!) and one which was hand delivered to work, along with magnesium flakes (ahhhhh so perfect) and emergency chocolate (for emergencies including ultramarathon).  I love that!  So lucky to have my friends!  I'll be taking them with me and also pics of them to get me through the bad times.  And also a mental image of the tiny potato.  Naturally.

Now that I feel like I'm 99% sorted, I'm off out to visit one of my tri-buddies who's got a new upgraded foot - she's been struggling with injury for well over a year and she's finally had an operation to sort it.  So my other tri-bud Susan (aka Ride Across Britain Susan) and I are going to visit, armed with chocolate and the new DangerMouse on iPlayer.  Good times!

                                 

41. The One Where Nature Wished Me Good Luck

29 September 2015

The weather was AMAZING this morning ... It's much darker in the mornings now and sunrise hit this morning just as I pottered over the bridge from Chelsea to Battersea Park, where I was training today.  Obviously the sky wasn't content with just one night of the blood-red supermoon, so it gave me this to look at as I crossed over the river:

I like to think the moon just stayed out a bit later and shone a bit brighter today, and clubbed together with the river and the sky to wish me good luck ... especially since it turns out that today was my last training run!!!!  I hadn't realised this - I had thought I'd do a short (5km) very easy run tomorrow, but George advised me to do some yoga instead.  His direction is my command (because that way if it all goes wrong it's his fault, not mine), so I'll look up a nice yin session on YouTube to do tomorrow.  He also advised me to get busy with the foam roller - ugh - on my quads to try and loosen them up and thus help the sketchy knee cope a bit better (although it's doing really rather well at the moment, not bad at all!).

We mostly did drills today, interspersed with 200m and 400m to the metronome.  I'd never used the metronome before and it's a pesky little thing isn't it?!  Whilst I've done loads of cadence work in the past, it's always been counting the number of steps and I find that much easier because when you're using the metronome God forbid that you should fall out of the exact rhythm it demands.  When you're counting yourself, you might do exactly the same number of steps as you would with a metronome, but it gives you the freedom to be human and have one slightly longer step now and again (for example if I take a deep breath in, my stride pauses slightly, but I'll catch it up on the next step).  With the metronome, once you're out of sync it takes an irritatingly long time and a lot of concentration to fall back into it, and you're not in rhythm and it's just ANNOYING.  I was getting much better at it by the end but I'm not 100% convinced it was very helpful in real-world running, since my cadence is probably the one and only thing I don't really need to work on massively since I run fairly naturally at a 95 one-foot/190 two-foot beat.  Also, believe me, I will not be carrying a metronome around with me at any point in the near future while I'm running ... I look enough like a loser when I'm running without any help thanks!

I packed up my suitcase to go last night because I'm out tonight (I'm so good at not being social and getting an early night ... not ...!) so I wanted to make sure that I had everything on my list before tomorrow, when I can pick up any last bits and pieces.  Doing the packing made it feel sooooo real!  I'm so scared!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I have no idea why I thought it was a good idea and I think it's probably for the best that Debbie, who sent me the link to it in the first place, moved to San Francisco a few weeks ago (she's not stupid).  I'm sure it will be fine ... FINE ...

40. The One Where I Fell Into A Tiny Gap In The Time/Space Continuum

27 September 2015

I am so confused by my run today!  Initially I was going to go to Richmond again, but I thought since I was only going 10km or so I might as well try somewhere new.  I thought it might be nice to run along the Thames Path, but I wasn't sure where it went exactly because I know it comes up and off the river quite a bit around Fulham.  Therefore, I got onto MapMyRun last night and created a course which went from my place down to the river, along the river and over Putney Bridge and back.  It was 10.32km which I thought was perfect.

I'd left my car on the street yesterday, thinking I'd be off to Richmond Park this morning, so I drove it back to its designated parking spot on my way to run.  That cut off about 700m off my run, but I wasn't really massively bothered - all I was really worried about was being on my feet for an hour or so and I knew I still would be about that.  I set off, and ran down to the Thames.  It was looking absolutely gorgeous in that lovely soft morning light which was bouncing off the river and reflecting off the trees and buildings lining the water.  I was so busy appreciating this that I hit Bishops Park way sooner than I thought I would, and I pootled through and over Putney Bridge.  Once I got to the other side of it, it was 4.51km which I thought was exactly right - I was going back the same way, so I'd have about 9km in total to my car, then 700m back to my place for just under 10km all up.  Right?

Errrrrmmmm .... no.  Even though I ran back over the bridge, back through the park, back along the Thames Path, and back down the road to my car, according to both my Garmin and MapMyRun, it was 7.23km - or only 2.72km back along exactly the same course that had taken me 4.51km on the way out.  WHAT?!  How is this possible?!  If anything I went a slightly longer way back because I had to do a double-back around Fulham Palace slightly because I went the wrong way.  I can't even put it down to my Garmin having a malfunction because both that and MapMyRun agreed - probably for the first time ever - on both the distance on the way out and on the way back.  I am so confused as to what happened but I'm going to put it down to a tiny rip in the time/space continuum.  It's the only answer to this problem.  At least both my Garmin and MapMyRun agreed that the distance from my car to my house was 710m (which is right; I've done that trip millions of times since my car's lived up there for the last four years).  Once I'd gone round to the front of my block I made it to 8.01km which was fine - I'm sure the missing 2km are not going to make a massive difference in the grand scheme of things!!

It's so strange to think that this time next week it's all going to be over.  SCARY!!!!!!!!!!  I have to work out now what to do next week - I'm not sure to be honest.  George has been away but gets back tonight so I think I'll have to quiz him!

39. The One Where I Had A Whole Day To Do Nothing

26 September 2015

Since I've got six days - eek - to go, I'm now fully into the taper!  I had 10km to do on the schedule today.  I was a bit tempted to do 20km because 10km just feels so ... short ...!  And lazy!  But I soon pulled myself together and realised I sounded like one of those, and put the 10km back on the schedule.  I went down to Richmond Park and figured I'd just do a lap which is 11km, close enough.

Once I'd sorted that out, I had the biggest decision to make ... get up early (again) and have the day free, or sleep in and spend the morning getting to Richmond and running?  Hmmmm ... in the end the day won out and I got down to Richmond for 08:00.


It was sooooooo beautiful this morning!  I've not been able to see Richmond in that sort of light before because every time I've been down there it's been a bit grey and miserable.  Not today!  There was this amazing mist that covered the park with a blazing blue sky above and all the autumn colors in between.  I don't really love Richmond Park but I'm probably the only person ever to say that.  The park itself is cool and all - and there are deer, and deer are good - but it's just not massively my place.  Today though, it was GORGEOUS and I got what people keep telling me - it's lovely!

By the way there is no filter on this - there was condensation on the lens!

I was just doing one lap round the perimeter 'cause it was close enough to 10km and it's easier than thinking about it too much and zigzagging round.  On top of that, it meant that I didn't have to worry about navigation and with the shorter distance, I could just run!  This was exciting - I really really wanted to run today and I absolutely loved 95% of this run (the 5% is the bit where you know, you have to run up a hill and it feels like your lungs could actually explode imminently and your legs are at serious risk of dropping off).

It was nice to be running clean (ie not carrying anything) for a change and it was nice to be able to run rather than try and conserve energy.  I'm not saying I was fast - please, don't think that for a second - and I did walk from time to time especially on the massive hill at the end.  The aim was still ultra-training, so keeping it slow and real, but it was just nice to do a proper lovely run again!

It was also lovely to have a WHOLE DAY without either running or work!  Don't get me wrong; I've had some fantastic days running but yeesh, it's been a lot of training on weekends.  I'm not actually doing anything, seeing as I'm meant to be in lockdown resting (honestly, you can take the girl out of triathlon but you can never take the triathlete out of the girl ... and no-one takes a taper as seriously as a triathlete.  We will taper aggressively and competitively!).  However ...  I've been able to check out my next nutritional adventure!  Check out these bad boys - these are peanut butter banana muffins!  When I said I was going to be doing muffins, my friend Rosh (who is an Ironman and so who I suppose, knows about this sort of thing) told me that I had to think about what sort of Glycaemic Index rating my home-made foods were going to have because otherwise I'd end up eating but not getting the right fuel.  I thought about that and decided to come up with the closest thing to a peanut butter and banana wrap as I could, but in form that is edible to me.  Enter ... peanut butter and banana muffins!  I have - ahem - quality-tested one and I can confirm that it is A.MAZE.  I just got the recipe from Tesco actually but it fits all the bills - it's got peanut butter for fats and long-term energy, oats and flour and bready things for medium energy and sugar and bananas for instant energy.  Perfect right?!

38. The One After PigGate

25 September 2015

Today's run is barely worth mentioning except to say that it was unmemorable!  An hour on the treadmill, sub-130 zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.  My heart rate was well behaved, but not even that's worth mentioning as frankly I've come to expect that of it now!

However, what an hour of treadmill time did give me was ... MOCK THE WEEK, PIGGATE EDITION.  Okay, it wasn't actually probably intended to be PigGate edition, but when an opportunity like that presents itself, what can you do?  It'd be rude not to take full advantage of it right?  It's been what a week now, and I still can't stop laughing every time it comes up.  America elected the most charismatic man ever to walk the earth as it's president - he can give brilliant public speeches, he's got morals and he's not afraid to fight for what he thinks is right (like far tighter gun laws), he's hilariously funny, he can even sing and dance.  We've elected a man who fucked a dead pig.  We might as well ring the most humor we can out of it!

Some of my favorite moments have been #PigGateSongs (in particular, "I Like Pig Butts And I Cannot Lie"), the classic Prosciutto Affair and this truly amazing sign at a tube station (which I really wish was real).

Mock the Week rung the full benefit out of the whole situation and it definitely made my run far more amusing.  I would definitely recommend it on a boring run!  I will write more about actual running tomorrow but I promise, PigGate is far more interesting than today's run ...

37. The One With the Cheesy Scuffin

23 September 2015

So I was back on the treadmill today for a repeat of Monday - 90 minutes with my heart-rate under 130.  That was the easy bit, especially as my heart was being exceptionally co-operative this morning.  My heart rate hung out at about 121 throughout apart from a couple of spikes up to 125.

The more tricky part was that I'm still working on nutrition.  I just don't think I can do peanut butter in a wrap or sandwich again, and I'm running out of time to test new things.  I was giving this some thought earlier in the week, and my goals are:

1. to get to the end of the run without feeling like I'm weighed down by all the crap that I've been eating;
2. to find something I actually fancy eating in the run; and 
3. to find something that that's not hugely dissimilar to bread-type products like wraps or bread, but isn't either of those things.  

Given those parameters, I thought that savory muffins (the American kind) might be the answer to my problems in life.  I thought if I could do some vegetable ones I might even get to the end of the run with some real nutrients in me rather than empty carbs!  However, in order to ease myself gently into this, I thought I'd try this nice easy recipe for cheese muffins, not least because they only had a few ingredients and I could get them at my local store rather than having to schlep ALL the way to the big store (700m away.  The horror).  I also picked them because cheese.  CHEESE.

I baked them up last night and quality tested one out last night.  I would give it a 7/10 for the muffin itself as a food product ... I said to some friends that it didn't know whether it was a muffin or a scone because it was fully of cheddary paprika (I subbed out the sultanas in the recipe for more paprika and a few chilli flakes because I really wanted it to be savory and not have any hint of sweetness).  Romy then hit upon the brilliant idea of calling it a scuffin - SCUFFIN!  Love that.  So I present to you my scuffins:

I managed to smuggle one onto the treadmill with me today, and I thought I'd test it out after an hour of my 90 minute run.  I have never felt more like a) an idiot; and b) the secret eater in the corner as I tried to eat it unobtrusively (you're not allowed food in the gym, oh well, sorry Virgin).  It definitely worked for energy - I felt great after it!  The only thing was that it was super-dry and when I think about the ingredients, there's nothing there to give it any moisture.  That didn't make it the easiest to eat on the go, so I think I might try something else for my run on Friday morning.  However, since I felt so good after it I'm going to try something similar; maybe a zucchini and cheese muffin or something.  I will decide tomorrow when I'm baking them!

In addition to my muffin investigations, My friend Rosh suggested that we speak to his friend Ludovica, who's a sports nutritionist, and she recommended Feed Zone Portables.

I have actually had this book for ages and never cooked a single thing out of it!  Ha - I think I bought it on a whim at a tri show one year.  I looked through it yesterday and it's got things like sticky rice cakes (but nice ones, not those bits of cardboard you buy in the store), sausage and potato cakes, french toast cakes and scallion pancakes.  Can I just say sausage and potato cakes one more time?!  I want to try some of these to take on my run on Saturday so I think Thursday's going to be full of baking!  I'll report back.

36. The One Where Russell Howard Kept Me Entertained

21 September 2015

With only eleven days to go (gasp) it's time to start thinking properly about tapering.  This weekend was the start of the taper, doing two shorter runs, and this week it's all about doing longer but low-effort runs.  Therefore, my first run of the week was a 90-minute sub-130 heart-rate run, as opposed to the 45 minute versions I normally do.

I was a bit worried I'd be bored on this run rather than anything else.  Fortunately, however, BBC iPlayer has not 1, not 2, but nineteen back episodes of Russell Howard's Good News, going back as far as 2011.  I absolutely love Russell Howard's Good News, so three episodes of that on iPlayer were perfect as I pounded out the miles on the treadmill.

The run itself was pretty uneventful; not much to report!  My heart rate did very well (as did my Garmin which was actually working for once) and stayed about 128/129 throughout.  I was watching it carefully and a couple of times (maybe three times in the whole run) it tipped up to 131 but a couple of deep slow breaths and it was back down at 128.  I was pretty happy with it actually, especially as yesterday i can't say my nutrition was exactly good ... My friend Romy booked the brunch deal for four of us at Flesh and Buns and it was A.MAZ.ING.  Unlimited starters, which I thought would be piddly lil things and not really substantial, plus one flesh and bun which in my head was like a char sui bun, plus s'mores for pudding.  How wrong could I have been ... the starters were enormous and so delicious that I was full before the mains even came out.  Then this happened ...

Far from a char sui bun, an entire PLATE of crispy piglet!  Just for me!  That's Harri's aubergine on the left, Romy's duck on the righ, and Tom's Wagyu beef at the back ... nomnomnomnomnomnomnom!  Plus unlimited prosecco or wine ... let's just say that supper was a non-event haha!  It was worth it - DE.LIC.IOUS!

35. The One After The Greggs Steak Bake

20 September 2015

So remember how yesterday the Greggs steak bake was totally worth the £1.10?  Well, let me tell you, you ever get steak for £1.10, you will get exactly what you deserve.  Namely, a couple of hours in the loo before you've even started thinking about your day.

Luckily, my serious GI issues had meant that I had skipped my sleep-in, so by the time I'd wobbled out of the bathroom again I was thinking "Well I've still got time for a run before I go to lunch, cracking".  I planned to leave my clothes at work, run around Primrose Hill for a while, and then come back and change at the gym before heading off to Flesh and Buns.

I made it as far as work, very good, and then spent another half hour or so in the loo reflecting on the unwise behaviour in purchasing an end-of-day steak bake.  I thought it might be sensible to go to the gym and do my run on the treadmill - I was only going 10 or 15km anyway - but it was such a nice day again ... and I really really wanted to run outside.  I decided it was worth it, but I'd see how I went when I got up there.


I had thought it would be better to catch the tube up to Primrose Hill because the last time I tried to run up to it I go completely stuck behind people walking slowly, plus I had to cross approximately 450 roads, so running was ... not running.  I caught the tube up, therefore, and started fartleking (again, I know) up the hill from the station to Primrose Hill itself.  It's only about a kilometre, so it was a good warm-up.  


It turns out that eleven times around Primrose Hill makes about 13km.  I really did want to do 15km if I could, because yesterday wasn't the full 42km so I thought it would be nice to get a few more km into my legs (and more importantly, my head, since my head is where success or failure will ultimately lie).

I managed to do it but I was doing the usual walk uphill/run on the flat and downhill tactic.  I was pretty tired but otherwise not suffering too badly.  Again the weather probably helped!  Plus there's a lot to look at in Primrose Hill, loads seem to be going on!  Babies waving, dogs playing, kids playing football ... it's all very perfect.  There are also absolutely fabulous views over London and since I was there quite early (about 09:00) the light was lovely.

Once I'd ticked off about 14km I headed back down to the station for a total of 15.66km with about 266m of gain - not quite the thousand metres of gain or so I've been doing!  But it's worth getting the hills into my legs I think and not make myself too tired with only eleven days to go (ELEVEN DAYS TO GOOOOOO).  In addition I found the squiggly line I made on the map most pleasing!

 

34. The One Where It Was The Most Perfect Weather Ever

19 September 2015

So I live in England, and I deeply deeply love England.  I particularly love London, but I'm also very fond of the country as a whole.  However, we have appalling weather.  Really really bad.  BAD.  This summer I think it's probably rained more than it does in winter in most countries.  I've been so lucky in that - oddly - most Saturdays have been really not bad, and I have only been rained on a few times.  Now that it's September, however, I've been preparing myself for the worst, weather-wise, especially after this week when it's rained pretty solidly all week.

Guess what happened today though?  The clue is in the title!  It was PERFECT.  Amazing. I was all the more shocked, because I'd decided that I wanted to check out what the actual South West Coast Path was like.  Cornwall is really really really far from London so I couldn't go down there, but the other end of it starts near Studland, and I thought if I could get down to Weymouth, I'd be able to try it out.  However - naturally - there were works on the line, so I had to go to Poole instead.  This was practically a military operation to organise - it's almost a three hour train journey down, and even when I got there I had to catch a bus for 40 minutes to Sandbanks and then a ferry over the harbor to Shell Bay before I could even get to the start of the "path" ... and the reason I say "path" in inverted commas is because the first 4.6km is along a beach!!


Consequently, I had to get on the 06:13 train from West Brompton, and it was miserable - freezing, drizzling, grey and misty.  Awesome.  I watched the countryside rolling by all the way down to about Southampton and it just got worse and worse ... but then MAGIC happened.  Once we left Southampton, it was like we moved into a whole new country - the sky turned blue, the sun gleamed, and there was no mist in sight!  By the time I got to Poole at 09:00, the weather could hardly be more perfect.  After a small detour via the Quay (because the bus didn't leave from where I thought it did) I got to Shell Bay at about 11:00.  Unfortunately, because there is only one bus an hour between Poole and Sandbanks, where the ferry goes from, I knew I wasn't likely to be able to do the full 42km today but I thought it was worth it to actually experience the path itself.  Obviously, being me, I completely missed the sign for the start of the path - I mean, who wouldn't miss this, it's so discreet, so subtle:

Having sorted myself out though (ie asked directions from a slightly incredulous man: "Did you come off the ferry?  You didn't see the sign??"), I found the start of the path and got going.  The first challenge was this ... ermmmm!!


Everyone else was taking their shoes off and wading across, but I was really really reluctant to do that because I knew I was going at least 30km and the beach was superfine sand.  If that got into my socks I'd have absolutely had it in terms of blisters and I knew it.  Therefore, I had to give this some thought.  Eventually, I left my shoes on and picked my way over, which resulted in wet feet but at least my socks were sandfree.  Since the beach was soooo long ... and we're talking 4.6km long here ... I decided to fartlek my way along in order not to knacker myself out, since I haven't got any experience running on sand at all.  Since there weren't any other markers, I fartlek'd between people wearing red sweaters.  This was made more interesting by the fact that sometimes they were walking away from me, but generally was quite an entertaining way to fartlek.

However, I soon reached a stretch where no-one was wearing red jumpers.  In fact, no-one was wearing sweaters at all.  Or shirts, or trousers, or socks, or pants.  Or swimsuits.  I had in fact found myself on the naturist beach at Studland!  I thought it was a bit rude to fartlek between naked people, so I walked that bit and took the opportunity to take pictures of the scenery (not of the nekkid people though, sorry to disappoint).

It was STUNNING on that beach.  I was a bit confused by the lack of actual path, but a quick look at the guide to the the path reassured me that yes, I was meant to be on the beach.  Once I realised that I could give up worrying and enjoy it!  I have lived in some classically "beautiful" places - in particular, the Cayman Islands and New Zealand - and I don't think I've ever seen any beach to match this one.

 Once I got to the end of the path I was at Studland - the place with the most expensive property in England!  I can't say I massively appreciated this - I was busier concentrating on where the start of the actual path was.  I finally asked someone, since the entire place was just filled with beach huts.  Turns out you go between the beach huts, up some stairs, around the road a bit, and then you're back on the path.  Cracking.  I got going ... only to find that the path was blocked off thanks to the military.  I'll have a few words to say about that next time I run into Army personnel!  Luckily you can do a quick detour round  the road and get back onto the path before Old Harry Rocks.  I was super-happy about this 'cause Old Harry Rocks are famous and I'd been really looking forward to seeing them.  I ran up the path feeling pretty happy about seeing them soon and I was definitely rewarded by an amazing view from the top of the cliff above the Rocks.

Having stopped for a photo-and-peanut-butter-wrap break, I headed straight up the cliff above Old Harry and down the path on the other side.  I soon learned one thing about the SW Coast Path - the path can be unbelievably thin!  I had to keep my eyes sharply on the path, as it was literally one foot directly in front of the other and a sheer drop to my left down to the sea.  That made for fast running ... not!  It was worth it though for the gorgeous views as I went over the crest of the cliff as Swanage was straight down to my left.  The nice thing about the path is that it's got these markers everywhere so just in case you're not sure how far you've got to go, you've got it handily marked for you. 

By this point, I'd gone about 13km and I was feeling really good.  The downhill path was a bit hard to run because a) it was narrooooooow; b) it was muddy and slippery as anything; and c) it was really steep, so steps had been cut in it at various points.  This, together with my slow start on the beach, meant that I was probably a lot fresher than I would normally have been, but I also think that the gorgeous weather and views were really helping.  By the time I dropped down into Swanage I was ready for lunch, but I decided to get through town first and eat on the other side, because I knew I could only go for another 20 minutes or so before I had to turn around to get back in time for the ferry.  

Swanage smells A.MAZ.ING.  Basically, fresh fish and chips, vinegar, icecream and donuts.  I couldn't work out what the town reminded me of - it was so cute and it felt really familiar somehow, even though I knew I hadn't been there before.  I got chatting to an old dude when I was filling up my water bottles and he provided the answer - he told me "It reminds you of a time you've never known; a time before you were born, but a time you've always heard about.  Kids without technology, building sandcastles.  Teenagers learning to fish off the pier.  Families enjoying each other's company.  Fresh food and simple treats.  That's what it reminds you of ..." And you know what?  He was so right.  I wasn't around in the 60s or 70s, but now I know what it must have been like ... it was so lovely.  Once I'd made it through town I rejoined the path on the other side to head up the next hill, but only as far as the top before I flopped down and ate my lunch.  With all those smells I was STARVING but I decided that a sneaky fish and chips probably wasn't going to help me get back over that hill, so I settled for - another - peanut butter wrap.  I am swiftly evolving the kind of hatred for peanut butter wraps that's normally reserved for dictators and mass murderers.  However, I swallowed it down and headed back through Swanage and back over the hill.  Heading back, I went up the path a bit further and through a couple of gates - to discover I could see the sea on both sides!

  

 That second picture is the 4.6km beach from Studland to Shell Bay - it's so amazing!

Not only did I have the amazing views on both sides, I was also greeted by one of my people.  Haha jokes - just a sheep.  Although since I lived in NZ for 18 years, I did wonder if he'd heard of the sorts of things Kiwis allegedly get up to since all I can say about his behaviour is that he preened at me.  Look at the lil poser!  There were other sheep too, but this was the only one evincing an interest in me (story of my life ... the bloody lunatic is the one that fancies me!)

Having said goodbye, it was a straight run back down to Old Harry, then down the cliff path and back to the beach.  I stopped again at Studland (if it's going to be the most expensive realty in England, I thought I might as well enjoy it), and then worked out I had 45 minutes to get back along the beach.  I was pretty knackered by now, so I decided to do the fartlek action again (my favorite weapon in my arsenal when I'm tired).  This time I did blue sweaters but it didn't work out so well because blue is obviously not in this season, so I changed to beach wind breakers.  That was much more effective and it even worked in the nekkid bit!  Cracking!  I slowed down to a walk after a while though, because as it turns out sand is a real pain to run on.  

Finally, at 29.5km, I ended up back at the ferry.  I was really really tired!  1/3 of the run was on sand, and I am pretty sure that's why I was more tired than I thought I would be.  I also had really been enjoying the run so I think I hadn't really noticed that I was getting tired in the same way that I had on other runs.  Luckily I had the ferry right there and then a 40-minute wait for the bus back to Poole (ONE BUS AN HOUR!).  

By the time I got back to Poole I was STARVING MARVIN but when I looked at my remaining peanut butter wrap, I couldn't even.  No way was that thing getting anywhere near my stomach.  What I really really wanted was fish and chips, but sadly the only thing that was open was Greggs.  Whilst a steak bake wasn't the same thing, at least it was hot and not a peanut-butter wrap.  Well worth the £1.10! Having changed into compression tights and a warm fleece (it might have been a nice day but it IS September), I jumped on the train and tucked into my steak bake.  Sadly it wasn't quite as warm as one would consider wholly ideal (read:  stone cold) but at least it was comforting.  I finally got home at 20:30 - a long day, but absolutely my favorite run to date.  I'm glad I didn't find the path before because (the beach aside) it was easier than Beachy Head, so I think I've had better training there, but I'm so happy I did get down there today.  

33. The One Where I Was Back on the Treadmill

17 September 2015

I've been taking it easy this week in an effort to let my knee heal up a bit ... oh and cos IT WAS MY BIRTHDAY!  YUPS!  That wasn't the reason I didn't run on Tuesday, but it was sure the reason yesterday!  I had a fabulous day full of food (by which I mean a four hour lunch, followed by popping into work for an hour or so - I wasn't on a day off - and then drinks and supper at my club, the House of St Barnabas).  I hadn't actually intended to do anything for it because I'm celebrating properly after the ACC, but since people insisted ...!  And I'm so so glad I did go out, I had such a lovely time.  And also cocktails.  Lots of cocktails.  Mmm cocktails ...!

I can't say that the cocktails, the heavy food and the late night did wonders for my running today, however ... more like almost finished me off!  I was doing a nice sub-130 work out to try and get back into the groove and test out my knee.  It was at least the perfect work out because I can guarantee you that if I'd done sprints, it would have been unpleasant for everyone.  My heart rate generally behaved itself though, although it did pop over 130 twice and I had to slow to a walk to get it down again, so it wasn't my best effort.  Never mind.  Maybe next time.

In better news, my knee felt loads better!  I put this down to kinesio tape - I've been taped up all week and it's done wonders (together with the rest).  I'd definitely recommend learning how to use and apply kinesio tape if you do distance training!  Or any heavy training really; I had the benefit of three hours' tuition in it in 2012 and it has come in handy so many times.  I wouldn't recommend just doing it if you don't know what you're doing, but if you do it can save a lot of physio's fees (and a lot of pain).  Obviously I was training on the flat today on the treadmill, but there wasn't a shred of pain which is a massive relief!

32. The One With The 200m Reps

14 September 2015

So did I get to rest my knee today?  Nope!  I was back at Battersea, fully taped up and ready to go.  The good news?  Apart from my knee - I was FINE!  I was doing drills for most of the morning, and then just five quick 200m reps.

I haven't done 200m reps for ages - like, six months - and at the time I was running between 40 and 42 seconds off 2 minutes rest (at the end of a session after 12x 400m reps).  Today I managed a 39 second, a 42 second, two 40 seconds and a final 42 second ...on a dodgy knee and after 70km going into my legs over the weekend!  I don't really care about the times, because 200m is not exactly my speed right now, but what I really care about is that I am running comparable times after two heavy days ... which means (I hope) that my recovery strategies are working!  Can I get a WOOP WOOP please!!

The thing is, this ultra-marathon lark is an exercise in "making things up and hoping like crazy it's going to work out".  Every event is completely different - so in the ACC, I'm going to be running about 150km but it'll be over three days.  Other events you might be running 50 miles on the flat on the road, or 84 miles across Hadrian's Wall.  You can question people til you're blue in the face, and you can read every book in Waterstones and every blog on the interwebs, but it doesn't really help unless it's a blog/book about the exact same event you're doing, and the person writing said blog/book is at exactly the same level as you.  All the things you pick up also have to fit into your life and around the commitments you have.  Basically, when you're as much of a newbie as I am, no-one is down at your level and no-one can really give you advice without it seeming impossible to follow.

I am so so lucky to have George, who puts up with endless questions and at least pretends to take me seriously (sometimes).  However, no matter what he tells me, I'm plagued with doubts ... he's done at least eleven ultramarathons that I can think of, he's in the Army, he's even done the UTMB with barely any running training (although he did a lot of CrossFit) ... basically, he's completely nails.  Therefore, when he tells me what he thinks I can do, I wonder every time whether I can do it, or whether it's something that he can do, so he just assumes I can do it without realising how disparate our respective abilities are.  I should say that every tip he's given me has been spot on, but that won't stop the doubts until I've actually done it for myself.

As well as George, I'm lucky enough to have so many inspiring friends in other endurance sports - two friends have just finished Ride Across Britain and - worryingly - most of my sporty friends have done a marathon.  Three of my friends represent GB in their age group in triathlon, and - even more worryingly - I know about ten people who've done iron-distance triathlons.  Therefore I'm not exactly lacking in resources and I can't thank my friends enough for all the help they've given me, not to mention the inspiration!  But the one thing that none of them has had to do is do the distance one day, then get up and do it again the next day and again the next day with the one exception of my Ride Across Britain friends. Recovery, therefore, is something that I've really had to work out on my own.

As a result of having to make most of it up on the fly, therefore, no-one is more surprised than I am when something actually does work out because I have to take everyone's tips and then work out for myself what works and what doesn't. .  Here are the things I've learned over the last seven weeks which work for me.

• Wearing compression tights and socks are fantastic just after a run and during a run.  I am in love with my 2XU compression socks for running in. 
• However, to sleep in recovery kit doesn't work for me (though it does for Julia, one of my RAxB buddies and Rosh, one of my Ironmen) - it just makes me unable to sleep. 
• Speaking of sleep, IT IS A.MAZ.ING.  I can't say enough how much I love my bed right now.  Bed is AWESOME.  
• A milky drink before bed is an absolute must ... but not too much of it, or I'll be up all night on the loo!  My friend Jess tells me that this is because it's got casein in it, so it repairs your muscles while you sleep.  Love that.  
• S!Caps are amAZing for letting me recover properly!  They are my new favorite discovery (thanks Michelle). 
• A protein drink as soon as possible after I'm done seems to help ... I'm not sure if this is purely psychological since sometimes, um, Yazoo has filled this function and I'm not sure that Yazoo has any protein in it whatsoever.  It's not even milk - it's a "milk drink".  But mentally I think it helps.  
• I need to take at least 1500mg of magnesium on heavy running days (DRD 320mg?!  Ha!) or I'll start to cramp.  
• A hot bath after I've trained is beyond amazing.  It is HEAVEN.  I know people recommend icebaths, but that is never going to happen for me.  It's not enough that I've run 45km, you want me to get into a bin full of ice?!  Naff off.  
• Keeping my feet elevated and stretched out is amazing for feeling better quickly.  Lying down is even better.  I love lying down.   
• Getting cold is terrible!  Both while out on the course and, even worse, after it.  I absolutely cannot ever let this happen or I end up being unable to warm up.  I have to take at least a full change for my top half to avoid getting clammily cold after a run (the shorts seem to be fine, it's just the top half).  
• I like furry/soft/fleecy/woolly things on my skin after I'm done. Not in a weird way.  Just in a comforting, my-feet-are-getting-hugged-by-Ugg-boots-and-my-aching-body-is-wrapped-in-a-fleece kinda way.  Important stuff psychologically.  In a perfect world I would be being hugged by someone else wearing the furry woolly stuff, but one cannot have everything.  

So there are my top recovery tips!  I can't say that they'll work for everyone - please, if you fancy jumping into an ice-bath, be my guest - but it is what works for me, it seems, judging by my performance today.  So I am happy!  I am also happy 'cause my sketchy knee has reduced to almost knee-size.  Well done my knee!!!!

31. The One Where I Found Myself Singing Along to One Direction

13 September 2015

So I stayed down in Eastbourne last night in order to be able to back-to-back my training without paying an absolute fortune to Southern Railway.  I was really good and went to sleep nice and early ... only to be woken up about midnight.  I couldn't get back to sleep for anything - my knee was hurting a fair bit (which was strange because it had been okay when I went to bed!) and I decided that my compression clothes were uncomfortable.  I changed into normal PJs and immediately got straight back to sleep - phew!

However, when I woke up, my knee wasn't a lot better ... it was irritable, and it wasn't that keen on me bending it.  It is the same pain that I feel when running downhill, so I figured I'd just annoyed it with all my downhills the day before, and that it would calm down after a bit.  I carb'd up with a bit of Oatso Simple instant porridge with a few added raisins (so healthy, so nutritious ...!  But it was my only option given that I was leaving at 07:00 and nothing was open).  Since I was leaving so early, I didn't have much choice but to eat it pretty much immediately before I left, but I figured that was far less risky than having nothing at all - I am not going to bonk again if I can help it!

The morning was absolutely gorgeous!  I started off by Eastbourne Pier just as the sun was rising behind it.  There was almost no-one on the streets but, unlike London and even Brighton, it was clean as a whistle on the boardwalk; you would never have been able to tell that the SteamPunk festival had been going on.  Reflecting on this, I headed out of town and back up to Beachy Head.  Going up there, I was absolutely fine - I was so happy because I actually felt better than yesterday, despite my long day yesterday.  Wooop woop!  Howeverrrrrrr .... as soon as I hit the downhill a sharp pain shot through my knee.  I hrmphed a little and thought about it and tried again.  It was still painful, but lessened, so I thought I'd just keep going for a bit and see what happened.

I covered exactly the same route as yesterday - over Beachy Head, through Birling Gap, and over the Seven Sisters to Cuckmere Haven.  Unlike yesterday, however, it was sooooo quiet!  I was literally the only one on the route at that time (unsurprisingly, since it was 07:00 on a Sunday morning, but there were no dog-walkers or anything).  It was absolutely stunning up there by myself; I really felt like I was lost in the run and in my music that I had playing.  I was brought to myself sharply, however, as suddenly this super-catchy toon came on and, since I was all by myself, I started to sing along even though I wasn't sure what it was.  Imagine my horror when the chorus came through and it was Midnight Memory by One Direction.  The shame.  The horror.  I quickly checked that no-one had heard (no, but a couple of seagulls were giving me a very superior look) and kept on going.

I'd noticed that the tide was out and I was thinking when I got to Cuckmere that I might just wade across the stream if I could, and head up Cuckold Mere again.  I really like that hill (coming eastwards anyway!) and I thought it would make a nice change.  However, my knee was really beginning to hurt by this point, so I decided to abandon that plan and head back the way I'd come - not least because I had a bit of a fear that the tide would come in and I'd be stuck on the Cuckold Mere side!  It was about then that it all started to go a bit wrong ....

I think that from favoring my right knee, I was running weirdly on my left foot.  I've never had blisters before, but the most enormous set of them suddenly sprung up all across my left toes, making it really hard to run normally.  I kept going - a blister is only a blister! - but my knee was getting worse and worse and I'm sure that partly it was that my stride was uneven because of the blisters.  When I got back to Birling Gap I stopped to eat a wrap and had a look at it, and it was massively swollen - it looked like someone had inflated it!  I really didn't know what to do ... I had no idea whether I should keep going and just ignore it or whether I should just get back to Eastbourne and stop there.  I pondered on this over Beachy Head and in the end came to the conclusion that I should stop, because if I wreck it in the event, it's actually fine because it can just rest after it.  However, if I wreck it now, I might not ever get to the event!!  I was really disappointed because the day started off so well (let's not talk about One Direction.  Although I did once sit next to Harry Styles at breakfast and he is HAWWWWWWT in person, even with his manbun and his skinny jeans, so let's just focus on that rather than that they are the chosen favorite band of eight-year-olds).

I ended up doing 26km overall anyway, and I really believe that if my knee hadn't gone I would've been absolutely fine to do the full 42km.  Knee aside, I felt fine - my muscles weren't stiff and my joints were working fine, and I was even managing to enjoy it.  So even though I cut it short I guess it was okay.  Kinda.

I think I did make the right decision though because I took my trainers off on the train, and when I went to put them back on again my right foot had swollen up so much I couldn't get the trainer back on it!  I've slathered the entire leg with Voltarol gel and it's gone down a fair amount now, so with a bit of luck and a fair wind behind it, it'll be fine for next weekend.  All fingers and toes crossed pleaaaase ...

30. The One With SteamPunks and a Vulcan

12 September 2015

Guess where I am ... again?!  Here's a clue:

Yup, down on the South Coast again.  This is my last big weekend of training before I begin to taper off a bit, which is both exciting and absolutely terrifying.

Today I had a run on the schedule which is designed to mimic, as closely as possible, the event conditions.  Cornwall is like super-far from London!  It costs about £150 to get down there by train and it takes forever either on the train or driving, so I can't actually get down there to train.  However, the course maps are online, and Day 1, which can be found here, is 27.5 miles (or 44km to me) with 2,152ft / 655m of elevation.  Rightio then - I figured a few times over the South Downs Way would be as close as I could get to that.  I decided to stay down in Eastbourne so that I could repeat the same run tomorrow, since Day 2 is really really similar, and it meant that I could do a back to back to get the real, ya know, authentic experience.  God help me.

So down I came this morning on the earliest train from Victoria and, after dropping my bag off at the hotel, I set off.  I had thought it would take me about eight hours so I was figuring on being back for about 18:00.  The way to the South Downs Way is now super-familiar, but one thing was definitely new ... a SteamPunk festival on the waterfront!  I've never seen SteamPunks before but let me tell you, they are SO COOL!  According to the mighty Google SteamPunk

"refers to a subgenre of science fiction and sometimes fantasy that incorporates technology and aesthetic designs inspired by 19th-century industrial steam-powered machinery"

Okaaaaaaaaaaaayyyy ... that's not what I would have picked up; basically it's people wearing awesome black and purple Victoriana kit with what look to me like flying goggles.  And top hats.  With these awesome stalls with handmade goods ranging from fudge to backpacks.  It is SO cool and everyone was so friendly!  Happily it will be there tomorrow too, cos I was on a bit of a mission today so I didn't get to stop.

So anyway, it was up the hill and onto Beachy Head.  Eastbourne is pretty sheltered, so it wasn't til I got up to the top of the first bit of Beachy Head that I realised that there was the headwind from hell ... seriously!  I've heard people moan about headwinds before and thought "Yeah yeah whatevs" from my nice sheltered built-up London home, thinking they'd be like the small blusters on the track ... holy moly, til you've experienced a headwind on the cliff tops you haven't experienced anything at all!  Running into it was honestly like having a tyre attached to my back and having to drag it along; it was crazy.  There were times when I felt like I was running on the spot, it was madness.  MADNESS I tell you!  On the other hand, it definitely made running downhill easier on my body cos I didn't have to worry about leaning back; I was practically horizontal trying to reduce the wind drag on my body and actually go forwards which was a winner.  Eventually I managed to get to Birling Gap (my favorite psychological break) and then I carried on a up the first sister before I stopped for my first break.

I had some interesting food choices with me today ... namely, mini-wraps with peanut butter (again) and raisins (not again) and apple (definitely not again).  I decided to get involved in a peanut butter and apple one and immediately applauded myself on this choice!  In fact, I couldn't really taste the apple but the wrap was a million times better than bread because it was loads lighter.  Having had that, I got up (just about, since the wind was getting worse!) and carried on.  Last week I'd stopped at about the same point and returned because I was doing a shorter run, so I hadn't seen the rest of the Seven Sisters for ages and it was nice to see them again!  I'd forgotten how steep they were though and that came as a bit of a shock.  However, I find this the easiest bit of the run and there were loads of people about so it made it really interesting, and it didn't feel like much time at all before I was on the last Sister and heading down to Cuckmere Haven.  I tell ya what, that is one GORGEOUS beach from this angle - I hadn't seen it before this way, because I'd only ever done this part heading east.  It was well worth the pain of getting up the last Sister, look at this!

Isn't it beautiful?  Running down into it was lovely, although you have to go the long way round and come up behind it because the last Sister is far too steep to run down.  This was no bad thing though because it means you get to see Cuckmere Haven from every angle which is lovely.  For some bizarre reason (namely, that someone else was doing it) I decided that instead of going back around, I'd climb up the steep part ... ummm, don't think I'll be doing that again tomorrow!  I was terrified!!!  It's so steep that I was almost on my hands and knees, and not because I was leaning forward either!!  I did at least get back up the hill quickly though haha ... winning ...?!

My trip back across the Sisters was notable mainly for the tailwind ... you know how you can never feel a tailwind; it's all about the headwind?  Well this one was literally blowing me up the hill, together with everyone else who was out.  It was IN.SANE ... there I was, walking up the hill, and suddenly a gust woudl come and just lift me a few paces forward.  This was an excellent bonus!  I also met a lovely Belgian couple, Paul and Tone, who were massively into running which made the next lil bit loads easier as I had them to chat to.  Paul was 69 and had been a member of his running club for 54 years!  54!  He had loads of tips for me which was awesome, including bending my knees on the downhill more to save my poor quads (a tip I'd gotten from George earlier in the week and had thought I was employing, but plainly not).  I tried my best after that and it was helpful, even though I thought I'd been doing it anyway.

I stopped at Birling Gap for another wrap, then headed back over Beachy Head.  I think I must've been on drugs the first time I did this because it didn't feel like it was that far.  Believe me, it really really feels like far now!  Once I'd done it, it was a quick stop at the kiosk at the bottom to grab a bit more water and then straight back over.  Great.  Loved that ... NOT.  Especially as over the previous 10 kilometres I'd forgotten how bad that head wind was ... but it was interesting at least.  I vaguely noticed that there were a lot of people out, but I didn't really think much of it - I just figured it was a nice Saturday afternoon and that was that.  The nice news was that I ran into Paul and Tone again!  They were so nice, and I love a bit of human contact on these training runs because it is a bit lonely running for six or seven hours with just my iPhone for company ... so that was super-nice.  I decided to go straight past Birling Gap this time and continue on because I knew I wouldn't be going much further before I turned around and that meant it was pointless stopping twice.

 In the event, however, that was a bit of a mistake because I only got another three kilometres when I suddenly ran out of water!  I thought I'd have a bit of warning from my hydration pack (maybe being harder to suck water or something) but nothing at all - literally I had water one moment and the next I didn't!  That was a bit of a wake-up call to make sure I had enough in future, but it was a hot day and I only had to go another 1km anyway so I turned around right away and headed back to Birling Gap.  Not having water for 3km made me realise how often I reach for my hydration pipe - A LOT.  Once I got to Birling Gap therefore, I grabbed another full 1.5ltrs of water, even though I only had another 7km or so to go.  I also inhaled a cookie and had a nice rest because there was the most massive queue in the cafe there - jeez!  Everyone seemed to have descended on it which I thought was a bit strange because the last few times I've been there it's been pretty empty and that was on hotter days.

However, it soon became clear as to why ... I pootled up and over the next hill and, at the bottom was an absolute raft of people with cameras, all pointing out to sea.  I had no idea what was happening, but since I am not English and therefore have no issues in questioning people, I selected a friendly looking lady with her daughter and asked what was happening.  She told me that "the Vulcan was doing a fly-by" which left me none the wiser, so I looked back out to sea.  She giggled wildly and said "No, look up!  Into the sky!" which I did and ... it was amazing!  This triangular plane (painted in very fetching cow print) (which is possibly camo, but looks much  more like a very sartorial cow) was heading straight for me.  My new buddy explained that this was the Vulcan's last flight before she retired, and therefore it was kind of a big deal.  I couldn't get a good picture on my iPhone but the event was covered here.  I also had a great chat with her and her daughter - turns out they are big airshow fans and were very sadly at Shoreham a couple of weeks ago.  They'd come out today to banish some of the Shoreham memories, so it was an emotional time for them, but they were loving it.

I left them to it and began to toil up Beachy Head for the last time today.  That is one BIG HILL.  It was alleviated by the Vulcan coming overhead a bunch more times which was lovely - I felt so lucky to be part of it, even if I hadn't known a thing about it and it was just coincidence!

I had my final pitstop at the top of Beachy Head, just before the descent into Eastbourne.  I scarfed my last wrap and headed down the hill ... luckily wind-aided again as I was knackered by this point.  I don't know why but the final 3km into Eastbourne town kills me every time ... maybe it's because it's a shallow hill and it's on tarmac, so my trail shoes don't love it?  I dunno, but I know I hate it!  I managed to sort of run down the hill, but as soon as I got to the flat I employed my tactic from last week and fartleked my way through town.  It was a relief to hit the hotel ... exactly 43km and 739m / 2,424 ft after I left it!  I was so pleased with how that worked out because it's a little shorter, but also a little steeper, than Day 1 of the ACC.  So now I know what it's like!  I managed it in 06:52 which I was pleased with as I'd time-budgetted eight hours for it, so now I know I can manage in sub-07:00 ... this week at least ...!  My goal is still eight hours for the event so we'll see how I get on.

I'm doing it all again tomorrow, so I hit the local Italian for a tagliatelle bolognese which was just the ticket. I'm now wrapped up in my compression kit watching ET (but luckily it finishes later than my bedtime so I'll miss the sad bit as I am emotional enough already today after such a long run!).  I can't wait to be asleep!