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!!!!

29. The One With All The Drills

10 September 2015

I turned up at the track again today to learn that I was finally getting my easy session full of drills!  Woo hoo!  Also, since I didn't know that til I turned up, it meant that I escaped sprint sets this week - double woo hoo!!

Drills were so much FUN!  I loved them, even though it turns out I have the grace and mobility of a baby elephant and the spatial awareness of a dyspraxic rhino.  I'm really hoping that this was just unfamiliarity with the drills because otherwise I'm really in some trouble ...

It's almost impossible to describe the drills we were doing but basically they involved a lot of leaning forward from the ankles, a lot of shuffling my feet, a lot of picking up my heels and a lot of me being told I was doing it wrong!  I've got loads to work on, so I'll be the one looking like an idiot down at the track for the next couple of weeks, trying to use my hamstrings to pick up my heels a bit more (in the correct plane.  Jeez.).

Once I'd done the drills it was over to a few 100m sprints, trying to use the techniques from the drills.  I love 100m sprints!  Which sort of raises the question of why I don't just do 100m sprints, rather than running 150-odd kilometres, but let's not worry about my mental state for now and focus on the fact that this morning's sprints were super fun!  There was sooooooooo much going on in my head, trying to apply all these techniques, that I didn't really notice the pain of sprinting ... but then again it could've been 'cause I wasn't going that fast at about 17 seconds / 100m.

The best thing about today was the WEATHER!  Oh man, if only it could be like this for the ACC I would be so happy!  It's the most gorgeous day we've had in ages, with a perfect blue sky and gorgeous sun beating down.  I love days like today!

23. The One Where It Was Suddenly Winter

2 September 2015

I woke up this morning, threw on my shorts and running vest, and headed straight out the door ... only to gasp in horror and run back for a warm jumper!  It was FREEZING!  It's been raining and miserable for a few days, but today the sun was out and it looked deceptively lovely ... hmmph.

Once I'd put my horrible old (warm) fleece and jacket on, I headed back out to Battersea Park to do some more hill repeats.  I was doing the same set as last week (every 90 seconds, I ran up the hill and down the hill, with whatever remained of my 90 seconds as a rest).  I intended to repeat this as three sets of ten reps with a three minute rest between sets.

In fact, though, I felt really good after the first ten reps and I decided not to bother with the extra rest but to go straight through with the first twenty sets.  I got a bit tired towards the end of the first set but my times were still staying about the same (it was just harder!).  I decided to take the extra three minutes break between the second and third sets, but to be honest, it didn't really make any difference.  I think there is sufficient rest between reps anyway (about 45 seconds on my times) that actually the additional couple of minutes doesn't really make much difference to how you feel overall.  Next week I'm going to try and do four sets all up, but I'll take the rest to try and pace it.

Apart from being ccccccold (and also wet, the ground was soaking), Battersea was as beautiful as ever this morning.  You can't really tell but the sunlight was sending shafts of light through the trees - they were gorgeous!  It definitely makes getting up and running a lot easier when the sun is up.  It's only got to be cooperative for another month or so until the challenge, so crossed fingers it can hold out that long!

20. The One Where I Didn't Go Quite Fast Enough

27 August 2015

Holy snickerdoodles I was knackered this morning!  I had sprints on the schedule, but I figured last night that if my DOMS wasn't any better (given that it was being incorporated into my dreams it was so bad) I should do a recovery run instead.  Sadly, it was in fact better, although I can definitely feel every single muscle between my knees and my hips!

That meant that I decided to do the sprints, but not absolutely kill myself over them - I didn't want to risk an injury, so I thought I'd be sensible about it.  Well that was the plan anyway ... What I'd forgotten is that ALL my competitive side comes out with this particular work out, so when I realised I was at a similar level to last week (my current PB) I nearly killed myself trying to beat it.  Oops.  I didn't quite manage to beat it but I did match it with another 1.97km which I was soooooo proud of!  Even if I did almost fall off the treadmill at the end, and I couldn't put my makeup on for an hour after I was done because I was still sweating so much.

This DOMS has definitely been one of the worst I've had - I don't know WHAT I was doing to my quads on Tuesday!  However it's been a good kick up the arse to work out how best to manage recovery.  Even though I've more or less managed to run over it, I can't help feeling somehow that that is not really my best strategy ... As I was lying prone on the sofa last night, one of my WhatsApp groups started chatting about Ride Across Britain, which two of my friends are going to be doing next week.  Since that's the cycling version of a multi-stage ultra, I immediately started quizzing them on recovery each night throughout the event, especially as on of the other girls in the group is a doctor of sports medicine (sneaky!).  Our strategies are all pretty aligned - here's a basic summary

• Keep fuelled throughout with good quality nutrition
• Take an electrolyte drink throughout which contains magnesium and sodium 
• Eat good quality protein immediately after the day is finished
• Drink a good recovery drink immediately after the day is finished (does Mars Refuel count?!  Bwahahahaha)
• Stretch fully at night
• Put compression tights on as soon as possible after the day is finished, and sleep in them overnight
• Sleep as much as possible
• Drink a milky drink before bed so that the casein aids recovery throughout the night. 

As you can see, having a sports doctor providing advice is definitely a winner!  Thanks Jess ;).  With all that in mind I've been shopping on Wiggle for compression tights, I've lined up a playlist on YouTube of a bunch of good stretch videos, and I'm going to roadtest some recovery drinks this weekend.  I am feeling totally efficient right now!

Just for the record, today's splits are here:

1.       0.12

2.       0.25 (+13)

3.       0.38 (+13)

4.       0.52 (+14)

5.       0.66 (+14)

6.       0.79 (+13)

7.       0.92 (+13)

8.       1.06 (+14)

9.       1.19 (+13)

10.   1.31 (+12)

11.   1.44 (+13)

12.   1.58 (+14)

13.   1.71 (+13)

14.   1.84 (+13)

15.   1.97 (+14)

15. The One Where I Ran Quite Fast

20 August 2015

Got me a lil PB today!  Yep!!  Uh-huh!

It was back to sprint sets on the Curve (those ones where I do 30 seconds hard out, with 90 seconds full stop rest - totally killer).  I never thought I would manage a PB because I started off my sprint set so badly - usually on the first rep I manage at least .13km but I only managed 0.12 today and I thought that was it for me.  All the way up to the 9th rep I was only at the same level as I managed last week, and although I was happy with last week given that it was my first set back in ages, it was nowhere near my previous PB of 1.96KM overall.  I managed to really kick it up for the last few reps though - and just tip it over the line to get to 1.97KM overall ... woop woop!  It's only a 0.01KM PB, but honestly, you don't understand what that ten metres means to me ... that set is so so hard!

1.       0.12

2.       0.25 (+13)

3.       0.39 (+14)

4.       0.52 (+13)

5.       0.65 (+13)

6.       0.77 (+12)

7.       0.90 (+13)

8.       1.04 (+14)

9.       1.17 (+13)

10.   1.30 (+13)

11.   1.44 (+14)

12.   1.57 (+13)

13.   1.70 (+13)

14.   1.83 (+13)

15.   1.97 (+14)

I also obsessively checked my body stats on the Boditrax (I'm sure the novelty will wear off soon, but for now I am still in love with it) and despite the fact that I've increased my carbs over the last few days, my body fat has taken a nosedive by 0.8KG and my overall body fat percentage has gone down to 17.7%.  I think it's partly because the carbs I'm eating are so clean - we're talking berries, oatcakes, and pearlised spelt for the most part, plus those lovely little two-ingredient bites of heaven - and partly because my body obviously needs that extra fuel at the moment.  My performance has shot up since I increased the carbs (and, as I said yesterday, increased the sleep) so it's something I'm going to be keeping a sharp eye on to make sure I'm managing it right (oooh managing.  I almost sound like a real runner ...!).

9. The One Where I Didn't Run Very Fast

11 August 2015

One of my regular sets is to do 15x 30 seconds sprint as hard as possible, then rest for 90 seconds (at a full stop), doing it on the Woodway Curve machine at the gym.  This sounds like a perfectly do-able workout.  It isn't.  It's the hardest one on my schedule, and I've been neglecting it for a couple of weeks while I focus on long distance.

However, after a chat with my PT, who is the ultra-marathon man (he's doing the Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc in a couple of weeks time), and after some shocking 800m rep results, I've come to the conclusion that doing the speed work is as important as doing the long distance work, not least because I don't want to lose everything I've been working towards!  In addition, the Curve is the best training tool around - it's a manual treadmill and the belt is incredibly heavy to push around, so you're adding the weight of the belt to your own weight while you run.  Obviously the heavier you are the easier that is, so for a midget like me it's seriously horrible!

Therefore, I hauled myself back onto the curve and completed my sprints.  My ultimate aim is to get to 2km in half an hour doing these (seriously) and the best I've ever done is 1.96km.

I was a little nervous about getting on the Curve again, not least because it is HORRIBLE and because I expected to have lost some real speed on it.  The set felt appalling, but in terms of overall distance it wasn't too bad - a total of 1.92km which isn't great, but could be worse in the circumstances.  Here is the breakdown of my splits:

1.       0.13

2.       0.27 (+14)

3.       0.40 (+13)

4.       0.53 (+13)

5.       0.66 (+13)

6.       0.78 (+12)

7.       0.91 (+13)

8.       1.04 (+13)

9.       1.17 (+13)

10.   1.29 (+12)

11.   1.42 (+13)

12.   1.54 (+12)

13.   1.67 (+13)

14.   1.79 (+12)

15.   1.92 (+13)

I am looking forward to getting faster again soon ... please!!!!