"Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go." -T. S. Eliot.
It’s
been quite a while now since my RTTS adventure and now feels like a
good time to write something here about what has happened since.
Writing these entries really helps me remember and reflect but perhaps
if someone else gets something out of it, then that's great too!
In the weeks
following the RTTS to be honest I felt a bit lost. The big target I had been
focusing on for so long simply wasn’t there anymore and I felt
strangely empty. It was really satisfying to have achieved my goal but I
didn’t really know where to go with it all from there. The only thing I
felt really sure about was that I didn’t want to let all of that work and
hard won miles to just ebb away.
I toyed for a little while with entering another
big ultra in the Autumn but when I tested this out with a couple of big
mileage training weeks I found my hamstrings were still very sore. More
truthfully though, my head simply wasn’t in the right space to go
straight into the training required to do myself justice over another
100km + event so soon. With hindsight, I guess the whole thing had taken more out of me than I thought at the time.
Slowly though, my mojo returned and an exciting plan started to fall into place for 2015. I entered two well established and respected
UK ultras; the Hardmoors 55 (a 55 mile ultra over the wild North York
Moors along the Cleveland Way in March – brrrrr!) and the Centurion South Downs Way 100 (100 miles along the rolling SDW from Winchester to
Eastbourne in June). Both of these events require qualifying previous
ultra experience. A couple
of tough but very different races which will be a step up in terms of challenge from
my racing this year.
I began to realise that the RTTS
experience has opened up a doorway to a whole new level of races in
terms of distance, excitement and toughness. If, and this is a big IF, I
finish these two races in 2015, I might consider myself a proper
ultra-runner, we shall see. The real prize though would be entering the ballots for the UTMB and Western States 100 for 2016 as I
would have met their tough qualifying criteria. These are two of the
most iconic and toughest single stage ultras in the world. Although the
chances of bagging a number might be slim, it’s a pretty cool goal to
aim for and no matter what, I’ll sure have an adventure qualifying…
In
the short term I decided to concentrate on the very first Vale of York
Half Marathon as a little project for a few weeks which was in for
September. After coming within 40 seconds or so at Edinburgh earlier in the year I was quietly
confident I could sneak under 90 minutes for the first time,
particularly when we arrived at the aerodrome start under clear skies
and warm conditions.
It was great to have banter with some friendly
faces on the start line for a change as I was joined by my sister and a
few good friends. The race started with a loop the looping aerobatics
display which was a nice touch and after a rather strange start out and back along the runway we were quickly out onto the country
roads around Sherburn in Elmet. The race was well marshaled with
plenty of water and I ran in the shade of the trees where possible to
keep out of the sun which felt intense for the time of year.
I was surprised how easy the kilometres clicked by and I knew that if I
stayed under 4m 15s for each I would reach my target. I felt strong and even managed to kick with two miles to go. In the end I
smashed 90 minutes and my pb in the process in 1:28:01.
 |
| Nice bling at the Vale of York Half |
This means I
have knocked 6 minutes off my HM pb in 2014 purely as a result of more
mileage from the ultra-training. The sub 90 half is something I have been
trying to do a while now and this was my 8th HM attempt on the road. I was really chuffed
as it feels like I have broken through a ceiling now for this distance
which has taken too long, mostly because of injuries and lack
of conditioning. What was most satisfying though was how strongly I
finished. I definitely had more in the tank and if anything felt I had
run quite conservatively. I know there is more to come at this distance,
particularly if I trained specifically to peak and taper properly for one
event. Sub 1:25 in 2015?
To keep things ticking
over the final few months of 2014 I have entered two local
races. These smaller races have far fewer runners, are usually great fun and I’m sure they'll have
a friendly vibe. It also feels good to support local races and run on
new trails close to home. First up is the Kirkstall Abbey trail
marathon for another crack at the 26.2 (albeit on trail) in a couple of
weeks and then the Frostbite Ultra in December, a 30+ mile yomp around
Nidderdale from Pateley Bridge. Having these races in the calendar has
helped with the motivation in recent weeks particularly as the call of the duvet gets stronger in the winter months. Hopefully
they will springboard my preparation for what could be a decidedly fridgey Hardmoors in the Spring.
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