2014 My First Running Year

"The only time you should ever look back is to see how far you have come" - Anon.

I was thinking today when I plodded along on my lunch time run about how much happened last year.  

I've ran off and on for years but never for more than a few weeks at a time.  2014 was my first solid twelve months of training hard, racing more and taking the whole thing a bit more seriously.

So here it is, 2014 in a nutshell...

Miles Run 1,756

Races Finished
Baildon Boundary Way
Reeth 20k
Edinburgh Half Marathon
Swaledale Marathon
The Race to the Stones
Vale of York Half Marathon
Kirkstall Abbey Trail Marathon
Frostbite Ultra 

A nice little haul

Best bits

There were a lot of highlights but to pick out a few...

• Discovering trail running and how much it kicks ass compared to the road for so many reasons. 
• Running trails all over my new home in beautiful Yorkshire.
• Smashing my half marathon pb twice in four months on the road at Edinburgh and York.
• Beating my 2013 road marathon time in the cold, hills and mud at Kirkstall Abbey.
• Running into the arms of Bobby and Rachel after 100km at the end of the Race to the Stones.

Running into the storm - Race to the Stones

Worst bits

• How I felt on the journey back to the hotel after the Race to the Stones.
• Getting chased out of a field by a dozen bullocks in Nidderdale.
• Being brought to a standstill by simultaneous cramp in all of my leg muscles after trashing my quads at the Swaledale Marathon.
• Realising I still had another 4 miles to go after five hours, 3,500 feet of ascent and 30 miles of the Frostbite Ultra. 

Running Lessons Learned

• Run your long weekend run slower than you think you should - no, slower than that even.
• Eat loads on an ultra if you don't want to finish a shriveled grey shadow of your former self.
• Easy on the fibre the night before your long run - you know what I mean!
• Take care of your feet, even small callouses can give you bad blisters on a long run.
• There really is no cure for cramp whatever anyone suggests - tonic water does loads more for gin than it does cramp!
• Be patient and open minded in the long races.  You might need to change your strategy if things don't go to plan.  Embrace the challenge and difficulties which will inevitably come your way.
• If you work hard, are patient and want it bad enough you can do loads more than you think. 

Loads in the diary already for 2015.  The A race though has to be the Centurion South Downs Way 100 in June which has got me pretty excited and nervous.  There's loads to do before then though...

Next up, taking on the Rombalds Stride Winter Challenge after an afternoon session at the Ilkley Beer Festival next week.  Nowt like making it easy for yourself!  

Mont Blanc dreaming and the Vale of York Half

"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.