UltramarathonMike

The vast length of the GUCR has really scared me into action, to this end I am not far from starting my longest ever run, and a training run at that.
I have jumped on this enthusiasm to do something I have had on my mind for a long time, a single stage run of the Wolds Way. My recent training has been towards this step in the big picture. I have kept it quite because I know what a massive task this is and how the dates have been moving around. Sadly at the last minute both Megan and Joshua are unwell, Megan has developed Chicken Pox and Joshua has been running a temperature of 39.2C (and that makes a 6 month old SERIOUSLY upset), along side his cold he probably has the pox too. This has made the past 24 hours quite difficult, but thankfully we are still on. This is with great thanks to Vickie.

I frequently run sections of the Wolds Way and growing up with the end (or start) of the trail at the end of the garden this one has special meaning for me, it’s almost a homecoming!

By the time I have finished I will have covered 80 miles and over 7000ft of ascent. In order to try and finish in the daylight I am setting off at 3am from Filey. Most importantly my “Crew Chief” (my long suffering Dad) we will have had many hours practice crewing for me in prep for the GUCR and will have a much better idea of what to expect.

Whatever happens, it’s going to be great fun. My friend Danny Aldus is popping along for the ride, a nice slooooow 20 mile run before he competes in the tough looking Hardmoors 55.

Thanks to Kay Farrow, the press secretary at Beverley AC, an article on my run at the Grantham Ultra has appeared in the local paper and on the excellent site www.beverleysport.co.uk part of HU17.net.

This can be found at http://www.beverleysport.co.uk/beverley-athlete-competes-in-grantham-ultra/

Now part of the new ULTRArace series this was the second running of the 29.3 mile Grantham ultra, the course takes in 29.3 (a bit less I think though!) miles of the now mostly disused canal between Nottingham and Grantham. The terrain is canal tow path, mud, grass and is surprisingly resistive.
Today I was really really keen on ensuring I kept a constant pace, something I am not very good at one my own, and was using my Polar rs3000x to ensure I kept pace. 9 minute miles was the goal, stick on a few minutes for checkpoint faffing and that gives a 4 hour 30 finish.

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This time last year I was into the final preparation for the MdS, things were getting packed, repacked, ECGs, medicals and training were all in full swing. This year though, I am just winding up and the training events are getting more and more wild.

This week is a 90+ mile week with the longest run being the 29.3 mile ULTRArace Grantham organised by Mr Coleman. I did the recce and then day one of the race last year.

What I have found has been astonishing this week is the speed of my training which was consistent on the same run both Monday, each around 9 miles and at 8.3min/mile and yesterday I ran just a shade shy of 16 miles in around 7.3 min/miles average. OK, so I’m barely going to set the world on fire with these times but for me they are excellent and the consistency over three days is a great sign that things are on track. Tomorrow will be a nice slow long run ready for Saturday.

That’s all just small fry though compared to next weeks GUCR ‘dry run’ along the Wolds Way … more on that shortly!

Another few weeks fly by without another post, thankfully training hasn’t suffered the same hiatus. Although there was a light couple of weeks when some mystery knee pain (mostly experienced during periods of sitting down…) slowed me down, it didn’t stop me and running didn’t cause any issue.
The weather of course is still cold so icy pavements, snow and sleet are the norm, tonight’s pyramid session was no exception, 2C and sleet.

This did give me a perfect excuse to keep it shortish and get out the exercise ball and have a good old core workout. Many runners just run, many run and cross train with other sports, not so many fit the essential core work into the regime … at least not before they are injured and advised to by the physiotherapist.

In some ways the last few weeks have epitomised winter training, it’s been icy, cold, frequently wet or snowy and there are more excuses not to go that there are to go, but whilst the training slips into the unremarkable it’s better than not training and does you the power of good physically and mentally.

There is still enough of winter left to see the temperature drop a few degrees and give us those crystal clear blue sky ice days which would suit me down to the ground, but if that doesn’t happen it’s not so long before spring will be in the air.