Back in the saddle

After my successful completion of the Echappe Belle last year I fell out of training.  In September, I competed in a 16km race in Wales.  This was part of the Up hill down dale series of trail runs.  The weather was cloudy but dry, as a relatively small group of runners gathered.  The run was on a private estate, over heathland with great views of Bala Lake.  The start was very fast but I was disciplined and paced myself.  This tactic paid off on the first hill where many runners were forced to walk.  I was able to overtake some of the more enthusiastic starters.  The race consisted of two 8km circuits.  I was faster after the first as I knew what to expect and avoided the boggier parts of the course.  I finished respectably and was pleased with myself. 
A few months later, in November, back in the UK I participated in one of the weekly Park Runs that take place across the UK every Saturday.  Only 5km, but amazing to see how many people turn out for this event (1000 participants on the day I ran).  The Park Run concept has become a global phenomenon and is a really fun event.  There are both serious runners and families.  The atmosphere is friendly and, despite being run by volunteers, very professional.
Since these two races I regret to say I have been very lazy.  The occasional short run around my local reservoir or a longer run in the mountains, but nothing like my build up to the big race.  Now with Christmas and a bout of flu out of the way I have made my resolutions.  Gym, short and long runs, a series of core exercises every day, and yoga for stretching.  My goal this year?  The Echappe Belle again, but this time the 85km Traversée Nord.  My wife has also signed me up for the Trail des Passerelles in July, so no excuses.

Race day

Success!  I did it 47 kilometres, 2750m up and 4000m down.  The Echappe Belle trail in the Belledonne range North of Grenoble.  It has been a long year of preparation with some ups and downs.  Things started well, and I manged to build up to 20 kilometre runs.  Then I had knee and leg problems.  After a runnning break, consulting General Doctors, Physiotherapists, Osteopaths and finally a Podiatrist, I resolved these issues.  I got back into training but never managed to run over 20 kilometres.  Then before I realised it the race was on me.
I was surprisingly calm the day of the race.  There were 361 runners lined up at the start line and we started fast, perhaps too fast for some (25 runners dropped out at the first feeding station).
The first section was hot, steep and hard work, but luckily my recon of a few weeks before had prepared me for this, so I took my time.  Despite pacing myself, I arrived at the first feeding station, completely drained.  I think I got my nutrition wrong.  I had made sure I had a good breakfast two hours before the race and ate a banana just before the start.  But during the 4 hours it took me to reach the feeding station, I only ate one muesli bar and a handful of trail mix.  In addition I sweated a lot and only had plain water to rehydrate.  So I think I was lacking salt and electrolytes.  I arrived to the cheers of family and friends, which in my tired state almost had me in tears.
At this first feeding station, I took a good break of one hour and my strength slowly returned.  I didn't feel like eating but forced food into myself.   It was amazing how I returned from being almost a monosyllabic zombing to a human after a few orange segments and salt biscuits.  I set off feeling much better.  The second section was less demanding and I arrived at the second feeding station feeling fairly good.  Again I had a good break and forced myself to eat.  There was only 12 kilometres left and I was determined that I was going to finish.
Unfortunately as I set off on the last leg the sky had clouded over and thunder began rumbling.  I had not done a recon of this section and I ended up doing it in the dark and rain.  A thunderstorm broke over our heads and turned the track to mud.  The last climb was 600 metres before a long descent into the finish.  My favourite moment of the course was running under an electricity pylon as lightening struck the hillside nearby.  The rain and muddy paths made running slippery and very tricky.  I ended up walking most of the last section.
Finally the last stretch into Aiguebelle came into view and I managed to break into a trot for the last kilometre.  I arrived at 10:30pm in the dark to the cheers of my family and the few spectators who had braved the rain.  My shoes and legs were caked in mud, but my legs felt fine.  I could hardly believe I had done it. 

What happened to the time?

Well things accelareted a bit over the summer.  As my big race got closer, I seemed to be losing the will to blog and I didn't post for a while.  My training however was going well.  I went over the first stage of the run; 18 kilometres for 1500 metres of altitude.  It was hot, hard work.  In addition the course hadn't been marked yet, so in a couple of places I got a little lost.  The first 5km was okay, a steep climb followed by a long descent into the head of a valley.   Unfortunately the ground was very damp and my feet were quickly soaked.  The next part was a very steep climb with sections traversing steep slopes of scree.  I lost my path, and I have to admit my cool.  I finally scrambled over the last pass and saw the last 5km of the path unravelling before me.  I felt that I hadn't run much, and the three-hour objective had turned into 4 hours.  I was able to jog over the last kilometres, and consoled myself that my longer than planned time was due to doubts about the track.  The next day I felt pretty pleased, as I was not aching too much, and I feel pretty confident that as I knew what to expect I would be faster on the day.   In between I did some short runs, plenty of exercises and stretches.  Of course there was also a long mountain walk in between.  
Then I ran over the second stage of the big race, easier, but still 18 kilometres for 894 metres of altitude.  The weather wasn't great, cloudy and cool.  I was able to make use of the fleece that the race rules require that runners carry.  Once again my feet were quickly soaked and I made a mental note to pack a change of socks.  The other problem was the lack of indications on the path to follow, particularly towards the end, but I expected this to be better on the day.
Ten days holiday by the sea, with some short runs and one long mountain walk, and suddenly the big day had arrived.

Week 44: Finding my method.

Things are going much better.  Ten to fifteen minutes of core strength work and stretching every day seems to be paying off.  I am coupling this with two short runs of 4-5 kilometres per week followed by a longer run in the mountains.  The original plan has gone out the window and I am going on what feels good to me.  I hope it will be enough to pull me through the 47 kilometres.
I am also still doing a lot of long walks to prepare for my guide exam.  This week I took the kids to the Grand Colombier.  Quite an easy walk as you drive most of the way up and then walk along the ridge.  Last week the Tour de France went through, and one of my ex- students, Romain Bardet, won the stage.  As we drove up the steep winding road, I marvelled again at the prowess of these cyclists.  The three-hour walk was very pleasant, mixing pasture and beech wood, with great views across the Rhone valley.  We were lucky with the weather, no clouds and little wind; apparently this ridge can be very windy at times.  The only thing that spoilt the walk was the huge electricity pylon at the top.
The next day I attacked a very long, ten and half hour walk to the Croix de Belledonne at 2900m.  I started from Chamrousse Recoin at 1650m, so a long climb.  The weather was perfect and the views magnificent.  There weren't too many other walkers, as it was a weekday.  The last hour to the summit was a hard slog, with some patches of snow to wade through and the summit hidden from view until the last fifteen minutes or so.  At the top there were great views of Alps d'Huez, the Vercors and the Chartreuse.  Unfortunately the splendour was spoilt by the strong odour of urine, it seems that some, probably male climbers feel the need to mark their achievement.  After a short, smelly lunch break I descended for the long walk home.  The path rose and fell steeply and I was unable to admire the view because I was worried about getting home before dark. I finally staggered into the car park at 7pm.  My legs felt very stiff and I was sure I would be hurting in the morning, but I did plenty of stretching before going to bed and felt pretty good the next day.  Maybe I have found the best preparation for me.

Week 43: Walking on Volcanos

A bit of a gap since my last post, things have been a bit busy on the work and home fronts.  On the work front I was testing students English level for entry to the local business school.  On the home front school broke up, so I found myself looking after kids.  I did manage to gets some runs in though.  Just short 5 or 10 kilometres, while I break in my new insoles.
My first 5 kilometre run with the went fairly well.  Unfortunately the longer 10 kilometre run left me with pain in my tibia.  After some research on the internet, I discovered that this is quite normal, even logical.  My tibia is being turned in a different direction to that which it has been used to for the last 44 years.  The doctor had said results in one month so I will soldier on. 
Also during this period my family headed to the Auvergne region for three days of walking on volcanos, as part of my preparation for the mountain guide qualification.  The first walk was on the Puy de Sancy, in very overcast conditions with a cold North wind.  The footpath was badly eroded and the last leg was on 800 wooden steps formed from railway sleepers.  There was no view from the 1800 metre summit and we retreated to the cable car restaurant as the hail blew in.  It was amazing to watch the ill equipped tourists arriving in the cable car to tackle such a dangerous terrain.  Once the hail clouds had blown over we followed the ski piste back down.  Both my knee and tibia were giving me problems as I hobbled into the town of Mont Dore.  Happily after some serious stretching the pain eased and almost disappeared.  The next day we had another long walk but with less altitude.  The weather was sunnier but still with a cold North wind.  We did a circuit that took in the Puy de Dôme and a number of other extinct volcanos.  The lower slopes were covered by beach and hazel forests which, with the numerous poorly signposted paths, made navigation a real challenge.  The Puy de Dôme was a bit of a disappointment with its hoards of tourists transported to the summit by train.  Once again I finished the walking hobbling with knee and tibia pain, which eased after stretching.  The final day was much better both weather and pain wise.  However it was more frustrating navigation wise as we were never totaly sure where we were.  We crossed a number of people who seemed to be in the same situation so maybe this is a feature of walks in this region.

Week 42: An alpine interlude.

This week started with my first experience of Alpinism.  My wife and I had decided to hire a guide to take us on a trip to 4000m.  The chosen mountain was the Dom des Ecrins.  The first day involved a tough 1000m climb.  The first section zig zagged up a steep slope to the foot of the glacier.  The path was well maintained and easily accessible.  Heavily equipped mountaineers mixed with elderly ramblers.  At the top of the slope the path levelled off as the foot of the glacier rose above us.  After crossing the stream, racing away from the glacier, the path rose again, past a first refuge and then on to the side of the glacier.  We geared up, helmet, climbing belts, crampons and rope before moving into the snow.  Then a hard slog with numerous crests before we sighted our goal the refuge des Ecrins.  Magnificent scenery as we moved along the edge of the glacier, past menacing crevasses.   At the head of the glacier we could see our goal the Dom des Ecrins, a blade of rock, ice and snow cutting into the sky.  The final approach to our refuge for the night was a steep switchback path that led up to the rocky outcrop of the refuge.  As I struggled back and forth, I began to wonder whether we had been too ambitious.  We finally arrived at the refuge, just in time for dinner.  As we would be starting at 4am the next morning, and because of a headache, I hit the sack early.  
The night was short and disturbed.  I finally woke at 3:30 and headed for the outside toilets.  I was surprised at how warm it was even at 2100m of altitude.  The sky was clear and a full moon hung over the mountains, making my torch unnecessary.  After a quick breakfast, we kitted up again and headed back onto the glacier.  Over dinner our guide had suggested we rethought or goal.  He suggested a lower and more accessible peak.  There had been a lot of snow recently and we would have to trace our own path up the Dom.   After listening to ice tumbling down the slopes we bowed to his advice and headed up another peak, called Roche Faurio at 3700m.  It was still a hard slog, but a large group had passed before us and made a path to follow.  After a brief stop to admire the 360° view of the mountains, we headed down for the long slog back to the car.  The sky was blue and the sun beat down on us.  It was somewhat unreal to descend back to civilization after a night and a day on a glacier.  I was quite pleased the next day to find that my legs were not too sore.

Later in the week I paid a trip to a podologist on the recommendation of a friend and I was pleased that I did.  After various tests he showed me that I was walking, and therefore running, on the outer edge of my foot not using my big toe at all.  This causes my tibia to rotate putting undue pressure on my knee joint.  A week later I returned to collect my custom made insoles.  According to the doctor I should see the results in a month or so.  I hope I have finally found the solution to my knee pain.

The week ended with a 12km run where I experimented running for 20 minutes and walking for 10 minutes.  I seemed able to continue for longer but I did find starting to run again tough after the third bout of walking.  

Week 41: Zen and stretching

Well my training plan has gone out the window, as has any monitoring of my performance.  My attitude has become much more relaxed and so far the runs I do, although short, are much more pleasurable and feel easier.  Perhaps this is the approach that suits my charcacter, I just hope that it pays off and I am able to finish the race in August.  There is so much advice out there it is difficult to find one's own path.
One thing I am taking seriously however is my twice daily exercises and stretches.  I start with a series of exercises to work on upper body, core and leg strengths.  Then I finish with a series of stretches to try and keep my muscles flexible.  I tend to ache every morning but I assume this is a result of a lifetime of muscle building without any stretching.  I am by nature, slim and muscular.  I tend to do a lot of physical activity but I have never worried about stretching.  Unfortunately this combined with my tense nature means I am very inflexible and running has really drawn this out.  Hopefully by becoming more flexible I will suffer less.