Training Log Archive: bartholemeu

poolwalking forward and backwards and very very easy laps for recovery

Event: London 2 Brighton Challenge (100km)
 

London2Brighton Challenge.

Well that was tough.
Got through the first 50km quite easily, chatting with other runners, eating well etc. ran out of water with 6km to go to the 56km reststop which made it a bit difficult, but got there. Stopped and had a proper meal, changed socks etc feeling a bit exhausted but ready. The halfway point had pretty shitty vego options including a vege curry which was only partially cooked and stupidly spicy, which upset my stomach a bit. Race time was stopped at this point, but i only found out about that after the finish, so didn't stop too long.

Starting out again at 56km I knew it was going to be tough as I noticed straight away I was limping when I walked (left quad/itb). Managed to get running again and it was a little better as I got going, but definately slower and more laboured.

Was raining most of the day including a thunderstorm, and was very muddy underfoot (ankle deep and unavoidable at times) which made for slow going on the flats, but I had done a few mud runs and had cross shoes on, so actually handled it better than most other runners. My leg strength wasn't quite there though, and wasn't wearing road shoes, so lost a lot of time on the flats, especially road surfaces.

By the last 30km I was struggling to run a full km at a time between walkbreaks, and really seemed like each km marker was taking half an hour or so.

After the finish I took off my shoes to discover I had forgotten to put the insoles back in the shoes before starting the race, so had run the whole way on the bare sole! Might explain how hard road surfaces had felt the whole way.

Was pretty wrecked at the finish, and unfortunately Anne was running late (surprise surprise) so kindof hung around until she got there. Was able to limp down to the massage tent and get my feet attended to.

Managing to walk quite normally (but slowly) the next day after a great sports massage in Brighton. Mainly itb both sides, and sore feet (mostly muscles, not blisters) from probably the wrong shoe choice.

Hasn't kicked in at all that I've done it. Will prob kick in over the next week. Right now just happy to be home and recovering.

I'm fairly happy with it all, but not completely satisfied with the overall time. In hindsight, I feel like i should have been able to do it in under 12 hours with better shoe choice, and better strength prep.

Key learnings for next time
- More leg strength needed. conditioning excercises, and add in squats and lunges
- Most people were taking more regular walks and running faster. probably a good strategy as it would have given me more of a chance to stretch out a bit more
- I think i do better with a shorter taper, especially given that my recovery is very good at the moment
- Could have packed a lot less and taken bottles instead of camelbak. The camelbak is hard to know how much is left and heavy when full.
- Caffiene gels. amazing.

All set for tomorrow's 100k.
Hip and muscles are all feeling quite good. Calves and hamstrings have a bit of ache which is normal for me in taper.

Adequately carbo loading, which is awesome, and hydrating well.
Will just run relaxed and enjoy it, will have my garmin in my bag so i won't be watching the distance/speed/heartrate at all. I plan on keeping a respectable pace without stressing about it.

Weather might be a problem. expecting heavy rain all day, so blisters/morale/mud etc will all be more difficult to manage.

Warm up for stretching session

extended stretching session. felt amazing afterwards.

Hip definately feels a lot better from hamstring and hipflexor stretching

3 days to go

10k relaxed shadwell basin.
Just to get blood flowing through legs and check on the hip.
Its still troubling me if i'm honest. Its not crazy painful, but its uncomfortable. A little concerned about whether it will make it through 100k.

Taper Week. 1 week til the 100k.

Feeling very heavy in the legs, and jittery confidence/second guessing myself. Both of which i know from experience are part of the taper.
Also struggling a bit still with some sharp hip pain. I'm convinced its a bit of inflamation from using a marathon stick, which is then causing the muscle/tendon to click over my hipbone. I've been voltarening it and feel as long as i can keep the inflamation down, and have another quiet week, it should be fine for saturday.

plan on a 5km jog tomorrow with some strides, 8km on Thursday, restdays wednesday, friday.

Simply cannot wait

Relaxed pace sunny run with Jules.

little spin for some circulation