Endurance Training: Latest Update

I have been terribly remiss in my updates and that is either because of work or other commitments I have had but, I have been training. I think the best way forward for the blog is to literally use it as my training diary.

A quick summary of the last few weeks has involved quite a few off road runs around the coastpath and some bike sessions. With 15 weeks to go now until The Outlaw Triathlon (Ironman distance) i am really starting to become more specific as opposed to just maintenance whilst at the same time looking to compete in other events before and after. These are as follows;

7th April 2013 - The Buttermere 10 Mile Trail run up in the gorgeous Lake District. I love this area and whilst 10 miles is not a challenge in itself to run such a course with like minded people should be great fun.Buttermere 10. I won't be racing the event, just using it as training and having an enjoyable day with my family. My wife will have competed the day before in a 10 Mile Cycle Time Trial so it will be a bit of a sporting weekend for us.

19th May 2013 - Is the Marazion Half Ironman distance Triathlon with the swim in front of the iconic St Michaels Mount. It will be cold in the swim with a hilly and testing bike course but should be good prep and training for The Outlaw.

8th June 2013 - I will be running the Endurance Life Classic Quarter 44 mile Ultra Run. The start is in my village and follows the coastpath around to Lands End. Despite the fact I live on the the start line I have never run this event and so would like to. My rationale is again to take it steady but for it to give me encouragement and mental and physical strength to tackle the marathon run in The Outlaw after spending 112 miles on the bike and a 2.4 mile swim.

7th July 2013 - The Outlaw Ironman Distance Triathlon. Myself and 5 colleagues are competing in this event. It incorporates the National Emergency Services Championships so we shall see how we all get on.

17th August 2013 - The Plague 64 mile Ultra Run. This is being organised by MudCrew Events and it seems is based on a course I did a couple of times in the 1990's when there was a 33 mile event from St. Anthony Point (or as the lighthouse is known locally, "Fraggle Rock") around the coastpath to St. Austell. I am looking forward to doing it again nearly 15 years later. I remember doing a night shift first, driving down from Torbay (where I was based at the time) and then running the event with no sleep.

So, training. Where am I with that? Well yesterday, (23rd March 2013) I did my first long run. I had 14 miles pencilled into my diary and because of family commitments and building my training around my wife's I was up at 6 a.m. a quick bite to eat and off out of the door with map as I planned to do a loop which involved the coast path around the Lizard Peninsula but cutting across and along footpath over the fields and Downs. We have had a lot of rain and I knew it was going to be very wet and muddy. However, I don't mind that. The coastpath in fact wasn't too bad. It wasn't until I turned off the coastpath at Poltesco to start finding my way across the barely discernable public footpath through farmers fields that the wet and more than ankle deep mud came into its own. This together with map reading meant that the run was slower than it would have been but still great fun anyway. Just being out in the fresh air is a real bonus. I ran at no more than 75% of my maximum heart rate which I refer to as base. It wasn't too cold but when I reached the west coast the south westerly wind kicked in and made a definite difference to the chill. All in all, 14 miles of good running up and down through fields and coastpath, mostly in ankle deep slippery mud but my Inov8 Mudclaws were upto the job albeit I reckon I have now grown webbed feet.

I will attach some pictures taken during the run first and then some more taken over the past few weeks.

23rd March 2013 - 14 mile run pics