On Saturday the 28th April 2018 I had one of the greatest
days of my life. Having been searching for the Holy Grail for years, this
highest of highs would not have been possible without previously battling
through the lowest of lows.
From a medical perspective, in signing up to the 2018 Highland Fling
Race, I had committed to the impossible; with my injuries and chronic pain, I
shouldn’t have been able to run a mile never mind 53!
A few years ago, I wrote a post called ‘my four pillars of ultimate
performance’, in which I introduced a thread I intended to build on.
Unfortunately, I injured my hip not long after that. The four pillars are; 1.
Motivation, 2, Mental Strength, 3. Physical Conditioning, and, 4. Nutrient
Timing.
Motivation
In 2010 and 2011, I did the Bob Graham Round and a Winter West Highland
Way; two of the biggest ultra-challenges in the UK, at the time. I also had a
pop at the Highland Fling Race in 2011.
Back then I began to tempt myself with the notion that as a novice
runner I might have some real potential. This was to be confirmed with a sub
9hr time in the fling.
Unfortunately, I didn’t perform as intended and battled hard to get it
done in 10hrs 24mins. In the immediate aftermath, I was absolutely gutted that
I had to wait a while for a chance to overcome my failure.
Then the hip injury in 2012 seemed like an unfortunate turn of events.
Following words from the surgeon (wouldn’t be able to run again), it seemed I’d
be joining the ranks of the ‘I could’ve been ……’ gang. That, for me, was an
unacceptable situation.
In the years that followed, I was unable to reflect on my running past
with any real positivity. I didn’t want to face the possibility that I was (and
had possibly always been) a delusional loser. Intrinsically the fire to face my
2011 disappointment has never diminished.
Intrinsic motivation is far more intense than extrinsic i.e. doing
something to satisfy a core need rather than something for associated
adulation. I wrote about this in my post ‘Ultra Motivation’. The need to prove
to myself that I did used to be a
decent runner has been over-bearing and having that opportunity taken from me
in 2012, seemingly forever, was heart-breaking.
Then in mid-2017, I mustered the courage to go for a 4mile jog, my first
run in almost 5yrs. It was painful but what the hell, I was living with pain
every day since I injured the hip; the pain from the run was bearable. How far
could I push this?
And as soon as that glimmer of hope became reality I grabbed it with both
hands and refused to let go; righting the wrongs of the 2011 fling has been
central to every thought process since. My wife will testify to this!
The target was sub 10hrs. 9hrs 59mins and 59secs would absolutely do,
10hrs would not. Sub 10hrs represented a sub 9hrs 30mins run in 2011 which was
my realistic target back then; a point substantiated in my previous post.
However, to touch on it again, in 2018, I found that I was approx’ 30secs
slower per mile for every training run. Not only that, I was also training at
approx’ 5% higher in heart rate than desired due to issues encountered in 2018.
In short, I was fitter in 2011; if I could get sub 10hrs in 2018 it would
represent sub 9hrs 30mins in real terms i.e. relative to 2011.
Mental strength
When I first started running, I had heard about the concept of
‘training’ your mental strength and always thought, ‘What, how do you do that?’
This is simply one’s ability to cope with and overcome demanding
situations. I’m certain we can agree, therefore, that ultra-running provides a
decent reason to work on our mental strength. I had other reasons and overcoming
chronic pain (if possible) was foremost in my thoughts.
1. Taking ownership
of your progress;
Anyone who read my post regarding training for this years’ fling would
have noted how monumentally difficult it was. Without going over old ground,
what I will say is that despite everything that presented itself, I stayed the
course, batted away negative periods and refused to complain. I signed up to
this training and if I really didn’t want it, I didn’t have to do it. The whole
period was of my own making.
I had to achieve a sub 10hrs time in the race I was training for and
in my mind the only way to do this was to do the required training. If I
couldn’t manage the bear minimum to scrape a sub 10hrs time, then there would
be no point at all in doing the training. The only two choices I allowed myself
were do it or don’t. Everything else was middle ground and that was a compromise
I refused to consider.
2. Control as many of
the variables as possible;
This could be mentioned under the paragraph above but varies slightly.
It means getting hold of the right training equipment, creating a challenging
training programme and being able to adjust it weekly/monthly depending on your
ability to adapt, sticking to the training at crucial times and pulling back
when you have too, planning your logistics in advance for training sessions, regular
one to ones with medical practitioners (if as in my case was required), writing
an itinerary for important training sessions (and the race), rehearsals,
negotiating work-life balance with family and employers in advance, ensuring
your nutrition is balanced and timed correctly, remove as many surprises as
possible, etc.
3. Practice
mindfulness and deep relaxation;
Back in 2011 in preparation for my Winter WHW I focussed on this every
day for 6 weeks before the big day. During that fantastic day I felt like I was
floating along the Way, for long periods of time; totally in the zone. I
decided to revisit this technique for this years’ fling.
If you wish, copy and paste the following link into your web browser and
download the deep relaxation mp3 file. http://www.nlplifetraining.com/free/download/deep-relaxation
I have practiced both mindfulness meditation and deep relaxation daily
and found that overall, I am more aware of my surroundings, myself and my inner
most feelings. I somehow connect more with what’s important and am able to
easily let go of things that aren’t. I read a book a few years ago which
claimed through meditation a person could achieve 10% more happiness in their
lives. I swear to you, off the back of that, I am genuinely living the dream.
The benefits extend to ultra-running because you become better equipped at
dealing with negativity, at problem solving on the move and at balancing your
emotional response to situations. For example,
Dealing with negativity; during taper I received an email from someone on the fling medical team
stating that my position in the race was being considered due to my declared
use (my post about training for the fling) of a banned substance (ibuprofen).
The person writing the email probably had appropriate intentions, but he used
negative language, got his facts wrong and even had the audacity to ask me if I
genuinely believed I could complete the distance within the prescribed time
limit.
Ordinarily, this would have jolted me off track. After all, this was
during taper. I should’ve been recovering from weeks of induced fatigue and
trying to get my head in the game. However, I seen it for what it was, ignored
any negative connotations, corrected the gentleman in my reply and provided him
with the assurances he was seeking.
Problem solving on the move; I set myself with a plan to get to the various checkpoints at the
latest possible acceptable time for a sub 10hr race. Having got to Drymen 8mins
ahead and then Balmaha 20mins ahead, I decided I would take 20mins longer to
get to Rowardennan. Slowing down from Balmaha to Rowardennan might have been
mentally difficult given the huge swathes of people that passed me here, had I
cared about that. But as I’ve said, my motivation is intrinsic. I was 100%
confident in my approach. And so it proved because from Rowardennan onwards I
was not overtaken by a single person again.
My hip started hurting just before Conic. I had planned to take two lots
of paracetamol during the race and needed the benefits to kick in towards the
end of the race. Therefore, 2.5hrs in was not the right time to take my first
two tablets. I decided the tablets would be taken at the 4hr point and the next
two at the 7hr point. Therefore, I simply decided to box my pain and hide it
away (in my head). Every time it resurfaced I put it away. The frequency with
which it resurfaced ramped up conveniently to the 4hr mark!
I’ll come onto nutrition later, suffice to say it presented a need for
problem solving on the hoof. As is almost always the case, things happen during
an ultra that you weren’t expecting. How you deal with them can define your
day, quite literally.
Balancing emotional responses; stood at 6am, huddled together at Milngavie Train Station car park I
found myself welling up such was the overwhelming emotion I felt in simply
overcoming the hurdles of the last few years and getting to the start line. I
was quickly able to tell myself that the race was yet to be run and to hold it
together until I had at least crossed the finish line. This happened about 4 or
5 times throughout the day and every time I was able to almost instantly seize
upon it and put it away.
Whilst emotion is to be embraced, this type before and during the race
had the potential to derail my concentration and impact on my sub 10hrs target.
This could not be permitted.
4. Tolerate pain
Almost every single training session in the build-up to the fling was
painful. It reached a crescendo during what I call the ‘push’ phase in training
(more on this later).
Essentially, my very last technical training run was at the end of an
80mile training week. This itself was the last of 3 consecutive high mileage
training weeks meaning that I was heavily set with fatigue. That run was
32miles starting in Tyndrum and was an out and back on the Way. Yes, that’s Cow
Poo Ally twice!
The key here was to make the second half quicker or at least the same
duration as the first half. Not only that but because of the accumulation of
weeks of fatigue and pain, it should come close to replicating the finish to
the actual race.
This was my fourth long run on the Way during 2 months of training in
which time I had covered all sections of the 53mile races several times. This
approach to training replicated my preparation for my two biggest achievements
(noted elsewhere).
During the race itself, I absolutely flew on the second half of the race
and arguably the tougher sections were where I was at my most fluid; I overtook
an unbelievable number of folks in the last half of the race and my first half (to
Balmaha) wasn’t slow!
Physical conditioning
We all train differently so there’s no point in me trying to describe
something that fits all. However, when aiming to fulfil our potential, there
are fundamentals to adhere too.
Working back from race day;
·
Carb load; I’ll come onto this later (Nutrition),
· Taper; here we aim to get rid of hidden fatigue whilst maintaining high
end (VO2 max) fitness; I suggest 2No HIIT sessions per week (15mins each max’).
There is absolutely no need to do any long endurance sessions during taper.
Some people lack the courage and / or discipline to stick with this then wonder
why they are still tired come race day.
·
Push Phase (pre-taper) should be 2, 3 or 4 weeks in duration, depending
on ability. This is not a time for taking it easy in terms of volume. Specific
race adaptations are achieved here, if you get it right.
· Having a decent base of fitness. In an ideal world, we would all want a
prolonged base training phase. In 2018, this was not possible for me due to
many unforeseen circumstances. However, I took some confidence from the fact
that at least I wasn’t in a poor condition. Yes, I would’ve liked to train consistently
and at a lower heart rate range, but it wasn’t possible.
Due to how my training panned out in 2018, I contend that a person can
achieve their aims with less than two months of specific training, IF
they have a decent base of fitness to begin with.
Nutrient timing
You’ll have heard the saying, ‘you are what you eat’? Well, being more
accurate, what we should say is, ‘your hormones are affected by what you eat’.
If only it was as simple as that. Clearly, hormones are affected by more
than what we eat; stress, weather, relationships, exercise regime, etc.
If you are keen on trying to achieve your very best as an amateur athlete,
I advise you to seek out the advice of a nutritionist. I did this back in 2012
(when beginning to prepare for the Triple Crown) just before my hip had other
ideas!
Lose excess bodyfat; this is the first thing to do. Before working on your fitness, put
together a realistic time frame for losing excess bodyfat. For some, this might
be a year, others 3 or 4 months. This is not a time to be focusing on fitness.
Trust me, it is stressful enough and taxing on the body. Forget trying to get
fit.
Counting Macro’s; once you’ve got to your desired bodyfat percentage start experimenting
with daily nutrition whilst building your base fitness. Counting and timing
consumption of your macros is a good daily habit to get into and is a useful
aide memoir especially when working away from home for example.
Having a good understanding of nutrition will help you avoid many of the
commercial pitfalls deliberately placed in our way. Eat more from natural
sources and avoid cheap sugary products at all costs.
Training / race nutrition; find something that works but have a back-up plan for when the
unexpected happens. When racing long, it helps to get carbs on board from
various sources i.e. try not to just have the one thing, the body digests fast
acting carbs quicker when they come in different forms.
You should also understand that the body can only digest 200-240 calories
from carbs per hour at a race intensity similar to that of an ultra. Note, you
do not need to consume protein or fat during the race. Your body (regardless of
bodyfat percentage) has more than enough fat stored. Also, try to avoid foods
with fibre – your body will struggle to digest this during race intensity, so
it will just sit in your stomach until you slow down (or until you puke it up).
Therefore, your drop bags should consist of products containing medium
to fast acting (Glycaemic Index) carbs. They do not need anything that has fat
or protein in them, unless you’re happy to take as long as you want to complete
the distance (you don’t need that snickers, trust me!).
Problem solving on the move; I felt ill a couple of times during the race and it was due to me
eating more than I was able to digest. It wasn’t by much and I was able to spot
the signs pretty quickly meaning I mitigated it straight away. I did this by
taking on board some water and ginger chews; a combination which helps to break
down the congealed mess. The key here is to have the confidence to understand that
you don’t need to eat anything else for a while as you’ll be getting the
required energy from what’s already inside once its broken up.
In my training runs, I liked to eat coconut oil spread and Nutella, white
bread sandwiches cut into fingers with tailwind fluids. I also took the odd
go-gel as an added supplement. During the race, I couldn’t tolerate the
sandwiches. Fortunately, I had some penny chews with me, of different flavours.
Despite planning my race nutrition meticulously, I found that I ditched
about half of what was in my drop bags during the race. I am still amazed by
how little I consumed, compared with my training runs. I think this might have
something to do with…
carb loading; a topic many people think they know about but as soon as they say, ‘big
bowl of pasta’, you know they haven’t got a clue. It’s actually really simple
and all it takes to get it right is a quick google one week out from your race.
Do a depletion state run etc, etc. The key for me is that you don’t want to be
weighed down with a bloated belly during your race. All you really need to do
is consume an extra 300 calories from clean carbs in each of the two 24hr
periods back from race day. For me, this was a yoghurt with an apple and banana
cut up and put in. Honestly, it’s as simple as that. Stick with your usual
calorie / macros limit and bolt this on. That’s it, nothing special.
Summary
The 2018 Highland Fling vindicated my belief in my former self and for
this reason was life affirming. It was way more than a 53mile race for me. I started
(fell) running in 2008, and apart from the in-between (hip injury) period, I’ve
been on a journey of self-discovery with it. To muster everything I had (and I
don’t mean on the day) to cross the finish line in 9hrs 46mins is down to
thorough preparation in my four pillars of ultimate performance.
The day ranks alongside my greatest achievements given the background to
it. The cherry on top of the cake was my brief chat with Debs MC after the
race. It was a privilege as she inspired me to write my own blog and to keep
going when all felt lost.
If I could, I would kiss each and every person in John and Noanie’s team
of supporters. The whole day was utterly magical and in no small part due to
their immense efforts. If you need me next year, I’m there. I’d love to give
back on the day if I can. All the best.
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