South Devon Coastal Trail Series Marathon, 27th February 2010 - Team Arktix

After a long week, I decided in favour of a further night in my own bed as opposed to driving down to South Devon Friday evening and sleeping in the back of the car before the South Devon marathon.  Oli and I set off at 4am down to South Devon and made remarkably good time (under 4 hours) giving us plenty of time to get ready for the race.  We had been listening out intently to weather reports on the way down, and having passed through several storms on our way there we were not optimistic the weather would hold out for the duration of the race.  Forecast was for a pretty major weather system to hit the coast at about midday. With the race starting at 9 and the course record standing at 3 hours 40ish, although brimming with optimism of a strong run based on my form at Pilgrim challenge a couple of weeks before, I wrapped up warm and expected a tough finish.

My trail shoes were in a state of disrepair following the Pilgrim Challenge, and my attempts to patch up the damage with electrical tape didn’t inspire confidence in the other Tri Londoners at the start line with the final comment from Andrea being ‘How long do you honestly expect that tape to last?!’ Now although I believe that question may have been largely rhetorical, for Andrea’s benefit, the answer is 8 minutes.

The start of the run I took very steadily, and found myself running with some of  those I recognised from the Portland marathon. I wanted to ‘run my own race’ but the competitive side of me definitely remembered those that had finished in front of me previously and I certainly made a note of that there and then.   The paths out to Salcombe were narrow and muddy, offering seldom opportunity to overtake. I decided to conserve my energy and just sit on the back of a group of around 4 runners until the terrain changed.

The scenery was stunning, and the weather much better than expected. In fact I found myself overheating a little, but with the winter we have had, I think I quite enjoyed being a little warm for once.

I had decided to start the race listening to my ipod. Having never done it before I thought I’d try it, and I wasn’t disappointed. Whilst it certainly detracts in some aspects from being ‘in touch with your environment’ you are in, which for some is what running is all about, I found that at times, when you find a rhythm and are listening to a song you really like, it can spur you on even further.  With a helicopter making close passes filming the race all the way along the coastal path to Salcombe I was feeling fresh and having a great time.

After a checkpoint at the turnaround in Salcombe, there was a road section for a few miles.   Trying to keep a steady pace, those around me started to pull away on the faster section, however as we once again hit a long descent onto muddy paths, I pulled back the gap and then moved passed those I had previously been running with.  Wanting to capitalize on this gap, I pushed on through the next checkpoint, taking the food and water on the move instead of my customary stop and graze.

The run was tough, and the last 7 miles felt like it went on for ages (it probably did), with hills coming thick and fast. I was really trying to keep my average pace up, but the hills were so steep I was reduced to a walk for many of the ascents.  The last 2.5 miles from the final checkpoint were however back along the coast, and dead flat. Except for the ‘steps’. Oli had previously mentioned the steps in the car on the way down and I hadn’t really been paying attention but they didn’t disappoint.  From the last checkpoint I had taken on a little more water and really decided to dig in. I could see about 3 or 4 runners ahead of me, and wanted to pick them all off.  Passing them all slowly but surely I was sure I couldn’t have much more than a mile to go, when out of nowhere, a set of seriously steep steps and narrow path appears. Having been pushing hard, this put me straight the red and really hurt.  Fortunately after the peak of the hill you can see the finish and as always this brings a final surge to take you home.

I had finished in 27^th place in 4:48. I was pretty pleased with this, since it was not only an improvement on 66^th and 4:59 from Portland, (on a supposedly tougher course) but I had really started to feel like I had got the pacing right this time.

Best of all the weather had held out and Oli had managed 5^th place in 4:13. So after a bit of a stretch a bite to eat at the cottage with some other tri londoners, Oli and I then head back to London , a journey that took 5 hours this time!

Hemel Hempstead 17 miler and Injury, 28th February 2010

So I find myself sitting at home on Easter weekend writing up some long overdue race reports and blogs. For reasons I shall go on to explain, this picture is wrong on two counts:

1)     I should have written them up a long time ago (they are a month overdue)

2)     I shouldn’t be at home, but instead hiking and running around the hills of Snowdonia with Oli and Jay on a training weekend that we have all been looking forward to for ages.

After a great race in South Devon on the Saturday and a not so great 9 hours driving, Oli and I set out on the somewhat shorter journey to Hemel Hempstead.  The weather we had been hoping to avoid the day before had well and truly caught up with us, and it was miserable. Freezing cold, driving rain that wasn’t quite sure whether it wanted to sleet or snow, so it did both, just to be sure.

With the aim of nothing other than a run to help build endurance, I still somehow found myself setting out with Lotte, Kev and Oli at the start, with the latter two soon disappearing off into the rain ahead. Whilst running with Lotte, everything felt fine, if not a little damp, but still good.  While we weren’t exactly pushing along at anything special, we had soon built up to something between 8 – 8.5 min miles and I felt ok. Slowly however, as the rain trickled down off my top onto the tops of my legs, I began to feel a small niggle at the top of my left leg. Nothing out of the ordinary, but noticeable. I tried to stretch out my stride a little to see if that would help, but on any downhill it started to hurt. The pain grew, and on one downhill I found I could no longer stay with Lotte as she pulled away. At about mile 8, I had slowed considerably and was beginning to think about calling it a day. As my left hamstring started to tighten I knew something was wrong.

At the 10 mile checkpoint I decided to pull out, feeling something seriously wasn’t right, and moreover since my pace had slowed, I had started to get seriously cold.  I sat in the marshall’s car soaked through waiting to be driven back to the start and was absolutely frozen. It took a good ten minutes of sitting in my own car with full heaters on (seat heaters included) covered in towels before I stopped shivering uncontrollably. Some rest was needed. At least I was out of the rain, and the misery was over….over until the tirade of bullying began from Lotte – reminding me that on my watch it only in fact read 9.82 miles, (all I could manage) and the pink bow given out to all runners at the start for me in fact signified the fact that I was a quitter….hmm.

So what had I done? After a week of only cycling and swimming, I went to Pure Sports the following week to get it checked out, initial diagnosis of strained psoas.  With poor core stability and hip control, the distances I had been running had caused me to compensate, over the long distances (yes Lotte, 9.82 miles is a long way for some) I had been lucky to last until now without injury. It had however started to settle down, and on the Thursday I went for some physio.  With a series of corrective exercises focussing on my core stability and glute control/activation.   I was told that I could start to run again easing myself back into my routine.  She did however advise against the 32 mile Haworth Hobble planned that weekend. I went to test it out on the Friday, but after 4 minutes, the pain had come back, BIG TIME. In a foul mood I took the weekend off exercise completely. I went again to the physio the following week.   Due to the fact it was unclear what exactly was aggravating the injury, the physio recommended I resumed cycling and swimming  (with a pull buoy) to see whether it aggravated it.  She wanted me to continue to work on my exercises then run in to the next appointment to see how I was holding up.  So after another week of just cycling , swimming and some massage I ran in, optimistic. The pain around my hip was more in my adductor now and less across my hip flexor and although it took longer to set in, after 1.5 miles it was pretty noticeable.  Possible diagnosis now is anything from a tear in my adductor, to a strain/tearing of the tendons around my adductor or even osteitis pubis.  I have more physio and massage booked for next week and an appointment with Dr. Cath once more to try and clear it up. I could be looking at simply continuing my rehab as is, or a scan with steroid injections….so we will see.
Although I am still allowed to cycle and swim, I have once again, (despite the fact it is driving me literally insane) taken the weekend for complete rest.  As such we have regrettably cancelled our team training weekend in Snowdonia, and to date I have missed two races I was really looking forward to. I have now not run for 5 weeks.

Not being able to exercise due to something I can barely even notice most of the time is incredibly frustrating but I have decided for my own sanity (if not that of those around me), to remain positive.  I might not have nailed that ‘positive outlook’ just yet, but I’m working on it.   Complete rest is what my body needs now to get this sorted. I have managed to work on my swimming, and my cycling has begun to come along well again. When full rehab is complete, I will come back a better athlete than before, with a stronger core and more developed muscle control. The down time also is allowing me a chance to concentrate on those aspects of training that are all too often neglected. With a lower training load, and not much else to think about I can really focus on being strict with my diet, and also really get some good sleep in. At least for now!

The pink ‘quitter’ bow from the Hemel race I now have pinned to my rucksack.  It reminds me that ‘quitting’ in this instance was the right decision (god knows what I would have done to myself running a further 7 miles) and is a continual reminder to not lose focus on my recovery. When I can once again run 9.82 miles, (or perhaps even further!) I will take it off…

….things could be worse, here is a picture of my leg one week after spiral fracture to the fibula, almost two years ago to the day! This injury was what spurred me into the world of endurance sport!

IRRfc Team Analysis Workshop 1 - MBTI - 15th December 2009 - Team Arktix

On Tuesday 15^th December 2009, the team met with Ruth Storm of IRRfc for our first team workshop.  The primary aim of which was discuss the topic and importance of good team dynamics under stress and then move on to understand a little bit more about ourselves, in terms of personality type and our various preferences within that context.

A couple of weeks prior to the meeting we had been asked by Ruth to complete the MBTI Questionnaire and were eagerly awaiting the results.  Would this test at last uncover the truth, that Oli IS in fact part-robot? Only time would tell.

We began the session with a brief discussion about our previous experiences with MBTI, and it became apparent that despite all having completed it on more than one occasion within the workplace – none of us had ever really followed through with the learning outcomes and attempted (consciously) to apply its principles.  All in all the workshop lasted over three hours – and by the end we began to see we were only beginning to scratch the surface of our various personalities and idiosyncrasies.

The Myers Briggs Indicator test reports preferences on four dichotomies each consisting of two opposite poles. These preferences indicate the differences in observed in people that result from the following 4 questions listed below.  It is important however to note that these are only preferences and one person can not only use, but also be very adept (or equally rubbish) at exhibiting both preferences (but not at the same time).  Any given individual will rarely be able to discretely exhibit opposite poles with equal confidence.  When using a preferred method we often feel at our most competent, natural and energetic, and vice versa.

For us as a team, the value of this testing lies in being able to understand exactly how each of us prefers to vent, understand, express, cope with, approach and decide upon what may seem like menial decisions during the race.  When the temperature is through the floor and we are sleep deprived, exhausted zombies, stumbling through the endless arctic tundra or confined into a small tent for extended periods of time, I’m sure no decision will be menial, and no task a matter of fact. We will all appreciate and work much better as a team if we are well versed in how best frame and package our ideas to others so that they are most palatable, and also allowing each other the space or time (if needs be) to digest that information.

Where they prefer to focus their attention and get energy?

Extraversion (E) – People who prefer Extraversion like to focus on the outer world of people and activity.  They direct their energy and attention outwards and receive energy from interacting with people, the environment and from taking action. Often seen as ‘outgoing’ or a ‘people person’ Jay and Andy

Introverison (I) - People who prefer Introversion like to focus on their own inner world of ideas and experiences. They direct their energy and attention inwards and receive it form reflecting on their thoughts. Often seen as ‘reflective’ or ‘reserved’   Oli

How do you prefer to take in information?

Sensing (S) – People who prefer Sensing like to take in information that is real and tangible –what is actually happening. Observant to details and attuned to practical realities.  Remember events of snapshots of what actually happened and solve problems by working through the facts until they understand the problem. Jay

Intuition (N) – People who prefer Intuition like to take in information by seeing the big picture, focussing on the relationship and connections between facts. They grasp at patterns and are attuned to seeing new possibilities.  They remember events by what they have ‘read between the lines’ and solve problems by leaping between different ideas and possibilities. Andy and Oli

How do you make decisions?

Thinking (T) – People who prefer to use Thinking in decision making like to look at the logical consequences of a choice or action, they want to remove themselves mentally from the situation and objectively examine the pros and cons.  They notice inconsistencies, solve problems with logic and their goal is to find a standard principle that will apply in all similar situations. Andy

Feeling (F) – People who prefer to use Feeling in decision making like to consider what is important to them and to others involved. They like to mentally place themselves in a situation to identify with everyone and make decisions based on values about showing respect for people. They are seen as empathetic and as being guided by personal values. Oli and Jay

How do you deal with the outer world?

Judging (J) – People who prefer to use their Judging process in the outer world like to live in a planned orderly way seeking to regulate and manage their lives.  They take satisfaction from sticking to a schedule or plan and are energised by getting things done!  They like to make lists of things to do and are systematic/methodical. Andy and Jay

Perceiving (P) -  People who prefer to use their Perceiving process in the outer world like to live in a flexible spontaneous way, seeking to experience and understand life, rather than to control it. They find detailed plans confining and stay open to information and last minute options.  Seen as spontaneous, flexible and casual and work in bursts. Oli

So that leaves us with individual and team personality types of:

Andy – ENTJ – Frank decisive, assume leadership readily. Quickly see illogical and inefficient procedures and policies, develop and implement comprehensive systems to solve organisational problems. Enjoy long term planning and goal setting. Forceful in presenting their ideas.

Jay & Overall team– ESFJ – Warm-hearted, conscientious and cooperative.  Want harmony in their environment, work with determination to establish it.  Like to work with others and to complete tasks accurately and on time. Loyal, notice what others need in their day-to-day lives and try to provide it.  Want to be appreciated for who they are and what they contribute

Oli – INFP – Idealistic, loyal to their values and to people who are important to them.   Want an external life that is congruent with their values.  Curious, quick to see possibilities, can be catalysts for implementing ideas.  Seek to understand people and to help them fulfil their potential.   Adaptable, flexible and accepting unless a value is threatened.

In the next session (Tuesday 8^th Feb) we will discuss conflict resolution and are aiming to establish and prioritise the team objectives.  In the next blog I’ll write a little more on where we think these conflicts might arise, and try explain them within the context of our personality types as detailed above.  All very exciting, and no, we can still neither confirm nor deny whether Oli is a robot.

Pilgrim Challenge Race Report 6-8th February 2010 - Team Arktix

So the Pilgrim Challenge is a 2 day event organised by XNRG and is a new event this year. There is the option to just participate in one day (who would want to run ONLY 33 miles?!?!?) from Farnham to Merstham along the North Downs Way (NDW) on day 1 and then the reverse route back day 2. You would assume therefore that on the second day you couldn’t possibly get lost.

Never assume.

I entered this race with Oliver and Jay and the plan was for myself and Oliver to run both days meeting up with Jay on the second day. All the credit goes to Jay here, he has been running for only 2 months and already has Portland CTS marathon and now an ultramarathon under his belt!!! Now THOSE are some gutsy race entries!!! In actual fact its probably more a result of leaving Mr Sinclair to organise the race calendar. I have now run 5 marathons, 4 of which since December and 3 of which are ultras. Hmmmm.

There are 3 classes available (walkers, runners and um, faster runners). And on day 1 I had un-ambitiously set out in the regular runners group. Each group sets off an hour apart, walkers first and so on. My plan was to run steady and see how I felt, and obviously try not to get caught by Oliver who was setting out an hour behind me in the faster runners group. He had taken an hour out of me at Portland marathon, so over the extra 7 miles I imagined he would probably manage it.

All was going well, despite as usual I set out faster than I wanted/needed to ‘I can’t help it!’. But after probably about 4.5 miles I was with 2 other runners, with only 2 others in front from our wave. I was worried these guys would be a bit fast for me considering the speed I had set out at, but hey, I thought id hang on as see what happened. Now unfortunately, they were both locals (ish) and knew the North Downs way, so I was partly relying on them for navigation. (error?) Anyway we ran well and I felt comfortable, and then after maybe 12 or so miles we got lost. Ran down a road for about a mile, didn’t feel right. We stopped a car, some horse riders, some cyclists, all with maps, none knew where they were. WHY NOT! Others had followed us and as a result gone wrong too. After at least 10 mins of being lost, the runners who had caught up with us backtracked along the path leaving us three again. One of the guys then phoned the race organiser, but he lost signal over a crackling phone having described out location to the words of ‘I don’t know where you are but I think you f**ked up pretty bad!’. Helpful. Finally some motorbikers who had been standing around at the junction went ‘oh weve got a map if you want.’ (you think?) We found a trail that joined up with the NDW about half a mile down another trail. We reckon we lost about half an hour.

To the frustration of one of the guys in our 3, who doesn’t like getting lost, and angered by how much time we had wasted (I wasn’t that bothered) he set off like a crazy man. We were suddenly hacking along at about 8 min miles and I wasn’t sure how much longer id last at that pace, completely unsustainable. Luckily we hit a hill which knackered him out a bit, but he had vented as we again started to pass those we had already overtaken from the 1st wave.

As the day wound on we chatted away, and the miles passed, no Oliver yet. Over box hill and lime?! Hill with the last 4 or so miles down into Merstham. I was tired, but happy Id stuck with the two guys since I reckon theyd made me run faster. We finished together in about 5.37 13th equal for the day (shame we got lost eh?). Oliver hadn’t caught me but came in not long after having been lost himself. He ran 4.44 and had the lead by 9 minutes apparently only shooting off the front of his wave to catch me.

I got changed and showered then went for a massage (my shower was appreciated by the masseur, most not bothering) and wandered up to the local pub for a steak ‘pre-dinner’ with Oliver. We headed back to the school we were staying at to watch the rugby which they put on a big screen and then ate our second dinner of the evening in the canteen watching the rugby, chicken pasta and veggies. There was a caramel tart for desert which Oliver went up to get, I asked him to get some for me with cream. He said ‘how much’ I said ‘loads’. Unfortunately Oliver is a child (and I reckon was still upset about not catching me). He poured half a JUG! of cream and brought back a partially floating caramel tart in a bowl. Hmmmm. I ate/drank it though. Although did feel a little sick for a bit.

Day 2 – So Jay had got the first train down and picked up by a minibus shuttle from Merstham station. He set off in the runners group and I, having finished in the top 25 was in the faster group an hour behind with Mr. Oliver ‘have some dessert’ Sinclair.

One of the two guys I had run with the day before had sneaked off into the runners wave an hour earlier since he needed to get a flight that afternoon but the other started in the fast wave. I wasn’t sure anyone could stand my company for 2 whole days so just thought id run at my own pace and see how it went. Yep, as usual, I probably set off too fast and latched onto the lead group of about 5 runners. I say lead group, Oliver, not weighed down by copious amounts of dairy, had gone off the front like a man on a mission and no one looked like catching him. Barring disaster the win was in the bag there and then.

Anyway, the pace was pretty good, but I felt surprisingly strong. I was running with the leading girl who has come in on day 1 in 5.03 so similar sort of time to what I would have liked to have run without navigational errors, yeah right! ;-). I did get a bit worried though as she told me about her history of running and said she had only got into ultras having gone sub 3 in road marathons. Hmm, out of my depth I think. I lost her after about 13 miles or so, but having head off quick was way ahead of who I knew was a place ahead of me in the overall standings and also way ahead of the guy I came in with yesterday. So although it was a tough start to the day with almost all the hills on the course in that section I felt pretty good, and how I had been going I was buoyed by the start. Run fast while you can I say, time in the pocket!

I then ran alone through the next to checkpoints and finally caught up with Jay after about 2 hours 50. I asked him when Oliver had come through and he said about an hour and a quarter ago!! Man he must have been steaming! Oliver had caught Jay after merely an hour and half of running.

Anyway, after a brief chat with Jay I said I was going to head on since I thought I was in place for a top ten and as I reached checkpoint 3, I was feeling pretty good. It was at this point it all went wrong. The marshals had said, the next and final checkpoint is 4 miles from here and then its 6 miles to the end. Right, ill go steady to the next one then push hard for the final stretch. About half a mile down the road, I went wrong. I ran past a weathered sign for the NDW (not seeing it) and ran for about 5 mins up a hill into Guildford. Finding the road familiar but not seeing any runners behind or in front of me who I had just sighted I asked a pedestrian who said he hadn’t seen any runners either. I turned around and ran back down the hill and finally saw the weathered sign. GRR!!! Didn’t think id lost too much, time, but had started to understand the anger of the runner from yesterday, now that a goal was at risk. I saw a runner up the hill and followed him up. He veered off the road onto a footpath and again followed him. Suddenly at the next junction on the path he was gone. Strange. If in doubt follow your nose, I ran straight ahead down the hill for about 5 mins and came to a totally unrecognisable field. All the path signs were not for the NDW. ARRRGH!! Ran a few hundred yards either side of a t junction in the path to look for landmarks, roads, anything. Nothing. I asked a guy in a field with his dog, he was Korean, and barely spoke English and didn’t know where or what the NDW was, where Farnham was or anything. I cut my losses and ran back UP THE HILL! And it was steep. I got back onto the road where I had veered off and finally saw another runner. He was going slow though and didn’t recognise him so must have overtaken him ages ago. By this time I was TIRED! And really angry that id got lost. The next checkpoint took forever. As they cheered me in saying ‘not far to go’ I could barely muster a smile as I said, not the way I’m running. I had set a new record though. Over 45 minutes to cover 1 mile of the course. Just what you need when you’ve run 60 odd miles. I tried to put it out of mind and pushed on the last stretch. I tried to stay calm but was infuriated as I began to re-overtake people I had passed 2.5 hours before!!!!! I came in on 6.10 (ish?), and figured I must have been on for sub 5.30 that day. I had fallen from 13th to 15th overall but would have had 10th if I’d stayed on course. The guy I ran with on Saturday had run 5.36 (a min faster than our day 1 time), and I had been WAY ahead of that. If if if if if!!! Shame they don’t count!

The delay had caused me to miss Oliver ‘I don’t drink dairy but make others neck bowls of it’ Sinclair’s award ceremony which was a shame because he has run a blinder. 4.30 something on the second day, 15 mins faster than day 1 and the win by half an hour!! Well done robot boy.

I still managed to smile as I passed the finish line and had had a great weekend. Lets face it, if its all about time on your feet I had made an awesome session for myself. Awesome running from Jay too who came in on about 7 and half hours, which is a MASSIVE effort from such a short time running.

Bring on the next!