62@62 Week 5

Week 5 and it was an easy week this week. Sort of. Weeks total was 42.5. Only ran 4 miles a day to have a rest but was so nice on Thursday that did 8 instead. I then did a 14 on Saturday. Whilst it was ok, average pace was fine, I felt really tired towards the end. After jumping in the bath and falling asleep I realised that I was lacking in the old nutrition department (again). Last week I ran 60 and felt fine. The conclusion I came to was that on Thursday I ate a load of rubbish and it manifested itself on the run on Saturday. So yet another lesson learnt. Unless I go back to eating packets of biscuits all the time I need to watch the food a bit more closely. So no real problem just another thing to watch out for.

Which leads to me on to Sunday afternoon here in Swindon there was a Vegan event. I assumed it would be full of really interesting information about nutrition, proteins, carbs, tasty treats to nibble on. Well I have to say I was really disappointed. It was great if I wanted to buy makeup or talk about cruelty to animals etc but nothing for a soon to be ultra marathoner.

As part of the training schedule leading up to The Race To The Stones I have started signing up to some races. So this week I signed up for The Malvern Hills Trail Half and The Imber 33, (which will probably be my first ultra race). I am planning to but have not yet signed up for The Herford half and The Exeter half. Mainly so I can beat all the S.A.S. men that will be running the Hereford half and I can beat all the Royal Marine Commandoes that will be running the Exeter half. 🙂 🙂
Yeh right you may say. Well I have done The Fan Dance a couple of times, the first time at the age of 60 I came 2nd in the over 45’s and the second time at 61 I came 4th in the over 45’s So I don’t know if doing these races will help or hinder my training. I am still at the stage of the more miles the better. I still need to research more on a proper schedule.

I am also getting used to my new Garmin 235 Made a mess of it on one day where it said I had a heart rate of 199 !!!!! In theory I should have been having a heart attack if that were true, my hr max is 168 (in theory) Although I don’t think it is really accurate I am pleased with the readings. Average resting heart rate of 47 and it said based on my VO2 max reading I am in the top 10% of my age group in the country. !!!! And that is based on some of the slowest runs I have ever done. Not sure I fully understand it yet. However it is a very good runners watch and I am looking forward to delving a little more deeply into all of its functionality.

Overall a good positive week both running and none running so bring on week 6.

Thanks for reading.

Pete

October 15, 2017 by pdimages Categories: Half Marathon, Marathon, Race To The Stones, Run, Runner, Running, Sport, Swindon, Ultra Marathon, Ultramarthon, Uncategorized, WiltshireTags: exeter, fan dance, Half Marathon, hereford, imber 33 ultra, malvern, Marathon, nutrition, people, photography, photojournalism, racing, run training, Running, Sport, training, Ultra Marathon, ultra marathon training Leave a comment

62@62 Week 4

 

 

Week 4 and all is well.

 My total for this week is 60 miles, which I am quite pleased with. Six days of 8 mile runs and one run of 12 miles. The 12 mile run felt a bit slow but based on my time it was pretty much the same pace as every other run, so it may have felt a bit of a struggle on the hills it wasn’t actually any slower. Next week (5) I am going to have an easy week. When I was in my twenties I used to average 90 plus miles a week. I even went over the 100 a couple of times but I really don’t think it is wise for me to aim for that sort of mileage again. It would be nice and I have the time to do it as well but I just think my body would not cope with it anymore. It will be interesting to see what I do average a week over the next few months though. I am old school in that I want to ‘get the miles in’ but realistically I am not sure if that is the best thing to do anymore. My runs this week were lovely. All done in that lovely autumnal weather that is warm enough and sunny enough to really enjoy just being out there. And on Wednesday I was just cooling down on my drive after my run and my lovely 85 year old Italian lady from next door brought me a Espresso out. It was absolutely delicious a real Italian Espresso, it went down a dream.

 What has also been nice this week is that a few people have stopped me and wished me luck. They had seen my article in the Adver and were ‘well impressed’. One guy an (an ex runner) even offered to take me up on to The Ridgeway and pick me up after when I am doing my long long training runs.

 I also bought myself a new Garmin watch. I could not resist treating myself and so I bought the Garmin 235 which is probably far to good for what I need, but the more I read the instruction book the more I am impressed with it and I am sure it will improve my performance. At worst it will tell me I am having a heart attack 🙂

 I think I am starting to get a handle on the nutrition as well, With the help of a good friend from Malvern. Apart from I fell off the wagon on one of the days and ate a packet of custard creams it seems to be working. I have not eaten processed food or meat for a month now and I feel like I have more energy than I have for a long long time. I do believe I am starting to eat the right things but what I am not doing yet is making a delicious balanced meal. I just eat the healthy food as and when rather than cooking up a meal. Hopefully by the end of this challenge I might be able to put a proper meal together !!!!!

So that is it for week 4 lets see what week 5 brings.

 Many thanks for reading my blog post.

 Pete

 

October 8, 2017 by pdimages Categories: Marathon, Race To The Stones, Running, Sport, Swindon, Ultra Marathon, Ultramarthon, Uncategorized, WiltshireTags: countryside running, marathon running, nutrition, old man running, people, Project, Race To The Stones, racing, Ridgeway, Running, Sport, Swindon, swindon runner, trail run, trail running, training, Ultra Marathon, ultra marathon training, wiltshire runner, wiltshire running Leave a comment

62@62 Week 3

 

Week 3 and feeling really good. 56 miles under my belt this week and no aches and pains. The only thing I am concerned about is my Brooks road shoes. Now I have been wearing Brooks for a few years now and I have never had a problem (ie. blisters etc.). They are really good shoes. However I bought a new pair a couple of months ago and I have already lost one toe nail and probably about to loose another one, big toe this time which is quite annoying. They don’t appear to be ‘relaxing’ after use of a few weeks like previous models I have used. Quite annoying as now starting to do a decent amount of miles per week and really don’t want to have to put up with sore toes. I will have to have a chat with the guys at Run Swindon to see if anybody else is experiencing the same thing.

 

Nutrition is going really well, although I think my portion size is a little on the large size and so need to cut down on the amount but feeling full of energy. I have not eaten any processed food or meat for quite a while now and am feeling really good and dare I say it full of energy. I had a really good chat with a lovely friend on Sunday and she has given me a lot of good advice on what I should and shouldn’t be eating so should be bouncing with energy and running even more miles a week soon.

 

The same friend introduced me to The 5 Tibetans and if you don’t know what that is then check it out it is worth it. She like myself didn’t want to spend hours at yoga class and suggested it and so I am going to give it a go. Sort of thing you can do in the house in front of the telly. Unless somebody is going to sponsor me to go to a gym or classes then I would much prefer to spend my time outside, running in the fresh air and not stuck in a gym. Which brings me to my training schedule. As I have said before I am old school and believe I should just be out there knocking out the miles. I am still not sure if this is the right thing to do. Anybody out there have a clue if there is a better way than just running as much and as often as I can (which is 7 days a week)? I really would appreciate any advice.

 

Well, I am now going off for a run, 8 miles for the first day of week 4, it is lovely and sunny out there but a bit windy.

 

Have a good week everybody.

 

Pete

 

 

October 2, 2017 by pdimages Categories: Marathon, Race To The Stones, Running, Sport, Swindon, Ultra Marathon, Ultramarthon, Uncategorized, WiltshireTags: brooks, Marathon, nutrition, old man running, Race To The Stones, racing, Run, run training, Running, running shoes, salomon, sketchers, Sport, Swindon, swindon runner, training, Ultra Marathon, ultra run, Ultramarathon, ultrarun, vegetarian, Wiltshire, wiltshire runner Leave a comment