Track me Live Saturday 1st December 10:30 - 13:30 GMT

Below is a google Map that produces a live feed of my location (you can click on my icon for a time/date/current speed readout). It's a GPS connected up to my mobile phone that sends updates to a server once a minute. I currently testing it, and it workswell. When I turn it off, it stores my last location which you see until I turn it back on and start moving. You will have to refresh the page to see the update. I may make it refresh the little map every minute to save you reloading/pressing F5, but have not got around to doing it yet.

map loading...

I'm very impressed with it. I plan to take it to Tenerife (if my GPRS access on my mobile works there) just before Christmas and use it to allow everyone to track me. I am doing a 3 day camping expedition on my own. Some of the routes I am planning on doing don't appear on any maps, and some of the terrain is very dangerous. One step the wrong way and it's a 1000ft (at least!) down off a cliff (I'm not joking either!), along some very narrow paths. So as well as being a bit of fun, it does have a practical aspect in case I go missing, or get lost.

Free plug for the software behind this. The company is 3dtracking. You can create a free account here, and there is code there for you to include on your own website.
You will need to have a Google account to use in conjunction with this. It is a little bit techy to setup, but 3dtracking do answer support emails very quickly.

http://3dtracking.net/

Back2back 20

This week has gone well. My ankle is better, thanks for the well wishes. As I mentioned in my midweek update I went to the gym on Tuesday and did 1/2 hour on the bike in stead of running, after the ankle sprain last Saturday. On Wednesday evening I did 9 miles no problem too, as mentioned. On Thursday I did a 7.5 mile interval / hill interval trail session. I always do a 10 minute warm up followed by 3 mins fast, then 2 slow; and repeat. Half way through the session I did 4 repetitions of a hill that takes around 2 minutes to climb. This is always a tough session, intervals always are, but hills mixed in just makes it even more tiring. Add darkness and cold into the mix and these are not sessions to enjoy, more to endure. Friday’s strength and stability session went well, as always On Saturday and Sunday I had my back2back 20 penned it; 20 miles each day. This was to be a (not so gentle) reminder of what multi-day effort was like. I planned my first route on Friday evening. The route would take me from my home up to my usual first port of call and local viewpoint, the Wedgwood monument, then down into Audley, Miles Green, Halmer End, Heighley, Wrinehill, Bridgemere, Woore, Onnely, Madeley, Keele, Butterton, and finally Clayton to my parents house. I realise none of those names will mean anything to you, but it makes me feel better typing them all!

The route is shown below, as is the hill and actual speed profile.


There is around 1700ft of ascent (but it feels like more), but actually a couple of hundred feet more of descent (though it doesn’t feel like it!). It’s quite cool in the day now. I wore my running tights, an under armour Metal T-shirt, lightweight windproof jacket, hat and gloves. I packed a 5kg pack and 100g of cashew nuts in addition to 40g of SIS go electrolyte to mix up half way around. The first 5 miles was familiar territory for me, and so was the last 4, but in between it was all new. Sure I’ve visited all of the places, but the obscure footpaths between them I have never trodden before. I got fairly lucky on Saturday with the paths, most but not all were good, and I could maintain a reasonable pace.



Below: I took this photo looking back. Not all paths I had picked were so great. Needless to say I enjoyed wet feet throughout the day.



I started to get a little tired around 12 miles, probably earlier than I normally would expect, and I wondered if I had lost a little fitness. However, I saw that I was maintaining just over a 5mph average so I could not complain. After a sharp hill that slowed me to barely a slow walk, picking the pace back up was hard. At 19 miles I was really quite tired and had run out of nuts and my entire electrolyte. I glanced at my watch and knew that I would have to run every step of the next mile at 5mph if I was to maintain that average over 20 miles. What I didn’t factor in, was that there were some hills in the way, albeit on tarmac. I pushed myself to maintain pace, and really ran myself out and hit the 20 mile mark. Below you can see the result at that stage (Average Speed, time taken, distance travelled).



44 seconds to spare... I had worn myself out and with no food left It took me 13 minutes to do the final mile to my destination, making 21 miles total. I had forgotten my recovery drink so I raided my mother’s cupboard and fridge for sugar, as my blood sugar was low. I gorged on biscuits, cakes and apple juice like some kind of crazed bulimic for 10 minutes, before I could raise the energy to shower. I felt better 15 minutes later. Ok, so one day down, one to go. I had a SIS Rego Nocte night recovery drink and went to bed

The following day I planned a route from my parents to my sons other grandparents, as I had agreed to fix their computer and then get a lift back home. The route and hill profile is shown, but I had not fully charged the PDA battery so I had to use it sporadically, hence no speed profile.



I had to pack a change of clothes into the rucksack, so it came out heavier at 6kg, just to make my life that little bit harder. Once again I packed 100g of nuts and 40g of electrolyte.

I only knew the first 3 miles of Sunday’s route, and the last mile. Everything else was new. I had just picked paths off a map with no idea of the terrain. There was actually a couple of hundred feet less ascent that Saturday, but would I pay the price in overall terrain. The first few miles into Swynnerton old forest were plain sailing and enjoyable but after that and for the rest of the entire run, the terrain was miserable. I got my first taste at 5 miles.



I had just come through that. There was no way around; waded through shin-deep water. Just what you don’t want early in a run; sodden wet and heavy feet.


Next I went crossing two extended farmland areas, where the farmers had put electric fence across the footpaths in many places. The only way under was to lie down and roll under. I had to do this about 10 times. I was furious. This is illegal, needless to say. If I would have had bolt cutters, I would have cut every single one down, I swear. Now, wet feet and wet all over, the misery continued going through deep mud, deeply rutted fields, more marshes and liquid silage. My overall pace was destroyed by this terrain, I was walking way more often than I wanted or needed to. Below is one of the better paths I had.



I made the turn for home at around 12 miles up a sharp and nasty hill, which I sensibly walked, passing this curious cave on the way. Not the warmest house I'd have thought.



I was feeling good at 14 miles, but started to feel rough at 15 miles when I had to cross more fields of clay-like mud. The mud caked to my shoes, making them a couple of pounds in weight each; like running with lead boots. The terrain picked up in the last few miles; mostly road of good field crossings as shown below.



The last 1.5 miles were on the road. I'd say I ran 80% of that, now fatigued from the effort of the horrible terrain. As a result of that, and the extra weight probably, I only managed a 4.5mph average for the distance, which turned out to be just over 19.5 miles (route planning in the country is never an exact science, but I had done 21 the day before, so all is even!). I wasn't quite so tired as the day before, less energy spent I guess, so a cup of tea and biscuit revived me. I fixed their PC and got a lift back to my parents’ house and a welcome Sunday roast (thanks mum!). Shame she won't be waiting at the end of each stage of the MDS with a Sunday roast.

So, I managed it, a back2back 20. I'm a little weary, my knees are sore, so are my ankles, but I'm ok. Could I do it again tomorrow? Yes, you know I probably could.
I'd like to say that I enjoyed it, but I didn't. 80% of the time it felt cold, wet and miserable. The terrain got me down and it wasn't nice. At the same time, that is the reason these were good sessions. I felt miserable, I wanted to just go home, but I didn't. I carried on trudging through and finished both. I need more character building miserable training runs, to prepare me for the depths of despair I will face in Morocco!

I did feel tired at the end of each day though. In two weeks time I will have to do 50 in one day. Armed with the knowledge of how much effort I expended in the last couple of days, at each pace, I will have to be careful to pace myself. I will certainly be more than happy if I can maintain 4mph over 50 miles, and I will definitely build in walking breaks. It is important for me to finish the event, and whatever pace; just for the morale boost.

I'm going to soak my weary muscles in the bath and have another Rego Nocte now.

Enjoy your week.

Next 4 weeks plan, midweek update

My next 4 weeks training plan is shown above. The last months injuries decimated my running training from last month, but I was able to cross train in equal amounts, so I don't feel as though I have lost fitness. My ankle sprain on Saturday kept me off running until tonight, Wednesday. I completed a 9 mile run, in darkness, with no problems. I taped my ankle to protect it, as I knew the first 2 miles were on terribly rough ground. After that I removed the tape, as 70% of the remaining route was on good paths or road. Both feet and ankles felt good throughout the run, so I'm hoping normal service really is resumed this week.

This weekend I have a tough test; two back to back 20 milers on Saturday and Sunday. I will probably not do the night run I mentioned in the last post, and just run locally in the day. A night run is asking for trouble with my recent luck with feet and ankles!

This month also sees my primary milestone for 2007; The Round Rotherham 50. It is a 50 mile route around the town of Rotherham in Yorkshire. There are a few hills, but it looks relatively flat. There is just 3000ft of ascent in the whole 50 miles. I have never covered 50 miles before, so this will be my 'MDS long day'. I won't carry a full pack, more likely around 5kgs. I'm hoping to average 4mph or better, but I'd settle for 4mph and success. It starts in the dark and finishes in the dark, so I will have to be careful. I have given myself a deliberately much easier week following the RR50. I don't want to tempt more injuries by clocking up well over 100 miles in a week. I've planned it, so I should do no more than 75 miles in the 7 days around the event, including the event itself. Otherwise I will be averaging around 60 miles per week. I'm hoping my Raidlight Evolution II pack arrives before the event. It should have been sent from France in the last day or two. I need to put this pack through it's paces and see if I prefer it to the Raidlight Sac Runner that I have used for almost two years.

I hope that the rest of my training goes well this week. I will update on Sunday night as usual.

Normal service is resu...*!snap!*

After 10 days off running completely I stood on the treadmill at the gym on Tuesday a little nervously. I did a 5 minute fast walk, just to warm up the muscles a little, then turned up the speed to 12k's and did 30 minutes with no problems; no foot pain at all. Good news. I did further hour in the gym strength and core stability too.

On Wednesday I planned a 5.5 mile trail route. Now all of my running after work is in darkness of course. I dressed up warm in running tights, a Helly Hansen top and a windproof top too. I also ran with my head torch as well as some high visibility strips. I set out over the fields, wary of my footing of course. The weather has gone much colder in the last couple of weeks and despite the clear evening it was foggy everywhere! I'm sure everyone has driven in fog? Well you know what happens if you turn on your main headlight beam? It just lights up the fog and you see less. Well that's the problem I was having. There was no fog at all, but my head torch was lighting up my exhaled breath in the darkness, making it tough to see where I was going. I did find it mildly amusing initially, but then tried breathing out in odd directions so as not to catch the light. Anyway, that was a minor issue. I was finding that the rougher uneven ground was niggling my foot and it did concern me. I found a better path and made it home no problems.

On Thursday I planned a 6.5 mile route, but decided to take in about 60% road to ensure even footing and not upset my foot. This was very successful and I had to stop myself from running on further as I felt so good.

I did my usual gym session on Friday. On Saturday I planned a 9 mile trail and road route; probably 50/50. The latter part of the route was in a wood on a fairly good path, which was at this time of year covered in fallen leaves. My run had gone well, although my foot had niggles from time to time. Strangely I noticed the pain went away when going up steep hills, so I leaned into my run a little to simulate the position. This worked well and I was heading down a steady downhill path in the wood around the 6.5 mile mark, feeling pleased that I had turned a corner and the injury woes were behind me. My right foot (the mostly good foot) landed on the leafy path, which must have hidden a large stone or small brick. My ankle inverted sharply outwards with an audible *SNAP*. I brought the leg up instinctively and keeled over onto the side of the path, hurting and cursing as you can imagine. The amount of times that I have inverted that ankle is beyond a joke. If my foot would have landed an inch to the right or left it would have been ok. As I lay on my back nursing my ankle, thoughts of 'well that's the next few weeks lost' and 'I won't be doing the Round Rotherham in 3 weeks' etc.

I sat for a few minutes until the pain subsided and got to my feet. I could stand and bear weight ok, so nothing broken, and walking slowly initially was ok. I ran on again but it hurt, especially where my foot landed on a slight angle. I decided I would have to cut to the shortest route home which was still another 1.5 miles. I half ran, half limped home feeling sorry for myself and cursing my terrible luck. I got home, took ibuprofen straight away and got an ice pack on it straight after a shower. As always with sprained ankles they get worse when you sit down, as they seize up. I put on a compression sock and also dug out an old neoprene ankle support. I stayed off the foot as much as possible on Saturday, and continued with ibuprofen and ice packs.

So, Sunday's planned run lay in ruins. I kept the compression sock on overnight and have iced it again today. I can walk on the ankle albeit it slightly slowly. It's one of those injuries that will probably only stop me running for 2 or 3 days, but it will have no doubt weakened all the muscles and tendons that I have been working hard to strengthen. I hope to be back running on Wednesday, but only time will tell.

I have been told about an event next Saturday night near Stratford. The location and route are a secret to stop people reccying the route in advance. It's 20 miles and starts at 11pm. I am tempted, assuming my ankle heals quickly, although running around in the dark could be asking for trouble couldn't it. I had planned to do 20 miles next Saturday, and another 20 on Sunday; to remind myself what extended mileage multiple days effort feels like. I'll update in the week and let you know what I'm planning. I've got to be careful, because I am taking part in the Round Rotherham 50 miler on December 8th. I see this as my key milestone for 2007, so I must be fit for it.

I'll think on it, and update in a few days.

Other news, I have myself another week in Tenerife for training, just before Christmas. Assuming that the Teide (The isalands volcano; 3,715 M (12,188 FT)) has no snow on the ascent, I will go up it again. Alone this time (my father came last time, see the post here), and i'll run as much of it as is feasible. I'll also do a few other trail/mountain routes. The weather is usually mid 20's so it should be a nice week.

Have a good week.

Good advice taken

Thanks you to everyone who has commented this week. It's been a unanimous 'stop running' from everyone. I know you are all right.

Well, you'll be pleased to hear I didn't run a step this week. I can't tell you how hard it has been not to run. You convince yourself that if you miss a session your fitness will suffer!

I was working away from home on Monday night, and on my way back home on Tuesday I called in at my uncles for some treatment. I was almost pleased to tell him that my foot was hurting whilst walking, and I wasn't imagining it all. His sports massage therapist loosened my back on the left side, and also that muscle beginning with P in your bum too. Had a mental block, can't think of the name. I keep thinking Peroneal, but it's not that in this case. It sounds a bit like it though! Anyway all of that was tight and could have been contributing.

When my uncle came in to see me he decided it was definitely the foot that was the issue. To some extent this was a relief, because he explained the tightness and pain in the rest of my ankle and leg (Peroneal tendon) was secondary pain because they were being overworked as a result of the foot weakness. So, at least I am not suffering from tendonitis. The foot however felt fine until he went to work on it. He did want to x-ray it first to rule out a fracture, but I convinced him otherwise. I was positive there was no fracture as I could more or less walk fine. It was the running action that caused the issue. So, working on the assumption that my foot was in one piece, so to speak, he first set about locating the most painful areas and 'massaging' (one mans massage is another mans torture!) them. The main area of pain I get is behind the little bone on the outside of the foot, half way down towards the heel. It's actually your 5th metatarsal protruding I think. Anyway, that is the area of pain, but as it transpired the whole length of my foot between the 4th and 5th metatarsal hurt a lot as it was being worked. I literally had my hands gripped to the bench, trying to keep the strangled squealing noises as quiet as possible, to avoid scaring his paying customers!

Once the massage was over, he then loosened all of the joints. This basically involves bending parts of the foot and ankle back and forth, also pulling the foot whilst I hold onto the bench, pushing down on the base of your toes until they each 'crack' (like when you crack your knuckles), and even applying a blow to release locked joints. This might sound quite brutal, and it did hurt, but I didn't mind as I knew it was doing me good. He really knows what he is doing, and said he'd had 'foot day' with lots of patients with foot complaints. He also worked the other ankle a little, and also mobilised my back. Anyone who has been to a chiropractor knows what this involves. Typically you lie on your side, one knee up towards the chest. The practitioner then lies on top of you, you breathe in, out, and then they apply force and twist your pelvis back into line. Mine crunched a number of times; a good release. After this he then put me on his interferential machine for 10 minutes, before home.

Later that evening I went to the gym. Instead of a 30 min V02 run, I did 30 minutes on the bike doing a 'sports training' program; quite intensive. Following that I did an hour strengthening and core stability as usual.

On Wednesday I was due for a 100 minute run. Instead I did 50 minutes on the bike, followed by 50 minutes on the cross trainer. Initially I was not sure if my foot was up to the cross trainer but it went ok. 100 minutes on cardio machines is torturous; dull, boring. It's a necessary evil though I know.

On Thursday I had to go to Belfast for the day to work. I had to get up at 4:30am to get a 7am flight, then a flight back later and got home at 6:30pm. I was totally shattered and had been suffering from localised stomach discomfort for the last couple of days. I decided the 95 minute session would have to be cancelled. I was so tired, I didn't much regret it. I was in bed for 9pm. I woke in the night still suffering with stomach ache. This worried me more than a little.

On Friday I had another session with my uncle. It was an exact repeat of Tuesday, so I won't take you through the gory details again. He did say I had more movement in my foot than Tuesday, and I had been using an icepack as instructed. He asked how I was, and I said I had a rough stomach. He asked where and I pointed to lower stomach, right side. He said 'that's where your appendix is'. The world stopped for 10 seconds. My face dropped and I said "I can't afford to have my appendix out". I remember 2006/2007 MDS competitor Alan Silcock had to have his appendix out at this very time last year. He had to stop training for 2 months! Add that to a morbid fear of anaesthetic (I would have to insist on a local. Not sure if they do it for appendectomy, but I'd tell them to give it a whirl!). He lay me on my back and pressed on my stomach, which hurt. He then pushed hard in, and kind of let go so it bounced back. It didn't hurt. He said something about a rebound pain or something if it was my appendix. He seems to know a little about everything, considering he's a chiropractor. Anyway, he said it was likely some bowel irritation (sorry if you are eating breakfast!). I breathed a sigh of relief. I hope he's right. It's still not totally gone now, but it's not as bad. I know if I had full on appendicitis it would really hurt me, I assume much like the acute pancreatitis I had once 7 years ago (now that hurt!).

On Friday night I wrestled with myself; Devil on one shoulder, Angel on the other; well more like an ultra-runner on one shoulder, and a bed-ridden-one-footed-hospital-patient on the other. One saying "You must do the 25 mile Six Dales Circuit event tomorrow, you have paid for it, you'll be fine", the other saying "Don't be so stupid, you'll just injure yourself worse". This conversation went on all night. I loaded up the course route on my PC. I looked over the route description. I went and stared and my backpack. I looked at the road route to the start line. I rubbed my sore foot, and remembered how much the treatment had hurt hours earlier. I decided not to do it.

I still woke on Saturday morning, thinking, ‘I wonder what time it is?’ The race starts at 9am. If it is 8am or before, I could probably still get there in time. I stumbled into another room; it was 8:58am. So, I'd missed it, luckily. A couple of hours later I went to the gym and did 1.5 hours on the cross trainer, followed by an hour strength session. It was the longest gym session I can ever remember. I was so tempted to get on the treadmill, but thought 'No, I might as well have just done that race if I do". I completed the session, quite tired, but pleased that I had at least worked hard.

On Sunday I did exactly the same; 1.5 hours on the cross trainer, then a strength and stability session straight after.

So, I've managed it, over a week without running. I will go to the gym on Tuesday and try to run on the treadmill. That will be 10 days without running by then. If it niggles even once, I’ll stop; I won't run for the sake of completing a 35 minute session. If Tuesday goes ok, I'll see about the rest of the week, but certainly won't be running 100+ minute sessions. My foot does feel ok, both to walk on, and to the touch, so I'm hopeful.

A lost week

It's been a bad week. My ankle wasn't improving so I had two physio sessions; Tuesday and Wednesday. The pain I am getting is on a small ligament on the side of my foot, but I am also getting pain on my peroneal tendon and also pain on the inside of the ankle too (the physio said these pains were a result of the tendons working harder due to the failings of that ligament). The physio worked this ligament, and also treated my other ankle (the one I inverted a month ago) too. I had heat treatment, and some inferential (electric muscle twitch machine) on both feet/ankles.

On Wednesday it felt a little better so I thought I'd try a run. Again it felt rough during the first mile, but eased off slightly. It niggled all the way around, but I did 5 miles. OK, I thought progress. I had another physio session on Thursday and had some ultrasound as well as the ligament manipulation. I found the ultrasound uncomfortable to the point of being painful on my right ankle, but completed the session ok.

On Friday I was walking pretty much normally, so I assumed I was healed. I had to travel to South Wales for work on Friday afternoon and work into the night. I got to bed about midnight and set my alarm for 6am, hoping to run for an hour and 45 minutes before breakfast and work at 9am on Saturday. I got up and changed and started running at 06:15. I had barely gone a couple of hundred metres when my foot started hurting. I hoped it would ease off after a mile; it didn't. I switched to running on my left toe because that caused less pain. At the 3 mile mark, I was pretty depressed and knew I would have to turn back and retrace my steps. Sometimes I tried running on my foot normally, but within 3 footsteps the pain kicked in. I'd go as far to say it was as bad as it has ever felt, possibly worse. I limped back to the hotel, after covering just 6 miles, showered, had breakfast and went to work. I limped around for the whole day after that. I phoned and left a message for my uncle, the chiropractor, telling him of my problems.

Today, Sunday the foot doesn't feel to bad again, but my left calf is very sore; I assume a result of running on the toe for 6 miles. Because my foot felt ok, I was genuinely going to be stupid enough to try and run again today. I drove to my parents house unannounced and was hoping to get them to baby-sit my son for a couple of hours. However, no one was home and no one came back before I left at 7:30pm (I'd been there since 3pm). On reflection this was probably a blessing in disguise. MY foot would have not magically healed in 24 hours, and I'd have been in the same boat as yesterday; limping along feeling sorry for myself. Whilst I was there, my uncle phoned back, and I am going to see him on Tuesday evening. I almost feel guilty because there is nothing to 'see', and I am now more or less walking normally. It's just the action of running that causes pain. Nevertheless he will check me out and hopefully find the cause. It may well be the ligament, or it may be tightness further up the leg, or even nerve pain caused by the usual suspect for injuries, my back.

So, with just 11 miles covered and one gym session, it feels like the week has been lost and wasted. I know I won't lose fitness that quickly, but it just feels like I will. I have the 6 dales circuit 25 mile hill run coming up on Saturday; pending miracle work by my uncle, that's looking unlikely. That said, my uncle has a habit of working miracles 9 times out of 10, so I'm fearing the worse but hoping for the best. I have got to keep the bigger picture in focus. A couple of lost weeks now aren’t the end of the world. I can pick my training back up and be fine. However, running on partially healed injuries for the next couple of months will ruin my chances of making or completing the MDS. I have to keep that in mind and don't do anything stupid.

On a different note I had a pair of the New Balance RX1441AT trainers through, the ones I pictured in the previous blog post. I wore them this week for those short runs. I actually think they may well keep out the sand. I need to put them through their paces on some dunes in Wales perhaps over the next month or so, but they stand a good chance. There is a built-in inner-sock as well as the outer gaiter.

The outer fabric is like a rip-stop type material. Providing that keeps out the sand, and I think it will, they could work. The orange gaiter, only if you hold up to the light, can you see through it, so in theory very very fine sand could get through but should be caught in between the gaiter and inner sock anyway.

They are a fraction heavier than the 1100MDS shoe 394g vs 384g - per shoe weight of course. They don't look to have the same quantity of cushioning, and perhaps don't, but in my tests this week involving some road running they felt good. They didn't feel too hard, and had sufficient cushioning; certainly a world-more than Inov8 305's etc, which I find too hard in just a few steps on the road.

One major difference I noted was grip; these new shoes have an immense amount vs anything else I've used. They have 1cm depth rubber studs all over the sole. They'll certainly come in handy for trails in the UK if nothing else. I felt sure footed on all surfaces.

I'm approaching using them with a huge amount of caution, because I am not unhappy with the 1100MDS shoes. It's the gaiter that's the hook with these. I'll thoroughly road and sand-test them as soon as possible and let you know how I get on. At the moment I am assuming the 1100MDs unless these shoes win me over in a sand test.

Here's a look at them.



That's all for now. I hope you have a good week, and I hope I have a better one too!