Hellrunner 2016 - Hell Up North

So time again for my favourite race of the year Brook Hellrunner Series - Hell Up North

This race is run in Delamere Forest about 40 mins away from my home town the terrain is very hilly and muddy with bogs and a freezing cold lake you go through and is billed as "the toughest HM in the UK" it lives up to it's name

Preparation - Nutrition and Training

So after EHM I decided to go into this race a bit more prepared both training and nutrition wise

Training for EHM started the following day 19/09/2016

I dropped straight back into LCHF and MAF 

I normally level about 1960-2000 calories but when doing LCHF I just log my food choices and don't count the calories 

My weight dropped from 238lbs (19/09/2016) to 224lb (13/10/2016) over the period

At first it was hard doing the training and LCHF as my body adjusted but all of a sudden it just seems to click into place

Training was different story - I decided to try and focus on some hills it's not really easy where I live we have a few hills but nothing like the terrain that I would face on the day 

The is a hill called Red Lane about 4 miles from my house so I decided to run there do a few loops (3) then tack on about 9ish miles to get me up to 13.1 as I needed it in my legs I suffered on that run as I didn't hydrate properly and it was a hot day and we have another bridge which is quite steep I did 5 miles run over and back 

I hit 72.3 miles over the 4 week period which is 18 miles per week on average as you can see to the left.

Race Day

I was getting picked up at 7.30ish so I had my Fat Burning Coffee we arrived at 8.40 to a light rain shower the race started at 9.45 ( I was in the 1st wave at 9.45am the second wave is 10.15 and 3rd wave is 11.00) 

We met up with some members of my running club who were running it dressed as Daffodils and waited round for the race to start

I'd decided last year after the first year of doing this race ( I plodded it with some friends from club) that I was racing it this year around so I'd got myself in the right mindset and off to the start line we went

5...4...3...2...1 and we were off for the first climb up Old Pale Hill for about 450- 500ft of elevation in the first mile - I set off too fast even for me I'd aimed for 12mm average the whole way round and I was sub 9 mm for the near the first mile....I dropped back but what goes up must come down we ran down the side of Old Pale back past the start and into the forest - the route follows a pretty similar path each year with a few tweaks.

This year was different in that you ran more before you got to the first Bog ( mud pit to crawl through) last year was about 4 miles in this year it was about 6.5 miles in after the Bogs you move onto the Hills of Hell very steep climbs and descents repeated 4 times minimum added into the other hills and terrain during the race

After HoH it's onto more running through the forest until you hit Lucifer's Lido at about 10-105 miles in - a very cold lake my strategy during the Bogs and Lake was move through them as fast as possible I cleared the lake very quick and was off again

You then are back into the forest for 2 miles until you hit the Bog Of Doom the final Bog but it's more like a small lake you climb over logs but there are one hidden under the water again my idea was move through as fast as possible which I did, once done it the last half mile to the finish slight forest run and then.........DONE.

Once done I got showered off via the Fire Service (for charity) got changed into warm clothes and had my food 

Breakfast

Sign

Bit muddy afterwards still smiling

Post Race Nutrition

Free Sugar Bars

Free Carbs

Different types of sugar

Jelly Sugar

Sugar and more sugar

As if one type isn't enough

13 different sugar flavours

War wounds

Bumps and scratches

2016 finish time

2015 finish time

 

Strava Route

Pizza for tea

Goody bag

Review

This is the part where I learn and reflect on the race............firstly I love Hellrunner it's one of the best races I've ever done it's very tough but I really enjoy it and it will be included in my race schedule as long as it's continued that said it's a race and upon reflection what I would do differently is below

• Increase the weekly mileage personally 18 mpw wasn't enough as during the race the body is being stressed from the constant changes in elevation and terrain and while I went it prepared I could have done more longer runs

• More hills - the 13.1 mile run I did on 02/10/2016 included Red Lane but after 3 loops I sort of give up and started to run back home - I should've done more loops as when my legs got tired during Hellrunner I still had more climbs and more running to do

• WARM UP.... This was probably my biggest error I did a bit of jumping around and stretching but I could have easily gone for a 20-30 slow run before the race I will definitely not make this error again

• On the plus side the course was much tougher than last year and I did it 17 secs faster not a major PB by any stretch but still faster so with the fact I've been injured most of 2016 and only started back training in August it shows MAF works and I've got some base built from the last two years work

So while I resisted the trappings of energy bars and noodles on the day it got me on Sunday in which I indulged heavily see below

 

Nice LCHF breakfast which was ruined by Pringles, Biscuits, Ben and Jerry's and Full Sugar Coke.. I own this reaction and am currently back on LCHF

Still smiling after 12.5 miles of Hell

Post Race

So I'm currently in my rest phase - the week after my race and I've discovered ChiRunning so I'm researching that and seeing if I can incorporate it into my program

I've got a 10 mile race on 12/11/2016 in which I hope to get up to 20 miles in prep for Manchester Marathon in April - I might slot another Hellrunner during Jan 17 if possible but if not it's back to Hell Up North in Oct 17

Thanks for reading

EHM 10k Race Blog

So it was my first race of the year and my first back from injury 

This year hasn't been the best I deferred Manchester Marathon until 2017 due to injury I'd been off running for a while and my nutrition had been everywhere

But I managed to put in a good solid 5 weeks of MAF in the build up to EHM

***Bit of background EHM or English Half Marathon is a race that's ran for 8 years in my home town of Warrington in the North West of England there's normally a very food turn out and with 2 main distances (10k and HM) and a family mile later in the afternoon it's a great event adding in a festival running all over the weekend it adds to the whole atmosphere throughout the town***

Demons with 10K distance

I was aiming to run with some members of my running club who where hoping to gain the elusive sub 60 minute 10k time (this would be my 3rd 10k race with 2 previous attempts in 1hr 5 mins 14 secs in 2014 and 1hr 4 mins 10 secs in 2013 I'd hit it in training but never in race conditions

As you can see below there is a time line of my 10k ability over the last 3 years

Top picture (1hr:05) is Birchwood 10k in 2014 
Middle picture (57:42) is my first non -MAF run after 4 months base build in Feb 2015
Botom picture (58.37) my finish time from EHM 10K


**All splits are next to the runs**

Anyway back to my prep and the race itself

I started my plan in August (see below for my plan) ** all runs were done between my MAF range of 140bpm-150bpm**

As you can see I got some good build in especially coming back from injury I started slow then jumped up a bit too much maybe but then dropped back as the 0.7 session was meant to be above MAF but I tweaked my calf so rested until the Thursday before the race.

Race Day

This race is a big race to my running club we had 220 odd runners taking part which is a massive moral boost seeing them on course every 3rd or 4th person

The day before hadn't been great as we'd been at a party and the food was not LCHF but I'd decided to not focus on the nutrition a few weeks previously

I was up at 7.15 slept ok - had a Fat Burning Coffee (coffee,20g coconut oil,25g Kerrygold Butter and 50ml Double Cream)

I got picked up at 8am for the 10 min drive into town - had 500ml water with SIS Go Hydro beforehand we had a club photo (there's a few off us)

After at 20 minute warm up and 4 toilet stops it was time to line up at race start I headed over to the 50-60 min section - I was meant to be running with some club members aiming for sub 60 mins but couldn't find them - the race was due to start at 9am but was delayed by 5 mins

3...........2......................1 and we were off 

Felt pretty fast the first half a mile and I glanced at my watch and say 8.35 pace I knew to slow down I was aiming for between 9.30-9.45 average all the way round 

Above are the screenshots from each mile (blue is the mile itself)

2nd mile was the turning point as I was off target and 20 secs slower than the 1st mile so I decided to speed up slightly which lead to get a little bit faster and even posting some negative splits - when people asked me how the race went I've been saying it hurt the whole way round - I mean it, it was tough to the point I felt slow and sluggish but I've had these feelings before when I've been working hard during a Parkrun and I've hit a PB there was times I thought I wouldn't do it and even wanted to quit 5k and 7k mostly but I powered through after all it was only a 10k

I really enjoyed this race and put some demons to bed regarding sub 60 minutes finishing time 

What's next for me

Well I've took the opportunity to maximise my next race performance ( I mean if I can hit sub 60 on 4 weeks MAF and not ideal nutrition what can I do with 3 weeks focused MAF and dialling in my nutrition ) my next race in 15th Oct and is a trail HM called Hellrunner - billed as the Toughest in the UK - it's a great event I did it last year with a group in 3 hrs 32 mins and I want to shave at least 30 mins if not longer from that time

I know MAF can take me a very long way I aim to get back into it more consistently

Thanks for reading 

#HappyMAF #allaboutthebase

So I'm back....

So my last post was 22nd Jan 2016 when I edited my post regarding my deferral of Manchester Marathon until 2017

I had a plan and it failed...BUT I know where I went wrong and am laying it out here

The Ultra...the holy grail, where I wanted to be and what happened to get there?? Injury during training I developed Plantar Fasciitis and of course I ignored it and within a week of the race being completed (41 miles in 10 hrs 10 mins) I'd gone for a run one word....STUPID!!

Looking back at the whole process in training for the Ultra I went about it the wrong way I was hooked on MAF and thought it would be my cushion or safety net and it wasn't my training wasn't suitable as can be seen from my Strava and the table below

The (- minus) numbers and % are decreases

As you can see there is a big drop between weeks some massive increases and decreases which didn't help my training at all going from 0 mile week to 13.4 or 0.9 to 18 miles per week

So what is my plan well EHM 10K is just under 5 weeks away and I'm not near running 10k yet (I probably could but it would be a struggle) I went to the physio on 20th July and was told I can run again slowly starting with 2 miles per run and increase 10% or 20% per week so this is where I'm at 

I decided to split a weekly mile increase over the numbers of runs I do either 0.25 or 0.5 of a mile per run to build up slowly but to give me time to get to 10k and see how it feels I think it's the easiest method for me to increase my mileage and I'll continue it to get to the distance needed for my other races in October and November and then build fully until April for Manchester 

I've also started Primal eating and while I've had a slip after 6 days I've dropped straight back into it with no issues 

The best thing is I'm on my way back it's slowly and steadily taking shape BUT let's be honest if we wanted quick results we wouldn't be doing MAF

MAF Review and the future........

So while I'm currently resting I've started to review my MAF journey and planning out the next part of it

My main focus is Manchester Marathon on 10th April 2016....I've got a goal of sub 4 hours for my first and honestly believe MAF can take me there, I've got about 15 weeks to train depending on when I start back up again properly.

But while thinking about the structure of my plan, I started to go over the last 2 phases of MAF I've done

I've got other posts summerising below in more detail

http://seguhi87.blogspot.com/2015/08/my-maf-journey.html

http://seguhi87.blogspot.com/2015/09/maf-update-updated-23092015.html

http://seguhi87.blogspot.com/2015/10/maf-update.html


**Note** There is a lot of data floating around my blog , please don't be put off by it, it's just the analytical side of my mind if you need it explaining then please feel free to ask.

The main purpose of this post is to cross-reference both phases and work out the amount of time spent at MAF and the time spent over MAF and see if the more time spent at MAF has an impact on my MAF Pace.. **2nd Part coming soon...Excel has really hurt my head tonight**

After a lengthy stint in Excel (see above) copying the information from my Strava where I've got the bulk of my data ( there are some gaps when my watch didn't record or I had to input it in as a manual entry so it is a slight under calcualtion)

** The zones are taken from my Strava based on previous HR Max so they don't directly link with MAF but come close enough...I've customised Z2 in Strava to stop at 157pm so least it will link with my MAF HR

So the pictures below are the amount of hours spent training (Total) then broken down into time spent in each Zone with Z2 being as close to MAF



The difference is quite noticeable between the two much more time spent in Zone 3 and Zone 4 in the 2nd phase I did a lot more club runs and faster sessions the 2nd time around also I trained a lot more and completed some bigger distances the 2nd time around which added on to the total time



For me it's nice to see this type of information as text and try to understand it

It's also lead me to a much more structured approach to my training for the marathon...TIME TO GET SERIOUS... I've done MAF for about 9 months total over the last 15 months and I can see myself doing a lot more in the future for my goal but for 2016 everything needs to fit in place as much as possible.

I can't be running MAF and eating junk or having off /days/weeks where I get caught up in the speed of club runs or parkruns to break my PB ( I know it will happen at times and it's how I adapt to it that helps and think about the bigger picture) I have to stick to my goals.

I'll be outlining my plan for Manchester and blogging about each week/month in the near future

I'm really looking forward to this challenge and I am so happy to have discovered MAF

Thanks for reading

Warrington Way 40 Mile Ultra

So I've been fascinated with Ultras since I've read Born to Run so when the opprtunity to sign up for a local 40 mile race I was all in...and very excited

So the race was opened in Spring and I signed up pretty much straight away ( 2 weeks after it opened ) I didn't let the fact I had only ran 2 10k races and  by the time the race started on 7th November 3 HM I'm a bit optimist (sometimes to my own detriment)

As most people know I follow the Maffetone method for my training so my idea was just MAF long runs it didn't really pan out as planned and my longest runs in prep were 18 miles and marathon simulation on 4th Oct which helped

So fast foward to 7th Nov and I'm still awake at 2am (on the couch as not to wake the family up)

I get up at 5.30am and make a coffee have a banana and raisin and nut bar and get changed waiting for my lift who arrives at 5.50am

When we arrive the heavens open and it's raining (perfect Ultra weather apparently) 

I'll break the race down into each 10 mile section

Lymm - The Plough 

This section was very muddy and wet the first mile was spent jumping through puddles and mud you then hit the fields and Warburton Bridge which was ok the weather didn't help you cross one field into Dam Lane where my friend was waiting for me, he gave me the news that the leader (I found out later it was Charlie Sharpe) came through at about 7 min mile pace sheesh we ran and chatted for a bit then he branched off to go home and I ran the last 2 miles to the checkpoint myself 

Time 2hrs 1 min

The Plough - White Moss Garden Centre

I got to the 1st CP just after 3 members of my running club Julia, Lisa and David we had a brief chat and something to east (jaffa cakes and coke) and then decided to set off together bar a short detour (left instead of right) we soon got back on track as I was running MAF I ended up a little bit over my HR in trying to keep up and eventually lost them all together - this section had a little detour in it due to water works being done on part of the route a couple guy ahead of my ended up going the wrong way (quick shout to them sorted that out) and then we arrived at the 2nd CP 

Time 2 hrs 44 mins

Widnes - Hatton

This next section was by far the easiest section mentally due to knowing the first 7 miles of the route I had run it numerous times and didn't need to check my map this was a tough section physically due to going over my longest run distance this was helped by a visit from my cousin and few others from my running club at mile 27 that spurred me on 

Time 2hr 52 mins

Hatton - Lymm

Once we reached the final CP there was a group of us (Ben and Howard the 2 guys I shouted to earlier and Denise a women from my running club 2nd Claim) we mingled with another two local runners and set off I ended up going with the two runners and Denise and left Ben and Howard to use the CP they weren't far behind us but I had home in sight

Time 2hr 33

Total Time 10hrs 10 mins

This section was very tough legs were heavy and I was tired but I ploughed on it was sort of a game of keep up until about mile 8 when I put some music on to spur me on and it sort of had the right effect I ended up leaving everyone behind and finish the last 2 miles very strong and 10 mins ahead of Denise and the other two women and 25 mins ahead of Howard and Ben - I felt a little bad due to running with everyone for such a long time but I needed to get done

I really really enjoyed this race it was tough but I learned quite a lot about myself during it and considering I had only done my first HM in May to jump up to an Ultra was a big ask but I did it

I am going to take away a lot from this race I think knowing the route helps massively and gradually increasing mileage up to the required distance is the way forward it is on my list for 2016 and I'll definately better my time from this year

Ultras aren't for everyone but I'm pleased to say that they are for me

Thanks for reading

All smiles after 41 miles

MAF Update

Brief post today more visual that written

After doing my 5th MAF test last night and my 9th Test in a year from October 14 to October 15

I thought I would graph my progress from the last year

I have included the times below the pictures in case you can't see the times/dates on the graph

1st Phase of MAF between Oct 2014 and Feb 2015

MAF Tesr times from 1st Phase

2nd Phase of  MAF between June 2015 upto Oct 2015 **This phase is still ongoing**

Overall progress charted between both Phases

As you can see there is a big improvement over the last year so I would say the method works while it's not the be all and end of training the 4 months spent between Feb and June doing a lot faster running did help improve my times and even lately I've done big MAF runs and the shorter faster runs and am finding a nice balance

I am invested in the Method though and after my Ultra and subsequent rest I will be base building for the foreseeable future I really want to take this method as far as possible

Thanks for reading

So 26.2 miles...

So I'm 5 weeks away from the toughest running challenge I've faced a 40 mile Ultra on Nov 7th

I've posted and asked for advice regarding my training and was advised to do a marathon before hand

I had aimed to get a Chester Marathon place but it didn't happen so my fallback was heading out for 26.2 on my own...this is a summary of my attempt

So I woke at 6.20 I'd pre-prepared my stuff (2l hydration pack, 4 raisin and nut bars, caramac, 500ml flat coke, a banana and 6 pieces of salami cut into triangles split in 3 peices each) I was aiming to do MAF for the whole marathon (more on this later) so I get ready and am out the door start my warm up I set of running my route plan is below

I hit my first niggle with my right foot I've had few issues with my plantar I had to stop after 2 miles and use an insert in my shoe (helped massively) and off I went down to Widnes Victoria Park (5 miles) for the parkrun loop (8.1 miles) and then back the same route to Warrington Victoria Park (16 - 20 miles) for that parkrun loop and then up round to Asda and home (20-26.2 miles) typing it and even mapping it made it seem easy but it was far from it

My plan had been listen to Endurance Planet Podcasts and when the going got tough switch to some music I like (Disturbed) after Widnes I ended up switching to the music much earlier than planned and it really helped, I had aimed to eat and drink every 45 mins, I had a veg burrito at 6.20am (not my smartest plan but didn't repeat too much) I hit the the first two 45 mins beeps easy then my watch stopped beeping or they merged with the mile beeps so I worked it on time I would stop and walk briefly to eat this helped a lot

My furthest distance prior to this had been 18 miles which was a lot harder (partly due to not being prepared) I had attempted to try a new route the same time as doing my longest run (not the best idea) trying to focus on the right way to go didn't help also my legs and foot hurt a lot and my nutrition during the run wasn't mins managed, so this second attempt was much better

From mile 16 it started to get tough and a few walk breaks really helped so my main focus was to do the whole distance as MAF about 12 miles in I turned the HR alerts on my watch of not because I was over but due to it creeping up and it gave me a good feel for Perceived Exertion which I haven't use I still monitored the HR but didn't slow down if it went over 157bpm, you can see below how the splits worked out and the HR for each mile ( I'm very pleased with the breakdown splits are very good and only saw increasing HR above 157bpm a few times in the back 10 miles which is to be expected.

The one difference in doing a distance in training and doing it in a race IMO is the mind...albiet I've not done a marathon race (yet) but the principal is still the same in a race there is an official start and end point and you are supported through fellow runners, the crowd and aid stations this creates an atmosphere that will push you on knowing there is an end in sight, for me doing this distance I could have ended it at any point I could have quit after Widnes ( 8 miles in or at 20 miles in... I did feel like it both times but pushed it from my mind) it was a massive mental battle which I'm glad to say I won

Overall it was a very tough day but I enjoyed it, I set a goal for myself and achieved it I didn't do it for anyone else (any praise I got is appreciated but not the main focus) it was prep for my 40 miler and I feel much more confident about it now, I posted about it on a few of my groups including this one and my running club one and got some nice comments and even got a mention on the running club Twitter page which was a nice surprise

Final picture is on me just after I finished I rarely take selfies during training only when it's been a tough achievement and 26.2 miles on your own can certainly count as tough

Hope you've enjoyed reading

Thanks