Running

^ great advice.

Anyone have problems with their soleus muscle? What do you/have you done about it? Extra points if you have high feet arches

You got a lacrosse ball/pressure point ball thingy?

Yep, I just can't seem to shake it getting tight on runs tho. I'm at the point that I'm going to have to go to a walk run schedule.

I did - have posted before (so apologies to others seeing this again).

Summary is that it took me a few years to sort out constant strains and stiffness, but it came down to strength- single leg calf raises, bent knee and straight knee, and both high reps at body weight, and low reps with weight (smith machine and a loaded barbell).

Also I started wearing barefoot shoes - not for running but just general kicking around use. After 6 months, maybe more, I could run a couple of ks in them.

Thought I would do a quick write up of my Centurion Winter Downs 200 experience last week, mostly so I can look back and remember the highs and lows before I forget it all and might help others if they are looking at a longer race! Please excuse my terrible writing style and lack of punctuation…

Signed up almost straight away when the race was released, I’d been trying not to commit to any big races for at least a year as the training required eats up so much family time but this was just too tempting and fitted well as it is close to home, a good time of year when work is quiet, no pacers required (I don’t have many running friends) and takes in most of the South Downs Way which I missed out on running in 2021.

Training went ok, had a calf tear for a couple of months but was still able to cycle and hike so didn’t loose too much fitness. Otherwise, training went well and generally was less intrusive as I got it done early morning on the treadmill more so this time and was smarter with fitting in recce runs either overnight or on weekdays when the kids were at school. Also have got into a reasonably good routine with strength training for the first time in my life, which has made a huge difference to the outcome I think.

Kit planning was on another level. I was trying to avoid going nuts buying all the shiny things, but even so the breadth of kit options needed was insane and then packing for all eventualities took two and a half days! However, I was fully aware that to succeed in this sort of race I would need to adapt and trouble shoot whenever problems arose.

Registration was on Tuesday night, no problems, all went very quickly but having gone into work Tuesday morning, panic shopped for last minute bits in the afternoon, travelled to Box Hill and back for registration I’d had a far from restful pre-event day. I also crammed my way through “How to fix your feet” on the train, a very in-depth manual on everything footcare for endurance races as my biggest fear was my feet falling apart and not having a clue what to do about it…

Managed to get a reasonable nights sleep, took a couple of Night Nurse which knocked me out as I’m terrible for anxiety dreams pre-race normally, not the best move for the next day though as they seem to take until midday to wear off! Made it to the start line with no stresses.

Set off feeling ok but not full of energy, was able to keep up a decent pace but it felt hard work, which given the length of race was pretty worrying. Got to my first two crew stops fine and refuelled but was uncrewed for the first night, which on paper seemed fine as the first aid station was at 49 miles and then push on through the night for an early sleep point. Didn’t get into the Aid point until 9pm, so 13 hours for 49 miles. The Vanguard Way was proving extremely unpleasant. There had been a burst river turn into a lake across the course which was knee deep and the rest of trails resembled mud soup, and basically unrunnable. All the slipping was putting strain on everything and it felt like I had sprained my right ankle. Thankfully I had my cheat sticks, how people were doing it without poles is beyond me. Everyone was fixated on the promised land of the South Downs Way, which was only 16 miles away from the first aid station. My feet were starting to show signs of damage with the wet causing folding in the skin that was getting pretty painful and the mud on my calves had chafed all over. I’d made the mistake to assume I would be fine with only changing socks at aid stations so didn’t have the right dry socks with my crew at any useful point but Trench foot cream is my saviour and is one or the main reasons I didn’t suffer more.

Got to Alfriston at the start of SDW at 02:30, hoorah, runnable trails at last! Trouble was, though runnable, some parts of the trail are extremely dull. There is a section of concrete strip up a very long climb, too steep to run, not steep enough to be hard work and at 4am I was hallucinating all over the place. My brain started seeing every shadow or crack as something else, all sorts of animals and objects littered the trail while I sleepily swerved my way up the hills. Nothing disturbing though thankfully but concerning to be hallucinating and sleepwalking on night one! Finally snapped myself out of it by singing loudly to “gothic alternative metal”.

A 7am pit stop in Housedean Esso was a relief and was shortly followed by a stunning sunrise on the next climb which brought rejuvenated energy to carry me to the first sleep point at 92 miles. Got in about 10am, ate and got my head down. Had planned for 90 mins sleep but woke up after 45 mins. Was out the door by 12:30. It was looking pretty bleak but once off the hill it cleared up and had a good afternoon and was treated to a an equally stunning sunset near Steyning Bowl.

By the evening I was starting to realise that I’d been ploughing through endless sugary snacks and Tailwind and it was all getting too much. I often reach this point in a long race and get nauseous, and still don’t seem to have learnt to wind it in before I tip over the edge. Luckily I had the luxury of crew assistance every 7 or so miles until about 3am on the second night so moved to eating only savoury food at the stops and only water in between which seemed to be a good reset.

Working out that I still had 17 miles to the next sleep stop I started the climb out of Cocking around midnight pretty despondent. I’d hoped I would be getting there early morning while still dark, get a good sleep and get out as the sun came up so as to not waste daylight running but that was way behind for that to happen. I immediately started to feel sleepy but was quick to react this time with more sing along music. I started to tell myself that this was a running race, not a walking race and actually found a huge boost. Running didn’t hurt, I could still run with a mid-foot strike and nasal breathing. I felt like a natural born runner efficiently cruising through the night. This section is also very runnable and I started banging out 11 or 12 minute miles all of sudden, which felt amazing after 120 miles of trudging out 16 to 20 minute miles in the slop and hills. This mantra kept going most of the night and I came into the next sleep station at around 5am, much quicker than I had forecast and still running and passing people on the long track down to the Sustainability Center just after Butser Hill. Got two and a half hours sleep, again waking without an alarm and headed off just after 10am.

The third day looked positive with crew points every 10 miles or so up until midnight. By the afternoon my right knee was getting sore which I decided was due to blisters on my foot changing my gait so decided it was time to start treating those. Some rather unpleasant jabbing a sharp knife in between toes to pop and drain from my unphased sister-in-law sorted them. Taped them up and was on my way. Unfortunately, my knee still didn’t improve but at least the blisters stopped bothering me. Had chips sitting in the Alton Waitrose carpark. Tried taping the knee at midnight at my last crew point for the night. Was a nice placebo for a while but not long after the other knee joined in with the complaints. I could still run, my calves and thighs were still pain free but it was pretty uncomfortable, but I really wanted to get it done, I wasn’t going to walk the final marathon distance. Run walk Jeffing was the tactic and it worked. The third night was tough, but there were no sleepy gremlins and I kept moving, overtaking people quite a bit. Got all David Goggins on myself and started “taking souls” by fixating on catching runner after runner.

Headed out of Farnham to start the North Downs Way feeling positive, was soon kicking myself as I’d forgotten about another flooded section and left pretty much all my footcare stuff in the car. Luckily the final aid station had hot radiators so I got my socks partially dried. Tried to sleep for 15 mins but just closed my eyes and listened to the conversations going on around me.

Sunrise took a long time to come and there was times when the fog was so thick I couldn’t see anything outside the puddle of light from my headtorch, especially up near St Martha’s Church but I was still running intermittently.

My crew decided to come meet me at Denbies Hillside, which I felt was imposing too much on them to get out early but was very grateful as it meant dry socks and shoes for the last five miles!!! The drop down from Denbies was just steep enough to be runnable without killing my ever ouchy knees, “took another soul” on the way down!

The course has a nasty sting in the tail with a climb back up the box hill steps followed by a steep decent down to Juniper Hall but I was on a mission and got up the stairs like I was trying to get the Strava segment!

My kids were waiting to run over the line with me and had made me a medal and trophy. I had thoroughly enjoyed myself and got to the finish line in a state to be able to enjoy it with my kids.

Although the conditions under foot were dreadful thankfully it wasn’t too cold or rainy above making this eminently achievable. Future years may be less hospitable!

Time: 74:03:09 Position: 20

TLDR: what a fantastic well organised event with endless ups and downs, plenty of challenges and problem solving along the way and that by staying positive and pushing myself I could keep going and enjoy the experience.

Amazing, saw the photos on X and it looked HARD. Lovely time of year to rest and recuperate and spend some family down time. I hope the knees forgive you soon.

Very well done and great write up.

I fancy this race but first need to complete a 100 to be eligible (just getting started in Ultras) and would also need to undertake it uncrewed but still like the idea.

Official race report here - Which is a great read

https://www.centurionrunning.com/reports/2023/winter-downs-200-2023-race-report?fbclid=IwAR0vk7oyCpMkzK8lp-z39mVPVvVYd1s723VnAwXymrNbNJlv-bzTwyKGmXY

I have a pair of these in Large which I bought without trying on and are too big. brand new with tags. £50?

Incredible. Chapeau to you (and everyone else who started).

Awesome, looks a bit like they are angling for an event to compete a bit with the Spine. Tempted to sign up for next year, it work well with my plan to do Offas Dyke in Aug.

I'm in a similar situation to you and tend to do events with no crew or pacers. If you want a pacer for your next event, hit me up!

How are you feeling now after a bit of recovery?

I think the main motivation was to create something new that expands what they offer. However it is far more runnable than the spine, the kit list is tiny in comparison and my pack was only about 4kg including 1ltr of water and I didn’t make much effort to minimise weight.

My knees and ankles are still sore and swollen, HRV very low and sleep quality according to Garmin is very bad even though I’m getting 10 hours a night! There is definitely a bigger recovery window on these events!

You’ve got big plans there, likewise shout if I can help!

I have for the past 6 months, just getting over it now. Soleus wall squats have helped a lot and extra rest days. Are you feeling it in your achilles?

I had thoroughly enjoyed myself

This!

Welll fucking done!

kit list is tiny in comparison

This is what puts me off the Spine, I'd need so much more kit that I'd end up spending a fortune on a weeks holiday for me, and way more than we'd spend taking the family away for a week. I just can't afford or justify it.

There is definitely a bigger recovery window on these events!

Absolutely. I normally give myself a month after a 100 before I consider any proper training, just try to get out on easy runs if I feel up to it and maybe get back into the routine of running with some regularity but not pushing it. Just going through several nights with very little sleep is hard enough, add on the physical exertion of 200 miles and you've got a lot of recovering to do. Right time of the year to regain some weight though :)

You’ve got big plans there

Unfinished business after being ill and pulling out after 80 miles last time.

This is what puts me off the Spine, I'd need so much more kit that I'd end up spending a fortune

For sprint I had to carry same kit as full, just no resupply bag needed. I had accumulated most of it already so cost wasn't huge. If not done akready, if you audit your kit box you may find you probably have a fair bit of it too?

Saucony Endorphin Pro 3s for £112 on Sportshoes.

Slightly convoluted method to get the discount

You have to sign up to https://www.livefortheoutdoors.com/trail-running/training/run1000miles/ to get a 15% off code then pay in Norwegian currency and you'll qualify for free delivery and save a further ~7%.

Only as I have tried to strengthen my calfs. I was feeling it just below the bigger calf muscles. I may have cracked it tho. I don't think it is a strength or load issue, I think it is a form issue. The type of form issue that you can carry through your 20s and 30s but not your 40s.

I have done both ankle ligaments more than once, my right hamstring is a bit shredded, and I have very high arches of my feet. I dug out a running assesment from 2015. On my right I am toe out, knee coming out and low gear gate. Issue is likely coming from my hip and ankle.

Yesterday I went out for a short run. Some walking was involved. I had some arch support insoles in and just focused on straightening up my right leg and taking off from it properly. No calf issues and I was a little faster for the same perceived effort (possibly from biomechanical reasons).

So what do I think now. Calf strength is not an issue. I needed to improve my running form, flexibility and probably ankle joint mobility.

So if I want to run without constant niggles then I need to do running form drills, and strength and flexibility for better running form.

I'll go with that and probably see a physio in the new year.

Anyone doing the Vicky Park 10k on the 7th of Jan?

Been running a fair bit over December and fancy trying to crack 40 mins. Did a 40:09 five years ago after following slightly-off Strava splits on my earphones 🫠

What does a 9 month lead into an October marathon look like?

For context, I spent most of this year training for IM 70.3 Cork in August but ended up not even making it to the start line of the postponed race, and took a mates entry to Dublin marathon, giving me 8 weeks to build up to the marathon distance. I absolutely loved every second of it, signed up almost immediately for Dublin again in 2024, but with baby 2 due in March I’m planning to drop swim and bike almost entirely, maybe just one recovery bike a week.

I ran a 3:20:25, but would like go a bit faster next year if I’m dropping swim and bike (despite adding to the family).

Should I aim to improve 5k time jan/feb, 10k mar/apr, half may/jun, then July-October building up to marathon? Or should I jump straight into long steady runs focusing on marathon distance from January?

Endurance and base for now. You've got ages until the marathon.

Maybe do a half training plan then focus on the big one after

I've started too early on a marathon training cycle previously and paid for it by feeling over tired in the run up. Seconding that you have ages.

I won a spot in mcr marathon via club. Complete not compete I hope so I don't break myself.

Allotment is close to the start so I have baggage store & toilet option right there, happy days.

Agree with comments having been in a similar situation. Keep your training spicy for now, meantime obsess about the specific programme you might like to follow from c end of June. But I would suggest building some LSDs chatting with a mate before then - if anything (lurgie/niggle) disrupts them in the run up it will feel good to have them in the bank. I wish I had done this.

Thought it was better atmosphere than London when I did it, the walk to the start line did seem far and the waves set off a bit randomly.