A steady start.

Monday 9th May

Running: 5 miles  - 50 minutes - 10 min mile pace - HR Zone 2 Recovery Run

I rose early for the first time in ages feeling fresh after a few nights of decent sleep. I slipped out of the house for a very gentle recovery run around Walney. My legs were still a bit stiff after Saturdays race and I felt much better after the run / jog / hobble :) The walk to work helped to loosen things up a bit more (legs not bowels!!)

Food Diary

Breakfast 
Nutribullet Smoothie : Spinach, Avocado, Mango, Pineapple, Brazil nuts

Lunch: 
Chicken and potato salad with Avocado and a little blue cheese dressing

Dinner: 
Roast Salmon with parsnip chips, Asparagus and Sugar Snap peas and half a pepper stuffed with Maize Cous Cous, pesto, olives and feta cheese

Drinks : Lots of Bottled Water and coffee

Start over!

Father forgive me... its been a while since my last blog :)

The last month has been possibly the toughest the Winter family has known. Its been hell and Oliver has had a really hard time. We are all very exhausted, stressed, upset, etc etc you get the picture.

Autism has a way of delivering blows like a prizefighter, it only takes one punch and your knocked on your back. Oliver is growing up fast and is really struggling with the changes and challenging EVERYTHING!! Joannes insomnia has been getting worse and I've been sleeping on the front room floor for the last 10 weeks. Something had to give and last week Oliver exploded and I was called out of work. Joanne was in pieces, Oliver had attacked her and left her shaken, bruised and heartbroken.

After the dust settled, I tried to work out what was going wrong, I didn't have a clue what was causing all the problems, we'd been working closely with his school to put things in place to stop him stressing but it still wasn't working. I looked at the situation again and wondered if me sleeping downstairs and the house being upside down was upsetting him somehow...so I took a few days off work, sorted the spare room out and bought a proper bed for myself to sleep in. Ive had 3 days of decent sleep instead of the 3 or 4hrs  I was getting downstairs. I feel 100% better and hopefully will be able to spend more time with Oliver instead of being like a zombie after work.

So, my training had gone completely to pot. I had a race on Saturday and it found me completely lacking. It was hot and hilly and I ran out of steam after an hour of running. I finished 16th in the end - not bad you might say, but I was tenth up to the hour mark and had to drop off the pace. Its all part of the learning experience and I just wasn't ready for the race.

Me dying up a hill.

 I've got a trail marathon in 4 weeks and my 100 miler in 9 weeks so this is the plan...

Restart my blog - it helps me focus and makes me accountable.
Tweak my training - get my strength training back in and add in some more miles.
Lose some weight - Ive put half a stone on, eating crap and being very stressed
Enjoy my running - Just get out there and run!

So there you go, weve been to hell and back, Oliver is a little bit calmer and hopefully over the worst of this "blip" so onwards and upwards...

Bin avin a MARE!

Wow it seems like ages since I had a minute to myself to sit down and write my blog. Weve had a pretty horrible time the last two weeks, Oliver has been very, very anxious and had quite a few meltdowns including one the other night at Midnight. Im surprised the police didnt turn up he was screaming so much, it was an incredibly upsetting and worrying night for all of us. We are even having trouble getting him out of the house - everywhere is too busy, or too loud or too quiet and its almost like agoraphobia.

Needless to say its gotten much worse the closer we got to him going back to school and both Joanne and I are exhausted. Its been a very upsetting and stressful couple of weeks. We just managed to get him to school this morning and he seemed to have a good day in the end. Its a worrying time as Joanne seems to get ill as Oliver gets more stressed and its probably stress related so as usual I bear the brunt of it and Ive been very down and extremely tired.

Ive struggled with my training but still forced myself to get out, following my training plan as best as I could under the circumstances. Ive got a race at the weekend and Im not making excuses already but Ive not had the most ideal run up to it.

The heart rate training is going well but it does seem very slow compared to how I normally run. However I dont feel as tight in my calves and hamstrings since Ive not been pushing as hard as often. I still do run fast when the training allows but its always sandwiched between slower warm ups and cool downs. I think it takes a few months for the changes to kick in properly so it will be perfect for my ultra.

Thats it really, I hope things settle down this week and I can relax a bit before the trail race on Saturday. :)

An old injury rears its ugly head

Ive been working hard again this week, doing lots of jobs at home and in the garden so I havent had much spare time so here is a quick recap:

Wednesday 30th March

Rest Day + strength and core work followed by foam roller / stretch session.

Thursday 31st March

Recovery Run am - 3. 25 miles - Heart Rate Zone 2

Interval Session pm - 6.9 miles - Heart Rate Zone 2 + Zone 4 Intervals

Friday 1st April

I was due a recovery run today, 30 min in zone 2 and hoped to get it done after work. Joanne phoned me at work and I had to get her prescription from the Doctors. Our surgery is on the other side of town so I walked there after work in the torrential rain! I didnt have the car and Joanne needed the medication for the weekend so I didnt have a choice. I ended up walking briskly for about 5 miles (work to Doctors to home) and as I had walked to work that morning (2 miles) I decided that would be my recovery session. I did my strength and core work later in the evening and felt great.

Saturday 2nd April

I woke this morning feeling very stiff through my lower back. I went to get out of bed and my back spasmed. I was locked in place and locked in pain. I must have slept at an awkward angle and trapped a nerve. I was gutted, I had big plans for my training this weekend - a steady run today and a recce of  part of the Lakeland 100 course on Sunday (about 28 miles).

Im getting used to this now, about 9 years ago I bent over to pick up a bin bag and displaced two discs in my lower back. Its been an ongoing problem since and I occasionally get pain and stiffness with no reason. As you probably realize, I do everything I can to counter act it - running, core work, strength work, stretching and good rest days but it still seems to catch up with me from time to time.

I just had to lay there for a while until the pain had passed then crawled on all fours to the freezer for some peas. I got to the sofa and managed to get the peas under my back and let the cold take some of the swelling down. After about 30 min or so I managed to get up and walk around - albeit nearly doubled over but moving around is the only way to sort it. I was at work in the evening so I had to get back on my feet for that - A few people from work were on leave this weekend so there was no-one to cover me,  I had to make it.

 After the cold of the peas and a  couple of CoCodimols I ran a hot bath to relax my back muscles. It worked and by late afternoon I was able to go to work. I was duty officer for a show so I took it easy and kept moving all night, my back improving all the time. I made a sensible decision to cancel my recce run on Sunday. I felt ok by the time I had finished work but I could still feel a tightness in the muscles. Its a risky recce route over some passes in the lakes and the last thing I want is to take stupid risks when I dont need to. If my back goes out there its a serious business, with exposure being a real problem. I will do the recce myself in the next few months.

For the meantime I will continue with my heart rate training once I feel up to it.

A very peaceful and tranquil start to the day

Tuesday 29th March

I was back at work today and  knowing how things go in school holidays I woulnd't get out for a run tonight, so rose early I went out first thing. After a lovely run along the beach I made breakfast and lunch then headed to work. It was a fairly quiet day and I returned home. Oliver wanted to play for a while and Joanne went to bed then I settled down to write this blog.

Running: Recovery Run

3.09 miles / 30min / 9.42 min mile avg.

Recovery session: 30 min in Heart Rate Zone 2

I set off into the cool morning air just before 7am. I made my way up to the beach path, and ran the length of it before turning back for home. It felt quite strange running considerably slower than I normally do but Im going to follow the plan to the end and see what happens. The heart rate zone was low and I had to keep my BPM below 120. I started to get used to the pace and started to really concentrate on my form and my breathing, taking big, slow lungfuls of the fresh sea air and ran totally introspectively.

It was a really lovely sensation and became almost meditative as I ran along. I never take music with me in the morning and I just enjoyed listening to the roar of the tide, to the morning chorus of the birds and the breeze blowing through the grass. It always fills me full of energy, cleaning away all my stress and letting me just be me. I recently came across a word in a book I've never read before - Biophilia and I had to look it up. Its dictionary definition is:

biophilia
noun
1. an innate love for the natural world, supposed to be felt universally by humankind
2. a love of life and the living world, the affinity of human beings for other life forms

I think this sums up quite nicely how I feel when I run in nature. Ive strongly come to believe that our bodies were not designed for this modern life, with hard backed chairs, sedentary jobs, processed food etc (the list is endless). I think we (I) operate much better as a person when we are surrounded by nature, away from towns and cities. This is where our kind originated and learned to hunt and live, we were one with our surroundings and even now I think our bodies and minds have a symbiotic relationship with it. Sorry this is quite deep for a Tuesday but I just love being surrounded by nature, its so uplifting.

Needless to say I had an extremely relaxing run along the shore.I came away feeling very relaxed and my mind was clear for the rest of the day. Its was great to slow things down for a while and as the great Ferris Bueller once said "life moves pretty fast". No! Wait! Stop! - I will let the man himself say it...

Thats enough philosophizing from me for one day, Im off for a long soak in a hot bath! Night night.

Wearing my heart on my...wrist??

Monday 28th March

Ive been off work today as its Easter Monday so after doing a few chores and putting a lamb shoulder into cook I nipped out for a run. Ive started a new training plan using heart rate zones (explained below). I got home, showered and finished dinner off. Oliver wanted chicken wraps as he said he didn't like eating sheep! But shortly after putting the lamb out he appeared and wanted to try it ( I never force him to try stuff, his natural curiosity and keen sense of smell always gets him interested!). He nibbled a piece of lamb and told me "it was nice but would be better in a bowl with some of that sauce on it" pointing at the gravy! He demolished a bowl of it! My plan works every time :)

After dinner, that was lovingly washed down with a glass of Merlot, I tidied up and caught up with my blog before bedtime.

The Plan of Attack:

Since I returned to running after breaking my toe, I was just running as I thought and not following a set plan. I wanted to get something together to get me ready for the Lakeland 100 so Ive spent the last few months formulating this:

Ive got three races in the three months prior to the the Lakeland 100 in July:
Hawkshead 17k trail Race in April, Stavely 17k Trail Race in May, Coniston Trail Marathon in June then the Lakeland 100 at the end of July.

Im going to follow an advanced marathon training plan up to the Marathon in June using a heart rate monitor and training in heart rate zones and adding some longer ultra training runs in along the way. The races in-between will be almost like time trials for the marathon. I did the same marathon last year and finished 10th in 3:36 hrs. It was a great time but my run had been all over the place and I hit the wall massively about 18 miles in. It was an extremely tough race and I hadnt quite recovered after the 40 mile Keswick to Barrow a month earlier. the K2B is all on roads and it hurt my legs, especially my ITB, a lot for a few weeks afterwards and I was really sore. This year I'm not chancing the K2B with the 100 coming up.

My  overall theory is, if I train myself to run at a fast pace with a controlled heart rate, then when it comes to the ultra, my heart wont be working hard at slower paces, hopefully making me more efficient and not use as much energy. Well that's my theory!

My new watch has a training calendar with the capability of programming in specific workouts on it. Ive got a really good plan from Garmin and its now in my watch (after 2 hours of trying!!!) .Its an advanced plan for a sub 3 hr marathon pace. I wont be expecting that time on the race because of the terrain and ascent but it should get me fit enough to get a PB, - fingers crossed.

My new training partner - Garmin 620 + HRM

Running 

60 min/ 7.20 miles / 8.12 min mile avg.
This was the training: Lactate Threshold Run
(My heart rate is Minimum Resting 43 bpm and Maximum 187 bpm. The program works out each zone on a percentage - Zone 4 = 60% to 80%)

10 minutes in Zone 2 warm up: I set off and straight away went over my heart rate zone. Come on Lee, slow down, warm up properly I chastised myself. So after a brief walk to get my heart rate down I slowly plodded down to the prom. For the time being my zone 2 equates to under 120 bpm and about 10 min mile pace. This felt like a snails pace but Im going to go with it as the science behind the plan is solid. After a very long ten minutes I started the next section

30 minutes in Zone 4 at Lactate threshold pace. this was more like it. I picked up the pace and balanced the heart rate zone in the high part of zone 4. The pace (depending on the terrain and wind) was about 6:50 min mile pace - exactly a 3 hr marathon pace! and my HR for Zone 4 is up to 161 bpm. This is what the program has "designed" for me, working out the correct levels to work at as to improve my times without me pushing and training too hard. The pace was comfortably hard and I felt good after a couple of rest days. The 30 minutes flew by and I slowed for the last section.

10 minutes in Zone 2. This was really tough to get my heart rate down without walking. Every time i started running I was running too fast and in the wrong zone. It will take me a while to get to grips with the feel of the pace in each zone. I finally managed to slow down and dropped into the correct zone. After another long 10 mins it was time for a cool down.

10 mins cool down. I slowed to a crawl and then walked the last half a mile home, really concentrating on getting my heart rate back to normal. I breathed in the sea air and calmed my body down. It felt great after a pacy run, rather than my usual tactic of sprinting all the way round the loop and nearly dying at my front door, totally out of breath. There will still be those runs but for now I'm going to follow the plan and see what happens. I'm hoping the better use of my training will help me to improve over the next few months and train smarter, only time will tell!.

Garden Version 2.0

Oliver had outgrown his slide (and the wood had split!)  

Ive had an extremely busy week and haven't stopped. Its been hectic at work and at home Ive been sorting the garden out for Oliver. About 3 years ago we transformed the garden into a safe place for Oliver to play all year round, with artificial grass and his own play area. I've not really done much to it, especially last year with all the weather and it had become a bit of a mess. Oliver had outgrown his playground and the weather had hammered the paving and paintwork

Oliver and I clearing the garden

Cleared out and ready for a paint job.

Oliver came out to help me make the swing.

So I set about it this week, hoping to get Oliver something to play on for his break at Easter. Weve also decided to convert the summer house into a den for Oliver so he can invite his friends round when the weather gets better. Im hoping to put an old TV and retro games console in there for him (and me ha ha). Oliver helped me for a while, putting all of his old garden toys in a pile for the skip, they were so bad we couldn't even give them away.


Oliver is really into Minecraft and made me laugh. He said that the garden was having an "Update" from version 1.0 to 2.0. I love the way he described this and that's what I'm going to call it from now on. He came to help me set the swing up and we had bought a frammock for him (its a hammock in a frame and will be good for him to chill out in. We just managed to get it up before dark and Oliver had a quick test swing. Im going to put some lighting up this week and get the rest of the garden sorted between storms!!

Garden V2.0 : A lick of paint, some artificial grass and a swing set. Looks cool!

 So that's been it all week and I've only managed a few runs after a racing hard at the weekend.

Running:

Tuesday 22nd March 

6.83 miles / 52.18 min / 7.39 min mile avg

A tempo pace run around my usual loop.

Wednesday 23rd March

7.11 miles / 49.04 min / 6.54 min mile avg

Another fast pace run around Walney

Friday 25th March

16.01 miles / 2:07:36 hrs / 7.58 min miles

My mate Paul is doing the Manchester Marathon in a couple of weeks time. He asked me if I would pace him today at 8 min mile pace in preparation for his race. We set out early and picked the flattest run we could come up with to simulate the race. It was a really enjoyable run on a beautiful morning and Paul hit the pace really well and maintained it throughout, even though we had been racing the past weekend and had tired legs. Hes going to smash his goals in the marathon, I'm sure of it.

Saturday and Sunday
I was working Saturday night until late and decided to have a couple of rest days after a hard week of running. I wanted to concentrate on a new training plan for the coming months. All will be explained in my next blog.....