Out of 2019 and into 2020
24/12/19 19:43
Last year I was so miserable about the injuries that were stopping me running that I didn't get around to writing a 'end of 2018/start of year 2019' blog until May. This year things are better, but it feels an odd place to draw a line. My 2019 'racing' year ended in May, the Autumn has been a gradual build up to early 2020 and I don't yet have plans beyond February 2020.
2019: the first half
I started the year fairly broken. My Monarch's Way foot injury was still lingering, and flared up when I tried to run, or walk in rigid shoes without lots of cushioning. Plus I had a long-term leg issue which caused constant discomfort, apart from immediately after spending 2 or 3 days walking.
I'd already entered 2 races for the year: a 24 hour track race in Helsinki in February and the EMU 6 day race in Hungary in May. I soon gave up on getting back to running properly and instead concentrated on improving my walking speed. (My walking is even slower, relatively, than my running and I usually only do alright at multi-day events by running more than most of the rest of the middle and rear of the field.) My foot is OK in heavily cushioned shoes. However unfortunately even men's wide fit Hokas aren't wide enough for my hobbit feet, and both races turned into painful blister fests. Better than feeling like one of your metatarsals is being smashed to pieces with every footstep though…
The 6 day didn't quite go to plan, but I still managed to beat my goal. Walking (or alternating shuffling and walking as it turned out) is a lot harder mentally than running with regular walk breaks. In both the 24 hour and 6 day I wasted a lot of time. And I've definitely got unfinished business at 6 days.
The other highlight of the first half of the year was run/walking every street in Chesterfield. It was a much bigger project than I initially realised, but surprisingly satisfying.
Building up for 2020
I was tempted to throw myself at another 6 day ASAP. But they're mentally tough, and I suspect there's a limit to how many 'good' ones I've got in me. So I've decided that a better plan is to get the injuries fixed (or at least managed so that I can run) before trying again. And in the meantime I need some race goals to focus on where walking fast with a bit of running is good preparation. I've been pondering an arctic race for a while, and since I'm not lecturing in the Spring semester in 2020 I decided to take the opportunity to do the Rovaniemi 150 in February. I'm both excited and scared. Pulling a sled through snow covered wilderness really appeals. But the cold, and in particularly frostbite, is really scary. My wonky-finger incident made my realise how devastated I'd be if I couldn't play the piano. And I can't use my usual approach of meticulously preparing by replicating the race conditions. So this is very much going to be a cautious adventure (with lots of re-reading of race blogs beforehand) rather than a race. As a warm-up I've, slightly randomly, entered the Spine Challenger again in January. Partly to try out my improved walking speed on gnarlier terrain, and partly to stop myself prematurely entering the Across the Years 6 day race in the US.
Training so far has been a mixture of running and walking, either off-road with a pack or fast on a treadmill. I've bought a cheap one so I can watch Netflix, instead of the (2nd rate Chesterfield) muscle-heads at the gym…. I've got hold of a tyre which, after the Challenger (and once we've got around to drilling holes in it…), I'll be dragging around. I also finally got around to doing all of the ~33 mile Round Chesterfield walk route in one go. Over the past 10 years I've done a significant fraction of my training on it, but it's just a bit too long, and (in places) miserable and muddy, for a normal training run.
On the injury front, things appear (fingers, toes and legs crossed) to be getting better. The foot is no worse than slightly achey, provided I only wear cushioned shoes. And, thanks to Northern Runner I've found some running shoes (made by a Finnish brand, Karhu) that are wide enough for me. So hopefully no more Hoka blister fests for me. The leg sometimes feels 'not quite right', and I've got to be a bit careful about forward bends in yoga (no Supta Kurmasana for me anytime soon). But the constant pain is gone. The 6 day race got rid of it, and then sorting out my driving position (by taking a mallet to the head-rest and getting a custom made wedge-shaped seat cushion) seems to have kept it gone.
2019: the first half
I started the year fairly broken. My Monarch's Way foot injury was still lingering, and flared up when I tried to run, or walk in rigid shoes without lots of cushioning. Plus I had a long-term leg issue which caused constant discomfort, apart from immediately after spending 2 or 3 days walking.
I'd already entered 2 races for the year: a 24 hour track race in Helsinki in February and the EMU 6 day race in Hungary in May. I soon gave up on getting back to running properly and instead concentrated on improving my walking speed. (My walking is even slower, relatively, than my running and I usually only do alright at multi-day events by running more than most of the rest of the middle and rear of the field.) My foot is OK in heavily cushioned shoes. However unfortunately even men's wide fit Hokas aren't wide enough for my hobbit feet, and both races turned into painful blister fests. Better than feeling like one of your metatarsals is being smashed to pieces with every footstep though…
The 6 day didn't quite go to plan, but I still managed to beat my goal. Walking (or alternating shuffling and walking as it turned out) is a lot harder mentally than running with regular walk breaks. In both the 24 hour and 6 day I wasted a lot of time. And I've definitely got unfinished business at 6 days.
The other highlight of the first half of the year was run/walking every street in Chesterfield. It was a much bigger project than I initially realised, but surprisingly satisfying.
Building up for 2020
I was tempted to throw myself at another 6 day ASAP. But they're mentally tough, and I suspect there's a limit to how many 'good' ones I've got in me. So I've decided that a better plan is to get the injuries fixed (or at least managed so that I can run) before trying again. And in the meantime I need some race goals to focus on where walking fast with a bit of running is good preparation. I've been pondering an arctic race for a while, and since I'm not lecturing in the Spring semester in 2020 I decided to take the opportunity to do the Rovaniemi 150 in February. I'm both excited and scared. Pulling a sled through snow covered wilderness really appeals. But the cold, and in particularly frostbite, is really scary. My wonky-finger incident made my realise how devastated I'd be if I couldn't play the piano. And I can't use my usual approach of meticulously preparing by replicating the race conditions. So this is very much going to be a cautious adventure (with lots of re-reading of race blogs beforehand) rather than a race. As a warm-up I've, slightly randomly, entered the Spine Challenger again in January. Partly to try out my improved walking speed on gnarlier terrain, and partly to stop myself prematurely entering the Across the Years 6 day race in the US.
Training so far has been a mixture of running and walking, either off-road with a pack or fast on a treadmill. I've bought a cheap one so I can watch Netflix, instead of the (2nd rate Chesterfield) muscle-heads at the gym…. I've got hold of a tyre which, after the Challenger (and once we've got around to drilling holes in it…), I'll be dragging around. I also finally got around to doing all of the ~33 mile Round Chesterfield walk route in one go. Over the past 10 years I've done a significant fraction of my training on it, but it's just a bit too long, and (in places) miserable and muddy, for a normal training run.
On the injury front, things appear (fingers, toes and legs crossed) to be getting better. The foot is no worse than slightly achey, provided I only wear cushioned shoes. And, thanks to Northern Runner I've found some running shoes (made by a Finnish brand, Karhu) that are wide enough for me. So hopefully no more Hoka blister fests for me. The leg sometimes feels 'not quite right', and I've got to be a bit careful about forward bends in yoga (no Supta Kurmasana for me anytime soon). But the constant pain is gone. The 6 day race got rid of it, and then sorting out my driving position (by taking a mallet to the head-rest and getting a custom made wedge-shaped seat cushion) seems to have kept it gone.
.
2020 beyond February
I don't have concrete plans beyond February, but will probably enter one of the races at the Kauhajoki Ultra Running Festival in Finland in June/July. I'd initially been thinking of the 72 hour race as a warm-up for another 6 day at Across the Years over New Year 2020/21. But Across the Years probably isn't going be viable for a mixture of reasons, both good (a potential epic 25th anniversary/OH's 50th birthday central American holiday) and bad (a big work deadline plus a new lecture course in the Autumn). So I may well do the 6 day in Finland.
And I have a 'project' in mind. Plotting the 'Round Chesterfield' walk route I realised that there are a significant (but not overwhelming) number of roads within it that I haven't yet walked…
