Monday 16th September 2013 - A new challenge

Well, 17 months after I finished my Marathon des Sables training (and indeed, finished the Marathon des Sables) my self-imposed exile from running challenges is over.  Last night I signed up for the 2014 Iron Man Wales triathlon.  It takes place on September 14th 2014.  I have exactly one year to prepare. 

Before I describe training day one, a quick catch up of activities since my last blog.  I completed the MdS.  I can't do justice to the event in a simple post like this other than to say that the Marathon des Sables is exactly as bad and tough and wonderful and beautiful and brutal as everyone else says it is.  One day I will write down my memories of it before they fade from my view but not just yet.

In the intervening time I have run a little and cycled a little but haven't raced at all.  I ran a marathon distance in January to maintain my habit of running one at least once in every calendar year.  It was just a casual Sunday 'long' run that got out of hand and ended up with me shuffling through an exhausting early evening circuit of Ellesmere until Endomondo told me I had reached the magic 26.2 and could rest my weary limbs.  I hadn't trained for it and I paid the appropriate fine in pain and fatigue for days and days afterwards.

I have also realised that I suffer from a dietary weakness that manifests itself as an intolerance to gluten - or more likely, wheat.  I haven't quite nailed it down yet but I know that pasta, bread, biscuits, cakes and the like all trigger awful headaches and irresistible sleepiness.  I abandoned gluten in the middle of last year and haven't looked back.  As of now, September 2013, I am experimenting with vegetarianism, verging on veganism and I am also mostly alcohol free.  Since 1st June I have only drunk alcohol on two occasions and to be perfectly honest I haven't missed it a bit.

I've also broken two bones in my right hand in two separate incidents.  One alcohol fuelled and full of shame and fury and the other done during a gloriously playful afternoon by the river with Emma and our combined family of four wonderful kids.  I'd cheerfully break another bone to have more days like that one.  We had a great time.

So on to now.  I'd been thinking for a while of taking on another challenge and that curious 'niggle' built into an itch, then an obsession and finally culminated last night in my making the commitment to Iron Man.  I am VERY excited!

I'll write more about my training plan over the coming weeks but one thing I am experimenting with is Heart Rate zone training for the first time.  I intend to train for a while in HR zone 2 which, for me, means a maximum HR of 126 beats per minute.  If you've never tried HR training, and sticking to something as modest as zone 2, you should give it a go.  It's a lot harder than it looks!  For me to stick to that low a heart rate I had to slow to a pitiful 12:28 mins per mile.  It's really frustrating to be out on a lovely sunny autumnal day, feeling fantastic and fast, only to force yourself to plod along at a pace barely faster than the dog walkers who proliferate on days like these.  I went through a constant cycle of over-exuberance with an inevitable increase in heart rate, followed by a few paces of walking to bring it down and then back to a slow shuffle that morphed into a good stride and a high heart rate and so on and so on!  I'm certain I'll get the hang of it though!

I also did a few press-ups (a test for the great 'hundred pushups' site) and some core stability exercises.  Planks to be precise.

So I've logged my first miles of this training.  There's a long way to go and I hope I can show the discipline and determination I need.  Right now I feel confident but I'm old and wise enough to know that I have a lot of cold, dark, wet, and uncomfortable nights and early mornings ahead of me.  A lot of pain and self doubt.  A lot of blisters, aches, and pains. I can't wait!

JUST THE FACTS:

TODAY
Run Distance: 4.81 miles
Swimming: 0 m
Cycling: 0 milesWorkout time:  1:00:00
Press-ups: 26
Core workouts: 1
TOTAL
Run Distance: 4.81 miles
Swimming: 0 m
Cycling: 0 milesWorkout time:  1:00:00
Press-ups: 26
Core workouts: 1