Week 19

Week 19.

Date	Miles	KM	Time	Avg Pace (Min /Mile)	Avg MPH	Elev Gain (Mtr)	Elev Loss (Mtr)	Calories	HR Zone	Avg HR
6th May	Rest Day
7th May	12.50	20.12	02:24:59	11:36	5.2	282	376	1377	2	144
8th May	Rest Day
9th May	Rest Day
10th May	7.00	11.27	01:20:05	11:26	5.2	246	279	843	2	144
11th May	Rest Day
12th May	Rest Day
Week 19	19.50	31.38	03:45:04			528	655	2,220
Week 18	28.44	45.77	05:26:59			858	901	3,306
Week 17	48.10	77.36	09:05:52			1023	1082	5,723
Week 16	32.00	51.50	05:43:26			800	837	3,850
Week 15	18.00	28.97	03:24:26			571	582	2,333
Week 14	0.00	0.00	00:00:00			0	0	0
Week 13	21.72	34.95	04:03:13			229	249	2,505
Week 12	21.21	34.14	03:40:53			578	481	2,499
Week 11	53.27	85.72	09:59:05			1501	1296	6,240
Week 10	41.50	66.79	07:46:54			882	773	4,872
Week 9	21.00	33.80	03:53:34			547	545	2,631
Week 8	27.43	44.14	05:02:31			421	416	3,176
Week 7	35.87	57.73	06:41:54			829	927	4,444
Week 6	24.82	39.94	04:36:11			395	443	2,830
Week 5	27.70	44.58	05:24:26			671	656	3,235
Week 4	31.50	50.69	06:11:56			806	831	3,528
Week 3	36.50	58.74	06:58:54			873	825	4,390
Week 2	29.70	47.82	05:37:20			629	621	3,720
Week 1	30.00	48.28	05:51:27			629	580	3,633
TOTAL	548.26	882.30	4 days 07:14:05			12,770	12,700	65,135
To go	701.74	1,133.70

Just 2 sessions again this week.

On Saturday my plan was to head down the NSC and walk 20 miles / 40 laps at my planned race pace for this weekend 50 miles in Rotterdam.  Walking lap after lap of the NSC certainly isn't my idea of fun but I just wanted that consistent flat terrain to simulate this weekends event as much as possible.

I could have chosen to go up and down Douglas prom several times, or even headed to Ramsey for 2 laps of the Northern 10 route, but I do like the consistency the NSC brings.

The idea behind the session was that if I felt 'ok' after 20 miles then I knew I could start the 50 mile at, or slightly under, that pace and try and maintain it for as long as possible.  However, if I was struggling at the end of the 20 miles than I knew I would have to start the 50 quite a bit slower.

I went out for a few drinks on the Friday night to celebrate my daughters 21st birthday so I had left my car down in Douglas.  This meant I would have to walk down from Onchan to the NSC, do my laps and then walk back into the town centre to get my car. 

As I was getting ready on Saturday morning I realised my plan of simulating a flat course was now flawed due to those first 2.5 miles down to the NSC.  To be fair they are flat and downhill anyway but I think I was just looking for any excuse not to spend 4 hours walking around the NSC.

My new plan was to head out of Onchan towards Liverpool arms, take a right towards Groudle and around the Onchan coast road, down onto Douglas prom, along the quay, out past Kewaigue school and then a right at the roundabout back down to Pulrose and the NSC.  I would then do however many laps I needed to bring it up to 19 miles and then the 20th mile would take me back into Douglas town centre for my car.

As you can see above I only managed 12.5 miles, and they were some of the worst I had ever walked.  Less than 100 yards from leaving the house my foot started hurting.  About a mile later my knee was giving me jip.  The first hill of the day was the climb just after Whitebridge towards Liverpool arms and it felt like Mount Everest.

Once I got past the Liverpool arms and turned onto the Groudle road my knee and foot were okay but my legs were like concrete.  Had my car not been in Douglas I would have probably taken a short route straight home.  When I was down on Douglas Quay it would have been oh so easy to walk a few hundred yards to get my car and go home but I decided to man up and pushed out past Kewaigue.

When I eventually arrived at the NSC around noon I had covered 10 miles.  All I had to do now was 18 laps of the NSC.  I managed 3 before I left and walked back to town to get my car.

As it happens it was the Manx Youth Games on Saturday morning and the NSC was one of the venues which meant I couldn't have walked my laps anyway due to the cycling.  It was deserted when I arrived at noon.

I honestly don't know why Saturday was such hard work.  I only had a "couple" of beers the night before so it wasn't that, and we had been to La Piazza so I was fully carb loaded.

Mount 'Whitebridge' was understandable due to this chest infection, which I'll stop talking about soon, but apart from that the route was reasonably flat.  I think it was more mental than physical to be honest.  It didn't start off to plan which then made me panic that the 50 mile the following Saturday was going to be a disaster so mentally I just shut down.  Maybe my brain was just trying to tell my legs to stop, save it for next weekend.

On Tuesday I finally went back to the GP for my blood test and X-Ray results.  The good news is I'm all clear.  Blood tests all fine, clean bill of health. 

The even better news is I'm not pregnant, although my blood had a higher than average readings of iron so now would be a good time! 

He was showing me the results on his computer screen, calling out the various levels of this and that and sure enough there was a section for pregnancy testing.  After we had a bit of a chuckle he told me the test was something to do with testicular cancer releasing the same hormones as being pregnant, so the good news is I don't have any signs of that either.

Given everything looks fine I asked for some antibiotics to help try and shift whatever is lingering in the chest (which the X-Ray wouldn't detect anyway), so I have been on these now for 3 days. 

I'm not convinced if they are working but that could just be me thinking the worst, worrying about Rotterdam.  If the infection is viral rather than bacterial the antibiotics won't work anyway.

On Tuesday I just did my usual 7 mile Liverpool arms loop at a nice steady pace and then decided that was enough until Rotterdam.  I need to give my body chance to work with the antibiotics and do their thing.

So, Rotterdam is finally here! 

I'm off to Liverpool tomorrow morning and then flying to Amsterdam around lunchtime.  I am travelling down with Mike Bonney and Matt Haddock who have hired a car to drive down from the airport to Schiedam. 

I mentioned in one of my previous blog posts that it's always good to have several targets to aim for so if you miss one you can always refocus on the next. 

Given the way my training has been for the past few weeks I'm now having a bit of a dilemma on whether or not I should start at my 'Plan A'  pace or if I should start a little slower and aim for my 'Plan B' pace right from the off.  Not being able to do the 20 mile simulation last Saturday means I really don't know how it's going to go.

The trouble is, if I start off at 'Plan B' pace and find after about 10-20 miles I'm feeling good it will likely be too late to speed up and get back to 'Plan A' pace.

By the way I'm not trying to be secretive about my race plans, I just haven't decided exactly what those paces are yet, although I have a good idea.  All I will say is 'Plan C' is to finish no matter what the time is.

Anyway that's something I'm going to be thinking about for a while.  It's only when the gun goes off at 8pm on Saturday that I'll make the final decision.  The adrenalin will be pumping and the atmosphere will be buzzing with the other 100 milers already spread out around the course so I'm pretty sure I know what it will be.  After all, I never start a race too quick!

I think the hardest challenge will be trying not to change my entry from 50 to 100 on Saturday morning.

And don't forget, the second part of my challenge is to try and raise £2,016 for Finley's Tracks and all donations are welcome here.  A big thank you to everyone who has already sponsored me online or offline, and to those who have pledged to donate later.

Week 18

Week 18.

Date	Miles	KM	Time	Avg Pace (Min /Mile)	Avg MPH	Elev Gain (Mtr)	Elev Loss (Mtr)	Calories	HR Zone	Avg HR
29th Apr	Rest Day
30th Apr	21.44	34.50	04:10:59	11:42	5.1	628	630	2395	3	149
1st May	Rest Day
2nd May	Rest Day
3rd May	Rest Day
4th May	7.00	11.27	01:16:00	10:51	5.5	230	271	911	3	157
5th May	Rest Day
Week 18	28.44	45.77	05:26:59			858	901	3,306
Week 17	48.10	77.36	09:05:52			1023	1082	5,723
Week 16	32.00	51.50	05:43:26			800	837	3,850
Week 15	18.00	28.97	03:24:26			571	582	2,333
Week 14	0.00	0.00	00:00:00			0	0	0
Week 13	21.72	34.95	04:03:13			229	249	2,505
Week 12	21.21	34.14	03:40:53			578	481	2,499
Week 11	53.27	85.72	09:59:05			1501	1296	6,240
Week 10	41.50	66.79	07:46:54			882	773	4,872
Week 9	21.00	33.80	03:53:34			547	545	2,631
Week 8	27.43	44.14	05:02:31			421	416	3,176
Week 7	35.87	57.73	06:41:54			829	927	4,444
Week 6	24.82	39.94	04:36:11			395	443	2,830
Week 5	27.70	44.58	05:24:26			671	656	3,235
Week 4	31.50	50.69	06:11:56			806	831	3,528
Week 3	36.50	58.74	06:58:54			873	825	4,390
Week 2	29.70	47.82	05:37:20			629	621	3,720
Week 1	30.00	48.28	05:51:27			629	580	3,633
TOTAL	528.76	850.92	4 days 03:29:01			12,242	12,045	62,915
To go	721.24	1,165.08

Just 2 sessions this week.

On Saturday 30th I finally got around to walking the final quarter of the Parish Walk route from Ramsey to the War Memorial, a total distance of 21.44 miles (starting in Parliament Square).

I enjoyed the first few miles to Maughold church as it's not often I walk that section in daylight so it's good to get some reference points for the day.

Exactly 2 miles from Parliament Square there is a house with a large anchor in the garden (I think the house is called Anchorage house if I remember rightly).  Not only is it the 2 mile mark but it's also the start of quite a long climb, about 1 mile, before it evens off and leads you to the church giving a total distance from the square to the church of 3.5 miles.

Shortly before the church is my favourite road sign in the Isle of Man.

The reason I like this sign is because it's the first one of the day that is actually telling the truth about how far is left to the finish, 17 miles.  Any other road sign you have seen up until now will be taking the shortest route to Douglas.

The actual distance is just under 18 miles once you allow for the extra up and downs at Lonan and Onchan church, but it is 17 miles until you are walking along Douglas promenade and can see the finish.

As I mentioned in my previous post I like numbers and I am constantly analysing things while I am walking.  To see the number 17 in black and white is a huge relief.  Even though you know it's 17 miles from Maughold there is just something reassuring about actually seeing it written down.

Another thing I like about this small piece of road is that, on a clear night, if you look to the right you get a good long view along the coast towards Laxey.  Since it's dark you can't actually see the coast line but what you can see is the flashing hazard lights of support vehicles for other walkers stretched out for about 6 or 7 miles, snaked out all the way up Ballajora, along the A3 through the top of Glen Mona and towards Bulgham rocks.

The reason I like to see those cars is because after passing through Peel I often go for several hours without seeing another walker and start to feel like I am the only person out here doing this.   Seeing the flashing amber lights reassures you that the walk is real, you aren't dreaming and you aren't out here all alone.

Combined with visual confirmation that there are 17 miles left to go you really do feel like the end is in sight now.

After checking in at Maughold church there is a nice long downhill stretch, about 0.6 miles, before you start the long climb up Ballajora to rejoin the main A3 road.

One advantage of the dark is you can't see how steep that first section is!

Bearing in mind you have walked nearly 70 miles by now I think it's probably best not to be able to see this!

After reaching the very top of Ballajora last Saturday (for info the top is 3.5 miles from the Maughold church) I was really starting to struggle.

When I eventually finished at the War Memorial I was exhausted.  My total walking distance over the past 7 days was 70 miles which is far too much for me, and not the kind of distance to be doing with a chest infection.

I knew Saturday was the only time I would get to walk that final stretch before the big day so I had to do it. 

I took 3 rest days after that, and completed week 18 with my regular Liverpool arms 7 mile loop.  I totally ignored my heart rate for this walk and just power walked (not race walked) as hard as my lungs would let me.  I was pleased with the pace, but not with how I felt.

I will stop whining about this chest infection soon I promise!  I have had a chest X-Ray and Blood tests now and will be back at my GP next week for the results.  I'm sure it will all be fine and with a few antibiotics I will be good as new in no time.

This time next week I will be in Rotterdam with about 15 other Manx walkers.  I feel like a lightweight only going for the 50 miles when they are all doing the 100 but I know it's the right thing for me. 

My big focus this year is the USA 100 in September so I'm treating the 50 as part of the training.  

While I will be a little disappointed not to be doing the 100 at least I will get a PB in the 50 (providing I finish!) as it's my first race at that distance.

My race doesn't start until 8pm by which time the 100 milers will have been going for 8 hours.  

I haven't started a race this late before so it will feel a little strange.  If it's a hot day then at least it should be a little cooler by the evening so that's one plus point.

If you haven't yet entered the Parish Walk don't forget that entries close tomorrow night!

And don't forget, the second part of my challenge is to try and raise £2,016 for Finley's Tracks and all donations are welcome here.  A big thank you to everyone who has already sponsored me online or offline, and to those who have pledged to donate later.

Week 17 + Fireman's 50k

Week 17.

Date	Miles	KM	Time	Avg Pace (Min /Mile)	Avg MPH	Elev Gain (Mtr)	Elev Loss (Mtr)	Calories	HR Zone	Avg HR
22nd Apr	Rest Day
23rd Apr	Rest Day
24th Apr	31.10	50.00	05:46:35	11:01	5.4	418	431	3885	3	160
25th Apr	Rest Day
26th Apr	7.00	11.27	01:23:18	11:54	5.0	229	263	700	1	135
27th Apr	Rest Day
28th Apr	10.00	16.09	01:55:59	11:36	5.2	376	388	1138	2	144
Week 17	48.10	77.36	09:05:52			1023	1082	5,723
Week 16	32.00	51.50	05:43:26			800	837	3,850
Week 15	18.00	28.97	03:24:26			571	582	2,333
Week 14	0.00	0.00	00:00:00			0	0	0
Week 13	21.72	34.95	04:03:13			229	249	2,505
Week 12	21.21	34.14	03:40:53			578	481	2,499
Week 11	53.27	85.72	09:59:05			1501	1296	6,240
Week 10	41.50	66.79	07:46:54			882	773	4,872
Week 9	21.00	33.80	03:53:34			547	545	2,631
Week 8	27.43	44.14	05:02:31			421	416	3,176
Week 7	35.87	57.73	06:41:54			829	927	4,444
Week 6	24.82	39.94	04:36:11			395	443	2,830
Week 5	27.70	44.58	05:24:26			671	656	3,235
Week 4	31.50	50.69	06:11:56			806	831	3,528
Week 3	36.50	58.74	06:58:54			873	825	4,390
Week 2	29.70	47.82	05:37:20			629	621	3,720
Week 1	30.00	48.28	05:51:27			629	580	3,633
TOTAL	500.32	805.15	3 days 22:02:02			11,384	11,144	59,609
To go	749.68	1,210.85

Week 17 mileage started with the Fireman's 50k walk on Sunday 24th.

I wasn't really sure how the race was going to go as my training for the previous 4 weeks has been disrupted by this chest infection which I still can't shift.

I had many targets in mind, with my first being to try for a PB (5hr 41min).  If I felt like a PB was slipping out of reach my next target was to finish in under 6 hours, and if that wasn't going to happen my final target was to just hang in there and finish.

On longer events I like to have several targets to aim for.  Not only does this give the brain something to do by continually assessing the situation and recalculating the strategy but it also means if you end up missing the first target you can keep motivated by refocussing on the next and so on.

If your only target at the start of the race is a particular time (which may or may not be a PB time) and things don't go according to plan then it can be all too easy to just throw the towel in and quit.   It opens the doors to too many negative thoughts and you need to keep those doors shut for as long as possible.

Chances are you are already battling one, or all, of the following: fatigue, blisters, chaffing, upset stomach, cramps etc, so your brain has already got enough to do helping you push through these physical symptoms so the last thing it needs are extra negative thoughts.

Rather than thinking "What's the point, I have missed my target time now, my feet hurt so I may as well quit." it's much better to think "Okay, it looks like my target time X is out of reach so what do I need to do to hit my next target time Y."

People often ask me what I think about when I'm walking and whether or not I get bored.  The simple answer is no, I don't get bored.  I'm constantly assessing how I'm feeling, how many more miles can I maintain this pace, if I slow down a little now (before it's too late) will I end up with a better average pace over a longer distance and so on.

So, back to the 50k race.  You may have gathered from this, and previous, posts that I like numbers. 

Well, because I had no real idea how the race was going to go I decided to make a note of all my mile splits from my 5:41 PB in 2014.  These were printed in a table on a small piece of paper about 3" by 1" which I then sellotaped to the back of my race number so all I had to do was quickly glance down to see how quick I needed to do each mile to be on track for my first target. 

This was the first time I have tried to pace myself by individual miles as I usually just aim for an overall average pace which can be tricky to judge when hills are involved.

In 2014 my pace dropped considerably in the last 7 miles so I thought if I could just repeat 2014 mile for mile to Andreas then as long as the big drop off doesn't repeat itself a PB is possible.

As usual, I started off to quick.  I never learn.  Mile 1 was meant to be 11:26 but it ended up 10:51.  Mile 2 was meant to be 10:37 but it ended up 10:19. 

By Kirk Michael I was 3 minutes up which may not seem like a lot, but over an undulating 7 miles and with my lungs at only 80% I knew it was unsustainable for another 24 miles.

I walked from the start with Andrew Dawson who has had man flu on and off for the last few months too, and as we left Kirk Michael I told him I had to ease off slightly.  Whereas my first 7 miles had been approx. 30s per mile quicker they were now nearly 30s per mile slower than 2014. 

I stayed with Andrew for another 6 miles, or rather he kindly stayed with me, but just after Jurby I had to ease off a bit more so lost touch with him.  Despite this being a relatively flat section my HR was near the max and I was breathing as if I had just ran up and down the gas works steps 6 times. 

My time to Jurby was more or less the same as 2014 but my pace was slowing and it wasn't even the half way mark yet.  So, knowing that my first target had slipped out of reach I just refocused on my second target, sub 6 hours. 

I relaxed a little, accepted the slightly slower pace and just took it mile by mile. 

Just before St Jude's cross roads is the 26.2 mile Marathon mark and with the London Marathon being the same day I couldn't resist a cheeky glance at my Garmin which showed 4:48.  Given the up and down terrain from Peel to Kirk Michael and of course the hills at Lhen and Bride I was pleased with that.

The good news is my pace drop off this year wasn't as much as 2014 so I did claw back a few extra minutes over the last section from Andreas, finishing in a time of 5:46.  Very pleased to be just 5 minutes off a PB over that distance.

A big well done to everyone who took part, especially to joint winners Dave Walker and Sam Fletcher, and thanks to all the marshall's and timekeepers.  

The rest of my training last week was just one of my usual Onchan/Groudle/Liverpool arms 7 milers and Onchan/Groudle/Baldrine 10 milers but at a slower recovery pace.

Oh, I finally admitted defeat with this chest infection and saw the doctor on Wednesday. 

After describing my symptoms and listening to my chest (which he said sounded clear) he was a bit reluctant to give me antibiotics (which was fine with me) and instead sent me off for a chest X-Ray and a range of blood tests for all sorts.  I managed to get the X-Ray same day but it will be this Wednesday before I can have the blood tests, and then it will be into next week before I go back and get all the results.... so just a few days before the 50 miles in Rotterdam!

Part of me wishes I had just asked for antibiotics on Wednesday now as I'm sure that's all I need, but I guess the doctor is just being sure there is nothing else going on first which is fair enough.

The good news is he didn't tell me to stop walking, but then again I didn't specifically ask him that question........

And don't forget, the second part of my challenge is to try and raise £2,016 for Finley's Tracks and all donations are welcome here.  A big thank you to everyone who has already sponsored me online or offline, and to those who have pledged to donate later.

Week 16

Week 16.

Date	Miles	KM	Time	Avg Pace (Min /Mile)	Avg MPH	Elev Gain (Mtr)	Elev Loss (Mtr)	Calories	HR Zone	Avg HR
15th Apr	Rest Day
16th Apr	15.00	24.14	02:31:41	10:07	5.9	177	177	1852	4	166
17th Apr	Rest Day
18th Apr	Rest Day
19th Apr	7.00	11.27	01:21:56	11:42	5.1	241	275	705	1	135
20th Apr	Rest Day
21st Apr	10.00	16.09	01:49:49	10:59	5.5	382	385	1293	3	152
Week 16	32.00	51.50	05:43:26			800	837	3,850
Week 15	18.00	28.97	03:24:26			571	582	2,333
Week 14	0.00	0.00	00:00:00			0	0	0
Week 13	21.72	34.95	04:03:13			229	249	2,505
Week 12	21.21	34.14	03:40:53			578	481	2,499
Week 11	53.27	85.72	09:59:05			1501	1296	6,240
Week 10	41.50	66.79	07:46:54			882	773	4,872
Week 9	21.00	33.80	03:53:34			547	545	2,631
Week 8	27.43	44.14	05:02:31			421	416	3,176
Week 7	35.87	57.73	06:41:54			829	927	4,444
Week 6	24.82	39.94	04:36:11			395	443	2,830
Week 5	27.70	44.58	05:24:26			671	656	3,235
Week 4	31.50	50.69	06:11:56			806	831	3,528
Week 3	36.50	58.74	06:58:54			873	825	4,390
Week 2	29.70	47.82	05:37:20			629	621	3,720
Week 1	30.00	48.28	05:51:27			629	580	3,633
TOTAL	452.22	727.79	3 days 12:56:10			10,361	10,062	53,886
To go	797.78	1,288.21

A much better week for miles.

On Saturday morning I joined Mike Bonney, Andrew Dawson and Adam Killip in Ramsey for a 15 mile walk, my longest in over 3 weeks.  We opted for a later start, just after 10am, to give a bit more time for the previous nights curry to clear the system. 

There has to be nothing worse on a long walk when you are miles from civilisation than the sudden clunk in the stomach, the cold sweat, and the realisation you have approximately 30 seconds to find a solution. 

Luckily this has only happened to me once over the last 5 years or so.  It was in last years Parish Walk and, luckily, it happened on the approach to Colby so I knew there was a very welcoming house just around the corner.  I dread to think what would have happened had it been 30 minutes later when I was half way up Ballakillowey.

It's important that you don't try any new food or drink during a race.  Stick to what has worked for you in training, including what you would normally eat the day before a long training walk.  I didn't try anything new last year, I guess my luck had just run out!

Anyway, enough about that side of things!

I was apprehensive about the 15 mile walk on Saturday as Mike was hoping to average 10:20-10:30 per mile pace (5.7mph), and given my lingering chest infection and the fact I hadn't trained much over the past few weeks I thought there was no way I could keep up.

The plan was to start at Ramsey fire station, the finish line of the 50k Fireman's walk, and walk 7.5 miles out in the reverse direction then turn around and walk 7.5 miles back.  I have been struggling on the hills recently, but since these 15 miles were relatively flat I decided to give it a go.

I tend to avoid 'out and back' routes but the idea behind this session was to get some visual mile marker points for those last 7 miles just in case the Garmin distance is way out on race day. 

If you are pushing for a particular time you can then assess how far out you are and hopefully, if not too far out, adjust things accordingly... legs willing of course!!

There is nothing worse when you think you are bang on race pace to cross the line and realise your Garmin has recorded a different distance to the actual, so you were actually walking just under race pace and therefore finished just over your target time.

Of course sometimes it can swing the other way and you are actually walking quicker than race pace.  This isn't always a good thing as it means you have been pushing harder than you needed to, which increases the chances of blowing up in the final few miles.

Even if you are not pushing for a time it can still be reassuring to know those final few mile marker points.

I have just checked the actual distances recorded from my 4 Fireman's walks and they are 31.20, 31.14, 31.12 and 31.10, so pretty consistent and surprisingly accurate given the distance.

Last year I ran the London Marathon so didn't do the Fireman's, and my Garmin recorded 26.82 miles, so over 0.5 mile longer than actual.  I followed the blue 'racing line' as best I could given the number of runners so I'm sure my actual was much closer to 26.2 miles. 

I was chasing a marathon time of 4:15 and, according to my Garmin, I was on track.  It was around the half way point that I realised the gap between my Garmin distance and the official mile markers was increasing each mile and therefore I was going slower than 4:15, but at this point it was too late to increase my pace and I ended up finishing in 4:24.

I think we have come to rely on technology and gadgets too much these days.  It's often nice to just leave the watch behind and just run/walk based on how you feel.  If you really want to know, just try and put the watch somewhere out of sight and only look at the end.

Anyway, back to the walk.  The first 2 miles out of Ramsey started off fine.  Nice and flat so I was comfortable with the pace.  At the start of mile 3, now suitably warmed up, I felt good and decided to test myself and put the hammer down to put in a 9:13 mile.  It felt good and gave me hope that my chest infection was on the way out, despite the fact my lungs were on fire at the end of it.

After that I just eased back into the group pace which ended up being quicker than Mike's original target, resulting in an overall average pace for me of 10:07 per mile.

The walk was a huge confidence boost and gave me hope that a PB at this weekends 50k Fireman's walk might be possible. 

On Sunday, the day after, I could barely walk.  My hamstrings were completely ripped to pieces, no doubt most of which was down to the 9:13 mile. 

I was hoping to get out for a recovery/easy walk but decided against it and took the dog for a very easy 6 mile walk to try and loosen up my hamstrings.  They were slightly better by Monday, but with the 50k coming up I decided to have another rest day. 

On Tuesday they were still sore so I did an easy, zone 1, 7 miles, and another rest day on Wednesday.

On Thursday they still weren't great but I was keen to get out for a decent walk as I knew it would be my last before the 50k.  It wasn't a bad walk, but it wasn't great either.  My heart rate was high and I was still struggling for breath on the hills so I decided to make it a Zone 3 walk instead.

The walk took me out along the Groudle road but rather than turn left (by the Liverpool Arms) back into Onchan (which is the 7 mile route from Tuesday) I turned right towards Baldrine.  Just as you enter the top of Baldrine you can take a left onto Baldrine Road which is a killer hill.  It's a mile straight up, bringing you out onto the Begoade road.

I decided to really test the lungs here and pushed as hard as I could.  I only managed 3/4 of the mile straight up.  My legs were burning, in a good way, however I was struggling for breath and was starting to get double vision so I had to stop for a minute to recover.  I stopped my Garmin first of course.  After that I carried on to the top before a nice long 1.5 miles back down towards Onchan.

If you are looking for a good hill to train on I would definitely recommend Baldrine Road. 

According to my stats I have now walked 10k, 6.21 miles, straight up hill.

Good luck to all the walkers in National Champs this weekend, and to everyone in the London Marathon.  And finally a huge good luck to the real men and women for whom a Marathon is just a warm up, and of course I mean everyone taking part in the Fireman's 50k tomorrow, including me ;-)

For all those 50k walkers, the 26.2 mile mark is a few hundred yards before St Jude's cross roads, giving you just under 5 miles to the finish.

And don't forget, the second part of my challenge is to try and raise £2,016 for Finley's Tracks and all donations are welcome here.  A big thank you to everyone who has already sponsored me online or offline, and to those who have pledged to donate later.

Week 15

Week 15.

Date	Miles	KM	Time	Avg Pace (Min /Mile)	Avg MPH	Elev Gain (Mtr)	Elev Loss (Mtr)	Calories	HR Zone	Avg HR
8th Apr	Off island
9th Apr	Off island
10th Apr	Off island
11th Apr	11.00	17.70	02:06:02	11:27	5.2	334	310	1439	2	148
12th Apr	Rest Day
13th Apr	7.00	11.27	01:18:24	11:12	5.4	237	272	894	3	154
14th Apr	Rest Day
Week 15	18.00	28.97	03:24:26			571	582	2,333
Week 14	0.00	0.00	00:00:00			0	0	0
Week 13	21.72	34.95	04:03:13			229	249	2,505
Week 12	21.21	34.14	03:40:53			578	481	2,499
Week 11	53.27	85.72	09:59:05			1501	1296	6,240
Week 10	41.50	66.79	07:46:54			882	773	4,872
Week 9	21.00	33.80	03:53:34			547	545	2,631
Week 8	27.43	44.14	05:02:31			421	416	3,176
Week 7	35.87	57.73	06:41:54			829	927	4,444
Week 6	24.82	39.94	04:36:11			395	443	2,830
Week 5	27.70	44.58	05:24:26			671	656	3,235
Week 4	31.50	50.69	06:11:56			806	831	3,528
Week 3	36.50	58.74	06:58:54			873	825	4,390
Week 2	29.70	47.82	05:37:20			629	621	3,720
Week 1	30.00	48.28	05:51:27			629	580	3,633
TOTAL	420.22	676.29	3 days 07:12:44			9,561	9,225	50,036
To go	829.78	1,339.71

Another low mileage week unfortunately.  Last Monday (11th) was my first time out for just over 2 weeks due to man flu and chest infection.

I wasn't 100% when I set off so decided to be cautious and chose one of my shorter 'long' routes from Onchan and out around Baldwin. 

The advantage of this route is there are several opportunities to shorten the distance if things aren't going well, or extend the distance if they are.

It's a great route if you like hills as there are virtually no flat sections so you are constantly walking up or down hill. 

The worst part is the last 1.5 miles which are uphill all the way from the bridge at the very bottom of Skollag Road all the way up to just before signpost corner. 

Due to this lingering chest infection I was really struggling for breath on the uphills. My hamstrings were tight, my shins were burning and generally the whole session was pretty unenjoyable. 

I last did this particular route 4 weeks ago in a time of 02:04:43 so I do take some comfort from the fact I was only about 1.5 minutes slower despite the elephant on my chest. 

A more interesting statistic though is my average heart rate 4 weeks ago was 144 compared to 148 last week.

This is another good indicator that I am not fully recovered.  4 bpm may not seem a big deal, but over 2 hours it does make a big difference.

As I mentioned above, I could have shortened the distance but I stuck with it.  For long distance endurance events it's not all about physical training.  You have to train the brain too. 

If you have a bad patch you have to resist the urge to quit and push through as best you can.  Just slow down a little, relax, make sure you get some food and drink and, more often than not, you will get through it.

Caveat: There is a big difference between a bad patch where you are just feeling totally exhausted, legs are screaming at you to stop, maybe a bit of chafing and/or an annoying blister or 2 vs a bad patch where, biomechanically, things are just not working properly and if you carry on you are most likely doing yourself some longer term damage.  If you get one of these bad patches then it's probably wise not to push through it.

While not easy, try not to think about how far you still have to walk but rather think about how far you have already walked and, if you quit now, all those miles were for nothing. 

I'll often play back the walk so far in my head, so for example if I hit a bad patch around half way (Ballaugh in the Parish Walk) I would think back to the excitement and adrenalin at the start, the first few miles through to Marown and the first checkpoint at Santon, the long push towards Rushen, up Ballakillowey and The Sloc into Peel, the undulating coast road into Kirk Michael and so on.

Once you are into Kirk Michael then, with the exception of a few small climbs (e.g. The Lhen and Bride), you have a reasonably flat 23 (ish) miles into Ramsey.  Compared to the first 39 miles these next 23 are "easy" so just try and remind yourself of that.  'Most' of the hard miles are done, so stay positive and just keep putting one foot in front of the other. 

Before you know it you will be in Ramsey ready to start the last really tough 6 or so miles of the day, and they are the long climb up into Maughold and up Hibernia back onto the main coast road.

Chances are it will be dark now, but if you have walked 63 miles into Ramsey then just keep telling yourself that you can do these next 6 miles. 

Once you get up onto the main road it's reasonably flat/downhill towards Laxey before the long climb from Laxey village all the way up to Lonan church.  This climb isn't much fun, but you are now into the last 10 miles so it isn't going to stop you right? 

After the Lonan checkpoint you are into the last 7 or so miles with just 2 short climbs (out of Baldrine and from white bridge up into Onchan (plus a very short climb where you dip down and up, and back again, to check in at Onchan.)) 

You really are on the home straight now.  You will be hurting a lot, but just tick off a mile at a time and eventually you will be making that final right turn at Port Jack to drop down onto the promenade for the final mile or so.

Now I know from personal experience that this is a lot harder than it sounds as, in 2014, I retired at Maughold (67 miles).  I'd just hit a bad patch too many and, combined with many other things, the thought of the climb up Hibernia just tipped me over the edge. 

That year my first bad patch was just after The Sloc (about 23 miles), so it's pretty amazing I pushed on for another 44 miles.  I was determined not to stop before Peel (32.5 miles), and when I got there I decided I wasn't going to retire in front of everyone, especially my kids who were cheering me through.

My plan was to keep going until I met my support where I would quietly retire into the car, however that ended up being about 30 minutes later at which point I was now about a mile out of Peel so I decided to push on for another 5 miles to Kirk Michael.

Things weren't going well when I got to Kirk Michael but I was lifted by the great support outside the Mitre, cheering my name as I went past, so I decided to dig deep and reach the half way point at Ballaugh.

Those 3 miles were a real struggle.  Literally yards before Ballaugh church there is a long hedge and I just stopped and layed back into it.  I really was done. 

As I was lying in the hedge Adam Killip had caught me up and gave me some words of encouragement which helped get me off my backside to complete those final yards to the Ballaugh checkpoint. 

I was determined to retire here but the marshall wouldn't take my dibber.  He told me to sit down and think about it first, so I sat there for about 15 minutes, got some food and drink down me, and then decided to push on to Jurby. 

Of course by now the quick drying cement in my legs had well and truly set so it took a while to get going.  These patches carried on until I eventually retired at Maughold 25 miles later.

Anyway, I waffled on a bit there but even though I retired at Maughold I hope it does show that you can get through a bad patch if you try.  I managed to walk another 44 miles after my first bad patch, the final 25 of those after a very bad patch.   I was just unfortunate that they started far too early in the day and never really went away.

Finally, my second walk of last week was one of my usual 7 mile loops around Groudle and Liverpool arms.  This was similar to the Baldwin loop really, except the elephant on my chest was now more like a cow.

The plan for this loop was to stay in Zone 2 but my HR was just way too high even while walking slowly, so I decided to push a bit harder and let it drift into Zone 3.  It was tough, and my lungs were burning a lot, but when I finished I really did feel like things were improving.

I will just have to wait and see if things have improved enough for the 50k next Sunday....

That's all from me for today.  I hope your training is going well and you avoid the man flu / chest infections that are doing the rounds at the moment.

And don't forget, the second part of my challenge is to try and raise £2,016 for Finley's Tracks and all donations are welcome here.  A big thank you to everyone who has already sponsored me online or offline, and to those who have pledged to donate later.

Week 14

Week 14.

Date	Miles	KM	Time	Avg Pace (Min /Mile)	Avg MPH	Elev Gain (Mtr)	Elev Loss (Mtr)	Calories	HR Zone	Avg HR
1st Apr	Man flu / Chest infection
2nd Apr	Man flu / Chest infection
3rd Apr	Man flu / Chest infection
4th Apr	Man flu / Chest infection
5th Apr	Man flu / Chest infection
6th Apr	Man flu / Chest infection
7th Apr	Man flu / Chest infection
Week 14	0.00	0.00	00:00:00			0	0	0
Week 13	21.72	34.95	04:03:13			229	249	2,505
Week 12	21.21	34.14	03:40:53			578	481	2,499
Week 11	53.27	85.72	09:59:05			1501	1296	6,240
Week 10	41.50	66.79	07:46:54			882	773	4,872
Week 9	21.00	33.80	03:53:34			547	545	2,631
Week 8	27.43	44.14	05:02:31			421	416	3,176
Week 7	35.87	57.73	06:41:54			829	927	4,444
Week 6	24.82	39.94	04:36:11			395	443	2,830
Week 5	27.70	44.58	05:24:26			671	656	3,235
Week 4	31.50	50.69	06:11:56			806	831	3,528
Week 3	36.50	58.74	06:58:54			873	825	4,390
Week 2	29.70	47.82	05:37:20			629	621	3,720
Week 1	30.00	48.28	05:51:27			629	580	3,633
TOTAL	402.22	647.32	3 days 03:48:18			8,990	8,643	47,703
To go	847.78	1,368.68

My first 0 miles training week due to a lingering chest infection following a bout of man flu.

I could have probably got out for a short walk from Tuesday night onwards but I decided to rest completely in the hope I can totally kick it into touch before the 50k walk in just over 2 weeks. 

There is no point going out pushing for a few miles if it just sets my recovery back a few days or more, and with the temperature dropping quite considerably this week it wouldn't do me any good at all.

The good news is I am still just ahead of the weekly average I need.

I am off to Manchester tomorrow to watch Muse at the 'Phones 4 U' Arena (or the MEN arena as most people still call it).  Should be an awesome show.

That does mean I will spend most of Friday and Saturday being dragged around the shops so while there won't be any speed training involved it will certainly be good endurance training!  Just a shame it won't count towards my challenge!

I don't know what it is about shopping.  I'll happily spend up to 24 hours walking non stop but after 30 minutes of walking around the shops I find the first thing I look for as I enter each shop is a seat.

There certainly doesn't appear to be enough of them around and I think shops are missing a trick here.  Imagine how much longer your partner would spend in a shop if they knew you were sat in a nice comfy chair watching the world go by.   There is a limit to how much time I can just sit in Costa or Starbucks.

I plan to get out for my first 'proper' training session on Monday.  Hopefully I will be close to 100% fit by then, but I will take it steady rather than head straight out into a 20 miler.  I really just need to get the legs energised over the next 2 weeks ready for the 50k, and then keep them ticking over for the Rotterdam 50 miles 3 weeks later.

I apologise for being a bit slack with the blog over the past few weeks but I have been a bit demotivated not being able to get out and walk.  I'll be back on it next week!

And don't forget, the second part of my challenge is to try and raise £2,016 for Finley's Tracks and all donations are welcome here.  A big thank you to everyone who has already sponsored me online or offline, and to those who have pledged to donate later.

(Unlucky) Week 13

Week 13.

Date	Miles	KM	Time	Avg Pace (Min /Mile)	Avg MPH	Elev Gain (Mtr)	Elev Loss (Mtr)	Calories	HR Zone	Avg HR
25th Mar	21.72	34.95	04:03:13	11:12	5.4	229	249	2505	2	144
26th Mar	Man flu
27th Mar	Man flu
28th Mar	Man flu
29th Mar	Man flu
30th Mar	Man flu
31st Mar	Man flu
Week 13	21.72	34.95	04:03:13			229	249	2,505
Week 12	21.21	34.14	03:40:53			578	481	2,499
Week 11	53.27	85.72	09:59:05			1501	1296	6,240
Week 10	41.50	66.79	07:46:54			882	773	4,872
Week 9	21.00	33.80	03:53:34			547	545	2,631
Week 8	27.43	44.14	05:02:31			421	416	3,176
Week 7	35.87	57.73	06:41:54			829	927	4,444
Week 6	24.82	39.94	04:36:11			395	443	2,830
Week 5	27.70	44.58	05:24:26			671	656	3,235
Week 4	31.50	50.69	06:11:56			806	831	3,528
Week 3	36.50	58.74	06:58:54			873	825	4,390
Week 2	29.70	47.82	05:37:20			629	621	3,720
Week 1	30.00	48.28	05:51:27			629	580	3,633
TOTAL	402.22	647.32	3 days 03:48:18			8,990	8,643	47,703
To go	847.78	1,368.68

The table says it all really.

Good Friday was my only walk last week, covering the Parish route from Ballaugh to Ramsey in reasonably windy conditions.

I had hoped to cover the final quarter from Ramsey to the finish on either Easter Sunday or Monday but it wasn't to be.  I got up on Saturday feeling a little rough and just continued to get worse throughout the day so I knew that was the end of my walking over the long weekend.

Things weren't much better for the return to work on Tuesday so I had to take a couple of extra days off.  I normally bounce back from "man flu" pretty quick, and while the main symptoms have now gone they have unfortunately left behind a chest infection so no walking this weekend either.

It's now 9 days since my last walk and I'm getting tetchy because this chest infection doesn't seem to be going anywhere.  I did take the dog for a short (3 mile) walk this morning and it was a real struggle to breathe walking up the hills.

I'm going to give it a couple more days but if it doesn't start to move I may need to admit defeat and  visit the doctors for some antibiotics to help shift it.  I'd rather not take them if I can avoid it though.

I'm unlikely to get any walking in this week, and I'm off to Manchester at the weekend to watch Muse, so that won't be a big miles week either. 

It's only 3 weeks until the Fireman's 50k, followed by 50 miles in Rotterdam 3 weeks after that so needless to say I'm panicking now.  It wouldn't be so bad if I could just do a few short miles to keep the legs ticking over but even that's a struggle at the moment.

It's no secret that prolonged exercise weakens the immune system making you very susceptible to colds and flu in the hours afterwards, so I can only assume I picked up the virus after my walk to Ramsey.

One advantage of knowing your resting heart rate is that it allows you to very quickly tell if you are fit and healthy, or if maybe you are coming down with something/over training.

My resting HR is around 50, but on Saturday it was around 65 and then stuck around 75-80 until about Wednesday. 

It's back to normal again now which is a little confusing as I would still expect it to be slightly higher while my body tries to fight off this chest infection.

If you get ill/injured during training it's really easy to get fed up and think it's all over but it's important to remain positive.  Unless you are unfortunate enough to be side lined for weeks, or even months, you aren't going to lose too much of your training fitness, and in fact the extended down time can do your muscles the world of good.

I still haven't written about the Parish route from Rushen to Ramsey but I will get around to it.  Writing about walking is not really something I feel like doing at the moment.

And don't forget, the second part of my challenge is to try and raise £2,016 for Finley's Tracks and all donations are welcome here.  A big thank you to everyone who has already sponsored me online or offline, and to those who have pledged to donate later.