The art of the snot rocket

Running is an activity that causes you to redefine your thoughts on acceptable behaviour.  In particular, winter running causes a condition known as 'rhinorrhea'.  In plain English: it's as though a tap has been turned on in your nose that it way beyond the capacity of tissues to deal with.

It will disgust you, a sane reader, to learn that previously my tactic for dealing with rhinorrea has been to blow my hands on my gloves while running.  The heat generated by excercise causes the liquid to dry quickly and there aren't many other options when you are five miles from home and have two silver slug trails running down your face...

You may recall from my Radcliffe 10 race report that I complained about a fellow runner who was 'snot rocketing' on the run, making him difficult to overtake.  Snot rocketing, for the more civilised among you, is the art of covering one nostril and breathing out violently through the other in order to evacuate it of fluid.  Clearly very poor race etiquette (or a very clever race tactic, depending on whether you have an English or an American attitude to sporting behaviour...).  However, also a very useful skill.

The long run is a training ground for running behaviour: hydration, pacing, taking on fuel.  Today, when the tissues ran dry (or should that be wet?) I also used mine to master the art of the snot rocket.  Previously I had assumed that, like getting lids off jars and changing engine oil, this was a skill confined to the male of the species.  However, at an isolated spot near Eccup Reservoir, desperation prompted me to give it a go and I discovered otherwise.

Ah, the sweet sensation of clear airways where previously there has only been congestion.  A word of warning though: be mindful of the prevailing wind.  Otherwise the rocket may find a target a little too close to home...

My new shoes!

The Brooks Ravenna.  They have changed the way I run.  No longer do I dive for the nearest puddle of mud because 'it's fun'.  Now I seek out the dry routes to preserve their pristine glory.  Sadly the Meanwood Valley Trail has permanently greyed them, but I've discovered the the Force 4 chandlery cataloge makes a good shoe stuffer for drying pruposes!

Burnout

I've learnt an important lesson about running this month: sometimes things other than running will affect my running.


I started off the month strong.  I had lots of energy, was running at a good pace with low perceived effort on training runs, and the kettlebell work is obviously starting to pay dividends as Henry, the office bodybuilder, complimented me on my muscular shoulders!


Then work started to get intense.  I was leading on three reviews that ended up being very delayed as the client was having an Ofsted inspection.  In the end it became clear that there was no way the work required could be done before I went on secondment on 19 February.  Which meant that I had to try to hack through as much as possible then get the files together for a detailed handover.  This involved several 16-18 hour days.  I can't even describe the kind of tunnel vision you develop when your day involves getting to the office by 6.30 am, leaving at 9 pm and then working at home until after midnight.  The stress of the situation was compounded by the fact that the client is in Sunderland, so I spent several days commuting and another few staying over in a grotty Travelodge.


I mistook the adrenaline that stress generates for energy and carried on quite an intensive training load, grouping most of my sessions around weekends.  One weekend I went for a meal out on Friday night, got home and decided to go for a 6 mile run, setting out at 10.30pm.  The following day I did an hour's circuit training in the morning before going for a 5 mile cross country run with Olly.  The next day I did a 12k treadmill session in the gym, including sprinting the last 2k at faster than 5k pace.


Needless to say, fatigue caught up with me big time.  I went out for a run one evening and felt awful.  My heart rate was high, I was breathless and I had sharp pains in my abdomen.  Perhaps most significantly, I had no appetite to run through the pain.  I turned around and jogged home.  At a shade over 3 miles it was my shortest run this year.  When I measured my resting heart rate that night it was 70, 10 bpm above my normal 60. 



I realised, belatedly, that I was burnt out.  For the next three days I did no running and no circuit training.  I was due to run in two races at the weekend, but was filled with dread about them.  I decided to give myself time off.  I rediscovered the things normal people do at weekends - shopping, baking and sleeping in.


By Sunday my resting heart rate was back down to 60 and I was more calm.  I felt ready to get back out there.  I was worried I might have lost form during my lay off, but I went out for a long run and felt great: I was running strong and got immense satisfaction from overtaking a male jogger in my 9th mile!

What have I learnt from this episode?

1. It's not just physical activities that impact the body.  Stress and fatigue do too, and I need to adjust my training to reflect them
2. Circuit training and hard runs are both quality sessions and I need to follow each with an easy session, not do the two back to back on the same day.  It's tempting to cram all my quality sessions into the weekend, but it means I don't get the full benefit of any of them
3. By the same token, I need to make sure that I'm not running junk miles, or doing training that's not appropraite to my goals.  I want to run long, so it's better to run fewer times for longer and have more recovery days in between.
4. I need to think more about my racing.  The two races I missed out on were 8k and 10k respectively.  The minimum distance I want to be racing over this year is 10 miles.  Shorter races will require the same amount of recovery time, but won't give me the endurance or pacing practice that I need.  So just say no!
   

February review

High points

• The Radcliffe 10 mile race: my longest race to date and I loved it. Well organised, a friendly field and such a relaxing distance. I’ve had runner’s high before, but I experienced a whole new level of euphoria on this one!
• Breaking 100 miles: psychologically, banking the first 100 miles of the year was a really important milestone
• My new shoes: my old Mizuno Wave Elixirs were pretty comfortable, but whilst packing them for an away job I noticed that the soles were completely worn smooth in some places. I got myself down to Sportshoes.com in Bradford, intending to buy a more heavyweight pair of Mizunos. Instead I came away with the Brooks Ravenna – another light road shoe with mild support. I’m in love – when I run I feel like I’m flying...

Low points

• Surprise snow: a Sunday long run to Eccup Reservoir was thwarted by an unexpected snowfall overnight. With the help of 3 teenage lads I manuvered my car up the icy hill at the end of the road and slithered to the gym for a longish treadmill run. Bad times.
• Burnout: too much work and not enough rest makes Sarah a sad girl...

Progress against goals

• Time: I ran 10 miles comfortably in 1:32:22 at Radcliffe. Multiplied up, this puts me in line to break 2 hours for a half. Yay!
• Mileage: I ran 87 miles in February, bringing my mileage for the year to 146. This means I have caught up on some of January’s deficit, being now only 17 miles – or 9.89% - behind the breakeven point of 162 miles
• Race a month: This was supposed to be a three race month but in the end I only managed one: the Radcliffe 10. But what a race!

Inspiration
VARR group leader Kay Jefferies. Kay has been an inspiration to me since I joined the club. She was the group leader on the first club run I went on, and I was impressed then and ever since by her cheerful but absolutely determined approach to running. She sets herself goals and doggedly works to achieve them. And somehow also manages to qualify in sports leadership, hold down a stressful job, raise two lovely children, train for a marathon, make carrot cake and write an entertaining blog about it all (see Kay’s Marathon Chatter on the right hand toolbar). What a star!

Milestone - 100 miles in 2010

I went out for a gentle 5 mile loop round Eccup Reservoir today with Rona.  When I got back and uploaded my Garmin data into Fetcheveryone, I noticed that this puts me over the 100 mile mark for 2010.

I've now run 104.98 miles since 1 January.  Today's break even point for 1000 in 2010 is 123.29 so I am still behind target.  However, I am catching myself up.  I am only 15% behind the break even point now, and I've run at or above the weekly milage target for the last 4 weeks.

It feels quite exciting to have hit a nice round number, even though there are plenty more round numbers to go through on the way to 1000.  Still, worthy of a hot chocolate and a Lush bath I'd say...

Running music

I don't often run with music as I believe in all that hippy stuff about being at one with your body and the world around you.  I felt I needed a bit of a boost before the Radcliffe 10 this weekend however, so I made myself a motivating mix tape to listen to in the car on the way to the race.

Normally I like to think of myself as having quite good taste in music but when it comes to motivation, clearly I am just a big cheese monster:

1. M People - Search for the Hero
2. Republica - Ready to go
3. Survivor - Eye of the Tiger
4. Queen - Flash (saviour of the universe)
5. Dire Straits - Walk of life
6. Scissor sisters - I don't feel like dancing
7. Queen - We will rock you
8. New Radicals - You get what you give
9. Electric Light Orchestra - Hold on tight (to your dreams)
10. Queen - Another one bites the dust
11. Florence + the Machine - The dog days are over
12. Queen - Don't stop me now

07/02/10 - Radcliffe 10 mile

I signed up for the Radcliffe 10 mile multi terrain race back in November, thinking it would be a good stepping stone from 10k to half marathon distance races and how wonderful it would be to do my first 10 mile race over more interesting (read challenging) terrain.


3 months, 5 weeks of snow, Christmas and a birthday later, I wasn't feeling ready.  Pep talks from Tom and Helen had convinced me that I would be able to get round the course, but as I drove to the race on Sunday morning I was overwhelmed by a sense of dread that couldn't be entirely attributed to the fact I was going to Lancashire.

It's very intimidating showing up to a race without your fellow club members.  I stood alone on the start line in my red and white vest, amid a sea of blues, yellows and purples, and felt very sorry for myself.  Especially when I a wizened old man of about seventy who barely came up to my shoulder lined up next to me.  Even with my short racing career, I know that you should never underestimate the old chap at the start line who looks as though he shouldn't be able to stand upright: they're never the last one round...

The race began and as the rest of the field streaked off I resignedly started plodding along at an easy pace.  Surely enough, the wizened old man ran alongside me for the first few miles, putting on little bursts of speed every now and then and clearly hoping I would race him.  He was clearly a bit of a local character as all the marshalls called out 'well done Manny' and 'what are you doing beck here, get a move on mate' as we passed.

Just over a mile in there was a short hill and the group of women we were running behind slowed down, Manny and I overtook, still shoulder to shoulder.  It was like some kind of low speed chase sequence from an action movie.  One in which a septugenarian beats a twenty five year old.  At mile two Manny got bored and sped up.  I stuck to my 9:25 min/mile pace, terrified of going out too fast.

At around mile 3 there was a stile at which a marshall counted the runners.  I was apalled to be told that I was 51st woman.  I don't mind being beaten by an old man, but I was damned if I was going to be knocked out of the top 50 by a woman.  Besides, it was really boring running that slowly.  I picked up the pace a bit, and ran the next two miles at a comfortable steady pace.

Miles 4-5 were quite hilly and, being blessed as I am with the opportunity to train on the Chevin, I took great pleasure in picking off middle aged men who had set out too fast and were blowing up spectacularly on the hills.  I had to time passing one of them quite carefully to ensure that I wasn't caught by one of the snot rockets he was rhythmically pumping out.  Surely the UKA have rules about snot rocketing in races?

I reached the water station feeling very fresh, had a couple of Jelly Babies and decided I could risk being a little less conservative in the second half of the race.  The great wave of fatigue I was fearing hadn't arrived so I decided to pick the pace up a bit more.

I was starting to really enjoy myself: the course was pretty, I was feeling invigourated, my form felt strong, and passing lots of huffing and puffing people was making me realise that I was fitter than I thought.  By the time I got to mile seven, I realised that I'd set off much slower than I needed to.  I decided to race the last 3 miles.

I have never felt so strong in a race.  By my standards I was running fast, but I felt great.  Every part of my body seemed to fit seamlessly together.  My posture was good, nothing felt like an effort.  Marshalls got excited as I passed them - obviously not many of the runners who had come ahead of me had been feeling very fresh at this stage.  'Come on Active' as few shouted out, misreading my vest (at least they didn't opt for 'Come on Virgin'...).  Rather unsportingly, one of them even pointed at a man ahead of me and shouted 'Go on chuck, you can take him!'.

Take him I did.  There didn't seem to be many women ahead of me, but I was picking off the men like flies.  At the 9 mile point, I turned into the lane that led up a fairly steep hill back to the club house and passed a group of about six runners.  'Well done lassie, brilliantly paced' shouted one of them and it was Manny - seventy year old Manny grinning and giving me a thumbs up as I passed him.

Delighted by the thought that I wasn't going to be beaten by a pensioner after all, I sprinted up the lane and into the stadium for the track finish. My passionate love of the Radcliffe 10 mile race was cemented when I was handed a goody bag containing a banana, a bag of crisps, a Milky Bar and an entry form for next year's race.  What more could a girl want?  Except possibly a pair of mud repellent shoes...

I finished in 1:32:22.  As it was my first race over the distance I was guaranteed to PB, but I had set myself the target of the 1:40s so the time felt like a genuine achievement.  Especially when I looked at my splits and discovered that in the last 5 miles, I had run 3 at 10k pace or faster and the final, hilly, mile at bang on my 5k pace.

It was the first time I have ever enjoyed a race, rather than merely feeling satisfied in hindsight, and I loved it.  More importantly, it's helped me to get over my psychological block about 10 miles and feel confident about running over distances in the double figures.  Clearly there's some room for imrpovement on my 5k and 10k times though!  Watch this space...