Stinson Beach 50k

Stinson Beach soon after dawn.

Yet another Pacific Coast Trail Run this weekend and it was harder than expected, as it usually is. I always sign up before the course details and elevation profile are available, so I only found out recently that the Stinson Beach 50k has a decently hilly 7,000ft of climbing (plus options of 25k and 12k showing off the course, too). But that's a good thing since the only trail running I'm getting currently is the races I turn up to, so the harder they are, the better work out I get.

I'd decided to DNS at the flat Helen Klein 50 miler the previous weekend since my calves had felt strained after the Silicon Valley Marathon on the weekend before that. Instead, I'd decided that it would be a really great idea to do lots of speed work, so I'd squeezed in a hard session (including a 5k treadmill PB) 3 times in the six days before Stinson. The fact I wasn't broken on the start line suggested that my overtraining is out my system and I can get back to business as usual.

So, at the start it looked like being a beautiful day in Marin and I'd even enjoyed the early drive over the Golden Gate Bridge, despite the fact I'd have preferred a bit more sleep. Looking around I could see several guys in sponsored kit and I'd been told that a few fast runners would be showing up, but I didn't know them by sight, so guessed I'd only find out when they shot off up the first climb. The field was certainly more talented than at an average ultra, and this was obviously influenced by the North Face Challenge 50 Mile Final being around Marin just three weeks later with a whopping $10k first prize.

However, I didn't want to get drawn into the racing given I know my uphill running is relatively weak right now, plus I wanted to keep training hard during the following week. After having such enjoyable runs at Miwok and other races in the build up to Western States, I'd imagined I could still do this type of race and feel relaxed throughout, but when you stop training on trails, that fitness does fade a bit.

So I was a bit disappointed to have to walk so much of the uphills on lap one (of two), but the legs did seem to wake up better for the second attempt on each hill. The scenery was great, as it always is around those trails and this is about the fourth race I've done in the region, all of which have been a joy to run (and tough). The next few weeks have more of the same, with the Quad Dipsea following much of the same course, then the North Face 50 and Rodeo Beach races both using combinations of the same trails networks. I think I should move to Marin...

Start line of the 50k.

Great views of Marin.

Dipsea trail steps.

The views at the top of each climb were breath-taking and I made sure I brought my camera to remember it better. It was kind of surreal to be running on a section I'd remember from the Miwok 100k, then something from a different race given that I don't have a proper map in my head of how the trails link up. But it did bring back good memories as well as creating great new ones.

I also managed to chat to a load of people during and after the race, reinforcing what a great social community ultra-running creates. When you put a load of people together to do something they love and throw in a picture-postcard back-drop, it's generally going to produce positive vibes. And the organisation was flawless as ever (I've still not managed to do one wrong turn in a PCT race).

In the end I finished second in 4h38m, so was really happy with that. It had taken more effort than I'd planned and been tougher on the uphills, in particular. But I finished uninjured with a good hill session in the legs and feeling more part of the local ultra community than when I started.

Silicon Valley Marathon

This weekend was a speed session on the relatively flat Dean Karnazes Silicon Valley Marathon through San Jose to Los Gatos and back. I'd hoped to really race this but the lack of training due to the (hopefully gone for good) overtraining syndrome meant I just wanted a decent training run at high effort.

Then I got man 'flu during the week and a crick in my neck, so I wasn't sure it'd even be sensible to start. By race day I was barely sniffling with not much of a cough and I had most of the movement back in my neck, so I thought I'd be ok to run.

It started downtown before dawn and the conditions were just about perfect, not being too hot and no rain or wind. And since the half marathon version is run at the same time, it made it difficult to tell who was in what race. Luckily I had Amy to crew for me and she was able to tell me who was ahead.

The last few years the winner hadn't broken 2:40 so I wanted to aim for that and be able to train in the following week. However, within a couple of miles there was a marathoner zooming off too fast for me. He looked like he was heading for around 2:30 and there was no point in trying to hang with that pace. At half way he was four minutes ahead and I was dead on 6 minute miling in 1:18:30, so I was right to let him go.

The miles to half way were uphill, but not too steeply, so coming back and heading towards San Jose again would be a net downhill, although only of 250ft. A hardish 20 mile run seemed like a good idea, then a cruise back to the finish for the last 10k. So at 20 miles I took it easy, yet found I was still keeping up around a 6:20/mile pace, which felt very positive.

However, my plan of taking it easy to the finish changed when I saw 3rd behind me with two miles to go. I reasoned that I might as well hold on to 2nd after 24 miles of decent effort, so I sped up and raced in the last section at full speed. At least I had another gear to shift into, and I felt like I'd not pushed things too much, which was the aim. Only 2.5 months until the Phoenix marathon where the aim is to give it everything (I'm even going to do focused training just for that race...mind you that didn't work last year when I instead picked up an injury in December).

I was really happy that the illness and neck didn't affect things and that I didn't have to drop out or DNS. In the end I ran 2:38:36, so it was a bit ahead of the time I'd aimed for, but I blame 3rd place for that.

The course was decent enough and well marshaled, plus I've now seen the Los Gatos Creek Trail and can use it to train on, so a good weekend's work. It's always worthwhile to try the local races and it certainly is a novelty to not have to get up to early to travel miles away.

Big Sur River Run 10k and Training Thoughts

Nice views in Big Sur.

Post-race fat loading at Nepenthe along Route 1.

After not running a 10k for over a year, I decided I should try it again and learn how to do it properly. Luckily, I chose the Big Sur River Run in Pfeiffer State Park.

The park is in the famous Big Sur area and gave Amy and myself a chance to see the a long section of coastline used in the Big Sur marathon (which I'm now really excited about doing next year), including the 1932 Bixby Bridge.

Even though the race was in the park, it followed the river and was on the roads instead of trails so was a fast course. It's also fairly old and established, with this being the 30th running.

Anyway, I've felt more normal in training for the past week so tried a 5k on the treadmill on Thursday and almost collapsed during it, but managed 16:29 for a PB. Wasn't sure whether that would leave me too tired for Saturday morning (it was a really tough session and I've avoided hard sessions for a while), but today went well with a new 10k PB of 34:38 and third. Had to run myself into the ground to not slow down and spent the whole time trying to hold on to the coat tails of the guy in third until I just squeezed past near the end.

So it was satisfying to have two mentally and physically tough runs close together. From what I've been learning from Tim Noakes' 'Lore of Running' (am still getting through this bible-sized tome), teaching the brain's 'central governor' how to push harder and allow me to run faster is the key to improving. That should mean that every hard run I do where I don't give in and allow myself to slow, even as my heart rate soars, would make it easier for next time. This isn't just improving mental toughness, but teaching the mind's natural mechanism for protecting the heart muscle from oxygen depletion how to accept higher effort levels (it's too conservative and has been shown by Noakes to be more of a limiting factor than oxygen and energy stores to the legs and arms).

His book is fascinating and completely science-based, explaining the flaw in the generally accepted paradigm that an athlete's performance is determined mainly by VO2 max. He shows how performance drops off even though there is still energy and oxygen enough for the outer muscles. Instead, it's the oxygen available to the heart that sends triggers to the brain to force the 'central governor' to kick in and force the body to feel more fatigue than the arms and legs justify. I've butchered the explanation and shortened many chapters into two paragraphs, but I can appreciate the logic and science he uses to back it up. Plus I'm sure I'm not the only one who knows how much easier it is to do a particular time or performance for the second time. This was very clear to me in my second sub 3-hour marathon, which was much easier than the first because my brain was willing to accept I could take it, so it didn't try to hold me back to protect the heart. It had been taught that that level of effort was ok, even though I hadn't got any fitter in the intervening month.

Bixby Bridge, Big Sur

I'll be taking on board what I've learned from Prof. Noakes to hopefully significantly improve my running in 2011. Step one will be to race hard in long races less often. It's a tough one, but I'll force myself to jog more long races and just focus on the ones that count...well, I'll try.

Mt Diablo 50k - great views and big climbs

View from Mt Diablo.

Another Pacific Coast Trail Run this weekend, again near Oakland. This time an even hillier one and I hadn't realised just how hilly the Mt Diablo 50k was until I checked out the profile a few days before (8,900ft of climb by going up and down Mt Diablo twice). I think I'm right in saying that Mt Diablo is the highest point in the mountains surrounding the Bay Area, too.

Plus the fact the best times on the course were by some very fast guys and yet only one person had broken five hours. Five hours? For a 50k CR? Hmmm...looked like it might take a while, especially since I've not been able to train much and wanted to 'take it easy' so I could get back to training mid-week.

The event also includes a single loop of the course (25k) and a slightly different course for 8k, the latter starting 15 minutes after the longer runs. So the single and double loopers started off together and went straight uphill, which was almost non-stop from around 600ft to the summit at 3,849ft.

Start line.

I'd hoped to run most of it, but the race was basically a long hike followed by a fast downhill, then the same again. And the second lap certainly felt like a harder hike, particularly when I got my nutrition wrong by not eating enough or taking in any salt. I cramped a bit near the top, but the views made it worthwhile.

On the way up.

The Observatory at the top of Mt Diablo.

Time to turn back and go down...then do it all again.

The checkpoint half-way up.

What a great course and what perfect training for the mountain ultras. Well organised and very friendly too, like all the PCT runs. I ended up taking a bit less time than I'd expected (5:09 and 1st) even with the slow crawl up to the top each time. But the long run back was such easy running, even if it left me with sore legs for the next day.

Got two more of the PCT runs this year so am looking forward to them too. This run will help get me back in shape for the North Face 50 miler final in San Fran at the start of December too, which has over 10,000ft of ascent.

Oh, and Will - if you read this, drop me an email at sharmanian@hotmail.com as it'd be good to sort out some training runs like we discussed after the race.

Golden Hills Marathon



Stunning views along most of the course.

 Had a really chilled run yesterday in the hills around Oakland for the Golden Hills marathon. I've run on sections of that course and knew to expect a load of single track and great views along the way. Luckily, it was also a sunny day, although a bit hot for racing (but fine for an easier pace). Given my tiredness over the last couple of months, I decided it'd still be ok to run this as long as I didn't go too quickly. And with almost zero running mid-week, I'd had a chance to rest as well.

The Race Director is Ann Trason, although I think this is her last year before she hands it on. Every ultra runner has heard of her and there isn't anyone more accomplished (14 Western States wins, two at Comrades, and course records at virtually every race around). So it was a real honour to meet her and couldn't resist a photo (am sure I wasn't the only fan who did this).

RD and ultra legend, Ann Trason

In addition, there were virtually all the fast Bay Area ultra runners, but most were doing the longer version of the race - the Dick Collins' Fire Trails 50 miler. So even with the heat, course records fell in both races. Leor Pantilat ran 3:06 for the marathon and Dave Mackay did 6:19 in the ultra. So some really fast running given the marathon had around 5,000ft of ascent and the ultra was something like 7,800ft.

I felt a bit guilty to choose the shorter version of the race options and would have loved to race against the fast field, but this wasn't the right time for it and it would have just been a bad idea and stopped me from getting back to normal again.

The marathon starts off with around 1,400ft of climb over a few miles and I started mid-pack with a gentle jog, taking a few photos when the views were particularly good. I purposefully didn't want to have any idea what position I was so I couldn't get competitive, but there were plenty ahead of me.

After a couple of miles, Dave Mackey flew by in the other direction, almost half way through the 50 miler in under three hours. Chikara Omine was just behind, then plenty of other local faces.

Some of the descents were steep and I couldn't help going down fast and hammering my thighs, which wasn't the plan. The middle of the section went along the French Trail in Redwood Park, which I've seen in a few other races, all 50ks. It's such a great section with the forest all around and beautiful single track undulating enough to slow most people, but it's still a fairly fast trail. At this point I was really able to enjoy the run, but had to make sure I held back and avoided running hard, which is difficult when you're having fun. There was still 12-13 miles left and I wanted to finish strongly, feeling fresh and not exhaust myself.

View of San Fancisco across the Bay.

The French Trail in Redwood Park - some of the best single track running around.

Lake Chabot near the end of the marathon.

Over the remaining miles I was prepared for more big climbs, but after a high point of the trail around 19 miles, it was mainly downhill and flat. So anyone not too tired would clock much faster miles here even without extra effort.

Lake Chabot was on the left for the last few miles and the sun glinted off it to make for a pretty finish. However, it was also more exposed and warmer, which I knew would really effect the 50 milers, but was not too tough after the shorter distance.

I finished in 3:38, thinking I was around the top 10, but pleased to find out I'd come 3rd. It had been a perfect day out with a chance to chat to a lot of runners, many of whom I already knew. Great course, well organised and really couldn't have been much more fun. Trails are just better than roads, if enjoyment is the aim. The contrast between last week's road half and this couldn't be greater, although that's a slightly unfair comparison given the road race is all about a time trial, which isn't a great idea on overly fatigued legs.

Anyway, it's good to have a fun run and hopefully some more rest will pay off with full recovery so I can train again.

San Jose Rock 'n' Roll Half



Oh crap! Lots of women about to overtake me.

 Since receiving an email with last minute race details, I haven't been particularly enamoured by the Rock 'n' Roll race series. It included a couple of annoying tips and rules. Firstly, it suggested running very easily and not pushing yourself - not what racing is all about. For a flat, sight-free race round San Jose, it's not like you can take in the views. But I suppose it does have bands at several parts of the course for 'atmosphere' of sorts.

The other thing in the email really showed me that it's only about making money and not about creating any kind of enjoyable running experience. It said that for those who can't make the expo, there's luckily an alternative for picking up the bib and chip. But only 350 people could pick up on race day instead. And they ONLY had to pay an extra $30 for the privilege. On top of up to $120 to enter the race...a half marathon (some of their halves cost even more if entered at the expo and aren't much cheaper even if entered a year in advance).

I have no issue with organisers making money from races instead of just doing it for love of the sport or charity. But these guys take the piss and must turn a lot of people off races when they see the mercurial attitude of the organisers. Admittedly, they do attract big crowds and focus on getting beginners to run, which is a very good thing when obesity is such an issue, but these events are only half like the mega events of the London/NYC etc marathons and don't have the courses, spectators or experience to offer, even though they do have the scale (and toilet queues, congestion etc associated with it).

So, although it's certainly good to get people involved in running, it doesn't help deal with obesity or get people healthier if they hardly train then never run again. This is also shown by the fact that, apart from the elites, hardly anyone runs these races and most power-walk. As I came into the last mile, I passed people on the way out at mile four. Lots of them.

I have barely run in the last three weeks, just doing the three marathons at Tahoe, so had a bit of a chance to recharge. But I was still run down at the start line and not in the mood for any mistakes by the organisers, given what I wrote above.

In fairness, the event was well run with plenty of volunteers at water stations (do they realise they aren't helping the community but offering their free services just so the company in charge can make more money?). The start corrals could be entered by anyone, meaning there was little point to them, especially when you could state any predicted finish time anyway. Mind you, I easily squeezed in to the front with just a couple of minutes to spare, so can't complain that it mattered.

Then we all went off and Meb Keflezighi zoomed off to defend his title, one month before attempting to defend his NYC marathon title too. I could see him for a couple of miles (just) and started off as I meant to, but could feel my legs were heavy.

After three miles I decided it wasn't going to be my day and I should just settle in for a jog, so people started to overtake. Another mile and I saw Amy, so I tried to tell her I'd be slowing down, but she was next to one of the bands and clearly couldn't hear. Oops.

I took it a bit easier then found about four or five of the elite women overtaking me. I stayed at my pace and was feeling fine so thought that maybe I'd not let them get away, after all who likes getting chicked? Even if I wasn't going to have a good day, I could focus on gaining those positions back.

Seemed like a good idea while I went through half way in around 38 minutes. Then I felt the heavy legs again and just settled into a pace behind a guy, then a girl. Not too fast, but I managed to hang on for 1:17:29, which isn't too slow, even if it's a few minutes off what I'd aimed for.

Can I stop now?

The course was just roads and showed off a chunk of San Jose but not anything particularly pretty to take my mind off the pain. I didn't end up taking it easy, except the middle couple of miles. I'm sure a lot of PBs were achieved as it is a fast, flat course, but not for me. And Meb won by a couple of minutes in 1:01:45, just slower than last year.



Meb high fiving after his win.


However, it all feels a bit empty - a hard and mainly unsuccessful effort in a not very memorable race. Trails are more fun, but this sort of thing is needed to work on speed.

Probably no running until next weekend's Golden Hills marathon in Oakland. Might have to jog it to continue my resting, which at least means it'll be a relaxing and fun race. I'll also get to meet Ann Trason at the event, basically the biggest name in female ultra running ever. She's the RD.

Anyway, that's the end of a slightly bad tempered posting. Apologies, but when you see the contrast between today's event and some of the excellently organised trail races, which have really passionate people trying to make sure everyone gets the best experience possible, this type of road race can seem soulless.

Tahoe Triple Marathon, 24-26 Sept

Emerald Bay.

I've been visiting Lake Tahoe a lot recently, with my wedding and Western States both over the summer. But it's still a lot of fun to see it each time and I came to this race really excited about the course and the competition after enjoying it so much last year. It seems the last weekend of September is one of the biggest race weekends around, with so much going on. I knew people running great ultras (Spartathlon 153 miler in Greece, Hardmoors 110 miler in the UK, Flagline 50k US Trail Championship in Bend. OR) and super fast marathons (Berlin and others) while I had my trip to the lake. Almost every runner I knew had something big on at the same time and I have to admit I'd like to have done them all.

Dick Beardsley talks about running (surprisingly) at the pre-race dinner.

But as there's only one of me, I focused on Tahoe. Even with my recent fatigue from overtraining, I was hopeful I'd be able to get through the three marathons in one piece and wasn't planning on DNFs, even if I had to walk. Given the altitude of the course (between 6,200ft and 7,050ft) and the rolling hills, it's not particularly quick, but there're views that are stunning all the way round. It's also a very cool concept to run round the entire 72 miles of the lake, which involves an overlap to make up the full 78.6 miles (technically a bit over 79 miles from the organiser's measurements).

And the triple isn't the only event in town. There's so many options that you could choose from over the three days, and even more than last year. Distances from 5k to 144 miles, plus cycling and kayaking options. But the Sunday marathon is the main event and the triple is the main lure since there are very few triples round the world and the only other ones I know of are on trails. That's the main reason that this course holds the world record for 3-in-3 days, even with the slow course. In most recent years someone has tried to go for the record, but I wasn't even considering it in my current form as it requires an average time of 2:43 per day, probably equivalent to around the low to mid 2:30s on a flat, sea level course.

I was disappointed to not see the guys I'd raced last year as each day had been a real race, at least for positions 2-4, with the leader, Lynyrd Skynrod (check this out - http://renorunner.com/archives/archives05.html) way ahead as he chased that record in vain. So I had no idea how fast people would go out on day one.

Day One: Emerald Bay Marathon


Only 78.6 miles to go.


We started soon after dawn at the best scenic look-out of the entire lake - Inspiration Point over Emerald Bay. Although it was barely above freezing, that is one of the most picturesque start lines I can imagine and the 70-ish runners who posed for a group photo all looked revved up and excited about it. For some this was the first foray into any type of ultrarunning, while it was the 10th year at this exact race for others.

I hadn't run for a week so that I could rest, so when the gun (literally...a shotgun) was fired, I sprang off with surprisingly light feet. I was on my own and couldn't hear the patter of any feet behind me, so assumed that nobody was really going to hammer it, unlike last year's frantic start. Then I looked at my Garmin and saw that I was running 4:50 mile pace and decided it would be wise to slow down a bit...or a lot. The first few miles are steeply downhill and either allow you to cruise some easy, fast miles or to destroy your triple marathon chances within minutes. I looked again at my watch and saw that mile one was just over 5:20, so it was too fast, but with the downhill and few days off running I didn't think I'd wrecked my chances. But, just in case I slowed a bit more to cruise down while enjoying the views over the sometimes sheer drops by the road.

I looked round and couldn't see anyone behind so felt safe going at a more reasonable pace, but I did want to set a respectable time on the first day, if possible, so that the unusual fatigue recently couldn't derail me in a close race. After a couple more miles, my crew of Amy and the pups informed me that I was a couple of minutes ahead. That surprised me since I went through five miles in 30 minutes and I didn't think anyone was going to go close to that. So I kept the pace faster than I wanted and decided I'd let Amy update me with time checks to judge how big the lead was.

Around 7-8 miles was the 'Y' intersection where route 89 meets route 50, and the course turns left here to go back towards the lake after a section of pure forest away from it, including some hard-packed trails next to the road. I felt much better than last year, with none of the dizziness or disorientation, but 6:30/mile felt reasonably hard. I put it down to the altitude.

At half-way I managed to not go the wrong way this year and followed the turn towards the beachfront before popping out behind the casinos as I crossed into Nevada. Amy had told me that she waited 10 minutes and hadn't seen second, so he'd either stuck to the main road and done a small short-cut or was way back. She also told me that the last time she'd been able to check, it was fellow Brit, Paul Allen, in second, so a 1-2 was on the cards.

Give me gels.

After the casinos the course leaves the main city on the lake, South Lake Tahoe, and goes through smaller towns and the gaps between them. The hills start soon after, but it all builds up to the final miles where the road meanders up from around 6,300ft to the highest point of the whole event, at 7,050ft, where the finish line sits in a car park by Spooner Lake. These last miles are also the most dangerous as there's a 2-lane highway each way and cars going at 60mph while the runners hug the edge, which measures under a foot at points. Nobody's ever been hit, but you have to keep your wits about you when the roads aren't closed.

As I got into those last miles it was heating up, but was still comfortable. The high for the day would be around 75F, but only the runners at the very back would suffer that. It was hard enough doing that climb before it got hotter, but I decided to take a walking break to give my legs a rest and so feel marginally better on the following days. Amy and the pups had popped up every couple of miles and crewed for me perfectly, always having the things to hand that I needed. It was lucky, since the four-ish water stations weren't all ready when I ran by and it would have been especially tough to run it without a crew, even with my hydration pack.

I crossed the line in 2:53, then waited to see if I'd built up a decent lead for the next days. Paul was indeed in 2nd and I only saw him while Amy and I drove back to SLT so I could sit in the lake and let my legs get a mini ice bath. He finished around 3:25, so I'd tried much harder than I needed to. But I also wanted to go for sub 3h each day, if I could, as it's a nice, round target.

Day Two: CalNeva Marathon
I spend most of the rest of the day eating and walking round shops with Amy before an early night. I was tired but felt better than I'd initially hoped. So on the start of day two in the twilight of early morning, I was ready to run another hard race.

This one starts with around seven miles of downhill to get back to the lake level at 6,200ft, but I'd forgotten about the uphill between two and three miles so got my heart rate up while running that. It was especially cool in the shade of the mountainside so I was glad of my long sleeves and gloves.

Again, I'd gone off in the lead on my own and Amy gave me time checks early on, but after a few miles we didn't bother any more and I focused on trying to get tired legs to keep up a reasonable speed. That was harder than expected and as I went through the extremely fancy mansions at Incline Village around halfway, I felt exhausted.


In the shade of the mountainside early on in day two.

 It was around this point that the bike race caught me. They started at 7am (compared to 7:45 for us) and went round the lake clockwise, instead of our anti-clockwise direction. When they got to me they had around 20 miles left and 52 under their belts. They were going fast in a pelaton and the leaders broke the course record. But I then spent almost the entire rest of the race having cyclists zoom past me and force me closer to the barrier on the roadside than I'd have liked.

Around 14 miles in, the first of the two main hills comes into play, but the hills of the CalNeva marathon aren't too bad and this is definitely the fastest day. That's despite the fact the organisers say it's a half mile long, which is needed to reach a suitable starting point for the final day in Tahoe City.

The views of the lake were framed in a perfect blue sky and searing sun, which did start to heat me up towards the end. I slugged it out, just trying to keep up around a 3h marathon pace and feeling like I was coming to the end of a double marathon, which I effectively was. At 23 miles is the nastiest hill, which was steep enough to force a walk. I took several walking breaks during the day to let my joints have a rest, so the hills were almost a welcome relief as they provided an excuse to slow down. I often find that in trail ultras too, so don't mind the hills since everyone slows down on them anyway, even if they don't walk.

For the last few miles into Tahoe City, I had a good groove going and could keep the pace up without too much difficulty, mainly because it's a gentle downhill. Amy and the pups had done a great job of keeping me encouraged and well-fed so it was good to see them cheer me down to the finish. Another hard effort, which could have been taken more easily, but I kept the time under 3h with 2h56m. Paul also managed to keep hold of 2nd with 3h34m. I only saw him after I'd come out of the lake again to freeze my legs, but he looked fine for a man two marathons down.

I'd felt a slight twinge in my left calf at the start of the day and by the end it was enough to make me limp around. I hoped it'd feel better in the morning and aches and pains are to be expected with multi-day races, but I couldn't help but think that my lead of over an hour might all be needed for the final day. I certainly felt a hell of a lot worse in every way than after day one. But things had basically gone to plan and Amy and I had a very tasty dinner cruise on the lake (organised by the race) to look forward to.

Day Three: Lake Tahoe Marathon

The final day is the main event and so has more runners and fanfare. It also has some proper aid stations and the northbound traffic lane is closed, so we have more room to run. Except the locals seemed to ignore the police and plenty of them still drove towards us, even if the number of cars was at least reduced.

Although each day can be entered as a stand alone marathon, the one most people do in this way is day three. So instead of around 55 triplers and a handful of single-dayers, it was closer to 300 single-dayers to add to the remnants of the triple. Usually some of these guys are fast, as shown by the 2:30 course record on the hilliest and hardest section of the lake.

So when I found myself limping heavily and unable to walk down stairs unaided, I didn't fancy my chances. I needed 3:10 to keep my overall time below 9h, which became the new target. I couldn't see any way that I could keep up with the leaders on their fresh legs.

It also gets confusing since most of the other events are on at the same time, meaning our section of the lake had people running a 5k, 10k, half, 20 miler, 50 miler, 72 miler and marathon relay and it was difficult to work out which was which. Instead I used the good old trick of counting those ahead of me at the start. I expected this to be a big number so was really surprised after half a mile to be in 3rd and running at a 6:30/mile pace. In my short warm up I could barely do a 10:00/mile pace and that was with a limp. The human body can always do much more than you think and every time you rediscover that, it adds to the beauty of ultras.

After a few miles I couldn't feel my calf pain and felt just about ok maintaining pace. I could just see the two guys ahead and then got confused since one had been running topless but was suddenly in a black top. I hadn't noticed him put it on and I'd been catching him, but suddenly he was shooting off into the distance. That was when a volunteer at the aid station shouted out that I was in 2nd and the other guy ahead was in a relay. Wish there was a way to tell, like race numbers back and front (Comrades leads the way again with this simple 'innovation').

So now I was theoretically in with a shot at the win since first was only a couple of minutes ahead. I had nothing in the tank and no desire to all out race this early on, so I just kept at a reasonable pace and decided to see what would happen on the hills later on. I really didn't have an option and still had to bear in mind that I might end up walking a lot, especially if the calf started playing up. It was my first chance of the whole event to properly race but I'd used up too much of an already low tank by this day three.

Running down the west side of the lake was reasonably enjoyable, given the fatigue. I felt fairly good until about halfway then started to feel the combined distance and sore-to-the-touch calves and thighs. Only a couple more miles and I'd hit the hills, so would get a chance to walk and rest a bit. Amy was really encouraging and it's such a help to have her support me every couple of miles. Luckily she has a Carrie Underwood concert as a thank you, but I suspect she enjoyed the crewing a little bit too.

The hills combined with rising temperatures on the hottest day so far (highs in the 80s) and the later start time of 8am, so it was pure endurance to get through to 20 miles and the start line of day one at Inspiration Point. I was just about able to take in the views while I crawled uphill or pounded my thighs on the downhills and Amy was good enough to take some great shots of the background as she drove along, so I'd have a more pleasant memory of them.

At 20 miles, she told me I was three minutes off the lead and it's downhill then mainly flat to the finish. I decided to see what the first mile felt like, but it was just too hard on the legs and I had to reduce the stress on the thighs so that I'd not be forced to walk the final miles.

At least it looked like I'd break 3:10, as I had 47 minutes left for the last 10k to do that. Nobody in the same race as me was visible behind, although I kept going past runners, who must have been doing the 20 mile version.

This point last year I'd been racing Lynyrd and hoping to beat him in one day at least. I'd had over a minute to catch up at Inspiration Point and had just drawn level in the last mile when he decided to let me go ahead as he changed into a tracksuit after fending me off for a few miles. This time round I was on my own and it looked like 1st was too far ahead and 3rd was too far back. I was right about the winner, but in the results it looks like 3rd almost got me, only finishing a little over a minute behind. The crowds on the way to, and around, Pope Beach were bigger and I put in a last burst to finish in 3:04 for 8:53 overall. The winner was just over four minutes ahead.
I was exhausted but elated that things had gone so well. In the end I had about a 2h margin in the triple and had used up virtually all my energy for a race that was meant to not leave me too exhausted, given my upcoming races. But it was worth it and I'll definitely return to that course again, maybe with some Serpies from London. I'd even like to aim for the World Record one time, but will need to focus on this particular race more and also speed up a bit.


Running over Emerald Bay for the second time.

Running down from Inspiration Point in the last few miles.

Congratulations to all the finishers in all the races, especially the two who did the double dare of running round the entire lake in both directions, totalling 144 miles. Time for a rest now.

Learning to DNF - Redwood 50k v2

I think the smartest running decision I've made was to DNF Rocky Raccoon this February. I can now appreciate that much more now I really see what it feels like to be overtrained.

I thought I'd give the Redwood 50k a go this weekend even though I know I should be resting. Even though resting should only include very easy jogs every few days, I somehow thought a 50k on medium trails would be possible if I just took it easy. Maybe I'd even win since it's not generally a competitive race so nine minute miling generally is enough.

Since I've always been able to run a lot of races without too many negative effects, I thought the same would apply after my first 100 miler, but I should have allowed a bit more time to recover after Western States. I only had one weekend off before racing again, which was basically stupid. Even when I aim to run a race easily, I often push a bit too hard and that was the case then. I ran a half at full effort when feeling sore, then a 50-miler the next weekend at a reasonable effort, followed by all out at the San Francisco marathon (tired again) and then the next weekend was the Skyline 50k, which I ended up running hard towards the end when feeling tired again.

The Lore of Running by Tim Noakes  has been very useful in understanding the physiology behind running and overtraining in particular. To most people, what I just tried to do was obviously too much, but I've got away with a lot so was willing to try it. I'll be more conservative in future, but only slightly. One thing which I've always gone by is I race according to how I feel and I've managed to avoid overtraining that way, but only just. A 100-miler needs a little more respect than a weekend off racing and I'll bear that in mind next time. Although, in fairness, I only ran the half because I felt ok to run, even though I shouldn't have raced it for the unnecessary win.

Anyway, I decided to drop after the 20k loop of the 50k today to allow for the recovery I obviously need. I ran the same course in May the day after a harder 50k and the week after the Miwok 100k yet it felt easy then. Today I went at the same speed (slow) but it felt noticeably harder. And that was after easy running for the two weeks since the Santa Rosa marathon (which also has a slight effect on my tiredness still).

Overall it's difficult to work out exactly what screwed me up, but the cumulative effect of so many hard efforts covers it overall. So after three miles today I just decided to jog, cruise in and call it a day at 12 miles instead of 31. I won;t run again until the Lake Tahoe triple on Friday and will see how I feel there since I really don't want to give up on that, since it's so fun. Mind you, I was really enjoying jogging through the fog and rain at Redwood Park today. I also really wanted to keep going since it's such a pretty course, but I had to drop to make sure I'd start fixing my heart and legs.

So now I know that five more days off running won't heal me, according to Noakes. Six weeks is required or more. So maybe I'll have to drop next weekend again, but I really hope not. I have to go for the really important races (the North Face 50 mile final in December then the Phoenix marathon in January) in a few months and if that means not running for six weeks then I'll do that, but someone may need to use a strait jacket to help me restrain myself.

Back to the trails but got to fix the overtraining syndrome

This is how I feel way too often right now.

The past month and a half has been a veritable race drought for me, which should have given me a chance to relax and recover during the wedding and honeymoon. It did, but I'm now certain that I went into it overtrained since I've been showing most of the symptoms:

1. Fatigue - fairly normal, but not all the time.
2. Sore legs - generally aching.
3. Lethargy - virtually every run, even a slow jog, feels like an effort.
4. Lack of enjoyment and desire to run - have been particularly uninspired recently.
5. Inability to do hard training sessions - I've tried but generally had to stop since it wasn't feeling right.

And the list goes on much longer. From reading the excellent 'Lore of Running' by Tim Noakes, I'm picking up some useful refinements to everything running related, but his chapter on overtraining was sober reading. Supposedly I'm at a stage now where it could be up to two months of virtually no training (and certainly nothing hard) to let my body rest and recover. That sounds like about the hardest type of training I've ever thought of. The idea of letting years of effort and improvement temporarily go, even for longer term benefit, is depressing.

So I'm now in a dilemma, except I already know the answer. Do I cut my running down to just the odd jog every few days until I start to feel really refreshed and normal again? Or do I still do the races I've entered over the next couple of months, at a rate of at least one a week? Well, I've paid for stuff and I also can't really afford to let the training completely go if I want to run well at either the North Face Championship in December or go for a marathon PB at Phoenix in January (never mind the need to get a lot of miles in for Rocky Raccoon's 100 miles of trails in early February).

I know everyone goes through injury periods and that overtraining is extremely common, even though people often ignore it (like I have). And I don't want to wreck my body and cut short a running life that I'm hoping will last around 60 years longer (sorry, Amy). So there's only one sensible way forward, although the use of the word sensible may be stretching it slightly - do the races really easily where possible but basically nothing else. I mean, I was tired in my last marathon a couple of weeks ago, but I still did my second quickest time and that was running solo the whole way. So there's something left in the tank.

But I'm going to reserve the right to DNF races where it just feels way too hard when I'm going slowly. Not because I'd worry about finishing, but because I'm worried about what it'll do to me after I finish. And I'll not run at all mid-week from now on until I feel better so I get the maximum recovery possible. It all starts this weekend with the Redwood 50k and the Quicksilver half marathon. Two very hilly trail races and I suspect I'll just about walk the latter for safety (but I've paid for the entry so I can still use the aid stations).

The following week may be tougher since it's the Tahoe triple marathon and I really want to get the win at this after second last year. Maybe just play that by ear and see where I stand after the first day of not going too hard.

All I know is it'll be really tough to not run, I'm going to have to start eating less and disengaging the competitive instincts could be about as easy as sawing off my own arm (like in the new Danny Boyle film). If I'm lucky I'll feel ok during the races and be able to enjoy them instead of struggling and also going slower. I know the stuff I did back in March/April was a lot of fun and that involved a lot of taking in the sights and running rather than racing. Two Oceans was one of the most fun events I've done because of the relaxed attitude I had to it, as was last year's Transalpine Run (which just happened this year again and I followed avidly and jealously online).

I hope everyone else is feeling more energised than me, but I look forward to waking up a bit if the reduction in mileage pays off. I'd be interested to hear any stories people have about overtraining or links to interesting articles/blogs. Thanks.

Birthday(ish) marathon at Santa Rosa

After four weeks off and the small matter of a wedding and honeymoon, I decided it was time for a fast marathon. August has always been a month for marathon PBs for me (always at the Reykjavik marathon) so I wanted to keep that going and the only possible option was the Santa Rosa marathon in wine country, north of San Francisco. It's very flat and fast even with about 10 miles of gravelled paths to make the going a little tougher.

The last few weeks have been perfect but involved a lot of wedding cake, alcohol and lazing around by pools. A fun lifestyle and a great bit of relaxation, but not ideal marathon preparation.

I really wanted to get another PB and break 2:30, but it was never really on the cards. During the week I could barely run at marathon pace for a mile, never mind 26.2. So I thought I'd just go out fairly hard, see how close I could get to 1:15 at halfway of the two lap course, then try to hold on. Nice plan, but I had hoped to have some help on the first lap at least with some kind of pack. It didn't work out like that - the simultaneous half marathon had one guy shoot off but nobody else in either race went off below six minute miling so I was immediately on my own.

I've never run an entire marathon completely on my own and it was an interesting challenge. At least the conditions were perfect with no wind and cool temperatures. So I managed to hit 10k just over my 10k PB, break my 10 mile (57:40 now) and half (1:15:40 now) PBs then cling on to scrape in just under 2:36 for a season's best. The last eight miles were slower and I felt tired, partly due to overtraining, partly to lack of fitness from the last few weeks and partly to going out a little too fast for my fitness on the day.

I enjoyed most of it until I started struggling on the second lap. Going faster is fun and just one of the types of run that make up the whole package of the sport and make it so rewarding. I also had the bonus of winning by over nine minutes and getting prizes including a year's supply of bread (a bakery sponsors the race). Definitely a good day's work and a fun training run, even if not quite what I'd planned months ago when I optimistically thought I'd get more morning runs in during my honeymoon.

The run was a decent race, generally well organised and very flat and pretty fast. I got misdirected at the half way point and ended up running in the half marathon finish then asking the crowd/officials where the hell I should go (they didn't know) so I worked my way back to the race start and ended up adding about 0.2 miles on. Then I was almost tripped up as an official tried to move some cones on the course as I went past (when back on the proper route) and he swung one under my feet, hitting me. But small races get minor issues like these and it didn't affect my position or a PB so I can't really complain.

It was a shame to miss two of the biggest events this weekend - the Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc 103 miler in the French/Swiss/Italian Alps (all three countries in one race) and the World 50k Road Championships in Gibraltar. But UTMB ended up being cancelled due to weather with a 60 mile version taking it's place for a chunk of the field the day after and Gibraltar's course was supposedly slow and awkward. There's always a trade off with races and I wish I could be in three places at once (ideally for free), but the local race was worth it. And on the day before my 30th birthday I got in a good session.