S Miles roll by

The sun shone as the s miles rolled by...Dumgoyne Hill in the background but that's for another day.

Links to Ultra websites, resources, books and experiences

A mixture of links for all that spare time you are going to have.

Ultra Training


Cliff Young, a farmer who inspired a nation

Ultra running resource

Ken Sayers Ultra Runners Website

Hal Higdon's Website on Ultras

William Sichels Website

Run Further Website

Ultrarunning Online

Bio-rythyms

I think I'm at the bottom of a trough at the moment. Injury for first week of December. Now I'm struck down with manflu, woman's revenge for pregnancy, and now me telly has gone on the blink so Christmas is cancelled. Richt noo I'm a couple of days away from running- at least! For info WHW run next week is Milngavie - Drymen _ Milngavie and is on Saturday 20th..... let me know who's coming.

In need of some inspiration?

When you think it's all to much or question why do I bother, have a read at the report of John Fleetwood's 23 Munro round of Glen Nevis, 60 miles, 28,000 feet, 47 hours 55 minutes, solo, unsupported in full winter conditions.

Link to Report.

Link to Pictures.

Oops

A long running joke for those who don't frequent the FRA Forum...

A well known clairvoyant was doing a talk on the supernatural at a running club’s annual dinner, and one of the sub-topics in which she specialised concerned the types of relationship which are sometimes struck up between living humans and the spectres which come to haunt their dwellings. She went on to describe how what was at first casual communication often developed into quite a deep relationship – sometimes even entering a kind of sexual phase.

In order to draw the audience into the talk she elicited contributions, asking if anybody in the room had ever had a relationship of any kind with a ghost.

Slowly a chap at the back, an ultra-distance runner not normally known to be very chatty, raised his hand. The speaker asked him if the ghost in question had been an ancestor or a person who had been previously associated with his family.

“Oh! Sorry,” replied the runner, “I thought you said goat.”

Schedule & Goals

Any training schedule for a long race is a big committment so I try to enjoy it and also make it count, it is personal journey, here are some things that work for me.

Build mileage and intensity progressively with every third or fourth week easier, using a short taper to peak just before the goal race.

Break the plan down into manageable chunks and be flexible.

Start with a base of consistent running, gradually increasing mileage over 3 months.

Build strength over the next 2 months by changing the emphasis of your long runs from miles to time on your feet.

The last effort is intensity with more reps per session or more rep sessions per week, for about a max of 6 weeks.

I use speedwork to help with pace endurance not to turn me into a sprinter.

I build in suitable races but reduce the intensity of rep workouts the week before to help avoid strains, finish the race strongly and maintain mileage.

Taper before the goal race.

Goals

Main goal
Complete the target race through a progressive training schedule with a series of mini goals and a sense of humour.

1st mini goal
Gradually increase weekly mileage to match the start of the schedule avoiding sudden changes in mileage or intensity.

2nd mg
Pre enter the race.

3rd mg
Set out targets for each phase.

4th mg
Introduce monthly back to back long runs splitting my long run mileage over two days.

5th mg
Surprise sessions, something to add a different kind of challenge.

Camelbak

On the living room floor! Dry,warm.......full!

17 mile route for Sun 23rd....

Start & finish at car park at (1) Succouth/top of Loch Long, about 16 or 17 miles with 3300' of ascent. Short road section (8-9) before picking up the old Rest & Be Thankful road, at top take road to Lochgoilhead (10) before turning left onto forrest track (11). Miss out the Cats Crag loop (12, 13, 14) on the way back for 12 or 13 miles.

What's it all about

Somewhere to vent your frustrations or supply a few motivational offerings, perhaps a route choice or 2. Looking forward to the team members contributions in what will be a challenging few weeks...

Programme for 95 mile WHW 2009

Week	W/C Monday	Day	Activity	Miles	Miles/wk
1	03/11/08	M
		T	Steady	8
		W
		T	Easy	7
		F
		S	RACE – Glasgow Uni	5		***
		S	Endurance	15	35
2	10/11/08	M
		T	Steady	8
		W	Easy	6
		T	Reps	7		***
		F
		S
		S	Endurance	17	38
3	17/11/08	M
		T	Steady	9
		W	Easy	5
		T	Easy	6
		F
		S	RACE – Balloch Park XC	5		***
		S	Endurance	17	42
4	24/11/08	M
		T	Steady	8
		W
		T	Reps	7		***
		F
		S	Beinglas- Rowardennan	20		Buchlyvie 1/2, WHW ???
		S			35
5	01/12/08	M
		T	Steady	10
		W	Easy	5
		T	Reps	7		***
		F	Easy	6
		S
		S	Endurance	18	46
6	08/12/08	M
		T	Steady	10
		W	Easy	5
		T	Reps	8		***
		F	Easy	5
		S
		S	Endurance	22	50
7	15/12/08	M
		T	Steady	8
		W	Easy	5
		T	Reps	8		***
		F
		S	Milngavie-Drymen & back	24		WHW ???
		S			45
8	22/12/08	M
		T	Steady	8
		W	Easy	5
		T	Reps	8		***
		F	Easy	5
		S
		S	Endurance	18	44
9	29/12/08	M
		T	Steady	8
		W	Easy	5
		T	Easy	8
		F
		S	RACE – Nigel Barge or Calendar Crags	6		***
		S	Endurance	15	42
10	05/01/09	M
		T	Steady	8
		W	Easy	5
		T	Reps	8		***
		F
		S	RACE – Balloch Park XC	5		***
		S	Endurance	20	46
11	12/01/09	M
		T	Steady	8
		W	Easy	5
		T	Reps	8		***
		F	Easy	5
		S
		S	Endurance	24	50
12	19/01/09	M
		T	Steady	8
		W	Easy	6
		T	Reps	8		***
		F	Easy	6
		S
		S	Endurance	15	43
13	26/01/09	M
		T	Steady	10
		W	Easy	7
		T	Reps	8		***
		F
		S	RACE Balloch Park Cross Country, Drymen – Beinglas	30		Whinney Hill XC, WHW ???
		S			55
14	02/02/09	M	Easy	5
		T	Steady	11
		W	Easy	7
		T	Reps	8		***
		F	Easy	7
		S
		S	Endurance	20	58
15	09/02/09	M
		T	Steady	12
		W	Easy	8
		T	Reps	10		***
		F	Easy	8
		S	RACE Carnethy 5			***
		S	Endurance	22	60
16	16/02/09	M
		T	Steady	12
		W	Easy	6
		T	Reps	10		***
		F	Easy	6
		S
		S	Endurance	15	49
17	23/02/09	M
		T	Steady	12
		W	Easy	8
		T	Reps	10		***
		F
		S	Beinglas – Kingshouse	31		WHW ???
		S			61
18	02/03/09	M	Easy	5
		T	Steady	12
		W	Easy	8
		T	Reps	10		***
		F	Easy	8
		S
		S	Endurance	20	63
19	09/03/09	M
		T	Steady	12
		W	Easy	9
		T	Reps	10		***
		F	Easy	9
		S	RACE - Clydesdale 5k			***
		S	Endurance	25	65
20	16/03/09	M
		T	Steady	12
		W	Easy	6
		T	Reps	10		***
		F	Easy	6
		S
		S	Endurance	18	52
21	23/03/09	M
		T	Steady	12
		W	Easy	8
		T	Reps	10		***
		F
		S	Tyndrum – Fort William	42		WHW ???
		S			72
22	30/03/09	M	Easy	5
		T	Steady	12
		W	Easy	8
		T	Reps	10		***
		F	Easy	8
		S
		S	Endurance	20	63
23	06/04/09	M
		T	Steady	12
		W	Easy	9
		T	Reps	10		***
		F	Easy	9
		S
		S	Endurance	25	65
24	13/04/09	M
		T	Steady	12
		W	Easy	6
		T	Reps	10		***
		F	Easy	6
		S
		S	Endurance (RACE Lochaber Marathon)	16	50	***
25	20/04/09	M
		T	Steady	12
		W	Easy (Whangie)	6		***
		T
		F
		S	Highland Fling	53		WHW ???
		S	RACE London Marathon		71	***
26	27/04/09	M
		T	Steady	12
		W	Easy	6
		T	Reps	10		***
		F	Easy	6
		S	RACE Stuc A Chroin			***
		S	Endurance	20	54
27	04/05/09	M
		T	Steady	12
		W	Easy	8
		T	Reps	10		***
		F	Easy	8
		S	RACE - Ben Lomond			***
		S	Endurance	20	58
28	11/05/09	M
		T	Steady	12
		W	Easy	6
		T
		F
		S	Balmaha – Bridge of Orchy	41		WHW ???
		S	Bridge of Orchy – Fort William	35	94	WHW ???
29	18/05/09	M				1506
		T	Steady	8
		W	Easy	7
		T	Steady	8
		F	Easy	7
		S	RACE - Jura			***
		S	Endurance	20	50
30	25/05/09	M
		T	Steady	10
		W
		T	Steady	10
		F	Easy	8
		S
		S	Endurance	15	43
31	01/06/09	M
		T	Steady	8
		W
		T	Steady	8
		F	Easy	5
		S
		S	Endurance	14	35
31	08/06/09	M
		T	Easy	8
		W
		T	Easy	8
		F
		S	Easy	10
		S			26
32	15/06/09	M
		T
		W
		T
		F
		S	RACE – WHW	95		***
		S			95
	22/06/09	M
		T
		W
		T
		F
		S
		S			0
	29/06/09	M
		T
		W
		T
		F
		S
		S			0
	06/07/09	M
		T
		W
		T
		F
		S
		S			0
	13/07/09	M
		T
		W
		T
		F
		S
		S			0

It's a con

First go at an Ultra, the 53 mile Milngavie to Tyndrum, Highland Fling on the 26th April, and after reading as much as possible my first go at a training programme for an Ultra so no doubt a cropper I shall come, but one who aims to finish. Had a couple of runs on parts of the route and so far so good. Race entries have reached 100 so I better send mine off before it gets full or the form might just disappear.

Programme for 53 Mile Ultra the Highland Fling SCROLL DOWN

HIGHLAND FLING 26TH APRIL 2008

Wk	W/C Monday	Day	Activity	Details	Distance	Dist/Wk	Hrs/Wk	Change by Wk %
1	14/1/08	1
		2	VOL CR	Hill Reps	7
		3
		4	VOL CR	3 Hills	7
		5
		6	RACE	Polaroid XC	5
		7	WHW	Drymen - Balmaha	15	34	5.1
2	21/1/08	1
		2	VOL CR	3 Hills	7
		3
		4	VOL CR	4 Hills	9
		5	Easy		5
		6
		7	WHW	Balmaha - Rowardennan	15	36	5.4	5.88
3	28/1/08	1	Easy		8
		2	VOL CR	Easy W/Hills	10
		3	Easy		6
		4
		5
		6	RACE	Whinney Hill XC	5
		7	Endurance		18	47	7.05	30.56
4	4/2/08	1
		2	VOL CR		12
		3
		4	VOL CR		8
		5	Easy		6
		6
		7	WHW		24	50	7.5	6.38
5	11/2/08	1
		2	VOL CR		12
		3	Easy		6
		4	VOL CR		8
		5
		6	RACE	Carnethy	6
		7	Endurance		10	42	6.3	-16
6	18/2/08	1
		2	VOL CR		12
		3	Easy		6
		4	VOL CR		8
		5	Easy		6
		6
		7	Endurance		20	52	7.8	23.81
7	25/2/08	1
		2	VOL CR		12
		3	Easy		8
		4	VOL CR		6
		5	Endurance		15
		6
		7	RACE	Bishop Hill	3	44	6.6	-15.38
8	3/3/08	1
		2	VOL CR		12
		3	Easy		6
		4	VOL CR		8
		5	Easy		6
		6
		7	WHW		28	60	9	36.36
9	10/3/08	1
		2	VOL CR		8
		3	Easy		6
		4	VOL CR		12
		5	Easy		6
		6
		7	Endurance		10	42	6.3	-30
10	17/3/08	1
		2	VOL CR		12
		3	Easy		6
		4	VOL CR		8
		5	Easy		8
		6
		7	Endurance	Dumfries Marathon	20	54	8.1	28.57
11	24/3/08	1
		2	VOL CR		12
		3	Easy		6
		4	VOL CR		8
		5	Easy		8
		6
		7	Endurance		10	44	6.6	-18.52
12	31/3/08	1
		2	VOL CR		12
		3	Easy		6
		4	VOL CR	Stoneymollen Hill Race	9
		5	Easy		6
		6
		7	WHW		35	68	10.2	54.55
13	7/4/08	1
		2	VOL CR		6
		3
		4	VOL CR		10
		5	Easy		8
		6
		7	Endurance	London Marathon	10	34	5.1	-50
14	14/4/08	1
		2	VOL CR		12
		3
		4	VOL CR	M5 Handicap	8
		5
		6
		7	Endurance		10	30	4.5	-11.76
15	21/4/08	1
		2	VOL CR		4
		3		Whangie
		4	VOL CR		0
		5
		6
		7	RACE	HIGHLAND FLING	53	57	8.55	90