City of Perth Barefoot 10k

Today I ran in the first City of Perth Barefoot 10k, a rather low key and intimate race held on the grass of the North Inch in Perth at lunchtime.  The race route consisted of 25 and a bit laps of the North Inch cricket oval, with the grass having been recently cut, though not specially for the race.

The small field of competitors totalled one runner, so I was hopeful of a podium finish.  As I jogged the half mile past some parked cars en route to the start of the race, I caught a glimpse of the runner, a tired looking individual with badly fitting shorts and a somewhat effeminate running style, and my confidence was boosted by his appearance.

At the cricket oval I removed my shoes and got ready for the start - the race started almost immediately as I decided it was time to go and I only had an hour for lunch.  I settled into a seven-minute mile pace and found myself leading the race.  I was happy enough for the first few laps as the pace felt comfortable, but I was conscious of keeping something in reserve should the race become more competitive.

The first few kilometres passed quite quickly at a steady pace, though the wet weather last week followed by a couple of hot dry days had meant that in amongst the grass were lots of little worm casts which had dried into small mud spikes - just a wee bit uncomfortable on the soles of my feet.  I went through 5 kilometres in 21:10, still in first place and my pace had increased slightly.  I continued to run steadily for the next few kilometres, feeling like I was running comfortably although there was a bit of an ache in my right ankle, which I had twisted ten days previously.

After 5 miles of running my feet were starting to get quite sore - this was now the longest barefoot run I had done - so I increased my pace length to reduce the number of steps I had to take, and the number of times my feet had to hit the ground.  My pace had been steadily increasing throughout the race, and since kilometre number 3 each kilometre had taken 3 to 4 seconds less than the previous one.  It was only in the final kilometre that I felt I was having to try a bit, but I was holding on to first place which gave me an extra incentive to keep running well.  Over the final few kilometres I had to concentrate on keeping a good running form - running barefoot is a bit less forgiving if you start plodding, which I guess is one of the training benefits.

I reached the finish in 41:10, 10 seconds faster than the only 10k I have run in anger (the City of Stirling 10k in September 2006) so a small PB but I felt like I still had plenty of running in my legs whereas 6 years ago I staggered across the line and couldn’t have run another step.  My garmin measured the course at exactly 10 kilometres, which is perhaps not surprising as the course route had been measured using a garmin identical to mine.

I was delighted to have won the race - I don’t think a victory has been more fiercely contested since George Reid won the Kintyre Way Ultra in 2009 - though because of the small field there weren’t many runners to chat to at the finish and I jogged back to work rather than hang around for the prize giving.

It was a great event to have run in and I look forward to the next one - I guess the field will always be small due to the spontaneous nature of the organisation and lack of marketing, so perhaps I’ll be able to retain my title.

A bit about intervals

Last year I wasn't quite sure what running to do in the seven weeks between the Fling and the WHW race - I settled for a 30+ mile run, a few 15-ish mile hill runs and a bunch of easy runs.  So some long slow stuff but nothing fast.  This year we have eight weeks to fill and my plan is a couple of 30+ mile runs (though that might have to change since 7 miles into the first of these today I twisted my ankle coming down Conic Hill after trying to run too quick down one of the rocky sections - I should perhaps of written "don't be a dick" on my hand to help me concentrate as I have a bit of form for twisting my ankle trying to run too fast down rock hills), and one or two interval sessions per week.

This year I've been doing far more interval sessions than previously.  Though calling them interval sessions is a perhaps misleading as there is none of this 5 x 1 miles with a 2 min recovery type stuff - I prefer a continuous run with some fast bits and some slow bits, aka fartlek.  I guess there has been a bit of debate around why an ultrarunner would do intervals since during a race they'll not typically be running at a fast pace.  My feeling is that intervals are one of the best ways to improve running efficiency (especially if they are up and down hills), and also doing fartlek and running the slow bits at ultra pace makes said pace seem somehow easier.

I have two favourite sessions which I thought I would share just in case you are looking for something different to try on a run:

1. Reducing time intervals - for this one, you need find a nice lap of between 1.5 and 3 miles that you are happy to run round a few times.  I've got a nice 1.5 mile loop around the local woods that is half uphill and half downhill, and is all on good trails.  Then, you set off round the loop at an easy pace.  After the first lap, the aim is to do the second lap about 10 to 15 seconds per mile quicker than the first.  Then on the third lap, run 10 to 15 seconds per mile quicker than the second lap, and so on until you have done 5 laps, with the fifth lap being maybe two to three minutes quicker than the first one.  The idea is to get used to running strongly at the end of a run, and to focus on good running form, when you've got tired legs.

2. Zapping - I once heard this called zapping so that's what I call it.  The idea is run fast for a minute, then slow for a minute (or if you prefer fast for 30 seconds, slow for 30 seconds) and repeat until you've been running for about 30 to 40 minutes.  It's a good one to really get your legs moving and again I think is a good one for running form and efficiency (especially if some of it is downhill since running fast downhill you have to concentrate on just touching the ground lightly with your feet, there's no time for plodding).  As for what pace to run the fast ones, what I aim for is to run at the pace that I would run at if I was running for my life (I find watching The Descent and then doing this run in the dark helps to get my mind in the right place for this).  

So the plan is to keep doing intervals over the next 8 weeks, and hopefully my ankle will have recovered well enough soon that I can be running round the local woods late at night imaging I'm being chased by a bunch of carnivorous cavemen.

Hoka Highland Fling 2012

It was the 2012 Hoka Highland Fling last Saturday - a 52 mile running race along the first half of the West Highland Way from the outskirts of Glasgow to Tyndrum.  This was the 3rd time I have ran the race and last year I was delighted to finish in just under 10 hours.

I wasn’t sure how I was going to get on as I haven’t done as much training as the previous year because of the problems I’ve had with my left foot.  In the four months leading up to the Fling I had only done 4 runs longer than 10 miles, and only one of them was longer than 20 miles.  So I had some big doubts over my stamina, but knew I was running faster than last year over shorter distances as I’ve done more interval and hill training .  A week before the Fling I ran a 13 mile route up a local hill and was about 7 or 8 minutes faster than this time last year so I took the same proportion off my previous Fling time and created a 9 hours 20 minute schedule for myself.  This felt a little ambitious given the lack of long training runs, but I thought I’d give it a go and see what happened - if I struggled later in the race then I would just slow down and enjoy the rest of the run.

Milngavie to Drymen - 12 miles, 1 hour 52 minutes
In December I’d persuaded a work colleague in London to come and run the Highland Fling as his first ultra marathon.  Malcolm was planning on doing an ultra in Northumberland later this year but I managed to convince him that he should come and do the Fling as well, and had promised him a great trail, fantastic scenery, brilliant weather and lots of friendly, supportive runners to share the day with.  We met up just before the start - Malcolm was planning on taking it very easy since this was his first run longer than 26 miles so we ran the first few miles together at a nice easy pace.  I think we were pretty much in last place after half a mile or so, but the pace was good and the first few miles ticked by in no time as we chatted about Malcolm’s first ultra.  I left Malcolm to run his own race as we approached Craigallian Loch - he went on to finish in 12 hours 40 minutes after pacing himself well for the day.

As usual the first few miles of the Fling reminded me of Monty Python’s “Marathon for the Incontinent” sketch - I guess the 8am start gives everyone too much time to hydrate before the start of the race.

For the rest of the way to Drymen I kept it nice and easy and was a few minutes down on my schedule but was not too concerned as it was a great day to be out running and I was not that bothered about times.

Drymen to Rowardennan - 15 miles, 2 hours 33 minutes
I was finding that I could comfortably run up more of the hills than I had done on previous Flings and felt really good on the way up to Conic Hill.  Technical, hilly trail is more my bag than the fast, flat run up to Drymen, and going over Conic Hill I was catching plenty of runners who had started off a bit faster than me.  Most of the interval training I have been doing has been hilly fartlek, with some of the fast intervals being downhill, and I think this helped as coming down Conic Hill I did not feel like I was braking with every step.

At the Balmaha checkpoint Murdo told me that I had won the best drop bag prize - well, really my 6 year old daughter Anna had won it for me.  Anna loves to paint so when my usual pre-race day fish and chips lunch came in a big paper bag it seemed like fate, and Anna was happy to paint her vision of the Highland Fling on it - I told her that the race had trees, mountains, lochs, cows and lots of people running, and she did the rest.  The bag still smelled of fish and chips so it gave me a good appetite when I picked it up at Balmaha.  Knowing how happy Anna would be that the bag had won definitely gave me spring in my step for the next few miles.  I saw Norry at Balmaha, who was going well, and it was good to get a cheer from his support team every few miles on the way up to Rowardennan.

With my drop bag at Balmaha - thanks to Davie Hall for the photo

The path along the loch side was a joy to run along on such a beautiful day.  I ran much of the section with Jude, who was unfortunately having a lot of pain in one of his hips.  I offered him a bit of emu oil but I don’t think it did the trick.  The miles slipped by as we ran along chatting until Jude slowed down a little with the pain in his hip and I ran on, and it was as a shame to see in the results that Jude had had to pull out at Rowardennan.

I was within a couple of minutes of my schedule at Rowardennan, and was feeling in good shape with 27 miles done so was happy with that.

Rowardennan to Beinglas - 14 miles, 2 hours 41 minutes
The 4 miles of forest track after Rowardennan are probably some of the easiest running on the route so it was nice to feel in good shape on them and move quite quickly.  I passed a few familiar faces on this section - I’d seen Colin Knox’s pacing schedule and provided we were both on schedule I should see him on this section, which I did.  He looked to be going well and feeling comfortable and went on to get a good PB.  I’m looking forward to see how Colin gets on in the WHW race in June - he’s certainly preparing for it well.

I really enjoyed the rough section before and after Inversnaid, trying to move as smoothly as possible and letting my legs absorb the lumps and bumps.  This was my fourth time along this bit of path and it definitely gets easier the more you run it.  I had warned my friend Malcolm that the bit round Inversnaid was a little rough, but as I was clambering down some of the rock staircases I thought maybe I’d undersold it a little since it would seem really very rough to someone more used to running on roads - he managed fine with it though.  On the climb a couple of miles before Beinglas I felt really low on energy and struggled up the hill for a few minutes before the calories in the chocolate soya milk I had downed started to come through.  I ran into Beinglas still within a couple of minutes of my schedule.

Running well, fuelled by soya milk, just before Beinglas - thanks to Allan Harley for the photo 

Beinglas to Tyndrum - 12 miles, 2 hours 13 minutes
I felt good for about a mile out of Beinglas, then felt like my energy levels dived and I felt crap for ten minutes, until a can of coke started to work its way into my bloodstream.  My energy had dropped pretty much thirty minutes since the previous time, and this repeated itself for the rest of the day - feel full of beans for twenty minutes, energy levels drop, drink something sweet, feel crap for ten minutes, energy levels pick up again.  It was a little frustrating as my legs felt relatively fresh and not tight at all.  I was able to cut loose on the downhills in the forest near Crianlarich, when in previous races I’ve had to stiffly pick my way down the hills in pain.  Going through Auchtertyre coincided with one of my good spells and I was running 8 minute miles on the tracks and road there, but the last mile into Tyndrum coincided with one of my bad spells which was a shame. Struggling for the last ten minutes took a little of the shine off what had been a great day out.

I finished in 9 hours 18 minutes - pretty much bang on my schedule, but more importantly much quicker than I could ever have imagined when I first ran the Fling three years earlier.  There is definitely more to this game than just training harder - so much of it is learning how to mentally approach these long long runs.

My left foot coped really well with the Fling - my running style has changed to protect my big toe joint, so that I strike with the outside of the front of my foot.  I think I now have a much more efficient running style, and my legs definitely felt less tired, stiff and sore on Saturday than on any other ultra I have run.  The outsides of my feet are bruised and sore though, and my lesser-toes are all losing their nails this week I expect.  Running low on energy towards the end of the race was I guess down to having legs that were fresh enough to be able to burn up energy faster than I could absorb it.

It was good to hang around at the finishing chatting to lots of familiar faces - Murdo had told me to wait around to pick up the prize for the best drop bag competition and I didn’t want to go home without it as my daughter would have been disappointed.  Just as I was leaving, Malcolm came round the corner to finish, and it was nice to share a bit of the buzz he felt finishing his first ultra.

Anna clearly delighted with her prize, a bottle of Murdo McEwan's Champion Ale

So it was a great race and I want to finish by saying a big thanks to John and everyone else involved in putting on the event - surely one of the UK’s best - and I hope anyone who injured themselves on Saturday is making a speedy recovery.

Lost: some joint cartilage

It's always fascinating to get a glimpse of the inner workings of your own body. I've seen the valves in my heart flapping back and forward on an ultrasound - I woke up one night with an irregular heart beat and the ultrasound was one of various checks that found nothing wrong - and on Tuesday I had the pleasure of having a good look at the inside of my left foot.

It turns out that the joint where my big toe joins on to my foot doesn't really have any cartilage left in it. The bones around the joint have a number of bony growths and spikes on them as a result of the damage the lack of cartilage has caused, and the joint movement is limited to about 10 degrees of flex rather than the more normal 90. Plus it hurts, quite alot, all of the time. Advanced osteoarthritis of the big toe joint, just what a 37 year old with an interest in ultrarunning wants to be diagnosed with.

The doctor explained the three options to me as:

1. A cheliectomy (not sure of the spelling), which means cutting open the joint and cutting of the bits of bone that are inhibiting the flex, thereby freeing the joint up but unfortunately since there is no cartilage left it probably won't reduce the pain that much, and the offending bony bits will grow back over time.

2. Fusing the joint, so it won't flex at all and running would be a bit difficult. This should stop the pain, but also has the drawback that I would not be able to wear high heels again.

3. Replacing the joint - apparently this option is only suitable for couch potatoes (the doctor's words, not mine) and a runner would wear the new joint out in a year. Plus, it would seem to me that to replace the joint in question about a quarter of your foot would have to be cut out, and I don't think I fancy that.

I guess the fourth option, and the one I'm settling for for the timebeing, is to put up with the pain and get on with it. I've had a sore foot for about seven years now and though it is steadily getting worse it's manageable at the moment. My running gait has definitely changed over the past few years (as evidenced by a bunch of compensation injuries and a different wear pattern on my shoes) in order to protect the damaged bit of my foot, and it feels more natural this year than it has done previously. The doctor recommended running in stiff soled shoes (those with a rockplate in are ideal), which I have been doing since Christmas and which I think helps, though strangely when I run with no shoes on there is virtually no pain at all. So I think running is okay, but I probably need to accept that my moonwalking days are over.

That said, the pain in my foot is generally worse this year than last year, and I've had a couple of episodes when I could hardly walk for a week, never mind run. I'll be in Milngavie next Saturday to have a go at the Fling, but I think realistically only after seeing how the joint copes with 52 miles of trail will I decide whether I will be back in Milngavie very early one Saturday morning in June. I've got my fingers crossed that I will be, and would cross my toes as well if I was able to.

Barefoot revolutions

As a practising Scotsman, there is something inherently attractive about running footwear that doesn't cost any money. For me, this seemed the obvious benefit of barefoot running, so when I first looked into it I was very much put off by the fact that barefoot running footwear was a lot more expensive than my normal running shoes. I guess it's a common theme of lightweight performance sportswear and equipment that the more you pay, the less you get.

So the other day, after a gentle recovery run along the Tay and around the North Inch in Perth, in the unseasonally warm and sunny weather, I stopped at the side of the freshly mown cricket oval, got my socks and shoes off, and went for a few laps proper barefoot.

Wow.

The run up to that point had not been very enjoyable - my legs were knackered from the previous day and I felt like I was plodding along. But on my first lap of the cricket oval I felt light and springy in my bare feet, and glanced at my Garmin to see I was doing seven minute miles and it felt easy. After 6 laps, or 1.5 miles, I was still cruising along quite happily and loving the feel of the grass between my toes, but thought I should stop then as I didn't want to overdo it on the first time.

Since then I've been a couple of more times to the cricket oval, and last time did three miles in my bare feet, again at a decent (for me) pace of just over 7 minute miles. I felt noticeably clumpy and unnatural when I put my shoes back on to run the half mile on tarmac back to the office. And, importantly for me, the big toe joint that usually hurts when I run does not hurt at all when I've got my shoes off.

So I'm a convert to this barefoot running thing I think, and aim to do a few miles a time, about three times a week. But I'm not about to rush out and buy some Five Fingers (even though my good mate Jeff and his wife Sam have just started their own on-line barefoot running shoe store - emperorsnewshoes.co.uk - and I could probably get a good deal) as for the timebeing I'm happy to run proper barefoot round the cricket oval in Perth or on the golf course fairways in Stirling.

I hope as I get more used to it to run on some other grassy routes around Perth and Stirling. I guess the biggest danger is standing on something either sharp or unpleasant. I'll stick to the classier areas of town to hopefully avoid the needles and broken glass, and as for the inevitable meeting between feet and dog dirt that will happen at some point, I'll carry a small pack of baby wipes. In theory it should be easier to clean dog dirt off your feet than it is to clean it off your shoes.

Well, except for the bits that get stuck under your toenails.

BIG toe

The last couple of months have been a bit rubbish for me running wise. Since the Glen Ogle 33 I seem to have had a non-stop conveyor belt of viruses and tummy bugs and generally feeling like crap - not conducive to doing lots of running. From talking to friends and family it sounds like that is quite common when you have a couple of young kids at school - they're constantly bringing new colds and things back home with them. So I only achieved two of the five targets I had set myself for the last four months of 2012 - doing 30 miles in under 4.5 hours and climbing a 6b at the local wall (I managed two, and fluked my way up a 6c) - so I'm carrying the other three forward.

Over the last few days of the year the big toe joint on my left foot got very swollen and incredibly painful, to the point were I really struggled to walk and it would take 5 minutes or so to walk 100m. I'm currently waiting for the results of x-rays and blood tests but my internet self diagnosis has the most likely culprit as being gout. Seems totally unfair if it is since I'm getting all the pain and suffering but without having had the hedonistic lifestyle that commonly causes the affliction.

I've had a bit of pain and stiffness in the joint for about seven years now but the recent attack of gout or whatever it turns out to be was something else and seems to have knackered the joint good and proper. Some strong NSAIDs have thankfully eased the pain and swelling, but right now I have grave doubts as to whether I'll ever be able to run more than a few miles again without some major intervention. There are lumps and bumps all over the joint that I am pretty certain shouldn't be there, and my big toe doesn't have much mobility anymore.

There are changes you can make to your diet to reduce the risk of gout, which mostly seems to be eating lots of foods that give you tremendous wind, so it isn't all bad.

Glen Ogle 33...ish

It's difficult to find something not to like about this race - a nice route through great scenery, it always has perfect weather, and it's two and a half miles shorter than billed. Plus, it is my local ultra, only half an hour drive from my front door.

The start was suitably low key. I'd noticed the big puddles on either side of the track 100m from the start so got myself right in the middle of the group and kept my feet dry. The section through the forest between Strathyre and Kingshouse was nice - a couple of wee hills to warm us all up then a long easy descent. I spent most of this section chatting to Graeme Reid about his superb UTMB run this year - he was very modest about what he had achieved. The first four miles flew by.

My race plan was to try and do about 9 minute miles. I work in kilometres (a hangover from my days as an orienteer) so actually I was aiming to do just under 5:40/km for the whole race. I was pretty much spot on that for the first section and it felt nice and comfortable. On the undulating section through the birch woods between Kingshouse and Lochearnhead (probably my favourite bit of the whole route, especially in the morning mist with the dew covered cobwebs in the trees) I slowed a little then got back into a good rhythm once we were on the railway going up Glen Ogle. The wee climb up to the railway was a nice excuse for a walking break and to stop and take in the view down Loch Earn. Glorious.

Photo courtesy of: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Glen-Ogle-33-Ultra-Marathon/171906002890077

I've always thought that Glen Ogle is one of the prettiest wee glens in Scotland - I used to go hillwalking with my Dad most weekends when I was a teenager and the road from Stirling to the mountains more often than not went through Glen Ogle. I remember looking at the viaduct years ago (before the cycle path was made) and thinking that would be nice to walk along. Running up the old railway on a misty autumn morning was a joy. From the top of the glen we dropped down through the woods towards Killin - a nice bit of downhill which I tried to run relaxed on and picked up the pace a little. I got chatting to various other runners on the climb back up through the woods and before long was on the flat to slightly downhill stretch back to the top of Glen Ogle. Coming up through the woods I saw the much talked about upside-down sign - I thought it was just the organisers' humour (like the "are you enjoying it?" sign, the "to pub" sign, and the "slow" written at the steep uphill on the bike path - the latter maybe wasn't the organisers) rather than meaning the sign had been tampered with. Maybe I need to be more sceptical in future.

Somewhere in the woods we had covered 15 miles which I reckoned was about half way and I was feeling good so I started trying a bit harder. My average pace to this point was about 5:45/km so it was looking fine for doing 5:40/km overall with the long downhill coming up. Pretty much from here to the finish I was catching and passing other runners which was good for my enjoyment of the race but maybe means I started too slow. The run back down the glen didn't feel as downhill as I hoped it would, but the undulating bit through the birch woods was equally nice on the way back and with half a litre of fizzy coke inside me my legs were feeling good. We hit the road at 25 miles then had about 10km to the finish - I set myself a challenge to do the last 10km in 50 minutes and settled into a rhythm that felt nice and cruisey at about 4:50/km. It felt good to be running the last few miles strongly and I crossed the line in 4 hours 24 minutes, after 30 and a half miles on a great route through a lovely part of Scotland. My average pace was about 5:22/km - a little bit faster than I had been aiming for which was pleasing. The last 10km had taken me 48 minutes.

I always start off slow on these long runs then try and finish strongly. I'd set off on this one at a pace that was quicker than I usually start at and it was encouraging to then go faster over the second half. The route was quicker underfoot than I usually run on so I probably set off to slow, but I'm not much of a road runner and get tired very quickly if I try and go faster than feels comfortable. I'm sure I enjoyed it more setting off slow and finishing strong than I would have done setting off quicker and trying to hang on, and it was the sort of day for me that was about enjoying being out on the trails rather than setting the best possible time.

I'm incredibly impressed by how quick some folk ran on Saturday - quite amazing. One of the things I like most about ultramarathons is that no-one has an elitist "them and us" attitude - it's all just one big friendly family and everyone's achievement in finishing is as valuable as everyonelses (not sure everyonelses is a word, but you know what I mean). I was chatting to Paul Raistrick after the race - apparently his parents walked the Pennine Way with my parents 40 years ago, or something like that - and he was as enthusiastic about my run as I was about his. Another very modest guy and a worthy winner.

A big thanks to Mike and Bill and their team of helpers - it was a great event. Unfortunately I couldn't hang around for long to enjoy the soup or beer as I had to take the kids swimming - I spent most of the afternoon climbing the stairs to the top of the local waterslides - not sure how that rates as a post-race recovery.

The route was excellent - perfect for this time of the year when you can't be sure what the weather will throw at you. I was keen to show my wife some of the great scenery we had seen so today me and the rest of the family parked at the top of Glen Ogle and cycled back along the route to Strathyre in more wonderful autumn sunshine - the views of Loch Earn and Loch Voil from the route are just stunning. The bike ride to Strathyre was a nice recovery since it is mostly downhill.

The cycle back up to the top of Glen Ogle to collect the car was slightly less pleasant with tired legs from the previous day, especially on the steep climb at Lochearnhead with two stone of two-year old scotch beef on the back of my bike.