This very short post came about from an application for a coaching apprenticeship at the World Athletics Centre in Arizona, where I hope to spend a couple of weeks in December.
As I was filling it in, I was anticipating something similar to a tax return form but actually it included a number of very thought provoking questions which I really enjoyed answering and made me think of how I view success.
So, I thought I would share a couple of my thoughts to those questions.
What does success look like to you?
Success to
me means getting the maximum potential out of yourself. This can be for an
individual event or a particular time frame, irrespective of winning.
It doesn’t
have to be confined to sport but for the context of this answer I will keep
that as the focus. Satisfaction or success ultimately seems to correlate with
that feeling that you absolutely did your best. I think the feeling of
disappointment ties in very much with knowing the preparation or the execution
of that event was not to the expected level. You can also have feelings of
disappointment from winning events and similarly feel success whilst at the
same time losing. So in short, I think it is a reflection of whether you feel
you did everything to obtain the goal in mind.
Success as
a coach would mean I did my absolute best to maximise the physical and mental potential
of my athlete. It involves a huge range of variables but perhaps a start would
be a commitment to fully understand training methodology and the chosen sport
and “how” to apply it to that particular athlete. The selection of appropriate
short term and long-term goals and the ability to adapt is part of the very
difficult question of the “how”!
What
are the 3 most important factors that determine your success?
Success
as a coach I think for me starts with the commitment to learn. This learning
process is on going and involves constant questioning and evaluation of
knowledge and the ability to be humble and open to new ideas to acquire a
strong knowledge base.
Ultimately
success as an athlete and as a coach will involve “non-achieving” so the
ability to be honest, reflect and improve is very much part of that process.
This has
been one of the biggest factors that have determined my past successes. Working
and surrounding yourself with excellent people with good attitudes, is a way to
fast track learning and building a knowledge base.
SENSE OF HUMOUR!!!
Just an observation about effort
Yesterday at Track Academy in Willesden Green where I am doing my work placement with young elite sprinters, we were in the general preparation phase and working on the acceleration phase. It was interesting to see that the harder the effort and the more "grunting" and excess tension, the slower the time. Use and focus of effort is so important to performance and that can be learnt. It took me years to realise that actually "trying" harder actually just sabotages performance. Learning to relax in movement and focus on the technique that will get you faster or stronger is a better redirection of energy than just plain "effort".
Having said that, sometimes people do just need a good kick up the backside!!
Friday 25 October 2013
Thursday 24 October 2013
Project 2: Quest for the body beautiful!
I was going to save revealing this "treat" of a challenge until I start training fully at beginning of Feb but there is bizarrely some useful cross-over with Fan Dance training, so here goes.....
Project 2 will be me partaking in a UKBFF Body fitness contest around April/May, which is basically a body building contest where I will be competing under the category "Ladies BodyFitness", so less steroids and more fake tan I think. At the moment the fear is more about the fake tan than the complete deprivation of food or any social life but I expect the reality will kick in soon enough.
My first shock tonight was having to prep,weigh and cook food for the week and actually assume a bit more responsibility for proper nutrition than I may have otherwise. I felt the below was appropriate whilst I was trying out my "cook skinless chicken 800 ways" recipe book!
I'm lucky to have Tirrel Grant from City Athletic write my programs (www.tirrelgrant.com).
He is a seasoned fitness model and put me through my paces today for my first session. It was excellent but I did want to kill him. It's tough, very little rest. (Very little chocolate as well whilst we are on that note). The next 6 weeks or so will be based around a 3 day whole body split to build muscular endurance and to just get used to the training and nutrition. We are super-setting and using a tempo of lifting which increases the time under tension of muscle groups, so effectively you are doing a lot of "work", hence the sweating, increase in heart rate and accompanying tourettes.
These Muscular Endurance sessions should in theory be excellent for "loaded" march training so we'll see how I go with it.
I also promise not to post endless photos of my daily menu, which would bore me to tears so I will have to find something else to report about. Coming from a sporting background and functional training, the goal of obtaining perfect symmetry for aesthetics is definitely out of my comfort zone. I am anticipating posing and walking in heels is going to be a bit of a challenge and probably very undignified, as I inevitable fall flat on my face whilst trying to do my quarter turns. Hence the following photo of training, where I still can't shake the desire to "get back to basics" and basically just use an inanimate object to pull/push/climb on!
Project 2 will be me partaking in a UKBFF Body fitness contest around April/May, which is basically a body building contest where I will be competing under the category "Ladies BodyFitness", so less steroids and more fake tan I think. At the moment the fear is more about the fake tan than the complete deprivation of food or any social life but I expect the reality will kick in soon enough.
My first shock tonight was having to prep,weigh and cook food for the week and actually assume a bit more responsibility for proper nutrition than I may have otherwise. I felt the below was appropriate whilst I was trying out my "cook skinless chicken 800 ways" recipe book!
I'm lucky to have Tirrel Grant from City Athletic write my programs (www.tirrelgrant.com).
He is a seasoned fitness model and put me through my paces today for my first session. It was excellent but I did want to kill him. It's tough, very little rest. (Very little chocolate as well whilst we are on that note). The next 6 weeks or so will be based around a 3 day whole body split to build muscular endurance and to just get used to the training and nutrition. We are super-setting and using a tempo of lifting which increases the time under tension of muscle groups, so effectively you are doing a lot of "work", hence the sweating, increase in heart rate and accompanying tourettes.
These Muscular Endurance sessions should in theory be excellent for "loaded" march training so we'll see how I go with it.
I also promise not to post endless photos of my daily menu, which would bore me to tears so I will have to find something else to report about. Coming from a sporting background and functional training, the goal of obtaining perfect symmetry for aesthetics is definitely out of my comfort zone. I am anticipating posing and walking in heels is going to be a bit of a challenge and probably very undignified, as I inevitable fall flat on my face whilst trying to do my quarter turns. Hence the following photo of training, where I still can't shake the desire to "get back to basics" and basically just use an inanimate object to pull/push/climb on!
 |
| assuming the position |
Monday 21 October 2013
Project 1: The Fan Dance training begins.....
Today I trialled a workout designed with the
below objectives in mind. I did this in my local park, looking an absolute twat
carrying an 75L backpack, wearing boots and spandex. All in the name of
sports science!
Training Objectives:
1. My backpack admin was similar to that of a 15yr old Duke of Edinburgh contender (think objects falling off, tied on etc). I chalk this up to lack of caffeine.
2. To try and avoid dog poo. I didn't do this well.
3. I also learnt that it was not a very pleasant exercise and even my ipod malfunctioned from shock and sweat.
The idea for this exercise was born out of utter boredom and contempt for treadmill walking, with the question of how best to replicate running up Pan Y Fan, when you live in London! I have to say, incline walking on a treadmill doesn't really seem to do it for me. For the purposes of the Fan Dance, walking at an exact speed at an exact elevation isn't going to cut it. The nature of this undulating route means both the aerobic and anaerobic systems are going to be constantly interchanging. In terms of training energy systems, how best can you replicate this?
The accumulation of lactate is going to be the biggest problem here! So.......the science bit.
1. We need to induce adaptations that will optimise oxidation of lactate.
2. Encourage use of lactate as a fuel substrate as certain organs/tissues/muscles can use a variety of different substrates to produce energy (ATP). There is some evidence that Myocardial (heart) muscle can use a number substrates including lactate. (Chatham, 2002)
I'm not going to pretend Biochemistry and Metabolism are simple, suffice to say, we don't really know the extent of how metabolism and genes are upregulated and downregulated (epigenetics) to control what and how fuels get metabolised in individuals. So I will do my best to answer this question with the information I do know.
In my opinion, a careful combination of high volume/low intensity (aerobic) and low volume/high intensity training (e.g HITT/Tabata)(anaerobic), will induce the adaptations we are after. The time frame is approximately 4-6 weeks for this to occur. Aerobic training will increase both the number and mass of mitochondria and capillarization of skeletal muscle increasing the lactate threshold, so lactate will accumulate less quickly. In this way, aerobic training has the benefit of increasing the rate of recovery, both short term and long term.
In the presence of oxygen, lactate will also be "shunted" back into the aerobic pathway to produce more ATP for more work.
Too much high intensity training can be very fatiguing both on the musculoskeletal systems and on the central nervous system so a careful blend can keep overtraining and injury at bay. In terms of priorities of goals, staying injury free is at the top of the list.
There is also increasing evidence that Fast Twitch Type II fibres can be trained through high volume/low intensity training to be more "oxidative" which will slow the accumulation of lactate (Teene, K et al, 2007), a good thing for strength endurance events. These muscle fibres are predominantly designed to generate a lot of power but fatigue quickly compared to slow twitch Type I fibres.
Energy systems, Metabolism and Biochemistry are whole science's on their own, but I believe it is important to understand what and why you are doing what you are doing. Make your training relevant, specific and make it count.
Training
1. Caffeine yourself up properly. I like to stick to roughly the legal limit for a performance enhancing effect!
2. Bergen + weight (10kg) and boots.
3. Choose a hill about 10-15% elevation and take a 100m section that includes the peak and a plateau of about 40m. <
4. START: 70-100 walking lunges, uphill.
TIP: It is very easy just to bend forward from waist, which makes you think you are going lower but for the purposes of this exercise and off loading lumbar muscles, drop your body weight into a "mid" range lunge, staying upright.
If you are familiar with a "good morning" utilise the forward hip movement when you stand up straight i.e pushing hips forward to get good hip extension, engaging glutes.
>As you bring rear leg through, spend a good second or so on one leg to challenge stabilisation and to get strong on one leg.
5. Straight into a jog or walk to the top of the hill, over the crest and jog across the plateau.
6. Run down fast.
That is 1 circuit. Mine took approx. 2mins 30s.
You can take 30s rest but aim to do the circuits continuously for 60mins. Doing this "loaded" with good technique should also train the stabilising muscles of the trunk really well so actually a separate "core" workout will not be necessary. Keep trunk strong and upright in the walking lunges and not too much leaning forward will ensure glutes are in the best "portion" of the length-tension curve to "work". This will prevent lower back muscles from getting overworked.
You can manipulate the start/stop sections of the hill and/or length of each segment to find what works best for yourself.
References
Chatham, J.C. (2002). Lactate - the forgotten fuel. The Journal of physiology, 542, 333
Teene, T., Alev, K., Kaasik, P. and Pehme, A. (2007). Changes in fast twitch muscle oxidative capacity and myosin isoforms modulation during endurance training. Journal of sports medicine and physical fitness, 47(1),124-32.
Training Objectives:
- Induce optimum adaptations for the aerobic and anaerobic energy systems, in a similar way to what you can expect on the Fan Dance route.
- Get used to the backpack + weight and get the glutes working to offload the lumbar musculature. The nature and architecture of these stabilising muscles mean they will inevitably fatigue under movement with heavy load so the more we can do to get the powerful gluteus maximus to work, the better.
1. My backpack admin was similar to that of a 15yr old Duke of Edinburgh contender (think objects falling off, tied on etc). I chalk this up to lack of caffeine.
2. To try and avoid dog poo. I didn't do this well.
3. I also learnt that it was not a very pleasant exercise and even my ipod malfunctioned from shock and sweat.
The idea for this exercise was born out of utter boredom and contempt for treadmill walking, with the question of how best to replicate running up Pan Y Fan, when you live in London! I have to say, incline walking on a treadmill doesn't really seem to do it for me. For the purposes of the Fan Dance, walking at an exact speed at an exact elevation isn't going to cut it. The nature of this undulating route means both the aerobic and anaerobic systems are going to be constantly interchanging. In terms of training energy systems, how best can you replicate this?
The accumulation of lactate is going to be the biggest problem here! So.......the science bit.
1. We need to induce adaptations that will optimise oxidation of lactate.
2. Encourage use of lactate as a fuel substrate as certain organs/tissues/muscles can use a variety of different substrates to produce energy (ATP). There is some evidence that Myocardial (heart) muscle can use a number substrates including lactate. (Chatham, 2002)
I'm not going to pretend Biochemistry and Metabolism are simple, suffice to say, we don't really know the extent of how metabolism and genes are upregulated and downregulated (epigenetics) to control what and how fuels get metabolised in individuals. So I will do my best to answer this question with the information I do know.
In my opinion, a careful combination of high volume/low intensity (aerobic) and low volume/high intensity training (e.g HITT/Tabata)(anaerobic), will induce the adaptations we are after. The time frame is approximately 4-6 weeks for this to occur. Aerobic training will increase both the number and mass of mitochondria and capillarization of skeletal muscle increasing the lactate threshold, so lactate will accumulate less quickly. In this way, aerobic training has the benefit of increasing the rate of recovery, both short term and long term.
In the presence of oxygen, lactate will also be "shunted" back into the aerobic pathway to produce more ATP for more work.
Too much high intensity training can be very fatiguing both on the musculoskeletal systems and on the central nervous system so a careful blend can keep overtraining and injury at bay. In terms of priorities of goals, staying injury free is at the top of the list.
There is also increasing evidence that Fast Twitch Type II fibres can be trained through high volume/low intensity training to be more "oxidative" which will slow the accumulation of lactate (Teene, K et al, 2007), a good thing for strength endurance events. These muscle fibres are predominantly designed to generate a lot of power but fatigue quickly compared to slow twitch Type I fibres.
Energy systems, Metabolism and Biochemistry are whole science's on their own, but I believe it is important to understand what and why you are doing what you are doing. Make your training relevant, specific and make it count.
Training
1. Caffeine yourself up properly. I like to stick to roughly the legal limit for a performance enhancing effect!
 |
| Primary ingredient for success |
2. Bergen + weight (10kg) and boots.
3. Choose a hill about 10-15% elevation and take a 100m section that includes the peak and a plateau of about 40m. <
4. START: 70-100 walking lunges, uphill.
TIP: It is very easy just to bend forward from waist, which makes you think you are going lower but for the purposes of this exercise and off loading lumbar muscles, drop your body weight into a "mid" range lunge, staying upright.
If you are familiar with a "good morning" utilise the forward hip movement when you stand up straight i.e pushing hips forward to get good hip extension, engaging glutes.
>As you bring rear leg through, spend a good second or so on one leg to challenge stabilisation and to get strong on one leg.
5. Straight into a jog or walk to the top of the hill, over the crest and jog across the plateau.
6. Run down fast.
That is 1 circuit. Mine took approx. 2mins 30s.
 |
| Simple but effective! |
You can take 30s rest but aim to do the circuits continuously for 60mins. Doing this "loaded" with good technique should also train the stabilising muscles of the trunk really well so actually a separate "core" workout will not be necessary. Keep trunk strong and upright in the walking lunges and not too much leaning forward will ensure glutes are in the best "portion" of the length-tension curve to "work". This will prevent lower back muscles from getting overworked.
You can manipulate the start/stop sections of the hill and/or length of each segment to find what works best for yourself.
References
Chatham, J.C. (2002). Lactate - the forgotten fuel. The Journal of physiology, 542, 333
Teene, T., Alev, K., Kaasik, P. and Pehme, A. (2007). Changes in fast twitch muscle oxidative capacity and myosin isoforms modulation during endurance training. Journal of sports medicine and physical fitness, 47(1),124-32.
Friday 18 October 2013
Before we begin - A little bit about motivation and the power of the excuse
I used to believe that heart, spirit, drive, hunger, motivation or whatever you choose to call it was enough to override fitness. In truth you need both in varying doses for most physical challenges, and both are trainable. I was once told some good advice when I was boxing competitively, that went along the lines of "you best have a really really good reason for doing this, because you will be faced with times when you are going to need to answer that and you will have to have a very good answer!" Very true.
And like all things, you can put a mathematical spin on it, where there is a direct correlation between exertion and difficulty answering that question!
Which brings me to the next observation of athletes and that is the "power of the excuse"! Generally people hate excuses but I have to say I smile when I hear a long list being reeled off for why a goal wasn't obtained. Perhaps the reasons are genuine or perhaps not, but above all, it reflects someones strength of self belief. They still believe they can do that thing and they have that hunger and the instinct to finish. It is when, the excuses stop that makes my heart sink. I have seen it a few times, when people lose that will to "fight", they don't want it enough and just ..... stop.
So my best advice before engaging on any arduous training and when you are lying face down in the metaphorical bog (for me that bog will be real!) is the following....
1. Have a very good answer for why you want to do it.
2. Make excuses! (for why you didn't achieve your goals).
I think my motivation for doing the sporting things I have done (and I have had to question this a lot) is more about understanding my own physical and mental limits. It is, as this blog sums up, an experiment about how training can change those limits. That is what I tell myself on a good day. On a bad day I just think I'd rather have a cup of tea and/or whisky (see below)!
And like all things, you can put a mathematical spin on it, where there is a direct correlation between exertion and difficulty answering that question!
Which brings me to the next observation of athletes and that is the "power of the excuse"! Generally people hate excuses but I have to say I smile when I hear a long list being reeled off for why a goal wasn't obtained. Perhaps the reasons are genuine or perhaps not, but above all, it reflects someones strength of self belief. They still believe they can do that thing and they have that hunger and the instinct to finish. It is when, the excuses stop that makes my heart sink. I have seen it a few times, when people lose that will to "fight", they don't want it enough and just ..... stop.
So my best advice before engaging on any arduous training and when you are lying face down in the metaphorical bog (for me that bog will be real!) is the following....
1. Have a very good answer for why you want to do it.
2. Make excuses! (for why you didn't achieve your goals).
I think my motivation for doing the sporting things I have done (and I have had to question this a lot) is more about understanding my own physical and mental limits. It is, as this blog sums up, an experiment about how training can change those limits. That is what I tell myself on a good day. On a bad day I just think I'd rather have a cup of tea and/or whisky (see below)!
 |
| Just give me a minute |
 |
| I hope you can answer that question |
Wednesday 16 October 2013
Project 1: The Fan Dance Training Initial thoughts
Now I have gotten my rant out of the way about how truly dismal this is and is going to be, I can focus on the training part. You may want to skip this if you have no intention of doing anything like this. Below are just some initial thoughts and then more training will follow.
Initial Thoughts
1. Pack sensibly. Women need to carry 25lb (11.3kg) and men 35lb (15.9kg). How this is distributed will make a big difference to comfort. Water bottles are not disastrous but it is quite headache making, running with those bouncing around. I will not be taking ANY extra weight! Maybe a 30g pack of peanuts and maybe gaffa tape to strap down anything that moves!
2. Time can be made up on the gentle ascents and descents (Roman road drag). This is where you need to be able to run or walk/jog to do a good time. This is what I found hardest, so train train train I will to run with that weight. Tip: Hone skills on removing wildlife from paths!
3. Training needs to include some permutation of carrying more weight and and/or faster speeds than necessary. Very little of my training will be done non weight bearing as it just bares no resemblance to the event. It is not "clean fatigue" so shouldn't be trained like that. I might change my mind but I don't think so.
4. Learn to run FAST down hill. If I could swear on these "posts", this is where it would happen. It is dismal. Downhill running is essentially eccentric loading for the legs so strength is a real issue here. Eccentric = the muscle lengthens whilst generating force. You can generate more force with these type of muscle contractions (think length-tension relationship) so the potential for "delayed onset muscle soreness" is big (DOMS). You have to be able to absorb a LOT of force. Your body weight plus "dead" weight.
So....lots of downhill running with "load" and gym work to keep injuries at bay.
5. Take no "faff" time, so no changing of clothes. I will probably wear a helly hanson base layer and a waterproof outerlayer, lightweight trousers and trail shoes or lightweight boots.
Hold it in!! (toilet) and Gels for fuel.
6. The route is fantastic for testing all elements of fitness on very varied terrain. It is worth splitting the route into chunks and seeing where your personal strengths and weaknesses are and where you can make up time. Below are example of my splits (min:sec).
37:30 Corn-Du
43.21 Pen Y Fan
1:11 Start of the Roman Rd.
1:46 to the road turn around (Half-way mark)
I gave up looking at my watch after that as I was too tired! But you have steep ascents, steep descents, gentle descents, gentle ascents, steep ascents and steep descents all on uneven ground. You need to be able to cover all types of ground well. Pen Y Fan in my case was actually less than 1/4 of the total time so there is probably little reward for bashing up it. Better to save energy for the roman road drag, where potential for improvement is big.
7. Do the event with a good friend who will haul your ass up and down it.
8. Maintain a sense of humour!
Initial Thoughts
1. Pack sensibly. Women need to carry 25lb (11.3kg) and men 35lb (15.9kg). How this is distributed will make a big difference to comfort. Water bottles are not disastrous but it is quite headache making, running with those bouncing around. I will not be taking ANY extra weight! Maybe a 30g pack of peanuts and maybe gaffa tape to strap down anything that moves!
2. Time can be made up on the gentle ascents and descents (Roman road drag). This is where you need to be able to run or walk/jog to do a good time. This is what I found hardest, so train train train I will to run with that weight. Tip: Hone skills on removing wildlife from paths!
3. Training needs to include some permutation of carrying more weight and and/or faster speeds than necessary. Very little of my training will be done non weight bearing as it just bares no resemblance to the event. It is not "clean fatigue" so shouldn't be trained like that. I might change my mind but I don't think so.
4. Learn to run FAST down hill. If I could swear on these "posts", this is where it would happen. It is dismal. Downhill running is essentially eccentric loading for the legs so strength is a real issue here. Eccentric = the muscle lengthens whilst generating force. You can generate more force with these type of muscle contractions (think length-tension relationship) so the potential for "delayed onset muscle soreness" is big (DOMS). You have to be able to absorb a LOT of force. Your body weight plus "dead" weight.
So....lots of downhill running with "load" and gym work to keep injuries at bay.
5. Take no "faff" time, so no changing of clothes. I will probably wear a helly hanson base layer and a waterproof outerlayer, lightweight trousers and trail shoes or lightweight boots.
Hold it in!! (toilet) and Gels for fuel.
6. The route is fantastic for testing all elements of fitness on very varied terrain. It is worth splitting the route into chunks and seeing where your personal strengths and weaknesses are and where you can make up time. Below are example of my splits (min:sec).
37:30 Corn-Du
43.21 Pen Y Fan
1:11 Start of the Roman Rd.
1:46 to the road turn around (Half-way mark)
I gave up looking at my watch after that as I was too tired! But you have steep ascents, steep descents, gentle descents, gentle ascents, steep ascents and steep descents all on uneven ground. You need to be able to cover all types of ground well. Pen Y Fan in my case was actually less than 1/4 of the total time so there is probably little reward for bashing up it. Better to save energy for the roman road drag, where potential for improvement is big.
7. Do the event with a good friend who will haul your ass up and down it.
8. Maintain a sense of humour!
Project 1: The Fan Dance De-brief made brief
Well that was an adventure....such to say that I think the information will follow as two separate entries. 1. A descriptive of pain 2. Training thoughts.
My plan was to do a simulated attempt of the Fan Dance to establish where I am fitness wise and how best to train. I think the short answer to this question is don't do it in the first place!!
I left London at 6am and had a good drive so arrived at the Storey arms just after 10am, in what can only be described as "inclement weather". For anyone thats knows Wales, that translates to truly dismal; rain, clag, 2 inches visibility and wind. So, good for a representative test run of January weather.
Considering myself to be a fitness professional I know too well the importance of good hydration and nutrition, so my pre-event snack consisted of 1 Boost bar, 1 Double decker, 1 bag of chocolate peanuts, no water and a cup of black coffee. Probably close to 1000 kcals of pure glucose!
The main thing I can appreciate from this exercise is a hill walk is NOT the same as trying to do this to a time limit with weight on your back. It is from the gun, a balls out effort with looming fear of a deadline haunting you the whole way round. You are sat at about 9/10 on the the rate of perceived exertion (RPE) the whole way. Saying hi to fellow walkers is not on the list as neither is toilet stops, changing clothes, eating or drinking water or just general "faff". It is cold so basically no stopping at all. I anticipate 30 seconds of faff time being all that is allowed, as the flat (actually there is none), the gentle ascents and descents all need to be run to make good time.
In the end I did the route in 3:59, I have never run down a hill so fast as to make it under 4 hours. I suggested that actually wrapping oneself in a sleeping mat and rolling downhill maybe considerably more pleasant. Think hippo lumbering and limping, rather than gazelle and you get a visual for what I looked like running down Pen Y Fan.
The weather makes a substantial difference to time, rain, ice and wind probably being the biggest variables. My weighted pack consisted of 4 bottles of 2L water and 2 small 1kg weights, spare clothes and food, so in total was just under 12kg. By the time my back and inappropriate clothing had soaked up another 3L of water, I was probably up to about 15kg! NOTE: Do NOT wear heavy Nike cotton sweatpants.
I at least could get back into a warm car and dry out. There was however a lost party of 5 Chinese people who didn't speak english. I saw them once on the way up and the most waterproof of items they had between them was a Tesco carrier bag so yes things can always be worse and discomfort is always relative. I would not have wanted to have been them.
Having driven all the way to Wales, I thought I would take a gentle STROLL over to Talybont reservoir and stay at the YHA instead of camping. Hmmmmm, extreme fatigue, walking boots a size too small and night nav (i.e getting lost even with GPS and following a main road), meant I was still walking at 11pm through Talybont Forest, having completed 60km in one day. Thank god visibility had now diminished to 1 inch, because night vision distorts perception, which meant I had a general feeling of Blair witch the whole way.
My plan was to do a simulated attempt of the Fan Dance to establish where I am fitness wise and how best to train. I think the short answer to this question is don't do it in the first place!!
I left London at 6am and had a good drive so arrived at the Storey arms just after 10am, in what can only be described as "inclement weather". For anyone thats knows Wales, that translates to truly dismal; rain, clag, 2 inches visibility and wind. So, good for a representative test run of January weather.
 |
| The view from the car on starting. My warm-up was 5 mins with car heater on full blast. |
Considering myself to be a fitness professional I know too well the importance of good hydration and nutrition, so my pre-event snack consisted of 1 Boost bar, 1 Double decker, 1 bag of chocolate peanuts, no water and a cup of black coffee. Probably close to 1000 kcals of pure glucose!
The main thing I can appreciate from this exercise is a hill walk is NOT the same as trying to do this to a time limit with weight on your back. It is from the gun, a balls out effort with looming fear of a deadline haunting you the whole way round. You are sat at about 9/10 on the the rate of perceived exertion (RPE) the whole way. Saying hi to fellow walkers is not on the list as neither is toilet stops, changing clothes, eating or drinking water or just general "faff". It is cold so basically no stopping at all. I anticipate 30 seconds of faff time being all that is allowed, as the flat (actually there is none), the gentle ascents and descents all need to be run to make good time.
In the end I did the route in 3:59, I have never run down a hill so fast as to make it under 4 hours. I suggested that actually wrapping oneself in a sleeping mat and rolling downhill maybe considerably more pleasant. Think hippo lumbering and limping, rather than gazelle and you get a visual for what I looked like running down Pen Y Fan.
The weather makes a substantial difference to time, rain, ice and wind probably being the biggest variables. My weighted pack consisted of 4 bottles of 2L water and 2 small 1kg weights, spare clothes and food, so in total was just under 12kg. By the time my back and inappropriate clothing had soaked up another 3L of water, I was probably up to about 15kg! NOTE: Do NOT wear heavy Nike cotton sweatpants.
I at least could get back into a warm car and dry out. There was however a lost party of 5 Chinese people who didn't speak english. I saw them once on the way up and the most waterproof of items they had between them was a Tesco carrier bag so yes things can always be worse and discomfort is always relative. I would not have wanted to have been them.
Having driven all the way to Wales, I thought I would take a gentle STROLL over to Talybont reservoir and stay at the YHA instead of camping. Hmmmmm, extreme fatigue, walking boots a size too small and night nav (i.e getting lost even with GPS and following a main road), meant I was still walking at 11pm through Talybont Forest, having completed 60km in one day. Thank god visibility had now diminished to 1 inch, because night vision distorts perception, which meant I had a general feeling of Blair witch the whole way.
 |
| Before and after (top), clag and weighting the pack. |
Friday 11 October 2013
Project 1: The Fan Dance Brecon Beacons 18th January 2014
This idea doesn't seem too off the wall for any that knows me. My idea of a good time is putting on a backpack and wandering off into the hills, wearing suitably inappropriate clothing. Usually to be spotted wearing neon Nike Free all year round.
The Fan Dance is part of the SAS selection test week, where the proper military guys have to carry considerably more weight than us civvies. The loaded march for this event will be 35lb for men and 25lb for women.
It is a 24km trot, going over Pen Y Fan 886m, the highest peak in South Wales, down to the far side of Taf Fechan Forest and back. That description of a route pretty much sums up my excellent nav skills! Even with a talking sat nav, GPS, map and compass I still have the unique ability to get lost and very rarely can you "phone a friend"!
This weekend I will however be attempting to learn the route which I have walked many times! in the hope I will recognise it in rain, bog, snow, ice and more bog, which is how it will look on January 18th!
I'm hoping to nail this between 3hr50 and 4hr30 after training, (weather dependent), so we'll see. I shall post my "baseline" attempt + 10hrs for nav!
Here is a slightly tired looking me trying to train in the Altitude Chamber at what I thought was 2600m but was told as a "joke" it had been moved up to 3500m. Thank-you very much.
Hint to self: PACK PROPERLY. A powerbag is an absolutely dismal way to distribute load.
www.thefandancerace.com
Enchanting (in the sun!) Talybont Reservoir
The Fan Dance is part of the SAS selection test week, where the proper military guys have to carry considerably more weight than us civvies. The loaded march for this event will be 35lb for men and 25lb for women.
It is a 24km trot, going over Pen Y Fan 886m, the highest peak in South Wales, down to the far side of Taf Fechan Forest and back. That description of a route pretty much sums up my excellent nav skills! Even with a talking sat nav, GPS, map and compass I still have the unique ability to get lost and very rarely can you "phone a friend"!
This weekend I will however be attempting to learn the route which I have walked many times! in the hope I will recognise it in rain, bog, snow, ice and more bog, which is how it will look on January 18th!
I'm hoping to nail this between 3hr50 and 4hr30 after training, (weather dependent), so we'll see. I shall post my "baseline" attempt + 10hrs for nav!
Here is a slightly tired looking me trying to train in the Altitude Chamber at what I thought was 2600m but was told as a "joke" it had been moved up to 3500m. Thank-you very much.
Hint to self: PACK PROPERLY. A powerbag is an absolutely dismal way to distribute load.
www.thefandancerace.com
Enchanting (in the sun!) Talybont Reservoir
A short bit about me and the the birth of an idea.....
The concept of this blog was born whilst sweating up Pen y Fan in the Brecon Beacons with a 20kg backpack on in the rain. It is amazing what a brisk walk in Wales in the clag and rain can do for the creative juices. Perhaps it is the mind's way of distracting from the elements!
Being the grand old age of 34 and having competed to a high level in a multitude of sports spanning 16 years, including running, cycling, triathlon and Muay Thai (amateur and professional level). I am interested in lots of sports, for the bits and pieces you can take away from each. I am now more of a Jack of all trades of sport/competition. I am still however very much in the sporting game and I now have the benefit of wisdom! (some less polite might just called this "age"!).
Working in the world of Strength and Conditioning (S&C) and currently in my second year of my MSc at UEL, I was trying to think what my next sporting challenge was going to be. I wanted a physical but also cerebral challenge that would be exciting and which would hone skills that were useful and applicable to other sports. I am very much of the notion that to learn you must do. Most of my knowledge of sport and fitness has been obtained by training and competing myself and making the mistakes.
So here we have it, an agreed undertaking with myself, to commit to various 3-6 month fitness projects. Things I have never done, which will challenge (all those involved!) in a multitude of ways. I will be seeking the best advice for program writing and motivation! Suggestions be will most welcome. I will post the training, the how, the what and the why and of course the good, the bad and the sheer ugly! in the hope it will provide information and perhaps inspiration to others. You know what they say "if he/she can do it, then....."
Bragging Rights
Surviving a training camp in Iten Kenya (2400m altitude) in an "attempt" (not successful) at qualifying in marathon distance for London Olympics 2012 to represent Belize. At times I thought I was running backwards, but of course that is Einsteins relativity for you, running against the Kenyans! You know when the local butcher runs faster than you in his welly boots that this is going to be hard work!
So that sums up for purpose of this little experiment. Now for Project no. 1.
Being the grand old age of 34 and having competed to a high level in a multitude of sports spanning 16 years, including running, cycling, triathlon and Muay Thai (amateur and professional level). I am interested in lots of sports, for the bits and pieces you can take away from each. I am now more of a Jack of all trades of sport/competition. I am still however very much in the sporting game and I now have the benefit of wisdom! (some less polite might just called this "age"!).
Working in the world of Strength and Conditioning (S&C) and currently in my second year of my MSc at UEL, I was trying to think what my next sporting challenge was going to be. I wanted a physical but also cerebral challenge that would be exciting and which would hone skills that were useful and applicable to other sports. I am very much of the notion that to learn you must do. Most of my knowledge of sport and fitness has been obtained by training and competing myself and making the mistakes.
So here we have it, an agreed undertaking with myself, to commit to various 3-6 month fitness projects. Things I have never done, which will challenge (all those involved!) in a multitude of ways. I will be seeking the best advice for program writing and motivation! Suggestions be will most welcome. I will post the training, the how, the what and the why and of course the good, the bad and the sheer ugly! in the hope it will provide information and perhaps inspiration to others. You know what they say "if he/she can do it, then....."
Bragging Rights
Surviving a training camp in Iten Kenya (2400m altitude) in an "attempt" (not successful) at qualifying in marathon distance for London Olympics 2012 to represent Belize. At times I thought I was running backwards, but of course that is Einsteins relativity for you, running against the Kenyans! You know when the local butcher runs faster than you in his welly boots that this is going to be hard work!
So that sums up for purpose of this little experiment. Now for Project no. 1.
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