The Highs and Lows of an Emotional Rollercoaster

I haven't experienced an emotional rollercoaster like this since I was a spotty teenager. When I took on the challenge of the Waterford Adventure Race I never expected the highs and lows that come with training, for what is for me an unprecedented event. And what is even more unexpected is the pace at which they follow one another; how elation and despair can be just moments apart. It’d wear you out, to be honest.
Let’s start with the lows. It kind of goes without saying that these are hard to take. It’s that creeping feeling that it doesn't matter what I do between now and May 21st, I'll never be able to finish the event. It's my panic-stricken mind reminding me that I have never been an athlete, never competed in anything other than a three legged race in high infants, and even then I lost miserably. Those are the lows.
The highs on the other hand are marvellous. They come at the most unexpected moments. Yesterday for instance I was climbing the hill up past the Cats' Bar in Mellary on the bike, and I didn't think I was going to die, my lungs weren't going to explode and my legs were not knotted in cramp. I thought to myself I can do this! Those are the moments I crave. But like in life, those moments in training are fleeting and elusive.
It’s all I think about these days. The race, the route, my times, minutes per mile; the different disciplines revolve around my mind like clothes on a fast spin in the washing machine.  Can I do it?  How long will it take? Will I make a holy show of myself?  Will I have a heart attack and leave a widow and three children with no dad?
But then there’s the physical difference in me. I am definitely getting stronger. The gut is getting smaller all the time. The chest is getting harder. Tonight I ran seven miles around Clonea and Ballinacourty at a pace of 9 minutes a mile. Six weeks ago I was struggling to run three miles at a 10 minutes per mile pace. That’s progress and that’s good. But is it good enough?  See, that’s what I mean about the highs and the lows, and you got them  both there in two neat five word sentences.
I haven’t managed to get a spin in the kayak yet. That may well turn out to be my Achilles’ heel.  Under five weeks to go to the race and I still have no concept of what the hour or so on the water is going to be like. I had better get my skates on, or more accurately, I’d better get my life jacket on.
Ian presents Noctor ‘til 6 weekdays from 4pm on WLRfm.

Keep On Running, Keep On Trying....

Who's been a busy boy then?  Well, that would be me, actually.  When I sat down to write this column last week I had no intention or thought in my head of entering the Butlerstown duathalon last Saturday. But somehow I'm sitting down to write this week having done just that.  Not only did I enter the Butlerstown duathalon, but I completed it too. All of it, all of it being a 5km run followed by a 20km cycle and topped off for good measure with a 3 km run. 

I came second last by the way. Not second, in case you misread it, second last. I'm used to doing the Winter League where there will always be people better than you, but there will usually be people a lot worse too.  I was that soldier on Saturday. I placed myself at the back of the group because I knew by the amount of lycra on show among the hundred or so others taking part that I was not going to be finishing top 10.  But even though I started  at the back I never expected the gap between me and the group in front to grow as fast as it did. Within a half a mile of the start of the race it was like I was on my own. I couldn't even see the group ahead of me. So I upped my pace and ended up completing the first 5km at an 8 minute mile pace. My usual is 10.

The 20km on the bike was fine. The hills were hilly, but I managed them. What was a bit more disconcerting was being lapped not once but twice by the guys and girls at the front of the pack. 

The third leg which was the 3km run was interesting. Have you ever seen an 80 year old out jogging? You get a lot of it in Florida where people who should have slowed down to a walk years ago insist on still going through the jogging motions.  Well that was me for the first kilometer of the last stage, but eventually the legs loosened up, just in time for the long steep hill which eventually petered out ahead of the finish line.  So all in all I didn't do too badly. 1 hour and 34 minutes all in. 

My issue is that I never felt in the zone once during the race. To be honest with you, the fitness levels of the main group in the duathalon left me a bit worried. If I am going to be able for the 6 hours that the WAR will take to complete, I'll need to up both my pace and the distances I'm covering.  With this in mind I went out last night with the intention of running my longest distance yet, and I did. I did the 6.7 mile loop from Tournore to Clonea along the Quigley Magnasite track to Ballyclamper and then back home via the Goldcoast. Unlike Saturday's event I was completely in the zone. I could have run all night.  I did it in an hour and 5 minutes which is an average of 9 and a half minute miles.

So after all that exertion, poor Martin Lacey in Clonea Leisure Centre didn't have much to work with when I went out to see him this morning.  That didn't stop him trying, mind you.  He's also given me a programme to do for the next week while I'm away, consisting of a lot of press ups, squats and jumps, sit ups and tricep dips, along with a lot of road work.  Oh well, so much for my holiday, but I guess this race won't run itself.

Who came last in the duathalon?  I've no idea. I only ever look ahead.

Never underestimate the motivational power of FEAR.

Fear is a great motivator.  There is nothing quite like the prospect of running 14k, cycling 42k and kayaking 6k to put the fear of God into you, especially if the furthest you have ever run ever is 10k. There is nothing quite like the prospect of taking on the biggest physical challenge of your life to motivate you to put on the runners and get out on the road, or to swing the leg over the bike and  head off.  At the rate I'm going the council are going to start charging me road tax for the amount of wear and tear I'm causing to their roads.  I'm pretty sure I would come in at Band A mind you. My CO2 output can't be higher than 120g/km. If it is, I'm in trouble.

 

This training regime is all about milestones, about setting goals and reaching them and then surpassing them. I have had a 10k run in my mind for a week or so now.  This morning I did it. I ran 5k to Clonea, worked out with Martin for 40 minutes non stop and ran 5k back home. Six weeks ago I couldn't run 5k without stopping to catch my breath. Today I did 10. It wasn't easy, but it wasn't a killer either. That is progress.

 

Speaking of motivation, on Sunday I cycled 50k including the heart-bursting hill from Cappoquin to Mellary. Remember, this is the hill that comes at the very end of the Waterford Adventure Race. This is the last aspect of the event. By the time I take on this hill on May 21st, I will have covered more than 90% of the race distance.  Last Sunday I had to get off my bike three or four times going up this hill because my legs gave in. They failed me. They let me down. They had no more to give.  And that happened three or four times.  This means that over the course of the next six weeks not only do I have to build up my distances and times, but I also have to build up my strength massively if I have any hope of finishing this race. Wish me luck.

 

Building my strength is the job of Martin Lacey in Clonea Leisure Centre. I do the distances and he builds up the power in the muscles. It's a good thing he can't hear what's going on in my head as he pushes my limits. If he could he'd make me wash out my mind with soap.  Last Wednesday he put me through such a routine that on Friday I was still aching. I normally do a run the night before a morning training session, but last Thursday evening I was in no state to do anything. So Friday morning instead of running I put on a yoga DVD and did an hour of stretching before heading out to face Martin's music.  It worked a treat, and the girl doing the yoga on TV was much easier on the eye than Martin too. No offence Martin!

 

The kayaking hasn't happened yet. After doing the 50k cycle with me on Sunday my kayak sponsor Peter Burke from Union Chandlery in Cork brought out the kayak to give me some initial training. It was as much as I could do to sit in it on the grass outside my house, which doesn't exactly count as training.  Who knows, maybe I'll be a bit more up for it after next Sunday's spin.

 

(Ian Noctor presents Noctor 'til 6 weekdays on WLRfm)