Time for the off-season!

The past 2 years during my triathlon journey my season has ended by the last weekend in September and then i've taken a few days off work, had some time off training, and had a bit of a blowout before coming back refreshed. I'm always grateful of this time as boy do i need it by the time it comes around! This year was totally different though. All season i've been trying to get fit, trying to get training back to full speed and then when i recognised i could race late season I was excited to be able to do the obstacle course 5k race mid september all the way up in Scotland, the recent Carmarthen Cotswold Sprint 2 weeks ago, and then last weekend a tough 5 mile cross country race for the club in the local league. The final thing on the agenda was the Carmarthenshire Duathlon, this coming sunday, carried over from March when it was postponed due to freak weather. 

However, i've made the decision not to race on sunday as i feel i'm mentally and physically exhausted and needing some downtime. I tried to talk myself into racing, "just one more race and then you can rest", "you've waited all season to race and now you can", etc. But…if i raced then it would be straight back to work the next day, and then come next weekend i feel i need to crack on with my dissertation as i've thoroughly neglected it during the data collection period - i wanted some mental head space from it for a while! What my body was telling me during training this week was that it was fatigued, that even though i was keeping sessions shorter that it was hard work and my body felt fatigued. I put this down to not having done speed work in my rehab work as the plan at that stage under my previous coach was just to build base back up and get back to fitness. Then, having raced a hard short flat out race 2 weeks ago, with a long run commute to work a few days later, and then the hard cross country race last weekend, i feel my body just isn't used to that level of intensity right now. I know if i raced sunday that whilst i would give it everything that physically i'm not sure how much would be in the tank. Yes, i've lost a fair bit of money over this season through races missed, but…that race was scheduled for March, I had never planned on racing this late into the autumn, and having been readying myself to race from early March of this year, here we are 8 months later and I'm done for the season, mentally and physically. I thought to myself that i should be fresh having not raced all season other than the past few weeks, but, the rehabbing has been draining, if not physically demanding, and i know myself well enough to know when i need to recharge my batteries. That's why when i looked at the training plan my previous coach had scheduled up until December i knew i couldn't achieve it as it was a level far beyond where my body and brain were at.

I'm back to full fitness, i'm grateful for that, but i also don't want to jeopardise that by racing or training when tired, so instead i've decided to take a few days off from training, to have a weekend of doing not much at all other than things that i enjoy, and to have a little blowout. That way, i'll be ready to switch back on and into a higher commitment zone come November. This month in my head is where i add in extra sessions that are not "tri" specific. Therefore, i'll dust off the boxing gloves, i'll get back to the climbing wall, and i'll take part in Turbovember III (turboing every day of November). This will mean i also dust off the sufferfest vids that have lain dormant for a year, and get back to enjoying training, even if it's bloody hard! I'll start doing interval work when running, i'll get the mountain bike out, i'll start building from where i'm at, rather than just sticking to baseline stuff. That doesn't mean i'll do so much that i burn out before the season starts, jus that i'll start adding in the next level of training having got my baseline fitness back up. 

I always know when i need a break, but unfortunately the way my job goes means i have things in my diary booked up for weeks to come, so whilst i can't take any time off work, having a complete weekend off, and a few days off training until i feel recharged, is the next best thing. Mentally i feel pretty fried and physically i feel my muscles have nothing in them to give, even walking up stairs feels a chore, lol. I know i can't really complain, it's not like i have responsibilities like children to look after, i live alone, my time is my own, but i'm someone who soaks things up like a sponge until i need a little rest to let some of those things out again. What do i soak up you may ask…well in my job its typically other people's emotions, other people's terrible life stories, the stresses of colleagues in work who need to offload, trying to find a way to help people who are desperate, often suicidal, whilst also trying to find the time to keep on top of the reports that need writing (and my reports are often lengthy and need a fair bit of mental preparation), scoring up complex assessments that i have administered, and trying to find time to read to provide a better service to my clients. I get frustrated in my job that there's no obvious change on the horizon, things won't get better, and i'm likely to be in a similar position 10 years from now! I internalise all this. I don't get stressed very often (and when i do I'm like a headless chicken who can't speak(, but after a while it wears you down and you need some TLC even if that comes in the form of chocolate, beer, and sofa surfing for a day or so watching tv! So that's the plan…take a few days to not have to think about work, or training, or diet, or anything other than enjoying myself and recharging batteries so that i come back fighting fit ready to last through until Christmas!!

A change of direction, the end of a coaching relationship

I've been doing a lot thinking over the past few months, during my injury time and also my rehab, bringing me to my recent return to racing, about what works for me, what suits me when it comes to training. I've found it very difficult to stick to a training plan, not because i'm trying to avoid doing the hard work, as i enjoy those sessions where i feel like i've pushed myself and know these sessions are helping me reach my goals. But, with the job i do, there are days where my head is banging, or my mind is racing at 100 miles an hour, and i might not feel like being stationary on a turbo on those days, i might prefer the fresh air of a run, as running is my cathartic time. I accept that over the past few months I've gotten out of the habit of early morning training sessions and as such I would skip sessions but then fit them in later in the week. However, as a coach i accept that this must be very frustrating. I have seen people before pay for coaching but then add in extra sessions without the coach knowing, or not follow what the coach has written. When i've seen that i've questioned to myself why the person is paying the money. So, when it came to me not feeling able to follow a plan i started to ask myself whether coaching was for me, or whether i needed to just go it alone again.

I never intended on getting a coach. I thoroughly enjoyed my first season in triathlon where i organised my own training. I'm well read, so I take on board a lot of information about training plans, and feel that i know enough to make a decent job of it myself. I know that i may not be the best, but I'm a decent athlete and looking at my race results for local races i have placed no lower than 8th (my first tri), with two wins, one second place and three third places over the past 3 seasons across triathlons and duathlons which is a total of 10 races, not a bad record. When it comes to my race goals, it's never about winning, or placing a certain place/percentage in a race. For me it's about doing the best i can on the day and seeing where this leaves me. I will maybe have times in mind that i want to achieve across each discipline, and if i've done the course before then i'd be looking to improve on that, but for me the motivation is all internal, and the goals are performance goals (looking at my own performance to reach certain times, etc.), and sometimes process goals (where i'm wanting to maintain good technique throughout the run even when fatigued, or sustaining a certain average speed on the bike), rather than outcome goals which are about where you place in the race, who you want to beat, etc.

When i have trained myself I have enjoyed the flexibility to change my plan around to suit my life, and also to introduce new ideas into training to mix things up, which is great when I have a stack of triathlon220 magazines waiting to be read! During my injury layoff I didn't have a plan set by my coach, Simon @bodybullet, instead I was doing what I could and when i was training I was either following a rehab plan that had been given to me from a physio or a kind personal trainer I got chatting with on Facebook, or i was keeping my HR controlled as I had learnt from Simon. Also, in the 2 weeks leading up to my recent win at the Carmarthen Cotswold Sprint, i was between training plans and so didn't have a plan to follow, instead managing it myself and creating a race taper that suited me and how i felt. During these times I've thoroughly enjoyed myself as it feels like I'm free, that the pressure is off, and it's just down to me.

I originally started working with a coach because i felt i should, having found out I had gotten a roll down place to the European Champs in 2013 for Olympic distance. However, that didn't suit me so at the end of the 2013 season i went back to training myself. Then an opportunity came along to work with Simon, someone that i had followed on twitter and was intrigued by his methods and success with his athletes, and it kind of felt too good an opportunity to turn down. However, in some ways i was gutted as i had just bought the entire range of sufferfest turbo vids, i had bought the Don Fink triathlon books, and I had rollers, kettle bells, trx, that suddenly became obsolete. I was concerned I had wasted a lot of money on things that i now wouldn't use. 

As I have started to be interested in obstacle course racing so i was keen to add different elements to my training, as variety is what i thrive on, i'm not one for rigidity and doing the same type of session at the same time, every week. As such I had asked Simon to include new things in my plan as prior to the Spartan race in Edinburgh I had already started adding in burpees, pull ups, etc., so I too was starting to add things to a plan. I like having different things at my disposal and I wanted to get back on my boxing bag once the off-season came along - what a great way to get the abs firing and let out some frustration at the NHS! I've recently bought a 10kg weighted vest from Simon, and a sled that i will attach to a harness that i will wear and then pull it behind me. The idea behind this is the extra resistance, so i'm waiting for a tyre to come so i can carry that, and also pull it on the sled, as part of a circuit type training with other exercises thrown in life press ups, burpees, planks, etc. What fun that would be!! OK, you might not see many triathletes training in this way, but then maybe i'm not like most triathletes, in that i don't like the routine, I like the fun of training even if it is bloody hard work, and i like to keep things interesting to mix things up every now and then, especially over the winter. 

So much so that i came to the decision to end my working relationship with Simon. I've learnt a lot from Simon in terms of training the heart appropriately, and how shorter sessions that are done right are more effective than longer sessions that train at the wrong intensity. However, I knew that i would not be able to sustain the training plan that Simon had written for me. Yes, i will start going back to swim squads, and yes, I will follow a rough plan in my head. But, if i skip a session I have the flexibility to make it up later in the week. If i fancy a run, then i can do that and not feel guilty that i am messing around with the plan, again! I know that training regularly and consistently is key, and I will do that to the best of my ability that suits me and my life. I also accept that i might never be as good as I might have been had I been able to commit to a plan day in day out. But, I'm OK with that, as i'm happier in the knowledge that i can get the rollers out, I can dust off the boxing gloves, I can use the sufferfest vids, I can add in some extra exercises in the gym. Perhaps i don't need these things to be a good triathlete, but i do need these things to feel I'm getting the most out of my training in terms of what it means to me. I love training, i love variety, and yes i happen to be OK at triathlon, but i also happen to be OK at obstacle course racing, or running, or cycling, or tennis in the past, etc. So i want to keep things interesting with my training for me, as this is what i enjoy. The rigidity drives me to boredom which makes me switch off. 

Simon commented that he never has an "off-season" with his athletes, that they don't peak for one particular race, so the training remains ever progressing over the winter months. However, I'm looking forward to having some weeks where i get back climbing (which didn't happen last winter), where i box, where i do some sled work with a weighted vest on. This will help recharge my batteries whilst keeping my fitness levels up before i start to build for the 2015 season. yes, i will look at my Don Fink books for plans for my half ironman races next year. but i might not follow these to the letter as i know in my mind what i should be doing really, having had plans from Simon for the Outlaw Half last season which I wasn't able to race through injury. My training in my 1st season was along the lines of 3 swims a week, 3 runs a week, 3 bikes a week and some gym work. I think within that you won't go far wrong if you have one long session a week in each of these, one threshold session, and one HR controlled bike, or steady swim/run pushing the pace a little.

However, what i started this week was maximising my time by run commuting to work as i'm sick of spending up to 50 mins in the car for a journey that is less than 8 miles! This week i did the 14.11 mile return run in an easy pace of 2:16 total run time on one day. This means that come cross-country race tomorrow I will have run about 23 miles in a week. I have NEVER run that before! Plus, my calf feels good!! :) So, the plan is, run to work and back once, if not twice a week when the diary allows, but I might instead run once and then take the mountain bike the other time, so I'm getting home quicker on the bike one leaving me able to do a brick run session, or another session after the bike leg home. This will certainly help the mileage aspect and mean I'm fitting my training in around my life and enjoying doing so. 

As I'm no longer working with Simon I don't necessarily need to use the wattbike now so i'm thinking about leaving my gym and move back to one which has a pool within the complex, again maximising time so i could gym and then swim, rather than having to travel elsewhere for the double session which for me, just doesn't happen! This would also mean better access to a pool so maybe i might swim more. Basically, I'm coming to the end of my season with one final race left next week, and then i want to have a long overdue chinese takeaway, before i knuckle down, commit to my flexible but consistent plan, and then enjoy the training :) Happy training folks!!

Late season bonus…returning with a win!

Back in July when i was back running and cycling without pain I felt confident enough to enter a late season race when the Carmarthen Cotswold Sprint returned to the race calendar after a 23 year hiatus. It was only a short race with a 400m pool swim, a 23k bike, and a 5k run. I was looking forward to at least having raced in 2014 having thought this season was a write off, and also to see where i was at, having rehabbed from injury but not done any speed work running and hadn't gone flat out on the bike, only done some threshold pace intervals on the turbo. As for my swim…well, i've found that without being part of a squad i quickly find reasons to skip swim training during the week and have only been managing one swim a week at best, so i knew my swim time would be far from what i would have wanted if i had been swimming 2-3 times a week consistently.

I registered the morning before and drove the route from Johnstown to Llansteffan and back and lucky i did as there was a very sharp left turn at the bottom of a hill just before the turn around point, and then on the return there was a big left sweep that was sharper than it initially looks, and again when going down hill. However, i was pleased the road surface was looking good and nothing too challenging on the course. That night, i slept remarkably well before a race, maybe because it was a pool swim so no anxiety about drowning, and also because i was approaching this race as just being able to race. I found i had started to put pressure on myself in 2013, but the only person you can race is yourself as that's the only person you can control. Also, i didn't really know any names in the race entry list other than a few girls from the club, so i had no idea who i was racing against. However, the nerves did set in after standing pool side for a while waiting to start the swim. No idea what the nerves were for, other than the pre-performance anxiety that is very common. I just calmed my breathing and focused on watching those already in the pool. 

Having had a season off from silly o'clock weekend mornings for races I was up bright as a button at 5am and my ever-suffering parents picked me up to head on down to Carmathen. I had seen there was fog forecast and so much so that the race was delayed by just over 30 minutes to try and let the fog lift as much as possible. It never really lifted, but with the light brighter it at least enabled drivers to see us as the majority of people don't have lights on their bike, i know i don't on my race bike. The other factor was the temperature. We've been very lucky throughout the summer and the autumn so far with it being warm but it picked race day to be cold, not rising above 7 degrees all morning!

I'd brought plenty of clothes with me to choose the right combination…I had toe covers on my shoes which left my feet feeling comfortable throughout, a godsend given the number of times i've had frozen feet in the past because of my raynauds, I went for a snood for my head to keep the heat in and the breeze off on the bike, but the rain/windproof jacket i went for wasn't getting over my wet body so i went for a rapha gilet which i'd already opened and practised getting on and off over my head. Stupidly, i'd already put my helmet on thinking i was going for the jacket, so i then had to take it back off to put the gilet over but then it was getting stuck to my wet skin so wouldn't roll down my back, doh!! i was thinking to myself "god, this is the slowest transition ever!" Thankfully, whilst being slower than i'd have wanted, i was by no means the slowest, probably about average, and I felt comfortable on the bike, my hands weren't too cold (given they are usually freezing), and whilst i felt the breeze on my arms i can't say i was cold as such, not as some people suffered. For that i think i have to thank the combination i went with and the rapha gilet was awesome. Yes, they're expensive, but I've come to appreciate you often do get what you pay for and i thank the gilet for keeping the cold off my chest and leaving me comfortable throughout, unlike some who had to pull out with hypothermia! As soon as i stopped, went inside and then came back out again to get my bag from the car i was freezing, blue lips, teeth chattering, shaking incessantly, so believe it, it was cold!

So the race itself…I was pleased that the swim was a side by side swim, without having to worry about  lapping or being lapped. I haven't swam as much as i should have really but when you're injured it's hard to keep the mojo high, and i'd gotten out of the habit of early morning swims so i had only been managing one swim a week at best. However, during those swims i was feeling good, and definitely feel my stroke has come on a lot since March when i had time with @bigdaveakers a great swim coach. I couldn't get an accurate swim time as the swim included the difficult jump out of the 2m deep end of the pool, and then the run out of the pool and around the side of the leisure centre into transition. I think i swam close to what i had expected though so i was happy enough with that. 

After my less than swift T1 out onto the bike! The thing with it being a pool start means you have no idea how you're doing because everyone sets off at different times. However, i always look to overtake as many as i can and try and keep anyone from overtaking me. If i do this then i feel i've done my best. I was surprised that the bike was a whole lot more challenging that it looked! The course profile showed a steady climb for a while which you repeat on the return leg. However, the course was either going up, or it was going down, there was not much in-between! The climbing started within a kilometre or so from the start so no real chance to get the legs firing and i always find it demoralising when i'm in my lowest gear on a hill when the hill doesn't even seem that big! There was no heart rate monitoring on this ride, it was all about turning the legs as fast as i can in as decent a gear as i could. Going downhill and along the sections that were flat i felt great, but going uphill it just seemed steeper than it actually was! i think it was because the road kept climbing, even gradually, and was a very cheekily deceptive bike course! My average speed, working it out from my bike time and the course distance was over 17.5 mph, but nowhere near the kind of average speed I'd have expected from the course profile. However, i did pass plenty of people, i was zipping along in aero position on all but the climbs, and i did feel i was putting in a good shift. The only person who overtook me on the bike was a guy that i had overtaken going up a hill who quickly put the hammer down and re-took me (don't think he'd like being chicked!!). Now i haven't practiced transitions since last year, nor getting feet out of shoes and having a speedy T2 but i was pleased that i had learnt from past races where i slowed too much getting feet out and losing time getting to T2 dismount line. This time, i got feet out onto shoes and then was able to speed up getting to dismount, then a super speedy T2 where i could hear the guy on the microphone commenting on my transition, lol!

You can see the guy in the distance who i sprinted past

I've always found that i run well off the bike, even when i don't practice brick sessions often. I think i'd done a couple brick sessions in the past few months, but maybe because of my strength, I find that once the initial few steps are out of the way then i'm soon into my stride and feeling OK. The run course had been altered due to weather affecting the initial route, so we now had a 2 lap run along pavement with only a little up and down over a bridge. I actually don't mind laps because then you can judge your pace well and know how long you have left on your 2nd lap when you reach certain points. I know from photos of me running that i work hard when running and never look good! However, it seems to be relatively effective as I was able to settle into a decent pace from the off (no gadgets to tell me this, just my own feeling) and then the plan was always to pick up the pace on the second lap. From the turn around point on the 2nd lap was when i really picked up the pace, i could hear it in my breathing, but other than a couple of speedster young blokes passing me on the run, i was the one chasing down people and passing them. I could tell that i was running faster than the other girls out on the course but all i was focused on was running my own race and finishing strongly. I always have a kick, so the final turn into the school, about 600m out i'd say i picked up again and then i could see a guy in front of me and with about 60m left i turned on the sprint to finish strongly, much to the delight of the announcer!

I had no idea how i had done, but i felt I might be on for a podium, given that this race was mostly first-timers. I knew the field wasn't as stacked as if i had been racing earlier in the season, but I still didn't know how the other girls had done, especially if there had been a very fast swimmer who would have had a large advantage over me after the swim.

However, when my name was called out as the overall female winner i was almost a little choked, a lump appeared in my throat! The only time i have felt this before was when i was winning a 10k race for life race years ago and other women were clapping me as i was leading - i was almost crying then!! I was chuffed to bits!!!!!!! I hadn't come into this race to win it, i'd come into it to get back racing and to test everything out. Yes, i wanted to do as well as i could, but to come away with a win, an awesome trophy, and a cracking day pack backpack from the sponsors Cotswolds Outdoors was amazing!!!! WOOHOO!!

Looking at the results later, i was even more chuffed that i had placed 1st female on the bike and the run, with a 5k PB!! I've only ever run a 5k as part of a triathlon but i knocked 45 seconds off my previous best, and i had to make sure the length was right to be sure it was a PB! I was chuffed with this given i had been managing my own run pace when running my steady/slow runs (not determined by coach) and that i hadn't done any intervals, threshold work, or sprints since last season! My swim was 8th female which wasn't bad given there were a few swimming squad swimmers there, and i was 15th overall in the race (124 took part), so a good run out all round :)

Love my ice cream cone trophy!

So happy that i was able to race at pace in 2014 and to come away with a win was great! One more race planned now, which is the delayed Carmarthenshire duathlon that was postponed in March due to weather. So, a 5k/30k/5k race coming up next weekend. Again, for me this is just an opportunity to race, treat it as a training session working at threshold pace and see how i get on. Then, once that is done, it's time to continue to build and hope i stay injury free :)

Spartan Sprint Edinburgh 2014 - 1st obstacle course race...

My last blog was all about my interview with Dan Tuffnell, Director of Spartan UK, the British branch of one of the major obstacle course race providers in the world. My reward for my interview with Dan was a free race entry to a race in 2014. Now in terms of my recovery from injury and also fitting in with  a triathlon i already have booked for next month then i decided for the race in Edinburgh, a sprint race, which took place on 21st September…trust me to pick the race the furthest away…442 miles one way driving!! However, i decided to make it a mini-holiday by taking a few days off work and making it a long weekend so I could enjoy Edinburgh and boy did i enjoy! My prep for the race…8.5 hrs of walking on the saturday, sightseeing and then shopping, lol!

As i have said previously i have always fancied obstacle course racing but only recently started to think of doing them, given my recent focus on triathlon. However, given my strength, my previous rock climbing, and my decent pace as a runner, then i was quietly confident that I would enjoy and do pretty well at the obstacles. Saying that though, when i decided to enter the first wave, the "elite" wave, i did start to worry that perhaps i would be shown up & left lagging behind. My reasons for entering the "elite" wave were to test myself competitively against the best in the race, given that later waves would have to contend with a bottle necking at obstacles and therefore times being affected by queueing for obstacles, but also because i wanted to make the most of the day after the race in terms of sightseeing back in Edinburgh, so it was a practical reason as well as a competitive one, lol. 

The morning of the race the weather was decent so i was happy to race in a sleeveless top and my favourite lycra running shorts. basically as little fabric as possible to get wet and weigh me down. I also wore for the first time my new Inov-8 Talon 212s which had been recommended to me by a OCR/triathlon friend in Karen Rees. They were like slippers on my feet, i hardly knew i had them on, other than they were rock solid on all slippery mud banks and i felt secure under foot throughout the race.

Event village behind me…race number head band!

Getting to the venue was a little troublesome in that the supplied postcode took us in the wrong gate to the grounds of the country estate where the race took place, so that was something i think quickly got sorted given the number of drivers it affected. The registration was quick and easy and then into the event village. My only comparisons are from running races, triathlons, duathlons, etc. so the village was a good spread of tents with nice freebies to competitors after the event…whey ice cream which was delicious! a can of Coor's Light which i couldn't have as i was driving, dried fruit pouches, a fab tshirt, brilliant heavy medal, and coconut water which wasn't as foul as i expected but still not my cup of tea! 

Didn't realise my face was filthy until after i'd been to Tesco!

There were plenty of portaloos, i didn't have to queue at all! Also, there was a "spearman" warm up area which was quite addictive…the aim was to spear the hay bale with the spear without it touching the floor or dropping out. Hardly anyone achieved this as the spike was about 4 inches and the spear handle about 3 foot!! I hit the target every time, which i had hoped for given my tennis background and the accuracy of my serve, but i just couldn't get it to stick. On the race course this was the only obstacle that i didn't achieve, meaning only one set of 30 burpees, so i was well happy with that as it meant i nailed the monkey bars and the rope climb :)

At the race village was a music system with good music going but when it got to nearing my wave start time the music system packed in and it meant the start was delayed, not good when you've already warmed up and now need to keep warm surrounded by hundreds of other Spartans! Then a spartan warrior came out to give us our race briefing only the fixed sound system was poor so you couldn't hear what he said. The only other negative i'd say is that there was no information as to how to get race results or race photos and when i asked at the race they couldn't accurately tell me either! As it was the facebook site posted the results 2 days later (far longer than a triathlon) and i only found out about the photos being on the photographer's website through a Facebook friend telling me! All things that can be improved definitely. 

On the plus side though, there was lots for spectators to see, with at least 5 obstacles in the centre for the spectators to get easy viewing access to. This meant that you could always hear people shouting for you, even though they didn't know me, and the marshals on the course were also encouraging and giving hints to obstacle completion if you needed them.

Trust me to pick the rope with the bell set higher than the others!
Took me 3 swings and readjustments to finally hit the bell :)

I wouldn't have liked to have fallen from the rope climb given there was only some hay beneath you! Just prior to this i had emerged from a stream where i'd had to wade for about 1 kilometre, initially shallow meaning you could jog through it but then it was slippery under foot, large boulders ready to bruise you, and then the water went up to mid thigh height and a slip took me right up to my neck which certainly took the breath away! After the stream you had a pyramid cargo net to go up and over with spectators able to walk underneath! Needless to say i didn't see any when i was on the cargo net as i was aware that one wrong placing of a foot would mean i slipped through possibly hurting myself badly. I could have been quicker on both cargo nets but this was my first time on these obstacles so i took the cautious route where as others, as the guy in the final one below went down front facing.

Slippery wall…rope climb to top & then hang on to top
and hoist self over

Cargo net down after the slippery wall the other side.
Finish line in sight after the fire jump.

The race instructions said 5k with 15 obstacles, however, i counted nearer 30 obstacles, so bang for your money in that respect! There were also plenty of natural obstacles like down mud banks into a stream and up the other side, also they'd pulled brush from the forest across the trails to make it more difficult to run through. We had wooden gate hurdles, which after the first few became more tricky as your legs tired and started to catch on the top…people started to walk over them which meant you had to also, there was a cargo net on the floor to crawl under, a number of different wall obstacles which have given my cracking bruises on the inside on my thigh as i used my heel to hook on top before pulling myself up using inside thigh. There was an inverted wall with 2 steps to help you beat gravity as you were basically about 45 degrees to the floor when you started off…we had a sand bag to carry - easy one for the girls, a tyre drag, again, very easy for the girlie one, we had monkey bars which must have been about 25 foot across? There was a wall traverse with foot and hand holds at points across the wall set at angles…if I'd failed this one I would have been gutted given my climbing skills. We had a barbed wire crawl which started out hands and knees, but then the wire got lower as the ground rose into a hill…stones on the floor meant this was painful and bloody…turned into a bear crawl/military crawl and it was longer than i had expected…nasty ;)

The most painful event…crawl under barbed wire on forest floor…
plenty of stones under elbow/knee!

Finished the crawl, now off to run again :)

We had to climb a rope, no knots, not sure how high, maybe 25 foot again…with wet hands from the stream i wasn't sure how this would go, but once i had secured my feet using the J method i was on my way…I was aware of people from the crowd watching and think i had heard my mam shout when i first got to this obstacle. Then when i got to the top the bell was still out of reach, a few hand swings missed each time so i had to re-set, get my legs higher, drive up, and finally i hit it. I would have hated to have fallen from there though, that was have been one serious winding! I was careful going down, again, maybe losing some time, but rather that than rope burns! 

There was a large ball (atlas ball) to either carry or roll…I opted to roll as first attempt let me know it was seriously heavy, but other lasses lifted it so knowing my strength i know if i had tried properly to lift it i could have gotten it up to my stomach to carry…the grass was super long so rolling it took time, lol. The last but one obstacle was a slippery wall with a rope to help you climb it until you got to the top when you grabbed the top but then had to clamber over…think next time i might try climbing further up before grabbing the top and the down on the cargo net again i took my time and the guy next to me was much quicker. All areas i could improve on but given this was my first attempt at all obstacles baring a little practice on a tiny rope in the gym then i did ok ;) All the strength ones i felt more than happy with, it's more about the technique on the cargo nets, and wall completion, that watching videos alone doesn't quite give you the experience. However, i was as prepared as i could have been with watching all the videos i could of obstacle completion and then doing the trx work, pull ups and bar hangs etc.

You could certainly feel the heat!

I've always wanted to fly :)

Finish line beckons :)

After finishing i had no idea of my time, i had estimated between 1hr - 1:30 and my mother thought i was about 10th…we estimated my time to be 1:15 but this was a very rough estimate…as it turns out, i was 10th female, 5th in my age group, 137th overall in a time of 55:48 so happy, happy days, and yes, i was more than comfortable in the elite wave :) what this also means…I have qualified for the Obstacle Course Race World Championships next month in Cincinnati, Ohio!! I had to have placed top 20 age-group to qualify, so it seems a bit generous to be honest, but top 10, and 5th age-group isn't bad for a complete novice ;) 

My decision is now whether i go or not…do i cut my teeth at more events, varied, as there are so many different types, and get more experience on these obstacles given there are no facilities locally that i can train specifically on, or do i take the opportunity (& expense) & then be able to say i have represented wales at tennis as a teenager, and then GB as an age-grouper in both triathlon at european championships, and then obstacle course racing in the worlds!! Would look good on a CV no?!

I also now have to consider next year…I love triathlon and duathlon, i love the speed element, i love my racing steed, i love riding my bike and running…but i'm also pretty good at this obstacle course racing and i wonder what i might be like if i shifted the weight i need to shift and train more for it rather than a few weeks of doing trx stuff?? I'd like to think i can juggle my season and fit a bit of everything in, but then there's the whole OCR world of UK champs, world champs, etc…might i be better at OCR than tri?? Also…i was not nervous at all about this race, maybe as it was my first one, but the swim part of tri still makes me nervous. However…when i crossed the finish line on sunday i knew i had more left in the tank, it didn't feel as big as an achievement as my first tri…does that mean i could have run faster? Does that mean tri is more of a challenge therefore means more? Does that mean that i need to pick tougher OCR events? 

Spartan do three different race distances, sprint, which i did, super, which is likely double what i did, and beast, which is 20+k and more obstacles again…if you do all 3 in a season you get a special trifecta medal…that challenge is one that appeals to me for sure…but can i fit that in, around the tris i want to do?? However…other than the cracking DOMS i had in my upper body and core and the corker bruises i have on my legs, my calf and tibialis posterior are sound, no pain during, and no pain after…so maybe this can be cross training for tri??

Anyways, there are still a few events left this season for spartan and if you fancy one you can get 10% off by using the promo code of: youcanyouwill the atmosphere was great, everyone was friendly, i was in the zone, but still chatted to people and encouraged them during the race, plus the t-shirt is the best event t-shirt i've had, the merchandise stall was too tempting, and the goodies afterwards were well worth the trip!! #AROO !!!!!!!!!!!!!

Obstacle Course Racing - The Next Big Thing??

Have you ever wondered what it was like to be a journalist? I haven't, lol, but that's exactly the role I took last week when I was asked to interview Dan Tuffnell, the Director of Spartan UK (Spartan Races are seen as the world's leading obstacle course race series running events in 9 countries last year, 22 this year and 30-40 next year. This year they have 6 races UK wide, with an expected 25,000 runners taking part - so kind of a big deal then!!). When I first got a tweet asking me to get in touch with Dan's Director of PR and Media I had no idea what it was about, other than I had been looking at entering obstacle course races (OCRs) the previous day. When it was mentioned about doing an interview I thought to myself, "Wow! The Director of SpartanUK wants to interview me, I've really made it!!" Alas, I'm not that big a draw just yet, but the opportunity to interview Dan was exciting as I got to write the questions, I got to find out what I wanted to know. So what did I want to know? Well, I read all the previous interviews that had been done with Dan and looked at all Spartan websites and the like and it was clear where my angle was…I'm a psychologist at the end of the day, and a very sporty one at that, so my uniqueness would be asking about the psychology behind obstacle course racing, what motivated Dan to complete these events himself, what he, and thousands of Spartan Warriors, got from taking part in these challenging events. But what do I get out of this? Well for me, having my name out there publicised by Spartan UK in terms of my interview with Dan can only be a good thing for my private venture youcanyouwill performance psychology. I have an active Facebook page (youcanyouwill), and a website coming soon, but this opportunity gives me publicity to a previously untapped market - obstacle course racing, as well as broadening the publicity for Dan and Spartan UK races to readers that perhaps would not otherwise have heard of Dan and his races. 

Dan Tuffnell: Epic Action Imagery photos

It's a bit weird having never met a person before and then having a phone conversation with them where you're interviewing them, but it worked well and Dan struck me as a very down-to-earth and approachable guy. Even though I'm not a journalist I do get paid to "interview" and assess people every day as part of my job so i'm very used to being the questioner, the one having to think of things on the spot as part of the flow of the conversation. My style was very much a "semi-structured" interview…having questions prepared but allowing the conversation to flow and gain as much information as I could from the conversation rather than sticking rigidly to questions. Fourty-seven minutes later and I'm buzzed by all that i've learnt and thoroughly impressed by Dan. Ok, so I haven't spoken with the Directors of all the other OCR companies, but I've spoken with thousands of people as part of my job and I'd like to think I'm a decent judge of character, and Dan seemed pretty genuine and it was obvious how passionate he is about obstacle course racing itself, let alone his job as the Director of a company as big as Spartan UK.

OCR - a test of physical and mental endurance and ability?!

Pix courtesy of Epic Action Imagery

Overcoming a fire obstacle takes some mental strength I'd imagine?

So it seems Dan's background is one of psychology and sport, much like my own! Dan told me that he grew up in Pembrokeshire which is an athlete's play ground! Dan studied a HND in Outdoor Pursuits and Sports Sciences, loving adventure, seeking that beloved adrenaline rush and he engaged in various sporting activities. Dan's mother is also a psychologist and Dan got into mentoring others and became a NLP (neuro-linguistic programming) practitioner himself because of his interest in how language can positively or negatively impact our behaviour and emotions. So it seems Dan spent time working in the Middle East and whilst there he saw the rise of obstacle course racing. Now I'd thought that triathlon was the fastest growing sport in the UK, but Dan informed me that OCR has been the fastest growing sport for the past five years! Apparently five years ago 500 athletes took part in a OCR in a field. Yet in 2013 there have been over a million athletes taking part in at least one of the 700, 000 across the world - how amazing is that!!

How on earth did her hair stay so clean??

I asked Dan what motivated him running these events as Director and it's clear that Dan is passionate about instilling in everyone from youngsters through to adults that exercise is fun, it beats sitting on the sofa eating too much, and it allows you to develop skills of not just a physical nature, but also believing in yourself that you can overcome that obstacle in front of you if you commit to it fully. Dan wants to foster a community spirit in events and he told me that he prepares for taking part in an event by thinking about all the new people he will meet out on the course and the camaraderie that will be built. This community spirit is enabled as well by ensuring that all the family can take part with kids' courses built using the same obstacles as the adults will use, just adjusted for their age/height, etc. I know that Ironkids is hugely popular within the triathlon world, so I'm sure the kids love nothing better than taking part in the same events as their parents (just at a different time and on a smaller scale!). Dan very much hopes that he can help tackle childhood obesity by making these events accessible for them as well as the parents.

Dan told me that for him the most challenging obstacles are the the spear throw and the monkey bars, describing them as his "nemesis"! With this in mind I asked Dan how he approaches these challenging obstacles, how does he prepare mentally? Dan, it seems, is a planner. He prepares by meticulously working out daily, and having a plan as to how he will tackle each obstacle thrown in his path. I guess he has an advantage about knowing what obstacles are coming in his races huh?? But I guess for Dan it's about knowing he's prepared as well as he can physically and then this giving him confidence mentally that he can overcome whatever situation he encounters. Dan likes finding the solution to the problem, breaking down the challenge in front of him and focusing on what he can achieve, not doubting himself and letting his thoughts become negative. Dan spoke of visualisation, seeing what he needs to do and then doing it, whilst focusing on the technique needed to achieve success on that obstacle. I can relate to all these things as I use mindfulness and imagery myself within my own training and racing so I know first hand it works! For Dan though, enjoyment is key. He knows, going out onto that course that he will meet new people, build new relationships, and he sees the '30 burpees for being unable to complete an obstacle' as another way of getting fitter, rather than as a punishment. 

Enjoyment seems to be a given in these events!

When it comes to Dan's motivation to take part in the events himself Dan spoke of that adrenaline rush all us athletes love and crave, but he also spoke about how being out in nature, exercising and pushing himself is a break from the hectic life he leads as the Director of such a massive company, but it also allows him to connect with himself, almost grounding himself I guess and there was definitely an element of mindfulness in the way Dan was describing his relation with the outdoors. When Dan is training he sees it as an opportunity to learn. It seems Dan is an avid reader, he just doesn't have the time to read (much like me some of the time), so instead he listens to audiobooks and other audio material rather than music when he's working out. For Dan, it seems he's very disciplined, and I guess when time is limited and you have a job as busy and potentially stressful as Dan's, then it's vital to have goals, to have routines, as otherwise time would just pass him by.

I then asked Dan about Spartan races rather than other OCRs and how they designed their obstacles, what did they have in mind in terms of design. Dan spoke of Spartan being unique in having three different distances available for people to enter, the achievable Sprint (5k, 15 obstacles), the Super (13k, 20 obstacles) and the Beast (20+k, 25 obstacles). This tiered race system allows people to challenge themselves at different levels, or progress through the different distances, and the ultimate is to achieve the Tribeca medal - completing one race of each distance in a season. Coming soon is a European Tribeca, where the races can be completed in different european countries to then achieve a special european Tribeca medal. When you look at what you get for your money too it favours well to triathlon. True, the entry prices are about the same, but you get a medal, you get HD photos included in your race entry and downloadable within 24 hours, and i'm sure you get other goodies in the bag too - i'm hoping for a t-shirt, gotta love a t-shirt!! Another thing that might make OCRs more favourable over a sport such as triathlon is the cost of kit - in tri you need a bike, trainers, swimming costume, googles, trisuit, wetsuit, helmet, and nutrition as a minimum, not including bike spares. But if you upgrade then you're looking at bike shoes, gadgets such as garmin watches, swimming aids, different types of trainers for different surfaces, different clothes for running and biking depending on weather, in a word, triathlon is expensive! Howver, for obstacle course racing you'll need a good pair of trainers, and shorts/t-shirt but after that I can't see what other essentials you need! So, a very accessible sport, especially when training wise, all you need is the great outdoors, trail running, using obstacles in the natural environment to train on, etc. so it's a win win really! It's also encouraging to hear that 45% of participants are women which is a great stat to hear as I know from my own perspective that anything a man can do women can also do!

Dan likes to think that Spartan races are achievable but no doubt they are tough and they are challenging! He wants people to finish and be inspired by what they have accomplished and then be motivated to train more and return to try and improve on their times. Dan also spoke of the family atmosphere within the race set up, that the marshals, "burpee police", and fellow Spartan Warriors are all supportive, all encouraging each other, even if there are competitive spirits out there, especially the elite racers running for prize money. From Dan's point of view Spartan races feel different from your other OCRs with Dan having experienced a lot of different obstacle course races across the world and from different OCR companies, and he puts this down to the community spirit that is fostered within Spartan races.

A tad cold??

The last question that I put to Dan was about the preparation offered by Spartan UK. On their website you can sign up to taster days in various spots around the country in the build up to the events, as well as accessing personal training by Spartan approved trainers. However, I didn't see anything about mental preparation, other than the book I mentioned in my last blog "Spartan Up!" and I wondered whether this was a gap that might need feeling - hint, hint ;) Needless to say, Dan has it covered! This is something Dan has been working on with his team this year so in the near future there might be more advice on their site about how to prepare mentally not just physically as for some people these obstacles might really challenge their sticking power, mental toughness, and they'll need to train their minds as well as their bodies to be successful. Dan is interested in mindfulness, about being present in the moment and focusing completely on just one thing in that moment. Naturally, being a NLP practitioner, Dan is also passionate about empowering people to equip themselves to achieve, just by adapting the language that they use, thinking from a positive mindset and not allowing negative thoughts to creep into one's mindset and undermine their efforts. Dan believes that everything in life is a choice, and that choice is freedom!

Well for me, my choice is to get on this Spartan bandwagon and try for myself Dan's Spartan family…on 21st September I'll be making my long awaited (remember, childhood dream here!) obstacle course race debut in Edinburgh and I really can't wait!! I've never been this excited about triathlon before, usually because I'm anxious about the mass swim, so I really feel that obstacle course racing might just be my ideal sport!

Now, as Dan wants to share his love for all things obstacle course racing, and Spartan UK races in particular, he has kindly offered you lovely readers a promotional discount code for the races this year in the UK. If you're keen to try a race and see whether you agree with Dan then head to http://uk.spartanrace.com and use the promo code youcanyouwill and you'll get 10% off your entry fee. See how I've used my motto as the promo code ;) well after all, I want to get my name out there too so that I can help people overcome any doubts or fears that they might so that they might achieve their goals and fulfil their potential.

When I put my motto to Dan he loved it, being a linguist un all that! So say to yourself "I can, I will", truly mean it and you will achieve!!

So for now I'm signing off as I need to get my beauty sleep ready for an early morning training session as if I'm going to become a Spartan Warrior next month then I need to get my ass in serious shape!! #AROO

Yours truly,

Hayles, 
AKA Dr Griffiths, Clinical & Performance Psychologist

Twitter: @DrHPsych
Facebook: Youcanyouwill
www: youcanyouwill.co.uk

I can't wait to get my paws on one of these beauties!!

Fostering a community atmosphere is Dan's goal in his races

All photos courtesy of Epic Action Imagery

Life's calling has arrived!

Do you ever get experiences that make you sit up and listen? That make you instantly change your outlook or focus? That ultimately help you re-evaluate how you approach tasks, or even life? I think the past few days have changed me forever and I feel super pumped, so excited for the future it's amazing!

What am I smoking you might ask…well for the record I have just opened a bottle of cobra, but that's it, the rest is just good ole fashioned chance encounters, genuine human kindness, and reading a book that really resonates with you.

Lets rewind a few days…you might remember from my last blog that I was looking at fulfilling a lifelong ambition of doing an obstacle course race. Who knew these races were so huge across the world!! Well…my research on twitter led me to following the various companies that run these races and from that a guy by the name of Dan Tuffnell spotted me as a new follower of his twitter site @spartanraceuk, of which he is the Director of Spartan UK, the world's leading obstacle course racing series. Now, Dan was interested in speaking to me because of my psychology background and also my love for sport, and as he's keen to raise the profile of Spartan UK races and spread the word, he asked for me to interview him!! This was so that i could ask him questions that perhaps your generic journalist wouldn't ask, given that I am a psychologist. But that is a whole other blog, coming to you soon, with a full interview with Dan himself, a very inspiring chat and made me realise that the Spartan races are perhaps a bit different from the other obstacle course race brands out there by the philosophy that underpins them and what Dan himself believes in: empowerment and mental challenges. For now though check them out on http://uk.spartanrace.com

So, the result of this chance encounter is that I have had a free race entry to a spartan race, so i make my obstacle course race debut in Edinburgh next month! How excited am I for that?!?!?!?!?! I'm so enthused right now, more excited than i ever have been for a triathlon so perhaps OCR (obstacle course racing) is my new life calling?? it might play to my strengths…my love of running, my strength, my agile skills from my climbing days, plus my love of all things hard when it comes to fitness and challenges! What this has led me to do though is think about how i will prepare…so i bought the book "Spartan Up!" by the founder of Spartan races, Joe De Sena http://www.amazon.co.uk/Spartan-Take-No-Prisoners-Overcoming-Obstacles-Performance/dp/1471137686/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1408902591&sr=8-1&keywords=spartan+up

Today alone i've read 60 pages of it and i'm enthralled by it! It's given me a whole different perspective on how I will approach the race, but not only that, I also feel that it will ultimately help me in triathlon in terms of no longer being spooked by open water swimming in races or rough swimming conditions. Instead, I will just focus completely on the task and approaching it as an obstacle to be overcome and that I have the mental and physical strength to overcome whatever challenge is placed in my way! AROO!! (the spartan psyching up call ;))

Now…back to all things triathlon…well last week I had to go have my baseline fitness re-tested, given my injuries meant I hadn't been able to train properly and consistently for about 3 months. To say I was not looking forward to it was an understatement, but at the same time I was excited as it'd mean a training plan in place, one that I am determined to follow properly, unlike before, where i would move things around to suit me, rather than committing to it and doing it no matter what (unless i needed extra rest). So off i went to @bodybullet in Aberdare to his top notch home gym facilities, and on his wattbike I had to complete a 3 minute FTP test and a 20 min MAE test. Prior to that, the thing i'd been dreading the most…the weighing scales!!!!!!!!!! Needless to say they shook under my weight…having added some winter insulation ready for this unseasonable change in weather! But…other than the scales highlighting that i need to shift some serious poundage, my results were all positive considering my lack of training! I guess the training i have done: heart rate consistent turbo and road bike sessions, aqua jogging, easy running, and swimming, along with all the hours i did of manual labour on the farm, paid dividends as my power output was the same from my initial testing in November 2013 (although my heavier weights means my FTP was slightly lower), but my aerobic efficiency has actually improved - GET IN!!!!! So…i'm very confident that within a month, when my Spartan race is, i'll have shed a few pounds, hopefully half a stone, as i'll be back on regular 10 hr+ training weeks and eating healthily. I've even started making my own snack bars!

This also meant that i sacrificed a night out tonight with mates on bank holiday sunday as my training hat is well and truly switched on, and yes, i may have a beer in front of me, but today i've done some yoga (another new passion) as well as cleaned thoroughly, so I'm carb loading before a triple sess tomoz with some OCR type training thrown in for good measure!

The other exciting news is that I've been offered free advertising for my sole trader #youcanyouwill performance psychology "business" on the tri kit of a new tri club that's being created by a twitter friend #TeamBear_Tri. He's also focused on overcoming challenges and obstacles and never giving in so i'd be proud to put my name to his concept and help his athletes with discounted psychology sessions! Mutually beneficial deal in my book ;)

@TeamBear_Tri - Suffer but NEVER surrender!!

Everything is coming together

In my last post I spoke about my rehab and how things were starting to move in the right direction. Well, here I am, a few weeks on, looking forwards and feeling positive. I'm now back training in all areas, cycling, running, swimming, and back in the gym, and whilst I'm being good and building up slowly, I'm confident of soon getting back to where I was. I'm having a performance re-testing this Thursday with Simon (@bodybullet on twitter) which will show how much specific fitness I have lost in terms of my MAE and FTP. I can't say I'm looking forward to it, but, it will mean Simon can devise a unique training plan based on these new figures to ensure I'm training right, not too hard, and not too easy! My goals now are for a couple of races end of season and then consider some races over the autumn and winter. I've got a super sprint lined up in Carmarthen in October, which should be fun to just be going full pelt again, and then the postponed Carmarthenshire duathlon comes later in October. October is usually when I unwind, take some time off, but given that it's felt like I have had too much time of not doing enough then I'm happy to be back training and getting back a training routine.

Another thing I'm giving serious thought to is an obstacle course challenge/race. I've always loved obstacle/assault courses, and used to love watching The Krypton Factor as a kid, wondering what I'd be like if I were doing the courses. I even considered joining the forces just so that I could do the training and obstacle courses!

Another thing I've signed up to, for a bit of fun, is the www.colormerad.co.uk fun 5k run at Margam Park in late September, where there's no timing, rather, it's all about paint and getting as colourful as possible whilst running! I've roped in some friends from work so chances are I won't be running my usual pace, but instead keeping with them so that we can paint bomb each other!

I'm back running and whilst my calf gets very stiff afterwards, I'm not really getting pain as such when I'm running. I've been told there is no damage in the calf or surrounding area so I've been given the go-ahead to run and build my training. I am however, being referred on for an assessment to see whether it's low level compartment syndrome, but I have no idea how long it will be before that comes through.

I'm back swimming pain free though which is amazing!!! Last week I did a 1.6k with some sprints and longer sets and felt OK, so this week I upped that to 2k, a full set for me, and again did sprints, pushing myself, and again I felt great, no pain, and my swim times are as they were before my injury lay off and I've even knocked 6-8 seconds per 100m off my times just by changing my breathing pattern to breathe less regularly, but I have to train myself now to try and keep that up for a full race distance.

Another major development is that I'm now finally fulfilling a long-time ambition of working privately, helping other sporting people enhance their performance through psychology. My moto is #youcanyouwill and you can find out more on Facebook with a page of that name, as well as my upcoming website @ www.youcanyouwill.co.uk. I'm also on twitter as @DrHPsych. I've even had my first taste of Skype, with my first client, a guy who lives abroad, and he has signed up to weekly sessions so I'm chuffed about that. I'm waiting for my business cards to arrive and then the last piece of the puzzle will be my website which the guys @ www.blossomassociates.co.uk are helping me with. I've also been approached on twitter about a potentially big project with a big company which came completely out of the blue, but at the same time is exciting and potentially huge! I'm having a conversation tomorrow with the PR man about an interview with me and then discuss possible ways forward so I'll keep you posted!

So right now things are moving in the right direction. I'm confident that when I come back I'll be better than ever, but I am under no illusions about coming back flying. My races this season will all be about enjoying them, enjoying the thrill of cycling and running at pace, and seeing how my newfound confidence in swimming serves me. Although, I will have to wait until next season before I test out my open water confidence again, saying that though, I might try and get in some open water swims before the temperature dips now that my arm is strong and hopefully the wetsuit won't aggravate the injury with the slightly restricted movement.

I wish you all success in whatever adventures you are currently pursuing, and remember, if you have a dream, an ambition, believe you can do it, plan what needs to be done, and then go put it into practice and become what you have always wanted to be!!