Getting help

I realised I needed some help if I was to complete the Firelighter challenge so I've enlisted the help of a running coach who was recommended to me by my sister in law. First task was to analyse my running and walking style - that's me on the treadmill below. Although I wasn't too bad, I need to work on my arm drive, contralateral hip drop, overstride, posture and eventually leg cycle and heel height. There is a such a lot to learn! I also now have a new 20 week plan that I access through the Training Peaks app which will take me up to the race day on 1st September. The plan involves training 6 days per week and compared to my original plan, has less running and more cross-training, strengthening, mobility exercises, stretching and even some walking. Rachael, my coach at the Running and Movement Hub is also my accountability partner which will really help to keep me focused. I'm only a week into the new programme and I'm already feeling the benefits and enjoying the process more. It's still hard work and time consuming though and the workload will increase as the weeks go by.

"When the student is ready the teacher will appear"

 

#Firelighter #Anglesey #over50 #running #trainingpeaks #runningandmovementhub #challenge 

Goodbye Fitbit, Hello Garmin

I've swapped my trusty Fitbit Versa which I've had for many years for a Garmin Fenix 7S

It was quite a pricey purchase but I think it will be worth it. The body of the watch is a bit thicker than the Fitbit Versa but the face size is about the same but its round where the Fitbit Versa is square. It records so much more than my Versa - as well as Heart Rate, Steps and Sleep Monitoring, it also records Body Battery, Stress, HRV Status and Respiration. It takes a few weeks to build up enough data to give insights and I'm looking forward to seeing what patterns emerge and how that translates into getting fitter.

    

#Garmin #Fenix7S #Smartwatch #heartrate #running #Fitbit #Firelighter2023 #over50 #challenge

Weight

A mini challenge within my bigger challenge is to lose a stone before the 1st September.  My current weight and body fat percentage is 10st and 30%. My target is 9st and 27% body fat.  Its 22 weeks till the 1st September so that equates to losing .64lbs per week.  My methods are to do the occasional random 800 calorie fast days, some 1200 calorie counted days and generally just trying to avoid the carbs. All of these have worked for me in the past and in combination with the increased exercise, it should be a piece of cake! 

Not a picture of me but kinda sums up how I feel 

#loseweight #firelighterracetraining #running #firelighter #ultra

Image credit - www.freepik.com

History

 I hated PE at school – I really was rubbish at everything! 

In my 20’s I briefly joined a gym and maybe did a little bit of running (around the block was about all I could manage).  I did like getting out into the countryside but easy poddles in the peak district were all I could manage.

Then in January 1999 aged 29 I met my husband who was into all things outdoorsy – mountaineering, climbing, kayaking and I did a lot of activities with him.  I certainly upped my game, but just went along with whatever he had planned and didn’t really take much of an interest in the what, when, where or how.

Moving along years 14 years, something changed.  I decided I wanted to get to the top of Ben Nevis.  Rather than go up the boring tourist path, I was convinced to go up via the Càrn Mòr Dearg Arête.  After a false start due to bad weather, I made it to the top and was rewarded with a fabulous view of a temperature inversion.

My holidays usually involved a lot of walking - I ticked off the Dales Way, Pennine Way, Coast to Coast, Cumbria Way to name a few.

But I wanted something different - something with a set time and distance to work towards - so I chose the National 3 Peaks Challenge.  As part of the training I did the Yorkshire 3 Peaks Challenge and the Welsh 3 Peaks Challenge.  The National 3 Peaks Challenge was finally completed in 2018 at the 3rd attempt.

In 2019 I did the Lyke Wake Walk - which is approx. 40 miles with 5000ft of ascent and the challenge was to complete this within 24 hours.  It took me 16.5 hours. For comparison the Anglesey Firelighter Race is 35.7 miles with 2880 ft of ascent and the challenge is to complete this within 9 hours.  Tough but do-able!  I hope :-)

#ultra  #angleseyfirelighterrace #2023  #challenge  #running  #3peaks   #lykewakewalk

 

Parkruns

There aren't many things that will make me get out of bed on a weekend, but I do make the effort to join our local Parkrun.  Although, sometimes I wonder why I do it when its cold and wet - and I oftern get passed by 5 year olds and 80 year olds!  The last 3 Parkruns have been very muddy which slows me down quite a lot and one week my feet got wet 😒. Thankfully the course has been altered a bit to avoid the worst bits.

I've just completed my 25th Parkrun in a time of 36:26 which is 7.29 mins/km.  My fastest time is 33:50 (assisted by the pacers) and my average (mean) is 36:03. I think these times aren't good but I did come 3rd in my age category of VW50-54.  Although this time isn't very fast it is still faster than I need to complete the Firelighter which I'm aiming for 8.48 mins/km which will give me around 50 mins spare time for checkpoints etc.  I hope that will be fast enough to complete the 57.2km challenge within the 9 hours time 😬

THE CHALLENGE

So, I might have been a bit hasty - I've entered an ultra marathon.  That might not be a big deal to some people but I'm 52 and at this point in time, I can barely shuffle around a parkrun. 

The race I've entered is the Firelighter which is the first day of a larger, 3 day ultra marathon, - the Ring of Fire which follows the beautiful Anglesey Coast Path.   

Race stats: 35.7 miles (57.2km) - time limit 9 hours - elevation c2,880ft (877m).

I read somewhere that, a challenge is only a challenge, when there is a chance of failure - so my personal challenge is just to finish within the time limit and trust me, that will be difficult enough! 

Race date is 1st September 2023 - 37 weeks 4 days from today.

This blog will chart my progress, follow the ups and downs and document my learning process.  Feel free to add helpful comments!