Silencing The Head Noise
The long runs are getting longer, the days are getting warmer, and we're only getting closer to Ultra Trail Kosciuszko.
“I’m all about breaking mental boundaries, and training for a marathon falls right into the Jedi mind-training I need."
Alicia Keys
Find Your Why
People talk about this so often. I think it’s because when it gets to the toughest part of your run or race you’re going to be looking deep inside for a reason to keep going.
My first why is to prove to myself that I’m not the person who woke up one morning, got on the scales and saw 140.8 kilograms staring back. To show myself and a lot of people out there that anything is possible with the right mindset. It’s hard to believe in October 2018 I was running five kilometres at the oval and it took me 48 minutes to complete. Four years later and I’m training myself to run 104 kilometres which includes climbing to the highest point in Australia.
My second why is that none of this is possible without the right support network, and I’m so blessed to have my girlfriend Cassandra be so supportive in the journey, as well as my family, my friends, my Coach Shiree and my entire Elevate, 2Zoners and Running For Resilience crew helping me push to be the best runner I can be.
My Third why? Well it speaks for itself in the video below:
The Power Of The Mind
It's two kilometres into my long run. I've already hit snooze on my alarm three times, and I started running hours after I had initially planned to be out and on the trails. At this point my mind is telling me to call the run and just go home.
If anyone tells you that training for an ultra is easy, straight up they're lying to you. It's one of the hardest things you will possibly ever do in your life.
Each week has been testing my physical and mental resolve. When I saw the program initially I was excited and don't get me wrong I'm still excited, but not being 100 per cent through this preparation has been quite difficult.
This time last year I was tearing through 10 kilometres or more a day and the body was feeling cherry ripe. The difference though is that it's a lot easier to recovery after an hour of running than it is to come back from four or five hours plus and the hills those hours come with.
I take heart in knowing that my body last year wouldn't be able to do what I'm doing now. Comfortably running up to 50 kilometres across two days while banged up.
These things will heal themselves during the taper period, and I know that none of the issues are major. But, it's amazing how quickly the mind can turn against you when things aren't going your way.
Hip and lower back tightness has been giving me a bit of a pinching sensation when I go into an extended stride. It means I've been foam rolling like crazy and hitting the massage gun for relief. It's slowly starting to help and the pain is no longer inhibiting running at all. Earlier this year I battled Xiphoid pain which felt like a stabbing as the muscles around my chest pulled this bit of cartilage as I ran.
In reality these injuries are minor, but it's really dragged my enthusiasm at times, because I want to feel my best. Reality is, you're rarely going to feel good during a heavy preparation because you're continually pumping kilometres and elevation into your legs.
If I go back to yesterday's run. Physically I'm a bit sore (nothing catastrophic) and my mind starts questioning how long I want to be out there. In my program I've got a minimum of three hours. I'm 16 minutes in and already questioning everything.
These are the days that make or break you and will only benefit me in December at Kosciuszko. It was almost as if the 17 kilometres I had run the day before had just stiffened up my body and it would take a few kilometres to work the fatigue and soreness out.
Slowly, it started to feel better, all of a sudden my mind is thinking in a positive manner. Such a powerful tool, when it is going against me I'm my own worst enemy, when I'm going great it makes me feel like I can do anything.
There are many studies done into mindset and how it can affect training and preparation. My mindset right now is that nothing is going to stop me finishing Kosciuszko, and that while I’m sometimes beating myself up mentally on long runs, I'm putting together a body of work that will get me through the 104 kilometres.
I should probably look a little deeper into it, a study in 2018 showed that keeping your ‘emotional intelligence in check’.
Runners answered 30 questions that assessed their EI, such as “On the whole, I’m a highly motivated person,” and “I often find it difficult to adjust my life according to the circumstances.”
After the race, the researchers paired each runner’s finish time with their answers on the survey. To their surprise, they found that runners’ scores on the EI questions, not training volume or half marathon experience, were the best predictors of when they crossed the finish line.
I'm keen to know if anyone experiences anything similar in regards to head noise on long runs and what you do to overcome it?
Non-Negotiable
Eating and recovery I'm learning is just as important as the kilometres I'm putting in each week.
I'm under no illusions that what I'm doing is unusual, attempting to run 100 kilometres in one go is not your everyday event, let alone the fact some people still scoff when I tell them that I've run marathons and ultras.
It's this mindset that has been my driving force since I started running at the start of the pandemic. Running is an activity that is accessible to anyone no matter their body shape or size.
If you don't believe that, it says more about your preconceived bias of body shape and size. Paces of course will be different, but everyone can give it a go.
This took me a long time to understand, and actually stopped me from joining group running for a long time because I was under the impression if I didn't run a certain pace I wasn't a 'runner'. People will argue this point about pace, but those people are wrong and that's that.
So what are my things that are non-negotiable during training?
1. A litre of water after every run
2. Stretch and foam roll after every run
3. Good feed including a mixture of carbohydrates and protein
4. Hot and cold shower finishing on hot
5. Ice pack for 15-20 minutes on the leg
Why? I can sweat a lot during a run. My Garmin for example estimates I can lose two and a half litres of sweat in a three and a half hour run. I just want to replace some of that as quickly as possible, and then hit some water throughout the afternoon.
Food is also a big contributor to my recovery, I find when I hit the spot shortly after a run I feel so much better the next day.
In terms of the other things I find that working my tightness out after a run and making sure I stretch out my sore muscles is slowly getting my body back to 100 per cent.
The cold and hot shower is a bit of a mindset thing. There is a belief that a cold shower can help with recovery, by helping reduce muscle inflammation, flush out lactic acid, and help your muscles start the healing process.
It's not a complete fix and is more seen as being complimentary to other recovery methods. I use an RE3 pack then to wrap around my legs and feel that icing them reduces a lot of my inflammation which helps me go day-to-day.
I'm interested to hear if any others out there have a non-negotiable that they swear by either before or after runs.
This Week’s Training
Monday: Rest day, always important to get in recovery on the Monday as my only scheduled recovery day each week. I ice down and also do a lot of stretching in the morning. In the evening went for a walk with my girlfriend Cassandra and Duke. Easy 24 minutes.
Tuesday: Cracking start to Tuesday with my friend Kirstie, just under an hour on the footpath with most of it in Zone Two. Night time training with my Lizzy at our regular spot in Mulligans, slow and steady to crack into Zone Two. Two hours all up for the day.
Wednesday: 70 minutes easy on the trails for Wednesday morning, felt way better backing up the night than I did last week. I think because the tempo at night wasn’t as hot as last week I recovered a lot better.
Thursday: Hilly loop with my elevate crew, good to work on my walking with purpose, and also my downhill technique. Felt really good after this session, always good to train with friends. Another 70 minute session.
Friday: Running for Resilience. This ended up with a bit of tempo, I was honoured to give the opening address about why we run, stuck with Nat and Mim for a little bit, but the pace was too hot for me! 32 mins at tempo pace on footpaths.
Saturday: Two hours on trails with the first run at a nice tempo pace, second hour add a bit more hills, quite happy with this one, was looking at my sweat rate and also working on some fueling techniques I can use at Kosciuszko in December.
Sunday: Three and a half hour long run. Body was not feeling it and mentally this started as a struggle, was able to work myself off the canvas and avoid calling it a couple of times. This had everything, there was a six kilometre stretch where if I broke out of a walk I was swooped by magpies, which led to a pretty difficult time trying not to fall over on a pretty flooded trail. I got through it and the body ended up not too bad, happy to finish the week not calling my long run and getting through it.
Totals: 84.1 kilometres, 10 hours and 23 minutes, 1,461 metres of Elevation
Keeping my training steady and avoiding the dreaded Patagonia curse, few little tightness issues to deal with, but I’ll continue to work through it.
Monday Motivation Hero
It would've been very easy to pick Eliud Kipchoge this week after his stunning performance in the Berlin Marathon, but I wanted to highlight a story a bit closer to home.
But, Binh Dang might be one of the nicest people you will ever meet. We have a similar story taking up running while losing a lot of weight. In a way Binh and I are like brothers in this respect because we know what it's like to go through the struggle.
I caught up with Binh last week, it's always a good time because he simply radiates positivity. He's had a fair share of injuries that have impacted him in recent times, but it doesn't appear to affect his attitude.
On Friday as he was passing a number of other runners he was saying g’day and seeing how they were, but he does so in a way that gives everyone around him a lift. I love this bloke and so glad to call him a friend, one day I’ll get him out for a long trail run and it might be one of the best runs I’ll ever enjoy.
Brent - Much love to you my brother. Let's keep getting better together.
Brent Ford - You know how I feel about you my brother. Your vulnerability in your words, thoughts and struggle - Is also your greatest strength as a human as it is so relatable. Your words mean so much, to so many.
I look forward to continue to celebrate life's victories with you Bubba Cheds. More importantly, i have your back when things in life don't work out.
Let's keep getting better together my friend and I am with you all the way on this amazing life challenge - Kosci 100