Let's Be Sound!

From Wednesday to Friday this week I will be participating in the Microsoft Ireland Charity Cycle, raising much needed funds for Laura Lynn Children’s Hospice. Over 3 days we will be cycling 355km along the Wild Atlantic Way in Kerry from Kenmare to Ballybunion. Laura Lynn provide palliative care and support for children with life-limiting conditions. I would really appreciate your support by clicking here.

Obviously it mans my training for the ultra will be ever so slightly compromised. I know from personal experience that there is some carry-over of fitness from the bike to running, as well as vice-versa, but I'm not sure how much of that counts once you reach ultra distances because the pounding of the legs is something you only get conditioned for when doing some actual running.

I have been cycling over 100 miles a week every week for the last two or three months, including a hilly, long spin every Tuesday with a sizeable group, and my cycling has been coming along a lot as a result. I am finding it very enjoyable as well, much more so than expected. Maybe I just like to exercise.

And now I keep thinking I should add some swim training as well and finally cross that Big I off my bucket list. I had been meaning to do it almost 10 years ago but then getting into the pointy end of running races took over and everything else took a back seat.

I did have to dial back my running as a result of all the cycling, otherwise it was just too much on the body. How that will turn out over those mountains and the end of the month I shall see.

At least I managed to do some long runs in the mountains. I always saw myself as a road runner and never really enjoyed running on trails, with the uneasy footing and the constant threat of a face plant where I could never relax as much as I can on the road, but when I finally turned my attention to mountain running once again I found it surprisingly enjoyable, or maybe it was just the fact that I was ok with hiking all those steep uphills or those  particularly stony trails and found that I could do 4 hours of exercise and still feel ok afterwards.

Djouce in glorious sunshine - too late!

On Tuesday my left knee felt a bit stiff even before the cycle, but it was ok once I got going. By Wednesday that was better but then the stiffness went into my Achilles instead. Again, it was not too bad initially but on Saturday I was a mile away from home when all of a sudden it started acting up and was rather uncomfortable. It had happened on the steepest part of that run, so obviously the tendon got overloaded. Not great when you're about to head into the mountains and expect to do a lot of climbing.

Therefore I started my big mountain "run" today with a bit of trepidation. After scouting out most of the first/last 10+ miles of what I expect to be the running route in previous weeks I did some running on the middle part of the race, namely Djouce mountain. I got up very early, much more so than would be considered civilised for a Sunday, and drove to Roundwood, which was still very sleepy at this time. I made my way towards the Wicklow Way and then towards Djouce. I also took in the summit, even though that's not part of the running route but when you get that far you might as well tag the top. Unfortunately it was covered in thick clouds, which robbed me of some breathtaking views - it was all cleared up a couple of hours later but by then it was too late for me.

I hiked most of the uphills, partially because I wanted to keep this at ultra effort levels but mostly because I wanted to protect my Achilles and stop it from being overloaded. The last thing I would have wanted was to get stranded with a gimpy leg up on a windswept mountain miles from anywhere. But it was all good, even with a very strong wind that on one occasion blew me off the  boardwalk, but I escaped unharmed and was rather pleased with how it had gone, really.

And please, be sound and donate a couple of Euros to quite possibly the most deserving charity there is by clicking here.