Scary Times

So my horrible run may not have been due to a lack of salt or proper fuel but it looks like it was the beginning of my body shutting down and telling me to stop.

The day after the Crochue experience I was fine but when I woke the second day after things were not too pretty. I felt a bit funny when getting ready for work but thought nothing really of it then but as the day went by at work I slowly started to get worse and worse. I was super tired and always putting my head down to dose off for a few minutes but more worryingly I was starting to get really dizzy. When 7pm arrived and we were closing up shop I was in a proper state as my work colleague looked at me rather worried as she had seen me get worse as the day went on. It was straight on home to bed. I crashed out in no time but waking up the following day I was very worried. I couldn't walk to my bathroom without holding onto the walls either side of me and I was horrendously dizzy to the stage where I could feel myself ready to just collapse. This went on for the next 3 days then I decided to go to the hospital. The doctor properly examined me and my balance but told me I had no viral infection and that I was actually fine and would get better and if I didn't in a few days go back for a blood test. I was happy he said I was not in real trouble but worried as I was still really dizzy and could hardly walk properly without looking like and feeling like I was completely drunk. I did slowly begin to get better and 10 days after it all started I was pretty much back to normal but still taking it really easy and resting. Apart from a very bad case of food poisoning a few years back this was definitely the scariest thing I have ever felt. At least with food poisoning you know what it is and it will pass just like when you catch a bad does of the flu or some sickness bug you know what it is and it will go away but with this dizziness I had no clue what it was and how long it would last.

There are a load of suggestions as to what it was that caused the problem but the most obvious one could be that I have just done too much this summer. This does kind of make sense but since Leadville I really have not pushed my body at all and have rested a fair bit so that is the reason I have my doubts. People seem to think I absolutely beast myself all the time but that is so not the case. I trained smart this summer just going easy , even on long runs I wasn't going all out and never do. I rested when I knew I should and I ate properly or so I think. I am more inclined to believe that yes this was the summer catching up with me and my body just wanted a proper long rest for a few weeks and this is the only way it found it could stop me from doing anything and it worked. I must admit in summer I do take my fitness pretty serious but let my guard down in winter quite a bit and I think this could be one of the other main reasons for my shut down. Yes I ski loads over winter and tour a fair bit but yes I do have way more nights out. It is pretty obvious that 6 months of skiing and partying then going straight into 6 months of fitness and no alcohol does not work or does not work for me any more. Not that I am old but I ain't 21 any more. So this really has given me a kick up the arse to take it easy or should I say easier this winter with regards to the nights out and I am really focused to do this now. I am at a great fitness level right now and want to just slowly keep this for as long as possible. I am not going to train hard over winter but I plan on definitely running twice a week through the snow and ice plus I will be touring and if I cut back on the nights out I believe this will have me in a decent shape for starting to properly run again come late April/May and I will be ready for races again come June. Just like a lot of the serious ultra runners they take the entire winter off from running and just ski mountaineer race to give their body time to recover and recuperate until the next running season. Now obviously I ain't near that level of fitness but it does seem like a very wise strategy to adopt.

My last 2 days off have been spent
recovering up at the Midi café staring at all
the new fresh snow dreaming of winter.

In all honesty I do not run that many races a year. I would race loads more if I lived in Scotland or somewhere that doesn't get an epic winter of skiing powder. In the Alps there really is not many races over the winter season , well running races. It is all ski mountaineering races and I am not sure if I have the cash yet to invest in the kind of gear for this but you never know. I would like to run more Ultras over summer but due to work and the cost of entries and travel to and from the event it is just not possible. I am happy with it this way at the moment though. I like having one big race a year to aim for and do some others along the way. I am really looking forward to these 3 races in the UK in the next few weeks but have no idea how they will go or how I will feel after this little problem. The 10k next weekend for example will be somewhat strange. I have not run a race of this intensity for years , many many years so have no clue what to expect. Over the years I have trained to run slow and steady and go on forever but 10ks are all out sprints and I reckon this could be a shock for the legs and the lungs next week. I was never a fast 10k runner anyway, my best ever in a race was 42mins on a trail which did have a fair few climbs. Other than that my local 10k in Largs I have done in 39 mins. Yeah I guess these times are not slow but I have friends who run 33-35mins 10ks. Not a chance for me. So who knows next weekend 40-50 mins??? I have no clue. Graham did say to me the other night maybe I should do a lap of the 10k before the race to get warmed up! This is actually a good idea , without sounding totally big headed this does make sense as when I am out on big races or long runs it does take a good hour for me to kick in. Sometimes even longer. Getting my legs to go maximum speed from the start is going to be hard. The week after is the Ennerdale 50k and I cannot wait for this. Again no aspirations for a time but I was looking at photos from last years race and it looks amazing. There is some dirt road sections but one long section by the side of the lake on what looks like awesome single track heaven so really looking forward to this one. Lauren is running the 25k event so I will hopefully be able run with her for a bit as the 25k is one lap of the lake and the 50k is 2 laps , we set off 15 mins apart but sure she will catch me up. Then to finish it all off I have a road race! A 17km run near Inverness. I am doing this to try and get some momentum on roads again , I noticed in America just how good the Americans were on the flats and it is because they have the space to train on flats unlike me in Chamonix which is up and down America has great long flat sections and in big Ultras loads of time is won and lost on these flat sections and I to be honest am rubbish on them. I can keep good pace on trails , little ups and downs , steep technical descents but then I hit a flat road section for say 4 miles and boom my legs go heavy and it is hard to keep the momentum going. The Americans were great at this. Also the race is organised by CHSS Scotland who I raised over £1000 for doing Leadville so it will be good to meet the people who I have only spoken to through email all summer.

11 days without these on was hellish

So today I managed a little run. 11 days of being unwell and sitting around resting was a bit of a nightmare but had to be done. I am still not 100% but went out for a 7km very very easy pace flat run today along some road and some trails. It went quite well actually. I was not really that dizzy when running. It is quite hard to turn my head quickly to the side when going forward but if I just focus on the road in front then I am fine. As I said it was a super easy going 7kms in 40 mins. It felt great to be back out doing something again. I will rest tomorrow and on Tuesday I fly back to Scotland for 3 weeks so my next run may be the 10k race or if I feel good I will do my local 10k on Wednesday or Thursday. Slowly easing myself back into it.