Running and Touring

With a long spell of high pressure over our heads it has been sunshine and warm weather for a while here meaning amazing running weather. Even in the evenings the temperature is still not too cold and has been rather pleasant.

As usual the running has not been anything too hardcore. Usually 10-15kms at a nice easy 10ks an hour pace. I feel relatively strong at the moment and could be quite easily be putting out 40-43 mins 10ks but with the Highland Fling not too far away I am more than happy to just keep my pace to Ultra plodding speeds. I am alternating from going out some lunch breaks in the sun and then some evenings on the trails with the head torch and all seems to be going very well but I should really be pushing myself for longer distances by now.

Josh sporting his fave touring headwear

Early start

Long way still to go

Getting hot by this point

I have been on a couple of awesome ski tours. One a nice morning out with 1200m of climbing and a fairly easy ski out and the following days adventure was pretty epic and long. I know this is not a ski blog but I might as well share it anyway as it was certainly good leg training for the Ultras to come. I have been running without a pack recently so unable to take my camera along so hope you enjoy the ski pics for now.

In we go

Getting steeper

Out of the couloir but still a long way to go

Josh and I had decided to go and ski the Northwest Couloir on the Dents Du Midi in Switzerland. Not exactly an extreme ski when compared to many things around Chamonix but still (for me) a fairly steep couloir with a long long approach. There are many ways to get to this line. We opted out of the aid of a lift system as they open too late and given the recent temperatures thought it would be too warm to wait for the Marecottes lift to open at 9am and we also didn't see the point in driving around and doing the ski by climbing up the couloir to then ski down it so we took the long approach. Leaving Chamonix at 4am , Parking our car at one side of the Mountain range , skinning for 5 hours and 1800m to get to the top then skiing the 600m couloir. Even once out of the couloir it was still a long long ski and hike back down to the valley below and the train station on the other side of the range. 5pm and 3 trains later and we were nearly back at the car. I had to stick on my running shoes and leave Josh guarding the ski gear as I ran the 4km uphill to retrieve the car from where we had left it at 6am!

Every shortcut possible was taken

It was a totally amazing ski tour and without doubt from the col it was the best view of the Swiss and French Alps as have yet seen. The couloir was also really brilliant to ski with an amazing atmosphere inside it with massive towers high above us at all times. We had the whole outing to ourselves which was pretty surreal given how long we were touring for. I must admit though that I did feel it on the way up. I have done a lot of touring this season and was pretty surprised how bad I was feeling with still 900m of skinning to go. It was a very long approach on the first 900m and once we stopped at the lake to look up at what was ahead I really didn't think we were going to make it up in time before the sun made the snow too hot and dangerous. I was really cold even in the sunshine and I kept loosing my breath really easily and were were only going up to 3000m. I really was shocked at how slow I was going for the last 2 hours of the skin up. After wolfing down as many mars and clif bars as I could we finally arrived at the Col and to be honest my legs felt way better(but hardly great) on the ski down than on the way up which is very unusual for me.

Not my ideal trail running kit

Long days out in the mountains like that are ideal training for my Ultras. Just keeping my body on the go for such a long time, waking up super early in the morning , not having a big breakfast , running on minimal food for the first few hours , carrying a heavy pack with rope etc... all helps get you ready for long long races. It is just a matter of getting my head down and getting on with it , totally the same as when I run long distances. Now some might think that this is a stupid way of thinking but in my experiences and opinion if I can run my body on days like that with just 500ml of water and 2 chocolate bars and maybe an energy gel then when it comes to my Ultras and I have all my food prepared and drop bags ready with my chosen fuel and water refills then it is like a luxury and makes it so much easier and I will take anything I can get to make running 50 , 60......100 miles easier.

Finally salt and vinegar crisps and coke!

The weather seems to be staying this way for a while so I will be continuing with running and ski touring for the foreseeable future....until the powder arrives back but then again with only a month to race day I think I should really be running more than skiing.

On the Colorado side of things it all seems to be falling into place. The runners manual and proper maps are now out for the Run Rabbit Run 100. I am still pretty nervous about this race. Having already run and completed one 100 miler doesn't mean I will find this one easy. Far from it. I might even find it harder. Anna and Kim are both going to come and pace me again and I may have a special guest flying in to do a section with me as well but that has yet to be confirmed for sure.

Endless trails

I have a few other races lined up in Colorado but the most exciting part of my summer has got to be pacing Kim on the Leadville 100. I really cannot stress just how much I am looking forward to doing it. I am so happy and proud to have done that race and want to remember it that way and just how amazing my first 100 was so I am happy to leave it for a while and maybe never run the whole thing again....maybe. It was/is an incredible race but I want my first memory of it to be my only one. However going back to help and friend out who helped me so much is going to be brilliant. Kim has asked if I could pace her from Winfield to Twin Lakes and then again from Fish Hatch to the end. I obviously agreed straight away but this is still going to be a 34 mile run for me. I am excited about the challenge of helping someone out for 34 miles and trying to feel fresh and strong the whole way.

So it is run run and tour for the next few weeks until my first race of the year in Scotland and by then it will not be long until USA time.

2 Months to race day

It ain't really been long since the last post but felt the need to share a few things anyway. Running has been going pretty great. Getting a few niggles afterwards in my hips and my knees but pretty sure these will ease off as I slowly get more and more miles in. I am currently in love with a 15km loop up to the town of Lavancher and back to Chamonix by the riverside trail. I follow the ski du fond track for a few km's and then just head off up a little hill climb ploughing my way up the snow with a fair bit of calamity at times to join the snow shoe tracks that take me all the way to Lavancher. It's then time to cross the road and follow the good track back to Chamonix. I must be on tarmac for maybe a km maximum and then it is just mainly hard pack snow which is actually reasonably grippy except from a couple of short awkward down hills that I have resorted to just going for it down them and hoping for the best and it seems to have worked so far. The uphill and downhill snow running is going to be great for improving my technique on both aspects of my running. Just like the nights I go and run the ski du fond without my head torch to get a better feel for the ground under my feet and meaning when I race at night on ultras using my head torch will feel like almost having the sun out right?? I reckon running up and down these hills in snow with the odd loss of traction will work wonders for my power when the snow melts and it is proper grippy surfaces. Well that is my thinking anyway. I am cruising along the trails at the moment with a decent pace of around 45-50 min 10k's and feeling like I could go on like that for hours which is a big bonus as I always say that clocking back to back 1hr-1hr 10min 10ks on some Ultras(dependent on altitude and terrain etc..) is (for me) just fine.

Looks slightly different in summer

Still ace fun

I went my first little jaunt at altitude since October. Myself and Sandy went for a little Cosmiques Arete solo lap. This was my first time above 3000m for months and it went pretty well. We were not exactly doing anything fast or difficult but my legs and lungs felt good the whole morning. Was great to be back up there on that ace little route in perfect snowy conditions and not another single person on it unlike in summer when it is start to finish with lines of roped parties most of the time. The altitude training really does help with the running and I hope to make many trips to altitude for Cosmiques laps before the Highland Fling 53 miler at the end of April. We then came back down to town and grabbed our skis to get in some amazing powder laps from the Midi mid station that afternoon. It's pretty busy now in Chamonix but laps from the Mid station are just incredible right now and it is totally quiet as you kind of need to know where you are going from the lift so holiday makers won't touch it which is brilliant. The past 3 days I have had some of the best turns ever up there.

Can't beat having this to yourself

Sandy heading up the final chimney

Not a bad way to end the day

I do seem to be a bit spoilt out here right now and I will miss this next winter. I am running more often now , skiing powder when I want to ski and then ski touring on my days off if the weather permits. I am still hunting for longer running routes at the moment and will clock in a 20k in the next few days assuming it doesn't snow too much and then a 30k the week after and hopefully get that 40k in before April arrives.

New bag

New Clothes

I recently bought some new kit for this summer. Yet again more Salomon and again only because I can get a good price through work otherwise I couldn't afford it all. I do think they make some of the best trail running kit out there. It really does fit amazingly well and I have never had any issues whatsoever with any of it that I have ever worn so that speaks volumes of how much effort they put into producing the stuff but yes it is rather expensive I agree. I got myself a new Advanced Skin S-Lab Hydro 5 running pack which is pretty much a smaller version of the one I have used for the past 2 years. I thought it would be a good idea to have smaller one for training runs and shorter races where there is not a big mandatory kit list involved and this seems to fit the bill. Only used it twice so far this winter and all seems great but will have more feedback over next couple weeks. I have also purchased the new S-lab Sense Vest and Shorts. I love running in the summer in a vest as opposed to a t-shirt. It is just much cooler and free if that makes any sense at all. I am no lightweight gear freak especially when it comes to running clothing because how heavy can shorts and t-shirts be. These new ones from Salomon though are ridiculously lightweight and I am talking feather light. It will feel like I am wearing next to nothing! They will be amazing for the scorching temperatures this summer in Colorado and Utah. The shorts are pretty tiny but somehow have 4 little stash pockets around the waist area , perfect for gels or some chewy sweets however there is not a secure pocket which would be quite handy to store a key and maybe a little bit of cash that always comes in handy at the end of a long run when you might need to grab a bus or a can of coke but that is just a minor niggle as I usually always wear a pack when training in summer anyway. I also bit the bullet and splashed out on a new running watch. The Suunto Ambit 2 S but it has yet to arrive so I will review it over the coming weeks. I will also keep you posted with how the other new kit is working out and by then I will hopefully have got in some longer runs.

Keeping Motivated

It has been a pretty busy few weeks for me. I have done so much that I don't know where to start. Lauren arrived for an action packed weekend skiing powder in Switzerland , Ski touring near Chamonix, Skiing ENSA couloir and we also managed a couple of little runs. One of which ended up being my favourite so far this winter. We headed out beside the river towards Les Houches but Lauren had planned to meet up with some friends so she turned around early and headed back to Chamonix , I however continued and decided to head up onto a very snowy balcon sud trail. There was a good track in and it was just hard packed snow and no ice making running easy. Absolutely brilliant run along the trail overlooking Chamonix with a clear sky above. At every descent I could just move to the side and plough my way down almost knee deep soft powder. I was out for about an hour and a half and felt great afterwards.

Doing the Crochue Berard Traverse with Lauren

End of a great weekend. All smiles after abseiling
into ENSA couloir ready for a sweet descent

I have been running fairly often in the evenings but only 7-10km. I still find it difficult to keep motivated when I get in from work to get changed and head out into the bitter cold but if I just get home and do not hang around and just change into running gear then it seems to work well although I have had the odd occasion where I have sat down and just not got up. I have also been doing the usual Les Houches skinning track sometimes after work with the head torch and sometimes in the afternoons either on lunch break or after a ski morning on my day off. I got a good bit of exercise in yesterday by going for the Glacier Mort tour with Lorne and we both opted to take our big skis with us as we were pretty sure the snow would be sweet so we left the touring kit at home and went for the lifts hoping there would be a boot pack already set in for is....there was not. So it was up to us to swing the lead and plod on up deep snow first for 45 mins then another for an hour but we got to the top and had a brilliant ski down in incredible powder. Totally worth the trail breaking to ski the descent in our big skis.

Day of the season in Italy. DEEP!

Col De La Fenetre ski tour with Sandy and Fin

My legs are feeling strong but I do need to get out for some longer runs of 15-20km in the next couple of weeks and then try and get in a 40km mid March as it will not be too long after that when I go back to Scotland to run 80km so as always I would like to get half the distance in before the race. The major problem is finding somewhere good to go and run for 40km. There is too much snow here in town for that and even down the valley but I will hunt around the internet to see if I can find anything and if worst comes to worst I will have to loop my local 10km four times but this will be my last resort.

Boot Packing with big skis to Glacier Mort

So worth it for the descent. I am hiding in there somewhere

I have been testing out my NECTAR race nutrition and all seems good. My biggest concern with trying new race food is if it sits well in my stomach which some of it does not especially PowerBar Gels which I once found out on the summit of Ben Lomond when I went for an evening run , enough said. Anyway the NECTAR gels have worked great for me when out running and ski touring , I have only had the Orange flavour so far but tastes good and goes down easy. Way easier than GU gels which are just way way too thick although the Chocolate Brownie flavour I tried was incredible but the gels ain't for me. I have also been using the NECTAR Hydro tabs in my water bottles when ski touring and again all good. The blackcurrant is a little too sweet for me if I use a whole tab but easily solved by breaking off a bit. The Lemon and Lime is perfect so I am looking forward to using these over the summer.

All good so far

My summer trail shoes are all ordered and out goes the Brooks Cascadias and in comes the New Balance Leadvilles(surprised?) I have used Cascadias for years and still think they are amazing trail shoes but I have never been happy with the grip so after testing out the Leadvilles since I bought them last summer the fit is almost the same although the Leadvilles have a sightly roomier toe box which is ideal for long distances to accommodate the feet swelling but the major difference is the sole and the Vibram sole on the New Balance is way way better the the Brooks sole. I have also got myself a new pair of Salomon S-Lab sense(best fit ever in a trail shoe) and Sense Mantras to train with over in America, great shoes for smooth trails in Colorado but not for UK hill running. I would love to run an Ultra in my Sense but they are just a bit too minimalist for my none perfect running style and if I used these for training and races then I would be bankrupt as they ain't cheap. One word of advice if buying running shoes have a look on American sites as all shoes are way cheaper in the States. Sometimes the downside is they will only ship to the US but if your lucky and have a friend over there who can ship you them or like me you are going over there then it is way way cheaper. My Leadvilles cost me £60 a pair and they cost £110-120 in the UK and my Salomons are a crazy £170 a pair in UK and in the States I got them for £95. Crazy difference in prices and worth checking out.

Keeping the uphill fitness going at Les Houches

It's currently raining and pretty miserable today in Chamonix. I went a skin up Les Houches this morning and to be honest didn't feel too great , I did it last night as well and felt good but this morning I was painfully slow. I am now waiting on the forecasted sun to appear before I head out for a run.

Great start to the New Year

So my game face is finally on. Recently I have had some brilliant days off touring with friends and I have also been doing my usual skinning up Les Houches for fitness on lunches and evenings and on top of that I have been out running in the evenings.

My runs have not been very long. Usually about an hour and half maximum. As usual I have no set days for getting out but I just go when I feel like it and recently I have been feeling great and excited to get back out for a little jog. The running psyche comes and goes for me all winter season but it doesn't bother me too much that I am not running 5 or 6 days a week over winter as I am getting out ski touring or just skiing which also helps keep the legs strong. Okay it doesn't use the same muscle groups but in my view it ain't to bad to just keep the legs strong and it seems to work for me.

Skinning up to Loriaz chalets

I am loving my skiing again as I went through a short period of not really being bothered about getting out on my skis but recently I have been loving seeing new areas and touring around different places. Most notably myself Lorne and Sandy went for a rather long ski tour last week up to the Refuge Anterne and then skied the Couloir Chourde. Now this didn't really involve too much ascent(600m) but we(meaning I) were breaking trail for a good 6 hours through powder to get to a couloir we wanted to ski. It was a brilliant day for the fitness. The ski however wasn't up to much(crap snow) but I was happy to have worked my legs for so long that day. I have also been on little tours up to the Chalet Loriaz(good snow) and also to the Col Grand Saint Bernard(great snow) Very short skiing summaries I know but I like to keep the ski blogging to a minimal amount as there are a million blogs on Chamonix Skiing you can find on the web. Almost as many as Ultra Running!

Best view this season

Great long skinning day

Hours and hours of breaking trail
is good for the legs but a little help would
have been nice!

So back to fitness and I am feeling good. The skinning track up Les Houches is in great shape at the moment and I have been up it quite a lot recently. I am not sure exactly how much ascent it is from bottom to top but it is around 900m. I am usually around 1hr-1hr30mins on this depending how I am feeling and how much I want to beast myself but I cracked out just under 55 minutes recently so I was happy with that and I am now just hoping to keep getting that time down. I love my skinning for fitness but do not think I will ever enter into the Skimo(ski mountaineering) races. Yeah they are awesome for fitness but I think they will just be too high a tempo for me plus I cannot afford to buy the proper lightweight gear so my own little jaunts will need to do. On the running side of things the ski du fond(my running track) is also in great shape in the evenings and is hard packed but not icy so no spikes are needed. I am on the hunt for some runnable longer trails at the moment as Lauren arrives next week for a bit of skiing and running and since she has the Mont Blanc marathon and the Lake District 80k to look forward to this year I am sure she will want to hit the trails with me.

Me skiing some awesome snow in Switzerland

I think that for getting ultras finished then time on your feet is vital. You don't have to be a great runner to get them done but you do have to be able to grit your teeth and get on with it. Just being on the go for hours and hours helps so much whether it be running , hiking , skiing , ski touring etc.. Just being super active goes a long way but yeah at the end of the day the best way to train for a running race is to run , like training for a bike race you need to bike and so on... Varying it up a little just makes me more excited every time I go back to running but yeah time away from running is good also. That might all sound very confusing but I hope you know what I am getting at. If you loose a little bit of the hunger for your main sport then try other things for a while as that hunger and love for it will return. That's why I love my winters as I know that come summer and I hit the trails again I will be smiling every time I go out a run.

Through a friend of a friend I have offered my sofa to a fairly well known Scottish hill runner , Finlay Wild. He is currently crashing at my place for a few weeks as he is here to try his hand at Skimo Races and is here to train. For those of you who do not know Finlay he is the current Ben Nevis hill race champion and holds the record for the fastest Cuillin Ridge traverse on the Isle Of Skye and has many other race wins to his name so to say he is a pretty handy runner would be a massive understatement. It will be interesting when we start touring together and running as his running pace is going to be ridiculously fast as his races are all about speed whereas mine are about pacing slow. He is light years ahead of my fitness level but I am super keen to get out running with him and have him push me a bit and hopefully improve my flat running speed.

Fin , Sandy and Lorne at Col Grand St Bernard

Finally some more great news for the summer ahead. Colorado based company LARABAR who make amazing 100% fruit and nut food bars have offered to help me out with some bars to fuel me during my training and races over the summer. Just check out the ridiculous amounts of amazing flavours they do. I now have them to thank for my food supplies on trail and also NECTAR and FOR GOODNESS SHAKES who are helping me out with Gels(Orange tested today and worked a treat) , Hydro Tabs(Blackcurrant is my go to drink now on ski tours) and Recovery Shakes(Banana amazing) Absolutely delighted that these companies have taken time to reply to my emails and show a bit of support. I will continue to comment as honestly as I can on how I get on with all of these products once I use them for a bit longer.

In the mean time I am off for a run.

2014 Let's Go!

Looking back on 2013 and what a year. Training and racing didn't really start until May when I went to Kintyre(and it hurt) but from then on I never looked back and I loved ever second I was out running. Obviously the biggest highlight and one I will never forget is the Leadville 100. I think everyone is aware of my feelings about that race so I will not bore you more with the same old story and if you don't know the story already then flick back through this blog to August. Looking ahead to 2014 and I am super excited to get started all over again and try and get as trail fit as possible. Last year I actually think I was at my fittest when I came back from Colorado and not before I went. Yeah I was in great running shape but I felt like 2 weeks after Leadville I was in the best shape I have ever been in for running and I just hope I can grow on that this year. Notable little runs during summer 2013 must be the beauty of the Mont Blanc 80km , the Loriaz trail being a highlight as well as THAT can of Red Bull(cheers guys). Also definitely my 30km loop from home to Mont Buet. The hail shower I got caught in one time on that run and the other when Sandy met me on the descent and we were flying back down the trail in the middle of the night and it was sweltering hot. I will sorely miss that run this coming season. Not to forget a few little jaunts I went on back in Scotland on my own in Arrochar and a brilliant Run/Jog/Walk/Hike thing I did at the end of the season in Cham with Ally , Sandy and Woody. That days sticks in my head as it was just so good to go out running with friends and have a laugh and I was feeling so so fit at that time. Massive shout out to everyone who helped me on all my races last year and all the amazing words sent to me after Leadville. Mum , Dad , Rob , Graham , Sandy , Dawn , Kim , Ben , Anna , Matt , Diana , Ally , Lorne and obviously Woody. The list could go on and on....

I don't think this could ever be topped

Hail time on Mont Buet

Great times , great friends.

Ecstatic at the end of the Mont Blanc 80km

Another awesome training day

Bonnie Scotland

The festive period is well out of the way and my focus has now turned to getting out running and ski touring. It was not a ridiculously crazy time over Christmas but yeah I did have some interesting nights out!

There is so much for me to look forward to this coming year and top of this list is Colorado. I am all booked up and will be leaving Scotland on July 3^rd to spent almost 3 months training and racing over there. I have never done anything like this before in my life. Pack in my job and just go and train. Now don't think I am made of money , my entire months wage went on flights and race entries so now I must scrape together the cash to survive out there. I have signed up for my races over there. Leadville 50 miler , Leadville 10km and Run Rabbit Run 100 miler in Steamboat Springs. I am also pacing Kim on the LT 100 and I must admit that is what I am most excited to be doing this summer. I cannot wait to go back and experience that race again and help out someone who helped me so much last year. The biggest challenge is obviously Steamboat and I am not pushing this to one side and thinking that just because I have done one 100 miler then this next one will be easy. Yeah right! It is going to be so so hard but I am ready for the challenge. It is a very small race with just 200 runners and has slightly more climbing involved than Leadville but it is not at quite the same altitude. As usual I am just wanting to finish and have a good time running with my awesome team again. I plan on exploring all over Colorado as much as possible and just discovering new trails hopefully without coming across any Mountain Lions or Rattlesnakes! I feel like I have done my time running awesome very technical trails with steep climbs here in Cham so now is the time to go and get better at long winding mellow trails in a very very hot place. Although I will be trying to find some cool little ridge runs to spice things up out there.

Heading Up Les Houches

Feeling Good

I went for a little skin up Les Houches with Graham on lunch the other day and it was good to get out and work the legs after the Christmas and New Year shenanigans. I think we were both feeling it in our legs a little on the 900m climb. I went out again today and did the same little climb and felt really really good. Once down I went home and quickly changed to the running gear and went out for a couple of hours and managed to find some almost snow clear trails. Beautiful sunny day and really not cold at all. It felt great to be back out running but my legs were pretty heavy and my heart rate was pretty high(177bpm) and I just couldn't find my usual pace but this will come back in time. The Chamonix cross country ski track is great for running on(if you don't get caught) and you can take it all the way to Les Tines and then cross the road and hit the Balcon Sud trail back and there are plenty more trails to play around on. I am back running on the New Balance Leadvilles now and giving the Salomons a rest. Pretty sure I will be using the Leadvilles for my big races this year. Just need to save the pennies to buy about 2 or 3 more pairs! Super comfy trainers with great grip and I never needed my yaktraks once today.

Bliss

Well it is winter so here is the obligatory ski picture
of Graham enjoying some bluebird Pow

Finally a big shout out to Alex at Athlete Store (https://www.facebook.com/AthleteStore) who will be helping me out with some sweet deals on For Goodness Shakes and Nectar Sports Fuel this forthcoming season. I used For Goodness Shakes protein drinks all last summer and felt they worked a treat and actually tasted good. I must admit I haven't tried Nectar yet but I will be using their Gels and Fuel so will have an honest update on them once I get my first batch.

So now it's training time and my sights firmly set on the Hoka Highland Fling in April.