Challenging myself

I started this year with the goal of challenging myself, I mean REALLY challenging myself with at least 3 events/ personal challenges; basically taking my comfort zone and kicking the shit out of it! This was NOT a New Years Resolution (I think NYR's suck), but something that came about through one of my 'Self-Stocktakes'.

As you'll probably know if you've been reading this blog for a while, I have quite the dislike for running. No disrespect to those who enjoy it, and I'm not dissing it in any way, it's just soooo not my thing. My first challenge for the year? Run a half marathon, but without doing a load of running in preparation for it. Let me be clear about this, I DID train for it, but in my own way, which involved only running once (or less) per week.

Having very little running experience prior to making this decision (the previous September I challenged myself to run for an hour, and covered 10km. This was double the length of time I had previously run for). In March, having signed up for the half marathon taking place as part of the Tralee international marathon on 16th March, that 1 hour-ish 10km was still my longest ever run. I set my target time at 2:13:00 for the 21km of the half.
Getting a bit apprehensive about my ability to keep running for more than an hour, I went for a run on the 11th, and did 1hr15 of sustainable discomfort, knowing I could have kept going for another while.
On the big day, It wasn't easy, particularly along miles 9-11, where something (self-doubt? limiting beliefs about what i was capable of) kept telling me to slow down and walk, 'just for this bit'. This was a PERSONAL challenge to RUN EVERY STEP of the way, something I was DETERMINED to accomplish! I used my 'lamp-post motivation' technique to keep running, every.single.step!

The result? I smashed my target time by almost 20mins, coming in with an official time of 1:53:33. Next year, I vowed, I'll do the full one.

Having more or less sat on my laurels (and ass if I were to be brutally honest) since the half, I recently came across the Toughathlon, a 10Km, 20 obstacle, military style assault course. With such fittingly named obstacles as the 'claustrophobia crawl' 'electromania' and the infamous 'nipple-popper' I signed up with about a week to go.

On the day, I did better than expected. The first 3-4 km were basically running through marshy farmland, designed to wear out the legs. Surprisingly, this didn't phase me in the slightest!
The result? Finished in about an hour, with bags of energy to spare(though I suspect adrenaline was a big factor in that). I'd have to say I thoroughly enjoyed it, despite(or maybe because of) the crawling through mud and ice, electrocution and frequent high walls.

A self stocktake in the days following that has me thinking that I need something considerably more demanding, both physically and psychologically, to really achieve my goal of kicking the crap outta my comfort zone.

Yesterday, I saw this: http://www.oceanfloorrace.com 260km through desert over 4 days, and thought "that looks like an amazing race for the ultrarunners!" Just to be clear, I don't regard myself as being even a runner, much less an ultrarunner, so I wasn't even remotely considering entering it, simply appreciating it.

But it's funny how things can change overnight..

I can't afford it, I'm nowhere near fit enough, I'm generally uncomfortable in temperatures above 26 degrees Celsius, and being a pasty-skinned paddy, I burn at the mention of sunshine, and yet, in a strange way, for some bizarre reason I can't even begin to fathom, I kinda want to do this...

Raisins Vs Energy Bars

An article published recently in the Journal of The International Society of Sports Nutrition examined the effects of carbohydrate supplements on 5K running time trial. But instead of just comparing man-made supplements against each other, this randomised, controlled trial used 3 trials comparing the effects of a man made supplement against raisins and water.

When the groups used raisins or manufactured carb supplements, they finished about a minute faster than when they used water only. The researchers also found that raisins and sports chews promoted higher carbohydrate oxidation than water.

So what’s in a raisin?
By weight, raisins consist of about 67%-72% fructose and glucose (sugars), 3.5% dietary fibre and 3% protein. Although high in certain antioxidants, raisins have less vitamin C than fresh grapes. Raisins contain no cholesterol and are low in sodium (salt).

Raisins, along with most other dried fruits, also have the added benefit of being strongly alkalising in the body, and so can be used to balance the acidifying effects of a diet rich in meat or dairy products.

Need another reason to eat them? Data presented earlier this year suggest that, among individuals with mild increases in blood pressure, the routine consumption of raisins (three times a day) may significantly lower blood pressure.

Fascinating video about running, injuries, compassion, evolution and ultra marathons

I came across this little presentation on running by Christopher McDougall. It's only 15 minutes long and for me one of the highlights was the idea that Usain Bolt would get his ass kicked by a squirrel. Definitely worth a look.