Another month closer...!

Yet again I am failing in my blogging duties but, as I outlined in my previous post, things have been somewhat hectic! The move went well and we are settled into Lincolnshire and I have, so far, found the new job to be interesting which is great! I'm not sure my new Boss was best pleased when the first thing I did was present him with a list of requests for time off for racing and training camps though! The great thing about being in the RAF though is that, for the most part, people are very supportive of the challenges I am attempting and support me however they can; I am very fortunate.

On Thursday I am flying out to Lanzarote for the Enduroman Lanzarote Ultra, a half A2A distance race in the challenging hot and windy conditions of Lanzarote. Lanzarote is one of the toughest places I have ever trained and I am definitely going to be found out on the bike. As I have intimated, training hasn't gone entirely to plan for this. I have met most of my key run and swim sessions with upto 26miles run in preparation (as much as for the Double IM run of 52miles) and upto 12kms swum in the pool in one session (7.5miles, 4hrs 17mins) but I have been lazy in between these session, sometimes having up to three days off in a row which is unheard of! I have been a bit sloppy with my diet too and have put back on the half a stone I lost in Double IM training which is not good for the run. I don't know where the motivation has gone, whether I didn't take enough time off after the Double or whether I am just sick of training every day for two years, I don't know. I am hoping that Lanzarote will give me a good kick up the backside and reinvigorate me as I have some pretty big training sessions planned between now and the 18th August 2011!!

I will, of course, let you know how it all goes and promise to give myself a bit of a talking to over the next fortnight so I come back refreshed and refocused. I have been trying to build a little support network and have met a wonderful couple up here, Robert Hodgson and Hannah Whitney. Robert is a cross-channel swimmer himself so his advice is invaluable and they have both kindly agreed to come and 'walk the beach' or even join me in the water, during some of my long swims. Support like this is invaluable as poor Adam will find it all a bit much if he has to do it all by himself, day in, day out. I have also been talking to Jo Kilkenny (www.jokilkenny.com) a very accomplished ultra runner who will attempt the A2A a month after me. It is great to have someone to share the ups and downs with as very few people understand exactly what you are putting your body through. I hope to get some training sessions in with Jo over the next few months as I think the key for me will be not to try and do it all alone!

Ok, that's all for now, I'll let you know how everything is in another few weeks, hopefully with the Enduroman Lanzarote Ultra under my belt!!

Update!

I am ashamed that I haven't written in this blog for over a month but things have just been so busy! Adam and I went home to France for Xmas which was fantastic and I managed to keep some running going over the Xmas period which was better than doing nothing. We also had a lovely 2hr walk on Boxing Day which will appease the 'time on your feet' proponents! The journey was epic though - the snow had been so bad that, whilst decideding to drive probably worked well as it meant we avoided the mainly closed airports, the journey did take forever. Still we got there and back pretty much on schedule so we can't complain especially as so many people were stuck and couldn't get home. It was lovely to be with my parents and sister and to spend some time at my parents' new house.

By New Year's Eve pool closures etc had conspired against me and I still hadn't completed my 10kms in the pool that was my final 2010 target. So early in the morning and headed off and 3.5hrs later was all done and feeling very pleased with myself. All in all a successful end to the year and I think I am just about on track for Lanzarote. We saw the New Year in with 3 other couples and got much enjoyment from playing 'the name game'. This involves each person writing the name of eight famous people on pieces of paper and then placing them in a hat. People are divided into two teams and take it in turn to pick a name from the hat and describe it to the rest of their team. They have to try and get as many names as possible during 30secs before it is the other team's go. Once all the names have been used up from the hat, the team with the most correct guesses is the winner. All sorts of competitive personas were revealed and it just shows you don't have to spend much money (or even be that creative) to have a good time!!

So far January has been ridiculously busy. Adam and I returned to work on 4th January and I went straight into handing over my role to my replacement. That coupled with trying to prepare for my new job which I started on 17th January, packing the house in preparation for our move on the 15th January and also trying to organise the logistics of both the Lanzarote Ultra and the RAF Triathlon Team overseas training camp meant I was pushed to do any sort of meaningful training at all.

We moved up to Lincolnshire on the 15th Jan and I started my new role on the Monday. I think it is going to be a very interesting job and for once I understand what I am actually supposed to be achieving in my time here which is a revelation! However, the move and trying to get our house let in Milton Keynes is still proving stressful and not even the severely motivating factor of there only being 5weeks left until the Lanzarote Ultra is persuading me to train. I haven't been feeling that great since the beginning of the year so I am hoping the extra rest is helping as opposed to hindering my fitness. I am really trying to re-establish the routine and rhythmn I was in before the move but without putting myself under too much pressure. I have the running upto 24miles and this weekend should be a big one with a planned 12kms in the pool on Friday followed by a 26mile run on Sunday and a follow-up 10mile run on the Monday. Fingers crossed I can meet those targets as then I'll feel a bit more on track. Suffice to say I am still not doing any biking!! Oh well, you have to pick your battles!!!

End of season down time and Start of season ramp up!!

Gosh, it has been such a long time since I have post on this site but life has just been so busy! Adam returned from his tour of duty in the first week of November and it was such a joy to have him home. Of course, my schedule has now become a lot busier as I have other things to do of an evening than just train and I have to think about his needs as well as my own. So these first few weeks have been a bit of a juggling act especially as Adam has had post-deployment leave so has all day at home by himself so by the time the evening comes round he wants to get out and do things whereas I either need to train or am knackered! We had booked a holiday so that I could get a proper break from training and say goodbye to the 2010 season and so Adam could have a bit of a relax after having worked 24-7 for the last five months.

We headed off for two weeks in Cuba which was just what we needed and we had a fantastic time. Training was chilled out but consistent. We run for 30-60minutes every morning along the beach and coastal path which was warm even at 7am, did some press ups and sit ups and then finished off with a dip in the sea. A pretty blissful way to start your day off! We took some time out from our resort to drive the length of Cuba up to Havana (our tour guides thought we were bonkers) which was an amazing way to see the country and Havana itself is really interesting. We took a tour of the Partagas cigar factory and Adam indulged himself in a number of Cuba's finest! Getting back was a bit of a shock as the country seems to have entered a deep freeze! Leaving Cuba in sunny 30 degree heat to return at 6.30am into a dark Manchester with the mecury hovering around -5degrees was not such a happy welcome home! I returned back to work the next day to find I have been posted up to Lincolnshire which is great news. Adam started up there early last week and we have had all our fingers and toes crossed that my posting officer will find somewhere up north for me too so that I can join him. I start my new job on January 17th and life is more and more hectic! We are both in new jobs, trying to find a new house, preparing for Xmas and thinking about getting a dog, so training is being squashed in around everything as best I can.

The Lanzarote Ultra however looms ever closer so I have tried to remain as focused as I can. Cycling is still pretty much non-existent however I am up to 5miles in the pool and this week will attempt my first 10k pool swim. This was a target I wanted to meet before Xmas so all appears to be on track. Running is going ok too, I am upto a 30mile run split over two days. So yesterday I ran for 20miles and today I was run the remainder. Having spoken to a lot of respected ultra runners this is apparently the kindest way to get your body used to the endurance required for long distance running. Doing a 30-40mile run straight off means you are more likely to be injured and will certainly need a long recovery period whereas doing a 20-25mile run one day followed up with a 10mile run the next means the recovery is much quicker and also you get used to the feeling of running tired. I have to say I have no real ill effects for doing the 20miler yesterday and feel ready to go again for the ten miles this afternoon. Other than that I am just trying to sort logistics and keep calm!! I cannot wait for Xmas - Adam and I am heading home on an epic road trip to France to see my parents and it'll be lovely to see them and my sister and eat, drink and be merry!

Banning Channel Swimming....?!!

According to a news report on the BBC last night, 'Channel Swimming should be banned according to French Coastguards' with swims being likened to a pedestrian attempting to cross the M25! To be fair this shouldn't come as a surprise as the French banned Calais-Dover Channel swim crossings over 17 years ago. However, fingers crossed no-one on the British side listens too hard, at least until August next year has passed!!

Reflections on the Daily Swim Challenge.

Firstly, here are the stats from the last month:

Week 1 (Days 1-9): 11,250m
Week 2 (Days 10-16): 22,500m
Week 3 (Days 17-23): 35,000m
Week 4 (Days 24-31): 56,000m (extra 250m just to round up the session on the last day to 8,000m!)

Total for October: 124,750m.

I must admit I was actually shocked by how much I had managed to swim - nearly 125kms or a little of 78miles is just shy of an IM distance swim on average every day. I am really really pleased with this swim block and really think it will help contribute to the success of the challenge.

However, this swim really was about quantity over quality and I spent a lot of time just finding a rhythm and churning out the lengths. This is ok up to a point as that is ultimately what I will be doing when I finally swim the Channel however, going forward it will now also be important to build up to some proper structured sets with time trials to measure progress, drills to improve technique and speed work to build overall speed and give me a few fast twitch fibres for when the command to 'Sprint' finally comes!

There were many positives to take away from the challenge. It helped improve my mental strength as I had to find the motivation to go and exercise every, single day without fail and I had to learn to complete some pretty long and boring sets plodding up and down the pool. Surprisingly this have never been SO much of an issue for me. I love to train in the pool and on the treadmill, I like the consistent environment, the constant calculation of new statistics and the distraction of whatever's on the tv! Plus it's always warm and I always have access to loos, nutrition etc! But I do know that I will need to get used to both running and swimming outdoors and my key sessions will always be done in this environment so I can begin to understand the challenges of the race.

The swim challenge has also improved my efficiency and feel for the water. Even during the longest of swims I rarely felt tired and especially on the long evening swims felt strong and smooth in the water. I need to swim at least three times a week, preferably four or five to try and maintain the type of efficiency I have built up. My shoulder strength has also hopefully improved. I have also managed to lose nearly 11lbs during the month which is a huge bonus. I wanted to try and keep a restricted calorie amount whilst training hard in swimming(something I am less comfortable doing during heavy run periods as I believe the immune system gets so depleted it needs more support from food and its requisite vitamins and minerals). As I am training so hard I normally justify that I can eat whatever I want which means I have never lost weight even during the hardest periods of training but it would certainly help the run if I can be lighter so I will continue to restrict a little until I am somewhere between 10 and 10.5 stone (about 3lbs away) and then look to maintain that weight and see how it feels.

I am certainly looking forward to a more varied approach to training but I really enjoyed the challenge and it has made me appreciated that swimming is my first love and, having neglected it so heavily, to focus predominantly on biking for the Double, I look forward to putting many hours and miles in over the next nine months!

Hallowe'en and the conquer of 1/6th of the A2A - Part 2!

After the second set of 80lengths I stopped for half a fig roll as a treat and then proceeded to start on the 40s - the first of which was pull. This forty lengths I thought about all my amazing sponsors and the support they have given me over the last year and the support they are continuing to give as the A2A grows ever closer. I also thought about the charities I am choosing to sponsor, notably HULA which is the closest to my heart as I volunteer there and see first hand the difference people's charitable donations make - SPONSOR HULA!! (www.justgiving.com/rachaelcadmanHULA). The next 40lengths I though about my family notably my Mum who has supported all my endurance events including crewing through the night at the Double - I remember how absolutely dead tired she was when I finished. I also thought of my Aunty Sally who is having to start a new chapter in her life after losing my Uncle last month. I may have mentioned that I though a lot about my Uncle whilst I did the Channel relay and asked him to look out for me and I did feel his presence out there on the wind. The second to last 40lengths I thought about my fiance, Adam and how much I love him and how lucky I am to have him in my life. I giggled along in my head as I remembered speaking to him last week and saying I was having real problems keeping my mouth shut when I swim - I sort of enjoy funneling water through my teeth(!) - I've always done it but it is not going to work in the sea where the salt will ravage the inside of my mouth and throat! He sighed despairingly and said, "See you're a real life whale, floating along sifting for plankton" - Charming!! That's love for you right there!! And the last 40lengths were foe me - thinking about the A2A and how I am going to cope with it mentally and how positive I am about how today has gone as I felt really strong throughout the swim and surprisingly not at all bored during it as I had feared. I did the last 1,000m at pace to try and mimic how I would feel if I was told I needed to 'sprint' during the Channel swim as can sometimes happen if the pilot is trying to 'break' the swimmer through a strong tide. And I still stayed strong, managed to pick up the pace a finished a really happy bunny! The eagle-eyed amongst you will note that I swam 8,000m tonight instead of my alloted 7,750m. The OCD in me did struggle with that as I wanted to do the target no more no less but I reasoned that I often swim a few lengths at the end of a session anyway (again the OCD in me making sure I have done the whole amount in case I miscounted a length or two somewhere) so really doing 8,000m tonight was ok. I wanted to round it up to 8,000m (5miles) as give or take with the Isle of Wight that is my longest swim to date and I am really chuffed by how easy it felt. My feel for the water is much improved and though I still worry about my low stroke rate I can feel how strong I am getting in the water. Reflections on the whole swim challenge will come in the next post but it has been a great experience.

Lastly, the best thing happened as I did my traditional few extra lengths at the end 'just in case'. The pool at my gym has glass walls and just as I was moseying along enjoying the last few lengths of cool down, the local park opposite began its fireworks display! Now I am a massive fireworks fan and 'ooh and ahhh' with the best of them so it was like a wonderful celebration of the completion of the challenge. I floated along on my back just watching the explosions of colour and feeling pretty content with the world!!

Roll on November!

Hallowe'en and the conquer of 1/6th of the A2A!

So today as I have said, I wanted to try and complete 1/6th of the A2A by running 14.5miles this morning and following it up with the last of the swim challenge, 7,750m, this evening. Fair eough there's no cycling but we can't have everything! The clocks going back allowed a leisurely wake-up and by 8am I was munching on porridge with raisins and syrup. By 9.20 I was in the gym and ready to start my run. The plan was to do 9min run/1min walk for the first two hours and then switch to 5min run/1min walk for the remainder. The first hour was probably the hardest but the second hour went well. Switching to 5:1 ratio at that point was a good idea as I could start feeling myself fatigue. The longest run I've done since the Double is 11miles so this is a step up. Still just over 2.5hours later I was done. First part of the day, check! Back home to refuel and have a short 75mins nap.

Part 2 of the challenge was the final session of my month of swims - 7,750ms. By 4.20 I was back in the pool and with provisions (1xH30 Pro, 1 x Orange Squash, 1 x Fig Roll) stacked neatly by the side I was off. I felt really really good during the swim - strong and smooth with a good feel for the water. I remember I felt the same in my evening swim post-run last Sunday which is encouraging for the A2A and means I am recovering well. I decided to do 2 x 80 length and then 4 x 40length alternating pull and full stroke. The first 80 passed quickly and with a quick swig of juice I was onto the second. People often ask me what I think about during long swims and it can be any manner of things but today I decided I would have a set figure of support or inspiration to think of during each section. The first 80lengths were dedicated to my friend Mimi Anderson (www.marvellousmimi.com) who is the most inspirational ultra-runner I know and who has just broken the WR for the furthest distance completed by a woman on a treadmill in seven days. Mimi only took up running in her forties and her journey is quite incredible - just check out her blog for the massive list of her achievements. We first met in 2006 when we both competed in the Libyan Challenge. I think Mimi was first woman home, I think I was second to last! It was my first foray into ultra events and her advice, support and humour made the whole experience a pleasure! Anyway, just before I went out I needed some motivation so went and looked on her blog for the video posted last weekend of her in the last two minutes of her run (completed may I add on a broken foot) and that was all I needed to get me heading straight for the pool. So she was a great help today and got me through those first 2,000m. The second 80lengths was dedicated to the two wonderful (and competing!) forums I use - tritalk and runnersworld. I have met a number of people from both sites 'in real life' and they are nothing but supportive of my crazy ventures - always leaving messages of support and following what I'm up to. A runnersworld forumite 'Symes' first planted the seed of the daily swim by completing the same thing but running based - 1km x day of the month. I think he got the raw end of the deal but I'm sure most runners would disagree!