Although it may appear that I just transitioned seamlessly into mountain running but that’s far from the truth.

In this blog I thought I would share an insight into how my training has changed and been adapted over the last few years in my quest to become as fast as I can on the trails and mountains.

Disclaimer: I still consider myself a rookie so this is by far expert advice but I have learnt a lot so thought I would share a bit of my journey.

Taking the plunge

The decision to give mountain running a bash came after I’d been on a training camp to Font Romeu in the Pyrenees. My now good friend Aly Dixon was out there training and made a comment on how comfortable I was on difficult terrain and running downhill.

I had never really considered myself in this way but I guess I spent a lot of time training on the Cornish coast path growing up which might have helped. From that trip it sparked an interest and I decided to give the World Mountain Trials a go when I got home. My goodness, was that a humbling experience.

I was returning from injury but was reasonably fit and in about 34 minute 10k shape so thought I’d be in for a shout but I was so naïve to how unconditioned my legs were to mountains running. Not even a mile in and I wanted to curl up and roll back down the hill.

As we continued up the 3.5 mile climb at gradients of 10-20% my calves felt like they were going to explode. I have never suffered so badly in a race before, it felt like I was running through the hot lava of hell. Imagine entering a gnarly cross country after having a month of no training and times that by 1000, that’s how bad I felt.

What goes up…

I staggered extremely slowly to the top and managed to descend fairly fast mainly because I wanted it over and done with. Exhausted in the last mile I fell over my own foot and hit my head. I left that day in total awe of mountain/ fell runners. It’s the sort of thing you have to experience yourself to really appreciate how tough it is.

It didn’t put me off though, I just knew there was a lot of hard work to do if I wanted to get good at it. The Cornish coast paths helped towards confidence on technical terrain but you don’t have the same relentless long climbs you encounter in the mountains. That was my main weakness.

Then the realisation came that I was stronger over a longer distance. Being able to run at a decent pace in the hills without fatiguing too much, provided I was well fuelled, was a strength. So the focus became the World Long distance trials.

The pandemic and lockdown was good in a way for my transition as it meant I could work quietly on my mountain speed so when I returned to my next mountain race I had a lot of specific training under my belt.

Photo: Jordi Saragossa/Golden Trail Series

What was changed?

1. Elevation, elevation, elevation

It’s simple really. To get good at what you want to do, you have to do more of it. So to get good at the long climbs I knew I had to make the effort to travel to places where there were long steep hills. This means frequent drives to the Lake District or there is one particular hill near me that covers 800 feet in a mile that I would use for long hill reps. I think the things that has helped me most are up hill tempo sessions alongside long runs with lots of long climbs. My favourite uphill tempo is running up Skiddaw in the Lakes (5 miles up). It’s good to have a climb you use a lot as it’s a good marker of fitness. I can really feel how I have progressed over time as the first time I did it I could barely move for days but more recently I ran up and down it twice (clocking 20 miles) and was able to train as normal in the following days. I built my total elevation in a week gradually to avoid injury and can now do 8,000- 10,000 ft a week.

2. Gym gains

When I was competing on roads, I was able to tolerate high loads in the gym but I found with mountain running because it is a form of strength training in itself it was too fatiguing and the legs felt overloaded and heavy. Switching to single leg exercises and adding more plyometric work was much better. For me, single leg weighted calf raises (bent and straight) are a key component, without them and with all the hill running my achilles would definitely have a tantrum. The plyometrics also have a noticeable benefit and I feel helped me feel I am able to propel myself better uphill.

3. “Time on feet” not miles

My mileage has dramatically dropped but actual time training is about the same or more. No mile is comparable in the mountains as the terrain can be technical or elevation crazy. The gruelling terrain can also take its toll on the body so cutting my running miles and supplementing on the bike has worked wonders.

4. Fuelling

I have had some massive bonks in the hills. In the early days I totally underestimated how quickly you plough through energy. I guess compared to running on roads, running is less efficient and energy demand higher. There have been some hairy situations trying to navigate my way off mountains with blood sugars of close to zero.

Always try to carry extra food on longer runs, just for safety reasons. I have also trained my gut to tolerate large volumes of sugar so I can be well fuelled during racing without being sick. For this I use Maurten energy in races, a combination of the 320 drink mix and gels aiming to get 80-90g an hour.

5. Speed

I still do a key speed session each week. There are plenty of fast sections in most races where the race can be lost or won. I tried to be in shape for both road and mountains at the same time in the beginning but learnt it was not possible the hard way through injury. It’s very hard to have your cake and eat it with both so although I can’t be in PB shape for the roads whilst training for mountains I like to stay sharp to know I can still kick if needed.

I am still on a massive learning curve but the most important thing is that I am absolutely loving the change in direction and it’s been a breath of fresh air to change things up.

The post The road up the mountain appeared first on Fast Running.

The combination of a pandemic and stress fracture wiped out any opportunity to race, including my first GB vest.  After spending the whole year craving a race and the buzz that goes with it and I couldn’t wait to get back to a start line… but when the reality of the prospect of a race actually came around- I was terrified.

The journey back from injury

I started back running sessions the beginning of February after a period of easy base miles. Returning to sessions after an injury is up and down, progress is definitely not linear. Some days you see a glimmer of fitness then a few days later you feel as sharp as a crayola.

There was even a text to my coach a few weeks before, trying to chicken out of racing. Just having a wobble following a particularly tough session where I think I even convinced myself the GPS must have been dodgy paces were so bad. 

There are two options with the return to racing, either return before feeling completely race fit and race your way to fitness or wait until you feel back to full fitness.

The former requires you to swallow your pride a little and make sure race results are put into context of where your fitness is in your journey back from injury and take results with a pinch of salt/ stepping-stone to the next but it also means you get to race sooner.

Cold feet

So then I decided to just crack on and blow some cobwebs away. I signed up for the famous Podium 5km.

The week before, I was on call overnight for psychiatry. This involved scattered sleep tucked up in a sleeping bag on top of a bunch of chairs pushed together in the doctor’s office answering bleeps from the wards when needed or admitted patients who have been sectioned.

Not ideal race prep and could have served for a nice excuse to withdraw, which I considered many times. You spend the whole week fretting about it. If you can count on one hand how many runs you have done with any company in the last year, the prospect of getting on a start line with 30 others seems a little overwhelming.

In hindsight, it sounds a bit mad saying it but I was worried I was going to embarrass myself and be totally out of my depth. It’s also been about three years since I even ran a 5km race, I’m most at home running half or full marathons. Going into a race with a quiet confidence you are great shape is a totally different feeling to the way I felt leading into this. 

Race day

It was such a good feeling to see so many familiar faces after so long. A reminder of the wonderful community in our sport. Chatting to others, my nerves eased a little to know I wasn’t the only one feeling apprehensive about racing again.

We were blessed with perfect conditions and the course is pancake flat, I can see why it’s such a popular race. I’m currently doing most of my miles on hilly trails so having a down week prior to the race meant my legs felt pretty fresh at least.

I wore my watch but decided I wasn’t going to look at it at all as I thought it would knock my confidence if splits were slow so I had no idea at all until the clock near the line what my time would be.  I just ran hard and hoped for the best.

It all felt a bit like a blur during the race, I felt good but had no idea what pace I was running. I couldn’t believe I came away with a small PB. I ran 16.09, my previous best from 2018 was 16.16.

You forget how much racing others and the adrenaline makes running faster in races feel so much more comfortable.

Me or the shoes?

I do however appreciate this is hard to interpret given the new shoe technology, which without a doubt provides an advantage.

There are endless discussions about the shoes and everyone has their own opinions and I do feel a little disappointed it has moved in this direction as I liked knowing my results were 100% my own steam. But the way I see it now, is that I’ve set a new benchmark in the shoes without drawing too many comparisons to old PBs and my aim is to just improve my times from there.

Even trampoline shoes considered it has given me a massive confidence boost that my new approach of running lower mileage (around 50 miles per week at the moment) with supplementary cross training in a bid to reduce injury is proving effective.

Often running high miles is looked at like a badge of honour but there are a lot of athletes out there now like Steph Davis and Beth Potter proving that it’s not essential and I think each athlete has to find their own groove. 

Finish line feels 

Crossing that finish line, I was flooded with that post race buzz I have missed so much! It was totally worth all the nerves and I feel ready to attack the next race with a fiercer attitude.

Its taught me that it is good to take chances in life even if you don’t feel prepared, you may surprise yourself and be stronger than you think and even if it doesn’t work out, so what? Next time it will be better. 

Beth keeping the men on their toes

The end of my race however was just the beginning of the evening’s excitement.

This was the first evening “out” my wife and I have had in a while and wow, did it deliver. An hour later we witnessed a world best being set by Beth Potter.

It was so inspiring to watch, she just glided along with the men in such a state of flow- I think a few were a little out of sorts to have a woman float past them in a race.

Photo: Running Live

Chatting to one of the guys afterwards he was like “then an arse came past me and I thought, that’s not a man’s arse….and if it is, it’s nice!”. Really made me laugh.

Seeing her reaction afterwards was class…she was so shocked and asking if the clock was working. It’s clear she works incredibly hard and it’s nice to see athletes get rewards for their graft.

We finished the night off with a Big Mac in the car then drove home to a very angry Bengal cat who has never known his owners stay out so late since his arrival in lockdown. So we poured a glass of wine stayed up a little longer and played fetch with him (he is a weird dog like cat- follow me on Instagram for daily updates).

The post The return to racing appeared first on Fast Running.

My immunity used to be dreadful. Working in a hospital I am constantly exposed to a variety of bugs so in my first few years as a junior doctor, when I was run ragged working full time and trying to run 90-100 mile weeks, I caught it all. Probably best there wasn’t a global pandemic at that stage.

When I started training hard and running lots of miles I didn’t appreciate the importance of protecting my immune system and spent at least a year with illness after illness.

One of my first England vests was in Leeds to run the 10km. The days before I left I was working on a medical ward with an outbreak of norovirus (winter vomiting bug). When I arrived at the hotel I felt a bit iffy but thought “probably just nerves” the next day maybe felt a little worse but it wasn’t until I started that I realised something was not right then a mile in dropped into a heap on the side of the road.

It was mortifying, especially wearing my England kit and feeling like I had let the team down. It took more than 10 hours to drive back home to Cornwall, incredibly bleak. Needless to say, I never shared the grapes in the Doctor’s office again (wrapped quality street choccie remains ok though).

A learning curve 

Over the years I have read lots of research and sought professional advice on how better to look after my immune system. As runners, getting ill is rather inconvenient. It means setbacks in training, missing races, increasing injury risk etc etc.

So I thought for my first Fast10 blog I’d share a bit about my experience and how I’ve managed to support my immune system the best I can. I’m by no means an expert but I am a doctor with a particular personal interest in avoiding infections as an athlete. Plus I must be doing something right as I’ve survived a year working on and off covid wards illness free!

If I’m honest I kind of hope this level of PPE stays in the hospital, infection outbreaks seem to come at the worst possible times. Before my wedding there was a Norovirus outbreak on the ward and before my last marathon a flu outbreak. As if marathonoia isn’t enough, a week of exposure to flu is less than ideal a week out from a marathon.

A bit of luck and maybe a more experienced approach on both occasions meant no D+V for my wedding and no flu running, so a huge PB of 2.33. 

Burning the candle at both ends

A big turning point for me was cutting my work to part time. I used to have the mentality that what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, I even go as far as saying I got a kick out of flogging myself both at work and in training.

But I was constantly knackered. I dread to think what my cortisol levels were during that time.

Needless to say it did come crashing down as after a year of constant illnesses, culminating with my first stress fracture. Since working part time (still roughly 30 hours a week) I have time to do all the extra bits that are important, rest, mobility. Small changes, like not having to eat my lunch at 5pm in a cupboard on the ward quickly.

Goes without saying my stress levels plummeted too and stress can be another negative factor to health. I also just feel like a better doctor and runner. I’m able to give my patients a better version of myself and I am able to enjoy my running instead of fighting to keep my head above water. 

40 winks for the win

The value placed on sleep, both duration and quality of, is something that has changed too. Sleep is restorative and it’s when your immune function is at its best and our bodies repair. I read a book last year called “Why we sleep” by the sleep scientist Matthew Walker.

It’s so interesting and there is lots of eye opening research out there. The advice is at least 8 hours a night but athletes tend to need more than this. I normally aim for 9-10 and if I’m unable for any reason try and find a window to nap.

Also probably important to mention I used to be a bit of a boozer too, medical students have a bit of a reputation for this. Don’t get me wrong, I still love a nice cold beer or glass of wine of an evening but moderation is key here. Boozing too much has negative effects on sleep and hydration, hence affecting ability to recover. 

Variety and balance with your food

Before meeting my wife there was always the same three meals on rotation. Fast forward to now and it’s a much more well-balanced, varied diet and it makes a big difference. I still treat myself to pizzas and takeaways but in-between those we enjoy cooking new recipes, with fresh ingredients and it feels like we’re getting more of the vitamins and minerals, and calories, I need.

This includes iron, vitamin c, magnesium as some of the key things to include that might have been lacking in the past, when my diet was a little less… interesting.

Cooking foods with fresh ingredients, from scratch where possible, will help keep things nutrient rich. In addition, after getting some advice from the well-known and brilliant sports dietician Renee Mccgregor I also started taking some probiotics.

It feels like the amount of upper respiratory tract infections I got halved and went from getting three colds a year to one at most. This is obviously anecdotal and could have been coincidence but there is a lot of evidence behind gut health and immunity which is beyond this little blog so I will leave it to the experts and for you to read up on at your leisure.  

Help your body do it’s job

That being said, all of the above is good for general illness avoidance but it is by no means a bullet proof way to protect yourself from Covid (There was certainly some luck involved for me there).

The closest  you will get to that is the vaccine, so a quick note on vaccines, I made sure I had good night’s kip after it for a few days, you want to get the best immune response possible and like I said most of this is when we sleep. I also avoided training hard for a few days to give my body chance to focus on the job at hand! 

I hope this is of help to some people, it’s nothing ground breaking but it took me a long time to start properly looking after myself and we’re all still learning.

The post Staying healthy as a doctor and a runner appeared first on Fast Running.

The Cornish distance star comes from a family of strong runners, with her father and three sisters are all handy on a start line (at the finish normally too). Coached by Helen Clitheroe, Davis ran a PB of 2:33:24 in Valencia at the end of 2019.

2020 was obviously busy for the doctor, but the year started brightly with sixth at the Inter-counties cross country and fifth at the Vitality Big Half in London, which was almost exactly the PB set in the build up to Valencia the year before. Then some issues with stress fractures (and a little thing called COVID-19) put the dampeners on the year.

So Davis will share some of her journey, but also lessons learned from work and running and how to combine the two. We heard rumours there might be a blog by her Bengal Cat too.

Photo: Tom Craggs

Profile

Name: Elsey Davis
Age: 31
Hometown: Stockport
Club: Preston Harriers
Main discipline: Marathon running
Other disciplines: Trail/ mountain running, cross country and recently mountain biking!
Job: Doctor, GP trainee

Goals or targets for 2021: To be open minded and flexible with running and racing opportunities and find some redemption from the disaster of 2020.

Past Running highlights

My road marathon and half marathon PBs 72.31 and 2.33

Interesting or fun fact:

I’m scared of bananas

I run because I’m addicted to the way it makes me feel and the places it takes me.

Favouites

Favourite training session: long hill reps or long runs with intervals. I love the big sessions just before a marathon where everything clicks and marathon pace feels effortless.
Least favourite training session: Mile reps.
Favourite pre-race food: Weetabix
Favourite post-race food: Anything and everything washed down with a beer or two.
Favourite running shoes: Nike Pegasus turbo for road, Salomon S/LAB ultra for trail

Brands or organisations that support me: Saysky help me out with kit, Leeds talent hub supports with with nutrition, strengh and conditioning, sport psychology, physio and I’m coached by Helen who also works within the talent hub.

The post Fast10: Elsey Davis appeared first on Fast Running.