At present I am just over three weeks into my September to December training block after starting my second year at Aberystwyth University in Wales.
It has been a pretty relentless introduction back after my easy month post race at home, on flat terrain with fairly consistent weather conditions. In terms of training environment the contrast is stark going from the flat fenlands of Cambridgeshire to the west coast of mountainy Wales. The legs are having to reacclimatise fast to the demands of the steep and long steady gradients in the local area.
Further challenges have been presented by new time constraints due to new and more arduous academic commitments being in the second year of a Psychology Degree. By far the biggest reoccurring hurdle is that of getting adequate sleep volume. A pretty important factor to have under control when trying to maintain a healthy life style never mind whilst pursuing serious athletic gains. But these first three weeks have been highly educational when it comes to overcoming these various barriers.
Getting up early early has been essential, I will further delve into this below...
As mentioned above, getting up early. Why? Training first thing means its done, and out of the way, you wont be thinking about it for the rest of the day. But from a physiological point of view you can make an educated guess as to how many calories you're going to burn that morning in training and so calculate how much you're going to need for breakfast. Time and time again I have bonked and run out of glycogen in sessions later in the day because I've already burned through my reserves walking around the campus getting the normal every day stuff done, so even though I feel energised like I have enough fuel in the tank, in reality I don't have another 1,000 calories in the tank to get through that hard 60 minute run session. Furthermore, ultra endurance events start in the early morning, so if you're acclimatised to getting up disgustingly early and putting in the hard work early it will be a far less of a shock to the system on the day.
Going in hand with getting up early, you have to get to bed early and on time. This I have found to be much harder than actually getting up early. For me, getting up at 0400 I am having to aim to be in bed between 8 and 9 at the latest. Especially considering after the 4 or 5 hours of training to have to contend with the normal working day. Which for me involves attending lectures, reading, banging out course work and further study.
This in mind, life is messy and its impossible to plan and account for everything, so sometimes you just have to brave the sleep deprivation. This isn't something you cannot make a habit of however. And kept to an absolute minimum. But I've found as long as you pay close attention to your calorie intake and your hydration, and ensure those needs are met, you can get through it. It is far from ideal, but it can be done. If there is a time to abuse caffeine, this would be it. But again kept at a minimum. With adequate self discipline, this can be avoided as a regular occurrence.
Anyway, its been pretty mental being back. Lots of fine tuning of the training program and lessons learnt. It is easy to forget how far you've come when you're playing the long game, I need to constantly remind myself how much fitter I am compared to this time last year, patience is key. It is best to take it hour by hour, session by session day by day.
Nevertheless I am grateful for the Grace of God that I get to do these things, swim, bike, run , lift and have a roof over my head. We have it pretty good and its easy to forget that when we are sore and tired.
I expect to do a post in the not so distant future about my 2019 race calendar. peace.