Back in the gym today with Chris at Epoc Coaching.  Good session as always working through lunges and lunges with twists, then squats with jumps and legs raisers.  Working through these various routines I can definitely feel the progress as my strength and stability is improving each time.  My balance whilst doing these exercises is left a lot to be desired, although it is much better than when we first started as I always looked drunk, some might say I probably was!!  For anyone esle who is going through the same sorts of things or if your just contemplating going down this route, it is tough at first but it does get better, maybe not easier, but you do get better.  Some of the things he has me doing I do wonder if someone is filming it then making a quick £250 on 'You've been Framed' or similar as I do look utterly useless at a number of the balancing and stretching routines.

To make the session even greater value to me I first went out for a run with Costa Darren, as ever he was all packed up rucksack ready and full with his work clothes and phone in hand capturing it all on Strava.  A great run through the centre of York with normal people heading off in different directions racing in between each other in the chaos of the morning dash to work.  For once we had to push on and not stop for the ritual of  '2 x triple espresso's with an ice cube please!' which actually shocked me and it didn't seem like the normal Darren I was running with, but then truth prevailed, he confessed to the deadly sin of having one or two before he came out to meet me.  This sent tremors through my body, what!!!!! I couldn't believe it, he's changing the routine, I had to stop momentarily to compose myself......

Now what was interesting, whilst grinding out some of my routines in the gym session with Chris was our conversation regarding my mental approach to the forth coming events.  I mentioned that I was finding that the more I discuss it with people and keep up with my recording of the journey, the more I'm finding I'm discussing the Psychological importance of mental toughness and preparation, and almost talking less about the physical training side of things.  Which if you read back to previous posts this is evident.  So when they say 'its 90% in your head and 10% in your legs'  its almost beginning to seem like this could be true.  Its the acceptance that 'I know its going to be hard', 'I know its going to hurt', 'things will ache...... a lot', and 'you need to do lots of physical training' but, all this becomes the psychology of the challenge, as I have to believe in myself to get to the end, to endure the race, and run through the pain.  So it becomes more and more important like I said last time about having procedures in place for when the doubting creeps in, such as the rules or the laws to which I will adhere to whilst running.  This is like putting a self preservation system in place because you've already accepted the hardships and difficulties that you will go through. So the message in here must be, the key to success is in the preparation and planning!

What gets you through???

Good training day today, set out for a run intending on doing about 8 miles.  All kitted up, leggings on, under armour, windproof jacket, no watch and no hydration pack (thank god!).  It was like running naked, and before you make any comments, no, I haven't run naked.  It was so strange, after taking a week off running last week, and always wearing my watch and pack I felt a strange sensation of running free, lighter and with no expectations or training plans in mind.  Beautiful run out in the morning sunshine, sweltering to be fair, you could have rung me out like a flannel, but just a great feeling.

I had many of the normal thoughts as talked about before, all the questions about the forth coming challenges and what lays ahead of me beyond the 100!  I have read many books now and picked up a mass of tips and knowledge and decided I need to implement some of these things.  The one that I find quite interesting is the idea of making a list of rules, boundaries and expectations.  These rules will guide me in times of doubt and uncertainty and provide me with a method to either keep going or resolve any confidence issues or desires to quit!  This list will start with things like 1. I will not stop,   2. It does not hurt, 3. I will not stop, 4. Keep going, and of course 5. I will not stop!  Joking apart this will be one of my lists but my main one will be 'The Law according to EBW'!  Once I have completed this list I will let you know as I am sure it will change constantly as my journey develops.  These rules or guidelines are there to see you through when decisions need to be made or more importantly when you aren't thinking straight or seeing straight.  I've read about when runners are prone to illusions and wander off the trail.  I Don't think I will get as bad as that but always best to be prepared.  'Fail to prepare' usually means 'Prepare to Fail' !!

Running in to the club and getting a quick change into something more appropriate for a class, I preceded to 'Body Balance'.  Yes, I'd decided to keep up my routine and utilise this class.  Its perfect for my needs, good slow moving stretches allowing me to improve my flexibility and to stretch out the key muscle groups that I over use in my training.  As normal I managed to make myself look utterly ridiculous but fortunately our normal teacher Kasia wasn't there, so John and myself managed to hide at the back in perfect anonymity. Bliss!  I was useless, yet happy in my ignorance.  Although speaking of my inability to bend my legs, and twist my back to look like a ravelled up piece of spaghetti, I do believe I am getting slightly better, my 'Warrior' pose is a sight to be seen!  I have now decided I need to apply this new found knowledge and put it into a more disciplined routine, something that isn't just once a week but done minimum once a day.  It has to become a ritual, something that must be done not to just improve flexibility but to enhance my training.  This is going to be key in my injury prevention and the sustaining of my training schedule.

Whats next, what else will become part of this journey???

So, 4 weeks to go till the first of my extreme challenges, the first being the 'Hardmoors 55'!  This is going to be my furthest run to date, this will be the hardest thing I have ever put my body through, yet strangely I am very excited by the challenge or the unknown.  This run will be crossing the Yorkshire Moors, beginning in Guisborough and going via Osmotherley and on to Helmsley.  This will be great, I can't wait, the scenery and hills will make this amazing.  It will also make this incredibly painful I imagine, and that is what I am going to prepare for!

This helped me decide the only way I am ever going to get this dream or ambition to actually happen is to actually sign up, put pen to paper, cross the t's and dot the i's!  This is the best thing I can advise anyone to do as it gives you focus, a goal, something to actually create a training plan for and then execute.  It also puts in perspective your goal, it allows you to be honest with yourself and recognise your strengths and weakness and therefore be able to prepare yourself for the task in hand.

Looking back, when we set off to do the Yorkshire 3 Peaks which is Pen-y-ghent, Whernside and Ingleborough, it was like running into the unknown for Mad Dog and myself!  Early start one cold bleak Bank Holiday morning in April 2013, coinciding with my 38th Birthday.  With a great sense of excitement, not only getting out on the hills but at doing something neither of us had really ever envisaged being able to do.  We set off from the car park, packs on our backs and water bottles at the ready!  I remember aching a lot before long on our ascent of Pen-y-ghent which for those who have done this route will know, we had barely began.  We had a minor set back with the navigation, I seem to recount, at the top of this first peak by running off in the wrong direction observing the view we both only knew too well was in the wrong place.  We hastely corrected ourselves by what I can only describe as a crazed run as the crow fly's straight across to where we had decided the actual trail was. This had already made our run much harder due the heather jumping and ditch avoiding we had just done, toughest obstacle race you can find, off Piste running!  We headed over to Whernside along the incredibly tough path which agonisingly allows you to see the future, not like Marty in Back to the Future but like in if you look in front of you for as far as you can see, the path is that long!  We made it to the viaduct after a bit of a struggle now very low on water and provisions.  We managed to stock up at the amazing Ice Cream van which supplied us with water bottles and flapjack, awesome, now we can crack on.  After trudging over Whernside loving the view of what we had already achieved.  The problem was, the task that laid in front of us being Inglebrough.  This from memory wasn't too great a problem apart from the incredibly steep ascent to the peak.  All we kept talking about was the fact its an easy 10k run down from the top to the car park, so all we had to do was focus on reaching the Peak.  Now, whilst we were enjoying the incredible scenery and a unique experience, Mad Dog could only keep torturing himself (and me) over his 'cheese sandwiches' which unfortunately for him were still on the back seat of the car probably melting and becoming very undesirable.  The problem for me was that he kept mentioning them as if they were the all time greatest sandwiches this earth had ever known, and making them out to be the saviour to all our pains.  In return, I have never let him forget the cheese sarnies, and they still get a special mention even now ha ha!

Flying down from the top well into the final 10k sprint (I wish) we pass a number of walkers slogging it out on the way up passing on the normal pleasantaries.  This time though it was to my bad fortune, mad dog was up ahead with a good pace on and I was just passing a couple, I said hello and tried to smile but instead for the first time on the whole run I trip and tumbled landing on my hip.  Thankfully only a few miles to go but the bruise soon came up, it was a beaut!  Finally back at the car I headed straight for the full bottle of juice and started gulping it down with the great sense of achievement and success, Mad dog was full on devouring yes you guessed it the melted, manky, miserable, supposed cheese sandwiches!  

This run will always stay strong in my memory as one of my favourite runs ever as surpassed all I had ever done and all I thought I could do.  Hence today's message, Dream big work hard, as we can achieve great things with effort and hard work.

What are your dreams, and what are you going to do to achieve them!!!

Osmotherly Half Marathon ha ha, are you having a laugh!!!!  This was the only half marathon in the World I guarantee that was actually 16 miles.  The Race Director Jon Steele who in his own right has gone beyond normal levels with his running in fact the only word would be 'mentalist'.  I say this but at the same time I love it, which yes yes I know makes me equally as insane, not in the same league but maybe equally insane.  This run over the Yorkshire Moors was just awesome I loved every minute of the pain staking, grinding, moaning and questioning of ones ability.  As ever though I was there at the end, it might not have been quick but I was there, trainers off, rushed in to announce my arrival but unfortunately everyone seemed pre-occupied with some guys who finished ages before, boring yawn yawn! No, hats off to them they are awesome, powering up the hills and striding off in to the distance whilst I, hands on thighs, calves burning and breath panting away just edges up this monstrous ascent in awe.  Grabbed my medal and t-shirt which I love getting its my reward for the pain ha ha!  Unfortunately I didn't have much time to bask in my glory and since no one was rushing for an interview or photograph with me I just snatched what I could from the amazing buffet some sandwiches and sausage rolls.  I dashed back to my trainers and headed off back to the car in a kind off limped run, like a snared animal, but with one objective only, and that was to get back to work in time.

I am now getting nearer and nearer to my first major challenge, 'The Hardmoors 55' which I have accepted is just going to hurt a lot, and I just need to get used to that idea.  I have to be prepared, physically and mentally, no room for just turning up and winging it, I have to be on the ball to finish the game.  Things are now beginning to come together for my end goal which from day 1 of this task has been the MdS 'Marathon de Sables' which crosses The Sahara Desert.

Great run, full of confidence! What makes you feel good......

So, where does the heading 'How far is too far?' come from?  Well this is what I used to think about and still do when running.  One of my many thoughts, you know, other than why am I wearing this and not that, I'm far too warm, why don't I listen to music everyone else does, where shall I run, shall I do this far or just do this little bit.  Its there all the time, a burning question????? wow, isn't a marathon enough, well no, I want to know how far can I run before I physically and mentally just say no, that's enough I can't move any further I don't want to run any more, I can't run any more!  I want to know, I don't think that is unreasonable its like a quest I suppose, I am challenging myself to find out.  What will it take, is there such a thing as too far, as you can train for the distance you sign up for or choose.  What point though will the mind not matter, as the body will just not be able to do any more. It is this that I wish to find out, I want to go as far as my mind will push me then how far my body will allow me.  How far is too far, at what point will I just say NO!

I love the challenge, the enormity of it scares me and that's what I love. It makes me excited, nervous, yet keen and hard working. The desire to train suddenly becomes greater as the fear becomes greater.  What motivates you to train, or  you just do it because you know you should? or need to?  To run 100 Miles or ' The Marathon de Sables' which has always been my end goal, physical training is paramount, but mental training is also going to become very important as I get nearer to it.  Belief is the key, I have to believe I can do this way before the event.  Yes train of course but believe in achieving your goal is half the battle.

This is what got me through my first marathon in London on that cold misty morning, that's what got me round the Yorkshire 3 Peaks apart from Mad Dogs cheese sandwiches, and that's what got me through the SBU 35 (39) and Railway Ultra.  There is no room for doubt, don't cross the start line if you don't believe you have a chance of crossing the finish line.  I have never entered a run without believing I am going to finish this even when it will be the furthest I have ever run before.  This will be the case for each the Hardmoors 55, The Wall 69, then the 100 and eventually the Marathon de Sables.  My dream is there and now I have to commit myself to it and meet the dreaming with the training.  I have already told myself I can do it, I don't doubt it for a second at all, maybe I am different to others in that respect, maybe not realistic, but doesn't matter as long as I believe I can do it!  I just have to train and train hard!


Whats your dreams and how you going to train for them????

Count down to Sundays Half Marathon at Osmotherly in the Hardmoors Series.  Can't wait to get out on the moors again, love the terrain and scenery.  The running is hard, extremely tough in areas but makes me feel even better once finished as I know I haven't just completed a half marathon, I have completed a Hardmoors Extreme Half Marathon!

My training took a slight down turn yesterday whilst out on 'The Costa Run' with Darren, we actually detoured this time to another well known coffee house for our bizarre ritual of 'Double expresso with an ice cube twice please, to go!' and more baffled looks for the two girls working on that particular morning.  My legs are beginning to feel the relentless training, they are beginning to have to acclimatize to runinng on them when tired and aching.  I wouldn't recommend this to people who are in training for anything normal but since my legs need get used to this it was something I mentally needed to overcome.  I felt pleased once back at the gym, apart from resting my pain stricken legs, mainly because I'd completed the run through the tough patch.

My training isn't just running based, I am doing strength and conditioning work with a top endurance coach (Chris at EPOC Coaching).  He puts me through a rigorous schedule involving a lot of squats, single leg squats, lunges and more lunges etc, etc and upper body strength work using some quite unimaginable pieces of equipment that are unbelievably difficult to co-ordinate and yet highly amusing to anyone who gets to watch.  The session tends to work along the lines of me talking as much as I can about things related to my goal until its hurting so much that I can't or that I'm gasping for air like a fish coming up to the surface for food or air!  I go through the exercise thats been explained and demonstrated to me then set on my way.  At this point I am usually mid-story or explaining about something I've recently been reading then quickly getting a reminder to actually get on with it ha ha!  Really starting to see the results from the sessions measuring the results on what I could only manage to attempt originally to being relatively comfortable with now and Chris pushing for more and more!

This was taken last year whilst training with another trainer who also amused himself with strapping me into all kinds of contraptions challenging me yet getting the results I wanted.  It didn't help getting caught by another member who took this photo and posted it on social media ha ha, thanks! I think these sessions are priceless to anyone looking at taking on any kind of physical challenge that is pushing them beyond there limits.  I want more from my body so I have to equip it with the tools it needs for the demanding programme and physical exertion its put through!

What training do you do that supports and compliments your main focus?

Sunshine!  Wow what a beautiful morning to be up early and out running, watching the sun rise.  Cold, icy and dark to begin with, so you can imagine my reaction to the beeping sound of hell at 05.30am this morning, yes you got it, SSSSSNNNNNOOOZZZZZEEEE button ha ha!  Once I was out and about it was amazing, yes I know its early, yes I know its cold and icy and yes at first I don't want to do it.  It makes me feel alive and fresh and doing something great and positive which must be a good start to the day surely!  Well after all my wonderful positivity and woo hoo's 'look at the sun rising' thoughts it took a slow painful deviation, to the point of 'my legs ache!', 'I'm tired!', 'my legs ache!',  'what am I doing here this early?', 'my legs ache', 'am I nearly there yet?', and of course 'my legs ache!!!'.  This wasn't good and pretty much stayed like this for the entire 13.5 miles barring a few moments when I thought I was coming through it and started  bounding along like 'Tigger' to quickly remembering that yes you guessed it 'my legs ache!!' aaarrggghhhh!  All I could keep saying to myself this time was, 'just get through it' and  'this is one of the days that pays off in the end' and ' you'll be glad you've done it later', not very comforting when your legs ache but enough to motivate me to the end.  It was done and like I told myself I was glad I'd done it, it didn't have to be great it just needed to be done.

Moving on to my next fun topic, oh I love this!   'BODY BALANCE',  well this if you haven't had the excruciating yet amusing pleasure is a mixture of Pilates, Yoga and Ti Chi.  Now this is something you can only experience to understand fully what I have put myself through and whats more you will enjoy it as much as me I am sure.  So looking round the room there is only two guys in there, John and myself and the rest are a very friendly talkative bunch of women who all seem to have been doing this class for years.  My first move is to get my mat down and get a good spot on the floor, well this is like getting your towel down by the pool before anyone else has even risen.  Its quickly in, grab your mat and then go religiously to exactly the same place as the last 100 times you've been and get your mat down and sit on it before anyone else gets there ha ha!  Of course John and I have our weekly battle of who can be the furthest to the back of the room so as not to get picked on by the instructor.  Amusing is an understatement for what follows, a series of stretching movements, legs and arms flinging up or round and then legs twisting into shapes and positions they really aren't meant to go to.  It all flows and joins together in brilliant way in tune with the music, just not John and I! This makes me smile every week without fail, our complete lack of agility and flexibility merged with our amazing ability to adapt and even come up with a few new moves is a wonder to see I promise!  I do this to try and improve my flexibility and range of movement, but quite importantly it gives me an hour of stretching which if I am honest when I run or play other sports I don't do enough of.  Its just a quick pull back bend of the leg, then stretch down and straighten one leg at a time with a few deep heavy breaths then off we go.  This isn't enough, you have to look after your body better if asking it to do more and more.  Its not for everyone I admit but I enjoy it as makes me laugh and it does what I need.

So today's thoughts I suppose are whats your stretching routines like and are they appropriate to what your doing!

justgiving.com/edbarkerwyatt
edwardbarkerwyatt.wix.com/edzbon

10 miles done!  After my reality check yesterday I pushed myself to get out there and do something about it.  Its incredible how confidence and belief can drop then rise so soon after.  I wasn't feeling negative yesterday yet managed to convince myself that I wasn't doing enough and this had an adverse affect on me mental as it allowed  negative thoughts to enter my head and question myself.  This I felt actually was a good thing in the end as it made me focus or re-focus on the challenge and what I had actually signed myself up for.  I found this interesting because I had turned a negative moment that made me question myself into a positive that pushed me to do more and get to what I felt was back on track.  So the lesson I learnt from this was to not read too much into day to day feelings and emotions but to keep a log of miles run and a plan for going forward so as have something to follow.  If you veer from the plan briefly you get make up the miles on another day.  So therefore no need to panic and you can use this as the antidote to your doubting as its in black and white in front of you.

I ran an event in 2014 called 'Hell on the Humber' this was a very interesting challenge as the course was literally forward and back over the bridge.  This was 2 miles in both directions running round a traffic cone on the far side for 6 hours non-stop.  Now I was entered into 'the sprint' as I called it whilst there was a 12 hour and a 24 hour event running along side each other.  This was the craziest thing I have seen yet while running in these events as people were just constantly going backwards and forwards and saying hello to each other on each passing.  I found this really hard to run a mile up to the middle of the bridge then down to the cone, turning, then looking up towards the bridge and heading off back up it to get to the other side where I ran through the start gate said hello to all the officials and turned round a ran back across lol!  This was what I did for 6 continuous long torturous hours.  Yet again though, I used this as mental training for other events where the nature of the course is just repeating the route constantly.  This takes its toll and you have to find focus from things other than your environment such as giving yourself small time targets or distance targets or constantly asking questions of yourself.

So how do you train for something like this, well I asked 'Mad Dog' Adam to run with me along the disused railway track from York to Selby.  He agreed, and also brought along his good mate Mike 'The whippet', Mike is a very good runner and unfortunately much quicker than me!  This was going really well, the first half which was approximately 15 miles was great except for when a pesky little bug decided it was going to take a detour and fly into my eye like a red arrow, apart from that I felt great.  Now in theory this run was very straight forward, unfortunately it was exactly that, with it being an old railway line it was dead straight so became the 'Road to Hell!'  After the turn round I was happy to be heading back but this was the point it all started unfolding for poor Mad Dog, his head was losing the battle against his body.  This is when every little thing becomes a very big thing and you just can't see your way past it.  He was all up for stopping and getting a bus, so being the mate I am, I ran on and left him ha ha, yes yes I know not very nice as he is a mate, but guess who kept going and going right to the end barring a few miles of moaning (about 20 to be exact lol) but old Mad Dog himself.  Where was The Whippet whilst all this was going on I hear you say, well true to form about 3 or 4 miles ahead sat with his feet up in a cafe having a quick brew waiting for us!

So todays thoughts or ramblings,  'The mind against the body!'  who shall win, what will give in first, how will you overcome your weaknesses?  For me its easy 'every day's a school day' ha ha.

Reality is starting to kick in now.  Out on the road early this morning, cold snowy and wet but train I did!  I knew when I started my 10 week training plan for my first challenge 'Hardmoors 55' in March that the excitement and thrill of what lay before me would carry me through the initial first few weeks but eventually it would dawn on me the epicness (if there is such a word) of what I was embarking on doing.  The harsh fact that I concluded whilst out running was that I am just not getting enough miles in the bank.  I went through a couple of reasons in my thoughts of why, its not that I am lazy or not following my skeleton plan or that I am not putting any variety into my training.  So what is it thats holding me back I kept saying......  Nothing, is the answer, its just I am now having to expect a lot more from myself, my drive has to increase and I have not got to lose sight of the goal........100 miles!  My commitment to my challenge has to be seen through and I need to increase my level of output. What I have done up till now has been great and I haven't injured myself by going out all guns blazing and doing too much, its been a steady increase and the rewards will show I am sure.  This doesn't take away the fear, the nagging feeling that it isn't enough, when the plan says 20 miles but the body says 10 the mind has to over come that hurdle. Its like they say ' the hardest thing is to get out the front door' this is so true.  Once your up and about and out the door its just running, but when that fearful moment arises beep-beep-beep-beep-beep nobody is smiling I am sure!

So todays thoughts whilst I was running that kept bouncing round my head were, 'ME, MYSELF AND I'. Don't ask me why but this always seems to come into my head while running on my own.  Theres only ME, its up to ME, there's no one else here just ME.  I have to push MYSELF, its up to know one else, there my goals my dreams its for MYSELF.  I am the only one that can do this, I am the one who said I would, I put myself here, I chose to do this!  I find this helps my motivation, what motivates you while out and about?



justgiving.com/edbarkerwyatt