Blog 4 – Weight loss, Chafing and “The Bonk”

Welcome back to my Trails and Tribulations Blog. If this is your first visit to the Blog, then I would recommend you start from the home page and check out the first three blogs. For those returning, hope you enjoy the latest blog….. hopefully the title will make more sense by the end 😉

After a week of minimal running, reduced training volume and heavy consumption, all part of my so called “recovery” from the 4x4x48 Challenge, I felt fresh and motivated to get back into the swing of things. Apart from the normal aches and fatigue you’d expect in the days after a challenge, I was grateful to come out of it relatively un-scathed and ready for more.

At this point I am 6/7 weeks into my “proper” trail/ultra running program, and to be honest I have loved the whole thing far more than I ever could have imagined. A part of me expected to reach week 3 or 4 of training and be bored, tired or injured (or a combination of all three) and be wanting to throw the towel in. But in reality my motivation is higher than ever, I am enjoying (almost) every run I’m doing and my fitness is improving (as well as the pesky knee). And one side effect of the frequent running, is my now visible weight loss. At the not so lofty height of 5ft 8in, I have never been “big”. But you may consider me “broad”, “stocky” or “cannonball-like” and, while I was a keen rugby player, having a bit of this extra weight was actually an advantage. But as I have (for the time-being at least) hung up my rugby boots, the extra baggage isn’t so necessary.

At the start of this adventure in to the world of trail and ultra running, weight loss wasn’t a particular goal of mine, albeit I knew it may be a by-product. Although I try to watch what I eat I am far from regimented and have no set diet. Also, as anyone who knows me well will know, I eat a lot and I eat fast. Portion control has never been a strong point for me and in my teenage years it wouldn’t be a surprise to find me ploughing through a whole pack of pasta in one sitting and Fridays were also know as “whole chicken Fridays” for me. Yes that comprises exactly what the name suggests. One whole rotisserie chicken, typically packaged in numerous wraps with an accompaniment of salad and copious amounts of sauce. You may have also guessed from the previous blog, that I love snacking. I consistently graze on a variety of snacks throughout the day, some “good” for me and some “bad”.

With this in mind then, you may be surprised to hear that I have now lost around 1st 6 lbs since the start of the training (albeit my daily weight can have a 3/4 lbs swing depending on the time of day). I started at the rather dense weight of around 13 stone 10 lbs (87 kg), but I am now coming in around the 12 st 4 lbs (78 kg) mark (which still makes me overweight on the BMI scale, not that I pay any attention to that).

This weight loss has meant that I am discovering boney bits of me I hadn’t seen since I was a boy. My once well-fitted clothes now have a certain bagginess to them and I have had to puncture a few more holes into my belt to stop my trousers from falling down. It has also come with the gripes from my mother as she doesn’t like my new “skinny” frame. She is now insistent I don’t lose anymore weight . Mothers ay. Side note: It has resulted in my mother plying me with a selection of cakes and bakes on a weekly basis, so it’s not all bad.

Although this weight loss was expected to a certain degree I didn’t realised how rapidly I would be shifting the pounds, especially as, if anything, I am now eating more food on a daily basis in an attempt to keep the energy levels up before and after running. On the bright side, running up hills is definitely getting easier and, even if it wasn’t explicitly apparent yet, I’m sure the reduced load on my joints will be good for avoiding injury.

You may be surprised to hear I have kept up the daily cold showers, inspired by Wim Hof. I have managed to take at least one bone chilling shower a day since the beginning of February. Although it is hard to categorically say whether I am getting all the apparent benefits without doing more scientific analysis, it’s fair to say the showers do make me feel more alert and awake at the start of the day and I feel like it is aiding my recovery between runs. This could be placebo or it could be legitimate. Either way, as much as I some times dread the thought of turning the shower in to the blue, I always fell better for having doing it. Another side note: If you do ever attempt this, I recommend listening to music as I find it helps to distract me from the cold bullets of cold water pelting my goose-pimpled skin.

So, with my motivation high and now reaping the benefits of a slightly lighter frame, I set out on one of my “weekend long runs” with the intention of pushing the mileage up higher than I had done before. Up until this stage, the longest run I had completed was around the 30km mark. Therefore, the goal was to push on to say 35kms or so.

After a relatively pleasant, albeit challenging, 33/34kms in to the run, I found myself still 3 or 4 kms away from home having slightly misjudged the pre-planned route, hence was going to exceed the original goal. Thankfully, apart from the usual aching calves and knees I was still feeling reasonably energised (maybe thanks to the snickers peanut butter bites mentioned in the previous blog). Although I would have been satisfied finishing at around 38km, I felt there would have been a part of me thinking why didn’t I just carry on for an extra 4km or so to take it to marathon distance (42.2km/26.2miles). With this in mind I decided to plough on and chose to extend the route that little bit further to try and get my first marathon under my belt. This was entering unchartered waters for me, running further in one go than I ever had before. Although I always believed I could do it, before this I never actually had the balls or the motivation to actually go and do it. Therefore, I wanted to prove to myself more than anything that “I had it the locker” and thankfully I did. A bit like with the 4x4x48 challenge the finish was slightly underwhelming. I suppose when you finish your first ever marathon you would expect it to be an organised event where you are cheered and clapped in by collection spectators, before being handed your finishers medal and a goody bag of treats. In my case, the only spectator at the finish line (once again) was my legend of a fiancé (support staff) Amy, with a recovery protein shake at the ready. She’s a good egg!!

All in all, my first experience of doing a marathon wasn’t too bad. Yes, it hurt at times and I went through a few waves of fatigue, but thanks to a few well timed snacks and energy gels I managed to get the miles done in around 3 hours 45 mins on a relatively hilly trail-based route, which I was more than happy with. The run was also very useful from a training perspective, as unlike the “long runs” I had done previously, there were a few little niggles which became apparent after the 30km mark. The most apparent of which was chafing. Now I won’t go in to too much detail about the location of the more painful chafing but it was fair to say it wasn’t comfotable. Therefore, this highlighted the potential requirement for lathering on vaseline or similar when “going long”. Also, the run showed the importance of good nutrition not only before the run but also during. Although I brought snacks and gels along to keep me going, I found I was refuelling reactively rather than proactively. I was only eating when I started feeling tired or low on energy, whereas in the future it would be better to eat or have a gel earlier, so that it avoids the sudden dips in energy or the so called ‘bonk’ (I have found out that the term ‘bonk’ is commonly used in the endurance world when referring to “hitting the wall” or having a sudden overwhelming lack of energy). My first marathon therefore gave me a few useful lessons to take on going forward, but also gave me the self-belief that I could run further. Which I suppose is good considering my first event in June is 64km/40miles. Best get running!

Thanks again for checking in for this week’s blog. Carry on below for my “Stats, Thoughts and Recommendations” of the week. Next week’s blog will cover my training as the lockdown restrictions ease and I can finally explore some new routes!!!

Stats, Thoughts and Recommendations of the Week

1) Song of the Week – Sheep by Mt Joy

May not be one many people will have heard, but definitely a band you should check out. The smooth, relaxing tones and guitar riffs get me thinking of the summer and road trips, distracting me from my aching legs during the long runs. Give them a listen!

2) Snack of the Week – Soreen Malt Loaf

My trusty companion on any long run (particularly when accompanied by a cheeky peanut butter snickers), packed with “squidgy energy” and low in fat, malt loaf is the perfect snack to nibble on the go. The whole act of eating while running has been a bit of trial and error over the past few weeks and will take some time to master. My top tip is to avoid dry/flakey foods (like a rice cake) as I found out the hard way.

3) STATS

• March 15th to 21st
  • Total distance (running only): 80.25 km (49.9 miles)
  • Total time: 6 hours 57 minutes
  • Total Elevation Gain: 1,180 m (3,871 ft)
• March 22nd to 28th
  • Total distance (running only): 48.61 km (30.2 miles)
  • Total time: 4 hours 17 minutes
  • Total Elevation Gain: 1,318 m (4,324 ft)
• Total Accumulative Running Stats (Between 1st February and 28th March 2021):
  • Total distance (running only): 503.49 km (312.9 miles)
  • Total time: 43 hours 34 minutes
  • Total Elevation Gain: 7,741 m (25,396 ft)

Thanks again for checking out the blog, and hopefully you will be back to read the next in a few weeks. Stay in the loop and follow my training via my instagram and strava, found via the links below:

Follow my progress via the Instagram and Strava Links below!

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