Week in review: An introduction (2021 Week 4)

Welcome to my first post on Andrew’s Ultra Blog – the first of many I hope you'll want to read! I want to use this blog as an opportunity to share my ultraendurance journey, hopefully even inspiring some of you along the way. Each Sunday evening I’ll post a round-up of that week's training, along with any additional insight into my week. There will also be a 2^nd post each week, probably Wednesday or Thursday, where I go into more detail on an ultraendurance or running topic. I’ve got several posts already lined up such as explaining my 2021 goals, and sharing some lessons I learned from my first ultramarathon so you don’t make the same mistakes. If there’s something you’d like me to cover, then let me know!

I think a good place to start is a brief introduction of who I am. I’m Andrew Hamblen, a 22 year old currently living in Loughborough, England. I’ve been running now for just over 2 years, and completed my first 50km ultramarathon last August. My main target in 2021 is the South Downs Way 100 mile race (SDW100) which is scheduled to take place on June 12^th and will be my first 100 mile event!

I’m also a cyclist and have completed events such as RideLondon, as well as my first 200km ride on my birthday last year. Although I expect cycling to feature in the future, right now my main focus is running.

I’m currently studying an MSc in Exercise Physiology at Loughborough University, which is possibly the perfect course for an ultraendurance athlete! My course has given me the theory behind topics such as nutrition, training concepts and recovery, which I’ve then been able to apply to my own training and competition. Hopefully I can share some of that knowledge with you in future posts to explain why I do certain things and help you achieve your own goals.

Alongside my studies I also work as a courier for Uber Eats. It’s not a glamorous job, but does give me complete flexibility over my hours which is brilliant for when I want to fit in a particular run. It also forces me to ride 100-200 miles every week at a low intensity, which is great for keeping my overall fitness ticking over. Regular 10-12 hour shifts outside in all conditions has also helped build up my mental strength and resilience, which is such an important element to be able to succeed in endurance events. When running 100 miles there will inevitably be moments where you’re feeling low, so you have to know how to get through those patches.

My week of training

Having got through that introduction, let’s talk about the actual training I did this week. My training plan is split into training cycles, with each one lasting 4 or 5 weeks. The first 3/4 weeks of each cycle are ‘build weeks’, followed by a ‘cutback week’ where I reduce the volume of running by about 40%. This week happens to have been a cutback week after my first ever 50 mile running week, so if you think the mileage is low for someone aiming to run 100 miles you’d be right!

Monday – 10k easy

Usually Monday is a rest day from running, with my focus on getting a good start to my work week. However, we’d had a rare 3 inches of snow the previous afternoon: to cycle would 

have been asking for a crash. Instead it was a perfect opportunity to go and have a fun run. I know some people get regular snow, but here in Loughborough it was the first proper covering we’d had in over 3 years! As I’ve only been running for just over 2 years, this was therefore my first ever time running through a proper layer of snow!

Wanting to enjoy it while it was fresh, I was up and ready to go just in time to catch the sunrise. Whenever my training plan says ‘easy’ I just switch off any thoughts about pace – this was all about having as much fun as possible. Among the focus on serious training, it’s important to remember that ultimately I run because I enjoy it! Runs like this help keep that balance.

I was pleasantly surprised by how easy it was to run in the slippy conditions. Whenever I was near a road it was noticeable how much slower the traffic was going, and at one point there was a bit of chaos when a lorry got stuck on a gentle incline and so was unable to pull away from a set of traffic lights. In contrast, I don’t think I slipped once thanks to the Inov8 Mudclaw 300 Classic shoes I was wearing. I bought them specifically for the extra layer of tread in the winter mud, and it turns out they deal well with the ice as well. This meant I was able to enjoy the surroundings, as I’d tried to choose a loop which I knew would be quiet and contain some scenic sections . It was just a lovely peaceful run, and because I’d gone early it meant I was back by 9am and could relax for the rest of the day.

Tuesday – 8 miles easy

The snow still hadn’t really melted, and so with it being too dangerous to cycle, this was another chance to run! Again this was an easy intensity run, particularly as by the end I had run 54 miles in 4 days which I think is the highest sequence of my training plan so far.

Trust me, it's steeper than it looks!

One benefit of the colder temperatures is that most of the mud had frozen, so I took advantage and used a couple of paths that I sometimes avoid at this time of year. The main challenge of the route was a hill which the local running club has named Suicide Hill. That’s a dramatic name, but when you look at the profile I think you can understand why - it’s only 250 metres long, but with an average gradient of 13.5% and a maximum of 17.4%, even walking up it requires a fair amount of effort. There’s something about a slope like that I can’t resist pushing up, and in fact I managed to set a new PB, which I was very pleased with! The view from the top was definitely a great reward – on a clear day you can see almost 30 miles and everywhere you looked was snow. There were even some children sledging down the hill, which I can imagine was fun on a slope that steep!

After that it was a simple 2^nd half along trails back down into Loughborough, this time actually sticking to an easy pace.

Beautiful place to stop and have a rest

Sunday – 16 miles @ marathon tempo

The 4 day break between the last run and this one was the longest I’ve gone without a run since the first week in November. As I said earlier though, the aim of this week is largely recovery and so that sort of rest is exactly what I need. And to be fair, I'd also cycled 178 miles so it’s not like I was sat around doing nothing!

Consistent pace, but notice 
how when you adjust for
gradient mile 7 is much
faster

The aim of the run this morning was to complete 16 miles at my target marathon pace of 7:30 per mile. Although I’m not expecting to run a marathon until October, I like to include runs like this so that when I do start training specifically for the marathon distance I have a decent starting point. Also with the majority of my long runs being much slower, sometimes it’s just nice to get the heart rate up and go a bit faster.

The first 6 miles were brilliant – I could feel the benefits of the time off and had to remind myself to slow down a bit. But then the 7^th mile was a gradual uphill and I made the mistake of pushing too hard to try and meet the pace target, when it would have been smarter to give up a few seconds here and gain them back on the downhill. As I got past halfway I was beginning to feel a little tired, but was determined to keep going.

The main lesson from this week though is about routing. I’d made the route quite late yesterday evening and thought I’d memorised it well. That was before I got to a turning and suddenly wasn’t confident whether I needed to take a left or right. Not wanting to get it wrong and suddenly add a few miles to the run I took the safe option which I knew would get me back, but also would require a boring loop through town to reach 16 miles. So learn from my mistakes – if you want to run a specific route then either ensure you actually know it, or make sure you have a way of checking while you’re going!

I could feel my energy dropping through the last few miles. Although at this point in a race I’d take a gel, I hadn’t brought one with me as I didn’t want the hassle of trying to open it with freezing hands. 16 miles at 7:30 per mile is a very satisfying 2 hours exactly, and with a final sprint to home I stopped the watch in 1:59:59! Having met my target I guess overall it was a successful run, but definitely some lessons to remember. At least in a big city marathon the route is very obviously marked out, although it’s also 10 miles longer which today I wouldn’t have been capable of.

Overall totals

This week: 30.7 miles

January: 188.8 miles

2021: 188.8/2021

That wraps up this first blog post! Thank you for reading, I’d love to hear your comments and feedback. This is all new to me so it really is appreciated – I want to make this something you enjoy reading as much as I enjoy putting together.

For more regular updates, you can follow me on Instagram @andrewsultrablog. Or to get more detail on my training, follow me on Strava: https://www.strava.com/athletes/5373701