What I learned in my first year pursuing endurance

This year I decided to dive deep into endurance sports mainly Obstacle Course Racing (OCR) and running, back in 2018 I completed the Spartan Race Trifecta which is composed of 3 obstacle course races from 5k up to 21k, to give you an idea of my fitness at this stage I could run a 10k in just under 50 mins and a sub 24 min 5k not amazing by anyone's standards, I had put in some very basic lack-luster training which enabled me to drag myself through those three races.
These three races mustered up a hunger inside me just to see how far I could push my body, I wanted to 'embrace the suck' and find myself through the act of training my body and mind. This post details my training, diet, injuries and my experiences throughout this year.
I started training in January, each week consisted of 3 gym sessions (mainly full-body workouts with some HIIT elements such as burpees) and 3 runs (normally two 5ks and one 10k). I continued this for the first 4 weeks and then got a personal trainer to assist me on this journey, I wanted an expert opinion on my training methods and specific sessions to push me to my limits.
I continued my gym sessions, running and also the weekly PT sessions throughout February, I started to see significant improvement in my overall fitness, strength and also set a new 5K PB of 22:19. One thing I was neglecting throughout this period was rest and recovery, I was also doing too much too soon, I started to develop a very common running injury called 'runners knee' this was a dull pain in my knee after a period of running caused by inflammation. This would make anything above 5k excruciating, every time I lifted my knee it would send pain shooting up my thigh which made the whole process uncomfortable.
Even though I had this injury I am not one to give up easily, I purchased a knee brace and used deep heat spray to numb the pain throughout this period. My first event was approaching quickly a 10k trail/mud run aptly named "Brutal Run".
This event was composed of many hills, rough trails, and waist-high water. I took off with a good pace the goal in mind was to complete the race and ignore any pain from my knee, it was all going well until about 6k when runner's knee started to come back, the pain would rush up around my thigh every time I raised my knee. I pushed on with the race after finding a solution to the pain which was the cold waist-high water would numb the area and would allow me around 2k of pain-free running, using this method I was able to complete the race in a good time relative to my fitness.
After finishing I warmed down, stretched out and drove home, the moment I got out of the car I could barely walk as my knee was seized up, I could only hobble around for the remainder of the day, my girlfriend was not pleased when I met her for a date later that evening.
I was not disheartened by this injury my belief was that my body would adapt to the pressure I put on it, it may take time, but I would get there. Over the next few weeks, I started adding stretching plus foam rolling to my weekly schedule, my knees started to get stronger and I no longer felt pain whilst running. I built up my running to 20–30k a week, was disciplined with my diet and training, I had also cut out alcohol, I began to see a rapid improvement in my cardiovascular fitness.
My diet consisted of simple carbs such as brown rice, sweet potato and lean meats such as chicken or turkey, I also added salmon and eggs regularly. It was hard at first to cut everything out as I was mostly eating processed foods before this, but you would be surprised what your mind can do without when you are driven to become the best athlete you can be.
Over April I continued to train hard, working on trail running and strength training, I also incorporated weekly climbing sessions to improve grip strength. The next race of the year was approaching the first Spartan OCR event of the year, these races are notoriously tough, all my previous attempts left me humbled and broken, in previous years my aim was just to finish this race but I knew this time around I was ready to test myself.
This was a 5km obstacle course race the start was quick, I managed to keep up with the front pack until the 3km mark when I hit an obstacle which I just could not complete, this will be a reoccurring theme in this post, I have only just recently started to specifically train for obstacles rather than just focusing on strength and speed, this has been one of my pain points for this year.
Failing the rings put me well behind and after a few more failures which meant plenty of burpees I was pretty disheartened, but I noticed my body responded well to the tasks at hand and I was impressed with my overall fitness, I finished the race 30 mins quicker than my previous year which is a big improvement for a 5k time.
My training continued to step up a gear, burnout was far from my mind at this stage I was putting In 30k weeks, gym 4 times a week, 1 session with my personal training and 1 climbing session. The training even carried on through a holiday in Thailand, I had gotten over the honeymoon period and training was fully ingrained into my daily life. This continued effort paid off over my next two spartan races even though some obstacles were still an issue my running came through, I finished fourth in my age category which qualified me for the Obstacle Course World Championships in October this achievement continued to spur me on over the next few weeks.
In June I was offered an amazing opportunity to run a 50k Ultra for charity organized by my workplace, I jumped at the chance and signed up, most people thought I was crazy, I had only completed a half marathon obstacle race previously and had not run further than 21k in training. This would also be in sweltering heat with hilly terrain being close to 1000km of elevation, I decided I was going to run 25km then take stock of my body at that point, I did not feel nervous or worried leading up to this race.
I did some research online, planned how many calories to consume throughout the race, I also purchased the necessary equipment such as a water bladder and running backpack. I was ready to push my body further than ever before.
This challenge would not disappoint, I decided to sign myself up as a jogger merely out of respect for other runners as I did not want to slow them down if it got to the 25km mark and I was reduced to walking. This meant I would start 30 mins later with the walkers. We drove down early got warmed up and after taking pictures we were ready to start.
I stuck with one of my colleagues who was also trying to run as far as he could, I stayed with him for the first 12km until I drifted too far in front after taking a wrong turning. Once corrected I was unsure whether he was in front or behind so in order to save time I sent him a text and pushed on.
I was making good progress as my running was a moderate pace of 6:30min/km, I was focusing on my nutrition and hydration by taking sips of water every 5–10 mins followed by a snack/gel every 5k. The terrain was extremely hilly composed of mostly trails/fields, I made it to 25k with no issues had a quick pit stop to fill up my water bottles, grab some extra food and I was out of there in 10 minutes.
I started power walking whilst eating my food and resume a normal pace shortly after. I reached the 35KM mark which was a turning point, the sun really started to beam down on me, the terrain got tougher, I started to slow down…. I had hit the wall. I began walking and felt utterly exhausted, I was in a tough place mentally also as doubt started to come into my mind on whether I could actually finish this thing, I had also been alone for a few hours with no other runners in sight.
After a while I managed to find some other racers, they were attempting the 100k challenge but seemed to be in a much perkier state than myself, they also had a wireless speaking playing eye of the tiger on repeat to keep them going. I decided to stick with these guys for around 3k, got my nutrition levels up and made it to the 40k checkpoint.
I decided to take 15 minutes to stretch and refuel, I developed some pain In my quads and hips but I was determined to finish. I knew I could knock out the last 10k. There were some good downhill and shady trail sections that I used to my advantage, it got tough again around 47k and the last 3k was a complete blur.
Once I saw the 49KM sign I felt a surge of energy and picked up the pace and powered to the finish. I crossed the line in around 7 hours, it was one of the biggest feelings of accomplishment in my life, I had endured the pain, overcome dehydration, doubt, and exhaustion. This race proved to me that we have no idea what we are capable of until we put ourselves in that situation.
After the Ultra I was pretty banged up, I attempted a 5k run a few days later, my legs were so tight I could have pulled my hamstring. At this stage my mind had a reached dangerous point were injury was not a factor as long as I could drag myself to the end of my runs, I was happy, I was happy to suffer, whatever it takes in order to get better.
Over the next few months, I was still riding the endurance training, booking races weekly, I set a 5k PB of 20 mins 12sec (down from 23 mins in 2018) and a half marathon PB of 1:37hr. Every waking hour was consumed by training, I was applying the dedication and isolation of bodybuilding to endurance running, I knew it was an obsession when I was getting up at 4am to knock out a 12km run before work and then climbing after work followed by running the next day, PT sessions, strength training I wasn't missing a beat.
I put in six 40k weeks in a row ahead of the Spartan Beast race (21km obstacle course), at this stage I thought I was indestructible, I was tapping into my inner David Goggings and found refuge in the continuous training.
I got to Spartan Beast race and it was going really well, powering through obstacles and keeping a decent pace through the trails. My downfall came when I got to the Olympus obstacle, I kept failing by slipping on the last hold, the course just seemed way too wet. This can be a tough obstacle for many as it really focuses on grip strength, the issue was that I just refused to give up and take the burpees, I reattempted this at least 10 times still failing on the last hold. In total I waisted 30 minutes at this obstacle I refused to give in and was determined to suffer through it, this destroyed my grip strength and was ripping the skin off my hands, I decided in the end to give in and take the burpees.
After using up most of my grip strength the rest of the race was a slog and I ended up being out there for far too long. Shortly after the race, I began to feel ill probably due to exposure to the cold air/water. A few days later I started to get severe headaches which would keep me up at night, I found out this was an ear infection which I probably contracted from the race.
This got progressively worse and I ended up having to pull out of the OCR World Championships, I actually turned up to the race but I knew I was in no condition to compete, it was soul-destroying to see athletes giving it their all and I could only watch from the sideline, the worse thing was that I did this to myself by committing the ignorant mistake of thinking I was indestructible and I had cheated myself out of this race due to my own obsession.
I still didn't feel normal till one week later, this period of time taught me that I needed to switch up my training in order to spend more time on rest and recovery. I was still consistently training but prioritised my rest throughout October and November.
I had one Spartan Race left of the year a 5km stadium race in Twickenham, my aim was to run my cleanest race.
Leading up to this race I put in a few sessions of specific obstacle training at the obstacle play park (an amazing obstacle gym in Redhill UK), This focused training greatly improved my obstacle proficiency, I now know that technique is paramount to completing obstacles in the correct manner rather than relying on strength.
This paid off in the race, I managed to complete the majority of obstacles including the ones I failed previously such as the rings and rope climb. This was my best race of the year and has inspired me to compete in my Age Group in 2020.
Overall this year has been an amazing experience and has changed my life, I now have a passion to pursue and the draw of the challenge keeps me training hard which has dramatically improved my health. I have learned valuable lessons and will draw upon these experiences to push myself harder in 2020!