PHOTOGRAPHY, MUSIC, FITNESS

These are the 3 things I hold in high regard. I also live by Vegan standards.

[justinbrownphotographer]

Sunset-to-Sunrise Marathon in Peak District (Hope) 27th October 2018

The time had come around, where all the training I had undertaken was going to be put to the test. My friend and I decided to sign up to this race, as we have not had done a night time trail race before. My friend had already recced the route, so I can confidently say if it was not for her doing this we would have had to stop a lot more and check the map (so fair play for the effort she put in). 

Driving down to the location was a bit of a nightmare, the journey took way longer than what Google maps had estimated. So, from the start, this race was a situation of chasing my tail. This day I learned a lot about prepping before, what to do during, and what is vital at the end of the race. I will share my experience here, so hopefully, somebody may not have learned the way I did.

Firstly, even though the drive to the race location maybe two to three hours, make sure you are wearing your actual running gear. Do not think I will get there with x amount of hours to spare and get ready then, because if something hinders your drive duration, you will be arriving at the destination in your casual clothes, which you cannot run in. So, by the time I got there I had approximately 45 minutes or so to get ready, loads of time, eh’? No, there was a briefing that everybody had to attend and a kit list check. Those things eat into your time you thought you had to get ready. I had to leave the briefing halfway through to go back to the car and start to get changed. Luckily my friend I was planning to run with, stayed for most of it. Almost changed and ready to race, I thought I will go to the toilet quickly, as I got out of the car, I looked to see a mass of people already running. Dammit, I have missed the start!! I ran to the start point and made sure I ran through it as we were wearing GPS trackers. My friend was at the front of the pack (she is a beast). So, already I was at the back of the hundred or so runners, which was compiled of runners who were either doing the half marathon, full marathon or the ultra marathon. Whilst all this has happened I still have not been to the toilet, stressed! After passing many runners I could eventually see my friend, so I continued to push the pace to catch up with her. I think it clocked in at an 8-minute mile, which is pretty fast for a trail marathon. Anyway, we were now reunited and got chatting about life, running, Peak District etc. We had about an hour of daylight before it started to get dark, so we did try to push on a bit whilst visibility was good. I won't mention how hilly it was or wasn't, it is in the Peak District, this is normal. After ascending one of the first hills, I turned around 180 degrees to see the sunset, luckily I had my phone handy (Huawei P20 Pro with Leica Lenses), I had to stop and take the photo.

The first third of the race was done with reasonable visibility and steady running. My friend and I passed a few people on our travels, we had brief chats with them. It is a funny thing with runners on these long races, people will talk to each other like they have been friends for years, but I think the shared passion puts people on a page where we are all equal. 

Secondly, as the night crept in the temperature started to drop, which is obviously a normal process. Observing around us the stars were shining that means it is clear skies, which means no cloud cover. In addition to that, the wind was strong and reducing the temperature (windchill), casting my mind back to the briefing a few hours ago the organiser informed us that the windchill will reduce the temperature by approximately 5 degrees. I think this was a fair statement, when we were running we could see ice particles in the beam of our head torches. Even though this marathon was regarded as a trail event, there was a section of the route that took to the road for approx 3-4 miles, where we were exposed to this constant wind. Lesson number 2 was before you get cold if you know the temperatures or conditions are changing for the worst, be proactive and start to add layers, do not wait until you feel really cold because it will take you a long time to get warm. The next checkpoint could not come soon enough after being on that exposed road for the best part of 40 minutes, the difference about this checkpoint is that it was indoors, I think it was a small school or something like that. My friend and I made the most of the supplies on offer, water and a couple of bourbon cream biscuits (they are vegan). But, the most surreal thing was the noise, there was no noise, the sound of silence was comforting, after having the wind battering our ears for almost a whole hour, to hear nothing was a relief. The marshal at the checkpoint let my friend and I know, that my friend was currently 1st place female and I was 2nd male. So, we were not doing too bad.

After this checkpoint, I think there we were about 7 miles or so from the end. My friend and I agreed to keep pushing, no stopping unless really necessary or if it got too hilly. We stuck to the plan, the last part of the race included some hills that were a bit difficult to run (realistically slow jog/shuffle) up. Hence, we walked this part of the course, but as soon as we could run we got back to plan. We were getting close to the end now, we were running past local pubs and restaurants, we could have quite easily stopped for a quick snack, only joking, you do not tend to have a massive appetite whilst doing these types of run. One turn remaining and we were now on the same road where the sports club is (the start point), Yes!, just minutes to go. My friend and I crossed the finish line, my friend 2nd (1st Female) and I was 3rd. Finally, time for lesson 3, when you finish a race especially in the autumn and winter months, get changed out of the wet clothes. I sat down and got chatting, but 30 minutes or so later I was now freezing. Once, I got back to the car and got changed I started to feel better. My friend who has been doing these races for a while popped to the car and got changed into fresh clothes straight away. Regardless of who is around, whether you have a 6-pack or a 1-pack, get out of the wet clothes (from sweat or rain) and get into dry clothes and wrap up.

[justinbrownphotographer]

Pen y Fan 14th October 2018

Pen y Fan

My friend and I arranged to have a catch-up whilst enjoying some of the British countrysides. The weekend of the 14th October was a washout across England. So, after looking at the hourly forecasts from 0600, my friend had two ideas, either go to Hope in Peak District, which is a bit closer, but the forecast was rain all day. The other option going to mid-Wales, Pen y Fan, the weather forecast was showing rain until 1100, which would be our ETA. After discussing this for approx 2 minutes we decided to go to Pen y Fan. The drive down was a bit tedious, massive puddles everywhere, spray etc. But, once we found the parking spot the rain had stopped at 1100 (for once a weather forecast that was accurate). Once the gear check was complete, off we went. The paths were not too bad and there were quite a few people out considering the conditions. 

After a slight navigational error that lead us through some bogs, we managed to get back on track. This path was very obvious, so no more errors were made. Once, we got close to the highest point we decided to have a little break and have a sandwich and some hot tea. However, the fuelling stop had to be kept short as the wind was pretty strong and cooling the body down considerably, so keeping moving was a wise choice. 

We soon got to the highest point of Pen y Fan, where there was a handful of people taking photos of the stone pile and them standing on it. 

Continuing our loop down the Pen y Fan, the clouds dissipated and blue skies were abundant. The wind was still strong and keeping us a bit cold. As we got lower down the mountain the winds began to ease off.

Once the descent was complete, we had to pass through a reservoir. The reservoir had steps at one point, not sure what the reason for this is. I am sure there is an actual functional reason for this.

[justinbrownphotographer]

Dirt Run Black Country Ultra

Since the last ultra from Bridgnorth to Stourbridge, 2 weeks has soon come around. Honestly, I did not feel up for this run, but had paid for it, so I had to attend. Arrived at Baggeridge Country Park early and registered, looking around the room some people looking super fit and some looking fearful. Either way we were all in the same situation where you had to push yourself to the end. This race had a solo version or relay, there was no way to tell who was doing the relay or solo race as the numbers printed had the same colours. My wife planned to meet me at the checkpoints that were scattered around the black country to check I was ok (bless her). At the start line now, the organiser shouts “Go!”, we all got moving, a pack of about 5 people sped off. I was not going to try and catch anybody up for two reasons, (1) you must always run your own race and (2) I was not really up for this run and knew 34 miles is a long way. 

I got about a mile in and started talking to this lady, who was very nice, who would have known we ran the rest of the 33 miles or so together. After a couple of checkpoints we soon knew the dreaded Netherton Tunnel was soon approaching, so head torch on. Once we entered the tunnel, there were a couple of puddles you try to jump over, but you soon realise that your a fighting a losing battle. Within a minute or so you give up that struggle and run right through the puddles, soaked feet and legs was not the main problem, ice cold water was freezing the leg muscles, so I was beginning to run with a strangely coordinated gait pattern, due to the legs not wanting to move properly. I think that tunnel lasted a good 10-12 minutes, so definitely over 1+ miles long. When out of the tunnel, the sunshine helped to heat the legs back up to normal operating temperatures. The lady and I chatted about the puddles in the tunnel, we both came to the same conclusion, it was horrible!

I saw my wife at the third checkpoint, she asked ‘how is it going?’, I said ‘I’m tired, but still got 10 miles or so left.’ So, got some crisps from the checkpoint Marshalls’ and got going once again, just focused on getting to the next mile, if I felt tired, just walk for a bit, then carry on. This course had a lot of canals, which can be a mental killer, as there is no change of scenery. So, I think it takes a lot of motivation to this type of run. We got to the next Marshall point, where she informed us we only have 3-4 miles left. I thought, come on one last push till the end. However, that last push did not last too long, the last 2 miles were all uphill, so the pace was a mixture of walk and jog. Once we got back into Baggeridge Country Park, we knew there cannot be long left, after going around a few turns, we seen the end, we both ran toward the finish together and crossed the line. Yeah!!!

A tough run especially when I was not really feeling 100% motivated.

Not a bad pace

Finished 6th, not going to count the relay result in there.

[justinbrownphotographer]

Wife’s First Half Marathon

After accompanying me to do an event called Icing on the Cake in Long Mynd via CODRC events, my wife was looking on the medal display that CODRC take with them to every event. Being a fan on the film Guardians of the Galaxy and loving Groot, she wanted the medal. The only way to get it was to complete either a half or full marathon at Silkin Way in Telford. Some people are extrinsically motivated, whilst other intrinsically, neither is right or wrong. So, she has put in the work over the past few months, she showed her friend the medal and she wanted one, too. The day had come where they both had to put all that training into real use and complete their first half marathon. I signed up to the race to help my wife get round. 

The race started at Coalport in Telford then jumped onto the Silkin Way outbound for 6+ miles and then turned back. Good thing about this course (for a first timer) is the outbound leg was uphill, which would mean then inward leg would be downhill. Two and half hours later my wife and I arrived back at the start point, where she was presented with her medal!! Her friend had taken a detour, but arrived at the same time, where she to received her medal. Well done to them both for completing the half marathon.

Proud owners of their hard earned medals

Detailed photo of the medal

[justinbrownphotographer]

Sunrise at Train Station

Photo taken with Huawei P20 Pro

[justinbrownphotographer]

Bridge to Bridge 2018

I did this last year as my first ultra. It took me 6hr 12min or so. So, this year my aim was to better my previous time, which is normal, if we are not moving forward or trying to what is the point. I had not done anymore distance than 19 miles on my training runs or races. So, this is almost double that distance, was I being foolish? Based on the books I have read so far Born to Run, Eat & Run, and Ultramarathon Man, I now know pain is inevitable, the main point is to keep going in Dean Karnazes - Ultramarathon Man there is a quote that I will follow from now on ‘if you cannot run, walk, if you cannot walk, crawl’

I had got my supplies the day before, bananas and peanut butter squeeze packs, I planned to have one of these at every checkpoint (the organisers allow you to place things at the 3 checkpoints allowing you to not have to carry everything). Once I got to the first checkpoint, I had some banana, that was fine, I tried the peanut butter, my mouth felt like it had been glued together. So, I had to drink a lot of water to feel normal. Hence, checkpoint 2 and 3 I left the peanut butter and just made do with the banana. 

The run was going well, going past people feeling comfortable. It was raining from the start. However, after checkpoint 3 (26/27 miles in) it started to rain a lot heavier, I had to stop under the next canal bridge to get jacket on and get some more fuel, as I was starting to slow down. 

I continued to push on, trying to run for 5-6 min and then walk for 1 min. I had my earphones in to motivate me, which did help. I seen my wife on the last water point, which means I had 4 miles or so to go. I tried to run all the way, but legs were tired, chest was feeling tired, so no option had to walk for a bit and then run again a bit later. 

Finished the race, 55 min faster than last year, came 10th (out of 44 entries) overall in solo event and 3rd in my category. So, not bad. Also, during the race I attained a PB on my marathon.

Looking fresh at the start

Looking tired at last water point.

Nice medal

3rd Place slate coaster

[justinbrownphotographer]

VivoBarefoot Fasted Half Marathon Training Trail Run

So......the most distance covered in my barefoot/minimalist running venture is 10 miles, so I thought it is time to try and increase this distance. I popped on the trainers and set out running towards the trail. Once on the trail, running as normal, dodging big stones, staying on my toes, maintaining high cadence, I had a quick check on my watch after 40 min or so and noticed I was running pretty quick even though I was trying. As I got to just over 6.6 miles outbound, I then turned around and headed back. Again without realising negative splits took place. By the time I had finished, I had achieved a PB on my previous half marathon. 

[justinbrownphotographer]

Eat & Run

Being vegan, I am always interested in what other vegans have to say, especially if they are into running. However, Scott Jurek is not just any vegan, he is a vegan chef and also he is not just a person who is interested in running, he is a Legend in the world of ultra running. I will not give too much away in terms of a review. But, in this book Scott explains why switched from meat-based to a plant based lifestyle. Also, what motivates him to run, race, help other learn and appreciate life. A great read to get mentally focused on running.

[justinbrownphotographer]

Stretton Skyline Fell Race 2018

Well, as I want to keep pushing my training, I went to Church Stretton to attempt the Stretton Skyline Fell Race. I had already seen the amount of elevation and thought, I have done 600+m previously, I should be ok to give this a go. I have to say the first 6-7 miles were comfortable, but then after that the hills were on a different. Elevation gradients that I am just not used to, living where I live. So, there were 4 hills after the 6-7 miles in, they progressively got harder and I got slower. I did try to run them, but legs were not responding like the mind was intending. Hence, I had to walk the hills and try and move the legs on the descent. Also, it was warm, I’d say about 23 degrees C, which is not ideal for a run as hilly as this, but at the same time, better than rain. I met the wife at various checkpoints where she gave me a bit of water and I carried on my travels. I never knew having so many styles to get over when you are tired could be such a pain, but they were. I did this run fasted, so no food since the day before. I wanted to see if my body could use up the glucose and glycogen and use the fats as well. I am not sure whether that was achieved as the run was really hard (for me anyway), but I managed to complete the run with just water. If, I would have had food I may have had more fuel in the legs, but I think the run was just hard regardless of fuel. I feel that I lacked power for the hills, so I will have to start training legs and core a lot more, even it is for 20 minutes every other day. Anyway, next year will be better, a lot more training and strength!!! 

[justinbrownphotographer]

VivoBarefoot Primus Trail SG 1 week Review

I have now ran a whole week in the VivoBarefoot Primus Trail SG. Here is my feedback. On the short runs 5 miles on the roads, my feet and calves were fine. On Sunday (yesterday) I said I need to increase the distance and run down the trail (off-road). Sunday was a wet day, rain for most of the day, I ran a mile on the pavement until I reached the trail. The transition from pavement to trail was obvious, which is to be expected, you can feel all the stones pressing into your feet, so it can be uncomfortable (VivoBarefoot do come with a spare foot insert to make it a bit softer, I did not use this, though). My main aim for this run was to try and get to 10 miles, I can say that after 7 or 8 miles I could feel my calves no beginning to warm up. I managed to complete the 10 miles in the rain. I can say the VivoBarefoot did not lose traction and I felt stable. I have 6 races coming up from now until the end of the year, so I have ditched the HR strap for training and just run based on how I feel. The data from this run shows without realising I ran faster, this must be down to the footwear due to the natural increase in cadence.

[justinbrownphotographer]

Park Run PB

So, I have not done a park run for a while. I am almost a whole week into transitioning from normal Asics running shoes to VivoBarefoot running shoes. I thought let me give the park run a go. Jogged to West Park as it is not too far from where I live. Got warmed, I hoped to not see anybody that I know as it would mean conversations (not being awkward), but to attempt a PB I have to fully focus. I left my phone at home, no music, just my park run barcode. I have failed many times before on trying to keep laps 1-3 of similar time/pace. Normally the first lap is great, second lap about 20 seconds slower and the final lap is complete flop being about 40 seconds or so slower. So, my main aim was to keep times almost the same. I managed 6m23s on the first lap, 6m25s on the second lap and 6m21s on the third and final lap. Hence, happy with that consistency and power. After reading Born to Run, some runners go all out and deal with the consequences after. This is something I have now started to take onboard. I will slowly leave behind the calculated methodology of heart rates, rest periods, using sugar as a main fuel (trying to become fat adapted) etc. As a consequence of these laps being quite close, I managed to get a PB on the park run and finish 9th, which is my highest ever finish. For some reason park run added 9 seconds to my time, I started at the exact same time and pressed stop slightly after finishing.

[justinbrownphotographer]

Born to Run - Christopher McDougall

I was never a person for reading books. I mean, I do read, but things like sports, exercise, and physiotherapy journals. However, I persuaded myself to start reading, my wife reads loads of books, but they are all fictional, I am definitely not a fan of story books. So, I thought let me get a book about something I have an interest in, running. I went to Waterstones and browsed the sports section and found some titles that caught my eye, Born to Run and Eat & Run. Very basic and primal sounding titles, already the books have got my interest. I chose to read Born to Run first. It is a great book, which explores running origin, human origin, best running people, strategies. I do not want to give too much information away as this book deserves a read. All I can say is I would read the book on the train to work after I would have ran 5 miles at 0500 before work, somehow the author and stories make you want to get back out there and start running again!! There are two main things I took from this book; (i) ‘We don’t stop running because we get old, we get old because we stop running’ and (ii) enjoy the freedom of running!

[justinbrownphotographer]

Leek Half Marathon 2018

Well, this was not a half marathon, unfortunately. Due to the major heatwave in UK for 8-9 weeks. There has been wild fires in the Roaches (a part of the Peak District that this route normally runs parallel with), Fire Services advised Leek Half Marathon organiser Mr Rushton to avoid the area. The only option for the organiser was to reduce the distance this year as the other roads are just too busy (as this half marathon does not have road closures, just marshalls to help the runners across roads). So, the distance had to be reduced to an out-and-back race consisting of 10 miles (confirmed). The weather forecast was warm with rain. I decided to wear my Vegan Runners vest today, so my name at the checkpoints shouted by spectators was Vegan (’well done, Vegan!!’), which I thought was cool and strange at the same time. But, if it raises awareness of veganism, then it is all worth it. Just after halfway around the course, I was running downhill and could see this out-stretched palm slowly getting closer and closer, I looked at the body that was connected to the hand, which was a young lady wearing a Vegan Runners vest, also. Once this recognition was established the hi-five was completed and we carried on pursuing around the course. My main aim was to try and finish in the top 20% of runners in this race. I checked the results, I was in the top 25%, so still have a lot of work to do. However, on a positive, my aim was to finish in 1 hour 20 min, so to finish in 1 hour 15 min (18 seconds) is an achievement. 

Nice T-Shirt

Decent pace for me for a hilly run

Overall Result

Finishing position

[justinbrownphotographer]

Cornwall Break

Went down to Cornwall for a couple of days camping. The location being Praa Sands in Helston. We arrived pretty late and it was dark due to how long it took to get to Cornwall with traffic at Bristol. Putting up a tent in the dark is not the most ideal situation after a approx 6h45min drive. However, we had to get the tent put up otherwise we would have nowhere to sleep. After wrestling with this tent for just over an hour and getting all the items inside ready for when we got back, it was time to pop and see our friends. We headed back to the campsite after a couple of hours, there was fog everywhere visibility was poor. Once we had got into the tent, the rain had started, it rained al night, the sound of rain hitting the tent was not soothing like they try to make out on those relaxation CDs. It was actually quite loud and annoying, hence we did not really get much sleep. Morning came round soon enough and then it was time to make the most of our location. We headed onto Praa Sands beach and headed east to walk on the coastal path. I did bring my camera stuff with me on the trip, but I opted to just take my mobile phone, the Huawei P20 Pro. Here are a few pictures from Praa Sands taken with P20 Pro.

Simple photo AI turned off

Huawei P20 Pro Silky water mode, no tripod.

Huawei P20 Pro Silky water mode, no tripod.

[justinbrownphotographer]

VivoBarefoot Primus Trail SG

I am now attempting to start minimalist running. I have done my research, I know I need to slowly increase the amount of miles I do in these trainers. I went out for a short 3 mile jog around the block. I can say initially my feet, ankle, or calves did not feel any worse or experience any extra pain. So, that was good. I had a look at my stats from my run, there was definitely a big difference between my ground contact time. With normal Asics 220 ms compared to with Vivos 214 ms, this increases cadence but also reduces ground contact time, hence less chance of injury and fatigue.

[justinbrownphotographer]

Fasted Half Marathon Training Run

I will be attempting Leek Half Marathon again next weekend. I thought I'd go out this morning and do a fasted 13 miler. I chose to do a slightly hillier route than normal, as the Leek Half Marathon is very hilly for a road half marathon.

[justinbrownphotographer]

Target 2000 ft Elevation Run

Woke up in the morning contemplating where to go do my usual Saturday run that involves hill climbs. After 20 min or so, I decided to stay local and head to Baggeridge Country Park, just 4 miles down the road. My main aim today was to try and chieve a total ascent of 2000 ft approx. 615 m within 2 hours or so. Not going to say it was easy, it was still tough. I think I am slowly get accustomed to doing these fasted runs. I will try and go some place different next weekend.