Written by Joy White - http://www.naturalmover.co.uk
photo from u-trail.com
1, 200 registered runners were picked via lottery in December 2015 out of over 3, 000 applicants worldwide.
I was very fortunate to be selected and after a few injuries and work-play imbalance in the following months, I decided to go for it. If I felt my training was going well, I'd tell the world so we can raise money for charity.
My goal was to finish the 55 km OCC (Orsières-Champex-Chamonix) run with a cumulative ascent of 3,500 metres. But with recent injuries (not running related), I was happy to see where I'd end up with its three strict time barriers.
Natural Movement
From reading books and internet data, I've come to realise that there is an efficient way of running up and down mountains for hours on end without much damage to knees, hips, heart, etc. caused by running too much for too long. It's called natural movement.
We lose our ABCs at age 12 (agility, balance and coordination). Then adults make it worse by telling us to use a chair and to stop sitting on floors. This dependence on objects that bring us comfort and convenience has uprooted our normal form and function - we have deviated from our forefather's origins of being hunters and foragers. Well, we all have choices. We also adapt to current ways of living.
And many will happily stay in the comfortable zone until the day they die. This isn't a problem for me.
I, however, have a different goal in life: to be functionally fit for old age (assuming I'd be disease/illness-free in the next 30 years).
Parkour (Started Feb 2016)
No it's not jumping between rooftop buildings. Well, to a certain degree, yes. But that's not what I've been doing or what I recommend. Originally called parcours du combattant, parkour's roots can be traced in the 1900s when it was used by the French Navy as their standard of physical and moral training using an obstacle course. This discipline resurfaced in the 1990s. Films and video games made it infamous and have caused a wrong impression on what it really is and its advantages. Parkour encompasses movements that we as children have been doing all day long - walking, running, climbing, jumping. We are all capable of re-kindling these abilities. For serious practitioners, pushing their limits and boundaries by jumping higher and longer and performing back-front-side flips is their life-long goal. For me, parkour has improved my agility, core strength, balance and more importantly cardiovascular fitness.
Callisthenics (Started March 2016)
I'll let you Google this one but essentially it means bodyweight exercises. We've all done this in our P.E. classes - sit-ups, push-ups, starjumps/jumping jacks, squat jumps, etc. The aim is to achieve muscular and aerobic conditioning without using weights, barbells and other equipment.
BJJ (Brazilian Jiu-jitsu) {Started May 2016}
The father of UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championships), BJJ is great for self-defense at the same time brilliant for fitness and conditioning. Our dojo has a minimum warm-up of 20-minute runs, jumps, backward and forward rolls, crawls, etc followed by 1 hour and 45 minutes of drills and fights. This art taught me to pace myself which is applicable to running. Anyone who has done a BJJ competition knows not to 'gas out' in the first few minutes. It's a surprisingly physically and mentally demanding martial art and I'd compare it to playing chess whilst jumping and performing cartwheels.
Yoga
From my first race of 20 km in 2012 to my attempt to run 55 km last week, I can honestly swear by the healing powers of yoga. My knees, hips, muscles and fascia are all conditioned thanks to yoga.
Icicle Mountaineering Trail Running Camp (July 2016)
Kingsley and Sarah were superb hosts with a fantastic, well-organised running routes for each day we were in Chamonix. Mountain runs of over 2000 metre elevation everyday around Switzerland, Italy and Chamonix were simply indescribable. You have to be there to experience the awe and lure of the mountains.
Ultimately, they taught our group major adjustments in body mechanics which powered our uphill runs and supercharged our descent time. My time with Icicle has been priceless and I'm very grateful. I've met some wonderful runners who share the same love of the mountains and I'm humbled to be in their company.
Questions, questions
"Why did you not cycle, and swim more and did frequent runs as part of your training routine? You could've finished the race!'
Well, maybe. But I fall off bikes and I'm so bad at swimming I look like a drowning fish when I'm in the water.
I've also heard about OTS (Overtraining Syndrome) which affects ultrarunners. If I'm careful enough, I believe I'll enjoy more time running up the mountains. To finish a race is a logical expectation. It's an old-fashioned notion. Long races are there to give me focus. Post-race last week, I chose not to be weighed down by not being a finisher. In fact, it's given me a strong resolve to come back next year - stronger and wiser.
Running the OCC-UTMB 2016 has been a great experiment. I've exceeded 22 minutes over time required at the third time barrier. My calloused toes prevented me from running any quicker towards the lit up La Flégère checkpoint tent.
I may not have finished but I was close. To finish the race in 36-40 degrees C heat with only painful calloused toes (which only hurt for 2 days) with a total run of 47km in 13 hours, 22 minutes and 22 seconds is my ultimate triumph. I was informed that about 180 runners (mostly men) dropped out in between steep ascents.
In the end, despite minimal running hours, my body conditioning routine using the above methods were vital. I now know that repetitive long, frequent runs are not the sole answer to finishing a race. Besides, it's the journey and not the destination that makes a person stronger.
Happy training to all!
-o0o-
Where I trained:
http://www.train-hard.org/ (free first session)
http://www.desouza.tv/ (free first session)
http://www.icicle-mountaineering.ltd.uk/ (fees include 7 nights accomodation in Chamonix)
-o0o-
As of this writing, the current amount of funds raised for Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance and Dorset DocBike is 77% nearer to target.