Learning to Trust the Process

In this world it's not unusual for everything to seem to be falling so nicely into place, only to then come face to face with a frustrating set back that quickly slaps you out of your dream-like world and back to reality.

All it could take is one wrong turn, one silly decision, or just one stride forward on your usual Tuesday lunchtime run.

Everything was falling into place. I had a decent block of Winter training behind me and was feeling like I was running faster and stronger than I ever had before...

That's when life said; "Nah Heidi, that's boring. Let's give you a challenge." and the niggle began.

The first few days of the dreaded niggle were absolutely awful. It's fair to say, I did not grin and bare it but more like sulked and moaned. I know people get niggles and injuries and are able to cope with not running for a period but you can only really appreciate how frustrating it is when it actually happens to you.

I know you should never-ever self diagnose using the Internet, but I'm ashamed to say I did. This really was very unhelpful as it planted the seed in my mind that I could possibly have a stress fracture. A trip to minor injuries followed where I demanded an x-ray only to breathe a sigh of relief when it turned out negative.

Thankfully I was able to see the Welsh Athletics physio, Adam Rattenbury who worked his magic. This was extremely painful but at least it showed me all I had was tightness of soft tissue and nothing major, putting my mind to rest. 

During this niggle, I have thrown myself into cross training and had quite a few enjoyable, mad adventures.

I've power walked up and down the local hills in numerous different conditions. Driving wind and rain, boiling hot, humid sunshine, hailstones, snow, drizzle and I actually really enjoyed doing this. There's something magic about striding around the local countryside with only sheep for company. It's the closest you can get to mountain running when you can't actually physically run and it's nice to slow down from running once in a while and take in the view. 

Nevertheless power walking is not all fun and games and on one of my walks I had quite a scare. I had just reached the top of Little Hill above Llandrindod Wells my hometown when the clouds opened and it absolutely poured it down. I took shelter amongst the tall trees to wait the worst of the rain out. I slipped my bag off of my shoulder about to go in search for food and took a glance to the right. This is the point where my heart stopped and I hurried off and ran out of the trees and back into the rain. I could have sworn I had discovered a dead body. There were some clothes and material all wrapped up in the trees and one part was shaped like a nose, as if someone was laid down. 

With my heart beating frantically in my chest and looking all around, I felt like I was being watched. The atmosphere suddenly seemed to become extremely eerie with the only sound the rain blowing in the trees and the crunch of my footsteps as I timidly crept back to the dreadful spot I had discovered. I had to have another closer look just to make sure.

I edged closer to the pile of clothes and bent down to slowly prise back the material only to find it was just that. A pile of clothes and material and not a dead body after all.

I can not even begin to tell you how relieved I was as I quickly hurried away and back out into the rain once more. I could not stay in that eerie spot one moment longer. I would just have to get wet. 

I've cycled so many kilometers during this cross training malarkey and I've kind of fallen in love with just pedalling around the local hilly lanes as fast as I can. (And hoping I don't crash into a farmers truck as I have done in the past...that's another story)

I've discovered it's really not wise to stand up on your pedals on a really long steep hill and change the gear down accidentally with your quad. This left me hanging on for dear life. As if bike hill reps aren't hard enough!

On a sunny Sunday evening, I went out for a long ride along a route I hadn't done before, basically out into the back lanes of Mid Wales, into the middle of nowhere. I unfortunately got a puncture from going over a pot hole too fast but thankfully I had some signal to ring Dad so he could come and rescue me. I must be honest I thought he was just going to come and pick me and the bike up and take me home... but no. He pulled out a spare wheel from the car and quickly and efficiently changed the wheel meaning I could finish my ride. I never knew I had my own service car!  

Just as my Dad drove off around the corner and out of sight, I fell off and my knees came crashing down to the road. Surprising (given the colour bruises I developed) this didn't hurt that much but as normal when I fall off I had managed to bend the wheel arch and had to adjust it; resulting in my hands and legs becoming covered in bike oil. I must've looked a funny sight, cycling back home with blood dripping down my oil covered legs. It was all worth it though as I got to see the sunset. All you can do in those situations is laugh at your own stupidity. At least it made my Sunday evening a bit more eventful. A big thank you to Dad for coming to the rescue. 

Swimming is something I do regularly now anyway even when I can run but this niggle has meant I've been spending more time at the pool, swimming and doing some dreaded aqua-running. Aqua-running is something I find soooo boring but it has to be done even if you do get many strange looks from the swimmers.

I'm so happy to see my cross training has paid off and I've not lost fitness and I'm now able to do my running training again.

There is never a good time for a niggle or injury to occur, they're always going to interfere with an event or goal you are working towards. 

Due to this niggle I  had to miss the British trial held at Whinlatter Forest in Keswisk for the European Mountain Running Championships as I did not want to hamper my recovery. I was so gutted I couldn't compete to hopefully earn my place on the team but well done to everyone who did race. It was an anxious wait to find out whether the selectors would select in my favour.

Beautiful Arco

I am so so grateful to be selected to run for Britain in these championships at the beginning of July and I can't thank British Athletics and the selectors enough for believing in me and selecting me to be part of the strong British team heading to Arco, Italy.

I have ran in Arco once before in 2014 for the World Youth Cup (my first taste of international competition) and it is such an absolutely beautiful part of the world. I can not wait to pull on my GB vest once more and to race in Arco again. Time to put even more hard work in and sharpen myself up ready to race my uttermost best at these Championships.

Racing in Arco in 2014

This niggle has taught me a lot about myself and life in general. At any point in life it is important to embrace challenge and struggles and allow them to grow you as you work to overcome them. 

Your struggle is just part of your story. No-one ever got anywhere, ever without a setback of some kind. What matters most is your attitude towards the situation. You can either let it define you or you can stare it straight in the face with no fear, knowing whole-heartedly you will walk through the flames life throws at you and come out on the other side stronger and more determined than ever.

I am so so thankful I did not develop a full-blown injury and caught the niggle in time to only have to take a few weeks off running and not have to miss a season of competition. Someone somewhere is worse off than you- you've just got to fight your own battles and appreciate your own path. 

Yes, it's so easy with the accessibility of the Internet with so much information available at your finger tips these days to get so caught up in what everyone else is doing. What training they're doing, how fast they're running, what races they're winning. But at the end of the day when it comes down to it...none of that matters. Your journey is what is important. All you need to do is hang on, believe and trust the process towards achieving your goals and your dreams. Your time will come when you're ready. 

This niggle has made me realise running is not the be all and end all of everything. There is so much more to life than running. Running is just a way to live and express your hopes and dreams. I'm more than Heidi the runner, and it's important for me to remember this every once in a while.
 

There's no point in being grumpy if you're unable to run for a period of time. Concentrating on things you can do rather than the things you can't will help you believe and trust in your journey. I was very fortunate I was able to still get out in the hills in all weathers and experience the countryside, yes admittedly at a slower pace but at least I could get out there and enjoy each moment of being alive. You don't have to be running to enjoy life. 

Life is what you make of it and now I've got through this frustrating niggle and I'm back up running, fighting and working hard towards chasing my dreams. The niggle may have sent me down a different path but I can't ever say I didn't enjoy the adventure.  

"Before Alice got to wonderland, she had to fall"

See you in the hills....
Heidi x

Tales from the British Athletics Mountain Running Training Camp

I write this on the four hour drive back to the mystical land of Wales from attending the British Athletics Mountain Running Training Camp up in Georgia Malir’s neck of the woods, Leeds. (I should probably be doing Welsh revision for my speaking exam on Thursday but this is obviously way more important!) 

Upon arriving at the very posh Weetwood Hotel I found I was roomy with Rebecca Hilland who actually lives in Norway! I hadn't met her before but as is normal for most mountain runners she was lovely and we were soon chatting away. I knew pretty much everyone else on the camp and it was nice to see everyone again and catch up.

The Weetwood Hotel

Sarah Rowell started the training camp with a look back at the GB team’s success in 2015 and the highlight of this was definitely a first time viewing of a short video of the British team at the home World Mountain Running Championships last year. Those championships will always hold a special place in my heart being my first home World Champs and my first team medal at a major champs. Everyone loved the clip and it definitely brought goosebumps to look back, reflect and remember such massive British success on that very special day! When I look back and think about it; that day when I got to wear my GB vest competing against the best in the world on home soil seems kind of surreal. If I could go back and relive that weekend I most definitely would. Nevertheless we must all look forward to future.

Team GB at the World Mountain Running Champs 2015

So, Sarah then described in detail the major champs this year in Arco and Bulgaria. I've been very lucky to have actually already raced on the course in Arco, Italy near Lake Garda for the World Youth Cup two years ago. It is such a beautiful part of the world and all the lovely pictures Sarah showed us are going to be a definite motivation for all of us towards making the team and being able to race there at the European Championships this year.

Arco is a beautiful location for a mountain race

Racing in Arco in 2014

Next up was food and I think it's fair to say that we all felt a bit under-dressed in the hotel surrounded by people who were all neatly dressed for weddings and what not. We mountain runners didn't mind though and the food was delicious. 

The look on the waiter's face when Katie Walshaw asked for custard “and possibly a banana please?” was priceless. He had probably never heard of such a combination asked for in the posh hotel, but he did oblige.

I never knew that arranging a training session could be so confusing as we all planned to go to the local hill called The Chevin to do a hill session on the Saturday. Of course; us girls easily decided what we wanted to do without much debate, but the men were not so quick to decide… “Oh, let's just run around the hill and the paths when we get there and decide what we want to do then”

So after a nights sleep and breakfast we made our way to the famous Chevin, where sometimes Johnny and Ali Brownlee train. After a gentle jog (it wasn't that gentle really as us girls tried and failed to keep with the men) the boys finally decided they would do long hill reps from the bottom to the very top, with us girls doing shorter faster ones half way up. 

I felt really good during the session and was pleasantly surprised as this was my first big hill session of the year. It was great to turn around after each rep and fly back down to the start. And, I DIDN'T FALL OVER!!! Can we just take a moment to appreciate this achievement as I'm forever renowned for falling over running fast downhill. May I even dare to believe that this is a thing of the past? We'll just have to wait and see! 

The Chevin was a lovely setting for a hill session and I can see why GB team mate and friend, Georgia Malir uses it a lot for training! 

The men seemed to be running well up and down the hill too, so a good training session for all.

The view from The Chevin

After some much needed lunch, it was time to get our brains in gear with a talk from Jamie Pringle all about preparation for altitude. This was particularly useful as he talked a lot about how altitude effects the body physically and how it is best to prepare for this. The World Mountain Running Championships this year are at altitude in Bulgaria so this was highly relevant.

Talking altitude

A quick trip down to Leeds Uni followed, for a drills session with Alison Rose. This was useful as it helped everyone to identify their weaknesses and how we could address them in order to improve. 

A talk about training for mountain medals revealed that Andrew Douglas likes his magic 8 hours sleep, Rebecca Robinson has such a crazy lifestyle balancing running with being a doctor (I thought training around exams was bad enough!) and also Chris Smith’s ability to overcome challenges as he lives in London with hardly any hills but has learned to make use of the environment around him. 

An extremely yummy vegetable lasagna for tea followed. (Don't worry though Mum; yours is still the best!) The meal presented a slightly less amused waiter when Katie changed her mind on food once again, but to be fair to him he did once again oblige.

Yummy vegetable lasagna

Georgia and I had fun talking Strava, blogging, so called gimp masks, altitude training etc with the fell running legend: Ben Mounsey after the meal. I'm not sure Ben and I successfully persuaded Georgia to start writing a blog though. You can check out Ben’s epic blog here.

I think its safe to say that we all probably ate more jelly beans between us than the number of miles we ran cumulatively. A never ending bowl always seemed to be there tempting us to eat just one more. As Sarah said, Gary must have been “buzzing around on the ceiling” with the amount he seemed to eat.

Andrew, making the most of the free snacks!

The arrival of Sunday brought the Sunday long run, full of sunshine and shared miles. Georgia was a very good guide showing us get local routes.

Finally to end we had a session led by Liz Birchall on ‘How to market yourself on social media’. This was interesting and provided an insight into how British Athletics use social media to promote the sport. Everyone probably felt that Ben could have lead this session as he's obviously the social media king! 

I'm lurking behind Ben's head there somewhere

So as we've just crossed the border back into Wales, it’s safe to say that I'm suitably excited to see just what the friendly GB mountain running team can produce this year. Time to put the hard work in...

but for the moment, back to reality and to revise for that Welsh exam.

PS: A big thank you to all the British Athletics coaches and managers involved with organising and creating such an inspiring weekend. 

PPS: Also thanks to Georgia for showing us around her local routes. Next time we will have to make it to the cafe for pancakes.

Nine lessons I've learnt this cross country season

Hello you lovely lot,

Yes...I do admit some of these things I already knew before this cross country season began. Nevertheless, they have been of particular relevance this season. So let me share my nine things I've discovered or re-discovered during cross country.

1: Never be afraid to dream...

I was over the moon and so honoured to be selected to represent Great Britain at the Great Edinburgh Cross in January this year after having a good race at the British Athletics Cross Challenge in Liverpool. I couldn't wait to get out there and show that I'm not ~just a mountain runner, who can't run fast~.

2:...but be prepared to pick yourself back up when those dreams are shattered. 

After catching a nasty cold just before I was due to represent Great Britain in the Great Edinburgh Cross, I had to make the extremely hard decision to withdraw and allow a more healthy athlete to have the honour of representing the country and do the vest justice. Looking back now, that was the right decision but it was an extremely difficult one to come to. What was important was I was able to recover and pick myself back up to compete well for the rest of the season. I am hopeful that there will be more opportunities to represent my country in the future and I will be able to show people that I am not ~just a mountain runner~. 

3: Trust the process and don't stress over the short term results. 

The short term races are just stepping stones to the long term goals you are aiming to achieve. In the long term you'll look back at the ups and downs and see that they helped you to learn and understand what you need to do to achieve your best. It's all just part of your journey.  

4: If the tactic doesn't work the first time; it's probably not going to work the second. 

Enough said.

5: Appreciate the moment.

This cross country season I competed at my last ever Welsh Schools' Cross Country Championships after competing in every race over seven years.  It was the end of an era and made me really appreciate the amazing opportunities I have been given through being involved in this fantastic sport. This was further re emphasised when I competed for Wales at the Home Countries Cross Country this past weekend in Scotland. This was combined with the Schools' International (SIAB) and seeing all the younger Welsh athletes so excited to race in their Welsh kit for the first time was priceless. I remember that feeling; a feeling of nervous anticipation that I do still get standing on any start line today.

6: A bad race does not make you a bad runner. 

Everyone has good races. Everyone has bad races. It is important not to lose your motivation when you have the latter. Each race is a learning curve. Don't beat yourself up. Learn from it and move on.

 

7: A friendly rivalry can help bring the best out of each other. 

This cross country season myself and Cari Hughes of Menai Track and Field have had a friendly rivalry all season.  When you have those sorts of races it really helps and pushes you to achieve your best. I was obviously extremely happy for Cari when she won the Under 17 British Athletics Inter-Counties Cross Country Championships recently. Watching her run away from the leading group was amazing and I am glad that we have been able to push each other and experience this rivalry within Wales. I'm already looking forward to pushing each other over the country next season. 

Sorry Cari, I stole your photo!

 

8: Once people start to realise you write blog posts, they naturally want a mention and keep asking when you're going to write your next one. 

So here's a shout out to all those Welsh athletes wanting a mention that competed at the Home Countries Cross Country on the weekend. Naming names would be seen as favouritism: you know who you are! 

The Welsh team at Home Countries

 

9: Without my family and people around me; I would not be the athlete or person I am today. 

I am forever in debt to my family who have spent the last seven years being my number one running fans and supporting me wholeheartedly towards achieving my dreams. So a huge thank you as ever to my family and also the people around me at school, my friends, teammates and people within Welsh Athletics and Sport Wales for helping me along this journey. 

Onto the next chapter.
See you in the mountains, 

Heidi x

Writing & Running, Running & Writing

The days before I actually launch forward into writing a blog post, I can nearly always feel the words brewing as my brain starts to unconsciously form sentences of its own accord. Sometimes it could be just before I drop off to sleep, when an idea, thought or one short word or sentence pops into my head and nags at me throughout my sleep and the coming days ahead. Or it could be when I am out on a long run around the beautiful countryside of my hometown, or midway through a lung bursting interval when a eureka moment hits me.  As much as I try to banish them, these thoughts hardly ever go away and snowball forward, expanding into something bigger and more complex.

It is not until I stop, sit down and actually take the time to scrawl down the sometimes hundreds of perfectly formed sentences screaming to be released from my head that my brain can stop and forget that one word which started it all off.

To me, writing and running go hand in hand, complimenting each other throughout every day life. Through the act of running, you can unconsciously free the mind of the unwanted 'rubbish' and connect to your true self, helping to understand your thought processes and what you want and need to write. All of the unwanted monotony floats away on the breeze or escapes with each foot strike hitting the untrodden path ahead. This helps to strip you back down to the amazing raw human emotion of feeling and being free; running wild. There is no better feeling than unleashing the inner beast when you are out there, putting one foot in front of the other and experiencing the true sentiment that you could probably run forever. There are some days when running hurts and every step forward feels like two steps back. That's just part of your journey.

So why do I write? The same reason I run. For the adventure and to discover my true self. By putting pen to paper, it is easier to understand my own internal dialogue and running helps to simplify this down to a more naturally, clear state.

Running is my happy place

My head has always been full of words and full of stories. Discovering my love of running has only intensified this need to write. When I was younger, it was a familiar sight for my family and friends to find me sitting in the garden or squirreled away in a corner, reading and re-reading my favourite stories or hunched over my notepad scribbling down my own tales. I'm just glad that now I have found a way to share my thoughts and stories with the world through blogging.

Writing has always been easier and more natural than talking for me and now running has become easier and so much more fun and exhilarating than walking.

I run because it makes me happy. No matter how far my running takes me, I can be sure I will always be a runner and always crave the simple freedom that a run can bring.

I write because it also makes me happy and putting pen to paper is a process I will always perform.

After all, we've all got stories to tell and writing and running is just my way of expressing mine.

How do you express yours?

We've all got stories to tell

2015: A Year To Remember

Hello again,

So another year has almost come to an end and when I was thinking about writing a blog post to summarise my experiences and adventures in 2015, the saying ~A picture paints a thousand words~ came to mind. 

Here are my a thousand words and then some in the form of pictures. 

British Athletics Cross Challenge-Cardiff

Welsh Cross Country Championships

British Inter-Counties Cross Country Champs

A run along the coast path at St Davids with Dad

The forest tracks in Mid Wales are perfect for 
mountain running training

Buttermere 10 Mile Trail Race

British Athletics Mountain Running Training Camp
in Betws-y-Coed

My last ever Mini London Marathon and with it my highest ever placing: 4th

Luke hitching a ride on a deer

UK Inter-Counties Fell Running Champs

British One Mile Road Championships

Ullswater

A perfect day for a long run

GB Trial for Euro Mountain Running Champs

Natural Swimming Pools at Porto Moniz, Madeira

The Team GB team at the Euro Mountain Running Champs

Junior Girls at Euro Mountain Running Champs, Madeira

On the top of Pen-y-Fan

The view from the summit of Pen-y-Fan

1500m 

A Welsh sunset

A damp hill session in the trees

A speed session

A post-run cool down in the sea

Fish and Chips at the seaside

Another Welsh sunset

GB World Mountain Running Championships trial race

Toby examining my Walsh fell shoes

Team GB at the World Mountain Running Champs

A jog along the sea front in Llandudno

Start line at WMRC

Feeling very tired after finishing 5th at the WMRC in beautiful 
Betws-y-Coed

Team GB junior girls post race at WMRC

Earning team silver at WMRC

One of the best things about mountain running is the amazing people you meet along the way

A very sleepy Toby

A bike ride around the lanes of Mid Wales

Touch-down in Italy

The Walsh PB Elites on tour in Italy

A stone in my shoe, resulting in a very painful and disappointing race

The British Girls at Trofeo Vanoni

The finishers of Trofeo Vanoni in Morbegno

A fab high terrain trail running weekend in the Keswick area

My Dad and I enjoying a long run around the area of Keswick

Fantastic scenery for trail running

Running to the summit through the snow and ice covered bogs during a long run at the trail running weekend

Racing at the British Athletics Cross Challenge in Liverpool

A windy long run around the hills of Mid Wales

A long cycle ride around the Elan Valley Dams

2015 has been a year to remember. A year of many ups and a year of some downs as every path in life should have. A year where many precious memories have been made and a year where I have learnt more about myself and life on this amazing planet that we live. The ups have allowed me to appreciate life through the wonderful experiences that I have had the privilege of being a part of, whilst the downs have also allowed me to fully appreciate the good times when they come along and made me more determined to reach success and whilst being happy along the path that life takes me. 
As always I would like to thank, Norman Walsh UK, The Metropole Hotel and The Ron Pickering Memorial Fund for the support this year.  Without the support, I am sure that 2015 would not have been as rewarding and meaningful.
Furthermore, I would like to give thanks to my family and friends that have made the year memorable by being with me every step of the way. Without you, I would no doubt not be where I am today.

Finally I hope that you had a very Merry Christmas and wish you all a Happy New Year.

2016...

~The best way to predict your future is to create it~ Abraham Lincoln

See you in 2016,
Heidi x

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