Too busy and sleepy

So much information and observations backlogged in my mind right now, and that’s before I even get to the pedagogical theory and primary school paperwork for my School Direct PGCE – fair to say I have been more than a little bit preoccupied. The other week, I was roughly averaging 3 ½ hours of sleep a night. As I type, I remain pretty preoccupied in the university library, but I cannot currently think of anything useful to write here with regards to my practises in the classroom, so I thought I would procrastinate and empty my mind of recent running exploits.

Chester Marathon – Sunday, 4th October

I can hardly believe that it’s been 4 years since I did my 100^th marathon. This year’s race was my 160^th…not an awful lot run in the last 4 years, when you consider that I did my 100^th within two years. However, I have completed lots of long ones since then, so I have to remember that.

I do Chester because it is my home race. It’s local and it’s friendly. However, I also find it extremely overpriced. Yet, I’m not just moaning at Chester here, I’m moaning at pretty much all city marathons out there. They are so expensive for what they are and the medal is always overshadowed by corporate sponsors. I need to put a picture on here, but the original medal for Chester Marathon was all about Chester’s famous clock. The newer medals are much more stylistic and feature a massive sponsor slogan. I guess that is the way it is. So, this would be my first grievance.

 

Other grievances: I guess that I also really hate the endless country roads. It almost feels that the marathon runners are banished from the city, out towards Wrexham and then they’re finally allowed back into Chester at the end. Consequently, the middle bit is really boring for me. I tend to get a bit lazy around the 14-20 mile mark of boring country-road running. And because it’s a city marathon, you get the endless barrage of runners asking if you’re okay and telling you, ‘you can do this/ well done/ not long now/’ etc. They all mean well, but I’m there in my 100 Club vest, thinking that I have run a lot and I have run far tougher….not meaning to sound arsy, but I just always hear the same stuff. I was thinking about it and there is always that same small talk at city marathons. I don’t hate them, I really don’t, but, sometimes I just don’t know what to say. I think I was just especially sleepy at this marathon, because of my course. I want to do my best, but I'm finding it tricky to be my best at the moment.

 

And even though I am sounding like a very Negative Nancy here, I couldn’t help but spot the Negative Nancys during the race. By this I mean, those runners who just give up and don’t carry on or moan a lot (not just to themselves) during the race. I came upon a couple of guys who were still going and they were telling me how they had expected to finish in 3hrs 15 mins, but how they had injured themselves and were going to drop out at the aid station just up ahead. We were approximately 18 miles in. I couldn’t contemplate dropping out, even if I had to crawl, I’d do it. And I have felt like I have had to crawl in the past, in much longer races than a marathon. I guess my key point is that I often feel safer and more comfortable amongst ultra runners or at least marathon maniacs who somehow seem that little bit grittier and determined. I like the madness and the irrationality that even if you have a niggle, the possibility of carrying on is still there for the taking, because the impossible is a lot more possible when you dream bigger.  [Got a bit philosophical there, but you get my gist...]

Smoothies!

Ahhh I feel so much better for making and drinking smoothies each day. I love apples, but I get bored munching through them, so now I simply blend them J All the taste, none of the biting!

With all these additional vitamins, I’m hoping I feel a bit more energetic for Wrexham Marathon on Sunday. I am so excited to be running a marathon again. I’ve not run once since October and that is a long hiatus for me. My last marathons were Amsterdam, followed by Beachy Head, a week later. Since then, I have moved back up North and things have changed a lot. I’m still not driving at the moment, so far-flung marathons are out of the question. I’m only working part-time and travel to these events doesn’t come cheap. Luckily, Wrexham Marathon is pretty much on my doorstep and just up the motorway a bit.

At least I’m working in a running shop, where the running shoes come a lot cheaper with a bit of staff discount. Not sure which shoes to run in though....

It'll hurt upto a certain point and then it won't get worse.

P.S. Just looked in my inbox to find an email from The Running Bug, titled 'How your first run is like losing your virginity...' Ermmm, is anyone else under the impression that a lot of running publications spout silly gobbledygook to entice/ confuse new readers/ runners and make running way more complicated than it needs to be? I think the worst thing you can do in running is overthink it. Admittedly, I think we all have the tendency to sometimes overthink things, but overthinking running takes away the carefree and exhilarating nature of it. One of the reasons it's so great is because it's so simple. If I'd read a gazillion silly articles like this when I first started running, I may never have entered my first marathon, which I entered without complicating the matter. I simply Google searched 'Marathon + Lake District', ran it, loved it and got hooked. Now I've run 150 assorted marathons/ ultras and lost and kept off over 4 stone, for 7 years. If I can do it, anyone can do it. Anyone can do it. If you want it. 

So, why do we make it so complicated? If you can aspire to it, if you can walk, if you believe you can do it, you will do it. Ok, ok, I know that magazines etc. have to come up with eye-catching titles. After all, that's how they get people to read their articles. It makes sense. It's just that sometimes when I really stop and think, it becomes apparent that we 'dress things up' quite a lot. Perhaps I'm being pedantic.  If I had to describe starting out running, I'd say that it hurts, to a certain point and then it won't get worse. It can only get better (as long as your don't injure yourself). You're unfit and out of practice and you have to reach that hurdle and jump over it. But, it'll be worth it.

South Downs Way LDWA Marathon

Whilst I’m in Eastbourne, I've decided to try out new races that I wouldn't normally get to do. After all, Eastbourne is so far away from the North West. So, I decided to be brave and do the LDWA South Downs Way Marathon (well, 28 miles). I used to do LDWA ‘self-navigational’ marathons all of the time, but I’m a bit rusty these days. I think far too much about all of the times I have gotten lost in the past....which is a lot, by the way!

Early morning on 27^th April, I decided to get a bus to a little place called East Dean and sign up on the day for the 28 miler. I saw a few familiar faces, but not many. Runners were meant to start at 10am, but I arrived early and found my way to the village hall by 8.20am, so I decided to start with the walkers at 9am. A lot of other runners started early also. We all knew it’d be a hilly one and it didn’t disappoint. The South Downs and the Seven Sisters are hilly, but so beautiful.


Fortunately, I managed to tag along with some extremely friendly locals. They had done the route many times before and knew exactly where to go. I didn’t even need to look at my route description. Although, I had – very professionally – highlighted and laminated my route description.

Ultimately, I’m really happy I decided to give this one a go. We took approx. 6 hours 17 mins (you never know quite how long you're going to be out there for where hills, trail and directions are concerned), with over 3, 600ft of elevation. There was some chilly wind and drizzle up on the hills but overall, the weather held out pretty well. We also got biscuits and sandwiches on the way round. However, the sandwiches were a strange array of apricot jam and Marmite. I’m more of a cheese, pickle and/or ham kind of girl... But we did get beans on toast and a cuppa' tea at the end of the race :)

I think my favourite bit of the day was when some friends came to see me after the finish. They actually made me a banner (If you can't read it, it says something along the lines of 'Liz, you're the biz, you might need a whizz, so lets grab some fizz and set up a pub quiz'), which was so sweet and I got to have a nice pint of ale in the pub, which was aptly names 'Legless Rambler'. Overall, I would definitely recommend this one. It was only £8 in advance and £3 extra on the day = bargain!

Manchester Marathon & The Elusive Sub-4...

54 ultras, 54 trail marathons and 32 road marathons (now 33) – I had never achieved a sub-4 marathon. So, I was pretty happy and a little teary on Sunday 6th April at Manchester Marathon to finally get a sub-4 (just) PB  - 3:58:43


I have been running a lot better than I used to, largely because I haven't been running quite so many marathons or ultras and so, my leggies now get better rest and better quality training.



I just had a look at my splits and there were definitely lots of places I could have upped my time. I couldn't go as fast as I wanted near the beginning as there were just too many people in the way/ people in the wrong bit, with the wrong colour numbers for predicted time etc. There were at least 6,000 runners doing Manchester Marathon and it was very congested to begin with. In hindsight, I think I should have gone further up the field, but I'm in the habit of doubting my ability and speed.

Some well-deserved post-marathon ale...

It definitely wasn't the most scenic marathon in the world. It started from Old Trafford and there were a lot of out and back loop-de-loops. I saw a sign for the sewerage works at one point. However, I made sure to stick with the 4 hour pacer for a little while and eventually I was able to overtake him. Soon, the 4 hour pacer was out of sight and remained so until around Mile 22, when he overtook me. It actually really threw me off, because I was still running at a sub-4 hour marathon pace. I could still do it. I was struggling and really warm and my energy was being quickly zapped, but I was still on target. When the 4 hour marathon pacer overtook me, I had a mini panic. He was obviously going faster than this pace, which I guess is great for those that had followed him the whole way, but was really bad for those that he overtook, because it puts you in a bad head space. Anyway, I tried not to let this scupper my dreams. I did not want another Loch Ness Marathon moment, of finishing just over 4 hours and 6 seconds! So, I absolutely legged it (and kept saying 'Come on!' to myself, a lot!)

Overall, I know there were lots of bits I could have run better, the wheels definitely fell off at some points. However, all in all, a great day . And in some ways, knowing that I could have done better and knowing that I didn't feel my best at some points is amazing, because it means that I can do even faster on a really good day...

Ooooh and I also bumped into some other runner buddies at Victoria Station in London. I was making my way back from Manchester Marathon and they had just run Brighton Marathon. It's a small world!

Navigation

It seems silly not to do an LDWA event whilst I'm in Eastbourne. So, I'm going to do the South Downs LDWA Marathon next Sunday (27th April). I'm actually a little nervous as I've not done anything involving a lot of navigation in a long,  long time. Try as I may, lovely George isn’t free to navigate with me as he’s doing a 10k in London, so I’m going to be brave and go it alone!

So, South Downs Way it is, then Three Forts the week after and then hopefully I'll be able to get up to Windermere for the Brathay Windermere Marathon (my favourite) and also have a little chill out (maybe) before my 3rd GUCR the week after :)  yeyyy

Also, I had the best run along the South Downs the other week, with George. We ran from Eastbourne to Beachy Head to Birling Gap. We stopped at Birling Gap for a cheeky cream tea. My scone was massive and it was great to refuel mid-run. It's been very sunny over this way lately. We ended up running a nice 15 ½ miles in the end, so the scone was much needed, and so was the beer afterwards... 

Chester Marathon & Lovely Things...

The weekend was absolutely amazingly lovely. The end (only joking). Not joking about the amazingly lovely bit... :)

I’ve been looking forward to October for ages, not only because all the best people are born in October... ahem :-p but also because lovely George had entered me into Chester Marathon and we are also going to Canada tomorrow and then when we get back from Canada it’s my birthday. So, it’s just all so exciting at the moment.

I’ve not been on a plane for years, so I’m pretty excited – I really like the buzz of airports & planes. I’m easily pleased. I’m finally packed, although I’ve probably forgotten something. At least I know I have packed my running kit, which I’m going to need as we’re doing the Vulture Bait 50k in Ontario next weekend.

Anyway, here’s a little ramble about Chester Marathon:

Chester is my home marathon and it was two years to the day since I had done my 100^th marathon there at Chester. I’d not done a race for ages and it had been even longer since I’d done a city marathon with support and goodie bags and things.

We got to the start in loads of time and I really liked the layout of everything. Top marks for porta-loos. I don’t think I have ever seen so many portable loo’s lined up like that before. There were thousands of people everywhere, so they were obviously definitely needed, but it was still good to see top notch organisation like that. The baggage drop-off points were really well organised also, as was the little ‘race village’.

I got to see some of the usual suspects, but there were so many people everywhere that I didn’t get to see as many as I would have liked to.

Me and George had decided to run this one together and cross the line holding hands, awww (bleeeurggh ;-) ). However, he is a lot faster than I am. But, having done a lot of ultras lately he assured me that he wanted to take it a little easier. We positioned ourselves – well, I positioned ourselves - near the 4.30 pace marker. I started my Garmin as soon as the gun went off, as I find it gives you a cheeky little psychological ‘advantage’ when you look at your watch later on in the race and give you a few minutes to play with. Well, it makes some sort of weird sense to me. So, we were off and started to run from the race course, running into the city and skirting round past Chester Cathedral and lots of familiar places for me. Passing under the clock and past some of my favourite pubs, we now headed out of the city.

I felt pretty knackered for a little while if I’m honest. We had been to the zoo the day before and had a few carb loading drinks in Liverpool on Friday night and I didn’t sleep much in the week from all the anticipation of actually doing fun things and a marathon again. I had decided in advance not to look at the pace on my Garmin, so I changed the screen. I’d look at it towards the end of the race to make sure I wasn’t going too slooowwly, but other than that, I didn’t want to be a slave to my Garmin. 

We started at 4.30 marathon pace and to my delight; we had caught up with 4.15 marathon pacers by 8miles in. I was running well until about 15 miles in and we even managed to outrun the 4.15 pacers, yey. However, I hadn’t anticipated the weather being so nice. Okay, it’s not Spain or something, but it felt so warm out there. My body was so warm, but I was so sweaty that my arms started to go cold and then I just felt disorientated a bit and I decided to break my run for the first time in 15miles and run/ walk for a bit. I was so thirsty and I made the most of the drinks stations. I was even pouring water down my back and on my head, which I never do. I just felt so overheated somehow.  The race was sponsored by Lucozade and prior to the start, I had been hesitant at the prospect of taking any Lucozade gels or drinks as I used to find that they were horrible and sickly. Yet, on seeing all the swanky new packaging and really in need of an energy boost, I gave in. I’m glad I did. The orange Luzcozade drink on offer was really rather tasty. It just tasted like a really nice orange juice and it definitely helped perk me up a bit when I was really in a bit of a lull.

Once out of the city, the majority of the race was run on lovely scenic country roads, passing through idyllic villages. There was so much lovely local support out there, which was really nice to see. Maybe it’s because we ran near Farndon, where I ran one of my first ever races and one of only two 10k races that I have done (I hate running 10k races), but I started to get a little ‘bored’ with the country roads. I wanted some sights and city-ness. I kind of needed some distractions to take my mind off my limp and energy-less self.

At around Mile 23, I perked up again and pulled myself together. We were still on pace for a 4.30 marathon time, but I was definitely holding George back, who was running much better than me. In the last few miles, I saw a couple of runners receiving medical attention. One lady had an oxygen mask over her face and was being stretched out by paramedics on the pavement and one man looked like he had collapsed. It’s always startling to see these things, because I’m not used to seeing it at the usual, smaller scale events that I do.

With two miles to go, I was in a good frame of mind again. I love the ending of this race and I love running past the river and ultimately, back onto the race course. Approaching the race course was actually quite emotional. There were so many people and so much support! The sprint was on and me and George crossed the line hand in hand, whilst the commentator over the speakers was like ‘And here come two runners, hand in hand’ – made me chuckle.

The medal and finishing area was so well organised also. There was no confusion and so much friendliness from the marshals. They were shaking people’s hands and congratulating them and I just thought it was a really nice touch. Goodie bags were given out efficiently and I got my long sleeved technical t-shirt no problem. Sorted. And then we found a spot of the grass and decided to have a little lie down.... Ahhh.

All in all, I had such a lovely day. And then we proceeded to find a pub and seek out Guinness.

So, there we go, a bit of a rushed blog there, but I have to go get my train now and then my bus to London town. There are likely lots of spelling mistakes in this too...

Oh, and we finished in 4:25:46 – This is the fastest time I’ve done in so long and now I know I can run faster than this again on a better day. Pretty emotional after being so slow for so long...even if I did used to be a consistent 4hr something marathon runner...but, slowly, I’m clawing back the speed :)

Thunder (literally...and lightning) Run

Note: You are about to read a bit of a long and winding ramble. It might go round in circles, much like the race in question. It will probably come across as quite negative, but I’m just being honest from my perspective. From what I could tell, a hell of a lot of runners out there has a fantastic time & well done to everyone who did participate. There was definitely camaraderie going on for sure. Now, brace yourself for my undulating bloggage...

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I love running long and I love running trails and I’m pretty comfortable with staying awake for long periods of times and enduring bad weather and sleeplessness. However, I also really like to go somewhere; I like to go on a journey. I like to travel from point A – Z and end up in some place new from where I started, knowing that I got so far away with my own two feet. I love it. I love the adventure and above all, it’s exciting.

I think it is true to say that I have rather avoided the whole ‘24hour race’ scenario. Like track marathons and lots of laps, this scenario fills me with a sense of running-dread. However, I was willing to give Thunder Run a try. The advantage of this course is that each loop is 10k in length and on off-road trail, through grassy paths and woodland. There were also a few hills in there, which added variety. For me personally, I need that variety. Sure, I’ve done the Brathay 10in10 and I’ve done marathons with multiple laps, but for a 24hour race, I wouldn’t just want to be running around a track. Hats off to the running nutters I know out there who do amazingly at 24hour races and just keep on and on, but I know that running around the same course repeatedly for a full 24 hours just isn’t where my main strengths lie.

So, whilst contemplating this event, the course offered some positive points to me. Furthermore, I was in a female pair with Sarah Aston, so it would be a fun experience and I wouldn’t be in it alone. There was a sense of camaraderie and ‘let’s do this, let’s go for it, rarrrgh!’ After all, there were only a small number of female teams and we were anticipating that we could in theory, do quite well.

We arrived on the Friday night and camped, ready to get going at midday on Saturday. Sarah did the first lap since she had done thunder run last year and knew how it all worked, whereas I was a bit clueless, but I soon picked it up. You basically wait in a cordoned off ‘holding area’ and spot your runner as they are running back in. Then, they give you the wrist band and off you go on your lap. At first it was hard to spot your runner coming in, as there were so many people all crowded around at the same time and lots of hustle and bustle, but I definitely got into the swing of things.

For most of the day it was boiling hot. It was so warm out there and we took a little longer at some loops that we had planned, but nothing too slow and it didn’t really matter because we had a full 24hours. By 7.30pm, the weather had changed dramatically. Thunder Run was living up to its name and there was quite a sustained thunder storm. I love thunder storms, but I’d rather have not been out running in it. I think it must have rained for the next 7 hours and the lightning was a little scary. Needless to say this drastically transformed the course and pathways became flooded. It was a mud bath out there.

You know that bit in Jurassic Park, when that big dude is out in the rain, with that canister full of dinosaur sperm (or something like that...) & it is pouring down with rain and he can’t see, and he loses his glasses and then that scary dinosaur starts attacking him and all the pathways are really muddy and rainy and scary....?! Well, that film clip kept popping into my mind!

Ultimately, I think my main grievance was that it felt to me that there were hundreds of different people all out there at once all running entirely different races. Yep, it was a race, but it was more of a rush for some than others. If you’re in a team of 8, you’re going to be able to run faster than those in a team of 2 or a solo runner. I love running through woods and I love the trail, but I couldn’t enjoy it. Some of the paths were very narrow, with exposed tree roots etc. I wasn’t plodding along, I was going at a fair speed, but obviously, teams wanted to win and were going hell for leather. That’s fine, but I constantly felt pushed to the side and in the way. On a few occasions I felt like I had to keep stopping to let people past me. But it’s difficult, with there being so many different sizes of team on the same course at the same time and I’m not sure how it could be rectified, but I just didn’t find it enjoyable.

It got much worse later on in the day, following the mega thunderstorm and monsoon style rain. Much of the course became a mud-bath and flooded and tree roots became hidden, running became slippery and with the low-light, some bits got a little treacherous out there. I don’t mind rain so much and I did GUCR last year in the pouring rain for 40+ hours, but it started to become dangerous in places. I was taking it easier because I couldn’t see properly and the paths were so narrow and now very muddy, but there was still a constant stream of speedsters itching to overtake. Again, this is all well and good, but a few times these speedier runners were flying all over the place and stumbling and because they were just throwing themselves about I nearly ended up falling into bushes and tripping also.

I just got fed up.

Things came to a head for me after my double-lap, which I finished at around 11pm-ish. All together I had run 30 miles. It was okay. Actually, we were in second place out of five female only pairs for quite a while. Mysteriously, during the night an extra team that had not been on there all day appeared. I think we eventually got pushed down to fourth, but we had basically given up by then, so all was ok.  We definitely deserved our medals though – we put in some hard work.

So, there I was after my last lap. I was soaked to the skin. I was beyond soaked. I was shivering uncontrollably. I was so cold that my whole body was aching, purely from shivering so violently. Stood in the food tent, I came across some solo runner friends who had changed into normal dry clothes. They had decided to rest and sleep until morning and then go out again when it was daylight and hopefully no longer raining. In my mind, I knew that I just didn’t want to go back out again. My original plan had been to run 50-60 miles, but that just wasn’t going to happen. I was running around the course, cursing it. My mind and heart wasn’t in it and then my body followed. I started to feel quite nauseous and whilst I was in the food tent I bought a baguette. I forced some food down because I really didn’t feel too good. Then I summoned the courage to walk the five minutes or so back to where we were camped. I just didn’t want to move, and yet, I was just stood there shivering.

I got back to camp and my pop-up tent had flooded. This wasn’t a surprise to me and fortunately Sarah had given me here car keys before she had gone back out to run her laps. Once in the car, I just sat there, you guessed it, shivering – shivering like a mad woman! I must have looked quite funny and mental now I think about it. I was shaking my head and muttering to myself that I didn’t want to go back out there.  I managed to rummage through my bag and dry myself with a towel and put on some dry clothes. My towel was soaked. I tried to snuggle down for a snooze, but at this point, I was still dreading the possibility that I might have to go back out. I didn’t want to let Sarah down. Near the end of her first lap, she came by the car, since where we were camped was on the course route, just past the 9K mark. There was still a possibility I could have to go back out, so I set my alarm on my phone, but deep down I knew that I really, really didn’t want to go back out there. A little while later, Sarah came back around, on the end of her second lap. She had some ‘bad news’, she said; she just couldn’t go back out there, it was muddy, it was dangerous, and we just weren’t running to anywhere in particular that would make it somehow purposeful, just running around in muddy circles. This news was far from bad for me, I was the happiest I had been in hours. I was so happy that the decision not to go back out was mutual.

So, right now, I’m sat here and I’m wondering, now that I’m writing about this around 4 days after the actual event whether or not my opinions of this event have changed. Was it all as bad as I had thought at the time? Could I have done more and gone on to enjoy it? Well, I guess you can always do more. I could have run further and kept on going. But, at what cost? I really think it got quite dangerous out there and although I had wanted to do well, it just didn’t matter that much to me that I wanted to cause myself serious injury. Also, a lot of it just became un-runnable, it was that muddy.

It got me thinking about GUCR in 2012 and how wet and miserable the weather was on that weekend. I was soaked to the skin and I had to wear a binbag and I knew from the very beginning in Birmingham that I had 145 miles ahead of me and that those miles would likely be very wet. Yet, I was so willing to endure this and I never once contemplated giving up. As extreme as it sounds, I would have done anything to finish. Similarly, a few years ago, I ran Hardmoors 55 in Yorkshire. This 55 mile trail race passes through open moorland and pretty high ground. The terrain is very rugged and we were faced with patches of snow, biting wind and torrential, unrelenting rain. It got so bad that more than half the field dropped out and many ended up with hypothermia. Yet, I was determined to finish it and indeed I did. 


So, I know I have the mentality and strength to overcome tough weather conditions and distance and keep going. I think the difference is that on other events, I had a clearly defined goal: to reach that finish line. Furthermore, everyone else running those races had the same goal in some respect, to go on a journey and reach the finish. On Thunder Run, I didn’t have that sense of purpose and I just grew frustrated, because even though I was trying to do well, I wasn’t going anywhere and I wasn’t going on a journey. I was running around in miserable circles. I think I’ve learnt some valuable lessons from this event and I know now that 24 hour thingy-magigs really aren’t my thing...

Chafing's not just for blokes...

A tale of nasty chafing & running...I'm not sure what the moral of the story is, but I can testify that Vaseline doesn't always help :-(

I think I have a pretty strong mind where pain is concerned. However, I have never been in hospital for anything illness or injury related *touch wood*, so I never quite know whether I am indeed good with pain or if I just haven’t really experienced anything significant as of yet that I can clock up to experience or measure such niggles against. I have been lucky. But I’ve run 138 marathon events including 10 in 10 days, quite a few hilly off-road ultras, back-to-backs, GUCR twice and a few 100 milers, so I think I’ve clocked up some experience with running related ‘pain’ – a little bit. So, last weekend I decided to do Fairland’s Valley Challenge. I’ve done this event twice before and I knew it was a lovely friendly event with lots of familiar faces and lovely countryside. And George was doing it, so I had the best company. However – and how can I put this – I have been experiencing a fair bit of discomfort running-wise, with the humid weather, in a rather delicate area. But, I thought ‘what’s the worst that can happen, I’ve been through worse right?’ Wrong.

It’s fair to say that Fairland’s Valley challenge was a very challenging and emotional day.  It was an emotional and physical rollercoaster. Five minutes prior to the race starting, I was jumping up and down and I had lots of George hugs, as my speedy boyfriend decided that he wanted to take this one easy and would therefore be my running buddy for the day. I was super excited because we hadn’t run an entire race together yet and I knew he would be lovely company, like he always is and it’d be a beautiful day, following on from a wonderful Saturday. So, we set off and everything was going wonderful for the first 5 miles. We skipped down little grassy hills, jokingly ran hand in hand and had some little kisses at various kissing gates :-) So, the first 5 miles were great. However the discomfort started to set in :-( and I have never had such bad chafing/ soreness like it whilst running. It felt like I was being stung by nettles for around the next 20 miles. The really horrible thing was that I was running well when I wasn’t in so much pain with it. And the sun was shining, the countryside was beautiful and so was George. I was in the best company in such a lovely place, but this one thing was overriding all feelings of contentment.

I used Vaseline, had used some Sudocrem prior to the race and I tried my best to ignore it and grit my teeth, but it was horrendous. I moaned, I swore and I generally spoiled what would have been an awesome day. George was amazing just being there and gave my little hugs to spur me on, but in reality he couldn’t do anything and nor could I and I knew this frustrated him too. And then about 2 miles before the end, I cried. This lump just caught in my throat and I really felt myself starting to sob. I quickly made myself get a grip  and kept on going. I would not be defeated by this. It actually seems so silly writing about this now, but I can not highlight enough how awful it was at that moment in time. In the end, we were a lot slower than we would have been if it had not been for my ‘predicament’.

Honestly, out of all the races, all the events, even GUCR, I have never, NEVER had so much discomfort. And it made me scared. It has made me frightened of this coming weekend’s Thunder Run. I have my fingers crossed that everything will run smoothly. I think this goes to show that even something seemingly trivial or even silly and definitely embarrassing can have such a profound effect on you whilst running and I really hadn’t foreseen that it would be such a problem...

Somebody suggested using chamois cream as used by cyclists, so I did a google search & it seems Udderly Smooth do one. I think I might give it a try, since I already use their moisturiser sometimes & it does indeed make your skin smooth 

SDW Marathon in June June June

Saturday 8th June: SDW Marathon

South Downs Marathon is beautiful – I definitely recommend. Although, maybe not two weeks after GUCR. It was only ever a recovery run for me, but still, those hills were pretty tricky in places.

I’d never done this marathon before, although I have done the Downland Challenge, which is approx. 30 miles over parts of the SDW, so I knew the area was very scenic. This was also a great opportunity to see a lot of the ‘usual suspects’ who I hadn’t seen for a while. Everyone seemed to be there. And I was able to introduce all my crazy runner friends to George, which was nice :o) It’s always great to have a catch-up at events and of course, lots of piccies for the photo album were snapped.

So, before I knew it, we were off. Even from the very beginning, my legs felt a bit stiff, but they did eventually loosen up for the most part. It was a scorching hot day, very warm and the sun was beating down already. I just took it easy and continued to take it pretty easy.

I had decided to wear my trail shoes and I was pretty pleased with this decision. Even though there were road sections and the ground was dry and hard, and therefore perfectly runnable in road shoes, there were niggly stones that I know would have shredded my feet had I been in road shoes. Even as I recount this marathon almost a month after I actually did it (I’ve gone very slow on the blog front, as I’ve been a busy Lizzy), my feet are still showing signs of recovering from ultra-ness. My feet are peeling and I find this sometimes happens to me even months after a big ultra. Therefore, two weeks after GUCR, my feet were still pretty tenderised. Thus, trail shoes were an excellent idea for SDW marathon. The sole is obviously much thicker and I didn’t feel the ruts or niggly stones under my feet. Me and niggly sharp stones do not get on.

The first few miles of this marathon were a little bit crowded down narrow paths. This was a little tricky, as one guy attempted to undertake me on a corner, in the middle of a woods. He nearly went flying (silly man) and I was a little annoyed and got clipped and stumbled, but managed not to fall. I’m not sure why some people feel the need to overtake others in stupid places. How much time are they really going to save themselves if they end up causing themselves, or someone else unnecessary injury? Once the field had spread out, this sort of thing ceased to be a problem.

A couple of hours in and the sun was now really hot. My stomach wasn’t feeling too great, but I was okay. However, I wish I had followed George’s idea of filling a Camelbak up with coke (even though I don’t own a Camelbak...oh well, somehow I wish I had carried some coke). I was really craving something fizzy and ‘energy-giving’.  I was making sure I was drinking plenty of water and getting some electrolytes back in, but there comes a certain point where you need a little more than water and salt capsules/ electrolyte stuff. I started to feel a little sickly. But again, I was ultimately okay. I just had to ride the feeling out with some much needed walking. I also ate some salted mixed nuts & some choc-chip Hammer Nutrition energy bar.

Before I knew it, we were into the last few miles and I just could not wait to get to that finish line and get a nice cold fizzy drink. It’s really strange however; I struggled to ‘sprint’ into the finish, and yet I always normally manage to give it something at the end, I even ‘sprinted’ the end of GUCR...but on this, I was pretty stiff near the end. I think I finished in 6 hours exactly. Pretty slow, but it was indeed a recovery marathon. And I got my Dr Pepper at the end :o) I was aiming for below 6hours, but I was dawdling quite a bit. There were also some hills where I felt completely zapped of all energy...I literally felt like I was on a treadmill going nowhere, not moving forwards, but trying to.

Goody bags were pretty full of various random things on this event, which I really miss on all the smaller trail events I run and liked. Highlights included a teeny can of alcohol-free recovery beer. I wish it had been alcoholic, but it was pretty tasty. We also got some rather strange hard-boiled coffee sweeties. Exciting. And we got a nice medal and a t-shirt. 

Overall, I would definitely recommend the SDW marathon to anyone, in future. Really good, friendly organisation. And lots of scenic surroundings and pretty hills :o)

Windermere Marathon / At least the GUCR is flat...

I started having dreams about the GUCR the other night. I was dressed as some kind of superhero in a weird electric blue leotard! And another runner lady was like ‘I can’t believe how young you look for being in your late 30s’ and I was like ‘I’m not, I’m only 26’, it was really weird.

So, Sunday was my 14th time around the lake at the Brathay Windermere Marathon and I was so happy to get back to the Lakes for the weekend. It was 4 years to the day since my first marathon and as I always say, this marathon is really special to me and all of the memories I’ve made there always come flooding back. I can’t believe 2 years have passed since my own 10in10 and sometimes I forget I really did it. And I couldn’t find my 10in10 hoodie, so I kinda’ felt like I hadn’t haha!

As I ran around Windermere, I kept thinking that at least the GUCR is flat. And another common thought was how I don’t know how I did the 10in10 because all these hills that I forget about always pop up and then suddenly all recollections come flooding back and then I start to become hypersensitive to the smallest incline. I do love this marathon though.

Having arrived in the Lakes on Saturday, we did a loop of the course on Saturday in the car and stopped at Newby Bridge. I had a little real ale and waited for some TITs to run past. Everyone looked in great shape and it was lovely to see them all on their Day 9. For the rest of Saturday, I seem to have carb loaded quite a lot on various ales and a little Guinness. Later, we went for some tea with Davey and Lesley and then some more ale...and then some water.

Sunday was a little overcast, but much better behaved than the weather on Saturday, which was pouring down as we were driving up.

All in all, I had a lovely time running one of my favourite marathons. There were also some nice supporters out on route. One particular spectator who stood out was this lady who appeared at Mile 12, who was enthusiastically screaming: ‘Wooo, keep going...this road has nothing on you and you can beat it, do it like you mean it’. To my amusement and delight, she popped up again at Mile 25 and we recognised each other from earlier on, which caused a lot of giggles from the guy that was with her. I love little memorable funny things like that.

Of course, at the back of my mind was the thought that the GUCR was now less than a week away. I think there was a 2 week gap between last year’s Windermere marathon and the GUCR. And I feel compelled to do Windermere because it’s where it all started, and I just love it.

So, with only five days to 'taper' / not do anything much and relax the muscles, I was a little worried. In actuality, I like to think that I am pretty good on the recovery front. I think I’m pretty good at recovering after events and going onto the next one. On Sunday and Monday I felt so achy and seemed to have a lot of DOMS. Obviously this was down to the hills, but I can’t help but think that it was made worse by my mind working overtime and focusing so much on any little ache. However, I’ve had a few cold baths this week and I’m happy to report that I’m feeling very excited for this.



So, I am going to go packing and getting my kit together and do some ultra-food shopping. The food shop is the best bit. Where else do you get to think things like ‘Oooh darn it, those just don’t have enough calories in them...’?

And I distinctly heard the weather lady say, this morning that it was largely going to be fine and dry at the weekend, with maybe a chance of showers, but pretty much alright. I didn’t once hear the words torrential downpour or monsoon, which is what the weather was like last year. However, part of me will miss the bin bag action.... I shall pack some just in case!

Note: As I finish writing this, the heavens have just opened...however, we are in the North West, so fingers crossed!

The List

Whilst *attempting* to be organised yesterday – a big ask for me because I am rarely organised – I decided to update my Excel database list of marathon/ ultra distance races I have completed. So I drank some coffee, sat down at the computer and inputted lots of numbers and times and things. I eventually worked out after a few mishaps in my calculations (Excel has a mind of its own with numbers and lines sometimes I swear) that I have run 27 road marathons, 54 trail marathons & 47 ultras. I think I did about 65 ultra/ marathon events in 2011. Therefore, apparently I have the UK female record for the most marathons (includes trail stuff) run in a calendar year, which is pretty nice actually.

I enjoyed my little trip down memory lane whilst updating ‘The List’. You start to remember all the adventures, all the mud & times you took unintentional diversions! There are so many adventures within that list of races. I’ve written notes by each entry. Some of my favourite notes/ notes that provoked the most memories are:

Marathon No.5: Baxter's Loch Ness Marathon, 04 October 2009; Time: 04:00:06 – “Pb :) - bus's broke down - great marathon atmosphere”            

                   

Marathon No.10: ULTRA race 45 miler - Day 2, 24 January 2010; Time: 12:11:00 – “Very stiff, but met some lovely people”

Marathon No.17: Neolithic Marathon, 02 May 2010; Time: 05:24:46 – “Day after DNF at Malvern hills ultra (45miles in)! Made me happy”

Marathon No. 34: Ridgeway Challenge 85 miler, 28 August 2010; Time: 25:54:00 – “Feet were in the most pain, but lovely pub at the end!”           

                  

Marathon No.64:  Brathay 10in10 - Day 2, 14 May 2011; Time: 05:40:57    - “I can’t believe what I'm doing - lovely to have support on the course”

Marathon No. 72: Brathay 10in10 - Day 10, 22 May 2011; Time: 05:52:13    - “Hugely emotional & surreal - 2 yrs to the day since my first marathon”      

                                       

Marathon No.99:  Where Ravens Dare, 01 October 2011; Time:  09:14:00 – “Very tough, very hot, 5,500+ ft of ascent - 30 miles; got lost :)”

Marathon No.1: Brathay Windermere Marathon, 17 May 2009; Time: 04:04:35 - “First marathon - really enjoyed it / rained a lot at the end!”          

     

And I remember thinking; it was after my first marathon at Brathay that I was inspired by those 10in10 runners, but at my second marathon at the Isle of Mann, I thought aloud that I wanted to run 100 marathons. It’s nice to go down memory lane sometimes and remember all the little obstacles and unexpected adventures. It helps you to overcome the more difficult obstacles faced through a temporary lack of adventure and achievement. Through it all I know that there are many more adventures waiting for me over the horizon       

    

“The only real treasure is in your head. Memories are better than diamonds and nobody can steal them from you” -  Rodman Philbrick