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....

Almost ready.

Almost ready to run 130 miles (or thereabouts). Unfortunately (well, hopefully not unfortunately), I work as a residential teacher in a language school and there are lots of germs going around at the moment. In the last few days it seems that there has been some sort of stomach bug going around. It seems similar to a Norovirus type thingy – diarrhea and vomiting. I really do not want to get sick. I really, really, really do not want to get sick. I have been really looking forward to LLC 130 too much and I am avoiding this ‘plague’ like the plague. I don’t think I could possibly anti-bacterial-ise my hands any more than I have. I’m also eating lots of fruit, taking lots of chlorella and drinking lots of beetroot juice. I feel like I’m getting lots of antioxidants and vitamins this way. And I’m staying optimistic. Also, I’m drinking a lot of water.

I’ve now bought most of my supplies for the race, which includes Pringles...3 tubes of Pringles (once you pop, you can’t stop...), a first aid kit, ibuprofen, paracetamol, wet wipes, baby wipes, toothpaste, Peppa Pig toothbrushes for on-the-run dental hygiene, SIS energy gels, energy bars.... phewwww. I also found my Grand Union Canal Race 145 race no. still attached to my race belt from last time :)

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!

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)