Race prep: Relax, TV, munch, cuppa

Slobbing out and watching TV before tomorrow's Grand Union Canal Race and 145 miles of canal, running, walking, sleeplessness, food and exclamations of, 'Why am I doing this (again)?'

I can't wait. It's a big adventure. And yet, I hate the start. It means hauling myself out of bed at about 4am-something and triple checking that I  have everything and anything that I might need and knowing where I have put it and in which bag.

I have to remember: it doesn't always matter how your body feels, it matters how your mind feels. I never feel too amazing at the start because I always feel sleepy. Last year I felt really achy at the 50ish mile mark. Yet, I was pretty pleased with last year's time of 38 hrs 25 mins. This year I am GOING TO beat this.

Last Sunday, 17th May, I completed Windermere Marathon in 4.25.51 - this time was only 1 minute slower than last year. I'm pretty pleased with this, because the wheels actually came off at around 18 miles. I felt 'floppy' and pretty low on energy.  I walked a lot and a bird even pooped on my head. I wasn't giving it my all and I hadn't intended to, with GUCR being less than a week later. However, I was pleased with my early speed. If I can get some good speedy miles under my belt in the daylight and keep that forward progress ticking over during the night section and not take too many long Check Point breaks, then it should all be good.

The medal 

I have decided to run with my OMM waist-pack during the first half of the race. It breaks it up a bit and means that I won't feel as achy or restricted, which I sometimes tend to feel like if I have a running rucksack on my back for too long. So, I'll start off with a few essentials; snacks, gels, waterproof around waist, bottle in hand. I will leave my other important stuff and 'night section rucksack', packed with head torch etc. in my drop-bag.

One thing I wish I could have done successfully in preparation for this weekend is to have restricted caffeine, but I just didn't. I tried a little and even though I didn't majorly overdo the caffeine, I didn't cut it out completely. I will use tried and tested methods to keep myself awake during the night section. These methods include music, singing, full-fat coke and slapping myself in the face.

Again, if anyone would like to donate, I am raising money for Claire House Children's Hospice @www.justgiving.com/canalultra 

Fundraising

So, I created a little word cloud for my upcoming Grand Union Canal Race: Round 4, The Return (thought I'd make it sound like a movie title there ;-) )

As you can see, the word cloud is pretty tiny. I guess the main points are: 45 hour time limit. Aiming for Sub-38hrs. 4th consecutive year I have run this race. I don't have a crew.  I'm running Windermere Marathon the week before. Most importantly, I am raising money for a local charity: Claire House Children's Hospice. My sponsor page is: Justgiving.com/canalultra

5 more years of rain

Just been out for a quick run on a rather miserable and rainy day. Pretty soaked. Perhaps a metaphor for how the next few years will be under a majority Tory government. Yep, I like the odd run in the rain and I like the freedom and democracy of it all, but I don't really want to be constantly soaked and rain-lashed all of the time.

Anyway, there are a billion things I could rant about... (a few are listed below). But, at the end of the day, at least I got to cast my vote (Hint, I didn't vote Conservative). What makes me really mad is when people don't use their vote at all and use an excuse like, 'Well, my vote won't make a difference anyway, so why bother?' If everyone thought that way and everyone did this, then of course, the answer is obvious. Eventually, every vote matters.

At the end of the day, I'm not rich and I'm only getting poorer. I don't have enough money to be able to save and I'm one of those graduates who has never earned more than minimum wage and is over-qualified to ever have been considered for any help or an apprenticeship. So, the Tories do nothing for me. At least I've run a lot of marathons, eh? David Cameron can only run a mile...

Back again.

So, after much revision, I passed my maths test. Yey. I was so nervous about it. Revision literally felt like it was taking over my mind and life, to some extent. It is all I thought about. Now I can stop working out the percentages of absolutely everything and trying to do mental arithmetic all day long.

Now I will be able to write things down on here more often. In my absence I have run a few marathons; the Gin Pit double marathons and Manchester marathon. I will get blogs/ race reports up about these in a few days time. I am still yet to write a race report for Wrexham Marathon also. Like I said, maths revision really did take over.


However, I'm still focusing on numbers in some ways and counting miles - 1 month today I will be running my 4th Grand Union Canal Race and running 145 miles (May 23rd & 24th). And so, the annual  ritual of 'getting lots of running goodies and stuff sorted' commences.

I had been seriously contemplating investing in some Hoka One Ones  for GUCR. I have never tried them before, but I know I suffer from particularly tender feet during ultra marathons. I know a lot of runners who swear by them. So, I have been doing some internet research and set my sights on the Mafate 3. But, NOWHERE on the entire internet do they seem to have a women's UK Size 8.5 - ANYWHERE! Either this is a popular size, or they simply don't make a lot of them.

Although the Grand Union Canal isn't technically 'technical terrain', I like to run it in trail shoes. They have a sturdier sole and I tend to feel the 'glass-like' shards of stone gravel a lot less, later on in the race. And there can be muddy bits along the more rural parts of the canal, and so they offer your feet a bit of extra protection from the elements. With inov8 being my favorite trail brand, I had a little search to see what they currently have to offer and saw that they do an ultra shoe. Therefore, I think I'll be investing in their 'Race Ultra 290' running shoe.

So, with one month to go before 'the BIG one', I have another marathon coming up the week before it, as usual - Windermere Marathon on May 17th.

In the meantime, I'll be continuing my runs home from work. It seems like really good ultra training, having spent all day on my feet and then running on tired legs. It's all good time on my feet. And on top of this, I have been known to add a bit of 'weight' to my rucsack in the form of food stuff from the local shop. I think I managed a PB with how many goodies I managed to stuff into my bag on the run home the other day. I was literally swaying...


Last few days in pictures...

Spirulina and probiotics 

Food-shop run PB

Runner-sock legs

Strong mind, bad at calculations...

(Well, I’m bad at calculations under pressure, as I find it really hard to concentrate on numbers, especially under test conditions).

So, what I was willing not to happen has happened. I have always been well aware that maths is my weakest point. Since I’m aware of this, I have revised and revised and revised for my Numeracy Skills Test. I’ve read up on terminology, learnt fractions and decimals and percentages. I have tested myself and completed numerous practice questions. I do bits every day, around running and around work and I babble on to my boyfriend and to family and to almost anyone (absolutely anyone) who will listen about numbers and multiplications and blah blah blah. But, it wasn’t good enough.

As soon as I got there today, my face felt warm and I felt a little panicked. The woman reviewing my ID was also rather abrupt. I handed over my passport and then she asked for my secondary ID. Trying to make light of my nervousness, I told her that I had brought various forms of ID and letters etc. (I literally brought a file full of letters, qualifications and identification with me). ‘I need one of the ones off the list’, she said sternly and unhelpfully. I handed over my driving license. I then had to squish my bag in a locker. ‘Aren’t you going to take the key?’ she gestured towards, sarcastically. I hadn’t forgotten the key; I was simply hanging up my coat too. Unbeknownst to me, I also had to take my passport into the test room with me, to show another person. I didn’t know this, as I’d never taken a test there before. It wasn’t a big deal, but she was even sarcastic when I asked whether I needed to keep it on me. This doesn't help someone who is very nervous about taking a very important test.

Anyway, the fact is, I panic with numbers. However, I know through revising that I have come a long way. I am not awful at maths. I can work things out just fine. However, it is nerve-wracking when you only have 20 seconds to work something out and when so much depends on passing this test. I know I struggled with the mental arithmetic and the ‘wordier’ questions. I got lost in the context of the question and I started to run out of time. I failed by 3 marks. I will pick myself back up and re-book it. I definitely need to calm my nerves for next time. I only have two more attempts and then it’s time to reassess my career path.

It’s funny because, as a person I know my own mind and I am very strong-minded. It is mind over matter which gets me through all my races. I know I am determined and, in this way, my mind is successful. If I could just apply even half this conviction to a job that I could make a living out of, then I would be content.

To end on a positive note, I was pleased with my marathon time of 3:59:15 at Wrexham Marathon on Sunday. There weren't many ladies in the race, but I did come 10th lady and 3rd in my category, yey :) - getting a bit faster.The weather was pretty bad and the route itself was literally a tour of Wrexham Industrial Estate. Every cloud...

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.