Vicky's Ultrarunning Adventures with baby.

Numbers Game

2012-01-29T21:26:00.000Z

Here are some numbers for January:

14 - the number of weeks that make Annabel's age.

29 - number of days in January so far that I have trained (today is the 29th Jan) - no rest days so far in 2012!!

4 - the number of times per week that I am running.
1 - the number of long runs per week
1 - the number of interval sessions per week
1 - the number of tempo runs per week
1 - the number of progress runs per week

7 - the number of times per week that I am cross-training.

11 - minute per mile pace I was running in December
9 - minute mile pace I am managing for shorter runs now.

10.4 - the number of miles in my first Long Run of the year - today in Mabie Forest.
(long runs only count for me when they are in double figures)

17 - the number of weeks till the Edinburgh Marathon

7 - the number of days per week I am exhausted.
7 - the number of days per week I am thankful for how lucky I am to have my little family.

And here's the magic number - 3 - the number of stones I have lost since Annabel was born!!
1.5 - stones left to lose.

Parkrun Debut

2012-01-21T15:07:00.000Z

Strathclyde Parkrun

One year ago tomorrow I ran my last proper race. Three months ago tomorrow Annabel was born. Today I ran my first proper post-baby race. It was also my first Parkrun. I registered last spring but I never actually made it to any races before I had to stop running. So it's been a long wait but I finally made it to Strathclyde Park. I went up with two other ladies from DRC as it's just not financially practical to go on your own (even though the run itself is free). There are no Parkruns close to us so we had to make sure it was worth our while going by sharing the fuel costs.

It was pouring with rain when we left the town but luckily it dried up as we made our way up the motorway. Unfortunately the wind didn't disappear as well. It was increadibly windy for the race, and not especially warm (I've got a bit soft in my non-running ways haha!!).

I quite enjoyed the run despite the weather. I couldn't believe how hard it felt to run at what I would have considered a really slow pace. Racing is hard!! I am really pleased though how my pace has improved since last month. I was running 11 minute miling in December and today my target was 9 minute miling. I was pretty much on target 28:04 (9:02pace). That's my marathon PB pace - for 5km!! Long way to go, but heading in the right direction. Happy days.

We stopped at Starbucks on the way home and I foolishly ordered a large mug of tea - dear god it was practically a pint mug!! Not ideal for a post-pregnancy lady ha ha.

Looking forward to the next one. The race that is, not a pint of tea!!

Olympic Year - Where are you going?

2012-01-15T15:05:00.002Z

So 2012, is well under way now. It's the London Olympics Year! We didn't even try to get tickets. Combining a little baby with probable accomodation prices we thought it would be much more fun and relaxing to take part from home. Sky+ at the ready!! Plus the Devil race takes place on the first weekend of the athletics anyway. The shopping opportunities are plentiful and I am seriously tempted by the Team GB romper suit! It's cheaper than the hoody that I fancy for myself so there's more chance Annabel will get the romper suit ha ha.

It was great following the US Marathon Trials yesterday at the Houston Marathon and there were some great times run and it made me think. What is everyone's Olympic Event this year? Let's face it, most of us will only ever get to the Olympics as spectators so what is your big event of the year? What's that one big race that is your 100m final or your Olympic marathon? Do you have a dream race, with a dream time in mind?

There was a quote in a magazine I read recently that quotes Alice in Wonderland "If you don't know where you are going, any road will take you there." In running terms I suppose this means you should have a specific target and aim for it. Chose a race, chose a time and make it happen. Believe you can make it happen. If you don't believe you can do it, then the chances are that you can't. If you believe you can do it then you're already half way there.

So what's my Olympic event? Well, before the Olympisc start my event is the Edinburgh marathon. My target time is to get a PB, so anything under 3:58. I ran that time at Loch Ness in 2007. It was only my 2nd marathon and I hadn't been running long at the time but I remember being so pleased to have broken the 4 hour barrier. I haven't run a marathon in 4 years so it will be interesting to get back into training specifically for that. It's going to be a real challenge getting from my current state of fitness to being marathon-ready but the target is set so all I have to do is keep my focus on the end goal and that Olympic victory will be mine!!

So chose your race, chose you time, believe you can do it and (to borrow a well known advertising slogan fro Nike) Just Do It!

My 2011 round-up

2012-01-03T16:58:00.000Z

I feel like I'm the only person who hasn't done their 2011 round-up so here goes...

I ran a shabby half marathon on Jan 2nd. I ran a not-too-shabby 50k 3 weeks later.

And then I made a little human. And an awfie cute one she is too.

A pretty amazing year really.

New Year Race Countdowns (2012)

2011-12-27T13:02:00.002Z

It's this time of year that we have just finished the Christmas countdown and our countdowns to our 2012 races begin. I don't normally 'advertise' what races I am going to do, but I think this year I may need all the encouragement beforehand that I can get.

So here is my goal race:

Target = Edinburgh Marathon.

5 months today - need to lose 2 stone and 3 minutes per mile!!!

Nae bother eh? Especially with no time to train, sleepless nights and current festive food temptations... haha.
Well, why bother doing something easy?

2012 I am meeting you head on!

Oh, and my new Vomero's are en route

....................................................................................................................................................................

The Devil is still an afterthought at the moment. I will see how things go in the first half of 2012 first.

Santa's wish list

2011-12-23T16:42:00.000Z

It's almost time for the rosy cheeked man in the big red suit to descend upon us. I hope everyone's christmas preparations are going well and that you've all avoided any last minute shopping rage fighting your way through the thronging high streets around the country (reason enough to do it early!!).

What is on your list to Santa this year? I don't really need any new running stuff as I have barely used any of this years stuff!! But I do need some new road shoes. Nike Zoom Vomeros are my current shoe of choice. And look, you can get them in pink!! What more could I ask for? :-)

But this is top of my list - one of these for grown-ups! Babies get all the cool stuff!!

So Merry Christmas and a Prosperous New Year and hope all your running plans for 2012 come to fruition and that you have fun in the process.

Amazing Amanda and the Peeing Elf!

2011-12-18T17:40:00.000Z

Today was the DRC Christmas handicap 5 mile race. Now I haven't run all week because my knees and ankles have been so sore so I had decided to wait till this morning to decide whether or not I would run. Whilst my ankles were still sore this morning my knees felt ok so I decided I would go and run. I haven't runa full 5 miles non-stop since I started back so that was my main goal for today. I knew that I would be slow but today wasn't about running any specific time, it was about spending time with running friends and hopefully getting round the route in one piece (with no walk breaks).
I set off on scracth with 3 other ladies, 2 of which were there to keep myself and Amanda comany on the run round. This was Amanda's first ever 5 mile run and she was probably as nervous as I was about running it.

The conditions were great for running - a lovey crisp wintery morning with the sun shining. So long as you paid attention to the road you could easily avoid all the icey patches. We were having a good time encouraging each and catching up as we went round. Each time one of us was struggling the others rallied round and kept us going. This is one of the reasons I love being in a running club - it doesn't matter what standard you run at, you will always be encouraged and made to realise how well you are doing - 6minute miling or 12 minute miling - it' all relative.
The second best moment of the day was when the little elf in our group nearly got caught short when she was having a sneaking spot of relief at the roadside and a car was coming the other way. I can't be completely sure but her modesty remains intact - just ;-) ha ha.
The best moment? That was when Amanda crossed the line in 1st place! She didn't believe she could run the whole 5 miles and certainly didn't expect to be winning it. Puking and walking breaks were held off and she crossed the finish line to a big cheer from our little group. It really was a brilliant moment.

I rushed home as soon as we'd finished so I could shower and bring Annabel up to the clubhouse to meet all her future 'crew memebers' ;-) . Poor wee soul was a bit overwhelmed by all the noise and the people and wasn't entirely pleased about being there but she did well and even got some wee xmas pressies from her 'running aunties' to take home too so it was a good wee adventure for her. She's a lucky wee girl.

Next time she'll be at the club will probably be the Hollywood Stroll race which is run on the same route that we used today in May. Next time she'll be in her babyjogger though so will be racing the very best of them! ha ha.

There were some great times run today. I managed just shy of 11 minute miling (the slowest there as I expected) but I am really pleased that I managed to go the whole way without stopping and not feeling like I had broken anything. I'm a bit sore and stiff (especially in my knees and ankles) this evening but I have had a great day. It's days like these that we remember why we run. It's not always about being fast or getting faster, it's about being out there with your friends and having fun doing something you love. Happy days.

Off on scratch - post-natal running

2011-12-12T13:47:00.002Z

As I mentioned in my previous blog this weekend is our club christmas 5 mile handicap. Thats where my blog post title partly comes from. As I will no doubt be first to set off with my pitiful current running pace it means I will be the one who sets off on scratch (or closest to it). Scratch is the set handicapped time for which we are all supposed to finish in and whoever is deemed slowest beforehand will be the one 'off on scratch' or closest to it.
The pace I have been able to manage is roughly around 10:20 minute miling - scary slow I know but it's the best I can do.

The title of this post also refers to where I thought I would be starting from with my running after having Annabel. I pretty much expected to be starting from scratch as if I had never been a runner and would have to re-learn everything my body has most definitely forgotten. It seems though that i was being a little optimistic with that assumption and I seem to be starting from around about 1000 miles the other side of scratch.

I knew it was going to be difficult to get back into running after having Annabel, but it's proving to be a lot tougher than expected. I haven't run properly since january; I wasn't able to exercise the way I wanted during pregnancy; I put on 4.5 stones in weight; my lung function has disappeared; the labour did not go to plan; my recovery has also been hampered with complications and I am completely exhausted from the lack of sleep. So its fair to say there is a mighty challenge ahead.

During pregnancy a hormone called relaxin is released into your body at increased concentrations. This is what loosens all your ligaments to make your body ready for childbirth. It also means you are more susceptible to injury. Although it is no longer being produced once you have had your baby, its effects are still felt. I am fairly certain this is why my joints (in my lower half) are all very sore. Obviouly there is the stress of the extra weight on my joints but that can't be blamed for all the discomfort I am having.

I suppose wearing heels for the first time in 12 months didn't help my ankle pain - the price of fashion eh? Lol. I also place a large amount of my knee pain on baby injuries - too much kneeling down, kneeling down too quickly etc.. Overall though I still think my body is very much in it's recovery phase and not entirely ready for rebuilding yet. So although I have done very little running, I am tempted to do even less. Possibly stick to one or two runs per week (of very low milage), certainly till the end of the month anyway. I have done a few weights and a bit of cycling so that will be what my focus will be on. I have a lot of pain in my back between my shoulder blades from all the 'baby-work' and that is what I really need to work on just now because you can't run well with a sore back or unstable core.
I still hope to take part in the handicap this weekend, even if I have to walk a lot of it, but it will give me a benchmark to work from. It will be the slowest 5 miles of my life - I probably climed faster out of Kinlocleven during the WHWR but it's important to start somewhere.

An outfit for mummy not baby?

I will just add that Christmas is not a time for dieting but i will try not to overindulge too much I'll never get back t my pre-pregnancy weight if I stuff my face with mince pies every day!!

It's only 7 weeks since baby Hart was born so it's important not to get carried away at this point. Steady as she goes.

One-handed typing about running

2011-12-07T13:23:00.001Z

As the title suggests I am typing with one hand as the other is on baby duty.

Today I have my 6 week check-up. Officially I shoudn't have started running yet but don't worry I haven't been getting carried away this past week. I have done 4 runs (in 10 days), all nice and slow (no choice in that matter) and all nice and short: 1mile, 1.7miles, 3miles annd 5miles. I don't plan on going over the 5miles before the end of the year.
It is great to be running again. I am loving that 'me' time. Its tough though, even at a gentle pace. My lungs are next to useless at the moment - I dread to think how I would perform in a peak-flow test. I may have to think about attending asthma clinics again, but I will see how things progress.

Also carrying an extra 2 stone doesn't help, but hopefully the running will help deal with the weight in time. I can't wait to be able to fit in a pair of jeans again, even my fat ones! My wardrobe is still so limited, and I don't want to buy any clothes that will (hopefully) be too big in a couple of months... I'd rather spend my money on a nice shiny new pair of running shoes :-)

I made a comment on facebook a little while ago about this thing called sleep that I had heard of. It's still on my christmas wish list ;-) . We have the cold bug making it's way through our house which does not make for fun times for baby, poor wee soul. On the flipside, it was pointed out to me that it makes good training for multi-day endurance races ha ha.

Me in a santa hat at last year's race.

I am thinking about doing the Dumfries Running Club Christmas Handicap 5 Miler next weekend, but it depends on how many cuddles baby will need. I think I may be the first to be set off anyway - would it really be fair to make everyone else wait around for little old me? Last year the race was held in snowy conditions and had to be shortened - I wonder what this year will be like. Snowy season has begun - might need to get little snow chains for the pram ;-)

I'm back! (well sort of) - 1st run since Annabel was born (5 weeks ago)

2011-11-26T20:29:00.000Z

I hadn't planned on starting running again until after my 6 week check-up because of the various traumas my body has been through recently. My stitches (even the ones that burst) have now healed and I finished my antibiotics a few days ago.

I have also lost 2 1/2 stone already. Only 2 stone to go to my pre-pregnancy weight :-) , that's right, I gained a massive 4 1/2 stones during pregnancy!! Ouch. Not recommended - although I did have VERY bad fluid retention that can account for about 1 stone of that!! No joke.

So I have really been taking my time to recover from everything as I was in a pretty bad way, and frankly there really isn't much time to spare beyond feeding, burping, nappies and sleeping, so running hasn't been at the top of my agenda.
But for some reason today I just had a craving for it. I think it was partly because my lovely husband let me have a lie in this morning till 9am whilst he took care of Annabel, and partly because of the really stormy weather outside. The wind and rain were calling to me!

So this evening, under cover of darkness (so nobody could see me and my unwaxed legs!) I headed out. The wind was howling, the rain pouring and I was running! It was bl**dy magic.

I had no expectations and no pressures. I wanted to run and/or walk around a mile, just to see if it was possible. I had no worries about my legs. The main things I was thinking about were my pelvic floor muscles and my stomach muscles. The only part of me that was sore in any way was my chest though - definitely going to need to get re-measured for some new sports bras lol. I was very aware of my pelvic floor and had to concentrate on that quite a bit, but it wasn't sore, which was a relief.

So the garmin that I was given for my birthday back in the summer has finally had its first run!

It was only a mile, and it may look slow, but it was a magic mile. And I loved every step of it. I came back in the house slightly windswept and soggy but grinning from ear to ear. And I was greated by my OH with the camera to capture the moment of my triumphant return ha ha. Not my best look but I don't care. I was on cloud 9. My first runner's high for a long time.

It's only a couple of hours later and now Im starting to feel it! 1 mile run, and lots of post-run aching muscles. It's a long time since I had running aches. It's a nice feeling. I may even be tempted to do another run - maybe midweek sometime, or if not, then next weekend. Don't want to do any damage now that i have rejoined the land of the running.

Ah happy days...

Sleep deprivation and post-natal recovery

2011-11-16T09:02:00.002Z

Annabel has briefly fallen asleep on her jungle mat so I am taking this chance to quickly write a post before trying to catch a quick nap myself before she wakes (probably before I finish writing...)

This is a running blog and I had thought/planned that if things happened on time and went completely fine that i would attempt to start back run/walking this weekend - 4 weeks post birth. However, not only was the birth somewhat delayed (12 days to be exact) but it wasn't straight forward either. After five days in hospital we were all very glad to be home, but mummy's recovery has been hampered and it will definitely not be before our 6 week check-up that I will be able to even contemplate running again.

I will be so happy when I finally can get out there. Maybe it will help make me start to feel a little more like my old self. At the moment all I feel is tiredness. If you ask me running ultras is a piece of cake compared to being a new parent. I feel like I have been in 24 day race (never mind 24 hours)! It's probably as well that I can't go running at the moment as I just don't see where I would fit it in anyway.

In the meantime, a couple of pictures of the cutest baby in the world, little Annabel.

Annabel and mummy on the last mile of the Dumfries Half Marathon.

Annabel and mobile

Annabel in her Team Hart vest (that she's already grown out of...)

Off to catch some ZZzzzzzz... wish me luck

Now it will be Vicky's Ultrarunning Adventures with baby Annabel Hart

2011-10-29T18:21:00.000+01:00

The blog will have a new name now that we have a new addition to Team Hart, baby Annabel Isla. Already she is testing her mummy and daddy's endurance skills to make sure they keep on their toes with their ultra-training ;-)

Seriously though she is the most beautiful little (or rather big! weighing in at 9lb 3.5oz) girl and a very happy addition to our family. A little star.

Final countdown

2011-10-05T16:49:00.000+01:00

The arrival of Baby H is imminent. I have no idea how imminent but they will be here soon nonetheless. There have been a few hiccups in these final weeks but fingers crossed the big day will be a bit more straightforward.

A few final observations:

Pregnancy has not been easy for me, and there have been a number of difficulties along the way. There's not been any period where I have felt I have breezed along. I just keep focusing on what will be the end result. These final weeks have seemed especially long, but that's only natural. You want them to go quickly but at the same time you want them to go slow. You are desperate to meet your baby and to have the pregnancy over, but then you also know that your life will completely change once the baby is here, oh, and there's that minor process of labour to go through in order to get to the next phase.I have absolutely no idea when baby will arrive, and apparently you can't even sense it is coming. It is always a bit of a surprise (unless it is a planned c-section/indcton). So it's a wait-and-see game now.

It seems I have succumb to the dreaded stretchmarks :-( but they're not as bad as most bumps I have seen. They really just appeared in these final weeks and really only seem to have spread out from my appendectomy scar. Perhaps the skin in that area was more susceptable to them because of the scar, who knows. One thing is for sure, it doesn't seem to matter how much you spend on fancy creams and oils (guilty), you can't stop them if you're going to get them. I guess they really are just a genetic thing. I can't imagine I will be exposing my poor ravaged stomach to the glorious toastiness of the Mediterranean sun anytime soon but it's disappointing thinking I may have to resign myself to takinis and swimsuits rather than bikinis in the future. I have been told that the marks will die down over time so here's hoping.:-)

The weight I have gained is quite scary. It's almost double what I had hoped for. My legs and back feel permanently weak due to the weight and I really can't wait to see the numbers on the bathroom scales to start going down instead of up. I know a lot of weight for me is due to fluid retention. This is something I have suffered quite badly from. The swelling in my hands/arms and legs/feet has at times been quite extraordinary. I have never seen anything like it, not even after the WHW or Tooting. The movement becomes quite limited and the pain in my hands has been really bad. Thankfully that pain has died down this week. I look forward to being able to wear actual shoes again - what a novelty that will be ha ha.

I have been sorting through my running files to get myself ready for next year. I usually keep a record of results from races I have done. Needless to say, that file is very sparse this year and didn't take long to organise lol.
I have been collecting articles from magazines through the year to help me work out a plan to return to running. There is a general opinion that a woman should wait 4-6 weeks after a straight-forward labour before returning to exercise. I plan to go along with this depending on how my body feels. The first few weeks I hope to be able to get out for lots of walks with the baby but I suppose that will depend on whether or not we get this predicted early snow or not! (I really hope it doesn't come!)

Hopefully before Christmas I'll have started on a few walk/runs but we'll see how things progress. I don't want to risk causing myself any un-necessary. I am trying to look at the upcoming period (in terms of running) as both 'starting from scratch' and 'recovery'. I thought it best to look at my body as one mass of injuries, gradually rebuilding back the strength and flexibility as if I was rehabilitating a series of injuries. I thought it would be safer for me to err on the side of caution rather than head full steam ahead into some excessive training plan.

There are more important things in life than running. This has never been more apparent than now, but I know that running will help me feel more like my old self and regain control of my own body again. It will be all about getting the right balance.

So let the waiting commence...

Taking leave...

2011-09-21T19:41:00.000+01:00

... the maternity kind.

I had been dreading starting my maternity leave. I worried about how my position would be affected at work - I could already see things changing (necessary for cover but still it made me think). And as much as I was getting incresingly tired and uncomfortable and suffering with my hands (making working on a computer difficult) the thought of being away from everything was quite scary, especially with the rate of change in the world of work these days. So much of a person's identity is wrapped up in what they do for a living. So becoming separated from this (even though only temporarily) is quite a wrench. And combined with other identity issues a woman faces when entering motherhood it can all be a bit scary.

I am about to enter that favourite topic of the media - the modern woman wanting it all - career, family and personal identity!! It's a lot to take in. What would I normally do in these situations - to work through all my thoughts - I'd go for a run! Alas that is not possible at the moment. I was going to say that the only thing can run at the moment is a bath, but even that is a dubious claim becase my hands can get so sore that I need help turning the taps on! Ha ha. No morning baths for me, evenings are better as my hands tend to get better as the day goes on and the swelling goes down.

My current status as a temporary lady that lunches is actually going quite well. I've had a couple of days where I haven't felt too great but mostly I am managing ok for somebody who has a VERY heavy beachball in her tummy. Actually one of the hardest parts of the day is those initial few steps when you get out of bed in the morning. My legs seem to be in shock every single day when i ask them to hold up this insanely heavy body of mine. Sometimes it does feel like my legs are going to give way - it's crazy.

I am gradually working my way through my list of chores. That should keep me busy whilst OH is away at the Commonwealth Mountain and Ultra Championships. I am just praying that baby doesn't decided to come early whilst he is away. Plus my waxing appointment is not till next Tuesday!! Want to be presentable when I go into labour after all ha ha. Ah it's a tough being a woman and having to maintain your grooming regimes even when you really don't care!! ha ha.

September is provong to be a difficult month. So much happening. On top of other things I am gutted to be missing out on doing a 24 hour race. Tooting last weekend and the Commonwealth race this weekend. I couldn't run Tooting and Im too far gone to go and be useful support in Wales. Sucks! (I hate to use that term but it's the best my brain can come up with right now.) Maybe I will be fit enough again in 12 months to actually take part in 24-Hour-September 2012. If anyone else is tempted by a 24 Hour race I can whole heartedly recommend the Tooting Bec race. It cannot be beaten on race support and atmosphere. It's magic.

So fingers crossed for Team Scotland this weekend, especially for my OH. He'll be running for all 3 of us this weekend and I know I will be completely proud of him as always. Bump and I will both be proud. And hopefully we'll still be Vicky and Bump on Monday!!

Closing stages

2011-09-11T10:10:00.000+01:00

A week from now Baby H will be classed as full-term. What a thought. Still a few weeks till the Estimated Due Date but basically Baby H can come any time s/he pleases now really without being considered premature.

The nursery is all decorated and the house is all set but can you ever really be prepared for the arrival of a baby? I think probably not. We've done the classes, read the books and magazines, asked for advice from other knowing parents so there's not really much else to do now. All we need is for the Commonwealth Ultra and Mountain Championships to be over and we'll be good to go.

I follow a thread on a running website for running mums-to-be and running mums and it has been great for advice and support, and generally having a good moan. It also prepares you for what lies ahead in your preganncy because all the women on it are at different stages. As a resut of this thread I knew these final weeks were going to be tough and so far they are not disappointing. We're nearly there though. It's been tough, but it will all be worth it.

I was worried about what I could do to keep myself amused when my maternity leave starts but I think I will manage. I actually have quite a lot on so maybe I won't get the rest many think I should be indulging in. I will do my best though as mobility and being energetic are not my strong points at the moment. Having said that, I am deliberately not doing too much exercise just now as I don't want to do anything to bring on the labour early. Like I said earlier, I am waiting for the CUMC to be over and then it will be all guns blazing on the raspberry leaf tea, fresh pineapple, spicy food, exercise and every other old wive's tale that I can think of to encourage Baby H into the world. I am quite over this whole being pregnant lark.

Things I am looking forward to post-birth:

Baby H
Baby H
Baby H (ok I will stop writing that now but imagine it's been written 1001 times...)
Lying on my tummy
Wearing jeans (any kind, any size)
Seeing the numbers on the scales going downwards instead of upwards.
Eating a nice medium rare steak
An ice-cold bottle of Magners (just the one bottle mind)
Dippy eggs
RUNNING!! (This is lower down the list simply because I know i won't be able to do it for a wee while afterwards)
Seeing if I have any abdominals muscles again (You have to wait even longer to test these out in case you split them!! OUCH!

Speaking of abs - I did used to have some:

Think they've disappeared now though:

Aprox 30 weeks between the 2 pictures - spot the difference? Answers on a postcard...

Right, I'm off to watch the Tour of Britain. Stage 1 finishes in Dumfries today. Can't wait. Hope I manage to get photos of Mark Cavendish, Thor Hushovd, David Millar and as many of the others as I can. Come on the Manx Missile!!

The beachball effect

2011-08-22T13:33:00.001+01:00

Things that you may experience in the final 2 months of pregnancy:

You have to have somebody else put your socks on your feet for you.

You are now the slowest person walking along the pavement (and getting in everybody else's way)!

You learn to always make sure the bath is at the right temperature when you get in because trying to reach the taps once you're in is not particularly easy.

You get fed up of hearing about running when you can barely walk due to a variety of aches and pains.

You find going out for meals is quite wasteful as it's very hard to clear a plate.

You discover there are just not enough cushions in the world.

You are grateful for the fact that you did all the baby shopping in the earlier months as spending a day shopping is both painful and exhausting.

You realise you've barely spent a penny on running kit for nearly 3/4 of a year - VERY frugal ha ha.

But then you realise you will probably need to go for a gait analysis before you re-start running properly to make sure you have the correct shoes for your new post-baby body - hmm, maybe not so frugal after all ;-)

You find random strangers want to talk to you and ask about your impending baby when previosuly they would charged past you on the street.

You become VERY grateful for having a supportive OH, who is also VERY patient.

You really are running out of clothes to wear, and the same clothes are getting washed so many times you fear that holes will start to appear in them.

You are grateful and amused that you are not the person who split their skirt at the weekend ;-) Maybe all is not lost after all ha ha.

Roll on October (no pun intended - although that is quite funny, even if I do say so myself ha ha)

Blogging

2011-08-19T21:17:00.002+01:00

I follow a lot of blogs, all running related naturally. But for some reason I haven't been able to get my comments to appear for a while. Blogger and I are having communication issues... So to all those blogs I normally post wee comments on I apologise for my silence, it is not without a lack of trying...

In other blog news... I am still in 2 minds about posting bump photos. Maybe I will introduce you all to the giant beach ball I appear to have swallowed, but then again, the photos are quite scary!! ha ha.

As some of you know I have been longingly staring at race entry forms for 2012 - so tantilisingly tempting. One has been sent off, just as a wee something to inspire me to get back running. We will have to ait and see if any others get sent off... There's the small task of having Baby Hart first, which will be a pretty big challenge in itself.

Fingers crossed you will see me at a race next year :-)

Three stages

2011-08-11T19:42:00.001+01:00

Both pregnancy and birth are generally split into 3 stages. I won't go into the gory details of each just in case I have any squeamish readers ;-)

Here are my versions of pregnancy:

Psychology of pregnanacy.

Stage 1
Oh my god I'm pregnant! What do I do now?
Stage 2
Dom-de-dom
Stage 3
Oh my god, I'm about to be a mum!

Psycho-biology of pregnancy

Stage 1
Oh my god I'm pregnant! What's going to happen to my body? How long will this sickness last?!
Stage 2
Thank god Stage 1 is over and I can finally keep my food down.
Stage 3
Oh my god, I wish I was still in Stage 1 because now I have to actually push this thing out!

At some point are other these are the thoughts that have gone through my mind.

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So I'm well into the third trimester now, on the single figure countdown and I am busy reading my book on hypnobirthing. I may not buy into the whole philosophy of it ie. pain-free birthing (although that would be LOVELY!) but I am all for learning any methods of breathing, visualisation and relaxation that will help me through the big day. I have downloaded the CD onto my IPOD so that I can listen to it anytime and anywhere. Although there is a warning on the CD not to listen to it whilst driving - apparently it is THAT relaxing ;-)

------------------

We were at the Devil at the weekend. It was nice to be back as the Devil was my first ever ultra. I started as I continued with my "ultra career", always wanting to do too much too soon and never being fully prepared - it's the perfect way to run ultras! ha ha. I have happy memories of the Devil and hope to be back racing it again at some point. Not sure if it will be next year or in a couple of years, but I have no doubt I will do it again. Hopefully once I become a mum I will learn to be better prepared for things and run better and hopefully with less pain ha ha. Who knows.
I have no definite plans for next year apart from notions of a marathon. I will just see what motherhood brings first I think. I am looking forward to getting out with the babyjogger in the spring though.

Boy or girl? Everyone's got an opinion...

2011-08-03T21:37:00.000+01:00

At our 20 week scan (seems such a long time ago now) we had the option of finding out if we were having a boy or a girl. We chose not to. It kind of takes away the 'fun' part of the birth if you don't have that surprise. As soon as people know you've had the baby it's the first thing everyone wants to know - what did you have and what's their name? The weight is aways there as a sort-of add on which people use to judge (however inaccurately) how painful your birth has been. So as far as Baby Hart is concerned everyone will have to wait to find out anything/everything.

But that of course doesn't stop people guessing, and they'll ask you all sorts of questions and then depending on your answer they will nod their head in a 'knowing' way as if they know what nobody else can know. But the fact is that all these different ways that people use to guess are really not at all accurate and nobody can really know what gender Baby Hart will be when s/he arrives in October.

Here's a few theories:

CRAVINGS

Salty/savory cravings - we're said to be carrying a boy.
Sweet tooth - we're apparently expecting a girl!

Well I have had both sorts of cravings at different times.

POSITION OF YOUR BUMP

Low and out front - it's a boy
high and we're visibly pregnant from the back - we've got a girl.

What about a bump that is sort of in the middle as that is where mine is.

PREGNANCY SICKNESS

Sickness/nausea in the 1st trimester - it's a girl.
Sickness/nausea later in the pregnancy - it's a boy.
Sick in the morning - it's a boy.
Sick in the evening- it's a girl.
Any sickness/nausea at all - girl.

I fit in all the above catagories. I was sick from weeks 5-14, and then sickness started again at week 25. There has never been any timing discrimination for the sickness - its definitely been a 24hour thing for me.
Also I know women who have had only boys and have been very sick during their pregnancies.

YOUR LOOKS

Shiny hair - boy
Rosy skin - boy
Spots - girl

Tick for all of the above.

So, the bottom line is that, for all that everyone likes to guess, nobody will know until the big day arrives. I think it is pretty safe to say that we are having either a boy or a girl.

What's that at the back of the cupboard?

2011-07-25T18:09:00.000+01:00

What is that at the back of the cupboard? Why not have a look? I would, but something is getting in the way in the shape of Bump Hart. I don't think bump wants me to get at that thing at the back of the cupboard, whatever it is. Maybe it is something important, but to be sure Bump Hart does not want me to have it!! If it isn't at the front you can't have it!! So if you know what is at the back of the cupboard and think it is something I will definitely need in the next few weeks please just send me a new one. ;-)

Well it's now legal for me to go on maternity leave. As much as I am sure my feet and ankles would appreciate not sitting at a computer all day, I am putting off finishing work for as long as possible. Officially I am working up to 38 weeks, so hopefully Baby Hart won't come too early! Thankfully I do have holidays to take before then though. (I can literally hear my feet breathing a sigh of relief! ha ha)

The time seems to be going really fast and really slowly at the same time just now. We are pretty organised. Still some stuff to do on the house, and a couple of things to get, but we have done pretty well working our way through our lists.
However, I don't think it matters how 'organised' you can get, you are still never fully prepared for what is to come.

My bump is getting bigger and bigger, and now it is really starting to hinder everyday life (see cupboard scenario above). Things like getting in and out of bed, getting up off the sofa, reaching into cupboards, trying to clean floors/cupboards, trying to reach the taps when you are in the bath; all these normal things now take so much more effort and are rarely straight-forward! There's this giant bump that keeps getting in the way! Poor Baby Hart has taken the odd wee knock here and then when I am trying to squeeze through a perfectly normal sized space! S/he just thumps me back though.

The positions of the kicks/thumps and the wriggling have all changed now that Baby Hart is no longer breech. That was a very uncomfortable couple of weeks while that was happening, but after watching a 'manual turning' on a tv program, I am glad we went through it on our own and in our own time. Baby Hart's growth though means that rather than just feeling kicks and thumps and squirms I am often experiencing very uncomfy, sometimes quite painful 'pressure points' where I think s/he is trying to make more room inside by pushing my insides outwards! Trying to ease this by rubbing the area only leeds to more kicks as BH fights for room in there. BH is now at his/her full length (about 40cms) and from here on in it's all about BH gaining weight ready for the outside world. Hopefully it won't be at the ame rate as I have gained weight or else BH is going to end up like that 16lbs baby in born in Texas last month! Geez, that'd make your eyes water!!

Here's a picture of my latest walking adventure.
Morton Castle

A SHOCK post about actual running!!!

2011-07-13T13:25:00.004+01:00

Last night I went to support SG and other fellow DRC members running at the Moffat Gala Road Race. It's actually 2 years since I last ran this race (missed it last year as I was still WHW broken) but it is a really good race. 3.5miles along a rolling road along the bottom of the glen, then just over a mile straight uphill (and I mean uphill!!) where probably about 3/4 of the runners actually walk most of it, then 4 and a bit miles on a downhill that's not steep enough to jellyify your legs but means you can flat out sprint as fast as you can for almost 4 miles before your legs suddenly feel it about half a mile from the finish. Brilliant route really.

I do like this race, and worried I might feel a little left out by not taking part, but I actually didn't. I've got beyond the 'wish I was doing it too' phase and I was able to just enjoy the atmosphere and get some photos of everybody else with their 'racing faces' on. I wonder how I look when I am busting a gut just 100s of metres before the finish.... hmm. Best not think about that ha ha.

Anyway, DRC had a great race. DP was 3rd overall with a cracking run, finally getting the best of his training partners. JZ was 1st lady and 6th overall in a 3minute PB. There were some cracking sprint finishes - my favourite of which was LF sprinting all the way into town with the 3rd place lady literally 1metre behind her. What a look of determination - so inspiring. Everyone was cheering and she managed to cling on to 2nd place - just brilliant!!

SG did brilliantly getting a PB despite hurting her hammy. Go SG!! You rocked it! :)

I had a lovely time chatting to everyone and having people look with great shock at the size that my bump now is - many of them haven't seen me with any sort of bump, so that was nice. I was very glad I went.

Hopefully photos to follow...

Weighty matters

2011-07-12T13:28:00.002+01:00

Every woman who has been pregnant understands the issues that come with weight gain. Up until the past week my only 'issue' with weight has been along the lines of worrying about how much I have put on and therefore how much I will need to lose afterwards.

This worry has now been superseded by the very fact that I am now just awfie heavy. General getting about seems such a chore sometimes. You can really feel the weight, plus with the change in your centre of gravity means your back has to take on all this extra strain when you are moving about. My legs become tired much quicker and sometimes I just need to sit down.

I started thinking about how difficult life must be to be permanently a heavier weight, but then I suppose you become accustomed to the weight as you gain it, but the rate of gain as a pregnant women is much more pronunced so I think it must be harder to get used to.

According to 'the charts' I should gain no more than another 8 or 9 lbs before the big day so I hope I can manage to handle that. I will definitely be getting myself to the pool more now for a little float about in my lovely new maternity tankini. I thought getting a two-piece on would be easier than trying to manoever myself into a one-piece. I have had to stop wearing my normal swimming costume as I don't want to ruin it by stretching it in ways that it wasn't intended to be stretch in. I just hope there's still some water left in the pool once I've climbed in!! ;-)

Sleep deprivation

2011-07-05T13:23:00.000+01:00

Often when you tell people you are having a baby they will give you a friendly warning about the lack of sleep you will have once the baby has arrived. What nobody seems to tell you is that your sleep patterns are also completely disrupted before the baby is even here.

I've had sleep issues for many years now so I am quite accustomed to looking a little haggard in a morning every now and then, knowing full well that I can do nothing about it. That's just the way I am. Most problems have been associated with the actual process of getting to sleep.
Pregnancy however has changed all this. I rarely have problems in getting to sleep now, and I even had daily afternoon naps whilst on holiday in Chamonix which I have NEVER done before! The problems I now have are a) staying asleep b) the quality of that sleep and c) the dreaming.

Pregnancy dreams really are quite something else. If you have ever thought you were having really vivid and life-like dreams before, you've experienced nothing compared to what happens when you're pregnant. And a lot of them can be really scary.
In a previous post I referred to my fear of heights and some rather scary trips in the ski lifts and gondolas in Chamonix. Being pregnant I am only allowed to go up to a certain altitude so was unable to travel all the way up to the Aiguille du Midi at 3800 metres. But even if I wasn't pregnant, no amount of money in the world would have induced me to go up there!! So I guess it should have come as no surprise last night when found myself thousands of metres up in the sky on the scary bridge that crosses between the 2 parts of the Aiguille du Midi. I was absolutely terrified!
You would think that being pregnant that your body/mind would want to have nice relaxing dreams to comfort you and your growing baby, but it seems that is not the case. Poor Baby Hart is going to come out never wanting to go in a ski-lift! I really hope all these dreams don't give s/he a complex.

maybe all these sleep issues during pregnancy mean that there won't be any afterwards :-) Well, I can live in (slightly deluded) hope can't I? ;-)

Entered my 3rd Tri!!

2011-07-04T13:35:00.002+01:00

Trimester that is!! Ha ha, see what I did there? ;-)

Just a few snippets:

So, the blooming days are over, and the bulging days are about to start. Apparently! lol. I'm quite bulgy already, but no matter. There's lots been happening lately so Ive not really been blogging much. Wish I had done more though, although I have written a bit in my pregnancy notes/diary book. Might use some of those my for pregnancy/running book ;-)

Life is going along at quite a pace. I don't know how I fitted in running before, or how will again, but I will definitely need to work on my time management skills once Baby Hart arrives.

I think my stomach muscles have now gone as I can't lift myself with them anymore, it's all done by my arms now, or I just roll about! ha ha. I can't get through small spaces anymore - which sometimes makes me giggle - casued a little inconvenience when we were trying to move furniture - must have looked a sight.

I am hoping all my running buddies are enjoying their training, running and racing (as I hardly see them anymore). I am looking forward to getting back into it, but not at all fooled as to how difficult it is going to be, especially when I am going to need to lose a scary amount of weight as well in the process. I wonder how long it takes to get back to 'normal'? 1 year, 2 years? 6 months? Who knows - will just have to take it as it comes. I have gained more weight than I would have liked but the M/W is more than happy with me so I have to be happy with that too, and I am sure it'll come back off in it's own time.

So, hello to everyone I haven't seen for ages, and to those I have. I hope you are all well and all happy. :-) :-)

Be good to yourselves :-)

I will try and blog more and write better posts...

Chamonix - Part Two - Trail runner's Shopping Paradise

2011-06-29T11:04:00.000+01:00

I used to love shopping. That was before I became pregnant. Now I humph and groan if I have to do any, and it's always with reluctance.

Being pregnant means it is very difficult/pointless to buy anything new for running. Can't buy clothes, as I don't know if they'll fit post-pregnancy, and can't buy shoes for the same reasons. Plus, I will need a new gait assessment post-partum to make sure I am wearing the correct shoes.

So being in the Aladdin's Cave of trail running shops in Chamonix was quite tough. All these lovely shiny new shoes, shorts, tops, trousers, packs, socks etc. etc. and I couldn't buy anything, basically because I couldn't try anything on.

So if you want a 'proper' shopping trip where you are surrounded by lovely trail running gear, then i can't recommend anywhere better than Chamonix. You will come home VERY poor ha ha. Probably just as well I am pregnant then! Ha ha.

OH did buy me a special top for me to 'target' getting into post pregnancy, which is LOVELY! One thing you can get is a shiny new Garmin, which was given to me for my birthday pre-Chamonix. And I love it already!! Maybe I don't have any new shorts, but I have my shiny new Garmin ready for my return to running. happy days.

Chamonix - Part One - VERTICAL race!

2011-06-28T17:53:00.000+01:00

If you think the Devil's Staircase is getting a bit 'easy' these days, then maybe you should try this one:

Whilst we were on holiday in Chamonix we went to watch this race. It's called the Vertical KM race. Now you may think that means running 1km uphill, and surely that can't be hard, right? Wrong. The distance you actually cover is 2km over the ground but you gain 1KM in elevation. That's an ascent of 1000metres in the space of 2KM!! Scary steep! It was so steep they actually had to put ladders and ropes in a few places near the top as there is no other way of getting up! A completely insane race.

We came down the route in the cable car a couple of days beforehand and I was terrified (fear of heights doesn't help). The runners were set of at timed intervals as there just wasn't room to safely send all the runners up in one go. Astonishingly the winning time was 36 minutes!

A really entertaining event to watch, but there's no chance I will ever try it myself.

Extreme sports!

2011-06-10T13:23:00.000+01:00

Apart from a 2 week period during the 1st trimester where all I wanted to eat was Chinese take-aways I thought I hadn't really been having any cravings. Well I will now hold up my hands and admit that I have got cravings.

I hadn't really thought about it till the other day when OH took one of my chocolate bars! I swayed from anger to distress and panic. What if there wasn't any more chocolate in the house?! What if all the shops (including the 24 hour ones) had all shut and I couldn't get any till the next day?!? What if? What if? What if?

So it's fair to say eating a hormonal pregnant ladies chocolate is a dangerous pastime and should be classed in the category of extreme sports, where you are taking a chance with your safety. I may not be able to move very fast, but come between me and my chocolate and I WILL move.

But don't worry folks, OH is completely fine. There was other chocolate in the house. Phew!

What's to talk about when there's no running?

2011-06-07T13:21:00.005+01:00

This is supposed to be a running blog, but what on earth can I write about for the next 4 and a bit months while there is no running? I have to keep stopping myself from blogging because all I can think to talk about is the little human growing inside me and the effects s/he is having on my non-running body. And whilst this is very interesting to me, I can imagine it's not really what fellow runners want to hear about. There is also the risk that I will end up moaning about all the unpleasant side effects being pregnant that I have so far been party to, and believe me, it's not a party.

Baby Hart may disagree with me. S/he has been having a bit of a party in there for sure. After worrying that I couldn't feel him/her before 20 weeks, their presence is definitely not to be ignored now. It was quite fun feeling it all on saturday morning - but that's because it was 8am, but the party from 2am to 7am yesterday mornning was not so much, especially as I start work at 8:30am!! You could have carried out your weekly recycling in the bags under my eyes yesterday!

I am really missing my running. There are so many local races on just now that I usually would be doing, and because I can't even go down to the club, the only way I get to hear about them is on FB as so few from DRC write blogs. My attention keeps shifting to next year's races and I wonder which ones I might be able to do. Then I get brought back to earth and remind myself that racing will not be able to be a priority anymore, and there is the whole matter of recovering from pregnancy at a natural rate and not forcing myself into doing too much too soon. At this point I just can't know what state my body will be in by the end of this year so I really can't go making race plans at all. It is a little frustrating, but just because i am missing it so much.

There's more to life than running, but life is good with running in it. But even better with a baby.

Pregnancy pause

2011-06-01T13:17:00.002+01:00

I didn't know it at the time, but the Holywood Stroll mentioned in my previous post was my last run. I had hoped to go on longer into the pregnancy but unfortunately it wasn't to be. Every women is different and because of various health factors I have had to call it a day.

The 2nd trimester is supposed to be the 'easy' one, but it hasn't quite worked out that way and I'm still waiting for the blooming phase. Baby bump has rapidly expanded over the past couple of weeks as well, so I am definitely looking pregnant now and not just like a hiefer. So, in answer to the questioning stares, "No, I clearly did not eat all the pies!" (Rolls eyes)

Baby Hart has been introducing him/herself with increasing frequency which has been lovely: all tickly and funny, and makes me smile every time. I do expect this not to stay tickly for much longer though ha ha.

It's increadible what goes on inside your body without you being able to see it. And my body has clearly been very busy - what a difference we saw between our 12 and 20 week scan pictures! A busy growing baby - who kicked out his/her legs whilst we watched on the screen. A little ultra-runner in the making perhaps? ha ha.

Last race of the year?

2011-05-19T20:41:00.009+01:00

Holywood Stroll 2011

The Running/Racing Bump at 18 weeks.

The Holywood Stroll (5 mile) is one of 2 races Dumfries Running Club organises, the other being the Dumfries Half Marathon, which is having it's 30th Anniversary race this September. As I will be about ready to pop by the time the half marathon is here, I thought it only appropriate that I should run the Holywood Stroll, and have it as my final race of this pregnancy. Not that I was racing I might add, just bimbling along having a nice social run, whilst wearing my club vest and a race number. A bit of a phony really, but it's the taking part that counts. And the Holywood Stroll seemed kind of apt as it was the first race I ever ran, about 2 months after I first joined the club.

I toyed with the idea of wearing the sacro-iliac pregnancy support band that I have, just to add an extra bit of support around my tummy and back, and although it felt fine walking out to the start of the race, I decided that at my current size it would actually be easier to run without it.

The friend I was supposed to be running with couldn't make it but I found 2 other willing victims to run the route with.

And what a brilliant time we had. We blethered the entire way round! Unfortunately my blethering accidentally distracted one of our group and they ran right through a giant pile of cow poop! Oops, sorry!! I did apologise profusely for the next mile. I don't think those trainers made it into the house that night!! ha ha.

We were clearly not taking the event seriously enough as a race when we even got told off (jokingly) by a marshal for talking too much!!

My companions were brilliant company, and kept a close eye on me to make sure I wasn't going too fast, which was really appreciated. And having the company for the whole time made it so much more fun and really kept me going as I was really feeling quite tired in the last 3/4mile. Believe it or 5 miles is the longest run i have done for months!! It was my LSR ha ha. My goodness how times change in a few short months. Here's hoping it's as quick to go back the other way!?

So, even though all 3 of my group had been aiming for around 10minute miling, we ended up doing closer to 9:30s, but it felt fine the whole way round and we were all happily surprised with our result and our excellent pacing - taking it steady to start with then gradually and unconsciously speeding up in the 2nd half. Our finish time was 47:39.

The 3 Musketeers coming into the finish.

My only disappointment from the day was that dispite putting the bump on my entry form it never made it onto the race results... maybe that's because it doesn't even count as a junior yet, although several people did ask if I had paid 2 entry fees. One fellow club member even said I should get given the pregnant ladies course record! ha ha.

All in all a great night out at the club.

First swim (on a blog roll this week!)

2011-05-08T11:42:00.002+01:00

I had been putting off going for a swim for ages and ages. I just find it such a footer getting changed, getting to the pool, getting undressed, finding a locker, swimming, trying to find the same locker, having shower, finding locker, getting dried, getting dressed, drying hair, getting soaked in the rain again on the way home, drying hair, drying clothes..... and so on.

Running is so much simpler. Get changed, go out and run, get back, shower, dressed and you're done. Magic.

I also hadn't been looking forward to it as I am a pretty poor swimmer really. I can do breast-stroke no problem, but every attempt at front-crawl leads to a near-drowning experience and it just puts me off going for ages. The problem with constantly doing breastroke is that I end up with a sore neck. Plus, I know how weak my arms are, so it's been a bit of a mental battle to finally break the deadlock and actually go. I knew I had to do it as during my final trimester it will be the only exercise apart from walking that I can logically do.

So anyway, this morning I did it!! Yay me!

I did 3 sets of 10 lengths. 10 lengths was a limit in one go as my arms were just too tired at the end of each set. Then I gave myself 2 minutes of recovery before doing the next set. My legs felt like they could go on forever but my arms were done in. And I really am increadibly slow. The lane swimmers were just zooming along past me (thank god I was in the main pool area and not in a lane).

I am really pleased that I finally went and pleased I managed 30 lengths. The pool is 25 metres I think so that was 750 metres. Not a bad start. I then spent 15 minutes generally milling along in the pool to cool down. Did a bit of stretching a bit of floating about and a bit of 'watching-the-world-go-by' before I decided it was time to head home and watch the end of the Basel 24 Hour Race.

I am going to try and do 2 swims per week and hopefully I will nice strong arms by the time Baby Hart arrives. There are clearly no triathlons in my future (because you have to do front-crawl in that) but I think I am ok with that ha ha.

So this week has been a good week of training - running, walking, cycling and swimming! What on earth shall I do next?

Kate's Wood Run/Walk and Club Handicap

2011-05-07T16:51:00.010+01:00

My latest run/walk took me to one of my favourite places in the world - a wood I would regularly go for adventures in as a child - Kate's Wood. I love to go there, especially at this time of year when the bluebells seem to just take over. It is alongside a river so there was more walking than running, but it felt great to be there.

In my last post I said I had only been managing one run per week. Well this week I ran twice, and they were back to back! In hindsight and listening to my body, it probably wasn't the best idea and in future I shall make sure I have at least 1 day's non-running in between. My legs were fine, but my legs are not really the important part of my body right now.

the 2nd of these 2 runs was the DRC Monthly 5km Handicap race. I had asked the organiser if I could set off with the 1st starter so that i was under no pressure to run fast and I could just jog round at whatever felt comfortable. I am not sure what time my handicap was based on (I'm sure i discussed it with the organiser but that was at least 2 weeks ago now so I can't be expected to remember that sort of detail - pregnancy brain!) but I was assuming it was about 10:30s or 10:00s. Anyway, we set off and immediately I fell behind the other runner, who quickly gained a 20metre lead and I thought that was perfact and that I could just plod along and not worry. But then by the time we reached the 1mile mark I was almost beside the runner even though i hadn't altered my pace. we round the 2 triangle loops together and had a good chat before the runner told me to go ahead as she needed to slow down. We had already slowed down while we were chatting, so I pulled ahead at what felt like a comfortable pace and similar to what I had been doing in the first mile.

As I entered the final mile I was getting a bit worried that nobody had passed me yet. I really didn't want to be winning the handicap based on a time that had just been an (kind) estimation. The thought of finding an excuse to stop, maybe for a stretch or something, did cross my mind so that somebody would overtake and make sure I didn't win. As these thoughts crossed my mind I heard footsteps. What a relief to hear/see another runner pass me and disappear off along the road ahead.

I kept waiting and hoping that somebody else would pass. I deliberatley ran at what felt my most natural and comfortable pace, never once pushing myself. But nobody came. So me and bump finished the handicap in 2nd position! That was NOT supposed to happen ha ha.

We were 2 for 2 for 2. 2 humans, with race number 2, finishing 2nd. :-)

There were numerous jokes banded round along the lines of

"well, there's no hope for the rest of us if we can get beaten by a pregnant lady!"

That made me laugh. It was really great being at the club as there were more faces that I hadn't seen for ages and I got lots more congratulations and cuddles. It was really lovely.

That was thursday. On friday I did my 3rd day of training in a row, and it completely wiped me out. It was just a half hour on the bike but I was completely useless afterwards. Thank goodness OH was there to make sure I ate my dinner (and didn't fall asleep in it!).

This morning I didn't even wake up till 8am, so I must have been completely zonked. Today has been a day off from training but we have been endlessly busy with other things. I am sure there must be some way of logging all the stuff we do as cross-training in my training log ha ha (weights, steps stairs, stretching, balancing... the list goes on).

Amongst all this business we are watching our club mate and Scottish team friends on the live feed from the Basel 24 Hour race. Fingers crossed they all have a great race!!

Good aches and inspiration

2011-05-05T13:06:00.002+01:00

After finally getting round to writing something in my 'running' blog yesterday I felt inspired to go out for a run last night. It was what under normal circumstances would be a very short run, but these days it fits under my LSR cataegory! Four miles along a spiders web of cycle paths near home. I started at 11m/m pace and gradually increased the pace to have my final 2 miles at just above 10m/m as my legs seemed to loosen up and find their running memory.

I could definitely still feel I had a problem with my right knee (which I somehow managed to twist back in February when I was so ill I could barely get out of bed - no idea how I managed to do that) and I could feel a bit of tightness in my right hamstring which must be in relation to the knee.

Overall the run was pretty good and I was glad that as I went along I was able to increase the pace quite naturally. With the extra weight I am now carrying there is not much chance I will break the 10m/m mark and I don't want to push it anyway so I am happy to continue at this sort of pace for the time being.

Afterwards I did some gentle stretching. It is important not too stretch too much because during pregnancy, women are more vulnerable to joint and ligament injury because the body produces relaxin, a hormone that loosens joints and ligaments in preparation for childbirth.

This morning I had lots of lovely running aches. They feel different to my normal pregnancy and lazy-itis aches. They feel really good. It's a sort of cormfortable feeling. I know why I ache and I know that I made myself ache. The comfort I feel from it I think must be somehow associated with momentarily regaining some control at a time when you just are not in control of your body.

Found this interesting article in the US Runner's World:

Doctor's Orders
Pregnant? You don't have to give up your running. By Yishane Lee Image by John Davis From the October 2010 issue of Runner's World

The old-school thinking about pregnancy was that women should exercise very little--or not at all. Fortunately, times have changed, and doctors routinely advise expectant patients to stay active.

"Each woman and each pregnancy is different, but if there are no complications, runners can keep running," says Kathryn Peck Rutenberg, M.D., an obstetrician in New York City who ran through both her pregnancies.

After you get your doctor's go-ahead, your mileage is determined in part by how much you were doing before. Dr. Rutenberg says that if you regularly ran five miles a day, you can keep logging those miles, albeit at a gradually slowing pace. So if you ran an eight-minute mile, you may find an 11-minute mile during pregnancy is just as challenging.

As your due date approaches, lower-impact activities like swimming and walking may be more comfortable.

Continuing to run during pregnancy isn't only about doing something you enjoy. Studies show that exercise improves the health of mom and baby--it lessens back pain, prevents excessive weight gain, improves sleep quality, and reduces delivery complications and time spent in labor.

Orienteering and other bits

2011-05-04T12:53:00.004+01:00

As much as I would like to say I have been keeping up with my running, I really haven't. I sometimes feel guilty about it, but most of the time I tell myself that it is perfectly ok not to be running.
It's only happening about once a week at the moment but I am doing plenty of walking and keeping very active in other ways getting ready for Baby Hart's arrival.

Last week's running adventure came in the form of my first ever Orienteering session. The evening was organised by Solway Orienteers and was held at The Crichton in Dumfries. Frank Skachill and I ran as a team. Frank was saving himself for the Fling and I just can't run very fast at all these days so we just set off round the course at our own leisurely pace (well, it was leisurely for Frank at least!! ha ha).

We had such a fun time trying to work out where to go on the map and figure out the fastest way of getting there. Frank held the map while I poked the dibber in the holes (raises eyebrow lol). It was so funny seeing people tearing off in all directions. Everyone sets off at different intervals and there were 3 route options to chose from so you couldn't just follow another team as they might be doing a completely different route to you. You have to actually think about where you are going and make sure you get all the markers and very importantly, get them in the right order. There's no point zooming round if you wrongly punch in because you will be disqualified. Frank and I were very careful making sure we did them all in the right order. We may not have been able to go particualrly fast due to our third team member hiding under my t-shirt, but we did the route correctly so were really pleased at the end that we'd managed to figure it all out correctly. results here.

The Solway Orienteers were there too and they were a very friendly and encouraging bunch. I am very tempted to go along to some more of their sessions. Plus it is a great way for families to have fun together so it is maybe something we could do with Baby Hart in the future.

I have been pretty lacking in energy in the past few weeks, but I hope with the cooler, wetter weather arriving I will be able to do a bit more running. I will get round to the swimming as well, I promise.

Tomorrow night is our 5km club monthly handicap time trial. I will be the first starter!! I am just going to go so that I can run the 5km route. There's no racing for me or this belly anymore!! Not till at least Christmas anyway ;-)

So what about running then?

2011-04-21T20:59:00.003+01:00

Well, there are 2 clear camps really when it comes to running whilst pregnant. There are those people shake their heads, tutt disapprovingly and judge you. They think you're the most irresponsible woman on the planet!
Then there are those people who say "Good for you" or "Glad to see you're still able to get out running" and appreciate that running and exercise through pregnancy can not only be good for you and the baby but can actually be very beneficial, with studies showing that it can reduce the chances of suffering from things like pre-eclampsia. It is also believed to help you get through the labour as well, and frankly I'll take any help in that department that I can get that doesn't involve needles.

Everybody is different though, and that is the main thing to remember. What is good for one person is really not suitable for somebody else. I am currently following a blog of a lady in Denmark who is approaching her 3rd trimester and is about to race a 50k! Now, I may have run the Gloucester 50K when I was pregnant, but that was a case of weeks, not months, so something like that would not be suitable for me.

I stopped running when I became really ill (5/6 weeks) and during the weeks that followed I did not think about running at all. It just never entered my head. All I could think of was how to just make it through that day. Then round about the time of the Perth 100k I felt like I was ready to get back into it again.

Twice a week has been the most so far as I have been really struggling on the energy front. I have been doing a little walking as well. I haven't quite plucked up the courage to go to the pool yet, but I will, hopefully in the next week or so. Swimming and walking will be my main exercise once I am too big or uncomfortable to run, so I will have to force myself to the pool sooner or later.

All my runs have been what I would normally call a very slow pace, but it is what feels comfortable to me now. I don't want to push myself, and I don't want to get too out of breath. I need to be cautious because of my asthma and because of my back, and just be sensible about things. Between 10 and 11 minute miling is what I am tending to do, and I can still keep up a continuous conversation whilst doing that.
It's funny how you just sort of accept that you are going to go at this new pace and you are thinking more about your body, your breathing and making sure you're comfortable and not putting too much strain on yourself. I really feel happy just jogging along on my merry way, not having to worry about trying to go fast, or putting in the miles or whether or not I am ready for my next race. It's all very relaxed and fun. I love it.

Some of my runs have been on my own, but the ones I really enjoy are with other people. It's nice to keep up that connection, especially with my friends at the running club. I am the person who gets to set of first and finish last in the handicapped sessions and I love it. It means I get to say hello to everyone as they come puffing and panting past me at 100mph and I am just bobbing along at my own pace.

The walks with other people are lovely too. Earlier this month I went walking round the grounds of Drumlanrig Castle with my lovely friend Susan and her very energetic dog Kona. I had an absolutely brilliant time. It really a stunning part of the country. Absolutely breathtaking scenery. Dumfries and Galloway is too often overlooked. I would thoroughly recommend a visit to anyone.

So, running is still part of me and part of my life. I will keep doing it in the gentle way that I am for as long as it is possible/suitable for me to do so. It makes me happy. And I am sure that if I am feeling happy, then Baby Hart is feeling happy too.

I am tempted to try my first Park Run next weekend. I have been invited to attend a speical 'beginners' [who me? ha ha] meeting before the race next weekend, so that might tempt me along. 5km is a distance I can manage easily enough. I am sure I could manage 10k or more but I would start worrying about where the nearest toilet was! ha ha. Our club has a 5mile race in a few weeks as well so I might do that and just bimble along at the back, hoping they haven't all gone home by the time I finish! I don't need to go to races, but it's nice to still be able to run socially.

I am glad I can still run. I love running and at the moment running loves me.

The story so far - 1st trimester, with a little bit of gory detail ;-)

2011-04-16T19:14:00.003+01:00

So yes it is official, we are having a baby. Naturally there are things we wish to keep private but here are a selction of anecdotes (mostly about pregnancy symptoms, but not entirely) about the first trimester:

SICKNESS

There are a number of women who have told me how they just sailed through their pregnancies with no problems at all. So far, I cannot count myself amongst their number. The first day I felt ill, was at 5 weeks and 1 day. For 4 days I had waves of nausea but nothing that couldn't be dealt with by a ginger-nut biscuit. The weekend that followed involved a trip down to my sisters, during which I became strangly exhausted and I ended up sleeping for most of the journey back home. This was odd because I very rarely sleep whilst travelling. The following day I could hardly get out of bed, and once finally up, I spent the entire day half asleep on the sofa feeling very weak and very sickly. I went quickly downhill from there. For several weeks I could barely stand up without help. I was sick 24 hours a day (It must have been a man that coined the phrase 'morning sickness'!). I learnt that constant nibbling on bland carb-based food was the best way to ease the sickness, but it had to be constant. So I put on weight like it was going out of fashion which was contrary to me throwing up all the time. Oddly throwing up when you have something to bring up is somehow more pleasant than constant dry wretching. I think I will never complain again about being sick during a race. At least in racing you are in control, and you can chose to stop at any time, and you know that within possibly only a number of hours the sickness will be gone. Imagine knowing that it could possibly carry on for weeks and weeks and not having any power to control it. It is not a pleasant situation to be in. I had to keep reminding myself that it was just the hormones and that the sickness meant that the baby was taking hold. Some believe that more sickness means less chance of miscarriage, which is obviously a positive way to think about it, but it was difficult to be positive at the time. Thankfully now we are into the 2nd trimester the sickness has gone and nausea has mostly abated, although it still has it's daily moments.

SALIVA

It is not very common but one of the many symptoms that you can suffer from in pregnancy is something called ptyalism. It basically means you produce far too much saliva. You're probably thinking that doesn't sound so bad and that you just need to swallow more. It is however, much more unpleasant, particularly when swallowing your own saliva actually makes you want to be sick. I am now of the conclusion that saliva is probably one of the most disusting bodily fluids imaginable. For me it is right up there with vomit at the moment. When you spent all day spitting either into a bucket or a bottle/cup because you cannot even swallow your own saliva, and you do this continuously for 2 months (and counting!!) it can really start to grate on you. Plus, you have to sleep with a towel on your pillow. At it's worst I was actually scared of choking to death in my sleep so had to prop myself up on pillows in a way that was not dissimilar to the recovery position. Sounds dramatic but that is how bad it got. Thankfully I am not as bad now but I can still swallow very little and I have a bottle/bucket with me at all times (still!).

WEIGHT

Despite my severe sickness I still managed to put on a scary amount of weight in my first trimester. As a runner I am used to being constantly 'aware' of my weight and generally (Festive period excluded) it is always under control - a couple of ppounds up, a couple of pounds down - nothing to write home about. I think that because I am a runner (and a woman lol) I am finding the weight gain quite hard to come to terms with. It is a perfectly natural thing and I do try very hard not to worry about it but in such a body-conscious age it is hard not to. I already feel it is harder to get around and harder to do certain things and I just think how awful it must be for those people who are morbidly obese and how much of hard life that must be. But then i think again and wonder how hard is it for them if that is what they are always used to? Do you naturally become accustomed to whatever size you are? Is it because I was 'athletic' that I am struggling with it so much? It's an interesting thought. Needless to say I already cannot fit in at least half of my wardrobe so numerous shopping trips have had to take place just to cater for my bodily expansion. Sounds great eh girls? The perfect excuse for clothes shopping? Not so great when you can't fit in all the things you want to fit into. I am coming to terms with it, slowly, and I do have some gorgeous new maxi dresses, so that's worth a smile. I have also been reassured that once Baby Hart is born that the weight will naturally come off again (to an extent)

Yukky, moaning stuff over, and saving the best till last:

EXCITEMENT

Goodness we are so very excited. And so are our families and friends. It's hard to express it, but anyone else who has been in our situation will understand. There is no bigger journey or role in life than becoming a parent. Life will never be the same again and it is very, very exciting.

THANK YOUS

I want to thank everyone who has helped us through the past few difficult months. Thank you to our lovely families and friends, especially those who came to visit me when I was at my most sick. Their friendly faces and hugs were a real treat. Thank you to all those who congratulated us in person and online (over 70 messages on Facebook which is a record for me ha ha). We had told our close family and friends already, some a long time before the 'official' announcement due to circumstances that arose. We really only did the 'online' announcement to stop the speculation. It was a shame to find some people were more interested in congratulating themselves on their guesswork rather than congratulating us on our news, even when they hadn't seen or spoken to us in months, but I guess that's just how some people are. Most people who we have spoken to have genuinely been over the moon for us and seeing their faces when we told them was just a picture. There are not many happy surprises in life so it was quite lovely to be able to provide one of them. Some very special moments that we will treasure.

Let the journey begin...

The Sub 2-Hour Marathon: Sport's Holy Grail

2011-04-12T12:51:00.004+01:00

This link sends you to a programme that was broadcast on BBC Radio 4. There are 6 days left to listen to it on the iPlayer. It makes for very interesting listening.

The Sub 2-Hour Marathon: Sport's Holy Grail

After listening to it I went straight onto Youtube to watch Paula Radcliffe breaking the women's marathon record in London in a time of 2:15:25 and started crying as she came along the Mall. Cannot take me anywhere with these pregnancy hormones!! Ha ha.

The thing that I took took away from the programme that I think relates to the majority of runners is that, at the end of the day it does not matter how much or how well you train, if you don't have the right genes then you are never going to be the fastest. It always annoys me to hear fellow runner's say "Well, if you trained the way I do then you would be as fast as me," when this is simply not true. All anyone can ever hope for from their running is to be the best that they themselves can be within the biological parameters that nature has provided them.

Perhaps, more importantly, it is not about who is the fastest. If that is all we aim towards, always wanting to win the race and beat the other people, we are going to be permanently disappointed because 99.99% of the time there will be somebody faster than you. Maybe they weren't at the race you won today, but they are still out there. What we should all be aiming for perhaps, is simply to enjoy ourselves, and maybe that is achieved by being the best that we can be as a runner. Life is short, and often for many people it is not very pleasant, so just have fun. Enjoy the running, the racing, the training, the company, the solitude, the scenery, the feeling of being alive, and enjoy it as much as you can.

A "bump" in the road...

2011-04-03T21:09:00.004+01:00

In my last post, dated March 22nd, I listed all my race plans for 2011. Well, it is like they often write in the media "at the time of going to publication..." Had the date of publication of the post been January 1st then the post would have been correct, as on January 1st 2011 those were my race plans.

We have however, met what you might call a 'bump in the road' with regards to these plans (hence the blog post title).

Allow me to introduce you to the bump:

Yes, Paul and I are having a baby!!

This is, at last, our official announcement, so no more having to tell fibs and making excuses for not doing this, that and the next thing. It has been at times extraordinarily difficult to hide it (not always successfully) because I have been so incredibly ill. I will save all the gory details for another post perhaps - just keep the good stuff for this post ha ha.

Today is Mother's Day, and I was fair tickled to recieve this card in the post from my sister (who has, apart from Paul had to put up with the brunt of my moaning over the past couple of months). I love it.

My race plans for 2011

2011-03-22T14:04:00.000Z

I'm not one to normally talk too much about races before I do them (the WHW the exception) but this is the race schedule we planned for me this year:

Jan 2nd - Central Lancashire Half Marathon

The idea was to get the legs off to a racing start - wake them up a bit.

Jan 23rd - Gloucester 50K

Using December and January's training to make the most of speed/endurance training I would/did race my debut 50k. Job done - marathon PB of 3:40, and 50k time of 4:26 (was clearly struggling in the last few miles) and target of sub 4:30 achieved.

Feb-March

The plan for these 2 months was simple. Heavy, heavy training focused only on endurance. The target of this training is a 24 hour race.

April

Crawley 12 hour track race

Practice fueling and hydration strategies at the exact pace I intend for the first 12 hours of the 24 hour race.

Brive 24 Hour Race

This is the big target for the year. Involving actual focused training (unlike none at all for Tooting!) specifically targeted at a 24 hour race, I aim for a 15-20% improvement. This will be my first ever race on foreign soil.

May

Complete rest from running. Some gentle swimming towards the end of the month. I know how much a 24Hr race completely wrecks your body so feel NO guilt is having a complete rest break.

Summer

A short fun Alpine trail race - not to race, just to have fun.

As for the rest of 2011:

This is entirely dependent on what happens at Brive. If I do well enough then I will target another 24Hr race in the autumn.
If things don't go as hoped, then my plan is to shift back to more 'sensible' racing, you know the sort, maybe sub-60-miles at any one time!! Ha ha.
I would probably look to target a proper (non-mid-50k) marathon PB, preferably sub 3:30. Naturally if I am sticking to these shorter distances I would also look to improve my 10K, 10M and Half-Marathon times as part of the marathon training process.

If I was running this weekend...

2011-03-16T13:21:00.003Z

...I would be taking part in the D33, in a not so small effort to banish last year's demons. I had a complete nightmare last year at this race. Nothing wrong with the race I hasten to add - it is a wonderfully organised, low key fun and happy event. Unfortunately for me I was incredibly ill and suffered with terrible sciatica - the worst I have ever experienced (even since then). It was also the first race I have ever thrown up in, not once but 3 or 4 times if I recall correctly.

It is a brilliant race to do, especially if you are looking for a fast flat (mostly) tarmac (first) ultra. Using my Gloucester 50K in January as a measure and taking into consideration how much hillier that than the D33, I would be expecting this year I would be around 50 minutes faster than last year if I ran well (ideally sub 4:50). But, it is not to be, so I will have to face up to the D33 another year.

Next weekend there are the 100K and 50K races at Perth. A lovely flat (1.5ish mile)loop around Inches Park. I had toyed with doing these races but again, they didn't fit the plan. I definitely want to race here one day though having supported so many times on the route. Again, this is a fast flat route so I would expect a big improvement on my Gloucester time (and there should be more training in my legs by the time I do race here). But I will be there in my supporting capacity to my OH who will be once again donning his Scotland vest, and very proud I am too.

So, this year they weren't meant to be. The plan for 2011 really was quite an ambitious one really, but I shall save that for another blog post.

Good luck to all my lovely friends who are racing over the next 2 weekends, and good luck to the Scottish team at Perth.

Missing the 'Way'

2011-03-11T12:47:00.003Z

It's been a rather strange start to the year really. Last year I was all-consumed by my preparation for running the WHW race. Every single run I did was focused on June.
I loved heading up to do runs along various parts of the route. I absolutely love it. Such a beautiful part of the world, and definitely my kind of running.

But this year has started in a completely different way, and I don't expect to have any contact with either the West Highland Way or the SUMS until August when we are heading up to the Devil.

It is definitley a strange feeling reading everyones blogs about their training runs both on and off the way, and I do feel a little bit jealous.

With the SUMS starting next weekend I look forward to reading many more WHW and SUMS blogs to keep me going until August. Keep up the blogging folks so that I can get my WHW fix.

Naked running!!

2011-02-10T13:17:00.001Z

Lately I have been taking a step back from running and all the chaos that has been surrounding it, and it's been rather nice. I would recommend it to everyone. Running is a very important part of my life but it is not the be-all and end-all. There is, dare I say it, more to life.

In recent times I have found that there has been way too much politics, way too much focus on stats for training, stats for racing, focusing on results and not the process, and running was no longer running, it was training. It has really taken away the enjoyment for me.
I love to run, and I love to run well, but there is more to life than winning races and running PBs.

On Tuesday I went to club and ran with the Progress Group that I supervise. I deliberately didn't wear a garmin or watch - I was completely starkers!! Naked in technology terms. And I have to be honest it was the most enjoyable run I have had in a long time. It was just about running - I wasn't looking at my garmin/watch to see what pace we were doing or what time we had taken, and we were just running the route for however long it took to do it. I actually felt delightfully relaxed inspite of being tired from other things. There was lots of laughs and chatting and advice asked for and given. It really was a refreshing run, and it reiterates the thoughts I have had lately.

Running is not just about training and running races, it is also about enjoyment, companionship and feeling good about life. I feel good.

Bit breezy

2011-02-04T13:26:00.002Z

Last night I ran in our club 5km handicap race. I had been very close to not going because of the truely horrendous weather - I could hardly stand up straight at time because it was so windy.
We were all huddled in the bus shelter to start but still managed to get tossed around as if we were in a washing machine. I was very nervous about running because of the tree debrie that was covering the roads and the trees were creaking away under the force of the wind. Luckily Frank said he would run with me so I had company.
I still managed to miss my start time as I was in mid-holiday blether so my result will be about 15seconds more than I actually took to run the route - oops. I had a pretty shocking run anyway, over a minute slower than last month. My legs were heavy and really tired and just felt like blobs. There was no spring in them at all.
But, I have got a very good excuses, apart from the weather - it's only 10 days till I ran the 50k, and we only got back from Finland yesterday lunchtime. A slow time, all things considered is not unexpected.
On my way home from the run I passed by lots of flashing lights from fire engines and police - they had blocked off one of the roads - turns out the roof of a block of flats had blown off!! See, I told you it was windy.

So I am rethinking my plans for a 5mile race on sunday - blobby legs don't make for fast running times... Will also be good to have a weekend of relaxing... I'm talking myself out of it already ha ha.

Gloucester 50k - A Smashing Time

2011-01-26T21:07:00.001Z

The closest thing i have to compare the 50k race to is the D33 -'2' miles longer but completely flat which I ran last spring, and I had a complete mare of a race. I was really nervous before Gloucester. The furthest I had ever run on tarmac before was a marathon, and the last time I ran one of those was spring 2008. I've done a lot of running since then, so I really hoped that I could run well at the 50k.

I had 3 targets ahead of the race. Firstly I wanted to get the Bronze time which was 4.41. As it happens, the pace to achieve this is the same pace as my marathon PB. My 'fingers-crossed-hope-for-a-great-day' target was 4.30. As an additional target I wanted to break my marathon PB during the race.

Before the race I met up with Izzy, Stevie and Davie. It was great that Stevie was there as he offered to look after my drinks and jellybeans as he would be out on the route supporting.

The 50k was being run at the same time as the marathon. The 2 races started in different parts of the Gloucester suburbs, they then merged and headed out into the countryside to start running 7.5 mile loops of the local country lanes. The marathon did the loop 3 times and 50k ran the loop 4 times before both races headed back to Gloucester. I got a bit of a shock when about 4miles into the race I came round the corner to be faced with a hill!? I was not expecting that as I for some reason had it in my head that Gloucester was flat. Initially I thought I could manage 1 hill per lap and I would be able to keep my pace up. Unfortunately the hills and drags kept coming for the remainder of the loop. So, of the actual loop, most of it was what you would call rolling countryside. Its a lovely setting for a nice jolly run, but not what you'd want to be faced with when you're racing at your absolute limit.
During the first lap I was bang on my schedule, but still found it hard being constantly overtaken by marathon runners. I kept focusing on my own race and made sure I didnt get caught into racing any of them. controlling my pace paid off becuase on laps 2 and 3 whilst I was keeping up the exact same pace I was now catching and overtaking many of the marathon runners who had previously passed me. I guess this shows how important it is to run your own race.

Whilst I was managing to keep up my pace it was getting increasingly difficult, and each hill was draining the energy from my legs. I knew however that more than anything I wanted to make sure I could keep it going till I went through the marathon. If I could do that then I knew that even if I slowed down, as I knew would be inevitable, then I would still make my bronze target at the very least.
During the 2nd last lap I was really starting to fight against my body, trying to force my legs to keep going. I was fortunate that I was running along with a 'pirate' from Devon and his banter and company kept me going, but on the final lap I was on my own. My legs were trying to cramp but I was determined to get to 26.2 miles.

I did it, and not by any short measure. I completely smashed my marathon pb by 18minutes!! 3.40. I worked damn hard for a long time for that result, and its just as good as any 3hour marathon because of the work it took to get there. I did the work and got my reward. So often the people that work the hardest get overlooked in favour of the faster people, but as far as im concerned those who work hard for their results and yet manage to remain humble with it are the real victors - the irony being, that victory is not why they do it.

I had little time to savour the moment as I still had another 5miles to run. Even though I had ticked one target box for the day I really wanted to keep trying to push on for my next target. But the race was taking its toll on my legs, and I was in new tarmac racing territory. The hills were proving too much by this point and gradually my pace dropped. I past Stevie for the last time and he shouted encouragement to me, telling me to tough it out. I was giving it all I had but my legs were desperately trying to cramp. 2 miles to go and Stevie appeared again o sppur me on. The last 2 miles turned out to be 2.4miles, giving me 31.4 miles for the race. Afterwards there seemed to be a general consensus that the course was long, but who's to say. Frankly it was about 7miles too long for my liking! Ha ha.
I was so glad when I finally saw the finish line. My legs, arms, back, shoulders and abdominals breathed a collective sigh of relief. My god that hurt. I finished in 4.26. I collected my medal from Pam and then Stevie gave me a lift back to the school - what a gem.

So, despite really suffering in the last 6 or 7 miles, I still cracked both of my targets for the race. What more could I ask for? The hardest things bring the greatest rewards. 'Hard' may be subjective, but to each their own rewards will come.

Up to date

2011-01-24T17:21:00.003Z

So what's happened so far?

I ran a half decent half.
I squeezed in a final long training run before Gloucester (had not done anywhere near enough long runs, eso over 20miles to feel properly trained for the 50k)
I prepared a draft detailed winter speedwork plan for the club as my last duty on the committee (to be further developed by the committee). Plans are good!
I have been running the club progress group runs - it's been great getting to know more people. Sometimes the runs have been quite sore on my legs, but hopefully l'll be able to manage.
I tapered, more than planned - 4 complete rest days before race.
I made race plans.
I entered races. Scary mad races (well what else would you expect?)
I made use of my biggest mileage winter training by running my first ever 50k.

Gloucester 50k report to follow...

I now have a plan for the year, and it feels good to know where i'm heading, if a little scary.
2011 - bring it on.

Good achey

2011-01-13T21:20:00.002Z

Tonight was my final speed session before Gloucester 50K next weekend. I knew it would be hard after yesterday's short tempo run but decided that the back-to-back hard sessions would be ideal in for the build up to the race. From here I will do one medium (10ish miles) run at a comfortable pace and just dot in a couple of 4 or 5 miles leaving myself at least 2 days full rest before the race. So, that's the plan.

I ran to club and then did a gentle run up to the Crichton with a small group. I spent most of my time chatting to M. It was lovely to hear that she is thinking of trying something new or different this year in an effort to be more adventurous. I think that's great news.

The speedwork was teams of 2. 1 person would run a 3/4mile loop and the other would do a 1/2mile loop, both finishing with a climb to the church where you'd tag your partner. In the past I have always done the 1/2mile lap, but tonight I bit the bullet and said I would do the 3/4mile. This particular session has always been one of my favourite speed sessions, but I may have changed my mind now that I have switched to the 3/4mile lap lol.

My legs were still feeling yesterday but I still said I would go for 7m/m. As it so happens, another team of two both estimated the same times as me and my partner so there was always somebody there to 'target'. However, my target and I did spend a little too much time on a couple of the laps chatting which may have affected our pace, but tbh I think I would have run the same whether we talked or not. We did have much to discuss about races and pacing and things so it was all useful chat, nothing frivolous lol.

When I look at my pacing you can see the two laps we were chatting on - and can see what a difference it makes, even if you don't realise:
0.76m - 5:15mins - 6.57m/m
0.75m - 5.27mins - 7.13m/m
0.77m - 5.34mins - 7.17m/m
0.76m - 5.11mins - 6.49m/m

Av pace was 7.04m/m so I wasn't too far out of my estimate, in spite of the chatting.

Oopsy. Ha ha. Anyways, due to some mis-estimations in other people's timings my team and the other team hadn't even started our final paired laps when other teams had finished all of their laps, so by the time we finished and I had caught my breath, the group I ran up with had already set off heading for home. I saw them disappearing out the gate so sprinted off after them. By the time I was reaching the back of the group at the hospital I thought I may as well carry on this sprint for one last final session (just for good measure) so I crossed the road early I settled into my run down the hill thinking about my race next week, wondering what sort of pace I should set off at, whether I should even think about pace and just do whatever comes to me at the time, what fluid/fuel strategy I should have, will I understand the satnav lady whilst trying to get to the race, will there be snow??? Lots of questions going through my head and not too many answers coming with them.
I zoomed down the hill and along into town (6.46 pace - better than my intervals! - thank you gravity!!!) and after crossing at the lights I eased off a little for the final 3/4mile home.

I was glad I added that extra sprint as my legs feel lovely and achey. Good achey. Sometimes achey is just, well, good.

6 degrees of separation

2011-01-13T13:22:00.000Z

I just found out that the wife of a colleague used to be a colleague of the legendary Don Ritchie. What a bizarrely small world.
Maybe it is a sign that I should definitely go ahead with my plans to run another 24 hour race this year...

Under starters orders... 2011 is under way

2011-01-07T08:34:00.002Z

It's been a busy week since the new year started...

New Year's Day - club run at R's house followed by haggis, neeps and tatties and apple crumble. Only ran 3 miles as was doing the half the next day. Ran with A and chatted about her plans for the year. Good to see her running again after her injury. Lots of chat was had back at the house. Really enjoyed it. Ate too much, way too much! Sleepy.

Jan 2nd - Central Lancashire New Year Half Marathon. I hadn't been feeling great towards the end of the previous week and with the christmas excesses I didn't expect this to be an easy race. All I hoped for was my bronze time to get it over and done with. Hated every single minute. I struggled from start to finish. Spent over 6 miles with a stitch. Had a real battle with my legs and body for the entire race. Felt completely unfit, body felt heavy, lungs weren't working, arms with dropping, mental state was negative. I fought on determined to get sub1:44 for the Bronze. Job done. Over 1.5mins slower than last year but I didn't go to the race expecting a PB, especially since I had run a very hilly 16miler only on thursday. The other 3 DRC runners all had great races so I felt a bit rubbish, esp since they're all superfast as well. I was only 20mins behind the lot of them = how to feel even more rubbish after a race despite getting a bronze standard. So although job done, I still felt pretty rubbish about it.

Jan 2nd/3rd. Then we had a special trip to Langdale. Perfect wonderful fantastic day with OH. Did 8.75 miles in the fells. Aching all over from the scrambling and generally trying not to break my neck on the ice on the descent into Dungeon Ghyll. LOVE LANGDALE!!!!!

Jan 4th. Not many at club, no progress group run so I ran with M through the pouring rain and wind for 8.2miles. I was soaking and frozen by the end. Character building ;-)

Jan 5th - back to work. Decided to have a rest day from running as I was pretty pooped, hadn't slept much and was wanting to make sure I didn't get caught up in some silly streaking business again.

Jan 6th - DRC new 5km handicap race. Again I felt terrible. I had no more than 3 hours sleep the night before, I had had a terrible headache all day and I just wanted to stay home in bed and try and feel normal again. But I decided to go, since it was the first one, but i drove to the start knowing I didn't have the energy to run there and back as well. I actually had a pretty reasonable race. Targetted 7:15m/m so was pleased to average 7:12s in the end. The hill that you do (twice - 2 laps) was a bit of a killer but once its over you know you can really push on. My time was only 15secs short of my handicap which is the closest I have been since 2009!! Really pleased about that considering how pants I was feeling.

So overall a pretty nice start to the year. I am glad that it has started positively as I am really struggling with direction and motivation at the moment. Really just want to enjoy my running, enjoy who I am running with and see if I can set/reach a few silly goals again (race organisers dependent).

I have 2 weeks on sunday until the Gloucester 50K. It will be my first ever 50K. I am nervous. I should be able to manage it but I want a decent time (as always) but I haven't had nearly enough long runs due to the terrible weather in december so i don't really know what to expect. I hope my legs, my core and most importantly my lungs can all pull together and get me through it. Last long run tomorrow - aiming for 17-20miles as close to race pace as I can get.... we'll see what happens.

December - Snow Joke! ha ha (The old ones are the best!)

2010-12-21T18:30:00.007Z

So, it's been snowing again...
In my last post I was really enjoying the snow. But that was when I didn't have to force myself out in it every day in minus 12 degrees to just get my 3miles worth in.
To be fair, the Marcothon is the only thing keeping me following any kind of training at the moment. Given the choice I would much rather be curled up on the sofa eating chocolates and mince pies and watching the cheesiest christmas movies I can find. Perhaps that's why I need to make sure I keep going out because all those chocolates will end up somewhere...

I've never been a fan of cold weather and this spell is no different. No point moaning about it though as it won;t go away and we just have to make the best of things. It's scary how the country seems to grind to a halt and suddenly people are completely incapable of driving sensibly and theres no bread left in the shops as everyone panic buys. A bit of perspective, and a bit of toughening up and I am sure things will go a lot smoother.

I was going out every day, and also doing some pretty hefty mileage but that started to affect my previous back issue. Normally I would just switch to cross training but the marcothon keeps calling at my door. So, at the moment, many of my runs are turning out to be much shorter than scheduled. I am still getting a pretty tidy mileage but not quite what i had hoped for this month (expectations were clearly too high without even considering the weather).

I have had some lovely runs though. Last night I raced the crazy old lady out on her mobility scooter driving down the middle of a snowy street whilst holding up the traffic. It was minus 12 degrees. Baltic! And that wasn't even my coldest run. And as someone who hates the cold weather I am pretty pleased with myself for my repeated ventures out into it.
I also had a great run on Sunday at the DRC Xmas handicap race. I ran sub 7:30m/m on a snowy-covered icey road which is the fastest I had run all month. Very pleased with that. Nice to be fastest lady, but that was only because none of the faster ladies were running (injuries/snow/hangovers etc.).

And Saturday's run was nice running along the riverside trail. Initally as I ventured away from the road there was sheet ice under the snow so I had serious 2nd thoughts about heading that way but it soon turned back to crunchy snow and i just tootled along enjoying the scenery and taking photos (as instructed by Fiona Rennie lol).
The weekday runs are the hardest as they are always in the dark, in the town and always extra cold. But today is the winter solstice so the countdown to summer officially begins today!!
This morning's lunar eclipse

So overall December has been pretty tough so far, but there's only 10 days left of it, and if I don't keep training, with the amount I can pack away during a festive season I would turn into a proper little christmas pudding myself!! ha ha.

So happy marcothon to all those who started it, are still doing it, and those who finish it. All crazy folk, myself included. And a Happy Christmas and New Year, and all the best for 2011 and all your running, and non-running plans.

A little bit of snow, and a little bit of mojo...

2010-11-28T18:34:00.011Z

I'm 2 days away from completing my mini november-thon. After Tinto I didn't think I would manage it as it took a full week to recover (so very little running was done) but I have had a strong finish to the month which I am really pleased about.
I have not only started doing speedwork again but I have also started with my long runs down in Mabie Forest.

Running in the recent cold weather has proved to be a bit of a chore, and my legs have been pretty heavy, so my pace has been poor, but when I went down to Mabie Forest yesterday I really got some of my mojo back.

I was first into the forest so it was like being in Narnia, with the only other sign of life being the animal tracks criss-crossing my route. I knew I wouldn't have time to do my intended route due to the snow so rather than do one of my normal routes I put together a whole mish-mash of trails and tracks that I just decided upon as I came across them. It was great just running about in the forest with no set goal in mind (other than to be back at my car by 10am).

I have a few heavy weeks of training ahead of me in the run-up to Christmas as my racing season will be starting on January 2nd (snow allowing of course!). I have also finally made some plans for next year, which will incorporate another 24 hour which I am very excited about. There seems to be quite a selection in the 2nd half of the year, so from January to the end of May my training will be all about getting some pace back and really building up my endurance and mental strength. I have a few target races so I am feeling very settled now that I am have something to work towards.

Before I sign off from this post I wanted to mention a very good friend of mine called Susan. When I did the WHW she said I was mental. When I did the 24 hour race she said I was mental. But this weekend I can firmly say that these have clearly been 'pot-kettle-black' situations, as while we were all wrapping oursleves up snuggling to brave our varying degrees of snow, Susan was wading arm-pit deep in freezing cold muddy water at the Hell-Runner Down South!! I've seen the photographic evidence (thanks John). Susan you are officially mental, but I wouldn't want you to be any other way. Much respect.

Strathaven 10k

2010-11-07T17:14:00.005Z

Had a fabulous time at the Strathaven 10k this morning. Last year the weather was horrendous so it was nice to be faced with glorious sunshine this morning, even if it was bitterly cold in the wind (must be getting soft).

I had been really looking forward to the race as I was under no pressure for a race time so i was just there to have fun. I was speaking to the Subversive One, at the start and we both agreed we weren't there to race but we both wanted to run as fast as we could.

I have been saying in the past week or so I was just going there to run comfortably and to just enjoy the race, but in the past few days I realised that if I ever want to run faster again then I was going to have to run faster again. It really is the simplest rule in running, if you want to race faster then you've got to run faster. Simple.

So, even though I wasn't racing for a time I wanted to run hard and to really make the most of being there. Considering I only managed 8:10m/m in a 5km h/c run on thursday I wasn't expecting fireworks today. I thought, given the good conditions and the fact that I always get carried away in race conditions, that I would manage to get sub 8m/m comfortably. Any better than that didn't seem to be on the cards, and to be honest I wasn't too bothered. I wanted 2 things from Strathaven - to run hard with niggles and to have fun.

Whenever you tell anyone you are doing the Strathaven 10K their immediate response is "Oh that's the easy downhill one." What the don't know is that the 4km downhill at the start also has some sharp stingy uphills and that the downhills are mostly too steep to really take much benefit from. If you are not careful you can completely trash your legs before you're even half way.

You turn at 4km and start a long drag uphill. The toughest bit comes from 5k-6k which is relentlessly uphill. Then you are gently undulating to 8km. At the turn you then head up a steepish hill for about 3/4 km before a fantastic easily runnable downhill down into strathaven. It's important not to forget the sting in the tail of this race which you have to run steeply uphill into the playing fields and then sprint across the grass for the finish.

I think if you were desperate for a 10k time this one is good, but there are easier races you could do. Strathaven is a good course but you really need to know what the course is like before you go hurtling down that hill at the start.

Today I wore my watch rather than my garmin. To the best of my memory this is the first time I have raced without my garmin in over 3 years! And it was quite refreshing. Not knowing my pace constantly made me feel less under pressure. With the course markers being in kms it was never too long before I could make a general judgement about how I was running. I quite enjoyed the freedom of not knowing though.

I was going faster than i expected in this first 4km but my legs were not enjoying it. I used to really enjoy downhills but they don't hold the same appeal for me these days and I actually found them quite uncomfortable. I couldn't decide if the strange pins and needles I was experiencing were from the cold or just the shock my legs were in at having to go fast! ha ha.

Once I turned at 4km I felt a lot more comfortable even though i was having to work more. I just felt a lot more in control. I reached the 5km mark in 23:15mins. I was pretty pleased and impressed with that. I thought I was definitely going to slow down now since there was some hills ahead. 5km-6km was tough - that was a 5min km. But once past that I knew there was only one last really tough bit left so i just settled into my running concentrating on my cadence and enjoyed pushing myself along without feeling any kind of urgency.

I worked well up the hill passing some more people (as I had been managing since the 4km mark, as apposed to having people tearing past me in the first 4km). The way I see it is that it is better to pass people in the 2nd half than the 1st half as it is a much more positive way to end a race.

I really pushed on in the last 1km and crossed the line in 46:30. 7:29m/m. A perfectly even split! Although somebody mentioned that the clock was 15 seconds fast which would been a negative split, but either way I am chuffed to bits with a really enjoyable run.

The Strathaven Striders provided us with nice little goodie bags and technical t-shirts afterwards and some yummy soup and sandwiches. We had a quick chat with Lee and Dave, and said bye to Alsion before heading back home. All in all, a pretty good day.

It's nice running for fun!

It's the come-back-a-thon (with a typo)

2010-11-04T20:54:00.003Z

Ah heck, the rules have changed on me (a typo it would seem), but I have decided that since in the past 4 days I have already done more miles than I did for the whole of last month I am going to stick to 20 in 30 for November. IMHO I have done enough daft things this year already and I don't want to break myself again.

So, hats off to all those who are doubling up their November-thon and Marcothon. I was never very good at keeping up anyway. I shall do my November come-back-athon as my own wee challenge. It's more than enough for now.

Oh, and I'm 4 for 4, but I am taking saturday off as I will be busy preparing for a party - tattie scones, soda scones and traybake are my assignments in the list of baking to be done.

3 for 3 - November-thon

2010-11-03T19:27:00.001Z

I'm taking part in the November-thon: 30 days in November, and you have to run 20 of them. Minimum 3 miles or 25 mins. A perfect way to get back into training thanks to KH/Marco/Debs.

It's now day 3 and I've run 3 times! Woop! I am loving being back running again, even if it is just little runs, but every little helps, and I am feeling much healthier and much happier again already.

There is no pressure with the N-thon, but it is a great way to be part of something to get me motivated again, without the pressure that comes with having to run at pace in a race. I am thoroughly enjoying it. I even did core work tonight so I must be in a good mood! lol.

I have just printed off my Cateran entry form. I now have a race to aim for next year, although I have seen one in the summer that tempted me a year or two ago that I might have a pop at as well. But, then again, maybe I won't, I don't really know.

It's nice not having everything planned out for a change...

Oh, and its Strathaven with chips this weekend!

Get in gear

2010-10-30T10:30:00.004+01:00

I have been very good really in my recovery process by just taking things slowly. Unfortunately when i take things slowly there is this nasty side effect of gaining the odd pound of two (mostly through boredom). So after a rather overly critical view of my state of fitness and the tightness of my trousers I decided last night it was time to get shifting again.

I will add that I will not be over-doing it as the thought of being out for months and months with recurring achilles problems is not appealing.

So this morning I went out for my first Tempo run in months. Running feels pretty alien still. I can feel all kinds of weakness in my hips and core, not to mention the aching in every part of my legs. But I pushed my muscles really hard, forcing them to work when it would have been so much easier to just go out for another gentle plod. But gentle plods are not going to build up the strength in my muscles again so they really do need to be made to work.

It was, despite being really difficult, a really good run. I stopped at 3 miles and stretched everything (just to be on the safe side) and naturally whizzed through my fourth mile. The overall pace for the run was much better than i expected but a long way behind my tempo runs of old. But you can't have magic every day can you?

It is nice not to have a big race to target at the moment so the running is a little more relaxed. I was glad I did the 6 miles this morning rather than the 5 I planned. I might be tempted to go along to Strathaven next weekend and actually run, rather than just support. No point wasting my entry, and it is a really run race to do. There is no pressure on me to run fast as I have already run my 3 standards for the year, so Novemeber and December can be as relaxed and fun as I like. And what I like is to run, so lets hope that I can keep it that way.

Both achiles feel ok, and Im really happy that I was completely out of breath and dripping with sweat this morning. So far, so good.

Theme tune for this morning's run

Vegetable

2010-10-26T22:03:00.003+01:00

It's exactly 1 month since I ran at Tooting. After the race I was pretty shattered and broken and I thought it was definitely time for a proper rest. I heard via my OH that Stephen Mason had once said that it takes 3 months to recover from a 24 hour race properly so I thought that sounds like a plan to me: I could start running again with our traditional Christmas morning run, that would be a nice way to start.

So how has that plan gone?

Week 1 - Ouch! I was barely able to walk. (massage)
REST ACCOMPLISHED = ON PLAN.

Week 2 - I was walking easier but with two crunchy achilles. Being on holiday in a very hot and sunny Turkey meant I was more inclined to sunbath rather than run anyway, so I still wasn't missing the running.
REST ACCOMPLISHED = ON PLAN.

Week 3 - My legs were still not great but they were starting to get a bit restless. I attempted a 2 mile run and crunchy achilles were back. Another massage was the order of the day then more rest.
PLAN IS WAVERING

Week 4 - I attempted a 2 mile walk/run on Sunday. I only managed 1.2 miles. I decided that was deinitely enough. On Monday I went to the beginner's section at running club. I said 2 miles was my limit but managed a very slow and steady 2.8miles. Achilles both felt ok when I was running, but it is always afterwards that you feel it. They seemed ok, but every little feeling is amplified as I am now so paranoid about my achilles. Ever since I started running I have heard horrid things about achilles injuries and how they never seem to clear up, so I am determined to really take my time and hopefully they will get stronger over the next few weeks/months. I am in no hurry, for a change.
PLAN OF 3 MONTHS OFF IS LOOKING OUT THE WINDOW (HOPEFULLY).

So, I just can't rest anymore. I was starting to feel like I was turning into a vegetable. I have been resting completely so as not to upset my achilles but I just can't do it anymore. It was fine for a while. But it seems I am not the sort of person who can not exercise and just doing my stretching was no longer cutting it. I was starting to feel lazy and jiggly.

So, I am trying to get running again. The difference this time is that I am in no hurry. I have no other targets for the year, and I haven't really set any targets for next year, so I have no 'need' to race back into speedwork or high mileage. So little by little we will see how it goes.
I was starting to miss my running, and so decided to go to the club yesterday. The 2.8 miles I ran on were really great. It was really good, easy and chatty, and I remembered how fun running can be.

So it's time to get back to running, but it will be a slow steady progression from a couch potato to runner bean.

What a difference a day makes, 24 little hours

2010-10-17T22:57:00.006+01:00

Tooting Bec Self-Transcendence 24 Hour Track Race UK 2010

So what on earth was I thinking when I entered the Tooting 24 Hour track race? That had not been in the plan for 2010.

The plan was to build up to the WHW, see if I could manage Speyside to complete the SUMS then just jolly about for the rest of the year knowing I had done what I set out to do.

So, why the change of plan? Three things I think made me enter (1) Heck, why not? (2) Well, it's just a crazy thing to do. (3) A feeling of needing/wanting to get something more out of the year after the trouble I had at WHW. That third reason was probably the biggest one as I feel there is so much more to come from me for the WHW and that I could, with injury-free training (no back problems) and things going right on the day (such as my feet not falling apart), run a much faster WHW time.

So, I was looking for a sense of satisafction perhaps. It's silly that I didn't already have that, after all it's been quite a year for me. My best yet I would easily say, and yet I wanted more. So a few days before the entries closed I sent I my form. I didn't really expect to get i as it is normally over-subscribed but with Perth Ultra Fest being only 3 weeks before it there was a good chance that this would be the year I might get in. And I did.

Crikey. What now? I have major achilles problems after Speyside, and then even worse after the Gallovidian, so complete rest basically until the day itself. My fitness and endurance won't change any in the last few weeks and it was just about getting to the start line as recovered as possible. It was the ultimate in tapering - ie. doing absolutely nothing! I couldn't even swim as this affected my achilles as well. Not the best build up (AGAIN!) but there you go, no point getting upset about something you can't change.

I didn't tell many people I was doing the race, only a handful infact: some who were at Perth, and a close friend or two at home. I didn't want to make a big deal out of it, no extra attention, or pressure. Those who did know were fellow ultra-runners or non-runners who already thought I was nuts so the idea of running for 24 hours was just another crazy thing to add to the list of things I do.

I did have a few nerves before the race, but surprisingly not that many. Nothing compared to how I felt before WHW. I actually only felt nervous the day before and a little on the morning of the race. What was there to be nervous about after all? It's only running round a track! Ah, ignornace really is bliss ha ha.

So, running for 24 hours, how do you do that? I thought I knew I could do it. After all I had done it at the WHW. Surely this would be 'easier' after all there were no hills. It was flat, no rocks, no tricky scrambling along a loch side, no Devil's staircase to climb and no knee-shattering descent into Kinlochleven. So I started at 12noon on Saturday 25th September 2010 with a rare sense of confidence and for the first few hours it felt comfortable and although I was at times going faster than my schedule I felt happy enough. My main concern had been my achilles but after the first couple of hours I think my achilles had both come to accept that I was going to keep going and that they needed to just get used to it.

The first four hours I had to keep myself in check, telling myself that it only 'appeared' easy and that the real race wouldn't start for another 10 hours or more. After the first turn-around I picked up my first ipod to try and give myself a wee boost and to prevent any competitive urges kicking in. I wanted to get settled into a better rhythm and to focus on my own race. I only put one ear-phone in so that i could still hear other runners and knew when i needed move out of the way for the faster runners. Proper race etiquette is crucial in a race of this sort, probably more than any other race. I think everyone there had an mutual respect for each other that they were all happy to abide by the race rules and were willing for everyone to each do their best and to get the most they could from their race.

6 hours gone and things started to go wrong. I had been feeling a bit queasy for some time and I had hoped it would die down. I had scheduled regular walk breaks each hour and I hoped that my break at 6 hours would have been enough to just ease it off. It's surprising how quick a 5 minute walk break goeas past in a 24 hour race! I was no better and next lap round I walked over to our car, round to the front and did what was arguably one of my most impressive vomiting sessions! To say it was projectile would be an understatement and considering how little I thought I had eaten and drank it just kept coming and coming. Normally I am quite a girl about throwing up and end up in tears (well it is pretty gross!) but this time I just finished my business, walked round the car and washed my face with water and a cloth and set off round the track again as it nothing had happened. I am a whole new person when it comes to vomiting now ha ha. Good job too as this sequence of events was to repeat itself again a hour and a half later, and again....

It got to the point where I was reduced to walking as the jostling motion of running was making my stomach was to erupt continuously. So I marched on. I couldn't take anything. I managed to take my salt tablet each hour (after learning a new swallowing technique) but that was my limit. No fluid and no food between 10pm and 6am! How I managed to keep going is beyond me frankly.

Can't hide the pain

My legs were getting sore and I was really concerned about the prospect of cramp since I wasn't managing to get any fluids in. I hoped the walking would help me out and it's possible that it did. But the pain was really putting me on a dowener when combined with the sickness. I have never been so ill in a race, and I am shocked at how 'early' it came on. The one thing I had worried about before the race I was no longer worrying about - both achilles. The nature of the race (flat track) and the economical running style you need to adopt for this sort of race meant that they weren't being overstretched and so they didn't give me as much trouble as I expected, and the longer the race went on, the more other muscles became sore so the less notice I took of my achilles. The unchanging motion of running on a flat surface means that you are always using the same muscles and all the burden becomes very focused on those muscles. No uphills to give your hamstrings a heavier load and then no descents to use your quads whilst easing off on the hamstrings. Everything was just constant, so it was almost like working half as hard again just because of the incessant flat running.

But pain is pain, and the biggest battle with pain when running is getting through that mental acceptance barrier. It took me a long time to get there at Tooting, and it was a heck of a battle to get through as there is nothing at all to distract you. No beautiful scenery to inspire you, no changing underfoot conditions and most importantly no finish line for you to keep aiming towards: it's just you and your pain. Getting through that extreme pain barrier is always a massive mental release, but I had lost sight of it. The constant need to vomit and the pain I was experiencing meant I had a huge mental wall built up and I just couldn't see I way around and I was really doubting I would ever reach my target for the race.

It's a this point in the race that you really need support. When are feeling ready to call it a day and happy just to walk til the end or to just stop completely and go to sleep. I hadn't got emotionally involved in the build up for this race beforehand like I had a the WHW. At that race I just knew that I would battle on every second to the finish as I had worked so hard to be there and I wasn't about to give up just because it had become really hard. And I think that because I hadn't built this race up in the same way that it was that much harder to motivate myself during those incredibly tough hours in the middle of the night and the early morning.

Throughout the race everyone was very supportive of each other. There was a great camaraderie. Each runner had their own lap counter who would often be shouting messages of support, and sometimes they would just "Got you Vicky." Even that was always a boost as you knew that was another lap done and dusted. To start with I was actually nervous about having a lap counter, always worrying that they might miss me (or I might miss them if I was off in some dreamworld) but after a couple of hours I stopped being nervous and knew they were always looking out for me. At midnight we got new lap counters, which i think was a great idea as it must be so difficult to keep completely focused on the race for a full 12 hours always knowing that are runners there depending on your attention - that's a lot of pressure. The Tooting lap counters were absolutely fantastic though. I can't praise them enough.

There are two people who I need to thank more than anyone for my Tooting result: Paul Hart and Adrian Stott. Throughout the race Adrian had been willing me on to do well, always having a kind and supportive and encouraging word to say. He really thought I could do 100miles, and he kept saying so to me.He said:

"If you can just keep going, if you can just pick it up, you never know what might happen".
"The 100 is there if I want it. It's still possible."
"When you've seen as many 24 hour races as I have you learn that magic can happen in the last hour."

I don't know why Adrian thought I could do the 100miles, I don't even know if he really did or if he thought it would be just a good motivator. I didn't believe him for a long long time. I just smiled when he said things like that to me and thought that'd be nice but it's not my goal and it's probably far beyond me at. But whether he thought it or not, it certainly planted a seeds of an idea in my head that had at times given up any thoughts of goals and just wanted it to be over.

The person crucial to the events that unfurled at Tooting for me was of course Paul. Without his support I would never had achieved what I did. And in that entire 24 hours there was one particular moment that will always stand out as one of those magical turnaround moments that you sometimes get in a race. He told me that there comes a point where you have to make a decision and you have to decide whether or not you are going to run again. Sure you can keep walking but you won't get the same satisfaction from the result and you will always come away wishing you had run again and thinking you could have done better and had let yourself down by now trying. Or, you can start running, even if it's just one lap then you walk a lap and keep going like that. then at ;least you can come away knowing that you really tried and that you did your best. The crucial thing to remember is that those first 5 or 10 minutes of running are REALLY going to hurt, but if you can get through them then you know you can keep going.

It was around 2am and I forced my legs into a run. It really hurt. But to be honest, walking hurt almost as much! It came only a lap at a time. I had no energy from being unable to eat or drink but gradually a ticked off the laps, one by one. There was still lots of walking but at least I now knew I could run. I was managing the odd sip of water but only enough to wet my mouth and I would then let it trickle down my throat without really swallowing it. It was the best I could do at the time. I knew the porridge was coming at 6am but it seemed a long way off so i tried a couple of red grapes from the food table. They went down, and stayed down, so every few laps I would grab a few a slowly work my way through them. They helped quench my thirst and I felt like I was giving myself energy, even if it was a psychological.

6am came and I knew that if I wanted any chance of keeping going to the end that I had to force it down myself. It took 4 laps of slow walking to get it down, but I did finish it all. I walked a couple more laps so as not to upset my stomach then started running again as much as I could. Eating the porridge really gave me a lift. I did feel I had a little more energy but it was hard to jus=dge as I was naturally exhausted after such a long night. But mentally it gave me the strength to really start to push. I was asking Paul every lap what I needed to do to reach my 92mile target. I wanted to know what pace I needed for each hour and how many laps I need to do. I was making him count them down for me.

I needed him to literally spell things out for me each time I came round as my head was pretty messed up. At 6am I had convinced myself there was still 8 hours to go. I no longer had any judge of pace and needed him almost to direct what I was doing. Like I said, he was crucial to keeping me going.

The prorridge was kicking in, as was the adrenalin. My pre-race target was in sight and somehow I was going to do it with loads of time to spare! I finally started enjoying the race. The countdown was on. Having a 'finish line' is a great motivator I really pciked up my running now. I was running for longer periods and only walked when I absolutely had to, and even then it would only be for one lap. I wouldn't allow myself any more than that.

Adrian bowing as I go through 92 miles

We were getting into the final hours now and you could sense the excitement building, and the relief starting to set in. It was almost over. But there was still work to do, and I was flying! I couldn't believe it i was going to get my 92miles! Dead cert. That was my target as that was the RRC Bronze standard distance for a Senior Woman. I knew if I could get that then I would have done myself proud. What an achievement to get that at my first ever 24 hour. I was so happy. 3laps, 2 laps, 1 lap to go... oh it was brilliant. Paul was supposed to be giving me a flag for me to mark my acheivement and when i came round for the second last lap he said we're saving it for the 100! I was annoyed to start thinking he was going to make me miss my moment of glory but then in the last 2 laps before the 92mile mark that little 100mile seed starting to grow into a real possibility in my mind. I looked up at the clock to see the time and saw there was 1 hour 50 minutes to go till 12 noon, and I thought to myself "Let's do this!" As I came through the lap mark all the counters were cheering. "Go Vicky! You're awesome!" It was just an amazing feeling to have people shouting things like that at me. As I came round the far side of the track I yelled at Paul "I'm going for the 100!" His face was apicture and I could see how proud he was. I had reached my target and now I was going all out to go one better, well 8 actually!

Adrian was right. Magic DOES happen. Those last 110minutes of that 24 hour race were the best minutes of my running life. It was a mixture of unbelieveable pain, pure adrenalin and complete joy. I was running as fast as I could and since at times I was the only person running I looked like i was flying round like a sprinter. Whereas in the first few hours I was moving aside to let the fast runners through, now everyone else was moving aside for me! All the other runners were cheering me on each time I went past. It was thrilling, like nothing I had ever experienced before. And now all the lap counters were joining in and the spectators that were arriving for to watch the final coiple of hours were all cheering me on too. And what a surprise I got when I saw Lee and Dave arrive. I smiled and waved frantically at Lee - she must have thought I was a maniac ha ha.

In a lot of the photos which Paul took in the final two hours I am grimacing in pain. They are not the most attactive photos I have of me running ha ha. I may look awful on the outside but inside I am jumping for joy.

I was completely focused on reaching the 100 mile mark but worried that the earlier boost from the porridge would wear off. I was still struggling to drink and was only able to manage little sips of water. Then Paul handed me some melon and I wolfed it down. It was just what I thought I needed. It stayed down and again helped quench my thirst. I had tried some peices of orange in the previous two hours and although they helped they also started to burn my lips. I kept taking the melon, almost grabbing it off the plate Paul was holding. You would have thought I was ravenous. I just kept thinking if I can just keep it down it'll give me the strength I need to get there.

I knew it was going to be close and even though I was completely spent I was forcing myself to run. I knew if I walked then I could only allow myself a half lap at the most if I was going to make the 100. It was agony. I had my music turned right up and i was chanting away to myself the whole time. Sometimes I was even shouting at myself. I must have looked like woman possessed! I was!

There were a few more runners running in that final hour, and especially in the last half hour. The end was in sight and they were all trying to get the maximum out of the time now. But nobody was passing me. I was still running and running hard. Adrian and Paul were constantly working out how much I needed to do and what pace I needed. With only a handful of laps to go I knew I would do it. I knew I had the time. It was all very surreal. It kind of felt like my very own Olympic Games. Everyone cheering me on, that magical target in sight, doing something truely extraordinary for such an ordinary girl. So many thoughts were going through my mind. It was a sort of mini-flashback of my running career, all the ups and downs. And here I was about to put the cherry on top of the cake. What a journey. What a rush! I was high as a kite!

"How many more to 100?!" I kept yelling at Paul and Adrian, and they kept telling me, and each time I would ask them to check with the counters to be sure. And then here it was, the final lap and a half. I couldn't believe it. Everybody was shouting my name and I pushed on hard. Paul handed me the flag. I had to run round through the lap mark and half way round the lap again to the measured point on the far side of the track. As I went past the lap counters a shook my fist to say "I've done it!" I grabbed the corners of the flag, wrapped it round my shoulders and smiled the biggest smile. I really had done it. I raised up the Saltire and charged through that 100 mile mark! MAGIC!

The magic 100!

I kept running the rest of the lap flying the flag and got an enormous roar and applaus as I finished the lap infront of the lap counters. Their encouragement was 2nd to none. Brilliant bunch of people. Once through the lap I stopped running. I couldn't run anymore. I was absolutely shattered. I kept walking round as I was determined to keep going the full 24 hours ha ha. Well, there was only 10 minutes left. Round the far side of the track I got a hug from Paul and then continued on. As I walked round I cheered on all the others who were still going. I was so completely over the moon. I have never been so happy with myself after a race. I really did myself proud.

And when the claxon sounded for the end of the 24 hours and I dropped my little marker bag I literally could not walk a step further. Paul came over and gave me a massive hug and told me how proud he was of me, and for once I was proud of myself. Paul had to help me walk the 50 metres it was to the car as my legs were starting to shut down. They weren't the only thing to shut down as less than a minute sitting in the chair beside the car I promplty threw up the entire contents of my stomach. And it was disgusting! Black. I did feel slightly better for doing that, but not much. My legs were that broken that I could not walk across the track to the prize giving, I had to be driven in the car! How about that for service ha ha?

What a race. Not only did I manage to break the 100 mile mark, I even finished 3rd lady! How completely insane is that? I completed 100.6 miles, finishing 15th overall. And regular readers of my blog will kow I go on about trying to get RRC standards, well 100 miles gave me my first ever Silver Standard!! I cannot tell you how happy that makes me. Maybe I'll make an ultrarunner out of me yet.

I want to say a huge thank you to Paul of course, and Adrian, Shankara, my lap counters, all the lap counters, all the other runners and supporters and to everyone involved in the Self-Transcendence Tooting Bec 24 Hour Track Race. It was fantastically well organised and supported and has given me memories that will last a lifetime. If you are every crazy enough to do a 24 hour race I can definitely recommend this one.

One of my special memories from this race that will last with me forever is Adrian Stott saying that had hadn't seen a final 2 hours like mine to a 24 hour race since Don Ritchie broke the world record!! It doesn't get much better than a accolade like that does it? I am so proud of myself for doing something that really should have been beyond me. Thanks to Paul and the other supporters and runners I finally have come away from a race completely and utterly content.

The aftermath: well I couldn't walk, there was lots of throwing up and I was to be frank, broken. But I felt brilliant! All through the race and in the week following I swore I would never ever do another 24 hour race, but half way through week two I started thinking about what 24 hour options were available to me and I was already planning a training routine! This was all despite the fact that I really am utterly wiped out and have a pretty rotten injury to deal with. I have achilles tendonitis in both achilles. It is not surprising since I was suffering with it before the race anyway. It's three weeks since the race and I thought I might attempt a wee run. 2 miles. It was 2 miles too far. I thought my achilles had been on the mend after 3 weeks rest but they definitely aren't. Plus my legs were just not into it at all. The were sore, tight, heavy, awkward. Everything felt unnatural to them. So, it looks like my planned 3 month break might actually happen after all.

I think my legs probably deserve a rest. Well, It's not as if I will top Tooting before the end of the year is it? Ha ha.

Oh, and guess how shocked I was when I was given a copy of the newpaper to find not only was my photo in it, but I got the headline in the report too! My name, bold as brass! A very special one off moment that I will treasure.

Turkey's First Ultramarathon

2010-10-11T20:54:00.007+01:00

He swore he knew nothing about it ;-)

Lycian Way Ultramarathon

Was it really a surprise when on our relaxing 'recovery' holiday we should find that the first ever ultramarathon to be held in Turkey was taking place right on our doorstep. Literally. And when I say literally I don't mean it was in the next town or a short drive away; the race started at the bottom of our hotel driveway! Unfortunately it was starting as we were leaving, and it was a multi-stage event so that wasn't really going to sell it to us, and it is not cheap to enter at 1,000 Euros per person (you can enter as an individual or up to a team of three). But I can tell you this much, you will get some cracking views on the route! Whilst Paul ran daily along the route I was still very much in recovery mode after the Tooting 24 Hour race (blog for that still to come...)and I only managed one walk along the route, heading out for 1.5miles and back again. It was more than enough. My legs were fairly tired but overall ok, but I am still very wary of both achilles as they were still playing up a little. They definitely on the mend now thanks to my enforced rest.

Cutting it fine

2010-09-14T08:29:00.001+01:00

So I have been very good since last week's 10k, looking after my achilles as I was instructed. Started with cold therapy and now I have moved to hot therapy. My sciatica tablets are doubling up as achilles tablets too - how about that for efficiency? ha ha.
Unfortunately the improvement hasn't been what I hoped. It was NOT good last thursday, not good at all, so the improvement since then has been great, but it still just doesn't feel quite right. I had planned a short run tonight before doing a long track session tomorrow, but I feel I need to rest yet another day.
The track is only available on a wednesday so tomorrow I would really like to get back on it but I may have to wait till next week, although, really, that's just too late to be of any use.
I can't make any difference in training now. So the main thing is to get as 'un-broken' as possible in the next week. That was the advice given to me by Paul and the lovely Pauline Walker (and there's two people who know what they are talking about). Not training makes me nervous and I end up spending my time planning my race instead. These things must be planned, but the more I think about it and don't run, the more nervous I get.
This calls for happy music and healing vibes... :o)

Gallovidian 10K - Close, but no cigar.

2010-09-09T15:28:00.002+01:00

I haven't run properly since Speyside due to a sore achilles. I have found swimming has had neither a positive or negative effect on it. All the running and walking I did supporting at Perth was at times painful, then at other times not painful, but I was advised to rest it some more.

So last night an hour before the start of the Gallovidian 10K (our local 10K) I was still sitting on the sofa watching tv and munching my way through a bar of Galaxy. I was in two minds about going. I was still thinking about my achilles and wondering if I should risk it at a short fast race when I need to save it for bigger things coming up. I had lost my inclination for racing short and fast and wasn't much in the mood for it, plus with it being the local one there would be loads of DRC people there running, so there is then that added pressure of performing well in front of the home crowd.

So I went along not having any particularly strong feelings for the race and thought I would just go with the flow and see what happens. There was plenty of chat beforehand, people were eager to hear from Paul and Marcus about their weekend. Susan and I discussed our targets and plonked ourselves more to the back of the field than the front and as the runners set off I found myself having to wiggle around slower runners who had set off too far up the field. I got into a rhythm quickly and gradually moved past some slower runners. I checked my garmin after 1mile and found I was on RRC bronze standard target pace. I hadn't expected to be so I thought I would just go with it and see how long I could hold on for.
I got a mild stitch at 2 miles but it was nothing too severe. I was still running smoothly but I was putting in a full effort to try and maintain the pace. I was doubtful for the new target time but I thought I would give it my best shot.

Other runners started falling behind me and I was closing on runners ahead. At the water station I passed by another lady form my club who I haven't beaten all year. I was worried I had maybe gone too fast but checked the garmin again and I was actually falling slightly behind on pace, so I dug in and carried on. I ran alongside another Dumfries runner for the next mile but again I needed to pick up the pace so I went ahead.

I was feeling pretty sick by mile 4 and 5 (thanks Galaxy) and I felt like the target time was out of reach but I knew that I really had to try. Mostly I think I tried so hard because if I got the time then I wouldn't have to do another 10K this year ha ha.

My legs were really tired by this point and I was really struggling to maintain pace. I was grimacing, breathing heavily and struggling with my stomach. I reached the bottom of the Moffat road, turned sharply and saw that I had 2:45mins to get to the finish line. Impossible, but I thought I would give it the best sprint I possibly could. I couldn't have picked it up any sooner and was surprised I managed anything at all, but sprinting is what I did. In that last 1/4 mile I passed 7 or 8 runners, I was sprinting flat out along the track to the finish line but even as I did it I knew I had missed the bronze time. 45:35. I missed it by 5 seconds! 13th lady, the winning lady was Mhairi Duff from DRC who won in an amazing time of 36:34! I can't even drive that fast! ha ha

I had very mixed feelings in the aftermath of the race. I ran so much better than I expected. I had hoped to be inside 47 minutes. I would have been happy with that considering, so 45:35 was beyond my current expectation. I was just gutted to have missed the RRC bronze target time of 45:30.

DRC got some great results at the race, and I was pretty chuffed to have been part of the First ladies team and got a wee trophy to boot! Not bad considering I had no expectations from the race. Unfortunately it does mean I am going to have to do another 10K at some point this year.

My achilles was sore last night after the race so I put it on ice when we got home. It is still really sore again today and I am trying to use it as little as possible. It is a concern considering the very short time I have to get it fully fixed and usable again.

Oh, did I mention sciatica? :o(

Perth Ultra Fest 2010

2010-09-07T16:35:00.007+01:00

I was asked at the race if my blog would be a mass of numbers and calculations since I spent about half of my time running around with a clipboard calculating lap times and projecting distances etc but the thing is the numbers really don't do justice to what goes on in a 24 hour race. Running/supporting for that length of time at this type of event is unlike most other ultras, and the Perth race itself was something quite special. I had been really looking forward to it and it did not disappoint. Most importanly Paul really did me proud.

There are so many ups and downs during an ultra for both the runners and the supporters that it is important to have a great crew around you and the Scottish Team were absolutely fantastic. What a great bunch of people they are (already knew that anyway), and the English Team were just as supportive too. There was such a great feeling of mutual support and respect that I was reminded of why I love this kind of running, these kinds of races, and why I love meeting these kinds of people. Of course, everyone wants to push themselves and run their fastest/furthest, but there is much more a sense of competing against yourself rather than against each other and everyone is encouraging each other the entire time.

The perfect motto for ultra running (must be in pink of course!)

The Perth Ultra Fest was a fantastic event and I hope it will be repeated for many years to come. Congratulations to Adrian and all his team and the Perth Road Runners for making it so enjoyable.

Not quite an Anniversary Waltz

2010-09-03T10:57:00.001+01:00

Tomorrow is the start of the Perth Ultra Fest.
I am really looking forward to it. I have supported at a number of 24 hour races now but this weekend will be special. Sunday will be the our one year wedding anniversary and what better way to spend it than looking throroughly haggard from being up all night either running or supporting at a 24 hour race. It seems fitting somehow that we should be at a special ultra event.

I will be taking a special interest in this race as there will be so many top quality runners taking part and it will be fascinating to see how they all differ in their approaches to the race. Lots of things to learn for future ultras. It will be interesting to see what can be learnt as you actually get to see all the competitiors repeatedly right through the entire race - this is a huge difference to most ultras - so I imagine there will be so much more to take in from than viewpoint.

The 100k and 50k and relay will provide 'brief' diversions throughout as well and I am looking forward to watching those too. But naturaly most of my attention will be on helping Paul get the best out of his weekend.

I think this will be a great event. The Scottish Ultra scene has really developed over the past few years and it is great to be part of it. The people you meet are just that little bit special and you count yourself lucky to know them.

Toot toot ;o)

In the pink.

2010-08-30T21:47:00.003+01:00

Normally I am a fan of anything pink or purple - I'm very girly that way - but the beetroot juice has me beaten. I really wanted to like it. I love beetroot. I even ate beetroot cake today (birthday cake for one of my very good friends - the cake ninja) and loved it! But the juice was just too weird. It just didn't seem quite right to be drinking beetroot. It's no for me. I'll stick to the beetroot cake

Speyside Way Ultra

2010-08-29T10:51:00.006+01:00

Notes not narrative today.

Arrived Elgin 10:15pm on friday night.
Forgot my breakfast so had an egg mcmuffin from Macdonalds and a piece of flapjack.
Registered 7am in Buckie. Met up with Seb and Craig.
Drove to start at Ballindalloch.
Got myself kitted up.
Midges - a few. One bit me -grr.
Photos.
Started. people rushed off.
Settled into a gentle pace. It was tough running the muddy parts in road shoes.
Wished I had worn my Grid-Excursions.
Loads of great banter.
Ultra-runners are jolly.
Ran with Graeme, Penny the dog, Ellen, Lorna, Victoria, Sandra and various others along the way.
Said hello to every runner I saw. Much conversation.
Wisdom Tooth (or lack thereof) was sore for first 7 miles then went away.
Paracetamol at 13 miles as legs were very sore.
Knew they would get worse as I had only done 1 run longer than 10miles since WHWR.
Left knee and ankle were very sore on the off-road sections (most of it ha ha).
Ran out of fluids at 18 miles - still 6.5 miles to checkpoint = major cramping issues and dehydration. Lorna let me have a sip of her juice as she came past me but I didn't want to take too much as she would need it. It was warmer than you'd think.
4 very heavy rain showers, each lasting about 15-20 mins - soaked to skin each time.
Scenery was just breathtaking - a really beautiful route.
Great organization.
I only decided to aim for a time when I got to the last checkpoint around the 5 hour mark and thought "crikey Im not half doing bad here"
Loved the surprise messages of support on the fence posts just before the last checkpoint at Spey Bay - a great touch.
Missed a turning coming out of the woods - went too far right - added around 10 minutes to my time, and almost a whole extra mile - GUTTED!!!
Bumped into Ellen and Graeme on my way back to route (after being redirected by the man at the farm) and told them they were going the wrong way too. Lucky for them they bumped into me or they would have been heading completely wrong too. Made me feel better that I wasn't the only one. Found out at the finish that many people had gone wrong at various points so that cheered me up - didn't feel quite so daft as I might have done.
Really frustrated with myself for last 3.5 miles into Buckie.
Achilles very painful in last 2 miles on road.
Finish didn't seem to want to get any closer.
General consensus was that the race was aprox 36.5miles, not 35.5. I was closer to 37.5 anyway thanks to my detour.
6:07 finishing time. \o/
Legs very sore afterwards.
Ellen finished just after me, and so did Graeme and Penny the dog.
Really fabulous goodie bag - love my bag.
Great reception at finish with all the flags waving.
Loved seeing Jane out on the route cheering me on.
Yummy sandwiches at the high school afterwards.
Marian won her category and got a cup and a bottle of Grants whisky. Good job Im not any faster at this ultra-lark because I don't like whisky! ha ha.
Seb and Craig had a good race too. Great that all 4 DRC runners managed to finish.
Wasn't sure I would, so really pleased.
Also, this was the first time I have ever run an ultra completely unsupported. Paul had dropped me off at the start, but I didn't see him again till the end. It was even nicer to see him than normal as I had had to wait all the way till the finish. This was a new mental battle for me but I got through it petty well I think.

Day after - 2 blisters burst (they were a result of wearing my road shoes rather than trail shoes).
Very painful left knee and ankle and my achille is none too happy either - ice being applied (again - the road shoes to blame here I think.)
Whole body is aching really - I was just was not prepared physically for the race but I wanted to do it so that I could complete the SUMS series. No long term damage done - just need a couple of days R&R.
Mouth is sore again from the tooth extraction but a little paracetamol and a salt-water sinse should sort that out.

In summary:
Loved it. It was a fantastic event. I would definitely recommend it. What a great time I had. Lovely people, great organization, and a very patient and understanding husband all made it a great event. Lovely wee touches to the race. Great marshals.
My only negative was missing the turning but that was my own fault and my blind little eyes not seeing the tape.

So that's another 37.5miles in the bag. Not a bad day's work in the end.

Where does the time go?

2010-08-27T13:23:00.004+01:00

Tomorrow is the Speyside Way Ultra. I am running, despite having a wisdom tooth out yesterday, and I am determined to finish. Why? Because if I finish I will have run the 4 necessary races to complete the inaugral SUMS series. Prior to 2010 I have only run one ultra so I was determined that I was going to make this year my ultra year and the main race would be the WHWR. So I am three down with one to go. It seems only yesterday that I was on the WHW and my training since then has not been at all geared towards tomorrow's race, I have other goals still to fullfill this year, so I am not sure how I will get on.

I have not been as fast as I would have hoped at any of the SUMS races and don't have many points in the SUMS points system and this has bothered me at times this year, but frankly there is more to life than being fast. So tomorrow I won't be there to race, I will be there to enjoy myself and to close the chapter on a very interesting and rewarding new collection of experiences that I have gone through this year.

It's a long way to go for a bit of a jolly, especially as we won't be arriving till after 11pm tonight, with race registration at 6:30am, but the sense of achievement if I reach the end will certainly be worth it.

Ultra-running has introduced me to so many fantastic people and I hope to meet even more tomorrow.
So it doesn't matter when I finish tomorrow, all I want is to do is finish.

There's more to come anyway...

I've never been First Lady before - maybe Friday 13th is lucky for me.

2010-08-13T23:20:00.005+01:00

I guess friday the 13th isn't unlucky for everyone.

Travelled over to Annan with Susan this evening for the first two races of the Annan Running Festival. 1 mile track race (which was long) and a 3.5mile XC race twenty minutes later, as you do.

Did this festival 3 years ago, so my target was to beat my times I did then.
The track race was pure murder. I did hope for a time faster than what I ended up with but I was still pleased to finish with a new PB, and 2nd lady overall. Susan also did a great time and well under her target. Big cheers all round, if only I could stop choking! It was like a had a wee midge sitting at the back of my throat that just didn't want to go away. Lungs and throat had burned doing that race.

I was mildly anxious about the XC as the track had been so tough but I made sure I set off at a good pace that I felt was maintainable. I found myself lead lady from the off, which was different, but I knew the next lady was literally only a couple of metres behind. With just over 1 mile remaining I decided it was time to make my move and I dropped a gear and overtook the man in front of me to try and get some distance between us. It worked well enough to get me a slight breathing space as we arrived back at the park and once through the gate I ran as fast as my legs and lungs would allow me. On the final bend a had a half glance behind me and knew that I was going to be 1st lady. I was so so pleased with my run and promptly collapsed on the grass once I'd finished. Unlike the track race, I really enjoyed the cross country. I've never been 1st lady in a proper race before. Really chuffed with myself, and why not. It's not as if it waill happen again so I am enjoying it. I think Susan preferred the track race but she still ran fantastically well.
We both came away with two brand new PBs.

It was tough runing the two races back to back but we had a great time, met some familiar and non-familiar runners, and as it was a lovely surprise to see our friend Jo P. at the finish as well.

It was great evening in great company. Nice and relaxed, no pressure, just a bunch of jolly and pretty chilled out runners being a bit daft in the park. Magic.

For the track race - 6:29 (6:12 for the mile) 2nd lady.
For the XC race - 26:17. 1st lady. 6th overall.

Crossing my i's and dotting my t's - welcome to the world of cross-training.

2010-08-11T21:49:00.001+01:00

In the lead up to WHWR my recently aquired physio suggested that if I wanted to manage the pain in my back/legs (sciatica) then I would need to train smarter and not longer. He even told me I should seriously consider not doing ultras.

We/I decided that I couldn't risk not putting in the miles before the race, just for the psychological benefits if nothing else, so we agreed that once the race was over that I should cut down the running mileage and start seriously thinking about cross-training.
And so I entered the world of cycling, and then after much trepidation, swimming.

CYCLING
I have a mountain bike which has never seen a mountain, or a trail for that matter. The best I have done so far is the cycle path out of town and a country road. I know for that sort of cycling most would prefer a road bike but I quite like the fact that my bike adds to the work I have to do. I will never manage to zoom along since neither myself or my bike is made from some super light-weight carbon-fibre but I am managing to get in a few miles here and there. Traffic is still pretty daunting as people never seem too pleased to see a cyclist in the road, but I do my best to stay well over to the side, without falling into any ditches!
The only problem is that I have been getting a pain on the outside of my left knee when I have gone a few miles, and unfortunately this pain does not disappear when I try and run on it. So I am finding myself leaving longer and longer between each ride. The same thing happens on the static bike as well. I have tried changing the height of my seat as this was suggested to me as a possible cause for the pain, but I have yet to see an improvement.
Overall though I am really enjoying the cycling, especially since I can whizz along the cycle path so much faster than when I am running and when I am finished I don't feel quite so battered.

SWIMMING

I have never really been a big swimmer. I had lessons at school like most people, but since then the only swimming I have done is the general messing about in the pool, or on occasion in the sea on holiday sort of swimming. I always had a slight fear of putting my head under water and not getting it back up in time to not choke on some water. I am sure of have vage childhood memories of swallowing half the pool every time I went. On previous attempts I have also found that whenever I attempt front crawl I get terrible cramp in my feet within literally 3 or 4 strokes.
So naturally I have been putting off the swimming part of this new cross-training regime. Last monday however I finally bit the bullet and headed off to our local pool. I was strangely nervous and felt a bit daft feeling like that when there were all these kids around swimming and jumping about without a care in the world.
It turns out swimming isn't all that bad! I still did a bit of choking and spluttering but I swam 20 lengths of the pool. My arms were aching terribly, and so were my fingers! That made me laugh. I only did breast stroke, and as I had no goggles I ended up with a bit of an achey neck afterwards. But the big news of the day was that my legs felt fantastic afterwards. Result!
I have now been twice more, and I even have goggles now. Tonight's session even saw me doing proper breast stoke lengths - 2 strokes with my head under the water, then up for breath for one stroke, and repeat. I was really pleased with myself. I am going further each time I swim (although I am sure what I am doing probably sounds puny to real swimmers) but I am really feeling benefits from it.
My next hurdle is to figure out how to do front crawl without my feet going into cramp. I had a wee attempt tonight but as always 3 strokes in I felt that familiar tightening up of the muscles in the bottom of my feet and quickly stopped in time to stop it going further. There has to be some sort of explanation for why that always happens. I have been practicing doing the front crawl leg movement whilst holding onto the side of the pool and it never seems to happen then. It's very odd.

Anyway, I am converted. I am loving (mostly) doing the cycling, and I am loving (mostly) doing the swimming. I am hoping that they can help me with my training as a whole. I think possibly my legs feel slightly less drained/battered but at the same time I am still keeping up a full weekly schedule of exercise. And I am now convinced in the recovery power of swimming.

Last but not least, RUNNING

I am been doing some good miles once again. Long runs, tempo runs and intervals. I am being careful not to overdo it though. I am starting to pick up a little speed again, although i am still a long way off what I would like. I won the monthly club handicap race last week having run 2 minutes faster than the month before. I have finished last or 2nd last in every one of these club handicaps I have run since last october. My handicap was pretty severe after I won the series last summer, and with all the distance I was doing my short distance speed gradually disappeared. But things are starting to turn around again so I am happy about that. After winning on thursday Ii took a notion to do a 10K somewhere since I had no plans for the weekend (and I wanted to do something since we weren't at the Devil). So off I popped up to Glasgow after work on friday to run the Bella Belter. I hadn't a clue where I was going (as I have never actually driven IN Glasgow before, only THROUGH it) and thanks to some roadworks on the motorway I had a very stressful journey up. The Bellahouston Harriers and their helpers at the race were a very friendly bunch though and I had more than enough time to register an get myself ready for the start.
The race is a 2 lap route through Polok Park and I think it could give some fast times, but after running flat out on thursday night I blew up about 2 miles round the first lap and knew I wouldn't get the time I wanted so I decided just to do as best I could and aimed to come away satisfied. I finished in a time of 46:32 so that wasn't too bad in the end. Not as fast as I would like, but my legs were just shattered and lactic-heavy from the night before. A satisfactory fast run though.
Last night I had another good run doing 16.3 road miles. It is a long time since I have done that distance actually on a road and my legs were really sore in the last 3 miles of it, but I kept up a really good pace throughout (which I was determined I needed to do) so I feel like I am making progress again.

I don't know if I am recovered fully from the WHWR but things are certainly going in the right direction. Who knows what may come next.

Crossing my i's and dotting my t's - welcome to the world of cross-training.

2010-08-11T21:49:00.000+01:00

Weetabix Marathon Ad

2010-07-31T21:14:00.000+01:00

This advert made me laugh. We all hate to be beaten by someone in fancy dress, so it's funny to see it happening to 'those at the top'.

Queen of Blisters

2010-07-22T22:27:00.003+01:00

It's now almost 5 weeks since WHWR and my feet are still a shameful mess. I thought I had seen the last of the blisters only to have another two appear tonight whilst doing hill reps with the club. They are nice big juicy ones too, right on the balls of my feet. It's as though they are drawn to me. I think all the little blisters are going off and telling their pals about a pair of really battered feet that are just ripe for the taking! ha ha.
Joking aside, I have one small toe that will never have a toenail again; it doesn't even have nail bed anymore (must see the chiropodist about that): another has a toe nail that will be off it a month (give or take): a big toe that have a nice big black/red blood stain underneath it that is gradually growing out. And that's all on my left foot. My right is surprising normal looking in the toenail department.
As for the skin on my feet, that is a whole other matter. It is falling off every day, and bits that have 'dried out and died' I am cutting off before they get annoying and scratchy. Of an eveing I find myself watching the Tour whilst picking at my feet. It is not an attractive business at all!
I have been trying to do lots of moisturising to heal the skin, but wonder if anyone else has any suggestions for what they do to get rid of their blisters and to generally toughen their feet up?

So while my feet have still been suffering the rest of me has been trying to get back into normal running again. I think in general my legs are fairly well recovered. They were very sore and achey on my first runs but I think most of that really has gone now. What I am finding however is that they have completely forgotten what it means to go fast. It has been 6 months since I last really tried to get any pace out of them and yesterday at my first proper short road race since february my legs really didn't seem to have a clue what was going on. I found the whole thing very alien. My legs weren't sore or anything like that, they just didn't know how to move with any kind of pace. The Newlands Valley Round in Keswick is a reasonably hilly course of 6.4 miles and I hoped to be under the hour but I didn't know the route or how hilly it would be so wasn't sure how much under the hour I would be.
The two main issues form the race were the distinct feeling that I couldn't go fast; I couldn't feel the ability to have any sort of faster turnover in my hips, even going downhill. The have become so used to going at a slower pace that I clearly need to do some work to get them feeling more spritely again. My legs are simply out of practice so I am not worried about it. I just know that I need to get back to focusing on more shorter sharper sessions again now that the WHWR is done.
The other thing I noticed was my breating/lung function. This too had become so accustomed to one type of running (ie slow) that I spent the entire race, start to finish, puffing away like a steam train. Even from the first half mile I felt short on oxygen. Once again it was just another indication that I need to refocus on my speed again.
I was happy with my time of 52:10. Pleasantly surprised in fact. I was absolutely burned up at the end and couldn't have given any more really. I didn't enjoy the race because it was so uncomfortable to be running at speed again, but I am really glad I did it. It did me the world of good I am sure.
There is another short race next week so I will see how I fare at that. It is a pretty flat route overall, and only 5 miles, so that will do me some good. The club always puts on a great showing at this race so it will be fun anyway.

My West Highland Way Race 2010 - The Full Story

2010-07-11T17:35:00.017+01:00

Photo from Alan Young.

It’s been 3 weeks since the WHWR and I haven’t had chance to blog abut it until now. For the first 9 days it was because I was so ill, and then life took over and got in the way after that, so I made a point to set aside this afternoon to write about it before all the pain disappears from my memory and I start thinking it was easy!

I have been thinking about how I would fit such an enormous event into a readable blog, covering all the important events and feeling of the race, and combining them with the events and feelings that I have had post-race. The ‘during’ and ‘after’ thoughts are naturally very different and I am in danger of confusing the two.

So, the best way I should probably address it, is to go through the race, as specifically as I can (you don’t have to read it all but I want to remember as much as possible), and then leave any ‘reflection’ till afterwards (if I can).

Thursday

Thursday night was spent packing all my kit, making sure I had all my food, all my possible changes of shoes, clothes, medical kit, foot kit, head torches and the like. I also finished adding songs to my ipod which I was going to take should I need a little musical inspiration during the race. I wanted to get as much done so that I could spend Friday off my feet and resting as much as possible.

Friday

I had hoped to stay in bed, and ideally asleep for as long as possible on Friday but I was awake at half eight and up by nine. I took my anti-inflammatory tablet that I have been prescribed by my doctor for my back pain. I always take it first thing when I have my bad days so wanted to keep this as normal. I was restless and I still had an incredibly sore throat (and now had a raw patch at the back of my mouth) so I headed up the town to Boots to get some anaesthetic throat spray whilst sucking on yet another strepsil. I had spent the whole week with both hayfever and a cold, and I was really fed up so went to Boots to stock up. The throat spray was rotten and reminded me of being at the dentist but it did briefly numb the back of my mouth so I was grateful for that.

Last kit checks done and I went back to bed around 1pm. I couldn’t sleep. But I was good and lay in bed with an eye mask on for the best part of 3 hours. Up again once Paul got home and indulged in a little more carb-loading. I don’t know why but I expected that in the last few days before the race I would be stuffing myself silly with pasta, potatoes, pies etc till I was full to bursting. In actuality I hadn’t eaten much differently to a normal day, maybe just a little extra at lunchtime. Perhaps I was too nervous to really eat.

All the kit was ready at the door and we were just waiting for Alan to arrive some time after nine, and then Marian and Sandy to arrive too. Alan, as punctual as always and we loaded up the car with all our gear. In the house it looked like I had so much stuff that it would never fit but it all did easily, and there was no bother getting in Marian and Sandy’s stuff either.
Journey Up

9:30pm came and off we went. Being the runner it meant I got the front seat, whilst Paul, Marian and Sandy squeezed in the back. Alan was driving (as it was his car and he is a very skilled support driver/chef etc). There was plenty of nervous chatter and lots of quiet moments as we all looked ahead to what was going to be a long weekend (for us all). We arrived at Milngavie at 11pm and the car-park was already jam-packed.

Milngavie

We found a space and all got out of the car to stretch our legs and survey the scene before us. Lots of excited chatter, nervous faces, hugging, parking problems, and sleeping was taking place. I took a few moments just to settle myself, then thought, right, what do I need to do? Register. So I headed across to the church hall and signed away my life, well at least the following 37 hours of it anyway. It was quite overwhelming. I couldn’t even decide what arm I wanted my wrist band on. I couldn’t even get weighed as I didn’t have my kit on so I had to tell the poor guy that I would be back to do it later. I am sure all the marshals and helpers were already used to runners being a little all over the place. Before heading back to the car-park I thought I would collect my race goodies so headed over to see Adrian Stott. A hug and a kiss and good luck wishes later and I headed back over to get kitted up.

I didn’t want to rush myself and make myself more nervous than I was already. So I just went about sorting out my kit and then preparing my feet. Shoes on, and I headed back to get weighed. I mulled around a little in the hall, visited the ladies room and back across to the car-park. It was really thronging now and must have looked very odd to any normal people passing by. Although I am not sure how many normal people would be walking past Milngavie train station after midnight on a Friday night anyway.

In my bag of goodies I found my race buff. Bright red and has Dario’s name on the marker post which I thought was a really touching tribute to the wee man. I had brought a buff with me but decided I would wear my shiny new red one instead. I checked my pack one last time and now there was nothing to do except make countless trips to the toilet, just in case, and wait for the race briefing.
Tubby had arrived and was getting himself sorted. So that was a relief. We all just stood (or sat in my case – with my legs up) around the car and chatted to whoever walked past. I tried to eat some of my jelly beans, normally a staple of any longer runs I do. I managed to eat about 4 of them before deciding that they just weren’t doing it for me. I said to Marian that I was sick of them already and I hadn’t even started the race. Not a good sign.

The briefing came and we all gathered round for our final instructions. I gave Tubby a good luck hug and went over to spend the last few minutes with Paul. He was nervous for me and I could tell. I was nervous too, but not in the sickening way that I had been in the lead up to the race. It was an excited nervousness. I knew I had not been able to train the way I had wanted. I’d had injuries, sciatica problems, back issues, lack of mileage and general feelings of inadequacy, but despite the setbacks, I had achieved something I hadn’t last year, and that was to get to the start line. Goal number one done and dusted! We both knew that was something in itself, but we also both knew that there was a huge task ahead. Would we make it? Only time would tell.

The start.

Everyone gathered near the underpass ready for the start. Last hugs all round. I gave Karen and George a final hug too. George Reid and Keith Hughes had already run all the way from Fort William to Rowardennan, and were now ready to set off with the rest of us for the return journey. Those guys are crazy! I stood and chatted to John Kynaston for a few minutes and wished him luck. Adrian did his pre-race speech and included a minute’s clapping for Dario (and another WHW family member). I knew Paul was up on the banking somewhere but it was dark and I couldn’t see him.
On went the head torches. 5,4,3,2,1. West Highland Way here we come!

Milngavie – Beechtree

As we ran up the steps and along the high street there were people all around cheering us on. I was somewhere in the middle and saw people zooming off into the distance. My thoughts briefly wandered to thinking about what crazy sorts of times they would be finishing in. Then I started thinking about what sort of time I would finish in. I had a number of ideas of times I thought I would be happy with, and used these to create schedules for my support crew. In all honesty that’s what they were really for. I didn’t want to think about times for myself. I didn’t need that sort of pressure today. It was just going to be one section at a time; just get myself though one section at a time. Break it down and don’t think about the whole.

This first section is so easy to run in the daylight. It’s completely runnable: smooth track through the park and on towards Drumgoyne. However, when you have only got a small head torch (and not a particularly powerful one) and you’ve given away your little handheld torch to a fellow runner whose head torch is not working (thanks to Penny the dog) running becomes quite difficult. I have done 2 night-time runs n preparation for the race but both were many months ago, and even then I did not enjoy them. The world closes in around you and it is hard to work out which direction you need to go. The worst thing is the difficulty with perspective. Working out where stones were in reality compared to where you could see them. It’s only a matter of millimetres of course, but trying to run with that disjointed view of the world is hard work.

I tried as much as I could to make sure that I could always see a bobbing head torch somewhere in front of me to try and extend my field of vision a little and give myself something to aim for. At one point not long before exiting Mugdock I had nobody in front of me. I really struggled with that little stretch, even though it was probably only 200m or so. Once out of the park I could now see the little snake of bobbing lights threading their way northwards. It was a comforting sight. In fact it was actually pretty inspiring. Whilst everyone else is sleeping soundly in their beds, here we were, our little crazy gang, setting off on an equally crazy journey into the Scottish night.

I was starting to feel better being able to ‘see’ where I was going better, plus the darkness was already starting to ease by the time we had passed Carbeth and were heading towards Drumgoyne. And despite all my pre-race visits to the toilet I was already needing a relief stop. I knew it was just a nervous bladder but I also knew I wouldn’t feel comfortable till I’d sorted it. There had been nowhere obvious to stop early on but I knew a great place to stop (from my Fling experience) a couple of miles before the pub. The only difference between the Fling and this race, was the length of the stinging nettles, and as we all know, unlike men, ladies can’t pee standing up. Ouch ha ha!
I arrived at the pub and swapped my bumbag and bottle for my backpack. Paul said I was ahead of my schedule by a couple of minutes but I wasn’t really thinking about it. I grabbed a swig of water and ate half a yumyum, said ‘ta-ra’ (very Cilla) and headed off.

Beechtree - Drymen/Forest

I struggled with the gate across the road and had to let the guy behind me open it. I then set off along the next section in a line of runners. I wanted to keep with a group of runners so that my ‘sight’ issues wouldn’t continue, and I could use the line of lights to keep me focused. I know it is not ideal to run at somebody else’s pace but I decided it was worth it for this section rather than struggle with the darkness anymore. The pace was faster than I liked but it wasn’t too fast that I would stop and run by myself. People took turns at the front, being the designated gate-opener. Having people around also made the race less insular. Once we hit the road I felt like I could settle into things a bit more. I think this was one of my favourite parts of the whole race. There was no sound other than the tramping off shoes on the tarmac. Slow walking up the hills and faster on the flats and downhills. The soft glow of the coming dawn only enhanced the atmosphere. The silhouette of Conic was in the distance. In the past being able to see the hill from here has unsettled me but this time I just looked at it and smiled.

About half way along the road it was light enough to switch off the headtorch. It was still dark but my eyes adjusted quickly and it felt much more comfortable to run with it off. I was constantly analyzing my energy levels and although they were not what I would have liked at this point it felt as easy to run as it did to walk so I ran. Soon I arrived at Drymen. I ran straight through as my crew was waiting for me at the forest car park. It would be easier to stop there as it would be quieter. The car park came sooner than expected. Sandy was waiting on the road for me. As I chatted with him into the car park I nearly went flying when I tripped on a stone. It was a close call. That would have been the last thing I needed at that stage of the race.

My crew all still had their head torches on. Paul nearly blinded me with his each time he looked at me it was that bright ha ha. Sandy replenished my pack. I asked him to change from full strength Gatorade to a 50:50 ratio with water. I was taking Succeed tablets every hour so knew I wouldn’t suffer with cramp even with the dilution. I changed my top and put on my Montane shell. It had been a little breezy for the past few miles so I expected it to be a bit chilly over Conic. I ate half a tuna sandwich, gulped down some water and headed off out of the car park. Margaret and Steph were still there from Tubby going through earlier. I smiled and waved as I left.

Drymen/Forest – Balmaha

I had set off with a packet of McCoys salt and vinegar crisps but decided to wait till I was through the forest before I would eat them. The sandwich needed time to settle and there was some good running to be had in the forest so I wanted to take advantage.

The forest was a lonely place. I could no longer see any runners ahead of me or behind me. This is where the negative thoughts started to creep in. Questioning my energy levels and wondering how I was going to be able to sustain my running for another 75 miles. I had let myself start to think about the whole rather than the parts and the weight of it was immense. It was difficult to block out but I knew I had to. I focused on eating my crisps as I continued up the hill before the descent towards Conic. Part way up I heard one of the gates bang shut behind me and that reminded me that I wasn’t out there along. This lifted me and I was able to enjoy the run down towards the bridge. The ground was so dry after months of dry weather. Even the normally muddy bit just before the bridge was dry.

As I started the climb of Conic I felt lifted again. I loved Conic in the Fling, and again it was proving to be a highlight. I could see runners ahead. I was walking, they were walking. It was good. I reached the top before I knew it. I made a specific point of making sure I took in the view. I stopped twice, just to look. I wanted to fully embrace it and it was spectacular. You could see further than I have ever seen from Conic before, with not so much as a hint of haziness. A clear indicator that it was going to be a hot day. On my right, to the north Ben Lomond and ahead, to the southwest the Clyde. Loch Lomond was almost luminescent below me. A majestic dawn and a perfect way to start the day (let’s discount the fact that this was not the start of our day).

Moment over and it was time to get back to the race. Dry ground meant for easy running and I ran the descent carefully to protect my quads. Fast turn over of short steps. No major leaping or bounding. I made ground up on the runners ahead, and overtook three before reaching the forest. I was careful not to get carried away and ran gently still down through the forest. Alan was waiting at the corner before the car park and directed me to the rest of my crew. As I arrived in the car park there were plenty of people there and I was appreciative of the applause. It was funny to see everyone in midge nets again. I hadn’t yet noticed any until I stopped and I felt a few then.

I tried to eat a brownie but I couldn’t stomach it at all. Instead I ate some more tuna sandwich. I was really thirsty, despite drinking little and often so gulped down some nuun drink. I changed into a short-sleeved top. I ate some more yumyum, took some carrot cake and set off walking through the car park whilst eating the cake.

Balmaha – Rowardennan

The icing which I had thought would go down well, didn’t. I had to resort to trying to eat around it. Not the easiest thing to do when you are trying to run, so I walked, until I reached the corner where we leave the road. I saw Alan Young coming along with his camera so thought I better run. Got to make it look good haven’t I? Ha ha. But then of course I hit those steps and it was time to walk again. I couldn’t eat the cake as I climbed as it was too steep, and I needed to breathe, so the cake remained in my hand, getting stickier and gooier by the moment. There was a very friendly marshal at the top of the hill taking numbers and he gave me a few words of encouragement. Little did I know at that point how much I was going to need them.

This section was really tough for me. My head was getting into a real state of negativity. I felt tired. I shouldn’t feel tired yet. I was only 20 odd miles into it. I had fuelled and hydrated well. I tried to tell myself it was all in my mind. It probably was but it was difficult to convince myself of this. I have previously been told that no matter the standard of runner you need to always be able to change your game plan. If you can’t adjust then you probably won’t get through it. This was definitely going to be one of those such times. There are some good miles of running in the first part of this section and I did my best to run where it was flat but found myself wishing for a hill so that I had an ‘excuse’ to walk. Not the ideal mind-set for such an early stage of a 95 mile beast. I longed for company. I normally love the isolation of the long distance run but in this race, on this race I longed for somebody to talk to, or just to listen to. I did pass a couple of runners, but the problem with passing runners is that unless they stick very close to you then you quickly become isolated again. As it turns out one of these two runners was only ever a few hundred metres behind me all the way to Rowardennan but I wasn’t to know.

On arriving at those short sharp hills in the last few miles before Rowardennan rather than being glad to see a hill and being able to walk, I found them really tough to get up. My energy just wasn’t right. In contrast though, the burn in my calves felt strangely therapeutic. I suppose it gave me something else to focus on. Strange the twisted mentality of the ultra-runner.

As it turns out it was no wonder I was feeling a lack of energy. I arrived at Rowardennan 2 minutes faster than I had in the Fling! Whoops. No wonder I had had such a head-funk! Shouted my race number to the marshals and Paul guided me to the car where I prompted flopped myself into the chair.

Here Paul re-vaselined my feet and changed my socks. Whilst he undertook this delightful job I wolfed down some porridge freshly made by Alan. It was a magical elixir. Delicious, and went down so easy. Even with all the added midges! I told the guys I couldn’t face any more beans so not to bother restocking those. My pack was filled with fluid and another packet of crisps was put in the pocket. It was getting hot and we wanted to make sure I didn’t get dehydrated. I was struggling with food overall so asked Alan for one of his bananas to take with me hoping that that would go down ok. Last but not least I was recovered in Skin-So-Soft. The midges at Rowardennan were definitely present, and yet I remember them being worse last year, but I wonder if that was just because I was support last year, and now as a runner I didn’t notice them the same.

Rowardennan – Inversnaid

I had been lured into a false sense of security. People say if you can run, even at a slow pace, then you can ‘stay ahead’ of the midge. Well, even when I was running I was still being swamped by them. They were everywhere. There was no escaping them. I got myself into the habit of blowing on my face to try and at least keep them away from that area. So with each exhalation I directed my breath upwards towards my face. Sounds daft, and I must have looked daft in equal measure but it did provide brief respites from the little blighters.

The struggle of solitude of the previous section was gone now. There were two runners just ahead of me. As we knocked off the miles we kept changing our running order until we all decided it would just as easy, and much more enjoyable to run together and swap our ‘reasons for being here’ stories and then our ‘what we hoped to get from the day’ stories. As we switched from the wide track onto the narrow trail another runner caught up with us. I recognised her from The Cateran Trail Race as being Jane Grundy. The conversations continued and I learnt that she has twice done the UTMB and that for the WHW she was hoping for sub 24 hours (which she smashed). I was worried that perhaps I had gone too fast in these early sections; what with getting to Rowardennan faster than I had in the Fling, and now finding myself running along with Jane. Pacing was a great concern to me before the race. I have not had the experience to be able to plan timings for each section specifically and much of what I was doing was going on how I felt at the time. If my legs wanted to run then I let them run. I love the narrow trail section to Inversnaid so my legs wanted to run so I found myself and one of the other runners ended up pulling away a little at this point. I didn’t really want to be ahead of Jane at this point but I thought that if my legs can run and they want to run then that’s just what I should do. So I did.

Although you cannot see Inversnaid till you are almost upon it, you can tell how far away it is by looking across the loch to the hydroelectric power pipes coming down the hill on the far side. On arriving at Inversnaid I was feeling really upbeat and all ready for a good chat with the marshals. But no sooner had I started walking across to them then the great midge army descended upon me. Hmm, maybe this wasn’t going to be much of a pleasant stop after all I thought. My drop bag was brought across and it was simply a case of refilling my bladder as fast as I could, grabbing whatever food I thought I would eat on the next section and getting out of there as fast as I could. Those midges were vicious!
Inversnaid – Beinglas

So I escaped from Inversnaid with a Mr Kipling fruit slice packet and a tuna sandwich. The cake went in my pocket and I started eating the sandwich. It wasn’t easy to eat as I was struggling to make saliva now, but slowly and surely I worked my way through it. It took me a full 25 minutes to eat it but once it was down it was fine; so far so good on the stomach front.

This is one of my favourite sections of the route. I was alone for the majority of it, catching and passing 2 or 3 other runners, but for the most part I had it all to myself and it was great. Twisting and turning, scrambling up and down rocks, swinging from branches, the whole works; just the way I like it. I always smile when I pass the ‘alien rocks’ and think of my training runs with Karen, George and all those other crazies. Good times.

For all that I was really enjoying this section I was starting to feel a little tender on the soles of my feet and I was sure that I was starting to develop blisters on my heels. I knew I was going to get my feet looked at once I got to the farm so I just continued on without trying to think about it too much.
The final mile or so before Beinglas has plenty of descents and I was starting to feel a little aching in my quads. I couldn’t hold back though as I was bursting for the toilet and planned to use the toilets once I got there. But I couldn’t go fast enough though and about half a mile before the farm I had to find myself a quiet little spot. My quads paid the price for my hurrying though.

I was so pleased to arrive at the farm. I arrived in 8 hours 47 minutes. It was faster than I had planned, much faster but so be it. Paul was waiting just over the stile and guided me down to the chair. I told him I thought I was getting blisters but when he took off my shoes there was nothing showing (YET!) and so he smothered them in Vaseline and put on new socks. I once again kept the same shoes on as they generally felt ok. Sandy refilled my backpack with everything I needed and Marian gave me my medication (from my doctor - it was as close to the time of day I would normally take it so I had this written into my schedule for Beinglas). Alan had made me some more porridge. It went down really easy once again. It was a great choice for fuel for me. Once again I had a small bottle of Nuun drink which I find a great antidote to all the sweetness I was getting from my Gatorade (even though it was diluted) and Alan also gave me a cup of tea. It was almost like a normal breakfast at normal breakfast time of day, porridge and a cuppa.

Sandra, Soph and other Fetchies were at Beinglas and gave me lots of support and encouragement. I heard Sandra comment on how slick my crew were and I would have to agree. They are all very experienced both in racing and crewing and know what they need to do. They had my schedule so knew exactly what food, drink, kit changes etc that I wanted at each stop, so I didn’t have to really think about anything, they just got on with things. A great time, even if I do say so myself!

Beinglas – Auchtertyre

I left Beinglas (with a fresh Garmin) at exactly the same time that I left the farm at the Fling. I wasn’t too worried about it as I knew I was really going to slow things down in this next section. It’s always a bit of a slog up the glen and I was starting to feel a little bit sore in my legs. My energy levels were in a major slump and I was back having a bit of a low point. I walked a lot of the section from the farm to the underpass with Elaine Calder. I have met Elaine a couple of times before at Scottish 100k events when I have been supporting Paul, so I again thought ‘oh no I have gone way too fast if I am here at the same time as her’. Sometimes knowledge can work against you, and again it was making me anxious that I had gone too fast.

I was feeling tired and my feet were really starting to hurt and I was dreading hitting the forest. Those hills!! I didn’t enjoy the forest much in the Fling either. In fact I don’t think I have had one enjoyable run through it. This time it was torturous though. After a brief chuckle at the sign for Glenbogle which always makes me think of the Monarch of the Glen television program I started into the forest. The flatter bits which I ran in the Fling I mostly walked this time, and instead of flying down the final descent out of the forest I was very tender-footed as my quads were killing me. I actually think what I was doing was more like power walking down the hill rather than running.

At the bottom of the hill and through the railway bridge there was a small group of spectators. In a way I was glad because that gave me the impetus to run along to the road. I arrived at the road just behind another runner. He was wearing a flat cap which I thought was just brilliant. Why not? We hadn’t timed our arrival very well though and ended up standing waiting for a gap in the traffic for a full four minutes (yes, I timed it!!). By the time a gap appeared another runner had caught up with us. I turned round and it was one of the guys I had run with just out of Rowardennan. It’s funny how you don’t notice where people are around you in these races unless they are in front of you.

The mile or so to Auchtertyre from the road is really flat and should make for some fast running. If I’m honest I really wanted to walk. My feet were getting pretty sore and my legs were tired and sore. I hadn’t quite managed to pass to that next plane of pain and it was a bit of a struggle. There is always a point in the longer races where you need to pass through a certain pain barrier mentally for things to start to run smoothly. You need both your body and your mind to accept it fully and to embrace the pain, and it is not until you pass through that point that you can really start to work those later stages. Immerse yourself in it fully, don’t try and fight it, use it to spur you forward. If you try and fight it then you are going to lose because it is only going to get worse the further you go.

I was still struggling on my way to the farm and on my way through the final field Alan was standing with his camera. I had to run, naturally, but as I past him I told him ‘I hate running’ and he laughed at me. He followed along behind me the last 100 metres to the farm. I checked in with the marshals, handed my pack to Sandy and climbed on the weighing scales. I had put on a whole kilogram! The marshal told my crew to keep an eye on me as this wasn’t a good sign. I tried to make a joke out of it and told him not to tell everyone and made a joke about how I always put on weight, even when I am dieting. I was trying to lighten the issue as I knew it was actually quite serious and I was nervous about getting pulled out. I knew I would need to be careful between here and Kinlochleven (the next weigh in). I couldn’t understand how I had put on weight though. I was certain I wasn’t drinking too much as I was only drinking by thirst, plus it was really hot and I was sweating plenty. My left hand had been swollen by the time I reached Beinglas so when I put on the second Garmin I put it on my right wrist. That too was swelling a little. I am not sure what the hand swelling signifies but I would be interested to find out. It was a horrid feeling though.

After the weigh in we headed to the car for kit change. I just took a bottle of juice and my bumbag as it was only a couple of miles to Tyndrum where we would have a bigger stop. I remember seeing Soph and she told me I was looking good. It was very kind, but very untrue.

Although I was now past half way it didn’t feel like it. To me half way would be Tyndrum where the Fling finishes and the Devil begins. I left Auchertyre after 11 hours and 13 minutes still having a low point. I was hopeful that things would pick up after Tyndrum.

Auchtertyre – Tyndrum

I started walking out of Auchtertyre with another runner. We bonded over our shared pain. He seemed to be really suffering and was struggling to run at all. As the road gentle descends towards the main road I gave myself a wee kick up the bum and set off running. If I can’t run here then I’ll never get running. Under the bridge and onto the track I decided I would run/walk this section just as I had done in the Fling. It was ok to be low on energy after 50 miles. I started to accept that it’s perfectly normal and stopped beating myself up about it. Seven weeks earlier this was the furthest I had ever run in my life so I needed to reacquaint myself with reality and accept that this race was going to be a whole new ball game. I was determined that by the time I crossed the burn just before Tyndrum that I would be back in a positive frame of mind. I remember finishing the Fling and thinking at the time that I had given my all and there was no way I could have contemplated continuing up that hill out of the town for even one more mile never mind forty-three. So naturally I had a bit of a mental battle to win in the space of a couple of miles.

I won though. I arrived at Brodies feeling ready to keep going. I was only 17 minutes slower than I had been in the Fling, which was not part of the plan, but there was nothing to be done about that. That’s the way my legs had wanted to play it out so that’s what happened. It wasn’t my legs I needed to be worried about however it was my feet. The pain in the balls of my feet was increasing and I felt the impact of each foot plant right up through my body. I knew the blisters were developing on my heels though, but on taking off my shoes to re-Vaseline and change socks they were not yet at a stage where they could be dealt with properly, so Paul put fresh socks on and then a fresh pair of shoes. I ate a little porridge here and had a salt tablet and some Nuun drink.

Tyndrum - Bridge of Orchy

Before the race I had put in special request for a fruity ice lolly at this stop so I was delighted to set off up the hill with my fruit pastille lolly. It was really hot now so the ice was a real tonic. Marian walked up the hill with me and held onto my pack whilst I had a comfort stop. After she headed back down the hill I continued to walk until I finished my lolly.

The higher up the hill I went the stronger the wind became. On the flats and downhill’s I was still determined to run. It was tough into the wind but I couldn’t let these miles be wasted. The 6 miles to Bridge of Orchy are such good running. A lot of people don’t like this section as you can see so far up the glen and it seems to go on forever but I really like it. The views are stunning and you can get through miles without noticing them go by (on a normal day).

My legs were flagging but they still had running in them so I found myself overtaking a few runners over the course of the section, all the time finding I had to battle the wind. It was really strong and some of the gusts meant that although you were actually running you didn’t seem to actually be moving forward. I had my music with me on this section. I had filled my iPod with a load of songs that I thought would be really motivational but I ended up just listening to 3 songs on repeat: Don’t Stop Believing, A Town Called Malice and Pull My Heart Away (which always reminds me of last year’s Tour de France): I did walk a little on the two gradual climbs but then found myself sailing down towards the train station sooner than I thought. Sandy was waiting for me and ran down the road with me. We crossed the main road no problems. There were quite a lot of people around and it was nice to hear the claps and shouts of encouragement. Paul, Alan and Marian were waiting by the bridge for me. I ate some cake, swapped to my bum bag and bottle and set off, telling the Lord of the Bridge that I was passing through.

Photo from David Hall

Bridge of Orchy - Victoria Bridge

So here we are the point of no return. I had a fantastic run from Tyndrum to Bridge of Orchy. It should have been the start of a fantastic second half of the race. It wasn’t. Quite the opposite actually, that was the end of good part of the race. From here on I leaned just how much determination you can fit in one body.

I ran out of Bridge of Orchy and even made it a wee bit up the hill before I started walking. I was thinking positive. I’d already done a huge part of the race, only 35 miles to. I can easily make it from here surely? Easily? Definitely not! By the time I got to the top of the hill my legs were crumbling a bit and seeing Murdo on the top taking numbers and handing out jelly babies was a real plus. It’s funny because I was having such a low but he was so cheery that you couldn’t help but be cheery too. At first I declined his offer of a jelly baby (don’t ask me why) but he was determined I should have one and ran after me along the trail and made me take one. Thanks Murdo. The top of this hill provided another one of those ‘stop-and-take-it-all-in moments’ like the one I had on top of Conic about 10 hours earlier. On the top of the hill beside where Murdo was standing the Saltire was flowing and whipping in the highland wind. Seeing the flag made me feel really proud of myself and proud to be part of such a fantastic race, and also made me very proud to live in such a beautiful country.

The descent into Inveroran is not particularly steep but it is quite rocky. It is normally tempting to let lose a little and fly down the hill knowing you will be meeting you support just round at the car park anyway. All previous attempts at this hill I have run really well, slightly careful but at a good pace. I couldn’t today though. The pain in the balls of my feet was becoming really pronounced. I could feel every little rock and was hoping for some respite once I hit the tarmac but this time it did not go away. Every foot fall sent pain waving up through my legs. I was convinced I had giant blisters that had burst and that all I needed was a couple of Compeed slapping on and I would be sorted. Just really bad blisters I thought. On arriving at my crew at the car park Paul and I had a somewhat heated exchange about whether or not I really did have blisters on the balls. He tried to convince me that I didn’t but I wasn’t buying it. I changed back to my previous shoes convinced that the latest pair was just not doing me any good. There were definitely blisters forming on my heels though and another was starting to form between the ball of my left foot. This fact nobody could deny, but they were still not quite ready to be burst. I think the problem with these blisters is that they were forming so deeply, not just on the surface, that to burst them was going to be a major operation.

Whilst my feet were being dealt with I had yoghurt, some Nuun drink, some water and 2 salt tablets. I set off with Marian (who was going to run Rannoch moor with me) whilst finishing off half a yumyum. The yumyums I had at the Fling had dried out and were hard to eat after Balmaha so keeping them in a sealed container this time really did the trick as they were still moist and sugary and going down ok. I was not in the best of fettle as we walked jogged along the road to the gate onto Rannoch Moor.

Victoria Bridge – Glencoe

Ah Rannoch Moor; my poor Rannoch Moor. So long it has been my favourite part of the whole West Highland Way. Every time I have run across here I have loved it. It is such a remote, dramatic and awe-inspiring yet brutal place. On one of my solo training runs across here back in the spring I had one of the most wonderful, life-infusing and spiritual moments I have ever had whilst running. You’d be hard-pressed to find somewhere that can have that sort of effect on you.

I had been so looking forward to running this section. Once here you would know you had the meat of the race done and that the finish was becoming a bit more of a reality. It is a fairly long slog up the moor, around 6 miles up to the summit. There are normally lots of little bits I can run where the route flattens out a bit and the occasional descent but I was even struggling to run these now. Marian kept up the chatter trying to distract me from the pain and telling me her WHWR stories. If she felt we had been walking too long she would ask me if I wanted to try and do a little run. I always tried. Sometimes I managed a respectable distance and sometimes it was only about 100metres before I would have to resort to walking again. On the climbs the gradient felt like it was just that couple of percent too steep; it was just the wrong side of runnable or non-runnable. It was incredibly frustrating. The trail was begging to be run. Even though a lot of the way up is very rough underfoot there is usually a small little rut that you can run along. But today it just wasn’t happening. I have never taken so long to get over the moor and I was losing my rose-tinted spectacles. It was actually quite a sad time for me. The majesty was fading and was being replaced with pain and frustration. I even found myself crying at a couple of points. Not proper sobbing or anything like that. It was more of an emotional release and a strange feeling of loss.

For me running has a huge psychological base and I can get very emotional about certain things. I make no apologies for it. That is part of what makes me the person that I am, it’s what drives me, what inspires me. Everyone is different. I am not out there to be faster than other people. I am out there for a whole host of reasons but the main one, the purpose of my running is to connect with myself, to find fulfilment between me and the ground that I am running on. I enjoy that inner calm that running can bring me. Rannoch Moor had been one of those places where I could feel the calm. So it was sad that I was losing that special feeling I had for so long associated with it.

I was praying to reach the summit and it was a really hard work getting up the final mile (which of course is the steepest). I knew that rounding that corner and taking on the full panorama that spills out before you as you start your descent would give me a bit of a lift and I was desperate for it. The sight of the Buachaille Etive Mor, Glencoe and the tiny little white speck that is the Kingshouse hotel cannot fail to move even the coldest of hearts. But the pain when I tried to run could freeze that heart right back to ice again. It felt like each step I made a red hot poker was being stabbed up through each foot and through my legs. I have never experienced anything like this before. There was no way round it. It’s not like a blister where you can slightly tweak your running motion to try and put less impact on it. It was the whole of the ball of both feet, so every single step I had to re-live the pain, over and over. Of course when you are running on trails there is little you can do to alter your gait anyway and you just need to run in whatever way the trail dictates to you. The descent to the Glencoe Ski Centre (the next checkpoint) is really rocky. With every step I grimaced, moaned, shed a few tears and clenched my fists. But stuff this for a kettle of fish, there was no way I was not going to run this bit. I have never not run it and I wasn’t about to start today.

There is a slight diversion to the route (new to this year’s race) and rather than running down to Blackrock Cottage directly you have to take a sharp left hand turn and run up to the Glencoe Ski Centre car park. It is a new bit a path added to try and divert walkers up to the Glencoe Ski Centre to take advantage of their facilities. It is the perfect spot for a checkpoint really, but the new bit of path really is horrible. I hated it on my training run and I hated even more this time. As I turned sharp left to take the path I landed on my left foot and felt something pop in my foot. The pop was followed by a god-awful pain. I am generally quite polite when I am out in public but I found myself shouting expletives at full volume. Marian later told me she had never heard me swear before (told you I was polite) so to hear me shout “F*ck!!” at the top of my voice came as quite a shock to her. The shock would have been short-lived however because I found myself repeating “f*ck, f*ck, f*ck!” every time my left foot touched the ground all the way to the car park!

I arrived at Glencoe after 16 hours and 22 minutes. If I thought I had been at a low point before this I was wrong. After checking in we went over to the car and I slumped against the far side. I needed a moment to gather myself. These are the times when you find out what sort of stuff you are made of. We all joke about ‘toughening the f*ck up” on our blogs and I know one very lovely lady who even has it on a t-shirt, but we are getting a bit beyond that now I think. Running 70 miles is pretty tough I reckon. It was now time to switch to another currently well-used phrase “Go hard or go home.” Paul instinctively must have sensed we had reached this transition and asked me in a very unsympathetic and slightly mocking manner whether I wanted to quit and just get in the car and head to Fort William. Well, it might have seemed unsympathetic and mocking to anyone else but with Paul knowing me the way he does the tone of his voice had just that edge that he knew would provoke the required reaction from me. I responded with a whimpered “No,” and it was decided that I would swap to my bum bag and bottle and we would have a big ‘foot stop’ at Altnafeadh.

I suppose some would think there is a danger in getting too emotional about these races and maybe there is, but if it wasn’t for my emotions there was no way I would have left the Glencoe Ski centre car park in any other way than the front seat of Alan’s car.

Glencoe – Altnafeadh

I think if I had known what was in store for me at Altnafeadh then I would have set off back across Rannoch Moor and headed back to Milngavie! I could barely run down the road to the A82. I was doing something that was a cross between marching and power walking and jogging in slow motion. It was awful, and I had a weird sense of embarrassment or something akin to it. A gentle downhill on nice smooth tarmac and I couldn’t even jog properly. My legs were literally seething with frustration. Damn my useless feet! I hated them, with a passion. They were ruining this race for me. (Or were they making it? – discuss…)

Both Sandy and Marian were ‘running’ with me along this stretch. We reached the A82 and crossed. I swear the driver of the white van that was heading south stepped on the accelerated and tried to run me down though! Idiot! But, the idiot drivers on our nation’s roads provided discussion for the mile run down to the Kingshouse Hotel as an attempt to divert my attention from the pain in my feet. Having both Sandy and Marian there was a great help. I could join in the discussion if I wanted but mostly I was happy just to listen. After passing through the hotel car park where there were more supporters and well-wishers we set off along the road. It seemed to take forever. Frankly everything takes forever when you are reduced to marching. I remember always being surprised by how close you come to being back on the A82 before you turn through the gate to head up the hillside. Whenever I think about the section from Kingshouse to Altnafeadh I always mistakenly think it is an easy bit of running, but you’ve actually got a bit of a climb up the hillside and again it is rocky underfoot which does not make for easy running when your legs are tired. It wasn’t an issue this time as I couldn’t run anyway.

Once we finally reached the roadside again I managed something that almost resembled a jog for the last 100 metres to the car. Paul had got his ‘surgery’ all set up and I promptly sat down in the chair and had a drink of Nuun while Paul took off my shoes and socks. He cut into the blister on the heel off one foot with his surgical scissors to release the fluid whilst Alan handed me a tuna sandwich. I never did eat that tuna sandwich.

It fair nipped when he sliced open the blister. I think I even muttered a few things under my breath and gave him a dirty look. Squeezing out the fluid wasn’t much better but I thought just grit your teeth and try and block it. It’s nothing really. It’ll be over in a minute and I can get back to the trail and forget about it. Never have I been so wrong. Fluid released Paul now took out his secret weapon, and I don’t use the word weapon lightly! He started spraying the wound with tape adherent spray for sticking plasters and tape to your skin. Oh dear god I must have jumped three feet out of the chair and screamed like a banshee. It felt as if somebody had taken a knife and jammed it straight through my foot and was twisting it round and round whilst pouring vinegar on it. In no uncertain terms it was unbearable! I cannot even begin to express the pain I was in. Needless to say I think I scared the people in Glencoe village about 6 miles away with my screaming and howling echoing down the glen. My screaming was even a point of discussion on the race forum afterwards!! (Something I am strangely proud of – maybe there is a bit of Janet Leigh in me ha ha.)

The spray needs to dry a little and get sticky before you can add the plaster so I had to just sit there and wait for the next rush of excruciation to consume me. In the mean time Alan gallantly had torn a huge sheet of blue tissue paper off the roll he had in the car. It was half to wipe up all the tears off my face and half to drown out the noise of my crying and screaming. I turned the air completely blue when Paul started sticking on the plaster. At a normal race he would have just settled for sticking the plaster straight onto my foot but due to the distance I still had to go and the underfoot conditions he didn’t think a normal blister plaster would have any chance of sticking and would just end up making things worse. Paul is very experienced at ultra-running and all the problems that come with it and so I knew he was doing it for my own good, but it really didn’t feel like it at the time.

In all honestly the remaining two blisters are now a blur in my memory. I remember Helen Johnson and her crew being there and trying to be sympathetic and trying to boost me up but it was a bit blurred. I remember Paul telling Alan and Marian to hold me down before he started spraying each time. Alan was holding me down across my legs and Marian held down my shoulders. I couldn’t escape. I just had to take it. I screamed and screamed and cried like the whole world was coming to an end. (I am even crying as I write this and re-live that pain! Three weeks later and I still have three big red and tender holes in my feet!) My head was buried in the mass of blue tissue that Alan had given me and I screamed into it with my whole body lurching from the pain. It was so utterly and completely horrendous.

And then I had to try and put my shoes back on! ‘Oh dear god you have to be kidding me?’ was the thought that went through my head. One at a time they went on. “F*ck, F*ck, F*ck!! The tears were streaming down my face. How the heck was I supposed to cover the last 20 miles like this? My feet were completely and utterly broken. Between the pain that was now in the blistered areas and the pain in the balls of my feet every single step was torture. I managed to stand up and take a couple of steps to where Sandy was waiting with my pack. I couldn’t look at him and just robotically put on my pack. I didn’t say ‘Bye’ to Paul and Alan, I just stepped tentatively back onto the trail. Each step was followed with “F*ck!” and I didn’t even have the energy to hide it or say it under my breath anymore and I didn’t care.

[In case you are wondering those three plasters didn’t move for days!!]

Altnafeadh – Kinlochleven

The stop at Altnafeadh was 18 minutes of pure hell, fitting then that we were at the foot of the Devil’s Staircase.

I set off up the hill 18 hours and 1 minute into the race. It was torture. I have never really struggled with the Devil before and always wondered what the fuss was about and why it had such a cruel name. I finally had my answer: it was for days like these! The Devil is a great calf burner and I have previously got to the summit in pretty good time (for a non-elite runner) but this time I think it took me over an hour. A couple of times I was just so far gone and drained of energy and spirit that I actually couldn’t move forward and found myself almost tipping over backwards. Thank goodness Marian was there behind me to push me upright each time. I later learnt that as my progress was so slow up the Devil that Sandy thought that that was it, that I was literally too broken in body and mind to finish and that we would be calling it a day at Kinlochleven.

It was such a relief to reach the summit and to start the descent. I love running the next two miles, just knowing you are on top of the world and have this mega huge descent coming up on your way to Kinlochleven. The trail is quite good for a couple of miles and any other day I would have bounced along happy as a lamb. By this point I had settled into the pain in my feet again and although I was still swearing with every third or fourth step I had forced myself into a zone where I just kept going no matter how sore it was. The sooner I got to the end the sooner the pain would be over. It was still too painful to run though and in my mind I had accepted that the only way to the finish would be by marching and walking as fast as I could. It was still in my legs to do it, I knew that much, but I just had to really focus to make sure my feet didn’t stop me.

I never enjoy the final section before you reach the track. It is so rocky and it was really difficult with my feet, especially if there were any big steps down to take which would really jolt me and send an extra large spasm of pain up through my feet. The arrival of the track was a relief and I knew I could make good progress down here. The good progress was obviously in the context of the race and was still pretty slow. You can only go a certain speed marching downhill. My legs were holding up to it better than I thought. They were hurting now, but nothing like the way my feet felt.

I had another comfort stop about half way down so I felt happy enough that my insides were working reasonably ok considering. My hands were both swollen now though and I couldn’t fully close them. It’s not easy to tie you tights drawstring with banana-bunch hands ha ha.

By the time we reached the bottom my quads were pretty sore. I had hoped they wouldn’t hurt too much since I wasn’t properly running down but the miles had started to take their toll now. We marched/jogged through the town and arrived at the checkpoint at 21 minutes past 9. It had taken me 2 hours and 20 minutes to travel the 5 ½ miles from Altnafeadh, and it was just under 4 hours since I left Glencoe! It takes such a long time when you are not running!

Just before the checkpoint I remember seeing Gavin and he shouted at me that I was fourth lady! I said something incomprehensible back to him which was meant to be along the lines of “You mean fourth last to go through?” and then I started wondering if he had even said anything to me at all and was I hallucinating? None of it made sense to me. There must have been some big miscommunication somewhere as never in a million years would I ever be fourth lady ha ha!

The Kinlochleven stop was quite swift really, and much more pleasant than either Glencoe of Altnafeadh. I think it was because we could all sense the finish line now. I was probably there for about 10 minutes really but it was just a case of get some food into me, have a drink, fill up the pack and get going again. I think Sandra said something nice to me but I was on another planet by this point really. Nothing out-with a 1 metre circumference of my body was registering. The body was gone and the mind was gone. I was in an auto-pilot mode and just wanted to get out of there and to the finish.

Kinlochleven – Lundavra

Paul didn’t seem too impressed when I didn’t start running as we left the checkpoint. It was no surprise to Marian though. I put Paul straight about what was going to happen. I just said “Don’t expect me to run because I can’t. It’s not that I don’t want to, I just can’t. My feet are broken.” He asked me to try but I couldn’t. I picked up my pace though and made the effort to go as fast as I could. Once we hit the hill I felt no pressure to run to start with but Paul kept going ahead and then stopping and waiting and looking back down the hill. I found this really tough. Who can go up this hill at the best of times? It’s a real killer and frankly the last thing you need after 81 miles. Marian was behind me again as we went up, and she dutifully pushed me upright every time I started tipping over backwards. About ¾ of the way up Paul told me I really needed to start moving because at this rate it was going to take me well over 7 hours to finish the race as we were doing well over 30 minute miles. This pushed me over the edge and I shouted at him “Give me a break! We’re going up a massive freakin hill! You can’t expect me to go fast!”

The thing I dislike most about this hill is that once you have reached the top, you haven’t really reached the top. It might not be quite the calf burner it has been for the previous mile but you still seem to always be going upwards, even when you are going downwards! It really is wretched. And the Lairigmor is no improvement. The track along here is just strewn with rocks and there is very little smooth ground to run on (or march on). Paul and at times Marian kept asking me to try and run, and unexpectedly on the odd occasion I could manage something resembling a jog for a few hundred metres. But the pain in my feet was just unbearable. I forced myself to keep going as fast as the rest of my body could make me go. It must have be painfully slow for both Paul and Marian and I know how difficult it is for Paul to run at my pace at the best of times, never mind when I am reduced to the wreck that I was at that point. Paul kept looking at his watch and I shouted at him that if he wanted to keep looking at his watch then would be kind enough to do it behind where I couldn’t see because it was making me feel like sh*t! I never swear at Paul. I never shout at him (D33 excluded) and I felt absolutely awful but it was making me feel like a failure and that I just wasn’t going fast enough and that I was disappointing him. All these thoughts were attacking my mind and I hated it. If I started thinking I was a failure and that I wasn’t going to make it within the time limit (I had lost all sense of time by this point) then it would be a real struggle to carry on and I didn’t need any extra mountains to climb.

I know he was doing the sorts of things that would motivate him but every person is different. This sort of approach would work for others and in a way it did work for me as I kept marching and jogging as hard as I could the entire time. I never stopped once. He said he just wanted me to keep going and that he was worried that I was going to lose all the good work I had put in up to this point in the race. That approach worked for the gutsy stubborn side of my character. But I needed some support as well. Perhaps it was the emotional side of me that needed the support. I needed to hear something positive. I told him to say something nice to me. I needed pushing back towards a more positive frame of mind. I guess the guts and the emotions work well together but each side has different needs. It’s complicated job supporting somebody like me ha ha!

We were winning the battle with the mind but the body was still struggling. It is hard to run across the Lairigmor as the track is really rocky and I was swearing continuously as each misplaced foot twisted round all the rocks. Every now and then I would yelp in pain when I banged my foot extra hard against the ground catching a rock in just the wrong way. I was gradually losing my focus and couldn’t see the rocks very well. There was still plenty of light; the sun hadn’t quite sunk behind the mountain yet; but I was really struggling to see. Marian took my pack and got my jacket for me as it was starting to cool in the fading light, and Paul hunted out my head-torch. Jacket on and backpack back on we carried on. The light from the head-torch wasn’t great but it was a vast improvement on before. I was clearly struggling with my eyes as Marian never used her torch at all, all the way to Lundavra. Funny things happen to your eyes when you are this far into the race I even though I had my head torch on I was staring to see things. Rocks were moving around, shadowy figures kept appearing, and even at the start of the climb out of Kinlochleven one of the way-marker posts actually bounced up and down in front of me! The further we went the more my eyes played tricks.

If the details of the run are becoming a bit sketchy now it is because even at the time they were sketchy. I was tired and it was growing increasingly dark. The pain I was feeling had literally swallowed me whole and I am not entirely sure what it was that enabled me to keep going. I vaguely remember laughing as we past the spot where I had accidently knocked Alan off his bike on one of our club runs and I smiled as I passed the point where I overtook Wendy Dodds when I ran the Devil of the Highlands race back in 2008. Those were the two light-hearted moments I remember from the very difficult, emotionally draining and physically painful 7 miles from Kinlochleven.

The next thing I remember is seeing the glowing flames of the bonfire at Lundavra. Seeing the flames must have been akin to what English sailors must have felt when they were sailing home from a long voyage and they came within sight of the white cliffs of Dover. It was a sign that I was close to home.

Lundavra – Fort William

Paul, Marian and I had decided that I wouldn’t stop here other than to let the marshal know that I was here so when Alan tried to guide me over to the fire and our kit I said something vaguely about not stopping and pushed him away. I feel bad about it now but I wasn’t thinking straight at the time and it was if he was trying to stop me from carrying on and I was so focused on getting to the finish that I didn’t want any sort of deviation. I didn’t see what positive effect stopping could have at this late stage. There was nothing that was going to take the pain away, nothing that would make me less tired so what was the point in stopping? Paul was supposed to stop and take out his contact lenses as they were becoming very painful and he was losing vision in one eye. But for some reason, I don’t recall why he carried on through with me. Marian stopped here and Sandy took over for this final section.

It was dark now and we all had our head torches on. It was helpful having Paul ahead so I could tell which way we were aiming and with Sandy being behind me I could see the ground immediately in front of me slightly better. This last section is approximately 7 miles but I broke it down into sections. The first was between Lundavra and the forest. I found the route coming back to me as we went along and even though it was dark I knew when we were going to go uphill and when we would go down. Paul and Sandy kept up the chat and I was in the middle swearing away to myself. I had taken control of the pain and was able to keep moving forward, I just couldn’t run. That was completely out of the question. My feet were shot and my legs were so tired now that they no longer had the urge to run. There was relief in no longer feeling the frustration I had earlier. My legs were actually really painful now but I missed the point where they went from ok to knackered. It must have blurred into all the other pain and sneaked in there without me noticing.

We reached the forest; that was the first section done. This was going to be the hard bit. I knew that all we had to do was get through the forest and it would all be downhill from there, literally! There are parts of this forest that seem as dark as night even in the middle of the day so to actually go through it in the middle of the night was a very surreal experience. Even Sandy said he was seeing things and that it was like the Enchanted Forest. It seemed to take forever to get through that forest. Every single step downwards especially the big ones, Sandy had to hold my arm and help me down. My legs weren’t working too well by this point and each time I hit the next step I would curse. When you need help to get down each step you become aware that there are a lot of steps in that forest. The worst bit was going down those old wooden stairs into the bottom of the gorge before coming up the far side. I hate going down there as they always feel so wobbly so I was glad once we had passed them.

After a couple of mis-turns we finally climbed the last hill and made it out of the forest. “Thank god for that” I breathed. But no time to stop, turn right and get to the top of the climb. We were finally at the track. It is about 2 ½ miles down to Braveheart. Paul was determined I was going to run down it. He reminded me of the way I had run down it when I did the Devil; I had been like a runner possessed. God I would have loved to have run like that again. Even just a jog would have been great but the pain was just too much. My feet felt like the soles had been ripped off them and I was convinced that when I finally took my shoes off that my socks would be dripping in blood; that is how painful they were. I had nothing in me that could mask the pain enough to enable me to run. It upset me that I couldn’t but there was nothing I could do.

Paul ran on ahead so that he could take his contacts out as he literally couldn’t see anymore in one eye. I could see his dot of light disappear into the distance swerving from side to side so I was worried about whether or not he would get down ok. Not long after he left me and Sandy, another runner came down the hill with his support. He said some words of encouragement but I couldn’t really tell what he said. Some time later Ellen and Sarah came flying past. They recognised me and told me I was doing great and to keep going. In that moment I got more of a sense of the time of day back and coming to the realisation that Ellen was going to be finishing just ahead of me made me realise that I had not only nearly finished this ridiculous race but I had done it in a hugely unexpected time. I almost had a cry but had to work hard to hold it in. I didn’t want to fall apart under the enormity of what I had done when I was so close to the end. That’s right, the end! I was nearly there! I almost couldn’t believe it but the pain certainly brought home the reality.

Sandy was great company down to the car park. We both nearly fell over the large arrow in the middle of the track that had been laid out to make sure nobody took the ‘official’ route down to the road. The arrow was made out of tree branches. I thought I was still seeing things and nearly ran straight into them ha ha. Sandy said he thought he was seeing things as well so that was funny. Further back up the hill I thought I had seen a couple of shadow figures on the side of the track so what a shock I got when two more figures appeared and started talking to us! Dear god what a fright I got. They were real! Ha ha.

The track seemed to go on forever, even Sandy thought so. I honestly thought we were never going to reach the car park. I told Sandy I wasn’t stopping though and so once again poor Alan got shoved aside when he tried to stop me. I didn’t even try and construct a real sentence, I just said “No!” I recall Sandra was there cheering me on with some others but it was all a blur yet again. I couldn’t stop. I might not have been running but I was forcing my body forward with every last ounce of energy I had. It was agony but I was so close now that I just had to keep going.

Paul rejoined me and Sandy for this final mile into town. He had managed to sort out his eyes and was back with full visuals again. He looked behind and thought somebody was coming and tried to get me to run. I tried; dear god I did try but I only managed about 10 steps. My legs were just a seething mass of pain and couldn’t handle it. I didn’t care if another person passed me. What did it matter? This wasn’t about racing anymore, it was about seeing whether or not I had it in me to finish. I didn’t care what anyone else was doing, this was my West Highland Way Race and I was actually going to finish.

I was still compos mentis enough to tell Paul I wanted photos of me finishing and he went sprinting ahead once we reached the sign for the end of West Highland Way. I pushed on for the finish. It is exactly ¼ mile from the sign to the Lochaber Leisure Centre where the race finishes (I measured it on a training run). I had endured more pain than I have ever been through in my entire life and I had kept going; I kept digging deep down trying to find something within me to force me to continue. I was determined that nothing was going to stop me no matter how long it took. And here I was closing in on the finish.

I had no idea how long I had been out for; it didn’t matter. I just knew that if I didn’t run these last steps that I would always regret it. And somehow I broke into a jog and the jog became a run. “Come on!” I shouted at myself. The pain consumed my entire body but in that moment something just took hold of me and once I started I couldn’t stop! I reached the car park; I turned left up into it. I could hear the cheers and clapping. I couldn’t really see where I was going but I could see the light of the door into the leisure centre. That golden magical light that told me I had done it. I ran up the steps into the leisure centre in a wave of euphoria and pain. I think I told them my number and then I got a huge hug from Mark, which I promptly followed with “That f*ckin’ hurt!” (I apologised to him later for swearing.) Everybody laughed at me. Geraldine passed me the Quaich so I could take a sip of whisky which is part of the tradition of the race. I really don’t like whisky at all. I only took a sip and it tasted foul but it really was the water of life. Nothing has ever tasted so foul and so sweet at the same time.

After I had my whisky I got a huge hug from Paul. I sobbed into his shoulder. I couldn’t believe it. I had really done it. I finished the West Highland Way Race! Only a few years ago I couldn’t even run 1 mile and now I had just finished 95 of them! How much does that rock?!

Finish/Post race

I got hugs from Sandy Alan and Marian. What a team. My race number was cut off and I was weighed. I had put on 3kg since Kinlochleven!! That was very scary. Everyone seemed happy enough that I wasn’t going to keel over and apparently there had been much worse cases of banana-bunch hands than mine and that I would be ok. We were directed through to the kitchen so we could have some food and drink. We needed it, and my crew: Paul, Marian, Sandy and Alan all deserved it. Without all of them I would never had made it to Fort William. There has been talk on the forum about whether or not runners should be allowed support and for me, for my first race of this distance, my support crew were a huge part of my race and I would not have completed it without their help. I may be the one with the goblet but it was a real team effort and I couldn’t have shared it with a better group of people and I will always be grateful to them.

Whilst we were eating Adrian came in and gave me a hug. That was lovely. I don’t think it had properly sunk in yet and I now that I had finished and was no longer pumping adrenaline through my body I was becoming very sleepy and asked if we could head to the hotel. As we were leaving I realised I didn’t know what my time was. 25 hours, 41 minutes and 48 seconds. Not too shabby, even if I do say so myself ha ha.

I needed help to get into the car; I couldn’t even lift my own legs into the front seat! I’m not sure if it was the first time, but that was certainly one of the times I swore I would never ever do it again. Ever…

Prize giving

The prize giving for the West Highland Way Race is something really special. I did wonder how it would differ from last year’s with Dario no longer being with us and I think the committee did a really fantastic job. Dario liked to give a wee snippet of information about every single runner as they all came up to receive their goblet and this year, where possible Adrian took over that role. I thought that was a lovely touch. The most wonderful thing about the prize giving is that no matter what time you took to finish the race you are a winner. Every finisher receives a beautiful crystal goblet and it is presented to every runner individually. At other races you will see 1st, 2nd 3rd and category winners go up to receive prizes, but here, every gets their second moment of glory; the first being when the reach the finish line. At the West Highland Way Race we are all winners. What better race philosophy is there than that?

With the exception of our wedding last year, this was the proudest moment of my life. I had done something I never thought possible and I have my very own goblet to prove it. There will no doubt be many more races, but this one was special. I think the first time you do a truly mind-blowing sort of event like this you walk (or shuffle) away with memories that will last a lifetime.

The Aftermath

For 10 days following the race I was really ill with dizziness and nausea. I had expected to be sore and stiff and to have really sore and blistered feet but I didn’t expect to feel so ill and run down. I guess the length of time I was ill for shows just how much the race really took out of me. I put so much time, energy and hard work into running the race. It was a long time coming for me, from the first moment I decided that one day I would run it (before I had even run my first marathon!), through all the set-backs and injuries and finally I made the start line. Even then I wasn’t sure I would make the finish. But with each step I took along the trail, and to borrow the lyrics of The Alarm, I was “one step closer to home".

I wanted to write this race story in a much detail as possible to remind myself how hard it was. To make sure I didn’t forget the pain and anguish during the race and the pain and sickness I felt afterwards. It was in essence an attempt to make sure I didn’t even contemplate trying to do it again. But would you believe it (of course you would) the exact opposite has happened!! So long as my back holds out and at some point before I come to my senses (whenever that may be) I will be back, and I will be back with hard-as-nails feet so that I can at least try and run right to the finish. So watch this space….

Two Funny After-thoughts

It has taken me longer to write my race story than it took Paul to run his race last year!!

The blog for my Fling race was 8 pages of MSWord; so naturally this would be at least double; 22 pages to be exact! Apologies if you wanted the short version but you know what they say, there are no short cuts in ultra-running!

Watch out...

2010-07-10T22:19:00.001+01:00

...folks! I have finally finished my West Highland Way Race blog!! 22 pages in MSWord!! Ha ha. And it has taken me longer to write my race story than it took my lovely husband to run the whole bleedin race last year!!

An ultra-blogger as well as ultra-runner

I shall post it in the morning once hubby has checked that it makes sense and is suitable for public viewing There is a lot of swearing so it should perhaps have a 12A certificate ha ha.

WHWR 2010 - Part 6

2010-07-08T21:24:00.001+01:00

Beinglas – Auchtertyre

I left Beinglas (with a fresh Garmin) at exactly the same time that I left the farm at the Fling. I wasn’t too worried about it as I knew I was really going to slow things down in this next section. It’s always a bit of a slog up the glen and I was starting to feel a little bit sore in my legs. My energy levels were in a major slump and I was back having a bit of a low point. I walked a lot of the section from the farm to the underpass with Elaine Calder. I have met Elaine a couple of times before at Scottish 100k events when I have been supporting Paul, so I again thought ‘oh no I have gone way too fast if I am here at the same time as her’. Sometimes knowledge can work against you, and again it was making me anxious that I had gone too fast.

I was feeling tired and my feet were really starting to hurt and I was dreading hitting the forest. Those hills!! I didn’t enjoy the forest much in the Fling either. In fact I don’t think I have had one enjoyable run through it. This time it was torturous though. After a brief chuckle at the sign for Glenbogle which always makes me think of the Monarch of the Glen television program I started into the forest. The flatter bits which I ran in the Fling I mostly walked this time, and instead of flying down the final descent out of the forest I was very tender-footed as my quads were killing me. I actually think what I was doing was more like power walking down the hill rather than running.

At the bottom of the hill and through the railway bridge there was a small group of spectators. In a way I was glad because that gave me the impetus to run along to the road. I arrived at the road just behind another runner. He was wearing a flat cap which I thought was just brilliant. Why not? We hadn’t timed our arrival very well though and ended up standing waiting for a gap in the traffic for a full four minutes (yes, I timed it!!). By the time a gap appeared another runner had caught up with us. I turned round and it was one of the guys I had run with just out of Rowardennan. It’s funny how you don’t notice where people are around you in these races unless they are in front of you.

The mile or so to Auchtertyre from the road is really flat and should make for some fast running. If I’m honest I really wanted to walk. My feet were getting pretty sore and my legs were tired and sore. I hadn’t quite managed to pass to that next plane of pain and it was a bit of a struggle. There is always a point in the longer races where you need to pass through a certain pain barrier mentally for things to start to run smoothly. You need both your body and your mind to accept it fully and to embrace the pain, and it is not until you pass through that point that you can really start to work those later stages. Immerse yourself in it fully, don’t try and fight it, use it to spur you forward. If you try and fight it then you are going to lose because it is only going to get worse the further you go.

I was still struggling on my way to the farm and on my way through the final field Alan was standing with his camera. I had to run, naturally, but as I past him I told him ‘I hate running’ and he laughed at me. He followed along behind me the last 100 metres to the farm. I checked in with the marshals, handed my pack to Sandy and climbed on the weighing scales. I had put on a whole kilogram! The marshal told my crew to keep an eye on me as this wasn’t a good sign. I tried to make a joke out of it and told him not to tell everyone and made a joke about how I always put on weight, even when I am dieting. I was trying to lighten the issue as I knew it was actually quite serious and I was nervous about getting pulled out. I knew I would need to be careful between here and Kinlochleven (the next weigh in). I couldn’t understand how I had put on weight though. I was certain I wasn’t drinking too much as I was only drinking by thirst, plus it was really hot and I was sweating plenty. My left hand had been swollen by the time I reached Beinglas so when I put on the second Garmin I put it on my right wrist. That too was swelling a little. I am not sure what the hand swelling signifies but I would be interested to find out. It was a horrid feeling though.

After the weigh in we headed to the car for kit change. I just took a bottle of juice and my bumbag as it was only a couple of miles to Tyndrum where we would have a bigger stop. I remember seeing Soph and she told me I was looking good. It was very kind, but very untrue.

Although I was now past half way it didn’t feel like it. To me half way would be Tyndrum where the Fling finishes and the Devil begins. I left Auchertyre after 11 hours and 13 minutes still having a low point. I was hopeful that things would pick up after Tyndrum.

WHWR 2010 - Part 5

2010-07-08T20:32:00.000+01:00

Inversnaid – Beinglas

So I escaped from Inversnaid with a Mr Kipling fruit slice packet and a tuna sandwich. The cake went in my pocket and I started eating the sandwich. It wasn’t easy to eat as I was struggling to make saliva now, but slowly and surely I worked my way through it. It took me a full 25 minutes to eat it but once it was down it was fine; so far so good on the stomach front.

This is one of my favourite sections of the route. I was alone for the majority of it, catching and passing 2 or 3 other runners, but for the most part I had it all to myself and it was great. Twisting and turning, scrambling up and down rocks, swinging from branches, the whole works; just the way I like it. I always smile when I pass the ‘alien rocks’ and think of my training runs with Karen, George and all those other crazies. Good times.

For all that I was really enjoying this section I was starting to feel a little tender on the soles of my feet and I was sure that I was starting to develop blisters on my heels. I knew I was going to get my feet looked at once I got to the farm so I just continued on without trying to think about it too much.
The final mile or so before Beinglas has plenty of descents and I was starting to feel a little aching in my quads. I couldn’t hold back though as I was bursting for the toilet and planned to use the toilets once I got there. But I couldn’t go fast enough though and about half a mile before the farm I had to find myself a quiet little spot. My quads paid the price for my hurrying though.

I was so pleased to arrive at the farm. I arrived in 8 hours 47 minutes. It was faster than I had planned, much faster but so be it. Paul was waiting just over the stile and guided me down to the chair. I told him I thought I was getting blisters but when he took off my shoes there was nothing showing (YET!) and so he smothered them in Vaseline and put on new socks. I once again kept the same shoes on as they generally felt ok. Sandy refilled my backpack with everything I needed and Marian gave me my medication (from my doctor - it was as close to the time of day I would normally take it so I had this written into my schedule for Beinglas). Alan had made me some more porridge. It went down really easy once again. It was a great choice for fuel for me. Once again I had a small bottle of nuun drink which I find a great antidote to all the sweetness I was getting from my Gatorade (even though it was diluted) and Alan also gave me a cup of tea. It was almost like a normal breakfast at normal breakfast time of day, porridge and a cuppa.

Sandra, Soph and other Fetchies were at Beinglas and gave me lots of support and encouragement. I heard Sandra comment on how slick my crew were and I would have to agree. They are all very experienced both in racing and crewing and know what they need to do. They had my schedule so knew exactly what food, drink, kit changes etc that I wanted at each stop, so I didn’t have to really think about anything, they just got on with things. A great time, even if I do say so myself!

WHWR 2010 - Part 4

2010-07-08T19:01:00.001+01:00

Rowardennan – Inversnaid

I had been lured into a false sense of security. People say if you can run, even at a slow pace, then you can ‘stay ahead’ of the midge. Well, even when I was running I was still being swamped by them. They were everywhere. There was no escaping them. I got myself into the habit of blowing on my face to try and at least keep them away from that area. So with each exhalation I directed my breath upwards towards my face. Sounds daft, and I must have looked daft in equal measure but it did provide brief respites from the little blighters.

The struggle of solitude of the previous section was gone now. There were two runners just ahead of me. As we knocked off the miles we kept changing our running order until we all decided it would just as easy, and much more enjoyable to run together and swap our ‘reasons for being here’ stories and then our ‘what we hoped to get from the day’ stories. As we switched from the wide track onto the narrow trail another runner caught up with us. I recognised her from The Cateran Trail Race as being Jane Grundy. The conversations continued and I learnt that she has twice done the UTMB and that for the WHW she was hoping for sub 24 hours (which she smashed). I was worried that perhaps I had gone too fast in these early sections; what with getting to Rowardennan faster than I had in the Fling, and now finding myself running along with Jane. Pacing was a great concern to me before the race. I have not had the experience to be able to plan timings for each section specifically and much of what I was doing was going on how I felt at the time. If my legs wanted to run then I let them run. I love the narrow trail section to Inversnaid so my legs wanted to run so I found myself and one of the other runners ended up pulling away a little at this point. I didn’t really want to be ahead of Jane at this point but I thought that if my legs can run and they want to run then that’s just what I should do. So I did.

Although you cannot see Inversnaid till you are almost upon it, you can tell how far away it is by looking across the loch to the hydroelectric power pipes coming down the hill on the far side. On arriving at Inversnaid I was feeling really upbeat and all ready for a good chat with the marshals. But no sooner had I started walking across to them then the great midge army descended upon me. Hmm, maybe this wasn’t going to be much of a pleasant stop after all I thought. My drop bag was brought across and it was simply a case of refilling my bladder as fast as I could, grabbing whatever food I thought I would eat on the next section and getting out of there as fast as I could. Those midges were vicious!

WHWR 2010 - Part 3

2010-07-04T21:13:00.001+01:00

Balmaha – Rowardennan

The icing which I had thought would go down well, didn’t. I had to resort to trying to eat around it. Not the easiest thing to do when you are trying to run, so I walked, until I reached the corner where we leave the road. I saw Alan Young coming along with his camera so thought I better run. Got to make it look good haven’t I? Ha ha. But then of course I hit those steps and it was time to walk again. I couldn’t at the cake as I climbed as it was too steep, and I needed to breathe, so the cake remained in my hand, getting stickier and gooier by the moment. There was a very friendly marshal at the top of the hill taking numbers and he gave me a few words of encouragement. Little did I know at that point how much I was going to need them.

This section was really tough for me. My head was getting into a real state of negativity. I felt tired. I shouldn’t feel tired yet. I was only 20 odd miles into it. I had fuelled and hydrated well. I tried to tell myself it was all in my mind. It probably was but it was difficult to convince myself of this. I have previously been told that no matter the standard of runner you need to always be able to change your game plan. If you can’t adjust then you probably won’t get through it. This was definitely going to be one of those such times. There are some good miles of running in the first part of this section and I did my best to run where it was flat but found myself wishing for a hill so that I had an ‘excuse’ to walk. Not the ideal mind-set for such an early stage of a 95 mile beast. I longed for company. I normally love the isolation of the long distance run but in this race, on this race I longed for somebody to talk to, or just to listen to. I did pass a couple of runners, but the problem with passing runners is that unless they stick very close to you then you quickly become isolated again. As it turns out one of these two runners was only ever a few hundred metres behind me all the way to Rowardennan but I wasn’t to know.

On arriving at those short sharp hills in the last few miles before Rowardennan rather than being glad to see a hill and being able to walk, I found them really tough to get up. My energy just wasn’t right. In contrast though, the burn in my calves felt strangely therapeutic. I suppose it gave me something else to focus on. Strange the twisted mentality of the ultra-runner.

As it turns out it was no wonder I was feeling a lack of energy. I arrived at Rowardennan 2 minutes faster than I had in the Fling! Whoops. No wonder I had had such a head-funk! Shouted my race number to the marshals and Paul guided me to the car where I prompted flopped myself into the chair.

Here Paul re-vaselined my feet and changed my socks. Whilst he undertook this delightful job I wolfed down some porridge freshly made by Alan. It was a magical elixir. Delicious, and went down so easy. Even with all the added midgies! I told the guys I couldn’t face any more beans so not to bother restocking those. My pack was filled with fluid and another packet of crisps was put in the pocket. It was getting hot and we wanted to make sure I didn’t get dehydrated. I was struggling with food overall so asked Alan for one of his bananas to take with me hoping that that would go down ok. Last but not least I was recovered in Skin-So-Soft. The midgies at Rowardennan were definitely present, and yet I remember them being worse last year, but I wonder if that was just because I was support last year, and now as a runner I didn’t notice them the same.

WHWR 2010 - Part 2

2010-07-04T19:17:00.000+01:00

Milngavie – Beechtree

As we ran up the steps and along the high street there were people all around cheering us on. I was somewhere in the middle and saw people zooming off into the distance. My thoughts briefly wandered to thinking about what crazy sorts of times they would be finishing in. Then I started thinking about what sort of time I would finish in. I had a number of ideas of times I thought I would be happy with, and used these to create schedules for my support crew. In all honesty that’s what they were really for. I didn’t want to think about times for myself. I didn’t need that sort of pressure today. It was just going to be one section at a time; just get myself though one section at a time. Break it down and don’t think about the whole.

This first section is so easy to run in the daylight. It’s completely runnable: smooth track through the park and on towards Drumgoyne. However, when you have only got a small head torch (and not a particularly powerful one) and you’ve given away your little handheld torch to a fellow runner whose head torch is not working (thanks to Penny the dog) running because quite difficult. I have done 2 night-time runs n preparation for the race but both were many months ago, and even then I did not enjoy them. The world closes in around you and it is hard to work out which direction you need to go. The worst thing is the difficulty with perspective. Working out where stones were in reality compared to where you could see them. It’s only a matter of millimetres of course, but trying to run with that disjointed view of the world is hard work.

I tried as much as I could to make sure that I could always see a bobbing head torch somewhere in front of me to try and extend my field of vision a little and give myself something to aim for. At one point not long before exiting Mugdock I had nobody in front of me. I really struggled with that little stretch, even though it was probably only 200m or so. Once out of the park I could now see the little snake of bobbing lights threading their way northwards. It was a comforting sight. In fact it was actually pretty inspiring. Whilst everyone else is sleeping soundly in their beds, here we were, our little crazy gang, setting off on an equally crazy journey into the Scottish night.

I was starting to feel better being able to ‘see’ where I was going better, plus the darkness was already starting to ease by the time we had passed Carbeth and were heading towards Drumgoyne. And despite all my pre-race visits to the toilet and was already needing a relief stop. I knew it was just a nervous bladder but I also knew I wouldn’t feel comfortable till I’d sorted it. There had been nowhere obvious to stop early on but I knew a great place to stop (from my Fling experience) a couple of miles before the pub. The only difference between the Fling and this race, was the length of the stinging nettles, and as we all know, unlike men, ladies can’t pee standing up. Ouch ha ha!
I arrived at the pub and swapped my bumbag and bottle for my backpack. Paul said I was ahead of my schedule by a couple of minutes but I wasn’t really thinking about it. I grabbed a swig of water and ate half a yumyum, said ‘ta-ra’ (very Cilla) and headed off.

Beechtree - Drymen/Forest

I struggled with the gate across the road and had to let the guy behind me open it. I then set off along the next section in a line of runners. I wanted to keep with a group of runners so that my ‘sight’ issues wouldn’t continue, and I could use the line of lights to keep me focused. I know it is not ideal to run at somebody else’s pace but I decided it was worth it for this section rather than struggle with the darkness anymore. The pace was faster than I liked but it wasn’t too fast that I would stop and run by myself. People took turns at the front, being the designated gate-opener. Having people around also made the race less insular. Once we hit the road I felt like I could settle into things a bit more. I think this was one of my favourite parts of the whole race. There was no sound other than the tramping off shoes on the tarmac. Slow walking up the hills and faster on the flats and downhills. The soft glow of the coming dawn only enhanced the atmosphere. The silhouette of Conic was in the distance. In the past being able to see the hill from here has unsettled me but this time I just looked at it and smiled.

About half way along the road it was light enough to switch off the headtorch. It was still dark but my eyes adjusted quickly and it felt much more comfortable to run with it off. I was constantly analyzing my energy levels and although they were not what I would have liked at this point it felt as easy to run as it did to walk so I ran. Soon I arrived at Drymen. I ran straight through as my crew was waiting for me at the forest car park. It would be easier to stop there as it would be quieter. The car park came sooner than expected. Sandy was waiting on the road for me. As I chatted with him into the carpark I nearly went flying when I tripped on a stone. It was a close call. That would have been the last thing I needed at that stage of the race.

My crew all still had their head torches on. Paul nearly blinded me with his each time he looked at me it was that bright ha ha. Sandy replenished my pack. I asked him to change from full strength Gatorade to a 50:50 ratio with water. I was taking Succeed tablets every hour so knew I wouldn’t suffer with cramp even with the dilution. I changed my top and put on my Montane shell. It had been a little breezy for the past few miles so I expected it to be a bit chilly over Conic. I ate half a tuna sandwich, gulped down some water and headed off out of the car park. Margaret and Steph were still there from Tubby going through earlier. I smiled and waved as I left.

Drymen/Forest – Balmaha

I had set off with a packet of McCoys salt and vinegar crisps but decided to wait till I was through the forest before I would eat them. The sandwich needed time to settle and there was some good running to be had in the forest so I wanted to take advantage.

The forest was a lonely place. I could no longer see any runners ahead of me or behind me. This is where the negative thoughts started to creep in. Questioning my energy levels and wondering how I was going to be able to sustain my running for another 75 miles. I had let myself start to think about the whole rather than the parts and the weight of it was immense. It was difficult to block out but I knew I had to. I focused on eating my crisps as I continued up the hill before the descent towards Conic. Par way up I heard one of the gates bang shut behind me and that reminded me that I wasn’t out there along. This lifted me and I was able to enjoy the run down towards the bridge. The ground was so dry after months of dry weather. Even the normally muddy bit just before the bridge was dry.

As I started the climb of Conic I felt lifted again. I loved Conic in the Fling, and again it was proving to be a highlight. I could see runners ahead. I was walking, they were walking. It was good. I reached the top before I knew it. I made a specific point of making sure I took in the view. I stopped twice, just to look. I wanted to fully embrace it and it was spectacular. You could see further than I have ever seen from Conic before, with not so much as a hint of haziness. A clear indicator that it was going to be a hot day. On my right, to the north Ben Lomond and ahead, to the southwest the Clyde. Loch Lomond was almost luminescent below me. A majestic dawn and a perfect way to start the day (let’s discount the fact that this was not the start of our day).

Moment over and it was time to get back to the race. Dry ground meant for easy running and I ran the descent careful to protect my quads. Fast turn over of short steps. No major leaping or bounding. I made ground up on the runners ahead, and overtook three before reaching the forest. I was careful not to get carried away and ran gently still down through the forest. Alan was waiting at the corner before the car park and directed me to the rest of my crew. As I arrived in the car park there were plenty of people there and I was appreciative of the applause. It was funny to see everyone in midgie nets again. I hadn’t yet noticed any until I stopped and I felt a few then.

I tried to eat a brownie but I couldn’t stomach it at all. Instead I ate some more tuna sandwich. I was really thirsty, despite drinking little and often so gulped down some nuun drink. I changed into a short-sleeved top. I ate some more yumyum, took some carrot cake and set off walking through the car park whilst eating the cake.

WHWR 2010 - Part 1

2010-07-04T17:05:00.000+01:00

WHWR 2010

It’s been 2 weeks since the WHWR and I haven’t had chance to blog abut it until now. For the first 9 days it was because I was so ill, and then life took over and got in the way after that, so I made a point to set aside this afternoon to write about it before all the pain disappears from my memory and I start thinking it was easy!

I have been thinking about how I would fit such an enormous event into a readable blog, covering all the important events and feelings of the race, and combining them with the events and feelings that I have had post-race. The ‘during’ and ‘after’ thoughts are naturally very different and I am in danger of confusing the two.

So, the best way I should probably address it, is to go through the race, as specifically as I can (you don’t have to read it all but I want to remember as much as possible), and then leave any ‘reflection’ till afterwards (if I can).

Thursday

Thursday night was spent packing all my kit, making sure I had all my food, all my possible changes of shoes, clothes, medical kit, foot kit, head-torches and the like. I also finished adding songs to my ipod which I was going to take should I need a little musical inspiration during the race. I wanted to get as much done so that I could spend Friday off my feet and resting as much as possible.

Friday

I had hoped to stay in bed, and ideally asleep for as long as possible on Friday but I was awake at half eight and up by nine. I took my anti-inflammatory tablet that I have been prescribed by my doctor for my back pain. I always take it first thing when I have my bad days so wanted to keep this as normal. I was restless and I still had an incredibly sore throat (and now had a raw patch at the back of my mouth) so I headed up the town to Boots to get some anaesthetic throat spray whilst sucking on yet another strepsil. I had spent the whole week with both hayfever and a cold, and I was really fed up so went to Boots to stock up. The throat spray was rotten and reminded me of being at the dentist but it did briefly numb the back of my mouth so I was grateful for that.

Last kit checks done and I went back to bed around 1pm. I couldn’t sleep. But I was good and lay in bed with an eye mask on for the best part of 3 hours. Up again once Paul got home and indulged in a little more carb-loading. I don’t know why but I expected that in the last few days before the race I would be stuffing myself silly with pasta, potatoes, pies etc till I was full to bursting. In actuality I hadn’t eaten much differently to a normal day, maybe just a little extra at lunchtime. Perhaps I was too nervous to really eat.

All the kit was ready at the door and we were just waiting for Alan to arrive some time after nine, and then Marian and Sandy to arrive too. Alan, as punctual as always and we loaded up the car with all our gear. In the house it looked like I had so much stuff that it would never fit but it all did easily, and there was no bother getting in Marian and Sandy’s stuff either.

Journey Up

9:30pm came and off we went. Being the runner it meant I got the front seat, whilst Paul, Marian and Sandy squeezed in the back. Alan was driving (as it was his car and he is a very skilled support driver/chef etc). There was plenty of nervous chatter and lots of quiet moments as we all looked ahead to what was going to be a long weekend (for us all). We arrived at Milngavie at 11pm and the car-park was already jam-packed.

Milngavie

We found a space and all got out of the car to stretch our legs and survey the scene before us. Lots of excited chatter, nervous faces, hugging, parking problems, and sleeping was taking place. I took a few moments just to settle myself, then thought, right, what do I need to do? Register. So I headed across to the church hall and signed away my life, well at least the following 37 hours of it anyway. It was quite overwhelming. I couldn’t even decide what arm I wanted my wrist band on. I couldn’t even get weighed as I didn’t have my kit on so I had to tell the poor guy that I would be back to do it later. I am sure all the marshals and helpers were already used to runners being a little all over the place. Before heading back to the car-park I thought I would collect my race goodies so headed over to see Adrian Stott. A hug and a kiss and good luck wishes later and I headed back over to get kitted up.

I didn’t want to rush myself and make myself more nervous than I was already. So I just went about sorting out my kit and then preparing my feet. Shoes on, and I headed back to get weighed. I mulled around a little in the hall, visited the ladies room and back across to the car-park. It was really thronging now and must have looked very odd to any normal people passing by. Although I am not sure how many normal people would be walking past Milngavie train station after midnight on a Friday night anyway.

In my bag of goodies I found my race buff. Bright red and has Dario’s name on the marker post which I thought was a really touching tribute to the wee man. I had brought a buff with me but decided I would wear my shiny new red one instead. I checked my pack one last time and now there was nothing to do except make countless trips to the toilet, just in case, and wait for the race briefing.
Tubby had arrived and was getting himself sorted. So that was a relief. We all just stood (or sat in my case – with my legs up) around the car and chatted to whoever walked past. I tried to eat some of my jelly beans, normally a staple of any longer runs I do. I managed to eat about 4 of them before deciding that they just weren’t doing it for me. I said to Marian that I was sick of them already and I hadn’t even started the race. Not a good sign.

The briefing came and we all gathered round for our final instructions. I gave Tubby a good luck hug and went over to spend the last few minutes with Paul. He was nervous for me and I could tell. I was nervous too, but not in the sickening way that I had been in the lead up to the race. It was an excited nervousness. I knew I had not been able to train the way I had wanted. I’d had injuries, sciatica problems, back issues, lack of mileage and general feelings of inadequacy, but despite the setbacks, I had achieved something I hadn’t last year, and that was to get to the start line. Goal number one done and dusted! We both knew that was something in itself, but we also both knew that there was a huge task ahead. Would we make it? Only time would tell.

The start.

Everyone gathered near the underpass ready for the start. Last hugs all round. I gave Karen and George a final hug too. George Reid and Keith Hughes had already run all the way from Fort William to Rowardennan, and were now ready to set off with the rest of us for the return journey. Those guys are crazy! I stood and chatted to John Kynaston for a few minutes and wished him luck. Adrian did his pre-race speech and included a minute’s clapping for Dario (and another WHW family member). I knew Paul was up on the banking somewhere but it was dark and I couldn’t see him.
On went the headtorches. 5,4,3,2,1. West Highland Way here we come!

Rocky Balboa's inspirational speech to his son.

2010-06-18T12:18:00.002+01:00

It's not about how hard you hit, it's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward.....

Excessive blogging

2010-06-18T12:04:00.003+01:00

You can tell I am nervous about the WHW race as I seem to have been blogging almost daily. Perhaps that is yet another Taperitis symptom.

Anyway, I am now signing off. All my kit is packed and ready to be loaded into the car. I just need to keep taking my decongestants, strepsils and antihistamines and do as little as possible for the rest of the day, before we head off to Milngavie at 9:30pm.

I've heard on the grapevine that George and Keith are through Tyndrum now and are heading ever southwards towards Milngavie. That crazy pair are making the rest of us look soft ha ha. Much respect to the pair of them.

Really looking forward to seeing all the WHW family members at Milngavie.

Here goes nothin'

Make it go away

2010-06-17T08:20:00.002+01:00

AAARRGGHHH!!! I wish this stupid hayfever/cold would go away. What rubbish timing it has. Barely suffer from it in nearly 2 years and then it jumps off the deep end the week before the WHW. POOP i tell you! POOP!

At least my drowsy antihistamines get me off to sleep, it's just a shame I can't stay asleep as Im too busy not being able to breath properly or needing to sneeze/cough/splutter - terribly attractive dontcha know, not.

Anyway, in WHW prep I am almost there. Just got to decide on what civilian clothing to take for the prize giving and the afterparty. Flipflops of course, but need to sort myself out from the ankle upwards. Preferably something loose that will fit round my legs when they turn into tree trunks afterwards with all the swelling, that's what happened after the Fling.
Just need to stock my backpack with starting provisions, get the last goodies from the supermarket tonight, and do my final checks. And then get Paul to re-do my final checks so I know I won't have forgotten anything.

Last day at work ahead...

Oh, forgot to mention, the tape the physio attached to my back (to help with drainage/inflamation) is still there, not sure if it will make it to saturday though but we'll see.

Making the most of it

2010-06-15T21:28:00.002+01:00

Physio went ok tonight. It was as expected. He did what he could for me. Fingers crossed.

So, it looks like the WHW on saturday/sunday will be my last ultra for a long long time so I better make the most of it.

I better give it my all and then some.

Really looking forward to seeing all the other nutters on Friday night in Milngavie and then again Sunday lunchtime in Fort William.

Let me at that beetroot juice!!!!

4 1/2 days to go

2010-06-14T13:33:00.001+01:00

So, its monday of the last week before THE biggest race I will EVER do. My tapers never seem to go to plan and this one is no exception. I haven't run since tuesday in an attempt to rest my knee as it had been sore for some time. However, previous experience of no running before a race did not provide a positive race experience so I will be doing some running this week. Jogging rather than running. No garmin, no pressure, just loosen up the legs and reminding them what running is.
So this evening I will do a short run, and again on wednesday evening. Tomorrow I have an appointment with my physio. I will see if there are any last minute things he can suggest and we can also go over the results of my x-ray and see what my running future post-WHW holds.
I am hoping to have all my kit and food sorted and packed by wednesday evening. I can then re-check it all on thursday. Friday i will spending as much of the day as possible either relaxing and moving as little as possible. I am hoping to get extra sleep but it is unlikely as the nerves will have really set in by then.

A lot of the blogs are filled with 'taperitis' at the moment. My knee has been sore for around 4 weeks now so i can't count that, the sciatica is many many months old now, so that not new, so I can't really claim to have any physical taperitis symptoms. However if you ask my other half, he will assure you that I (or perhaps he) am suffering from it. I have the bipolar taperitis: swinging from gentle giddy excitement as the big day approaches, to grouchy, snappy and irritable two minutes later.

I am very worried about the race, but, there is nothing that can be done now. It is going to hurt and it is going to be hard, but I am determined that i will keep putting one foot in front of the other until I crawl across that finish line. I do not like whisky at all, never had, but I will gratefully recieve a wee dram when I make it to Fort William on sunday (whatever time that may be).

My crew understand that this year their race will be a lot longer than last year. They don't mind. In fact, one crew member said that will be nice to actually see more of the race this year.

4 1/2 days to the biggest race of my life. I can't wait till 1am on saturday - I just want to get started now, then I can stop worrying.

No knee'd

2010-06-09T08:13:00.002+01:00

I have done two gentle runs in the past two days as part of my taper, and still, even though the pace was VERY gentle, my knee was sore, during and for a long time afterwards (all night in fact).
Going to phone the physio today and see if he can squeeze me in before next friday and see if he can do some magic trick to settle it. My knee has been sore on every single run since I started again after my toe infection, so I know it is not just taper niggles. In fact I don't seem to have any taper niggles, as all my issues are long-standing. I do think that the knee is something to do with my toe as it is my little left toe that has the infection and it is the inside of the left knee that is painful. An equal and opposite reaction? Hmm.

So hopefully I can get to the physio and hopefully he can do something, anything. OH and I have decided that i will just scrap most of my taper runs (all 4 left! ha ha) and just rest my knee. A few walks should suffice.
As a club mate said last night, there is nothing to be gained now so resting can't do me any harm.

I am still a bag of nerves but I am settling into my nerves now. Not sure if that makes sense. I am getting organised. Meeting went well last night. I have a VERY capable and experienced crew so between us we should get me to the finish :)

Nerves

2010-06-07T08:28:00.004+01:00

I had my first proper restless night last night. The nerves are starting to set in now. My schedules are all sorted, as are my race notes for support crew (meeting with them tomorrow to discuss what i will need). I think the reality and the enormity are really reaching home now.

I think what makes me really nervous is the fact that I seem to be the only one who is nervous. Everyone else on the forums and chatter don't seem to be worried at all. And that makes me even more nervous believe it or not! It's like being the only one who isn't in on the secret, the one who doesn't get the joke.
Nerves are good I know and I fully expected them to start sooner than this.
The main thing will be to try and enjoy the race, but I think these nerves are fueled by by my worries about sciatica, my toe, my knee... and I have no control of these things...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_IKcMl_a9A

Race schedules

2010-06-03T21:36:00.001+01:00

I have created my first draft of my pacing/food/kit schedule for the WHWR. It looks scary. I'm terrible at creating spread sheets and would much rather just have lists, and lists of lists, but I was able to borrow the template of Paul's schedule for his race last year and just fit it around me (ie. SLOW EVERYTHING DOWN!!).

It is difficult to creat a plan for the race when you have no concept of what will happen to your body once you have gone beyond 55 miles. It is all very hypothetical and it is most definitely hopeful. I know how long it took me to run the Fling, so I added extra time onto that and created a target to get to Tyndrum, once there, slow everything down even more and then maybe you are getting somewhere. That has been the premise of the plan I suppose. Start slow, and get slower, just try and get to the end.
Food is another interesting part of the plan. There is only so much you can specifically schedule. There comes a point when it is just a case of get whatever down you that you can, and try and keep it down.
Kit - come prepared for absolutely everything, that way you will know you have got what you need. Even with modern forecasting we can never be sure what the Scottish weather will throw at us.

So, to summise, go slow, eat what you can, and change you gear if you need to. Simple..... but never easy. :o)

Now for two more schedules, just in case...

Last LSR

2010-05-30T19:22:00.002+01:00

It was a struggle to get out for my last long run yesterday morning, but I made it to the forest for a 10am start. Better late than never.
It was a bit of a battle. Everyone else was over at the Kirkcudbright Half Marathon and 11k races (which incidently was my first ever half mararthon) zooming along getting loads of PBs and prizes, and here was I slogging it out round the newly muddy trails of Mabie Forest. The rain was actually quite nice. It feels like forever since I have run in proper rain so I actually enjoyed that part of my run. I love the smell of the woods when it is raining, and the summer air gets a really thorough cleaning (which I am sure all fellow hayfever suffers can appreciate).
The route I chose involved two loops. To have long distances in Mabie you have to do loops, and they are a great test of your mental resilience. It would be so easy to just head back to the car after one loop, and I was tempted, but I knew that this was it, the last long run, and I was the only one who could do it so I had better toughen up and get on with it. No shortcuts in ultra training.
I had chosen not to take my normal (prescribed) painkiller this morning, and didn't take any with me. I wanted to see how my legs and back got on without any assistance of that kind. I struggled at times. My right leg had nothing more than muscle soreness and tiredness, but my entire left leg suffered pretty badly at times from sciatica. It was always present from about 8 miles in, but it came in varying levels. It was never enough to completely stop me, but at times it was a real hindrance, restricting my entire movement of my left hand side and as a result making my right hand side work harder. I am really pleased that I managed to really grit my teeth through it. Really pleased.
It might sound a little twisted but that was exactly what I needed from my run. It had to be tough, it had to be painful, it had to be a solo effort and I had to get through it positively. And I did. \o/
26.4 miles in 4:39:51, (av pace 10:36) which is at a faster pace than I ran the 13.7 mile loop on wednesday evening with Marian and Frank (10:43 pace). Not too shabby. I was pooped though. It was a really tough slog of a run, and my legs are feeling it. I did some 'nerve flossing' (as recommended by e Brutto) and used my TENS machine later as my left leg/bum/lower back were in a great deal of discomfort.

The Hart family has had a good day of running. Paul won his race. The 11.2k race at Kirkcudbright in a ridiculously fast time. I'm really proud of him. It's just a shame I couldn't be there to cheer him on but we all make sacrifices when we train for ultras...

Now, it's time to taper. :o)

Quality vs. quanitity

2010-05-28T22:54:00.001+01:00

Due to computer issues and mojo issues I haven't blogged much of late, or even been on the computer for that matter. Been trying to have a PC-free zone, which is not that hard with my energy levels. I've been trying to reduce my carb intake by half ahead of the big race so all my runs have been really tiring and sluggish, but good practice for race day. And being so tired means that when I am done the last thing I want to do is go on the computer (esp since I spend my working day on the computer).
Tomorrow is my last long run, so hopefully after that my energy levels should start to pick up again. That's the plan at least. Mabie Forest beckons again, just like last weekend. It was 20 miles last weekend, tomorrow I shall aim for 25 equally tough and hilly miles.
That sounds pretty measley compared to the exploits of others who are running the WHW. Some of the mileages I have been reading about can put the heebie-jeebies up a newbie like myself. However it is nice to read that some of the people have the mileage in perspective. They know it's a lot. Then there are other people I have seen on forums etc who seem to have lost the ability to rationalise miles. If you're not doing 100 miles a week then you're just not trying hard enough. And if you can run a 50miler then a 95miler is no different, just takes longer.
I couldn't disagree with this more. Mileage is all about quality not quantity and you should never sacrifice the first in order to boost up the latter (just so you can say I've run more miles than everyone else - so what if you have). If you can run 70, 80 or 100 miles per week, then great, but there's a danger that people will assume that that sort of mileage is standard for ultra training, even for those attempting something like the WHW for the first time. I have had the odd week with the lower end of that mileage and i was absolutely zombified. I felt a pressure into trying to churn out those kinds of mileage when I really shouldn't have, and in that sort of situation it is easy to lose sight of the most important point of why most of us run - for fun!
If your body can handle 80+ mile weeks of good quality training then you are either very lucky, or just a lot more experienced and your body has adjusted to that level of training. If you are more of a 40mile/week person then that is no less worthy. We each have to do what we can in order to get ourselves to the start line, and then get ourselves to the finish (god willing). We should all take pride in whatever our body allows us to do.
My other thought for the day is regarding the different between a 50miler and a 95miler. This has often been discussed on the forums and I have been very interested in reading people's responses. I am definitely in the school of thought that believes there is a huge chasm between the two. Just because you can run 50 miles does NOT guarantee that you can run 95 miles. It's a whole different ball game and the challenges on the body and the mind are vastly multiplied. So even though I had a satisfactory, even pleasing, run at the Fling, I think it would be foolish of me to have any expectations of the WHWR. I will have a set of targets for the race, but they will all be on the conservative side. I think it is important for a first-timer to be realistic about their goals, set off at an easy pace and see how they are feeling once they get to Tyndrum. Any thoughts of racing should not even be entertained before that point.
It is so easy to blow up even in the shortest of races. I can't imagine there would be anything worst than hitting the wall before I have even reached Rowardennan. There's still nearly 70 miles to go from there! So careful pacing will be so important, especially for all us first-timers.
So I will be running 25 miles tomorrow. That's a crazy distance make no mistake. It's just short of a marathon which is a distance that for thousands is the very pinnacle of their running achievements. A 25 mile run is great training to be really pleased with, especially if it is off road on hilly trails. It's not namby pamby. It's hard core.
After my run tomorrow I should be in a position to feel ready for my taper. My stomach will be churning. I will lose sleep. I will be restless and distracted constantly. That is because I am scared about the WHWR. But fear is good. Facing fear develops courage, and helps us achieve things we wouldn't have thought we could do. Find your limit and then step beyond it...

Hopefully I can do just that in 3 weeks and 2 hours time.