Grantham Ultra 2011 - Day 1

Mile upon mile of canal scenery is something I am going to have to get used to if I am going to survive the GUCR. This thought crossed my mind around 20miles into the Grantham Ultra 2011....

It had been a funny week leading up to this race as I had hoped I could do 1 day of this weekend double but I was not holding out much hope. We could not get any cover for the children or the dog, and I did not fancy having to find my way back from the finish line to the car if I drove....

Added to that I had been suffering with a pain just below my right lower Ab area after my 36miler on Friday last. I did a 7 miler on Tuesday evening and the pain intensified during the run, which worried me as my first thought was a hernia.

The pain was there for the next few days and to be fair was even still there Saturday morning although it was a lot less. Anna seemed more concerned than I was, as I had been used to a lot of niggles and pains  (oh the life if an Ultra runner eh) and she contacted Rory I think to persuade me to seek help....

So on Thursday I had a phone call from a Mr Coleman asking about my pain which was a bit surreal at work but nonetheless great as it got me off work for a few minutes. The crux of the conversation ended that if I came on Sat I could see a certain Dr Coleman who I had on good authority was the best in the business..

So once I had told Anna about the conversation to which she was a bit perplexed as I think she thought if I was injured then I should at least drive to see a doctor and not run 29+ miles to see one.

Any way after a bit of wrangling we ended up still needing to take 3 kids and the dog with us if I was going to run this event. Fair play to Anna she agreed to it on one condition that I ran as quick as I could to get to the finish.

That in itself is an interesting notion as I had never ran this distance in a race before, the shortest Ultra I had done before was 45miles, so pacing was going to be interesting..

Saturday came and as usual an early start 5am to be precise, after a frantic hour or so we were on the road. We got to Cotgrave shortly after 8am, and was greeted by Rory who I think had been at the Haribos already as he seemed on a sugar high ( or it could have been an Ultra high). After registering with Jen and giving the usual banter I guess she has come to expect, who should walk in but Tom. I knew he was going to be there but I guess he did not know I was going to run, it was good to catch up again.

I got myself ready and chatted with a few people, I saw Steve who I had run a portion of Day one of the Ultra 90 back in Jan with. It was good to catch up and see how his training had been going for MDeS.

Then Rory was calling us forward for the pre race talk on top of his Ultra race truck. We were told there was a diversion to look out for and if we did not come off where stickered it could put a couple of miles on to our race as we would have to back track to where the stickers were....

And then we were called to the start line so after kissing Anna and saying cheerio to the boys and Mia, I made my way to the front. I had already told Tom that I wanted to aim for a sub 4hr, but on the start line he said your serious about a sub 4hr, to which I said if possible yes. We asked Jen what the course record was which was some ridiculous time like 3hr 17.

Then we were suddenly off and we seemed to set off sprinting up the road on some 10k mission, even though our pace seemed very quick there was still 3 chaps that went sprinting off into the distance. We settled down into what seemed a manageable pace there was myself, Tom & Steve  the championship leader. Tom said the pace we were maintaining was around the 7.10 pace which was far to quick but none of us felt like slowing so we kept that pace going.

The Canal was quickly reached and we seemed to just settle into the routine of driving forward although Tom was doing most of the early pace setting, there was not a lot of talking going on with the pace we were going at the concentration was required to maintain form and breathing.

We soon reached the area where the diversion was in place and the stickers were clear where we needed to go so off we went up the road. We came to a slight hill and we started powering up it, I was a bit shocked to be passed going up the hill (I have not been passed on hill for a long time) i grudgingly said good luck fella. He then replied that he had gone wrong at the diversion and I then realised he was the front runner who had gone shooting off at the start. I know I should not of but I did get a certain satisfaction in his error, very short lived I must say as he was soon disappearing again into the distance ( you have to admire the speed of these whippet like runners. I found out when I finished that he still got the course record fantastic running).

All to soon Steve had dropped of the back so it was just Tom and I left, we were caught around the 7 mile point by a couple of runners who chose to stay with us for a while. We were soon approaching CP1 where I could see Anna and the family including dog waiting at the CP. It was a welcome sight although short lived as we ran straight through the check point keeping our relentless pace going. Shortly after the checkpoint the 2 runners we were with started speeding up so we let them go happy in the pace we were maintaining.

The next few miles seemed to fly past with tom informing me that we were approaching the 1/2 marathon point I reckon it would have been a PB for me at around 1hr 35 ish... He then said we had gone through the half way point in 1hr 43. If we maintained that pace we would get in at under 3hr 30 which seemed ridiculous. Having said that I felt that our pace was slowing mainly due to the terrain, the footpaths we had mainly enjoyed in the first 10 - 12 miles had been replaced with grassy banks. On the whole these were OK but there was places where the mud was very clingy and slippy, it was quite difficult to maintain a good running form and pace through these sections..

Checkpoint 2 was soon reached and again the family was there to cheer us on, I quickly grabbed some wine gums as I did not want any thing else I carried on a slower run as I waited for Tom to catch up as he was refilling his water bladder. Once he had caught up we pushed on through another muddy section, The next couple of miles was fairly gruelling in terms of the terrain and I started to feel the affects of the earlier pace. Suddenly Tom said he was going to stop to stretch out a cramp and told me to carry on, he would catch up. I carried on at a slower pace, just before a bend in the canal I looked back and saw Tom was running again in the distance so I assumed he would catch up soon. That was the last I saw of him I looked back a couple of times and even walked for a couple of minutes but he did not catch up, so i took the decsion to push on as I knew he would have done given a role reversal.

I soon got to CP 3 and grabbed a hand full of sweets and some malt loaf, I pushed on knowing this was the final leg.

I have thought a lot about what is better running with a partner or running on your own, and now being in the position of totally on your own in an Ultra with around 100 runners it can feel a lonely place. Your mind starts playing tricks on you especially when you don't know the route so your not sure if  you will be coming off the canal before it ends, and if so has some oik removed the all important UR sticker which signals this. I ended up walking every bridge section making sure I had not missed a sticker but I could not shake the feeling that I was going too far on the canal. It was a welcome sight indeed to see a couple of people stood by the side of the canal one of which I recognised having seen her at the last 2 checkpoints. They told me I had around 3 miles to go which was not such welcome news. However I gritted my teeth and pushed on, I could feel myself slowing considerably now and every bridge I came to I hoped would be the one. I looked round though and realised I was still in the middle of the country side and I needed to be near a built up area for it to be near the end.

Suddenly I could hear traffic on a road and it was fast traffic so I knew it was a main road not a country road, and as I rounded the bend I saw the start of the built up area and the path I was on seemed to veer off to the right. I thought this must be it, I had no idea how far the hotel was once we came off the canal.

I don't know what made me but at this point I looked round and saw another runner coming up fast, and I thought not today no one is catching me now I have held this position from around CP1 I am not letting this one go.

I injected a turn of pace hoping and praying that the hotel was close, I came off the canal path after telling a lady with a dog who had asked that I was in a race and I was one of the front runners ( it felt good to say that) she was not impressed as her dog was a bit of a handful.

I started up the road and saw a hotel and I thought yes, my joy was short lived as I realised it was a premier inn and not the Ramada (where the finish was).

I carried on up the road increasing the pace as I went, I turned a corner and saw the Ultra race flags, so I started sprinting I shot past the photo ladies (who were doing a great job in the rain) and turned into the drive and to the finish straight into the arms of Rory I basically could not stop, I was sprinting that fast.

I had achieved a sub 4hr by 33 seconds and had finished in 6th spot, I was chuffed to bits with this result....

More importantly my lower Ab pain I had been suffering with seemed to have disappeared. Of course I was called a fraudster by Rory but I can take that I was just happy with the result.

As I was sorting out if I could take a shower at the hotel, I saw a guy come in and realised it was Matt Beardshall, I have had the pleasure of talking to him on a running forum but had never met him, It was good to put a face to a name.

Anna then said that our daughter Mia was suffering a lot, she has not been right for a while and she was running quite a temperature. As I was waiting for Anna to get my bag I saw Tom walk through the doors, he had stopped for a while to vomit ( it was the Jelly beans) but he still managed a great time, that shows determination.

I quickly grabbed a shower (which was excellent, I must say the facilities or what I saw of them looked good) . Afterwards I chatted quickly to a couple of guys including Steve who had come in with a great time.

Then it was time to think of my family and get Mia home (via a boots visit) and dosed up. So we made our excuses to Rory & Jen who understood and saw that Mia was not well  and we left. So the reason for going up there which was to see a Dr Coleman did not happen (I have seen my local GP since and he has all but rulled out a hernia, he seems to think it is a muscle strain).

It would have been nice to stop and see the runners in as I get just as much enjoyment from that as running the event itself but today it was not to be......

On reflection I have never done an Ultra this short before it borders on maintaning a marathon pace but having that extra bit to just push those extra few miles out. I enjoyed it and I defiantly want to have another crack at this event as I reckon I could crack out a sub 3hr 45..

Once again a big thanks to Anna and my family for rallying around and following me through my mad world, hope the flowers went a small way in repaying...... Thanks to my parents for having Lewis and taking him swimming.

Also thanks to Rory & Jen for putting on the event, Ultra running is growing and growing and what you are doing is bringing it to the masses......

Hope eveyone achived what they wanted from Day 2

Thanks for reading..

Round and round and round again!!!!!

Its been a while since I have posted, I have been very busy getting the miles in over the last 2 weeks almost 140miles.  I am really pleased about the way the training is going it included a 36miler this weekend over my favourite hill Bredon. I saw a fantastic sunrise on the summit, it is moments like that which makes the training all worth while and not feel like a slog all the time. I just wish I had a camera on me (note to self take a camera with me).

On Sunday Anna and I found ourselves in a very wet and windy Barry in Wales. We were there to lap score a track event called the Barry 40. This event is the oldest Ultra still going in the country and this year was its 25th year. The event demanded just short of 161 laps of an athletic track to achieve the required 40miles.

We were there to lap score for Rory & Jen, this event was being run by Jens running club, it was also the Welsh Ultra championships at the same time. So Jen was on home turf but she said before hand that she was treating it as a training run.

Rory as ever was there to get another marathon under his belt and had no intentions of running the 40 so for him it was a mere 105 laps plus a bit..

Anna was scoring for Rory and I had the task of scoring for Jen. We were given our score sheets and were told that we were required to write down the accumulative time each lap, but at the same time we needed to work out the individual lap times.

I must admit I was glad I had the opportunity to see an event like this first hand as I had always thought I might like to have a go at one of these events.

As the race progressed and I saw some of the athletes beating them selves up lap after lap after lap, I began to realise that this event is really not what I want right now, for me Ultras are all about the freedom and seeing places and witnessing views that you don't see on a daily basis. I knew then that achieving a time on a track event would always have its place in the sport for people but it was not for me.

Anyway back to the event the scoring to start with took some getting used to, but on the whole it was a fairly enjoyable event apart from the infernal cold and rain.

Well after scoring 105 and a bit laps Rory finished his marathon, and I think he was quite relieved to be getting off the track.

A while later the leader came through and finished in a crazy time of around 4hr 20mins ish for 40miles, very impressive. We were then privileged to witness 2 world records by a 77 year old he achieved the world records for 30miles and 50k for the over 75cat, It was awesome to witness this.

Then as the leading lady came in to finish narrowly missing out on 3rd place overall it was apparent that she had achieved a 9th best time in the world for 40miles.

Jen finished some 20 Min's later in a time of 5hr 9mins ish which was good enough to take the title of Ultra welsh champion. She had taken 10 Min's of her PB, so much for a training run.

I enjoyed my day by the track and listening to Rory's little anecdotes and general chit chat made it all the more amusing...

I must admit though the MacDonald's coffee we had after tasted fantastic even though I don't like there coffee, it was still better than my supposed coffee that I had made which ended up being just hot water as I forgot to put the coffee in the flask.....

It was a great day and seeing it from the other side, ie helping others to achieve there goals in a race is a great feeling.

Any back to the training again this week.......

back on the GUCR training regime

Well after my adventures on the Ultra 90 weekend, I had a fairly easy week regarding running, I managed 7 miles total.

Having said that though running a total mileage of 120miles the previous week I figured I did deserve it.

I must admit I did think that my feet would take more of battering than they did considering my previous experience with blisters. I only had 3 small toe blisters, although I did end up with 3 lifted toe nails, one which has subsequently fell off.

The following week I managed a few more miles bumping it up to around 35 miles for the week.

So this week I knew that I needed to start ramping it up if I am going to be in any kind of condition to be able to compete in the GUCR and finish in the time that I have set myself.

I started off well with a fast tempo run back from work on Tues night hitting around 7.45 minute miling for 8 miles.
I had planned a nice 12miler back to work in the morning but I could not get my lazy backside out of bed, so it was 7miles on the treadmill when I got home which ended up being another tempo. Its question of getting the job done as quick as possible on a treadmill for me.

Thursday was my planned 8 miler home again which was steady.

Then on to the weekend run - Sunday planned run of around 35miles.

I was up at 4.40pm having had a disturbed night, dealing with children waking up.
I got myself sorted and consumed a marmite bar, then it was out the door and on my way.

The first 6 miles to Broadway went very well although possibly a bit to quick, I quickly consumed a gel and carried on my way. I started seeing quite a bit of traffic on the road from Broadway to Hinton which is unusual at that time in the morning. I was stopped by a couple of cars asking me for directions to Evesham, which I thought was a bit odd as they were gong in the opposite direction. I crested the hill which overlooked the A46 and saw a lot of blue flashing lights. My first thought was I hope I can continue my run as all I wanted to do was cross over the road to the lane which led to Elmely Castle. As I approached I saw that the road had been closed but further up towards Evesham so my way was clear. (I later found out that a man had been found in the road with serious injuries apparently looks like a hit and run)

I carried on to Elmely where I tried my new food snack a marmite sandwich which tasted nice but was a bit hard to swallow. I carried on and soon found myself through the combertons and heading for Nafford. Here I went off road and ran round Birlingham (my old stomping ground) via the river for a few miles. As I came out of Birlingham I started feeling tired and my legs started to feel heavy no real aches as such just hard to put one foot in front of the other. I tried my other food snack a lemon curd sandwich which again tasted nice but was hard to swallow. It did make a difference for a while but I was soon struggling again I battled on to Pershore, by this time the rain was coming down heavier along with the wind which I had been battling with for the whole run. I thought this was probably the main reason I was really struggling. I got to a point on the way to cropthorne where I thought I can struggle on and finish this run but it might take a lot out of me and affect the runs I have planned for next week or I can call it now and be satisfied with a run that was at least 25miles....
It was a tough choice as I am very stubborn and when I set out to do something I usually finish it, but after weighing it up in my mind I figured a DNF on a training run was better than ultimately getting one in a race.

So I made a call to Anna to say I would be taking a while longer than I anticipated as I would be walking home from where I was. She kindly offered to pick me up which to be fair I was very relieved as once I had made the decision to quit, all I wanted to do was get home.

On reflection I think I know what went wrong, when I was unpacking my running pack I noticed that the bladder was still fairly full. I then realised I had only drunk around half a litre in around 4 hours which I think could have been one of the main reasons why I went down so fast.

This is a big mistake on my part as I am usually very good at hydration, hopefully lesson learnt.


Still 27.5miles was still ok, I also learnt that sandwiches while ok are not a replacement to malt loaf , rice pudding or cranberry flapjack..

The main lesson learnt is drink drink drink.........

I still achieved 50.5miles for the week, hopefully I can follow that up with another solid week this week coming....

Ultra Race 45/90 race report.

Going into an Ultra event which consists of over 90miles of running is not to be undertaken lightly.

So to go into the event nursing a slight ankle injury amounts to stupidity and a smattering of not knowing when you are beaten.

Having said that listening to other runners stories over this weekend, has given me the firm belief that I am certainly not alone in my way of thinking.

The weekend started on Friday night frantically getting kit sorted & packed along with ensuring that everything was sorted for the babysitters (my Mum & Dad) who were looking after the kids for the whole weekend.

We finally fell into bed exhausted.

DAY 1

 We were rudely awakened at 4.50am by the alarm then the madness started of breakfast, packing the car giving the last minute instructions to Mum & Dad (who had arrived at 5.15). We finally set off at 5.40am for the 65mile drive to the start line.

Once we had arrived I could relax and allow myself time to prepare myself mentally for the undertaking of the day. Anna however was still very nervous as she had kindly volunteered to man the checkpoints for the weekend.

We met up with Rory who soon reassured Anna and put her somewhat at ease, it was great to see Rory and Jen again and allow yourself to be absorbed once again into the whole Ultra experience. To be with over 100 people who actually think that what you do is quite normal and you are not looked upon as some sort of mad freak.

I had a bit of a reunion with Tom (who I had run a large part of the Cotswold Ultra with) he nearly fell over when I said I wanted to try for a sub 7hr for day one. To his credit though he quickly recovered and said that sounds like a plan.

So after the final preparations it was time for the usual team talk by Rory, he also informed us that the age range was from 19 through to 77 with over 100 starters which just goes to show the sport is growing.

Then it was to the start line and we were suddenly off, the start was like the start of a 10k people were sprinting off and Tom and myself were pulled along with the flow.

The pace was soon reined in and we settled into a pace which although was quick was manageable. We quickly negotiated the first 8 miles or so and soon found our selves leaving the canal were it goes through bilsworth tunnel. Then suddenly the first check point was upon us which is always a good mental boost. I assessed my pack and supplies and decided I did not require anything so once the number was taken it was ever onwards. We were soon back on to the banks of the canal, and settled into a rhythm that seemed to be working. The average pace was around 8.5 minute mileing, we all said was too quick but we still maintained it and did not seem to drop the pace more in keeping with the 9minute miling we had a agreed.

The section between checkpoint 1 & check point 2 is the longest section between check points of around 11 miles, we knew it was at bridge 76. This is almost like clock watching as you start counting bridges, which is then frustrating in itself as there are occasions certainly in built up areas where newer bridges have been built so they have the same number but with a letter suffix.

We soon came onto checkpoint 2 and knew that we had completed over 20miles. Anna was manning this checkpoint with Jen and she looked a lot happier now that Rory had put her right. The food on offer all looked good but Tom and myself opted for half a malt loaf each and a bottle of water. Jen informed us that we were only around 10 mins off the pace of the lead pack, not that this gave us any incentive to chase them down as we had are own game plan and we wanted to stick to it. We opted to walk for a couple of minutes so we could finish consuming the malt loaf, and then we were off running knowing that checkpoint 3 was only around 7 miles away. Tom and I had been running with another chap (never did get his name) from around 2 miles and somewhere in those 7 miles we seemed to loose him but we did not realise until it was too late. This seemed to have been the trait up to that point where we would be running with a group and then various people dropped off the pace, but interestingly apart from the first 2-3 miles we had not been passed by anyone.

Checkpoint 3 was reached and we adopted the same tactics of half a malt loaf each and we were quickly on our way. We caught and passed a few runners along this stretch who wished us well, we were still running strongly although we had now got our pacing under control and were now averaging 9min miling. With around 2 miles to go to check point 4 I started suffering a little my stomach was churning and my legs started to feel heavy, as if I was lacking in energy. I got to the check point, we were informed that we were in the top 10 which we had not realised, this gave us a mental boost.

I looked at the food at the checkpoint I realised then that I could not stomach any of the food on offer, in hind sight I should have grabbed something and carried it for when I felt I could eat it.

We left the check point and adopted the same policy of walking for a couple of mins to consume food although I had none to consume.

When it came to running again I knew I was in trouble I could not keep a rhythm and every step I took I had to force as there was no energy left in my legs. This is where the mind over matter kicks in you think to yourself it is less than 10miles to the end which is not a lot in relation to the race as whole. But when you are faced with that situation it could be a million miles away, the distance is incomprehendable in your mind, you just know it’s a long way to get to the finish.

To Tom’s credit he stuck with me but I think he was quite enjoying the slower pace. We were caught by one of the runners we had passed earlier and he said he was struggling as well so he ran with us. With around 4 miles to go we were caught and passed by another runner (Simon) who wished us luck and sped off into the distance.

With around a mile to the finish (by this time the chap we were running with had made a break) I said to Tom if you want to make a break for the line go don’t let me hold you up, fair play he kicked and soon caught and passed the runner in front. I walked for a bit crossed the canal at the penultimate bridge and then started running. I then saw bridge 135 which was the bridge were we were to get off the canal and run to the hotel and the finish line. I thought this is it I can run to the end now so I went for it, I got to the end after a little confusion as to the right building (the confusion being all mine). To be greeted by Rory at the end with medal in hand which he then gave to Anna to hang round my neck which was a great feeling. Then I took stock of my surroundings and saw Jen and Tom there as well, you get that great sense of achievement of what you have just accomplished. My time was 7hr 29mins and I was told I had got 9^th place (Which I have since found out was in fact 11^th place).

Taking stock of Day 1 though going for a sub 7hr time requires you being injury free and also having been able to do training runs above 20miles in the last 7 weeks would have been helpful. I think on reflection if I had of had those 2 elements I have no doubt I could have got a sub 7 because I was comfortable with the 8.30 pacing we were doing  up to around the 30 mile mark so all in all I was extremely chuffed with my achievement.

I spoke with Anna who by this time was really relaxed about the whole experience and was really enjoying it, which I was pleased about as I had kind’ a dragged her into it and I would have felt guilty if she was not enjoying it.

After a shower and stretch it was out to help Rory & Jen in any way I could even if it was just support, after all they were freezing sat outside once it had gone dark. I did manage to see the oldest competitor come in at 77; I was impressed at how fresh he looked.

Then it was to the bar for some well earned food, reality hit a bit then that I had to go and do the whole thing again tomorrow and on tired legs.

Oh well it was off to bed and get some well earned sleep…….

Day2

We had a lie in this morning compared to yesterday the alarm woke us at 6.10am. I got up and had a great runner’s breakfast; I was tempted by a full English but did not fancy it repeating on me.

We packed up the room and I made the last minute checks and alterations to my running kit (most of it had been sorted the night before). Then it was pack the car up and then chill in the registration room and chat with fellow runners. There were certainly a lot less runners around this morning, Jen said that a few had dropped out overnight after sleeping on it. So the total starters for Day 2 were just over 40.

Rory again assembled us for the pre talk and informed us of a detour which again should be easy to navigate. Then it was to the start line and suddenly we were off, the pace was certainly a lot slower this morning although a few did go storming off.

Tom had met up with a couple of friends he knew and we were running with them to start with, one was Harry who was the youngest competitor at 19. After around a mile though there youthful enthusiasm had got the better of me and I upped my pace a bit to see if they would either calm down or they might not stick the faster pace. As I thought they did not stick the pace, I felt a bit guilty for doing it but I could not stick the inane babble of a 19year old for 45miles. Tom opted to follow me and we settled down to a comfortable 10minute miling pace.

My legs although slightly stiff were not as bad as I thought they would be. We kept the pace all the way to the first check point, I did start to feel generally a bit rubbish about half a mile before the check point, so I did not get any food Tom decided to take some water on board so I decided to carry on walking and let him catch up. Anna was at the checkpoint and later she told me that I was not looking very good and she was a bit worried.

Tom soon caught me up and we started running again, I was still not feeling right but battled on. After around 3 miles of running I felt a lot better and after consuming a marmite bar which I was carrying with me we cracked on. We came across the detour and negotiated this with no trouble and was soon back on the canal. It was then that we started getting passed by a few of the runners. This can be a fairly demoralising experience especially that early in the race and knowing that you have no response in your legs. I decided that I can’t let this affect me hopefully I would feel better further into the race, at no point did I ever consider quitting. We knew we were approaching check point 2 we were just not quite sure which bridge it was at, we thought we were at it but it did not materialise and mentally that was tough so we walked only to find it was the next bridge along.

So check point 2 was reached dutifully manned by Anna who said that I looked a lot better. I got some water down and decided to try a cranberry flapjack, which I carried and ate as we walked away from the check point.

I had a bit of tussel with a swan at one point that was standing on the canal path, I went to go round it the one wat and it decided to go the same way, it almost took me into the canal, pesky birds.

We were passed by some more runners but thought so what and we carried on, we had by this time adopted a policy of running until either Tom or I called it and said walk from the bridge. There was never any complaint from either of us to say no carry on running it was always a welcome break.

This method seemed to get us through to check point 3 where more flapjacks was grabbed and we carried on, knowing that the next part was going to be the real slog. 11 miles to check point 4, but once reached it would be single figures to the end.

The same method we had been using carried on for a while and we even managed to pick up a chap that had passed us earlier in the day, he latched on to us and ran walked with us for a while. We were then passed by a lady who had adopted a style were she ran a quicker pace than we were doing then she would walk, but our walking pace was quicker than hers. So for the next 3 miles or so we played a cat and mouse game with her. By this time though I was at a stage where the pelvic sockets were hurting when I walked and I was finding it easier to just keep running.

During one of the walking sessions the chap we were running with told us when there was around 15 miles to go to the end, this seemed to spur me on because when we started running next I just ran and ran having not heard a call to walk for a while I looked round and realised that I had dropped Tom and the other chap.

At that point I thought I should wait for them but then selfishly possibly I am in a groove now and I don’t want to stop running so I carried on determined to get to check point 4.

I was still playing cat and mouse with the lady in red as I had named her due to her red coloured running coat (very original), after a lot of running I saw Bilsworth tunnel and the path up to check point 4 it was a steep woodland path. At this stage I did not care I was going to run it if it was a mountain, so off I set. Towards the end of the path I came across another runner walking and as I passed him I saw the checkpoint.

It was Rory’s son manning it I garbled something at him downed a bottle of water and grabbed a handful of sweets and I was off, the spur of knowing that I had 9 miles to go was enough.

The lady in red caught me just before we turned back onto the canal the other side of the tunnel and when we got back onto the canal she stayed on my shoulder. After a while I heard her watch beep and immediately she started walking, I then realised that her run walk policy was being driven mechanically by her watch. It got me thinking then as I ran along which is the most beneficial a watch that tells you when to take walk breaks or listening to your body and putting in the walk breaks when you think you need them. Both methods have pros and cons and I guess you need to go with what works for you. For me it’s listening to the body all the way. I could not believe I was having an in depth thought process and weighing up the pros and cons of something when I had run over 80 miles.

Anyway back to the race I was feeling really good and I knew I could run the whole way now. I quickly left the lady in red behind as she walked and I continued to run. I safely negotiated the last place where you can go wrong (i.e. end up heading off to Birmingham instead of Northampton).

In the distance I saw a runner and I quickly caught him it was David Miles, I walked / ran with him for a while and chatted with him about his experience of the JOGLE. I am totally in awe of the 3 fellows who completed this challenge. It was a privilege to share some running with this man all be it short as the urge to finish was too strong.

I carried on my relentless surge to the finish I saw another couple of runners in the distance, I caught them and passed them, I never know what to say when I pass people sometimes I almost feel embarrassed but you have to think of yourselves at times like that and almost become selfish to your needs after all it is a race.

The run machine carried on and I quickly tracked down another runner and when I passed her I asked if she knew how much further there was to go, to which she replied just over 3 miles. This gave me another massive mental boost and I surged forward once more, I could almost smell the finish it was that close.

Then suddenly I saw a sign saying Northampton lock ¾ mile and I assumed that this must be the end lock as I knew that we came off at the end of this part of the canal.

When the end of the canal was clearly in sight, I still did not quite believe it I had been following a canal for pretty much 90 miles for the last 2 days it was a bit emotional knowing that this was the last bit of the canal I would see for this particular race.

I turned on to the road hoping that the good people of Northampton had not pulled or ripped off the UR signs showing me the way home.

I followed the signs and when I saw the hill I knew the end was close as my good friend Tom had said he had sprinted this section last year, so I thought why not I will do the same. I then saw a runner ahead and I thought why not let’s take one more before the end only to find when we got to the top of the hill and I had just caught him he peeled off and got his keys out to the door of his flat.

Hey ho I didn’t care by then I was running to the end. When I crossed the finish line it felt a bit of dejavu there was Rory to greet you with another well earned medal and Anna taking the time down and Jen sat behind her computer updating the results page.

My finish was 9^th a real 9^th this time in 8hr 24mins.

I was totally elated to have completed the weekend at the start of the weekend I thought I would be able to complete day 1 and depending on my ankle I might be able to finish Day 2. Having said that having decided to start Day 2 I was not having a DNF against my name.

I was told that I could have a shower so I found the place and when I sat down first I realised I had no towel and also I hadn’t any energy to even have one. So I just changed and then went to the bar for a well earned pint of coke and a packet of salt and vinegar crisps.

While I was chatting to Simon, Tom staggered in, I made my apologies but he was cool as I figured he would be. We chatted about our achievements and then I made my excuses and said I need to get home.

I went to find Anna who was still dutifully taking the times down, I think she really enjoyed the weekend which was a huge bonus for me.

Saying goodbye to Rory and Jen was tough as they are such an inspirational couple, and such great fun to be around.

I have to say they do an absolutely fantastic job organising these events and a massive thank you must go to them, and you can clearly see they get immense satisfaction seeing people achieve their ambitions.

A great big thank you to Anna for sharing the weekend with me although secretly she enjoyed herself immensely (and I believe that Rory has booked her for the London Ultra).

A massive thank you must go to my parents for looking after our clan of children for the whole weekend without their support the weekend would not have been possible, there was even a lovely roast chicken meal waiting for us when we got home.

All I can say is this has really kick started my year, in terms of ultra running this is my big year and I am really looking forward to the challenges ahead......

Thanks for reading.......................

The Training (or lack of) is in the bag

Well another 2 runs and a very slow jog/walk this week has seen me on my feet for 24 miles.

The important thing is my ankle has been injury free for the last 4 sessions so I am hoping this is a good sign for this weekends ultra.

Its going to be a tough challenge 45 miles sat and then 45 miles on sun.

Although my training has been very limited for the last 6 weeks. My training up to that point was good with an average of 50miles a week for the 12 weeks prior to the injury. My total mileage for the year was just short of 2000miles so my base training is good and providing my ankle holds up I have no fear of finishing the weekend.

If my training had of gone to plan then my race strategy would have been for a sub 7hr run on Sat and a sub 8hr run on Sun.

Now the plan is to finish both days..

I am looking forward to it now.

The race report will follow.............................

First post of the year.

Well the first 2 weeks of the new year has passed by in a whirlwind.... Could do with holiday...!!!!!

My running has been very mixed for the last 2 weeks as it has for the last 6 weeks due to my pesky Achilles injury.

My runs started as always on new years day (it is a tradition now that I have to get out before midday and run at least 6 miles). We were invited to a buffet lunch at Anna's sister, so I decided to run there and have a shower and change at her house.

The new years day run is always about getting out there and making a statement about my intentions to run for the year. It is never likely to be a record breaking run so I don't take my watch and I don't really know the distance I have run. This year I started with a headache and due to running 26 miles in the last 2 days of 2010 my ankle started to ache within a couple of miles of the run. However as I continued to run my headache disappeared but my ankle was still aching which gave me some concern as my thoughts were in 21 days was my first Ultra of the year.
I finished the run of around 10 miles give or take half a mile, I then realised that in all the times I had visited Anna's sister I did not realise that she did not have a shower and my legs were fairly muddy, but hey ho its not the first time I had to make do with a strip wash. The lunch tasted all the better for the run I had just completed.

Over the last 2 weeks I have completed several runs every one of them has finished regardless of the distance with my ankle aching. So you can understand my concern about how I am going to complete 2 45miles days next week.

However this Tuesday I read an article posted on a running forum I use by another fellow Ultra runner, he had written about Achilles injuries. Without going into the full details the gist of it was that you don't stop running with a minor Achilles injury. If you do rest it then scar tissue can build up and this can hinder or potentially worse be a career stopping injury. Anyway the article went on to explain some strengthening exercises.
I have been doing these all this week, it made no difference for my Thursday runs I still had the dull ache.

However I have just come back from a 12 mile run this evening and I can honestly say that I have had no tweaks or aches for the whole run.. I have also been shovelling Ibuprofen down my throat like sweets, but I have not had any for over 24 hours, so with out tempting fate maybe I have turned a corner...

I have a longish run to do on Tuesday so that will be the telling run......

Having said all that regardless of how it goes I will be attending the race as the ache does not stop me running its just a hindrance although it might prove difficult for day 2....

More on Tuesday........ 

Time for reflection

Well as this year disappears into the fog and the New Year appears on the horizon, it is time to reflect on how the year has gone, and lay the plans for the New Year.

Well this year has certainly seen some highs and lows in my running.....

 

My Running highs:-

The main high for me was achieving a sub 24hr finish on my first ever 100 mile Ultra.

Meeting some fantastic and inspirational people in the World of Ultra, both in the flesh and through the power of the internet.

Getting one of the sought after lottery places in the GUCR 2011.

Running a total of 1918miles in racing & training this year, the most miles I have run in 1 single year to date (giving me a lifetime mileage to date of: 16518)

As a result of my increased mileage I have lost a total of 2 stone over the year which is a great bonus.

A surprising half marathon PB in May, when I was in the midst of long Ultra training.

On a really positive note I have spent most of December nursing a achillies heel  injury.  Since Christmas day I have tested it with 2 treadmill runs of 7miles which went well so today I ran 19.75 miles to give the heel a real test. Although the ankle did have a dull ache at the end it held up surprisingly well so hopefully my Ultra planned in January is still on.......

 

My Running Lows:-

Having severely blistered feet after my 100mile ultra, so severe that the skin literally peeled off leaving me unable to run for around a month.

This meant I could not run my local 10K run.

Not having any Ultra’s booked up after the 100miler so subsequently having no focus. (I tried booking some up after but found that the ones I wanted to enter were all booked up.

So having looked at my highs and lows what have I learnt from this year well.......

I need to have better foot management in long races...

I need to prepare a year’s worth of Ultra’s in advance in order to get into the one’s I want to run.

I need to learn the art of map reading whilst in a race situation, this has put me off entering some potentially fantastic races as I think this is a major weak area in my running.

Following on from the previous point I want to do more trail running this year; I think the mix this year for me has been 70% road 30% Trail. I would like to change that to around 50 / 50 for next year....

So my Ultra plans for next year so far:-

Ultra race 45/90 – Jan 22^nd / 23^rd   (both days)

GUCR  145mile - May 28th (Booked)

Cotswold Ultra 100 – June 24^th

Ultra peak 40 miles – Aug 21st

Nottingham Ultra 50km - Oct  

Ceaser’s camp 100miles – Oct (not sure if it clashes with above)

There will also possibly be a couple of marathons, half’s & 10k’s thrown in for good measure

So here is wishing everyone who reads this a very happy new year.

Thank you for taking the time to read this blog & I hope I can keep your interest in the coming new year ..!!!