2010
Round round Rotherham
03/12/10 16:16
Running round Rotherham. It conjures an image of dodging shopping trolleys and chavs. The reality is far more pleasant, although it does have its moments (mainly around Meadowhell).
I ran this for the first time in 2008. The second of two epic years of bad weather, with driving rain, temperatures barely above zero and deep, sticky mud. I plodded my way round in 12.4something.
In 2009 the new October date brought sunny weather and firm fields. And off the back of CCC training I had my best run to date cruising around in 10.29, finishing 10th woman, in the company of much faster runners.
In contrast by October this year I was slightly battered and running on empty. However I didn’t expect to struggle quite as much as I did in the first half. As usual most of the field disappeared into the distance at the start at high speed.
However catching (at least some of) them up again like usual didn’t happen. The expensive anti-blisters socks I bought from the US after the Heart of Scotland 105, turned out to be slightly too big and caused blisters. And my usually robust stomach rebelled, leading to a ‘regurgitating a biscuit in a bush’ incident at 20 miles. I told myself I had to get to at least 30 miles before dropping out, and plodded on.
Eventually I started feeling alright, and with any time goals discarded enjoyed chatting to some familiar faces. My appetite finally returned and at the final checkpoint I grabbed two handfuls of biscuits and headed off, determined to finally drop the group I’d been going back and forth with for most of the day (they were moving faster, but lingering at checkpoints). And I would have done if my brain hadn’t failed on me. Close to the finish the route was marked with tape. And on automatic I followed the tape down a narrow path overgrown with brambles. I eventually realised that there was no way 100+ runners had been through before me, but convinced myself it was best to keep going, until I reached a dead end with a 3 metre metal fence... Back tracking I reached the finish in 11.4something, just after the group. The fact the bloke behind me in the post-race food queue (wearing a Lakeland 100 top) had made the same mistake cheered me up slightly.
2010: a year of two halves
03/12/10 16:15
January
2010 started in style, with a crossing of the Cho La pass. At least I think it did. I was definitely somewhere in the midst of a fantastic 3 week trekking holiday in Nepal: up the Gokyo valley to Gokyo Ri, over the Cho La pass and on to Kala Pattar and Everest base camp. Arrived home to a snowy Britain with bags of energy, and a niggling achilles injury miraculously fixed. (Curing injury with inappropriate activities-a story for another day...)
February
Can’t remember much about this month. Lots of work and getting myself into shape ready for:
March
My 3rd go at the 32 mile Wuthering Hike (aka the Haworth Hobble), taking half an hour off my previous best time. Followed a week later by the Hardmoors 55. Miserable weather. A third of the field dropped out. I was on my own from 20-50 miles, but I loved it. Even (especially?) when the clouds lifted and Roseberry Topping appeared in the distance.
April
Back to the 36 miles Calderdale Hike for the 2nd time, and a 45 minute PB (thanks to knowing the route and a bit less chatting on the way round).
May
A 2nd go at Fellsman. The peat bogs were remarkably dry, leading to another big (1.5 hour) PB. And on to my main goal for the year: the Heart of Scotland 105, my first hundred. I never felt great. My feet were hurting by 20 miles. And (unusually for me) they were badly blistered by the breakfast stop at 60. I was plodding along OK though, and on course to hit my 32-33 hour target, until the blistersacross balls of both my feet burst at 75 miles. The final 30 miles took nearly 15 miles, and I hobbled to the finish in 35.5 hours.
June
The blisters (and assorted induced niggles) took a couple of weeks to heal. Time for a couple of runs, in preparation for:
July
My 2nd go at the Osmotherley Phoenix. Last year (despite a sprint finish) I finished in 8 hours dead. This year with the 100 still in my legs, I plodded round without a thought of the time. Until at the top of the last big hill the bloke I was running with made a (joking?) comment about breaking 8 hours. Spurred into action, I ran ‘flat out’ (i.e. about 9 minute miles...) for the last few miles. And made it with a couple of minutes to spare, for my final PB of the year.
August
Not the best month. A painful altercation with a sea urchin, an ironman with no training, a sore knee and my first ultra DNF. The highlight of the month was appearing in Fellrunner placed third in the early season UK Ultra Running championship rankings. One place behind Sarah Rowell, former British marathon record holder and Olympian.
This was a bit like some crap newly promoted team being third in the first premiership league table thanks to having played 2 more games than everyone else...
September
The knee recovered enough for a slow plod around the High Peak 40.
October
Followed by a slow plod around the Round Rotherham 50.
November
Lots of work and not much time or energy for running. On the plus side this allowed my knee to recover properly.
December
Snow! Long slow runs through snowy fields and forests brought a temporary return of my running mojo. Followed by a stinking cold which ruined my “get back into shape with long runs in the Peak District over Christmas” plans.
2010 started in style, with a crossing of the Cho La pass. At least I think it did. I was definitely somewhere in the midst of a fantastic 3 week trekking holiday in Nepal: up the Gokyo valley to Gokyo Ri, over the Cho La pass and on to Kala Pattar and Everest base camp. Arrived home to a snowy Britain with bags of energy, and a niggling achilles injury miraculously fixed. (Curing injury with inappropriate activities-a story for another day...)
February
Can’t remember much about this month. Lots of work and getting myself into shape ready for:
March
My 3rd go at the 32 mile Wuthering Hike (aka the Haworth Hobble), taking half an hour off my previous best time. Followed a week later by the Hardmoors 55. Miserable weather. A third of the field dropped out. I was on my own from 20-50 miles, but I loved it. Even (especially?) when the clouds lifted and Roseberry Topping appeared in the distance.
April
Back to the 36 miles Calderdale Hike for the 2nd time, and a 45 minute PB (thanks to knowing the route and a bit less chatting on the way round).
May
A 2nd go at Fellsman. The peat bogs were remarkably dry, leading to another big (1.5 hour) PB. And on to my main goal for the year: the Heart of Scotland 105, my first hundred. I never felt great. My feet were hurting by 20 miles. And (unusually for me) they were badly blistered by the breakfast stop at 60. I was plodding along OK though, and on course to hit my 32-33 hour target, until the blistersacross balls of both my feet burst at 75 miles. The final 30 miles took nearly 15 miles, and I hobbled to the finish in 35.5 hours.
June
The blisters (and assorted induced niggles) took a couple of weeks to heal. Time for a couple of runs, in preparation for:
July
My 2nd go at the Osmotherley Phoenix. Last year (despite a sprint finish) I finished in 8 hours dead. This year with the 100 still in my legs, I plodded round without a thought of the time. Until at the top of the last big hill the bloke I was running with made a (joking?) comment about breaking 8 hours. Spurred into action, I ran ‘flat out’ (i.e. about 9 minute miles...) for the last few miles. And made it with a couple of minutes to spare, for my final PB of the year.
August
Not the best month. A painful altercation with a sea urchin, an ironman with no training, a sore knee and my first ultra DNF. The highlight of the month was appearing in Fellrunner placed third in the early season UK Ultra Running championship rankings. One place behind Sarah Rowell, former British marathon record holder and Olympian.
This was a bit like some crap newly promoted team being third in the first premiership league table thanks to having played 2 more games than everyone else...
September
The knee recovered enough for a slow plod around the High Peak 40.
October
Followed by a slow plod around the Round Rotherham 50.
November
Lots of work and not much time or energy for running. On the plus side this allowed my knee to recover properly.
December
Snow! Long slow runs through snowy fields and forests brought a temporary return of my running mojo. Followed by a stinking cold which ruined my “get back into shape with long runs in the Peak District over Christmas” plans.
High Peak 40 (more snot, less medals)
19/09/10 16:17
Last year I plodded around the High Peak 40 towards the back of the field (as usual...). So I was a bit surprised when an envelope containing a medal and a slip of paper saying ‘2nd senior woman’ arrived in the post a few days later (the prize giving was long since done and dusted by the time I finished). Surely some mistake! There were loads of women in front of me, I thought. Better check the results and then send the medal back to the organisers so they can send it to it’s rightful owner. So I checked the results. And there were loads of women in front of me, 11 to be precise. However all but 1 of them were over 40 and hence classed as veterans (and in one case over 50 and a ‘super-veteran’). Therefore I was indeed the 2nd senior woman (out of 6, not 2!).
So on to 2010. As part of the run-further series the HP40 was on my ‘to do’ list from the start of the year. The dodgy knee was starting to recover, but a pre-fresher’s-week cold arrived mid week. Since the peak district is on the door-step, I decided to stuff my rucksack with tissues, jog to the first check-point and see how I felt. The first 20 miles or so were in fact great fun. Starting even slower than usual meant I began catching people sooner than usual, and running along the ridge between Edale and Castleton past the tourists and walkers put a big grin on my face.
My knees weren’t too happy with the desent into Castelton, but having sacrificed grip for cushioning in my shoe choice it was ‘ooh’ rather than ‘arrgh’. And then ‘arrgh’ as I slipped my way up damp, rocky Cave Dale (mantra: ‘down would be worse than up’). Across the exposed fields at the top it got chilly and I wished I had some gloves (last year in blazing sunshine I carried waterproof trousers, hat and gloves round...). Last year I struggled up Deep Dale 1 and the never ending, gently rising, road from hell, but didn’t get the fuss about Deep Dale 2 (a steep sided ravine that appears at the last moment in the middle of an innocuous looking field). This year Deep Dale 2 fought back and I slid most of the way down on all fours, non-vibram soles no match for slippery rocks.
The last couple of miles were a bit of a struggle, and the bloke who left the last check-point just before me left me for dead. But I managed a 10 minute mile ‘sprint finish’ to squeak in in just under 10 hours, 16 minutes slower than last year. In the knee/cold circumstances I’m reasonably happy with that. But with my Garmin giving a total distance of 41 miles, up until close to the end I’d been half hoping I might somehow manage to just beat last year’s time.
Ridgeway 85: knee stops play
05/09/10 01:19
My first ultra DNF.... After ~30 miles my slightly sore post Outlaw knee became very painful. I might have been able to make it to the finish, but it would’ve been slow, painful and not much fun. So I decided to DNF at checkpoint 4 while it was still early enough to find a bed for the night (thanks to the other half....), and hopefully save my knee for another day (High Peak 40 and Round Rotherham).
The Ridgeway was a last minute addition to my plans. After the Heart of Scotland 100 (where my feet blistered badly and it took me nearly 15 hours to hobble the last 30 miles...) I wanted to get in another long ultra this year.
I’d recovered fine from the Outlaw tri, and done a couple of ~10 mile runs in the Peak District. My knees, in particular the right one, still weren’t quite right though. So I knew that DNFing was a possibility.
The Ridgeway has two starts, 10am and midday for people expecting to take more or less than 24 hours. I was guessing it’d take me roughly 24 hours, so I went for the late start so I could travel down on the day.
The journey to the start at Ivinghoe Beacon went pretty smoothly. I got a cheap advance train ticket via London and the organisers arranged pick ups from Tring station. Not trusting British trains, I was there with plenty of time to spare. This was fine in the sunny weather but waiting in the car park wouldn’t have been much fun if the weather was bad.
The start was low key even by ultra standards (‘off you go then’ ). As usual everyone charged off into the distance at high speed. I’d planned on running at 4.5 mph up until dark, which would get me through the first few check points with ~15 minutes to spare. Despite actually averaging 5mph for the first hour I was right at the back of the field. I thought I was actually last, but there were in fact a few people behind me (I guess from having got lost). The Ridgeway is marked. Having (almost...) got to grips with navigating over the past couple of years I was actually missing having to do it. Having a map to hand, and following it, did help though.
There were some nice small hills in the first few miles, and again after the first checkpoint. The golf courses and bridleways made me pine for peat bog and big hills, but my legs were feeling OKish and I was enjoying myself. Especially once I started over-taking people.
Then out of the blue, a couple of miles before checkpoint 4, my sore knee became downright painful. Time to make a decision. I was tempted to push on to checkpoint 5 at Goring and see if it got better. But by then it would be ~10pm (or even 11 if it got worse) leaving me stranded with nowhere to stay. So common sense prevailed and I stopped at checkpoint 4.
The problem now was working out how to get home, or failing that somewhere to sleep. A quick phonecall to the other half revealed that getting home was impossible so we rang-off so he could find me somewhere to stay. (Note to self: in future carry your iPhone rather than your crappy old phone so you can do this yourself). However we hadn’t realised it was the Reading festival weekend...... Eventually he found me a room in a Travelodge in Reading, for £115! The next challenge: getting to Reading. Fortunately it turned out that the couple running the checkpoint lived in Reading and they kindly dropped me off at the Travelodge once they’d closed the checkpoint.
I was surprised at how un-disappointed (is that a word?) I was at dropping out, even as I sat in the camper van at the checkpoint, watching other runners come through. The next morning I woke up feeling fine and started second guessing the decision. But the pain in my knee flared up again walking to the station, confirming I’d done the right thing.
The journey home was a pain. Reading station was full of festival go-ers buying tickets for the next day and/or killing time. Which made me feel very old (when did denim shorts and wellies become a festival uniform?). Various trains weren’t running (engineering works on a bank holiday weekend, great idea!) so I ended up having to change twice and standing for a chunk of the journey. But eventually I got home. And was cheered up by an unexpected cheque arrived in the post which’ll cover the travelodge.
Would I do it again? Probably not, given all the great events closer to home. The logistics of a point to point route ‘dahn sath’ are a bit of a hassle. And while the Ridgeway’s got a reputation for being hilly, there’s a lot of pretty boring, more or less straight trails, through woods (in the first 30 miles which I saw at least....). Having said that it’s a well organised event and if you like trails rather than fells I’d definitely recommend it.
The Ridgeway was a last minute addition to my plans. After the Heart of Scotland 100 (where my feet blistered badly and it took me nearly 15 hours to hobble the last 30 miles...) I wanted to get in another long ultra this year.
I’d recovered fine from the Outlaw tri, and done a couple of ~10 mile runs in the Peak District. My knees, in particular the right one, still weren’t quite right though. So I knew that DNFing was a possibility.
The Ridgeway has two starts, 10am and midday for people expecting to take more or less than 24 hours. I was guessing it’d take me roughly 24 hours, so I went for the late start so I could travel down on the day.
The journey to the start at Ivinghoe Beacon went pretty smoothly. I got a cheap advance train ticket via London and the organisers arranged pick ups from Tring station. Not trusting British trains, I was there with plenty of time to spare. This was fine in the sunny weather but waiting in the car park wouldn’t have been much fun if the weather was bad.
The start was low key even by ultra standards (‘off you go then’ ). As usual everyone charged off into the distance at high speed. I’d planned on running at 4.5 mph up until dark, which would get me through the first few check points with ~15 minutes to spare. Despite actually averaging 5mph for the first hour I was right at the back of the field. I thought I was actually last, but there were in fact a few people behind me (I guess from having got lost). The Ridgeway is marked. Having (almost...) got to grips with navigating over the past couple of years I was actually missing having to do it. Having a map to hand, and following it, did help though.
There were some nice small hills in the first few miles, and again after the first checkpoint. The golf courses and bridleways made me pine for peat bog and big hills, but my legs were feeling OKish and I was enjoying myself. Especially once I started over-taking people.
Then out of the blue, a couple of miles before checkpoint 4, my sore knee became downright painful. Time to make a decision. I was tempted to push on to checkpoint 5 at Goring and see if it got better. But by then it would be ~10pm (or even 11 if it got worse) leaving me stranded with nowhere to stay. So common sense prevailed and I stopped at checkpoint 4.
The problem now was working out how to get home, or failing that somewhere to sleep. A quick phonecall to the other half revealed that getting home was impossible so we rang-off so he could find me somewhere to stay. (Note to self: in future carry your iPhone rather than your crappy old phone so you can do this yourself). However we hadn’t realised it was the Reading festival weekend...... Eventually he found me a room in a Travelodge in Reading, for £115! The next challenge: getting to Reading. Fortunately it turned out that the couple running the checkpoint lived in Reading and they kindly dropped me off at the Travelodge once they’d closed the checkpoint.
I was surprised at how un-disappointed (is that a word?) I was at dropping out, even as I sat in the camper van at the checkpoint, watching other runners come through. The next morning I woke up feeling fine and started second guessing the decision. But the pain in my knee flared up again walking to the station, confirming I’d done the right thing.
The journey home was a pain. Reading station was full of festival go-ers buying tickets for the next day and/or killing time. Which made me feel very old (when did denim shorts and wellies become a festival uniform?). Various trains weren’t running (engineering works on a bank holiday weekend, great idea!) so I ended up having to change twice and standing for a chunk of the journey. But eventually I got home. And was cheered up by an unexpected cheque arrived in the post which’ll cover the travelodge.
Would I do it again? Probably not, given all the great events closer to home. The logistics of a point to point route ‘dahn sath’ are a bit of a hassle. And while the Ridgeway’s got a reputation for being hilly, there’s a lot of pretty boring, more or less straight trails, through woods (in the first 30 miles which I saw at least....). Having said that it’s a well organised event and if you like trails rather than fells I’d definitely recommend it.
A tale of two Ironmen
11/08/10 16:19
(or, strictly speaking, an Ironman and an Outlaw)
How to do an Ironman:
Training
- Lots! (up to 15 hours a week, including monthly 100 mile bike rides)
- Test and organise your kit with military precision.
Race day
- Take it easy.
- Ride at a steady pace and start over-taking people on the final lap of the bike.
- Run almost the whole marathon, overtake lots of people and get within 20 minutes of your marathon PB.
- Finish an hour faster than your pre-race ‘best case’.
Ironman 2007 Result: 13.39 (1:18, 7:22, 4:39)
How not to do an Ironman:
Training
- Injure your Achilles tendon running the Round Rotherham 50.
- Do nothing for several months.
- Get a bit carried away and run 5 ultras in 11 weeks....... culminating in 105 miles where you loose the skin off the balls of your feet (and several toes) and render yourself incapable of doing anything for a fortnight.
- Two months beforehand, do first ‘long’ (> 15 mile....) bike ride, get very sore bum.
- Do another ultra, fall over, land on your knee.
- Go on a (no training) holiday for a fortnight.
- Get attacked by a sea urchin. Spend next ten days removing spikes from your foot.
- Start proper bike training a fortnight before the race, including your two longest rides (64 and 80 miles).
Race day
- Wear men’s cycling shoes which don’t fit properly because you hate pastel coloured women’s shoes.
- When your bum/feet/knee/.... starts hurting 28 miles into the bike, speed up to get the pain over with quicker.
- Finish the bike with an average speed 1 mph faster than your fastest short training ride
- Come out of T2 20+ minutes up on previous best time (and entertain brief delusions of a PB....).
- Realise you’ve left your legs on the bike.
- Feel sick. The gel mix in your camelbak has fermented. Switch to oranges and crisps for fuel.
- Watch average speed slip from 11 to 13 minute miles. Decide power walking would be easier and not much slower.
- Set marathon personal worst.
Outlaw 2010 Result: 14:36 (1:22, 7:01, 5:58....)
Conclusion:
It is possible to finish an Iron distance triathlon on virtually no bike training (and, if offered it beforehand, I’d have been happy with a sub 15 hour time).
However it’s not very satisfying. Especially if you hammer the bike and nearly end up with bike and run splits which start with the same digit. Swim training, on the other hand, is very over-rated.
Would I do it again? No. At least not another single iron-distance race with (virtually) no training. I do quite fancy having a go at a double (or triple? or deca???) ironman in the future though....