OK that`s a little bit of a lie, I am still focusing on ultras but figure its about time I start listening to the advice I give other people, build up a strong foundation before moving on.
I have been (very) roughly following a 100 mile training plan since the beginning of March which is starting to get a little tasty on a Saturday morning, seeing me attempting runs of up to 20 miles.
This week the "plan" said I needed a 25....well whats another 1.2 miles between friends?!
Fast forward to Saturday 25th May 2019
After finally accepting that I was not going to manage to get a full nights sleep in 7 minutes, I rolled out of bed and turned the alarm clock off.
3:50am - Groggy Ninja mode activated - I tiptoed my very tired butt towards the bathroom in stealth mode. Waking up my wife at this time in the morning would be....."good luck with your race".....apparently unavoidable. Fortunately she immediately fell back to sleep as I thanked her and left the room.
After successfully managing to brush my teeth without removing an eyeball I moved into the living room where I had littered the floor with today's intended running gear.
All the normal gear was there, shorts, T-shirt, watch, hat, injinji socks, ultimate direction running vest and a really knackered pair of Luna sandals.......yep, I`m still in sandals.
My plan for fuel today is to use some Huel from around 1:30 hours, see how I feel and then pick off of the aid station later on. I`ve been using Huel as my breakfast and lunch at work now since around September, I have to say, it really works for me. So much so that I`ve been trialing it as training food as well over the last month.
After pottering around for a little bit doing the normal pre race rituals, you know the ones, pack the bag, unpack the bag, put the socks on, doubt the socks and take them off, put them back on again....or shenanigans to that effect, it was time to head outside for my ride to the event.
5am - Like clockwork, cue Mummysaurus.
That`s right blog fans your favourite support crew member is back for another classic Cardiosaurus/Mummysaurus mess around!
The sat nav was primed and ready to go, the birds were wondering why the hell we were awake before they were, that can only mean one thing....its race day!
Just a little over an hour later we pulled up at a locked gate and consulted the race instructions again. I can confirm that yes indeed, not all sat navs can find the entrance to Jeskyns Park.
A couple of minutes further down the road we pull into the car park and head towards a gazebo. I figured it was a fairly safe assumption at just gone 6am on a Saturday morning that this gazebo was the right one. We were greeted by a very cheery man in an awesome Spongebob Squarepants running top who directed us to a parking space.
Under the gazebo was Rachel who was working away getting registration ready for this mornings fun. I made the most of our early arrival by visiting the portable facilities which I have to say, I was most impressed with as they had foot pumps on the floor for both the toilet and the sink so you didn't have to touch anything! Luxury!
After my V.I.Poop (sorry, couldn't resist getting that in there) I headed back to the car to keep warm before registration opened.
6:30am - The eagerest of beavers were already arriving to get their numbers, I was about beaver number 3. With my number collected it was back to the car to pin it on and generally shake off a few nerves. We opted for a little walk to check out the cafe menu as a possible "post race, stuff your face" party. The morning air was just on the border of chilly and sticky like it could go either way. One of my biggest concerns for today was the weather. Most of the reports had been showing that the sun may make an appearance and possibly even attempt to steal the show. I haven't really learnt how to run properly in the heat yet, I just seem to wilt! Fortunately it was currently grey, overcast and looked like it may rain, score! Hey give me a break, I`m from the UK, most of my training is done on cold, wet and grey days, this was my jam!
My plan for today was to see how much I could get done before the sun came out and if at all possible, maybe even push for a PB. The latter was to be decided after the first lap, after seeing just how good/bad the rest of the day could potentially be.
Todays fuel of choice is Huel. I've been using it as breakfast and lunch at work most days since around September so my system is really used to it and I have even been including it in my longer runs over the last month or so just to see what it is like on the move. The big advantage personally is that it is engineered as "real food" and not a product designed specifically for running. Now I know that sounds completely backwards but bear with me. My personal issue with the stuff that seems to do wonders for everyone else actually has nothing to do with the products. Sorry racing fuel, it`s me, not you. You see I have IBS which basically means that my body likes to do whatever the hell it wants with food and liquid. Its not a fan of change, large amounts of sugar, being looked at in the wrong way.........my brain and body are very much two different organisms. Getting them to cooperate sometimes can be a bit of a challenge so when I finally found something that kind of worked, I ran with it....pun intended.
I am pretty much Eddie Brock and my IBS is Venom....well Venom without any of the abilities and the predisposition for eating heads. I digress...
7:20am - First timers to one of Traviss and Rachel's events can be forgiven for feeling initially a little intimidated. Looking around at some of the t shirts on display you will instantly feel that you are amongst giants. 100 marathon club, 52 marathons in 52 weeks, 10 ultras in 10 days, 100 half marathons.....don`t run away yet grasshopper, you have much to learn! Elites and newbies alike will great you with the same level of warmth. I absolutely love this kind of community feel and these guys have it nailed. Traviss started the pre race briefing by congratulating a few people on their latest achievements of mind boggling amounts of running and we even had a birthday boy in the line up today. The format is pretty simple, run as many or as few 5km(ish) laps as you want in a 6 hour time limit. There was a little additional loop for this one for anyone that wanted a 50km. Before now I would have pricked my ears up at this but today my focus was hopefully on a solid marathon attempt, no more, no less. With this is mind it worked out that I needed 8 laps.
Traviss called for us to line up as it was now approaching 7:30am and here is where it was a little funny. After doing a fair amount of events myself I am very used to everyone squeezing up to the front. I had been speaking with Mummysaurus for a while about where I was going to position myself for this and I had decided after starting pretty much every other event apart from parkrun, at the back, I was going to take a bit of a mental leap and line up near the front. I have been thinking a lot more about my mental preparation and figured that I would start with positive intentions, I`m out to race myself, I`m already ahead!
About 6 people stepped towards the front and with a deep breath I joined them. Traviss at this point made a little joke about no-one wanting to join the elites which prompted me to turn around.....everyone else was about 12 feet behind us!! I momentarily second guessed my decision, what the heck was I doing, I`m not an elite! Oh well, I figured I could always just get out of the way when people start piling past me within the first mile, at least it will be a bloody good laugh to be at the front for a bit!
3......2......1......GO!!
I waved to Mummysaurus and bopped off to the first corner where I was greeted with a beautiful green downhill section. I let myself coast down the hill with the intention of getting out of the way once it flattened out a bit. The hill slowly rolled into a flat bit and I took a quick peak over my shoulder to make sure I wasn't holding anyone up, the small group of about 8 of us were already well over 200 meters ahead of the rest of the pack! I turned back to see that I was now tucked right behind the guy who was currently first! Erm.........
I started to ease off a little and got chatting with a couple of the guys as they caught me, my opening line along the lines of "I`m going waaaaay to fast already!" Before I really even knew it we were cruising past a cheering Mummysaurus who had found a path that met up with the route roughly a mile in and I called out "pretty sure I`m not meant to be 7th already?!
Laughing and joking along a hard packed bike path section I was feeling really good but very, very aware that we had a long way to go and this pace was going to catch up with me sooner or later, even quicker if Mr Sun comes out to play.
The route itself was actually a lot prettier than I had expected, making the idea of knocking out lots of loops not even an issue. There were actually sections that I found myself looking forward too, a small section that was a little downhill, along a tight path through overhanging trees and bushes being my favourite! There are some really nice points in this route where you cross over with the other runners so you get a good chance to cheer each other on. After some more very enjoyable and perhaps not so enjoyable hills, twists and turns, I found myself now on a uphill that I figured my be the downhill that we started on. It was, lap 1 done, just under 3.3 miles in with around 27 minutes passed. Already ahead of schedule but very aware of the approaching heat I said to my current running partner that he will probably catch me up soon and I`m not going to stop for anything from the aid station. I gave Mummysaurus a wave and said I am just going to keep going and see what happens! With a laugh and a shrug I bopped off on lap 2 back down the pretty rolling downhill.
It was pretty cool to see everyone making their own way up the hill as I cruised back down it, like watching a colourful running clad convoy. There was less than 100 people today but the atmosphere felt like there could have been triple that. So many people traded smiles, a thumbs up or a "well done, keep going!" with me already and we are only 1 lap in!
I was having a ball, one earphone in, bopping away to some Ska punk and enjoying every downhill I came across. Oh look, Mummysaurus again! High 5! See you in a bit!
Once again the rest of the lap seemed to roll pretty quickly and before I knew it I was back on the uphill again towards the end of lap 2. I got my lap counter hole punched and used the same tactic, turn around and get the hell out of there! Aid stations are an amazing place but you must remember that when you eat, so does the aid station. You take cake, the aid station takes a minute. You stop to stretch, grab a drink, change a top, the aid station takes 5 minutes. They all add up and today I need all the extra minutes I can get and I figured I`ll get them in the bag early.
With the weather still on my side I just kept my pace and enjoyed the route, totally aware that I was pushing my luck a little but what the heck, I`m all in!
Lap 3 rolled round and I had previously intended to take my Huel bottle on this lap, I got completely caught up with the fact that I was now well ahead of my target, I just got my lap card punched and headed straight back out for lap 4. In hindsight this was probably the beginning of what was to come later.
I know right, intriguing huh! See no-one really wants to read the blog that goes completely well, where is the fun in that?! We want the crash, the struggle, not just the...."I went for a run, everything was great" kinda blog.....well its coming but I want to milk it a little longer. You've read this far, you cant give up before the "good" bit!
It was around lap 4 that the weather decided it was time for some games. First it was a bit grey, then it heated up a little and got really sticky, changed its mind and gave us all a nice little sprinkle of rain then finally bought out the big guns, cue Mr Sunshine.
The clouds seemed to part every time I left a bit of greenery and got to an exposed bit of gravely bike path. The temperature seemed to spike for just long enough for me to get to the cover of the trees before waiting for the next bit of bike path. It wasn't like it was scorching, it was just such a sudden shift that it changed the air so it was humid. In places it was like trying to breathe warm soup, then it would shift to a little chilly breeze again.......odd stuff.
After this lap of musical weather done, I ran into the aid station and grabbed my little bottle of Huel. I could defiantly feel that I was a little hungry now. I once again didn't hang around too much. Now with a half marathon done and around 9 minutes ahead of my target, I walked out to start lap 5 sipping on my "food". I was running again within about a minute, feeling pretty good but starting to feel the heat a little. I let myself get distracted by the scenery and that helped the miles tick past nicely.
I came into the aid station, grabbed a little water and headed right back out again for lap 6, feeling warm but pretty good. In the back of my head I knew I was probably pushing my luck holding this pace but I figured I would just hold out for as long as I could.
Half a lap later.......
This is the bit you have been waiting for isn't it?
Somewhere around 22 miles I`m pretty sure I was hit with a tranquilizer. I went from feeling pretty good to an extra from the walking dead. I was the Mayor of Wobble Town, population 1.
Thankfully I was only around a mile from the aid station. I say only, at that moment of unending time it might as well have been 100 miles away. Welcome to the Glycogen void, time is different in here. As I floated in and out of the void I tried to focus on just getting to the aid station. Inching my way along I was finally on the uphill to the aid station, I turned the corner and wobbled over to Traviss. With a mixture of a concerned frown and mild amusement he simply said "oh no, what have you done?" I gave a smile (grimace) and said "I`m not going to make 4 hours" and proceeded to crash out on the grass in front of the cake. It was just what I needed, just to have 30 seconds off of my feet. I got back to my feet and turned my attention to the buffet. While stuffing my face with some amazing chocolate cake, Mummysaurus said I could still make 4 hours if I left now, instead I explained that I would rather spend 5 minutes stuffing my face so I could enjoy the last lap as much as I could rather than marching it and still missing my target. At least this way I figured, it was a positive choice and a good lesson learnt for next time.
Cake, crisps, jelly babies, they all went in. I am actually unsure of exactly what I ate. An amazing crew member filled my water for me as I took a piece of fudge. WOW!! The back of my brain did a back flip while trying to decipher the flavour. As the taste and sugar tingled over my brain I ate another piece and felt even more revived. Water was now being handed to me and I was being encouraged to get out of there before I ate too much. I grabbed a handful of crisps and a jaffa cake, thanked everyone and marched out of there a new monkey.
I shoved the crisps and jaffa cake in my face and had some water. This was it, the last lap!
I made the most of the downhill, taking the brakes off and letting gravity do the work. My quads were feeling pretty tired at this point but I knew with every bit of running I could put in now would bring me closer to the finish and hopefully a new PB.
Every previous bit of "slightly undulating" ground now felt steeper and hotter than before. Just keep moving! Walk, run, walk, run, run, run. Finally I was back to the last hill back to the finish. My legs were trashed and twitching a little at times. I had a short walk break and then made the last push for the finish. Rounding the final corner I could see Mummysaurus cheering me in as I legged it for the finisher bell. I lunged at it and rang out for a new marathon PB of 4:11:20. I was so happy for so many reasons. I had just knocked off 34 MINUTES off of my time that had stood since 2012, not only that, I had mostly kept my head. Its all to easy to get tired and despondent during a long run, your mind can just go to bits to the point of not even enjoying it anymore. I was very happy with the fact that I actually enjoyed this one. They may mean more to me than the time, I feel like I have my mind back.
Mummysaurus was congratulating me as Rachael hung a medal around my neck, it was done!
I headed back over to the aid station for a little nibble and picked up a bit of the fudge that helped me through the last lap. WOWZERS!! Someone catch that brain!! I gave Mummysaurus a little piece to try and her eyeballs nearly fell out of her head.
I asked Traviss what it was and he pointed me to the very helpful lady who had filled my water earlier and told me that she had made it. It turns out that it was peanut butter and marmite (yes you read that correctly) fudge! Totally bonkers combination which pretty much equates to rocket fuel!
I thanked everyone and was given a goody bag with a massive Galaxy bar in it, get in! Mummysaurus then went into crew mode and I got the VIP treatment. Out came the fold out chair with a parasol, a misting bottle and even a face wipe! There I was in my little slice of heaven in the sunshine being misted down while I sipped my water.....oh yes, living the high life!
After having a wonderful chill out in the sun we packed up and headed over to the cafe to take a look at some possible lunch. Jacket potato with cheese, beans and salad.....get in my belly!
After a lovely natter with a couple of the other runners that had also finished we headed back to the car for our journey home.
What a great day and a wonderful warm bunch of people. Thanks to everyone I met and chatted to along the way and thanks to Traviss and Rachael for a brilliant event, I shall be coming back to do many more with you guys!
With that I think I shall wrap this post up by saying thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed it and if you haven't already done one of their events then take a look here (CLICK ME!) and I will probably see you at one again soon!
Much love
Cardiosaurus
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