TP100 and Ultra Tales!

Oh yes! Its that time again! Its time to fill myself full of panic and self doubt! That's right folks, it`s nearly ultra time again! WOO!

The build up to this has felt like a lifetime. I first heard of the Thames Path 100 in 2012 when my brother in law first announced that it was to be his first ultra. At the time I had only just heard about ultra running and the thought of someone running 100 miles just seemed so superhuman.

In the back of my mind I thought it would be cool to one day give it a go myself.

So here I am 2 years later, 9 days away from my first attempt at doing just that.

I have no idea what to expect beyond 62 miles as this is the longest I have run to date but I am curious to find out. Ideally I would like to be going into this 100% fit, ideally I would have liked to have trained better, ideally....actually if I always waited for things to be "ideal" im pretty sure I would never do anything! You can keep "ideally".

So here I am with a grumpy hamstring, a grumpy hip and a fractured toe feeling pretty sure that I could be the most "rested" person on the start line. I could come up with plenty more excuses and stories as to why I may not finish but honestly, who wants to hear that? We hear them all the time right? The guy who shows up with a sack full of them in a bag labeled "just in case" so he can have something to fall back on rather than just saying "it beat me" or "I wasn't ready". I don't want to be that guy.

My approach instead is a positive one. I can and will only promise a few things. Firstly I WILL be on the start line, secondly, I shall just give it my best shot!
If you want to find me I will be at the back, smiling (hopefully) and plodding along making the most of it. After all its meant to be fun right? All be it long drawn out painful fun, but fun none the less!

In other news...

I am very excited to say that I have a runners profile in the latest issue of Ultra Tales!! (click here to go to the site) My profile is on page 158 :)

Happy reading folks!

Cardiosaurus

Review - Running and Stuff

Hey folks, whilst sitting on the injury bench I have had some time to catch up on my reading so we all know what that means....its review time!

Now if you have spent some time on that Face-tweet thing and are partial to a bit of running, the chances are you have heard of James Adams. If you have heard of him I really don't need to tell you that he has a book out. He has mentioned it. A lot.

As it turns out, as well as being pretty good at this running lark he is also great writer!

Anyone who has chatted to James for a while via the interweb will know that he is a funny guy and is passionate about his running. I knew some of the races he had done before as his name would crop up all over the place but didn't really know the true extent until I read the book.

Get the book!

No, really. Stop reading this and buy the book! You will not be disappointed, well that is unless you are easily offended with mild swearing and pretty much constant talk of poo. Then, well, maybe you will be a little disappointed. I bet it will still make you smile though, come on admit it! Who doesn't like a story about poo?! You know like that time that your mate got shat on by a seagull?! Bet you laughed eh?!

I digress, where was I?

Ah yes! The book! "Running and Stuff" is a very inspiring and amusing read that needs to be on every aspiring ultra runners book collection. His down to earth style makes for easy reading and I just couldn't put it down! Unfortunately this also meant that I finished it really quickly! DOH!

You may have picked up that so far I have not actually mentioned anything that happens in the book. I figured the title probably gave it away.

A little more perhaps?

James has done a few things that would make most runners jaws drop. Spartathlon, Badwater, GUCR to name but a few......oh and he ran across America. Yeah. 

Hows that jaw?

Yes you read that correctly, America. Los Angeles to New York to be more precise. 

Oh you want it in miles? 3200 of them! That`s an average of 45 miles a DAY for 70 days!! 70!

My last race was 45 miles and I just about hobbled a mile and a half to work the next day, the thought of doing that over and over again just makes my head spin!

So there you have it! If you like your stories to be pretty damn epic with a mountain of humour and a light dusting of poo.....wait, wait, wait....can I really end it like that?

Yes, yes I can.

Buy the book! You can grab your copy from "Troubador" or "Amazon"

Thanks for reading!

Cardiosaurus 

Needles, tape and a lot of nerves

I was pretty nervous that my physio going to say I had done something really stupid and maybe advise me not to run. Fortunately after my check up she assured me that I haven't done anything stupid. Then I told her I was about to do something really stupid.

Telling a physio that you are 4 weeks away from running 100 miles in sandals gets an interesting reaction but not the one I was expecting to be honest.
The reaction I have got used to over the last few months has been one of disbelief mixed with a look of "you are mad!!". Her reaction was slightly different. There was a short pause followed by "lets get you patched up then!" She still thinks im mad but with her being a Triathlete herself she understands the need to do this kind of stuff.

It my very first physio visit to top it off so as I already said, I was pretty nervous. Nervous that she might tell me I had some massive injury that would take months to heal. Instead she moved my legs around a bit and said I had short hamstrings....oh...thats not so bad. One test she did involved holding onto my heel and then gently pulling my leg straight while I pulled back. She seemed happy with this so told me to pull back as hard as I could. I promptly apologized as I yanked her towards my arse and bounced her off the table!! I don't think she was expecting my legs to be that strong, kind of surprised me too to be honest!

With everything looking good, well apart from short hamstrings, she did some ultrasound to check out my knee and again came back with the all clear. Bit of a massage then some Kinesio tape and it was time for the painful bit.....paying.

Kinesio tape or Kinesiology as its known is something that I've heard people debate about a lot. For those who have never heard of it before I shall give you a quick explanation. The basic idea behind it is to use tape to take the strain off of the effected muscle/tendon kind of like adding a support to give it a rest, aiding the healing process. I wasn't really to sure what it would do to be honest but was curious to find out. She got me to lay on my belly and slightly raise my leg then applied the tape. The tape is then rubbed to warm up the glue to help it stick. With my new hamstring in place I was told I was good to go till next week when we will start with acupuncture. GULP!
I have to say, straight away I noticed a difference. The small amount of extra tension on my hamstring was just enough to alleviate some of the pain. Bonus!
Its not some magic cure and my leg was certainly not fixed but I could already see the benefit as I walked home.
Once I got in I tried out some of the stretches I was given and felt surprisingly good. I continued to do these (as often as I remembered) until the following Tuesday when it was time for acupuncture.

Fast forward to last Tuesday - Acupuncture day

Acupuncture was another one that made me nervous. Stupid really as I have tattoos and piercings but there you go, fear is never rational.
I was given a form to sign to say that I wouldn't sue her if I turned into a pterodactyl or something due to the acupuncture. She explained that people have different reactions to the needles. Some folks get twitchy muscles, some feel a dull ache, sharp pain or a tingle. I was now more curious than nervous.
The first needle went in. There was a small pin like pain but nothing major. This calmed me down even more.
Needle after needle I got more and more relaxed. The feelings I got back were a mixture of all of the above. I had one muscle twitch, one ache, one sharp pain in the middle of my calf. What interested me the most about that one was that she didnt have a needle in it!! It was being triggered from higher up in my hamstring.

After all the needles were in we chatted away they did their thing.
After about 5-10 minutes she removed them and did a bit of massage then it was tape time and once again the most painful part....paying.

I felt pretty good on the walk home and was looking forward to next week when I could get more done.
First I had to tackle 2 days of work which involved going up and down a ladder all day. hmmm this should be interesting! Like many I have got used to my office desk and comfy chair, so the idea of spending about 6 hours a day running up and down ladders with a hamstring issue was, well, not my idea of fun.
Always trying to look on the bright side I chose to see this as a perfect opportunity instead and regarded it as cross training and hill work! ;)
As it turns out it works bloody well! My legs felt great afterwards, well with the exception of my bruised shins from resting them on the next step! ERROR!
So there you have it! Top tip, if you want some cross training or have no hills near you, buy a ladder!

After the 2 days of "cross training" I was ready to go for a short run and see what I had.
I felt like a puppy that was busting to get outside! The moment I got out of the door I was off! Constantly telling myself to slowdown and take it easy.
I was massively overdressed for the occasion, not top hat and tails, too many layers. You see I had got used to it being really flipping cold so I dressed for how I ran 3 weeks a go.
Within minutes I was roasting but the "puppy" in me just wanted to play so I just kept running.
5k done, leg still attached, all seems good, not perfect but ill take what I can get!

Fast forward to yesterday

Last night was time for my next set of needles, massage, ultrasonic and tape. Its strange to say but I was kind of excited to get it done as over the last week my hamstring has felt progressively stronger and I was eager to get my legs back!
I  was feeling very relaxed as I knew what was on the cards, we chatted while she poked and prodded my away at my legs. The acupuncture was very interesting this time as it was more of a buzzing sensation all over my legs, a bit like if you have sat on them for a while and then stood up. That feeling when the blood rushes back into them.
Once she was done and I was all taped up again it was time for the walk home.
My legs felt a little heavy but in a good way, like I could feel like something was working.

I am going to get a few more short runs in before cutting back (pfffffttt! ha ha ha cutting back!!!) ready for the Thames Path 100 on the 3rd May.....GULP!

The one thought echoing around my head at the moment is "I think I might be back in the game!"

Thanks for reading folks!
Cardiosaurus

Reading and panicking, mainly panicking.

Due to my legs not really cooperating lately I have been spending a lot of my time reading and panicking about the up coming Thames Path 100.

The panicking part can be explained but probably not fixed till I am already running it, the reading part on the other hand is going well.

My first 100 mile attempt is playing on my mind somewhat with every twinge and ache in my legs and Achilles. I am convincing myself that its just my legs practicing the kind of horror they are to endure in May. I find the lies to be helping.....just.

When I am not freaking myself out too much I have been really enjoying a new book by Dave Urwin called - Everything will work out in the long run.

It has made me laugh and nearly cry within a couple of pages. Its an inspiring roller coaster of a read and I feel a little sad to have finished it.

I am really holding back right now as I want to keep typing away and tell you everything! I must restrain!

Needless to say that I found it very entertaining indeed.
The jumping backwards and forwards in time caught me a little off guard to begin with but maybe that is my lack of reading! The subjects in this book go from being lighthearted and funny right to the other end of the spiral in a blink of an eye. I guess much like real life can feel sometimes.

Its a very funny and thought provoking book that I think a lot of people could relate to. Dave doesn't pull many punches and I really enjoyed his honest approach.

It was strange for me to read through the book and remember seeing him at one of the aid stations of my first ultra, the North Downs Way 50. Then to think that he must have seen my brother in law at his first ultra, the Thames Path 100! He speaks a lot near the end about coincidences. I am more of a "everything happens for a reason" kind of guy. Same thing I guess? It made me think about the little bits of the book that seem to give a little nod at my own story, including thinking about writing down my own story!

I speak to Dave quite a lot over the internet and very happy to see that he is going to be giving the Thames Path 100 a go! Hopefully I will get to meet him and have a proper chat and work on my airplane impressions! ;) To understand what im talking about please go and grab a copy from Dave! 

I shall leave this post as a short one before I re-write the book on here!

Please go and chat to Dave and get a copy now!!

https://www.facebook.com/everythingwillworkoutinthelongrun

Much love 

Cardiosaurus

Monkey Tag Running

For a little while now there has been a gentle buzz in the ultra running scene here in the UK regarding "Social ultras". The idea behind it is to just put the word out about a run you are doing, hook up with some like minded people and go for a run! Brilliant!
It is in no way a new idea but its still a great one. In the US this style of "event" is known as a "fat ass" I wont spoil the story behind it....have a search ;)

This got me thinking about all of the other folks maybe just starting out or that may not have access to a running club, or well, a multitude of other reasons that may slow down their progress in this wonderful thing we call running. Some, myself included, would love to do more events but simple can not afford the entry fee! Then you have other issues like, getting a place, being worried about cut off times or being last. Many people would love to run a half or full marathon for example but are worried that they are simply too slow for an event. This is when a light bulb went off...

Monkey Tag Running is something I am playing around with at the moment. It is for anyone and everyone of all distances and abilities. The idea is pretty simple. Think of a distance, where and when you want to run, then ask if anyone can join you! No money other than your own travel, food and water.
No entrance fee, no goody bag, no t-shirt, no time worries, no frills running!
If you want to commemorate the occasion then why not get a dog tag engraved and bring it with you? At the end of the run everyone else can present it to you! It doesn't even have to be a tag, it could be a toy, a bit of string, it doesn't matter. What matters is the fun behind it.
It is just an idea to try and break down the walls a little around the idea that for your run to "count", it has to be an "official" race. OK I like doing them as much as the next guy but I don't feel I need a "real" event to go out and run a 5k/10k/half/whatever! Just run and have fun!
So if you feel like maybe making some new friends, having a giggle or maybe getting some free training then check out Monkey Tag Running (click here) on Facebook and have a chat with some like minded people. Its all FREE, its all for fun

Anyone who is a little further along should also check out www.SocialUltra.co.uk Its a great place to hook up with others planning long training runs and ultra recces.

Hope to see you at a social soon! :)

Cardiosaurus

"Fitness confidential" book review

I really liked the honest no bullshit approach to this book so I shall attempt to do the same with my review.

Funny, tragic, inspiring, get it now!

OK so I might need to pad this out a bit.

Vinnie Tortorich is a pretty cool guy. Actually he is a pretty angry guy, but a nice one. I first heard about Vinnie through UltraLuke Ashton when he started mentioning his meals were "NSNG".

What the hell is that?

NSNG stands for No Sugar, No Grain
The idea being to heavily reduce if not completely eliminate processed sugar and grain from your life while returning to a high quality fat intake diet through real food, interesting huh?
With that in mind I was eager to read the book and find out more. What I found was a wonderfully inspiring, hard hitting story about a pretty amazing guy, oh and a little nod to NSNG.
It was almost frustratingly simple.

No sugar, No grain.

I kept reading on thinking "Yeah OK Vinnie, but what then?! Where is the catch? Where is the exercise plan? The pricey equipment to go with this idea? Give me something?!"

No sugar, No grain.

Its right there, simple.
Its amazing, I thought revelations were meant to feel like a massive sky splitting experience, instead I read these simple words and did what you are doing now. I sat there, scratched my head and went "huh?"
Lose the sugar, lose the grain, lose weight, lose the bloating. "but..." Stop over thinking it, trust me, I have already done that for you!
Its only when I got to the Acknowledgements section in the book that it said they wanted to make the book fun and just open a door to NSNG that I thought "Phew! I Thought I was missing something!"

I thought it was a great way to wet the appetite over the subject of NSNG and I for one will be doing a lot of digging into the "boring" bits and this will come up again for sure! ;)
The story itself is very entertaining, I really don't want to spoil it for anyone, please go grab a copy from Vinnie here (vinnietortorich.com) Also while you are there, check out the pod cast (warning he pulls no punches!) it is funny as hell, Anna Vocino does a great job of keeping him almost in line! :)

Back to the book!
I went into this book in the hope that I would come away with more information on a No sugar, No Grain life. What I came away with was unexpected. One simple phrase that I think really spoke volumes about nutrition, training, attitudes and well...life in general.
After reading this one phrase I knew that Vinnie had got one thing wrong.
The title.
"Fitness confidential" in my most humble opinion doesn't fit. Instead I propose another.
Ladies and Gentlemen, the phrase is simple but encompasses so much and shines like a beacon of hope.
Ladies and Gentlemen...

"Cut the Crap"

Thanks for reading guys!

Cardiosaurus

Thames Trot 50...ish

I didn't sleep at all the night before the race, instead I just watched the clock till it hit 4am. Time to get up and have some fat coffee. 
Coffee, teaspoon of coconut oil, tablespoon of butter and a teaspoon of honey mixed together and thrown down the hatch. That should do the job!

I had made a point of packing really light for this one after gaining a lot of confidence from the "34 for 34", I knew what I could get away with leaving behind.

I packed a little bit of food just in case the aid stations were a bit rubbish and again to practice being a little more self sufficient.

So what was in the bag?

Food - 4 little buttered lunch box malt loafs, 1 clif bar, a little food bag of chilli peanuts, 1x500ml bottle of coconut water with 2 tablespoons of Chia in it and a little "emergency" bag of Chia.
The idea for this one was to try and stay away from all the sugary bits for as long as I could as they tend to make me bloat and crash hard when the sugar runs out.

Clothing - 1x dry bag with spare injinji socks, spare hat, Montane over trousers.

Other - Head torch, silver blanket, bit of loo roll, painkillers, Elete water, chap stick, alcohol wipe, glove, small scoop of lube, small scoop of macs ice.

Even with 2 full 650ml bottles upfront, it still felt really light, I was pretty happy with my "no faff" kit.

5am - Pick up time!
The wonderful Mummysaurus came to give me a lift to the start and was maybe even more excited than I was! I grabbed my gear and we headed out to the car. The moment we got out of the house I knew it was going to be a cold day.
We chatted away in the car mainly about, you guessed it, running. Shocking huh?
After a quick "convenience" stop on the way, we arrived at the pub where the folks were already busy putting up the flags in the car park.
It was now pretty much bang on 7am so registration had just opened and we got straight to the tables without any queuing at all, bonus!
I went and got changed into the rest of my gear and then got my timing chip. We got one of those ones that looks like a watch with a Velcro strap. After chasing it around my wrist for a couple of minutes, Mummysaurus did the honour of actually making it stay still.
Right, just the race pack to look over and then try and chill out a little bit.
I pinned my number to my shorts, yes shorts. Shorts in February. Maybe not my best choice but I was pretty sure it would all work out in the end.
It was now around 8am and the pub was really starting to fill up so we headed outside, firstly to not get crushed, secondly to "acclimatize" and lastly, to chat and see if we could spot Dennis.

For those of you returning to my blog (thank you if you are!) you will remember Dennis from my other two ultras, the "NDW50" and "Race to the stones". For those of you who are here for the first time (thank you as well!) Dennis is a mountain of a man. By this I mean he is tall, not made of rock.
Dennis is also probably the only reason why I am not still on the Thames path right now!

So there we are, bouncing around in the car park trying to keep warm and I spot Dennis. He is pretty easy to spot if you hadn't already picked up on that. After a quick handshake for me and a hug for Mummysaurus he heads off to grab his pack. Meanwhile a guy comes up and says "hey, sorry I only know you as Cardiosaurus!" Guess Twitter really works huh?! We have a little chat and he takes my picture which was pretty cool! (thanks Kris you made my morning!)
My feet are already pretty cold and already gaining a lot of attention. "Mummy that man has only got socks on!" being my favourite from a little girl behind me.
Yep, socks and sandals, I`m that guy.
Finally after a bit of a delay the organiser gives us the usual speech along with a not so usual one. Long story short, the Thames path is screwed due to flooding and we are not quite sure where we are going yet. Joy! This is going to be and interesting day!
The map supplied is not the same as the one everyone (except me) has studied and even parts of that are now under question.
Now I would like to say that the lack of map studying on my part was due to something other than just not doing it. That would be a lie. Note to self, look at the map...at some point before a race....you idiot.
Luckily for me and my lack of map reading preparation I had a willing tour guide, Dennis.
He knew the route pretty well as he had done it last year and seemed happy enough to run with me this time, happy days!

And they`re off!

We were still chatting when everyone started moving, a quick bleep of the watch and a hug from Mummysaurus and we were off! My feet hurt already with every step, they felt like blocks of ice. Oh dear.
Within the first mile though everything seemed to be coming back to life and we bopped our way along the road, chatting and laughing away.

My rough game plan had been a very sensible walk/run strategy from the start.
6 and change miles in the bank later we were still running. This was no where near the plan. 
We finally took a walk break and I sipped away at my Chia and coconut water. Feeling really strong we just pushed on chatting about what we were going to eat at the first aid station.

Finally hitting the first check point and around 9 miles we came across a pretty disappointing table for someone trying to keep away from sugar. Water, cake, jelly babies and some GU gels. hmm...I`m glad I had my own stuff!
I took a small piece of cake anyway just to give it a taste because, well, it looked bloody good! It was! However due to how I personally deal with sugar and running, I felt pretty bloated for the next few miles and switched back onto peanuts. It did the trick and I settled down into a nice pace.

The wind was so cold. Normally if I was still wearing my jacket past 10 miles I would be ready to be served up with some chips and peas with blob of butter on me, boil in the bag style! Not today. In a way it was a good thing, it meant I didn't have to mess around packing it away in my bag. Added bonus was I could keep my phone in one pocket and food in the other, perfik!

The general going went from road to boggy mud to knee high water and back again, and again, and again.....
The going was pretty tough. We laughed our way through most of it and swore our way through the rest. I`m pretty sure I was holding Dennis up a lot but he just walked a bit until I caught up.

Check point 2 felt a long, long way and again we were greeted with the same sparse table. We were now just shy of 18 miles in and I started to really worry for the guys and girls who didn't pack any of their own food.

20 miles can only mean one thing...Yes, that's right its ultra duck face selfie time!

Me and Dennis - ultra duck face time! 

2 miles later and it was time to celebrate halfway...ish!

Halfway-ish 

Yes it was cold, very, very cold!

I think Dennis has some more pictures of this bit but I wont knick them, instead I will give you guys a link to his blog at the end.

25.5 miles in and we find check point 3. This aid station was a slightly different story to the others, mini pork pies, more cake, little scotch egg things, not a bad stop that one. I grabbed a couple of mini pork pies, a little bit of cake and we moved straight on.

So far we had done really well at not hovering for to long at aid stations. I learnt a lot from my first 50 mile, I spent way to much time chatting and resting. This time was all about grabbing water and food and getting going again as soon as we could. Concentrating more on doing all of my eating and drinking on the move.

More road, mud, deep sticky mud and freezing water. The mud, (did I mention the mud?) road and wind was really starting to take its toll. My nose was pretty sore by this point from the freezing wind making it run more than I was.

I hit a bit of a mental low for a few miles between 30 and 33 while my food kicked in from the check point at 31 miles. It was good to think that we had finally hit check point 4 but I really had to keep my head down and try and eat for a few miles. I dropped back from Dennis a short way and just said I was in a bit of a black hole right now, he understood and just kept up his pace, looking back every now and then or just giving me a little shout to ask if I was ok. It really helped me along.

A couple of miles later, the mental fog lifted and we were back to laughing and joking our way down the road. I think we were both starting to really feel the miles now and were happy to put in more walk breaks and take it a piece at a time. Well I say it was the miles, it wasn't really. It was the switching from road to thick mud to water. My feet were like blocks of ice. I tried hard to concentrate on my form but it was almost impossible when it feels like you are running on stumps.

10 miles to go!

It felt like a great thing to post on Twitter thinking that it was nearly done. Also knowing that my family would be at the finish gave me a nice boost. My knee clearly wanted to stay on the trail as long as it could as it tried as hard as it could to keep grinding my pace down.

Walk, run, walk, run, just keep moving! When I walked I tried to walk as fast as I could, firstly to keep up our average speed, secondly because as I mentioned before, Dennis is a giant. It was like a smurf trying to keep up with a giraffe! 

The rest of the journey is all a bit mixed up as some of it involved trying not to get run over as we ran down the edge of a road, getting lost and ending up in a car park, scrambling through brambles, climbing over a fallen tree, wading through yet more freezing water and getting sacrificed to a swan.

Yes you read that correctly. 
We came across a very startled swan swimming in the middle of the path. Dennis had decided as I was the smallest (of all 3 of us) I was the one who was getting beaten to death by an angry swan. 
He didn't say this bit out loud until later.

"It just wants to get passed" said I "ok, you go that way" Dennis said as he shuffled his way closer to the edge of the trail leaving me with the Thames on my left and a somewhat bemused swan on my right, it was now swimming at me. This now left a nice gap.........for Dennis.......to run off like a girl scout. 

Obviously being the brave hunter gatherer that I am I did what I had to do, haul ass after him the moment the giant white bird of death calmly swam to the side.

At some point in time we found check point 5 but as you can see after the hell bird trauma, it was all a bit of a blur. 

We now only had about 5 or 6 miles left so it was time to get our heads down and back to the grid! It was a tough few miles but we just chopped them up and did what we could to keep the pace up. We joked about who should cross the line first, like true gentlemen ultra runners we decided the only thing to be done was to finish together.

Turning down the last road and into the car park we came across the greatest sight of the day, a big blue inflatable Finish arch!

A fair few people lined the car park cheering us past, it was amazing to get this kind of response. Right at the line I could see my mum, dad and Jaime all cheering and clapping away. Such a great feeling to cross that line.

10 hours 40 minutes and 10 seconds, it was done!

Ridiculous ultra duck face finish! 

I can`t thank Dennis enough, without him I would have got incredibly lost and without a shadow of a doubt not made the cut off time. Hope I didn't sabotage your time too much buddy! ;)

Another ultra in sandals! :)

Hope you have enjoyed my story so far and thanks for reading!

Please head over and check out the blog by Dennis here - http://densgottheruns.blogspot.co.uk/

Till next time folks!
Cardiosaurus OUT!

3 weeks till the Thames Trot 50!

As I look up at the news to see a man water skiing down his local high street I am starting to wonder if its time to panic yet?
The Thames Trot 50 mile is on February 1st and these floods are showing no signs of stopping any time soon.
So whats the plan?
Well if the normal route is still going to be used then it is going to be an interesting test of my Luna for sure! Thick sticky mud is not really the desired terrain for shoes let alone sandals! If the route is diverted then it will be around 44 miles instead of 50 but that will still more than likely have some very muddy sections.
Should be a very interesting run indeed!

The path is pretty flat but it is still a test for me as the cut off is 11 hours.

At the moment I guess my plan is to just try and relax and take it as it comes and try to get into a nice steady pace from the start. Walk the ups, run the downs, eat, drink and be merry! (looks easy on paper!)

In other news...
This morning I got an email to say that I am now entered into the Thames Path 100 in May!!! It really is time to panic! The Thames Trot just became a recce as well as a race!! GULP!
Oh well its all good fun isn't it?!

Time to sort out some deep tissue massage and start winding down ready for the start line!

Fingers crossed!

Cardiosaurus

So how was 2013?

2013 for me was a big year.
I completed my first ultra marathon, The North Downs Way 50 in May (original report here NDW50) then in July pushed it up to 100k with Race to the Stones (original report here Race to the Stones) I ran with Scott Jurek (click here) and ran my first unofficial self supported ultra for my birthday (click here for the story) its been a pretty crazy year.

Personal accomplishments aside I would like to take a moment to explain what has inspired me this year. This year for me was amazing due to the knock on effects of my running. I have been a pretty active member of a beginners running forum since I started and we have all pushed each other along all the way. I may be able to call myself an ultra runner now but I have never forgotten those first miles. The effort, the pain, the burning lungs! Talking to people who are just starting out or who are coming back to running after a while is a big deal to me. I love watching people progress and grow to love this movement we call running.

You may find it strange to read that one of my biggest personal accomplishments this year is inspiring my Mum to start running. Just watching the change in her gives me a bigger sense of joy than crossing any finishing line.
Yeah it might sound a little hippie or mushy but I don't care! This year has been far more about the others that I seem to have inspired rather than what I have actually achieved and I would like to take this moment to thank each and every one of you for being part of my running life. You guys keep me going with all of your efforts just as much as I may help you and long may it continue!

I think I will keep this short and sweet and end with wishing you all the best of luck for 2014, lets make it a great one!

Keep smiling folks!
Cardiosaurus

34 for 34

So what is the normal thing to do for your birthday? Have a nice lay in? Breakfast in bed? A nice pub lunch perhaps?
I was up and out of the door by 6am to run 34 miles.

The idea for this kind of madness started a little while back just after I read a book by Dean Karnazes. Long story short, he got drunk as a skunk on his birthday and upon getting home decided to run 30 miles to celebrate his 30 years on the planet.
I really liked the idea back then and pondered doing it myself but never really had the cojones to give it a go....until now!
Maybe I should have just tried it back then as I could have knocked a few miles off!

The route in mind was to trot from Borehamwood over to Watford where I could pick up the river path, then up to Rickmansworth, jump onto the Grand Union Canal to Uxbridge, spin around and come back.

The morning started damp and a little chilly so I had all my gear on for a cold journey. Hat, gloves, jacket, trousers, my new Injinji trail socks and my good old trusty Luna Leadville. I started off with 2 full 650ml water bottles in my Ultimate Direction AK vest and a 500ml plastic bottle with a mix of chia seeds, half water, half Dr Pepper. I had some Clif bars, peanuts and some dark chocolate on board as well.

I had a rough target in my head of about 7 hours but in reality I would just be happy to finish as I haven't actually trained over 10 miles since Race to the Stones back in July! Water was the only real thing I might have to stop for but I have noticed in my training that my need for water has lessened and I seem to be fine on not a lot. With this in mind I gave myself about 5 or so hours on what I was carrying.

6am and off we go!
I was quite surprised how quickly I got into Watford and decided to slow it down a little as I still had a looooooong way to go. I turned under a bridge and into the......WHAT?! The entrance to the park was boarded off! Out with the phone to try and work out a way to get back on track. A few minutes later I was on my way again trying to pick up another path to the river. I found a nice little pathway leading me back to where I needed to be and headed on to the dark scary path along the river. I put my Petzl Tikka XP2 head torch on and apart from it bouncing around a little as I have a head like a pea it works really well, giving me a lovely flat distribution.
Everything seems to be going pretty well and I`m right on my target pace. A nice friendly dog walker finds me checking out a sign post and points me onto the path for the Grand Union Canal.
Glad that I haven't got lost yet I set off down the path. I've not really run along a canal before and so far it feels pretty good. 3 miles later however...
Now 13 miles in I started to feel like a boil in the bag fish. The temperature had come up a little bit and it was now time to lose the layers and pack them away.
I added some Elete drops to my water and started munching away on some peanuts till I felt I could pick up the pace again.
I started to feel much better and trotted along quite nicely passed some very pretty canal boats, taking in the scenery as I made my way towards Uxbridge. It must be noted that not all of the scenery was quite so nice on this section of the Grand Union canal, some of it was pretty untidy with rubbish dumped at the sides. Why do people do this?! They take a perfectly nice place and trash it! Moving on...

Eventually I looked down at my watch to see it tick over to 17 miles. I say eventually because that last part felt like a million miles and has made my hamstring a very grumpy beast. A nice stretch and a switch of bottles and its time to head back.
Mr Hamstring is not happy with being up at this time in the morning and is making a point of telling me that I am an arse. I am an arse for not really building up to this. I am an arse for not staying in bed. I am an arse for listening to my arse.
The canal is not ending. Never before have I just wanted a hill, hell I would just take a corner at this stage, anything to break up the monotony of this straight, flat, stony canal path.
Finally I can see the turning back onto the cycle path and see the sign for Watford again. 3 1/2 miles.
I run and shuffle for what feels like an age. Another sign post. Watford 3 miles. WHAT?! Half a mile?! This is getting silly now!
This continues for a few millennia until the watch ticks over to 26.2 miles. Marathon done! 6 hours. Not so great but I`m still alive and not feeling so bad now. I pick up the pace a little just to make sure I still have my legs on. 28 miles in I found a little shop and they sell coconut water! Oh rapture! Its the little things.....

Now with 2 cans of coconut water on board things are looking up and I start to move along a little quicker, sipping away as I try and keep up with the passing snails.

Mr Hamstring is starting to get very vocal again so I employ the old trusty technique of  "shuffle a bit, run a bit, walk a lot, repeat" anything to just keep moving.

32 miles in and in a moment of clarity I suddenly realise that I am doing something strange. I am running. Not only am I running but I am now running quicker than I have been all day! Quick look at the watch to see 8:45 minute mile!!! OK then?!! I gradually slow it down again and walk some more over the next mile.

Finally into Borehamwood now and on the home stretch! Unfortunately the home stretch entails a lot of pretty steep hills but at this stage I just want to get it done.

I come to the brow of the last hill and start making my way down the other side and I can see someone near the bottom standing with a phone, no way? Is that? It is! Its my Mum! She cheers me to the bottom then starts running with me over the last mile!
It really lifted my spirits and we chatted along until my watch finally read 34 miles.
Final time was just a little under 8:10, a lot longer than I had bargained for but that all faded away when my Mum handed me this!!

Such an amazing gift! She then added that there is room on there for a lot more tags....

Same time next year then folks! :)

Cardiosaurus

EDIT - It must also be noted that I came home to the most amazing risotto from my wonderful, beautiful and very patient (have I crawled enough yet?) Fiancee! Great recovery meal!!