Geordie Shores

 I love a trip back to the NE - whether it's to see family, catch up with friends, run, or drink coffee and eat cake. This weekend saw me do all of the above - a coffeeshop on the way over, dinner with my parents, a pub catchup afterwards with friends (which developed into a much larger night than planned), and then a run the next morning.

 

When I say "run", it was actually a race - the North East Masters' XC Championships. This is the first time I've been "old enough" for the Scottish Masters' XC, but as I hadn't fancied a 9-10hr drive up to Forres and back, I opted for the NE event instead. Little did I know that although the lower age limit in Scotland is 40, it is 35 in England, so I was back to racing younger ladies again!

 

My first "40" number...sob!!!

The race venue (Wallsend) wasn't hard to find (due to the wonders of satnav), and I even managed to have the right change for a smooth trip through the Tyne Tunnel, but the weather was less than ideal. I kept hoping that it would warm up (my car said 4 degrees) but unfortunately it didn't happen, and to add insult to injury, the rain just kept coming and going.

 

Still, it was the same for everyone so I picked up my number (and the "40" to attach to my back....sob....first time I've had to wear that!!), wrapped up well and went out to recce the course. The ladies (and men >65) had to run 2 laps, while the 35-64 yr old men had an extra one.

 

The "course map"

There was an initial lap of a small soggy sloping open area, and then a short undulating area through trees, with a combination of mud, grass, leaves, gravel, a bollard and a bit of tramac to keep you on your toes. Next a flat grassy expanse before a sharp hairpin back to descend on a narrow gravelly path to the bottom of the dene. Another muddy section took you to the tarmac path along the bottom of the dene - the course was flagged alongside the path so I presumed we were meant to keep off the tarmac all the way to the far end where you looped back around. As I turned away to ascend the first hill, I was joined by the routeplanner. It was very steep and muddy and he thought I'd have no chance of competing well unless I wore spikes, but my mudclaws seemed to be doing a good enough job, as it was impossible to travel at any speed. At the top, there was another narrow gravelly/tarred path which didn't look like it would be comfy in the aforementioned spikes, but he suggested just running more on your heels, and keeping to the sides as much as possible.

 

On reaching a road bridge over the Dene, the route took a 90 degree turn and you shot down a steep muddy bank back to the bottom, crossed under the bridge supports and then climbed back up the other side - I managed to keep "running" (of sorts) up here, but other people were using their hands to haul themselves up as the slope more resembled a mountain scramble than a running route. After that, it was just back along the grassy open area and through the trees to the starting area. 1 lap negotiated slowly and I was knackered!!!! Still, at least I'd made the decision to stick with my mudclaws even though I had my spikes with me.

 

Out of the woods...

I kept my jacket and waterproofs on as long as possible but duly lined up with the other ladies (and >65yr old men) just before 11am. You can tell it's a low key race when some people have their age groups written on bits of paper with a felt-tip pen, and the start line is just drawn across the grass. However, it was a friednly gourp that lined up as we whinged about being asked to stand around for a minute or two in the rain to await the starter (we couldn't see why he didn't just set us off as we were all there and there was no chip timing) and those at the front warned those of us behind to avoid all the dog poo lying just beyond the line.

 

Suddenly a whistle was blown and we were off - it was almost impossible to pass people in that inital loop as the course was marked with pink flags on posts, which I couldn't see until I was almost upon them due to runners ahead of me, and I didn't want to cut the course by running inside them. I tried to work my way up a little bit as we ran through the trees, but I almost came a cropper on both low lying branches and a bollard en route. Thankfully I could stretch out on the open grassy area, but the leaders had opened up a decent gap, and others weren't that impressed at being passed (well, the men mainly!).

 

Sneaking past on the open grassy area

By the time we got to the descent I was starting to reel in the leading lady and I caught her as we ran along the bottom of the Dene. Brief words of support were exchanged and then I tried to push on, keeping to the grassy verge rather than the path as much as possible. The turnaround at the far end enabled me to see that I'd opened up a gap of a few metres which I managed to extend by the time I hit the first hill. I had hoped to cacth my breath along the top path, but having successfully negotiated a dog + owner, I could hear steps behind me. I though I was about to be overtaken, but in hindsight, I realise now that it was the dog thinking we were playing a game.

 

Up hill....

There was lots of support from people standing on the roadbridge as I ran down to the bottom and up again the other side (I was thankful for the mudclaws as, unlike XC spikes, they actually have some grip on the heels when you descend in mud) and I heard the lovely words from Rachel, a fellow Durham runner who was there to support her father "Well Done" There's no-one in sight!"

 

And down dale....

Having finished the first lap, I found it so much easier to get round the top loop when I could take my own line, and I didn't see the second placed lady until I was heading back through the trees. I know you should run your own race and ignore those behind you, but it's hard not to sneak a peek when you have to run round hairpins (as was running along the Dene bottom, I confess that I did look back up to see when the next lady started her descent). Still, it's not over until you cross the line, so I tried to keep working for the whole of that final lap, and was rewarded by not having to sprint for the finish (as I'm sure I'd lose any sprint finish if it came down to it).

 

It was a great feeling to be running back in the NE as the support was brilliant - Geordie accents are great and they're even better when they're directed at you, shouting "Great running lass!" and "Gan' on there Durham!". I finished my cool down by running in with the final runner and we had a lovely chat - he was inspirational, telling me that he'd only started running at the age of 45....but that had been 33 years ago! I would love to still be competing and enjoying running at that age (yes, I know it'll be there sooner that I think!).

 

But worth it!!!

Full marks to the NE Masters and the local team/volunteers for organising the race, and for the other runners and supporters for making it such a fun and friendly event - definitely one to consider again next year!

Becoming a lab rat....

Over the years, I have vaguely heard people talk about physiological testing, using words such as "lactate threshold" and V02max, but not really known much about what they really meant. An opportunity came up to visit Northumbria University to be a lab rat and take part in some of these tests, so I jumped at the opportunity, even though I really didn't know what would be involved.

An example of a lactate curve

You probably need to be nicely rested to get accurate results......whereas I'd had a busy week working extra hours, and having to run around town lots taking my car to the garage and back.....but I still thought it would be interesting. I had also been fighting a battle with sinusitis and a head cold for a couple of weeks, but as my chest was clear (and I had almost won the battle) it was fine to go ahead.

The room looked slightly scary as I entered it.....a treadmill in the middle with computers on each side, a box with some measures by it, a physiologist, a lab technician, a PhD student and 3 undergrads. It felt weird doing a quick warmup jog on the treadmill with all those people watching me, but actually they probably weren't really watching, just setting up the equipment. 



Curves vary for different specialisations

I was weighed (the heaviest I've been in about 8 years), had my height measured (taller than I've ever been???) and then it was onto the jumps. The first test involved squatting to 90degrees for 3 seconds and then jumping up vertically (to measure stored force in the legs), the second test was an up and down jump (ie not holding the squat), and the last one involved stepping off the box but making the first contact with the floor as short as possible. Each jump was repeated 3 times for accuracy, but it was the last test I had the most difficulty with - you had to try to step/fall off the box itself but not step too far away from the box, and land with both feet on the floor together, and then remember to jump as quickly as possible.

Checking the lactate level

After that we moved onto the lactate testing. This involved running at a set speed on the treadmill (starting at 11kph) for 4 minutes, then stopping for a minute while I had my finger pricked and the lactate level measured. I then had to jump back on the moving treadmill (while the speed increased by 1kph) for another 4 minutes and repeat the process. This would carry on until I was told to stop from the reading that were being taken. I also had to wear a heart rate monitor (I never usually wear one of these as they seem to either fall down or cause horrible chafage) so they could check my HR whenever they checked my blood lactate.

My poor battered fingers ;-(

The thing that I found hardest about this was running with a mask on, which was recording my oxygen and carbon dioxide levels. The first mask was slightly too big for me and so it came up too high and partially covered my eyes, but the smaller mask was much better. I still felt like I should be in outer space, as the mask below my eyes and the straps above them made it feel like I was wearing goggles. I couldn't see where my feet were landing on the treadmill which was rather off putting, but Phil (the physiologist) just told me to keep my head up, look ahead and trust my landing. I did have to look down at the start/end of every 4 minutes, as I could only imagine the carnage of me trying to jump on and off a moving treadmill without looking at it.

As the treadmill got faster and faster, I was desperate to be told that my lactate levels had gone high enough for me to stop, but no sooner had I stopped running, than it was back to the jumps to repeat the tests. Strangely enough, it felt like I had improved at them, but it was probably that I had actually just warmed up.

We stood around chatting for a few minutes and I thought (with a with of relief) that it must be all over. How wrong could I be? Phil announced that I must now "run to exhaustion"!!!!!! 

An example of VO2max testing

On went the mask and heart rate monitor again (o joy!) and back to the treadmill I went. This time it was set on an incline on 5 degrees and the speed increased by half a km/hour every 30s. It felt rather tough and I was petrified of sliding off the back and ending up in an embarassing heap on the floor. I knew my fried Rosie had disconnected the cables when she did this test as she was trying so hard, but me found that my legs were just getting more and more painful at a slower speed than I'd expected. The end point of this test is up to the runner - when you don't think that you can continue any more - and the limiting factor differs between individuals - but what stopped me was my legs rather than my cardiovascular system. Maybe it was the incline, maybe the previous tests, or maybe the after effects of my week or my cold, but my quads were burning so much that I had to stop. At least I'd managed to get up to the same speed as I had in the lactate testing, but I did feel rather a failure.

After that, you guessed it, back to the jumps........and then it was finally over!!!

The position of the treadmill meant that Phil had been able to wander round while I was running on it, so he could actually asses my form and my gait (stride and step length were also being measured)......which was probably rather a scary thing for him to have to do. I know that I have some "interesting" gait issues, and know what injuries I am prone to, so it was interesting to hear his opinion. I had felt my pelvis tilting anteriorly as the speed increased on the treadmill, and this was one of the first things he commented on. It means that I don't actually activate and use my glutes properly (shame, because they're big enough) which must lose me a lot of propulsive power. This is exacerbated by my tight hip flexors which worsen the anterior tilt. He also noticed that my pelvis is higher on the left hand side (I do have more problems with that hip flexor) and to compensate, I carry my left shoulder lower than my right. This explains why I appear to have a twisted foot in all race photos (I rotate my leg while bringing my foot through to avoid hitching my hip further or swinging my leg right out) and also why I always have a sore left shoulder/back after long runs/races. 

All in all I'm rather weird and wonky........and I almost dread getting the analysis of the results as he might just tell me that I'm a disaster area and should just quit while I'm ahead(!).

Saying "Sayonara" to my 30s.....

That's probably a misleading title as I didn't wear my Sayonaras either weekend!!!

Birthdays are funny things - as a youngster you look forward to celebrating them eagerly, and often wish to be older than you are. When you are older, you often dread them and wish you were younger.....until you become very old and they are celebrated once again, and you start adding years on (as my Polish Babcia was keen to do!).

What's in a number?

In between they're a bit of a non-event, though there is quite a lot of social pressure to make a big deal of special birthdays, eg those ending in 0. I was told that I might dread turning 40, as I might feel "middle aged" or that I was getting old.....and I was also told that I might be really excited to be joining a new age group, and hence open up a new category in running. I can't really say that I felt either of these - I still wonder when I'll feel "grown up" and age is just a number to me, it doesn't affect the way I run or race.

However, my life these days is filled with running, racing, friends, family, food and drink .......oh yeah.... and work......so I celebrated with a bit of all of these.

In a way, I also celebrated the end of my 30s by doing something memorable - something I've never done before - which was take part in a 3000m race. Don't worry, I've not gone completely mad, it wasn't a 3000m track race, but a XC relay race.

I didn't sleep well the night before as I was rather nervous about letting my team mates down. I was running for my English club (Durham City Harriers) who were actually hosting the event, and I was due to run the middle leg (out of 3).....and for the Senior "A" team, rather than the Vets team. Setting us up on the first leg was Rosie Smith (who actually runs XC for GB/Scotland) and then I was handing over to Emma Toogood (the club's track captain) who are about 10 and 20 years my junior, respectively. My main thought (apart from "oh, no they'll hate me if I let them down") was that "this could be really embarrassing", especially when I saw the course. It consisted of 2 laps of 1500m, all of which was visible to everyone else (teammates, other competitors, the men, other spectators and the general public out for a Sunday morning walk).



Setting off....

The temperature was well below zero, and so most people (myself included) opted for trail/fell shoes as the ground was frozen so hard that it looked like spikes would hurt. Rosie set off in tights, but Emma and I bravely opted for shorts, as wearing tights (mentally) made us individually feel like it was a training run.

By the time Rosie (who ran the fastest leg of the day) handed over to me, she had opened up a huge gap on second place.....no pressure to stay ahead then (yeah right!). I have to say that it was actually great to have so much on course support (even if quite funny to hear people trying to give you advice as to how to run the race while you were just trying your hardest not to slip).

Confused by the laps?

I breathed a small sigh (it was all I could manage) as I had managed to stay in the lead as I was waved onto the second lap, but at that point the race became rather confusing. There were now ladies running various laps of various legs, so it was impossible to take your preferred line (for the course or the terrain). I tried to stop myself turning to look behind, and just kept working towards the finish. A final sprint into the finish funnel saw me handing over to Emma having kept a gap (although I fully admit it had got smaller) over the second placed team. Unfortunately, their last runner was also a very strong lady but it was a great result for us to finish in second place overall as the host club. Strangely enough I actually quite enjoyed the day....being part of a team and encouraging each other, even if the distance was rather short. A memorable last race of my 30s, but funnily enough, I might not be averse to taking part again in the future!

Fast forward a week and it was onto my first race of my 40s - again a relatively short (3.8 miles) relay race, but this time on "road" and for my Scottish club, Dumfries Running Club.

There was slightly more pressure this time, as we were the defending champions. To add to that  everyone said that we had to win as we hadn't actually returned the trophy (Sian, who ran with us last year but wasn't running this year, still had it). It's always nice to show that a relatively small club can field a good team, and what's more, we had 3 different age groups covered (Lisa is a V45, I'm a V40 and Mhairi is a V35).

Lisa is a feisty starter and not afraid to use her elbows to get some space, while Mhairi is a fast finisher, so I'd suggested the order of Lisa, then Mhairi then myself.....which is what we went with. We also had a men's V35 and a men's V50 team taking part.....and they said they were going to try stay ahead of us for the three legs of our race (the men had an extra 4th leg to run).

After the first lap, the MV50 runner came home first, just a few seconds ahead of Lesley, the first (and fastest) lady who had a storming run to take Garscube into the lead. Next back for DRC was our V35 men, and so when Lisa handed over to me as second placed ladies' team, I wasn't sure how much I'd be able to make up. I was 70s down on the V50s, and 41s down on the V35s, but more importantly 67s down on the leading ladies.

Finishing my leg

Surprisingly, it only took just over a mile to overhaul Garscube, and I was then tempted to just settle back as I couldn't really see anyone ahead to chase. I find these short races really difficult, as you feel like you're running a solo timetrial and it's very easy to find your concentration has wandered (in a longer race, you tend to settle into a pace, and if your mind goes astray for a wee while, there's enough time to get back on track).

I gave myself a mental talking to and tried to refocus and push on, with the aim of giving Mhairi every advantage I could to overhaul the guys on the final lap. Soon after that I spotted both DRC guys up ahead, as the V35s had caught the V50s and they were working together. As we closed into the changeover area, the V35 runner drew ahead and I put in a big effort (well for me anyway) to just pip the V50s on the line.

Rather muddy feet for a "road race"

Then it was all down to Mhairi, and she rose to the challenge admirably. She anchored us home to retain the title over 5.5 minutes clear of Garscube and finishing well ahead of both DRC 3rd leg male runners!

I know that people often complain about the conditions, but it was definitely tougher this year than last year. Not only was there a pretty strong wind to contend with.....varying between a cross wind and headwind as far as I could work out (though I guess there must've been some tailwind too).....but as most of the second leg runners discovered, the walkers, dogs, lead and buggies were a massive challenge. The route is meant to be run on the tarred paths round the lake, but I spent the whole of my first mile jumping onto the grass into puddles and mud, as there was absolutely no way that anyone was going to give me an inch of space on the path.

The winning DRC ladies

As a team, we were delighted to retain the title, but on a personal note I was over the moon to have run 6s quicker than the previous year, despite the conditions, and be only 15s slower than Mhairi's anchor leg (in fact, we DRC ladies ran the 2nd, 3rd and 4th fastest legs of the race).

Onwards....

It's amazing to see how a year can pan out. I started 2015 with no major goals or pressure but just decided to enjoy myself and take opportunites as they arose.

Looking back on the year now, I have run on roads, on trails, on mountains, on tracks and in the mud of XC. I've run by day and I've also run at night. I've run at home and I've run in other more far-flung parts of the world. I've worn my old scruffy gear and I've worn 8 representative vests.

I've reacquainted myself with old friends, met some great new friends, temporarily misplaced a few friends (though I'm sure we'll reconnect soon) and unfortunately lost a few friends to illness/accidents.

I've laughed, I've cried, I've danced, I've sung, I've fallen over....but all in all, it's been a great year and so here's to a wonderful 2016 for everyone - who knows what it will bring?

As for me, what better way to start it than a long run, on a mixture of road, trail, mud, steps and hills......well, mainly mud if I'm honest!?!

Pay it Forwards....

It has been great to have a year standing back from setting time goals and to just enjoy running for the sake of running again. I've managed to try several different things (though admittedly I've done some rather familiar events) and push myself to get right out of my comfort zone.

One of the things that I have really enjoyed is actually putting something back into running....and what I mean by that is putting something into running for other people. 

Tracy's first parkrun

My friend Tracy Dean helped to encourage me to get off road and develop my self-confidence to "enjoy" running both the "Three Peaks" race in Yorkshire and the "Dragon's Back" race in Wales. In return, I've introduced her to "parkrun". She was looking for something to spice up her own running, and what better way than with a fun, free, sociable speed session. We have done a couple of these on catch-up weekends and now I believe she is a regular at her local event, and I'm sure will see the difference the short hard effort makes to her regular runs.

Helen (at a parkrun with her brother and myself)

Another good friend of mine, Helen Davies (who admittedly did think I was slightly mad when I went running in the snow one day when we shared a room on a skiing trip), thought that she couldn't run 5K without stopping for a few breaks. We took in a parkrun whenever I was down in London and she's now gone from "run-walk-run" (via "run-stop to tie shoelace-run") to running the whole thing and seems to record a new PB every time she now ventures out to attempt one! "Love" might be too strong a word for it, but it has been brilliant for me to watch her develop her "like" for running...and it has reminded me of how I felt when I was getting into it.

I've done a couple of runs myself over Christmas, and although I know that I have strength rather than speed (as I only start to overtake people near the end) so my times are nothing worth writing home about, others have recorded PBs by trying to avoid being "chicked" for as long as possible. In turn, knowing this was happening encouraged me to keep going.

Aleks' sprint finish

Cecilia and I just ahead of Edith and her mum

Cecilia proudly presenting her own barcode!

Today was the best day of all, as my nephew and niece completed their first junior parkrun. Aleks ran with his Dziadek (Polish for "grandfather"), while Cecilia and I did our best to keep "the boys" in sight. Aleks paced his run well and kept enough energy for a sprint finish, while Cecilia had a great to-and-fro battle all the way round with a girl (Edith) only 2 weeks her junior. It was wonderful to see so many families out there enjoying the fresh air, being led by the children, some of whom who were pushing themselves hard (just because they wanted to) whilst others laughed and chatted the whole way round (but seriously...at what age do girls start gossiping, as they seem pretty good at it in the JW10 age bracket?). I love watching children run, as they seem to just enjoy themselves and go whatever speed they feel like....and sometimes in whatever direction they feel like (I'm sure Aleks would record an even quicker time if he ran in more of  a straight line!). I made sure that I was always alongside or slightly behind Cecilia so that she determined our effort and speed, though we did giggle when people cheered her on for "beating her mum" (my father had the best comment though, as he and Aleks had become slightly separated...."I'm not sure that you're quite in the right age bracket, but well done!")!!! Seeing how much they loved it made me more determined not to lose that element from my own running!

The SisuGirls "knot"

In a similar vein, I have recently become a community ambassador for SisuGirls. As a youngster, I was labelled as an "unsporty" child. My parents say that I was good at walking up hills, so I obviously had some of the strength and stubbornness that I show as an adult, but as I wasn't very good at the sports we did in school, so I was made to feel bad about my ability (or lack thereof), and even had marks taken off for "not trying". At school in America, I was actually "excused" PE for a term in order to learn how to type (I'm not sure that's done me much good as I'm now "queen of the two-fingered type"!!!). Having found a love for the outdoors and for physical activity as I got older, I am now keen to ensure that other children do not find themselves up against the same barriers that I faced. The only thing that limits them should be the extent of their dreams and ambitions.... I think that, even now, a lot of my "limits" come from within my head.....which is probably related to my childhood (I hasten to add that this is not due to my parents but more to the opportunities and facilities that were available at the time, eg I wasn't allowed to do a GCSE in motor vehicle engineering because "I was a girl" and so had to do music instead). 

SisuGirls is a new charitable organisation whose mission is to show girls how determined, brave and resilient they are, through participative adventure-based projects with inspiring content. They use outdoor activities as learning opportunities to build character as well as community, with fun, inclusive, and powerful programmes. The aim is to break preconceived physical and mental boundaries to teach girls how to set and attain goals, confront challenges, and believe in themselves. Hopefully, I can help with this, especially in my local area, and in that way will be able to pass something on....and so "pay it forwards".....

CurraNZ Revisited

It has been well over a year since I first wrote about CurraNZ (a New Zealand blackcurrant supplement from Health Currancy Ltd) and changes I noticed when I started taking it. In many ways, the past year had been one of my most consistent running-wise. You might not believe me if you just look up race results that are reported on websites such as the Power of 10, but at the start of the year I made the decision that I was not going to chase times and results, and instead try a few new things, get out of my comfort zone, and just generally enjoy myself.

During 2015 I have run on roads, I have run on trails, I have run in the mountains, and I have run XC. I have run during the daytime and I have run at nighttime and enjoyed doing so on 3 different continents. It has therefore been a very varied year, but CurraNZ has been a constant companion throughout, helping me to recover and to avoid injury. Just to put people's minds at rest, I also believe in clean sport and have undergone multiple random blood and urine tests over the course of the year whilst taking this supplement.

I have played with different dosing schedules for different events - during the multiday Dragon's Back race through the mountains of Wales, I took a capsule both before and after each day's running, but also put an extra dose into my lunchtime dropbag. This seemed to work for me as I got relatively stronger as the week progressed, moving up the field everyday as others tired, missed cutt-offs or developed injuries.

As this worked for me, I repeated the process (more or less) when I ran the 100K at the World Champs (though I did pre-load with 2 capsules/day for a couple of days beforehand). I took my usual pre-run capsule but also carried another to take after about 4 hours - note to self.....however well you think you have wrapped up a capsule of CurraNZ, if you're carrying it in your top and throwing copious amounts of water over yourself to keep cool, then you are likely to develop interesting purple stains on your top! I fully admit that I faded over the last 20K of the race, but then again, I did run a new PB of almost 10 minutes....and was also able to go for a nice recovery run with our Team Managers the next day when most other participants could only manage a painful shuffle!!!

I have also looked into some of the other health benefits of the supplement - the anti-viral activity is the one that is the most beneficial to me. As a busy GP, I am probably exposed to more than my fair share or viruses, yet over the past 2 winters, I seem to have been affected by fewer of them than my colleagues. A few patients are also taking the capsules on the recommendation of our local menopause guru to gain relief from some of their debilitating flushes. My mother has also investigated some of the research into the effects on brain health, and so is going to give them a try....well, who wouldn't want to do all they could to keep their brain sharp as they age?

To return to the exercise side of things, there has been some exciting recent research looking more specifically at fat-burning during exercise. In a nutshell, it shows that CurraNZ is the first supplement ever found to have a profound effect on substrate oxidation - increasing fat oxidation (27%), and sparing carbohydrate expenditure (11%), so it may allow active people to exercise harder, recover faster, and burn more fat.

The dosing study shows that two capsules is optimal for endurance, not one, and so I know what I'll be taking in 2016. 

Running in the Californian sun....or not!!!

I was asked to run the 50k World Champs at rather short notice, and so had to decline as I had already booked a holiday for that period, but when I spotted a marathon (the California International Marathon or CIM) right in the middle of my fortnight away, I couldn't resist jumping in and giving it a go.

With hindsight, it may not have been one of my better ideas. I'm not trying to make excuses for myself, as sometimes a no-pressure event yields unexpected results, but I think that a combination of a lack of sleep (from jetlag, unfamiliar surroundings and several different room-mates), a complete departure from my normal pre-race diet (not that I'm complaining about that as I've loved everything that I've eaten), lots of travel (ie 10 hours in a car the couple of days beforehand) and a lack of long runs (I've done one long run since the 100k in September......and that was the York marathon) probably wasn't going to lead to a stellar performance.

Still, I usually end up running alone (both in training and in marathons) and it was a great opportunity to run with a huge number of speedy women (the CIM is considered to be one of the best - and last - opportunities to qualify for the US Olympic Trials, so many women were aiming to try to run sub 2:43). I also thought it might be a good opportunity to try out different "in-race" nutrition, as I don't really like gels that much and hence tend not to use them in training.

I hadn't really been "feeling it" for a couple of days pre-race, and those who know me well, will realise how unlike me it was, that it just wanted to go to bed at 7:30pm the night before the race as I felt so off. Still, it could have been a good thing as breakfast was from 3am. I felt rather nauseated as I forced some granola and yoghurt down, so decided to try some of the cakes available (as they always go down well). A couple of mouthfuls of blueberry muffin weren't sitting well, so I switched to chocolate...no better. Oh dear!

The race didn't start until 7am, so after we had been bussed to the start nice and early (!), I tried again with a jam bagel sandwich. As a last resort, I went for a can of Redbull.....energy, liquid and caffeine...magic (that certainly scored me some kudos later!).

No hiding en route then!

Unfortunately, the warm Californian weather I had expected was not in evidence, and I wondered how everyone else was managing to stay warm as they stood with hand on heart in the cold rainy dark morning listening to the Star-Spangled Banner, as I felt really cold whilst trying to keep still out of respect (though I do have to say that the singer had a great voice!!).

The start was nothing like I had feared, even with an elite field that covered 6 pages.....really relaxed with no trampling issues. It was only then, when up and running  that I realised the nausea hadn't subsided at all. I briefly contemplated dropping out, but how embarrassing would it be to be the first person to pull out of a race? I thought about it again in the second mile, but figured that it really wouldn't be fair to do that to my friend Clancy who'd been a super-chauffeur and would be waiting for me at the finish line.

Instead, I decided to see if I could stick with the 2:43 pace group up to the halfway mark (thinking "please don't be sick until then") and then make a decision. If I could get to there, then I could afford to run the second half almost 7 minutes slower and still break 2:50 (that might sound like a really strange goal, but I've never finished a marathon in the 2:50s).

I started to chat to a lady in the group and we realised that we had friends in common, as she lives and trains in Boulder, where several Scottish marathoners I know, go for their altitude training. You could see how serious some runners were about sticking with the 2:43 pacer, as they would chop their stride if they got slightly ahead. And I ended up moving just ahead of the pack, as I was getting knocked and nudged around and I like to be able to run freely, especially  up and down inclines.

It was certainly cold when you stopped running!

I still wasn't feeling much better, so I mentally worked out how much slower I could run for each mile in the second half to make my target. As we passed through the halfway point, the clock showed 1:21:15 (I was impressed as the pacer had been due to go through at 1:21:20 and he was just a stride behind me). I stuck with them for another few miles (giving me more of a fade-buffer) and then dropped off the pace.

I make it sound like it was a measured decision, but I just couldn't keep going at that pace. However, on looking at my garmin afterwards, I appear to have run a pretty consistent pace from there on home, albeit 20-25s/mile slower than the first 17. It certainly didn't feel that way at the time. There were a few ladies struggling around me, who would put an effort in and move ahead, and then I'd catch them up again, only for the cycle to be repeated. 

I tried to ignore them, and just focus on not letting my pace drop too much......though I confess to working out how slow it would have to drop to before I was into the 2:50s (just quietly, I was kind of wishing that my pace had dropped that far, as then I could let myself slow even further to finish over 3 hrs.....talk about being weak-minded, I'm not very proud of that!). 



So glad to have crossed that line!

I overheard a lady (one of the ones who had been pushing and dropping back) almost crying to a friend of hers on a bike, as she had such back pain in her Achilles. I knew how she felt as I'd been going through phases of left quad pain alternating with right calf pain. I decided to "nobly" suggest to her that we run-walk it in together, but luckily (!) for me, when I turned round, I couldn't spot her any more.

The last few miles were rather lonely ones but looking at my watch, I knew that as long as I could keep going, then I would make it. I actually passed quite a people in those final miles, so I felt that I just be running more strongly than I thought (despite someone shouting "get those shoulders down and relax darlin' " from the side of the road). I was tempted to reply "you do it then" in response to a cry of "it's just a walk in the park from here", but as I had my name displayed across my chest, I didn't think that would make me any friends.

A worthy medal ;-)

The final turn took forever to arrive, and just before I got there, I heard my name pronounced perfectly for the first time that day. Turning, I spotted Martín Montoro, a family friend who had come up from LA to see me run, so I tried to smile and wave. Rounding the final corner I spotted the finish gantry and managed to sprint past another couple of ladies, crossing the line with 2:46 on the clock. The best thing was that Clancy was right there at the line to hug me (a VIP pass really does let you go anywhere) and lead me over to see Martín and his wife Cathie. 

Not my finest race (and although I couldn't even face the free post-race buffet, my stomach had held up) and the nausea had prevented me from trying out the planned nutrition, but I hadn't disgraced myself, I'd run with some great ladies (I think 15 qualified for the Trials.....although no men did!!) and I'd had some lovely support from some great friends! Who can complain at that? 

Now...more pancakes and brownies anyone????