Just a few laps in the Netherlands.....

My less-than-ideal pre-race preparation seemed to follow me all the way to the Netherlands. 

While desperately trying to get my work finished up on Wednesday, I was fielding calls from relatives of patients, and from hospital colleagues about patients right up until close of play. Luckily, I'd got my bag packed and sorted for my silly o'clock start in the morning......or so I thought. I picked it up last thing at night to place it by the front door, and noticed something was dripping......all I needed, a drink/gel explosion necessaitating some emergency cleaning/repacking. At least I'd decided to leave rather early to avoid all the rush-hour traffic on the Edinburgh bypass......only to be caught in stationary traffic due to a multiple vehicle pile-up causing closure of the exact section of bypass I needed to be on. Panic did start to set in....but I finally made my flight and joined the rest of the GB crew in Amsterdam airport for the (3xtrain and bus) trip to Winschoten, only arriving about 12 hours after I'd left home!!!

Team GB awaiting the Flag Parade

Friday passed in a blur of meetings, a press conference, an interview, getting bottles ready, sorting/swopping kit amongst ourselves, and attending the opening ceremony/pasta party.....so we were rather glad to get to our beds that night. Sue Harrison and I were sharing a tiny twin room (luckily we avoided the bunkbeds this year) and it seemed no time at all from when we turned the light off until we were getting up to walk over to the dining hall and prepare ourselves for the day. Half an hour by bus into town, and then some more sitting around worrying about how the day would pan out (though I was actually more worried about having just lost my phone, but maybe that was my head shutting down and refusing to think about how many miles I was about to run!).

Sue, our other team mate (Holly Rush) and I headed over to the startline and lined ourselves up at the back, while shouting good luck to the 3 guys running for GB who were rather further forward. People always start off exceptionally fast when you consider that the race will last most of the day, and from experience, I suggested we position ourselves where we did as there was a sharp 90 degree corner and narrowing of the path soon after the start, and I didn't want any of us to have a silly accident (we would need all 3 of us to finish to score a team result).

Our names and numbers were attached front and back, and I love seeing the variety of names in these international events. We started off following "Jesus", later on I ran with "Marco Polo" and , as it was also the Belgian and Dutch national championships, I passed a lot of "Dicks" and "Dirks"! My number said "Joasia" this time, and though many people, especially in the running world, call me "Jo", I've always been "Joasia" to my family, so I'm always startled to hear "Go Jo Go" in my mother's voice! I first saw my parents and Polish cousins at the 2K mark, and they then spent most of the day shuttling backwards and forwards between 2K and 7K to cheer me on (5K for me between those points, but only a few hundred metres for them so they usually beat me to it!), along with Les (Sue's coach).

Sue and I both had slight dramas with our watches at the start but as we were running together, we managed to estimate our pace for the first mile between us. We had to consciously slow down as we found ourselves comfortably trotting along rather quicker than we'd planned. It was rather nice to see a digital clock had been set up on the 5K mark, and yet again it made me check my speed as I was there ahead of when I should have been.

I somehow lost Sue in the first few Kms (but heard later that she and Holly had hooked up and so were running together) which basically signified the start of a rather long lonely run, though this didn't actually bother me as I usually run alone. The first few laps were nice and relaxed, and I used them to settle into the course and check out the exact kilometre markers, specific route features, support and feed stations.

The open feed station

Walter's vital right arm!

We'd previously had a feed station at 5K, but as the course had changed slightly, the best place on this route was around 6K. Eleanor and Spencer were on our 6K aid station, but when I passed it on the first lap, Spencer hadn't yet made it there. To be honest, this made no difference to me as I was alone so could easily get my bottle from Eleanor, but I just hope it was OK for any of the others running in pairs. There was a general feed station just round the corner from the "National" ones, so you could always grab extra water/drinks if necessary. Our other feed station was just after the start/finish area, with Walter sending us on our "merry way" every lap - though admittedly, the first two times that I passed him, he was actually trying to reassure me that my phone had been found (I had lost it that morning, and was strangely more worried about that than the actual race itself - talk about "transference").

I'm not going to go into a km by km, or even a lap by lap description of the whole race....as it would only help insomniacs, but there are certain things that stick in my memory.

The best memory I have is from the brilliant level of support - not just from family and friends (with my parents, cousins and Sue's coach out on the course, and other team member's partners/families at Walter's feed station), but from people totally unconnected to Team GB. One member of the French support team encouraged me with "Allez Grande-Bretagne....Go England" on the first lap - I replied with "J'habite en Ecosse!", and so I got a cheer for "L'Ecosse" every lap after that (I apologised to Holly later as she wasn't quite sure why he was encouraging her with the same cry!). There was also a lady who lives in Glasgow on the Australian support team, and so she gave me a huge cheer every time I passed (and so I tried to feed back to when the next Aussie would be coming in). Team Ireland have always given the British ladies lots of support and this race was no exception - with me even managing a quick chat with Keith (their lone participant) when I caught him, so it was a truly international experience. The cries of our supporters were loud enough to turn heads, especially when a lad with a wheelchair appeared to be blocking my run-in to the feedstation one lap. I realise that he was there for a reason (though I couldn't see any casualty at the time) but he seemed totally oblivious to the fact that there was still a race going on, and that he was blocking the narrow path!

That wheelchair.....

Bryan Powell of irunfar was taking pictures and sending tweets from the finish line, so it was great to have some banet to look forward to when I saw him every lap...even if it was just an "awesome!!!" or a thumb's up (or a knackered look later on!!!).

Thumbs up for Bryan!

I did get a cheer from Steve (Way) later on in the race....which I'd really rather not have had, as it meant that he'd had to pull out. I shouted across "Whats' happened?" and he replied "Don't ask!" as unfortunately a glute problem had curtailed his run. This meant that the men could no longer "finish a team" as we'd only started with 3 counters, and as it happened, the same happened to the ladies as Holly unfortunately had to withdraw later on.

The problem with such distance events is that it's very hard to avoid starting too fast as it feels so comfortable. I thought that I could still see some of the leading ladies way off down the road ahead of me when I reached the 11K point. This may not sound like a big deal, but I knew that Camille had thoughts of breaking the 7hr mark, and that the Japanese runners, amongst others, had been altitude training....so again I reigned myself in and let them disappear up the road.

No comment....

I'd been running behind (but within sight) of Marina, one of the Russian ladies, for about the first 30Km. I had spotted the fact that she appeared to be being paced by one of the Latvian men - well, I'm not saying that she was, but I had heard them chatting together in Russian and he slowed down after every feed station/marshal point until she caught him back up. When I reeled her in and passed her, he came with me for a bit, then dropped back to her and then came back to me again. I politely (I think!) asked him not to run so close to me, as I did not want to be accused of being paced. he told me that he had thought it was OK if we weren't from the same National Team, which does suggest that they had planned to run together prior to the event. I decided to ignore it and not let it bother me, so just calmly opened up a little gap. This was a great mental victory as Marina had beaten me by a long way the last time we'd run at Winschoten, though I'd come out of the last couple of Comrades slightly better.

I spotted a Japanese vest at the side of the road, and got excited that I might have caught the lady that finished one position ahead of me at Doha, but when I passed I realised that it was actually one of their male runners...what a shame! While I'm mentioning "side of the road" events, the Belgian men must be the best-hydrated team ever, as I seemed to see one of them relieving themselves every couple of Kms.

Could we be anywhere else with that windmill?

In the 6th lap, I did finally catch the Japanese lady and smoothly moved into 3rd position, though I was worried about how long it would take for my fast start to catch up with me. The answer to that question was "about 80K". When I started the 9th lap, I commented to the guys at the feedstation that I felt like I was going backwards. It turns out that I hadn't really slowed that lap by more than a few seconds (and unknown to me, I was running under British record pace), but I really started to fade then. It felt like I was just slowing and slowing, but having now looked at my laps times, the last two laps weren't that different from each other - just a lot slower than the previous 8.

A Croatian lady passed me before we started the last lap, but I realised that I was still the 3rd European and also still as Masters' medal position. I'm not sure I was thinking much about that, and more about keeping moving one foot in front of the other, as I still thought we were in with a shout of team medals. I started breaking the lap up into small sections, bearing in mind where the Km markers and supporters were...."1K to my parents, then grin"....then a bit later, when looking at the clock "how long can I take to get to the finish and run a PB?", though it took me some distance to work that one out.....and then "1K to Eleanor".

Slight muscle spasm at the finish?

After passing Eleanor on that last lap, I knew that barring disaster I would run a PB. Spencer shouted that there was an American girl on my shoulder, but I decided not to even try to go with her (as she wasn't in either the European of the Masters championship - and 4th/5th in the Worlds didn't seem to matter so much). I was starting to trip over my feet, as I do when I'm tired (as my poor running style  sees me never picking them up high enough) and didn't want to push it and come a cropper  - as it was, I nearly fell over a kerb when knocked sideways by a relay runner with sharp elbows - only my flailing arms saved me, to the delight of the runners near me and those watching at the roadside. With hindsight, maybe I should have run for home from further out as I seemed to be able to pick it up quite well down the finishing straight, but the previous few hundred metres were rather twisty and on an uneven cobbled-type surface through the heart oif the shopping area so maybe self-preservation was a better idea!

Happy Days!!!!

I looked up at the clock as I finished and couldn't believe it.....I'd been worried about not being able to run another 7:41 yet here it was showing 7:31 and change....an almost 10 minute PB!! Maybe I didn't quite pace it right, but I was over the moon with the time (and I got to take home European Bronze and World Masters Silver medals). To put the icing on the cake, I was still sitting drinking by the finish when Sue came home so I was able to cheer her in with another huge PB (taking about 8 minutes off her previous best) and winning the Silver V40 medal - what a day!!!

Masters medallists

Yes, it's a shame that we didn't finish teams for either men or women, and I feel for the two that had to drop out - I know how hard that must have been for them, as you'd do everything in your capability to get across the line when everyone counts for a team result - but they were great in helping us celebrate afterwards as all 4 of us that recorded great new

times (and combining them all, team GB PB'd by about 35minutes....."AWESOME!")!!

Not exactly a Textbook Taper....

Tapering is traditionally about making sure your mind and body are well-rested, well-fuelled, and all set for the race again. Trust me to find myself flat out both at work in Dumfries (sickness and unforeseen circumstances have left us exceptionally shortstaffed, necessitating extra hours, extra surgeries and extra on-call duties) and zipping round the country for other commitments.

It started when my nice 6 hour work day suddenly became an 11 hour day, including a specialist clinic, that I suddenly had to learn about! Bang went my nice afternoon run, but at least I managed to nip out quickly after work to enjoy some evening sun along the local riverbanks.....or so I thought. It would be that day that a local IVDU decided to overdose down by the river....I admit that I did feel rather useless in my tshirt and shorts, but luckily the local paramedics and police appeared!

The following day was another almighty rush - trying to get work finished on time so that I could jump straight on the last train to London. At least that meant a proper sit-down where I could do nothing else but "relax", but I have to say that it wasn't exactly my usual Wednesday night's food and drink. Luckily I made it down in time to catch up with a friend for "last orders"!!!

It isn't always "sunny down South"

I really needed to get some running in the next day, so I decided to run-commute to my course......possibly not the best idea I've ever had. I was trying to run and navigate my way through Central London, whilst dodging cars, buses, bikes, pedestrians, workers and tourists alike - talk about running the gauntlet and taking your life into your own hands....how on earth do people do that regularly?? I'm so impressed!!! To add insult to injury, even though I was only going a couple of miles, the initial sunshine managed to turn into a heavy downpour before I got there!! At least I was offered the use of a nice hot shower and given a couple of lovely (large) muffins on arrival!

We were (very) well fed during the course of the day, so by the time we finished, I really thought that I should skip the wine reception and go for more of a run. I made my way (like a proper running tourist....having to make the odd map stop to ensure I hadn't gone too far in the wrong direction) over to Battersea track to join in with a session run by the Serpentine Running Club, but I totally misjudged the time, and so rather than wait around for almost an hour, I decided to just go back to my friend's house (honest, it was the time factor, rather than the fact that I'd discovered they were doing progressive 300m reps!!!). The run back took rather longer than I'd thought...... I wasn't exactly going at supersonic speed....but at least I figured I'd sleep well that night (even if the mattress did tend to deflate in the middle of the night, so I'd wake up as my hips crunched off the floor).

Woohoo - coffe on tap !!!

Although there was no food in the house, my friend had a great coffee machine.......and with such an abundance of cafes and eateries it wasn't hard to find breakfast. To avoid the previous day's nightmare of roads and pavements, I went for a short easy run along a canal that I found, but it was not without it's own dramas. There was a nice towpath to run along, but many other runners, walkers and cyclists obviously had the same idea as me. Unfortunately there were also many low bridges, and due to the general lack of space in London, the path was forced to narrow just as you ducked under these bridges......and the cyclists seemed to see that as a green light to speed up and go for it, so I had a few close shaves, nearly going for a swim on a couple of occasions!

Saturday morning had been earmarked for taking my friend Helen to her first parkrun. With so many parkruns scattered round London, I hadn't realised it would be a walk-tube-walk to get there, but luckily Helen's brother Richard had chosen a nice scenic one for her debut (and hence not the closest).

I would definitely recommend Richmond parkrun to anyone visiting the area.....not only do you get amazing views (across open "green space".....in London) as you walk there from the tube, you are very likely to spot deer wandering around the park (I was lucky enough to come across a huge stag). It's not the fastest course, though people do sprint off as the first couple of kms are slightly downhill, but then you turn onto grass and finish with an undulating rougher trail section. I ran Helen in along the final section, and she did really well to keep going going up the final inclines while others were walking......though she wasn't that impressed with her time later, when she watched how fast Mo Farah ran the 5000m!!

Another rush back across London and I was on the train heading home......to my "goto" comfort food of pizza and ice cream and my own bed.
Having felt really out of shape at the parkrun (though I do admit the wine consumption the day before may have had something to do with that) I wasn't sure about running a local 10k on the Sunday. I'd never done it before, and I wasn't impressed by the look of the course, but I wanted to support a friend as it was her "last hurrah" as a local race organiser, so down to the riverside I went.

An "interesting" course

The 10k was replacing a well-known longstanding local event, as the host club no longer wanted to involve the police procures and costs for using open roads, and the course couldn't really have been more ridiculous if it had been set by following the tracks of a rabbit. It went up and down the riverbanks, involved crossing the river 4 times, running through a bus depot, through a couple of housing estates, and passed a bandstand 3 times. The bridges over the river could have caused further dramas, as one of them (which we crossed twice) had barriers to slow people down which had to be skirted, another was the main road bridge into town, and in order to cross the final bridge, we were marshalled along the wheelchair ramps (think sharp 180degrees turns) instead of using the steps. Unfortunately the race also clashed with a football match between Queen of the South and Rangers so there were added football fans to be avoided, and I had to play dodgems when a bus unloaded its passengers between me and my clubmate running in front of me.

Having said that about the course, it was a lovely sunny day, and hence some of the riverside stretches were beautiful. Looking back now, it was quite fun to race through the town and get some unexpected local support (both from friends and patients) although we did take others unawares as they weren't expecting people to be chasing others through their housing estates.

Finishing by the river in the park

Luckily there were no dramas with either river or road crossings, and everybody enjoyed both the event and the post-race banter in the park.....and although I didn't run a fast time, I felt better in myself afterwards than beforehand so am very glad that I did it. Now to actually try to relax and unwind properly......

Variety is the spice of life

It's nice to try to do things with a focus on others rather than yourself, so that's what the past couple of weekends have been mainly about. A friend was celebrating his 60th birthday by cycling (with another friend) from Dunnet Head (Scotland's most northerly point) to the Mull of Galloway (Scotland's most southerly point) over a week...ending on the actual birthday itself.

 

The last day cyclists!

It was interesting to see the pictures they posted every day, and I went out (with their wives) to meet them in Newton Stewart on the Friday night, so that I could join them for the last day of the ride. It was a nice sociable day as another friend also came out for the ride, and the "wife support car" met us along the way with sandwiches and traybakes (yummmm!!!). I was worried that I would be holding them back, but after a week of each other's stories, I'm sure that the original pair enjoyed having other people interested in their tales. We mainly cycled on the back roads which were rather quiet...and beautiful to ride along. I'm sure they got tired of me exclaiming over the views, but when you see the sun (OK, so we cycled through some showers too!) glinting off the sea with some beautiful beaches, you wonder why people feel the need to go overseas for holidays when Dumfries and Galloway has so much to offer. It was nice to have a change from running -  I felt that I better able to look round as I was slightly higher up,  less tired, and didn''t have to worry about tripping up if I glanced at my surroundings!

 

Lunch at both ends of D&G!

The sting in the tail was that the final few kms were rather "undulating" with a climb right up from sealevel up to the lighthouse on the promotory...but it was worth it....especially when you consider the tot of whisky we raised to the 60th birthday, and the lovely soup and cake in the cafe afterwards!

 

I did manage a long run the next day....though it seeemd weird to be having lunch in Gretna, when I'd been right at the opposite side of D&G less than 24 hours beforehand.

 

The next weekend saw the inaugural Glencoe Skyrace, which one of my friends was due to compete in. Unfortunately, he was rather unwell the day before the race, and though he tried to rest as I drove up there, he did not recover enough to be able to take part, which was rather disappointing for him to say the least. Still, at least it meant that he didn't have to brave the midgiefest that I endured as a volunteer/marshal.

 

I helped with registration until after 11pm on the Friday night, then slept for a few hours in the back of the car before starting to register the final competitors at 5:30am. Being "on the other side" again, and cacthing up with lots of friends, did give me race envy, but I knew that I had to keep my sensible head on. We weren't officially allowed to stop the traffic, but could wave high viz warning signs to alert drivers (and hope they slowed down), so it was rather scary to be manning a road crossing within the first mile and have runners pouring down the race route towards you, and a big truck bearing down the main road at you at the same time. Luckily a police car appeared at the last minute to assist us, and all the drivers kindly stopped to let the runners cross safely.

Not bad as morning views go.....

 

I then went further down the valley to where the race route crossed the road again between two ridgelines. It was great to be able to encourage the runners as they came through there, give them food and drink, top up water bottles, ring cowbells etc, and it was interesting to see the different expressions of pain, tiredness or pure enjoyment on their faces as they came through. Then it was time to say good bye to the Highlands and head back home ;-(

 

There was a local trail race the next day, and so I decided to use it to try to get my legs turning over a bit faster. I got a clue as to the conditions for the race when I cycled out to the start/registration, as it was rather warm and humid, despite the overnight thunderstorms.

 

I always find it interesting how people start races - although I know I start slower than most, it never fails to surprise me how fast some others sprint off so that within metres, I'm behind those that I never usually see in a race. At least we started with 50m of road so I could worm my way around a couple of runners before a sharp 90 degree bend though a gate into an uneven rutted grassy field.

 

The race profile

I knew my friend Ruth (from Shettleston Harriers) was a good short distance runner with good cross-country and hill running skills, but she just seemed to fly away from me into the distance. By the time we exited the field and crossed the river (her by the steps on the bridge, me via the steep muddy slope alongside) she was almost 50m ahead of me, along with Kevin (one of my clubmates). We then had a brief section of gradual climb on a minor road, before turning off onto overgrown forest roads/tracks that climbed more steadily up and up. They were wide enough for passing and I gradually reeled in the two in front of me, to pass them just after the 3K marker, but then we started to descend. This part of the course was shady and rather wet underfoot, with uneven rocks, stones and roots as well as mud - I was very aware of not giving myself a silly injury, and so was quite happy to ignore Kevin who soon passed me again on the long downhill stretch.

 

Both Kevin and I were briefly confused by seeing a runner ahead of us in a club vest, but it was Frank, the race organiser, who'd turned back early to check that everything was running smoothly and the marshals were happy. We seemed to be running back the way we'd come into the forest, and so I actually checked my watch as I couldn't believe we were on the homeward leg already. I needn't have worried as we were shortly directed back off onto some more forest trails (yup, to climb again). The final part of the course had us out into the sunshine, along trails and through fields, before climbing back up to the road via a farm. Kevin was running well and so I didn't pull alongside him until we only had a mile to go. Then it was a case of lengthening our stride along the tarmac until we ducked under the main road again, via the original rutted grassy field.

Souvenirs of the weekend

 

You could really feel the uneven boggy surface taking it out of your tired legs, especially as it was now a drag uphill - as opposed to the carefree gallop down it at the start. Luckily it was just a short rough stretch until you popped back out into the road to finish in front of the pub (who can complain with a finish line by a pub for further refreshments?). It was nice to chat to everyone over food and drink before changing shorts and shoes again to cycle home - all in all a very varied but enjoyable weekend!

"UVU"

Last year I was contacted by Gerhard Flatz to ask if I would consider trialling and testing some "uvu" running kit. I had seen a couple of pictures of friends wearing uvu gear but confess to not knowing much about the brand.

 

Having looked into it further, I liked what I had read.

 

"UVU stands for "You Vs You". This refers to the fact that ultra-running is first and foremost a personal battle of a person's mind vs body. People that undertake extreme endurance challenges such as ultra-running tend to have different perspectives and different needs than the average man or woman"

Their challenge was to create specific running products that function in temperatures ranging from -40° to +40° Celsius as wearing the right product means a lot more than staying dry or cool or warm. The technology is designed to blend in with you, mile after mile, as if it is specifically tailored to fit your individual running style, eg pockets are exactly where you want them to be when you're tired and hungry and you want to reach for something without distraction. "The only limitation to the apparel is your will to continue"

All weather in a day!

Although I wasn't going to be in conditions anywhere near -40 or +40, I was keen to try the clothing out. The garments were made to measure, so it took a while to receive them after agreeing and sending my measurements through. I was given various garments to try - inner and outer layers for both top and bottom.....and I have to say that I was impressed.

I have tried them in races, in training, in run-commuting and generally just hanging around (the old adage that people ask me why I'm dressed up when I'm not wearing running gear does seem to be rather true!!). The fit of the bottoms was rather "neat", though they have become very comfortable with more wear, and I did find the white vest rather transparent in its thinness but Gerhard was very appreciative of such feedback.

Useful to have pockets on a "long" run

In some races, you must wear representative kit, but in others the choice is left up to the runner. I wore the uvu shorts for a spring marathon, and they were ideal - fitted internally, slightly looser externally, with the hip-pockets being exactly the right size and location for easily carrying and grabbing gels without having to break my stride. The capris have been used similarly on longer runs as I'm not a fan of carrying a pack if I don't need to, but some things needs to be taken with you. Certain tops did a good job of keeping you warm, while others made sure you did not overheat. I'm also rather a fan of thumbholes, and all the longsleeve tops have these to use, if so desired.

Loving the thumb-holes!

I know that it's not far for me to run to work on the odd occasion that I've left my car there overnight, but the jacket (both that with and without sleeves) was perfect for this, as I had a pocket for my phone, my housekeys, my work ID and the ipod pocket and cable stay were a lifesaver (I would previously catch my headphone cables on my arm when swinging it through, so disconnecting my vital music distraction on a boring trot in along the cyclepath).

I didn't think that I would get much use from the heavyduty waterproof trousers (as I had no polar plans), but I forgot about the random Scottish weather, so they actually came into their own when a session became rather snow-logged (and the clips to hook them onto your shoelaces prevented them riding up and hence snow getting in....something so simple, yet so beneficial). I've used them when helping out at races such as mountain marathons, but have actually run more with the lightweight waterproof (and it's useful stowaway attached mittens).

You can tell that the gear is designed by runners due to the little features that make so much difference (the pocket positioning, the shoe hooks, the thumbloops, the cable holes) and is was great to be able to be part of the trialling, trsting and feedback process. The even better news is that the range is now ready to be launched to the wider market of the general public so you can all have a chance to try them out for yourselves......

Keeping It Real....

Getting back into training is all very well, but it's easy to hide behind it, and sometimes you just need to get out there and race to see eaxctly what stage you're at. I hadn't run a road race since Comrades and so, no matter how reluctant I felt, I knew I needed to get out there and test myself.

My father is working overseas for a few weeks, and so my mother came over to Dumfries to visit me for a few days - and we decided to take a nice day trip out, combining me running the Haddington Half Marathon with her catching up with some old friends.



A "happy breakfast" to set us up for the day ;-)



We took a scenic route up there through the Borders, stopping for a cafe-break halfway, but the number of tractors and "Sunday drivers" meant that we only arrived just over half an hour before the race started. Less time to stress about actually racing, but just enough time for me to register and change and then make sure that Mama had met her friends.

The pre-race announcement included the usual warnings about "open roads", hence headphones being banned, and also a jokey remark about the finish ("for those that haven't reccied it, remember to turn into the field and run along the edge of it to the finish when you get back to here").....and then we were off. 

The first 100m of the race was along an uneven road with several speed bumps, so I made sure that I was a few rows back and to the side to avoid coming a cropper with any of the fast starters. We then turned a corner to be suddenly faced with a steep hill, which certainly got the pulse rate up...but meant I could weave my way up through the field. As we headed downhill back into town at around the first mile marker, I noticed a guy cutting into the road in front of me (he had cut the corner) with headphones in both ears. The funny thing was that he had to take them out to hear me when I shouted a warning to him, as I thought it would be a shame to run the whole way and then be DQ'd for not obeying the rules!

Everybody seemed to settle into their run in the first few miles and so positions didn't change evry much, but I did notice that I closed up a bit on the guys in front of me (including my club mate Alan) on every uphill we had to contend with....and there were a few!! After about 4 miles we changed direction completely from running towards the east to a more westerly direction......which was unfortunately into a lovely headwind!

A guy from one of the more local clubs (Portobello) tucked in behind me, but after a while I waved him past. This was partly for selfish reasons, as I hated hearing him grunting in my ear with every breath, and partly because I thought that if he could make up the 10m or so to the group of 4 guys ahead, then they'd be able to pull him along at a quicker pace.



Not the flattest race profile!!!



I was surprised to be so close to this group, as it contained Alan and I am used to spotting him much further down the road ahead of me ...in fact, just a few moments later, I was with them and trying to push them on. I felt that I wasn't running as fast as usual, so I thought they must have really drifted off their usual pace. They didn't seem to want to push on at all so I found myself leading the group, with them tucking in behind....not ideal when you've almost 5 miles to run into a headwind!!!

It was lovely to get a cheer from my mum and her friend at the 7 mile water station as I hadn't expected them to be out on the course at all, though I don't think they expected me to be leading a gaggle of men either.

I was hoping that everyone would take a share of pacemaking/windbreaking duties as I was thinking "don't race me guys, work with me and we can reel in this man ahead" but it was left to me to chase him down (which eventually did happen). When we chatted after the race, the guys did say that it wasn't that they didn't want to, but just that they didn't have the extra speed (which I guess is actually a compliment!) - and on the odd occasion when one of them did come up alongside me and start to move across, the pace did drop so I had to take the lead again.

Alan came past on my inside on a nice downhill stretch at about 9 miles and so I asked him if he'd personally selected this race for our club championship. The downhill stretch soon turned into our last major climb and so he admitted "yes, but never again!". This section finally separated our little group so with 3 miles to go, we were all strung out along the road, with some of the guys just seeming to have more left in their legs than me.

Side by side with Alan in the final stretch

I'm not sure what it was about this section of the race, but I think I found it the least enjoyable, even though it was the flattest. I guess that we'd turn back to head east so no longer had the headwind to cool us down, and the sunny day had certainly brought out the flies in force. It definitely wasn't just that I was smelling more attractive to them all than anyone else, as other people were also swatting away round their heads as they ran!

With about a mile to go, I had closed the gap to Alan to just a few metres and as he wasn't making any impression on the guys ahead of him, I suggested that it might be nice to finish the race together as it was our club championshiop race - and we were the first club male and female. It seemed like a nice way to get through the final stretch of the race, though when I passed Alan he did ask me not to go too fast as he was starting to cramp up.

Into the finish...

I made sure that we were side by side as we headed down that final stretch of road (though it was almost like running into a wall as you turned back into the storng headwind for 100m or so down the rough road with its speedbumps) and turned into the field. If we'd pushed it, I think we would have overtaken the man in front on the grass as he seemed to suddenly fade, but we just had a nice relaxed run in to finish 11th and 12th overall. Not amazing times, but then nobody would have run a quick time on that course on that day (though if teams had been mixed rather than single sex, I think DRC might have been the first team, as clubmate Jacob wasn't too far back).



DRC Champs 2015



It turns out that interesting things had happened slightly further up the field, which is why I mentioned the announcement at the start. The man who had been in second place for most of the race missed the turn into the field and ended up going into a housing estate, and so finished in 3rd place after all. I believe his language wasn't the best when he actually ran into the field, which did seem rather harsh, as we'd been warned about remembering to turn into the field, and there were also orange arrows painted on the ground, and many supporters there. He looked rather grumpy at the prize giving, but that was probably embarrassment about what he'd shouted earlier, and the organisers did acknowledge that he would have finished in second place if it wasn't for this error.



Comparing the male and female trophies



Despite it not being the best race ever, I would say that all in all it was a great day out for myself and my mum....and was made even better by the amount of cakes and cookies we were given post race, so we could all sit on the grass with a cuppa and catch up with friends old and new!

Mixing it up....

After the excitement of the Dragon's Back race, I knew it was important to have some down-time ( though it does seem funny to think of going back to work for a break! ). The 100K in September would be here all too soon, and I knew that I really needed to recover properly before I could start any training again. To be honest, my lower legs had become so swollen in the few days after finishing that I probably didn't have much choice in the matter - it was so odd to lose sight of my ankles....I must have really aged a lot in a few days to develop such cankles (they were worse than those of my patients in my first few days back at work)!

 

Rather tired on arrival in Durham!

I had thought some gentle swimming would help my legs move and shift the fluid, but unfortunately the "public" pool in Dumfries was never open at a time that the public could use it, so that was out, hence a couple of gentle bike rides fit the bill instead (especially when they had a double purpose of replenishing my fuel stores as I generally cycled to a cafe or ice cream shop).

 

My father's cousins were over visiting from Poland and so, not being one to sit still for too long, I decided to cycle over to visit them at the weekend. To be fair, I cheated and took the train part of the way, so only actually cycled to and from Hexham to Durham....but it still involved some rather "steep inclines" and so I realised that there was still quite a lot of residual tiredness in my legs!!

 

parkrun-tastic!

I gradually allowed myself some gentle runs, and even did a grassy parkrun when catching up with friends in the Lake District - it wasn't exactly the fastest course, but that was perfect as it meant that I didn't feel the urge to push myself too hard, and I knew that I had no previous runs there to compare my time to.

 

The next weekend was a full 3 weeks after the Dragon's Back had finished so it was time to see where my body (and mind) were at. I have been invited to take part in the Snowdon Supercup for the past three year but have never been able to accept the invitation before (due to injury or other commitments). The Snowdon Supercup is an international invitational uphill only race from Llanberis to the top of Snowdon. I knew that I wasn't going to be in good form, but I was keen for a run out to see how my body coped....both with the run, and with the recovery afterwards....and so I accepted and took myself (back) down to Wales again.

 

I think I'm at the summit!!!

There must be something about myself and Snowdon, because although it was sunny at the bottom...by the time I'd ascended the 1000m to the summit, I was surrounded by cloud and being rained upon. No matter that I didn't have to traverse Crib Goch on this occasion......I have still to actually see the summit. Although it wasn't a performance to write home about, I thought that I'd acquitted myself fairly well in the race, having kept a local runner in sight (in 3rd place) right up until we hit the clag, and then I was only passed in the final few hundred metres by another Welsh Lassie. I ran every step, which may not have been the ideal plan, as she powerwalked by me without me hearing her closing in, as I couldn't differentiate her footfall from that of the tourist hikers! By the time I realised, I hadn't enough race left to get her back.

 

A trip to the summit cafe (to dry off and refuel) still left enough time to jog back down into the sunshine and join friends to cheer on the runners in the main "up and down" race. One of the Scottish ladies had pulled out of the team event due to illness, but at least I was sensible enough not to be talked into taking her place in the race. The good news was that I felt recovered enough to go for a longer run the next day.......

 

MM controls



Enjoying a well-earned butty after Leg 2 on the BGR



That signalled that it was probably OK to restart training, but I wanted to make sure that I eased back into it and didn't do too much too soon, so I've still been mixing it up a little......going out onto the Lowther hills one day so help collect controls in after an overnight Mountain Marathon, and then gpoing down to the Lake District on another occasion to help support on a Bob Graham Round attempt, but I think I probably need to start focussing solely on the roads for a few weeks now....wish me luck!!!!

Day 5 - Slaying the Dragon....but only just!!!

Getting up on Day 5 was an interesting experience. My eyes had been a bit weepy overnight, though they felt dry, but when I got up, I could hardly open them

How swollen??

as they were that swollen. They weren't sore or itchy, just swollen, and it wasn't that easy to see even wearing my glasses. I took an antihistamine, splashed water on my face as best I could and wandered around the campsite a bit, hoping that gravity would help ease them. No real joy so I went to the medical tent, only to find that it wasn't opening until 6am. Still, it meant I could,d have my breakfast in two sitting......pre 6am, and after some saline eye drops later (which did help a bit). The pictures I've seen of me on that morning show that I was no oil painting (ok, so I know that I'm not normally either!!!!).

Several of the other girls had told me that they'd reccied the final day a few times, so I was a bit worried that the navigation would be tricky......not exactly what you want when you're having difficulty seeing. The weather was also slightly threatening, as it was drizzly and so there were no hills to be seen anyway. Sabrina and I decided to wait and set off with Dave for some last day banter on the way.

Starting Day 5

I managed to get my contact lenses in at the last minute and off we went. The first section was a continuation of last night's roads, so I had to hold back so that we didn't lose sight of each other (but it gave me time to stop and remove the waterproofs that were causing me to overheat).

Lizzie soon joined us and although she and I might have had a slightly faster moving pace, Dave was better at picking routes through the first quarries so we ended up together in the woods. Unfortunately, we three girls didn't notice the fact that he wasn't coming with us as we trotted off down a succession of paths and tracks, taking it in turns to be the one that opened or closed the gates (though we climbed a few!).

Soon after we were directed onto a mandatory section of the route, we started to climb, and 3 became 2. The route was "marked" so Lizzie and I had fun seeing who could spot the tiny flags first. We had to stick to the marked route along the ridgeline as there was farmland on either side and we did not want to annoy any locals and hence put the future of the event in jeopardy.

As we descended off the ridge, another marshal warned us that there was a dog loose up ahead and asked us to walk rather than run when we saw it. I spent the next wee while in fear of being chased by an angry beast, but its owner must have secured it as there were none to be seen!

People had talked about buying pies in the town we entered, and some locals did try to direct us to the bakery, but we ignored it all and were soon trotting along a road leaving the houses behind. We passed a few more people on this stretch as we employed a steady run-walk (chat) strategy. A "shortcut" along a permissive path through a wood did not really gain us much time as it was totally overgrown and hard to find, but it made for a change of road surface.

I realised what Lizzie meant, when she had talked about liking a later start (she said that you got a mental boost by catching others up), as it became very sociable, with everyone exchanging a few encouraging words as they passed (including us to Konrad as he was the one person powering along past us!). One slightly amusing thing was spotting a sign to a place called "Halfway" as it was pointing down the wrong fork of a junction for us to get to our "halfway" mark.

Another climb and we spotted the reservoir and dam below us, so we knew we just had a comfortable run into the support point. The biggest surprise of the day came when we heard Lizzie's name being called out from away to our right. It was her boyfriend, who'd taken the day off work and come out to surprise and encourage her. He had been following her tracker so knew where to find her.....and it was lovely to have him run across the dam with us. Giving him a hug delayed Lizzie slightly from her usual speedy "in-out" at the support point, but I spent a lot less time there than usual (I didn't even sit down or eat anything, but just had a drink, refilled my bottles and food supplies, and ate my scones as we headed on out down the road).

It is odd how changeable the weather can be, as it seemed so hot and still when we ran on open roads and protected forest tracks, but it then got colder and colder as we headed up into our final range of hills. As we started to climb up, there were many coloured figures scattered across the hillside ahead of us, but they gradually disappeared from view as the weather closed in. By the time we stopped to put on our waterproofs and gloves, "my world" was limited to myself and Lizzie (and the odd person we passed on the climb).

Unfortunately the clag also gave us a false sense of relief when we finally reached the top of the climb....it turns out that the first cairn we ran to on the ridgeline wasn't the actual CP - it was one further along, but we found that easily enough. It seemed to be quite a long way to the next checkpoint, but that was probably as our visual fields were so limited by cloud. As it came and went, you could see people on hillsides in various directions, but we knew we were on course when we saw the "Elite Speed Train" approaching from behind us, headed up by Jim and Jasmin (and overall winners of the event). I was so impressed to see them running "easily" up some slopes we'd struggled up at a much slower pace! How "not worthy" did I feel!??

We all arrived at the CP together and then Lizzie jumped onto the back of the speed train. The ground was much rougher here with no real paths, and I didn't want to risk an injury myself when I'd come so far, so I let them go (I say it like I had much of a choice!!!). They did stay in sight for a short period as the clouds lifted briefly (Jim was wearing a bright t-shirt which he hadn't yet covered up with a dark waterproof), but then I was on my own. I did feel totally isolated as I could see no-one, there were no obvious paths underfoot, and the rain was started to pelt down on me.

I managed to catchup to a couple on the next little uneven stretch and finally worked out why the previously mentioned lady had been running with her map tucked away whenever I'd seen her. She was carrying a GPS so from time to time, she would use it to check their position, while the guy she was running with would then correlate this with the map and plan the next bit of their route. That must really have helped in the poor visibility, and it was incredibly reassuring to see that they were planning on going in the same direction as me!

We were trying to maintain height and contour round some hills, but not everyone had made the same route choice, as three guys suddenly appeared up from a valley to my right. Luckily, they seemed to be going at about the same pace as me, so we stuck together to the next checkpoint. From there, it looked (on the map) to be an easy route to the next CP......down to a road, across it and up the other side. I'm sure this would have been the case in even slightly better weather, but we headed off the summit as best we could. I doubt we actually crossed the road at the optimum point, as although we saw a small signpost, other people (later on) definitely mentioned a parked car and some supporters, and until I'd been struck blind, they weren't at the point that we crossed. I was so cold and wet by now that I admit to considering pulling out......but realised how ridiculous it would be to DNF with only 1.5 checkpoints to go, and so pushed on.

Local knowledge (ie having reccied the route) would have really helped us between the final two checkpoints, as it turns out that if you climbed up onto the top of the ridge, there was a really good runnable trod all the way along it. Without being privy to this information, it made sense to me to avoid further climbing if possible, and so to contour round to the CP. The three guys that I had joined forces with were navigating by their GPS (watches and hand held) but had the same plan. I have to admit that I'd nearly lost the will to carry on by now (it really does say something about me if I'm too cold and wet to be bothered to eat) but then promised not to abandon me in the cloud (though in the end, it was actually one of them that we stood around waiting for).!

Woohoo - the castle!!

When we got to that final checkpoint, I could have hugged and kissed the marshal there, as he was proffering a big bag of jelly babies (I had rather a few....so I apologise to anyone later on that missed out!!). Now it was just the finish that beckoned.....yippee....I was going to make it even if I had to crawl. I actually nearly did end up crawling, as I caught a tired foot in heather roots and went for another sprawl, this time hurting my left quad, but I just got up and carried on. We finally descended below the level of the cloud and spied the castle in the distance....though it did still appear to be a couple of ridges away. I had almost forgotten about my eye problems, but one of the guys was an eye specialist and commented on them (now that we could actually see each other properly) - he suggested I might need steroids to help them settle down.....the very thought of which turned my stomach as I get so anxious re drugstesting.

Woohoo - finished!!

The final section looked like an appealing run down to the river and then a stiff climb up the other side to the castle on the crest of the hill (what else would you expect but a sting in the tail?). Unfortunately, this was where I discovered that I really had hurt my quad earlier, as I could neither run down the slope, nor up the other side. We were all still together as we started the final climb, but I could not manage to go with them when they broke into a final run (I did not want to risk further injury, even though it meant suffering the indignity of being seen to walk the last uphill).

Finally, I rounded a corner, entered the castle and crossed under the finish banner - I had made it!!!

Hmmm...still rather swollen!!



Helene was there (amongst others) to welcome us in and I admit to almost crying on her, as I had gone through so so many moments (long moments) of self-doubt. It was an amazing feeling - I'd been so far out of my comfort zone (as I'm sure had many others) but I'd pushed on and made it. Angie had taken a picture of me covered in blood and bruises on Day 1 and so it was amazing to see her snapping a finisher's picture what seemed like a lifetime later.



My hard-earned Dragon!



Jonny and I loving our Dragons

I can't really describe the event properly - people may say it's one of the toughest things they've done, but at the time, you don't think about that....you just live in the moment and get on with it. I met many inspirational people, reconnected with others, laughed, cried, cheered, encouraged, was encouraged by others, and proved what you can do if you put your mind (body and soul?) to something.....a roadrunner? Doing a mountain race? and finishing 12th overall? Who'd have thought it?!!!

And I even got a huge piece of cake before leaving the castle and heading off to camp and the finishing celebrations!!!

(picture credits for the race - Ian Corless, Rob Howard, Angela Foster)