So, another weekend, another couple of Traviss and Rachel's excellent Saxons, Vikings and Normans events. This couple seem on the face of it to be friendly, supportive and genuine people but there is a dark side. In reality they are peddling wares to hopeless addicts and know just what makes a multiple marathoner tick; brilliant medals, is that why you run? Have a look at these precious beauties, these chunky, colourful, collectible works of art. Or is it perhaps the reward of the goody bag at the finish line? Here we are then; chocolate, biscuits, crisps, beer, cider, go ahead, don't feel guilty, you've earned it! What's that you say? You're a teetotal vegan? No problem, we'll make sure you get a suitably tailored bag of plenty. What about a fantastic, laid-back atmosphere in which all participants offer support and encouragement? Comes as standard. And if that wasn't enough they come up with the SVN club. A league table of runners based on mileage completed at their events. In truth the medals and goody bags aren't an incentive for me, I would still run marathons without them being on offer. The atmosphere, although brilliant to experience, isn't what keeps me coming back. Part of me wants these things to be be really tough and I take a perverse delight in the isolation of the inner battle that I find necessary. A league table, though, is something I just cannot resist. They have located my weakness and got their hook well and truly embedded.
On the agenda for this weekend was another couple of marathons consisting of four out-and-backs on each day. In common with Martello a couple of weeks ago the out sections were into the wind, which meant the return portions were much easier, however, the difference was that it was so much colder. We stood huddled for the pre-race brief as the vicious, relentless north Kent wind cut through our many layers of clothing, driving chill into the bones. It was a relief to get under way and as I settled into the run I reckoned that I would be able to keep a reasonable pace for the first three 'laps' and then grit my teeth to hang on for a decent time. When I ran this course last June I managed to register a 3:59 and I had secret hopes of getting close to that time on both days. In common with everyone involved I was finding running into the teeth of the wind very tough, the cold draining my resolve. On the third time out the right side of my face was going numb, I had my hat pulled down and my buff pulled up leaving only my eyes exposed but just couldn't stop feeling ever colder. Half way to the turn around point in the shadow of Reculver Castle I slowed to a walk as I just couldn't make myself keep going. I felt like a complete failure. The self-doubt which used to plague me during marathons returned with a vengeance. I hadn't encountered this for almost a year and it was tough to cope with.
Slowing to a walk just meant that the misery of the cold grew ever more intense and combined with my mental deterioration just moving forward became a battle of will power. The fact that I was genuinely hoping for a good time increased my feeling of uselessness, every walked step just made a greater mockery of my hopes. I turned for the last leg on my last legs as Paul came charging in to finish in 3:27 recording a personal best despite the conditions. The final leg took over 90 minutes and I had to put in a bit of effort to finish under the five hour mark, an hour and three seconds slower than last time I ran the course. The best that could be said was that at least I did finish!
This was Greg's 100th marathon and celebrations were planned for that evening at a pub next to my hotel. I fully intended to go along to offer congratulations but I got into such a negative mindset about my running, and more, that going out seemed impossible. Instead I sat in on my own feeling sorry for myself. I kept telling myself that it really didn't matter, it was a tough day and I had done well to finish in the circumstances, all of which is true, but I couldn't get away from the feeling of failure. The prospect of doing it all again the next day was not something I was feeling at all enthusiastic about.
Day two was still cold but the wind speed had dropped. However even a slightly less cold repeat of yesterday's experience was not in the least bit appealing. Everyone was in the same boat though, and there was a feeling of camaraderie forged through shared suffering, although the hangover from my evening of doubts did have me feeling a little peripheral to proceedings. This was entirely down to my own negative internal machinations and tends to be something of a default position for me at such times. During the first leg I chatted with Melanie who seemed as disappointed with her running as I was with mine, we had both run ultra distances the previous week, her 45 miles trumping me by over 10 miles, and agreed that we were under-estimating how much that had taken out of us. This was another tough run but luckily my own toughness level was slightly higher and my resolve to beat yesterday's time kept me focused. As progress was made this became a target of sub 4:50 and in the last mile I decided that I could get a 4:45:xx if I really pushed and somehow I mustered something resembling a sprint over the final section to register 4:45:54.
Whilst it was disappointing to be so much slower than I had hoped, on reflection these were testing weather conditions, I had run four marathons and one muddy, hilly ultra in a sixteen day period and I am still gaining fitness after the tribulations of Autumn. The mental difficulties were initially due to expectations getting too high too soon but it was good to be tested in such a way and still get the second run completed when it was just about the last thing I wanted to do that morning. In conclusion I probably gained a fair bit both mentally and physically in getting through the weekend. I also gained a few places in that SVN league table...
24th January 2015 Viking Coastal day one 4:59:08 #55
25th January 2015 Viking Coastal day two 4:45:54 #56
Friday, 30 January 2015
Sunday, 18 January 2015
Feet of Clay
Following my shocking 'wimping out' at marathon distance last time I ran at Ranscombe Farm I had one objective on undertaking the Winter Challenge, and that was to complete eight laps as an absolute minimum. In stark contrast to our last visit in the summer when the place was awash with colourful wild flowers it was now expressing an understated, desolate beauty on a bright but freezing cold January morning. I was dressed for the long haul with five layers of clothing on my upper body in a determined statement to myself that external factors were not going to impact on my race today.
We had a few announcements before the start; a couple of 99th marathons being run today, John and Rosie completing their 52 in 52 weeks as a married couple and Davo being presented with his 100 Marathon Club shirt and then we were off on our first lap. Initially the ground was frozen and uneven which made for tough underfoot conditions in my minimally padded trail shoes, but at least it was firm and reasonable progress was made. The 3.8 mile lap includes two testing hills which I had already decided to hike rather than run in order to conserve energy. I was using my new Suunto Ambit watch for the first time and realised that it did not show cumulative time and I didn't want to fiddle with settings on the run in case I messed things up. This was a minor issue as the rules of the event were that you had to have commenced you final lap prior the the 7 hour 15 minute mark as it was a 8 hour challenge and it would be tough to tell how close I was to cut-off, but in any case, all I had to do was keep moving at whatever pace I could manage so it wasn't a great problem.
At some point on the first lap I decided that to treat the run as three segments of three laps each. The first was the easy section to be enjoyed, have a chat with others and ease myself into the challenge. The next three laps were to be getting down to business, to keep working and avoid losing time at the aid station, Finally I would have to get through the tough section. I knew I would be hurting by this time and would have to show a degree of determination to persist. I took on early food in the form of a Clif Bar after each of the first two laps and another thereafter if I'd felt any degree of hunger during the prior lap. On a couple of occasions a calf felt a little crampy and so I countered this with an S-Cap salt capsule which did the trick.
The early brightness clouded over and we experienced the first of a couple of snow flurries but my layers were doing their job and I felt good. Mandy was attempting to complete four circuits and I caught up with her near the end of her third. The cold was getting to her and she was feeling miserable, unable to travel quickly enough to generate enough body heat to counter the ambient temperature. I felt sorry for her but she took the sensible decision to finish early and warm up in the car.
Eventually the ground began to thaw but this turned the terrain into slippery, thick mud which was particularly cloying in one field. This made my third three-mile segment even more challenging so I fired up my music and attempted to go into the isolated zone where I can concentrate on simply moving forward continuously with no concern over pace. The hills were increasingly demanding on tired legs and the sheer weight of clay attaching to my trail shoes made actually lifting my feet from the ground a real challenge at times. It wasn't worth stopping and scraping it all off as you were back in the same position after a few more steps. A 20 minute mile was recorded on my final lap but it was the fastest I could travel at that point.
I completed my ninth lap in 7:16, one minute over the cut-off time for starting a final lap but in truth I would have stopped anyway, I think I may have come to a complete halt in the most difficult field and would probably still be standing there now! Despite that I was very pleased with how it went. I'm allowing myself more recovery time this year after spending 2014 piling up the miles which, ultimately, I don't think worked too well for me. Running very little during the week when I have a lot arranged for the weekend is getting me to my races with fresh legs and as a result I am enjoying them far more and I was delighted with my achievements in this one given that I am still building up base fitness. I didn't once consider stopping until my final lap and it was about 24 miles into the run before I really felt much fatigue at all.
17th January 2015 Ranscombe 8 hour Challenge 32.4 miles 7:16:02 #54
We had a few announcements before the start; a couple of 99th marathons being run today, John and Rosie completing their 52 in 52 weeks as a married couple and Davo being presented with his 100 Marathon Club shirt and then we were off on our first lap. Initially the ground was frozen and uneven which made for tough underfoot conditions in my minimally padded trail shoes, but at least it was firm and reasonable progress was made. The 3.8 mile lap includes two testing hills which I had already decided to hike rather than run in order to conserve energy. I was using my new Suunto Ambit watch for the first time and realised that it did not show cumulative time and I didn't want to fiddle with settings on the run in case I messed things up. This was a minor issue as the rules of the event were that you had to have commenced you final lap prior the the 7 hour 15 minute mark as it was a 8 hour challenge and it would be tough to tell how close I was to cut-off, but in any case, all I had to do was keep moving at whatever pace I could manage so it wasn't a great problem.
At some point on the first lap I decided that to treat the run as three segments of three laps each. The first was the easy section to be enjoyed, have a chat with others and ease myself into the challenge. The next three laps were to be getting down to business, to keep working and avoid losing time at the aid station, Finally I would have to get through the tough section. I knew I would be hurting by this time and would have to show a degree of determination to persist. I took on early food in the form of a Clif Bar after each of the first two laps and another thereafter if I'd felt any degree of hunger during the prior lap. On a couple of occasions a calf felt a little crampy and so I countered this with an S-Cap salt capsule which did the trick.
The early brightness clouded over and we experienced the first of a couple of snow flurries but my layers were doing their job and I felt good. Mandy was attempting to complete four circuits and I caught up with her near the end of her third. The cold was getting to her and she was feeling miserable, unable to travel quickly enough to generate enough body heat to counter the ambient temperature. I felt sorry for her but she took the sensible decision to finish early and warm up in the car.
Eventually the ground began to thaw but this turned the terrain into slippery, thick mud which was particularly cloying in one field. This made my third three-mile segment even more challenging so I fired up my music and attempted to go into the isolated zone where I can concentrate on simply moving forward continuously with no concern over pace. The hills were increasingly demanding on tired legs and the sheer weight of clay attaching to my trail shoes made actually lifting my feet from the ground a real challenge at times. It wasn't worth stopping and scraping it all off as you were back in the same position after a few more steps. A 20 minute mile was recorded on my final lap but it was the fastest I could travel at that point.
I completed my ninth lap in 7:16, one minute over the cut-off time for starting a final lap but in truth I would have stopped anyway, I think I may have come to a complete halt in the most difficult field and would probably still be standing there now! Despite that I was very pleased with how it went. I'm allowing myself more recovery time this year after spending 2014 piling up the miles which, ultimately, I don't think worked too well for me. Running very little during the week when I have a lot arranged for the weekend is getting me to my races with fresh legs and as a result I am enjoying them far more and I was delighted with my achievements in this one given that I am still building up base fitness. I didn't once consider stopping until my final lap and it was about 24 miles into the run before I really felt much fatigue at all.
17th January 2015 Ranscombe 8 hour Challenge 32.4 miles 7:16:02 #54
Martello double
Refreshed after a period of low mileage I faced my first marathon for six weeks and my first double since Quadzilla, almost a year ago, with low-key enthusiasm but no expectation of anything other than a couple of slow jogs and continuing fitness rebuild. The 'usual suspects' were out in force and it was particularly good to see Paul return on day two for his first run since a nasty fall at an event in early December. Gathering for the briefing prior to Saturday's run made me realise how much I had missed the buzz of the marathon crowd during my time away, particularly as this was 'Smiley' Sunny's 100th and had an extra dimension of anticipation as a result.
The format was to be four very flat out-and-backs on each day along the coast in Folkestone, unfortunately this was complicated on day one by the 30mph winds which were gusting up to 50mph against us on the 'out' portion but rewarding our efforts with a push in the back on the return. This effect was particularly noticeable on the second quarter of the race when a group of us battled through the gale together, moving forward like snails, one of us inching ahead before the storm battered them back and someone else pushed gamely into the lead before being pummeled back into the pack. At the turn-around it was as if my back was a sail, all I had to do was lift my feet up and I was, almost literally, flying back towards 'base camp'. The hardest thing was getting my feet down quickly enough to maintain momentum. Being tall and therefore having a greater surface area than most I think helped me more than smaller framed runners at this point as I overtook quite a few on this return. Into the wind this would have the reverse effect but I think the smaller people had a problem remaining 'anchored' to the ground so I think conditions during the windiest phase actually favoured me. My mile splits for this section illustrate the effect well; 11:06, 11:11, 12:05, 8:25, 8:42, 8:36 and I felt like hardly any energy was expended on the return leg! Energy started to run out quite quickly during the second half of the run, which was not unexpected, and it became a march into the wind with a jog back but all in all I felt it had been a successful return.
As a very nice touch that Sunny had arranged for all finishers to be presented with an embroidered commemorative towel as a memento of her 100th marathon and I waited with Mandy, along with many others to cheer her in after an uncharacteristicly slow 26.2 miles. There were other celebrations to mark the occasion that night but I was very tired and instead took the chance to rest up and prepare for the next day's exertions.
Day two was colder, brighter and less windy though it did build up during the latter part of the morning but didn't reach the level of the previous day. Susie has written a blog which includes some lovely photographs of the course, including one of Mandy who braved the conditions to run eight miles in the build up to her first marathon later this year. I think she has been hanging around with bad influences! My run was intended to be a repeat of day one, just a jog to build up base fitness, but pleasingly my legs soon lost the overnight stiffness and I felt stronger as the run neared completion, indeed the final mile was my fastest of the day as I realised I may be able to beat the previous day's time and was very pleased with how my legs responded. I didn't quite manage to achieve this late goal but that wasn't the point, it felt like things were coming together again!
10th January 2015 Martello day one 4:51:04 #52
11th January 2015 Martello day two 4:52:44 #53
The format was to be four very flat out-and-backs on each day along the coast in Folkestone, unfortunately this was complicated on day one by the 30mph winds which were gusting up to 50mph against us on the 'out' portion but rewarding our efforts with a push in the back on the return. This effect was particularly noticeable on the second quarter of the race when a group of us battled through the gale together, moving forward like snails, one of us inching ahead before the storm battered them back and someone else pushed gamely into the lead before being pummeled back into the pack. At the turn-around it was as if my back was a sail, all I had to do was lift my feet up and I was, almost literally, flying back towards 'base camp'. The hardest thing was getting my feet down quickly enough to maintain momentum. Being tall and therefore having a greater surface area than most I think helped me more than smaller framed runners at this point as I overtook quite a few on this return. Into the wind this would have the reverse effect but I think the smaller people had a problem remaining 'anchored' to the ground so I think conditions during the windiest phase actually favoured me. My mile splits for this section illustrate the effect well; 11:06, 11:11, 12:05, 8:25, 8:42, 8:36 and I felt like hardly any energy was expended on the return leg! Energy started to run out quite quickly during the second half of the run, which was not unexpected, and it became a march into the wind with a jog back but all in all I felt it had been a successful return.
As a very nice touch that Sunny had arranged for all finishers to be presented with an embroidered commemorative towel as a memento of her 100th marathon and I waited with Mandy, along with many others to cheer her in after an uncharacteristicly slow 26.2 miles. There were other celebrations to mark the occasion that night but I was very tired and instead took the chance to rest up and prepare for the next day's exertions.
Day two was colder, brighter and less windy though it did build up during the latter part of the morning but didn't reach the level of the previous day. Susie has written a blog which includes some lovely photographs of the course, including one of Mandy who braved the conditions to run eight miles in the build up to her first marathon later this year. I think she has been hanging around with bad influences! My run was intended to be a repeat of day one, just a jog to build up base fitness, but pleasingly my legs soon lost the overnight stiffness and I felt stronger as the run neared completion, indeed the final mile was my fastest of the day as I realised I may be able to beat the previous day's time and was very pleased with how my legs responded. I didn't quite manage to achieve this late goal but that wasn't the point, it felt like things were coming together again!
10th January 2015 Martello day one 4:51:04 #52
11th January 2015 Martello day two 4:52:44 #53
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