JCC - Day One

Didnt sleep very well. In caravan & froze all night. Was too cold for me to get out of bed & get my sleeping bag out of the car! Got up at 7 & made tea!
Very nervous about the day. Registered at 8, kit check & cooked breakfast which was very nice.
Mini bus to start was around 50mins. Scared stiff looking out the windows - big big hills.
Quick wee break at the start & we were off. Stunning scenary so took a few photos. Hills were pretty gruelling & most folk in the G2 (walk/jog group) were walking. This didnt last. They all shot off! I caught up with Pip at West Bay & she looked good. although she is in the walk group. Met Kerry & Jill at check point 2 & they were both looking pretty good although Kerry struggling with blisters.
By 9m my ache hip was hurting. Took ibuprofen & struggled through. Did lots of walking. Wind was horrific - very strong 30m/hr head wind all day. Lots & lots of very deep & cloying mud & this didnt let up the whole way.
I was hoping to finish in 7 hrs but actually did it in 7:25. Apparently most of the folk that have done this previously, finished on average an hour longer. Purely due to the awful conditions!
Once got back, we got stuck into the wine, put our feet up & chatted about our adventures over the next year.

Jurassic Coastal Challenge

Manic week. Manic day & I was hoping to finish work by 3 in order to get my kit packed & move down to Dorset. Got home just after 5 & still had to pack my kit bag & clothes for the next 4 days. Left home & 5:30 after mad rush & set off. Made it down to Weymouth in 1 hr 15 which was pretty good. Pip & Birdypie aka Jill had checked in to our caravan already. Jill had switched on all the heating so it was lovely & warm. We walked up to the Votwo marquee for our pasta dinner & a beer. Not bad & all beer for the weekend free! Chilly in the marquee though so we headed back to our caravan for wine & a chill! Had to finish all my work call notes & update this. Wine lovely. Off to pack my day pack for tomorrow. Getting a little nervous as I am hearing stories from last year where Pip got lost on all 3 days & said how tough tough tough it was. Also with all the rain we have had in the last couple of day, apparently the course is as muddy as hell!
We will see how we feel this time tomorrow!!!! :-)

Chiropractor & Acupuncture

With 4 days to go before the Jurassic Coastal Challenge starts, My left shoulder & hip are still hurting. Calf seems to have eased. I saw the chiropractor (who is also a sports medicine practitioner) last night. Had acupuncture & ultrasound treatment to the offending areas.
Also just had a sports massage with my masseure Denise!
Ache terribly. Think I now have lots of pain in my head as even my knees now seem to ache when I walk up & down stairs.
Well, tough - its too late...... I am not pulling out. Just stocked up with packets of Ibuprofen.

Oh Dear!

Getting a bit concerned that my left hip is quite painful! I am almost having to limp out of the car if I have been driving for a few hours. Ibuprofen is not doing the trick either. I was hoping if I ignore it it will go away. Went on a short hash Tuesday night which was a little silly as running cross country on very uneven ground in the dark could really have exascerbated things. Still it was only 3miles long.
Running club last night but I did 3 slow circuits of Langport. It added up to around 5.3miles in total but again, the hip & now my left calf muscle is killing. I am wondering why it is all about the left side? Seeing the chiropractor about my left shoulder on Monday, so may mention my other ailments. I suspect it is just old age that has actually crept up with me & is telling me to put my feet up with a cup of coffee & the papers or Saga holiday brochures!!!!!

Jurassic Prep

Was at running club on Wednesday following the 20m Grizzly. All talk was now about final prep for the London Marathon. Most folk are doing a 16m run this weekend, & I stupidly had planned the same! My thighs are still stiff & I still feel knackered. Again, most of the girls are doing their final long 23m run on the 23 March, then winding down to 24 April. What changed my mind?... Well I had an email from Jilly (running MdS next year & Jurassic) saying that she was winding down with a few short slow walk/runs with her backpack in final prep for JCC! Aaagh! I think I had slightly forgotton that I was doing this one. 3 marathons in 3 days along tough hilly coastal paths! Surely this can count towards my final long marathon training run? DOH!!!

I binned the 16miler & did a slow 6 on Friday evening (legs still aching) & today planned another 6miler wearing Tanjas Raidlight backpack with a few pounds of weight in it. 6lb weight to be exact. Got to carry a pack for JCC (compulsory items such as warm clothing, whistle, compass, maps, chocolate etc!

After last nights fillet steak & 3/4 bottle of wine, I woke not feeling like running at all. Still, sun was shining, Alfie gone to golf, so I thought I had better show willing. We have a monument nearby so I decided to trot down to it & jog around the paths & hills. It was really stunning. Very hilly & a bit slippy but I spotted 7 deer, loads of birds etc. No one else about. In 3 or 4 wks time the area will be worth another visit as the daffodil & bluebells are all starting to appear!

I wore my brand new Inov8 off road shoes & turned them from a vibrant turquoise to a muddy yuk! Still, cant be running JCC with shiny shoes, can we?

The Grizzly

Went skiing in France on 27th until Saturday 6th March. Next day I had stupidly entered the Grizzly. A 20mile tough cross country course down in Dorset. Still, good for Jurassic training!

Start gun went at 10:30 in Seaton & we had to run 0.6m along a pebbly beach. OUCH!!! A real struggle. Couldnt believe that I actually had to start walking before I had even run a mile! Then onto the roads for a short time & up over the fields towards Branscombe & down into Bere. From there it was just plenty of ups & downs steep hills (well steep for me), through streams & copious quantities of sticky gloopy mud! YUK! Eventually back along more pebbles before the "Stairway to Heaven" steps up to the top of the cliffs, & back down onto Seaton pebbles & cross the finish line. Beautiful sunny day with stunning views but boy was it freezing cold! I was very pleased for my ear warmer & woolly gloves. Could have done with another layer on the old bones though. When you run as slowly as me, you tend to feel the cold. Some of the racing snakes were in vest & shorts! Hmmm. I took my camelbak full of water, plus my marmite sandwiches & chocolate flapjacks incase I got lost!! Everyone laughed at me, but I still ate them & enjoyed them. Took me 5 hrs 11 mins to complete.

Hips & knees a bit tender Monday morning & thighs very stiff! Bloody heck, got to do 78 miles of hilly coastal path in 3 weeks time. Eek! Better start training!!