Gloucester Marathon - 23 Jan 11

Dreading this one. Had been hoping for a PB but on morning really didnt feel like running, cool & gloomy too. Jannine & I set off at around 07:45 for Gloucester. Arrived in good time so hot tea was order of the day!

Met lots of people doing the 50k armed with their Raidlights. Chatted to a couple, including one Mike Buss who is doing the 6333 the week prior to MdS. Nuts or what!

Set off at 10:30, and Jannine zoomed away into the ether immediately. My bladder played up as usual & I constantly needed to wee! Stupidly I also didnt take any isotonic with me so felt thirsty pretty much the whole way around. Energy levels did drop off too but thank goodness I had some jub jubs on me! Reasonable course, slightly undulating but pretty route. I was 2 hrs 07 mins by 13 miles but started struggling after that. Walked up a few of the hills & felt I was really dawdling & could feel my PB slipping away. However by the eternal 26.2 mile mark I was on 4:22, my marathon PB. This lot however didnt have the finish line until 26.62!!!! Still, did manage to achieve my PB in 4:26:15 so was still pretty chuffed.

MdS numbers

Oooh! All getting slightly scarey as my number arrived the other day. I am officially number 702!!!

Loaded up my pack with Chris Edon to do a test run checking for hotspots etc. Oh dear! Bit of a disaster. Pack bobbing all over the place & rubbing my back & neck badly. Panic setting in as I really need to start training with a bit of weight. We jigged it about a bit & did eventually get it sort of ok. I emailed Likeys too & arranged a little visit to sort it out 100% and also to get final kit checked.

Popped in to see Carole Woodhams (Perky from the forums) on way to Plymouth - mainly to return her sports bra that she so kindly lent me for the Brecons, but also for kit advice. She gave me a copy of her final kit list plus weight which is excellent, plus some good advice re: electrolytes, packing up of food, heat chamber etc. may just look into the heat chamber as it is only in Exeter Must give them a ring next week.

Did do a 1.25 mile run with 9.2kg but boy did it feel heavy. Came home after that, dropped off all bar 5lb & went out for another 11.5 miles. Felt much better, although next day my hips & knees really felt it. Just shows why overweight people struggle with their joints. Has made me really want to lose another .5 stone pre MdS.

Running club on Wednesday with a 10lb pack & did 7miles reasonably easily. Pack felt fine & quite comfy apart from small rub on neck.

Up to Likeys last Friday & they went through all my kit. Actually seemed pretty impressed at how stream lined it all was altho they made it even more so! Martin also fitted my pack properly & showed me how to adjust it etc. Hurrah!! Feeling much happier now.

December & Early Jan

Pootled around in the snow & ice which was actually most enjoyable. Also started training with the backpack which isnt so easy. Early Jan picked up a nasty cold which seems to be going around. A little gutted as now have not run for a week & Chris wants me to have another week off until I am totally better. Met up with him yesterday to go through my pack. He is not keen on my Aarn but thinks the rest of my kit this far is fine! Gonna meet up again next Sat to pack bag properly & run with it stuffed to capacity for a couple of miles. Should be fun! Not.

My new years resolution is no alcohol on a school night & I am determined to stick with it for the next 3 months.

Read Rachpops blog again today & found it inspiring. I think she was probably at the same level of training as I am at the mo & she finished MdS. Lots of self talk & mind games involved I think! I feel a little happier now. I watched the Ben Fogle DVD the other night & it really scared me!

Am off to Manchester for cycle brief all week - oh deep joy so no training will be done so cold came at a "good time" really. Hope to do a nice long run next Sunday.

Just heard that my mate Jess slipped on ice & broke his ankle today. He is going to theatre later & will be in plaster for 3 months. I am so gutted for him (and me) as we were doing MdS together. Boo Hoo!

Full Monty - 5 December

Training been going pretty well & to plan. Discovered the Polden Way near home & ran it a couple of times in recent weeks. About 12mile along the ridge between Street & Hurcot. Had a weekend organised with the Sues begininng of December at which there is always far to much alcohol involved! Had entered the Full Monty - a hilly 10miler around Ham Hill. Of course this happened to be the day after a wine fuelled evening of Xfactor & Strictly!

Arrived at Ham Hill a little hungover but ready to clear the cobwebs! Freezing cold day with plenty of ice on the ground. Hills awful - first major hill had a rope handy to help you drag yourself up. I had a helping hand from James too! Needed it. Still managed to drag myself around the whole course in 2:10:07 which I was reasonably pleased with. Also got a spot prize to boot!

Beacons Ultra - 20 November

Another marathon another day! Was a little concerned about this race, only being 5 days after the Druids though....hmmm! Had booked into the bunkhouse in Llanberis through the forums. Drove up after work on the Friday. Was great seeing Sue & Martin Like again. Met Jill at the bunkhouse & being the only 2 females staying over, we had our own room & pretty much our own shower & loo - sheer luxury!!! Rab & Mike B also staying over. Met Carole (Perks) & she had made a chilli for dinner for all. I discovered I had left my sports bra behind, & Carole, bless her, took her bra off her back & lent it to me! Amazing. Met a smashing guy from the forums called James (uglyjess) & he appeared to be the same level as us & decided to join us tomorrow. Had too much wine & headed to bed around 11pm.

Up very early & strolled up to the rugby hall for the start. Pretty chilly so keen to get going. Start was fine - 3 or so miles along the canal - lovely & flat. We were pretty much at the back where we intended to be! Then the ups started: bit through the woods then up up up through the fields. Dont know why but my left knee was in agony! Everytime I had to push up on the hills I got a sharp pain. So much so that I thought I would have to withdraw. Jess also struggled a bit on the hill whereas Jill took it all in her stride! Another disaster - wondered why I couldnt get any water out of my camlbak - it had emptied itself & I had nothing to drink! Also when we got to top of hill I decided to don all our clothes in the wild wind - I had left my fleece behind. It couldnt really get much worse. AAAAGH!!! This if nothing else, would certainly keep me moving! Anyway, once at top of hill, pain in leg disappeared. I decided to keep on going hoping there wouldnt be to many nasty hills & just grit my teeth for the second round!

Fog hardly lifted all day so we couldnt see all the apparently beautiful views, but we still had a thoroughly enjoyable day. Lucinda even came down to cheer us on just before the halfway point Got to the halfway make after 5:52 and finished the whole thing in 13:03. Second part of the second round was pretty challenging. We couldnt see our hands in front of our faces, very cold & windy plus pitch dark. Got through it fine but last 2 or 3 miles along the canal went on for ever & ever. Back to the rugby hall for hot tea then to the bunkhouse for some reheated chilli & a few glasses of wine. We even managed to talk Jess into reinstating his entry for next years MdS. He agreed that Jill & I could probably pull him round. Excellent. Another jolly camper in our tent! :-)

Good nights sleep before heading home & for a pub lunch at the Dev...perfect! Another 45.71 miles done.

Day 3 - 14 November

Lousy nights sleep. Hall very noisy & lights were on bright for most of night. this was despite me wearing ear plugs & an eye mask! Still, last day today & yesterday was such fun, I am actually looking forward to it!

Minibus took us to the start line in the dark! No rain at moment but it is forecast for later. Start gun went & I immediately had to dive into bushes for loo. Took about 10mins to catch my mates up. We trot/ran for a fair few miles of the Ridgeway. Pretty easy going really. Kerry once again was champing at the bit to keep us running up the hills too, but again we manage to hold her in. We practiced lots of animal noises (not sure why) all the way around & laughed loads. Got lost once which added a couple of miles to the day. Never mind. The finish line crept on to us quickly & because we arrived earlier than expected, we had to wait an hour plus for Alf to collect us. Thankfully there was somewhere to change & plenty of hot tea & gingerbread. Nice casserole & plenty of wine in the fridge at home which Jill & I tucked into with gusto that evening. :-)

Oh yeah, and we completed 26.2miles today. Hurrah. Another 3 marathons done this year.

Day Two - 13 November

Slept pretty well considering conditions: snoring, lights on, constant coming & going. Was pretty relieved all the same when it was 05:30 & time to get ready for the day ahead.

Jannine looked like death & couldnt wait for Carl to collect her. We all set off after porridge gloop for brekkie. Weather was fine but dull. Steve Strange, Jill Tina, Kerry & I being the intrepid 5 for the day. All in high spirits & ready for an easy day. Had a great time - lots of laughs, bit of jogging, walking etc. Kerry tried to drag us into constant running but with 3 others for support we managed to reign her in & she kept to our level of walk/running. Far more pleasant for me! Completed the day smiling & happy - 27miles.

tongihts accomodation a sports centre hall. Water again was cold by the time we got back. We decided to go to the bar instead & have a few whilst we waited for the water to warm up. Good plan. I felt a bit pie eyed after 4 large wines but hoped it would help me to sleep well. Hmmm! John joined us in the bar too. Rory Coleman did a talk on the MdS & informed us all that we were "elite athletes". This proved to be the motto of the next day & gave us many laughs & kept our spiritis lifted!

Day One 12 November

Up bright & early to get ready to catch taxi to local train station, where a minibus is due to pick us up & take us to registration & start line. A little apprehensive as the Ridgeway map I ordered from Amazon never arrived, Kerry is far quicker than me, and I didnt want to get lost on my own! Nice sunny day but very windy. Hmm Think mileage for today is 30 miles. Lovely.

Got on minibus without problems & met John Adams (FB friend & mate of Quentin, who is also doing MdS this year). Chatted away to him. He is a pretty quick runner and should be in the runners group, not walkers but due to an admin error will be starting with us today.

Arrived at IvingHoe Beacon carpark & it seems someone has taken my number. A new one was cobbled together and I was promised a goody bag (all I really wanted was the buff) at a later stage. We walked to the top of the Beacon to the start & bliddy hell its cold & windy. Got all my coats, gloves, hat etc on, took photos & set off with Kerry. Majority in our group were actually real walkers but we set off at a nice slow pace. Within a mile we had gone wrong - missed the well sign posted path! Luckily we hadnt gone to far off course, realised the mistake only when someone shouted at us. whew! Back on track & off we went. Lovely course, good company & a pleasant pace. All good until the last 8 or so miles. Rain came down, blinking cold & endless paths of mud. To make matters harder, it was by now pitch dark. We had joined a really nice chap called Malcolm who is also a previous MdS competitor too & the 3 of us soldiered on together. Kerry remained upbeat & tried her darndest to keep me trotting. No mean feat. I was cold, wet & very tired. Found running through mud with only the narrow beam of your headlamp to follow pretty tiring to. Anyway what seemed like hours later, we arrived at the school which was to be our luxurious accomodation for the night! Floor space only in a large hall. Cold showers & very average food. Hmmm! Jannine & Jill came in not to far behind us. Jannine feeling very feverish & unwell. She decided to ring Carl who was to collect her in the morning!

Druids Challenge - 12-14 November

Have actually been looking forward to this event. 3 marathons in 3 days (again). Must be mad! This run/walk is along the Ridgeway (Iving Hoe Beacon nr Tring to somewhere outside of Swindon!

Carl was taking me, Kerry, Tina & obviously Jannine to a hotel near Tring & Alfie was to pick us up at the end. Our original hotel was cancelled at the last minute & they checked us into their sister hotel which turned out to be extremely posh & out of our price bracket. Fantastic!

I shared with Kerry. Met Jill & Jannine in the very glamourous dining room for dinner. Had to laugh when the nouvelle cuisine sized portions arrived for 4 hungry "super athletes"!!!

A good night was had by all, of course fuelled by the 3 large glasses of wine - my typical training prep!!

Not a late night as Kerry & I had a relatively early start to join the "walkers".

Ilminster 10k - 7 November

Quite a short race for the training I have been doing, but really enjoyed it last year & I thought I would go for an official 10k PB as opposed to the club time trial. Donned my super duper fast shoes that give me aching calves aka Newtons, and drove the 30mins or so to Ilminster, picking Jean up on the way.

Bit drizzly & cold but fine nevertheless. Met Jannine at the start, but she is a bit of a racing snake, so I didnt expect to see her until the finish - and yes I was correct, off she shot!

Really enjoyed the race & pushed myself as hard as I could. Finished in 52:51 which I was dead chuffed with.

Atlantic Coastal Challenge - Day 3

Day 3 broke tipping down with rain! Around 40 competitors decided they had had enough & the rain was the last straw! We however, donned our wet weather gear, picked up the mini bus to just outside St Ives & set off. Within 30 mins the rain stopped & we had lovely weather for the rest of the day. Kerry was in an awful lot of pain from her badly blistered arch & pretty much limped her way around. Scenary amazing. Some parts of the course dangerous, but then we realised we had gone wrong. Didnt think clambering over rocks with sheer drops 20m down into the rough sea was an approved route! Due to all the recent rain, what should also have been a simple jump over a small stream, was more like cross fingers & hope you dont fall in! 3 of us used walking poles & helped each other across. Took Kerry & I absolutely ages to complete due to her foot. I dont know how she made it. Made of very tough stuff & she will certainly breeze the MdS. Hot cornish pasties at the finish line were very welcome. We even got a ride back to base in a converted hearse, complete with coffin!

Atlantic Coastal Challenge - Day 2

Coach dropped us off bright & early back at Perranporth. Kerry & I had a nice wee trot off. Kerrys foot very sore where she blistered yesterday. Took it steady & had an enjoyable day out. Once again scenary lovely. Worst part of the race was the last few miles again on the beach & around a very ugly Hayle! As our garmins said we had done just under 26.2m, Kerry even had me trotting around the holiday park to make up the marathon mileage! AAAGH...especially as we did over yesterday. Hey Ho!

Atlantic Coastal Challenge Day 1 - Oct

Another 3 marathons plus in 3 days. In fact the total for the 3 days was 81 miles.

Day 1: We started just south of Padstow & ran the coastal path to Perranporth. Really enjoyed it apart from the 2miles of beach at the end. Makes me dread the soft sand in the MdS.

Weather was OK apart from some light rain. Scenery stunning. Nowhere near as tough as the JCC. Accomodation rather good to! Holiday park in Hayle. Sharing a chalet with Kerry & Tanja. Plenty of wine. In fact we shared a couple of bottles the night before day 1.

SLaMM - 10 Sept

Our clubs very own marathon. Boy did I struggle! Ended up with a real pain up the bum for the first 5 or so miles. Heard her life history - gory bits and all. Got fed up so dived in bush for a wee to mainly get rid of her. Hurrah!!!

Caught up with Zoe, Kerry, Tina & Jannine at the halfway mark but they soon shot off again.

Jannine struggling near the monument so she got lift back to finish. Kerry & I stuck together but I was really struggling by the time we got back to Langport & had to head over the levels & back to Bowdens. Still, soldiered on & finished in: 5:27.

MDS training plans with PT - 17 Sept

Met with Chris this week in order to run through my hill training regimen. Ouch! This involved a 50m length up a hill. Lunge, side skip, jog x 6.

Bloody hell, tight bum muscles day after. One day my "bum wont look big in this!"

couple of other short runs this week. Feeling good.

Newton running Shoes

Ongoing foot problems since Dorset doddle. GP referred me to ortho surgeon with an interest in sports medicine. After mri scan it seems I have degenerative disease of the bones in the foot. Probably due to high shoes & over use ie. running!!! He suggested I try Newton shoes (the barefoot running style) & also referred me to podiatrist.

Tried out the newtons this week & lo & behold, got a 10k PB. 51:21:42. Chuffed to bits. Shoes do make the old calves ache though. Sure they will toughen up eventually!

Coasters Relay Race - 9 Sept 2010

Jill Holliday told me about the Coasters Relay which is an attempt to take Barry the Baton round the whole perimeter of the UK. After a quite a bit of logisitics , I picked up the Baton from Burnham on Sea, & myself, Dave and Mike Parr from the running club did our 6 mile or so stint along the beach. Most pleasant, although the dam camera decided to die before we could get a photo of me at the end with Barry.

Power Pilatez

Met with Chris Edon (PT) and am starting Power Pilatez classes to improve my core fitness & general strength. Had induction & first class this week. Its fun & another challenge. Bring it on....one day I will have a 6 pack.

22 August - Dorset Doddle 33.25 miles

Tanja came up for the evening before we headed off very early on the 22nd Aug down to Dorset for the LWA 33m "Doddle".

Tanja not feeling all that & the weather is pretty grim. Cold, grey & threatening to rain. Great. It is going to be a very looong day! Drove to Swanage where we picked the coach back to Weymouth. Pretty cold, so had a hot chocolate before the start. Route almost identical to Day 2 of the Jurassic Challenge. Pretty much walked the whole Weymouth promenade which was a shame as this was going to be the flattest part of the course. Tanja, due to feeling unwell, needed time to warm up!

Headed up hill at prom end & had a nice gentle undulating trot for a few miles. Tanja still unwilling to run, so I had to leave her behind. Enjoyed running where I could & striding up the steep bits. Stopped to take a couple of piccies at Durdle Door & there met a nice girl who I spent the rest of the day with. She was a pretty keen runner prior to a nasty illness, & was just getting back into things. Still a lot fitter (and younger) than me!!!

After Lulworth, the weather decided to close in pretty horribly & we could hardly see our hands in front of our faces. Both made a decision to follow the JCC course & were both wrong. This added a couple of unnecessary hills & a mile to an already long distance! Coming out of the gloom & contemplating our error, we bumped into Tanja! 3 of us toddled off for a couple of miles, before Tanja again decided that walking was more for her today!

Ran walked for the rest of the day until believe it or not we got lost again in Swanage town centre. So close to the end but so far. Very frustrating as our final time was 11 hrs 3 mins. BUGGA! Still nice hot meal & plenty of hot tea at the end. A good day but hampered by poor weather. If I decide to do this event again I WILL NOT GET LOST!!!

Boot Camp Day 7

Home Day!! Sprint session before breakfast. After that it was weigh in measurement time. I lost around 7" plus 7lb so was pretty chuffed. Hard part is going to keep it off!

Fantastic week although jolly pleased to be going home - it was a lot tougher than I thought it would be. Great people & good fun.

Have decided to do the follow up day in Bristol later on in the year.

Boot Camp Day 6

Final day at camp. Today was dedicated mainly to the team excercise of getting an "injured" plank around a long hilly obstacle course in as quick a time as poss! Around 10 per team & 6 have to carry plank at once. Great fun, especially as we won....just!!

Evening was dishing out the T shirts & staff giving us our complientary comments plus a glass of bubbly. Boy did that hit the spot & the head!