2013 was about trying to get another sub 4 marathon, and going long. Well, I managed one of them! I also became a godmother in the January :)
In 2012, I ran the Manchester marathon on the only day in April when it was -2 degrees, sleeting and blowing a howling gale - the same day as Stratford got cancelled and people got hypothermia in Milton Keynes. I decided that wading through a half mile puddle trying to get round the dawdlers at Dunham Massey cost me at least 3 mins off of my 4:02 so I entered again in 2013 in the hope of bettering my time. The year started off with cross countries, doing some particularly gruesome and snowy runs (the infamous Midlands XC at Stafford where it is rumoured a junior runner's socks got frozen to his feet!!), but overall I felt like I was running quite well. I did some of the old favourite races, the Stamford 30k where I had a decent run, buy my marathon paced section felt a bit hard on some of the hills. I guess that is the point of doing these things, to get used to your pace again and it's a hard race - so I carried on not to worried.
I was gutted to miss the National XC in Sunderland due to an episode of projectile vomiting on the Thursday night before the Saturday of the run, I'm not sure what caused it, but no way could I even travel to support. I love the National, I'm sure I've said this before, but the National XC is the London Marathon of XC running, anyone belonging to a UKA affiliated club can enter, and the range of speeds is vast. I would encourage anyone to pluck up the courage, stick two fingers up and just give it a go. Strangely after this episode (maybe it was a few days of enforced rest or losing half a stone in 3 days) my running seemed to pick up, and I ran a very speedy 5K at the Barnstaple Parkrun (just a few seconds off my PB) the day before the Duchy 20. I had a splendid holiday down in Cornwall in the isolation of my friends little house that looks across to Falmouth. A week of no TV, little internet, just the radio, lots of visiting cool places (including Kwik Fit in Truro when I got a puncture... booooo!) and some good running.
Just before Barnstaple and the Duchy I got a PB at the Cambridge half, 1:48. I had a great race, but was disappointed to find the one time a year I seem to race a half, the chip buggered up and gave me a time 2 mins slower than I clocked on a LONG course (before you say it, not sure it resembled any gun time either). Anyway, I know what I did, and the simple answer is to do it again and again, isn't it? I'm wondering if I should race a few more half marathons, I think it's a tricky distance. I feel like I'm getting better at 5Ks by attending lots of Parkruns so perhaps the same logic applies. It's a balance between getting sharper and wearing myself out I think. I definitely don't want to do that. 2013 was also the year that Wolverhampton Parkrun started, 2 miles from where I live so it is joggable as a WU. A great little course and if I was less busy doing this and that I'd go more often. I am grateful to the people who started it, it was something that crossed my mind a while ago but I didn't feel I had the time to commit to setting it up. I'm really glad someone did. A few of my running friends also started going, which is great - I am a lot more likely NOT to turn over in bed and hit the snooze button these days because I have people to meet there!
The most memorable race of the first part of the year for other reasons, has to be the Rhayader 20. I blogged about it at the time, but this is the only race so far in my running life where the possibility of dying has crossed my mind. Perhaps that sounds overly dramatic; I don't believe we were ever in real danger but the weather was shocking. We started off in Rhayader village knowing the weather was snowy elsewhere, but it was just a bit chilly and cloudy. The customary 5.5 miles up to the top of "the big one" and all looked ok. I saw the false summit, then I saw the actual summit where the ambulance sits (that's how you know it is really the top) and it started to hail. I didn't think that was a problem, it was bouncing off of me. Then came down snow like I've never ever seen. Total whiteness all around and so quickly. It was settling on my arms, it was settling on my head, and the top of my chest where my race number was pinned. I went to look at my garmin and had to brush off snow. We ran down the hairpins, thanking frozen looking marshals; and still a lot of snow was settling on the roads, cars were having to crawl and a cyclist was skidding along on his bike. I wondered what would happen if someone fell or had to stop. We were all dressed sensibly, but even so... It carried on like this until about 11 or 12 miles, where it then went back to simply "cold". The scenery was still beautiful. To think in previous years I've been sunburned at this race! As always the day after Rhayader is the Ashby 20, and again I did both. I love both races, and run at a sensible pace doing both is a reasonable long run exercise. Ashby was just as cold, and it was sleeting a bit, I'd had a bit of a cold and to be honest at the end my chest was sore from breathing the cold air in and out.
Easter came, and I managed to get a place in the Ely to Cambridge trail run along the river from one to the other, an interesting 16 mile run along the Cam taking in the flat views of black earth fields. It was a great little event, and a creme egg is one of the better race mementos I've had although it didn't last as long as a medal, especially as I had another 5 miles to go after that. I also traveled to Bournemouth with a club mate to do the half marathon, another excellent run after having run 7 miles before the start and tagging on to the back it made for a decent 20.
Manchester did not go as planned, I'm going to have to get a Marathon time starting with a 3 this year, I know I have it in me. I started to feel "off" at Manchester 2013 after about 8 miles. It was hard carrying on for another 18 but I hung on, 4:07 the 2nd fastest Marathon I've ever run but I was disappointed, especially having been overtaken by a woman dressed as a giant tit (breast cancer awareness) in the last few miles. Shortly after I had some mouth pain and had to go to the dentist - I may have actually had a dental infection at the time of the race. It's not an excuse, but something was brewing because I was in a bit of discomfort on the day but thought it was just a sore gum - it certainly can't have helped. I needed a bit of an extended rest after Manchester. With the previous years marathons, 4 marathons in 4 days as base I had decided to enter... 100K.... in Sweden.... at the beginning of August. Previous furthest distance was the Ultra at Connemara in 2011. 40 miles. 62. Wow - that's a reasonable distance in the car.
So I trained over the summer and I really enjoyed it all. The summer was a bit chaotic, I had to move from my flat because my landlord had not been paying the mortgage, but I moved literally 8 doors down and my lovely friends assisted me moving so it was a lot less stressful than it could have been. We (as a work team) also got purchased by another company, and whilst change isn't always a bad thing, it can be scary. It all seemed very very unfair with the flat situation, and at times despite being surrounded by lovely people I felt quite alone, but such is life. Highlights of the summer training included starting circuits. My running friends had started these sessions in Jan 2013 and kept raving about it; I could see the change in them in terms of body shape and general fitness. I decided after the Marathon to sign up for 3 months to go alongside my 100K training. I thought I was fit from running, but this training has improved me - I think the additional core, leg and arm strength I have has only helped my running, and in the right light, if you squint a bit with a prevailing wind I actually have some abdominal muscles. Other summer highlights included spending a week or so in Cornwall and having some cracking runs around there, seeing my pals from Uni in Cornwall and some of them and their children at a reunion and doing the "pink parkrun" at Leamington which was 4 runs of it starting at 7.30 finishing with the "official" one at 9am - this turned out to be quite a good move. I crewed for a friend at the Grand Union Canal Race which was a great experience and I learned an awful lot about longer distance events just from watching things going on. The Thunder Run at Catton park with the running club was one of the best team running experiences I've had - as a team of 8 we managed a respectable 25 laps in 24h, I had 3 different races - a hot dry run, a run where I was being chased by lightning bolts through the woods, and one at 7am in the morning through 6 miles of steaming slop. Brilliant fun :) Unfortunately as I was not prepared to stay up till midnight to register and the event was sold out in record time I have failed us this year with the entry, but something else equally good will come along. Some of the brilliantness of these things is the event, but it is mostly the people you are with.
Before I knew it, the 100K had arrived; true I have covered this in a separate blog, but I'll say it again, the whole experience was one of the greatest of my life. Getting there was smooth, and Stockholm was awesome. The only slight downer was that it was one of the hottest weekends in that part of Sweden for centuries; but I had prepared as best I could by doing a lot of runs with the mad dogs and Englishmen at home and rocked up to the start at 7am on the day with a load of nervy looking runners including a man dressed as a dalmatian. I'd managed a marathon distance before it got too warm, but the full heat of the sun kicked in mid morning; the course and its 5 mile loops was amazing, pretty and scenic despite being in the middle of a major city with variety and excellent support both in terms of food / fuel and crowds, and it was a privilege to get lapped and acknowledged by Steve Way, who went on to have an amazing win. I sit sometimes and think about this day, and wonder how I managed to do it. At about 30 miles I had a "Oh bugger I've got to do all of this again" moment, but I just told myself to get to 40, get to 50, and then in was simply a question of counting down laps ("I did this at the 4 Leamington Parkruns") rather than miles. It was cool knowing it was being broadcast on the internet. I finished and I was in total shock, shame I should have soaked it up as after that I was in whole body pain for about 48h. Looking back at my time, just over 12h I felt I could have done better, but it was so so hot. My average moving pace was 11:00mm, which over that distance isn't too shabby but in the latter stages I was slowing down a lot to get as much water and electrolyte drink down me as I could. Would I do it again, yes probably but I don't think I want to go longer at the moment.
I was a bit wobbly in the head department before the 100K full of self doubts; during and shortly after I felt boosted and a few days after I felt a fairly significant low. It's a massive thing to build up to and pffft! It's gone, albeit a great memory. Some things meant a lot; my coach said he was proud, my parents also. I did the run because I wanted to and whilst I appreciate the sentiments of others I found it hard listening to how great I'd done because I didn't really feel great, and with 2 weeks rest (just as well with a totally bruised foot) I felt like I was missing getting out on more good times, e.g. the social aspect of jogging along chatting to my pals. I do still maintain that anyone with the will can pretty much do anything they want. You heard it here first.
In September, I got asked out by someone I'd met at a Parkrun over the summer. We have a reasonable number of mutual friends so got talking, being the wallflower that I am I did wonder about him "in that way" but sort of dismissed it - I don't tend to ask people myself (I've had not so much bad but very strange experiences when I have done the asking so gave up). So he asked me on a date and I thought it would be good; we went out in early Sept and got on really well. We went out again, and again, and I found his company to be just delightful. We can talk, we are the same in the right ways, but different enough in others to make life interesting. I feel like I've known him ages, but also I still find him as interesting as someone I've just met. Happy.
Running wise, between Sept and Dec I have been concentrating on two things really, parkruns and XC in the quest for greater speed. The season started well, and more or less I'd been equaling or bettering my best times on the courses I've run before. Things did feel a bit hard though. Work, rushing around, circuits and running I felt at times I lived out of a sports bag, was having so many showers per day my skin would fall off and I just never had 5 mins to sit down. Not that I'd have had it any other way. I just secretly craved a bit of downtime.
Reasons for everything feeling tough became apparent during "the week from hell" in December. I use this term in jest as worse things happen at sea and all that, but it was a hard week.
Monday - Went to give blood, got told I was anaemic. That might explain my everything feels so hard then! Out with friend, late night
Tuesday - Trip to Blackpool, early start and general knackeredness - Xmas meal
Wednesday - Tired after a late night (no booze just late to bed). Got told boss had resigned (we all like him, found him to be very good at his job and the circumstances were not good. To the observer it looked like he was stitched up. That is all.)
Thursday - Felt so awful went to the doctors - came out with antibiotics for an infection and some advice on Iron, drove a 200 mile round trip to have an Xmas meal in Bristol - it was nice but I was knackered
Friday - Running club Xmas do - got breathalyzed on the way back, and despite being virtually tee total and knowing I'd last had any booze WEEKS if not MONTHS ago it was still a slightly nerve wracking experience, I was stopped because one of my lights had gone which must have only just happened because I'd have noticed parking up at home. Got pulled over in to a lay-by about 2 miles from home as part of a Police Xmas crackdown. Policeman (smiling sarcastically) "Where have you been?" Me (In horrible Christmas jumper) "Running club party!" They were very nice and took care to explain to me what was going on, didn't believe my age (bats eyelids) and with a reading of 0.000mg I was on my way home after less than 5 minutes. I hope they caught some people and stopped a few accidents.
Saturday - parkrun with the girls, nice breakfast but rubbish time - wasn't full on racing but 9.00mm felt hard! Halfords light fitting dept on the way back!!
Sunday - Early run due to meeting my boy, his Dad and Step mum for lunch. Came back at 10 am-ish to find that the flat above me had been on fire, their dishwasher had been put on overnight, malfunctioned and destroyed their entire kitchen. Oh and the smoke alarm failed, so the chap had rolled over in bed, woken and sniffed burning plastic and raised the alarm. The place still has a slight whiff now over 4 weeks on. I got back and the couple were huddled outside looking completely and totally crushed. That picture of them in my head almost makes me cry when I think about it, or about what could have been for them. As I opened my door, I was greeted to the sound of dripping, because what do you know, when 2 fire engines come and pump a load of water in to an upstairs flat there is a lot of water that has to go somewhere. Thankfully it was a few drips by my kitchen window and water marks around the coving, nothing that didn't dry out in a few days but that was another shock.
At Christmas I had some time off of circuits, and some general rest and relaxation - lie ins and naps during the day. It's done me good. In the quest for speed I've just been getting stuck in to Parkruns (one on Xmas day and 2 on New Years day in addition to the normal Saturdays) and having started taken Iron in mid December I cannot believe what a difference it has made to me. Fast runs feel good again and I don't feel permanently tired. On the XC front I'm 2-3 mins ahead of some of the faces I was with at the beginning of the season which is massive. I put it down to a combination of proper training but boosted by having "normal" iron levels.
So I look forward to the Rotterdam Marathon in 2014 and everything else it has to offer. Targets? Yes, lots of PBs but most of all as always to enjoy everything and have fun
