Much better head on me this week!

Well - decided not to go and recce BG again this weekend - not up for punishing myself and my demoralised head again so may even put it off for a year so as not to rush my reccying! Did a hilly roady bike ride on the saturday - still not right in the legs but alot better so hopefull! THEN - I entered my first extremely short fell race (only 5.9 miles of big hills - this is usually my warm up hour!). My local town of Bradwell has an charity called "Bradda Dads" and they set it up and the whole world turned up - I seemed to be back where I was a few years ago not knowing anyone at races again - all these fast sprinty fell runners.
Good thing was I could run to the start over the hill at the back of my house so this would warm me up and then I stood in a queue for my number - I got your number - 118 - hope I can run as good as the two in the advert!!!!
Met two people I know - phew - maybe I will know more as I get to live here longer - felt good putting down "Local" on the entry form though - am definately a Peaks Girlie now!
The pace was a fast start through the field and lane to the first big hill climb up Shatton Moor - I can't believe how steep people still try and run - I don't do that - just long strides and overtook loads! Yippee I was back - my legs felt great and my head too!!!
Course they all overtook me again once we got to the running along the tops bit!!! But then came a steep downhill and I felt great again - I was loving this - why have I never done short fell races before???
Next big up I started ticking people off - felt great overtaking again and then charging passed a couple more on the massive downhill finish and then one more in the field - Oh so happy - I am not last!!!
What a great morning - the winners did it in just over 40 mins and I did it in just under 1 hour 10 mins - so still extremely slow but who cares - it was such a good race - Wolf Pitts Race - you get to the website via Dark peaks website.
Ah just thought why I liked it so much - there was photographers on the course so ofcourse I was smiling all the way!!
Next weekend is biking 103 miles road sportive - hope my head stays good as am loving the feeling again!

Shud have raced!

Well - I decided to go with the Girls (Catherine and Alex and another friend Graham) to start my BG training (at long last) - BIG mistake - all I have done is demorralised myself and even want to give up running altogether let alone do anything big. I think I am not good at running in a team or a group - I am always playing catch up and I can't stand it - last year all my best runs were by myself, at my pace on my terms. I must be the only person in the world that gets worse not better when their friends are just ahead! I dropped out after 4 hours of hell - oh yeah and it was very very very windy - we got blown off our feet going up Helvelin, it is not easy trying to hold your hat on with frozen fingers whilst holding onto the rocks to keep you attached to the Earth!
Maybe I am not ready for a BG yet - or am I just not ready to train at someone else pace? My head needs a good sort out and my body needs a transplant - or is it the other way round - my head needs a transplant and my body needs sorting. Why can't I do it - I love hills and I couldn't even get up the first one (we were doing leg 2 in a clockwise way so Threlkeld up to Clough Head and on to Dunmail). All I wanted to do was cry and I was on the hills - I should have just been having a good time cos I was out in the lakes - I don't understand not having fun - it was worse than the emotions on Tour du Mont Blanc - that I could understand - this I cannot - may be all I needed was a hug but I couldn't catch one up!!! Next time I am taking the hugs in my pocket and reccying by myself - mind you the next two sections look really complicated!!! My map has sqiggles all over it now!
Well at least writing about it has cheered me up - even going out biking today didn't help me - I seem to have swapped my legs muscles for lead muscles - it is like dragging lumps of concrete up the hills - and the usual wine afterwoods hasn't helped either - just couldn't be bothered with it - what has happened to me?
Depressed of Team Run Like a Lump of Concrete

Wow - Wye Ultra - did I need it???
I still can't walk and it was 2 days ago!

I turned up the night before having picked my sister up so she could come and get an idea of what running one of these events was like - we met up with a few mates in the pub and stupidly I drank wine - well I do love it!

Next day at 6.30 am having spent the night in my flowery van with my sister and her extremely smelly dog (don't swim in the Wye it is very very fishy!), set up all the Runfurther.com flags and banners, drank as much water as I could shove down my neck and went to registration.

Oh god - the bridge (about a 3rd of the way into the race) has fallen down or broken and so is closed, the course is now four laps of 7.5 miles along the banks of the Wye and some roads and some forest - oh help me please - I was dreading just one out and back and all the flatness, now I have no long hills to give my legs a change of pace and I have to come back to the start - I will never be able to turn round!

My sister tells me to stop moaning, it can't be helped, get out there and enjoy it - so I start the race! And for the first time without carrying anything accept 2 bars and some brufopen in my pocket!

• First 7.5 miles - brilliant - I am not last, there was one short hill, the sun is out and I feel great.
• Second 7.5 miles - oh god you can see how far ahead all your mates are, but luckily it all feels very new this way round, even the road section goes quickly!
• Turn-a-round - haLf way - everyone was telling me to be strong and just run through it - well that suddenly felt easy! I sprinted in - got a slug of water from my stashed bottle and sprinted (well my version of a sprint!) again 0ff on the third leg- well I have now got a few goals to pick as I can see all my mates again!
• Third 7.5 miles - getting harder but still moving, need a few stretch stops and more water and food at the water station, chat with other runners, meet new friends, still going but not so strong, then there it is - a photographer - always good for getting me to smile - and even better a second boost just after him was my sister - she'd run to near the half way point to meet me - what a boost - more photos - more smiling and off I trot - well you have to look like you know what you are doing! Felt good though cos just round the corner I bumped into Hannah - OK she was way ahead of me and of course looking good (well she is 12 years younger!) BUT she was walking! Well all that got me to the last turn-a-round point.
• Last 7.5 miles - as soon as I turned it all went wrong, my legs went to lead and the path seemed to get longer and longer - I'm sure it wasn't that far back to the water station - well got there eventually, clock watching cos now I wanted to get under 5 and a half hours - it was looking good, then bad, then good, then bad but seeing and hearing the marshals at the road junction was fantastic - it not only gives you a boost to be cheered on but then it was only 4 miles to go - even if most of it was on tarmac (my pet hate) I was determined to pick up the pace a bit and try and catch a few runners and get my time goal - so I stopped, stretched and spead off - NOT - it was like running only alot slower yet again - so then I decided mind over matter and pushed harder - it worked - I over took someone - another boost! Then another - then the road came to an end and I knew it was only 20 mins to go - horray I could do this - then another big boost - my sister was in the park near the finish and she started running with me - this spead me up to my usual sprint finish and a huge smile for the photographer over the finish line - 5 hours and 21 mins.

So I thought I'd hate it but actually I did quite enjoy the pain, seeing all my mates several times and the sunshine - just hope I recover by the weekend - more biking and then some BG training I hope - got to start somewhere!