April - what a hard month for running!

Well - haven't been here for a while - been running but not too well - first off was 4 Inns. Nearly pulled out before the start cos thought I would never keep up with Catherine, Alex and Hannah all that way - they are all running sooooo well this year - I feel like a lead weight being dragged round. BUT it is a team event, so I told them I feel crap and they told me to get to the start line! So after a logistical nightmare - or so we thought - two days prior to the race day when we thought we had no way of getting their bar our own cars (horrible then cos you have to get back to Holmbridge after the race to get your car back when all you want to do is get in a bath and drink wine!). We got two offers of lifts and one turned out to be a lifesaver. Hannah's boyfriend came up to support us and drive us to the start and cheer us on all the way round. We were a bit paranoid that this would be seen as help, so we asked him to shout lots of encouragement but not to feed us - it worked, he blasted music at us to power us on, waved, laughed, cheered and gave us choccies at the finish - he knows how to treat 4 girlies! We set off and of course knew the route really well now so just got into running. I found it a little hard keeping up, but tried to get in front for the hills so that it made me feel good (I hate being at the back it just slows me down and makes me cry!!!). This worked for most of the event, apart from the bits where I just could not catch them. The weather helped and we all had bad/slow patches but I even had a surprise good patch - or so I thought - I felt ok going up out of Edale and then running down the road to Chapel I even kept up with the others (unherad of on tarmac!) - found out later it wasn't me having a good patch but the others having their bad patch! Oh well - it worked - it got me to the end - although the end was tough and I had no usual sprint finish - just a near collapse over the line - BUT hey we did it AND we beat last years time by 52 minutes, which means we won and we are still the record holders - ME - blimey! Anyway we have the trophy for another year and a record of 9 hours 34 or something close to that! I was definately not too well though - I only managed half a glass of wine that evening!

NEXT OFF - SKI TOURING THE HAUTE ROUTE - yep Ski Like a Girl - well Alex and I and Mark Hartell went off to Chamonix to ski the Haute Route. What an excellent trip - we started off in cold icy conditions up the Col du Chardonnay, with Mark prefering his crampons to his ski's after a horrible accident a couple of years ago, and me and Alex skiing up the icy slopes to the high col, when a quick abseil down takes you out of the Chamonix Valley and beyond. We decided to do a higher route than normal and this paid off with 3 days of not seeing the crowds, high cols, very strong winds, bad visibility, clambering over avalanche debris, using crampons to climb steep grassy slopes (was supposed to be a ski tour not a grass tour but warm weather and avalanche risk means you sometimes need to take alternative routes!), we then rejoined the masses on the main route and squeezed into huts, had fantastic weather for two days, climbed steep and icy and ski'd untracked spring snow. Until the last night when we got into a storm and had to abandon the last day into Zermatt due to avalanche risk and white out conditions on the glacier, so we ski'd in deep powder to Arolla - oh what a shame - deep powder!!! Next year we start from their and finish with Zermatt and Saas Fee. At the end of the trip I was again knackered but thinking I had alot of high altitude in my blood was fired up for Highland Fling at the weekend..............




HIGHLAND FLING - Oh my god that hurt - I spent the 3 days after hols just lying down as I felt dead tired, all a bit strange as I had not ski'd since the monday. I started the race - way too early at 6am feeling great and chatting and running along at my own pace but matching the people I usually do. Until about mile 10 when I started thinking "why do my legs hurt already - I have hardly gone anywhere yet?" The next 43 miles were pure hell in gorgeous surroundings! People were passing me sooo much I was wishing I was not there. I got asked so many times if I was ok as I was passed - must have looked really bad from behind - they should have seen the grimace on my face! I felt like giving up every minute - apart from the one big hill which felt normal and good for my legs and the bit that everyone seemed to dread in the race where you climb over lots of boulders and routes on the latter part of the Loch Lomond - I liked this bit cos it actually improved the pain on my left quad, which helped to drag the other one round the rest of the race! By the time I had crawled to within a few kilometers of the finish I could take it no longer - I got my phone out and phoned my sister - she would get me to the end - I complained about the finish not being just round the corner and then admitted I was so knackered that my eyes had welled up when I passed a memorial bench - oh my god I was emotional again!!! I also admitted to finding the plaque that tells you all about the wigwam sheds that are camping barns in that part of Scotland and leaning over it pretending to read about them, it saved me from falling to the ground and just crying!!! She perked me up, made me laugh and told me to get on with it - so I did - but not in usual sprint finish style - my legs just would not do it - they just about managed a mini sprint of about 100m to the crowds at the end and then collapsed over Andy Rankins shoulder - poor guy - well he had been finished for about 6 hours! He got me a life saving cuppa, carried my bags and got me a bed at the local hostel, phew I could stop, eat and drink copious amounts of water washed down with free bubbly from the race! I have given up running - I have decided not to do Felsman and will get my bike out!! Took me 3 days to walk again and I'm still not right - sleeping 9-10 hours a night - I need last years body back again - it worked so much better! (Oh it took me 13 and a half hours to do that Fling - that is about3 hours too much!!!)

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!

Starting to Run again!

Well - I'm back for 2009....
Having recovered eventually from the massive goal I set myself in 2008, yep I did complete all 12 races in the 2008 Vasque Ultra-running Champs, see my blogs from last year on the Blogs pages on www.runfurther.com . Oh year I also ran a few extra races and the last one was Round Rotherham - bloomin heck what a mistake - oh so cold, oh so muddy oh so horrible, luckily i was running with my team mate Catherine and we kept each other going in the hell of industrial muddy Rotherham - never again!! 50 miles of that can be missed in my book!! Mind you the bucket of wine afterwoods was again welcome - so I have kept up the alcohol training! Did well on my ski holiday on that front too - powder, steep, deep and wine - perfect holiday!!!
This year - well - I said I would have a go at a Bob Graham round, but haven't reccy'd at all over the winter, so not sure if this will happen! Next idea was having a go at Trans Britain, a 6 day stage race, but have to raise £1000 for charity and at the moment I'm finding it hard to earn that amount of money let alone get it for something else! So that is still an idea if I can come up with a way of raising the money (what I do like though is that all the £1000 goes to the charity, the entry is seperate!) Any ideas???
What I am doing is again running in the Vasque Ultra-running Champs again, not all 12 races this year but at least 5 at the mo! Maybe more so will see you all there again - hopefully seeing some of you having a go at a Grand Slam, well if I can do it so can all you lot!
Apart from that - more biking - having neglected it for a couple of years - and part of this is running the New Polaris Challenge, a 2 day mountain bike orienteering event. I used to organise this event a few years ago and am now back in charge. First one is in the Peaks, where I have just moved to, where the riding is supperb. My new team name needs to be "Bike Like a Girl", or maybe "Drink Like a Girl" covers all our activities including the celebrations after the races!!!
Well first race is on Sunday - it is 30 miles of far too flat running along the banks of the river Wye - I will moan all the way round, and it's an out and back so all the other racers will see me moaning too!!! Still - it'll be a good catch up with all my running mates and an introduction to ultra's for my sister - she's going to walk it and laugh at me moaning!!
Why oh why do I do this - oh yeah - I enjoy it!!!