The Snowdonia Marathon - Race Report

The Snowdonia Marathon 2018

Race Report 

Key

Both of us - Blue 

John - Orange

Kelly -Purple 

Friday 26th October 2018

Since both of us have completed our 'A' races for 2018, we took a rather more relaxed approach to this race than usual. Usually, we won't drink before a race and will think really carefully about our meals in the week leading up to the race. 3 meals this week have consisted of chips...ooops...and we both raced pretty much flat out only 1 day ago. We were feeling pretty relaxed...until we realised that we had a 4 and a half our drive ahead of us. North Wales is apparently a really long was away. 

We didn't arrive until 9:30pm so were pretty tired and fed up of driving - poor hamstrings! We were staying in a little apartment in Beddgelert; a beautiful quaint village. We unpacked and pretty much went straight to bed. 

Saturday 27th October 2018

Race day!

We woke up after about 7 hours sleep - not too shabby. 

I had considerably less! As lovely as our accommodation is, we arrived to find no supplies: No milk or butter and barely enough tea bags (10+ but that's an hours worth for me..) So I had an hour-or-so less than KD as I headed to the shops and bought supplies so we could have breakfast. I got back home with said supplies to find KD just coming out of slumber... very cosy indeed....

I was slightly worried about my calves. After racing (and winning!) the Weston Prom 5 mile race on Thursday, I was feeling a bit achy - not how I usually like to start a marathon. Still, this was going to be a relaxing run. Just for fun. I had to keep telling myself this as it's rather hard to keep my competitive feelings at bay. 

I wasn't concerned about KD's calves... I was concerned about having a cuppa tea. As for relaxing... I'm not sure if a marathon is ever that. Our plan was to try and run within ourselves, making sure throughout to not wreck ourselves on the downs or the ups. (Breakfast for anyone concerned about pre-race nutrition was: a generous bowl of porridge with a spoonful of jam and two pieces of white bread toast - a very small glass of water with a cuppa tea, plenty of hydration on the way to Beddgelert yesterday in the car)

We had to pick up our numbers by 9am so we left our apartment at 8:10 and drove to Llanberis where the race begins. John went to pick up our numbers while I struggled to pay for parking using the app. 

When John arrived with our numbers and T-shirts, I noticed that our numbers had a little hoody symbol. What could this mean? Surely we didn't fork out extra for two hoodies? We walked together to the race village to see. After being distracted by the winners trophy (which I nearly ran off with!), we found the stall and were told that yes in fact we had purchased two matching hoodies! Awesome! 

Getting to and parking up near the race event village was a lot more straight forward than I thought. As long as you get there in good time (1.5-2 hours before the race) there's no chaos whatsoever plenty of space for parking and plenty of shelter at the expo and bag drop. The hoodies we've got are awesome!

After about 5 trips to the toilet (hardly any queues!), we started the long walk (uphill) to the start. It was cold. VERY cold. I did a bit of a jog to try and warm up and then we played 'find the sunbeam and wait in it' until 10:30am when the race began. 

Agreed, 't was/is proper cold. Luckily we timed things quite well so, after the walk to the start, we had a 10 minute wait. 

We had a good spot right pretty close to the start line. We counted down from 10 and then we were off. The first two miles were downhill so we quickly got into a 7mm rhythm. John kept reminding me to look around. Normally, in a race, my eyes are fixed intently on my feet - mainly to ensure I don't trip and fall over but today I was wide-eyed and looking around all over. The sun was shining, the mountains stood majestically around us while the lakes glittered. It was easily the most picturesque race I've ever ran (sorry Towpath!). 

We were storming the first few miles, <7MM on the flats felt good - easy distracted by the beautiful mountain landscape. There was no need to reign it in yet, the upcoming hills would do that for us...

Mile 3 came around pretty quickly and with it, the first of 3 major hilly sections. I knew it was going to last for a couple of miles so we just slowed the pace and trotted up steadily. Every race we run, we seem to bump into people we know. We saw a Weston AC runner and then I spotted Jules who I recognised from the Gwent League and from the Abingdon Marathon last week. We had a bit of a chat and he gave us some advice. 'When the downhill comes, DON'T go super fast - you will pay for it later.' 'Meh - I though to myself, I love downhills, downhills are my thing!' 

The hills have eyes... They saw how much fun we were having and they were waiting patiently to remind us how tough today was gonna be... after plenty of helpful advise from blokes with 30+ Snod attempts between them, we took it VERY easy going up the hills... as soon as we started to feel labored, we slowed down - repeat. 

Luckily, John heeded the advice. The hill finished and the downhill began - 'woooohooooo' I started to pick it up but then I looked behind me and John was taking it pretty steady. I dropped back and ran with him - we'd planned to run together. Secretly, I really wanted to zoom down the hill but I love John so I stuck with him. Plus - he is usually right. Annoyingly, the more we stuck to our race strategy, the more people stormed passed us. Literally, a hundred people must have passed. Including loads of women who I know I'm quicker than. Resisting the temptation to race was pretty hard at this point. Instead, I focused my energy in looking around and continuing to admire the spectacular scenery. It felt like everyone was going past us... but not one of them looked like the beaded, hardy, mountain-goat types who had warned us - "...don't wreck your quads too early..." I was VERY disciplined and kept reigning KD in.. (So together we were both very sensible.. ) I knew, after years of watching the hours of S4C coverage, and, regardless of not understanding a word of the Welsh commentary, we had 3 very long, tough hills. This first major decent was very fair; 4+ miles of low gradient, slow, lazy downhill - plenty of time to take it steady and recover in-time for the next major accent.

The downhill pretty much went from mile 6 to mile 13. Halfway came round super quickly. We were still plodding and still being overtaken but I was over it now. Just really enjoying chatting to John and really enjoying myself. Never had a marathon felt so easy and been so fun. I'd been looking forward to mile 13 because we'd go past our apartment. I reminded John that we had a huge Toblerone waiting for us there and that thought filled our minds for quite some time. 

Through half way in Sub1:40 - it became apparent that with a Sub1:50 second half, we'd break 3:30 - awesome considering I was going out for Sub4 hours.. Halfway was lovely - we ran down into Beddgelert where we are staying to masses of people cheering and it was nice to reflect whilst running past our home for the weekend. We were both feeling very fresh and very strong. The added incentive of being reminded of the Toblerone was just what I needed as the isotonic refreshments were't quite hitting the spot!

After 13 miles, I was feeling mega fresh still. Legs felt great, my heart rate was pretty low and I just focused on running lightly and keeping good form. For miles 14 and 15 we had hill number 2 to contend with. Again, we took it really steady but for the first time, managed to overtake a few people who had chosen to walk up the hill. Even the sudden pelting of hail stones couldn't dampen our spirits! This was a tough one... after going through half way after tonnes of downhill, I(we?) had forgotten about any discomfort from the previous climb... this one was VERY exposed so not only were we fighting against gravity but also against tornado type winds (slight exaggeration - the weather throughout the race was actually very kind!) We hid behind a strong group and protected ourselves as best we could, whilst taking it easy and still enjoying the scenery.

I had to pinch myself. I'm running up hill. In Snowdonia and it feels easy! We bounded up the hill, ignoring the wind which had picked up a bit. When we reached mile 16, my favourite mile, I was in a great place. We had another 6 miles of gentle undulation with a considerable amount of downhill. I decided not to think about the infamous 'massive hill' at mile 22. I wouldn't say it was easy... KD was still full of energy and needed to reminded of the impending doom of the last major hill ahead... to be fair, she remained controlled and sensible-ish.

The miles kept on ticking by and I was still feeling amazing. We were keeping the pace to around 7:30 mm which still felt really comfortable. By this point, my bounding along chatting away merrily was starting to get comments from nearby runners - hopefully I wasn't too annoying and they could see that I was just enjoying myself! KD was very annoying.. when you're 18 something miles into a marathon, the last thing you want is a bouncy-Duracell-bunny like character reminding you just how great the views are...by this point I'm sure most are very aware and wanting more of a television like view... I balanced our dynamic duo by mainly grunting and moaning... all was good...

For me, (and probably most people) reaching 20 miles into a marathon and feeling great just doesn't happen. Today changed all of that. Hmmm...maybe my usual strategy of going all out and hanging on for the last 6 miles isn't actually the best plan after all! I knew I only had 2 more 'nice' miles before the hill began. I had heard that it was proper hard and most people walk it. Well, I was still feeling good so I told John that I really wanted to try and run the whole way up it...

KD was full of beans and I was feeling OK. The miles had ticked over nicely and a quick review on the time piece re-asured me that with some work, 3:30 was in the bag. As KD suggests, this is a great feeling and actually unusual for bother of us... 

Mile 22 came and we had caught up with our friend and ex-running coach Faye. She is mega good at trail running so we don't often see her on the road. After a little chat, we pushed upwards and onwards. The final hill had began. I knew it would last about 2 miles but I hadn't realised quite how steep. For the first time today, my legs hurt. My back was also starting to hurt and the gradient became so steep that I was hardly moving. Luckily, John had taken on the Duracell bunny role and was bounding ahead of me shouting encouragement. A couple of times I was pretty close to stopping and walking but he knew exactly what to say and I managed to keep running. 2 miles of steep uphill is really really hard. I was offered a jelly baby which I took gratefully and gradually ate during the uphill - trying to take my mind off the intense pain in my quads and hamstrings. During the whole uphill section, we were overtaking person after person. I recoginse these people as everyone who had left us for dust in mile 6 on the first downhill section. 'Mwhahaha!' my...I mean... John's strategy was working! This hill was a killer... But... we were in strange territory... we'd been holding back for hours and were feeling strong and excited about getting over the hill and finishing.. This coincided with catching up with 3+ women and KD's competitive side kicking in... Warning for anyone doing this evening in the future: This hill is a killer! It is 2 miles of very VERY tough climb... imagine Ashton Court, twice...(it felt like Ashton Court x5!)

Finally, we reached the top of the hill. My legs felt like jelly for a few steps but I quickly spotted 3 or 4 women ahead of me. John was jumping around and sprinting to the next woman and pointing manically at her - indicating that I had to pick up the pace and overtake. We only had 2 miles to go and -amazingly- I still felt pretty good. Yes my legs hurt now but I put that out of my mind and focused on mission overtake women! Sub3:30 was slipping away... luckily there was candy in the window... KD couldn't resist the finger pointing/goading and kept picking up the pace and overtaking woman after woman - awesome/some of the best racing I have seen from KD!

The last two miles were suuuuper steep downhill. Mostly, I was storming down although there were some sections that I had to slow down because they were slightly scary. John was storming ahead - mountain goat style but looking back every few paces to check that I was close and still going strong. 'We can get sub 3:30!' came the call! At this point it was all guns blazing... hold nothing pack... we'd been protecting our calves, hamstrings and quads all day - no point now! The field at this point in the race was pretty spread out and everyone we flew past looked like they were struggling. This downhill section was precarious - very dangerous (J5 on the scale...) but I was feeling dangerous! We implemented top downhill technique; leaning forward, high cadence and took about 10 years of the lifespan of our quads - worth it!

With just 0.2 miles to go, I could hear the cheers of the crowds. We managed to overtake another two men (just for fun!) in the last sprint for the line. Just a few paces ahead of me, John held out his hand. I took it and we crossed the line together! It was a really special moment. (It wasn't for fun - it was to secure <3:30) Running in together was awesome - we'd had a great day and executed the race plan almost perfectly. A over the top soppy hand holding finish awaited...

When we finished, we were given slate coasters and water bottles. Then, the film crew spotted us and asked for an interview - I imagine they've read our blogs! Hmmm...

If you want to see us (possibly) on TV and watch our interview (unless they cut us!) it's on .....

S4C - Sunday at 8PM... will be in Welsh but there should be subtitles... Please watch (not for us!) to get a perspective on this awesome event! Yes it's tough - it's a road marathon in Snowdonia! - but the course is perfect - beautiful views throughout, fantastically marshaled and very well organised - I'd love to come back. Running with KD was great - I think it's the first time we've raced together in a long time? It was so nice feeling strong throughout and being able to help each other out - it goes in my top 5 fave races - awesome!

Finishing time for both of us, 3.28.43

PS - JC's Top 5 Races...

1. Snod 18 - Running and executing a controlled marathon with my best friend and coming away from an event with loads of kit and being able to wear it all confidently without having to repeat the boring Boston story... An EPIC adventure at one of THE best marathon races (a little OTT...)
2. Berlin 16 - Running at the fastest and most prestigious road marathon in the world toe-to-toe with the Maestro throughout - missing Sub3 by 5 seconds (3:00:04) gave us plenty to talk about for the next 12 months but I enjoyed the race, weekend and company so much it will always be one of my favourite races.
3. Bath 17 - My first ever Sub80 half marathon.. 77:44.
4. GMU30 - Sharing the podium with the Maestro and Doctor Dave - my first ever piece of proper silveware and finally some inches on the shelf for me in the Cox-Dicks household!
5. Pensford 10K 17 - My one and only win! Yes it was the weekend after London Marathon and OK it was the slowest winning time in the history of the event - but you gotta be in it to win it and lunch that day on the winnings was one of the tastiest ever!

(SUB3 (2:58:10) AT Abingdon 2016 has it's own list....)

The Chester Marathon - So close to Sub 3!

The Chester Marathon 2018

After about 7 and a half hour's sleep, I woke up at 6am for my pre-race breakfast. I've decided to vary from my usual pre-race meal of egg fried rice in favour of Coach Cox's recommended toast with butter and jam. The thinking behind this is that rice takes longer than 3 hours to digest where as toast digests and gets into the system quicker. 3 slices of toast and a glass of water later, I was back in bed for another hours' sleep. I woke up in a panic after a dream that I slept in until 10am...I wonder how many others have had that dream pre-race?! 

John and I got up and dressed and we left the Airbnb apartment at 7:30am. After a 10 minute drive, we parked up in a Teso 0.7 miles from the start. The weather was perfect - about 12 degrees, cloudy and cold. My legs felt great and I felt super excited; my resting heart rate - usually 45 bpm - was at 130! We walked into the racecourse and atmosphere was amazing. It didn't take us long to find the Elite room. The set up was amazing; loads of chairs, it was lovely and warm and they were giving out tea and coffee. I made my usual 10 trips to the toilet. At 8:30, I went outside to do a little warm up. My legs were feeling especially good and mentally I was feeling really positive. I spotted a few runners that I knew from local running clubs or strava- John, Kieron Fee and Melissa - so had a chat and managed to find a few people who I thought would be running a similar pace to me. 

At 8:50, the organisers led us all out to the start where they had a pen right at the front ready for us. Just before the start I spotted someone I reconginsed - Russell Bently aka Russell Runner. I've been following his training and reading his blogs for a while so I couldn't resist saying hello and introducing myself. He's been training for a sub 2:20 so I was pretty sure he'd be in with a chance of winning. 

After a few words of encouragement from the Town Crier, the horn sounded and we were away. The first couple of miles were through Chester town centre and I actually remembered to look around and enjoy the architecture! There were a few ups and downs but my legs were feeling amazing so I hardly noticed them. Just after the first mile, I saw my support team for the first time. John, my parents and John's parents were cheering wildly which put a huge smile on my face. 

Fairly early on, a girl called Sam pulled in alongside me. We'd been chatting before the start. She'd had recently raced in Berlin but pulled out before the end. She, like me, was aiming for her first Sub 3. She asked if she could run alongside me and I was more than happy to have some company. At that point, we were running as part of a huge group. A few of us were having a chat but most people were pretty focused on the task at hand. 

I always say that I can tell (in half marathon or marathon) if it's going to be a good day or not at mile 6. Mile 6 came up pretty quickly and I was feeling great. Sam and I were working really well together running step for step and getting into a really strong rhythm. 

The first 6 miles looked like this: 

6:42, 6:42, 6:41, 6:53, 6:35, 6:51 I was averaging exactly 6:45 pace. There was a lovely long downhill at mile 5 with beautiful views. I went over the first chip mat at 6.1 miles and thought of all the people who were tracking me. 

In marathons, I split the race up into a number of milestones which are really key. Reaching 10 miles was great. It's also where John was planning on seeing me first...I didn't spot him...later I found out that I was too quick and he arrived there after I'd passed! Ooops! Around mile 11, we went down a road called something like 'straight mile lane' it lived up to its name - 1 mile straight, flat and fast. 

We were running through countryside now. There were some beautiful little villages and huge houses. There were a fair number of supporters on the route and, because we had our names on our numbers, I was getting loads of cheers. Lots of very rich looking people had come out of their private roads to politely clap and nod their heads! I also spotted fellow GWR runner Taryn who had come out especially to support me holding up a GWR vest - her support was much appreciated - it's always lovely to see a familiar space. 

Getting to 12 miles and the next chip timing mat was great as I knew that I'd give my supporters something to cheer about! Another really solid block:

6:47, 6:45, 6:41, 6:42, 6:42, 6:43 once again averaging 6:45 - the race was going exactly to plan. 

At this point, we reached a section of the course where the faster runners were coming back along the stretch we were on. We'd timed it perfectly (just as I'd done in the London Marathon) where I could see the lead car! The leader came past followed pretty closely by Russell Runner! I gave him a shout of encouragement and then got back to focusing on my own race. 

I went through halfway at 1:28 - spot on what John had told me to aim for. It felt great to have reached the halfway point especially as my legs were still feeling really good. My left hamstring was feeling a little tight but nothing major. Also, the tongue of my left trainer had moved a bit ...but I was trying to not think about that! 

I love getting to mile 16 in a marathon as there's just 10 miles to go. I was still feeling good and still running step for step with Sam. At this point, we reached our first 'proper hill' I followed John's advice and took it steady - no need to storm up it. It did increase my average pace a tad but nothing that I needed to worry about too much at this point. I checked in  with Sam and she said that her legs were starting to feel a bit heavy now. I keep encouraging her but did keep in mind that I might need to push on if she couldn't keep the pace. 

I reached mile 18 and the next chip timing mat. I checked my watch - still averaging 6:45 - yes! 

6:57, 6:39, 6:37, 6:50, 6:57, 6:57 for the last 6 miles. The varying times are due to the undulations. I was running at a consistent effort. With 7 miles to go, Gia (local running friend who'd traveled up with us) passed me with a couple of words of support. I managed to keep him in sight for a while...

It was at mile 18 that I made a bad decision...I was feeling amazing still and I only had 8 miles to go. I thought I could pick up the pace and get an even better time...I got greedy! It was at this point that Sam stuck to her plan of 6:45s (very sensible!) and I ended up running ahead of her for a bit. Hindsight is a wonderful thing. I've only done 6 marathons and I'm definitely no expert yet. I've learnt how important it is to reflect on my mistakes so that I don't make them again. 

I wasn't ahead of Sam for very long. Whenever I reached an uphill, I slowed down and she caught up with me. Then, eager to make up the pace, I tried to really use the downhills as much as possible. Up until this point, I hadn't really needed to think about my form. This was the point that started reminding myself to lean forwards and use my arms. 

I reached 20 miles and, for the first time, my legs were feeling tired. I was just about to maintain the pace but I was very aware that I was working pretty hard now. Usefully, I spotted a lady not too far ahead of me so I focused on catching her and tried to dig deep. In the book I've been reading (recommended to me by John) called 'Endure' by Alex Huchinson, he suggests that swirling energy drinks around in your mouth sends signals to your brain that you're getting an energy hit - you don't actually have to drink the drink to get the benefits. This caught my attention as Lucozade doesn't agree with my stomach. As I was feeling pretty fatigued by now, I thought I'd give it a try. The result-  I did feel a boost and ran a fairly speedy mile - 6:41! 

After a painful two miles I managed to overtake the lady I was aiming for. I only had 4 miles left. But 4 miles suddenly seemed really really far. I was checking my watch what seemed like every 1/2 a mile and found that, in actual fact, I'd only traveled 0.1 miles. Oh dear. By this point, my pace had dropped to 7 minute miling. I tried to do a bit of maths. My watch was telling me I had been running for 2 hours and 28 minutes. It took me much longer than it should have done to work out that 7x4 was 28...plus a couple of minutes for the 0.2 (which is normally longer than 0.2 due to the weaving and GPS inaccuracies!) It was ok. I was still going to get sub 3. I had a couple of minutes in the bag. 7 minute miles would do it. 

I'd heard talk of the biggest hill on the course at mile 24.  I was told that I'd know when I'd reach it because there were 'angels' who would be running up the hill to help encourage the runners. I wasn't especially pleased therefore when I reached a pretty big hill at mile 23 but there were no angels...I knew that meant that there was an even bigger hill to come...brutal! Who planned this course with all of the big hills in the last 6 miles?!?! 

With just 3 miles to go, I was really starting to suffer. The sub 3 hour pacer had just gone past me and a couple of ladies I'd passed early came back past me, including Sam who I gave a thumbs up to. I was obsessively checking my watch now and desperately trying to calculate if I'd still be able to make it. My legs were getting heavier and heavier and slower and slower and there didn't seem to be anything I could do. I was cursing myself for trying to pick up the pace at mile 18! 

'3 little miles....just a parkrun to go!' I tried to convince my brain that I was nearly there but my brain was having none of it! Someone in the crowd was handing out watermelon - yes the watermelon could save me. Remembering the ice lolly in the Boston Marathon which had given me a second whim, I took it gratefully. It was refreshing but I didn't get a boost. 

2 miles to go. Come on legs! You're nearly there. There was a lovely downhill section and I got into a rhythm. The pace came back down to sub 7. 'Yes! I'm going to do it!' Oh balls. There's the hill. It looked like a mountain (clearly it wasn't but I'm slightly concerned by my perception as I'm running the Snowdownia Marathon in 3 weeks...oh dear...). I watch the seconds I'd just gained disappear and I trudged slowly and slightly sadly up the mountain. There were indeed angels, with lovely bright orange tops on, who were...just standing there...they did cheer but I would have actually apreciated some company up the hill! Never mind, I did ask them one question "This is the last hill yeah?" They confidently assured me that it was. 

The last few miles saw my pace slow:

21 (6:55) 22 (7:01) 23 (7:08) 24 (7:08) 25 (7:31) 

Brilliant. Just over 1 mile of downhill. I've got 10 minutes to do a mile and a bit. I can do this. I got back a bit of momentum on the downhill but then...another uphill! WHAT! Fighting the urge to turn around to go and tell those 'angels' that they were mistaken, I just tried not to think about it. By this point my legs were absolutely shattered. They were just about managing to do a sub 7 min mile but the hill slowed my pace again. I began to realise that sub 3 wasn't going to happen today. 

'It's ok,' I told myself. 'Just keep going and get as close as you can.' I knew I'd see my support crew again in a minute and, despite feeling like I just wanted to stop and curl up into a ball and sleep, I tried to put on a smile and keep an eye out for them. I heard them before I saw them. They were seriously loud and enthusiastic! I didn't have to work hard to smile. It was great to see them at the point when I was hurting the most. I tried as hard as a possibly could to pick up the pace. I knew I was so close. Where was the race course? Surely I should be able to see it by now? My watch beeped for 26 miles. Yes! So close! Where is the race course? Suddenly, I spotted Sam in front of me. She'd stopped...I think she maybe thought she'd reached the finish line...'Keep going!' I yelled. I tried to catch up with her. We were both swerving around the road like two drunk old men. 

Desperately looking at my watch, the time said 2:58:10 I knew I was so close but I still couldn't see the finish. Eventually, I saw the racecourse and heard John screaming at the top of his lungs. I urged my legs to move faster. I tried to focus every tiny bit of energy I had left but I felt like I was hardly moving. John ran the last bit with me - from the other side of the barrier. I put everything I had into it. With 200 meters to go I looked at my watch and saw a 3:.... I didn't feel disappointed. I genuinely had given everything I had. I passed Sam with 100 meters to go. I crossed the line in a time of 3:00:50 and collapsed on the floor. 

I'm delighted. I've taken around 3 minutes off my PB. I was so close that I know it's just a matter of time before I go sub 3. I ran a perfect race up until 20 miles ....I wonder how many marathon runners have also done that! I've learnt some lessons and I had an amazing weekend with the people I love. My family were amazing; it really made a difference having their support. 

The one person I really have to thank is John. He devised my 10 week training plan. He's put up with my whinging, moaning, stressing and panicking! He's shown me that sub 3 is possible off low mileage; I've averaged 41 miles a week for the 10 week block. I will definitely be listening to him more often and following his advice in the future! 

Thank you to everyone to has been reading these blogs, following my training, tracking me and sending me messages of support. It feels wonderful to know how much people care.

Chester Marathon - Sub 3 attempt - Marathon Eve!

Marathon Eve!

Key: 

Both of us - Blue 

Kelly - Purple 

Orange - John 

We've just arrived in Chester at our lovely Airbnb accommodation. The Chester Marathon - the culmination of months of training and planning - is only a matter of hours away! 

Here's how my last week of training has gone: 

Monday 1st October 2018  

I started the week with a rest day. I'm only doing an 8 day taper so going to really drop the mileage this week to give my legs time to recover after my last long run on Saturday. 

My main mission this week - don't get ill! Everything has gone to plan; the only thing that could go wrong is for me to pick up a cold now...which, when working in a school, is often quite a challenge!

I went to yoga, at Pure Yoga Wapping Wharf, in the evening and really felt the benefit of all of the downward dogs. I'm a total yoga convert. It's made a huge difference to my recovery this campaign and I'll definitely keep going regularly. 

Tuesday 2nd October 2018  

A lovely gentle 5k around the Harbourside this morning. Super nice to be running with John again. We averaged just under 9 min miles. Legs felt pretty good although my calves were a bit tight. I made a mental note to ask Jenny to focus on my calves in my sports massage later in the week. 

 Wednesday 3rd October 2018  

Today, John had planned for me to run a 'dress rehearsal'. This is something I often hear people talking about (especially John!) but I've never tried myself before. The idea is that you wear everything that you plan on wearing for the race and run a few miles at your planned marathon pace. I haven't done it before because I haven't wanted to run so fast so close to the big race. However, John aka Coach Cox thought I should give it a go...and...let's face it, everything he's suggested so far has been successful so I decided to give it a go. 

Despite running 102 miles just a week and a half ago, John was keen to come along and pace me so we headed out together along the Portway. 1 mile to warm up and then we were off. John encouraged me to practise drafting behind him and not look at my watch too much but try and feel the pace. 

Amazingly, the pace felt really comfortable. My legs felt great and I was bouncing along merrily. 3 miles at : 6:45, 6:39, 6:43 spot on planned marathon pace. Woohoo! 

  Thursday 4th October 2018  

Just 1 mile for me today at my staff running club. Had 4 people today which is great. Hopefully the numbers will continue to rise. 

In the evening, I went to see Jenny, at Comfort Health Bristol, for my sports massage. She focused on my calves and achilles before turning her elbow onto my glutes - ouch!

I left with a spring in my step - my preparation was almost complete! 

Back at home, I completed my next phase of preparation - the all important nail and toenail clipping and painting! The colour of choice - GWR blue of course! 

 Friday 5th October 2018 

Another mile today with the kids this time at our lunchtime running club. 37 children, 2 parents and 2 teachers. We did a focus on the importance of using our arms today. I made them run up a hill with their hands on their heads, before then letting them use their arms again, so they could feel the benefits! 

That's it! My last mile before Chester done! 

Then I did my final yoga class. A one off special - a 90 minute workshop (especially for runners and  cyclists) called 'melt into your hips'. 90 minutes of stretching focusing on opening up the hip-flexors - ideal! 

 Saturday 6th October 2018 

Marathon Eve! I'm VERY excited! I haven't stopped bouncing around all day. I've been eating lots of rice and toast and trying to remember to drink lots of water. Both my parents and John's parents are also in Chester to watch me race so we're off out tonight to meet them and have dinner. 

For the first time ever, I feel like everything in this campaign has gone to plan. I've been following a 10 week plan, which is my shortest ever, written for me by John. Initially, I wasn't sure it was long enough but now I feel completely ready. I've followed the plan to the letter. I didn't manage to achieve all of the workouts initially but I've grown in strength and, more recently, I've hit every session. I've not had any injuries or illnesses at all which has made a huge difference as I've not had to take any breaks from training during the 10 week block. I've had massages around every 2 weeks, been to yoga at least once a week (a lot more frequently in the summer holidays!) and had PT sessions, working on strength and conditioning, almost every week. 

My race strategy is to go out at 6:45 min mile pace. I've heard that the course is undulating so I'm planning to take the uphills steady, recover on the downhills and really focus on hitting the pace on the flat sections. 

Goals: 

Bronze - PB - sub 3 hours 3 minutes 

Silver - Sub 3 hours 

Gold - Sub 2 hours 58 minutes and 5 seconds (John's PB!) 

I'm feeling good, feeling confident and ready to go! 

You can track me using these links: 

https://ale.niftyentries.com/Results

https://ale.niftyentries.com/ChesterMarathon/StartList

The Cotswold Way 102 Mile Race!

John takes on his biggest challenge yet while Kelly puts in the last couple of weeks of training for Chester 

Key 

Both of us - Blue 

John - Orange 

Kelly - Purple 

Due to a very busy week, we've written a double blog this week - two weeks of running excitement! The most exciting of which is the culmination of months of training for the Ginger-Bearded-Running-Man; the Cotswold Way 102 mile race!

A successful race for John!...read on for his race report...

Monday 17th September 2018

I started this week with my last PT session before the Chester Marathon. Jules has been great at helping me to get fitter and stronger ready for that sub 3 attempt! 

In the evening, I did a spot of yoga - John was planning on coming too but the traffic meant he couldn't make it in time. 

Tuesday 18th September 2018

This morning we did a little 5k recovery run together around the Harbourside. We haven't managed to run together much for a while as we've been training for very different things. It was lovely to run our 'usual' route together again. 

At lunchtime, I went running with a group of staff from school. It was the first one of the new academic year so just 1 mile nice a slowly to encourage new members of staff to join us! 

I had a sports massage in the evening to get me ready for the first Weston Prom race of the season which is on Thursday. 

Wednesday 19th September 2018

With Weston Prom tomorrow, I decided to just do a gentle recovery run. I ran up to club (2 miles) and then did another 3 miles with the Cotswold 100 crew. 

Thursday 20th September 2018

I've been looking forward to this all week. The first Weston Prom 5 mile race of the series. I love these races because they are flat and fast and a great way to improve speed. Also, because it's a team event and GWR tend to do really well. This year, the girls especially have a great chance of winning the team prize so I wanted to have a really strong first race to put our team in the best position. 

Having packed my bag, with all my kit in, at 6am when I woke up, I was able to pick John up and then drive straight from work to the race. I arrived at the race, went to the toilet to get changed, put on my running kit, went to put on my shoes and ...

Yep. Two left feet. Oh man! Normally, I wouldn't buy two pairs the same colour...but Brooks have discontinued my shoes! My favourite shoes that I have been buying and wearing for 4 years! I'm gutted. So I have been bulk buying all the size 5.5 Brooks Pure Cadence that I can get my hands on. 

What options do I have? ...run in two left shoes...I tried, it's really uncomfortable and only 2 weeks out from Chester, probably a really bad idea. Run in bare feet? Again, with the marathon so close I really didn't want to do that. Not run...and let my team down? No way - so that left me with the only option. To walk around the room and ask every woman I could find if she had sized 5 or 6 feet and a spare pair of shoes...what are the chances...

Incredibly, there was a wonderful woman from NBRG who said 'oh yes I have a spare pair of shoes!' Amazing! I tried them on, they were a little bit big to be honest but they were better than nothing. Hooray! I could race! 

The race began and I felt pretty good. My legs felt fresh and I was just really happy to be running. The weather was horrendous. Very windy (in one direction) and rainy. The main aim was to find a group with lots of tall people in for me to hide behind. Success. I slotted comfortably into a group with fellow club mate Chloe. We were in join first position and both looking in pretty good shape. We ran together for the first 3 miles (6:15, 6:20, 6:39) at which point, I started to feel a bit fatigued, started thinking about my shoes, lost concentration and dropped off the pack of the pack. I didn't drop much at first but suddenly, running by myself meant I was getting battered by the wind. Focus, I told myself and pick up the pace and get back to the group. Annoyingly, by this point I wasn't able to close the gap because of the strength of the wind. A small lapse in concentration had a massive consequence. John, who wasn't running today in preparation for the weekend, was there to cheer me on. Hearing his voice gave me a real boost. By this point, I was quite close to the turn (where the wind would be behind me) wait until the turn, I told myself and then I'd pick it up. 

At the turn, I did manage to increase my pace (6:27) but couldn't catch up with Chloe and the group in front. I finished as 2nd lady with a time of 32 minutes which isn't too bad given the pre-race stress and very challenging racing conditions. 

Friday 21st September 2018

No running for me today. Rest day before my long run tomorrow. 

John has been doing his 5k every day still. 

Saturday and Sunday 22nd and 23rd September 2018 - The big day has arrived!

I was up and out of the house early today. 6am I started my run to ensure that I'd be back in time for John to get to the start of the Cotswold Way! 

As I raced Prom just a few days ago, I knew I'd be feeling a bit achy but still wanted to get a good 20 mile run banked. My aim to was to keep a solid pace of around 7:30 - 8mm for each mile depending on the gradient. The route was relatively undulating but I just took it steadier on the uphills and tried to pick up the pace on the downhills. All the time, I was thinking about the challenge that was facing John, Marcus and Gary so the run went pretty quickly. 

20 miles done in 7:40 average pace - 2 hours 33 mins of running. 

The Cotswold Way Century

Race day is here and thus follows and inevitably nervous and frantic start to the day. We spent Friday evening at the theatre watching Touching the Void. An awesome show in itself in that it provided some much needed endurance based inspiration and it gave us a good distraction as being out the night before kept my mind off the race and allowed me to chill out. I’d spent the week abstaining from alcohol and managed to resist the beers on offer at the Bristol Old Vic, opting for water.

KD was up early and banking an epic long run. I faffed about with my race kit again and pottered about. I washed and changed into race gear and then tried to chill out with some breakfast and a cuppa tea. Two poached eggs on toast with a couple more pieces with peanut butter on.

KD got home from her long run, washed and changed and we were out the door on our way to pick up the Maestro. The weather was as expected - horrendous. It had been raining since we woke up and it wasn’t about to stop any time soon. With Marcus onboard it seemed he was equally as nervous as I was, which was actually quite reassuring. With an hour-or-sos worth of driving (100 miles to the start line is a long way don’t-you-know) the normal running banter kept us distracted.

We parked up and made our way into the sports hall. We were greeted by a row of tables with marshalls checking bags for mandatory kit. I got everything out of my perfectly prepared bag begrudgingly upsetting the tidy setup and we ticked of what was there: 2ltrs of water, paper map, waterproof jacket, emergency nutrition (Kendle mint cake), hat with a peak, mobile phone, foil blanket, whistle, head torch, first aid kit and a long sleeved top.

(Although I never used it, the map I used was the Cotswold Way XT40 - Harveys. This was an awesome bit of kit as the map was printed on a very thin sheet of polythene. Meaning it folded well and it wasn’t affected by bad weather. Small and light as well.)

All of my kit together, including 2litres of water came to about 3kgs. It all fitted nicely into my Salomon ADV Skin 12 Set running backpack and felt cosy on my back. We spotted clubmate and fellow RoF finisher Gary and his wife Ali in the corner and went and sat with them with a cuppa tea and about an hour to go until the start at midday.

On the start line in the middle of the high street in Chipping Campden, feeling colder and wetter than I’d planned or wanted, we were set off in a slightly anticlimactic unceremonious way. A hug from support crew extraordinaire (also 2nd lady at the previously mentioned Ring of Fire a few weeks back) Cat and a kiss and a cuddle from KD we were off and raring to go!

The Maestro and I took it very steady in the early stages, not wanting to get caught up in the chaos of the race start. We plodded the relatively flat first mile-or-so with Gary before he set off at a slightly quicker pace up the first hill. This would be the last time I would see the back of his head for a long time… (I still haven’t as he hasn’t been to club yet as he’s probably still bathing in cider and being spoon fed chinese food).

(To make the blog slightly more relatable to local club runners, I will describe the rest of the run referring to the “stages” of the Cotswold Way Relay. This won’t make any difference and shouldn’t confuse anyone who doesn’t know anything about the anual club raced relay where the Cotswold Way is split into 10 stages)

Leg 1 - Chipping Campden to Stanway House (Miles 0-11) is a relatively easy introduction to the race. 400mtrs of ascent but with most of it is out the way during the first couple of miles. Stunning views surround you whilst the easy terrain doesn’t demand very much skill or attention. We kept to a very steady pace of 5MPH/12MM whilst I made sure I was regularly taking sips of water and I started eating early, having a breakfast bar after the first hour was done. I started the race with my coat on as it was raining but I warmed up quickly and wanted to feel the benefit of the waterproof in the night so I de-coated and showed of my club tee with pride.

We stopped briefly at Stanway House to say hello to Cat and KD. It was nice to see them and good that at this point of the race they that little to do for us other than cheer. We were really gonna test them through the rest of the day…

Leg 2 - Stanway House to Cleeve Common (Milles 11 - 22) is a different leg… it is horrible! 500mtrs of ascent, very technical and slippery downhill stretches with less picturesque views. Having recced the leg (we recced all of them in the build up) we knew what to expect and even though we’d taken it really steady through the first couple of hours, we backed off even more, making sure to walk all of the up hills and even the down hills. At this point in the race, we were still bunched up with lots of other runners. Even after only 12-or-so miles runners were starting to struggle. Complaining about the weather, the terrain and struggling already with nutrition. The Maestro and I took this as a massive boost. We felt strong, we were walking past runners with gusto whilst eating and drinking regularly and sensibly. At this point in the race we were loving it.

Leg 3 - Cleeve Common to Seven Springs (Miles 22 - 30) we got to our first proper check point at Aggs Hill through 27 miles in 5hrs44mins - 1hr15mins under the cut off. No parking for supporters here so no sign of Cat & KD. We stocked up on some pork pies and sausages and made sure to refill the water stores. I was carrying 2 x 500ml worth of water and used my third bottle for Coke… so 500ml of coke… a little early to start taking on the sugary good stuff but I wanted it just incase. Not long spent in this checkpoint as we’d not long seen our support crew and being so early in the race, we were feeling OK. We made our way to Seven Springs. 30 miles in 6hrs45mins we were losing the light and the coat was back on at this point.

Leg 4 - Seven Springs to Cranham Corner (Miles 30 - 42) it was during this leg that we bumped into Dan and Sarah. Club mates who were in the area. I don’t remember at what time or mile we saw them exactly but it was great to see them supporting us. We stopped for a couple of minutes to have a chat and show appreciate. The break and seeing them gave us a good boost! Similarly to all the other even numbered legs, this was another bumpy one with well over 400+mtrs of elevation. At this point, legs are starting to get a bit fed up of all the up and down but mentally all was OK as I knew there was still so much more to go. Walking the ups and the steep downs we got the the next major checkpoint at 39 miles in 8hrs26mins - comfortably under the 10 hours cut off. A proper stop here and catch u with Cat and KD. It wasn’t long until we’d be eating a proper meal and have a warm place to sit down and have a change of socks and tshirt so we stocked up on water, coke and pork pies. By this point it was proper dark but the head torch was doing a good job (it did a great job through the whole night - my Petzl head torch is one of the best bits of kit I’ve ever bought!)

After the girls had dinner in pub, we bought a little treat for the boys ...1/4 of a pint of beer!

Leg 5 - Cranham Corner to Ebley Mill (Miles 42 - 54) One of my fave stretches of the Cotswold Way. Couple of tough climbs in the first half of the leg but  from half way onwards, all downhill in sheltered woodland. Starting the leg it is proper dark now and to add to this it is extremely foggy making it very difficult to run over anything slightly technical, through fear of falling into a black hole or over the edge of a cliff… We found this leg reasonably straightforward, as it is a lot easier than the previous 10-or-so miles, regardless of the conditions and we were coming up to half way and the first major checkpoint which is indoors and serving hot food. We tick off the miles and getting toward the end of the leg is on road and running through a highstreet, towards Painswick RFC, our support crew and hot food. Not quite half way, at 48 miles we sit down and we rest and get looked after for 15-20 minutes. Cat is on technical support, she re-fills out bottles and food supplies whilst Kelly and Nat are on emotional/dressing duties. We change our socks and shirts. Instant relief to be wearing some dry and warm clothes. We down a bowl of veggie chilli and agree that things are going well. We find ourselves getting a little bit too comfy and the race organiser reminds us we’re in a race and we should really get going. We lace up and thank our support crew for ignoring the need to sleep and continuing to look after us - exceptionally well. We leave the rugby club and make our way back onto the trail to start what are the most difficult stretches of countryside in the UK… (this might be an exaggeration).

Leg 6 - Ebley Mill - Dursley (Miles 55-64) We set out and reassured ourselves that so far things were going well. We were making good time as we’d gone through half way and a bit by mid night. We got on with things and attacked the hills with some strong fast walking, revitalised with proper food and new clean clothes. Then is hit us… What I can sports hall syndrome… our bodies are used to be tucked up in bed at this time (it’s gone midnight) and we’d just spent 20-minutes-or so sat in a warm cosy sports hall… Personally, I really wanted to be sat down, eating or in bed… it was difficult ignoring this want but ignore it I did and we got on with it. Leg 6 is hard - I think it’s the hardest leg on the Cotswold Way… Leg 2 has slightly more elevation but the hills on this leg are relentless; they go on and on and on… Having 50+miles in legs is always gonna make it feel worse than it is but this really is a tough section. Having recced it a few weeks back, we did know what to expect and in my mind. I knew once we were over this stage all we had to contest with was the tough start of leg 8 and then it almost would be, downhill from there… We spent alot if not all of this stage walking- partly through being tired but mainly because we could not see a thing. The weather could not be much worse, 12+ hours of drizzle and fog which meant you couldn’t see even a metre ahead of you. In a way, the walking did us good; it stopped us doing anything stupid or getting injured falling over, allowed us to digest our proper meal and held back some energy for the future legs. There was a pit stop at 59 miles, were we saw the girls again, explaining them the trials and tribulations of sports hall syndrome whilst they listened attentively pretending not be to be VERY tired (it’s about 2AM at this point) another refill of water and coke and we plod on through the end of the leg and the next checkpoint…

Leg 7 - Dursley - Wotton-Under-Edge (Miles 65-72) Leg 7 is ok. It starts with a ridiculously steep and technical climb from the town up to the golf course where you’re rewarded with the fantastic climate of strong winds, rain and fog atop the exposed open fields but otherwise it’s relatively flat. The fog didn’t do us any favours as instead of taking the nicely tight cut bouncy fairways we trudged through the sodden wet rough and made sure that we’d definitely need a fresh pair of socks come the next checkpoint.  It’s at the point that I reflect on the Maestro being little quiet… this isn’t unusual in these kinda events, the reason our racing partnership has worked so well in the past (GMU 16’, GBU 17’ and Butcombe 18’) is because we are very comfortable in eachothers silences… he’ll love me comparing us to that old couple you see in a restaurant not talking to each other for hours, just the odd glance over a newspaper to check the other one is still alive… We were doing a lot of walking still and there wasn’t much encouragement to run… it’s at this point the Maestro confesses he’s not in a great place: he’s had a fantastic run and a great adventure so far but he was just completely fed up with the conditions… it was getting wetter and colder by the minute and at this stage didn’t like the thought of enduring another 9+ hours of walking in the dark… A bit of a shock but completely understandable. At this point we had about 4-miles-or-so until the next major checkpoint which was indoors with hot food. I told him to have a think and see what the girls thought when we checked in… The Maestro doesn’t decide things lightly… We get to the checkpoint and break the news, Cat, KD and especially Nat are taken aback… “you’ve come so far” “are you sure?”... he’d had enough and made the tough but sensible decision to call it a day. It was an absolute pleasure as always to take on another first adventure with the Maestro and there’s no way I could have got through the dark without him, let’s face it, we all know I’d of got to mile 70 with 80 miles on my watch…

I wasn’t looking forward to carrying on my own but this is what I needed to do. A change of socks, t-shirt and importantly shoes. I went for a grippier pair of shoes as, running on my own, I wanted there to be less chance of me falling over and my quads were starting to really struggle with the downhills. I inhaled a bowl of spaghetti hoops and felt determined to get leg 8 done and dusted...

Leg 8 - W-U-E - Old Sodbury (Miles 73-85) The longest leg on the Cotswold Way Relay and another stretch with 1200+feet of climb. This leg is probably the third toughest behind 6 and 2… Inevitably it starts with a massive climb… I took it steady and plodded on up, reflecting on losing my ultra bro, digesting my food and enjoying the time. It was gone 6am and the sun was starting to come up! Even through the rain and fog, this was a massively uplifting experience. It meant I could see, which meant I could run! After hours of walking and shuffling, I was actually well up for getting a stomp on… so much so that I somehow banked a 30-minute 5K and was eating up leg 8 like it was a track interval. I was desperate to get this leg done, every mile after it is relatively straight forward, not only that the next major checkpoint had bacon and it would also be the first time I’d see my parents as well as Cat and KD. I got on with it and found myself overtaking loads of runners which was a huge confidence boost and also gave me people to talk to. I made it to the next checkpoint.. I hugged KD, Cat and then my parents before sitting myself down; “bap please, red sauce” One of the best bacon sandwiches I’d ever had in my life… Everyone reassured me that I was doing really well, this was done with lines like “you don’t look anyway near as bad as everyone else” I took this as a compliment and wanted to get going…

Leg 9 - Old Sodbury to Cold Ashton (Miles 86-94) This leg is boring and easy. Much needed after the tough hills and terrain of the previous 10+miles. In upping my pace and determination, I’d also eaten into a big chunk of my energy reserve. I was having to walk quite a lot now, even on the flats, determined for my bacon sarnie to digest and energise me. At this point, I’d probably consumed 5+ litres of coke and wasn’t really feeling the benefit anymore of the sugary elixr… I reflected on the fact that I’d suffered so much and come so far and there really was not much further to go… I was going to make it… surely? I made it to Cold Ashton in a bit of a state. After the positivity of bacon and family, I think my brain was starting to punish me for thinking about the end… I was VERY cold. I put on all of my available dry clothes and was still cold, so Cat went to her car to see what she could find, she came back with a Helly Hansen long sleeved top and a clean buff - hero - I was warm again.  At this point there’s less than 10 miles to go… I’m going to make it. If I wave to crawl on my hands and knees I’m going to make it…

Leg 10 - Cold Ashton Bath (Miles 95-102) Leg 10 is unnecessarily hard, really there is no need. The first couple of miles are down hill, which is great… if your quads haven’t imploded… every step I take is twisting a knife one more time just above my knee… ouchie… I do however get a bit of good patch… I’m running… There’s lots of uphill again now to make up for all the painful downhill but I’m running it. I’m very much of the mindset for wanting to get it done. The miles tick over and I’m still going past people, massive confidence boost. At this point in reflect on coming closer and closer to Bath. As soon as you hit the city, the race organisers allow you the run the last couple of miles with someone. Of course I nominated KD and couldn’t wait to share the experience with her. It was when I thought about this that my body decided to well and truly f*** me over… 98 miles on the clock and my legs decide they have had enough… I could barely move. I was hobbling and having to stop every 100mrs-or-so… I couldn’t believe it… Whatever distance you run, you always feel the same at the end, it was exactly the same feeling you get when you cross 22 miles in a marathon… I took stock of what was going on and had a word with myself… My body had taken me this far, it was my brain wanting to stop me now, so I ignored it! I sung stupid songs to distract myself and focused on getting to Kelly…. The next 2 miles took an age, but as I came off the trail and made my way on the streets of Bath I could hear Cat and KD waiting for me.  This was VERY emotional… The occasion itself almost brought tears to my eyes but this wasn’t helped by the fact that Cat and Kelly are both extremely emo as well! I held back the tears, pulled myself together and said I wanted to get on with it. Cat made her way to the finish whilst telling me I had half hour to cover 2 miles and beat her time.. Definitely the right thing to say… but I just wanted to finish, I wanted to sit down and search the internet for new quads ASAP!

Kelly and I started our adventure on the last 2 miles of the Cotswold Way… as usual this started with a massive hill… completely fed up by now I just got on with it. Kelly was constantly encouraging me and reflecting on what I’d achieved and what I was about to finish. There’s no way I’d have done the first 100 miles without her and definitely no way I’d have done the last 2. We made our way through all the hundreds of tourists who by now had got used to getting out of the way of zombie like numbered “runners” without much persuasion. With 100mtrs to go we took stock of what was about to happen… we held hands and posed for the cameras… or at least that’s what I thought I was doing (see photo below)... I’d done it… I’d finished 100 miles.

30TH - 26:42:31

What an adventure. By far one of my greatest sporting accomplishments. This year has been about finding my grit and finishing things and I FINISHED A 100 MILE RACE. The weather was rubbish, the course was tough and I probably did a lot more wrong than I did right but I made it. Hats off to the Maestro for making it to 72 miles and making the sensible decision to save himself for another day, there’s no way I’d have made it through the night without you and when you finish your first 100, it will be on your terms - you are the Maestro! Thank you to Nat who, as always when supporting, offered genuine care and affection, concerned as always. The biggest thanks has to go to Cat and Kelly… Cat was the technical ultra support wizard - she knew exactly what I needed and just sorted it. She new when I needed to sit down a minute longer and when I needed to just get on with it. Her clothes, although being too tight for me, stopped me from going hyperthermic. Kelly as always was and is my rock. Never ever has there been any hesitation in supporting me in anything I do. ALWAYS there when I need her, offering support and encouragement regardless of anything else that’s going on - thank you and I love you :-)

A massive well done to fellow clubmate Gary, who finished the race hours before I did in 10th place… I’ve been waking up in the middle of the night ever since… “HOW DID GARY DO THAT IN 23 HOURS?!?!?”

Amazing. Really amazing. I can't quite believe that after months and months of taking about it, planning it and training for it, he's done it! A really incredible achievement. I really enjoyed supporting John and Marcus (and Gary for a bit before he got too far ahead!). Yes it was wet but Cat and I did lots of dancing (in our wellies and dry robes) to keep our spirits up. We were tired but we had a couple of naps while waiting for the boys to come to our checkpoints. It really all went rather smoothly. He didn't get lost, didn't appear to have as many low points as in previous races and he finished without any major dramas! Hooray! Mission accomplished! 

Staying dry!

Cat entertained us with her Poy!

We made a friend!

I chose to park in this spot on the golf course!

The sun came out!

The supporting crew with hot chocolate in the dark!

Monday 24th September 2018

As John is running every day this year (challenge 365), just a matter of hours after running 102 miles, he was up again and running around the Harbourside! 

Well I say running...we did 3 miles at an average pace of 11:49. Box ticked!

Tuesday 25th September 2018

Suddenly, it's become cold. I ran with John again today but did a few strides to keep warm. 

We were quicker today - 10:35mm ...progress!

I did yoga today in the evening. I've missed not doing it everyday like in the summer. Trying to get back into a routine is hard! 

Wednesday 26th September 2018

Off to club today for our run. John was feeling loads better so did the winter 8 mile route. I opted for the 10 mile route. As soon as I started running today, something just clicked. It was like my body suddenly was ready for running a marathon. My legs felt light and fast and efficient. I was running along and chatting merrily, then looked down at my watch and I was running 7:05s...woa...slow down! I didn't want to push it too much as I had a long run planned for the weekend. I spent the rest of the run trying to slow down but really enjoying the sensation of it feeling super easy. With just over a week to go until Chester, could this be perfect timing? 

Thursday 27th  September 2018

A rest day for me today. John did he 5k as usual. 

Friday 28th  September 2018

Today was the first running club of the new academic year. I open my lunchtime running club to children in Years 3 - 6. This means, that at the start of a new year, I have a huge bunch of new, young and enthusiastic 8 year olds who have just joined year 3 and are keen to try running club for the first time! 

I had 42 children, 3 teachers and 1 parent join me a rather impressive turn out I think! I wanted to start off slowly and not scare too many off too soon so we just did a 1km run up and down the cycle path. Most children were smiling so hopefully they enjoyed it and will come back again next week! 

Saturday 29th  September 2018

The time had come for my last long run before Chester. 18 miles with some miles at marathon pace. I was rather apprehensive about this run.  What if marathon pace feels too hard? What if I don't recover in time for next weeks race? For this whole campaign, I have been following John's (aka Coach Cox's) tailor made marathon plan. 10 weeks of effort with a focus on speed work and marathon paced sessions. So far, I feel like it's all gone to plan but it's been a bit hard, at times, putting complete trust and my marathon success or failure in someone else's hands! Today's run would really be the test of Coach Cox's plan and my training. 

The plan was to do blocks of marathon paced efforts John suggested 3 blocks of 3 miles each but I thought I'd see how the first block felt. Despite having ran 102 miles last weekend, John agreed to come with me on his bike so we decided to use the Bristol to Bath cycle path as our route for today. 

The first two miles warm up to the cycle path went by really quickly. I was feeling pretty good. My calves and achilles were feeling a little tight (I have a sports massage booked in to sort that out!) but nothing too major. I then did another two miles steady on the uphill sections of the cycle path. At mile 4, I was ready to attempt marathon pace. Nervously, I accelerated and got into a rhythm which I thought felt about right. I looked at my watch; it read 6:50 mm pace - YES! I focused on keeping that pace and keeping that rhythm. I felt comfortable. 

After three miles of marathon pace (6:53, 6:48, 6:41), I was feeling rather excited. Rewind to a few weeks ago, I was on the Portway desperately working my hardest to do 4 miles at marathon pace, failing and then practically crashing out on the floor and having to rest for a while before walking home. Now I'm comfortably holding 6:41 pace and feeling great. I decided to extend the first block of MP from 3 to 4 miles. After 4 miles, I slowed but carried on running. John gave me some water and I did 1 mile at 7:27 pace.  

After 9 miles, I had reached half way so turned around. It was time for marathon pace block 2. Feeling confident this time, I steadily increased my pace and found the rhythm without needing much help from my watch. Again, the 3 miles felt easy, controlled and comfortable. I felt like I could run at this pace all day - hooray! The 3 miles sped by (6:48, 6:50, 6:44) and I didn't even let a couple of little hills effect my pace. 

I had another mile at 7:36 and then I was ready for my last set. I couldn't believe it. 10 weeks of training and now I'd nearly finished my final long run. I was feeling invincible. I was really starting to believe that sub 3 could be possible. I increased the pace again for the next 3 miles and, due to the downhill nature of the route, found myself having to slow myself down to stick to the required pace! Mission accomplished (6:45, 6:45, 6:44).

I couldn't feel happier. That was by far my best EVER training session. 18 miles with 10 miles at Marathon Pace. Boom! I am ready. Bring on Chester and bring on Sub 3!