Snowdon Marathon

What a day (and far too long ago now)! Emma and I drove up to Llanberris on Friday afternoon. A long slow drive, not helped by getting caught up in the World Rally Championship GB Rally. We met up with Jane and Mike and Mike and Terri for a meal in Llanberris. The meal was lightened by our host, who can best be likened to Lurch from the Adams family. He meant well, but didn't really have a clue! I enjoyed a good sleep on Friday night, which was just aas well given the trials of a hilly 26 mile marathon on Saturday morning, my first marathon for 30 years. The last one was the Exeter University rag marathon in 1980. I was fit then and had the energy of youth! The morning dawned bright, sunny and windless...in my dreams! When I woke, it was to a strong wind howling through the trees and a good North Wales downpour that lasted most of the day. We enjoyed a hearty breakfast of porridge, toast, egg and fruit. We then set off for the start by waiting in the long wet bus queue, since the start is a couple of miles up from the town. That allowed us to arrive at the start in plenty of time to wait in the rain to get properly cold, only to be told the start would be delayed a further 20 minutes because the bus queue was too long to get everyone to the start on time. Not the best way to warm up for a marathon. The crowd set off at about 11.00 and ran up the very wet road to Pen-y-Pas. A good 4 mile uphill slog. A welcome drink station at brow allowed a short break before the downhill run all the way to Bedgellert at 12 miles. This was noteable for two things. Firstly a sharp turn at the bottom of the steep descent into a fierce gale, which literally stopped you in your tracks. Secondly the very surreal sight of two 'men' dressed in full smurf outfits, one red and one blue. It was one of those moments when you really think you were hallucinating, or had just dreamed it. A very bizarre sight. After the tough 2 mile climb out of Bedgellert (where I accepted a very kind offer of Jelly Babies form an elderly couple), ones mind turns to the thought of 'the hill' at 21 miles. This appears just when one is hitting the proverbial wall. A steep two mile climb off road into the wind. Fortunately it had stopped raining by now. It was a sort of walk and jog type hill, with the walking taking preference after the first 100 metres. At the top, the drink stations wer trying to control their plastic cups from the clutches of the howling wind. The wind won, and it was a bit frustrating to have the cups fly past you. There was no way of keeping up with them. The worst stretch was then upon us. The steep downhill, first off road and then on tarmac, down to Llanberris. This at 24 miles is a calf killer. I don't know how many people I saw crumpled by the wayside with agony drawn all over their faces as they clutched their cramping calves. I was delighetd not to join the suffering. I am not certain what I put that down to: training, adequate hydration, or taking in salts through elctrolytes both before and during the race, but probably all three. the lasst half mile in Llanberis is pretty sole destroying as you get so close to the finish before you are taken on a short town detour, together with another short climb, before coming back to a great cheering welcome from the local Welsh crowd. A fantastic event and a great run, even though Snowdon never showed her face through the low cloud.

NRC Breakfast Run

10 October 2009 (Was it really that long ago?)

A Nailsea Running Club breakfast run is about a goodly group of runners going for an informative run and enjoying a hearty breakfast afterwards.

The preparation for the run was interesting:

• Most confirmations that people were coming along arrived in the last 24 hours
• Food shopping had to be done twice in the last 24 hours as the numbers swelled
• Emma was very worried when I announced that Kate Percy (AKA Go Faster Food writer, therefore professional celebrity cook) would be joining the run. Emma didn't really like the idea of cooking for a professional cook!
• Finding glasses, crockery and cutlery for 40 people.
• Tracking down a big enough kettle for 40 teas and coffees

Anyaway we did it! The day dawned sunny and warm, thank goodness.

We ran 8 miles from Long Ashton, up Ashton Hill (Where lookouts were posted in the war to spot German bombers, although only armed with a rifle and four bullets), through Ashton Court to Abbots Pool (used to raise fish for the hungry abbots). Then cross-country to Failand. Here we were welcomed by one of my work colleagues, Rachel, who provided some drink and Jelly Babies, together with a bit of first aid for a rogue barbed wire attack.

Refreshed we ran back through Belmont wood and Ironwood and back to Long Ashton.

We then tucked in to a fantastic feast made by Emma and her hard working helpers (Terri, Jules, Tessa and I'm sure others who I should have remembered).

We were also visited by Ann Harrison, Chairman of the Nailsea St Peter's Hospice branch. We were delighted to present her with a cheque for £800 from Nailsea Running Club, representing the Club's profits from its 2009 races, going towards our target of raising £30,000 for St Peter's.

We succeeded in raising £273 for St Peter's by organising this run, so Mike and I would like to thank everyone for coming along. By all counts it was a very enjoyable morning and we were blessed with fantastic weather.

Bristol Half

The day before was a bit of a rush trying to get the last of the gorilla suits ready. We had nearly everything, but one missing mask. David and I started the day 7:30 in the radio Bristol studio being interviewed by Ali Vowles. This was great fun and we also received £10 from her. It must cost them a fortune every time someone comes in raising money. Having said that, Ben Prater caught me for £10 for his London & Berlin marathons, so it looks like we’re even so far. I will have to try harder! However, it was also very humbling. The guests before us were an 11 year old girl and boy who were trying to get into a team to swim the English Channel. (I guess we should stop now, or find something extreme. Mucking about running kind of looks easy now, knowing what other people are up to.) There was one wonderful moment when Ali asked the boy what his chances were of making the final team. He said they were pretty good as the team manager was his mum! As they say, never work with children and animals! The animals were next on…

Anyway, back to the story. I left the studio and rushed to Clevedon to pick up a gorilla mask for Chris (oldest son). I was there by 9am, just to find they don’t open until 9:30. Oh well! 9:30 the shop opens: “One gorilla makes please.” “Sorry we stopped selling them last year.” “B*****.” Back to Bristol where I found a full gorilla hood in the shop in Kellaway Avenue. That took care of Saturday. Sunday: Chris and me are going to join the other 11,000 runners daft enough to pay £30 to run around Bristol. We arrived just in time for the photos with the fantastic St Peter’s Hospice team. Great fun and what a superb crowd. When I joined the queue for the loo, the others warmed up with Mr Motivator. He must be trying for the pantomime this year as he was dressed as one of the ugly sisters. We started the race near the back so we could go slowly and prise money out of the incredible crowds. We had great support all the way around the course, with people giving generously, with every penny counting. I must say, those that gave notes were particularly appreciated as the coins started to feel very heavy after the first mile! We were cheered all the way round the course from well-wishers, St Peter’s supporters (there were lots of them) and the course marshalls. The marshalls were brilliant, and it should never be forgotten that these kinds of events don’t happen without the time willingly given by these volunteers, so I would like to say a massive thanks to them.

David even said that one of the young lads helping at the drinks stations shouted to David that if he slowed down he would have put some money in David’s bucket. At this, David turned round and ran back to him to take him up on his offer. He gave a very generous £2, for which David was duly thankful.

Also a massive thank you to St Peter’s for all the support they gave to us and the other St Peter’s runners.

Sunday PM was easier. Shower, food, beer and then slept all the way through the rugby.

The Bristol crowds did us proud. We raised nearly £400 in loose change. The only problem was that when we finished we didn’t know what hurt more - arms or legs!

Mike

Running Gorillas

Mike and I are running the Bristol Half dressed as Gorillas. Mike has run the Bristol Half as a gorilla for the last couple of years when raising money for his Marathon des Sables challenge. We thought we would use this tactic again to help raise funds for St Peter's Hospice this year. We've had a lot of interest from the local press about our TransAlp challenge. So with us running the Bristol Half dressed as gorillas, we had a press photo call on Sunday. We met up with the photographer at Ashton Court at 10.00. We thought it might be quiet there, but we received quite a few strange looks from walkers (and their dogs). The two horses that went past didn't seem to bat an eyelid.

You can tell by the beard that it's Mike on the right here!

We had fun in the cafe at the Mansion a little later. It was the young children that didn't know what to make of these two hairy gorillas. One three year old boy approached us from the safety of a small pillar between us and him, but when we both grunted, he ran in a slightly terrified manner to his mummy. I blame Mike, since I was working on my computer at the time as you can see...

Now in the middle of a week's training running up to the Half, with a short 8 mile run around London in the pouring rain. The advantage of rain in London is that it keeps the tourists off the route, especially on the South Bank.

What are My Life doing for us?

My Life are a specialist personal training organisation run by a group of professional trainers trying to help many Bristolians get fitter. Here's their website: http://www.mylifept.com/

Mike and I were loking for help in training for the TransAlp and we came across MyLife helping out at one of the Nailsea Running Club events. We contacted Andy Wadsworth, who runs My Life and, after a little persuasion convincing him:

1. that we were mad enough to see this through the training for the next year,
2. that we needed his help to get through this (very easy given our levels of fitness)
3. that we were serious in raising £30,000 for St Peter's hospice

...he agreed to help us. This was fantastic for our motivation at an early stage of our training.

Then came the hard bit. He set up a meeting with a specialist to measure our fitness. This involved putting on a gas mask and jumping on a running machine:

We were then made to start walking and every minute the speed was increased to a fast running pace. Once running at 12 mph, the incline was increased 2% each minute. Here's Mike mid-test looking fresh as a daisy:

What then happens is you hit your anaerobic threshold. That's when your physiology changes completely, you stop being able to take in enough oxygen to run at the speed you have, lactic acid builds up and you suddenly feel terrible. Basically you collapse.

Here's Mike just after the test. He really looks like he enjoyed it! The problem is trying to get enough oxygen back into your lungs through the mask when you are completely shattered having just had your heart rate up to its maximum.

I have to say it was very hard work, but it will be fascinating to see how our fitness improves over the next year as our training increases and our bodies adapt to the mileage we have to put in.

We'll talk more about the results of the tests once we understand them!