Race Report : Lakeland 50 : Ultra Tour of the Lake District

Drew & Claire waiting for the 100 runners

Ouch, that was an uncomfortably hot afternoon running around the Lake District.  Sitting here writing this blog, that is the first thought that enters my mind when I think back over the weekend.  Then I think of the huge positive that I took away from it, the very fact I was very close to quitting and I didn't.  I kept going and got the job finished; it wasn't pretty and it wasn't easy and it most certainly wasn't plan A or plan B for that matter but I crossed the finish line and that is all that matters.

The trip to the lakes was typical of a Friday with accidents and traffic jams galore as we headed up the M5 and M6.  Rather than the 3-4 hour journey I'd expected, it took us 6.5 hours, so when we arrived in to Coniston the campsite was already pretty full.  We covertly parked up the tiny camper (borrowed from Mum & Dad), grabbed my kit and went off to register.  Unfortunately due to the traffic the queue for registration was a little larger than anticipated and I was asked to come back later after the 100 milers had kicked off.

Rather than watch from the start line, we tagged along with Drew Sheffield, Claire Shelly & James Adams (he has a book out you know!) and headed up the first climb skirting around the edge of the Old Man of Coniston.  It was a beautiful evening, perhaps a little warm but certainly preferable to the cold and wet that is so often on offer in this part of the world. Perched on a rock overlooking the climb we waited for the field and it wasn't long before Marco, Charlie and the other front runners were upon us.  

Marco Consani
Winner Lakeland100 2014

Given I hadn't yet registered and being slightly panicky about this, I decided we should head down after the front runners had passed us and get back to base, which is exaclty what we did, wishing all of the runners good luck and I think I only told a few of them "not far to go now".  Steve Navesey had a big smile on his face, as did Tim Laney, both of whom finished and had even bigger smiles at the finish line.

Back at camp I got myself registered, weighed (by James Adams, he has a book out if you didn't know already) and chipped up.  I was now ready for my evening meal and a good nights sleep before the 0830 race briefing.  Of course being sociable we had to visit the pub with Mr Adams and Justin (sorry don't know your surname) and put the world to rights post dinner.  And so it was 11pm ish when Nikki and I crawled in to bed and I drifted off to sleep thinking of the next days events.

I was dressed and ready to role by 0730 with coffee in hand and breakfast in my belly, my bag was repacked and now I was clock watching.  As the minutes ticked by and along with Jamie Woods who was camping next to us, we drifted over to the school hall in time for the briefing.  The hall filled up and soon Marc was up on stage giving us the low down on what to expect, who would and wouldn't make it around the course, finally reminding us that we had plenty of time and finishing was more important than anything else. With those thoughts in our minds, we left the school all hoping that the next time we were in Coniston, we'd be running over the finish line and not arriving by some other means.

The coach journey could have been worse to be fair, with the temperatures rising I'd expected to be sweating my nuts off on arrival in Dalemain.  After about an hour and a quarter's journey around the countryside, we arrived at the start with about 45 minutes to spare before the off.  My brother Mike and his wife, Lynsay were already waiting for me as were Nikki & Bev Navesey who we soon located in the large crowd of people.  This was the halfway point for the 100 runners and they were coming through to great cheers from the spectators and 50 competitors alike.

At the end of the Dalemain loop

The start of the race is a 3.8 mile loop around the estate which helps to make up some of the distance but its main aim is to spread the field before getting out on to the hillside.  This loop you are allowed, even encouraged to run with friends and family and it was great to have Mike come along for those first few miles.  The stiles and single track we had to follow meant it wasn't always possible to be side by side, although we did manage to crack a few jokes and have a giggle as we made our way round.  

After waving good bye to Mike, Lyns, Nikki and Bev, I got my head in to the first section of the course, which according to Plan A was a 2 hour section to cover 11.2 miles to Howtown.  There was only a few small climbs, nothing massive and with 3.8 miles already completed around Dalemain, this hopefully wouldn't be too tough.   After crossing a road and running alongside a river, I found myself in Pooley Bridge and to my surprise saw Nikki again as I crossed over the bridge.  It's always so nice to see a friendly face when out on these types of events, even if I was only 5 miles in, especially when it's unexpected.

I arrived at the first checkpoint ahead of schedule by 2 minutes or so.  James Adams was working at the aid station (he'll do anything to promote his book) and he asked if I now regretted the climb up the Old Man the previous evening, to which my bullish reply "No of course not" may have been a bit telling. Secretly I blame James for my failure to hit either of my A or B goals, so I'm not going to buy his next book.

Running over Pooley Bridge

Departing Howtown, there is a long steady and almost never ending climb upwards out of the end of the valley to High Kop before you run across the top and down to Haweswater reservoir. It was on this climb that I started to feel awful; over heating and constantly thirsty, I had to keep stopping on the way up. With people passing in what appears like a constant stream I felt like I was at the back and couldn't believe how things had changed on this leg.  It was at this stage, around mile 13 that I knew plan A was out of the window and that I'd have to push to keep plan B on track.  As I dropped down on to the path on the side of Haweswater I knew that even plan B was going to be tough as I stopped at every stream on the path to cover myself in water and to fill my bottle.

Looking back on this part of the race now, I can see that I made some mistakes early in the race.  I probably pushed too hard on the first leg and should have run a little slower, so that I wasn't as hot and potentially dehydrated for the climb out of Howtown.  I also didn't fuel well enough during the first 2-3 hours and so on arrival in to Mardale Head I was suffering from the heat, dehydrated and running on an empty tank.  I also took one S-Cap on this section of the course and I think this massive input of salt may have caused me to drink more initially, although I needed the electrolytes getting this one massive shot of them may have impacted my thirst.

At Mardale Head I took the decision to sit down and sort myself out, as my head was telling me to just stop this stupid affair but my heart was saying otherwise.  I've only run a few ultras but I've never sat down before for fear of not wanting to get up again, so I knew times were bad when I plonked my arse in the chair.  I found Jamie sitting opposite me, looking how I felt, he was suffering from stomach issues as well as the heat. I was really surprised to see him as he'd passed me on the climb up to High Kop and I didn't expect to bump in to him again until Coniston.  The heat was clearly having an impact on other people as well, which helped my mental understanding of the conditions; it wasn't just me who wasn't able to deal with it.  

Time to stuff my face!  I had some soup, a cup of tea, a peanut butter wrap and a bit of a cheese sandwich.  The result was almost immediate, I felt so much better being hydrated and having taken on fuel.  After 20 minutes rest I told Jamie to get up and that we'd climb the next hill together.  He was muttering about quitting at Kentmere but I wasn't having any of that and told him to just keep going and see how he felt.  We pushed ourselves out of the chairs, filled our bottles and began the climb.

Getting to the top wasn't anywhere near the effort I thought it was going to be and I felt stronger as I pushed down the other side, saying my goodbyes to Jamie and enjoying the fast decent.  I pushed on with one of the 100 runners (John?) and soon arrived in to Kentmere where I topped up my water, grabbed an apple and took a few minutes to eat and drink on the grass outside.  The temperature had dropped significantly now although it was still sunny and there was a pleasant breeze.

Running in to Ambleside

After scoffing the apple I left to head over the hill to Ambleside, where I knew Nikki, Bev, Mike and Lyns would be waiting to offer a cheer and tell me I looked strong.  This section went well, I was feeling better and made up a few places arriving 20 minutes ahead of the ETA at the next checkpoint.  Mike and Lyns cheered me in and Nikki jogged in the last 100m, it was great to see them all.

I grabbed some salted crisps (why!!!) and something to drink and kissed Nikki goodbye and left the checkpoint.  Ten yards up the path I felt awful (again) and sat down to eat.  I forced myself on to my feet and began walking up the hill as the rain started to fall.  I'd put too much liquid in to my stomach too quickly and then shovelled in some nasty salted crisps making my stomach churn over and over.  God I felt crap and I contemplated walking back to the checkpoint to quit.

Remembering the statistics Marc had shared before the event; something like 95% of competitors who make it to Ambleside finish, I was determined not to become part of that 5% group.  I had to make it to the finish line and so onwards and upwards, plodding along, one foot in front of the other.  Slowly slowly catchy monkey...

As I appeared in Skelwith Bridge I was once again greeted by the support crew of Nikki, Bev, Mike and Lyns and this time Paul Navesey too.  I was feeling rough, which was confirmed by my grumpy attitude towards everybody (apologies).  I think I offered Paul my race number and asked him to finish off the last 12 miles for me, but for some reason he wasn't interested.  

A rare moment of running

Feeling rough I decided to put on some music as well as my waterproof and push on as best I could.  After another surprise hello from Mike & Lyns on the course, who walked along with me almost to the next checkpoint.  These appearances are such a morale booster especially when feeling rough and even more so late in the evening, by now it was after 10pm and I was using my head torch.

Chapel Stile aid station was another life saver for me.  I must have looked terrible upon arrival, as they sat me down, took my water bottles, gave me vegetable stew and plied me with sweet tea.  I'm not sure how long I sat there and I haven't looked at my watch data but it was time well spent taking on fuel.  Before departing I ensured I had my gloves on as I'd started to feel the cold, moving slowly and being soaked in sweat from earlier along with the wind & rain weren't helping matters.  

I left knowing I had 6.5 miles to the final aid station and my belly was full and I was feeling human again.  It was dark but I'd recced this part of the course before at night and so knew the way and I had my watch to guide me on those couple of tricky turns.  I knew I was moving faster and I soon warmed up and started to overtake people.  I had one thing on my mind and that was ensuring I didn't miss the mandatory unmanned dibber at Castle Howe. After finding this dibber, I jogged down the road overtaking yet more people who appeared to be finding the downhill hard work.  I'm blessed with big quads and so downhill running is something I find slightly easier than most on top of which I really enjoy pushing how fast I can get down a hill.

Tilberthwaite steps

I arrived in to Tilberthwaite up on the ETA of the timing system and decided to take a few minutes to drink another cuppa and take on some sugar...with only 3.5 miles to go it was time to hit the sugar.  Then it was back out in to the darkness and up those steps, climbing the last hill (or is it a mountain?) before descending down in to Coniston.   

This last climb was fuelled by jelly babies and I caught a few people on the way up the hill, remembering to keep the beck on my right and not cross it, turning left at the lone tree near the top.  At this point I could see head torches ahead of me and the same looking back down the hill and across the valley, this is a view that I'll remember for a long time and my only regret was not being able to photograph it.

As I crested the top I packed away my poles and decided to see how quickly I could get down and in to Coniston and so began a fairly quick run down the rocky pathway.  I over took a number of people and pushed onwards with the rocky path getting better and better to run on.  Finally the pathway becomes a gravel track and then finally a tarmac road and it was somewhere along here I found Nikki walking up to meet me.  It's hard to work out who is who with head torches shining at each other; I recognised her right away, if only she'd recognised me.  I didn't slow and she soon caught up and we jogged in the final few hundred yards down the hill and in to Coniston, over the bridge and with a final left turn and down the hill in to the school to great cheers even at 0156 in the morning!  

I had made it, after 14 hours and 21 minutes I was in Consiton at the end of the Lakeland 50.  I'd got my monies worth, spending a lot longer out on the course than either my A or B goals had allowed for.  You could say these goals may not have been realistic and perhaps my A goal was a stretch and things would have to have gone perfectly to achieve it.  My B goal was certainly within reach, I was only 50 minutes outside of it which is less time than I spent in aid stations around the course, so I know it wasn't out of reach.

Having had a few days to think about my result, I've got both positive and negatives to take away with lots of things to work on before the next big outing around the Alps in August. My positive is that I had the mental strength to gut it out and get over the finish line.  The going got tough and I got going.  

So what are the areas for improvement?  I need to work on my fuelling and hydration more. I think I need to try something other than just S/Caps, perhaps supplementing with Nuun or similar in my water to give me a more regular intake of electrolytes.  I need to also work out how to get back to having my Salomon back not cause such severe burns on my back.  It never used to do this and none of the older packs did it, so I'm not sure if this is because I'm not carrying more mandatory kit or if the pack is too tight or too loose.  Whatever the issue, it needs sorting and quickly.

The final decision I've made is that I'm going to go back in 2015 and re-run the LL50. I consider my result a failure as I missed my A and B goals and I know I can do better.  The only way to prove this to myself is to go back, having spent more time training, more time in the lakes and having run more races in the meantime.  I want to immerse myself in the Lakeland spirit and I want to get to the finish line on the same day the race starts, I know I can do it.

Big thanks go out to Nikki, once again for spending a whole weekend travelling around the countryside supporting my weird desire to punish myself running silly distances over mountains.  I also need to thank Mike and Lyns for doing the same, especially having had car issues and having to sleep in the car on Saturday night, you're amazing!

Bev Navesey also deserves massive thanks for (A) putting up with Nikki all weekend and (B) driving her around the course so she could see me at all the viewing points.  Bev, I hope to be able to return the favour when you and Steve run the 50 together in a few years time.

Now it's time to rest and get myself ready for the next event...

A (vegetarian) year in review : 2013

I started 2013 with a number of challenges ahead of me, most of them fitness related, some professional and others diet related. My non-work related goals were:

1. Complete my first marathon
2. Complete a 50 ultra marathon
3. Become a vegetarian (for a year?)

With 20/20 hindsight, I thought I'd take a look at how things had panned out and what goals I've set myself for 2014.

My first marathon

First of all, this is more than double a half marathon when measured by effort.

It's much more like this: 13.1 x 2.5 = 26.2

Of course I'd heard this before I ran the Madrid marathon back in May but I had tunnel vision on the start line and ran the first half far too quickly, forgetting my pacing and completely without a food/water strategy. I slowed with stomach problems and because I'd got my pacing all wrong I crossed the line in about 4hrs 20mins but I had been aiming for 3hrs 45mins or thereabouts.....

Looking back it makes me cringe to think how unprepared I was for this race; I wasn't blasé about it, I was just naive to the distance and the pacing required. I'm still naive and of course I'm still learning, in fact I think I'll be learning about it for many, many years to come. Armed with slightly more information, I wince at the stupidity shown earlier this year.

One of my goals of 2014 is to return to the marathon distance with a pacing strategy so that I don't get caught up in the mass start and kill myself too early. I know I can run this distance in 3 hours 45 minutes and perhaps on a good day maybe a little faster. My goal isn't really to hit this time, more to get my race strategy right, the faster time will be a byproduct of getting everything else correct on the day.

My first ultra

Running the North Downs Way 50 was the major goal of 2013 and I'm pleased to say I finished. Did I hit my goal? YES! 100% I did. I had prepared myself so that I was physically and mentally fit enough to make the 50 mile journey within the 13.5 hour cut off.

Would I be even more prepared now? YES! I was prepared in the sense that I'd done everything I thought I needed to before this but I was ignorant to my pacing and fuelling requirements. I followed a 50 mile fitness training programme from the book, Relentless Forward Progress by Bryon Powell which got me from start to finish and provided me with an insight in to the world of Ultra Running, but running the NDW50 taught me more than any book could.

Not only did I manage to complete my first 50 mile race, I also managed to finish two other ultras in 2013, the 10 Peaks Brecon Beacons and the Frostbite 30. These were both additional stretch goals and I'm pleased I finished them. The 10 Peaks was a very tough day out in my back garden and has provided me with an insight into how tough the UTMB CCC will be (all be it without the altitude).

I've managed to maintain a level of fitness throughout the year and now that I have James Elson from Centurion Running helping me, this should provide a good base for my 2014 race calendar.

Being a veggie for a year

It's the 1st January 2014 and this is another goal I can tick off! 3 from 3 for 2013 and I'm a happy boy.

What has it been like? Actually I'm amazed at how little I missed meat, it was pretty easy, even with the US travel and living in hotels for 75+ nights this year. I found that I was less bloated than when eating meat, which I guess is a direct result of having less meals with huge chunks of protein. To be fair I haven't been a true veggie, I've also been eating fish/seafood which has helped with protein intake as well as provide an alternative main meal.

Now that the year is over, does this mean I'm reaching for the bacon and sausages? Absolutely not! I've enjoyed not eating meat and I believe my diet has improved my overall health. I will eat meat again this year undoubtedly but I'm going to be fussy about the quality of the meat and I want to know the animals history. So it's likely I'll remain a pescatarian until I've reared my own pigs later this year.

What's next?

I've got a fairly busy schedule for 2014, starting with the Dopey Challenge in Orlando, FL next week. My first A race is the South Downs Way 50, where I'm hoping to run sub 10 hours. Later in the year I have an entry in for the Lakeland 50, as well as the Ironman UK 70.3 and I'm waiting on the ballot in January for the UTMB CCC.

What do you do on a flight to Boston?

It's 5pm local time and I've just taken off from Atlanta airport on a short 2 hour flight up to Boston.  What would any normal person do during that time?  Read a book? Watch a film? Sleep?  All quite reasonable things to do.  What did I do?  I signed up for my first triathlon, ever!

Oh and not just any triathlon, it's a 70.3 Ironman!  Lets not do things by halves (or lets as this is a half Ironman), in at the deep-end quite literally.  My swim had better start now, considering I do not remember the last time I swam 100metres in a pool, let alone 1.2 miles in open water.

If you fancy joining me and having a go yourself, sign up over here or you could come and support me on Sunday 15th June 2014 in Wimbleball, Exmoor.

Race Report: The North Downs Way 50

Getting ready for the off

I set myself a goal of finishing a 50 mile ultra marathon in the middle of 2012......last weekend I'm pleased to report that I've managed to tick this one off my list.  

My race of choice was the North Downs Way 50 by Centurion Running.  I can't really remember why I picked it, other than it was on the doorstep of where we used to live but my entry was confirmed in September last year and the training started in earnest at the start of Winter.

The race begins in Farnham at the western end of the North Downs, traveling past Puttenham and Guildford following the North Downs Way National Trail. The course then continues on to Ranmore Common before the steepest climb of the race up to the top of Box Hill. The trail then drops down the other side and back up to Reigate Hill, on through Merstham to Oxted and a further 8 miles to Knockholt Pound and the finish line.

Arriving at a nearby hotel, the night before, on Friday 17th May, I had a wonderful surprise in the form of Mr Ian Austin.  A very good friend of mine, whom I've not seen very much lately and I was blown away that he'd come down to see me set off across the North Downs Way.  My plan for the Friday evening changed somewhat and we ended up sitting in the local boozer (sparkling water only) and catching up on life.  

After a restless nights sleep, we left the hotel for the start line around 7am.  The registration process was simple enough and after a mandatory kit check and a short briefing from James (the RD), we soon headed down to the start line. 

Leading up to this point my head had been filled with negative thoughts questioning my capabilities; can I really make it 50 miles? what happens if I fail? what if I get injured? what will people think of me if I fail? etc.  I knew that my head was going to be constantly telling me this during the race, I hadn't quite expected it beforehand.

With a short sharp toot of the hooter the race was off to a start. I soon found myself running too quickly, caught up in the moment and running with people who were far fitter than I was.  I kept telling myself to slow down and I walked the uphill sections from the start, as did almost everybody around me.  The social aspect of running took over and I began chatting to those people around me.  I can't tell you who or what we discussed really but the time flew by and we were soon though the first aid station at mile 6.  

Leaving St Marthas @ mile 12.5

The next aid station was 6 miles further along the trail and that was soon upon me. I was feeling good, the weather was holding out and there was no sign of the hills that I'd heard about before the race.  Awaiting for me at the top of the hill by the aid station was Mr Austin, we exchanged pleasantries but I didn't really stop to chat (sorry).  He did take a quite a nice photo of me running off down the hill, although I didn't discover this until much later of course.

Things were about to change as my next stint would take me to mile 24 and the base of Box Hill.  Ian had told me Nikki would be at this aid station, although I didn't think this could be the case and I was convinced Ian had confused Box Hill and Botley Hill (the aid station Nikki was working at).  Anyway, this stint was more of a mental challenge; my head kept telling me I should quit and looking back now mile 15 to mile 20 were the hardest part of the entire 50 miles!

Approaching the Box Hill aid station I was pleasantly surprised to bump in to a lad (Ed Trump - nice to see ya fella) I went to school with.  It always amazes me how small this world is, although when you've been to as many schools as I have, I really shouldn't be.  We had a very brief chat before I continued under the dual carriage way and in to the aid station where Nikki was after all waiting for me.  I had just made it in time to see her before she had to leave for Botley Hill.  I filled my water bladder and grabbed a couple peanut butter sandwiches (which I later regretted) and set off over the stepping stones and up the hill.

Arriving @ Reigate Hill (Mile 31)

I had no idea how difficult the next 6 miles were going to be. If I had, I probably would have reconsidered quitting.  The steps up Box Hill were tough but nothing in comparison to Reigate Hill, a relentless climb at the end of this stretch.  Ian will tell you I looked pretty awful arriving at mile 31, the Reigate Hill aid station, to the extent he didn't know what to say or do.  He must have been telling the truth (which is unusual for him) as he told me he put away his camera after snapping just one picture of me arriving, I looked that bad!

I spent no more than 4 or 5 minutes with Ian, catching my breath, filling up my bladder and stretching out my legs.  My hamstrings were paying the price of pushing my fat ass up those hills.  This was to continue for the rest of the day and I had to keep stopping and stretching to stop them from tightening up.

Somebody mentioned to me during the first few miles that if you made it to Reigate Hill, you had the worst of it behind you.  Along with this information and the knowledge that there was only one more aid station before I would see Nikki @ Botley Hill, I had my motivation sorted in my head.  I jogged out of Reigate Hill determined more than ever that I would make it to the finish.

I defy anybody to run 31 miles and then try to answer a simple maths question, such as what pace do I need to maintain to run the final 19 miles within the cut off time (13.5 hours).   For the life of me I couldn't work this out and I came up with all sorts of answers.  This was frustrating me a little but it also helped pass some of the time as I worked out if I would or wouldn't make it in time.  In the end I decided to ask at the next aid station about the cut offs where I discovered 12*9 isn't 4789 and I had plenty of time in hand.  I pushed the cut offs out of my head for the rest of the day.

Yes, I'm walking dammit!

The aid station @ mile 38 was reportedly a water only station but it turns out it had the best food a runner could want at this stage of the day, ice cream!  A big thanks to the crew here, especially for this magnificent surprise. The sun was shining and I was enjoying an ice cream with a fantastic view of southern England, for a moment I forgot all about my tight hamstrings and the next 12 miles, I was in sugar heaven.   But all good things must come to an end and I left Caterham and set my sights on seeing Nikki.  

This next section was a shorter 5 mile section and I ran as much of it as I could, in the knowledge that the last mile or so included a few ups and downs, concluding in the final big hill of the day (Botley).  At the back of my mind I also knew that some other great friends of ours (Andy & Sarah) would be somewhere on the course between here and the finish line, so I was on the lookout for them as I weaved my weary body through the woodlands just on the inside of the M25, north of Oxted.

I pushed my walking pace up Botley Hill, forgetting for a few minutes that my legs were on fire.  As I rounded the final corner I could make out Andy at the top of the hill, shouting "come on The Mills".  Then Sarah, George, Nikki and Ian, all shouting and clapping.  You have no idea how great this made me feel, it's the greatest feeling in the world having a support crew cheering you on like this.  I was surprised to see George (who came up from Brighton) as well as Ian, who had told me earlier that he would be heading home mid-afternoon but it turns out he lied and had always planned on seeing this through to the end with me.

For the last 12-15 miles all I could think about was having a pint of lemonade and a pint of lager top.  I told the guys about this thought and we all agreed to head to the pub near the finish, it was motivational knowing that I could have something as simple as lemonade in 7 miles.  I refilled my bladder and took on some more electrolytes and prepared myself for the final section.

This was it, the final 7 miles, something which would easily be achievable inside an hour any other day of the week.  But as the final stretch of this race it took me almost 2 hours to cover this ground, my hamstrings were really sore/tight now and all I could think about was that I should have included more strength work in my training.  Nothing was going to stop me getting to the finish line now and I told myself I'd run the final mile.  As I cut around the final few fields I glanced at my watch which told me I had 0.3 of a mile to go.  My motivation was then dashed as I rounded a bend to see a Centurion sign informing me I had 2 km to go...aghhhh!

NDW50 Finishers medal

I walked for a bit at this point, annoyed with myself for trusting my watch would be completely accurate.  As it turns out, this sign wasn't accurate either and was not put up by Centurion, it was somebody having a bit of a joke with us, although I didn't see the funny side of it at the time.

The final 1/2 a mile took us off the North Downs Way and down the road in to Knockholt Pound village, past the pub and then up a slight incline behind the village hall to the finish line.  My support crew were there (bar Nikki who was busy working at Botley Hill) cheering me over the line with three additions (Chris, Lisa and Sophia).  

50 miles......DONE!

I can't thank all my friends enough, especially Ian, Andy, Sarah, George, Chris, Lisa & Sophia who came along to see me complete this challenge.  It was so great to have you pop up around the course and it spurred me on more than you'll ever know.  Perhaps next time one of you will join me?

The support Nikki has provided has been more than a husband deserves. Helping motivate me during 6 long months of winter training as well as wait on me hand and foot after some of those long runs when I've been sofa bound (ish).  As well as popping up on the course and looking after me during and after the NDW50, thank you so much, I love you and don't deserve you!

NDW50 Finish 11 hours 27 minutes 27 seconds

2012 Review

2012 was a blast!  I managed to cover 1,703 miles, mainly running with a bit of cycling & mountain biking thrown in to the mix.  

My achievements in 2012:

• weight down from 16 stone 1 lb to 14 stone 7 lbs
• reduced BMI from over 30 to 27
• completed 3 half marathons
• bought myself a mountain bike
• started to understand what food (fuel) my body needs

An excellent year I'm sure you'll agree. I couldn't be more pleased with the progress....but enough of looking backwards, it's time to look to the future. 

I've got some insane challenges planned for 2013:

• my first marathon
• my first ultra marathon
• my first 50+ mile mountain bike adventure

Oh and we're moving to the Brecon Beacons so I've got some vertical climb on my hands with pretty much anything I do now.  Fun fun fun!!!

The first challenge of 2013 will be the infamous Fan Dance race on January 19th.....report and photos available soon afterwards.

Something for the weekend sir?

I was reading Trail Running Magazine  in October (I think) when I came across a short article which grabbed my attention.  The article was about running holidays and suggested a number of different locations and places where you could go on a specific running holiday.  I hadn't been looking to book a holiday or even a short break abroad but I'm always on the lookout for places to go in the UK where we can take the dogs.  

Ever since Nikki and I visited Ireland and took Keeley (our elder black lab) on holiday with us, we've been keen to include them on our holidays, they spend so much time without us when we travel with work, it seems only fair to include them in family holidays.  So when one of the recommendations was not only a UK location but also stated dogs were very welcome, I jumped at the chance of booking a weekend away.  

Jelley Legs is just outside Ripon, North Yorkshire and a perfect place for runners to visit and get some [serious] miles in with the excellent guiding of an experienced ultra marathon runner, David Jelley.  David's business caters for runners of all levels, so don't be put off thinking you have to run 50 miles over the weekend, although you can if you want.  

A 10k & two ½ marathons

Whilst biking is a great cross training exercise, I still had a few more races to prepare for in 2012.  Namely a 10km fun run, followed the next day by the Atlanta ½ Marathon and then later in October the Amsterdam ½ Marathon.

Nikki decided to sign up for another training programme with Run Keeper (they're now free too) while I decided to go it alone and manage my own schedule.  The main focus race was the Amsterdam ½ Marathon on 21st October 2012, during which time Tony, Julie and Sarah would be running the full marathon, so I knew what sort of preparation I needed to put in.  This time with my own training schedule in hand, I upped the weekly mileage to around 40-43 miles per week, which I coped with quite well, although it did mean stepping down the bike mileage on my off days.

My schedule coming in to October was to run long on Sundays, have Monday as rest day, Tuesday do some speed work, Wednesday slow run, Thursday tempo run, Friday rest day and Saturday a slow shorter run.  This wasn't dissimilar to the Run Keeper training schedule but this time I was increasing the mileage beyond the 30-35 you peak at on their programme.  I was pretty careful and increased my mileage in sensible chunks, all without injury thank goodness.

Time for another change

My new stead

Given all the running and probably also due to Olympic fever, I thought it was time to add a new activity to my fitness regime...time to buy a mountain bike.  Being a gadget freak, getting a mountain bike was not dissimilar to one of my trips to the Apple Store, expensive but very worthwhile!

My purchase was made at a somewhat local store, just the other side of Reading.  The sales assistant knew I was a newbie but treated my ignorance without laughing too hard or as frequently as I would have done if the roles had been reversed.  I loved the fact he just pulled a bike from the rack and told me to take it round the block, no ID, no name, nothing at all....just a level of trust you don't find very often these days.

Round the Tor 2012

Next on the racing agenda was a quick 10km race with Mike & family in Glastonbury....the inaugural Round the Tor.  The race took place on the 6th May, only a week after completing the Bracknell Half, which is my excuse for Mike beating me.

George preparing for the fun run

If you check the official results, you'll find that I'm not actually listed, as I ran under the name of a boy from Milfield school, where my brother teaches.  Anyway, I crossed the line in 50 minutes 54 seconds according to the official clock, although I made it 4 seconds less.  Mike finished the pretty hilly course in an impressive 47 minutes & 8 seconds....he claims he lost me at the start and thought I was in front of him, which is why he pushed on with the quick pace.

Before the off

All three boys (Daniel, George & Alfie) completed the Fun Run event on the same day, although Alfie needed a little assistance from his mother and sat in the pushchair all the way round.  Official results for the fun run are listed here. 

The 2013 race will hopefully bring about a return fixture where I'll be sure to beat Mike and perhaps even set myself a new PB.

Northampton 10km - 8th April 2012

A laugh and a joke before the off.....

A very short video of the start of the Northampton 10km along with a quick snap of the results TV monitor......

Race year

Simon, me, Nikki, Alison and Matt before the off

The dawn of 2012 brought about a major shift in my thinking.....running was no longer for other people......it was for me!  This wasn't a small change.  As I'm sure most of my friends will tell you, I was never one to miss out on a nights drinking, yet in April 2012, I did just that. I decided that my half marathon goal was more important than a night on the booze and skipped my friends wedding reception in order to get a good nights sleep before my first ever 13.1 miler.

But before we get to the Bracknell Half Marathon, we had the Northampton Running Festival 10km to get out of the way.  I was looking forward to running this and meeting my original goal of a sub 55 minute 10km.  My brother Simon and I completed most of the race together, surprisingly I pulled away from him during the last lap of the course and completed the race in 52 minutes 21 seconds, 28th overall and 15th in my age group.  Not a bad result for me but an even better one for Nikki, she completed it in 58:22, 51st overall but 2nd in her age group - an excellent result.  Simon wasn't far off and finished in a very respectable 54:49, 35th overall and 20th in age group.  Matt and Alison completed the race in unbelievable times, so I'm not even going to list them here, the full results are available online.

Off the shelf shopping

Still smoking & drinking but certainly a little thiner

I was a weird size, I was too big for the average shop to stock my size but I was really too small for those stores for the larger person (Big & Tall etc).  This was really annoying and made it really difficult to shop in the UK, even when I could find 44" trousers they were normally for somebody 7' tall and so always needed altering.  Luckily I travel to the US quite a bit and just got in to a routine where I would buy clothes whenever I was in the country, almost regardless of whether I needed them or not at that time.  I think at the last count I had 14 pairs of jeans, almost all the same colour and style, purchased over a few years in a selection of sizes.

One of the surprising benefits of losing weight has made buying clothes more fun than the chore it always was.  I can now walk in to a shop and expect them to at least stock my size (32-34" waist as of December 2012), although now it's more a question of do they have availability……I was really surprised at how much this meant to me.  Obviously subconsciously this had been playing on my mind although the penny didn't drop until I purchased a pair of trousers recently on the spur of the moment as we were camping and I needed some outdoor cargo type trousers, we went in to a shop and had them sorted within 5 minutes.  2 years ago this would have taken 3+ hours and was at best a 50/50 chance of actually making a purchase.  Whilst I don't think I'll ever be as keen on clothes shopping as Nikki, I certainly don't mind spending an hour picking out items for my new wardrobe.

Giving away our old wardrobes was very satisfying.  Nikki and I spent a few hours going through all of our clothes, on more than one occasion, filling black bags with recycling.  I commented on Facebook at the time that somewhere in Africa are 14 pairs of my jeans being used as village halls or classrooms; they certainly couldn't use any of them for their intended purpose without some serious alterations.

The golden rule I think is to get rid of the clothes as soon as possible, you don't want to slip back into the old ways of eating and for it to be easy to grab a larger shirt from the wardrobe.

Can I run?

New shoes

Running has never been something I've been good at or really aspired to be good at…..it always seemed to be rather boring.  Of course I've run in the past, trying to keep fit during my rugby playing days but I've never considered it something I'd seriously like to do more than once a year.  During June and July 2011 I was walking 3-5 miles a day with the dogs when I decided that I could manage to jog downhill during these walks to increase my heart rate.  It was a very gradual thing but over the course of about 6 weeks I went from walking 100% of the time to a sort of walk walk jog routine.  I was tracking these activities on Runkeeper which showed me burning more calories and of course covering a greater distance in my 45-60 minute time period.  My weight loss programme continued after stalling slightly and I was a happy chap again!

Eventually on the 1st August 2011 I switched Runkeeper from tracking walking to running activities….I was finally running more than I was walking and it felt great!  In the space of 7 months I'd dropped from 324 lbs to around the 250 lbs mark and I was now able to get out and run, even if I was still smoking a pack of cigarettes a day.  In fact, my routine quickly became get up, go running, get coffee and have a smoke!  Sounds mad but at this time I was concentrating on losing weight and getting involved in a serious exercise programme, so giving up the smokes was a challenge for 2012.

Ah, I'm fat!

I'm reliably told that admitting to an addiction is half the battle when trying to overcome it.  I don't recall admitting to myself that I was addicted to food but in hindsight, I was and potentially still am!

My fighting weight (24+ st)

Building up to a whopping (or whopper) 24 stone takes some time (& effort); it's something I had been working at for the best part of 30 years.  Because it was gradual I never really stopped and thought about it, I just took it for granted I need to buy bigger clothes each year.  It never dawned on me that a 44 inch waste was anything other than normal, although of course I knew my friends weren't that large.  

It was early January 2011 and David Brunner (a colleague) was setting up the post Christmas "Biggest Loser" competition at work.  Everybody seemed to be signing up and being quite competitive, I thought I'd have a go.  The rules were quite simple, 3 months to lose as much weight as possible, entry fee $20 per person and the biggest percentage loser takes the pot, simples!

Weigh in day came around pretty quickly and standing on the scales in David's office and watching him write 324 lbs on the whiteboard next to my name disgusted me!  How could I have got to this size?  Something had to change in my life - it was hearing that number and seeing it in comparison to my colleagues that really shook me.