Saturday 6th February –
Thames Trot 50
Preparation
My
journey to yesterdays race began last summer when I signed up for the 9bar9x9
challenge (9 laps of a 9km course in the Surrey countryside). I had wanted to push myself beyond my comfort
zone and achieve something I never thought I would.
I set up
a training plan and it all began well, but in mid-August I picked up a calf
injury that, despite my best attempts, I couldn’t shake. I therefore decided to
drop down to the 27km race and use it as training. Not wanting to let the people who had
sponsored me down, and still wanting to attempt a 50 miler, I signed up for the
Thames Trot 50.
I set-up
another training plan which saw me building fitness throughout September,
upping the frequency and distance during October and November and then
focussing on long runs in December before tapering in January.
September,
October and November went to plan and coming out of November I felt great and
possibly the fittest I had ever been. I
had found that the more I ran the slower my pace became, but I was comfortable
with this, knowing that my goal was the being able to cover the required
distance rather than improving my speed!
In early
December I went out for a Tuesday night run with Aaron (half marathon in just
under 2 hours) which went well but I got home and promptly slipped on the
laminate flooring and twisted my knee.
It was here that things started unravelling. The knee injury took a while to heal, but I
had somehow (no idea how) developed a toe injury (which still remains). The toe issue only became painful after 5 to
7 miles but was agonising and would stop me running. I therefore took things very easy up until
Christmas.
I was
surprised by my last race of the year, the Round the Lakes 10km, where I was
less than a minute off of my all time PB despite hardly running for 3
weeks. I was therefore looking forward
to the Broadstone quarter but was laid low by a heavy cold. After that had cleared up I got back running
only for my left calf to go (again on a run with Aaron). With the race only 4 weeks away I decided to
focus on recovery. Unfortunately the
niggle would not go away and so I was limited to just 4 runs in those 4 weeks,
and nothing further than 4 miles.
Knowing
that I had a good base fitness level and not wanting to pull out I went ahead
with the race.
The final
bit of prep was my kit. This would be
the first race I had done where I needed to carry a race bag. With the weather looking awful I would have
to carry a change of clothes, food, drink as well as the mandatory kit of map,
compass, phone and head torch. I also
had to carry all my pills and potions to get me through the race. I packed all this the night before and it
just about fit in the bag but was fairly lightweight and a great fit. I must thank Scott Harris for lending me the
pack!
Race
Day
In the
few days before the race started I was eagerly looking at the weather
forecast. Unfortunately as race day got
closer and closer the weather forecast got worse and worse. Gale force winds and driving rain were
predicted and with the rain the previous week the course would be muddy and
wet. As the saying goes “there’s no such
thing as bad weather, just bad clothing” so on race day I was fully togged up
with hat, buff, jacket, 2 t-shirts, compression shorts, tights, shorts, calf
guards, socks and gloves. My shoes of choice were my Salomon S-Lab
Ultras which have tonnes of grip and are light as a feather. 
I
travelled to the start by train from Winchester and the race organisers had
kindly arranged a taxi for those of us arriving at the station. From there we were driven to the start at the
Hawkwell house hotel in Iffley. At
registration we were given our numbers and a nice race jacket (which I then had
to squeeze in my backpack). We were also given our timing chips and shown how
to scan then in at the checkpoints. After a quick trip to the loo we were asked
to line up and following a countdown from 10 we were off!!
Any
thoughts of starting too quickly were soon dispelled as within quarter of a
mile we were queuing to go through a gate and across a bridge, before then
having to queue again a few hundred yards down the towpath. After this short delay we were off and
running.
The first
section of towpath was damp but easily runnable, however before long the path
gave way to a section of fields that were muddy and boggy in places and so
before long my feet were soaked (within the first mile). It was also on this more exposed section that
we noticed just how strong the wind was; we had to lean into it to make
progress and it was clear it was going to be a long day.
It wasn’t
long before we reached our first properly muddy section. It was wet, sticky mud that made a squelch
with every footfall and a suction noise when you tried to lift your foot again.
I had decided in advance (after taking several people’s advice) that I would run
for 9 minutes and walk for one. This
gave me an opportunity to take on water and food whilst also giving my muscles
a little respite. Due to this and the conditions my pace was a comfortable 11
minutes per mile.
As we
reached the Radley College Boathouse there were tens of rowing crews out on the
river and a number of them were shouting out support, which was nice to
hear. With the wind being as strong as
it was they were clearly having a hard time in the boats!
Just
before we reached Abingdon we crossed the Thames (at Abingdon lock) and were
rewarded by the first section of firm ground to run on for some time. It was on
this firmer ground that I started to realise how much the mud and wind had
already taken out of me and how far I still had to go!!
Abingdon
is a pretty town to run through and yet again we were cheered on by a number of
rowing crews and also a few runners who had just finished Abingdon parkrun. It wasn’t long before the firmer paths
reverted back to the boggy cloying mud, however this was short lived as we then
turned into a village called Culham where the first checkpoint was. By this stage I had managed to average around
11 minutes a mile for roughly 10 miles.
At the
checkpoint I refilled my water, grabbed a couple of gels and had a HUGE slab of
cake. I let the world (and Sarah) know
that I was ok and headed out for the next section.
The
Thames path, whilst beautiful, does get a bit repetitive after a while,
especially in those sections where there are no towns or features. This was really the case for the next
section. There was not a lot to focus
on. It was a case of sticking to my
plan, putting one foot in front of the other and moving onwards. By this time my toe injury was causing me
significant pain and both feet were developing healthy blisters on both big
toes. My run for 9 walk for 1 strategy
became run for 8 walk for 2 then 7 and 3 and kept reducing until I was only
running about half the time.
Funnily
enough I enjoyed it more when walking as I would meet up with other runners,
have a good chat, find out a bit about them, see how they were getting on and
then move on. I ran with a chap called
Rupert for a few miles. We were both
struggling and made a pact to stick together until the end and make sure we
made the cutoff. That only lasted a
little while before we separated and did our own thing (neither of us finished)
I pressed
on with my run-walk strategy but realised I was falling behind the required
pace to make the cutoff. I kept hoping I
would get a second wind, but it never came.
The next
checkpoint was at a place called Benson.
I had decided to give myself a 5-minute break at this CP. I wanted to take on fuel, change my socks and
take some painkillers. I had managed to
get to the CP about 45 minutes ahead of the cutoff times but I knew in my heart
that I probably wouldn’t get to the next checkpoint in time. This hit me pretty hard and I had a good old
sob. It is funny though what a kind word
and the smallest of things can do to lift your spirits. The chap running the checkpoint came over to
check on me and told me that I was doing fine and that my family would be proud
of me. This gave me a lift and then
changing my socks made me feel much more comfortable so I cracked on. By this time I have been going for over 4
hours and my pace was a touch over 12 minutes a mile.
The next
section was much the same as the previous two…short sections of runnable path
followed by long stretches of mud. The
wind was still as strong as it had been at the start and was really getting me
down. It was making any kind of forward
progress so difficult. Whilst I was
still trying to run I was mostly walking by now and the miles seem to go by so
slowly. I had a 5-mile section where I
didn’t see another runner to talk to and so I decided to pop my earphones in to
try and distract me from my aches and pains (and that bloody wind). This did seem to have the desired effect and
I picked my feet up and pressed on. It
was a bit soul destroying when I felt like I was going well to see that I was
only doing 18 minutes a mile!!
I passed
a boy’s prep school and the path skirted the rugby pitches. As I was running along one of the physios
from the rugby team jogged over to me to check if I was ok. Apparently I appeared to be staggering
somewhat. She seemed happy that I wasn’t
at deaths door and sent me on my way! I
had noticed that my hands had swollen alarmingly and I could no longer make a
fist with either hand. No idea what
caused that but it didn’t stop me moving so I put it out of my mind.
I knew it
would be touch and go to make the next CP in time and it was at this point that
I met up with paramedic Phil. He had
been pacing a friend who had decided to drop out and so had caught me up so he
would have some company. Phil was an
experienced ultra runner and he told me about his travels and races. He looked so comfortable despite the time
pressure we were under. He helped me
pick my feet up (once again) and start running short sections at a time. The wind had gotten stronger at this point and
he told me that he run the Thames Trot on 5 previous occasions and that this
was the worst he had seen it. He had
decided to drop out at CP3 as he could “easily run home” from there. I asked him where home was “15 miles that
way, over the ridge you can see”.
Madness!!
Despite
Phil's help we reached the cut-off time about half a mile short of the
checkpoint and sure enough when we got to CP 3 we were told our race was
over. I had missed the cut-off by 4
minutes. Cue more tears and bitter disappointment. The race crew were great. They got me something to eat and some
drink. Now that I had stopped running I
started to shake uncontrollably so they put my in their van with the heaters on
and got me warm. I rang Sarah to collect
me and whilst I waited I changed my clothes and ate. The crew were fab, they made sure I was safe
and well and that I had everything I needed.
They stayed with me until Sarah arrived and couldn’t have been
nicer. Considering they had been out
there ALL DAY there were in surprisingly good spirits.
Sarah
arrived and I cried again before she drove me home. And that was that!!
I was
obviously bitterly disappointed to have not finished. I had worked hard to try and get myself in
shape to be there. I had planned it for
months and had worked incredibly hard on the day but it had not been enough. I
also felt like I had let the people down who had sponsored me and supported me
in this process.
However,
on reflection I could not have done anything more. The conditions, both the weather and
underfoot, were some of the worst I have ever faced. I worked my socks off to try and meet the
cut-offs and just came up short. I was
on the course for 6 hours 34 minutes and covered nearly 30 miles. I was soaked, my feet were in tatters, my
calf was painful, my knees were swollen, my quads felt like they had been
punched repeatedly and my hands were like a collection of fat sausages!! Not continuing was probably for the best for
my health and for my safety.
I would
like to take this chance to thank everyone who supported me put their faith in
me. I’m sorry I fell short. I really do appreciate you all! Most
importantly I would like to thank Sarah and Olivia for their unwavering support
and love.
On behalf of Mosaic I would like to thank everyone who sponsored me. With your help I raised a massive £912 and thanks to LV that will be charity matched up to £1412! Mosaic do amazing work helping children when they lose loved ones. With your help they will be able to continue their great work. THANK YOU!!
What next?
In the
process of training for the 50 miler I have been repeatedly injured, I have
invested a large amount of time and have made a number of sacrifices. Whilst it has been a challenge (rightly so)
it has not always been an enjoyable one.
I am not saying that I will never run an ultra again, but I will not be
running another one for the foreseeable future.
My next
focus will be getting fit again. I
obviously have some underlying issues that mean my calf’s need some love and
attention. I also need to fix my mystery
toe issue. I will therefore be taking a
couple of weeks off and hopefully getting some professional advice. I will continue to parkrun (or parkwalk if
need be) but other than that I won’t be running. I will probably spend some time in the gym on
the exercise bike and cross trainer to keep in shape.
Once
fixed I will be focussing on getting ready for the London Marathon. My aim is to get fit enough to get round and
enjoy the experience without any time pressures.
After
London I will be looking to concentrate on running no further than 10km for the
rest of the year and hopefully building my speed up. This will give me a chance to rebuild my base
fitness and, with a new baby on the way, will mean that long runs are a thing
of the past and family time will become the focus.
Thank you for reading!
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