Firstly, it was a day off work. That's always good. The family was up for the weekend which meant a training embargo during Sat / Sunday. It was also the pinnacle of a very hard training week (for me). Being recently back from a period of little running due to my back / groin, this week was a good test piece...hard 16 on Tuesday with the club plus my first Chaingang for a month and a half followed by the planned 30 miles today. Hmmm, yes I was very aware that today could take a turn for the worse at any point. After the run, I chilled to my latest fave album for an hour or so whilst reading Ron Fawcett's autobiography then picked Lewis up from Multisports. Dinner on, mum down, family arrived and a nice few hours catching up before the kids detonator went off and it was time to run for cover.
It was also my first proper run with Shaun. I'd really only met Shaun on Tuesday's run - and then at a point where we were both going way too fast to even dream of being able to speak ! After the run, I noticed that he'd logged the run on Strava too, so - knowing he was clearly a very handy runner and attempting to run his first marathon in a month or so - I thought I'd drop him a line to see if he fancied pushing himself a bit on Friday. Shaun works for the police, so as Friday was a late shift he could actually manage to fit it in. Shaun I was dismayed to hear, had very sensibly taken it easy after Tuesday's fastish club run and only cycled one way to work yesterday, shunning the return leg due to risk of overdoing it for today. Hmmm, that's worryingly sensible I was thinking. Shaun's kindly captured his thoughts on attempting his first Ultra - a very entertaining read ... thanks Shaun !
"Have you ever volunteered to do something without fully digesting the enormity of the challenge ahead? Well that happened to me this week, when I agreed to go out for a run with Alan. “A steady 30”, Alan said, “very hilly”.
This was a challenge I deemed too good to refuse, especially
owing to my impending first ever London Marathon in April. Being relatively new
to the running scene (I started running competitively in the autumn of 2011),
the furthest I have ran is 22 miles (twice), once last July in the Snowdonia
Sevens fell race and once for charity in September from Horncastle to Skegness.
So surely 30 local miles on familiar routes would be within my ability? A shock
to the system isn’t too extreme a view of my maiden Billington Classic.
The run commenced at 7:40am from Belper Mill, with Alan
setting the pace for his relatively inexperienced sidekick. The route from
Belper to Wirksworth, via Alport
Heights Limestone Way . The climb out of Bonsall
towards Matlock Bath stung a bit, with Alan’s style still as smooth as 007 in
his prime.
The drop into Matlock Bath was a welcome relief and an ideal opportunity to top up the water bottles prior to the gruelling climb up to Starkholmes and
“An hour, an hour and a half”, said Alan. My heart sank. I
was hurting by this point although the Snickers flapjack gave me an injection
of much needed energy, with Alan relying on his trusty Jelly Babies. Crich
Chase to the A610 is a blur. All I remember is the gap between Joss and I
growing with every step. I think I finally cracked on the fields above
Ridgeway, fields that I normally eat up without difficulty. From here on in to
the finish, I have to thank the lord for gravity for getting me back in one
piece. The light at the end of the tunnel came from an extended discussion
about bacon and egg cobs and hot chocolate.
As I write this (some 4000 calories lighter), the pins are
remarkably ok (I stop short of saying good) and I am actually thinking about
going out with Joss again, although my tapering towards the marathon might
start earlier than I’d anticipated.
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