Recently in Racing Category

After running the Robin Hood Half last weekend, I figured that the Run for Life 10K at Wentworth Castle was going to be an absolute blast and so much fun!

And it was. In a sadistic - masochistic kind of way.  If you enjoy running up a 1km hill and back down and repeating it 5 times without end, then this race is definitely for you.  There are no flats.  The race organisers have probably never seen a flat piece of ground in their life.  And they weren't about to allow anyone else to run on the unknown.

We started on a downhill - that sounds like fun.  Then we hit the first hill and the thought that was goes down must come up came to mind.  Then the next downhill hit and my legs were a little confused because of the lack of any rest area, but they held up and pretty soon we were going back up.  By the third km my legs just decided that they were going to force me to rest.

I took a small walk and tried to run again.  I now had 2 bricks where my calves used to be and pretty soon I was just doing the walking thing again.  From there I pretty much ran the downhills and power-walked up the hills. 

NEVER before in my life have I run a 10K where 90% of the field were walking by the 5km mark.  And EVERYONE was walking up, running down, walking up, running down. 

The course was hard, the heat was killing the will to live and the 1 single and lonely water station at the 5km mark probably ran out of water long before the last runner(walker) came past it.

Thankfully the last km was all downhill and I'm sure a lot of people were incredibly thankful for it.

Despite the moaning in this post, I did enjoy it (maybe not at the time, but on re-collection) and I'll probably enter it again next year (if it is run) and attempt to break my time (I'm not even going to mention what it was) so that I can prove that even I can run a hill :)

Can you see it?

No?

That officially makes me 2 minutes faster than Paula Radcliffe.

Okay, so its a typo, but a girl can dream, can't she?

• 30 August 2008 - Human Race
• 7 September 2008 - Great Yorkshire Run (10K)
• 14 September 2008 - Robin Hood Half Marathon
• 21 September 2008 - Run for Life 10K - Wentworth Castle
• 28 September 2008 - Run for Life 10K - Kedleston Hall
• 5 October 2008 - Great North Run
• 11 October - fly to South Africa for sister's wedding

Yes. I'm insane.  I have no less than 6 "races" in 6 weeks coming up from the end of August, but I'm looking forward to it.  A ton.  A whole lot :)  And I'm not REALLY counting the Human Race as a race.  And then I'm flying to South Africa for a week and just chillin' with the family while my sister and mom will run around like headless chickens trying to get everything just so for the wedding on the 18th.   And it might not stop there.  Because when we get back there's another race that awaits me on the 26th of October, but I'm still thinking about that one and thinking that maybe I should not be doing that one.

I'm looking at a marathon in December (the 14th, but I'm still thinking about this one a little) and a few Santa runs and then I'll think about 2009.

For now its just me and my crazy month coming up.

My brain does not function as it should.

It should tell me that right now I shouldn't be focussing on getting ready for IMUK. It should tell me that I need to relax and focus on (a) my sister who is expecting her firstborn and (b) the stress that I'm experiencing in my own life. But for some reason it isn't kicking in. And its probably the reason why I am sick. Because your body can only take so much and no more.

I didn't run the London Marathon.

On Thursday evening I came down with severe stomach cramps and illness and for a good few hours I was permanently in pain and sick and losing anything that I tried to put in my body, including water. After having very little sleep on Thursday night (if I got 1 continuous hour, it was a lot), I, in my infinite wisdom, decided it was a good idea to go to work... which got disproved 20 minutes after I got to work because I was still sick and the smells of breakfast and coffee in the office didn't do anything to help how I felt.

So I went home, filled out the tick box declaring that I needed to withdraw from the London Marathon due to illness and instantly fell asleep. My form got sent off by recorded mail and I should receive a 'Illness and Injury' entry to next year's marathon, but its not particularly something that I'm proud of. I felt like the world was not on my side and felt incredibly sorry for myself for the remainder of the weekend, while I was lying on the couch and as I was watching the marathon on Sunday morning. I was supposed to be there!

And this morning I'm still ill.

I know I couldn't have run. There was no way that it was going to work out with me not being able to eat. Can you imagine running a marathon with no nutrition? But I still wish I could've run.

Now, before this pity party becomes much longer, I'm going to pop off and do something else.

A quiet weekend, no major training, although today was supposed to be my last really long run before the London Marathon in 2 weeks. On Wednesday I felt a twinge in my right leg and the warning signs flashed bright enough for me to go to the physio.  The outcome:  shin splints. 

She told me to rest, ice and take it easy ... and see how I felt the first 2 miles of my run today. If there was the slightest twinge, I had to stop and head back home. So this morning I put on my shoes, and started running, fuel belt optimistically loaded and around my waist. Gels packed and all. And there was a twinge. More than a twinge really. After 2 miles I could feel that I was in trouble, because the twinge felt worse than it did on Wednesday.

So where does this leave me for London?

Broken hearted.

I'll go back to the physio tomorrow and see what she recommends, but I pretty much know what they like to say ...

Sunday morning arrived... far quicker than I thought it would.

I got up and while I caught a shower, Andy went to wake the poor girl that was on duty at the Inn to get me some boiling hot water for my oatmeal. I felt so sorry for her.

I got into my clothes and .... attempted to show my enthusiasm for the run that was about to take place. Andy decided that the world needed to know....

At 5h20, Jeff was there to pick me up and head to the start line. I had everything. My belt was in my hand with a good amount of Gatorade Endurance Mix in it. I had honey, I had some anti-shafing gel, I had water, I had everything that was required.

As we drove towards Universal Studios, my stomach started with the familiar fluttering of butterflies, but that quickly went away as I became more excited about starting the marathon. As we arrived at the parking area, it was clear that there was going to be an amazing amount of chaos with the arrangements. First they had 3 lanes merge into one.  Then they had someone checking that you were involved in the marathon before pointing you to the parking area.

As we walked up towards the general loo area, the marathonfoto.com paparazzi overwhelmed us and asked whether they could take a quick picture or two. We managed 3 on our way and then it was time to pick up my fuelbelt, get rid of my shirt and head to the starting point. I said goodbye to Jeff and headed to the start line.

There was an amazing amount of people.  I've NEVER run in a race with more than 2000 people, so this was quite and experience for me. Everywhere was feet, bodies, heads, arms... the smell of bodyglide in the air.... I held on to my bottle of water and sat down and did a few stretches in the shade of those standing around. The sun had come up and the air was already heating up.

Before I knew it, 8h20 had arrived and it was time to start.... I started off conservatively and felt pretty well. The first mile was mostly uphill with a nice climb. The crowd at the start was great. They cheered and went crazy and in general they were just making a lot of noise, which is exactly what I wanted to hear. The atmosphere was making me all giddy and it took everything in me to not speed up and burn up every ounce of energy I had.

The miles passed and I kept a careful eye on my watch to make sure I wasn't going faster than I should.  At mile 13 I was still feeling great and only had 3 miles to go before I had to meet up with Jeff.  My nutrition was holding up, my legs felt great, I still had 3 gels left... I was feeling awesome....

... but the marathon is unpredictable - it only takes one small thing to make your day go a little off.

Mile 14 arrived... and with it my stomach decided to feel unwell. I stepped in the queue to use the porta-potty and shortly afterwards headed off again towards mile 16.  But with every step I now felt a little worse off.

At Mile 16 I spotted Jeff in a sec and he fell in next to me. He was so supportive and motivational and I felt quite bad that I was in worse shape than I would've liked to be.  My left leg started hurting shortly after and then I just had to talk to myself and listen to Jeff and it all became roses and moonlight and fluffy bunnies!

The last few miles were increasingly difficult, but the one thing I did NOT want to do, was walk the last mile. So the last 1.2 miles were hobbled/run/jogged/run through gritted teeth. 

As I crossed the line and collected my medal, were handed a drink, a blanket, pushed towards the photographers and managed to get out of the chaotic finishers area with non-runners in, emotion started to overwhelm me. I couldn't believe that I managed to finish it! My legs were hurting so badly it wasn't funny.

I met up with Jeff in the family reunion area with tears in my eyes and we made it back to his car.

That evening we headed over to Jeff's where smsmh made the most wonderful supper. I was dead on my legs though and in dire need of a lot of sleep and we went home relatively early.  The sleep I got was the most heavenly of sleep and I could not have asked for a more comfortable bed.

On February 28th, 2008, at 11:00AM (GMT) I got on a plane to Los Angeles with Andy by my side. The 11 hours and 40 minutes on the plane was nothing compared to the 5 hours we were stuck on the I-405 towards Laguna Beach. We checked into the Casa Laguna Inn shortly after 9pm and after a quick call to Jeff quickly fell asleep - after all, our bodies thought it was well into the morning hours with the 8 hour time difference.

Friday morning arrived and after 4 or 5 or 6 cups of coffee, we had the most delicious breakfast before going for a walk on the beach and seeing the area around us.  We headed back to the inn and an hour later Jeff picked us up to make the long journey to the McDonalds Quality of Life Expo to pick up my race pack and goody bag and to venture into the world of expo exhibitors.  I managed to get away with a LA Marathon top, a running skirt, some shoes for Andy and various bars and nuts and things that the stalls handed me.

Then it was back to the inn for a quick nap.

During the course of the evening I met TC, smsmh and had the most delicious Lasagna to start the carbo loading for Sunday's marathon. TC was the cutest! Honestly, when he smiles, you can't help but melting. He's going to break hearts when he's older!

Saturday morning we woke up relatively late... I lie. We woke up at 7, had coffee at 7:30, breakfast at 8 and then decided to head to the town centre of Laguna Beach to watch the Patriot's Day Parade. It was something neither of us had experienced before and we had a ton of fun watching everyone come by. The kids that took part in the parade seemed to have a load of fun.

We caught some lovely Italian food afterwards and before I knew it, it was evening and I had to prepare everything for a very early morning on Sunday. I put my D-tag on my shoe, I put my number on my shirt (4 times), I put my socks out, my shirt, my Garmin, my fuelbelt... everything. And then I fell into bed and fell asleep while watching Without Limits.

  Santa came to town.  7000 Santas.  We headed to Liverpool with the rest of them and absolutely loved the experience.  And now a few pictures:

First we had to get ready:

Santa started running during the year and found that his suit was now a tad too big

Santa gets his/her groove on

Waiting at the start line... it was COOOOOOLD

AND 30 minutes later... still waiting

So many Santas, which one wants my list?

And OFF they go!  Into the sunrise :)

It was far too much fun :)

Charities are a strange phenomenon.  Yesterday I received my confirmation that I would be doing the London Marathon in 2008.  As I got my entry through the ballot and it isn't a Golden Bond entry through a charity, I technically don't have to attempt to raise money for any charity, but I decided that I would run for a charity and do some fundraising in any case.

I went through the list of charities in the magazine and online and finally have 4 in mind that was close to my heart.  I ordered them according to preference and this morning phoned up the first one.  I spoke to a very nice lady who informed me that, even though I had my own place, I would have to commit to raising £2000 if I wanted to run for them.

What if I couldn't raise £2000?

I'd have to pay in the difference.

Right, not running for them then.

I phoned the second charity.  Once again, a very nice girl at the other side told me that I'd have to commit to raising at least £1500.

Oh dear.  Things weren't looking good.

I phoned the third charity.  An elderly lady, by the sound of her voice, answered.  I told her I had my own entry.  Then asked her whether I had to commit to raising a certain amount if I wanted to run for them.  Oh, yes.  £1500. Unfortunately.  She didn't agree with it, but rules are rules.

A bit demotivated I phoned the fourth charity.  This time it was a male voice that answered.  I repeated the process of telling him that I wanted to run for a charity, that I had my own place and would I have to commit to a certain amount.

Oh the joy and surprise when he said 'No, any amount you raise is great. Even if it is just £20'.  So, I'm running for Marie Curie Cancer Care.  And I get a deely bopper to decorate myself with on the day.  I'll have to setup the page this afternoon, but at least now I feel like I'm doing something nice while enjoying something that I like doing.

Lunchtime was a good time.

I got a Flora London Marathon 2008 confirmed entry!  My acceptance letter and magazine arrived this afternoon and I whooped and hollered and nearly did some cartwheels around the room when I found out that I got an entry.

So tonight I shall celebrate.  Because the third time was a charm :)  And because, 6 weeks after the LA marathon, I'll be doing the London marathon :)

Lazy Saturdays are a good thing when you're sleepy and have a house to clean after something created a hole in your ceiling.  I slept most of the day away before I got up and did some housework and then realised that it was 7pm and I hadn't gone for a cycle or run yet.  At least I carried a lot of things around, ran up and down the stairs and got other things in the house done.

In a few minutes I'll fall over and sleep and then tomorrow morning I'll go hunting to find the Clowne Half Marathon.  If I can find the spot where it starts from, I'll take part and then tomorrow you'll have a whole race report to read :)

"I had to stop after 21km and I went directly to the finish line for my clothes and my medal for taking part," Mr Madrazo said. "In sport there are no short-cuts, there are personal challenges."

"My marathon times have been between three hours, 14 minutes and three hours, 54 minutes - never two hours and 40 minutes," Mr Madrazo said. "It would be impossible for a 55-year-old man to do that."

BBC NEWS | World | Americas | Mexico politician denies cheating

Sooooo, he STOPPED after 13 miles and headed STRAIGHT to the finish line, crossed it... and claimed a medal because he took part.

The medal's for finishing you twit, not taking part. You're a cheat. And if you don't understand that, then its probably a very good thing that you didn't win the election last year because your country would've suffered by your stupidity as Zimbabwe suffers under Mugabe.

The London Triathlon 2008 Entry Confirmation

This email should be considered as full confirmation of your entry. You should keep a copy of this email should you have any queries about your entry.

Your Details

Please ensure your requested race entry category is correct, as changes are not permitted. If you have entered the wrong category please contact us immediately!
Should your address or personal details change, then you can re-log on to our system and update this information by simply running a search using your e-mail address and date of birth. It is important that update any details otherwise you may miss out on important race information.

In order to complete this entry process you have confirmed that you agree to our terms and conditions. If you have queries about our race withdrawal policy details can be found at www.thelondontriathlon.com.

What to expect from us

We are looking forward to what we know will be another fantastic event. In the build up to the event you should expect to receive monthly emails to keep you updated with the latest news and competitions.

You will receive a race pack a couple of weeks before the event day. This will contain your race numbers and an information booklet which will contain all the information you require for the race day.

In the meantime, check the website www.thelondontriathlon.com for up-to-the-minute information.

All that remains is for all of us here at The London Triathlon to wish you the very best with your training. Should we be able to help or assist you with anything else then please do not hesitate in contacting us.

Good Luck!
The London Triathlon
Pier House
Strand On The Green
London
W4 3NN

Two days in a row now I've run. On Saturday morning I woke up, feeling like a train had hit me and left me with a clogged up head and coughing and spluttering. So I headed over to the festivities at the Quayside and handed in my number and timing chip to defer.

Then I remembered that Paula Radcliffe was going to do a signing somewhere around there and decided to stick around for it. An hour later, clutching my signed shirt and a few pictures, I headed back to the hotel where I slept. And slept. And slept.

On Sunday morning I woke and after catching a very full Metro train, headed to the finish. We found a nice comfortable spot at the end of the race and waited for the women's race to finish. Kara Groucher put up a great race, but as it was the return of Radcliffe to racing, it seemed that the press and everyone else was waiting for her and completely forgot that there were other women in the race.

We didn't stick around for the men's finish, instead choosing to get out of Newcastle earlier and head home. I still wasn't feeling well and it just seemed like a good idea.

As soon as we hit the road, I fell asleep and woke up a good three hours later as we approached home.

Monday morning I woke up and although a tad shaky, feeling a whole lot better. I waited until the afternoon and planned to do a 30 minute run, but ended up doing a 36 minute one.

Then yesterday arrived and it didn't look like I was going to be able to run as I had to make a trip down to London.

I got nearly 2 hours down the M1 when an unfortunate breakdown made sure that I wasn't going to be able to make it to my London appointment. The friendly RAC helped me out and a few hours later I was back at home, my car not about to be used until it got to a garage (incidentally, that'd be on Friday).

So, late last night, I took my frustration out and ran for 40 minutes. And now I'm hoping that I'll be able to do the same tonight.

Quote of the Day:
I’ll note you in my book of memory.
--William Shakespeare

Visa - Check
Flights - Check
Hotel Booking - Check
LA Marathon Entry - Check

Days to go until the LA Marathon - 159
Days to go until the Comrades Marathon - 264

Can anyone say Crazy? I have everything organised for our trip next year and now I only need to get on that plane and get to LA to have my third continent covered. Yes, I've done marathons on 2 continents. well, almost. Because technically England isn't on a continent and therefor I need to get a European marathon covered at some stage, but it isn't going to happen this year ... or next year. I have far too much on my plate for next year as it is.

And now I'm getting ready to travel to Newcastle on Friday to take part in the Great North Run on Sunday - and maybe catch a glimpse of Paula's great big comeback. I really hope she has a good run. It'd be a pity if she didn't.

I'm looking forward to seeing everyone and anyone there!

I ran a half marathon today and experienced 4 seasons in one day.

We got up at 7 this morning and got ready to leave at 8 to get to Silverstone by 10am for the Adidas Half Marathon 2007 at Silverstone. The race only started at noon, but because there was 9000 athletes running, we figured the traffic would be murder and wanted to be there early rather than late. 

When we got to Silverstone, it turned out that we might've been the only people thinking like that.  We got out of the car, a 7 degree day with a really strong wind blowing from the North.  This was going to be a cold race.  I laced my timing chip through my laces, put on a long-sleeve top and started walking towards the race area.  We had to walk about 1km and within the time it took to get there, my hands turned blue.   I knew that Adidas would most surely have some form of shop / expo and I could only hope that they would be selling gloves as mine was back at home... 80 miles back.

Thankfully they did.  They also had a very comfortable pair of shoes and a long-sleeve top that I simply loved... so when I lined up at noon, I was pretty sure I wasn't going to be cold.  I had a cotton shirt on, a ClimaCool top over it, gloves, short tights and a pair of longer tights over the short ones. 

Noon arrived and with the wave of a checkered flag, we were off.  I stood between the 2h20 group, noting that just a little bit in front of me, was the pace leader for the 10 minute milers and thought that it'd be fun to stick with them.  Unfortunatly my right calf decided it wasn't to be - it started cramping as I crossed the start line and heard the familiar beep as my timing chip registered that I was now in the race.

Within the first mile, the sun came out and in the back of my mind I thought just my luck - I'm geared, and NOW the sun comes out.  As it turns out, I didn't have to think that for too long.  A mile and a half into the race it started snowing.  Yes.  You read it.  SNOWING.  I thanked my lucky stars that I was coated in two layers and shuffled along, the crowds still not having spread out enough to really run.  Just as soon as it started, the snow stopped falling.  The sun peeked out for a few minutes and then hid away behind the clouds.

Just after the 3 mile mark I realised that I was covered too much.  I stopped and removed my long tights and one of the tops that I had on and carried on running, feeling a lot better without one layer. 

At mile 4 I suddenly realised that my right calf wasn't cramping anymore.  I nearly skipped with joy.

I went through the 6 mile mark at 66 minutes - a little slower than I wanted, but as I was supposed to only treat this as a training run, I wasn't too upset.  It was at about this time that we got another shock to our systems.  Suddenly I was getting battered and bruised by very little white pellets.  Hail was pouring down and with strong gusts of wind throwing it against us, you could hear many athletes yelping and saw them trying to cover any naked flesh.  I tilted my head and tried to keep as much off me as possible, but the right hand side of my body couldn't hide.  My nose got properly beaten and I think it might be a few days before the bruising disappears off my right cheek.  As this happened, you could hear a 'Ooooooooooohhhhhhh' rise from the spectators that were sheltered by the stands.  The commentator wanted to know what was up with the weather, but we all could only hope that it would stop soon.

It was 5 minutes that felt like 15 while the hail fell, but it did stop.  And as before, the sun came out for a few minutes.    It was also around this time that I suddenly realised that I was feeling a lot better and managed to settle into a very nice and steady pace.  I found myself thinking about wanting to pass at least that person... then the next ... then the next.

With 2 miles to go, I passed the 10 minute milers.  I thought of slowing down and staying with them, but then realised that I was feeling good and didn't want to slow down.  I carried on past them.

With 1 mile to go the hail started coming down again.  Thankfully not as much as before, but just enough to hurt.  This time it was straight from the front as well and I was thankful that I was running with shades - hail in eyes would not have been fun.

I finished the line in 2:05:34.  I'm VERY happy with that.  Not only does it mean that I ran my last 7 miles faster than I did my first 6, but I also realise that I'm stronger now than I have been in a while... and I had a GREAT day :)

pictures to follow

That's what it was!  Absolutely awesome!

I woke up this morning at 6 - an exceptionally early morning for a weekend and after pondering staying in bed rather than racing in cold conditions, I got out of bed. 

Being scared of a race is never a good thing, my stomach turned and my mind made up all kinds of excuses for me to crawl back into bed.  I got the bike into the car and imagined the wheels to be too flat - I couldn't find the pump and there was no way I could race on those tyres.

So then off I went to Clumber Park.  I got there with about an hour left to rack my bike.  The girl behind the counter checked my BTA license, smiled and pointed me to a desk where they gave me my race numbers.  She in turn shoved me towards the next table where a very friendly bloke offered me a shirt.  I took it and voluntarily moved to the last table.  Here they had a stack of race chips which they explained to me had to be on my left ankle.  Without it there, I wouldn't get a result.  I clung to my new goodies and walked out the one-way-system-room.

Outside Andy was looking at the people and when he saw me, scampered to help me carry the load that I had just picked up.

We walked to my bike, put the number on it, tied my shoes, got my helmet, got my shoes, got everything else I thought I would need and set off for the transition area. Once there, I racked my bike, put down my bike shoes and made sure that my mixed bottle of sports drink was in its cage.  Then I remembered that I had a slipstream bottle, but forgot it at home.  I wasn't about to start beating myself over the head about it, so I carried on walking towards Andy was waiting for me.  Here I quickly changed the camera lens for him and then waited for the announcements calling us to the start.

The first announcement came - Go check that your bike has been racked in the right space, in the correct manner or we shall remove it.

I nearly ran to my bike, where I realised that I had racked it in the right place, just not in the right manner.  I quickly took my bike to the other side of the rack and racked it again.  Then I put down my second bottle of sports drink and another shirt that I thought I might need if the temperatures dropped any further.  I hopped over to Andy again and watched the men that was about to start the Olympic distance race gather around the start.  There were around 350 of them (some of them looked incredibly fierce) and they looked like they were freezing.

They set off and then the women doing the Olympic distance gathered.  There were only about 50 of them and it was strange to see so few of them.

Five minutes later it was our turn.  They set off all 200 people competing in the Sprint Distance together and it was a little daunting to line up with all of them.  After a quick discussion to make sure that we didn't do 2 laps of the bike course or run course, we were off.

It felt strange to run faster than I am used to.  5km is a lot less mileage though, so I wasn't too worried.  The 5km seemed to go by so fast that I thought I had about 2km left by the time I reached T1.  I glanced at my watch and saw 00:25:35 - in the back of my mind I thought 'you are so going to pay for that during the second run' and jogged up towards where my bike was awaiting me.

I grabbed some water and sports drink, took my bike and attempted jogging up the slippery, grassy hill towards where the bikes were leaving transition.  Once I had crossed the magic line, I got on my bike.  My right shoe clicked right into the pedal, but then the left one decided to play with me a bit - it took about 20 seconds to get the shoe and pedal to connect as they should, but then I was steadily on my way.  The twists and turns that the bike course start out with, took me with surprise, but not so much that I had to slow down too much.

At this stage the elite men doing the Olympic distance started catching up with me.  I kept hearing 'on your left' and 'on your right' and sometimes both at the same time, followed by a very quick man passing me on whichever side he mentioned. 

The bike course was windy - one guy was injured (I only noticed because I had to bike past the ambulance) quite badly and it scared me slightly as I didn't know whether a car had hit him, whether he had fallen or whether the wind just swept him off the road (to the other side of the road).  I kept cycling - the wind was picking up and it came at me from the side and front, but somehow never found my back.  Eventually I made it back to transition and this is where the fun started. 

I only had 2.5km to run.  Really.  I got off my bike and after putting on my running shoes, I realised that my legs weren't there.  I couldn't feel them.  They didn't want to work.  I shuffled along towards the turnaround point where a very friendly marshall told me that I had to turn around.  I flashed him a big smile and uttered 'You're my hero!' as I made the turn.  My legs still didn't feel like they were there, but they were steadily taking me towards the end where Andy, a cup of water and a warm top awaited me.

As I fetched my bike from the transition area, a girl that finished behind me was phoning her mom - I only heard 'Mom, that was completely awesome!' before I walked away.  And I have to agree.  That was awesome.

Tomorrow I have my first multi-discipline race in more than 7 years.  Seven Years.  And I'm scared.  So incredibly scared. 

Three weeks ago I told Andy that I'd like him to be there, in case I decide to chicken out, he needs to shove me back onto the course. This past Monday he made an appointment with the people from Sky to come and install our satellite television gadgets so we can follow the cricket world cup and summer track and field meetings.  This morning I begged him to postphone that appointment until Monday or at least Saturday afternoon.  I've not been this scared ever.  Not even before starting a marathon.  Not even before the most important race that I had run in my life thusfar.  I really have never been this scared in my whole entire life.

I went out yesterday and bought a new helmet to conform to the standards that they require at the race.  Half hoping that they wouldn't have any stock so that I would have a valid excuse to stay at home.  They had stock, and since I belong to the same club as the owners (they sponsor the club), they said they'd see me there.  I think the fear isn't of the race itself, but of making a fool of myself. 

The last time I raced a duathlon / triathlon race, I was 21 years old, weighed about 5 stone lighter and did obscene amounts of training.  This year I've been plagued by injuries and bruises and illness and competing in unfamiliar surroundings seems a bit daunting.

I guess I'll have to see how it goes. 

Clumber Park Sprint Duathlon - I'll see you tomorrow.

I must've been crazy. 

Yesterday I received an email :

Dear Catherina Bassitt

Congratulations! Your application to take part in the 2007 BUPA Great North Run has been successful.

You entered your payment details when you applied via the ballot and the entry fee of £38 (overseas £56/oap £31) has now been deducted from your account.

In April you will receive a copy of ‘Great Run’ magazine which will contain all the information you require to help you make the most of the big day on Sunday September 30th

So.  Apparently I got an entry into the Great North Run and on the 30th of September, if my legs are up to it by then, I'll be taking part in the Great North Run!

Right, since this might take a while to load... I'm putting this under the extended entry text. For a few pictures of Jeff, me and our war wounds, follow the road there.

For all the pictures at the Robin Hood Marathon - you can go here. There are some pictures of the winners, and others, but mostly the ones of myself and Jeff you'll find below.

On Saturday morning when I woke up, the first thing I realized was that it was 6h30. The second thing I realized was that Jeff hadn’t called yet to say that he had made it to England. I figured that he was probably exhausted and must’ve fallen asleep at his hotel. I wasn’t too worried, but at about noon I started getting worried as I knew that you could pick up your race packs between 2 and 4pm and if he hadn’t caught a train to Tamworth yet, we might not be able to get it!

I found out from the Robin Hood Marathon race organizers that we could pick it up from the help desk at the race site the next morning and worried a little less, but since I still hadn’t heard from Jeff, I wasn’t sure that he was still going to run.

It was half an hour later that we got the call – he was finally in England! Just after 5pm we picked him up at the station and after a quick stop at home, we headed to Amore – a lovely little Italian restaurant in Beeston to get some pasta in our stomachs and get to know each other a bit.

After supper we were pretty much tired and ready to get some sleep and we drove home.

On Sunday morning I woke up at 5am and my mind started turning – I was going to run a marathon! I couldn’t fall asleep again and eventually just got up and grabbed some water. When the alarm went off, I told Andy that I’d wait 5 or 10 minutes before checking whether Jeff was awake, but as it turns out, Jeff was already awake – his light went on just as I finished my sentence.

After porridge and a shower, we headed out to the race HQ. Jeff picked up his race pack and after that we wandered around, looking here and there until it was time to take our places at the start. We stood at the sub-4:00 board, but was quickly pushed forward and ended up in the sub 3:30 zone.

Jeff was running with me for the first few miles and it was great to have some company. With a massive 11000 athletes competing in the half-marathon and only 1800 competing in the full marathon, you could see bobbing heads ahead of you and thousands more behind you.

The route was extremely pretty with rolling hills, but as Jeff mentioned, nothing too challenging in the first half. The first hill caused me a bit of concern, but seeing as I didn’t walk up it, I was pretty happy.

After 12.5 miles I spotted Andy and the camera. He took two pictures as I waved at him and I just smiled. I turned onto the bridge which split the marathoners from the half-marathoners and started out on the more quiet part of the course. It was pretty amusing how, just before the split, everyone kept saying “Well done! You’re almost there!” and I knew that I wasn’t even half-way yet.

The second half of the course was slightly hotter than the first one. I was starting to feel a little bit of fatigue, but nothing serious. I was enjoying the run too much. At 17 miles I felt hot, but not so hot that it bothered me. I felt a slight twinge in my calves and just hoped that nothing would come of it. I kept on running steady.

At mile 20 I knew that the wall was ahead of me and half a mile later I had to slow down to a fast-ish walk that still hurt. My calves weren’t playing anymore. Neither were my hamstrings. And to add to it, we were next to water which seemed to cool you down and heat you up at the same time. I wasn’t enjoying the run so much anymore, but whenever I wanted to cry in frustration, I just thought to myself that I was more than three quarters there already. I couldn’t lose more fluids by crying!

I jogged on and off for the next few miles and at mile 25 decided that I was going to walk again. I finally started jogging just before mile 26 and then I spotted Jeff next to the side of the road!

There’s something about seeing the finish line though. Once I saw it I couldn’t get there fast enough. I did something close to a sprint and nearly collapsed once I was over the line. My legs had gone on holiday and left me to get past the medals, get my champion chip off and collect a blanket all by myself.

Afterwards we stood in line to get me a massage for a while, but finally I decided to just change into some clothes and head home. We walked to a point where Andy could pick us up and after stopping at home, grabbed some food and a local pub. I was incredibly tired, and standing up from a chair was already starting to become a problem.

We dropped Jeff off at his hotel and on the way home, I fell asleep. Perfectly happy that it had been a great day! My sense of humour might not have been all that sharp at that point (as Jeff and Andy can provide testimony to), but I was glad I crossed the finish line and I felt like I deserved a bit of sleep.

Now I have three days off before my next training session – I am going to sleep, watch television and in general, just relax.

I know its a day late, but we did finish the marathon - Jeff had a great race and I had a good race, despite some cramps. I even finished with a sprint! Race report to follow!

It is a fairly hot day here in the Midlands, UK. This morning when I drove into work I saw some drops of rain fall on my windscreen and thought to myself that today was the day we were going to get another thunderstorm and the air will cool down a little. As it turns out, those few drops that fell just contributed to the humidity in the air and made things less pleasant than before.

But enough of that. I have something to tell you, something to ask you, and hopefully I can help someone make a dream come true, even if it is a drop in the bucket, many drops eventually does fill the bucket. I don't normally do this, but it breaks my heart to see someone as talented as this woman, seeing a dream slip away from her.

Yesterday I found out that a woman in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, won her age group during Ironman South Africa. In doing so, she qualified to go all the way to Kona and compete in the Ironman World Championships on the 21st of October. The problem is that in South Africa, the exchange rate is completely nonsense. The average salary a month is around R8000 – which roughly translates to about $1000 or £615 a month.

A return ticket from Port Elizabeth to Hawaii costs around R20 000. When she found out that she qualified (way back in March!), she paid the entry fee and decided that she would try to raise the money via various fundraisers and even her club jumped in to help, but from what I hear, she’s not had much success.

At this moment, three months later, she still hasn’t reached the halfway mark, and with every passing day, she trains her heart out, but when I spoke to her yesterday (I phoned her to find out how it was going), she fears that she’s not going to be able to make it to Kona.

I think it is heartbreaking that someone who has worked that hard won’t be able to get to take part in something that is probably a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Is there anyone else out there that feels this way and might want to help? I’m posting this on the odd chance that someone might want to contribute to helping her get there. I’ve already contributed to her fundraising myself, but a few more drops will definitely help her.

Over the next few weeks, I’ll keep you up to date on how things are progressing, but in the meantime, if there is any way that you feel you would like to contribute or help, please email me or leave a comment and I’ll get in contact with you.

Her name is Davera Magson – if you want to see a picture, go here– on the front page she’s the one on the left and on the news section of the page, there is a bit that she wrote as well as the appeal to her club members to help with fundraising.

It was a nice morning when I left home, but by the time we got to the Rosliston Forestry Centre it was getting a little cold. I entered, received race number 177 and stretched a little while waiting to see who else would come run from our club. Soon after we arrived another 8 or 10 people from our club arrived.

The start of the run was nice and easy... some gravel and a few patches of grass, but nothing seriously bothering. A km and a half into the race though, we turned a corner and I found myself ankle-deep in mud. The marshal pulled a face (trying not to laugh), asked if I was okay and I was on my way.

Now my shoes were heavily soaked with water and mud and to make things worse, it kept picking up stones, grass and more mud along the way. 3km into the race I was feeling ready to just stop and give up. Then I saw H from the club and thought to myself... when I was younger than 20, I ran all my cross country races barefoot. Why not today?

So I took off my heavy shoes, left them with H and ran along. Now as I passed people along the route, I heard the words "she doesn't have any shoes on" a fair few times. This was normally followed by "how can she run like that?" But my second loop of the two loop course went a whole lot faster than the one with shoes went and by the end I even had a little bit of energy left to make sure I finished in front of the woman that was chasing me the whole second loop

It was a good race, although it was closer to 6 miles than the 5 miles that the organisers advertised. It was a load of fun, took me ages to get the mud off me ... and my shoes are hung out to dry since I had to give them a good wash when I got home.

This morning the first race of the Burton League takes place and our club will turn up in numbers because it is part of the league we take part in. Even I, with my limited amount of running in the past few weeks will be going to take part in the first event - which is a 5 mile race. The second event is a half marathon, but since I'm entered into a different half, I won't be there that time.

I was a little amused a few minutes ago though, when I looked for my club vest, that the number from the Friskney Half Marathon was still pinned onto it. Yes, it was washed after that race - which is why you can notice that the race number has been through some soap and water. I'm just amused that when it was washed, the number wasn't taken off - I expect Andy just grabbed a hand full of blue clothes and put it in the washer. :o)

Anyhows, I'll give a report later... maybe a picture or two. But now I have to run off!

After finding out that my major migraines were caused by stress I took thing easy at work last week and didn't do much running until Friday when I was given the all clear.

Two weeks ago I entered the Friskney Half Marathon with the thought that I could go do a slow run as a long run on the past Sunday. If I didn't feel like it on the morning, I could always stay home and run here, but if I did, I could go run with a 150 or so other people.

So on Sunday morning we set off for Friskney (it is about 2 and a half hours from here) with 5 of us in the car. The other girls were pretty jolly and even Andy (the club coach) joined in all the chatter and gossip. When we got to Friskney, we found an icy breeze blowing while the sun was shining brightly. Not a problem. On with the gloves and long tops.

3 minutes before the race, all the women in our group decided (without reason) that we were going to take off our long tops and just run in the vests. The race started as soon as we got back and within the first 500m I realised that I was going too fast. So I slowed down and settled into a lovely pace which had me looking at the fields and the people and in general just thinking way too much.

Friskney is a flat half marathon. No, seriously. There is just about no hills - and the ones that are there, are barely worthy of being called hills. They also seem flat. The only disturbance in the race was the cold wind that picked up in strength when we started running.

The kilometers ticked by, not particularly feeling hard and me keeping quite a steady pace.... then came mile 10 - we made a left turn and... got hit by a strong, icy wind... straight from in front of us. My legs (not being used to temperatures THIS cold) seized up and made me understand that if I was going to run in that wind, I was going to need something a little warmer. With 3 miles to go I suddenly felt every muscle in my legs move with each step.

So, I took a few walking breaks and then ran again... overall this is what my times for the individual kilometers looked like:

Total Time : 1:58:41

I'll definitely run this race again - it was great. Hopefully next year we won't run into that wind again :)

This morning I took part in a cross country race over 5 miles. I knew that it would be a relatively hard course as CO (the team captain) had told me about it. Just before the race started CO went over the course with us again. It didn't seem too bad and since we thought that it'd be two laps of the course that we would have to run we were quite prepared.

We took our places at the starting point and was greeted by Please Note that the course have changed somewhat since last year - it is now an out and back loop course and there is only ONE lap. Suddenly everything was different.

The starting gun went and we started our way up the first hill. The hill was quite steep, but I felt relatively okay. A bit slippery in bits, but it wasn't too bad. Once at the top of the hill, the fun really started. I was faced with a LOT of mud all over the place. Even my spikes weren't up to this mud as the mud was deeper than my spikes would take ground. One kilometer went by relatively quickly.

We made a turn at some point during the second kilometer and started going down a hill. Ahhhh, relaxing... NOT. The mud was also present there, and every stride I took, I hoped that my ankle would still be in tact once I had to take the next stride. Apparently someone broke an ankle at this particular race last year, and that would be the reason why they changed the course. Well, I didn't see the use of the change as they kept the part that was so dangerous last year, in this version of the course.

Then, just after 2km was complete, we suddenly came to a halt. There was a stile to be climbed over and the group of people hadn't spread out enough yet. For 2 minutes we waited patiently till it was our turns to climb over.

The third and fourth kilometers seemed okay apart from the slippery mud that seemed to cover just about everything. I kept a relatively nice pace going and enjoyed the fact that I hadn't gotten any scratches as so many other runners seemed to have picked up along the course.

The start of the 5th km was marked by another hill, that made me think they wanted to test our hill climbing abilities. Just about everyone started walking halfway up the hill and by the time I got to the top I thought that there was no way that they would put another hill like that on the course. I was wrong of course. Half a km later there was once again another one that no-one expected. I heard someone behind me mutter You must be kidding me! I silently agreed with him but carried on.

With the worst of the course behind me, I then settled into a relatively nice pace. There was, however, one more stile to climb over. I saw it and slowed down a little. Well, I came to an abrupt halt. By my feet slipping out from under me and me finding myself staring at the clouds in the sky. I must've laid there for about 10 seconds, wondering whether I should even attempt to get up.

Then I got up, and as the stile was a meter away from where I slid, climbed over the stile. I jumped off ... and immediately found myself facing upwards again. By now my backside was completely covered in mud. I wanted to cry. I wanted to laugh. I didn't want to get up again, but I did. I then ran the last couple of miles and finished up with the rest of the club cheering me on.

Of course everyone realised that I was okay, so they figured that a few laughs at my falling was in order.

It was a lovely race, and I'll definitely take part again next year.

Below are the elevation map that I got from my forerunner and another Google Earth picture of the race course.

So far this year, I have the following races planned:

07 May Shakespeare Half Marathon
21 May BUPA Great Manchester Run
xx June Worthington 5 Mile
10 Sept Experian Robin Hood Marathon
xx Oct Goose Fair Gallop 5 Mile

I've also entered the ballot for the Great North Run, but will only know whether I'm running that after the 13th of February.

I've entered!

I have learnt valuable lessons today.

- If someone advises you to arrive at a race with a long vest and gloves, do it. There's probably some experience behind the advice and it shouldn't be laughed off.

This morning I woke up with a little bit of a cold and feeling a little sluggish and off, but since I had a relay to run, I got up and went to the race headquarters to get my number. After that I went to the starting point of my stage and chatted for a while with two of the other club members. It was absolutely FREEZING. I had taken the advice of another one of my team members and arrived with a long sleeved vest, but unfortunately didn't pack some gloves. This left me with some lovely blue hands. :)

Soon it was our turn to run (although, the timekeepers were ALMOST late) and as we set off, my legs told me that it didn't like the cold weather. My calves felt really sore as they wound themselves up nice and tight. I decided to just take it easy, but as anyone knows, knots in calves don't leave without pain. I kept running, but after a mile and a half I was in extreme pain and with 2 miles to go, I took a walking break. 200m later I felt okay again and I ran at a steady pace to the end of the stage. It wasn't too slow either :)

I think I'll remember my gloves for the rest of the winter - and some nice long tights while I'm at it.

Right now, all I want to do is get some sleep.

Thought I'd count the days :P

... and what comes down further than it went up, must go up again.

This morning I woke up, groggy and not really willing to leave my warm bed for the utterly cold weather outside. I saw clouds from my pillow and knew that once I left the house, there was no turning back. The temptation was big.

I got out of the bed though and made my way to Kimberley in Nottingham to run the Goose Fair Gallop 5 mile race.

We didn't really know where we were going as we were driving, but Andy had a relatively good idea in which direction to drive. The map we had was useless, but thankfully the signs to the Leisure Centre was really good.

Now, I read on Runner's World that the course was Undulating. This was a big factor in my decision to run, as I didn't feel that I was in a shape to do a lot of hills and end up being so tired that I walked more than I ran.

Km 1 - The Start
We all walked from the gathering point to the start and I took my place in the middle, not too close to the back, but not quite to the front either. In front of us was a load of buildings and the local people came out and clapped hands as the alarm sounded and we started our run. The first km was all uphill. No, seriously... it was all uphill from the moment we started. I managed to keep a fairly decent pace, so I wasn't too bothered, it was almost as if I was running at home.

Km 2
The hill would not end. After running a kilometer, I realised that there was more to come, purely because it was as clear as daylight. I looked forward and saw more hill ahead of me. Around every corner there was one. It seemed like there was no end to it. Luckily after another 500m, we suddenly hit a footpath and it started going downhill!

Woo! I let my legs just fall and enjoyed the absolutely wonderful scenery that lay ahead of me. This downhill, as luck would have it, went on for another 1500m until we reached the 2km mark. It felt a little odd, and I knew we were going down steeply, but I didn't realise what I was in for the next 5km....

Km 3 - Km 8
At the 3km mark, a marshall handed me half a glass of water and I slurped it down - the sun shone down on us during the downhill and by now I was a little thirsty. So thirsty indeed, that I nearly choked on the water as a few drops went down the wrong way.

Then I turned the corner and another hill stared me in the face. I ran my steady pace, feeling a little out of it, but in general enjoying it and just carrying on, doing my own thing. All in all, I was there to just enjoy it, right?

The hill didn't stop. For about 5km it seemed that every corner we took, it was an uphill. At some stage I thought that there couldn't be more hill, but there was. And more. And more! Another girl ran with me and at some stage she muttered 'Someone should have warned me about the hill!' to which I silently agreed.

Just after the point of 6km, I felt my back starting to go into spasm. This happened during the Worthington 5 Mile race as well, and I got scared, seeing myself lying next to the path, not being able to finish. So I started walking, rubbing my back, hoping to get the spasm out.

Luckily it did go out and I could carry on with my journey.

By the time we reached the 5 mile mark, I didn't feel as "fresh" as I thought I would, but I didn't feel as dead as I thought I would either. I actually felt pretty good. I crossed the line and made my way towards the table to receive my T-shirt when a little girl ran towards me. "Number 359! Excuse me, can you go over to that table - you won a spot prize."

So I went, received some hot-cross buns, received my t-shirt and a package and put on some tracksuit bottoms. It was still freezing and I was in no mood to get ill.

I'm relatively happy with the time I ran though ( 43'44"), and looking forward to my next race - whichever that may be!

Well, for the past week I haven't really run. My mom has come to visit and since we walk in excess of 6 miles a day, at the end of the day I'm generally just too sore and tired to even attempt going for a run.

Last week myself and Andy sent in our ballot entries for the London Marathon. We were joking about the fact that only one of us might get an entry. It'd be slightly amusing if he was the one that got it since he hasn't run a marathon before and plans on that one being his first. He's quite sure that if he's the only one that gets an entry, he won't attempt running. I somehow don't see him not running after all the training.

My Garmin Forerunner 301 arrived, and I'm quite happy with it. It seems like a bit of a waste, but to get a feel for it, we went for a walk around the lake at Clumber Park. When we got home I managed to see how "well" it works and I think I'm really going to enjoy the new gadget - it is yet another thing that I have to put on before my run, but hopefully it'll help a little.

Adas last week asked if he could start running with us again. If you remember, a few months ago I wrote about him. He stopped running with us - because we run too little - and he was going to rather get on a treadmill in the gym. Well, it is about 3 months later and he's been in the gym about 5 times since then. He's gained about a stone and obviously now feels that we run a sufficient amount for him to start running with us again.

I don't have a problem with him running with us. The only thing I fear is that since myself and Andy run about 4 days a week, and he'll only run about twice weekly, he'll end up a significant amount unfitter than us and if Andy feels sorry for him, might end up destroying our training sessions. I know that I should probably then schedule our easier training sessions for when Ad runs with us, but then that's not exactly good for his training either.

I guess I'll have to wait and see.

Its early. I should go and switch on the kettle and make everyone some coffee, served with rusks and other breakfast treats.

Hope everyone is still having a wonderful time training. I'll be back on Monday!

On Tuesday, after a week of being ill and barely able to stand, nevermind walk or run, I find myself in the pickle of wanting to do the Worthington 5 mile race. Hmmm, what to do?

So of course, I do the most stupid thing you can after being ill and decide to do the race in the rain. Yes, you read right, in the rain. We went and entered 45 minutes before the start and stood outside with the drizzle making us sufficiently wet to not want to wear the clothes we are in, but dry enough to not change into anything else just yet.

It was Andy's first race and I really wanted him to enjoy it. So, at the start, we were joking about chafing of nipples etc, and he laughed when I mentioned that it does happen. We started too fast - the first mile flew by in 8 minutes, and we were aiming to do them in about 9 minutes each to just finish in 45 minutes.

Two and a half miles into the race I felt the first warning sign - a cramp in my back. I told Andy to carry on, and 200m later, I was in enough pain to bring me to a grinding halt - leaving me to walk up the hill to the 3 mile mark. I wanted to scream, but since there were still some other people around, managed to keep it in for a while.

The four mile mark came too slow. It was still quite fast, but definitely took me too long to get there. Now there was only a mile left. I tried to keep the pace - the end was almost there! 200 yards and it happened. I fell to the ground, my back in a spasm that didn't listen to my pleas to leave. It held me there. Some marshals ran to my aid, as did some of the other runners that had already finished.

I stood up after a while and finished the race while walking. I wasn't proud of how it happened. It was horrible. Andy went to get the car and came to pick me up so we could go home. My first race since we started running had ended horribly.

The next day I was in bed. As ill as I was the week before, and feeling ten times worse. I learnt my lesson - stay in bed when ill, don't run, and when you start again, take it easy. It isn't worth the pain to put such stress on your body when it is still weak after its battles with the germs.

I've rested since, and feel a lot better today - this weekend I'll take it easy and start training again next week. I might take it a little easier than I want to, but at least I won't get ill again.