So after an unexpected turn of events after my 'last event of the year' (a 24 hour non-stop bike ride over 300 miles from Durham to London), I found myself on the starting list of the High Peak 40 mile run, thanks to a gentle nudge from Tim (@jedirider) on a lazy afternoon trail run around St Martha's.
My training leading into the event was minimal - I didn't really put the hours in, as I didn't have the time (and to be honest, motivation) to get out for longer runs. After the 3 days in the Dolomites in early July, I had neglected trail running and just completed some morning commutes to and from work, averaging a minimal 30 - 40 miles a week maximum for August. I upped it a bit before the race, although again this was based on daily commutes so didn't really get much more than 20 miles in one day under my belt. The only thing I noticed was that I seemed to have some speed (for me) come back into the legs, which was unexpected considering the way I train. While relatively I'm not quick, a lot of my shorter runs were between 6 - 6.20 minute miles leading into the race, and I was attacking any form of a hill rather than easing off and just pushing myself up to the top.
In fact, it was a run in the Quantocks in North Devon/West Somerset that set me up for this - after some work nearby I took an hour to run and managed to cover a reasonable amount of ascent and distance (around 8.5 - 9 miles, 1200ft) in that time including some strong descending back to the car. I thought rather than pace myself over 40 miles, why not attack from the beginning and see how long I would last...
So fast forward to the race morning, and I caught up with Tim who said he could see that I was up to something. My mind was focused on getting somewhere near the front and just holding on before realising my time was up and just easing back. I also met (briefly) Andrew (@mrafletch), Mike (@mikew30) and a few of the big crew they were a part of. Wish I could have had a bit more time to introduce myself properly and chat, but was nice just to say hello.
The briefing was done on mute, so without a clue of where to run (I asked about whether I'd need a map, and got some fairly uncertain answers which made me a bit nervous!) I accelerated around the pack at the start and hung on for dear life. Up front were some rapid runners but I found a pace I knew I could hold for at least 10 miles to start, and ran through the first checkpoint in 3rd place, the second checkpoint in 4th, and then on to about the 10 mile mark where I was battling it out with 4th/5th. Normally I make the most of aid stations and get food in me (after past disasters...) but this time I kind of ran straight through them and powered on, much like everyone else was doing. I made a call to stop at the 10 mile mark and lost a couple more places, but as always this was a race against the clock for me rather than trying to win. I kicked on and could see clumps of people behind me coming up. Rather than trying to kick on and outpace them, I let them run through and kept my rhythm, which was handy as I would find out later in the race. Through the 13.1 mile mark in 1.46, then the 20 mile mark (after Mam Tor) in about 2.51 I was on target for something in the low 6 hour timeframe which I was secretly aiming for.
The route itself had been fairly good up till that point, a lot of ascent and some sharp descent off Mam Tor where the fell runners just took off (conditions were pretty wet underfoot, and just lacked the confidence needed to accelerate downhill), I then faced a long climb where I could feel that I needed a break. Again, a runnable climb but there was no-one behind me at this stage (I think I was around 7th or 8th by now) so I took some time out to get a few power walks in and more food & gels. By the time I got to the top of the climb I faced a long road section down through the marathon CP (3.51) and on along a river path. The signage wasn't so good, so I found myself stranded a few times waiting for a glimpse of a runner in front or behind to see where to go. I got a bit lost finding the next CP and ended up diverting down a road rather than an old railway track but after 5 minutes of asking locals I was back on track. Another short climb after this where the body was starting to suffer with dehydration (I always remember the sign from the WS100 about what to do when the colour of your pee changes - luckily I wasn't at the Guinness stage) we then hit a 3 mile road section. Undulating, but at 33 miles it was just what the body didn't need. You could see who was in front and who was behind, but the subtle incline along this stretch was just soul sapping. My legs at this stage were really suffering and my pace was down to near 10 minute miles / 10km/hr, just heading into the light breeze and facing this never-ending stretch of tarmac. I picked up another place but lost one as well along the stretch, but knew there wasn't too much to go as we hit the trail again. My Garmin suggested we had done nearly 5000ft of ascent at this stage, so my assumption was that it was fairly flat to the finish.
How wrong I was.
Two more runners behind (one of which was the lead female) were breathing down my neck and I knew they were moving quicker than me. After scaling a few fences I arrived at a ravine, took my first step down and cramped in the foot. Knowing the two were behind me I took the time out to move out of their way and just recover from this before gingerly descending into the ravine and powering up the other side. I could see the two of them just slowly moving into the distance, but knew there wasn't really anyone behind me. The last checkpoint said 3 miles to go (my Garmin said 2 miles to go, you don't know how bad that felt!). I was still on for a reasonably good time (for me) but the extra mile meant I had to review the finish time from around 6.12 - 6.15 back out to 6.22 - 6.25. Maybe my diversion around the 26 - 30 mile mark actually cost me a few extra yards? I doubt it though, as is the case with longer distance races it is much easier to mentally prepare for an extra few km or a mile as you don't always take the racing line, nor is it always accurately measured.
The last few miles were uneventful and I just wanted to get back to eat food and drink water. My kidneys were shot from dehydration so I had been running with what felt like the stitch for a solid 3 hours, and legs that wanted to disown me. I stumbled across the finish line in 6.24 in 12th place overall, with my fastest (yet) average speed for an Ultra. Pleased, but also struggling with walking - not even the CCC ruined me this much!
So a good way to finish the year. Failed to crack the top-10 again, but there were some rapid runners in the race. For someone who doesn't train anywhere near the levels of the top runners, I'm pleased. I'd like to see a scale of input v output, as I think I'd jump up the league tables!
Some valuable lessons learned from the run, especially the concept that starting slow and getting slower doesn't always have to be the case. I can run hard, but just need to run hard for longer in my base miles if I want to race properly. I could've maybe knocked 30 - 40 minutes off the time if I had trained that way, but I didn't, so that is unrealistic and probably silly to think about. No more races this year and not sure when the next will be, but am still enjoying running and don't want anything to take that away from me. It's not obsessive when it is a passion, and something you genuinely like doing (despite the pain!)
I've got a trip coming up to NZ in December to see the family, and am already planning a few runs around some of the trails there. I've never really run much offroad in New Zealand in the past (nor have I run that much, other than as a kid at primary school!) so look out Lake Waikaremoana and the Tongariro Crossing. May even make an attempt at summitting Mt Taranaki as well, just need to find the maps and the best route to do so. Lots of ideas, just need the motivation (and probably someone to run with) to get it done.
I hope to look back at this blog in the future and see it as a bit of a turning point for my running plans, particularly the longer training runs. Maybe not if doing a multi-day though!
Also realised I've run 8 marathons this year throughout all my training and events. Not a massive amount by any stretch but a nice number all the same...
Finally - Garmin didn't upload the file (was corrupted) but have this as a memory on Strava which stopped around 33 miles (before I hit the road section and struggled!)
http://www.strava.com/activities/84196941
