The Atlantic Coast Challenge 2010 - DAY1

Friday 1st October Day 1 - 26.22 miles

The day had arrived that I had been looking forward to all year, and with it forecasts of heavy rain and gale force winds - it didn't dissapoint. Staying with my folks again in Newquay, I awoke early after a very restless night and the weather was atrocious! A relaxed breakfast and then Ellen drove me the half an hour to the VO2 HQ in Hayle where I met my best bud Alex who ran the course with me last year. An air of electric anticipation awaited us as we met for the race briefing after a thorough kit check. A few familiar faces were dotted around, included Adam Holland who on the Sunday was due to finish his 99th marathon in his quest to be the youngest 100th marathoner.

'If it's not raining, it's not training' quipped Ben Mason (VO2 Director) which did a lot to lighten the mood. A quick show of hands from those returning from last year also brought a chuckle after Ben quipped 'don't you ever learn?'

We were then herded onto the mini-buses for that tortuous 40-minute journey to the start.

Everyone shivered on arrival at Trevose, anxious to get going to warm up. The weather was unrelenting from the start. It took a while to wrap my brain around the fact that feet were going to be wet no matter what I did to try to protect them. All I could think of was the fact that on Day 3 last year it was the wet feet that brought the blisters on. However, Salomon Speedcross were the shoes of choice this year and soon into the start they became a very wise choice. The trails were already churned up by the early starters in the walking group and the mud very often became ankle deep. Many runners were still in their roadies and one guy was obviously struggling in a pair of Vibram's!!

I'd completed many more training miles in the run-up to this years ACC which became obvious from the start as I felt pretty good. Also, my fuelling last year was appalling so I was determined to conquer that too. I quickly realised during my training that energy gels are not my thing as they made me nauseous for days after, not the ideal thing for a multi-day event. Thus, 'real food' was the order of the 3 days.

The first check point at Mawgan Porth came after a pretty gnarly start. Flood water ran down every valley side making it pretty treacherous on each descent. We took it pretty steady as we wanted to make it through the 3 days and not have to retire because of some stupid injury through lapse in concentration.

'Don't hang around in the check points' was the decision of the day. We knew it was going to be a slower first day than last year as the conditions were a whole lot worse so grab a drink, some food and consume it on the walkable ascents. This strategy worked really well; we power walked every ascent which nobody around us seemed to be able to cope with.

The second check point at Lusty Glaze, Newquay, (roughly half way) brought us into the town that I grew up in. With it, brought some flatter, hard surface and a chance to pick up the speed and get some easier miles in the bank. Similarly to last year I was able to assist in the navigation through the streets of Newquay. Tempting as it was to leave people to their own devices and leave us with a chance to make up a few positions I decided that Karma may have it's wicked way with me and bite me on the arse later on in the weekend. About 5 or 6 other runners tagged along in the end and I got them around the official route no problem.

It was when we got to the southern end of Fistral Beach that we realised that there were some people that were taking obvious short-cuts. People who we recognised as overtaking before the first check point were suddenly ahead of us again. When you overtake the same people twice in a race, there's definately something not right.

Check point 3 of the day brought us across the River Gannel estuary and into one of my most favourite places, Crantock. The gang were there to meet us, Ellen and our 3 kids, Al's girlfriend Marta, and my folks. A special mention, given the sponsorship that we have raised this year, goes to Lara, who is my daughters best friend (7 years old) who suffers with Ataxia, who turned up her family Nick, Sophie and Freya and Finn. It was great to see them there and it really gave us the spur that was needed to keep going. We were about 18 miles in at this point.

After Crantock the sun came out! We adopted a run/power walk strategy from herein, especially on the ascents, with the aim of conserving energy for the next two days, and we were soon onto the beach at Holywell Bay. At this point, we again noticed a couple of runners that we had left well behind before the first check point. Maybe we should have just ignored it, but it really wound us up. Intentional or not, they were only cheating themselves - where's the glory in not completing the entire course? No names mentioned, obviously, but it turned into a bit of a race from herein, despite us knowing we had put in the greater mileage. This continued onto Perranporth Beach and the long run in across the sand.

The finish point had changed from last year and had moved from the beach car park to the top of the cliff. As we neared the end of the beach I checked my Garmin and we had completed the full 26.2 miles. We had a choice; run through the car park and up the cliff road OR run through the river and up the cliff steps (the shorter but much steeper route). Well, it was a no brainer. We had completed the distance already so the river and steps it was. However, it seems like our two competitors had the same idea. Despite the 26.2 miles behind us, the fire in our bellies ignited and we found ourselves sprinting to reach the river first. The adrenaline was like nothing I had experienced before; where had this energy come from? The other two hesitated at the sight of the river; not us. 'Straight through it Al!' and we launched ourselves off the foot high bank and straight through to the steps on the other side. Straight up the steps to the sight of the VO2 flags.

The sprint finish!

Straight into the river!

Job done. I was walking around on a complete high, NOT flat on my back as I was last year. We were 5 minutes slower than last year but the conditions dictated this and as you will see, we made up for this on the following two days!

ACC Report to come....

I'm back, I've had a blast but have sh*t loads of work to do so the race report will be soon. Watch this space!

Energy Gels.......

........make me really nauseous after a long run and stays with me for days afterwards. Today's Wednesday and I still feel sick from Sunday's LSR!!

I've decided to avoid them and go for 'real food'.

LSR

A hilly 20 miler yesterday.

I felt really strong for the first 10/11 miles and then Ellen turned up in the car with the kiddies to give me a drink. At this point my focus on the task in hand completely dissapeared. There is nothing I cherish more than spending all my time with Ellen and the kids, particularly on a Sunday afternoon and on seeing them all I craved was to be with them.

However, I pushed on, but the focus and energy didn't come back. From what was a comfortable 9m/m pace for the first half, slowed to over 10m/m for the second. However, this will probably work out for the best for the ACC as my pace will be slightly slower still.

On finally returning home my legs were screaming and I felt dehydrated. Following plenty of drink and a Forgoodness Shake I decided to brave something that I've never had the courage to do before.....a cold bath. It took a while to get in (following screams to the amusement of others!) but I can honestly say that it calmed the legs after around 5 minutes and felt pretty good afterwards. I'll probably make a habit of it after future LSR's!!

ACC 2010 Looming

Two and a half weeks to go until the ACC 2010 and the race information was published yesterday. A new item on the compulsory kit list - tights/trousers.

I wonder if fishnets would suffice?

Chippenham Half Marathon

Sunday 12th September. It was billed 5th in the Runners World top 50 UK races of 2009.

I can honestly say it didn't dissapoint. A smaller half than I had been used to (compared to Bath and Bristol) with only around 1,300 starters, and very local to home (around 15 minute drive), so the decision to run this one was a no brainer! A friend who runs with Chippenham Harriers (the event organisors) had recommended it and, together with the RW ratings from last year, it looked to be a good race to get involved in.

A later than usual alarm call for a Sunday morning race made for a more leisurely time to get ready, comforted in the knowledge that the race was only 15 minutes away. I was going on my own and had arranged to meet Ellen and the kiddies at the end. This was great as I only had myself to worry about and Ellen could spend some quality time in the park with the kids instead of dragging them around the course, and then cheer me in as I finished.

Parking was superbly organised at a local school with only a short walk to the 'race village' at the local sports ground. A beautifully stunning day made for a really friendly and relaxed atmosphere. NO QUEUE FOR THE TOILETS!!!!!!!

Onto the race.

With only 1,300 runners lined up, as soon as the gun/horn went it meant you were well into your stride straight away. A gradual climb for around a mile then led into a long downhill into the town centre. After a quick climb back out of the town centre the course was mainly flat to undulating; certainly less undulations than Bath and Bristol. This led to a quick first half which prompted the question of burning out. Looking around it seemed others were of the same mind but a silent concensus to push on prevailed!

With such a stunning day it inevitably started to get hot, however bottled water was given out at aid stations every 3 miles! I remembered to stash a gel as I'd been slowing up at the 10/11 mile mark recently, and so downed it at about mile 8 in the hope that it would see me through the latter stages. It seemed to do the trick.....for a while but then the quick pace started to take it's toll. Ignoring the tiredness I pushed on and the final mile was a nice downhill stretch back to the sports field. One turn from the finish I spotted Ellen and the Kiddies and our friend Sophie and her kiddies which spurred me on. Unfortunately at this point I noticed 01:40 on my Garmin and therefore realised the sub-01:40 time had evaded me yet again. However, I was still on for a great time and a new PB.

01:41:39 at the finish line. Well pleased but still craving for that sub-01:40.

Overall, a truly great race, well organised with a more local/personal feel which gets lost at the bigger events. A great goodie bag to - tech. tee, medal, drink, sweets, biscuits, banana etc all for under £20. Ellen and the kiddies had a great time too. She has stopped coming to races like the Bristol Half due to the sheer volume of people to get three kiddies around. More local races methinks.

Well done Chippenham Harriers, same time next year!

P.S. 2 glasses of red the night before. Maybe this is the way forward?

Bristol Half Marathon 2010

Wet and soggy morning, totally the opposite of what the BBC weather forecast predicted at the end of last week.

Early alarm call at 06:00 to get to Bristol for a 09:00 start. However, I did something I've never done before and had a couple of pints of Guinness the night before (seemed like a good idea at the time!) The old nerves had turned the stomach into a washing machine and together with last nights drinks, the belly was not feeling in a good way! On route to Bristol the heavens decided to rain on the parade. Up to the point of standing around in my allotted time zone the rain persisted and I was soaked before the gun.

Long story short, I was hoping to go sub 1:40 for the first time. Up and down the Portway underneath the iconic Clifton Suspension Bridge I was hovering between 07:30 and 07:45 minute miling. I felt reasonably comfortable up until the approach to the 10 mile point when the effects of the night before started to catch up. I also knew at this point that the easier part of the course had already passed and what was left was the pain in the arse, remaining 3 miles of cobbles, hills and the annoying winding city centre route. At about 12 miles, instead of my usual increase in pace I actually had to stop and recoup for a few seconds as a bout of dizziness took over (!!!) This is the part which destroyed all hopes of a pb. I don't know whether this was due to the previous late night or not but it had never happened before. However, I took stock and steadied my way to the finish.

I finished in 01:45:45. A pb for the Bristol course of around 3 minutes, but over a minute off my half marathon pb, and over 5 minutes of the ideal target of sub-01:40.

Re-coup, recover, re-focus. Early to bed Saturday night, no beer! Chippenham Half Marathon on Sunday.

Lesson: I very, very rarely drink, so I'm guessing even just the 2 pints the night before may have effected my run. Thoughts?