And so to Race...

The forecast for the Sunday of the race had been sunshine and showers but below seasonal average temperatures. Whoever signed that one off at the Met Office made a mistake of gargantuan proportions! The heavens opened as I walked past the Mad Stad, and bucket fulls continued to fall out of the sky through until about 3pm. I am amazed that my sodden clothing and keks didn't chaf one bit. I thank one of my main heroes of 2011, good old Dr Assos!  I can recommend this modern miracle of anti-friction to any would be runner with a high coefficient of friction ;0)
Anyway I had understandably entered in the slow coach 'orange' section near the back of the starting line up and took nearly 15 mins to get through the start line. Luckily running with similar paced runners really helped me not get too puffed out early on and settled down into a good rythmn only interupted by the steepest hill on the course early on. It was good to see so many charities being supported as I read everyone's backs.
The bloke that was ducking and diving in and out of the crowds with a collection bucket got my full respect. He was keeping pace with me whilst doing all that!
My first problem came at the Pepper Lane water stop where I grabbed a water pouch, put it to my lips, squeezed, and promptly choked as the jet of water hit the back of my throat. I decided that from then on all liquids would be taken at a walking pace. I walked for these, and the hills, and a bit of kiln lane near the end, but otherwise jogged most of the way.
I was very, very glad to see the 1000m sign and the countdown thereafter. I made what I considered to be a strong Sprint for the line in the Mad Stad, but on watching back on the video looks like I couldn't be arsed to increase my speed at all as I jogged over the line.
I did find myself grinning like the Cheshire Cat though.
I so wanted to have a rub down by Simone from the centre afterwards but it wasn't to be. I had sipping wet thick tights on and you can't have a massage through those. I certainly wasn't going to take them off!
I met with Ed who proudly showed me his bleeding nipples ( aaaagggghhhh) and we set of to find a shuttle bus.  Unfortunately so had half the 12,800 field and the queue seemed to weave its way into the distance so we decided to walk back in to town. Not the best decision after running over 13 miles to then start walking another 3 in the pouring, freezing rain dressed only in a piece of bako-foil like a Christmas turkey. Ho hum. I thought that would be the low light of the day but oh no. The showers at work, conveniently near the Lyndhurst rondezvous, don't work on a Sunday and chose to turn from pleasant warmth to Scottish loch cold after a mere 40 seconds. Still, the hearty stew in the pub, a few ciders, and a visit to the Retreat to watch the brilliant Hugh Turner Trio made all in the World seem right again.
My time in the end was a reasonable 2hrs 25 mins 37 arcs and far from coming last, I came in 11638th place, beating about 1200 runners.
We have raised a bit over £1,000 for the BMSTC so I'm well chuffed overall.
I wonder what's next?

Last Training Run?

Well, here we are then one week left. OMG! The email from the organisers this week said I should be tapering this week, but I felt that I should still be ramping up!
So I donned my new running shorts, because you have to have tried all clothing before the big day, planned a 6 mile route and set off this afternoon.
My negative brain was constantly nagging me to have a walk, particularly given the doubling of distance from Tuesday. After a mile and a half it got the better of me. Luckily I was able to get going again. There were several more walks to come, but also plenty of jogging.  I managed 5.8 miles (9.3K) in 64 minutes which was ok
However the state of my shins as I type this mean I will be resting them now until the big day next Sunday.  I'll have to now concentrate on serious carb packing instead ;O)

My First 5K

Tonight I managed to treble my previous best non-stop jog distance up from one mile to three! This is a 5K distance in new money. It took me 30 minutes and I was dead chuffed with myself. The reason I stopped was that the last bit of my local lap is a bloody steep hill!
Plan must now be to try to increase that distance on Saturday.
It was the first time I hadn't been listening to music which I found helped me hear my breathing/gasping. Blood sugars were a near perfect 6.7 at the end which also helped.

Isle of Wight Sandpaper

Last weekend I found myself on the IOW, where I'd been for a fantastic Birthday Bash.  The Sat was therefore an all day hangover and so on the Sunday I felt duty bound to don tights and do some exercise.
I ran to the local cash machine (broken) and ran on to the next one and then back to my Sister in law's up a steep hill. 1.3 miles thus far. I then decided to walk to my Mother in law's house. I set off at mid-day and arrived there at 2:20pm some 8 miles later. Good exercise as my legs were really sore by that stage.  Almost as sore as my undercarriage :0o Why is it that underpant manufacturers stick a seam right where you don't want it so after 8 miles of walking , what started as a light caress has now become a fierce sandpapering ! Ho hum.

Oh dear my leg's fallen off !

Well that's what it felt like at least.  Over the past few weeks I have managed to go from running a full mile without stopping, to needeing to rest every 500m to catch my breath and allay the feeling of sheer panic that my lungs are about to come out of my mouth.
On one evening, having managed 2 laps of my 3.4 mile circuit on the Saturday (both running and walking), I set off full of confidence, only to discover that my left leg and knee were very painful to the point of not being able to cope with it. Yes ladies, I bow to those of you who have given birth. I hate pain.
That evening I managed a mere mile before knocking on the door of a mate to ask if I could come in and recover!
Since then I have only managed a single lap and the 'race' is now two weeks away. I think I have what's commonly termed shin splints.

Time for more madness !!

Well its been a good 18 months since we completed LEJOG, and I was seeking a new challenge. Once again, a lunchtime glass of red seems to have influenced my decision to do this one! The bloke I sit next to at work said he'd entered for the Reading half marathon and was running in aid of the Berkshire MS Therapy Centre and did I want to join him? Given that I raised money for them doing LEJOG it seemed like a great excuse to try to loose all the weight I've regained round my middle and to get fit again. 
Unfortunately we only have 6 1/2 weeks to go and before Sunday I'd only ever run for a bus! I'm also esconsed in the middle of middle age, not quite U3A material yet, but certainly old enough to be the father of my nipper's teacher! [deep sigh]
So there you have it, I've bought some running shoes (essential methinks) and tried running last Sunday and this evening.  On Sunday I had to stop and walk every half mile to stop throwing up my lungs, and tonight I managed about a mile before the same feeling took over me.
I had to phone Claire to come and pick me up in the car!! My blood sugar was 1.9 when I got home and I was ready to greet my friends the fairies (I'm a type1 diabetic)  I realise now that I may have left it rather late. I'm not placing any bets on me doing the 13 miles in under 4hrs unless its in the back of an ambulance !
I'll keep you informed of any progress.  Watch this space...

Day 12 - And the Heavens Opened..

The Golspie Inn was very welcoming with a good menu which Rob would have enjoyed more had he not had a bag of chips on his arrival in the village!
I did not partake of the food for obvious reasons.
Today we woke up with rain lashing against the window. I believe the South enjoyed this weather on Sunday.
We set off up the coastal road (A9) into a Northerly wind laced with chilled water. Mmm nice !  Within 20 minutes we were all soaked to the skin. We stopped at Helmsdale at a roadside cafe to drip dry a little and warm up with teas and coffees.

The proprietor gave Martin his best offer of the day when mopping up our drips on the floor, he asked her if she could mop us down as well to which she replied: "get your kit off then !!"
We pressed on up the coast and almost stopped at Dunbeath but didn't because when you stop you loose all your heat. Unfortunately the bloke with the buckets of water at the side of the road had been to Halfords and had armed himself with a new pressure washer which he was having great fun with, much to our annoyance.
Wick was very, very welcome, some 52 miles of cycling through the wind and rain later.
We booked in to our B&B and showered and tried to dry our cycle clothes a bit. At about 6:45pm once it had stopped raining, we all donned our partially wet gear and set off for the last 17 miles to John O'Groats.  The wind this time was the thing to deal with, gusting 30mph from the North. Oh whoop-ee!
We eventually arrived at 8:30pm. They had taken the sign down and the wind freshened to about a force eight, making some of the cycling somewhat comical.
Martin & I had ordered a taxi to take us & the bikes back to Wick. I'd have put money on Rob joining us but he chose to ride back instead !
So there we have it. End to end in 12 days on bicycles ( and a little bit of train for me when I was sick)

Looking forward to being back home tomorrow night with my family.