Tuesday 19 September 2017

Robin Hood 100

Although this was my focus race of the year, and my first ever attempt at a 100 miler after two 24 hour races and a number of shorter distance events, I entered race week and the day itself with an amazing calmness for someone who is usually just a little excitable. I felt ready for it and there was certainly no consideration at all that I wouldn’t finish it and with time to spare (30 hour cut off). On first reflection, and I don’t think 60 hours is enough to fully digest everything that happened, I think I was right to have that confidence but the story has so much more to tell. If you just want to know the result I finished in 23 hours and 25 minutes, if you want to know more about the journey read on… Me, Laura, Robert and Caitlin travelled up after work on Friday, a 240 mile journey, and if I had any concerns it was that after the first full week back teaching, which always takes its toll, plus the journey and a possible late arrival at the hotel as we would have to stop for tea on route I may be tired going in to race day. Thankfully though the journey was clear and we were booked into the hotel before 10pm and we were all in bed settled by half past. An early start Saturday morning to get from Rotherham to race HQ in South Wheatley and having eaten my porridge we arrived with 45 minutes to spare which gave me time to meet the RD and my coach, Ronnie, get kitted out, collect tracker etc and listen to the race briefing before we assembled on the start line ready for the off. The first 6 miles of the event were around farmland with some rough churned up terrain which actually suited me fine as I didn’t have to concentrate too hard on keeping my pace down with my first plan being to maintain 5mph for as long as possible which would give me time to play with for a sub 24 result at worst. After the first 6 miles you go through aid station 1 where I grabbed a cup of water but nothing else as I knew what my fueling strategy was and it didn’t involve what was supplied although I must admit it was an ample spread as it was at all stations. Miles 6 to 18 were along the Chesterfield Canal and I must admit that even on the outward leg I found this a little monotonous and uninspiring but there were still enough participants about to keep the mind occupied and I settled into a run 17 minute walk 3 minute strategy and came off the canal, past the third aid station and onto the drop bag station at mile 22 for the for the first of two laps around Sherwood Forest and surrounding areas. The marshalls were most impressed/amused with my Lidl carrier bag with three sandwich bags of energy bars and bottle of undiluted squash in amongst all the other full rucksacks and holdalls. I’m guessing lots of runners didn’t have the benefit of crew on route with spare clothes etc if needed though? Leaving mile 22 and onto the next aid station at 27 miles was a good period as the miles were ticking by easily including running right through pathways made, it seemed just for us, through the very middle of fields of corn. I enjoyed it but was not sure whether I would later if it was dark when I went back through as was all just a little to 1970s horror film for my liking. The other good thing about this section was that I knew it was at mile 27 that I would see my family for the first time which is always nice although I was a little embarrassed by the hero’s welcome from all at the station ;-) The next 13 miles were probably the toughest I had of the race mentally as I suffered a little with the heat, nausea and the ten mile loop from mile 30 to 40 with no aid station but as I arrived at mile 40 with my family waiting again I was still well on sub 20 pace and still feeling comfortable with only ten miles to go until getting back to the drop bags and starting the second half of the race. Apparently in that last ten mile loop I passed The Great Oak of Robin Hood fame and also through the caves of Sherwood Forest, someone correct me if I’m wrong but I noticed neither. Surely I’d have known if I was in a cave? I enjoyed the next ten miles to the drop bags especially the discovery of an unexpected aid station at Creswell Crags where I discovered the delight that was watermelon, very refreshing and something I will consider again in the future. I had lots of nice things through the race, for instance I had a 50 mile love affair with the Sainsbury’s (other supermarkets are available) summer fruits squash that was being supplied at the aid stations but would now be happy if I never encountered it again. I do not feel the same about water melon. More, more, more…. I’ve read and heard a lot over the years about the benefits of course familiarity and doing at least one recce but it was not until leaving the drop bag point for this second time that I began to realise how it would help. Ronnie has said in the briefing that they would try their very best to ensure that the tape moving bastards didn’t put anyone off route but I followed the tape at a left turn 400m past the check point and went about half a mile to a junction before I started questioning my direction and thinking I had missed something. Going back to the turning point I got even more confused as it seemed I had definitely gone the right way according to the tape and was about to return to the check point when a local participant, Malc (more on him later), came past and let me know that the tape must have been moved and pointed my in the right direction. So a quick move of the tape so other runners didn’t make the same mistake and a few expletives aimed at the phantom tape movers and I was on my way again. Over the next twenty miles things were pretty uneventful, because of my dip on the same section on the previous lap I was not particularly looking forward to it but kept on moving forward, despite a few aches and pains in my left foot, right ankle and both hips, but had changed to an 8 minute 2 minute run walk strategy. Leaving the family at the 70 miles aid station I wasn’t planning to see them until the last ten miles and in hindsight I think the unfamiliarity with the course started to take its toll here too as although I didn’t get lost it was tougher mentally in the dark to concentrate on going in the right direction. However there were 30 miles to go after 14.5 hours so if I could maintain pace I was still well under 21 hour pace which in honesty would have been a dream result but I left with full confidence. So I hit the canal again with 15 miles to go and still running happily at the 8-2 strategy as far as I remember but it wasn’t long until for whatever reason that I couldn’t get myself running again. I’m not sure not if it was just mental exhaustion and I should have manned up but the longer it went the more I stiffened up and the more painful my hips became. I was still cracking on at around 4 miles an hour but boy did that canal drag even with the knowledge that I would be seeing my Laura and it seemed to take forever to get to the end and the last aid station. I got to this aid station with 3.5 miles to go and 50 minutes to spare for a 100 mile pb fairly confident that I would be able to get finished in time but things didn’t go to plan. Now I was tired so I’m not going to say I was at fault but I’m convinced that the volunteers, who were all marvellous and undoubtably tired themselves, told me to go left over the bridge and then right at the pub which I obviously did. I’m not certain exactly how far along the road I went before contacting race HQ as I felt it wasn’t right and sure enough I soon had a text to go back the way I had come and by the time I got back to the checkpoint I only had twenty minutes to get through the last 3.5 miles for a PB so it was definitely not going to happen. It was obvious now that if I had just glanced left when crossing the bridge I would have seen the directional tape but such is life. I still had time to go a little off route again in the last 3.5 miles as I was too busy texting Laura to tell her of my woes but I’m actually, in a perverse way, glad these issues occurred as I bumped into Malc again and was happy to return the favour from earlier on as after a fall earlier on he was struggling at this point, was bent double and struggling to stay upright so we moved on together with me leading the way and him holding on to my shoulders so I could bear his weight. To be fair to him he urged me not to sacrifice my race for him but my PB was gone, a sub 24 hour was definitely going to happen which was, apart from just finishing, one of my targets but I would like to think that even it had meant sacrificing a bigger goal that I would have still done the same thing. It was lovely to meet him anyway and he now owes me a beer so all is good ;-) Anyway I was finished in 23 hours and 25 minutes with, thanks to my detours, 104 miles on the clock so all in all a favourable result and a lovely cup of soup and roll waiting for me at race HQ along with my family to help me change. I still can’t pinpoint, apart from the benefit of having course familiarity, how I could have improved my performance on race day as I still don’t think I could have maintained the pace for that last 15 miles so need to look more at my preparation and how that could improve if at all. Reality is that in June 2016 I struggled to do 85 miles in 24 hours at Endure and this June I did 100 miles comfortably at the same event in under 23 hours and I would have beaten that time in a physically and mentally harder event this time without the diversions so it could just be a case of carrying on as I am and the improvements will keep coming. For now I just need to be proud of my achievement, results aren’t out yet but I’m pretty sure I finished in the top 20% of the field pending results, and in the next few weeks have a chat with Ronnie and Laura and between us we will devise a plan to keep progressing in the future. Sorry if is long and boring but it will help me when I look back. Peace x

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