Monday 13 June 2016

To PB or not PB, that is the question.

The Viking Coastal marathon
Saturday 4th June
Minnis Bay, Birchington.

To Pb or not Pb, that is the question.
After last week's undulating run and orienteering experience with the 50km trail race, I was looking forward to what promised to be an easy run.
 The Viking Coastal marathon seemed like a dream, from the description on the Saxon shore website. Flat, fast and scenic, which sounded too good to be true! I imagined myself sprinting along the beautiful Kent coast route and gaining a new PB of 4 hours! Ha, ha, how wrong could I be!
It was a misty, murky morning down at Minnis Bay, slightly chilly but, as described pancake flat. The view was less than scenic, as the gloomy sky merged with the grey sea.
The route was an out and back loop to Reculver Towers, 3.25miles each way, repeated 4 times. After a cheerful welcome from Traviss and Rachel, the race organisers, I pinned my number on and got my place at the start. I cued up some music and we were off! I had already heard rumours about the mystic Reculver Towers that never seemed to get any closer and remembering the horrendous Dymchurch marathon back in Nov I tried to focus on my music and not the landscape or the towers of doom.
Soon enough I had completed lap 1 (6.58 miles) and I felt strong at my 9.30 min pace, I continued with the same pace for lap 2 and came in at 2.04 for 13 miles. At this pace I would definitely get a shiny new PB, I smiled to myself thinking how great that would be and how invincible I had become! I was on lap 3, full of determination, when my mind started to play tricks on me. I was obsessing about my new PB, pace, stamina and looking at my watch every 10 seconds! I started to worry about everything, so I tried to put my brain in the bin, less stress more zen like running, but by mile 15 I was seriously losing the plot! The flat boring route was featureless and barren and then at mile 18 my body decided to rebel against me. It started with stomach cramps and I couldn’t understand why, as I was fuelling and hydrating as normal but something definitely wasn’t right. I got back to HQ feeling most peculiar, but determined to carry on I picked up some more food and a bottle of diluted coke and water to take with me.
The illusive Reculver Towers 

Wonky Donkey.
I decided to walk run the last lap, Rachel was full of encouragement when I left and said I had plenty of time to get there and back. So off I walked, this proved to be even more boring than before, especially on the flat, featureless sea/landscape that lay in front of me. The sun had stayed firmly behind the thick grey cloud and there was not even a breeze off the sea. I was trying to enjoy my walk, listening and singing along to Florence and the Machine, but every time I decided I felt a bit better and tried to run I felt sick. My body temperature rose and my heart started racing! My stomach was still cramping and I wasn’t entirely sure if I was going to throw up or poop my pants, or both! I kept pushing on and I felt such relief that I nearly cried as I turned back from the towers one last time and started the return journey back to HQ.
Not enjoying the miles.

I received lots of support and encouragement from my fellow runners and I really did try to run the last 400m, but I just couldn’t keep it going. I crossed the finish line at 5.23 hours, not a disaster, but I was in a really bad way. I could barely walk or speak. I am ever so grateful to Traviss and Rachel for their kind words and of course the awesome medal and goody bag, but instead of staying to chat I just gathered all my stuff together and shuffled off quietly. My first stop was the toilet and my second stop was to wait for my lift to turn up. I sat on the grass, head on my knees, sobbing my heart out and drifting in and out of sleep.

By the time my mum arrived I was a snotty, dribbling mess, not quite the image of a chiseled, healthy, endurance runner that I was going for! I got into the car and somehow managed the 20 min drive back to mum's house without throwing up! Once at Mum's house I literally crashed out, into bed, fully clothed. I started to hallucinate spiders all over the bed, my legs were twitching and my stomach was still cramping. Mum kept an eye on me and every 30 mins came up with food and drink and asked if I was still alive to which I managed a groan or a grunt as a reply!

After several hours of delirium, tummy ache and mad spider hallucinations, Caz turned up. She got me washed and dressed and I thought I was feeling a little better, however the roast dinner that was put before me was left untouched, my mums infamous roast potatoes were left uneaten, as I had to crawl back upstairs to the bathroom. Eventually Caz got me back in the car and to our house, I went straight to bed. Not good, I had burned approx 3000 calories from running and as yet had not managed to put any fuel back in. I woke at 4am and drank a glass of diarlyte, then at 5.30am I got up and decided to chance a piece of toast and a cup of tea, more tummy pain followed, but I grabbed a hot water bottle and snuggled with my cat on the sofa for a few hours.
By 8am I was feeling a slightly better and started to eat little and often with lots of hydration drinks. Remarkably my legs were feeling fine, no aches or pains and gradually throughout the day I began to feel normal.
I worked so hard fro this one!

So the burning question is, why did this happen and how can I prevent it from happening again?
Exhaustion and not enough recovery between races - only 6 days between Ultra and marathon.
I Need to eat, drink and sleep more, if running long distant every weekend.
Start at a slower pace, no racing out at half marathon pace.
Walk/run earlier in race not as a last resort.
Give my body time to get used to multiple marathons.
Always sterilise bladder for hydration pack.
Take antibac gel to wash hands with.

Lots to take into account and review before the next marathon on 25th June, I have already consulted my coach, my nutritionist and a Reiki master to help me make the necessary changes to my diet, lifestyle and training. Writing about my racing experience always help me dissect the area’s that worked well or didn’t work at all and I strive to learn by my mistakes.
 I won’t let it put me off running marathons, as you know I’m one determined runner on a mission and this one bad marathon is just a minor blip in the bigger picture of 50 before 50.

This was my 2nd marathon of 10 for Dame Kelly Holmes. I am fundraising for 5 charities over the next 8 months, to help raise a total of £250,000. The charities are Myeloma Uk, Mind UK, Dame Kelly Holmes Trust, The Pickering Trust and The Hospice in the Weald.
Please see link below to visit my page and support/donate.
http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/VickyStapletonWale

#runtoryrun
#50before50
#10in8

Tuesday 7 June 2016

The lost and found.

Sussex Weald 50km
Sunday 29th May 2016

Sunday, Sunday.
Getting up at 5am is a usual occurrence for me due to my day job, but only monday to friday! As the alarm burst into life on sunday morning, I groaned!  As usual, not a cracking night’s sleep, only 4 hours the night before a race had not set me up for the 50km race I was due to start at 8am!
With everything laid out and prepared I rolled out of bed, got dressed and warmed up my porridge to eat on the way with my ever loyal (and very tolerant) girlfriend, who was up and ready to drive us Chiddingly, Sussex.
It was a crisp morning and the forecast was sunny and bright for the whole day, the race director was surprised at the keenness of the Ultra runners, queuing up early for their race numbers at the village school HQ. I spotted a few familiar faces from the 100 marathon club, so I said hi and we chatted for a while. After a quick briefing about lack of way markers and directional signage I was not left feeling very confident! I have the navigational skills of a dead Dodo and the thought of getting lost halfway round was worse than the thought of running 31 miles! The route was simple, follow the Weald Way for the 1st half and the Vanguard Way for the 2nd half, sounds easy right, but feeling worried I picked up a map & directions that had been supplied and tucked it into my pack.

The beautiful scenery of the Sussex Weald 50km.



Leader of the pack!
We all set off at 8am and soon my 10 min mile turned into a 9 min mile. Enjoying the country lanes, lush fields and the banter from the lively front runners, it's fair to say I got a bit carried away, but I was so worried about getting lost, that I kept pushing my pace to keep up. I made the 1st checkpoint in just over an hour and decided to stick to this strategy for the next section. I stuck to the middle of the pack over stiles, meadows of wildflowers and narrow paths brimming with stinging nettles. I felt strong and reached the 2nd checkpoint in just over 2 hours. It all changed after mile 13 (unlucky for some!), it was all uphill through the woods and by mile 15, I was drained! I vanished into a bush for a quick toilet break and when I returned to the trail, all I could see was miles of relentless uphill track! Far away I could see a line of tiny runners, like ants, jogging up the incline, the wind had picked up and it was working against me and that was it! My mind decided that enough was enough and all I wanted to do was stop, the constant negative chatter in my head was getting the better of me! “You can’t do this, you will never make it! You've still got 16 miles to go! Give up now!” These thoughts kept looping around my head for 2 uphill torturous miles. I walked, stopped, jogged, stopped and walked again until finally I got to the top of the hill! I crossed the road and realised I was now on the Vanguard Way and on the way back to HQ, I had made it and with new found energy I ran the next 2 miles blissfully down hill.  At mile 18, I was stopped in my tracks by a deer and her young jumping out in front of me! As I fumbled for my phone to take a photo, I realised I had spent most of the race concerned about keeping up with others, instead of looking up and appreciating my surroundings. I was by myself at this point and without sounding too cosmic, it was a special moment that changed my race.
The mental challenge started here.


You've lost that running feeling.
I made it to checkpoint 3 by myself and saw a few familiar faces and decided to plonk myself in with the larger group to run and keep on track with my sub 6 hour finish. I chatted away to some of my fellow runners, but by mile 22 the pack had split and a navigational error had occurred. Thankfully, I was not alone and somehow we worked out that we needed to cross the train track, climb up the nettle infested bank and turn left! I needed a compass, a machete and to embody all things Bear Grylls! This mistake cost me 2 miles and about 40 mins!
I was back on track, but my energy was draining fast, I shuffled to checkpoint 4 and realised my sub 6 hour finish was now out of reach! Most of the runners, at this point, were having a moan about getting lost in the same place, it turned out that the markers had been removed!
I was determined to push on, so I talked to a few runners about their own challenges and I tried to remember my own personal challenge of 10 marathons in 8 months, fundraising for 5 charities for Dame Kelly Holmes.
The sun was still shining and there was a mere 7 miles between me and the finish line, with one more checkpoint in between. By now, everything was hurting and every time I saw a stile I winced with pain! It was now the physical part of me that was defeated but thankfully the mind was strong!
Not another bloody stile!


The lost and found
I arrived at Checkpoint 5 to a large cheer, after a few slurps of water and a quick refuel I continued to the end of the lane and turned right and there sat my loving girlfriend. I was so pleased to see her that words just blurted out of my mouth, which didn’t make an awful lot of sense to her, but I was trying to download my experience so far as quickly as possible. I carried on running what seemed like the longest 3 miles ever and eventually the school HQ was in sight, supporters were cheering me in, but had nothing left in my legs for a sprint finish!  As I crossed the finish line, I felt elated and was so thankful that I could finally stop running!
I was handed my mug and medal and congratulated by the race director and marshalls, I then took my place at the side of the road and cheered in my fellow runners.
Within 5 mins and after a good coffee and some very delicious gluten free cake, I felt alive and surprisingly unbroken and I conversed and laughed with other finishers about the best and worst bits of the 50km! Would I do it again? Maybe, but next year I’ll just do the half…….
Chuffed I made it back and claimed my medal and mug.


Later as I reminisced about how awesome the day had been, I was overcome with a huge sense of achievement and satisfaction. Not only had I completed the 50km trail race, only getting lost once is still a miracle, but I also ran the 1st of 10 marathons that I had committed to run for Dame Kelly Holmes. I am fundraising for 5 charities over the next 8 months, to help raise a total of £250,000. The charities are Myeloma Uk, Mind UK, Dame Kelly Holmes Trust, The Pickering Trust and The Hospice in the Weald.
Please see link below to visit my page and support/donate.
http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/VickyStapletonWale

#runtoryrun
#50before50
#10in8

My next race is The Viking Coastal Marathon on 4th June.