Loch Ness Marathon 2013

Bling...

 Will I?  Won't I? Should I?  Shouldn't I?  Can I really be bothered?  All of those questions were going through  my head for 2 weeks after Glenmore.  I don't know if I was just tired, or whether it was just the slump after having such a phenomenal experience at the G24 Trail Race but I really didn't want to go to Loch Ness.  It was probably exacerbated by the fact that John is still suffering with his achilles injury and there was no way he was going to get to race - He got the great news last Wednesday that he had secured a place in next year's Boston marathon, but he had hoped to get a good time at Loch Ness to improve his starting postition... he's not been able to run properly since July and although he's putting a brave face on it ( most of the time ), you cen tell he's hurting :-(
I was also, I think, feeling a wee bit guilty that I'd had a good couple of months running when he wasn't able to and whilst he's a great supporter, I still know that he'd rather be running!

As last week wore on, I guess I made up my mind that I'd go - we decided to wait til mid week and see how his leg was, before deciding as we'd had a great wee day out to Cumbrae last weekend and had taken the ferry over from Largs, run round the island, 10miles, then got the ferry back.  He didn't seem to have too much of a reaction so was hopeful that he'd be fit enough to pace me round even though he couldn't race for himself.  Our accomodation was booked and paid for so I would have lost the money had we not gone and we decided on Thursday that we'd go and chatting on facebook to a friend who was doing Loch Ness as her first marathon almost got me excited about it...

We headed up the road on Saturday morning leaving in a real Autumn mist, but it cleared by the time we got to Aviemore where we couldn't get into our venue of choice for lunch so made do with a second rate offering in another establishment - to which I probably won't return.
A horrendous traffic jam getting into the city, caused by a broken down car held us up for a good 40minutes, but we got to Bught park in glorious sunshine and registered and picked up our numbers.  Caught up with Fiona and Pauline, Ailsa and Krysia as we wandered about then headed to our guesthouse then out to dinner.  I slept well on Saturday night, though I dreamt that John wasn't going to run with me as planned, and true enough when he got up his achilles was grumbling - I blame the traffic jam and sitting with his foot in one place for so long :-(  We had an early breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage & tomato - John also had mushrooms and beans :-)  Many of the other runners were tucking into porridge and banana or toast, and were giving us some strange looks, but each to their own!
Just like New York and Niagara Falls marathons, you get bussed to the start so it was off early to get the buses, a wee jog along the road and John knew that it wasn't a day for a run, so a quick reorganising of the stuff that he'd been taking in his bag and we headed across to the buses.  On the way we bumped into the lovely Emma so I had company on the journey to the start - you're an hour and a bit to Fort Augustus then up the hill to the start line - this has to be the most spectacular start line of my 15 marathons - eat your heart out NYC!

start line

A quick hug and a hello with the superfast couple that is Owen and Lindsy then Emma and I met Audrey and we got into the start corral.  Secret here is to huddle in and keep warm, it wasn't cold, it was a bit windy being on top of the mountain though!

The race started and we were off - it's quite something to cross the start mats and have the pipe band playing on either side of the road :-)

The first 5 miles is pretty much all downhill, and we went off way too fast!  Even though I know not to and would remind anyone that, I still did it!  Faster than I have ever run in my life!  Crazy!  But I was loving it!  We were very quickly on the sheltered side of the mountain and the wind disappeared, the sun was out and it was really warm, but it was such a glorious morning to be out running!  Some awesome downhills meant I managed to motor on and was through the 10mile and half marathon mark faster than I've ever been before.  I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but I am the most awful pacer ever!  I just can't do it :-(  My strategy, such as it was, was to be disciplined and run/walk and I managed this well until about mile 15 when the run intervals got a wee bit shorter, but I did still manage to keep the walk intervals to 30seconds and was recovering fine in that time.  The famous 'monster hill' is at mile 18 and the signs before it are amusing but the hill itself isn't so bad, it's just a long, long uphill, the hills between miles 5 and 7 are much steeper though shorter.  I coped well with the hills, keeping my run/walk going and 'ultra marching' when necessary - I was surprised at how many people I passed who were running albeit slowly up the hills when I was doing my 'ultra march' but I felt strong and managed to keep it going.  Up the hill at mile 19 and I could feel a butterfly in my left calf muscle - the muscle was twitching but wasn't sore, just 'fluttering'.  Some nice downhill stretches to keep me going and a best ever time for 20miles as well.  I was feeling confident that I was going to get a new PB - I was hoping to go under 5hours for the first time ever, my PB being 5:02:38 and doing the sums in my head I felt I was maybe going to get about 4:57ish.  At mile 22 a lady in front of me stopped dead - her right calf was completely solid and poor soul, she couldn't move, she couldn't put her foot down, she couldn't walk never mind run!  Then, at mile 23 the butterfly returned wearing pit boots and he brought his friend with him!  Both calves were twitching and cramping!  I was terrified that I was going to suffer the same fate as the poor woman I'd seen up the road and I was determined to keep on moving I wasn't going to have to pull up - even if it did mean no PB :-(

It was good to see John at this point as felt better for shouting to him that it was "fkn sore!"  The last 2 miles really were run as hard as I could in short bursts then slow down to try to prevent the cramp seizing!  Along the riverside and over the bridge then the last turn of the course, a sharp left onto some cobbles wasn't pretty and the first of a few involuntary squeals and perhaps a wee sweary word were uttered.  All the way along here I was checking my watch and trying to do the sums, was I going to make it?  I knew it wasn't all that far to the finish but it seemed like a long, long way and a couple of times I did have to stop for a second to squeeze my left leg to keep it moving, at this point I reckoned I'd no chance of a good time any more.  Past the last marshalls and there's the big inflatable Nessie, this is about 200m or so from the finish and I could see the clock which said 5:02:something so I knew it would be close because that was the gun time and the chip time would be a wee bit faster.  I pushed even harder at this point - not for the time now, but because there was a  bloke in front of me!  A much younger bloke at that, and those of you who know me well, know that I can't help it, I have to try my hardest to pass him - I don't know why, I can't help it but by god it doesn't half spur you on when you think that there's nothing left :-)  In the end I did beat him by a good few seconds, and his pal :-)

John thought I'd got under 5, but my Garmin said 5:00:06 so I wasn't convinced, but I did know I'd got a new PB regardless!  In the end my time was 5:00:01 which has amused John as he's been teasing me about 2 seconds ever since but I'm not upset about it, there were lots of places I could have saved those 2 seconds - I had to stop for a pee and couldn't 'go' any faster!  I maybe could have kept running instead of stopping to rub my calf but I was so terrified of a total seizure!  I should have pushed past some folk that I stopped behind for a second or two... and so you can go on and on, but at the end of the day, I got a new PB and I'm in one piece today, so my 15th marathon was, in my book, a success.
This is not the most flattering race photo (are any of them?) but I'm quite proud of it, I was hurting like hell and I think possibly squealing again at this point - or uttering an expletive (or both) but I was still working as hard as I could.

Ouch!!!

 

 

34/31 yeah... I know, I know, those poor old legs...

yep you did read that right, 34/31 ie I've been running for 34 days - well it kinda goes like this...
Day 32 was New Year's Day and the lovely people at Strathclyde parkrun had put on a New Year's Day parkrun so it was only polite to go along and support and thank them for giving up their time, providing mulled wine, lovely goodies for post run nibbles and a chance to get the cobwebs blown away as you head back round Strathclyde Loch at kilometre 3!  This run was an exercise for me in keeping a consistent pace which is something I'm not very good at and need to work really hard at, so I was pleased with a respectable enough time, but even more pleased with a fairly flat line on the Garmin stats - this shows my pace was consistent, only increasing in the last 500m which was a big breakthrough for me in my head if nowhere else.
Then, 2nd January 2013 - yes it WAS only yesterday!  It feels like ages ago!  We went to Lenzie to take part in the Lenzie Jog - what a great wee event, well done to Kirkintilloch Olympians, who even managed to organise almost perfect running conditions :-)  as well as soup, roll and shortbread for after all for £1!  I opted for the single loop of the course, 4.5km John and some friends did 2 loops but I decided that one would be enough for me and hopefully I could build on my success from parkrun and manage another reasonably consistent run.  I not only managed it I finished in the top 25% of a race for the first time in  my life :-)  These are for some folk, minute achievements but they mean a lot to me and that's what it's all about.
I have set my goals for 2013, and along with the desire to continue to lose weight and get fit, my A goal this year is to complete the Highland Fling Ultra  27th of April and still be upright and possibly even smiling.  I would also like to achieve PBs at various distances so with discipline and consistency I'm hoping to hit them all.
So, today it was back to work, and I really wasn't sure whether to stop for a couple of days and then resume training at the weekend, although I woke with tired legs, I found myself packing a bag this morning. I'm not in my usual office until Monday, I'm working with the police in Larbert so as the sun came out at lunchtime, I found myself changed and off out for a wee explore of 'die umgebung' (one of my favourite German words).
I was only away half an hour and it was a stiff old pair of legs that slowly plodded the first km but picked up a wee bit for the next 2.5km and I felt heaps better after I'd done.  I thought I'd found a wee path back but it was a bit brambly and although I just thought I'd got a couple of wee scratches at the time, it transpires the back of my left leg is now covered in rather large weals - oops!
Ach well I'll put some germolene on them later :-)
I don't know what I'll do tomorrow, whether I'll take my shoes again or whether I'll rest, I think I am just going to listen to my body and if it feels up for it well we'll see...
I have entered 2 races in the past few days, the D33 ultra - well it opened early on Hogmanay and I was at the computer at the time... and the Devilla Forest 15k so I have a couple of shorter term goals now to look forward to before the Alloa Half Marathon and the ultimate goal for this year The Highland Fling.
More about them nearer the time, and back to fitcamp on Monday!
To those of you who don't go back to work until Monday enjoy the last few days of your holiday, personally I'm quite happy to have gone back on a Thurs as it makes the first week back a lot easier to get through when it's only 2 days long :-)

When is a PB not a PB?

When you run a race and get the time, but you're not registered to run the race - so someone else gets the time :-)
My friend Margaret had entered the Cumbernauld 10k but was unable to run it due to family commitments.  I had been struggling with a grotty head cold all week and was due for a 9mile run today, but decided to run the 10k instead.  The motivation and effort of the race gave me much more than I would have got from plodding round on my own and the first time under an hour 59:06 was an added bonus :-)
So I got the PB in that I know that I ran the distance in the time, but it's not recorded against my name anywhere.
It was a great race, a good course, and a very well organised event - well done NL leisure!

Last weekend was the Great Scottish Run 10k and Half Marathon, lots of our running buddies were doing one or other of the races, so it was a good crowd of us who headed off to Glasgow on a nice morning for a run.  Everyone acquitted themselves very well, I didn't get a new PB that time, but I woke up in the morning knowing I was starting with the cold so took it steady and treated it like a good solid 13mile training run, which it was.  I was only a couple of minutes outside my pb for a Half so not at all disappointed with the effort.  After we'd all caught up with each other, a few of us headed off to the old Templeton's carpet factory now a German microbrewery and pub/restaurant where the non drivers ( I was driving ) enjoyed sampling the local produce and the food was also very good :-)  We had a great couple of hours socialising and catching up on each others tales.  So much so that they have organised another post-race social for after next week's Stirling 10k.
I'm not running this race next week, my program has my longest run on it for next weekend, 22miles!  I will do this on the Saturday and then I can support and socialise on the Sunday.  So hopefully today blew away most of my head cold, and I can get another good week's training in this coming week, next race is Loch Ness 10k on 30 September and then it's Taper Time....

Back Again! :-)

It's a bit of a cliche but it is true... What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, and having just finished my 4 week stint as a Guinea Pig, I am not dead, but I AM stronger!!  Mentally and physically stronger, more aware of the strength of my body and the limits I can push it to - this has paid off in my running and I am delighted, as this was the initial purpose of trying to lose weight and get fitter.
I have thoroughly enjoyed the last 4 weeks of training with John Allan and Pamela Halkett of PinPoint Fitness really nice people who can motivate and push you to just grind out "one more" :-)
I've made some new friends along the way and have enjoyed the banter and am grateful for their encouragement and support.  They have all done brilliantly, with lbs and inches coming off all over the place :-)

Since I last blogged about running here, we have done the Hoka Highland Fling - what a day!! The weather gods took pity on us and we had almost perfect racing weather, not too warm but not too cold, hardly any wind and enough sunshine to warm your bones.  I am totally in awe of my amazing husband who ran the full course, 53 miles from Milngavie to Tyndrum, in 12hours and 13 minutes!  He was incredible shape when he finished, lucid, smiling and injury free!
Our friends and colleagues Janette, Rab and Colin ran the relay with me and we all had fantastic runs, we finished in a combined time of 11hours and 50minutes which I am delighted with.  On a personal note, the climb up Conic hill which took me 1hr 30 in March, took me 1hr 10 on race day and I got to Rowardennan 18minutes faster than I had the last time.

On Friday  past I ran the Black Rock 5 race with a group of friends from Falkirk parkrun  it is a slightly crazy race out onto the beach and round a rock before the tide comes in!  It was freezing cold but great fun, and yes I'm looking forward to doing it again next year... It's quite a sight to see all the runners streaming across the sand.

I am really enjoying my running at the moment, this is probably due to the fact that I lost 8lbs on my Guinea Pig journey and this means there's less to move over the ground so makes it a much more pleasant experience.  I feel so much stronger too which means I don't tire so quickly and I am running faster than I have ever run before so I am hoping that this bodes well for my next race which is the Women's 10k in Glasgow this coming Sunday.  Fingers crossed that all goes well as I'd really like to get another new PB at this one, I'd like to keep the chain going.
My leg is behaving itself at the moment, it's the usual tired-sore after a run, but no new pain or swelling etc so hopefully all is calm for a while to come.
I had a wee moment of madness after the Highland Fling, and put in an entry for the Devil of the Highlands, this is the 43 mile ultra which John ran last August and is the second half of the West Highland Way from Tyndrum to Fort William... I am officially on the waiting list so here's hoping I get a place - the first 3 on the waiting list have already got places - eeek!  This will mean a bit more intense long distance training over the next few weeks, but it will set me in good stead for the Marathon in Toronto in October even if I don't get the place on the Fling.
So that's enough for now, will try to update reasonably regularly over the coming months and record what we get up to :-)

Update

you can tell I've not had much to say... it's been 2 weeks since I posted anything :-/
Catching up from my last post, John did smash his PB at Parkrun, 19mins!!! Wow he was flying down the finish and got into a little bit of a sprint for the line with a young guy who took the win by about 1 sec! I don't know if he had intended to sprint for the line, but I was marshalling and when I saw him flying towards us I was screaming encouragement and he responded :-) I think he also got a personal best for the number of insects stuck to his face and neck - Yuck!!
We went for a drive on the Sunday and did a wee recce of the marathon course, I was allowed to jog/walk 100m at a time, I did about 2 miles like that and was reasonably happy that the healing was progressing well. Monday at lunchtime I went to the gym and did a couple of miles on the bike and then a mile on the treadmill, again jog walking intervals and feeling ok.
Tues evening I decided not to go to Bootcamp as we'd had a day of very heavy rain and the grass was slippy and I thought the risk of slipping and maybe tweaking my leg was too great - also I was late finishing work and very tired. I allowed John to convince me to go to they gym, even though I was really tired, and settled down on the treadmill and yes he was right, I did start to enjoy it and feel better for the exercise. Then, PING!!!! Something went pop in my calf... it was a quick hop along on the treadmill as I hit the emergency stop button!
Fortunately there was no great pain, some numbness but I could walk and stretch reasonably easily. Following morning was very tender and a gentle exploration and treatment from physio reassured me that nothing seemed to have torn, it was most probably scar tissue releasing. Needless to say more taping took place and a lot of hobbling ensued - as well as a fair degree of worry and stress :-(
Further treatment on Friday and instructions to repeat the rehabbing I'd been doing and take it easy, lots of rest ice etc etc.
Managed back on the treadmill on Monday although I was petrified! I couldn't relax and was just waiting for the Ping! Physio made me laugh on Tues, she assures me that that is the mindset of an elite athlete - I asked for his legs!!
I am conscious that this is becoming lengthy and boring so will stop soon... We picked up our friend at Edinburgh Airport yesterday afternoon, he has come over from Canada to run on Sunday with us. It is great to see him again, and hopefully today we are going to take him up to Aberdeen and show him where his ancestors live - we have managed to research his family for him back to the late 1700s.
Weather for marathon is not great, it's been really stormy here all week with gale force winds and rain and still meant to be same on Sunday...
I woke early this morning and decided to try to jog a little this morning so I went out and managed 3km slow jogging with walk breaks at start, and whilst it wasn't exactly the greatest run I've ever had, it was the best I've had for 3 weeks!!
OK going to stop here it's just a bit of a ramble today :-)