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P&D Spring Marathon 2021
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Echo was done...those things take quite a long time, it turns out. I won't know more until mine has been analysed and then I will have a phone consult with a doctor, no idea when. I'm hoping all is normal. Just been reading some posts from a guy in a Facebook running group who had a silent heart attack during a half marathon. Just felt a bit of chest tightness and carried on, finished the race and only went to A&E a bit later. They kept him in and put a stent in him. Scary.
Good work giving something back with the marshalling, Macca. Not buying me cruising past you, it was most definitely the other way round in 2019 😃.
What a view from your campsite! Did you take the tent with you or hire there? The photos truly are stunning. You make it sound so casual, but I know what a feat qualifying for never mind running it. Amazing. I can certainly imagine one would want a proper toilet after 50M 😆. Love the glacier photo in particular.
TR agreed with the train in summer race in cool autumn🤞. Let’s have a wee chinwag in the FGFA zone.
Hope the cold is ok, Kate. ‘Got ill, did 7M to recover’ - you’ll fit in ok round here 😆.
Interesting post, Westy. WFH/summer break etc certainly removed some of the structure for me which also led to more drinking. Funnily enough, one week back at school and I haven’t drunk since Sunday. Easily longest time since April. Always find the first non-drinking eve the hardest. Hope Wilmslow goes well.
11 is late, Cal. Hope it is a cooler day by then.
Yesterday afternoon saw 24, 18, 12, 6, 4, 2, 2 mins going from MP down to 5k. 3 mins recoveries until last couple which were 2 mins. Didn’t look at paces but felt about right, although very conscious of not overdoing the quick stuff with hamstring remaining tight. 18M at 7.15 average. No long run this week, so dovetailed reasonably well.
TR - I had to google butt cake - not what I was expecting!
In terms of racing for position, the AS at Courmayeur was my best section of the race where I gained 138 places by not sitting down as long as others ! Ironic then that here my stomach decided to go on strike. I had around 2kg of food in my drop bag and I didn’t fancy any of it. I forced some flapjack and malt loaf down and put a few bits in my pockets but the same food I was chomping at the bit to eat in the days leading up to the race, I could hardly look at now. I did wonder if it was the water from the fountain but who knows.
Straight out of Courmayeur a lung busting 5km climb of around 800m begins. 90 mins later I reached Refuge Bertone followed by a flattish 4miles up the valley with the slopes of the Mount Blanc Massif to the left towards the climb of Grand Col Ferret at 2,537m.
Courmayeur
View from Grand Col Ferret backwards
Whilst run/walking up the valley it became apparent that without getting some food onboard I would soon be running on fumes. On reaching Arnouvaz AS I sat down, near a doorway just in case, and forced some food down. It stayed down and my stomach seemed to settle. Whilst the climb up to Grand Col Ferret is long, 1hr 42m, it is rewarded with passage from Italy to Switzerland and 6 miles of downhill to the next AS, largely all runnable.
La Fouly at mile 70, was reached in just under 24hrs. Now craving more carbs, I grabbed a rice soup to go. It was awful, it felt like eating rubber chippings in warm water. With no bin in sight and not wanting to just throw it I thought about putting it in my pocket but elected to eat it which took a mile or so but probably added a bit more fuel to the tank.
I can’t remember where exactly but there were several occasions where I could see people, sitting motionless by the path in the middle of nowhere. During the time it took me to reach them they wouldn’t move an inch. It was only when I was right upon them that I would realise they were tree stumps with branches for arms and one even had quite striking trailing weeds for hair. My only concern was that it was a bit early for this sort of nonsense and what would the 2nd night bring.
The gentle descent on good paths continued before a short but seemingly eternal climb through woods to Champex-Lac, 78 miles and 26hrs 27mins. I had now gained around 2hrs on my previous time, largely through efficient AS visits but also around 5mins consistently between AS. Someone recommended a fruit tart to me whilst remarking I looked a bit dazed. It was fantastic, I could have eaten the whole tray. Buoyed by this I “passed” around 50 people in the AS and continued my journey in the fading daylight around the picturesque lake. I had only ever been here in the dark so this was one of my targets now ticked off, to see it in daylight. With the brief stop at the AS, I could now feel the evening chill so donned a base layer but not before accepting Haribo off some strangers.
Darkness descended quite quickly in the next wooded section and not for the first time I was asked where my batons were (walking sticks). With a slightly stiffening back from the climbs I was wondering if sticks would help but I didn’t have any.
A bit more climbing and descending and the fairly lively, for midnight, town of Trient was reached at mile 88m. A quick in and out, filling up a bag with cut up bits of mars or marathon, I can’t remember which in the haste to throw them down my neck.
Another long steep climb ensued where at the top the border from Switzerland back into France is reached and then a descent into Vallorcine. Last time out I reached this after daybreak so it was nice to reach it in the dark, almost 34hrs into the race. From here, its one last big climb to La Tete aux Vents.
It was still dark, which for me, not having a head for heights, was probably a good thing because I knew there were some steep drops to the side of the path. So whilst quite a few people skipped past, I was holding onto rocks where I could…….think gecko. The last thing I needed therefore was the tell-tale blinking of my headtorch signalling the battery was about to go. Whilst it slipped into power save mode, I strapped my back-up headtorch on. Even with two headtorches the ground was not well lit. I tried to work out the time of day from the elapsed time and kept coming up with different answers, forgetting that my fancy race watch also told the time. I had two concerns now, breaking an ankle in the poor light and getting pulled at the next AS for having a birthday candle strapped to my head. It did cross my mind to bed down until sunrise but it was cold and fortunately, the sky slowly brightened on the horizon and the sun appeared.
By now I was at La Flegere, which strangely reminds me of the Overlook in The Shinning, a mere 5 miles, all downhill, from the finish and barring disaster, a sub 40hr finish was in the bank, the only question by how much.
The first part of the descent through woods is stone and root strewn. Despite doing my best to concentrate on foot placement and lift, on more than one occasion I could feel my toes underneath a tree root, like an evil vine from a horror film trying to grab me. However, with no actual tumbles I made it down to Chamonix, gaining a few places in the process.
Two years ago, finishing at around 11am, the town was packed and the finish was completely overwhelming. This time, at 7.30am, there was, unsurprisingly, hardly anybody about. At odd times in the previous 38hrs I had thought about how I would finish, arms aloft, airplane mode weaving side to side, heart shaped fingers, I couldn’t decide. Most of the scenarios in my head involved me blubbering. So, in some ways, without a crowd to play to, it was fitting, just me and the finish line, to finish in a simple fashion, just running, hopefully strongly. And I did. 38hrs 43mins 1sec for 505th place.
I was chuffed to better my previous time by almost 3hrs. I was also chuffed that I had finished in better shape and had been able to absorb much more of the event in a positive fashion, especially the later stages. A couple of sections where I hadn’t eaten well had been tough but they passed and despite 18min miling telling me otherwise, I began to believe I was almost a mountain goat in the last couple of miles of descent, however, that was probably my mind playing tricks again.
Loved the whole experience.
The Chamonix valley and that wider Savoie region is fantastic, I would live there if I could. Winter is magic but I think summer tops it as it is so much more accessible. Wetted my thirst for 2022 OCC and a training camp I am planning for next Spring.
SQ - ooh nice, i was going to do that session, but decided not to with the 13m mp run tomorrow, i couldnt do both. Look fwd to seeing you in FGFA
Macca - cracking report part 2, you are a machine. Great that you coped so well and can remember the experience so well, the bit about seeing tree trunks as people and posdible hallucinations is like the RAAM tales you read of. I hope to see you at vlm too.
The thing with the stumps made me laugh...I know people see things when they're tired but I always see things in my peripheral vision. There's one house I pass on every run that has an old paint can on a path. I know it's a paint can, yet every single time I run past it I check to see if it's a cat.
I was pleased to see my old parkrun friend Tunde there (I met him on the tram to South Norwood a couple of years back and we've done a few parkruns together since). I'd not seen him since before the pandemic so it was good to meet up again. He also gave me a lift home which was nice of him and meant I didn't have to get the train back (although I'd already got a ticket).
The parkrun itself was pretty standard for my current form - made it 27:01 on my watch but it was upgraded to 26:58 in the results (I was slightly annoyed as I need a :00 for my parkrun bingo - part of the tourist running challenges - but it's nice to get a sub-27 anyway). It's not an especially busy parkrun so I also nabbed first in my age group and 7th lady.
TR - great work on the 13.1, does remind us all that sometimes it’s the long game we have to play.
SQ - A brisk LR slipped in there, well done.
Cal - Well done on the PR, and good luck (if I read that right) with the half today.
John - good to hear from you. Maybe a post lockdown thing but as much as I wanted to push myself, I also wanted to suck in the whole experience and I’m quite pleased with the balance, although as you say, the mind wonders to where time could be shaved off.
OO - you’re probably right on winter/summer accessibility. I’m not qualified to give advice but if I did it all over, in a perfect world, getting out there for a training camp would be top of the list so well done on that and trying to get out a few days early to acclimatise to the altitude, I’ve read some advice to take a trip up a cable car to help with that.
At risk of turning the thread into your grandparents holiday slideshow I just wanted to slip in a pic of Mount. Blanc (smooth white peak in centre) taken with the help of a cable car at 3,800m, the day after the race. Just walking up a flight of stairs at this altitude left me working hard for breath and a bit light headed.
Excellent picture macca. I think you pace that just right, quick enough to set a pb but eady enough to enjoy and savour the experience. If you had gone too hard too early you might have ruined all of that.
Cal - running can be a rollercoaster and yours is in a bit of a dip at the mo. You need your test results, so you can either relax and move on, or follow any medical advice.
Turbo hour today
Cal - I didn't realise you didn't get results on the day, hopefully it won't be too long to wait. I know it'd be playing on my mind if I was in your position and I expect that alone is impacting on your running atm. Has the deferral date gone for Manchester? I can understand why you don't fancy it at the moment especially with the late start.
TR - a good week out in the three week out test!
I followed up Thursday's club session with 11 GA Friday, 4 recovery Saturday and a 20 mile long run Sunday progressing up to mp+25% to+10% which was a good confidence boost. Just deciding how to approach this week, for me the 42 miles on the plan seems quite a lot so I may cut down a bit more, will be racing just over five miles on Sunday morning as part of relay. Will probably combine this into a longer run. Looking forward to this weeks Event Guide.
Excellent training HM TR.
Loved the UTMB report & photos Macca.
Sorry to hear you're still struggling Cal.
I feel similarly challenged at the moment, so very glad I deferred Brighton.
Did another new (to me) parkrun Saturday & a 2nd 10 miler on Sunday which saw me over 50 for the week. In spite of the reduced mileage & hills I still ache all the time.
22:34 at Stratford Park parkrun, Stroud got me 6th place! It's a 3 lap, mostly grass, course with c130' of climb each mile! Only 1st went sub20 with 19:52 - he's about 2 minutes quicker than that on the flat courses of Gloucester at the moment so puts my time in to perspective.
John - sounds like you can trsin ok still, that 84min solo is decent.
Kate - those +10% sections are key, once tapered they must equate to around mara effort. I like it as a long run pace.
Jools - sounds like all your exploits have caught up with you, and you've burned too many matches and both ends if your candle !
10m home last night, 10m back this morning inc 14x3min session, av pace was a bit slow probably due to saturdays mp run. Going to put a few strides in most runs now to try to free up my hip/bum-cake which feels like it needs to get moving. Thinking of using the deferred 10k number i have for sunday, might be a good idea to do a normalish race as vlm is going to be a shock numbers wise after airfield time trialling. Depends upon if i can get moving better by then.
TR, hope you can get your arse sorted!
Kate...nope, still waiting. I suppose if they'd spotted a widowmaker or some other serious issue on the echo, I wouldn't have been allowed to go home...so hopefully it's nothing bad. But then that begs the question, why am I so rubbish at the moment?
Speaking of which... I took an extra day off yesterday (although I went to the gym) so hoped I could get a decent run in today, but sadly, no...legs were like lead and it felt way harder than it should have so I bailed after 3 miles. I have had a run of very poor sleep (particularly the night after the race) which is likely the reason, but I don't feel great. I'm hoping I'll be OK for my Saturday 10K as it's a fun race.
I had a look back over my runs from 2017 which was another year where I had a big performance drop, but while my parkruns were as slow as they are now, my training paces were still a good deal better.
I think I'm going to can Manchester - I am not ready, physically or mentally, and I don't want to heap extra misery upon myself in the form of an 11am start. I will have a bash at Ealing, though.
13m home yday, rare 5 and 5 double today to ensure my bike is at the correct end of the commute for tomorrow. Put a few strides in to try to help free the hip up.
Westy- that looks like a decent result, not where you used to be but given injuries etc on an upward curve.
A good swerve on Brighton TR and Jools - I was getting emails pleading for volunteers for some quite big shifts, can’t help but wonder if that was a factor somewhere.
TR - a 10k race 2 weeks out sounds good if the hip plays ball, hopefully you can sort it out, consistent consistency as per usual.
Trying to maximise recovery here, with the odd session. Scratching around for covid positives, I won a works 10k trophy in 2019 and I’ll be hanging onto it until 2022 ! 3 years undefeated (uncontested🤣).
After a mile warm-up I did the parkrun and felt fine (I did have my concerns as I've been sluggish all week and felt a bit spacey yesterday). I opted not to push too much but to stay around 9 minute pace, so I came in at 28:17, which was well down the filed but at least top of my age group...Mile End has a young demographic so there were only three VW50s anyway.
Walked from there to Victoria Park for the Pride 10K, which turned out to be a couple of miles (but it's a nice walk along the canal).
There was a reasonable gap between the two events but I certainly felt more like sitting on the grass than running a race at that point...didn't help that it was over 20 degrees by then, too. But no excuses. It was diabolical. I ended up over 1 hour and 1 minute. I've not been over an hour for a 10K since I started doing races. Yes I did a parkrun first, but I did that in 2019 (and equalled my PB at the parkrun then got my second fastest 10K time despite very windy weather). I wasn't expecting much this time, but I'd expect to be somewhat under an hour.
I held 9 minute pace for the first mile but got steadily worse (looking at my Garmin stats, I go from 180 cadence and 1m stride length for the first mile down to 167 cadence and 0.9 stride length for mile 6). First mile was OK but then legs got worse and worse. No phantom chest pains or anything like that...I just couldn't run.
The best thing I can say about this run is that I really, really wanted to give up and walk, but I didn't (although I stopped briefly to drink from a water fountain on the last lap as there was no water in this race and it was warm).
Once I got through the finish I had to sit on the grass for a bit to recover. I was done. Although I then had to walk 2 miles back to Mile End tube, of course.
My diet's decent and I've actually slept OK this week (I still wake up a few times per night, but I've managed over 7 hours for a few nights now) so I'm running out of things to blame. Still haven't heard back from the cardiologist but the fact they've been slow makes me think there's nothing very serious going on. So I'm mystified.
I'm not sure about Ealing now...I can't face another awful half marathon but the optimistic part of me still thinks I should give it a shot (but maybe not do parkrun the day before). I don't know. I'm wondering if I should concentrate on parkruns and 5Ks for the time being as it's speed endurance that seems to be the problem. I would definitely appreciate any thoughts as I'm not quite ready to throw my trainers in the bin and take up knitting.