Get me!!!!!

I went on a boris bike today, I asked my workmate to escort me as he cycles in regularly and we cycled to Liverpool Street and back. And...........it was alright. I didn't feel particularly bad about being on the road in London, I just would never have found my way there alone.

(you can all pretend to be shocked at that if you dont mind)

Anyway, plan is to go out at lunchtime a couple more times on my own to make sure I have it properly sussed and then whenever I need to I can do that bit of the commute by bike. My ultimate aim is to be able to do the whole commute on my own bike but you have to start somewhere dont you. Just imagine how useful a cycle of 13 miles each way would be for IM training. Not I think that I would manage it everyday.

Anyway I'm training for a flipping 100 miler not an IM right now, I should be running it :D

Sooooooo, how am I feeling after the 50? Just tired. I am a broken record I know. I feel very run down and maybe I am, I do have a very attractive facial rash caused by too much sweating. But on the plus side I am sure I did not injure anything. My big toe is a bit sorry for itself but tbh I dont care about it anymore it can do what it wants :)

I have read a number of race reports about the 100 and they dont put me off. They do make me glad the one I am doing is flat. I am rubbish at hills. Ask anyone. I am quite excited about running in the dark which may make me a bit wierd but then given the event is in March it barely gets light does it?

No events this weekend. I will train obv but maybe I will make it light training, say some OW on sat and a nice cycle on Sunday. I get upset if I dont do anything at the weekends because they are designed for exercise arent they!

Someones bound to ask me, Henry is fine after last weeks exertions. He is getting himself a bit of a fan club and I had to remove an intruder on Sunday night (pint glass, envelope underneath) she didn't want to go and I had to chase her round the room a bit, I guess I will have to get used to this now, but honestly he is very shy and not looking for anyone......HE'S MINE :)))))

Back to the future!!!!!

As you can see, in 2012 I ran the North Downs Way 50 miler,
You might wonder how I managed that, but see, I do have a friend who is a scientist and owns a DeLorean (although tests have revealed a top speed of only 85 mph which is not quite the required 88)

Joking aside, this was one of the toughest challeneges I have faced, but I am delighted to have done it. I wanted to see before the 100 next year how I would fare on a point to point as opposed to laps (I have done too many laps lately) I took my trusty sherpa Mr H, and we set of at 3.45am to go somewhere in Surrey.

We arrived about 5.15 and I duly registered and signed the form. I sort of listened to the briefing and took from it that I was following the NDW. With no deviations WHATSOEVER. Cool. I check my back pocket. Henry is there.

Saw Ogee and Matt and Mel and Dave and before I knew it we were off. It was light but only just so it all felt a bit surreal. But also very crowded for the first few miles because it was 50 and 100 milers all together. I just sort of switched off really and followed people.

I intended a 25/5 so after 25 I stopped to walk and it felt like everybody else went by me! Probably not though. Anyway the first few hours were pretty uneventful, I was aware of it being very humid so I tried to drink lots...I was carrying a rucksack so had plenty of water with me. I also had some haribo sweets with me for emergencies :-)

Past cp1 at 6.6 miles, feeling good, got to cp2 at 13.1 miles......didn't even notice going that far, had a gel and some coke and set off again feeling fine. I think here is where you start going up into the woods (I might be wrong I am well known for my goldfish memory) but a number of people told me about the steps at Box Hill.

I can confirm that they are there and at first it reminded me of the ones at Beachy Head. After a while though you can get bored of them and after the 14th millionth set of steps I was a bit peeved and my quads and back were killing me! At one point I took this picture

now you are thinking, wow!!! how pretty is that. I was thinking. Oh fuck, it's uphill again :D There was lots like this, it was you are right very pretty. But very hard work. At the next cp3 I had another short stop (and ran the last couple of miles to it with a girl called Emma who was lovely and incidentally won the 100 mile female race) for more coke really, I love coke when I'm running.

Then I think it was about 10 miles to the next stop (32m) which was fine as Mr H caught up with me a few times en route but then couldnt find where to park at the checkpoint so I didn't see hime there. Didn't matter I was well looked after there and ate some real food!! I have discovered that a small ham and cheese wrap is soooooooo much nicer than a gel :). Advised that it is 10 miles to next cp. That was actually a bit of a lie it was more like 12.

This section was hard. I have now run 22 miles further than any of my training runs since Kent 50. It is very hilly and due I suppose to tiredness I am starting to doubt my navigation. Everytime I see a signpost for the NDW I follow it, and then 100 yards later imagine that I have it wrong and have to go back to check.....not really what you want to be doing. About 8 miles along I realise I havent seen any red and white tape for a while (even though I am following the NDW markers) and ring Mr H almost in tears. He reassures me and says he is at the next cp but will start walking back towards me.

Eventually I see some tape and convince myself that I am on the right track. Unfortunately this track takes me into a field with loads of cows in it. Another call to Mr H who has to talk me through it. I know I'm pathetic but they are bigger than me and I am not fooled by the cow eyes :-/ anyway after what seemed about 40 years (and another cow filled field where I actually had to crawl under some flipping holly bush so I didnt have to walk in front of one of them) I finally get to Mr H. He tells me it is only about 400m to the checkpoint and its pretty flat.

He's lucky he's not divorced now. It was actually about half a mile and all up. " oh" he said "it was much easier coming the other way" of course it pissing was, it was DOWNHILL!

Anyway, luckily he was aware I was tired and had no sense of humour left at this point so he just agreed with everything I said.

This was the last aid station then, and here it was lovely to see Cas and Smithy who were volunteering, even if Smithy was his usual caustic self :D I knew from here it was almost exactly 7 miles home.

These were probably the worst ones though. Nothing as hilly as the box hill bit but loads of field track that I just found it harder and harder to run on. I knew I had blisters on the bottom of one foot and running was more comfortable than walking but everytime I tried to run I would turn my ankle. I was dreaming of tarmac and getting more and more pissed off with myself for not being able to run more.

Seeing 100 milers coming back the other way inspired me though. They were going to repeat everything they had just done in reverse and I really do take my hat off to them. Counted Dave, Ogee and Matt through (didn't realise Ogee would end up ill, heres wishing him a speedy recovery and no lasting ill effects) and Emma the girl from earlier.

And then all of a sudden the field I am in tips me out onto a road. Bliss! It is then only 500m or so to Knockholt Pound and the finish. A volunteer puts a medal round my neck and shakes my hand. I probably said thanks or something and promptly laid down :) Henry climbed out of my back pocket and made me take a photo of him with his medal.

Anyway, a top race with fab organisation. A definite step on the way to my hundred.

It was only ever a matter of time.....

Not much to report really, except that they do really good deals on trainers at tri expos. Hyde Park on Saturday was no exception.

So what do I think (apart from the fact that they go with my shorts)...... well, I like them, yes when you are walking you can feel the sticky out bits (technical term, bear with me) but when you are running you dont really notice them. Yeah, I'm running more midfoot and my calves aren't achy but I feel like they have worked a bit more than normal. So I have done 2 hours so far in them and I dont think I would have a problem running a long distance in them but, maybe 50 miles on Saturday would be a bit too much. What I will do I think, is ask Mr H to bring them so I can if I want wear them when I am tired to see if they improve form.

It's an experiment innit!

Oh yes, I got my bike back too. The young lad went round the back to get it and I heard the other bloke round there say "lovely bike this one" :-) Now I know it isn't in the big scheme of things a fantastic bike, but it did make me smile, and be glad to have it back. When all is said and done I do look after it, and always always would choose to go on it before either of the other bikes I own. Which is why I have no doubt it will be doing outlaw with me next year.

I went to Yo Sushi for the first time in my life today. I can report that you dont have to have raw fish. You need not to mind being shouted at by mad Japanese people, green tea is alright really and dont go there with a really fat friend. Or if you do, dont offer to split the bill :-D

Right, for someone with nothing to say, I cant half bang on! Bye.

It's not easy being me you know.......

Why does everything shiny and new look sooooo attractive to me? Why is my attention span so short.....why dont I have any patience?

Why on earth have I got the idea that Newton trainers are such a damn good idea fixed into my head? I dont think they look good.......no really I dont. (you do understand I would NEVER be so shallow as to buy trainers for their colour*)

 But what they do, or at least what they claim to do, is resonating with me. Ever since 10 in 10 I have been conciously trying to run mid/forefoot. To stop that impact through my knee. Would the Newtons aid me in this? Thats the big question isn't it. £120 worth of question. I need to think on it a bit longer.

In other training news, I am being quite good at going out on my bike and enjoying it too, well, I was until a spoke broke on Sunday as I was stood up on the pedals going up a hill. Was a bit concerning until I realised what had happened. Still I was easily rescued and the bike is now in the shop getting fixed and having a service as I do like to get it done once a year by someone who isn't as incompetent as me!

One good thing though is that I flipped the wheel on the fixie to make it a single so Mr H can ride if it he wants to (he doesn't want to) and I can do some hill stuff on it. I need to lower the seat though, an hour on it Sunday left me um, well in pain cos I was having difficulty slowing at lights and actually getting off it!

Not only that, I am getting in a fair bit of swimming as well (I was, this week I have failed a bit!) so I do know I will be ready for BRAT tri in September, with only transitions being wonky because of a lack of tri experience this year.

Nearer than that though is NDW 50 next Saturday. I would tell you what prep I am doing for it but I'm not doing any. I am going to assume that my body will cope with it cos I asked it to. The only thing I'll ever ask of you, you've got to promise not to stop when I say when........

*this is a blatant lie. Look at those blue shoes and tell me I didn't buy them because they go with the green nike shorts in a way that the pink ones dont.