Boxes....

I've got loads. I have a box for everything. Dyou know what I mean?

Perhaps if I said compartment it would be clearer.

Ever since I can remember it has been this way. I succeeded as a child by separating everything. If I hadn't I wouldn't be here. Sounds quite dramatic I guess but if you were there you would know. I believe my brother has done it so well that's why I haven't heard from him in years. Pity, but I do understand.

Anyway, I can do it with running too. I can be competitive, if you know me you will know that. But, I can also just run. I mean it's not my job. I can train hard, I can also be distracted with life....actually that's rubbish, I can be distracted by a leaf floating past the window!

So yesterday I did the JW Ultra, for I think the 6th time? 4th time the full ultra. I will be honest I have been happy enough doing the relay the last 2 years, and 30 miles is a long way, but during this running career of mine I have made some bloody good friends and none better than the RD of this race. I mean I have run 262 miles with him in the space of 10 days. After that you either kill each other or become firm friends. So when Mr JW said he was going to run this for the first time (as the race, not the first time ever) I didn't really have to think twice.

I spose long runs as training would have helped but really I've been doing other stuff so they didn't happen. Never mind, it is just running.

I wasn't nervous before this, I have been before but that's when I was trying to PB or beat someone else. Today was just about getting from a to b. A being Stratford racecourse, b being Bournville. 

And right, it was fun..... Letting everyone run off and then Trotting behind with the dog. Chatting and catching up. Taking pictures at the viaduct.....

And just having fun.

CP 1 was passed without any drama, but someone mentioned a cut off. I will be honest I can't have read the race notes as I had no idea! Apparently we needed to get to CP2 by 4.5 hours. This sent me into proper stress mode. I don't normally worry about cut offs. So I will admit, during that section I was a bit of a pain in the arse. Sorry Mark!

Anyway, we made it with 3 minutes to spare and then basically walked the last section! My knee was v sore, and no wonder and my foot was painful to put on the floor. Dunno what's up with it, it is swollen today with lots of red spots on it. Maybe I was bitten?

So we finished in just under seven hours, and you know what, that's cool, I spent the day running with my friend, and I'm lucky to be able to do that.

At the end someone asked me if I'm worried that doing that off of no proper training would affect my other races coming up. No, I'm not, that's all in another box.

And that's the way it is.

Meanwhile, I have 2 happy cats. How good is that!

Next weekend I have a half mara. Don't think I will do it, it doesn't mean anything to me and running an average time at it would be pointless. I should go out on my bike and do some hills. Yeah!

How good it was.....

Even if it's over :-}

Did you know the Courteeners are playing Brixton Academy the night before the Winter Ballbuster. Gits! Anyway it's sold out now so I can't waver. I proper like them, that's all ;)

Anyway, I will need to get my gig fix another way. Elbow are playing Hammersmith Apollo next year, maybe I will get me some of them.

So, this weekend just gone I did two Spartan Races with my OCR partner in crime, and it was ace :)

Travelled down to Pippingford Park (note to SpartanRace UK, this is no fucking where near London, in fact I think it is closer to France. There were many French racers there) and met up with my team. We registered with no bother and were given a headband number....how cool! A chip and a wristband that served absolutely no purpose :-D.....except maybe to identify you if you died??? Maybe.

We then trekked back to leave our gear in the car cos the bag drop q was mahoosive! Well, maybe I moaned a bit and someone else took the stuff and I stayed and got a drink :-D

We were due off at 1 but were watching the 12.30 wave go off when I suggested joining it as there was no one stopping you. So we set off. Shortly after this Mark commented that now we prob wouldn't get a time. 

I hadn't thought of that, what if our chips didn't work til 1??? 

I did stress on this the whole race. The goal here is the trifecta medal for doing the Sprint, Super and Beast. We need a time for all of them.

Still we are on the course now. A congested jog/shuffle to the first obstacle. A wall. Over with some help and then some under overs, then off onto the course proper. Lots of mud and water, running up and down hills and steep banks were a big feature. Obstacles were cargo net climb, atlas ball carrying (rolling), monkey bars, parallel bars, ropes, rope pull, slippery wall, sandbag carry, water carry, spear throwing, another wall, crawling under barbed wire and jumping over the fire at the end. Around 7k of running made up the event.

I will admit that a number of the obstacles were beyond me. I can't climb a rope, and I took one look at the monkey bar height and just couldn't (they had to lower them the next day as too many people injured themselves on them) and parallel bars....hmmmm.

But I do aspire to :-D

When you finished you got a big medal, t shirt and vouchers for free stuff including a beer. Nice!

Showering all the mud off was a long arduous task so I won't go into that.

Next day it was same again but with an added 5k and 6 more obstacles. I would've enjoyed this more but for twisting my knee in the mud, a spectacular fail of the parallel bars and being the world biggest wuss whilst doing the log carry through what was a frankly dangerous water obstacle with rocks and logs in the water that you couldn't see :-/ obviously they realised this after we had been through because they roped it off and made the log carry dry land only. My Olympic Rings though were a sight to behold though ;-D

So, sprint and super done, thank you so much to Mr JW without whom I would probably be still trying to get over the first wall.

Just the Beast to go then.

Not been myself since but that is something else entirely. Just a sprint tri next weekend. Let's see how that goes.