I declare myself Unsafe!

 

We sweated... we struggled... the legs turned to jelly....

And that was just lifting our kit into the car!

For those that don't know... myself and Sam F have entered a little race....

A 47 mile ultramarathon around Lake Windemere.... to be completed within 24 hours. At the time of signing up last year it seemed like a great idea... and I didn't even twist Sam's arm to join me. As I remember it (she may remember it differently)... she volunteered to join me!

I had decided to do some kind of running endurance thing as a gateway to other Adventure Races which usually involve running. This meant a huge mindset chamge for me... from 'I don't run' to I can run a little.

For most people it might have been a sensible idea to first enter a 5K or 10K race first... nope not us!

Neither of us have run a marathon... or a half marathon... or even a 5k race before and it is a big source of amusement to me that we went straight for the ultra. There is some logic in the CraZy... I promise.

I may not be able to run well but I can do endurance... suffering... keeping one foot going in front of the other... and as I read ultras are not necessarily about running the whole thing... for most it is a combination of run and walk.... and when that realisation takes hold.. it doesnt seem such a silly idea to go for an ultra first off!

So this morning, I loaded the car with all my kit and a kitchen sink 'just in case' and picked up Sam, who added her kit and the Bathroom sink 'just in case'.

The car did manage to get going with all the weight and we dawdled up the M40 and the M6... hit the inevitable traffic jam around Brum and waited for the rain to hit, now we were ooop norff. But the rain didn't materialise and the sun came out.... we both groaned. In our head, too warm was going to be way worse than cold and I might have even muttered a prayer for a drizzle of rain... SHHHHH.. Don't tell Sam 😂

We arrived at the hotel and struggled to the lift weighed down with the sinks. Then it was all business. First up we had to make sure our halfway bags had everything we might need for the 2nd half... foot tape, ibuprofen, energy gels, more ibuprofen and a change of shirt and socks, with a few more ibuprofen thrown in for good measure. 

All kit laid out, some put away, then got back out again... 3 pairs of gloves to choose from... how many gels to pack, can we fit it all in??

It took a while but finally we settled on our halfway kit and made sure we had all the mandatory kit for a kit check... whistle, compass, waterproofs, foil bag, cup, water bladder, money... sanity...  nope not that last one!

Registration was a 30 minute drive away and the nerves were starting to hit both of us... nerves and excitement all mixed up. We parked in a field and hiked over to the YHA. 

So Far So good.. nothing had started hurting yet.😂

We whizzed through the registration and emerged with a tracker taped to our bags, a map, a race number and a free t shirt and socks...  luminous pink socks! Great 😬

The lake looked lovely and I whistfully looked at the campsite on the shore and mentally pictured my tent and kayak sitting there... it was a much more tranquill picture than the soul and body destroying thing that will happen tomorrow.

We raced back to the hotel and proceeded to unpack the race bags and repack properly.. damn they were heavy! Still we were prepared for most things and perhaps that extra gel would be the difference between finishing and not.

My legs got wind that something was up and as much as I tried to calm them with a story about a little stroll tomorrow, they didn't seem convinced. Perhaps the foot taping gave me away??

So as we settle down ready for a very early start I wonder what tomorrow will bring... Pain almost certainly, suffering probably.. a flicker of joy when we hit different goals along the way... highs... lows and everything in between... fresh air and gratefullness that we are able to attempt something like this... 

but I still declare myself Unsafe 😜

Roll on The Lap!