Practice makes Perfect

 Where do I start....

I could start at the fact that today Im struggling to move... every step hurts... and lets not even go into how long it took me to get out of bed... 5 step process. 

I could start at the fact that we only have 4 weeks until we line up at the start line in Slovenia....

But its probably best to start at the beginning😁

Last year myself and Sam (Fleming not Deane for anyone that might be confused) took on an Ultramarathon.. a 45 ish mile race around Lake Windemere.. why? Im not really sure what triggered the idea for 2 non runners but we entered having done very little training and 'smashed it' (smashed being a relative term) in under 20 hours... 19 hours 56 seconds to be precise. It hurt both during and after the race but the euphoria as we crossed the finish line was proportional to the suffering faced.

Pretty soon we were looking around for the next one... of course it had to be bigger and harder and challenge us even more. (The very definition of Going With The CraZy)

Afer much searching and nothing ticking the relevant boxes, I stumbled upon the Vipava valley ultra, a 68 mile, 110km trail through the beautiful. and historical Vipava valley in Slovenia. The route follows old Roman ways and goes through the site of an important battle. With the extra 20 odd miles and twice the ascent, maybe this time we were biting off more than we could chew....

I have never been afraid of failing, and neither it seems is Sam. To me failing is the result of aiming high and sometimes falling short, part of life and the fear of failing will never stop me pushing myself to my limits and trying new things. That said... I may not be saying the same thing in 4 weeks time. 

When we found this race both me and Sam said we needed to train more this time... (We had barely done any training last time) but fast forward a year and we are at the same level of training if not worse than we were last year. With this in mind, and the discovery of a 12 hour cut off for 30 miles, we organised a trial run of the initial 30 miles.

Obviously in southern England we are a little short of mountainous terrain, so we picked the next best thing... The Ridgeway. 

Compared to Slovenia, it is no where near in comparison for ascent BUT if you have ever been on the Ridgeway in inclement conditions, you will know that it can be hard going and somewhat relentless with the ups and downs. It was going to be a challenge in itself. The aim, to complete the 30 miles (29.8 miles or 48km to be exact) well within the time limit. Complicating matters was that, unlike the race, we had to carry all our food and water for the 30 miles... lacking the manned checkpoints, toilets and provision of food that the race would have.

This meant that my bag was distinctly heavier than it would be on race day. We packed all the kit that we would have to have for race day, mandatory kit such as a emergency bivvy bag, warm goves and hat, whistle and first aid kit. My bag was topped off with gels, dextrose tablets and protein bars whilst sam had put more effort into the food with a roll and some malt loaf and some gummy sweets. I had a little food envy.

I had however capacity for 2L water and had added in some elctrolyte tablets... Samh ad only 1L of water, which for 30 miles was not that much.

The other area in which i had spent some time researching was that of my feet, specifically in blister prevention, as I. am. prone to them and they were particularly uncomfortable on the Lap last year. That and the hope of losing less toenails this time (5 gone last year) led me to a different type of shoe, one with a toe shaped box, meaning that feet had more room to splay out in a natural fashion. The second intervention was using 1000 mile socks. These socks have a dual layer, meaning that the layers rub against each other rather than your feet. This dual intervention had proved good so far on my short runs, but this would be a true test for sure. 1000 mile socks have a No blister guarantee but I had bought socks before that had said that, to no avail. 

Doing a one way walk on the Ridgeway required a bit of planning and the help of Sam's husband Paul to get us to the start line and home again. I parked my car at the end of the route and met Sam and Paul there at 0500. I then hopped in their car for the 45 minute journey to the start on Overton Hill.

The plan had been to start in the dark to simulate race conditions but in reality, now the clocks had gone back, there was very little dark by the time we got going.

We shouldered our packs, made them as comfy as possible and with headtorches on we set off at a good pace. 

We are not aiming to run the whole of the race, indeed only those really aiming for a top finish will run it all and even then they might walk the uphills... that is expected on an ultra. Some people run 4 minutes walk 4 minutes... some mainly walk. We were aiming for some running, specifically flats and some downhills if not too steep, although reality would be that the further we get into the race, the more walking there would be. As long as we kept a good pace, kept our stops at checkpoints to the minimum and tried to combine eating drinking, taking off or putting on layers and comfort breaks into just the 1 stop at a time, we would be ok. I had done many pace calculations both in mph and minutes per mile (as shown on my watch). The slowest being 20 minutes per mile on average including stops. Thats no mean feet over 68 miles, or even 30. And we were about to find out if it was possible for us. If we couldn't make the time limit on the Ridgeway, then we would have no chance in the race. Not only that but once we had done 30 miles, we needed to have enough left in us and the legs to do another 38, albeit with 18 hours to do it in. 

My legs are an entity to themselves. I have to trick my legs into thinking that they are just doing a short run or walk, not letring them into the secret until we have gone too far to turn back. Sam's legs seem to be the same so we start of by walking at a brisk pace.. uphill. The ground is extremely wet and muddy and from the outset there were clues that this was not going to be a stroll in the park. It soon was light enough for the headtorches to go off and we prepped ourselves for the first bit of running.

Both of us have brought poles for this, having had pole envy in the lap, and whilst I have practiced a bit with mine, Sam had barely got hers out of the packet, so we were getting used to using them for the uphills... but what to do with them when running flats and downhills. I find it more comfortable to carry them in one hand when running and it enables me to easily transition for the uphills without much break in step. Sam tried running with them, then carried one in each hand. Im not sure which she found better but by the end she was running with them so maybe that was better for her. The reason for having the bother of poles, was for the benefit I hoped they would gain us on the uphills and as a general help to wear and tear on the body over the course of the race.

Most of the first 10 miles was spent either running through mud or squelching  slowly through mud... the effect of some very rainy days recently. I'm surprised neither of us went arse over tip although Sam came close a few times, which surprised me as I'm normally the clumsy one.

Once we were up in the Ridgeway, we set into a pattern of walk up, run down, although running would be perhaps stretching it, jogging with style might be better. There were a couple of points, poles in hand, jogging along a nice bit of mudless gravel on a gentle downhill that I actually felt like an ultrarunner. This feeling rarely lasted long, but with it came a surge of joy and euphoria. The first 10 miles weren't bad, despite the mud. We were chatting at points and in comfortable silences in others, remarking on distance or pace and stopping every now and again to appreciate the view and the fresh air. We fell into a bit of a rythm. Of course that wouldn't last long.

I began to feel some sharp almost excruciating pains in my calf's, a bit like the pain I felt deep into my Divide ride where the pain became so intense I struggled to keep going. Like cramp, only worse. I also had some pain at the top of my left foot. 

It didnt seem worse as I ran or walked but when stopped there  were a few moments where the pain would rise to a creshendo and then diminish slightly. Not good. I couldn't understand it, I had done plenty of walks this long with no issues. Yes the running was extra impact but still. Maybe my laces were too tight, restricing blood flow, so I loosened them and went on with gritted teeth. It helped a bit but my mental game had taken a big dive. I think Sam. had also hit a bit of a low patch, the enormity of what we were attempting dawning on us.

These low patches are inevitable and may happen at different times for both of us. Even if we are going along in comfortable silence, we check on each other every now and again to ensure the silence isnt us descending into a low mental patch. Both of us have a tendency to lie to each other... you good? Yup fine! being the inevitable answer even if we are in a temporary circle of doom. The thing I have learnt is how to get out of this cycle and with another person there it is easier than when by yourself. If one of us is in a low patch then the other will try to crack a joke, sing a song relevant to our misery, anything to make the other crack a smile. and distract from the suffering.

Between mile 10 and 15, I hovered on the edge of the spiral, coping with the pain in my legs and trying not to think about todays distance, never mind 4 weeks time.  We had a brief stop at the top of a hill, just because we saw a bench, with a stunning view. We had the aim of eating something but the wind had picked up and it was really cold, so we stuffed down a few calories and layered up again before pushing on... not having the rest we had been expecting. We could see dark clouds behind us with a very real threat of rain and the inevitability of a soaking. So we moved on quickly, not fully rested or nourished.

Further on, we found ourselves on a particularly dull stretch, one of the only stretches of road and it provided no view to gaze at or even the distraction of having to watch your footing. It was probably the lowest point for me. The legs were not playing ball. At the end of the road stretch, which seemed to go on forever, was a sign. A bus shelter... with a bench. Please sit it begged us.. Well we couldn't refuse. It was a proper bus shelter with concrete walls and a flat wooden bench and we gratefully sat with our feet off the floor, against the wall relishing the rest it gave us.

We ate some rashions and I gulped down a couple of ibruprofen for the leg pain. Sam looked at them and then took one prophylactically. We didn't linger too long but when we got going again my legs felt a bit better and we both felt slightly more refreshed. Of course we had to go up again but the poles helped propel us and we were once again buoyed by the fact that we were nearly halfway.

There were a couple more hills after that, one which seemed to go forever. At the top we stopped and shoved down a little more food, aware that as usual we were not eating and drinking enough. A man came up the hill on his bike slowly and boy did I feel envious of the two wheels.  12 miles now done and we were heading for an interesting part of the Ridgeway. Coming up were a burial mound and the white horse hill, which had a chalk horse on. We decided to push on instead of stopping properly here and get to halfway (or a quarter of the way if we thought about the race) which was roughly where the burial mound was.

I felt good... either it was the loosening of the laces, or the food kicking in... I mused about it in silence for a while wondering what had made the difference. Perhaps the salty mini cheddars I had eaten? I kept my. musings to myself awhile as we plodded on in companionable silence. Then I shared... I feel good, wonder what it was. Maybe the food said Sam.... or the laces I said.. A pause.

Or the drugs! 

Ah yes the drugs.... must remember that😁 Take more drugs in the race.

Whatever it was I was now moving better and felt like we were moving well. Still interspersing our walking with stretches of running... short stretches to be sure but managing it.

The route, slightly familiar to me from when I biked the whole of the Ridgeway years ago and a few subsequent forays onto it, fooled me a little here. I thought a clump of trees was the longbarrow but it turned out to be a bit further down, another 2 miles. Once again, mud reared its ugly head and we struggled for our footing as we slid our way along the path. The sun however had made an appearance and walking amongst the treeslistening to the birds sing really felt good. It felt like Spring! We reached the longbarrow and to our delight it was bathed in sunshine and there was a decent log to sit and rest on. More food, more calories into our slightly battered bodies. Less than 15 miles to go. It was a peaceful moment or two and I felt fortified.

It felt like we could do this. Time was deffo on our side and we were looking like we could possibly do it in under 9 hours... which would then give us a few hours leway for the actual race. Onwards and upwards. White horse hill wasn't far away and of course it was up. Dark clouds scattered the sky ominously behind us, the very definition of a sunsshine and showers kinda sky. We had been lucky so far, with only short lived showers.  The ground was pretty waterlogged in general though and especially at the bottom of hills, we were wading through more water and mud. It was the same at the bottom of this hill althoughthe water flowed white, like milk, running off the chalky ground. I remembered this hill from mountain biking up it and knew it was a long one, but with the poles, even over 20 miles in.

My watch had run out of charge so I no longer had an indication of the speed we were going but it felt ok, still a reasonable pace. The poles now felt integral to my equipment and with plenty of ups and down both me and sam had worked out how we wanted to hold them and when to use them and I did feel much better going up these inclines with them.

The wind had picked up and as we reached the top of white horse hill, it really began to blow. Despite Sam looking forward to seeing the white horse, having actually got here she decided that she didn't want to walk the extra few hundred yards detour over to the top so we decided to push on. I stopped to put my jacket on and just as I did it started pelting down. Sam who had only. just taken off her jacket decided that this was not the short lived shower the previous one had been and threw hers back on. Just as well. As we set off at a gentle jog downwards, we started getting hit by HAIL! The Ultra gods seem to be the same sadistics bastard type that the cycling gods are. Just as we were feeling good, they come in and test us more.

I raised my arms at the sky as we were running along, shouting at the ultra gods to keep it coming... it was cathartic. We were now pretty wet and a bit cold but we were coming off the heights and the wind dropped as we descended.  We had less approx 8 miles to go and having pushed the pace and had little rest or food, things were beginning to hurt again. To top it off, I needed the bathroom, and not a jungle wee type either. Having no facilities out here and having not brought along the necessary equipment to be the bear in the woods, I directed my attention elsewhere and tried to forget.

We now had about 5 miles to go... and every thing was hurting again. The top of my foot hurt with every step and Sam had stopped suddenly with a sharp pain, not sure what it was. We slogged on, a little fed up with the mud and puddles that made our route more of an obstacle course. Looking at a map on the trail it looked like the next road we came to was the road with the car and we eagerly set our best foot forward... A bench was almost passed by, but it would have been rude because it had a beautiful view and we could sit happily on this one as it didn't have a muddy puddle where our feet went. It was a nice few minutes, the end in sight and a nice bench. Life becomes simpler out here.  Appreciation of the simple things in life is hightened...

One more hill... we slowly went up... found the road and realised to our great disappointment that it wasn't the one. I did recognise the next part of the route having ridden it several time and knew that it really wasn't far. We were counting down the miles and we only had a couple to go.  We even ran a bit of this stretch having found a nice gravel downhill path. I was impressed we could still run/jog with style... it boded well for 4 weeks time. Having just had a big downer at the wrong road anticipation, I kept my hopes in check as we saw a road ahead, up a hill.... were we there?

We slogged uphill and along the final muddy path, one of the worst bits we had encountered, the ultra gods having the last laff. The road was in sight and with a good gravel water free path, we broke into our final jog, crossed the road and aimed for the beautiful sight of the car... only to be halted in our tracks by a woman with a greyhound telling me to stop because her dog was scared of people. So why did you bring him to a car park... she seemed confused when I didnt pass by and finally realised that the car next to hers was ours and shoved her dog in the car so that we could finally collapse in a seat.

We were done! Or halfway there depending on which way we looked at it. Could we have gone on? Probably... given a bit of rest and food. Were we glad we didn't have to... absolutely! The rush of relief to get to the finish today was palpable but more than that... we had done it in 9 hours 12 minutes (ish) including our brief stops. I was proud of our effort. We drove back discussing what went well, what didn't. Eat more food was a big lesson learnt. And take more drugs was the other 😂

Fast forward to today when I'm hobbling round at home... 

No blisters!! Unbelievable... I love my new socks. 

I have very achey legs and am struggling to get up, once up and moving im ok but I think my legs are holding me hostage for pain and suffering caused. Don't tell them about next month... shhhhhh. 

The top of my foot pain turned out to be bruising, possibly from having the laces too tight, so will learn from that next time.

All in all, it was ok.. May the 4th be with us as we set off for the challenge. 

You will be able to follow the race on SPOT 

(https://maps.findmespot.com/s/J9BX)

and hopefully there will be some live fb posts with the usual post challenge blog and photos. 

Go With The CraZy!