It's the Saturn Ladybird 10 in 10 on at the moment, and I joined in for the first four days.
Day 1: Friday 15.07.2022, 50 km, 5:47
The course was the Staines route today, which is a 4.4 miles loop from Staines up to Penton Hook Lock and back. Andrew had come down to do a last minute marathon! We started at 07:00 to get most of it down before it got too hot later. We ran a couple of laps with Jonathon. Everything was going well, Andrew did a marathon and went to the pub, and I did an extra lap for my 50km......during which I fell over (thank you Chrissy for the wipes!). By the time I finished and got back to the aid station, it had been moved, as an unexploded WW1 bomb had been found in the river! Drama! Everything turned out to be OK, so the race was completed, and a few of us went to the Slug and Lettuce for catch ups and a fish finger sandwich.
Big thanks to Team Saturn for a most excellent weekend and for looking after us all in the heat! Well done to everyone, and especially the epic TiTs! Enjoy the next six days! And take care in the heat.
Due to the heatwave later in the week, the events were having earlier starts than normal. But today the temperature wasn't too bad, so I had quite a normal start at 08.00 after travelling down on the train.
It was the Runnymead route which is 4.4 miles per lap. I did 50 km, so 7 laps and a little bit. I love this route!
Ran with Stephen for two laps, which flew by really quickly - many thanks Stephen! We discussed, amongst other things, the acceptable number of presents to have in a party bag for a first birthday party, paddling pools, and high heel injuries.
A bit later I caught up with Kat, where we discussed how many events we were each doing.....
Kat: I'm doing all 10.
Me: I'm doing the first 4.
Kat: Well, we know what happened last time you said that!
Me: Yes! But I have to go back to work on Tuesday (makes a sad face)
Kat: "insert swear word" work!!
Lady walking past: Yes! "insert swear word" work!
All: laughs
Feeling inspired by this exchange, I picked up my pace probably a bit more than I should have done, and I was soon feeling tired and was getting too hot. But then I bumped into Lisa and Marie, and having a nice catch up took my mind of things, as we discussed favourite cake varieties. Marie also somehow managed to have ice pops that were still frozen!
Ran the last lap chatting with Lisa, which took my mind of being tired and hot, and soon enough we were finished and all sat down under the trees at the finish drinking cold drinks and catching up with everyone.
Although the event is the "Ladybird 10 in 10" I'm not doing all 10, so in this case you get bee medals instead. I love bees. I have one of these medals from last year (a yellow bee) so am happy to bee able to add to my bee rainbow with Bright Coral Bee.
Day 2: Saturday 16.07.2022. 50 km, 5.56
After the fiasco a few weeks ago with the engineering works on the trains and taking over four hours to get home from the Egham run, I'd decided to stay over for the weekend in Staines, in the Travelodge. The Travelodge I suppose doesn't have the most glamorous location, with it being opposite the carparks of the giant retail park, but from the window there is a roundabout to watch all the cars getting annoyed with each other, you can see the M+S Foodhall from the window, and it's only two minutes walk to the start of the Saturn Staines route. Apart from being hot in the room and not having air con, it wasn't bad at all.
The course was the Staines route today, which is a 4.4 miles loop from Staines up to Penton Hook Lock and back. Andrew had come down to do a last minute marathon! We started at 07:00 to get most of it down before it got too hot later. We ran a couple of laps with Jonathon. Everything was going well, Andrew did a marathon and went to the pub, and I did an extra lap for my 50km......during which I fell over (thank you Chrissy for the wipes!). By the time I finished and got back to the aid station, it had been moved, as an unexploded WW1 bomb had been found in the river! Drama! Everything turned out to be OK, so the race was completed, and a few of us went to the Slug and Lettuce for catch ups and a fish finger sandwich.
Medal today is Hot Pink Bee.
Day 3: Sunday 17.07.2022, 50 km, 5:51
It was the Staines course again today, and I was planning to start at 06.30. My alarm didn't go off, so I woke up just before 06.00 in a panic, and made it only a little bit late to the start.
Lovely morning by the river, watching the hundreds of swans, well, swanning around I suppose. I spent some time (well, a lot of time) looking at the lovely houses and choosing which one I would buy. But this is not as much fun on my own, as it is with my Princess Twin Sarah, who wasn't there this weekend!
It was getting a bit hot, and I was flagging a bit if I'm honest, so thank you to Dom for a couple of laps of pulling each other around! And for pointing out the Flag House!
It was a bit too hot, but I still felt OK when I finished my marathon so carried on for a 50 km, and got Light Purple Bee.
Day 4: Monday, 18.07.2022, Marathon, 4:56
I was worried about today. There was a Red Weather Warning for heat, and I wasn't sure about running. The event was starting off in the early hours though, so that runners could complete and be finished before the temperatures entered the Red Zone. So I decided it was OK starting early. There was also an extra water stop being put on half way around each lap. I figured I could just go and start, and if it got too hot, I would just stop. You have to respect weather like this and be careful.
I tried to get some sleep, but it was too hot and too noisy- although it's nice almost being able to touch an M+S Foodhall from your window, idiots do wheelies around the car park roundabouts all night. Which is annoying when there is a heatwave and you need the windows open.
Got up at 03.45, and thank you to Jon for the lift to the start in Egham!
We started around 5.15 and I ran the first half lap with Jon, which was fun, although chatting was a bit limited as we had to be super quiet so as not to wake up the people with houses by the river, or in boats.
It was beautiful by the river in the early morning light. And a nice temperature to start with - it was 19oC when I started and it gradually got hotter and hotter until my Garmin said it was 31oC when I finished just after 10am. I was super happy to not be running any later than this, as I was starting to wilt like a delicate flower.
I didn't feel too great today, due to a list of varied and random things - I had sore foot from a blister I got yesterday, stomach ache, was tired from not sleeping, and just feeling a bit unenthusiastic in general. But it's always lovely to see everyone and you always feel cheered up with each wave, and smile, and chat. So big thanks everyone!
Thank you for the Refreshers dual ice pop George!
Today's medal is Pale Coral Bee.
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