Wow, can't believe it, 100 Days of Running is finished! I might have crawled over the finish line looking a bit homeless, soaked, muddy, exhausted, and sort of only using really one leg, but those are the best type of runs, and give the best feeling at the end.
The Hoad Hill Marathon in Ulverston was one of the toughest I've done, but let's be honest, that's why I entered it, so it doesn't do to complain. It was the first time that Pure Outdoors (tagline: blood, sweat, but no tears) have put it on, and it was a cracking race, so big thanks to the organisers and volunteers who made it a great event, and one which (after a couple of hours to recover) I hope will be repeated.
The weather was awful, there's no other way to put it really. It rained, consistently, for the first 20 miles, and the beautiful views were shrouded in a mysterious, but mostly just wet, cloud. It rained so hard that my tights started bubbling because not all of the washing powder must have come out of them in the wash.
The route was great. In this order: roads, trails, fields, mud, stiles, walls, gates to vault, moors, mud, beach, canal, Hoad Hill, cow poo (good bye new trainers), hills, hills, hills, wind turbines, quarry, moor, hills, hills, roads, cattle grids, hills, finish. A real adventure!
Fab checkpoints with lovely people manning them, I can't believe that there are people about who are just so genuinely nice that they will stand outside in the middle of nowhere in the rain for most of Sunday handing out water and food, and still be so full of good cheer and encouraging words for the runners (this also goes for the people watching - thanks guys!). This is the first race (but I do hope not the last) where there was watermelon at the checkpoints. This was like heaven, actual boxes of watermelon. It took all my focus not to sit down and eat the lot (I like watermelon. A lot). And there was flapjack. And there were two additional surprise checkpoints in the last few miles, which were like a dream had come true, as I was floating (or, crawling) along in a lack-of-sugar induced haze. I swear that the homemade Kendle Mint Cake at checkpoint 5 got me to the end. And it was delicious.
Another highlight was seeing my parents just over 16 miles into the race, who had brought Smarties and were shouting from slightly up the hill that I could have a blue Smartie once I got to them (see yesterdays' blog, to put this into some kind of context, so it sounds less weird). Obviously, it was very nice to see my parents even without Smarties, but it did give me a boost. It was also a very significant point for me to see them at - at 16 miles into the race I knew that I had passed my goal of 1000 miles in the 100 days, and could kick back and enjoy the last 10 miles.
But, you might have picked up from the odd negative comment bandied about here or there, that I did not feel on top form for a lot of the race, and the last 10 miles were tough. Whilst climbing over a gate at about 10km in I slipped and landed on my bad leg a bit funny, and my troublesome knee became trouble, so that was quite uncomfortable for the rest of the way. Despite eating and drinking as usual, I felt I hit the wall (or bonked, as triathletes say, and which sounds much more fun than running into a wall) quite early on in the race. It is a weird feeling and one that is hard to describe. It's a bit like swimming though syrup, although obviously as this is a marathon, you really should hope you're not swimming, and even if you were, I've never swum through treacle anyway, so that's a completely useless comparison. What I mean to say is, that everything slows down, it's harder to think clearly, and I make even worse decisions than usual. For example, for ages, I was sure that someone was shouting at me, but it turned out that it was just a pigeon, but it took a full minute to remember what a pigeon was called.
Then I had the magic Kendle Mint Cake, and things picked up a bit. And the sun came out, and then it was too hot. But eventually after what seemed like 1000 miles in one day, I limped back to the bottom of Hoad Hill and down into the park to the finishing line, to see my parents (still holding the Smarties), lots of nice people cheering, and....I'm not sure what I felt. Mostly like I needed a shower. But also happy that I did the whole 100 days and 1000 miles and have raised money for my Aunties three favourite charities and shown her I'm thinking of her at this time. And also really sad that it's over. Plus loads of other emotions that I was too tired to process.
And I still am. So that's enough chatter for today, time for some photos now, and I will carry on with my conclusions from 100 Days tomorrow!
Lovely day for it.
The start of a summer marathon.
Hoad Hill (hill of nightmares, but awesome checkpoint at the top!)
A Smartie! A blue one! 16 miles in and 1000 miles reached in 100 days.
How Smarties make me feel.
The Finish.
Day 100!
Proper proud of this one!
Celebrations! With my Mum and Dad, who I couldn't have done it without - THANK YOU!!!
Fundraising still going well (thanks all you lovely people!) and is still open, if you fancy having a look :-) :
Final stats
Total days: 100 days
Total miles: 1010 miles
Don't think a word has been invented to sum up your achievement!!!! You are a super star, awesome, brill, fantastic - - - - -!!! WELL DONE.
ReplyDeleteThink you have earnt a well deserved rest - but not for too long. I'm sure you'll soon be starting the next challenge!
Well done again.
Mum & Dad xxx