Thanks for all of your support since my last post. Your words and kindness have helped a huge amount, and this week I fell like I have made some more progress towards a good place.
Made a crack at the good old new years resolution this weekend, with the first ultra marathon of the year. I was excited all week for it, so excited in fact that I could barely wait for 5.10 am on Saturday, in order to get up and begin.
Then 5.10 am arrived, and then 5.15 am, and then 5.20 am. And then I remembered. Ultra day is here! GET UP!!!! We drove to Deal in Andrew's new car, with the heated seats (heated seats!!!) cranked up to full volume, and the music up to full heat.
Deal is in Kent, by the coast. It's quite a big deal. We arrived at Bettingshanger Country Park, and the moment I stood up off the warm comfort of the heated seat was the moment I realised quite how cold it had gotten. The race organizer did some organizing, and announced that the rain was predicted to start at about 3 pm, right about when the race would end. His speech was received well by the weather, which promptly started to chuck it down.
Fab.
This was another timed race rather than a measured distance. 6 hours to do as many laps of just over 4 miles as you chose/ planned/ wanted/ could do before you fell over. As long as you started the last one before 6 hours, you could carry on and complete that lap. Andrew and I completed 8 laps, 35 miles. On each lap, you collected a brightly colored hair bobble, and at the end, the organizers counted them all up. I've got loads of those hair bobbles at home, which I will remember for next time.
The Park is built on the spoil tip of the former Betteshanger Colliery - hundreds of acres of park, and it's really very nice, even in January in the cold and rain.
I was holding my breath (not literally) in anticipation of the aid station, which had been marketed as 'not having any running nonsense, just good quality real food' and which, as fortune would have it, we passed on each lap. In the name of research, I sampled a different delicacy on each lap, and have rated my top three as: Irish Cream fudge, vegan peanut butter fudge, and a type of apple/pecan/caramel baked delight which was so sweet gooey that I flew around the next two miles like a weightless bird on feathered wings.
35 miles passed with no injuries or medical emergencies. I didn't even get a blister. Or stomach ache. Or even that cold. Which is all very strange to me, and I wasn't sure what to make of it. It is really the first time that I have thought that I could have carried on and the thought of 100 miles didn't scare me senseless (although I just corrected a typo there where I wrote 10000 miles, which did more than scare me senseless, let me tell you).
Met some lovely people, as always, including Denzil who is the organizer of the last race we did. Got lots of encouragement from the organisers as we completed each lap, and a fantastically huge medal, and definitely the most indulgent goody bag ever to have landed in the arms of grateful runners:
The dietitian geek in me just couldn't help myself. I'm sorry I just could't. I spend so much time working out how much energy people need compared to how much they get, that I sometimes accidentally do it without realizing. According my watch, I burnt 2881 kcal during today's run. How does this goody bag match up.......2564 kcal!
Although, obviously, I am not recommending this as a balanced way to replace your energy, I was merely interested to see what this stack of indulgence added up to. And it was a very nice treat to finish off the race with (excellent ratio of chocolate), so thank you to Saxons, Vikings and Normans runners for a fabulous day!
No comments:
Post a Comment