This was to be my 3rd ultra in the space of 5 weeks so I came into this race with the mental approach of taking it easy and enjoying the fine views and coastal paths of South Devon, plus we we’re on holiday for the week and I wanted to relax and enjoy the local traditional cider and fine food. We were staying in Torcross, which is a stones throw (and a climb over the coastal path) to Beesands, the event base. We spent most of the week running a 10 mile section from Torcross to just past Start Point lighthouse, running through Beesands and Hallsands. Have lunch and then go for a gentle 3 hour walk in the afternoon, followed by a couple of pints of delicious cider. I’ve been pretty tired for most of January and February due to the races and upping my mileage, so it was good to take it easy, relax and enjoy some good food and drink.
I’m still experimenting with nutrition at the moment and decided to go back to gel and plain water. I find gels logistically easier to use and prefer the taste of plain water over energy drinks. For this event I got hold of some Torq energy gels. I’d estimated that I would be aiming for around 5 hours so had 10 gels (4 rhubarb & custard, 4 strawberry yogurt, 2 Forest Fruits (with Guarana)).
I wake up 2 hours before the race start and chomp down a Torq Bar and banana followed by an energy drink. Get my kit ready and set off for the ½ hour walk over the cliff to Beesands. The ultra course incorporates the marathon course (28.1m); following the coastal path towards East Portlemouth where it returns inland to Slapton Sands and back to Beesands followed by the 10km course (7.3m). Obviously, this meant that the ultra participants would be running to the finish, only to carry on for another 7 miles before a return to the finish! Some of the runners may have found this mentally difficult, but I was lucky enough to go for a run on the Thursday and find the 10km route had been marked out. This meant that I was able to “recce” the route and I had found it enjoyable so had a positive attitude towards that section. Just before the start, Tobias Mews introduced himself and we had a little chat and then we were off.
Tobias went straight out into a little sprint followed by myself and Rob Burnham then decides to slow down a bit and chat with myself and Rob. We begin the climb up to Start point, all three relaxed and chatting. I had been really looking forward to this event for a couple of reasons. One, I’m not really recovered from the last couple of races so had decided to just enjoy this race, relax, take it relatively easy and see what happens. Two, hills! Love ‘um! After the last two races I was craving a course with some nice climbs, descents and fine views. This had it. And finally, no pressure, none. I hadn’t set myself any targets so could really just relax and enjoy myself.
For the first 6-7 miles we’re all running together with another two runners a little further back. Then, Rob decides to pick up the pace and nail the next 6 or so miles towards Salcombe. Tobias follows suit, but I decide to remain at my current effort levels. I pass Tobias after a couple of miles and mention something along the lines of not to worry about Rob. He was going out pretty hard, and would either regret it latter or carry on and fly to victory. Usually I might have been tempted to chase after him, but on this occasion I was happy to let him go and hope to reel him in later. I would glimpse Rob now and again and estimated he was around a minute in front of me. For some reason I was really confident that I would catch him at the marathon point. I’m not sure where that confidence came from, all I knew was that I was running really relaxed and would be in a position to pick up my pace if I needed to. The route along the coastal path towards East Portlemouth was truly stunning and I thoroughly enjoyed this section of the race. Coming back inland was a mix of trail, road (a little too much) and farmland, but was also very pleasant. I caught sight of Rob now and again and could see that I had closed the gap a little but lost sight of him through a lovely wooded section of Slapton Nature Reserve. I knew coming out of the reserve we would be met by a 1 ½ mile section along Slapton Sands which is very flat and very straight. This could have been a mentally tough section, but in the week I had made a concerted effort to think of this section positively and it worked. I felt really energetic and strong entering the straight and could see myself slowly pulling in Rob. We climbed over the cliff at Torcross into Beesands and there’s probably a 30 second gap between us. I decide to hold back a bit a wait for the climb up to Start Point to make my move. I wanted to see how strong he looked on the climbs before I committed and it became apparent that I was running stronger at this point. Just before we arrived at Start Point I caught Rob, exchanged a few words and then carried on. After passing Rob, I relaxed again and concentrated on simply running strong on the climbs and narrow coastal path. It was pretty difficult at this point because we had caught up with some of the 10km runners. It can be pretty hard negotiating coastal paths at the best of times without having to jockey past runners who have no idea that you’re trying to win the ultra race. This is also where one of my only real bug bears really gets to me. i-Pods (or any similar mp3 device)! I understand why some people use them, but in my opinion (and it’s just an opinion) they should be banned from races, especially trail races when the course follows along a cliff and/or mountainous terrain. The main reasons for this are that I just think it’s dangerous and irresponsible. Wearing earphones and listening to music blocks a person out from their surroundings. This could simply be hearing someone running up behind you, asking to be kindly let through, being ignored (because you can’t hear), then jumping out of your skin when one attempts to pass. You can also not hear if anyone is calling for help (accidents do happen, people do fall) and almost as importantly you block out nature and the experience of running in the wild. Anyway, enough of my rant, each to their own…back to the race. So I’ve passed Rob and now negotiating the 10km runners and then the half-marathons runners further inland. I’m still feeling really strong and relaxed so carry on plugging away and enjoying myself. I finally hit the descent back into Beesands with a big smile on my face and cross the line in 04:43:23 hrs, an average of 8:05 min/miles. Not bad for a relaxing run around the beautiful South Devon coast and countryside.
Just before I sign off…Annie finished 2nd female in the marathon event. Great result and will give her confidence going into her next event.
Rob finished 5 minutes after me and Tobias 3rd 30 minute behind.
Torq gels…really happy with them and will use them again in the coming months.
Endurance Life website
Monday, 21 February 2011
Saturday, 12 February 2011
Thames Trot 50 mile Oxford to Henley-on-Thames, 05/Feb/2011 (very flat)
The Thames Trot is the second ultra organised by Go Beyond Ultra and I decided to enter a couple of days after Country to Capital. Again, the course is flat as a pancake but it provides another good opportunity to test my speed endurance.
5:15am…my alarm finally goes off. I’ve not had the best nights sleep, waking up every hour of so to cough my lungs out. I’ve felt a little run down this week, suffering from a phlegmy chest and a “sensitive” stomach. I’ve also had a bit of a twinge in my hip muscles. They’ve just felt a bit overused and tired. Oh well, that’s enough of moaning and excuses! Man up Conway! Back to the race…
I drag myself out of bed and knock back a sports drink then straight into the shower. Quickly get changed, eat an energy bar, a banana and I’m out the door to get the train to Oxford. On the train I notice another runner (we do stick out a bit), nod, but carry on past and take a seat. I wasn’t being rude or anything, it was early, dark and some people prefer their own company before a race, so I didn’t want to impose myself on him. The journey only takes 30 minutes, most of which I try not to fall asleep. Arriving at the platform, we introduce ourselves and have a general natter (about running) and make our way to the front of the station where we’re met by a handful of other runners and within a couple of minutes a shuttle bus to take us to the start a couple of miles away in Iffley. We arrive at the event base (Prince of Wales Pub) which is already quite packed and there’s only one toilet (never a good thing). I make a beeline for the loo to get “that” part of the pre-race ritual out of the way. I then start to prepare for the race, Vaseline, plasters for my nipples, sipping sports drink, but mostly thinking positively about running well and winning. Last years winning time was just under 6:25 hours and my aim is to get nearer 6 hours so I should be in with a shout. Could be difficult with the week I’ve had, but I keep positive and relax. “Unfortunately” Craig Stewart turns up, winner of the Country to Capital race! No…it’s good he’s here. The stronger the field, the more competitive a race usually becomes and in most cases result in faster times. Just before the start we have a little chat and the race photographer comes over and asks what times were aiming for. I say around 6 hours if all goes well. Craig mentions he’s only looking to get around 6:30 hours. He’s representing Scotland at a 100km race soon so doesn’t want to push too hard. I’m pretty sure he said last time he was just on a “training” run to get the miles in and ended up destroying the course record, so I take his announcement with a pinch of salt and expect him to run sub 6.
Quick race briefing and we’re off to the first checkpoint at Culham. The route follows the Thames river path all the way to Henley so is easy to navigate but pretty well flat. The underfoot conditions are sticky and there’s a bit of a wind blowing against us. Within a couple of miles me and Craig have pulled away from everyone else and get into a good rhythm just under 7 min/mile pace. We pretty much natter the whole way to Culham talking about various races, training, nutrition etc. I’d decided to try a different nutritional strategy for this race. Instead of gels I have a custom made sports drink which contains all the calories, salts and carbs I need per bottle per hour. If you fancy giving it a go take a look at Infinit Nutrition. Their website will explain it a lot better than I ever could (great customer service). I prefer to get all my nutritional needs during a race in liquid/gel form, but I find it almost impossible to consume 500ml of fluid every hour when I’m running at a pretty fast pace. On longer slower runs, it’s not really an issue. My “sensitive” stomach was also finding it hard to deal with this amount of fluid and started to cramp a bit and slosh around. We arrive at Culham and Craig continues straight through (he has a camelback); I have to stop to top up my bottle and mix in my drink. Although I lose a little time doing it this way, I just don’t get on with hydration bladders and I prefer having the option of changing what I put in my bottle. Unfortunately, the first pre-measured mix I pull out of my waistpack has somehow managed to split, I knock my refilled bottle on the floor but eventually managed to get it together and move on. I decide to put a little extra effort in to try to catch up with Craig and after a couple of miles he’s back within my sight…damn it…stomach’s turning. I dive into a bush for an emergency pit stop. I get back on my way a return to chasing after Craig. I realise pretty soon that I’m nowhere near 100% today. I’ve only covered 15 miles and I’m already finding it difficult to maintain the pace and it’s getting harder to drink my sports drink. My stomach muscles feel like they have been hit with a hammer and my hip muscles are tightening but I still manage to maintain my pace. I glimpse Craig now and again in the distance, maybe 2-3 minutes in front but decide it would be silly to try and chase him down so just concentrate on maintaining my own pace. The second checkpoint at Benson comes and goes (I top up my bottle a lot quicker this time!) and I carry on plugging away. I can’t remember if it was coming into Benson or some time after, but there was a couple of 2 mile sections of open ground along the river where the wind had picked up and was blowing pretty hard against me (and I guess all the other runners). With the sticky underfoot conditions, the wind was very unwelcome and felt like it was one step forward, two steps back, but it’s all good fun! I eventually hit mile 25 on target in just under 3 hours but knew I would find very difficult to run the next in 3 hours. I hit Goring, checkpoint 3, have a quick chat with the marshals and carry on. I had been looking forward to getting to this point as I know the course between Goring and Sonning very well as I’ve run it numerous times when I’m in Reading. Unfortunately I was feeling pretty crap at this point and not really enjoying myself. Quite a few times between Goring and the next checkpoint at Mapledurham I considered quitting at Reading but thankfully I managed to push those negative thoughts to the back of my head, concentrating on hopefully seeing my partner Annie at the last checkpoint. At Mapledurham I decided that I couldn’t drink anymore sports drink, my stomach just wasn’t playing along, so I knocked back three jelly babies and topped my bottle up with plain water. I wasn’t too worried about not getting the calories in at this point as there was only about 16 miles left and was confident that I could run that distance no matter how tired I was. I arrive at the final checkpoint and Annie is there which dramatically raises my spirits. I force down another 3 jelly babies, put 3-4 in my pocket and top up my water. The jelly babies in my pocket become my little sugar rush of joy on the way into Henley and I cross the line in 6:05:39, over 20 minutes under the old course record but still only second! Darn that Craig Stewart, who again annihilated the course record in 5:40:22! He’s a nice chap though and I no doubt will see him in future races. I’m very much looking forward to seeing him at the Lakeland 100 this year and the challenge of fighting it out with some pretty good runners.
There’s also quite a bit of positives I can take from the race, mainly that when I not 100% I can still be competitive and run hard.
For the future…I’m looking forward to not running the flats for a long time and getting back into the hills for some nice relaxing runs! Hell yeah…
5:15am…my alarm finally goes off. I’ve not had the best nights sleep, waking up every hour of so to cough my lungs out. I’ve felt a little run down this week, suffering from a phlegmy chest and a “sensitive” stomach. I’ve also had a bit of a twinge in my hip muscles. They’ve just felt a bit overused and tired. Oh well, that’s enough of moaning and excuses! Man up Conway! Back to the race…
I drag myself out of bed and knock back a sports drink then straight into the shower. Quickly get changed, eat an energy bar, a banana and I’m out the door to get the train to Oxford. On the train I notice another runner (we do stick out a bit), nod, but carry on past and take a seat. I wasn’t being rude or anything, it was early, dark and some people prefer their own company before a race, so I didn’t want to impose myself on him. The journey only takes 30 minutes, most of which I try not to fall asleep. Arriving at the platform, we introduce ourselves and have a general natter (about running) and make our way to the front of the station where we’re met by a handful of other runners and within a couple of minutes a shuttle bus to take us to the start a couple of miles away in Iffley. We arrive at the event base (Prince of Wales Pub) which is already quite packed and there’s only one toilet (never a good thing). I make a beeline for the loo to get “that” part of the pre-race ritual out of the way. I then start to prepare for the race, Vaseline, plasters for my nipples, sipping sports drink, but mostly thinking positively about running well and winning. Last years winning time was just under 6:25 hours and my aim is to get nearer 6 hours so I should be in with a shout. Could be difficult with the week I’ve had, but I keep positive and relax. “Unfortunately” Craig Stewart turns up, winner of the Country to Capital race! No…it’s good he’s here. The stronger the field, the more competitive a race usually becomes and in most cases result in faster times. Just before the start we have a little chat and the race photographer comes over and asks what times were aiming for. I say around 6 hours if all goes well. Craig mentions he’s only looking to get around 6:30 hours. He’s representing Scotland at a 100km race soon so doesn’t want to push too hard. I’m pretty sure he said last time he was just on a “training” run to get the miles in and ended up destroying the course record, so I take his announcement with a pinch of salt and expect him to run sub 6.
Quick race briefing and we’re off to the first checkpoint at Culham. The route follows the Thames river path all the way to Henley so is easy to navigate but pretty well flat. The underfoot conditions are sticky and there’s a bit of a wind blowing against us. Within a couple of miles me and Craig have pulled away from everyone else and get into a good rhythm just under 7 min/mile pace. We pretty much natter the whole way to Culham talking about various races, training, nutrition etc. I’d decided to try a different nutritional strategy for this race. Instead of gels I have a custom made sports drink which contains all the calories, salts and carbs I need per bottle per hour. If you fancy giving it a go take a look at Infinit Nutrition. Their website will explain it a lot better than I ever could (great customer service). I prefer to get all my nutritional needs during a race in liquid/gel form, but I find it almost impossible to consume 500ml of fluid every hour when I’m running at a pretty fast pace. On longer slower runs, it’s not really an issue. My “sensitive” stomach was also finding it hard to deal with this amount of fluid and started to cramp a bit and slosh around. We arrive at Culham and Craig continues straight through (he has a camelback); I have to stop to top up my bottle and mix in my drink. Although I lose a little time doing it this way, I just don’t get on with hydration bladders and I prefer having the option of changing what I put in my bottle. Unfortunately, the first pre-measured mix I pull out of my waistpack has somehow managed to split, I knock my refilled bottle on the floor but eventually managed to get it together and move on. I decide to put a little extra effort in to try to catch up with Craig and after a couple of miles he’s back within my sight…damn it…stomach’s turning. I dive into a bush for an emergency pit stop. I get back on my way a return to chasing after Craig. I realise pretty soon that I’m nowhere near 100% today. I’ve only covered 15 miles and I’m already finding it difficult to maintain the pace and it’s getting harder to drink my sports drink. My stomach muscles feel like they have been hit with a hammer and my hip muscles are tightening but I still manage to maintain my pace. I glimpse Craig now and again in the distance, maybe 2-3 minutes in front but decide it would be silly to try and chase him down so just concentrate on maintaining my own pace. The second checkpoint at Benson comes and goes (I top up my bottle a lot quicker this time!) and I carry on plugging away. I can’t remember if it was coming into Benson or some time after, but there was a couple of 2 mile sections of open ground along the river where the wind had picked up and was blowing pretty hard against me (and I guess all the other runners). With the sticky underfoot conditions, the wind was very unwelcome and felt like it was one step forward, two steps back, but it’s all good fun! I eventually hit mile 25 on target in just under 3 hours but knew I would find very difficult to run the next in 3 hours. I hit Goring, checkpoint 3, have a quick chat with the marshals and carry on. I had been looking forward to getting to this point as I know the course between Goring and Sonning very well as I’ve run it numerous times when I’m in Reading. Unfortunately I was feeling pretty crap at this point and not really enjoying myself. Quite a few times between Goring and the next checkpoint at Mapledurham I considered quitting at Reading but thankfully I managed to push those negative thoughts to the back of my head, concentrating on hopefully seeing my partner Annie at the last checkpoint. At Mapledurham I decided that I couldn’t drink anymore sports drink, my stomach just wasn’t playing along, so I knocked back three jelly babies and topped my bottle up with plain water. I wasn’t too worried about not getting the calories in at this point as there was only about 16 miles left and was confident that I could run that distance no matter how tired I was. I arrive at the final checkpoint and Annie is there which dramatically raises my spirits. I force down another 3 jelly babies, put 3-4 in my pocket and top up my water. The jelly babies in my pocket become my little sugar rush of joy on the way into Henley and I cross the line in 6:05:39, over 20 minutes under the old course record but still only second! Darn that Craig Stewart, who again annihilated the course record in 5:40:22! He’s a nice chap though and I no doubt will see him in future races. I’m very much looking forward to seeing him at the Lakeland 100 this year and the challenge of fighting it out with some pretty good runners.
There’s also quite a bit of positives I can take from the race, mainly that when I not 100% I can still be competitive and run hard.
For the future…I’m looking forward to not running the flats for a long time and getting back into the hills for some nice relaxing runs! Hell yeah…
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
About Me
- Terry Conway
- Welcome to my blog all about my ultra running experiences, including reports on races and interesting training runs, views on kit and equipment as well as anything else I find of interest. I love the freedom of running, the people and places you see and meet and all the challenges that come with long distance running.
