DNF Denial

It must be old age but I seem to have subconsciously hidden from memory my previous DNF when I tore my calf in October. I know that's as good a reason as any not to finish but why couldn't I remember it when I wrote my previous post? I'm wondering now if there are any others I've tucked away at the back of my mind. Nope.

But then again......

P.S. The picture is borrowed from http://www.kondis.no/index.php?lok=motbakke and shows the ascent up Pen-y-Ghent (first of the 3 Peaks). I'm wearing black and yellow just in front of the guy in white with the orange band. Not sure how all those people got in front of me.

1.5 Peaks - Learning the Hard Way

Well there's a first time for everything and yesterday was it. My first (and hopefully last) DNF.

The promised low cloud and rain thankfully failed to materialise to be replaced by the most unpredictably weather ever. Is the sun going to break through or are the promised clouds going to appear? What to wear? In the end it was shorts and long sleeved Gore top. Half a mile into the race and the sun was burning me up on the climb up to Pen-y-ghent (ascent 465m). I'm wearing my old Adidas Swoops. Last time I wore these I tore a calf muscle towards the end of a race. I put this down to not having used my orthotic insoles. So this time I had them in the shoes.

Lesson #1: Never use new gear or untested gear in a race.

I'd only used the insoles in these shoes for 40 mins prior to the 3 peaks raceday. Going up Pen-y-ghent I could feel my toes rubbing on the front of the shoes. Not good. Looking at them afterwards it's pretty obvious that the heel cup on the insoles pushes the foot forward about 5mm. I didn't have 5mm to spare in those shoes.

The 3 Peaks course comes back on itself after the Pen-y-ghent summit so we mere mortals got to see the front of the race as the elites came down. The two Bingley Harriers runners who had ruled the 3 Peaks roost for the last 5 or 6 years, Andy Peace and Robb Jebb, had company this year (due to the internationals here as the 3 Peaks was hosting the WMRA World's Long Distance Mountain Challenge). The first woman was also way up front.

Coming down off Pen-y-ghent I did my usual and passed half of those who had passed me on the way up. Obviously they didn't learn about gravity at school. Nutritionwise I was carrying plenty of isotonic drink and energy gels. I was taking a gel every 20 minutes as recommended but the drink was a bit sickly.

Lesson #2: Make sure you get the mixture right in your drinks.

In making up my drinks I'd over filled the powder and ended up with an 8% solution instead of my usual 6%. It'll be alright I thought but it was not nice to drink.

The route from Pen-y-ghent to Whernside is a 7 or 8 mile slog over undulating tracks, bogs and fields followed by farm track and road for a couple of miles. This wasn't kind to my feet and as I was running along the road with my toes subconsciously curled up I could feel my calf muscles tightening in that 'turning to wood' sort of way they do just before they tear (I'm getting used to this feeling having done it three times). I decide that if there's any massage service at the Ribblehead control I'll get my legs seen to. Needless to say there wasn't so as I fill up my camelbak with the drink I'd forwarded to the control, I massage my muscles myself. They feel a bit better so I set off up Whernside (ascent 440m). After crossing Winterscales Beck the trudge starts.

As usual on any uphill section I start to get passed. This time it gets a little worrying as those passing me look a lot like the tail end charlies you see in most races. I though I was carrying a little surplus weight (I'm currently a very heavy 12st 10lb) but some these are decidedly unfit looking. Something's up I think as my legs get weaker and weaker. It was a weird feeling as I feel I've plenty of energy but no strength. Lactic acid? Then, about two thirds of the way up, just before the really steep (hands and knees steep) bit to the summit, my legs cramp up. First my calfs then, as I try and straighten these, my thighs. Not good at all. I take some salt to see if that works but to no noticeable effect. The cramps return whenever I try to move uphill. I check my watch to see that I've got an hour to get up to the top then down to the Hill Inn check point.

Lesson #3: Take heed of warning signs. I'd been having cramps in my feet at night for a couple of weeks prior to the race and took no notice of them. Some mineral imbalance may have been the cause.

Decision time. I either keep going and try to make the cut-off and then still have Ingleborough to climb, coupled with the risk of doing my calf muscles some damage, all followed by a 200 mile drive home or I cut my losses, learn from the experience and live to run another day. I've never not finished an event before but maybe I'm getting a little wiser with age and I opt for the bail out. So, I get the waterproofs on (cramping up more in the process) as I'm starting to freeze in the wind, and contour across the face of Whernside and pick up the race route descending down to Hill Inn. On the way down I get more cramps including one in my inner thigh. Very painful and unusual. I got talking to another runner who's also packed in and a spectator who offered us a lift back to the race finish.

I'm at the finish to take a picture of my mate Dave finishing. "What kept you?" I ask as he leaves the finish tent bedecked in his Yorkshire slate finisher's medal. "Nice trip in the drop out bus?" he asks.

Lesson #4: Prepare properly. After resuming training in February I found that I could run hilly 20 milers in the Chilterns feeling strong at the end and with no after effects. This gave me a false sense of security so I didn't bother putting in the necessary training.

All in all some lesson's well learnt. I need to do a bit more research on the cramp aspect but most importantly I just need to get more quantity and quality back in my running and show a bit more respect to a decent race. Loosing a stone in weight wouldn't go amiss either.

And the race result? Well the Bingley lads didn't win this year. A young English guy by the name of Jethro Lennox won. In fact the first three didn't appear in the list of elite runners in the race programme. Jebb and Peace came 4th and 10th respectively. Billy Burns, a regular on the Jungfrau Marathon podium finished 8th. Of the 25 elite runners listed in the programme only 4 made the top ten.

I'll be back.

Winter, spring, summer or fall.....take your pick

Two days after biking and running on a glorious warm spring day I was out running in 2 inches of snow. This was a long road run round the back lanes in the Chilterns. It was bitterly cold but it had stopped snowing and despite the cold, by the time I got home the snow had all but melted. I picked a hilly route and was fairly pleased with the run but felt a little jaded having been out dancing at a Northern Soul do 'til gone midnight the night before.

It was the second time that I'd been out in my new waterproof top and I must just say how impressed I am with it. It's a green Salomon Paclite Jacket. It's very minimalist in design with a rolldown hood, waterproof zips and just two hip level pockets but it is great to run in. You forget you're wearing it which is exactly what you want from a running jacket. No chaffing or scraping just excellent breathability and wind and waterproofness.

I'm also very impressed with another recent purchase, my Gore running top and tights. Same thing as the jacket. They do their job brilliantly without making their presence felt.

Bring on the weather.

What is it with Tonys and Tumours?

On Friday I met up with an old friend and colleague Tony for a bike ride in the forests south of Bracknell. I hadn't seen Tony for several years and recently I spent a whole year thinking he was dead after the last email I received from him said he was going into hospital for a major operation to remove a tumour from his gullet and then I heard nothing. I assumed the worse and was too much of a coward to get in touch with his wife to confirm my suspicions.

Eventually Tony resurfaced having had a successful operation and recovery. This all occured in the same period that my brother Tony (see previous posts) had his fatal brain tumour, so to find that my friend Tony had survived had a great impact on me having thought I'd lost both Tonys. It was as if he'd literally come back from the dead to my enormous relief.

After many months emailing trying to arrange a gettogether we finally managed it on Friday. It was great to see him in the flesh. So off we went into the forest catching up on our different but equally life affirming sagas. The weather was warm and sunny and we lapped up the simple pleasure of biking through the trees with the sun streaming through the trunks. Bliss.

Inspired as I was by the bike ride, later on the same day I took the dog out for a run round Wendover Woods. I chose an up and down course and was pleased with the way I'm handling the hills. I'm tackling them very differently than I was a year ago. I reckon that the Jungfrau experience has not only put the Chilterns into proportion mentally but that I've actually grown stronger since last year. I can actually attack the hills now which is a new experience for me. Another factor I believe is my improved knowledge on hydration and nutrition.

Still can't shift that superfuous 5 kilos though.

I'm Back!

Well, as I suspected I couldn't resist having another crack at the Jungfrau so what better place to log it all than here in my good old blog. I've just had my entry confirmed so this will be the first of many posts.

Having been disappointed with my time last year (although mighty glad to have finished considering I tore my calf in my next race) I thought I'd go for a 4:30 run (equivalentish to 3hr normal marathon).

I'll be 50 by then but I'm humbled to see that there's a Swiss guy on the start list who was born in 1927 and a couple from St Albans who were born in the mid 1930's. If they beat me I'm taking up golf.

Before that I've got to get over (literally) the 3 Peaks in April. That's got a similar ascent to the Jungfrau but lots more descent. It's also hosting the WMRA World Mountain Running Challenge that was hosted at last year's Jungfrau. I've a feeling that this will be a much more local affair though with only a few hundred runners.

Here we go again.....

The Valley

Couldn't resist adding this picture down the Lauterbrunnen valley taken by my daughter Vicky (photographer extrordinaire) from the train up to Wengen. Is there another marathon in the world with such an incredible setting?

Jungfrau Wrap Up

So, it's time to put the Jungfrau Marathon behind me (for this year anyway) and move on to my next objective, the OMM at the end of October, but before I do that I thought I'd wrap up by showing you what we got up to before leaving Switzerland.

The day after the race was overcast in Wengen. Rosie, Vicky and Polly took the train over to Zurich to visit Rosie's sister but Lucy and I decided to take a walk. We could see on the local live TV channel that it was actually sunny on the hills above the clouds so we took the cable car from Wengen to Mannlichen. This took us into the clouds then burst through into bright sunlight. The view was amazing:

We were so lucky that the weather wasn't like this the day before as most of the race would have been below and in these clouds. As it was it was perfect for sight seeing. We climbed to the top of Mannlichen hill and enjoyed a 360 degree view of this sea of cotton wool just below our feet. As we watched the clouds on the Grindlewald side of the hills started to creep up towards us covering the route we intended to take down to Kleine Scheidegg.

So, we walked down to Mannlichen again and into the clouds shown above. The route to KS was a nice broad path mostly sloping downhill. There were no views due to the cloud but it stayed reasonably warm. We came across one or two people wearing their JM finishers t-shirts so it wasn't just me who couldn't just take it easy after the race. In Kleine Scheidegg we bravely sat out in the cloud on the balcony at the Eigernordwand restaurant for lunch. I had one of their soups in which the bowl is actually a scooped-out loaf of bread. As I ate the soup I sliced of the top of the loaf and used that with the rest of the soup working my way down until it was all gone. Brilliant idea. No washing up.

In KS they were dismantling the equipment from the race. The showers were all packed up and the barriers had been removed. The frame above the finish line was still there eerily emerging from the mist as we walked towards it. I couldn't resist running across the finish line for a second time.

We then walked back along the race route. As we did the cloud below us cleared and we could at least see down into the valley if not up above us. Up to chocolate corner then through the dip to the top of the morraine, the highest point on the race at 2311m.

Then it was down the morraine. It looked a lot steeper going down than coming up. I was impressed anyway.

We could hear the glaciers off to our left cracking in the sun but couldn't see them. The contrast to the day before was especially noticably going down the morraine. No crowds, no bagpiper, no runners, no sun and no view. What a difference a day makes.

I was very suprised at how little my legs seem to have suffered. When on the training week they said that it's the downhill running that makes the legs ache so much and they may be right but I'd have expected to be aching a lot more after all that effort. I attribute some of that to my relentless intake of fluids and energy foods during the race.

So, we worked our way down the morraine to the cairns on the ridge above the Wixi. Where I topped off the highest cairn.

Going down from here we noticed lots of litter from the race, mostly the tops from gels and gel packets so we started doing our bit and picked them up. As we got further down, just past the notorious bottleneck where I got held up, the barrier tape from the race hadn't been cleared and the litter increased so assuming someone was going to come back a clear up I tied our stack of litter in a neat pile in the tape. Just around the next bend there was tons of litter, mainly cups, and the 38.25km marker. Between this and the Wixi had been cleared of litter so they'd either decided to come back later and clear up or had abandoned it (I noticed from the train the next day that the tape and km sign were still there).

After a walk down to the Wixi ski lift station and up to Wengenalp we left the race route and caught the train back to Wengen.

The next day we were going home but as our flight wasn't until 21:50 we decided to squeeze in a trip up to the Jungfraujoch on the train. So, leaving our cases in the chalet it's back up to KS then get the Jungfraujoch train. This goes into the Eiger then doubles back up to the underground, and Europe's highest, station. On the way there are two stops. The first is to look through the windows stuck halfway up the north face of the Eiger. This is a unique opportunity to get a climber's eye view from the north face. Amazing. Unfortunately a photograph just can't take it all in. You have to be there. The second stop was on the other side of the Eiger and looked out over the Eismeer glacier with its housesized blocks of ice in a frozen cascade.

Up at the Jungfraujoch you can go out onto a balcony overlooking the Aletsch Glacier, at 22km long it is Europe's longest ice flow. This is the Wren tribe in front of it:

You can also go out onto the snow (or rather ice, as it was compressed by tourists walking on it). I'm not sure it would pass health and safety checks in the UK as it sloped away in all directions and the only thing stopping you from sliding away into oblivion was a very dodgy looking rope fence.

At 3500m the air is noticably thin up here. We had been told that, for some reason, Japanese tourists were particularly suseptible to the thin air and would regularly faint. Sure enough all the seats around the station were taken up by very weak looking Japanese tourists, many holding their heads in their hands. We then had a look round the Ice Palace carved into the glacier.

We just had time to nip up to the Sphink observation platform (even higher than the station) before we had to dash back for a train down. We didn't get time to see the huskies or walk across the snow to the Jungfraujoch hut and look down the Eismeer but we were were happy with our little excursion and glad to get back to thicker air.

Picking up our bags we said goodbye to our wonderful apartment and set off home.

If you ever want a holiday in this incredible region and fancy treating youselves then take a look at this place (http://www.chaletwengen.com/). Our apartment covered the left hand side of the first floor (where my girls are on the balcony above).

So, after 11 months and many hundreds of miles of training, injuries, a not insignificant amount of expense from me and my marvellous sponsors and a large amount of sacrifice from my darling wife and daughters in putting up with my absences was it all worth it? Too bloody right it was. What a fantastic privilege to be free to do such a thing. I have some irreplacable memories, met some wonderful people and found out many things about myself and what makes me tick. It has been a voyage of discovery in many senses. Can't wait for the next one.

Thanks for coming with me on this trip. Stay tuned for the next installment.

Post Race Analysis

This is the heart rate and altitude graphs from my run in the Jungfrau Marathon. It tells quite an interesting story. You can see how slowly I was going for the first half. My heart rate was hovering around 130bpm when it should have been around 140. Quite a few of the dips in heart rate are from when I stopped at the drinks stations but those towards the end of the race are when I was held up. The point at which we came to a standstill just around the bend from the Wixi drinks station is particularly noticable. My heart rate slowed to 95bpm. How ridiculous is that during a marathon.

I've also superimposed the ascent (height adjusted to account for base height) of the Chiltern Hills where I train. Quite a difference. Even Ben Nevis would only come about 80% of the way up the graph.

I'm seriously considering doing it again next year to see what time I would get with a more focussed attempt at getting a good time. My time of 5h 8m equates to a 3h 20m normal marathon. I'd hope to do a 3h normal marathon so there's clear room for improvement.

Better start training then!

Official Imagery

Photos from http://www.marathon-photos.com/ (for a fee):

This is me levitating above Lauterbrunnen high street .....

...and this is me impersonating a proper runner .....

...and this is me (1500m higher and 3 hours later) pretending to be tired on the morraine...

...and cruising down to the finish line....

I'd have tucked in my shirt if I'd known I was going to have my picture taken.

Bet you didn't spot the shoe change.

..... and here's me in action (from http://www.finisherclip.ch/):

Click on the play button and look for the white cap coming down the hill.

Thanks for watching.

A Letter to my Sponsors

Dear Sponsors,

Just a quick note to say thank you again for your tremendous support and sponsorship. It really helped me to put in the necessary training that made the run on the day a possibility and a wonderful experience. Your job was done as I stood on the start line. I was in the right mental and physical state to tackle this amazing run. I'd learnt a hell of a lot in my training. How to handle injuries, what to eat and drink and even what not to eat.

Throughout the last few months I have been very conscious that you didn't have to give anything but have been repeatedly amazed by your generosity. It clearly touched a nerve with some of you who have your own similar personal experiences.

Together you have donated a significant sum of money that will no doubt make a real difference to the lives of brain tumour sufferers and their families either through research or directly in terms of support. Even the smallest token of support or understanding can make all the difference to a family under the death sentence that this condition often brings.

Thank you for helping me to make a difference.

Yours humbly,

Mick


P.S. Some of you will be relieved to know that at no stage in this run did I partake in the use of lycra.

Day 0 - Race Day

Greetings from from Kleine Scheidegge!

Job done. That's me in front of the north face of the Eiger. The weather was absolutely perfect. It was lovely and sunny but not once did I feel too hot. The scenery was stunning. My fan club were out in force (aka Rosie, Vicky, Lucy and Polly) and managed to see me at five different places by jumping on the (extremely crowded) mountain trains.

After my scary run the other week where I fell to pieces after 15 miles I was determined to make sure I kept hydrated and my energy levels topped up. As it turned out I had a 26 mile long buffet. I took so much fluid and energy stuff at each water station that I'd only just finished it by the time I reached the next one. It did the trick as I didn't have any real lows, no cramps and I feel fairly spritely considering, but I'll be giving energy bars, gels and drink a miss for a few days.

At one drink station I was handed a honey based gel sachet that has been pre-opened, unknown to me. The stuff flooded out all over my hands and got everywhere. It was horrible. I had to keep my fingers spread for over a mile to stop them sticking together. Gross.

Unfortunately, it took me a time just outside of 5 hours (5:08) to drag my carcass up the mountain but (and here comes the excuse) the crowds were horrific. I made the mistake of starting too far back and got stuck behind hundreds of other runners. Interestingly, I finished in a time identical to the expected finish time zone that I started in, just behind the 5 hour marker. Normally, I'd start as near the front as possible and run like hell to get clear but I was worried about tiring myself out on this one. Big mistake. I had no room to move for the first 20km and most of the last 4km. It was like Oxford Street on a Christmas Eve. I did manage to make up about 20 places on the last downhill stretch due to the Swiss reluctance to let loose downhill (and thanks to a wide path). In fairness being held back probably stopped me overdoing it but I reckon on the day I could have done 4:45ish. My fellow blogger Aquaasho did a fantastic run of 4:19. Well done AC. Shame we didn't meet up.

I managed to meet up with a few of my new friends from the August training week at the start, Robert (French), Rolf (Dutch) and Franz (Swiss German). I also bumped into Diana (Swiss French) several times on the run. Looking at the results I was sandwiched between Karl-Ludwig (German) and Denise (Swiss German) by a few minutes. Unfortunately I didn't see either of them.

On the run down to the finish I experienced a very strong wave of emotion. It was the pent up grief I've bottled up since Tony died. I've had similar waves recently. It's as if the pressure has found a way out but I managed to put the stopper back in. This time I found to difficult to breath properly but as I was sprinting downhill at the time I reckon it provided the distraction required to stop the wave. I was expecting to have my own private breakdown at the finish but it was just too crowded and busy to afford that particular luxury. It'll have to wait until another time.

This blog has served its purpose now but I can't shut it down just yet so stay tuned while I decide what to do with it. TTFN

The News from Wengen

Well we're here at last. The weather is perfect, sunny but not hot and the apartment is fantastic. Here's the view out onto the balcony.

Rosie and I sat in bed with our morning cuppa watching the sunlight creep down the mountainside.

They are setting up for the run just above us on Wengen main street. It's all so close now. Here's Rosie and me in Wengen looking at the preparations.

We're off down into Interlaken this morning (if I can get the girls out of bed). I need to pick up my race number and the girls have shopping withdrawal symptoms having been removed from shops for more than 24 hours.

Finally, they are ready so I have to go now. Watch this space.