Done and Dusted

Well that's that then!  The morning after the day before and boy oh boy am I suffering!  PAIN like I've never felt before.  I'll come to that in a moment.  I'll give you a blow by blow account;

3am - Alarm goes off and I wander to the bathroom to get ready.

3.15am - forced some porridge down and checked my bag (I had no idea of how much stuff to take, I had changes of clothes, numerous pairs of socks and a fair amount of food too.)

4am - arrived at the Strawberry to meet up with the rest of Team Jake.  Cars were loaded and off we went.

5.30am - Arrive at the start line, just time to grab a bottle of lucozade (other energy drinks are available) have a quick wee and then we were off.  My timing chip didn't scan properly so I was left on my own - probably a good thing, meant I could go at my own pace.  I felt really good and was really enjoying it round the lake.  I met up with a couple of lads - Ade and Mike - who I ran with unto the bottom of Dunmail Rise when I left them.  Seeing some Marshalls I knew was really nice to helped me get up the Rise where every other parked car was cooking bacon!

7.05am - Check Point 1 (Grasmere 10.4 miles) - felt great and was pleased with my progress!  Then the nightmare that was Red Bank!!  I had heard that it was bad and these fears were confirmed when there was a sign that said "low gear now"  I was almost on all fours when I reached the top.  I met a fellow debutant on the top who was from Preston, he was suffering with a sore knee, I walked with him to the next Check Point .

7.42 - Check Point 2 (Elterwater 13.4 miles) - thighs were burning at this point, more from the descent from red bank than the ascent.  I was really hungry by this point and the bananas and juice at the Checkpoint was very welcome.  I walked and jogged a bit to the next checkpoint in Coniston.  There were some pretty long climbs and all the aches and pains seemed to start - thighs and calves.

8.45 - Check Point 3 (Coniston 18 miles) - I was really hoping to see my support here as I was in need of some food.  I also was really surprised and pleased with my progress.  My support wasn't there so I only had some of the juice on offer and then embarked on the second really severe climb of the day.  This was made worse with this section being on a rough path.  Dropping down to the next Checkpoint it was becoming evident that I was going to struggle to run much more or for any length of time.

9.12 - Check Point 4 (Brantwood 20.4 miles) - FOOD thank goodness.  I resisted the burgers and hotdogs on offer and had a tuna sandwich and a couple of bananas.  Still no sign of my support but the wonderful people who had given up their time looked after me!  The next leg took me down the side of Coniston, an reasonably flat section so I tried to run some more but my feet were really starting to hurt as were my thighs and hips.  Strangely, when I ran the muscle and joint pain seemed to go but my feet killed.  This led me to introducing a tactic which involved setting a target to run to - either a telegraph pole, the count of 200 or the length of a song on my iPod.  I must thank Mark Johnson who walked some of this section with me and also gave me an energy gel to give me a bit of a boost - he wasn't lying when he said it was disgusting!

10.41 - Check Point 5 (Lowick 27 miles) - Saw Nick and Jo here and fired into some sweets and Lucozade.  I embarked on what was the hardest section for me.  Kirkby Moor - horrendous.  My groins were really hurting now as were my feet and I never thought it was going to end.  The weather was also starting to worsen.

11.21 - Check Point 6 (Kirkby Moor 30.5 miles) - Seeing the 30 mile marker was a big boost, knowing that it was now single figures to get home.  I had arranged to see Lianne and Lily at the next checkpoint which was probably the only thing that kept me going.  The worst bit was when a crested a rise thinking that must be it and I should be dropping down and all I could see was the road stretch and climbing into the distance - sole destroying!

12.16 - Check Point 7 (Marton 34.5 miles) - Not far to go!  Saw Lianne and Lily which was fantastic and boosted my spirits for the last 6 miles or so.  I had started to rain again at this point, unlike first thing though it wasn't warm.  Coming out of the village I was given some home made energy cake by Margaret from the Barrow and District Disability Association support team which was delicious!  I managed to jog the last little bit down into Dalton where my mum and sister were waiting to see me.  It was pouring down at this point.

Check Point 8 - (Dalton 37 miles) - Last leg.  The timing equipment was broken here.  I saw mum and sister who offered to walk the last leg with me which helped.  I had my first wee since 5.30 at the bottom of Mill Brow and in the portaloo I found that I hadn't realised how cold I was!  Still only a couple of miles to go.  Walking over Mill Brow and down Abbey Road all the beeps and shouts from cars and passers by really spurred me on and (figuratively speaking) put a spring in my step.  My sister left me at the end of Wheatclose Road and summoned up the energy/adrenalin to run up the drive at Vickers cheered on by Lianne, Lily, sister in law Keely, Reece and Autumn to finish.

13.40 - Finish - 40 Miles - Total time - 8 Hours 6 Mins  53 Seconds.

Very happy with my performance and the couple of free pints went down a dream! 

So what was the damage -
2 blood blisters covering my little toes
Matching friction burns where my under crackers had rubbed (nice)
Sharp pain behind my right knee
All over lower body stiffness.  Getting in and out of; chairs, bed and the bath, up and down stairs, well moving in general is more than painful! 

Would I do it again?  I very much doubt it, although I am thinking about doing the Windermere Marathon next year. 

All that is left for me to say is, thanks to all those involved with organising and running the K2B, thanks to Nick and Jo for sorting Team Jake out and congrats to all those who endured the day, was it worth it?

Lastly a big thank you to Lianne and Lily for spurring me on at my lowest moment, being there when I finished and believing in me.

Otto out.

A Sheepish Return

ARRGGHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
4 days to go, very worried!

Well I've been out for a run for the first time in about 2 and half weeks and it went surprisingly well.  Granted it was only about 4 miles but once my breathing settled down it I felt pretty good.

So why haven't I blogged for so long?  I haven't ran for ages, simple.  Why haven't I ran for so long?  Basically lazy, in a nutshell.  The long answer is to do with the introduction of night games into my weekly timetable.  But why does this stop you from running I hear you cry?  Playing 2 games of football a week on hard pitches makes Michael's joints, muscles and everything else sore!  It isn't as though I haven't been doing any exercise - I have still been spinning twice a week coupled with the 2 games a week for the last 3 weeks.  I haven't blogged about it as this is meant to be a blog about my running training and who wants to hear about how consistantly inconsistant Hawcoat Park Ressies are!

SO, the run this evening.  A most enjoyable trot which took in the Abbey Greenway which was very pleasent apart from the flies.  I must have inhaled a fair old few.  The flies weren't the only hazards on the way though.  Along the way I enjoyed lambs gambolling in the fields and a mother duck and ducklings also swam past.  Whilst enjoying this I nearly joined the ducks in the river, must concentrate.

I'm going to try and fit at least one more run in before the big day just to clear the lungs out.  I'll tell you all about it, promise.  And maybe more excitingly I will blog about my experiences this coming Saturday (and I promise it won't be all about how ridiculously early the 4am meet is!)

Wish me luck or if you are feeling generous you can still sponsor me by going to - http://www.keswick2barrow.co.uk/sponsor/welcome.asp?ID=2678

Big kiss
Otts