Day 15 Enjoying a day off work with a run

Today's run - Slow and Steady - pavement/trails - 9K approx - 50 minutes

Today was a nerve wracking day as it was the first day myself and 49 other bootcampers waited for a call to hear our fate in the Runners World Asics Target 26.2 competition.

It is now around 9pm and I haven't received a call nor seen any evidence of anyone else having received a call via Twitter so all I can presume is that the judges are having a difficult time in deciding and will let us know their decisions tomorrow.

In terms of running as I was off work today I headed out early for a longerish run aiming for a around 10K. I headed out into my local country park of Ingrebourne Valley which you will have heard me mention often in my blogs.

I headed out alongside the Ingrebourne river before diverting off and following along some of the Spitfire Scramble course. This turned out to be appropriate as I received notification later in the day that I had been offered a place in one of the UKrunchat team for the 2015 event.

If you aren't aware of spitfire scramble it is a 24 hour team event which I took part in earlier this year, my write up of the event can be found here.

My run itself was most enjoyable, I enjoyed being out early in the quiet and enjoyed going a longer distance. The scenery was great and I found it most rewarding especially in comparison to my commute into London that I would have been undertaking at that time had I been going to work.

Despite trying to stick to paths and trails that would be more solid under foot I did encounter a few dodgy muddy areas where my trainers ended up taking a dip

into the dirty muck!

Alongside my exciting Spitfire Scramble news I also discovered today that Brentwood now have their own parkrun and it is going to be staged in the lovely setting of South Weald Park which was the venue for my third of three marathons in three months the South Weald Marathon. I am really excited to be taking part in this inaugural parkrun on Saturday and hopefully on many future Saturdays to come! 

In terms of my runstreak I continue to enjoy running everyday and continue to feel stronger and fitter. I am now halfway through and am looking forward to finish the raining days strongly.

Tomorrow will now be my day of reckoning to see if I make it through to the next stage of the process for the Asics 26.2 competition! I am keeping my fingers crossed to see what happens!

Brentwood South Weald Marathon

Sunday marked my third marathon in three months as I completed the Brentwood South Weald Marathon organised by Go Beyond in the leafy Essex countryside.

The appeal of this event was its proximity to where I live, just a 15 minute drive away. After I entered I however became less enthusiastic about the event due to it being 12 laps of a 3.5km course and I was somewhat apprehensive this would be a dull and boring monotonous event that would be a depressing mental grind.

The reality was thankfully far from the truth.

Race intro

The marathon forms part of the Brentwood Running Festival which also comprises of a 10K and a half marathon, so provides a challenge for all abilities.

The marathon is a complete off road affair, a real trail marathon, suitably tough, muddy and grueling for even the most experienced runner.

Before the event I knew to expect a tough course as I have visited South Weald Park before and so was aware of the terrain, but it wasn't until completing my first lap that I fully appreciated what a tough event this marathon was going to be.

The course

Somewhere into my second lap I quickly established my race strategy, aim for under 5 hours which would be incredibly respectable, be prepared to walk the hills and inclines and conserve energy for later in the race and keep my trainers as dry as possible for as long as possible.

I also broke the course down into two halves, one half was around the main park field where running on longish grass that was very tough on wet heavy ground. The hill up to the wood then marked the transition into the second half where the trails zig zagged in and around the woods, although undulating and technical the path here was mainly downhill I figured and was a section that I should try to move through as quickly as my legs would allow.

Interspersed in the forest were sections of treacherous muddiness where a slow to a walk was advisable. There was also the tricky ravine with a sheer drop down a root riddled bank and a muddy scramble up the other side slowed most runners progress down to a walk or a crawl.

Out of the woods a nice water sodden muddy, marshy patch awaited before the second hill climb completed the lap and took you down to the finish line.

How did I find it?

In summary; tough, muddy, tiring, scenic, challenging, autumnal and rewarding are the words that spring to mind.

I decided to run without a watch so throughout the race I had no real idea of pacing or my race time apart from the snippets of other runners completing the 10K or half marathon I heard over the loud speaker as I passed through the finish line after completing each lap.

This decision made the finish all the more satisfying as I was really pleased with my finish time as this was my fastest off road marathon.

The course was so demanding though, having completed Beachy Head Marathon this time last year I am no stranger to tough off road marathons and although the hills in South Weald Park don't quite rival the seven sisters this is still a tougher than average marathon.

As some kind of perspective I consider myself to be in much better shape running this marathon than my last two but by the half way mark my legs felt like they did at the 20 mile mark of the last two marathons.

Overall I really enjoyed the event and would class this event as a special event as it stands out for its excellent organisation, brilliant marshaling on an interesting and inspiring location and setting.

The event was very much a slick operation which included a thorough briefings given before the start of the three different races, enthusiast marshals offering encouragement on the course and a plentiful supply of refreshments available after every lap. The race represents terrific value as for the £16 entry fee you received a medal and t shirt as well as a print out of your split lap times provided to you within seconds if finishing. 

The only negative I can recall from the experience is a minor one relating to the playlist being played at the finish line, some of the songs were not what you would call your obvious choices, hearing Elton Johns candle in the wind 3/4 of the way through was extremely odd and although it didn't inspire to me run it did make me chuckle! 

On a personal note I was very pleased with my performance, I didn't find the multiple laps a drain or a bore but instead found it quite comforting to know what was coming up and to have a clearer understanding of distance covered and distance left to run.

I coped with the slight repetitiveness of running the same path over and over by talking myself through the route that lay ahead of me on the course in the same way a rally car drivers navigator talks the driver through the obstacles that lie ahead in the next few hundred metres. 

Physically I did start to tire and ache from around lap 5 and the going got harder as you would expect through laps 6 and 7. I was as ever glad and thankful for the support of my wife who was on hand with lucozade and support to keep me running into the final laps.

The last few laps were understandably all the more difficult but thankfully went by relatively quickly and I continues to feel buoyed by the growing number of multi coloured bands I was collecting to count the number of laps completed. 

Finish line

I most admit a strong feeling of elation approaching the finish line for the final time, no musical fanfare, no cheering cheerleaders or cheering crowds that you get with larger inner city marathons but instead the strong sense of satisfaction of having completed a demanding challenge with a handful of other hardy souls.  

                   

Marathon preparation trail porn

With a week to go to my next marathon I wanted to run some trails to prepare myself for the type of terrain of the marathon and to break in my trainers to the world of muddy trails as they have so far in their short life been limited to road running.

I didn't want to have to run far to get onto the trail so I headed for a less familiar route which I have never previously ran but have walked before.

It was a glorious autumn morning all be it a bit on the warm side, I was dripping with sweat from very early on in the run.

The trail was magical, the peace and tranquility, the rustic autumn colours, the leaves carpeting the ground all spoiled somewhat by an abundance of nettles and plenty of sticky squelchy mud!

                      

                

I enjoyed running it so much, I was so pleased with my decision to choose this route but at the same time so disappointed to have not come this way more often!

I covered around 13km with a slower pace due to the stoppages and slow downs caused by particularly muddy or nettley sections of the trail. 

My run took in a variety of surfaces, grass, gravel tracks, mud, soily trails with the odd bit of tarmac. I think it has set me up well for the conditions next week in the marathon where the course as far as I know will be mainly muddy off road trails. 

I felt my running was OK and I feel alot better in the build up to this marathon than the last. 

My trainers are now well and truly inducted into trail running and all I can do now is rest, eat well and hydrate in the build up to marathon number three in the last three months! 

Spitfire Scramble 24 hour team relay race

The weekend saw me take part in the inaugural Spitfire scramble, a 24 hour team relay running event held in Hornchurch Country Park Essex. 

First up I would like to say that it was an awesome event held in a great location providing great scenery and interesting landscapes and I really enjoyed the challenge this endurance event provided.

Being a 24 hour event its going to take a bit of time and quite a words to summarise and report on it, if you are a bit strapped for time my mini, condensed bite sized summary of the event is here.

As soon as I heard about this event earlier in the summer I was desperate to take part but I reluctantly decided it wasn't going to work out as I had already committed to three marathons this Autumn. I was keen to get involved as the location is ideal for me being located only a mile or so from my flat and taking place in the Country Park where I have put in so many training miles and hours over the last few years.

Up until Monday the before the race I was fairly content with planning to take part in 2015 and putting my name forward for volunteering duties at this years race. That was until I saw a tweet on Monday morning from the race organisers requesting assistance to help out a team left decimated by injury and illness. Several people had offered to run already but either couldn't commit the time or were too far away and unable to make the journey at short notice. So as a local runner my offer to run was happily snapped up by team red and I was soon welcomed into the team by my team mates on social media.

So on Tuesday, four days before the start of the race I had to quickly figure out how to plan and prepare for some grueling miles at the weekend!

I quickly scaled back the weeks training plans and after much deliberation decided It was best to stay at home and 'commute' in to the course rather than sort out camping on site at such short notice.

Saturday Morning soon rolled around and Made the 2 mile bike ride to the course to meet up with my team and to have our pre race photo. 

I was happy to meet a friendly and happy bunch all relatively eager for playing their part over the next 24 hours. 

A race schedule covering the next ten hours or so was soon in place despite the best efforts of the liveliest member of the team Bella to distract us with her insistent eager pleas to constantly throw her ball or Frisbee (don't worry this wasn't some weird warm up routine or an odd demand of the course, Bella is a gorgeous dog!)

My thoughts quickly turned to my race plans and how to fuel up for the miles ahead and I started taking on fluids and munching my way through a flapjack.

The race was soon under way and as the teams second runner I enthusiastically waited around the start area to welcome in our first runner and sprint off on my first lap.

My local knowledge served me well and I had mostly anticipated the paths and trails the course took. 

Being so focused on the event, the course and other runners the first 3kms flew past and I was ticking over nicely moving at around 4min/km pace and enjoying the run. 

5K was soon up and I was pretty shocked to have smashed my 5K PB by around 30 seconds! 

Considering the undulating terrain and the demanding Ingrebourne hill in the 4th km that's no mean feat! 

My speed week in recent weeks has obviously worked well! 

I pushed hard enough over the rest of the lap to make sure my time would have equated to a 10K PB while still being conscious of having something in the tank for future laps. 

The next few hours whizzed by and I was soon back at the course waiting for my second lap. I was a bit early and the team a little behind schedule so the runner before me was still yet to go, however our runner on the current lap was soon finishing and I was urged by other team members to run the next lap rather than waste time waiting around.

So with no warm up, little hydration and no time for a pre run toilet break off I set on lap 2!

I quickly set about passing a dozen or so runners in front of me in the first few hundred metres. Feeling Good I kept the pace and I surprised myself by being only a few seconds off my 1st lap time at 5K.

My second lap was completed in a little over my first lap time and I was incredibly proud of knocking out two blistering 10Ks only 4 hours apart! 

I headed home for food and rest before returning to the course for my 3rd lap scheduled for around 10.45PM. Thanks to the team for the lend of the head torch and off I went. It took me some time to adapt to running in the dark and the course had several areas that demanded a slower walking pace in the poor visibility.

I managed to get back home before 1AM and got just under 2 hours sleep before heading back to the course soon after 3.00 for my next scheduled lap.

London in the distance, the bright lights of the big city still shining

It was while waiting on the start line for my fourth lap that the cravings started to kick in! All I wanted was a KFC and a Lucozade and that quickly developed into a specific KFC craving, I wanted a mini chicken fillet burger and a mini chicken fillet snack box. Lets just the thought of KFC motivated me massively through my next two laps as I fantasied about eating succulent fried chicken and then formulated plans as to how I might get my hands on a KFC substitute, could I cook something similar when I got home with the ingredients I had in the kitchen? My mind raced around the local area trying to pinpoint a fish and chip shop or fast food joint that might be open in the wee small hours that might be able to satisfy my craving but I came up with nothing!

My fourth lap started at around 4.00 and I was nervous to see how my body would react to running at such an unusual hour, with little sleep and after having already covered almost 30K. 

Pretty good was the answer! Again I walked when the course demanded it and slowly plodded up most of the hills.

By the time I had finished the mixture of lack of sleep, coffee, energy drinks and endorphin's had created a heady mix in my mind for which I will call the 'Forest Gump Feeling', I am sure we have all experienced it, the feeling where you just want to run, and run, and run!

So when I was told that barring the runner after me the rest of the team would be catching up on some much needed rest I crazily put my hand up to run another lap! 

My fifth lap kicked off at around 6AM and I will be honest with you the Forest Gump affect only lasted for the one lap before tiredness and fatigue set in.

Courtesy of Andrew Kenyon https://plus.google.com/app/basic/s?sc=po&sq=andrew+kenyon

My experiences on this lap were pretty different to anything I had experienced while running before. I really enjoyed running in the calm and quiet of the early morning sunshine and the satisfaction that came with knowing I was completing something awesome while the rest of the world slept. The second half was a real challenge though as the lack of sleep turned my mind into a zombie like state. At least two runners spoke to me as they passed, I heard them, I registered their greeting and formulated a response in my mind but my brain was too tired to put any of these actions into practice. I even had my photo taken at this point but couldn't really muster a decent pose or expression!

After this fifth lap my legs were know heavy and stiff and tiredness had now well and truly set in, the bike ride was tough but did energize me and loosen up my legs somewhat. 

Having failed to find of a solution to satisfy my KFC craving I still required some serious calories and good tasting ones at that! As soon as I got in the through the door I started preparing a bacon sandwich! It filled the gap but unfortunately it didn't go anyway to satisfying my craving, stomach filled it was time for a nice warm shower before jumping into my comfy bed (not to rub it in anyone that camped!).

Sleep didn't readily come over me and when it did it was only in a short sharp 20 minute burst. Waking up feeling refreshed but with my legs suffering the pain of running almost 50K I decided I definitely had one more lap in me and I knew by the time I got up and ready I would feel a lot better and so I did! I definitely didn't have the mental or physical strength to bike there again though so I took the tube one stop and the short bus ride back to the course.

By 10.30 after a coffee, some jaffa cakes and an energy drink I was waiting eagerly on the start line to run again. The last lap I wanted to run well and enjoy, I reflected on my positive performance, how well I had coped with the demands of such an event and how I had enjoyed the course, its location and scenery and the fact I had been able to share my usual training routes with so many other runners.

Courtesy of Andrew Kenyon https://plus.google.com/app/basic/s?sc=po&sq=andrew+kenyon

With my last lap completed by 11.30 the team had time to send out a last runner before the 12.00 deadline. All was left for me was to sit on the grass in the warm, bright sunshine and reflect on such an enjoyable event and experience. 

After some team photos and plenty of cheering and clapping for the various medal winners it was time to head off, it was a bit weird leaving the course knowing I wasn't going to be heading back in a few hours! 

Thanks for reading, to anyone that ran in Spitfire Scramble I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did and if you didn't run this year I hope you are inspired to run next year or to enter a similar event. Massive thanks go to everyone how made the event possible, the race organisers and marshals for their time and for all the participants for taking on the challenge and creating a great atmosphere, lets do it all again next year?!