North Downs Way 100 Race Report. 3 down 1 to go!

North Downs Way (NDW) 100 was leg three of the Centurion Grand Slam, the race starts in Farnham along the North Downs finishing in the village of Wye in Kent; the route is officially 102.6 miles with 3025m of elevation gain.

If you had the chance to read my blog post from the South Downs Way you are aware I have been suffering from a niggling calf injury. After finishing the South Downs Way 100-miler eight weeks ago I had to come up with a plan to get my calf in a much better shape and still have the fitness and health to cover 100-miles on foot once again.

One of the greatest advantages of calling myself a triathlete is that when I can’t run I can always swim and bike; with the type of injury I sustained cycling hard wasn’t a problem and I added some easy swim sessions to aid recovery. For a few weeks after the SDW100 I didn’t run at all, I had several physio sessions with the great Carmel Gosbee from The Sports Therapy Room in Leighton Buzzard and I cycled lots and lots, it was as if I was in the middle of Ironman triathlon training, I did long rides, aerobic intervals, hill reps, etc, with some weeks spending up to 10 hours in the saddle. Three weeks or so later and feeling much better I went out for a 20min test run and that was fine. A few days later I did 40min followed by 60min and eventually ran 8 miles without a hitch. Still cycling lots and swimming several times a week. 

Each time I visited Carmel for a physio session she’d say the calf felt better than the time before and had to spend less time treating it, I knew I was making progress but didn’t want to get too confident just yet.

After a few weeks I managed to run the last 27 miles of the North Downs without any problems (apart from getting lost!) and I now had the confidence I could finish the NDW 100 and keep my Grand Slam goal alive.

The Race

A nice early 6am start in Farnham and we were off. It’s so exciting to start a race like that, so many things going through your head,  wondering how my calf would behave during the race and how hot it was going to get (forecast was for lots of sunshine).

I quickly settled into a comfortable rhythm and my pace was effortless. It always surprises me to watch runners during the first few miles of a long ultra like the NDW breathing hard, what are they doing!? I made it to Aid Station 3 before Box Hill (25miles) in 4h13, not bad I thought, minimal effort and my calf was good and it wasn’t hot yet.  Box Hill was the first major hill we encountered on route but at that point it didn’t feel too bad, I still had fresh legs. 

It soon got hot though, but I made to Reigate Hill Aid station reasonably well, the highlight of that stop was volunteer David Ross dropping some ice cubes down my back, saucy! I carried on to Caterham Aid Station and in that section I encountered my first bad patch, whilst my legs were fine the heat was starting to take its toll, however I made it there in one piece and was greeted and photographed by my ultra friend Glyn who was also volunteering at that aid station and snapped my photo for FB. Pretty sure I look better in that picture than I felt inside. I quickly filled my water bottles, filled my hat with ice cubes and immersed my buff in icy water and I felt good to go again. 

I kept moving reasonably well and my thoughts focused on the halfway point at Knockholt Pound aid station, with experience I have gained with ultra running I know that you always get a boost at halfway, it must be psychological, but for me I can then start the countdown to the finish. A little less than 10hours and I made it to halfway. Again, fresh water, some more ice on top of my head, soaking my buff once again and I was off.  I can say I ran really well to Otford, sharing some of this time with fellow ultrarunner Ian Kittle (whom I would run with for several miles in the hours to come).

As I got to the top of hill past Otford I started to struggle, I was really hot, my legs were heavy and my tummy dodgy. At 60 miles, with no other option I had to suck it up and walk the next 4/5 miles to Wrotham Aid station, being overtaken by several runners during this time. I knew exactly what was going wrong though, because several different bodily systems require oxygen-rich blood at once (muscles to keep you moving, your digestive system and sweating to cool your body in the heat) my body had had enough. My number one piece of advice for anyone doing 100-miles for the first time is that bad patches come but they eventually go again; just keep putting one foot in front of the other until your luck turns!

As I made it to Wrotham at 60miles I started to feel better but couldn’t face any solid food. I mixed a bit of flat coke in my water bottles and keep taking my salt tablets and  repeated the ice in my hat trick and I was off and running well again. I had a really good spell of excellent running all the way to Rochester passing lots of people along the way. As I started the ascent towards Bluebell Hill it got dark and I decided to have a walking break, a sort of strategy to prevent another bad patch. I left that aid station at 76 miles feeling great again, I caught up with Ian Kittle and we shared most of those miles to Detling at 82 miles with good consistent running.

I treated each aid station like a transition zone of a triathlon, in and out as quickly as possible, not getting too comfortable and Detling was no different-I must have been there for a maximum of 2 minutes. For those that have covered those few miles after Detling, you will know how shite they are, lots and lots of really awkward steep stepped sections that go on forever, it was bad covering that section a few weeks ago in fresh legs, but you can imagine how bad it was after 82 miles. It was frustrating because you can’t even recoup the time you wasted going slow uphill, as the downhill section after was un-runnable. I just wanted to get to Hollingbourne as from there I knew  the rest of the course was gently undulating all the way to Wye.

By the time I arrived at the Lenham aid station, around 91 miles, with less than half a marathon to go, I forgotten about my calf and the cooler weather during the night was a nice relief from the heat we encountered during the day, still too warm to wear a jacket though. My watch battery had died a long time ago but I started trying to calculate what sort of finishing time I was in for using my normal watch… ‘if I can only walk near the end I can still get sub24’, ‘ but if I get a good spell I can do sub 23hrs’…It’s not easy doing maths after 20 hours+ on the feet!

From Lenham to the last aid station in Dunn Street was roughly 7.5 miles. I felt a bit like a wind-up toy car, I would run for 2mins then have to walk for 30sec to “wind-up” again. I was overtaking people only to be overtaken soon after by Ian Kittle, Gil Cramer and another runner. My competitive streak reappeared and all I thought about was the 3 places that were at stake then and I soon overtook them. With 2 miles to Dunn Street, their head torches got further and further behind me until I could no longer see them.

I reached Dunn Street aid station and I wanted to be out before those guys could catch me up again. With only 4 miles or so to the finish I didn’t bother to fill my bottles, I quickly downed some Coke and left. Another runner who was sitting down followed me out, (I think his name is David), we crossed a stile and flew down this farm field, it felt as if I had just started running, my legs and brain felt brand new.  We moved through some farmland and as we got to a road there was a small incline and he decided to walk, I seized the opportunity and gained a few metres advantage. 

I entered the village of Boughton Lees and saw two head torches ahead, another spur of speed and I passed them. Now I was looking at my watch and thinking I could even do sub22h30. A mile or so through a farm field and I would be home. To add a bit of excitement, I saw two head torches not too far in front and I gave it all I had left to pass them. I loved every second of it, and after all the shit I had been through this bit felt great. I entered the village of Wye going through the level crossing like a steam engine and I could see the village hall where the race finishes. What a relief, 22h28min, placing 24^th overall.

Three races down, only one to go! Now I’m already looking forward to the Autumn 100 in nine weeks’ time. I’m still puzzled that I didn’t get one single blister this weekend but my groin area is a mess looks like my wife attacked my groin with a box grater, don’t worry I won’t post any pictures of that…

Celebrating another finish with Mark Haynes - The Grand Slam is on!

Big thanks to my wife and kids for putting up with my obsession for long distance running and training and the lush beetroot brownies I scoffed after the race. Thanks to Carmel Gosbee, my physio for looking after me these last few weeks. Thanks to Clare and Dan who were cheering us along the route, always great to see a face you know. And a massive thanks to all the volunteers who make these races possible and to everybody that has donated to Eaves which I’m fundraising for in 2015 - https://www.justgiving.com/braziliangunner/ .  You’re all amazing!

One left to complete the Grand Slam puzzle

I’m an average runner but I feel incredibly lucky to be able to cover these silly distances. Whether you come first, last and even when you can’t finish, these experiences make you grow as person and appreciate the simpler things in life…. I wouldn’t trade these experiences for the world.

South Downs Way 100 2015 Race Report – Flirting with a DNF[1]

Early last week I went out for a nice 4-mile walk with my wife along the Grand Union canal and local woods, I said to her when we finished: ‘I enjoyed that, I wouldn’t mind doing more walking in future’. Little did I know I was in for a lot more walking soon after…

For those that have been following my endurance adventures for a while now will know (without me sounding arrogant) that I don’t usually have bad races. I don’t race a lot but I am careful with my training, nutrition and the way I look after myself generally and subsequently I have a pretty decent record of getting the best out of myself. 

The Grand Slam started in style, smashing my 100-mile personal best at the Thames Path six weeks ago but then I forgot to listen to own advice of not racing too much and signed up for the Howgills marathon in the Cumbria/Yorkshire border just two weeks later, with the intention of just plodding around and enjoying the views. To be honest that was exactly what happened but the course had some technical parts where I picked up a niggle where the top of my left calf connects to the knee. 

I got massages, eased up on the running, did lots of cycling and swimming and it went away but it kept playing on my mind as the SDW100 approached. At the B&B we were staying in before the race, my co-ultrarunner Mark Haynes and I discussed race prediction times, strategy, the South Downs Way course, etc. Getting to the start was not a problem, the weather forecast looked ideal and soon we were on our way without any stress. The first few miles ticked without a hitch, nice comfortable pace, no signs of any niggles, quick and smooth through the aid stations and certainly enjoying the beautiful views of the South Downs.

One of many amazing views of the South Downs.

By mile 25 I felt a slight discomfort with my calf and panic quickly took over me, I tried walking for a minute or two then running again but as the miles went by it got progressively worse. By mile 30 I was running with a limp and the prospect of DNF-ing seemed very real. I ran and walked to mile 35 and in that period I was still indecisive about what to do: ‘quit at the next aid station?’, ‘ask someone for a massage?’, ‘take some Ibuprofen?’…’Am I letting everyone down who has already sponsored my charity’, ‘what will it do to my confidence if I quit without a fight?’.  It was not a good place to be in mentally.

From mile 35 onwards I made my mind up to continue walking to mile 50, then I would ring my wife in case she was worried seeing from the tracker that I was slowing down. Once I made it to 50 miles in over 10 hours I quickly worked out that if I walked 3 miles per hour I would have 2 hours spare to finish the race within the 30-hour limit. Was I prepared to push my ego aside and carry on? Hell yeah! I wanted to prove to myself that I was mentally strong, the prospect seemed daunting at the time but I want that Grand Slam buckle badly and besides, I don’t want to be the sort of athlete that gives up when the going gets tough.

I phoned my wife, updated my Facebook and Twitter in case someone cared. I felt a great relief, the pressure of doing well was no longer there and just finishing was my goal now. Walking wasn’t painful at all then, every now and then I tried running but that didn’t last for more than 5 seconds, I couldn’t understand what the problem was, to lift the knee just that little bit higher to run stretched the muscle fibres further which caused great discomfort. 

Just as I was walking downhill into mile 54 (Washington Aid Station) my buddy Mark Haynes caught up and seemed surprised to see me, I explained the problem as we entered the village hall. While he stopped for some hot food I quickly left the aid station and continued with my walking.

Maybe 3 miles later Mark caught up with me again and we walked together for a bit. I didn’t want to say anything but I thought Mark felt a bit sorry for me and just wanted to offer me some company. As the time went by I realised Mark could not long run either with a problem with his foot. We were both on the same boat, lots of hours ahead, with the dream of keeping the Grand Slam alive and both determined to push through. It was SO great to have a familiar face with me, time went by quicker, we talked when we felt like it, we kept each other motivated when one another felt low, we celebrated as we made it to each aid station, we took turns opening the endless gates, we had funny moments (like when I jumped two feet in the air mistaking a stick as a snake in the middle of the night), and we just kept putting one foot in front of the other despite the hardship.

It got quite cold at night, and the kit Centurion Running demands you carry for their races was vital. I probably wouldn’t have used the spare baselayer if had I been running but it was fundamental as a walker. I usually have my phone off when racing (to save the battery for emergencies) but every few hours I turned it on for a few minutes to let my wife know I was safe. Checking messages from friends who were up till late at night telling us to keep moving was a great motivator, special thanks goes to @Leeny_Lou, loved your tweets, got me smiling every time I read them.

Mark and I got through the night in one piece, it was around mile 87 or so that it got lighter again, we knew we had plenty of time to finish but those who have been to the eastern part of the South Downs will know how much chalk there is and how hard the underfoot conditions are. Mark had been struggling with his foot and I could feel blisters on both mine, every step was painful, like a long lasting toothache, we searched the ground for the best places to walk and any sight of grass was a welcomed respite. 

We both knew the last few miles of the course and were counting down the big hills, the penultimate was just after Alfriston, round mile 91, you go through a very sharp steep hill through some trees, then once you clear this the ground hardens with lots of chalky rocks and it goes up for what seems like an eternity (see pic), it feels a bit demoralising when you see it but you’re rewarded with amazing views of Alfriston behind you.

A little over 91 miles - Relentless forward progress!

We made it to the last aid station in Jevington with just over four miles to go, we quickly left the aid station, by then our walking wasn’t so great but we knew we would make it and nothing else mattered, we could taste the finish line (and the bacon butties). We climbed the last big hill towards Eastbourne and we could see the floodlights lighting up in the athletics track at the race finish. What a relief it was to finally enter the town and leave the trails behind, I won’t need to walk on any chalk for a while! 

We tried walking a bit faster to make it in under 26 hours but it was a bit far and we had nothing left in the tank. I was so delighted to cross that finish line in 26h05min and keep the Grand Slam dream going. Like Bear Grylls says: ‘Run if you can, walk if you have to and crawl if absolutely necessary but NEVER ever give up’, glad I didn’t have to crawl though! Obviously it’s great when things go your way but what a great opportunity I had to experience something different, personal bests are very cool not doubt but having to really work hard to make it to the finish was a very humbling moment for both of us. Thanks Mark Haynes for the great company, without a doubt you made my journey a lot easier, thanks everyone who sent me messages of encouragement through the day and night, thanks everyone that donated to Eaves (https://www.justgiving.com/braziliangunner/), I really didn’t want to let you and Eaves down, thanks to my beautiful Anna and my daughters to putting up with all my training, thanks to Graham and Harvey who rec’ced the South Downs course with me last year and thanks to Centurion Running for another immaculate event and of course super thanks to the hundreds of volunteers who make this sort of events possible. 

It may have been my personal worst for 100-miles but one I will treasure for a long time. Plenty of rest and recovery for me until the North Down 100 early in August. I can’t wait!

 

I will wear that with pride.

Someone was a little tired after being up for over 30 hours!

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[1] DNF is an abbreviation for Did Not Finish.

The Grand Slam has started! – The Thames Path 100 2015 – 1 Down 3 to go

What a great start to my Grand Slam challenge; having come so close to beating that 20-hour mark last year at my 100 mile debut, I was confident enough to tell everyone that one of my goals for the 2015 season was to go sub 20 for 100 miles.

My season started back in November, when my family were away in New Zealand and I took advantage of the extra hours available and consistently logged solid swim, bike and run training. I also slept like a king with no small child around. By the time I arrived in New Zealand in January, I had a solid base of good quality training accumulated and was excited to be there for their summer, knowing I had places for both the Tarawera 100km ultra and the Motatapu off-road marathon, races which I thought would contribute to my goal of completing the Centurion Grand Slam.

Being in New Zealand was awesome; it’s not every year you can take three months off work. As an avid fan of cross-training,  I was gutted not having my bike with me but I did the best I could swimming in the local 50m pool and of course running in the Porthills of Christchurch (stunning views btw). 

Both my races there went really well and I got back to the UK with just over six weeks left until the Thames Path 100, as well as feeling fit, healthy and injury free.

The Race – Despite this being my third 100-mile ultramarathon it was still nerve wracking being at the start line, it’s a long way to run for sure and this year with the added pressure of telling everyone that I wanted the sub 20. 

I didn’t have a pace in mind to start the race, but once the gun went off I quickly settled into a 9:30 min/mile, the plan was to get mile 51 in Henley on Thames in 9 hours. I keep those sort of splits going except for a little walking every now and then until mile 25; then my body automatically chose a 10min/mile pace which lasted until Henley. I made it to Henley in 9h03min, but to be honest I hadn’t been enjoying myself from mile 30 and I think I know why. In hindsight, I got it wrong with my race plan, I broke the race down in my head to arrive at halfway then run from aid station to aid station. In future, I will do this from the get go, psychologically it’s much easier ticking each station off.

Well, I got to Henley on target and with my body in one piece; I quickly changed shoes, grabbed some food and started from scratch. I was expecting the weather to rapidly change at this point, as heavy rain was expected but luckily it held, it started to cool down though which suit me fine. I felt great all the way to Reading and managed to get there without the need of using a headtorch. From Reading onwards everything is a bit of a blur, but I do know that this is where my race really started. It’s where my body was telling me to “walk more”, but I was on a mission to run to the next aid station. What I remember was that I was constantly telling myself the following: ‘you have done a great job so far, you’re tired but you can run well, run to the next aid station where you can be rewarded with some food and a bit of walking’, and that is pretty much what I did all the way to Oxford, milestone by milestone, with little rewards as incentives, things got harder of course and although everything hurt it was the right kind of pain and I could still maintain good form. It was a battle between body and mind, run if you can, walk if you really have to. I kept reminding myself of the great six months I’d had, how great my diet was, about all the good quality sessions I had put in and the many early nights. Spotting some head torches up ahead was a great motivator to keep pushing and I picked up other runners bit by bit, just like I had last year. In 2014, I remember arriving in Abingdon (mile 91) in daylight, however last weekend it was still pitch black so I knew I was well on track for a sub20, but hesitated to start celebrating that early, a bad patch or a twisted ankle could quickly put me back. 

When I entered Oxford and left the trails behind, with just over a mile and half to go I was finally able to relax, with a new energy in my legs and raced to the finish line with my heart in my mouth. I got the job done in 19h14min, smashed my sub20hrs goal with a 53min personal best and got my highest race position, coming in 12^th.

It was such an amazing weekend and I have to say that I can’t wait to do it all over again in 5 weeks at the South Downs Way 100. A massive thank you to Centurion for putting immaculate events and to all those volunteers that give us this opportunity, I always say, no volunteers, no race!

An added bonus is that this week I realised that I now have enough points to qualify for the Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc 2016 (which my wife is obviously delighted about…).

Commitment to Health and Fitness –I have made a lifelong commitment to being fit and healthy, I not only plan on really enjoying retirement when it eventually comes (sorry kids, you’ll have to wait for your inheritance) but, I also want to silence those that say that I’ll need a hip replacement or I’ll have no knees left by the time I’m fifty.

As you have probably noticed, (if you ever read my blogs) is that nutrition has become one of my passions, I’ve read and experimented a lot and these days I believe a healthy diet boils down to two things…control of blood sugar levels via metabolic efficiency and the balancing of fats. While it may sound a little scientific, the reality is that if you eat plenty of fresh fruit and colourful vegetables (not potatoes or corn), good quality meat, poultry and fish and wide variety of healthy fats and stay away from refined carbohydrate/sugar and highly processed vegetable oils you are a few steps ahead of everybody else.

When it comes to training, we runners have a very big ego and the reality is that if you’re competitive you probably do a fair amount of ‘speed training’ or intervals every week. Races starting from half-marathon distance and beyond are almost 100% aerobic, so it would make sense to train your aerobic muscle fibres too, right? Yet I witness the majority of runners I know, training week in week out anaerobically and performing intervals, with his type of strategy the risks of injury and overtraining are high and in my opinion the rewards are very small. So called “speed work” can be an important part of a training programme but at the right time and level. I have been using Dr. Phil Maffetone’s aerobic training method for nearly two years now and I not would change it for the world. Whilst I train a lot slower then I used to, I keep surprising myself with my race performances like the one last weekend. The Maffetone Method as it’s called is all about training those aerobic fibres that we heavily rely on in long events.

While Dr. Maffetone’s method is well known in the endurance world (he coached both Stu Mittleman and Mark Allen to multiple race wins and world records), I see athletes misinterpretation of its use all the time. Not only that, if you follow Dr Phil’s ideas you will also notice that aerobic training is only part of the story, healthy dieting, sleep and overall stress management are key too. I’m a big fan of Dr. Maffetone and if I have any training secrets then you can easily find them by reading his books or checking his website! 

One last thing, to make my Grand Slam challenge more meaningful and rewarding, I have decided to raise funds to benefit a UK charity called EAVES, which specialises in helping women whose problems include being subjected to domestic violence, abuse, slavery or forced into prostitution, etc. Obviously there is lots of suffering involved in running 100 miles four, but nothing compared to what some women have to go through in their lifetime.

It would mean the world to me and if you can spare any amount towards this cause via the link below. Many thanks! www.justgiving.com/braziliangunner