The Picnic...

was no picnic. It was damned hard. I got very bad cramp at the 18 mile point and was very close to pulling out - mainly because I was at the bottom of 200 odd steep steps and every time I tried to lift a leg up to place my foot on the next step my legs cramped up completely. Eventually I managed to sidle up the side of the steps thus avoiding having to raise my legs too high and temporarily holding the cramp at bay. It took me about 20 minutes to get to the top though and when I did I tripped over a root and fell to the ground at which point the cramps came back with a vengeance. I couldn't even stand up, it was that bad. I had to crawl along the ground to a nearby tree and haul myself up using the lower branches for support. The rest of the race - the next 8 miles - was spent trying to overcome the frequent cramp attacks which were particularly viscous on the up-hills - of which there were many!

I finally finished, to my great relief, in 6 hrs 23 mins. I was 80th out of about 120 starters many of whom dropped out at the half-way point.

I'm planning to have another attempt at the Picnic when it's run again in 2011 - hopefully I'll be able knock a few minutes off my time (maybe even get under 6 hours) and next time I'll be carrying some electrolyt drink with me which should help with the cramp problems.

Tapering for the Picnic

The Picnic Marathon is only 4 days away now so I've had my last run until Saturday's race. I started last week with a long Sunday run of around 14 miles and then took it easy on the running front with a few morning runs, a couple of swims and a 30 minute session on the rower. At the weekend I just did a 4 mile run with Jenny and then an 8 miler on Sunday. I've been using my Mizunos for most of my runs over the last couple of weeks because I think that at 850 miles the New Balance shoes are beginning to lose a bit of cushioning and I was noticing some soreness in my achilles and underneath my heel. That seems to have cleared up now so it looks as though I'll be starting the Picnic free of injury. The only slight concern is that the forecast is for very warm weather on the day of the race so I'll need to take plenty of water + electrolytes to ward off the cramps!

Turbo X trail race...

On Sunday I took part in the first of this year's Turbo X races at Bracknell. I was ill-prepared for the race having been out for two runs and a mountain bike ride the day before. In theory you're supposed to rest the day before such an event but nevermind, I just got carried away.
The weather on the day of the race was very warm and sunny. The course was pretty tough with loads of hills and of course the mandatory muddy bogs to wade through. Having had such little rain recently it was a surprise to find just how wet and muddy some parts of the course were. It was all good fun though and a good way to spend a couple of hours on a Sunday morning. I finished the race in 1 hr 56 - the distance was said to be between 10 and 12 miles.
It took me almost as long to rinse the mud out of my kit when I got home. And I must remember not to wear a white running top at these events in the future!
Check out the video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P22Z65wTWCs