The Equinox 24 Hour Run (The Big One)

So, a 24 hour relay run then.

We arrived with the car full of food and clothing and set up the tent next to the running route on the final couple of kilometres; this meant the running-one could just shout on the way past and give the resting-one enough time to walk over to the Start/Finish for transition. We flipped a coin for who would start in the big bunch (there was a 10km race starting at the same time as the 24 hour run), and I (Sam) got to go first. By this stage it was a relief to be finally starting.

We’d obviously been training all Summer for this run, doing 10km runs and, in Rach’s case, a half-marathon to build up fitness and strength. However, one thing we couldn’t improve upon was reliability issues with our own bodies. Rach has historically had a bum knee which would regularly fail within 10km, causing severe pain. Throughout the Summer, she’d managed to improve its resistance to exercise completing all but the last mile or so of the Tewkesbury half-marathon before it gave up. As I have mentioned before, my joints are all made of chicken bones and fine glasswork, and about two months before the run I had to stop running altogether to rest a persistent achilles problem and some sort of toe injury which came out of nowhere. I did lots of cycling to keep up fitness, but couldn’t know how my body would fare with actual running.

I therefore lined up for the first lap with some serious trepidation: would my achilles/calf hold out, would my “running” fitness be sufficient, and would my body work generally for the whole race? The whole idea of running a 24 hour race was always going to be a Challenge for us, and it turned out to be exactly that.

We both found our first laps to be fairly pleasant, holding back on pace and taking the steep off-road hill gingerly to protect our legs for the “long run.” But overall it seemed like a good course. There was more off-road than expected, which takes more of a toll on knees and ankles, but the surface was generally flat even if the overall terrain was not. After finishing our respective laps we were quickly eating, drinking plenty, stretching and resting before the next effort. My second lap went without incident, although I didn’t have to consciously slow myself down this time, having found a nice rhythm. Unfortunately Rach’s second lap (thus our 4th) heralded the beginning of her traditional knee problems; around halfway it began to hurt, and by the time she handed the relay wristband over to me she’d been pushing through pain for the best part of 5km. Perhaps through some sort of resonance, both my knees decided to mutiny halfway through my following lap and suddenly it all got very real (as in “this shit” to use the parlance of our times). Running, or even walking, downhill became nigh-on impossible, and if you can’t go DOWN-hill then you’ve generally got problems. Arriving back, Rach had put knee supports on and (literally/figuratively) girded her loins for another lap which, by all accounts wasn’t a pleasant experience.

During this lap (Rach’s 3rd, total 6th), whilst going to the tent to get knee supports for my own failing synovial joints, I accidentally locked the only car key in the car. This was a bad idea. Combined with the crippling pain we were now independently experiencing, we took 30 minutes away from the track to find a solution to the new problem. Fortunately there was a series of very helpful people at the event and a, frankly, wonderful ex-copper helped us break into the tiny yellow car to once-again access all of our necessary belongings. I immediately decided to go back onto the track in the failing light to get another lap in.

This was my lap four, and it was horrible. As soon as I’d started I realised that I’d still failed to put knee supports on (what with all the excitement), although I can’t imagine they would have made much difference. It had also started to rain. The rain intensified and it got dark. Also pain happened in a chronic kind of way. By the end of the lap my right hip, both knees and right ankle were just awful. Some sort of tendon was just sticking out of my ankle, which was interesting. However, I got ‘round the course, albeit slowly, and by the time I’d finished the rain had stopped.

This just left a pitch black, sodden course for Rach to navigate, despite her ongoing pain issues. As usual, she smashed through regardless but, arriving back, had come to the same decision that further laps in the slippery darkness would be absolute folly for our defective limbs. We therefore had a rather frustrating wait assessing if and when it would be possible to do any more laps. And it was frustrating. Fitness was not a problem, but our joints really were. We wanted to be out there piling on the kilometres, but could really not afford to blow a knee.

However, in the morning I decided I’d do one more, regardless. We’d done 80km so far, and if we could both eke out just one lap, however slowly, we’d at least reach 100km. Rach wanted to go first, feeling a little improved from the enforced respite and bolstered by even more joint supports, so set off around the 10km loop. I could barely stand up, and could get from sitting to standing without using my arms a lot. It took her a while, and involved lots of “walking” but Rach managed her fifth lap. I then set off to complete the slowest lap ever using the most hilarious gait. The only time you could really call it running was when I got to the grassy hill which I went down backwards; that was surprisingly unpainful, as remarked to me by a lady who subsequently overtook me, but had copied my technique; on Rach’s last lap she had also decided to use the reverse-perambulation technique (great minds think alike). When I finished this definitely-final lap, Rach had decided she was going to try for one more! The thinking being, even if she failed, it wouldn’t reduce the amount we’d done.

So overall we did 110km (Rach doing 6 laps, me doing 5) between us. We also temporarily lost the ability to walk. Walking down stairs is still unpleasant. Despite being a little disappointed at our knees (etc) at giving up so early, we were pleased to have gone so far and really pushed our limits. Suffice to say, running long distances is not our forte, so we’re unlikely to ever undertake something so contrary to our bodies’ capabilities again. Initial results seem to show us coming 9th out of 12 “pairs.” Also, when compared to the big teams and some solo runners, we actually “ran” more individually than quite a lot of the other competitors.

The main thing is that lots of lovely people have kindly donated to the worthy causes on

www.teamsnow.co.uk

Obviously there is still time to donate. Thanks to all of you who have already, and those about to.

Woop Team Snow!

Making Your Own Fun: Midweek Monster Duathlon

Now, it was our intention to compete in the Mega Manic Midweek Monster Duathlon at Castle Combe this week as a relay team. However, due to the distance we would have to travel to get there after work (65.6 miles one way) it was possible/likely that we wouldn’t get there in time to register for the event. Therefore as a more viable alternative we decided to run a Midweek Monster Duathlon of our own devising in the environs of lovely Upton.

The duathlon at Castle Combe was conducted on an actual race course, which is pretty flat, and yields very quick times. Our planned course was less flat, and involved more traffic but was still chosen for speed and avoiding too much altitude change. Also, as a “monster” there were three runs and two rides in the following configuration:

2 mile run
10 mile cycle ride
2 mile run
10 mile ride 
2 mile run

  We were hoping to complete it in less than 2 hours, although I wasn’t very confident of that happening. We started in one of our local car parks amongst the truckies with Rach doing all the running and me doing all the cycling. In the end we were surprisingly quick, finishing the whole thing in a couple of seconds under 1 hour 47 minutes. Despite having to run 6 miles (9.66 km) in three separate bursts, Rach still managed a kilometre in 4.14 minutes in the final leg. My second ride was completed with an average speed of 18.5mph (approx 30kmph) and a top speed of over 30mph. As we were using different GPS devices to measure distance/pace (having previously mapped the routes on Google) Rach did have to run around the car park once per lap, and I failed to record all the info for my first lap, but old-fashioned timekeeping proved we finished in 01:46:58. Roughly, because of the vagueries of my first lap, “transition” (in which I mounted or dismounted the bike before going/sending Rach off) and the fact I can’t be bothered working it out, I completed my 20 mile ride in 1 hour 4 minutes, and Rach her 6 mile run in 43 minutes. For a homemade, one-team, relay duathlon on public roads (with many undulations and some wind) that’s pretty damn quick. We’re pleased anyway. Today we are mostly aching. 

One extra benefit of not doing the official organised duathlon is that we didn’t have to pay the entrance fee. Therefore we’ve put that straight into the charity fund. Please feel free to help us support WaterAid, Oxfam, Disability Snowsport UK, Cancer Research and Honour Village Cambodia by visiting www.teamsnow.co.uk and donating what you can. Also, tell your friends about how we are mental and need help, giving them the relevant link. The 24 hour run is less than 3 months away now, and beginning to loom large in our consciousness. Hopefully all this training will go some way to protecting us from complete bodily disintegration.

Our next race is the Dirtrun on Friday 11^th July, which is a 10km off-road run. We’ll update you as per usual.

A bientot.