Tuesday 31 December 2013

2013? Thank you! 2014? I am so ready for you!

I promise this won't be a 'This is your life' length blog, as so many of my entries tend to be (I just can't help myself, sorry!) but it's been a helluva year and I need to take stock of what I have done & what I can do more of in 2014. 

I originally started off with a plan to review the races and events I had taken part in this year, how the event went, what I learnt, what went right or wrong etc etc but you know, I've covered most of it my previous blog entries so where's the fun in that for you guys? (I'm all heart, I know) so I'll try and keep it brief. 


On reflection, 2013 has been a good year for running and I have learnt a hell of a lot about myself and what I can achieve physically and mentally - and I know there is more I can do to continue to improve on both those fronts. Compared to 2012, I have made great gains on my fitness, aided by over 3 stone of weight loss (amazing how much lighter I feel on my feet, literally!) and completing so many events with great times, all of which I am proud of (if a little frustrated when it didn't quite go my way!) I said no long reviews so here's my 2013 achievements in brief:

Reading Half Marathon, March - 2:10 PB (by 21 minutes!)
Zest 10K Obstacle Trail, June - 1:40 (with an injured ankle!)
Runners Knees Virtual 10 Miler, June - 1:42
Dublin Rock & Roll Half Marathon, August - 2:14
Costwold Classic 10 miler, September - 1:37 PB (by 3 minutes!)
Swallowfield 10K, September - 57:21 PB (by 3 minutes!)
Blenheim Palace BHF 10K, October - 58:00
Oxford Half Marathon, October - 2:03 PB (by 7 minutes!)
Crazy Christmas Cracker Run 10K Trail - 1:18
Gut Buster 10K Trail - 58:57 (technically a trail 10K!)

Writing it all down makes me incredibly, incredibly pleased and proud of my achievements, both on the day and the training miles & hours that I put in to get there. Mid-summer I had decided to take part in as many events as I could for Ovacome, the ovarian cancer charity, to do something supportive for my friend Teresa who was battling this disease & make other women aware of the cancer and the symptoms. And for me, chucking on a pair of trainers and my Ovacome vest and challenging myself to certain events was a way in which I could help to get the message out there about ovarian cancer. The flip side is that the happy side of completing these events is tinged with a sad side as, at the end of September my lovely friend Teresa lost her brave and courageous battle against ovarian cancer. As you can imagine and would expect, it was an incredibly sad time, and continues to be so, for her family, close friends and all who knew her. But the strength that Teresa showed all the way throughout her treatment has done nothing but strengthen my resolve to do more for the charity and continue to raise money and awareness for them. The new year holds a lot of miles, challenges and the odd blister and aching muscles but with that comes a huge sense of pride that I am able to indulge in my new found passion of running whilst doing something for others. 

The new year brings huge challenges for me - 5K, 10K and half marathon PBs are definitely targets. Hell Down South is the first on the list in 4 days time (dear God, what am I doing?!), followed  by Wokingham Half Marathon in February and Reading Half Marathon in March. But all of these, big challenges in their own right, are building towards the big one - Brighton Marathon on April 6th. A marathon remains the ultimate challenge for me after pulling out of London at mile 8 a few years ago. But I am 100% committed to completing the 26.2 miles and crossing that line, however long it takes me. Of course I have a target time in mind but I'm not willing to share that with anyone yet, if at all; that's between the three of us - me, myself and I. 

It's been an incredible year of running, physically and emotionally, all of which I would not have been able to do without the support and encouragement of Teresa's partner, Richard, my family, great friends, all at Ovacome and the people of Twitter. Your fantastically generous support is greatly appreciated and has been invaluable to me, keeping me going when the going has gotten tough. I hope you will continue to be there for me and keep me going through 2014 as I take on and tackle more events throughout the year. And blog about them when I remember to!

To everyone who has supported me with calls, texts, Facebook messages, Tweets, being there at races and those fantastic donations, I can't thank you enough but hope these go a little of the way to showing you my gratitude - THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!

2014? I am so ready for you! 



Sunday 29 December 2013

Busting a gut!


Today saw me complete my last event of 2013 and my 8th race for Ovacome, the 10K Gut Buster in Mortimer. And what a great way to end the year! The event was well organised, well turned out (sold out in fact) and a fab turn out of a friendly bunch of runners, organisers and marshalls.

I originally signed up for the race to help as part of my training for the first event of 2014, Hell Down South on Jan 4th, and it would be my second trail event having only completed my first two weeks ago (christmasrun.co.uk). The reviews online for Gut Buster were good and it is fairly local to me so why not! There were two courses on offer, 10K or 10mile, but will Hell only a week away, I thought that the 10K would be the better choice (note I didn't say easier choice!) 

Now, I am not a fair weather runner by any means - I am a fan of running in the rain afterall - but the forecast looked a tad chilly which posed the question of running attire. Layers yes, but how many? Hat or not to hat? Gloves? Headband? Long or short tights? The only certainty was that my trusty Ovacome vest would be worn but the rest, well, that was a tougher choice. The weather didn't improve and as I set off early-doors, layered up to the hilt, it was a nippy -2 with a hard frost. On arriving at Butlers Lands Farm, it was a balmy 0. Positively tropical. I was lucky enough to have a low run number and be able to park on the farm site itself whilst later numbers used the nearby Wokefield Park Hotel where a shuttle bus was provided for the 5 min journey to the start. Run number & timing chip collection was easy enough (I did feel for the volunteers looking rather blue despite the numerous layers!) and the area also doubled as the baggage store. After retreating to the car for a much needed pre-start heat, and final running attire choice (long tights, long sleeved top, vest, jacket and gloves; jacket discarded half a mile in!), it wasn't long before I was back in the farm's courtyard to join the loo queue & hear the pre-race brief. The brief was clear and littered with cheers, laughs & claps at the appropriate moments - everyone was in good spirits & ready for the off. The start is a few mins walk from the courtyard and thankfully, we weren't held for long before the countdown was over & the starter hooter blared. I say thankfully as I couldn't actually feel my toes so I was glad to be moving!

The initial stretch was tarmac and a tad on the icy side as we approached the first bend to take us onto a muddy track.....and onto the first hill. Gut Buster? More like like Lung Buster! No sooner had my toes started to warm up during the first 1.5 miles then we hit upon the ford. Earlier in the week, it was a metre high due to the atrocious weather but thankfully it had subsided to a manageable foot or so high today. There is the option to go around it via a path but with Hell next week going to throw chest-height muddy swamps at me, I thought it best to go through it. It was somewhat refreshing, that's for sure! The rest of the course remained a mixture of somewhat slippy roads, hills, and muddy off road routes, with the odd fallen tree as a hurdle and there was a smattering of welcome-cheerers en route too - encouragement and support is always good to see & hear. There were times when I felt like my legs were filled with the monstrous amount of pastry & mincemeat that has been consumed over the past week or so but encouragement from fellow Busters, and number 84 in particular (thank you, Natasha!), I kept on keeping on. The last 2-3K is very much off road and across fields which was hard on the feet & ankles due to the hard frost, making tractor tyre tracks quite a feat to overcome! With one last push, it was up an incline to the approaching finish line, where you were greeted with claps & cheers of 'well done', a cracking medal and directions to your cup of mulled wine & mince pie; well worth crossing the finish line for, let me tell you! (It was soon followed by a very welcome cuppa & bacon roll too, courtesy of The Coffee Hub). 

Number 84 was right behind me and without Natasha's support, I wouldn't have gotten around those last stages of the course in a very-nearly-almost-10K-PB of 58:57 (10K Road PB is 57:21) Thank you Natasha - and hopefully see you at Brighton in April!

And then it was time for a 'tweet up' as the birthday boy @Runnersknees crossed the line a few mins later! I had taken part on the 'Virtual 10 miler' set up by Darren earlier in the year, so it was nice to put a face to the name and tweets - great to meet you!

Yes, it was cold. Yes, it was icy & slippy. Yes, it was muddy. Yes, it was tough going and yes, above all, it was fun. It was good to get out in the lovely countryside (it really was lovely and a nice place to run) with like minded people and shake off some of the Christmas excess. For me, it was another opportunity to do more to raise awareness and funds for Ovacome, in memory of Teresa, and proudly cross another finishing line as I did so. 



The Gut Buster is an event I would definitely recommend partaking in but you best be quick as entries are already open for the 4th staging of this in December 2014 and if this year's numbers are anything to go by, it will fill up quick! Me? I 'm busting a gut to try the 10 miler next year!