#doublemarathon

I raced it last year and went round with Ems as a warm up for Arc2rch.  Ems was very sick (Spent all of the day before in bed) so we took our time for a 13 hours 36 finish.

On Sunday I had set a target of 9 hours, mostly based on sheer hope (and thinking I would hopefully come out of London in 3:10 shape).  I had a good race the Sunday before, though 5 miles is a bit different to 52!  I tapered in the week as I had a minor ankle tweak on the left leg so got down to only 2.5 miles on Thursday and left it from then.  I had a wedding on Friday, and attended the anniversary athletics on Saturday so had less sleep than ideal.

On the Day

The morning came and I was up and dragged myself to the car to be driven there (6am race starts mean very early wake up calls).  I had my breakfast (red milk for the first time, that is seriously not milk - blue top all the way!) and felt ok.  I was instantly recognised for my awesome dress.  The briefing came and then Mike shot off the rocket whilst holding the stick (instead of the old boot used last year) to mark the start of the race.  Health and Safety well in evidence! :D

The course was 8 laps of 6.55 miles.  I love laps and I felt good.  Time to relax and chill out.. and just run!

Lap 1

I had planned to run all of this lap, if only just to prove I can still run.  I set out a gentle pace and soon settled into about third.  Two people came past me and I let them go so I was no fifth I guess.  I had no idea of places really and was only in a race against my left arm.  I knew the winners last year were sub 8 so I wouldn't trouble the front.  The pace was a little quick at around the 8:40s, but having trained with a backpack for so long I felt so light and fast I just relaxed into it.

Also, I had three parts of strategies from three people.  The first was to smash the first marathon in under 4 to allow me 5 hours to get through the second.  The second plan was to just relax and let whatever happens, happen.  The third was not to get excited at the start and stay mentally focused on 9 hours, nothing else.

The first lap passed without great incident, it was a beautiful sunrise (in my face) and I gradually remembered all the route from the year before.  I skipped every other water station (they were at miles 1, 3, 4 and 5 with the start finish area at 6.55 for supplies) and enjoyed myself.  Finished it in about 56 minutes

Lap 2

Lap 2 would always be longer because after finishing lap 1 I dived into the loo for a quick "pit stop".  This stop cost me some time but it meant that absolutely everything was in perfect order.  The pace was still quicker than I had planned, yet it felt like no effort at all.  I decided to make good whilst I felt great and to get as many laps in whilst the shadows were still long as I could.  I remembered how hot it was here last year and wanted to avoid as much as possible.  The iPod went on, the trance and chill out mix was selected and off I headed.

I had lost time on the front runners so had no real idea of where they were or what sort of pace they might be doing but I did gradually pick a couple of them off.  However, as I kept telling myself (with varying levels of success) this was not a race against other people.  This was a race against time!

As I ran the last mile of lap 2 Ems appeared.  After seeing me off at the start she was coming back to start looking after me.  And I had noticed one issue.  My right nipple was suffering.  It seems the vaseline wasn't working properly so I dived in at the start finish to slap some on and hope for the best!

Lap two was finished at about 1:56 so still under 4 hour marathon pace and feeling great.

As a point of reference, my first ever half marathon was 2:06, so I was ten minutes quicker than that... weird to think!

Laps 3 and 4

  These two laps kind of merge a bit.  I was still running great and making progress with seemingly little effort.  I did my best to stay happy and chat to the marshals.  I had started to pause at most of the water stations, but I am fortunate enough to have done enough ultras now that I can throw a whole cup of water down my throat and head straight on.  And this I did.  

I also had a gel half way through lap 3 as I felt a little low.  The danger with the laps is whilst it's great just to have to count to 8 instead of 52, it meant I had to concentrate to re-evaluate my feeding.  half way through Lap 3 is about 15 miles in before I even considered some food.

But mentally I was on top form.  The entire thing was positive, starting on lap 2, and more so on lap 3, I knew I could do it.  There was no doubt.  This was like the second day of running from Paris to London again (when a sign saying 79km to the day's finish was a positive thing for me).  

The heat started to come on but the plan was working.  I finished the fourth lap (marathon distance) at 3:56.  Still pretty much bang on course!  I now had 5 hours for 4 laps, 75 minutes each.  Time was in the bank.

Strangely the photos don't show it, but I felt amazing:

As I announced to everyone, I had just smashed the four hour barrier.  And I can very easily recall a time (about two years ago) when I could but dream of running sub 4!  Here I was comfortably under that time and planning on doing another one :)

At this point I took a stop for some rest.  I took on some food and more sugary drinks and Ems slapped some more vase and sun tan lotion on me.  I changed the headband and armbands to ensure some dryness and  I headed out carrying half a satsuma and a bottle of lucozade.

Eating whilst running - now we were ultra running! :D

Lap 5

Lap 5 is where I first introduced a walk break.  It was only a little one up what passes for the only "hill" on this course but it was almost perfectly placed just before the middle of the lap to give a nice break to the lap.  The sun was beating down, but there was enough wind in places to keep it from getting as unbearably hot as last year.

I still felt great by the finish of the lap, though there was the slightest bit of me looking forward to the home base so that I could have a seat and get some food.  This time I went for some more fruit (banana) and a full fat coke.

As an aside, I had also taken another 30 minutes off my recent 30 mile PB, slashing that time down to 4:38 now.  Not too shabby at all!  The 5th lap was about 66 minutes, so under the 75 minute mark I was playing with.

Lap 6

Lap 6 is where my body started to realise it was doing something.  It's also the hardest lap for me mentally with the watch as there are no significant milestones.  You start the lap in the 30s, and you finish it in the 30s.

On the course I tired and didn't like the heat.  Feeling myself fatiguing a little I decided to have a walk just after two miles where there was some proper shade to help me cool off.  As I ran past Mike just after the four hour point I admitted to him I felt a bit tired now to which his comment was "That's not surprising, you have been going like a rocket".  This made me smile inside and I carried on.  

As I passed and lapped a few people I almost felt embarrassed that I was going so much faster than them and for running so well.  I then considered all the hours of running between Euston and Stratford, dodging bikes on the canal tow-path, getting soaked in the rain, rolling out of bed at 4:20 am to fit in 10 mile runs before work.  I then decided there was no "fortune" about this effort.  I had earned this ability through training hard, much harder than I ever thought I might with a number of 80+ mile weeks.

I was grateful for the water at mile 5 and carried on to finish the lap in 70 minutes.

As I ran in I signalled to Ems to get ready as I would need her for the next lap.  She threw on some running gear (including a spare pair of my amazing shorts I had brought) and after me grabbing a gel to take with me, some water down squash to take, necking some lucozade and devouring some banana we were out together, just like last year...

  Only this year Ems was claiming I was in second place.  I ignored this as being impossible and carried on (but did recall having passed most of the speedier people by now).

I now had basically 2 hours 45 to get around two laps.

Lap 7

  This was a turning point for me, my body was still adjusting a little to the distance and my mind had suffered as I was starting to get summit fever.  I needed an extra walk break in some shade so had three before the end of mile three.  

I looked at some of the slower miles both because there are all the walks in the first half a lap and because you always slow down when running with someone.  After getting to mile 4 I attempted some maths.  Well, this is a lie.  I am awful at maths on longer runs as my brain shuts down.  So I had been attempting maths since mile 3, but whatever I did, I kept coming up with me just missing 9 hours.  Now I would not have minded this too much as it was such a hot day, but I spoke to Ems and by this point my body and my mind were in agreement so I apologised and asked to take my leave.  The iPod went in for some Bootie mixes and I started charging around again.

I knew it was going well when I approached the mile 5 water station to be told I was going like a train!

With the stronger pace I finished in 69 minutes.  7 hours and 27 minutes had passed.  I now had 2 hours and 33 minutes to beat my target.

I grabbed a coke quickly and a gel and then walked straight on, choosing to take a mobile rather than static break.

It was time to finish this!

Lap 8

I was determined, and proudly said to a few people it was my last lap, put the music in, boogied a few steps and started running.

I walked far more than I wanted, but there was real summit fever where the body knew it could end soon so was seeing just how early it could stop working.

There were a couple of walks from mile 1 on, but I kept them short and kept on moving.  I took the gel at mile 3 of the lap to try ad sort myself out.

  It did the trick to a fair extent as my Garmin recorded mile 50 as being a 9 minutes 27 seconds affair.  All that training had paid off!

  I stopped for a last drink at mile 5 and said farewell and thanks to the last of the amazing marshals and turned for home.  I then had a walk as I was feeling really tired.  Just like last year, when I get past 50 miles I tend to have a mental wobble.

  And then, as the final mile approached, there appeared Ems, at the perfect time to pick me up and get me running again.  We ran past the little pub (in which I had been dreaming of drinking cider instead of running for a couple of laps) and into the last stretch.

  I joked about how the Neon Express truly was a train today for both speed and almost never ending effort.  Ems was proud and we ran in with me extremely happy, even hitting an average of 8:39/mile for the last half a mile or so!

I thought it a little strange that our friends Sarah and Michael had created a "finishing tape" out of a jumper for me to run through, but then I considered my finishing time:

8 hours and 36 minutes (and 30 seconds).

That's a PB by 5 hours!

And then came the bigger surprise...

I had WON!

The shock was still plainly evident on my face as Mike handed me my medal, polo shirt and a little trophy/keepsake to remember the day by.

Feeling emotional, there was only one thing to do, hug the amazing lady who had helped get me race ready and then shepherd me through the day!

I never expected to win a race, let alone a double marathon!

To hear me say this and more, check out the video of this year's event on Youtube (link takes you to me cos I love me) but please check out the video to see how great and relaxed a low key event can be.

The Neon Express pulls into winsville!

And what felt more special was doing it at such an amazing event as this.  Despite it being a double marathon, it doesn't try and play up on that, even calling itself a 50 mile challenge (thereby hiding the last 2.4 miles...).

There is no pressure to carry on and I think everyone who does 5 laps or more will get a medal and certificate to remember just how great they did on the day.  There were fewer entrants this year, but that just meant they had more time to compliment my dress!  I may even have suggested that there has never been a more attractive race winner ;-)  If you ever feel like trying something longer than a marathon then this is a great way to do it as you aren't running through miles of countryside and if anything goes wrong, you are never more than about 3 miles from base following the race route.

So, all those training miles were so worth it in the end.  I have now finished my big target for the year and can say I am truly proud of what I achieved.  I can even say that for once, there is no part of me thinking "ah, if only I had done x I might have done even better".  I went under the target by 24 minutes.  The time details were:

Old double marathon PB: 13:36

New double marathon PB: 8:36

New 30 miles PB: 4:38

1st marathon: 3:56

2nd marathon: 4:40

Average pace for whole event: 9:50 per mile

Average moving pace: 9:22

Total steps: 90,904

Average stride: 1.01 yards (0.93m)

Mind you, take off the breaks and I was 12 seconds per mile off of 8 hour time...

Well, there is next year! :D