Best laid plans and all that………..

Well ………that didn’t exactly go to plan!

I have put off writing my first blog as I’m still feeling slightly flat, hugely disappointed and just a touch cross with myself.  A week later and my body still hasn’t returned to normal, my muscles are all feeling extremely tired, sore and achy but on the bright side I can now get up and dress without having to have a lie-down again afterwards – progress!

Details of the race will be put into my Race Report that I will be writing next week, but basically I suffered from Ketosis.  My breath smelt of pear drops and my blood glucose was sufficiently low for my body to require an alternative energy source  for my muscles and my brain (hence my muscles ached quite early on).  This isn’t abnormal in Ultra running but in my case I wasn’t able to produce sufficient to meet the demands I was putting on my body.  My speech became slurred (apparently Steve Scott noticed this at approx 110 miles) I looked as though I’d been drinking and with 10 miles still to do my body turned into a rag-doll (or a bendy doll to be more precise).  My pace was getting slower and slower and I was weaving all over the road; I couldn’t understand why the medics kept asking me if i wanted to get into their car – how silly I had a race to do! Lucky old me had two medical support cars following me for the last 9ish miles of the race.

My race was really over but I wasn’t going to give up, I had to get to the finish.  Racers kept asking if i was OK, other racers support vehicles would stop me, put water over me and give me water – I really really couldn’t understand what ALL the fuss was about, I just wanted them to leave me alone so I could try and get to the next CP before the cut-off.

Becky and Tim were outstanding; they had given me lectures during the race and wouldn’t let me go from CP72 until I had eaten properly and recovered a bit. Even then Becky said she would only let me go if I had a medic with me – again I just wanted to go as the cut-off for CP 73 was getting closer and I had to make it.

Suffice to say I didn’t quite make it to CP73.  I missed the cut-off by 30 mins, the medic had been supporting my back most of the way and holding me up every time I stumbled, my pace was SO slowly that it was almost backwards; my race was over.  I had let my crew down big time and basically been an idiot.

Although I was convinced I was consuming enough during the race (it didn’t seem any different to my other races) I obviously wasn’t.  Becky and Tim both commented that right from the start I wasn’t my usual chatty and bouncy self and for me I kept forgetting to do check things. It’s the first big race I have done since beginning the menopause, may not have made a difference but with everything that goes on during the menopause it may have had some influence.  I ran with James Elson for a lot of the race which I thoroughly enjoyed and really missed his company after the mountain.

Being a part of the British Spartathlon Team was fantastic and great to be out there this year with so many wonderful people.  A huge big marvellous congratulations to the British Boys who did us proud, it was an honour to cheer you all as you went up to receive your medals – way to go boys!

Without doubt I have the worlds best crew and without them I wouldn’t have got to within spitting distance of the end and for that I love them.

I still believe I am capable of achieving Double Spartathlon so WILL BE RETURNING IN 2015!

Happy Training.