(What a beautiful start line!!!)
Having actually prepared for this race, I knew what was
ahead in the route. I knew where the inclines were and knew not to get
disheartened when the legs started to feel heavy or slow down, knowing which
were the more challenging sections of the run.
(A rather beasty incline at the beginning...and then halfway around)
(But how could you complain with views like this?)
The beautiful weather kept the mood high, but there was
always going to be one little battle in my head, that it was a lap race. The
one thing I hate is laps and running similar things twice, little did I know
what good preparation this would be for the ultra. However over 13.1 miles,
it’s surprising how easily you forget pretty much the whole route (apart from
the humongous hill right at the beginning).
The whole of the run went relatively scathe free, I made a
few friends, got some ultra-tips and had a lot of fun. I also got a few
blisters and some very sore feet from the steep declines, but there’s got to be
some war wounds! One of my favourite parts of the day was getting my race
mementos! The t-shirt was the best one I’ve had this year and it even had my
name on the back (yes I’m getting excited about a t shirt). The other nice
surprise was that instead of a medal we got a little silver trainer trophy.
The most significant part of this day however, was that it
was the day I started delving into the ultra-marathon training world. The
battle in my head around the whole of this route wasn’t that I had to run 26
miles, it was that once id run 26 miles, I had another 4 or 5 miles to do
straight after.
What seemed like a daunting task, especially with rather
sore legs and feet, actually wasn’t that bad? There were a few tears as I broke
the 30 mile barrier, the longest distance I had ever covered, and the reality
of what I was going to attempt to do with a 100 mile ultra-marathon, hit home.
(Looking relatively fresh at the end!)
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