It has been a while since my last update so there is plenty to fill you in on. After the Pilgrim Challenge I headed abroad for a few weeks to some winter warmth to have a bit of time out after a fairly grim start to 2010 and it did the trick, I returned feeling rejuvenated and ready to put into action things I have been thinking about doing for a while. Firstly, I have turned down 2 permanent jobs in the legal team at Deutsche Bank to finally make the move out of law and into something I actually enjoy! Unfortunately, this means that come the 16th of April I will be out of a job unless I find something before then! There are a couple of things on the horizon either on the business side at Deutsche or in a business intelligence company so I am hoping one of them comes up with an attractive offer before mid April!
Secondly, it was time to knuckle down with the UTMB training a couple of 15 and 20k runs in the last 6 weeks were not going to cut it, and so, thanks to a recommendation by Steph, I signed up to the Jurassic Coast challenge; 3 marathons in 3 days along some of the UK's most dramatic and scenic coastline (not that I would either see much of it or appreciate much of it as I later found out!). One thing I have noticed about doing these runs is that you never believe the distances they tell you, they are always longer - may not be by much but that extra mile or so per day makes a difference! The JCC was no different coming in at just over 80 miles a few more than the advertised 78.
In the end Steph couldn't make it due to injury but hooked me up with fellow Racing the Planet: Namibia vets Mark and Jenna as well as Alex and Ric who also happened to be my caravan buddies for the weekend. Everyone is always super friendly at these events and the slowest and the fastest will all have a chat on the way round.
Day 1 from Charmouth to Chesil Beach was a brutal day of hills, rain and mud which practically came up to my knees! A good two thirds of the day was spent in this stuff which while I am assured is good for your complexion it is not good for your energy levels or your motivation when you know you have got another 2 days to get through! Needless to say I spent most of the day sliding around the path which is particularly interesting when it is at the edge of a cliff top! At one point I lost my balance and to stop myself lurching towards the edge I grabbed the fence to my left - that would be the barbed wire fence! Having chastised myself out loud a few times I managed to find a bit of rhythm and finished pretty well after a gruelling start. A hot shower (after which I had to drip dry because I hadn't read the 20 pages of guidance notes - only the daily kit list so I missed the bit saying you needed to bring towels!) and a curry I felt a good deal better and hoped that day 2 might involve a little less sliding around on my ass and a bit more running!
Day 2 from Chesil Beach to Lulworth Cove was a much better day with a good solid 10 miles of relatively easy (after day 1 that is!) running terrain and a noticeable absence of mud! The sun even made an appearance for most of the day which gave me a real lift and I even managed to take stock of the amazing scenery especially the run by Durdle Door and down into Lulworth Cove which looked stunning in the late afternoon light. Typically there were some killer hills to finish the day but the good weather and the absence of mud had made it far more enjoyable which translated to a move up the field of 30 places from the end of day 1. That night Mark, Jenna, Alex, Ric and I headed into Weymouth for a good pub supper and a nice couple of pints of local ale to dull the aching in our legs. I do like the fact you have all these super fit people who can run flat out during the day and then will drink, eat crap and smoke in the evening before doing it all again the next day - that has to be the ideal pain/pleasure balance!
Day 3 from Lulworth Cove to Studland was the toughest of the lot. I reckon we did Mont Blanc in terms of elevation before we reached checkpoint 1!!! It was an absolute killer! I suddenly had my first real doubts about my ability to finish, my knees were causing me no end of grief from the previous days steep downhills and I was really struggling to keep going. Somehow I staggered through to CP2 and got my second wind I had an inkling that there weren't too many people in front of me and I wanted to keep it that way. Have grabbed a handful of harribo and a jelly snake (perfect running food!) I set off map in hand feeling better than I had all day and when we descended down onto Studland beach happy memories of Namibia and the sand came flooding back and I decided it was time to use up whatever was left in the legs. On day 1 you try and keep you feet dry and avoid obstacles by day 3 you run the shortest distance and if that means straight through knee high mud or thigh high water then that's the way to go! So having reached the "end" on the beach and been told there was just another "800" metres to the finish of the beach I stormed through the mud and puddles to the finish and to that indescribably good feeling of knowing you've done it and it's over!
Or at least it's over for this week...
