Challenge number 2 *tick*

I am blogging this sitting on a sofa and desperately hoping I don't have to stand up or sit down any more tonight. Yesterday I Kilomathoned and today I am paying the price!! My quads had seized up this morning and it's made stairs, chairs and automobiles rather difficult. It's quite a problem when you wake up, need the loo and realise you are on the 3rd floor...

Anyway, back to the race. The Kilomathon is number 2 on my challenge list for the Dobster's Year of Crazy. It was the inaugural UK event and started on a very, very, VERY cold morning in the grounds of The University of Nottingham. In case you are not sure how cold it was, here's a picture of my mate Keith waiting for the bus to take us from the Park and Ride to the start. There were 5,500 runners signed up to do the race, with 4186 actually starting it. I think they were all in the queue for the toilets just ahead of me. The start line was awash with survival blankets, tattered tshirts and bin-liners donned by desperate runners trying to keep warm for the 45mins before the gun. But eventually we were off and starting the first Kilomathon! Or rather 9:38mins later, when we finally crossed the line, we had started.

The route took us out of Nottingham, through some nice countryside (especially the lovely Elvaston Castle), but unfortunately through more industrial estates and long, boring roads. At least the range of runners I was passing (and even more who were passing me) kept me amused with their tshirts, weird conversations (always fun when you half hear a sentence) and dodgy range of leggings.

By 10miles I started to really suffer. Jim (God bless him), had joined me around mile 4 and he was my constant companion for the rest of the race. He brought a friend in the shape of Bob, who decided to make a home on my right big toe and poke me every time I stepped on him. Nice. So there were a few walking breaks and energy-drinking stops to keep me going. But eventually, I saw the sign declaring we had entered Derby! I think my "Woo Hoo! Derby" startled the girl in front of me. I doubt anyone has ever been happy to enter Derby before.

The 24Km sign beckoned, and the lovely people of Derby who had come out to cheer us all on and tell us we were nearly there, made the last couple of miles a bit easier to take. The sight of the finish line, as I turned the last corner to a wave of cheering and clapping was extremely welcome. The slight downhill run-up to the finish line was even more welcome and probably the reason I now can't walk. Who can't resist a sprint finish past all the cheering crowds??

I finished just before the clock hit 3hours, with my run time confirmed as 2hours, 51mins 18secs. Not as fast as I had hoped, but at the end of the day, I beat the Sweeper Bus Of Shame, so I'm happy with that, and the lovely @Hughesy2103 was there with a Diet Coke and a comfy car to ferry us all back to Nottingham. What more could a Dobster possibly want from a race :o)

My various twittery friends: @WorTony, @nimblerunner, @becbostock, @neilrostance and BritMilFit and dive club buds, Sarah, Keith, Claire and Kev did their own cracking times. Well done everyone who took part.

Pictures are up on the website soon. I'll post a few if I don't look too bad ;o) and please remember why I'm putting myself through this agony!

At the top of the blog you'll find the proof I did it (no, not a picture of Jim), my number and Jim'll Fix It style medal. And I'll leave the final word to the Kilomathon organisers who gave us this nice little voucher in our goody bags and the perfect bit of advice which every single runner no doubt ignored completely...I know I did.

Here's mud in your eye.

Nothing to wear...

It's less than 48hours to go to the start of the Kilomathon and I have a dilemma. I have nothing to wear. Now, stop panicking and bear with me. I'm not going to post pictures of me in various flourescent leggings and ask if my bum looks big in them. I'm not that stupid.

Like most runners training over the winter I have been battling the freezing temperatures in 23 moisture-wicking, air-flowing, wind-stopping layers, 2 pairs of gloves, a thermal hat and a pair of woolly knickers so big I have to cut eye-holes in them to see where I'm going. That means I have had numerous pockets to secrete gloves, ipods, keys and jellybabies in. I have therefore not thought about race day, assuming I'd run in my trusty wind-stopper. And then it happened... THE SUN CAME OUT!

The weather forecast is not helping. On Wednesday it was forecasting sun. Yesterday it forecast rain. Today we are splitting the difference with sunny intervals. What will it be tomorrow?? Snow? Heatwave? Typhoon? WHO KNOWS!!

The thought of running without a pocket is causing me some disturbance. The 9am start is going to make it cold to begin with, so hat and gloves may be required. But 20mins into the run, I'm going to warm up and by the time I crawl over the line gasping for oxygen it's going to be closer to midday. I can't add a pack, or new top at this point without the risk of serious chaffing (ouchy). What to do with all the paraphanalia you accumulate on your run?!!?

For layers I have a cunning plan and will be starting the run in an old t-shirt I can dump on any unfortunate passerby (or use to trip up rude runners) as soon as I need to. I may be able to slot my gloves down my ipod armband at strategic points. I'll carry a water-bottle for the first few miles, which I can dump at the water points. The jellybabies days are numbered and they're getting nommed before I even start. Which leaves the hat. Might just have to get cold ears :o/

And as soon as it is over? Well, I'm off to get a top with a pocket ready for the marathon. Lesson learnt.

Here's mud in your eye.

The Kilomathon, a medieval siege weapon

The shivers have stopped and the bruises have started to go that horrible yellow colour after last weekend's Beast 2010, so it's time to start looking forward to The Kilomathon!

I can't help but pronounce it as the KILOMATHON, in a bottom of your boots, Die Hard trailer kinda way. It sounds like a medieval siege weapon. "They've pulled up the drawbridge Sir. We'll never get in the castle now." "Don't despair Fortesque, bring out the KILOMATHONS!". In reality I'm expecting it to be a instrument of torture rather than a siege weapon.

So what is a Kilomathon? Well it's a marathon measured in km. That's 26.2km, or 16.2 miles in old money. It's run from the University of Nottingham in... Nottingham (surprise huh?!) to Alvaston Park in Derby. It's going to take in some lovely countryside, including Elvaston Park. And some not so lovely A roads. But hell, 26.2km of countryside may just kill me.

I've been training hard with long, boring road runs around the long, boring ring road near my house, culminating in 13.14miles last week. That's as far as I'm going to run in training, so I'm tapering down now with shorter, interval training and medium distance runs of 8-10 miles. Tapering down your runs a couple of weeks before a race means that your body gets a chance to recover from your training and lay down stores of energy in your muscles.

Recently I've been working more and more on my nutrition. This is going to be a surprise to anyone who knows me... my diet no longer consists entirely of McCoys crisps and cheese crackers. And one of the best things about prepping for a race is carbo-loading! I've been introduced to a new breakfast by the running machine Nimblerunner and have swapped takeaways and fish fingers for wholemeal pasta and rice. It's an interesting subject and one I may well get more into in the future. look out for a nutrition blog :o)

So there you go. The KILOMATHON... ("NOOOOO! We surrender!"). 10 days to go and I'll let you know my progress. If you're around on the 14 March, come along and cheer us all on - look out for 3217 and give me and Jim a bit of a cheer. He'll appreciate it. And don't forget why I'm doing this please.

Here's mud in your eye.

The Beast has been tamed, chained and stuck in a petting zoo

Challenge number one *tick* !

The Beast2010 has been tamed, caged, had a nice pedicure on its claws and been escorted to a little petting zoo in Hampshire so 10 year olds can pull its tail.

Here's a lovely picture of me and my BMF buddies freezing slightly before the race started. As you can see, there are plenty of layers going on at this stage. It was at most 2 degrees with a wind chill factor of about -35 (give or take a degree or two). The layers were soon dispatched to a car with one of our non-runners and we were off for a slippery, soggy, shivery race with an extra water feature this year and our lovely BMF instructors to 'cheer' us on.

Now, I know a lot of people have trouble figuring out what I mean by water features and jumps, so here's a couple of examples to give you an idea. There were 2 main water features (ie water above the waist) and about 32 different jumps involving huge logs of various heights, small ditches to jump, oversized vaulting horses, piled tyres and large wooden steps. With wet trail shoes and cold fingers, they can all be a bit tricky.

I can confirm I am a complete quitter... and only did the first 5mile lap. About half of our crew (and my twittery friend @WorTony) went the distance and 'did the double'. I can't even imagine how difficult the second lap must be with the course churned up by everyone else. So a big hearty blog shout goes out to them.

Highlights of the race??

• Hearing a squeal at mile 4 and turning round to see my friend Helen sliding gracefully sideways down the slope into a thornbush *snigger*.


• Getting a PB for the course at 56mins 54secs (1hr, 1min last year). YAY!

Bad points??

• Getting suspected hyperthermia, so sacking off the pub and spending the entire night shivering!


• The state of my trainers and socks afterwards :o/ (they were sparkly white at the start!)


• Slipping on one of the first jumps and getting a rather large bruise on my shin. However, we were armpit deep in ice cold water 2 mins later, so at least that kept the swelling down. Result!

All in all, it was a fabulously fun event which I am already looking forward to doing again! There's talk of a September event, and I'll be the first in the queue.

Well done to all the Pure Personal Training crew who put the event on and the British Military Fitness boys for screaming at me to get up that hill (love you Vinnie and Gaz!).

Thanks to everyone who has sponsored me, and if you haven't so far, hopefully now you've seen what I'm putting myself through (!) you might consider giving.

Onwards to the next event (which couldn't be more different) - The Kilomathon!

Here's mud in your eye, but more in your trainers.