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THE HIGHLAND FLING RACE
Saturday 26 April 2008
Some thoughts post race
| You may not believe this but I woke this
morning really early wide awake. I was lying in bed thinking of the race and
some things I could put on my blog so decided to get up and write them. I
think my body clock must be a bit out of sorts. So here goes ... 'Guess My Time' Competition The person closest to my finishing time of 9hrs 44mins 41secs (the official time took 4secs off my time!) was Claire Robertson who guessed 9hrs 45mins 07secs. Claire is a friend of my daughters Jo & Emma and I'm sure won't mind me saying that she doesn't know much about running! She came to our house to see Jo & Emma and I said have a guess in my competition. I explained that I'd run 10hrs 36mins last year and was hoping to go a bit quicker this year. When she said 9.45 I was going to correct her and say there is no way I can go that fast but decided to let her have her guess. All I need to do now is think of a prize! I saw Neal on Friday and I thought his guess of 9.39.07 was way off the mark but when he said he based it on the fact that we ran 42 miles in 7.34 in March, then added another 2hours for 11 miles, it did make a bit more sense. Thanks Neal because maybe you sowed a seed of thought there. Neal and Marco are planning to run this section next week so it will be interesting to see how they get on. While I'm speaking about Neal I should add my thanks for his help with the music for my video. Neal very kindly brought round a cd with a selection of great tunes to enhance my videos. Head to Head with Ian With this win over Ian we now stand at 2-2 in our series for the year. Our next race is very soon, a week on Wednesday - the Troon 10k. Ian beat me comfortably in the 10k in January so it will be interesting to see if I can get a bit closer. But whoever wins there will be only one point between us going into the BIG ONE in June. Ian has the experience and commitment to get to the start line for that race in the best condition he can so I'll need to continue to work hard to have a chance. Lessons learnt from the race I must have got a number of things right in this race to so exceed my expectations. I felt that 10.15 was a realistic goal and that a sub 10 was possible if everything went right so to run 9.44 was incredible and I sit glowing in the knowledge!!!! Stop strategy - I kept to my plans pretty well. I didn't stop at Drymen as I came in too early and missed my support team. Stopped for 2mins at Balmaha, 5mins at Rowardennan and Beinglas and 30secs at Inversnaid. I sat down at the 5mins stops and I had no problem getting going again so I will do that again in the whw race. Meeting team - My plan of meeting up with my support team a few more times was excellent. It meant I didn't carry as much and could replenish water and food more easily. It was also a boost mentally to see their smiling faces! Food - the biggest lesson I learnt was that pasta is out. It's great for a couple of days before the race but I really struggle to eat it on the run. This is what I ate during the run: Beech Tree - fruit bread and honey, Balmaha - smoothie, small pot of baked beans & 15 grapes, Rowardennan - smoothie, some pasta, 15 grapes, Beinglas Farm - smoothie, muller rice, small pot of baked beans, 15 grapes, Derrydaroch - smoothie, 5 jelly babies. A big hit was the smoothies. I really looked forward to those and could drink them easily. The baked beans were also easy to eat and didn't cause any problems so they are in for the race. Grapes - again superb. The only part I struggled with was not getting any food at Inversnaid as my bag wasn't there. I could feel myself running out of energy going into Beinglas and felt a lot better leaving with a full stomach. According to my gps watch I used over 7,000 calories. I'm not sure how many calories I ate during the run but I suspect no where near that!! I also took a succeed tablet every 90mins. I know others find they make them feel sick but I've not a problem with them so will continue to use them. Feet -I ran in the same socks and shoes for the race and didn't have a single blister! Comparing this to last year's whw race is incredible. I covered my toes in sudocrem and wore two pairs of socks - one thin ankle pair and one thicker pair on top. It seemed to work well. My inov-8 Rocklites were great. They felt really comfortable throughout the run. A side note - I left them outside the cottage at the finish! I was lying in the bath on Saturday night relaxing and I remembered I'd taken them off on the way in as instructed but put on another pair of shoes and forgot to pick them up. I contacted Ellen who said that she has them. So I will be reunited with my favourite trail shoes!! Quads - the biggest factor in my first two ultra race last year (Fling & whw) was the pain in my quads. I really struggled running downhill over the last third of each race. I have worked hard this year on increasing my milage, running downhill more often & wearing skins. I'm not sure which of these factors has helped - probably all three -but I didn't have any problems in this race. My legs were tired over the last third but I could run easily down the hills. Running through the forest above Crianlarich last year was really sore and it was so hard but this year I was able to relax and run down easily. Now if I can feel the same on those hills into Kinlochleven and Fort William I'll be laughing! Aim for whw race This race is always about preparing for the big one in June. So on the basis of this run what should I be aiming for. My goal since running whw 07 in 22.45 is to break 22 hrs and I feel this is definitely on. But sub 21? even sub20?? Over the past two months I have run the whole route in 7.35 (Tyndrum to Fort William in March) and now 9.44 (Milngavie to Tyndrum) so add those together you get 17.19. Last year the same two runs gave me 19.01 so you can see the improvement I've made over the year. Not bad for a 49yr old eh??? So what do I realistically aim for? I have enjoyed having a challenging yet realistic aim. In the Fling last year I aimed for 11hrs and ran 10.36. In whw 07 I aimed for sub 23 and ran 22.45. For the this Fling I aimed for 10.15 and ran 9.44. So I have been pretty realistic for each. I want to have a challenging goal but a realistic one. I know a lot depends on the weather and so many factors but should I set my goal on sub 21 rather than sub 22? Answers on a post card please!! I will give this more thought over the next 8 weeks and let you know. Friends As I lay in bed this morning trying to sleep I thought about how many of those running on Saturday I've met over the past 18months and now consider good friends. So here are my congratulations to each of you ..... Jez Bragg (1st in a new course record of 7.24.50) - well I've never actually spoken to Jez and he has no idea who I am but I wanted to say what a privilege it is to even run in the same race! His time is incredible. That works out at 8.23 per mile for 53 miles! Or to put it in perspective for me. I was just leaving Beinglas with 12 miles to go when he finished!! Lucy Colquhoun (3rd in a new women's course record of 8.10.03) - I would have said the same about not knowing Lucy except that she came up to me at the end and congratulated me on my time and run! What a star! I don't know whether you ever read this Lucy but I really appreciated your encouragement. When I congratulated Lucy on her record run she was very coy and humble. I'd like to think if I could run that fast I'd be as humble but I doubt it!!!! George Cairns (5th in 8.47.21) - George came on our February run and it was obvious what a strong runner he is especially on the hills so I wasn't surprised to see his time. He ran 50mins faster than last year. Excellent. Thomas Loehndorf (8th in 9.22.40) - Thomas and his wife Silke have become good friends over the last 6months on our training runs and I was so pleased to see Thomas going well. Do read his blog where Silke writes a report of his run. Thanks too for the butterfly stitches on my knee Silke. I didn't get a stitch in the end and it looks fine. Battle scars are good fun! Hugh Kerr (11th in 9.36.32) - I ran with Hugh a few times last year and have always been fairly close time wise. I beat him in last year's fling and he beat me in the whw race. We ran together for the first 5miles on Saturday and then he took off and I didn't see him again. He ran 1hr 15mins quicker than last year. Is it my turn for the whw race? Phil Mestecky (12th in 9.37.28) - Phil is brother in law to Phil Tipping and we've met a few times. Phil ran in a group behind me to Drymen and was chatting all the way so wasn't surprised he ran strong to the end. I was quite pleased to be only 7mins behind him. David McCelland (15th in 9.50.41) - David has run the whw from FW to Milngavie in December with Tim Downie so has my admiration. Didn't see him on this run but he was not far behind me all the way by the looks of things. Brian McIntosh (18th in 9.50.48) - I met Brian on our December training run and followed his progress via his blog since. We saw each other a few times Between Drymen to past Rowardennan. I know he was aiming for 10.30 so should be really pleased to get under 10hrs. Davie Bell (22nd in 9.59.46) - I've ran a lot with Davie on our training runs and knew we would be close in this race. We were together into Rowardennan and it was good to see he kept it going well and just got under 1ohrs. I'm sure he must have been working hard to make it over the last few miles! Gail Murdoch (25th in 10.10.54) - I only met Gail on the race. She ran with Davie and myself from Blamaha to Rowardennan and it was good to see her finish in such a good time. Ian Beattie (28th in 10.28.26) - What can I say about this legend of the whw!! Ian hasn't had the easist of build ups to this race and yet still runs a pb and is feeling strong at the end. Ian's strength is the second half of the whw race and it will be very interesting to see how many of us who finished ahead of Ian in the Fling will manage to do so in the whw race. Tim Downie (31st in 10.47.50 and 1st in the super vet category!) - I've enjoyed getting to know Tim on our training runs and through his blog. Tim enjoys a challenge and he ran this race unsupported carrying all he needed - which seemed to be mars bars! So just think how much quicker he might have been without a pack! Andy Cole (33rd in 10.54.47) - I've emailed with Andy a few times so it was good to meet him on Saturday. A great run taking 23mins off his time from last year. Mike Thomson (35th in 11.06.16) - Another friend I've met onour training runs. A good solid run from Mike. Ian Rae (38th in 11.14.43) - I met Ian at the Loch Ness Marathon and it was good to see him running 13mkins faster than last year. Graeme Reid (42nd in 11.22.23) - I ran with Graeme a few times last year and I know he was had problems with inuries so great to see him finish this one. Aileen Scott (44th in 11.24.20) - I seem to run with Aileen over the first 5miles of races (whw 07 & Saturday). I've also run with Aileen on our training runs. Another good run. Gavin Melville (47th in 11.35.39) - To be honest I'm not sure if this is the Gavin I know from our training runs?? George Reid (52nd in 11.45.42) - I've got to know George on our training runs this year. He has been struggling with a knee injury over the past few weeks so it was good to see he finished the race. I was also glad to receive a text from him saying he wasn't doing the Lochaber Marathon on Sunday. In my opinion that was NEVER a good idea! Ellen Thomson (55th in 11.51.17) - Not only does she help organise the whole race but she runs a pb as well. Excellent performance Ellen. Thanks again for all your hard work and keep it going for the whw race where another pb awaits you! Ian King (56th 11.52.34) - Ian has run with us this year on our training runs. I must admit I was expecting Ian to be quicker than this so would like to know how it went? Keith Hughes (79th in 12.29.01) - Only met Keith briefly at whw last year but always enjoy his comments on the whw forum! Jon Cornall (94th in 13.44.16) - I've enjoyed getting to know Jon and his wife Jan on our training runs. Jon is another who has been struggling with injury so it was good to see he got to the finish in one peice! Jim Alexander (96th in 14.09.00) - Jim has joined us on our training runs and is well known for carrying a rucksack with enough supplies for everyone in the whole race. Mags Turnbull (98th in 14.09.00) - Mags is another from our training run group and a friend of Jim's so I assume they ran together? Phil Robertson (DNF) - I didn't get a chance to meet Phil at the start but we've emailed and I follow his progress via his blog. Sadly he had to pull out at Beinglas with a very sore knee. I hope you recover quickly Phil and can be ready for the whw race. So there is it. I'm ready for breakfast now! If you have got this far well done. This ultra lark is even effecting the length of my posts! |