It's pretty disappointing not to finish a race that you have set your heart on. However, there are always things that you can learn from the experience and if I'm ever daft enough to try the Spine Challenger again, I'll need to learn the lessons. This is a follow up to the first post in this series, which describes the race itself.
One thing to highlight is that my love of the outdoors is undiminished. Slogging over Clough Head, just north of Hebden Bridge, I was overtaken by a couple out for a normal run. They weren't carrying packs and they were moving at normal running speed over the slabs, rather than at the slow ultra-shuffle that I was rocking. I found myself wishing that I was just out for an easy ten miler over the moors without a care in the world. Then I realised that I was happy, there is something special about being tired about having fifty miles in your legs and a long way still to go, about seeing the scenery change. It was a good place. A few miles later as approached Walshaw Dene Reservoir, a Lapwing landed on the ground a few metres from me and proceeded to give me a good telling off. I've no idea how I'd offended the bird, but it was a wonderful experience. Oh and there were curlews! Have I mentioned that I like Curlews?
What about my physical preparation? The fact that my back gave out may be a sign of inadequate preparation. One posibility is that my glutes are weak and that my lower back had to take over some of their work, leading to severe fatigue and back pain. Then again, I fell into a bog at one point and fell off the path where a slab was missing at another, it could be that I jarred my back on the route. Obviously, I need to keep doing the glute exercises that are already part of my routine, but it's hard to be specific about what caused the back problem. Over the years, I've had a lot of ankle problems, but this time round, they were pretty good. Despite rough ground and a lot of twisting and turning, they held up well. I'm still nervous about running down hill on rough ground and that got worse as my legs got tired, but generally, I was pretty pleased.Relive 'Start to Hebden Bridge'
Relive 'Hebden Bridge to Thornton in Craven'
One key lesson is the need to recce the route of a long race. The first 22 miles of the Challenger (from Edale to Wessenden) was much harder than I expected. I'd been told that it was difficult, but nothing beats personal experience. My time over that section was considerably slower than I expected and it was more tiring than I'd planned. Recceing wouldn't have made the terrain any easier, but it would have helped me to adapt my approach. There are portions that I would have taken more slowly and others that I'd have run much harder had I known what I was getting into. Again, lockdown was an issue. I had plans to recce the whole route, but I simply wasn't able to. In hindsight, this is probably the biggest single problem.
I have to admit that my race-craft wasn't the best. The issues of personal management are very different in a 100 mile race to a 50 mile one. You simply have to be more organised and methodical. I had enough food with me, but the hassle of finding it in my vest pocket or bumbag was a problem and I really struggled with what to do with my litter. Where do you stick your flapjack wrappers, electrolyte sachets and the wax bits from your baby bel cheese? In a fifty mile race you can just wing it, on longer days out you need a system and you have to stick to it. I ended up with litter in all of the wrong pocket and it became a right faff (more on faffing later) to get more food. As a result, I probably didn't eat enough. Little things make all the difference. Staying hydrated was a pain. There were some very hot periods on Saturday and Sunday and at times I was short of water - in turn, this made it more difficult to eat.
Let's talk about feet. Over the last couple of years, I've developed some areas which tend to blister on long outings; my heels, the outside of my right foot and both little toes. I taped these in advance as a safety measure and for the most part it worked. When I came to change the tape at Hebden, I noticed that one little toe was badly blistered but pain free because of the tape and I'd also got a blister somewhere new - on my left big toe. A nurse (thank you Exile Medics) at Hebden burst (ouch) and dressed (ahhh) the blisters and they didn't trouble me for the rest of the time. This morning, I discovered another blister under the tape on one of my heels, but it wasn't troubling me - I drained it and dressed it anyway. Changing my wet, boggy socks and shoes for clean and dry ones certainly helped. I still have a problem with the balls of my feet getting sore on long runs - however, I can cope with that. In an ideal world, I wouldn't want to have foot problems, but overall they weren't too bad and they certainly wouldn't have stopped my race.
Weather! Saturday and Sunday afternoons were both too hot for comfort; that slows you down and means you need more fluids. I didn't like the heat (especially when going uphill) but after a cold winter, I wasn't going to complain. The big problem was the freezing cold rain on Saturday night. At that point, I was running in a technical t-shirt and a wind/showerproof top. As the rain hit, I swapped my windproof for my full waterproof jacket. What I should have done was to have added at least one other layer - but I thought I'd be ok - it is late June after all and I tend to run warm. However, the wind picked up and the rain really lashed down and I got very, very cold. The problem then was that taking off my waterproof to add another layer would have involved getting even colder and wetter. I reckoned that as I wasn't too far from Hebden, I could make it without changing again. In the end, I was ok, but the initial mistake of not adding the extra layer could have been serious.
I mentioned faffing earlier. One of the pieces of advice that you always get at these events is "don't faff at the checkpoints". Do what you have to do and then rest or get going, but don't faff. I think I was ok. I faffed a little, but that's because I was cold wet and tired. I had a plan as to what I should do and I more or less stuck to it. I had planned to sort my kit before eating, but when the nice volunteer offered me a plat of pasta, it would have been rude (not to say emotionally impossible) to ask her to wait while I repacked my bag. I hadn't planned to sleep at Hebden, but after the battering the rain gave me, I gave it a go - but didn't manage anyway.
Equipment. If anyone tries to tell you that Rat Race don't make the best trail running shorts, just ignore them - they are wrong. They are a comfortable length and have a series of pockets (money and pain killers in the zip pocket at the back and face mask in the large pocket on the right). Bridgedale trail running socks are also a great investment - they have a cuff that keeps debris out, always a good thing. I started the race in Hoka Challenger shoes and swapped into Inov-8 trail fly at the halfway point. Both did their job admirable. My Raidlight 25 l pack was excellent as always (though did it contribute to my back problem?). However, if someone invents a trail pack where the soft flasks slot straight into the pockets without a lot of contortions, I'll buy them a beer. When you are tired, running with poles is very helpful and I am more than a little fond of my Black Diamond fixed length ones.
On reflection, I should have had more changes of clothes in my drop bag and I probably should have carried a lightweight warm jacket or top. I really didn't think I'd need one in June, but I know what I want for my next birthday!
So, I've learned some stuff, I didn't finish a race, but I had two great days, so it's not all bad by any means.
Well done anyway! Thanks for sharing your experience
ReplyDeleteOnwards and upwards my friend. You'll heal and you will always have the experience. I'm a little jealous to be honest.
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