T 7 miles (7:34mm)
W 7 miles inc. 2X1mile (6:11mm)
T 6 miles (7:38mm)
F 5 miles (6:19mm)
S 3.5 miles (6:33mm)
S National 100km Champs.
Total 90 miles (6:43mm)
Total Training Time 10hrs 05 mins
Race week arrived with me not really too sure about how things were. I ran a woeful 5,000m at the Yorkshire Champs so wasn't expecting much but knew that a proper taper should at least leave the legs feeling nice and fresh. And that it did I did a little session of 2X1mile on Wednesday whilst carb depleted and ran them as hard as I could. I was very pleasantly surprised to see the efforts come in at 5:01 and 4:58. Pretty much Mile PB territory for me!
Over the past few weeks I had been a little concerned that my 'aerobic efficiency' hadn't been at the levels I have enjoyed in the past when getting close to a marathon. I suspect the virus pre-London had had some impact on this as I had been trying to peak for that race and then things were a bit out of kilter. Despite this I had put some decent miles in so knew that I was prepared and had the miles in the legs to run ok even if it wouldn't be my best. As it was my first attempt at a 100k it was also very unknown what would happen!
As it was the National Championships I was very keen to do well and so perhaps somewhat naively made my goal to win the race and get the qualifying time (6hrs 55mins) for the World Championships next year. I had somewhat arbitrarily decided that for me to do this I would need to run around 6hours 40mins which is exactly 4 minutes per km or 6:25 per mile. There were other top athletes, such as Lee Grantham (2:21:43 marathon PB) and Ant Clark, amongst others in the race who had experience at these sorts of distances in the past. I was a complete rookie so everything that goes with pacing, fuelling and hydration was going to be a bit of a learning curve. That said, the target to run around 6:40 I thought should be enough to hit my A-Goal. The secondary goal of the race was to learn something from it.
I can confirm that I didn't achieve Goal A but I certainly achieved Goal B!
The conditions seemed like they were going to be reasonably kind however where the race was held is a very exposed part of the country so any breath of wind and we would feel it. There was also no shade whatsoever and it was a very sunny day and really quite warm, although not roasting.
After the first lap I felt top drawer and got a nice cheer from my girls. Around 30k I made a move! And was quickly building up a lead over Lee & Tom. My legs felt great but I was conscious that my heart rate was higher than it probably should have been. I got to 50k and picked up my PB Pitta and restocked my fuelling belt. Unfortunately this time the PB pitta was a bit of a struggle and I was having difficulty chewing it down so probably only ate half of it before discarding it for some lucky pigeon. There had been houmous wraps on offer at the main aid station which on reflection would probably have been easier to get down.
I still felt great and pushed on to 60k. by now my lead had grown to around two and a half minutes on Lee in 2nd place and 10 minutes on Ant in 3rd. I was confident that I could maintain things.
Leading and feeling strong but things about to go wrong!
However things were about to go wrong! My watch beeped and I reached for a bar but I just couldn't eat it. It was disgusting. My body just refused to eat it and I had to spit it out. I knew from here I would likely be in trouble as I needed the fuel to get through the distance. But I ploughed on regardless. By 75k and completion of the third lap it was 'only' one more lap to go. Fair enough it was another 15.5 miles but I thought I should be able to muster through. Shortly after completing this lap Lee came past me very strongly and I gave him words of encouragement as he looked certain to get the qualifying time and the win. It was around 83kms that I unfortunately came to a standstill wobbly, woozy and a little incoherent. I then walked/jogged to the 85km point where I officially retired from the race. The marshals at the aid station were very helpful and tried to get me to eat and get me on my way again. But my decision had been made. I am sure had I taken a rest and refuelled I could have got the finish but by then mentally I had disengaged from the race as I would likely come in with a c8hrs finish time which would not have achieved my A-Goal and would likely have really done some damage to myself physically and mentally. This way a DNF felt justified as I had certainly learnt a lot from the experience and there were always other races to get it right. So I ran 85km at an average pace of 6:42 per mile, which considering I walked the last mile of that is pretty decent. It was also the furthest I have ever run by some 12 miles.
I don't have any regrets about how I approached the race, nor with the DNF. Of course I wish things had turned out differently but I do feel I learnt a lot and was pleased I 'gave it a go'. It has given me more insight into what Heart Rate & effort I think should be sustainable for me for 100k and also the importance of hydration in combination with the fuelling. My feeling is that my decision to stick with plain water was probably my main downfall as my body was becoming slightly hyponatraemic (sodium balance was out) which resulted in a reduced blood plasma volume meaning my heart rate was increasing to unsustainable levels. On reflection I also suspect my fitness was also probably only worth 6hrs45- 6hrs50 on the day so running at 6hrs35 pace for the first half was a little ambitious to say the least.
Where now for my future? Well I feel that the ultra world is the direction my running is going. My engine is definitely my strength and I cant wait to have another crack at the 100k distance to try and get that World Champs qualifying time! My next 100k race will be in Winschoten, Holland in September. I also plan to put myself forward for selection at next year's Anglo-Celtic Plate. In the meantime, I have three weeks of reduced mileage and some faster stuff before the build up begins.
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