Hosting a UKRunChat Hour

I tweeted recently that watching people do epic things was awesome but also brought me down because I want to be doing that stuff and through injury just cannot. That may appear a very selfish view, but it really isn’t. I will always support and congratulate someone’s achievement without any other motive than genuinely being happy for them. A reply to my tweet from @tyrelady* said “How about being epic by hosting a session of @UKRunChat”. That set about the events that saw me host last nights hour from 8-9pm..

The communications from UKRunChat were excellent – clear instructions on what to do and how to approach it and timings. I had 6 questions pre-canned and was good to go. There was time for a panic though as I figured out how to schedule tweets. I loaded up the schedule with my intro and then the questions all at 10min intervals.. I also, luckily, had a tweet loaded that said it’s 1hr to go.. I checked my phone, and that tweet hadn’t been sent. I ran up to the laptop to check and realised that whilst the times were all ok the date was inexplicably the 26/07! I hadn’t paid much attention as figured that the default was the current date. It isn’t.

I corrected all the dates and that was it good to go!!

My first question went out at 8:01pm… there was silence and a few replies. I did panic a little thinking that the first question had ruined it. I had killed UKRunchat! That was my ego talking because clearly, I was not bringing anything down!! There was a reassuring message from the UKRunchat contact and advice to release the second question. Then conversation then started, and I was running multiple conversation threads. The scheduling released the other questions at the right time and it kept flowing.

I was really having a good time responding to people from all over and with all sorts of backgrounds. The running community really is a diverse and engaging one.

There were so many highlights but as someone with type 1 diabetes the people talking about their conditions and desire to keep running struck the most resounding chord. There were a number of folks with Ulcerative Colitis and heart conditions too… what I really liked was that many of them said that they told their doctors that they were going to do x when they got out and that they did exactly that!! I know it’s not always easy for everyone on the back of a condition to do these types of things and we shouldn’t expect that just because we can with whatever condition we have others will be able to. It does serve as a massive inspiration though and I would urge anyone interested to, with proper consultation with their medical teams, to explore the options to start or increase their exercise regimen.. the message coming through loud and clear was how empowering it is and just how life affirming it is to be out in nature doing something..

This was part of my reasoning around the ‘what are your proud of’ question too – I wanted it to be anything and that’s exactly what it was. For everyone talking about half and full marathons to ultra’s and beyond there were people proud of being able to run 25mins without stopping, or for having completed C25K or , and this was a personal favourite, for getting kudos from their nephew for running a 10km!

Epic is truly in the eye of the beholder and to reinforce that, the running community supports everyone that takes part in this wonderful sport. Those with judgement need not apply.

The hour was flying now and I even got a bunch of likes from Dean Karnazes – I had mentioned him in one of the questions about meeting a running hero and he must have been tagged in getting on for 20 tweets!

As it drew to a close there were responses piling in across all the questions. It was great. I really enjoyed being at the heart of something that was so positive. It really was an epic hour and one that I would recommend anyone to do and one that I will do again for sure!!

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The questions I asked were

Q1. I have had type 1 #diabetes for nearly 20years but still train and run as much as ever just with a little more planning and prep. Do you have a condition that you manage? What would your advice be to someone newly diagnosed who wants to run?

Q2. Getting more into running now what are you proudest of? For me it’s my 3:15 marathon pb.

Q3. I’ve been lucky enough to meet Dean Karnazes and the late great Caballo Blanco - have you ever met a running hero and what was that like?

Q4. Have you bought any gym kit or gym machines through lockdown and do you actually use them?

Q5. I know us runners like to take our kit with us wherever we go so what experiences have you had running whilst on holiday?

Q6. Let’s finish with some day-dreaming and a question that has almost certainly been asked before - what’s the one event you’d love to take part in? London marathon? New York? Western states? Utmb? The london 10km?

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*I have actually meet the Tyre Lady, although I doubt she will remember, at the Cheltenham Challenge ultra a few years ago.. on a boiling hot-day I was walking up Aggs Hill (if you know you know) and caught up to her. I ran alongside for a while before pushing on.

Ego, pride and humility

I saw a video the other day. There was a young American basketball player who was asked how he keeps his feet on the ground with the success he has had. His answer was, and I am paraphrasing, that if he looks back at what he’s done that’s his ego. If he dwells on that then he’ll fall going forward as he’s focussed on his ego. If he looks forward that his pride. However, if he stays focussed on the moment and in the present that’s humility. What a great answer!

It got me to thinking a lot about how I have approached my own racing and to be honest my focus has been on pride and in all cases to my detriment. I have described it previously as ‘believing my own hype’ and then realising that it was just that, hype.

The clearest time this happened was at the Cheltenham Challenge Ultra race a few years ago. This was three laps of 13.1 miles starting at Cheltenham Racecourse and heading up and over Cleeve Hill before coming back round. It’s a tough but beautiful course; a mix of tarmac, trail, hill, open scrub and woodland. There’s a moment as you head in through Prestbury where the view is across a field to St Marys Church the view has no modern distractions and must be unchanged since the 13th century when it was built.

With a race like this I always think that the first lap is a freebie – that’s not to say it’s not hard but anyone tackling an ultra knows that they can run a half marathon (all things being equal). The second lap of this race is where it gets tough, it’s a steep climb to the top of Cleeve Hill and if you know it the radio masts. There was an aid station at the masts, and I had stopped to top up water and grab something to eat. As I approached the people on the aid station said I was doing really well and was in 4th not far behind the 3rd place. This, on reflection, was the worst thing I could have heard. Rather than keep going as I was, I increased my effort and got excited about podiums and the like. This was not even halfway into an ultra-distance race.

You can probably guess what happened.. I put more effort in to try and reel in the 3rd placed runner. I paid for that increase and started going backwards through the field. The third lap was a real struggle and while I did make it to the finish line I finished in 7th place (there were only something like 15 runners). I should have learned my lesson but I have done that subsequently too. I start to feel good in a race and rather then recognising that and acknowledging that what I am doing is making me feel good I start to think I can push.

The outcome in the Cheltenham Challenge Ultra may have been the same had I kept doing what I was but I would have not felt the same anxiety and disappointment when I was overtaken. I would have been doing my thing and content with that. It’s only pride that made me feel disappointed.

I’ve been in this situation so many times.. the Winchcombe Marathon where after about 10 miles I was in 3rd place (I don’t even know where I finished in that race!), and recently the Cheltenham Half Marathon where I was in the top 10 for a good part of the race but pushing beyond my capability too early and paid for it.

We are bombarded with well-being messages telling us to be present, to do one thing and do it well, to give that one thing our full attention. That young basket player nailed what we need to do in a short video – it’s not easy though and I can only think that’s because it’s a race and you want to do well and so start to visualise an outcome. Training the mind to not get carried away in these moments and to stay humble is the key.

Indoor rowing!

I recently took delivery of a NordicTrack RW600 rowing machine. It sits in my basement alongside the NordicTrack treadmill and exercise bike that I already have. They are all great pieces of equipment that really do help me primarily when I am recovering from injury. At heart I am a runner and yet of late I have spent more time on bikes/rowers and in the pool.

Rowing is something I have dabbled with a bit in gyms over the years. I think my first experience of rowing was probably 18 years ago when in the work gym they ran an event called the Smilebuster triathlon. There was a sprint event which included a 1.5km row, 6km on a bike followed by 2km on a treadmill. There was also a Pro event made up of a 4km row, 15km on the indoor bike and then 5km on the treadmill. I took part in both events and while my times are a dim and distant memory, I remember doing the 1.5km row in around 5:30/40. I also remember how hard they were, and this was 18 years ago!

I then worked in a new office with a gym and there was a challenge to row 5km in under 20 minutes. I remember doing it and how much it hurt, and I know I could do it sub 20 but the details are sketchy. Since then, I have rowed in gyms either doing 2km or 5km and trying to achieve sub 2min per 500m consistently.

All of this has been on Concept 2 rowing machines.

When looking to buy a rowing machine the decision to opt for a NordicTrack was made primarily as it has the large screen with workouts that you can stream to the device. In short, it’s a more family friendly machine than the more industrial looking and maybe scary Concept 2. It’s also more expensive so price wasn’t part of the discussion.

The machine was delivered quickly and needed some assembly. It took my son and I maybe half an hour to get it out of the box, built, connected to the internet and ready to go.

The immediate impression is that this is a lovely machine. It’s very aesthetic with a feel of being a quality build. A nice mix of matt plastic and metal with a nice screen.

The mechanism is very quiet and it’s easy to listen to the music and coaching whilst rowing that comes with the iFit subscription. The handle is comfortable and attached to the machine via a nylon strap – this adds to the quietness of the machine perhaps over the Concept 2 that uses a chain. The foot-straps are easy to adjust and secure. A large Velcro strap that you pull across. Everything has been thought out and this machine shows it.

As I am currently struggling and trying to recover from an injury, Achilles tendonitis, I have been using the machine a lot! Only this morning I did a half marathon on it as part of my training towards rowing a marathon. I hope to do this in maybe a month. This is where I have a question really and it concerns the performance of the machines. If you look at the indoor rowing events and races, look at the records and look at what the elite rowers train on it’s all Concept 2 machines. Is that because it is more realistic or do they just have a head start on marketing? There’s then a further question which is about the performance and are they different? If I am rowing at 2min per 500m on the NordicTrack is that transferable to the Concept 2 or is it harder or even easier?

My effort this morning was 21.012km in 1:14:45 giving an average of 1:46 per 500m. I was working hard and the machine was on the lowest setting but this feels too quick.

You could argue why does it matter – well it doesn’t but if I want to do an indoor rowing event and I think I’m a 1:46 rower but really, I’m a 2:05 rower I’d like to know that before I get on the machine!

Hypo..

Easter Monday was a rough diabetes day. The morning started well enough although a standard and regular breakfast did send my sugars surging with no dip back down looking likely. I started to add more insulin to the mix and eventually the upwards trajectory stopped and dipped back down. Inevitably it came down faster than it had risen and with a lot of insulin on board was not stopping.

To rewind a little, it was about 4 o’clock in the afternoon and I needed to ring my dad, as I made the decision to do so my Tomato app (this is the app that works with my MiaoMiao) alerted me that my sugars were at 4.2mmol. I got something to eat and also grabbed the laundry from the washing machine and thought two birds with one stone. I can talk to my dad whilst I sort that out. While talking to my dad I noticed that I was struggling to find words and was not able to focus. He probably thought I was distracted and as he needed to go anyway we finished the call after an uncharacteristically short time.

My sugars were showing as 4mmol, I grabbed some glucotabs and ate 4 of them. This finished the open packet on my bedside. I went downstairs and sat down at the kitchen table, Susie was cooking and asked if I was alright. I explained that I was struggling with a hypo, she got me some orange juice and I started on a fresh pack of gluco-tabs. I ended up eating the whole packet and still my sugars were not rising. It’s a waiting game now, my sigars were at 2.7mmol and I started to get the sweats. It was now 5 o’clock, Boris Johnson was doing the Covid briefing, and as we sat at the table, I fell asleep. Or maybe I passed out?

Susie woke me and suggested I go and lie on the sofa. I did so immediately falling asleep again. I had checked my sugars before doing so and they were at 3.7mmol and rising. I think I was asleep for about an hour. When I woke, I was freezing cold, the massive sweat I had sat on my body cooling me. My sugars were 9.2mmol and still rising. I gave myself some insulin and when and had a hot shower. I stayed in there for ages not wanting to leave the warmth. Eventually I had to get out. I don’t think I have ever dried myself and got dressed so quickly! I went downstairs and had some dinner. My sugars continued to rise. The boom after the bust. Topping out at around 15mmol. They started to come down and before I went to bed were at 9mmol. I went to bed early and slept almost immediately. As is the norm I woke about 1am to go to the loo and checked my sugars, they were at 10.5mmol and I had no insulin on board.

I used the pump to calculate and administer a correction dose. My sugars were then stable at around 9mmol for the rest of the night.

I have not had a hypo like that for a long time. When this happens it’s an odd feeling. Like I am somehow disconnected from it and yet experiencing it vividly. I remember feeling a bit confused when I was on the phone with my dad and yet didn’t just say what was happening and that I needed to go. When I was at the kitchen table I don’t know if I fell asleep or if I passed out. Similarly, when I decamped to the sofa. Whilst I can remember the motions, they are clear as I imagine looking down on them and yet simultaneously foggy in that moment. This might be memory playing tricks on me, my recall making it clearer than it was at the time.

Either way it felt like it was happening to someone else with me as a bystander.

The legacy of this is a feeling of dehydration (my skin feels very dry and thin and I feel sticky inside), I have a persistent fog in my mind and a slight headache.

Today is another day though, right?

fast enough to clear the forest, slow enough to see the trees

How you enjoy your running is such a personal thing but what does it mean? It’s even harder to explain or define than why you run as you can at least attribute something tangible to that question, “so I can eat cake” or “to keep me sane”.

I have had it levelled at me that I wasn’t enjoying my running even if I thought I was and that I need to get back to that. Like I was doing it wrong somehow, how could I enjoy my running if I was pushing hard all the time. How could I possibly enjoy running hard or long or both? What do I know!?

I heard a quote some time ago, I think it was attributed to someone from the bike manufacturer Cervelo, it was, “fast enough to clear the forest, slow enough to see the trees”. That really resonated with me at the time and continues to do so, I take that into my running every time wherever I am. That could be the streets around where I live, the hills in the area or a trail or a different and new city or town. Being fit and able enough to cover a distance that will see me able to take in sights and sounds and seeing things that many won’t. Particularly early mornings when I tend to go out, you see a very different city or trail first thing in the morning.

I have a couple of memories that really stand out for me and my running. Moments where had I not been a runner I would never have experienced them and are totally why I love running and what it gives me.  

Majorca 2008

We were on a family holiday staying in Son Cutcut, nearby was a hill at the top of which is the Santuari de Nostra Senyora de Cura, a monastery that has since been converted to a hotel and restaurant. The views across Majorca from the top are stunning. It is a beautiful spot. I had run up there early one morning, no traffic on the roads and when I got there no-one was around. Maybe a caretaker or gardener watering plants. Certainly there were no tourists. Looking out across the land as the morning mist evaporated under the rising sun was a beautiful moment. Whilst I am not a religious person, looking out I found myself thinking that I could see why people did believe in something other than what we know. It was just too perfect to have been an accident of geology. I haven’t changed my views but I can see why people hold them.

The Alps 2013

Staying in Abondance in France, a village towards the foot of Morzine, one morning, again an early start, I ran to the top. Initially on road then on trails and footpaths emerging at the top after seven-or-so miles of uphill running (OK running and walking!). As I made my way up the mountain I was looking across the valley and watching the sun peek through the gaps in the peaks casting long shadows across the valley. At the top the views across the valley were unquestionably and unsurprisingly stunning. The words do not do it justice. But what made it all the more remarkable was there was no-one else around. I was stood at the top of an Alp totally on my own. I am certain there would have been other people in the area but where I was stood and as I looked around there was no-one. Moments like this are why I run. To have that and be able to experience in that way is just such a privilege.  

Paris 2015

I had a similar experience a couple of years later on another family holiday. On our way back from the Dordogne we stopped in Paris for a few days. I had snuck out of the hotel leaving the family sleeping and gone for an early morning run. I made my way towards the Champs Elysee going through the Louvre on the way. As I got to the Louvre I found myself in the area where the raised glass pyramids are that you can look through and see down the underground entrance level. There was not another person there at all. I had it to myself. A place normally swarming with bustle and tourism and I was the only person there. It was eerily quiet, the sun was still low in the sky with the shadows long across the concourse. It was remarkable to be in a city and there not be anyone else around. I have had similar experiences to this in London on early Sunday morning runs.

Those are three moments that I can recall off the top of my head and whilst they are abroad and in new and exciting places they are still runs and let me tell you I really enjoyed them. I have had experiences within half a mile from my front door that have been rewarding in totally different ways. Coming down a hill very local to me a herd of cows galloped down behind me, past me and beyond. Not one of them coming closer than a couple meters to me. They just wanted to play. Seeing deer through the woods and making eye contact briefly until they disappear silently. 

I’ve seen a family of wild boar on the trails in the Forest of Dean, not something you see very often and not as scary as I was expecting having always been told that they are incredibly aggressive.

It doesn’t always have to be an external stimulus to make it enjoyable either. Those moments when you get to or close to a flow state are sublime. No sooner have you started that you’re done and feel great without really much specific memory of the middle bit. Being totally immersed in the physical sensation of running so much so that everything else just fades to a background. The canvas on which you painted your run.  

As I think more about what constitutes enjoyment I realise that it’s completely personal and doesn’t actually need any explanation. Often it will be beyond explanation. It’s a feeling, something deeply personal. I don’t think it matters whether you are a 30minute 5km runner or a quicker than 15min 5km runner there is something that gets you out there doing it, it might be easier to describe it as the why I run but if you don’t enjoy it you’re just not going to do it. 

How you enjoy it is entirely up to you and anyone telling you otherwise is totally missing the point. It’s often said that when someone says something about you it is actually what they think of themselves and I’d suggest this is one of those moments.

The Game Changers - a response to the responses..

I have been thinking a lot about the response to the The Game Changers documentary that was released in the last month or two. The response I have seen, as part of the vegan community, is that this is nothing new. It’s almost an I told you so sort of response. The benefits that the hero of the film describes and experiences being what many vegans have experienced and continue to do so. I include myself in that. Anecdotal it may be but that doesn’t make it wrong and let me tell you that to me it those benefits are incredibly real.

The other response has been to debunk the claims in the film. The tipping point for me was the Joe Rogan podcast (episode #1389) where Chris Kesser spent the best part of 3hrs debunking the claims in the film. I started to listen as I thought I was interested in the counter point. I managed about 20 minutes and then thought why am I listening to this? It’s not going to change my mind and if anything I will just get frustrated by what I am hearing.

You come to a realisation that it’s just a different view point and worse it’s just people arguing a point of view. The objectors to The Game Changers site the lack of scientific evidence or the selective choice of scientific evidence to support the claims that a plant based diet would be better for all. The naysayers seek to debunk the science. 

I am no expert but I am pretty sure you can find a scientific report or reference to justify more or less any stance you want to take (with the exception that the earth is most definitely not flat!). The Game Changers, much like Cowspiracy and What the Health before it, offer a perspective that there is another way. The reality is that many or maybe most people do not realise that.

The other facts are that, particularly in the USA, but the Western world has epidemic levels of heart disease, type 2 diabetes and other conditions labelled as lifestyle conditions. Obesity rates continue to rise and with it health has maybe never been worse.

Whatever we have been doing to date is clearly not working for an increasing number of people.

Considering this further you realise that there are no pro-meat or pro-dairy documentaries. There are millions of pounds of advertising and vast amounts of marketing telling us that milk, meat and eggs are good for us. That we should consume for protein and strong bones and teeth. 

• that what our pizza really needs is more cheese in the crust 
• that what we need in our burgers are extra patties and bacon oh and more cheese
• that milk has calcium that makes our bones strong
• that eggs are full of vitamins. 

It goes on and on. You then realise that this marketing has existed forever. Or certainly in my lifetime. If you are of a certain age you grew up in a world where consumption of this type was totally normal without there really being a viable alternative.

Where’s the film that describes how a vegan, we’ll call him Jack, who weighs in at barely 9 stone, has a pallid complexion and no energy. He has tried to sustain himself on plants but it’s just not working. He is vitamin deficient, his skin is dry and his hair brittle. Then someone in a white coat looks at his diet and suggests that he starts eating steak and eggs and maybe drinking cow’s milk. Over the coming weeks and months his body builds, his energy and vitality returns and the once barely 10 stone Jack is now a heroic 12 stone of muscle and confidence.

That film does not exist. That film will never be made.

That for me is the crux of the argument. Debunkers want to have their say as they want to protect their way of life and a film like The Game Changers questions that. It shines a light on behaviour that has always been that way. As a culture we grew up on meat and two veg. That was then and this is now. Where are the videos of celebrities and athletes that continue to eat meat telling us that? There aren’t any. Maybe they don’t need to as they consider that normal, it was and has been so for many years, you could argue that it’s been that way almost forever. The Game Changers represents a challenge and shift to that normal.

There is a lot of emotion bound up with food. We use food to celebrate and commemorate. We share our tables with friends and family and commune around food. A small subtle change to that makes everyone question their behaviour whether they want to or not. Then the response is an emotional one, people that continue to eat meat feel they need to justify themselves. That’s what I see the debunking as. An emotional response to something external that actually doesn’t warrant it.

It’s nothing more than choice. If you eat a traditional diet and watch that film and it makes you maybe change your behaviour a little then great. If it doesn’t have any affect on you then move on. The point of view offered by meat eaters is just a different point of view. Their normal is being challenged and they don’t like it.

Normal is being redefined. There really isn’t anything normal anymore.

Nike running shoes (no not the 'next %')

If you had told me 5 years ago that I would one day be running in Nike shoes for not just road but road and trail I would have frankly laughed at you. I had one experience with Nike running shoes some years ago and it was frankly terrible. That was, truthfully probably more than 10 years ago but it has only been the last year that I have tried them again and that they have become my go to shoe.

 

It started with a Black Friday deal in November 2018 where I bought a pair of the Nike Epic React Flyknit road shoes. I bought them as they were advertised as being super-cushioned and I like soft running shoes. I assumed that they were the Nike version of the Adidas Ultraboost which I had been wearing for a couple of years and was not too far wrong. Whilst they are similar in terms of cushioning they are very different shoes. They are my go-to road shoe, I love the styling, the fit and comfort. They are also pretty responsive and feel and perform fast when they need to.

Nike Epic React Flyknit

Things I like;

• Styling; I always associated Nike with street wear rather than technical specification and while these shoes have both they really do have great styling. The first ones I had were the PRS ones designed for the Paris Marathon, then some light coloured ones for summer and now some grey black ones with the weather changing.. the style is a personal thing but you can go as basic or as funky as you like with these off the shelf and that’s without NikeID where you can personalise them. For me the black sole unit looks awesome and I like that the outer sole is in pieces rather than covering the whle underside of the shoe adding weight. There is heavier sole protection around the forefoot and the heel.
• Comfort; I wear a size 9 running shoe and these are no exception. I find the fit really excellent but I do have narrow feet. If you had wide feet you might want to try a pair in a store rather than buying online as not sure how that would work out. The lacing system is perfectly fine and doesn’t add any pressure to the foot at all. The upper is knitted and really sleek with no seams or edges to catch your toes on. It’s the sole, though, which is really the clincher. Its soft enough that I can run in them every day without that residual fatigue that you get and that I have had from other shoes.
• Durability; I am all about shoe-durability! I want value for money so I am looking to get the top end of the recommended 500miles shoe life. In the two pairs I have retired I have got to closer to 550 miles in each of them with at that sort of wear my left knee, it’s always the left, starting to feel it. Of course durability is good but vfm is determined by what you paid for them
• Cost; when these shoes came out they were advertised for £129.99 – pretty steep but commensurate with a lot of running shoes these days. As much as I wanted to try them I wasn’t going to spend that money on a trial when I was a little unsure. Black Friday it was where I paid around £70 for a pair. My thinking being that even if I didn’t like the I hadn’t wasted too much money. Out of the box I knew they were awesome and wasn’t disappointed. I mentioned above that I am now onto my third pair and have not paid more than £70 any of them. They end to have them at Nike Outlet stores and provided you can fnd a colourway you like the shoe is the same. That’s value!
• Downsides? I don’t really think there are any downsides. At full price they are quite expensive and some may be put off by that but then look around and you will pay closer to half the book price.
• Verdict; this is a 9/10 shoe! For me it ticks all the boxes I care about, comfort, style, durability and price.

When I found myself shopping for some new trail shoes I looked at what I had and why I was looking for new. I have some Adidas Terrex that are a couple of years old (low mileage) and whilst a good, sturdy shoe it feels exactly like that. More a shoe than a trainer. I keep them but will use them for dog walks up the hill rather than any actual running. I also have some Salomon maxi-cushion shoes, I forget the model. They were awesome but I find that on long runs they rub my feet a little. Never in training, only in racing. Thinking at how much I liked the Nike road shoes I looked at the trail offerings and saw that the Wild Horses were getting a fair bit of attention and good reviews. Based on that and added that I liked the styling I thought why not?

Nike Wildhorse 5’s

Out of the box there were two things that struck me;

1. The styling and colourway
2. The size of the toe-box

I did think that I may have picked the wrong colour as they are predominantly white and they are a trail shoe. They look good though and rule 1 is that you have to look good isn’t it? I liked the toe box without trying them on because I was a little concerned that maybe they had put some aggressive tread on the road shoe and seen how it goes. That was patently not the case.

I have worn these shoes on a number of trail runs now with a mix of terrain and they are really a great. They shoe comfort is excellent, the farthest I have run is a little over 20 miles in a race and there were zero issues, no rubbing, no hot spots and no blisters. The shoe is probably not as grippy as others out there the tread being reasonable rather than aggressive. I have used them on lots of terrain types from wet leaves and mud through gravel and sandy trail and they can handle all of that without issue.

In terms of my criteria;

Styling; awesome! Bold and brash – better than a lot of their competitors. With so much kit being just black and red why not a pair that are white? Love them and they look even better now they are a bit dirty.

Comfort; excellent, soft foam upper, good solid rubber outsole and knitted shoe. Protection on the, very wide, toe-box for stones and other debris.

Durability; I get good vfm from trail shoes as most of my running is on road. With more events planned for 2020 I think I will probably be giving these a sterner test than I have many of my other trail shoes.

Cost; the retail price for these is around £105 but I have seen them for £88. You could argue this is cheaper than the current market for similar shoes. I bought mine from Sportsshoes.com for £105 a few months ago.

Downside; I guess the colour could be considered a down side but ‘m not sure that’s enough. Much like the Epic React Flyknit I cannot see a negative. I am like this though, if I like something I don’t really see the negatives and these are no different.

Verdict; so far so good. I have run around 70-80 miles in these. They are grippy, tough, I like the toe box and I love the styling. Quality shoe.

I have said it before but when I review products I am generally really happy with them. If I am interested in something new then I will research it and get a physical look at the product before buying. By the time it arrives I am a little bored of it already as I know a lot (everything) about it. This applies for everything and anything whether it be running socks or a race vest. That said my experiences are not false and that I really like these products and have invested more than once in them speaks volumes.

The Epic React Flyknit is my go-to road shoe. I use it as a workhorse for most of my road running. This can be anything from 2.5 miles through to 20 and beyond. The shoe is just comfortable and on the occasion where I demand more performance it can respond and give me what I want. That’s not to say that there may be better shoes that are more specific, a racing flat or a workhorse for commutes, but for a workaday shoe that you can race in or put down some speed this is that shoe.

I set my half marathon PB some 10 years ago, at Tewkesbury, with 1:27:15. Earlier this year I ran the Cheltenham half marathon finishing in 1:27:48 (this was for the course I actually did 1:27:01 for the half marathon distance) the point being that I am 10 years older and whilst I am generally in better shape and better trained I am still 10 years older and still ran a similar time. Oh and I was wearing a pair of Epic React Flyknits.

right here right now

I have talked about how i struggle with the aspect of racing that is the mental side. When things are not going as i want or maybe the miles are not ticking over quickly enough i start to focus too much on that rather then the why i am out there in the first place. I experienced this a little at Roly's Run only last weekend. It's like race-fatigue really but i don't race that often at all... anyway those clever people at 33Fuel have a blog about this very topic and one of the strategies is to focus on what you are doing in that moment. 

This is a central tenet of mindfulness and "right here right now" will be my mantra as i head into the Broadway Marathon this coming Sunday. 

The 33Fuel blog is here by the way; https://www.33fuel.com/news/mental-tricks-to-turn-your-race-around/. 

Roly's Run (9th November 2019)

I was talking to someone who had done the 20mile edition of this new event, it being the farthest he had ever run. It was now Monday morning some 48hrs after this race had started and he was, in his own words, “still buzzing”. That sums it up perfectly.

Roly’s Run, a beautiful race with an even more beautiful sentiment.

I am not going to go into that here but would urge you to read the About from the race website here; https://www.rolys.run/about.html. The race HQ was Swanmore, a place I have never heard of and am thankful to the sat-nav for getting me there. This is one of those places where, for me at least, I actually have no idea where I was with any accuracy, somewhere between Basingstoke and Southampton being the best I can do.

There were three race options; 15, 20 and 40miles. Routes that were expertly devised and were predominantly on trails but with a real mix. There was woodland, exposed ridge-line, steep hills, muddy paths, farm track, an electric fence to climb over(!), stony trail, some compacted gravel path, and a small section of good old fashioned tarmac. 

Everything. 

Add to that fact that there was some +2,700ft of elevation gain in the 20mile race and it made for a really challenging course. That this was RD Carlos’ first race in the role was quite a feat.

The 20mile distance was quite an interesting one for me because, and this is all about context right, it’s not that far. I had the route on my watch and not having used this before saw that there was a number on the display. I wasn’t sure if this was counting up, down or even if it was miles or kilometres. It turns out that it was counting down and was in miles. Over 20miles I really liked this feature and it did give me a psychological boost on more than one occasion, “it’s less than 5 miles to go…”.

At the race briefing before the start there were some words from Carlos then Rich’s dad spoke and read an email that he had received from someone in the aftermath of Rich’s passing. The email he read was one I had written and sent to them. This floored me and I went through a range of feelings but mainly felt like an impostor of sorts. Whilst I knew Rich I didn’t know him well, something I made clear in the email, that said I did see him more or less every day and we did speak every day. There will be people that knew him far better than me which I think is why I feel a bit of an impostor. It was a lovely moment and I will be forever proud, in a small way, that I made a contribution.

The best words though were reserved for Anna, Rich’s sister. With the crowd having moved from the hall to the start line she told a story of how Rich if he heard someone moaning about how they couldn’t do something would always mutter “not with that attitude” – this got a loud cheer. Everyone stood there had the right attitude for sure.

With that we were all off – a mass start with a lap of the field before heading into the woods and off.

As much as I like to take part in events and races I struggle with them a little. I pretty much want them to be over and start counting down immediately. I do not know why I feel this way but it happens every time. I have thought that maybe it’s because I don’t race enough because when I am training I have no issue whatsoever with the running and will run all the time. I am definitely intrinsically motivated and like doing my own thing. If anyone can shed some light for me please do!

Much like the Cheltenham half I found myself running alone, not fast enough for the lead pack but faster than the throng behind me. This suits me though, I train mostly alone and am comfortable with that.

The woodland sections were a highlight for me, running along twisty trails and jumping over roots and puddles is great fun. There were a couple of sections like this and they reminded me of some of the more pleasant aspects of running the Wendover Woods 50 a couple of years ago. Running in the woods always feels fast, maybe it’s the proximity of the trees and bushes or the agility and responsiveness that you need to avoid the obstacles that come at you with no pattern. Stride length and rhythm cannot be consistent as you adapt to the terrain just to keep each step as sure footed as it can be.

The aid stations were amazing and well stocked – as was the race HQ with tea and coffee flowing, cake and enough fruit to keep this vegan happy :) – the Marshall's were all lovely and super-positive on what started as a bitterly cold day for them and ended as a bitterly cold and wet day as the forecast rain moved in. 

The rain started with a bit of drizzle and I had around 3miles to go. I did think about stopping and putting my jacket on but figured that would be hard as my hands were frozen and it would be a lot of faff for what would be, hopefully, 25 minutes. I can cope with being wet for 25minutes. It was the right decision but by the time I reached the race HQ it was coming down pretty heavily. I was so grateful I finished when I did as for the rest of the day it was relentless and would have been miserable for anyone still out there.

That’s why we do this though isn’t it? This is not a unique thought but we spend so much of our time sat in comfy chairs and comfy environments that to truly know what you are about and what you are capable of takes disruption. Moving from a heated car to a heated office or home is nice sure, we all like that, but really what does it tell you? It takes real determination to finish something when it hurts, remind yourself that you paid for the privilege to be there, your suffering is what you paid for. You get it done not because you paid, that’s the last thing on your mind, you get it done because it matters and because giving up is not an option. It doesn’t matter if it’s a 5km or a 50mile it’s your discomfort and what you derive from that which keeps you moving. The joy on finishing makes it all worthwhile and pretty soon you will be looking for the next event.

The people that don’t get it are missing out. 

I often find myself getting lost in races. I stop looking for the signs and switch off a little. I had the route on my watch which vibrated every time I veered slightly off course (these were minor adjustments rather than wrong turns) but there was so much signage and route marking it was pretty impossible. Again, Carlos and his helpers did a fantastic job.

The 20mile included an out and back up Old Winchester Hill. Quite a climb in two parts with an exposed ridge line joining them. The wind on that ridge was howling and cold. Fortunately it wasn’t a particularly long stretch but for those coming along an hour or more later when it was raining that would have been horrible. At the top of the hill there was a stretch over some softer terrain to a checkpoint where it was then a case of turnaround and head back. This meant that you could see other runners coming through on the 20mile course as you passed them over this 5 or so miles out and back. What surprised me most was that there weren’t more runners. I am not sure what the split was of 15/20/40 mile runners but I didn’t see as many as I would have expected. It would be a long day for some.

Back at the final checkpoint and into the last 5 or so miles to the finish there was possibly my favourite section. Having commented on how running in the woods is great fun. There was a section on whati assume was an old railway line or something similar. Flat, straight and tree lined it was a beautiful stretch of trail with just the occasional dog walker. There was time for one final sting in the tail with a short sharp climb on wooden steps up from a field onto the lanes and the way to the finish.

The finish was in the field where we started. The rain was now coming down pretty heavily and yet there were a couple of hardy souls cheering and shouting. Possibly the most enthusiastic man I have ever met shouted my finish time as I crossed the line. I thanked them for cheering as I ran in then made my way to the hall to change and get some food.

In the hall there were a few finishers sat eating and talking about their races. I grabbed a veggie chilli (really tasty!) and some coffee, sat and ate. After a litre of 33Fuel energy drink and a couple of 33Fuel gels something savoury was welcome.

I ran this race at a high limit, based on heart rate, I was certainly working hard all the way around and did the whole thing on a litre of energy drink and 2 chia gels. I keep saying it but the products from 33Fuel are just excellent. No stomach issues and easily palatable. I am running the Broadway Marathon this coming weekend and will adopt a similar nutrition strategy. As for my diabetes, I started with a blood sugar of 12mmol and finished with a sugar of 5.9mmol. Nothing too excitable all the way round and, more importantly,  no issues. I set my Omnipod to a -50% basal rate for 7hours and used my phone to read my Libra patch as  ran. Perfect! In my kit bag I was carrying the libre reader (in case my phone died), my PDM for the Omnipod and also insulin pens (both Levemir and Novorapid). I have been in a situation before where on a really cold day the Omnipod has failed and I didn’t have any pens or anything in my kit bag. I often talk about the do-learn-do mantra and this is something that I definitely learned from. The other tp, and this was from the people at Omnipod, was to actually wear the pump on the abdomen when doing something like this as it is less exposed than it would be on the arm so less likely to succumb to colder temperatures. Needless to say I did this and it worked a treat.

Do-learn-do!

Back in the hall I was handed a goody bag with some chocolate, a cap (Rich always wore a cap when he ran), a discount voucher for a run store and a rock.

The rock is significant as, and this is taken from the race website;

MEDALS ARE OVERRATED......

so everyone that participates will get a rock instead! Some time ago when Rich (Roly) and I were packing for an 86 mile coast-to-coast hike I saw a huge rock next to his backpack with a smiley face on it. I asked Rich what it was and he said "...oh that's 'Boris the Rock' ... we're taking him with us". His pack was so heavy that he sometimes had to be pushed up to his feet to get him going!

No-one knows what happened to Boris, but every runner/walker will get a 'mini-Boris', as a memento of the race. Feel free to carry it around with you on your next big run/hike!

Someone near opened their back and took the rock out. Each piece of rock was personally engraved. A lovely personal touch that frankly capped (see what I did there) a fantastic race and even better event.

I did ask Carlos if this was going to lead him to a new career as an RD to which he answered no but he did say that he would continue to put this race on. I, for one, will be there next year.

Cheltenham Half Marathon - September 2019

Whenever I race I over think it. I am constantly doing calculations in my head, “at this pace it will take me this long to finish” and “I am this far from the finish which means I need to run an x minute mile to hit my goal.” I know I should just relax and be in the moment but I rarely if ever am. This is a total opposite to when I just run for my own fitness, recreation and training. I like to make sure I am not dawdling but just work within the time constraints I have. If I have an hour or two I fill it. If running was split into two parts, training and racing I am much more about the training and the process of that than I am the racing. I don’t race often and probably for that very reason.

So to the Cheltenham Half.

I started over thinking it when I saw the weather forecast. It was forecast to be wet and windy. Not just wet, thunder and lightning. I fretted and stressed deciding that while it might be wet the temperature would be ok so I was going for a t-shirt, a gilet and cap. That made sense and was sorted. I reconciled that if the rain eased then I could probably pack the gilet into my flip belt. Inside the race village I bumped into someone I knew who said that the weather had changed and there was some blue sky there now.

Panic. No sense of perspective whatsoever. I didn’t even check for myself, and there was time. I just retrieved my bag from the bag drop and put my gilet and cap away.

It actually turned out to be the right decision but cost some mental energy before we had even started.

The race was due to start at 9am. The crowd made their way out there ahead of this to warm up, do any final prep and find the right starting chute. I joined the 1:30-1:45 start. I was hoping for sub 1:30 but wasn’t really confident enough to join that group or to put it out there formally. After a slight delay due to a car being on the course the race started and we were off.

There was quite a crowd for the first part and I settled in behind the 1:30 pacers. My initial thinking being that if I could hang with them for a few miles I could then push on if I felt able. Being ahead of them would guarantee a sub 1:30.

This plan lasted about 500 metres. It actually, weirdly, felt very slow. I guess that was a combination of adrenaline and that the start is downhill. A quick rethink and the plan changed to being; if I get ahead of the 1:30 group I can push on - if they then catch me I know what I need to do to get to sub 1:30. Off I went and put down a 6:38 for mile 1. I maintained this tempo and had a pretty comfortable and uneventful race really. I went through 10km in around 38:30 and that was when I started with the sums again. I was trying to calculate a finish time and how much I could afford to slow down. More mental energy.

The crowds through the town, particularly Montpellier, Leckhampton and  the Suffolks were great. I had a lot of shout-outs as I had found myself running alone. I was behind a group of around 50 or so that were leading and the rest of the field were behind me. The strong start I was having being not quite enough to get me to the front but quick enough to keep me from the masses. It was great to see friendly faces out there and particularly those from the Bath Road Beers run club massive!

This was the first race I have done as part of a run club and it was really good fun doing so. It was good to head to the course with the group and then meet with others once there. At the finish there were volunteers from the club handing out medals, water and even a hug!

Back to the race; it was around mile 10 that I started to struggle a bit, the course loops up and down and crosses the roads around Pittville Park. This was quite demoralising as the racecourse represented the finish and yet it was out of reach with yet another loop. It would get worse.

I hit the racecourse and really ran out of power. Mile 10 had been 7:07, mile 11 was 6:58 then 12 and 13 were 7:02 and 7:04 respectively. While they are good mile times in context they are a drop off from where I was at the start. I had paced totally wrong and was running out of juice. To make it even worse as I hit the race course with some 2+ miles to go I heard the announcer call out the winner! Brilliant!

The section around the racecourse was pretty grim. Some short muddy intersections to exposed tarmac service roads where the wind just blew into your face whichever way you were facing. It was only 2 miles on this section and I was again doing maths to calculate what I’d need to do. In the end I was glad it was over and felt like I trickled over the line. I did get a shout out from the announcer as I did though which was cool.

My finish time was texted to me pretty much instantly; 01:27:53. Good but 38 seconds outside my PB set at Tewkesbury around 10 years ago. Closer inspection of the Strava file revealed that my half marathon time was actually 01:27:01 with the race coming in at 13.23miles and not the regulation 13.1. 

It is around 10 years since I last ran a half, my finishing time then was 1:27:15. Whilst I was really happy with the time I know I can do better if I can do it smarter. There is also that feeling of dread that comes with a race like this. Running hard for 13.1 miles is, well, hard. I run a lot, most days in fact, yet rarely get close to sub 7 minute-miling. That I averaged 6:38 is, to me at least, quite something. I have generally been able to turn a pace when needed and this is not through specific training just through strength of running. The fact that I run a lot and have some strength from that means I can turn a pace – it’s just not something I do very often. I also have for the past few years not done any events where I needed to run fast. Ultra’s being about getting it done, for me, and not racing.

A lack of experience told for me in this race. I didn’t really understand what my race pace could and would be so just ran. Knowing what I know now I would start at around 6:40/45 pace for the first 3-3.5 miles or so and then look to up the pace finishing stronger. On that basis I think I could take a minute off that time as while I was spent at the end of this I was strong for the majority of it. Better pacing would have helped that.

I also need to relax a bit (a lot); I run all the time so not sure why I find races so stressful. Maybe because I don’t race often I always feel like I have to do something. When I say something I mean against the context of my own performances. I am still chasing PB’s and want to do well. I have an uneasy relationship with being competitive. I don’t consider myself competitive but I clearly am. I hope that this doesn’t manifest against people I know and run with because ultimately what I want is only to do the best I can. What goes on around me is almost irrelevant I am only racing myself in these circumstances.

Do you use an insulin pump? Then check your prescriptions...

Not that long ago you would have probably had an MP3 player of some sort, a phone, a GPS for the car (one of those that you fixed to the windscreen), a camera, books of paper maps and maybe something like a palm pilot that worked when you were in WiFi.

Now you, probably, just have a phone that does it all. All your eggs (insert plant based alternative for this metaphor to work) are in one basket.

I found myself in this position on Friday evening.

My OmniPod needed changing something I did very efficiently (it takes me so little time to do this now). Within a minute of completing the POD change the PDM displayed an error screen advising me that the POD was not working and should be removed. I removed it as instructed but then found the PDM screen to be frozen. None of the buttons worked and it wasn’t going into auto-shut off as it normally would. I called the technical support line and spoke to a chap that helped me through the reset function. After a few attempts where the reset was not working the decision was taken to supply me a new PDM. In view of the weekend this would be provided to me by Tuesday.

The tech support guy asked me if I had backup kit that I could use to which I confidently answered yes.

I was only partially right! I have insulin pens that I carry all the time just in case. However what I had not realised was that the Levemir I use was out of date by 6 months, something I only realised after I had injected it, it didn’t do anything bad to me, in fact I don’t think it did anything at all as when I woke in the morning my sugars were at 17mmol – unheard of for me even when I was struggling with overnight sugars. The NovoRapid by comparison was in date but by a matter of days. This was now Friday night close to 10pm – how would I get prescriptions updated in time?

I called NHS 111 and felt like a total fraud as this was not an emergency or something medical this was a lack of preparedness on my part.

I explained the situation and was advised that a Levemir prescription would be available for me at a specific pharmacy for the morning and that I should contact them first thing. The Pharmacy opened at 8:30 and I was at the door when they did. They had no record of my prescription at all and suggested that it might have gone to my normal pharmacy that I use for this. They opened at 9am. I waited int ha car and called them as soon as they opened. They had nothing either. I went back to the 111 service and they promised to chase it up within an hour and get back to me.

An hour passed and I called them, they had no record of my call so we went through the process again. This did yield a result with the out of hours doctor calling me and saying that a prescription would be at the original pharmacy within the hour. I went back to them on the hour and there was nothing that had come through. They were now close to their closing time so issued me an emergency prescription using a paper based facility that they had. I had my Levemir that was in date!

The other issue was that I use my PDM to test my blood sugars too. With this not working I needed to find a spare meter. I had one with a nearly full barrel of test strips. Over the weekend I was fine on insulin pens and using my Accu-Chek Aviva Expert. However I then realised that I did not have any spare test strips.

All of which takes me back to the first point. Technology is great when it’s working but with increasing reliance and seeming reliability comes complacency. I have used an OmniPod for a couple of years and bar the occasional pod failure have not had any issues. The PDM failing is more serious than that. Not only is it my insulin delivery method it’s my blood testing method too. Without doubt the two most important technological dependencies that I have. 

My health and well being depends on it.

The lesson has been well and truly learned. I have now got (or have on order) prescriptions for insulin pens for Levemir and NovoRapid, I will check the expiry dates of these and add them to my diary so I know when they expire and do not get caught out again. Similarly I will have a couple boxes of test strips for my backup monitor and if they have an expiry I will do the same. It took a lot of chasing around and calling on resources that are over stretched to try and sort this on a Saturday morning, something that was wholly avoidable had I been prepared.

The issue isn’t that the PDM malfunctioned or that NHS 111 couldn’t get a prescription through its that I never thought about it. I thought I was prepared with spares for what I needed but as I have not really needed them I wasn’t.

If you are an insulin pump user you need to do this (assuming like me you haven’t already);

1. Check your backup kit – do you have pens/needles/test strips and insulin
2. Check the expiry date on the insulin and either order replacements (making sure to throw away the old stuff) or add the dates to your calendar/diary so you don’t miss it
3. Make sure you have back up test strips and that your meter works (and that you have batteries for it) 

Technology is remarkable these days, things do not often just fail. This leads to complacency which is exactly where I found myself. In a jam because of that. Hopefully, if you’ve made it this far into the post, you can avoid this!

Massive shout out and thanks to the people at MyOmniPod support, Spa Pharmacy and NHS 111.

Winchcombe Cross Marathon - 5th May 2019

 Advertised as a marathon with +2,500ft of elevation.

Well, the distance is right (although I got lost and did an extra couple of miles) but the elevation is way off. Closer to +3,400ft! The Winchcombe Cross is a set of race distances all run in the same day on similar courses. A half marathon, marathon, 37 mile ultra and 50miler. 

I was doing the marathon having made the decision earlier this year to not do ultras for this year at least. 

Registration opened at 7:30 with a start time of 8:30. I was up early and stressing about the day so headed over earlier to catch the Ultra start and see Rob who was doing the 37miler. 

Training for this event has been good from an overall mileage perspective (around 600 so far in 2019, but distinctly lacking long runs. I’d done a 15 and a 20 miler prior to the event and have been averaging maybe 38 miles a week. 

There was a race briefing at 8:20 before we started at 8:30. 

The route starts with an easy section down to Winchcombe high street, across the road down a hill then onto the trails. Leg 1 was an out and back to Temple Guiting, I was surprised at the amount of tarmac but the views were stunning. 

The weather was perfect really, slightly cool with some cloud but dry and little/no wind. 

The field strung out as runners settled into their own pace. I had a plan to run 9min miles for as long as I could figuring I could get to 20 miles at that pace and then just finish the last 10km by any means. 

I had a thought that I could do something between 4hrs and 4.5hrs. Come the end I was slower than that but happy enough with my day. 

Heading into Temple Guiting I somehow missed the arrows marking the course and ran past the turn for the checkpoint. By some distance too, maybe by 3/4 of a mile. Realising my mistake i turned around ran back but knew that any chance of hitting my targets just got harder. 

I was doubly disappointed though as at the point I went wrong I was in 2nd place. I only knew this as I had crossed on the route with Rob who told me. By the time I righted myself on course I was way back, it was only 7 miles in and so there were plenty of runners piling in behind me. I don’t know if there was a bit of distraction in hearing I was in 2^nd and believing my own unfounded hype. I was trying to just keep my pace steady and stick to targets because it was early in the race and genuinely as much as I would love to do well in a race I don’t ever have expectations of doing so.

To compound the issue, I then went wrong leaving Temple Guiting! Just not paying attention and thinking too much about how to make up lost ground rather than focusing on the moment I was in. Another turn round when I realised and more emotional drain. The physical impact would happen a little later in the race.

Making my way back to the race HQ for the next leg I made up ground on some runners and was pretty comfortable. I went through the checkpoint as quickly as I could, keen to continue to make up some ground. It was at mile 15 that I had a physical problem of sorts. There were runners ahead of me and as I crossed a field that was pretty rutted I took my eye of what was in front of me for a second and twanged my ankle. I say ankle but on reflection and examining where I have some soreness it is actually on the outside of the shin a couple of inches above the ankle bone. My foot gave way and I felt my leg twang, like elastic as I corrected the instability on the ground. The pain shot up through my leg and for a second I thought that was it.

It calmed down and I set about walking to see if I could just walk it off. I have had situations like this before and have the mindset that provided it’s not hanging off I will finish. This is primarily borne of not racing a lot and so when I do, I want to finish. I think that if I maybe raced more often I would be less concerned. I walked a bit and it eased. The rest of my race would fall into a pattern of run walk, running on tarmac and downhill was quite sore but uphill and flat was fine (although I walked the uphills too!).

Leg 2 was, for the marathon, a loop. Running through leg 2 and then rather than coming back, if I was doing the ultra, continuing around into leg 4. This made for a better running experience as while the terrain was stunning it’s nice not to retrace your steps. Plus the 4^th leg took in the famous Belas Knapp.

As I approached this there were more people around as this is a spot for tourists and walkers. Up to this point there had not really been anyone around other than those in the event itself. As I got to Belas Knapp I did think about the ultra-runners coming up that way. The climb out of Winchcombe is pretty brutal gaining close to 750ft in the space of maybe a mile or two. Running down this was hard enough.  

As you pass Belas Knapp there’s a steep field that takes you down to a small wooded section, you clear that then it’s downhill past the cricket club and back onto the high street. Running down through the field I could hear thunderous footsteps behind me. My first thought was that cannot be one of the event runners? It wasn’t. It was a small bout maybe 10 years old running full tilt through the long grass and having the time of his life. His sister, slightly older, was behind him and much more tentative. He stopped just in front of me and as I got close I asked him if he was racing me. He replied that he was and took off again. So fast! I think that even if I had not run at all I could not have let the handbrake off enough to run like he was.

He was just running down hill without a thought for his knees and ankles or anything. It really made me smile and was quite uplifting. When you try to explain to someone why you run it’s because sometimes it feels like that. That being an intangible thing really, something you have to experience to understand. A combination of being immersed in the moment without a thought in your head, a flow state where the action of running is for that moment all consuming. You’re doing it but it doesn’t register as conscious thought or physical feeling.

Reaching the woods I knew the route back having run this previously. It’s a short hop to the high street then up to the aid station and the finish.

I crossed the line with 4:57:20 on my watch. The total distance I covered being 28.75 miles and with +3,471ft of elevation gain.

It’s not often I finish something and think I want to do that again but for this one I really did. I think it’s because I know if I didn’t get lost I would save around 15 minutes and if I do more longer runs I can probably take another 20 minutes or so off that time and maybe get closer to the 4:30 I thought achievable.

My blood sugar control through the event was excellent. I was up at 6am and tested with a blood sugar of 5.5mmol. I had something to eat undercutting the carbs count by around 50%. This meant I would be higher by the time I got to the start line but not an issue as once I start running it drops pretty-quickly. I also put in place a -50% temporary basal for a 7hr duration. Because the doses of insulin that I use are quite small this is the maximum reduction the pump can accommodate. At the start of the race my blood sugars were 14mmol, high but for a short period and not concerning.

Nutrition strategy was pretty simple and a combination of 33Shake gels and Tailwind with a couple of bars with me just in case. The plan was to sip tailwind and have a gel every hour. At the half marathon point I tested my blood sugars and they were 7.2mmol. Perfect!

I set off again and did not test until the leg 2/4 checkpoint where they were 5.5mmol. This was probably the most stressful blood test I have done. There was an ambulance crew there and one of them spotted what I was doing and came across to check. He was stood on my shoulder watching. I have never felt under so much pressure to deliver a good reading. When it popped up with 5.5mmol I was so relieved. He just said “that’s perfect” and seemed happy enough.

Because I was out for longer than expected the pump notified me when the temp basal had ended. I set another -50% for 3hours and continued. My blood sugars at the end were 11mmol. A combination of my slowing pace and probably taking on too much food. There was a creeping upward trend for a couple of hours but it soon righted itself as I had something to eat and administered correct bolus amounts.

Later in the evening I set a -25% basal for the overnight period as knew from experience that I would go low otherwise. This was borne out with a waking blood sugar on Monday of 3.1mmol.

I was using the OmniPod through the event and had no issues. In fact, for this race an alert that a temp basal had finished and then being able to set up another while still moving was pretty awesome. There is no fire and forget that you get with pens. I had the pod on my arm but the conditions were such that it was not over exposed at all so performed as it should. The facility of being able to administer reductions on the fly proved invaluable not only during the event but in the period post event and then through the night.

I really enjoyed the event, the course was beautiful, the conditions couldn’t have been better really and the organisation was perfect. I want to do it again next year and that’s a first for me really. No higher praise?