Return of the Mac(kay)…

Whoops! Once again quite a while has flown by since I wittered about anything in particular! Work has been crazy. Budget cuts to school swimming funding has meant I have been flapping about like hyper chicken for the past few weeks trying to put something in place for after the summer holidays to ensure that; a) the kids in Clackmannanshire still get swimming lessons, even after the funding has run out, b) those who can’t afford group swimming lessons or private lessons will still be able to take part and c) I still have a job come next year….

Running the Strathearn marathon with Jemma and having a tad too much fun...
Running the Strathearn marathon with Jemma and having a tad too much fun…

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So that aside, I have been trying not stress but obviously that’s easier said than done. I’ve been trying to give my all at training and get out for as many long runs as possible, but I felt that recovery from the Cateran took a lot longer than I thought it would have. I paced Jemma to a P.B at the Stratheran marathon, got a personal best for a mile at a club time trial and have been continuing to up my weekly mileage, but it wasn’t coming as easily as I thought it might have done. After feeling like I was getting head spins far too often at work and my heart rate was straight up after just a warm up at training, I decided to go and get my bloods checked again, and low and behold my ferritin has dropped once again. I think I’m going to have a proper look at my diet this time round and make sure I’m getting enough iron naturally, along with taking the supplements again for the next few months and monitor my training carefully to see how I’m feeling after high mileage weeks.

Rannoch moor, pretty yet terrifying...
Rannoch moor, pretty yet terrifying…

The next big race on the calendar is the Devil O’the Highlands on the 1st of August, which covers the second half of the West Highland Way from Tyndrum up to Fort William (42 miles) and I have high hopes for it. I’ve got 3 weeks off of work, starting tomorrow, which begins with celebrating my little brother and Jemma’s wedding up in Arisaig and once the partying and celebrations are over I’m going full out hardcore training for this race. Races are for racing, and as of last weekend my mind has been made up about the long term goal. The saying goes “all roads lead to Milngavie” in the Ultra community, and after marshaling and supporting my friends Graeme, Alan and Rhona at the West Highland Way race last weekend, I have decided my goal is to try and get a place and run the race in 2016. All ultra races are a stepping stone up to this iconic race and after feeling pretty strong after 55 miles, I know that with another year of full on training under my belt I could possibly be ready to toe the start line with some Ultra legends this time next year.

Supporting and marshaling at the West Highland way with my WCH buddies.
Supporting and marshaling at the West Highland Way race with my WCH buddies.

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I know this isn’t a decision I can just make on a whim, and I will think very carefully about whether or not I’m ready for it when the ballot opens in November. By the time it comes round I will have ran 6 or 7 marathons and 8 ultras, so I can only get stronger and more clued up as I continue to churn out the miles and learn from the best. It’ll definitely be an eye opener running the Devil in August as I’m yet to set foot on the second half of the West Highland Way – hopefully I’ll manage a few recce runs before race day, but I’m sure there will still be some surprises on race day!

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Until next time (which won’t be as long, I promise). It’s now time to go be a bridesmaid and party the next few days away up on the West coast. When I return, beast mode will well and truly be activated.

RACE REPORT – The Cateran 55 Ultra Marathon

CATERAN 55 ULTRA MARATHON 2015

TIME:11 Hours 30 Minutes and 45 Seconds

OVERALL :40th/68 finishers (8 DNF)

GENDER: 8th/21 females

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I’ve been struggling to start this report as I’ve still not recovered fully from this wonderful weekend. I was thrown straight back into the midst of things at work on Monday, even though my mind was still else where and really haven’t had a second to sit down and actually reflect on the weekend yet. So that starts now…

On Friday afternoon, I sprinted home from work at 2:30pm, hurried to finish my packing and cramming the car full of everything I could possibly need for 2 days away, said my goodbyes to Craig who was just leaving for a night shift and then sped up to the station to meet Kat who had very kindly offered to be my race crew and marshal for the weekend. After a last minute dash around the shops, picking up nothing that I actually really needed along with plenty of things I didn’t need, we were on the road North to Glenshee. The drive up was lovely and the weather was pretty much on our side, but as we got closer to our destination I suddenly got very nervous. Even though I have been planning and training for this race for months, I suddenly started to have major doubts in my ability. 55 miles – that’s a very, very long way.

I arrived at Gulabin lodge, the new H.Q for the Cateran races, just after 7pm and registered with Julie. The goody bag is superb – a nice small holdall containing a beanie, chia charge bar and some other tasty goodies. I went to round to find my allocated room in the lodge which I was sharing with Kirsty Burnett and Carol Martin – 2 ultra running superstars who were very lovely and gave me a good few pointers about the race and how to pace it. The remainder of the runners who were staying over night arrived in dribs and drabs over the nest few hours and over dinner I met load of new people who helped me calm down and think about the main goal of my race, which was just to enjoy a lovely long run in the hills with friends.

I was worried I wouldn’t get a great sleep as I had been like a coiled spring, ready to explode all week and my energy levels were through the roof, but as soon as I had all my stuff laid out and had a good natter with the ladies, I was settled in bed and pretty much out like a light. I woke up a few times during the night and was slightly disturbed by the noise of the wind and rain on our sky light, but quickly drifted off again only to be woken by my alarm at 5am. I hopped out of bed, got my kit on and headed to the breakfast room for a good feed of porridge, coffee and a banana and had a quick chat with everyone before I headed back to my room to double check my drop bags and get my camelbak ready. My stomach was now doing back flips and before I knew it we were gathered outside the lodge for Karen’s race briefing. We were reminded that the 110 mile runners were still out on the course so to give them the support they deserved when we saw them and also to look out for each other – 55 miles is no walk in the park! Briefing over, 76 of us all walked over to the start of the trail and after a final few well wishes and hugs from my friends Karen shouted “go!” and at bang on 7am, we were off!

Race briefing. Phot - Chen Chee Kong
Race briefing. Photo – Chen Chee Kong
Heading to the start. Photo - Kat Savage
Heading to the start. Photo – Kat Savage
Claire and I, ready for the off!
Claire and I, ready for the off!
And we're off! Photo - Chen Chee Kong
And we’re off! Photo – Chen Chee Kong
They'll see us in half a day or so! Photo- Kat Savage
They’ll see us in half a day or so! Photo- Kat Savage

The race starts at and finishes in Glenshee and the check points were as follows;

Dalnagair Castle – approximately 6 miles
Kirkton of Glenisla – approximately 15 miles
Den of Alyth – approximately 25 miles
Blairgowrie – approximately 31 miles
Bridge of Cally – approximately 38 miles
Enochdu – approximately 49 miles.

I had drop bags at all the check points except the first one and decided to break the race down into bite sized chunks, concentrating on counting the miles between check points rather than my overall mileage.

    START TO DALNAGAIR CASTLE

The first few miles slipped by easily. I started the race with Claire but after the first few miles and a nice grassy downhill, I pushed ahead and ran on my own for a while. I’d started off wearing my long sleeved top, but within 10 minutes it was off and my sunglasses were on. Glad I had brought all options available with me! I had made a conscious decision to take the first section really easy and see how I felt when I got to the check point. Having never run this far before I knew I could start off feeling fantastic but quickly decline if I went out too fast. After many a muddy field, stile and ditch I reached the first check point in 1.01.20.

All route photos thanks to Chen Chee Kong/Running In Scotland
All route photos thanks to Chen Chee Kong/Running In Scotland

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DALNAGAIR CASTLE TO KIRKTON OF GLENISLA
The next few miles were on tarmac and as I plodded on at a comfortable pace, quite a few runners whizzed by me. Usually this would activate my competitive mode but no, not today. I cheered them all on and carried on at my steady pace reminding myself to eat little and often. After a few miles on road we took a sharp left and after climbing the highest stile I have ever seen, we were on an uphill slog for a while. Before long we were running above a gorgeous loch and then it was time to free wheel downhill through a forest and enjoy letting our legs relax on the soft springy bed of pine needles. Going through the next few fields I found myself surrounded by cows and their young which made me a bit wary, but I think the calves were just having fun running around with us. I arrived at the second check point in 2 hours and 35 minutes.

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KIRKTON OF GLENISLA TO DEN OF ALYTH
Arriving at the check point I was greeted by Julie, Sandra and Helen who were dressed head to toe in neon and having a bit of an 80’s party! I refilled my pockets and quickly munched a babybell and a few pieces of flap jack before heading on my way and running the next few miles with Kirsty and Victoria Hunter, who were running the whole race together. We lost the trail just after the check point and ended up having to climb over a barb wire fence (my bad – sorry ladies!) but a few miles out after the check point I dropped back slightly and told them to push on as my lower back had started to ache. Climbing over another stile, I tripped slightly and landed heavily which made a pain shoot right up my leg and into my back and at that point the tears were close. I slowed my pace right down and took a couple of paracetamol and when I started to run again the pain was worse. For brief moment I thought my race could be over, but then as I crested the next hill mumbling to myself I caught up with 3 of the 110 mile runners who were still laughing and joking. That gave me the shake a I needed – I wasn’t even 20 miles in and was moaning already and here were these guys who had been out all night and were still going. I had a quick chat with them and then the pain killers must have kicked in as I pushed on and ran the next 5 miles all the way to Den of Alyth where I knew my friends were waiting on me. Elapsed time to Alyth – 4 hours and 41 minutes (25 miles).

DEN OF ALYTH TO BLAIRGOWRIE
I flew down the hill into Alyth and stopped for quick hug from Kat who was marshalling here. I stormed down the hill into the Den of Alyth feeling strong and quite hungry! Rhona and Graeme were here and it was good to be told I was looking so strong when not an hour previously I had been ready to pack it in. I refilled my water and inhaled and banana and some more flapjacks before heading onwards – only for someone to yell at me that I was going the wrong way! I couldn’t quite see who it was, but thank you!! After what felt like a very, very long slog up hill, we arrived at Drimmie Woods where I enjoyed another good run over the springy forest floors and some exciting leaps over the biggest, boggiest mud trenches caused by tree felling equipment. I found the make shift bridge the marshals had set but from looking at the race photos I can see there were plenty who didn’t find it!! The forest path spat us back out on to a road which lead us down to the Blairgowrie check point. Elapsed time 5 hours 51 minutes (31 miles).

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The mud!!
The mud!!
Escaping the forest relatively mid free! Photo -John Mill
Escaping the forest relatively mud free! Photo -John Mill
The Minions of check point 4!
The Minions of check point 4!

BLAIRGOWRIE TO BRIDGE OF CALLY
I had another quick check point stop and on leaving I noticed Derek heading the wrong way out of the check point. I yelled after him to get him back on course and we ended up running the rest of the race together. It was good to have company as I knew I’d hit some low points in this section. We carried on walking the hills and running the flats and downhill sections and managed to catch up with another runner – the first we had seen in hours! I was feeling O.K at this stage. My back pain had eased off but I was beginning to feel a blister brewing on the sole of one of my feet. Nothing too bad at this stage, so I pushed on to the next check point.

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We came into the Bridge of Cally check point which was manned by Ian Beattie and his team and after finding out I was sitting 40th overall at this stage I was desperate to get a move on and see if we could catch anyone else. Pockets filled and sunglasses back on, we pushed on out of the check point in an elapsed time of 7 hours and 22 minutes.

BRIDGE OF CALLY TO ENOCHDU

We had run this section a few weeks ago, so knew what to expect which I think really helped this far into the race. All hills were walked and all down hills were ran/shuffled. I tried to keep my spirits up as I was starting to tire but things were starting to hurt. I think is my favourite part of the route – beautiful trails and views, and so much wildlife! I saw 3 or 4 red squirrels, birds of prey, hares, deer, new born lambs, calves…. all the cute things to keep my mind off the pain!

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There’s a pretty tricky/boggy section a few miles before you get to Kirkmichael where my shuffling became more of a stumble and I manage to rip my knees open in some thorns. At least the stinging took the pain away from my feet for a while!! Before long we were heading out of Kirkmichael towards Enochdu when the heavens opened and I was soaked within seconds. Luckily it lasted a matter of minutes before the sun broke through again. We trundled into Enochdu and I couldn’t have been happier to see the marshals at the last check point!!! I took the last of my flap jack and a kitkat and passed my gin in a tin on to Julie as I didn’t fancy it and again within minutes we were on our way for the last 6 mile section. Elapsed time – 9 hours and 52 minutes.

ENOCHDU TO GLENSHEE
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The last section begins with a climb…. and then carries on going up, and up… and up!

11024700_1665214393706825_8618751213412812666_nI remember being close to tears when I saw this gate as I just didn’t think  had it in me to tackle another stile!! We passed a group of walkers just before we got there and I don’t think they quite understood when we said we’d run the whole trail. Cue questioning looks amongst them…

11146493_1665214483706816_4025705355618995359_nFinally I could see the final hills in the distance. All I had to do now was get up and over there, but every single step was sending shooting pains up my legs. I was so desperate to pick up the pace, but I couldn’t quite lift my legs high enough to class it as a run! We reached the last steam (the one I fell in last time I was here) and I had a momentary dilemma – do I leap over it from my bad foot, or onto my bad foot?! I gave up caring and just went for it… and miraculously cleared it this time! Finally it was up, up, up… and we were at the top.

 

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I paused briefly to catch my breath and glance down at what lay ahead – the white dots at the bottom of the hill was our final destination and nothing was going to stop me from getting there. I tried once again to pick up the pace but the descent was taking it’s toll on my knees to I slowed down and just took it one step at at time. Finally the terrain was more runnable, so I gave it everything  had left and bounded down to the last marshal at the gate. We were told we had 2 minutes to make it in 11 and a half hours, and that was all we needed to get the legs working over and run with everything we had left round to the finish line. As we came over the bridge and turned into the camp site, I could see and hear my friends cheering us in. Kat, Rhona and Graeme, along with Karen and George were standing there waiting to dish out the hugs and I couldn’t get there fast enough!

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I was ushered into the tent to sit down and the reality of what I had just achieved finally hit home. I had just been on the go for 11 and a half hours and covered 55 miles and over 4000ft of elevation. That’s not somethng you do every day!!

After a shower and a good feed up at the lodge, we all gathered in the marquee for the prize giving. I received my quaich and was positively bursting with pride when Karen read out my name. The rest of the night was spent catching up with friends over a few drinks before I decided I was utterly exhausted (and a little sun burnt!) and decided to call it a day.

This race was just amazing. The organisation, location, friendliness, wonderful support and of course the weather!! I couldn’t have asked for anything better. I will definitely be back!

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RACE REPORT – The D33 Ultra Marathon

D33 ULTRA MARATHON 2015

TIME:5 Hours 4 Minutes and 54 Seconds

OVERALL :132nd/338 finishers

GENDER: 21st/110 females

CATEGORY: 10th/39 senior females

The awesomely funky jam jar lid medal. Definitely the most random medal on the rack so far!
The awesomely funky jam jar lid medal. Definitely the most random medal on the rack so far!

It was finally here! The weekend of the first ultra of the season and I was more than ready for it. I’d recovered well, all the miles of training were banked and I was chomping at the bit and ready to race and see what my legs were capable of. The D33 is a fast ultra along the old Deeside railway line to Banchory and back and apart from a few undulations going through villages on the way, it’s pretty much entirely flat. My plan was to give it everything I had and see how my legs coped with being asked to run 33 miles with hopefully very few walking breaks. I hoped that if I treated it like a marathon in terms of pace and fuelling and then pushed to keep my legs ticking over past marathon distance,my next marathon race would be a doddle. Well, we can always hope!!

I had travelled up to Stonehaven on the Friday night to stay at Rhona’s with Jemma and my little brother Duncan who had come down to support/marashal/be tea bitch for the day. Soon after arriving we were sitting down to eat a huge meal of tortellini and garlic bread. After getting my pre-race fuelling so wrong before the Loch Ness Marathon and suffering badly about 20 miles in, I am now careful to not only get the race fuelling right, but also looking at what I eat the few days leading up to the race as well. After eating as much as was comfortable I lay out my kit, checked my drop bags were all good to go and then after a good gossip with everyone, took my nervous mind to bed to try and get a good sleep.

Race morning arrived and I was awake before my alarm. Pre race routine of getting dressed, drinking strong coffee and trying to force in breakfast when I wasn’t that hungry was run through without much thought and then just as we were leaving to get the bus up to Aberdeen, the nerves started to kick in. This wasn’t a race where I could take plenty of walking breaks on the hills. There were no hills! This was going to be an entirely new experience and I had no idea how my body was going to react to what I was about to ask it to do. The only way to find out is to go for it and see what the outcome was. Fingers crossed for a positive one!

Jemma and I ready to run!
Jemma and I ready to run!

We hopped off the bus right beside Duthie Park and as we walked around to the start area the air of nervous excitement among us began to grow. We were quite early so got registered quickly, nipped to the loo before the queues began and then trotted about saying hello to people. As this is the first Ultra of the season there is a huge buzz surrounding everyone. I caught up with my club mates who had driven up that morning, said hello to Angela and her super cute dog Brin and then trotted back to the toilet queue, which was now pretty huge, to pass some time! Just as I came out the loo we were all summoned to the start line for the race briefing, so I quickly put my bag in the van and jogged up the start line to find my friends and then remember how to breath! We had a quick briefing from race director George and then with a count down from 10, we were off!! Trainers slapped on the tarmac as the stream of runners made their way out of the park and up onto the old railway line. I kept an eye on my watch and made sure I wasn’t setting off too quickly as I jogged out of the park between Jemma and Rhona, but soon the pack spread out and after a couple of miles and some chatting with 3 or 4 other runners, I was on my own and jogging along to the sound of my breathing and the birdsong around me.

The Wee County Harriers taking a welfie!
The Wee County Harriers taking a welfie!

The route follows the old railway line on tarmac out to Peterculter when it then moved to a few miles on trail and country roads through the village of Drumoak before rejoining the former railway line out to Crathes. The miles were slipping by easily and just before 7 miles I was joined by Ruth Howie from the Strathearn Harriers and we ran together until the first check point. I had already taken a gel but still had plenty of food and gels on me, so I didn’t stop and passed quite a few people at this stage. Most of them caught back up again over the next few miles, but it felt good to be moving up the field at such an early stage in the race. The route took us down a slight hill and then wiggled through some fields before spitting us on at the side of a road and onto an incline up to Drumoak. I pushed up the hill feeling strong and still happily running on my own and then as the route wiggled back onto the Deeside Way, I was caught up by a few of my club mates and continued to run with them for the next few miles. I passed by half marathon distance in 1 hour 54 minutes, and while thinking that was possibly just slightly too fast, I was still feeling so strong that I didn’t want to pull back just now in case I couldn’t pick up the pace again! Just after 14 miles the lead runner, Ross Houston of Commonwealth games fame, flew by us – ahead of the lead bike! Saying this guy was flying doesn’t even describe how fast he was moving, he was travelling at an astounding speed! This meant that at this stage in the race, the lead runner was nearly 5 miles ahead of me already. Just amazing!! I continued say well done and high five my friends as they passed me on their way back feeling good as soon it would be me going that way.

Photo fail! Whoops... Photo - brianbatphotography.co.uk
Photo fail! Whoops…
Photo – brianbatphotography.co.uk

Half way sneaked up on me and before I knew it I could see the roof of the marquee at the check point! People were cheering my name and I cruised in to pick up my drop bag grinning from ear to ear. I wasn’t planning to hang around for long so I kept moving while refilling my waist pack with gels and haribo and guzzled as much powerade as I could while still moving. A quick watch check showed I was there in 2 hours and 23 minutes which meant if I could do the same on the way back I could finish somewhere around the 5 hour mark. Things were looking good!! I was in and out the check point within 2 minutes and now it was time to retrace my footsteps back to Aberdeen. I loved how up beat everyone was as they ran passed you and said well done to most people who looked in my direction. I high fived Rhona who wasn’t far behind me at all and then ran towards Jemma, who was looking delighted with her race so far, for a double (and rather painful!) high five. Heading back the way we came wasn’t as bad as I thought it might be and as the miles continued to slip by I started to worry that things had gone too smoothly so far and I was bound to crash soon. Back through Drumoak, down the hill and along through the fields, I continued to pass people who had slowed down quite a bit and then I started to feel ridiculously thirsty. I decided I’d walk the bottom section of the hill and have a good drink and then try and pass some more people who had slowed to walk. By the time I’d reached the top of the hill I had passed another 8 or 9 runners and I was still feeling pretty strong. My watch beeped and I realised I only had another mile until the final check point and then it was 8 miles of flat running towards the finish line.

Pushing up a hill about 10 miles in and feeling strong! Photo - Ray Woods
Pushing up a hill about 10 miles in and feeling strong!
Photo – Ray Woods

I was still running comfortably and passed by marathon distance in 4 hours and 1 minute. Only 7 minutes slower than my PB and I still had another 7 miles to go. I started to feel tired at this point and slowed my pace right down to take another gel and have a drink. I could see a line of people ahead of me and most of them were walking so getting a sudden rush of energy and competitiveness, I made it my mission to pass as many of them as possible. I must have gained another 10 or so places up the field and suddenly I was back at the bridge where I had previously made a mental note to remember that from there I only had 3 miles to go. Less than half an hour… and the race was once again on!

The last few miles ticked by pretty painlessly, except when I hit any type of incline – my legs definitely knew about that when it happened! My feet were still pretty happy and my only real niggle was a sharp pain between my shoulder blades; a pain I’ve had a few times before during long distance races but still can’t quite figure out what’s causing it. I tired not to look at my watch as the very last few miles were starting to hurt. Suddenly, the Winter Garden at Duthie Park came into view and I realised I was there! I had a less that half a mile to go and my watch had just ticked by the 5 hour mark!! Just as I entered the park, 2 guys who had been passing me and dropping back, over and over for the last few miles sprinted past and barrelled along to the finish line. I wasn’t fancying that, I wanted to soak up the atmosphere and enjoy the finish that I had worked so hard for. People cheered my name and my team mates who had already finished yelled and congratulated me loudly, and I couldn’t help but grin like a Cheshire cat. I stumbled across the line, got my medal and proceeded to hug everyone in sight before shuffling into the marquee to find some water and somewhere to sit down.

Finish line after 5 hours of  strong running. Photo - Gordon McNeil
Finish line after 5 hours of strong running.
Photo – Gordon McNeil

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After a few sandwiches and cakes, I piled on as many layers as I could and made my poor little brother run off to find me tea as my Raynauds had kicked in badly and I couldn’t feel the tips of my fingers. I stood hugging my cup and cheered in as many people as possible, yelling loudly when Rhona finished with a massive 10 minute PB and when Jemma came running into the park, grinning widely and coming in well under her estimated time. We then hopped back on the bus and headed back to Stonehaven for an afternoon of beer, gin, pizza and rugby watching followed by an evening of partying.

Awesome weekend and job done! I can’t wait until next year!

A job well done and we're ready to party!
A job well done and we’re ready to party!

It’s almost D33 Day!

50000000

My first ultra of the season is fast approaching! My mind is buzzing with how I plan to run it, how I think my body will react, what/when to eat and drink and very importantly… what to wear!! I’ve been keeping a close eye on the 5 day weather forecast and so far so good – but then again, no weather report told me we were getting 3 inches of snow last week, so I definitely won’t hold my breath and will prepare to expect a medley of four seasons in one day.

My training is all done, my legs are feeling good and I completed my final pre-race run on Tuesday at training feeling positive and ever so slightly competitive. How will race day pan out for me? Will my little legs carry me the distance? So far I have planned the following;

FOOD – During my ultras and training runs up until now, I have always craved sweet stuff early on and then more savoury stuff later in the race, so with this in mind I will pack a bit of everything in my drops bags and also carry some stuff with me. I wasn’t sure if I was going to run with a race belt or not, so I think I’ll run with my one bottle belt instead of my Camelbak and then I can refill it at the checkpoints if need be. Better safe than sorry! I will definitely have my pockets crammed with sour haribo sweets – A saviour late in a race for me on more than one occasion!

CLOTHES – I’m hoping it’ll be dry, but as this is North East Scotland in early March, I can only cross my fingers and hope for the best. My shoes (brooks adrenaline gts), socks (long stripy mega bright club socks), calf sleeves, buff, gloves and running skirt are all definite, but the number of layers on my top half could vary from 1 to 4 or 5, so again I’ll judge it on the morning of the race. I’ll only take my jacket if it’s tipping it down, but that decision I may live to regret…

RACE STRATEGY – No idea yet! I’ll be treating it as a long training run for both the London marathon in April and the Cateran 55 in May. If I can run all 33 miles comfortably then I might be able to pick up the pace at London. If things start to hurt, I’ll know I went out too fast and will know to start the Cateran much, much slower. Either way it’ll be faster than Glen Ogle as there are no hills. I’ll keep my goal times to myself just now and I’ll let you know whether or not I made them when I write my race report in a few days time!

GOALS –
1) Don’t get injured!!! Too many big races in the next few months and I’d be devastated if I had to pull out of anything!
2) Finish with a smile. This won’t be hard – it’s hard to wipe the smile off my face recently. I’m lucky to be back running so quickly so I take nothing for granted now!
3) Run the majority of the route. It’s only 7 miles more than a marathon and if I can do that at a fair pace then I can hopefully do 33 if I dial it back ever so slightly… I hope!
4) Remain positive!!! Your mind plays a big part in running and finishing big races. I will NOT give in to negative thoughts this weekend. I’ve got this!

31 years old and I still hate packing.
31 years old and I still hate packing.

So that’s about it! As soon as I finish work tomorrow I’ll be on the road North to prepare for ultra number 3. Ultra runner extraordinaire Rhona is very kindly letting us stay with her for the weekend so I’ll no doubt be picking her brain from the moment I arrive tomorrow for hints and tips on how to approach this race as she’s running it for the 4th time this year!

See you on the flip side!

3 weeks to go….

As I watched the rain batter off the windows and pavements on Sunday afternoon, I started to regret that I hadn’t leapt out of bed at the crack of dawn and got my long run miles in before the worst of the weather had arrived. After having a lazy morning, I was dressed and ready to go by 12.30pm kitted out for the elements in an outfit that included 2 long sleeved layers over a vest, gloves, waterproof jacket and 2 buffs… And then I sat back down on the couch. I put off heading out for another half hour or so and then when I eventually did head out, the heavens opened and I couldn’t see the road ahead for fat drops of rain bouncing everywhere. So I promptly turned on my heel and went home. 0.2 miles later.

As I stepped back into the house, my husband Craig just burst out laughing. “You clearly don’t want to do this today, so why are you making yourself suffer?” he asked. I mumbled something about long miles and big races, but I knew I wasn’t really in the right frame of mind to head out just then, so I had a cup of tea and waited for the worst of the weather to pass – however long that would take.

I’d been feeling pretty miserable all week. I don’t know if it was a combination of high mileage, back to back weekend runs, not being as social as I normally am or just the rubbish weather but most of my runs that week had felt like a chore which is odd for me. Usually if I don’t feel in the mood for a training run, I won’t go. However with so many big races ahead in the next few months and the fact I’m still trying to get back to full fitness means I have been pushing myself a bit more than normal over the last month or so. I promised myself if my training ever got to this stage I would stop and take a break, but with a mere 3 weeks until the D33 I’ve now opted for the grin and bear it option. There’s no winging it in these races!

Training last week consisted of some yoga on Monday, a speed session of 8×4 minute sprints on Tuesday with a few miles before and after training, a 3 mile lunch run and a 4 mile steady evening run on Wednesday, a ridiculously cold hill run on Friday (see elevation below!) and a 15 mile slog in the rain on Sunday.

A 'wee daunder' up the hills apparently. It nearly broke me!
A ‘wee daunder’ up the hills apparently. It nearly broke me!

Most of the training was enjoyable, but when I got to Friday I was exhausted but had already agreed to go running in the hills with some club mates. By Friday afternoon on a normal week I’m usually pretty tired but today I had pretty much no motivation and just about mustered a smile or two on the way there. I had stupidly asked if there was still snow on hills, only to be told “not much!” which to me meant shorts weather. Oh how wrong I was! Luckily I had long socks and calf sleeves on so it was only really my thighs and knees that were exposed to the elements, but it was cold. SO COLD! And it snowed. Not just normal soft snow that lands gently around you and muffles your footsteps but horizontal snow. Snow that went across the way… and straight into my ear!!! I was so glad to get off the hills that day…

I've just seen what we're about to scale...
I’ve just seen what we’re about to scale…
This is apparently part of a race route. Screw ever doing that race!!
This is apparently part of a race route. Screw ever doing that race!!
Gordon bounded to the top and got photos of us all trying to remember how to walk and breath at the same time.
Gordon bounded to the top and got photos of us all trying to remember how to walk and breath at the same time.
I think that's a feeble attempt at a thumbs up.
I think that’s a feeble attempt at a thumbs up.
The views from the first climb were pretty nice. That's the river Forth and Edinburgh in the distance.
The views from the first climb were pretty nice. That’s the river Forth and Edinburgh in the distance.
And then we got to this...
And then we got to this…

My legs were pretty heavy the next day and I’m sure the weather at the summit had something to do with how I’m feeling this week, but I’m glad I went as it just proves to me how much my strength is improving. This time last year I would never have made it up the first incline, never mind the scramble up the side of the hill. However I’d definitely rethink my wardrobe choices for the next one…

So, along came Sunday which usually I look forward to as it means catching up with friends and bagging my big miles for the week. However this week I couldn’t make the early run with everyone so I set out to clock the miles alone. And I really did feel lonely!! My ear was still sore and my legs were heavy but I eventually gave it a second attempt at heading out and luckily a few miles in the rain started to ease off and I could actually take my hood down. I had planned to do 20 miles but not feeling 100% I scaled it back and headed home after 15 with just a slight niggle in my hip. This wee I have developed yet another cold so my weekly mileage so far in a big fat 0, but fingers crossed it has clears soon as I’m hoping to get one last long run in at the weekend and then the tapering begins. Hoorah!

Hope you’re all feeling a bit brighter than me!