About time I got up to date, after a whirlwind 4 weeks, full of ups and downs, high and lows, disappointment (never regret), new hope, fresh ideas, some fear but mostly excitement about life in general and what the future holds.
But back to the week in question, and a race that really made me stare into the mirror, see my mortal reflection staring meekly back at me.....but choose to ignore it and press on through the pain. This was a week that I hope and believe I'll look back on as THE run which symbolised my mental preparation for the BG this time.
Following on from Emma's outstanding success, I headed out on Monday and Wednesday evenings, determined to start pushing myself harder as I build up in these final weeks of trainings. Hill reps were sweated out, adding an extra one when I felt I could do no more. I went up Tod and had a club run with the medium group. And then, on the Thursday, I headed out for a wonderful pleasant evening around the Luddenden Valley with a few Calder Valley folk, including Kirsten.
The weather was warm, and warmer was predicted. Not exactly a rest week in preparation for the Old County Tops, and not my sort of weather either. 37 miles and 10,000ft in the heat....it was unthinkable!!
Race day dawned hot. I met up with Chris, topped up the water, added the nuun tablets and chatted to various folks outside the Dungeon Ghyll. Then at 8am, we were off! A steady pace, but as we headed up and over to Grasmere, the heat was already building and it was clear this was going to be a "special" day!
I walked up towards Grisedale Tarn with Colin D, both of us bemoaning the fact that we're not warm-weather people. The sweat was dripping off us already, but we weren't the only ones. The climb up to the ridge was never-ending, although I was climbing ok. But the time to Helvellyn (and the smiley face of Dave Makin!) was the slowest I've done it yet.
The descent down to Wythburn was great and I overtook quite a few, including Rick and Dawsy. And we rolled into the checkpoint, drinks of water and a bit of food before heading out and up the valley and into "the Bog", where the heat radiated from the ground. As we climbed up Greenup Edge, I realised I was following Yiannis and his partner on a slightly different line from the rest, and we followed them from the top all the way across to Angle Tarn on a very direct and fast line.
Various Toddies were at the Tarn, as well as the beaming smile of Kirsten, and it was a chance to have a sit-down and recover slightly. The hat was being dipped in every pool of water we found to try and keep cool. The climb out to Scafell was hot! But, to be fair, athe rocks were dry and it made quite a difference in speed over there. We dropped down Little Narrowcove...and again, the heat in that bowl hit. It was a dry cauldron, compared to the usual boggy mess. Moasdale was no better, although I managed a decent trot down there, 6 of us heading down together including old friends from Shropshire.
As I staggered into Cockley Beck, I remember Chrispy saying "get him a chair quickly" as I pretty much fell into it and watched the world spin. We must have taken 15 minutes there. It became apparent that a lot had already dropped out due to the heat, and more were going to be timed out because of it. Chrispy suggested I should think about stopping.....AS IF!!!!
The mind was determined. I stared into that mirror of self-reflection and saw so clearly that if I had any real hope or intention of completing the BG this year, I HAD to get up and get myself to the end. And, along with the Shropshire lads, that's what I did. I felt wretched on the climb, but no more so than several others, including Mark Jackson who was attempting his BG 2 weeks later. Once up on the ridge, the breeze kicked in and I felt slightly better.
We trotted the way back from Coniston, descended gingerly from Wet Side Edge to see Kirsten again at the Three Shires Stone, then walked (yes, really!) the road section before putting in a bit of effort as we saw the Newport lads just ahead. A bit of a race (if you can call it that) ensued across those last fields, but I didn't have it in me to catch them.
As we turned onto the road, with 100yds to go, Chris, who'd been the stronger all day, threw up, to make an excellent spectacle for the watching crowd! We crossed the line in a ridiculously slow 11.06 but WE'D FINISHED!!! It turned out that 27 pairs out of 80-ish hadn't!!
But the fun was only just starting. I sat in a chair trying to get salty egg sandwiches inside me, feeling a bit strange....then collapsed onto the floor as the world went spinning!! In total, I think I spent about half an hour down there, wrapped in a space blanket, being looked after by Kirsten, Jeff, Dave and Chris, before the nuun drink kicked in and I came round. As soon as I tried to get up though, my whole body went into cramp, and eventually, Jeff and Dave lifted me up onto my feet and I was ok.
With the benefit of reflection and hindsight, I'm so, SO pleased with the fact I continued. For my head, I had to. For my body, it might have been better not to, although I feel I'm pretty much recovered now (4 weeks later!).
A couple of weeks afterwards, I told Mark J that the Old County Tops was the day that he proved HE could do the BG. I hope the same applies to me in a few weeks.
Total for the week - 55.5mls & 13,500ft
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