Part 2!

Ok, I have an hour or so spare so I have poured myself a cup of coffee and sat down determined to bring this blog up to date! So, I awoke on the morning of the Lanzarote Ultra feeling surprisingly calm but having to endure the wait until our proposed 4pm start time was a bit nerve-wracking. We had decided to start then as I estimated it would take me 11hours to complete which with the 5hrs rest period allowed would then bring me to 8am which would be a good time to swim. I couldn't swim before 7am which I assumed was because it would still be dark making it hard to see me and where the kayak was going but later Eddie told me was actually because the dawn was the prime time for sharks feeding!! I hope he was kidding!!

I sat calmly most the day with a short trip into town to get last minute supplies. My food choices were random to say the least and included Pepperami and Wotsits for the run and macaroons for the swim. I had no idea what I'd want to eat but I know when I raced in the desert that I didn't want any of the carbie stuff I had brought with me but instead survived on a diet of mainly babybel and biltong!! I guess I obviously need fat and salt in the heat as opposed to sugar which given how slow we were going probably made sense!

Adam sorted all the kit out and loaded up the Endurovan while I had an afternoon snooze conscious that we'd be running through the night. Lynn took post-run feeding instructions (chicken supernoodles - yum!) and we got ready for the off. Ten minutes or so before hand I got changed into my kit for the first leg of the run and we took some photos for Herbalife with the Enduroman banner. Then it was a gentle meander to the end of the drive for the start! Lynn gave me a big hug and with a quick kiss to Ad, Eddie started the count down to exactly 4pm. 3,2,1 and off I went!

I had explained my strategy to Eddie and Ad that I would run the flats and downhills and walk all the uphills which given the terrain of Lanzarote I thought would work out about right with regards to walking breaks. I did feel a bit foolish though as the first hill was within about 200m but I stuck to the plan, power-walked up and headed off again! I am always pretty grumpy for the first 10-15miles of any run. I can't explain why, I think it must take time for me to warm-up. Plus, and it sounds silly, I have run 10-15miles gazillions of times and I get so bored of it. I'm like, 'enough already, get me to the start of the long stuff!' This run was no different and though I headed off chirpily I was pretty unamused for the first ten miles! The first ten miles loop round El Golfo which is actually a beautiful place to run so I can't complain too much but at 4pm in the afternoon it was still baking hot. I just tried to keep myself to myself knowing that once we got into the 20s and the evening came I would enjoy it much more.

At ten miles we completed the first El Golfo loop which finishes just below Eddie and Lynn's house so Lynn was there to check progress. I was probably still a bit grumpy at that stage but Lynn and Eddie are wise and always know exactly what to say! They don't put up with any whining but equally they know when you need a bit of support. I had worried about having Ad as my support crew because I worried that sometimes if you are having a really bad patch and all emotional, having those close to you can make you a bit soft, safe in the knowledge that whatever happens they will still love you whereas if you are with strangers you have to get on with it a bit more. That was definitely the case with my two Channel relays - they were so tough that if I'd have been with friends I probably would have given up on it but I wasn't and my quitting would have upset other people's dreams so I had to dig in. Anyway, I needn't have worried, whether Ed had given Ad a little coaching during their many hours sat watching me in the Endurovan or whether he's just a natural, Ad was a brilliant support team and will be thrilled to know he's made the cut for the A2A!!

Miles 10-15 are down the side of the highway into town which basically one long flat hot expanse of road - it was probably my least favourite part (don't ever let me do Badwater then!!) especially as my tummy was a little troubled which is unlike me but might have been the nerves or the heat or something. I had a few stops by the side of the road a la Paula where luckily there was a ditch to protect my modesty! Reaching mile 15 was fantastic as I knew I would probably enjoy things a lot more from then on. It was getting cooler by this point and we turned off the main road into the suburbs heading out to the lighthouse at a point on the coast. As night feel I really started to enjoy running and really loved the run from about miles 17-21 out to the lighthouse on the coast. It was on tiny quiet roads, tracks almost and it was quiet and still and warm. I felt very calm and ran pretty much all the way between miles 15 and 30 which is almost unheard of for me now! I stopped as we reached the lighthouse around mile 20 and changed into a long sleeve top and had a quick rest for some wotsits and a pepperami. The pepperami were amazing. I wanted to eat one at every stop though Ad thought that probably wasn't wise (!) and also he wanted to keep one in hand he said, 'in case I started crying!!' It's not often a pepperami is the thing that would cheer you up if you were having a little cry but it was certainly a possibility at this point!

After the lighthouse you join a coastal path which turns into a promenade which runs all the way along the coast through the town of Playa Blanca on the seafront down to the bottom of the island. It was a bit difficult to locate the start of the path and I nearly broke my ankle when my headlight gave out! Eddie ran after me with a spare but that didn't seem much better and I precariously picked my way along the coastal path to the start of the beachfront hotels and cafes and the lights of the promenade. About half way along the promenade comes the marathon point of 26.2 miles which I reach in around 4.5hrs. I couldn't believe it as my stand alone marathon best time is only 4.06 and I was concerned I had gone off too fast! But I was feeling so good running along in the dark that I decided just to carry on and see how it went. Eddie had also told me that once we are through the town of Playa Blanca and heading back to their house we go up a long winding hill for about 6kms so I knew I would need to walk then anyway. I think he was concerned I was going to finish too fast as if I finished before 2am (10hours of running) then we would be too early for the swim start! I promised I would rein it in (ha!!) and not finish before 2am.

After the marathon point, the Endurovan had to leave me for a few miles as it was a pedestrian area so Ad got onto the mountain bike to support. As the promenade was busy with holiday makers having their dinner and perusing the shops it actually became quite difficult for him to keep up with me (!) but I figured it was only one way and he'd find me so I headed on. It was really funny to be running along at night with all these people on holiday just out for their dinner and here was I a marathon into a 45mile run which was to be followed by an 11 mile sea swim and an 80mile bike! I did get some funny looks but probably not half as many as I would have got if I had explained what I was doing! The promenade finally ended a few miles short of 30miles, up a hill to a view point overlooking the sea. I found the Endurovan where Eddie had made me a cup of tea! It was just what I wanted but I recollect Lynn's surprise when recounting this tale as, though Eddie has a passion for tea itself, he rarely ever makes a cup! I must have been doing something right!

I'm a bit of a tea-drinking wimp and it was a bit hot for me so I decided to have a walk break for 5minutes or so and walked along with my cup of tea in hand. I always think it is best to keep moving when you are doing stuff like this, stopping isn't going to get you any closer to the finish! So I slurped tea and much on some wotsits as we doubled back on ourselves back through town to the foot of the Red Mountain. The route leads up the Red Mountain before dropping back to Lynn and Eddie's house on the other side at 35miles before a second reversed loop of El Golfo brings you to 45miles in total. The slog up Red Mountain was another low point for me. It wasn't particularly steep but as I was walking it just seemed to take forever and ever to get anywhere. I attempted to run on a few occasions but once my legs had got into the walking slog it was hard to shake them up to run again without a downhill to reinvigorate them. It also a difficult place for the support crew as there is nowhere really to park the Endurovan so they had to leave me for a mile or two at a time which means, walking up hill you can be alone for 30minutes or so at a time. I just kept looking up a the black night sky and the stars and thinking 'what am I doing, what am I trying to prove here?' I thought a lot about the A2A and whether I still wanted to do it and hard it would be etc. It was a low point and it was a slog but I just put my head down and got on with it - after all what other choice did I have. I didn't entertain the thought of stopping so if I wasn't stopping I may aswell just keep moving and get on with it! Still I was extremely relieved to reach the turnoff point half way up the mountain (and relived I wasn't expected to walk on to the top!) and have a handful of wotsits before the last few downhill miles back to Lynn and Eddie's where I had a break coming.

Those few downhill miles were really steep and I didn't have much control of my numb little legs so I just took off, wheeling down the hill and just trying to relax and go with it. The soles of my feet were getting a little sore now though the change into new shoes just before the climb up red mountain had definitely helped. I freewheeled into the garden of the house where Lynn was waiting to greet us. Both Eddie and Lynn advised I had a little rest at this point and some decent food before heading back out as it was important to keep the calories going in before the swim tomorrow morning but I just wanted to get it done. I think Ed was still concerned I was going to come in before the 2am barrier but I reassured him that I would rather end up walking the last few miles as a cool down and eating opportunity then I would stopping for too long. Stopping is mentally quite difficult as it is easier then to stop, full stop whereas if at least you are out there moving you know the goal is getting closer no matter how far away it is.

So my fabulous crew only had a few minutes to load up on some wonderful pasta and sauce lynn had prepared, have a stretch out and get back in the vehicle to support their impatient little athlete through the last 10miles. The first few miles of the El Golfo loop were ok as I knew it wasn't far to go. However, in the last 6-7miles I did start to get a bit tired plus I knew I needed to walk a bit to stop me getting in before 7am and once you start to walk for long periods it is hard to get going again. Ed and Ad thought I was just timing the run to perfection but actually, over those last few miles I am not sure I could have gone much faster anyway! It was a relief to reach Yaiza (which I felt I saw about a million times over the course of the Ultra as the route passes through there so much on the run and bike!) the closest village to Eddie and Lynn's and know I just had a few miles to go before I was home. The last roundabout before their house couldn't come quickly enough and I was so happy to see it! I jogged the last climb into there house and Eddie stopped the clock at 02:02am which gave me a run time of 10.02hours and was timed perfectly for a 0700hrs start for the swim. I decided to take the maximum rest between each element as this was just a training experience for me, I wasn't trying to beat any records and I will have the same attitude for the A2A so why not practice now! I think I ended up beating Ed's run time by about 6minutes though (is that secretly why he wanted me to slow down! ;)) which I am not sure he was that impressed by!! :) After a big hug from Lynn and a congratulations from my crew I settled down to a big bowl of chicken super noodles which I discovered during the Double Ironman, which were absolutely perfect. A quick shower, stretch and change into my Skins leggings to help recovery and the crew and I headed to bed! Stage one successfully completed and I was pretty chuffed with the run. Despite some low points a lot of it had been really positive and I felt confident going forward for the A2A.