So, while it is fresh in the memory.
After training for the LDWA Valleys 100 for more than five months, I stepped out of the event after 26 miles, just a quarter of the way through, or after half of a regular Sunday morning training run which is how I am currently viewing it. I have no regrets about giving up (can't think of a more accurate turn of phrase) at such an early stage, which after such a spectacular failure, I find interesting. Where to start with the review? Maybe it would be best to work backward.
It is the day after my event finished. I have slept well and eaten well, however I remain tired and my eyes are struggling to stay open. My usual post race concern of dehydration is under control. There are minor sores on my heels and waistband chaffing has caused a number of unattractive wounds on my back. Talking of which, both my back and neck are tight and ache pretty badly, as do my quads. Basically the sort of charge list that would expect after pushing a 50 miler without a proper taper, not half that distance with a taper suitable for the 100 miles that I was planning to tackle. So the event itself...
I dropped from the event at checkpoint 3. I had walked in and performed all the right tasks. I had swapped out my technical shirt, eaten and drank, chatted to a few volunteers, moved my night kit to the easier access pockets I even checked that each of the torches were still functioning correctly. I then wandered out of the village hall without any thoughts of not continuing, yet 100 metres down the road, I paused, turned around and handed my race card into the first official with a smile. From his reaction, it wasn't the way that most people hacked jacked it, and my card was added to an already growing pile. My back, but particularly my neck, was sore and stiff and I was not relishing 8 hours with a head torch altering every stride, but there was more than that. I had been pretty beaten up by the event, and although a finish was still very doable, this wasn't going to present the type of challenge I had in mind for the event. There was going to be a death march of a longer distance than I had in mind. I was definitely here for a running race and that was going to be intermittent at best. So that I don't sound too naive here, I was never planning on 15 minute miling from start to finish to nail a sub 24 hour finish, I had in mind to walk most hills from the very start, jogging flats and downhills, taking technical descents with whatever pace best mixed effort and safety. There would be walking when tiredness dictated, when lack of light required slower path choices, of course, as well as the munching of calories, but I had underestimated the course completely. Actually, probably not the course itself, but certainly the conditions underfoot. After 3 miles I had already plunged into a bog up to my knees and strained a selection of muscles to escape without losing my shoe (my gaiters earned their purchase right there). At the 6 mile mark, I had to remove my shoes as the insoles had bunched horribly during a steep descent. The intermittent heavy rain was expected, but a lack of proper pre-race lubrication was causing rubbing in a number of places from an early stage.
And in the lead up to the event, most things went well. The training went well, some tough technical stuff, heavy mileage weeks with step back recovery weeks. The only downside of the training was that I definitely fell out of love with running from time to time and putting on the shoes became a chore without obvious gain. Even after the poor showing at the race, I don't think I would change the training much, just to try and keep it slightly more fun. What I do need to fix next time is sleep, particularly in the lead up to an event. The negatives of tipping up to the start line of your big and scary event when your eyes are sore with tiredness cannot be overstated. Having your head hung from the beginning and not enjoying a step of the event is just not the way to go.
I learned plenty. I want to run 100 miles,so I need to choose an event where that is the target audience, not an event that is challenging for walkers to even complete. But not a canal run. I love hills and I will need something to keep me interested in the 30 to 70 mile section. I will start looking into it shortly, but at least I have the Ridgeway Challenge coming up soon which ticks those boxes. I also learned about a number of things which worked well on the day, or didn't, but I shall follow up on that next time, once I have started to catch up on this lacking sleep...
