The Spiral: a race review

Having written about my own race experience and feelings before, during and after Underground Run Club's Spiral 6 hour race I wanted to write a more general (and shorter) blog reviewing the race.

The Underground Run Club:

I love the ethos of this club. No fuss, no glitz and glamour, no crowds, no hype. Just a small bunch of lovely people running together. I really don't like crowds and, having experienced some big races, hate the circus that can surround them. At the end of the day it's just running- no one's a hero or superior just because they did some running. 

Practicalities: 

It was easy to get to on public transport and, for those who did drive, there was parking nearby. I loved the midday start because I didn't need to get up stupid early, the trains had properly got going and, because I wasn't worried about missing a ridiculously early alarm, I slept ok the night before. Not brilliant, but at least it wasn't one of those nights when you wake every hour or so to check the time in case of oversleeping.

For female runners it's a particularly manageable event. The later start means that if you need to arrange childcare you're not imposing on someone to have your children from stupid o'clock in the morning or from the night before. If your children are of a sensible age they could even come with you as they'd be quite safe at the venue (but I'm not 100% sure on the club's rules so you would need to check that you could leave them trackside while you run). There's no need to worry about being on your own somewhere strange- sometimes trail races can leave you feeling a bit vulnerable if you're on your own (see what happened to me on loops 5 and 8 (?) of the Copthorne 100). And, there are toilets! I've run lovely races but quite often you waste a lot of energy on watching out for suitable discreet places to have a wee or manage your period. Admittedly, at the Parliament Hill Fields Track the toilets are up two short stretches of steps (about 5 or 6 each) which is really no fun after several hours of running, but at least you can go for a wee in peace and not worry about accidently mooning anyone!

You get your drop bag every 400 metres. Everything you need is to hand and if you're undecided about kit, snacks, fluids you can bring it all and leave it by the track to take whenever you want. This could encourage faffing, but it does also give you peace of mind. I can imagine it would be particularly beneficial if the weather was bad- you could change into warm, dry kit as often as you wanted.

Running experience:

It's a fantastic opportunity for any runner. You can turn up and run-walk all the way, run for a bit then take as long a break as you need then get back to running, you can push hard and try to run a PB for a distance, or you can just keep going and going at whatever speed is right for you. There were people running their first marafun distance, some going from a previous longest distance of half-marafun to their first 50k. Some were just there to see what would happen on the day. I think the lack of pressure meant that many people achieved more than they imagined they could.

Whilst you might think that endless laps of a track is a real messer-upper of the head, I think it makes it a more mentally manageable event. The idea of running x amount of miles point to point can feel really daunting whereas here you just keep moving until you can't/don't want to/ have to stop.

Seeing everyone so frequently during the race was lovely. Everyone offered encouragement to each other and that's something that is often missing from big events. It made for a unique atmosphere and I know I came away from the race feeling better for having experienced such camaraderie. These days so many of us feel isolated, or worn down by how tough life or work can be, and although it might sound trite, it was spiritually enriching to be in this little bubble of kindness.

Volunteers:

A great bunch of volunteers. They would make up your bottle of electrolytes or carbs and hold it out for you to grab at the start of a lap. They were always offering gels or snacks. At the end they even offered hugs despite me being a sweaty, snotty mess by then. I loved the impromptu singing through the megaphone- excellent effort with the Kate Bush song!

Race bling:

These days I'm really not bothered about medals and such like and am long past the days when I would be tempted to run a race just because I liked the medal. But the Spiral medals are very handsome- quite different to any other medals I've seen. And I did treat myself to a limited edition Spiral t-shirt because I liked the idea of having a proper t-shirt I can wear rather than yet another flimsy 'technical' tee that never fits me anyway.

Limited edition Spiral t-shirt

Everyone got a polaroid photo from before the race. I've seen lots of lovely comments about that, but I look terrible in my photo (my fault, not the photographer's!).

I don't know what the plans are for future races, but it was awesome to get a custom vinyl cover for my winner's prize. Trophies are nice (not that I've won many of those!) but this is something I can frame and keep as a piece of artwork. 

Summary:

 If I had to give a rating out of ten for this race it would definitely be 10/10.

Awesome event, put on by an awesome bunch of people. Thank you!

Inspiring Spirals

Well, this is a post I wasn't expecting to write! 

On Saturday morning Bernard and I took the train to London and went to Parliament Hill Athletics Track to take part in the first edition of The Spiral, a 6 hour track race put on by the Underground Run Club. I was not feeling particularly confident as I'd been under the weather at the start of the month and although I was training fairly consistently, my running volume was not high and I'd only managed a couple of 'longer' runs (10 and 11 miles). However, for once my Garmin was being positive, telling me that during my taper week I was actually peaking!

Here's actual evidence of the Garmin device!

I arrived at the track feeling apprehensive. I've not run on a track for about 9 years and I was worried there would be lots of 'proper' runners who do track stuff all the time and who run at a high level in their clubs, and that I'd be so rubbish compared to everyone else. I was also expecting it to be sunny as the last forecast I'd looked at had sunshine or at least sunny intervals for the day. Instead it was grey and somewhat chilly.

My fellow runners were neither grey nor chilly, and it was nice chatting before the race with several of them. There was a lovely lady with fab Happy Stride shorts who had been battling injury to make it to the start. There was also MDS man who I just knew was going to have a solid race. A lovely guy with a bright long-sleeved top had set up his bag next to me and he kindly said I could have some of his snacks as he'd brought loads of food just in case. I had brought a fair bit too as I never know what I will be able to eat on the day.

The volunteers were welcoming too, very laid back. I wonder if the RD was feeling as anxious as I was- it must be nerve-wracking putting on a new race and wondering if people will turn up or whether things will go wrong. But she needn't have worried as it was such a fantastic event.

After a short briefing the race got underway. I was near the front at the start but was overtaken almost straight away by runners sprinting off. I hadn't really put together a race plan but found myself trundling along a little over 9 min/mile (5:35/km) pace and for the first 4 hours I was running pretty consistently.

Quite early on (maybe 2 hours in?) I was told that I was leading the women's race. I did my best to put that information out of my head to focus on maintaining a consistent pace and taking on fluid and calories regularly. I really didn't want to blow up from wasting energy worrying about being overtaken and losing. I'd not gone into the race with any though of winning- just of keeping going for all of the six hours. However, I did pretty much run scared for the rest of the race.

But I've jumped ahead a bit. The laps and time seemed to fly by. I felt so grateful for the opportunity to participate in the race, to be with such lovely people and to be healthy enough to run. And it felt good to just run, no need to carry anything other than a small water bottle in my hand. That really was like a luxury! The simplicity of running round the same short loop also meant that senses other than sight came into play. I was listening out for trains and those little rosellas or parakeets that are all over London now and remind me of my time living in Australia. And I really noticed a distinct change in temperature in the final bend, where for some reason it felt much warmer than anywhere else on the track. 

We were given countdowns at various points, after the first half hour, hour, two hours, and a 15 minute warning at 2:45 as the change of direction approached. By then I felt ready for a change as it felt as though I'd gone a bit lopsided and was feeling a little dizzy. My right hip flexors had begun to grumble by then too but I was ignoring that very hard. Just before the change of direction I hit a 20 mile PB but I wasn't too bothered about collecting PBs along the way, I just wanted to be able to keep running.

At the change of direction my legs felt suddenly energised and I think I picked up the pace for a few laps. I reached marafun distance with something like a 5 minute PB- at last the elusive sub-4 hour time!- but at this point I wasn't feeling so great. It's hard to describe the discomfort I was in. I wasn't able to eat or drink so well, not even the liquid calories from Mountain Fuel, and I didn't feel quite human. My legs didn't feel like legs any more. I felt more like a robot- although running was hurting, I couldn't stop. Or at least, I was too scared to stop or even take short walk breaks in case I couldn't start running again. And I was haunted by the fact that I was possibly still leading and I thought I'd let people (I don't know who!) down if I didn't win.

So the usual ultra-bargaining went on in my head: "well just hang on for 5 hours then see", "5 hours is too far away, get to 4 hours 30 then it's nearly 5 hours", "don't take a break yet, do another few laps first", "well you've just done 10 more minutes of running so you might as well do 10 more"... all the usual little mind games and tricks I play to keep moving. Up until now it had been easy to pay attention to my fellow Spirallers and offer encouragement and cheery words but I was retreating into my head now, needing to focus as much of my energy as I could on the battle with myself. But at 4:46 I hit a huge 50k PB- taking off over 15 minutes!

One hour to go.

The floodlights came on. I liked the change of atmosphere that came with the lights, and it made me feel more serious about what I was doing. I had now made the decision to win no matter how much it hurt. Running to win was new territory. I'd never done anything like that before, never even thought that way before. Sure, ultras hurt. Copthorne broke me in ways I didn't think were possible, but even that race was only ever about finishing. This time it was different and I meant business.

However, at this point I did stop briefly. I hurt so much, I was feeling the pressure to win and physically and emotionally overwhelmed. Time for a quick Power Sob. I tried explaining that to a couple of young women who were there supporting another runner but I was probably more or less incoherent. Anyway, the Power Sob done, I forced myself back onto the track and to run. 

At this point my lap splits had definitely slowed, but actually not by as much as it felt. This last hour did feel so long! The minutes hardly seemed to pass- each time I ran past the clock I was willing the time to have moved on more that it had. The ultra-bargaining continued and I tried really hard not to think about finishing, let alone winning. I didn't want my mind to do something stupid and stop telling my legs to move- I remembered reading about an American runner (at the end of Western States I think) who, upon reaching the track for the last few hundred metres of the race, had his body just quit on him because his mind saw the finish line. Instead I borrowed Courtney Dauwalter's pain cave image and chipped away at that cave, practising gratitude for having this opportunity to really push myself and expand what I was capable of.

Other runners were really struggling out there too, and I tried to offer some support. It helped a little to run beside others for a short while as we acknowledged our pain before one or other of us would move ahead and retreat into silent determination. At this point, big thanks to red shirt red shorts guy. You inspired me!

We were all living for the countdown to the end now, and at some point (maybe around 30 minutes from the end) I dashed over to my bag and grabbed Bernard. I don't know why, I just needed to run with him and there was something comforting about holding a small pink monster. The music started up in the last minutes and it was both motivating and overwhelming because suddenly the end of the race was actually going to happen. But when it came, it felt unreal. 

In some strange way although I hurt so much, I wanted to keep running.

I went through the finish for the last time at 5:59:38 having run almost 39.5 miles.

Post-race is a bit of a haze. I was very emotional, utterly drained, and in disbelief that I'd covered 155 laps, won the women's race AND got prizes.

What I mostly remember is everyone standing together and the wonderful sense of community and celebration at everyone's achievements.

It was the most awesome experience and I am immensely grateful that I got to take part. Next year I will return, but to volunteer not run. Probably not run...

Bernard with his hard-earned race mementos

Ups and Downs

 

I'm writing this from bed as I have succumbed to one of the several unpleasant viruses going around at work, and on top of that I'm back on strong antibiotics which are making me feel pretty rough too. It's so frustrating because it's been a decent start to the term- there are no classes I really dread this year although many are extremely hard work- and for the first time in ages I feel that I'm often genuinely supporting students' learning rather than trying to manage behaviour. It's also frustrating because, with a sizeable effort of will-power, I've been able to train consistently and am slowly improving my fitness which took a nose dive a year ago.

I should have paid better attention to the warning signs- I wasn't quite right on my longer run on Sunday. Then on Wednesday my legs had nothing and I needed to take walk breaks during that run. But sometimes I forget that I can't do what I could even 10 years ago and just push on regardless. So here I am.

The frustration from not being able to train is not just because I felt I had settled into the rhythm of it at last. I have an event coming up that I am quite excited about because it's something I've never done before. I'm doing a 6 hour track race! 

Why a track race? Recently most of my running has been on the roads. I'm enjoying being able to just run and not worry about tripping over roots and stones or sliding in mud. Also, I'm much less likely to be chased or jumped on by dogs. It has felt liberating to simply run and be able to look around rather than run whilst looking at the ground. Running on a track will just be about running. And I have been wanting to do something different, something that will be a new experience. I don't have the luxury of being able to afford or take time off to do one of those multi-day ultras or race in some spectacular location. I also can't spend that kind of money on the sort of kit needed for those things. But a track race will be a challenge because there are so many unknowns. How will my brain manage the same loop score of times? What will the unending flatness be like? Will it be like a moving meditation or will it be a huge battle to keep going? What is going to be the best way of managing hydration and food? Would aiming for a marafun or 50km PB be realistic without burning out before the 6 hours?

As a sort of running fitness test, I did a local road race a couple of weeks ago. I hadn't specifically trained for it but hoped that my general fitness would get me though ok. I was pretty pleased with the result because although I was very much mid-pack, I ran around 8 minutes quicker than my estimate and felt strong all the way round (except for the final beast of a hill). On reflection I could have gone a bit quicker, but I'd never done a 10 mile race before and didn't really know how it would go. 

I have also been giving some thought to 'off-season' training and I think it could be fun to learn a new sport. I'm not quite sure what, although I have a few ideas. All I know is that it's good to keep learning.