Two Tunnels 50km

I signed up for this ultra because the Start was a short walk from my house…I’m lazy in all the right ways

The Two Tunnels race series is organised by Bath-based Relish Running. There are four race days throughout the summer with multiple distances, but the ultra marathon only happens on the final day in mid-August. Runners who complete the 50km distance receive all four series medals that, like other Relish Running race series’, join up like a puzzle.

Choo-choo

Other reasons I signed up for this ultra:

1. The early-bird price was good (It was January, I was feeling cocky)
2. I thought August would be hot (it’s cool in the tunnels in hot weather)

There was always the chance that mid-August in England might be a hot day so I thought a race with 20kms total underground would be a good idea. The old railway tunnels that are the feature of the Two Tunnels cyclepath cool down in proportion to the heat outside and are lovely and warm on a miserable February evening. They’re lit, paved, and fun to run through and the race organisers added glowsticks to the gravelly edges.

I nicked one on my last lap.

Facilities and route

The ultra marathon was 5 laps of the 10km route, which went out from Brickfield’s Park, through the tunnels, and out to a turnaround spot a little ways past where the half and full marathon runners turned off for their loop around the city. There was a feed station at this point that attracted some of the more recreational 10km runners and a some of the hardest working volunteers who had to feed four different race distances, marshal, and lug in jugs of water. They had electrolyte and water and a mix of jaffa cakes, jellybeans, orange and banana slices, and flat coke later in the day.

Back in Brickfield’s the ultra runners had our own lane that ran alongside the final 100m just next to the Finish. There was another aid station here, along with a table where we could store our own supplies – the one hiccup for this race was that I didn’t know this was available until the race briefing 5 minutes before the start. This was also the spot where two volunteers marked down each runner’s number, time, and lap as we came through and where relay teams could swap runners. As runner’s left on our next lap there were a couple portaloos by the park exit and they were the only ones on course, which I don’t think was a problem for anyone.

The tunnels make for excellent Strava art

Not boring at all

I’m a local and run along here quite a bit and I enjoy it, but I was worried it would get boring after passing the same spots 10 times. In actual fact, it made it easier to handle mentally as I could break it down into 5km chunks and pace myself accordingly. It was social too, we were constantly passing other runners from our own race and the other distances and encouraging each other.

TO SUMMARISE…

Route: Laps and tarmacked path through forest and tunnel
Cost: £50, bit cheaper if you register in January
Volunteers: Awesome!
Organisation: Very good, they should take over Southwest Trains.
Facilities: Very good.

Rest and recovery

There’s nothing like a rest and a taper to bring you down

I’m a downright drama queen when I don’t get enough exercise. Much to everyone’s amusement, I’ve been whining about how I’ve barely run over the past two weeks. They – rightly – think I’m being ridiculous because apparently I had the third highest mileage in all of GoodGym for July and I’m also at 1,384 miles for the year (that’s a weeee bit ahead of schedule for my goal of 2017 miles).

I snuck in a run though

I took a few rest days before last Sunday’s 33km race and managed to get away without an injury, but I went for a short test run (well, 7km) on Wednesday and I’m still having a bit of pain. It was well worth it though. I live near a long hill that heads up to the Combe Down area of Bath and I often go up that way if I have shin splints or similar problems as it’s a good slow burn that leaves me warmed up for a nice flat run at the top with a downhill finish. I took care of myself afterwards with my marathon stick, hockey ball, and an ice pack. I felt fine the next day though so it was a challenge to keep myself from running the rest of the week.

I’m bloody terrible at swimming

I decided to work out some of my taper-crazies at the pool on Thursday. I used to swim laps once a week when I lived across from a pool in Canada and when I was at uni in Ireland, and I’ve never shown any sign of proper swim technique. What I do is a cross between a breaststroke and a doggy paddle interspersed with me occasionally choking on water because I can’t coordinate my breathing, my legs, and my arms all at once – what do you take me for? An athlete?

Anyway, it isn’t pretty but I can swim for 40 minutes non-stop and it’s a break for my body.

My first ultra race for a year and a half

I spent Friday night and Saturday with family until suddenly it was the afternoon before my first ultra marathon in over a year and I wasn’t organised. I did run 31 miles in October for my 31st birthday, but that was a 8 hour expedition around Holyhead Island with magical horses and chocolate. My salt tabs had gotten wet and disintegrated on a trail run a month ago and, with my recent crampy leg problems, I needed to find a solution. I couldn’t get any in Bath, but I quickly asked Twitter and amongst all the wonderful advice was a reminder about potatoes.

Little balls of heaven

See, I don’t just need salt. Three weeks before my first ultra last year I was sat in a neurologists office being told that I had more lesions and was being referred to an MS specialist. My immediate concern though was the race and she gave me the best advice running advice I’ve had for years. She told me to take in as much potassium as I could to keep my motor neurons going and to watch myself on downhills as I had some proprioception damage (THAT explained a lot). My family knows a lot about potassium. My mother and brother both have a hereditary kidney condition and have to restrict their potassium and salt as their kidneys can’t filter it properly. So my mum has a chart hanging in her kitchen with all the high-potassium foods to avoid – perfect.

Many long distance trail runners take boiled baby new potatoes covered in salt along on runs as they have the perfect amount of carbs, salt, potassium, and water. I hadn’t been planning on taking food with me as Relish Running events are known for their full stocked aid stations, but I decided they wouldn’t be too heavy to carry.

No plan, no goal, nothing but potatoes

I never had a goal for this race because it’s flat and on a paved path and from previous experience I know that this is a recipe for agony. I knew I’d PB though because my first 50km was on the San Juan Islands off the Washington Coast and had over 8,000ft of elevation gain. I thought slipping in under 5 hours would be respectable because that would be an even hour per lap, but my leg – in pain the whole time – full locked up towards the end.

Atop the final mountain in my ninja gear

A friend from GoodGym was running the marathon, but came early to see me off at 8:30 (we started way earlier than any of the other distances and had the portaloos aaalllll to ourselves). I thought I’d have trouble keeping myself to a 6:00/km pace but it was tough from the start, which is never a good sign. I ran with a couple women for the first lap and then ended up on my own for most of the rest, although as it was 5 laps of the 10km course we all saw each other about twice per lap. We had tons of encouragement from the marshals and other runners when they saw our ultra bibs, which was good as the Two Tunnels cyclepath is a bit difficult for cheering spectators. Aside from the final lap, I ran a fairly even race, getting to the 5km turnaround point on the hour (and eating a potato) and finishing each lap at half past the hour (another potato).

The tunnels make for excellent Strava art

In the end I finished in 5:09:36, so not too shabby. I also won my age category, but there was only three of us….

Sunday Roundup

 

Salisbury 54321

5 distances, 1 bread pudding station

The Salisbury 54321 is so called because it counts down the distances they have to choose from:

• 50km / 5km
• 42km
• 33km
• 21km
• 10km

Get it?

We were either jeered at or cheered at in Polish

How is anyone that well organised?

This is its 22nd year and it’s incredibly well organised. There are runners and walkers for all distances, multiple start times, and the route map with all of them was so confusing I couldn’t make hear nor tails of it even after finishing. The start/finish was in the field where we parked our cars and it was run like clockwork by the army cadets – we were directed to our spot by a woman in RAF uniform who brought us in to land properly. Bib pickup, bag drop, and portaloos went smoothly and I was impressed, if a little embarrassed, to find that my bib had a medical aid sticker on the front.

So this is new….

I ran the 33km distance and we mostly stuck with the marathon and ultra runners except for a few shortcuts. The signage and course marshals kept us on track, even with myself and Beer Runner busy chatting, and once we were on the long distance route the aid stations all had water, squash, and something sweet like jellybeans or orange slices. A friend ran the marathon and told me they had flapjacks at a couple of their aid stations.

Countryside and lanes

The route is a mix of easy trail, country lanes, gentle rolling hills, tarmac, and city streets. My friends from the Salisbury trail runners group recommended road shoes, which worked well in the dry sunny weather. If it was wet and muddy I might have opted for my worn out trail shoes as we did run through fields and forest paths. A highlight was running through the Longford Castle Estate, which went on for miles, and the Great Yews Woodland – home of the bread pudding. I also really enjoyed finishing past Salisbury Cathedral – home of William Longspe’s mummified rat – and through the streets of Salisbury, which was an enjoyably bizarre way to finish a trail race.

Longford Castle

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To summarise…

Route: Mixed terrain, pretty countryside
Cost: Good value! £6-£27
Volunteers: I’d like to congratulate the bread pudding volunteer for completing his porn star training
Organisation: Inspirational
Facilities: Everything you need less than a short shuffle away

A rest week

I have one slow leg

Anyone who watches me run immediately refutes this – which just goes to show that a whole year of form drills really worked – but just because my legs seem to be moving in tandem doesn’t mean that the left one isn’t working harder to keep up. This means that almost all of my running injuries happen to my left leg and it’s why I don’t do speed drills anymore.

I ran home from work on Monday and went to GoodGym on Tuesday, but after that I took a few days off to try and resolve the soreness that’s plaguing my leg before the Salisbury 54321 on Sunday. With my Scottish roadtrip and being too tired from travelling last Tuesday, I hadn’t been to GoodGym for three weeks and I really missed it.

We passed an olde tyme circus during our flyering rounds.

For those of you that don’t know, GoodGym is a community who combine volunteering with fitness. They started in London and have been expanding to other UK cities. Back in Vancouver, where I’m from, I belonged to several fun, social running groups and GoodGym is the closest I’ve found here in Bath. I join their group runs most Tuesdays and we run around Bath doing things like painting railings, scything away weeds in orchards (I’m a natural at scything – who knew?), handing out flyers, or cleaning toys at preschools.

Our run leader Steph making us plank in public.

Anyway, my leg was much more sore on Tuesday evening. I don’t seem to have injured myself, but I’m stiff and sore from every part of it I’ve ever hurt. I’m hoping this is just a result of some high mileage. I ran 370 km / 230 miles in July. I probably need to put that into context before some of you hurt yourself lunging to admonish me. It’s high mileage, but not the most I’ve run ever, and not even the most I’ve run this year.

It’s OK, because Balloons and a Swimming Pool

So I rested from Wednesday to Saturday and did quite well if I may say so. I swam lengths on Wednesday and Friday, and on Thursday I went to Bristol after work to see the Bristol Balloon Fiesta’s Nightglow. I had originally planned to run there from work, but my leg still being sore, I settled with taking the bus and then walking out to Ashton Court – Balloon Fiesta central – along the waterfront. Good call because I found that tiring enough.

Musical bobble-heads.

And on Saturday, Alison rested

I made more of an effort to rest on Saturday, I swim with a wonky breaststroke so I always assume it rested my legs, but they were sore and tired after lengths on Friday night. I spent the day with my Dad who’s still over from Canada and we talked about the IAAF World Championships in London and met some lovely cows. This was the evening of Usain Bolt’s disappointing last race, the 4×100 relay that he didn’t finish. It was a night of conflicting feelings; it was nice to finally see the Brit’s score some medals in this event, but to have that celebration juxtaposed with the greatest sprinter the world has ever seen lying on the track surrounded by medals was heartbreaking.

A very small coo.

Salisbury 54321

I first heard about the Salisbury 54321 when I met a group of Salisbury trail runners while running the reverse London.

Also know as the nohtaraM nodnoL ehT, the reverse London Marathon is a tradition whereby runners take advantage of the course setup to run the race backwards the night before the actual event and finish at the startline to watch the marathon start. 

So on Sunday morning, my Dad picked myself and a GoodGym friend up and we drove down to Salisbury to run the race. There’s 5 different distances: 50km, 42km, 33km, 21km, and 10km (54321 – get it?). My friend ran the marathon and myself and Beer Runner ran the 33km – or rather, he kindly ran it with me as my legs haven’t been cooperating lately.

Longford Castle

The craziest last 3km of a race course I’ve ever run

I’m going to post a race review later this week, but for now I’ll say that it was an excellent race, even if I wasn’t exactly racing it. I’m achy and exhausted, but not in any specific pain, which means that I ran what my body is capable of right now and I haven’t done any damage to myself. Roll on the Two Tunnels 50km next week!

Sunday Roundup

A post holiday rest

I got back from two weeks camping in Scotland with my Dad on Monday night….

…and I’m either still recovering or I’m having an MS blip because I’m feeling pretty rundown. I’m surprised at how tired I’ve been actually because my dad has a bad knee and is at the age where he prefers a nice drive, a crossword, and a cup of tea to hiking up mountains, so I had plenty of rest in between running around highland glens and bens.

But I’m going to relax and go with it and take whatever rest I need.

The Nissan Micra – ever so slightly out of its element

I went to Manchester for work a few days before my dad and I drove off in my granny’s 25+ year old Nissan Micra (we drove more miles in a day than it usually does in a year, I was sure it was about to drop its engine on the M6),  and I had a series of episodes where I suddenly felt like my brain was falling – not me, just my brain, I know, weird. Don’t be alarmed though, this has been happening since 2008 when I had my first attack.

It was, however, hard to cover up in front of a workshop full of strangers and to make matters worse it happened during a run afterwards (yes, of course I packed my running gear!). I’d always thought that running negated it, but there I was, running along the canal when suddenly my brain’s telling me there’s no ground beneath my feet and the world’s tipping left. I didn’t tip into the canal luckily, I lurched into some lovely graffiti on a redbrick Victorian warehouse and must have made a noise because two girls ahead of me turned to look.

3 Peaks completer (sort of)

I had echoes of it throughout my holiday, but I still managed to bag Scarfell Pike (up in 1:07), Ben Nevis (hit the top at 1:59:35), and get in a 22 miler up the Great Glen Way, which I hope will be enough preparation for the Two Tunnels 50km in a few weeks. After living at the base of Snowdon last summer, I’m pretty happy to have finally completed all 3 highest peaks in the UK – even if it wasn’t within 24 hours like some mad nuts.

The top of Scarfell Pike, squinting as usual.

Back to the week though

I took Monday and Tuesday off running, which is unusual for me, and – as always happens when I’m off for more than a day – I had a painful warm-up on my run commute on Wednesday. In fact that’s been the norm all week, but I can’t complain because my run commutes continue to be on the faster side of easy pace (it’s boring running the same route all the time). My gym membership expired at the end of July as well, just as I was fully back into injury prevention exercises, so I’m a wee bit worried about my two races this month. I’ve got the Salisbury 54321 next on 13 August – I’m doing the 33km – and with that and the Two Tunnels the following week, I’m hoping the S&C I did prior to my holiday will keep me from getting the side stitches that have been plaguing my long distance races this year.

Twiddling my thumbs

I made my Dad recreate the ‘tourists posing in front of ad for Edinburgh Castle when it’s right behind them photo’.

I’m post-holiday broke and my legs are demanding rest, so I’ve spent the past week working, running 8km home from work, and washing the peat bog out of my camping gear. I’ve also been sorting through photos from my trip and thinking about how much I rely on photographs to keep memories for me. It seems like all the world hates Facebook nowadays, but I joined way back when it was only for university students and lately it’s been working as a scrapbook for me.

On this day, nothing happened

I love the On this Day function. It reminds me of races and great times with my running clubs at a time when I feel a little isolated. For example, here’s my status from a few days after running the Seattle Marathon in 2015. I finished in 3:41, came 10th in my age category, and then ran to meet one of my running clubs a few days later.

When you’re recovering so hard that you look like it’s your first time out running.

It’s like a postcard from the 1950s on a clear summer’s day.

And I get to revisit beautiful photos, like this one from a couple years ago when a group of us drove down to the U.S. to trail run in Mount Baker National Park.

First post! How was it?

I didn’t want my first post to be all about introducing myself (that’s on my About page). I’m hoping to write a weekly roundup for Sundays and extra race reviews as needed. What do you think? Tweet me or drop a comment below.