On on to Autumn!

So, Guernsey is thankfully out of the way and with it any obligation to run anything of length until the New Year. I am currently entered into the Snowdonia Marathon. As I placed in the top 5 last year (3rd, to be precise), I was given a free entry to this year's race, which I took up with a view to deciding whether or not I wanted to run it nearer the time. It is now nearer the time and I have decided: I am not doing it!

Don't get me wrong, I do want to run, more than ever. It is one of my favourite races and, after Guernsey, which will always hold a soft spot in my heart, despite this year's shocker, it is my 2nd favourite marathon. The organisation is second to none and the route is simply stunning. Of course, it also endears itself to me as it sets off in Llanberis, where I was lucky enough to live for a time whilst studying for my PhD in Bangor, and it contours around Mount Snowdon: my favourite location in the UK. The nature of the terrain and the unforgiving weather conditions which tend to be characteristic of this event, also make it special. They were certainly true to form last year when driving rain and gale force winds buffetted us around the 26.2 mile course. Which ever direction I ran in, it seemed to always be into a headwind: unfathomable! I also managed to double the weight I was carrying as an ill-informed choice of clothing - that I thought was wicking fabric but was in fact not - apparently absorbed every drop of rain water and retained it, like a sponge, further adding to my discomfort! But despite all of this, I bloody loved it!

Snowdonia always attracts a top quality field and on the women's side last year there were a handful of sub-3h marathon runners lining up alongside experienced mountain marathon and fell runners and so my hope was to maybe sneak in to the top 5, but to finish 3rd was better than I could have ever hoped for. I was lying in 5th until the final 4 miles which are the steepest on the course and see you climb 1000ft to cross over Moel Eilio and rejoin the Llanberis side of the mountain. On this climb I overhauled 2 other runners who, on paper, were much faster marathoners that myself, but who, on the day, just didn't have the legs for this steep climb. I think that's where all the D.D. training had an advantage!

On the final descent off a wild, wet and windy mountain in the Snowdonia Marathon 2011. Just 1.5 miles to go!

Earlier in the year my plan was to return to Wales in October to try and better my 3rd place and to give it a good crack at victory. However, I am a spent force. I don't need to reiterate again how difficult Guernsey was this year. Last year I ran that on fresh legs then immediately picked up the training for Snowdonia. Right now, even 10 mile runs are feeling long and so another marathon this side of Christmas is out of the question.

I also want to avoid a repeat of last year whereby I crammed 3 races, including the Snowdonia marathon, into the 1 week of October half term. Before half-term week I had picked up a water infection and ran these 3 races whilst on antibiotics. (Shame they didn't also prescribe anti-idiotics!) After crossing the Snowdonia finish line, I went back to Moira's, showered, stuffed a bowl of pasta down my face then went to collect my prize. From the prize ceremony, Moira drove me straight to Bangor station where I got the train home, eventually getting in 8 hours later at 1am, then driving straight back to work again the next morning. I was beyond knackered. One week later I found myself in hospital with a severe kidney infection, eventually spending 4 days in there receiving intravenous antibiotics and then needing a further 2 weeks off work to recuperate. I had clearly overdone it! So recognising that I am tired now and pulling out of Snowdonia is a good thing: it means that I am finally learning to be sensible and recognise that I - yes, even I - have limits!

On the home straight up Llanberis High Street. Soaked to the bone, exhausted, cold and gritting my teeth. This marathon is a toughie - but I LOVED it!

That is not to say I do not have other plans to keep me busy through the Autumn season though. I want to just get back to enjoying my running and not associate it with constant pain and discomfort. A two week almost total rest period after Guernsey has already paid off as I was able to go out and take a comfortable victory at the Powderham Castle 10k on Sunday, finishing 9th overall in a field of 306 in 39:32. And I enjoyed it! I felt up for it and raring to race. By the end of the summer, toeing a startline had started to feel like a perfunctory task and I just wasn't getting fired up for it: I was just going through the motions.

With fellow Harriers at the Powderham Castle 10k: a lovely run.

So my plans for the Autumn are to build up some strength and base miles in the legs to take me into winter and the New Year by running lots of long, steady miles on the cliffs and by racing some 10 mile distance tough, off-road races. These are both fun to take part in and also invaluable in terms of building up strength and stamina that I will then be able to build on when it is time to pick up the structured training again in January.

At the moment I am planning on racing the Jurassic Coast 10k this Saturday followed by the Newton Abbot Ladies' 10k the following week. This is a great race that was my 4th ever race back in 2010 and I also finished 4th in it. It's nice to get a rare opportunity to just race against women on the roads, as we often play second fiddle to the males and have our own race-within-a-race but never get to race each other outright. After that I will have a week off, maybe run the 5k Killerton Parkrun just for fun, and then in October I will be running a 10 mile leg of the Parrett Trail relays for the Harriers' mixed team, running the 10.25 mile Teign Valley Toddle and then either the Dartmoor Vale Half marathon or the Exmoor Stagger 15.5 mile multi-terrain fell race. November will likely be the Drogo 10 and our own Harriers' hosted event, the 10.5 mile Bicton Blister.  So, lots of fun times ahead, lots of mud and lots of catching up with some good friends on the race circuit.

 On on to Autumn!!