The race was great, brutal because of the heat at times but so glad I did it. It was a really well run event and the Marshalls at the checkpoints were great so I’d definitely recommend it.
Amazingly I was pretty relaxed ahead of the race (and I get nervous about everything!) but I think that was because of the training I’d done. I started off steady and didn’t get dragged along with quicker runners. It was already warm, in fact it got to about 27 degrees and I’m much more comfortable around the 10 degrees mark! The route was good, a mix of road, paths, woods, coastal path and of course sand.
The first checkpoint was early, about 7k so at that one I topped up water and dunked my cooling scarf in water which was a good move as it managed to stay cool until the next checkpoint.
It was then quite a long time until the next checkpoint, about 21/22k and everyone was running out of water so it was a welcome sight. At around 25/27k I was starting to find it really hard, I think because of the heat and the realisation that I was only half way. I also saw Keith around this point which made it a bit emotional! I kept moving though to the next checkpoint at 34k and that’s when things started to feel a bit better mentally. At this point there was a board which said 9k to the last checkpoint and I thought ‘I can run that!’ so just focussed on that, plus I had some flat coke and I think helped! At some point towards the last checkpoint my knee/itb started to hurt so I had to run/walk a bit more than I would have liked but the long power walks really helped here as I wasn’t losing that much time and was walking past people. Someone even commented how fast I was walking!
Up to the last checkpoint was quite a long sandy stretch which was difficult to get through especially with tired legs. After the last checkpoint it was then just battle in through to the end! The finish was emotional (again!) but I knew it would be after all the hard work over the past few months.
I’d definitely like to do another 50k next year, although hopefully one in cooler conditions! We may even do this one again as I think keith would like to do it.
Now I’m focussed on rest and recovery, as after the marathon I did two years ago I came back too early and got injured straight away. I actually feel pretty good but know that this is the time to be careful and not rush back. I’m thinking of at least 2 weeks off running (I’ve told Keith he might need to hide my trainers…), and as the body starts to feel more recovered next week to maybe bring in some walks maybe up to an hour and also to start some strength training again before I run.
