This day I love.......: run

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I started November injured and feeling rather fed up. I missed running, I wanted to run but didn't want to ruin the chance of running New York. We had a Disney cruise booked for the week before the marathon, a chance to relax and unwind and generally prepare myself mentally for the race ahead. The Disney cruise had the opportunity to run the castaway cay 5km. I hadn't experienced any major pain or discomfort in my ankle for over a week and thought it might be a good tune up run before the marathon.

The second I set off my ankle flared up again. The pain went through my leg and I instantly regretted my decision. The course is flat but incredibly warm and the heat does get to you almost immediately. I finished and the pain intensified. Too late now.

I was now struggling to walk. My ankle had swollen and I was now very worried. I spent the day on Castaway Cay stood in the salty sea water, somehow hoping the sea salt might soothe any muscle injury, it made sense in my head at the time.

We had a mad dash to catch out flight from Orlando to New York. Actually though everything went really smoothly. One of the first off the ship, straight onto the Disney coach our bags had been checked into our flight from the ship so we didn't need to worry about those. We arrived at the airport with 3 hours to spare. Security was really quick and we were sat looking for breakfast in the airport.

Our flight took off on time and arrived into New York early. It took us 15 mins from leaving the plane to leaving the airport with our bags. Luckily our car I had booked was sat waiting for us, it did take some finding but we were still earlier than predicted which actually gave me plenty of time to get to the convention center and collect my number.

I had worried I would not make number collection so to make it with plenty of time to spare was a shock. The process was really straight forward. I decided not to spend time at the expo as I wanted to get back to the hotel and my family. It had been a long day travelling and I had a very early start in the morning.

I can't remember what time my alarm went, I feel I was on the subway for 5.40am. I had laid out all my clothes the night before and scrambled in the dark to get ready without waking anyone. The subway system would not accept my credit card, as it is registered to a UK address and therefore it would not recognise my post code which you have to enter to get the machine to work. I luckily had some cash on me but not wanting to have change making noise as I ran had to buy a full day pass rather than a single ticket which annoyed me slightly.

After the messing with the ticket system I was now tired and stressed. The station I was at was one of those you see in all the horror films, dim lighting and a few kids on the bench at the other end of the station all wearing hoodies. I had an internal panic that I had got the day wrong, there were no other runners. After what felt like forever a runner sat down and so I started talking to him.

It really helped ease the nerves, we chatted all the way to the ferry terminal where he went to join the queue for a drink and I tried to make some sort of sense of the chaos of people. It really was chaos. I figured I would just stand and watch and see what was happening but sort of got swept with the crowd and ended up on the ferry. No one was checking times we were simply herded on to the ferry to make our way to the start.

The ferry journey was quite peaceful and I got to watch the sun rise over the water and New York. After leaving the ferry it was simply a case of follow the other runners. The chaos then started again. Coaches would arrive and people would just push to try and get on them. I started walking down the street and discovered the long queue of buses. My advise is to keep walking as the front few seemed to have some order to them and we stood and waited.

The coach journey wasn't too long and once off we were straight into security. The waiting game now began. I followed a sea of people towards the pens. There was no where to sit so instead I just wandered around. They had run out of the free bagels and hot chocolate by the time I arrived. I stumbled across therapy dogs and it was here I stayed for around an hour.

Therapy dogs are trained dogs and their purpose was to calm down the nerves of the runners. Well I sat there at the side of the tent and just talked to the dogs owners and generally forgot about the pain in my ankle and the fact I was about to run a marathon.

For future reference take cardboard to sit on and some warm clothes that you can discard at the start line. I had just about begun to warm up and was stood on the start line in my charity vest. Unsure how this would go but I was here now. The start is on the bridge, and we were going to be going over, some ran under the bridge.

The mood on the start line was good. Everyone seemed happy and chatting away. I was with runners aiming for 5-6 hours so automatically in a pen a lot slower than I was now comfortable with. We set off up and over the bridge. The views were something else but the pace was not comfortable at all and I was struggling to get into a stride. I am not sure if it was this uncomfortable pace, the fact we start on a hill or perhaps a combination but my ankle just went no. I hadn't even covered the .2 of the 26.2 miles and I was in agony and feeling rather sick from pain. No where to stop, we are on a bridge so I pushed on. The pain was getting to me.

I don't really remember the last time I started a race knowing full well I really should not be doing this and 2 hoping I didn't make whatever was hurting worse and finally if I was going to actual make it round. Experience tells me when you don't respect the distance it will rip you to pieces and that is what happened. I decided to run and walk and stop and take lots of photos.

I kept looking for markers, signs and interesting things to take photos of. Trying all the time to just distract myself from the pain I was in. I knew I had no chance of any of the times I had been working towards and this was a matter of survival rather than a run. I was disappointed in myself and feeling frustrated, this does not make for good mental preparation for a marathon. I was beginning to walk a lot more than I would like and the frustration in me was growing. I was now just angry.

Half way could not have come soon enough. My fear of bridges was really been tested and I had this anxiety to deal with on top of everything else. Running was simply uncomfortable and I was hoping the next half was going to pass by quicker.

I bumped into a lady at half way from Ireland who had recently lost her husband. She was running for a charity and was in tears. I talked to her for about a mile before she slowed down further and it hurt me too much to keep up with her pace. I felt really guilty for leaving her but the pain I was in was simply not sustainable at the pace she was going at and I had to get round.

More and More bridges. I recognised this bridge from the taxi ride from the airport to the hotel and so now had a rough idea where we were heading. I also knew how long this bridge was but hadn't realised quite how up hill it was!

My temperature would not stabilise and I was going through removing long sleeved tops [Which were under my vest top] to attempting to put it back on whilst continuing forward. There was simply too much going off and I know my focus should just have been on getting round. Manhattan approached.

The support throughout the course was amazing. Simply first class. Had I been in the right frame of mind and running they would have given me a real boost and provided the support needed to complete the marathon. As it was the pain was just getting to me and I was loosing focus. Just when I needed it I spotted a runner I recognised and a good friend of mine went zipping past me. I did my best to catch her up and for a few miles we stuck together. I couldn't keep up and knew I was slowing her down. The Bronx was approaching and mentally I knew the final stretch was coming.

The race weaves around the Bronx with some fantastic support. On the map it looked only to be a mile or two and whilst it probably is the pain I was in made it feel a lot longer. The final bridge of the race was here and now I knew it was a straight run down to Central Park and the finish line. Not long to go.

It was beginning to get dark. I was getting cold and I felt like I had been running along the road for forever. I was mentally expecting to run through the park and not alongside it, not sure why but this got to me. I had to push on. Eventually it came the turn into the park. I knew I was almost there now and started to hear the crowds getting louder. I must be nearly there. The finish sort of came out of no where. My face says it all.

Relief it was finally over. Shocked I had actually got round but the pain was intense and I knew I was in serious trouble. The second I got home I would be going to hospital to get it looked at. Now began the very, very long walk back to the hotel.

I would love to go back and run New York again, as marathons go it is a great course with plenty of support and I do not feel like I have done the course any justice. I feel grateful that I managed to get round but unfortunately the injury sustained means it will be next year before I can even think about running again. It turns out running a marathon on a fractured ankle is not a good idea. I am now waiting for further hospital tests and results to find out just how much damage I really did cause. The fracture I sustained prior to the race, no wonder it hurt!

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The summer holidays meant I had to get a little creative with my training. Juggling three children and fitting training in wasn’t easy but for the most part I managed it. One day a week all three children would go to holiday club and it was on these days I would fit in my long runs. One evening a week I would do a speed session. Anything else I tried to fit in as and when. Sometimes it would be buggy running and others it would be running alongside the girls on their bikes. Often though it would be late at night once the kids were asleep but on the whole I managed between 4 and 5 runs a week.

The high of Endure 24 but the high distance meant I had to start the month of steady. Luckily for me my body seems to be adapting to the high mileage and it wasn’t long before I could be back at distance. I struggled a lot mentally with my running in July and in August. Having lost J in June I was running places where I ran with him often and I would instinctively look for him. I broke down in tears on a number of my runs, even now in September I find certain routes mentally tough.

The heat was relentless throughout the summer months, even if it wasn’t always sunny the heat was always there and it made several of the training runs tougher than perhaps they should have been. I don’t think my mental health was in the right place either and I think that added to the issues I was experiencing.

Beat the street finished and our team won, which also meant I could start running normal routes again without stopping to tap loads of boxes on the way. Although there is a part of me that misses them. Whilst I hope it is not the case I may have also had my last buggy run with Little Man, fingers crossed we do manage to go out again as I have loved running with him but I cannot foresee it happening.

I only had the one race in July and August, Round Donny Run. I ran it last year with my friend, who is known as my ultra hubby as we spend a lot of time together training and running ultras. Round Donny Run is a 35km staged event. Each segment is of a differing length some are short and only a few hundred meters, the longest is just over 10km.

Last year when I did this I had no idea how long each stage was and therefore found it hard to pace it. Running 100m for example is a different pace to running 10km. This year I knew how long each stage was and could therefore work out what pace to run at. It seemed to work and went really well. The last stage however the heat got to me and I was feeling really poorly. A little disappointed with myself and my time, as I know without the heat I could have done much better, but still pleased to have been significantly faster than the previous year which shows progression.

With the kids on school holidays we also made the most of the ability to travel and went to tick off some of the parkruns further away. Our alphabet challenge is almost complete and over summer managed obtain most letters with the letters I, J, Q, U, Z left to complete.

July and August were certainly tricky months to fit training in but overall I am pleased with the amount I did. I couldn’t have physically done any more. Not long now until Loch Ness!

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June can only be described as a month of two halves. Had I known what was to happen in June I think I would have done things very differently, but that is the beauty of hind sight for you.

June started off well, a sport of tourism parkrun for my daughter and I. Even though she claims it was hilly. It was run on a racecourse in one of the flattest parts of the country so no hills. In fact it is flatter than a track run according to my strava.

Training started to increase now as Loch Ness marathon starts to get closer. It does mean fitting training in when I can and so that can often be late at night or early mornings.

Beat the street started in our local town for 6 weeks and this actually made long runs really interesting. It really broke them up as we would run from post to post to tap our beat cards and collect points for our school.

It also made the kids want to get out more and so they would ride their bikes as I would run alongside them. In some ways it made training easier as they kids wanted to be outside and in others it made it harder because pace is very much dictated by them. It was lovely though to spend time together outside, regardless.

Once again there was more volunteering and helping at parkrun and races, but I wouldn't want it any other way. Even Little Man has started getting involved.

Beat the Street really started to take over as the leaderboard became quite close at the top. Runs were planned with the most beat boxes to tap and so whilst not the best routes it meant training and playing the game could still take place.

Training was going well. J was enjoying the extra walks as we played beat the street with him and getting more runs in together. My first race was approaching, an ultra with my friend Sean. I had helped him with his training and we came up with a plan for the actual race. You can read about how we got on here

After the high of the previous week everything was about to come crashing down around me. I had developed a Grade 2 sore on the back on my foot and was advised not to run as if it burst it could cause a sepsis and infection risk. If it did burst I had to go immediately on to antibiotics. I decided it wasn't worth it and instead planned to rest as advised until it healed.

A grumpy Monday then after I was told I could not run and a very poorly Little Man who was up all night unable to breathe. I think I managed two hours of sleep on Monday and very nearly ended up in hospital with my son.

Upon waking up Tuesday morning I discovered the kitchen floor was covered in sick from J. He had an appointment booked at the vets anyway as his back legs had been hurting him instead I rushed him to the vets, where he was kept in. He returned Tuesday night but was exhausted from the pain killers and really not very well. Queue another sleepless night. Wednesday J just got worse and he could not cool down. He was visibly in pain and I kept giving him all his pain medication as directed. Up again all night this time trying to cool him down and a call to the vets at 2am. Thursday there was nothing for it but to rush him to the vets, he died on Friday.

Exhausted from a week of hell, unable to run with injury and grieving the loss of J. I just was not functioning well at all. I no longer had my running outlet and no longer had J to talk to, he was such a good listener. I tried to take my mind of everything with a walk in Malham helping to unmark the Pennine Barrier route. It was nice to be out in the fresh air but the whole time I was thinking how much J would have loved it.

After two weeks of pure hell and no running it was time to lace up my shoes and get back out again. I met my Ultra hubby/long distance training partner and we headed to Endure 24 Leeds. Our plan was simple, keep running.

We were running Endure 24 as a pair. This meant only one of us could be on the course at any moment in time. Laps are 5 miles each through an undulating terrain, which meant you were almost constantly running for 24 hours. We had to guess how long each lap would take us and be ready and waiting in the exchange area to meet each other and hand over for the next to go out and complete a lap.

It was really tough. Absolutely no sleep for the full 24 hours, there simply wasn't time to get back to the car for a sleep and then walk back to the exchange area. We both gave it our absolute everything. With temperatures hitting over 30 at 4pm it was even more tough in the heat. In fact it was so hot I ran just in a crop top and shorts.

We managed 12 laps each or 60 miles, and out total of 24 laps put us in joint 4th place on laps. There was one more lap for third and whilst I am incredibly proud of our achievement it would have been nice to have finished third, we were so close.

I managed a total of 245km, which is 53km more than May. That is with two weeks of not running and goes to show how much more I have increased my training. I am proud of my achievements through June but I think I will always remember it as the month I said goodbye to my running partner and best friend J.

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A year of planning. A year of training and here I was stood with Sean ready to support him as he undertook his first Ultra and perhaps his biggest challenge to date. A year ago Sean and I were discussing what challenge he could undertake in 2019 and I planted the seed of an ultra. There were requirements for the race though. A run that was flat [ish] so no major hills to climb and the surface had to be solid, and by that I mean not mud or grass or fell. Sean also wanted a distance of around 50km. After extensive searching we found an It's Grim up North event the canal canter. That was it the race was booked, the date set and the training began.

Now I will admit I am not a fan of canals. I mean they are pretty enough to walk down for a short walk but when you've raced many ultras along them they become repetitive and rather monotonous. In fact running an ultra along them becomes a real mental strength test. At the same time they are also really peaceful and you kind of know what to expect so I guess there are plus points.

Sean had opted for the earlier start and so we set off our race as soon as registration had opened and a good hour before the other runners. It was a little strange starting before everyone else, yet at the same time was really relaxed and peaceful. It felt like a training run than a race and Sean and I headed the 5km down the canal towards Leeds.

This first stretch was really nice and relaxed. Not much in terms of undulation just the odd lock to contend with. We passed the museum and watched someone scale the wall to promptly here the crash and twigs snapped as they fell over the other side. Rather amusing as about 10m down the path was an actual turn off and so we wondered why said effort was put into scaling the wall.

We completed the first 5km at target pace and made our way back up to the start line. The main race was about to start as we approached the start line and the cheering and encouragement from those waiting gave us a boost. We now had an 11 mile out and back to complete.

This section of the route was harder than the first. The scenery changed from City canal to more rural. We passed trains, cows and fields. Lots of fantastic tea rooms dotted along the canal banks and slowly made our way into a town.

This canal run felt different to the others some how. Perhaps it was because my focus here was on Sean and the pace and not my own race. Perhaps it was the differing scenery, who knows but whatever it was I was enjoying running along a canal.

The turnaround came and we started the run/walk back to the start line. I could tell Sean was really starting to feel it at this point. I was trying to take his mind of it by counting the other runners and working out who was running which race. We began joking that we could trip up the other ultra runners into the canal and then it would only be the two of us in the race. Well, I was joking anyways!

It was quite nice though seeing other runners and having a chat with them, it broke up the race and took focus else where. The weather was beginning to turn and it started to get colder and the rain began to fall.

We passed the start line after already covering over a marathon distance and with the rain starting the final 10km [5km out and 5km back as we had done earlier] really wasn't appealing. We were asked to stop as we had exceeded the cut off time but I couldn't let that happen and so made a promise to stay in touch as we completed the final 10km. We were off back on that same 5km section again.

It was much harder this time round. The pouring rain really didn't help. I think we all just wanted it to end. We continued though, second guessing when the turn around would come until eventually it was time to turn back. A final 5km to go and we would be at the finish. Those last 5km were really tough but Sean dug deep and got it finished, despite wanting to call an Uber. The goal was to finish within 10hours and 30 minutes and we finished in 10 hours and 21 minutes. Perfect pacing and I could not be prouder.

After a short walk back to the car there was only one way to celebrate our achievements!

I think one day I would like to go back and run the race again, despite it running along a canal I actually really enjoyed it. I am unbelievably proud of Sean and his achievement of running an ultra and cannot wait to see what his challenge is next year. I also want to say a massive thank you to the IGUN team for all their support!

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Kielder marathon has been on my bucket list for some time. Whilst I am aware there are several Kielder marathon the one I wanted to do was the Dark skies marathon organised by Trail outlaws, and the reason is because it is run all at night.

I had booked and paid for [before anyone asks] a cottage for the weekend. Letterbox cottage and it was simply perfect. Our host was amazing leaving us a hamper of treats for when we arrived and nothing was too much trouble. The cottage was 20 minutes from the race start so a perfect base for the kids, my Mum and I.

The cottage itself was just lovely. It looked small on the outside but there was so much space inside. The girls didn't want to leave and I got total bathroom envy.

Everything was clean and modern and felt very cosy. The kitchen was well stocked with all the modern cooking equipment you could need. All that was missing was food and to be honest we were provided with a lovely welcome basket that we didn't need to buy all that much.

We chose not to fetch the dog but we could have as it was dog friendly. There are three bedrooms all doubles and a great sitting area with dining table. A small outdoor space and parking at the front.

One of the bedrooms was upstairs in the attic of the cottage and I will confess to hitting my head on the beams a few times and getting mad with myself every time I did.

I had booked for us to stay for a long weekend. We had arrived late on Friday as had driven straight from school. Saturday morning we were up early and ready to explore. I was unsure with what to do for the best. My marathon started at 5.30pm. I had never run a race through the night before and therefore had no idea how best to prepare before hand or what fuel strategy I should use.

We decided to just have a steady family day so went to explore more of Kielder part itself. The area is just beautiful and it gave me some idea of what I would be running on later. We found a maze which all three children loved running round.

There was just so much to explore outside. The girls found mouse

Then as we ventured even further along the beautiful trails we stumbled upon the Gruffalo himself!

Maybe not the best prep before a marathon walking several miles with the kids but we all had lots of fun exploring the grounds and I was starting to look forward to the marathon even more now I had seen the terrain.

I took the kids and my Mum back to the cottage and had dinner with them before heading back out to the start of the race. The car park was full so I had to park in the overflow a good few miles away but thankfully there was a free shuttle bus. Myself and several other runners huddled together under the shelter from the rain as we waited for the bus to arrive.

The start of the race was in the scout camp. It appeared for quite some time that there were not many runners. I stood and chatted to a lady I had met on the bus and we passed those nervous minutes before the start. I was still unsure what to expect and how to plan for this run. I instead opted to just enjoy it. I started with my coat on and my head torch so as to not have to find them later on when it got cold. I was glad I made that decision.

The race started and after a small loop around the start area, which was rather hilly we were off into the forest itself. The terrain was all shingle paths apart from one very wobbly bridge that swayed whenever someone ran on it! The terrain undulating, and it was great to watch how the majority of runners were opting to walk the hills and run everything else. I could see why, some of those hills were quite tough.

The night started to draw in and it seemed especially dark with the lack of town lights and high trees. There was no light pollution and just after the 6 mile mark darkness had truly set in.

I was still passing runners by this point and so even though it was black I could still see thanks to the large amount of runners around me and their head torches. Soon though I was on my own and following the florescent flags that marked the course. I watched the headlights bob up and down on the other side of the lake and it looked really pretty. There was pure silence except for the odd occasional runner slowly catching you up. You would hear their breath and their footsteps behind you. It would appear when you run in the dark your hearing increases.

One of the hardest things about this run was not been able to judge the effort needed. Normally when you can see the top of a hill or downhill you know how much work is needed and just how much you can push yourself. When you can't see this it all becomes a guessing game and sometimes you get it wrong.

The race also heightens all the other senses. As you can't see your mind starts playing tricks on you. You begin to wonder what it was you heard in the distance. The fatigue from a marathon aids to this mental game and it really does become a battle of wills with yourself.

The route had well stocked checkpoints and in my mind I had broken the route up to go from checkpoint to checkpoint. It became easier to cope with mentally as well as the distance was much shorter. For the first 16 miles I was absolutely fine and really enjoying the route. At the dam checkpoint I made the mistake of drinking, or rather taking a sip or some fizzy pop. I don't drink this usually but always crave it during a marathon. The fizzy pop really upset my stomach and around mile 18 I started to feel really ill. I had bumped into a fellow runner and we chatted up until the final checkpoint at mile 25. It passed the time and took my mind away from the pain.

The final section seemed to last forever. I passed the 26 mile point and I still had ages to go. In the distance I saw some fairy lights and some volunteers cheering rather loudly. I was at the bottom of the drive where the bus had dropped me off earlier. All I had to do now was run up the hill to the finish.

The final section leads you up the drive and round into the scout camp. You finish by running into the hall itself where your chip is scanned. The chip is on a wrist band and mine had got tangled in my coat. My hands were so cold I could not remove it to be scanned and it took a good few minutes to locate it. My finish time was just under 6 hours, on the official results it was just over 6.

I felt really shaky and sick. I walked my way back down the drive and past the runners finishing. I was holding a plastic cup which I have no idea where I got that from and just stood in the bus queue. The bus hadn't arrived yet so I took the opportunity to take my mind off the tiredness and talk to another runner. The bus arrived and it was time to head back to the cottage.

My legs wouldn't settle that night, I simply couldn't sleep. It was such an amazing experience though and one I would love to repeat. Next time though I would be tempted to go for the triple! At least in the future I know a little more about how to prepare for a run through the night!

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