Adidas TR24 Thunder Run Fri 24th-Sun 26th July 2015.
The lead up....
So here we go again it is now almost 2 weeks since I completed my last running quest at the Btr Liverpool 6 day Tour of Merseyside which involved a long week of running over multiple terrains and distances covering a total of 52 miles over the entire week.
You may recall I went into that one with an injury and also came out of it with a then aggravated injury because I wasn't prepared to quit and give up until I'd finished it (not necessarily something I would recommend). I promised myself I wouldn't run until the next event so I could get some recovery and repair at least over the slightly less than 2 week period between the 2 events.
I did a bit of cycling in the meantime in a vain attempt to retain my fitness and to keep my leg muscles working, the first one being 26 miles at a comfortable pace 3 days after the Tour which was completely pain free so I was happy to continue on cycling for the rest of the week.
After a long week in work I finished on the Tuesday night ready to try and get a few runs in and a little rest pre Thunder Run weekend. My Hamstring felt great, no pain at all and comfortable. Unfortunately my first test run on a treadmill on the Wed in the gym was not so pain free. I started running and felt a snagging/twanging feeling in the tendons coming down from my hamstrings into the back of my knee. It was off and on but something was clearly not right. After 15 mins I quit running and left it to consider what was wrong.
The next day i tried again but with a knee support with adjustable Velcro to see if it would hold the tendons nice and secure and then tried a beach run and sand dunes run. It seemed to work, with a bit of a hobble to start and no heroics pace wise I got through 5.5 miles with 1 twinge, success I figured.
Now it was just a question of how long could it hold out and how much could my hamstring take as I was due to do at least 3 10k laps of a demanding trail course at Thunder Run, and maybe even a 4th. For a miserable b*gger I have a knack for looking on the bright side and convincing myself that everything is well and I'll get through it all OK, so onwards I went to Thunder Run with a smile.
All packed and ready to go...
So I was all packed and ready to go after hours of faffing around with what I was taking. Lots of clothes required as weather could do anything throughout the weekend and it often does at Thunder Run as it's not just a pretty name but usually an accurate one if previous years are anything to go by.
I had borrowed my mates tent and sleeping bag again (thank you Simon Holt) in truth I hadn't returned it from last years Thunder Run (oops) and this year I had bought an airbed for a comfy sleep and a bargain at half price down to a tenner at Millets.
Transport as always was a very helpful and generous Mr Marsh who even came back from Leeds to pick me up. Mr M was also on the same team as me at Thunder Run as we were in a team of 8 runners who would be running 10k loops of the trail course at Catton Park in relay fashion for 24 hours from noon on Saturday to noon on Sunday.
Arrival...
Safely there by 9pm or so it was out the car sharpish to get the tents up, as it had been raining most of the day and it was getting dark. A camping spot had been saved for us by other team members who arrived earlier, mainly Martin Connell and the other team he had which was a team of 5 runners who were there to do a hard fast slog at the event, as opposed to our 8 member team which was aiming to just get around in one piece.
It didn't take long to set up and cups of tea were gratefully accepted from other members of our camp while we waited for a few more to arrive that night, mainly Cathy and Skip.
First night in camp and sleep....
So it was sleep time on the first night and 'quiet time' was supposed to be campsite wide from 11pm, sadly a lot of inconsiderate *** ****'* thought this didn't apply to them and made it impossible to get to sleep in my case until well after 1.30am after several hours of listening to chinking beer bottles, bad jokes, bad stories and by the sounds of it bad runners I finally fell asleep.
Race day....
It was finally time to get up, get dressed, get some breakfast and get a game plan going for the day, but not until the final team members arrived in the form of Paul and Amy his daughter and Paul's son who wasn't running and whose name completely escapes me at the moment.
There was a little race briefing at 11.30am pre race start so we went down to that to look out for fellow running friends as we knew loads of other runners who were going and participating in the event and with it being a big event we would struggle to see everyone.
I bumped into a fair few I knew and managed to get a picture with the usual bunch from the Running Discussion Board on Facebook (see below) and said hello to many others.
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| The usual friends... |
12 Noon and the race starts..
So it was time to get going and thankfully I was not the first runner out in my team this year, as my hamstring issue prevented me from doing a fast first lap so I was going 3rd.
Paul went first for our team of 8 followed by his daughter Amy next, then me, and then I was usually followed by Cathy and then the other team members in succession.
My first lap was shortly before 2pm and it felt a lot cooler than last year which was 30C+ when I felt like passing out on my first lap.This year it was forecast roughly 20C but it easily felt like 25C as the first lap went on.
I tried to take it easy when I started out on lap 1 but I got carried away I think and the thick grassy and uneven terrain plays havoc if you have any kind of injury and my hamstring started to kick off straight away so I had to slow even more and then my knee started with it's annoying snagging feeling so I had to adopt a permanent hobble to try and keep pressure of my right leg, this was indeed going to be a very long run and day.
It had been raining the night before so I wasn't sure what to expect out there and various reports from the first laps from other team mates helped us know where the worst bits where and they certainly meant a slower approach was going to be required, not that I could go much slower as my hobble was slowing me anyway, but it did help me pace myself.
It still felt tough even though I was going slower and it was painful at times but I carried on and by now the heat was starting to kick in as I could feel myself getting too hot and we all know I can't run in heat. I plodded on and decided as I was going slower then I had no excuse not to run up the hills which I originally planned on walking to save long term energy. This worked fairly well as each hill I ran saved at least 1 min per hill per lap.
The water station half way around at 5k was a welcome sight as I hadn't taken a drink on lap 1 which is rare for me, so I stopped for a drink and a breather and a quick cool down.
I carried on but I will admit I was finding it tough and it felt tougher than last year and this was with me already running slower than I would of normally done due to my injury. It thankfully started to feel a bit easier again at about 7-8k in and then I felt confident I could get through it OK.
The knee had started to play ball again after about 6k when I adjusted my knee support and it felt snag free from then onwards but I still maintained a precautionary slight hobble to be sure, I must of looked a right sight, but I was still running past people.
The finish line of my first lap came within sight and it was hard not to try and sprint and every time I tried to speed up I could feel the pain and tightness raise in my hamstring so it was definitely a case of take it easy over the line as I handed over to Cathy for her lap.
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| The usual encouragement and HI 5's from good running friend Eamonn Brady, and a pic of my heavily strapped injured right leg |
My time surprisingly was 57 minutes considering how much I had run slower overall but the hill runs had helped regain time.
I won't bore you with all the details of my other laps as the course is the same on every lap but my 2nd lap was an improved 54 minutes as my knee was behaving itself a bit more, and my 3rd lap which was at night and very difficult for me as I was having to be really careful of where I stepped especially in slippy area's as my hamstring would not take a slip well and unfortunately I hit 1hr 04 mins although overall my target had been 1hr laps with my leg being bad so not too bad in the scheme of things.
By the time what would of been my 4th lap came up at roughly 11am on Sunday morning I had already ruled out running it because by now my knee was uncomfortable and my hamstring was in pain again just walking never mind running and I didn't want to push it with another 6.2 miles of hard trail.
Thankfully time was running short and I offered up my 4th lap to team mates who may not of got their 4th lap in in time, but we were all by now pretty tired and I think we all felt like we had put a good effort in, so most of us settled on just the 3 x 6.2 mile/10k laps a total of 18.6 miles each overall.
Paul and his daughter Amy both did their 4th laps and did the team proud although I think they were pretty knackered by the time they finished.
We decided to use the time saved to get our tents packed up ready for a quick exit at the end at 12 Noon when the race finished and it was threatening to rain. Infact it did rain and exactly when I would of been out on my 4th lap it lashed it down so I was well happy, as running injured in pain on tired legs and getting sodden would not of been my ideal end to the race, and to of then had to pack up in the rain? no I would not of been a happy chappy.
12noon came and Mr Marsh and myself had by now been sat underneath the Adidas tent for near on an hour watching everybody get drenched while they started to queue up for their finishers medals. Being early in the queue meant we got it quick and we were dry and smiling. I couldn't say the same for the others in the queue who kept asking what the hold up was despite the big yellow sign that clearly stated medal pick up from 12 Noon Onwards!
Homeward bound....
So homeward bound after a few goodbyes and a few missed goodbyes, as some of the other team were still around the finish area somewhere after getting their gear packed up etc, and squeezing last laps in as they were extremely committed to getting in as many laps as possible to get a good team position.
So courtesy of Mr M and I was back within 2 and a half hours and it was kettle on and feet up time after a long tiring but extremely fun weekend.
Final thoughts....
I met some great people this weekend, mainly my team mates be it the team of 8 or the
more competitive and slightly more mad team of 5 who I think all did at least 5 laps a total of 31 miles each over the weekend. I haven't mentioned them much or my other team mates in the team of 8 as it would take too long and make this blog drag on even more. Also my other long standing running friends who were there as well but i haven't mentioned.
It was a great weekend and Thunder Run is a great event and I encourage each and everyone of you who is a runner to try and get down there next year. It is extremely difficult to get a place as it is very popular so be warned and be ready to enter.
Thank You's ...
Thank you to Martin Connell for inviting me back into the team again this year and for last year.
Massive thank you to all my supporters who have donated to my 14runs charity campaign page so far this year.
A big thank you as ever to my sponsors who have helped make this years charity running possible in many ways with their continued support, they are as follows:
Ramada Plaza Hotel
Trattoria 51
Vital Events
The Crackled Pig
Henry's Deli
and also:
RunGeek
The Ultra Marathon Running Store
Don't forget donations as ever can be made to the Just Giving links on this blog page, all donations go to THHN a very worthy charity and worth every penny or pound sent their way.
Time for a bit of recovery for me now, sadly I have had to cancel my planned participation in the THHN City to Sea 53 mile Ultra which was to be my biggest or longest run to date of my 14runs campaign. This has been due to my injury preventing me getting enough long run training in this year in preparation for such a demanding distance. Safety is paramount and my future ability to run is also and it would of been stupid to attempt it without adequate training.
I will replace the 53 miler with another 50+ mile event later in the year if all goes well, otherwise I'm going to have to carry on running into next year until I've done the distance promised.
Next event....
I plan on doing a few 10k's for fun if all goes well in Sept as I train for my next charity event the Seaside24 35 mile pier to pier ultra challenge, a run from Blackpool pier to Southport pier on Sunday 11th October which I have created to raise funds for a couple of charities THHN and CHUF. I will be accompanied by some fellow running friends who will all be official runners and fundraisers for the charities.
Thank you all.
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