Christian Race Blog - Tarpley20

Guest blog by Christian, who started running in July 2017 & has so far completed a 15k trail race, 2 x half marathons and his first & longest distance of 20 miles recently. Christian is training for his first trail marathon in April, and working towards his first 46 mile Ultra in Nov this year. His consistent hard work & more importantly constant enthusiasm makes him a joy to work with.

Standing on the start line - Sunday 25th February 2018

Today, I am running with my coach, not only is it the first time we have run together, for any distance but it is my furthest run ever. Nervous? Surprisingly not but super excited. Either way, my stomach has flipped as it always does, which makes eating pre-race... tricky. It's part of the toolkit I have learn, eating and being nervous/excited.

Through my training runs I've learnt a lot

• I don't run slow enough when training (for long distance runs)

• I need to start drinking earlier in the run (hydration has been a huge learning curve for me - wine doesn't count!)

• Eating is interesting and real food is important for me

Do I do any of these things? Of course not... at least not consistently...yet.

Except for Tarpley, it all seemed to come together. I started taking sips of water every 5-10 minutes and finished whatever water was given to me at each Water Stop.

I've tried a lot of the food replacements but when I get to around 15-18 miles my body starts to crave actual food. So for Tarpley I carried a couple of wraps - 1 was Peanut Butter & Jam, the other was Humous (with just a little Garlic - Sheila had to stand downwind!!)

I started the race with Sheila and got to see a true long distance approach in action. Run (quick) down hills and on the flat. Walk the uphills and yes, I mean almost all of them. It's a strange game of Hare & the Tortoise with other runners. Where you are the speedy tortoise cruising past the huffing & puffing hare's. Needless to say it pays off, I spent almost no time out of breath or struggling.

Easy run - no! My knee started to hurt at around mile 15 but there was no way I wasn't finishing! What felt like hobbling was actually a good pace to run and with a sprint finish - Sheila & I crossed the line together.

What was my time? Actually not important to me and one of my biggest learns early on. Time? Who cares! It's all about finishing and finishing strong. Come hell or high water, I will cross that line. Even better still, with a huge grin on my face and a desire for the next.

I never wanted to be a runner, too many people doing it and I hate following the "fashion". Through a series of coincident meetings, I find myself in love with it. I love the solitude, I love the social side of races. I love the idea that i need no transport other than my own feet. I am happier, healthier than I have ever been and I've barely scratched the surface.

The weeks following Tarpley are the new challenge, dealing with the lows of "injury". Let's put some context here, I'm not dead or dying but I can't run. By quads are too tight and I have some weakness in my lower leg. Hey ho, it's all part of the journey. This week is now Sports Massage, Strengthening exercises and yoga.

I'll be running fit again soon but I need to be kind to myself.

If you see a barefooted, lunatic, grinning from ear to ear.... come join in