It was quite an impressive building. As I walked through the door I was immediately greeted with a track that went from our floor up a steep ramp to the second floor. Mikael must have seen my face and said that was not the track we would be running on as it was all on the second floor. We registered and got our numbers and then went to find a table. Upstairs the place seemed huge. There was a café, changing rooms and toilets dotted here and there, a clothes shop, a gym and you looked over courts in the centre of the track on the ground floor. I walked to the area with the tables and picked a table near Mikael at the top end of the track. As we were sat there another runner and her supporter came and sat on the table next to us. This turned out to be Torill (a Swedish lady who came second in last years race) and her friend Jyri (who had an unmistakeable Australian twang). We got chatting and they kindly invited us to share their table, which we did. I watched as people did all of their pre race prep. Some people jogged around the track, some people sat with their feet up against the wall and some people put themselves into contortionist type positions as they stretched. Torill chatted and hugged everyone she knew and I just watched everyone and joked that my warm up would be in the first few laps. Why run now when I have to do so much of it soon enough. Jyri agreed.
At 5 to 12 we were called to the track start and I did my usual thing and positioned myself at the very back. The gun fired and we were off. I chose to wear no Garmin and would just go by lap timings provided by the organisers. As I ran over the timing strip my name flashed up on the screen and I started my first loop. I was doing 3 minutes run and 1.30 minutes walk, however for the first few minutes just had a slow jog around with no walking, just until I got into the swing of it. The track reminded me of the material you get on a treadmill and actually felt OK to run on. Maybe this was going to be a softer surface than I had originally thought? There were all kinds of runners here today... there were people who ran/walked, people who ran all of the time and even people who walked the whole thing. I kept getting whacked in the arm by someone doing a power walk and kept having to remind myself on each lap to try and give him a wider berth as he stormed along swinging his arms from side to side. The first couple of hours went by fairly quickly and I felt very comfortable. I would do a lap at about 2 minutes 40 and then one would take about 3 minutes 10 (if I was into a walk break). I was surprised at how consistent my timings were and hoped they would continue for as long as possible. My "A" goal for today was 100 miles, "B" goal was 95 and "C" was 90 miles. I was currently on track to do 100 miles easily, but I know how that can change so dramatically in no time at all. It was just too early to tell! My current PB was 81.5 miles in 24 hours, so I knew I was asking a lot of myself to beat that target by 18.5 miles. At the same time however, I believed I could do it and felt that on the right day with everything on my side I could achieve my goal. Training had gone well with lots of PBs in both running and strength exercises, however I had only reached 20 miles for my long run and although I was happy with that, I wished I had been more committed to training before Christmas.
I got to about 12 miles and started to feel pain in my calves. I knew it would happen, it always does. Torill had asked was it not psychological that I always felt that way and so I "decided" it was my mind playing tricks on me and really I was absolutely fine. The pain in my right calf was awful however, so I took 2 paracetomol and codeine and hoped it would subside. Jyri said he thought if I took 10 minutes off now and saw to the problem it would save me a lot of pain and time in the long run, but I didn't want to sit down for 10 minutes and waste time. By 15 miles I was in agony and it was taking an extra minute for me to get around each lap. Jyri had said to Graeme he thought my calf was going into protection mode because of the turns at the top and bottom of the track and I really should stop for 10 minutes. As I ran past them again I asked "What is protection mode?". Jyri said I needed to take the full weight off my calf for 10 minutes and it would help enormously. I said I would stop the following lap. As I ran up the straight to where Graeme and Jyri were sitting I noticed they had gone into "work mode" and there was a chair ready for me, oatcakes with vegan cheese and a coffee. It turned out that Jyri is a physiotherapist, so not only did I get to sit down but he went to work on my calf straight away. The pain was horrendous on one particular spot and I nearly jumped out of my chair. He was explaining to Graeme what he was doing, how he knew he had got the correct area and how to work it out. It knacked, but I was glad of the intervention. True to his word, I was kept there for exactly 10 minutes and I was ushered back out onto the track with the advice of not running any more of the curves and only running the straight sections after walking for a lap or two until my legs eased off from being pummelled. Jyri told me that in 3 hours time when we changed running direction this would really help to take the pressure off. I looked forward to that! My legs felt sore and it was uncomfortable, but within half a lap walking felt ok and on the second lap I ran for 10 steps. Ouch. I walked 10 steps and then ran 10 and continued on this until I got to 15 steps running, 20, 30, 40, 60... and once I got to 60, I felt that was enough that I could run the whole straight again on each side. I was walking all of the curved sections and I think I annoyed a photographer who looked like he only wanted photos of "runners". On one lap I made an effort and ran around the corner alongside about 3 other runners but as I came in to view he put the camera down towards his waist. That's it then matey... I'll not be making an effort for YOU anymore, I thought! I continued on running the straight sections (and often tried to keep in the middle of the track so I was out of everyones' way) and then moved into the inner lane as I walked around the corners. Every lap I did seemed to be 3:07, 3:06, 3:07, 3:05, 3:07... I was pleased they had evened out so nicely. My right calf was not in good shape but I felt it was almost ignorable for a good time. I felt a blister forming on the big toe of my left foot. Always happens... even if I put a plaster on, it still blisters up. It didn't bother me though. I'm good at ignoring blisters! All of a sudden I started to feel weary and willed on the 6 hour mark so we could change direction. It was like I was about to be given a magic pill that was going to solve everything and I couldn't wait for that time to come! For the time being though, I added up in my head how far I was in distance. I'm not great when it comes to kilometres so I would work out in my head how many miles I had done by dividing the KM distance into 8's. This gave me more or less the equivalent of 5 miles, so I monitored how long it would take to reach the next 5 mile mark. And to think I was concerned that running around a track would be boring... I didn't have time to be bored... I was far too busy!
I popped to the loo and on looking in the mirror realised my face was covered in salt. This happens to me all of the time. I've read all sorts of reasons as to why this happens... everything from it being a lack of fitness to having an excess of salt in your diet from the day before so your body gets rid.... I washed my face but on leaving the loo realised I had done this too late and Graeme was already on the case with a bottle of electrolyte drink. Urghhh... it tasted like he had made it with toilet water, so he remade one with a bottle of spring water. Still tasted like crap! I drank it so him and Jyri wouldn't whinge at me. It was disgusting! The turnaround point was close and I was really looking forward to it. I watched people on the track... Torill would run past me singing her head off to her headphones. I marvelled at the definition of her muscles in her back and arms and thought she must do a lot of gym work alongside running. Sumie (the lady who wins this every year) would glide past me on what seemed like twinkle toes. Her running effortless and almost silent as she sauntered past you. There were heavy breathers, arm swingers, shoulder clippers and people walking along the track chatting away like they did this every week and this was nothing. A lovely lady named Diana would smile and say hello as she zoomed past and as I walked past the gym section on the track, I would watch people doing their weight sessions. Next time I ran past Graeme and Jyri they said they were going to watch the turnaround. There was only about 5 minutes to go.
As I neared the lap counter on the floor, a stream of people dressed in blue Endurance 24 t-shirts lined the middle of the track. They clapped their hands and shouted, "Turn... turn... turn... turn". People at the side of the track also clapped their hands and watched on as you ran up to the line and did a U-Turn back to where you had been. It felt great to turn and go in the opposite direction and as I ran up to where Graeme and Jyri normally sit, I noticed lots of runners took this as a sort of natural break, and the table areas were strewn with people eating, drinking, stretching and lying on the floor taking 5. I carried on and waited for the elusive feeling of being able to run comfortably again. A few laps later and it still wasn't happening. Where was my magic pill? Why did I not feel amazing? Instead of feeling like I was using less 'bashed' muscles, I actually felt like my body had been thrown into disarray and it almost felt like I needed to go back and run in the same direction as I had in the first 6 hours. This wasn't supposed to happen... was it? I decided I would just ignore it and get on with it. I went back to people watching and ran all of the straight sections and walked all of the curves. It didn't last long though, and my walking sections became longer until I was walking exclusively, and had done for about 3 or 4 laps when Jyri and Graeme called me in again. As I was directed to a chair I felt quite gutted to be back in the same position again with my right calf hurting even more and now my piriformis and ITB on my left side had joined in! I felt a bit embarrassed that I was using up so much of Jyri's time. He was another persons supporter and here he was looking after ME! I was starting to feel very 'high maintenance'. The only difference between Beyoncé and me right now was that I wasn't insisting on being given only Evian water and I didn't require someone to throw petals on the track for me before I stepped on it! Not that I'm presuming Beyoncé would require such frivolities but you know what I mean! Another lot of oatcakes and cheese were given to me and a bit of Kendal mint cake. I stood up after the calf pummelling and Jyri went to work on the piriformis pain and I nearly shot up to the ceiling in pain as he hit the exact spot. He then took out a stick (I actually have one of these myself but have never really used it) and rolled it down my ITB. I was scrunching my face up in agony as Torill ran past and shouted, "Is she OK?". "She's fine, keep running", Jyri shouted back at her. He had threatened her with a spoonful of Vegemite if she didn't do as she was told, so she was off like a shot! Again, I felt very high maintenance and wished I wasn't using up so much of his time. All sorted though, and off I went again with the instructions I was to walk the first one or two laps then slowly build up until I was running the straight sections. Going out onto the track after having this done was a bit like walking like C3PO from Star Wars. I felt so awkward and uncomfortable, but within a couple of laps was running 10 steps, then 20, then 30... and before long I was back up to the whole of the straight section again. And dare I say it... I actually felt pretty good! I would run past our table and give the thumbs up to say I was feeling good and I had gone back to being around 3.07ish a lap instead of 4 ish.
On one of the curved sections I walked along with a lovely lady named Boel. She was eating the pasta they had provided. I asked was it nice but she laughed and said, "No, but it's food". I quickly realised I'd be getting a bowl of that thrust into my hands as soon as Graeme saw it was available and so ran on ahead of Boel. I have to just mention however that Boel was one of those people who grafted for the whole time on that track. I never saw her rest once, which I suppose is testament to the fact she was 8th lady! :-)
And sure enough, I got round to the table and there was Graeme with an outreached hand holding onto some pasta bolognese. "Eat this", I was told. So, I stopped and had a little walk while I tackled the meal. The soy bolognese actually tasted lovely (I have to commend the organisers who ensured every meal available had a vegan option) however the pasta was truly awful. I like pasta al dente and this unfortunately was very mushy. I ate all of the bolognese with as much of the pasta as I could force in and left the half filled plate by Graeme saying it was too nasty. The following couple of hours went very well. Occasionally I would feel a little bit hot and would imagine the few air vents above me were much larger than they were and I would imagine a freezing cold blast as I ran under them. It seemed to work as I tried to trick my brain. I kept needing the loo and had to keep nipping off the track which would slow me down by a minute or so, but overall I felt I was going well. I was still on track to do 100 miles, although now the margins for error were getting slimmer.
A couple of hours later Jyri asked how my legs were. They were good, I gave the thumbs up. On the next lap he told me to do 2 more laps and he would only keep me 3 minutes as a sort of 'prevention rather than cure' method. It seemed a really good idea and I was glad he was there and grateful beyond belief for his help. I ran the next 2 laps, went in and had exactly 3 minutes of massage and I was back out on the track again. I felt amazing. I felt like I could run forever. It was only when I caught myself doing a lap in the sub 3 minute zone that I talked myself into slowing down slightly. I kept forgetting though, as I felt so good. I hoped I wouldn't pay dearly for it later.
The next three hours went in a blur. There were a lot less people on the track now and as you ran past certain sections you could see a lot of people had decided to have a sleep and there were bodies in sleeping bags dotted here and there. I admit, I wasn't feeling great. At some point Jyri got up and Graeme went to have a snooze. Every now and again Jyri would hold up the electrolyte drink but I was one step ahead of him... I had been drinking the sports drink the organisers had provided and it was much nicer than mine. Jyri was content I was keeping the electrolytes up but I thought he looked troubled... or maybe just tired? I didn't know it at the time but Torill wasn't feeling well and had been sick and was sitting down resting. You can't keep a good woman down though, and it wasn't long before she was back out and fighting fit again... singing her head off as she ran past you!
It was about 3.30am when Graeme surfaced, carrying coffee cups up to the table. It was lovely to see him. I'd gone through 100K while he had been asleep and at 3am I had been 1/4 of a mile behind my target. I was supposed to be on 62.5 miles but had just fallen behind. The tiredness I felt from around 3 was overwhelming. The next 3 hours would prove to be my undoing in relation to getting to 100 miles! I was so slow. I would need the toilet every 2 laps, only to find them full (sometimes with men!) so I would waste time going and then leaving without being able to use the toilet then I would waste a good minute when the loo was actually free! When I noticed the water colour in the toilet did not change after peeing I made the executive decision to stop drinking for a while. Those 3 hours went nowhere and before I knew it it was 6am... ready for another turnaround, and I had done a measly 13K in 3 hours. How can that be? It was like time had speeded up and I had slowed down at the same time. I couldn't for the life of me get a lap done in under 4 minutes... even when I ran. Everything hurt like mad and I felt like all was lost. The only saving grace was I had got past 81.5 miles... my current 24 hour PB. I said to Graeme that I should be able to get to 90 miles even if I walked the whole thing from now on, only to have Jyri shout, "Yeah but you ARE going to run, aren't you?". I was gutted... they were still expecting me to run. I didn't want to run, I'd had enough thank you very much. Jyri had earlier said I would still get a good distance if I ran only one of the straight sections and walked the rest. As I walked up towards them on another lap, Graeme told me to just run one straight... just the one... start with 10 steps running.
I ignored them both for a coupe of more laps, but the guilt ensued and I started to run 10 steps. Oh my God it felt awful. I ran another 10 and it hurt like hell. I ran another 10 and cursed the fact they were expecting me to run. I ran another 10 and tried to relax and tried to ignore the calf that really had had enough by now. I looked at the timing clock as I ran over the mat and hoped it would say I was not running faster than I was walking. William and Shaun always say if you can walk faster than you can run, then walk! Damn... I was 20 seconds faster. I built the running up to 20 steps, 40, 60 and then the full straight. I enjoyed walking the rest. This made me about 35 seconds faster per lap. And then I realised I wasn't going to make my C target of 90 miles if I kept on like this. I told Graeme I wished I could run more but I was too tired and my calf was done and nothing would fix it now. The next lap I was pulled in with Jyri saying, "We will see about that!". I left walking like C3PO again and I just felt weary. I went through the same routine... running 10 steps, then 15, then 20.. 30, 40, 60... I was trying to run both straight sections again and gave myself a virtual pat on the back for pushing myself this much. A few runners commented on how well I was doing... and you know what that means? ... That means you look like shit and they are trying to cheer you on. Graeme came to the side of the table and told me to keep going as I was 12th lady but I would move down if I didn't keep going. 12th lady? Wow... I had expected to be 21st out of 21 so this made me feel better. In that last hour a lot of people were really pushing themselves. You would see people running on a slant as their body had clearly given way from good posture, some people limped slightly, some peoples breathing were like they were running 100 metre sprints, some people looked like this was still a walk in the park, and then there were people like me who looked like shit, sounded like shit, had shit posture and just tried to put one foot in front of the other.
With about 20 minutes to go we were all given a wooden block with our number on. This was to go under our timing chip at the end of the race at the exact spot you are when the gun goes off. Torill had said at the beginning of the race that this was where you all sprint. Yeah, not for me I thought. However, as the time was getting closer and I worked out in my head I needed to be on 145KM for it to be at least 90 miles, I started to speed up a little. And on that last lap I went as fast as my legs would carry me just to ensure I did get to that distance. When the gun went off it was a huge relief and the first thing I did was go and sit down.
And a message I got from my friend Emma at 7am left me perplexed when it should have made me laugh. I didn't get the joke for 2 days! I blame it on the tiredness and not that I'm thick :-)
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