100KM ULTRAMARATHON part two

And we were off! A bit without music to soak up the atmosphere, then playlist on. After song one, Alesso One Republic ‘Lose Myself Tonight’, I got to 1km. Photo. Instagram… choose photo, no edits, caption “Thames Challenge 1000km ultra started! 99 to go… :D” as '2012 Pop Mashup' Robin Skouteris played and sped me on. Yes I put 1000, not 100. At about 20km a friend commented… Oops, quick edit time. I wonder if others had noticed. Also got other nice comments, likes, whatsapp and text messages from friends during the run. Always a good boost! My special supporter also cycled along the route and would pop in every now and again for the first 10km. It was the best and made me smile so much :) So the first 10km flew by! Then focus… and enjoy :)

And I did really enjoy it! This was so me. Running felt so good. I felt so light and like it just flowed. The outdoors, scenery, changing landscapes and trails. A playlist of good tempo, motivational, fun, emotional music. Just me and the trail.

I took lots of photos while running. Also decided I wanted a photo at every 10km sign. My next target was always the next 10km. Breaking 100 down into ten 10’s made it seem a lot more doable, although still so long! And just focusing on running at that moment in time, not thinking how much was left. It is to a large extent a mental game.

The first 50km actually went quite easily. The 10km targets helped, and passing pink arrows showed progress. It was perfect running temperature and lovely route. Had my water, cherry & blueberry juice, salt & cocoa nibs for boosts too. And the running backpack was fine.

I actually ran slightly off trail at about 45km. Was running and realised I hadn’t seen a pink arrow for a while. Looking at the path on Google Maps, I was on the wrong side of the river, I had missed the crossing without another one up ahead. So I doubled back 2.5km (a total extra 5km running… I did a 105km ultra :D!) A bit demotivating, but so close to the halfway point I kept running. Funny… and a bit annoying… but at least it’s a PB ultra ;)

The 50km pit stop came. Time 12.50pm. First, checkin. Second, bag… waiting in the tent with my refreshments: water and a smoothie energy gel thing (blueberries & cherries & other, greens, herbs, chia & flaxseeds, spirulina & chlorella, coconut oil… frozen night before and defrosted in running time). It was perfect… energy, right proportions of macro- & lots of micro-nutrients, filling but not overly, and confident I had fuel for the next half. Water. Third leave bag… I faffed deciding... hadn’t really needed the backpack… so a few things into tiny pouch, small water bottle in hand, and phone in sports bra… decision made, I rechecked it in. Fourth, bathroom. Fifth, checkout and back onto the running trail. Total time 25mins (too long faffing, but now I know).

And I was off again. I felt good after the pit stop so 50-60km was easy, and in passing the 60km marker, smiled thinking this was going so well. The route this half was really nice, lots of trail through shrub by the river, forests, fields, etc. I did have to laugh though when I came to a field of taller than me nettle bushes with a thin track through them... extra obstacles… which stung! But energetic music and the humour of it helped. At 70km marker I had to wait over 5mins for someone to show up and take a photo, a little annoying, but at least got to enjoy the peace and quiet of the Thames path. My phone battery was also going low, I hoped to charge it at the next stop if I could. From 70km things started to feel tougher. There was still 30km to go… Also we were running over flat fields, with the sun shining in your eyes, and multiple gates to unlock. I think that was the low point of the race. But I kept going. The stop at 78km helped a little, mainly because it was the last big stop so felt had gotten past almost everything except the finish line. I managed to charge my phone a few minutes but felt I was wasting time so didn’t stay long. Leaving the stop running was a bit tough and slower than normal, but I got back to pace.

When I reached 84/85km, realising I had run two marathons and only had 15/16km left, things got a lot easier again! I reached 90km, again had to wait for someone to take a photo. But my phone ran out of battery… Fortunately someone was kind enough to take a photo with her phone and message it to me (so I got all the 10’s!). And from 90km on I was cruising! I felt so incredibly close! Kygo music played and put me in the zone, a trance of running. Even the hills didn’t matter.

I got to 95km. Only 5km left! Would take me about 25/30minutes. I stopped to ask someone to message my special supporter that I was almost there. Took ages… after 5mins I trusted them to send it and went on my way… I got to 98.5km. Ok no I had to make sure he got the message! I asked someone else, and they gave him a call for me. Now I could relax.

I got to 99km. I got tears in my eyes as I realised how far I had come, obviously in the running race itself, but also in my determination and achievements in running and life. I put on my ‘Let It Go’ Frozen song for the last km. It would take 5mins and the song wouldn’t last that long. But I ran that last km faster than I could have imagined. A genuine sprint finish, especially turning the corner to cross the last 200m of grass before the finish line…