So, in an effort to Be Sensible, I planned to run Saturday alone at my own speed, and on Sunday as back marker (very slowly). I'd trained, including the 11.5k last Saturday, an easy 6k on Tuesday and then my planned 'taper down' to the weekend.
What I hadn't planned for, in any way, shape or form, was getting a serious case of the trots on Thursday. And Friday. And Saturday. On Friday there was no way I was even getting to the start line, but by Saturday I thought I'd be ok.
The Melodeon Master provided the music for the kids warm-up session, I did star-jumps and pretend swimming for the masses, and they all ran off. I never contemplated not starting - I was Fine.
I lined up in Wave 4 (not too fast) and off we went - up the loooooong hill at the start, me running all the way. I even had time to pull a Very Silly Face...
At the top there's usually a muddy descent - this time it was clouds of dust, and then we were into fields, past the yurts and into woods again. I was going well, on target for a 1 hour 40 finish, just over 2k into the race. And then the spasms started...
Due to the lack of, um, food inside me, my tum went into spasm. And I know, from past experience, that there's nothing I can do except sit quietly, eat something eventually and give it time.
Race over. At just under 3k.
I hitched a lift in a Landrover back to the race village and set about finding the Melodeon Master - I saw the lovely organiser, Elsie, who said he had no idea, then I headed for the car. The Melodeon Master, sitting happily reading the paper, was extremely surprised to see me so soon. We headed back to our hotel, I had a shower and then lay down and watched the utterly chaotic first stage of the Tour de France.
Weirdly, I was very philosophical about it - I felt so unwell that I knew there had been absolutely no alternative to stopping. Nothing at all I could have done about it - just rubbish timing.
The, um, symptoms seemed to be abating so we had a little dinner and then headed to bed, with me still planning to be backmarker on Sunday - I knew I could walk the route, just like walking the dogs.
On Sunday when we arrived we met Elsie, who was concerned that I might not be up to the 10k backmarking, and suggested that I backmarked the children's race instead.
Result! I collected my walkie talkie and bib and then posed to see just how much wind you could collect in a marshall's bib at one time:
Quite a lot, by the look of it.
I also posed by the big poster:
I have no idea why I'm peering at my feet. Trying to remember how to run, probably.
Backmarking was lovely - a pleasant wander through only 5k of mud and hills, no lakes, far less obstacles, and nice and slow. The weather was gorgeous and it really was a stroll in the (deer) park.
Fit Mark was also running with a friend, so after I'd finished backmarking the Melodeon Master and I sat near the finish to watch him come through with his mate, The Cheesemeister. We missed them. We were just 15 feet from the finish, and we missed them. After 1 hour 40 minutes we decided if Fit Mark was still to finish he'd be so cross at his time that he wouldn't take kindly to a picture anyway, so we said our goodbyes to the organising team and headed for home and a very long bath. I'd only done half the distance at a snail's pace but the mud still got everywhere...
As we were home so much earlier than we had thought we would be we gave ourselves the rest of the day doing nothing. Well, apart from mending the outside toilet... It's been a bit of a loo related week, all in all...
Fit Mark, the Lovely Louise and Speedy Bike Charlie came round to say hi, with Fit Mark wearing his Oblivion T shirt. I'd wanted a photo of him finishing so that I could post a picture of a proper runner, but as we missed him you can have one of him in his T shirt instead:
And, yes, that is his cutting edge mountain bike...
Not a nice way to spend Mudrunner then. I spoke with Ice-cream Sian who said you had done it on Saturday and was back marker on Sunday. Sorry to hear that you were too ill for both days. It was a good old race though. Well done you for running all of that big hill. I binned it half-way through and walked to the top. Hope you get better soon.
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