A Wee One and A Big One!

6th May 2008

19:41 3 miles 23:59

No Splits  Average 7:59 min/miles

I thought a wee run might make my legs feel better after doing this…

5th May 2008

06:00 53.24 miles 10:57:08

I was up at 4:20 am… ouch! I got ready, packed everything, and forced down some breakfast. I met Marco and Debs at a secret rendezvous point somewhere near the Erskine Bridge and, after doubling the weight of Debs car with my kit, we headed for Milngavie. There was a positive buzz in the car, me and Marco acting like excited children heading for Disney World, whilst Debs was the (relatively) sensible adult, tired after her own runs over the last two days (see her blog for details - link to the right)… “are we there yet?”, “No!”, “are we there yet?”, “No!”, “I need a wee!”

Milngavie to Drymen 12.15 miles 1:55:19

We soon arrived at the train station and got ourselves ready, team photo, team pee (much to Debs dislike) then off to the start line. Debs headed up the steps into prime photo opportunity position, then she began the countdown (very loudly, in the otherwise silent and deserted Milngavie town centre) 10, 9, 8… Me and Marco adopted the 100 meters sprint start position… 3, 2, 1 and we were off, like 100 meter sprinters! We soon slowed down as we remembered how far we were going!

I’ve always thought of the first section from Milngavie to Drymen as being long and tedious. I don’t know if it was the chat/banter or just that I’m getting more and more used to this kind of running, but the miles flew by and I was really enjoying the scenery and the terrain. I saw a young deer, which I pointed out to Marco, although he has no recollection of this. This was the first of a variety of wildlife we would see throughout the day (camping NEDs not included!)

We were surprised to see a guy out running (actually, we’ll call it jogging) not long after we’d started. He tried to compete with the wrong idiots! There was no way a guy in an old T-shirt and baggy shorts was out-running us, 53 miles or not. We picked up the pace a bit and left him in our dust! We may have been a little bit fast early on, but what would you expect from pacepusher and Sonic!

We were so relieved to see Debs at the Carbeth Huts as we’d rather overdressed for the occasion. After 36 minutes of running in gloves and a Gore-Tex jacket I was roasting like a Sunday joint. It was going to be a hot one!

Debs was great as our support throughout the day, and she knows it! As she put in an email she sent to me and Marco yesterday, “I was a pleasure being your support”.

We literally threw our jackets at Debs and carried on, we were hoping to keep stops to a minimum  throughout the day, to the next meeting point at the Beech Trees Inn. This section passed quickly with more chat and frequent remarks such as, ‘we’re too fast’ and ’slow down’. Anyone surprised! We stopped too long here. This should have been a quick refilling of the drinks bottles and grabbing some food to go. Instead, we stopped, ate, then went on… a good couple of minutes wasted already!

We were soon in Drymen, this first section is so much shorter when you break it down like this, and we were still on for a sub 10hr time, arriving in 1hr55mins. Debs was confidently waiting for us… in the wrong place! She was forced to run for the first time that day (easier said than done after her two days of running), to let us into the car for our food. I tried eating a tuna sandwich but at 8am that’s easier said than done.  I hadn’t really considered the body clock in terms of appetite for this run, or indeed for the big day. This is definitely something to think about… has anyone else tried Kelloggs Cornflakes?

Drymen to Balmaha 6.89 miles 1:20:00

So, refueled again, we headed on up the road in the direction of Cronic Conic Hill. Again, I enjoyed this section (well once I’d complained about the uphill section to the forest path anyway!), and we were soon at the bottom of the hill. This was where the first major toilet stop occurred. I’m not going into any details about this, but we did realise what effect this has on your time when you are running together. A stop for me was a stop for Marco, and visa-versa, so if you both go to the loo at different times, instead of a 3 minute stop, you are both adding 6 minutes to your time. This also happens when one person goes through a low point. The one feeling good has to slow down and support the other, were as running alone, feeling good, you would push on. So low points are doubled, and often high points are wasted. 

Arriving in Balmaha, having enjoyed running down the slightly slippy slopes of Conic Hill, I was expecting to see Pete, my father-in-law, and designated driver of my support crew (believe me, he’d rather drive than run even a mile of the route!). However, due to some confusion, he had continued to Rowardennan but had phoned Debs, so no panic. Debs had a picnic laid out and Marco made the most of it! Did I mention low points earlier? 

Balmaha to Rowardennan 7.94 miles 1:39:09

Marco, really struggled during the section from Balmaha to Rowardennan. He had been drinking a lot of sports drink all morning, which coupled with cheese, banana milkshake (sing it Debs!) and a creamy cappuccino at the base of Conic Hill, did not mix around well in a moving stomach. I on the other hand was flying on this section. I was dreading it, as I hated it last time I ran it. This time however the ups were fine, and the downs were so much fun. I’ve probably mentioned that I love running downhill before, so on this section I was like a kid in an amusement park (looks like we made it to Disney World then!), walking up the stairs to the rides and whizzing back down the other side. We had agreed to stay together until Beinglass Farm, just in case of any problems over the Loch side sections, so when Marco suggested I go on, there was no way I was letting him down. This continued throughout, if one of us got a bit ahead, we’d wait for the other. Who mentioned the loneliness of long distance running?

Debs had stopped a little way short of Rowardennan for a photo opportunity, much to my delight as this is probably the only time I have ever been ahead of Marco on any of these runs, and it was captured on film! The truth is though that he really needed to see someone at that stage, and Debs was that someone. I don’t think he’d been telling me how bad he really was, and had just been battling on like the brave wee soldier he is?!!?! After ’some’ sympathy from Debs, and a reasonably long stop, we set off again… for all of three strides before Marco erupted! Sat in Debs’ arms after a monumental chundering effort, 3 girls in pyjamas walked past looking at him with pitty, they then looked at me and I heard one of them say, “I bet he bullied him into it”. Brilliant!

There had been a lot of campers through this section. Most of the tents surrounded by rubbish - beer cans, Bucky bottles, crisp packets etc. - I’m sure most of which will have remained long after the tents had been put back into the cupboards in their Glasgow homes to await the next Bank Holiday. Their is no escape from the NEDs. Another pulled up along side us, Hip-Hop music pumping out of his Boy Racer wagon. He looked at us as though we should be impressed. I gave him a look which may have suggested that I thought he used his hand too often on a personal body part, and he remained silent, driving off probably disappointed that he hadn’t caused much hilarity to the girl in the passenger seat who probably already had  four children and a free council house at the age of 17!

We made it to Rowardennan, Marco feeling much better by this stage. Pete was there (thanks for coming along Pete, appreciated as always) and we hung around for longer than we should have done again. To be fair, Marco really needed to refuel before attacking the next long section. We wouldn’t see back up again until Beinglass Farm, about 12, long, tough miles away.

Rowardennan to Inversnaid 7.27 miles 1:30:08

It was good to have Marco back on form, but I felt pretty rubbish now. I had been running well, and after a couple of long stops, I’d lost my momentum. I find this section quite boring too. Every now and again you get a great view through the trees of the Loch and the surrounding hills, but for the most part it is easy trail and just trees to look at. There’s a lot of inclines on this track that are runnable, but walking is the sensible option, especially as this allows a bit more freedom to enjoy the downhills. At one point my GPS was reading a sub 7:00 min/mile pace, perhaps not wise, but I always feel that running downhill is effortless. I’m sure it’s not, but I might as well make the most of it when I can!

We were now running in the midday heat, and it was really hot. Despite the trees, there wasn’t much shade, so we were both using our Buffs to keep cool, holding them under waterfalls to soak them in the cold water before putting them straight back on our heads. It was temporary bliss as the effect didn’t last for that long. I was wearing my Buff so that it covered the back of my neck too. I hoped this would help with avoiding sunburn/heat stroke or whatever other damage the sun might do to me! Very clever things those Buffs. I’d recommend them to everyone, but don’t bother buying one of the peaked ones! 

After scaring some old women by running past them on the way into Inversnaid, and receiving the “show offs” comment from them after their initially unnecessary screaming, we were at the (roughly) half way point of the unsupported section. We had decided to just keep moving through here rather than stopping, which we did. It was a busy wee spot and a pint in the sun seemed a much better idea than running on, but I survived the temptation and headed off in the hunt of the nearest waterfall… I was hot again!

Inversnaid to Beinglass Farm 6.66 miles 1:37:13

Notice the distance in miles of this section? 666, the work of the Devil. That about sums it up too. It’s really hard trying to get any kind of pace or rhythm on this section. There’s lots of tree roots and boulders to be dealt with, that you couldn’t possibly run over, and there was also a lot of walkers blocking what is a narrow path. They all got out of the way, eventually, but usually you would have to slow down or walk behind them till they moved in the right direction to allow you to pass. At one stage I thought Marco was going to be decapitated by a walking pole! A number of runner’s said ‘Good Luck’ as I passed them. However, Marco claims nobody said it to him. As a nation we have always supported the underdog, and as I was pretty much always behind Marco, that probably explains why. I guess that’s payback for the bullying comment anyway.

We saw lots more wildlife through this section. Marco saw a lizard, we saw and smelt a herd of wild goats (which were quite scary with their big horns!) and we saw a bat. I know, a bat, on a hot sunny day… shouldn’t it have been asleep in a cave?

It was a case of heads down and keep working at it, knowing that Beinglass would appear soon. Marco began to get a bit of a lead. I suspected he would wait at Beinglass, and if he didn’t, we’d agreed to run solo from then on if need be anyway. However, with the last mile being a great downhill section, I caught him up, and was only a few seconds behind when we reached Beinglass Farm. Did I mention I love running downhill?

Beinglass to Auchtertyre 9.65 miles 2:21:41

Arriving at the Farm was brilliant. First I heard a welcome German accent from a rock, shouting encouragement at Marco whilst taking photographs. The same voice which then provided encouragement for me. I recognised that it was Thomas straight away and it gave me a huge buzz/lift to know that he had come to support us. Crossing the bridge, I discovered he wasn’t the only one giving up his time on a Bank Holiday Monday. His wife Silke was there, as was JK and his wife Katrina, who had popped to the Drovers Inn for lunch before John had said, “by the way…”. It was great to see them all there with Pete and Debs, and any thoughts of pain disappeared. It just goes to show how valuable support will be on the day. Thanks to you all, it was a highlight of the run for us both.

I’d gained a huge hole in the side of my trainer (again, same place and foot as the last long run) and sent Debs off to the car to get my spare pair. This was quite a run on sore legs, and as she says herself, it was probably the nicest thing she has done for anyone for a while! Thanks Debs, you’re a star! This stop was far too long, but there was no way we wouldn’t have stopped to chat after people had been kind enough to come and support us. Besides, any attempt on Jezz Braggs (or as Marco said he was called on a friends Facebook page, ‘Jeremy something’. That would be Jeremy Bragg them mate!) record was lost and completing the distance was the only target now.

Thomas joined us for the next stage. Three guys in matching Skins running (?) off into the distance, two of which had shorts over the top, cue German accent, “I veel a beet naked!” It was great to have Thomas’s company for a while, he’s struggling with his hamstrings though and at times, we both felt a bit guilty for leaving him behind. Yep, despite forty odd miles in the legs, we were still running quite quickly. Quicker than Thomas said he was at that stage in the Fling anyway. To be honest though, I think we were just on a high after the Beinglass Social! 

Thomas stayed with us until the Way passes under the A82. Marco had a long visit to the wee boys hedge at this point, so my support crew et. al. suggested I just keep going slowly rather than standing waiting and seizing up. So I did, at the top of the hill I got into quite a rhythm and it was a while before Marco arrived at my side. I’d enjoyed the spell on my own but was pleased to have the company back, especially with the hills coming up through the forest at Crianlarich- Thomas had already told us how much they would hurt (thanks for inserting that positive mental thought!?!?). They were tough but what goes up, must come down… did I tell you I love running downhill? I was running like Phoebe from Friends at times though, largely out of control, with arms waving in all sorts of random directions.

After crossing the road we were asked by an American, “How far you guys going?”. Marco managed a tired response, “from Milngavie”, and I managed, “49 miles so far”. His response, “yeh right!”. Gutted! All day we wanted someone to impress, and that was it! The GPS marked the 50 mile mark and we gave a half hearted cheer at the half century milestone. Neither of us had run further than the previous 42 mile training run, and 50 miles seemed an important step somehow. We soon arrived at Auchtertyre Farm, starting to run again when we saw Debs with the Camera! After grabbing drinks, we were pushed away at this stage, the support crew, quite rightly, not allowing us much rest with less than 3 miles to go. Debs gave us the words of encouragement, “If you do it in less than 30 minutes you get a beer”. I was off, but marco muttered something crazy about rather having a chicken sandwich. Weird!

Auchtertyre to Tyndrum 2.68 miles 33:36:00

There’s not much to say about this section. We just pushed on running as much as we could, Marco as usual slightly ahead. With about a mile to go, I decided I would run all the way from there. However, when I eventually looked up from my plodding feet, I realised Marco was walking up a slight incline just ahead. I joined him, and he waited at the gate which opens onto the final stretch. We both ran side by side from here to the finish. I was no longer avoiding water, so close to home I was just splashing through them, the cold water nice on my aching feet. Neither of us tried to out run the other to the finish, but with Debs shouting, “4 minutes”, down the path at us (so loud for one so small!) and a beer in mind, we finished strongly, together. This run had been all about the camaraderie from start to finish and had been a great day.

 

I think we were both disappointed with our time. We both wanted to break the 10 hour mark. I think I’ve been honest in my reflection of why we didn’t achieve this. It was a really hot day, and as mentioned, running together definitely loses time, and our breaks were too long. We also didn’t have race day adrenaline, and in the latter sections, finishing was the only goal so there was no incentive to push the pace. Looking back however, I’m really pleased with the run. We both finished in one piece and injury free, and we ran for almost 11 hours. Dean  Karnazes (ultra marathon runner) recommends completing a 12 hour training run prior to a 100 mile race. With seven weeks to go till the big day, I think that this eleven hours ‘time on feet’ will serve more benefit than a faster time. It was a training run after all and not a race. Well done to all those that completed the fling in fast times though. Hats off and all that!

Despite breaking the 30 minutes (time shown includes our ’short’ break) we didn’t get that beer. We had to get back and had been told by JK that the traffic was terrible along Loch Lomond. Instead we took off our shoes and socks and sat with them in the river. Not for long though, running 53 miles is one thing, withstanding the temperature of a Scottish river is another, even on an incredibly hot day!

One last thing. Thanks to Debs for the photos. Not only did she take them all, but I copied them directly from her blog!