Chester marathon

As a wise fellow 10 in 10-er pointed out to me, it's inevitable that you have ups and downs in marathon running and, setting aside the TiT, my last few races had all gone very very well. I was really looking forward to running the Chester marathon: it's my first mara after the 10 in 10 and I think 14 days later was the right timing. All my niggles healed very quickly and I'd had a lot of rest (all motivation to train had disappeared with no big event to target) plus I was itching to run a marathon again. Unfortunately, it was probably always going to be a bit difficult emotionally.

I missed the routine that had evolved at the 10 in 10, the small group of runners who knew each other really well and could support each other, whether that was with words, a hug or merely the tacit awareness that we were all going through the same thing. I missed the physios, sure, the physical attention, but also their unswerving enthusiasm and cheerfulness. Selfishly, I missed being one of only 12 and it all being about us, though of course you can't expect that to continue. And I missed the route. Each mile of Windermere has its own character and the atmosphere develops and changes along the way. Chester is an out and back along a fairly straight cycle route that used to be a railway line and is very flat. I'm not criticising it, it's great for PBs, it just wasn't "my" marathon.

My rested legs had developed a lot more strength over 263 miles over a hilly course in 10 days (can someone explain to me how on earth I clocked it 0.1 mile long every single blinking day? I couldn't have cut any more corners without getting in the lake) and decided to set off way too fast. Sadly, those 262 miles were done a lot more slowly than my recent marathon pace and the cardio couldn't keep up. It would appear that I'm not very fit any more. Endurance. Tick. More strength. Tick. Improved obstinacy. Tick. Aerobic capacity. Fail. 

I got through the first half in 1'50, my standard first half split but it had felt too hard, so I decided to take the third quarter easy with the hope of picking it up again from 20 miles. Incredibly, things were hurting too - my lower back was killing me, then my right glute went followed by my right ITB. It was very disappointing that things were hurting on a single race when I'd got through several in the 10 in 10 before niggles arose. Still, what it tells me is that I need to strengthen my lower back, do more stretching, and get back into interval training. 

3'54 is a reasonable time, however, given my pre 10 in 10 times, it ought to have been 15 minutes faster. I made a comment a while ago about having to accept responsibility for your races. This was not about a lack of rest or training, or race conditions, or the route, or poor preparation, it was my own lack of fitness. At least that's provided renewed motivation.

PS. Today's highlight has got to be walking through the wrong door of the rugby club, turning my head to the right to see a tall, dark and handsome man, stark naked, walking towards me through a cloud of steam. So there was hot water in the men's showers then.

10 in 10 - make yourself comfortable!

I’m not sure quite where to start, it’s been an immense journey over the past 262 miles and 10 days and one I’ll never forget. You learn a lot about yourself in an event like this and there’s no escaping the raw guts of your character.

It only took a couple of days to realise the win and the world record were not within my reach. It may have seemed like hubris to go into the race with the outright declaration that I was going for it, but I honestly thought it was possible and in order to have any chance at all, I had to believe it and I had to get the people around me to believe it too. After running eyeballs out for 2 days and having pretty tough races I knew that I had to ease back. Anna was looking incredibly strong too. On day 3 it felt like I was getting my strength back, starting to enjoy the event and finally immerse myself in it. I’d been fighting it a little bit up to that point, but then I realised that I was going to have to associate with every mile and put all thought of finishing out of my head until the finish line was upon me. Every day became Day 1 from then, it was one day at a time and one mile at a time. In the event, I didn’t even get the sub 45 hours but I’ve reached the point where the completion is enough. For a few days I wondered if I should do another one, a day 11, but one of the things I have learned over the past 10 days is that this IS enough. I’m a massive over achiever (have you noticed??) and I always want to go one better. However, it is a very small and exclusive club to have run 10 marathons in 10 days and I am entirely satisfied and pleased with my achievement.

Our part of the deal is to go out there at 10.15 every day and do our very best to get round the 26.2 miles. The physios’ deal is to scrape us off the floor, patch us up and prepare us for the next day. They did this with professionalism, good humour and exceptional support, I honoured to count them as friends. Graham at The Body Rehab clinic sponsored the 10 in 10, providing huge amounts of man power, kit and expertise along with a wicked sense of humour and a healthy dose of smut – he was rubbing my legs down one day and got called away to supervise something. He invited Paul to take over and “jam your fingers in there”. Nice! One of the perks of this brutal event is having two strapping men working on your legs at once, you’d pay a fortune for that anywhere else! Katie was my personal therapist from the morning of Day 1 and led my treatment twice a day covering massage, stretching, icing, lasering and taping over up to 3 hours a day. She even got me in the ice bath a couple of times. She became my honorary second sister for the event and showed a supremely caring side on my bad day, day 7, encouraging me to eat and looking after me like a mother hen. I can’t thank her enough.

You have to get through the low points to appreciate the highs, and some of the lows were crushing. I never reached the point where I wanted to chuck the whole thing in and that surprised me, I fully anticipated wanting to give up at some point. Like Mike Stroud on his trans-Antarctic expedition, it would have had to be an injury to give me an excuse to pull out, but even in the worst moments, it never crossed my mind to bin it. I had two serious lows – the start of day 3 and the evening of day 7 going into day 8. On day 3, I was starting to feel very claustrophobic around the other runners, it’s an intense atmosphere and you’re surrounded by other people all the time. I desperately wanted some space, both away from each race and also while out running. Having had 16 miles a day for 2 days with someone right by me, I was feeling really crowded. Luckily I ran most of day 3 alone. You have to love running in your own company for this event, there’s no point going into it if you need someone around to keep you going. I love the freedom of covering mile after mile due to my own ability and will power, sure, it was brilliant to see support out on the route, but it was a rare chance to be by entirely by yourself.

The evening of day 7 and morning of day 8 I was totally burned out. I’d taken my eye off the ball a bit with the nutrition after day 6’s race and hadn’t eaten enough and crashed headlong into the biggest wall I’ve ever encountered. To hit the wall at 4 miles and to have to get through 22 more on pure obstinacy was my biggest test and I think the moment I’m proudest of, to have got through that. Still, even in that struggle, I never thought about pulling out. Yes, the prospect of 10 miles has never felt so long, but I knew I’d finish and it was then that I discovered just how committed Mac, the physios and my family were to getting me through it. It was harder after that race, I was so drained that anyone being nice to me or any small hurdle made the tears come and I couldn’t face lots of people. Katie and Phil were brilliant, and happily day 8 was infinitely better.

The last 6 miles of day 8 were one of my high points, I was laughing so hard with Jim that it was even hard to run because I was creased up laughing. We had a few very special miles passing and repassing each other, mooning, Jim being tailed by the police and stopping at Phil’s disco then with Mum and Catherine for sausage and chips. It was a huge and fabulous surprise when Patrick turned up and ran with me for a couple of miles, I wasn’t really expecting to see him at all, and even nicer of him to give up part of his day with his mum on day 9 to run a mile with me then. I’m glad he got to run the Windy marathon, it helps you appreciate the real challenge of 10 marathons in 10 days on this course when you’ve run it once. 10 Londons or 10 Parises it ain’t..

The amount of time that people have given up to support the event has been massively humbling and touching, people have given up their own holiday, taken unpaid leave, volunteered their time, spent a fortune in petrol and on supplies, made extremely generous donations to Brathay and have all round been superb. It makes you feel like a true celebrity or professional when people are selflessly there to get YOU round the course and you have to always remember to thank them and be grateful. There is never any excuse to be a prima donna, no matter how far you’ve run or how injured you are. I couldn’t have got through this without my sister, my mum, the rest of my family and The Body Rehab team.

I have to mention the other runners. Jim Choo Choo Meta was a Scottish legend, always ready with a smile, a joke and a moon, he was my absolute favourite and I love him to bits. Chris “Harry” Heaton got faster and faster by the day, he may have looked greyer than his mate’s Uncle Albert lying in his coffin on more than one occasion but he got his pacing right and was never anything less than charming. Ray “Ol’ Blue Eyes” O’Connor was another legend, a fellow drinker right the way through and, while he trounced me over days 3-10, I managed to beat him the first few days, enough for him to nickname me his bitch. Aly from the Valley Knowles and Shell Atkins were indefatigable in battling through agonising injuries, the struggles they’ve gone through are incomprehensible. Dave “Horror” Wintle quietly went about his blinding time, was amazingly modest and the team cutie. Phil “The” Love demonstrated that even a psychiatric nurse who works on a self harm clinic can be mental enough to take on this challenge, and overcame the crushing disappointment of having to pull out on day 5 to set up Phil’s disco in Bowness with a tuck shop of everything imaginable. And he ran day 10 through terrible pain too. Hero. Dave “Foxy Davy” Bayley provided airplane finishes, Anna an incredibly strong race and huge world record and I’m very very happy for her, she’s totally earned it, Adam “Tango” Holland smashed his own record and I still can’t comprehend how he can run that fast and provide a gravity defying leap over the finish line, and Steve “Iceman” Edwards was the father and guru of the team, always there with advice and demonstrating how to get it done, again and again and again. He promises not to run it for the 5th time, for now…..

I have to list a few of my favourite memories or I’d be here for pages.

- Coming up with Naomi’s 10 day boot camp bikini body plan for abs and glutes of steel: Greggs’ cheese and onion pasties, jam butties, chocolate milkshakes, chips and curry, and 26 miles of tough hills on road a day. I’ve got muscles I’ve never seen before and, apart from the dodgy tan lines, have never been in better shape. I just need to put a few pounds on now..

- The stunning scenery on the route, the quieter stretches on the outward leg, the magic half way tree and the view opening out at 15.8 miles.

- The cutest lambs imaginable at 9 miles, the rabbits and deer I spotted once or twice, the sheep on day 9 at mile 8 that had so much branch and undergrowth stuck to it that it was disguised as a bush and all the birdsong providing the backing music. I was as far from London as I could imagine.

- Starting the mooning trend. I’d gone a bit hysterical on day 6 and decided this was a good way to pick up team morale. It certainly worked on Jim.

- Becoming entirely comfortable with who you are, and allowing everyone else to see you just as you are too. It’s human nature to put on certain faces to suit certain situations, you have to push down or promote different sides to you depending on where you are and who you’re with. In something this demanding, you can’t keep that up. It’s entirely you with no dressing up and you have to learn to be comfortable with it. Being on camera looking my absolute worst has dealt with any shred of vanity I may have had, bad hair days and being on your best behaviour are forgotten, it’s pure undiluted you. It’s healthy to accept yourself.

Would I do it again? I loved the event, loved the people running and supporting it and have had an unforgettable experience. It’s a massive commitment in terms of time off work, training and sponsorship and I think that if I went back I’d want to improve my time and that would create pressure that detracts from the enjoyment. So, for the time being, I’m saying no. I know I’ll be insanely jealous of the guys running it next year though!

Finally out of lycra... L-R: me, Adam, Jim, Ray, Aly and Dave at the front

10 in 10 Day 9 - 4'48

Yesterday could have been a dead cat bounce (you know, even dead cats can bounce back a little bit) so I was very very happy to have another stronger day. The legs are definitely feeling heavy now and the aches are more noticeable but it's easier to push through them when the end is in sight. I wanted to take today very easy to leave some in the tank for tomorrow and that helped me get to my first negative split of the event. The support today was fantastic, loads of cars beeping and waving, and lots of people out on the route cheering us on. It feels like people are really aware of what's going on now and, especially as you get closer to the Brathay site and runners arehere to register for the Windy marathon tomorrow, it picks up to a whole new level.

Me and Chris feeling like celebrities at the start of Day 10

Short blog today, there's not much to report. I'm really really looking forward to tomorrow and seeing all my favourite bits of the route for the last time tomorrow.

10 in 10 DAy 8 - 5'08

Today was a much better day although it was raining pretty hard in the first half and drizzly for much of the remainder. Finally got typical Lakes weather! I'd been very very wobbly last night and this morning, so drained that anyone being nice to me finished me off and made the tears start flowing. I wasn't upset or particularly down, just extremely fragile. Thinking about the marathon was too daunting until the moment the gun went. I took the first few miles very very steady hoping not to crash straight into the wall again, every mile I didn't was a bonus. I tried to eat more today, and actually felt really full by the finish after several biscuits, a round of jam butties, some cake from Phil and some sausage and chips that Mum and Catherine had picked up in Bowness. Going back to an ordinary diet may take some readjustment..

I had Jim in my sights for a short time before he disappeared but I caught him again at Newby Bridge so I had to give him a quick moon when I went by. He passed me again shortly afterwards but by the time I got to Bowness he'd reappeared. It was quite entertaining to moon him again right on the waterfront with all the tourists around, god only knows what they thought. The final 6 miles of today were great, a real high to reflect the real low from earlier this morning. We got to the top of the bump behind Bowness and Phil was there with music blazing out of his car and a tuck shop set up. It was brilliant to see him. Jim then mooned me and managed to end up with a police car tailing him for 100m, if he'd got arrested for indecent exposure I would have felt terrible since it was all my idea! A mile later, I saw Mum and Catherine who had arrived with sausage and chips, those chips tasted superb.. With all the extra food and good humour, the last few miles were feeling much easier than they have done, and it was lovely to have the company of Patrick for a few miles too.

A finish time of 5'08 was great given yesterday's crash and, now I'm out to enjoy it and stop to make the most of the many many moments that are making this the event of a lifetime, the time is totally secondary to getting round without writing myself off and in good shape for the finish. Hopefully that's all the wobbles out of the way..

Jim Meta and Chris Heaton at the finish on Day 10

10 in 10 Day 7 - 5'49

Today was a very very tough day. It still felt like an incredibly long way to go this morning even though we'd already done 6 plus the cumulative tiredness had been building up and even though lights were out by 9pm I couldn't sleep at all. I was pretty knackered at the startline. After only 4 or so miles I'd hit the wall and was finding anything more than a walk hard going. By the time we got to the big hill at 7m, it was apparent that it was going to be an extremely long day and that I just didn't have the energy. I hadn't eaten enough yesterday after the race or for dinner, and was struggling to get any pace up. I walk/shuffled to where it gets properly hard just after 13 miles and thought that if I could get through the next 4 it would all seem more tolerable. Unfortunately, shortly after that it all got a bit blurry. I was so low on energy and so sleepy that my eyes were closing and I was finding it difficult to stay on the side of the road, I was weaving all over the place. Playing chicken with the traffic is never a good idea, if only because it probably adds a few hundred yards to your distance.

I saw Mac and two of the physios, Katie and Lucy at 16, and they gave me a bit of coffee. I thought it would do the trick but when I saw two other physios, Roxy and Paul shortly afterwards with a mat laid out I just had to get the opportunity to shut my eyes for a few minutes. They seemed more concerned than I was, I just wanted to sleep but they were very keen to get a lot of food and liquids down me and sort out my Achilles which has really been playing up today, it's very tight and creaky. I must have spent about 20 minutes there, drinking coffee, tea and water and eating jam sandwiches and jaffa cakes. This set the tone for the rest of the marathon, I had someone in the car right behind me to protect me from the traffic and at every stop they were force feeding me. This sounds worse than it was, I can't complain about being given endless jam sandwiches and even an ice cream in Bowness!

I managed to keep a shuffle going through to the finish, with a bit more energy and caffeine inside me and the physios right behind me at least I didn't have to provide my own motivation. Having given up all thoughts of the finish time, I was pleased to have got round sub 6 in 5'49. Tomorrow's another day.

Race start, a mix of race officials, physios, supporters and a few runners. L-R: Shell Atkins, Dave Wintle, Steve Edwards (back to camera), Aly Knowles, Jim Meta, Chris Heaton (back to camera)

10 in 10 Day 6 - 4'34

Cue Geordie accent: Day 6 in the Big Brathay House, the sun is shining and the TiTs are hobbling. Well, not quite, we're all holding up surprisingly well, though we were very very sad to see Phil pull out today. After an epic struggle home yesterday with horrible shin splints, he took perhaps the bravest decision to call it a day. And he was man enough to be out on the route cheering us on.

I had a bit of a hysterical patch today and decided mooning was the way to maintain team morale. With apologies to Chris, Allan, Dave A and the cameraman, and the physios and video man, I guess we'll find out if it makes the uncut video footage....... Sorry Mum, consecutive marathons does strange things to your brain.
It was good to get well over the half way point today and the first 14 miles went by pretty quickly, having Allan around to run with and Joe and his mum on bikes occasionally was a top motivator. I'm getting pretty tired now and more and more sore, I can now add my left knee to the list of niggles. The physios are working wonders and Graham even persuaded me to go in the ice bath today (I traded in being let off the ice bath for a large wodge of cake yesterday) so hopefully with lots of attention they won't get too painful. I was wondering out on the course today just how it's possible to run so many miles, I've only been walking the stiffer uphills. I think you have to get to the point where you can run at a very low rate of exertion, and get into a stride rate that almost feels more comfortable than walking. Then don't let yourself walk. For me, it's the thought of being out there for double the time if you start walking that keeps me moving, my running pace has definitely dropped off but at least I'm keeping some heat going and covering the distance a bit quicker.
Things are being set up for Sunday's Windermere marathon now and the atmosphere is building. It's still a long way to go for us TiTs before we get there, but it finally feels like we're going to get to the finish line.

The wonderful physios: L-R Graham Theobald, director of The Body Rehab, Sue, Paul, Roxy, Lucy, Jim (10 in 10 runner), Katie, Nicola, Stevo, Maria)

10 in 10 Day 5 - 4'26

Today was a much better day, I felt pretty wiped out yesterday and today energy levels were much better, something to do with the food intake, a bit extra sleep and being a lot more relaxed about times perhaps. We were treated to dinner at the Three Shires in the Langdales yesterday and I was lucky enough to be on the drinkers' table with Ray, Foxy, Jim and ooh arr Dave. We had a great laugh over a few pints of Coniston Old Man and it was a good opportunity to get to know each other a bit better.

Support today was fantastic, and helped me enjoy my favourite marathon of the 5 to date. I gave my sister a big hug at 10 miles to share a bit of the good feeling I was enjoying, she's getting me through the bad times so deserves to know about the good ones too. It was brilliant to see Mum and Brian my Wicked Stepfather (we wouldn't call him WSF if he weren't anything other than a sterling bloke) too and my dad was there too. He's been an angel and has cooked me a giant curry for this evening, I can't wait for dinner time! The icing on the cake was seeing Allan turn up just after half way. He's driven all the way from the other side of London to support us, just amazing. It's incredibly humbling to have all these people behind you.

The race itself wasn't too bad today, I walked more of the hills but had more energy to keep a steady pace through the gentler uphills, flats and downs. I came in about 50 seconds quicker than yesterday which is very pleasing and am delighted to report there are no serious injuries (yet), other than a bad toenail, a few aches and pains and a few things the miraculous physios are preventing from getting remotely serious, I'm holding up remarkably well.

Half way now and I'm feeling good about the next five. What a course to run them on, I can't wait for everyone else to get here on Sunday and experience it with us.

Before the start on Day 10: Adam (back to the camera), L-R Ray, David Bayley, Dave Wintle, me, Steve Edwards

10 in 10 Day 4 - 4'26

Today was a new day and a new week, so I was treating it like Day 1. It's easier to handle the concept of the whole 10 days if you simply don't think about it. Since it's a bit too late to get any more preparation in, the most I can do is put off thinking about the marathon until the moment the gun goes. Then, during the race itself, to think only of that race. Thoughts of having to do it again 6 more times, having already done it 3 times, would just be too much to cope with. One mile at a time and enjoy the scenery, as someone once told me. 

Luckily there are a dozen or more ways to divide this race up: my usual 10 + 10 + 6, 5 to Hawkshead, 2 to the monster hill, 3 to a gel, 4 to seeing my family, 3 more to the end of the killer switchback section, 3 more to another gel, 5 to Ambleside and the last 1.2. That stretch from half way to 17 miles is an absolute monster, and really got to me today in mile 16. I must have crashed straight into the wall, an incline that is nowhere near the most severe brought me virtually to a standstill, and my heart and breathing rates went right through the roof. It was the worst wobble so far, but the thought of Catherine and Mum less than 1/2 a mile ahead with a cup of tea and a warm hug got me through it. Catherine also donated her dog walking gloves, I'd been incredibly cold today (think the depleted reserves means all the energy is used for running rather than generating heat) so they were most welcome.

There was a notable milestone today, we passed the 100 mile mark at the top of the "speed bump" at Miller Howe at 21 miles, where I celebrated with a swig of beer. My approach to nutrition is becoming more and more low tech. Having had a wobble yesterday with regards to food, I'm feeling better about it. I had a great dinner yesterday with lots of deep fried starters, curries full of coconut milk and mountains of rice, and a glass of red, and felt properly full. Today I managed one of my 2 gels, but otherwise had water, beer, whatever was in a bottle close to hand and half a jam sandwich. And when I crossed the line, my family had supplied me with two cheese and onion pasties from Greggs that I washed down with a chocolate milkshake. Poor Robin from Team Nutrition would be tearing his hair out if he knew (oh, he does now). Electrolyte drinks, carb loading drinks, sports gels, dried fruit bars, Trek bars (I've just had a discussion about these, we don't know what's in them but they're meant to be good for you), vegetables, bananas etc etc. No thanks, there's not much of me and cheese and onion pasties work for me. You can take the girl out of the north........

Dibbing to record my time at the finish, and sporting pink kinesio tape on my knee

10 in 10 Day 3 - 4'22

After pushing hard on Day 1 and racing 16 miles of yesterday, I was knackered going into today. Anna and I had a good chat yesterday and cleared the air so my intention was to just run how I felt and hopefully by myself, I'm getting really really claustrophobic among 11 other runners and needed 4 hours with noone else around. If she ended up with me again, I'd just stop to retie my shoes. Luckily, Anna shot off ahead and I settled into a pace that was comfortable but a lot slower than yesterday, about 9'30 for the first few miles. At that rate, sub 4 was never going to happen.

Within a few miles, I recognised that the world record is going to be Anna's and deservedly so, she's strong, has the endurance of a shire horse and has been getting very speedy lately. I've readjusted my aims ranked by how achievable they are: a. the finish, b. sub 45 hours, c. sub 41 hours (we can both break the world record, she'll just do it by more than me), d. sub 40 hours. At the moment I think only a. and b. are possible. I found a fairly comfortable and sustainable pace today and finished in 4'19. If I'm lucky, I've recovered a bit of energy today having run more conservatively.

As expected, I'm finding it very hard to get enough calories down me. The food here is great, top quality and very healthy, but I'm craving fat - pizza, melted cheese, rich curries with loads of rice. It's also hard to cope with self service - I'm fine if someone gives me a plate of food to eat, but trying to balance enough food for the event, what I think is socially acceptable, what really is socially acceptable and what I actually want to eat is proving just too difficult. I find it easier to eat more frequently, but when the third person in a row said "still eating?" this morning 30 minutes before the race, it was a bit too much.


Positives from today: I enjoyed the race a lot more than days 1 or 2, it was nice to be able to look around me and appreciate the views and all the support rather than worrying about times and race positions. Great to see so many people out there, and if you wondered whether it really was warm enough for the crop top, it wasn't, the vext I'd worn dozens of times before had started to chafe so it had to come off. Well, at least it got a few more cheers from passing cars.

A well earned beer after Day 2

10 in 10 Day 2 - 3'55

Day 2 of the TiT, 3'55, two minutes up on yesterday but it felt like a race to 16 miles of it as I had Anna right on my heels before she dropped me. I find it really stressful having someone breathing down my neck and asked her a few times if she was going for a time or if she was going for the win, but she said no, 4'07 would do to average 4 hours and she was out for the personal achievement, not the win. I think though anyone would be crazy not to go for the win if they were strong enough, so perhaps it's psychology. Or perhaps she was just having another very good day. Either way, I have to revise my game plan. I think I can still break the 41 hours, and I'd still like to break 40 hours. If Anna breaks it by more than me then that's the way it is. Today though was hard as I was pushing it for the first 16 to see if I could drop her. I was absolutely knackered in the last 10 miles so hopefully I can be a bit more even paced tomorrow.

Today's highlight was the laser therapy treatment. The physio team here are so dedicated to getting you through this event that when I mentioned a touch of pain under my left heel and wondered if they'd have a look at it during my massage, they got me straight into "triage", ice massaged it for the vaso-constriction, then decided to laser it for vaso-dilation. When they proposed lasering my foot, I imagined a Blofeld style amputation, surely it wasn't that bad. It's very clever - the ice contracts all the blood vessels, stops all the internal bleeding and cools everything down. However, you need blood flow to encourage healing, though you don't want to heat the area, hence the laser that opens up the blood vessels without heat. Plus you get to wear cool glasses. This place is super high tech, we feel very pampered.


The very very positive side of today was my sister, mum and other members of my family who've come up to support me. They're just superb, they've got balloons and pom poms and Team Naomi t-shirts, even my sister's dog was wearing a Team Naomi t-shirt with Support Crew on the front, and are always there with a hug and encouraging words. And my sister has surpassed herself. She made up a scrapbook with my blog all printed out with all the best photos, and a great Eddie Izzard cartoon at the back. It's going to be a great way to pick me up in the bad times. She's given me a pack of cards, one to open each evening before the next race, which have brought a tear to my eye every time. And when I come over the finish line, she presents me with a rosette with Team Naomi and the number of the race on it, 1 for yesterday, 2 for tomorrow. We don't get medals every day so she wanted me to have something. I want a full suite. So today's for Catherine. Love ya big sis!!

Me and Catherine at the finish

10 in 10 - Day 1

I was really excited to get going this morning but didn't really get the chance to think about the race until a few minutes before 10.15am. It was hectic getting a superb, though lengthy, massage in, then dribbling through a straw for 5 minutes to produce a saliva sample, filling in a questionnaire, being stuck with a needle for a blood donation (some of which dripped on the questionnaire, guess they've got a DNA sample too) and being briefed on other research stuff we have to do. I managed to grab breakfast, reply to the dozens of good luck texts (thank you!), sort my kit out and get down to the start where our official vests turned up 15 minutes before the gun went. We had a fake start on the lawn in front of Brathay under the banner which was great, though I'd forgotten my timing device and had to leg it back indoors. It looked a bit like I was doing a runner..

The race started off fine, I was feeling great and full of energy and it was brilliant to see the route again in good weather. Sunny intervals today and a bit gusty, and no rain, hoorah! Anna was running with me for a lot of today, I was leading to about 14 when I stopped for a cup of tea, then I let her do the pacing for a few miles after that before she dropped me. I'd been hit by Sudden Onset Horrible Back Pain (that's a technical term), my period certainly knows how to make an appearance at the worst possible moment. This made the second half really really unpleasant, and I had to kick myself to keep the pace going. And I'd forgotten how hilly it is, much hillier than Connemara, I take all that back. I finished in 3'57 and I'm hoping today is one of the inevitable bad days.

Highlight of today: the professional ice bath, cooled to 6 degrees. Pro footballers can only last 3 minutes, I managed a minute before it felt like my feet were being gnawed off my a thousand tiny piranhas. Excruciating.

Front runners L-R: Ray O'Connor, Steve Edwards, Dave Wintle, Adam Holland