DOTH 2010

The Devil 2010 has passed and I did not run it myself as planned. Instead I was enjoying the supporter's role again. The past 5 weeks have been rather stressful and I really had not ran much at all. I still thought I might just be able to finish it though. Then my achilles tendon played up and I had to withdraw from the start. I have done a few shorter runs since (really short i.e. 5-6K) and it is better.
Moving house just 5 days before an ultra is not the best idea but we had not much choice. We got the keys to our new home on the 1st of July (so arranged that it would not collide with the WHWR!), 14 days of coordinating joiners, workmen, painters etc and we had new windows, a fireplace, new bedroom, (nearly) finished new floor and a couple of new carpets. With all the cleaning and packing we were already exhausted.Then a long planned holiday in Glen Affric with nieces, nephews etc took us away from it all, only to come back and have 2 days left to pack everything for the removal van.
Needless to say not much running for Thomas either, instead some pulled rib cage muscle from moving furniture. 3 days before the race he was unsure if he should in fact run. By then I was looking forward to supporting him and catching up with everyone else running and supporting. It would do us good to get out there and fight with the midges! So off we went and had a fabulous day! Well I did while Thomas was struggling a bit but kept going. He had given me a rough time guide and was falling behind it for a 6:30 time. At the bottom of the staircase he squirted an already opened gel that was supposed to go straight into his mouth into his bumbag. And blamed me for it of course! The joys! When he looked very tired in Lundavra he mumbled something about hoping to keep his position, I looked back and saw No 7 right behind him. You better get a move on then as No 7 is already here - so off he went with 2 more gels. I did not really expect him to arrive in 6:30 but in fact he arrived after 6:22 and still in 6th position! So really well done! We decided to stay for the prizegiving as a few friends had done great and would be receiving prizes. So we spent the time waiting (that's the problem if you are too fast! You have about 3 hours to wait...) and catching up with the pacepushers' adventures (Caroline's trip to Nepal and India and Neal's Navy stories). At last Neal had been out on the trail again (where he belongs!). We saw Sharon and Debbie finish 2nd and 3rd, Marco 4th and Graham Harcus 5th and 1st supervet. Suddenly at the prizegiving Thomas' name was called up and to our surprise he had won the 1st vet prize. George Cairns the only other vet in front of him had received the 3rd overall prize! Great! And for the 1st time he has brought home prize money!! £40 in vouchers for the Sweat Shop. Not bad!

What next? Well the CCC on paper, but I am not sure if this is still realistic. I know I have not done my homework due to a lack of running. I won't be able to sqeeze it in either. I am looking forward to the great scenery and hopefully sunshine though. We have long given up on the idea of running together as we have obviously a completely different pace. I am just a bit scared to run through the night on my own over high mountains that I don't even know. So at the moment I am thinking of starting the CCC, aiming to keep going throughout daylight, taking it easy and enjoying it without getting timed out too early. And then wait and see. Maybe it is possible, maybe it is not. But if it is not then I will have hopefully enjoyed a great day out and soaked in the atmosphere. By the way No 7 (Richard Galbraith) is also running the CCC.
The house move has come in the way, but when we booked all these trips and races last year we did not even think about moving. When the house came up though we could not let it pass by. And with the big one done and dusted in June, and the move last week everything else took 2nd place. So bring on Chamonix. I can't wait to see it all for myself even if I have a DNS or a DNF.