Wednesday 11 August 2010

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.

8 comments:

Andy Cole said...

Hi Silke, hope to see you in Chamonix. Don't worry about running "on your own" - it will never happen, you will always be in sight of other runners! (and there are flourescent markers every 100m or so). Andy

Kaz said...

Hi Silke,

Thanks for your email. Murray is gorgeous and I am slowly getting better. Glad you're all settled into your new place.

I think your plan of starting and seeing how far you get is a good one. You never know - you might surprise yourself and like you say, you'll have had a great day out in the mountains.

It is running in the dark and through the night that scares me too but that's interesting about the markers.

Take care,
Kaz

Brian Mc said...

Good luck in Chamonix - you'll love the mountains and the joy of being around so many other dedicated ultra runners. The town has such a buzz. The route is easy to find, just hook on behind some folk on the long ascents and keep moving forward. One step at a time and you'll get there no bother. And what scenery awaits!

I've pulled out of the UTMB as there is too much to do with sorting out a job, an emigration visa, daughter's aussie citizenship, house selling, contents shipping for me to focus on training.

All the best to Thomas too!

Marco Consani said...

Hey Silke,

It was great to see you on Saturday and as usual you were great support for Thomas. Sorry you weren't able to run but I think you made the right decision.
It certainly has been a busy month. I would never have been able to run after moving house and for Thomas to do so well a few days after shows how good he is.
Can't wait to catch up with you guys in Chamonix.
See you soon
Marco

John Kynaston said...

Great report Silke.

I did wonder what happened to you but sounds like you've had lots of other things on your mind.

Enjoy the whole experience of the CCC and it wouldn't surprise me if you keep ahead of the cut offs and make it to the end!

Hope to catch up soon.

Debs M-C said...

I'm exhausted from just reading that. I vividly remember the stress of moving house. I could barely run a bath, never mind an ultra. Actually at that point I didn't even have a bath (or a toilet!) to run :-)

Hopefully you'll feel up for the CCC. If not, you'll not be short of company. See you there :-)

Debs xx

Poodex said...

Have a great time in Chamonix and hope you feel up to the ccc, it would be a beautiful run ......

zbsports said...

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