I can't imagine the conditions being better next year. In fact, they're more likely to be worse, as the weather this year wasn't really that bad. Just a bit of rain on the day, and a few days of rain in the week before, but also a few days to dry out, and clear weather for me at the end of leg 1. It was glorious when I pulled the plug, and that's probably part of the problem. I looked around like I imagined Ken Fancett to have done when he almost DNF'd (as he told Elson on the podcast about Fancett), seeing everyone around me taking in the sun and lolling around by the riverside. I felt my manky, sore, wet, eroding, pinched-toe blistering feet and my trashed hips and my calves coated in thick mud and made a mental calculation of the damage I'd do if I kept pushing, and then I sat down on a bench in the sun and mentally called it off. I sat there for a few more minutes and another runner sat down beside me. He'd just pulled the plug too. That was it! I was done, after have run a marathon across tons of slippery mud and clay.
I told a fellow club runner the next day that one of my discoveries of having begun the Autumn 100 is that I'm a 'fair weather runner.' He laughed: "YOU!!?? A fair weather runner??!! No way!" It made me feel a little bit better but then he wasn't there to see, as I did, those lead runners coming back at me as I neared the checkpoint at the end of the first part of leg 1 at Days Lock. Those men and women at the front are really impressive to see running along on the mud, balanced perfectly and speeding along almost as if it's not there, a kind of hovering mud-dance.
The checkpoints were brilliant and I came alive during my brief interactions with the marshalls, who told me I looked fine. I felt fine, I have to say, at least when I was at the checkpoints. Those were a short 3 minutes though.
Another great thing that happened is that I was in last place for around 10 miles or so before I passed a flagging runner. I actually told the guy behind me to go ahead, pass by me as I'm pacing myself, and he said "I'm the sweeper runner," which made me laugh. We had a good chat and he reassured me I had lots of time, ten minutes to spare at the next checkpoint. So I had someone to run with!
My pacing and nutrition were perfect, and by the third checkpoint I was on pace to the minute. I checked in at 1:08, excactly as planned on my race plan. I had downed the exact number of gels I needed to get down at that point, and supplanted them with sausage rolls and wraps as needed. My stomach and legs were in good shape. My hips and feet, however (and I guess you could say these count as part of my legs) weren't cooperating. My use of poles helped in that final 6 miles to struggle on to the end, so that was a success as well.
I think the main overall failing for the day for me was my sock choice. I purchased for the day a pair of DexShell waterproof socks, a pair of Injinji socks, and Injinji sock liners. However I had never practiced running with liners and waterproof socks together so I didn't wear them on the day. I think this was the fatal error. What do you think? Let me know how you did...
