A look back at 2021 (pt2)

With the first part of 2021 covered in my previous post, its time to move on to what happened next. First of all, I took the opportunity to rest up after my solo ultra but was soon back at it. I started to ease myself back into training with some strength work.

As briefly mentioned in the last post, regular strength work would go on to pay dividends but all that is yet to come. My body shape was slowly starting to change but I wasn’t feeling the full benefits just yet. Coming up next was my first official race of 2021.

Getting back on the start line

With the Maverick Race Exmoor ultra coming in June, I booked another of their events for May.

So, on the 15th May I arrived at Sudeley Castle in the Cotswold’s for a trail half marathon. I say half marathon, trail events are rarely exact distances and this was no different. It would in fact be 14.2 miles so over a mile longer than a half marathon but that’s all part of the fun of trail running.

I really enjoyed this race. It was the first time all year I’d properly attacked the hills and trails. Basically, I let loose and loved every second of it. It was wet and muddy but that’s also part of the joys of trail running and what trail shoes are for.

I was really happy with it how it went and how I felt on the hills especially. However, it would come at a price as my calves tightened up big time. No injuries thankfully but it was a little frustrating.

After that I didn’t really do any long runs other than a 10 mile hilly trail run. I did do a lot of strength work though and the momentum was building on that front and as mentioned, my body was definitely starting to change.

The Exmoor Ultra

The day of my ultra marathon was soon upon me and I travelled to Caffyns Farm in Lynton with equal levels of nerves and excitement.

It wasn’t long before I was off, although I was one of the last to start the ultra distance. The start was done in waves and due to the queue for the toilet and double checking all my gear I was a bit behind.

The first few miles were glorious, the weather was great and the views were stunning. It was also hilly early. Running along the coast line once out of Lynmouth was incredible. The Valley of the Rocks is breathtaking on a clear day and everything to the left of me was blue. It was as if the sky and ocean were one and the same thing.

Once at Porlock Weir, things started to get real. If you’ve ever driven to Porlock then you know how steep the hill is to get there. Now imagine doing it on foot through fields and feeling like it was never going to end. It was at this point I started to question my decision to run the ultra distance.

I was struggling physically so I stopped three quarters of the way up, sat down and ate something. After 5 minutes I was back on my feet and heading in the right direction.

Testing my mental and physical limits

Running is a fantastic sport. Its full of benefits, both mental and physical, but it can also be a very tough and demanding sport. Did anyone hold a gun to my head and make me sign up to this race, no of course not. We always have a choice but we sign up to these kind of events to challenge ourselves. To test our limits and learn what we’re capable of.

Not that I realised it at the time but this race was the start of my mindset changing. I’ll go into more detail about that in another post but this race almost broke me mentally. I struggled physically at times but it was the mental battle that was the hardest to overcome.

I think writing about this event 6 months later has given me time to gain new perspective on it and what finishing it meant to me. The second half of the event was a real challenge. I remember the last two aid stations, both had different distances to the finish which was soul destroying!

I’d spent a large part of the middle of the race running with a friend from Instagram called Dai and his group of mates. That helped a lot as he’s a very experienced ultra runner and has a real carefree attitude towards these events. I also ran some of the later parts with another group, showing the camaraderie towards strangers in the trail running world.

The relief of the finish line

I may not have made it to the finish without all those who ran with me along the way. Nor the ever cheerful marshals who had been stood out on the course all day only to be greeted by a grumpy, tired and moaning idiot like me!

I was desperate to finish. Everything hurt, I’d had enough mentally and the weather had turned. The now grey skies and light drizzle summed up my mood perfectly. However, the lady who was the last marshal before the finish gave me a real proverbial kick up the ass. It was exactly what I needed and it resulted in me running a large section of the last mile.

I have never felt such relief and euphoria when crossing a finish line like I did that day. Receiving a cheer from Dai and his mates was also welcomed! I’d done it, I’d fought through all the negative talk telling me to quit, telling me I wasn’t good enough or strong enough for this kind of thing.

Am I more at home on the roads? Yes, I’d say I probably am but trail running is good for the soul. Being at one with nature, often in the middle of nowhere is liberating. Looking at stunning views and running through beautiful trails is what life is all about.

Building blocks

What I didn’t realise about running this event and spending the first 6 months of the year running on hilly trails was the long term impact it would have on my running. Simon had still kept the odd speed session or tempo run in my training and it was a couple of months later I worked out why it was so important.

In one of my next posts I’ll talk about the PB’s I achieved later in the year but this event and the subsequent training, built the foundation for that success. I had built a huge aerobic base meaning I could go faster for longer once I started adding more speedwork into my training.

I fully expected to lose my speed but it was in fact the opposite. Soon I was to find out that I was actually faster and would continue to get faster and go on to smash all my PB’s on multiple occasions.

So this laid the foundation for my future PB’s but it also added the mental resilience required to earn those PB’s. Knowing you can keep going when things get really tough is a massive advantage in any sport but especially a solo sport like running.