Last race of 2013 season - Forest of Dean Autumn Trails Half Marathon

Following my DNF at Bala my frustration was ripe for thrashing out a few hard training sessions to work off the energy i didn't expel at Bala. However, unfortunately, my chest continued to be tight and therefore training was affected. I was able to run but chest would be tight throughout so only managed to clock a 9 miler in the build up to the half marathon, meaning i hadn't ran the full distance since the last time i ran a half marathon - March 2012! i had run 11.5 miles about 2 weeks before Bala but not the prep i had wanted as i'd hoped to do a lot of beach/off road work and more speed work. As for the turbo, even if i only did 1/2hr easy spin i still felt almost sick afterwards so i was feeling quite demoralised. I got back swimming but chest still felt tight for a couple of weeks so felt out of breathe a lot of the time even doing just technique drills.

Rest and cold/flu tablets weren't working so i went to the GP and saw the practise nurse who specialises in asthma. Doing a peak flow test twice with the use of an inhaler in between showed my peak flow rate improved so she prescribed me an inhaler and asked me to monitor my peak flow rate for a month and then return for more tests. I also had to go and have bloods taken to test if i am anaemic. At least this meant i could train as the inhaler definitely helped, although sometimes my chest felt tight but the peak flow rate didn't reflect this, so i'm awaiting to go back and see what the outcome is. In a way though i'm glad there is something the matter, as it justifies my DNF rather than me not being able to 'man up' on the day.

Ready for the off :)

 However, i was determined the do the half marathon and the weather on the day was perfect, blue skies, sun shining, and a good temperature. I had decided to wear my vivobarefoot trail shoes as i thought with recent rain and it being autumn that there might be a lot of leaves on the forest bed floor that might make it slippery with potentially some mud. How wrong i was!!

No, i am not leading, lol!

My barefoot trail shoes have lugs on the bottom to help with grip but the sole is barefoot so i feel every stone, tree root, etc. One or two is fine but when it's constant it's not long before your feet start screaming at you in pain. The majority of the run was on forest trails with plenty of chippings, or large stones pushing up through the earth, or tree roots that you couldn't avoid. There was only a very short section (i'm talking only a few hundred metres) which was earth bed floor or grass :( not quite what i had in mind when i decided upon wearing them over my normal trainers. i had more like gnoll park in mind, lovely earth bed floors, endless leaves, etc. The plus side was my calf & hamstring were absolutely fine (these had both been bothering me quite a lot when running which i was conscious of), the downside was my feet were in absolutely agony and i'm pretty sure this affected how fast i could run.

Nevertheless, the course is beautiful, the support in the forest is great and i saw the same guy who cheered on "celtic tri" three times and i couldn't work out how he was getting everywhere in the forest. That was until i learnt that the course switches back on itself a lot, sometimes cutting across the same trails, so he was probably standing still in the same spot and i just kept passing him without realising! There were plenty of water stops although no energy drinks as in the spring version of the race. There were also loads of marshals so this race is definitely highly recommended, as there is plenty of parking and it's easy to get to. The route is different from the spring one but it wasn't as hilly as i had presumed. The climbs are more long drags than short sharp climbs which you get a few of in the spring version. However, there were plenty of steep downhills which when your feet are in agony was quite tough going. I had come into the race with a strategy but that went out the window as for the first half of the race my chest was quite tight and then the pain in my feet prevented me from pushing on. Boy was i glad when we got to 10 miles and i knew there was't too far to go. However, those last few miles seemed endless and i had to keep talking to myself to focus on technique, focus on what i could control and just keep pushing forwards. As we got to mile 10/11 i did try increasing pace at each mile marker from there on it but whether i did or not i had no idea as i ran without a watch or garmin (au natural). When i approached the last kilometre i sped up again and then the last couple of hundred metres put my usual kick in and must have overtaken at least 20-30 people just in those final two minutes.

Completely shattered, in so much pain :(

Crossing the line was the best feeling because the pain was over, i'm not sure i've ever hurt as much from a race. I had no idea of my time as there was no finish line clock but i found out i did it in 1:48:45. So my slowest half marathon of the three i have done, but the hardest also, not helped by my affected training & poor shoe choice. Afterwards i was completely shattered and just trying to jog to the toilet about 20 mins later my calf went into spasm, OWWWWWWW!!!!!!, so i then hobbled and waited in the 'free massage' queue for another 20 mins or so & then the girls doing the massage asked when i was limping!!!!!!! It helped anyway and i drove home without problems but when i got in i was so stiff i even resorted to a cold bath!!!!!! Can't say if it helped as my legs were in bits the next day but might they have been worse if i hadn't have had the cold bath?

I would like to come back to do this race next year though, with the right trainers on, and the right training, as it's a great route, and the drop down opening up onto the little lake was idyllic :)

As it was following the half i then had a week off work so i was able to rest properly and not have to worry about when i trained again as i didn't do anything for 4 days!!!!! not sure i could have even if i had wanted to! For now it's rest time, re-group, indulge a little, and then crack on for smashing 2014 as 2013 was definitely not what i had hoped for. It started off so promisingly with good duathlon results, then the unexpected trip to Turkey for the Euros in GB colours, but i still didn't race to what i think i am capable of with the right training under my belt, and the right head on when it comes to open water swims...