Among my various hobbies, there’s running.
Unlike my other ‘hobbies’ which involve
lazily stitching away of a Sunday afternoon, or joyfully imagining myself as
the next Elaine Paige at my local am-dram society, running is not something
that feels good all the time. It makes you wonder why we choose do such things?
With a pain reward ratio that swings far more towards the former than the
latter, I occasionally admit to myself that maybe I’m crazy…
I had such a moment on Sunday…
At mile 35 of a 50 mile Ultra Marathon, this
was precisely the thought going through my head. Having taken a spectacular comedy
tumble, which sent me (in my brand new running kit) skidding across the tarmac
and my sunglasses crashing to the floor, ‘I must be mad’ was the only thought
going through my head.
On I went however…with grazed and battered
hands and hobbling along on my swollen knee, but sure enough, after a little
while, the pain subsided.
I knew before I started that the race would
hurt, the only unknown was just how much it would hurt. Falling over merely
added to pain part of the experience…something I was already prepared for.
Preparation. That’s the key! It’s the
single most important factor for me when undertaking this kind of challenge. There’s
the training, the nutrition and the pain all of which you should know and
understand before you start. And then finally, there’s the fashion!
I’m serious…
What you wear for long distance running can
be incredibly important...and I don’t just mean in case you get ‘papped’!
(There are always photographers on these things and they always seem to catch
me at the most unflattering moment) When even the slightest of itchy seams can
case very nasty blisters, it’s an aspect that deserves serious preparation and
forethought.
There are loads of great technical products
out there, but the problem with most is that they are so ugly. At best they
look exactly the same as what everyone else is wearing. Having never been one
to blend in with the crowd, for this race I was determined to try some of the
best fashion forward technical clothing on the market.
Three key items wan out for me on Sunday,
and helped to get me through.
Item 1
Carrying a backpack is always one of the
biggest challenges that I have to face. The combination of the straps and my
bony shoulders (about the only bony bit of my body) has often resulted in very
sore friction burns. I need something light enough to wear on top of my running
top, but substantive enough to shield my shoulders. For Sunday it also needed to be really cool
due to the unusually warm weather we had to contend with on the route. My
Addidas by Stella McCartney nylon vest was just the ticket! Being super
lightweight it was incredibly comfortable and the slippery fabric saved my shoulders
from being rubbed raw by my back pack.
50 miles later…no friction burns.
Item 2
Choice of footwear is probably the most
important decision taken before any race. With my previous Ultra experience
being on trails and off road I anticipated a similar terrain so opted for my
Inov-8 Roclite trail shoes. Fantastic on softer ground, it quickly became
apparent to me that on the tarmacked route surface, these shoes were not
suitable. The harder soles made running on hard ground really uncomfortable and
20 miles in I was really struggling.
Thankfully, I had a new pair of Nike Free’s
in my car, which was being driven from checkpoint to checkpoint by my wonderful
husband. At mile 20 I slipped into my
trusty Free’s in gorgeous green and red (I liked the men’s ones better) and
trotted off with my feet feeling lighter than air. While it’s true to say that my
feet no longer felt like air by the end they did look ok. It’s a testament to
these shoes that the first time I wore them I ran 30 miles, and my feet weren’t
left looking like they’d been through a meat mincer! The trainers also look
amazing…
Item 3
I’m not built like a runner. I have long
but chubby legs with thick calves and ankles. This causes all kinds of problems
where running leggings are concerned.
Aesthetic issues aside, most full-length leggings have one of two
problems…
- They fit on the waist, so they end up too narrow on the ankle. While they may look ok before you begin, with the inevitable swelling of the ankles that occurs during running, your legs end up looking like a sausage about to bust out of it’s skin…not nice, not to mention very uncomfortable.
- They fit on the leg, but the size is too large. This causes the legging to ride down while running resulting in that attractive crotch grabbing movement of trying to pull up your trousers while in motion. Equally unattractive…
In retrospect, I guess chosen ensemble may
not be for everyone…I even agree that I resemble a giant raspberry, but my love
of colour wan out. Thankfully, all of the items I picked are available in less
‘flashy’ shades!
So finally, why do I do such things! It’s
not something I can easily validate and answer. The sense of reward upon completion is
incredible and indescribable. It continues for the hours, days and months that
follow and has encouraged me to sign up for harder races when I’m still limping
from the last. Ultimately, I think you need to have done, (or want to do
similar things) to appreciate, and if you have to ask why, you’ll probably
never really understand.
