March - The way out of the madness and another not quite race report

I saw a lot of Shining Tor this month. Always cloudy!

A much wiser person than me once said 'I can cope with despair, it's hope that's the killer.' He may have been talking about decades of supporting Manchester City but it also summed up the mood of many people at the start of this month.

We made it through the darkest days of the pandemic and lockdown but the release of the roadmap out of the restrictions brought a sense of terror. Things were returning to normal, but not normal. The kids returned to school but have to do a corona test twice a week. We are told that pubs and shops will reopen but social distancing and masks will be in place for the foreseeable future. We are worried about how we will cope when we are allowed to socialise again. What will it be like to stand in a crowd at the start of parkrun? Queue at a bar? Hear that one person cough in a quiet moment at the theatre?

March also opened with some awful weather which sapped my enthusiasm for running somewhat. I had entered the Virtual Lakeland Trails 250km race and had to run 250 km in 6 weeks finishing on the 21st March. With my motivation at rock bottom in the early days of the month, I found myself with a lot of running to do towards the end of the challenge. The much wiser person wonders why I enter these challenges when I often struggle to complete them. I have to explain that if it wasn't for the challenge I would not have run at all in early March. The hardest step is out of the door. I manage to do almost the highest milage 8 days of my life and complete the challenge with a day to spare. Much wiser person (MWP) drags me round the last 8 miles and we spot some day old baby lambs. I limp over the virtual finish line to virtual cheers from virtual friends. The virtual community of the Lakeland Trails Facebook page has provided support and motivation through the challenge and the relief that I have finished is tempered with sadness that the challenge is over.

Making my way round the virtual 250k

After completing the Lakeland challenge I go back to my usual state of torpor. I need another challenge to get me out of the door. This month's club championship race is a 10k trail race. Again we are allowed to pick our own route but it has to be mostly on trail. As with the mile and 5k challenges, most of the running club are looking for routes that start with a down hill section. But 10k is a long way. And there aren't any hills round there that high. I pick a route that starts up a hill but leads on to the trail and canal towpath. By the time I get to the top of the hill I am already exhausted. The sun is shining and I am not used to warmer weather. I feel hot and dehydrated and I haven't even started. I pause at the top and then launch myself down with a sense of deja vu. 

Back in the days of real races (sigh) I had a formula for a 10k race. Do the first 2 miles steady; speed up a bit for the second 2 miles; push it for the 3rd 2 miles. Then rely on blind faith to get through the remaining .2 of a mile. 

Within a mile I hit the trail. Now my route is flat for the next 5 miles. The momentum of the downhill section means that the mile along the trail to the canal is too fast. My pacing strategy is all wrong. I start to fatigue too quickly. The canal towpath in Buxworth is busy with lunchtime walkers but it is wide enough to pass. I reach the canal junction and work out that I need to run towards New Mills for 2 miles and then back for 2 miles and I'm done. I am wearing trail shoes and my ankles are hurting now. I just focus on reaching the turn back point. I get all the way to New Mills and turn round, heading for home. Only another 2 miles to go. I am trying to maintain a pace that is too fast. There are no race day crowds to detract from the pain and exhaustion. Or at least not until I am nearly finished. MWP has gone out on a bike ride and was waiting on the road bridge to cheer me on😊.  I know I have missed my target time but I can push myself over that .2 of a mile.

Next week sees the return to group running on Tuesday and my vaccination on Wednesday. Small baby steps back to normality. I am trying not to let the hope destroy me. Next month's club championship challenge is a navigation challenge. I will get lost.