12 hours
90.45km
Total calories burned: 4951
Last Saturday was the summer solstice. The longest day but for Team Beacon Adventure Racers it was the longest night. After some confusion about start times, mainly caused by me not reading emails properly and consequently not organising child care at the right time and Will not finishing work till late, the four team members gathered at the Basingstoke Canal Centre, which was serving as our base, at 7.15 on Saturday evening. Ross was more than a bit stressed by this delay, which had also meant we had to shovel in dinner as we drove to the base. Ooops!
Although we have had a few short hikes together and a couple of hours in kayaks as a group, this was to be our first big training session as a team. I was filled with trepidation and excitement and because I hadn't read the email closely, I wasn't really sure what to expect...but in light of what we were doing and my inexperience, perhaps that is no bad thing.
Andy was already there, looking calm as his 3 harassed, running late team mates tumbled out of our vw bus.
After wrestling with the lock on the kayak shed and trying to remember the combination, we had the usual debate about which kayaks we were going to use and then we put on our buoyancy aids and climbed into our vessels. I put lashings of insect repellent on but apparently I needn't have bothered. It turns out they really love Andy so as long as the rest of us kept fairly close to him we wouldn't be bitten by the little critters. Saying that, we had to risk suffocation by insect mob, the clouds were so thick, particularly under the bridges along the canal.
We had such a fantastic paddle..
The evening was beautiful. There were a few fishermen out on the tow path whose lines we had to avoid but that was no problem. It was great to be out there together. We paddled just under 12km up to the first lock and back. It is a very nice paddle. The summer evening air was heavy with the sweet scents of pollen and cowslips. The further along the canal you go, the higher the vegetation gets along the sides of the water. I let my imagination run wild and could almost believe we were in a mangrove swamp or an Africa river system. The reeds along the bank make great nesting places for all the water birds and the canal is teeming with little ones this time of year. I saw a great crested grebe and heron and Will spotted the floating nest of a coot or moorhen with the mum sitting in it.
I have a long standing shoulder injury so it takes a while to warm up when kayaking as feeling strong at about 5km into the paddle. It as that point that we started to explore territory I had never been to in my kayak. We paddled over an aqueduct. It is such an odd feeling, paddling over a road, I loved it. We made it to our half way point in good time and even stopped to take some photos of each other. This was our turning point and we headed back to the canal centre. The air was warm and the paddle was pleasant. I was concentrating on trying to use my core muscles to paddle as we are being taught on the racing kayak course we are doing. It is a lot harder in the bigger, heavier plastic kayaks than it is in the racing ones but I persevered and even had a little energy left to put on a burst of speed for the last 1km so that Will, who was trying desperately, couldn't catch me. Yes! There is nothing like a bit of competition in the team to push yourself onto new heights.
1 hour 49 minutes saw us back at the Centre.
We hauled our canoes out of the water and had to wash them down (as per club rules) and stow them away in the club shed. We were transitioning on to foot at this point. I urgently needed to have a wee by the time we were off the water. Without bothering to remove the life jacket, I checked the code for the toilet door lock and dashed across to the loo block. I plugged in the code and nothing... eek, really desperate now...Fortunately, I could hear voices coming from inside so I rapped on the door and they let me in. Aah! Relief. Time being of the essence in transition, I jogged back to the shed, washed my kayak and helped pop them away.
Andy has taken on the role of chivvying us through transition and wanted us to be away in 15 minutes but due to kayak storage we only managed it in 20. We all had to step out of our soaked water shoes, get trainers and socks on and haul on our back packs.
I had to strip off my shorts which were sodden and being made of cotton would have taken hours to dry and pulled on a pair of long running tights. That's the last time I use those shorts in the kayak! I sorted the food for the Phillips contingent handing out bags of trail mix, packing dark salted chocolate in my back pack and passing around Peanut butter sandwiches. Food on endurance events is such a potent issue and demands a post of its own. We all had different things that needed doing. William persuaded me not to put on my new light weight gaiters.
"What do you need those for?"
"To stop the bits of gravel and grass from getting in my shoes."
"You won't need those. Come on"
(That is the last time I heed that particular bit of advice. I really do need them. I managed to walk about 12km without them and my shoes slowly filled up. So I emptied them out and put on the gaiters but unfortunately, the damage was done and I had a tiny bit of gravel in my shoe that irritated the whole walk. Next time I am putting them on straight away.) I know Will was motivated by getting us moving.
And we were off. Simultaneously putting on my head torch, stuffing a sarmie in as I went along and slurping on a bottle of water, I padded along behind the men feeling strong and ready to tackle the hike...
I thought I would listen to my ipod for a bit on the hike but after one song a mechanical voice in my ear announced, "battery low". Ah! I should have charged it. Rookie error there. Oh well, I could talk to my team mates. William however kept his headphones over one ear and 'entertained' us with some very off-key U2 songs as we powered along.
Last time we did a long hike I used poles but since then I have managed without them. For me the jury is still out on the value of carry the extra weight for the times I would use them on the hills and anyway, I forgot them! It didn't seem to matter though as I was striding along well. Ross has taught me to increase my speed by increasing my cadence and not my stride length. This has seen my hike speed go up rapidly. We made good time on the hike and didn't need head torches for ages.
I felt good on the hiking leg and we forged our way across M.O.D. land, through woods and along side of the military ranges. We had a weird experience with the temperature. It was a lovely balmy night but every time we went down into the dips it got really freezing. There was a lot of noisy birdlife out there at night and several shouty squirrels too. I got dive bombed by a bat as well which was a bit off!
I had nasty slip on the gravel on a sharp down hill along the ranges. My hate-hate relationship with gravel that started on the first hill sprint training night continues. I just could not stop myself as I felt my left leg slide forwards and my right leg slide to the side. Earlier in the week I had felt my right thigh muscle twang horribly during a sprint session and now felt the whole thing pull as I went down with a bang. The air went a bit blue, which is very unlike me, but I was terrified I had injured my thigh. Actually though, the pull acted more as a stretch and my thigh felt fine. So I bobbed back up and carried on as if nothing had happened.
We were making good progress, our pace was high. Not as high as we have managed during shorter sessions but good.
There are times when everyone goes through a rough patch and Ross had one while we were walking. He is so strong but unfortunately, the dinner he had shovelled in on the way to the Centre was not really enough. So, he had a low point for a few km's on the walk. Then, he perked up and carried on as if nothing had happened. I was really motoring on that section and the guys even let me go out in front for a while. Leading the way and setting the pace....that was until I found a muddy puddle and wham! I fell splat into this "hippo wallow" and landed with all my weight on my left wrist. Ooh the pain! Andy said he thought I had broken it and by Monday morning so did I, ending up at a & e, having a x-ray but it is soft tissue damage. On Saturday night, however, I wasn't going to let that possibility stop me, so I jumped up and carried on, holding it up against my body until the throbbing stopped. Someone else took the lead.
As the light faded we had to put on our head torches. Your whole world shrinks to that circle of light. It is very hard to imagine anything beyond it. I often find when I am training I get very focussed and my world is all about keeping my head down and keeping going, this is even more noticeable at night when you can see no more than the circle of light directly in front of your feet. The other thing I noticed is that as the night progressed we lost volume control on our voices and got quite loud when we chatted. Ross reckons, that he doesn't and had to keep telling the rest of us to sshhhh especially when we walked through the suburbs at 1 in the morning! (Sorry, if it was your beauty sleep we disturbed.)
It wasn't just volume control but as you go on you lose all sense of time. It telescopes. At the same time your perspective shrinks to your activity and a sense of unreality overcomes you. But, I also felt more in my own skin than I had felt before. Up until that night I had to keep thinking of some iconic women endurance adventure athletes and thinking I was treading in their footsteps. For the first time, I started to feel like I was blazing a trail myself.
We spent 4 hours 19 minutes on our feet tramping over all kinds of terrain and gaining and losing altitude, dealing with rough descents in the dark and made it back into the centre at around 2 in the morning. I didn't feel tired but I did need a protein shake which I swallowed in about 3 gulps. I should also have eaten another sandwich but only managed half which had a knock on effect later on.
Andy set us a time of 15 minutes for transition. The bike stage was coming....
33 minutes later.
We had all put on long sleeved fleeces. Head torches had been attached to helmets. I looked like I had three aerials sticking out of my head from the cable ties securing my head torch. At 2 in the morning this caused some hilarity. Tonight was the first night I would ride without padded shorts. I had been suffering with all over chaffing and pinching from the pad shifting and I have a gel seat so it shouldn't make much difference.
We were off. William was put in charge of navigation. He's done a lot on foot but this was fairly new to him. His comment was, "It's harder on the bike."
We were riding out towards the A3, Beacon Hill and the Devil's Punchbowl. Places I had never been. It all started so well. I felt strong and was keeping up with the guys. Then we got to the first big hill and they powered up it. I simply ran out of steam and puff grinding to a halt. I took a quick breather and stood up on the pedals and forced my way up that hill one rotation at a time. There was more to come. We were going up Beacon Hill. I am sure this is Surrey's Everest. I felt like we climbed for ever! But, I am nothing if not determined. I didn't want to get off and push. Not on your Nellie... so when we got to a scree slope laughingly signposted as a bridle path, I was not getting off.
"Get off and push," advised Ross.
"No!" I responded stubbornly. I was a bit grumpy as I had started to feel a bit sick.
By this point Will and Andy had reached the top and were out of sight, waiting for us. I was not giving in, I needed to show these guys and myself I was tough enough and wasn't going to be a liability.
I was in the lowest gear that I can get and I kept on going until even though I was pedalling forward, I was sliding backwards.
I gave in. I got off and pushed for about 50 m. Then I got back on and pedalled all the way to the top of that slope where we all met up and I discovered everyone had had to push. I didn't feel so bad.
It was pretty much up hill all the way to the top of the devil's punch bowl. But, the view was worth it. Unfortunately, I was really flagging and was quite a way behind Will and Andy. Ross was keeping company and offered to tow me which I stubbornly refused. I need to do as much as I could without assistance. My problems were compounded by the nausea which was preventing me from eating. I have had this feeling before when expending a lot of energy. I was hungry too but was getting thoroughly sick of trail mix. If I ever see another peanut....
I was also suffering the indignities of a chaff where the sun doesn't shine. My poor upper thigh and bum cheek have a scar from a very nasty rollerblading accident I had when I was 28. The skin is really thin and tender. A long time in the saddle and it sort of blisters. I had to pull my tights down round my ankles and bend over while Ross applied a plaster. Fortunately, I wasn't having the pinching and chaffing elsewhere that I normally get so it was a good choice to abandon the padded shorts. It is also a weight issue. Do I really want to carry extra cycle specific clothing on the race?
Anyway, plastered up I got back on my bike and rode to the top of the punchbowl to see the morning sun shining over a lovely view. We had a pause for a photo and were off again down the most spectacular 4km down-hill I have ever had the joy of riding. It was so exhilarating. Pure adrenalin. Just wish I had listened to everyone's advice and kept my jumper on....the goose bumps on my arms were more like goose eggs from the cold dawn wind as we sped down that hill!
At the bottom of the hill we started another climb and it was then that I realised I was spent. I asked Ross for a tow. He gave me the tow rope which is a retractable dog lead and started to give me a bit of extra help on the hills. You don't sit back and relax when you are on tow. You still have to pedal and put some effort in but what it does is give you some much needed help and a psychological boost. It went really well when we started but then one of the cheapo zip ties we had used to secure the dog lead to Ross's bike snapped. No bother, the other one was holding and it held well for about half an hour and then ping! and I saw the other end of the retractable dog lead coming towards me a rate of knots.
"It's snapped. Have we got anymore ties, Ross?"
"No."
"Oh"
Truly I wanted to get off my bike, lie down on the side of the road and cry. Then Ross said, "We have to do this the old fashioned way." And he came alongside me and put his hand on my back and pushed me up the hill.
He pushed for many miles.
At the top of the hill, Andy said to me, "Do you want a gel?"
I thought I nodded but Will tells me that all I did was move my head fractionally. I sucked down that gel as if my life depended on it. It was delicious. He followed it up with a chocolate caramel wafer. Ross carried on pushing me and we plugged away at it again. Then suddenly there was the canal and we were only 5 km from home and my second wind kicked in.
We got on to the canal and I was flying again. Legs pumping and feeling slightly euphoric. I reckon it was because I'd had a whiff of home or it could have been I had the urgent desire to use the loo! We got back to the centre and I leapt of my bike like a scalded cat. Runners' trots they call it. Less said the better, I think we will draw a veil there.
When I got back to our vw, Andy had already headed for home and Ross and Will were loading the bikes back on the rack. I suddenly felt full of energy and I said to Ross, "I could walk now."
Then I went home, climbed into bed and went to sleep for 3 1/2 hours. I woke up, had a shower, demanded that we go out for a McDonalds and went back to sleep. That was Sunday.
I want to commend my teammates. The guys were great at encouraging me. Being the wife of one team member and mother of another could be quite problematic if we let it but it isn't. Will and I have similar personalities and can either get on like a house on fire or clash terribly. In the team that is not who we are. Everybody has a role to play and is equally important to the team. I really like 'teammate Will'. He quietly says things like, "You all right Mum?" and "You are doing well" Andy's encouraging words, "I'm impressed you don't get off and push even when you stop on a hill, you just start again." and "You are doing well" really helped keep me going. I also enjoyed the 'putting the world to rights' conversations and the random chats we had. Ross is great at supporting me, taking up the slack physically. The poor chap had to put up with me biting off his head the first time he asked me if I wanted a tow but when I really needed it...he towed me for miles. The strength these 3 guys have is inspiring and I really don't want to let them down.
I think I had better start training harder.
***
Measurements and maps courtesy of http://www.endomondo.com
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