So I completed my 60k today!!
God, that was tough! I hadn't done any training in the heat, so was not prepared for the effect it would have. First 10k had lots of steep hills, but I was fresh and they weren't too much trouble. At 10miles was the biggest and steepest hill of the race and it was difficult but it didn't seem to wear me out too much.
So I got to the halfway point in 3hrs which was slightly quicker than I expected, but that's when I made a big mistake... I had asked my mum to meet me there (she's local to that.checkpoint) and to bring my ghost 10s in case my trail shoes were hurting my feet. Feet were a bit achey but not terrible, but I did the swap anyway. 1 mile later my Ghost 10s split all down one side exposing my feet and making it difficult to run. I called my mum back and got her to meet me at the next pub with my trail shoes and swapped back, but for a couple of miles I was walking and running slow.
I think this told my mind it was okay to walk, and then it become difficult to run for any decent length after that. I was also really feeling the effects of the heat. My 20mile training runs were done at a heart rate of 150, but here I couldn't get it below 180 no matter how slow I went, that's the same as when I race a 5k!
So second half was a bit of a plod. My legs and feet were aching so bad from 20 miles on, and I was simply exhausted, but I was determined to keep moving forward no matter how slow.
33 miles in and I hear church bells. I knew that the finish was next door to the church so I perked up a bit as the finish was close. For the next 5 miles those bells never got louder
Finally at 38.5 miles I recognize that we are coming up to the finish, but a girl in front has started walking. I tell her to keep going as the finish is up ahead and so we chat for a bit and I'm holding back my pace so we can cross the line at the same time. She then suggests we do a sprint finish (my speciality!
) so I put the pedal down and it was an easy win. However none of the spectators realised it was her idea and to them it looked like I was being a bit of a dick, oh well
So overall it was a really great experience, and quite humbling to realise just how difficult these ultras are. My total time was 8hrs 40m - much slower than I'd have liked - but the main goal was to cross the finish line, and I did it!