Running - AnnaTheApple

July 22, 2015October 28, 2016

Ultra12

After my fairly rubbish experience at Endure24 last year (specifically the running part), I was reluctant to sign up to a similar event. But a team from my running club needed another person to make a full mixed team and I was tempted to revisit my previous demons in a better running shape.

It was awkwardly timed with my visit to Bristol but it was doable so I agreed. It was also only 12 hours, rather than 24, so really it wasn’t as daunting. I’d planned to do three laps (each lap was just under 5 miles). Can’t be that hard, right?

We had a team of five and the race started at 7pm with Kate (furthest right) leading the first lap. I was to go second. The drive over from Bristol had really helped my digestion of ALL THE FOOD and I no longer felt overly full.

Because I’m a control freak and stress out about these things I was keen to get a schedule of timings together so I knew when I would next be up. We worked it out by saying each person would take roughly 40 minutes to do a lap.

The campsite was lovely and relaxed, with hay bales and a fire around the communal area and a few sport shop stalls (like CEP and Ashmei).

There was a catering tent to buy hot and cold food and drink and a massage tent (no set price, just donations – great idea!). There weren’t a huge number of loos (probably under 10) but we were only there for a day so it didn’t matter and to be honest no portable loo is ever going to remain rosy and delightful and by the end it wasn’t as bad as it could have been (urghhh, Endure…).

It wasn’t long before Kate was off on her first lap. We each had ankle bands holding our chip on so laps and timings could be recorded. There was also a live monitor screen you could view to see how teams were doing. It wasn’t just teams either, there were solo 50k runners and solo 50 milers. [Side note: One of our running club members was doing the 50k and she was AWESOME. She did it in just under 4.5hours!]

The start

As soon as Kate left I knew I had about 35 minutes to potter about and prepare, before heading to the change over area in enough time to be ready to go.

You had to wear head torches after 8pm and most people were wearing them before then so for my lap I thought I might as well wear mine to be on the safe side. I was glad to be able to use my ridiculously expensive head torch again but as I tried to turn it on I realised what an idiot I was.

Thanks Mark for the photo!

No batteries!! I am literally the biggest tool in the world. Who doesn’t check these things?!

Luckily someone leant me some batteries so I was good to go. Kate made a storming start with a lap of 36:18 and I headed off on my merry way. My legs felt a bit heavy and tired and I tried to pretend my earlier parkrun hadn’t happened. My aim was to stick to 7.30min/miles as I didn’t want to smash out a ridiculous time (not sure that I could have though) and then be in pieces for the other laps.

Thanks Mike for the photo! A rare bit of road running

The course was mostly off-road on grassy trail and was quite picturesque running along the Thames river and through lots of greenery. It was nice and flat as well, though there were some sneaky rabbit holes and uneven terrain to be careful of.

I passed a marshal and she called out to me to say I had the best hair she’d seen. What? I puzzled over this for a while as I continued to run. I did a quick check to make sure it was all kind of in its place…all seemed normal. Apparently, I later found out from Mike who was next to the marshal, it was because my pony tail was “swooshing” a lot. Cool.

My first lap was 36:51 which I was pleased with.

Smooth hand-over going on there

As Claire had to leave ridiculously early in the morning she took my second slot which would have been just before 10pm. [Side note: Claire is literally a superwoman. She had to leave at 5am to head off home to lead a cycling group!!] So my next run would be before 11pm. It was time to get some fuel in. I wasn’t hungry at all as I’d just finished running and I’d eaten a fair bit for lunch but I knew I needed something to power me through the night.

I’d brought with me a 33Shake (All in One shake) which was absolutely perfect. I didn’t want actual food as I would be running soon but I did need something and didn’t want to have to eat in the middle of the night (running is hard enough!)

I added one pack of the Cacao All in One to 200ml of milk (you’re supposed to add a banana and blend but obviously this wasn’t possible out in the sticks). I’ll do a full review in another post, but it tasted good and had no ill effects. In fact I didn’t need anything else until breakfast the next morning.

For my next ‘shift’ I was keen to do a double run as the effort involved in stopping and starting was hard going. It also meant that it gave the other guys a bit more time between runs to rest. Mentally though this was a bit daunting.

I chilled out before the run by wrapping myself in a thick towel and having a cup of tea (cups of tea were just continuous throughout Ultra12!).

Our area that my club was camped at was right next to the start/finish so we could see runners running past and cheer them on, which was great. It also meant a nice boost when you ran past.

Hey there good looking 😉

I decided to listen to a podcast as I wanted to treat it like any other ‘normal’ long run and I needed the distraction. I’m hugely glad I did this because a) apart from my head torching lightening a few metres ahead of me I couldn’t see a thing so it was fairly boring running and b) my head torch died on my second lap and I had to use my iPhone as a torch.

It was very surreal running at that time and knowing I was to be out there for a good while. I kept my pace around 8 minutes and actually didn’t feel too bad starting running again. Mentally though this was a tough, tough run. I kept looking at my watch and seeing the time and just thinking “this is mental”. As I passed our camping area I yelled out that I was on to my second lap and got some cheers which was a lovely boost. There were other people out on the course as well but a lot of those who I passed were walking (most of them the ultra runners doing nine million laps – major kudos to them!).

I was so pleased to have got through the double laps (39:46 and 39:57 respectively) and pleased I’d done my three laps. I knew I’d be OK for a fourth lap as well as I felt good (albeit tired and a bit crazy). My next lap was to be around 5.30am and as I had finished around 1am I had enough time to get a quick massage.

If I thought running in the middle of the night was surreal then getting a massage was even weirder! The masseuse was so lovely and we chatted away and it felt like the middle of the day (but in darkness of course). She really helped my calves feel better as they were starting to tighten up and my problematic one was being a bit grumpy.

Afterwards I headed straight to my tent and tried to sleep. My alarm was set for 5am and it was almost 2am now. I literally put my hoodie on and pyjama bottoms on over my running gear and closed my eyes. Sleep didn’t come easily as I could hear people talking around the tent and the constant beeping of people crossing over the finish mat for their laps.

By 4.30am I was just too awake and couldn’t sleep anymore .I think I managed just over two hours sleep in the end. I got up and headed out. What’s nice about events like this is that there will always be people awake because someone is out running and someone else is getting ready to run or just back.

I got ready for my final lap and it had started to rain. Typical. I felt creaky, tired and just out of it. I was nervous about this final run.

Just over an hour and a half left

As I headed out I listened to a podcast again. I just needed it. It felt like such hard work, more mentally than physically. Physically I felt like I was OK but mentally I was feeling slightly unhinged. It was now light so I didn’t need a head torch thankfully.

On the second mile I slowly passed a young man. I was overtaking him and then he sped up. He said “right, you’re my pace now” in quite an abrupt way. I turned off my podcast reluctantly. It wouldn’t be so bad to run with someone else but honestly my mind at that moment was just wanting to GET THE RUN DONE. I didn’t feel up to making small talk or conversation. But to be polite I chatted away. He was a fairly new runner and part of a team of work mates.

I was running a comfortable pace but I could tell he was struggling a bit. Now I know this might be awful and terribly mean but I wasn’t going to slow down. If he was going to “use me” as a pacer he would have to speed up. I wanted to get this final run done sharpish. This was not a social plod for me.

Just before three miles he suddenly grunted loudly and stopped. Alarmed, I asked if he was OK. He told me to go on and he’d catch me up, he just needed a breather. Right oh! Podcast back on and I was outta there. Yes it was mean but honestly running at 5.30am with around two hours sleep does not make me a particularly friendly person. Incidentally he didn’t catch me up and finished about four minutes after me. I know this because when he passed our camp area to the finish I was already having a cup of tea. I did have the decency to look shamefaced.

My final lap was done in 38:09. And I was DONE. I tried not to celebrate too extravagantly because two of my team mates still had a lap to go, as did other runners around me. I did make myself some porridge though and enjoyed in immensely.

Mike was our final runner and as he ran up the finishing straight we all (but Claire who had to leave early) ran along with him to the finish. The bell had already rung for the end of the 12 hours (but if you were still on a lap it counted – so effectively you could start a lap with one minute to go before the bell).

In the end our team did amazingly. Between the five of us we did 95 laps (all but Claire doing four laps each). We won the mixed team prize as well! Woohoo!

And we celebrated with some of Mike’s very tasty homemade sandwich bread thing. Basically he de-middled the inside of a loaf of bread and stuffed it with sundried tomatoes, cheese and roasted vegetables and then popped it in the oven (at home). It was delicious! Though we all joked it might have been more impressive if he’d have baked the bread too as effectively it was an elaborate sandiwch… 😉 A very tasty one nonetheless!

I’m really pleased with how it went but honestly it knackered the hell out of me. Driving home from Reading (1.5 hours) I had to have the music up loud and the air con on super cold to keep me awake. I fell asleep after I showered – on my bed, still in my towel, soaking my pillow with my wet hair. Sunday was a rough day and I was in bed by 8pm. Out cold.

Have you ever done a 12-24 hour relay event?

What would be your ideal running shift if you had to choose? I was very lucky as I got a late evening one and an early morning one so no graveyard shift. The other guys who did those times were amazing.

What’s your camping essential (aside from a tent and sleeping bag)? I think a kettle and cooking utensil is a definite for me!

July 16, 2015

Hill running, Nike gear and keeping things interesting

I can’t quite believe what I’ve signed up to this weekend…camping and running at Ultra 12.

I’m not a great camper. And it’s not because I’m particularly high maintenance and “omg dirt” but it’s because I like my creature comforts and routine. A good night’s sleep, feeling warm and having a somewhat unlimited kitchen full of food. And not only this but I’m heading to Bristol Friday night to visit friends and have a BBQ before leaving for Ultra 12 on Saturday afternoon. So I have a lot to think about when packing, especially as I plan on doing the Bristol Little Stoke parkrun Saturday morning as well. Hmmm. In true Anna style, let’s make things really complicated and as difficult as possible!

On the plus side though, Little Stoke parkrun is apparently super flat and only a mile from my friends’ house. Thankfully my friends know what I’m like and don’t think I’m weird for dashing out in the morning to go to parkrun (these are the friends I went to Orlando with).

I’m not sure really how Ultra12 is going to go though. Running multiple laps throughout the night with gaps in between…I’m nervous to say the least. I recovered really well after my half on Sunday and felt good running Tuesday evening.

Right pic: Stretching my calves on the stairs at work post-run

The run went really well. It’s my usual hilly 5.3 miles round where I work.

It includes one really nasty hill (12% incline for 0.2 miles) that I do twice, once at the beginning and once at the end. There’s a Strava segment for it and my last PB for running that segment was back in April so I was really chuffed to find I finally beat it (only by 2 seconds mind you)!

I’m a Strava stats geek and proud!

It was tough, but I do love my hill runs. I’ve found it’s really good at improving my form, building strength in my legs and strength in my mind. The lactic acid build-up is quite intense but keeping your mind focused on powering up and keeping your form good (high knees, pushing off strong through your glutes and your eye line ahead not down) helps keep your mind off the pain…sort of.

I was able to test drive my new running gear that I bought as well. I’m a self-confessed Nike addict so I couldn’t help but indulge in some sales a bit on sportshoes.com (not an affiliated link, I just like their website and they have good deals).

I always trust Nike to be of good quality and long-lasting. The shorts are very comfortable, don’t ride up and have an inner lining. Also there’s a small zipped pocket at the back which is handy. The yellow top is also nice fitting and feels very dry when wearing it, despite the recent humidity. The other items I haven’t tried yet (though the black top is exactly the same as the yellow).

I’ve still been maintaining my 2-3 times a week gym visits as well. The new gym renovation has made the gym a slightly more exciting place (OK less dull) with a lot more weights, space and the stepper machine (apparently called “Jacob’s ladder”, thanks Autumn).

There’s the face of someone really happy to be there 😉

I’ve also been playing around with the self-timer camera on my phone because gym selfies can be a bit samey! Plus I think it’s cool 😉 I can also see when my form is appalling (bottom left photo my arm is far from underneath my shoulder, not good!).

I suppose it’s quite lucky I’m at the gym so early as I guess self-timing photo taking is not normal gym behaviour…but then these days, what is?? I’ve seem some very funny things at the gym.

I do my harder gym routine either Thursday morning or Friday morning now rather than Monday, like I used to, as I’ve been finding by doing it Monday it ruins my legs for my hill session Tuesday. My Thursday night run is now with the running club so it’s far more social and less about a specific pace so it doesn’t matter if my legs ache a bit. My harder strength routine usually includes deadlifts and squats which I’ve been consistently upping the weights on and I always, always ache the next day. I also hate it but it’s a necessary evil for me to avoid injury (*touch wood*).

But I find it sooo dull and hard to get excited about. In efforts to make things more interesting I’ve been listening to the Game of Thrones unofficial podcast (Cast of Kings) while I’m there after Chelsea recommended it and I’m addicted. I read the GoT books but a couple of years ago so my memory is fuzzy (and the books are unbelievably dense with a zillion characters – you think the programme is hard to keep track of all the different people, ha!) so the podcast is great for inside knowledge and analysis of what’s going on. I’m a self-confessed geek, I won’t deny it. So listening to it alongside working my way through season five is great (I’ve got two episodes left – how scary was that seen with the white walkers!? I watched that before I went to sleep and it freaked me out).

Anyway, if anyone has any great tips for making things exciting at the gym…let me know! 😉 Or running an all-night event…good grief.

What podcasts, if any, do you listen to?

Are you a Game of Thrones fan?

Where do you buy your gym/running gear and what’s your preferred brand?

July 15, 2015July 15, 2015

Stansted Slog Half Marathon 2015

As I said in my last post I was very much ill-prepared for this race. Entering it was last minute as I didn’t think I’d get back from Dorset in time so I was really pleased to find out I could do it. I did it last year and it was fantastic. Tough terrain and hills but the atmosphere and scenery was lovely (and we were given a platter of cakes at the end…).

Sadly this year I was the only one from my club there as quite a few were marshalling at the Wyvern 10k. I felt bad for not helping out but at the same time this race was absolutely perfect for judging how I was doing in the lead up to an off-road marathon.

I already knew what I was in for in terms of how tough it was going to be but I wasn’t prepared for the weather to be so miserable. Because I was staying at my parents’ I only had what I’d packed…and what I’d packed was suited more for a summer’s day (how silly of me to presume we’d have one of those in July).

Not only did I wake up feeling fairly rough, tired and delicate (with the excesses of the wedding the day before and having being sick in the middle of the night) but the weather was against me too. Part of me thought of jacking it in but I knew I’d have to go out for a long run anyway if I wanted to take this upcoming marathon seriously and I’d much prefer to run a scenic race with other people than pounding the pavements on my own.

The face of someone wanting to go back to bed

My parents drove us down there and the atmosphere in the car was somewhat subdued. None of us wanted to go really. It was wet, a bit chilly and just grey and miserable. I’d already pre-warned them that this was a training race so not to expect anything exciting. Well they were just overjoyed to be coming I can tell you 😉

The race begins at Stansted House. Last year it was lovely and sunny…this year, not so much. We all huddled under the marquees. My dad was planning to see me at two different points in the course so wished me luck and headed off. The nice thing about this race is it’s very relaxed and well organised with bib collection and bag drop-off. It’s a small race, which I like.

Flip-flops are also weather appropriate…

My mum had planned to see me off then head to the cafe for a hot drink and pop out a bit later around my finishing time. She’s still got a poorly back so she can’t do great amounts of walking. It was nice to have her at the start and she was able to take my bag for me…which meant peeling off my lovely layers.

It wasn’t actually that cold. It felt quite muggy and damp. I did get some looks though as everyone else was covered up! In actual fact though within 4 minutes of running I was HOT. It was that horrible clammy rain that just covers you in moisture.

Because I was so unenthusiastic about this race I wasn’t nervous at all, or even thinking about the miles ahead. I was just indifferent to what was going to happen. As I stood ready at the start I suddenly realised I hadn’t even found satellites on my Garmin!! I was that blasé about the run I’d forgotten. I had a mini-panic as I realised it’d never find it in time. But actually it really didn’t matter because pace wasn’t really anything to worry about on a hilly off-road course and I wanted to keep things easy anyway.

I remember last year I went off like a shot, trying to overtake as many females as I could and felt demoralised by being overtaken. This year I just popped a podcast on and found a nice comfy pace. I felt so relaxed! Don’t get me wrong though, I didn’t feel particularly well though. Photo credit: Alan Dunks

The miles seemed to tick by quite nicely and I just enjoyed zoning out and following the trail, through forests, across fields, up dirt tracks and over stiles. It’s a great course and keeps you interested the whole time. The only thing was that it was overgrown in certain areas so there were lots of brambles and stinging nettles whipping at you. My legs got savaged and my tummy got scratched as well.

As I knew what was coming in the course I was fully prepared for the huge hill around mile five. I had pre-planned to walk it rather than expend energy in trying to run up it. I power walked up and found it wasn’t too bad. Adjusting your expectation is key! I did have to shout to one poor bloke who was carrying on up (this is a big hill) rather than turning left, meaning he had gone up that hill further than necessary. Oops.

Photo credit: Alan Dunks

Then things became really pants. I suddenly felt a crippling stitch in my side. I tried to breathe differently and stretch my arms out (which has worked previously) but it stubbornly stayed. I felt really sick and the stitch was very painful. I had to stop. I bent over and just tried to breathe deeply. A guy ran past and asked if I was OK, I said I was, “just stitch”! I felt really disheartened and just pants. Even though it was just a training run I had been enjoying it. But this was not something to enjoy. For the next half a mile or so I had to run-walk to try and manage it. I even considering ringing my dad to say I’d had enough. But I thought I’d just keep trying and pushing forward. Time didn’t matter, but my ego did – I didn’t want a DNF!

A lovely man saw I was struggling and gave me some good advice while encouraging me forward. He told me to put my hands on my hips and keep breathing. This actually really helped (opening up my lungs?), as did the water stop that was around mile six. I fully stopped and made sure I drank enough – perhaps it was dehydration?

Then it was like I had a second wind – I felt good to go again! I caught up with the nice man and thanked him (though I did feel bad overtaking him) and eventually managed to see in the distance the guy that had originally overtaken me and asked if I was OK. Things were going well again!

The miles seemed to fly by and my legs felt strong. I didn’t feel like it was tough, it just felt like a nice run. I saw my dad at the mile 10 water stop which was nice. He looked a bit soggy but, as always, very pleased to see me and cheered me on.

A blip in the horizon!

I stopped again for water and told my dad I felt a bit sick but he just said “keep going” and I did.

I switched the podcast to music and pushed on. I felt myself speeding up and I went with it. The last three miles felt fantastic. Though on the last mile I finally caught up with the man and two others. We were going along a single file in the forest and I felt my speed dropping as I couldn’t get past. I was a bit frustrated as I was really into my flow. There was just about enough space to overtake if they moved over…so I shouted out as politely as I could, “Er fellas, is it OK to pass you guys?”

This didn’t seem to go down too well as they just grunted at me…but when a wider part appeared they did move over and I thanked them. Before I sound like a bit of a cow they were going significantly slower than me and there would have been enough space for me to pass…and, well, it is a race. I asked very politely and was nice about it. Anyway I said they’d probably catch me later anyway as it was likely I’d crash and burn.

^^Funny stats due to my Garmin satellite issues 🙁

Incidentally the man who originally asked if I was OK did catch up and sprinted past me to the finish. What was nice though was that at the finish he and the other two men I overtook each shook my hand and there seemed no hard feelings. Perhaps I misread the situation earlier?

My official time was 1:44:20. I genuinely couldn’t believe the time I’d finished as last year I did it in around 1:53 and was certain all my stopping and stitch issues would have slowed my time down significantly and I wasn’t racing. Because my Garmin hadn’t found satellites at the beginning my mile markers were out and I really had no idea how I was doing. I was over the moon! And I finished feeling strong, like I could have gone further. In fact, around mile 11 I asked myself if I could carry on to 26 miles and it didn’t seem impossible or daunting (yes OK probably wouldn’t have said that at mile 18!).

My mum was at the finish and she thought I was within top three females, which shocked me further. We had to wait for my dad for a bit to walk back so we were in no rush to head off. I grabbed a hot coffee and tried to keep warm in the drizzle (while obviously doing the standard post-race selfie…).

It was lovely having my mum there to chat about the race to and hear about what she’d been up to. She said she hadn’t been prepared for me to finish so quickly which is why when I ran past her on the final 100m she looked really shocked.

My dad arrived a short while later. We were all cold and decided to forgo any afternoon tea at the cafe (our original plan). Plus I felt incredibly sick and the mere sight of cake made me want to heave. I know, WHO AM I?!

As we wanted to head off I had to do a very awkward thing of finding out if I had won anything. It was such a horrible question to ask… I tried vaguely asking a marshal if she knew the results and got the standard reply “we’ll post them later” and then had to be a bit more specific and sound like a right arrogant so-and-so, “erm, no I mean, I wanted to know if I came any significant position? It’s just we’re a bit cold and need to know if we need to hang around for any prize givings…”. She took my bib number and disappeared. She returned shortly and told me yes I was due a prize. Ooooh!

I came second female! Two minutes behind first so there wasn’t any chance of getting first female! I won £25 vouchers for running gear, £10 off next year’s entry (it’s £13 to enter!) and a lovely glass diamond-shaped trophy. Not too shabby, eh!

On a slightly more negative note, I felt really sick afterwards. I couldn’t eat anything until 4pm. Though I did OK running when not feeling my best, it really impacted me in a nasty way afterwards. I don’t recommend it at all!

And my legs…oh my legs. So painful and itchy.

Have you ever surprised yourself with a performance you weren’t expecting?

Have you ever worked out/ran a race feeling hung-over?

What do you prefer: trail or road races? Hilly or flat?

July 13, 2015

Too much of a good thing

I think I need another day off…this weekend was so rammed, I’m not sure I’ve recovered.

It was my friend’s wedding on Saturday in Dorset. I live in Southampton so that’s about an hour and a half away. Originally I was going to camp there overnight as that’s what the invitation stipulated guests to do as they had an entire field booked for the wedding where the marquee was set up. Then I (thankfully) found out my couple friend and their one year old son were driving up and back. So I scored a lift with them, hurrah!

I sadly couldn’t make parkrun (breaking my 18 week streak *sob*) but I got up early to get in a four mile tempo run. I warmed up on the first mile and then aimed for 7min/miles for three miles and I was meant to cool down on the final 0.75 but I was really pushing for time and needed to get home quickly. Standard Anna procedure: only give yourself the very bare minimum of time and end up rushing like a madwoman.

The run went well though and I felt strong. I did miss parkrun but it was an OK alternative, even if I was running in the opposite direction to those running to the local parkrun 🙁

It was so warm and then having to have a shower and blow dry my hair was just a nightmare. Nothing like feeling super hot and sticky while trying to get into a nice dress.

Like I said previously, I went for a very simple dress so I could jazz it up with accessorises. My mum has lots of lovely fascinators so I went for a cream one and added pretty statement necklace.

For the first time in ages I wore heels! I sensibly took a pair of flip flops with me as well for after the ceremony when we got to the field – there’s only so much heel wearing I do.

The ceremony was gorgeous, set in a beautiful courtyard on the grounds of a castle.

It was fairly windy though which was slightly problematic for my skater skirt! It was a beautiful ceremony with Sarah, the bride, arriving on her horse (seated on it in the traditional side-on way ladies used to back in the day) and I felt a bit emotional – which is so unlike me! It was such a lovely touch as Sarah is very into her horse riding and the couple are both very outdoorsy (they were camping that evening too!).

Her dress was beautiful too. Nicely fitted with lots of lace detailing – she looked stunning. Afterwards we had the usual photo session and there was homemade elderflower champagne – oooh er!! Delicious.

We then left for the field for the wedding breakfast. My best friend (and lift), Louise, looked lovely in a white and blue dress with matching blue heels. Yummy mummy indeed!

We both enjoyed a glass (*cough* or three) of Pimms and I felt far more relaxed in my flip flops. Unfortunately I’d applied my suntan lotion a little too late and could already feel the slight sun burn tingling. Gargh!

The marquee was fantastic. They’d done everything themselves in terms of arranging furniture, catering, doing all the decorations and flowers. Honestly, Pinterest would have exploded.

Outside there were hay bales to sit on and space hoppers, giant Jenga, balls…it was brilliant.

They had handmade jam favours that had labels saying “Spread the love”. I mean, wow! Such great attention to detail.

The food was BBQ food which was very tasty indeed. The sausages were really good quality and the beef burger handmade.

Lots of salad and BBQ sauce as well, of course 😉

The pudding was Eton mess, very light and tasty.

Ohh another glass of champagne, a sneaky gin and tonic…I was quite on my merry way. We played with the balls and space hoppers outside, danced lots and basically just enjoyed ourselves.

Then the fish and chip van turned up as the evening guests arrived. Now I don’t even like fish and chips and somehow there I was in the queue waiting my turn for a battered cod and greasy chips.

The portion was huge. Though that didn’t stop me from consuming all but three chips. Honestly, I have no idea what happened! But it tasted good and I enjoyed it. The chips weren’t those horrible soggy ones, they were nice and crispy. Not quite content with consuming a ridiculous amount of stodge I then proceeded to eat three (albeit small!) slices of wedding cake. I can only blame the good atmosphere, my lack of self-control and the alcohol. But you know what, it was bloody fantastic. I did feel sick though and far too full. And massively regretted wearing a belt 😉

As I headed outside to walk to the nearby toilet facilities an elderly man was staggering back. He stopped in front of me and said (quite politely) “Excuse me, but you have lovely legs”. I sort of laughed and said thank you and he continued saying “you made an old man feel young earlier in the courtyard when your skirt blew up. My pacemaker went wild”. I’m pretty sure I just stood there laughing awkwardly. What do you say to something like that?? It was somewhat flattering I suppose…

I have to say, there’s nothing like a wonderful wedding to make you feel quite significantly alone. I wouldn’t say I’m lonely at all right now, being newly single, but being at a wedding where there are lots of couples and love-themed things…well it does sort of salt the wounds a bit. I tried not to dwell on it and just enjoy myself.

Eventually though it was time to head off home around 10pm. I had nicely sobered up by this point (well, I had been drinking since 12) and felt very tired. When I got home and collapsed into bed I fell asleep immediately. Only to wake up at 1.30am to be sick several times (sorry if this is TMI). Not my finest hour. Especially considering I had a half marathon the next day, though thankfully it was at 10.45am and not far away so I would get a lie-in at least. But honestly, I felt so ill. Being sick did help but I also felt very cold and shaky. I reckon being in the sun all day and not hydrating properly along with the alcohol and stupid amounts of food really did a number on me. But hey ho, life is meant for living right??

Not the best way to prepare for a half marathon for definite, but I wasn’t planning on going for it anyway. It was just a nice catered training run on hilly and off-road terrain. PBs were certainly not on my mind! I’ll leave it there for now and recap the race in another post!

Do you enjoy weddings? What’s your favourite part? There’s a lot of standing around…but there is also cake 😉

What handmade touches have you noticed at weddings before?

Have you ever gone to a race hungover and feeling delicate?

July 2, 2015September 18, 2020

DNAFit Results and Review

Ooook so this has been a bit delayed…my DNAFit results and review.

**Full Disclosure: I bought DNAFit myself and have not been asked to write a review.**

I first heard about DNAFit in RunnersWorld magazine (possibly an online article, possibly in the magazine, I can’t remember). At first I was like “this is weird” and then “is this legitimate…and safe?” but because it was in RunnersWorld I was instantly intrigued and reassured of it’s legitimacy (I know, I’m a sucker for good marketing!).

I could send off my DNA to be tested and be told a whole host of things about my genes regarding fitness.

I chose the DNAFit Lite.

As someone who has been plagued by injuries in the past, I was curious to know really how weak my body was. Was I predisposed to getting injuries just because that was who I was or was it really all in my head? We all know our own bodies fairly well so I was pretty sure what to expect from the results…but just to have the confirmation, or more in depth information was tantalisingly tempting. As it was my birthday my parents agreed to contribute to the cost and I made up the rest (happy birthday me!).

I didn’t need a VO2 Max potential as I’d already suffered gone through that VO2 test last year and though more information would have been nice on my genotypes and the athlete comparison, I wasn’t willing to pay £30 more for it.

Inside are very helpful and straight forward instructions about how to collect your DNA. It uses a mouth swab which you then send back in a pre-paid secure envelope. It advised swabbing first thing in the morning so I did just that, while feeling like a criminal 😉

It didn’t hurt and was very simple and easy. They emailed me to let me know when they’d received it and then the waiting game began. I was really excited to hear my results, desperately hoping I was actually made of steel and my injuries were all in my head.

Less than 10 days later I received an email telling me my results were in. Wheee!

I won’t lie, when I first looked at my results it was literally a quick scan to see the main points. I was also a little disappointed to find how much of it I really understood and how much I really got from it. Science lessons were a while ago now! Saying that though, after I read it a few more times and asked the company a few questions, my understanding increased and I felt like I got a lot of information.

Power Endurance Profile

I was highly surprised by this result. I really thought it would come back and say I was most suited to endurance activities. I love long distances and find them easier than shorter, sharper activities. It’s nice to know that my body seems attuned to both. I suppose this could make sense as when I put my mind to it I can do well (relatively speaking) at shorter distances, it’s just psychologically more work and less enjoyment.

As well as that overall summary it also goes into detail about different variants of genes. This is where my understanding started to waver. But after sending a query to the DNAFit people they quickly came back and explained it to me:

“The effect is shown by the presence of ‘-‘, ‘*’, ‘**’, “+”, and “++”. When there is just a dash, that means that the version of that gene is not associated with an effect in this particular part of the report. Then the presence of one asterisk’*’ means it has an effect, and two asterisks means that gene variant has a particularly strong effect on the marker in question…and two plus signs = very strong, one plus = strong.” (From DNATFit advisor)

Basically you’re given a list of the variants they examine and then marks them as to how much effect they have on your body. There are different strengths of associations and some variants might not have any effect at all, while some are really strong.

The darker shade of green is the version of that gene that I hold

I also found that I have a better VO2max response to training and lower levels of inflammation after hard training sessions, leading to quicker recovery times.

Recovery Speed

Again I was nicely surprised by this result. I assumed I’d get a slower recovery speed, but medium is good so I’m quite happy with that! I like how it suggested things for me to do to improve on my recovery. Since doing the Simply Supplement review in May I regularly take omega-3 tablets so I feel quite smug about this 😉

From my gene variants it seems I potentially have more free radicals post-exercise because I lack the part of the gene associated with their removal (I almost sound like I know what I’m talking about…). And I apparently experience “higher levels of inflammation after strenuous exercise”.

One of the benefits of getting these results back around the time of my marathon was that it could inform me of the best way to come back to running sensibly. During the week after the marathon when all I wanted to do was run I remembered these results and held myself back. I was sensible with what I ate, I wore compression socks and I was gentle with myself. It was almost like I could validate my rest (and convince myself not to run) because I knew my body needed it.

Injury Risk

This was the one I was most interested about. Injuries plague most runners, but I feel like I’ve had more than my fair share in comparison to others.

No surprises there whatsoever. I did feel somewhat depressed by this result though. But it does make sense that genes have an effect on these things. I’m sure we all know those people who can run stupidly high mileage every week, never stretch, never foam roll and never get injured. I’m sure those are the low injury risk people.

I also apparently have an increased risk of tendinopathy and osteoarthritis and a moderately raised risk of tendon and ligament injuries in sport. And a susceptibility of increased inflammation after a hard workout.

Overall

After understanding the results more, I feel quite happy with my results. It’s very complex obviously, with what genes affect me, the strength of that effect and then the variants within that gene. It does take a bit of careful reading and re-reading!

But what DNAFit also stress is that your genes aren’t everything. They’re the foundations to your house, but how you build to that house and furnish it is up to you. Last year I was stupid with my training. I didn’t do enough strength training for my body and when I got injured I didn’t take the time off to properly recover and then to gradually come back. It was more of a case of “I feel OK now, what race is next?” and jumping back into my training plan that I abandoned just before the injury.

One of the pointers DNAFit advisers me from my results it that I need to “undertake prehabilitative exercises relevant to the sport and consider nutritional support for connective tissue”. Since before Christmas I’ve been doing just this and it’s clearly working. They stress that my injury risk is based only on my genes, but that I can make changes in my environment to reduce this injury risk. Like our biology lessons taught us, genes aren’t everything – it’s a combination of genes and environment. I’m sadly not one of those people who can just run. I’ve got to strengthen and protect my body, and then take the time to rest and recover properly.

Is it worth it? Though DNAFit confirmed many things I already knew about myself, it was nice to get an insight into the details and know a bit more about myself. Would I recommend it? It is expensive and if you’re already well-tuned to your body, I’d say you probably don’t need it. But if you’re like me and want to know a bit more about yourself and help work out what you really need to do for good training (for example, I can’t run six days a week regularly – my body needs more recovery) then go for it. Ideal birthday or Christmas present!

Would this interest you?

Have you ever done a VO2 test or a DNA test like this?

How much recovery do you think your body needs?