End of an era.. but the start of a new one!

It was a tough night last night. I went to bed early because of my long run early alarm call, but Joanne was really poorly last and was in excruciating pain throughout the night. I was up with her a couple of times - every time she went off, she convulsed in pain again and woke herself up. The doctors appointment cant come soon enough!

We (the GB Bootcamps Massif) have just learned that it is no more (in its current format anyway). Its very sad news but the reasons behind it are totally understandable. I will miss it so much though as its been my "escape" for two and a half years now and literally saved my life. I will continue on though, with a renewed determination and with the help of my Bootcamp friends we will endeavour to still train together when we can.
Cheers GB, its been an amazing journey, you've given my the tools and the belief to continue onwards.

Running 30.33miles 10.13 / mile  5:09 hours
My alarm went off at 4:30am. I toyed with the idea of not going out, but I knew I couldn't fit the 5 hour run in any other time. So I got up and had a small breakfast and an espresso, got ready and headed out. Sunrise is gradually fading away as the year progresses and it was dark when I set off. I had to dig out some "flashers" for my kit, Ive got two LED flashing lamps for my bag, one red and one white.
With the lights steadily blinking away, I made my way across Jubilee Bridge. The lights of the DDH and town shimmered in the early morning tide. It looked amazing and peaceful, so I stopped for a quick pic:

View of Barrow and the DDH from Jubilee Bridge (5:10am)

 I carried on through town and out towards the coastal road to Ulverston. I passed a few revellers on the "walk of shame" from Saturday night out and remembered back many years when that used to be me! As I made my way beyond Roose the sky was beginning to lighten and heat the air up. I was only doing about 9:30/ mi but I was sweating after 3 miles. My cap went in my bag soon after. I made my way onto the coast road and cantered along at a nice easy pace. As I passed my good friend and training partners house, I felt a little sad as I miss Sunday morning runs with Michael and Ricky. We haven't run together for a few months as our goals separated in June - Both of them doing Ironman and myself the Ultra. I cant wait until we are back training for our next event together, probably the Grizedale Marathon in February.

The Sun was rising into the cloudy horizon directly ahead of me and I watched two hot air balloons ascend over the south Cumbrian and Lancashire hills in the distance. The sun poked its head out between the clouds and I stopped for a drink and to take a picture, overlooking Morecambe Bay Sands:

The Sands of Morecambe Bay

I descended through the dense and lush Sea Wood at Bardsea and came across a signposted path that led into the forest. This wasn't the day to explore but I would be back with my son to see what we can find in the future. The temperature was rising quickly so I continued to take on electrolytes and made sure my fuelling was spot on. The fuelling was really good today, I never felt lacking in energy throughout the run. I spotted the Hoad Hill Monument in the distance. I had envisioned myself having breakfast (a bag of nuts and seeds) at the top and nothing was going to change that today. Ulverston was quickly upon me and I made my way through to Ford Park at the foot of the Hill. I ascended up the path towards the top and only power hiked the last section. I sat down on the refreshingly dewy wet grass and tucked into my snack while I looked upon the amazing vista in front of me:

Breakfast on Hoad Hill

I packed up, took the quick way down (steep grassy bank on the Ford Park side) and made my way out of Ulverston onto the A590. From there it was a straight run through to Dalton so I put my headphones on and some classic rock accompanied me along side the busy road. I ran out of water just where I had planned to - Dalton. There are a couple of newsagents open early that I use to refill my water bottles. The very nice lady behind the counter took one look at me and asked if Id been running. When I told her 22miles with 8 to go she looked at me in disbelief and wished me good luck. Refuelled, I set back to it up and out of Dalton past Clarence house. From my route plan I knew if I ran through Askham Brick works it would take me well over 30 miles, so I cut off that leg of the run and descended St Helens Hill (a nice change as I usually run up it!). From there I cut across the dual carriageway and around Stroke one.

I was starting to feel heavy legged by that point. It had been a big mileage week and it was starting to tell. But that's the point of these runs, to get used to high mileage on tired legs. I ploughed forwards down Park Road all the way to KFC and turned towards Walney. I knew I had two more miles to do but it was only one to home. I ran straight up to Sandy Gap and along to Biggar Bank. My legs were nearly done by this point but I relentlessly cracked on with only 1/2 a mile to go. Then it was just an easy jog down the hill to home, clocking just over 30 miles. I felt really good after it and had a good
20 min stretch in the garden while drinking my protein shake.

Unfortunately my wife was still quite ill and exhausted from last night so she had to go back to bed on my return. The pain had taken so much out of her. It meant I had to keep going today and perhaps its a reason why I can run long distances. I have to keep going, looking after my family,washing, ironing, cooking etc even after a 30 mile run. My right ITB is tired now though (about 8pm) and needs some attention tonight. I reckon I will drop like a stone later!

An Epic but tiring run with some amazing views of the coast.

Food Diary:

Pre Run Breakfast:
2x Fuel Wheat Protein Bricks with Blueberries and Skimmed Milk

Run Fuelling:
3x Gels, 3x Asda GFY Oat Bars, Handful of Nuts and seeds, 3x electrolyte tablets, 2 ltrs water

Post Run Protein Shake:
Berry and Banana Blast: Frozen Berries, Banana, Hemp Protein, Coconut and Almond Milk, chia seeds

Breakfast:
Large bowl of Mini Shredded Wheat with loads of blueberries, honey and skimmed milk

Lunch
Wholemeal Wrap with Smoked Salmon and Goats Cheese, rocket salad with mango dressing

Dinner: (Recovery)
Homemade Chicken Tikka with Coconut Basmati Rice and half a naan bread and a dollop of Mango Chutney

Snacks:
2x Apples, Oatcakes and Humus