parkrun: living the sub 16 dream....

 24^th November 2012 - the date of the last parkrun where I could run with more than one husky.  After an amazing three years, something that I have loved doing was coming to an abrupt end.  Whatever the future holds, this run was always going to be a very special and emotional run…..

I was not supposed to be running parkrun today.  I was supposed to be running in a 100 mile race, without huskies.  I am an ultra-runner by heart, I run parkruns as speed training session and because they are so much fun.  The huskies love running them even more than I do!  Perhaps due to the fact that they are treated as celebrities every time we parkrun, plus I have seen people sneak them cake…

Anyway, courtesy of a very badly sprained ankle, I had to pull out of the 100 mile race.  Running and walking has been extremely painful for the past two weeks. 

Running 5k at speed was always going to hurt, but thankfully I have a brilliant sponsor in Rehband – they provide me with the most amazing ankle supports that allow me to run when otherwise I would be unable to.  I do not recommend others to follow what I do.  For those that do not know my story, I have been managing ankle pain since I was 13 years old.  I sustained an injury that was not treated properly and as a result I have regular problems with my ankle.  Several operations have helped, and my body has become accustomed to coping with the pain.  The recently sustained ankle sprain was on the “bad” ankle therefore my body and mind know what they need to do as they have practised well….

Drinking several Hoegardens and Blue Moons last night, ensured that I was fully carbo-loaded and had some really cool dreams in preparation.  Drinking Hoegardens and Blue Moons the night before also had me nearly sleeping through the alarm clock…

Arriving at parkrun, the plan was very simple.  Run as hard as I could and no matter what, not give up.  Run all the way to the finish as if my feet were on fire. 

Now this agenda may sound rather simple, the reality is that when you are running with dogs it is not usually possible.  There are cows, ponies, loose dogs and poo stops (not me I may add…) to deal with.  Dogs can be unpredictable and sometimes dogs (and their human companion) just cannot be bothered….

Today was not one of those days.  The cows all stayed away, the ponies just stood and watched us and the one loose dog only caused a minor interruption.

Thanks to the amazing support of Anne on a lead bike and Ian with our other two huskies, the course was relatively clear and all other Greenham Common users had been forewarned about a mad lady with huskies that was about to fly past them….

Kroi “floored” it right from the start.  As usual, Kez bounced his little brother a couple of times to try and get him to slow down.  Thankfully Kroi ignored him.  In Kez’s defence, I frequently run ultra-distance events with him and have trained him to run slowly from the start as I don’t think sub 5 minute miles are sustainable for 50 miles of running….

 

The course was full of puddles today, which the dogs loved.  Kez in particular loves to run through puddles, the bigger the better!  I forgave him today for the minor detours off course that he insisted upon as the puddles on the grass were deeper – his delight was clear to see.

Just after one mile we met the ponies.  Anne cycled over to them and I am sure that they listened to her as she asked them to stay where they were.  For the first time ever they did not stampede, which allowed the huskies and I to casually trot past them without any worries. I later learned that Ian had found the ponies huddled on the course itself during his recce of the route. He’d moved them aside to clear the runners’ path.

Round the final bend and Kez started trotting, then Kroi also started trotting.  This is usually when I slow down considerably as the line goes slack and I am not “assisted”.  As long as they are “bounding” they are helping me.  The dream started slipping away as I struggled to maintain the pace that we had been running.  The seconds ticked away and time started moving faster as my legs moved slower.  My ankle hurt and I felt rather unwell.

But I refused to give up.  I refused to accept that this dream was going to slip away from me.  I called to Kez and I called to Kroi.  I asked for their help, pleaded with them.  I even promised Kroi a new Colin Caterpillar….  As my body ached and my lungs burned, they responded.  The picked up the pace and surged forward, but only for a few hundred meters when they spotted the off-lead dog careering towards us.  Thankfully we were able to avoid it by running wide, but the dogs had lost their momentum and were back to trotting.  I asked again and they started to respond, just as I spotted Ian in the distance, running with Lara and Krofti.

It was at this point I truly entered the dream world.  I asked the boys to “go for it, just one last time” and they did.  I took a very deep breath and dug deeper than I thought was possible.  I looked at my watch and realised that I was well on target for running sub 16.  I threw everything into those last few hundred yards.  We rapidly caught up with Ian, Lara and Krofti. The husky boys’ inclination is to slow once their pack is reunited, and so they did. For a second or two we slowed to their pace. With the last remaining spare breath in my body I puffed out an order to Ian to “run with us to the finish and don’t slow”. Kez and Kroi relished the company and were immediately refocused.  Our running buddies couldn’t stay alongside but they remained close enough to extinguish any pack-separation anxiety.  Buoyed by the awaiting crowds of marshals at the finish line and shouts of “she’s going to do it”, all three of us gave it everything we had.

Perhaps I was close to blacking out, or perhaps it was something else, but as we flew into the finishing straight and the cheering volunteers I no longer felt pain.  It was a very surreal feeling – a mixture of extreme contentment and exhilaration.  Once we stopped, I was immediately transported back to the real world of pain and extreme breathlessness!!

 

My official time was 15:48.  It was an amazing team performance in so many ways: Ian’s relentless support; the huskies amazing ability and connection with me; the volunteers at Newbury parkrun….

Where do I start in my thank you list?  Rachael Elliot and Andy Tucker have been instrumental in organising support teams for the past few weeks, Ian Greenstreet on lead bike on previous runs and Anne on lead bike today.  All the volunteers and runners at Newbury parkrun are quite simply amazing.  Generous words of support and encouragement and their actions allowing me to achieve the dream.

Thank you Rehband (http://www.rehbandsport.co.uk/ ) and Trion:z (http://www.trionz.co.uk/) for providing my ankle and body with the support that it needs for running and recovery. 
Salomon (http://www.salomon.com/uk/ ) for my favourite non slip shoes (Salomon Speedcross) and the cap to keep the rain from my eyes, allowing me to see where I was going… 
9bar (http://www.9bar.com/ ) for giving me the energy to run this morning. 
Sunwise (http://sunwise.co.uk/ ) for the sunglasses that I normally wear – sadly the rain and fog restricted their use today. 
Zensah for their amazing variety of arm and leg sleeves (http://www.zensah.com/ )
And let’s not forget the huskies – thanks to Sue Hendry (http://www.healthforanimals.co.uk/) for proving their amazing beds and Trion:Z collars.

And finally, thank you parkrun.  Without you this dream may well have never been created, and certainly would never have been lived……

 (photos/ images courtesy of parkrun, Clive Williams, Sonja Kabirschke, Pete Aylward & Ian J Berry)