Cardiac Arrest/Double Bypass

I'm blogging in bed again, it's started to become a really bad habit, either that or I just don't have enough hours in the day.

Since the Bury 20 I have run once due to illness (see my post about being bunged up to explain why!). And the only time I did run was pretty memorable!

For some reason I decided I liked the write up Jo did on the Cardiac Arrest so being adventurous I decided that it was a good idea for Gary and I to enter the 2 lap/16 mile version of this race on Easter Sunday. In my defence, I didn't know it was going to snow as well!

Everywhere was white when we woke up but we decided to go anyway. Jo S sensibly wimped out, I wonder why we didn't? By the time we got to the farm at Weston Underwood it wasn't as snowy but it was still pretty cold.
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We hung around in a draughty barn before the race started at 11am with less than 40 hardy souls. The 1 lap version was due to start half an hour later, but more of that in a sec.

We started round a field, through a muddy wood, down through a stream and back again (just for the sake of it!), it was cold, quiet and very definitely off road. In the first field I spotted Gary leading the race and I checked behind me, there were 5 people behind me!

The weather stayed cold and windy with snow on the ground (although the snow did disappear after while) and I plodded on. It was slippy underfoot, especially clambering up, over and round a railway bridge swiftly followed by a very deep stream crossing (I got wet pants, very unladylike!) with a very steep clamber out through some brambles, this was the first time I scratched my legs and had to tighten my shoe laces).

And so it continued, slippy, slidy, steep stream crossings, a longish tunnel (scary dark), more slipply slidy up and down hills in a wood and over a few hay bales. After 40 minutes the leaders of the Cardiac Arrest started to pass me, they must have started earlier than 11:30! Next was a scramble up and over piles of rocks in a quarry followed by some very claggy fields and then a long section where you crossed over and ran though and up a stream for quite some time. There was a great part just before a mini tunnel where the only way down the bank was by a control slide in the mud! Another part involved a steep bank that took me 3 attempts to scale. It's worth mentioning I was on my own for a good part of this race and there were very few marshalls. After having been in a race in the past where I fell and broke my arm, I am very glad I didn't do that in this race (although it wouldn't have been a surprise if I had) as I would have had to go quite some distance before seeing another person and it was cold!

Near the end of the first lap, the 2 lap people got to skirt 'The Dudleys', 2 large deep ponds which was good but gave you an insight into what was to come...

Something did go wrong somewhere as I managed to miss the first 3 miles of the second lap (I feel a bit cheated I only did 13 miles and not 16!). The second lap was very quiet and I had a number of bramble issues which meant I had some very impressive war wounds on my leg (loads of blood!). My trip into the Dudleys was cold, very cold...

Mmm, don't fancy this
Easy does it
Deeper
Bit cheesed off now
Phew, all over!

I managed to catch the guy in front of me (but not overtake sadly) just before the finish and then it was over, I was tired and very cold but pleased...even more so when I discovered Gary had won! Yippee! Just a shame I missed the presentation as I was still shuffling round in the snow!