Coffee and a piece of cake well earned I would say. Excellent job FP!
2 Likes
Superb effort FP! That’s a lot of ground to cover on foot👍
2 Likes
Great result!!!
1 Like
Top work! Beat the target as well! 
1 Like
Thanks everyone, that last lap took everything I had. Mrs FP and LO were trying to meet to come down the chute but the set up made it hard if you weren’t in a team.
The teams gather on the corner before the straight and I got a massive cheer which made me emotional and I stopped.
Two lovely ladies came to my aid and walked down the chute with me. Mrs FP and LO were right at the. I’m not sure but everything just cam flooding out!
Home now, showered and in bed. Mrs FP unloaded the van and I’m having full English breakfast for dinner.
Father’s Day!
I’m not putting my body through that again. I didn’t have the day wanted but stuff got done😉
32 Likes
Enjoy the rest of your Father’s Day 
Amazing pics, well done again, you laid it all out and it sounds like you gave it everything you had!
1 Like
Awesome!
Great job? Back to work in the morning?! 
2 Likes
Thanks. No I have Monday off and might tack Tues on there also!
6 Likes
FP that is a performance right there. Absolutely marvellous well done sir!
1 Like
Awesome mate!
1 Like
@FatPom - I hope you are recovering well from your epic efforts.
We know you’ve had extra pressure at work recently & not all of your training/preparation when to plan.
So, this really was an outstanding performance. 
Take care, Paul. 
5 Likes
Thanks all, really means a lot. Heading off to drop the adventure bus back and having a relaxing breakfast out with Mrs FP.
I will write more later though, had time to reflect on everything and lessons learned.
13 Likes
You only need to learn lessons if you’re planning on doing it again.
10 Likes
Right, so here we are, more than 24hrs after finishing and what do I think and what did I learn about myself?
Well the race was at a different venue for me but a traditional one for the regulars. The race org has changed from a small brand to a big hitter (Threshold). For those of us that have experienced IM, the usual pros and cons apply. Big bucks company buy up an existing race and swear to keep the good things but make it ‘even better’.
Personally I don’t think it was but that purely depends on your view. The race was sponsored by Heineken, the build and comms were non stop promotion, the compulsory ‘supporter’ wrist bands for friends and family £12.50 adult and £7.50 kids (plus Active fee of course!) smacked of penny pinching. Other touches that were nice about last year were gone, some were improved but overall you could see ultimately which way it’s heading. Threshold have announced ballots for RttKing and RttStones.
The course though, I liked better than Henley. Although a fair bit hillier, Reading was much more ‘runable’ other than one steep tree rooted descent. It was also a bit more interesting and the tress in some sections were amazing lit up with strings of neon at night.
Last year I ran the initial laps too fast and suffered, this year I was determined to learn from that. I did slow down but my first laps were still sub 1hr but I think Reading is a faster course slightly. However, still too fast and I slowed down deliberately on lap 3.
Nutrition was a vague plan in my head, a mix of what usually works on different days but hydration was not. I had a definite plan for hydration, a 250ml soft flask in a Salomon belt. One SIS tab in each bottle and empty that each lap and swap for a new bottle Mrs FP would make up.
This worked for two laps but it was not quite enough, so I switched to emptying the 250ml by the aid station at 5km and then top up with water until I reached camp again. Worked a treat and ensured I did not carry too much.
I found regulating myself with specific targets to empty the bottles was way easier than carrying loads of drink a sipping occasionally.
Food was a combo. In the belt I carried at all times a SIS gel and a tube of Shot Blocks. Where our van was in the solo area, meant that my pick up point was about 400mmtrs before the start/Finish.
We made up some sandwiches Sat morning, a range of cheese and tomato, Marmite or peanut butter. We also bought a whole range of snacks like nuts, sweets, Naked bars fruit etc
Each lap I’d pick up a bag that Mrs FP put together with a sandwich, Naked bar and nuts.
The next bag would be a different sandwich, bar and some sweets instead of nuts.
I picked up a bag each lap, ran with it in my hand until the first hill, which was about 300mtrs past the start/finish. Then I’d start dipping into the bag and when finished, I could stuff the empty zip lock bag into my belt, or if i hadn’t finished, I’d run with it in my hand and nibble again at the next hill.
5km aid station had fruit, sweets, water and sport drink, so there was no panic of being without.
I’d say it worked well and I’ve learnt a major lesson in what/how much I should be taking in each hour and more to the point, how to regulate the intake. It’s not specific in calories but gives me a much better gauge than I’ve had before.
So my minimum summer hydration intake is 500ml per hour. I know a lot will say that’s not enough but I think if we are are honest, we never drink as much as like to think we do and I’m always surprised how much is left in my bottles at aid stations.
There were a couple of laps where I wanted nothing at all and just water but that’s an easy tack to take with laps and a bloody slippery slope on a long point to point.
The other thing I learnt is how quickly things can change. Last year I had a major problem when I got sick and my down time was 4hrs but when I was better, problem solved. This year I had a problem that crept up on me. Due to my tumbles I had some delayed shock, in that when I stopped for my evening ‘reset’ my body shut down, started shaking and my feet were on fire.
A planned 30-40 min stop turned into over 90mins with a lie down in the van. Back out into the night and obviously slower. My breakfast reset also did not go well with stomach not great and I had to just rest my feet a bit and I dressed badly for what I thought were still cold conditions but were not that bad, so the next lap I had to change again, put sunscreen on, lighter socks.
All of which is a good lesson not to ignore how much time dealing with little things takes. I thought last year’s 4hrs downtime was a disaster but this year, I’d spent the same amount of time not moving, I just hadn’t realised it. Paper cuts and all that.
Lesson learned, even over 24hrs, being efficient matters but not taking time out to attend to things is doomed to failure.
During these things I constantly ask myself if I’m an ultra runner or just pretending to be one. I don’t have build for it and I don’t have the technical skills but I do like goal setting and trying to achieve them. Occasionally I get it very wrong. Entering all the Grand Slam races this year was pure ego folly and I put a stop to that nonsense.
My main limiting factor in these things is how tender my feet get and I don’t know why. Different shoes and insoles seem to make little difference. Resting helps but not always practical with cut offs.
I swore up and down on the weekend that I’m not good at this and that I should not attend The Plague in July as I will not make cut off but a day after the finish, I’m thinking ‘well I have some leave due’ 
25 Likes
I do not refer to myself as a triathlete, I don’t think of myself as one. I am not quick at them. But I enjoy it, well some of it 
If you fancy doing the doing the ultras and want to, crack on. Just don’t put unnecessary performance pressure on yourself that ultimately detracts from what you achieve. I enjoyed the outlaw half as I did it. But when I got my time, my slowest on that race, it deflated me a bit. But a quick word with myself had me knowing that actually it was reflective of my fitness, horrific transitions aside. But more importantly I enjoyed it.
I find what you did at the weekend absolutely bonkers and well beyond anything I would try. I think the distance you covered was genuinely admirable. On those long events you can go to some dark places in your head with fatigue but that’s what it is and part of why we do it. Discover about ourselves and who we are when in those places. You kept on trucking through all of that 
12 Likes