Woburn Blog
Race Reports and Idle Thoughts
Anxiety is a normal part of life – it’s a primeval human instinct that stops us casually walking off a cliff, or trying to stroke a cute looking sabre toothed tiger. Controlling that anxiety, managing it and mastering it – these are difficult skills, but ones that can be learned with practice. You learned how to swim. You learned how to run through transition holding your bike. You learned how to wee in a lake. You can learn this too.
A serious block of Double Brutal specific training last night, as I had my first experiment with overnight riding. On race weekend, I’ll be cycling all day and well into the night, probably finishing the bike leg around two o’clock in the morning. The big question with which I am wrestling is whether to stop and sleep at some point between the eight laps of the bike course, or to just press on and ride straight through.
I’m sure you’ve heard of the idea of using periodic walking as part of a structured strategy for running long distance. The idea is that you run for a fixed period of time before inserting a stretch of walking on a regular basis. You do this from the very beginning of the race, which means your first stretch of walking might feel a little self indulgent, but in theory it preserves the strength in your legs, and enables you to maintain your pace throughout the run.
The whole Breca experience was incredible, but the race was a game of two halves. The first half, till the final exit of Buttermere - where the sprint race ended - was a tough adventure race that involved some technical running and some beautiful swimming. The second half, consisting of the brutal fell run over Dale Head and the weary swim across Derwent, was more of a trial of strength. Strength of body and mind.
