Grim 2011 - Race Report

My final event of the year has now gone and as usual, it was a lot of fun. This is my 3rd proper Grim and I come back every year as I enjoy it so much. Strangely though, it wasn't as grim as normal as 11 degrees and sunny makes it much more pleasant although in a strange way, not as much fun. I only say that because when it's close to zero, the impending fear you get from every single puddle gets your adrenaline flowing but when it's slightly warmer, the puddles don't have that hold over you. In fact, I made a point of aiming for pretty much every single one of them.

This is the thing I don't get. Why would someone pay £25 to enter and then try and go round the edge of the puddles! I just don't get it!! It seems completely alien to me. If I didn't want to get wet and muddy, I wouldn't enter this event. Where's the logic?? Don't get me wrong, I'm don't swan dive into them but running, splashing and squelching through mud and puddles gives me more child like joy than any other event I do!

To the event itself, impeccably organised as ever and no hassle at all. They have amended the course this year though. They've taken out the part known as 'the boring bit'. Previously, this was about 3 miles of gravel road through the forest with absolutely no obstacles at all. DULL! This is now only about 1km long and the rest has been replaced by logs, train tracks, big mogul hills (hill, puddle, hill, puddle, hill, puddle etc) which was my favourite bit and then some steep, muddy and narrow tracks through the forest. So much better. I can honestly say it makes the whole route interesting now if not a little tougher on the legs.

Soaked from the waist down and mud up to and in my beard! Welcome to Grim!

It's restored my faith in Grim events after May's quite frankly, crap, Beast in the East and also makes me look forward to Grim 'Night Terror' which is coming up in Feb which should make the whole concept even better by making it colder and also only having the light of a head torch to guide you round. Hahahahahahaha! This is gonna be so much fun!!

Grim and Bare It! RACE REPORT

I just love Grim. It's such a mad event and I said last year about there seems to be a camaraderie between participants. Apart from a few people at the front, there doesn't seem to be any need to actually race at all. It's just a muddy fun-run. 14.21km of fun-run but a fun-run none the less and I love it.

With eatingtrees being designated driver for the day, off we popped after a night of little sleep (thanks George) and promptly arrived in a car park quite far away from where we wanted to be. A few walks from the car and back quickly made us realise that although the temp said 9 ish degrees, the wind reality was something altogether different. 2 questions at this point popped into my head. WHY DID I NOT HAVE A LONG SLEEVE TOP ON and WHY DID I NOT HAVE A WOOLLY HAT WITH ME!!! Idiot boy.

I had a cotton T-shirt on over the top of my running top and this was intended to be cast aside at the last minute before the start. Nope. Not with that wind. I quickly re-attached my number to the old t-shirt and now intended to run with both. It was a good decision!

We met up with Fitartist (and the support crew of Edward and Hector) and planned to run it together. No need to push all the way with something like this. Grinning/Smiling and shrieking when water reaches the parts other puddles can't reach is the way forward. We all found it pretty tough going but it wouldn't be fun if it was easy.

My chip time came in at 1:45:40 which is about 45 minutes longer than I've run at any point in the last 5 months so the feeling of crossing the line was wonderful. An awesome T-shirt this year I must say...

T-SHIRT WITH ADDED GEORGE DRIBBLE AND YOGURT

Mrs HMC, our resident photographer and supporter wasn't able to be with us this time due to George's first swimming lesson (which he loved may I add) but there are a couple of great photo's over on Fitartist's blog. 

A final shout must go out to eatingtrees who not content on dragging fitartist through the first big puddle he found, then promptly lost his footing and went splashing around within the first 200m. Only another 14km to go with soggy shorts and a bleeding knee then!!

Nur nur nur nur nur nur nur nur BAT RUN!

Thought it best to stretch the legs prior to Saturday's Grim so I planned a little route during the day and headed out for a run while leaving Mrs HMC to put George to bed.

I pried open my trainers and broke off the mud holding them together and slipped my feet into them. Toasty warm due to leaving them on a radiator! A head torch was donned and a little flashy red light arm band type thingy was attached to my arm. It was quite a mild night in Surrey so no hat was needed and after 5 minutes, I was wishing I'd chosen a short sleeve instead of a long sleeve top!

I'd planned a little loop I hadn't done before which had been checked for paths on Google Streetview. Quite a nice run actually that included a great little section with very little street lighting and lots and lots of bats for company and then another part with a view where the sky had some quite cool effects going on. 6.22km was completed in 33:33 which is back to my normal pace as I'd removed the 2 BIG hills from my route.

I have also bitten the bullet and ordered the New Balance 1064 which should arrive soon and it also means that Saturday's Grim Challenge with eatingtrees and fitartist could be the final send off for my last ever pair of 1063's! They've done every race bar my very first half marathon. It'll be a sad day.

Oh and I forgot, this years Half Marathon European adventure has been planned. This year.... The City Pier City Loop on the 13th March. Myself, eatingtrees and Mrs HMC are going on a road trip!

Twas the night (or morning of the night)...

...before Christmas and HMC decided to step on some scales (at the parents, he doesn't own any)....

It's been a while. I've never been a light man and never expect to be so as I haven't done any exercise for around 2 months, this wasn't going to be pretty. 14 stone is pretty much standard for me and anything around that I'd be OK with. (for 'OK', read disappointed but not disappointed enough to actually do anything about it).

On we go... Huh? Problem. Step off, reset to 0, step back on again and same reading. A smidgen over 13 stone. Huh? What the _____? When in all that is holy did that happen and second question is... If I seem to have lost a 14th of my body weight, WHERE THE FUDGE HAS IT GONE?

I put it down to bad scales and got on with my xmas of cold, cough, chest pains, no appetite and needing to sleep during daylight hours. This was a horrible xmas personally. I've never been wiped out completely before but on my 31st xmas and George's very 1st, Daddy was not good!

Anyway, next was off to the in-laws for more food, drink and merryment. Again, I wasn't good but they did own scales which enabled me to test myself again. This time though, just after a meal and fully clothed (bet you're glad I left my nakedness out of the earlier weighing session now aren't you!). I came in just under 13 and a half and therefore have lost some weight somewhere.

After a couple of days, I think I've sussed it. No running or cycling means all my muscle has turned back in to fat and that's lighter. That's the only theory I have. I wish I'd known earlier in my life that if didn't exercise I could lose weight. Things would be so much easier.

Anywho, good luck to all the frankly disturbed and freaky people doing Janathon. I have no idea why! The only way I found time for Juneathon was running at 5:20am most mornings and that was before George was born. 5am on a January morning when I already fight for sleep every night? Behave people! But good luck anyway. I will be following you. Now I have 2 weeks to get myself able to do the re-organised Grim Challenge on Jan 15th. Don't suppose snow is due is it?

Non Grim based title

It's been a while and I haven't run but I was still really looking forward to Grim today. Don't get me wrong, I knew it was going to hurt but it was so good last year that i felt that eatingtrees could just kind of drag me through the puddles backwards if it got that point. Never mind. It gives me a chance to go for a run in the meantime and do at least an ounce of training prior to the new date.

There is one lucky point through, while clearing the snow with my foot last night, I jarred it into a piece of ice and was in pain all night with it. How do I get these stupid injuries??? It certainly would have made it even slower and painful. Actually, I guess the puddles would have numbed it so probably wouldn't have made a difference.

A few updates from me, we've got married a few weeks ago, it was a wonderful day and now LG (lovely girlfriend) will become Mrs HMC. We had a week in Egypt (no not a honeymoon) with George and learnt both how much fun and how much hard work, taking a 3 and a half month old boy on holiday can be. (For the record, don't be scared of flying, he was a star on both flights).

I also have a fantastic pair of sunglasses to try out from those lovely people at Polaroid but due to lack of motivation and absolutely no sunshine, I haven't been able to go running in them yet. I can say though, while lying by a pool or walking along a beach in a different country's sunshine, they performed wonderfully. Obviously a full review will follow when the sun comes out and I strap on a pair of trainers.

A short note

Numerous things mean I'm not running much at the mo. Some I dislike, some I don't mind but overall a lack of 'want' is happening currently.

I haven't been back to Ashtead Running Group since my first session. In fact, I haven't run full stop since my first session. Annoyingly, that first following Tuesday was the day I was held up at work for ages then when I got home, had loads of little things to do and then the following Tuesday was just late back from work again and now the motivation has dropped but I think therein lies the other problem. My shitty job.

When I get home, occasionally stressed, I know that a 'blow the cobweb's away' run would do me some good but what I find is that I'd rather spend that precious hour giving George some cuddles and getting him ready for bed and then after, spending some time with LG than out running. It's just where my priorities are at the moment and I'm not going to beat myself up about it.

This is obviously no good for either keeping weight down or lowering blood pressure (I think a new job would help that) so it's just a case of trying to eat healthily so I don't balloon in weight.

As for Grim, I'll be there... I wouldn't miss it for the world. All the mud and water is so much fun but I think eatingtrees may end up leaving me for dead. 8 miles with little training through mud, water and cold. Who could ask for more!

The futures bright, the futures Grim

The want and need to sign up for races that are a little bit different than the norm has today, made me sign up for what was without doubt, one of my favourite races last year. Yes, the mud, water and freezing temperatures will once again be in my sights as Grim'10 has been paid for and I'll be there on the Saturday along with eatingtrees. I'm already excited about it! Enough to be thinking about Hellrunner too...

However, the important issue of mine and eatingtree's (& possibly LG and crying bump's) foreign half marathon janut for 2011 is still to be decided. Prague was awesome but tough with the cobbles, Lisbon was lovely with the exception of the 13.1 miles in the middle of the trip so next year.... It could possibly be one of these which frankly, look beautiful or disturbing, depending on which one you click on! The Lausanne Half Marathon, the Polar Night Half Marathon or the Midnight Sun Half Marathon are the current options!

Obviously I need to get myself pounding the pavement again soon which I guess I'll try on Monday as we don't have to go to work or next week sometime. Firstly, I have the small matter of a 25-30 mile cycle ride tomorrow morning in 'training' for L2B. I have a feeling that by the time I finish, every part of my being is going to wish I'd kept some gears on the damn thing. Eatingtrees has sorted the course and says things like 'it's a mix of everything with a few hills thrown in for good measure'. Oh good. no really. Joy!

Myself, LG & bump have also found somewhere new to live so we just have to pack up the entire flat now and move it to the country. I'll no longer be in London which is great for many reasons. The reason it won't be is I have a lot of new route planning to do and I can't even avoid the hills if I don't know where I'm going!

Grim '09 Race Report - A being a kid day out

As the alarm sounded at 6:45am on Saturday morning, I was reminded quite strongly, why Mexican food and multiple margaritas is not the best preparation for running 8 miles in the cold wet muddy conditions of Grim. Or for any run at all in fact. Therefore I turned off the alarm, rolled over and went back to sleep.

Well that's what I should have done. Instead, I hauled myself out of bed and started to check the race packing I'd done when I was a little tipsy the night before to see what I'd forgotten. The answer was socks and only socks which i didn't think was too shoddy. Clearly I'm better drunk than I thought.

LG made some porridge, I made coffee (black, strong, sweet) and with LG wrapped up with more layers than a child with an overprotective mother, we hit the road.

We met up with eatingtrees in the car park and it was clear that his enthusiasm for this event had waned somewhat in the 7/8 months since signing up. He was determined not to get cold! I was standing in shorts!! After wandering to the starting arena, we met up with John and Adam from The Running Bug (very nice they were too) and discussed how horrible i thought this was going to be. At the start,  Adam said to me, your feet are obviously going to get wet at some point, just try avoid to avoid an all out soaking at the beginning.

I failed miserably. Within 200 yards of the start both feet had been fully submerged, were about 2kg heavier and I now had the prospect of running 8 miles with very cold and very wet feet. It's quite nice though, as you carry on running, your feet warm up a bit (until the next puddle anyway). There was a real sense of team/everyone together/fun out on the course and I loved it. Nearly everyone was smiling (even eatingtrees by this point). The miles ticked slowly by and looking at the watch was pretty much pointless because this thing was never about speed and you can only run through a puddle so quickly before you fall on your face and I didn't intend to do that. Some parts of the course doubled back on themselves which did make it fun to here the screaming as the cold water that you'd gone through 30 seconds ago was now making someone else miserable.

The main cargo nets and mug part caused a bit of a back log as loads of spectators lined the track with cameras at the ready. Below is myself and eatingtrees once we were through the worst of that bit. We're smiling and everything!!!

After this part of the course and a few more puddles went past, we had a bit of a dry section. At that point, my feet started thawing out and I realised that I appeared to have a stone or something under my toe which was annoying and slightly painful although I had no idea if it'd done any damage due to the numbness. After a while and with more water numbing the feet again, I forgot about it. That was until I loaded the washing machine yesterday. This is the INSIDE of my socks, calf support and shoe. How the hell did this stuff get INSIDE my sock?!?!?!

I was trying to pick up the pace a bit as I felt I could do it comfortably and I have to say, in the whole 8 miles, i only felt tired for about 200/300 metres within the last mile. Then I saw the finishing loop and I had a new burst of energy coming through the final water bit and felt like a gazelle as I went past a couple of people. I said felt like, not looked like.

And over the line... In 1:33:29. Time? rubbish. Do I care? nope. Will I do this event again next year? Without a doubt. I honestly smiled through the entire thing and can't think of any other race I've done when I've had a grin on my face from start to finish. I can't recommend it enough. Join me next year. Be Grim!