On Saturday we (Me and Sue and kids) travelled up to Straford upon Avon for me to run in the JW Ultra which runs from Stratford to Bournville Station in Birmingham.
It looked like it was going to be a nice day for it with clear skies and we got up there early so Sue and Becky and Laura (daughters) could go and marshall the early sections that did not run along the canal.
I met loads od ppl I knew and chatted to folk before the start and after a bit we were ready at the start and we were off. I set off a bit quick and was soon too hot in my light jacket so faffed a bit after a mile or two and took it off before I sweated too much. It was nice to see the family marshalling as I went through the town and got onto the canal and started to tick of the miles chatting to runners.
After a few miles I needed a pit (toilet) stop and found some bushes off the track and did what was needed and ran on only losing a dozen or so places. Not much further I felt a bit icky and had to stop again with an iffy tummy. After this I slowed the pace and decided to plod the rest and not try to run fast. At 10miles I was at the first Checkpoint and saw Sue and Kids. I plodded on and caught up with Allan Rumbles and chatted with him for a bit but he was a bit quick and I let him go to plod on behind.
I soon needed another toilet stop and visited a local pub where I sat down for a bit but in my haste I left my instruction sheet behind and luckily I was fine and made it to the next CP ok where I managed to blag a spare set of route instructions from someone kind.
Although I was feeling a bit icky still I plodded on with the odd walk break and chatted to a few runners as they passed or I passed them and soon I was near the end and for the last couple of miles I ran with a friend of Allans and me and her chatted as we finished the last few miles and crossed the finish line to a nice quiet finish crapmed by the station towpath.
I got a lift back to the pavillion where I had a burger and a coke and got showered before chatting to ppl for a bit and then heading for home.
I finished the race in 5:16ish and came in 29th overall out of 70odd ppl so although I was at least 30mins slower than I wanted I was not too dissapointed and happy to have finished.
A really nice race run by really nice ppl and I think I will be back again next year.
On the weight front I ended the month at 15stone 2lbs so not quite the 15st I wanted but I am still going in the right direction.
I will aim to lose another few pounds before my next big race in 3 weeks time the Caesars Camp 100 miler.
That will be a tough one.