Donut Dash – 12.1.25

Phoenix Running

After narrowly being beaten by Mary at the last marathon, I was determined that this wouldn’t happen again! Actually I was positive that it wouldn’t as this time as we promised we would stay together.

The joy of having the last marathon so fresh in my mind was that I should know what kit I needed. What could possibly go wrong?

The plan was to parkrun with Beth on Saturday morning in London, Beth could then travel home on the train and we would stay in a hotel near Walton-on-Thames that evening and run on Sunday. A perfect plan! I even had my bag packed ready and by the door for loading into the car early Saturday morning…

But the parkrun weather fairies had other ideas as the bitterly cold weather had parkruns cancelling all over the place, The risk of Beth being stuck in London relying on a train to get home was very real. I also hadn’t factored on Mary being unwilling to wake before 6am!

Mary might love marathons and want ro be in the 100 Club but I love parkrun tourism more! So after Mary strongly verbalised her wish to stay in a warm bed, I quietly de-iced the car. Obviously, loudly enough to wake my daughter who at 11pm had resigned herself to missing parkrun rather than being possibly abandoned by her parents at a London Train Station. She quickly dressed to add to her tourism streak and get to one of my closer events not yet run – Coldhams Common, Cambridge!

Returning home at 1pm, Mary and I evaluated our options… Head off before dawn or book a hotel for that evening. (I don’t like to plan too far ahead!)So quickly bags were thrown in the back of the car and we were off with plenty of time to drive down in the light, away from cold fog.

Arriving at the hotel at 4pm had it’s advantages; I could do a late kit check before shops closed so new baselayer and running waist pack were quickly purchased. After a lovely prerace pizza, cheesecake and adjustments to our Jeffing plan we were all ready for a 6:15 alarm call so we could start just after 7am!

After sanding my nipples raw after my last event, I took precautions to coat myself in sudocrem, much like a cross channel swimmer of the past would cover themselves in goose fat. I then pulled on my baselayer and stupidly asked Mary if it was okay. Apparently it’s a good job they are a snug fit for compression as it will hold me in place like a bra!

Feeling thankful that it was a baselayer I started to add other layers, only to find my favourite Coombe 8 long-sleeved top wasn’t mine but was in fact Mary’s and far more form fitting than was decent. Luckily, Mary had on an old long sleeved top that was ‘huge and baggy!’ so we swapped tops!

Maybe a kit list might be useful?

Seeing -6°C on the car when we left.the hotel we knew it would be a chilly start. However, the forecast from the night before had led us to believe that during the hours we would be out running the temperature would rise to a balmy 7°C!

Arriving at the registration gazebo just after 7:15, dawn hadn’t yet broken – it was probably sensibly waiting in bed for everything to warm up.

After strapping on the ankle timing chip we crossed the start pads and were off into the half light, slowly, starting with a walking lap to let our porridge digest as well as allowing us to assess the frozen trail path.

The going under foot was hard and slippy. Muddy puddles had frozen solid with rutted bike tracks allowing extra grip, partially decaying leaf mulch had set like concrete and stones on the gravel towpath protruded through the ice. My road shoes were a great choice (ok, admittedly they might have been the only option as they had been left in from the car from the previous days parkrun!).

Passing back past Sunbury Lock to end the first lap, the sun finally came out to sparkle off the frozen Thames! That was the last we saw of the sun as then clouded over and fog rolled in!

At the start of lap 2 our Jeffing plan started and we ran and walked to the beep of the Garmin! Well I did! Mary had mucked up the workout… so as each repeat started, rather than run for 5 mins she was back doing a warm up! Oh well, there is always next time.

The first two Jeffing laps shot past as we repeated the laps, this time avoiding the later starting runners desperate to eat donuts! After the constant beeping that we were going too fast last time, we had removed that irritation from the workout. Which was a good thing as we were definitely going faster than last time!

Before heading out to lap 4, Mary needed a call of nature, so she stopped at the pub by the aid station and told me to carry on and she would catch me up! After I apparently had a diva strop last time at the toilet stop and put it in the report!

So I ran on alone!

This was my time to put some distance between myself and Mary. Could I be the first Connolly to cross the line?

I was running well. Following the beeps I walked and ran by myself through the gloom and cold as the earlier promise of a warmer day failed to materialise! In fact it got progressively colder.

After the turn around I soon caught a glimpse of Mary powering along. She had obviously ignored the Jeffing strategy to get back to me. Rounding the turn around she quickly reeled me in. I commented that she was running really strongly and well. I asked a rhetorical question. “Do you want to go on without me?”

Rather than express her undying love and devotion to me and staying at my side like a loyal labrador as I expected her to do, she said, “Okay, if you’re sure!” and then whooosh she was gone! If it wasn’t for being a laps marathon, where we passed each other, this glimpse would have been the last I saw of her until the coffee shop at the end as she ran on and on!

So I had laps to battle through on my own and with no music as I didn’t bother with headphones as the plan was to run together! Note from your proof-reader: next time don’t tell me to go on ahead then!!!

I trudged on following the set Jeffing pattern seeing Mary speed past effortlessly in the other direction as I suffered onwards with every step.

After turning around on the 7th lap my Garmin beeped the last rep; I was on to my cool down! The plan was to walk the rest as I had run my 20ish miles. But potentially, I was on for being lapped by Mary! I was already a beaten, broken shadow of my former self, I couldn’t add this further humiliation on to myself so I forced myself to run a little more.

After seeing the delicious donuts each lap, I had decided that on my final walking lap I would take a bottle of squash and an iced donut to help ease my sorrows as I dragged my sorry carcass for the last 3.3miles.

I had barely finished the donut as Mary passed me for the final time, nearly 3 miles ahead of me. Finishing in her 2nd fastest ever marathon time, which even included the walked first lap.

Walking on, my hand started to burn with the cold of carrying the bottle, despite wearing gloves. Running in my kit was cool; walking was freezing. As the donut sat heavily on my stomach I realised I actually had to run some more just to get a little more warmth circulating.

My Jeffing pattern was now run until I was on the edge of vomiting, stop and walk. Donuts are lovely but far from ideal race nutrition!

Crossing the finish line, I grabbed another delicious Krispy Creme donut, one of 900 hundred eaten by runners at this event. Apparently this worked out to 4.4miles per donut! Therefore I had underdonutted by 4. Then again, perhaps not having them will get me closer to Mary at the next Marathon?

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