Awesome year

Olympic Torch Relay Crystal Palace Running to the Park, a photo by ultraBobban on Flickr.

This time last year I was returning to Mersea Island for Xmas with the folks and a run round the Island.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24bWizFLzfk

Looking back sat in our lovely cottage in south London and awaiting both families to arrive for an amazing Xmas I can reflect on an awesome year. Not only did I get married to Mrs UB, which was the most amazing day ever, we had the perfect honeymoon in Sri Lanka.

On a running front, it was all about one event......my first 100, the SDW100. Firstly, I wanted to finish (readers will remember that 2 years ago, a leading consultant at King's said I would never run a marathon again after breaking my leg in 3 places...."maybe some light jogging Sir") a 100 miler and catch up with great buddies David Immune, Jezza and George. Not only did I want to do that but I wanted to prove that I could do it. I then set a goal of finishing in under 24hours. I did this too! Add in another 11 marathons and ultras and 2028 miles (3264km) so farand I've had an awesome year......not the quickest, but the furthest.

Here are some stats:

SDW100 - 23hrs 30 mins

12 marathons and Ultras

18 races in total.

Fastest marathon 3.43 (slow by my standards.......I did want to go sub 3.15 this year and never got near to even my PB)

Highest placing: 9th Bewl Water marathon (I won't count the 1st place lost on the last 1.5 miles of the Founders Marathon!)

5 x marathon/ultra top 20 placings

Slowest marathon - Gatliff 50km (actually 58km of mud bath and flood) 8.03 in appalling conditions and still came in 17th!

Fastest race: Stage 11 of Green Belt Relay 7.6 miles in 51 minutes, 6.35s on a cross country course through fields and a highest GBR placing for me of 7th.

Favourite race of the year: SDW100

Total miles so far 2028 miles (3264km) with a week to go.

So, to targets for 2013..............

SDW100 where I will aim for a sub 22 hour 100.

Another 100 to be decided.....

Winter Tanners 30 in a couple of weeks, followed by St Peter's Way 45 mile in Feb. No doubt the Stinger, Bewl and 3FM will feature as they are favourite events. I think that 2300 miles is not unachievable and I would still like to think that I can go a bit quicker........

.....finally a word about Mrs UB. She is in for London Marathon 2013, which will be her 3rd Mara. Support and training provided by Mr UB of course.

Happy Xmas and happy running to everyone!

Product review - Haglofs Endo GoreTex Jacket

The rain on the SDW100 hammered it down within 3 miles and I got wet. I purchased an OMM Kamelika 2 years ago and the coating that was so very impressive and waterproof then, sadly after some very wet ultras and marathons and even more wet winter training runs on the mean streets of South London finally gave up the ghost. I got seriously wet.

Then came wedding and honeymoon and I forgot about getting wet to the core until my run from Crystal Palace, up and along the Thames Path, round the Dome/02/North Greenwich Arena (delete as appropriate) and back through Greenwich park and along the Waterlink Way. It wasn't a long run (15 miles) and it wasn't winter....but it got me thinking......I need something better (btw, I was in a vest and shorts)

So, I took the plunge and invested in some good quality Gore-tex. This jacket from Haglofs retails at £230 so was not an impulse purchase.

The OMM Kamelika was £130 so hunting around on the web, I found the only size L (40 chest) in the marvelous Ellis Bingham shop (winter and extreme sports) and it arrived this morning (£172.00 in the sale). They even sent a txt stating it would arrive between 8.31 and 9.31am. Luckily I am school holidays!

So, the road test was a wait for the rain. This afternoon a downpour ensued so I cut off the tags and went out in the rain. Apologies for the crap pics from my phone!

The positives..........So the Haglofs Endo was a good fit. Not as long as the OMM jacket but a snug fit with lots of stretch in the arms and in the torso when turning around. It felt good to wear and after 30 mins of running was dissipating any internal moisture faster than anything I have worn before. The noticeable benefit was the sleeves. The OMM would gather condensation from the arms and the velcro fastenings would gather pools of moisture. This gathered no moisture and also did not pool. The mass of the jacket is 300g so is no heavier than your average winter thermal layer and stows into the size of an apple. Excellent.

Whilst on the arms........

There are thumb loops which offer protection from the wet/wind/snow etc which will no doubt keep the handies warm

Onthe underside, something a little more grippy but this may be discussed in the negatives......

The front is good with an easy access pocket which stayed dry, not only in the rain but in my shower test.....see later. I think this also looks pretty good too.

The hood is really close fitting and breathable. My barnet was dry, from rain and from perspiration. There are 2 drawstrings, around the hood face and around the back which pulls close to your head. This for me was counter intuitive as with the OMM, I had a billowing sail that would rival something off the Round the World Yacht race spinnaker, but I could hear and see. With this I could see and hear and didn't billow or buffet.

The negatives......

probably a crap pic but the drawstring round the base was not a great deal of use as for me with a 6ft 2 frame, the jacket came up perhaps a little short. I want to make sure that the crown jewels are kept in a non-soaked way so that after hours of cold wet rain, they still work.If the jacket was  longer would be great. The next size up would have been too big on the chest though.

Finally, lets get back to those hand grips. Great when it's cold, but an issue here is that to check the Garmin 310XT, is an effort. Unless you have the beeps on, getting a view of the watch is a bit of work and I hope over time does not stretch the fabric and compromise its waterproofness.

So many more positives than negatives and in the rain, this will be in my running kit for the Winter marathons and Ultras.

Finally, the "grey T-Shirt test"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qiyeKVbDw1s

I stood in the shower with this on with a grey t-shirt underneath for about 15 mins.....putting the shower on at  a number of different settings and angles. VERY IMPRESSIVE.

I think I have the upper body kit for quite a few Winter Rounds now. Gore tex appears to be better. Fingers crossed.

The heat is on!

me; way out west. who nicked the holster?, a photo by ultraBobban on Flickr.

It's not quite as warm as the day I climbed into the Grand Canyon. it was 38 degrees and 7,400ft above sea level so I was "sweating like a rapist" as I was doing my best to blend in with the locals.

It is not quite that hot yet but the wet 5 weeks has given us runners a false hope of a warm damp dawn that we can run off, despite getting wet. Now it is silly season. Idiots being as idiotic as they can with a few rays of sunshine. The smog has increased and the bloody flies stick to you when you run!

I'm just in from work and close to a salad and fish supper with a cider and possibly a glass of wine with some decent cheese later....I am planning a route for the morning which will include either.....a) Crystal palace park run and then some..... or b) DPR beginners 5 mile, plus a 3 mile run there....and then some. My plan is either to take my Oyster and run back from a very North or East London tube or run to London Bridge, rehydrate and jump on a train to Kent/Surrey and run back. Either way, a 30 mile hot run will ensue. There is not a marathon within 300 miles that is available....talk about nuts in May! I was due to run the LDWA Chiltern Challenge......but there are NO RUNNERS allowed in this event. Plonkers. Events like this will suffer without the support of us marathoners...So I am going alone. I've got plenty of thinking to do regarding the pedagogical practices of my lovely school. I have much to mull over vis-a-vis my wedding speech.....so, we make hay whilst the sun shines.........and no doubt I will be building stamina for the SDW100 when it will be ultra-hot.