Suffering Part 7; Climbing in the Alps/ Rest & Recovery!

Only 5 days after my ironman I found myself in our packed car, driving south towards Folkestone, and then on to Switzerland.  After a busy week at work (with minimal recovery time), I had squeezed in a sports massage before getting in the car to drive for hours on end.  Having left home at about 4pm on Friday, we arrived in Saas Grund eventually at 8pm on Saturday.  To say I was tired was an understatement!

We had been planning a trip to the alps for months; in fact it had been on the calendar since last autumn.  It wasn't until January that I entered the Cotswolds 226 race, only a week before the holiday.  I entered the race whilst away on a ski holiday without Tom.  When I rang to tell him he was far from impressed, all too aware of how tired I would be on holiday.  "I'll be fine" I told him!  How wrong was I...

I had bargained for a rest day on arrival in Switzerland, but the forecast was looking iffy.  We had an ambitious tick list of multiple 4000m peaks building up to the Italian ridge on the Matterhorn (one of my challenges).  Sunday afternoon and we walked in to the Almagellar hut, ready to climb the Weismeiss the next morning.  In reality I'm useless with altitude, and already had a headache at the hut!  We had been banking on my fitness to cancel out the altitude... unfortunately I was exhausted!!   An early start on Monday morning had us heading up to a col in the dark, ready to head up a ridge on the Weismeiss.  My legs were not working!  This was not going to be a good day!  We made a decision to turn around and head back to the valley.  Even just descending to the valley with walking poles was hard work.  Perhaps all my challenges had taken more of a toll than I expected.

After this we packed up and heading around to Chamonix instead, where Tom had other friends to climb with, and I had a chance to rest and recover; phew!!  I read a few good books, including a book by Dave Gill about cycling around the States.  Very inspiring!  I struggled to walk; stairs were horrendous.  My quads were absolutely wrecked.  The roads up and down the hills looked beautiful; I was envious that I wasn't here with my road bike.

Towards the end of my enforced rest we spent a couple of days over in Italy, as Tom climbed the south ridge of the aiguille noire du peuterey with Matt.  Unfortunately they got caught in a storm and spent an unplanned night on the mountain.  I spent a sleepless night in the valley, worried sick.  I was extremely relieved when they made it back down at 8pm on the Monday (rather than late on the Sunday).  I felt justified in buying (very cheap) gin as treat for myself!

I don't know why Tom wouldn't let me buy this cute critter!!

Our plan for the remainder of the trip had been to head on into Italy a bit more to climb the Gran Paradiso, and then the Italian ridge on the Matterhorn.  Unfortunately this wasn't to be.  It has been an incredibly dry, warm season in the Alps, with lots of rock fall.  The Italian ridge was closed indefinitely due to significant rock fall.  Another failure in my year of suffering, although this time out of my hands.  It will still be there next year though.

Instead we headed back round to Switzerland to be greeted by yet more changeable weather and had to readjust our plans yet again.  We climbed the Allalinhorn, my only 4000m peak of the holiday; a rather nice snow plod from a high lift, with some LARGE crevasses!!  I finally faced my crevasse fear and feel somewhat more relaxed!  We followed this with a nice multipitch rock route on the Jegihorn; a great way to finish the holiday.  Then a long drive north...

On top of the Allalinhorn

Alpendurst on the Jegihorn.

Back in the UK and it is 'Black Wednesday'; changeover day for doctors in the UK.  I have spent the last year in anaesthetics and ITU, with a really nice (too nice??) rota, with lots of weekends off.  Unfortunately I have now changed back to A&E (my chosen career path), with a not so desirable rota!   The last 6 months have been incredible!  I have trained harder than ever before and seen my fitness and race performance improve in leaps and bounds!  I just hope this doesn't go backwards too much during the next 6 months.

The weekend after returning from the alps I entered an Olympic distance triathlon at Whitchurch, along with a load of awesome people from TNT tri club.  This was supposed to the national club championships, but ended up not being.  We still had a great weekend!  The race was awash with a sea of orange triathletes!  This has been my best race of the season yet; I finished 7th female, and won my age group too.  My first age group win!  I put in a strong swim, a good bike, and an unsurprisingly appalling run (haha!).  What a great end to the season!

If Carlsberg did Tri Clubs... the awesome TNT!

TNT wiping the floor in women's age group categories!

I still have 2 more 'challenges' to come.  In 2 weeks time I'll be up in Scotland competing in the Loch Lomond swim-run race with a friend Anna.  This should be good fun, but a completely new experience, so we'll see how that goes!  I've then finally set down a plan for a long distance swim, and am hoping to swim the length of Ullswater in early October (hopefully before it gets too cold).

Ullswater at dawn on Monday morning.

Thanks to everyone's generosity I have already raised £2200 for Orchid!  In case you've forgotten, Orchid is a male cancer charity, and I am raising money for them because my Dad had metastatic testicular cancer last year.  If you fancy helping me reach my final target of £2500, you can sponsor me at www.virginmoneygiving.com/nikkisommers.  Thank you so much to everyone who has helped me raise this much already!

Suffering Part 6; Cotswold 226

It seems like barely yesterday that I cycling up and down Froggatt for hours on end, hoping to join the exclusive 'Everesting' club!  It was only 3 weeks ago!  Since then I've spent many hours dreaming of my next endurance challenge, wondering what I could possibly do to beat the high I've been riding on the back of.

This weekend just gone brought along the next challenge in my 'year of suffering'; the Cotswold 226 triathlon.  This is a long distance tri (commonly known as an 'ironman' although this is a brand name); a 2.4mile swim, 112mile bike and then a gruelling 26mile run.

I did my first ironman last year, taking part in Ironman UK at Bolton, one of the ironman branded races.  It was an incredible experience, especially the red carpet finish, but man was it tough!!  During the run (if you could call it a run; more of a walk/shuffle) between tears I vowed to my husband not to enter another!! I promised!

Well, January came and I had other ideas.  I did a bit of research, checking out other races.  Whilst the ironman was amazing, it is also very expensive, coming in at well over £400.  To some extent you do get what you pay for in that you get an incredibly well-organised, well-run race.  But with a lot of races on the list this year (and a supposed economy-drive) another ironman was not on the cards.  I entered the Cotswold 226 whilst away skiing with friends, and then rang my husband to tell him.

"But you promised not to!!" He said...
"I know, I know, I'm sorry..." I told him... (I wasn't sorry!)

I had big plans for training, given I was running Paris marathon as well.  I was going to smash my Bolton time down, knocking copious minutes off the run.  This was going to be my year of improvement!

Since Paris I've run only a handful of times, certainly less than 10!  So I realised that perhaps my run expectations had been a bit optimistic.  It was also only 3 weeks since Froggatt, and I'd had considerable knee pain on every ride since then.  Was that really enough recovery time??

The weekend crept up, quicker than expected, and with a loaded car we headed down to the Cotswolds.  This time my Dad and his partner Gill were coming along too (as well as my dedicated husband; thank you!).  I'm raising money for Orchid, a male cancer charity, as my Dad had metastatic testicular cancer last year.  This is the first time he's been to see me race so it was quite special.

We met up with Jeff on Saturday (Jeff is also a member of TnT, the tri club I train with occasionally).  After lunch there was registration and a chance to familiarise myself with transition and the swim area.  An early dinner, then an appropriately early night after some sad news about an old university housemate.

 3.30am and my alarm is bleeping.  It's still dark, it's raining, and it's Sunday morning!  What the hell am I doing??  After a week of night shifts followed by day shifts I am exhausted!!  I do NOT need to be getting up right now!  I roll out of bed and eat some breakfast, before rousing Tom and heading out of the house.

Transition at 4.30am and it's just getting light.  I rack my bike and prep everything, chatting away to the lady next to me (Deb, from Leicester; I do like to chat!).  5am, wetsuit on and over to race briefing.  Dad and Gill turn up and say hi, and I have a photo or two with Jeff before getting into the very warm water!

Breath in!  Team TnT!

Last year I swam Bolton in 1.21 but wasn't feeling particularly fit or fast swim-wise, so was expecting 1.20-1.30 this year.  Anyone who knows me will know I am particularly weed-phobic, so was quite concerned about this swim, having been told there were patches of weed.

The horn sounded and I set off, looking straight down at weed.  Not what I wanted!!!  The first 1km went ok, stuck in a fast group, before slowing down (slight panic) during a bad patch of weed.  I regained composure and kept swimming, relaxing a bit and getting used to the weed.  I tried to sit on someones hip to slipstream but it didn't go so well.  At the start of lap 2 I found an attractive pair of feet that I decided were mine for the duration!  I felt like I was swimming slowly, and my shoulders certainly felt tired.  I'm sure my technique was going out of the window!  But those toes were going nowhere!  I pushed as hard as I could, staying with them until the last 50m, when I slowed to breaststroke so I could have a quick pee (well it was that or drop my tri suit to pee in transition; not happening!!).

As I ran up through transition I could hear the loudspeaker announcing times; so-and-so 1hr11minsXX seconds...  Surely not.  I hadn't swam in 1hr11 had I?? I asked some supporters what time it was as I got changed. Flipping hell!!! I had!!! A ten minute PB!!!  After a slow transition (it's long distance, I'm not about to rush!), I headed out on the bike.  Excluding relay teams, turns out I was 2nd female out of the water, and only by 4 seconds.  Wow!!!  (I didn't realise this until later).  Clearly shouldn't have stopped to pee, then I could have been first!!  Haha!

On to the bike (beating the other woman out of transition, not that I was aware), and I set off pedalling.  Immediately I had medial knee pain, so knew I couldn't push too hard.  Keep it steady, keep spinning.  I was hoping to complete the bike in 6hr30, but really wasn't sure how I would do.  To put it into perspective I did the Bolton bike in 7hr48.  I knew I was bike fit after LEJOG but was worried about how recovered I was after Froggatt.  I guess I would just have to see.

For me, the bike turns into 2 things.  Firstly a series of mathematical problems in my head as multiply numbers again and again in my head, working out how quick I'll be at what speed, 16mph, 17mph, 18mph (oh no, that's too fast), 17.5mph etc.  Numbers swim around and around in my head as my legs spin.  Secondly I enjoy the thinking time, and thought about Hannah, an old university friend.  

Early on in the bike I was overtaken by 2 fast looking women (Paula and Annett).  I hadn't realised that put me in third place.  I was thinking I was much further back in the field.  At some point during the first lap the rain came.  The marshals were fantastic!! Especially one of the motorcycle marshals, who checked we were all ok and warm enough on the bike.  One of the marshals told me I was third woman!  Wow!  I better keep pedalling!  I was trying not to push, I needed to save something for the run, but equally didn't want to loose my place.  At some point I realised there was a woman not too far behind, so picked it up a little bit; I was not about to be overtaken!  I managed to keep her behind me (although perhaps only by a minute or two looking at times), and in fact overtook the next woman, putting me into 2nd place!!  Wow!!  As someone who is mediocre at best, this was good!  Paula (in 2nd place) played leap-frog with me for a bit, but I wasn't about to get involved in that game, and dropped off.  I was not getting done for drafting!  And was not about to push too hard for the sake of a minute or two, which I knew I'd loose on the run anyway.  Towards the end of the bike I saw my support team in Minety, cheering me along!  Thank you!

Heavy rain in the Cotswolds.  Feeling good at 105 miles.

Off the bike in transition, socks on, and then out onto the run.  Interestingly, I hadn't needed to wee again yet, which worried me.  I'd drank 5 bottles, so was a bit worried about my kidneys (as I'd had a dose of ibuprofen at 3.30am, and then again at about 11am whilst on the bike).  It had been hot though (despite the rain), so I was likely just dehydrated.  In my deluded head I wondered if I'd be able to run a 5hr marathon time.  Last year at Bolton my run took me 5hr56.  Despite minimal running since Paris, I hoped I could beat this by a decent margin.  The first few kilometres felt ok, but I quickly slowed down.  Then I started to be overtaken.  Deb and Barbara had been hot on my tail on the bike, so it didn't take long for them to catch me!  Over the next few hours I was also overtaken by another 4 amazing women; Sue, Victoria, Helen and Claire!  Well done ladies!  I kept slogging along, at times kept company by Tom (yes, you are amazing).  It was great to pass Jeff on the laps for a TnT high five!!

At some point during the run (?lap 2 or 3 maybe) feeling the pain.

The best thing about this race was the size; only 150 competitors.  It was a small, personal event.  This meant you got to know everyone as you run past each other again and again on the run laps.  I spent lots of time cheering everyone on by name.  Maybe if i'd spent more time and effort running and less on cheering I could have done a bit better (unlikely; I'm s**t at running...).  By the end I had most people's names sorted!!!

Lap 3 was particularly painful, and I had a bit of a cry.  On lap 4 I ended up walking for a few kilometres.  I had stopped to pee, and the toilet started spinning.  Concerned about collapsing, but determined to finish, I instructed Tom to stay by my side in case I collapsed, and then kept walking.  As I came back into South Cerney (the finishing village) for the final time, I picked up my pace back to a run, and plodded around the corner and across the finish line, to finish as 9th woman.

***13hr29min10sec***

 A whole 1hr53min14sec faster than last year's race!!! Time well and truly smashed!!!

Post-race selfie with my no.1 fan!

Cotswold 226 has been incredible!  And not just because I smashed my PB!  It was friendly, well-organised and well-run.  The marshals were wonderful!  Super friendly, super supportive, and just 100% lovely!  I will definitely come back and race again!

I still have a lot to work upon.  I'm sure my swim could be faster.  My bike definitely can be!  I still had a lot left in the tank at the end of it, so that's good.  And running... well... that still leaves a LOT to be desired!  Winter 2015/2016 will be ALL about running.  If I could knock 1hr off my time, that would be great.  If I could knock 1.5hrs off my time... let's start slowly mind, I'll take an hour first!

Mmmm food!  With Jeff, Gill & Tom.

Now I'm hobbling around work, with that classic post-ironman waddle.  Plenty of stretching, nutrition and rehydration.  Time for a few days of rest before we head off to the Alps for 2 weeks of climbing (including the Matterhorn, yet another of my challenges).

 This year started being about raising money for Orchid, a male cancer charity (you can sponsor me at www.virginmoneygiving.com/nikkisommers), but has morphed into a year of endurance and endorphins, as I work out just how much I can push myself, and keep improving.  I have to be honest, I'm quite enjoying the pain in my legs today, because I know I've earned every little bit of it!

Team ORCHID!!! (ME and my fab Dad!)

An extra note about some sad news 

On Saturday night I found out that one of my university friends had died.  I lived with Hannah in second year of university.  We weren't close, and we haven't been in touch since I graduated.  But it is still terribly sad to hear that someone so lovely, and so young has passed away.  I spent a chunk of the bike time thinking about Hannah, remembering happy memories.  Metroline in first year.  Cowboys and Indians!!  (I forgot how drunk Hannah had been until I looked at the pictures yesterday; they did make me laugh!)  It is terribly sad to hear of someone dying so young of cancer, only 27.  My heart goes out to Hannah's family and friends at such a sad time.

Cowboys & Indians!  Hannah, Emma & Becky

A slightly drunk Cowboy!

Metroline (in first year; 2007!)

Suffering Part 5; Everesting Froggatt

Today my legs hurt... a lot!  They were ok this morning but as the day has dragged on, they have gotten progressively worse.  So much so that my knees are occasionally giving way due to the overwhelming pain in my quads.  But it's a satisfying kind of pain!  Pain that I have well and truly earned!

This weekend I have successfully everested Froggatt! I can finally say I'm in the club!

So on Saturday morning, after a restless night of sleep (I wouldn't have expected anything else), my alarm went off at 6.30am.  I was already awake mind, and jumped out of bed, ushering Tom up as well.  The car was already packed, so a quick breakfast and shower, then we made the short drive over to the Grouse Inn, a pub along the route of my hill climb.  Car unpacked, bikes reassembled, and I was ready to go.  I whizzed down the hill, turned around at the bottom, and started my garmin!

Until May I'd never heard about 'everesting' before.  Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately) a colleague had mentioned it to me after I'd been talking about doing a few Froggatt laps.  In April Lee and Elliott, 2 ambitious local cyclists, had everested Froggatt for the first time!  Bloody good effort!  Well they have both been great in helping me to plan my ride, and came out on Saturday morning to support and ride a few laps with me; cheers guys, esp since they had a 100mile sportive the next day!

Lap 1 started solo, and my legs eased into the hill quicker than expected.  I had been worried after finishing LEJOG so recently (and being poorly at the end of it); had I left myself enough recovery time?  Fortunately it seemed I had done!  I had planned to pace myself to 35minute laps (as approx 28minute uphills), but for the first 4 laps at least I was doing 18 minute ups.  This wasn't in the plan!  Lap 2 and company arrived; Lee and Elliott in their coveted 'Hells500' jerseys.  These can only be bought once you've joined the everest club!  Along with a few of their friends, I smashed out a few quick laps, and relaxed into the rhythm of Froggatt, spinning uphill, then speeding back down.

Feeling fresh! (Photo by Richard Marks)

I had decided I would stop every 4 laps, so roughly every 2 hours to eat properly, as well as eating something on every descend.  I also bottle-changed every 2 laps.  My ride was powered mostly by cold pizza, chocolate bars, flapjack, strawberry milkshake, coke (of the drinking kind) and isotonic tablets.  I did have a whole host of other food with me, but found that this was just wanted I wanted to eat.

The laps passed by quickly, and within about 5 or so hours (maybe 5.5hrs) I'd knocked out about 10 laps.  25% done!  I was counting down in fours; counting down until each break, another 10% done.  As the morning turned into afternoon I had loads of support!!  We had a gazebo outside the Grouse Inn (manned by Tom and Dan), where I could stop to eat, and people could come and cheer/ drink beer.

During the afternoon a lot of different people rode with me!  I tried to write a list so I didn't forget to thank people; I'll include this at the bottom!  People I didn't know came to join me for laps, having heard about my attempt.  Friends of friends came out too!  I persuaded strangers who overtook me to slow down and ride with me.  The company was great and the miles really did fly by!  I was eating well, drinking well and still passing good coloured urine!

Saturday evening, leading the boys up the hill ;) (Photo by Richard Marks)

8pm came and I was having a break, having done 20 laps.  Past halfway already!  On track to be done in under 26hrs.  My main aim was to finish, but I was keen to finish as quickly as possible, preferably in under 26hrs so as to end the suffering asap.  Before everesting my longest previous ride had been about 130miles, so every mile going forwards was extra on top of that.  Incredible!

Enjoying the evening light. (Photo by Steve Franklin)

The in-laws turned up for an evening visit from Cumbria, and my father-in-law even rode a lap with me!  Darkness approached as I started to tire, 24 laps done.  Bike lights came on, and I kept going.  Company overnight was amazing and very appreciated.  As the hours continued I became more and more tired, but Lee, then Dan, then Tom talking to me kept me awake.  Early in the night I narrowly avoided a head-on with a boy-racer who took a corner on the wrong side of the road ("Don't tell Tom, he'll just worry.").  I became quieter as the night continued, focusing on riding, staying awake and upright.  My ascents continued at a reasonable pace, but the descends slowed significantly.

Dan has been my hero in all of this!  I posted on the tri club facebook page that I was planning to do this if anyone wanted to come out and ride with me.  Dan messaged me straight back to say could he help?  He organised borrowing the gazebo, set up a computer screen to track my progress, and rode 3 stints with me, including the dreaded graveyard shift.  Overnight he told me his life story to keep me awake.  It was great to have the company and to get to know Dan much better!

"Dan, tell me about how you met your partner" I said.  
"It's funny you should say that.  Well, there's the short story, but since we've got plenty of time, I'll tell you the long story..." Dan replied.

My husband finally got on his bike at about 2 or 3 am, to give Dan a break.  Despite having a better bike than me, Tom is not a keen cyclist.  But he had spent all day feeding me, passing me drinks, manning the gazebo and generally cheering me (when he wasn't reading about ski touring).  About 3am a tiny corner of the sky started to turn light.  Finally I felt like the darkness was going to end.  It had only been dark for 4 or 5 hours, but it was a long, hard night.  I am in absolute awe of the CLO guys who everested Hathersage Surprise Climb in November!  I don't know how you did it!!

4am food stop.  Feeling cold, looking rough! (Photo by Steve Franklin)

At some point before Tom took over I had my first vomit, after shoving a whole flapjack in my mouth at once so I could get descending.  Big mistake!  My body had had enough of sweet food, so it was time to move onto my secret weapon!  Chedder cheese biscuits (think mini-chedders but bigger)!  In the morning Dan reminded me of this; "It's not often you get to cycle past your own vomit 12 times."  To be honest, I didn't actually notice it!

Steve came to relieve Tom at 4am for his second stint on the bike, and we got to enjoy a beautiful sunrise as we continued to bike.  Sunrise on mid-summers day!  Incredible!!!  I was struggling, really tired, becoming sore.  My back muscles and bum were sore.  In a way this was good as it distracted from my legs, which actually never seemed to hurt.  (Don't worry, the pain now is making up for that!).  I was getting cold, really cold on the descents, but then overheating on the ups.  I started wearing a belay jacket to descend.    I had decided after a break at 32 laps that I would keep going until I finished with no further feed stops.

Dawn, mid-summer's day. (Photo by Steve Franklin)

At one point after taking my jacket off at the bottom, I closed my eyes whilst stood up with my bike between my legs.  "Have you ever fallen asleep standing up Nikki?  It's not a good idea" Steve reminded me.  Back in the saddle and keep peddling.  By 6am a combination of bright sunlight and my body's melatonin kicking in meant I was waking up a bit.  6.30am and Steve stepped down.  Dan stepped back up to the mark, ready to accompany me to the bloody end!  Only 3 laps left to go.

Lap 37 and 38 were really hard.  I don't know if it's because I was exhausted, or because my body knew the end was near and started to slow down.  Certainly looking back at the segment times, I get progressively slower through the day, most noticeably over the last 8 laps.  I stopped twice on lap 38, but made it to the top.

I was unsure if 38 laps would be enough or whether I needed to do an extra lap.  I stopped at the top with Dan and Tom, and reset my garmin so it could work out the ascent.  9,200m!!  I had done it!!!  I had over-done it!!!!!  Arghh!  What euphoria!!!  It felt incredible!  24hrs and 48minutes!!  (My ride time was 21hr18min so only 3hr30 of breaks, not too bad really).

I bounced and cheered my way back down the hill to the Grouse (after the classic photo of bike above head at top of hill; very poor quality, in bad light).  I had actually done it!  I am still in disbelief.  When I decided to do this challenge it was one of the only challenges in my year of suffering that I thought I might fail on.  I honestly wondered if it was beyond me.

Success! (Poor quality, but it will do!)

This challenge is definitely about mind over body.  Riding LEJOG recently has obviously helped my fitness, but I've otherwise not trained.  I just went out and rode.  A positive attitude, grit and determination got me up that hill 38 times.  That, plus a lot of support from some incredible people!

People to thank for coming to cheer me on or ride with me:
-Lee & Elliott!  Thanks for helping me join the club!
-Dan; you are amazing!  I honestly can't thank you enough!
-Tom; thank you for spending 25hrs outside supporting me, and a whole weekend not going climbing.
-'Fat Tony' from CLO!
-Dr Marks for coming to take pictures.
-Kate Morris for squeezing me into an already full weekend
-Adrian (who rode in my Hoy leggings!), Tash and Emma for cheering me on.
-Tom, Kate and Laurie (sorry your derailer broke!); my Tom enjoyed the Laurie cuddle!
-Alan James (in his UKC jersey!)
-Nick plus friends (and his GP colleagues).
-Ruth Newton for riding 2 laps!
-Steve, esp for the 4am laps!
-Will & Nic
-Mil & Phil
-Caitlin & Robin
-Clare & Will
-Emma Hill for a visit at 1.30am!
-The man from CLO whose name I can't remember who came at 9am just after I finished.

And I want to thank everyone else who has sponsored me, sent me messages of support or who I've forgotten! Thank you!

The list above highlights to me how bloody amazing all you guys are!  I might have done 'Everest' solo (i.e not in a team), but I never felt alone!  I think I only rode 3 laps by myself!  Everyone helped make my journey easier.

So today it's day 2 post-Everest.  (I started writing this yesterday).  My legs are still sore but they are certainly easing.  I can feel my endorphin levels starting to dip.  I'm searching for my next challenge.
In just under 3 weeks I'll be racing an ironman distance triathlon in the cotswolds (the cotswold 226), then heading to the alps to climb the Matterhorn (amongst other mountains), so I have things to look forward to.  But I worry that nothing will match up to everesting.

Can I everest another hill?  Can I everest faster?  Can I everest a hill that hasn't been done yet?  Or should I leave everesting alone for now and find a new challenge?  I don't know, I've not decided yet.  I've got my eye on an un-Everested hill in North Wales... although the gradient is similar to that of Froggatt.  I think I fancy something slightly steeper so I can do less mileage.  Lots of things to think about.

For now though, I'm going to enjoy being in the Everest club!  I can't wait for my jersey to arrive!

A final reminder about my charity page; www.virginmoneygiving.com/nikkisommers
Thanks again to everyone who helped make my Everest journey a success!

Everest Anticipation

It's 22.30 and I've finally climbed into bed after an afternoon of preparation that dragged on into the evening, and am ready to catch up on my beauty sleep before tomorrow.  I'm sure I've got time for a quick blog update first though...

My alarm is set for 6.30am, ready to jump out of bed, wolf down some breakfast then head over to Froggatt.  Tomorrow I will be trying to Everest Froggatt hill climb (this means riding up a hill multiple times to the height of everest, 8848m in fact!). This is something that I stumbled upon by accident.  After a few reps of Froggatt with a friend, I was chatting away in the staffeoom and mentioned my reps to the men.  Unfortunately one of them replied with a "oh, have you heard about the guys that everestsd it the other weekend?"  The seed was planted and Froggatt was incorporated into my year of suffering.

I did 10 laps in early may before announcing I was definitely doing it; it was better than expected.  That, combined with my recent LEJOG trip means I'm feeling hopeful!  But in the back of my mind I am aware that this is one of the toughest challenges I have ever faced.  How will I keep going for 24+ hours??  I guess I've had long days out in the mountains (such as summit day on mount kenya), and tolerated the 15hrs it took me to do an ironman well also, even managing to work the next day.

Preparation is key.  A planning meeting in the pub helped with ideas.  My food is all cooked and packed, fluids fill the car (coke, isotonic, carb drinks, red bull for when I'm falling asleep, and yorkshire tea too), the bike is ready, posters made.  There's nothing more I can do tonight except try to sleep as well as possible.  Fortunately a lunch time nap followed by a sports massage means my body is feeling suitably rested.

If anyone wants to come and ride with me I'll be riding up Froggatt hill climb on the A625, between Calver and the road junction at the top.  My support team (consisting of my awesome husband Tom, and the extremely lovely Dan) will be based outside the Grouse Inn.  Come out and ride a lap, or swing by for a pint and to cheer me on!  I am starting at 8am Saturday morning, and will finish at some point on Sunday.

A final reminder that I'm raising money for Orchid, a male cancer charity; you can sponsor me at www.virginmoneygiving.com/nikkisommers thanks to everyone who has already sponsored me!

LE to almost JOG; my journey

Suffering
The state of undergoing pain, distress or hardship

It seems like now would be an appropriate time to remind myself of the above definition.  I have certainly done my fair share of suffering over the last week!

There's that old saying 'It's not about the destination, it's about the journey' that rings true for me this week.  It also makes it easier for me to deal with not making those final 55 miles (although I do still want to cry when I think about how close I got).

Its been a tough week, tougher than I expected.  I suppose it wouldn't be a year of suffering otherwise, would it??

I'm sure if I hadn't picked up a bug then I would have slowly reached JOG on my last day.  I really am gutted to have come so far (820miles), and to fail so close to the end (55 miles to go).  It's not surprising that I became ill, the body can only take so much suffering before it says 'no!  Stop it!  I've had enough'  and I guess for me, my body reached it's limit and broke.  That's certainly how I felt when I arrived in Helmsdale on Monday afternoon with tears streaming down my face; well and truely broken!

I think I underestimated the scale and seriousness of the challenge I set myself, to ride 125 miles a day, for 7 days in a row.  Well, I'd wanted to ride LEJOG, and that was the timescale I had to fit it in to.  Other people could do it in 7 days, so well, why couldn't I??  And unsupported?  I didn't have another option, so that would do!  Solo?  Who else was mad enough to join me?? (Although I aprreciate that I wasn't completely solo as I had company for a couple of hours on day 4 and for all of day 6).  It was only when Mark told me (during day 6) that he was surprised when I said I was doing it over 7 days that I think I started to realise that maybe I was doing a bit more than just going for a long bike ride!

It has been a whirlwind of emotions.  Happiness and elation at arriving at my destination each night.  Joy at being outside, surrounded by the countryside. Gratitude at the support and generosity of all my friends and family (I'll come back to this point!).  Pain in my legs every day from day 2, and in my bottom (which actually got better as the week went on; good shorts!).  Loneliness, made worse when I was in pain.  Longing to be back in Sheffield with my beautiful husband in our comfy bed.  I could go on!  I've been up and down, multiple times a day, grinning from cheek to cheek, then bawling my eyes out and shouting at my legs and body in pain and frustration!

It has been a truely incredible journey!!  In places I wish I had had more time to enjoy the ride and the scenery.  Ive been longing all week to go for a swim (something I did during my tour to Ireland last year, but i was riding much shorter days), but just haven't had the time to stop.  But it would have been a different journey if i'd done it over more than 7 days.  I have hurt, and cried, and screamed, but I have enjoyed every little bit of it!!

The people I have met along the way have been fantastic!  My hosts each night have been wonderful and accommodating.  Rob, the guy from 'Thyme & Plaice' in Helmsdale was my saviour!  He really was incredible!

And you guys!  You have been totally awesome as well!  It can get very lonely cycling for so many miles by yourself.  But having texts and facebook messages with words of support in my back pocket every time I stopped has really helped!  I could not have gotten as far as I did without everyone behind me at home!

Everyone has all been so generous!  Thank you!  You all know by now that I'm raising money for Orchid, a male cancer charity, as my Dad had testicular cancer last year.  (You can read a bit more about it in my first blog post here; an introduction to suffering)  I really appreciate all the sponsorship that everyone has given me.  I also completely understand that at some points we don't always have as much money and can't afford to sponsor each other; but that doesn't matter!  You words of encouragement have helped me regardless of your money!!!

I've sang my way up the country, starting with crap such as the Spice Girls and Frozen, and progressing on to the excellent Wombles and the Proclaimers!  At one point whilst riding up a hill somewhere on day 6 I started singing Frozen and Mark sped off to spite me!!  Fortunately the head wind as we went over the pass of Drumochter meant he couldn'h hear my singing so I sang 'Goodbye' by the Spice Girls on repeat!!

I've seen so many beautiful places.  Fields full of long grass, and buttercups, and calves, and lambs!  Lots of wonderful birds that I can't begin to identify (but I know that Will would be able to; I need lessons please!)

I've experienced a host of different weather conditions (tail winds, head winds, no winds, sunshine, rain, cloud), but fortunately avoided snow and ice!

It's nice to be home again, back in my big bed with my husband.  I want to write and write and write all about my adventure, because there's so many things I want to say and share, although I suspect it will turn into rambling if I go on any further!

I'm recovering; my diarrhoea has abated finally, I've had hours and hours of sleep, and suspect I'm well enough to be back to work tomorrow (expect I forgot to check if my list starts at 10am or 8.30am, so I'll be heading in at 7.30am anyway, nevermind!).  I've been for a relaxing recovery massage with Kate Sheridan, who kindly charged me half price for my massage, so that's yet more money in the charity pot; thank you!!  My body feels better than expected, and already I am missing being on Felix!  I think I'll drive to work tomorrow, have an extra day of rest, then hop back on him on Friday!

Only a week and a half until my next challenge then!  Where I will be trying to Everest Froggatt Hill climb.  I'll post more details next week about this or you can read more on the facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/events/844108868957676/).  If you are free to come and ride for an hour or two with me (esp overnight/ the next morning) or just want to come for a drink inthe pub and to cheer me on that would be appreciated!!!

Until then, I just want to finish by saying what an incredible week I've had, and thank you to all of you who have supported me, either by sponsoring me, or texting or commenting on facebook!  Really, a massive thank you!  I could not have got as far as I did without your help!

One more thing (sorry!); I'm planning to go back up to Scotland and ride Day 7 in one go when I next have some annual leave (after my Swim-Run race, another of my challenges!) in September.  My husband has also pinky promised to ride LEJOG with me on a tandem in 2017 (2016 has too many other adventures on the cards already!); so I will get another chance to finish the journey in one go, this time with some awesome company!  Tom also knows the words to Frozen, so I'll sure we will have an equally great ride!

Thank you again so much for all your support!

www.virginmoneygiving.com/nikkisommers

Day 0; Felix ready to board the train at Sheffield

Day 1; Felix ready to go at Land's End

Day 1; 6am, waterproof on at Land's End

Day 2; about to leave my B&B in Tiverton

Day 3; end of the day in Wigan; a new use for Felix as a clothes horse!

Day 4; 7am, on the wall on my bedroom; it was a lie!

Day 4; afternoon; time for food at Outward Bound Hackthorpe (they don't have chairs here!)

Day 4; my father-in-law joining me to ride!  The legend that is Will Ripley!

Day 5; my first view of the bridges in Edinburgh (pic doesn't do it justice!)

Day 6; about to set off from Perth with Mark

Day 6; 'It's all good roads' he said!  Mark carrying his bike over mud on a non-tarmac-ed lane!

Arriving back into Sheffield; my new t-shirt, and my favourite teddy Hugo!

LEJOG Day 6 & 7 (An overview from the end)

I've decided not the edit my posts from day 6 and 7, but rather to write new one instead, as I think they speak for the suffering that I was experiencing!  So I'll apologise if i overlap, but I'll start by writing about day 6 and 7 again here, then write an overview of my week in a new post!

Day 6; Perth to Inverness
On the evening of day 5 my friend Mark and his lovely girlfriend Bella (who I hadn't met before) came down to join me for the night in Perth (they live up in Elgin as Mark works at RAF Lossiemouth).  We met up and went out for dinner; perhaps where my downfall was to begin!!

We chose a very good curry house called Tabla and tucked into a delicious meal, the best I'd had all week!  I had already started to struggle with food, and my bowel habit was not looking good (sorry, I'm a medic, it's quite normal to talk about these things...) so I was relieved to find the curry appetising and to be able to eat a good sized portion.

After food and a good catch-up we headed back to our respective hotels, and I got my head down for a good night's sleep at my B&B (Rowanlea Guest House; I'd recommend it to anyone passing through!).  7am and I'm up again for breakfast, before heading over to meet Mark at his hotel.  By 8.30 we are on our way (after he had finally finished his breakfast and stopped faffing!).

As I've probably mentioned before, riding LEJOG in 7 days means sticking to bigger, more direct roads, rather than following winding minor roads and B roads.  Well day 6 runs for me runs from Perth to Inverness; up the A9!!  Fortunately, I had already been told about the multiple smaller roads that follow the A9 most of the way up, so had planned my route to follow these, with only short sections on the A9.  Mark knows what I'm like so insisted on me showing him the route on my maps, and persuading me not to follow the A9 out of Inverness, but instead to follow the National Cycle Route (no7) instead, insisting it was all on roads or tarmac!

As you'll see below (the photo of Mark lifting his lovely new bike over large muddy puddles) early on we hit a track that was not tarmac-ed!!  Fortunately Felix is a bit less precious than Mark's new carbon-fibre Canyon, so rode through like the trusty steade he is!  Thankfully after that though, we followed nice quiet roads up as far as Dunkeld before only a short bit on the A9 (where the cycle route diverts well out of the way!).  My legs were making slow progress unfortunately, and a slightly later than hoped for start (that is not a dig, don't worry!) meant we didn't make it to our brunch stop at the House of Bruar (just north of Blair Atholl) until about 11.30.  We met Bella for lunch.  Mark had said I could put my handlebar bag in the car as Bella was following us north, but given my unsupported plan I decided to keep it with me.  By this point I was already starting to get bad abdominal cramps, but figured I was probably just constipated.

After lunch we headed up and over the pass of Drumochter, in a tough headwind, with intermittent rain, following the cycle path that ran parallel to the A9.  The pass of Drumochter was way better than I had expected.  I think my legs had warmed up by this point, and having Mark to shield me from the wind certainly helped!!  As the hills eased off, we picked up some speed and whizzed our way to Newtonmore (for a quick drink and cake stop at Ralia; v friendly!).  The cycle path was mostly ok, but in parts was covered in gravel; not good at 20+mph with 23mm road tyres on!  Swearing and braking ensued, not a happy Nikki!  Thankfully I remained vertical for it, and got to the end of the day without  puncture!

After Newtonmore we followed a B road through Kinguisse and on into Aviemore.  Mark picked up the speed on the flats, but my legs were not having it, and felt thoroughly fatigued by the time we stopped at the ActivCafe in Aviemore.  Still 40 or so miles to go, feeling rough, we stopped for food; a cheese toastie, hot chocolate and a glass of milk for me (they didn't do milkshakes!!).  Back on our bikes now, we continued, up through Carr Bridge on B roads, and then following the A9 on a cycle path, almost all the way to Inverness.  Just before Inverness the cycle road runs out (or else takes you on a very long detour into the city which my legs weren't willing to do!), so we hopped back onto the A9 for a short stretch of dual carriageway, first uphill, then speeding down into Inverness.

I had struggled during day 6, with stomach cramps, had started to struggle with temperature regulation, feeling really cold despite wearing what I'd normally ride in in winter, and cried a lot!  At one point (on the climb out of Carr Bridge) Mark asked if I wanted to stop so he could comfort me, but no, I just wanted to keep going and arrive!!  Finally, before 8 at night, we arrived at the Youth Hostel in Inverness, who had kindly saved me dinner (I'd rang through earlier to say I'd be arriving late and to save as much carbs as possible!).  I said goodbye to Mark and Bella, put my bike away for the night, then headed inside.

It had been great riding with Mark; I think I would have really struggled by myself, and having someone to chat to, and catch up with was great!  It was lovely to meet Bella as well!

At some point during the day I saw a red squirrel!  I've never seen one of these before, and told Mark to remind me at the end of the day to add it to my blog!  He reminded me, and I've remembered again!

I headed in for my dinner, and ate before showering.  I sat and cried into my meal; a plate of lasagne and chips, forcing myself to eat because I knew I needed the calories, but not really wanting to.  I was feeling like crap, shivery, headachy, and still those bloody stomach cramps!

I headed up to my room; I'd booked a 'micro' room which meant I didn't have to share a dorm, but was sharing a bathroom a couple of doors down from my room which was fine with me.  It was appropriately named and was tiny, but it was my space to that was ok!  After a long hot shower, I headed to bed with plenty of fluids next to me (including Irn Bru) so that I could rehydrate as the night went on.  Unfortunately from about 1am I was up every half hour having diarrhoea, and hot sweats, soaking the sheets through.

Day 7; Inverness to where?
Breakfast wasn't until 7.30 in the hostel, so I had a slightly later start of 7am, and got up, not feeling particularly refreshed, and got ready to go.  To be fair, I felt better than when I arrived the night before, and had at least stopped crying (much to the relief of Alistair, the kind guy on the front desk of the hostel).

I headed down for breakfast to find the canteen full of Americans; I listened to their nattering as I munched some toast and cereals (because porridge was not an option; how is this the case in Scotland??).  Shortly after 8am, and I was back on my bike, and headed to Morrisons to pick up more paracetamol, ibuprofen and Imodium (taking a dose there and then along with yet another poo...).  I was trying to convince myself that my diarrhoea was just due my constipation, rather than obviously being an infective diarrhoea given the temperature and sweating I'd had.  I know Imodium is never the best idea with an infective diarrhoea, but sometimes needs must!  I was never going to get anywhere otherwise!

By 8.30am I was on my way, this time following the A9, then the A99 all the way to John O'Groats!  Only 125 miles to go!  My body hurt, I felt crap, but hey, my legs were still spinning (all be it a little bit slower)!  After about an hour I needed my first toilet stop, and more Imodium.  At 3 hours (having only cycled 38miles), I allowed myself a food stop and struggled to eat a cheese toastie in Tain.  I has alternating between waves of adrenaline and happiness (I can do this, I can actually do this, it's my last day, big grin on my face smiley), and sheer suffering (think cramps, nausea, pain all over).

North of Goldspie things started going wrong (after yet another toilet stop).  I'd hardly eaten any of the food I was carrying, certainly much less than I would have at 50miles on any of the other days.  I stopped to lie down for a few minutes and close my eyes on a particularly attractive looking patch of green grass before getting back on and spinning some more.  Next time I stopped the vomiting started.  Things were not looking good.

I pushed on to Helmsdale where I saw signs for the 'Thyme & Plaice' cafe, welcoming cyclists.  I pulled over and headed up, absolutely broken, tears streaming down my face.  I thought if I could just eat and drink something I might be able to keep going; it was after all only another 55 miles to go.  I managed to drink some Vimto which helped, and a bit of tea, but couldn't face food.  I'd ordered a scone but it sat untouched in front of me.  The kind owner (Rob, a yorkshireman) then put some flapjack in front of me, and offered me a smoothie.  I called Tom, and my father-in-law Will who both insisted that I could do it!  My friend Mel then rang after seeing my distressed facebook post.  I explained I'd been poorly all night, and was now struggling to eat after vomiting.  I think I needed someone to tell me it was ok to stop, and that's what Mel did.  I hate to quit!  I am not a quitter, and failing felt so bad (as if I didn't feel bad enough anyway!).  But my body was broken.  I was utterly, completely broken.  How can you ride another 55miles without food?  Retrospectively, riding 70miles already given the state I was in was pretty impressive.

Rob recommended a good local B&B to me, and after ringing to check they had a room, drove me and Felix up in his van (it was at the top of the hill, the last thing I needed when this broken!).  Rob is honestly the kindest man I have met on my journey!!  The couple at the B&B were lovely.  I went straight to bed (at 4.30pm) and was brought some toast in bed a couple of hours later which I managed to eat cold at about 8.30pm.  At this point I started to feel a bit more positive; if I can eat maybe I'll b able to finish?  I needed to be at Wick by 8am, but it hardly gets dark in Scotland, so I spoke to the B&B owners and hatched a plan; setting my alarm for 2.30am ready for an early morning hit on the last bit of the journey.  I continued to swing a temperature and to sweat through the night, and at 2am was up again with more diarrhoea.  I turned my alarm off, accepting I was broken.  I would not be reaching John O Groats this time round.

Day 8; Accepting Defeat
Instead, I got up at 8am, managed a bit more toast, then biked up down the hill to the station, calling in at the cafe to thank Rob again for looking after me.  I then caught the same train south that I would have gotten on at Wick, and spent most of yesterday on a train, with intermittent episodes of diarrhoea.

Fortunately my diarrhoea is now settling, so provided it doesn't restart once I move back onto solid food, I'll be back at work again tomorrow.  The extra day of rest has been appreciated!

I didn't make it to John O Groat's, but what a journey!!!

Day 7; Inverness to Helmsdale (because I failed)

a quick update to stop anyone worrying that I haven't arrived anywhere.  I was due to bike 125 miles from Inverness to John O Groats today.    I had a rough nights sleep last night, with diarrhoea every half hour and sweating profusely.

This morning I got up, took Imodium, paracetamol and ibuprofen and set off feeling worse for wear.  I set off anyway, but was struggling, alternating between hot sweats and shivering, feeling like crap.  Before too long the vomiting started as well.  I made it to 70 miles and pulled over into a cafe, feeling shocking.  Struggling to eat and drink I dot think I had it in me to do another 55 miles.  InsteD I sat crying and sufferings, trying but failing to eat.

The cafe owner (Thyme & Plaice in Helmsdale) was amazing, encouraging me, getting me multiple drinks, putting different food in front of me to see if I could eat anything.  I made a tough decision not to keep going.  It would have been stupid to try and ride another 55miles without food or drink.  The owner recommended a B&B to me, then dropped me and my bike off there, refusing my to let me pay for anything.  What a kind soul!!

I've been in bed since about 4.30, and haven't managed to eat anything, despite being brought toast by the lovely B&B owner.  I would like to try and finish then ride tomorrow but suspect I won't be up to it unless I miraculously get better overnight.  I've come so far, and feel so disappointed to have failed so close to the end, but 55 miles is a long way to ride when feeling this rough.  I want to get home in one piece, not end up in hospital.

Sorry for failing and letting people down. I really did try my hardest.