First Lady ennerdale 50km

'I'm just going to use it as a training run.' That was until I got swept up in the event and my competitive side took over. Leading the whole way I couldn't not give it my all to try and win. And I really did give it my all, second Lady being only a few minutes behind. The course was tough, and not in the way you might think with a lot of technical and steep ground, but with I all being runnable and steady climbs. After the first 25k, ad only nibbling on bits of food as I could, my legs were feeling it. Instead of just taking the next round easy and finishing I felt the pressure of having lead the first round. With 12k to go my competitor caught me and I felt a wave of disappointment thinking I'd lost first place. I had to fight off the feeling of just wanting to give up and keep going, running my race. In the end this paid off, I got ahead on the climb and maintained it at the technical stretch, which is usually my biggest weakness and came in first. It was such a relief and shear joy, even more so as it was a battle.  I feel I learnt quite a bit about myself from this event, things I need to work on both physically and mentally. I hate admitting I'm competitive, but I really am. But I also know that if I let it get to me it could ruin my chances of finishing 100 miles. I need to run my race, as my amazingly supportive husband was telling me during the event. Like so many things in life, this is my journey where we learn from others and experience, offer and take support, but just remember why we do it. Because being out in the beautiful countryside is just awesome! Happy running!