60 miles and proud

What a day!

It started to rain after two hours and it didn't stop! I don't think I have ever been out in such atrocious conditions as they were going over the Sloc. Horizontal stinging rain with driving winds over 40mph.

We deliberately set off at 4mph, clocking in around 15mins every mile give or take a few seconds. It was very enjoyable meeting new people, everyone with a different story. Even with the rain it was a carnival atmosphere. Things got very different going over the Sloc (1000ft or more?) conversation was impossible over the roar of the wind and the noise of the rain on hoods and hats. One had to shout to get anyone's attention.

Going down the other side was just as bad, wind behind driving you too fast down the hill, wet socks turning into cheese graters and most people shivering as they were soaked to the skin and no longer working as hard. I was given a welcome cup of soup and Dalby at the bottom of the hill which stopped the shvering and things started to look up again.

At Peel, mile 33ish, we went into my parents house, which is conveniently located on the course itself and got fresh t-shirts, waterproofs, gloves and hats. A bowl of soup and a cheese roll later and we were on our way again. As I left the front door, I nearly ran down Irene George (my fellow bloggers wife) who gave me an update on the front runners.

I still felt fresh going on through Kirk Michael and on up to Jurby. I was worried about what was going on inside my shoes and didn't dare change my socks in case my feel exploded. We went past my house in Bride and waved which was nice and then dipped in at Bride. Bryan at this stage had developed a very painful knee and was forced to retire.

Its bizarre but once you lose your companion, and its dark and wet and cold one deteriates at a remarkable rate. On my way to Andreas, I was determined to get to Maughold. My pace was back up and I did two 14:45ish miles. I dipped at Andreas and pushed on into the darkness. About an hour later I knew I was in trouble. The previous mile had been 17minutes, both knees were starting to hurt a lot and my feet - they felt very battered and bruised. It was the slowing down that took its toll and I started to shiver. This is where my support crew said I was taking a bad turn and we decided to head back to Andreas to hand in my tracker chip.

As soon as I got stopped and got into the car I was shaking, almost uncontrollably, I didn't resist as it was effective at keeping warm. Luckily we only live 4 or 5 miles from there and I was in a hot bath within 15mins of stopping. I had to be helped get my shoes off as my hands were not working at all. There were several disgisted groans in the room then my socks came off. I won't describe that to you, suffice to say "bloated corpe".

Anyway, a good nights sleep and I need a zimmer frame but I feel okay. Am disapointed about the conditions, I feel I could have gone a lot further had it been a nice day but hey, I can proove that next year can't I?

Thanks for reading.

Out.