Life is an ultramarathon

This morning I went for a recce on Thames Path from the Barrier to Hammersmith. Quite a few changes within a year!

Firstly, the cable car between the O2 and the Royal Docks looks nearly ready. The cable and cabins are already there, but the terminal building is not finished yet, thus leading to yet another path diversion...

Secondly, the north section between the O2 and Greenwich has been diverted, whereas the South section is now open.

In Greenwich, the Cutty Sark has now being repaired and is open to the public again.

That said, another boat stole the show in Greenwich today. HMS Ocean, a large assault ship, has now docked in Greenwich after a very close encounter with the Thames Barrier (video) a few days ago. She's there to flex muscles before the Olympics, and is actually pretty massive. Today she was open to Greenwich residents only. And judging by the ~500m queue, it was successful!

A bit of a shame, the Traffic Light Tree in the docklands has been removed.

More centrally, the Shard, the new tallest building in Europe has now reached its fully height.

And a last, smaller but appreciable change: the underpass at Wandsworth bridge is now open, avoiding stairs and road crossing. A nice map of the Thames Path has been displayed on the wall too.

The Thames banks in London are ever changing. I just hope it's for the best, and that millennia of varied history won't be replaced by a single generic type of building within 50 years.

Ultra recce

On Saturday, I ran my last long training session, a nice 64km on the Thames Path. Despite my muscles being relatively tired, the pace was adequate, and most importantly, I felt generally strong.

I was greeted by a rather powerful thundery shower from the start, leaving me soaked for the remaining 6 hours. To make sure I didn't dry up on my way back, a spring tide forced me to run in the overflowing Thames.

It was also an opportunity to test the MSR SweetWater filter in real conditions. It took me about 10 minutes to filter 2.75L of water, including unpacking, setting up, and repacking. In terms of taste, let's face it, it's like drinking from a swimming pool, but it's reassuring in a way. I hadn't intended to use my water bladder, but the provided filter adapter just happens to fit well on it, and the refilling worked pretty well. In the light of this experiment, I've decided to take a water bladder and a bottle (for various additives such as rehydration sachets) on the TSQ. With 3L of water, I can run up to 4 hours if it's hot, and more during the night. I guess it's a matter of trading off between the the time to filter, and the water weight to be carried.

All in all, the water element was rather keen on communing, with or without my consent, which is a good omen.

Now, it's relative rest, increased nutrition and hydration for the next 7 days.

Ultra water power

I've recently come across Charlie Wittmack's challenge, The World Triathlon, which consists in none less than swimming down the whole Thames and cross the English Channel (275 miles / 443km), cycle to China (9,000 miles / 14,500km), before running to the summit of mount Everest (950 miles / 1,500km).

As you can imagine, this is not going to be trivial, but it's interesting to note that the first issue faced by Charlie was to inadvertently drink a sip of the Thames water and consequently falling violently ill! Luckily Charlie is now fine again and should be swimming in London tomorrow.

Ultra ultra triathlon

On Saturday, I ran from home (London, Hammersmith) to Mommas' Palace (Guildford). That's a nice 60km run along the Thames from London to Weybridge, then along the Wey River up to Guildford.

Given Mommas' aura, several pilgrimages have already been carried out. When he lived in Weybridge, we walked from Hyde Park by the Thames Path and Richmond Park (30km - see Original ultra feeling). Then Mommas decided to make it harder and moved to Guildford; we walked from Surbiton (36km) (*). This time Mommas gave me the force to run the whole way at once. The target was set to 6 hours.

When I left at about 8am, the clouds were threatening and I expected some rain on the way. But I didn't even get a tiny drizzle. The temperature was perfect: about 10°C. From the beginning I used the so-called Cyrano method: I walked 1 minute every 10. These micro-breaks allow to rest the muscles and potentially reduce the speed decay and avoid injuries. Moreover, they can be used to eat and drink at regular times. Hammersmith, Mortlake, Kew, Richmond, Kingston-upon-Tames, Walton-on-Thames, Weybridge: the section along the Thames went quite smoothly. I knew most of the path, except the swing around Hampton Court Park. Just before that, in Kingston, a runner tried to trick me and told me the tow path was following the South Bank. Fred and I have been there: no Thames Path on the South ! I trusted my map and my experience and crossed to the North Bank. Good choice ! Strangely I got some blisters and frictions at various places, but as often in ultra-running, those disappeared quickly. After 3h15, I was in Weybridge (35km).

At Weybridge, I left the Thames to follow the Wey tow path. This path is actually part of the E2 European Long Distance Path, which follows the GR5 in France. I didn't run quite as far as Nice, though :) The Thames was rather high, and so was the Wey. When I walked it with Fred, the Wey was just a small stream on the side of the Wey Navigation (a canal seconding the Wey). This time, not only the Wey Navigation was filled in to the top, but the Wey was a powerful river occupying all its bed. In fact the locks were not in use because of the flood. Last time, it was recommended to use them economically due to the drought!
From this point, the sun started to shine unexpectedly. That also means more water consumption, and I had to stop at a pub (The Anchor) to get some drink. I don't know why I did that, but I ordered a pint of ice-cold coke that I drank in less than a minute. Objectively, the best way to throw up, but it went surprisingly well ! The path was quite muddy and some sections in the riparian fields were really squelchy, difficult to run ... The Wey was on the way (**). I progressively started to feel stiff. Ache in my right hip and in my left ankle reminded me old injuries. I also experienced a novel form of pain: a sudden, intense, sharp, localised pain in my right calf. I think it's actually a sort of cramp. After 50-55km I had to walk every 7.5 minutes and even every 5 minutes. But when I was running I was still quite fast. That's the Cyrano effect. To make things a bit harder, Mommas obviously doesn't live nearby the river, but on a hill ... I planned to walk this last ascent, but surprisingly while approaching Guildford I felt much better and could run continuously even uphill. It's again a proof that pain, cold, and other unpleasant feelings are just a conception of mind. When you know you're about to arrive, the psychic removes all the pain.

Arrived after 6h05, mission accomplished ! Bredele, mulled wine and crêpes for replenishment :)

Ultra pilgrimage.

(*) This paragraph really looks like a short literature review (related work) at the beginning of a publication... I'm writing all day lately!
(**) I really needed to do this joke, sorry...