Solo Point Five - Patience, Hard Work, A Positive Mindset and Consistency

So here I am, 4 weeks on from completing perhaps the hardest and most spectacular race I have ever undertaken. And the 2nd of 4 this year to raise money for The Oxygen Works and Headway Highland. 2 charities that helped me in my recovery and continue to help many other people across the region.

My main reflections are, that was hardest race I have ever completed and I cannot keep the smile off my face every time I think about the race. So grateful for the amazing support I had b4, during and after the race, so happy with the amount of money I have raised (so far;)) for the charities in question and proud of myself for doing the work and maintaining my mindset (mostly!) , b4 and during the day of the race.

This blog will be a recount of the race and some more reflections as I go through it.

The day before race day

Given the race starts at 0500hrs and signup on the day opens at 0345hrs, the race briefing and official registration happen the afternoon before. With that in mind I had a planned a last wee taper session of swim, bike, run on the Friday morning and then headed up to Torridon late morning on the Friday. With the van fully packed on Thursday with what felt like a mountain of kit. Well, OW stuff, Bike stuff, Run stuff and all the nutrition requirements for a c8 hour race is quite a lot. A lot of rice cakes ;)

So I headed up about 1100hrs. After the wild weather from the full Celtman the week before things were looking better for the Solo Point Five. There was some rain and “hail” forecast first thing on the Saturday (surely not!, but it is Scotland I guess;)) but generally sunny and not too windy. Conditions at registration were excellent. Gee and I had a carb loaded lunch in the back of my van followed by a coffee and cake in the Torridon hall before the briefing. Got to fuel up for the next days activity. Gee and I had been up to Torridon a couple of times to recce the course in the previous month. Once together to do the actual swim and most of the bike course over the Bealach. And once separately to complete the actual run. Gee had been up with her family on a spectacular day. The day I did the run, I got all the weather. Good training and test of all my race kit I guess.

Back to registration and briefing. A very expectant and clearly nervous/excited group of people were in the hall. Given it was the inaugural running of the race and it included the Bealach I suppose it was to be expected. The full Celtman has run for 10 years so the participants are quite “relaxed'“. Well as relaxed as you can ever be undertaking something so brutal. The organising team injected their usual humour into the briefing while conveying the critical bits of information. Perhaps given it was Solo Point Fives first year it has attracted a lot of new faces, and we were a bit more circumspect about what lay ahead. Who know’s. But it was now game on and time to get final food on board and hopefully some sleep before a 0230hrs alarm call. More on that later. I had treated myself to a night in the Torridon Hotel. What a spot. I went for a stroll in the grounds with spectacular views over Beinn Alligin and Liathach. Where I would be running the next day. And then had as healthy a meal as possible in the restaurant with a few chats with some fellow participants the next day. And off to bed at 2030hrs.

Race Day

Here I was race day. A little about the nights “sleep’ first. I went to bed at 2030 and got to sleep a little after 12!!! On closer reflection/study when I couldn't sleep it’s quite common. The adrenaline is coursing through your body and as you are on taper your body is nowhere near as tired as it has been in full training so needs less rest. Because of this you can probably get away with less sleep before a race. After meditating, sleep stories, reading etc I had given up hope of any sleep. And then you start to worry you won’t wake up and will miss the big race. I set 3 alarms due to this and ended up waking up before any of them bang on 0230hrs as I had been mentally telling my body clock to wake me up. Did it work. Don’t know. Anyway, after my usual mediation and yoga, I eat a healthy breakfast before leaving about 0330 for the short drive to race transition at Sheildaig. I had brought my own porridge pot and fruit in case…but I needn’t have worried. With Celtman having been on the go for 10 years the hotel were well used to maniacs needing a healthy breakfast for the middle of the night.

Transition was super organised. Well T1. Given the run starts the other side of Torridon we were only going to be leaving the swim here and getting on our bikes. We had to set up our Bike here and hand the organisers a bag of our run stuff that would be taken to T2. This included all the mandatory kit required for a mountain run such as map, compass and appropriate clothing if the weather turned bad. And perhaps more importantly nutrition to keep us going!! We were also given dibbers for checking our times at each stage and a tracker to go in our back pocket after the swim so the race organisers can keep track of athletes. People following the race could also log into a website to see how you were doing. So the prep continued. As I was there sharp, I felt quite relaxed and excited. Managing to channel the nerves quite well. Gee was there so I was chatting to her and a great friend Nigel was competing. Nigel is an amazing guy. If you think my recovery is good, read his story. Inspires me all the time. He was diagnosed with cancer a number of years ago and was given a pretty grim prognosis. He was offered a trial drug (which I think has now been approved for this condition) and here he still is, doing crazy races like this. Nigel is always doing events to raise awareness and money for the charities associated with his illness so if you have any spare pennies follow this link. This latest event is a 5k swim across the Solent.

Another memorable moment in set up. I was busy setting up my transition area and a recognisable voice behind said good morning. I turned round and completely out of context there stood Stella from my work. She had been on holiday in Sheildaig that weekend, not even realising our race was on, and had got up to wish me good luck. And perhaps more amazingly made me a coffee before the start given her holiday cottage was right beside the transition area :) My friend Ewan was competing so I chatted to him and a few more faces I recognised. And Darren another friend who had completed the full Celtman the week before had come up before his shift at work to soak in the atmosphere and wish us all the best. The Celtman aura grabs a lot of people and the buzz is amazing.

Before we knew it 0450hrs had arrived and we all trooped into the water for a mass start. We were all bobbing around behind the imaginary start line and set off with a blast on the hooter at 0500hrs. Pretty still conditions, a little rain in the air but otherwise not bad. Not too many jelly fish (a Celtman staple)at the start but that was to become jelly fish soup on the return to Sheildaig. Perhaps the most bizarre moment in the swim was the “walking on water” incident. Round the back of the island at certain tide levels you can swim between a rocky outcrop. On this occasion the tide was a little low, the lead kayak had taken a tighter line and as I looked ahead I saw swimmers briefly walking on water and they scaled the rocks that were barely below the surface. A surreal moment but back swimming again quickly. I was maintaining a smooth stroke and came out in a faster time than I was expecting so delighted. A measured transition, all swim stuff packed back into the transition bag for later pick up and then off on the bike.

Another rice cake down the hatch, another 6 in the pockets for half hourly consumption on the expected 4 hour bike, transmitter in the back pocket and 2 bottles of High 5 four to 1 for regular consumption and hydration on the bike. As expected being one of the slower swimmers I started overtaking people on the first climb out of Sheildaig. And then 6k in I noticed my pedal was slightly loose. After closer inspection I decided I better get off and have a proper look. It came off really easily. I was gutted. Sponsorship, training all flashed before my eyes. It didn’t appear to want to screw back on. Lots of offers of support but no one had a bike spanner!! Once I had eventually calmed down and my fingers warmed up, I realised the power pedal pods were causing the thread from the pedal not to properly attach to the crank. I took the power pod off. Reattached the pedal hand tight. It seemed to be secure so I decided to give it a go. I had nothing to lose. I’d lost 20 minutes but I was soon back passing all the people I had already passed as we ascended the Bealach. I was constantly checking the pedal but it seemed to be holding. I had dropped back to a sustainable power output after my initial burst caused by frustration. I had the best part of 7 hours of racing still to do! And then the aformentioned hail at the top of the Bealach. I was not dressed for a cold bike but thankfully the forecast was accurate. After a super slippy descent of the Bealach it was brightening and warming up and we had a slight tailwind back to towards Sheildaig. There was one plus point due to my 20min mechanical. From being dead last on the road I was now passing bikes regularly. Good from a motivational point of you and I was feeling good. Still a little concerned about the pedal but generally good. At the turn back into Torridon more positive motivation. Pete, Gee’s hubby had come up with the kids and my Andrew and they were cheering loudly at this point. Jill from the tri club was there with cow bells as well.

I headed through Torridon and up a nasty little kicker towards Inveralligan. I had run it on my run recce a few weeks previously so knew it was coming. We then headed to T2. There was a neutralised zone on the descent into T2 as the race organisers didn’t want people going at crazy speeds down the hill to the village. So a quick change into running kits, all cycling kits back into our T2 bag and off on the run. About a k into the run I fell in with a lady running at the same pace as myself. Lynn was from Perthshire and we were able to natter away and keep ourselves going through the section round the back of Liathach. Its a great indicator you are going at the right effort levels and in zone 2 if you can still keep up a conversation. And we were managing that. It turned out Lynn had done a number of long distance events, including the full Celtman in 2019, so her incite was invaluable. “Just keep moving whatever you do”. I did. We continued to pass people which was also motivating. We joined up with the route coming off Beinn Eighe that is the high route in the full Celtman. It would be fair to say the scenery was stunning and another moment to be mindful of where we were and what I was able to do after my accident. Just so grateful :)

We hit the descent back onto the road and the pics above were taken as I rejoined the road taken by the lad :) Pete had moved to this point with the kids and another huge boost as they cheered me on. Mentally I told myself that with 8k left I was running it in whether I liked it or not. I felt strong. My friend Ewan, who is a top coach in his own right and was doing the race, had spotted on a trail run with the club some months previously that I wasn’t engaging my glutes enough in my running. He mentioned it and I haven’t forgotten it. Even now the wee voice kept saying….engage the glutes. I had done the training, got my pacing and nutrition right so was good to go. And apart from one lady that breezed past me as if i wasn't moving, I continued to pass people all the way home. And even largely with a smile on my face :) And the cherry on the cake was Andrew ran the last 0.5k with me up the hill to the hall. A special moment that will stay with me forever :):)

I was beyond delighted and finished with a roar as you can perhaps tell in the “ministry of silly walks” photo and a huge hug from Andrew. The kids will probably never know how much of a motivation they have been to me in my recovery and to have Andrew there at the finish was special. After the initial few minutes of elation at finishing, I quickly went into a version of stunned silence and mild shock. And for anyone that knows me this will come as a surprise. And a hunt for any liquid I could get my hands on. It was a warm day! I wasn’t even remotely hungry given all the rice cakes I had eaten but liquid was needed.

I suppose on reflection I was very fatigued, but mainly gobsmacked at what I had managed given the four years I had been through to get here. It hadn't sunk in. It was great to be surrounded by my “tribe”. a.k.a nutters doing crazy endurance events all over the world. I am never happier. If you develop a well thought through plan with advice from experts ( in training and on race day), follow the plan consistently, put in the hard work and have a positive mindset anything is possible. And that I suppose is the recipe I used to prepare for this race and recover from my accident. On to the next event of my fundraising events in 2022. The Loch Ness Marathon.