brecon 40 miler

With my knee problem plauging me now for 6 months i decided i had to finish the Might Contain Nuts series so had been spending lots of time and money on Physios, stretching etc. A visit to the consultant on the Tuesday gave me a diagnosis of ITBS causing my knee problem so i continued with all the things i had been told to do and paid another visit to a physio on the Thursday prior to the race who basically charged me a lot of money to tell me to keep doing my stretches - thanks! Phil and I slept in the van on the night before the race and I had a good night of sleep. Up early (leaving Mo to sleep) and off to the start. it was a stunning day and was great to see Karen and Karen for a quick Hi and a chat at the start. Also bumped into Jim whoI keep bumping into in strange places! The race started well, i was feeling good and my knee was feeling ok, this was till 13 miles in when the pain came on suddenly and intensley. Oh dear, sa down and stretched and if i am completely honest i had a few tears and had convinced myself that the pain was so bad i would not even be able to walk round the course. I took some diclofenac tablets ( strong ones!) and walked. I text Phil and told him I would be dropping out and should we have a baby instead of doing these silly races! The Karen came along and i could see she was struggling with her ankle, we had a chat and I told her i was going to bail, she said "I am gonna grit my teeth for a bit longer" that was all the encouragement i needed. Walked for the next 7 miles pretty much struggling with my knee. I figured that even walking I could getbround in the cut off times. At the next checkpoint I was able to start jogging a bit as we crossed the reservoir dam and i seemed to pick up a little here and was ale to jog and walk, i could jog the flats but had to walk the downhills, this was incredibly frustrating for me as i love downhill running and it is where i usually gain lots of time. As we approached the checkpoint near Pen y Fan, I barely recognised Barry wrapped up at the tent. He asked if i was ok and I managed not to cry, frustration if I am honest more than anything else, I so desperatley wanted to finish the series on a high and after 6 months of problems the realisation that my knee problem was still holding me back was a real blow. Barry encouraged me on (Thanks!) and my mind was set that even if i had to walk i was going to finish as it was a stunning day and the course was amazing. The descent was agony as it was on a hard track and i had to walk so much of the route. At the checkpoint at the bottom, smiles and "well dones" and carry on back up! At this point i caught up with some of the women who had shot past me earlier and this cheed me up a little. Then as we summited Pen y fan, once again cheer on by Barry and the guys on the top i settled into my steady pace again. The nect part of the course was awe inspiring! As we made our way onto Cribyn, a walker descending said "well done!" and then said "it's Victoria isn't it" now this was strange and i was not expecting this! Turns out he is my friends boyfriend who i have not yet been intriduced to! This really cheered me up and was so lovely to meet Mr P! For the next section i ran with Erica who i had not met before, what a lovely woman! We had a great time and ran most of the last 15 miles together. My knee pain was sporadic, not too bad on the flat soft ground but dreadful when descending, i was trying to jog the downhills without bending my right knee! Quite a tough task i can assure you! Anyway i finished the course in 8hrs and 37? Mins i think, a long way over my anticipated time, but i was in one piece just! I had the most amazing day and i still managed to win the series! Phew! Just found out though that my win gives me free entry into next years series too! I had better get thatbknee sorted out!