There has been a reason I have not been blogging anywhere near as much as before - I didn't want any extra worry from people in the run up to arch to arc.
It started with Indo Ultra, as many of you will know I dnf'd on this having had heat exhaustion and I suffered some cramps while out there, something I put down to eating something a bit dodgy. When I came back from Indonesia in November I struggled to eat and was very ill for a few weeks. After a trip to the doctors they started tests and said they may have to hospitalise me for a drip. Tests came back negative but I was still struggling to eat anything.....my diet at this point was dry crackers and lucozade as that is all I could stomach. Weirdly I was still able to run and train and had a decent run in Scotland as part of Andy Murrays Scotland to Sahara 28mile section followed by a 40mile run in the brecon beacons with the www.mightcontainnuts.com peeps....fab event btw.
In the run up to Christmas I was feeling ok, as long as I didn't eat which was not ideal. I had dropped so much weight even I looked in the mirror and was shocked. Having spoken to my doctors they said I was doing the right things, avoiding fatty foods etc but they would have to do some more tests if I didn't get better.
I went home for christmas with the aim of letting my mother feed me up but was doubled over with cramps for most of it so the minute I got back to the UK I phoned my doctors to get an appointment, as it was the first day they were open they could not see me as so many people had made appointments so had to wait til the following evening to be seen...all the while I carried on working.
Once I explained everything to the doctor she examined me and said she thought I had got very unlucky and had a pretty severe stomach illness from Indonesia, recovered, then got appendicitis! She reckoned it was ruptured given the pain I had been in for the last week so sent me off to A&E to be seen by the surgical team. Appendicitis, hmmm I thought, keyhole surgery, not too bad....I'll be out fairly quickly and still be able to go to my friends for New Years Eve.
With the doctor having put on my notes I was an ultrarunner (to explain why a hr of 100 was sky high for me) I had several visitors from doctors coming to ask me about some events which took my mind off things for a bit. I did get seen by the surgical team very fast and they came to the conclusion I had a ruptured appendix so they would have to do open surgery rather than keyhole so would schedule my surgery as an emergency for the morning - New Years Eve!!! At this point I didn't care, I was glad to have a diagnosis and was looking forward to being able to eat again!
Being taken into to theatre was a bit scary, I've never been in hospital before. Once I came round and had recovered a bit the team came to see me and explain - it wasn't appendicitis but a mass in my colon......well that would explain my sickness more! They took it out and had sent it for examination.....so that was my New Years Eve, what a way to spend it, I can honestly say I probably felt as ill as most people in the country did on New Years Day, incredibly ill....difference being mine was from anasthetic not booze.
I got let out 3 days later and went to stay with family who looked after me and tried to feed me....having not eaten a proper meal since november i had to start with tiny portions.
I got my diagnosis quite quickly, my old lab were dealing with it so unsurprisingly it was dealt with urgently. Apparently I now have Crohn's Disease, something that is usually diagnosed very young. The consultant commented on how unusually fast the symptoms presented and how high a pain threshold I have.....don't think I was a normal case. I was a little shocked by the diagnosis but also relieved as, although it is not curable but manageable, it could be a lot worse.
A week and a half post surgery I managed an hrs walk and three weeks post op I did a 10mile run/walk and eased myself back into training....I was due to do a 24hr treadmill run in feb but pushed it back to March and in the end I walked 80miles in the 24hrs as running was just too much too soon.
I was worred when going to get my medical done for a2a but my doctor examined me and said Ultrarunners are another species. He said I wasn't built like normal people and that my recovery rate was incredible....nice to know!
I have had lots more tests and also found several foods I can now no longer eat...there is no set diet for Crohn's Disease, just have to figure out what works for you......I found out very quickly I cannot have dairy, pineapple or sweetcorn.....the latter actually put me in hospital on a morphine drip only 4 days before my 6hr swim in Weymouth but the only way to find out what I could tolerate was to eat and see what I reacted to. Luckily there have been few foods that cause me so much agony but certainly there are plenty to avoid including alcohol.
One of my first big tests with running and eating was the Scottish Ultra in May. I was nervous about how I would cope with the week and whether I could get enough calories in without the dehydrated food as I now can't eat them. The week went very well, had no problems with food...in fact the only issue was a suspected broken toe/tendonitis on the last couple of days but was able to get through with that.
All the time I was testing out new foods I was still training for a2a, I still wanted to do it but wasn't sure I could and by May I had given myself a few weeks to turn my training around or bin it as I was struggling to stay in the water for any lenght of time.
Amazingly I managed to turn it round after a trip to Ireland where I took in some enjoyable short swims and when I got back I did my 4hr swim and got my confidence back. Shortly after this swim I was put in hospital having eaten something that did not agree with me, my 6hr swim with Eddie Ette was due a few days later and I went ahead knowing I needed it done but opted not to tell Ed til after the swim in case he advised against it, the swim was one of the best I have done and Ed reckoned I could easily have done 10hrs that day. Massive confidence boost!
I had to change my feeds for the swim as anything solid was causing cramps so I opted for lucozade mainly then a Soya Protein mix for the calories and it worked great, it also meant the feeds were very short...drink fast then carry on. I was actually hyper after the 10hr swim and was brimming with confidence about it. Time to taper
After a few weeks it was fiinally A2A time, it was a sudden right Jo we need to go now! This is likely to be only possible decent weather you will have for the swim so its now or risk the 9th! So after a full days work I gathered the crew and myself and Danny got the hire car and kit ad made our way to Marble Arch where Ed and Fiona were waiting. Oli Sinclair and Gemma Hagen, two of my best friends, were waiting to wave me off. It was a quick start and no time for nerves. The run went without any problems, I enjoyed it and ate well.
Once down in Dover Danny went back to London so another friend David Rowe could do the boaat section, David is a very talented triathlete and was very pleased to have him on board.
If you have read Ed's post then you will know what happened but here it is, I can't word it any better
"The Enduroman Arch to Arc start time unlike most other event is dictated by the Channel swim tide time and this in turn is dictated by the weather conditions. So the actual start of the run from London Marble Arch... is not known for certain until the last minute. That one thing about the event causes athletes, support crews, sponsors and media many problems. For those of you that are thinking of taking up this life changing challenge take that on board now.
Jo about the weather, there are only two options: Run as soon as possible and hope the forecasted bad weather does not come in earlier, or sit and wait it out but that will be at least a week. If you run now and there is no swim then you will just have to abandon and we try to reorganise. That’s the sort of pressure decision that the athlete has to make “jo in this case”.
It was decided that we start the run a day earlier than planned to grab the last swimmable water. We all met at the Arch and after the normal procedures and photos were on our way. Jo was high and the thought of an 87 mile run down did not faze her one little bit. She been there before and running is her strength.
We all arrived in Dover 19hours and 45min later happy. Jo had done as planned taken her time and ate and drunk well all the way down. After a good wash up, food was eaten and we all retired to bed.
The next day apart from thick fog in the Channel all looked promising, after what seemed like an age the go ahead was given. Jo seemed to be bubbling with confidence as she boarded Anastasia. The weather was good and we were confident the good weather would stay long enough to allow Jo her best shot at the Channel. The sea was flat and jo was well rested, I could not be happier.
The swim started from the beach at Sanfire Hoe, after a final chat and check of lights, goggle etc like most swimmers Jo swam from the boat to shore before the official swim would start.
Swim started at 13.24 and great progress was made. On the first hour Jo fed with liquid and swam away immediately. Second feed 1hr.45 min also went well, and then things started to change. The first really noticeable thing was the way Jo seemed to be looking straight into our eyes. Her facial expression trying to tell you something, shortly later you could see her crying a little to her self. We gave thumbs up to try to help her through this bad patch but that did work. The next feed at 2.5hours she mentioned she was cold, that’s normal Jo it will pass, focus and keep swimming. Jo’s swim stroke deteriorated badly very quickly and she started showing some very worrying signs. Everything was going horribly wrong for her. We spent the next couple of hours trying everything we could to break her out of the horrible hole she had gone into, but nothing we did or said made any difference.
Jo retired and boarded Anastasia; she explained how she has blown up mentally at the sheer size of the Channel swim.
Jo Kilkenny became a family friend, a fantastic ultra runner who was inspired by Enduroman Arch to Arc, a runner who learnt to swim to take on the challenge.
I am proud to have got to know her and been a part of her attempt. I am disappointed to see her not achieve but fail she did not. Jo has learnt many things about herself along the way. There is one simple fact of life: we can only learn from personal experience, if you do not try you can not learn.
Edgar Enduroman1"
I do not regret attempting a2a a second time as it would always have eaten away at me if I hadn't. Some people have assumed I will do it again....let me put you straight. I have no plans to attempt this again in the next decade, I can't say never but right now I feel like I have gotten what I need from it.
I have had several crisis of confidence over this event and it has caused no end of pain for me so I knew even if I didn't do it then this was it...no more, I cannot put myself through it all again. It's not so much the training but the depths of despair it was able to inspire in me. I had nightmares about it all too and the thought of it being the focus of my life for another few years is far too much to contemplate emotionally and financially as I have worked extra jobs to be able to pay for this.
Through all of this one thing has been evident - my surgery and chronic condition has not caused me to tone down any training (apart from the first few weeks after surgery). The reason I did not complete a2a wasbdue to blowing up mentally at the vastness of the channel, it was nothing physical. So to those who are suffering with any life long conditions do not let it stop you setting challenges for yourself.
There are so many people that helped me on this so apologies if you are not mentioned, every bit was appreciated.
Ed Ette and his wife Lynn have become dear friends throughout this time and I know I will stay in contact.
Tom Watch - the legend of a boat pilot who took me under his wing, I know how disappointed he was for me.
Debs Stott - without whom I would have struggled to get most of my swims done. A true friend.
Rosie and Jason, Fiona, Danny Norman and David Rowe for their crewing. Thank you for giving up your time to help me.
Dave and Phil at sandbaggers for help with races in the lead up
Karen Mathie for all her help with fundraising for Yamaa
Rachael Cadman who offered loads of support
Oli and Gemma for constantly feeding me steak :)
All friends/family who have put up with me saying "no, I can't do this, that etc as I need to be able to get a swim in"
Now to get back to running!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
