I am a human hurdle!

Another early start for another race!  We hitched a lift with Husbando and were in London and eating breakfast at Pret a Manger by 6.15am.  We were barely awake but we made our way safely to Hyde Park for my 5th consecutive Royal Parks Half Marathon.   The atmosphere in the race village was great, it seemed busier than in previous years and I do wonder if there were more runners this year.  The queues for the baggage tent were much longer than I remember in previous years, this meant I cut it fine getting to the start line - this had the knock on effect of meaning that I had no time to avail myself of the portaloos , so that was a bonus!

I'd met up with a couple of friends before the race, including another lady from the village who I hadn't known would be there, but I found myself on my own in the start pen.  I chatted with a French couple in their Paris Marathon finishers's t shirts and waited for 9am.   It was a little bit chilly, but the sky was clear and it looked as though we would have great running weather.  

The course this year took a slightly different route, due to work on the cycle lanes on the Embankment, but the best bits of the 'non park' section were still there.  Running through Admiralty Arch and down the Mall in the sunshine is hard to beat.  Apparently the lovely people at UNICEF have a photo of me running through the Arch in the rain during my first Royal Parks Half.  I remember emailing them the photo - but can't find it anywhere on my computer!  

From the first, my right quad was painful, so I didn't push it too hard.  I saw a parkrun friend between mile 3 and 4 (at Aldwych) and mentioned it to him as a reason why I would not be even trying to keep up with him (he finished in 1hr 34mins!) but I was happy pootling along at my own pace.  There were many more supporters than in previous years and the roar as we reentered Hyde Park was immense.  We weaved our way backwards and forwards through the park and it was all going well.  Yes my leg hurt, but it was nothing I couldn't put up with.  Then, shortly before 7 miles we turned a corner, I put my right foot down and my leg sort of crumpled underneath me.  A couple of runners hurdled over me. I am sure they had no option as stopping would have caused a pile up, but it was unnerving!  I pulled myself to the barrier and sat and sobbed.  I hadn't done any damage, but my leg was sore and I was a bit shocked at having gone to moving forward to flat on the ground in no time at all.  A couple of runners asked if I was OK.  I replied that I was fine, then told myself that I had to get up and finish - so I did just that.  Soon after I ran past the UNICEF supporters - such a boost to hear them all calling out to me, and a few minutes later I ran past a lady who had called out my name much earlier in the race - she said 'Hello again!' and instantly became my new best friend!  

I ran slightly slower now because my leg hurt.  I listened in to conversations of those running around me and cheered as one of the runners managed to throw his water bottle over the heads of runners and into a bin!  The water bottles were given out without their 'sports caps' which seemed odd.  It meant that you couldn't easily carry an open bottle, so most people took a few sips and then dumped them, which seems a huge waste.   Suddenly we were nearly at the finish.  Such a contrast to the Two Tunnels Half a couple of weeks ago which seemed to go on and on and on.  We ran past the Albert Memorial towards the finish and I was overtaking people all the way.  There were people who were walking in the last 800m, which made for a few interesting manoeuvres as I hadn't anticipated them - but I crossed the finish line with a huge grin on my face.  It hadn't been *that* bad!  I'd finished and not in too slow a time (1hr 50mins 16 secs), my leg was sore but not painful anymore, the sun was shining, I had a new medal and a full goody bag and I was going to have lunch with Husbando and some friends!  

I waited for my friends at the UNICEF stand where I ate Haribos and got a massage while chatting to the people from UNICEF and the other runners.  I do love this race, but I think I lucked out when I chose to run it for UNICEF back in 2011.  The support they have given over the years is wonderful and it is lovely to be able to raise a bit of money for such a good cause.  I've said before, and will probably say it again, the fundraising is probably the hardest part.  If you feel at all inclined to make a difference to the lives of children in danger please click HERE!

I'll be back next year to do the whole thing over again - apart from the falling over I hope!  As half marathons go this one is really hard to beat in terms of atmosphere, organisation, scenery and PB potential.  

Not the fastest, but one of the funnest!

(And, yes, I know that 'funnest' isn't a word!)

This is one of the first races I ever entered, way back in May 2010 and I have run it every year since.  It seems to get bigger and busier every year, and Green Park felt much more frantic than it had done for the Mile yesterday, with huge queues everywhere!  I bumped into some fellow FetchEveryone runners and chatted with them before heading off to the start.  From my pen, at the back of the red wave, it took only 4 minutes to get across the start line.

The route has changed this year, due to roadworks on The Embankment.  I missed running along by the river, and this year there was no run through Leadenhall Market - which is one of the most enjoyable bits of the run.  To compensate we did run past my old college, King's, on The Strand, but it is something of a mystery to me as to how the wind can blow into one's face when one runs out along The Strand and on the way back!  We also ran past several places where I used to work.  Chancery Lane is a wee bit narrow for such a huge number of runners, but it was nice to see that one of my least favourite workplaces is no longer a bank, it is now a pub!  The new route had several sections where you could see runners coming in the other direction - I kept an eye out for runners I knew and shouted encouragement at the few I saw.

I had aimed to run a little faster than my ideal marathon pace, as I have a marathon on Saturday, but found that I was running around the 8.15 min/mile mark and I couldn't be bothered to slow down.  At one point an elderly lady appeared in front of me as she stepped out from the crowd with no warning causing me to use some choice language!  I was just shocked that the space that had been empty was suddenly full of a woman in tweed 2' away from me and stepping towards me - evasive action had to be taken!  Later, coming back along The Strand, a man stepped in front of me carrying 2 large cups of coffee - that could have been very nasty!   On the plus side - it was somewhere near here that I saw the UNICEF supporters - what a lovely lot they are - and they cheered me loudly!

When I got to the 8km marker I still felt comfortable, so picked the pace up a bit.  Just after the 9km we reached Birdcage Walk - this last half mile was the same as the last half mile of yesterday's race, so I knew exactly how far I had to go and knew that I could carry on pushing myself.  I achieved a negative split for this race purely on the basis of the last mile and a bit.

Afterwards I met up with friends, one of whom had just run her first ever 10k, so of course a celebration was in order!

Surrey Half Marathon

Now, living in deepest, darkest Hampshire means that one doesn't often see Tai Chi outside of a sports hall.  When we lived in London it seemed that alfresco Tai Chi  in Holland Park was de rigueur.  I was delighted to spot this gentleman in Woking Park this morning.  I was glad that I had arrived early and had a few moments to watch him.

The journey into Woking was easy, the race village opened at 7am and the road closures didn't come into force until 8am.  I parked easily, and followed the throng of lycra clad bodies to the venue.  I knew I'd arrived early as there was no queue for the loos!  The sun was shining and, while it was chilly, I decided that a vest top and shorts would suffice.  Having arrived early, I had no I had no problems checking my bag at the baggage storage in the leisure centre.  When I left the warmth of the leisure centre to make my way to the start the queues just to get in were huge.  I think many of them may have been late to the start.

I chatted briefly with a much faster parkrun friend before he battled his way to the front starting pen and then spent a few minutes chatting with people around me before we were off.  As will all big races, it was crowded at the start, and a fair bit of weaving around people was required before I could get into a rhythm.   It may be different if you are one of the very fast runners at the front - but, as a middle of the road runner it is always a bit of a bun fight!  It was somewhat disconcerting to run towards the start and encounter photographers with tripods facing towards one - I wonder how many surprised faces will have been photographed?  There were also several traffic islands that were not well marked - it is really hard to see a kerb at ground level when running in a big group!

There was plenty of banter between runners, and there were lots of supporters dotted around the course to cheer the runners on.  On a switchback, at about 4 miles, I heard those words that every teacher dreads - especially when wearing lycra shorts - 'Hello Miss!'  I needn't have panicked too much - it was a colleague not a student who stormed past me and is probably blaming a brief conversation with me for missing out on a sub 1.40 time by 9 seconds!

I was running fairly well until about half way.  I'd forgotten to strap my foot up and it was beginning to throb gently.  I eased off the pace.  This was, after all, supposed to be an expensive training run with a medal at the end!  I decided to run the rest of the race at, what I hope will be, my marathon pace.  9min/mile.  I didn't quite manage to slow down that much, but, poorly foot aside, I felt fairly comfortable.  The route was not hilly, but there were long gentle inclines to contend with.  The miles ticked by - rather quickly, the markers seemed to be placed just before my Garmin registered each mile.

And soon we were back to where we had started!  Running to the finish I heard my name being called out by a friend.  That gave me the spur I needed to think 'sod these well disguised speed bumps' and put on a final spurt of speed to get over the line.  While not a PB (by 4 mins) I am aware that I would have been beyond thrilled with this time last spring, and it is my third consecutive sub 1.50 half marathon.  Whether I can do better at Reading is another matter.  If I don't manage it then there is always Hackney  which I am running for UNICEF.    (I'll  be blogging about running for charity in the next few weeks - I just need to collect my thoughts!)

There was no goody bag as such - but that was no bad thing.  We could collect food (mostly nutty stuff) and a drink after being given our medals.  And goody bags tend to be filled with flyers for races that I either a) already know about and am signed up for or b) know about and don't want to run.  I grabbed a sports massage from Guildford Sports Clinic before collecting my bag and heading home - getting home took me as long as running the half!  All the roads I'd used to get there were still closed and the sat nav couldn't cope with me choosing which direction I thought looked hopeful!

(Thanks to Nick for a picture of me looking just about finished!)

A walk in the park.

Up early again this morning for the journey to London, I have to say that getting up for work at 5.45am is going to be something a lie in tomorrow!  After last Sunday's trip to the marathon that wasn't I had double checked all the race documentation and then checked again.  Because Husbando was going to a book fair all I had to do was snooze in the passenger seat, it also meant that we arrived in London in time to have a second breakfast and I got to practice trying to look cool and relaxed trying to take a selfie.  I am not much good at taking selfies but my darling daughter caught me trying!

On the tube from Russell Square to Knightsbridge I marvelled at how I could possibly have been daft enough to have made a similar journey last weekend and not realised much sooner that I had the wrong date.  It was standing room only, and ram packed with runners.  I chatted with a runner about to embark on her first half marathon and to another runner who was taking part in the Ultra.  The race village is huge - as it incorporates a food festival as well as all the charity marquees.  The weather was better than had been forecast, so I decided to drop my bag off at the bag check and threw on an old tshirt to keep out the chill.  It was almost up to the job.  With time to kill, and not seeing anyone around that I recognised, I made my way to the UNICEF stand.  UNICEF are amazingly supportive of their runners and I was thrilled to be able to support them by running on a ballot place rather than using a charity place this year.

Last night Husbando and I were talking about Paris-Versailles and what I should aim to do today.  I knew that the hill had been my downfall in Paris, but the Royal Parks Half is (almost) as flat as a pancake.  I knew I wanted to try for a PB (set in March 2013 at Reading: 1hr 52mins 19seconds).  Husbando had some daft notion that I should go for 1hr 45 mins.  Bonkers.  That would require me to run at 8min/mile pace ALL THE WAY!  Bonkers.  I stood, shivering in the starting area and decided with about 30 seconds to go that yes, I was desperate for a wee.  I knew that this was highly improbably - being as I'd availed myself of the lovely portaloos only a few minutes earlier - but the idea took hold and reasserted itself every time I saw a 'Toilets ahead' sign for the next 13.1 miles! 

There were two pace runners running 1hr 50mins - I started near the one furthest back and my race plan was nothing more sophisticated than staying ahead of the pace runners to ensure I got my PB.  I decided that, to give my self the best chance of getting my time, I would catch up with the one further forward, overtake her and then just hold on.  I caught her quite easily, and then just kept on going.  I kept thinking 'Oh, this is good, I'm running well, I can't keep it up, but it is fun while it lasts!'   I thanked as many marshals as I could, chatted to a runner in a gorilla suit (I suggested that he could at least have shaved his legs), cheered the Combat Stress team running with a stretcher and thanked everyone who called out my name as I ran past.  It is only good manners after all!  Although one of the other runners did comment that they'd never heard anyone thanking the marshals before - maybe that is something that doesn't normally happen at 'big' races?  

Running up the Mall I realised that I had run my fastest 5 miles ever.  Entering Hyde Park, and being hit with the wall of noise I was loving my run.  I hit 10k in my PB time - maybe a smidge faster and in the time it good me to run 10 miles in Paris I ran just over 11 miles today.  At some point I realised that I was definitely going to get a PB and I eased off a little bit.  Then I did a few calculations (not easy - my 12 x table had totally deserted me) and realised there was a chance I could get a time under one hour fifty.  That, I decided, would be amazing.  I was still chatting to people around me, keeping my eyes open for familiar faces - but not seeing any and just enjoying the fantastic weather and fabulous surroundings.  

Approaching the finish I, yet again, metaphorically kicked myself for not doing any track running.  I looked at my watch as I got to the '800m to go' sign, saw that it said 1:41 and some change and had no idea if that meant I could finish in 1:45.  I looked at my watch as I got to the '400m to go' sign and couldn't work out how long I'd taken as my brain was just refusing to do any form of simple mathematics (although it was allowing me to nag some poor man who desperately wanted to walk the last 500m!)   There really was nothing for it other than to throw myself towards the finish line as fast as I could.   So that's what I did.  I crossed the line, stopped my Garmin and could barely believe my eyes.  I swore.  I was in shock - one lovely marshal put his arm round me and asked if I was OK, 'I can't run that fast - I don't believe it!'  I replied.  'Oh, but you have done it darlin'!' he replied.  

After that it was all medals, bananas, water bottles and goody bags (one of the best goody bags around) as I made my way back to the race village and the UNICEF stand.  A quick massage of my quads was most welcome as were the congratulations of the support team.  I bought myself a celebratory hoodie and was thrilled that I had to put the small back and get an extra small!  

Split times

Lunch with friends from San Francisco, who we haven't seen for about 8 or 9 years, served to refuel and refresh.  Lovely to catch up with all their news!  All in all a fantastic day.  I still can't believe I have run a half marathon in less than an hour and three quarters.  I may get DOMS of the face from smiling so much!  I'll definitely be back next year - this race is just so pretty and so well organised.  Hopefully I will get lucky in the ballot - if not I'll be after everyone for sponsorship.

This blog post has been brought to you by a cup of tea and a salted caramel chocolate pot! 

A lovely day for a half marathon.

There were several half marathons I could have run this  morning, including the, very local  and easy to get to,  Basingstoke Half Marathon.  I've never run the Basingstoke Half as it has always coincided with another race that I have wanted to run, some years it has been Paris to Versailles, other years it has been the Royal Parks Half Marathon, and that was the case, as far as I was concerned, this year.  Indeed I remembered way back when the ballot for the Royal Parks Half opened saying 'If I don't get a ballot place this year, I won't use a UNICEF place, I'll run Basingstoke instead.' And that was that.  As it was I got a ballot place and thought no more about it.  

Given that we live in commuter land, just over an hour from Waterloo, you'd think getting to London for a 9am race on a Sunday would be a piece of cake, wouldn't you?  You'd be wrong.  The only way I could do it was to get a train from a station 40 minutes away, which left at 7am.  I do not like being late or even rushing a bit to make sure I am on time, so this meant that the wonderful Husbando had to leave the house at 6am to drive me to the station.  The station was freezing, but the coffee shop opened and a hot cup of coffee soon warmed me up.  Lots of lycra clad people started to fill up the platform, most of them (in retrospect pretty much all of them) had bikes with them.  Amongst them was a friend of mine, so we boarded the train together and chatted as we made our way to  the big city!  

We parted at Waterloo, and I went down to the Underground.  Despite the early hour of the train I was cutting it fine to get to the race village, but I was somewhat surprised not to see other runners on the tube with me.  On getting out at Hyde Park Corner I actually began to panic that I was really late and that everyone else was on the start line.  It was so quiet….. then I realised that it was too quiet.  There was no rave village, there was no starting area, there were no runners, no spectators.  Just a few, lone runners enjoying the early morning sunshine.  I got out my 'phone and googled…  

I may hate being late, and have a bit of a reputation for getting everywhere too early, but I have excelled myself this time. I was a whole week too early!  I made my way back to Waterloo, pondering what to do.  I decided to go for a run anyway, and left my race bag at left luggage on the station and set out for a steady 10 miles along the Thames.  Having started off heading West, I remembered that I wanted to look at the poppies at the Tower of London, so crossed a bridge and turned back to run East. It was a wee bit later than when I normally run in London, and there were far more people around, but it was fun.  The poppies were glorious, well worth a trip up to London!  

Looking on the bright side, as one has to, better a week early than a week late, at least I didn't make this mistake with an overseas race and I won't need to get the train up to London next Sunday as Husbando is driving up to the book fair to exhibit his wares - I can snooze in the car and arrive early enough to eat breakfast before I go to the race.  I ate too early this morning and was getting very hungry towards the end of my run, so a later breakfast may well be in order next week.   My race bag is packed and ready to go, so there should be no problem finding things at the last minute.  All I have to do is decide on my race strategy.  I ran Paris to Versailles at an average pace of 8.38min/mile, which included lots of running around slower runners and that hill.  My half marathon PB saw me running with an average pace of 8.33min/mile, so I'd need to hit a pace of 8.30min/mile in order to ensure I get a PB.  Realistically I would have to aim for a slightly faster pace than that as an insurance policy against Garmin error.  Can I do it?  I don't know.  Will I go for it?  Yes, I think I will.      

A weekend of runnning

On Saturday morning we set off to London nice and early so that Husbando could get to  his book fair .  We dropped small children off with various friends as we would be staying over night in the big, bad city and made our way into London along the A3.  This made Wimbledon Common parkrun a logical event for me to attend.  I had done very little research into what the parkrun was like, other than noting the postcode we should aim the sat nav towards, but in my mind I was thinking it would be similar to Bushy Park and Richmond parkruns in terms of the ground underfoot.  

We got there nice and early, and Husbando dropped me off before heading into London.  I found the start and wielded a mallet to help get the poles for the finish funnel into the ground while sheltering under an umbrella.  I chatted with a few regulars and mentioned that I needed directions to the nearest bus stop or station after the run - only to be offered a lift.  The run briefing commenced with much talk of people being put off by the weather and 'jokes' (or so I thought) about snorkels and swimming costumes being necessary.  I picked my way around some sizeable puddles on the way to the start, but thought that it couldn't be too bad.  Anyway, once your feet are wet it is just as easy to go through puddles as it is to go around them.  As is often the case in a new parkrun, I found it hard to know where in the mass of runners I should start, and on Saturday I think I put myself too near the back as I spent the first hundred metres trying to get past people.   I soon settled into a rhythm though, or as much of one as the ground would allow.  We went from a rough path with big puddles to mud with big puddles and tree routes, to puddles and tree routes with a little bit of soggy mud around the edges.  It was great fun if you like that kind of thing.  For the record, I don't! Especially when I had been planning to remain 'parkrun fresh' until we checked into our hotel room later in the afternoon.  I was just thinking about this when I stepped in a puddle that was knee deep!  Sod's law said it had to be my weak right foot - but at least I was icing it instantly! I carried on, making a mental note to avoid that particular puddle on the second lap.  Not a fast time for me - 26.22, but I think to try and go faster in road shoes on that ground would have been suicidal!

The state of my clothing meant that I had to make my way to Sweatshop, armed with Husbando's credit card, to acquire new running tights and socks.  I had clean and dry trainers in my bag so avoided having to buy a new pair of those too.  Given the awful weather (well, it is a Bank Holiday weekend) I didn't think that I'd want to spend the rest of the day in shorts, and was beginning to think  might need capri length tights for Sunday too.

Our hotel was just off Southampton Row.  In fact Husbando proposed to my outside that building (which used to be a Barclays Bank) 21 years ago!  We checked in, tried to decide what we wanted to do that evening, went out for supper, came back to the room and I fell asleep at about 8.30pm.  At around 2am I was woken as two other guests were talking rather loudly as they passed our door.  I was convinced that having had as much sleep as I ever normally get in a night I would not be able to get to sleep again, but the next thing I knew was that Husbando was getting up to go to work!  I had the luxury of not needing to get up for another hour, so went back to sleep until 7.30am.   We had breakfast together and then he headed back to work, and I made my way to Green Park.

The weather was lovely.  I was very glad of this as it meant I could wear my shades.  I was almost in tears as I walked to the start.  It was my baby girl's eighth birthday and  I wasn't there.  I'd never been away from any of them for a birthday, and here I was making my way to a race I couldn't run as well as I wanted to because of poor training on my part and a painful ankle.  I knew that my daughter would be having a whale of a time - she was staying with her best friend, someone she rarely sees since she has moved away from our area and with whom she shares a birthday.  But I still missed her very much.

As I passed the statue of Eros in Piccadilly Circus I saw a 'Fetch' shirt was soon chatting away to the lovely Lully.  We bumped into another Fetchie, philthet, outside the Ritz but we failed to locate the other Fetchies.  I made my way to the UNICEF flag and said hello to the lovely people there.  I've run several races to raise money for them, and they are very supportive of their runners.  On the way to the start I saw some super speedy runners I know,  in their Basingstoke and Mid Hants Athletics Club strip making their way to the first starting pen (Red A, I was in Red D).  The race was started by Mo Farah - who had pulled out of running the race, this will be the only time that I can say that I left him standing on the start line!  

The first quarter mile was very crowded, but I wasn't worried, I wasn't aiming for a specific time. I just wanted to get around without damaging my ankle too much, and to try to enjoy myself.  There was just enough breeze to keep the heat down without feeling as though one was running in a wind tunnel, the crowds along The Embankment were vocal and encouraging.  Just as we approached the underpass the front runners were coming back in the opposite direction.  They had started 8 minutes ahead of us, but there were moving seriously quickly!  I grabbed a dinky bottle of water from the water station and carried on.  I slowed slightly as I scanned the runners passing in the opposite direction hoping to catch a  glimpse of people I knew, and wanting to shout encouragement.  I saw two or three and cheered them on. 

The supporters in The City are always a bit more sparse than along The Embankment and Birdcage Walk, which is actually something of a relief.  A chance to settle into a pace and concentrate on running rather than watching the crowds.  There was a band in Leadenhall Market, and another one near Blackfriars Underpass (I think) that was playing 'Tainted Love' as I ran past.  As I came back onto the Embankment a girl running in front of me was obviously struggling - I ran with her for a while reminding her to breath deeply, not to push too hard, but when she stopped to 'chuck her cookies' I checked that she was OK (ish) found a marshall to look after her, and then we parted company.  2 years ago, on a blisteringly hot day it was me throwing up due to sun stroke, then carrying on to run the rest of the race shivering as I felt so cold!    I wasn't watching my Garmin, and knew that I was way off PB pace, but when I hit the '800m to go' point I thought I would time how ling it took me to run 800m.  I've never timed myself over that distance and was curious.  It took me 3mins 51seconds.  If I'd been able to run a straight line rather than trying to run around people (and traffic signs) it might have been a bit faster.   I crossed the line in front of Buckingham Palace in glorious sunshine, feeling better about running than I have all month.  When I looked at my watch I saw that I'd run a respectable 52.31, and even with the time I'd slowed down and stopped to help the other runner, I'd managed a negative split.    

 I didn't have as much time as I'd have liked afterwards to hang around and see other runners I knew - but I did say hello to a few people.  I had a hotel room to get back to and the bliss of a shower!  The goody bag was much better than in recent years - a nice tshirt, and enough samples of snacks and drinks to keep my children happy for a while.  This year's medal is lovely too - with the route on the reverse side.

All in all, a good day.

You live and learn

(Or to quote the late, great Douglas Adams; 'You live and learn.  At any rate you live.')

I signed up for the Great South Run about this time last year, just after I'd run it.  Looking back I don't seem to have had a good time then, and I'd been ill when I'd run it the year before that in 2010.  It seems that I can do the living bit but not the learning!

Of course, when I signed up for this, and forked over my hard earned cash, I hadn't also signed up for a marathon and a half marathon in the same month.  A sensible person would have looked at her calendar, worked out which races she really didn't want to miss and given a place in one race away.  But I've never really been accused of being sensible.

Having decided to go ahead with all three races a sensible person would have factored in some rest time.  I did taper for the marathon, as in my mind my first marathon was very much the 'A' race, but I did not rest afterwards.  Admittedly I did not run on the Monday after the marathon (I tend not to run on a Monday) and I had a sports massage instead, but I did run on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday, clocking up 13 miles in total.   This was a mistake.  I would normally take it easy before any race, and while 13 miles in a week is 'light mileage' compared to recent months it was far too much on the back of a marathon!

I was very glad of the extra hour in bed this morning - even if I did have to faff around with the clock in the car - and even though I had seriously contemplated rolling over and going back to sleep when the alarm went, I decided I had to run this race.  I'd been sponsored to do it for UNICEF and so I had no choice!  The forecast was for cold, wet weather, so I grabbed a t-shirt and capri length tights rather than my usual vest and shorts, ate some porridge, drank some tea and jumped into the car to set off for Portsmouth.  I got there early, because I don't know Portsmouth and hate getting stuck in traffic and panicking about where to park!  Soon after I arrived, armed with some marking to pass the time, I got a call from friends saying there were there too and suggesting we met up.  Much more fun to chat and gossip in the back of the CPRC minibus than mark year 11 biology papers on my own!

It was cold at the start, and we suffered the madness of an organised warm-up session.  When you have over 22,000 people crowded together in the road getting them to jump about is a bit comical!   Luckily I was in the orange wave, so didn't have to wait too long to start.

The race was as crowded as last year, with bottlenecks close to the beginning.  I think I lost my timing chip around this time.  Someone stepped on my foot - it hurt - and I think the chip came off then.  I didn't notice it was missing until much later, around the 8 mile mark so I can't be sure.  I started slow, and stayed slow!  Hitting the perfect pace that would have seen my do much better at the marathon last week!  I knew that this was not going to be a PB race for me, but I was disappointed at just how slowly I was running.  I couldn't run faster, or rather I was very aware that I could run faster but that if I did I was really going to pay for it, either in the later stages of the race or later this week.  And it is half term - I don't want to be suffering during my holiday!  It did seem nice and short.  Once I'd settled into a pace the miles seemed to slip by relatively quickly.  I was at the 5 mile marker before I felt we'd really got going, it was a relief to know I wasn't going to have to run for hours and hours with my tired legs!

The support was amazing!  I hi-fived every child I could manage, almost falling into the crowd as I jumped to hi-5 as toddler on her daddy's shoulders!  Such a difference from last week - there I was running on my own for miles at a time, this week I was dodging other runners for the entire ten miles.

We were lucky with the weather.  The threatened rain held off and it was warm enough once we got going.  Even as we came onto the seafront for the last 1.75 miles it was alright.  This is the third time I've done this race and I've been very lucky.  Seasoned Great South Runners talk about the 'icy blast' that comes off the sea, but I've not noticed it!  I'd noticed by now that my chip was gone, and was a bit cross, this meant that I would be marked DNF (did not finish) in the results, and I wouldn't get an official time.  I must have looked a bit despondent, at around 800m a supporter of the Chase Hospice team shouted 'Come on UNICEF!' and that gave me the boost I needed to pick up the pace for the last few hundred metres.

As I crossed the line I looked up and saw that the time was 1hr 35mins (and some seconds), I think it had taken me a good couple of minutes to get across the line at the start, so my time should be about 1hr 33mins.  Spookily, I do have a chip time recorded.  Someone must have picked it up and carried it across the line for me - it crossed the line in 1hr 34 min 04 seconds!

After the race and the collection of medals and goodie bags I met up briefly with friends before heading back to the car with its lovely warm heater!

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Lots of good running by my friends to day, well done to you all!  Will I run this race again?  Probably, although I haven't signed up for it yet......

I am a marathon runner!

This morning I had a lie in, compared to last week, but I was still out of bed  by 6am.  A quick cup of tea and a bowl of porridge while checking emails  before I collected my carefully organised kit and jumped into the car.  I'd left my race number on the keyboard last night so that there was no way I'd forget it, which is logical, until I moved it to send an email.  I'd only got 5 miles from home before I remembered and headed back.  No matter, I arrived at my friend's house at the right time, and was welcomed by his gorgeous little boy who had made us paper flowers for luck!

The Abingdon Marathon starts (and finishes) on a track.  It is a smallish race, with only about 1,000 runners.  I had a couple of hopes for the race, one was to finish in a higher position than my race number.  Looking around the assembling runners I began to doubt that this would be possible.  Very fit and fast looking people were running around the track to warm up, while I huddled under my space blanket!  

The race started promptly and we were off.  My aim was to run 10 minute miles, in the hope of coming in at around 4 hours and 20 minutes.  As this was my first marathon, I also accepted that things might not go to plan, and that four and a half hours would be acceptable and, if I'm honest, I'd be happy to finish before the course cut off of 5 hours.

Running conditions were lovely.  Cool and cloudy.  I had only done one short run since last weekend, and I was raring to go.  10 minute miles were proving impossible to maintain.  At about 1 mile in, Rohan came up behind me and told me that I was running at 8.40 minute mile pace.  I knew this, but I couldn't make my legs go any slower.  I needed a hill or something to slow me down.  I ran the first 5k in a respectable parkrun pace, and the first 10k was a season's best time for me.  Oops.  This was not the plan!  I walked through all the water stations in an attempt to slow myself down, and fall back down the field a bit to be running with slower runners.  It worked a bit. 

Around 10 miles I started to get very bored and wondered whether I could be bothered to finish, my foot was sore, but no more so than normal.  With a few notable exceptions (the Fetcheveryone fetchpoint being one of them) there was very little on course support.  The marshals were plentiful and excellent, but compared to big London races, it was lonely out there!  I ran 3 or 4 mile stretches on my own.  As the roads weren't closed MP3 players weren't allowed so I sang a bit in my head to keep myself going.  I also did some tricky maths problems to pass the time.  

The fetchpoint at mile 12 was a huge boost.  I still felt great, but bored, bored, bored!  Here though I got to meet people I've only chatted to online, and two lovely people I don't see often enough!  I was so thrilled to see Colin that I ran across the road to give him a hug. He lifted me clean off the ground!  I also dallied a bit to chat to the lovely Elaine.  You'd be hard pushed to find two nicer people to bump into during a marathon.   I carried on invigorated, and remotivated, but slower.  Which was no bad thing.  

I don't really remember when it started to feel like hard work.  I do know that I was getting slower and slower, looking forward to the water stations as an excuse to slow down, but it was progressively harder to get going again.  At one point I was desperate for a loo.  There were no loos.  I was on an industrial estate, so had to look around for a suitable bush!  Not the high point of my day, especially when I suddenly thought that the industrial park might have more CCTV cameras than the leafy lanes of Hampshire!  The marshals were excellent, encouraging us every step of the way.  Even if they did say, at 22 miles, the finish was 'just around the corner!'

At 25 miles my Garmin battery died.  It was fully charged at the start.  Clearly I need to run faster or get my Garmin serviced.  I hadn't checked my watch for a while so I had no clear idea of what sort of time I was on for.  All I could do was listen to my legs - which were screaming!   My feet had been perfectly dry until I came into the park, where we had to run through a big muddy puddle!  The cold water felt lovely after the initial shock.  

The race ended with a partial lap round the track.  As I passed the '200m to go' sign I decided that I was not content to shuffle over the line and pushed hard for home - a moment that was caught on camera by Colin: 

I finished in 4hrs 23 minutes and 8 seconds, which I am reasonably happy with.  Definite room for improvement, but I feel I can run better and faster if I do this again. 

After the race we collected goodie bags, t-shirts and medals (see below) and had to walk up stairs to exit the track.  At the top of the stairs we were given tea and biscuits, which were very welcome.  The next task was to walk down stairs, carrying a polystyrene cup of tea, biscuit, bag, t-shirt, medal and (in my case) a water bottle!  I think running a marathon was easier than that!  

Meeting up with super speedy friends afterwards, it was reassuring to see the that they too were walking strangely!  We managed to navigate our way to a Pizza Express we had passed during our run where we discussed our war stories and demolished pizzas!

So now I can say that I have run a marathon.  Would I do it again?  Yes!  But I would do it differently. I need to work on getting the pacing right so that I can enjoy the latter stages more.  I am so glad I did do it though!  If anyone wants to sponsor me retrospectively for this (I am fundraising for UNICEF) please follow this link!