Ellesmere Half Marathon

Waking up at a normal time to run a HM is really nice.  Nothing like 4am that was necessary for the Chicago one.  A 10 minute drive and a little walk from the free car park was all it took to get me to the start. Me and less than 100 others.  There was a 5 mile race on too, we all did the first loop then us HMers did a 7 mile different loop, in the country, mostly closed roads and where itwasn't, very quite back roads.  It was so quiet, so few people.  There was no big finish, no clock, no medals or t-shirts, no flyers for other races or running shops.  Just a simple cup of water at the end.  Not complaining or bigging it up. Just saying.

I tried my hardest to set off conservatively but the adrenalin that gushed through my body as soon as the start was announced was taking over a bit.  It was rather sudden. I felt no race nerves or excitement, nothing different then literally, as soon as i pressed Start on Sally i could feel the adrenalin rush.  I focused and tempered it, and going up hill helped me keep my speed down so the first few miles were about what i hoped i'd run at.  I felt like i was slacking somewhere around mile 5 and 6 but those hills!  It was a really undulation course, there was very little flat. There were 4 big hills and we're not talking short or little. I know you can skew these graphs to make them look worse, but the difference in speed really makes it apparent that the hills were a bitch! But i know i can run up them, so its mental toughness thing.  I won't allow myself to walk.

My Splits:

1:  09:31

2:  09:16

3:  09:33

4:  09:44

5:  09:53

6:  09:28

7:  09:07

8:  08:53

9:  08:30

10  09:50

11: 08:55

12: 09:13

13: 08:12

                          .16: 01:15  (at 07:32 pace)

So my end time is a bit of a shocker.  Given that i had 6 weeks to train for this, i was aiming for 2:10 with a pie in the sky time of 2:05 so to come in under that was euphoric.  I was pleased as punch!  I AM pleased as punch.  I wanted to run another half marathon to get a sub 2 hour.  I planned to run the Lichfield one in May, to train properly to aim for an average pace of 9:00.  Given my under-trained-for HM in Chicago that was completely flat and i got a 2:10:44 i never thought on hills i would beat that time by 9 minutes!!

So i now have the itch again, or rather still for the sub 2hr half.  There is the Lake Vyrnwy Half in September which is completely flat, i plan on doing that, i'm now totally confident that i can get my sub 2hr there.  But, maybe i want to do it before then.....


p.s the word today is SUPER HERO

Telford 10K and Personal Best!

Today was the Telford 10K which is just under an hour from me here in Oswestry. My mum was visiting this weekend so it was super nice to have company for the ride there, the waiting around before and for someone to congratulate me at the end.

The weather was just fine. Cold and dry.  I wore my Underarmour tights, Sugoi skirt, an sleeveless top under an Underarmour cold weather long sleeved top. Hat and gloves too.

There was a decent crowd and a narrow start.  I sneaked in to a potentially selfish spot not very far from the front.  Its hard to judge the speed of a crowd and they had an elite sub 40 minute race earlier on so as i was aiming for 56 minutes i didn’t want to be too far back.  And I also didn’t want to walk for ages up to the start as i wanted to start my clock on the gun start to see what i could get, rather than on the start line.  What i actually did was press lap at the start line – or what i assumed it to be as there really wasn’t a defined line anywhere.

 

The start was signalled and i was carried along with the crowds. Feeling good and knowing i wasn’t sticking to my 9 minute mile pace – my race plan so to speak, i just went with it.  There was a big down hill at the start then two laps to the finish. My fist mile was 8:05 and i panicked a bit. I knew i couldn’t sustain this for another 5 miles.  I was being passed continuously and found it hard to slow down.  The second mile 8:23 and the third mile at 8:37 made me realise that perhaps i could maintain this pace till the end.  Mum was there about half way and took some photos. Its nice to have supporters on the side lines. 

I was feeling pretty good. I knew it was a flat course as i was coming to the second lap.  I really wanted a negative split and so i pushed. Mile four 8:25 and only 2 to go.  I picked it up some more. Now i was passing others steadily. Mile five 8:13 and i turned it up another notch.  Mile six 8:01 and running in for the last 200m – i LOVE this part as i speed up the whole way, i am running in long strides, faster than any other time i run, this is when i feel like a real racer, a real runner, an athlete .2miles @7:16 pace. 

FINISH    51:46 

Avg pace 8:16

Excellent, awesome, thrilled, stoked, joyous and surprised. I was hoping to beat the 56 minute as i knew it was a flat course, but i never thought i would get so close to the average pace of my 5K PB which was 8:11.

Race photos.

The official photos are out.  I don't like some but here are a few i do like.  About a mile to the end i hoped the crowds would be big and cheering so i took off my ipod in the hopes that someone would shout 'well done Stephanie' or 'good going Stephanie' but i didn't hear my name.  The crowds were crap and i almost wish i had been wearing my ipod to the finish line.

Chicago Half Marathon Race Report

Wow!  It feels great to finally finish a half marathon.  If you remember it was spontaneously signing up for the Great North Run that got me started running in the first place.  Now, even though i don't get to run that race, i have a HM under my belt.  A little earlier than my training plan had me ready for, but running 11.5 miles 2 weeks ago made me believe i could run the distance.  I didn't believe though, that i would be able to run it as fast as i did.  I had high hopes of hitting the 2:15 mark so when i came across the pace tattoos in the race expo i grabbed four: the 2:05 - for my Birmingham race, the 2:10, 2:15 and 2:20 as i didn't know what i was going to aim for.

The night before i decided by elimination.  2:05 was my Birmingham time.  2:20 wasn't a high enough aim.  2:10 and 2:15 were what i thought achievable so i went with 2:15 so that if anything, i would hopefully better my goals, rather then fail them.

Pace tattoo on my forearm.

I had a big steak and jacked potato the night before and as i had a little hangover belly i allowed myself two ciders. But i did make myself drink a ton of water too.  I didn't want to take this race too seriously, i was seeing friends who i see rarely and won't see for ages so just went with the flow.  I was in bed by 10pm though.

Everything prep'd for the next day.

Overly large 'medium' shirt.

At 5am my alarm went off, though i was already awake 10 minutes prior.  I got up, dressed and ate a small bowl of oats and yoghurt and drank a tall glass of water.  I mixed one of those hotel instant coffee sachets in to a couple of ounces of cold water and downed it.  Thankfully my wonderful husband offered to drive me down-town to the train that they had put on for the runners.  He dropped me off with the mobs of sports clad early risers.  I was getting really excited now.

I realised on the train that i forgot my shades and that really pissed me off. I rarely go outside in the sun without them, never mind run for 2 hours.  But i didn't let it spoil my mood.  I spent 30 minutes in line to use the porta-jon , ate my banana and by that time it was 6.45am.  The race started at 7am.

I ran a little to warm up and got in line in the 2:15 pace area.  I chatted to a couple of people, one guy had only ran a 5k before and when i saw him at mile 7 he said that that was the longest he had run ever - that's crazy! I hope he made it.

It took ten minutes to get to the start.  I forced myself to keep a slow pace, running over a ten minute mile.  I really wanted to run the race properly. A slow start, conserve the energy and have a faster second half than the first.  What actually happened was that there was barely 3 minutes between the first and second half split.  The that's just fine with me.  When i was hurting i was still running just a bit faster than the first half.

I had one packet of organic pomegranate chews and planned on drinking water at every station.  I ended up taking gatoraide 3 times and water 3 times and doubling up once.  It was warm out but with no shade and salt from the drying sweat it felt harshly hot.  I ran through a mister once and that was divine.

It was tough keeping pace. The adrenaline made me want to run faster, the crowds were spacious but everyone was running different paces so i just never settled in to a pace.  I checked my watch a ton. At the 8 mile mark i decided to push it a bit more.  I believe looking at my split stats that this just kept me on goal.

As i neared the end i really picked it up. I wanted to finish strong, knowing i was close got the adrenaline pumping again which gave me a boost.  The crowds were SUCKIE!!  Yes there were folks there, but they were't supportive.  They waited until their friends or family passed and ignored the rest of us.  I was very disappointed, and glad that the excitement of finishing my first HM was enough to turn on the adrenaline pump.  As you can see from the numbers i really tried hard at the end, and i passed a load of folks,  Only a few of us were really pushing for a strong finish. Everyone else just kept on moving.  I prefer my finish technique.  I may not be fast the previous 12.5 miles but i sure as shit will try to look it for the last .6 mile of the race.

And then it was over.  A bottle of water, a finishers medal, a dropped cookie which i grabbed for Jeff but then didn't want in my race picture, a granola bar also for Jeff tucked in my skirt out of sight, photo, banana, and then trying to find Jeff in the heat and blinding sun with sore legs.

What a fantastic morning!!!

I loved it.  

13.1 miles 2:10:44  (or Sally says 13.2 in 2:10:42)

Race Report: Race for Life 5K

Today was the Race for Life 5K - which isn't actually a 5K and barely a race, but still an event of good worth and a reason to wear pink. Pink is not my colour at all haven't worn it in about a decade, but I did buy a hot pink Adidas top on holiday which i love, so my dislike for the colour is waning and i may even bring it in to my none-workout wear at some point.  The race is super close to my house so i did a walk run there and arrived just minutes before the start. I sneaked up to the front, noticing that there were few 'real' runners. You know the ones, they look like they can run a sub 20 minute 5K (which they can), they form a line of short shorts, GPS watches and properly warmed up quads.  There were very few of this breed.  I placed myself maybe 6 rows from the front and i soon realised that i should have been only two rows back.  When the horn blew it took me 2-3 seconds to hit the start and i was immediately weaving round those in front of me so i could run a decent pace. My new fast pace, that one that starts with an eight.

There were some young ones running, when i say young, like 10 to 14 yr olds.  They are speedy from the get go, with their pink tutus and effervescent running form - oh to be 13 again.  I was hoping to catch them later on when they flagged from improper pacing.  I noticed that few people were passing me yet i was still passing a few here and there.  I liked this being at the front thing.  The race was not held on the route i thought, and most of it was on grass.  A lap round the field then on to the road and back for an inside loop on the grass again. There were plenty of spectators all around the course which was great for my motivation. 

The first mile is some down hill, mostly up hill then starts to go down after the mile marker (beep on my watch) so i increased my pace a little, knowing there was another uphill to come later, in which i'd likely slow down a tad. After said incline (its small but significant) i again picked up my pace and started picking off ladies. Then there were just four girls in front of me on the course still (some had finished already, i wasn't 5th or anything) so i aimed to pick these last girls off as we came round the final 600 meters or so. One girl in pink, and her friend. Done.  As we round the corner the race line works for me and there's the other. 300m left and just as the steward says 'Stong finish girls' i pull out all effort and sneak past the last girl in sight. I think i may puke for the last 50m and i hope no one is taking any photos as my red grimacing face sees the clock ahead reading 22:51. Weird, i think but focus on remembering to stop my watch as i run through the finish arch. I don't puke. I'm elated. I take my medal with pride.

2.67m in 22:56 avg pace 8:35
Splits 8:43,  8:41,  5:31 avg pace 8:11

My First 5K

Well Kerri and I finished our first 5K and had a lot of fun doing it. I like the shirt we got.  I really don't wear t-shirts, like, ever really, but i do need them to do dirty jobs in, like painting and such, and i like how this one is long sleeved.   We also got a box of wheat cereal which i grabbed for Jeff and some cold medicine drink thing.

I am stoked to get my first number.  The coveted number, and have kept it as i plan to get a lot more.

Both of us did really well.  Kerri ran the whole thing and was just two minutes behind me.  I finished 30:30 which is 30 seconds over my goal, but I really don't care and i am now totally hooked. I sped up at the end, unfortunately it was a hill and i got a stitch, and it got a lot worse as i climbed the hill to the end .I say i finished with a smile on my face, but i think in fact it would have been a grimace, but i was definitely smiling inside.

Here are my splits

9.59

9.55

9.11

30:30 Finish

Roll on my next race.  I do run the 6K for water in a month, but not one of the organised events.  Taking sponsorship here!

Ciao!