Great South Run race recap 27/10/13

I love the Great Run series – they are very popular, well organised, and a lot of fun.  This time I did the Great South Run, in Portsmouth – 10 miles.  I had signed up for it a year ago – the date entries opened if I recall that far back.  I think I planned to do a decent PB at that time, but little did I know that I would have later signed up for and run the Eden Marathon a week beforehand.

Went down to on the coach transfer to Portsmouth on the morning of the race – a 4.30am start!!  It felt like we were going to be late as the traffic was really bad from as soon we left the motorway, but we still got there in good time.  It had been pouring with rain that morning when I drove to the coach pick up, and didn’t look all that much better.  I left it as long as I could to drop off my baggage in the store.  Luckily, we got really lucky with the rain holding off, and got blue skies for part of it.  The down side was the gale-force wind!

I thought the race would go one of 3 ways – very well (a PB having got super fit from 2 marathons), average (trotting round at marathon pace i.e. slow and steady) or really badly (cramping up, hitting the wall at mile 3 etc.).  Average was mostly likely, but option 3 was also a very real possibility!

It’s a big race, but soon our wave crossed the start line.  Set off really slowly (probably should have been in a later wave, but I went to the side to allow faster “white wave” runners to pass).  Legs felt like lead!!  I had done a really gentle Parkrun the previous day to loosen them off which probably helped, but was still tough.  I decided to go round at just under a 12 min mile pace if I could, and hopefully finish in under 2 hours (my 10 mile PB is 1.38 so quite a difference!).

The course was really nice – plenty of stretches along the sea front and saw some of the good sights.  Was great running past Spinnaker Tower.  It was very flat and on wide, closed roads, and although there were thousands of runners, it did not feel too crowded.  The spectators were great too – plenty of them out and about to make the most of the rain stopping.  There were several feed stations giving bottles of water and one giving out Powerade.  I had taken my hydration pack so didn’t bother, and had 2 of my own gels.

Was really feeling it by about 6 miles, but was well on pace and knew I would easily get in under 2 hours if all went ok.  There were a few out-and-back points where you doubled back on runners on the other side.  Hard on the “out” but makes you feel good on the “in”!  The final 2 miles were very hard – although a nice part of the course along the sea front, it was into a very strong headwind!  Think everyone slowed down a lot here and think people who were previously running quite hard has come to a very slow jog or walk.  The crowds were still good though and the radio station was out to cheer us on and give out jelly babies.  The finish line was on this last stretch – and thankfully rather sheltered for the final 500 meters!!

Good finish – managed a bit of a sprint – and finished in 1.56.04.  Given the timing of this one I am pretty pleased with that.

After the race I collected my bag and quickly got changed into warmer clothing as with that wind I was cooling down really quickly.  Got a tee-shirt, medal and plenty of food in the goody bag including a chocolate bar!!  Excellent!  Food is always good but I wasn’t sure if I wanted to lug the bottle of Powerade around with me as I only tend to drink the stuff at circuits class or cycling.  I was hoping to head to the shopping centre and/or go up Spinnaker Tower but I realised there wasn’t time, as the coach left at 3pm and time was getting on.  Instead I popped into the Alzheimer’s Society charity tent as I had made a donation to them on behalf of this race – they were very hospitable and gave me a cup of hot soup and another chocolate bar.   Also got a free sports massage courtesy of Bupa – a nice gentle one, rather than a horrible tortuous massage!  Was quite chuffed when the lady said she could not believe I had just run 2 marathons in the last month as had virtually no tension in my muscles (well it sure felt like they did!).  Was quite blissful to get a massage, need to treat myself to more of these!

Was late getting back, due to taking a long time to get out of Portsmouth and then slow traffic on the motorways but once I got home I was able to relax and have my post-run ice cream and a hot bath.

Eden Project Marathon - Race recap

My race report for the Eden Project Marathon

This was one tough race!  I’m still not sure whether they officially class it as a trail marathon, but I would certainly say it is.  One thing is for sure, it was nothing like Berlin or London!  Having just done Berlin and wanting to try a trail race, I was not setting myself any time targets (other than to not get disqualified for going over the time limit!).

I headed to Cornwall on Saturday, taking the train from London, and checked into my very nice guesthouse.  The owners were lovely and came to pick me up from the station, plus offered me a lift to the Eden Project the next morning for the race.  I had a nice evening carb-loading at a pub over-looking the harbour, then got my gear sorted and tried to have an early night. 

Unfortunately during the night I was woken up twice by torrential rain!! Going to be a very wet and muddy run!

Next morning I arrived at the Eden Project nice and early, and met up with Ryan and Lucy – Ryan was running his first marathon (2^nd counting a 26.2 mile training run!!).  We had a short briefing in the car park – there were about 300 runners – and then it was off to the start.  I was wearing a trail tee-shirt and capris, but was not cold at all – slightly worried I would get too hot.  The race started at the same time for both full and half marathon runners.

Set off at 10am, a good crowd, not too packed – although I was soon near the back.  Seemed to be mostly club runners, a small number of charity runners, and only 2 in fancy dress.  Straight into a steep downhill at the beginning – down into the valley, where no doubt we could only go up from here!

Very quickly we were onto the trails, through the woodlands and past a river.  It was amazing scenery, following the track of an old tramline.  I was well at the back expect for a few half marathon runners behind me so the back runner switched between running alongside them and myself.   We chatted a bit, but we would talk a lot more later.

The course was very hilly – there was only a few parts that were flat, so very difficult to get a pace going!!  At 7.5 miles the route split – full marathon runners going one way and the half’s turning the opposite way.  I actually only just made it by about 5 minutes in the cut off time for the full-marathon check point.  A few minutes later and I would have been forced to switch to the half.  I also was informed that the full marathon also had a total cut off time of 6 hours.  I was a bit concerned here, as I was sure I could do it – unless I was injured or hit the “wall” and I would have no contingency time to fall back on.  I really wish I’d know that when I signed up, but luckily although I was not pushing for a decent time, I knew I had very little leeway should anything go wrong or I was feeling too sore/tired after Berlin to give it 100%.

Here I caught up with a guy going for his first full.  The back runner ran with us and we spent a while chatting.  Much more fun as it made the next few miles pass really quickly!  It started raining heavily for a while – I was too hot at first but now was actually an ideal temperature!  I had been listening to my iPod on and off but stopped it when we got chatting – plus I didn’t want it ruined by the rain!  We also got some ominous-sounding thunder and a few flashes of lightning.  Atmospheric indeed.

At mile 10 I lost them again (overtaking, at least) as we started the ascent of Helman Tor.  Good grief this was a shock.  Could hardly walk it – let alone run it!  Amazing views from the top as the skies has cleared by this point, but I did not get long to admire it as it was back down the other side. 

The next hour or so was just miles of thick, sticky mud, and not much of a view as there were high bushes on either side of the track. Plus it was mostly uphill and very lonely as although I had overtaken 2 people now (no longer at the back!) we were just so spread out that I didn’t see any apart from a couple of marshals.  By the way, the marshals were amazing – very encouraging and friendly, especially after standing in the rain in the middle of nowhere for hours on end!

Between miles 14 – 16 (I think) there was a tricky but beautiful route through the forest.  The first part was downhill and very steep, slippery with hairpin turns, but it did level out for a while and we ran alongside the river – this was one of my favourite parts of the race.  Plus always good when you hit 16 miles as into single figures for counting down the miles. 

At 17 miles the route goes back onto the first part of the route, which we’d ran earlier – we’d then do the rest of the route as the half’s did.  Although back onto (mostly) tarmac, it was even more hilly that I had remembered, and the bits I had managed to run up first time round I was now walking!  There were some great signs up along the way that the running club has created, saying “no pain, no gain”, and “keep smiling”.  Keep grimacing more like.  I was rather bored and weary by now do put my iPod back on.  I think I shall forever more associate “Up” by Shania Twain with the hills of this marathon!

At mile 23 my Garmin battery died.  Sure sign I was taking too long – I’d passed over 5 hours by now.  I was just wanting to get it over and done with, luckily the marshals were still really great and cheered me on, and offered loads of food including cake bars out of their own personal lunch which was just great of them.  I overtook one final lady in these last few miles, and wished her well in the final bit.  It was the first runner I had seen since the half way point.

It was good coming back towards the Eden Project, although miles 24-26 really felt like a lot longer!  The final bit is all downhill, but it actually quite hard work on your knees, and have to be careful on the wet pavement.  The final mile weaved down into the site so it was difficult to know how much further you had to run.  At this point there were a lot more people about – marshals, finished runners (saw first glimpse of the medal!) and members of the public visiting Eden.  FINALLY you reach mile 26 so just a 365 yard downhill dash to the finish line!!

Good a nice welcoming cheer home from those at the finish area, and a nice big shiny medal, tee-shirt and voucher for a pasty and a pint in the finisher’s tent.  The pasty was soooo tasty after that run!  I got changed and tried to clean up with baby wipes – very, very muddy! – then met up with Ryan and Lucy.  We went for a bite to eat at the local pub – had a cheesecake and latte, not the most substantial meal was delicious after the marathon!  It was a great day overall and so pleased to have done it, plus brilliant to catch up with Lucy and Ryan after quite a few years.  Later on once we had said goodbye (as all in need of an early night!) got to spent the rest of the evening relaxing in the bath and watching an old Nicolas Cage & Sean Connery action movie on Channel 5.

My official finish time was 5.48.00.  Big thanks to the Eden Project and St Austell running club.  I am not sure I’ll be doing it again anytime soon but it was well worth it and a great day out!

Circuits and short run

I went for a really short, easy run yesterday at lunchtime - I ran for about 20 minutes so doubt it was even for 2 miles!  I just wanted to keep sharp and make sure that a niggly hurt in my knee was not going to affect me too much while running.  Luckily I didn't feel any pain out at all.  I also wore my longer capris as I've not worn them since March, as it's likely I'll need something warmer than shorts for this marathon on Sunday.  Yesterday's run was very wet and rainy - I should have waited until after work when it had turned sunny!

On Tuesday I did the circuits class with Tri-Force which was good fun.  Sadly I can never manage all the exercises as my tailbone injury from last February (yes, nearly 2 years ago!!) can still be painful and I have to avoid things like burpees and other jolting exercises.  Running is always fine as it's so steady, but skipping and star jumps means it begins to twinge and others are just full on no-no.   I have no idea if this will go away any time soon but at least it doesn't affect my running, cycling or swimming!

I haven't cycled to work much this week apart from Tuesday, partly as it really has been quite dark and wet, and also as it's taper week so a good excuse to rest.  Today until Saturday are proper rest days and carb-loading before the Eden Project marathon on Sunday.

Going to be my first cool-weather marathon and looking forward to wearing my new trail top!

Tuesday round up: Half Iron Tri, Eden Project Marathon & Herts 10k

Just a quickish round up of what I've been up to since Berlin, and got coming up.  Been to a few Parkruns - last week following the marathon was really tough as my legs had clearly not recovered!  This weeks was much better though and knocked off a few minutes although still a pretty modest time especially for a 5k.  I'll work on my speed and getting closer to my PB when fully recovered from the long runs!

On Sunday there were a few of us doing the Herts 10k, a local charity race that supports a hospice charity called Grove House.  Very popular and good cause, about 3,000 runners this year and entries filled up faster than ever.  Good to see more and more people getting into running and that races are filling up!  It was a horrendous day though - poured with the the entire time and some parts of the course were very muddy and waterlogged.  Glad I wore trail shoes as there was no staying dry on this one!  Finished in 61 minutes, which I was fairly pleased with.  I wasn't expecting a PB in those conditions (I managed one last year at this race), and would have been very happy with a sub-60, but the mud and extra effort required for several kilometers meant it was not to be.  Happy to get under 62 minutes though (faster than a 10 min/mile pace).  I was almost on track for 60 minutes at 8km had it not been for the part where we left the hard path and back onto the mud and grass!

This weekend is the Eden Project Marathon.  I am both very nervous and excited about this.  I am going to take it easy and enjoy the scenery as there is no point in aiming for a good time.  I hear it is a very tough, hilly marathon though, so hopefully it won't wear me out too much!  My nightmare would be getting too weary and missing the full marathon cut off point at mile 8 and being instructed to do the half marathon instead (i.e. turn back).  Hopefully it all all be fine, though!  I will take the train to Cornwall on Saturday and then stay until Monday afternoon, the B&B I have booked looks really nice and the owner has promised to have croissants available on race morning for me!  I hear there is someone from skydiving also doing this one so will be good to see a familiar face!

Finally another bit of adventure coming my way is the Vitruvian Triathlon next August - which will be my first half-iron triathlon!  1900m swim - 85k bike - 21k run - bring it on!!!

Airkix, Park Run and volunteering at Royal Parks Half

Ah, that funny period in between marathons!  8 days since Berlin (the "serious" race) and 13 days til Eden Project Marathon (the "fun" race).  Needless to say I did not do any running for a few days after Berlin.  I was on my feet a lot the following day doing some touristy stuff and seeing the sights, but whenever there was a chair I grabbed the chance to sit down!  I'm glad the day involved a fair amount of walking though, as it probably helped ease the stiffness.  Wasn't impressed with being on the 3rd floor of the youth hostel though with no lift - going downstairs with a big bag was a nightmare!

I didn't really do any exercise til Friday evening, and having had the whole week of work it was a great excuse to take it easy and have some lie-ins and lazy sofa days!  Bliss!  I couldn't do it for long but there's nothing like having a duvet day knowing it's well and truly earned.  All the best things about being ill, without actually being ill.

Friday I went to Airkix Basingstoke for a Scrambles competition.  For non-skydivers, this was a fun competition event in the brand new indoor wind tunnel, involving teams of 4 trying to out-fly other teams.  We had a really great night of flying and was great to catch up with and fly with a fellow triathlete/skydiver as well!  Need to fly more often as the months have gone by doing so much running and tri that I forget how awesome the tunnel is.  Our team "Anything Cheesy" came 6th out of 12 so not bad but it was all about having a good night out and flying with new people of different levels.  A couple of hairy moments involving unintentional backflying and a scrum on the net, but it would not be a proper Scrambles without that sort of thing!

I wasn't sure if I'd make Park Run on Saturday morning given that I didn't get to bed til 2am on Friday night, but I ended up being wide awake at 6.30am and couldn't get back to sleep so thought I may as well get up and give Park Run a go.  Was planning on doing a short, easy run sometime over the weekend to check the legs still worked and always more fun in a big group.

Park Run was good fun, even though my iPod battery died 10 seconds into the run (not reliant on the music, but nice to have).  Went round gently in a very modest 33 minutes, legs felt alright - not stiff or sore but was finding it quite hard work, like running uphill or as if it was a very hot day.  The coffee and cake at the park cafe with Rich and a couple of others was well enjoyed afterwards though!

On Sunday I was volunteering at the Royal Parks Half Marathon.  This was a great day out with my friend Pat, we were at the finish line firstly setting up the goodies/drinks/water etc and then handing them out as finishers crossed the line.  Saw all 16,000 runners start and finish the race!  It was totally manic for about 2.5 hours handing our bottles of Lucozade and bags to everyone, literally didn't stop and the time just flew by.  Hugely impressed by each and every runner, from the first man through to the final runners walking/hobbling through the finish line at 1pm.  Great to see that side of things and does give you a new perspective on running as you see how people cope with the distance, whether it's aiming for a PB or just wanting to finish.  Congrats to Matt too with an epic PB of 1.23, he came through very early and well before the rush of the masses came in!

Today it's back into the Tri-Force training schedule but think I will try and get away with not putting in 100% effort this week, hopefully they will understand!  Swimming tonight will be good as be nice to do some exercise which doesn't involve pounding the streets on poor sore legs.  Circuits tomorrow might be a killer though if doing squats!  That is out of the question!  Might also try for a short 2-3 mile run this week.  By Sunday I am hoping I will be find to do the Herts 10k, this time last year it was also 2 weeks after the Loch Ness Marathon and I'd recovered enough and got a PB so lets see if I can get my time back under 1 hour.

Berlin Marathon - Race Recap

Well I'm pleased to say I had a brilliant race at the 40th Berlin Marathon 2013 - and yes, at long last, got a new PB!  Really, really pleased!

So I headed to Berlin on Friday, taking the Eurostar and intercity express trains to the city centre.  It was a long day and a lot of travelling, but an overland train journey across Europe has been on the bucket list for some time so it was well worth the long hours.  Plenty of time to relax and less stressful than taking the plane and worrying about baggage allowances and security measures.

I headed to the Expo on Saturday, to pick up my race number and so a bit of shopping.  It was a huge expo, well over twice the size of the VLM expo and totally packed  Loads of overseas runners!  I think about 50% of entrants are from outside Germany.  Got my race pack (number, timing chip, info, tee-shirt, and strangely the finisher's shirt).  On the way out they put a wristband on you for security.  I did not look too much at the finisher's shirt in fear of jinxing it!

That night I slept ok, but not great - it was like Christmas Eve!  Woke up very early and had a light breakfast of croissants and tea.  My running gear was to be an Adidas Aktiv vest top, black shorts, hydration pack, iFitness race belt and sunglasses.  2 packs of Clif Shot Bloks and 4 packs of Clif Gels.  Headed off to the start area, an impressive area in front of the Riechstag building.  It was packed already and took me ages to work out which tent for dropping off my baggage!  Long queue for loos, but there always is (ended up going in the bushes right before the start too!  It has to be done!) then finally made it to the start.  The start is stunning and a huge affair, 40,000 runners on a tree-lined street in Berlin's beautiful Tiergarten park.  The start was in waves, so less crowded - it was a long wait before we set off, but once you were running it was pretty much clear.

I took the first mile a little slow (about 12 min/miles) to just enjoy it.  It was a fantastic course and loads of support.  The weather was perfect - blue skies, slight cool wind and not too warm.  It was not very crowded and I felt like I had plenty of space.  The course was very fast - flat with long, wide, straight roads with very few sharp corners and no annoying u-turns or hairpin bends, so the crowd of runners flowed very easily with no congestion.

Paced myself using my Garmin, taking it a bit easier than I did at London where I followed the sub-5 hour pacer who sadly was a bit too fast for me.  Good to see that at 5 miles I was at about 55 minutes.  At 10 miles I was feeling really good and comfortably under 2 hours so picked the pace up slightly.  Knew if I got under 3.55 for the 20 miler I would have a good shot at the PB.  15 miles still all going to plan.  The water stations were nicely spaced, although I took small sips from my hydration pack in between.  Took a gel every hour and blocs 2-3 times an hour, plus apple or banana when offered.  Pace was faster now, around 11.15 min miles although wasn't sure if I was going to keep that up after 20 miles!  Still, at mile 18 had my best mile by far (10.45ish) as I heard Wilson Kipsang had broken the world record!  I passed through a big media area and there was a guy holding up a board with the news!  It was really exciting knowing I was part of a WR-breaking race so really wanted to break my own PB.

20 miles was a new PB for that distance at 3.49 and I knew a PB was on the cards, and maybe, maybe a sub 5 hour.  Only problem would be keeping up just over an 11 min mile pace for the final 6 miles.  Although was still feeling pretty good by then, it wasn't getting any easier and by 22 miles I was slowing down.  Told myself it was totally normal and it was just stiffness, no injuries so just carrying on pumping the arms and keep going.  A sub-5 was really touch and go, and I'd need to do the final 5k in just over 30 minutes if i was to achieve it.  My Garmin was also playing tricks as well, as it appeared to be ahead of the official mile markers.  So I was concerned that it had me at a faster pace/further distance than I was.  I may have run further due to weaving in and our or taking the long way round corners, but i wanted my official finish time to be sub 5, not just the Garmin.

The final few kilometres are really teasing - just like London - as you do several turns, each time expecting to see the famous Brandenburg Gate in front of you which marks roughly 42km and the very final finishing stretch.  After turning through the new Berlin city we finally made it to the long stretch with the Brandenburg Gate in the distance!  This part of the race was incredible - the crowds were huge, TV camera everywhere, music playing, just amazing.  My Garmin was indeed fast - it ticked over 26.2 miles (in just under 5 hours, grrr!!!).  Still really enjoyed it though, even when the watch passed 5 hours, as I knew a PB was practically guaranteed now.  Semi-sprinted to the finish, passing through the Gate with hundreds of runners, a real once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, running past the cameras and hearing someone in the crowd shout my name, and "wow!, Go for it!" in English, and crossing the line!!

Literally couldn't believe I'd finished - it was all over!  I'd felt really good and had not hit the wall at all - until I stopped running that is!  Then my legs seized up and I had to hobble through the finishing funnels.  I was really happy when the volunteer put the medal round my neck and i was handed my goody bag consisting of all food/drink (good!).  Walked slowly back to get my bag, feeling so happy and letting it all sink in.  My final time was 5 hours 3 minutes (2 mins 44 secs of my Loch Ness Marathon time) so very happy.  Not quite under 5 hours, but it's now a real possibility.

Had a lazy afternoon, watching the end of the prize giving ceremony and slowly limping back to the hotel for a nice shower and watching a few films on my tablet!  Would have liked to go to the marathon after party but being there on my own I wasn't up for it, plus was totally worn out and needed an early night!

Marathon splits! (Clock/Time/Min per km/ km per hour)
5 km 09:52:31 00:36:55 36:55 07:23 8.13
10 km 10:29:14 01:13:38 36:43 07:21 8.17
15 km 11:05:34 01:49:57 36:19 07:16 8.26
20 km 11:41:47 02:26:11 36:14 07:15 8.28
Half 11:49:41 02:34:05 07:54 07:12 8.35
25 km 12:17:44 03:02:08 28:03 07:12 8.35
30 km 12:52:25 03:36:49 34:41 06:57 8.65
35 km 13:27:33 04:11:57 35:08 07:02 8.54
40 km 14:03:45 04:48:08 36:11 07:15 8.29
Finish 14:18:37 05:03:00 14:52 06:47 8.86

Goodies:  1 x technical ladies fit race tee-shirt.  1 x cotton ladies fit finisher's tee-shirt.  Beautiful medal with 40th Anniversary decoration on the lanyard, with space for engraving on the back.  Croissants, energy power sachet, nuts, salty twiglet things, apple, energy gels, bottle of water, pint of beer, box of pasta, magazine, several vouchers.

Photos below
Looking down at part of the route in Potsdamer  Platz
The Brandenburg Gate
My race number and medal
Finisher's medal - front (says "Berlin. Run once.  Run Forever")
Finisher's medal - back
Me in my finisher's shirt with medal and number
Wilson Kipsang - men's winner and new world record holder!