Norwich Half Marathon

Most of the races are now over for the year, and I've cut back on the harder/longer training sessions for a month or two.  Still done a couple of organised runs/races though including the Mo-Run Battersea which i mentioned last week, and the Norwich Half Marathon.

The most recent race was the Norwich Half Marathon on Sunday.  Last year I got quite a good time at this one, but after a very long (but fun) weekend of tunnel flying, a lot of driving, and very little sleep I was feeling pretty rubbish at the start line.  I had met another girl Vicky the day before, and her friend Denise (both colleagues of my brother who works in Norwich), who were also running it and decided fairly early on I might stick with them and run at their pace as I didn't think I was going to get near my target time of 2.20 that morning.  I had not had much sleep (an hour at best, maybe less hahaha?!) and the day before had consisted of a long drive, getting home, having breakfast and going back out to volunteer at parkrun.  It was a beautiful morning for runnings but i have to say I was glad I was not running it that time.

Anyway - back to Norwich.  It was a good day for running, clear, sunny and cold but not freezing.  Quite bitter winds but not as bad as last year where the strong cross/headwinds made the going really tough!  We got there in time to drop off our bags and pretty much go straight to the start line as there was no point in getting there really early and hanging about in the cold.  On the start line I was probably the only one feeling like they had already run a half marathon that day, but there was of course no pulling out now!

We set off, for 1 lap round the showground of just under 1 mile, then 2 long laps round closed roads on the outskirts of Norwich and the surrounding villages, including another lap of the showground at the halfway point.  It was a nice route, good scenery and flat.  My legs had really begun to ache again after the tunnel and gym so I decided that I was definitely going to have to take it easy and so ran with Denise and Vicky (it was their 2nd and 1st half marathons).  It made it a lot more fun having people to chat to on the way round, so I got us going at a steady pace when possible and I hope that I encouraged them when the going get tough!  Knowing my time didn't really matter I was please to help them out including stopping to fill up their water bottles at the feed stations if they did not want to stop and stand still.  We did get overtaken/lapped by the lead runner at mile 6 but it was amazing to hear the crowds cheered us as much as they did the fast guys!  My Garmin battery died at mile 10 though which was annoying (I forgot to charge it the night before!) but it was probably not really needed other than for the time as we were not looking for even splits/miles but just to finish within the cut off time limit (had to do 90 minutes for 6.5 miles, which was fine!  Not sure if there was a 3 hour time limit but we assumed there was!).  

There were some low points in the race but I really wanted them to finish strong so we did a walk-run for the last few miles and also got together in a little group with other runner for the last 2 miles which was good.  It was nice to finally come back into the showground at mile 12 and run harder knowing that we did not need to hold anything back any longer!  There were still quite a few spectators and a lot of the finished runners were really encouraging.  In the final 200 yards you hear your name called out which was really nice and encouraging, and after the others encouraged me to go on for the last bit (they assured me they would certainly be finishing now!) I went for a faster last mile mile and sprint finish.  In the end my finish time was 2.42 (my slowest!) but I was so happy to have run with the others and seen them finishing the race - they finished in around 2.44!

Overall it was a good day out and the organisation was great and the marshals were amazing.  I think it was a lot easier to be running that morning rather than standing around in the freezing cold for over 3 hours!  There was also a lovely medal and plenty of food/drink in the goody-bag including a Red Bull-style drink that was much needed on the long drive home.

Yesterday I was a bit sore and tired to do the swimming session in the evening with Tri-Force, however I did go to a gymnastics session at the gym at work.  There is a good scheme on for students and staff at the Uni where I work, where they run free beginners sports sessions.  I used to do gymnastics until I was about 18 so I have long since lost the ability or flexibility and felt more like a stumbling baby elephant rather than gracefully cat-like!  So I mostly used the session totry and stretch/ease my muscles, and I think in time it will be good for conditioning and core work for the triathlon/running.  Was also good fun to use the beam and bars again, however unbalanced and ungainly I now am!!  Most people wanted to learn to backflip, however with myongoing back injury that is now sadly out of the question.

Finally I have signed up for my first Ultra - a 50k run in London, the Royal Parks Ultra next October.  It wasn't cheap but it looks brilliant and is fairly well timed after the Berlin Marathon.

My next race is the Pednor 10, a local 10 miler just after Christmas, and then the Polar Nights Half Marathon, in Tromso, Norway - dark, snowy and VERY cold but should be epic especially if the northern lights make an appearance!