This was my second year of running
this race – and last year I got my still-standing PB of 2.12. I think that was timed quite well after the
Loch Ness Marathon as I felt really good and fit, and fully recovered. This year though it was only 2 weeks after
the Eden Marathon, and I wasn’t quite recovered fully. I decided to try and go for a fairly good
time but not a PB – under 2.20 would be good.
The weather was a LOT better than
last year – sunny blue skies instead of horizontal rain! I drove to the football ground where car
parking was allowed, and then there was a short coach ride to the start which
was at the athletics track. It was a
good venue as there was plenty of room and places to sit, showers and changing,
and a track to warm up on. Baggage was
in a marquee. We had to pick up race
numbers on the day but there was hardly any queue so it did all feel well-run
and efficient.
It was cool, but not cold, so I opted
for light capri-tights and a half-zip tee-shirt, with my hydration
backpack. I’m well used to that pack now
– it feels uncomfortable to carry a bottle in my hands now. The course was two laps along cycle tracks
and paths (no roads) and did manage to make the most of the nicer areas as much
of the run took place around the park. It
was a good sized race, about 600 I believe, mostly club and local runners
although possibly a few charity runners (or at least they were wearing charity
vests from a previous race). I saw one
of the guys, Trace, from Tri-Force at the start line.
I was feeling good at the start,
having rested for a week, but did go out a bit too fast! I felt fine for the first lap though and
chatted with Trace for a bit, but about half way through I was feeling sore and
my legs felt tired and heavy. I had one
of my gels and some fresh, cold water at the next feed station. My pace slowed by quite a lot on the second
lap and I was not sure if I could manage it in my target time. I had to listen to my iPod to take my mind
off my dead legs. Sometimes I don’t wear
the iPod if the crowds are good and I know a lot of people don’t like them (recently heard about a
race where a large amount of people were actually disqualified for wearing earphones),
but just for the record I do keep it on a low volume and make sure I can hear
people’s voices, cars, etc. When I pass
a marshal I always pause it or take out an earbud in case they give
instructions. Anyway, the course was
mostly flat but there were a lot of small hills in the way of underpasses – but
still a fast course overall (and nothing compared to the Eden Marathon!). The nicest part was going through Fairlands
Valley Park which made good use of the cycle tracks and paths, and got more
spectators as there were plenty of people out enjoying the nice Sunday morning weather. The second lap is actually slightly longer
than the first lap and has a slight hill, but then it’s a nice final few miles of
mostly downhill back to the finish.
We finished back at the athletics
track and did a lap of the track before coming up to the finish line. Just before I entered the road leading up to
the track, I noticed my watch was on 2.14, but heard someone said it was about
6 or 7 minutes to the finish line – so I tried to get my pace on to finish by
2.20!! Pleased to say I just about
managed it – a sprint round the track as best as I could meant I just scraped
in at 2.19.41! I was shattered and my
legs were killing but I was really pleased as it was the best time of 2013 (which
just proves that my half’s have not been what I have been concentrating on this
year!). I got a medal, banana, bottle of
water, two £5 Sweatshop vouchers, 2 Lucozade drinks, a flapjack - and quite a
few leaflets. There may have been a
chocolate bar as well, but I may have bought that with me myself, can’t remember. Any food after a half is always good
though! I immediately sat on the grass
to both rest and sort-of stretch and quickly ate the banana. I also treated myself to a couple of mince pies
and a cup of tea in the canteen afterwards before driving back home a hot bath
and afternoon of DVD watching.
Thanks Fairlands Valley Spartans for
a good race – no doubt I’ll be back next year!
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