Otherwise known as the race I forgot my trainers for… Yes this did actually happen. How, after so many years of running, can I manage such a feat? Hmm, well if you’ve been reading here for long you probably realise this is just another normal day in Anna La La Land.
I’d signed up this half marathon fairly late. It was going to be Kyle’s first half marathon and having pretty much gotten him into running I was keen to see how he’d do. Plus I hadn’t done a race in quite a while (I think the last one was the Jersey Half?). I wasn’t going to be racing it but it’s always nice to do a race once in a while – a catered long run if you will.
Unfortunately this race was in Seaford, which is past Brighton. So about two hours from me. As the race started at 9am this meant for a very early morning. The plan was to leave the house at 6.30am. As I had two hours in the car I didn’t stress about putting my compression socks and trainers on just yet and just threw on a pair of flip flops instead. Then we went on our merry way.
As we got to Chichester (about 40 minutes into our journey) I realised I hadn’t actually picked up my trainers. WHAT. THE. ACTUAL. HELL. Who does this?? When I tentatively dropped this bombshell to my parents they first reacted as all normal people would, “are you joking?” before sighing and turning the car around to go home again. They’re very chilled individuals and having known me for 30 years they’re aware of my significant flaws in intelligence. So there’s no point getting angry or stressing out. We did have to work out how likely it was that we could drive home and back again and still make the race. Regardless, I would be going to the race to support Kyle as I said I would but I was hoping I would actually get to run as well!
It was very sweaty bottoms I tell you. I had to do a mad dash into the house to grab my trainers and then mad dash back out again. Our ETA for the race was floating around 8.55-9am. This was going to be close. I decided that I would start the race up to 10 minutes late. It was chip timed so realistically it wouldn’t matter but it would be stressful – and would the organisers even allow this?
I text Kyle telling him the situation (he wasn’t entirely surprised, also used to my Anna’isms) and he said he’d grab my bib for me to save me time. As he arrived before me he gave me a good idea of the car park and how far it was from the start (not far at all). I arrived at 8.55am, my parents dropping me off next to the race area while they parked. I spotted Kyle and we both joined the portable loo queue, which wasn’t that long, and I put my bib on. WHEW. What a relief eh!
The realisation hit me that I’d have to run 13.1 miles in a second. Okaaaay. The weather was horrendous. It was SO windy and chucking it down with rain. I felt somewhat of a relief that I hadn’t had to stand in it for that long before I ran! But also sorry for Kyle and his family who did have to stand in it for a period of time.
The course was right next to the sea and ran 2.5k up the prom and then 2.5k back. Four times. There was no shelter from the sea, wind or rain. It was going to be a fairly tough-going first half for Kyle! Relentless, Biblical weather. Right then, let’s go.
As soon as we started I realised the wind was right behind us. This was a nice start of course because it felt like we were being gently pushed along. This was a bit dangerous though as it led us into a false sense of security and the danger of running too fast. Kyle and I were running together and I was so glad because this was going to be a tough one.
With long stretches of flat, miserably wet concrete ahead of us and wind slapping us around, we tried to keep positive and not let the conditions bring us down. 2.5k went very quickly and we were soon turning around to head back again. Straight away the wind was in our faces. Now the real effort would begin. Spray from the sea was battering against us like mini knives on our faces and we could barely talk to each other because of the noise. We decided any conversation would need to happen in the other direction! I’ve never had issues with ears during a race, but the wind blowing straight into it was a nightmare.
What was good about this course though was that for spectators it was brilliant. OK not in the terrible weather that day but in general. They would see us a number of times. Kyle’s family had come down to watch, as had both my parents. My mum doesn’t usually come to races as she doesn’t like to leave the dogs alone for long stretches at the weekend but my dad hadn’t been feeling great so she came to join. With all the rain and wind, I’m sure she wished she was back at home though 😉
Kyle’s family did a fantastic job of taking lots of photos and everyone cheered us on, which was just lovely. Definitely the kind of support we needed that day!
The second lap was uneventful but still consistently wet and windy. I said to Kyle that the third lap would be the worst because it would be in the thick of the miles but not close enough to see the end in sight. He was doing really well. He’s a strong runner and this was a tough day. We’d originally worried about it being too hot. We weren’t prepared for this! The triathlon that was supposed to be happening as well had to be cancelled due to the conditions too.
Each lap we saw our respective supporters and that boosted us along. We made sure to heartily thank the marshals as well. They were absolute heroes standing in ponchos getting absolutely blown away. We were, to some degree, fine running and staying warm, but any supporters and marshals had to endure the conditions by just standing there. I honestly think that’s worse.
My hair was getting seriously thrown around the place during this race. It was quite the hindrance to have a pony tail continually slap you in the face I tell you! Though we didn’t really need that much water during the race, when we did get a cup it was so hard to actually drink because the water would just fly out of it.
On the final lap away from the finish (so this is about 10 miles in) we were mentally preparing ourselves for the last 2.5k against the wind. As we turned back around for the finial time, the grind was fully on. Heads down, no talking, just pushing on. I led just slightly and hoped this would pull Kyle along. The final bit of a half marathon is no joke, especially when it’s your first one and wind is directly against you.
As we came round the corner to get to the finish we heard both sets of family screaming madly at us and we both sprint finished to the end, Kyle just finishing next to me (he always has a great sprint finish). I heard the announcer say our names (“Anna Smith-Jones” *SIGH*) and then we collected our goodie bags and medal.
My time was 1:48:05 (Kyle’s was 1:48:07). We were super chuffed. Kyle’s aim had been a sub 2 hour half (though I knew he’d do better. I thought, without the wind, he should be aiming for 1:45-46ish). Apparently I was third female as well which was quite cool. I got an extra goodie bag and a little trophy. A huge thank you to both sets of supporters (and the marshals of course) because honestly the weather was TERRIBLE and though we had to run in it, they had to stand in it which is 100 times worse. They were soaked and wind-swept, but still smiling and congratulating us. What legends.
The goodie bag was great. There was a protein bar, High5 goodies and porridge. And in my extra goodie bag I got a 2kg bag of porridge (the race was sponsored b Mornflake) and lots more High5 stuff. Not too shabby at all! The funniest part was getting home and having to cut my hair bobble in order to free and wash my hair. Check out this absolutely ridiculous volume I acquired.
A tough but fun half marathon. I’m glad it wasn’t ridiculous hot but it’s a shame we were (literally) held back a bit. And shout out to my mother for dropping my medal on the drive, so we got to watch it roll away down the road haha 😉 We did manage to retrieve it!
What’s the best thing you’ve gotten in a goodie bag?
How do you cope with bad hair after a race?
We did actually arrive in OK timing (well, we got to the car park in good timing). There were marshals to direct us in to park which I’d never seen before at a parkrun. But I guess made sense as it was located at Montacute House, which was a National Trust location, and the parking was a bit all over the place.
Anywho we parked, went to the loo (absolutely crucial for me and my tiny bladder) and walked to the starting area. It was right in front of the Montacute House and I started taking some photos as it was so pretty. Oneof the marshals gently told us perhaps we’d like to get ready rather than take photos and were we tourists? As we replied we heard “go!”. Blimey!! We were off already! We just hadn’t noticed the time fly by. We raced after the other runners, frantically starting our watches, and cracked on.Yeovil parkrun course is all on grass and the start is a bit of a free-for-all as you leg it off in a big group away from the house. Then it narrows up as you join a rough path, still on grass. There are a lot of sheep about so you do have to be mindful of them and the copious amounts of sheep poo everywhere. It was mostly out of the shade and as the sun was beating down already it proved to be quite a sweaty run.
Kyle and I were able to overtake a fair number of people as we caught up with the pack and get ourselves into a comfortable position amongst the other runners. A herd of sheep ran across the path of the runners at one point which was quite amusing. And you had to watch your foot placings quite keenly because it was rough underneath, meaning ankles could turn quite easily. Basically it wasn’t a parkrun to switch off from and enjoy the views, you had to be aware of your surroundings.
I felt like the first half dragged on and I felt quite unfit. But by mile two I got a second wind and found myself stretching on and starting to overtake more people as I gained speed. 
The course isn’t hilly but it’s fairly undulating, with little hills and dips, which gave for good downhill surges. There’s a final significant incline at the end and then it’s round the corner to the finish. I was happy to finish as second female with 22:42. 
Not too shabby!After quickly freshening up in the toilets (which were lovely by the way) and getting changed, we headed off for some breakfast. A friend at work had recommended the Cow and Apple in Yeovil itself so we headed there.
We got a table outside and sat in the blazing sunshine sweating away. The food was good though. A good spot – and lots of people watching opportunities (there are some funny sorts out and about on a Saturday morning aren’t there!).
From Yeovil we drove to Dorchester. It seemed silly to not make a day of it driving all that way and people had recommended Dorchester as a good place to mosey about. And it has a dinosaur museum! With my strange love of dinosaurs this seemed perfect. 
It was quite an amusing experience though. Clearly more geared towards children…though it was a fun way to spend an hour or so. It was quite interactive in places and we both made the mistake of “smelling a t-rex’s breath”. URGH. It was VILE. It was a good giggle tho.
We grabbed a quick rocky road snack to share (just OK, not the best I’ve ever had) and then headed off for pit-stop number three, the Sculpture by the Lakes, just outside of the main area of Dorchester in Pallington Lakes. We weren’t really sure what to expect but it had lots of really good reviews and the weather seemed ideal.
It was VERY posh. Like you could tell straight away it was a “nice” place. Located in the back-garden (I use this term VERY loosely) of the artist’s house was this incredible set-up of lakes with beautiful sculptures located in different spots around and a posh café (well restaurant really) to sit and enjoy food and drink at. 
We paid for two tickets (£10 each, not too bad considering you could stay all day and just enjoy the scenery and have a picnic if you fancied) and then wandered around the lake. 
It was beautiful and the sculptures were amazing. There were birds, words and sentences and fruit… it was very diverse but all impressive. There were a number of people just laying about in the sun or having a picnic but you could tell this was not a place for, as my dad says, the great unwashed! And children and dogs were strictly not allowed.
We spent a good amount of time walking around and sitting by the water before deciding that the call for food might be coming as our earlier fry-up wore off. Our next stop was Bournemouth where I knew an amazing burger spot was and had wanted to excuse to try it out for ages. I’d been following 
We both ordered the same… chicken wings to start, a pulled pork topped burger with fries (I went for sweet potato) and a very tasty brownie with ice cream for pudding. A pretty damn tasty meal! I’m both sad and happy that this place is just that bit too far from me…
As I got back towards my house I added another mile on, embracing my enthusiasm, and totalled 12 miles in the end. I was ecstatic!
A solid run at a solid pace feeling amazing, with the bonus of not being sick. Hurrah!
I had every ambition of taking parkrun easy. My mistake was wedging myself forward in the start line-up because as we got going I found myself getting carried away with the people around me and running 7 min/miles pace. Slow. Down. Anna. Unfortunately the brain didn’t quite compute that and I continued on. My calf felt even less niggly than previous runs… if it had gotten worse I would have slowed down (I mean, in retrospect, you can really say anything can’t you? I hope I would have slowed down). I saw some familiar faces as I ran and we exchanged cheers and hellos. parkrun is always so friendly and of course this is quite a local one so you see lots of the same people about.
From the Facebook page
From the Facebook page
We all had a great run. Trystan was pleased with his first parkrun and seemed keen to do another (yessssss parkrun convertee).
It’s just so nice to have a beautiful morning and a great run with lovely people. Can’t beat that on a Saturday morning! I also got to catch up with the ever friendly Paul (check out his parkrun-full blog 
It was very sunny and the trails around QECP are quite hilly. But it was a good walk nonetheless. A refuel was definitely needed afterwards. That came in the shape of a lamb and feta burger (done on the BBQ) with some very crispy chips at the Hampshire Hog nearby.
The brownie was SO good. It was so gooey, warm and fudgie. It rocked my world.
I saw my dad as I came back round past the finish area (not time to finish yet though) and lots of people cheered me on which was nice. I smiled but inside I was starting to fade. I told my dad, as I ran past, I wasn’t having a good race. I like to keep him updated so he knows not to expect anything magical at the end. I had some water (paper cups, excellent) and then was told by a marshal there was a sprinkler round the corner if I wanted to run through it. I replied, “hell yes!”. It was blissful.
The marshals, as always, were super supportive and cheered us on. I was told I was second female and I started passing people on their first lap of that loop as I came back round to the four mile marker. I tried to cheer people on as I passed but it got harder and harder as I began struggling more and more. I found I was getting a stitch on and off and my breathing was becoming harder. My chest felt like it was restricted and my sports bra felt far too tight weirdly.
A lovely Lordshill runner, Ben, started running next me and he helped push me along. I told him I wasn’t aiming to speed up or a sprint finish, I was now just aiming to maintain my second place position. I was on the pain train and I was not happy. I was so hot and my breathing so laboured. As we came back round to the finish area I couldn’t even raise a smile to anyone cheering me on. I hate ignoring people but I honestly couldn’t.
I was just desperate to finish and desperate to breathe properly again. I don’t think I’ve ever felt anything like that before. I was literally gasping and grunting to breathe. It wasn’t like I was running super duper fast, I just couldn’t seem to get oxygen inside my lunges quick enough.
The final stretch is a lap round (another) cricket pitch. At this point I honestly thought I was going to have to walk. I had a sneaky look back to see if the third female was about but she wasn’t but decided to save face I couldn’t walk the final stretch.
I kept going. I saw my mum and dad and they cheered me on and then FINALLY I finished. My mum said later she’d never seen me so laboured during a race and was genuinely worried.
I literally had to sit down straight away after I finished. I was not in a good way immediately after the race. A lovely lady rushed over and made sure I was OK and handed me some water. I just needed to sit and breathe in the shade for a few minutes.
I then got to collect my second place prize. I’m very pleased to add another tankers to the collection. I’ve given them to my dad so he now has four – a lovely even number!
The barcode sign in the distance in the middle of the field…
Photo Credit: Ken Grist
Photo Credit: Ken Grist
On the final mile (and God knows what number lap – I had to keep count on my hand) I felt myself have a spurt of energy. Probably because at this point I just wanted to finish the monotony of running in circles on sodden grass. I finished in 21:19 and a surprisingly high finish of 24 (2nd female). I think a lot of people were resting their legs after London and Southampton half/marathon last weekend.
I helped close down and had a drink in the cafe after. Two of my running friends, Kate and her husband Mark, are heading to Devon and it was fun discussing the parkrun challenges of them trying to get all the Devon ones – apparently there are quite a few! I think down South we do very well with parkruns, there always seem to be new ones cropping up all over the place. This is both good and frustrating because just when I thought I was almost done with Bristol and Brighton they start creating new ones!
Now onto the important stuff… 😉 Afternoon tea was good but it was a bit too “delicate” for my liking. I’m a big fan of the big slabs of cake and chunky scones and regular sandwiches. Teeny tiny “pretty” cakes aren’t really going to cut it with me. That said, I was the human dustbin for everyone else so I did get a good share of extra cakes and sandwiches!
The scones were delicious and the sandwiches were nice but I didn’t massively enjoy the tart (which was like a bland egg custard tart) and I’m never really a fan of creamy desserts that are like posh yogurts (I think it was a lemon posset?). My friend Anna (good name) said to me, “Don’t look behind you Anna, it will really upset you”. Obviously I did… a whole table with so many scones and cakes left behind. NOT EATEN. What!?
After finishing the run I dashed home to shower and eat breakfast quickly before heading back out to meet Mike for a dog walk. Mike has a 13 week year old Siberian Husky crossed with a Golden Retriever who is just adorable, called Luna. I brought Alfie so Luna had a new friend. We met up in Royal Victoria Country Park (where parkrun is held) and walked round the field before heading to the dog fair that was going on.
Honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many dogs in one day! There were just so many. All of different breeds and sizes. Alfie was a little bit more wary of the other dogs – he’s very much a lone wolf, whereas Luna wanted to play with EVERYONE and EVERYTHING. 
Ahh the excitement of a little puppy. I remember when Alfie was like that. He’s almost nine years old. That is MENTAL. I still remember how tiny he was when we picked him up and he sat in my lap. I also remember feeding him a slice of apple and then him promptly throwing it up on my lap five minutes later. Lovely.
Anyway, we walked round the stalls, chatted to other dog owners and enjoyed watching the “dog recall” competition (how quickly your dog runs back to you – there was a leaderboard and everything). Then we sat and had a coffee in the cafe outside while Luna enjoyed chasing every napkin that flew past her while Alfie rolled his eyes and tried to avoid getting jumped on.
They got on well though despite the age gap. It’s a shame the weather wasn’t a bit brighter but thankfully we dodged the rain on all accounts.