Race - AnnaTheApple

October 16, 2013October 16, 2013

Solent Half Marathon (1:40:34)

So you know how I said I wasn’t going to race the half marathon on Sunday…well I didn’t technically race it, but I did go a lot faster than I originally intended.

To be honest, I had no idea where my head was at for this race. I went into it with absolutely no plans. In retrospect I don’t want to do that again. I’m not a big fan of not planning my paces or at least having an idea of paces before a race!

Ben and me arrived at the race (which was only 30 minutes away) with my dad who had kindly come to support us (he loves cheering us on and he was excited that this was the first half marathon he could actually come and see).

It’s a league race so we’ve got our running club vests on

Originally I was supposed to run 16 miles on Sunday but then I signed up randomly to this half marathon. So I decided to run two warm-up miles and then a cool down mile at the end to make it up.

My dad at this point had marched off to where he was planning on supporting from (around the 5 mile mark). And we headed to the start. The race was chip timed but we soon found out it was only chip timed for the finish. I was stood with the ladies from my running club and we were so far from the front. Very frustrating.

Anyway, we started running and I straight away found myself running with one of the girls from the club and we just matched each other nicely. I did get a bit concerned because we were starting quite fast (7.40mins.mile)…and we didn’t slow.

I’m not really used to running races with other people. I’m also not used to running such long distances WITHOUT MUSIC either. There was a ‘no headphones rule’ for this race as the roads weren’t closed. I can’t tell you how much this sucked. I get bored quite easily and feed a lot from music. Hey ho!

This was around mile three

As we carried on running I realised that I wasn’t going to take this easy. It was nice to run with someone else. It was her first half marathon and she told me she’d “hang on” for as long as she could. But to be honest I don’t know who was pacing who! Then another girl from the running club joined us and we became a power trio, keeping each other going.

I saw my dad around mile 5 and he snapped a photo and cheered us all on

I found this race quite tough. There were a few nasty slow inclines and a couple of sneaky hills. I didn’t know what pace to keep to and constantly worried I was going to fast for our little group, or not fast enough. It was really hard mentally. I’m so used to running races on my own! But it was nice to have them there.

Finally the finish!

Physically, I didn’t breeze through this one like the Bristol half. Maybe because it was ‘undulating’, maybe because I hadn’t gone into the race mentally prepared to run fast, maybe it was the extra two miles before the race, who knows! Though I’d say I wasn’t properly struggling until around mile 11, then it became really tough.

My official time was 1:40:34. I came 9th in my age category and 25th female (173rd overall out 375). Ben helped pace a girl from our running club round and finished 2:08:48. He really enjoyed it.

After finishing and getting the goody bag I saw my dad and then headed off for a mile cool down. Oh man my legs were not happy to start running again. They were so stiff! So I kept it nice and easy!!

This was definitely not my favourite race. It pushed me mentally (no headphones, running with two others, no game plan) and physically (faster than I intended and hills). And the weather was pretty terrible. But I’m glad I did it. Not every race can be a great one! I’m happy with my time don’t get me wrong and it felt like a great work out. I just wished I’d have enjoyed it a bit more!

OH, and there were no medals. NO MEDALS. Shocking.

We did get one of those Choob scarf things though so that’s a slight consolation. It’ll be a good running scarf when it gets colder!

And as a side note, I love this photo my dad took on his walk to the five mile point:

It looks like the horse is about to charge him haha.

After the race, Ben, my dad and me were freezing when we drove back home. So wet and cold. I thoroughly enjoyed my shower when I got back!

And the cake I wolfed down [from our Brighton adventures]:

I microwaved that beauty for a minute and thoroughly enjoyed just over half of it before feeling sick. Ben feebly managed a third of his. Pft! Poor effort.

Race + cake = happy Anna

How do you keep yourself entertained on a run? I always listen to a podcast on long runs or for races listen to music. It pumps me up and keeps me going. Though running with a group at running club is good too.

Who’s your biggest race supporter? My dad loves supporting us and he’ll always listen to me yabber on about running. He’s brilliant.

What do you like to get in a race goody bag? It’s all about the medal for me.

September 18, 2013October 28, 2016

Bristol Half Marathon (1:36:10)

Happy Wednesday! It’s very chilly here down the South of the UK. I imagine it’s a lot colder up north as well. Brrr.

So Sunday Ben and me ran the Bristol Half Marathon (which has been going for twenty-five years – wow). Like I said in my last post, we stayed with friends so we wouldn’t have to get up at ridiculous O’clock and drive an hour and a half to get there. And, more importantly, we got to see our friends which was lovely.

We got up at 6.30am, had breakfast and then drove to the park and ride. We got the bus into the race village and it was perfectly un-stressful.

The race village was set in the heart of this lovely area with lots of cafés and restaurants and cool water things.

The only annoying thing was that Ben was starting in a wave 30 minutes after me (10am) so he had a bit more hanging around to do than I did.

Bit of fun photo taking with the massive reflective sphere

We said our goodbyes and I headed to my wave 15 minutes before the start.

It was cold. I wore my capris rather than shorts but I was still only wearing a vest. I looked longingly at the bin bags some people has ingeniously thought to bring. The elites and white wave went off first and then we followed soon after.

Mile one (7.28): Always feels fine. The tide of people just keeps you sailing along. I was going a bit faster than I’d planned but I didn’t worry too much as it was by 10-15 seconds. However, I suddenly needed to pee.

Mile two (7.25): We were able to see Clifton Suspension Bridge in the distance, which we were heading under.

I had my phone in my arm band for music and just had to take a photo so this required a bit of jiggling about while running which is never easy. But I’m glad I got the photo! Annoyingly a few metres on was a much better photo in terms of scenery. Ah well.

Mile three (7.20): The feeling of needing to pee was still there. I had peed before the race so I tried to convince myself I didn’t need to go. I saw men dash off to the sides of the race to pee and looked at them enviously.

At this point I knew I couldn’t not go to the loo. The deciding factor was that I couldn’t think about needing to pee for next 10 miles. So I made a game plan. I could see way ahead a portable loo so I sprinted like a stupid person, peed in record breaking time and got back out there and sprinted a little to gain back time. I ended up back next to the same person I was running next to before. Hurrah. Anna 1 bladder 0.

Mile four (7.24): This was a turnaround point so we headed back along the same road but from the other side. I didn’t actually mind this as the scenery was nice and the road was so flat. It also meant I could amuse myself by looking at the runners on the other side. I was desperately scanning the crowds to see if I could find Ben.

Miles five (7.21) to six (7.25): I was now consistently running 10 seconds faster than I hoped and was feeling really good. It didn’t feel like too much of an effort so I held that pace. Around this point I was still scanning for Ben when I saw Mary on the other side. It was so quick but it was nice to see another blogger (she did 90 minutes of running before the half as preparation for her upcoming ultra <- epic).

Then just before going under the bridge again I saw Ben. He looked so happy and strong it really made me smile. I was just so chuffed! We shouted to each other and carried on.

When we went under a tunnel I found myself near the 1:40 pacers which panicked me a bit as I was aiming for a bit below that. As we went through the tunnel one of the pacers shouted “Oggie oggie oggie!” and everyone responded “Oi! oi! oi!”. It was brilliant.

Miles 8 (7.34) to 9 (7.20): Still feeling happy and enjoying it. I had picked up a gel from one of the stations a few miles ago (hello, freebie!) and it was nice to hold on to in a weird way. I picked up another one as we passed the next station as well. I thought to myself “I definitely want to take one of these home. But the other one will be if I feel I need it”. It was nice to have that safety net. It was also chilled which was a lovely touch from the marshals.

Mile 10 (7.10) to 11 (7.12): I took one of the gels as I wanted to increase my speed further and whether psychologically or physically, I needed to have that gel. It was a tasty one and a nice thin consistency – a High5 gel. I recommend!

Miles 12 (7.14) to 13 (6.56): I don’t remember mile 12 but mile 13 is where I picked it up as much as I could. This was the only part of the race I didn’t enjoy.

Last stretch I put my all in

It was painful and it felt like 5k effort.

My official time was 1:36:10. This is a five minute PB for me! I am SO pleased. And I loved the whole race (bar the last mile). It just felt comfortable and I felt in the zone.

As soon as I finished and picked up my goodie bag and medal. People were thrusting leaflets into my hands and then a lady told me there were free physio massages. I went straight there and got in the queue. Hell yes.

The physio said my hips were unbelievably tight and that no wonder I’d been having IT band issues and groin pain. Whoops. She gave me some great advice though while torturing the hell out of my lower back and upper bum (technical term).

Then I got our bag from the bagging area and a cup of tea and did some stretching while I waiting for Ben. When I saw him he had a big grin on his face. He’d smashed his ‘conservative’ target of 2:10 and pipped his ‘dream’ target of 1:57 and got 1:56:21. Nice work!

Then we headed back to the bus and car and did a quick ‘let’s get naked in the middle of car park in the freezing cold’ to get out of our sweaty stuff and into our spare clothes. We have all the fun.

We started our drive back with the intention of finding a restaurant mid-way home and found a lovely pub called the Bird in Hand.

I chose the Caesar salad and granary baguette with a side order of fresh veg. I just really fancied it.

That Caesar salad…oh it was HEAVENLY.

I inhaled it I was so hungry. Perfect post-race food.

I thoroughly enjoyed the Bristol Half Marathon. It’s probably my second favourite race. Cheddar Gorge half is still my top as it was such an adventure. But Bristol was brilliant as it was so flat, the crowds were great, I felt in the zone and Ben enjoyed it too.

From this experience I just know that half marathons are my favourite distance (so far). During a 5k and a 10k I am holding on and pushing the entire time. This didn’t feel painful. It felt refreshing and I loved it.

What’s your favourite race distance?

What’s the last race or next race you’re doing? Mine is the Great South Run in October.

Do you plan your pacing before the race? In my mind I wanted to run 7.30min/miles with a push at the end.

August 26, 2013August 26, 2013

Reality TV stars at their finest

Oh I do love having a Monday off! This weekend England (not Scotland unfortunately – boo!) had a Bank holiday. This, for non-UK readers, is basically just a public holiday on the Monday. Though I’m not sure why it’s called a ‘bank holiday’ (though I know the banks are closed). Yesterday we got back from Essex seeing Ben’s dad yesterday and so today (Monday) we’ve just been chilling and catching up with the housework. So here’s my weekend catch-up.

Friday I got up early and went to spin which was good but as always hard. I was chuffed for getting myself there for the early class and then having enough time when I got back to pack and get myself together without stressing. Then we drove to Essex…and obviously this involved lovely bank holiday weekend traffic. *sighs*

Though it was perfect timing to paint my toe nails! I was very appreciative of Ben’s smooth driving.

After having a nice evening on the Friday, we got up early and headed down to the Chelmsford Parkrun for a bit of Parkrun tourism! It was so great doing a different Parkrun. I had no idea about the course (though it’s always 5k).

It was located in a lovely park with a pond. The weather was a bit drizzly but a nice cool temperature.

The run went well. I felt speedy and strong and was grateful for a lovely flat course (there was a very small steep hill but nothing scary or hard).

My father-in-law cheered us on and took some photos and it was good fun. Though the girls were very speedy! There were at least three so far ahead of me that I had no chance to catch them.

But I was very chuffed with my time – about 10 seconds better than my Parkrun PB! But the course definitely helped I would say as my usual route has an annoying hill we have to do three times. I came 5th female which I was very pleased with considering all four females in front of me did it in sub-20s and sub-19s. Yikes!

Unfortunately – God I don’t even want to type this it’s so annoying and repetitive – I’ve twinged my groin. YES I KNOW. Another flipping running-related injury. Jeeeeeeze. But I’m not making a big thing about it. It’s fine. I’m just having a nice week break from running (well, I’ll see how it goes ). I’ve got my spinning and pump so it’s all fine. I’m not panicking as it feels like just a small twinge that just needs a little rest.

Moving on! For the rest of the day we did something hugely embarrassing that I can’t believe I’m admitting. We did the TOWIE tour. Now I will forgive you if you didn’t know TOWIE stood for The Only Way is Essex. And I will also forgive you for not knowing that that is a ridiculous reality TV show set in Essex… coining those elegant phrases such as “I’m well jel” (translation: “I’m very jealous”).

Well, we did the tour. As in we walked around Brentwood and went into all of the main cast’s shops (as they all now own their own shops for some strange reason). And lo and behold! They were actually in their shops. Now we are talking proper Z-list celebrities here, people. I know. Calm yourselves.

All good fun. I will say that the majority of them were really lovely and didn’t mind me cheekily asking them for a photo. Apart from one. I think the phrase she used was “this ain’t a museum – have a look at the merchandise if you want a photo”. To which I promptly apologised and left the shop. I’m sorry I’m not paying £10 for a notebook to justify having a photo taken with her. I think she realised I was a bit affronted and called me back. It was all very awkward and I just wanted to get away as quickly as I could.

Not to labour the point too much but I do think reality TV stars shouldn’t be too high and mighty about fans wanting photos taken with them…after all, without us they wouldn’t be where they are. It’s not like they have ‘real’ talent like, say, actors and singers. Sorry if that’s a bit catty!

We also mooched around a few shops and I bought this top and skirt.

I’m not sure if together they go well but I was originally wearing a dress so I had to try them on together! Dorothy Perkins…how I love that shop.

In the evening we had a nice easy take-away (I had an Indian while Ben and his dad had a pizza – Ben was in heaven). We watched What Women Want (love, love that film! Such a classic) and had an easy evening.

We had a great time in Essex and it was good fun

Right, now I’m off to do some ironing and watch some Friends. Rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle living over here!

How was your weekend?

Reality TV: do you love or hate? I’m terrible. I love all that rubbish; Keeping Up with the Kardashians, The Hills, Made in Chelsea… But not Big Brother. I have some standards

Have you met anyone famous?

What Parkruns have you done? Any ones to recommend?

August 21, 2013August 21, 2013

Cheddar Gorge Half Marathon

Hi guys! Sooo on Sunday I ~~completed~~ survived the Cheddar Gorge half marathon. And I’m not tooting my own horn here when I say it was no small feat!

The day began very early, showering (ha, what was the point in that!) and having a good breakfast at 6.30am. My dad was supposed to come with Ben and me and support while my mum stayed at home with their dogs and Alfie as it would have been unfair to have left them on their own in the house another day (after Saturday’s BBQ). But my dad was really ill in the night and couldn’t make it so my mum came instead. My dad was devastated. I always joke that he’s my ‘soccer mom’ as he’s always encouraging me and giving me pep talks before races so it was a real shame.

Anyway we drove the two hours towards Somerset (grabbed a coffee en route – necessity!) and arrived with an hour to spare. Perfect!

It had rained a fair bit on the journey up and but it had stopped by the time we arrived and I started feeling excited!

We got ourselves together with our hydration belt (for me) and Camelbak (for Ben). Panic struck when I realised my gel had burst a bit in my bag. Very sticky. Gross. But luckily not too much of it had leaked to make a significant difference. It just meant I had to carry it running rather than keep it in my belt.

Look what we found!! This made me think of Claire as she’s always showing photos of Gromits from around Bristol and London.

Then we got our bibs and made the long journey up to the start. We left my mum (bless her wearing her flip flops) and she went off to have a mosey around the shops to come back later to where we would be finishing. Basically there was no ideal point to spectate!

We could tell as we saw the other runners that this was a different style of race. The runners did not look like your stereotypical road runners. They were hardy looking men and women ready for a challenge. It felt very relaxed which was great.

Ideal to be walking behind the first aid guys!!

We were sweating before we’d even begun!!

And we finally made it to the start.

Here are the elevation changes throughout the course:

Mile one: It began really really tough. A lot of up hill running. We ran through about four fields so there was a lot of jumping over stiles. My game plan had been to stay around 9 minutes a mile. I looked at my watch during the first half a mile and I was doing 10 minutes and struggling.

Mile two: It levelled out, there was a nice downhill section which was refreshing after the climb. Then some rocky bits to climb over and slide down which was good fun.

Mile three: This involved more running uphill across a big field. There was absolutely no point in trying to be speedy. Then we ran through a lovely bog soaking my trainers…good stuff.

Mile four: Still climbing. There weren’t a huge number of runners at all. There was maybe three guys I could see directly in front of me (obviously more further ahead!) and a few behind. I saw up ahead that two of the runners were coming to a stop and looked confused as to where they were going and a bunch of hikers pointed the way. It was that kind of race! There were ribbons on trees and marks on the floor but it was dodgy at times! I caught up with a guy and we started chatting which was really nice. It was his first off-road half marathon as well so it was nice to be in good company!

Best bit was passing a couple of marshals and them shouting “here’s the first lady!” What a boost! The guy in front of me did a bow pretending it was him, which was funny.

Mile five: What a dream! I zoomed downhill. I kept a great routine of doing teeny tiny footsteps and landing on the front of my foot to let gravity basically push me forward. I gained back quite a bit of energy doing this as it didn’t take as much to run it. Though obviously I had to be careful not to fall!!

Mile six: I took my gel, thankful to stop carrying it (putting the now less sticky rubbish in my belt of course!). I managed to get lost off the route by mindlessly following two guys. We ended up going through a very constricted path amongst brambles then realising it really didn’t feel right and backtracked to the correct path.

Mile seven: Oh man this was tough – one of the hardest parts. Serious uphill. I couldn’t run it. It was just impossible. My thighs were burning. The guys around me walked it too so I didn’t feel so bad.

Mile eight to mile 11: Can’t remember much apart from really loving it at this point. No more uphill’s for a bit and I felt like I was zipping along nicely gaining back some speed. My music was being annoying as I was using Spotify and it kept losing signal but when it did burst into life in my ear (half scaring the hell out of me) it was excellent. Otherwise the atmosphere of the race was great too. I’m quite glad I had the best of both worlds to be honest.

Mile 11: Oh mile 11. You ruined my fun. Suddenly in front of me were these steps of doom. huge steep steps we had to get up and it went on and on for what seemed like forever.

Mile 12: After finishing the steps I was flying again. Some fellow racers let me pass them which was nice and one even said “I want her shoes!”. Lots of downhill’s which I took at break-neck speed which I now cringe at thinking back to. All heading downhill to the town where we got some actual road running for a few seconds!

My mum was there with her camera and snapped a photo.

The final bit of the race was a short but very steep uphill. Then done!

Hurrah!

Crazy paces! My official time was 1:58:42. My Garmin stopped several times during the run because of my walking breaks – clearly it was unimpressed with my lack of hill climbing ability and gave up on me. I also came first girl and 20th overall out of 157 runners.

After finding my mum afterwards, I promptly collapsed onto the grass with some water and we waited for Ben.

Ben finished in 2:52:34. I was so worried he hadn’t enjoyed it because of his unfortunate lack of preparation but he was smiling and looking strong at the end. I was very proud!

Nope that’s not a lovely tan; that is just dirt

I’ll spare you the raw details but then commenced the Great Baby Wipe and Change of Clothes Adventure in the car park. We’re classy like that

And then we headed out to find FOOD (this was 3pm!) We found a lovely little pub and walked in praying they were still serving, which they were, hurrah! I hurriedly told the barmaid that we had just finished a race and didn’t always look so bedraggled! She laughed and said she’d seen worse haha.

Code of conduct for post race: always wear your medal. You feel like Mr T.

I had a butternut squash and feta salad to start (delicious but I was so hungry I really wanted to just get to the main!) and then for the main I had a delicious home-made beef burger with chips and tomato relish. Ohhhhh it was heaven. Alongside I had a cup of tea.

I inhaled everything. Those chips didn’t stand a chance.

I thoroughly recommend this race. I loved it. So much variation in the course, such good camaraderie from the fellow racers and the marshals were excellent. Definitely one for next year!

What’s your kind of race? Do you prefer the regular road race, or something a bit more crazy and off-road? I just know my next race is going to seem a bit dull in comparison now?

What’s your favourite running surface? Treadmill, road, gravel, grass, sand (you crazy!)…

Do you run with music or not? I get a boost from music and it helps me not get bored. Sometimes I like my own thoughts for 13.1 miles I get bored of myself.

August 19, 2013

What a weekend!

Hi guys! How was your weekend? Mine was pretty much a whirlwind. One of the best weekends in a while I think.

Ohhh before I start with the weekend: MY MUG HAS RETURNED!!!

Apparently it had been taken down to the canteen downstairs. My poster worked

Anyway…

Saturday morning Ben and me woke up late (whoops) for Parkrun and had to mad dash around the place to get ourselves together. I like to arrive at least 30 minutes before so I can relax a bit as I get so nervous and stressed before races. Even though Parkruns aren’t really ‘proper’ races as they’re so informal and just a bit of fun.

Anyway we got there and made it to the start. I didn’t really know how I was going to run but I did want to try as I’m not going to be back at our local Parkrun for a couple of weeks now. As soon as I started running I felt strong and happy. What was brilliant was that there was a bunch of guys who were running the same speed and I kept with them so it really helped.

With 5ks I just like to give it my all and hold on for as long as I can. Not sure if that’s a great strategy as the last lap is always so tough. My running club friend was right behind me as well which helped push me on but she managed to sail past me breezily on the last stretch. She obviously has a great strategy of keeping something in the bag because she looked very fresh as she zoomed past me hehe.

Amazingly I beat last week’s PB by about 5 seconds. I think I’m going to plateau soon because it just gets too hard now.

Then we zoomed home and got ready to go to my work’s summer BBQ. I was the designated driver as I rarely drink and I wasn’t going to drink the day before the half marathon anyway. My parents came with us too (my dad works in the company as well).

It looked a bit gloomy and like it was about to rain when we got there but it didn’t really matter as they had a huge marquee in the garden.

The marquee is that white tent on the side of the photos

There was mini golf, giant Jenga, a beer tent, a tent for other alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, a puppeteer, a face painter (more on that in a bit!) and a beautifully huge garden.

Oh and even very posh temporary loos! Of course I took a sneaky photo in the interior of the toilets as I was so impressed.

And there was a bouncy castle. *Sighs* I love my father. I really do. But seriously.

Within five minutes of arriving he was on that bouncy castle. I feared for his life

I stuck to sparkling water (which I really love – anyone else with me on that?) and just milled around enjoying myself.

I enjoyed a lovely plateful of BBQ food when food was served.

Burger, kebabs, a sausage (I’ve found I quite like actual sausages – since having turkey sausages things have changed!), rustic-flavoured bread, corn on the cob and salad. And maybe another cheeky burger and sausage afterwards…

So good. Always a good spread as these things!

Ben enjoyed himself too and was (in my opinion) daring and had a few glasses of wine! His mentality was that he hadn’t really done the training, had been in Germany for the week on business, had just come back from an injury…so why the hell not! If the odds were against him he might as well enjoy it haha.

Then pudding. Oh pudding.

Honestly I just did not know what to have. So I had one of everything.

Totally joking! Wish I could have, haha. No I was sensible and stuck very diligently to two puddings only. Believe me when I say I was enormously tempted to go back for more.

There was a conversation like this between Ben and me:

Me: “But surely a cupcake doesn’t count, right?”

Ben: “Anna, you told me to stop you from having more than two puddings. Don’t do it.”

Me: “Yeah…I don’t think I was being sincere though.”

Ben: “You’ll regret it for 13.1 miles tomorrow.”

Me: “Fair point.”

So I stuck with a slice (should I say slab?) of Victoria sponge and a brownie *grumble grumble*. No in all honesty it was perfect and in the evening I was thankful that I hadn’t eaten a buffet of cakes (which, let’s be honest, was a real possibility).

Obviously we had to get a bit of face paint action.

And of course so did my dad…

He had ‘LFC’ on his cheek…*sighs* Liverpool Football Club. Bless him. He kept checking his phone all the time watching the score of the match while we were at the BBQ as well!

Even the rain didn’t dampen our spirits. It was a great day!

When Ben and I got home we really didn’t fancy anything to eat which was annoying. So we had some crisps and snacky things and left it like that. Ideally I wanted to have a proper meal before the race the next day.

And then the half marathon on Sunday…well, I will continue this in my next post as it might be a bit lengthy otherwise and I want to do it justice. Though I will say that it was one of my favourite races of the year. It was epic! And we both survived

How was your weekend?

What is your best pre-race meal the night before? Usually it’s a pizza without cheese (so it’s less heavy and I’m not a bit fan of regular cheesy pizzas – unless it’s goat’s cheese of course).

Did you ever used to get your face painted? It brought back so many memories of when I was little!