So my next marathon is the Chester marathon. Obviously nothing is a given with my track record for injuries, but I’m hopeful as ever
Ideally I was going to really go for it and aim to get near my PB from Liverpool marathon (3:24:06) but after the hamstring debacle and only recently getting back into some normal running I think it might be wise to just give it my best with no pressures (I think this is my mantra for most races if I’m honest). I don’t want to plod around it easily but I don’t want to kill myself in training or in the race. So we’ll see.
In terms of the details of my training… Well, nothing much will really change compared to previous marathon cycles. Four days of running: one speed session (hills/fartleks/tempos/intervals), one easy run (for mental sanity), parkrun and a long run. Ideally I want to get to 18 miles and do that distance twice.
I also only have one race in the lead-up to the marathon, a half marathon (my second favourite distance to run). A half marathon race is usually quite standard in the lead-up to a marathon so I’m always happy to schedule one in. I’m taking part in the Reigate Half Marathon which is two weeks before Chester (18th September). So, depending on how my training is going, it will be a nice one to blast out some speed or test out my marathon pacing.
The course is a good one in that it’s one lap of a fully closed route that goes through some nice rural countryside and picturesque country lanes and it’s relatively flat. It’s chip-timed with a technical t-shirt and medal. Yep, sounds good to me!
Intersport Run Reigate organise both a 10k and a half marathon and has raised over £150,000 for charity since 2014 which is pretty fantastic, right? It’s also achieved silver in the UK’s best half marathon category in The 2015 Running Awards. Pretty cool.
I’ll be running as part of the Run Reigate blogger team, which is fairly exciting as you can imagine. The half is about five weeks away which is nice as it means I can continue to get in some good solid training and be more than ready. As part of the blogger team I get a very nice goodie bag to help me with my training which includes:
A Fitbit Surge (super excited about this as I’ve previously had a Fitbit but they’ve since hugely upgraded them. I love that it has an in-built HR monitor and gives phone notifications)
A spa day at Nutfield Priory (including spa treatment, use of facilities / gym / pool / sauna and lunch) – because that’d be very much needed during marathon training!
I also get to write a few blogs over on their blogging page.
This is obviously all amazing in itself but I’m actually really excited to have a half marathon in my diary as I haven’t done one in a while now, and especially one I’ve never done before. I’ll be about three weeks out from Chester so it’ll be really good to see where I’m at with my training and test out things like nutritional decisions (number of gels) and what I’m going to wear (i.e. avoid the dreaded chafe or over-heating).
I’ll continue to keep you guys updated with my training as always and also if you fancy reading my posts over at Run Reigate I’ll let you know when they’re up
What’s your favourite distance to race?
Do you like to plan in certain races as part of your training?
Do you use a fitness tracker?
**Full disclosure: Run Reigate have offered me free entry into the race with the goodie bag in exchange for writing about my training on my blog and their blog. All opinions and training decisions are my own.**
Cardiff has such a special place for me in my heart because of the three years I spent there at university. I met some of my best friends there and we have such good memories of our time (amongst the ridiculous hard work and stress, of course). So running a half marathon there just made sense to me. I was never a runner at uni so it was strange going back for a race.
So carrying on from my last post…
The wind was picking up and the rain was just starting as I clustered together in the starting pens with my running club buddies (though some had gone to the super speedy pens – sub 1:30!). I’d lost Matt after seeing my running club and it was difficult to spot anyone when we were all wearing our ridiculous white ponchos (ridiculous perhaps, but definitely grateful for!)
As we stood waiting we heard the male elites announced (big cheer for Mo Farah of course) and after each name huge bursts of fire were sent up next to the castle. For those brief seconds we were warmed by the flames. I had a moment of panic when I realised I needed a wee…but thought “just hold it”.
We jostled about (took a selfie, of course) and then finally we were off! The wind was against us from the start but I didn’t feel it too much. I found a comfortable pace and decided to keep that feeling of effort, regardless of what my watch told me.
I’d separated from my running club buddies but was happy to run at my own pace. I had a brief moment of “damn I wish I had music or something” as I soon found myself a little bored and demotivated. I had a weird moment where I suddenly felt a bit tired and “can I do this?”. I have no idea what came over me but I just felt a bit mentally exhausted, without that actually translating to my body. I gave myself a shake and got on with it though.
We began running through an area of Cardiff I’d never been before (out of my student bubble I suppose) and it reminded me so much of the Reading Half Marathon. There were residential areas and also industrial bits that just reminded me of the monotony of the Reading course, and the fact that there were always people around me as the entry size was about the same. And similar to Reading, despite the weather, there were a good number of supporters all along the course shouting and cheering. It had a great atmosphere. But every single loo I saw made me want the loo more but I couldn’t bare to stop and faff about.
Before the race, Matt and me had discussed the course and where we thought the wind would be the worst and both agreed it would be around the Bay where there was so much exposure. As I got closer to that area I found the wind was actually behind me, pushing me along. It was amazing! OK it was annoying having my ponytail flap me in my face and it being so gusty but it was great having it behind us. In the back of my mind I kept thinking, when’s it going to turn…
Going through the Cardiff Bay area and past the Wales Millennium Centre
[I bit the bullet and bought my race photos as they weren’t that bad – plus my mum wants some nice ones for her conservatory…haha]
I let my pace increase as the wind pushed me along (it would be silly not to take advantage!). At around seven miles it suddenly (and I mean suddenly) down-poured. Within seconds everyone was drenched. I was actually a bit worried about my contact lenses! I remember hearing people around me swearing and then this Welsh guy goes “come on guys, what did you expect – it’s Wales! This is our summer!” which was funny.
A couple of times during the race my tummy went funny and I had some regrets about the rather large pre-race breakfast. I definitely did not need any gels during that run!
I have no idea where this photo was taken!
We headed back towards the city and still I felt the wind on my back. I kept a smile firmly plastered on my face as I found that more people cheered when you looked happy. I was genuinely happy though. The pace wasn’t easy but it wasn’t a sustained effort either. The wind was contributing to some easy and tricky moments but overall I felt it was helping rather than hindering.
We got to a lovely residential part of Cardiff that has a beautiful park and lake that, as a student, my friends and I used to walk around (Roath Park). I know I keep saying this, but it just felt so weird to be in such a huge race running those same streets again. I saw the coffee shops I’d been in, saw where the Woolworths used to be that we always went to to buy our cheap pick n mix for the cinema (we were that cheap)… it was just great. It kept me entertained. People cheered my name out as I had it on my vest and I just kept smiling.
Then as we came around the lake the wind hit us in the face. The dream was over and the work was needed to be put in now. I tend to break half marathons into chunks: get to 5 miles, get to 8 miles, get to 10 miles (just a parkrun to go!) and then mile by mile until the end. The last three miles were tough. My legs were tired (mile 10 was actually almost mile 16 after my earlier run) but I kept going. I stuck with a girl who had “Elaine” on her vest and played the game in my head of who got more cheers, Elaine or me. It made me smile more and look at the crowd so I think I won Elaine did well though, a worthy contender.
There was a steep incline at Mile 12 which was tough…but generally the course was flat.
Then the best, but hardest part, of the race. Running through the Cathays area. This is literally where I used to live. Despite feeling tired, I couldn’t help but have a huge smile on my face. A guy next to me turned to me and said “that’s not fair! You’re still smiling!”. And then I ran past the road I used to live on and, this will sound ridiculous, but I got a bit emotional. Must have been on those endorphins I knew where we were finishing so I knew exactly how far we had to go, because I’d walked that way so many times during university. Past the Lidl I used to shop at, the pub I used to go to, over the bridge (what a bitch at these final stages of the race!) and then past the beautiful university buildings and all those crowds. It was a fantastic way to end the race.
I finished in 1:42:55 (chip time), 159th in my age/gender category and 2498th overall. For a training run as part of a longer run I’m over the moon with that! 7.47min/mile average is not too shabby!
I finished the race and headed straight for the bag drop area as it was COLD. I was soaked through and got very cold very quickly. Luckily I bumped into Matt again as he was heading back from the bag drop (he did a very speedy 1:36 dead). Then we walked back to his hotel and where my car was parked. It was a good job I was with him as I wouldn’t have had a clue how to have gotten there again!
We said our goodbyes and I stripped off my wet vest right there in the street (I had a sports bra on it was fiiiine), got a dry layer on and got straight into the car and headed home. I stopped at the first services back in England after the bridge and dashed into the loo. Finally had that wee I needed!! I got a hot coffee and then back on the road again.
My heating was blasted on full, I had a post-race banana and I had my music up. I sang all the way home in a happy buzz of post-race euphoria. Despite the awful weather I got back to my parent’s in under three hours, but it seemed like no time at all. My dad had picked up a takeaway for me so I had that literally as I got in. Showers can wait!
And then I was completely wired for the rest of the night. The coffee, the food, the buzz… I just couldn’t relax. I was tired and my legs ached but I was buzzing. But I had no alarm set the next morning so I wasn’t worried
So a fantastic race. I loved it and fully enjoyed it, despite the wind and rain! And an extra small ladies technical t-shirt that fits!!
Have you ever raced in a city that’s special to you?
Do you prefer the wind behind you or no wind at all?
On most marathon training plans you usually have a half marathon where you try to push the pace to see where you are fitness and speed-wise. Though it’s always nice to drop the mileage down for a long run, you know it’s not going to be that easy because the effort is going to be so much harder than the normal long run.
Anyway, I’d chosen Weymouth Half Marathon to give it my best go as I’d heard really good things about it, we got a discount through my club and a couple of other guys were doing it too. We merrily signed up a while ago and then as we were organising getting there etc. we realised the start time was 8.30am. Coming from Southampton we were looking at around 1.5 hours to get there. Ooof. That meant a 5.30am alarm for me. Thankfully my parents agreed to look after Alfie so all I had to do was get up and get my stuff on. I wasn’t having breakfast (see last post’s mega meal) and I was being picked up so it was really very simple. Except ridiculously early.
Will (left), Mike (right) and me on our way (Photo credit: Mike Head)
Mike, Will and me got to Weymouth, with a pit-stop for a coffee, at 7.30am. It was cold and breezy. Parking was easy and nearby. I had my hoodie on but had chosen shorts for the occasion. I really need to invest in some long sport trousers to remove before races…
The sights of Weymouth, including the clock tower and some amazing sand sculptures
We headed straight to the race HQ which was thankfully indoors and warm. We used the proper toilets (hurrah) and then loitered for a bit before dropping our bags off. I had a race poncho with me to keep warm at the start and one gel. I left my phone and everything else in my bag. The race had a no headphones rule.
We lined up just next to the Jubilee Clock on the seafront about five minutes before the start and huddled a bit like penguins in the crowd. It was cold!! My poncho helped somewhat but I ditched it as the race started.
It was very crowded at the start. In fairness I should probably have started further forward but it was difficult to judge and also difficult to move forward without annoying people when you’re lining up pre-race. This caused the first mile to be quite tricky as Will and I spent a lot of time dodging through people and weaving in and out.
Will had a similar sub-1:40 goal so we naturally stuck together aiming for 7.30min/mile pace. Straight away it became clear this wasn’t going to happen because of the crowds and because of the headwind that was directly against us at this point. I didn’t worry too much though as I knew we were coming back the other way in a bit so it would even out. Plus there’s always time in a half to gain back time later on.
On the second mile we headed back and though we couldn’t feel the wind behind us (isn’t that always the way?) it was far easier to run than it had been. I had some initial worries of not being able to maintain the set pace with Will and wondering if I should just run an easy run. But as we got to the third mile I felt myself getting into things and my pace naturally quickened. I pulled slowly away from Will and hoped he didn’t mind but I knew I just had to go with the good feelings I had. It didn’t feel like I was exerting too much effort so just went with it. When the wind wasn’t against me I was running comfortably around 7.15s and then when it was behind me closer to 7s. I just went with it as I knew the wind would be against me soon (and my pace would be closer to 8 minutes). I decided to maintain the same effort and ignored my watch.
Previously I’d have dreaded a race that wouldn’t allow music, but now I actually find I quite enjoy it. I feel claustrophobic and a bit alone with headphones on – shut out from the external things of the race. I definitely think I need music when I do short sharp intervals on my own or if I really want to push a 5k but for longer stuff I think I do better listening to things around me and also my body. How funny how things have changed.
I concentrated on overtaking people in front of me, not quickly but slowly gaining on them. The course runs along the Jurassic Coastline, which is gives it fantastic beautiful views of the sea, the cliffs and the historic harbour. As there are a couple of out-and-back areas it helped break it into different segments. Though good mentally it was hard because at times the wind was fully against you, and then to the side and rarely behind you as you headed along the coastline to Portland. Though I knew there would be a blissful time at the end where the wind would be behind us as we made our way back after we got to Portland Castle.
At around seven miles, before the turnaround, I spotted the lead runners heading back. This gave me a boost as I realised we’d be heading back again and then it kind of feels like you’re almost done. There was a huge car traffic queue building up (the race was mostly on road and the major roads had been closed) and all the cars were suddenly honking and some drivers were even getting out and yelling at the marshals. It was quite amusing but obviously not fun for the marshals.
Finally after reaching the turnaround bit (in a not-so scenic random car park around a cone) we headed back, this time along some off-road section. This was tough going. The wind wasn’t so much fully against us but side-ways on us and the path was pebbly and tricky. It seemed to go on forever.
I’d been sort of running with a friend of one of the guys from the club, Adam, who was training for London. He said he was aiming for around 1:35 so at the beginning I knew to not go with him – I wasn’t in that sort of shape! But I caught him up around 5-6 miles – apparently his knee had been giving him a bit of grief earlier on but was now OK. He kept encouraging me on and as grateful as I was for that I just wanted to focus on my own race. I didn’t want to make conversation (I know this sounds quite rude); I just wanted to zone out. He drifted ahead for a bit and I zoned out again though it was nice to keep him in my vision.
Mile 11 was one of the worst miles. It was fully against the wind and we went through a section that felt like a wind tunnel. I wondered if I was just slowing and had gone too fast at the start but I kept pace with everyone else so knew it was the wind. At this point I knew I could hit a better time than expected if I could keep going at sub-8 minutes for the last few miles.
The last mile was absolute bliss. We swung back through Weymouth town centre and the wind was right on our backs. It felt glorious. I started overtaking people, Adam included, and got into the zone. The finish line is right on the seafront but the wind was behind so I was flying.
I finished in 1:36:35, 9th female, 108th overall (out of 939). Not a PB (just over two minutes from it) but my fastest half in a while and my third fastest half ever. For it being windy I’ll take that! I was never going to PB (I just know what shape I’m in) but aiming for sub 1:40 and getting that made my day!
At the finish line I collected my medal and they had an array of biscuits, sweets and chocolate, as well as protein bars and a whey protein drink. The water had run out and people were getting a bit annoyed as no one really wanted the luminous chalky liquid… I quickly headed to the bag drop and grabbed my bag before heading back and cheering on Will as he finished and snapping a great action shot photo.
Apparently his previous injury had flared up and he decided to take it a bit slower (sensible) so didn’t quite hit his target. He grabbed his bag and we waited for Mike. Mike was aiming for marathon pace which he achieved with flying colours (and more as I think he went faster than he expected!). So two out of three…finger’s crossed Will’s injury heals quickly as he has the Brighton marathon ahead (as does Mike).
And then we quickly became cold again so walked back to the car. I was glad to have brought a huge bottle of nuun water with me as I never did get any water at the end.
The car journey home was a bit longer on the way back due to the time but we were chuffed to have got a half marathon done and dusted before 10.30am. Normally halves are a bit later and with journey time you often find the day has run away by the time you get home. By this point however I was starving. I hadn’t needed my gel during the race and I hadn’t eaten since the ribs the night before (though to be fair, that was a HUGE meal). As soon as I got home I had the biggest lunch before even considering showering or sorting my stuff out. I had been banking on a post-race banana but sadly there weren’t any. I didn’t want to refuel on sugary crap so I hadn’t had anything at the end. But my lunch fully made up for it!
The medal is pretty cool and we were given a buff as well. I have so many buffs now! I definitely recommend the Weymouth Half as it was well-organised, the marshals were all really helpful, friendly and cheered you on and it was mostly flat (there are a couple of short sharp inclines though) and despite the wind I enjoyed it.
What do you like to be seen offered at the end of a race food-wise?
Do you wear buffs?
Do you like to run with other people during a hard race?
So the final part of the Marathon Talk Run Camp weekend recap is basically the race recap of the Heartbreaker Half Marathon that took place on the Sunday.
{Catch up with PART 1 and PART 2 of the MT Run Camp}
Not everyone at the Run Camp was doing the half but most people did. The others that didn’t did an 8 mile or 16 mile run with Tom.
The handy thing about the race was that the race HQ and the start line was at Sandy Balls so it was really easy to get to in the morning, obviously, as that’s where the Run Camp was based. I knew the course was going to be tough and I had no ambitions to get a good time so I wanted to add some miles on beforehand to make it into a good marathon training long run instead. Happily some of my new (and old) fellow Marathon Talkers had similar plans so a small group of us planned to meet up at 8.45am to run five miles. The race started at 10am so it was more than enough time.
My fellow lodger, Hannah, and I headed down to meet Matt and another guy, Aidan.
Thanks to Hannah for the photo!
We planned a fairly easy pace and a 2.5 mile out and back to keep things very simple so we wouldn’t be at risk of getting lost and missing the race.
We asked a passing dog walker to take our photo before starting so we could get a “Sandy Balls” photo. Annoyingly he missed the “Balls” off! Ah well.
The route was actually quite tough as it was rather undulating but it was just a precursor of what was to come really.
We saw lots of marshals heading out to their positions as we were very close to the actual race route and we waved and smiled. A walker wished us good luck for the race as Hannah and me were wearing our bib already to save faffing time later. Then we got back in time to have a quick pre-race pee and listen to the brief. I also spotted a few of my running club friends as well which was nice. It’s a fairly local race so I wasn’t surprised to see them (one of them had previously told me he was doing it but I was just an idiot and had forgotten).
Then we walked down to the start. “Down” being the operative word here. The race begins at the bottom of a rather steep hill. An actual hill, not an incline or undulation. If I’d have come across this hill at any other point during the race I would have walked it!
My friend Matt and me decided to run together which was nice as without any time goals it can be a bit boring just plodding out miles. Plus we’d both done the first five miles together so we were both fatigued to begin with. We tried to pretend the five miles hadn’t happened. Annoyingly my ankle chip thing had come undone and so I had to stop to sort it out mid hill. I told Matt to go on and this was pretty much the theme of the race!
After the awful hill we were then on to a very gentle incline along the road for about a mile and then onto the track in the New Forest proper. The ground was easy underfoot and the scenery was beautiful.
The course is a sort of T shape where you run down the stem of the T, where the aid station is based (water or a carb-based drink on offer), and then it’s a left turn to head down an out back of three-ish miles. There was an almighty downhill and then some sharp uphills before turning around and heading back…to that almighty uphill.
Matt is further along in his marathon training and in general I think he’s slightly faster than me so he was springing up the hills whereas I was struggling. I walked without shame when it got too tough, but I always caught him up again – though it did require me to burst some speed out.
Mid-race photo of Matt on the downhill
As we got going along the next bit of the T out-and-back we were going along quite nicely, chatting away. The good thing about these out-and-backs were that we could see so many other people either going out or coming back. We waved and cheered other Marathon Talkers and people we knew, which was great. We saw Martin Yelling zooming along several times too. I waved and shouted to my running club friend, Mark, but he just looked daggers at me and grunted.
“Must be having a hard time, I guess”, I said to Matt. Then we got to the turnaround and began our final way back (after just being passed by Steve Way heading back on the last stretch of the marathon – the marathon began an hour earlier and was twice the course). As we turned around the wind hit us in full force. Jesus! Suddenly we were faced with a ridiculous wind and some nasty uphills. No wonder Mark reacted like he did when I cheerily greeted him. I would have been the same! Matt broke away from me again on the hills and I vowed to catch him up again on the flat – which I did (though I can’t be certain he didn’t just slow down for me).
Then finally we turned again to head back to Sandy Balls. Thank god, we were now out of the wind. The good thing about the course was that you could split it into segments psychologically I found this easier than one loop or point-to-point (ahh Boston is a point-to-point…).
We just had one final nasty long slow incline to power up. Before that we had a nice downhill so I sprinted down it to put some distance between Matt and me so that when I inevitably slowed down on the hill the distance between us both wouldn’t be so huge and my catch-up wouldn’t be so hard.
The hill was relentless but we powered up and Matt, once again, got ahead of me.
Matt on the left (Photo credit: Gary Derwent)
But on the final mile back we were on a gentle downhill with the wind behind us. I did my fastest mile and felt completely in the zone of strong running. I caught Matt up and we pushed on to the end. Whew!
At the finish line we received our medals and a free cup of soup and bread roll (though I somehow missed the roll as I was talking too much). What a great way to finish a race! My time was 1:44:37, 58th overall, 10th lady and 6th in my age category. 18 miles in total. Not a bad training run!
The race was fantastic but it was really hard work. The hills and wind… it was tough, tough, tough! Especially with five miles to begin with. But the medal is great – with the race and date engraved on the back.
I rushed back to get showered and sorted and then met the MT crew back in the usual events room for a carvery lunch. Before the lunch we had another talk, this time from Andy Lane who’s another Marathon Talk podcast interviewee (it also gave people a bit more time to finish and shower before lunch). Andy Lane is a psychology professor and does a lot of research into emotion regulation in sport. I was a bit zoned out at this point and very hungry. I hadn’t had breakfast or anything during the run, only the small cup of soup and it was now heading towards 1pm. My concentration levels were a bit blurred. What I did hear was interesting though.
He talked about how as runners we need to have more of cyclist mentality where not every training session needs to be goal-driven and pressured. We should have more “cake rides”. Cyclists are renowned for just going out and cycling a fair distance but then stopping and enjoying some cake and social time. This rarely happens with running (OK logistically and stomach-wise it’s obviously tough, but we rarely have a run where it’s just about catching up with people and not focusing on the actual run). He said that goals don’t always need to be time-driven and hard. They can be things like: take some photos during this run or simply enjoy the outside. parkrun is a great example of this – it’s not all about your finishing time.
Then it was finally time to eat. It was a carvery so we had to go up and serve ourselves. Our table was about sixth to go up and I was getting increasingly hungry. Thankfully chatting distracted me so I wouldn’t turn into more of a monster.
When we got up there I piled my plate high with vegetables, potatoes, gravy, and what I thought were stuffing balls, and then roast beef was placed on top from the chef. I tried not to wolf this down at breakneck speed… Turns out the ‘stuffing balls’ were actually vegetarian falafels. An interesting addition to the roast dinner! It was so lovely sat there eating this delicious meal amongst running friends and discussing the half marathon and running in general. I was very content.
This is actually from the Saturday evening but it’s mostly of the same people (Photo credit: Gary Derwent)
Then we went up for seconds The chef gladly gave me more meat (there was loads!) and I was in my happy place. Until I was in my very full uncomfortable place (arguably this is also my happy place…).
I plucked up the courage to go up to Martin and Tom, similar to the last Run Camp, and asked them for a cheeky photo. I told them I’d been there two years ago and showed them the older photo. They found it quite amusing.
Martin, me, Tom and Toms daughter, Rosie
They’re so friendly and lovely! I really hope I can make next year’s running camp. They’re just fantastic at organising the camp. It’s so well put together.
Then to finish Martin explained his epic running he’s got planned: running the South West Coast path! Twenty-one days of running 630 miles! Ouch! On the website you can sign up to join different stages or parts of the run with him which is quite cool. I might think about doing that – maybe! And not an entire stage!
And then that was it! I headed home with a lovely warm fluffy feeling in my stomach, and not just from all the food Anyway, the Marathon Talk Run Camp was EPIC, amazing, so much fun and just fantastic. I learnt a lot, met some truly brilliant people and did some really enjoyable running. Fully recommend it to anyone interested in running: whether a veteran marathoner or a newbie runner just doing 5ks. It’s so inclusive and friendly. No one is left behind or made to feel like they’re not good enough.
Would you be interested in a training camp?
Are you better at running up or down hills?
What kind of course do you prefer – an out and back, a loop, laps, point-to-point, etc.?
There’s nothing quite as good as using a race as a training run, especially for a long run. You’re running with others, there’s a set course so you don’t need to worry about where to go, it’s catered and you get a medal.
With three weeks until Bournemouth a few of us decided to sign up to the Bath Two Tunnels Railway race series. One of my friends wanted to race it because he’s in great shape and PB’d in a training run for his current half marathon time but wanted to see if he could make it ‘official’. His pace was around my long run speed and I didn’t feel up to racing the half so decided to run with him and try to help him.
Another one of my friends, Kate, decided to race the 10k and a few more from the club were doing the half and one the marathon (her first marathon!). Kate, Mike and me travelled down to Bath on the day which meant me being picked up at 6.30am on the Sunday (ouch). It would take about 2 hours to get there and Kate’s race started an hour before ours. I had a banana bread Trek bar and an Americano for pre-race fuel to keep things simple and we arrived at the park and ride in good time. It was all very smooth and easy to get to, though it didn’t feel like we went that far on the park and ride bus to be honest!
We met up with the other club mates and then milled around on the large grassy expanse. Relish Running are the race organisers and I’ve done quite a few races with them now (Cheddar Gorge being one of them). I would say that while they do put on good races, there are some rough edges…Their website isn’t that clear for finding information out and you don’t find out crucial race information (like start times) until much closer to the time. We had more emails about them needing marshals than the race itself. That said, the races are always very scenic and personal-feeling because they’re quite small.
The race area for the short colour race
There were several races going on and different waves and start times which was a bit confusing! We got to cheer off the marathon-runner, Lisa-Lou, and then cheer off Kate.
Then we had just less than an hour to hang about…we watched some very strange warm-up routine going on while which was somewhat amusing.
Just as Kate finished (she came second female and PB’d – whoop whoop!) we got ready to start.
The start was on grass which was a bit annoying. Anyway we headed off at a comfortable pace. Straight away it was clear this wasn’t going to be an easy race for me, or an easy PB-achieving race for Mike. It seemed to go uphill straight away and just felt tough from the outset.
We got to the first tunnel fairly quickly. It was about 400m long. It was nice and cool inside and fairly dark. We were slightly behind our target pace but due to the uphills at the beginning we weren’t stressing about it because we believed we could pick it up later.
The next tunnel came around quickly afterwards. It was about a mile long, very dark (with cat’s eye lights), narrow and very chilly. It was novel at first but then it got to be a bit wearing. It felt like you were on a treadmill as there was nothing really to look at. As none of the roads were closed quite a few cyclists had to navigate past us (runners going both ways as a 10k wave were coming back) which made things a bit tricky. There was a radio playing classical music which was nice and atmospheric so that’s something.
The tunnels, as expected, buggered up our Garmins. My watch was completely out from the mile markers so I just used the stopwatch and try and do the maths as we ran. The mile markers though seemed to be out as well. We got to five miles far too soon (it would have been close to my PB, which we definitely weren’t!) and this meant we were left running blind, just going on feel.
Race selfie required
The race had been advertised as fast and flat but it clearly wasn’t either. There were some nasty steep inclines, steep steps to navigate down and twisty turns. I found the course quite challenging and I know Mike was struggling too. I think we were both tired from marathon mileage and a bit misled by what we thought would be a PB-potential course. As we chugged up a really steep hill I asked a marshal (or gasped), “I thought this was supposed to be flat?” and he laughed and replied with an evil grin “Yes, compared to our other races”…having run a few of their other races I could agree. But they shouldn’t mislead people by saying it’s flat!
The course was beautifully scenic though, as you can expect with running in the rural parts of Bath. We ran a very long stretch down a canal and it was lovely. Though again we were constantly moving out of the way for cyclists, and some who were rather impatient and I’m sure expected us to jump in the canal to move out of the way!
Our pace had dropped and Mike decided that a PB was never going to happen. Mentally, physically and the course just went against us. I felt fatigued as well despite the pace being “easy”. So we settled in to a slightly more comfortable pace (though we really had no idea how well or badly we were doing with our watches being funny) and I yabbered away about fluff and nonsense to keep Mike’s mind off the race. It’s tough pacing someone in a race because you don’t know how much to talk and how much to push.
At least I could take lots of photos and selfies 😉
And also finding conversations that didn’t require much from the other person so they could just listen. I’m sure I bored Mike to tears about my house moving problems! 😉
In true Relish Running style, the feed stations were very good. Lots of sweet and savoury options and electrolytes, flat Coke/lemonade and plain water. And gluten-free options! The marshals were very helpful and friendly as well.
As we got closer to the finish, with two miles to go, Mike started struggling more. I tried to encourage him without annoying him. We had a moment of respite at a set of traffic lights that we had to push the button and wait until it was red to go (yes, this is a legitimate part of the route and you can get disqualified for not waiting for the light). It was warm and the undulations still kept going. Right to the end (through a residential area) there just seemed to be incline after incline.
The final straight before the grass finish (thank you Kate for the photo!)
We finally finished and both agreed it was a tough race and not one we’d do again. The course was pretty but there was a lot of running along canals which got a bit tiresome, and the hills we just weren’t prepared for. And without knowing your pace and miles it made it mentally quite tricky. I don’t blame Mike at all for giving up on his PB-attempt. I absolutely couldn’t have got a PB on that course! Especially not at the moment.
My time was 1:56:11 (Mike was just after me) which I’m a little disappointed with I must say considering we were aiming for 1:45-48. But these things happen. The race organisers also said afterwards that they measured the course as 13.4 miles. We got some good miles in and we came out uninjured so that is a good race result three out from a marathon!
Afterwards Kate, Mike and I headed back to the park and ride bus and then drove to find something to eat. We found a lovely pub, called the Red Lion, where the menu was amazing and we all found a few things we could easily have had. I went for the butcher’s board which had chicken wings, pulled pork, chorizo, chicken liver pate, sour cream, chutney and bread.
It was fantastic! So, so good. Kate had the pulled pork pizza and that looked amazing too. The perfect end to a rather tough training run!
Do you like to know a race elevation profile before running it? If I’m not bothered about times (for me or pacing someone) then I don’t mind.
Do you prefer a city or a rural race?
What do you like to find on a feed station in a race?
Elaine did well though, a worthy contender.
The chef gladly gave me more meat (there was loads!) and I was in my happy place. Until I was in my very full uncomfortable place 
(arguably this is also my happy place…).
