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Just back from some "hot" weather training in Lanzarote. A few months ago I decided to book a holiday to Lanzarote. My mum and sister were already going and had booked a villa so I decided to tag along with them. I thought it would be a great opportunity to do some warm weather training just as our summer is coming to an end.
Firstly, a good result before I went. I came 1st lady and 3rd overall (with the 1st man only being 5s quicker than me) at the Delamere Park run. Then a few days later and I'm sunning myself in between run sessions.
It was so hot out there and when I got back I found out that the Canary Islands had had a heatwave and it was significantly hotter than normal. Running there was quite hard going. I love running in warm weather but this was just a few degrees too hot. My effort sessions were a lot slower than normal and my long runs were quite slow, but I think the important thing was to get the training in and not worry about the times as long as the same perceived effort was there.
The day after I got back I had a marathon paced run to do and i was flying so I think the training and conditions paid off.
I also had a great time being with my mum, sis and nephew. I don't get to see them that often so its great to spend a week away with them
Sunday was my first race back - the English Half Marathon in Warrington. I had done this last year and won it so I felt a bit of pressure as I really wanted to win again but then not really knowing how fit I am with coming back from the injury and having no race sharpness. Last year it was very close between me and another girl and I half hoped she would be in it again.
On the day I was so nervous. I had to go to the race on my own as Dan was working. I relaxed slightly when I was on the line and saw 2 club friends. I also looked around and couldn't see any girls who might provide competition.
The course is not fast - its undulating/hilly for the first half then twisty on the way back. At mile 3 it drags up for a quite a while. Mark from my club went off quite fast but by about 4 miles I caught him up. We ran together in a group of other guys for quite a while. I think I dropped him around 9 or 10 miles but wasn't too sure. Coming towards the finish with about 500m to go I had a look behind me to see if he was catching me. He wasn't there but another guy was! As you approach the finish you have a right hand sharp turn then its 50m to the finish line. Well I was enjoying my finish (as I was in 1st position) and enjoying the cheering as there was a really good crowd. As I turned the final corner and saw the finish line I could see they had put out a winners finishing tape for me. This guy came sprinting past me and took the tape! I was a bit gutted. I'm sure the finish marshals and spectators who saw this must have thought he was an idiot! I suppose I should have sprinted too!
I was glad to finally be back racing. My time wasn't fast and I felt a bit sluggish but overall I was really pleased.
