Sport in the Port 10k

Just 3 weeks after Edinburgh Marathon I decided to run in a local 10k race!  So with 1 week of no running followed by 2 weeks of short steady runs I line up to start the Sport in the Port 10k!  A hot and humid morning but an enjoyable race.  I came 2nd just 17s behind the 1st lady.  I was pleased with how I ran and how my legs felt.  I just had no change of pace.  I couldn't lift the pace to stay with her or change gear at the end in an attempt to catch her.  I did feel like I could go on for several more miles at this pace though!  A sub 36 min effort (35.47) which isn't bad! 

I'm quite pleased as I really didn't know what state my legs would be in.  I had hoped to nip under 36 mins but in all honesty didn't really expect to!  Looking at the results later I hadn't realised that I was 6th overall so only beaten by 4 men!  

Edinburgh Marathon

Leading up to the race lots of people commented at how much more relaxed I seemed compared to how I was before London!  I had a time of between 2hr 40 and 2hr 42 in mind which was several minutes slower than I was aiming for in London but definitely well within me.  If things were going amazing on the day and I was on for 2hr 40 with 5k to go then if I had anything left the aim was to try and get under 2hr 40.  

Unfortunately the weather was awful!  Torrential rain before the race started and gale force winds!  

I had an elite start and was in the front pen!  I felt quite special!  To start with I ran with a group of 7 including Vince from my club with a similar time in mind and a French girl.  My km splits were looking good and I was staying sheltered from the wind.  Then they started picking up the pace and I had a decision to make.  To stay with them and risk running too fast too soon and maybe dying in the last 10k or to ease up.  Looking behind me there were just 1 or 2 runners dotted behind me and no groups.  After around 10k I decided that it would be suicidal to stay with them and let them go.  I now had to run on my own and into the wind.  

I was currently in 4th place and 1st Brit and I just needed to hold this position.  I started to lose my head around 15 miles as my km splits were way out and I let it get to me.  Another British girl went past me and this played on my mind too.  My calf (which has been niggling for a few weeks) was also playing on my mind and by now it was feeling tight (was probably slightly in my head though).  I stopped to stretch and wasted about 45s during which time about 5 guys gradually went past me.  I then got going again and just kept telling myself to get to 20 miles.  

Edinburgh is an out and back course with more out than back and I saw Vince still with the group with the French girl coming back.  It took me about 2 minutes to get to the turn around so they were now about 4 minutes ahead of me.  Once I'd gone past the turn point and then gone through a country park estate I started getting back into my running - probably helped by the wind now being with me.  When I got to the magic 20 miles I started to really pick it up.  My turnover was much better and I felt like I was running well.  Several spectators were shouting out how strong I was looking which really helped spur me on.  I now started picking off lots of men. 

At 2 miles to go I then saw the the other British girl was in my sights and I was catching her quite quickly.  By now all I was thinking was that I wanted to be the first British girl and play it safe.  My first thoughts were to catch up to her and sit a few metres behind then out kick her in the last 400m but as I was catching her I then saw Vince.  I couldn't believe it !  I ran past Vince with a 1 mile to go and realised I was running too well so went past the other girl like I meant it and kept going until the finish!  

My time was a disappointing 2hr 48 but all things considered with the weather it wasn't going to be a pb day.  In the end the French girl was only just over a minute ahead of me.  It turns out that she beat me in La Rochelle 2 years ago by 6 mins!  The first 3 girls were all between 9 and 10 mins outside of their pbs so that says something!

As soon as I crossed the line I was nabbed by drug testing!  My first ever drug test - I feel like a real elite now!

Thanks to the organisors of Edniburgh marathon for my accommodation, race entry and for the support in the weeks leading up to the race.  It was a great event and one I hope to do again in the future.

On Reflection!

A few days of thinking I don't ever want to do a marathon again and then I conclude that actually I do and I want to do one now!  I have now managed to get an elite entry for the Edinburgh Marathon on 25th May!  

So back to training!

London Marathon

I am my own worst enemy at times!  Everything in training has gone so well and I've coped with putting a big block of training in then to let things get to me in the weeks leading into the race.  

All my life of running and racing I have suffered very badly with nerves and putting pressure on myself.  To a large part I have managed to almost get over this but every so often it rears its ugly head.  In the few weeks leading into London I got myself worked up with a time I wanted to aim for.  It was in my capabilities but at the very top end and could only happen on a good day when everything went right and I had the race of my life!  Its good to have these aims but I think I spent too much of my days playing it over in my head. 

As a result I was slightly less fresh in the final week of easy training.  Race day was hot and I kind of thought to myself its unlikely to be a day for an amazing time but felt I could deal with this.  I never really felt as good during the race this time as I did last year.  Last year up until the point my foot crippled me at 17 miles (ended up with a stress fracture) I actually felt so good and comfortable.  This time it felt like a slog.  By 18 I was feeling light headed and started being sick.  I tried to keep going  but by the time I got to 20 I just couldn't.  

Is it London that I'm jinxed with?  Is it the pressure I put on myself?  Either way I'm extremely disappointed in myself.  I know I'm better than this.  

Wilmslow Half Marathon

It was the Wilmslow Half Marathon at the weekend and I've been looking forward to this race.  I finished 2nd last year taking off 1min 30 from my pb.  I was in better shape this year too and especially after pbing at the Trafford 10k I was hopeful of a good time.

I woke up on the morning of the race with a bad tummy but put it down to race nerves.  I then didn't feel too great before the race but decided it was better to run and see how I feel than to not try.  

For the first couple of miles I felt good.  I was running with Julie (who won last year) but decided to let her go as although my legs felt good I didn't want to start off too fast and slow down in the second half.  Around 8 miles my stomach started cramping and although I felt good in my legs it was a big distraction.  In the end I finished 3rd in 77.06 and just 3s outside of my pb.  Although I was initially disappointed with my run, to run just outside my pb on a day when I wasn't feeling well is quite pleasing.  

I'm pretty sure its what I had for lunch the day before that didn't agree with me.  I kind of knew at the time so I'm a bit annoyed at myself for eating so badly the day before a race.  Oh well, at least it happened here and there's no way I will be so stupid for London in a few weeks!

Trafford 10k

I ran in the Trafford 10k at the weekend just a week after returning from warm weather training.  A very pleasing result - 8th (in such a good standard field) and 24s off my pb.  Very happy to do this in the middle of a marathon build.  It was hard work though - I felt really out of my comfort zone (which is always a good thing to do).  I'm sure 10ks never used to feel that hard from the start.  I ran even splits too so it wasn't like I went off too fast.

I'm now looking forward to the Wilmslow Half Marathon and then London Marathon!

Final Week in the Sun

In my last week of training out here in Spain.  I've had a really good 3 weeks of hard and consistent training and now in week 4 I'm taking it slightly easier to let the hard work take effect.  Dan has arrived yesterday so some light training with a bit of sightseeing!  

A special thanks to Dave and Cathy (my coach and his wife) who have been out here with me and put up with me for the 4 weeks!  They have been really good on insisting that they cook most of the time which is fine by me especially as Dave is an amazing cook and could almost be a professional chef if he wanted to have a change of career!

I've really enjoyed the running out here - lots of dirt track/gravelly trails, a few hills if you want them and even a 400m running track!  That was a surprise - just like an old school cinder track and great for my shorter effort sessions. 

Trafford 10k to look forward to on my return.  I expect to get my arse kicked here as I've seen there's quite a few fast girls entered and with my marathon legs I'm not sure I will have the speed but it will be good all the same.