Today, Sunday 23rd March 2014 I ran in The Lancaster and Morecambe Sport Relief 6 mile run. The run was due to start at 10.45am with a warm-up at 10.30am. When I woke up this morning I had somehow developed a heavy cold overnight and I felt lousy. I lay in bed contemplating whether I was actually going to bother getting up and going but then convinced myself I might as well as it was just a fun run with no pressure! I had a bowl of porridge and coffee and was soon feeling a little brighter - and the sun was shining! We left our home in Kendal at around 9:30am for the 30 mile journey to Salt Ayre Leisure Centre which is situated half way between Lancaster and Morecambe where the race HQ was situated. Traffic flowed nicely and we got parked really easily in the leisure centre car park arriving just after 10am for the 10.30am warm-up!
Although I already had my race number I still needed to register to say I had turned up! After registering and visiting the loo I took residency in the track club house to try and keep warm! Although it was a lovely sunny morning it was still incredibly cold and windy!
Thankfully I had dressed in long running pants, a long sleeved base layer with a vest on top and gloves! Despite it being a National charity event I was amazed at how few runners it had attracted despite it only being £3 to enter! At 10:30am prompt we were all summoned to a central point where a man fancying himself as Mr Motivator took us through a warm-up and stretch routine. There were 3 runs taking place at the same time - a 1 mile, a 3 mile and a 6 mile run basically all running the same route just a different number of times! The 1 mile group ran one and a bit times around a set course where as we ran 7 and a bit times round the same course! I was dismayed when I discovered this was actually a lap run as I usually detest this sort of thing. The run advert said "Take in the stunning views of the River Lune and the Historic City of Lancaster" so I wrongly assumed it would be a fairly interesting route! Instead it was laps of a cycle track which gave us a 100m stretch along the river with the city in the background! However, since I was there I thought I might as well make the most out of a bad situation and decided to try and use the laps to regulate my pace and see how much I could push myself for future 10K runs without expiring! Once we had warmed up the 1 mile group were led off to the start point, then the 3 mile group then finally the 6 mile group. Despite it being poorly attended there was still a fair amount of spectators giving support. We were soon on our way and 7 laps loomed large! However, once I got going and I got my head round doing laps I thoroughly enjoyed the run and liked the no pressure aspect that the "serious" races have!
During the first couple of miles there was lots of little toddlers and children taking part in the 1 mile event which made me smile to see them having fun running and also a fair few wheelchair participants who were being pushed by runners! Hats off to the runners I wouldn't fancy running with a wheelchair for 6 miles! I completed the first mile in an 8:11 minute mile and vowed to try and maintain this pace throughout if possible. The 2nd mile was slightly slower at 8:15, then 8:22, 8:23, 8:28 and the last mile was also 8:28 giving me a finish time for the 6 miles of 49 minutes 13 seconds working out as an average 8:20 minute mile pace! I was disappointed that this wasn't in fact a 10K race as I would have got a PB by a couple minutes at around 51:46! Anyhow, as this was my first 6 mile race I still got a PB! I was still chuffed to bits with my achievement and was one of the first of the 6 milers to finish!
On finishing I got a bottle of water and 2 medals! One for myself and one for my running buddy Haddie! All in all a really enjoyable experience and it goes to show just relaxing and running as your body dictates really works! I would never have dared push like I did today in a "proper" race in case I couldn't finish but today I didn't feel it mattered if that happened! Thankfully it didn't happen!
On Sunday the 16th February 2014 I ran in the Barcelona Half Marathon and had an absolutely fantastic experience! I was travelling with my friend Sue and straight after work on Friday evening we headed to the Premier Inn at Liverpool Airport for an overnight stay before our early morning flight! We flew with Easy jet and left Liverpool Airport at 7.10am arriving into Barcelona at 10.25am local time. Due to a tad too much wine the night before we both slept for the entire flight and were feeling slightly more refreshed on arrival. We got the airport bus into the city centre and managed to locate our hotel relatively easily. After checking in we went off to the Expo Centre to collect our race numbers, T Shirts and timing chips! We got a goody bag filled mainly with leaflets and an energy gel but we also got 3 bottles of coconut water!
All this was totally stress free and off we then went to investigate where the start and finish of the race was before doing some sight-seeing.
On Saturday we resisted the Sangria (actually we resisted all alcohol) carbed up with Pasta and Pizza and had an early night! The day of the race soon dawned, and I had had a surprisingly good night sleep despite the nerves! We had taken instant porridge pots with us for breakfast which due to nerves didn't go down too well. We left the hotel at around 7.30am and travelled the 15 minutes on the underground to the start line.
Thankfully the weather forecast was wrong! We had been promised heavy rain and we were delighted to see blue skies instead!
We queued up for the portaloos for our nervous wee. Surprisingly there were only 8 loo's for 15,000 runners so we had a bit of a wait! We went straight from this queue to another to drop our bags off and then it was time to head to the pens at the start line. We arrived in the pen at around 8.35am for the 8.45am start! The atmosphere was fantastic! We were at the very front of our pen and nervously waited for the faster zones to set off! Whilst we were waiting they played the song "Barcelona" by Freddie Mercury which sent shivers of anticipation through me! After the 4 faster zones had set off it was our turn! They removed the security ribbon and walked us down to the start. Being at the front of the pen made me feel like an Olympic athlete with all the crowds clapping and cheering us on! Sue and I had agreed to run together so I was very anxious about losing her in all the hustle and bustle as we crossed the starting line. I was determined to get a PB at this race and Sue was determined to help me achieve this dream! Sue is a faster runner than me and was happy to pace me. Thankfully I kept her in my sight until it all calmed down, everyone spaced out and then I was able to run alongside her. I was slightly concerned that I would go out to hard and then crash but I was willing to risk it to see how far I could push myself! I kept the thought of my "I run 4" buddy Haddie encouraging me firmly in my mind! I could do this for her as she works so hard on a daily basis! I was wearing my Garmin watch but had promised Sue I would not to look at it during the race as this always affects me mentally! When I see a fast pace on my watch I instantly panic and think "OMG I can't run at this pace" suddenly feel tired and slow down!
I was putting all my faith in Sue to get me over the finish line in a sub 1.57.54 minute time! Initially I found it difficult not to have a little peek but after about 4 miles I really didn't want to know what pace I was doing! This was my 10th Half Marathon but it was my first one abroad and my first one marked out in kilometres instead of miles. This seemed to make the distance go quicker as we seem to very quickly come across the next kilometre marker point! Sue kept checking my well-being with the words "Comfortable or uncomfortable?" when I answered "comfortable" she replied "we can go faster then!". There was a water and energy drinks station at 5k where we slowed to collect a bottle of water. By the time we passed the 10K timing mat the sun had come out and the day was starting to warm up. There was lots of encouragement from the crowds at this point too and another water station. I took this opportunity to consume an energy gel and prayed this extra fuel would get me through to the finish! We had been told by several people that the first half of the race was hilly so I said to Sue "have we done the hills now?" and she replied "I think so!" As far as we were concerned it had been relatively flat! That's one advantage of living in a hilly area - very few places have hills like us! Our pace for the first 6 miles went like this: 8:20, 8:26, 8:22, 8:42, 8:04, 8:37! Thankfully I was blissfully unaware of doing a 8:04 minute mile as this might have been enough to finish me off! I was impressed with how all the runners must have predicted correct finishing times as we didn't have the usual dodge people who are walking problem! The pace for the next 3 miles went like this: 9:05, 8:55, 9:00 minute miles. Anyhow all was going well up til this point and I was still keeping alongside Sue when she announced that she was desperate for the loo. My initial thoughts were "Don't leave me" as she said she was going speed up to go to the loo's at the 15K point and made me promise not to slow down and she would catch me back up! I waved her off as she disappeared into the distance leaving me alone! At this point I could have looked at my Garmin as no one would know, but by now I was too scared to look! I passed the loo's keeping an eye out for Sue but couldn't see her. She had told me to keep to the right hand side so she could find me but unfortunately that was the end of us running together! My first mile alone was my slowest! I did a 9:14 min mile pace but had a severe word with myself when I realised I was slowing! I remained optimistic that Sue would reappear and kept my eyes peeled in case she tried to sneak past me! Whilst running along the seafront the sun became really hot and I started to feel like I was overheating! I tried to stay focused and keep the pace up and not panic! I thought of Haddie and smiled to myself at the thought of her big smile! I managed mile 11 in 8:56, mile 12 in 9:05 and mile 13 in 9:00. Heading towards the final straight I was very confused! There was lots of blow-up "arches" going over the road in the distance but which one was the finish?! The one I thought was the finish turned out to be the 20K marker point which meant I still had 1K to go! By now the crowds were getting denser and the cheering was getting louder so I tried to make it look easy as I "sprinted" to the finish! I heard the "Beep" of the final timing mat and at last I got to look at my Garmin! I could have cried when I saw 1:55:27 - had done it! I passed through the finish collected a bottle of water and a banana and was presented with my medal! I loved the way it was actually hung round my neck rather than just given to me in a bag! I felt very honoured and proud!
I decided this was the best place to try and find Sue so hung around and about 45 seconds later we were reunited! Big hugs ensued when she realised I hadn't blown it on my own and I had achieved my goal! However ... If she had a better bladder what would I have got?!!! One bonus to her having a weak bladder - I BEAT HER!!!
We were very good at this point and did some stretches before heading to collect our bags and then went for a free massage! I had a lovely although ever so slightly painful leg massage from a nice looking young Spaniard! Afterwards we headed back to the hotel showered and got dressed up before hitting the town at 3pm for food and Sangri ... and I will leave the story there!!! The official results came through and had me 3 seconds faster than my Garmin at 1:55:24!
All in all a fantastic City, fantastic people, a fantastic experience, and a fantastic race!! You can see the route and my Garmin stats here. This was my 3rd race for Haddie and my second PB! She must have a very positive effect on my running! Thank you Haddie for supporting me every step of the way!
Today, Saturday 7th June 2014 I ran in The Grasmere Gallop 10K trail race. The forecast for today was horrendous with heavy rain and thunderstorms predicted. When I woke up at 7:30am I lay in bed straining my ears for the sound of rain pelting the window! Thankfully, all was blissfully quiet so I got up and dared to peek out! Relief flooded my body when I was greeted by a bright sunnyish morning. I got dressed in my running gear, ate my porridge and had a coffee before setting off on the 17 mile journey from my home town of Kendal to Grasmere.
I picked my friend Julia up at 9.15am, who was running the longer 17K route. We had set off early expecting to hit traffic delays on the usually congested Lake District roads! Surprisingly, the traffic was light (everyone must have been avoiding the lakes due to the weather forecast!) and we arrived at about 9.50am exceptionally early for the 11am start! We were directed into a field to park, and it was free! In my experience this is unusual as they normally take advantage when they have a captive audience!
We went to collect our race numbers from the race HQ which was situated in a marquee and was exceptionally well organised! On exiting the marquee we bumped into a running friend! A quick chat and photo session occurred before we headed back to wait in the warmth of the car! By now a mass of black clouds were speedily moving across the sky and it didn't look very promising!
We had been given instructions to meet at the "muster point" on the playing fields at 10.45am. By 10.40am the heavens had opened and the rain was bouncing off the car! We groaned when we realised the time had come when we were going have to brave the elements. I got out the car with my running rain jacket on, but soon changed my mind when I realised that despite the rain it was fairly warm! With the jacket off we set off towards the designated muster point, where we managed to shelter under a tree! There were 4 races - a 5K, 10K and 17K run plus a Nordic walking 10K! The race director commented that this was the first year that the sun hadn't shone for this race! Typical it should decide to rain for my first time! After a safety talk we were walked through the village to the start line led by a lone piper! Despite the rain there were still spectators clapping us through! At 11am we joined in with a countdown ... 10 ...9...8...7...6...5...4...3...2...1 and we were finally on our way in the rain which was still teeming down! All 250 participants in the 4 events were set off at the same time, and as this wasn't a chipped event there was a bit of pushing and shoving with people trying to get to the prime front position!
Whatever the distance all the competitors had to take on the testing climb out of Grasmere along Red Bank Road. This road twists and turns and just when I thought I was at the top another corner would reveal another climb! Eventually after this exhausting climb we turned off the road onto a trail through Deer bolt woods. At this point the 5K race took a left turn to return to Grasmere! After following the trail through the woods we had a further climb onto Loughrigg Terrace and over the shoulder of Loughrigg. By now the trails were extremely rough and rocky but had fabulous views over the lake. Its a pity I was too busy concentrating due to the trickiness of the terrain to fully appreciate it! The rain was making the rocks slippy and large puddles were forming on the uneven ground! Thankfully I had opted to wear to my waterproof Inov-8's at the last minute so despite the rain and puddles my feet were still dry and comfortable! The path passed the famous Rydal cave before plunging down a treacherous shale steep hill which had some sharp bends. The loose rubble underfoot made me very nervous and I didn't dare go too fast in case I came a cropper! (Rydal Cave is situated on Loughrigg Fell and is actually a man-made cavern, which was formerly known as Loughrigg Quarry. Over two hundred years ago, Rydal Cave was a busy working quarry supplying excellent quality roofing slate to the surrounding local villages)
The 17k and 10k routes split at this point, with the 10K route turning back along the shorelines of Rydal Water and Grasmere heading towards Grasmere village. Thankfully there was a marshall making sure that everybody followed the correct route! I would have hated to have gone the wrong way and end up doing 17K instead!
I happily made my way along the shores of Rydal and by now although the path was still rough and very puddley it didn't seem quite as treacherous and my confidence and some speed returned. I even dared to occasionally peek at the views which were magnificent even on such a rainy day! The path went right down to the lakeshore and there was even a calf deep plunge through the lake itself! I thoroughly enjoyed splosh splashing my way through the water - I was already soaking wet so it really didn't matter! Strangely my trainers didn't feel heavy or uncomfortable after this! There was then a short stretch along a good trail before we were greeted by another steep climb! This led back into the woods and back onto Red Bank Road. Thankfully this time I was running down it! Back on the safety of tarmac I felt able to push the pace a bit and dug deep to get to the finish line as quick as I could! The final stretch along the gravel track on the outskirts of the car parking field seemed to be endless! I was delighted when the big finishing arch was in my sight!
It was still raining as I crossed the line but I can honestly say I hardly noticed it during the race! I think my mind must have been worrying about other things! As I crossed the line a lady zapped the barcode on my race number which I assume will give me my official time! I stopped my Garmin and was chuffed to see that I had managed to get a sub 1 hour coming in at 58:28! I now need to wait for my official time to be confirmed! On entering the finishers tent I was presented with a medal and had the choice of several different sorts of cake and juice! Bling and CAKE - life doesn't get much better than this!
I clapped a number of runners over the finish line before I started to feel cold so made my way back to the car where I stripped off totally and got some dry clothes on! I was wet through to my knickers! I waited in the car for Julia to complete her 17k race before heading off home. I felt rather anxious about actually getting the car out of the now sodden field, but was pleasantly surprised to find that I had no problem at all! The drive home was awful with many of the minor roads now flooded! Thankfully the thunder and lightening forecast didn't materialise!
Despite the awful weather I thoroughly enjoyed this race! It was well organised by the National Trust and everything ran like clockwork! There was water stations at around the 2 mile and 4 mile mark, which was served in plastic cups. This was sufficient for today's conditions but I think if it had been a warmer day I might have struggled with hydration! I enjoyed it so much that next year I am planning to run the longer 17K route! I would recommend anyone contemplating this race to DO IT! Hopefully we will be honoured with better weather! You can view the route here! The official time has just been announced and I finished in 58:48 which is slightly slower than my Garmin showed! However still very pleased with it as I was 8th in my age category, 28th female and 92nd overall out of 260 finishers! You can view the full results HERE!
On Sunday 16th November I ran in the 63rd Brampton to Carlisle 10 mile road race. This is the oldest 10 mile race in the country. This was my third time running this race and I was desperate to get a PB.
Thankfully it wasn't an early race so I still got to have a slight lie in getting up at 8.30am.
On opening the curtains the weather conditions looked clear, bright and perfect for running. After getting dressed in my running gear and having my usual pre-race breakfast of porridge and a banana we left our home town of Kendal at 9.40am to travel the 52 miles to the Race HQ at William Howard School in Brampton. We hadn't travelled far out of Kendal when we hit dense fog on the motorway and the temperature dropped dramatically. I started to stress that I hadn't dressed appropriately as I was only wearing three-quarter running tights and a T Shirt. Luckily the fog didn't linger for too long and when we arrived in Brampton at around 10.50am the weather was clear again. We got parked in the school car park easily and went inside to collect my race number. There was a long queue to collect numbers but it seemed to go down fairly quickly. By the time I had visited the facilities and got myself sorted attaching my number and discarding my many outer layers it was time to head to the start line for the 11.30am start.
Each year this race seems to attract very fast serious runners and a lot of club runners. Despite this being the third time I have run this race I still felt slightly intimidated by the competitive feel of the field! As this wasn't a chipped event I had planned on starting as near to the front as possible to get an accurate time but this plan was foiled by the masses of others with the same plan! I ended up in a very congested area in the middle of the pack, and when the starting gun fired we momentarily didn't move. It seemed much busier and more congested this year than previous years! Despite the race starting downhill I could only shuffle my way along and came to a walk after a very short distance whilst trying to navigate a sharp right turn that was blocked with runners. After a brief run though Brampton we hit the A689 fairly quickly. Once out onto the main road the field started to spread out and I just had to negotiate getting past those exceptionally slow runners and walkers who had started at the front, as well as big groups of club runners who were intent on sticking together causing major congestion. Once I got past these initial obstacles life was good and I could get into my stride and set my own pace. Despite the congested start I still managed to do a 7.53 minute mile for the first mile, followed by a 7.35 minute mile for mile 2. This race is advertised as being flat and fast but there is definitely a few hills dotted around, the first being a long slow drag upwards at around the 2 and a half mile mark, but I still managed mile 3 at a 8 minute mile.
Just after this hill the race turns off the main road to go round via Ruleholme and Crosby on Eden where we came across the first water station serving bottled water. On this road the traffic was fairly busy with lots of runners shouting "CAR" to warn runners up ahead! There were a fair few cars weaving in and out between runners so it was a case of being extra vigilant at times! There was even a brave (stupid?) woman riding a horse through the masses which made me slightly nervous. I continued keeping a fairly consistent pace with 8.03, 8.04. 8.17, 8.32 before heading back onto the A689 at around the 7 mile mark. Not long after this there was another water station.
From here it was straight run to Carlisle where there was a long drag upwards at around mile 8. The race offered a good fast paced finish as on the approach to the finish line situated at The Sands Centre, there was a stretch of about 400m where it was all downhill.
I managed mile 8 in a 8.29 minute mile, followed by mile 9 at a 8.39 minute mile finishing with a 8.41 minute mile.
I crossed the finish line and stopped my Garmin and was delighted to see that I had got a PB coming in at 1:22:16! I had knocked 4 minutes off my previous best time for this course! You can view the routehere.
Once over the line I received a goody bag which contained an energy gel, 2 pairs of socks and a running diary!
All in all an enjoyable well organised race, with friendly encouraging marshalls.
The only thing that would make it better would be having it as a chip timed event. After saying this my official time wasn't much slower than my Garmin time and I was delighted that it was confirmed at 1:22:25. I came 23rd in my category and was 473rd out of 647 finishers.
On Sunday 7th December 2014 I took part in the Guys 10 which is a 10 mile road race at Guys Thatched Hamlet, near Garstang.
This was my final race of the year and also meant I had achieved my 2014 goal of running at least one race every month!
I must admit I wasn't feeling overly keen when my alarm clock went off at 7.15am. It felt cold and I felt tired.
However, I forced myself to get up and into my running gear! I opted my long running tights, long sleeved top and gloves for the first time this winter! I had my usual pre-race breakfast of porridge, a banana and a coffee before setting off at around 8.15am on the 37 mile journey to the start line.
Not only was I tired and cold, but the weather was also making things worse - it was raining torrentially for the entire journey! If I hadn't set my "12 in 12" challenge at the beginning of the year I might actually of wussed out! But I knew I had to do this race to complete my challenge!
The journey went smoothly despite the rain and we got parked easily in the large car park.
We arrived at the race HQ at around 9am in plenty of time to collect my race number and visit the loo! Amazingly there was no queuing involved for either of these and we were back in the car by 9.15am trying to keep dry and warm ahead of the 10am start!
I felt daunted at the thought of running 10 miles in such cold wet and windy conditions! My thoughts were "Why wasn't it just a 10K" .
However, someone must have been feeling sorry for me as at around 9.45am the rain finally stopped and blue skies emerged!
With only10 minutes to go I forced myself to get out of the car and to strip off my many outer layers! At the last possible minute I removed my coat and headed to the start!
I was amazed to see plenty of runners sporting vests and shorts despite the cold - obviously much hardier than me!
Unfortunately due to the severity of the rain there was huge puddles everywhere which I attempted to tiptoe around to keep my feet dry!
I needn't of bothered! On getting to the start it became blindingly obvious that the start of the race was going to go directly through the biggest puddle in the entire car park!
This wasn't a chipped event so I positioned myself in the middle of the pack to give myself the best possible chance of a PB without getting flattened by the fast runners!
After the race director had done the usual safety briefing and the not so usual "Yes it's a puddle, yes your feet are going get wet ... get over it!" we were off!
Within seconds of starting I was splooshing through a puddle and immediately had wet feet! Not the best start to a race I have ever experienced but I tried not to let it bother me!
It was a very busy race start and I struggled to keep an even pace initially but after a couple of minutes running the field opened up I felt more comfortable.
As I already had wet feet there was little point in avoiding future puddles so I just ran through them!
The race left the car park and went straight up a fairly steep hill to the main road. The rain thankfully stayed away but there was a fairly strong breeze that kept reminding me of it's presence! Although this was a fairly flat route I found it hard work and had to dig deep to push myself! Despite this I enjoyed the course which was on quiet country roads with some nice views to savour!
I was keen to finish the year with a PB and kept my eye on my Garmin! Not long after starting I managed to find a couple of runners who appeared to be running at my desired pace and I decided to try and stick with them to give me a focus. I soon realised that the male runner was actually being a pacer for his female companion and I was desperate to know what her goal finish time was but thought it would be cheeky to ask!
I started with a 7:59 minute mile, followed by 8.04, 8.16, 8.22, 8.09, 8.21 minute miles and I was still on track to get a PB at this point.
There was 2 water stations at around 4 miles and 7 miles (I think) serving water in cups, which to save throwing it all down myself I stopped momentarily to drink! My pacers didn't stop so I had to speed up slightly each time to catch them back up! I was determined that they weren't going to get away!
By mile 7 I was beginning to struggle and my pacers made a break for it! The wind seemed to come in gusts making me feel exceptionally cold, but then the sun was also beating down so in the lulls from the wind I felt too hot! I completed mile 7 in a much slower 8:53 minute mile and on seeing this I made a concerted effort to catch my pacers up who I could still see in the distance.
During mile 8 I managed to close the gap running a slightly faster 8.33 pace but I couldn't maintain this and sometime during mile 9 I totally lost sight of them! I realised by this point that I was too slow for a PB but wanted to finish in the best possible time I could and tried to keep pushing despite my legs not cooperating with me!
I finished mile 9 in 8.45 and mile 10 in 8.52! I was pleased that my pace hadn't slowed to over 9 minute miles!
On re-entering the car park and heading to the finish line I appeared to be on my own! I didn't have any runners ahead of me to follow and I felt slightly disorientated and wasn't really confident I was going the right way!
I was relieved to see the big finishing arch and for some strange reason I decided to skirt around the big puddle instead of ploughing though it like I did at the start! What was the point of that when I was finished and it really didn't matter if I got wet feet again?!
I stopped my Garmin and read 1:24:30. 2 Minutes slower than my 10 mile PB but I was pleased that despite struggling in the later stages I managed to still come in under 1:25! You can view the route here!
Once through the finished channel we were guided through to a water station and then to collect the race momentum ... CHEESE!
Slightly different to the usual race bling and T Shirt and a first for me!
It was too cold to hang around and we were soon back in the warm car heading home! I couldn't believe how lucky I was when within minutes of us setting off the rain returned!
All in all an enjoyable race that I would recommend and will I probably enter it again next year - If I can block out the cold wind from my memory! It was a well organised event with friendly and encouraging marshalls.
Later that evening the official results came out and I was amazed that my Garmin time was spot on - 1:24:30 - its not often that happens!
Today, Sunday 23rd March 2014 I ran in The Lancaster and Morecambe Sport Relief 6 mile run. .jpg)
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