I've run this race every year since it started, with the exception of an injury-stopped-play 2014. It's a very friendly event on a terrifically hilly and properly multi-terrain course.
I think this was the first time I'd tried running a race just 7 days after a marathon. I had only run once during the preceding week, and my hamstrings were particularly tight... but I was feeling well and I'd been looking forward to this event for a while.
Off we went, and I quickly found myself in about 8th place. After a bit of shuffling places, I was on my own, and it stayed that way for the whole race. My legs felt tight but I enjoyed it, going at full lung capacity. Some excitingly boggy stretches vindicated my last-minute switch to trail shoes, overcoming my aversion to more bruised toenails.
8th place was where I ended up, with a time of 39:08. Here are the GPS stats. Nothing remotely exciting about that, compared to the 37:54 I did in 2013. But context in this case was probably all. Skimming a few articles on the net suggested that it normally takes at least 2 weeks to get back to full strength after a marathon. But aside from all that, it was a thoroughly enjoyable gallop through lovely countryside on a September morning.
Wednesday, 23 September 2015
Sunday, 13 September 2015
New Forest marathon 2015
I'd been looking forward to this race for ages - it's my first marathon for two whole years, after injury put paid to entries in 2014.
The race blurb said to get there two or three hours before the start at 9am. Nonsense, I thought, and left the house at 8, giving myself plenty of time... but I reckoned without the fatal race traffic factor. I spent half an hour just getting through Lyndhurst, a notorious bottleneck, and then the awful truth became apparent - it was going to be a crawl all the way to the New Park and I was going to miss the start.
It was a few minutes after 9 when I took a left turn into a forest carpark, had a quick pee, got myself race-ready and ran the rest of the way to the race start. There were a few other runners on the road (reassuring) but they were all on for the half marathon, starting at 0930 (less reassuring). I arrived at New Park and managed to find the start line, looking very bare and empty. The nice people there said I could run, and even better I would get a proper chip time.
Feeling a bit hyper after a fraught start I set off, trying hard to keep a sensible pace. After abut 2k I started catching people, initially other late starters and then the back of the original pack. I felt OK, and was clocking up consistent 4:20 to 4:30 kms. My race number started flapping around when we got into higher ground and we got exposed to the east wind; one of the safety pins had come adrift before the start and two more got dislodged by the belt on my water rucsack - so I had to run with it in my hand.
It was a friendly event, with lots of support. I found that steadily catching people up was quite motivating. At one point I overtook a small group of people clustered around a wheelchair - and then realised that it was carrying a young girl who was on a ventilator. Very moving and humbling. Then past Brockenhurst, past Sway and on up a hill - and at 15 miles someone shouted 'the sign said turn right!' The signs had fiddly little arrows on them which we all missed - and I was very thankful, as there's nothing worse than finding yourself off the course.
However, something weird was going on with the mile markers - they all seemed to be significantly ahead (more than 2 miles) of what my watch was telling me. It was tempting to believe them, and I started dreaming that I could finish in under 3 hours. I felt comfortable and strong, and as we moved into the final stages of the race my pace was holding up at about 4:30/km. the mile markers had stopped completely by now and I was thankful that I had mentally been ready for the long version to play out - as it did.
It was comforting to hear the loudspeaker from New Park. By this stage we'd merged with the end of the half marathon and there were lots of tired bodies to move through. A long, long circuit around the park and the towards the finish. There was Mrs S, waving madly, and it was lovely to see her. I could see a big gantry/bridge ahead and I assumed this must be the finish so I sped up for it, holding my race number in front of me. I felt a right idiot when I realised my mistake and I continued, weary a bit deflated. And the over the line, with a recorded time of 3:09:51.
Great stuff! My pacing had been good, and I had enjoyed the whole thing after a hectic and almost disastrous start. I still have no way of knowing how I fared competitively - watch this space for a results update. Marathon number 13 done - I'm back! Here are the GPS stats.
Update: here are the results. I was 34th over the line but 11th net fastest, and 3rd M40.
The race blurb said to get there two or three hours before the start at 9am. Nonsense, I thought, and left the house at 8, giving myself plenty of time... but I reckoned without the fatal race traffic factor. I spent half an hour just getting through Lyndhurst, a notorious bottleneck, and then the awful truth became apparent - it was going to be a crawl all the way to the New Park and I was going to miss the start.
It was a few minutes after 9 when I took a left turn into a forest carpark, had a quick pee, got myself race-ready and ran the rest of the way to the race start. There were a few other runners on the road (reassuring) but they were all on for the half marathon, starting at 0930 (less reassuring). I arrived at New Park and managed to find the start line, looking very bare and empty. The nice people there said I could run, and even better I would get a proper chip time.
Feeling a bit hyper after a fraught start I set off, trying hard to keep a sensible pace. After abut 2k I started catching people, initially other late starters and then the back of the original pack. I felt OK, and was clocking up consistent 4:20 to 4:30 kms. My race number started flapping around when we got into higher ground and we got exposed to the east wind; one of the safety pins had come adrift before the start and two more got dislodged by the belt on my water rucsack - so I had to run with it in my hand.
It was a friendly event, with lots of support. I found that steadily catching people up was quite motivating. At one point I overtook a small group of people clustered around a wheelchair - and then realised that it was carrying a young girl who was on a ventilator. Very moving and humbling. Then past Brockenhurst, past Sway and on up a hill - and at 15 miles someone shouted 'the sign said turn right!' The signs had fiddly little arrows on them which we all missed - and I was very thankful, as there's nothing worse than finding yourself off the course.
However, something weird was going on with the mile markers - they all seemed to be significantly ahead (more than 2 miles) of what my watch was telling me. It was tempting to believe them, and I started dreaming that I could finish in under 3 hours. I felt comfortable and strong, and as we moved into the final stages of the race my pace was holding up at about 4:30/km. the mile markers had stopped completely by now and I was thankful that I had mentally been ready for the long version to play out - as it did.
It was comforting to hear the loudspeaker from New Park. By this stage we'd merged with the end of the half marathon and there were lots of tired bodies to move through. A long, long circuit around the park and the towards the finish. There was Mrs S, waving madly, and it was lovely to see her. I could see a big gantry/bridge ahead and I assumed this must be the finish so I sped up for it, holding my race number in front of me. I felt a right idiot when I realised my mistake and I continued, weary a bit deflated. And the over the line, with a recorded time of 3:09:51.
Great stuff! My pacing had been good, and I had enjoyed the whole thing after a hectic and almost disastrous start. I still have no way of knowing how I fared competitively - watch this space for a results update. Marathon number 13 done - I'm back! Here are the GPS stats.
Update: here are the results. I was 34th over the line but 11th net fastest, and 3rd M40.
Sunday, 6 September 2015
Review of the 2015 RR10 season
I managed to get 6 races in this summer, just enough to get a score. Let's have a look how it turned out.
Here's how 2015 panned out:
24th overall
3rd M40 (5th M40 really - beaten by 2 >50s)
Overall ranking 88.23%
Compared to 2013 (2014 being a duff, injured year):
21st= overall
3rd M40 (5th M40 really - beaten by 2 >50s)
Overall ranking 89.31%
So slightly down on 2013... but given (a) 2 years of ageing and advancing decrepitude, and (b) only having run 6 races, with none to spare in the aggregate scoring, I'm happy with the outcome.
Here's how 2015 panned out:
24th overall
3rd M40 (5th M40 really - beaten by 2 >50s)
Overall ranking 88.23%
Compared to 2013 (2014 being a duff, injured year):
21st= overall
3rd M40 (5th M40 really - beaten by 2 >50s)
Overall ranking 89.31%
So slightly down on 2013... but given (a) 2 years of ageing and advancing decrepitude, and (b) only having run 6 races, with none to spare in the aggregate scoring, I'm happy with the outcome.
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