Southampton half marathon, 2017

I managed to knock out a blinding 1:22:08 this time last year.  The odds for this year were a bit mixed... on the one hand, I had a reasonably good spell of races, over the last few weeks... on the other, this was my third race in 7 days which may have been over-cooking it, and what's more I hadn't run 13 miles since the Berko half in early March.  All this feels like I'm getting my excuses in early.  I finished today in 1:24:53 (1:24:40 chip time) which is almost exactly what I did at Berkhamsted on a more challenging course and with more benign weather.

We parked in an almost completely empty carpark just a few minutes from the start.  Mrs S, Jem, Finn and I walked up to the Civic Centre where all the usual boomy pre-race stuff was well underway.  It was nice to see plenty of familiar faces.  The sun was peeping in and out of misty cloud, with everything pointing to a cool, sunny morning ahead.

Ready for the off

The start was very sudden, just a parp on the horn, and off we went.  After a few minutes we were on to Southampton Common and running part of the parkrun, and then it was a long downhill to the Itchen basin.  My legs were feeling less than fresh from fairly early on and I didn't feel like I was fizzing with energy.  Into the second half, and there were a few quite dull stretches where it was hard to keep focused - but having said this, the support from the good people of Southampton was terrific.

I perked up at about the point where we reached St Mary's stadium, where we were really into the final section.  Soon after this we joined the 10k runners, and I was looking out for the lovely Mrs S; not seeing her suggested she was doing well.

The Itchen bridge is always longer and steeper than I remember it to be.  There was a lot of noise and energy and I enjoyed this section, although it was a bit hairy as there were huge numbers of slower 10k runners and overtaking was a bit perilous. Off the bridge, we were suddenly near the end.  I overtook Natan Renyard (Hardley) and James Battle (Romsey) which felt good, and tried to crank it up into the final kilometre.

I had a bit of a panic near the end.  There was a left-or-straight-on junction, and I waved my arms in a which-way gesture; left, they told me.  A few seconds later I was looking about me and everyone had 10k race numbers.  I was in a flap about what to do and contemplated turning around. I kept going, and then spotted another half runner... of course... straight on was for second-lap marathoners. I less-than-sprinted to the finish, pretty much done for.

On paper, Mrs S and I were due to finish our respective races at the same time.  We had had many conversations about what we should do if we met up ahead of the finish.  Jointly crossing the line would have been lovely, but I was thrilled that she clocked in a PB of 52:04, three minutes before me. J and F were comically appalled by my awful sweatiness, and the alcohol-free lager they dished out at the end was, to my surprise, utterly delicious. 

West Wight, the first RR10 and the Southampton half... what an exciting week it's been.

Mrs S and I cooling off at the finish

With J&F, the race support crew

RR10 2017: Royal Victoria Country Park

It was glorious to be back to the summer season of evening racing.  It's a fair old schlep out to Netley once you account for the rush-hour traffic... several times in the past I have sat in queues on this route  in a sweat as the minutes ticked by, and subsequently charging to the start line from the faraway overflow where I've had to park.  This time it was all very serene; Mrs S was with me, we left at a sensible hour and we were all parked up and ready to go fully ten minutes before the gun.

There was lots of scaffolding going on around the start area, and erroneous was a bit vague about the course, which had been altered.  We set off in open ground and quickly disappeared into woods, where it became terrific fun.  Roots, branches, sudden twists... excitement and danger everywhere and I loved it.  Tarmac, grass, path; we flashed through every combination and I, not generally being a fan of laps, really looked forward to going around a second time.  I was overtaking and felt OK but was right at the top of my threshold and trying to keep my breathing under control.

And then the final section towards the finish.  I overtook Mike White from Stubbington, but as the end approached, I heard various 'he's behind you!' noises from spectators which took me up into a gear I didn't know that I had left.  Witness the awful gurning picture below. I kept ahead and had to lie down heaving on the grass afterwards, clutching a raffle ticket with 24 on it, which was kind of OK respectable.

The painful final furlong

What a race-tastic week this is.  Next stop is the Southampton half marathon on Sunday.

West Wight 3 Hills, 2017

I've been quietly looking forward to this race ever since Mrs S and I booked our entries a few weeks ago. The journey there was a lot of fun - on the deck of the ferry from Lymington to Yarmouth, and from there a pleasant ride up the Yar estuary to Freshwater.

This is just the kind of race that I like... small field, unobtrusive, no razzmatazz. There were a few familiar faces there, all experienced off-roaders. We set off over a playing field, then a short length of road and then straight into a steep track, getting straight into the fun. We buzzed around the roads for a while, and then the proper race started as we climbed up onto the chalk downs. Big views of spectral clarity over the Solent, technical lumpy paths, still climbing up, and then zigzagging downhill near Alum Bay.

We had been promised a really, really steep section, and it didn't disappoint.  It was a great vertiginous stomp, hand on thighs, up on to Tennyson Down. A runner in blue ran - really - past me, gaily greeting me 'it's a bitch, this hill'. I started running as we neared the top, heaving away... and wow, we were at the top of the island, running over the top of an enormous chalk ridge.

This was the absolute business. We ran downhill, then up again to the Tennyson Monument, then a glorious whoosh all the way down to Freshwater Bay.  I looked at my watch, tried to convert kms to miles and reckoned there was about 2 miles left. Gradually gaining on Man In Blue, I was looking forward to building up some steam for a fast finish.  I felt strong and it was utterly different to the grim final section at Salisbury last week.

And the suddenly we were into a field and into a funnel and that was it! I was bemused and a bit annoyed with my lack of awareness of the imminent finish, but every moment had been fabulous.  Here are the results.  The lovely Mrs S came home soon afterwards with a huge smile on her face. A fabulous day out!

Salisbury 10, 2017

It was about as hot as it gets in April. It was a full-on blue sky day, and Mrs S and I were in Salisbury for our first outing at the 10-mile road race.

From the off, part of me was feeling a bit leaden, a bit lacking in joie de courir. I tried to set myself a sensible but reasonably ambitious pace, but found myself looking at my watch quite a lot and trying to ward off the feeling that this was hard work and I was looking forward to the end.

The countryside was glistening in its blossomy fresh springiness, and the course, heading north up the Avon valkey, was simply lovely. I overtook plenty of people, but I could see a lot of people stretching way ahead of me... this was clearly a strong and competitive field.

At 5 miles we crossed the river and started heading for home, which was welcome, but we were now going into the (light) wind and there were a few tricky little hills on what was otherwise a reasonably flat course.  I got overtaken a couple of times around mile 7 by runners who looked like they had got their pacing right, while I was in decline by now.  I panted for almost the whole of the last 2 miles, but with no speed in my legs. I gurney and heaved around the track at the finish and clocked it at 1:04:07; a couple of minutes adrift from what I'd hoped.

So what happened? I think I was a bit weary before the race, after 3 interval sessions last week and a fairly strenuous 3 hours of garden work yesterday. I think the heat may have got me down a bit too. It was an excellently organised and very friendly race, and full marks to the organisers. My lesson was that 10 miles needs to be treated with a bit more respect... I'm going to rest properly before the Southampton Half in 2 weeks.