2012 Scottish XC Championships

Another year and another Scottish XC Champs at Callender Park. I really enjoy this course, though it can largely depend on the course conditions as to just how much! We had 4 seasons in one day (as is the norm for these occassions). Started in sleet and wind and finished in calm sunshine. As always I set up the first hill feeling good - I was only about 20m behind Freya Murray at this stage ;-). But then the legs suddenly realise what they have ahead of them and the first lap of this course is always a shock to the system. Lots of little killer hills and mud to remind you this is indeed a cross country! Great to have CAAC guys spread all around the route though cheering us on. There was a team of 5 CAAC girls today and we were all pretty close together which meant we could work together along with some friendly rivalry!
Finished the course in 64th place, in 35min49, a bit slower than last year, but pleased nonetheless. Legs didn't feel as bouncy as usual, perhaps due to the previous weekend's half and some miles in the week. Really enjoyed watching the very large number of CAAC men running in the race after ours - great team spirit and some great performances by all.

Portsmouth Coastal Half Marathon

Yesterday I ran race number two in my PCUK sponsorship series - the Portsmouth Coastal Half Marathon. Conditions were near perfect - clear and still (very unusual to have minimal wind on Portsmouth seafront!). Although it was pretty cold and icy in places, the runners soon warmed up once we got started. The race started behind the Pyramids Swim Centre and then headed off towards Eastney along the prom. Around 4-5 miles in we headed off-road across parts of the pebbled beach, some fields and trail paths. Although my split times for those miles were obviously slower, I quite enjoyed the change in terrain and it certainly added to the enjoyment of this scenic race. Really well organised too - would definitely recommend this race to others. I noticed a few other girls ahead of me at the start, but managed to close in and overtake a couple of them by half way. At the point where I usually start to feel tired and start to slow, i.e. mile 9, on this occassion I actually felt strong and able to push on. During the long stretch back along the prom I decided to take an energy gel and just 'push on' as fast as I could. I saw my Dad with a couple of miles to go which spurred me on - then it was a couple of miles to the other end of the prom, around the amusements and my old school playing fields and a short loop back to the Pyramids centre. I looked down at my watch and I hadn't reached 1hr30 yet - could this be the sub 1:30 day?! It was starting to hurt - at times like these I just think about the important cause and people I'm running for and the pain is numbed. As I came into the home stretch I could see Katherine, Jamie, Jorjia and Pete cheering me on, which was really nice!

It wasn't the day for my sub 1:30, but I came in at 1:30:47, taking almost 3 minutes of my PB, so very pleased with that!! Also found I was 3rd woman and 52nd overall and was presented with a trophy and goody bag as I crossed the line!

I have now raised over £500 for Pancreatic Cancer UK and am truly grateful for everyone who has sponsored me so far. Next event is the Coniston 14 at the end of March, but in the meantime I'll keeping up with all that training.

Marrakech Half Marathon, Morocco

Last weekend was big event number one of 2012 - the Marrakech Half Marathon. Susan and I headed off on our flight to Morocco on Friday and arrived that evening. We were whisked away in a taxi to the Medina in Marrakech, and a man came to meet us at the car park and took us to our riad (traditional Moroccon hotel). The narrow streets were full of people walking, on bikes, scooters, the odd car! It was the hustle and bustle I'd imagined. The door to our riad was hidden away in a corner, but as soon as you stepped off the busy street you were in a world of peace and tranquility. After venturing out for dinner of tajine and couscous we headed back for a good night's sleep. The Saturday we headed to the Marathon village to collect our race numbers, and we had an explore around to get our bearings. Really enjoyed visiting the souks, but the amount of hassle you get to buy stuff is something else!! We went to a nice restaurant by our riad for dinner. We wanted to make sure we had something 'safe' and not experiment the night before the race. We had some really tasty salad and chicken/vegetable coucous - just what was needed. The mint tea which is traditionally drank in Morocco was very tasty too.

The next morning the riad staff brought us some hot water to our room and we made our porridge pots. My half was at 8:30am and Susan's marathon at 9am. The temperature in Morocco isn't actually that warm in January, and at that time of the morning still fairly cold! We jogged down to the start and I managed to squeeze myself somewhere near the front of the mass of runners. Fortunately it was a chip number so the timer didn't start till I crossed the line. The first mile was quite chaotic - lots of people everywhere. But then as the miles rolled by the field opened up a bit. There were some long, straight roads which meant I could get into a good rythmn and get some quicker miles in. I felt pretty good and considering my ankle problems in the weeks leading up to the race I was pleased with how I felt. I didn't see many other women around me till about mile 7 or 8 when I spotted a couple in front of me. This spurred me on to pick up the pace a bit and I managed to reel one of them in. It was great running in these new and different surroundings, quite an experience. The last couple of miles were a bit of a struggle as the sun was coming out, but I hung in there to finish 23rd woman (out of 603 apparently!) and in a time of 1hr34:36. Pleased with that as only around 45 seconds slower than my PB. Susan did really well in some hot conditions to finish 30th woman in the marathon in a time of 3hr59.58, so just getting under the 4 hours! Even better I'm up to £500 on my fundraising efforts for Pancreatic Cancer UK, so a massive thank you to everyone who has sponsored me so far!

The next day we headed out on a day trip to the Atlas mountains which were fantastic - would love to go back there some day and hike up Mount Toubkal!
Next race is the Portsmouth Half marathon in a couple of weekends time - hoping to go a bit quicker if I can!