Wolverhampton Half Marathon

One of my aims for 2010 has been to get a PB in the half marathon - so while many other CAACers were in Glasgow, I headed south to England, to take part in the Wolverhampton Half Marathon. The reason for me choosing this race is that I have family who live there, and so I combined a visit to see them, with the half marathon, which quite conveniently followed many of the roads I am used to running along while down there.

I was feeling confident after last weekend's 10k in Perth and so decided to aim for around 1hr35 as a good target. The race started nice and early at 9:15am. A 19.5km cycle race went off first, then the marathon relay runners, and then the marathon and half marathon runners. There were no start pens so I decided to get as close to the front as I could. That way I wouldn't get boxed in and I could keep an eye on my position. I felt good over the first few miles and did them in just over 7minutes. I was going at a slightly faster pace than I'd planned, but I felt good. The route was good, fairly flat, on closed roads and some even on cycle paths and pedestrian areas. I had the added bonus of having a family fan club at mile 9, which was the ideal boost at this point. I could see my grandparents, Auntie Jan, and Joyce and Reg on the corner and their cheers were very welcome!! I wasn't sure what position I was in at that point, but I'd overtaken a few girls, so thought I must be quite high up. I overtook another at mile 11. One girl was right on my shouldler with only 1.5 miles to go, so I picked up the pace and lost her on a small hill. Someone shouted to me to say I was in second, but third was just behind, so with 400m to go I just went for it. I crossed the line in second place in a new PB of 1hr34:39. Really pleased!!! Felt good all the way round and feel like I have more in me for a half marathon. A great race, and even better being presented with my prize...by the Mayor of Wolverhampton no less ;-). I can safely say I was the only person in a Scottish club vest, and the guy on the loud speaker gave up trying to pronounce Corstorphine which made me laugh!

A good fast course, nice medal, t-shirt, and a Gregg's goodie bag! What more could I want!

Perth 10k

Last Sunday myself, Neil and two of my friends from Southampton, Nick and Hannah, headed up to do the Perth 10k. It was a nice sunny day but it was blowing a gale! The race starts off on the track at Perth Grammar School, we run a couple of laps and then follow the river before doing a couple of laps of the Inch. Part of the Inch was fairly sheltered, but as soon as we turned back it was like hitting a brick wall. I felt strong from the start and decided to start off steady and try and maintain it, rather than go off too fast like I usually do!

The course was really scenic and the marshals were very encouraging. I had wondered what position I might be in, when one of the marshals told me I was third lady. I could see 2nd just ahead of me (as well as Nick) so I tried my best to close them both down, but they were just out of reach. I came through in a PB of 41min 36 seconds, which was unexpected and I was really pleased with.
Nick came in just ahead in 41:32. Neil also got a huge PB by 3 minutes, coming in at 43:35!! A great run from Hannah too, who is coming back from injury. I think they may well have been the only Southampton AC runners to have run the Perth 10K.
After the race we headed into Perth for a well deserved pub lunch! What a great race! I'm now feeling confident for my attempt at a PB in the Wolverhampton Half Marathon this weekend!

Edinburgh Parkrun #4

On Saturday morning I headed down to Cramond with Neil, and a couple of Neil's friends up from London to have a go at the parkrun. It had been 5 months since the last time we did one, and with a frustrating summer of injury I was interested to see how I would get on.

I started off a bit far back in the pack and was frustratingly boxed in for the first few 100metres, but once I got a gap I managed to get in a good fast couple of first kilometres. They felt pretty easy, perhaps I hadn't lost as much fitness as I thought?! Neil was running just behind me, and I was pretty confident he'd be on for a PB today!

As we approached the corner to head back down the promenade, it became clear why the previous 2.5km had felt easy - it was the strong wind pushing us along which we were now having to run against on the way back. The next couple of km's were just a push to the end. I still felt fairly good, and was pleased to go sub 20, in 19:55 (4th woman). Neil was close with a big PB of 20:30. And Duncan and Sapna also both had PBs, so a successful morning all round!
Off to Falko for a German style breakfast and the morning was complete :-).
Now looking forward to the Perth 10k this coming weekend.

The Rat Race

Last weekend myself, Nick and Susan took part in the Rat Race. A 2-day adventure race around Edinburgh. We were: Team CAAC Attack.

Saturday was the Mean Streets - an orienteering event around the streets of Edinburgh involving various tasks along the way. As well as the 14 miles of running involved getting round the course, we also had to hula hoop, BMX, dress up like a sumo wrestler and roll down a hill, walk a tight rope and various other crazy things!! The big point earner was having your head shaved, which Nick bravely did - a whole 40 points earned there! We finished day 1 in 2nd place in the mixed teams. Very pleased with that!

Day 2 was the Nine to Five. This was a much bigger day, and coupled with the previous day's efforts I think has been one of my toughest challenges to date! After planning our route, the gun went off at 9am and the competition began. We had 8 hours to get round as much of the course as we could. It started with an orienteering event around Princes Streets Gardens. You had to gather information around the gardens, in order to access your bikes in the compound. We got our bikes and headed off. We headed first to Napier University for an orienteering event. Then it was off to the dry ski slope for some tubing down the slope, and then the mountain biking started in earnest across the Pentlands. Up a huge hill, which most people could only push their bikes up! We were rewarded with an awesome downhill on the other side. The cycling was tough all day, lots of hills, and just when you thought you couldn't get up any more hills, they'd throw in a few more. The day had a mixture of via ferrata across a viaduct, abseiling down a bridge, kayaking in the Firth, rolling barrals of beers, rolling ourselves down a hill, more orienteering! We covered 56 miles on the second day, and we pushed ourselves as hard as we could all day.!We only missed the very last check point - in hindsight we maybe should have gone for it and would have paid off despite the time penalty.
We finished 8th overall, and 4th mixed team. We were all really pleased with our placing, and although such a tough event, had an amazing time! I think CAAC Attack may be back for more next year!! With a bit of training maybe we'll be challenging Team Buff ;-)

http://www.ratraceadventure.com/page419.asp

Back to the Meadows for 2 miles

After a fair old rest from running with my sore foot, I seem to have been making progress, and was pleased to have got round the Barrathon the other week. I have since made a comeback to track training at the club, and although still in a bit of pain, I feel I can keep on top of things with ice, massage and stretching. So, without further ado, I headed down to the Meadows for my first 2 mile Self Transendence of the year. Now, it's July, but nevertheless, it was pouring down with rain. Conditions were far from perfect for this first outing, but I thought whatever time I get this week, things can only improve the following week. A small but select crowd turned up for the run, including fellow CAACers Chris and BC, with Neil, Dean and Mike offering much needed cheers. I was a bit dubious as to how I would get on, but all things considered, pleased with my run, hopefully will get closer to my PB of 12:32 at the next attempt.

Distance: 2 miles
Position: 5th
Time: 12min 57s

Now having 2 days rest before this weekend's adventure - the RAT RACE!!!

Barrathon

Last Friday myself, Neil and 6 other CAACers headed off to the Isle of Barra in the Outer Hebrides to take part (amongst other things) in the Barrathon – a half marathon which involves a complete loop of the island. After various close misses (Scott and Kerry had to abandon the bikes in order to get on the ferry) we all made it on board. Now usually it’s a fairly decent sized ferry which heads across the Minch to Barra, but the usual boat was out of action and so we got the much smaller Islay ferry instead! We quickly got seated in the cafeteria and had our pre-race meal. However, things were about to get rough! The waves became bigger and one by one we started to give in to the sea sickness. It was relentless, with the total time to sail to Barra being over 6 hours! We arrived in Barra gone 11pm still feeling ill and dehydrated. Not the best preparation for a half marathon, but at least we made it!

The next morning was sunny and although still feeling a bit fragile, a night's rest and a bowl of porridge and we were good to go! We all ran the half the next morning. Neil managed to get a late entry and the two of us ran round the course together. Having not trained properly in the last month and a half because of my foot troubles we decided to just take it easy round the course and not pay attention to how fast we were going. We had a really enjoyable run (apart from the mammoth hill at the end) and came through in 1:48:25 which I was pleased with given the circumstances. Even better, my foot seemed to have survived and didn't seem to get any worse from the race. The rest of the CAACers all ran really well and brushed aside the previous day’s illness to collect several prizes and good times! The race was followed by a buffet and ceilidh in the evening. A true Hebridean experience!

The following morning was supposed to be a sea kayaking adventure. However, high winds put a stop to that and so we cycled over to Vatersay instead. Another small island beneath Barra connected by a causeway. The winds were very strong (first time I’ve actually had to pedal to get down a hill!), but we also had moments of sunshine. We arrived at what must be one of the most beautiful beaches in Scotland! Some of us went in for a dip, but the sea wasn’t as warm as it looked!! We finished off the cycle with a drink in the most Westerly bar in Europe! We turned up soaked from head to toe, and the bar lady gave us a towel to dry off!

Fortunately the ferry ride home was far calmer and we made it back to Oban with no problems. Really enjoyed my first trip to the Outer Hebrides and hope to return next year to complete some more half marathons in the Hebridean series! Perhaps Stornoway and Benbecula!

The Munro Half Century

Last weekend saw a visit to Glen Coe and completion of Munros 49 and 50. These were Creise and Meall 'a Bhuiridh respectively. Perfect conditions weather wise - could see top of Ben Nevis and surrounding mountains all day long! A longer walk than first anticipated, finished off with a river crossing, but a fantastic day of walking. Hope we get lots more summer days like this!

Foot problems have meant running has taken a back seat at the mo, but I'm hoping a few weeks rest, alongside treatment will mean I'll be back before too long.