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gin pit double marathon

23/3/2015

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I've been running pretty well recently so it was about time I had a nightmare - and this was it. 

On day one I got so caught up with the social nature of the race, the fact it was Malcolm's race, I knew loads of people there, it was Beth's 100th marathon, and I saw a few people I've not run with in ages, that I forgot it was a marathon. Fourteen miles in I'd been so busy chatting and enjoying the scenery I'd not eaten or drunk anything - I sort of realised and shovelled in some gels, but it was too late to avoid the inevitable bonk. Miles 20-24 were bloody horrible, although I picked up a bit towards the end and trudged over the line in 3:49 or thereabouts. 

On day two I was a bit more careful. I didn't really run with anyone so it was much easier to keep an eye to my own pace and remember to eat and drink, and combined with a slightly slower pace, it was a million times more enjoyable. You could see how on a wetter day it would be a super-tough route, dry as it was there were still a couple of ankle deep bits of mud towards the end, but as it was it was just a nice couple of days running (apart from the end of day one). On day two I finished in 3:55, 9th overall for the double runners which was ok I guess. It's also another two towards my 100 marathon Club total, so I'm sitting on 67 now.


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spring shakespeare marathon

23/3/2015

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This was about as straightforward a race as it gets - 9 laps of an abandoned airfield in Stratford-upon Avon. It started the way these things usually do, with a horrible 5am alarm, an uneventful drive, and a good catch up at the start with Nick, Richard, Gary, Gill, Jason, Steve and a few others. 

The route wasn't as dull as people had made out before, there were a few rusty old planes dotted about the place, and although the track itself was pretty uninspiring, you could see the hills a short way off in the distance so it wasn't all that bad. The only thing that really stood out on the day was the wind, not that it was especially bad, but it was bloody freezing running out and into it, which would've been fine if it hadn't then felt about ten degrees warmer running back in again.

Other than that it was just a normal-ish race, I plodded around in 3:31 or something without any drama, had a little burst of pace near the  end when I though I might accidentally sneak under 3:30, but then decided I couldn't be arsed and just coasted in.

The only disappointing thing was the missed opportunity for them to do the whole event with a Con Air theme:-/
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wrexham marathon

9/3/2015

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I’ve run track marathons, a marathon in a caravan park, multi-lap trail marathons, and the Preston Guild marathon which is so dismal they only hold it once every 20 years,  so when it comes to bleak races, I know my stuff. This was bleak.

It got grim pretty early, the pre-race toilets being a public block in the car park where I got to enjoy a shit-covered toilet stall surrounded by discarded needles. Which was nice.

I met and chatted with a few of the usual mob (including Beth who was there for marathon number 99, and Maria and Bev who I hadn't seen since HOAH) and then trundled down to the start. The half marathon was starting an hour and a half later and there weren't that many of us standing in the town centre in  the drizzle for the start of the full marathon.

Then, after being told we had to hold our coats/tops open if they were covering our numbers otherwise the chip mats wouldn't read them (really?!) we were off.

I was aiming for about 3:30, quick enough to be a decent workout and get me home in time for the Liverpool game, but slow enough to not do any major damage, and quickly found myself on my own with the speedsters in front of me, and the sub4 mob behind.

I don't really know what to say about the route. I mean, it was fucking awful. Dreary semi-rural lanes became dreary industrial estate, which became dreary housing estates, and then we were done. But then I guess that's Wrexham, so I can't really complain. As the Fawlty Towers episode goes, what was I expecting, herds of wildebeest  sweeping majestically across the plain? The Hanging Gardens of Babylon? To be fair, the weather didn't help, it was raining pretty much the whole time, and that probably contributed slightly to there being about six people out supporting in the first 20 miles.

The only human contact in the first half was from the functional but sad looking marshals (couldn't blame them for that), and a couple of switchbacks where you got to pass the runners in front and then behind as you doubled back.

At about halfway as I was coming out of an industrial estate, a guy caught me up and we fell into the same pace. His name was Michael and we ended up running and chatting together for the rest of the race. We sort of pulled each other along from there. I'm pretty sure the dreariness of the course and the weather would have seen me slow towards the end if I'd been on my own, but he was aiming to get near to 3:30, having set a target of sub3:30 for Manchester in a few weeks so we just kept on at about that pace. We worked our way though the back markers of the half marathon which was a nice distraction, and despite a wrong turn in a marshall-less park and a slightly hilly finish we made our way back into the town centre, crossing the line together in 3:29:01

I picked up my medal (which was nice), and headed back to the car for the mercifully short drive home. As far as positives go, I hit my target time without too much bother and I felt like I'd finally shaken off the virus that made the Railway Ultra so tough which was a big win. Chatting with Michael was cool, and I'll have another friendly face at the Gin Pit double as he's doing that too.

I doubt I'll go back and do it again unless they drastically change the course – although I've no idea if there's anything more interesting to see near Wrexham than what we saw. Given that they pretty much shut the town centre down for the duration of the event, they could easily have had everyone doing laps through the town which might have given it a bit more atmosphere and support. 

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Belvoir challenge

5/3/2015

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I was still coughing up some interesting stuff and getting up at 4am for the three hour drive down to Belvoir was tiring, but I had a plan to just take it easy and enjoy the cake and scenery, so I wasn’t too worried about feeling crap. There were a few friendly faces at the start too which was cool, and there was a good buzz around the place (despite it starting 15 mins late).

Then we were off, for a slightly chaotic first few miles. After a few hundred metres of trying to get past walkers who had started at the front (geniuses!), we were onto a muddy, boggy track. That in itself was a bit tough, but it was made tougher by all the people who decided that the main objective for the day was to not get their shoes dirty. I managed to get stuck in a group of total fuckwits, shrieking and stopping to tiptoe around puddles every five seconds, and a mile or two in I was in a proper foul mood.

After a while things opened up, and a couple of early hills things spread out a bit more, and all of a sudden it was a little easier. I was still a long way from feeling 100%, but I was happy enough trotting along, and the course was really well marked so there was nothing to really worry about on that score.

The only thing to really worry about was the mud. Every few miles there’d be a field to cross or a section of boggy track, and things got really tricky in terms of staying upright. A couple of the field crossings were awful, really claggy mud just sticking to my shoes and building up until it was nearly impossible to keep moving. More than a few times I had to stop at a fence or gate and scrape the mud off my shoes just to stop myself from toppling over on the platform of mud I’d accumulated.

But to offset the mud, was the cake. I’d heard really good things about the checkpoints, mostly from run-streak legend Mike Wells who’d been tweeting photos from last year’s event all week in anticipation. In a word, they were epic. I’ve done a few well stocked races, but this one topped the lot. I came out of every aid station with my mouth and both hands full of goodies, and I reckon I at least broke even against my £19 entry fee with all the food I ate.

I had a bit of a wobble between miles 14-17, possible a mid-checkpoint sugar crash, but then fell into pace with a couple of guys and we chatted along for a few miles. Quickly there were just two of us, me and a guy called Chris. We just carried on chatting and plodding along which was cool, and when he started to struggle a bit I dropped the pace a bit and stuck with him. We saw it out together from there, stopping a few times for Chris to stretch out some cramp, and before we knew it we were on the last stretch of muddy track and heading back into the school where we’d started.

There was even more food there, soup, pudding, custard, the works, so I scoffed a load more food and headed off for the three hour drive back. People were saying the muddy conditions were the worst they’d been in years and I can believe that – in drier conditions it would have been a pretty pleasant trot in the countryside, as it was, it was a tough old day.

This was the 25th year of the race, and you could tell they’d been doing it for while. Everything was really well organised, really well supported, and so many of the people there had done it loads of times before. The only negative thing about the whole race is that I didn’t find out until afterwards that Belvoir is pronounced “Beaver”. I could have been tweeting #nicebelvoir for weeks.

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railway ultra

5/3/2015

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I had a shitty virus and could barely move until I’d thrown down a million pain killers. But throw them down I did, and made it to the start. The first hour or so went ok, then the painkillers wore off and I wanted to die. I took some more and perked up a bit, and somehow managed to drag my arse up and down the railway line to finish in 4:15 or something. It was not a fun day.

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mad dog 10k

5/3/2015

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In the absence of any evidence it was possible, or training at the appropriate pace, I decided that this would be the race I get under 40 mins for a 10k. I did a grand total of four speed sessions in preparation for this race. That’s since the same race last year, so I was pretty sure it was going to hurt. And it did.

Being a local race, most of the running club were there which was cool, although I felt a bit of an imposter in the elite pen at the start. As soon as we were off everyone blazed past me, and I got into what would be the pattern for the rest of the race: checking my watch every ten seconds and wanting to die.

The first four km went ok, and somewhere around 5km it started to hurt. I was running about 3:50/km pace on the basis that it was highly possible I’d be walking the last couple. Through to seven km it was tough, but with three to go the end felt close and I was still alive which I took as a very good sign.

With a km to go I decided that the faster I went the quicker it’d all be over so I gave it whatever I had left, clocked a 3:40/km, and finished in 39:30.

I know that’s not quick, and I was nowhere near the front, but for the effort I put in before and during the race I was really happy. Sub-40 is meaningless really, but it’s nice to have ticked it off, especially since I doubt I’ll be getting anywhere near that again until I’ve hit my 100 marathons.

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