Edinburgh marathon 2009

I got to Edinburgh about 11 on Saturday morning and had coffee and lay around in the shade in Princess Street Gardens until the flat was available. Met up with RuthB2 in the excellent flat she had found and then after an afternoon siesta mainly because of the heat, I went off to Starbucks down the road for hours of chat and meeting old and new Fetchies. 

RuthB2, Pestomum, Woodley and later Flip and I spent a quiet night in the flat chatting away before I had a relatively early night.

I woke a little early and started my pre-race faff. My ribs were still a little sore so besides pain killers I thought I would wear a sleeveless base layer under my fetch top for support. I thought I might get too hot but it turned out fine and my ribs were pain free for the entire race. I did take some more pain killers half way round just to be on the safe side.

The plan for Pestomum and me was 11 min/miles and for the first half we managed this fine and everything was going well (apart from there being no water at the 3m water station). Saw the winners coming back before we reached Fetchpoint, which it was lovely to see, and from then on we played spot the Fetchies on the other side of the road for a very long time. When we got to Fetchpoint there was no RuthB2 of Flip with Pesto's special drink - it turned out that their bus took 4 hours to do a thirty minute journey as it was following the runners. Flip ran five miles to try and catch us but we were long gone by the time he reached Fetchpoint 

One thing I noticed was the number of people walking on both sides of the road - I have never seen so many, but it was very very hot.

After halfway we started to slow a bit and had some walking breaks. At one point Toolilac, who was doing the relay and going in the other direction, stopped and warned us there was no water ahead and handed us her water bottle as she hadn't got far to go. What a lovely, thoughtful thing to do ! That water was very useful. I started to search the side of road for bottles with any water in, but didn't have any luck.

Eventually we got to 20m and there was water. After that there was loads of water. At about 21m we found Flip who had run out from Fetchpoint with water for us having heard about the water shortage - considering he didn't run the race, he ran an awful lot yesterday, a real hero ! 

Got to Fetchpoint the second time, lovely to hear the cheers, and there was RuthB2 with Pesto's drink and then we were into the final miles. Our pacing had been pretty good and we ran/walked the last stretch coming home in 5hr 20m which in that heat was a good time for a first marathon. She did great !  We had a good a good chat on the way round too 

I felt my hamstrings a little on the way round, but no cramp so that was good as well. 

In the evening we went to the party organised by Santa and I danced a bit. Well, a lot and loved it 

A fantastic weekend and I think I will do this run again in spite of the water shortage. But this weekend will be remembered because of the kindness and thoughtfulness of Fetchies, the work by Fetchies organising Fetchpoint and the pre-race and post-race Fetch events. Thank you ! 

Photos : https://photos.app.goo.gl/QKBxktjWHJm3BCXm7

  

Brathay Windermere marathon 2009

This was my first marathon two years ago and although I struggled from mile 22 onwards, I enjoyed it. Last year I was doing it after the White Peak the day before and I surprised myself how well it went.

This year it didn't start well, I slept poorly the night before, so I was still tired when I woke up. The day before had been fun watching and encouraging the Ten marathons in Ten Days runners at various points round the Lake (they do the marathon course every day !). Met many people I knew, including Phil Owen who came over to watch and support them.

Go to the start in plenty of time and and saw the Ten in Ten runners off on their final lap (they start an hour earlier), more chat and then off to our start. The plan was to be disciplined and do 10 min/miles and help others to new pbs. My hamstring hasn't been good this week and I have Edinburgh in two weeks, so it was always going to be gentle, enjoy the scenery, run.

The course is very undulating and it wasn't easy to keep a consistent pace. My plan as it evolved through the race was to stick as close as I could to 10 min/miles and not to speed up to catch others who were speeding up, but to slow down if people were struggling to keep up. We were a minute or two ahead of schedule at 13m and then the hardest undulating quarter kicked in and we started to slip behind the schedule. Andrew had always been slightly ahead and he disappeared soon after half way. Kev went ahead at 15m, followed by Tracy at about 18m, leaving me and Mel.

Then at 19m I fell ! I had moved off the road to look at my watch and caught my foot on a driveway kerbstone. It was like being in slow motion, I thought I had recovered, but I hadn't and I smacked down on the driveway. Ouch. Everybody around me stopped to ask if I was okay and I knew from previous experience of falling that I had to give myself a minute to assess the damage. Initial assessment was good so I told Mel on go on and said I would try and catch her up. I was up at this stage and walked for a bit. The inside of my left hand was a but bloody and grazed and I had slight pain in my side at chest height, but no damage to my legs.

Caught Mel up before we got to Bowness and we went along the flat part and walked the 21m hill to be greeted by a couple of friends at the top, it was great to see them. I was becoming conscious of the soreness in my side and my hamstring was starting to protest, left calf was tightening and it was starting to become harder work.

Then at 22m, the heavens opened and rain came down in buckets. Before this it had been a mixture of cloudy and sunny with a slight head wind in the first half. Mel was starting to struggle a bit, but it was clear we were going to get her a new pb and it seemed to be possible to get her under 4hr 30m. In the end we missed that by 23 seconds, but got her a new pb by about 6min, so that was great!

Afterwards I was amazed how tired I was. Not sure whether it was because of poor sleep or the fall, but it seemed worse that it had been the last two years.

A lovely weekend !

Photos : Windermere 2009 - Google Photos

2008 blog : Lisrun: District Double Brathay Windermere marathon 2008

Blackpool marathon 2009

There were loads of Fetchie pbs at the Blackpool half and full marathons today - well done everybody ! 

I drove over early on Saturday morning and met up with Durham Dawdler and L at race HQ - the Hilton and they very kindly gave me tea as they were staying there. I then wondered into the centre in the wind, which was very strong on Saturday. Its about six years since I have been here and it wasn't as I remembered it, lots of building in a poor state of repair, lots of groups of young people looking as if they were getting ready for quite a night.

I started to feel a bit tired, I had gone to bed early on Friday and woken early but had had a good night so I went to find the hotel and have a rest. I had the smallest double attic room I have ever seen ! Rested for a while and then Flip arrived. He and I then went down to the Pleasure Beach and looked at the 'Big One', it was terrifying even watching it ! Had a not very good meal in Yates and then I went back to get an early night.

I slept from about 10 until 1 and then just dozed the rest of the night, so not good. Luckily the wind had dropped considerably overnight so that was good. Drove dowm to Hilton and met other Fetchies including Ultra Dunc and Chirunner who I hadn't met before.

Race started on time and my plan was to just see how it went and not start too fast and try and keep close to 9 min miles. Basically it was a two lap course all along the front. We went south 3 and bit miles then north 7 or so miles passing the Hilton at halfway, then 3 and bit miles back to the Hilton and repeat.

I started too fast even though it was pretty crowded as both the full and half started at the same time. So much for my plan ! The first 22m went much better than I hoped

1) - 1m - 8:46(8:46/m) - 137cal 
2) - 1m - 8:35(8:35/m) - 139cal 
3) - 1m - 8:38(8:38/m) - 139cal 
4) - 1m - 8:35(8:35/m) - 140cal 
5) - 1m - 8:48(8:48/m) - 139cal 
6) - 1m - 8:49(8:49/m) - 140cal 
7) - 1m - 8:50(8:50/m) - 140cal 
8) - 1m - 8:42(8:42/m) - 138cal 
9) - 1m - 8:42(8:42/m) - 139cal 
10) - 1m - 8:56(8:56/m) - 139cal 
11) - 1m - 8:45(8:45/m) - 139cal 
12) - 1m - 8:53(8:53/m) - 140cal 
13) - 1m - 8:38(8:38/m) - 142cal 
14) - 1m - 8:31(8:31/m) - 140cal 
15) - 1m - 8:29(8:29/m) - 142cal 
16) - 1m - 8:33(8:33/m) - 140cal 
17) - 1m - 8:47(8:47/m) - 140cal 
18) - 1m - 8:38(8:38/m) - 139cal 
19) - 1m - 8:33(8:33/m) - 139cal 
20) - 1m - 8:45(8:45/m) - 138cal 
21) - 1m - 8:35(8:35/m) - 139cal 
22) - 1m - 8:55(8:55/m) - 138cal 

Nothing over 9min mile pace !  8m or so of the 26 was on concrete and when I was running on some of that at 22m the wheels started to come off, but the first 22m had taken me 3hr 11m (I had got to 20m in faster time that I had at the Trimpell 20m a few weeks ago, a bit of a mistake, too quick), so I knew that to get sub 4hr, which was my hope, I could run 12 min mile pace.

Those last four miles were hard. At the drinks station just before 23m I walked a little and realised my legs were very very tired. Once we had turned for home the breeze seemed to have picked up and it was undulating a bit. I had felt my calves tightening on the concrete and now as I climbed the small undulations I started to get spasms of cramp in either one leg or the other. I slowed down, but knew I had to keep running. The figures were

23) - 1m - 9:23(9:23/m) - 138cal 
24) - 1m - 9:29(9:29/m) - 140cal 
25) - 1m - 9:50(9:50/m) - 140cal 
26) - 1m - 9:36(9:36/m) - 140cal 
27) - 0.32m - 3:31(10:59/m) - 42cal 

I almost made it like that, but 50 yards from the line, I had sudden unbelievably painful cramp in my hamstring, never saw that coming ! There was no way I could run any further and I was lucky it was only 50 yards from the line ! I walked towards the line with the commentator asking for the crowd's support and interviewing me, but I was in pain and not very talkative ! Great support from Fetchies who had done the half or just came to support all the way round and they were great at the finish .

Tried to run the last couple of yards, but ouch, no way !

Crossed the line in 3hr 53min 11sec so I was very very pleased . Strangely the pain in my hamstring went quickly, but my calves are still sore. Cheered in the rest of the Fetchies, lots of whom got pbs. Loved XB's meandering finish ! 

I forget to mention that I saw Howfar a couple of times in the race and he was flying - he was coming back towards me in the opposite direction and looking great !

Met up with some Fetchies in the bar afterwards and then drove home slowly as I was very very tired !

Very happy (have I said that before?) ! 

Photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/UeuU6wQ97eRHAb6s7

   

Lunesdale Walk 28m 2009

Left at 7 to get to Arkholme, the start of the Lunesdale Walk, a long distance walking association event which welcomed runners. There were three routes: 6m, 17m and 28m. The last two started at the same time and the first 15m were the same. Got there in plenty of time, registered, had a lovely cup of tea. As my race number was 15, I wasn't expecting a big field - about 45 althogether with about 15 runners and 30 walkers, but it wasn't possible to tell who was doing 17m and who was doing 28m - you could make your mind up at the 15m checkpoint.

Started at 8.30. I thought it would be good to get under 6hr for this one. It was my first run that I would have to navigate. There was a route description and a map, but with my eyes, the map was too small, so I had built a much better one, but it consisted of 22 A4 pages!

I thought I might try and count the number of stiles and gates. Last week at the Belvoir Challenge 26 I reckoned there were about 27. I soon gave up. There must have been on average about 3 or 4 per mile. A different scale altogether.

Soon after the start I was last but one of the runners, but this was great, I could just follow everybody else ! The leaders made an error and those behind went another way and I reckoned they must know what they are doing and followed them. Soon after this I fell. I had just come off a stile and I was on a wooden very wet boardwalk and just lost my footing. I was lucky that I was at the end of the broadwalk and fell onto the grass as I smacked my head and banged my leg. Took a minute and decided to carry on and although my leg was a bit stiff climbing stiles, I had no after effects.

The route was not marked at all, but we were following footpaths and there were little arrows at each stile telling you the direction (but they weren't always accurate). Between the stiles (and you couldn't always see the next one) there was often no path at all, you were just running across muddy fields, grassland, very rutted fields where you coudn't run or sometimes a very muddy path, where it was very hard to run at all.

Inevitably the field spread out but there was one guy ahead of me who I kept in sight for most of the first 11m. We had a chat at one point when we weren't sure where to go, but he pulled ahead. At which point I got went off route for the first time. Managed to get back on track without too much of a diversion and approached the 15m point - decision time!

I was tempted, very tempted to do just 17m, but the weather was still cloudy and dry and I felt I could do more so I went on. Of course about 1m after that decision, the weather broke. It got windy and the rain started to come across horizontally ! I made my second navigational error and ended up trudging across a very muddy field, but got back on track. Soon after another error - I climbed a hill and then had to come back down!

After yet another minor error, I made it to checkpoint 3, 23m - Wray, the only place I had been before - to their scarecrow festival when they hold a 10K, a lovely event. The checkpoints were like last week - amazing, cakes, drinks, just lovely. And they told me I was 9th (out of 19 doing the long route and of course everybody behind me was walking, although because of the weather and the even more difficult terrain in the second half, I was walking most of the time) ! I hadn't seen anybody else since 11m and I didn't see anybody before the end either.

Finally got back. 6hr 47min ! An hour longer than I have ever been out before. Still I am glad I did it - a whole new experience having to navigate and the weather was as a fellow runner put it 'character building'.

The meal afterwards was excellent: soup, baked potato with cheese, beans and coleslaw, followed by tea and cake. Total cost of the event was 6 pounds!

Belvoir Challenge 26m 2009

I went down to the Grantham the previous night and had problems finding the Travelodge which meant that I did about 30min more driving than I need have done. Not a great start !

Got to the start very early, but at least this meant that I got a parking space at the village hall which was the finishing point - I would be very pleased at the end that I didn't have to walk very far.

Had two cups of tea whilst I was waiting and if I wasn't a vegetarian I would have been very tempted by the bacon or sausage butty. This is the 19th running of this event and the whole thing worked like a well oiled machine, it appeared as if the whole village was out helping. Both events were full - the 15m and the 26m. There looked to be slightly more walkers than runners. Faffed around deciding what to wear. Started in shorts, changed my mind and got into tights and stuck with that. Put a couple of packets of yoghurt coated raising in my back pocket and just one gel. I was a bit nervous about having just one gel for such a distance, but I thought I would just rely on the food and drink at the checkpoints - five of them.

It started at the school up the road and then went through the narrow village streets. This was a bit messy as several walkers started at the front which caused a bit of a holdup, but at least my first half mile wasn't too fast. Got out of the village onto a firm trail and the courses forked - the 15m route went right and the 26m route went left and suddenly I had loads of space and nothing but runners ahead of me. The trail got muddier and then we were into a muddy field and into the next village - all the villages we went through (must have been ten or so) were very pretty. We soon started the first climb and I decided to walk them all. Into some lovely woods and after 5m we came to the first checkpoint. It was just amazing ! Load and loads of cake, pizza, loads of alternative drinks including tea. I decided to eat every other checkpoint and drink at each one, so I didn't linger too long, although it was tempting.

And so it went on, we went past Belvoir Castle, very impressive, through muddy fields, muddy tracks, some road sections. Great countryside. All the helpers at the checkpoints were very friendly and helpful. When I got to the last but one at 18.5m I was starting to feel very tired and there was part of me wished that was the end ! I had already had the gel earlier and I think I may have needed more energy. The yoghurt covered raisins I had kept in their boxes in my back pocket, but I won't do that again, the boxes had disintegrated and were a soggy mess. So the cake at this checkpoint was very welcome and I picked up a bit after this.

Before the last checkpoint, I had just crossed an over the ankle deep muddy section and was just leaving the field when I heard somebody shouting behind me. A small group of cows had wandered on to the path behind me and the woman behind was asking me to move them as she was terrified of cows, so I ran back and shooed them away. Plodded on to the finish and I was pleased to get there. 4hr 36min. At the finish was soup, load of rolls, various puddings and custard, tea, coffee etc, just loads to eat and all included in the entry fee. I had taken printed maps with me, but only once did I need them as the course was superbly marked with tape and signs - another indication of how well organised this event was.

If you fancy a long mainly off road run, I would strongly recommend this one.

District Double Brathay Windermere marathon 2008

We stayed in Staveley, but not at my usual place, this time we were outside the village in a house with fantastic views, but I did miss my usual place.

We got to Brathay in plenty of time and we were encouraged to park the cars near the lake so that my support team would not have far to carry their windsurfers and canoes !  They had a great time again. We met up with loads of Fetchies which was great.


I had no idea how the race was going to go. My legs had cramped the day before and I felt very tired after White Peak, so the signs didn't look good. However, a night in compression socks seemed to have helped quite a bit. I decided just to see how it went and slow down if the cramp came back. I took it very easy at first but soon settled into the pace of 10 min/miles that I had got into the day before. Ran for a while with a 100 marathon club runner and chatted away about marathons, it was great. I was taking sports drink and kendal mint at every station and also a gel every 4.5m. Never done sports dring and gels together before but it didn't seem to be doing me any harm. Walked the 7m hill and lost a couple of minutes, but then plodded on at the same pace. 

As yesterday from about 5m I was catching and overtaking people and this seemed to help me along. As we turned at the bottom of the lake, the sun had gone behind clouds and it remained that way until the end. The next 5m after halfway were tough with lots of climbs and descents. 

I remember reading KinkyS's blog of Windermere last year as she described her district double. As I recall she found a second wind somewhere round the last quarter and much to my amazement I found something similar (just a lot less speedy ). Nightjar seems to have had something similar this year. At about 18m after the tough undulations, I suddenly felt strong and started to speed up. I walked only some of the 21m hill but didn't lose too much. I speeded up a bit more in the last two miles. 

In the last mile I passed one of the 10 in 10 runners and I congratulated him on what he had done and then as I ran on he noticed that I had done White Peak (I had the white peak race number on my back) and he gave me some lovely loud cheers which encouraged me a bit more. Got a few comments about my sanity on the way round because of that number  

I drove up the hill to the Hall, round the bend to hear the loud whoops and claps of the assembled Fetchies - a lovely sound. 4hr 26m 29sec, my slowest marathon but I enjoyed it much more than Windermere last year which was 13m faster. It feels so much better not to blow up at 21 miles and have to walk most of the rest. I had originally set out to do both under 5hr so I'm over the moon to have done both in less than 4h 30m . Maybe next year I should aim to try and get both under 4h 15m *How did that happen ??? Can't believe I actually typed that just one day after*

Photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/98YDsgybzbpqM2vW7
2007 blog: Lisrun: Brathay Windermere marathon 2007
  

District Double White Peak marathon 2008

My daughter and her boyfriend drove us down to Derbyshire. My son joined us there and they all went windsurfing and canoeing on both days and seemed to have a great time. It helped loads bring driven everywhere . 

Spent the night at Alfreton and got to Cromford Meadows in plenty of time and met lots of fetchies. Bused to the start and my support team drove there to see me off. My plan was to stick to ten minute miles and not to try to go any faster.

I was told there was a gentle incline for the first 11m which you could hardly notice. Well it was gentle and went on for a long time, but I did notice these rises. We got to 11m and turned back on ourselves for a short section before going on a different trail and after that I found it hard for the next 3m or so. Got through that mental hard patch, but can't remember how, which is a shame !

I was overtaking people from about 5m as they slowed and after then nobody overtook me. The marshall at 11m said we had done all the hard work, but for me this wasn't correct. There was along steady climb from 16m to 21m. Then the first descent, followed by more uphill which I had not expected. At the top I cramped, but after about a minute of stretching I carried on but more gently. Then we went down the first 1:8 descent where I couldn't let yourself go. Then more of a rise before the final long 1:8 descent before finishing along the canal towpath. 

Only one major road crossing, the rest was on old railway lines. An excellent scenic course. The aim had been to stick to ten minute miles and I was happy that I had largely stuck to this, I haven't always been that disciplined. Time 4hr 19min. My legs didn't feel great afterwards in spite of taking it easy and the cramp did not bode well for the next day. 

There were some great times by fetchies at this race and it was good to see so many and have their support 

Photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/3gaaMz5tLH3w5mQ58