Tag: training

Loch Ness Marathon – RACE REPORT

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LOCH NESS MARATHON 2013

Official time: 4 hours 16 minutes 17 seconds

Overall: 1441 out of 2697

Medal : Yes, my biggest one to date!

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A little delayed in writing this, but there has been a little bit of laptop hogging in the Mackay household of late… but here we go.

A week (and another half marathon!) later, I am still on a post marathon high. Mainly because a few years ago, after I completed my first half marathon, my knees were in so much pain I vowed I would never run anything more than a 10k again as I just wasn’t built to run. Well I guess something eventually clicked and I realised that with a little more effort, maybe I could run distances. And here I am, 6 half marathons and a few too many 10k’s later… and I have comfortably (I use the term VERY loosely!) completed a marathon.

Since I joined The Wee County Harriers, my training has really stepped up a gear. Long weekend runs used to be a tedious affair, on my own with my music. But since I joined the club, I get to talk nonsense at weekends and the miles fly by. What a difference it makes, and what a lovely bunch they are….

One Sunday, too early, very tired, but this crazy lot help me through it every week :)
One Sunday morning, far too early, very tired, but this crazy lot help me through it every week 🙂

Anyway, I digress. Last Saturday we set off for Inverness mid afternoon, got to our B&B, checked in and then headed over to pick up our race numbers for the big event the next day. At this point the reality of it still hadn’t set in. I was about to push my body to do the biggest racing event of my life so far, I was going to have to run for hours and hours and hours, and here I was skipping about Bught Park not giving it a second thought.
And then we went out for dinner and almost every single pasta/carb based restaurant in Inverness was stowed out with runners, chatting about the upcoming event in the morning, and how they got on last year, and how the course was really hilly and THAT hill at 18 miles…
And that’s when it finally kicked in that I was about to run a marathon. Something I had laughed at the thought of a few years earlier and something I swore I would never do. Oh well, here goes nothing!

All checked in and ready to go, secretly wishing Nessie would emerge and tow me to the finish line!
All checked in and ready to go, secretly wishing Nessie would emerge and tow me to the finish line!

After dinner we headed back to our B&B and I got all my kit ready for the next day, pinned on my race number and made sure I had everything I needed in my race belt. I’d had a look at the weather and thought although it looked dry I didn’t trust it, so decided to wear two vests – one as a base layer and also to stop my race belt chaffing, and then my club vest on top. My body was physically shattered, but I just couldnt switch my brain off and I was over thinking everything. As Craig dozed off into a relaxed slumber, I lay staring at the ceiling of our tiny B&B room and tried to fall asleep watching the T.V. I think I got a bit of sleep between 11pm and 1am and then from there until 5.30am it was a case of dozing for a bit on and off until I snapped fully awake, gave up and got out of bed just before my alarm. I was up way before the B&B started serving breakfast, but the land lady had said the previous day she would leave out cereal and fruit for us. I wasn’t sure at what point the milk had been left out, but the thought of room temperature milk did nothing for my already depleted appetite, so luckily I had brought along my own porridge pots and some flapjacks which I had along with a couple of coffees. By 6.45am I was ready to go, so I got my stuff together, put on my throw away top which I had bought the previous day and headed down to the buses to meet up with the rest of the crew.

The sun was just coming up as I walked over to the park and the roads were empty and quiet apart from a steady stream of runners, appearing from hotels all the way along the river. Jemma was already at the park and I met up with my brother in law Stuart (who was also running his first marathon), had a quick dash to the loos and made our way to one of the many coaches which would be our mode of transport down to the bottom of Loch Ness to our race start destination. The coaches starting moving bang on 7.15am, so we eventually found our way to a double decker and within a few minutes we were off! This was it, no other way back now!

The majority of the journey flew by, but once I realised how far we were actually going, nerves set in again and I was suddenly desperate for the loo. Unfortunately the last part of the bus journey is all up hill and the coaches slowed down to a crawl at this point. Getting to our destination was a very welcome sight!

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Pre race. Nervous about what I am about to ask my body to do, but excited all the same!
Pre race. Nervous about what I am about to ask my body to do, but excited all the same!

The queues for the toilets were ridiculous. The queue was coming from both directions and people were skipping it all over the place. I guess there’s only so much you can do for 3000+ people who all the need the loo at the same time though! The countdown had now begun and we decided there was nothing left to do, no more we could do, but head to the start line and await our fate. This was finally it. What I had thought I would never manage. I saw a few club members, wished them luck and then bang on 10am we were off.

The first 5 miles or so were on a lovely down hill slope and very overcrowded. This caused me to go way too fast and I probably should have held back a bit for later in the race, but I just couldn’t stop my legs. A mixture of adrenaline and just getting swept along with the crowd made my first 5 mile splits all under 9 minutes. And then came the first wee climb…

The course elevation. Didn't realise how high we had started until I looked at this!
The course elevation. Didn’t realise how high we had started until I looked at this!

That hill came out of nowhere and was steep! I pushed right to the top and then enjoyed the next few miles of gentle ups and downs and felt positive and strong as I fuelled myself with powerade and shot blocks. One of the things I really loved about this event was the amount of support. Not just from people standing along side the roads and through villages, but the runners themselves. Random people passed me and cheered me on, giving me a little boost every now and again and it was just fab!

Still running steady!
Still running steady!

I felt great until about 16.5 miles (I think) coming into Dores. I took a bottle of water and realised it didn’t have a lid, so I walked to take a proper drink and then just couldn’t seem to get my speed back up. I knew the hill was coming up soon so I tried to push on a bit further, but something in my leg started to ache. I tried to ignore it and got chatting to a lady as we started the plod up the hill, but it just kept burning away. I decided not to push it with so far still to go and walk the hill thinking the downhill section at the other side would help the pain. But no, it hurt even more. So from there I saw my 4 hour goal time slip slowly out of sight (up til now I had been on course for a comfortable sub 4 time, but this hill had seen an end to that!). I hobbled on, half running-half walking and then was caught up by two runners from my club, Susan and Catriona. Susan was running really well and as she passed me she said Catriona wasn’t far behind. I ran with Catriona for a bit, hoping the pain would subside and I could get my focus back, but it was useless. I had to drop back to a hobble again and let them slip out of my sight over the hills. This stupid pain was not going to end my race though, I had worked too hard and for too long to give in. So after forcing down another gel and some water I pushed on for the final undulating stretch of the race. Sub 4:30 was still in sight and that was what I was aiming for – nothing left to do but move these legs for the final 5 miles.

Coming back into Inverness the crowds started to grow and grow. This was just awesome. Big groups of charity supporters were standing either side of the road with foam hands and plastic horns and they were cheering everyone on. It was just fantastic! I pushed on and on and suddenly a lady passed me who I had seen much earlier in the race. We had been playing a game of cat and mouse for 4 or 5 miles and eventually she got away from me in Dores, and she said “come on Wee County, not far to go!”. How lovely. That really helped at this stage and I knew I would be able to run the final few miles, no matter how much my body wanted to shut down. Coming down along beside the river, you can see and hear the finish line on the other side. I was tempted to jump in and swim across, but I knew that wasn’t an option so I kept plodding round only to spot Karen and Claire from the club who had earlier completed the 10k. Their cheers and support definitely helped in that last mile and a bit and before I knew it, I was on the other side of the river looking back at the other runners making their way around and probably thinking my exact thought not 10 minutes previous. I could see the finish line and hear all the names being shouted out as the crossed it and from somewhere, I have no idea where yet, managed a proper run once again. I spotted Catriona walking just before the park, hung back for her and together we managed not only a sprint finish, but a SMILING sprint finish!!

Where'd that smile come from?
Where’d that smile come from?

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And that was it. I had completed my first marathon! I felt a rush of pride, excitement and possibly slight nausea as I collected my beautiful medal and goodies, including Baxters soup (of course!), an awesome race t-shirt and lots of food!

It wasn’t quite the time I’d had in mind, but for my first marathon I was elated. I’d finished it smiling and that was enough for me! After a good stretch and some fluids, we were back in the car on our way home, sleepy, happy and a marathon runner.

And now for the Ultra…..

I even made Women's Running magazine with my thumbs up pose en route. Famous!!
I even made Women’s Running magazine with my thumbs up pose en route. Famous!!

Stirling 10k – RACE REPORT

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STIRLING 10K 2013

Official time: 48:17 – NEW PB!!

Overall: 410th out of 750 (plus a few more whose chips fell off!)

Division: 42nd out of 94

Gender: 94th out of 290

Medal : No, but we did get a technical t-shirt and goody bag with jelly beans, caramel wafer and water

The way in which I have come to view a 10k has changed so much in little over a year. This time last year it was my favourite distance and one that was comfortable and enjoyable. This time last year Jemma and I were gearing up for a nice run, maybe a PB, but more than anything a fun run in my neighbouring city. This time round it was all change. This time I have been training all year long, working on my strength, focusing on a fast time, scrutinising my mile split times and feeling a lot of pressure (only from myself of course!). 10k is no longer a stroll in the park, it’s pretty much a 6 mile sprint!!

This is exactly what I didn't want to see...
This is exactly what I didn’t want to see…

I woke up early when Craig’s alarm went off and 2 things were on my mind straight away. 1) It’s 6am, why is it still dark outside? and 2) is that rain I can hear battering off the window? And yes it was. Horrible, thick, heavy blobs of rain were being driven in all directions and at that exact moment all I wanted to do was go back to bed and curl up under my lovely thick winter duvet, which has just been brought back out of hiding. So that’s what I did, until 7.15am when I rolled out of bed and had another look at what I was about throw myself out into. It didn’t put my already anxious mind at ease at all. I’ve piled the pressure on myself for weeks about this race as it’s flat and fast and I hadn’t run anywhere close to my pb time of 48:55, which I set at the Jack Crawford 10k back in March, since. I knew I had a chance of a good time as the last flat race I ran was the Bring Bash 5 race in July and every mile was under 8 minutes, so I knew there was a possible chance, but with it being a much bigger race (dogging and weaving past people has never been a strong point of mine) and also the weather was putting a downer on things, I didn’t want to get my hopes up too much, only to be disappointed. Rain I don’t mind in the slightest, but wind and rain together are a foul combination. Previous thoughts of said weather can be found here. But with that being said, I also gave myself a shake, told myself to man up and just get on with it. Plus it would be a good chance to try out my new running jacket on the trek up to meet my team mates, and it’s awesome. No leaks at all!

Half 8 arrived and I left the house to walk up to the sports centre to meet my team mates, and we all travelled through to Stirling together. The plan was to run the race and then a few of us who are doing the Loch Ness Marathon in 2 weeks would run back to Alloa afterwards, but the weather was seriously putting me off this idea. I needed to put in the miles though, so I told my coach not to let me talk myself out of it! By just after 9am we were through in Stirling, sitting in the car and not wanting to venture anywhere away from out warm and dry sanctuary. The race was organised and hosted by Central Athletics and started outside The Peak sports centre, who kindly offered us the use of their facilities, hall to warm up and foyer to stand in until we were called to the start line. The time finally came to ditch our outer layers and dash over from the car to The Peak and wait with the other runners until we were called to the start line. At 10:10am we were ushered across and before I knew it the race had started. I thought I was a lot further forward than I actually was so once over the mat I spent the first half a mile or so dogging and weaving through the crowds, trying not to get in the way of people also doing the same. By this time the wind had really eased off, but the rain was coming down in sheets. The route in on roads the whole way around, apart from a very short section where you have to cross the river on a very narrow bridge. However this is nearly 3 miles into the race so the crowd had thinned out a lot by this point, so it’s never an issue. For the first few miles I chose to stick by another club member and get her to set the pace. I have a habit of going out too hard and too fast and not being able to keep the pace up the entire way around, so I thought if I managed to stick to just under 8 minute miles to begin with I might be able to bring it back in the last mile or so. Well, that plan went out the window!

Mile 1 – 7:50
Mile 2 – 7:19

At this point in the race I compared it to how I felt at this point in my race last year and realised it’s amazing what a year of proper training can do. I was breathing easily, my legs felt great and I was passing a lot of people on the way round. Just before you run across the river there’s a sharp bend in the road and at this point I lost Fiona in the crowds but I managed to spot another lady who I have seen at races before I knew was pretty speedy, so I chose to use her as my new pace maker. Once across the river you meet one of the 2 hills in the race and then its a very flat out and back road through Cambuskenneth, at which point you start to see all the super fast runners already on their way back, when I’m not even in sight of the turn around point!!

Mile 3 – 7:42
Mile 4 – 7:52

I was managing to stay under 8 minute miles, but my legs were now staring to feel it. However, the route out to the turn point and back is on a narrow farm track which gives you a good chance to see what position everyone else is in on the way back, get cheered on, shout on others and push to catch up with the ones you though you might have fallen too far behind. I finally clocked Jemma, having had left my phone in the car this morning before I was able to get in touch with her and noting she wasn’t too far behind me also gave me another mental boost. We were now over half way, my legs were starting to ache more but the race was still on. I looked at my watch and realised I could still gain a pb even if I pulled it back a bit. Come one legs, less than 2 miles to go, we’ve got this!!

Mile 5 – 8:01

Oh no, it’s got an 8 in it.. that’s not what I wanted to see. But wait… I’ve got just over a mile to go and plenty of time to do it in. PB, we’re on!
On the way back into Stirling there is a horrible dip in the road. I can’t even call it a hill, but on a race this flat and fast you really feel it, but I knew I was now on for a good time so with arms and legs doing all they could, I flew up and around it and back towards the finish line with the seconds ticking away on my watch.
4 minutes to gain a pb – it’s on, I’ve got this…
3 minutes to gain a pb – oh crap, it’s further than I thought…
2 minutes to gain a pb – Legs, why won’t you go faster?!? Come on!!

Mile 6 – 8:00

Ahhhh, the finish line was in sight. My team mates and in-laws were shouting me on, I still had something left in the tank and a smile to give coming over the line

0.2 – 1:30

Finish line a few metres away... time to find a smile. Or not...
Finish line a few metres away… time to find a smile. Or not…

38 SECOND PB…. FINALLY!!! And feeling surprisingly awesome! At the finish line I met up with friends and we all celebrated our times and personal bests. It hadn’t been the nicest day for running, but it hadn’t held me back too much. I definitely need to make friends with hills reps again soon and get my strength up to its maximum, but for now I have a new pb which I will bask in the glory of for a while. My next 10k will be when I’m feeling strong and fast and know that I can smash past the 48 minute barrier.

It’s not as impossible as I once thought it was…

Some wet but elated Wee County Harriers. Well done everyone!
Some wet but elated Wee County Harriers. Well done everyone!

I even managed the run back to Alloa after the race. Another 6 miles, all of which were under 9 minutes! Legs are hurting, body is fatigued and ready to switch of, but adrenaline is still in charge of my body for now. And it feels great!

A few months of catching up

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With just over 6 weeks to go until the Loch Ness Marathon I’m at a very crucial stage in my training schedule. And having just returning to it after 3 weeks of jetting setting I will be honest and say it’s well and truly kicking my butt just now.

Our holiday was wonderful. 4 days in LA, 1 in San Diego, 3 in San Francisco, 2 in Yosemite National Park and 5 in Vegas, all of which were jam packed with day trips, trekking, cycling, walking for miles, helicopter trips, boat trips…. (I think we covered nearly every possible mode of transport going in a very short space of time) not a single lie in for the majority of the holiday (until we got to Vegas!) and I even took my running to stuff with big plans to go on an adventure. But with temperatures between 35 and 42°C it just wasn’t possible. It was much cooler in San Francisco, but we didn’t have a spare minute there, so again no running. Here we are, week after getting home I am still shattered and my body clock is all over the place. After not listening to Craig’s advice to stay up and try and get my body clock back to normal, I really suffered from bad jet lag the first few days back home. I tired to catch up on sleep, but I just felt worse for it and long days at work just made me miserable, so I put off my first run until the weekend. And it sucked. I went for a very slow 13 miles, just me and my music and about 5 miles in I should have turned back. Everything was hurting, especially my shoulders, my stomach wasn’t feeling great and every step just felt like such an effort. The weeks before I went away I was happily knocking out 40-50 mile weeks with no pains or headaches after training and I haven’t felt as sore as I did so soon after a run since I started running. I know I’ve only got myself to blame and I’ll probably get told off a few more times in the next few weeks, but I really am hoping it’s just a blip.

However, the pressure is on for Loch Ness. I am really excited about this event as so many people I know in many different circles are doing it and my wonderful husband Craig has kindly agreed to drive Jemma and I up and back. The only thing I am not looking forward to is returning to work on the Monday after. That might be a somewhat painful experience! I feel I have made leaps and bounds in my training since I joined the Harriers and my weekend runs continue to increase in distance without me evening noticing. What a difference having someone to push you along when you feel yourself flagging a bit makes – especially on the hills, no matter how small a gradient! Quite a few people from my club are also doing Loch Ness and like myself will be using it not only as a race, but as a warm up for Glen Ogle. Oh yeah, did I mention I have entered an Ultra? Yep, I’m totally daft….
Many people may think I’m insane entering my first ultra so soon, but the way I look at it is, how will I ever know if I don’t try? Yes I’ll probably wonder what the hell I am doing and why I’m doing it when I’m not even a third into the race and right now with the way I’m feeling post holiday I’m even wondering if I’m going to be alright in my marathon. I’m hoping it’s just my conscience talking because I’ve had a few bad runs recently and my confidence has dropped a bit. Give me a few weeks and hopefully I’ll be back on top of everything and running will be my best friend again.
I’ll ket you know how my next few training sessions go…

Some holiday and early July pics.

My amazing birthday cake and family party early in July.
My amazing birthday cake and family party early in July.
Finally got to catch up with my brothers after many months.
Finally got to catch up with my brothers after many months.
Skye also appreciated my birthday cake
Skye also appreciated my birthday cake
Hanging with the stars in LA
Hanging with the stars in LA
Helicopter trip into the Grand Canyon. One of the most amazing experiences ever.
Helicopter trip into the Grand Canyon. One of the most amazing experiences ever.
Following another helicopter back at sunset.
Following another helicopter back at sunset.
Cycling in San Fran!
Cycling in San Fran!
Trekking up to the top of Vernal Falls in Yosemite
Trekking up to the top of Vernal Falls in Yosemite
Yosemite National Park
Yosemite National Park
One of Craig's amazing photos in Yosemite
One of Craig’s amazing photos in Yosemite
Another of Craig's amazing photos.
Another of Craig’s amazing photos.

Black Rock 5 – RACE REPORT!

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I have fallen behind quite a lot with my posts recently, so apologies for that! As we come towards the end of term, work has been utterly manic and I feel like I’m burning the candle at both ends with early starts, lots of training and late nights. It’s my own fault for not going to bed earlier, so I’m learning the hard way. Once marathon training is in full swing I won’t have any excuse – sleep will be a priority!

Black Rock 5.
Black Rock 5.

BLACK ROCK 5

Watch time- 35:55

Chip time- 36:05

Ranking – 370th of 752

Last night I had my first proper club event which was the Kinghorn AGR Black Rock ‘5’ race. The first race was held in 1987 and has been staged every year since (except 1991) and is one of those events that people count down until they day they can enter and then race to get a place – it usually sells out in a day or 2. I was lucky enough to get offered a place through my running club as a few people pulled out so instead of places going to waste, they were quickly snapped up by super keen runners like myself! The race begins in the centre of the town of Kinghorn and after a mile or so of road running you are down onto the beach for about a mile of running across the wet sand out to the Black Rock, which is usually nearly submerged when the tide is in, round the rock which involves running knee-deep through the sea, back across the sand and back up to the finish line in the town centre (which is on a near vertical hill!). Nothing like anything I’ve ever done before, so to say I was a little bit excited about this race was an understatement!

The race is held in the evening, so after another stressful day at work, I was more than ready to run and went home to get my stuff ready. I met some of my fellow club runners up at the local high school where a bunch of us were getting a mini-bus through, meeting the others through in Kinghorn. Everyone was in high spirits and wondering how deep the water would be round the rock – apparently it could be anything from ankle to thigh deep and you just had to blast through to get back to the sand! Running on beaches and in the sea is something I have never experienced so very old trainers were packed along with clean clothes for the bus journey home! As we entered Kinghorn the rock was pointed out to me. We were about an hour away from the race starting, the rock was still almost fully submerged and I couldn’t see any of the beach we were meant to be running across. Fingers were crossed that the tide went out quickly!
Once we arrived we had to walk up to the local community centre to pick up our numbers. Now this was a mission in itself! As I was running other under else’s name, I had forgotten to check what my number was. This wouldn’t normally have been a problem at most other races as you could just give your name and get given your number. At this race they were asking for names and dates of birth…. which I didn’t know! I had a slight panic and then realised I had in fact been forwarded the email with my race number in it, so panic over and back to the bus to meet up with everyone else and head down to the start line. This was at the bottom of a hill which I thought would be a nice way to finish the race, but I was so wrong. The finish line was at the top of the next hill up which was so steep, so I reminded myself to keep something in the tank for a good strong finish. And after running the sea and having trainers filled with sand, I had no idea how this would pan out!

WCH ready to go!! Pic Stephen Beveridge
WCH ready to go!! Pic Stephen Beveridge

Across the sand to the rock.
Across the sand to the rock.

We were piped to the start line and after a quick race briefing and posing for a few photos with all the Wee County Harriers, we were off! The race was chipped, but I noticed as I started there wasn’t a timing pad to run across, so I started my garmin as close to what I thought the start line was as possible (an orange spray painted line across the road). A tough uphill slog brought us onto a flat road that gradually sloped downhill toward the beach. I felt I had got quite a fast start, but didn’t realise quite how many people were ahead of me until I was running down onto the beach and caught sight of all the runners already making their way out across the beach to the Black Rock. The road ended and we were down on to the soft sand for a couple of hundred metres before the wet sand began… and carried on for over a mile. It was a new experience and definitely a harder slog on the legs, but I managed to stick to 8:xx minute miles the whole way across the beach. There was another piper standing on the Black Rock which gave me another little boost and I ploughed into the sea and blasted my way around the rock to get back to the beach. Running in the sea is fun! I’ll remember to try to keep my mouth closed next time, I got a good few splashes of salt water on my way round! Back on the beach and I tried to pick up the pace on my way back to the road, but as there are no markers to run between, I felt myself wiggling all over the beach and not really running in a straight line. I had no idea if I was near any other club members and then I suddenly heard “come on Iona!” as Andy and Susan caught up with me and we ran side by side back up to the road. Another hard slog through the dry sand lead to more comfortable road running back up through the town. After the sand I won’t even complain that it was back up hills! Nearing the top of the hill I spotted my friend Rachel who was there with her two kids to support her husband who was also running. She shouted she’d race me with the pram back to the finish, which made me laugh and gave me another boost just before the last hill. The downhill just before the final slog gave me just what I needed to get some boost back in my legs and then it was under the bridge and, BAM, onto the final hill. Just as I hit the hill Andy flew past me, which really made me speed up and just on the last tough push, I saw my fellow runners and coaches at the top and they started screaming for me to push and I gave it all I had to bundle myself over the finish line. I seriously can’t emphasise how much of a difference this made to my finish and I loved having people there to cheer me on – it just gives you a push you wouldn’t be able to give yourself mentally. So thank you to them all for that! I then got my chip cut off (still confused by the finish but no start mat!) and went to rejoin and congratulate the other runners who had already finished. After shouting all our team members over the line we went to collect our race memento – a bottle of beer supplied by Williams Bros, funnily enough from our local brewery in Alloa! I’m not a beer drinker myself, so I took mine home for Craig while everyone else enjoyed theirs straight after the race. After cleaning up and getting the sand out from between our toes, we went along to a BBQ held by the RNLI at a pub right on the seafront. It was just stunning watching the sun go down with such a beautiful view out across the River Forth on the longest day of the year.

Powering up the dry sand back to the road. Pic Stephen Beveridge
Powering up the dry sand back to the road. Pic Stephen Beveridge
Old trainers are a must for this run!
Old trainers are a must for this run!
One of the best cupcakes I have ever tasted, courtesy of Stephen's wife.
One of the best cupcakes I have ever tasted, courtesy of Stephen’s wife.

This race will definitely be one on my calendar for the next few years and I will be one of those people who count down the minutes until entry day. Thanks to the Wee County Harriers for all their support and for getting me a space in this race!

Let's all run into the sea for a while!
Let’s all run into the sea for a while!

Cobra Classic 10k – RACE REPORT!

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Oh hello Monday, back so soon?

Gorgeous medal. Wish my feet had those sometimes....
Gorgeous medal. Wish my feet had those sometimes….

What a quick weekend that was. I feel like it was just half an hour ago we were dropping the dog off at Craig’s parents and hitting the road down South for a very quick weekend of running, meeting new people and spiders. Yes, spiders! Craig is an avid tarantula keeper and has been frequenting the BTS (British tarantula society) show in Coseley, near Wolverhampton for years now. I originally was going to join him just for a weekend away and to help out at their stall, but when he suggested I look to see if there were any races near by that day, I wondered why I hadn’t thought of doing so already! So a quick look on Runner’s World lead me to booking into the Cobra Classic 10k in Hagely, just 12 miles down the road from where the show was being held. Brilliant.

On the Saturday morning we were up bright and early to pack up the car and head over to Stirling to pick up some of Craig’s friends. By 11am we were on the motorway and come 4pm we were settled into our hotel and ready to catch up with others over dinner and drinks. I devoured my dinner of scampi and chips, had a good laugh and got to put many faces to names that Craig had mentioned many times over the past few years. I headed home way before the rest of them to try and get an early night, but ended up getting sucked into watching the farce that is Eurovision. Oh my!

Race morning arrived and I bounced out of bed, feeling really good and ready to run. I had my usual pre race breakfast of cereal with a banana and a few coffees. I opened the curtains and the room flooded with sunlight – this was going to be a glorious run. It was 8am and already roasting!! We checked out of the hotel, I dropped the guys off at the show and then made the few mile journey down the M5 to Hagley where the race was being held. As I drove along the leafy dual carriage way I started to spot ‘caution, runners!’ signs, and thought to myself that this course was looking nice and flat. I really, really wanted to get a PB in this race as in the few weeks I have been training with The Wee County Harriers I already feel stronger and more confident in my running ability. And if the course was as flat as I thought it was, we were laughing!
I got to the rugby club just in time to see the 3.5k fun run start and sat in the sun to watch that. After a few toilet visits and a quick dash back to the car to get my sunglasses I was ready to go. We all headed down to the end of the car park and then around about 10:30am we were off! There were loads and loads of club vests around me and I started to worry I’d be left behind, but to my surprise and delight I took off really quickly and felt really strong. The first few miles were along a narrow path that ran along side the dual carriage way and I was glad I’d got a fast start as there wasn’t much room for overtaking for quite a while. The first 3 miles were FAST and I’m sure I clocked around 22:xx but my timing was completely messed up so I can’t be sure. There was a drinks station at 5k and I tried desperately to drink from a cup and run but failed miserably. I usually run with a sports bottle but in my panic to find where I was going I forgot one and on such a hot day I really regretted it. I wasn’t stopping or slowing down to drink it properly so after attempting and failing to drink it, I launched it at my face and carried on. And then I hit the hill. I have no idea where I read, or thought I read that this course was flat, but I now know I must have made that up or imagined it because in the heat and with these hills this was probably one of the hardest courses I have ran. The next 2 miles were slow and sluggish and as I came off the the first big hill my legs just sighed and started to drag. I could see the road was long and flat ahead of me so I tried to pick up the pace but then came the next hill. I could see lots of people walking ahead of me and again this surprised me but soon found out why. This hill was much steeper than it first seemed! The marshall at the top of this hill directed me across the road and into some beautiful lush green fields that seemed to go on forever. I could see lots of multi coloured dots bobbing around in the distance and realised I hadn’t fallen that far behind the guy I had chosen to pace me so that cheered me up a bit!

The final few kilometres were along single track farm roads and with a final push up another hill I heard a marshall shout “come on Bab!” (love that in their accent!!) “this is the last hill, I promise. It’s all downhill and flat from here!”. And it was. Apart from nearly getting run over by a tractor as the farmer obviously wasn’t going to stop or slow down for anyone, especially a few hundred runners!! Soon enough I could see the finish line at the other side of the rugby pitch but by now I was all out of energy, feeling like I could possibly melt into a puddle of sweaty goo at any point and didn’t even have a second thought about talking myself out of a sprint finish. I happily plodded across the field at a steady pace, through the finishers chute to collect my medal and goody bag and straight over to a shaded area to get as much fluid back in to me as I could. Immediately feeling better, I looked at my watch to see what time I had stumbled in at and to my surprise my watch said 51:14. I know I had problems with buttons right at the start and didn’t get my time right on the line, but when I looked at the official results I apparently came in at 53:16. It wasn’t chip timed so I have no idea what has happened, but I am more than slightly confused. However at the time I was just too hot to care!

Almost out of shot.... running so fast!! Picture Roger Mills, Midland Photos
Almost out of shot…. running so fast!! Photos Roger Mills, Midland Photos

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Over all it was a great race with a mixture of road, trails, hills and fields to tackle in a blazing 22 degree heat. I know that’s not very hot at all, but when nearly every race and training run for the past year has been in the rain, snow, hail or winds so strong I get blown off my feet, it was a welcome change but also a challenge. Can’t wait for more of the same, however next time I’ll be better prepared!

After the race I hung around for the prize giving and then sat in the sun to eat a cake or two which had been kindly donated by friends and family of the running club. Cakes after races are always good so many thanks for those!! Eventually I felt I’d had enough sun and got into my hot box of a car to head back to Craig at the show in Coseley. The show ended about 4pm and the guys had a really successful day, both buying and selling and Craig also won first prize in the photography competition for which he was awarded a lovely plaque. Hoorah!!
After all the excitement and awards of the day, we hit the road for another long journey back to normality.

Normality is boring. Bring on the next challenge…..

5 minutes after picking up the dog she was out for the count. Obviously had way too much fun this weekend!!
5 minutes after picking up the dog she was out for the count. Obviously had way too much fun this weekend!!

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