Skip to main content

Soak Up The Sun

I did it!

After three months of talking about it, blogging about it, training, stretching, pilates, and the interminable waiting of last week, I did it and I have the medal to prove it!

My Medal
My Sprint Finish!

On Sunday 25th March, at just after 12.00pm, I completed the Stafford Half Marathon in a very pleasing and slightly surprising 1:58:08 (sub-2 hours in runners speak). That works out at just over 9 minutes per mile. I even managed a sprint finish - running the last 400 minutes in about 2 minutes.

As you can tell from the before and after shots below, it was hard work on a very sunny and warm day.

Before - Smiling!
After - Still Smiling!


Some thoughts on the race based on the music I was listening too as I ran:

  • Ready To Go - this was my first experience of a big race - almost 2,000 participants completed the event. It was a bit of a scrum at the start but everyone was very friendly and I had a few conversations whilst we were waiting to start. Once the klaxon sounded, it actually took me about 3 minutes to reach the official start point. The route was quite congested in the first mile or so but once we cleared the town centre, I soon got into my running.
  • Shine - everywhere I looked, there were people wearing t-shirts highlighting the organisations they were supporting. There were very moving stories being told in words and pictures. This reminded me of the people who are my running inspirations and the struggles they are going through. Thanks to everyone who has made donations to Cancer Research to support my run - the total raised is now over £300 and still growing.
  • Only Losers Take The Bus - this one always seems to crop up when I'm running up steep hills. This time it was after about 6-7 miles as I was running up the inclines at Tixall. I had slowed down a little bit and just dropped a jelly baby on the floor, as I was trying to unwrap from its silver foil. Spirits were low but lifted when this song came on. I think I may even have sung along - any runners nearby must have thought I had slightly strange approach to encouraging myself along. Thanks MrT for this addition to my playlist - it had the required effect yet again.
  • Promised you a Miracle - this song actually came on twice and I'm not sure why.... but it was a good song for Mile 8 because I knew my biggest supporter MrT was waiting for me at the point on the course. This was the song we used at our wedding and MrT definitely believed that "everything is possible" when it came to supporting me in my half marathon effort. 
  • This Isn't Everything You Are - a Snow Patrol favourite with the two great lines which provided a bit of much needed inspiration as I was struggling in the heat between miles 10 and 12: "Don't keel over now" and "There's joy not far from here, right, I know there is". Those lyrics and my last jelly baby were enough to get me through that rough patch.
  • Good Enough - this was the song playing as I got to the finish line and it feels like a bit of an understatement for how I was feeling - so much more than Good Enough... is there a song called Delirious? There were so many people in the final few hundred metres, the noise was incredible. It was great to pick out a few faces in the crowd as they cheered me home - thanks Jo, Meg, Kirsten and MrT again (who had hot-footed it back from Mile 8 to be waiting for me at the finish). I felt like a real athlete! 
Once the run was over, there were lots of hugs, photos and excited chatter. It was great to go back to the finishing straight and cheer home all the other runners from Potters Trotters too - there were some amazing achievements from all the girls out there and I really enjoyed feeling part of the team. Then it was great to get home and eat treats for the rest of the day... including sausage butties followed by rocky road cheesecake!
Post-race treat - don't read the calorie count!

Now it's all over.... so what next?

I'm sure I'll be setting myself another running challenge very soon. My parkrun PB is waiting to beaten again and I'm running with the 6 Towns Runner (running 12 half marathons in 12 days) for at least part of one of his 12 marathons in the coming fortnight.

Happy Running!

LizT

PS I've also had a race review published on the Women's Running website -  http://www.womensrunninguk.co.uk/staffordhalfmarathon2012.obyx

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Well, that's a long way!

Race day was finally here.  After a difficult couple of weeks, I woke up on Saturday morning with a certain amount of trepidation after a very restless night's sleep and a couple of weeks of niggles, aches and tiredness. I reminded myself of the three goals I'd set for the race - start with confidence, enjoy the adventure and finish with a smile - and was boosted by some encouraging messages from friends and family. After a quick breakfast and a short bus ride, I arrived in Marlow for the start of the race. I wasn't sure what to expect and actually had no idea how many runners were taking part. My start time was 9.15am and it seemed like there were a couple of hundred of us setting off in the "competitive" wave covering marathon and ultra marathon distances. The ultra marathon route was approximately 33 miles involved an extra loop around Hambledon but we all started off in the same direction. My first race goal was accomplished as I started with...
2 comments
Read more

(Not) Sorry!

It has been a while since my last blog. There's been a lot going on. Sometimes life gets in the way of running and writing about running. I'd like to say I'm sorry but this post is all about being not sorry, hopefully not in a selfish "I don't care if I upset you" kind of way but instead with a spirit of "I've got my motivation and priorities back on track and that's a good thing". I'm not sorry that I've decided to taken a step back from local road racing. Last year, I raced so often between May and September, that races were almost the only running I was doing. I forgot to rest properly and my body took a hit. There was a reason for racing so often: I was chasing points and placings in the NSRRA. Winning my group was a real possibility and points in every race mattered. It would be wrong to say I didn't enjoy it... I loved the competition and the challenge and of course I enjoyed winning... but I realised I wanted this summ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Waiting to Exhale

I completed the final long run of my training for the  Greater Manchester Marathon  last Thursday - 10 miles in wind and rain along the canal towpaths of Hanley and Stoke and then through Fenton and back down Victoria Road. I was feeling tired before I set off and, as I left the house, I contemplated a shorter run than my training schedule suggested. I decided to listen to the latest edition of the Marathon Talk podcast as I ran, a special show reflecting on the unexpected and tragic events at the Boston marathon on the 22nd April. The stories that were told and the emotion in the presenters' voices reflected much of what I'd been feeling since news broke of the attack. As I ran, sometimes with tears in my eyes, I forgot about being tired and focused on my goals. I would show my support for the people affected by the Boston bombings by being as ready as I could be for my first marathon on April 28th. Meanwhile, all eyes were on London yest...
1 comment
Read more