Skip to main content

Mary Poppins

The St Thomas 7... another new race, another new location (Upper Tean, somewhere between Cheadle and Checkly) and actually my 13th race in the NSRRA calendar for 2013. This was my spare, with 12 races needed to be  included in the group competition.

A Mary Poppins Kind of Day!
Since my hamstring troubles at Ipstones, I've been taking it relatively easy in terms of training and mileage, but life away from running has been busy so I wasn't perfectly prepared for this race, but unlike the Stone St Michaels 10k back in June when I had to rely on my inner Pollyanna to find some positives from the race, the St Thomas 7 turned out to be practically perfect in every way... much more of a Mary Poppins kind of day.

  • I liked the course - lovely scenery and quiet country lanes. Traffic wasn't a problem and it was easy to work out where I should be running. Even more appealing, there were no off-road sections, so I felt much more sure-footed especially on those downhills;
  • I enjoyed the variety of the undulating course - it was never endlessly up or endlessly down...
This is the elevation chart from the 8th km: Up then down then up then down then up...
  • It was warm but not too warm - perfect running conditions and late September sunshine;
  • I had some great chats along the way with other runners and spotted lots of familiar faces before and after the run - after almost a full season of NSRRA races, I'm beginning to feel ;
  • Nothing hurt more than it should, which was a great relief;
  • The marshals were excellent and very supportive, located at every turn and junction on the course so it never felt like I had to guess which way to turn;
  • I could sprint to the finish. Back at Cheadle, I couldn't quite muster the energy for a sprint finish and just lost out to another Group W runner. For this race, my sprint finish was needed again, this time on an uphill section too, and I managed to hold out against another runner who has been ahead me of me in several previous races - she's not in Group W so no points were at stake, but it was still good to be strong right to the finish and stay ahead;
  • I beat my target race time by over a minute - 58:47 compared with my target of 60 minutes - and managed 4 sub 5 minute kilometres in total. My fastest kilometre (4:36) was faster than anything I've managed in a race this year (even it was downhill);
  • I scored another 50 points with the win in Group W so gained an extra point in the overall standings - 599 out of 600 now - and also managed a few extra points in my age group too, which might help Potters Trotters in the team competition;
  • For the first time in a long time, I felt in control of my race from start to finish. I pushed hard and it felt like I was "back" to somewhere close to my best. I think I can still get a little bit faster but the good training over the last two months seems to be paying off;
  • There were some great results from the other members of Potters Trotters too - a good day all round for the pink ladies;
With Lee, Kate, Kath, Anne and Jane
  • And there were oatcakes in the post-race goody bag.
It doesn't really get much better than that - I was even smiling in the photos! 

At the start!
Still Smiling
Half a mile to go!
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

What's Next?

My running career started with the simple goal of completing the Cancer Research Race for Life. My motivation came from my family, to show support for my Dad who was being treated for cancer at the time. I downloaded the NHS Couch to 5k app and ticked off each run on the print-out on my office wall  (it's still pinned up for extra motivation too). I was supported and encouraged by Mr T, sometimes with words, sometimes by running along side me. It was a realistic goal and I had the time to run 3 timers a week; Everything mostly went to plan and I achieved my goal. First Race, First Medal The longer I've been running, the more goals I've set, training to run half marathons, night races, relay events, marathons and eventually ultra marathons. The plans get more complicated (involving spreadsheets and a Garmin) and there have been a few more setbacks on the way, including overcoming injuries, illness and fear itself , but I usually get there in the end. Quote from B
Post a Comment
Read more