Friends

The Central Lancashire Half, starting and finishing in the small village of Lea just outside Preston, took place on a very cold and windy on the first Sunday of 2014. No time for New Year hangovers - my racing year has begun. This was my first chance to tackle one of my running goals for 2014 - a sub 1:50 half marathon. And if I could achieve it, I'd obviously need to revisit my goals!

Most of the route was on narrow country lanes and the scenery on a cold grey morning didn't offer up much inspiration. There were hardly any spectators and the runners seemed to be very spaced out, so no helpful clusters of runners to encourage each other along either. To achieve my sub 1:50 goal, I needed to run an average mile pace of approximately 8:24 over 13.1 miles. So this was definitely going to be a solo effort - a battle of wills with myself to see if I could keep going at the required pace.

In order to keep going on a run like this one, I need to find lots of things to distract me, but it can be a fine balance. A few distractions are fine but too many and I'll lose concentration completely, slowing down without realising or failing to notice that all the runners up ahead are turning left but I'm wandering off to the right! And so for the Central Lancashire Half:

• I pondered new ideas for my blog for 2014, deciding to use TV programmes for by titles /inspiration as a follow up to song titles and films in previous years. Friends seem to be the most appropriate place to start, given that most of my running adventures are really about fun times spent with good friends (or friends I haven't met yet). This race was no exception:

Getting ready to run... Liz & Liz

Charles and Mark from Hanley parkrun

• I tried hard to avoid a yappy little dog that seemed to have escaped from its owners and was darting about between the runners for several minutes. It's a good job Chandler wasn't running with us!
• I desperately attempted to avoid looking at the very sweaty backside of a cyclist who kept passing by... A bit like Ugly Naked Guy on a bike - my eyes, my eyes!
• I remembered to say thank you or give a thumbs up to every marshal - without them, there are no races, so I really appreciate all their efforts on a very cold day.
• I checked the readout on my Garmin with Monica-like obsession. What was average pace? How fast was the last kilometre? How did my split times compare with other races: faster than my 4 mile PB at Cheadle; just ahead of my St Thomas 7 mile time; on a par with my Flying Fox 10 mile time. Could I keep the pace going. I was trying to work out the implications of every beep of my watch and did wander from the racing line a few too many times.
• I planned my next shopping trip to Sweatshop for the perfect item of new running gear - like Rachel heading for the sale at Bloomingdales. The new Brooks GTS Adrenaline 14 look very snazzy!
• I gritted my teeth between 6 and 9 miles when the icy cold wind threatened to knock me off target. I imagined the sounds of the crowds in Birmingham and Manchester and the usual encouraging cheers of Mr T and the Potters Trotters to keep me moving forward - Go on Lizzie, you can do it! 
• I dodged a few hazards in addition to the yappy dog - icy puddles, pot holes, a car that insisted it could get past me on a very narrow lane, more cyclists and a child who wandered into the road just as I was coming round the corner.
• I looked at all the different running styles on display - not quite as outlandish as Phoebe but lots of different ways of getting from A to B nonetheless... 
• I played word games in my head like Ross trying to remember the names of the 50 states, taking notice of all the unfamiliar place names and road signs I ran past - Catforth, Inskip, Salwick, Wharles.
• I thought about the treats I could reward myself with when the run was over, like Joey craving a meatball sub. Fortunately, a post race visit to the Atrium Cafe in Clitheroe (run by my sister Jenni) did the trick - a pot of tea, Lancashire cheese and corned beef toasted ciabata followed by Celia's amazing ginger and treacle cake!

And then with just a few hundred metres to go, there were Mr T and Liz's husband Billy to lift my spirits and spur me on for a final push to the finish line. I think they were looking at there watches almost as anxiously as me... would I get there? I came round the final corner and could see the race clock counting upwards... with a smile to myself, I knew I would get there and achieve my goal, officially recorded as 1:49:11. 

Lancashire roses on my first medal of 2014

Excitement turned quickly from relief to shivering cold as I crossed the finish line and picked up my medal, but a warming cup of tea and cheering home the other runners helped with that. It was a job well done but really only a stepping stone on the way to my ultimate goal of a sub 4 marathon... there is much more running to be done but I'm looking forward to the challenge.