Ian’s 2009 Charity Challenge

It was as if I’d blinked after the Belvoir Half Marathon, and then found myself waiting to run the Hinckley Half Marathon on the 10th May. Between the races I’d started to wall climb and spent two weekends in Wales walking in Snowdonia, as well as the usual 2-3 runs a week. So it was on the back of a good time in the previous race and steady training that I found myself ready to run this half. I was neither here nor there about reports of previous years being particularly hot, and felt reassured that the course had been altered to make it “flatter” and knowing where the tough section of the race was (around 11miles, a testing long climb up).

Actually stood waiting to run, I was concerned by the weather and how I felt. Whilst there were clouds about, the sun was shining strongly, so that even standing still I could feel its heat on me. More troubling, I wasn’t feeling the usual energy/desire to run that I had in previous races; a mixture of tiredness (I’d been out until late on the Friday)/probably too much sugary energy drink on the way over and a bit of hassle trying to drop off my keys, meant as we started I was far from focused.

Despite that, I started really well, completing the first 3 miles at around 8:45 a mile which worked perfectly for a time under 2hrs. However, I soon realised the heat was going to become a factor and so forced myself to run slightly slower, but this focus on my pace and mental conclusion that the heat was going to make a difference whilst sensible enough meant I was soon counting miles and finding it more difficult to cope with the exertion as I would normally. A short village section in the shade helped me regain composure and start running at a steady pace again.

As I hit halfway at the start of a long flat straight (the only one I can remember on the entire route), I was still on for a time under 2hrs. Dropping the pace had worked and I was feeling fine, whilst other runners seemed to be slowing and even stopping around me. At the end of the straight, the Lucozade I was carrying began to make me feel sick every time I drank some and was starting to leave a sugary deposit on my lips (even worse for me than it sounds, I promise!), so I decided despite the heat to ditch it.

Then came the part of the race that ended of my hopes for a time of under 2hrs. After the straight at around 8.5 miles, I turned left onto a slight gradient that didn’t seem too bad at first, but with slightly weary legs and the road continuing to go up  and up I began to tire. Here I struggled mentally, knowing the tough section at 10-11miles was still to come started to play on my mind and my pace dropped. Turning off onto an obviously smaller road I knew it was imminent, and a climb that I assumed to be the tough section started. However, frustratingly soon after reaching the end of a minute or so uphill, I was struggling to not break into sprint running back down a steep part of the road, losing all the height I’d just gained and knocking my foot somehow in a way that meant the laces on my right trainer loosened to a point that I needed to stop to tie them up again. After a more gradual section down I was back in the shade and at a drinks station… before the hill I’d read about. Having disposed of the Lucozade I was actually really thirsty (even only a few miles on), so for the first time in a half marathon, I grabbed a cup of water and walked for about 20secs as I drank it all.

The hill itself wasn’t anywhere near as hard as I expected, in the shade and having managed to take in some water, I actually felt really strong on what I’d heard was the toughest section of the race. Reaching the top, I had a “second wind” and with just a couple of miles left pushed on through Market Bosworth knowing it was “all downhill” from there on. Another water stop and a welcome spray of cold water from a local stood outside their house with a garden hose (amazing!!) and I was back on the route we’d started on knowing that the end wasn’t too far off. However, despite a strong last 2 miles back at 9min miles the damage had been done earlier in the race, so as I tore around the corner onto the final straight I could only manage a time of 2hrs 6mins 19secs.

As you’ve no doubt picked up, I was disappointed by my time and felt pretty despondent for the first time after a race (I’m usually super happy). I found keeping the pace I wanted really difficult due to the ups/downs and the heat. It’s the first time when I’ve been acutely aware of mistakes I made during preparation/the race making a big difference to my time. Unfortunately I realised this as I was running, which knocked me mentally and contributed to the run being harder than it should’ve been. Deep down I really wanted (and expected of myself) another time under 2hrs, so missing out by 6mins was really frustrating, especially given how good I’d felt in the Belvoir Half.

Taking positives from the race, I felt shattered after having really given it my all in less than ideal circumstances, I certainly didn’t come away thinking I could’ve done anymore on the day. Even whilst I was unhappy with my time, I was certainly not the only one to struggle with the heat/hills. It’s also the first race where the mental side of things came into play so much, with me adapting too much to the weather/hard sections during the race, I’ve definitely learnt a hell of a lot from this half. And being realistic, a time just over 2hrs in the sun is good going, it’s certainly something I wouldn’t have dreamt of being possible a year before!

Looking forward, I’d planned to take a break from races before going to the Alps but I couldn’t leave things like this. So I’ve booked two more races to train for:

• The Potters’ Arf Half Marathon on June 14th is hilly and almost always hot, it’ll give me the ideal chance to have another go at a difficult course in the heat and prove to myself I can do it better!
• And the Sherwood Pines 10km as I really enjoyed it last year and I’ve not ran a 10km race for a long time, and want to see what time I can run one in now (previous best time was 52:07).

I’m also planning on jazzing things up slightly, by making use of a new camera to try out some videos pre/post race and over in the Alps when I’m there to show how it’s all going.

As ever, this is all in aid of The Stroke Association (not just because I’m crazy and like running/climbing) and any size donation on my Justgiving page will be really appreciated. To give you an idea how the donations make a difference, £20 will help keep a Stroke Helpline open another hour, so far donations mean we’ve got a day’s worth of support available on the telephone for people who need help! If you can make a donation to help me reach £500, staff can receive specialist speech and language training to help people who’ve suffered a Stroke to regain their speech as much as possible and make a quicker recovery.

Cheers! Ian

After Morocco, I’d taken a week off training, mainly due to the volume of work I came back to. This actually suited me really well, my legs had a decent rest and I found time to go buy some new trainers after some gait analysis at the fantastic Leicester Running Shop.

The gap also gave me time to look at my training properly; to make sure time I spend really will help with what’s ahead. So I’ve changed one of my short runs mid-week to include sprints of around 50m/100m every half kilometre to get me completely out of breath and encourage me to recover whilst exercising (should help deal with altitude), committed myself to more cycling at the gym (yes, I’ll be going to spinning classes…) and started to regularly include weights. To help with overall strength and technique I’ve also added climbing to the mix.

So feeling pleased with preparation (on paper) I went out over a week before the race to do my first run in the new trainers. (Un)Surprisingly it felt really odd given the different shape of the shoe on my foot, so I came back feet aching and a little concerned after just 5km. My response… run 12km the next morning… and get blisters doing it, doh! But I felt better for it, the distance wasn’t a problem and the aching was better (and quite bearable). Convincing myself that the blisters were down to the absolutely battered skin on my instep I’ve picked up running in my old trainers, and I was happy enough to be running the 21km of the Belvoir Half Marathon in my new trainers the weekend after.

Waking up on the 12th, after a pretty restless night, I felt pretty sick, which given I’d been genuinely looking forward to the race was a concern, as it definitely wasn’t nerves. Again I managed to put it to the back of my mind, thinking it’d soon clear up once I was at the race and was fully focussed.

Arriving after a 20minute drive, the race felt quite different to others. It was fairly small (600-700 runners) and also the first time I’d gone to run a race on my own. So with it still quite cold outside, I sat in the warm car with music on until 15mins before, walked over the village hall where I dropped off my car keys, went out into the cold and warmed up for 5mins.

The pack was split at the start, so I decided to hang around the back of the group hoping for times under 1hr 55min to get off quickly. The start was a bit of a mess, with me on the side trying to avoid crush in the centre I had to jump over wire at the start line (that was recording chips, I was worried it hadn’t got me!) to get through. After a short run over grass we were turning right out onto the road and back into Hose to start the race properly.

Aiming to beat my previous best of 2hrs 5mins I’d aimed for miles to take 9mins 15secs (which would give me a total time of just over 2hrs) and then see how I felt for the final few miles to see if I could come in just under.

The first mile felt fine, checking my timer I was running at around 8mins 30secs a mile too which was great as it gave me leeway later on in the race. Feeling okay I decided to keep the pace up, knowing I’d probably tire a little and slow down naturally as the race wore on.

After the one of the two club runners I’d been following dove to the side to throw up and I was passed by a guy pushing a bloke in a wheelchair (massive respect to him!) I was at the first water stop, that as I’d once again decided to carry a drink with me I could keep going past and overtake plenty of people (always a good feeling!).

Shortly after the first stop, my right calf became really tight, forcing me to slow the pace and try to let it sort itself out, it helped but only enough that I could build back up to the faster pace without it becoming too painful. It wasn’t the pain of Brighton (bleeding feet…) but it did hurt and I was worried just how much damage I was doing by carrying on with over half the race and around an hour of running ahead of me.

At 7miles we hit the only real steep section of the route, a 20 metre or so steep climb that whilst I was never in danger of stopping on, took my breath away for a good 30secs after. By this point though I was well aware that a sub 2hr time was possible if I could keep my pace up.

The last few miles seemed to fly by, I guess because I knew I was on for a good time but also because I was running slightly faster than I was comfortable with a group of runners, which seemed to work well for everyone. Going past 12 miles at just short of 1:49mins I knew it was a certainty to come in under 2hrs, so I picked up the pace as much as possible and ran as hard as I could. I came around the final corner into gravel car park (daft if you ask me!) at such a pace I nearly fell turning, but I held it together to cross the line in 1hr 57mins 25seconds, almost 8mins faster than my previous time. I was over the moon and then soon unable to walk much due to my right calf tightening up and the new shoes taking their toll on the underside of my feet (not really blistered, just aching from the different shape).