Learning from my mistakes...and a PB!
It's hard to believe that it's only a year since I ran my first half marathon. As I made my way to register for the Northampton Half I remembered that day 12 months ago when I stood in Abington Street and nervously awaited the start not knowing if I would manage to complete the distance.
This year I felt more confident and enjoyed seeing a large number of familiar faces from Parklands Jog & Run and Parkrun. The race start had moved to the Guildhall as over 500 people assembled in the sunshine.
My injury problems had not resurfaced during the Great North Run and I had rested during the week to ensure my body had time to recover sufficiently. Feeling healthy again I was aiming for under 1:40 with sub 7:30 miles in the back of my mind.
At 10 o'clock prompt we were set off but my GPS watch still hadn't managed to locate the satellite. Unfortunately this remained the case throughout the day and so I was left in the dark as to my pace. I went off fast hoping to get some time under my belt. The course took us along St Giles street and back up Derngate twice before heading downhill through Midsummer Meadow and along the river.
I was breathing hard and knew that I couldn't keep that pace for the whole distance but I was determined to get to mile four before slowing. At this point I knew there was a steep hill that led from Brackmills up to Hardingstone village. Last year I had run it hard and then suffered for the next couple of miles. This time I planned to walk it and make up the time towards the end.
We were soon at the bottom of the hill and I knew I was roughly clocking up 7 minute miles ahead of pace. I ran/walked the hill and took advantage of the slower pace to have a gel. Bad mistake. For the next four miles I had a nagging stitch in my right side which forced me to stop and stretch on a number of occasions. I was losing minutes but other runners encouraged me to 'run through it' which I did.
There weren't large numbers of spectators but those who did turn out, along with the marshals gave great support. The sun was out and it was getting hot. I was relieved to get to a water station but sadly we were offered plastic cups rather than bottles. These half filled cups were impossible to drink from without gulping back air so I sipped some and threw the rest over my head despite needing to take on fluid.
After winding our way through Hardingstone we exited onto the Newport Pagnell road and then headed back towards Northampton along country roads. The views from the high point of the race were stunning. It was possible to see St Matthews Church and the Cricket Ground in the distance and the town centre below.
The road descended into Great Houghton and we were nearing the final third of the race. My legs felt ok and the stitch was subsiding so I knew I would be able to pick up my pace. I was still on for my goal time. At this point I heard familiar voices and spotted a couple of runners from my club just seconds behind which gave me extra incentive to push on.
A zig zag path took us down a steep bank before following a country path through scenic countryside. Another hill that I had forgotten about faced us and this time I resisted the temptation to walk. Although not as long and steep as the one at four miles I felt the energy sapping from my legs but with just a couple of miles to go I knew I needed to keep a high cadence.
A few minutes later we were back in Brackmills where the year before we had to undertake a loop of the business park before approaching the finish. This year however we passed straight through. It was a pleasant surprise and I picked up my pace knowing that we were almost there - or so I thought.
I began to close in on another couple of club friends and was hopeful of catching them. At this point the course winds through some parkland at the edge of Delapre Abbey before leading into the grounds in front of the big house. This is where I made a big mistake. Thinking we were only a hundred yards from the end and having no watch to check I broke into a sprint calling to the others to push for the line. As we emerged from the trees I saw with horror that they had moved the finish.
We ran past the line and were directed off into the surrounding parkland for a loop of another half a mile before coming back on ourselves to finish. With that realisation my legs gave up. I had peaked too early and it was all I could do to drag myself to the end. I berated myself for not studying the course properly and all I could think was that all my hard running was going to be for nothing.
But I still had Mick and Steve in my sights. Dan was just behind and hot on my heals so I forced my tired legs to go again. Sadly they had little left for the lap of shame but pulled me across the line just ahead of Dan and behind Mick and Steve. I apologised to them all for my preemptive strike and also the terrible noise I was making over the last mile as I groaned and wailed with effort. I've tried to stop the horrible sounds coming out of my mouth at such times but seem to be possessed by the spirit of a rusty steam train.
Despite all this I was thrilled to see that I had still managed a new PB of 1:34:54 just ducking under the 1:35 mark for the first time. It was over 4 minutes faster than the year before which was also encouraging and showed the progress I have made in that time.
Taking into account the fact that I couldn't pace myself, had stitch for 4 miles, took on insufficient water and mistimed the finish I was pleased with my efforts. I'm pretty sure those four elements added at least 2 minutes to my time and I'm confident that given a full bill of health and a head wind on 19th October I will be aiming to get closer to my sub 1:30 target for the year at the Great Birmingham Run.
This year I felt more confident and enjoyed seeing a large number of familiar faces from Parklands Jog & Run and Parkrun. The race start had moved to the Guildhall as over 500 people assembled in the sunshine.
My injury problems had not resurfaced during the Great North Run and I had rested during the week to ensure my body had time to recover sufficiently. Feeling healthy again I was aiming for under 1:40 with sub 7:30 miles in the back of my mind.
At 10 o'clock prompt we were set off but my GPS watch still hadn't managed to locate the satellite. Unfortunately this remained the case throughout the day and so I was left in the dark as to my pace. I went off fast hoping to get some time under my belt. The course took us along St Giles street and back up Derngate twice before heading downhill through Midsummer Meadow and along the river.
I was breathing hard and knew that I couldn't keep that pace for the whole distance but I was determined to get to mile four before slowing. At this point I knew there was a steep hill that led from Brackmills up to Hardingstone village. Last year I had run it hard and then suffered for the next couple of miles. This time I planned to walk it and make up the time towards the end.
We were soon at the bottom of the hill and I knew I was roughly clocking up 7 minute miles ahead of pace. I ran/walked the hill and took advantage of the slower pace to have a gel. Bad mistake. For the next four miles I had a nagging stitch in my right side which forced me to stop and stretch on a number of occasions. I was losing minutes but other runners encouraged me to 'run through it' which I did.
There weren't large numbers of spectators but those who did turn out, along with the marshals gave great support. The sun was out and it was getting hot. I was relieved to get to a water station but sadly we were offered plastic cups rather than bottles. These half filled cups were impossible to drink from without gulping back air so I sipped some and threw the rest over my head despite needing to take on fluid.
After winding our way through Hardingstone we exited onto the Newport Pagnell road and then headed back towards Northampton along country roads. The views from the high point of the race were stunning. It was possible to see St Matthews Church and the Cricket Ground in the distance and the town centre below.
The road descended into Great Houghton and we were nearing the final third of the race. My legs felt ok and the stitch was subsiding so I knew I would be able to pick up my pace. I was still on for my goal time. At this point I heard familiar voices and spotted a couple of runners from my club just seconds behind which gave me extra incentive to push on.
A zig zag path took us down a steep bank before following a country path through scenic countryside. Another hill that I had forgotten about faced us and this time I resisted the temptation to walk. Although not as long and steep as the one at four miles I felt the energy sapping from my legs but with just a couple of miles to go I knew I needed to keep a high cadence.
A few minutes later we were back in Brackmills where the year before we had to undertake a loop of the business park before approaching the finish. This year however we passed straight through. It was a pleasant surprise and I picked up my pace knowing that we were almost there - or so I thought.
 |
| There's a steam train coming! |
We ran past the line and were directed off into the surrounding parkland for a loop of another half a mile before coming back on ourselves to finish. With that realisation my legs gave up. I had peaked too early and it was all I could do to drag myself to the end. I berated myself for not studying the course properly and all I could think was that all my hard running was going to be for nothing.
But I still had Mick and Steve in my sights. Dan was just behind and hot on my heals so I forced my tired legs to go again. Sadly they had little left for the lap of shame but pulled me across the line just ahead of Dan and behind Mick and Steve. I apologised to them all for my preemptive strike and also the terrible noise I was making over the last mile as I groaned and wailed with effort. I've tried to stop the horrible sounds coming out of my mouth at such times but seem to be possessed by the spirit of a rusty steam train.
Despite all this I was thrilled to see that I had still managed a new PB of 1:34:54 just ducking under the 1:35 mark for the first time. It was over 4 minutes faster than the year before which was also encouraging and showed the progress I have made in that time.
Taking into account the fact that I couldn't pace myself, had stitch for 4 miles, took on insufficient water and mistimed the finish I was pleased with my efforts. I'm pretty sure those four elements added at least 2 minutes to my time and I'm confident that given a full bill of health and a head wind on 19th October I will be aiming to get closer to my sub 1:30 target for the year at the Great Birmingham Run.
