Run The Date - Day 8
Date: Sunday 8th September
Distance: 8 miles
Motivational quote: "Start by doing what is necessary, then do what's possible, and suddenly you are doing the impossible."
Sponsor: Miriam Wheeler
Song: Summon the fire - The comet is coming
Running partner: John Lawrence and Kevin Whitby
Weather: Windy but dry.
Fuel: Shreddies and coffee, banana and a mars bar.
Route: Channel Triathlon 10km + extra
Comments: I had entered the Channel Triathlon with Kevin and John from the Bald Monkeys. It worked out well as I would only need to do another two miles to make up the days mileage. I planned to do a 2 mile warm up.
The day dawned and it was pretty windy. Thankfully it was blowing from the north so wouldn't affect us too much. We met at 7 and then accompanied Kevin down to the swim along with about 60 others that were doing the standard tri. As soon as Kevin was in the water I went with John to the transition zone while he prepared himself.
About 30 minutes later Kevin was out of the water, 2 laps and 1.5 miles completed in a great time. John took the timing chip, strapped it around his ankle and headed off for a 40km route in the hills around Hawkinge.
I now had about 80 minutes to wait so went for a wander, put my number on, used the toilet etc. With 45 minutes to go I was deliberating getting a coffee to warm up when someone shouted "Just one lap for the bikes!"
Apparently someone had come a cropper on the bike route - later confirmed to be a fractured femur and pelvis - and they had decided to shorted the cycle to one lap while the helicopter landed and took them to hospital. I made my way towards the transition zone when I spotted John. I sprinted to my pace and ripped off my coat. With no chance to warm up I took the chip and was off.
Although I started strong I could feel my muscles were still cold but my breathing was steady. The route was up and down the old train platform, through the car park, along the road to the Lower Leas Park and then onto the promenade past Mermaid Bay. 1.5 out, 1.5 back, two laps - 6.2 miles.
I caught and overtook a couple of people and then approached another after a mile. He was quick and I stayed with him.
Then began a titanic struggle of wills, ok a bit dramatic, let's just say that two stubborn runners were trying not to let the other one get away. Every time I attempted to pass he sped up. When he tried to pull away I got into his slipstream and stayed with him. We remained this way until half a mile to go when I pushed and he couldn't respond.
Gradually I extended my lead, caught a couple more people and entered the last few hundred metres feeling strong but almost spent. I rounded the final corner panting hard and drilled for the finish, realising I had gone the wrong side of a fence. Thankfully there was a gap further down and dodging a small child I ducked under the finish.
Due to the accident the organisers had to make changes to the results to account those who had done two cycle laps and those who only managed one. In the end we came 5th and 2nd in our category which was the standard relay race. Not bad for a trio of middle aged, bald monkeys.
Turns out I had smashed my previous PB of 39:37 with a time of 37:24, over 2 minutes quicker. Kevin and John had also performed brilliantly. I hadn't done my warm up before because of John's sudden appearance so I jogged along the Harbour Arm to make it up to 8 miles.
Distance: 8 miles
Motivational quote: "Start by doing what is necessary, then do what's possible, and suddenly you are doing the impossible."
Sponsor: Miriam Wheeler
Song: Summon the fire - The comet is coming
Running partner: John Lawrence and Kevin Whitby
Weather: Windy but dry.
Fuel: Shreddies and coffee, banana and a mars bar.
Route: Channel Triathlon 10km + extra
Comments: I had entered the Channel Triathlon with Kevin and John from the Bald Monkeys. It worked out well as I would only need to do another two miles to make up the days mileage. I planned to do a 2 mile warm up.
The day dawned and it was pretty windy. Thankfully it was blowing from the north so wouldn't affect us too much. We met at 7 and then accompanied Kevin down to the swim along with about 60 others that were doing the standard tri. As soon as Kevin was in the water I went with John to the transition zone while he prepared himself.
About 30 minutes later Kevin was out of the water, 2 laps and 1.5 miles completed in a great time. John took the timing chip, strapped it around his ankle and headed off for a 40km route in the hills around Hawkinge.
I now had about 80 minutes to wait so went for a wander, put my number on, used the toilet etc. With 45 minutes to go I was deliberating getting a coffee to warm up when someone shouted "Just one lap for the bikes!"
Apparently someone had come a cropper on the bike route - later confirmed to be a fractured femur and pelvis - and they had decided to shorted the cycle to one lap while the helicopter landed and took them to hospital. I made my way towards the transition zone when I spotted John. I sprinted to my pace and ripped off my coat. With no chance to warm up I took the chip and was off.
Although I started strong I could feel my muscles were still cold but my breathing was steady. The route was up and down the old train platform, through the car park, along the road to the Lower Leas Park and then onto the promenade past Mermaid Bay. 1.5 out, 1.5 back, two laps - 6.2 miles.
I caught and overtook a couple of people and then approached another after a mile. He was quick and I stayed with him.
Then began a titanic struggle of wills, ok a bit dramatic, let's just say that two stubborn runners were trying not to let the other one get away. Every time I attempted to pass he sped up. When he tried to pull away I got into his slipstream and stayed with him. We remained this way until half a mile to go when I pushed and he couldn't respond.
Gradually I extended my lead, caught a couple more people and entered the last few hundred metres feeling strong but almost spent. I rounded the final corner panting hard and drilled for the finish, realising I had gone the wrong side of a fence. Thankfully there was a gap further down and dodging a small child I ducked under the finish.
Due to the accident the organisers had to make changes to the results to account those who had done two cycle laps and those who only managed one. In the end we came 5th and 2nd in our category which was the standard relay race. Not bad for a trio of middle aged, bald monkeys.
Turns out I had smashed my previous PB of 39:37 with a time of 37:24, over 2 minutes quicker. Kevin and John had also performed brilliantly. I hadn't done my warm up before because of John's sudden appearance so I jogged along the Harbour Arm to make it up to 8 miles.
Considering the speed I had run my legs still felt ok. However I decided to extend my rest and run Monday night rather then in the morning.
You can support my Run The Date Challenge here: Adam's Virgin Money Fundraising page
