Well, it is done! This is my race report for the third and final race in my three half marathons in three weeks challenge. Little did I know what I was getting myself into! But over the past few months I've rediscovered my resilience, located some strength and determination that had been lying dormant, and need to buy a new pair of jeans because my old pair are now falling down :)
And so I reached the final week of the challenge. Training was strong and solid - a recovery 5k on Tuesday and then a 10k on Thursday and Friday. I was down to do a much longer run on Friday (as I've been following my marathon training plan from last year) but as I was feeling tired and sniffly I decided to just take it easy with 10 and I think that was a good decision. My form was strong. Time wise I seemed to be getting closer to my "peak" times - I did my 10k on Friday in the exact time Tom and I did the BUPA 10k last year in, 1:04:24. That race was one month after the marathon so that made me very happy!
Saturday night arrived. My carb loading dinner of choice is now baked potatoes - my favourite filling is sauteed leeks and broccoli (I will share the recipe soon) - so I loaded up on those, laid out the kit, went through the normal routine and tried to get an early night. Sadly, again, our neighbour decided it was appropriate to be having a rave at 1am despite my "let's be cool" chat last week, so I had to go and yell at him wearing my somewhat revealing dressing gown and bed hair, which in itself is terrifying and had the desired effect, at least for now!
We headed off to London about 5:50am so I got to see another sunrise. It was quite deserted on the roads and we were parked in South Kensington by 7am, so we went in search of a Starbucks where I forwent a tempting pumpkin spice latte (never try new things on race day!), sipped an Earl Grey tea with soy milk and finished my breakfast.
We were only a short walk away from Hyde Park and so headed up there for 8am, which is when the media team were expecting me, so I could interview Ben Fogle! That was great fun :)
We had a lovely time in the VIP tent and I got to catch up with some blogging pals, one of whom was running the Ultra marathon!! We also saw Gordon Ramsay who was running the race with his family. Liz and I tried to get a picture with him but we missed out! Never mind, I was happy to be just 1 metre away from him :D
There were also some very nice toilets in the VIP area, so I stuck around a bit longer and used those before heading to the start! Proper loos with wooden floorboards and hand-wash and moisturiser :)
Tom accompanied me to the start, which was now looking very crowded. I had a media place so hadn't been allocated a colour for my start pen. I reasoned that I could just slot in wherever but I really hoped that didn't mean I had to start up front with Gordon! Ha ha! Time was ticking by and the start was getting more and more packed. I wasn't even able to get on to the main path, I had to just pick an entrance, line up and merge once the gun went off. I said goodbye to Tom and then got swallowed up in the crowd of runners. I ended going in with the 1:50 pacer, a serendipitous choice that ended up having a very positive effect on my performance that day, I thought.
The gun went off and suddenly we were away! The sun was shining, my breath was making clouds in the air, the streets of London had never looked more beautiful. I was excited to see it as a runner again.
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For the first four miles, we went out of Hyde Park, down to Green Park and past Buckingham Palace (the triumphant finish of the London Marathon!) up Birdcage Walk to Big Ben, across Westminster Bridge and then down the Embankment to Temple and back again. It was wonderful to run this route again, albeit backwards (!), because it reminded me of the marathon. Seeing Big Ben was awesome. In fact, it struck 10am as I finished the Westminster Bridge section and turned down the Embankment. I felt my face break into a nostalgic grin. The London Eye was sparkling in the sunshine. Crowds had already formed along the streets, cheering us on. If you ever want to feel like a rock star when you're running, London is the city to run a race in!
At this point, I could see the 1:40 and 1:50 pacer not far in front of me. I was KEEPING UP WITH THEM! The 2:00 and 2:10 pacers hadn't caught me yet!! I knew I wasn't going to be able to keep this up for the whole race but I was really happy that I was at least going to run some of this race at that pace. At Mile 4, still hot on the heels of the speedy pacers, my power song from Robin Hood came on my iPod and the first verse made me tear up a little. "Thanks Spandau Ballet, "I thought, "I'm proud of me too!" ;)
The honest truth is I hadn't intended to run fast at all. You know me, I hate being uncomfortable when I run! Running at a slower steady pace makes the whole process far more enjoyable for me. In a race with thousands and thousands of runners, however, especially in the crowded bits near the start, sometimes you don't have a choice! As I had started closer to the front than I intended to be I was surrounded by fast people. I could have just slowed down and moved to the side but a spark had lit inside me. I wanted to at least try to keep up. I wanted to prove to myself that if I really tried maybe I could do it.
I found I couldn't really relax at this stage in the race either, being surrounded by so many people. I wanted to power through and get ahead!
We headed down the Mall and passed the 5 mile mark, and started heading back up where we'd originally come from, past Green Park , Buckingham Palace and Wellington Arch to Hyde Park. At the 6 mile mark there were crowds and crowds of people cheering and spurring us on, as it was almost the halfway point. Apparently Tom was at this marker and when he saw the 2:00 pacer go by (who had caught me at this stage) he said he thought I'd be at least another half hour away. He was shocked to see me flying through about 10 minutes later! I didn't see him though, I was deep in the zone by then!
We ran along the Serpentine to get to Mile 7 and you could see where the course looped around at the same point for Mile 10 - and there were already people there! Oh, how I longed to join them!
Although I had slowed down and the 1:40 and 1:50 pacers had left me for dust by now, I was still pleased with the strong form I had. I certainly wasn't as slow as I thought I would be! But mentally the pace was very hard to hold on to. As I explained in this week's Monday Mantra post, this was the sentence I kept repeating to myself over and over at this point in the race:
And, surprisingly, it really did help. I would feel a sudden lightness as I said the words to myself, because it made perfect sense. If you're doing it right, of course it's going to be hard! If it were easy, what would be the point? There's a reason thousands and thousands of people lined up to run this race and it wasn't for a nice stroll in the park :)
But the scenery itself was beautiful. I had been for runs in Hyde Park many times and felt great waves of nostalgia as I made my way through miles 8 and 9. And at Mile 9, there was Tom! You can see me wave in the video:
I made it to Mile 10 without even really noticing. But then I suddenly started to feel uncomfortable and sore. My pace had really slowed down. I also started noticing how dry my lips were and it was really bugging me. Fuel wise I was fine - I hadn't needed my sports beans at all, like last time, I was making do with gulps of Lucozade as and when I needed it. I was almost out and grabbed a fresh bottle just after Mile 10….but the bottle I had been carrying all the race had only been 1/3 full at best. Now I had a full bottle and I noticed the effect the extra weight had on my arms immediately! I had to keep swapping from left to right to balance myself out!
I was very happy that I had made it to Mile 10 without needing a break, which was what I’d achieved the previous week at Robin Hood, and I really, really wanted to run the whole thing without stopping but the idea of another 3 miles was quite unbearable. Everything hurt. I was starting to get a stitch. Perhaps my first speedy 6 miles were finally catching up with me, who knows.
I made it to Mile 11 and really tried to keep going. But the stitch got worse and I decided that I would just stop for 10 seconds to stretch it out and then get back on the horse, as it were. It was disappointing but I wanted to finish well, not hobble over the line in pain. I stretched and the stitch disappeared almost instantly. I gulped down as much Lucozade as I could bear, and then I joined the pack again….so many people had passed me in the scant 10 seconds I had stopped for but the path was still thick with weary runners. The point where I joined in I noticed there was a bloke wearing nothing but a pair of bright pink women's underpants! Hilarious!!
I allowed myself to walk for one song only, to get my breath back. But when the song finished I still felt a bit battered and considered walking until I saw Mile 12, as we were a bit off the beaten track now, but then Chariots of Fire came on the iPod. You simply can't keep walking when that song comes on!
It perked me up so much I repeated it three times.....and by that time the finish line was in sight!
Something that also really helped me was visualising in my head what the remaining distance of the race looked like. When I had 1.5 miles to go, I said to myself “that’s from the roundabout to the train station! You can do that!” which made me feel very confident, because that’s my warm up on most of my training runs. And when I saw the sign “800m to go” I thought “that’s just two laps of the Domain! You can do that!” (the Domain is the athletics centre in Hobart). When I put it that way, I could SO do this!
By the time the finish line was in sight, I no longer cared what time it was, or whether I’d beaten last week’s time or not. I just wanted to be over that line. I held on and kept a strong, steady pace all the way to the end. I may have even thrown my arms up in joy as I crossed the line!
After we crossed, we were directed to either side of the track where there were tables set up with water, Lucozade, bananas and medals. I was stoked to get my autumn leaf shaped timber medal! I then fought my way through the crowd to get back into the park so I could make my way to find Tom at our agreed meeting place. There was a “goody bag” stand where you could line up and take what you wanted (within reason) from the items available, but when I saw the enormous line I decided to just go to the end where there was FREE BEER (non alcoholic but still!) and grab a can of that! I had enough goody bag goodies from the previous two weeks :)
Then I found Tom! What a delight to see him. He looked so happy and proud. We filmed the little ending for the video and I was delighted to note from my watch that I was roughly ten minutes faster than last week. I ended up being six minutes faster – 2:20:22! Whoo hoo!
It was a fabulous race - well organised, great atmosphere and a really good mix of elite and amateur, male and female runners. Everyone looked like they were having a great time. I can see why this race is so popular and fills up so quickly every year. I would definitely do this one again!
We hung around the park for a little while, and then walked down to the Prince Albert memorial to sit in the sun and cheer the remaining runners on. I always love seeing people who have already finished stop and call out “come on, you can do it, you’re nearly there!” when I'm still going so I did the same, and I got some very grateful smiles!
Then we walked down to South Kensington to the GBK to meet my sister-in-law for lunch. The runner’s reward was a mushroom brioche burger and a pile of skinny rosemary fries! After a couple of hours we eventually headed home on the M40, collapsed gratefully in our cosy warm house, and I reflected on the last three weeks:
I hadn’t had a drink for weeks so we cracked open some champagne and I finally sampled the Haigh’s peppermint chocolate frogs my Mum sent over for my birthday. She confessed she had sampled one before sending them “for quality control” ;)
So, there you have it! Three half marathons in three weeks! Maybe I was crazy but I DID IT! And the Royal Parks race was the perfect one to finish on – running again in my favourite city, with such a great vibe and support from the crowds, through parks and streets that I know and love, and a time I was pleased with. Every race got better and better, time and performance wise. I never felt like I was firing on all cylinders though and there were moments in all of them (especially the first!) when I thought “I am never doing this again!” but the minute I crossed the finish line all the pain was forgotten and the runner’s high was so sweet!
And, in typical Phil style, I am already thinking about what comes next! Poor Tom has requested a couple of “normal weekends” first :)
I hope you enjoyed following my #3halfs3weeks challenge! What do you think I should do next? :)
I was very happy that I had made it to Mile 10 without needing a break, which was what I’d achieved the previous week at Robin Hood, and I really, really wanted to run the whole thing without stopping but the idea of another 3 miles was quite unbearable. Everything hurt. I was starting to get a stitch. Perhaps my first speedy 6 miles were finally catching up with me, who knows.
I made it to Mile 11 and really tried to keep going. But the stitch got worse and I decided that I would just stop for 10 seconds to stretch it out and then get back on the horse, as it were. It was disappointing but I wanted to finish well, not hobble over the line in pain. I stretched and the stitch disappeared almost instantly. I gulped down as much Lucozade as I could bear, and then I joined the pack again….so many people had passed me in the scant 10 seconds I had stopped for but the path was still thick with weary runners. The point where I joined in I noticed there was a bloke wearing nothing but a pair of bright pink women's underpants! Hilarious!!
I allowed myself to walk for one song only, to get my breath back. But when the song finished I still felt a bit battered and considered walking until I saw Mile 12, as we were a bit off the beaten track now, but then Chariots of Fire came on the iPod. You simply can't keep walking when that song comes on!
It perked me up so much I repeated it three times.....and by that time the finish line was in sight!
Something that also really helped me was visualising in my head what the remaining distance of the race looked like. When I had 1.5 miles to go, I said to myself “that’s from the roundabout to the train station! You can do that!” which made me feel very confident, because that’s my warm up on most of my training runs. And when I saw the sign “800m to go” I thought “that’s just two laps of the Domain! You can do that!” (the Domain is the athletics centre in Hobart). When I put it that way, I could SO do this!
By the time the finish line was in sight, I no longer cared what time it was, or whether I’d beaten last week’s time or not. I just wanted to be over that line. I held on and kept a strong, steady pace all the way to the end. I may have even thrown my arms up in joy as I crossed the line!
After we crossed, we were directed to either side of the track where there were tables set up with water, Lucozade, bananas and medals. I was stoked to get my autumn leaf shaped timber medal! I then fought my way through the crowd to get back into the park so I could make my way to find Tom at our agreed meeting place. There was a “goody bag” stand where you could line up and take what you wanted (within reason) from the items available, but when I saw the enormous line I decided to just go to the end where there was FREE BEER (non alcoholic but still!) and grab a can of that! I had enough goody bag goodies from the previous two weeks :)
Then I found Tom! What a delight to see him. He looked so happy and proud. We filmed the little ending for the video and I was delighted to note from my watch that I was roughly ten minutes faster than last week. I ended up being six minutes faster – 2:20:22! Whoo hoo!
It was a fabulous race - well organised, great atmosphere and a really good mix of elite and amateur, male and female runners. Everyone looked like they were having a great time. I can see why this race is so popular and fills up so quickly every year. I would definitely do this one again!
We hung around the park for a little while, and then walked down to the Prince Albert memorial to sit in the sun and cheer the remaining runners on. I always love seeing people who have already finished stop and call out “come on, you can do it, you’re nearly there!” when I'm still going so I did the same, and I got some very grateful smiles!
Then we walked down to South Kensington to the GBK to meet my sister-in-law for lunch. The runner’s reward was a mushroom brioche burger and a pile of skinny rosemary fries! After a couple of hours we eventually headed home on the M40, collapsed gratefully in our cosy warm house, and I reflected on the last three weeks:
I hadn’t had a drink for weeks so we cracked open some champagne and I finally sampled the Haigh’s peppermint chocolate frogs my Mum sent over for my birthday. She confessed she had sampled one before sending them “for quality control” ;)
So, there you have it! Three half marathons in three weeks! Maybe I was crazy but I DID IT! And the Royal Parks race was the perfect one to finish on – running again in my favourite city, with such a great vibe and support from the crowds, through parks and streets that I know and love, and a time I was pleased with. Every race got better and better, time and performance wise. I never felt like I was firing on all cylinders though and there were moments in all of them (especially the first!) when I thought “I am never doing this again!” but the minute I crossed the finish line all the pain was forgotten and the runner’s high was so sweet!
And, in typical Phil style, I am already thinking about what comes next! Poor Tom has requested a couple of “normal weekends” first :)
I hope you enjoyed following my #3halfs3weeks challenge! What do you think I should do next? :)