Lot's of twigs...but sadly not one Stig.

Well today's charity run which is officially run #3 on my 14Run calender was a last minute replacement for another one of my runs, and also a very last minute entry as the place only came about two nights before. (Thank you Mr & Mrs M)

The run was quite unique in itself which is why it was added to my charity run calender so easily as it was in fact 6 laps around the motor race circuit that is Oulton Park in Cheshire.

The weather forecast for the day seemed fairly decent as it was supposedly 10C and likely to stay dry, but it was forecast to have winds of 25mph+ which could be tricky on an open circuit.Nevertheless I thankfully chose to wear a long sleeved compression top under my charity running vest and a pair of compression shorts as well.It turned out to be a good call :)

Transport as ever was provided by a very generous Mr & Mrs M (Thank you again) and we arrived without any issue at the track which was nestled amongst a fair bit of woodland which seemed to of suffered some of the chaos of the recent bad weather we've had, with several uprooted tree visible and lots of lost branches and twigs etc that had been swept up or removed to the roadside.

The venue itself was pristine and it looks like a good place to spend the day with ample refreshment area's and toilets and seating area's inside and out.

First port of call was getting registered properly and collecting the relevant run number and attached chip.This was all done smoothly and quickly and after a few hello's to some familiar faces who had run the 10k earlier it was time to head for the start area along with fellow half marathon runner Mr F and his family.

After a short while trying to shelter from the wind it became apparent this was going to be a challenge as the wind was pretty bad and made you feel instantly cold, but we convinced ourselves that we would all no doubt warm up as the race progressed.

As we lined up at the ample start area there seemed to be no rush for front line position as the area was so big, so I slowly moved forward trying not to look to keen as I had already worked out it was a waste of time rushing to the front as they will run past me as I always start conservatively speed wise.

A quick look around behind me to see just how many were running and I spotted a guy dressed in a 5 foot drinks bottle costume who apparently is taking part in some world record attempt to run so many runs etc dressed as a bottle or maybe just in fancy dress.
I did keep a keen eye out for The Stig thinking surely someone would of taken the opportunity to dress up like him at an event held at a race track! but no, just twigs...no Stigs ;)

Several minutes later and we were off, and yes most of them all shot off past me thinking this was some kind of race and they were perhaps in imaginary race cars :) common sense told me not to follow them and to just settle into a comfortable pace. But after a couple of minutes of watching people I knew were not genuinely faster than me I sped up a little.

Within the first mile I quickly discovered that this was indeed a windy and in parts pretty flippin hilly course and that I in fact still had tired legs from my 20 mile sand dunes training run only 3 days before, and I started to wonder how on earth I am going to be able to hold on for 6 laps in total.

The track itself had 3 major ups and downs and the ups drained my legs every time and I had to ensure that I sucked in enough air to keep the muscles supplied with the vital Oxygen required, and I also had to ensure I shortened my step but increase my footstep cadence/rate to make up for it.This was where the comfortable pace started to kick in as people were starting to realise the speedy start was not a good idea on a course with fairly steep ups and lots of attacks from the consistent wind.

The laps progressed and after the first 2 which were 2.18 miles each my pace was quite decent at roughly 7:30 min miles were my target was 8:00 min miles, so I was happy that I could slow a little if need be and I started to feel a lot more comfortable and confident that I would in fact get through this.

More laps passed and the miles passed and at lap 5 I decided it was gel and water time to make sure my legs had a little back up of energy for the last 2 laps and 4+ Miles.

Penultimate lap was a welcome feeling as I started to realise I would not have to go up these inclines many more times, in fact only two more times each one :)

Last lap and I was still ahead of my planned running time target of 1hr 45 mins by just under 2 minutes and I realised if I kept it up I could just sneak under my previous PB of 1hr 43mins at Helsby in January :) so I kept it up and tried to speed up were I could.

I was conscious several times of a young female runner who several times passed me and me her, and every time i passed her I'd hear the familiar sound of huffing and puffing as she approached again, sadly my competitive streak and the fear of `getting chicked` prevented me from letting her pass again so I pushed on.

I carried on as I had been for the last couple of laps, and I started getting past a lot of the people who had previously shot past me at the start. Thankfully as the amount of races I have done increases, I have discovered that tactics have a lot to do with successful runs and keeping something in the tank for the last mile or so is a vital element of training and racing.

So last 3 hills out the way and it was a last rush ( I wish) for the finish line as I got battered by the headwind and realised the last hill had destroyed any remaining energy in my legs and I would in fact if I'm not careful fall flat on my face with twisted legs in true `bambi style` if I didn't stay calm and just run in looking extremely exhausted over the finish.

Big smile for the camera (that's probably a lie, I don't smile for camera's) and a nice new PB finishing time of 1 hr 42 mins and 46 seconds.

Quick trip over to the goodie bag table to hunt for food and collected my bag like a big kid at the end of a kids party, and collected a handful of jelly babies and jaffa cakes as I went and promptly stuffed my face with them.Job done.

All that remained now was a little wait for my fellow runner Mr M and a quick look for Mrs M and we were ready to set off home :)

Overall a nice but difficult run and a nice day out with some really nice fellow runners and a thankful feeling that it did not in fact chuck it down as that would of been the cherry on the rotten cake....

                    Picture: The famous Mr M and my good self with a smile I do believe
                                            although this was before we started running :) 


                    Next charity run is in 2 weeks on Sunday 9th March 2014 the Bolton 
                    Hill Marathon  26.2 miles and......big hills!!  All sponsorship and
                    donations gratefully received at the following..............


                    Mind donations: virginmoneygiving.com/14Runs

                    Caring for Life:  justgiving.com/14Runs

Mad Dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday.....erm..wind!!

Well it was finally time to step out into the typical blustery seaside weather that I have become accustomed to living in the Northwest of England.Today was pretty much like most days this week cold,damp and in particular bl**dy windy with a 30mph+ average wind forecast for the day.

On a plus side the originally forecast heavy showers had decided to stay away so it was just a case of deciding which three layers of running clothing to wear and what kind of head cover was likely to decide to stick around at the first hint of a gust of wind.

I decided on a cold weather compression top that I had bought recently for these colder training runs and events and a long sleeved top plus my `your never gonna miss me` florescent orange runners jacket and ooh..a fourth layer, my charity running vest :)

I topped all this off with a wooly hat and a pair of running gloves, I considered that enough to make up for the fact that I will be wearing a thin pair of running shorts and would likely freeze from the waist down if it was colder than expected.

Common sense and experience had already helped me decide to wear my compression shorts and compression calf sleeves/guards as well.I decided on my Red Venom ones which had been generously discounted and in the case of the sleeves,given free by Red Venom as support for my training and my runs during this campaign.

So off out I finally went after a light breakfast and headed for the free buses that where taking passengers from the free parking at the park and ride, these had been put on by the organizers of the Mad Dog 10k the Hesketh Round Table who do a great job year on year (Thanks Guys).

A quick journey and I was at my destination Stanley High School which is transformed into a base station for all the runners with lots of facilities you don't normally get at most running events, the gym hall being one off them was the first port of call to pick up my runners t-shirt prior to the race which is a nice touch as you can ensure you get your size without the usual mad panic at the end of most runs.The medal though you do have to earn and complete the race first before you can have it :)

Next was a quick visit to the changing rooms in the sports hall to get rid of my track suit bottoms and coat etc and any thing I wasn't going to be running with, and then into the  main area of the sports hall to hand my baggage into their safe hands for secure storage, all done within minutes may I add (take note Helsby Running Club).

Next was the quick walk to the start line and back out into the blustery conditions, this was the real test of whether or not I had wrapped up correctly and I can safely say "job done".

With about 5 mins to go I was at the starting area and in a big crowd and I couldn't even see the front so I figured I was going to have one hell of a lot of people to run through very shortly.

For those wondering below is what the front actually looked like  minus the usual inflatable start/finish arch which I assume was not used due to the chance of it blowing away in seconds :)

So a quick 5 mins and we where off, and onto the seafront and head on into the 30mph winds......this was well hard to run into and I had previously advised people to stick to the left inside of the road as this would be sheltered by the other runners as the wind was coming from front right....I completely ignored my own advice and race plan because I was stuck behind loads of slower runners and I couldn't run at a decent speed so I had no choice other than to move right out onto the far right and ended up being everyone else's windbreak.

Full respect to all the cadets who where out marshaling along this stretch, how they didn't lose there beret's etc I'll never know.

I persisted like this for the first 3k at least and often felt like I was a kite with my legs dangling below me and flapping in the wind going nowhere :)

After 3k I started to see a few familiar faces of other runners I know so I said my brief hello's as I struggled past, the first friendly face being the lovely Adele and a bit further on I saw Jessica who is new to running and was doing well, and cracking on at a good pace considering the weather.

I had already passed the Battala Liverpool drumming band who were superb as ever in supporting the poor runners in the blustery weather, but they must of been struggling even more being stuck in one spot, so hats off to them.

From 4k onwards the long car park on the left hand side came up so a big stretch of freely available running land was at my disposal, so onto it I went and started to slowly go past some of the slower runners around me.By now I was not particularly tired so was thankful the wind hadn't crippled me and I only had another 1km to go to the turning point where the wind would turn to our backs.

A quick run past the new Guelder Rose pub & restaurant and under the pier and past a rather slimmer looking `Elvis` from last year who may of just been another Elvis, who knows.

5K and now the fun begins the wind is at our backs so around the outside of the fairground we go and past the Splash world facility and past another band who  were a Beatles tribute band (The Dockers) but as I'm not particularly a Beatles fan I'm not sure what they were singing as I passed, sounded good though.So onto the Promenade we all continued.

A water station soon came up but I decided against getting any as I wasn't thirsty and it wasn't hot so I just ran through and left it for people who did need it.

I carried on down the Promenade and then under the pier where I saw my good friend and fellow runner Mr M (remember him my Helsby blog?) quick hello's exchanged and then onwards past the Ramada Plaza and then back onto the Promenade where I see another fellow runner Chris, I say my hello's again and continue to the end of the Promenade and turn left towards the seafront again.

Now it's pretty much the 8km mark coming up as I approach the seafront and the Battala Band for a second time, their still smiling which is good :)

Now here we go, full wind at my back and some energy left and only 2k left so it's time to at least try and get past some more people and get a half decent time.By this stage the wind is helping that much I'm having to hold back because I don't think my legs can keep up :)

So a final right turn towards the finish and a bit of a cross wind so no sprint finish coming up here....and finally over the line at 49 minutes 40 seconds, 3 minutes slower than last time but with that wind I'll take it thanks, job done and hello `Goody bag` in the Mad Dogs case `Doggy Bag` :)

A little wait to say hello to a few people and then back to the sports hall to get showered and changed and retrieve my bag etc again only a few minutes to collect my bag (Take note again Helsby Running Club) and say "hello" and "how did you do?" to some fellow runners and friends from the Facebook Running Discussion Board.

 The sports hall is great for meeting up with all your friends after the race and you always see lot's of proud club runners and friends who have run together proudly showing off their Mad Dog t-shirts and medals for photo's.

Finally it was time to go to the best place off all at an event apart from the finish line `The Pub` in this case a nice Churchtown traditional old pub called the Hesketh Arms.

Best of all a nice sit down for my first pint this year due to being in marathon training since the New Year, and the chance to catch up with more running friends....

A couple of days rest for me and then the marathon training continues with a 14 mile and a 20 mile run in the next 3-10 days as I have run #3 coming up in exactly a month the Bolton Hill Marathon........26.2 miles AND big hills...oh dear.