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
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