I did this event last year and had a great time as it is easy to get to being near my hometown and I had made loads of new running friends at the event last year due to the Running Discussion Board that I had recently joined that year as member on Facebook.
The subsequent afternoon and evening in the famous Rigby's was a hoot and one I was keen to repeat this year.
The day started at 6 a.m. on a Sunday as ever seems to be the case on a run day, I'm not a big fan of getting up early and it is quite frankly a b*gger to sleep the night before as race tactics and plans and what to wear or not wear is always buzzing around my head the night before. But I managed it.
Quick shower and start to select my running gear for the day after a last minute quick check of the weather forecast, seemed to be chance of showers pretty cold and pretty windy so it was going to be a challenge to stay warm at the start so extra clothes required which would then have to be left in the luggage storage buses follwed by 10 minutes waiting in the start area freezing my **** off.
Breakfast next which was merely 2 pieces of wholemeal toast and a cup of coffee, followed by a banana an hour later as I was keen not to forget to eat it pre race this time like i did last week in the 20 miler I did without food..oops!
All ready to go now and my transport for the day as ever was the ever helpful and fellow Southport runner and RDB member Mr M and his wife Mrs M who was also running today.
We arrived promptly as ever, and sat in the car for a while kidding ourselves that it really wasn't very windy out there or indeed cold.This quickly became fruitless as we watched car after car of runners empty out in front of us with people getting out of a warm car and rapidly showing signs of `Artic shock` as if they had indeed just been teleported to the Artic circle.
We eventually got out and headed towards the start, but not before picking up an old work colleague of mine and fairly new but successful runner Vicky. Vicky was going to be joining the 2hr pacing train that Mr M and a few fellow runners Frankie & Kenny a.k.a. `Bert & Ernie` would be leading to help people along who wanted to achieve a sub 2 hr time.
World renowned Bert & Ernie.
Now it was time to meet up with a few others to say our respective hello's and for people who were running together to get sorted, in particular the above mentioned 2hr pacing train which was allegedly now up to 15 people.
It was now sadly time to strip off a few layers and put our nice warm and snug clothes back in our bags and onto the luggage buses, this was particularly difficult and felt like handing your precious favourite toy over to your brother or sister to play with when you were a child lol.
Anyway, it was finally start time and I managed to get down further in the start queue this time in the area designated for runners who are looking to achieve a 1 hr 45 min race, last year i started near the back due to being slow getting ready and I had to run through thousands of slower runners later in the race, which was a nightmare and not one I wanted to repeat.
Cram packed start area area 1:45 runners.
So 9 a.m. and we were off, we slowly walked forward as we approached the start line and people started to run as they crossed the start line and chip time mat.This became a bit precarious as several inconsiderate morons had dropped their empty water bottles on the floor right in the middle of the path we were running on, and with the mass of people trying to get running from the start line and being unable to see in front of themselves and their feet this was very dangerous and I slipped on one myself which rapidly flew out from under my foot as I accelerated away.Luckily I stayed upright but I developed a seriously annoyed and frustrated facial expression for several minutes.
Onwards we went and after a few miles upwards we went as we approached and then turned up Upper Parly as the local runners seem to call it as it is a long hill that everyone seems to hate as you often find in the first two miles you have set of quite fast as you feel good, and then suddenly hit Upper Parly and discover your mistake as you crawl up the hill trying to get your breath.
Thankfully after my recent running exploits involving hills this was not really an issue for me and I appeared at the top feeling fine, a little puffed but knowing within a minute I would be back to normal.So we carried on now on a flat and even a bit of a stretch on a slight downhill which was a benefit.
I had decided as a strategy that I would have to run at roughly 7:47 minute miles to achieve a new personal best time at a half marathon of 1 hr 42 minutes, this would require me to run at my threshold pace for most of the time, threshold being that point where as you are running you are just below the point of feeling a bit too puffed out, so you are just getting enough oxygen in your system to keep going at that pace.I managed to maintain this but wasn't sure if I could do it all the way around a 13.1 mile course.But so far so good but this was only 3 miles or so in.
I was now getting quite hot as the running had obviously warmed me up so I was constantly unzipping my running jacket and removing my woolly hat every time the sun came out and the temp raised.This was now becoming my focus as it made me uncomfortable, but i would rather be hot than cold so battled on.
Soon we were now entering Sefton Park which is a huge park and running mecca I would guess for people who want somewhere nice to run on training runs.I knew from last year that we would be here for a fair while as we run around a lot of the park inside and out.It was at this park that we would hit the halfway point 10k and another chip time mat that would give us a time at that point to check our progress after the race.Soon after this point we where back onto the road outside the park and running around the outskirts of the park. It now decided to rain and cold rain at that.I now had a grin on my face as I thought `well in` as I remained warm and dry in my running jacket and promptly replaced wooly hat.
We eventually exited the area of the park and went down a slope and through a subway under a major road junction and into Otterspool Park which was another scenic change to races that are all down boring roads.At this point we were now hitting the 8 mile mark and a water stop was coming up at 9 miles, so it was time for my one and only sports gel to ensure I had some energy left on the final miles as I knew the dreaded Prom was coming up.
After a while in the park it was water stop time and a quick drink without stopping for me and onwards to the Prom, I turned the corner on to the Prom and all I heard from behind me was "Oh Hell!" as the full affects of the 20-29mph headwinds hit home!!
It was now head down time and plough on time as you try and plough through the wind and try to stay as streamlined as you possibly can.This was hard and I knew we had 4 miles of this and it was going to take its toll.
My time was now dropping to roughly 8 minute miles and I was in danger off missing my target time if I could not maintain my pace for the last miles, I had built up a little bit of time in the bank as such as some of my earlier miles were actually faster than my target but I was still worried.I constantly wanted to run slower and preserve energy for the end but knew I would fail my time if I did.As ever I had to tell myself that if I miss out because I didn't try hard enough when I should of then I would indeed be very annoyed and disappointed in myself.
I managed to push on and at 11 miles was developing a stitch which can often cripple me in a run so I had to keep changing breathing patterns and also take in several deep breaths as well as if I'm honest asking God to remove my oncoming stitch.It lessened and I managed to keep if from fully developing and by now my legs were starting to struggle to maintain pace as my body was trying to slow me down.I managed to push on and force my legs to speed up as I carried on.
It was now 12 miles and obstacles galore as we avoided benches, bins and various sea related objects all of which were serious trip hazards and we were all weaving in and out of them and in and out of each others paths.
Final mile now and I was hanging on for dear life, I could tell from my watch that the last couple of miles I was just about 5 secs off my total target time but I knew I had 50 seconds spare as my last PB was 1:42:50 and my target set on my watch was 1:42:00 so I carried on determined not to slow down any more.
A couple of cobbled area's not great for running fast on and a couple of corners I remembered flying round last year as I sprinted in, but this year was struggling, I made a last dash for it and went past about 20 people on a big corner and felt great until I went round the next corner thinking the finish line was there, and no I was wrong and straight into a 100 metre stretch of headwind I went, b*gger! I slowed and got through it and the final corner approached, I was now feeling sick as I had expended all my spare energy in a sprint to nowhere, so around the corner and there was the finish I attempted to sprint but it wouldn't happen and I was quite frankly just trying to stop myself hurling as I crossed the line in a new PB time of 1hr 41 mins and 42 secs, over 1 minute taken off my previous PB 6 weeks or so back :)
As per usual it was straight to the goodie section like a kid in a sweetshop to collect my great looking long sleeved bright orange technical running shirt, a bling medal, a Lucozade energy bar and a bottle of water and some Jelly Beans :)
Great tech shirt and medal.
Close up of medal.
Now it was time to wait for fellow runners, after first running straight to the luggage bus and wrapping up warm asap as it was cold at the finish even with the sun out.
It was chaotic at the finish area as thousands of runners came in and idiotic spectators and people's family thought nothing of standing in the way of the knackered runners who just wanted to get out of the finishers tunnel and onto the luggage buses for their gear.I stood out the way and still had a constant stream of people pushing past me with no excuse me's or thank you's what so ever.I for one think Finish area's at events this big need a dedicated family reunion area which separates the crowds and give the runners a bit of well earned and deserved space when they need it most.
After all the chaos it was time to retrieve the troops and head to the good old Rigby's pub which is a tradition for the RDB runners in particular and it is so near the race it's ideal.It's a traditional old worldy pub which as per usual with old pubs and in particular in the city looks a bit rough on the outside, but is nice enough on the inside.
So a good day overall, and several friends old and new met in the pub along with a birthday celebration for the birthday girl Jean :) followed by a multiple of pints which I have not had for a long time due to all the training and a lack of funds usually.
PB's were celebrated by many from the RDB group including Adele, Ben, Clare (UK PB), Denise,Jessica, Linda, Vicky and of course myself and many others.
Thanks to everyone involved in the race organization and all it's helpers at the aid stations and at the finish area etc, big thanks to the chain gang who give out the well deserved medals at the end, especially Keith a fellow runner from RDB and Laura from the headphone Police ;) thanks for a great day.
This is a great event and I would recommend it for anyone looking for a good half marathon, and the btr Liverpool events which are held in the area are always great events so I would recommend them all to you as I have done most them myself.
So whats next for me?..well next event is the Rock'N'Roll Liverpool marathon on Sunday 25th May 2014 and official 14RUNS charity campaign run #7!!
Couple of weeks rest/small runs for me and then it's straight back into marathon training with 15/16/18/20 mile long runs for 5 weeks or so and then the big day.
Thanks as always for all your support verbally or financially, it is much appreciated and is what drives me on to raise the money for causes close to my heart.
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