 |
| Stage three of course :) |
Stage three - Walton Hall Park Sustrans cycle trail 10 mile run Tues 8th July.
Well for today's run it was over to Walton Park in Liverpool for a 7pm run on what appeared to be a warm night and it looked like it was going to stay like that for the evening so sun protection lotion definitely required and lots of water.
My lift for tonight was supplied very kindly by Catherine who picked me up at Freshfield train station and then it was onto Aintree to pick up Sarah. Also in the car was Sophia who was unfortunately injured on the first day's run at Southport, so had to be sensible and withdraw from the rest of the Tour, but she was good enough to come down and support us all for the evening.
As you can imagine the banter had already started in the car once Sarah had got in as we where both in the back of the car, so instructions of no hair pulling or kicking each other were given by Catherine :)
Interesting enough the postcode supplied for our destination was incorrect or didn't actually exist according to the sat nav, but once in the general area we seemed to find it rather quickly after a couple of twists and turns.
So there it was the gloriously green looking Walton Park in the sun and into the car park we went and expertly guided into a space by the car park marshals, although Catherine's car looked like an abandoned shopping trolley when we looked back and laughed at her parking :)
Toilet worries were quickly relieved literally when we spotted a row of porta loo's kindly supplied by Btr and then it was time to mingle and say our hello's to our fellow friends and tourists, one of the best parts of the day.
Photo's as ever were taken to remember and mark the occasion and I've included several throughout the blog for you of course to get a feel for the race and the people there.
 |
| Sarah, Catherine & myself. |
 |
| The three fingers signifies stage three by the way :) |
The Tour has a video man (Colin) who films snippets each day and interviews various tourists as the week goes on, and today was the turn of Sarah and myself as Catherine had given him a subtle prompt about the rivalry between us both and the little battle we were having.
After a couple of questions to find out exactly what was involved he did a quick interview and asked what it was all about, and asked one of us to explain. I promptly volunteered Sarah to explain as I got stage fright and panicked as I realized that anything I said would be taken down and used against me on presentation day lol.
I honestly don't know what I said, especially as I tried to play down my ungentlemanly sprint finish at stage one in Southport and I wait with baited breath for the boo's on presentation day :)
So after the usual race leaders announcement and vest presentation it was off to the start/finish area on the Iron bridge.
The race route this year was slightly different than last as it was 2.5 miles out and 2.5 back one way and then 2.5 miles out and 2.5 back the other last year. But this year it was 4 miles out then 4 back and through the start/finish area and supporters and then 1 mile out and 1 back to the finish line again.
Luckily for us all the longest stretch the 4 out and then 4 back was pretty much shaded for most of it so keeping cool was not too hard, and I'd decided to wear a hat to keep off the heat and sun anyway so this helped.I'd taken my running shades as well just in case.
So 7pm arrived and we were off.......
..... and for a little while it was quite tight as the path is not too wide and people were trying to get past as people were settling into their ideal pace, and quite a lot of people shot off ahead. I got quite alarmed at how many were going past me but I decided to look at the big picture as I knew 10 miles here would be hard on the legs, and my main target or aim was to keep Sarah insight and make sure she didn't get a lead on me as i tried to settle to a decent but comfortable pace to start.
It became apparent that my legs were actually fairly stiff and didn't feel loose enough to be happy and my right quad was a little painful which I don't usually suffer from, so damage limitation was also key. This meant no trying to get past Sarah or indeed other runners and settle down running just behind her.
The run progressed through miles 2,3 and onwards and by now Mike had appeared alongside us both and we said our hello's and happily ran with each other at a mutually happy 8 min or so pace.
Onwards we went passed the local and bemused chav's who had congregated in several areas and I was waiting for smart a*se comments but seemed to be lucky enough to not receive any, I did worry a little about some of the ladies running alone though but there seemed to be a fair few marshals around and what seemed to be a fellow runner or volunteer in all his running gear who stood opposite a big group of them.Fair does to him for keeping them in check and making people feel more comfortable on their run.
Mile 4 now and it was water station and turn around time as we got a little treat of a steep incline for 20-30 feet as we turned and then a 20-30 feet decline which was welcomed after the brief climb.
It was now a 4 mile slog back towards the start/finish area and a chance to see our fellow runners and friends and receive and indeed offer encouragement to each other as we passed each other.The miles were getting a little tougher now as we continued on our 8 min pace ( or so we thought ), It appeared that the mile markers were way out, but they weren't, the trees and the switchback were playing havoc with our Garmins and they were bleeping at completely different points to the mile markers, and at the time I didn't realize that infact our alleged pace would not be accurate either, but we didn't twig.
I was now starting to feel it but still keeping up with Mike and indeed Sarah as they took turns hitting the front, well the front of our little group anyway. I happily sat at the back as I didn't want to push the pace any further and we carried on through miles 5,6 and 7 pretty much the same all the way.
We passed the bemused chav's again and I heard a couple of "where's Wally?" comments aimed at a Knowsley runner no doubt but apart from that seemed innocent enough.
It was now the approach to the 8 mile mark and the start/finish area and it was full sun time so the shades went on at last, especially as I'd been holding them for 7 miles lol.
It was a welcome sight to see the Iron bridge and the start/finish area and indeed our supporters and a welcome water stop although we ran through it obviously, I carry a handheld bottle so don't need to stop or slow but I slowed here as Mike and Sarah grabbed water so we could still stay together.
 |
| Clearly too happy to be in front :) |
 |
| Staying on the chase :) |
By now it was only 2 miles to go, 1 mile out and 1 back but the mile from 8-9 seemed to go on forever and felt like 1.5 but a lot of it is your perception of distance when you are tired and we certainly were.Mike however had energy left and said he was going ahead so we let him, and Sarah and myself continued shoulder to shoulder now continuing to push each other to keep the pace up.
Mile 9 and the final turnaround was a welcome sight although I realized I had to relive the feeling of a 1.5 mile slog back the way we just came. But it was near the end now and Sarah although running with me or against me was obviously as tired as I was as I didn't sense the pace being pushed to get ahead, we were clearly trying to fathom out what each others plan was for the finish approach.
We did spot Rosemary ahead which was a good thing as I know she is a good female runner as well and has great results at this event and I knew she was one of Sarah's closest rivals in the overall standings.I think Rosemary was aware as well as she said she was sticking on Sarahs shoulder as she clearly knew about the standings as well.
We actually now managed to overtake a few people as I was confident I could push a little at the end and indeed bring Sarah with me, I wanted her to keep her position in the standings as she is doing really well and was in the top 10 females.
Again I faced the horrible decision of what to do in our battle to win against each other, and I had sensed and felt that Sarah pushes hard up slopes and hills and I knew we had a nasty one at the approach to the finish which would make a long sprint awkward.
We were now at the final approach and the slope so I went ahead to get up the incline and then looked behind me and saw Rosemary and Sarah at least 10 feet or so behind, so I slowed a little to regroup and push her over the line as I felt we had worked together as a team and didn't want to be a **** and sprint off again.I crossed the line at least a foot ahead just incase she sprinted past me, as we hadn't agreed anything and she could of sprinted past me if I wasn't careful :)
 |
| Ok maybe a bit more than a foot....doesn't explain identical gun time though??) |
Customary handshake and well done , and then it was wait for fellow runners time, and urge them on which is one of the best bits in my opinion as it's good to see the elation in everyone's faces as they finish and the genuine true cheer of the fellow runners as they clap in fellow finishers.
We still had runners going past from the left as well as the finish from the right as it was obviously the 8 mile point as well as the finish so we were kept busy looking both ways and cheering on.One by one they passed and indeed one by one they finished and as ever we looked out for smiley face Catherine and took pictures of course.
 |
| Always a smile. |
Now it was time for the return to the Btr hospitality tent and the welcome sights of bananas, apples, Mars bars, Snickers and sweets and water and Lucozade of course, as ever it is vital to restock as quick as possible in order to get a head start on the recovery for the next race.
As ever pictures and photo's were taken in abundance and it was mingle and chat time as we each congratulated each other on a successful finish and indeed on finishing 3 days in a row. The friendship is one of the highlights of the Tour to me and I feel part of a real running community and family as I said in last night blog as well.
 |
| Good friends as ever :) |
 |
| Good friends all :) |
 |
| Photo bombing Stan the Man :) |
 |
| Sarah, `Dolly pip` & Catherine post race stretching. |
This again is one of the best bits about the Tour as new friendships are made amongst people who are more friends than rivals and getting a group picture is fantastic for keeping the memories alive after the event, and indeed one of the main reasons I write these blogs to share with you all.
So it's rest day on day 4 so no blog that day, so hopefully everyone will be nicely refreshed on day 5 and not done anything daft like going out for another run on rest day as I know several were planning and indeed from latest reports ( Thurs) several people did.
I look forward to seeing you all on Thursday at Hale village for the 5 mile road race and indeed my fellow competitor and running nemesis Sarah who is thankfully still talking to me as I take it to a 2-0 lead although we had identical gun times as the clock did not record split seconds so I may need a bigger gap as I may have to call Walton a mutual draw again and stay at 1-0 :)
My overall results :
Stage 3 Walton : 1 hr 17 min 08 secs chip time, 1hr 17 min 15 secs gun time.
Stage position : 62 (male) 72 (mixed)
Overall position : 47 (male) 56 (mixed)
******************
No comments:
Post a Comment