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| It's Stage two :) |
Stage two - Thurstaston multi-terrain 6 mile run Monday 8th July 2014.
We went to the other side of the Wirral for stage two and over to Thurstaston over on the West coast of the Wirral and overlooking the lovely Dee estuary.
Weather forecast for today was pretty changing it kept going from expected sun to expected rain showers and back again but it was also showing expected temperatures of 19C which could make it difficult.
My lift for today was provided by fellow competitor and friend Mr M and as ever was extremely efficient in getting us there with plenty of time, although the car park was a tad busy but hey there's a nice little yellow box painted especially for us, so in it we went :)
It had started to rain on the last leg of the journey over so the temperature dropped to nearer 15C and the conditions underfoot were now due a little more consideration as in many parts of the multi terrain run this would change the chances of a sure grip in more difficult area's.But I was confident my trail/road Hoka's were the right choice as they have served me well on multiple terrains.
So onto the Btr tent and start/finish area we went to say our hello's to a smaller crowd today than yesterdays Southport Half as that was an event we guested at as `Tourists` for the day.
The crowd was now under 200 as several people had had injuries at the last minute prior to the start of the Tour and had deferred their places until next year.Also we sadly had a few injuries on stage one and had lost some fellow competitors.
It was time to say to hello to my fellow competitor and race nemesis Sarah and Catherine of course and to spend a while chatting and winding each other up about who was going to win this leg of the tour and indeed our little race within a race.
I did indeed need to be very careful as Catherine had kindly offered to drive me back to Southport when we were finished after the race because Mr M had to shoot off for a work engagement in another part of the country ( a very busy man). And I didn't want to find myself liftless if I won tonight's battle lol ( I'm kidding of course they wouldn't dream of doing something like that would they?).
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| Like butter wouldn't melt.....Sarah and Catherine |
Anyway it was now still raining and decisions had to be made on whether or not to wear a jacket and even a running hat, but thankfully it stopped minutes before the start so it was jacket off and hat's off and ready to go.
After a quick introduction and leaders vest presentation to the leaders by Alan the race director it was time for the off at 7pm....
So off we went, across a grassed area and then off down a country lane to a caravan park towards the beach.I was know starting to feel that my legs were actually not feeling as great and loose as I thought, as the first mile started to pump up the old leg muscles the little niggles and aches and pains started to surface as I could sense which bits had not fully recovered and repaired overnight and through the day .I slowed a little and they seemed to loosen up just in time to hit the beach.
The beach itself was not the kind of beach I was expecting. I was expecting a nice long flat sandy section that I could pick a hard or soft route over for 2 miles.It was infact pebbly, rocky and mixed loose sand and pebble, non of it easy.
This was good though, as this was a true test of runners ability to run on different terrains and conditions, there would be no sprinting off into the distance for fast runners here.
As we approached mile 2 we could hear the supporters cheering us from the hillside which was a welcome lift, although I suspect they were also laughing their a**es off at us struggling across the beach :)
I passed Sarah somewhere between miles 2 and 3 and I hadn't been aware that she was actually in front of me at that point. I slowly went past and we gave each other a mutual `blimey this is tough` comment as I went by but I wasn't exactly going anywhere fast as it was tough to get any speed at all.
After struggling on for a bit more past mile 3 we now left the beach and onto a bit of a footpath and then onto a country lane that was slightly inclined.I had been warned there was a fairly long one mile climb up to mile 4 and the highest point of the course but I wasn't sure if this was it.
It was gradual and it did get a bit steeper and in a couple of parts a little climb and it was I think testing a fair few people, there was not a lot of people around me, with one guy I could see infront of me who I was following and a few behind further back.
We hit a few domestic area's and still climbing we rounded a corner to then see the leaders bolting past us on the return leg! wow they were fast.
We now hit some actual trail as we entered some narrow mudded path and a climb up a hill and the dreaded `steps of evil` as I heard a few call them later.They seemed to appear every time you had no energy left to lift your legs, and I was puffing and panting and at my aerobic threshold as I went up them trying to hold off any one behind.
Several turns and several batches of steps later we appeared at the top and at mile 4 and then a descent into woodland. Now this was `time to fly` as they say in Hoka land as they are indeed designed to let you fly downhill without worrying about your knees and boy did I fly. I caught a glimpse of Ian Raymond ahead of me and the back of the pack he was with so I knew I had gained a good distance on the down hill.
We came out of the hill and at some point entered a cycle trail as such, The people in front of me where roughly 20 feet ahead and I just tagged onto them. I did have to alter my breathing pattern a few times to try and maintain the pace without getting puffed out. This section seemed to go on for ever and my legs where occasionally feeling a little weak and I also occasionally felt a little dizzy briefly as I was pushing it to keep up.
Thankfully mile 5 came and went and I looked behind me as I heard someone catching up and for a moment my heart was in my mouth when I thought please don't be Sarah lol...
It wasn't it was a guy with some energy left in his tank as he sped past, but apart from him there was a nice gap behind me.
Coming towards the end now and half a mile out a nice friendly marshal advised we only had half a mile to go with just a little loop past the finish ( it turned out to be Keith Peacock, I hadn't recognized him at the time).
Ian and the others were still ahead and I didn't really feel like attempting to sprint to catch up as they would of just done it in return and burned me off at the sprint finish, so I ran in comfortably to finish.
It was a great course and tough and I enjoyed it and it was good to now turn around and concentrate on the other finishers and friends as they came in one by one.
I looked out anxiously for Sarah and she came in roughly two and a half minutes behind me, which was good going because the multi terrain suited me as I regularly run the Sefton dunes so had the advantage. A handshake mutually offered again,smiles all round and then we waited for the others and looked out in particular for Catherine as she always comes in smiling away :)
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| Smiling as ever :) |
As always we clapped in and encouraged the runners towards the back as they truly worked hard over the same course as the rest of us and hats off to James and John the blind runner and his guide who did wonders to get through that course.
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| James and John |
Hospitality and refreshments all round by the Btr team as we stuffed our faces with bananas and Mars bars and swigged water and Lucozade and enjoyed the friendly race banter and `get you next time` comments etc as we took the usual pictures of each other in group shots for momentos etc.
There were now some good running relationships building as the tour progresses, some older and some newer and all giving each other friendly and caring advice where needed or requested, which is what it is all about in the end. We are all after all one big running family and community and all friends with a common link and I thank God I had the chance to meet you all and hope to call you all friends by the end of it all :)
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| Adele and Catherine friends forever :) |
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| The Good the Bad and the Ugly or is it the Three Amigo's? |
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| Here's to new friends |
On a final note for tonight's run, I did infact manage to get a lift off Catherine and Sarah back to Southport along with some great competitive banter on the way, I had a great time in great company and wouldn't change it for the world.
My results after Day two / stage two :
47 min 14 secs chip time, 47 mins 21 sec gun time
Stage position 42 (male), Overall tour position 49 ( male and female).
.....and more importantly in the Les v Sarah battle 1-0 to me :)
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