The kind postman also delivered my KT tape which meant I could go into my half marathon fully prepared and hopefully not suffer with my knees as on previous long runs!
The usual night before preparations took place, pasta, porridge,water and bed but I couldn't get any sleep! I was more nervous this time round than on my first half marathon maybe it's because I knew what was to come or a little voice in my head telling me it would be nice to do better.
Waking up at 6am on the Sunday I was still full of nerves, I kept saying to myself that all I need to do is finish, I have told myself for all the races I have entered this year the aim is just to finish then next year I will aim to improve on times. To take my mind of things I started prepping and thought I'd have a go at using my KT tape, with the website up and the video tutorials at the ready I began. Within half an hour I looked like an Egyptian mummy! I'd covered myself and must have looked a right sight to Kevin, he did think I'd gone a tad over the top and was worried all this tape may change the way I run and cause more injury. I decided I'd just tape up my knees and the top of my right foot (the one I always have problems with) I also bought some Zinc Oxide tape to try to resolve the ongoing issue of the reoccurring blisters on my right foot. Needless to say by the time we left for the race I looked like I had just come out of hospital!
After a lot of nervous babbling from me in the car on the hour long journey to Lichfield we arrived to a sight I'm used to now, lots of people milling around in more Lycra than you can imagine and a couple of shall we say older men in shorts that seem to be made for a 5 year old! mmm keep looking straight ahead!
There was a nice little warm up in the field of the school we were starting from, a little jump up and down here and there kept me warm enough as the sun had gone in and it was a bit chilly. I remember thinking at least I wont get sunstroke again like on the Worcester Half. It wasn't long before we spotted some firemen all dressed up equipment the lot who were running on behalf of injured firemen, my hat goes off to anyone that contemplates running in all that heavy clothing and equipment! They were of course accompanied by the well known Red Elephant, not sure if I'm the only one that remembers this elephant coming to do fire safety talks at school? But he was there also running! Kevin said my mission was to beat the red elephant and I was determined.
Time to start so I positioned myself as usual at the back of the crowd excited to get going, and we were off,a short run to cross the start line and then a bottle neck build up to get through the school gates, this led us onto main roads which I am pleased to say were closed to traffic, in fact all of the roads were closed which also meant one massive bonus for me...the whole way around the route I had plenty of policemen to oggle at as they were securing the road blocks and diverting people! It was great to run on open roads but I did struggle to get into my own rhythm until probably 3 miles in. I find if I can run at the side of the road nearest the pavement I can zone in to my running and not worry about being in the way of other people. I'm pleased to say I overtook the Red Elephant at just over 1 mile, he must have been roasting in that costume as the sun had come out in force.
The first 4 miles were tough all I was doing was evaluating how I felt and what I was doing compared to the Worcester half and couldn't get the thought of beating my time out of my head. I had changed my watch to show me pace rather than speed, something I have never done before and realised I was clocking up just over 10 minute miles which I knew was too quick for me to continue with for 13 miles. I always go by my heart rate and I know to run 13 miles I need to keep my heart rate at between 166 and 173 bpm my heart rate never dropped below 180. This wasn't helped by the amount of inclines, unlike the Worcester half where they were actual hills but only say 3 or 4 of them the Lichfield route was constant steady inclines all the way through, enough of an incline for you to really feel it. I had also bought some new energy chews into the mix I thought I would sample them out and I really do think they helped. By the 5th mile I was running at 10k pace still too quick I know but I just couldn't help myself my legs felt great I wasn't out of breathe and I had convinced myself I could run the whole way like this.... I couldn't.
I started running alongside two lovely people, a couple who kept me company from miles 8 - 10 those two miles running steadier seemed to fly by with us sharing our running stories and what our aims were. A quick check on the time on my watch at mile 10 showed that I was certainly going to beat my PB of 2 hours 31 minutes in fact by quite a lot. I even managed to convince myself if I ran quicker than I already had been I could beat it by 15 minutes and really surprise Kev at the finish line. I left my two companions at this point and tootled off on my own I had continuously ran under 11 minute miles the whole way so far and was beginning to feel it but continued pushing on... I may point out at this time that the weather had taken a turn for the better the sun was streaming and it was very hot this I think and pushing my limits for 10 miles made me have a funny moment at mile 11 and a half, I felt like I couldn't really remember what I was doing so I stopped and starting walking which was sooooo painful. I walked alongside a man and made sure I told him why I had stopped in case anything was to happen. We chatted for a bit and I soon began to feel better. I also realised this was my bodies way of saying enough of the 10k pace Miss MarathonMorris and just finish! So I tottered on and the final 2 miles were done at 14 minute mile pace, I was done.
The finish was amazing to come running across an open field full off stalls, activity, and people lined up along the tape I soon spotted Kevin with the camera and I seem to remember just trying not to pass out rather than smile. The moment I looked at my watch and saw the time of 2 hours 22 minutes I knew it had been worth it I had knocked 9 minutes of my personal best! a short walk through the finish area I was handed a bottle of water and a banana , an amazing sight the thought of eating something other than gloopy energy gels brought a smile to my face, then I was handed the goody bag.
Kevin found me delving into my bag to dig out the all important medal, the cherry on the cake the proof that I had done it and done it for a good cause! I didn't get a medal though I got something better.. a crystal trophy with some running people etched in the middle in a 3d drawing! So now I need to buy a trophy display as well as my medal display.
All in all I had a fantastic day, I got to oggle at men in tight shorts, policemen AND fireman, I beat the red elephant, took 9 minutes of my pb, and can tick off two items from my running bucket list
- Finish a half marathon in sub 2.30
- Have a flattering picture taken (Please see video below)
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