Firstly I'm really happy that I managed to get to the start line relatively fit. Since having had over 9 weeks out with my knee I had only managed a couple of outings with the balls, the longest being 10 miles just the week before. So I was a little uncertain how I would perform on the day, hence I decided to start towards the back of the 1:45 - 2:00hr start pen I was in so I didn't get in anyone's way. This turned out to be a bad idea. Almost immediately I realised that I was getting stuck behind runners I ought to be in front of and there was hardly any opportunity to overtake. As such I ended up getting blocked in with other runners passing me and going through gaps I couldn't fit through. Probably less than a kilometre had passed when I found myself getting squeezed into a tighter and tighter space. With nowhere to go I ended up tripping over and losing both balls. I dived to try and save one in front of me and ended up flat out on the floor. It's all a bit of a blur but I do remember someone retrieving one of the balls for me and helping me up. I was so embarrassed as the race had hardly started but I just had to get up and get on with it. It was only after I managed to regain my composure that I began to think of how Mo fell in the 10,000m in Rio and got up to win. It made me smile and gave me further confidence.
The roads never really thinned out. They were often quite narrow and largely unfenced. Regular bottlenecks were created by parked cars and traffic islands which would not have troubled most other runners but caused me considerable inconvenience as everyone bunched up. Pedestrians and cyclists were regularly crossing the road in front of me. Trying to find a clear patch of road between all the other runners was tricky. I need to be able to see what the road surface is doing so I can avoid road markings (where paint has been put on top of paint, on top of paint etc) and steer clear of patched bits of road where there are joins, cracks and holes.
Being so close to so many other runners is mesmerising when you're looking at their feet with all those heels and white socks flashing. Add to that the shiny confetti and streamers at one point and it's really hard to keep focussed.
I had to pick the balls up and run holding them through three of the water stations. The first one was mad. I wasn't stopping but suddenly there were people criss-crossing in front of me trying to decide if they were going to the left or the right for water and changing their minds. It was a proper melee and people were just dropping plastic cups in the middle of the road. I decided I wasn't going to risk losing a ball again so just picked them up. It has given me serious food for thought.
I didn't drink as much as I would've liked to, as in order to do so on the run I have to allow one ball to take a bounce on its own while I put the pipe in my mouth. I simply daren't do it for much of the race as there was so little space and room for error.
I bounced one of the balls in a discarded gel sachet and got sticky all over my hand and the ball. This really alters the feel for a while until the sticky gets covered in dirt. Then I found myself trying to dribble through another water station where the floor was wet which rehydrated the sticky again.
I realised that I needed to pay closer attention to where the corners were coming up as I needed time to position myself in the road on the outside of every bend to avoid the crush of the inside line. Suddenly looking up and realising I'm on the inside line as everyone starts getting closer is very unnerving. I knew there was a section of cobblestones and had been out practising over a similar set the night before. Having picked up the balls through some of the water stations I was determined to dribble over the cobbles but as I did so (I had to slow down) I was overtaken by the 2hr pacing group which then created an impenetrable wall in front of me.
I barely looked at my watch. I figured I was pretty much resigned to going with the flow. The race seemed to fly by. People were cheering. Many were laughing, lots were taking photos and filming. I had my chest camera on and at Silverstone I recorded the first and the last 3 miles but I realised that it was still running at mile 10 having started it just before the race. I knew it only had a 2 hour recording life and I wanted to film the end so I decided, as this was just a bit of training fun, I'd stop to change the battery so I could film the end. Rather ironically I then turned the corner to hear a DJ blasting out Culture Beat's dance tune Mr Vain!
As I turned the final corner and could see the finish line I decided I had little to lose. I had plenty left in the tank so I decided to weave my way past as many people as I could. It wasn't easy but it was kind of fun. Only after I'd finished did I realise that I'd missed my target of under 2 hours by nearly three and a half minutes. Initially disappointed I came to accept that it was a good time given the conditions.
According to my Garmin data I ran 14.18 miles in 02:03:34 which is an average of 8:45 per mile (and more than a mile more than the official 13.1 mile distance!). My fastest mile was mile 4 and apparently done in 6:33 which I can't quite believe. And my slowest mile was mile 11 which I'm pretty certain was the one where I stopped to change the camera battery and completed in 9:52.
A handful of people stopped me before and after the race to take pictures, to tell me that they'd read about me or to just ask what I was doing and wish me luck. Everyone I spoke to was very nice and supportive.
I am incredibly grateful to the race director, Lars Nissen for letting me run. It really was an immensely valuable experience and very enjoyable. I hope to return next year, perhaps with others from my club, Petts Wood Runners, to run it normally and to enjoy the sights of the race that I couldn't look up to enjoy this year.
Next stop Bristol - which will be a completely different race and one that I will be bitterly disappointed in if I do not finish significantly under two hours.
A massive 'thank you' to my wife and children for coming to support me in Denmark. I think they enjoyed it too but we're all very tired.
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ReplyDeleteBrilliant Kev. As you said this one for fun. You have had all that time out of training but you still got close to two hours that's just brill. A good learning run for you. Well done indeed.
ReplyDeleteNice one mate
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