Ealing Half Marathon

Today was the third Ealing half marathon.

Being my local run with the start line just around the corner from my house it is a must on my race calendar.

Now from the last two years of racing in the event I knew that it was a hilly course but today has proven to me that pain clearly disappears with time! The morning started very nicely with it being very warm even at 8am.

Arriving at the park I warmed up and took in the atmosphere. We were all given yellow ribbons to wear on our tops to raise awareness of missing schoolgirl Alice Gross who is from the local area which was a touching gesture.

A quick removal of a car from the start line (the owner will clearly now be regretting not taking notice of the signs asking to not park there on race day) and we were ready in the starting pens. A few Mexican waves later and the start gun went. I hadn't been planning on a PB as I knew the course was hard plus I have another half next weekend so was saving myself for that. Just as well given how hard it turned out to be.

The first few miles were fairly flat until the first of the mountains just before mile three. The organisers had even written in chalk on the road that this was "the hill you read about" which slightly filled me with fear. On the summit I was pleased it was over and thought that perhaps that was the worst hill done with. I turned out to be wrong. On the other side of the hill though we descended and went past my sister's house where she was outside with my niece to give me a welcomed high five!

Revived I carried on through the undulating areas of Ealing. As the hills got worse so did my language on the inclines.

One thing I found challenging was that I kept missing the mile markers....I didn't actually see one until mile 9! That's a long way to go without definitely knowing where in the race I was. However; once past 9 miles I knew it was the last part and mostly flat.

I arrived in my area of town and went past Laura a couple of times (managing a wave only the first time as it was a lot of effort in the heat!)

I entered the park for the last round before the finish. I again had missed the 12 and 13 mile marker but did see the 400m and 200m to go ones which were possibly the best signs I have ever seen in my life. I crossed the line after 1 hour 23 minutes 33 seconds placing my 68th out of 4,245 runners. Not my best performance ever but still one to add to the books.

After a little lie down / collapse on the grass I enjoyed a 15 minute sport massage to loosen the calf muscles :-)

I will do the event each year as it's my aim to run every single one since it has started but I will definitely not be planning any PBs on the course....especially on a sunny day like today! Although as I said...perhaps in a year's time I will have forgotten the pain of the hills? Maybe? Maybe not!

Some pictures very sweaty pictures below:

Sweat free at the start!

Can you spot me?

Un-glamorous shots follow....

The last stretch:

Sweatbox:

Rest for a few seconds / sunbathing:

P.S. Proof it wasn't just me that found it hot and hilly:

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/the-running-blog/2014/sep/29/running-blog-how-was-your-weekend-running

Kew Gardens 10km

Today was the 10km in Kew Gardens, London which formed part of the Richmond Running Festival.

I had seen the event advertised by the charity Alzheimer's Society and had misunderstood that it was a bespoke event for the charity. As it's a charity very close to mine and my sister's hearts we entered.

I like running 10km and whilst my sister has done the distance before she had not taken part in an event for a while so wanted to get back into training. Perfect timing then so we signed up and setup our fundraising page.

I had been a little naughty this week in terms of alcohol intake and diet so I wasn't particularly expecting a fast time but I knew I would enjoy the race with it being set in such a gorgeous setting.

It was an early start but getting into the gardens for sunrise was lovely. The atmosphere was great and everyone was geared up for a good event. It turned out that it wasn't an event for just our chosen charity as there were many other runners with t-shirts for other charities so it was going to be a much bigger race than I thought.

David Weir fired the gun for the youngsters wheelchair race which started about 30 minutes prior to the 10km road race.

After cheering on the youngsters, a couple of bananas later and a warm up and it was time to line up at the start for our race. Jo Pavey (fresh from her Commonwealth Games victory) was running and was actually lining up just in front of me, Perhaps I could have her as my pacemaker?

We set off and within 50 meters it was clear there was a reason she won Commonwealth Gold and I was just in the crowd watching! She disappeared along with the leaders into the distance (although I could still see one leader ahead.)

Running in Kew Gardens was really beautiful and flat! A real treat when running I can assure you. We circumnavigated the gardens and then exited and made our way down to the river where we followed the path all the way to Richmond. I was quite far behind the leaders so couldn't always see them but also didn't have anyone near me so it looked like I was out for a training run on my own (apart from the number stuck to my t-shirt.)

Running by the river was good and also flat. Coming into Richmond I knew I was nearly home and could hear the men behind me drawing closer and before long I could see their shadows creeping up. A couple of them passed me in the last 400 meters but I kept going as hard as I could. The last stretch was hard as it was slightly uphill and it went in an almost full circle around the park teasing you that the end was closer than it really was.

In the final stretch I knew I could potentially beat my PB and pushed as hard as I could. I crossed the line 13 seconds ahead of my best in a time of 36 minutes 23 seconds. Yay! My time meant that I finished in 9th place overall out of 1,320 runners.

A flapjack, bottle of water, carton of coconut juice and a photo with Jo Pavey (first lady over the line and second place overall) and I was ready to rest and stretch on the grass!

Shortly afterwards my sister also crossed the line in a PB time too!

We have raised over £800 for Alzheimer's Society and with the race results I think we can say it was a successful event!

Should you wish to still donate then our fundraising page is here https://www.justgiving.com/Natalie-Michael

In the meantime here are some pictures from the event.

David Weir and the young wheelchair competitors at the start:

Me at the start (Ms. Pavey in the front!)

Me and my new mate Jo at the end! She congratulated me on my PB:

Me and sis at the end!

Manchester track festival

Last weekend was the BMC (British Milers Club) Track Festival.

It was held at Trafford Athletic Club in Manchester and was formed of mostly 10,000m track races plus a steeple chase. I entered the race as it formed part of the 6 race challenge of the British Grand Prix. Previous races were Reading Half Marathon, Bristol 10km and London 10km (which I missed due to my race in Liverpool on the same day.)

It was set to be the first time that I would be racing on a track which I was excited about but a little nervous. I usually have one track session with my trainer where we normally do sprints that range between 100m - 800m but I have never done anything longer.

The training session at the track before I was heading to Manchester we did a few 400m circuits trying to get me at the pace I should be running at for the 10,000m otherwise I would run the risk of speeding off at the usual rate I do on the track and burning out uber quickly! The session helped and I felt ready for the race.

In Manchester there were 6 x 10,000m races and I was due to be in the 5th one. So I turned up at the track a few races before mine to pick up my number and settle in the stands to observe the format of previous races. Good plan but actually made me beyond nervous! I had thought that each race would be getting quicker leading to a crescendo of the final race with the elites in so you can imagine my panic when the first race I watched brought home all athletes in a time under 32 minutes. To put this in perspective my best is 36 minutes! Plus many of the athletes were wearing trainers with spikes...were we supposed to?!

I freaked out thinking how embarrassing it would be to get lapped so many times and wondered whether it would get to the point where they may ask you to leave the track? Did that happen at track events?!

The next race took place and was a much slower pace and I realised (and checked with officials) that they had put all participants in a group based on previous performances so I should be ok in my group.

The atmosphere watching the races was fun and I was excited as I started warming up for my race but still did have a few nerves. 25 laps is a long time to be going round in circles.

As they lined us up and the gun went I stuck to the pace I had done in training that week and the laps were going by pretty quickly. Our group started to spread out fairly soon into the race. The two front runners were way ahead but I was sticking to third position. It was fun hearing the commentator giving an update on the race and did give me a boost each time he said my name. I could hear him say at the end of each lap that the girl behind me was catching up with me so that gave me motivation to stick at the same pace. Towards the end of the race I then started lapping people which weirdly made me feel a little guilty but this was eased  once the leader then lapped me!

Hearing the little bell rung for the final lap when I went past the marshalls was fun and made me feel semi professional. I pushed on and can say that the last lap was tough but I crossed the line 3rd in a time of 36 minutes 43 seconds. 7 seconds off a PB but still a performance I am really pleased with. The girl chasing me was a mere 1 second behind me.

We took a few minutes to catch our breath before congratulating each other.

So my first track meet was fun and I think I could get addicted to them so watch this space. My performance has meant that I now sit in 35th place in the Grand Prix competition ranking which I am very happy about! The next one in the series is Cardiff Half Marathon next month so let's see what that brings!

Post race I rehydrated in the numerous bars in the Norther Quarter of the city as well as a certain dancefloor on Canal Street. Liquid and stretching after all is what you are supposed to do after a race right?!

Start line:

First lap almost done:

Still going:

Finish line:

Got my breath back....and a medal!

Poster for the event:

My heat's results:

Re-hydrating and stretching....on a dancefloor!

35th place now in the Grand Prix standings: