Olympic Challenge: July 2015

Today was the Great Newham London Run.

Last year was the Anniversary Run (of the 2012 Games) in the Olympic Park which took us on a 5 mile loop of the park itself but not going into any of the venues.

This year though we would get to finish in the Olympic Stadium. I was sold and signed up.

The Olympic Park for me still holds the excitement of the Games even though it was three years ago. I love going there. So arriving this morning I was excited about the race.

Today was actually a 10km race rather than the 5 mile that it was last year. Luckily I had met someone in the pub a few weeks ago and after a few drinks were talking about running. We realised we were racing on the same day both in the Olympic Park but I was insistent that mine was a 5 mile and he was sure his was a 10km. A quick check on the trusty smart phone and it transpired he was correct. So there is good that comes out of trips to the pub otherwise I could have been searching for an extra mile for the finish line today.

The atmosphere was great at the start line and it is so nice not freezing your tits off waiting for the gun to go off. After a little delay Paula Radcliffe fired the gun and across the line we went.

It was pretty crowded at the start and was a bit of a bottle neck so I didn't get into my flow until we approached the 1km mark. After that I felt like I was on pace. I was hoping for a PB.

The KMs were going by pretty quickly but the heat was getting stronger. I was sweating and looking forward to the one drink stop at about 5.5km. Prior to the drink stop was a run through shower which was a real treat. The park is surprisingly undulating with some steep climbs which were tough in the heat but in my head I just kept thinking that what goes up must come down right?

7km, 8km went by and then we were heading towards the stadium. 9km went past. I wasn't on track for a PB but wouldn't be too far off so pushed on through. We entered the stadium and ran around (the inside) for about 200m. Then I could see light at the end of the tunnel. We turned a corner and hit the track. It felt cool. The crowd were loud and it was impossible not to watch them. As I rounded the far corner I spotted Steven. I waved. The crowd cheered. I felt like and Olympian.

I carried on for the final 100m and crossed the line. Paula Radcliffe was next to the finish line and I caught her eye as I finished. She congratulated me.

So my results were:

Time: 37m 24s
Place: 60th overall
Gender place (35-39 age group): 12th

So no PB (missing out by 59 seconds) but an awesome run and a good result in the heat. It wasn't an easy one but certainly a good 'un as they say.

I have already signed up for the race next year so let's see what 2016 brings?

The Olympic Park:

The finishing stretch:

The result:

The prize:

My last few hundred meters:

The mighty Paula:

So it appears that work has gotten in the way of keeping up with my blog. How rude.

So in the past month I have had a couple of events which I will now summarise briefly.

London World Triathlon

31st May was the World Triathlon in London's Hyde Park. I had entered last year but due to my back explosion (see graphic blog post from this time last year) I couldn't take part. So here I was one year later back to take on the challenge. Except this year my bike had since been stolen so I was on a borrowed mountain bike. Oh well...the bike portion is never my best and I wasn't aiming for a particular time so I was just pleased to be able to take part.

Arriving at Hyde Park there was light drizzle which is not altogether too bad to compete in until I rounded a corner just by the Serpentine and saw a cyclist in an earlier wave take a corner and come sliding off their bike all the way across the road. Ouch. He jumped up and was back on the bike. Good for him although it made me more nervous about the cycle part.

Checked in and all my gear ready at transition my group lined up at the Serpentine to jump in the water...just as the heavens opened. Torrential rain. Not really a problem for me as I was about to get wet anyway but for the spectators that cannot be fun. With the rain easing off we started the race.

The breakdown was:

Swim = 400m
Bike: 15.5km
Run: 2.5km

Shorter than the other triathlons I had done but I was excited about doing it in Hyde Park.

The swim was fun and going past the giant swim models they had in the water was pretty cool. Out of the swim it was a short run to transition and then onto the bike. The mountain bike was ok to ride although the chain was creaking and felt like it came off a few times. It was a pleasant ride though through the splendid surroundings. I fear I may have resembled a Sunday morning leisurely cyclists as there were a lot of people speeding past me; however I was happy to take it slow as on the same corner I mentioned before I saw one cyclist come off their bike on each lap. Safety first for me. Back into transition and onto the run. This was were I could get my own back and speed past others.

I was then in the final stretch in front of the crowd and made my way over the finish line just behind the Brownlee brothers. Just kidding of course. My results were:

Overall: 1 hour 25 seconds placing me 85th out of 239.

Swim: 6 minutes 54 seconds (32nd out of 239)
Transition 1: 5 minutes 57 seconds
Bike: 37 minutes 32 seconds (179th out of 239)
Transition 2: 1 minute 39 seconds
Run: 8 minutes 23 seconds (1st out of 239)

Clear from the above that I am good at swimming and running and clearly suck on the bike!

A good day and I will be back to take part next year as it's such a great event (that's provided I actually buy a new bike.)

Mountain bike to the rescue (thanks Steven!)

Swimming in the Serpentine (in the rain)

Going for a gentle cycle....

Finishing strong!

Done!

Liverpool Rock n Roll Half Marathon

Last year was the inaugural Rock n Roll race in Liverpool. They are well organised events and I have happy memories of running others like Edinburgh and Las Vegas so I was happy to sign myself up for the next Liverpool installment; particularly as they promised me an extra bit of bling in the form of a "Rock Encore" medal for having running the inaugural race and then this years one. I was sold. The race was a few weeks back now on 14th June 2015.

Race preparation the day before took a slightly different mode to my usual. We had a family day out at the beach in Formby enjoying a picnic, a game of rounders and a wander through the squirrel reserve next o the beach. Very reminiscent of the days when we would visit England in my school holidays to visit the extended family. Marvellous.

Awaking on race morning my legs were a little sore. Who knew a game of rounders in the sand would work so many muscles?!

The start was at the Albert Dock which is just a stunning place to be. I may be biased but Liverpool is indeed a World class city. We started and were on our way along the river and soon up into the town centre. We passed the dog statue thing (Google it) and then through China town which has the oldest Chinese arch in the UK. Through Sefton Park I saw some of my family cheering me on which was awesome (high fives all round) and then on toward the river we went.

I was making fairly good time and was with the leading ladies when we turned onto the river for a 4 mile stretch back to the finish. As soon as we hit the riverfront I was confronted with the most fierce headwind I have ever run in. It was relentless. It didn't give up for the entire 4 miles to the finish; although neither did I. I knew a PB was out of the question but I refused to walk. I crossed the line just happy to be able to stop! My results were:

Time: 1 hour 23 minutes 32 seconds

Place: 42nd out of about 13,000 starters

So not a bad performance and rumours were that the wind was adding on about 2 minutes to most people's PBs so I was happy with that.

Plus the bling looked good! Rock n Roll certainly delivered on that front...

Serious rounders game on the beach: