The race is the second in the Grand Prix series that takes place in Britain in 2014 (Reading half marathon having been the first.)
Arriving in Bristol there were gale force winds which filled me with fear that I would end up having a race like the Great South Run last year (i.e. into a severe headwind and horrendous!) I checked into the hotel and was kindly given a room on one of the top floors and away from the lifts since there was an endless line of stag and hen groups checking in; hence the lady on reception was aware I may want a little more sleep than they would ahead of my race.
I relaxed for the afternoon ahead of a lovely night out with a school friend at a little Italian place so I could carb up in the usual fashion. There was a stag do in the restaurant too....clearly wedding season is soon upon us.
It was of course Eurovision night as well on Saturday night so as devastating as it was not to be at a party playing drinking games in time to the voting I was sensible and made my way to bed at a respectable 11pm (with the Eurovision voting as a background to help me to sleep.) I have made a promise to attend Eurovision in person next year so all is not lost.
Up in the morning the weather had drastically improved which was a relief. It was still pretty chilly and a few spits of rain but since the wind had died down I was pleased. I walked over to the start area and the crowd was already quite large. It seemed there were to be about 10k people running (appropriate for a 10km run) and so lining up in our pens again there was a lot of body heat to keep us warm before the gun went off. As this was part of the Grand Prix series there were quite a lot of elite runners whom I could see warming up in a pen next to the main ones. A few mins before the start they lined up in front of us and we were all off on our way.
This was the first race I had decided to run without music. I wanted to see what it was like since all the other front runners seem to do the same. A few miles in I was a little nervous at my decision as I didn't like being able to hear my breathing and wondered whether it would make the journey to the finish line endless. However; after about 2km I didn't really notice it any more and my breathing and strides seemed to be in a more regular pattern. I didn't regret not listening to music but I do think that for the longer half marathons I may re-introduce it purely for the entertainment factor along the way.
The course was pretty flat and took us through the gorge under the mighty Clifton suspension bridge which was a fantastic sight. As mentioned with there being a lot of elite and top club runners in the field I had a constant group around me so it never felt like I was running alone which has been the case in some other smaller events. It also acted as a good pacemaker for me as I had people to keep up with.
The kilometers were going by pretty quickly and just before the half way mark we made an about turn and were on our way back to the city center. The public braved the elements and lined the streets which was an added bonus to have a few cheers along the way plus I was able to actually fully hear them this time.
With only 600m to go I was desperate to get under 37 minutes for the run so pushed on as hard as I could. I crossed the line in 36 minutes 59 seconds. Mission accomplished by the skin of my teeth! I placed 120th out of the 10,000 strong field so I was pleased with that. Just after the finish line they were already interviewing the race winner (Scott Overall) who had finished in 30 minutes 20 seconds. Incidentally he had also won the Reading half marathon so his track record for the Grand Prix is looking good so far.
Post race I collected my bag and was starting the walk back to the hotel when someone stopped me and asked if I was an actual Team GB Olympian (since I was wearing the tracksuit.) Sadly I had to admit that I was indeed a fraud and head back home having given out no autographs.....
Medal picture:
No comments:
Post a Comment