The Great North Swim

Very behind on my blogging so this race actually took place last week on Saturday 15th June.

As you can see from the title this was a deviation from my normal race and was in the water rather than on land. I used to be a competitive swimmer when I was in my teens usually having a gala each weekend during term time so I still am a fan of making a splash in the water.

However; my training of the aquatic variety was not very good this year. I had done three training swims ahead of the London triathlon but as the last blog post revealed I was then unable to train in any shape or form due to the lovely cyst I had "drained" so it meant I was heading to the Lake District for the Great North Swim with only three training sessions under my belt.

Oh well; I wasn't going to be competitive and just wanted to complete the race and have fun. I love the Lake District and being up there was absolutely beautiful. My new favourite place was Buttermere which I discovered the day after the race; however Winderemere was definitely a nice surrounding to be swimming in.

The night before the race I deviated from my normal schedule and had a glass of wine. I know...how rebellious is that? I did carb up as it was an early start for the race itself.

The Great North Swim was split over three days and during that time there were 10,000 people taking part. I had no idea it was going to be that big!

Getting to the start was fun and despite me having forgotten to bring a towel and flip flops (to get to the start once I had changed) there were plenty of stalls for me to pick some up and pretend that I knew what I was doing!

There were different waves of competitors every 30 minutes and I was in the pink wave...are they trying to tell me something? With me wet-suit and fuchsia swimming cap firmly on I made my way to the starting pen. We all had to acclimatize by doing a small lap in the lake which wasn't chilly but did hurt when coming out of the lake across all those rocks! A nice surprise though was that Olympic Champion Rebecca Adlington was on the sideline waiting to see us off on our race (plus she was at the finish line too...see pictures later!)

Whilst waiting for the start I could hear over the PA. that some of the fast swimmers from previous waves were finishing already and was astounded when I heard that a 12 year old had finished the half a mile race in just 12 minutes! There was no way I would be doing my mile swim at that pace so I decided it would be best for me to leave the front of the field open for the under thirteens.

We were soon on our way and it felt great swimming in such a clean fresh lake. We were crossing the lake and turning back on ourselves to finish pretty much next to where we set off. It did go surprisingly quickly and I didn't feel crammed in at all as the swimmers from our wave were pretty spread out. The hardest part is keeping an eye on your route to ensure that you don't go of course or accidentally pass through one of the markers on the inside which would mean disqualification.

But doing the odd second of breaststroke ensured that I stayed on track and finished in a time of 29 minutes 24 seconds which placed me 396th which was not bad at all. I thoroughly enjoyed it and despite feeling wobbly for my first few steps out of the water would absolutely do it again. I hear there is a Great Scottish Swim in Loch Lomond so that may need to be added to the agenda for next year....anyone fancy joining?

Gathering in our pen:

Pink hats on and at the ready:

Goggles...check:

Looks like we are surrendering but it's actually just our group warm up stretch:

Go!

The first stretch in a wonderful setting:

Me / the lone swimmer:

Me and Becky Adlington at the finish (how dare she not look at the camera eh?!)

and already starting to undress in front of her....

Finished!

 Sadly I did also read that one man died during the Great North Swim which is awful to hear. It feels strange writing about an event which I had such a good time at knowing that the day will always be marked with some sadness due to someone losing their life. Of course thoughts are with his family.

A triathlon with an open wound would not be a good idea

Today saw the World Triathlon Series come to London.

I like to do a triathlon each year but this year I decided to be "easy" on myself and enter the super sprint distance rather than the usual Olympic one I have been doing in recent years.

I was really looking forward to it as it was in Hyde Park and would be my first experience swimming in the Serpentine. I had been doing some swim training in my usual outdoor pool in Covent Garden which had been nice in the light mornings / evenings but I have to admit my cycling had been pretty much non existent bar riding my bike to and from the service shop to have it prepared for the race. But that didn't put me off...I knew that I would be able to make the 15km part of the race on the bike.

However; I have always had a cyst on my back but recently it had become a lot bigger and in the past week was really painful. It had made it very hard to sleep as it was right in the middle of my shoulder blades and on Wednesday night even wearing a jacket was sore as it rubbed against the newly formed mountain on my back. I had been to the doctor the previous week who said it would be best to get it removed so I had an appointment next week to see a specialist.

I did my usual track training session on Thursday night but afterwards decided that the size and colour of the cyst meant that I needed to go back to the doctor in the morning as I couldn't wait until next week to see the specialist. So here comes the first of the gross pictures...this is what it looked like Thursday night:

As soon as he saw it the Doc said it was infected and would rupture over the weekend and he would need to release the pressure now to avoid that happening. His words were then "are you feeling brave" which instantly when you hear that from your doctor you get a nervous feeling but being British I of course replied that I was and he could go ahead with whatever he wanted.

He sent me across to the pharmacy to get some local anesthetic and adrenaline and then he was ready to do his stuff. He warned me that it would hurt and feel uncomfortable as he squeezed the infection out. It wasn't as painful as I had prepared for although I did get a shock as he yelped at one point and said that the "stuff" had gone all over him and he needed to take his jumper off. Nice. He said it was a career first for him so I could be pleased that he got something new out of his Friday at work.

On the short walk home I resembled the victim from a teen slasher movie and could already feel the wound weeping down my back. When I took my top off at home it looked like this:

Despite the gruesome look my back did already feel pain free and overnight the red inflammation had started to go away thanks to the antibiotics. Some slightly less gross pictures of the now much improved back area:

So long story short it meant that the triathlon was a no go for me as the open wound would not be good in the Serpentine but hopefully I won't be out of action for too long.

I still went along to the race to support. It was a great atmosphere in the park and I was very impressed by the massive mannequins lining the route:

Wayne (one of my trainers) who I was doing the race with finished on my behalf (actually using my bike, helmet & wet-suit) in a time of 1 hour so in a way I kind of made it round the route! Some pics at least of him triumphant along the way:

So fingers crossed my back is ready for the next race in two weeks time...

Rock n Roll Liverpool half marathon

On Sunday was the inaugural Rock n Roll half marathon in Liverpool.

I have done a couple of Rock n Roll events in the past (Las Vegas & Edinburgh) and they are well organised and offer some of the best (and heaviest) finisher medals out there. Coupled with the fact this race was going to be in the city both my parents are from it was a must on my race calendar; even if it meant missing the next installment of the British Grand Prix races (the London 10km.)

I arrived in Liverpool the night before the race and followed a usual pattern of no alcohol, lots of pasta, bread and a fairly early night.

The race was both a half and full marathon and we were due to start at 8am. A very early start...especially when you take into account having breakfast, digesting and getting to the start line to warm up. So up at 6am I felt ready for the day and it was a beautiful morning weather wise. Down at the start line the atmosphere was heating up and we were soon getting into our "pens". I was in the first wave so was next to the two presenters who were doing a good job of warming the crowd up. The female presenter asked for a smile from a runner to which I obliged....leaving her to comment that she was lucky to get a smile from the man with the shortest shorts on. I hadn't really thought that mine were that short but looking round perhaps mine did show off a little more skin that what others were wearing. Oh well...shorts surely are meant to be short (clue in the name) and you have to offer something special to the viewing public :-)

Austin Healey (the Rugby player) was setup to fire the start gun and was stood just in front of us for a little photo shoot. Just before the countdown he took his own selfie on his phone with the crowd in the background and I successfully managed to photo bomb and make it onto the picture which he later on tweeted. Already a successful race then in my mind...especially as he was just on Tom Daley's "Splash" programme which means I am one step closer to a tweet from Mr. Daley himself....

We set off through the Albert Dock which is one of my favourite parts of Liverpool. The waterfront is really impressive and added with a dollop of nostalgia from my childhood visits to the city it was a great start to the race. The leaders already had pulled quite far ahead within a mile but what I also noticed was that the next person behind me was quite far away too which meant that I felt like I was in a scene from 28 days later (but set in Liverpool) as at this early time of the morning there were not too many supporters out too. It was nice to have the city to myself but it also meant I needed to concentrate on where I was running as I couldn't just follow the crowd. The risk of taking a wrong turn was high!

Coming out of the city and heading up to several parks which we were due to run through took us up some mighty hills which although didn't last too long felt pretty steep. Even in the park there were some tight turns and again some steep inclines so in my head I knew I wouldn't be getting a PB so was just concentrating on getting as good a time and position as I could.

Around 12km into the race I spotted one of my cousins on the sideline and she gave me a high five which revived me greatly for the second half! The Rock n Roll runs have many bands along the route but sadly as I was going past them the majority were not ready so it was lucky I had my own Rock (well pop actually) music to keep me company.

The last three miles or so is along the waterfront back towards the dock which was a great way to finish the race. The crowd was forming at the finish line already and finishing with the announcer shouting my name felt good. My result was:

Overall time: 1 hour 21 minutes 1 second

Place: 13th out of 3,485

So not a PB but a good position to finish in.

I spent the rest of the day refuelling on food as well as rum and ginger beer....perhaps that's why I didn't make it into the top ten. Maybe next year eh?!

I made my way back down south visiting my Mum on the way who tried on my medal and said she had been thinking about running the race too. That made me smile a lot and was a perfect round off to the race weekend.

A selfie with a rugby player at the start line...try and spot me:

Almost there for a high five from my cousin:

 Finished and in the Albert Dock....LOVE Liverpool:

Mum "considered" running the race too apparently!

Bristol 10km

Yesterday was the Bristol 10km.

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:

An interview or two...

Very excited to post the below interview from a fellow runner's blog:

http://www.whohastheruns.com/2014/04/michael-l-has-runs.html

Weirdly the same week also had another interview about my work so thought would include it here too:

http://performancein.com/news/2014/04/28/senior-partner-marketing-manager-hotelscom-shares-insights/

City 15 done: Moscow

Last Sunday was the turn of Moscow in my Olympic Challenge and I took part in the 7km race.

Planning my trip to Moscow earlier in the year had turned out to be tainted with various political issues. Firstly the introduction of the laws preventing the promotion of homosexuality had naturally struck a chord with me but then with the current situation with Ukraine it seemed that things may not be that great over in Moscow.

However; I decided I still wanted to go and must say that somewhat weirdly had it not been for the media of both situations in the UK I would have been totally unaware of these topics when I was in Moscow.

I love the city as the architecture and setting of Red Square and the Kremlin is so spectacular. It is a massive place and from my previous trip I should have learnt that walking around is amazing to see the sights but my feet would be tired by the end of the day. Lesson not learnt and I did it again this time. I don't regret it though as the sights both overground and underground are amazing. The metro is without doubt the most splendid subterranean network I have had the pleasure to travel on.

The run itself was a small run that took place in a park about 20 minutes train ride from the center. I was the only non Russian taking part but the registration went smoothly and given that there was only about 2,000 people running in total it meant finding my way to the start was not going to be a challenge. Competitors could choose between two distances (7km or half marathon.) I had opted for the shorter one as it would allow time for more sightseeing and also to reach the half marathon meant doing a further two laps of the 7km race which I wasn't too keen on doing as it is pretty tough mentally to do races that consist of laps.

Gathering at the start area all looked in order. The organisers started to mark out the start pens (based on expected times) by putting up tape between the barriers. Good idea....apart from a truck then drove down the road straight through all the tape. Marvellous planning. Tape back up it was then time to start.

The race kicked off on time and I was at the front so was fairly easy to get a good pace early on. The route talk us around the park which was beautiful. It was a real contrast to the urban setting of Moscow city center. It was quite an undulating course with one hill in particular that I didn't envy the half marathoners having to do a further two times! I wasn't used to doing such a short distance and was quite surprised how quickly the kilometer markers were flying by. I also felt pretty smug thinking that at each marker they also displayed the distance covered for the second and third laps which I knew I wouldn't be doing and by the time most runners were going past them I would hopefully be showered and back out sightseeing!

There were some great local drum bands along the way (the race was subtitled Drum & Race) and in the final few hundred meters there was quite a crowd. Crossing the line was great and I finished in 4th place (out of 419 who were running that distance) with a time of 26 minutes on the nose. Not bad eh?!

So post run (and shower) it was time to explore the city's metro system which was amazing and some rooftop cocktails overlooking Red Square and the Kremlin.

Loved it and now that means that city number 15 is done. Only 8 more cities left to go of the challenge then!

On the way to the start...can you spot the only non Russian?!

Me at the finish line:

Until next time....

The Reading Half Marathon

Yesterday was the Reading Half Marathon.

I had originally been meant to be doing the Bath half marathon but had decided to opt for Reading in a bid to beat my personal best as it was known as a fast course.

So leaving the beauty of Bath until next year I headed west a la Pet Shop Boys and arrived in Reading in time to pick up my race number at the football stadium and then filling up on a spot of lunch.

On the Saturday night before the race I met up with the group that I met whilst climbing Kilimanjaro back in August of last year. It was fun to see them all again although I had to miss out on the copious amounts of sambuca and other alcohol that they were enjoying and merely top up on water and carbs if I were to be in any shape to beat my PB the next day.

I got a fairly early night before heading to the football stadium the next morning for the start of the race at 10:15am. It was a rain free morning which was great; however it was still fairly chilly. I still find the build up to races quite difficult when it's cold as it is hard to know when to finally take off your tracksuit and head to the start pens in order to get your place. It's always a toss up between staying warm for as long as possible versus being cold and having a place nearer the front of the pen!

I opted for somewhere in the middle and went to the start line about 50 minutes prior to the gun start time. It was freezing but I kept semi warm by doing a little jogging around the pen. There was fortunately a set of portable urinals nearby so I went in a couple of times to use them with the added bonus that it was warm inside. If I didn't run the risk of looking like weird I would have stayed in there longer!

Once the pen filled up it got warmer as the body heat surrounds you...sounds gross but was actually really quite welcome!

So the gun fired and off we went! I knew there would be a lot of elites in the race trying to beat their time too so I tried not to keep too near the front of the field as I would quickly burn out.

Prior to the race I had set a target of 6 minute miles which would then allow me to beat my current best of 1 hour 19 minutes 22 seconds.

Mile 1 and 2 I kept this pace and I only fell slightly behind on mile 3 due to a large hill which of course slowed me. As the laws of physics have taught us what goes up must come down so in mile 4 I more than made up for the slower previous mile as the downhill aided my speed.

The route is not the most scenic; however the miles seemed to be ticking by at the required intervals and with some personal support along the way about halfway through I felt good.

As I passed 10 miles at the 1 hour mark I was starting to feel excited that I could beat my PB. However just at the 11 mile marker we entered a long straight road (the glamorous A33) which I knew continued right up to the stadium for the finish. This is quite daunting on it's own when you see such a long stretch ahead of you but there was also a mammoth head wind which at this stage in the race really made it even harder on the already tired legs.

I pushed through thinking that I still would be in with a shot even if the last two miles were done in 6.5 minutes. At 12 miles I was just within it and only one mile to go....

I carried on up the last hill to the stadium and went as fast as I could past the 800m to go, 600m to go (somehow missed the 400m one) and the 200m to go signs until I was in the stadium for the last slog.

I crossed the line and was done! I looked at my watch and it was 1 hour 19 minutes and 14 seconds but I knew I started my watch a few seconds after crossing the start line so for now I was still please to be sub 80 minutes and would just have to wait a few hours until the official results were out and I could see if I had in fact beaten my PB.

Post lovely warm shower back at the hotel I had some lunch, a can of Coke and a Starbucks. It tasted nice.

So the official results came out later that night when I was lying on the sofa feeling a little tender and stiff in the legs. I came 200th out of 16,500 and a time of 1 hour 19 minutes and 21 seconds.

A new PB by 1 second! Goal achieved! Woo hoo!

Breakdown of the race was:

5km split: 19 minutes 2 seconds (exactly the same as my 5km race in Tokyo in 2012)

10km split: 36 minutes 31 seconds (a new PB versus the 36m 36s in Brighton last November)

15km split: 56 minutes 9 seconds (quicker than the November 2012 15km race in Istanbul which I did in 1h 15s) 

20km split: 1 hour 15 minutes 18 seconds (quicker than the May 2012 Brussels 20km which I did in 1h 23m)

Some pictures below:

City 14 done: Montreal - the Hypothermic Half Marathon

So it has been a while but it was time to compete in another Olympic City...this time Montreal.

I decided to do another half marathon but this time with the added challenge of it being in the snow. The title of the Hypothermic Half Marathon gives an idea as to how cold it was expected to be....especially since they actually included a hat and gloves in your registration fee!

Arriving in Montreal it was about -15 degrees centigrade. Quite chilly then. 

I spent the first couple of days exploring the city (stopping in numerous coffee shops), ice skating on the frozen lake and even managed to find a spa on a boat in the river to relax in to warm my muscles before the big event.

Race day came around and it was -11 degrees. I dressed and jumped on the metro to the starting area which was at the aquatic centre on an island in the river. It was cold but seeing fellow runners heading to the race in similar gear to me made me feel that I had dressed appropriately and wasn't about to make a fool of myself as the token Brit dressed in too little (or equally too much!)

However; at the start line I was pretty nervous...more so than usual. This was due to the fact that I was unsure of whether to wear spikes on my shoes or not. I thought if I do then all will be ok (aside from making an annoying noise on the parts of the course that may be snow free) but then I was also thinking that if so much of the route didn't require spikes then why wear them at all....risk being that perhaps I could get to a bit that is worse than I thought and fall and break my leg meaning an end to many races in future months. All the locals around me seemed to be spike free so what to do?!

I spoke to a few locals and they recommended that I go without so that's what I did. I thought if it felt too dangerous at any point then I would just walk...this was not going to be a personal best time anyway!

The start was a short 500m run from the aquatic centre so I made my way up there about 15 mins prior to start time. As I got there it was clear that after only a few seconds of non movement in that temperature you really started to feel the cold. I pulled my hat as far as it would go over my ears and kept my hands under my armpits to stay warm. It felt like quite a long time to the gun but eventually after a few minutes delay we were off.

We were on snow free road for a few hundred meters and then on light snow across the bridge to another island. The route was due to take us on one circuit of a larger island and then back over to the island where we started for three loops of the smaller island.

We weren't allowed to wear headphones (although I did have the song Let It Go from the recent Disney film Frozen in my head for the entire run) but my breathing didn't seem to sound too bad and all was going ok. After about 10 minutes though I noticed that my right thumb was feeling absolutely freezing to the point where it stung a little. This can't be good?! I carried on running whilst trying to blow hot air onto said thumb through my glove which felt nice for the second it lasted. I worried that if it got worse I may have to stop to warm up properly otherwise I would be running the risk of taking the name of the race a little too literally and developing hypothermia and end up with a blackened thumb that would eventually fall off which let's be honest is never a good look eh?

Luckily though once I warmed up the blood was flowing well enough through all required body parts and I was really enjoying the race. It was amazing to run in such a beautiful surroundings and the sun was shining off the snow which made for a very pretty sight. 

The race was pretty flat and being up with the leaders of the race I was pleased with my progress. I knew I hadn't trained in this type of environment before so as long as I finished I would be happy!

Soon we crossed back over the bridge to the other island to begin our three laps. A nice surprise on the first straight was to see Laura arriving to support me. A quick shout over and she turned round to give me a smile and a wave! Support you actually know always gives me a boost so I think I sped up a little to continue on the course. 

It was all going well until we turned to run down the opposite side of the island. It was a straight line affording lovely views of the frozen river and city but was both into a head wind (bloody cold) and also in much thicker snow. This stretch (hereafter to be known as road to hell) was about 1.5km long which was tough enough but the thought of doing it again another two times was pretty bad! 

Luckily after the road to hell there was about 500m on snow free tarmac which allowed me to make up time and energy and just at the top of the hill was where Laura was standing so again some free energy to be gained from a wave.

The rest of the course was through some lovely woods and weirdly running in the snow soon became the norm. 

On the third time down the road to hell though I could really feel the muscles in my thighs and bum were starting to ache. I think it was a combination of sliding all over the place and the cold that did it.

However; I didn't get any major cramps and carried on through to the end! I crossed the line quite tired and was given a bottle of water that already had ice in it due to natural conditions! 

I was very happy to finish in 6th place out of 937 runners in a time of 1 hour 29 minutes 25 seconds. Not too far outside the medals but then again those locals did have a home advantage over me right (sore loser perhaps?!)

Joking aside I had a fantastic race and would recommend this event to people to try even if it is just for the free brunch they give you at the end!

So another city done and now only 9 left....eeek!

Gorgeous sunrise over the snow...

Signs to the Hypothermic area....

Wrapped up warm and running:

Up that hill for a spot of Laura energy at the top.....

Just done:

Finished with flag photos (both Canadian and the Quebec flag):

 So until next time.....

The Bermuda Triangle Challenge

I like to have one slightly "crazy" challenge per year.

2012 was the Goofy Challenge at Walt Disney World in Florida where I did a half marathon on the Saturday followed by a full marathon on Sunday.

2013 I did the Polar Night Half Marathon and Tough Mudder (check earlier posts.)

So last weekend was the time for my 2014 "crazy" one.

I entered the Bermuda Triangle Challenge which consists of 3 races in 3 days starting with a 1 mile race on Friday, 10km race on Saturday and a half marathon on Sunday.

Since it was bound to be cold in England in January I thought that a little jaunt to the island would be most welcome weather wise and the event sounded like fun too!

Here's how I did....

1 mile:

The first race was actually on Friday night at 7pm local time (which was 11pm my time since I had only flown in the night before.) The race took place on the main street in the capital Hamilton and there had been a gorgeous sunset as we waited in our pens for the start whistle. I was in wave 3 with each wave setting off 4 minutes apart. Unlike races in the UK in January waiting around was very pleasant in the early evening moderate climate! Talking to a few locals in my wave I wanted to check if the race started at 7pm since I wanted to text Steven to let him know the plan and they responded that "it starts at 7pm but remember we are on island time" i.e. it may be late so relax!

The route took us up the main road and had us turn back on ourselves at "the birdcage" which sadly is not the drag club but a stand in the middle of the road where policemen used to stand to direct traffic pre-traffic lights. We then ran straight down the main road to a statue which we had to circumnavigate before ending up back where we started.

I finished the race in 5 minutes 41 seconds which was good. I enjoyed it and the atmosphere was fun....locals congratulating you from the balcony of bars along the street was nice....I am sure their friendliness was aided by having a few Dark and Stormy's (local cocktail) after work.

Only post race did I find out that anyone able to run under 4 minutes in the race wins $10,000. If I had known that I would have run quicker! Still I can breathe easy now that I know nobody has ever done this primarily due to the difficult turns mentioned before. I guess it's always something I can aim for right?!

10km

The morning of the 10km race appeared quite nice running conditions....a little cloudy but dry. Roll forward and hour or two when we were at the local stadium for the start and it was chucking down with rain.

Whilst it was still warm I can honestly say that I have never run in rain that heavy before. The roads quickly started to resemble rivers and within 1km I felt like I was competing in the steeplechase. My clothes were wet through and my shoes were drenched.

The rain was that heavy that you couldn't really admire the surroundings as there was so much rain you could only just see in front of you.

The crowd were still great as they lined the street. As a runner I experienced a Bridget Jones moment when a car on the other side of the road went through a puddle and completely soaked me. Not so bad since I expected to be wet but lovely that spectators still ran the risk of this in order to come out and cheer us on.

The course was tough and A LOT hillier than I had anticipated. I was making good progress and at certain points thought that I could beat my own record but at the 5 mile mark we were faced with a hill that felt like it was 90 degrees. It went on for an age until we reached the stadium where we had started. Coming onto the track for the final stretch it was nice to hear the commentator mention my name and where I was from.

As I crossed the line I heard him also say that I was the first Triangle Challenge competitor to come in which was exciting for the two seconds before I collected my medal and the volunteer corrected him and said I was actually the second Triangle Challenger to come home! Oh well that still meant I had done well!

I finished in 38 minutes 39 seconds which was nowhere near a best but placed me 19th overall in the race and 2nd in my age category (30-39) which left me with a nice little extra award.

Talking to a local racer afterwards I mentioned the hilly route and she said that tomorrow's half marathon was much easier.....therefore I could relax and go back to the hotel and dry off!

Half Marathon:

The morning of the half marathon was lovely and I could tell it was going to be a nice rain free day.

The race was due to start and end in Hamilton and as per island time the starting area was still being setup when all the runners arrived.

8am rolled around pretty quickly and they were good to go and we set off on time. The route took us out of town over a few hills and round some villages. Overall I felt like it was going really well. As I was fairly near the front of the race I had started to break away and was quite far ahead of the "pack" but not within sight of the elite professionals so it felt like a bit of private race.

At 3 miles the leading female overtook me but I still thought that must be pretty good timing since running was after all her job!

The route was lovely and we ran all along the coast so it was great to see the sea and the colourful houses dotted amongst the hills. It felt like I was running in Bermuda versus the torrential rain of the day before! There was one other runner about 100m ahead of me pretty much the whole way so I used him as my pacer to keep going.

As we came back into Hamilton I knew I was nearly at the finish and only had to go straight onto the finish until the organisers played a cruel trick on us that made us go back on ourselves to make up presumably the last few hundred meters. Mean but actually worked out quite fun as the guy I was pacing myself against high fived me as he went past on the final stretch. A minute or so later I crossed the line.

I finished in 1 hour 22 minutes 36 seconds which placed me 10th overall and 3rd in my age group (30-39) which again lead me to get another extra award at the race ceremony that night.

Overall results:

At the award ceremony that night they announced the results of the Bermuda Triangle Challenge.

It turned out that I came second which I was really pleased with!

My combined time for the three events was 2 hours 6 minutes 56 seconds which is not bad considering the first half marathon I ever did on its own was 2 hours 17 minutes!

Sadly I just missed out on the big prize and cash as they only award that to the winner rather than the top three but nevertheless a really good event and I would recommend it and Bermuda as a place to visit! Maybe I can go back and try and steal the top prize another year?!

Also running in the race was Joan Benoit Samuelson who was the first woman to win Gold at the Olympics for the marathon when the event was introduced to the Games in 1984. It was nice to hear her story as well as meet her at the end of the night.

After the awards we had dinner at the hotel and clearly I had too many drinks to celebrate as by the time I went to bed I was adamant that the following day I was going to look round a house we had seen for sale on the island that cost $45 million.....

Pictures:

The mile race at night:

The birdcage:

Lots and lots of rain in the 10km:

Spot me at the start line of the half marathon:

Final stretch of the half marathon:

Finished:

Medals and a flag on the beach:

One medal per race plus the extra Triangle Challenge one:

Medals plus extra awards:

With Joan Benoit Samuelson (Olympic Gold Medalist for the marathon):

So now it's only three weeks until my next Olympic city....will keep you posted!

P.S. I didn't go and see the $45 million crib!