Worthing 20

Sunday 10th March 2013, Mothers Day again. I really hope this event doesn't clash with mothers day every year, Sam has been pretty understanding to date but I'm not sure how much more she can take !!

The Worthing 20 is a local and small event organised by my club the Worthing Harriers www.worthingharriers.com.  Its a great run which consists of 4 x 5m loops of Goring by Sea. Ok so its a bit repetitive but the marshalls are great and you get to see their friendly faces regularly.

My aim was simple, just to see how well I could do. I had a terrible run last thursday and felt dreadful afterwards so wasn't expecting a great deal. The sunday morning was very windy and of course the run started straight into it :-) I quickly picked out a group who were running a 3hr marathon pace and I decided to hold on as long as i could. Unbelievably by the end it was just me and a couple of others. I had a great race, spurred on by the support of club marshalls and I finished in 2:15:24. Throughout the race I ran with a bottle and didn't take any gels. It seemed to work pretty well but I'm not sure I want the pressure of carrying one at Brighton.

While this is a great time with an av pace of 6:46/m and something to be proud of I'm now in a dilema of what to do at Brighton. I'm so close to a sub 3hr time, could I hold that pace for another 6.2 miles? what to do, what to do????

Silverstone Half Marathon 2013

A friend ran the Silverstone Half Marathon last year and he said it was great. He hounded me and we decided that I would run it in 2013 if he did the Brighton Marathon, I think I got the best deal :-)

As the name suggests the race is held on the Silverstone race circuit, but includes the pit lanes and some back areas. The course weaves back and fourth and on a sunny day is truly a spectacle.

The race day routine was somewhat thrown off balance by a midday race start and the fact that I would be travelling by train up from Brighton. The key factor was eating and hydrating at times different from my usual routine. I opted for porridge on the train and energy drinks/snacks which seemed to pay off as I was fairly hungry by race time. My friend had to dip out due to injury so I was at an unfamiliar start line alone albeit it with support from the sideline.

The weather was fairly cold and running on a race circuit was something to behold. The ground was generally smooth and flat although there was a strong cross wind which necessitated ducking behind runners ahead and a few unexpected inclines. Being shielded from the wind helped however for much of the time this was not possible. Some might consider Silverstone to be monotonous however I found it a really nice change from road races. As the course was away from busy town centres it must have made for a planning and logistical dream. Parking was easy, there was plenty of space, everything was well marked and there were no problems associated with pedestrian crossing points.

Silverstone was an enjoyable race and although my garmin stated I ran 13.4 miles I completed the official distance start to finish in 1:25:10. I was happy with the time but have realised that a sub 3hr marathon is just a little out of my grasp. A well organised race that I would definitely recommend.