Aberdeen Beach Front 10km Christmas Canter: Race Report

Another Sunday, another 10k (the second of the year so far, and it's only the 9th of January) and today it was the postponed "Christmas" Canter in aid of MENCAP which was supposed to take place in December, but was prevented by the weather. It's basically a gallop, canter or trot, depending on your speed, along the upper and lower proms of Aberdeen beach, which is flat and quite boring but good for PBs (I got my last 10k PB of 57:43 there in June last year). The weather was still very cold and icy today but luckily the race route was fairly ice-free.

I woke up with a sore throat this morning so wasn't expecting to do tremendously well but was looking forward to it anyway as I was planning on meeting a few pals there (some running and some supporting). It's a pretty small and low key, no-frills event and there was not a huge field of runners (especially given the weather) but I am rubbish at estimating numbers so won't attempt it. I set off near the back at a reasonably easy pace - there were no kilometre markers (I said it was no-frills!) so I was relying on my Garmin for pacing. Did the first mile in 9:24 (bit slow), the second in 9:03 and the third in 9:02. Spent most of the way trying to work out in my head whether I was on course for a PB! I thought I probably was. During the second 5k I found myself gradually overtaking people (the field had thinned out greatly so we were fairly widely distributed) which was satisfying and I was happy that except at the very beginning, nobody overtook me the whole way. There was one woman who I was more or less level with during the 3rd and 4th km but I managed to leave her behind at around the 5k mark. I was also greatly cheered by the presence of our 3 supporters at 2 points along the route, it's amazing how motivating a bit of encouragement can be!

Did the 4th mile in 9:09, the 5th in 9:17 (flagging a bit by this stage)and the 6th in 9:04. It seemed an awfully long way to the finish line, or rather red line on the ground which I couldn't even see so I didn't actually know where the finish line was, though all the people standing around gave it away a bit. I was delighted however with a PB of, according to my watch (no official results yet and no clock at the finish either) 56:55.

One of our number, who is in the F50 category, won the entire women's race in an amazing time of 41:39, which wasn't even a PB for her, just brilliant!

My goal for this year is a sub-55 PB which would entail taking 20 seconds per mile off my time... doable? Not sure. My longer term goal is a 10k PB which is lower than my age :) Currently trying to figure out in how many years this might be possible....



Stats:

Distance: 6.2 miles
Time: 56:55
Average pace: 9:10
Total Janathon miles so far: 36.08

Lumphanan Detox 10k: Race Report

Was looking forward to this race, which is billed as Scotland's first road 10k of the year, which I presume it is, not that I've conducted any research to verify it or anything. Had a bit of a mass turnout of people from Fetch who live vaguely locally, either running or supporting, which was fab. *wave*

Being on 2nd January it's called the "detox" 10k, though having had a fairly sedate New Year I wasn't particularly toxed in the first place. I was more worried about the hill and what with that and not having done any runs longer than 5 miles for a while, I wasn't expecting a good time and was happy to be within or just over the hour. Due to the conditions underfoot because of recent weather, the route was changed slightly to remove the off-road section, which had the unfortunate side-effect of resulting in having to run up another hill back into Lumphanan at around the 8k mark. Boo!

Even more unfortunately, it turned out that Lumphanan had no water :-O presumably due to frozen/burst pipes, which must have been a nightmare for the organisers and resulted in the obvious problems for the usual pre-race toilet visits. Flushing was, shall we say, somewhat occasional. There was some discussion about whether the race should have been cancelled as a result of the water issue, but it was either too late for them to cancel or they just decided to go ahead anyway.

The race kicked off at 11.30, and was immediately uphill, which continued for nearly the first 2k - the first kilometre was the steepest, though, and I was pleased that I managed to run the whole thing as I was totally expecting to walk some of it. Still, thanks to the uphill the first mile was a pretty slow 11:52! The gradient eased off a bit in the second kilometre, but was still uphill, then began a much pleasanter long descent! (At the top of the hill someone shouted "It's all downhill after this!" which as usual turned out to be a big lie.) I managed the second mile in 9:04, the third in 8:54 and the fourth in 8:56 (hurrah for downhills). The view over the snow-covered fields was lovely, and the underfoot conditions weren't too bad apart from a few icy patches where you had to watch your footing, but mostly it was fine. Then came the climb back into Lumphanan, courtesy of the changed route, resulting in a fifth mile of 10:08, though I managed to regain a little bit of time with a sixth mile of 9:07.

The kilometre markers were a bit dodgily positioned, especially the 10k mark which for some mysterious reason was about 200m before the finish (thanks for that), meaning that you passed it, ran on, turned a corner expecting the finish to be right there but it was still what felt at the time like ages away (it wasn't). I was neck and neck at the corner with another woman, but managed to find a burst of speed from somewhere to burn her off at the finish :) and finished in, according to my watch, 59:16 - about a minute and a half over my PB, but I was glad to be under the hour. (My watch also said it was 9.91km rather than 10, but everyone else seemed to find the distance to be correct if not slightly long, so I don't know where the other 0.09km went - I swear I didn't take any short cuts.)

The soup in the village hill after the race was welcome, even if the toilets still weren't working! And we got a nice t-shirt with a picture of an exhausted-looking detoxing runner on it, though no medal.

All in all a fab morning out and a nice start to the racing year.



Stats:

Distance: 6.16 miles (see above)
Time: 59:16
Average pace: 9:37 (mainly thanks to the slow first mile!)
Best pace according to Mr Garmin: 6:08 (gulp)

"All the way is far enough": Baxter's Loch Ness Marathon 2010 Race Report

Really didn't know quite what to expect from my first marathon... I'd done most of the training (although circumstances had interfered a bit over the last few weeks), I'd read every bit of advice I could find, some of it contradictory, I'd packed and unpacked my bag several times, tried to positively visualize myself crossing the finish line, studied route maps and elevation profiles and weather forecasts, and although I was wildly excited I still didn't feel a bit ready.

Got to Inverness, found our B&B more or less by accident, then walked down to registration in Bught Park, though the B&B turned out to be further away from the park than it had looked on the map and the little one was complaining of tired leggies. Registration was straightforward enough, got my race number and chip (strange loop thing) and got the little one registered for the Wee Nessie pre-schoolers' race which she was excited about and very pleased with her free Nessie t-shirt. She was also enthralled by the giant inflatable Nessie which greeted us on arrival at the park.






We were pretty hungry by this time and hadn't booked tickets for the pasta party, and I was a bit worried that everywhere would be full, but we managed to find a place to eat without much trouble and despite looking longingly at various other menu items I decided to do the sensible thing and opt for pasta, which happily turned out to be delicious. Then met up with some friends we hadn't seen for ages who were doing the 10k and had a pleasant few drinks before heading back to the B&B where I had a pretty restless night thanks to pre-race nerves.

Got up at 6.20am, put my gear on (rummaging about in the dark so as not to wake the little one, couldn't find my socks for ages even though I'd laid everything out the night before) and went down for breakfast, which I could hardly eat any of although the B&B lady had kindly provided me with a big bowl of porridge. I managed a few spoonfuls and then just couldn't eat any more, but took a banana to eat later. Said goodbye to husband and (still sleeping) daughter and headed off to catch the bus - it was a really pleasant early morning, not cold at all, I had my jacket with me but didn't even feel the need to wear it.


We were on the bus for much longer than I'd anticipated - nearly an hour and a half, reaching the start at about 9:25. The guy who sat down next to me didn't seem inclined to chat, enabling me to proceed with my planned programme of staring out of the window feeling sick. At one point we passed a garden centre which declared itself "Scotland's Best Garden Centre 2010" on a huge banner, which sounded good (though I don't know who had appointed them Scotland's best or whether they had just decided that they were) and I wondered if we would have time to visit it before we left before deciding that no, we definitely wouldn't. A bit later, one guy on the bus persuaded the driver to stop in a layby and a whole load of men piled out of the bus and stood in a line at the side of the road having a pee next to a fence. Since by this time I was desperate for the loo (despite having visited a Portaloo just before getting on the bus), this left me musing, not for the first time, on the unfair advantage enjoyed by the male anatomy in such situations.

We finally reached the start area, by which time the formerly pleasantly balmy morning had turned cold and wet and horrible. Dumped my bag at the baggage vehicle and headed off to stand in the queue for the Portaloos, shivering. I'd taken an old jacket to wear and discard but was still cold and actually looking jealously at the people who had fashioned stylish items of clothing out of bin bags and thinking I really should have done that too.

Thankfully it wasn't long to the start, and I congregated with my fellow tortoises near the back of the throng while the sound system blared out music and encouragement, oh, and the pipe band was a nice touch. The gun fired and, to the sound of Scotland the Brave, we were off - well, kind of - it took me a good 3.5 minutes to shuffle over the start line, but then I really was off, and downhill too, and already feeling quite emotional ("I'm finally doing it! And I've got to keep doing it for 26 miles!").

I was very conscious of not going off too fast and had a rough game plan of aiming for 11 minute miles, but also was aware that the first half has a lot of downhill and the second half more in the way of uphill, so although I know you're not meant to do this I also had in the back of my mind the idea that it might not be so bad to make up a bit of time in the first half, given that like many people I find downhills easier than uphills. I decided to stick to what felt like an easy, manageable pace for the first half (had decided against wearing HRM, which might have helped). First few miles were fairly undulating with a sharp uphill at around 5 miles - I did the first 5 in 51:48, hit 10 miles at 1:45:03, and 13 in 2:17:22, and that was the end of my sub-11 miles. To be honest though I can't remember much about it - it's all a bit of a blur. Stuff I remember: first glimpse of the misty loch; the person in front of me dropping their mobile, which broke; spectators at Whitebridge and Foyers; getting a text from husband at around 8 miles to say the little one had done her race and got her medal, and then trying to work out how far I still had to go when I'd done 8 miles. (My maths isn't usually that bad!) And the guy playing Scottish music from his car at the bottom of his lane - I can't remember at all at what point that was, but it was a nice boost.

Managed to stick to my fuelling/hydration plan with a combination of Shot Bloks, gels, plenty of water and Lucozade Sport, and I think it worked because although I was very fatigued later in the race I never hit the dreaded wall or felt that I couldn't carry on. But predictably enough the second half was much harder, especially when I reached The Hill At Dores (which had already achieved mythical status in my mind) in conjunction with the weather started to feel quite hot. I don't do well in the heat - I'll take rain and wind any day, for running in at least. I fast-walked up a fair bit of that hill and the one after (so did most people around me), and hit my worst point at the next uphill which didn't look as if it was ever going to end. That was the only point where I really felt like stopping for a breather, but I knew if I did I would struggle to get going again, and kept run-walking to the top. Saw the guy who had collapsed at the side of the road - I didn't stop, as there were several people round him, but was glad to hear subsequently that he was fine.

Marshals and spectators were fantastic, really encouraging, with cries of "You're looking good!" (not true) and "the worst is over!" (also not true, but a nice thought).

By the time we reached Inverness my legs felt really, really tired and my pace had dropped considerably - I was doing 12 minute miles by this stage, just trying to keep going, and spent the last few miles doing mental calculations as to how much leeway I had to make it to the finish within my target of 5 hours. Although I'd told everyone my aim was just to get round, I knew I'd be massively disappointed to be over 5 hours. Running through Inverness when I could hear the finishers on the other side of the river was tough and it felt like an awful long way to the Ness Bridge, though it really wasn't! I was barely noticing spectators at this time, apart from looking out for husband and daughter who were there somewhere.... finally saw them at the entrance to the park, ran into the park, saw the finish ahead of me and someone shouted "100 metres to go!" which by this point felt just as difficult as the previous 26 miles, but kept going, even managed a smile for the camera, saw the 4:58 on the clock, and finally stumbled across the finishing line in 4:55:07 on my watch (and official chip time), 4:58:59 on the clock, suddenly bombarded from all sides with goody bags, medals and bottles of Lucozade, shared an emotional moment with the girl who'd finished a few seconds ahead of me (another first-timers) and emerged into the muddy quagmire of Bught Park, very tired, achey and already thinking about the next one.



In summary.... although a lot of it is a blur, I had the most fantastic time. I don't know if my tactics were the best (probably not) and I should probably have done more hill training, and immediately afterwards I started thinking I could have pushed myself a bit more in the second half (first half in under 2:20, second half in over 2:35) but given how tired I was at the finish I'm not sure I could have done that much more, at least at my present level of fitness, as the hills in particular really took it out of me. Next time.....

Appreciated the shower afterwards and the great medal and t-shirt, though (a) a technical t-shirt would have been nice as would (b) one which didn't advertise the Scottish Daily Mail on the back, but hey, I'm not complaining!

Still stiff and sore two days later but still on a high, and currently considering the 2011 Edinburgh Marathon to try for a good PB....

Ballater 10 Mile Road Race: Race Report

I found this really tough! Was feeling relatively confident, as I had heard that though a bit hilly, it wasn't as bad as the Stonehaven half which I ran three weeks ago, but I actually found it worse. Maybe because it was hot, and I don't function well in the heat... Also, we were running late as usual (not my fault!) and I was panicking most of the way to Ballater about not getting there on time, especially as it was a pick-up-your-number-on-the-day type race. We made it with 15 minutes to spare, in the end, which gave me just enough time to get and attach my race number and make a much-needed loo visit.

The race started well enough, running through Ballater and out on to the country roads, with the first couple of miles being flattish - managed these in an easy 9:34 and 9:44. There was a longish uphill section between miles 2 and 3 (10:48), and then a steep uphill in the 5th mile (a disgraceful 11:44, which did involve some walking). I found the hills really hard going, and struggled to keep control of my breathing. Found that I was being overtaken on the uphill sections and then overtaking the same people on the flat and downhills - this happened repeatedly with the same people throughout the race - clearly I need to do more hill work!

That was the worst of the hills over with although there was another uphill part around mile 8 (followed by a nice downhill section), but I was still struggling to pace myself and feeling really tired. The change of terrain to off-road for much of the second half of the race, while it made a change, did slow me down too but I had managed to make some ground and even overtake a few people on the downhill and just about managed to maintain my position! The shoogly bridge (I think at about mile 7, though it's a bit of a blur now) was an interesting touch although I could have done without the steps up to it by that point! The last mile was along a very narrow path surrounded by long grass, before emerging back into the playing field where the race began and running a lap of that before thankfully passing the finishing line.

I finished in 1:43:47, which I was a bit disappointed with as this represents an average pace of 10:24 which is the slowest I've been for ages and considerably slower than my (also hilly) recent half marathon pace! For whatever reason I never seemed to manage to get into a proper rhythm today and walking on the hills played havoc with my time. (Husband later said "I thought you would struggle, because you don't do well in the heat" which is true enough, although it wasn't really hot enough for this to be a very convincing excuse!)

However it was a nice scenic race with plenty of variety, even if the course could do with a good ironing before next year. The encouragement from the marshals was really appreciated - another water station might have been good, though! The yummy chocolate in the goody bag was also much appreciated by my daughter who scoffed half of it in the car on the way back.

Splits: 9:34 9:45 10:49 10:00 11:45 9:51 10:53 11:07 9:25 10:41

Note to self: get better at hills. (I thought I'd done a fair bit of hill training, but it clearly wasn't enough...)

The Running Shop Beach 10k Race Report (and Juneathon: Day 8)

When I signed up for The Running Shop Beach 10k I had visions of a lovely sunny evening down at the beach, clearly having temporarily forgotten I live in Aberdeen and mistaken it for somewhere with a pleasant temperate climate. My delightful vision was, of course, completely wrong. Wind. Rain. Cold. Runners huddled together for warmth at the start line. Etc. At least, unlike the last time I ran this race, there was no snow and ice underfoot.

It's a nice flat route, though, if a bit lacking in anything to look at other than grey sea and matching grey sky, and what with all the training I've been doing lately, I had definite PB hopes. Set off fastish, possibly a bit too fast I thought, but I felt OK and went through the first mile in 9:23. Second mile still felt OK and did it in 9:16, worried I was going too fast (as my plan was to stick to around 9:39 min/miles with a view to squeezing in under the hour). But I think the training is paying off and I am definitely getting faster, because I was still happily plodding along and did the third mile in 9:15. Wind and rain was playing havoc with my Garmin, though, which kept whizzing from screen to screen, and around the halfway point it suddenly occurred to me that I could, in fact, lock the bezel to stop it doing that, so I did, but not before I had accidentally stopped the timer and had to restart it again. Continued to plod and found myself actually overtaking some people, including the bananas who seem to do every race I ever go to and run at about the same pace. But I left the bananas far behind this time so I must be improving.

Did feel pretty rough in the last mile and was severely tempted to stop and walk (why? why does this always happen to me in races?) but managed to keep going and finally dragged myself over the finish line in, according to my Garmin, an amazing 57:43, a good 3.5 minutes better than my previous PB, and 5 minutes faster than the last time I ran this course, six months ago. (Official time might be slightly different as it took me several seconds to cross the start line and I'm not actually sure exactly where the finish line was, but shouldn't be radically different.)

No medal or t-shirt, but I did get an Asics gym bag and a plastic cup of orange squash. And a big PB. Woohoo!

I love Juneathon.

Distance: 6.22 miles
Time: 57:43
Splits: 9:23, 9:16, 9:15, 9:20, 9:15, 9:07, 2:07
Average pace: 9:17

Total Juneathon distance so far: 34.87 miles
Total Juneathon running time so far: 5:42:27

Baker Hughes 10k Race Report

This year's City of Aberdeen Baker Hughes 10k kicked off at the somewhat uncivilised hour of 9.30 on a Sunday morning (23rd May, to be precise, or, to put it another way, yesterday). Since daughter kindly woke me by bellowing in my ear at 7, the time was not a major problem. What might have been a problem was the weather, as the day before had been blazingly hot (sounds unlikely in Aberdeen, I know) and my last attempt at a run, on the Thursday before the race, had to be cut short due to me melting into a puddle after the first couple of miles. Cold weather I can cope with; I have yet to get to grips with heat. Still, it's rarely a major problem round here.

Luckily, Sunday morning was distinctly on the cool and cloudy side. It even started raining at one point, luckily while I was in the Portaloo. Yay! Actually the weather was pretty much ideal for running, so I quickly realised that I unfortunately wasn't going to be able to use the heat as an excuse as I had planned.

Baker Hughes, as it's universally known in honour of the main sponsor, which, like most things in Aberdeen is something to do with oil (don't ask me precisely what), is a fairly big event, attracting over 3,000 runners this year. The route is pretty flat, including two miles along the beachfront as well as a fair amount of uninspiring warehouses, flats, a stretch up King Street (with traffic coming past in the opposite direction, doubtless thinking "look at this lot of idiots causing delays to our important Sunday morning business") and a nice view of the football stadium. So, it's a fast course, for people who are fast, which obviously does not include me.

At 9.10 the runners gathered, shivering occasionally, on the esplanade according to predicted finishing time, with me somewhat optimistically positioning myself in the 56-60 min section (well, the one behind it was 61-75 mins and the one behind that 75+). Kick-off was five minutes late, leaving quite a bit of time to stand around shuffling one's feet, checking the attachment of one's timing chip, pressing random buttons on one's Garmin and craning one's neck in the (unsuccessful) hope of catching a glimpse of any familiar faces. Also had to frequently avert my eyes from the couple directly in front of me who clearly thought this an ideal location for a passionate interlude. I suppose it's one way of passing the time. Also noticed a number of people surreptitiously inserting earphones despite the iPod ban and wondered why I'm so law-abiding.

Got off to a slow start after finally making it to the start line 2 minutes after the gun went off, through the big blue inflatable arch thing and sharp left on Links Road. As ever, I was overtaken in the first few minutes by loads of people, some of whom I was subsequently rather surprised to see walking even before the first kilometre marker... Although I can sympathise, because I always want to walk in races. I don't know why. I can run longer distances in training without even thinking about walking, but it's like some mad psychological thing where I see other people walking and I immediately feel tireder than I really am and want to do it too. (Strangely, seeing other people running faster than me does not have a similar effect.) I managed to resist the temptation to walk by telling myself to HTFU and reminding myself that two people on Fetch had inexplicably bet on me (not proper money, but still) to break the hour.

Sadly, it was apparent from early on that my dream of sub-60 mins probably wasn't going to come true this time, as I finished the first kilometre in 6.18, the second in 6.08 and the third in 6.11 and never actually got below 6 minutes until the 9th kilometre, which I managed in a super-speedy 5.52. It's stupid, because I know I can do it, but this whole "you run faster in races" business doesn't seem to work for me. More mad psychological stuff. Perhaps I need a shrink? Or, more likely, I'm just really crap at running.

I did manage a mega sprint over the last 150m or so once the finishing line was in sight, and overtook about a dozen people, which was satisfying, even though I thought I was about to drop dead as soon as I'd done it. I think I just wanted to get there as quick as possible. Even got some cheers from the spectators (there were spectators! quite a lot of them!) for that lung-busting final blast. Shame I couldn't just have gone a bit quicker all the way round and I might have managed a better time than the eventual 1:01:09. Still a PB, though, and maybe next time.....

Collected my medal, which I promptly lost (dammit!) and hung around on the sidelines for a bit watching really knackered-looking people finishing. The last finisher, according to the official results, had a time of 1:52:oo - the first man did it in 32:00, and the first woman in 35:05. I came 2,261st out of 3,044.



Right, can anyone tell me why I can't get this Garmin Connect info to work on my blog? It comes up initially when I paste in the link, is there on the preview, but then immediately disappears as soon as I hit Publish, to be replaced by a really pointless big rectangle, as above.

Anyway, moving on, I'm kinda looking forward to Juneathon, though whether I will manage to run, or indeed do any other kind of exercise, EVERY SINGLE DAY for a WHOLE MONTH seems dubious. It's not through lack of motivation. Well, it is, a bit. But lack of time/opportunity to get out for a run is the real killer. I'm going to try, though, if only to be in with a chance of winning some really weird footwear.

Still more frustration

So, thought I would "celebrate" the glorious new Tory (sorry, sorry, sorry, Con-Dem) government by first doing my back in, and then, once that was better, developing a really unpleasant cold. Hence running has been a bit rubbish the last couple of weeks, which is, of course, completely to be expected when I have the Baker Hughes 10k on Sunday at which I am COMPLETELY DETERMINED to break the prestigious one-hour barrier. But I really haven't done that much training in the last 2 weeks. I've done a bit - seven miles last Tuesday, a 3-mile run on the treadmill on Thursday and 4 and a half miles of intervals on Saturday. But my planned long run on Sunday had to be abandoned as I was prostrated by the cold, and a combination of work and feeling lousy has meant no runs at all this week. Hope to get out tonight in the always unlikely event that husband is home at a reasonable time, and again either tomorrow or Friday.

Rather strangely, the souvenir race t-shirt (enormous, as usual) arrived before the race, in a race pack which also contained the timing chip and a race number which was possibly the single most crumpled object I have ever seen in my life. I even considered ironing it, which should give a clue as to how crumpled it really was, since I rarely consider ironing anything if it can possibly be avoided. (Obviously, I'm not actually going to iron it. It was just a thought.) I'm gathering a fair collection of race t-shirts now... shame they're invariably massive.

Possible uses for souvenir race t-shirts:

1. Emergency tent
2. Emergency maternity wear for woman carrying octuplets
3. Bargain wedding marquee

Anyway, 10k in less than 1 hour. Can it be done? Is it really possible for a human being to run THAT FAST without spontaneously combusting? Watch this space. And don't hold your breath.

"It's a hill. Get over it." Part II: Balmoral 10k Race Report

We didn't see the Queen, although I liked my son's idea that she might be seated - possibly on a throne - at the top of The Hill, graciously shaking hands with exhausted runners - "And what do you do?". Sadly, this proved not to be the case. Maybe next year.

Nearly 2,000 runners took place in the 2010 Balmoral 10k - possibly excluding those who may have been still trudging from the car park (or to be more precise, distant field) when the race kicked off at 2.30pm. (Unusually, it was on a Saturday afternoon, the culmination of a day's races which included primary and secondary school events, a 5k and a wheelchair race, all in the grounds of Balmoral Castle.) That car park, also known as distant field, seemed like miles away (probably because it was), and particularly as we were, inevitably, pushed for time thanks to a husband who is congenitally incapable of leaving the house without endless procrastination. Having to carry daughter for much of the way - thanks to a husband with a recent hernia operation - also didn't help me to arrive at the starting line bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. A last minute dash to the main area, an anxious queue for the Portaloos, and miraculously, I managed to be there on time - just.

Pre-race information had advised lining up for the start according to predicted finishing time, but I could barely see the markers, let alone squeeze through the crowds of runners to position myself appropriately. I think I finished up somewhere between the 50 and 55 minute markers, which seemed wildly over-optimistic, and indeed people poured past me for the first few minutes of the race (well, after the 2-3 minutes very slow shuffling to actually reach the start line).

The first few kilometres were uneventful enough. Some people overtook me. I overtook some (different) people. It drizzled a bit, but not much.The thought of The Hill loomed large in, I suspect, most people's minds and soon enough a sign proclaiming "Beware - Hill Ahead!" heralded its onset. In retrospect, I felt the sign could have been more positively phrased - "Hill Ahead - keep going!" or "Hill Ahead - you can beat it!" might have sent out a more encouraging message, since as it was, the mere sight of the alarming sign apparently caused some people to groan, admit defeat and start walking before the hill had even begun. I was determined not to be beaten, and I kept running, overtaking various walkers... for a couple of minutes and then I too admitted defeat and slowed to a walk. That hill was a beast. Everybody was walking. Even the few people I saw running weren't actually going significantly faster than the walkers. I did manage to keep up a reasonable walking pace and even broke into an occasional run, but there was something hugely demoralising about the sight of The Hill stretching on apparently endlessly (only 1.2k of it, apparently, but it felt more like 5 miles). Oh, and did I mention the mud? There was mud. At one stage it seemed like every step I took, I was actually sliding backwards again thanks to the mud.

Finally reaching the top (no royals, but there were pipers! Which was nice), I'd been expecting a pleasant long descent, but it didn't feel quite as delightful as I'd anticipated, as there were still flat and even short uphill stretches - well, that's what it felt like - before the final descent into Balmoral, with the castle again in view. By 5 miles, I felt completely exhausted. Bizarre how this keeps happening to me in races, when I know full well I can run further, faster, in training - maybe it's a psychological thing? Whatever, I was deeply ashamed to find myself walking short stretches of the final section, though invigorated by husband and daughter waving to me about 0.3 miles from the end (apparently daughter had been clapping and waving to all the runners!). Though much of the race was spectator-free, as we neared the end there were little gaggles of watchers clapping and calling encouragement, which was nice (except for the one who said "Come on, you can go faster than that!". Which may have been meant as encouragement, but didn't really help all that much.)

Finally, the finish line was in sight....

... and I have to say, I had no idea there were so many people so close to me, as I was in a little world of my own by then and was quite amazed when someone, probably the woman in the black, put on a spurt and overtook me right at the finish, thus depriving me of the glory of 1475th place (of 1877) overall and 547th woman (of 858).

Time was a deeply disappointing, if unsurprising given my general crapness, Personal Worst of 1:05:40 (chip time - overall finish time allowing for the shuffle to the start line was 1:08:09, but we'll draw a veil over that). 175th in the FV category - to put that in perspective, the fastest in the category was 40:41, and the slowest 1:44:35! So I guess I can comfort myself that I was closer to the fastest than the slowest.

Garmin info here....

Balmoral 10k by sheri3004 at Garmin Connect - Details

But hell, it was a good day out, a great race and I'll be back next year for another crack at that hill! Oh, and the bacon rolls in the cafe afterwards were a stroke of genius...

"Running is the greatest metaphor for life, because you get out of it what you put into it."

Hello, and welcome to my new blog, where I’m going to be – hopefully – blogging my running: training, races and doubtless various random stuff.

I’ve been running regularly for about a year. I’m not good at it. I’m not fast. Nevertheless I am astounded by how far – literally and metaphorically – I have already come after 40 years as a complete non-runner, not to mention how far I still have to go.

This year, "the big one" for which I will be preparing is the Loch Ness Marathon in October 2010, which I will be running for Marie Curie Cancer Care. I’m simultaneously wildly excited and completely horrified by the prospect of running 26.2 miles in just over six months’ time. In the meantime I have a couple of 10k’s coming up, the Stonehaven Half Marathon in July, and lots and lots and lots of training.

Seriously, I can't wait.