21st September
My legs are still perhaps a little tired from St Alban`s Stampede 3 weeks ago but I`m on a mission, so here we are! The sun is already making an effort as we pull up into the car park of the Xcel Leisure Centre a little earlier than planned. No worries, more time to faff!
Mummysaurus is here once again to drive, crew and generally hurl verbal encouragement/abuse when needed. We rummage around in the car for a bit getting all the days gear together. I must admit, now I am doing these events closer and closer together I seem to be bringing less stuff with me. Mummysaurus on the other hand I suspect will always be armed with a utility belt that could rival any budding superhero.
We wander inside in search of a coffee and registration. Coffee isn't available yet so registration it is then. I grab my number and we find a seat to have a natter while we wait for the cafe to open.
Today is hopefully (you can never assume these things) going to be my 5th marathon (or more) in 5 months, as depicted by this ridiculous photograph of my face.
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I did throw a short sleeve one in my drop bag as well in case this backfired.
Around 8:30......I say around, it was 8:30. I know this for sure because the lady opening the cafe had said she was opening at that time and we were watching her like a couple of coffee vultures.
A mochaccino for Mummysaurus, a double espresso and unusually for me, a flapjack. I don`t normally eat before I start but after Stampede I thought today would be a food experiment day. The experiment was pretty simple, eat. It doesn't have to be loads, it could be just a jelly bean but I had promised myself that I would attempt to eat something at the end of every lap.
8:45am - Time for the race briefing.
Everyone heads outside into the warm morning sunshine, the smell of trees and Tiger Balm in the air.
Rik - our host for this mornings adventure, gives us the run down (pun intended) of what to expect. He mentions that it`s going to be a hot one, potentially a lot of people out on the path today, oh and the London to Brighton bike race..........ah!
He assures us though that we shouldn't see too many though as most of them would have already passed this point by this time but just be aware.
With all that out of the way we shuffle our way to the start line. Today we will be heading in the direction of "the little blue bridge". I`ve mentioned this little fella in a previous post, I was very happy to be going the other way on that occasion as this little bridge is not one of my personal favourites. Oh well, can`t avoid it every time and this time I shall be seeing it a lot over the 3.28 mile "out and back" format.
As we wait at the start line it is already pretty apparent that today is going to be a busy day on the Thames Path. We are passed by multiple bikes, dog walkers and runners and its only 9am.
3...2...1...GO!!!
9am - Rik gives us the countdown and off we go! Within the first half a mile I have to move aside for a few more bikes, people, dogs.......its gonna be a long day! I then come to the rowing club, its already in full swing with loads of people all over the path, walking with oars and teams carrying boats.....I think I`ll keep just the one earphone in today!!
I always find the first half of these out and backs goes pretty fast as you are feeling fresh and eager to get going. I ran up and over the little blue bridge and pretty quickly found myself at the turn around point. The return leg was obviously even busier as now I was passing the other runners in the other direction. This is when I really started to notice just how dusty it was already.
I tried to keep to any bit of overhead cover I could find along the way, opting for the shadows whenever I had the chance. The idea was to try and keep my temperature down for as long as I could, so far, so good.
At the end of lap one I had some water and 1 jelly bean, the flapjack I had for breakfast was still sitting a little heavy but I decided to stick to my plan and have something.
Lap 2 was much of the same, hot, crowded and dusty. My pace was OK but my legs did feel a little heavy.
Around 15 miles into the day, it was time for a different approach. The temperature had picked up, it was crowded and very dusty and I was honestly feeling pretty tired. I came into the end of that lap and said to Mummysaurus "No chance of a PB today, I just want to finish with a smile" she simply said "Perfect. Keep eating and have fun!" So that`s what I did! I backed off of the pace and put in regular walk breaks, focusing more on enjoying it rather than speed. My long sleeve base layer was working out surprisingly well, keeping the sun off of my arms and keeping me cool when the wind blew. Good job too really because the combination of sun and dust was quite punishing over time.
At then end of each lap I had some water, squash and some kind of sweet. Freddo Frogs being the top of the list. I had also bought a couple of cans of cold coffee with me which went down well. This had pretty much turned into a picnic with a marathon thrown in for good measure!
Roughly 23 miles down, just one more lap to plod and I still had something that resembled a smile. Along this lap I got chatting to Terry. A lovely guy who started running at the same time as me, in 2012. The difference between us was that he was running his 252nd marathon AND was running the one AFTER this one at 4pm!! Gloriously bonkers! We had a really good natter and pretty much walked most of the last lap with a bit of a "sprint" at the end to finish off the day.
Official time of 4:46:51 but to be honest, from very early on today wasn't going to be about the time.
Today was about so much more. Can I simply finish this close to an ultra? Are the legs up for it today? Can I still enjoy it? Can I do another full event without adding socks to my sandals?
Yes.....yes to all of the above.
Mummysaurus and I headed back to the car to drop off my gear.I switched into a dry t shirt and then we headed back for some lunch and a chat.
I was pretty thrashed even though I took it very easy, guess I really was pretty tired from the Stampede! Oh well, 5 in 12 done!
As always a big thank you goes out Mummysaurus for the support, Phoenix Running for yet another great event and to every other person running/walking/crawling on the day....well done, you guys are awesome!
Thanks for reading folks! Join me again in a few weeks for the next one, it might be messy!!
Love and hugs
Cardiosaurus
Around 8:30......I say around, it was 8:30. I know this for sure because the lady opening the cafe had said she was opening at that time and we were watching her like a couple of coffee vultures.
A mochaccino for Mummysaurus, a double espresso and unusually for me, a flapjack. I don`t normally eat before I start but after Stampede I thought today would be a food experiment day. The experiment was pretty simple, eat. It doesn't have to be loads, it could be just a jelly bean but I had promised myself that I would attempt to eat something at the end of every lap.
8:45am - Time for the race briefing.
Everyone heads outside into the warm morning sunshine, the smell of trees and Tiger Balm in the air.
Rik - our host for this mornings adventure, gives us the run down (pun intended) of what to expect. He mentions that it`s going to be a hot one, potentially a lot of people out on the path today, oh and the London to Brighton bike race..........ah!
He assures us though that we shouldn't see too many though as most of them would have already passed this point by this time but just be aware.
With all that out of the way we shuffle our way to the start line. Today we will be heading in the direction of "the little blue bridge". I`ve mentioned this little fella in a previous post, I was very happy to be going the other way on that occasion as this little bridge is not one of my personal favourites. Oh well, can`t avoid it every time and this time I shall be seeing it a lot over the 3.28 mile "out and back" format.
 |
| 3.28 mile "out and backs" so you can paint the path red |
As we wait at the start line it is already pretty apparent that today is going to be a busy day on the Thames Path. We are passed by multiple bikes, dog walkers and runners and its only 9am.
3...2...1...GO!!!
9am - Rik gives us the countdown and off we go! Within the first half a mile I have to move aside for a few more bikes, people, dogs.......its gonna be a long day! I then come to the rowing club, its already in full swing with loads of people all over the path, walking with oars and teams carrying boats.....I think I`ll keep just the one earphone in today!!
I always find the first half of these out and backs goes pretty fast as you are feeling fresh and eager to get going. I ran up and over the little blue bridge and pretty quickly found myself at the turn around point. The return leg was obviously even busier as now I was passing the other runners in the other direction. This is when I really started to notice just how dusty it was already.
I tried to keep to any bit of overhead cover I could find along the way, opting for the shadows whenever I had the chance. The idea was to try and keep my temperature down for as long as I could, so far, so good.
At the end of lap one I had some water and 1 jelly bean, the flapjack I had for breakfast was still sitting a little heavy but I decided to stick to my plan and have something.
Lap 2 was much of the same, hot, crowded and dusty. My pace was OK but my legs did feel a little heavy.
Around 15 miles into the day, it was time for a different approach. The temperature had picked up, it was crowded and very dusty and I was honestly feeling pretty tired. I came into the end of that lap and said to Mummysaurus "No chance of a PB today, I just want to finish with a smile" she simply said "Perfect. Keep eating and have fun!" So that`s what I did! I backed off of the pace and put in regular walk breaks, focusing more on enjoying it rather than speed. My long sleeve base layer was working out surprisingly well, keeping the sun off of my arms and keeping me cool when the wind blew. Good job too really because the combination of sun and dust was quite punishing over time.
At then end of each lap I had some water, squash and some kind of sweet. Freddo Frogs being the top of the list. I had also bought a couple of cans of cold coffee with me which went down well. This had pretty much turned into a picnic with a marathon thrown in for good measure!
Roughly 23 miles down, just one more lap to plod and I still had something that resembled a smile. Along this lap I got chatting to Terry. A lovely guy who started running at the same time as me, in 2012. The difference between us was that he was running his 252nd marathon AND was running the one AFTER this one at 4pm!! Gloriously bonkers! We had a really good natter and pretty much walked most of the last lap with a bit of a "sprint" at the end to finish off the day.
Official time of 4:46:51 but to be honest, from very early on today wasn't going to be about the time.
Today was about so much more. Can I simply finish this close to an ultra? Are the legs up for it today? Can I still enjoy it? Can I do another full event without adding socks to my sandals?
Yes.....yes to all of the above.
Mummysaurus and I headed back to the car to drop off my gear.I switched into a dry t shirt and then we headed back for some lunch and a chat.
I was pretty thrashed even though I took it very easy, guess I really was pretty tired from the Stampede! Oh well, 5 in 12 done!
As always a big thank you goes out Mummysaurus for the support, Phoenix Running for yet another great event and to every other person running/walking/crawling on the day....well done, you guys are awesome!
Thanks for reading folks! Join me again in a few weeks for the next one, it might be messy!!
Love and hugs
Cardiosaurus
