Last races of 2006
This weekend, and the weekend before, I competed in my last two races of 2006, namely the Downton half marathon and the Bromham "Pudding Race" 10k.
Neither, as it turned out, was an overwhelming success.
On the 26th November I travelled to Downton to compete in the half marathon. This was an event I had competed in the previous year, my second half marathon in fact. I booked my place early this year - I had such fond memories of a tough but enjoyable race, with some stunning views of the New Forest (which prompted me to enter the New Forest Marathon), there was no way I was going to miss it this year.
Last year I remember it being cold but dry. This year it was milder, but very wet. I had a difficult drive down due to the roads being flooded at several points. It got worse before it got better, as I got caught in a downpour walking from my car to the race HQ, and got absolutely drenched.
Once the race started, the rain did not subside, and I found it very hard going. I knew from the previous year that the course was hilly, and had done plenty of hill reps in preparation, but alas these did not seem to pay off. The first five miles were so slow I knew there was no chance of a PB, in fact I would struggle to manage a sub 2 hour finish. In the end I decided to make the best of it, enjoy the views and treat it as a tough training run. Even the hailstones didn't halt my enjoyment of the views and I ran at a nice relaxed pace.
In the end I did manage a sub 2 hour finish, but only in "BMW" time (by my watch). I collected my medal and headed to the race centre where I availed myself of free coffee and a bun and helped myself to two t-shirts (to make up for the fact that they didn't have one in my size last year!). A nice t-shirt it was this year too.
I reflected later, while I was enjoying my post-race beer, that it would be a tad anal to worry about my time at this particular event. Such a wonderfully well-organised event and with such lovely scenery, far better to just go out and enjoy it. You almost want to take as long as possible when the views are this good.
Whilst I felt fine at the end of the race and was back in training the next day, I was quite sore after this event. This did not bode well for the Bromham 10k, which I had run the previous year (after a heavy night out and with the hangover from hell, much to Anthony's annoyance!) and where I was hoping to get a PB and notch up my first sub 50 minute 10k.
I ran Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, rested Thursday as I had a day out in London to go to a concert (separate article to follow) and did a light body pump on Friday. I was also due to have a sports massage that day but Ali had to cancel on me as he had hurt his back. So I was still not feeling at my best on the day of the race.
It probably didn't help that I went out with my lodger, Stefan, on the Friday night for a few beers as he was returning home to Germany on Sunday morning. It may also not have helped that instead of putting my feet up and going to the cinema on Saturday I spent most of the day doing housework to make the place look nice for the arrival of my new lodger, Victoria.
In any case I got to the start line feeling well below par. The weather again was not good. It had rained heavily during the night and was still very windy.
I managed to do the first 4k within 20 minutes but it was downhill from there. I got slower with each kilometre, and felt increasingly tired and sluggish. In the end I finished in just over 52 minutes, an improvement of 5 minutes from last year but still well below my best.
Whether it was the weather, the beers on Thursday and Friday or the housework on Saturday that thwarted my plans of a PB, I'll never know. If I'm honest, it's more likely that I have put on a few pounds since my marathon and haven't managed to shift them.
In any case I don't think I should beat myself up too much. This year I have completed my first full marathon, 9 half marathons, a couple of 5 mile races and I don't know how many 10k races. So no wonder I'm feeling a bit tired - if I say so myself, it's been an amazing achievement. Maybe it's time to put my feet up for a few weeks over the festive season.
After that, it's onwards and upwards to greater things. I found out this weekend I haven't got a place for the Flora London Marathon in 2007 via the ballot system (surprise, surprise). Which means if I want to run it, I need to get a charity place, which also means raising a lot of money.
I spoke to my boss, David Power, about this the other day. Being the top bloke he is, he said if this was necessary he would help me in approaching business contacts for sponsorship (having 30 years experience in the industry, he has more contacts than most!) and was optimistic that I could expect to raise a few thousand pounds' worth of sponsorship.
I've already started applying for charity places and have a really good feeling about this. If it's thousands of pounds for charity we're talking about I'm damned if I'm going to disappoint anyone and will literally sweat my nuts off to get ready for 22nd April 2007.
Something tells me I could be on the cusp of achieving something really special.
Copyright © Jonathan Weedon, December 2007
Neither, as it turned out, was an overwhelming success.
On the 26th November I travelled to Downton to compete in the half marathon. This was an event I had competed in the previous year, my second half marathon in fact. I booked my place early this year - I had such fond memories of a tough but enjoyable race, with some stunning views of the New Forest (which prompted me to enter the New Forest Marathon), there was no way I was going to miss it this year.
Last year I remember it being cold but dry. This year it was milder, but very wet. I had a difficult drive down due to the roads being flooded at several points. It got worse before it got better, as I got caught in a downpour walking from my car to the race HQ, and got absolutely drenched.
Once the race started, the rain did not subside, and I found it very hard going. I knew from the previous year that the course was hilly, and had done plenty of hill reps in preparation, but alas these did not seem to pay off. The first five miles were so slow I knew there was no chance of a PB, in fact I would struggle to manage a sub 2 hour finish. In the end I decided to make the best of it, enjoy the views and treat it as a tough training run. Even the hailstones didn't halt my enjoyment of the views and I ran at a nice relaxed pace.
In the end I did manage a sub 2 hour finish, but only in "BMW" time (by my watch). I collected my medal and headed to the race centre where I availed myself of free coffee and a bun and helped myself to two t-shirts (to make up for the fact that they didn't have one in my size last year!). A nice t-shirt it was this year too.
I reflected later, while I was enjoying my post-race beer, that it would be a tad anal to worry about my time at this particular event. Such a wonderfully well-organised event and with such lovely scenery, far better to just go out and enjoy it. You almost want to take as long as possible when the views are this good.
Whilst I felt fine at the end of the race and was back in training the next day, I was quite sore after this event. This did not bode well for the Bromham 10k, which I had run the previous year (after a heavy night out and with the hangover from hell, much to Anthony's annoyance!) and where I was hoping to get a PB and notch up my first sub 50 minute 10k.
I ran Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, rested Thursday as I had a day out in London to go to a concert (separate article to follow) and did a light body pump on Friday. I was also due to have a sports massage that day but Ali had to cancel on me as he had hurt his back. So I was still not feeling at my best on the day of the race.
It probably didn't help that I went out with my lodger, Stefan, on the Friday night for a few beers as he was returning home to Germany on Sunday morning. It may also not have helped that instead of putting my feet up and going to the cinema on Saturday I spent most of the day doing housework to make the place look nice for the arrival of my new lodger, Victoria.
In any case I got to the start line feeling well below par. The weather again was not good. It had rained heavily during the night and was still very windy.
I managed to do the first 4k within 20 minutes but it was downhill from there. I got slower with each kilometre, and felt increasingly tired and sluggish. In the end I finished in just over 52 minutes, an improvement of 5 minutes from last year but still well below my best.
Whether it was the weather, the beers on Thursday and Friday or the housework on Saturday that thwarted my plans of a PB, I'll never know. If I'm honest, it's more likely that I have put on a few pounds since my marathon and haven't managed to shift them.
In any case I don't think I should beat myself up too much. This year I have completed my first full marathon, 9 half marathons, a couple of 5 mile races and I don't know how many 10k races. So no wonder I'm feeling a bit tired - if I say so myself, it's been an amazing achievement. Maybe it's time to put my feet up for a few weeks over the festive season.
After that, it's onwards and upwards to greater things. I found out this weekend I haven't got a place for the Flora London Marathon in 2007 via the ballot system (surprise, surprise). Which means if I want to run it, I need to get a charity place, which also means raising a lot of money.
I spoke to my boss, David Power, about this the other day. Being the top bloke he is, he said if this was necessary he would help me in approaching business contacts for sponsorship (having 30 years experience in the industry, he has more contacts than most!) and was optimistic that I could expect to raise a few thousand pounds' worth of sponsorship.
I've already started applying for charity places and have a really good feeling about this. If it's thousands of pounds for charity we're talking about I'm damned if I'm going to disappoint anyone and will literally sweat my nuts off to get ready for 22nd April 2007.
Something tells me I could be on the cusp of achieving something really special.
Copyright © Jonathan Weedon, December 2007
posted by Jon | 9:43 pm
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