Sunday 4th March 2007

Summary of week 8: 32 miles

Great to have managed the race that got away last year. Really enjoyed the Gloucester 20 and very pleased with a sub 2.40 time, the training is paying off. Probably went off a little too slow but this may well have been the catalyst for preserving energy for the mid-later stages. Certainly this race dominated the week's training and I'm sure it'll hurt tomorrow, but with Eurdisney looming (Wednesday - Sunday) I'll scale it down for a week and enjoy a mid marathon schedule break.


Race: Gloucester 20 miler, Frampton On Severn

20 miles: 2.39 @ 7.58 p/mile

'I feel it in my fingers, I feel it in my bones', Wet, Wet, Wet! Ne'er was there such an appropriate lyric to describe the after effects of a 20 miler particularly on such a stormy day, as the River Severn threatened to engulf us, claiming most of the countryside around us on this rural route. In truth though it didn't harm the race one little bit. I'd been like a Michael Fish out-of-water all weekend, scouring the BBC website, hoping the anticipated Spring rains would leave us alone for the duration of the race, but alas not. Picked up Harvey early doors and wrestled with his portable Sat Nav to arrive at Frampton On Severn pretty early. Alledgedly Frampton is a picturesque chocolate-box village, even with it's own Green, so a great place to kick off the race. Good Bournville turnout and as we all had a natter the race began with us all at the very back! Took the first few miles out of the village very easy and even discovered a local running club unfortunately adorned with the teal vests. Previously I thought Bournville were unique in this respect and discussed with Harvey the obvious potential in wearing a Cadbury purple Dairy Milk vest. Anyhow, the light rain was holding well and the narrow country lanes were kind on the feet. Stella passed me at about 4 miles which kind of woke me out of a bit of a daydream and decided to step on the gas, moving from 8.30 min miles to 7.30 min miles for the next 7 miles or so. Seemed like a decent tactic and enjoyed passing a lot of people, taking in the first mini-hill, and only when at about 9 miles when we ran into a nasty side wind and heavier rain, was it a little uncomfortable. Soon disappeared though and there was excellent support from the local villagers with regular water stops, and we headed back for a second loop. This seemed to go pretty well, although I did have a marshall shouting at me to remove my headphones (officially the use of iPods were prohibited), which did seem a little petty. Fair play though as a few motorists on these small country roads did seem a bit miffed at being held up particularly in light of runners having to dodge numerous puddles. My son later reminded me of the 'Dr Foster went to Gloucester ditty ... maybe he was one of the pioneering Gloucester 20 runners? Anyhow, I was still feeling surprisingly strong at 18 miles, heading for home, and managed to quicken to confirm a sub 2.40 time, pyschogically important in it reflecting a potential sub 3.30 marathon. Overall, enjoyed the run, a lot of comeraderie and a well organised event. Excellent pre-marathon training and the mild, wet conditions were surprisingly conducive for a good, competitive race.

Splits:

10km - 49.34
10 miles - 1.19
1/2 mthon - 1.44