Category Archives: Half Marathon

Run Sandringham Half Marathon

Finally a running event, my first since ELY NYE 10K 2019, I was a little nervous and excited at the same time, especially as my friends Gina and Jayne were joining me too.

Gina and I had decided that we would use this event as a training run for the Coastal Marathon we are doing later in the year and as we have been experimenting with Run/Walking this was a perfect opportunity to try another ratio.

We soon settled into a routine of running a mile then walking 60 seconds, with the agreement that we would walk any uphill bits and run down any downhill bits, it’s amazing how adding in a short walk can enable you to cope with the longer distance. We played cat and mouse with a few other runners but then slowly inched ahead and stayed there.

The event itself was very well organized and had a very relaxed happy atmosphere, it was lovely to bump into other runners I had not seen for a while. The marshalls were all friendly and encouraging, definitely needed on a course, that was mainly off-road and so unusual with all the twists and turns.

The goody bag was the best I have ever seen at an event as well as snacks and water it included a T-shirt, Buff, and of course a great Medal, all runners like a bit of bling !!

Gina Jayne and I finished the day off by going for lunch at the Three Horseshoes in Roydon where we enjoyed an amazing roast dinner platter.

Needless to say, we have all entered it again for next year.

Now it’s time to concentrate on the Lap of Anglia but I must also keep the running up as we have the coastal Marathon in September.

George Munday 10k and St Neots Half Marathon

With my Audax challenge over and eager to pick up my running again and knowing it wouldn’t be long before Geoff went off on his travels, I started to fill my diary with running events.

As predicted and with little notice, Geoff left for Bangkok on 29th October just as I started a week’s holiday! Luckily for me, I had a weekend booked at Sheringham Youth hostel with Gina and Jayne, the plan was to run/walk the 26-mile LDWA Poppy line route, our first attempt at this distance and although the weather was not great and there was lots of mud we did it and had lots of fun along the way. The plan is to progress until we can comfortable do 30 miles of run/walking.

The following weekend on 10th November Gina and I met up again to run the George Munday 10k, my first running event since March. I love this well organized friendly event, its very touching with the RAF officer laying the poppy wreath and 2 mins silence before the start of the race. It was also great to see so many of my running friends at this event, it made me realize how much I had missed my running while dedicating my time to  Audaxing.

At around 4 miles a man ran up to the girl next to me and I heard him say “keep this up and you will be under the hour” which did surprise me, so I then had a little chat with Haley and much to my amazement, I finished  in 58.28 my best 10k time for over 2 years, it also felt good to be pain-free, it has taken over 18 months to recover from my bike fall on black ice, something I hope not to repeat.

Next, it was St Neots Half marathon on 17th November, I have run this event twice before, the last time in 2017 when I tripped on a loose drain cover and broke my elbow, although now pain-free I am still unable to straighten my arm. When I arrived in St Neots to register and meet up with Jayne, Gina, and Linda it was raining and cold. I had trouble deciding what to wear and at the very last min took my base layer off deciding a t-shirt would be enough, I had new skins on too which although very comfortable didn’t have a waistband pocket for my Gel, which I decided to do without.

By the time 10 am came, the rain had stopped and with no wind, it was a perfect running day. I had forgotten how undulating this course was, mile 9 to 10 felt like running through treacle, that’s when I wished I had taken my Gel at mile 6! The marshalls and supporters out on the course were great, it’s always good to hear your name being called out, I even chatted to a guy from Northampton who was just about to move to Wellingborough, which is where I was born.

Much to my delight, I finished in 2.14.44 although I never really noticed the downhill finish !! After the run we went to Weatherspoons for Lunch, steak egg and chips finished the day off perfectly and maybe with a bit more training I will get a better time at Cambridge Half.

It’s been a while

It’s been a while since I last posted here, 4 months in fact which is far too long.

I have had lots to say but with things going on with my white blood cells, a sore shoulder and back mixed together with menopausal stuff well truthfully I often didn’t want to talk to anyone let alone write my blog

Things are looking up now, my white blood cells are behaving, my shoulder and back improving by the week and the hot flushes that I thought might kill me, seem to be under control with a magic pill from the Doctor!

During all this time I have done some wonderful things with Geoff and my friends ……

I managed to Run the Cambridge half with hardly any training and was very happy with my time

After the long cold winter months I finally got out to do my first Audax of the year with Geoff, it was, in fact, my longest ride to date 142 miles, a permanent route called the Pork Pie and very hilly might I add.

This year we did the Daffodil Dawdle as a run/walk which was amazing we covered the 18 miles in 6 hours about 2 hours quicker than when we just walk

Then I had an awesome week in Mallorca with Geoff and friends from SWNC, I had been worried I would not be able to do the planned rides which included Pug Major, due to my back, but with a few painkillers I achieved all I set out to do

Straight back from Mallorca to run the GEAR 10k an amazing event with all the ladybirds and my Norwich running friends, I was a little slower due to my back but I did it.

Then to celebrate Linda’s birthday we had Chase the Train 10km my back was quite sore for this and if I am honest I hated the first 3/4 miles on a narrow single track but when we switched over to the opposite side of the track the path widened and I enjoyed the final 5 miles but what really made this run special was the ride back to Aylsham on the tiny steam train

Another 200 km Audax enjoyed with Geoff from Long Melford, I really enjoy these longer rides.

And then just for fun, I met up with my lovely Norwich running friends at Debden winery for the wine run, 6 wine tasting stops around a 10 km mainly off road run. I would estimate we drank 30 shots of wine, after crossing the finish line you received a huge glass of wine with your medal, we then enjoyed a really fun happy afternoon with a BBQ and yes you guessed wine !!

I am still having problems with my back when I run but it is much improved, I can only hope it keeps improving so I can start training for Wissey half soon as I miss my running so much …….

Valentines 10K

Since having my bike fall on black ice I have been unable to do much running, so training for my half marathon has not gone as planned.

I have kept my legs turning with an occasional couple of miles and Parkrun but then I decided if I had any chance of running the valentines 10k and half marathon I needed to give my back a proper rest and hope my legs would just remember how to run.

I also booked in for some treatment with Jane at Free your Body Therapy.

The first test for my back came on the 18th of February when in perfect weather conditions, I met up with my Norwich running friends for the Valentines 10k, we decided to run together take it steady and have a chatty enjoyable run and that is just what we did.

I was happy with the results, my time was 1.05 and my back just ached slightly.

We then went and enjoyed a Delicious Sunday lunch at The Marlingford Bell where many other exciting adventures were discussed.

Apart from Parkrun, I have now had another 2 weeks rest and a few more treatments from Jane, tomorrow she is taping me up and I hope I will be able to get around the Cambridge Half Marathon…..  legs, back and weather allowing !!!

Fenland 10 and St Neots Half…..

This year I had a plan, I love plans especially when they work and today all those laid out plans came to an end.

The plan was 2 half marathons, one at the beginning of the year and one at the end of the year, in between run a few 10k events while concentrating on my biking through the summer.Untitled

I did throw in one extra run and that was the Fenland 10, an excellent event ran in perfect conditions and used as a training run for the St Neots half.The course is described as flat and fast great for getting a P/B time. The only disappointment was No Medal or T-shirt but I did get a P/B time so the disappointment was short lived !!

I really enjoy winter running especially on cold sunny days so I was really looking forward to meeting up with Gina for the St Neots half, I had been dodging coughs and colds all week so just hoped all would be ok on the day. Our other running friends Linda and Jayne came to cheer us on, it’s always lovely to see a familiar face when doing these events.

Untitled My Race was almost over before it began as when walking to the start and chatting away to Gina I tripped on a loose drain cover coming down hard on my knee and wrist, I felt quite sick for a while with the shock but was just grateful it was not worse,my new 2XU tights could have been torn !!!

After I stopped worrying about my knee we had a  great run on an undulating route, the scenery was lovely in today’s winter sunshine, very different to the 40mph windy gusts in 2015. The supporters, marshalls and organisation made it a great day and we really enjoyed the downhill finish, which made our 13th mile our fastest.

To top it all off we received a smashing bit of bling and a long-sleeved T-shirt

Now I am busy planning for next year, which starts with the Wymondham 10k on New years day which Gina Jayne Linda and I will run together and the idea of running a 15mile event just won’t go away !!!

Cambridge Half Marathon

After being poorly and missing 3 weeks of my training I decided that my aim would be just to complete this run and enjoy it

On the morning of the run, the weather was damp and chilly and I was determined not to overdress so found myself in the starting pen in the rain huddling up to other runners to keep warm

The start went really well and 10 mins after the gun I was crossing the start line in the second wave of runners, not bad considering there were 8999 other runners, the rain had stopped too which was a bonus!

The first part of the route was through town with tons of support then out to Grantchester before returning back into town via Newnham and the “Backs” then just as you might be getting tired you arrive back into town where there are crowds of people to cheer you on.

It was a real boost to see Geoff and other friends along the route, I also took advantage of the gels provided at the water stations and I swear these made a difference as I never felt like I was tiring at all.

Due to starting in the rain I had decided not to run with my glasses on so was unable to read the information on my running watch, I cannot begin to tell you how amazed I was to find myself crossing the finish line in 2.09.25 with a huge big smile as not only had I ran better than I expected too but I had also managed my longed for P/B.

I really loved this event, it is so well organised , the weather was perfect for me,the bling is awesome and I got to tick off two of my 2017 goals, a half marathon and a P/B.

So what next ……well I have three 10km running events booked and a huge biking challenge to keep me going !!!!!

Cambridge Half Marathon

Very annoyingly I returned from El Medano with a sore achilles so as it was so close to the Cambridge half I decided to rest until the event on Feb 28th.

Due to injury my friend Gina had already decided not to run but after much soul searching I decided to take a risk and run, so Gina decided to come along and cheer me on.

I was very nervous on the morning of the run,wondering if i was doing the right thing but thought if i just took it steady I should be ok. The weather was perfect and the atmosphere amazing.

IMG_3516Due to the huge amount of runners, around 7,000, the start was a slow one , which was not a bad thing. first part of the route took us through Town passing by many of the great city colleges, we then headed out to Grantchester which was more rural. Much to my surprise and delight I spotted people I knew in the crowds of spectators and this gave me a real boost.

There was Four water stations on this run each included a gel option too, so I decided to take a gel at each station and I think this worked really well for me as I never got the usual tired feeling at around the 9/10 mile mark.

By the time I was coming back into town I was happy and relaxed thinking i was going to get my P/B time, I heard Gina cheering me on and I thought I had cracked it but then at mile 11 disaster struck and i felt something “pop” in my lower leg, I stopped for a second thought bugger what shall I do now !! then decided that as i was so close to the finish I should just run/limp to the end.

My time was 2.19 not bad since I had to limp home, it was by far the best running event I have ever done,the bling was awesome, and I don’t regret running it at all.

After visiting the physio I found out I had actually torn my achilles and only now after 12 weeks can I start running again 🙂

St Neots Half Marathon

St Neots was not a half marathon I had planned to do as I dithered and  missed out when entry opened early in the year but when more places came available I grabbed my place.

st neotsIt was also an opportunity to move on after Peterborough Half  and another chance to meet up with my running friends Gina and Linda.

Race day weather was dull cloudy and very very windy, I did wonder how I would cope with the wind and the slightly undulating route but i needn’t have worried.

The atmosphere was buzzing and my excitement grew once I met up with my friends, who always put me at ease.

I enjoyed this far more than I expected too, a lovely rural route , great support from strangers and the wind just seemed to make it more fun !!

Finish Time was 2.16 which I was very happy with and this one I would certainly do again !!