The weather forecast looked way off the mark when I awoke this morning. It was a little blustery I grant you but nothing to be alarmed about. The 45minute drive between Bletchley and Silverstone was similarly uneventful. The mighty Renault 5 rocked around a little on the A5 but it didn't seem like the end of the world.
The organisation of the race was excellent. It echoed London Marathon's baggage system (with competitors putting their spare clothes in bags to be collected later) and there was no shortage of space and facilities for spectators.
By the time I got to the start it was getting a bit cold and the, previously pristeen blue, sky was dotted with tall clouds of fluffy grey.
I was looking to run 7 minute 30 second miles (a total over 13.1 miles of 1hr, 38 mins and 15 secs). The first 8 miles were dispatched bang on schedule (in 1 hour) but between 8 and 9 miles I had a bit of a wobble. The weather was going through its full repertoir. To add to the blue sky, we had very high winds, rain, snow and hail.
With about three miles to go I could barely open my eyes as we ran into the teeth of the wind and hail. All the mile markers had blown over and it was hard to stick to any sort of even pace.
In the last mile I knew that I would have to kick quite hard to come in under 1:38 and I just didn't have the strength in my legs to bring myself back on schedule. I crossed the line in an official time of 1hr 38mins 29seconds. It was an annoying 14 seconds outside my 'best scenario' time but 3mins 40 seconds better than my personal best.
My friend Edwina Jones also did a PB of 2hrs 7mins 47secs. Well done Edwina!
I'm starting to think that 8 minute miles might just be possible for a marathon.
Sunday, March 18, 2007
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment