The time was terrible - I did my last 10 mile race in 1hour 20mins...let's just say this one was bordering on an hour more than that! BUT, I ran with my dad the whole way (he isn't really in the peak of fitness) and we had a great laugh! I had expected to get a lot dirtier than I did in my upper half, but I definitely got filthy on the bottom half!
During the 1.5miles "Turbo zone" there was a big boggy mess - you came out of a river into knee deep mud - I was caught right in the middle of it and my dad had to come back to pull me out...which he did but I couldn't find my footing and just went knee-first back into it! The photographers were having a field day and I got covered in mud...felt like a kid again!
Hiked up some of the steeper hills and got caught in a big rush at the start so got held back in a couple of ways. Overall though an absolutely great race and would definitely do it again!
Here's some photos from the day:
Other workouts this week:
Friday 8/10
Time: ~35mins
Distance: ~4.5miles
An excellent run around the west end after having been sent home from work due to a power cut (luck and a half!). Was on a half day this afternoon which was good and was planning to study so this run set me up nicely for that.
Thursday 7/10
Type: Swim
Distance: 50 lengths (f.c)
Wednesday 6/10
Type: x-train
Distance: 35mins (elliptical xtrainer), 10 mins (row) + strength training
Sunday 3/10 - Loch Ness Marathon
Time: 3hours 52mins
Pace: 8.51min/mile
Ok, a long needed update. This race was brilliant. Started off a little touch-and-go as my knee was really hurting on the bus there.
On a funny note my mind was taken off of it temporarily while I was queueing for the portaloos too and one was totally wobbling against the others...only me and another girl found this as hilarious as it actually was.
Started off well, just kept focusing on getting to the next mile and not really focusing on the full distance. Also had the music on and wasn't skipping any tracks, just listened to the lyrics which kept my mind off of the distance too! I was having a few problems running down the hills - it was hurting my knee quite badly - but once I got into my stride it wasn't getting any sorer...so I just kept on going.
Race passed uneventfully until Dores - what a fantastic crowd! There were probably half as many people there as at the finish line! Derek had just arrived when I did, and since the course started a mile further from Inverness this year I realised I must have been making good time. I didn't look at my clock though as it would either have put me off or made me go too fast.
The hills out of Dores were pretty tough but I kept running. Overtook a lot of other runners but kept one woman in my sights. She sped back up on the flat and I lost her, but on the next hill I caught back up with her and overtook her. I really don't like overtaking people - it makes me feel like I'm seeming "cocky" - but over the last 6 or so miles I did overtake quite a lot of people. Susie and Derek from the Scottish Veterans' were waiting at the 23 mile roundabout which was a good confidence boost!
The new route meant that we saw the finish line from across the river, but still had another mile or so to go. That was a bit demoralising, but the new finish line was definitely faster than the old one! Sadly I missed Derek at the finish line but I was aboslutely chuffed to bits with my time!
I honestly can't believe I did better than the last 2 years, especially with my dodgy knee. It hurt quite a lot the next few days but really seems to have eased off now. I also only ran 46.8miles in September (with longest run of 13.1miles since the Devil race)...that's probably one of my lowest training months on record. That's why this result is all the more satisfying. I definitely think my breathing was helped by all the swimming I've been doing, and my leg muscles feel a lot stronger with the strength training.
Overall, fantastic! And I am looking forward to next one already (:
Pre-marathon workouts:
Friday 1/10
Type: x-train
Distance: 15mins (elliptical x-trainer), 0.85miles powerwalk
Wednesday 29/9
Type: x-train
Distance: 35mins (x-trainer) + 10min cycle
Monday 27/9
Type: Walk
Walk around "The Whangie", lovely and so peaceful.
Sunday 26/9
Time: 35mins
Distance: 4.05miles
Pace: 8.35min/mile
Friday 24/9
Time: 1hr 40mins
Distance: 10.9miles
Wednesday 22/9
Type: Swim
Distance: 60 lengths (f.c)
Tuesday 21/9
Type: x-train
Distance: 10min (jog), 20 min(xtrain), 10min (row) + strength training
Monday 20/9
Time: 30mins
Distance: 4.05miles
No comments:
Post a Comment