I'm no stranger to this event and although not marathon fit my thought process was that if I break up the distance using this race format; 5 mile race 19th June, 8.1 mile trail race 20th June and Half Marathon 21st June a total of 26.2 miles and you guessed it a marathon, maybe I could survive to tell the tale. Again my training had been fairly poor this taking away from any thought about impressive finish times, so sheer stamina to see me through the weekend was the focus. My training plan consisted of using 3 weekends to run back to back distances, increasing the distance each weekend in an attempt to run the final training weekend, 8 miles on the Saturday and 10 miles on the Sunday. The intention behind this was to see how quickly I could recover in readiness for the next weekend training which did improve week on week and left me with a week of no running before the event. The reality of this training plan was 2 weekends, weekend 1; 5 miles & 8 miles, weekend 2; 5 miles & 10 miles. The longer runs saw me managing my 9.5 minute mile pace and the shorter runs achieving a 9.0 minute mile pace. On my final training run I was lucky enough to be collared by an old running colleague Mike Smith whom I had run the Colworth event with on a couple of occasions. He had also entered the event and this was his last training run so it was at that point we agreed we would be running buddies to see ourselves through the weekend.
Day 1 - Colworth 5
I made it to the race start having left work and travelled direct to the event, I met up with Mike and we made our way to the start line. It was only 5 miles but I needed to pace myself so that I could stay strong for the weekend, a point I made on more than one occasion so that I didn't find myself racing away or trying to keep up with Mike who had his own target. 2 miles into the race my chatting definitely faded as I concentrated more on my running at a pace which Mike had dictated and was if I'm totally honest a bit quicker than I had anticipated. Into the final mile and it was here that I had to let Mike go off and do his own thing, no last minute sprint for the line a steady finish in 44:06 minutes.
http://runkeeper.com/user/onlyrunner/activity/595819708
Day 2 - 8.1 mile Trail
The weather had been reasonably kind, only light rain which meant that the trail conditions should be good, namely not muddy. Always one to be slightly cautious, I chose to run in my off road shoes just in case some areas of the run had succumb to the rain and left the slippery, muddy stuff. This run although starting off with Mike soon developed into a lone run as I let Mike run off into the distance and I stuck to my guns running my own pace. The route had been changed from my previous races which I thought was a good thing all be it where you run downhill to the turnaround point and then back uphill to where a marshal directs you off on the final leg of the race. It's this run back to the marshal that seemed to go on forever and it took all my will power not to stop and walk. Having completed this uphill slog, the remainder of the race was bearable and I finished in 1 hour 16:52 minutes achieving my target pace of 9.5 minute miles. I had joked about no family support at the Colworth 5 and secretly although I had said it didn't matter it was great to see Rach there taking pictures close to the end of the race and then again at the finish.
looks more like a power walk session than running, I've looked better
Day 3 - Half Marathon
and so the final day, I had managed to get up on Sunday morning and have myself prepared to run the final leg of the challenge. Did I feel tired, a little...did my legs ache, a little...could I give this race a miss, ABSOLUTELY!
It was not to be, this half marathon was about to be defeated via sheer grit and determination. Again Mike had his own plans for the race of which I'd already said he's on his own, the sub 4 hour for the overall event was not on my mind. I'd survived 2 days and now all I had to do was survive the final day. Distance was not an issue, having the strength and stamina to run the distance after having completed 13.1 miles already was another matter.
The race started, bye bye Mike I said as he ran off and I settled into my steady pace with the idea that as this was a 2 lap race if I was feeling strong by the second lap I'd pick up the pace. The running conditions were good, a slight drizzle help to keep you cool in the warm temperature. Lap 1 completed and I could see Mike who had slowed down and I eventually managed to catch him. He was feeling the results of his quick early pace and although I ran with him for a short while he encouraged me to run on as I appeared to be of a stronger state. I'm not normally keen on races that consist of more than one lap to complete the distance but in this case I found it mentally stimulating as you knew where you were with regards to the finish and also what to expect which allowed you mentally set milestones. This did the trick for me, I felt capable of finishing strong although my pace slipped but still averaged out at an acceptable result.
2nd lap, closing down on fellow runner
The final run in was a welcoming sight knowing that I'd done it and a full family turn out to see me finish was a major bonus. I crossed the line in 2 hours 6:58 minutes which I feel is a respectable time based on my MK Half Marathon result based on the fact that I'd completed 13.1 miles on the previous 2 days. Mike finished not too far behind me, I'd managed to get the better of him on one of the races.
we've done it...see you next year...maybe :-/
So my overall time for the Colworth Marathon Challenge was 4 hours 7:56 minutes which surprisingly is better than my first attempt at this event in 2007 which was 4 hours 21:41 minutes and also the lack of training for this event as opposed to my build up in 2007. That being the case, I can't be unhappy with the result.
2 events down and 39.3 miles completed, roll on the final event to see me through the 50 competitive mile goal.
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