Half Marathon a Month Challenge 2014 - Q4 (October to December)

This post covers the half marathons that Chris and I ran in the final quarter of 2014. It also includes a statistical summary at the end, for all you numbers geeks out there! 

(Details of Q1, Q2 and Q3 can be found in previous posts)

---------

5th October 2014 

Chris - Great Scottish Run  - 01:58:19

Frank - Great Scottish Run - 01:54:42

http://greatscottishrun.com/Results/NameSearch/?r=608

This was the first half marathon in 2014 which we had both run previously in 2013. This year the organisers had changed the course to include much of the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games Marathon Route, so there was no real opportunity to compare and contrast our respective performances to those of the previous year. It was a fabulous route though, and I really hope they retain it for the 2015 event.

As I recall the weather was more than reasonable (until the deluge just after we finished), and I met up with Chris and Margaret-Ann at the famous statue of Wellington in Royal Exchange Square. Chris and I then headed off to put our bags on the baggage bus and made our way to the start. In 2013 both of us were in the pink section for starting, which is the last big wave to go out. This year we had graduated to the green section, so we had both obviously been more optimistic about our expected finishing times for this event! There were so many runners taking part that it still took 17 minutes from the gun time of 11am for us to cross the start line. Next year I'm going to predict an amazing time so that I can line up at the start alongside Haile Gebrselassie, the 2013 winner.

At the start Chris disappeared into the distance. (I should just get that phrase boiler plated for this blog!). I actually found the first few kilometres a wee bit tiring, and I thought this might have been down to the Loch Ness Marathon I had run the previous weekend. However, after I had run over the Kingston Bridge I began to feel a lot better and I was able to maintain a comfortable pace from then on.

This was one of those times that I actually caught up with Chris, and what was surprising was that it was around the 13k mark, earlier than when I'd done it before. Later it became clear to me that this wasn't because Chris was struggling, but because I was flying (relatively speaking). With about 3k to go I realised that I might actually have a chance to beat my PB time from the previous month. Normally I'm almost falling over the line at the end of a half marathon, but this time I was sprinting past people over the last 100 metres in Glasgow Green!

(01:54:42 .... 1 second out. I should have been sprinting from 200 metres)

After the race we met up with Clare and Margaret-Ann and we headed to Zizzi's in Royal Exchange Square for copious quantities of carbs and electrolytes. Another fab day out.

---------

15th November 2014 

Chris - Shakespeare Half Marathon  - 01:55:26

Frank - Shakespeare Half Marathon  - 02:03:57

http://www.stuweb.co.uk/race/GP/

I won't go into any great depth about this event because there is an earlier post covering the gory details of the entire trip!

I will take this opportunity to congratulate Chris on running a Personal Best time in Stratford-upon-Avon. The fact that he managed this, given the amount of beer we both drank the day before, is nothing short of remarkable. 

---------

14th December 2014 

Chris - Edinburgh  - 02:03:37

Frank - Edinburgh - 02:03:37 

(Elapsed Time - 03:02:10)

You may have spotted that I have recorded an elapsed time as well as an actual running time. Let me take a long time to explain that to you.

As there was no official December half marathon event that was anywhere near feasible to attend, we had discussed a couple of months earlier how we would finish the year, and complete our half marathon a month challenge. We decided that a home cooked half marathon would be fittingly symmetrical, as we had to do this for the first one we ran in January. 

While we were reminiscing about the January run, Chris once again observed that we had passed five of his favourite pubs in Edinburgh en route, but that we had (obviously!) not had a beer in any of them. So, we thought, what if we ran a half marathon where we did actually stop at some quality hostelries and rehydrate* on the way?

*dehydrate

Chris was tasked with coming up with the route, and a selection of appropriate licensed establishments. What a fine job he did!

Our route would to take us from Edinburgh city centre into East Lothian (fast becoming my favourite Scottish county for running) and finishing back in Newhaven. We put nearly half the distance under our belts before we stopped at the Ship Inn, Musselburgh after 10k. Now, as I recall, I'm sure we talked about grabbing a quick half pint during these stops, but Chris strolled into the place and ordered full pints of Belhaven Best, so the pattern was set. Chris also met Billy in the bar, a friend of MA's dad, Archie, so there was an appropriate sojourn to exchange greetings and have a chat. Billy was also able to recommend a good pub to stop at in Portobello, so we eagerly headed back into Midlothian and soon got to the Portobello Bar for more pints after only 13k!

It's fair to say that the next phase of the run was the most difficult. Firstly, we had to run 4.5k with two pints sloshing about in our bellies, and secondly, it was into a very strong headwind. We made it though, and with some relief enjoyed a couple of refreshments at The King's Wark in Leith. (Chris says it's much posher now than when MA and him used to stay in Great Junction Street yonks ago). 

After that we sloshed along for another 2.4k until we reached the Star Bank Inn at Newhaven, where the final 'in run' beers were taken.

In order to complete our 2014 challenge we only had to run another 1.5k, which we did in warm down mode, finishing our odyssey somewhat unromantically at a bus shelter on East Trinity Road.

Just over 3 hours and 2 minutes had elapsed from the time we set out to the time we finished the run. Our actual running time was only 2 hours 3 minutes and 37 seconds during that period (that's how fit we are now!), because obviously the rest of the time was spent in pubs. So that will be our official time for the event, because it's our event, and we make the rules.

---------

2014 - Summary*

Fastest Time
Chris:  01:55:26 - Stratford-upon-Avon (November)
Frank: 01:54:41 - Scottish Half Marathon (September)

Slowest Time
Chris:  02:09:42 - Edinburgh (January)
Frank: 02:10:03 - Barcelona (February)

Total Running Time
Chris:  24:13:53
Frank: 24:31:31

Average Running Time
Chris:  02:01:09
Frank: 02:02:37

Alas, both our average times are just to the north side of 2 hours :(

... but we have an opportunity to fix that this year with .....

The Half Marathon a Month Challenge 2015 !

Yes, we're going to keep it going. Once again we have to come up with a home made event for January, and it will be Christopher who puts this one together. The unofficial Falkirk Half Marathon is scheduled to take place on Saturday 24th January. Read about it here !

*while calculating our average time for the year I noticed that both of us ran under 7,000 seconds on two occasions. Chris in May and November, and me in September and October. This may be another arbitrary figure like the 2 hour mark, but it's good to know that if you run a time of 01:56:39 or better, you will have beaten the 7,000 second barrier ! 

Half Marathon a Month Challenge 2014 - Q3 (July to September)

This post covers the half marathons that Chris and I ran in the third quarter of 2014. Details of Q1 and Q2 can be found in previous posts!

---------

6th July 2014 

Chris - Stonehaven  - 02:04:58

http://stoneyhm.webnode.com/results/

13th July 2014
Frank - Girvan - 02:02:06

http://www.girvanathleticclub.co.uk/page15.html

Circumstances once again meant that Chris and I were unable to run the same half marathon during July. As with May I shall let Chris post any details of his race experiences here in the comments section should he wish, although I do know that the Stonehaven Half M was an event that he had run before, in the dim and distant past!

Clare and I headed down the Ayrshire coast to Girvan on what was a lovely day for a road trip and a run. We arrived in Girvan quite early so I had the opportunity to load up on carbs and caffeine in Greggs, with a Yum Yum and an Americano. It had been a long time since I visited Girvan, and it was sad to see that parts of the town were looking a bit run down. Maybe it was like that before and I just hadn't noticed it, but I recall it being quite a vibrant little seaside town in my youth.

The race started and finished in Hamilton Park, home of Girvan Football Club. As you'll see from the map, this turned out to be one of those events that takes place in a coastal location but doesn't go anywhere near the coast! In the same vein as Monikie and Skye, the inland terrain was very up and down, including one brutal hill in particular around the 16km distance. However, the chance to get away with Clare for a wee day ourselves, and running a relatively ok time so soon after binging for two weeks on holiday, meant this was a very enjoyable half marathon. The organisers had also laid on water melon at the finish, which I haven't seen before or since at a half marathon event. I can tell you that water melon is the food of the goods after running 21.1km on a hot summer's day!

---------

9th August 2014 

Chris - Haddington  - 01:59:29

Frank - Haddington  - 02:07:15

http://scottishrunningguide.com/assets/2014/haddington-half-marathon/results/haddington-half-2014-results.xls

This was another beautiful day for a run. Clare, Margaret-Ann, Chris and I all travelled to Haddington together, with MA in the role of designated driver! It was all quite leisurely as Haddington had a start time of 2pm, which is unusual for a half marathon. The start and finish lines were in the environs of Haddington Rugby Club, however they were doing a lot of work on the place so we had to visit the sports centre cafeteria across the road to load up on pre-race caffeine and carbs.

As you can see from the finishing times above, Chris crossed the line in just under 2 hours, which is always a good day at the office. For me this was one of those races where I just don't have a conclusive explanation for my poor performance. I had no hangover or dehydration, I was well carb loaded and feeling pretty relaxed about the whole thing. I was in the middle of my marathon training at the time, but had timed things so that this half marathon would be at my 13 mile training stage anyway. For some reason I found the first 10 miles a big big struggle, only managing to get a bit of energy going in the last 3 miles. Still a mystery this one.

Post run refreshments were particularly good on this occasion as Margaret-Ann made use of her local knowledge to take us first to The Old Aberlady Inn for some grub, and then up the coast to the famous Luca's in Musselburgh for ice cream. A great way to spend to a summer's day.

---------

6th September 2014 

Frank - Scottish Half Marathon  - 01:54:41

http://www.scottishhalfmarathon.com/?results

21st September 2014 

Chris - Dumfries - 02:03:08

http://www.dumfriesrunningclub.org.uk/uploads/docs/2014%20Dumfries%20Half%20Marathon%20Results.xls

This was the last of the three months in 2014 that we had to run separate half marathons. I'll let Chris explain why in his own words should he choose to do so!

I was first up with the inaugural Scottish Half Marathon, which meant another wee trip down East Lothian way. Clare, Scarlett and I drove through from Glasgow and parked the car at Musselburgh Race Course, where the finish line would be. We then took one of the chartered buses up to the start in Prestonpans. The organisers promised that this would be a very fast course and they were not wrong! The Scottish Half Marathon remains my Personal Best time for the distance, despite the additional 292.8 metres mistakenly added to the length of the route. (OK, this is the last time I go on about that. Until next time!). The date of the race also suited me as it took place three weeks before the Loch Ness Marathon, and it fitted in well with my training schedule for that. As is fitting with a PB performance the race itself was a delight to run, with large parts of the route being along the East Lothian coast, with fabulous views. 

I normally try to run at a fairly steady pace throughout the entire race but, as an experiment, this time I started at a fast pace and tried to see how long I could sustain it, and how gradual I could make the inevitable reduction in pace as the kilometres went by. This was a strategy that worked really well for this course and I think I'll try it again for flat terrain. I don't think it would work as well on a more undulating route. 

Post race refreshments were enjoyed in Musselburgh at both The Tollbooth and once again at the excellent Luca's  for ice cream.

Two weeks later Chris headed down to Dumfries to ensure our collective continuity in the Half Marathon a Month Challenge. 

Nine down, only three to go!