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!