Half Marathon a Month Challenge 2015 - Q4 (October to December)

This post covers the half marathons that Chris and I ran in the fourth quarter of 2015. It includes a statistical analysis at the end. 

Details of Q1, Q2, Q3 and THE WHOLE OF 2014 can be found in previous posts.

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4th October 2014 

Chris - Great Scottish Run  - 01:56:47

Frank - Great Scottish Run - 02:11:32

(Results)

This was the first half marathon which both of us had run 3 times. The organisers had retained the same route that was used for the 2014 event and, which you may recall from last year's equivalent post, included much of the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games Marathon Route. 

As with 2014 I had run a marathon the previous weekend and I was hoping that the effect it would have on my performance would be similar, as I ended up only 1 second outside my PB last year. As you will see it didn't end up like that at all...

It turned out to be another fine day for running and as we lined up the start we took the traditional selfie. Unfortunately I decided to speak while the photo was taken and ended up looking like Ed Miliband eating a bacon sandwich, but without the bacon sandwich.

As we walked slowly to the start line in our 'wave' I spotted the 2 hour pacemaker just behind me. I took this surreptitious photo over my shoulder. Not that surreptitious though as I was spotted and photobombed by the bloke in yellow! 

(My aim was to remain in front of the pacemaker for the entire race. As you'll read, this only lasted until Pollok Park)

Chris ran off into the distance, as he does, and I commenced the tough climb up the steep St. Vincent Street hill, past the cheering crowds. Honestly, there was a very large cheering crowd! In fact Glasgow is a particularly good event for spectator encouragement. Probably the best in my experience (which is now becoming considerable).  

I stuck with a pace that would take me close to a PB, with the mitigation plan of slowing down a bit if I didn't have quite the same energy levels as 2014. As you may recall from my previous post on the Robin Hood Marathon, I had struggled in the last third of that, and it was still to be seen if there would be any ill effects a week later.

Well, there were ill effects! 

I quite happily kept up my PB-esque pace for the first 7.5k. However, that was the point where I knew something wasn't quite right. Basically I started tiring very quickly, and I was only a third of the way through the distance. Immediately I dropped my pace by about 20 second a kilometre, in the hope that this would allow me to maintain a reasonable rhythm and finish in a steady, if unspectacular, way.

Unfortunately this strategy was not sufficient and when I hit the steep uphill in Pollok Park (the one you run down during the  Pollok Parkrun     I actually had to stop running and walk up the hill. From that point on it wasn't just hills that I had to stop and walk for. I basically jog/walked the remaining half of the route distance and flopped over the line pretty unhappy about the whole experience.

I'm writing this post in April 2016 (I know. Tardy!) and little did I realise at the time that due to a combination of injury, a bad chest cold, and unfitness, finishing times would be pretty dire for months to come. However, you know what they say... "Celebrate Finish Lines, Not Finish Times". At least that's what I say now!

On a positive note, it was still another monthly half marathon in the bag. The total now was 22.

It's nice that this event is also televised on BBC Scotland, who do interviews with random runners. During one such interview guess who was captured by the TV cameras as he ran past in glorious technicolour?

Christopher!

After the race Chris and I met up in the Whistlin' Kirk  pub near the finish for a quick pint. Then we headed off for what was now our traditional wine and pasta extravaganza at Zizzi's Royal Exchange Square.

We were joined by family members including my cousin Paul who had ran the 10K at the same event. Despite having what could euphemistically be called 'a few beers' the night before, he completed the course in 42 minutes and 57 seconds! What a legend!

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14th November 2015 

Chris - Shakespeare Half Marathon  - 01:54:55

Frank - Shakespeare Half Marathon  - 02:11:22

(Results)

So, onto another event which we had participated in the previous year. Chris really enjoyed this course last time round and no wonder. He PB'd ! 

This was a bit of a boozy trip last time round and if anything it was even more so this time. I'm blaming this for my poor performance, as well as still not really recovering from my marathon exploits. Of course, as usual, this did not impact Christopher one little bit! In fact he finished in an even quicker time than he did in 2014.

One very attractive feature of this course is its flatness, which is a bit of a given as it's based on a 5km circuit of an airfield. They run four events. A 5k, 10k, Half Marathon, and a full Marathon, which are based on multiple laps of the airfield. Everyone starts at the same time then it's up to you to know when you've run the distance you entered for. It also makes for some interesting mixed pacing. You have 5k and 10k people bombing along, with the longer distance runners taking things a bit easier. Saying that, the winner of the Marathon finished only 10 minutes after me!

We're definitely fans of this event, and I suspect we'll be back down in Stratford-upon-Avon for the 2016 race if circumstances allow it.

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20th December 2015 

Chris - Edinburgh  - 02:05:21

Frank - Edinburgh - 02:11:34 

(Elapsed Time - 03:05:07)

For our final half marathon of the year we reprised the 'Christmas Lunch' event that we had in December 2014. As with the previous year you'll see that we recorded the time we actually spent running, and the overall elapsed time. The difference between the two times is the amount of time we spent in the pubs we stopped at en route! I'll explain soon why Chris spent 6 minutes longer in pubs than I did.

Unfortunately since the Shakespeare Half Marathon my left knee joint had flared up and was extremely painful. What hadn't helped was that before I had it diagnosed properly I continued to run, including a Parkrun and the  Glasgow Santa Dash. This wasn't very clever as it ultimately contributed to a significant delay to both my recovery and getting back to a reasonable level of fitness in a reasonable amount of time. (By the way, this is me setting up my excuse for months of bad finish times to come). I did say to my physio that I was intending to run this distance with this injury and I asked if I would cause any long term damage by doing so. He told me that I wouldn't do any more damage, but that it would be very painful during and after the run, and that my recovery time would indeed be extended. So, given that time was fast running out to do a December 2015 run in the HMAMC, Chris and I proceeded with the original plan.

Once again we started our run in Frederick Street in the city centre, then headed down to Holyrood Park, and then on to Portobello and Musselburgh. 

We had planned to run exactly the same route as the previous year. What we hadn't factored in was that we had started earlier this year, and that the pubs didn't open until 12.30pm on a Sunday! When we reached the  Ship Inn, Musselburgh  we were 10 minutes too early. We made a quick decision to extend the run into  Fisherrow  just enough distance so that by the time we had run there and back the pub would be open, which it was!

The first course of electrolytes was ordered up by Christopher...

As far as the dodgy knee was concerned, the first 11km had gone reasonably ok. A wee bit uncomfortable, but nothing debilitating. Alas this all changed after our first stop, as my knee had started to tighten up significantly during our 15 mins stop in the pub. (In hindsight I should have been continually stretching while having that pint, but despite my physio's best efforts I was still a bit ignorant about the nature and cause of the injury). 

The next phase of the run was thankfully the shortest, and we ran up to the Portobello Bar as we did the previous year. This time though I was in actual pain, and Chris was good enough to encourage me along and run a little slower than we normally would. The pub itself was already populated with a decent amount of folk having a Sunday lunchtime pint. As you might imagine a few comments were made about the state of us appearing in sweaty running gear and ordering pints! All done in good humour I have to say, and the craic while we were in there was excellent.

The longest 'between pubs' phase was the next one, and I remembered it being the most uncomfortable one in 2014. This time I was hobbling along with a gammy leg, which was getting a lot worse. It was about halfway through this stage that I realised I would have to walk at least part of the distance, as the pounding my knee joint was taking was at times unbearable. This wasn't fair to Chris of course, so I suggested that he run ahead and get the beers in, and I would catch him up. That's basically where our 6 minutes running time difference came from, as that's the time it took me to get to our next stop, which was once again  The King's Wark in Leith!

As you'll remember we hadn't taken into account pub opening times when planning our arrival at our first stop, and had to extend the run a wee bit at that stage. Of course this also meant that we would complete the half marathon distance short of our final hostelry the previous year (Star Bank Inn).  I only realised this after we were on our way again, but a quick recalibration indicated that we would reach our goal distance almost exactly at the Harbour Inn ! 

I had managed to keep running for the whole distance of this last leg (pardon the pun), and it was a total relief to complete the 'event'. 

Sincere thanks must go to Chris for his patience and encouragement during what was a real struggle for me at times. Appreciate it, buddy.

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2015 - Summary

Fastest Time

Chris:  01:53:12 (PB) - Scottish Half Marathon (September)  

Frank: 01:54:29 (PB) - Edinburgh EMF (May)

Slowest Time

Chris:  02:05:21 - Edinburgh (December)*

Frank: 02:22:26 - Edinburgh (June)

Total Running Time

Chris:  23:34:12

Frank: 25:20:38

Average Running Time

Chris:  01:57:51

Frank: 02:06:43

*Although Chris's slowest time was actually for our 'fun' half marathon, and his time had much to do with me slowing him down, I've still included it just to keep things tidy. I'm sure he'll be ok with that !

Compared to 2014 Chris had dramatically reduced his running times, with an average time almost 4 minutes less than it was the previous year. In fact, between February and November he ran 10 consecutive half marathons in under 2 hours.

I on the other hand went in the opposite direction! If I wasn't writing this in April 2016 I would be expressing a hope that things would improve during our 3rd year of the HMAMC. However, I know the times I have run already, so I won't be expressing that hope!

The Half Marathon a Month Challenge 2016 !

We're already underway. In fact I have been so slow in getting this blog post out that we've already run the first event of Q2 2016. I'm determined to get up to date quickly though, so hopefully I'll find you back here soon!