Half Marathon a Month Challenge #39 - Alloa - March 2017

Alloa Half Marathon - 19th March 2017

This was the second year in a row that we had taken part in the famous Alloa Half Marathon. Although there are a couple of February events (see previous post on Strathaven) March is the month where the running season in the Scotland really takes off, and this particular half marathon has become a very popular day out for runners.

Once again I picked up Chris in the car en route to Alloa and we made our way to the start. I took the usual selfie, featuring bin bag.

At the start line itself the crowds gathered. It wasn't quite as sunny as the previous year but at least it was dry. It was windy though, and this was to become a big factor in the race.

In the previous year's event I had struggled quite early on (at around 8km in) and had to employ a walk/run strategy for the remainder of the race. This time I decided I would just take things easy from the start and see if I could keep running for the whole distance. All was going swimmingly until we took the usual left turn at Tillicoultry and (literally) ran up against a fierce westerly wind.

While not being the worst wind conditions experienced during a running event (Cumbrae and Kilmacolm share that honour), this was 4 miles of constant headwind which made it feel as if you were running uphill for that entire distance.

No matter. I resolved to continue with my all running approach and it ended up that this was the first time since September 2015 that I had run an entire 21.1km without walking. So, although my time wasn't particularly great (15 seconds slower than 2016), I was quite pleased with that aspect of my performance. 

Interestingly I was to run the Ganavan Sands Parkrun in Oban the following weekend in my Alloa Half M t-shirt, and someone there said that she had run Alloa too. It was the first time she had ever taken over 2 hours for a half marathon and she put the blame exclusively on running into that strong headwind for 4 miles.

Next up, Mallaig, and 'The Road To The Isles' Half Marathon.

Results:
Chris -  02:17:19
Frank - 02:20:47

Half Marathon a Month Challenge #38 - Strathaven / Falkirk - February 2017

Strathaven 'Run With The Wind' Half Marathon - 19th February 2017

February 2017 meant a return to the Strathaven Half Marathon, one of the few to take place in the UK that month, never mind in Scotland. Alas this year Chris was not able to take part due to other commitments, so I was running on my ownsome, as evidenced by the solo selfie below.

I wasn't completely alone though as Clare joined me at the start line and was also there to greet me at the finish line. Thanks for all your support, babes 😉

Strathaven is one of those half marathons where the start line is some distance from the race HQ where you pick up your number, so before we could get going we had a 1km walk up to the start.

When we eventually did start I was footering about with the running app on my watch and crossed the start line in last place, quite a way behind everyone else. 

This actually worked out well for me psychologically because I was then able to see how many people (if any) I could catch up and pass before the end of the race. The final count of people I had managed to overtake was 32, which I was delighted with. Coupled with a time that was 9 minutes quicker than Preston in January, I considered this event to be a relative success, as you can see from my smiling face below.

It is quite a tough course as the majority of the distance is an uphill climb, however despite that it's an event that I've enjoyed the two years I have done it and I'm looking forward to the 2018 version.

Result:

Frank - 02:16:59


Falkirk Half Marathon - 22nd February 2017

As I mentioned above, Chris was unable to take part in the Strathaven event as he had other commitments. When either of us is faced with this situation then we usually try and find an alternative event to run in. However, as I said previously, February is a sparse month for half marathons, so it was necessary for Chris to construct a home cooked Half M to keep the monthly record going.

As you can see he managed to put together a good route around the environs of Falkirk, and he completed it in a time which was quite reasonable given the inherent delays in a non-official course.

Result:
Chris -  02:07:48

Half Marathon a Month Challenge #37 - Central Lancs Half Marathon - January 2017

Central Lancs Half Marathon -  8th January 2017

This was our second trip down to Preston in early January for a Half Marathon to blow away the Christmas and New Year cobwebs. Of course last year I didn't actually participate due to injury, although I still attended the event to give Chris moral support. 

This year the event took place a week later than previously, so it fell on an FA Cup weekend. It just so happened that the local team Preston North End were playing Arsenal on the evening we were arriving, and as it's rarely unenjoyable watching Arsenal in action I contacted PNE to try and organise some tickets. Everything seemed to go smoothly until we turned up at the ground before kick off and they had sold them! Oh well, we would just have to go to a pub and watch the game there.

We started walking from the stadium into town and spotted what looked like a suitable place for a pint. It was called the Olde Blue Bell and turned out to be quite a bizarre establishment.

It was as if you had been transported back about 60 years, based on the pub's clientele and the sight of an old guy in what seemed like a full 1950s Royal Navy uniform going round the tables collecting empty glasses.

The whole 1950s feeling was reinforced when we approached the bar and saw that both Light Mild and Dark Mild were on offer!

One pint was quickly supped and we headed back through the time portal and into the main part of town for a drink at some more modern establishments. We also went back to the excellent East Z East with its generous number of poppadom dips.

Fed and watered we decided to have a reasonably early night in preparation for race day.

On the morning of the race we had a nourishing breakfast at the hotel and took a taxi to the start in Lea Town. It was during this journey that I had a weird moment. For some reason I had a mini panic attack thinking about running the race. I briefly thought that I wouldn't able to go through with it. This hasn't happened to me before or since, and the feeling soon disappeared. No idea what caused it.

At the start HQ (school hall) we took in our surroundings and found an official UK Athletics route map. Useful for me but not so much for Chris, who had run it already.

On reaching the start line we took the usual selfie and then mingled with the rest of the waiting runners.

All that was left to do was to run the race, and for me it was really really tough. My fitness issues had been exposed in December during the '5 Pubs' Half M and lack of training, and much indulgence over the festive period made things even worse.I had to employ a walk / run strategy after only 8km. I finally hobbled over the line in 423rd place, but amazingly still 33 places off last.

It was another lesson in how difficult a Half Marathon can be if you haven't prepared properly for it. Once again I vowed that this would not happen at the same event next year. 

As for Chris, he wasn't in top form, but he still breezed in 20 minutes before I did.

Results:
Chris -  02:05:22
Frank - 02:25:55



  

Half Marathon a Month Challenge #36 - Edinburgh '5 Pubs' Half Marathon - December 2016

Edinburgh '5 Pubs' Half Marathon - 18th December 2016

A tradition started in December 2014 (month #12) and continued again for month #24 in 2015, our annual December Half Marathon in 2016 was another opportunity to combine a 21.1km run with the partaking of refreshments en route.

The first two years we did this we 'only' stopped at 4 different pubs, but as we had a good few beers at the excellent Staggs Bar after the Scottish Half Marathon in September we decided to extend the number of pub visits to 5 this year, and go back to Staggs.

In the previous 2 years we had started the run in Frederick Street because that's where we kept our bags while we were running. This option wasn't available this year so we dumped the bags at Waverley left luggage and started from the back of the station on Calton Road. This was already about 1.3 km into our previous route, so we just had to continue it from there and make sure we added on the missing distance.

And of course adding the missing distance wasn't really a problem because we were now heading to Staggs Bar first, and this was a little bit further into Musselburgh than our normal first stop at the Ship Inn.

On the rare occasions where Chris and I run together my main challenge is trying to keep pace with him without burning out, and his biggest challenge is running slowly enough to accommodate me without him feeling that he's just going for a stroll. Also, this year I wasn't in a great place fitness wise, so I did get quite uncomfortable at times. (I vowed that this would not happen during run #48 in 2017. We shall see!) 

With Chris dragging me along on an invisible rope, we followed our usual strategy and ran the first half of the Half without stopping, and scheduled our arrival at the first pub's opening time. 

So, here we were back at Staggs 3 months after the Scottish, however it was absolutely dead, with no-one else there except us, the staff, and a bloke sitting at the end of the bar. Quite a contrast from September.

A pint was quickly supped and then it was straight to the second pub, The Ship Inn, which is actually not too far from Staggs, so it was therefore two pints of 'electrolytes' in quick succession.

The next leg of run used to be the shortest between pubs, but it no longer was for the new route. Saying that, it's always a nice phase going from Musselburgh back into Portobello, but this time stopping at the Portobello Bar on the High Street. As usual the place was full of of guys who looked as if they had either escaped or been chucked out of their homes on a Sunday lunchtime. And for some reason there is always a Serie A game on the telly, and it was the same this time.

After the Caledonian 80% had been dispatched we then commenced what (at least for me) is the most difficult part of the run, the 4 kilometres between Portobello and Leith.
After about 25 minutes of run / walk, and generally slowing Chris down, we arrived at The  King's Wark. Traditionally I have switched from beer to cider at this point, just to get some additional glucose in the bloodstream before the final leg. So I kept with tradition. 

As with 2015, our route allowed us to finish almost exactly at the Harbour Inn, where we could relax and celebrate another 12 consecutive months of half marathons.

Result:
Elapsed Time: 03:15:23
Running Time: 02:12:11
Pints: 5

Roll on January 2017 and a wee trip to Preston....