Monday 7 March 2011

BIDEFORD BELTER

Bideford was the location, 10.30 hours was the start of the race and 1200 runners were warmed up and ready to hear the starting gun. We were off!!
I travelled to Bideford with Mr and Mrs Davis to take part in my second Bideford Half Marathon, the duration of the journey was only 40 minutes but I am sure Mr D was very glad when we arrived at our destination. Nerves always creep in and that in turn seems to enable my words per minute to double, poor Mr D!!!
5 of the Bude WRN ladies were also in attendance for their first half marathon, all of them trained together for this event, keeping each other going and motivating each other when the training was getting harder. Even on the day itself, Andrea injured herself around mile 7 and was walking and hobbling along until she caught sight of the rest of the crew. In her words, they helped her carry on and even with a horridly injured and painful knee, she crossed the finish line within 2 and a half hours. I watched them come in and I must admit I did feel emotional. I know how hard you have to train to be able to run these races and the ladies have been nothing other than committed to their challenge. They train 2 nights a week with WRN then are out on a Saturday morning getting their long runs in. Dedication has paid off, it was great to see family and friends supporting them and cheering them in.
I had a great day with another PB 1:56:58 felt very strong and went with the intention of trying to beat my Exeter time. I managed to run alongside a friend from around mile 5, we found we were running at a very similar pace and intended on keeping that pace up throughout with a possible top up at the end if we had it in us. Once we hit the mile marker for 11 miles, we kicked our 9 minute mile pace into touch slightly and were averaging around the 8.30 minute mile for the last 2 miles. When I saw the 800 metre mark I knew I just wanted to get back as Mr T and the boys were waiting at the finish line. There is no better motivator at the end of a race than knowing your children are going to be there. A sprint finish was the order of the day and it felt great to know I had run it within my goal time.
As I was pounding the Tarka Trail and roads around Bideford, my niece was swimming like a fish in Bodmin. She came away from her first weekend at the County Championships with a GOLD, a BRONZE and 2 PB’s. She is 9 years old and extremely modest about her achievements, it was fantastic to hear her news after having completed the race.
She is back for more next weekend, luckily for me I will race again in May, so a slight tapering in training for me for the next week.

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