The day after the Great North Run 2012 and I’m still felling a bit dishevelled. Tiredness is setting in from my restless sleep both pre and post run, and I have very unsightly chaffing on my thighs.
However, there are achievements to be spoken of...2:03:25! I still find it hard to believe this is my actual time! If someone had told me a year ago I’d actually be able to do the Great North Run in anywhere near 2 hours I wouldn’t have believed them! But here I am with a Great North Run time I’m very proud of, and not only am I proud of the time, I’m also very proud that I carried on with my training when it got tough, when it was too hot, when I was tired after work or I just couldn’t think of any more routes to run - I stuck in, and although it was not the perfect time I was hoping for, it’s progress - 13 mins and 50 seconds progress to be exact!
And so, I’d like to thank everyone for their support in helping me, because it’s not about where you end up, it’s about the journey – and my journey has been laden with words of encouragement, belief, advice, tips, laughter, sweat, pain, pushing through barriers, inspiration and...at 13.1 miles in South Shields...relief!
I am massively grateful to every single person who has helped me along the way, and am really touched by the kindness of other runners, a kindness I hope to pass on to other new runners as I know how hard it is to take those first few steps.
A slight digress from the biggest race in the North East running calendar! I started in white zone F after changing my wave on the Saturday, which was extremely easy, the assistant didn’t look at the race time I’d taken or my identity and nearly handed me an orange number before I assured her white would do.
We were ushered into the pen with only 15 minutes to go on the Sunday morning, so tightly jammed between the barriers there was only a miniscule amount of room to attempt a mini stretch. As the announcer started speaking I was slightly emotional as he reminded us of the months of training we’d done for this day, and I thought yes, that’s me - 3 months of training, all for this one day, so much riding on it, yet I felt quite calm - 9 min miles, easy right?
I started the run with my sister, exactly the same as I had for my first half-marathon (Edinburgh) when she’d dragged me round to finish in 2:09. I remember how much I’d enjoyed having someone to keep me going so I really wanted to stay with her, but at 3 miles she needed a drink and to slow down, so she told me to go on, which I reluctantly did (it was like leaving a soldier behind…slightly dramatic, but hey).
In the following miles, my watch was already reaching the distance before I’d got to the distance markers on the road. At first, I assumed it was a Great North Run error and that the markers would be correct later in the run, but it continued to happen. My watch was also telling me that my pace was averaging 8.54 minute miles so I was completely puzzled, however I resigned myself to the fact that the marked route is the one that I’m timed against so I’d have to get a move on!
Generally, the route was much more of an uphill than I remember, with very little downhill or flat to recover. It was overall extremely frustrating to run as I was met by so many walkers and slower runners, and so felt like the majority of the run was spent clambering onto grass and trying to find a gap to get through. Evidence of this can be found in the only photo of me, where a man next to me is actually pictured appearing to be sleeping...sleeping! In the middle of a run!
This is the reason why this is my second and last (for awhile anyway) Great North Run. I didn’t enjoy it as a run and feel like it’s now predominantly a charity event, unless you’re positioned towards the front, but it would be unfair for me to do so and hinder the performance of really fast runners.
I felt quite strong for most of it, although was wary that the pace on my watch didn’t seem correct, so pushed myself as I definitely wasn’t doing 8.54min miles as my watch was saying. 10 miles was the worst point as I’d only previously raced this distance, so my legs weren’t used to keeping up a pace for a longer distance. The climb up the bank at 11ish was horrendous and seemingly never-ending, with only a slight decline towards the roundabout at mile 12. At this point I was completely ravenous, after stupidly only having porridge at 7am, and was craving chips and chocolate!
Crawling along the last mile I first thought I may be able to get in under 2 hours, spurring myself on, only to be continuously met by walkers and slow runners, I gave up and just went with the general pace. I could have probably weaved in and out, but the energy wasn’t there.
I finished with a Jessica Ennis arms open wide pose as requested by my friend, and was so thankful to not have to run anymore, although I could hardly walk in a straight line. I was also very eager to get my bag to see if there was any food!
After 3 months of training, 5 days a week it’s all over! I’ve never been so pleased!
We were ushered into the pen with only 15 minutes to go on the Sunday morning, so tightly jammed between the barriers there was only a miniscule amount of room to attempt a mini stretch. As the announcer started speaking I was slightly emotional as he reminded us of the months of training we’d done for this day, and I thought yes, that’s me - 3 months of training, all for this one day, so much riding on it, yet I felt quite calm - 9 min miles, easy right?
I started the run with my sister, exactly the same as I had for my first half-marathon (Edinburgh) when she’d dragged me round to finish in 2:09. I remember how much I’d enjoyed having someone to keep me going so I really wanted to stay with her, but at 3 miles she needed a drink and to slow down, so she told me to go on, which I reluctantly did (it was like leaving a soldier behind…slightly dramatic, but hey).
In the following miles, my watch was already reaching the distance before I’d got to the distance markers on the road. At first, I assumed it was a Great North Run error and that the markers would be correct later in the run, but it continued to happen. My watch was also telling me that my pace was averaging 8.54 minute miles so I was completely puzzled, however I resigned myself to the fact that the marked route is the one that I’m timed against so I’d have to get a move on!
Generally, the route was much more of an uphill than I remember, with very little downhill or flat to recover. It was overall extremely frustrating to run as I was met by so many walkers and slower runners, and so felt like the majority of the run was spent clambering onto grass and trying to find a gap to get through. Evidence of this can be found in the only photo of me, where a man next to me is actually pictured appearing to be sleeping...sleeping! In the middle of a run!
This is the reason why this is my second and last (for awhile anyway) Great North Run. I didn’t enjoy it as a run and feel like it’s now predominantly a charity event, unless you’re positioned towards the front, but it would be unfair for me to do so and hinder the performance of really fast runners.
I felt quite strong for most of it, although was wary that the pace on my watch didn’t seem correct, so pushed myself as I definitely wasn’t doing 8.54min miles as my watch was saying. 10 miles was the worst point as I’d only previously raced this distance, so my legs weren’t used to keeping up a pace for a longer distance. The climb up the bank at 11ish was horrendous and seemingly never-ending, with only a slight decline towards the roundabout at mile 12. At this point I was completely ravenous, after stupidly only having porridge at 7am, and was craving chips and chocolate!
Crawling along the last mile I first thought I may be able to get in under 2 hours, spurring myself on, only to be continuously met by walkers and slow runners, I gave up and just went with the general pace. I could have probably weaved in and out, but the energy wasn’t there.
I finished with a Jessica Ennis arms open wide pose as requested by my friend, and was so thankful to not have to run anymore, although I could hardly walk in a straight line. I was also very eager to get my bag to see if there was any food!
After 3 months of training, 5 days a week it’s all over! I’ve never been so pleased!
Will I continue running? Reluctantly, yes, yes I will. Mainly because I don’t want to lose what I’ve worked so hard to achieve, and I know it can be lost so quickly. I entered the London Marathon at the start of the year, so will find out in October if I’m in, if not, I’m tempted by the Marathon of the North, after being a spectator last year I may want a piece of the action in 2013. I also really want to build on my speed so hopefully can progress with that.
Thanks for reading my training blogs! Hope everyone had a great Great North Run and well done to all the other GNR bloggers, as well as the many other people who I know trained hard to achieve their goals – you did it!!!
My splits (I think they’re more accurate uploaded to the computer than they were on the day!)
1: 8'54"/mi
2: 7'58"/mi
3: 9'25"/mi
4: 9'11"/mi
5: 9'19"/mi
6: 8'46"/mi
7: 8'49"/mi
8: 8'53"/mi
9: 9'41"/mi
10: 9'38"/mi
11: 9'56"/mi
12: 10'14"/mi
13: 9'49"/mi
Thanks for reading my training blogs! Hope everyone had a great Great North Run and well done to all the other GNR bloggers, as well as the many other people who I know trained hard to achieve their goals – you did it!!!
My splits (I think they’re more accurate uploaded to the computer than they were on the day!)
1: 8'54"/mi
2: 7'58"/mi
3: 9'25"/mi
4: 9'11"/mi
5: 9'19"/mi
6: 8'46"/mi
7: 8'49"/mi
8: 8'53"/mi
9: 9'41"/mi
10: 9'38"/mi
11: 9'56"/mi
12: 10'14"/mi
13: 9'49"/mi