Lou Reed's little ditty about a perfect day was into verse two in my head as I trotted off to the starting area for the 2019 City of Norwich half marathon, my third HM in the 22 months since I began C25K. Three winter months of 5am starts, Saturday Parkruns on the coast and Sunday long distance tests were in the bag and I was ready for a PB. The East Anglian Air Ambulance charity stood to profit from my efforts with a swag bag of over £400, my family were ready with a picnic, dollies, a football and cameras, several running buddies had made it to the line too, the mood amongst the 2,000 or so entrants was good, all were excited and smiling...........
Reads like the start of a tale of doom and gloom doesn't it?! Don't fret friends, this was a magnificent event, my time of 2:16:18 knocked 2 minutes off my PB and over 15 minutes off my time from last year's event. So why the foreboding tone at the start? Well, I'm just being naughty! The weather forecast was for a low teen temperature, overcast with some sun later in the race and absolutely NO chance of rain. At 10:15 as we arrived at the starting pen the drizzle began, at 10:20 the deluge began, at 10:30 (gun time) it was torrential and I couldn't see a thing as the sunglasses attachment on my sports specs was covered in water droplets and my glasses had steamed up! The first 5 miles turned into a mass game of puddle triple jump and hopscotch but the mood amongst the lycra clad throng was almost euphoric, I had trained in some heavy rain a number of times recently, it's only water!
By the half way point my pace was holding up well (the winner was finishing at around this time!) and I felt strong. At 10 miles I passed a chap with a C25K August 2018 tee shirt and had a brief chat with him, I graduated in August 2017, about what a blast the whole thing is and look where we are because of it! At that stage last year I had really started to struggle which wasn't helped by the very steep hill will looms large just after 11 miles for 1/2 a mile. This time I was ready for it and feeling good. At the top of it I wasn't feeling so good and did struggle for the last mile and half with a sore hip and calf, the photo below/above (depending on your device!!) was taken with about 1/2 a mile to go and shows the pained but determined grimace!
Although I've done it a couple of times before It's difficult to describe the feeling of elation as the finishing line comes into view and you spot family and friends cheering you on. Whatever the feeling is, I bloody well like it!
A nice medal (Pic to follow) and goody bag grabbed then, after chatting to fellow runners who I'd shared the experience with and after a brief never again moment, start thinking about the next one!
As Lou Reed said "It's such a perfect day, I'm glad I spent it with you...."
Written by
lardofale
Half Marathon
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Well done, and what a brilliant race report! It almost makes me want to run beyond 10k, but not really! I’m only a lurker, getting my long distance running by osmosis from you brave souls!
Great action photo. I’m impressed with how composed you look! Fantastic stuff! 🏃👊🏅
Thank you Bluebirdrunner 😉 You're always so lovely to me 😊 The cold starts are worth it after all. The chap certainly looked enthused to see a fellow graduate. Back on it soon for the next challenge, see you soon on Strava 👍xx
Lovely report and yes, crossing the finish line is a buzz! I have only done one HM but am hoping to do another later in the year. Big well done on your PB too....off to admire your bling photo now...👏👏👏🏅👏👏
Yay, well done 💪👍😃. Pity about the torrential rain but when you’ve trained in it, you can’t let it get you down. You sympathise more with the stewards and your waiting families don’t you 🙂
Thank you! I did say to more than one steward/volunteer that that were the real nutters in those conditions! They just nodded and cheered louder! The family all crammed into the buildings at the start/finish 👍
Fab report, great fun to read. Well done on smashing your PB - fantastic result. You definitely look the part in that photo - on a mission, strong and focused 😀
Thank you! Glad you liked it, I try to entertain though my daughter would roll her eyes at the idea! the other photos I have show a rather soggier version! 😉
Fantastic report and a really great race. I love running in the rain if its not too cold. Congratulations on your PB too. You’ve made amazing progress!
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And also with that training schedule !
Training for a Half Marathon for May 2020
Home , Happy and a Half Marathon all done !!!
Lisburn Half marathon race report; a new PB!
