A very cold sunday morning - less than 5 degrees, and an 8am start.
Very tempted to withdraw or change to a shorter distance...but with some committed sponsors in mind...I had to soldier on....For my supporters at the Breast Cancer Care stand - they made me feel very welcomed!
Still recovering from the sniffles of the cold throughout all last week, I was very conservative with my pace and decided to start slow and made friends with the 11-minute mile pacer and her group. I asked what her strategy was - she said they are going to maintain even pace throughout, with enough time to stop at drinks station and do recovery. The group were really friendly - one of the ladies were doing VMLM this year for the first time, one handed out gummy lollies (not for me!) ....and some were only doing 8 miles (the other 11 min mile pacer was also just doing 8 miles)....quite a few people said they were too. as it was a combined start one cannot tell who's who.
I figured I knew which group Rhino belonged to!
Off we went, 2 laps around the Thames, starting out from the high streets of Kingston, across the bridge, along the walls of the Hampton Home Park, crossing the bridge again at Hampton Court, heading south along Surbiton and back into town, and round again.
I tried to keep slow, and slow....but very soon realised that I had lost the 11 minute miler...and started to see the 10 minute miler flag in the distance. as I cross the Thames for the first time.... I tried to look back, and realised that at that point in time, that I had to lose the friendly faces and not even see them again.....
Instead I focused on the scenery - the Thames I knew so well, except I hardly run upstream from Kingston to Hampton court (the yearly long run from Staines to Richmond takes me down, but not up) - it was very calm on an early sunday morning - i kept my pace, watched the puddles and ensured that my shoes stay dry....with the 10minute flag around 200 metres ahead of me - I hit the stopwatch on the mile markers at a consistent 9:45ish minute per mine...I was safe. Unsure of how long though, as with previous races I still remember the scenes when the flags took off, and I was unable to chase up....
After crossing the river for the first time...I started hearing a man in red - a 10 minute mile pacer - come up with helpful tips on where the next drink station was, so I started chatting to him - about the strategy again. He said (again), an equal pace, but up to the individual to push harder. Mr 10 min/mile pacer said the second half of the course were slightly downhill...and those doing 1 lap (the 8 milers) could go for it near a certain point (2 miles from the finish), give it their all...but those staying for the 16.2 miles better who they are following (so as not to run out of steam!)
Mr 10 min/mile pacer was training for VMLM and Boston, with a qualifying time for his age for 3:10! I was honoured to pick up some tips from him - especially when my last few runs have started way under 9:50 min mile and ended up on the wrong side of 10:00 min/miles...
Seeing the 8-milers off at the finish and heading left next to the finishing - Lap 2 started off on a great feeling of being the 'elites' - the smaller leftover group - we were the ones to stay...and I better keep things going well this way - we know where we were going, just not as fresh anymore, and that is when you run the 'real race' as endurance runners...
crossing the Thames now a third time, and again seeing 10-minute mile flag in front of me...I slowly find myself drawing closer and closer to it....until I PASSED IT...yes, at around mile 9, I am actually faster than the 10 minute/mile flag! Is it real? I can never tell...but just picked someone in the distance to focus upon, my object being a girl in a red shirt with plaits...she and I became buddies for quite a few miles, we would pass each other on and off...and what kept me going , going was:
Nutrition. After the 'high juice' official drink offered at Farnham Pilgrim Half last year...we had started to ditch the Lucozade drinks and started mixing Ribena cordial instead...so armed with only one bottle of Ribena, I topped up from time to time, whenever a drinks station was non existent..to keep the light on..and it seemed to work, before I hit the wall...as I have done during training..
The gels and power gel liquid stations were pleasantly well placed - without the initial expectations that faster runners would 'loot' all the gels before I get to it...Army officers(?) gave out the gels and one even helped me with opening the liquid gel (it was a new Powergel Hydro with a 'clean usage technology' - not when its one's first time and she couldn't bite through!)
Proud to say I have also taken down Mr 10 minute miler without the group in sight ( I never dared to look back). 13mile marker came and gone - almost 2:10, which is just 'the normal pace'. The last 2 miles were hard , the legs were heavy, but I do not stop.
I made it home at the same time I heard sirens in the background....almost racing with the ambulance coming through the finish (they had to move some posts to the left to let it through)...and I passed the last of the timing chip in a glorious 2:39.23 - way under my Jantastic commitment of 2:50.
now where's Mr 10? here's the photo to prove I saw him coming through...
The lovely bag of Whole Foods goodies, the coconut water...the great hospitality from the Breast Cancer Care ....my hands were full...I got to the car, got home...and realised that I had forgotten to take the race mug!
oh well, I have my husband's as a memento - he finished a good 2:17, and went for it towards the finish - proud of him, and a great confidence booster for the upcoming Marathon!
Still glad to have proven that slow and steady wins the race - and it's still not too late to donate...please visit my page:
every penny counts!
