All For An Ice Cream

Today we drive up to Cleethorpes to take part in the second running of the Humber Coastal Half Marathon. To be fair we both need the practice or perhaps we were both just swayed by the offer of a 99 ice cream when you finish. Possibly the best goodie bag ever, assuming that they don’t actually put it in the goodie bag. That could get messy.

The race all started very promisingly for me as we headed out of Cleethorpes, through a caravan site and on to the open road. I was sticking as closely as I could to the 1:45 pacer but he was one of those who doesn’t stop at drinks stations and doesn’t vary his pace through them either.

So our group of 20 or so fragmented rapidly once we hit the first drinks station. By the time we’d managed to catch him and reassemble about a mile later we were about six men\women down. The same thing happened at the next drink station but again I got back on and we went though 8 miles in 1:04. I was on pace for a 1:45 finish.

Then suddenly it became clear that I had missed out on reading one key part of the race instructions. The bit that said this was a multi-terrain race. So mile nine saw us heading down a farmer’s track which got progressively rockier and rockier as we approached the coast. I simply wasn’t going to risk my ankles by keeping up with our esteemed pacer, so I had to back off.  

I thought maybe I could catch him up again later but no. The rocks gave way to about two miles on uneven grassland along the coastal path and then we briefly (thankfully) ended up on the beach before finally I was able to sink to my knees and kiss terra firma again. Then it was back to Cleethorpes and a finish on the sea front.

So no, I didn’t get to see him again and I finished in 1:47:49 but I still had two ankles and a well earned ice cream.

Then we rush back home, the Lad has an agility training session.

(Sunday 16^th September)

Not Very Flat

I would have liked to have ran another half marathon today but for various reasons that wasn’t happening. Races were either full, too far away or I had missed the closing date due to being away. So today I drop down to 10 miles and the John Fraser 10 which is a jaunt around the Leicestershire countryside from a place called Countesthorpe. I’d heard of the race but I had to look Countesthorpe up on the map because I’d never heard of it despite its close proximity to Leicester itself.

Race HQ was at the local college before they took us out on to the road for the start where 500 or so of us caused quite a traffic management problem. L is supporting this morning, saving her injuries from further jarring ahead of Budapest next weekend.

The route was pretty much how I like them, pretty dull. It was an out and back with a loop on the end through countryside, mainly on country roads with a single track tarmac section which wasn’t used by traffic. It was all very well marshalled and with plenty of drinks stations (in cups). One thing it wasn’t though was flat. You were either climbing a hill or descending one. None of the hills on their own were particularly evil, it was just that there was barely a flat piece of road in the whole 10 miles.

I didn’t start particularly fast and as the terrain eventually took its toll, there wasn’t much chance of improving on that. So my finishing time of 1:18 is very much on the slow side.

Afterwards, back home, there’s a chance to see what I’m (roughly) training for as last year’s Nottingham Outlaw Triathlon is screened on Channel 4. It doesn’t put me off, although I am only doing the half (arsed) version.

In the evening we head into town and for a change we eat in Langtrys, where the food was simple pub stuff but ok. The beer range was good tonight as well but after a Broadside we move onto Brew Dog and hit the 6-8%ers

(Sunday 1^st September)