Virgin London Marathon 2011 - stats & splits

Evening all, I love my results and stats, so here's some info from the big day:

My run - I know where it all went wrong, but looking at the splits it doesn't seem so obvious:

5k - 27:53  slow first two miles, but then settled into the rhythm
10k - 54:49  sun really started to heat up, but kept a nice even pace
15k - 1:23:37 (9.3m) not far off target time from training
10 miles - 1:31:40 only just 2 mins slower than in training, great support from the crowds, jelly babies, orange quarters and great party atmosphere
20k - 1:54:05 (12.4m) Tower Bridge, really struggling with the heat now, had plenty to drink, but the temperature was silly.  Saw James Buis from Heaton heading along the 22 mile mark as I headed towards Canary Wharf
25k - 2:25:06 (15.5 miles) Isle of Dogs, the sun was pretty relentless now, just kind of trundled along pouring whatever water I wasn't drinking over my head.
30k - 2:57:17 (18.6m) It was a relief to be heading into some shade in Canary Wharf, but the humitity in the tunnels was pretty stifling.  Again, superb support from the crowds kept me going, but the temperature on the ground was 23-24 degrees. The wheels fell off my race here as I turned the corner with the big TV screen by the HSBC building my hip went.
20 miles : 3:11:15 - knew now that my hopes were fading and I just needed to survive
35k - 3:32:26 (21.7m) just decided to get through the rest of the race as best I could.  Several folks now collapsed/sitting/lying by the side of the road being sorted out by first aiders.  Tried to run-walk alongside a guy with a 60lb pack.  Saw Stoxy @ 22m and then the Fetchpoint.
40k - 4:12:07 (24.8m) Embankment.  Saw the 25mile marker after hobbling my way up through another tunnel, and just hoped to make it from one mile to the next.  Knew I had no hope of getting round in a quicker time than the Townmoor and felt totally deflated.
26.2 miles - 4:31:58 Birdcage Walk & the Mall.  It took me 19:51 to do the last 2k and I felt every step of it.  I couldn't have finished without the help of the other runners, the crowd, the great guy who got the crowd to cheer me on, or the nice policeman.

I just kept thinking afterwards that I'd somehow messed it up, but once it sunk in that the medal was round my neck, and that I'd made it though without falling or passing out, I felt a great deal better.  I wish I could have done a great time but it just wasn't my day.  Hopefully my hip will recover soon and I'll be back on track for a decent time at Redcar Half Marathon.

On a plus note - the Jarrow Team got a mention on national telly by none other than Steve Cram.

Here is a run down of their results:

overall	category	name	category	HALF	finish time
235	173	» TAYLOR, GRAEME M	18-39	01:18:58	02:43:36
455	301	» DEACON, CRAIG M	18-39	01:22:23	02:49:49
2019	1007	» ROBSON, COLIN	18-39	01:21:39	03:12:43
10655	43	» PASCOE, BARRY	65-69	01:51:41	04:06:28
11931	14	» PRUDHAM, JOSEPH P	70+	01:57:07	04:12:26
13278	1927	» Ellis, David	40-44	02:03:48	04:18:07
15875	690	» Shiels, Anne-Marie	40-44	02:13:49	04:28:15
16861	2564	» THOMPSON, VICTORIA E	18-39	02:00:47	04:31:58
17521	524	» Marshall, Maria	45-49	02:14:08	04:34:38
17522	2694	» SLOWTHER, ALISON	18-39	02:14:09	04:34:38

Many congrats to them all for some great times in challenging conditions

Alison, Anne-marie, and Maria (shamlessly nicked off AM's FB page ;))

Just want  to add a big THANK YOU to Evil Coach Darth Jim, who's been keeping us all on the straight & narrow for the last few months - we really appreciate all the hard work!  To Helen, Alan, & Mick for their great marathon advice - I didn't take off like a whippet at the start ;) and to my hubby Andy and my folks Tom & Jan, and Susan & Pete - cheers for all the support!!!

Hanging up the marathon shoes for the foreseeable future, and picking up a speedier set of shoes, ones where you don't have to be on your feet for more than say 100 minutes ;)

Redcar Half - Bring It On !

Virgin London Marathon 2011

Wow what a weekend

I don't think I went into this under prepared.  Did the training, did the taper, and had a canny night's sleep before the big day, but hey ho - things don't always turn out the way you want them to.

Started off travelling down at 6am on the Saturday morning, with a clear run down the A1(M) and M11 to the Excel centre, which was surprisingly quiet and easy to snaffle my number and head on back out of the city to our friends in Essex where we were kindly being put up for the night.  Up bright and breezy on the morning of the race and hoping to get dropped off nearish the start.  Our plans were somewhat scuppered by the Blackwall Tunnel being closed, so Andy dropped me off at the nearest DLR station and I met a lovely couple from Oldham (Hi Louise & Andy!) who got me to the start.

I have to say - throughout the whole day the organisation was fantastic - the start is really well done, loads of loos, easy to sort out baggage buses and easy to get into pens, plus an army of folks willing to help you out if you weren't sure about what or where you were going

 Louise from Oldham (hope you had a good run)

 Just into the Blue starting area

 Team Jarrow - Barry, Me, and Peter

Me & Jill

Once we were off it was really hard to get any kind of steady pace going, as there were several hold ups where everyone ground to a halt, which lead to the first two miles being done in 19 minutes, but the pace picked up a little and I went through 5k in 27:53 which wasn't much over my target time.  Unfortunately the sun was starting to split the clouds, and by the 6 mile mark it was blazing down on us.

Despite the heat I kept trundling along at an even pace, going through 10k in 54:49, which was just perfect.  I had put on factor 50 sunblock, but I was drinking water then tipping the rest over myself to try and cool down a bit, and I must have washed it off, cause I really started to burn on my shoulders.  As I went through the 10 mile mark in 1:31 I thought I was spot on my target time from the runs I had done in training, and just hoped to keep going at the same pace.

It just seemed to get warmer and warmer though, and as I went through halfway in 2:00 hours I could feel myself slowing down.  At mile 17 I felt a pain in my hip, and it made it practically impossible to keep running properly, so I dropped my pace and hoped to jog the rest of the course, I knew I still had 9 miles to go, and people were starting to drop like flies with the heat, so the aim was to just try my best to keep moving and hydrated.  By mile 22 I'd slowed to a shuffle and was passed by a para carrying a 60lb pack - hats off to him - he'd run for a couple of hundred yards then power walk for a bit, then start again - inspiring stuff.

I also saw Sophie Raworth being attended too by the side of the road - I have to say the first aid coverage was second to none - world class service and organisation.  Jill Stocks practically leapt out of the crowd as I got to 22 miles too - what a sight for sore eyes, I tried to shuffle on some more, but now it was all about surviving to the finish.  As I crossed the 25 mile mark I stopped to limp on again and a wonderful man from the crowd shouted "You've done all the hard work and you're almost there" then he shouted at the crowd "come on give her a cheer" and they did....I was overwhelmed with emotion and burst into tears, and then I started jogging again.  The crowds were bloody amazing.

As we turned onto Birdcage walk I had to do just that and walk again.  I saw the 800m to go sign ahead, but it seemed like a mile away.  A runner stopped to walk with me and support me down the road, and then a policeman patted me on the shoulder and said "not long now love".  It was just the thing to get be back to a shuffle again and along that last 800m which felt like ten million miles.

What a relief it is to turn into the Mall and see the finish.  I heard someone shouting my name, but I couldn't see them (later found out it was Craig - Thanks matey!) and I sort of hobbled/limped down that last 300m like a champion!

I did it in 4:31:58, with the last 2k taking me 20 minutes, but it's done, I got my medal, marvelled at the organisation at the finish which had the lad on the baggage bus handing me my bag as I walked up to him, but I was physically and mentally knackered, and still had to get myself from the finish to Redbridge at the bottom of the M11 where Andy was picking me up.

Four tube changes later (it could prolly have been less if I knew where I was going) I made it, and the journey just continued the fantastic nature of the event - with the tube being free for runners!  There were folks congratulating me left right and centre - who says the city folks aren't friendly - it's not true.  I managed to clamber up the station steps like a robot, and there waiting was the love of my life :D

And he bought me doughnuts...

What a day

I don't think I'll ever repeat it, but for anyone wanting to give it a go I'd say Yes - Do It, it's a cracking race.  I'd have done better without the heat for sure, but I could have had my hip injury on any day of the year.  I'm walking like C3PO at the mo, but there are a whole bunch of folks out there with the same medal, doing exactly the same thing.

Happy running folks!