Manchester Marathon & The Elusive Sub-4...

54 ultras, 54 trail marathons and 32 road marathons (now 33) – I had never achieved a sub-4 marathon. So, I was pretty happy and a little teary on Sunday 6th April at Manchester Marathon to finally get a sub-4 (just) PB  - 3:58:43


I have been running a lot better than I used to, largely because I haven't been running quite so many marathons or ultras and so, my leggies now get better rest and better quality training.



I just had a look at my splits and there were definitely lots of places I could have upped my time. I couldn't go as fast as I wanted near the beginning as there were just too many people in the way/ people in the wrong bit, with the wrong colour numbers for predicted time etc. There were at least 6,000 runners doing Manchester Marathon and it was very congested to begin with. In hindsight, I think I should have gone further up the field, but I'm in the habit of doubting my ability and speed.

Some well-deserved post-marathon ale...

It definitely wasn't the most scenic marathon in the world. It started from Old Trafford and there were a lot of out and back loop-de-loops. I saw a sign for the sewerage works at one point. However, I made sure to stick with the 4 hour pacer for a little while and eventually I was able to overtake him. Soon, the 4 hour pacer was out of sight and remained so until around Mile 22, when he overtook me. It actually really threw me off, because I was still running at a sub-4 hour marathon pace. I could still do it. I was struggling and really warm and my energy was being quickly zapped, but I was still on target. When the 4 hour marathon pacer overtook me, I had a mini panic. He was obviously going faster than this pace, which I guess is great for those that had followed him the whole way, but was really bad for those that he overtook, because it puts you in a bad head space. Anyway, I tried not to let this scupper my dreams. I did not want another Loch Ness Marathon moment, of finishing just over 4 hours and 6 seconds! So, I absolutely legged it (and kept saying 'Come on!' to myself, a lot!)

Overall, I know there were lots of bits I could have run better, the wheels definitely fell off at some points. However, all in all, a great day . And in some ways, knowing that I could have done better and knowing that I didn't feel my best at some points is amazing, because it means that I can do even faster on a really good day...

Ooooh and I also bumped into some other runner buddies at Victoria Station in London. I was making my way back from Manchester Marathon and they had just run Brighton Marathon. It's a small world!

Birling Beachy Beautiful

Okey dokey, it’s been a little while since I last wrote a blog post – I have been a bit of a busy-Lizzie. So, here we go:

I can’t really describe how exciting my casual running wanders have been in the last few weeks. Yep, I have been full of every type of cold and bug, but when I have gotten out on those South Downs, it has been absolutely amazing. I love it. I think it might be one of my favourite places to run ever.

It’s so calm and beautiful up there, all your worries just flow out to sea. Last week, I ran a little further than Beachy Head, past the lighthouse and onto Birling Gap. It was quite astonishing to see the extent of the coastal erosion at Birling Gap and how destructive the sea can be. 

As we ran I noticed a lot of ‘Endurance Life’ race event markers, since it was their South Downs race series the other weekend. Unfortunately, it was sold out by the time I got the job in Eastbourne. However, I feel so thankful and so happy that I can run this route all of the time, for free. Okay, Eastbourne is a pretty small seaside town and there’s nothing amazingly special about some bits of it. To be quite frank, some of its inhabitants seem downright miserable. However, the surrounding scenery is just beautiful. 

In the last few weeks I also got to visit: Smuggler's Cave, Stone Henge, The Roman Baths, Brighton - lots of cool places :)

Chester Marathon & Lovely Things...

The weekend was absolutely amazingly lovely. The end (only joking). Not joking about the amazingly lovely bit... :)

I’ve been looking forward to October for ages, not only because all the best people are born in October... ahem :-p but also because lovely George had entered me into Chester Marathon and we are also going to Canada tomorrow and then when we get back from Canada it’s my birthday. So, it’s just all so exciting at the moment.

I’ve not been on a plane for years, so I’m pretty excited – I really like the buzz of airports & planes. I’m easily pleased. I’m finally packed, although I’ve probably forgotten something. At least I know I have packed my running kit, which I’m going to need as we’re doing the Vulture Bait 50k in Ontario next weekend.

Anyway, here’s a little ramble about Chester Marathon:

Chester is my home marathon and it was two years to the day since I had done my 100^th marathon there at Chester. I’d not done a race for ages and it had been even longer since I’d done a city marathon with support and goodie bags and things.

We got to the start in loads of time and I really liked the layout of everything. Top marks for porta-loos. I don’t think I have ever seen so many portable loo’s lined up like that before. There were thousands of people everywhere, so they were obviously definitely needed, but it was still good to see top notch organisation like that. The baggage drop-off points were really well organised also, as was the little ‘race village’.

I got to see some of the usual suspects, but there were so many people everywhere that I didn’t get to see as many as I would have liked to.

Me and George had decided to run this one together and cross the line holding hands, awww (bleeeurggh ;-) ). However, he is a lot faster than I am. But, having done a lot of ultras lately he assured me that he wanted to take it a little easier. We positioned ourselves – well, I positioned ourselves - near the 4.30 pace marker. I started my Garmin as soon as the gun went off, as I find it gives you a cheeky little psychological ‘advantage’ when you look at your watch later on in the race and give you a few minutes to play with. Well, it makes some sort of weird sense to me. So, we were off and started to run from the race course, running into the city and skirting round past Chester Cathedral and lots of familiar places for me. Passing under the clock and past some of my favourite pubs, we now headed out of the city.

I felt pretty knackered for a little while if I’m honest. We had been to the zoo the day before and had a few carb loading drinks in Liverpool on Friday night and I didn’t sleep much in the week from all the anticipation of actually doing fun things and a marathon again. I had decided in advance not to look at the pace on my Garmin, so I changed the screen. I’d look at it towards the end of the race to make sure I wasn’t going too slooowwly, but other than that, I didn’t want to be a slave to my Garmin. 

We started at 4.30 marathon pace and to my delight; we had caught up with 4.15 marathon pacers by 8miles in. I was running well until about 15 miles in and we even managed to outrun the 4.15 pacers, yey. However, I hadn’t anticipated the weather being so nice. Okay, it’s not Spain or something, but it felt so warm out there. My body was so warm, but I was so sweaty that my arms started to go cold and then I just felt disorientated a bit and I decided to break my run for the first time in 15miles and run/ walk for a bit. I was so thirsty and I made the most of the drinks stations. I was even pouring water down my back and on my head, which I never do. I just felt so overheated somehow.  The race was sponsored by Lucozade and prior to the start, I had been hesitant at the prospect of taking any Lucozade gels or drinks as I used to find that they were horrible and sickly. Yet, on seeing all the swanky new packaging and really in need of an energy boost, I gave in. I’m glad I did. The orange Luzcozade drink on offer was really rather tasty. It just tasted like a really nice orange juice and it definitely helped perk me up a bit when I was really in a bit of a lull.

Once out of the city, the majority of the race was run on lovely scenic country roads, passing through idyllic villages. There was so much lovely local support out there, which was really nice to see. Maybe it’s because we ran near Farndon, where I ran one of my first ever races and one of only two 10k races that I have done (I hate running 10k races), but I started to get a little ‘bored’ with the country roads. I wanted some sights and city-ness. I kind of needed some distractions to take my mind off my limp and energy-less self.

At around Mile 23, I perked up again and pulled myself together. We were still on pace for a 4.30 marathon time, but I was definitely holding George back, who was running much better than me. In the last few miles, I saw a couple of runners receiving medical attention. One lady had an oxygen mask over her face and was being stretched out by paramedics on the pavement and one man looked like he had collapsed. It’s always startling to see these things, because I’m not used to seeing it at the usual, smaller scale events that I do.

With two miles to go, I was in a good frame of mind again. I love the ending of this race and I love running past the river and ultimately, back onto the race course. Approaching the race course was actually quite emotional. There were so many people and so much support! The sprint was on and me and George crossed the line hand in hand, whilst the commentator over the speakers was like ‘And here come two runners, hand in hand’ – made me chuckle.

The medal and finishing area was so well organised also. There was no confusion and so much friendliness from the marshals. They were shaking people’s hands and congratulating them and I just thought it was a really nice touch. Goodie bags were given out efficiently and I got my long sleeved technical t-shirt no problem. Sorted. And then we found a spot of the grass and decided to have a little lie down.... Ahhh.

All in all, I had such a lovely day. And then we proceeded to find a pub and seek out Guinness.

So, there we go, a bit of a rushed blog there, but I have to go get my train now and then my bus to London town. There are likely lots of spelling mistakes in this too...

Oh, and we finished in 4:25:46 – This is the fastest time I’ve done in so long and now I know I can run faster than this again on a better day. Pretty emotional after being so slow for so long...even if I did used to be a consistent 4hr something marathon runner...but, slowly, I’m clawing back the speed :)