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Lucozade Sport Super Six: keep going lass
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NX - carry them in your hand for 6 miles and they're nice and warm so a bit like when you bite into a sore throat sweet!
Miles 9 - 12
I was saving my energy for mile 9, the dreaded John Reid Road I had heard so much about but I was half way up it before I realized that’s where I was. What hill?? All those runs up Black Cock and Clayhanger Bridges and Mouse Hill at home were paying dividends now, not ot mention the steep hill sprints Andy had done with me just a couple of weeks ago.....
Somewhere within this section, a lady runner passed me but paused to say “Well done, I’ve seen you in the magazine. What are you aiming for?” When I answered 2:15, she said, “You’re well on track, well done”, and off she went …..
The approach to the end of mile 10 seemed a long one but only because I knew this was another milestone written on my arm.
By the time I got to that point, I would only have just over 3 miles left. 3 miles? – no problem! I’ve run 3 miles loads of times – it’s nothing! (thanks XL!) Except that it had mile 12 in it (so I took my third gel just before then.) The one where people walk, the one that when you reach the top, you can see the sea……..and what a sight it was! The mile itself though, again, only a gentle incline.
Having done my homework, I knew that I shouldn’t get too carried away at this point. Just because I can see the sea, it doesn’t mean I am nearly there so after taking my final bottle of water from the water point, I used the gentle downhill that followed to recover and bend my legs back the other way…..
The Finish
The start of the finish was marked with a sharp left hand turn and steep decline. I remembered Jason telling me to move across to the right and cut across it as it wouldn’t be so steep – good advice.
I’d done a fair bit of decelaration work in my training (see proud mary video) so I knew my legs were strong enough to cope with it but it was at this point that I felt the tiredness move from the back of my knees to the front! But it was shortlived. As I turned the corner, I was back on the flat and running parallel to the sea.
The crowds of people cheering and calling out had steadily increased over the last mile and it wasn’t too long before we were well into the final mile and the noise was deafening.
I picked up my pace a little and managed to overtake a few people.
Seeing the sign announcing 800 metres to go, I remembered that exact same sign at Sheffield. It’s easy to think you’re home and dry at that point even after 9K, but I remembered it was still felt like a long way, so it would seem even longer after 12 miles…..
So whilst the crowd were urging me on, and although desperate to run faster to the finish, I maintained my pace for a while, then slowed down a little until I saw that I was passing the “400 metres to go” sign.......
….. What a good decision that was – the next 200 metres seemed to go on forever. I was running faster but I still couldn’t see the finish line.
The final 200 metre sign appeared. I turned right and found myself running on grass. This was a bit of a shock to my legs as the soft ground dampened my speed, but I pushed on.
I saw the clock ahead had a number 13 on it so knew I was going to beat my target………. Crossed the line, gradually slowed to a walk and didn’t stop until I could feel my legs again.
I had done it…….. 13.1 miles and I had enjoyed every second of it.......
That's it for tonight.... I couldn't bring myself to stop posting til I'd done the finish line post. Tomorrow, I'm still off work so I'll do "What happened next"......
Off to bed now......
Hope you enjoyed it ...... Jason, you were going so fast, you probably missed most of what I have reported but maybe it's there in your subconscious somewhere ....
No wonder I'm tired ...... I've run 26.2 miles in two days! lol
I've got the boring numbers and pretty graph aswell........but it'll have to wait .....Goodnight....
Good morning ----
The numbers -
My watch gave a distance of 14.18 miles, around 7% overmeasured (the watch, not the course). I had divided the run into three and set the pace zones to 3 speed ranges corresponding with Steve's suggested splits and for most of the run, probably 90-95%, it was beeping at me to tell me that I was running faster than the pace ranges I had set.
Although I didn't run the 7:08 - 7:10 time Steve predicted last week, I was pleased that I had run above the relative paces, indicating that had my watch been properly accurate during training, I would probably have outrun the corresponding adjusted time ... if you follow that!
Here are my recorded splits, compared to Steve's predcitions which are shown first -
Steve Actual
ile 1 - 9:15 8:59
Mile 2 - 9:30 9:00
Mile 3 - 9:35 9:23
Mile 4 - 10:00 9:30
Mile 5 - 10:00 10:15 (this will have been between mile 5-6)
Mile 6 - 9:45 9:14
Mile 7 - 9:15 8:59 (past the big sign that said 1/2 way - what a lift that gave me!)
Mile 8 - 9:15 9:02
Mle 9 - 9:30 9:28
Mile 10 - 9:40 9:50 (John Reid Road?)
Mile 11 - 9:35 9:29
Mile 12 - 9:35 9:16
Mile 13 - 9:10 9:36 (mile 12 - ..... and how close is this to Steve's mile 12 prediction!)
Mile 14 - x 8:43 (along the seafront - my fastest mile!
)
Mile 0.18 2:22 (avg pace 9:13 including post finish line walk)
With hindsight, I know with a little more confidence, I could have been less cautious and run faster but not having run that distance before and being wary of the "hills", I am not disappointed. I ran it with the knowledge I had and well inside my 2:15 target and relatively speaking according to prediction. Most importantly, I ran the whole way and finished strong, which was my personal goal. The last mile was my fastest.
I would rather have done that than cross the line exhausted and feeling sick - after all, as my mum said later..... "it's not a race is it!".
Well, yes mum, it is a race, but I understand what you mean!
Next the Nike Graph ......
Wow what a report! I felt like I was running it with you (its the closest I've got to running the GNR this year)
Well done, you have done yourself proud and it was lovely to eventually meet you both at the start and in the evening afterwards
I hope you aren't aching too much now and are recovering well.
Nike graph
I think the dip is where I slowed down when I realised I was running out of water station!
This is the official nike graph looks better than mine!
And for the comedy value, here's my run compared to Jason's! Tracy races Jason - well I wasn't that much slower!
My official splits from the gnr site
official splits and placings
Also checked the elite women - could it have been Hayley Yelling that called to me? Does Martin have a sister with blond hair?
What happened next.....
As I crossed the finish line, I continued to walk unti l felt it was safe to stop without falling over. Having relinquished my timing chip I continued down the funnel and heard my name being called and was greeted by two of the RW/Lucozade Team and Bryan and his wife Deb. After a couple of minutes Suzie whisked me away to the right where I was handed my bag and given my finishers pack and then led into the hospitality tent. I was completely disoriented, hadn't a clue where I was and what I was supposed to be doing so thank you Suzie for looking after me!
I was greeted by the others who all looked very fresh and were enjoying the beer and wine. All I wanted was a cup of tea which Suzie duly produced within what seemed like a couple of seconds!
Removed my very damp vest, donned my newly acquired GNR 2008 t shirt and my fleece and sat down, sipping water. Couldn't eat anything just then!
The text message came from my mum indicating that I had got just inside the 13 minute mark and then followed a flood of congratulatory text messages from just about everyone I know who clearly have been silently watching me for afar.
I was feeling calm and happy, coming down from the high until I got a text from some friends who were in France for the weekend to celebrate a birthday but clearly, I had been unable to go as I had something else on! Well that did it - it all became too much for me and I collapsed in floods of tears with the emotion of it all but Sue, who has been my guardian angel through all of this was on hand with a big hug whilst I composed myself...............
Awesome result, well done. I loved reading your experiences. You sound just like me, I can write for England, lol. I don't know how you didn't feel miles 9-12, they were horrendous for me! Just like in the GYR, the countdown markers never seemed to get any closer. I remember getting to 20k, running forever and then only getting to 800m to go.
Congratulations, you had a fantastic race.
Recovered, I ventured outside to watch others finish and gave a very enthusiastic interview to Catherine from Runners World - can't remember what I said but I had no nerves whatsover and just answered the questions. A bit different to my Liz Yelling day seminar interview!
Then the red arrows display - it was fabulous, absolutely fabulous but my attention span was very short as I was still overwhelmed and excited at what I had just done!
Made my way over to the family reunion area to meet friends that had travelled up for the day and spent a little time with them. Unfortunately, I didn't get to see my trainer as I would have liked.
I could go on forever, but the final thing to tell you about is the journey back to the hotel. We were taken to the courtesy buses and had a police escort all the way back! As we travelled back along the carriageway, on the other side to where we had run, we could see the clean up exercise under way as the roads were cleared and the tents dismantled.
Had I really run that far? It seems much further when you're on a coach!
Time for a bath!
Fantastic result, and well deserved after all of your hard work.
What an experience to remember forever, being treated like a VIP for the weekend.
And it was lovely to meet you at the start and in the evening ... hope you had a good night.
What a brilliant report KGL!
And coincidentally there was only 1 second difference in our times, so I can especially relate to it!! You had a much more consistent run than me, my Nike graph is really up and down!! 
Good luck for your future running too KGL
overall position - 20603
Age Group Position - 2886
Gender Position - 5353
Age Group and Gender Position - 789
Splits -
Tyne Bridge 17:21
10K - 1:03:08
15K - 1:34:48
20K - 2:06:58
Finish - 2:12:59