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Quick check in after today's Beachy Head Marathon.
Suffice to say that the day got off to a poor start as I forgot to turn my alarm on so I was running a bit late from the word go, not helped by my pre-race breakfast porridge erupting out of the bowl in the microwave. All this probably contributed to getting flashed by a speed camera on the outskirts of Eastbourne, but in the end I managed to get to the registration areas with about half an hour to spare.
In the end it was so mild that while I opted for a long sleeved running top with my club vest over the top, but I ended up taking the running top off after about 4 miles.
The profile (http://mediafiles.thedms.co.uk/Publication/ES-MarW/cms/pdf/Marathon%20profile.pdf) gives an idea of how hilly the course was, so following the advice to walk up the hills, my pace varied from low 7s to 10:36 going over the Seven Sisters, and I finished up with a sub 7 for the last mile as it headed downhill to the finish.
The course itself was pretty tough, but spectacularly attractive with a great mix of running on grass, trails through the woods and stony, chalky paths with very little on the road.
After all the hills, I ended up crossing the line with a finishing time of about 3:41 which given the wisdom is that the course is between 30 and 40 minutes slower than a flat marathon I was pretty chuffed with.
Great to catch up with G-Dawg at the start and at the end - my legs certainly feel better for having had the post-race massage.
Not retire, but reduce hours. Under UK law, https://www.gov.uk/flexible-working/overview, any employee can request flexible hours and that includes fewer days for less pay.
Just digging out the paperwork and it appears I got the car at 40k and now over 190k so 150k miles ferrying kids to and from universities and visiting them during term time, and I only have one fully out: #2 has 3 or 4 years of a PhD to go, #3 is in the 2nd year of 4 and #4 is yet to start. Take heed MSE!
Beachy Beachy Head was just as Lorenzo said, very hilly.
It was my first trail event and despite the ground being very hard I'm glad I chose trail shoes as there were many loose stones, bits of chalk and some damp grass in places.
The start is where I bumped into Lorenzo, great to see you again, Sir. We were mid-chat and then before I knew it we were off up the green wall ahead of us. I decided to pick my battles and walk the steepest hills. Some you can't run anyway as they offer deep steps to negotiate,
I immediately lost contact with my pals and decided not to bother catching them up as it was clear that the varied nature of the course would not suit my usual single pace metronomic style. I also decided to run on feel rather than chase a time. I wanted to go for sub-4 but thought I'd just see how it turned out.
The course goes through some small villages where the locals come out to cheer us on, they were superb. Other parts especially later on where the field thinned out meant it was a bit lonelier but that's OK.
As well as the physical aspect of the course the mental side is also a little draining as you pick your way over treacherous woodland and rocky terrain. I witnessed one poor guy go down and end his race after about 12 miles with a bad ankle.
The final 7 miles or so are along the cliffs, the Seven Sisters. These bad girls provide a thigh-busting end to the day but the views are fantastic.
At 25 miles I had my first look at the watch and was very surprised my sub-4 ambition was very much on. So I bombed down the final hill and bagged a 3.56 with which I'm very pleased.
A great event and as tough as you want it to be but it will certainly be tough. My legs feel ok today, nowhere near as bad as after Berlin last month. If you get a chance give this one a look.
So my my trail event, first time I've done 3 marathons in a year, two Mara PBs and I'll hit 1600+ miles for the year which is also a first. A good running season.
GD
Odd run this morning. Our club has a 8.6 mile race in Windsor Great Park and it used to the the end of season run but is in now in memory of a member who died far too young.
My plan was to see what sub-7 felt like but what with a downhill start and odd groups forming the first mile was inside 6:30 so that was a plan out of the window. Decided to hold the pace and so did the first lap in 28:00 (6:28 pace) and then took the foot off the pedal, but still did the second lap in 28:36 (6:37 pace) so quite chuffed with 6:32 average pace for a 8+ mile run, and 11 @ 6:52 including warm up and cool down.
Lorenzo sounds like you had a nice enjoyable race after a late start and sub 3 is there for the taking on a fast course
Gdawg great run soo soon after Berlin you are having a great year
PMJ got you monies worth out of that car ! Mines not far behind on 181,000m
Flexible hrs only works in some jobs , I know people at work have tried for redused hrs (shiftwork) and been told "business needs" and given the 2 finger salute !
although a different shift pattern is being considered now due to the strain of 4 nights in a row .
Nice bit of 6:30 milling
Up after nights and out for 14.5m at 7:09 average but it turned into a progression run after I woke up ,steady to mile 7 then 6:59, 6:45, 6:40 ,6:15 (max) then eased of for a mile to 6:53 then a 6:22 (max) and a 7:22 to finish .
Half in 1:33:06 and 58 mile for the week .
well done, Lorenzo & G-Dawg - no small feat completing (in admirable times) the 26.2 on such terrain & gradients . . . .
blank weekend here
, but enjoyable day today - had time to see my daughter en-route to a PB in a local (but rather large) 10K this morn, then nip over to the county XC league fixture to see my son feature towards the front end . . .
better start following their example and get my backside in gear . . . .
Good running at Beachy Head Lorenzo and G-Dawg. Not quite sure I have the stomach for a trail marathon but the 10k may be tempting in future years,
Solid base building week for me. 40 miles all easy including 11 miles today at 9:10s. Compared to 9:50s three weeks ago that feels like progress. Another week of base at 40 miles I think for next week, maybe a little less depending on how I feel.
Well done to Lorenzo and GD at Beachy Head. Given the profile, that's 2 excellent results.
Just quickly to say that I finished the Norfolk Coastal in an unofficial time of 3:45:10. Flat to undulating as you would expect in Norfolk, but hard going, especially in the sand dunes which took their toll on my legs towards the end, but I'm happy with the result. I'll try and post a report tomorrow. No official results yet, in fact the organiser's website seems to be having a few issues at the moment!
I don't fancy Beachy Head from those descriptions. Well done fellas!
Worksop Half Marathon for me. I surprised myself again with 1.28.39, which is over a minute faster than Robin Hood last month. You can never tell if you're on pace or not as it's such an up and down course. I didn't think I stood a chance of sub 90 as every time I looked at my watch I seemed to be doing over 7 min miling. I clearly didn't look at my watch during the downhills! Then spent the afternoon spending the vouchers from both of those races. Retail therapy with free money
Well done marathoners too! Very good results and that profile of Beachy looked very tough!
Excellent results from the Beachy Head Crew. Very impressive given the terrain. And well done to Speedy on getting speedier in just a month!
Your Strava log looked very impressive PMJ. Great racing in honour of what sounds like a great guy. I must admit I listen to your family exploits with some trepidation about what lies ahead. We are currently crashing straight through early adolescence with love bites on a headstrong 13 year old. The younger 3 sisters are all oblivious to what lies ahead. Meanwhile, I am not sure I can cope with this and it is just the beginning.
Congrats Speedy that's a nice surprise- comeback well on track.
Well done at Beachy Head guys, a far tougher examination than I had.
Ncle Town Moor mara was very pleasant but a small field and 7 laps got a bit tiring. The leaders took a wrong turn on the first lap where the marshal was awol. We all followed which added 0.3 miles to the course. It was clear early doors that my hips were stiff and pace was lacking, so I settled into a comfortable pace and just let the miles tick by. Time was poor at 3:21 (probably 3:19 without the detour). 7:34 avg. pace. I was 7th overall and 1st V50, so can't complain too much. Only the winner went under 3 hours.
Well done, OO. I saw quite a few people taking a wrong turn on Saturday too - or more accurately, heading back to join the correct route when they realised they had gone wrong.
I had booked a couple of days holiday for the end of last week, so after a day in the garden on Thursday, Mrs GD and I headed off to Happisburgh on Friday morning, where the marathon started on Saturday morning. Someone suggested that I ask our boss if we could stay at his property for the weekend and he kindly obliged. I didn't realise it was an 8 bedroom manor house until we arrived and Mrs GD was a bit overwhelmed. But it certainly made for a lovely break!
Norfolk Coastal Marathon 2016
Part One
I got to the start in good time to register and pin my number on (executed without any dithering this time!) and attach the timing chip. It was a foggy morning, and we had a pre-race briefing inside. I had a quick chat with the sub 18 parkrunner who helped my get my PB a few weeks ago. He was hoping for around 3:30, so obviously he was expecting a tough course too!
The course started with a 7 mile loop on a way-marked circular walk and we were told to check for signs at each junction as it was a self-navigated race. It followed a few small lanes and crossed quite a number of farmers' fields, which was not great with furrows and sugar beet to avoid! Quite a bit was single file, which helped me keep a lid on it a bit as planned. At one point, I lost the best part of a minute trying to work out if a signpost was for the circular walk or not and was about to get my map out when the next runners caught me up and ploughed straight on up the narrow lane indicated by the sign. We eventually joined the coast path just north of Happisburgh and passed the Manor house before coming to the first check point in the car park, where my wife was waiting and I took a few seconds to say hello. First seven miles completed in 1 hour (8:35, 8:27, 8:08, 7:51, 8:52 inc. stop, 8:00, 7:43 and a small bit of mile 8).
The next part of the coast path carries on along the cliff top and was easy going with plenty of space. We had walked along here on the Friday and I knew that we were approaching the first beach section. I nipped into the toilet for a 31 second comfort break and headed down onto the beach (mile 8 in 7:39). The sand was firmer nearer the sea to begin with, but eventually deteriorated with shingle nearer the end of this section which was around 4 miles (miles 9-11 in 8:07 inc. toilet break, 7:51, 7:47).
The next part of the coastal path is a newly opened section, I think, and it was a fairly narrow path for the next few miles. Fortunately I was pretty much on my own, although I did get stuck behind a couple of runners just before the halfway point (miles 12 and 13 in 8:11, 8:20). According to my watch I hit halfway around 1:45.
Very decent running from Speedy (clearly getting right back into form) and OO. Particular shout out to Gul who sounds as though he's had the perfect weekend! I trust you enjoyed the Norfolk Coastal?
No problems with going the wrong way at Beachy Head - superbly marshalled all the way round.
Pleased to have seen that I finished 59th (based on gun time) or 60th (on chip time) - either way I've pleased. The winner came in in a staggering 2:50:37 but bearing in mind that he's 2:25 marathonner I shouldn't be that surprised.
Up in Inverness this week so hoping to get a few runs in assuming my legs are up for it.
Oops - sorry to interrupt you there Gul.
Morning, Lorenzo, just nipped into the bathroom before the rest of the tribe wake up!
Norfolk Coastal Marathon 2016
Part Two
I was wearing a hi-vis jacket to store maps of the route and a couple of gels and I was starting to warm-up. I tried tying it round my waist but it kept slipping down, so I just had to sweat it out. Also had hat and gloves in a pocket by now and my HRM which had come loose, so it was jangling around a bit! Took a gel somewhere around this point too. Mile 14 in 8:15. Shortly after this came another check point (Horsey Gap) and someone offered to take my jacket saying he could hand it back at parkrun. Apparently he was from King's Lynn, but I didn't recognise him - slightly embarrassing. Had a cup of juice and a small square of flapjack. Took a split when I stopped, but forgot when I started again, but probably another minute or so lost here and also in the adjacent car-park where two marshalls were standing on the far side and I didn't spot them. A man parking his car, pointed me in the right direction and I nearly tripped over a line of string dividing the car-park!
We now headed into the dunes, I seem to recollect and the map seems to confirm, but it was fairly firm for a while. Mile 15 in 9:45, which included maybe 1:30 faffing around at the checkpoint/car-park, and 16 in 7:43. We were heading towards Winterton and gradually there was more loose sand which started to slow me down a bit. Miles 17 & 18 in 8:15, 8:24. It was somewhere around here that I passed my parkrunner pacer - a bit concerned that either I was overdoing it or he was having a bad day!
At the next check point, I sent Mrs GD a text message, to let her know how I was getting on, so she could get to the finish in time to see me. Plus another quick drink/nibble, all cost me another minute and a half. Mile 19 in 10:07 inc. stop. I had completely forgotten that we had another section on the beach coming up and I caught up with a couple of runners unsure of whether to hit the sand or not. A quick check of the map confirmed it was right and we set off again (time lost 0:22, I remembered to hit lap when I stopped AND started!) This was a fairly short section, maybe a mile or so. Mile 20 in 9:10.
The next few miles were back in the dunes and were probably the worst. It was undulating (for Norfolk) and fairly loose sand. Wherever possible, I ran along the top of the sea-wall just to find a hard surface. Now starting to slow down, miles 21-23 in 8:28, 8:59, 9:32. Next came the final checkpoint in Caister. Another minute stop to drink and quickly give Mrs GD an update. After another mix-up in a car-park I finished mile 24 in 10:35 inc. the 1 minute stop. Finally the course reached solid ground along the sea-road. I almost knelt down to kiss the concrete.
I was hoping to finish strongly, but my legs had nothing left. Mile 25 in 8:32. We reached Yarmouth and headed away from the sea-front, past the racecourse and up towards a main road, where marshalls were at a pedestrian crossing and I lost 49 seconds waiting for the lights to change, before heading back north a short way to the greyhound stadium and the finish! Mile 26 in 9:10 (inc. the 49 secs). The finish was a lap of the stadium and I did manage a sprint along the finishing straight to come in at 3:45:10 by my watch (final 0.29 miles in 2:24).
Overall, I am pleased with the result. I think I had about 6 or so minutes lost for various stops. Still no official results, but only 15 mins over my PB for my first proper off-road marathon (White Peak was all on good solid surfaces!). Doing all my training on the road/path didn't prepare my legs for the course! Enjoyable day out, although unfortunately Mrs GD didn't make it in time to see me due to road closures. And having the manor house to relax in afterwards certainly helped! Reading about Beachy Head, I am glad I opted for this one as I don't think I would have made it over the Seven Sisters!
Lorezno/GD/OO - how are the legs today? Mine were very sore on Saturday, but even by Sunday morning, they felt surprisingly good. Do you usually recover quicker after running on soft surfaces? Only sore bit is one very purple/red toe-nail and surrounding skin. Yuck.
Good run and report there Gul. Sand and gravel is very energy sapping and the time is something to be pleased about. You now need to line up a spring marathon without any obstacles in it.
Gul nice report and that mara sounds very tough ,even finding where the course went was taxing .The softer ground and easier pace should make recovery faster than normal after your toe stops glowing in the dark
As said a fast marathon next to see what you are capable off 
Provisional results now out and puts me in 10th place
The winner finished in 3:13 and ran VMLM in 2:29:xx this year. My running acquaintance was 12 mins behind me. 122 finishers out of 128 starters. So how about Spring Shakespeare next?
Great effort, Gul, and splendid top 10 placing - as I said to Lorenzo/GD - don't know how you cover the mara distance over such demanding terrain - and as PMJ states - get on the tarmac and bag a good time - you certainly capable . . .
nicely understated work by OO, too - and good to see Speedy getting back to it . . .
Great report, Gul and a splendid result, you must be very pleased!
There was a marshalling blip at Beachy Head I forgot to put in my report. At about 22 miles I ended up on the wrong side of an electric fence, there were quite a few of us there, I have no idea how it happened. Some walkers and another runner shouted over that we were off course. I looked back along the fence and running back was not an option. I ended up climbing over a barbed wire fence into another field with 3ft grass and shrubs to cut my way back to the main route. I wasn't annoyed, I just found it funny as it wasn't a race and all part of the Beachy experience. It definitely cost me a chunk of time, though.
I agree with the terrain making recovery easier. My thighs are as you'd expect today as well as parts of my glutes but nowhere near as bad as a raced road marathon.
GD
Gul top ten ! you're in the big league now
That time again October stats 250 miles at an average of 7.8 mph (7:42 m/miles)
Sounds like a thorough examination Gul, makes mine sound like a jog in the park (which it was). So pleased the hard work paid off for you. You have been in sparkling form lately.
Legs are ok today. I'll run tomorrow. Keswick parkrun Saturday then Derwentwater 10 on Sunday. Hope I recover enough to give junior a contest.
Sounds like a fun (?) day out at the Coastal. Rather you than me, though: the thought of even having to contemplate any sort of navigation on tired legs with a frazzled brain fills me with dread! Hope you are both recovering well!
5M easy this morning, at a surprisingly sprightly 7.43m/m. Guess the legs have almost recovered from Chicago, then!
Gul, that sounds like a nightmare! I did a similar one last year in Derbyshire (27,3 miles with a list of directions and the occasional sign pinned to a tree) but it took me 4 hours 27. Never again!
End of month stats:
200.48 miles at an average pace of 7:33. Had to do a 6 instead of my normal recovery 5 to top 200 miles for the month. 1,909 for the year so, fingers crossed, topping 2,000 will be a formality.
Gul - Great report, sounds like you ran very strongly in the circumstances and a great finishing spot too. Look forward to seeing you run a flat road one soon and smashing that pb of yours. Did you get to speak to the parkrunner friend of yours after and find out what contributed to his demise? Your pace even on those shingles was good. How are the calf muscles? Sounds like Mrs GD enjoyed the stay in the manor too, a nice treat for you both I'm sure.
OO - 26.2 miles is far enough without having to run an extra bit but still a very respectable time. Are you made of steel or what?
Lorenzo - That looks like a very strong run by you too and a good position on what must have been a really tough run. I wouldn't dream of something like that. You should pop over and do the Jersey Ultra sometime, I think you would love it and do well in it.
G-Dawg - You came well under your target and another very good run. Well done and you seemed to enjoy it too.