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Wokingham Half-Marathon
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that is one early start Mick!
When do you schedule breakfast into the mixer?
And do you regard a flat half marathon as a treat compared to some of those steep ones you do!?
Hi Stevie
Yes it is an early start, though we do at times start out earlier, it simply depends on were we travelling to, and race start time
But Sunday running is our day off from life, it’s our day of leisure, it’s what we enjoy
we set out early as we have lots to do on arrival, and I hate travelling to an event in traffic, and I can set up slowly then when I arrive and relax, and the major psychological key is being relaxed with no butterflies or nerves
Breakfast and stuff
It goes like, Arrive, ( Suss out toilets and changing if it’s a new venue to us , ) but this one we know well,
Then it’s coffee, then it’s Assemble Phil’s wheelchair fully, ready to race
Then Give Phillip his medication, then we have our cereals with warm milk, which we carry with us
Then it’s a bit of time to relax coffee etc, then Toilet and change Phillip according to weather conditions, rather have a layer to much on him, then him cold with not enough
Then it’s me basically when I ’m ready change and Vaseline, and a little stretch and warm up
Wokingham is a nice flatish course yes, it’s a real treat - it’s not flat but compared to some we do it is , but we enjoy it all, sometimes it’s all sadly over a little too quickly, hence the reason we like about 6 or 7 FM’s a year and some 20’s as well
A course like Wokingham, and many others with my fitness and experience I see it as a fun run I suppose, it should be run clinically, methodically and quite effortlessly , but that’s getting into the inner deep psychological mood, sometimes I can, sometimes I cannot, if I go all out and race, sometime I get tired, sometimes I feel real fresh after
It’s like everything in life, it’s all on the day
good philosophy Mick....
I'm off for some adrenaline ruined sleep now!
Will try and say a brief hello to you tomorrow..enough to show my face and support, but not enough to break your routine up!
Sleep well everyone...
Hope you all enjoy the race and I'll hopefully catch up with some of you tomorrow.
I've heard one of my friends is running as Fred Flintstone tomorrow so look out for him and Wilma! Give a big shout to Mick N Phil
At the back, long hair and a pirate top. Give us a wave.
Looks like its on then - provided I can dig my way out of Hazlemere
Better get going....
similar journey to you bus boy...from Wycombe
meant to collect a mate at 8am.,.it's already 803..so i best get the heck going!!
see you all soon!
Just went outside to check the temperature and my car say +1.5C.
Have a good run everybody.
sun and blue sky emerging in Reading
i don't care what the weather man says if the weather man says it's raining, you won't hear me complaining
nice course, good start finish but no goody bag. I also would have killed for one of those foil things they give at out reading at the end. It was a long cold walk back to my car.
mick/phil, good to meet you for a chat in the car park
Not too bad for me considering the weather and my lack of training - struggled with an 8 mile run last Sunday
Mick n Phil - I am the Maidenhead runner you caught up with about mile 6 - sorry I did not have enough breath to talk very much! Great to chat for a while though.
Thanks to the organisers, marshalls and the Scouts with the water. Something to eat at the end would have been great though, the hot drink was appreciated but needed chocolate!
Just back. Not sure whether it was a PB or not, as I missed the start hooter by what I think was 4-5 secs, with my watch showing around 7 secs below my pb - will have to wait and see!
I was determined to get through the 10 mile mark in sub 60 for the first time, but realised it was going to be very tight , so I put on a hard spurt on the hill up the motorway bridge only to find myself missing out by probably 2 secs, vomiting and being passed by a big group! Feeling sorry for myself I was very humbled at that exact moment to be overtaken by Richard Whitehead ( I think) - double amputeee and world HM and marathon record holder - inspirational, and certainly got me going again! (I never caught him though!!)
That was good, once the weather cleared. Twas pissing down when I arrived so I cowered in the massage tent before venturing out at the last minute to the start line. But conditions round the course were good.
I caught a brief glimpse of Mr K in the tent but he moved on before I could hail him. Didn't see anyone else, but then I did depart quickly to catch the train. Oh well, I wasn't deliberately being unsociable.
Chuffed with my time, which by my watch was 1:44 something. Been a while since I held sub 8-min miling in a half.
The organization at Wokingham is usually pretty good but it seemed a bit off this year. Could have done with some walkways over the quagmire outside the marquees, and the baggage tent and the start itself were shambolic. Hopefully it was just a blip this year. Still a good event.
I enjoyed it!
Really unfit so rubbish time, but I did shout hi to Mick 'n' Phil.
Saw a Mr K on the course Mutley.
There is a lot of rubbish in the bushes near Wokingham, and not from the runners. This really surprised me. Shows you I had plenty of time to look around.
Thought the marshals were great.
Muttley I totally agree with you about the baggage tent. I don't usually put any kit in as I rely on leaving everything other than what I'll have with me in the car. But this morning it was just too cold and wet and the car park was too far away to contemplate leaving my fleece there, so I had to brave the bag store - what a nightmare. Although I enjoyed it once it got going.
I was a bit peed off about all the people joining the starting line up late and then getting in the way, I spent a lot of the first 3-4 miles dodging around people and I'd started a little further forward than perhaps I should have. I got the time I was aiming for though and I know I'm on track for a sub-4 Stratford Mara which is my ultimate aim si it's all good.
I also saw a Mr K but I think that was before the start, didn't see mick and phil.
Puffin1
I was one of those late joiners, because of the queue, though not sure if where I joined was the front or not, but definitely didn't get in anyones way as I was passing people for about 4 or 5 miles!
Not my best time for a half by far - 6.30 minutes down on my last one, but I'm taking a different approach to my training at the moment so hopefully this is where I bottom out and start to improve again! For that reason I didn't get as much out of it as I'd have liked as it was my 10th half and 50th race altogether. Having said that, those milestones alone will keep me happy for a few weeks.
Puffin, I hope you weren't one of the people who got in my way by starting too far forward
The first 1/2mile was an absolute free for all. I was surprised to be running reasonably fast and find people absolutely dawdling about 2miles in and wondered how in blazes they got so far up the field!
I did join the kerfuffle late, but mostly due to the baggage tent being an incredible free for all shambles. A massive queue going back about 200 people to the left, and people just piling in late to the right!On the muddiest field in the history of the world.
I must admit I skulked in on the right, but with 10mins to go, who's going to go to the back of a 200 strong queue!!
Therefore, joined the field near the 1hr 20 sign, but was amused to see lots of very slow runners there, as obviously the true faster runners where miles further forward! I had no idea where the start line was, so gambled on when to start the watch and I think I passed the actual start mats a bit later!
Wherever I started, I was delighted and a little shocked to pretty much run 6miln miling until 10miles, beating my 10k and 10mile pbs on route and just ducking under 1hr for 10miles!
The next couple of miles were more 6:13s but there were some slight inclines then. A mile more in 6mins and came out with a watch time of 1hr 19m 06s. The finishing line clock actually said 1hr 19:50, but that's the time if you were right on the start line, which I sure wasn't!
Therefore hopeful that the 1hr 19:06 i recorded may even be reduced in the official results!
Either way reduced my pb from 1hr 22:53 hugely , so utterly delighted.
Hope everyone else's races went well.
Mick, I picked McBood (Poster above ) so didn't get there too early to say hello...Hope you and Phil enjoyed today. Although I wasn't struggling , and ran well, I wouldn't fancy 40-50 halfs a year like you guys!!
ps well done to MC Bood for racking up his 50th race and 10th half.
There definitely was a medal ... being handed out by youngsters by the finish line. If I recall correctly they weren't in marshal's bibs so maybe that's why you didn't spot them ... they weren't obvious.
Well done Stevie for a seriously tasty time. My time this year was 15 mins faster than last year, but then the air temperature was about 20 degrees lower
Thanks Stevie G though "who's going to go to the back of a 200 strong queue!!" ...me and others!
Well done on smashing your pb though.