Trimpell 20M

Garmin Track | Results | Photos

Being ill almost continuously for 4 months is not the ideal preparation for running a 20-mile road race.

Trimpell 20 mile route

I tried to start as slowly as possible, but ended up in 3rd or 4th position going round the track at the start.

Race start

I probably went through the first kilometre a bit fast (3:42), before settling down to just under 4 minutes per kilometre. However during kilometre 4, my Garmin suddenly started bleeping incessantly at me in the most annoying fashion, and the screen was filled with a message saying "Lap database full". This is such a stupid feature that the Garmin 405 doesn't simply overwrite the old data.

I didn't want to lose my entire Garmin track, so I had to fiddle around with unlocking the touch bezel, then browsing to  Menu > History > Delete > Old Activities > Delete? > "Yes", which wasn't terribly easy whilst still trying to shuffle along. By the time I'd finished faffing with the Garmin, the group I'd been running with were several hundred metres ahead, and I was feeling mentally drained from the multi-tasking.

I then backed off a fair bit and pottered along pretty steadily for the next 10km. I went through 10 miles in 64 minutes, which had been my pre-race target time to achieve sub 2:10 for 20 miles. However, very soon after the 10-mile marker I got attacked with a stitch, so couldn't breath properly for a mile or so. I also started feeling very tired and worn out generally.

By 11 miles, I knew the wheels had fallen off. I got repeated stitches, a pain in my right foot, and generally couldn't breathe properly or generate any pace, both of which are quite useful when trying to run.

The second half of the race became a steady procession of runners passing me, whilst I shuffled along at little more than walking pace. I dropped 18 places from Mile 10 to Mile 19. Once I passed the 19 mile sign, I started to make a bit more effort just to get the thing over with.  I did increase the pace a fraction, but not enough to prevent dropping one more place. As we approached the Salt Ayre stadium I could hear the first lady breathing down my neck, so I tried to maintain a gap, not knowing if we would have to complete a lap of the track. I kept something back just in case, but luckily this wasn't needed.

At 18.5 miles

So the end result was 2:17:42. At the time I was simply relieved to finish. However in retrospect, it was disturbing how I dropped nearly 8 minutes in the second half, and doesn't bode well for any thoughts of marathon running.

On a more positive note, Ellie had a great run to finish as 2nd lady in a time of 2:24:36, in her first long run since London Marathon 2011.

Ellie at 18.5 miles

Loch Katrine Half Marathon

Garmin Track | Results

My first run for a couple of weeks. A low-key one off event organised by Antarctic Odyssey.

Having pre-entered a while ago, I thought I might as well turn up, even though I wasn't remotely fit enough to run a half marathon at the moment. The warm up at Trossachs Pier was bitterly cold, so it was a relief to get going at 9.30am.

My only competition, Brian McGarrity of Shettleston quickly disappeared out of sight, leaving me to plod along in 2nd place. I had a plan to run at 4min/km pace, which would scrape me in just below 1hr25m. I duly passed through 5 miles in 32 minutes, which was bang on pace, however this didn't account for the serious hills being packed into the middle third of the race, hence my next 5 miles took 35 minutes, and I was  already looking at a 1hr27m time at best.

After passing the 10 mile marker, I was into the final 5km, which meant I was catching a steady stream of the slower 10k runners. Despite having plenty of people to chase, I was feeling fairly jaded by this stage, and running into the headwind was taking its toll, so I never really managed to speed up towards the end, and just pottered in with a time of 1:28:14, which was pretty much the slowest half marathon I've run, but it was nice to get out for a run on such a scenic course.

Loch Katrine Half Marathon