Silverstone Half Marathon

What can I say about running for 13.1 miles. It's stupid. It hurts. I've done it before. I didn't enjoy it then, so why am I going? Well, for a few reasons. Firstly, the mind plays tricks on you: it tells you that actually it was good; there was a massive sense of achievement and it was a great day out. What it doesn't remember is the pain. PLUS I was going to do it last year (you see this is what happens- you complete one... feel a bit smug with yourself and stupidly and immediately scour the web for another one and book on straight away!)- booked my place and all but couldn't do it because of all the hospital shenanigans and, obviously hardly any training.
So Sunday 11 March arrives and 0815 Neil and Nigel do too. Off we go to Silverstone with conversations revolving around having a 'nervous poo' and the state of what comes out... for those who need detail at this point, Neil was 5 poos and clay-like; Nige was 4 poos and runny as: meanwhile I couldn't push anything out and was getting worried! (one needs a good evacuation before such an event- trust me!)
The event was well organised and got there in plenty of time. It's  organised by the same team who are responsible for the Virgin London Marathon. It is a popular race, run round the Silverstone racetrack and many runners also use it as a training race prior to the London Marathon. Not sure how many people run this. In the region of 6-8,000? 

baggage area before the start

Anyway we dumped out stuff in the bag area and headed out to the start line. At this point I should mention the weather. After last weeks washout, there wasn't a cloud in the sky. It was like a summers day. A bit breezy but in a good way.

waiting for the start

We got to our time zones ready to begin: Neil headed to the sub 2hr area (show off!) whilst me and Nige were in the 2-2:30hr zone. In fact we were stood next to a pace setter for running at 9 minute miles which would have brought us in at just under 2 hrs (nice idea Nige, but I don't think so!)

And so the race began. As usual with such a large event, it takes a while for everyone to spread out, find a pace and not be tripping over each other. I felt good during the first few miles and the view of Silverstone from the track is pretty special. It works well as a half marathon as the roads are wide (most of the time) so everyone can get a pace. At some point during the first 5 miles, Nige twisted something in his ankle. We are quite well matched for pace but at this point we'd got separated a bit. We managed find each other and carried on. By 10 kilometers (just over 6 miles) I'd run my fastest 10k at 56 mins and was still feeling the love (you see, the brain... it's telling me I was enjoying it!!!)
By mile 8 I was in need of a poo...Sorry but I have to mention it as it was a big deal at the time! Do I stop and go...do I carry on... it was all I could think about until we ran through a section with a load of spectators cheering. That eventually took my mind off it and so I carried on.

By mile 11 I was buggered. Well, let's examine this: I wasn't out of breath, so what was the problem... my legs. My legs were SCREAMING for me to stop. If there was a heads-up display with warning alarms attached to parts of the body, every single red light was going mental in my legs. I slowed down and began to walk. It was all I could do. I'd manage to run a bit, walk a bit plus I'd not picked up a water bottle at the last water stop (at 10 miles I think) and this had made quite a difference. I might have managed to keep going if I had. By 12.5 miles, Nige had caught me up again (I think he'd walked a bit because of his ankle) and he tried to get me running again (by this point I am using the term running in its loosest possible sense) but I'd nothing left. By the time I saw the run in to the finish, I managed to pull it together for a final jog through the finish line (helped along by the crowds) to be met by hop-a-long Nige. Official time was 2hours 16minutes and 33 seconds (Nige beat my by 59 secs)

Marathonfoto.com VERY expensive £30 for one file is too much in this day and age
That is taking advantage of people. GFNY sold riders every picture for less and was a very fair deal. If they charged less, they would make more sales. It's not rocket science AND stop me and everyone else using proofs!

You see- look at that picture above. We'd only just finished and we both have stupid grins. We are both knackered and in pain. We both need food and a drink BUT the sense of achievement does this to you. It's not a bad thing but it shows how daft humans are. This is what life is about. Yes I had a good old moan about all this earlier but that's the logic. We are not logical. We are silly and we like to be silly. Some people get more for being boring in their 9-5 jobs. Some people turn running (and any other sport) into a career (which then begins to become way more serious) whereas others do a job so they can be silly for the rest of the time- in our case running (though I'm happier on a bike nowadays!)

Anyway, after we all met up, we hobbled back to the car and off to McDonalds for a healthy lunch! Now, look at that picture. Again, stupid delirious grins all round. You can also see it's a lovely sunny day. You cannot see, however, any sun cream. But we don't look burnt, we look okay I'd have said. Oops, maybe not...

Also, for those of you that care, I eventually got to the loo for a full evacuation. Nige asked today about it... all I could say was loose and alot of gas!

So, would I do that again? I doubt it. I've run 2 half marathons, so that is my marathon! I'm happiest running a 10k once in a while (the next being London with Scarlett) but 13.1 miles is a bit daft. It was a great day out (there I go again!) but I think I'm going to have another stab at sprint triathlons. Got to get back with my swimming, but I think shorter runs, tri's and cyclo sportives are the way to go. After all, everything in moderation!