Dancing At Lunacy

Week 3 of my training for the Lisburn Half-marathon, and I got my 4 training runs in.

Monday started the week in a sombre mood, as news of the tragic events at the Boston Marathon shocked the world. All those runners and supporters, trying so hard to make the world a better place, under attack from as yet unclear people and motives.

On Tuesday, I did the Hillhall Road loop to the East.  My shuffle came up with Beautiful People, which was very apt – it’s my daughter’s theme tune, and she was flying in from London today, but I also dedicated it in my head to the beautiful people of Boston.

My next run would usually be on Thursday evening in the gym, but I had planned to go out for dinner that evening with my daughter. So I took Max for a short run round the block instead. In the rain. The distance and time was much shorter than I’d thought, so it was only a 15 minute run, at a pace of 7.10 mins per km, exactly the same as Tuesday’s pace.
On Saturday morning I was taking part in the Chartered Accountants ireland charity weekend. This was taking the form of a Park Run, though it wasn’t in my usual venue. Instead I headed to the Queens sport facilities at Upper Malone. I hadn’t been here for a while, and I mistakenly went to the old buildings, but I soon spotted a group of runners hangin around at a newer pavillion. There were about 30 of us CAs running to raise money for Aware, and I managed to catch up with a few people I hadn’t seen in a number of years. No chance of catching u with them on the course, though – twice round the Trim Trail, no very steep hills, thankfully, but I managed it in EXACTLY the same time as last week’s Parkrun = 31.15. I’m a wee bit annoyed at myself that I didn’t push just a little bit harder and knock even one second off my time, but hey, I’m consistent!

Sunday was my long run, and I’d signed up to do the Titanic Quarter 10k.  I’d done this race last year in 1 hour 15, so I was aiming to beat that time, though I knew from my Parkrun 5k times that a one hour time was very ambitious.  I’d carb loaded with spelt pasta and 4 cheese sauce the night before, and had a breakfast of oats soaked overnight in orange juice, with some added flax seed and dried sour cherries.  The free TQ10K Tshirts were a lovely mesh material, so I chose to wear that one, with my long trousers, as the weather was looking a bit mixed.  We headed downtown in good time, called into St Georges Market en route to pick up some bacon and black pudding bread for friends, and I didn’t eat anything more, apart form the wee samples of cheese, curry sauces etc.  I sipped on a Herbalife energy drink.

Over in the shadow of Titanic Belfast, I did a bit of last minute adjusting to my wardrobe – I wanted to have my name and number displayed, but I also wanted to wear my jacket, as it had the zipped pockets where I carry my phone, and hence my MapMyRun app.  So in the end I pinned my number onto the back of the jacket.  A quick warm-up provided by Fitness First, a moment of silence to remember Boston, and we were off!  I tried to keep my pace steady, about what I’d do for the Parkruns, and tried not to worry about everyone passing me.  Once we’d passed the 5km mark, I was able to pick off a few runners who were starting to fade.  I slowed down at the water station to catch my breath, and then continued at a good pace.  I identified a good pace setter, and used her to guide me home for the final 2 km, where I was pushing myself hard.

I didn’t catch the time displayed at the finish line, but MapMyRun suggested it was MUCH faster than last year, and when the official time was texted to me later that day I was thrilled that I’d done it in 1 hour 3 minutes!

My shuffle was on excellent form too:

Phoenix – Run, run, run

Terrorvision – Do you wanna go faster

Silhouette – I Can’t Keep Up

This last one is my TQ10k anthem, so it put a smile on my face when it came on.

Thanks so much to all those who’ve donated so far – I also have a  sweepstake going to guess my finishing time – pay a pound/ a euro, closest to actual time wins a bottle of wine!  If you’d like to have a go, let me know.

http://www.justgiving.com/Linda-HarleyGillespie

Filed under: half-marathon, Lisburn, running | Tagged: half-marathon |