Surrounded by water: The Isle of Wight Marathon 2006

I had a few questions coming into this race: what sort of shape was I in after a very hard Boston Marathon 5 weeks ago? Would my lack of long runs in the intervening weeks affect my endurance? Given that I might now be more rested than after all the touristy stuff in Boston, and with it being cooler, and less crowded, could I in fact get close to my Boston time? Just how hilly is the Isle Of Wight Marathon?

I had to tell myself that times were not important. What mattered here was it was a race for position. I'd entered this because it was the Hampshire Championships.

The Isle Of Wight Marathon and the Boston Marathon make quite a good pairing. Boston is the world's oldest marathon, and IOW is Europe's oldest. This was the 50th running of the race, and we were promised some special events to mark the occasion. More history later...

This is my local marathon: another good reason for doing it. On a clear day I can in theory see the start line from the bottom of my road. Just 7 miles of Solent in between. It had been suggested that I windsurf over - don't tempt me! If I can get a safety boat and crew together, then you never know! One day maybe...

The ferry seemed a better option. The weather was already looking rather dodgy on the crossing - very poor visibility - no sign of IOW until we were nearly there. I got soaked walking to Ryde Rowing Club, but settled down for a chat with the posse with plenty of time to spare:


You can provide your own drinks at this event. I'd labelled all mine with a bright dayglo pink windsurfing sail/flag with my number on. I'd imagined it being like London where you have to spot your drink and grab it off a table as you run past. At registration I placed my drinks in the appropriately labelled boxes for each drinks station. They certainly stood out! Not realising they were mine, Graham commented that an elite runner had deposited their drinks. I thought he was joking. I only found out afterwards he was serious!

A final trip to the loo, and I met Ulla Korenjak, last year's winner. She nervously asked me what sort of time I was going to do it in. I suppose I looked the part in my crop top and skimpy shorts! I was quite flattered but didn't really think I was a threat to her. She confided she was worried she hadn't recovered from her marathon 4 weeks ago. She seemed happier when I said I'd done Boston in 3:31 5 weeks earlier. I now know she ran the Linz Danube Marathon in 2:58 - wow!

The rain had abated as we filed out for the start. A quick exchange of the typical runners' war stories and we lined up at the start. I spotted Judy Brown of Snorbans Striders (I spelt that phonetically - I used to live near St Albans). Mike Gratton had told me to look out for her. She'd been on one of his coaching weeks. She's very experienced and about my pace currently - she'd run London in 3:30.

It was nice to do a marathon where I was starting just a few rows back from the front. With only 50 women in a field of 300 I could pretty much see all of the opposition. It often bugs me that I have no idea where I am in the field. Hopefully this race would be different.

We were off and I was in 3rd place behind Ulla and Judy, running smoothly for 2 flat laps of the canoe lake to warm us up before we hit the beast of a first hill. It's a well thought out course! It might seem odd running 2 half mile laps to start, but it works well and provides a good send off for the supporters. It's also the only truly flat bit of the course!

After half a mile I started to get overtaken by the other women. I kept my cool though, having faith in my pacing strategy - I had to run my own race. As I passed Graham, with my camera, I shouted "To the hills!":



Neil was somewhere up ahead. He was in a similar position to me, having run London 4 weeks earlier. After his brilliant 2:50 in London what sort of shape would he be in?


The unstoppable Plodding Hippo and Shades followed:


Sadly John never made it to the start line, having injured his back a week earlier. Get well soon John!

After a mile and a bit of gentle flat running the hard work started as we turned away from Ryde seafront and hit the first hill. It's steep! I tried to hold back and keep to a nice even effort. Yet more women passed me, some bounding up the hill, really attacking it. Either they are fine athletes, or they are going to pay for that later! I played my waiting game.

The opening miles are tricky. They are very hilly, and have some steep downhill sections. I was trying to keep relaxed downhill and let gravity do the work, but it was tricky to keep my heartrate down. I had to concentrate on not going too fast. Pacing. Discipline. Patience.

The main feature of today's race had now well and truly made its presence felt. Oh lordy it rained! It rained lots! It was wet. It was very wet! It was swimmingly wet. It was wetter than Tory wets at an open air pool party in Manchester. It was as wet as... You get the idea!

To add to the mix, as we turned towards Newport we now had miles of strong headwind to contend with. I was wondering if my choice of crop top and shorts was wise under the circumstances!

Between the drinks stations the marshals were handing out sponges to keep us cool! Hah!

The drinks station marshals were fantastic. I needn't have worried about spotting my drink as they handed it to me at each station. It helped though that I could clearly see which marshal had my drink. I mimed a flag and made a sail shape with my thumb and forefinger at each stop, but they could see my number anyway. Several thanked me for helping them with my clear marking of the drinks. Smooth operation!

Why then did I run 26.2 miles with 2 gels stuffed down my crop top? I felt I needed an emergency supply just in case. I guess I have trust issues.

At one of the timing points someone shouted out that I was in 9th. That's the first time I've done a race knowing what position I was in. I now just had to catch a few places up.

My first target was Judy. I could see her up ahead and I was definitely closing. Soon I passed her and I was in 8th. I then had a challenge from another woman as I slowed slightly after a touch of stitch at a drinks station. I was briefly back to 9th but soon re-established 8th. This really was a proper race! I'm usually not bothered about people passing me if I'm doing my own thing, but here it mattered. I'm loving this!

I had a Fleet and Crookham man on my shoulder for most of the race. We didn't say a word - he just stayed there slightly behind my right shoulder, occasionally passing if I got held up, and then happy to let me take the lead. I found that rather odd. We weren't racing each other. Did he think that I was about his pace and wanted to not have to concentrate on pacing? How did he know I wasn't going to do something silly? Why couldn't he take some of the head wind? Just seemed slightly odd.

The hills and rain just kept on coming making for a steady stream of water flowing down the gutter. It made you want to run further out into the road but the traffic was so heavy in places this seemed a little dangerous. The race director had told us that this was a road race and we were to keep off the pavements, which I found a little odd given the crowded roads. He may have meant us not to cut corners, but I think better advice might have been to use pavements wherever possible. The pavements often seemed the drier option, but all that meant was that the cars could cut in closer and catch the puddles in the gutter. I got a mega soaking from a 4-wheel drive. Just when you thought it couldn't get any wetter!

A steady stream of a more helpful kind was the line of runners ready to be reeled in and overtaken. I don't think anyone overtook me after the opening miles - I definitely have marathon pacing sussed. I was playing guess the girl. It's surprising how even a manly man can look a bit girly in a high neck vest (men's usually scoop lower than women's) and lycra shorts from 400m back. I had a few disappointments but every now and then a girl would come in sight: hmm, short hair, boyish hips, but is that a sports bra under the vest? It is! Bingo!

8th place became 7th then 6th, 5th. Things were going well!

I had a problem knowing how much to drink. With 3 miles between drinks stations I wanted more than just a gulp, but in fact given the conditions I didn't need much more. I could have probably just kept my mouth open and got enough water. I drank too much - I got major stitch at 15 miles. I tried all the tricks to shift it but it seemed to last ages. At one stage I got a stab of pain right down my midline. It was as if my whole digestive system had suddenly had a spasm. It was somewhat alarming but was mercifully brief. It took my mind off the stitch though which lifted soon after. Must remember to drink less at the next drinks!

Shanklin will forever be in my memory for torrential rain. I think that was the heaviest cloudburst of the whole race. I wasn't cold though: the croptop was proving to be a good choice of attire - less clothing to get wet.

There were a few miles of urban running through Sandown and onto Brading. I'd finally dropped Mr Fleet and Crookham as he faded. After a few false alerts with long male hairstyles I overtook what proved to be my final woman to take me to what was probably 4th place. On the long long hill out of Brading I spotted a high neck Serpentine vest which I thought might be a girl, but it was another false alert. He was struggling up the hill and I overtook him with ease.

We crested what I knew to be the final hill and now we had 2 miles of downhill and flat running to the finish. I passed Ulla jogging back up the hill - she looked happy so I guessed she'd probably won. I was then overtaken by the Serpie man absolutely flying downhill. I felt strong so he must have had quite a second wind. We rounded the corner onto the seafront and then turned for a final lap of the canoe lake. With half a mile to go I passed Mr Serpie who was now walking. How can you be so strong and then conk out within site of the finish line? I suppose I'm never going to fully understand the challenge of the marathon until I've experienced that myself. I hope I don't!

Despite the hills, that was the freshest I've felt at the end of a marathon. The downhill mile 26 was done in 7:30 and the flat last canoe lake lap at 7:40/mile - well ahead of average race pace. I crossed the line in 3:36:25. No blisters, few aches - I felt good!



Neil had a few problems in the closing stages. He wasn't so fresh. He still managed a respectable 3:12:18, but I think he was a bit disappointed with that.



Carol and Graham did a fine job of supporting. I think we have a perspective problem in this pic. I'm 5'11'', but surely I'm not that much taller than Carol? Look at the size of that medal though!



There was some debate at the finish about where I'd come. I was again rather flattered to be asked by a couple of girls whether I'd won. I assured them I hadn't. Ulla returned to confirm she had won, but had only spotted one other so thought I was 3rd. Ooh!

So where had I come in the Hampshire Championships? John was trying to work out the results but was being tight lipped.

I promised you some more history. Well here it is. take a look at the following table. Spot anything?

Women's world marathon record progression

Time	Athlete, Country	Place	Date
3:40:22	Violet Percy, GBR	London	03 Oct 1926
3:37:04	Merry Lepper, USA	Culver City	16 Dec 1963
3:27:45	Dale Greig, GBR	Ryde	23 May 1964
3:19:33	Mildred Sampson, NZL	Auckland	21 Jul 1964
3:15:22	Maureen Wilton, CAN	Toronto	06 May 1967
3:07:26	Anni Pede, GER	Waldniel	16 Jul 1967
3:02:53	Caroline Walker, USA	Seaside	28 Jun 1970
3:01:42	Elizabeth Bonner, USA	Philadelphia	09 May 1971
2:46:30	Adrienne Beame, AUS	Werribee	31 Aug 1971
2:46:24	Chantal Langlace, FRA	Neuf Brisach	27.10.1974
2:43:54	Jacqueline Hansen, USA	Culver City	01.12.1974
2:42:42	Liane Winter, GER	Boston	21 Apr 1975
2:40:15	Christa Vahlensieck, GER	Dulmen	03 May 1975
2:38:19	Jacqueline Hansen, USA	Eugene	12 Oct 1975
2:35:15	Chantal Langlace, FRA	Oyarzun	01 May 1977
2:34:47	Christa Vahlensieck, GER	West-Berlin	10 Sep 1977
2:32:29	Grete Waitz, NOR	New York	22 Oct 1978
2:27:32	Grete Waitz, NOR	New York	21 Oct 1979
2:25:41	Grete Waitz, NOR	New York	26 Oct 1980
2:25:29	Allison Roe, NZL	New York	28 Oct 1981
2:25:29	Grete Waitz, NOR	London	17 Apr 1983
2:22:42	Joan Benoit, USA	Boston	18 Apr 1983
2:21:06	Ingrid Kristiansen, NOR	London	21 Apr 1985
2:20:47	Tegla Loroupe, KEN	Rotterdam	19 Apr 1998
2:20:43	Loroupe, KEN	Berlin	26 Sep 1999
2:19:46	Naoko Takahashi, JPN	Berlin	30 Sep 2001
2:18:47	Catherine Ndereba, KEN	Chicago	07 Oct 2001
2:17:18	Paula Radcliffe, GBR	Chicago	13 Oct 2002
2:15:25	Paula Radcliffe, GBR	London	13 Apr 2003

Apart from the fact that British women top and tail the list, did you notice Dale Greig in 3rd spot setting a world record in Ryde? This marathon has history! In 1964 women weren't allowed to enter officially, just as I reported in my Boston write-up. It wasn't until 1976 that the first women's results were officially recorded for IOW. Dale's 1964 record though is officially recognised. Along with Roberta Gibb and Kathy Switzer in Boston she's a true pioneer of our sport, in an era when women were consider too frail to do anything further than 800m on the track. (It astonishes me that the women's 1500m only became an Olympic event in 1972!)

So onto the prize giving, and to my delight, not only did I get 3rd lady, but my prize was presented by 1964 IOW world record breaker Dale Greig. Apologies to Dale for this rather cropped shot:



I also got 2nd vet 35 prize.

Onto the Hampshire medals. Neil got a pleasant surprise with bronze in the V40s:


And after a nervous wait. I got gold!. I'm the Hampshire W40 Champion! I got the medal I came for but hadn't dared dream it would be this shiny. Result!!



A final twist to the day. This was the scene that greeted us as we headed back to the ferry.



Back in Portsmouth an hour later and it was dull and raining. What an odd day!

I'd answered my questions:
You can recover to be in good shape for a 2nd marathon 5 weeks later.
Your endurance is not affected by a lack of long runs in the intervening period.
I wasn't too far off my Boston time, given the conditions.
The Isle Of Wight Marathon is very hilly.

Weekly summary - 1 week to go

I think I've finally discovered the cause of the tight adductor. I found that my glutes were very tight on Sunday before the race and I managed to loosen them a bit before the race. Subsequently my adductor wasn't an issue. Tightening of the glutes next to the sacrum causes your knees to move outwards (try it!), so the adductors may have been working harder to pull my legs back into line. My glutes haven't been massaged since Boston - my sports massage therapist tends to concentrate on my legs. I've now have a couple of DIY goes, lying on a tennis ball, and it seems to have helped. I have my last massage, before the Isle Of Wight Marathon, on Thursday so hopefully everything can be finally sorted out then.

Other than that, I've had an excellent week. I feel very much back on form. In addition to the Alton 10 I also 'raced' our club long handicap, getting under the hour for the first time and yet running well within myself at 140bpm - below marathon effort. The new course isn't particularly quick either as there are 4 footbridges, 12 gates and plenty of off-road. Looking good!

Monday	5 miles	Easy run
Tuesday	7 miles	am: Massage. pm: Tempo run. Miles 4,5,6 7:50 136bpm, 7:20 152bpm, 7:30 152bpm.	Really enjoyed the run, with clubmate, but adductor tight again - came on mid run!
Wednesday	6 miles	Steady run 8:49 120bpm	Hot! Lovely day! Had to slow the last mile down to avoid HR rising too high as I was starting to cook. Adductor OK!
Thursday	9.3 miles	Club long handicap race - 7.54 miles 59:58 7:57/mile 140bpm	Kept it at marathon effort. Hot! Adductor tight again, but eased a bit after a few miles
Friday	5.75 miles	Easy pace 9:14 112bpm
Saturday	5 miles	Easy run 9:21 113bpm	Still aware of my adductor, but it's getting better (again!). Warm!
Sunday	10 miles	Alton 10
Total	48 miles

Sweet revenge - the Alton 10

Are there ever certainties in life?

The usual suspects were assembled at another Hampshire Road Race League event. With the Isle of Wight marathon only 1 week away, I was going to run this race at marathon effort (145bpm) so as not to overdo it. On the hilly Alton 10 course it was a good bet that:

Ruth would have another fine run and finish minutes ahead of me (I had to push exceptional hard at Eastleigh to beat her).

Mark would finally get a chance to beat me as I was taking it easy.

Richard (16 years old and still inexperienced) would hare off into the distance and explode spectacularly at half way.

I would be well down on my Hayling 10 PB of 1:17:09, set on a pancake flat course.


We headed off, and as expected Ruth and Richard sped off into the distance and out of site. Mark followed them with Graham not far behind. I was surprised that more weren’t in front of me, as I thought I was taking it easy.

(I tend to not mention the really fast guys in our club, but I never see them in races – they are out of sight as soon as the gun goes.)

I remembered this course from a few years back as ‘not that hilly’, even though I managed to run out of steam at only half way. Memory can play tricks! The uphills are not too bad, although some are big enough to add a minute onto your mile splits, but there are some killer downhills! I tried to free-wheel downhill, speeding up considerably, but couldn’t quite control my heart rate. I was able to keep the HR under control uphill, but it was downhill that it was raised. I think that is a good approach to hills though: you claim back downhill almost what you lose on the uphill.

After a few miles I overtook Graham. Malcolm, though I didn’t know it at the time, was just behind me. He reckoned I took off at 4 miles, although I reckon I was running a fairly even effort. Certainly from mile 3 onwards my HR was fairly even, just a beat above the target marathon pace of 145bpm.

Half way came at 38:25 – I was running controlled and inside PB pace! I knew that it was a net uphill to the finish, so shouldn’t build my hopes. This was about scoring for the team, and leaving myself fresh for the Isle of Wight, not about setting PBs!

Some things are certain, and at 6 miles there was Richard going a lot slower. Will he ever learn? Another young scalp for me [evil cackle]. Maybe I was a little harsh on him in my Totton report! As I passed, he revealed he had stitch. The tables were turned: that’s usually my problem! I passed on some advice: push your fist into the troubled area, try to tense the affected muscle, lean into it, breathe out on the other side, exhale sharply… I wished him luck and pressed on ahead of him.

These youngsters don’t know when to give in! He stuck with me as if attached to my shoulder. When will these young pups learn? His explosion, delayed for a mile or two, is going to be all the more spectacular!

Another mile and I spotted Mark up ahead. At the start I’d told him he would finally beat me, and I believed this to be true, knowing my pace plan. It would be fun to beat him though! I’d done a relaxed 7 miles, so a bit of effort for the last 3 miles wouldn’t hurt. I’d noticed I’d dropped below PB pace, and I was having naughty PB thoughts. It will also be a chance to shake this limpet off my shoulder. Oh dear, that red mist is coming down again!

I allowed myself to push a bit uphill as a form of damage limitation on my dropping pace. I tried to keep it relaxed on the flat and downhill, where I was nicely ahead of PB pace. That sticky youngster was still glued firmly to my shoulder though, even through the steep and fast bit around 8 miles!

Not far to go now and Mark was within range. At the final downhill section, I called on my fluid stride to float me past his lumbering gait. I’m sure I must have delighted him to see me flying past on winged heels. I didn’t get a chance to talk to him afterwards but I’m sure he’ll congratulate me next time he sees me. Tee-hee. Sorry Mark!

There still remained the vexing question of Richard and his poor pacing. He was still there, glued, stitched, welded and riveted to my shoulder. At least the last mile was mostly uphill and my fresh, experienced, 44-year-old pins would be able to power me ahead of his inexperienced lactate-ridden skinny young legs.

I was pushing quite hard now! At least we were a good advert for Victory AC age and gender unity, powering along the road, roared on by the townsfolk of Alton (well the same 3, anyway, that cheered us away at the start).

We turned into the school for the final 100m run in.

I was humbled.

Apparently someone must have stuck a rocket up Richard as we turned the last corner. He took off at an amazing speed! Revenge was sweet, but just as sweet for me watching him. I waved a gesture of resignation at him and ran in with a smile a mile wide. There was really no point whatsoever in me trying to follow him. I hope we can nurture all that natural speed!

Well done Richard. Brilliant running!

It was nice meeting on-line training buddy Vamps after the race. After several near misses we finally met. Another virtual pal made flesh.


Almost forgot. My result? Unofficial as yet, but my watch made it 1:16:43 - another PB by 30 seconds. For an average heart rate of 147bpm, a nice and easy 85% of max, I’m rather pleased. It’s looking good for the Isle of Wight, and a nice bit of hill practice into the bargain.


Oh, and Ruth beat me by two and a half minutes. There are some certainties!

What's your Paula Distance?

A couple of years ago someone asked me: "If you were running alongside Paula Radcliffe, how long could you keep up with her?"
I replied that I didn't think I could run that fast at all, even when sprinting! This probably wasn't far from the truth.

A year later I watched the winner of the Billy 5 race come in in a time of 25:50. This is exactly Paula's world record pace of 5:10/mile. That guy, the fastest athlete in our area, could keep up with Paula for 5 miles.

This got me thinking.

The shorter the distance, the faster we can run it flat out. At what distance does one's race pace equal 5:10/mile? There are pace calculators to work out paces, so one should be able to start with a pace and work out a distance. It all comes down to mathematics.

So imagine the scene: you're on the start line of a major marathon, crowds cheering you on. You stand shoulder to shoulder with Paula Radcliffe (boys can imagine this too!). The gun goes and you're off. Paula adopts a strong pace of 5:10/mile aiming for her world record. You, on the other hand, want your 15 minutes of fame. You hurl yourself down the starting straight for all you're worth. Soon your moment of glory is over and you collapse exhausted in the gutter.

Did I say 15 minutes of fame? I think you might be disappointed!

Enter a race time and distance into the calculator below and you will find out just how far you could get: your Paula Distance or PD.



Remember this is just for fun. The more your race distance differs from your PD, the more inaccurate the results are likely to be, in the same way that trying to predict a marathon time from a 5k result is likely to be wrong.

Have fun!

Weakly Summery - 2 weeks to go

Sorry for the delay, and the bad pun. The weather was almost summery though last week until an unexpectedly cold day on Saturday.

Not a bad week overall. I was feeling rather tired by Friday, but I've recovered well and have got my pre-marathon fitness back.

I'll continue the mileage around the 50 mark, before cutting back in the final week. I'm much more optimistic about my chances in the Isle Of Wight marathon than perhaps I was a week ago. Will the lack of long runs show in my endurance though? Only one way to find out...

Monday	5 miles	Easy run plus drills	Adductor finally feeling better
Tuesday	10.3 miles	4 miles easy a.m. 6.3 mile fartlek p.m.	fartlek 7:44, 0.17ml, 116bpm, 7:34, 0.3ml, 137bpm, 6:22, 160m, 133bpm, 7:18, 0.29ml, 143bpm, 7:12, 0.26ml, 141bpm, 7:44, 0.33ml, 145bpm, 7:56, 0.42ml, 142bpm jogging 0.2-0.5ml between, HR dropping to 130bpm. HR not recovering as quickly as usual - still fatigued
Wednesday	5.9 miles	Easy run 9:22 116bpm	Adductor tight again from previous night's fartlek
Thursday	6.8 miles	8*400m at 10km pace	Felt good!
Friday	5 miles	Easy pace
Saturday	6 miles	Easy run 9:10 111bpm 64%MHR	Pace returning
Sunday	14 miles	Slow run 8:47/mile 129bpm 75%MHR	Humid day - felt quite hot - HR much higher than Saturday's cold run!
Total	53 miles

Serendipity

Tonight's club session was hill reps at the local country park alternating with a lap of the lake. I didn't want to do the hill reps so had settled for jogging round the lake. I had been advised to do 8*400m at 10k pace with a 90secs jog recovery, but had figured that the rutted path round the lake was going to be too dodgy for fast paced running.

I got to the park to find that the path had been resurfaced for most of its length, and the shale surface was smooth enough to allow some fast stuff. The remainder of the path completing the circuit was uneven grass, a small wooden bridge, and a twisty turny uneven path through the trees.

It turned out that the resurfaced part was 400m spot on (new 305 GPS - v accurate), and the uneven part was just the right length for 90 seconds of gentle jogging (230m).

The park's landscaper was clearly a runner!


I was aiming for 7:00/mile - slightly under 10k pace - 1:45 per rep. Reps timed as:
1:45
1:46
1:52 (oops! - lost concentration)
1:45
1:47
1:45
1:44
1:46

Max HR 154bpm, minimum 134bpm. Higher than it should have been, maybe due to marathon fatigue, or maybe simply the heat: 21°C - nice day!

April total mileage

April total mileage: 140 miles

Year to date total: 952 miles

A dip in my mileage in April due to the Boston taper and recovery. The same will occur in May with the Isle Of Wight Marathon, then back onto the high mileage diet for Abingdon.