Strathearn Marathon – RACE REPORT

THE STRATHEARN MARATHON 2014

Official time: 4 hours 4 minutes and 05 seconds

Overall: 87 out of 150

Medal : No, but we did get a super technical tshirt

When Jemma signed up for this race last year, I was at the stage where I thought I’d never be able to run a marathon. I was just about comfortable with half marathons and I had just joined my running club with the main aim being to build my confidence in running and improve my speed over shorter distances.

Fast forward a year and many, many, many miles later (including a marathon and an ultra marathon!) and I was signing up for the Strathearn marathon without a second thought. After having to pull out of the Lochaber marathon in April I was keen to make this my big race of the year. My plan wasn’t to race it but more to get out and run it comfortably and get through without the pain and fatigue I’d felt at Loch Ness last September. If I got a good time then it’d be a bonus, but being able to drive home afterwards was my main goal!!

Race morning came and I was up bright and early to have a big breakfast of porridge, an electrolyte drink and some coffee. I took my dog up to the park for a short walk and to try and calm my pre-race nerves before I picked Catriona up at 7.15am. Just before I left I checked the forecast and with promises of “scattered showers, overcast skies and light winds” I slathered a little sunscreen on my shoulders and then didn’t give it a second thought. First mistake of the day…

The race begins at Cultybraggan camp which was first used as a prisoner of war camp during World War 2 and then later as an army training area. These days it’s owned by the Comrie Development trust and is used for a variety of projects. We met up with our team mates, registered and plodded about saying hello to various people for the next half an hour. At about 8:20am we decided to get in the toilet queue and then make our last-minute preparations for the race. I’d read on the race brief email that there was a tap available on the campsite but no one seemed to know where it was and then spent a stressful few minutes panicking I had no water and trying to find one! I eventually found it, got my bottles sorted and then bumped into Rachel who had signed up just a few days before and was using it as her last long training run before a big race in a few weeks time. By this point the sun had really come out and I cursed myself for lending my husband Craig my sunglasses to take away on his bands tour with him!

Everybody in!!
Everybody in!!

We all gathered for a quick race briefing just before 9am and then with a count down from 3, the 190 or so runners were off on our 26.2 miles journey around this beautiful part of the country. First off was a lap of the campsite and then it was out onto a minor road for the first 4 miles of the race. And they were pretty much all up hill – superb! You don’t join the Wee County Harriers to run on flat surfaces I can tell you and straight away I could feel that my training was going to pay off. This was by no means and easy course!

First lap thumbs up and the last decent picture of me en route!!
First lap thumbs up and the last decent picture of me en route!! Photo – Gordon Donnachie
After the first set of hills and glad to be on the flat! Photo - Gordon Donnachie
After the first set of hills and glad to be on the flat! Photo – Gordon Donnachie

I settled into a comfortable pace and enjoyed the scenic landscape as I plodded on up the first set of hills. About 5 miles in the road evened out a bit and then from 7 miles there was a lovely gentle downhill section that lasted a few miles. At 10 and bit miles there was the first of the personalised water bottle stations and having guzzled most of what I had on me already, I swapped the bottle I had on me for another one full of tasty electrolyte water. We took a sharp turn out onto the main road for just over a mile and then in the distance I could see our next obstacle – the old Roman road. The term ‘steep’ would be an understatement, I couldn’t see the top of it! I slowed my pace right down and power walked up remembering how I had run up hills early on at Loch Ness last year and majorly regretted it about 20 miles in. I wasn’t going to make the same mistake again and as it was only getting hotter and hotter I could see things getting messy further on in the race if I didn’t take things easy now.

Enjoying a slight downhill section after the horrific hot climb.
Enjoying a slight downhill section after the horrific hot climb. Photo – Clark Hamilton

By now I was really looking forward to the next water station so I could grab a bottle of plain water. Mainly to tip over my head but also so I could wash the taste of electrolyte water away. Note to self – the tropical one was not something I looked forward to drinking. I’ll stick to summer fruits in the future! The miles ticked by and I was feeling pretty fresh – slowing right down on the up hill sections and taking my time on the down hills so as not to ruin my quads. The rain came on at around 17 miles and it was a welcome and refreshing change however it didn’t seem to know which way it was falling and came down in all directions. Makes running exciting I can tell you! We came into Crieff just after the 18 mile mark and ahead was the second of the two personalised water bottle stations. I was glad to pick up another bottle with a different flavour in it and I drank hungrily from it. Coming out of Crieff we were met with yet another hill but this one had Stewart from the Wee County Harriers on it who was cheering us round, catching us at various stages of the course and taking pictures of our deteriorating performance! There was no way I was walking this one and kept the momentum going, powering straight to the top. By now my feet were starting to hurt and I had a slight pain between my shoulder blades but it was more annoying than sore. I was this far into the race and things were feeling pretty good, what was going on?!

The next few miles were a bit undulating and every time I saw a hill I made myself run up it and then slow down on the decline until I got my heart rate down a bit. At one point I slowed to a walk to take a drink and then struggled to get my bottle back in my belt. The guy behind me caught up, slowed to a walk to help me and then said “come on!” which got me back to a run , so whoever you are thanks so much for that! Not sure how much longer I would have walked had it not been for that. At 23 miles I got into a bit of a negative mind-set and started feeling a bit light-headed and sick but there on the horizon was another water station and some very, very cheery marshals who were just SO encouraging! The Strathearn Harriers are our neighbouring club so all the Wee County Harriers got extra amazing shout outs and to the lady who cheered my on going by 24 miles and told me I was looking amazing, Thank you so much! I definitely didn’t feel it at that point but you definitely spurred me on just that little bit further. And then the guy at 25 miles who told me my socks were amazing – you also pushed me on just that little but more. At this point every single cheer and shout helped, especially the little kid in Comrie who was cheering us all on and telling us we were nearly there – what a star! The last mile is along the road which runs right beside the Camp and you can see the runners entering the camp and the announcer shouting everyone’s name as they cross the line. So very, very close…

I glanced at my watch for the first time in miles. I knew that sub 4 was well out of the picture but coming along the last road I noticed my watch had just ticked over 4 hours!! I pushed through, back into the camp and onto the finishers straight to hear my name being called over the tannoy and my club mates cheering me on. I grinned and blasted over the finish line in just over 4 hours and 4 minutes. That’s just over 12 minutes off my personal best – how did that happen? I collapsed on the grass and tried to stop my legs from shaking and once I’d recovered I went to congratulate all my friends and cheer everyone else in.

First smile for miles. Clock watching with glee!
First smile for miles. Clock watching with glee!

This marathon was wonderful and I’ll definitely be back next year for another shot. The organisation, marshals, volunteers, set up, setting….. it was all perfect.I much prefer this type of race to the bigger commercial ones and with it being so close, I just can’t refuse.
My only regret is that I didn’t put sun screen on my face. Rocking the tomato look at work today got a few giggles from the kids!

Bring on the sub 4….

Post run celebration with Catriona.
Post run celebration with Catriona.

Hello Spring!

What an amazing change in the weather we have had in the past week. Back in February when Jemma and I ran our first race of the year we thought that the winter was behind us as we ran along in the (rather chilly!) sunshine with clear blue skies above our heads. But no. Just a week later the snow began and it just didn’t want to stop. It was the kind of snow that you just get really bored with – always there but never on the ground for more than 5 minutes and just bitterly cold and annoying. At least it stopped for the majority of our race days, apart from a little flurry just before the beginning of our Loch Katrine races. The day after the Alloa Half Marathon the snow hit us pretty badly for a day or two – that was a very lucky miss! But here we are, 5 days in to April and we’ve had sunshine every day. I tried an evening run in shorts on Monday – maybe that was a little premature, but it won’t be long!

My training this week has consisted of the following:

Saturday – 11 miles of trail running with Jemma
Sunday – Rest day
Monday – 6 miles road running
Tuesday – Circuits
Wednesday – Rest day
Thursday – 12.5 miles, mixed road and trail
Friday – 5.5 miles cross country.

I won’t lie, this week has been a struggle. On Saturday I felt maybe it was too soon after my breakfast and that’s why I didn’t feel great, but when I went out on Monday I felt slow. I put it down to having had a busy day at work and still being a bit sore from Saturday but if I’m honest, I wasn’t. I spent most of the day on the phone speaking to parents and organising the next block of swimming lessons when I’m usually in the pool teaching all day, so I can hardly say I had a strenuous day! On Tuesday I went to circuits and I felt great. Towards the end we completed a “nightmare set”, which consists of pad work, body kicks and lots and lots of squats. Oh how I needed my rest day on Wednesday! Long run day was on Thursday this week and again I felt slow. I haven’t quite recovered from Tuesdays set even now, so maybe I should have taken an extra day before my long run! But on I plodded down the old railway line from my house all the way round to Alva where I found a bench to sit on and eat my banana. I have started running with a Camelbak on my longer runs and even though it probably slows me down quite a bit I am really thankful for it. Not only does it carry my fluid but I can stick my keys, tissues, phone and even my banana in there. And the longer I run, the lighter my bag gets, so the last few miles are never that bad. However I needed a bath when I got in and a very good stretch. Tiger balm has become my new best friend this week.
My run today was glorious. It was just beautiful! Shorts were back on, buff was left at home and my sunglasses even made an appearance! When I run cross country I have many gates to go through and cattle grids to hop over, so I’m never expecting a fast time, I just enjoy the scenery. And when it looks like this, you can look past the pain!

Snow topped hills, blue skies and the Wallace monument in the back ground!
Snow topped hills, blue skies and the Wallace monument in the back ground!

Reading other blogs and Twitter is starting to make me insanely jealous with all the marathons everybody is running. At the beginning of the year I didn’t think I’d ever want to run a marathon, never mind be ready to run one. But in the past few months I have really upped my game and with Jemma and my little brother training for marathons this year, I’m starting to wish I had entered one too! I’ll wait and see how they get on in theirs first… Maybe next year will be my year!

I have had 2 weekends without races and I’m starting to crave my next one. And what an amazing one it’s going to be – The Edinburgh Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon! I’ve seen quite a few people going on about it on Twitter and their blogs so it would be amazing to meet some new people on the day. Let me know if you’re doing it too – Jemma and I will see you there. After that I have the Callander 10k, the Balmoral 10k and the Balfron 10k, all in April and then the Loch Leven Half Marathon in May. After that my race calendar is actually empty. Give me ideas for more please!!!

Look out for me!!
Look out for me!!

This weekend I may have no races but I do have a lot on and maybe a wee wine or two with good friends. So for now I am hanging up my trainers and with all those running the Paris marathon in mind, I bid you Adieu!