Crunchy ‘Nanas

See?

Way too seriously!

Today, Crunchy husband and I hauled it to the Bedgebury Pinetum for the Great Forest 10k run. It was a great run in a great forest (we like Bedgebury and Go APE!). Hilly, but fun. (Now, why I didn’t really consider the whole course would be hills, I don’t know. We’ve hiked and mountain biked around the pinetum, so that was just me not thinking.) The hills were good though, I think they will help us in our Paris race at the end of the month and they rolled really nicely, actually.

At the start blast, Crunchy husband shot off like a rocket. I was going to yell coach-y things to him like, “buddy, you’re starting way too fast, you’ll want some in the tank for kilometers 9 and 10″ but then I thought “hey, this is his first 10k race. Let him learn these things for himself.” Plus, I was too lazy so I just let him go. I caught up a minute or so later and that’s, I think, when he realized he started too quickly. Or, when he decided it would be much more pleasant to stick it out in the “expensive seats” for the rest of the race. One of the two, or maybe both. If there had been wind (no double entendre intended), I would have had to charge him a drafting fee as well as the viewing fee. (He did well, did he not?! Congrats to my Crunchy husband, Crunchy boy, Crunchy tractorboy, whatever you’d like to be called!)

Race stats (based on watch times):

Nora
Time: 53:57
Pace: 8:41 min/mile

Crunchy boy
Time: 54:16
Pace: 8:44 min/mile

Yay! The half marathon went really well, better than I expected.

On Sunday morning, down at the Bournemouth pier, the sea was grayish-green. The sky was fairly gray too. It was a bit windy. But, it wasn’t raining. For that I am thankful!

At ten am sharp, I stood with the other 2 hour to 2:15-ers, anxiously waiting to cross the start line, letting the fast ones go racing off westward, along the Bournemouth seafront. When I saw the line of runners in front of me bend right, I knew what was coming. There’s not much distance between the seafront and the cliffs so I knew I’d be facing a hill soon. It wasn’t terrible, and it was good to get it over with.

The route took us up into the cliff road, and into a nicely wooded area. I don’t know Bournemouth at all, so finding myself running along a path through woods was a pleasant surprise. It reminded me of the Woodside run I did years ago.

Then we got to what I was to discover to be the most tedious part of the run, the stretch along the promenade. I thought running by the sea would be refreshing, motivating. I like to be by the ocean. I like to watch the waves and feel the cool air on my face. It makes my heart smile and my limbs breathe alive. But, once I passed Boscombe pier and continued eastward, I was ready for some variation in the route. That came at around mile 8.

By mile 9, my body was starting to feel my pace. My knee started to protest, which it had not done before on training runs. I slackened a bit. Still four miles to go. Or, I should admit I slowed down until it didn’t hurt anymore. Then, I picked up the pace again for the final push, except going down hill back to the seafront. I kept picturing myself falling on my face with only a mile to go. Not a great image, so I took care!

By the time I got back to the seafront, I was fairly sure I was within time to bust it in under two hours. I started psyching myself out for the big sprint finish. By 600 meters, I was balancing pushing myself with holding back the heaves in my throat. So, I am happy to have finished without actually vomiting. And to have finished five minutes faster than my target. Piece of cake!

It’s an amazing thing, going out and pushing your boundaries with others for a common cause. Thanks to the kind generosity of my supporters, I earned over £400 for the British Heart Foundation. For this, above all else, I am the most grateful.

Thank you!

Bournemouth Bay half marathon, 1st April 2007

Distance: 13.1 miles
Time: 2:00:27 (chip time); 2:01:24 (gun time)
Pace: 9:11 min/mile (average based on chip time)

On your marks, get set!

Finished!!

A couple of Crunchy ‘Nanas supporters

Me and my good luck charm after the race