Out Along The River (Thames)

[OutAlongTheRiver]

Until I started to write this I didn't twig that my half marathon - inadvertently run alongside the River Thames since it was the only one at around the right date close to Lewes - would literally involve heading "out along the river". So I guess that maybe was some kind of subconscious drive at work. Or not.

Anyway, I had planned to write this on Sunday after the run, but as happens I was too euphoric to sit down and write. I made notes on Monday morning, and then have been too knackered or distracted to write it up .... so here goes from perspective of 5 days later.

Prior to the run, I had rested up the whole week after flare up of right knee ligaments post park run - and had only done the little 6k outing on Saturday. My knee felt as if it would stand up to at least 16k but I didn't know for sure about 21k.

The start time up in Walton was the ungodly hour of 8:30, with collection of numbers from 7:00. Sunday had the added bonus of the clocks going back - so despite departing Lewes at 6.30am, it didn't quite feel that bad. But I'd also had some rotten dreams where my legs didn't work, which didn't help.

As I strolled along through the streets of Walton-on-Thames (known only to me because of a couple of forced diversions off the M25 ...) I realised that there were going to be quite a few folks along for the run. Some 2000 or so it seemed. Having never run among such a large crowd before (I think 650 in a park run is my previous max), I thought I would at least have some anonymity if my race all went to pieces.

Sure enough, I immediately spotted a colleague from work who was there with 2 young children supporting his wife. I was promised a fine line in sardonic comments and slow handclaps - and that was just his kids.

The number issuing was impressively fast and efficient, even if they did insist on you bringing your own safety pins. The toilet queues polite and very English as we formed 6 branching lines with no easy demarcation as to which of the many portaloos each related to. But that gave time for me to ponder where the chip was hidden in my number, which was apparently entirely made of paper. Turns out the chip was in a separate packet and needed to be tied to your shoe (ties were included this time). I wonder how many folks merrily left their chip timers in the packet?

Now toiletted, numbered and chipped I made my way to the start line queues - and joined the sub-2hr group. Thankfully not everyone looked like a whippet, indeed one group of Wateraid  t-shirted runners looked like they might have only just signed up the day before, but they seemed keen enough. 

I had also spotted one person in fancy dress - this was not a large fancy dress run thankfully - what appeared to be a large carrot. He looked happy though, so that was his business I thought.

I don't know what runs were like before chip timing, but the only indication any gun had fired was a kind of relaxed shuffling forward and the 2hr+ group happily waited and waved at us. And then we were up to speed, over the timing mats and off.

I knew from Google streetview that this started with a road trek through some dull Walton-on-Thames streetscape before looping back to the river, but I wasn't quite prepared for the bustling numbers and the fact we were running on pavements/edge of roads which still had cars on them. Still, with a Lewes background in pedestrians regularly taking over the roads as needed for processions etc, this was not so unusual.

My planned pacing had been to head out at 5:30 per km for the first 11k - leaving me the last 10k to complete in an hour if it started to go wrong, but aiming for 5:20 second half if at all possible. This was 10 seconds per k faster than the Runkeeper training app had recommended, but that would have left little wriggle room I thought.

In practice, I found the going at first quite easy, and indeed had to consciously slow myself down a little - memories of runners telling me they had gone out too fast in races, and suffered later. I found myself hitting 5:25 per k and as we reached the Thames tow path the pace continued to feel fine. As we turned on the 11k mark just by Hampton bridge - I had hit 1hr spot on.

The runners had now grouped into similar paced sets, with some moving ahead and behind (the tiny almost impercetible slopes on the path were enough to slow people down interestingly and then speed up on the 'downhill' sections) as the run wore on.

I fell to talking to a couple of park run runners who were maintaining 5:30 - but without any indication of running watches -and they said they were aiming to get round in 2 hours, which they would certainly do I felt.

But now my plan to up to 5:20 per km should have come into play. But I felt stuck at 5:30. Indeed I was edging down to 5:40 at times. Whatever I did - cadence, counting steps, urging myself on - seemed to make no difference. Had I run short of energy? The park runners had continued at their steady rate and moved away ahead of me.

I realised from my times that achieving 1:55 now (which I think subconsciously had been my goal all along) was looking to be impossible. I would however break 2 hours even if my pace dipped below 6 min per k, but I was determined not to do that.

The final section took us back past the start - and in a c 4k loop along the Thames west of Walton. This turned out to be the hardest section of all. I had not brought any water bottles, gels or other sustenance - since I had survived fine without on previous runs - it was cool and there were water stations. This lack of sugar in the second half might have been the thing slowing me slightly.

People around me were in varying stages of OKness. Some people who had started to walk, some were breathing heavily, others had slowed and were struggling. My guess was these were folks for whom sub-2hrs was on the knife edge. Others looked fresh as a daisy and were bouncing along. Most were just digging in, like me.

With 1km to go a real uphill slope presented itself to a higher bridge over the Thames, so I used this as a spur to action. Summoning the spirit of the Lewes twittens I speeded up and started going past fellow runners. 

The last 400m was an all out sprint - hitting under 4min per k - and while it made little difference to the overall time, as I stopped my garmin on the line it had certainly helped me dip under 1hr56m.

And then it was all over. Goody bag in hand, medal with built in bottle opener. Solid under 2hr time achieved. I found the Parkrunners and cheerily invited them to try some hills in Lewes next time. And then with stiffening legs I plotted my route back to the town centre. 

I checked the River Thames twitter to see the winning times - and there instead was a pic of the Carrot Man, since he had just broken the world record for a half marathon dressed as a vegetable.  I had just enough mental energy left to RT it with remark about runner beans, before collapsing with some fellow runners over a coffee in Walton town centre.

And now - 5 days later, I will be going out for my first tentative run with the ache in my legs nicely faded.

My thoughts turn to Almeria. And, as Sweder would say, on, on.