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Heading for The Mall (May)
24-05-2011, 04:56 PM, (This post was last modified: 24-05-2011, 04:59 PM by ladyrunner.)
#21
RE: Heading for The Mall (May)
I'm playing catch up again - the only problem with doing all this training is finding the time afterwards to log it.

So here goes, albeit brief:-

Sunday: Met with Judith for a 12 mile Downland run. My legs were feeling good after my hard 5km PB the previous day. I did tell her the day before that I wanted to take this run very easy as I was tired but she set off at a brisk pace and left me sensibly trailing behind. On the first few climbs I walked up the hills and she ran by my side which slowed her down. By the time we got to approx 6 miles we hit the SDW on a long and very windy stretch from Black Cap to The Sussex Boarder Path. Again I started walking on the first incline. The going was tough as the wind was head on and very strong. When I had got to the top of the incline I looked behind and poor Judith had dropped behind and seems to be struggling. This went on for the next couple of miles. Once we hit the long descent back home I grilled Judith about her pacing and how she needs to sort this out before the 100 mile relay in 2 weeks time. On this day we will all be running three times in one day of varing distances between 4-8 miles each time - it's absolutely crucial to pace yourself on the first run. I think she got the message and I felt a bit mean afterwards!! Not sure of the time but approx 2 hours.

Monday: Met up with Cam and Marian for their second walking session at Preston Park. Once again we covered approx 4 miles with a steady warm up, a full large lap at pace (13:45 - probably about 12:30 min mile), drills and a small lap at pace (6:15). Both are keen to keep walking, but I can't meet them next week as I will be racing on The Mall.

Tuesday: Met Joan for a brisk walk along Shoreham Beach/Seafront. Feeling tired today in my legs and hips but I am not too worried as tomorrow I am going to rest. It's only 6 days now until the 20k on The Mall so this week is about winding down and recovering. We probably did approx 6 miles in 66 minutes.
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02-06-2011, 04:55 PM,
#22
RE: Heading for The Mall (May)
Wed 25th May - No training tonight. Had been invited out for a birthday meal by my Dad and Stepmum so this gave me the perfect excuse to relax and let my legs recuperate before my race on Mon 30th May. 5 days to go now.

Thurs 26th May - I decided to do a light treadmill session after debating to myself as to whether it is more beneficial to rest completely or keep ticking over. So ticking over I was. 1km warm-up followed by 3x1km broken down in to 600m brisk followed by 400m fast. Times 6:01, 5:53, 5:47. All these were slower than my race pace that I am hoping to achieve on Monday (which is 1hr53mins or 5:36 per km).

Fri 27th May - Off on holiday to Hamble for a Motorhome Rally. Rest.

Sat 28th May - Very lazy day - only walked 800m to shop and back. In the evening after dinner we had an American Buffet with a few cans of Amstel, a glass of wine and some delicious home-made mandarine cheesecake for added carbo loading. Was feeling a bit sniffly, especially in the evening which is not a good sign for Monday. Sneaked home some cheesecake for extra portions on Sunday. Big Grin

Sun 29th May - The day before my big race and I have definately woken up with a cold!! I took a walk out to the shop to buy some emergency cold relief medicine and then strolled out to see how long it would take to get from the campsite to Hamble railway station. Only 10mins but atleast now I knew what time I had to set off in the morning for my train travel to London - ETDep 10:45am ETArr 1:30pm, TOReg 2:30pm & TORac 4:00pm. Fingers crossed for no engineering works on the line, but I had an hour spare incase of incident. I drunk a couple of cans of Amstel tonight and went to bed early, fully dosed up and hoping to feel abit better in the morning.
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05-06-2011, 05:02 PM, (This post was last modified: 05-06-2011, 10:39 PM by ladyrunner.)
#23
The Mall - Race Report
The month of May was coming to a close meaning only one thing ….. my big day on The Mall. The 20km Race Walking Olympic Games Test Event on Monday 30th May 2011. I have been training hard for this day now for 6 weeks.

The night before the race we were camping in Hamble, nr Southampton on a weekend motorhome rally. I slept well in the van despite waking up at 12:15am and realising that my two teenage sons had not returned meaning me going out in my pj’s to track them down by torch light. I didn’t need this …. sniff, sniff ….. my cold was still no better. In the morning I woke up at 8am and still was not feeling good. My nose was running constantly and I was getting through dozens of tissues. I had already purchased my train ticket to London so I decided that I was still going ahead with my travel and start the race, then basically see how I felt as to whether I drop out due to illness. On any normal occasion I would have probably cried off but I decided it would still be good to go and try out the Olympic Games course even if I only made 10km. At least I could still say that I had raced on the course.

I stuck to my travel plan which I had finalised the evening before. The only deviation was that when I arrived at London Waterloo I caught the underground to Green Park …. I did intend to walk but when I exited Waterloo station I walked up the road and decided that I didn’t have a clue on even which direction to head, so I returned to the station and headed straight for the safe option … the underground.

When arriving at Green Park I had a short scroll down to the registration area where I met up with my friends from Steyning; Joan, Jo and Trevor. We sat posing by the ‘Elite Athletes Sign’ and passed the time by chatting with fellow athletes.

At approximately 3pm we were allowed in the tent to collect our numbers. We then labelled up ‘special drinks’ to go on the feed station … mine was Tesco's Orange Isotonic drink. Everything seemed quite unorganised but I guess this is why it is a practise event. At 3:30pm we were called back to the tent to collect our race chip which had to be secured on to our shoe laces and scanned before we could leave. This then gave us a chance for a quick warm-up on The Mall before being called back to the tent and walked over in mass to the start line. The ‘very Elite’ athletes were called up on to the line and introduced to the watching crowd over the sound system.

The gun went and I set off leisurely with Jo, hanging at the back of the pack of approximately 50 walkers. We had ten 2km laps to race. My aim for each lap time was 11:20 which equates to 1hr 53mins 30secs. We got to the first turn at 1km then I started to feel my left hamstring cramping. This was not a good sign so early on in the race. It made me a little nervous but I kept relaxed and kept going. For the next lap again it kept cramping and Jo was complaining about her knee hurting. At about 3.5km we walked past her husband (coach) and told him of our problems. At 4k I started to pull away from Jo and slowly I started to feel better. By 5k I was very relaxed with all my main rivals behind me and my hamstring started to feel better. This was very strange …. in fact something that I have never experienced in my 30 years as a competitive walker/runner. I’m not sure if it was brought on by being under the weather with a cold, or the other possibility is that I had not warmed up enough and that it took 5km to get my muscles going.

After my set back I forgot all about my leg problem and started to enjoy the event. Some friends from Brighton appeared by Buckingham Palace and spurred me on with their huge yells (thanks Cathy & Tom, Fiona & Mike, and Caroline & Mark). Other faces from the past appeared too; Chris Maddocks (my old coach and Olympian), Mike Smith a fellow member of the Junior/Senior walking team in the late 80’s. After about 4 laps the weather turned and it started to drizzle. I was wearing my sunglasses but had to remove these after about 6 laps as I was finding it hard to see where I was going!

Each lap I kept check of my pace and was proofing to be going quicker than I had hoped, remaining consistent and feeling strong. It was only at the end of 8 laps, when I made a mental calculation, did I realise that if I kept my pace going I would finish in 1hr 50mins(ish) – much faster than I had thought possible. At this point I overtook a man that I had raced and just beaten earlier in the year and started to chase down the Hungarian lady who had been ahead of me for the whole event.

With one lap to go I looked at the clock and knew that to break 1hr 50mins I had to find a higher gear, but it wasn’t there. I tried so hard for the whole 2km, but with approx 200m to go my eyes focused on the finishing clock and I just knew that the line was too far to make in under 1hr 50mins. The Hungarian girl (Andrea) had taken off and finished in 1hr 49mins 46sec, and I crossed in 1hr 50mins 24secs. I didn’t collapse at the line but walked on feeling a bit weary, but very content and happy with my performance.

My lap times for the whole race were 11:10, 11:10, 21:50 (10:55, 10:55), 11:02, 10:57, 11:00, 11:02, 11:04, 11:09. I did even splits of 55:12 for each 10k which again must be a first.

Whilst changing in the tent I talked to Andrea, the Hungarian girl. She was only 31 years old and had a best time of 1hr 40mins. Another lady Cathy was the oldest lady in the race but she had to stop after 9 laps as she hadn’t made the cut off time of 1hr 50mins at 18km. After saying my goodbyes I was just heading off back to the train when I realised that the presentation was happening. When it came to the ladies UK medals Johanna Jackson (Commonwealth Games champ and race winner in 1hr 31min) got the gold and I got silver. When they called my name I had to quickly jump over two lots of road barriers and run over to the rostrum … but my legs where still working and I was feeling surprisingly fresh. It’s amazing how much better you feel after a good race when your muscles haven’t crashed out.

I got the 7:09pm train from Waterloo back to Hamble. I took the short 10 minute walk back to the campsite, saw the teenagers then was invited over to have a drink with my friends Allan, Dorothy and Viv. Only two cans of Amstel though – but enough for a little celebration. It was past midnight and I was feeling ill and very tired so needed my sleep. Unfortunately …. The shower had to wait until the morning!! It’s lucky that I’m single … the teenagers and cat didn’t seem to notice the sweaty smell Big Grin !!
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05-06-2011, 10:08 PM,
#24
RE: Heading for The Mall (May)
Congratulations ladyrunner, that's a great achievement... really impressed.
Were you third lady overall behind the Hungarian athlete?
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05-06-2011, 10:30 PM,
#25
RE: Heading for The Mall (May)
No I was 7th. There were other internationals ahead of me from China, France, Lithuania and USA.
Almeria Half Marathon 2017
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That's it for now!!
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05-06-2011, 10:41 PM,
#26
RE: Heading for The Mall (May)
Photos to follow ...
Almeria Half Marathon 2017
The Grizzly 2017
That's it for now!!
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05-06-2011, 10:41 PM,
#27
RE: Heading for The Mall (May)
Congrats that's a fantastic result made even more impressive given your state of health and teenage appendages (or not appended as the case may be). Well done! Great report, too. Smile
Run. Just run.
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06-06-2011, 06:21 AM,
#28
RE: Heading for The Mall (May)
Congratulations Julie, a fantastic achievement, a great experience, and a serious PB. Considering that you are still on the learning curve, and you weren't 100% healthy, you must be confident of breaking 1:50 sooner or later?

Thanks for the report - I've been checking daily for news!

Was slightly surprised to see that your "special drink" wasn't a can of Amstel! Sounds like you brought a little bit of Holland back with you on your recent trip. (So that's why you have a camper van...)

Folks, to put this performance in perspective (if a silver medal in an Olympic test event needs any perspective adding), Julie's UK ranking for 20K is quite impressive.
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06-06-2011, 09:32 AM, (This post was last modified: 06-06-2011, 09:32 AM by Sweder.)
#29
RE: Heading for The Mall (May)
Proud of you Jules! Good to see all those weeks of dragging my sorry arris all over Sussex paying off for you Big Grin Big Grin

The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph

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08-06-2011, 09:06 AM,
#30
RE: Heading for The Mall (May)
(06-06-2011, 06:21 AM)marathondan Wrote: Was slightly surprised to see that your "special drink" wasn't a can of Amstel! Sounds like you brought a little bit of Holland back with you on your recent trip. (So that's why you have a camper van...)

Yes that was where the Amstel came from but unfortunately my special drink supplies from Holland have all been consumed now. I need to start planning another European running/camping trip. Big Grin

As promised a couple of photos from the day.


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08-06-2011, 11:06 AM,
#31
RE: Heading for The Mall (May)
The first ever photo of an RC member on a podium????

Well done again Julie! Smile
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08-06-2011, 09:04 PM,
#32
RE: Heading for The Mall (May)
(08-06-2011, 11:06 AM)marathondan Wrote: The first ever photo of an RC member on a podium????

Well done again Julie! Smile

Yep, I think you're definitely in the RC hall of sporting excellence now, alongside Seafront Plodder who won a tennis tournament and Glaconman who won a fell race....Cool
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