Blown away, beaten and broken at Helsby Half.
Well what a day that was! After meeting fellow Striders at the club we set off for Helsby just after 9am to make sure we were early arriving to get a parking spot, and only just got into the carpark at the sports club as everyone else had the same idea it would seem. The wind was gusting and very chilly so we sat in the car for a while to stay warm and after a wander around and trip to the loos returned to the car to get prepped for the race. Jason Bulley turned up with his bike to support everyone on the race which was very welcome.
Well what a day that was! After meeting fellow Striders at the club we set off for Helsby just after 9am to make sure we were early arriving to get a parking spot, and only just got into the carpark at the sports club as everyone else had the same idea it would seem. The wind was gusting and very chilly so we sat in the car for a while to stay warm and after a wander around and trip to the loos returned to the car to get prepped for the race. Jason Bulley turned up with his bike to support everyone on the race which was very welcome.
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| Perry and Steve- looking good on the finishing straight |
After a few minutes waiting in the
crowd at the start the air horn sounded to signal the start of the race.
We set off at a fair pace and I ran with Perry Wyatt as we slowly moved
forward through the other runners watching Mik Escolme stride off into
the distance. Perry and I had agreed that I would pace the first 10
miles if he would make sure I didn't stop in the last 3 miles (as I did
last year at mile 10 from too brisk a pace coupled with insufficient
training due to injury).
After the first 2 miles it became
apparent that the pace we were running at, while fairly comfortable, was
hovering around 7:55 mins per mile, which I wasn't convinced I could
sustain for 13 miles, but stuck with it as my training for London has
been going so well. We passed the half way mark comfortably and walked
briefly at drinks stations to make sure we drank more than we spilled.
Jason cheered us on as we ran past at a few points and everything was
rolling along nicely.
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| Claire and Catherine and their happy jazz hands! |
Until we reached 9.5 miles.
The pace suddenly started telling and I found myself struggling, a fact I wasn't surprised at given that I was running well inside my previous fastest half marathon best time. The drinks station at mile 10 provided a welcome walk for about 100 yards and then it was time to zip up the man suit and dig deep. Putting on my headphones I put my tunes on and focused on keeping a regular rhythm, aiming for the next lamppost, next junction or next road sign. Jason rode alongside for a couple of hundred meters and I could barely speak to him and just signalled that I was struggling. Perry was going strong alongside me and kept encouraging me and keeping me focused. The long downhill straight to the 12 mile marker was a welcome relief but as soon as the road levelled out I felt like just stopping and (frankly) falling over. The 12 mile marker however meant that with only a mile and a bit to go I was determined to tough it out and keep running, I knew I was on for a new PB but was also aware the Perry was also close to beating his own PB, so told him to run ahead, which he refused to do, staying with me till the finish, and as I approached the finish there was no sprint, no last burst of speed - it was all I could do to cross the line and still remain vertical!
The pace suddenly started telling and I found myself struggling, a fact I wasn't surprised at given that I was running well inside my previous fastest half marathon best time. The drinks station at mile 10 provided a welcome walk for about 100 yards and then it was time to zip up the man suit and dig deep. Putting on my headphones I put my tunes on and focused on keeping a regular rhythm, aiming for the next lamppost, next junction or next road sign. Jason rode alongside for a couple of hundred meters and I could barely speak to him and just signalled that I was struggling. Perry was going strong alongside me and kept encouraging me and keeping me focused. The long downhill straight to the 12 mile marker was a welcome relief but as soon as the road levelled out I felt like just stopping and (frankly) falling over. The 12 mile marker however meant that with only a mile and a bit to go I was determined to tough it out and keep running, I knew I was on for a new PB but was also aware the Perry was also close to beating his own PB, so told him to run ahead, which he refused to do, staying with me till the finish, and as I approached the finish there was no sprint, no last burst of speed - it was all I could do to cross the line and still remain vertical!
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| Terry "Ironbridge" Coppenhall |
Jason
appeared with coats for Mik, Perry and myself, and asked if I was ok as I
apparently looked quite grey! Perry even helped me on with my coat. I
can honestly say I left my lungs out there on the course that windy
Sunday, and without the support and encouragement of Perry I wouldn't
have made it in anything like my final time of 1 hour 46 minutes and 36
seconds, over 6 minutes better than my previous PB for a half marathon.
Mik Escolme also bagged a new PB, and Perry was just 3 seconds off his
PB (sorry mate).
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| Jill - still smiling till the very end. |
So many thanks to all the Striders for a great
day. Thanks to Jason for the welcome support and the coats - it was
freezing at the finish, and thanks to Mik for all those tough wednesday
night runs; but mostly thanks to Perry for sticking with me and helping
me through the last 3 tough miles - you're a star mate!!!
For more Information, visit the Essar Four Villages website.
Steve Treweeks.
(Kudos to Chris Brumby for all the photos.)
(Kudos to Chris Brumby for all the photos.)
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