The Great North Run
Yesterday I ran the Great North Run for the first (and last!?) time, easily the hardest thing I've ever done. I wasn't expecting it to BE that hard! Anyway, I didn't run in the time I was expecting - 2hrs 15mins - but I did finish - without stopping - in a time of 2hrs 34mins, and a position of 26669 (out of 50000) - so pretty much the average, middle of the pack time. Let me tell you why it was so hard, OK:
Hills. Lots of them. I mean, I looked at a map of the course, and it didn't seem so bad, but the actual run on the day seemed to be one long sequence of hills! I suppose the next point made them more noticeable:
Heat. It was VERY hot. Probably the reason, amongst others, that 4 people died on the run. I think I saw one of the poor guys by the roadside, he looked in a really bad way...very sad. It was too hot for running, and the following two points made it feel hotter:
Water. Why was there none provided at the start??? Unless Paul and me started in the wrong place (we did jump the fence to get "into the pack" before the start line). The fact is, we had to run for 5 miles before any water was provided, which is too much given all the other factors, and not what I'm used to: I usually have a bottle with me (I didn't bring one because I thought there would be loads provided) and drink from it regularly during a run. Not getting off to a "good start" in this way made the rest of the race that much harder for me. I was fairly dehydrated, given the heat and the crowd, by the time we had run 5 miles. The crowd?:
Tight. Shoulder to shoulder running for about the first 5 miles is not something I've done before, and it really puts you off getting into your pace, your "stride". Plus I think I went off too quickly at the beginning due to the people around me running fairly fast, it was impossible to run any slower really!
All of the above combined plus: inexperience with this run and that distance. Not having done any sort of public run before, it was quite a learning experience to suddenly run with 50,000 people, up hills, packed in, with no water, under a blazing sun. I'm surprised and glad that I finished at all!
I can't see me doing it again, but if I did, here's what I would do differently, which perhaps illuminates some more "flaws" in my approach/training: I would make sure I'd run 13 miles before the race day, a few times at least. Having only run 9.3 miles, it was probably too much to expect a good (or even fair) time over the greater distance. I would include more hills in my runs, especially on long runs. The type of hills I run tend(ed) to be quickly run, steep hills, not the long gradual affairs that nearly killed me yesterday, so I'll have to study some maps of the area...I would make sure I brought my own water to the run, and more importantly, get to the start with plenty of time to spare. We had no time to stretch off before the run, and I think this bad planning was another thorn in my side from the starting line.
At least if I did the run again, I'd know my enemy, so to speak. I'd know his roads, his hills, his accomplices the sun and the crowds ;-) If my goal this time (and you wouldn't believe it given my negativity above) was just to finish, then my goal next time could be to finish FASTER...
Notwithstanding all of the above, I enjoyed the run - it really was an amazing experience running alongside so many people, all in such good spirits (the chanting through the tunnels and over the Tyne bridge, it was like being in an army on a march!), amazing too seeing the huge crowds stretch out in front and behind you - and I'm chuffed with myself for having finished it, I did what I set out to do! I have a medal and a nice T-Shirt to prove I was there - see below. Today, I'm a zone of pain, but I know it will pass, please let it pass soon...
One more word on the run: my friend Paul, having done ZERO training prior to the run yesterday (no running for 5 months), ran alongside me the whole way, and could have run off ahead and got a better time (I'm sure) - thanks for sticking by me Paul, when I wanted to stop, I had you there to keep me going! I just want to know, how the hell do you do it??? I wish I had your mental strength!!
I've put a bunch of photo's over on Flickr by the way, that's where I'll stick photo's now. Check them out here. There's a few from Saturday (but none from the run yesterday unfortunately) at the Beach hut in Scarborough - we've been at Scarborough for the weekend and Becky's Mum and Dad paid for a beach hut for us. Quite an experience, a bit cold, but when you can make yourself a cup of tea and sit on your deckchair you don't seem to notice!
Hills. Lots of them. I mean, I looked at a map of the course, and it didn't seem so bad, but the actual run on the day seemed to be one long sequence of hills! I suppose the next point made them more noticeable:
Heat. It was VERY hot. Probably the reason, amongst others, that 4 people died on the run. I think I saw one of the poor guys by the roadside, he looked in a really bad way...very sad. It was too hot for running, and the following two points made it feel hotter:
Water. Why was there none provided at the start??? Unless Paul and me started in the wrong place (we did jump the fence to get "into the pack" before the start line). The fact is, we had to run for 5 miles before any water was provided, which is too much given all the other factors, and not what I'm used to: I usually have a bottle with me (I didn't bring one because I thought there would be loads provided) and drink from it regularly during a run. Not getting off to a "good start" in this way made the rest of the race that much harder for me. I was fairly dehydrated, given the heat and the crowd, by the time we had run 5 miles. The crowd?:
Tight. Shoulder to shoulder running for about the first 5 miles is not something I've done before, and it really puts you off getting into your pace, your "stride". Plus I think I went off too quickly at the beginning due to the people around me running fairly fast, it was impossible to run any slower really!
All of the above combined plus: inexperience with this run and that distance. Not having done any sort of public run before, it was quite a learning experience to suddenly run with 50,000 people, up hills, packed in, with no water, under a blazing sun. I'm surprised and glad that I finished at all!
I can't see me doing it again, but if I did, here's what I would do differently, which perhaps illuminates some more "flaws" in my approach/training: I would make sure I'd run 13 miles before the race day, a few times at least. Having only run 9.3 miles, it was probably too much to expect a good (or even fair) time over the greater distance. I would include more hills in my runs, especially on long runs. The type of hills I run tend(ed) to be quickly run, steep hills, not the long gradual affairs that nearly killed me yesterday, so I'll have to study some maps of the area...I would make sure I brought my own water to the run, and more importantly, get to the start with plenty of time to spare. We had no time to stretch off before the run, and I think this bad planning was another thorn in my side from the starting line.
At least if I did the run again, I'd know my enemy, so to speak. I'd know his roads, his hills, his accomplices the sun and the crowds ;-) If my goal this time (and you wouldn't believe it given my negativity above) was just to finish, then my goal next time could be to finish FASTER...
Notwithstanding all of the above, I enjoyed the run - it really was an amazing experience running alongside so many people, all in such good spirits (the chanting through the tunnels and over the Tyne bridge, it was like being in an army on a march!), amazing too seeing the huge crowds stretch out in front and behind you - and I'm chuffed with myself for having finished it, I did what I set out to do! I have a medal and a nice T-Shirt to prove I was there - see below. Today, I'm a zone of pain, but I know it will pass, please let it pass soon...
One more word on the run: my friend Paul, having done ZERO training prior to the run yesterday (no running for 5 months), ran alongside me the whole way, and could have run off ahead and got a better time (I'm sure) - thanks for sticking by me Paul, when I wanted to stop, I had you there to keep me going! I just want to know, how the hell do you do it??? I wish I had your mental strength!!
I've put a bunch of photo's over on Flickr by the way, that's where I'll stick photo's now. Check them out here. There's a few from Saturday (but none from the run yesterday unfortunately) at the Beach hut in Scarborough - we've been at Scarborough for the weekend and Becky's Mum and Dad paid for a beach hut for us. Quite an experience, a bit cold, but when you can make yourself a cup of tea and sit on your deckchair you don't seem to notice!
posted by John Doran-Armstrong at 9:08 AM
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