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Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Hastings 100th Anniversary Marathon 2008 - My Race Report

As I drove to the area on Saturday afternoon like many runners in the wet and windy conditions, praying that it would not be like this in the morning.

On Saturday night about a dozen of us had met for a meal unsurprisingly at an Italian restaurant. Although someone was risking having a non-pasta meal the night before the marathon which it took them 3 attempts to cook.

On Sunday morning it was cool but dry. However speaking to a few people who drove there on the morning they said it was foggy in places on the way in, but I thought it should clear by the time we start.

As the whole theme was 100th anniversary there was a car from 1908 at the start and a lot of the marshals where dressed up in clothes from that era.
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

There was a military band at the start with a couple of more at various points on the course.
Band at Start
The changing rooms were in the town hall which I think is a first for any race I have been to.
Hastings Town Hall

Then I met up with a bunch of pirates and RW forumites before the start. I don’t remember seeing any of these again during the race. There was even a person wearing a norwich city top I felt sorry for him and I had a quick chat to him, being an Ipswich Town supporter.
Bunch of Pirates


The race started on time I think by the mayor but I was round the corner from the start line so I was unable to see if this was the case. The course was following as close as possible the 1908 race (it was just 25 miles). The 2008 race had virtually two laps of the town centre before heading out, although we where lapped after reaching 3/4 of a lap point for turn off. There was plenty of support at the section near the start line in the town centre despite it being before the shops opened. There was a marshal at the top of the town section dressed in a 1900’s policeman’s clothes with a fake moustache, which made me chuckle both times I saw him. Apparently there was one taxi driver who decided to try and go down the closed road when there was over 1,000 runners on the road but the marshal’s soon stopped them. I was  planning to use a run/walk method from the start although I did run the laps around the town centre but then went to the planned routine of running and walking at frequent scheduled intervals.

Then for the next few miles there was a steady climb with the rare flat sections, until a noticeably steeper climb at 3 miles. By this point the runners became more spread out after the faster start section round the town centre.

Once we got out of town centre the fog became denser and was noticeably colder in places. There were plenty of undulations for the next few miles and luckily there was some pleasant countryside to look at through the mist. This section we went from the closed roads to running on the narrower footpaths.
Run in the fog
View throught the fog
Running uphill in the fog


Then at about 7 miles about a dozen Santa’s on motorbikes rode out of the mist!! I had run a 5km the previous week dressed as Santa but I had not seen any Santa’s on motorbikes before.
Santas on Motorbikes!!


Then running through Battle we went along the outside of the wall and then past the front of the abbey where there was quite a few supporters , a drinks station and another band. After going through the village there was more rolling countryside which looked like it was the famous battle area after having a quick look at a footpath sign.
Battle
Battle Countryside

Around this section of the course the sections that we were crossing the roads were expertly marshalled by the Army, no drivers would dare disobey them or give them any verbal abuse like they seem to question other marshals.

On the route there was plenty of drink stations which had lucozade sport and water, there was a couple of gel station and few that had tea/coffee. I was glad of having a hot cup of tea in a few places when I was starting to get a bit cold. As I knew the sports drink were about every 5 miles I only took a few gels and an energy bar with me. The sports drink was in bottles or pouches so could be carried further along sipping them occasionally but the other drinks were in cups so I drunk those that I had near the aid stations.

The next 6 miles or so was on roads/paths on the outskirts of Hastings. This was the most boring part of the route as it was like most runs around a town and it was starting to get a bit cooler and muscles fatiguing. Although I was surprised as there was some support in places along this section.

Once we got to the promenade there was just over 6 miles to go. Strategically placed at end of the promenade was a toilet, luckily the council had not made it a paid facility which was nice to briefly get out of the cold.
Start of Promenade

Then we ran past Bexhill-on-Sea which we were informed of a couple of times at the start of the race is the home of motor racing in UK.
Bexhill

It was quite a bit too cold for a dip in the sea to the right although the stony beach did remind me of the Ironman Nice start earlier this year where there were also a lot of pirates. At this part I knew I was getting close to the finish and was concentrating on keeping my run/walk strategy although it was starting to get harder with my legs becoming more fatigued.
Stony Beach
Beach Hut

For each hill in the last 6 miles each marshal seemed to think they were at the “last” hill, I think the last hill was at 22 miles on the cliff top which was nice and refreshing.
Last Hill


However when I got to the top I could still not see the finish but could see the cafe aid station where I had a cup of tea and toasted sausage sandwich to take away. It was good to have something warm and was not just pure sugar like the last few hours.
Down to the Beach
Cafe Stop on the Beach


From here was a section along the beach which was packed stones although there was a noticeable path worn away. It was nearly a mile around a headland and the following beach next to a railway line.
Start of Beach Section
Headland on Beach

End of Beach Section

Near the end of the beach section there was some boats on beach I thought we should have had a pirate flag on them for the race.
Boats on the Beach


After this we joined the promenade again and when I could see the pier in the distance I knew that the pier was just 1 mile from the finish.
Pier in the Distance


I think it was from this point I stopped the walking phase and picked up my pace a bit. I was gradually overtaking a few runners on this last section and nobody overtook me. I ended up with a chip time of just under 5 hours which I was pleased with due to the course and the lack of training of the last few months following an injury.

At the end you got a commemorative 100th anniversary horse brass, yet another lucozade sport plus a foil blanket to keep warm.
With Finisher Horse Brass


I then head back to car park hoping to remember where I had parked some 7 hours earlier. After I got changed in to something dry and warm and had some well deserved seafront chips there was still some runners out on the course past the 5:30 hours cut-off they had mentioned.

I think one of the last to complete the course was the rhino, although he did get a lot of support when I saw him in the first few miles and at the end.
The Rhino Finishing


This was a challenging but a good course hopefully they will not leave it another 100 years before the next marathon.
The Horse Brass

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Weekly Weigh-in

This week I have gained 6 1/2 lb (2.9 Kg) with my % body fat remaining the same.

This week I did run a marathon but did have a lot of calories on the why round drinks, gels and sausage sandwich!! Plus the chips and cakes afterwards. Also not doing much more exercise in between, this did not help.

Monday, December 15, 2008

Cakes

The day after the marathon somebody brought in some home made cakes. I sampled all 4 cakes and had a total of 6 pieces that day and another one the following day.

Hopefully that will not affect me weight this week.

Hastings Marathon

On Sunday I did the Hastings 100th Anniversary Marathon and completed it with a time of just under 5 hours. I was taking photos as I was going round so I will post my race report with photos later this week. It will be in parts due to the size of the report.

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Weekly Weigh-in from last 2 weeks

Over the last two weeks I have lost 1 1/3lb (0.6 Kg) and my % body fat remaining the same.


I am surprised about this as my exercise has been reduced and I have been eating a bit more than normal, partly due to comfort eating when having a cold and being really cold outside to exercise in.

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Turboing

Today I have done a few of turbo sessions on my bike.

As I have not used my turbo for a while I don't think I had the right user/bike settings on the computer plus I do not have a cadence sensor at the moment. My turbo is computer based so it has virtual tours and other data analysis.

First I did a 1.6 km (1 mile) fast 1 lap circuit in about 2 minutes.

Then was a 6km (4 miles) hill climb with various gradients along the route.

The to finish I did a 16km (10 mile) circuit wich had a few undulations on it.

The sessions were tough but worth it, plus it was nice and warm inside compared to running in the freezing cold.

Sunday, December 07, 2008

Santa is a Tractor Boy

Despite having a photo with Santa as a Tractor Boy.

















The day did not go well in footballing terms. We lost the away game of old farm derby.
We were very poor and they were just slightly better, the only people that had a good game was the match officials.

I could have been refereeing a local/county match today and that most likely would have been a better game to watch.

BHF Santa Run in Basingstoke

This morning I took part in the British Heart Foundation (BHF) Santa Jog in Basingstoke. I can be sponsored at the following web page http://www.justgiving.com/santasherwood

Which this was a fun event which you could jog or walk round multiple 1km laps of a park. You could do 1 to 5 laps it was up to you. The only compulsory thing was the Santa suit, which in the cold was good to keep warm and must have made some good photos as due to the frost/ice on the grass.

There was also a group performing Christmas songs at the start.

I started a few rows from the front where the mayor of the town started the race. he must have been cold and keen to start walking around as it started 5 or 6 minutes earlier than planned. Not that I am complaining as within 100m I was in the lead!!!

I ended up doing the rest of the lap in the lead even though the marshals were not that helpful with the directions and this was the first time that I was in the lead of a race.

After completing the first lap in the lead a slowed down a bit as I did not want to get an injury the week before a marathon, due to the pace and that some of the paths were icy.

I am not sure if it is good race etiquette to overtake the mayor in the finishing straight but another Santa was trying to out sprint me so I had no choice to pick up the pace.

There was no timing or places but I think I was comfortably in the top 10 at a good pace considering I was wearing a Santa suit. I was glad of the bottle of water at the end due to how warm I had got with running layers underneath the Santa suit.

Norwich Half Marathon

Last weekend I did the Norwich Half Marathon. It was very cool and kept dry for the race although it had rained over night. The two lap course was based on the county showground. I was using run/walk method although increasing the run lengths to 6 minutes and at a fast pace, which I estimate about 9 minute mile pace.

Despite being 200 miles were I live there was another runner from a local club just 15 miles away. I was chatting to him as I went round as we yo-yo passed each other due to my run/walk breaks. In the end he was just ahead of me at the finish. I ended up completing it in 2:10 which was pleased with due to the lack of training for this event. My calf's were aching and cramping at the but I could not stop due to the kit I was wearing,

As it was just a week before the big local "old farm" derby I decided to wear my Ipswich Town football shirt and hat, which I got a few comments as I went round.

Miltary Football Match

A couple of weeks ago I was an assitant referee in a womens league match between the RAF and Army. Apart from the traffic problems getting there and then getting through the RAF Base security the game was only late starting by a few minutes.

It was a good game. The second half I got a bit more a speed work out as we stayed the same sides of the field of play (pitch) and therefore had the other team. I was glad of this as it was a bit cool an evening.

Afterwards they had some food for us (both teams and officials) and present the match officials with a medal each. That's my first military medal although not first football medal.

Monday, December 01, 2008

Weekly Weigh-in

This week I have gained 1 lb (0.5 Kg) with my % body fat increasing by 0.5%.

This is mainly due to an increase in food intake at the weekend and reduced exercise. This week I have a race but the rest of the week looks like it to be too cold and icy to train outside. So hopefully next week there will not be another increase.

CRAP Breakfast

Last week I had a CRAP breakfast.

Cranberries
Raisins
Apricots
Porridge

That had more different fruits in one meal than I would have in total most weeks.

It was quite a nutritious breakfast with various vitamins and minerals.