This was suppose to be in Warwick. But we wanted to see our family in Wales, and luckily this half was the same day as Warwick. After looking online the 10k had already sold out. But the half was still available. All that was left to do was to try and sell my Warwick half place. I did so successfully!
I was so chuffed with my immune system. I avoided all colds and flu viruses for a whole month and a half. Only gaining a mere crappy bug (literally) for 2 days.
Then... dun, dun, durrr. I gained a ridiculous cold on Friday the 15th. I was so glad I’d gotten my 18 miler done the day before with no issues. After this, of course I got a sinus infection! Luckily, I took antibiotics for 5 days and it went. But then, I developed bronchitis with a bad chest. Well they say things come in threes right. So I’d been out of running for 2 weeks. I attempted a 3 miler the Tuesday before race day, it went terribly. I just gave up in the end due to a really painful stitch. I tried my normal method of exhailing and striking the foot down on the opposite side, but it was to no avail. Hopeless. I switched my watch off and dragged my bottom lip all the way home, defeated.
Here we go again I thought. One tremendous step back. AGAIN! My motivation was faltering so I invested what little money I had left for the month on a local running coach to put together my last 9 week training plan in the lead up to Belfast. He gave me this on Friday night. Which ignited a little motivation.
My chest got better, I wasn’t coughing much. Only having coughing fits at night. Which was good news to my ears. On Wednesday morning, I opted not to go all out on leg day and do some simple glute exercise instead. Then the next day I realised I’d aggravated my bloody piriformis on the right hand side. Just under my butt cheek, I was being weird and constantly grabbing it in pain. Christ. This wasn’t going well at all!
As with many times in the past, I just rested for the remainder of the week, not to mention stupidly putting Deep Heat on my lower bum after I had a shower then walking round trying to sit on something cold because my left cheek was on fire. After googling why that might be. I came to the conclusion that a hot shower had opened my pours, and thus the Deep Heat got absorbed a little too much and had 10x the ‘heat’ effect. To my surprise this didn’t even work :-(
I gave myself till Saturday night to decide as to whether it would be worth further aggravating and causing more injury time off running, just for a half marathon. I had to think of the bigger picture.
Saturday morning we set off for Anglesey. The pain was gone, so I just said. Slow. Which would be inevitable due to no proper training in 2 weeks.
Sunday came along and also a potential ‘Storm Freya’ (LOOOL). The irony. Luckily we were to avoid the harsh winds. But gained the rain. Not in full force, thankfully. To be honest, it was quite relaxing when running in it.
We arrived over Menai Bridge to the start with 30 minutes to spare. It just so happened that I had not been to the loo before I came, so I quickly lept into the first queue I saw. It was massive and people were taking their sweet merry time. The race start was 9am sharp. Tick tock peoples... 20 too, 10 too... the announcer reminding us every minute over the tannoy how long we had left and to start lining up. the men who wanted a wee, had urinals so you could guarantee the men left waiting for the port-a-loo’s needed a big shit! Aha.
59 minutes past 8. For goodness sake. I was still third in line! But I knew I had to go, it was a long way to wait until 9 miles in. It would haunt me, I knew it would. I finally got out and then my Dad goes, “stay with Freya, I’m going to use the urinals”...
DAAAAAD. IVE GOTTA GO!!!
He took his sweet merry time also. So I literally ran and nearly took out 5 kids who were due to run the Dragon Dash. I love kids. Like I have a baby. But seriously. Moveeeeee I paid a lot more to start this race. 4 minutes past 9, I eventually crossed the starting mat and was one my way. What a anticlimactic start all the other runners were gone out of sight... All the spectators were on the bridge just strolling back over. I was dodging people left, right and centre. Then I came the roundabout by the Anglesey Arms, with no runners in front of me. I grabbed a Marshall and he told me where to go. I felt lonely. This was not the same as back in 2017. Definitely makes a difference when you start with everybody on TIMEEE.
Mile 1 - 10:11. Set off too fast. Causing a stitch. But I did reach the back of the pack! Yeeey running humans. I have arrived!
Mile 2 - 10:43. Here I thought I wanted to sustain 10:40ish or under 11 min miles for as long as I could.
5k- 10:35. Around a 32 mins. Still had a stitch, and I was pinching it and relseasing it to try get it to fuck off, as it was seriously doing my swede in now.
Mile 4 - 10:42. Onto the Menai Strait on Beaumaris Road.
Mile 5- 10:37. I was met by the winning male running back, for him it would be about mile 9. Man, he was fast 💨. The sheer look of concentration filled his face. Amazing. I’m pretty sure he won it too. Gosh I love Jake, but what I’d give for him to be into running. He’s really lanky and has the typical somatotype of a runner. But he smokes, and has a few health problems. I shall succeed in getting him to run an event with me yet. There’s still time. Taking into account many runners don’t start till their 30’s, he’s 27 this year! It’s my life goal 😂. Not getting married to him- making him run with me.
10k - I have no clue what my 10k time was. I can only assume it was around 1:06. My 6th mile came in at 10:50. After this, I remembered the route very clearly. The first significant incline of the race. Ffordd Eglwys it’s sharp going from 15ft to 140ft. I felt it.
Mile 7- 12:04. Worst split of the day. That shows just how difficult the incline was.
Mile 8- 10:18. This mile always seems to be the make or break of me in a half. My flagging point my petrol reserve was flashing. At this point it was fairly windy. I couldn’t really feel my hands and I just wanted it to be over. My knees were feeling the brutal force of each footstrike, and my lower back on the right and left of my spine started to give a dull ache! I felt like an old woman with dodgy hips and knees. Plus, I’d forgotten to pack my Runner’s knee straps which really do make a difference for me.
Mile 9- 10:56. A run out onto to costal path along the sea/ lake of Beaumaris. Then back onto the high street.
Mile 10- 11:09. The hill of death. 38ft to 110ft. I had to walk. This was probably the most I’d walked since inbetween mile 6 and 7. Stopping to walk for a whole minute. Then I decided. Feck it. No headphones my asshole. I plugged that shit in and blasted my music. It most definitely got me through the last 3 miles.
Mile 11- 11:48. A pretty bland mile. Back onto the main road, back to the finish. It’s great. But the walls get in the way out the wonderful water view.
Mile 12- 11:27. Happy, happy, happy mile. I knew I was kind of in time for a post pregnancy PB. I upped to 9 mile miles for a little, feeling a little refreshed!
Mile 13- 10:25. Yeahhaaaaaaaaaa. I’m so close to finishing my first half for the year. Gooo, gooo, goooo. Luckily the last 0.10 was practically downhill and I sprinted to the finish. Well I only got up to 9:47. That’s all I had left in the tank!
My watch read 2:22:58. Due to starting late. My official time through text message was 2:27. Am I hell going with that one! Completely inaacurate.
I got my post pregnancy PB by 20 seconds off the Brum Half back in October.
I’ll just add this on the end. My Dad rang me at the end to tell me where to meet him. Did I feck know where I was going. A journey which should of took me 10 mins went extended to 40. By that time I truly knew what cold meant. I had a cold sweat and the rain had started to pick up. I actually was getting so stressed out on the phone to my Dad. Like ffs. I’m freezing, getting pneumonia here come and find me NOWWWW!! 😂.
Another great event put on by the Always Aim High event crew. They’ve recently launched a new 10k and half in Anglesey at Newborough Forrest in June. So I’ll see what my fitness is and try and do that one for a change of scenery. But for now. Roll on the Coventry Half at the end of March! I cannot wait. Fingers crossed I don’t accept rain anymore niggles or germs.
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