Weeeeeelllll, what to say......Had a hairy start to the day.... hadn't been feeling tip top so was half expecting to wake up feeling like pap.... but was ok... so got to station hopped on train and ate my porridge... 5 mins later, the train pulled up and we were told that there was a cracked track and engineering works had over-run and we'd be staying put for 10 mins....
35imins later (8:55) we were still there..... not moving... announcement came over speaker saying that the manager didnt know how long we'd be stuck there, to which i swore some obsceneties....
another guy in running gear came and started to chat to me, he was running too and had booked a cab from station to start and asked if i'd like to get in with him and some others who he'd asked... so i agreed....about 8 of us were congrigated on the train (still stationary - at 9.15 - the wr meeting time) and not knwing if we'd be abe to run.... one woman who was on a bike (and running) was contemplating her fate also!
Anyhow, finally at 9.45 we got to reading, jumped in cab, traffic meant we had to jump out sort of near the staidum.... being 10am and 5 mins from start, had to then run with r$ucksack (kathy and martin will tell you how heavy that was!)for half a mile to dump off bag, then run back half a mile to the start - for someone who doesnt warm up for races this was disconccerting!!!!!
So by the time i got to the start the gun had just gone off, so climbed over the fence and managed to get in in the 1:40 section (having already done a mile!) and didnt get to meet the crew before hand.
The first mile was very clogged up and did it in 7 mins ( was fighting against bath's first mie of 6:40) so was annoyed from the beginning.... not sure what i was thinking/feeling throughout, but was trying to keep pace and match bath's time... got to 10k in 44 mins (slower than i'd planned) and 8 miles in 58 mins (under an hour was good for me) mile 8 was quite slow though, i'd forgotten the sneaky slight hill!
Got to 11 miles feeling good and 12 miles (which despite reading being prob my fave half course, is the worst bit of the course....) came round the last 400m feeling better stronge and having forgotten that the bit in the stadium wasnt as long as i remember (i always think it's longer and think i should save some so i don't collapse and look like an idiot!) managed a half decent finish, and completed in 1hr 36;06 which is well inside my 1hr40 targets i'd set for the year, i was a bit disappointed as i'd hoped for another PB on reading, but 20 secs slower on a poor start followed from a week (or two) of boozing and bday celebs aint bad in my book.
I went then in search of caz, charlie and their pom poms, but couldn't find them, so loitered about a bit and watched some peope come in, saw KATHAJ come in, and so headed to the finish and spotted a man in a dress who'd finished just ahead of her, then ROB (not spewing up his guts) and then Kathy and flashed her my boobs(wr vest).... finally we all met up on the bleachers and met al the lovely supporters and runners, went for some beer and grub, some more beer with martin, rob, kathy and sallykate, then some more beer with kathy and her friend, then some more beer.... and have finally managed to get myself home feeling a bit battered and tired Fab day, fab meet, fab run - weeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! xx
35imins later (8:55) we were still there..... not moving... announcement came over speaker saying that the manager didnt know how long we'd be stuck there, to which i swore some obsceneties....
another guy in running gear came and started to chat to me, he was running too and had booked a cab from station to start and asked if i'd like to get in with him and some others who he'd asked... so i agreed....about 8 of us were congrigated on the train (still stationary - at 9.15 - the wr meeting time) and not knwing if we'd be abe to run.... one woman who was on a bike (and running) was contemplating her fate also!
Anyhow, finally at 9.45 we got to reading, jumped in cab, traffic meant we had to jump out sort of near the staidum.... being 10am and 5 mins from start, had to then run with r$ucksack (kathy and martin will tell you how heavy that was!)for half a mile to dump off bag, then run back half a mile to the start - for someone who doesnt warm up for races this was disconccerting!!!!!
So by the time i got to the start the gun had just gone off, so climbed over the fence and managed to get in in the 1:40 section (having already done a mile!) and didnt get to meet the crew before hand.
The first mile was very clogged up and did it in 7 mins ( was fighting against bath's first mie of 6:40) so was annoyed from the beginning.... not sure what i was thinking/feeling throughout, but was trying to keep pace and match bath's time... got to 10k in 44 mins (slower than i'd planned) and 8 miles in 58 mins (under an hour was good for me) mile 8 was quite slow though, i'd forgotten the sneaky slight hill!
Got to 11 miles feeling good and 12 miles (which despite reading being prob my fave half course, is the worst bit of the course....) came round the last 400m feeling better stronge and having forgotten that the bit in the stadium wasnt as long as i remember (i always think it's longer and think i should save some so i don't collapse and look like an idiot!) managed a half decent finish, and completed in 1hr 36;06 which is well inside my 1hr40 targets i'd set for the year, i was a bit disappointed as i'd hoped for another PB on reading, but 20 secs slower on a poor start followed from a week (or two) of boozing and bday celebs aint bad in my book.
I went then in search of caz, charlie and their pom poms, but couldn't find them, so loitered about a bit and watched some peope come in, saw KATHAJ come in, and so headed to the finish and spotted a man in a dress who'd finished just ahead of her, then ROB (not spewing up his guts) and then Kathy and flashed her my boobs(wr vest).... finally we all met up on the bleachers and met al the lovely supporters and runners, went for some beer and grub, some more beer with martin, rob, kathy and sallykate, then some more beer with kathy and her friend, then some more beer.... and have finally managed to get myself home feeling a bit battered and tired Fab day, fab meet, fab run - weeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! xx
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