I hadn’t really been doing any longer training runs, I can’t remember the last time I did a run over 8 or 9 miles, doing most of my longer sessions on two wheels rather than two feet. But with a middle distance triathlon (1.9km swim, 90km bike, 20.1km run) coming up next month I thought I should get a few longer runs in and put down a bit of a marker to see where I am in terms of run fitness. I spotted this one on the race calendar and realised we could combine it with a visit to Mel’s mum near Newton Stewart, 25 miles or so away.
It was looking like being a hot and sunny day so in the morning I applied sunscreen and we drove up in nice sunshine to the start at Girvan FC’s Hamilton Park football ground. After registration and a bit of a warm-up it was time to assemble for the noon start.
The course starts with half a lap of the football pitch and then out onto the roads towards the Ayrshire village of Dailly which is a gentle incline for the first four miles or so before evening out, then a left turn and a rapid drop down to the village itself as we cross a river at six miles. The route then climbs up on the other side and following another left turn keeps going up for a few miles. One more left turn and another nice long descent down to re-cross the river before a slog back up the hill to re-join the original road and free-wheel the last three miles back to Girvan.
I started quite quickly but then decided I should rein it in a bit to try and keep it steady and be able to finish strong. I thought I would most likely be around 1:35 to 1:40 as I wasn’t at peak fitness for this distance. I kept things pretty restrained for the first 10 miles then once the climb following the second river crossing was done I could let myself go a bit and picked up a few places towards the end.
I came in 44th position out of 135 finishers at 1:37:30, exactly in the middle of my target range. It shows I’m not too bad but could definitely be better prepared for the Aberfeldy Triathlon so I need to get out for a few more longer runs.
It was a good, well organised race with some nice refreshments on offer at the end which were most welcome. Thanks to Girvan Athletic Club for organising.
|
Place |
Forename |
Surname |
Cat |
Club |
Time |
|
44 |
Allan |
Dunbar |
M40 |
Penicuik Harriers |
1:37:30 |
Results link: http://events.scottishathletics.org.uk/events/21314-18090-girvan-half-marathon#results
Route map:
Sorry! Allan ????
Doesn’t look like this format likes emojis either! Ignore the question marks.
Well done Alan and good luck for the Aberfeldy Triathlon.
Sounds like your training is going well. Sometimes less running and being a bit more rested pays off!
Well done Allan, sorry I’ve not picked up on this report until now. Good control and pace judgment, it’s all too easy to go off to fast and suffer later.