A weekend of Sun and Beeches but no Sand!

For the first time in a month I ran Bromley Parkrun on Saturday. I didn't think that the heat was enough of a test (sic) so I pushed Max round in his running buggy. I managed the 5k in 25:15.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/212056186

Five weeks ago I ran the Dartford Half Marathon and it was the hottest day of the year so far.

Today, I ran the Burnham Beeches Half Marathon and guess what?...... when we (me, Mich (my wife) and Max) left home at 7:30am it was already showing 21 degrees. When I started running at 10am it was 27 degrees and when I finished approximately 2 hours later, the mercury was showing 30+!

We arrived at 9am which I thought would be plenty of time to get ready for a 10am start, but once we had parked, had toilet stops and the 20 minute walk to HQ/race start, I only had just over 10 minutes to pick up my number, timing chip and to get ready. So it was a bit of a rush to say the least. The lack of prep time came back to haunt me as I didn't tape my nipples effectively and at about 10 miles I glanced down to see two faint red streaks running down my vest. For those of you who have suffered nipple rub, you will know it is not pleasant! You would have thought having run over a dozen half marathons, I would have had my prep sorted by now?  Ray you div!

Whilst running I tested some 'Nectar' energy gels from My Goodness Shakes. They were very palatable and no need for water to take them. Bit of a git though to get into my race belt loops.

The two-lap course was undulating and the hills definately felt steeper the second tine round. Fortunately the route was mainly tree lined, so a lot of it was in the shade. My official time was 1:56:32 and lo and behold, you will see from my Garmin link, that is the time I made it as well.  You have got to love technology! http://connect.garmin.com/activity/212472549

So having sweated so much over the weekend, I am now going to re-hydrate with a nice cold glass of rose wine.  Sophistacted me, I am :-)

TJH