Sunday, 20 March 2011

D33 Review

I travelled up on the lunchtime train on Friday to Aberdeen in preparation for the race so after checking in to the Travelodge which is right outside the station i decided to jog down the mile to Duthie Park as a recce for Saturday morning. Once in the park i jogged round anti clockwise as i got to the far end i saw the painted line with D33 on the ground, at least i had found the Registration point and the start point the only thing missing was where it went, as this was my first time on the course i continued around the park until i noticed a cyclist heading out by a post with a sign on it so off i went to check it out, this was the route,so i continued along for a while as it it was a great night for a run, before i knew it i was out 4 miles so i about turned and headed back.
On Saturday morning i was up sharp and feeling good so i again jogged down to registration, i was first there, George and the guys were just setting things up, so i introduced myself, got my number and headed back to the hotel. the only downside with the travelodge is you have to be out by 12 noon and they don't have anywhere to store your gear so i headed round to the railway sation and booked my bag in before heading down to the race, i had only realised on the road down that i had built up 15 miles since my arrival, anyway on the start line most of the usual faces where there and the weather was turning out just nice. George gave out the details before we set off, Grant as usual was away from the start followed by the rest of us,at 15.5 miles i could feel that i had put on the wrong shoe, i thought i could have got away with a racer as the course was flat and as it had been sunny the route would be dry but by 15.5 when i moved into 3rd place as Scott Bradley from carnegie passed me,i knew by now that it was going to be a long day, by 19 miles Marco passed, moving me in to fourth and from there it just got worse, my right hip was in pain and i was still being passed, i continued along and as you were passing runners we were all exchanging "well dones", it helped you along at 25 miles i managed to get some ibuprofen gel at the water station which i applied, it certainly helped in the later stages but before this i found myself having to walk in some parts while i tried to loose the pain from my hip, with 31 miles in the pain started to ease and i knew it wasn't far to the finish, my main aim before the race was to get in under 4 hours, thanfully i did this with seconds to spare.
 Looking back i felt in shape for sub 4 and got it but overall i am dissapointed that i went off  too fast in the first half , this combined with the wrong shoe,which i felt caused my hip pain, i paid the price for including a couple of black toe nails and affected how i should have ran, overall It was a great day, and well done to everyone who took part. Well organised George and Karen, i'll be back

5 comments:

  1. Well done on the sub four hour but a shame it didnt quite go according to plan. Have you any idea on the cause of the hip problem? I had/have a simular problem with my left hip

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  2. Gary, i don't, everthing was going to plan in training and had no indication prior to the race, my mileage was going well on all terrains, only at half way was it sore which i have not had for a long time but the gel certainly eased it, i have no effects today except some tightness in my calfs, i have now binned the shoes and i hope to start back in preparation for the Fling, sorry this does not help you any but maybe worth checking your shoes

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  3. Well done Robert, a sub 4 is excellent considering the mishaps. Every run is a school day :) Was good to meet you at the start :-)

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  4. Hey Bob,
    Well done for finishing under the 4 hour mark. When I saw the pain in your face when I passed I was worried that it was going to be a long day for you but you pulled through and finished in a fantastic time. I know how you feel though as I used to (and still do) go out far too fast in ultras. I suppose that perhaps because the 2 of us are from a road running background where every race should hurt from start to finish. But Ultras are a different thing and it took me a lot of races to get it right. I find that not treating it as a race was the best thing I ever started to do.
    You are a really talented runner Bob and I am certain that with more experience you will return to the D33 next year and run a fantastic PB.

    Take care and see you on the Kilpatricks soon.

    Marco

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  5. Hi mate, brilliant time considering you walked some of it. I finished just behind you - we chatted in the last few miles. Hope the hip is recovering ok ;)
    Paul

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