Bewls are there to be broken

Snazzy new minimalist trail shoes

Bewl Water Half Marathon 2013

Throughout the week I had been umming and ahhing about going to the Bewl Water races this weekend, the plus sides being they were on Saturday, the downside of course being my back injury. I avoided mentioning to anyone in case I changed my mind for most of the week until Friday arrived and everyone was asking... so what are your plans for the weekend.
Oh no, before I could stop myself I declared I was running a half marathon, doh! Now there was no way out, I had to go and do it. Arriving early in the hope of late drop outs freeing up a space for me to run I was in luck and got a number pretty early so I could relax. My race prep had been out of character and haphazard, while I managed to eat porridge 3 hours beforehand  I wore new trains and new socks, had a cuppa before we started and have certainly not been doing enough or indeed much run training. This was going to be interesting.

Eleanor at less than a mile in

As I waited I saw Eleanor and Peter from the club, Eleanor was running the Full Marathon and Peter like me had turned up with the hope of securing a place on the half. We chatted for a while then went to see off Eleanor as her race began an hour before us. 
The course is really lovely, a near prefect location for a half marathon as the route is already clearly marked and around a lake. It is however, mostly trail and pretty hilly - this I had considered a perfect bit of training for me for my summer events and hence why I had convinced myself it would be a good idea. 

Lining up at the start it was chilly but a good day for running and I soon warmed up as we started on our way. Settling in after a few miles to a comfortable pace I found myself behind a man who had such strange arm motion that he looked like to was on the decks, this couple with his shirt led to my naming iof him DJ Red Stripe. The connotations of the lowly lager could not be escaped so I imaged him to do his gigs in seedy back street working mens clubs.

Next on my travels and for much of the way I was a little way behind a group of 3 men running together, staying behind them but gradually gaining I kept my sights on them and at some point to try and overtake, this finally happened on the very severe downhill stretch where I descend in free-fall picking off one runner after the next. But as we all know, what goes down must go up and eventually they crept past me again. I was however quite pleased with my uphill performance which seemed to be stronger than usual. 

The last 3 miles were a bit stop/start for me as I was concerned for the well-being of my back and didn't want to push too hard so I took regular walk breaks as the end came closer. The rain began, at first just spotting but threatening to get heavier at any moment. I was spurred on by the impending downpour and mustered what I had to cross that line and finish. Success, I had done it, at a significantly slower pace then my norm and my back was feeling okay... for now

On my arrival home, I got out my 110% compression trousers and squeezed on into them, then filled the pouches with the ice packs to help my legs begin their recovery. Lets hope it works!