This Is The Week This Is
28/09/2009 by Dick.
Jane finishes her stint as Coach of the Month with the challenging ‘20 minutes out/20 minutes back’ run down the Link Road and across the Bridge. A great session for pace judgement. Try and get back to where you started within 40 minutes.
Thursday’s long run is down to Beachley and back via the Wyebank estate.
And with the first cross-country coming up fast - next Sunday 11 October at Bridgend, being a Club Championship (points mean prizes!) and the East Wales Champs (mud means medals!) - then you’ll do yourself a favour by joining in the Piercefield Park training at 10 on Sunday morning, under the guiding eye of Ivan the Terrainman.
Jersey Marathon - 27th Sept 09
28/09/2009 by Ivan.
Andy Green
It’s been 2 years since I “raced” a marathon and my last one was here in Jersey back in 2007. I’d ran the inaugural event back in 2006 and was determined to get back from injury to run this years race. Apparently 2008 had been a wash out with awful weather so I didn’t miss much anyway. I’d guessed I wasn’t up to my former pace and didn’t expect to break my PB but I was hoping to come in under 3:40. Training had gone well since I started again back from injury in March. Joining the Harriers has really helped not only with my speed, from our Tuesday sessions and races but has also helped getting the miles under my belt on our Thursday night 7 milers - which invariably involve my getting lost and trying to keep up with someone who looks like they know where their going, only to realise after 9 miles in, that they probably don’t 
My long Sunday runs have also been helped by going out with another Harrier newbie, Laurie. So my training has gone well with little sign of my previous injury. I also even entered a 5 mile race last weekend and won the age category, my first ever running prize.
All last week was spent scouring the various long range weather forecasts and the weather looked to behaving itself, just as it had on my previous 2 marathons here.
We arrived in Jersey on Friday and booked into our accommodation in St Helier and I went about my light training as well as recceing the route. It’s a lovely route along very quite country lanes from the capital St Helier out and up to the North Coast, down past the airport in the west, along cycle paths to Corbiere at Jersey’s South Western tip, returning to St Aubin via an old railway walk then along the coastal esplanade with St Aubin’s bay and Elizabeth Castle out in the bay on your right, back to St Helier.
Sunday morning came and the weather was perfect at the start, overcast and not too warm. There didn’t seem too many club runners, less than previous years anyway. I wore my club vest and whilst waiting at the start a short guy with glasses came up to me and said “How are Syd and Bill?”, apparently he ran with Islwyn a few years ago.
30 minutes into the race the weather changed, the cloud lifted and the sun shone throughout the rest of the race. After around 7 miles comes the “hilly” section. If you can call it that. Life with the Harriers has shown me that it should really be called undulating as it’s really a very steady climb and then it just undulates up to around 350-400 feet. I went through half way at 1:35 and thought I’d probably gone too fast, for me at least. As the thoughts came into my head and I was thinking of slowing up a guy came alongside and said “Didn’t you run this 2 years ago? Andy isn’t it??!” That gave me quite a lift and I ran alongside him for the next 6 miles. We both struggled around 21 miles as the heat really started to take its effect, certainly on me anyway. He slowed down considerably and I pushed on as best I could. Around 21 miles there’s a steady descent for a while, it’s also very shaded so I picked up a little there. The last 3-4 miles were tough going. Around St Aubin’s bay you could see St Helier in the distance across the bay. It looked like 20 miles away and I made a conscious effort not to look over until I got within the last mile. To be honest I don’t remember too much about the last mile. I started to get dizzy as the heat really took it’s effect and I just plodded on. I finally regained some sense after I saw the 26 mile marker. The crowds were out and the support was fantastic. It’s pretty well supported around the island anyway but at the finish it was incredible. I turned into a shaded street and could see the barriers marking the finish, I turned slightly right and over some cobbles to the finish.
That’s my sixth marathon, a mere novice in some Harriers eyes but I would say those last 2 miles were the hardest I’ve ever done. They were harder than the year I PB’d here and harder than when I did London with an Army Backpack on in 2008 but it’s just great to be back.
I’ve got a week’s holiday here now and I’m looking forward to an easy run tomorrow with Mark, the guy I met 2 years ago and again at halfway. I’m looking forward to next year as well as London in April.
See you all next week.
Ooops forgot to mention. I finished in 3:21:30 and was 36th overall and 5th in my category
Here’s a link to the website…
If you scour it closely you’ll see my ugly mug beaming out at you wearing my old club’s vest… http://www.jersey-marathon.com
