Oulton Park Marathon

RunThrough Oulton Park Running GP

1/12/2019

This event was the end of a 17 week long plan.the aim was to get a PB.  But that changed 3 weeks ago at the Strathclyde Marathon where I got a PB of 3:31. So the aim today changed to getting under 3:30. That would of course depend on the conditions and whether I'm capable of going under 3:30.

The day would also see our Molly have her first ever event and indeed her first ever 10k. She will be guided around by Sharon. 

We had stayed at a premier inn the night before so was only 15 mins away from the event, which meant the luxury of a sensible start to the day, not leaving the hotel till 7:30 am. 

The event itself was called the Oulton Park GP and besides the marathon there is a 5k, 10k, HM, 16 & 20 mile distances to choose from. 

Weather was perfect, yes it was cold but the sun was out and no wind or rain. They had gritted the track so it wasn't icy. Definitely better than expected conditions. 

 

We met up with a few friends, Shelton Newson & Graig Mitchley beforehand.  Shelton had brought me a race belt as I had forgot mine and I don't like putting the gels in my shorts pocket. Had a good chat with them both before and after registration which had gone very easy. It was fast approaching the marathon start time of 9 am. The girls 10k started at 10:30. 

Fuelling for this race was, burger, chips, onion rings & a few beers the night before and a whole malt loaf 2 hours before the start. In the actual race it was to be 4 x gels and will be taken after 2, 4, 6, & 8 laps, along with water from the drinks station. 

Kit was New Balance 1080's road shoes,  shorts and the first outing for my new fundraising NSPKU Pukie shirt.

 For the first time ever on a marathon I'm racing I also had a base layer on. Think the only other time I've done that was 2 years ago while we had the beast from the east, but that wasn't a racing marathon. At Strathclyde my hands froze so I had on two pairs of gloves and I used some Gelert hand warmers,  the type you agitate to get going. I have to say, they were superb and they stayed hot from 8:45 to about 4 pm. 

The race itself, they called people to the start line in their expected finish times, only one person went up for the sub 3 time and for the first time in 6.5 years I went up when they called the 3:30 time, that felt a tad weird. 

The tactics for the race was slightly different today, for the last year I've raced to heart rate but today I'm reverting back to pacing by time. The reason for this is normally my last 6 miles are super tough and the HR gets a tad high while the pace drops of dramatically so I will be starting slower than normal but try to pick up the pace as I go along. Basically turning the miles times from Strathclyde on its head. So the plan was the first 9 miles @ 8:15. Then 9 miles @ 7:55 and the last 8 miles @ 7:45. 

Off we went, I had never before ran on a motor racing track but loved the venue from the off. It was great running on the track which was free from ice due to gritting. I had no idea what the lap looked like, in my head it was a big round loop but it wasn't. 

 It wasn't flat either, it had a couple of respectable climbs in it. 

With those two climbs and some downhill it was tough to keep to an 8:15 pace but I think they pretty much averaged out. 

I stuck to the fuelling plan and took a gel and water every two laps, each lap was 2.6 miles and I had 10 to do. 

The laps flew by, saw the girls standing in the pit lane each time I went past until their start time of course. There is a hairpin on the track, one side much higher than the other and the next time I saw them was when they shouted to me from the other side. Was hoping yo catch up with them but I never did. 

Anyway, the laps were flying by and all was going well. I upped the pace after 9 miles and again after 18 miles. In the last 2 laps though, those 2 climbs were taking their toll and were hurting. Going into the last lap, though it felt really tough I thought I was on target for that sub 3:30. Turns out the course was nearly a full half mile long and i crossed the line in 3:33:34. 

Both Garmin & Strava had the 26.2 point as 3:29:44. But it's the official result that matters so my first sub 3:30 attempt had failed. 

After crossing the line I collected the goodies and met ip with the girls and Shelton and after pictures and a chat it was time for home. 

So, how do I feel about my failed attempt.  Not bad actually.  The last 2 runs have been the best I've ever done, the best I've ever raced, I can't complain at that. The last 6 miles on this one felt so much better which is a huge improvement and with a bit of tweaking I'm confident I can get it even better which does of course  mean, I'll just have to try again. 

The whole day though was a great success. The event was brilliant,  the organisation went superbly,  with so many different start times for the various distances the organisers got it spot on. The Marshall's out there were fantastic,  it must of been freezing for the standing around all day but they were all helpful and cheerful throughout.  In the middle of the lap we also had a couple singing, they were great also. 

For me it was a success,  no mental demons,  not the usual dying on the last 6 miles. I loved the course and the surroundings,  it was a rare enjoyable event for me and it has to go into my top 5 of enjoyable events. 

But the biggest and best result of the day goes to Molly, Sharon did a fantastic job in guiding her through her 1st official event and her 1st ever 10k. The aim was a sub 1 hour, she did 57 mins with a positive split. Her last 5k would of given her a 5k PB.  Was super proud of her and really chuffed she enjoyed it. 

Official results 

3:33:34

3rd V50

19th out of 94 finishers.