My final big run before Brighton was to attend Bedford Harriers Oakley 20. The race plan was to run as sub 3hr marathon pace. Therefore, based on the sub 3hr I worked out that I needed to run mile splits at under 6:50. Using the data I set my Garmin to 7:10 max to ensure I kept the pace. At the time this seemed an excellent idea but at mile 18 when the legs began to get tired hearing the garmin (beep-beep) became very annoying indeed.
The weather was typically British and high winds and rain was the order of the day. The cross winds were very challenging and added another dimension to the tough course.
At the start I noticed some groups of runners form and I found the pace with a group of 4/5 runners. In hindsight this wasn’t really running to the plan. I soon realised that the course was very hilly and not very good for a pacing practice. I carried on with the plan to run sub 6:50 and this went to plan until mile 17 when the legs became very jaded. I had taken 3 gels during the period and was convinced it was simply the legs that couldn’t keep going at the pace and I concentrated on completing the last 3 miles without losing too much time.
| Lap | Distance | Time | Pace | GAP | Elev |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1.0 mi | 6:22 | 6:22 /mi | 6:22 /mi | -10 ft |
| 2 | 1.0 mi | 6:34 | 6:34 /mi | 6:20 /mi | 44 ft |
| 3 | 1.0 mi | 6:51 | 6:51 /mi | 6:16 /mi | 114 ft |
| 4 | 1.0 mi | 6:13 | 6:13 /mi | 6:41 /mi | -99 ft |
| 5 | 1.0 mi | 6:38 | 6:38 /mi | 6:34 /mi | 8 ft |
| 6 | 1.0 mi | 6:42 | 6:42 /mi | 6:34 /mi | 28 ft |
| 7 | 1.0 mi | 6:32 | 6:32 /mi | 6:27 /mi | 7 ft |
| 8 | 1.0 mi | 6:35 | 6:35 /mi | 6:34 /mi | -12 ft |
| 9 | 1.0 mi | 6:41 | 6:41 /mi | 6:35 /mi | 13 ft |
| 10 | 1.0 mi | 6:27 | 6:27 /mi | 6:48 /mi | -72 ft |
| 11 | 1.0 mi | 6:37 | 6:37 /mi | 6:37 /mi | -3 ft |
| 12 | 1.0 mi | 6:40 | 6:40 /mi | 6:40 /mi | -5 ft |
| 13 | 1.0 mi | 6:32 | 6:32 /mi | 6:35 /mi | -16 ft |
| 14 | 1.0 mi | 6:39 | 6:39 /mi | 6:25 /mi | 47 ft |
| 15 | 1.0 mi | 6:53 | 6:53 /mi | 6:41 /mi | 36 ft |
| 16 | 1.0 mi | 6:50 | 6:50 /mi | 6:55 /mi | -22 ft |
| 17 | 1.0 mi | 6:39 | 6:39 /mi | 6:50 /mi | -45 ft |
| 18 | 1.0 mi | 7:06 | 7:06 /mi | 7:05 /mi | -2 ft |
| 19 | 1.0 mi | 6:59 | 6:59 /mi | 7:05 /mi | -25 ft |
| 20 | 0.9 mi | 7:00 | 7:08 /mi | 7:06 /mi | 8 ft |
At the end I had finally achieved my goal of finishing the 20 mile course and having a Oakley 20 hoodie that I will appretiate as my prize for 28th place overall in a time of 2:13:42
