It started off well and ended even better.

Alarm went off at 6:45.  We didn’t have to be there till after 9am.  I would have set it for later but our water preassure was low – Scottish Water said they wouldn’t be able to check it out till Monday – meaning I would have to run a bath rather than have a shower.  I shuffled into the bathroom and turned the tap on. Gave the cold one a quick blast too, just to see how slow the water came out.  Hold on, looks normal.  I tried the shower – it worked! Bonus!

Good start to the day – Check!

I had everything laid out from the night before so there was no rush to pack anything. All I had to do was wash and have breakfast.  Wash I did, then for breakfast I made liquid Pinole which I ate/drank on the journey up to Glasgow.

My wife (L) drove, letting me sit for the hour journey and contemplate the morning ahead.  I had been feeling really good about the GSR for a few weeks. Even though I hadn’t followed a training plan, I was confident that I was fit enough to get a decent time.  So much so, my target was five minutes off my personal best of 1:55:23. The aim – 1:50.

The Half Marathon didn’t start till 10:30am but we arrived in Glasgow just before 9am.  Reason being that my mate Steve was running his very first 10K!  He’s only been running for around 15 weeks – I think he’s done great so far.  We wanted to show our support and see him off from the starting line.

To say it was busy was an understatement! some 10,ooo people had turned up for the 10K alone! Runner’s pens were sectioned out around George Square in sequence against predicted finishing time.  Aiming for 1 hour, Steve was in the Blue pen. It was so busy that L and I couldn’t get near the pen so we stayed close to the start line and waved him off as he passed.

It took around 15 – 20 minutes for all of the 10K runners to cross the starting line.  George Square, the inside of which was almost empty of 10K runners only minutes ago was now busstling with Half Marathon runners.

9:45am. 45 minutes to go.  The sun started to appear. I had a hoodie on and was now wishing i didn’t.  L and I were sat on one of the many benches.  I wasn’t really saying much to be honest. I was nervous. A couple and their litle kid sat next to us. We briefly chatted. This was the guy’s 2nd time doing the GSR. He did it last year, got 1:44. “I don’t do much running”.  Aye right pal. 1:44 and you don’t run much? Yeh, people that don’t run much aren’t kitted out head to toe in technical gear and have a few half mary’s under their belt.  Why not say you’re a keen runner?  People, eh!

10:18am.  I decided I should probably head over to my starting pen.  Again, it was so busy that L had to stand on another street.  When I reached the blue pen, I couldn’t get in. It was packed.  Some guys decided to try getting in at the other side, so I followed.  It was packed too. runners with blue numbers were standing outside the barriers all the way up the side of the pen because they couldn’t get in at the dedicated pen entrances.

I wasn’t for standing around, so, inspired by some other runners, I scaled the barrier. It was met with a couple of backhand comments from a spectator and another runner but i just smiled.  No arguments today – my head was in the zone for this run.

10:30am. The starting klaxon sounded and everyone cheered.  Nothing happened and a voice sounded over the tannoy that the race would start 3 minutes later. It did. The race began and each section was ushered across the starting line by people on stilts, great fan fare and “Don’t stop me now” by Queen playing over the PA system.

This was it.  My race plan was simple.  A steady 8:19 pace and concentrate on good form.  Lead with the hips, fall forward, pick the feet up from behind and don’t get caught up with the buzz and adrenaline at the start.

So, naturally, I was off like a shot. I thought I was hitting a steady 8:19 pace. It felt like it anyway.  The first mile marker crept up – 7:37 pace. Bollocks.  I tried not to panic. I wasn’t out of breath and didn’t feel over exerted by the fast start.  I slowed my pace as all of the runners head up and over the Kingston Bridge (some people already walking by this point – really!).  There was no 2nd mile marker, which meant I was still unsure how fast I was going.  When the 3rd mile marker appeared, my lap time for the last 2 miles was 15:24. Still too fast (average 7:42 pace) but edging closer to target.

After the 3rd mile marker I settled into a steady rythm. I felt I was hitting the right pace after that and sure enough, mile 4 i was a lot closer at 8:01 pace.  I felt great. By the first water station just afterthe 5K mark I was really thirsty (which i put down to the Chis seeds in the Pinole) so I grabbed a water bottle and held onto it for a mile and a half.

Up until now runners had plenty of room around them. I was expecting to be shoulder to shoulder, elbowing for position but that wasn’t the case.  until mile 5 that is.

The race entered Bellahouston Park, which meant narrowish footpaths. It was quite off putting as some people apparently couldn’t run in a straight line or thought that they could just cut infront of you at the corners for that ‘racing line’.  On the flip side, there had been a good turn out of support for runners so far. That balanced things out for this section.

I’m not entirely sure but i think I may have got a new 10K PB doing here too.  GSR haven’t released splits, so I don’t know.

Miles 6 – 9 leading up to and through Pollock Park were the hardest of the race.  The terrain there is undulating to put it mildly. I posted my 2nd slowest miles on miles 8, 9 & 10. (8:29 pace).  If i’m honest, I did start to feel a little tired.  Some doubt crept into my mind as to whether I could keep up the pace.  I found myself having to correct my posture – hips were dropping back, cadence slowing – more and more.

Luckily, after Pollock Park things eased. I recovered from those tough few miles and began to enjoy it again.  I kept repeating to myself, ‘relax’, ‘you’re here to have fun’. And you know, it worked. I caught myself smiling a few times. I thanked people out supporting the runners when I could. By mile 11 I knew I was on course for a PB.  This may possibly be the reason behind mile 12 being my slowest mile overall @ 8:35 pace. I don’t recall feeling tired. It was more a feeling of relief i think. There is a long hill on that mile but part of that overlaps into mile 13.

The last 1.1miles definitely felt the longest of them all (but was one of the quickest)!  You could hear the PA system, cheering and there were huge numbers of people lined up along the edge of the very wide footpath.  All I could think about was the last time I ran along this path, 4 years ago in my first ever half marathon. How different i felt compared to now was like night and day. Today I felt strong. I was happy and smiling!

All of a sudden I was jerked out of my reminiscing day dream by someone half stepping out onto the path, right in front of me and shouting at the top of their lungs “C’MON PAUL!!!”

It was Steve! All I could do was return with a “c’mon Steve”. Not a good comeback but I was taken by surprise.

It spurred me on, however.  I saw the finish straight, which was parallel to the path at this point, but as soon as I turned the hairpin I felt one massive surge of strength and started sprinting. I sprinted as fast as i could until i crossed the finish line.

I did it!!!  I hit stop on my watch as I crossed the timing mat.

1:47:17 (official!)

I couldn’t believe it. Not only had I beaten my target for the day but I smashed my PB by 8 minutes! I should also note that I set the previous PB only 6 months ago.

To say I was happy was an understatement.  Once fully over the line, I made my way to the side of the walkway and kick off my shoes, picked them up and continued on up to the meeting point where Steve and I found each other.

I wasn’t the only person happy with their performance. Steve, on his first 10K, beat his 1 hour target and finished in 57 minutes! a new PB!

Shortly after, my mate Doogz & his OH Elaine met us. They don’t live too far from the green and kindly allowed us to use their shower. Elaine even made us all lunch!

Good end to the day – Check!

It was a great day all in. I thought the event was pretty well organised considering the large number of people who took part.  My only gripe was that not all of the mile markers were displayed.

I intended to use the markers to determine my splits, i.e. press the lap button at the moment I passed a marker.  I’ve noted my splits below:

Again, it was a great event and I’d definitely do it again next year.  I’d also recommend it to any runner looking for a shot at a good half marathon time!

I’ve been meaning to enter this since the online entry opened but the promise of being able to take part in Monster 10, a team duathlon in September, held me back.

Monster 10 is a 4 person team relay duathlon covering 120Km.  It sounds like it would be a brilliant event!  Only thing is, out of 8 possible entrants, only 2 of us are able to race on the weekend it’s being held.  It would have been my first ever duathlon.

So, since Monster 10 is looking less likely, I went ahead and entered the Great Scottish Run Half Marathon.  I’ve run this event before a few years ago.  It’s nice.  Running over the Kingston Bridge is the highlight i think – if you don’t know Glasgow, the Kingston Bridge is a giant bridge that spans the river clyde.  Not only is it a bridge, it’s an 8 lane motorway.

Don’t worry, they shut a few lanes while the runners are crossing.  Once over the bridge, after you get past a few rough industrial spots, you hit some nice parks.  All very pretty on a nice day.

Anyway, the GSR is on the 5th of September 10.  If it does turn out that we can get a team together for Monster 10 then it’s the week after so all should be well.  I think.