Rotterdam LadiesRun 5K - Official Results

As I mentioned in Rotterdam LadiesRun 5K, I was very pleased with the time I had recorded on my watch - 32:42. Unfortunately, when I got home and checked the official race time, I discovered that in fact my recorded chip time was rather slower - 33:41, a mere 13 seconds faster than my Leiden time. (My bruto time was 36:45, which just goes to show what a difference it makes when you are at the back of the pack). Looking more closely at the tracks from the watch, it appears to have only recorded 4.8km, which seems to correlate with the improved time - not sure what happened, but I can only imagine that I accidently paused it at some point.

In the meantime, the official photos are now in. Despite my best efforts to smile as I reached the finish, they're pretty dreadful. Still, the background is nice, and I like that you can see that there were people who were slower than me!

I had some challenges figuring out my position in the race this time. The official results base everything on bruto times, which are more or less useless, given that it took 3-4 minutes to get everyone over the starting line, and that I was somewhere near the end. Eventually I figured out that not only were the full results were available on www.uitslagen.nl, but that they were conveniently downloadable in Excel format.

The graph shows the distribution of times for all participants in my race, and also the distribution from everyone in my category (women under 35). The darker green bar is where my time fell. I had hoped to put the two into a single chart, but Excel told me that it was too complicated. Quite why, I have no idea. It seemed straightforward to me.

Rotterdam LadiesRun 5K

Yet another race day has dawned with the unmistakable sound of rain. Today was the LadiesRun in Rotterdam, an event which is held in aid of Pink Ribbon, a breast cancer charity.

As if to follow my run of bad luck with public transport, Emmy and I made the mistake of following the instructions given by 9292 ov, a public transport website, which led us to leave the train at Schiedam, and take the metro (after a painful battle with the new chipcard system which is in use in Rotterdam and surrounding areas) to a random part of Rotterdam. More by luck that good management, we navigated by the EuroMast, and occasional glimpses of the Erasmusbrug, where the race was starting. By the time we arrived, my race, the 5K, was already getting lined up, and I had just enough time to use the facilities and to find myself a spot at the back of the pack.

The official starting point of the race was near the middle of the Erasmusbrug. A good reason, it turned out, to make sure you were near the front, as those of us near the back had to start with the hard slog uphill, before we even crossed the starting line. After that of course, we did at least have the pleasure of running downhill before a flat stretch to the Willemsbrug. Despite the bridges, the first 3K were fairly easy running, and I even found myself overtaking people. There were various water stops along the way, which proved annoying as I kept getting stuck behind people who slowed down, or even stopped, to take a drink.

During the fourth kilometer I could feel myself tiring, and my pace slowed a little. This section was through a residential area with paved streets - less comfortable for running than the main road. Soon enough though, I reached the 4K marker and knew that the end was in sight. Approaching the finish line, the noise level increased as the sound of clapping and cheering, competed with the music system. Sprinting over the finish line, I managed to press the stop button on my Forerunner, and was elated to see that I'd done the race in 32:42, over a minute faster than Leiden.

After a quick post-race conflab with Emmy, it was time for her to run in the 10K. Like me, she ended up at the back of the pack, and had a bit of a slow start before the back of the race were able to start running. After the start, I went back to the Cruise Terminal to collect my medal and goodie bag, and then went back to see if I could spot her. The 10K route was simple - two laps of the 5K route, meaning that the runners had to cross the Erasmusbrug at the 5K point. I found myself a good spot on a block at the side of the road, and waited for her to come through. Spotting her, one pink t-shirt amongst many, was a bit of a problem, but I did see her, although I wasn't quick enough to take a photo.

I waited until the rest of the runners came through, cheering along those at the end, with whom I had a lot of sympathy, and then went to find a spot on the finish line. Being small, it's always a challenge to be able to see in a crowd, so I quickly gave up on the idea of taking photos, and just watched as the first runners streamed through. After cheering Emmy through the finish line, I fought my way back out of the crowd, and went to meet her. We collected her medal, and then posed for a finisher's photo. Unfortunately, we took the photo under the shadow of the cruise terminal, and then in all the excitement, dropped the camera before we had the chance to take a better photo... this one will just have to do!

Oops, new gadget

Garmin Forerunner 405 with Heart Rate Monitor. Saw Emmy's in Leiden on Sunday, ordered it yesterday, and tried it out on the bike ride home from work today.

Playback the route on Garmin Connect.

Leiden 5K - Video

To be honest, they're not very impressive, but here are the links to the videos of Emmy and me as we crossed the finish line last Sunday.

Leiden 5K - 34:54

I've been obsessively watching the weather forecasts leading up to the Leiden Marathon today. After a couple days of downpours, I woke up to more of the same this morning... not too promising. Nervous Facebook checking confirmed that fellow runners Emmy (Leiden half marathon, and the person who got me running again - thanks Emmy!) and Josie (10K in Nijmegen), also had nothing but running and weather on their minds!

I headed off for Leiden early, so that I could collect my start number and watch Emmy at the finish of the 21.1km. She was looking in impressively good shape, as Jamie's photo (taken a little earlier) shows, and finished with a time of 2:04:47. Despite the crowds we managed to meet up at the end and killed some time before my race started an hour or so later.

So, then it was my turn. My expectations weren't too high - I haven't run seriously in over a year (since I ran the 10K last Spring) and I haven't managed enough training since I decided to sign up for the 5K. Still, I was determined to give it a good attempt, and hoped I wasn't going to come in last.

Standing on the start line was exciting, but nerve wracking. Never mind that you have nothing to lost, and nothing really to prove, standing on that start line gives you butterflies. After 5 or 10 minutes jiggling impatiently before the start, the runners joined in the final 10 seconds countdown, and we were off!

The course took us through the centre of Leiden and through some residential areas. It was fairly easy running, aside from one cobbled area and the four or five bridges we had to cross. The lowest point in the race for me was a fall, somewhere around the 1.5km point - I turned my ankle and fell flat on my face (or more accurately, my left knee). The resultant stinging took my mind off muscle ache, but also broke my pace. Still, I was up on my feet pretty quickly, and didn't pause to catch breath before starting running again. Although it took me a little time to find my balance back, the fall left me doubly determined to complete the course.

At the 4.5km mark, the encouragement of spectators along the way spurred me on, and I managed a final sprint to the finishing line, getting in just under 34 minutes (33:54). My final position was 778 out of 922 - less than half as fast as the fastest runner, but about twice as fast as the slowest! For interest, I've produced a rough graph showing the distribution of the times.

As I hoped, the experience has fuelled my enthusiasm for running again, despite the impressive colour of my knee. I've signed up for the Rotterdam Ladies Run in June (5K again, don't think I'm ready to tackle the 10K just yet), and now, of course, I have the incentive of beating my time from this race.

Leiden Marathon

Let me get one thing straight - I am not planning on running the Leiden Marathon. Inspired by a couple friends who ran the City-Pier-City this last weekend, though, I have signed myself up for the 5km race which is being held as part of the Leiden Marathon event.

Time to get those running shoes back on...

Asthma UK 10K - 1:06:54

As I've battled against the ever present winds on all my training runs alongside the canal, one thought has kept me going - the chance of fine, or at least, non-windy, weather for the race itself. Unfortunately, as the day approached, the weather forecasts were rather less optimistic, giving warnings of snow and blizzards.

On the day itself, therefore, I opted to wrap up warm with my running jacket, and the charity t-shirt (unisex, and therefore rather too large), over the top. It turned out to be a wise move, and I was still rather envious of those with the foresight to bring hats and gloves also!

The run up to the race was pretty nervewracking. My training the last couple weeks hasn't really gone according to plan, and neither had our trip down South, which we'd had to delay until Friday evening, only arriving in High Wycombe at 10pm. Still, finally the call came to assemble on the starting line, and I joined the group of similarly green t-shirt clad runners, ready (more or less) for the off.

The race was held at the Eton College's rowing lake, and from the starting line at the head of the lake, the route took us round the back of the boathouse, and then around the lake twice. Whilst I was very quickly overtaken by a large number of people who very quickly streamed out along the lakeside, I was relieved to see a reasonable number of people drop into a walk, shortly after starting... a sight which only heightened my determination to complete the course at a run, however slow.

The weather, which had started out cold and grey, very quickly turned into the full winter conditions promised - a biting wind, and alternate snow and rain, which quickly soaked through my clothes - no fear of overheating on this run! Still, we battled on, with the welcome encouragement of the wardens along the route and, after completing the first lap, I was greeted by Mum and Dad, waiting outside the boathouse to cheer me on. Halfway through, and my legs were tiring, but I'd managed to keep up a steady pace so far.

The return leg up the lake was miserable - the snow and wind hit in full force, and approaching the 7km mark I was reaching the furthest distance I'd covered in my training runs... now came the test, could I really keep going for another, as yet uncharted, 3km? As I neared the far end of the lake, I began to realise that I really could achieve this - a little further, and I'd be on the homeward stretch. Plodding onwards, still not slacking in pace, though lifting my sodden wet legs was beginning to feel like quite an effort, I continued.. pacing a girl in a purple top who was alternately walking and running. First I'd overtake her, then she'd overtake me again!

Finally, the 9km marker, and the boathouse was beginning to fill my sight. New strength in my legs as I could finally see the finishing line. Waving at Mum and Dad sapped nearly all my remaining strength. As I aproached the finish line, I heard the commentator call out "here comes number 192, Natasha Hadfield", spurring me on for the final stretch over the finishing mat, with the accompanying squeal of the timing machine as it registered the chip, fastened to my ankle.

My final time - 1:06:54 according to the chip, 1:07:17 from the starter's gun... not record-shattering by a long shot, but I was nonetheless pleased.

Keep on running... even in Copenhagen

Whilst I have to admit that this was not my most successful run ever, at least I have managed to stick to my training schedule by including a 5km run in Copenhagen, thanks to the useful tool Map My Run.

Whilst running in a strange city, clutching a map in your hand, is rather awkward, and does sometime necessitate map checking pauses, it does have the advantage that you cover different ground and see the city from a new angle.

Asthma UK 10K

In a moment of insanity at the start of this year, I signed up to run a 10km race, in aid of, and organized by, Asthma UK. No, I'm not kidding... the girl who could barely run the 200m at school, is really planning on running 10km (if my P.E. teachers could see me now, they'd hardly believe it!)

After a cold thwarted my initial training attempts, I'm now back running in earnest with the help of a training plan that a friend has put together for me, and I hope that in the remaining 6 weeks before the event (on Easter Saturday) I can improve my level enough to finish respectably. Or come to think of it... just to finish! Between now and then, however, I have a few challenges to my schedule, including trips to Copenhagen and Munich.