Mont St Michel Marathon and Jersey Half

In the last month quite a bit of racing has happened, I had the Mont St Michel Marathon on Sunday May 13th which was a really well organised marathon. I went over with a few running friends and we stayed in St Malo the day before and it was a beautiful weekend. On the morning of the race, it was sunny and crisp and we took one of the shuttle buses from St Malo to the start at Cancale. Not really knowing too much about the course except that it was flat with a hill at the start we set off in the 3hour 30 pen jammed in like sardines to begin with. The race soon spread out though and I hit my pace of 7:30 min miles. I was planning to maintain this for as long as possible and then slip down to 8:00 when I fatigued. However this was to be one of those days when everything went right and I felt good. I was able to maintain the pace and I got through the race with a new PB of 3 hours 18 mins. This was 30 mins off my previous marathon PB which I got last Oct here in Jersey. As you can imagine I was very pleased with this. I thoroughly recommend the MSM Marathon, very well organised, very well supported and a great course for a PB.

The week after was mainly about recovery for me. I didnt run all week as I had pushed it hard during the marathon. I did however naughtily enter the Jersey Half marathon the week after, as it is a race I generally do every year. I was feeling a little nervous having run a quick marathon only a week previous and I wasnt sure how my body would react. The weather conditions were the polar opposite; Rainy windy and cold! However it was a good opportunity to meet up with running friends and catch up. It again was a quick course with a tail wind for the first 6 miles or so and I went out at a ferocious 6:25 min mile pace which I maintained for quite a while.. I was within reach of the lead pack and felt ok for most of the race but started to run out of gas towards the 8 mile mark due to the previous weeks exertions. I did however record a new 1/2 marathon PB of 1 hours 27 and came in 26th place overall in the race which I felt marked real progress for me, and now provides the spring board for my next race which will be Jersey's Round the Rock Ultra Marathon in July. I completed this last year in 9 hours 25 so hope this year to complete in sub 8 hours. Training will be starting in earnest over the next week or so with some large mileage runs factored in and lots of cliffpath training!

A year to go...

So it was with bated breath I watched the 2012 Marathon Des Sables unfold. I was mainly watching the end of day videos on the Darbaroud website looking at the photos and keeping track of the results, particularly keeping an eye on the progress of Jen Salter and Rory Coleman who I had the pleasure of meeting at the Jurassic Coast challenge a few weeks ago. Jen finished 4th female overall in the end and 38th in the overall field which is a stunning result and Rory coming in 226th. I think between them they have run 14 or 15 MDS so I will be paying them a visit sometime this year to get tips on packing my rucksack the lightest and other essential info to aid my desert vacation! :)

The last few weeks my focus has switched to the Mont St Michel marathon on May 13th in France. I have been getting the miles in both on trail and road to mix it up and have one long run left before the taper down to the race. I feel the most prepared I have felt for a race to be honest and have been logging good road times so hope to finish in the sub 3 hour 30 mark, although you cant account for what goes on on the day! I have read up on the MSM marathon and it appears that it is a flat course with the only stumbling block being the potential for headwind, which if this occurs will be with you for the whole 26 miles! I am of course no stranger to the wind, as I am sure anyone who ran the whole winter will attest (is it me or has this winter/spring been particularly windy?) so am not too worried about running into a head wind, but a wind assisted marathon time would be nice.. So we will see on the day.

Training has been going well on an off road, with training runs along the cliff paths helping to build leg strength and building supporting muscles as well as endurance. My ultimate short term goal is the Round the Rock ultra here in Jersey in July which is 48 miles around the island here. I hope to improve on last years time of 9 hours 25 by making it within the 8 hour mark, I have a competent plan in place and hope that as long as I follow this I will be in a good position to achieve my goal.