Half marathon day has finally arrived! Argh!
After quite a sleepless night, a panic over forgotten earphones and a bowl of porridge and banana, we headed down to Liverpool's Pier Head, to join the rest of the 8,000 runners.
We stored our bags, attached our race numbers and joined the (very long) queue for the portaloos!
Queueing to the start line
Unfortunately, by the time we had waited our turn and made our way to the start line, it was a bit of a melee and we didn't see the time pens, so in the confusion we ended up setting off from the 2.5-hour pen (for people who estimate they'll run it in that time) - much to boyfriend Andy's annoyance!
About to set off!
We said goodbye and good luck as soon as the crowd started moving, and we were on our way, and Andy was instantly out of sight.
The course took us towards Liverpool Cathedral and on to Sefton Park. There was a good atmosphere, with supporters cheering us all on from the sides of the road, and other runners chatting as we passed each other.
There was one hill to tackle near the beginning of the run, but to be honest I hardly noticed it and was expecting something much worse having looked at the course and the climb.
The crowds grew as we arrived at the park, and I decided to carry on past the first water station. At the second station, I was on the wrong side of the path and didn't fancy tripping anyone up to get some water, so again I carried on.
I had a bit of a mishap with my watch and managed to stop the timer and had to restart, so I only had a rough idea of my pace. Perhaps that was a good thing, meaning I took the course at a pace I felt good at and didn't panic I was going too fast or slow.
I was feeling good and going strong until just after I got to the third water station at nine miles.
I almost missed it (again!), but managed to grab a bottle, get out my energy gel and tried to take them on the go. Having chucked half the water down myself and failed to even open the gel, I decided on a strategic stop. So I stopped, gulped the gel and a bit of water and got on my way again after a few seconds.
Soon after, we were leaving Sefton Park, running through the tunnel of the underpass and into Otterspool Park.
As I started to struggle and was trying to convince myself to keep up the pace, some men ran past me wearing Help For Heroes t-shirts. One of them had a running blade in the place of one leg. That was enough to stop me feeling sorry for myself and get on with the task in hand.
As the Mersey came into sight and we turned the corner on to Otterspool Pier, we were on the final four-mile straight back towards central Liverpool. I had aimed to pick up my pace at this point, but my body had other ideas. Stitch strikes!
I have very rarely suffered stitches while I've been running, so I was a bit annoyed and unsure what to do. I went for just carrying on, but it was painful. As I had been doing all the way round, I thought of the cleft children, of my sponsors and my family and friends who would be cheering me on if they were there, and of Andy running ahead of me. Eventually the pain went away, and I came to the last water station with one mile to go.
I could see the Liver Birds on top of the Liver Building in the distance, so the end was in sight. Phew!
As another stitch started to stab me once again, I managed to keep going. People all around me were talking about finishing and saying they thought they might just miss the two hours. With a few rough sums and my dodgy watch timings, I worked out that I might just make it.
With a last push, I headed past the Museum of Liverpool, and with the deafening noise of the crowds spurring me on, I turned the final corner to see the finish line only a few metres away.
I finished in 1 hour 57 minutes. Phew!
Andy finished in 1 hour 41 minutes. Wow!
I was pleased with my time, but since I was so exhausted I hardly felt any emotion about finishing. The thought of doing it all again in the marathon is a very scary prospect at the moment. This is where it gets serious.
Here is our route for the BTR Liverpool Half Marathon 2013:
Hooray!
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