Swimming and Walking at Holkham Norfolk

No cycling or running today instead on day 4 of Juneathon I did some swimming, walking and week 2 day 1 of the 100 push up challenge. It being such a lovely warm day we set off for the coast up to Holkham Bay in Norfolk.

Once you park the car at Lady Anne's Drive at Holkham you then have to walk a mile to reach the sands. It is a lovely walk along duck boards through pine trees It must be another half mile or so of sands to reach the sea!  There was a good breeze to keep the temperatures down and more comfortable. However you can't come to the sea and not go for a swim so after setting up base in some sand dunes I walked down the beach wandering how cold it was going to be. It was actually warm partly because you had to go a long way out to get to any depth. The shallow waters were more easily warmed by the sunshine. This was my first swim of the year, probably for a year since swimming at Southwold. If you just want a beach Holkham is ideal however you should note there are no commercial outlets such as food vendors or toilets which is fine in my book.

After this we went down the road to Wells Next the Sea a busy small town where there was very limited parking. We found some parking out of town and walked back in for a mile. This is worth a visit to a traditional fishing port with boats and plenty of fishing for crabs on the marina. Wells has the commercial attractions such as fish and chips, ice creams and amusements but go to Holkham if you want a good sandy beach.

After a day out in which we walked 4 miles approximately and did some swimming I still felt I hadn't really down enough for Juneathon so I returned to do week 2 day 1 of the 100 push up challenge. My session included 5 sets of press ups which were 14,14,10,10 and a final set of 20 for a total of 68 press ups , 4 miles walking and some swimming.

City of Norwich Half Marathon

10am 13.1 miles in 1 hour 49 minutes 03 seconds

Week to date mileage 30

Month to date mileage 53

Average weekly rate 31.7

AverageMonthly rate 138

Year to Date 734

Life time 8512

On a whim last week I entered the Norwich Half Marathon partly so we could go shopping in the city afterwards. I had entered before the warm spell of weather had arrived but this is the lottery you always face when entering any race, unknown weather conditions!.

It was warm extremely warm as the guy on the pa before the start mentioned on several occasions it was 30c. To be honest this was too warm for me and as it turned out for most of the runners as there was little shade out on the course.

The race start was from the Norfolk showground and this is an excellent venue with all the facilities you would like layed on ( apart from showers just 3 for a field of over a 1000 runners and they only dribbled!) some stalls selling running gear,water food and drink for spectators. Here there were a few trees and before the race the order of the day was to rest up in the shade.

Just before 10am almost reluctantly I had to emerge from the shade and line up for the start of the race. It took some time to get to the start line hence my official time of 1 .49.20 differs from the chip time of 1.49.03. For the first time I ran with a bottle of water and this was sensible and kept me going though it was rather cumbersome.

My splits were as follows

Mile 1 7.36
Mile 2 7.32
Mile 3 7.59
Mile 4 7.48
Mile 5 7.58
Mile 6 8.23
Mile 7 8.36
Mile 8 8.14
Mile 9 8.30
Mile 10 8.43
Mile 11 8.32
Mile 12 9.12
Mile 13 9.06
.1 of a mile 0.47

My initial plan which I felt I would be able to keep to was to run miles under 8 minutes. As long as they were under 8 I was happy. I achieved this until mile 6 which included the only off road up hill section which takes you back into Norfolk Showground.

At this point a lot of people decided to drop out. Whilst 2 lap courses are great for spectators they do provide a temptation to drop out if you are not running well. On such a warm day it was sensible to drop out and this went through my mind but I was feeling well hydrated from the regular water stations and sponge stops even though I was baking hot.

The marshals and officials were very well organised and they were supplemented by the public several of whom (don't tell anyone from the water board!) had hoses and were spraying runners who were very grateful for a shower. I used every water station to tip a whole cup over my head and drink a whole cup and I stopped to do this. I was actually running soaked through and it wasn't until I finished that I realised that my feet were sodden wet and this was obviously the cause of my getting blisters. During the race this was my worst discomfort, my feet felt as if they were burning as my socks were stinging.

From mile 6 my times became progressively worse as the race became just a case of survival and keeping moving. I was no where near my pre race target of achieving a 1.45 time though with the heat I am pleased to have completed this race and would consider again.

I did see one other runner from St Edmundsbury Pacers in the adult race and there were a couple in the junior race. The winner of the race was Simon Tonui in 1 hour 10 mins 26 seconds.

Of the 729 finishers I was 165th according to chip time and 18th in my age group.So although I was disappointed with my time on a flat course considering the conditions and nearly a 3rd of the runners dropping out I was just pleased to complete the course. After the race my right foot badly cramped and I think I have a reemergence of a previous injury a tight plantar fascia so no running for me for a day or two to see if rest is the cure.