sub 4 hour group,if anyone wants to get together

Rarr! Is it just that I'm tired or does no one seem to be reading me properly?!! I'm NOT panicking, not about to do gait analysis number two thousand and seven. My knee is NOT bad. In fact at the moment it doesn't hurt me a bit because I'm not running more than 6 miles on it, due to the fact I'm only training for 5 and 10ks. My pronation is mild and more pronounced on my right leg, I do believe. I'll be interested in what my free analysis thingy at running school turns up (on the 28th November). The end.

Nice article, AH! Brrrr!!

Mojo...where are you?

That's not my lost cat (not that I have a cat that's lost, or called Mojo) but more the feeling that due to heavy work commitments my running has tapered off to the point that I really struggled to complete 5 miles last week and now it's a new week... here's to it!

who is Mojo?

 I am back from the Riviera, number 11 ticked off and a personal worst by soooome way!  what can I say - like you say Martin in a way - no pressure, a gentle jog - nice scenery and in some measure it was all that... but towards the end (well from about 18 miles really) actually really worrying if mate will finish - will she collapse?? she had a weird moment could not breathe got all wobbly - sort of panic attack? 

In short because although I did not take notes I will tell you a bit - is a lovely route.. the expo etc was fine - long day friday getting there - 13 of us in total - 6 in relay - mums and daughters, 5 doing marathon, one registered but bad knee meant she could not contemplate full mara so ran first leg of relay - one other not trained as got left behind on mileage over summer - only done up to 7 miles in training - did half marathon last year - was just going to see which relay point she could get to.

all the usual stresses of day before and double that with two newbies who both for their reasons were very tense and emotional - usual not sleeping in hotel rooms, and flights causing lack of regualrity of visits to the loo - you know what I mean..  forecast of heavy rain.... actually started grey but not cold - too warm for me at 8am I say - comfortable in shorts and t shirt!!! like london this year - forecast rain so I put in contacts - and again no rain on run but very humid.. I was a big negative about this.. our gang was strangely subdued - I think the overwhelmingness of it all was hiting the marathon virgins and Sian who had not done one for two years.  we set off in practically silence... dawn just broken - nice start Nice is lovely ..

... think we had exhausted games and distraction techniques on our twenty miler and it was quiet - we all stayed together - I kept holding them back - really trying not to let them go faster than ten min miles trying to keep it slower given how they ran on 20 miler.  Amanda who did Brighton last year and Alice who had not trained kept straining to go ahead - finally I gave up telling them and they went on a bit - we kept seeing various members of our relay team at various points which was a bit of distraction . nice coast line - not much crowd support but where there was they were sweet - 78 per cent of runners men so a gaggle of women of a certain age made them all shout a lot and our names were on our numbers.. Shade who I was running with is very tall about 6 fft very very slim and beautiful and mixed race and she got plenty of support !!! bless her... stopped around 8 miles for Sian to go to the loo - bit of dithering here and there - ran up and down swithcbacks near a huge marina very nice - was feeling tired already!!  as I say not sure when Amanda and Alice went on but of course for the two newbies that was preying on their minds a bit really - they had put in all this training and Alice had gone running on ahead.. how could she? surely she would not finish? ..

not sure when me and Shade drifted ahead of Florence and Sian but we did .. we went up qute a steep hill.. walked it .. near Antibe - very pretty through the town, quite a lot of crowd supoport saw a coupld of serpies watching... on we went but the walking had started so now we did it quite a lot... well it felt like it .. no idea if we really did .. was not as humid now.. seem to have held off the sun thank god - it was muggy and grey.. nice scenery, a few more hills it seemed.. began to like th kms when we got to 30 km... only a 10km and a bit to go... Shade struggling.. but walked a bit , ran some more.. had her funny moment not quite sure when - 21 miles or so?? made her walk for a while as was scared - she has not been 100 per cent in last few weeks , had an ear infection and is too under weight I think so I was worrried - known her kids since nursery and could not let anything horrid happen to her... she must have been soooo fed up with me asking if she was alright... we were at 23 miles at 4.20 and I siad if we trid to keep pace we might get in under 5 hours. but was worried that would stress her more but wanted to encourage her (and wanted to get to the end!!!!) so we struggled on - three french ladies running near us amused us by singing quite a lot - that raised the spirits a bit as it was very spread out by now - we were near the back!!! but on we went.. walked a bit more - glanced at watch .. we were not going to make it under 5 hours but we were going to make it!!! she was going to finish her marathon - got a text from Sian (bless her) who was doing similar job with Florence - Florence has lost 5 stone in the last 18 months and gone from un confident runner at the back with really low self esteem to a proud if anxious runner - they were a ltttle way behind us.. coming along the croissette in Cannes it really started to rain .. but we saw the end.. we saw all the relay girls!!! we had done it.  I really cant remember the time - 5 .06 or 08 who knows but she had done it.. a year ago she had to pull out of the Royal parks half with a very dodgy back - told possilby running was not for her..... docs worried about her bones not being strong enough... so we were very happy - I held her as we tried to get dry trousers over leggings - made her eat some french frut bread handed out at the end.. and made her sit down when she wanted to go and try and see Sian and Florence - they were about 15 20 mins after us - Florence wasvery  very emotional and Shelagh with the bad bad knee who could not run and cannot run over 5km came to find us and we all had a goood old cry.... 

and yes... Alice got to the end .. 7 miles longest run .. not sure of her time - around 4.55 I think... crazy and amazing in equal measure and I hope not too galling for the two ladies who had put so much into their training...

 sun was out yesterday - it was an amazing day .. we did a rooftop bar crawl along the front - I had 3 mojitos and a fair amount of rose wine.. ate crisps peanuts and not much else.. oops.. hence did not feel totally bionic whilst plane delayed, luton passport queue an hour long. home at 2am Nice time and film crew arrived here at 6.45 am .. zzzzzz must get to bed early tonight...

would def reccommend the Rivieria marathon as a lovely run I am sure with the right conditons...

Wabo   AH  everyone

am shirking from home today - sorry working .. feels like bedtime.. is it???

mojito anyone?

I'll read that later...!

oh please do .. its worth it

excellent susan! how wonderful

mojito yes!!

and can I just say its not nearly as long as some race reports I have seen...

Awesome read Susan great report and lovely that you helped all your mates to get round a marathon. WELL DONE. Have a drink you deserve it but not too many!!!

 thank you

anyone who cares - go onto Riviera maraton page and type in my name on the photos bit there ares some sweet ones of me and Shade crossing the line

Great report Susan - and well done on Mara #11 (I think) and for your support to the others!

Horrible, horrible run tonight - severe stomach cramps and I struggled around 5.6miles at 9 min pace - was glad to get home.  May rethink my idea of Gosport Half on the 18th now...