I was quite excited (nervous maybe?) going into the race. I knew I was in form and was hopeful of knocking a couple of minutes off my PB set 2 months earlier at Stubbington. Racing is getting serious for me: I had bought some new racing flats the day before – Brooks T4 Racers – despite having already bought some heavier racing flats 2 weeks earlier - Mizuno Wave Idaten. At an extra saving of 50g and only £35, who could resist? OK, it might be a risk wearing brand new shoes in a race when I’d run zero miles previously in them, but it’s only 6 miles right?
The other big aim was to try to beat Shelly and Ruth. Did I dare admit this? I’ve always looked up to Shelly – she’s a great runner. She’s had some injury problems of late though – maybe this was my day. Maybe a greater challenge was Ruth – she’s been improving loads lately – I have beaten her in the past (after she’d done a XC race the day before!) but I haven’t been able to get anywhere close in the last year. Mind you, I’ve been improving lots too and felt I could at least try to let her pull me along.
My best run race of recent years was where I threw away the gizmos and ran on feel, so I’d decided to not wear my GPS and ignore the heart rate monitor. I feel that in shorter races I’ve held back sometimes by running to pace on my GPS. This is fine if you know your pace, but with all the improvement of late it could hold me back. Hence: no gizmos!
We gathered on the line. Ruth, as ever was much further forward of me, but I had her in my sights. Richard, who’s had the measure of me in the last few races was just ahead too. I showed my brand new shoes to Marilyn next to me – she approved – I knew she would – and was the only one who didn’t do the sharp intake of breath when I revealed I was wearing untested shoes. It’s only 6 miles!
It was a glorious day: a mild 10degC at last after an extended cold spell, and clear blue skies. There was a brisk headwind though which was evident as soon as we started.
The first few kilometres were a matter of getting settled in and trying to judge my pace. The first 2 splits indicated I was going a bit quicker than expected, but as I felt OK it seemed sensible to carry on like this – I was trying to do this by feel after all! Richard had disappeared off, smoke billowing from his heels, but Ruth was there 100m ahead and wasn’t getting much further away – good news for my pace plan!
The fourth kilometre had an slight uphill section followed by a downhill, and… stitch! Yet again I get stitch in a race! Why? If I go slower I’m OK, but surely it’s not just a pace problem? It seems the slightest oxygen debt triggers it. Maybe I need more speedwork and more core strength work. Wish I knew the answer.
I tried a bit of massage, and by leaning into it and tensing the affected muscles I was able to control it. It slowed me a bit though.
I was catching Ruth up bit by bit. Could I catch her?
As we returned past the Leisure Centre, I caught Richard. I wasn’t entirely surprised. He’s young and keen, and is learning to pace himself. He’s improving quickly though – he’s going to get faster and faster!
I soon caught Ruth too. As the headwind was back and my stitch was starting to grumble again, I decided to just hold position behind her for a kilometre. Did she know I was there? Should you be using race tactics on your team-mate? I like to race, but there didn’t seem to be any familiar faces from other clubs around me – just a Warwickshire vest. So Ruth was the target!
Final kilometre, push past Ruth, more headwind, major stitch. Ouch! I’d been well outside my comfort zone for several kilometres, but now it was a major struggle. I could see the finish line but it seemed such a long way. Keep pushing, 800m, keep pushing, 400m, push, 200m, keep it going 100m, done it! 43:44 on my watch: a 2 minute improvement on Stubbington 2 months ago.
I wonder if I can keep knocking 2 minutes off my 10k every 2 months?
Well done team. I think we scored well, although I haven’t seen the results yet.
Thanks Ruth for pacing me out of my comfort zone!
| km | lap time | Ave HR |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4:09 | 142 |
| 2 | 4:14 | 154 |
| 3 | 4:20 | 156 |
| 4 | 4:42 | 157 |
| 5 | 4:14 | 154 |
| 6 | 4:17 | 158 |
| 7 | 4:24 | 159 |
| 8 | 4:29 | 156 |
| 9 | 4:25 | 156 |
| 10 | 4:26 | 156 |
| Overall | 43:44 | 155 |
1 comment:
great race - and nice shoes!
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