This Sunday marked my first ever 'competitive' 10k. Following the marathon I was inspired to up my own game and give a bit more purpose to my frequent running. I opted for a Macmillan Cancer fundraising (FUN rather than competitive) race. It was more of a challenge to myself than to wonder where I came in the scheme of things. My race was against the clock...(that came out way cheesier than I was intending)
My 'training' was unstructured to say the least, mainly from necessity. I run the 3 miles to work an average of 4 times per week and at least one other longer run at the weekend. The raining plans I see online feature lots of walking, which I don't need. I therefore just went with my best instinct. I was also scuppered by a week in southern Italy and a few days away with work.
On the day it was gorgeous and sunny - aka hot. Luckily the race was kicking off at 10am so it wouldn't be too hot by the time I finished. I can't really moan about anything else or give any other excuses...only that my training wasn't as it should have been.
For breakfast (in case you are interested!) I went for two small bananas and an alpen bar. I also loaded up with a couple of Lucozade lites. Still on my diet you see! My carb loading the day before was also weak...a Marks & Spencer count on us mushroom risotto for lunch with a count on us Cajun Chicken Fettuccine with one wholemeal pitta for dinner. More carbs than I've had for a couple of weeks, but still I was going to be burning them off.
I started really fast, a minute under my target mile time. I needed to slow down but felt good. Sure enough not before long I was running comfortably at my target time that would allow me to hit my 'stretch' target. Unfortunately that didn't last. I ended up running in and around my 'safety' target time. There were a couple of sneaky but long hills on the course (three times around the seemingly flat Regents Park in London). The hills and the heat were tough, but I powered on.
My second lap was unexpectedly slower than my first, but my target was still achievable. Finally on this time around I could take notice of the 8 and 9k signs that had taunted me on my first two laps. The park was of course not closed to the public and at one stage I tripped over a runaway dog. I stayed on my feet but gave the owner a knowing look of disdain.
Finally the end was in site, the last 2k felt like 10k on it's own. It was ridiculously tough. Luckily I had arranged my music perfectly to account for this so the epic Florence and the Machine Shake it Out came on just when I needed it.
I hit my safety target just. I'm keeping it a secret target. I know I'm not the fastest person in the world but boy did I try. I now have a target to beat next time. They had a tent of snacks and I allowed myself one finger of Twix. My supporters got more benefit tucking into the rest. I however got to enjoy this all myself!
My 'training' was unstructured to say the least, mainly from necessity. I run the 3 miles to work an average of 4 times per week and at least one other longer run at the weekend. The raining plans I see online feature lots of walking, which I don't need. I therefore just went with my best instinct. I was also scuppered by a week in southern Italy and a few days away with work.
On the day it was gorgeous and sunny - aka hot. Luckily the race was kicking off at 10am so it wouldn't be too hot by the time I finished. I can't really moan about anything else or give any other excuses...only that my training wasn't as it should have been.
For breakfast (in case you are interested!) I went for two small bananas and an alpen bar. I also loaded up with a couple of Lucozade lites. Still on my diet you see! My carb loading the day before was also weak...a Marks & Spencer count on us mushroom risotto for lunch with a count on us Cajun Chicken Fettuccine with one wholemeal pitta for dinner. More carbs than I've had for a couple of weeks, but still I was going to be burning them off.
I started really fast, a minute under my target mile time. I needed to slow down but felt good. Sure enough not before long I was running comfortably at my target time that would allow me to hit my 'stretch' target. Unfortunately that didn't last. I ended up running in and around my 'safety' target time. There were a couple of sneaky but long hills on the course (three times around the seemingly flat Regents Park in London). The hills and the heat were tough, but I powered on.
Going strong rounding the corner into the second lap |
Finally the end was in site, the last 2k felt like 10k on it's own. It was ridiculously tough. Luckily I had arranged my music perfectly to account for this so the epic Florence and the Machine Shake it Out came on just when I needed it.
Smiling, but dead |
Well done you!!! Proud of you!!! :) xx
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