When I arrived at Haslams Rugby club it was a bit drizzly so i kept my winter coat on and wondered over to registration and to chat with my team mates. There was a lot of runners from Team Derby Runner and also a lot of supporters who were not running through injury or because they were marshalling. We hid from the rain in the Team Derby Runner tent / shop / team HQ. This was a bad idea as I purchased a new pair of running shoes! But they were on sale and they did match my socks. OH MY GOD! I've turned into my sister, impulse shoe buying based on what colour my socks are! I did 'need' a new pair of road running shoes as my current pair are giving me blisters and really sore feet.
So once I had stashed my new trainers and coat in the car I hung around the start line, usually I hang about the middle of the pack I fight my way through the runners at the start of the race. But today I was feeling a little more confident and parked myself about 5 or 6 rows back from the from and happily chatted away to other runners.
The gun went and I went off at my usual 'run as fast as you can to avoid bottle necks at the first obstacle' tactic kicked. I always do this even though it's not an obstacle race! But it does help being nearer the front on road races to help negotiate the opening twists and turns and getting past slower runners. I was pushing pretty hard and the pack thinned out pretty quick, I was running along side a few other runners as we hit the first hill. A short steep little blighter, and having a couple of other runners by my side forced me to maintain the pace. The course drifted through the hills of the park and I was feeling fast and strong. Even a few switch back turns didn't slow me down.
The course takes the river path and flattens out nicely, my paces seems to be hold quite well as we cross the bridge and head back towards the park. Once inside the park and on the beautiful tree lined avenue the surface is a little slippery from the race and you can just feel a slight amount of give on every stride. It's nothing big just a slight distraction. As we reach the half way point and the water station I spot my sister marshalling and go to take water from her, but she ends up grabbing an extra cup and throwing right in my faces. She 'helpfully' passes me the other cup and I take a few sips and continue onto the second lap.
I checked my watch and my pace was an average 4:05 minute kilometres. I was pretty stoked and surprised I was running at this pace, but also meant I was getting close to my elusive sub 40 minute 10 kilometre time. The second lap was tougher and 5 or 6 runners came past me on the hilly sections but I managed to keep them in my sights and carry on pushing hard. One moment of note on the second lap was on the river section were a small group of local youths were giving runners a bit of verbal, it was a little unpleasant, and if I hadn't been running quite so well I may stopped and given them a stern talking to!
Anyway local chavs aside, the second half of the second lap was grueling I was gaining on another runner and managed to nudge ahead as we entered the park, he picked up his pace as I took the lead and pushed me in the final 2 kilometres to keep up a decent pace. Now determined to keep my slender lead I started to empty the tank on the final avenue, and dropped the hammer as we entered the rugby field. It was a noisy final 200 meters with Wimbledon-esq grunts and a few 'come on' outbursts. I was stoked to keep my slim lead, stopped my watch, and then turned to shake hands with my fellow runner who pushed me to keep up the fast pace.
It took me a while to work out how to recall the stats on the fancy watch but was over the moon to get a 41:50 time. A personal best by about 45 seconds on wet and hilly course. I had a great race, on a great course with fun encouraging marshals. Can't wait for my next race and try and shave off a few more seconds!
http://colinpotter10k.com/
So once I had stashed my new trainers and coat in the car I hung around the start line, usually I hang about the middle of the pack I fight my way through the runners at the start of the race. But today I was feeling a little more confident and parked myself about 5 or 6 rows back from the from and happily chatted away to other runners.
The gun went and I went off at my usual 'run as fast as you can to avoid bottle necks at the first obstacle' tactic kicked. I always do this even though it's not an obstacle race! But it does help being nearer the front on road races to help negotiate the opening twists and turns and getting past slower runners. I was pushing pretty hard and the pack thinned out pretty quick, I was running along side a few other runners as we hit the first hill. A short steep little blighter, and having a couple of other runners by my side forced me to maintain the pace. The course drifted through the hills of the park and I was feeling fast and strong. Even a few switch back turns didn't slow me down.
The course takes the river path and flattens out nicely, my paces seems to be hold quite well as we cross the bridge and head back towards the park. Once inside the park and on the beautiful tree lined avenue the surface is a little slippery from the race and you can just feel a slight amount of give on every stride. It's nothing big just a slight distraction. As we reach the half way point and the water station I spot my sister marshalling and go to take water from her, but she ends up grabbing an extra cup and throwing right in my faces. She 'helpfully' passes me the other cup and I take a few sips and continue onto the second lap.
I checked my watch and my pace was an average 4:05 minute kilometres. I was pretty stoked and surprised I was running at this pace, but also meant I was getting close to my elusive sub 40 minute 10 kilometre time. The second lap was tougher and 5 or 6 runners came past me on the hilly sections but I managed to keep them in my sights and carry on pushing hard. One moment of note on the second lap was on the river section were a small group of local youths were giving runners a bit of verbal, it was a little unpleasant, and if I hadn't been running quite so well I may stopped and given them a stern talking to!Anyway local chavs aside, the second half of the second lap was grueling I was gaining on another runner and managed to nudge ahead as we entered the park, he picked up his pace as I took the lead and pushed me in the final 2 kilometres to keep up a decent pace. Now determined to keep my slender lead I started to empty the tank on the final avenue, and dropped the hammer as we entered the rugby field. It was a noisy final 200 meters with Wimbledon-esq grunts and a few 'come on' outbursts. I was stoked to keep my slim lead, stopped my watch, and then turned to shake hands with my fellow runner who pushed me to keep up the fast pace.
It took me a while to work out how to recall the stats on the fancy watch but was over the moon to get a 41:50 time. A personal best by about 45 seconds on wet and hilly course. I had a great race, on a great course with fun encouraging marshals. Can't wait for my next race and try and shave off a few more seconds!
http://colinpotter10k.com/
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