It is freezing cold and tipping down with rain.
Katie Bertie, my loyal-friend-for-25-years (despite forcing me to wear a bright green bridesmaid dress at her wedding), partner-in-crime, picker-up-when-I’m-down, and unofficial running coach, is by my side.
“These are PERFECT race conditions”, she says. “The rain means there is more oxygen in the air, which makes it easier to breathe.”Really?
I don’t actually hear the start of the race (was it a gun? A “ready, steady, go”?), but suddenly Katie says "we’re off", and we all hit the Start button on our stopwatches, and start running.
My first official race has begun!
During the first mile or so, Katie is the voice at my side telling me I’m doing really well, to speed up here, slow down there, and above all to PACE myself. More advice: Lean forward slightly on the uphills and use your arms more; Try to relax your arms on the downhills.
Disaster for the faster runners ahead of us as, at around the 1 kilometer point, the signs are unclear and a whole group of runners go the wrong way, losing valuable seconds or even minutes off their time in the confusion, as they have to double back. Many cross words exchanged.
Katie is tracking our speed on her magical Garmin GPS watch and makes sure we stick to 9.5 minute miles or less, thus theoretically ensuring a sub-60 minute finishing time.
I have to admit, I am feeling full of energy and want to go faster, especially on the downhills. But Katie assures me that it is important to stick to the slower speed for now, so that we have enough energy for the second half of the race when we are more tired.
I do trust Katie Bertie, I really do. She knows WAY more about running than me. She regularly runs 10k races, 10 milers, half-marathons, and did her first marathon (Brighton) earlier this year.
But the rebellious side of me wants to ignore her advice and just run as fast as I possibly can.
Dilemma. Do I stick with my wise friend, and guarantee a respectable finishing time, or do I follow my heart and risk burning out altogether?
In the end, the decision is taken out of my hands because Katie is not feeling great today and has a bad cold; around the half-way point she starts to really struggle and urges me to go on ahead while she takes it a bit more slowly.
Feeling sorry for Katie, and a little bit guilty, I pick up the pace and head off on my own, trying to remember all the tips she has given me. This is a very hilly course, and the uphills seem to go on for ever, especially in the second half of the route. The runners start to thin out now, and in several spots there is no-one around me.
Without Katie’s GPS watch, I have no real idea of my distance (I just have a basic stopwatch), but at around 40 minutes into the race I pass the second water station (but don’t stop for water) and I overhear one of the marshalls say the words “only 2 kilometers left”. This is GREAT news, I think, as I look at my watch, anticipating an absolutely amazing finishing time! After about 5 more minutes, I pass another marshall, clapping all the runners on and yelling “only another 2 kilometers!”. What?! That can’t be right… or can it? Several more minutes down the line, and there are two marshalls clapping on the runners and yelling “just 2 more kilometres to go”.
Now I feel like I’m in a dream – or a nightmare – where I will have to keep running this race forever, and there will always be 2 kilometers left to run…
But of course, eventually I did run those last two kilometres, and they seemed to be uphill all the way. But finally the ground levelled out and there was a lovely downhill descent to the finish line.
About 200 meters from the line, I could see out of the corner of my eye a lady in pink on my right, trying to get past me. I was determined not to let her overtake me and, finding some energy from somewhere, I managed a great sprint finish, crossing the line at 57.08.
It was a fantastic feeling.
I collected my shiny, sparkly, medal and then doubled back to the finish line to wait for Katie Bertie, who despite feeling really unwell, still managed to finish in 58.48 - I am in awe!
Munching bananas and guzzling water, we met up with Katie’s lovely friends, some of whom had run too and compared times and stories. Then back to Katie’s car for champagne and chocolate. Is this how all races finish?A fantastic time was had by all, despite the cold and the rain. And I couldn’t have asked for better company for my first race!
As for my time of 57.08, I was really pleased to get sub-60 minutes, but it is only my 2nd fastest time for 10k. In one of my training runs I managed 55.41 (see blog post: East, West, Home’s Best), but that was on a completely flat route, as opposed to today’s very hilly course.
Secretly I wonder whether I would have made a better time if I had pushed myself to run fast right from the start, but probably not. And I’m sure I wouldn’t have managed that sprint finish if Katie Bertie hadn’t made me pace myself in the first half.
I guess the only way to find out is to run another race.And that’s exactly what I’m going to do.
Katie and I are booked on to the Petts Wood 10k, at 10.10am on the 10/10/10!
I guess I’ve really got the bug now!
Distance run (in miles): 6.2
Total miles this week: 20.5
Total miles for September: 29.6
Total since starting blog (21/6/10): 228.1
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