A Surprising Result!
It was needed.
Training lately has fallen into a bit of a rut, I was going to write about it today, to see if it helped me get a bit more clarity on what to prioritise. But then I ran a 10km race on Bank Holiday Monday, so I thought I would write about that instead!
The 10k in question was the annual Whitstable 10k, it always takes place on the May Day Bank Holiday. This year was the fifth year that I have entered. I wrote about the race last year, you can find it here.
Race HQ was a five minute walk from our new front door, so I had a very low stress morning. I sat in bed eating my pre-race yoghurt and granola before nipping over to pick up my number and returning home to use the toilet a few more times.
This was the first time I had entered as part of a running club. I remember last year watching as groups of runners got together for photos before the race, hoping that next year I would be in one of them. And here I was. Meeting by the flagpole for pre race photos!
I didn’t feel especially prepared for the race. I had been so focussed on training for the two half marathons in January and March that I hadn’t really thought about doing any specific speed work. Lately I had just re-started my walk along The Saxon Shore Way, so I had been thinking about fitting that back into my weekly schedule too. I wasn’t underprepared, but I wasn’t exactly honed and ready to perform either! (Side note- am I ever? There is always an injury, twinge, life event going on somewhere in the background)
Anyway, after lots of chit chat and a short warm up, I lined up in Wave 4, ready to head down the hill towards Herne Bay. I put on my favourite running playlist. I felt like a sub 1 hour run was possible, given how well I had run in Lisbon (despite falling over!) but I didn’t know if I could hit 5:30 per km to get close to 55 minutes.
For the first half we were running in to a slight breeze, nothing too strong, but it was there. The first kilometer is downhill so I was happy with 5.37. I wasn’t sure I could keep up that pace as the course flattened out, so I focussed on running to effort and keeping up with the group around me.
As we ran up the (small, but bigger than I remembered) hill at the beginning of kilometer 4 I managed to overtake a few people and felt strong. I used that feeling to push on towards half way, where we would turn around and the wind would be behind us.
I definitely split this race in half mentally!
I dodged that water station at 5km, and kept pushing on towards the finish.
My main thought was to hold on to the pace for as long as I could. I felt pretty strong and I kept reminding myself how lucky I am that I still get to do this. I popped a smile on my face as a reminder to my body that I was having a good time.
I didn’t look at my watch often, but I could see that my split times were faster after the turn around.
A few calculations told me that I would be under an hour and if I continued at the pace I was running it would be close to 55 minutes.
As we got closer to the finish there were a few more supporters and our running club were cheering at one of the beach huts. I could hear them as I approached and it was a brilliant boost!
The finish line came into view and I was surprised to finish under 55 minutes, making it a post cancer PB.
It’s really reminded me that we can get better at things as we get older, or at least better than we were. So much of the time I feel rubbish about how fast I can run, how heavy I can lift or how little I can bend. I ask myself why I am not making faster progress. I think that was why I was feeling a bit ‘meh’ about my training lately. I wasn’t seeing gains or benefits. But I guess sometimes the gains are tiny. Or they’re not yet visible on the surface. Until they are. When you really have to push yourself. I could have easily sat back a little in that race and finished in a slower time. It wouldn’t really have made any difference. I would have still exercised and run 6 miles. I wouldn’t have been disappointed, because I didn’t have a target in mind. My heart rate would have still been raised for an hour. I would still have a shiny medal and lovely photos. I would have been proud of showing up and taking part. Because that can be hard.
I think I needed that PB time on Monday as a little reminder of why we do what we do. That the exercise is making a difference. I might not see it everyday or every week, but it is worth it in the end.
Love this ❤️