10k in 45:52!!
I was so proud of myself, I actually had a tear or two as soon as I crossed the finishing line. It was the hardest run of my life.
We got there pretty early yesterday and saw a lot of the 5k-ers leaving and walking through town, everyone seemed in really good spirits. I had heard it was supposed to be the hottest day of the year, but whilst we were waiting around it was cloudy and breezy, and I thought 'brilliant, perfect running conditions'. But then the sun came, and it was HOT. The Race for Life team don't release the route until the day, and when we got there we realised we'd be racing on grass. I completely missed the boat when it came to training on different surfaces, and I'd never ran on grass before. This was the first lesson I learnt!
We did a brilliant cancer slam dance beforehand and had a couple of PTs on the stage taking us through a warm up (I only managed about 7 squats before I thought hmm my legs are not going to actually make the run, and giving up) and then we were split into runners and walkers and were ready to go. I was only about 3 rows back from the front of the race so it only took a couple of seconds out of the time.
I ran the first couple of kms really well I thought, but I couldn't believe how tough it was running on the grass. I tried to keep up with a couple of people at the start but then thought it was best not to as I knew I was running much faster than usual. So I went at my own pace however come km 3 the sun was starting to become a bit overpowering. I saw my parents on km 3, and my dad passed over my water bottle although I couldn't get anything out of it which was really annoying. I saw them again at 4, but the same happened again so I grabbed a cup whilst running past the water station, and ended up chucking it all down me - how hard is it to run and drink from a cup!!
I remember the middle of the race being really, really tough. I was so happy for the shaded areas but we weren't in them for long before we were back out running in the heat. It was SO HOT, I have never ran in anything like it before and it was really taking it out of me. But looking back at my splits, I realised after the race that at the times I thought I was going at a snail's pace, I was actually hitting 06:02/km which was an amazing pace for me seems as a 06:00/km average was my aim to complete the 10km in an hour. But when there's so many people passing you, it feels like you're the slowest one!
The next kms came around really fast and I saw my parents again at 7km and 8km. I tried to look around me to keep my mind off of the running and it was great to have so many people clapping and cheering you on, obviously waiting for their loved ones to come around the route but nevertheless they gave their energy to everyone and it was great.
I was a bit happier after 9km as I knew it was the final one, and I had someone running beside me, so we were encouraging each other over the last km. The BEST THING about the race was the final 0.5km was that the barriers were up leading to the finish line and it was packed full of people clapping and cheering you on. I remember running past them all with a huge smile on my face thinking WOW, I have done this!!! It was honestly the best feeling in the world, made better when I saw my Dad right next to the finish line.
And then I saw 45:52 and thought wowwweeeeee! I was really proud of myself to have completed it.
My sis walked the race, we were both planning to run it but due to her hernia she was advised against running it by her doctor, so she walked the race in 1:27:00 which was also a brilliant time!
Now here's the bad part. My runkeeper registered the race at 8.00km. So yep, the race apparently was 2km short. I don't understand how this could happen? I knew my time was mega fast and then it all made sense. But I am taking my time, just like everyone else took their time away on the day feeling happy with themselves, but I am disappointed that the race was so short and that if I was to ever compete again in another 10k, I would obviously never ever in a million years beat my time. If I had carried on at the same pace I would have finished in 57mins, which shot my 60min aim out of the water, and I wish I hadn't have set my Runkeeper, but knowing this kind of made me feel as though I cheated myself a little bit by telling everyone I did 45:52.
Photos from the day:
Sis and I pre race
Katie mid walk!
Sneaky pic of me mid-run!
Post race happiness!
Dans x
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