Abbey Dash, mark 2
Woo Hoo. One of my new years resolutions back in January was to run all the races I ran last year, and run them quicker. Well, it's November and I've finally managed one. Race for Life got shelved because of work (and torrential rain which didn't encourage me to leave and do it anyway). The Harewood House 10k got shelved because it was the week before Berlin. So, the Abbey Dash it was.
Last year this was my first "proper" 10k. The Cancer Research ones aren't timed officially, don't give you a club discount, and are very much more fund raising thing than races. They're fun, and the scenery is fantastic, but I wouldn't call them "races". This is what I said last year.
This year, I was so much more relaxed and confident. Basically, my only target was to run the whole race. That might seem odd, but I hadn't managed that in a race since April. The only 10k I'd done in that time was on a horrendously hot day in London when running just wasn't sensible, other than that it was hilly 30ks, and marathons, and stuff like that. Walk breaks galore. So I wanted to prove to myself that I could run a whole race.
Back in April I managed a 47:44 10k. I've been banging on for weeks saying that I was never going to better that, and I was right. Based on the Amsterdam half time, Guy Fawkes and my club runs recently I thought I'd manage about 54 or 55 minutes. Sub 55 was my target (compared to 59:19 last year), but running all the way was the important bit.
I met up with a couple of people from the Runners World website before the race, then headed to the start. I hate the start of that race. It's very handy because it leaves from my office, and runs past my gym after about 200 metres. I can leave my stuff in the gym and shower afterwards, and I can go in on the bus without stressing about not knowing how long it will take. But the road it starts on is far too narrow, with a sharp right turn after about 100 metres. Why they don't start it on the wider road at the front of the office rather than the narrow one at the back, or on the main road rather than turning right onto it, I don't know, but they don't. It took 2 and a half minutes to cross the line, and it was slow getting out onto the main road.
But then I seemed to find a decent pace. For the first 5k I was running about 50 minute pace which really surprised me. The route was utterly familiar (passing, as it does, the office, the gym, running club, and then coming back the same way), and I've run most of it recently on club runs. Not all at the same time, but all the different bits of the route at some time or another. Although it's pretty flat (for Leeds) there are some "undulations", and I knew when to expect them. I got to 5k in pretty much dot on 25 minutes (which is an improvement even from the time trial I did on Wednesday - that was hillier though), then started to slow down a bit. I've not run that fast for over 5k for a while, so I slowed back down to more the pace I was hoping to do.
It was pretty uneventful really. I got a couple of cries of "come on Kirkstall", particularly going past the leisure centre where we meet. I guess that's likely to happen when you're wearing the name of the place you're running through on your chest. I saw a friend from running club heading up towards the Abbey as I headed back into town and gave her a wave. It was pretty sunny, surprisingly, and heading back into town I couldn't see much with the sun in my eyes, and was feeling surpringly warm with the sun on my face.
But other than that, I just kept running, really. In the end I finished in roughly 52 minutes. I forgot to stop my watch, so I'll wait for the chip times to come out tomorrow. I was happy with that, it was better than my "realistic" target, and gives me hope that I can get back sub-50 minutes soon.
The finish was chaotic again. I don't know why I do this race. The admin was awful, the start is horrible, the finish is horrible, and the route isn't particularly inspiring. But it means a lot to me because it was my first proper 10k, and my first 10k under an hour, and it's handy so I turned up, and I probably will next year, no matter how often I say I won't during the year.
I waited on the town hall steps for a couple of people I knew to finish. I'd been wearing a bin bag before the start (yup, from dressed up photo shoot glamour to a bin bag in less than 24 hours) and because I couldn't find a bin to put it in, I'd carried it with me on the race. I put it back on at the end, the sun seemed to have disappeared when I wanted it. Then off for a shower, and to the pub for a bit more of a chat with the RW people.
I whinge, but I enjoyed it really. Just sort the start and finish out, folks.
Last year this was my first "proper" 10k. The Cancer Research ones aren't timed officially, don't give you a club discount, and are very much more fund raising thing than races. They're fun, and the scenery is fantastic, but I wouldn't call them "races". This is what I said last year.
This year, I was so much more relaxed and confident. Basically, my only target was to run the whole race. That might seem odd, but I hadn't managed that in a race since April. The only 10k I'd done in that time was on a horrendously hot day in London when running just wasn't sensible, other than that it was hilly 30ks, and marathons, and stuff like that. Walk breaks galore. So I wanted to prove to myself that I could run a whole race.
Back in April I managed a 47:44 10k. I've been banging on for weeks saying that I was never going to better that, and I was right. Based on the Amsterdam half time, Guy Fawkes and my club runs recently I thought I'd manage about 54 or 55 minutes. Sub 55 was my target (compared to 59:19 last year), but running all the way was the important bit.
I met up with a couple of people from the Runners World website before the race, then headed to the start. I hate the start of that race. It's very handy because it leaves from my office, and runs past my gym after about 200 metres. I can leave my stuff in the gym and shower afterwards, and I can go in on the bus without stressing about not knowing how long it will take. But the road it starts on is far too narrow, with a sharp right turn after about 100 metres. Why they don't start it on the wider road at the front of the office rather than the narrow one at the back, or on the main road rather than turning right onto it, I don't know, but they don't. It took 2 and a half minutes to cross the line, and it was slow getting out onto the main road.
But then I seemed to find a decent pace. For the first 5k I was running about 50 minute pace which really surprised me. The route was utterly familiar (passing, as it does, the office, the gym, running club, and then coming back the same way), and I've run most of it recently on club runs. Not all at the same time, but all the different bits of the route at some time or another. Although it's pretty flat (for Leeds) there are some "undulations", and I knew when to expect them. I got to 5k in pretty much dot on 25 minutes (which is an improvement even from the time trial I did on Wednesday - that was hillier though), then started to slow down a bit. I've not run that fast for over 5k for a while, so I slowed back down to more the pace I was hoping to do.
It was pretty uneventful really. I got a couple of cries of "come on Kirkstall", particularly going past the leisure centre where we meet. I guess that's likely to happen when you're wearing the name of the place you're running through on your chest. I saw a friend from running club heading up towards the Abbey as I headed back into town and gave her a wave. It was pretty sunny, surprisingly, and heading back into town I couldn't see much with the sun in my eyes, and was feeling surpringly warm with the sun on my face.
But other than that, I just kept running, really. In the end I finished in roughly 52 minutes. I forgot to stop my watch, so I'll wait for the chip times to come out tomorrow. I was happy with that, it was better than my "realistic" target, and gives me hope that I can get back sub-50 minutes soon.
The finish was chaotic again. I don't know why I do this race. The admin was awful, the start is horrible, the finish is horrible, and the route isn't particularly inspiring. But it means a lot to me because it was my first proper 10k, and my first 10k under an hour, and it's handy so I turned up, and I probably will next year, no matter how often I say I won't during the year.
I waited on the town hall steps for a couple of people I knew to finish. I'd been wearing a bin bag before the start (yup, from dressed up photo shoot glamour to a bin bag in less than 24 hours) and because I couldn't find a bin to put it in, I'd carried it with me on the race. I put it back on at the end, the sun seemed to have disappeared when I wanted it. Then off for a shower, and to the pub for a bit more of a chat with the RW people.
I whinge, but I enjoyed it really. Just sort the start and finish out, folks.
posted by YP at 8:11 PM
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