Stratford Summer Six - 5th July 2008...
Distance: 6 miles
In a time of...
hh:mm:ss
00:35:59 Personal Best!!!
Finishing Position: 15
Number of finishers: 224
Putting me in the top: 6.7%
A wet and miserable 5th July evening saw me grinning from ear to ear – I LOVE running in the rain. Having not entered prior to the event I was keen to arrive on race day and sign up, I'd also managed to encourage my brother (Christopher) and good friend Howard Lancashire to run. We all arrived separately but soon congregated to discuss the course and the weather. Christopher had been umm'ing and arrr'ing about entering for a while, whereas Howard only heard about the event on the morning itself – so a bit of a last minute decision but hey!
I knew what to expect from the course having run it previously in 2006; a gentle first mile leading into a steep downhill, then a mildly undulating loop of 4miles before coming back up the same hill at the 5 mile marker, followed by a very slightly downward sloped last mile, finishing in the grounds of Mary Arden's House.
Pre race nerves were high as usual, and I was unsure what sort of finish time to expect. I set myself a few goals, ideally I wanted sub 36minutes, this would mean I'm essentially back up to the same fitness level I was at for the Regency 10k (having had some time off from training for an operation and a holiday) – but I wasn't sure what effect the steep uphill at 5mile marker would have on my chances of maintaining an average 6min/mile pace. I then decided I would be 'happy' with a sub 37minutes performance, and 'satisfied' with sub 38minutes – anything above that I'd have felt was a bit of a disaster.
I lined up at the start and chatted briefly to some of the other guys from Kenilworth Runners, soon enough the race was underway. Immediately I could tell it was a very competitive field as the front runners darted off; I fought against unconstructive thoughts that I should be following them and just let them go. I settled some way behind the lead group feeling that I could be running faster, but wanting to keep something in the tank I maintained my current speed.
The majority of the race was fairly uneventful, I was passed once in the early stages and spent most of my time assessing how I felt, whether I could/should be going faster or slower etc… in reality though the race looked after itself. I was pleasantly surprised to see my mother waiting to cheer me on after the 2mile marker, having passed my father, the race photographer, just after the hill at mile 1. I aimed to close in on one guy and pass him in the latter stages of the race, but I managed to catch him around the 4mile marker, sat on his shoulder momentarily before kicking away on a slight uphill slope. I felt invigorated and pushed on… I was tiring a little but remained confident I would be able to finish strong.
I began to close on the next competitor ahead of me, and as we reached the steep hill at 5miles, I knew I had the potential to catch him. All I needed to do was tackle the hill steadily and not attack it too hard, then I could be sure I'd have enough strength to push on through the last mile as it was sloped slightly downwards all the way to the finish. I pushed on up the hill, taking smaller steps but maintaining rhythm, before I knew it I was 2/3 of the way up the hill and sat right behind the next competitor. I stayed there until we neared the top of the hill, making him fully aware I was there. As the summit came into view I could feel he was slowing and tiring, I kicked a little harder to reach the top of the hill and then pushed hard over the final mile.
My legs were very tired after the hill, I knew I'd ran a good race and should expect a reasonable time if I could keep up my pace in the last mile, though in reality I had no idea what time I was on track for! As I neared the finish I felt absolutely shattered, legs seemed to be drained of all energy – I entered the finishing straight with the next racer just in view nearing the finish. I picked up the pace and kicked for home to cheers of encouragement from my father (again taking photos), my partner Emma, and my brother's partner, Laura – it's funny how all fatigue, aches and pains just disappear when the finish line comes into sight!
I finished feeling very happy with my effort, I had no idea of my time and went to speak to Emma. We waited for my brother and Howard to finish and cheered home the other runners in the process. Howard came in after a while and was followed not long after by Christopher.
The light rain had been very refreshing and made the event most enjoyable for myself, though I was soon feeling the cold and we headed back to the cars an onwards to home. Needless to say I was very happy with my result – marginally breaking the 36:00 mark that I'd really hoped (but certainly not expected) to beat.
Fitness now back on track, it's time to start pushing for some PB's!!!
