“They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old,
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun, and in the morning
We will remember them.”
On Sunday 13th November Andrew and I rocked up to Lytham St Annes to take part in Fylde Coast Runners Windmill 10k Remembrance Run.
I’d been going fairly well post marathons and had kept up a maintenance schedule to get me through the next few months so I was still pretty fit and running well.
I had no idea what I could achieve at this run as this time of year always sees me hit a bit of a decline, as the cold mornings start to get worse my asthma does flare up a bit. I reckoned that if the wind was up and it was a cold day then I was probably looking at running eight minute miles.
As it was when we rocked up to the start the weather was calm and not too cold. Saying that we’d had a bit of a warm up as we had to run to get to registration before it closed.
The run started after everyone amassed took part in a two minutes silence (I say everyone, I mean everyone apart from the runners wearing headphones who still had their music blaring…you know who you are).
As the run started we set off at a bit of a canter. My plan was to stick on Andrew’s tail for as long as possible. I was thinking that if I could keep him in eyesight for at least the first half then I was going to be on for a decent run.
My 10k PB was set at Moorclose in May this year with a time of 44:57 so ideally I wanted to be as close to that as possible which meant that I’d have to run just around 7:20 minute miles.
The first mile was a very quick 6:21. Andrew was setting the pace and I was sitting on his shoulder which then dragged me through the second mile at 6:48. Just after the second mile Andrew started to pull away a little. My third mile was 6:46 and I was definitely starting to feel a bit more comfortable at that pace as I’d settled into it. Provided I didn’t blow up I was going to smash my PB.
The fourth mile was a bit of a drag as there was a grass section and a bit of a twist and turn to bring us back on to the promenade. As I re-joined the promenade I couldn’t believe the amount of runners that were making their way to the turning point. I’m still getting used to the fact that I’m at a point where I’m fairly high up in a race when it comes to placing as it wasn’t that long ago that I was a middle of the pack runner. With the grass section and the twists having slowed me down a tad the fourth mile came out at 7:02.
I found my legs again for the fifth mile and managed to knock that out in 6:55. I could still spy Andrew in the distance, just, so I knew that my time was going to be pretty good if I could hold on for the last mile.
On the approach to 9k a couple of runners passed me. This was the first time I’d been passed for a good few miles and it was good to have a couple of runners around me for the last 1k as it gave me a bit of a push and managed to get my pace back up for the final run to the line. The sixth mile was done in 6:53 and it was literally then a case of running for the finish as quickly as I could muster.
With a sprint for the line I crossed in 42.36 in 37th place.
I’d incorrectly been telling everyone that my 10k PB was 43:57. So it is only now when I write this post that I’ve realised that my PB was originally 44:57. I’ve brought my 10k PB right down by 2 minutes and 21 seconds.
To say I’m chuffed is an understatement.
10k has been my hardest distance to make any headway and it’s only been this year that I’ve really started chipping away at it and I can only put that down to all the core work and the interval sessions I’ve been doing.
Andrew crossed the line in 42:03 in 30th place which he was fairly happy with as he makes his way back to fitness for the build-up for Inskip Half Marathon in January.
The medal is pretty special and memorable.
Up next for me is the Brampton to Carlisle 10 miler on Sunday 20th November. There’s a little bit of pressure on me for this one as a decent outing will potentially see me taking down all my PB’s over every distance this year. With a PB Of 1:20.54 it’s more than possible but having come off a run of night-shifts there may be a little bit of fatigue so it’ll totally be a wait and see job on the day.
Fingers crossed.
run-tie-dye-guy-run 