To top it off, I hadn’t ran properly since the Liverpool half apart from doing the Wolf Run. We hardly ran either. My confidence was thin for this one.
Race morning came and I decided that I wasn’t going to pull out, I was just going to do it as slow as was comfortable. Luckily my best friend Lizzy was able to get a place transferred from her friend to her. It made me feel so much better, but because I run alone, I feared that Lizzy talking to me would cause me to get out of breath too quickly escpeically with the amount of undulating-ness of the course. We arrive with no longer than 30 mins to spare before the start. I wasn’t met by my dodgy pre race stomach either which, was a bonus.
The start was underway. We went out the Warwick Castle ground down hill to turn the corner onto the Coventry Road, which was the first incline of the morning. I was feeling great. I managed to run up the whole thing averaging a sturdy 11:25 min mile. The first mile seen me ease into my stride quite well. We reached another incline to then pass the beautiful pub called the Saxon Mill. Coming up to Warwick bypass roundabout I started to flag which was about 2 miles in. The heat was making an appearance and I felt my sweat glands weren’t releasing the sweat properly (vile- I know) which made me feel a bit lethargic. The second substantial incline was still on the Coventry Road. But featured a lovely down hill section. Which was a relief for my leg and lungs. Looking back at the data, I was making good progress considering how I felt:
Mile 1= 10:31
Mile 2= 10:51
The third mile turned us into Hill Wootten. My god. They like naming their street names with a hill in it.
Mile 3= 11:21
Mile 4= 11:50
I love this section of the run, I don’t know why. But you’ve climbed for what seems like the equaivilant of Mount Everest, at the time and then you suddenly turn right and have a lovely decline. With beautiful houses on the right too and the spectators are amazing, well they are throughout this whole run. It’s incredible. After this you’re met with massive trees hanging overhead and you slowly run back up gradually.
Mile 5= 11:32
Rounds Hill!!! Ergh- the steepest hill over a short amount of time, I believe. I struggled up this hill to the point where Lizzy was running ahead. Turned back and ran back up half with me at least. Hand on my back literally pushing me up the hill. Like you can do it. Come on. Bless her cotton socks. I was just really lathargic. It was getting hotter, and I was fairly ill trained. (Seems to be becoming a common thing :-(.) Fishpond Road again seen Lizzy trowelling forward with confidence, whilst I flagged. From the beginning I had had a niggle in my right hamstring which remain easing as my muscles got warm. So I didn’t really want to overstrech unless I had to at the end. I tell you what. When I first started taking fitness seriously as a slightly over weight teenager in 2013, I joined the Royal Court Gym where I’d go religiously after 6th form. One day i squatted with a studio bar and really, really hurt my right groin. It was excruciating. I could hardly walk. The first time I’d really had a sports induced injury, then it proved a big issue when I started running. After running more than 8 miles, there was a full ache spurring from my pubic bone, (for the ladies, where your triangle is just above your ninny) round under my bum cheek then the ache persisted to shoot down the side of my leg. To which, I came to the conclusion myself that I had a slight bit of pirofomis syndrome. At the time I wasn’t really working or having a reliable income. Nor did I know the trueness of the sports massage’s magic fingers. When you’re 16/17 that doesn’t really cross your mind. I’d have the same pains for a couple of days after, but I’d just deep heat the shit out of it, hobbling to my lectures at University. At this point, I just really didn’t think my body was cut out for running. I thought, yeah I’ve joined all these half marathons, but what’s the point if I preempt that I’m going to get this pain every single time I run over a certain distance. I am no runner. Then suddenly, in 2016 it stopped. I can only assume that the groin muscle/ surrounding ones got stronger with the amount of running and sheer determination for me to keep at it. That too and i joined my mums classes at the Village doing spin, step and tone, Zumba and aqua on a regular basis. I wasn’t ready to sling my towel in just yet. This year sought a significant improvement in my stamina, general fitness and a reduction in body weight and fat, I was starting to gain a lean running figure. Now I’ve had Freya, I’m starting again, and with it come restrengthning areas neglected after 9 months. Anyway back to it.
Finally, mile 6 arrived to my utter delight. However, you know you have to climb once again the Kenilworth Castle grounds, but again you have the spectators in their hundrads calling you home! I told myself, no. I cannot walk now. The last 0.2 miles. I will not let it defeat me. Plus, I wanted to at least give people the impression that I hadn’t walk/ ran, especially because my step dad had made the effort to come and see me for the first time. Castle Road then turned right into Grounds Farm Lane and I picked up the pace, reaching my fasted pace of the day at 8:46. Me and Lizzy sprint finished.
This run reiterated why I love running, what I can achieve if I just try and cancel out my brain telling me stop. Although I stopped to walk all of 10 times, it was no longer than half a minute. Which I was proud of, considering how demanding the course is. I will always try to return to this race, well now that’s it’s a ballot I will always enter it with hope of gaining a place. I’d say it was definitely still my next favourite 10k alongside the Birmingham. I finished in a respectable 1:10:13
This was my second ever 10km race back in 2015. Can’t you tell I was struggling? I finished in 1:16
No comments:
Post a Comment