In Which I’m Almost Blown Away!
Goals For The Race:
- Get A PB
- Run the whole course, no walking
- Beat Nigel
Sunday morning, tried to eat some porridge but couldn’t eat much because I don’t really like porridge, especially in the morning. Had about half.
Still no idea how to pose for a decent picture. I’m 31 for goodness sake!
Got picked up by Ironman Tony and future Ironman Nigel, and we then collected Ironman Rob and set out for Southport on the coast, just under two hours away.
Hardly any traffic or roadworks or dead zebras so got there at the expected time. We all got out of the car and WHOOOOSSSHHHH!!!! Windy as a Windy day in Windy town on New Years Windy Eve! Also, it was freezing!
I’d packed a pair of long shorts for after the run, so I didn’t make the car smell of sweat too much, but decided to put the long shorts over the shorts I was already wearing because it was FREEZING.
Great Train Robbers: Me, Nigel, Rob, Tony.
We boarded the free bus to the race, found our way to the start (after a toilet break) and before long we were off. Ironmen Tony & Rob were well away from the start, where as myself an Nigel ran together. No one set off too quick however, due to the (what turned out to be) 30mph winds coming straight at us.
The run route was flat the whole way, but the first 5k honestly felt like we were running uphill. Ran passed a drumming/samba band and then passed a mentalist who was singing (?) at the side of the road, dressed as Elvis. Think he was there last year too. (Hasn’t improved. Not a jot.)
Along the sea front we ran, and on one part it was so windy the sand was blowing against my face. Didn’t tickle. Chatting to Nigel about triathlon and Ironman plans made the time pass easy enough, and we reached the 5k marker bang on 30:00.
I was feeling good as we ran by the water station and asked Nigel how he was feeling. He was breathing heavy, and so, due to wanting to beat Nigel, I sped up a bit without saying anything to him. Did I feel bad? Nope. Not one bit.
As it turns out, I’ve never run a 10k race without having a little walk break (or two) along the route. I normally walk at the aid stations so was pleased with how I was going.
Never even had any formal Paint training! None! (C) Me
3k – 7k was a loop, before meeting up with the road we did the first 3k on, and as such was a bit further in land. That meant that there wasn’t a tail wind until just after 7k. I started to pick people off from 6k and felt strong.
7k hit, and the wind was welcome this time, pushing me on towards the next marker. 8k passed, and still feeling good I pushed a bit more and a bit more. 9k in the distance, no problem. I knew that I’d manage to get to the end without walking at all, and that made me push a bit more. More people overtaken, more speed.
9k marker left behind, final corner, finish in sight and before I knew it, my 2nd Mad Dog 10k was in the (doggy) bag. Official time of 55:59. (No PB, but a PB by 2 mins on this course.)
I’d run the 2nd 5k of the race in 25:59, 4 minutes quicker than the 1st 5k!
I honestly don’t think that between 7k and the end, I was overtaken by anyone. Marc Hemingway: Boastful.
Rob was waiting right over the finish line, then we waited for Nigel to finish and went to find Tony. Goody bag and fruit collected, we went to get our race T-Shirts then back on the bus, back in the car and home.
- Rob: 46:28
- Tony: 53:23
- Me: 55:59
- Nigel: 57:48
Got home and Sarah had been out and bought me beer and a nice bit of junk food. She knows me so well! Also excellent goody bag again!
Well worth it!
If the wind hadn’t’ve been so windy, I honestly think I’d’ve gotten a new PB. (The winner finished in 37:05, where as last year was 32:32, so must’ve been a slow first half for everyone) As it is, VERY please with my first non-stop 10k and VERY pleased with my millage times, most quicker than the last:
- Mile 1: 09:31 mins
- Mile 2: 09:41 mins
- Mile 3: 09:44 mins
- Mile 4: 09:03 mins
- Mile 5: 08:14 mins
- Mile 6: 07:51 mins
Next race: Bradford 10k on March 16th. Hometown run!
Anyone joining us?
Marc Hemingway 
Solid effort! Nothing like a post-race beer to kick start the road to recovery 😉
Exactly!
Well done Mark! As a Bradfordian living in Scotland I’m looking forward to reading how you get on at Bradford 10k. Route is usually hill round the University. Best of luck!! 🙂
That’s the winter 10k, I did the easier one 😉
Congratulations! Nicely executed with the increase in speed the last couple of miles! 🙂
Good going on running it all the way. (I’ve yet to even attempt a 10K.)
Awesome! I hate running when it’s windy! My goal is to run a 30 minute 5k. … and I think I can do it next month! 🙂
Great splits on your last 5K!
Looks like fun – well done!
A great race description. Also, those are some pretty mean looking guys you run with.
Nice! Good job.
Good effort – that first 4k was hell!!!
Haha. Totally digging the map. That’s top class stuff.Nice race.
You should be beaming about your impressive second half!
Bravo!! & that is a fabulous goody bag!
Good job!
Awesome!
YOU CAN DO IT!!!!
Awesome job!! Wind will get ya every time. 30mph? That’s insane!!!
Love this post, especially #3, Beat Nigel. I used to run Wharf-to-Wharf in Capitola California every year. Goal: Beat Nita! In 20 years she did beat me once. I hadn’t trained all year, ran cold. Thanks for a fun post!
Enjoyed the recap. I am a walker that is doing my first 5K season. One down one in two weeks. PB is 58:00 minutes LOL! Something to improve on. Afraid of 10K but enjoyed hearing about yours.
Great race recap.
What did Nigel had to say about you dropping him without notice?
Congrats and nice swag. The last race I ran gave us a huge plastic bag with a fly swatter in it.
Great Job!
A disciplined 4 to 5 & 6: nicely executed.
Well done!
Well done!