10km Race yesterday - about 500 in the field and was happy with a 6th placed finish coming in at 34:09. Not a PB despite my training indicating it would be a good possibility, but even though the course was largely flat it was utterly dreadful for PBs. It was two laps of a pavement and wooded-area circuit, and in the woods it was as boggy as a cross country race. Just killed momentum and was so tough grinding through it. Was averaging 40 seconds slower per km through that area. The organisers did apologise afterwards for the state of it - wasn’t a problem really for me, it happens, the weather’s been awful - as a few had slipped in the mud and hurt themselves on the tight turns in the woods. Apparently it’s always been undulating but never so boggy in past years.
At around 7km I wanted to quit, but as I approached the second run through the wooded lap, I saw a bloke ahead of me that beats me at every parkrun and race I’ve been to in the last year; always by a fairly small margin. I gritted in and promised myself he wasn’t beating me unless I had to stop to vomit. I could see he was slowing in the mud and I closed the gap, then when a gap opened up I did cut across him a touch to get to a slightly drier area and overtook him. Climbing out of the woods back onto the road, I was dying from the exertion to get past him and could hear his footsteps behind me. Into the final stretch, I looked over my shoulder and he was maybe 10m behind, visibly dying but not slowing. I tried to find something to accelerate away and started to wretch, my stomach wanted to jettison the mornings’ porridge. Into the last 400m - still not having kicked despite usually kicking from 800m out - when I could see the finish line and the few guys ahead of me, I somehow managed to find something and kick, legs absolutely swimming in lactic, the bloke now on my shoulder, and burnt away from him with a final 400m in 01:11. I’ve literally never had my legs so locked up in lactic acid but the sense of achievement was huge. Odd how we build these personal rivalries! He may beat me in every other race this year but I managed this one!
Horrible course, didn’t feel strong at all but managed a good time kid off because of my fitness rather than actually feeling like I ran well. Sometimes racing is the best training. Got my ‘home’ race with Chester 5 coming up then some undulating 10kms in Staffordshire and Shropshire soon so strength work is a must.
