So I went into this race very annoyed with myself as for the last two weeks I have been celebrating Dublin, Pre Dublin I lived like a saint for 6 weeks, but post Dublin I have been drinking guinness, smoking, eating bad foods, the polar opposite of a saint. Whilst I have been training I have just been going through the motions. I also developed a chest infection, probably because of lighting up.
I am annoyed as I was in the best shape of my life when I got back from Dublin and I should have continued, but instead I celebrated, like a doughnut.
Anyhow by the time I sets off I was well up for this race, I had been a good boy all day, it was a lovely evening and I drove to Blackpool with the top down and the tunes pumping, I was once again on a high as I always am on race day, and I love Blackpool.
Everything was going perfect until I arrived at the top end of Blackpool near the funfair at around 6.45 so had 40 minutes to travel about 1 mile down the prom to the tower which should have taken me no more than 5 minutes.
It ended up taking more like 35 minutes, Blackpool was rammed due to the bank holiday and the nice weather, I finally arrived at the Hilton opposite the start at 7.15 with the race due to begin in 15minutes and I still had to find somewhere park plus collect my race number. I could see other athletes making their way down to the start who already had their race number pinned on which just added to my stress.
Parking was busy but after a spot of road rage I finally managed to find a space down a little side street and then sprinted down to the start stressed, clutching my race belt, a gel and my registration e-mail – not exactly what you want to be doing just before the start of a race.
The start was on the middle walkway of three so hidden from the main road but I could see the flags and members of the public hanging over the wall and looking down, “how the hell do you get down?” I screamed at anyone that made eye contact, “down there” a helpful local pointed out, why he didn’t tell me to foxtrot Oscar I don’t know, I would have done if I was him..
A quick sprint down and I arrived at the registration tent to get my first taste of how well organised this event was. Instead of the usual big queue with one person fetching race numbers like a headless chicken I was pleased to find plenty of staff and no queue which I very much appreciated – a helpful lady gave me my race number and even held it for me whilst I pricked it with a safety pin before putting it on my race belt. she also gave me a timing chip – yes chip timing! well I say chip it was more like a sticker that you threaded into your laces but it worked well and I have still got it in even now! I will keep it there until it falls out for superstition.
Fellow Athletes were already at the start line but as it turned out I had a good ten minutes before race so once my race belt was sorted I just mulled around and took a few shots, helped myself to a bottle of water (again there was plenty of this) and tried to get relaxed. The announcer was doing a good job getting everyone up for it and the music was blasting out.
It was at this point that I realised I still had my cycling jacket on plus a t-shirt plus my tri suit, and it was still warm, but whatever, nothing I can do about that now There were lockers but I chose to keep it all on.
There was an excellent turnout of about 1,000 athletes for a combined race of both 5k and 10k, with approx. a 70/30 split in favour of the 10k. I love big turnouts like this.
I made my way to the back of the pack as I always do and shook hands with an old timer who was 72 and he was doing the 10k. “I hope I am still doing these at 72” I said and he went on to tell me that he only started running when he was 70! he looked well and I told him so. we chatted before I felt the urge to pee. thankfully there were plenty of portoloos to answer the call. There must have been about 25 portoloos positioned right by the start which was excellent.
Ready to race and the announcer told us not to worry about starting at the back of the pack as our time doesn’t begin until we cross the line and watch out for the split in route at the 3k mark with the 10k runners to continue straight ahead.
The hooter sounded and away we go. I always roar ‘come onnnnn!’ as the hooter goes off at races and this always produces one of three reactions from fellow athletes:
- they will join in
- they will smile at me
- they will look at me as if I am a psycho
I make a point of gauging reactions to my outburst at races (maybe I really am a 3) and I am pleased to report that there was a nice mix in blackpool with plenty of 1’s and 2’s and the odd 3.
Off we went and I noticed it took me 1.33 to cross the start line – I remember thinking I hope they go off chip time not gun time on the results as I have been stung with this one in the past. The race was fairly well supported with a half decent crowd of spectators at the start / finish line.
I love racing from the back of the pack its just the best it really is.
I started super slow almost teasing my body and enjoyed the sensation.
I passed a lady in a wheelchair who was racing and I gave her a pat on the back as I passed – her face lit up, it’s these moments in your journey that stay with you. it really is.
Getting into my stride I noticed I was overtaking quite a few runners which is very addictive but surprised me as looking at the pre-race list I had noticed that there were a lot of club runners and I was actually worried about coming last! I got a bit carried away and tried to reign myself in, but I was feeling strong.
The course in Blackpool is excellent, you are on the purpose built prom walkway so it is wide, flat, level and the concrete is super smooth, completely free from traffic, I would describe it as perfect running conditions, the weather, still, clear and dry was the icing on the cake.
It is difficult not to let yourself go on nights like this so I did and I was worried I had gone way to soon.
The backmarkers were pretty slow, and I reckon I must have overtaken a good hundred by the time we got to the 3k marker.
At 3k it felt like my heart was bearly beating, which again surprised me given the way I had abused my body over the last couple of weeks.
A lovely jog down the prom with spectacular views out to the sea and before I knew where I was the 5k marker appeared. it was around here that there was a water guy so I took ful advantage of his offerings as I was getting hot in my jacket!.
A quick look at the watch and I noticed I was at 26min, a good 4 minutes faster than my usual 5k pace, but I fuly expected to slow down in the second half of the race as I felt I had let myself go way too soon. In training I am always 1hr for 10k, always, without fail, so I expected to come in around this time.
From 5k to around 8k I was still feeling very strong, I kept overtaking more and more people and once again no-one came past me, the same thing had happened in Southport.
The course turned and doubled back on itself at a higher level so it is great for the ego to look down and see a long line of runners that you have overtaken, the line seemed to go on for ages, I had passed way more people than I had thought. I also noticed that the lights had been switched on and the tower looked awesome all lit up. it was a fantastic experience running to the backdrop of the illuminations it really was, I think it is amazing that they switched the lights on for us a good 2 weeks before launch.
I did enter a bit of a duel with one guy and this was good fun but I got him at 8k where there is a slight hill but surprisingly I was feeling strong on this too.
There was then a pocket of about 20 runners which I managed to take and then there seemed to be a big gap..
The 9k marker appeared and this was like dropping a power pill, only 1k left – lets go!
Ahead I could see a woman dressed as a fairy and I remember thinking maybe I am not doing as well as what I thought here…. don’t get me wrong I loved that someone dressed up as a fairy, she looked ace and it’s great when people make an effort to dress up, but fairy was in my sights..
I said to the guy in front of me “there is no way I am being beaten by a fookin fairy” and he laughed at me before muttering that she had just gone flying past him and wished me all the best in trying to catch her.
As it turned out the fairy was a very strong runner in disguise and it took me ages to catch her. She inspired me for one last push to the finish which made the final kilometer fly by!
I was delighted to see the finish board displaying a time of 53.55, which I had to pinch myself at.
My PB for 10k was always one hour, always, by my wacth I had come in at 52.20, which is a massive 8 minutes off my PB, this is a huge difference for this distance, huge.
I know the reason for this and it’s in my book.
I ranked 165 out of 610 which I was absolutely over the moon about.
At the finish I got a medal, a banana and bottle of water.
All in all I was buzzing about this race and in particular my PB,, it was very well organised, a delight to run on the surface, a great turnout and amazing to run to the backdrop of the lights.
I noticed that they even ranked us on chip time not gun time – the hallmark of a great race.
My only slight gripe is that the medal was a dual medal with both 5k and 10k written on it and as this is going in the collection I demand a bespoke medal for the 10k!
Driving back down the golden mile with the top down and the tunes belting out to the backdrop of the illuminations having just smashed out a PB was a wonderful experience.
Looking out at all the party goers having fun the demons began to rattle the cage and I managed to resist until I hit the amazing new velvet coaster bar with the open roof terraces, at which point I swiftly parked the car and treated myself to a nice cold pint of Guinness and finished the two smokes that I had left over in the packet from last week…….
The battle with the self continues…