GFA Week 8 – Race Day!!!
So before we get to the nitty gritty I think it’s really important that I set the scene here.
Next week I will be 41 years of age.
41.
You must understand that I ain’t one of those club runners that has been ‘hard at it’ perfecting my technique for the last 20 years!
I only started running a couple of years ago!
Prior to that I was, for want of a better word, a pisshead.
Very overweight, very unfit, drinking, smoking, unable to run more than 10 yards, you know, the classic ‘fat to fit’ situation.
It wasn’t very long ago that I was absolutely buzzing at just being able to complete a 10k and not come last. (not that there is anything wrong with coming last you must understand, there really isn’t)
Point being my default setting of late for a 10k has always been an hour.
Always.
Ok I PB’d Blackpool in 52:20 but that was well over a year ago.
No, my 10k time in training for the last 6 months has been 60 minutes and for a very long time I was totally happy with that.
However, I have been looking for a new challenge for a while and, fuelled by the knowledge that this year over 400,000 people applied for only 17,000 ballot places in the London Mara, I got to thinking that there must be another way, so I concocts a plan to gain automatic entry into London by running Manchester mara in 3:15 in April and getting my hands on a ‘golden ticket’.
My new adventure was set.
The first stop on my journey was to run a 45 minute 10k and I set the Windmill 10k this Sunday organised by the excellent FCR events as my goal in order to do that.
8 weeks ago my default 10k time was just under an hour.
Everybody I spoke to said it would take me at least a year to get my 10k time down to the target 45 minutes.
8 weeks ago I devised a plan and started to train.
Here is what happened on race day:
Race Day : Windmill 10k Saturday 12th November 2017 Lytham St Annes
So I wakes up on race day to discover the Sun literally beaming through the curtains.
A great start.
Driving over to Lytham along the coast road the tunes were belting out and the roof was down.
I was feeling a million dollars.
I was slightly nervous about what I was about to do, but nervous and excited at the same time.
I arrived at the registration tents in good time.
The first thing I noticed was how feckin cold it was, that and the wind, a bloody gale force, howling wind.
Not exactly ideal conditions for a PB is it?
1500 Runners had entered this race.
It was an absolute joy to pit my wits against so many other kindred spirits, it really was.
Many of these 1500 were attached to a running club.
I’m not.
I’m a lone wolf and always have been.
I was really interested to discover the effects of my training during the last 8 weeks and seeing how I ‘stacked up’ against all these club runners.
Just a note on the training.
I have trained hard.
Really hard for 8 weeks solid.
Not only that but I have lived like an absolute saint.
At the start of the project I weighed 14st and my bodyfat was 25%.
On Friday I weighed 13/7 with 23.5% fat.
Not bad but a very long way to go.
Anyhow back to the race and there were large queues at the registration tents, unusual for FCR, but as standard I was handed my race number with a big smile.
Sort the number and the timing chip out and before you know where you are, it’s time to line up.
I made my way to the start and found the 45 minute pacer, easily identified by his huge board.
Having pacers at events makes the game so much easier as far as I am concerned.
Much easier.
Whilst pacers at Mara’s and also Half mara’s are common place, having pacers at 10k’s is a relatively new phenomenon but something many a “PB chaser” would do well to take advantage of.
In a way, you could class pacers as ‘cheating’, but I don’t make the rules and we must take full advantage of all the tools at our disposal, pacers being one of them.
Before the race began a 2 minutes silence was held and this was immaculately observed.
When it finished I began to applaud and everyone joined in which gave me goosebumps so I let out a loud roar.
No-one joined in with the ‘roar’.
Race gets underway and my plan was to stick to the 45 minute pacer like glue, simple as that.
This was easier said than done as the course was narrow in parts for the first kilometre and there was certainly plenty of jossling for position early doors..
The course is a ‘to the windmill and back loop’ at Lytham, relatively flat and along the purpose built coast boulevard tarmac path.
Lets cut to straight to the chase.
7,000 metres I managed to keep up with that pacer.
7,000 glorious kilometres.
At times I even found it relatively ‘easy going’.
But once we got to the ‘windmill’ and turned back on ourselves, a combination of the headwind, running on grass for a bit, running ever so slightly ‘up’ and me not being fit enough, began to bite.
By the time I got to 7k, I had to let him go.
It broke my heart to see him jog off into the distance.
Broke my heart.
Got to be honest though, I had nothing left.
However when I passed the 8k marker I noticed that the watch was displaying 36 minutes which meant the magical 45 was still on.
Fukin pacer…. (i’m joking mark, I really appreciate your help)
This gave me a boost.
Before I know where I am I’m pushing for home in the last kilometre and my strength began to return.
Roared on by my old Ironman mate Paul Fisher (who had already finished) I crossed the line with the watch displaying 45:56. www.strava.com/activities/1272344067
That is 45 minutes as far as I am concerned.
My official time came in at 45:52 and I ranked #138 out of 1258 finishers. www.fyldecoastrunners.com/uploads/5/2/4/9/52490083/w10k1overallresults_classic.pdf
That is just a smudge outside the top 10%.
Top 10%.
Lets just pause for a second whilst we think about that.
Not long ago Iron Rookie was the guy buzzing at just being able to ‘get round’ a 10k but now here he is holding his own against some serious club runners.
That needs celebrating…..
So celebrate I did.
After the race I headed over to the Queens Boozer opposite that bloody windmill for a very well earned pint of Guinness.
Boy did that Guinness taste good.
Shortly after I was joined by Paul and his ace Mrs together with another Ironman first timer, yet another Paul!
It was great to catch up with those guys and share our stories over a pint it really was.
Back to business and the next stop in the journey will be the Blackpool half mara in Feb.
I’ll be posting an update each week between now and then about my training, if you fancy a read.
Do I believe I could maintain that pace for another 10k?
Right now, I don’t think so.
But, at the end of the day, anything is possible….
Ironman taught me that…..
Another Guinness Rookie? asked the barman
Don’t mind if I do……..
To your amazing journey!
By the way, I have written a book, it’s all about how I went from zero fitness to completing an Ironman triathlon, it’s only just come out but it has got some fantastic reviews already!- you can check them out here: (also available on Amazon in the US but please read the UK reviews first!)
