Last Saturday was the Richmond 5km.
Unusual to have a race on a Saturday but I liked it because it meant I could enjoy a night out on Saturday night rather than being the good boy I normally am on a Saturday. Most of the time anyway.
I had entered as my coach Laura had said it would be a good test to see how quickly I could do it before we start packing in the miles before the last training stretch for the Boston Marathon.
She had set me the target of running it in 17 minutes. A challenge, not least because my PB is 17m 53s. I had done a 2km training run the Monday before in 7m 10s (admittedly on a treadmill) but I was game to give it a good shot.
I set off early on Saturday and got to the park in plenty of time. I was able to bag a parking spot in sight of the start line. I sat, read my book taking breaks to admire the stunning sunrise in this gorgeous London spot.
I took some time to warm up (with a quick pee break in the bushes, don't judge me) and then undressed in the car. Not naked, just taking off my tracksuit. Shame on your for your filthy thoughts.
It was 1.5 degrees centigrade according to my car thermometer. Chilly but I was still wearing a vest and short shorts because that's what gays do and I knew I would be way too hot once I started the race if I wore anything longer.
I ran around for a few minutes and then we gathered at the start. There were only about 60 of us. A quick count down and off we went. There was a clear leader and then me behind him. He was speedy and I didn't attempt to keep up. I was pacing well at 3m 30s (sometimes even lower) on the first 1.5km but then we hit some hills. they were tough and I knew I had to ease off the speed.
I was still maintaining below 4 mins per KM but it would be tough to reach the 17m mark at the finish line.
We reach the summit of the hill and the view across the park over to central London was amazing. The park itself was beautiful and I could see the city including The Shard. I loved it. It was worth feeling knackered for.
What goes up must come down so the hill down was welcomed. We were soon at the 4km mark. I pushed as hard as I could and could see the finish tent. I could see the gentlemen still in the lead about 20s ahead of me. I saw him turn towards the finish tents. I really went for it to empty the tank (thinking of my coach as those are her words when we train together.)
Sadly, it wasn't the end. We turned away from the tents to do a 300m loop back to the finish. Gutted. I still pushed as much as I could but I was out of hope of a 17m finish.
I crossed the line in second place in a time of 18m 47s. So not too bad. No PB but I was still pleased. I hoped my coach would be.
I was given a finishers medal and a second place plaque. Yay. At that moment I spoke to the man that won and the guys in third and forth. Just in time for a random runner (not part of the race) to run past us shouting:
WTF?
It's everyone's park. Deal with it.
I text Laura to tell her my result. No reply. I went to bed that night. Still no reply. Yikes, maybe she wasn't impressed. 24 hours post text she replied saying well done and that she hadn't had time to reply before.
Phew!
So no onto the the big training miles for Boston.
Unusual to have a race on a Saturday but I liked it because it meant I could enjoy a night out on Saturday night rather than being the good boy I normally am on a Saturday. Most of the time anyway.
I had entered as my coach Laura had said it would be a good test to see how quickly I could do it before we start packing in the miles before the last training stretch for the Boston Marathon.
She had set me the target of running it in 17 minutes. A challenge, not least because my PB is 17m 53s. I had done a 2km training run the Monday before in 7m 10s (admittedly on a treadmill) but I was game to give it a good shot.
I set off early on Saturday and got to the park in plenty of time. I was able to bag a parking spot in sight of the start line. I sat, read my book taking breaks to admire the stunning sunrise in this gorgeous London spot.
I took some time to warm up (with a quick pee break in the bushes, don't judge me) and then undressed in the car. Not naked, just taking off my tracksuit. Shame on your for your filthy thoughts.
It was 1.5 degrees centigrade according to my car thermometer. Chilly but I was still wearing a vest and short shorts because that's what gays do and I knew I would be way too hot once I started the race if I wore anything longer.
I ran around for a few minutes and then we gathered at the start. There were only about 60 of us. A quick count down and off we went. There was a clear leader and then me behind him. He was speedy and I didn't attempt to keep up. I was pacing well at 3m 30s (sometimes even lower) on the first 1.5km but then we hit some hills. they were tough and I knew I had to ease off the speed.
I was still maintaining below 4 mins per KM but it would be tough to reach the 17m mark at the finish line.
We reach the summit of the hill and the view across the park over to central London was amazing. The park itself was beautiful and I could see the city including The Shard. I loved it. It was worth feeling knackered for.
What goes up must come down so the hill down was welcomed. We were soon at the 4km mark. I pushed as hard as I could and could see the finish tent. I could see the gentlemen still in the lead about 20s ahead of me. I saw him turn towards the finish tents. I really went for it to empty the tank (thinking of my coach as those are her words when we train together.)
Sadly, it wasn't the end. We turned away from the tents to do a 300m loop back to the finish. Gutted. I still pushed as much as I could but I was out of hope of a 17m finish.
I crossed the line in second place in a time of 18m 47s. So not too bad. No PB but I was still pleased. I hoped my coach would be.
I was given a finishers medal and a second place plaque. Yay. At that moment I spoke to the man that won and the guys in third and forth. Just in time for a random runner (not part of the race) to run past us shouting:
"I have had to go around 3 different groups of runners. This is my park not yours."
WTF?
It's everyone's park. Deal with it.
I text Laura to tell her my result. No reply. I went to bed that night. Still no reply. Yikes, maybe she wasn't impressed. 24 hours post text she replied saying well done and that she hadn't had time to reply before.
Phew!
So no onto the the big training miles for Boston.
