Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Grand Prix Race 1; Holme Pierrepont
Well, last night was the first in the Holme Pierrepont Running Club 'Grand Prix' series... we kicked off with a 10k around Holme Pierrepont Watersports Centre in West Bridgford.
I wasn't sure what to expect, as I have been concentrating on going long and slow rather than shorter and faster runs. As I had a late visit for work, it wasn't worth going home, so I grabbed a sandwich and ate it in the car, before going into the Watersports Centre to get changed and get demoralised looking at how fit and fast all the club runners looked. My race number for the series is 462, which, funnily enough, was my Stepdad's number when he was in the police force...
I met Meryl, who knew loads of the other runners, and we ambled to the start, which was a few minutes walk away. It wasn't too hot, luckily, just a bit humid. We set off, along quiet roads near the centre, and I tried to get into a stride. At the beginning there was the usual jostling for position before the field spreads out, there were a fair few running tonight. I passed a few folks walking at around 2k, and at 3k we turned off the road and followed the track around the lake; well, when I say lake it's a long rectangular man made lake for boat races etc. There was another smaller lake to the right, with some lucky soul water skiing- I'd love to try that!!
I passed a few folk, but had to avoid all the duck sh*t which could potentially get slippery underfoot. We were running against the wind, and as I had my mouth open, a fair amount of midges flew right in- yeuch, not too good for a veggie!! The water point was just before the 5k mark and I slowed down for a few gulps.
We ran down the far side of the rectangle, and could see the winning runners coming in to the finish on the other side! I also saw the ambulance driving up the direction we had been running, blue lights flashing, so hope whichever poor soul it was needed for is ok! Then we were turned off the track and back onto the roads for the second lap. I overtook a girl at around the 6.5k mark, but she kept really close behind me, I could hear her breathing down my neck. I was determined she wasn't going to get past, so kept up my pace for the next 2k, and she gradually dropped back. God, it was getting quite painful at this point though!
There was a slight uphill just before the 9k marker, then down and along the other side of the rectangle. As I hit the track, another girl drew up along side me, and we raced neck and neck almost to the end, but it was becoming really difficult to keep going and I was struggling to breathe, so had to drop back a bit just before the end. as I passed the line, I glanced at the clock and was really surprised to see I PB'd!!! My official time was 55 minutes and 13 seconds!
This was amazing as my last PB was the Millenium Run in December, which I did in 55 minutes 46 seconds. Interestingly, when I did this run last year my time was 59 minutes 24 seconds so quite a lot better!
I got a juice and went back to the start to cheer Meryl in. Her friend who often races with us but is recovering from injury arrived to cheer her in. Just as she finished it started to rain, so good timing!!
The next run is a 5k at Wollaton Park in Nottingham; it's short but vicious- a few good climbs!
I wasn't sure what to expect, as I have been concentrating on going long and slow rather than shorter and faster runs. As I had a late visit for work, it wasn't worth going home, so I grabbed a sandwich and ate it in the car, before going into the Watersports Centre to get changed and get demoralised looking at how fit and fast all the club runners looked. My race number for the series is 462, which, funnily enough, was my Stepdad's number when he was in the police force...
I met Meryl, who knew loads of the other runners, and we ambled to the start, which was a few minutes walk away. It wasn't too hot, luckily, just a bit humid. We set off, along quiet roads near the centre, and I tried to get into a stride. At the beginning there was the usual jostling for position before the field spreads out, there were a fair few running tonight. I passed a few folks walking at around 2k, and at 3k we turned off the road and followed the track around the lake; well, when I say lake it's a long rectangular man made lake for boat races etc. There was another smaller lake to the right, with some lucky soul water skiing- I'd love to try that!!
I passed a few folk, but had to avoid all the duck sh*t which could potentially get slippery underfoot. We were running against the wind, and as I had my mouth open, a fair amount of midges flew right in- yeuch, not too good for a veggie!! The water point was just before the 5k mark and I slowed down for a few gulps.
We ran down the far side of the rectangle, and could see the winning runners coming in to the finish on the other side! I also saw the ambulance driving up the direction we had been running, blue lights flashing, so hope whichever poor soul it was needed for is ok! Then we were turned off the track and back onto the roads for the second lap. I overtook a girl at around the 6.5k mark, but she kept really close behind me, I could hear her breathing down my neck. I was determined she wasn't going to get past, so kept up my pace for the next 2k, and she gradually dropped back. God, it was getting quite painful at this point though!
There was a slight uphill just before the 9k marker, then down and along the other side of the rectangle. As I hit the track, another girl drew up along side me, and we raced neck and neck almost to the end, but it was becoming really difficult to keep going and I was struggling to breathe, so had to drop back a bit just before the end. as I passed the line, I glanced at the clock and was really surprised to see I PB'd!!! My official time was 55 minutes and 13 seconds!
This was amazing as my last PB was the Millenium Run in December, which I did in 55 minutes 46 seconds. Interestingly, when I did this run last year my time was 59 minutes 24 seconds so quite a lot better!
I got a juice and went back to the start to cheer Meryl in. Her friend who often races with us but is recovering from injury arrived to cheer her in. Just as she finished it started to rain, so good timing!!
The next run is a 5k at Wollaton Park in Nottingham; it's short but vicious- a few good climbs!
Labels: Grand Prix, Holme Pierrepont
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