Saturday, June 28, 2008
Grand Prix Race 2; Wollaton Park
Thursday saw the second race in the Grand Prix series... the 5k at Wollaton Park. There is a temptation to think it's 'only' 3.1 miles but it's quite a hilly 3.1 miles!
I got there hideously early as it wasn't worth going home from work and driving back into Nottinham. Wollaton Park is an unexpected jewel of a place- right more or less in the middle of Nottingham, it's a deer park, with expanses of open spaces, tracks, a lake, and, of course, Stately Home...
As I parked up it immediately started to rain. Good sign!! The loos are unfortunately quite a trek away from the car park and start, so I found them and got changed. The rain became heavier! When I got back to my car, I spotted Meryl- her sister was staying with her so had come to lend her support. We trekked back over to the loos, sheltering under Meryl's umbrella- I always need to keep going to the loo before a race, I am paranoid about being desperate for a wee while I'm running!! Meryl kept saying, quite optimistically, "It looks like it's brightening up!" (She was sadly wrong!!)
Meryl dropped her brolly off with her sister and we made our way to the start, which was in a large grassy area. As we set off, we ran across the grass and reached a track for our first ascent. I felt fairly strong and overtook a few folk. The climb became steeper as we passed the 1k mark (and a chap with his daughter, who clapped us and said 'Nearly finished!!') and then dropped down in front of the house towards the lake. The route was to double back on itself at this point and the lead runners passed us going the other way!
We had another climb away from the lake, and passed a marshall who told us that we had done the worst bit. A girl near me said 'Liar!!' and I remembered that the last climb was the worst one last year! It was still raining and a bit slippery underfoot but better than duck sh*t!!
The route then took us past the 3k mark and downhill towards the car park, rather cruelly passing the back of the finish, where far faster folks were already home and dry (well, wet!!) Then it was the last climb- a long, slow one which joined up with the steep section on the first climb. It was quite painful, but I still managed to pass some folks. As I passed a couple, I heard the girl say 'I can't carry on! I can't do it anymore!' and her friend doing his best to encourage her! My legs and lungs were hurting now, and I could have quite easily thrown up if I had let myself, but I was determined to keep going.
Finally we turned off the track onto a grassy area, and it was all downhill to the finish! Excellent for sprint finishes- a few folk came powering past me, but I did manage to overtake a girl just ahead of me and pip her to the finish- small victories!! I finished in 27 minutes 42 seconds, and didn't think I'd had a PB, as I couldn't remember last year's time. I found Meryl's sister (I looked for the distinctive yellow and blue umbrella!) and stood with her to cheer Meryl in, who put in a really strong sprint finish.
It was still pouring, and as we walked back to the cars, I heard one woman say to her friend "Short, sharp dash my arse! I am never going to listen to you ever again!!"
Meryl and her sister went, but me being me and an MdS nutter, I strapped on my 5.5kg rucksack and went for a yomp around the park for another 45 minutes, in the pouring rain, and got back to the car just as it started to ease off!
I had a lovely hot bath once I had got home and a surprise- when I looked, last year's time was 28 minutes 09 seconds, so I did actually PB!!
Mileage wise, this week won't be too great, but these races are quite good fun and something a little different! The next will be a cheeky little 4 miler around Ruddington Country Park on Tuesday.
I got there hideously early as it wasn't worth going home from work and driving back into Nottinham. Wollaton Park is an unexpected jewel of a place- right more or less in the middle of Nottingham, it's a deer park, with expanses of open spaces, tracks, a lake, and, of course, Stately Home...
As I parked up it immediately started to rain. Good sign!! The loos are unfortunately quite a trek away from the car park and start, so I found them and got changed. The rain became heavier! When I got back to my car, I spotted Meryl- her sister was staying with her so had come to lend her support. We trekked back over to the loos, sheltering under Meryl's umbrella- I always need to keep going to the loo before a race, I am paranoid about being desperate for a wee while I'm running!! Meryl kept saying, quite optimistically, "It looks like it's brightening up!" (She was sadly wrong!!)
Meryl dropped her brolly off with her sister and we made our way to the start, which was in a large grassy area. As we set off, we ran across the grass and reached a track for our first ascent. I felt fairly strong and overtook a few folk. The climb became steeper as we passed the 1k mark (and a chap with his daughter, who clapped us and said 'Nearly finished!!') and then dropped down in front of the house towards the lake. The route was to double back on itself at this point and the lead runners passed us going the other way!
We had another climb away from the lake, and passed a marshall who told us that we had done the worst bit. A girl near me said 'Liar!!' and I remembered that the last climb was the worst one last year! It was still raining and a bit slippery underfoot but better than duck sh*t!!
The route then took us past the 3k mark and downhill towards the car park, rather cruelly passing the back of the finish, where far faster folks were already home and dry (well, wet!!) Then it was the last climb- a long, slow one which joined up with the steep section on the first climb. It was quite painful, but I still managed to pass some folks. As I passed a couple, I heard the girl say 'I can't carry on! I can't do it anymore!' and her friend doing his best to encourage her! My legs and lungs were hurting now, and I could have quite easily thrown up if I had let myself, but I was determined to keep going.
Finally we turned off the track onto a grassy area, and it was all downhill to the finish! Excellent for sprint finishes- a few folk came powering past me, but I did manage to overtake a girl just ahead of me and pip her to the finish- small victories!! I finished in 27 minutes 42 seconds, and didn't think I'd had a PB, as I couldn't remember last year's time. I found Meryl's sister (I looked for the distinctive yellow and blue umbrella!) and stood with her to cheer Meryl in, who put in a really strong sprint finish.
It was still pouring, and as we walked back to the cars, I heard one woman say to her friend "Short, sharp dash my arse! I am never going to listen to you ever again!!"
Meryl and her sister went, but me being me and an MdS nutter, I strapped on my 5.5kg rucksack and went for a yomp around the park for another 45 minutes, in the pouring rain, and got back to the car just as it started to ease off!
I had a lovely hot bath once I had got home and a surprise- when I looked, last year's time was 28 minutes 09 seconds, so I did actually PB!!
Mileage wise, this week won't be too great, but these races are quite good fun and something a little different! The next will be a cheeky little 4 miler around Ruddington Country Park on Tuesday.
Labels: Grand Prix, Wollaton Park
