What a Difference a Week Makes

What a difference a week makes… 168 little hours! On the previous Saturday, I’d done nothing more than survive the cross country at Stafford Common, completing the course with two shoes!

Just a week later, on Saturday 24th November, I returned to Cheddleton to take part in the 10k Christmas Pudding Run – one of the first races I completed (back in November 2011). It was good to be out racing again so soon after the cross country – no better way to get over a bad race than to get out there and try again. I felt more confident with this run though – a route I knew all on the road and no mud banks to navigate my way down.

Thanks to a lift from Liz from Potters Trotters, we arrived in the village with plenty of time to get our post-race cakes sorted – the Christmas Pudding Run is part of the Cheddleton’s support of Cancer Research so there is a sale of refreshments in the school hall as part of the fundraising effort. The cakes are as much a part of the day as the race – and you need to get there early to get the good ones.

It was also great to see so many of the ladies from Potters Trotters in the hall before the race – many of them were from our most recent beginners group and were taking part in their first race, some doing the 2-mile fun run and others the 10k run. There were plenty of nerves amongst the group but general excitement about the challenges ahead.



A Soggy Pudding!

Just as we lined up at the start, we felt the first drops of rain. And then as we entered the narrow uphill lane that makes the start of the run a bit tricky, the heavens definitely opened, the rain began to fall quite heavily and I don’t think it stopped raining for the rest of the day. I was a very soggy Christmas Pudding! Strangely, though, the rain didn’t bother me at all. It was not too windy and not too cold – at least whilst we were running – and conditions were as good as they’re likely to get in November.

Running with Tommy Hill

I ran most of the race with Tommy Hill, the event director at Hanley parkrun. We were both aiming for a similar time – 55 minutes – and thought running together might help us get round in that time. You can see some more pictures and read about how he viewed the day on his blog.

The course is three laps round the village… the elevation chart below shows how the ups and downs work themselves out. The first section is uphill, and as we reached the top of the first climb, there was a piper battling the elements to greet us. It was a relatively slow first kilometre (6:14) due to the congestion at the start but we were soon into our running and picking up the pace. There are a few more climbs before the relatively steep descent into the village, which marks the end of each lap. Then you do it all over again.

Elevation Chart - Lots of Ups and Downs!

My favourite section is as you pass through the start/finish area – there were lots of cheers from the spectators, especially the ladies from Potters Trotters who had stayed to cheer us on after completing the fun run. My Christmas Pudding costume also attracted a few special cheers…. It is always good to be encouraged on my the spectators as you run.

 

Tommy and I kept together pretty well through the first two laps – I remember the leading runners flying past us about midway through that second lap and the winning time was a very impressive 31:39. The leading lady passed us and we got towards the end of the second lap and completed the race in 36:20.

I was keeping an eye on my watch to check our progress towards that 55 minute target. After that slow first kilometre, we were pretty consistent through the next 6 kilometres. All our kilometres were between 5:13 and 5:38, with the two fastest kilometres on the downhill section, but it was going to be difficult to make up the lost time. We needed a fast finish to reach our goal.

My Determined Face!

 And so it was on to the final lap. I was feeling relatively strong as we took on the climbs for the last time… overtaking a few runners on each uphill section. I pushed on and Tommy was still with me until about half way through the final lap. We were on the last of the main uphill sections and I was putting in as much effort as I could. I pulled a few metres ahead of Tommy, and then a few more but I thought he would catch up with me on the downhill section.  I was concentrating hard – as the picture shows – and soon found myself on that last downhill section, running as hard as I could for the line. It felt really good to finish strongly, overtaking quite a few runners on that final kilometre, and I kept expecting Tommy to appear on my shoulder. I heard footsteps behind me as I closed in on the finish, but it was another runner.

And then it was the end – I crossed the finish line in a time of 54:55 – just inside my target and I’d completed my last kilometre in 4:45. I was 223rd over the line and 47th lady (8th in my age category); knocking over 5 minutes off my time from last year. I waited for Tommy – he was just over 30 seconds behind in a really excellent time of 55:29 - and then joined some of the other runners from Potters Trotters to cheer home the pink ladies.

I was really pleased with my own race – especially in achieving a negative split and a fast finish – but was a bit disappointed for Tommy as he was just few seconds outside his goal. He wasn’t too disappointed though as he’s already thinking about next year’s race; and I think I’ve been forgiven for leaving him behind on that last hill.

I brought home my Christmas Pudding – my reward for taking part in the Christmas Pudding run. And now it’s on to the next challenge… cross country is back on 8th December!

Happy Running!

LizT

PS Race photos thanks to Bryan Dale: http://www.racephotos.org.uk/