I love it when a plans come together...
Over the last few weeks, I've been putting in the miles in training and doing a range of long and short runs, speed work and hill sessions. I've been getting faster in those training runs and at the St Thomas 7 managed to break 59 minutes for 7 miles and put together my most satisfying run for a long time - practically perfect in every way!
I also returned to the cross country and was back at Winsford at the end of September for another satisfying run in the first race of the season for the North Staffs Cross County League. The approximately 5,000metre course was definitely closer to 4 miles than 3 miles but I still recorded an average speed of approximately 5:10mins/km and finished in 81st place - a much higher finish than I managed last year. What was even more satisfying, though, was that we had more than enough runners from Potters Trotters to record a team score... something we didn't manage at all last year. Bobbie and I were joined by Liz, Anne, Gaynor and Kath... with support from the sidelines from Sue.
Two weeks after cross country was another new race for me - the Werrington 10k. The race was put on my local running club Trentham, so there were lots of familiar faces taking part behind the scenes as well as competing. This was my first local race in a while that isn't included in the North Staffs Road Runners - so I was running without my W pinned to my back.
At the start of 2013, I set the challenge of breaking 50 minutes for 10k. I got close back in May at the Clayton 10k, where my time was 51:10, and given the improvements over the last couple of races, I was quietly optimistic, despite the challenges of the course and the weather.
As we lined up on the startline on the field at Moorside High School, the rain eased from the torrential downpours that had greeted me when I got up on Sunday morning. After a quick dash across the mud and a circuit of the car park, the route can definitely be described as undulating as it goes out onto the country lanes around Werrington and Cellerhead. None of the uphills are in the killer hill category of other recent races but the constant undulation makes pacing more difficult. I knew I had to keep my average km time under 5 minutes to achieve my target time and the slight downhill start helped with this, giving me time in hand for the most challenging climb between miles 4 and 5, when the heavy rain returned too.
I admit to checking out my progress with every beep of my watch:
With just over a mile to go, which included plenty of downhill sections, I began to think I could achieve my goal. The rain was heavier but I pushed on. The slight incline back up to the school caused me a few doubts but I stopped looking at my watch and just ran. After safely navigating the car park (probably one of the biggest challenges of the day), I received a big shout out and lots of encouragement from Justine and Harry, spurring me on even more as I crossed the muddy field to the finish.
Thankfully, I stayed upright, crossed the finish line, stopped my watch and peered at it anxiously through the rain... had I done it? My watch said yes... but it was an anxious wait to have my official time confirmed as 49:49 - thanks to race director Andy Vickerman for letting me know via a FB post in the early afternoon. Job done, relax and enjoy some chocolate popcorn! There was time too to get back outside in the rain and cheer home the rest of the pink ladies - well done to all.
A lovely race, a shiny medal, lots of great support from the marshals and other members of Potters Trotters too and a new PB thrown in for good measure... I love it when a plan comes together!
Happy Running
Liz T
Over the last few weeks, I've been putting in the miles in training and doing a range of long and short runs, speed work and hill sessions. I've been getting faster in those training runs and at the St Thomas 7 managed to break 59 minutes for 7 miles and put together my most satisfying run for a long time - practically perfect in every way!
I also returned to the cross country and was back at Winsford at the end of September for another satisfying run in the first race of the season for the North Staffs Cross County League. The approximately 5,000metre course was definitely closer to 4 miles than 3 miles but I still recorded an average speed of approximately 5:10mins/km and finished in 81st place - a much higher finish than I managed last year. What was even more satisfying, though, was that we had more than enough runners from Potters Trotters to record a team score... something we didn't manage at all last year. Bobbie and I were joined by Liz, Anne, Gaynor and Kath... with support from the sidelines from Sue.
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| Potters Trotters at Winsford! |
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| Cross Country Course - Is it a Rabbit? |
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| Skin is waterproof! |
Two weeks after cross country was another new race for me - the Werrington 10k. The race was put on my local running club Trentham, so there were lots of familiar faces taking part behind the scenes as well as competing. This was my first local race in a while that isn't included in the North Staffs Road Runners - so I was running without my W pinned to my back.
At the start of 2013, I set the challenge of breaking 50 minutes for 10k. I got close back in May at the Clayton 10k, where my time was 51:10, and given the improvements over the last couple of races, I was quietly optimistic, despite the challenges of the course and the weather.
As we lined up on the startline on the field at Moorside High School, the rain eased from the torrential downpours that had greeted me when I got up on Sunday morning. After a quick dash across the mud and a circuit of the car park, the route can definitely be described as undulating as it goes out onto the country lanes around Werrington and Cellerhead. None of the uphills are in the killer hill category of other recent races but the constant undulation makes pacing more difficult. I knew I had to keep my average km time under 5 minutes to achieve my target time and the slight downhill start helped with this, giving me time in hand for the most challenging climb between miles 4 and 5, when the heavy rain returned too.
 |
| Looking slightly bedraggled in the rain coming up to the finish! |
I admit to checking out my progress with every beep of my watch:
- my first mile in under 8 minutes;
- my first 3 miles in under 24 minutes;
- my 5km split was about the same as my 5km PB, set at as South Manchester parkrun in May;
- my 4 mile time was much faster than my time from the Cheadle 4 when I was battling fatigue;
- my 5 mile split in just under 40 minutes was much faster than my 5 mile PB set at Alsager back in February on a flat course, my first NSRRA race.
With just over a mile to go, which included plenty of downhill sections, I began to think I could achieve my goal. The rain was heavier but I pushed on. The slight incline back up to the school caused me a few doubts but I stopped looking at my watch and just ran. After safely navigating the car park (probably one of the biggest challenges of the day), I received a big shout out and lots of encouragement from Justine and Harry, spurring me on even more as I crossed the muddy field to the finish.
Thankfully, I stayed upright, crossed the finish line, stopped my watch and peered at it anxiously through the rain... had I done it? My watch said yes... but it was an anxious wait to have my official time confirmed as 49:49 - thanks to race director Andy Vickerman for letting me know via a FB post in the early afternoon. Job done, relax and enjoy some chocolate popcorn! There was time too to get back outside in the rain and cheer home the rest of the pink ladies - well done to all.
A lovely race, a shiny medal, lots of great support from the marshals and other members of Potters Trotters too and a new PB thrown in for good measure... I love it when a plan comes together!
 |
| Finally inspired to do something creative with my medals - my very own medal tree! |
Happy Running
Liz T
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