I'd had another fairly decent training period coming to this race - maybe not enough hills, but a few 10k runs with some fast sections. I'm not injured, and so I felt as ready as I could be.
The event is usually held on a cold January morning, so a balmy May evening is a bit of a departure. In the end it went against me I think - more on that later.
Anna and Lyra came with me to Cliveden to support, and soak up the atmosphere, which was very friendly and fun. It was sunny and warm and we had plenty of time to prepare. The course I know was slightly altered because of a wedding at the house, but I could see one less hill to climb in the route map, so was hoping for a good time. My record here was 48 and change, so I thought I could beat that - or even to go under 50 minutes would have been nice.
I started quite near the front and didn't have many difficulties with the crowds, and seeded myself comfortably quite quickly. It's a fast start, then a little hill and more steady running before a steep descent. My pace was good, I was worried it might be a little fast and slowed to keep my HR on track as it was already high.
The first climb of the steps was OK. I ran quite a bit, walked a little, but by the top my HR was at max and I was getting warm. I was glad it was over and tried to recover.
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| Robert climbing steps |
My average pace was now below my target and after some dodgems around the main house we were on a nice long straight through trees which went slightly downhill for over 2.5km. I improved my average pace, but only slowly. I was tired.
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| Robert Running |
After negotiating a gate, not something we've had to do before, there was another steep descent to the river where we had the last flat section. I knew this was my last chance to pick up the pace, and for 1.5k I managed to gain a little and hold off the runners behind me. But I also knew, as the second climb of the steps approached, that I hadn't done enough.
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| Robert running near river |
I had no energy left and was feeling hot. I walked as quickly as I could and only managed a bit of running uphill when I saw Anna and Lyra cheering me at the top. I could see my friend Steve ahead; he must be flagging too I thought as he had been far in front previously.
The last section was surprisingly hard. I notice it has 10-15m of climbing in a just a short distance, and with tired legs this is not insignificant. I caught Steve and offered encouragement, but when the finish was in sight I got a second wind and sprinted for it.
I am disappointed I didn't have more pace, 5:15 min/km is slow (though my Garmin has misjudged the distance, so maybe it's slightly faster). All I can think is that the heat raised my core too much, taking my HR too high. And I may not have eaten enough at lunch - evening races are rare, and I wasn't sure if filling myself with food would be a good idea, but I definitely lacked energy. Perhaps more gels beforehand would have worked - I think I only had one. I would have benefited from a gel at about half way through the race too, or a sip of water.
It was a great event - kudos to Burnham Joggers for putting it on and making it all run so smoothly.
Results.
I came 102nd out of just under 500 finishers, in a time of 51:45. This race attracts a lot of good local club runners so I'm not surprised I'm outside the top 10%, which is where I aim myself for things like Parkrun. I'm not even that high up in my age group - definitely some work to do - but first cycling, as that's my next race.
Results currently here
Official photos here.
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