10 out of 10

Yesterday I toed the line for my annual 10K.  Yep, the last 10K I did was the same event last year.  And the year before that. And that. It's safe to say it's not my preferred distance.  But the Ignis Asset Management Women's 10K is by far my favourite race.  I love it.  Makes me proud to be a Weejie :-) And a burd.

 I know it would be easier doing a cut 'n' paste of the same race report each year, but I can't speak highly enough of this race.  It's magical.  And for once, Glasgow ladies are drinking in a different kind of spirit :-)  It's the catalyst for so many Scottish club runners, but attracts hoards of first-timers and charity runners.  Participants come in all ages and (quite literally) shapes and sizes.  Sonic hit the nail on the head when we arrived with "You know on paper, 10,000 women in lycra should be a dream come true.  It's just a shame it's in Glasgow"

This year was my 10th in a row. Considering my big race is just over two weeks away, the timing threw a big spanner in the training schedule, but I wouldn't miss it for the world. I'd crawl round on my hands and knees if I had to.

For once, I actually prepared for this and made the race a key event for 2012. Although I had to realistic about the respect I could dedicate to the distance, as there were quite a few 100+ mile week in the build-up. Although thanks to MJ the Messiah's lunchtime training sessions, I was confident a PB was on the cards.   Even the race conditions of  heavy rain and crazy-forced winds, didn't dampen my spirits.  There was a whole lot of fire in my belly.



The Garscube B team.  Jill, the GM, me and Maz


 

I managed to scrape in a PB - by 2.5 minutes! - to finish in 43.27 (ave 6.57m/m).   Overall position was 78th out of 8000+.  I not only made the first page of the Evening Times' results pullout, but I made the first column.  Woohoo.  OK, my name my be squeezed on the very last line, but it's still the same column as Freya Murray...who was first in a mere 10 minutes faster. 

Well done to everyone.  See you there next year. Same time, same place.  Although Sonic might send me some links for women-only races in Sweden, Holland, Brazil... :-)

My first post-baby race

The Women's 10K in Glasgow. It was my first ever race, so it's a bit like a birthday celebration for me. I don't think I would have signed up for this year's if it wasn't for the fact that I want to do it every year. Even if I have to crawl round (don't quote me on that). Today would be race number 8. I had no idea what to expect. I haven't done any speed work for over a year. And the 10Ks I did when I was preggers were just for giggles.

Basically I'm starting from a clean slate. A new personal best (PB) is now a new post baby (PB). Over the last two months it's been great monitoring the improvement ever time I go out. Hopefully this will continue until I meet and surpass where I left off.

Today's run was great. I loved every minute of it. How often do you get to say you loved a 10K? I think it was the no pressure and no preconceived ideas of time/splits/pace. I just started out steady and maintained the effort the whole way. I crossed the line in 48:57 with a huge smile, as it was way better than I had expected. I finished 324 out of 10740 runners, so I'm delighted. I think that's top 3%. Not bad for my first race back. It's onward and upwards me thinks.



Average pace: 7:49 Splits: 7:50, 8:01, 7:42, 7:56, 8:06, 7:31.

And for anyone who thinks this race is flat, here's proof that there are a few cheeky hills.



The race was won by Linet Masai in 31:30. Check out the picture I found on Flickr. Big Rob (worse than a man down) rubbing shoulders with the elite :-)