On a picture-perfect October morning, my family and I headed up to Victoria Park so I could participate in Nike's Run London 10K race. The accompaning fan club was a (much welcome) last minute addition to my plans, so we didn't actually leave the house until just over an hour before I was due to start.
We got to Bow and walked about 20 minutes from our DLR stop before we got to the park. ("My legs are getting tired!" Son No. 1 kept saying.) As luck would have it, the entrance we used was at the start line. This was a very good thing, given that it was 10:27 a.m. (I was due to start at 10:30 a.m.) and a sea of red shirts was waiting for the race to start. I had to run down a bit and up again to reach them, and I was all the way at the back, but at least I got there. The gun sounded and we slowly made our way to the start, but once I got there, I realized I needed to reset my watch so I could time myself. "This is really something I should have done about an hour ago, I know," I said to the steward.
The one good thing about being all the way in the back was I spent the entire race looking for someone further up who I wanted to pass, and then worked my way up and got them. I'm happy to report that every person (I did not discriminate on the basis of gender), I picked out for passing, I did pass. Of course, I was able to pass about 15 people in the last 200 meters of the race, because my Fan Club was there to cheer me on and I wanted to impress the boys. Some things never change.
I also ran without my iPod, which made me feel a little bit naked, but I do think it helped me run a better race. I feel that I was able to concentrate better on the task at hand, rather than singing aloud to Aretha Franklin.
However, even with all these things in myu favor: beautiful weather, an enthusiastic fan club who I passed SIX TIMES (Yeah!) during the race, a high level of concentration and basic kick-ass passing, I am incredibly disappointed to say that I STILL HAVEN'T broken the one hour barrier. I feel utterly deflated and dejected that I didn't. (But, I was slightly faster than the 10K I did in July, so maybe that's some improvement. Or I'm clutching at straws).
There will be more races and other opportunities to run faster. I would be happy to list a litany of excuses as to why it didn't happen, but there's no point. There's always next time. It still was a great way to spend a Sunday morning.
3 comments:
I'm right there with you Maureen. I didnt breakit either..but i'm glad i went ou there and ran. Yes there is a next time, something for both of us to set our sights on. Well done anyway.
Michelle
I got to the start with about 5 minutes to spare and was glad to see a bag storage tent, even though the instructions said there wouldn't be. I was resigned to running with a backpack.
Your time is going in the right direction, you're getting faster, don't worry about it. You beat me anyway.
I personally don't understand people who race with earphones. I've seen people in the FLM with iPods. I like to hear the crowd, the slap of my feet, the breathing of the runner behind me who's trying to get past.
Well done, and good luck for the 5k races, if you're going to do them.
Chickie, you are wayyyyy too hard on yourself. You ran a race, on a beautiful day, with your family watching. I can't run for five minutes without getting achy and cranky. You DID accomplish a goal. Quit moving the bar.
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