Gasp! Results of the 10k!

take a seat kids. take the closest thing resembling a seat, grab it, and allow your backside to make contact, to prevent all manner of inevitable shock based collapsing.

this morning i (with a couple of mates) ran 10k in London’s Battersea Park Self Transcendence Race (that’s not shocking part, btw, keep reading). it was a club run, so everyone looked like hardcore runner types - pretty intimidating. here’s a pic of me looking a bit too excited as we wait for the race to start.
to give you an idea of what i was looking to expect from this race - my last waddle through (i mean run) of a 10k saw a finish time of 1hr 2mins.

here’s us discussing our lacking pre-race plan (not sure why Jenni’s looking so disgruntled, or why my hand is looking quite so dodgy...)
now - as you know, i’ve been putting in the hard yards. it’s been a tiring, frustrating process for a non-runner, who really, essentially, doesn’t enjoy running. BUT i’m a stubborn competitive fool, who loves a challenge. so i’ve been working at turning around the waddle - into a shuffle. big step peoples.

and the results from this mornings race are in > are you ready? have i built this up enough? so much to the point you’re skipping this sentence??

well kids > i crossed the line at 56 mins!!


read that time and read it again, then shout for joy a little, and pump your fists into the air if nobody is watching (check this twice) > because that is officially *not* a waddling pace. i have progressed, like a kid getting rid of his mp3 player... to a shuffle!

here’s a pic of a small stumpy legged dog which i *definitely* overtook!


and here’s me running in a blur, which surely indicates more shuffle, less waddle.



i really honestly can barely believe i’ve managed to knock off around 5 minutes from my 10k time; it’s mammoth! it’s so mammoth, i had to eat a *whole* banana post race.


(slightly tedious side note: i say i’ve beat my pb by ‘around’ five mins because i can’t remember how many secs i had on my 1hr 2min time - but have a feeling it was about 1hr 2min 50 secs - and this mornings efforts were officially 56mins 55sec. that’s ALMOST 57 mins but i’m hanging onto those five secs, because screw you five seconds, if you think i’m going to round up and loose a whole minute sounding pace!)

so what is my number one top tip for Non-Runners Who Want To Run Faster Than Almost Stationary Objects?

- hill runs! they hurt, yes, but they get you outside of your stride/pace comfort zone. thanks to training partner, paul the PT (who runs at speeds reserved for small fighter planes) - i've ran outside my comfort zone, and the results are in; it works.

the bottom line is; you’re not going to run faster by running miles + miles at the same pace.

as always, let’s have a look at what i got up to this week;

monday > 20 min speed run on treadmill
tuesday > 30 min run outside
wednes > 30 km cycle, 5 km run
thurs > rest
friday > rest
sat > 10k race
sun > easy run

although i’m officially on holidays this week, i’ve put together a pretty comprehensive training plan which focuses on hilly runs and cycles. my 10k companions yesterday saw our car packed and did question who goes on a seaside holiday with a floor bike pump. i noticed a slight eye roll from an understanding (but equally non-sporty) husband!

this week, as well as eating ice-cream, i’m also going to concentrate on a few technical things which i need to get sorted; changing inner tube quickly, taking on/off rear wheel, using c02 cartridge, bike cornering, sighting in ocean, getting out of wetsuit, running after swim.

can’t believe it’s two weeks to go! seems totally unreal. will post again later this week some of my time projections + get some good old fashioned goals in place.

until then, it’s time for another ice-cream/afternoon snooze combo!