Today's run was the Oldbury power station 10 mile race and prizes have been won! This race had been planned to provide me with a guide on what pace I could comfortably maintain for next weeks Cardiff half Marathon. Marcus and I had discussed the race and pace yesterday and agreed that we would look to maintain 6:40's where possible.
The preparations for the race had gone well, I was able to get a decent breakfast inside me and even a cup of strong coffee. No sooner than breakfast was done, than Marcus turned up ready for us to set off.
After a short drive we are at the Oldbury power station and have both signed in. A few 'good morning's' later to our fellow runners and we are off. We watch the elite disappear into the distance as this race is mostly frequented by club runners and not just those out for the pleasure of running without a goal. We cover the first few miles at exactly the agreed pace and both feel good. Slowly but surely we are also passing runners in one by one. We have just about perfect conditions on route and whilst it is not the most spectacular route, the ability to measure your effort and be rewarded with a consistent pace is exactly what I was looking for.
Miles 5 and 6 lead us to take on some gels for fuel and we both noted the increase in energy. Marcus digs in for the next few miles as he has already raced this week at the Weston Prom. So I offer a little help in the form of a resplendent wind break, as we enter a head wind, draped in my Macmillan t-shirt. Miles 7 and 8 allow me to lift the pace a little and as a consequence we are building a buffer on the agreed pace. Finally we hit miles 9 and 10 and go all out. I cross the line a little in front of Marcus and I am very pleased with my 65:55.
Marcus and I then meet up with a few other runners to swap notes on the run and then we head back to the truck on a warm down run. At this point we are happy that the weather has behaved and the miles have been covered at slightly better than our agreed pace. What we are both unaware of is that we have both won a prize each!
The Oldbury Power Station 10 Mile race is part of the Avon Athletics championship and as Marcus and I are both eligible runners we were entered into the competition. I have won the Male Vet 40 category and Marcus has come 2nd. Gold and Silver medal as a reward, a perfectly paced day, boom!
www.justgiving.com/kevin-caple
Big Kev
The picture is before we knew we had won. I will post another pic when we have our Gold and Silver medals the Louise Cronin picked up on behalf.
No comments:
Post a Comment