Highworth 5 Mile Road Race
On Sunday, 30th April 2006 I competed in a new and interesting event for me - the Highworth 5 mile race.
It was new in as much as it was my first year at this excellent and well-attended event, but also my shortest event to date - intriguingly I have never run in a race shorter than a 10k.
For this reason I was quite apprehensive - at this point in time I am definitely built for endurance, not speed, and in a half marathon I sometimes don't feel warmed up until the 5-mile marker.
My training in the week before the race was not great either. Socially it was top drawer - I met Pete for a few beers and a curry in Bath on Monday and had a great time, apart from the train back being late. For the life of me I can't understand why more of my friends don't come with me on my nights out in Bath - hint hint!!
Tuesday I did a nice 4k on the treadmill and broke in my new trainers - all I had time for as I was meeting Suzie and Janna to see the excellent "American Dreamz" at the flicks. It had fairly mixed reviews in the press but we agreed it was great, a bit slow at first but very funny for the last half hour. Plus they got to drool over Hugh Grant (fine by me - keeping an end up for us oldies is Hughie!!) and I have to confess I wouldn't slam the door in Mandie Moore's face either..
Wednesday I did my only run of any real substance - a nice steady 10 miler. Should have gone out with the running club really, but wanted to do some distance.
Thursday I made a massive mistake - I spent a very tiring but enjoyable day at the Commercial Vehicle Show in Birmingham, picking up lots of freebies to brighten up my desk at work and meeting some of my contacts in the flesh for the first time. When I got back I went for a run by myself round the lake at Sparcells and had to pull up with a stabbing pain in my ankle. It was so bad I had to walk back to the gym. Needless to say I iced it up as soon as I got home, and while it disrupted my final training session before the race it hasn't re-occurred since.
So what did I see at the cinema Saturday, you may be asking: "Slither", a very silly but enjoyable horror comedy. The adverts described it as "the best horror comedy since Shaun of The Dead". As it turned out it wasn't a patch on that classic (if you haven't seen it please do so as soon as humanly possible - listening to "Don't Stop Me Now" by Queen will never be the same again!!) but it did have its moments and a few quality one-liners.
For once I had a good night's sleep and arrived in Highworth with bags of time to spare - good job too: it meant I didn't have to drive around looking for somewhere to park like other people I saw later. I even had time to get my copy of The Sunday Times and read a couple of articles!
I had a good stretch before the race, making sure I was nice and loose. As it turned out I got a massive psychological lift on the start line: next to me were Jan and Sandra from the running club and Sandra put her arms around my upper body and commented that I had "hugely" lost weight. It was especially nice from her, as she has made a few choice comments about my weight in the past - I've lost count of the number of times she has said "Not being funny, Jon, but you're a big lad to be running". So it's nice that she can give compliments equally well, not something many people are adept at.
The scenery along the route was great - I was surprised at how quickly we were out in the countryside. One thing I like about races is the fact that if nothing else, at least you get a change of scene.
For the first three miles I was flying. By my watch I was averaging 8 minutes a mile, which for me is good - I usually struggle to maintain that pace for long. I couldn't maintain it for the last two miles, sadly, and the last mile consisted mainly of an exceptionally steep hill. So in the end I think I did very well to finish in 42 minutes. It means I can now realistically set my sights on a sub 50-minute 10k, which will be a huge landmark for me.
A gang of us from running club stopped at a local pub after the race for a quick drink, which made a nice change. We haven't done much socially outside the gym, which is something I would like to see changing. Maybe I will appoint myself club social events organiser!
Being the lunatic I am I headed to the gym for another 5 mile run on the treadmill. It was hard work and took a bit longer than 42 minutes! While I was there I got chatting to someone I had seen at the race, an athlete called Terry, who as it turned out had run the London marathon the week before. His time was 3 hours 20 minutes - doubt I'll ever be in his league.
As he left the gym he put on his medal from the marathon as well as the one he had acquired at Highworth. "I shall wear these with pride," he said. "As you should," I replied.
Hopefully this time next year I'll be wearing both those medals myself.
Copyright © Jonathan Weedon, May 2006
It was new in as much as it was my first year at this excellent and well-attended event, but also my shortest event to date - intriguingly I have never run in a race shorter than a 10k.
For this reason I was quite apprehensive - at this point in time I am definitely built for endurance, not speed, and in a half marathon I sometimes don't feel warmed up until the 5-mile marker.
My training in the week before the race was not great either. Socially it was top drawer - I met Pete for a few beers and a curry in Bath on Monday and had a great time, apart from the train back being late. For the life of me I can't understand why more of my friends don't come with me on my nights out in Bath - hint hint!!
Tuesday I did a nice 4k on the treadmill and broke in my new trainers - all I had time for as I was meeting Suzie and Janna to see the excellent "American Dreamz" at the flicks. It had fairly mixed reviews in the press but we agreed it was great, a bit slow at first but very funny for the last half hour. Plus they got to drool over Hugh Grant (fine by me - keeping an end up for us oldies is Hughie!!) and I have to confess I wouldn't slam the door in Mandie Moore's face either..
Wednesday I did my only run of any real substance - a nice steady 10 miler. Should have gone out with the running club really, but wanted to do some distance.
Thursday I made a massive mistake - I spent a very tiring but enjoyable day at the Commercial Vehicle Show in Birmingham, picking up lots of freebies to brighten up my desk at work and meeting some of my contacts in the flesh for the first time. When I got back I went for a run by myself round the lake at Sparcells and had to pull up with a stabbing pain in my ankle. It was so bad I had to walk back to the gym. Needless to say I iced it up as soon as I got home, and while it disrupted my final training session before the race it hasn't re-occurred since.
So what did I see at the cinema Saturday, you may be asking: "Slither", a very silly but enjoyable horror comedy. The adverts described it as "the best horror comedy since Shaun of The Dead". As it turned out it wasn't a patch on that classic (if you haven't seen it please do so as soon as humanly possible - listening to "Don't Stop Me Now" by Queen will never be the same again!!) but it did have its moments and a few quality one-liners.
For once I had a good night's sleep and arrived in Highworth with bags of time to spare - good job too: it meant I didn't have to drive around looking for somewhere to park like other people I saw later. I even had time to get my copy of The Sunday Times and read a couple of articles!
I had a good stretch before the race, making sure I was nice and loose. As it turned out I got a massive psychological lift on the start line: next to me were Jan and Sandra from the running club and Sandra put her arms around my upper body and commented that I had "hugely" lost weight. It was especially nice from her, as she has made a few choice comments about my weight in the past - I've lost count of the number of times she has said "Not being funny, Jon, but you're a big lad to be running". So it's nice that she can give compliments equally well, not something many people are adept at.
The scenery along the route was great - I was surprised at how quickly we were out in the countryside. One thing I like about races is the fact that if nothing else, at least you get a change of scene.
For the first three miles I was flying. By my watch I was averaging 8 minutes a mile, which for me is good - I usually struggle to maintain that pace for long. I couldn't maintain it for the last two miles, sadly, and the last mile consisted mainly of an exceptionally steep hill. So in the end I think I did very well to finish in 42 minutes. It means I can now realistically set my sights on a sub 50-minute 10k, which will be a huge landmark for me.
A gang of us from running club stopped at a local pub after the race for a quick drink, which made a nice change. We haven't done much socially outside the gym, which is something I would like to see changing. Maybe I will appoint myself club social events organiser!
Being the lunatic I am I headed to the gym for another 5 mile run on the treadmill. It was hard work and took a bit longer than 42 minutes! While I was there I got chatting to someone I had seen at the race, an athlete called Terry, who as it turned out had run the London marathon the week before. His time was 3 hours 20 minutes - doubt I'll ever be in his league.
As he left the gym he put on his medal from the marathon as well as the one he had acquired at Highworth. "I shall wear these with pride," he said. "As you should," I replied.
Hopefully this time next year I'll be wearing both those medals myself.
Copyright © Jonathan Weedon, May 2006
posted by Jon | 8:37 pm
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home