City of Lincoln 10K

Sunday April 7^th brought our first race of the year.  We had unfinished business with the City of Lincoln 10K.  Last year the Beast from the East stuck its oar in and the race was postponed until summer, which was no good for us as Rory was in Hong Kong.  So, we were really hoping that everything would run smoothly this year and we would get to tick this particular race off our list.

We were feeling rather unprepared for a 10K race however.  Since my injury just before Christmas I have been sticking mainly to 5Ks.  I’ve only run one 10k in the past five months and that was on the treadmill, so I really hoped I would be able to cope on the day.  Typically, as often seems to be the case in the few days before a race, my legs were giving me all kinds of niggles, which worried me.  You wonder how much is your imagination or you being over-sensitive, but I still live in fear of my calf ‘going’ when I’m in the middle of a race. 

Race day brought with it the usual nervous excitement.  I’m glad I still experience these feelings.  I would hate to reach the stage where I’m all calm and collected and chilled on race day.  I think the nerves are all part of that feeling that you’re doing something a little scary and therefore you’re going to be pretty awesome if/when you achieve it. 

We set off early.  By sheer chance I happened to have 40 pence in my purse for the toll road.   It wasn’t something we’d thought about beforehand.  Ror managed to forget his headphones, which annoyed him.  I had mine with me and, as things turned out, was very grateful for the musical distractions.  The Pointer Sisters were particularly appreciated.

There was a considerable wait before the race started so after a long walk from the carpark to Yarborough Leisure Centre, we settled in and had a coffee.  (Well, Ror also had a bacon buttie.  His ability to ‘fuel up’ before a race never ceases to amaze me.)  I managed to force a ginger oat biscuit down, thinking it was probably a good idea but I don't have an appetite on these occasions.  

(Typical thoughts that go through my mind on race day:  Are my laces going to come undone?  Do I need another wee?  Is my race number wonky?  Why does the blue dye in the chemical toilet look so alarming?  I doubt that Ror thinks about any of these things. He is perfectly calm and nerve-free.)

There was nowhere to sit except the floor.  Rory and I quickly realised that we are totally rubbish at sitting on the floor.  It is so uncomfortable that you really are better standing up.  Running for the best part of an hour seems a lot less painful than sitting on a hard floor for two.  So, we stood around and soaked up the atmosphere, spotting Mr Impossible and other impressive fancy dress characters.  At one point my water bottle fell off the ledge, struck another runner on the head and bounced off again.  Luckily, he saw the funny side of it, but I had to warn Rory not to leave his coffee on the same ledge.  You wouldn’t want that landing on your head.  It wouldn’t be a great way to start a 10K race.

I killed a bit more time by joining the toilet queue.  I was waiting a good 20 minutes, but there were pacers behind me in the queues, so I knew we were okay.  Eventually it was time to head to the start pens.  It took a surprisingly long time to get into the pens.  On the plus side this meant we missed the warm up.  People had obviously been holding back for as long as possible, staying in the warm, which meant that many ended up clambering over barriers at the last moment.

Eventually, we were off.  All seemed to be going well and I quickly established a nice rhythm but then, unexpectedly, half a mile or so in, we came to a complete standstill.  There was a bottleneck at a crossroads and it took a few minutes before we were moving again.  This was a bit frustrating, to say the least.  Once we got going again, thankfully there were no other hold ups. 

It’s a flat route, ideal for anyone doing a debut 10K and to my great relief it was pretty good also for those of us who haven’t done a 10K in months.  I did what I’d planned to do, treated it as two 5Ks, taking the first one relatively steadily then picking up the pace again on the second one.  That bottleneck really cost me though and my chip time was 56.15 which I reckon would otherwise have been sub-55, maybe even better, if we hadn’t had that hold up.  But I had gone into the race with quite modest expectations, so overall, I felt pleased with my performance.  My first goal had been to get round without aggravating an old injury (or picking up a new one), my second goal had been to run it all without stopping to walk and my third had been to get a sub-60. 

Afterwards I waited for Rory near the castle and changed into my new finisher’s T-shirt, which was not particularly flattering and make me feel like an extra from Orange is the New Black.  I was pretty happy at this stage although I became very cold, waiting around, and would have sold my grandmother for a space blanket.  Other people had them but I didn't spot any at the finish.  But there's nothing like a post-race high.  Even the long wait for the shuttle bus and the 20 minute walk to the carpark ,after the bus went as far as it was going, didn’t dampen my spirits.  I was ravenously hungry for pizza, so, Pizza Hut it was. It just had to be Pizza Hut.  Maybe I needed the salt. 

I came down to earth next day when I got an email telling me that my race photos were now online and inviting me to go and view my ‘album.’  Excitedly, I did so, only to find the said album was empty.  Not a single shot of me.  I even went through and searched for pink, hoping my distinctive top would have been captured somewhere – but no.  Nothing.  ( I did spot a pink arm that I thought might belong to me, but the rest of my body was sadly absent.)  So, despite having got the medal, got the T-shirt and the slightly stiff thighs to tell me that I was definitely there and it hadn’t all been a dream, I did feel a bit like I’d had a birthday party with no cake and candles.  But, it's money saved, I suppose, and I did at least get a free downloadable certificate.

All in all, a good race experience.  There was plenty of friendly support around the route, with even a band or two.  I think I would like to go back again and get a faster time, which I think would be very doable now that I'm familiar with the route (and hopefully without another bottleneck.)  It's reassuring to know that you don't need to be knocking out 10K training runs every week to be able to take on a 10K race.  You just need to keep running regularly and maintain your fitness.  It's amazing the way your body remembers how to do things.