Nice race, shame about the Kit-Kat

I have a weekend of positive, productive running behind me. Admittedly, it has taken me all day to stop coughing since I finished my race this morning but nevertheless I feel great

Yesterday my training plan set out a short run of 3 miles, on grass, as prep for today's 10k.We've had so much rain recently we don't actually have any grass left, just mud, so I knew I'd have to just pound the pavements as normal. I also needed to get a birthday gift for a friend who was having her birthday dinner last night. The thought of going out in the rain for a run, then coming home and getting washed and changed to go out to the shops was just too depressing, so instead I ran to the nearest shop that did gift vouchers and bought those, putting them in two plastic bags in my waterproof jacket pocket, and ran the rest of my mileage home. Multitasking marathon style...

Today was the Harrow Hill 6 mile race - so not quite 10k but close enough. Hills count extra, you know.

I'd been experiencing pre-race nerves this week, as I just don't live in a hilly area anymore and don't get the practice. Readers of this blog this time last year would know that I did a fine job in lapping several people up the hill, raising the smugness levels to orange. This year I would be happy just to get up the hill both times.

And I did! And I did lap people - I never cease to be amazed by the number of people who sign up for a race with the word 'Hill' in the title and then proceed to whinge about having to run up them. What do they expect?

The best bit about very steep hills is the descent, because you know you've got plenty of time to recover and get your breath back. You can even pick up a good pace on the downhill as well, so I managed to knock a minute off last year's time too.

I'd started off very slowly as the first few hundred yards are all uphill but actually I think this served me quite well. The hill really splits all the runners up, so you don't actually feel like you're in a race for a while - everyone is too spread out and you just end up running on your own. So I decided to track a Pink Lady in front of me for a while, as she seemed to be putting in a nice steady pace. After about 2 miles though, I realised she was going too slow for me, so I set off past her and tried to find someone else to track.

I lapped two young men who didn't event attempt to run up Harrow Hill (quitters) and then just had Harrow to myself for another mile before I hit the 5 mile mark and got into view of some other runners.

I 'chicked' a guy in the last mile, who sounded like he was dying from TB for the rest of the race, and headed off into the final strait with a happy heart and protesting lungs.I did feel like I had plenty left in the tank though, so I think my pacing was spot on.
I'm feeling a lot more confident about my ability to get round 13 miles in a few weeks time now.

The only disappointment of the day was the goody bag - no KitKat! Instead we got a banana (boring - had brought my own), a bag of salt & vinegar crisps and a plastic keyring in the shape of a football (!?)
I don't even like KitKats that much but really, a plastic keyring in the shape of a football - what kind of  a freebie is that?

You don't get that sort of tat in NYC - roll on March 20...

LON