Sub 38 at last!

Who'd have thought, after such a crap year, that I would end 2013 on a high and bag a long awaited sub-38 minute 10k time? Certainly not me! I mentioned in my last post that I had a few ideas up my sleeve to try and get a 10k PB but that I wasn't going to publicise them as each time I have done that in the past, I have missed it, and feel all the more rubbish for having openly advertised my failed attempts. I knew I couldn't rely on the usual First Chance 10k to target a PB this year as I am representing Devon in the South-West inter-counties cross-country championships on the same day, so the only other remotely fast course in the area was the Stoke Stampede on Sunday 29th December.

A couple of months back, Matt and I went to rekkie the course after doing the Taunton parkrun that morning. It's by no means flat - there is a short, sharp hill just after the 1 mile mark and then miles 2 through to 4 are a very long, slow drag upwards. The overall climb is only about 150ft, but the constant undulations can mess up your rhythm and, when you are already at your limits, even the smallest of hills can cause a dramatic drop off in your mile splits. Nevertheless, the course appeared much more sheltered than the exposed First Chance river bank route and it was much more varied; I hoped this would keep my focus and avoid the usual drop in pace that occurs at the mile 3 point on the First Chance course. This point is precisely at the turn at the end of lap one and I suspect that the drop in pace that almost always befalls me here is more the result of a psychological barrier than a physiological one. I was dubious that the Stoke Stampede would be the ideal course for a PB attempt, but I figured that I had nothing to lose by giving it a go anyway.

However, this was all before I got struck down by what has amounted to almost 2 months of coughs, colds, bouts of food poisoning and just feeling generally run down and tired. I was desperate for the end of term to finally arrive so that I could indulge my body in some much needed rest and then came the devastating news that my Grandma, who lives in Harrogate, was very ill with pneumonia. I took the last two days off work and my Mum and I headed up to Yorkshire the next day. She had held on for 48 hours after they stopped her treatment, having been told that we were on our way, and within 3 hours of us arriving at her bedside, she peacefully passed away with my Mum and me holding her hand. At 97 years old, she'd had a good, long and fulfilled life, but I have always been very close to my Gran and so finally losing her knocked the stuffing out of me somewhat. She looked after me when my parents were house-hunting in Cornwall when I was 18 months old and this created a bond that has only gotten stronger since. I get many of my character traits from her; the good and the bad! The doggedly determined stubborn streak, the strong-willed bloody-mindedness, the occasional touches of selfishness, but also the thoughtfulness, the zest and vigor for life and for keeping fit, and an appreciation for the great outdoors: I have my Gran to thank for all of these. When I was little and was asked to write stories at primary school about who my "heroes" were and who I'd like to be when I grew up, I could only ever think of my Gran and wrote about her every time. It is such a shame that I found my way to running after she had lost some of her faculties (she suffered from Alzheimers in her latter years) and her ability to appreciate and share in my achievements; she would have been my most avid supporter and, I hope, she would have been just a bit proud of me too.

How befitting, then, that after one of the most awful build-ups to a target race ever, when I had even written off the possibility of a PB in my own head way before the start line, that I get my PB now, in honour of my Gran. When I was struggling in the latter stages of the race, I thought of my Gran struggling to breathe with severe pneumonia filling her lungs, yet holding on long enough, through the discomfort, for me and my Mum to arrive. If she could do that, I could bloody-well find some last dregs of air in my lungs to push the hell on and not give up. At the usual point when my mile splits start to drop off in a race, I dug in deeper and ran the final 2 miles in under 6 mins, bringing me home in a time of 37:43 for a new PB by 21 seconds.

Matt, my boyfriend, had been down to run but had been struck down by my virusy-lurgy thing, but he still came to watch and support me and he reports that he'd never seen me look happier than when I rushed up to him at the finish to tell him my time. I guess I was just a little bit thrilled to finally have this one in the bag! This sub 38 minute 10k has dogged me for a couple of years and now I have finally accomplished it. I was beginning to doubt that it was ever going to happen, even though I knew that I was capable of it, given the right course and the right conditions. Was Stoke the right course? No! I don't believe it was. It was hillier than I'd have liked and muddy in places too. So this, coupled with the fact that I've had a rubbish build-up with hardly any structured training sessions, leads me to think that there may well be more to come.... We'll just have to wait and see what 2014 brings I guess, but it's nice to be ending what has otherwise been a bit of a naff year on an unexpected high!

Push to the line: approaching the finish of the Stoke Stampede 10k in a new PB of 37:43.

For my beloved Gran: 30/08/16 - 18/12/13. R.I.P.