Two weeks ago, on 9 October, I completed the Worthing 10k, without walking and faster than expected, fulfilling the commitment the I made in my blog on 2 August.
It was a beautiful day for a run. We got there nice and early, it was easy to park and there were plenty of toilets so the queues were short. A pre-race glimpse of the medals showed them to be satisfyingly shiny and impressive, always excellent for that little bit of extra motivation! I was a little concerned about my energy levels as I had knocked over 2 minutes off my time at Edenbrook Country parkrun the day before, but other than that, all was good (well, apart from my left knee feeling weird after the parkrun, but I chose to ignore that).
So my race strategy was, as always, keep putting one foot in front of the other until someone stops you and gives you a medal - basic, but effective! With the added goal of NOT WALKING.
I started between the 65 and 70 minute pacers, with no expectation of staying there. Based on my training runs, I could reasonably expect to take 75 minutes.
Off we went, the sun was shining, there were lots of colourful runners, and the route was flat - all in all, very pleasant! It is an out and back race and I reached the turnaround point without incident. I prefer not to look at my watch in a race (if I'm doing well I feel under pressure and if I'm doing badly I get demotivated) so I had no idea of my time but I was running and that is what mattered. Around 6k I got overtaken by the 70 pacer which was a surprise, how had it taken them so long? I must be doing quite well! I briefly contemplated trying to stay with them and then remembered that all I had to do was keep running and the time was irrelevant so told myself not to get carried away. Around that time my left knee felt weird again which was a worry and put all thought of times out of my mind. Should I walk? No. I wasn't allowed to walk. I tried running strangely for a while to take the pressure off my knee but my right calf soon started making itself felt so I decided to just run as normal and hope that I wasn't doing my left knee any lasting damage. (Having a client like me means my osteopath will always be able to go on nice holidays!) Then I realised that I could still see the 70 pacer - that was odd! They should have been long gone by then. But no, they stayed there, just ahead of me for the rest of the race, and I did indeed finish in 70 minutes. I won't say the end looked pretty, I expect a few people were concerned as I passed them on the last few hundred metres, but it was done - 10k, no walking, shiny medal, 5 minutes faster than expected. Happy days!
I definitely think that this blog helped me to keep going, particularly when my knee was giving me every excuse to walk. So thank you to the people who said encouraging things after the 2 August blog - you really helped!
So what's next? Have I gone from strength to strength in the last two weeks? No. Some brutal gym sessions, as well as Covid and flu vaccinations, mean that I'm feeling pretty knackered!
Which means I need another goal. The day before the Worthing 10k, my brother and sister-in-law mentioned entering the Surrey Half Marathon on 12 March 2023. Despite the fact that I hate half marathons, I am tempted. 5 months is a long time and it would be a good goal. But is it crazy? Will I break? Will I hate it? These are all good questions.
One thing is sure, if I am to run 13.1 miles I need to weigh less. Otherwise it will be a grim experience. OK, it might be grim anyway but being heavy definitely won't help!
So here's the plan. My next 10k is Hampton Court Palace in 4 weeks. I will spend the next 4 weeks eating a clean diet, with maybe two "cheat meals" a week, in the hope of dropping a few more kilograms. I will then see how I feel at the end of the 10k and I will make a decision.
If I feel that I could keep going at the end of the 10k, I will enter the half. If I feel that 10k is absolutely all I could have done on that day, I will not.
I would also be interested in people's thoughts. My trainer at Patch PT said definitely do it! But he is a personal trainer so it's pretty much his job to challenge me. Other people I have mentioned it to have said that half marathons are really long - thanks for pointing that out! But then I guess that's kind of the point, no point in having a challenge that isn't challenging!
Right, time to buy some super healthy food and hide the wine ...
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