Heanor 10k 2006

Heanor 10k ‘Pudding Run’

19th November 2006

Race #3 - Report

This was my third ever race. I was no longer new to race day events however this was no ordinary race. This was my local towns 10k race and more importantly my running clubs race. As stated in my first race report I don’t get nervous (I just spend all morning in the bathroom), however I did struggle to sleep last night so when I awoke at 7am I was very tired. On top of that my warm up jog around the block was a killer as freezing temperatures and overnight frost took its toll. The sun however was shining so I was optimistic of yet another excellent day for racing.
On return back to my house I had a light breakfast, consisting of a Nutrigrain bar and two plums. Having had a quick shower I soon got to warming up and stretching so to give my Hamstring the best chance of holding out throughout the race.
I left to pick up a friend at 9.30am and on arrival in Heanor, runners were already filling the streets. This felt more peculiar than any race so far as these were my streets and my town. Until now I had no idea of where I was on arrival in a race and where the race would take me. I hadn’t even lined up yet and already I could picture the whole course, which I am still deciding on whether this is a good or bad thing. I knew that at the 9k mark there is a grueling hill to climb which I was already thinking about.
I continued to warm up until the race started at 10.30am sharp. As we set off I was with the front runners until we reached the 1k mark and the climb up towards Smalley. This was very early in the race so the hill was a breeze, and it felt good running in the middle of a usually very busy road that I use every day. I felt good and the first of two hills was behind me.
The road through Smalley which was between kilometers two and four seemed to go on forever. I knew how far we had before we turned off for Bell lane but still it dragged on and on. As we reached the end of Kerry Drive (my street) in Smalley, I was welcomed by my own paparazzi in the form of Mum and Dad, which felt good and also gave them chance to see me in action as they only ever see me start and crossing the finish line.
After passing Mum and Dad it seemed like seconds rather that minutes until I was turning left off the main road and onto Bell Lane. Now Bell Lane was the highest point of the race so I was really looking forward to the long descent down towards Shipley Park. How wrong could I have been? I had done this run in training, but at a slower (much slower) pace and in the middle of summer. Not after a week of heavy rain!
First of all I had forgotten how deceiving the descent down was. Imagine a decent that still rises. That is Bell lane. It’s like an angled descent so you believe you are descending (which you are) but at the same time your legs are still feeling the strain of a hill. Coupled with the slush and pot holes made this the hardest part of any race to date. After a few minutes on this new surface I felt tired, I had the stitch and I saw my goal of a PR quickly fading away!
At the water station I had to walk for 5-10 seconds so to shift the chronic stitch I had incurred. It was at this point in the race that I truly realized that by having an injury and not training that it will without a doubt affect your next race. To top the whole thing off I could really start to feel my Hamstring tighten up.
Having pulled through the remainder of Bell Lane I entered Shipley Park in fairly low spirit but still determined to break my PB. As I approached the final hill I told myself this was it, one final push and it’s all over. The hill on Thorps Road was a killer. Once I was at the top I was physically and emotionally exhausted. I had just run my hardest race to date. I can honestly say that mile eleven in my first half marathon was easier than the final few hundred yards of this 10k. As I approached the final straight of the race I passed two of the elite runners from my running club, who had long finished but they gave me a burst of much welcomed energy and adrenaline. I saw the crowd near the finish line and kicked it, but as I came around the final corner with fifty yards to go I slipped and nearly fell. I managed to keep my balance and passed around four runners to cross the line in forty eight minutes and ten seconds. I finished 235th out of 590 finishers.
In closing this was a hard run. It was not until after the race that many of my clubs runners told me that it is a notoriously hard course and one of the hardest on the local circuit. Despite the course, my fitness levels and the injury I am carrying, I still crossed the line a mere thirty two seconds off my PB, and this course was harder (a lot harder) than my first 10k two races ago. I now know that had this been a flat course I would have smashed my PB, but what I have set is a PB for this course. Next year I smash this year’s time. That is not a goal it is a promise to myself.

Conditions: Sunny, Cold

Time: 48.10



"The greater the obstacle, the more glory in overcoming it."