5th February 2007

Syntax 10k

5th February 2007

Training Run


Having entered a pool tournament on Saturday night and had a few drinks then subsequently missed my Sunday long run I decided to make up for it by running home from work. I have dubbed this run the ‘Syntax 10k’ as I will be running this route many times during the summer months.
It is 6.1 miles from the Odeon Cinema to my parent’s house so after leaving work I did a one mile warm up to the cinema, before stretching out ready for the 10k run home.
Now the run home involved three grueling hills and the first hill comes after around two hundred meters of the start. The hill climbs up from the Meteor Centre towards Breadsall and is a very long, steep hill. Once I reached the top I was very tired but have been running long enough to know how to cope once at the top of a grueling hill. Once back on a flat surface the course led out of Breadsall and down towards Morley. This was where the course got tricky. This was purely down to the sheer darkness of the roads, since there were no street lamps. For this reason only I slowed right down as I could have easily stepped into the roads or slipped and injured myself if not.
The dark section of the course led down towards Broomfield College where I was still running at a very slow pace, but I was thankful of this as I had a slight stitch coming on and the second hill was upon me. The second hill was not as steep as the first or last but it was a winding climb that went on for a good third of a mile. As I reached the top I knew that civilization was at the end of the long straight leading into Morley so I knew I could pick up pace from here on. This was until I had the biggest scare in any run to date. I was running along the path and there were no cars around, then a car came towards me and the lights of the car lit up the path in front of me and revealed a huge hole, around 2-3 ft deep. Now if this car had not been there I could have easily injured myself badly and resulted in the end of my three marathon challenge.
Having escaped the hole and finally got back into the light of the street lamps I was feeling good and knew I had just over two miles, and one hill remaining. As I came past Morley Hayes and down the hill towards Smalley Cross and the final push up the hill into Smalley, I was feeling fantastic but I kept my pace steady as I know how many times that hill has beat me or come close to beating me.
I made it up the hill with ease, however I did feel it at the top but once my form was regained I breezed through Smalley to the finish line.
In all, I really enjoyed the run. The first half was scary but different and the second half was fantastic and my fitness levels are getting towards Marathon capabilities. I remember thinking that if I took off the time lost from slowing down and crossing roads that I could have easily run around a fifty minute 10k. To my amazement I looked at my watch and saw forty six minutes and fifty six seconds, down dark country lanes, nearly killing or badly injuring myself and all after a long days work. It is clear that my mid week VO2Max sessions with the Running Club are working. I’m running faster, when I think I’m running slower. Knowing that is a good feeling!

Conditions: Mild, Dry

Run Time: 48.56 (Unofficial PB)

Days to Edinburgh Marathon: 111


“Men tire themselves in pursuit of rest”