A hot 10K

Not hot as in fast - hot as in temperature!

Wow! Well folks, after all the build up, I'm just back now from a beautiful 10K run along the riverside in Richmond with myself and about 350 other mad runners. And it was a hot one!

I got there nice and early and picked up my race pack, managed to get the race bib on straight first time (ha! one up on you M_Y) and strapped on the race chip to my shoe. Much pacing up and down then, a few sips of water and two bathroom stops later (to avoid the UUB - see M_Y again) and we made our way to the start line. There wasn't really much order to the line up (if you were in it to win it, then you were at the front, the rest of us just chose somewhere - I opted for middle ground with a couple of lovely young ladies aiming for about a 1:05 and this being their first 10K as well it seemed the right place to be...

Before I knew it we were off - it took AGES for us to cross the line (almost 3 minutes by the timings) and then it was into a VERY narrow towpath for the first kilometre. It was almost single file through there so the first km by default was an easy km - so no need to be worried about a flying start then...

Onwards to Kingston and the first 3.5km were relatively okay - settling into the usual pace and remembering that as the sun was beating down that this was going to be an endurance rather than a speed test I was keeping an eye on my heart rate and using that to pace myself... Water station at 3.5k, one sip of water and the rest straight over my head... lovely... then we headed back along the river the way we'd come... Before I knew 5K came around and a quick check of the time had me at about a 31minute 5K... so far so good... on we go... at just over 7K we passed the start/finish line and popped the headphones out to hear the crowd (okay - not massive, but very encouraging) giving us all a bit of a push... great stuff... Another sip of water and a drowning of the head and off we go for the final push... it's hot now - real hot...

So - I've got about 2.5K to go - I feel good - I'm not super fast today (or any day really) but I think I can do this... little did I know the last 2.5K were in the direct sunlight and by now it's after 10am... MAN that was hard... up the river to Richmond and back to the finish line was a struggle... the last KM by my split time is one of the slowest (at around 7m) but I managed a "sprint finish" in the last 200m and overtook two people at the line... and a thumbs up to the official photographer... Ha! I hear the lady on the PA say "great sprint finish there!" That felt really good even though I knew I was in no way at the front of the pack....

My time? 1:07:24 ... my position overall? 311 out of 357. There were only 11 other men behind me and only 1 other (out of 37) in the Veteran40 class behind me... so I wasn't quite last... and you know what? I couldn't care less!

I loved it! I paced myself - I made it my race. I made it without walking a single step and I covered 6.2 miles in the heat and I only started running less than 5 months ago (first week of March 2014 was W1R1)... I now have a PB to beat next time, I know I can run for 10K without stopping and I LOVED being a part of the crowd...

Best part of my day beyond the finish? Running into the lovely TurboTortoise as I recovered at the finish line! She well and truly outpaced me today but so nice to meet a virtual running mate in the real world!

Will I do another 10K? Hell yeah... Should people worry about where they'll finish? Hell no... I was "back of the pack" and I can only get better from here! If I can even finish a race over that distance (it's some distance alright) after only 5 months of running (EVER) then "things can only get better"...

Loved the buzz... loved the run.... hated the heat.... loved crossing that finish line.... LOVE C25K...

Thank you to ALL of you who supported me on this forum.... I appreciate it greatly... You guys ROCK!

UPDATE: Just looked at the Garmin stats and the last 2K were actually negative splits - wow... the slowest was that 7K wall... hooray for sprint finishes - although I was knackered by then it felt good to still be able to sprint after 9800m ...

[GettingFitter Graduate]

Brilliant Aussie. Great run and great post. You look like you could do another in the picture

[notbad Graduate]

You ROCK!! Well done, that sounded like a great day, and a meet up with TurboTortoise too, fab.

[poppypug Graduate]

Well done Aussie ! Fab post and I doff my cap to you running in this weather. I can feel the heat radiating from your photo

Your first official 10k well and truly under your belt, you must feel amazing . Many, many congratulations to you and heres to the next one

Coupla beers later on, me thinks for you , have a good rest now and relax, any chance we can have a closer look at your medal later when you have chilled out ?

Rest up now, champ xxx

[no-excuse Graduate]

That's fantastic Aussie, well done you! I thought of you this morning when I did parkrun and thought 'aussie hasn't even started yet and its already so hot!'. Glad you enjoyed your race, you certainly made it your own, in a great time, I would be feeling very proud if I were you! How nice to meet up with TurboTortoise at the end too. Keep on running x

[Ullyrunner Graduate]

Sounds wonderful Aussie. So glad you enjoyed a fabulous race. Looking cool as a cucumber in the photo. Got your first medal!

[emkeenan Graduate]

Well Done Aussie!

That's a fantastic time with the heat and the inevitable hold up caused by other people considered. I can tell from the photo you were contenting with some real sunshine, very sensible of you to have invested in a cap.

Great medal too! You must be really proud Kick back and enjoy the weekend

[frannyfran Graduate]

Bravo. We never had any doubt you would finish.

So enjoy your laurels and no doubt you now need to rehydrate! (celebrational ones!!).

[danzargo Graduate]

Well done Aussie on your first 10K (and in a not too shabby time either old chap!). I ran past you lot when you were gathering at the start, at around 9:15am so I know what the conditions were like. You did brilliantly. Hats off to you!

[Rignold]

Well done. Excellent work, especially in this heat.

What heart rate did you run at, if I may ask?

[Hidden in reply to Rignold]

So - heart rates vary a LOT between people and fitness levels... I find I can run in the "still can talk to the marshals" zone if I keep mine below 180 or so (178-179)... anything above 180 and it gets harder work to even think about sentences...

Today I set a new PB on Max HR though - in my sprint finish I peaked at 197 (previous Max was 185) so there's more than I think in the tank... no way could I keep up 197 for more than a couple of hundred metres though!

[Rignold]

Well done. Excellent work, especially in this heat.

What heart rate did you run at, if I may ask?

[paul2014 Graduate]

Well done, Aussie and congratulations on completing your first 10k That is a great time, Aussie (in the heat as well) and I'd be very happy to achieve that in August Love the pic

[dottiemay Graduate]

Amazing! Fantastic time for a first 10K, especially after FIVE MONTHS??!! Gordon Bennett.....

I know how hot it was here - and that wasn't as hot as it has been - and I really felt it this morning on my run, so to be able to sprint the last 200 - wow!! Well done Aussie!!

[AncientMum Graduate]

Very very well done Aussie m'dear. I'm out of breath just reading about it. Sounds like a really tough run in the heat but you absolutely nailed it and you sound rightly delighted with yourself. I'll echo Poppy and KK and ask to see your medal when you've got a minute. A superb achievement in 5 short months

[Rignold]

hmm, not sure why my question posted twice. 180? wow, that's almost redlining for me.

[Hidden in reply to Rignold]

Indeed - comparison is pointless really...

[Vixchile Graduate]

Fantastic Aussie, congratulations on your first 10km race! Love the medal too. Great post as usual. Great time too.

[beforefifty Graduate]

Well done, how you managed in this heat - awesome! I hope you are really proud of your achievements over the last five months as you have come so far. Enjoy your post race relaxation

[MrsSparkle Graduate]

Well done on your 10k, and a Great report. So pleased for you. Hope you are enjoying a lovely rest with a cold refreshment this afternoon. Have you stopped grinning yet?

[Miles_Yonder Graduate]

AUSSIE!

Brilliant report, and photo!

I'm so, so pleased for you; you've done so brilliantly, both today and getting to this point! You had a fantastic race and sound like you really thoroughly enjoyed it! The route sounds lovely (I'll go look on Garmin shortly, after I've eaten) although a race by a towpath sounds like it could be recipe for disaster!

And wow, you got your bib on straight the first time! How the hell did you manage that?! I never can!

Well done, mate, I'm so very pleased for you, and that medal is simply fantastic!

Enjoy your rest, always, and it's time to start planning the next race. It's ALWAYS time to start planning the next race!

Go you!

[AmberC Graduate]

Great result Aussie, you should rightly feel very proud of yourself. Like your medal.

[MarkyD Graduate]

I am inspired, well done on your first 10k. Great post.

[tanyag_163 Graduate]

Amazing you

[misswobble Graduate]

Well done Aussie. I'm proper chuffed for you. I thought about you this morning and was worrying about the heat getting you down. Mind you it's the same for everyone isn't it, but running in it is hard, so hard!

It's all done and dusted now and you can go over it again and again. I bet you don't sleep tonight for thinking about it.

Have a rest now. Take some days off to recuperate

[Nellyharte Graduate]

So pleased for you Aussie you are a lovely poster here on the forum and thrilled you finished the 10kat your own speed and sounds like it was reasonably comfortable apart from the heat. Excellent time too and lovely to meet TT!

[Anniemurph Graduate]

Well done, a fantastic achievement and a great post too