Paisley 10K: I got up and out of bed at... - Fun Beyond 10K & ...

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Paisley 10K

Sqkr profile image
SqkrHalf Marathon
36 Replies

I got up and out of bed at 7am on a Sunday, in the pouring rain and some sort of wind that was sufficiently blowy enough to have been christened with a human name—Ernesto, apparently, a tropical storm, which conjures up images of Lilt and coconuts, not the steely clouds that greeted me as I stepped outside my door—and got on a train to Paisley. Running has now reached peak lunacy.

I'd planned to tape my leg to try to stop my calf muscle complaining, but completely forgot in the post 'just fifteen minutes more sleep' rush to get out of the house. Luckily I'd remembered to bring some painkillers and grabbed a banana on the way so I'd not be taking them on an empty stomach.

The starting pen in the town square—for there was just one big corral—was cheerful, buzzing chaos, with massive portaqueues everywhere, and an alarmingly enthusiastic lady on a stage unsuccessfully trying to make us do a zumba warm up. I felt kind of nervous—I wonder when you stop filling with butterflies before you set off?—but was delighted by the amount of people who had the same idea as me in my new patterned Buff, there were sundry bits of paisley tied round heads, arms, waists, babies and dogs galore.

I misjudged the start pretty badly, 10am snuck up on me and as people began to compact together I realised I was really far back, but there wasn't much I could do about it as the square was so crowded. So once over the starting line my first kilometre was spent darting about, getting penned in behind clumps of chatty charity runners, doing tiny steps and becoming very uncharitably frustrated. I'm obviously no Mo but I found myself doing a much slower pace than I'd have liked with my target time in mind. I'm a very impatient runner it turns out! The route was twisty and turny through the streets and I was up over curbs and sloshing through puddles trying to overtake without interrupting people's stride, being very British about it. 'I'm so sorry, may I squeeze past?'

Eventually I found my pace tribe, the steady, middling runners, and relaxed into my stride a bit. The men with beards that could easily be mistaken for vikings in a different outfit or time. The fit older folk whom don't even break a sweat because they are just out running for the joy of free movement. The posh looking antisocial girls with high, swooshy ponytails and headphones. I have to concede I'm probably one of them :/

It was a nice community spirited run, rounding any corner you'd find local shopkeepers handing out water from under their stripy awnings and cheering everyone on, they weren't official stops, just lovely chaps. At about 4K I took a cup of water and failed abysmally to get any in my mouth, instead splashing it right into my face and up my nose. It was a huge fail in every way, accompanied with a RURGHHH and an unladylike swear. I gave up on the idea of any future refreshment. I simply lack the coordination.

There were lots of people handing out sweets along the course too, I purposefully honed in on a green jelly baby, they're the best flavour and I'll not hear a word otherwise. Then I discovered I don't really like eating sweets when I run, they're really claggy and make my mouth taste funny.

Luckily the weather held off throughout, it was grey and muggy but Ernesto left us be. A surprising amount of people were running in jackets though. Yuck! The thought of that sweaty shower curtain material makes me shudder.

The route was not very inspiring with Ernesto's palette looming large, grey weather, grey buildings for the first half, and a green cycle path with grumpy looking stone bridges overhead for the second half—presumably an old railway line. There wasn't much to look at so I found myself pondering people's running style around me. The people that do 'wax on, wax off' with their feet. The hunchers that pull their shoulders right up to their ears. The hand wagglers. The people that run like rigid, unblinking statues. I wonder what I do.

A 'fast, flat course' said all the blurb. Brilliant I thought, I'll stick to around 5.20 pace and I'll be round in a decent enough time. Then at 9km A HILL. A flipping ninja hill. I was not expecting that. I tackled it with final kilometre gusto, then I got pins and needles in my face halfway up and presumed my heart was packing up, so slowed a little coming down the other side. Despite imminent death, I saw my average pace dropping so I sped up again as much as I could for the final half kilometre. It wasn't very fast. I'll never be a sprint finisher!

Then that was that, over the line, with a PB of 53.04, hooray! There was no funnel, just another big clump of people, decidedly sweaty ones, this time. None of whom seem to have to keep moving like I do, I'm in danger of keeling over if I stop abruptly! There I was, jogging on the spot collecting my medal. Jogging on the spot collecting my water. Jogging on the spot collecting a banana. I failed impressively to take a good medal photo, somehow cutting off the medal entirely and simultaneously making the banana look curiously suggestive in every shot.

And then instead of revelling in the glory of my first solid sub 55 10k I had a bad reaction to the ibuprofen I took for my sore calf, and was horribly sick all afternoon. Secondhand banana everywhere, oh the glamour of running. So back to the drawing board on that one 😂

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Sqkr profile image
Sqkr
Half Marathon
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36 Replies
Tbae profile image
TbaeMetric Marathon

What a read.You are a trooper. Amazing time and all your difficulties/opportunities.

Hope you recovered well and Atb for your GNR.

Thank you for your race account it is just so refreshing and interesting and thought provoking.

Your magic of running.💥🏃‍♀️💥

Sqkr profile image
SqkrHalf Marathon in reply toTbae

Thank you! The GNR is so close now 😳

Tbae profile image
TbaeMetric Marathon in reply toSqkr

Hope you are niggle free.

Close is good and with your abilities you will just fly it.👍

I’ll be watching with a long standing interest.

Wife and daughters have participated a few times and wife’s mother/grandmother lived at the finish along the coast at South Shields.At the steep downhill on the final mile.

So many happy memories.

Come to think of it, had a very close friend and neighbour in the Gulf, when he returned home lived next door to Brendan Foster for years.👍

Don’t know if this is your first🤔

Without a repeat of some of the Paisley stuff , you are well capable of bettering your 10K time not once but back to back.

Enjoy yourself and the race.💥🏃‍♀️💥

Sqkr profile image
SqkrHalf Marathon in reply toTbae

It is my first! And my first organised half marathon too 😊 Everyone seems to have such fond stories to share about their own GNR experiences and those of their friends and family, I'm very excited to get some of my own. I'm sure all my various niggles (let's say quirks! Not niggles) will disappear in good time. I forget sometimes how new I am to all of this and just throw myself in with great abandon, but everything I do in running is a new learning experience so I guess it's inevitable I will get lots of things wrong 😐 On the plus side, I've learnt a lot: no ibuprofen, no cups of water, no jelly babies midrace, take it easy up sneaky hills! The more I learn now, the better I'll be in the future 😁

Tbae profile image
TbaeMetric Marathon in reply toSqkr

Quirk free I am hoping also.

Brillant and you are and going to be formidable.💥🏃‍♀️💥

roseabi profile image
roseabiUltramarathon

Absolutely marvellous!!!!! Well done, especially for getting a pb despite starting near the back - amazing!!!!

Hope you're feeling better xx

Hmmm new poll, "what's your running style?" 😋

misswobble profile image
misswobbleMarathon in reply toroseabi

Sounds good apart from the afters 🤢.

I was happy to read your run report. I love reading about runs in other places. I’ve been to Paisley but not for a long time. It reminded me of the lovely Hue and Cry song, Looking for Linda. I saw them live once at Sheffield City Hall 🙂

Sounds like you had a good race in the end. I know you got boxed in but it came good as your time was great 💪👍😃🏃‍♀️ I like your Buff, by the way (said in my best Rab accent) 😁

Sqkr profile image
SqkrHalf Marathon in reply tomisswobble

Oo I do love a Buff! I'd not been to Paisley before, which is silly as I work in Glasgow and it's so close. It's a nice traditional little place, and very friendly, I'll definitely do the run again next year. And will put some Hue and Cry on my playlist!

misswobble profile image
misswobbleMarathon in reply toSqkr

Violently is a good one. They did a version of the Man with the child in his eyes.

One of the brothers is or used to be editor of The glasgow Herald

Sqkr profile image
SqkrHalf Marathon in reply toroseabi

I found myself frowning at the back for the whole km, I mean honestly. Who do I think I am 😂

Also a 'best colour jelly baby' poll!

(Green. It's green.)

roseabi profile image
roseabiUltramarathon in reply toSqkr

Awesome

roseabi profile image
roseabiUltramarathon in reply toSqkr

Mind you, I think it's orange!

SW16 profile image
SW16Half Marathon in reply toroseabi

Orange gets my vote!

Head or feet first tho? 🤔

Congrats on a great run and entertaining post! Enjoy the GNR.

Whatsapp profile image
WhatsappHalf Marathon

Well done Sqkr grat post. Its always lovely to read other experiences of these events. Good time to get sub-55 for a 10k. Something I am working on myself (once my heel heals). Shame the rest of the day didn't go to great!!

Sqkr profile image
SqkrHalf Marathon in reply toWhatsapp

Thank you! I think it definitely helps taking on a route which was (mostly) flat! Of course now I'm optimistically thinking 'maybe by next year I can get to 45!' 😂 ...and I think I know the answer to that already. But you've got to believe, right?!

I'm sure you'll be raring to go and ready to smash PBs galore once your heel is happy again 😊

Sandraj39 profile image
Sandraj39Half Marathon

What a great race report Sqkr , had me smiling in agreement at so many of your race observations ( and I agree about green jelly bellies🙂)! My heart always sinks a little when I see cups of water rather than bottles - I have never mastered the art of actually drinking much from them whilst trying to keep on running! Anyway, despite the inevitable ducking and diving of a busy race start and your fleeting 'near death experience'😮, you finished with an amazing time! Well done - hope your niggly calf settles too.🙂

Sqkr profile image
SqkrHalf Marathon in reply toSandraj39

Yes! Green sweet team! The cups of water really were a lot trickier than I expected. Drinking from a cup is a life skill I really thought I'd have nailed by now! 🤣 I seem to have had a ludicrous amount of near death experiences (not one to exaggerate, me) this past month, so I assume I'll be invincible from here on in 💪😁

Madge50 profile image
Madge50Marathon

Well done, great report, yes, I often think about what I look like running along, and other peoples styles and gait....very interesting....’what do you see, you people looking at me’ .....line from a song in chitty chitty bang bang..........I’ve come to the conclusion not to think too much about what I actually look like as the reality is probably too horrific....😂....sort of crab like shuffling, concentrating on staying upright......but in my head I’m a gazelle sort with a bouncy pony tail....🏃‍♀️😂.....and anyway, who cares? You did it, and in a fantastic time, go you 👏🏅

Mx

Sqkr profile image
SqkrHalf Marathon in reply toMadge50

It's very strange where your mind wanders to when your feet settle into auto mode! I do love looking at the people all around me, it's really reassuring to see how different everyone is, especially when you're encouraged to believe there is a perfect running style. There may well be, but we all get along well enough doing it in our own way 🙂

Well, that's what I tell myself anyway. And then I see the event photos—that's always an amusing wake up call! I mostly look weirdly serene mid-run, then I get to the ones where they cruelly take a photo as you cross the finish line. Those are my absolute favourite. My face is fully 😩

benwill profile image
benwillMarathon

Well done a great time. Not sure about the pins and needles in the face that sounds like really scary to me!

Sqkr profile image
SqkrHalf Marathon in reply tobenwill

Thank you! And pins and needles is a regular thing for me so I don't panic too much, getting them in my face was an unusual new development though 😂 Running is a funny thing. It brings out all your body's weird quirks!

Decker profile image
DeckerUltramarathon

Well done Sqkr! Congrats on your pb. That is a great time. Hope you are feeling a little better now too.

Sqkr profile image
SqkrHalf Marathon in reply toDecker

Heh I am thank you, woke up right as rain on Monday morning. Running is a step learning curve for me!

ancientrunner profile image
ancientrunnerHalf Marathon

Really enjoyed reading that. Very glad your heart wasn't packing up. Congratulations on a great time and hope you are now recovered. I spent a great week in Paisley once - probably before you were born!!

Sqkr profile image
SqkrHalf Marathon in reply toancientrunner

Thank you, and me too! That would have scuppered my plans for September 😂

AnnieW55 profile image
AnnieW55

Great time (I can only dream of) and great report . Glad to hear you are mended. I’m sure the GNR will be brilliant!

Sqkr profile image
SqkrHalf Marathon in reply toAnnieW55

Eep I hope so, feeling a bit nervous about it already! So many people 😳

Macmac profile image
MacmacMarathon

Great stuff Sqkr! Congrats on the pb and I enjoyed reading your write-up 😄

Sqkr profile image
SqkrHalf Marathon in reply toMacmac

Thank you ☺️

Lorijay profile image
Lorijay

Wow what a great race report and great run!! Brilliant time and like AnnieW55, a time I can only dream about at the moment but really inspirational post, thanks Sqkr. :) :)

Sqkr profile image
SqkrHalf Marathon in reply toLorijay

Thank you!

linda9389 profile image
linda9389AdministratorMarathon

Great read and great run. So fast! Love how the painkillers get the blame ... what about the green jelly babies? :D

Sqkr profile image
SqkrHalf Marathon in reply tolinda9389

Nooo it couldn't be that little green fellow! He was tasty, but definitely a bit too sugary and goopy for me mid-run.

sallenson profile image
sallenson

Well done, hon!! Suggestive banana and vomiting notwithstanding :-)

Sqkr profile image
SqkrHalf Marathon in reply tosallenson

Thank you! I was secretly amused by the suggestive banana photos so I'll not consider those a negative point 😁

sallenson profile image
sallenson in reply toSqkr

Everyone needs a stash of suggestive banana pics :-)

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