Regents Park 10K 2018-19 Winter Series #2
Sunday 4th November 2018
On Sunday 4th November, John and I did our 2nd race in the Regents Park 10K Winter Series, and as for me, to say it didn’t go as planned would be an understatement. Last month I finished in 56’43”. I really wanted to do better this time. 2 weeks ago, I finished the Stroud Half Marathon in 2:05’58”. Before the race today, I had been training steadily, avoiding night out, illness or injury the whole time. I rested well the night before having gone to bed just after 8pm missing out Straightly Comes Dancing and whatever else showing on the telly.
The weather on the race day was perfect. It was cold but sunny and dry. This time, I didn’t put my Helly Hanson on as I got too warm last time. Despite the fact that I was feeling more confident leading up to the start of the race, I noticed right from the start my legs were not as powerful as I wanted them to be. I pushed really hard just to keep my visibility of the 55’ pacer but it still took me over 28 minutes to finish the first lap. I thought: “Something wrong??” “No, nothing wrong… my legs were just not strong enough.” There was absolutely nothing wrong with the race itself. The weather was perfect. Runners were smiling and chatting away. I just couldn’t run faster and I lost the 55’ pacer!! When I finally crossed the finish in 57’49” – more than a minute slower than last month – you can bet I was really gutted.
John, on the contrary, finished almost 2 minutes faster. He finished in 1:06’32”. He is aiming at losing 1 stone or 2 to go sub hour.
People always say we should be proud to have taken part in any race and finished, and I always am. But I also feel disappointed right after a slower time than my expectation. The initial feeling is so raw and it kind of hurts. I’m still not sure what really happened to my legs during the race because I was physically fine before, during and after the race although this certainly wasn’t my first bad race. I usually admit the fact that I’ve learned to set my bar lower as I’m getting older…and older. But after the race this morning, I have been spending too much time beating myself up for “wasting” a perfect race day like today. Next month the weather will start to be freezing cold. At least if my time is slow due to bad weather, it would make it easier to get over it and move on afterward. I think I’ll let myself mourn but not for too long as I’ve lined up to do the Grand Union Canal Half Marathon next Sunday. I need to make up for it by using it as an incentive to improve next time.
