I'm feeling on top of the world! I was seriously apprehensive coming up to this race. For the most part I tried to ignore it; just an innocuous date in my diary. Saturday arrived however and I left it to the last possible moment before getting my race gear ready for the morning ahead. It was an early start to get to Bracknell; I was up at 06:00 and on the road before 07:00. The race was due to start at 09:00 and I had a 1.5 hour journey ahead of me!
I was seriously falling asleep behind the wheel on the way down there and just wanted to get there early enough to snooze for 20mins beforehand! As I got there it was way too busy for me to cat nap and I got myself ready slowly to race, going back to the car a couple of times - nerves!
As the race got started I really wondered if I was gonna make it the whole way round, I gave myself goals; I know I can do 3 miles, lets see how I go after that. Once I got past 6 miles and hit the half way point (that wasn't marked btw; poor form I know) it occurred to me that the last time I'd done a half my ankle went after 8 miles. The 9 mile marker was now my goal. I remember people calling my name, little kids with sweets and "Have a sweet, Ms Sweets!". So glad I put my name on my shirt! Sooner than I thought mile 9 came around, then 10, 11, 12 and I tried to pick up the pace for the final mile making it my third fastest mile for the whole race! As soon as the end was in sight I picked up the pace even further and sprinted the last 200m overtaking five people within yards of the finish! Having the crowds cheer me on really helped and I amazed myself that my ankle held up all the way through! I came in at 2:14:57 which is great considering I'm just off injury!
It was an amazing day, even if I did go home hit the shower and crash in bed afterwards. So much for date night! Sorry KG... The race organisation was great - I received a booklet in the post with all the details and a full list of all the runners. The medal is gorgeous, there was a gym bag, water bottle and t-shirt, and the entry fee was only £16! The only downside is that there was only water on offer on the course, am I spoiled with my visions of energy drinks now?
I was seriously falling asleep behind the wheel on the way down there and just wanted to get there early enough to snooze for 20mins beforehand! As I got there it was way too busy for me to cat nap and I got myself ready slowly to race, going back to the car a couple of times - nerves!
As the race got started I really wondered if I was gonna make it the whole way round, I gave myself goals; I know I can do 3 miles, lets see how I go after that. Once I got past 6 miles and hit the half way point (that wasn't marked btw; poor form I know) it occurred to me that the last time I'd done a half my ankle went after 8 miles. The 9 mile marker was now my goal. I remember people calling my name, little kids with sweets and "Have a sweet, Ms Sweets!". So glad I put my name on my shirt! Sooner than I thought mile 9 came around, then 10, 11, 12 and I tried to pick up the pace for the final mile making it my third fastest mile for the whole race! As soon as the end was in sight I picked up the pace even further and sprinted the last 200m overtaking five people within yards of the finish! Having the crowds cheer me on really helped and I amazed myself that my ankle held up all the way through! I came in at 2:14:57 which is great considering I'm just off injury!
It was an amazing day, even if I did go home hit the shower and crash in bed afterwards. So much for date night! Sorry KG... The race organisation was great - I received a booklet in the post with all the details and a full list of all the runners. The medal is gorgeous, there was a gym bag, water bottle and t-shirt, and the entry fee was only £16! The only downside is that there was only water on offer on the course, am I spoiled with my visions of energy drinks now?
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