Carry on Running - Phil's view

With the Christmas Cracker 10k this weekend, I have realised that I have now reached a milestone of my second anniversary of competitive running. I was passed an entry by a colleague of mine who due to injury could not compete. Yes it was totally nerve racking especially considering I had only been running for 4 months prior to the race. Anyway, to cut a 10k story  to a 100m snippet, I finished the race in 38th position in a time of 41:11 (it is ingrained in my memory, I didn’t even have to look into my scrap book to get that result).

How does this link into Jan’s blog (Carry on Running), well at the end of the Christmas Cracker 2007, I met up with the Thornbury Running Club contingent. I decided to join Thornbury RC soon after, and joined in a a couple of training runs prior to my first go at their Winter Handicap. Even then I was first home in a time of 18:20 and until Thursday night that was my only attempt at the course.

Noe being second claim to Thornbury I still receive the weekly email of that weeks training. Knowing my work diary for this week, I knew I was unable to complete my 6 mile tempo run, so the Handicap gave me an opportunity to not only keep to my schedule but also meet up with old friends.

The course is itself an approx 5k (ok slightly more than 5k), and I completed the first loop in 17:20, not the quickest I admit, but I needed to do double that distance, ran straight through the finish line and onto a second lap. Now I have to admit that my legs are quicker than most, but I have struggled with endurance of late, but on the second lap I felt stronger the further I went, I put that down to the change in my training. I came home to complete 10k in an unofficial 10k pb of 34:46.

I would like to again thank Thonrbury RC for amking me feel welcome, I am sure to go back there again.