Amazingly well organised and fun race!
I must admit that my training for this race was rather sporadic and not structured at all. The problem with 10kms and even 5kms for me is that I know I can run them. I don't really mind about speed (not that I'm fast it's just a good excuse) so now mentally I find it very difficult to train hard for it. Though I really want to get over this and get back into the love of running! Anyway more about BUPA!
The days rolling up weren't exactly normal running preparation for most people. Off I went to the Cotswold to go camping and drinking in the sun with my friends. I did make sure I stayed hydrated around the intoxicating part of the weekend which saved me I'm sure. I'm also glad I did it and didn't stay at home instead.
The morning of the race I had my race bag prepacked, my chip already laced onto my runners and my number pinned to my MNDA bib. I was ready to go! There weren't too many runners on the tube which left me a little worried that I had set off too late but the buzz around Green Park station was amazing and I quickly got into the fun atmosphere! The set up was very easy to follow with regards baggage area, toilets and start area. There will always be queues for toilets when it comes to races (except in Prague) but they moved quickly as they had more then enough provided. The start area was well marshalled and they ensured that only runners were in the area and that you went into your correct pen. There were 9 different pens which were dependant on your assumed finishing time. I was smack bang in the middle, Blue B.
I think we started on time at 10 am. I wasn't too sure as I couldn't hear what the PA was saying to me and my Garmin had decided to die while it was "charging" the night before. The latter also meant that I would have no idea as I was running around, how fast I would actually be going and if I would manage to get to my time. I had already decided this was a fun run but somewhere in the back of my mind I wanted a PB!
My wave started 7 minutes 30 seconds after Mo Farah (he had such a head start it wasn't fair!). They encouraged each pen to sing a song, dance or do something fun just before we set off. This made it such a fun start! Off I went anyway. Trying to not start too fast but not too slow either. The sun was belting down onto our heads as we set off past Trafalgar and towards east London along the Thames.
I managed to see Mo at about the 3rd kilometre or so. We were all clapping and shouting at him. There was a great energy towards such a naturally graceful runner. I had to admit then, that I wasn't going to beat Mo....damn.
Reaching the 5th Kilometre meant that there was a clock timer to let us know our time. It was about then I realised that I was at about 27 minutes past the start which wasn't quite ideal. I had felt like it was a really gentle run so far. I had a little niggle about my marathon runner telling me first half is training run the second half is the race. So this was my new effort to try get close to my time. I picked runners well ahead of me and decided to run them down. I did this for the last 5 kilometres and it turned out to be really fun. I had no idea if I was running faster or people slower but it was a fun way of running! I did tend to pick out the MNDA runners so I could congratulate them on their run so far and then speed off again. This meant that in the 2nd half of the race I passed 446 runners which isn't too bad! Only 60 people passed me out (shakes fist!).
This meant that when I crossed the line I finished casually at gun time 61 minutes. Actual time 53.42 which is 4 seconds shy of my PB. I was a little sad about this fact as I am sure that with the Garmin I would have PB'd but it also let me know that without too much pushing I will PB next time (if the conditions are right).
The finish line was full of marshals helping you out with your chip, photos, running goody bags with great big medals in them! The baggage area was quick and effortless and lying out in the park in the sunshine afterwards was a great feeling. I even managed to meet a twitter friend, Paul who smashed his PB to 50 minutes and my college friend, Kathryn who had an awesome run too! Overall, I had a fantastic day (if you hadn't guessed) and would recommend anyone to do this race! I have already signed up for 2014! Come join me! :)
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