It's been a busy few weeks for me on a racing front and last night (Wednesday 05th June) was another race for me. This time it was race 2 of the 3 race series in Inverleith Park, here in Edinburgh.
You can read about race 1 in my race report.
Last night I wasn't expecting much, as seem to be the norm just now. I just want to enjoy racing without any time pressures. Plus on Tuesday I was at the gym so everything was a bit sore. 😂
Weather conditions were cold and windy, especially for this time of the year. I had thought about pulling on my Edinburgh AC vest but I couldn't be bothered looking out my arm sleeves. Yes it was that cold! Some people on the start line had gloves on!
Anyway, I pulled on my club jacket and headed out from the house at about 5:45pm. The race start line is 1 mile away from my house so it is an ideal warmup distance.
Side note: You might have noticed I've started talking in miles and minutes per mile again, I've converted from running in kilometer pace back to miles.
With the warmup done, I collected my race number and chip and had a quick chat with some friends that I spotted. I contemplated whether to just wear my road shoes but opted for my Inov8 X-Talons just so I knew I had grip on the trail path around the park. I'm sure road shoes would have been fine but something in my head just told me to pull on the grippy shoes.
With 15mins to go there was a group warmup, which I watched and did my own warm up routine. Drills and strides.
We then all headed over to the start line just as the rain started! I was very glad not to be wearing a race vest as I think I would have just got too cold.
After a quick countdown we were off. The start is always busy as you run 50 meters then take a sharp left hand bend to get on to the trail that goes around the park.
I know I said I wasn't running against a time but secretly I did want to beat my previous time of 20:42. That race had an average pace of 6:40min/mi (4:08min/km) .
I went out a bit harder than the previous race but felt really comfortable. heading up hill for the first half I was in a nice position and I settled in to racing really quickly. Once at the top of the incline I decided to try and let gravity pull me down the hill and see if the pace improved, rather than forcing anything.
It seemed to work.
The first mile clocked in at 6:30min/mi (4:02min/km) Ooft! That was quicker than I expected but was a nice confidence boost as it felt really comfortable. Time for the next lap and my aim was to get to the top of the hill comfortably and then pick up the pace on the downhill if I could.
This time round when I got to the top I check my watch, the pace was averaging at 6:43min/mi (4:10min/km) so a bit slow but then by the time I got to the bottom of the hill and finished the second lap, my average mile page was 6:37min/mi (4:06min/km)
With this new info in my head I decided to stick to the plan and repeat lap 2, get to the top of the park and hill in around 6:45min/mi (4:11min/km) pace and then give it everything for the final stretch to the finish line.
The 3rd and final lap I was catching people on the hill but with previous knowledge of blowing up on the last lap I played it safe. Easing off the pace slightly to just pass them gradually rather than pushing hard up the hill and getting a stitch. I passed the first runner mid way up the hill and then caught up with the second runner just before we started the final downhill.
A quick glance at my watch and I was again floating around 6:40min/mi (4:08min/km) so it was now time to push to the end.
Legs burning, lungs giving it everything and the pit of my stomach wishing I would stop, it felt great!
The finish line was now in sight.
Final splits were:
6:30min/mi (4:02min/km)
6:37min/mi (4:06min/km)
6:36min/mi (4:06min/km)
and the final 0.1mi was 5:29min/mi (3:24min/km) and I finished in 20:17. Boom! 25 seconds faster than the previous race. Very happy!
One more race in this series. Can I dip below 20mins? We will see.