Cool Running Ramblings : Issue Three
My first race
It was well into August now and after quite a few disappointing “pre-training” runs I started to realise where I was going wrong and why I was running out of steam. It sounds blindingly obvious now but I was simply running too fast and by running a bit slower I was somewhat ironically getting back down to the times I was clocking last year for my regular Monday, Wednesday and Friday runs. One Sunday I even managed to step up my mileage to a five mile run in about 45 mins and was so impressed with myself that I did a search on the internet for races in the local area. As luck would have it there was a 10k race happening two weeks later in aid of Chestnut Tree House so I bit the bullet and signed up for it.
A few days later my sponsor form and runner’s pack arrived, including my first ever running number. It was official, I was no longer a mere jogger, I was competitor number 821, a fully fledged bona fide runner! Well OK, I still had to do the actual running bit but I definitely had a number and with that pinned to my chest then people HAD to take me seriously.
So on the morning of the race having had a very sporty breakfast of a banana and a pint of water I got dropped off at the East Beach Café in Littlehampton where I was immediately surrounded by people who were quite clearly proper runners in team colours and everything. My nerves were really jangling now, did I really belong here with my little beer belly and vintage trainers? I’d even managed to pin the number I was so proud of at chest height whilst everyone else’s was pinned much lower, probably to avoid jogger’s nipple or some such complaint that only real runners were aware of. What on earth was I thinking? Did I really belong here?
But once the warm ups were over and the klaxon went I was on my way and had settled into my new found comfortable rhythm by the time I hit the first mile marker. My pre race nerves started to disappear; this wasn’t so bad after all! The looks of admiration from the clapping crowds were a surprising lift and I actually started to feel like I did belong in this race and as the miles started to clock up I even found myself overtaking a few people! Sadly I also discovered that I don’t have the requisite coordination to run and drink at the same time and had to walk briefly to get over my impromptu choking fit whilst the few people I’d overtaken streamed straight back past me which gave me a little smile. Perhaps not quite such a pro runner after all 
At long last, after about fifty minutes on a warm September morning I could see the finishing line, and incredibly I was still running! I opened up my stride a little and finished with a flourish in the top half of the field. Fan-pigging-tastic! I had done it! And despite feeling generally shattered and a little wobbly in the legs I started to believe that my marathon target might just be achievable after all.
Check out runner number 821 in the Littlehampton 10k on this website:
http://www.prosportphotos.com
