So this year was no different. Leading up to the race I wasn’t feeling the best. Training over the last few weeks has been hit and miss. Sessions have been solid but not spectacular and I’ve been feeling quite rough in my tempos to the point that I have abandoned a few.
The day before the race wasn’t my usual preparation. I ran a steady 8 mile on the morning and then went to work for a 7 hour shift selling trainers before driving down to Leeds where I got the worst sleep ever thanks to the fire alarm going off twice! So when I woke up on Sunday I had even less expectations for myself!
I actually felt pretty good running along and started to pull the other girls back one by one until I got onto the shoulder of the leader, Susan Partridge, just before the halfway point. I knew Susan was in great form following her 71.10 half marathon down at Cardiff recently so I sat on her for a couple of minutes before starting to pull away as we turned back for home at the 5k point. From here on I just kept pushing on as hard as I could. It was good to have lots of guys around me to either run with or target as my next ‘catch’ and this helped me to push on whilst trying not to think about the girls behind me who may be closing me down.
I hadn’t looked at any of my splits apart from my 5k one which was 16.30. I hadn’t realised I had been running this fast but figured that I would probably lose some time over the 2nd half so thought it would be touch and go for a PB. As it turned out I didn’t lose time at all, in fact I ran a rare negative split! Coming into the home straight I could see the clock on the finish gantry and thought it said 33.10 so thought that a PB just wasn’t to be. I then realised that the clock actually said 32 and not 33 and started sprinting for my life! I crossed the line in 32.56 with a chip time of 32.53 and a 33 second PB – one very happy Aly!!
Looking back I think that being so far back on the start line probably helped me as it meant that I didn’t go storming off like we sometimes tend to do. However, when I checked through my splits on the journey back home I was quite surprised to see that my first mile was still a brisk 5.06!
For me the time I ran was all that mattered to me. I wouldn’t have been bothered if I had finished last but still ran that time. After the year which I have had, finally running a PB has proved to me a few things;
1) Good performances can come when you least expect them to.
2) Hard work and perseverance sure does pay off
3) The training I am prescribing myself seems to be working!
Now all what I’ve got to do is translate this onto the longer distances and I’m laughing!