I've actually progressed quite quickly on that score, with no fewer than four races in the last month, over 5m, 9m, half-marathon and 10k! I must admit it took until the fourth race to get back into the mindset of competing again. I suppose 8 months without racing is quite some time and I had almost forgotten what it was like to be truly competitive. The fact that I knew my fitness levels weren't at their best didn't help either, as I've just been using these races as part of my comeback.
The 5 mile and 9 mile races were fairly low-key local races and I finished 5th and 4th respectively. The Arden 9 was particularly frustrating as I was pipped on the line in a sprint finish! Definitely more speedwork required! I then travelled down to Devon for the Torbay half-marathon - 2 laps out and back between Paignton & Torquay. You might think that a coastal route around the bay would be fairly flat, but oh no, this wasn't! Again, it took me until the second half of the race to really get going and I did struggle a bit on the hills due to my lack of specific hill training recently. However I moved up from 8th to finish 5th in the women's race, behind a Kenyan and a contingent from Bristol AC, so a satisfying result. For someone who lives slap bang in the centre of the UK it was lovely to be able to run by the sea, and even better to be able to go and stand in it afterwards for post-race recovery for sore muscles! It was quite amusing as gradually more and more runners made their way into the sea after they'd finished the race, and one man said to me "have you just run?" - I'd have thought it was pretty obvious as I stood there in my sweaty crop top!! Probably the highlight of this race, though, was refuelling with a Devon clotted cream tea afterwards!
So that brings me on to my most recent race - the Northbrook 10k which also incorporated the Warwickshire County 10k Championships. My race rustiness again showed at the start when I was almost tripped from behind in the mad dash, and I had to remember how to use my elbows!! I soon lost sight of the 3 leading women as my legs felt incredibly heavy going uphill almost from the start. However, once over the brow I immediately picked up and then felt really strong for the rest of the race. I had a much more positive attitude which is so crucial for a good performance. I continued picking people off for the rest of the race, even up the hills, moving into 3rd in the women's race at about 5km. This was by far my most pleasing race of my comeback so far - but my coach and I both knew it would take a few races to get back into the swing of it. It also meant I added to my Warwickshire AA medals with a bronze - taking my total of county road race medals to 18. (In fact, I think I've medalled in every county road race championship that I've contested - the first being way back in 1992!) I was also really chuffed with my time of 37.22 which, although a long way off my best, was only 2 seconds slower than the time I ran to win this same race last year!
So hopefully I can now build on this positive start over the rest of the summer / autumn.
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| On the way to the finish of the Torbay half marathon |
