The British 10km 2013 #MyMoments

I would like to start this post with some “Thank Yous”. First of all, I would like to thank my hip flexors for staying strong until the final kilometre. I would then like to thank water for being an invaluable resource especially when mixed with kona cola nuun for a caffeine hit. Oh, and thanks to McDonald’s for the breakfast of champions…

making my way to the event

So here is my race rundown from The British 10k London Run, Sunday 14th July…

The Good:

I was pleased to see this year that the bag drops were much more secure and better staffed; I didn’t risk it anyway and took nothing of any value to me. I then took the 1.25km stroll towards the start line…

It was a bit of a slow start with the crowds but this is to be expected…all after listening to Katrina (from Katrina & The Waves) sing ‘I’m walking on sunshine’…the irony…more like, I’m standing in sunshine…

The course was a mix of flat, gradual inclines and declines but nothing that made you have to dig really deep. Shade was minimal and the sun was strong (see The Ugly)…and some were even running in full costume!

Stupid me didn’t wear a hat (or visor with my ‘fro)…nor sunglasses…which I think would have helped. There were plenty of water stations though…at 3km, 4.5km, 7km at the finish. Believe me, these kept me going especially when I added the nuun tablets I packed in my T-shirt pocket (yup, T-shirts made for running can have a small pocket…useful!!).

I also drank plenty of Zico Coconut water pre race and had a frozen bottle for post race which was perfectly chilled by the time I came to drink it 🙂

Music wasn’t helping me one bit, especially as I spent most of the time fiddling with my headphones which repeatedly fell out!

In the end I turned the music down, kept just one ear in and enjoyed the cheers from the ma-hu-sive crowds lining the streets and all the virtual cheers from friends via (Nike+) Facebook and Twitter.

A huge Thank You again to my friends for the support! and this one guy who looked straight at me between 6km and 7km, gave me some motivating words, made me smile and kept me going…

I didn’t see (notice) any official photographers around the course but I did notice plenty at the finish line. I hope I managed to crack a smile…we’ll see if they caught it!

The walk back to the bag drop was short and sweet…I got my bag, medal, changed my t-shirt and I was off! …Not like RTTB last year where I think I waited 45 mins to get my bag back!

Then, the best part…the race bling 😉 I think it speaks for itself in the picture! Am proud to add it to my collection…just my second for 2013!

race bling

The Bad:

Last year, I thought the weather was awful; hard, heavy rain. In hindsight, I would take that weather over the weather we had today! Today decided to be the hottest day of the year so far at 31 degrees.

I set off for the race at 5:50am at which time there was a cool, refreshing breeze. Unfortunately, the breeze seemed to have diminished by the time I reached Central London, and even more so when packed in the middle of a crowd of thousands….and thousands.

Standing in the crowd waiting to start for 45 minutes didn’t help the situation much either…but I was lucky to be close to the front! …My thinking was, the sooner I start, the sooner I finish…

I did contemplate crying at about the 6km mark! Rain would have been useful to mask this but instead I stayed strong.

Usually I get into my stride at around 2km, but today I only came close to getting into my stride at past the 6km mark when I decided to carry on rather than cry!

The Ugly:

The start and finish was so confusing…I think they were the same place, marked only by two red double decker London buses.

No signage that actually said start…and no motivating signage that said finish making me want to sprint to the finish line…jheeeeeez! In fact, signage was at a minimum all round…maybe less flags more signage next time!?

the start line…maybe the finish line too…I’m not sure

Today’s race was nowhere near a PB and I am so grateful that I achieved my initial goal back in April at the Energizer Run. My official time came in at 1:08:24. I am a little disappointed, but proud at the same time for even finishing this race.

Still 5 months left in 2013 to work on improving my PB for 10k! I’ll be looking into races (and gear) which I can use as a focus for training…

Elle