I always used to get nervous the morning of a rally, most of which was understandable with the dangers involved. One bad note from me could affect our result, and maybe our whole season. So I was a little surprised to be getting the same feelings the morning of the Leeds Abbey Dash.
This was to be my first 10k run, first big event with over 9000 people registering for the dash from Leeds City centre to Kirkstall Abbey and back. Thankfully a fairly flat course for a distance i knew deep down i could do having run just over 9k with running club, but the nervous feeling was down to the fear of failing. Personal pride was all that was at stake but my competitive side that i used to have was starting to come out.
Well i soon found myself at the mass start proudly wearing my Hyde Park Harriers running vest alongside my running buddy for the day Manesha. We had been running together on a Tuesday night at running club and were happy to run at similar pace. Officially the only target we had was to finish but deep down I wanted to be around the hour mark using my 5k pace plus a bit. We were just going to take it steady though and see where that got us.
It was a sunny but chilly morning when the clock ticked round to 9.30 and the excitement was building. Slowly we made our way to the start line finally crossing it a good 10 minutes after the fastest had started. I managed to glance Tina, Liam, Peter and Rita my fan club for the day as we got going and was waved off.
The first K went quicker then expected without pushing hard. We were just finding a comfortable place on the road and finding a steady pace. I had said i wouldn't clock watch but had a glance and was surprised to see it was sub 6 minutes. In my head I had split the run into 4 sections. From the start to the viaduct which was about 2k, from there to the turn at 5k, back to the viaduct and then the run to the finish.
I felt good as we passed the 2k mark and was really enjoying the experience, not long after we started to see the faster runners returning up the road. This actually helped me as i was trying to spot fellow Hyde Park Harriers and before i knew it the Abbey was in sight. The turn brought the water station which was a bit manic but then we could settle in for the return run. I started to feel my knee at this point but it was probably my mind just playing tricks. Manesha and i both seemed happy with the pace even if conversation had dropped. Passing the viaduct again and we knew we had less then 15 minutes of running left, but there was an incline before the run to the finish.
We were actually starting to pass a few as we climbed up, the Tuesday night practice of this part of the route was paying off and when we came round the last corner the finish was in sight. Manesha suggested we find a sprint but i had none to give, but with a bit more encouragement we gave it a go. Crossing the finish line was a great feeling, we had finished our first ever 10k and it was great that it was at a big event like this. We were both delighted and looking at my watch suggested we had beaten the hour mark but i wanted to wait for the official result. We collected our drinks, handed back our timing chips and finally got our finishers T-shirt. Next time i need to run quicker as they only had large left, bit of incentive there. Finally getting back to Tina the time had already come through on text, 59 minutes 59 seconds. Buzzing was an understatement. The whole atmosphere had been great, running in club colours added to it as we got plenty of encouragement along the way.
I know I'm not fast as I was one of the slowest Hyde Park Harriers men to complete the route but this was more about personal achievement. What next??
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