Rob's Running Blog

City of Salford 10k 2009 Race Report – 53:26

Have not updated my running blog for a few weeks due to picking up a bit of a niggle somewhere along the way – was worst after my last 8 miler in the preceding post, the next day, but had been lurking for a while but the 8 miler really seemed to be the last straw in a slow build up of overuse. Probably shin splints, but not sure.  In any case, rested for three days then tried a gentle 2 miles, and no go – was really bad to walk on, so had to quit for a couple of weeks and miss both the Trafford 10k (my favourite race) and the Boggart Chase 10k 🙁

Earlier this week, I felt there was considerable improvement, so swam 50 lengths on Wednesday and then tried a very tentative 3 miler on Thursday.  I was going to stop at the first twinge, but it didn’t come, and the leg felt the same after the run as before – so I elected to run the City of Salford 10k, being my last race of the season; I didn’t want to end on  a miserable note, and felt fit enough to be able to jog round a 10k, so decided to monitor the leg, and if all well, go for it.

Even as late as Saturday night I wasn’t 100% sure I would run, but I got my number pinned up, my chip fastened to my Adidas Supernovas, and went to bed.  Woke early on Sunday, and thought yes, let’s do it! So I walked the dog, then got the bus into town and a taxi out to the Lowry.  Already some athletes around, I did some warmup stretches indoors, but no running warmup.  I wasn’t going for a time here,  so I would use the first part of the race as the warm up, having had no running in my legs for a bit, I felt 10k was my limit, without a few k’s warmup on top!!

The inflatable arch went up, and I positioned myself right at the back.  The horn went, and off went the front runners.  It felt quite surreal to start off plodding along at a very slow trot, without the slightest inclination to bomb out in front of people, but I felt a certain camaraderie with these runners at the back, even as I slowly started to find my form and overtake them. I heard someone beside me tell their mate the first K had gone by in 5:30 and figured I wasn’t running THAT slowly, then, and at 2k I felt Ok and started to go a bit faster, steadily overtaking people, which gave me a lift.

Somewhere along a big main road, I spotted two girls running in frilly pink skirts, and decided I would just have to catch them and enjoy a bit of flirting and banter about the skirts, so I kept them in my sights and slowly reeled them in.  They said they thought the skirts might cheer people up on the way round – which they certainly did 🙂  But it seemed to affect also their running aerodynamics 🙂  I passed them, and waved to them again later when they were on the other side of the road.

The girls in frilly pink skirts who cheered me up en route

I passed a drinks station, which was two people trying to fill one cup at a time from a barrel of water, so passed on joining the queue 🙂  I was feeling OK as I passed 5k, but was into unknown territory by then, as had not run any further than that since back at the beginning of the month. At about 6k I saw Ron Hill going down the other side of the road, and shouted “Go Ron!” and got a thumbs up from him, which motivated me, and then it was the long slog back to the Lowry Plaza over the bridge, by which point I was grimacing, but still going as hard as I could, and still overtaking people (in fact I was only overtaken once in the whole race).  Got over the bridge and it was torture to see the blue finish arch straight ahead, but know their was still another k to go around in a big circle.  I overtook more people, swearing blue murder at myself and pushing even though I was really hurting, and made a sprint over the line, to find I had tied my chip so tightly to my laces, that half the lace had to be sacrificed to get the chip off 🙂  I hung around and cheered in the very last runner.  You can see me in the official video at the end, grinning away and there’s also a glimpse of the girls in the skirts 🙂

My time was 53:26, a very similar time to my first race of the season, and very similar in tone. I really enjoyed this race, the atmosphere, the banter, took it easy at first and ran harder near the end.  Not a bad time at all considering my preparation hit such a hitch, and nice to finish the season on a bit of a high after the low of picking up an injury.

Ron Hill finishes a minute before me!

Now if I can keep injury free this winter, and build up a solid base, I might just get that sub 50 next year.

But my main goal is – to enjoy the journey 🙂

Pictures and video courtesy of Sports Tours International, who ran both the City of Salford 10k and the Salford Cycle events, and who organise lots of different sporting events and holidays 🙂