10K NSV

So I'm running my first 10K race in a few weeks and the local running club did a 'run the route' event this morning. I knew I could run 10K but running with real runners? From a running club? Scary. I figured it was worth going along to check out the route and pick up tips, so along I went.

We were split into 3 groups: 45 minutes and under, sub-60 minutes and over 60 minutes. I'm hoping to get under an hour on the day but given that it was icy underfoot and I wanted to make sure I got the info about the route (and not die en route), I decided definitely best to play it safe and go with the over 60-minute group.

And off we go! At what seems like a slow-motion pace. And we all get chatting. I'm running with the 2 pacers because I want to make sure I don't fall behind, and within minutes the first 1K is done. As we go there are a few points where the pacers gather us up to point out road hazards, and a couple of points where we have to slow down or go on the verge because of ice patches. In a few more minutes we've done 2.5K.

I get chatting to 3 other women and we're so busy gassing that the pacer has to catch us up! When we does he tells us that we should have gone with the sub-60 runners. At that point we're half way round.

The path is a long winding meander past farms, nice and level. I see the end of the road which means that we're in the next village. The pacer calls 2K to go and it feels as if we've barely started. Now there are 2 of us running together with the front pacer.

Round the corner and it's the road back to the start. We pass a couple of shops and then it's back out into semi-country. The woman I'm running alongside has been talking about a big hill at the end. We're going up a slight incline but there isn't much road left now! 'Is this the hill?' 'Yes, it's not quite as big as I remembered...' She's slowing down for it so I go past and stick with the pacer. He clearly isn't running at his top speed.

'How fast do you plan to go on the day?'
'I'm aiming for 39 minutes'
'!'

I can see the sign for the road where we finish. I can't believe it's gone so fast because all I've done is have a bit of a chat while jogging. We turn in and the pacer says 'This is where you do your sprint finish'. Maybe on the day!

We finish and the pacer checks his watch. 'Well, with all the stops and the ice...not bad for a slow training run. 1 hour 4 minutes. You'll easily break an hour on the day. You should really think about joining the running club.'

We cheer the rest of the runners in. Everyone's done the 10K in 70 minutes or less - 2 people have never run so far before. We're a very happy group.

As I leave the pacer reminds me about the running club again and when the sessions are. I think I'm being recruited!

I started running with Couch to 5K last June. At that point I could just about run for a minute at a time.
When I've done this 10K, I plan to start half-marathon training.